Crescent Moon

Last week, I was delighted to be able to do a DJ set at The Bernard Shaw Carboot Sale, thanks to Chewy. Apart from a couple of technical glitches as a result of me completely forgetting how to use the equipment, I was pretty happy with how it went.

It might sound really sad but there are few things that give me a bigger kick than somebody asking me the name of a song or remix I've played. It doesn't happen especially often (people are more inclined to ask for "something a bit more current, like 'Sweet Dreams' by Beyoncé") but the crowd at Bernard Shaw were a little more receptive than usual.

One track that went down especially well was Nightwaves' 'She's Electric':



Nightwaves are Californian duo Kyle Petersen and Josh Legg, who produce exactly the type of bassy electro-disco they'd be inclined to sign to their label or feature on their blog. As well as 'She's Electric', they've a number of other great tracks currently tickling my fancy...

Nightwaves - 'Blue Dress':



Nightwaves - 'Even Money':



Some quare decent remixes to be found here too.

Beastly Behaviour: Wild Beasts Live Review

On Thursday, I managed to wrangle a ticket to see Leeds-based indie outfit Wild Beasts play The Academy, courtesy of Celina.

Admittedly, I've been living on a musical diet of synthy electronica and female-fronted alt-pop for the past while, but White Beasts are one of the few 'indie' acts to have successfully infiltrated my Itunes.

I've tried and failed to come up with an adequate description for the four-piece's sound. Perhaps part of this difficulty stems from the fact that they have two rather different-sounding singers that share vocal duties. Hayden Thorpe's distinctive falsetto anchors the lion's share of the band's set but, as on the band's current album 'Two Dancers', Tom Fleming's deeper, more conventional register provides some welcome variety and prevents Thorpe's voice from grating.

Thorpe tells us a few tracks in that "everything's gone wrong up here", presumably addressing technical difficulties, but the decidedly mixed crowd (occasionally shouting 'hilarious' things like "Ccme on, yis beasts!") don't seem to notice/care. Recent hits like 'All The King's Men' and 'Hooting & Howling' are greeted with emphatic receptions and, as far as I'm concerned, the band don't seem to put a foot wrong.

After the gig, a crowd of excitable younger music fans have gathered outside the Academy in the hope of catching a glimpse of Charlie from Fightstar (née Busted), who was playing upstairs. Hayden Thorpe strolls out the main entrance and nobody budges but, to tell the truth, I'd rather have him sign my face any day.

Hooting & Howling:



[Image: Last FM]

Stuck On Repeat

Florence & The Machine - Drumming Song (Jack Beats Remix)



Magic Wands - Black Magic



Fan Death - Veronica's Veil



Get Shakes - She Found the Diamonds



Chiddy Bang - All Things Go



My Gold Mask - Violet Eyes (free download)



Beat! Beat! Beat! - Fireworks (free download)



[Image: Kane Longden]

Good Source of Riboflavin

Apparently today is Sesame Street's 40th birthday. Excellent.

I've yet to catch the Irish-language version on TG4 ('Tar ag Spraoi Sesame') but I'm glad it's back on Irish television these days.

This is my all-time favourite clip from the show:

I Have Nothing More To Say To You...

Oh wait, I do actually. I fully intended to make a hullabaloo last week about how brilliant Dublin-based duo Heathers' gig was but got distracted by (seemingly fruitless) job interviews and whatnot.

I've been a huge fan of Heathers' album 'Here, Not There' for a long time and, despite the fact that they play practically every fortnight, circumstances had always prevented me from catching their live show. So, despite a chronic lack of funds at the moment, I decided to head along to catch their gig at the Project Arts Centre with Paula and Eimear.

The set-up is simple: sisters Ellie and Louise, armed only with a microphone each and Louise's guitar - but. my god, what a beautiful racket they can produce with just these tools.

If anything, the sisters' gorgeous harmonies are even more impressive in a live setting than on record but I think what really differentiates Heathers from similar indie-folk outfits is their distinctive stop-start style of singing.

