Introducing.. The Swing Movement

The Swing Movement is a Leeds based indie rock band, with sound somewhere between that of first album Arctic Monkeys and darker northern indie rock bands such as Kubichek! and Forward Russia! Their more downbeat sections sound not unlike an early Oasis, frequented by chaotic garage rock aggression the former always lacked. The Swing Movement's influences are fairly clear, they make no secret of the British indie rock scene they slide right in to, but their rough vocal swagger and 'music to be played loud' overdriven progressions are enough to make anyones absent-minded gig-going head nod.

They recorded their debut album in November 2008 with Jay Reynolds and Richard Formby (Wild Beasts producer) and have already played slots at Leeds festival 2007, and support slots with the impressive roster of Esser, Yeasayer, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Team Waterpolo, Sons & Daughters and Screaming Lights amongst others. They quote their influences as Nina Simone, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Nick Cave, and The Velvet Underground and to an extent this is evident, but the Swing Movement definitely put their own unique 2008 stamp on every note they hit. Streaming lead lines and crunching guitars back up perfectly the widely reported stage presence of singer/guitarist Ben Walker.

In terms of tours, they have intermittent tour dates through to Christmas around Sheffield, London and Bradford, and currently there is no news on a new album. However, from a band with such consistent material under their belts, there is surely more to come. The Swing Movement are surely destined for a good level of success.

For a taster, you can either listen to the music on their Myspace or download the fantastic 'Jigsaw' below.

The Swing Movement - Jigsaw (Mp3) (from Freak Show Circus)

I would include a buy link in this post, if only i could find one!

Introducing.. It May Never End

It May Never End is the solo post-rock project of Australian Neil Spicer. His music takes the form of atmospheric and uplifting post-rock in the vein of This Will Destroy You and Explosions In The Sky, and i'm not simply pulling these out as examples of well known post-rock bands. Spicer pulls off their sound almost perfectly. He is currently unsigned and has been making music under the It May Never End name since last November.

The 12-minute masterpiece Last Light could quite easily be mistaken for the next This Will Destroy You release - as could any of his tracks. What 4 members create in a studio is quite comfortably equalled by the lone part time Australian musician. His music is euphoric and awe-inspiring, the tearing outros unpredictable from the intermittent guitar plucks of the intros. What emerges from the flattened and ambient intros is a selection of disorientating and brightened melodies, awash with reverbial and heavily delayed instrumentals. Last Light as a track takes a darkened turn towards the latter part of the song, Sigur Ros style semi-ambient organs enter on cue for a loud and thrilling ambient thrash outro. It May Never End truly wears its influences on its sleeve, but Neil Spicer has come out with a free EP of very solid music (minus a few minor mixing misjudgements), which is well worth a listen.

You can visit the Myspace here, where the link to the full (and 100% free) album appears to be dead - or the facebook, where as far as i can see its still live.

Alternatively, pick up the fantastic Last Light from below (via mediafire).

It May Never End - Last Light (MP3) (taken from Such Is Life)

Introducing.. Bagheera

Bagheera are an unsigned band from the University of Liverpool, quickly garnering a reputation and some well-deserved momentum following their first gig in May and the recent release of their free four-track, the Hollow Home EP. They already have a Steve Lamacq BBC6 single of the week and a Guardian new music feature under their belts, as well as flattering comparisons to Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear.

The music is dark and choral, with electro-acoustic melodies shuffled underneath almost totally inaudible vocals. The frequencies are low and post-punkish, and the whole feel of the music has a kind of transcendental, semi-ambient edge to it. The guitars are turned low but are very much awake, the structure and heavy reverbial sound of Bagheera's raw and tribal music is like nothing else. Grizzly Bear and Fleet Foxes comparisons are totally justified - you'll see for yourself.

Parts sound as if The Dodos formed an ambient post-punk band and covered Incubus - others as if Fleet Foxes are singing Fever Ray songs. Some sections could easily be hollowed out Animal Collective B-sides.

You can download the Hollow Home EP in obscenely high quality here, via mediafire.

The XX (Reading Festival 2009) LIVE REVIEW

The XX (who i originally introduced back in June) are a group of four 20 year olds who from humble beginnings have quickly become one of the most hyped bands on the planet. They hail from South West London, and met at the Elliot School - joining 3 members of Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet as famous musical alumni. Their quiet confidence and dark, dreamy pop sound has landed them slots at Reading & Leeds festivals, as well as support slots on Florence & The Machine's fall tour. They've toured with The Big Pink and Micachu and have a tour of their own planned for November.

Their sound is downbeat, with dark and bassy post-punk guitar lines shadowing softly spoken lyrics. With a touch more intensity, The XX's songs could have been written for Aaliyah - Romy Madley Crofts voice is 100% good enough, and they make no secret of a huge pop, soul and RnB influence on their music. The mood and execution, and the band's style is where they depart.

The XX were certainly one of the most, if not the most, downbeat acts at Reading. They delivered their songs with barely a word in between, with very little movement other than looks of reserved satisfaction. The lack of act they gave was quite clearly not due to any kind of nervousness - that's just the kind of people they appear. It would have seemed wrong for The XX to be, say, jumping around the stage like most of the acts at Reading. Particularly in this case, less was more.

No matter how famous the XX get, you can just tell from seeing them live that its not going to affect them, they truly let the music do the talking - throughout the set they only spoke to reveal 'free t-shirts at the front', and that Teardrops 'is a cover'. Furthermore, every delivery was spot on - they recreated their material perfectly, showing no signs of nervousness and no slips. Their stripped to the bones performance was totally appropriate. I can genuinely say that The XX were the only thing i saw at Reading Festival that truly blew me away. They stood out in more ways than i could have imagined.

The eponymous debut is out now (CD - VINYL via Amazon).

The XX - Crystalised (MP3) (taken from the album 'XX')

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are an eccentric and evidently also slightly insane ten man folk collective from LA whos manic Yes-style folk rock ensembles and rock ballad melodies have been leaving crowds capulated since mid-2007. They've been together as a band since 2005, but only started releasing material in early 2009. Up From Below (the debut album out July 14 on Vagrant Records/Rough Trade) followed a series of EPs and 7" releases spread from March through April and May.

Phone-less and internet-less, this shoeless band of psychedelic folksters sound like the War On Drugs and the Dirty Projectors moulded together - there are definitely elements of Born Ruffians, Bob Dylan, and classic arrangements of Bruce Springsteen and The Hold Steady in and amongst their dense and folky instrumentation. The Dave Longstreth of the bunch - principle songwriter for his rowdy assembly of musicians, notably, is former Ima Robot frontman Alex Ebert.

Ed Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros have delved into more than just music as a form of media; in the same way The Arcade Fire and Sigur Ros have spent their time recently, the band have tried their trained hand at film-making, with the second installment of their 12 part feature length musical production due soon and the first - Desert Song hitting screens this June.



The first single post-album release, 40 Day Dream/Geez Louise 7" came out on August 30th, and is available to buy through the band's myspace. The band have been in the Daytrotter session studio all day today, and their tracks are up today for download through the Daytrotter website.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Om Nashi Me (MP3)

Buy the debut Up From Below via Amazon.

What can I say, the video is a bit big and a bit strange, but also quite entertaining.