The last ever Seven Songs takes on a festive theme, which is particularly relevant to Slow Club. Since they’ve just released a Christmas EP, where they take on a couple of Darlene Love classics, as well as their own seasonal tunes, it seemed appropriate to ask them for seven Christmas songs. So Charles has kindly [...]
Although I’ve spent a lot of time bigging up The Wave Pictures in the past, I’m afraid I’ve been a bit lax this year. It’s not like East London’s kings of scruffy lo-fi pop haven’t been busy, they’re still plying their excellent trade in the capital’s seedier venues, and they had an album - If [...]
Jesca Hoop has come with celebrity endorsements, from none less than Tom Waits himself, for whom she apparently used to work as a nanny. Well, if she not only comes with the great man’s seal of musical approval, but has been trusted to look after his kids, that’s good enough for me to give her [...]
Alan Pownall doesn’t give too much away about himself. Do a Google search and see what you find. But although there may not be very much info out there just now, expect more to come your way soon. When all the press and blogs get in a tizzy about their tips for 2010, expect Alan’s [...]
Today’s Seven Songs comes from someone you probably haven’t heard of, but I think you should. Line and a Dot - who is more ordinarily Sarah from Northampton - was first pitched to me by a small indie label called Things to Make and Do as new female folk artist along the lines of Elliot [...]
Sparrow and the Workshop are one these bands who you might find hard to pinpoint exactly what you like about them, but you like them anyway. They remind me of The National, not because they sound anything like them, but just because they’re great without doing anything obviously radical or different. The more obvious comparisons [...]
The first time I saw The Miserable Rich, one of the stand-out songs from their set was the cover of Hot Chip’s Over and Over. Usually the best cover versions are those which totally re-interpret a song and somehow keep the spirit of the original intact, and their version certainly did that. Look it up [...]
Although having a David Sitek-produced album will make people sit up and take notice of you, I’d like to think that there’s more to Holly Miranda’s music than studio trickery from a renowned producer. I’m also sure that the folks at XL looked further than the TV on the Radio man when they signed her [...]
Just when you thought she couldn’t get much more stripped down, Nancy Elizabeth does exactly that. Her 2007 album Battle and Victory was a beautiful, minimal affair, but one garnished with a host of exotic instrumentation. For the follow-up, Wrought Iron, the Wigan-raised, Manchester-based singer songwriter has cut away all possible fat and created a [...]
I used to wonder why The Pipettes weren’t huge. So much about them - three attractive girls, polka dot dress ‘uniforms’, sparkling pop songs, synchronised dancing - shouted Saturday night TV entertainment rather than sweaty indie dives. So I can only assume it was the lack of a major label advertising budget that prevented them [...]