There are plenty of gentle, wonderfully understated moments throughout the set but Heathers are most dazzling when belting out songs like 'Margie' and 'Remember When' at full-throttle. At these moments, well, the microphones become a bit redundant.

Heathers - Cover of Tegan & Sara's 'Nineteen':



Heathers - 'Waiter'



Heathers are playing with Choice Music Prize-winners Super Extra Bonus Party on Friday, the 13th of November (spooky) in The Academy. Get tickets here.

Not Just Skine Deep

I'm currently somewhat infatuated with Quoteskine. The idea is pretty simple: graphic designer Lee Crutchley doodles on his Moleskine notebook with markers, then uploads the generally awesome resulting images and typography to his Tumblr account.

Starstruck

Starsmith, the man responsible for transforming Ellie Goulding from a folksy warbler to an electropop minx, let slip a few weeks ago that he was working on a Lady Gaga remix.

It turns out the track in question was new single 'Bad Romance' and, perhaps as a tribute to all the Lady Gagas wandering the streets over the course of Hallowe'en weekend, he dropped the track last night.

The track is everything you might expect from the pairing: shimmery synths and spluttering beats underpinning Gaga's gargantuan hooks.



Lovely.

[via: Eimear]

Murphy's Law

Despite the fact she's currently nine months pregnant, alt-pop oddball Róisín Murphy has decided it's time to make her return to the limelight. You can listen to her new single 'Orally Fixated' here:



The former-Moloko frontwoman's last album 'Overpowered' was a slinky electropop masterpiece and one of my favourites of 2007. Despite rave reviews a string of fantastic singles, the record was largely ignored by the record-buying public and considerably more attention was afforded to her extravagant outfits and off-the-wall videos than the music.

The new single continues in the same vein as Overpowered's synthy dance-pop and features an almighty guitar solo and a brilliant if somewhat un-radiofriendly minute-long intro. Of course, based on past experience, the song is unlikely to get too much airplay anyway but here's hoping that, with the likes of Lady Gaga currently reigning supreme atop the charts, the time is ripe for Róisín to command and conquer.

Today Is The Greatest Day I've Ever Known

Canadian duo Fan Death caught my attention earlier this year with the excellent 'Veronica's Veil' and the wonderfully ludicrous video that accompanied it.

They've now delivered on the promise of that particular track with an EP of gloriously symphonic electro-pop, laced with elements of disco. Lead single 'Reunited' is especially delicious and its Wizard of OZ-esque video is pure, unadulterated hipster-porn.



You can hear the EP in full on the band's Myspace.

Don't You Know I'm A Lover, Not A Fighter?

Me too, Cat Face.

The Whole 9 Yards?

These days, it seems every animated film released raises the bar in terms of visual effects. Classic titles like ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Lion King’, although fine movies, look decidedly dated when compared with the stunning CGI animation on offer in Shane Acker’s latest feature, 9.

The kind of rapid advances in technology that have paved the way for 9’s incredible graphics are, as it happens, somewhat central to the film’s premise. Set in a reality where super-intelligent machines have turned against and over-powered their human creators, the story warns against the perils of “mankind’s relentless pursuit of technology”.

When doll-like creature 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) awakens in this post-apocalyptic world, he’s unsure of how or why he has come to be there. However, it's not long before he discovers he's not alone and finds himself caught up in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the menacing machines and restore life to the planet.

9 certainly presents some interesting ideas but its clumsy resolution leaves too many questions unanswered and it’s difficult to shake the notion that the ground-breaking visuals came at the cost of a plot almost as hollow as the barren landscapes the film depicts.

Verdict: Visually stunning but the plot is considerably less impressive. Maybe check out ‘Up’ instead, if you haven't already.

Chuunes

I'm determined for Novemember to be the busiest blog month to date and can think of no better way to kick things off than with an introduction to my current obsession, Muchuu.

Muchuu (pronouced "Moo Chew") are George and Milky, an impossibly cutesy brother and sister combo that produce beautiful, shimmery synth-pop. According to their rather excellently designed web-site, 20-year-old singer Milky "writes lyrics about dreams, things she sees on her adventures, imagination and escapism; appreciating the real things, the little things that make you smile", while 18-year-old George provides the synths and harmonies on a keyboard he bought for £29.

