If I was prone to rabid tabloid hyperbole I’d say that we were being swamped by a wave of lo-fi indie pop right now. But that makes it sound like it’s a bad thing. I’m quite pleased about it actually, particularly since there’s a lot of good stuff and it seems to be coming from [...]
There’s long been a snobbery about singers who don’t write their own songs, like somehow they’re worth less than people who do. There’s a debate to be had there, but all I’m saying for now is that Sam Amidon proves that you don’t need to write your own stuff to be amazing. For a few [...]
Today saw the welcome arrival of a song from Johnny Flynn’s new album Been Listening, which is out in June. I didn’t really connect very well with his Sweet William EP last year, but Kentucky Pill is a strong return to the form which made A Larum such a decent debut album. With added horns. [...]
Silver Columns - Browbeaten (Live at Homegame 2010) from Song, by Toad on Vimeo.
The prize for most head-noddingly infectious song of last year surely must have gone to Brow Beaten by Silver Columns. Its curious blend of Moroder and Bronski Beat generated plenty of internet words, most of which were “who are they?”. Everyone knows [...]
There’s a lot of great fuzzy lo-fi indie pop around at the moment, but one mark of quality among the masses is Captured Tracks - the Brooklyn label run by Mike ‘Blank Dogs’ Sniper. He’s already snagged our Veronica Falls and Spectrals, and the latest noisy Brits to release something on his label are South [...]
This album is a strong argument for not rushing things. It’s the debut album from Peggy Sue, but it’s not like they’ve just arrived, all green and wide-eyed. Unlike their mate Kate Nash who was pushed too fast too soon, blinking half-finished into the glare of publicity, Rosa and Katy have taken time to hone [...]
Remember mash-ups? Quite the thing, back in 2002. Only they weren’t called mash-ups then - that came later when you couldn’t move around the Hype Machine for them. The good old-fashioned ‘bootleg’ was what they were called back then. And their very own ‘Now’ compilation was The Best Bootleg Album in the World Ever, which [...]
These days, it’s increasingly hard to go to a gig without knowing something about the bands playing. When was the last time you were surprised by someone popping up on a bill who you’ve never heard, and never even heard of before? It seems like years since that happened to me, until last December.
First up [...]
My four-month gig drought was finally broken on Saturday night at the Slaughtered Lamb. I’ve been itching for a while now, but in a way, it had to be Meursault. Not only because I think they’re one of the best bands in the country right now, but also because despite them playing a handful of [...]
Starting a record label seems to be a natural progression from the passion for music that drives a blog or website. Matthew, Song by Toad has been doing it for ages. Gorilla vs. Bear announced that he’s doing the same on Monday. And also this week, more interesting to me, comes the news of ILL [...]
