Ceefax Of Life

1 Jul 2019

6 in 1 (Yet Again)

We've loving the list, I say we're loving the list...

Here's a few things I've been enjoying recently.

Trash Kit - Horizon

Highlife-flecked post-punk from a band with links to Electrelane. 100% approve. Bit gutted I missed out on reviewing the album for Buzz last month TBH.

J Majik - Hold You

Old skool jungalism in 2019. Yes yes yes.

LSDXOXO - Freakquency

More throwback vibes in this twisty house bumper from New York's LSDXOXO.

Kanye West feat. Rick Ross - Devil in a New Dress

He's insufferable but lord he's good.

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Firecracker

No way was this released in 1978 without the use of a wormhole.

Tyler, The Creator - Igor's Theme

Album of the year? Prolly. So many cuts so let's begin at the beginning.

Related posts:

Original Image: Rabax63 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

30 Jun 2019

Frank Vs Metronomy

So just under two weeks ago I became a dad. And the very first bit of music Frank heard was a snippet of Salted Caramel Ice Cream on the 'gram.

Bit of banger for a first song plus a bangin' video to boot.

And that was just the start of the mini Metronomy wave that Frank, Plus One Loo and me have been on since. The English Riviera happened to be in the Celica on the drive home from the hospital. We've been devouring their videos through the NOW TV stick. But perhaps biggest of all, Loo and I have tickets for Metronomy's Bristol show in November, which we've pencilled in as our first night out together. Metronomy Forever is blates on pre-order too.

Can't flipping wait.

Related posts: All 20+ Metronomy posts are here.

Original image: Lotus Head from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

29 Jun 2019

BABii Buzz

Back on the Buzz train this month. Missed out on Trash Kit and Mort Garson albums but picked up the debut from BABii. Full review below, decided to repost here as I couldn't crowbar the last line into the magazine review...

BABii
HiiDE (Deathwaltz Originals)
***

HiiDE is the debut album of icy holographic electro pop from Margate’s BABii. And it kind of falls between two stools. Compared to the precision tooled synth pop of your Sigrids and your Robyns of this world, its lacking the killer hooks that worm their way into your head.

On the flipside it doesn’t quite have the sonic inventiveness of your Grimes and your FKA Twigs. What you’re left with is a pretty, sugary sweet, well-made pop album (dub don Adrian Sherwood produces here) that’s just unsure where to sit.

The “ii”s don’t have it. SE

Related posts:

9 Jun 2019

Cold War Pop

Hands up, before this week I had no clue who Virna Lindt is, or Tot Taylor who produced this, nor The Compact Organisation, which is the label that ties all this together.

All I know is that Intelligence is glorious icy pop from Sweden. A kitsch mishmash of Cold War spy games, 60s film scores, and 80s new wave.

Shout out for the subtle flutter VCR effect on the YouTube video - it's the little things isn't it?

In fact the album Intelligence is from - 1983's Shiver - is well worth a listen.

And while it may be simplistic to draw a line from Lindt's shimmering sing-speak singing style to the work of fellow Scandinavians Annie and Sigrid, fans of the them, or sophisticated pop in general will find plenty to enjoy on Shiver. A curio from a fascinating time in music.

Related posts:

Original Image: Lynn/Vanhanen 2012 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

30 May 2019

6 in 1 Again

Yet another list of what I've been enjoying lately... in a musical sense.

Metronomy - Lately

Metronomy are back and sound like Metronomy. Everything is right with the world.

oklou & Casey MQ - DAWN

The return of witch house? The vocal is Carly Rae Jepsen's Run Away From Me and other tracks on the For The Beasts EP use pop vocals from the likes from Miley Cyrus and Avril Lavigne. Gorilla vs Bear opened its Racquet May Spring 2019 Mix with it. Well spooks.

Arpanet - Wireless Internet

Colossal electro that I've unknowingly had in my collection for years (it was on Miss Kittin's Electroclash Mix CD for Muzik). However after noticing it on a recent Tom Trago NTS show it has popped up everywhere including on Betty's "cathartic bass" Science Heavy mix. Cathartic Bass. Fun fact, Arpanet is Gerald Donald, one half of Detroit Techno dons Drexciya.

Lack of Afro - No Guts No Glory

Another Brewhouse Banger. This caught the ear of both Owe and I during the post-squash isotonic ciders. However, after putting the album on in the office (theme of the day that day was hair), I learned that this moody little RJD2-style number is definitely his best output.

TWR72 - Tunnel

Basic AF big room techno. Sounds a bit like Vitalic. Have it.

Boots for Dancing - (Somewhere in The) South Pacific

It would be remiss of me not to have some knotty post-punk or something I've first heard played by Andrew Weatherall in a list like this... so here's a 2-4-1.

Original image: Giovannni Volpato, Aquarell [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons