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The Winachi Tribe - Transition

 

I’m heading off to Derbyshire this weekend for Bearded Theory and one of the things I am most looking forward to is seeing Winachi Tribe live for the first time. Having followed the band for a few years now, this new single is a great appetiser for the full show. It’s impossible to talk about the Winachis without mentioning Sly Stone, Black Grape and Grandmaster Flash. Similarly, it’s hard to hear the band without being reminded of the aforementioned bands.

The Manchester dance vibe is strong with them. Ian Brown prompted them to choose the name of the group and Brown’s percussionist Inder Goldfinger is a central member of the Tribe. Like Brown’s solo work, The Winachi Tribe mix funk guitars and ‘90s synths with irresistible grooves. ‘Transition’ is exactly what you would expect from the band based on their track record. They haven’t let their time in Hollywood effect the music either. The production on ‘Transition’ sounds like a step up from previous recordings but they recorded it themselves.

Winachi Tribe sound like a sister group to our Blogtober headliners, Makings. The combination of intelligent lyrics and infectious beats make for a heady buzz. Liam Croker’s lyrics are singable but original; at least in their subject matter. Speaking to him recently, he pointed out the influence of Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker in the chorus, and also credits his Mum with some inspiration. The bridge of “Don’t let the grass grow beneath your feet” is Croker paraphrasing one of his mother’s favourite idioms.

‘Transition’ is a booty shaker with a positive message. It’s exactly what we need in these trying times. If you’re at the showcase stage on Saturday, and see a sunburned Irish guy, dancing like an eejit, come and say hi!

Transition can be purchased from beatport.

 

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Peggy Gou - Once EP

Peggy Gou left Korea for the hip capital of Europe, Berlin, and looks like she's conquering the dance world. She’s set for Coachella next month, on top of her continuing tour of clubs all over the world. Once is her fifth studio outing. After releasing four 12”s in 2016, she set about making her name DJing before returning with this three track EP.

It’s also her first time singing on a record; “I’ve recorded my voice before but this time I tried to sing… I'm not a pro singer but I did my best,” she says.  ‘It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)’ is a fine debut for her voice. The Korean vocals work very well with the backing track as Massive Attack percussion mixes with Chicago house synths for a danceable but chilled tune.

All three songs come in over six minutes long but ‘Itgehane’ and ‘Hundres Times’ are both worthy of the time spent. While the former is a floor filler, the latter is a more contemplative number, mixing early Nightmares On Wax with The Orb. ‘Han Jan’ adds little in terms of quality. It’s a generic throwaway tune and sounds overly familiar, even on the first listen.

Once is worth a listen, particularly for the groovy ‘It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)’. While I can’t claim any special expertise in dance music, I’ve heard enough of it that a new record has to do something individual and/or original to stand out. Once doesn’t offer that. This is one for aficionados only. 

Listen to more from Peggy Gou here

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The Future West - Radio Town EP

 

The Future West are a fixture on the thriving Dundalk independent scene. Centred around The Spirit Store venue, the border area is churning out quality acts like Seattle in the ‘90s. Following the likes of Accidents In The Workplace, Ae Mak and Richard Richard, Francis Watters and his troupe released their debut album, the fantastically titled, Holy Shit… Here Come The Future West, last year and Radio Town is the three track follow up.

It was recorded in the isolated surroundings of Black Mountain Studios; a place that is becoming as central to the local scene as The Spirit Store itself. Word of mouth is spreading about the studio with Nix Moon, Sonnets And Sisters and Elephant all cutting records there in recent times.

Working at Black Mountain with producer Joseph Edwards has paid off for Watters et al. While last year’s album had a disjointed feel, Radio Town takes the disparate influences that The Future West are trying to capture and focuses them. It gives the EP an overall feel of unpredictability and spontaneity that you would expect from The Flaming Lips or The Butthole Surfers but with a unified sound.

‘Dream Catcher, Mind Snatcher’ sums up the bands “retro psych wave” vision with its Beta Band verses, and a chorus that marries Stoat to The Small Faces and The Jam. The title track serves up some Jefferson Airplane mixed with modern stoner rock (if that’s not a tautology) while ‘Dark Day Dawn’ channels ‘90s Britpop through the dual prism of The Killers and Whipping Boy.