I'd describe their stuff as sounding a bit like Frou Frou crossed with Ellie Goulding but it's probably best you decide for yourself:

Somebody Tell Me



Coral and Shell



Patchwork



Adventure We Go



[Image: Jason Dare]

There's Nothing Like This Lolita

After a string of supposedly unauthorised leaks, Parlophone has officially unveiled a track from the forthcoming album from 'it-girl' turned popstar Sky Ferreira.

Written by Radioclit and Nicole Morier, 'Lolita' is a fun track, drenched in sass, that should help fuel the mounting buzz around the seventeen-year-old singer.



You can hear another relatively new track, 'Femme Fatale', over on Sky's Myspace.

[Image: Rob Brink]

Stuck On Repeat

Phoenix - Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)



Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)



The Killers vs La Roux - Smile Like You're Bulletproof



When Saints Go Machine - Pinned



O'Spada - Time



Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance (Miike Snow Remix)



Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler



[Image: Colin Hill]

We're Under The Sheets And You're Killing Me...

Ellie Goulding's music video for 'Under The Sheets' has surfaced and it's nothing short of brilliant. The video features some gorgeous cinematography and perfectly complements Ellie's brand of other-worldly alt-pop.

'Under The Sheets' is being released by Neon Gold and should lay some great foundations for her major-label release next year.

Nice wind machine usage. Download the 'Under The Sheets' mp3 for free from here.

Destroy Everything You Touch

Over the past while, I've noticed a drastic increase in the number of arts-oriented club nights in Dublin. Honestly, I'd put this down to ignorance on my part due to my being perfectly content to get sloshed in the student bar at DCU.

However, the people behind The Destructors' Manifesto a once-off "non-profit celebration of everything that is great about Irish culture and art today" contend that there has indeed been a surge in creativity and that this is an inevitable state of affairs in the wake of the rather abrupt ending of our collective Celtic dreamtime.

"Out of destruction comes creation" is the group's mantra and they intend to showcase the creativity in various forms at their event in the newly refurbished Tivoli Theatre next Friday, the 30th of September from 8pm.

The brainchild of artist Maria Roche, the event will incorporate art, theatre, live music, film, photography, graffiti, story-telling and, of course, dancing. The full line-up of artists and performers can be found on the Facebook page and tickets are €10 (purely to help cover costs, I'm told).

Let me know if you're planning on checking it out. We can, you know, dance and pretend to appreciate art and stuff.

Need Inspiration For Hallowe'en?

Look no further than Fever Ray's back catalogue of videos.

The side-project of Karen Dreijer Andersson of The Knife, Fever Ray have been responsible for five wonderfully sinister videos, depicting shamen, witches and all manner of creepy characters.

The latest single to be taken from Fever Ray's self-titled album is 'Stranger Than Kindness'. As much as I love the albums, I'm not sure if any of the tracks work as 'singles' in any remotely commercial sense but I'm grateful we can enjoy their visual accompaniments:



[Image: Jet Ingenue]

Scandipop O'Clock

O'Spada are a new Swedish band that caught my attention earlier this week. Playing cruelly on both my weakness for Scandinavian pop music and love of 80's synths, a matter of days later I'm utterly infatuated.

Their track 'Time' sounds packs some serious punch and, if the word on the street is to believed, there are several other equally infectious ditties in their arsenal:



If I manage to get my DJ shenanigans up and running, the Suck Shaft remix of the track is something I'd love to play:


[Image: Par Olofsson]

Somewhat Overcast

Almost as exciting as a new film from genius animation team Pixar is the prospect of seeing one of the 'shorts' that precedes the main feature in cinemas.

'Partly Cloudy', which accompanies latest Pixar flick 'Up', is some of their best work to date. If you haven't yet checked out 'Up', here's yet another reason why you should:



Another favourite of mine is 'Presto'.