Radio Town is a great leap forward for The Future West. It’s mellow and chilled even as it continually reinvents itself. This is a creative and ambitious record that hopefully translates into an equally powerful live set on this summer’s festival circuit. We’ll be looking out for them.

Radio Town EP is available from bandcamp.

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Baby James - Find The Time EP

 

The second EP from Stockholm’s rhythm rock revivalists comes within 12 months of their debut, No Brainer. While that record felt rushed and incomplete, Find The Time sounds, quite appropriately, like they’ve been able to put more hours into it. The Lou Reed/Mick Jagger vocals tread familiar ground. The traditional rock setup of twin guitars, bass, and drums is informed primarily by The Rolling Stones and their contemporaries.

The spare, blues-rock riffs and smooth grooves make the music immediately accessible. The down and dirty ‘Lose Your Mind’ shakes things up with a sleazy, funky tone, and catchy gang vocals. ‘Heal Me’ sounds like an Exile On Main Street offcut, while ‘Burning Desire’ owes much to AC/DC’s ‘Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution’. The title track opens with a riff that, presumably accidentally, sounds like Fugazi before finding more comfortable, Creedence Clearwater Revival ground.

That over-familiarity of the music is the downfall of Find The Time. The tunes are good and the band play rock ‘n’ roll well, but then so do a myriad of other bands. There’s nothing unique here to keep the listener coming back for more; nothing beneath the surface to dig into. Baby James sound like a fun band to bring your mates along to see but, on record, this has been done before, and done definitively. They’ve made massive progress since No Brainer, but Find The Time isn’t a defining leap forward. Hopefully they will continue to evolve with their next release.

 

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Bullet Girl - Post-Atomic Youth

 

This debut single from Dublin’s Bullet Girl is a noisy, three minute, pop punk romp. It’s the type of song that sounds superficially easy, but the dearth of quality tunes like this one in our inbox suggests that it is more difficult than it may appear.

The lyrics are generic, rebellious teen doggerel but Aaron Doyle delivers them with a raw conviction. The quality of the music and the viciously honed assault of the production overcome Bullet Girl’s lyrical shortcomings. The satisfyingly overdriven riffs hurtle along at high speed, while Dylan Keenan’s lead guitar screeches a dissonant countermelody during the verses. The syncopated harmonics sound like Steve Albini’s guitar committing self-harm with Tom Morello’s pedalboard.

The video ticks all the aggropunk boxes, with the band performing in an urban wasteland setting, graffiti art, and a gang of masked youths marching with fists raised. The song doesn’t end as much as it explodes in a riotous cacophony of atomisation, like Slayer raining blood in their thrash heyday.

Bullet Girl sound like cousins of Southend’s Asylums. It’s the creativity of the instrumentation, and the shrill, hyper-real tone of the recording that make ‘Post Atomic Youth’ stand out. The band have successfully captured their ferocious live sound on a record; something few acts can boast. And for a debut single, that is an achievement in itself.

 

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The Stoles - Age Of Deception

‘Age Of Deception’ is the title track from The Stoles forthcoming debut album. It follows ‘Getaway’ and ‘Evelyn’ and leads the way for the record, which is due in February. The band have taken their time putting their first album together and signed with the American Spectra Music Group to release it. Ireland seems the natural home for this band. With their anthemic, political (with a small p) lyrics, chiming guitars and pulsating rhythm section, there will be inevitable comparisons to U2 but The Stoles throw in shades of classic rock alongside hints of QOTSA, Editors and even Coldplay along the way.

The Dublin-based trio start the song slowly. An arpeggiated acoustic guitar builds slowly in conjunction with Antonio Derosas’ plaintive vocals. Things step up a gear with an elongated paradiddle from drummer Ciaran O’Neill before the first chorus arrives. ‘Age Of Deception’ is an uncharacteristically long song for The Stoles. We’re more accustomed to three minute stompers from them but, granted the space a full album can accommodate; they stretch out and explore new ideas. A long Beatles-y b-section has flanging vocals and an outro with overtones of ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’.

Through various EPs and singles, The Stoles have weaved their way through numerous sounds and subgenres. Have they finally nailed their sound with ‘Age Of Deception’? Or will they continue to confound? Or maybe a bit of both. We’ll see when that album finally sees the light of day.

The Spectra Music Group bandcamp page is here so 'Age Of Deception' will probably appear on it soon.

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