[Via Michael]

Jungle Fever

Cue the fanfare.

The video for Marina and the Diamonds' 'Mowgli's Road' has arrived:



A little more variety mightn't have gone amiss but the video certainly ties in well with Marina's art-pop/bubblegum hybrid and it's a pretty creative way of conveying the song's message of being pulled in multiple directions. Hopefully it'll be gracing our tellyboxes on MTV and the likes over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Marina's only gone and made a remix of the track availablle for free download. Click here to download Russ Chimes' Mowgli's Road remix.

[Via Popjustice]

If You Feel Your Head Is Lacking Pizzazz...

...this might help.



In case you haven't seen it, 'Welcome To Our House' is inspired by Brenda Dickson's 'Welcome To My Home' videos, which were tragically removed from Youtube earlier this year when she decided to try and cash in on their cult following.

[via Dónal]

In Defence of Gaga

Few, if any, musical acts can claim to have had as steep a career trajectory as Lady Gaga over the past twelve months. After generating significant blog-hype and a sizeable online following, she managed the difficult task of converting this into commercial success and has barely been out of the papers or off the radio since.

Some contend that her music is mediocre but, although 'The Fame' is certainly patchy in parts, 'Poker Face' is, in my view, one of the finest pop songs of the past decade, while 'Just Dance' is certainly worthy of a 'highly commended' rosette.

Gaga's extreme outfits and outlandish performances might not tally with her pop-by-numbers music but, at a time when the mystique that 'stars' once possessed has been ravaged by reality TV, Heat magazine et al, I think it's refreshing to see someone so contradictory on numerous levels that she keeps the public guessing.

Yes, I appreciate that much of her zany behaviour is carefully engineered and that, behind the wacky facade, Lady Gaga is a highly-intelligent business-savvy entrepreneur. Even still, I can't help but admire her unfaltering commitment to the charade. She makes some of her predecessors and peers seem positively yawn-inducing and her influence on contemporary pop music is already evident.

Today 'Bad Romance', the lead single from forthcoming special-edition album 'Fame Monster', received its premiere:



The track is a sure-fire chart smash that's a damn sight better than the shoddy LQ version that had been floating around until now but it also sounds like most of her other stuff. The familiarity of the track means it's never going to be able to match the impact of hearing 'Poker Face' for the first time.

Hopefully once 'Fame Monster' is out of the way, Gaga will ditch her producer Red One and get to work on developing her sound a little more. In the meantime, I'm more than happy to switch on this track, turn up the volume and just dance.

Oh, Francoise

Finnish oddities Le Corps Mince de Francoise came to my attention earlier this year as a reult of The Guardian's wonderful 'New Band of the Day' feature.

It seems the experimental pop purveyors have now caught the attention of super-cool French label Kitsuné, who are releasing a new track 'Something Golden' in December.

The track is every bit as zany and colourful as the trio's earlier material but, thankfully, sees them deviating from the seemingly CSS-influenced territory that would have worked a treat back in 2007 but mightn't get them noticed today.



Yum.

[Image: Myspace]

Off The Scales

Allow me to introduce you to Samuel & The Dragon, a mysterious London-based duo about whom details are hard come by.

minimalist, brooding electronic backdrops and flamboyant singer Samuel's haunting voice make for a startling combination, reminding me somewhat of Anthony & The Johnsons and old-school Patrick Wolf (before he was crushed by the weight of his ego.) I suspect the group's first single, 'Diamonds On A Boat' , is set to cause quite a stir when it gets releases next month on super-cool indie label Moshi Moshi.



I, for one, am slain.

Desperately Seeking Elton

Lily Allen, quite rightly, continues to milk her hit-heavy sophomore album, 'It's Not Me, It's You'. Who'd Have Known is the fourth track to be released from the album (in some territories the fifth). La Allen has even taken some time out from bemoaning the state of the music industry to make a video for the track, which samples Take That's 'Shine'.

Anyone who remembers Lily's showdown with Elton John at the GQ Awards last year may find themselves reading between the lines as they watch this frankly quite bizarre video: