With their debut single, Dead House, London duo The Dead Strange did something rather special for me in reminding me why I used to be so in love with ‘guitar music’. Dead House is a dirty, bluesy affair, complete with bouncing drum beat and swaggering, uncompromising guitar chords, hinting at the more muscular direction Arctic Monkeys showcased whilst under the direction of Josh Homme. Yet The Dead Strange don’t stop there, there’s touches of The Black Keys and 60’s psychedelic rock littered throughout the magical four minute course, making for the first great rock song of 2014.
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New: The Dead Strange – Dead House

Its a rainy night in Sheffield, water streaking the windows. My apartment a few streets from a main road and from the balcony, I can hear traffic. Blue flashes of tram lines shaking in the distance. I’m alone. It’s nights like this I play the music of Cameron Crook.
Despite a a lot of electronic input Cameron’s music is incomprehensibly organic. A  trip hop influenced tapestry of glitch beats, samples and guitar. Years ago at a tiny pub in Chorley, I remember hearing Cameron playing a gig under the moniker of We Don’t Know Who You Are Anymore. The place was full of the wrong crowd but the music sounded so right. Instrumental and influential, pulsing crescendos pair up with lo-fi moments of tranquility.
Cameron Crook’s newest release ‘The Nettle Patch’ blends field recordings, live instruments and samples into tracks, beautiful on their own and magical together. When I moved into this apartment, people asked me why I’d want live on my own. Cameron’s music answers the question – we all have to be alone sometimes. I don’t necessarily mean that in a depressing way, open a window, turn up your speakers, hit play and see what I mean.
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4199397171/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=7/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://camerontcrook.bandcamp.com/album/the-nettle-patch">The Nettle Patch by Cameron Crook</a></iframe>
Cameron Crook was kind enough to let Crack in The Road give away this track as a mpfree, download it <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2011/08/Cameron-Crook-The-Nettle-Patch-07-Nettles.mp3">here</a>. You can stream the rest of the album and even buy a copy from the man himself at <a href="https://camerontcrook.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>.
Alongside Cameron’s solo project he also plays with a number of other musicians, produces and creates the occasional piece of art. For the latest check out <a title="Cameron Crook's Homepage" href="https://cameroncrook.co.uk/index.html">CameronCrook.co.uk</a> or find him on <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/remembermeee">twitter</a>.

Introducing & MPfree: Cameron Crook

Impressing with their <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/23851-new-inner-oceans-ready-your-ghost/" target="_blank">debut demo</a> back in August of this year, Denver quartet Inner Oceans are seeing out the year with the release of two more working ideas, I Don’t Mind and The Night. As with their first outing, there’s hints at a movement towards a fully blown stadium ready masterpiece, yet maintains all the sincerity and honesty of a far more minimal composition. Of the two, I Don’t Mind stands out as a potential single, and given that they’ve only been together a matter of months, it’s a mightily exciting progression of their sound. Check out both new tracks below.
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New: Inner Oceans – I Don’t Mind / The Night (Demos)

After the online success of forthcoming A-side single <a href="www.crackintheroad.com/music/25808-new-francis-lung-selfish-man/" target="_blank">A Selfish Man</a>, Francis Lung has released the B-side to the 7″, out via <a href="https://www.atelierciseaux.com/releases.php?lang=en&rel=sg" target="_blank">Atelier Ciseaux</a>. Written from the perspective of someone who has survived a natural disaster, it’s more reserved yet no less beautiful than the previously heard flip-side. Overwhelming in it’s sense of remorse, guilt and even frustration, it’s just another indication of the diversity, and beauty that Francis Lung is able to write with.
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New: Francis Lung – Tsunami Blues (Cause Of Me)

Hailing from Brooklyn (where else?), KYLIAN aka Emily Holden may well be one of the most vibrant artists around at the moment, both in sound and online representation. Bold, colourful imagery echoes her confidently alluring, electro-pop sound, part Haim, part CHVRCHES. Remind Me, her ‘debut’ track, is a five and a half minute journey through 80’s influences, and a devilishly current, slick aesthetic, with her vocals and the rigid drumbeat taking centre stage, not to mention throwing in a couple of stunning string sections. A member of art-rock group Futurist and folk outfit The Album Lead as well as being a classically trained violinist, it’s only a matter of time before the insanely talented KYLIAN is gracing the pages of all the hottest blogs.
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New: KYLIAN – Remind Me

Yet another teenage wonderkid, sixteen year old Grace Mitchell channels the spirit of her namesake (Joni) Mitchell, alongside the likes of Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding on her debut tracks, Your Design and Broken Over You, two lustfully elegant slices of bold, extravagant pop. Dropping Your Design yesterday, it immediately fell onto the radars of <a href="https://pigeonsandplanes.com/2014/08/daily-discovery-grace-mitchell/" target="_blank">Pigeons & Planes</a> and <a href="https://disconaivete.com/post/95211393981" target="_blank">Disco Naïveté</a>, and there’s no doubting that her songs will continue to grow from here. There’s a startling maturity to her music, in both composition and lyrical make-up, that in truth, raise her well above the vast majority of her contemporaries. Check out both tracks below.
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Introducing: Grace Mitchell

I’ll be honest, I’m not too keen on the name – Exploradora. Ugh, it has a clumsy, cumbersome feel to it, quite unlike their debut track, Yard Rock, which is a slick, vaguely Yeah Yeah Yeah’s style number, but replacing the ferocious, driving guitars with overly emotional vocal sections. Perfectly polished, Yard Rock is ready to seep into ears and hearts all around the world. Check it out below.
you’ve got me sleeping with my eyes open now
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New: Exploradora – Yard Rock

You may have noticed that the website has been eerily quiet over the last few days. Rather than being down to fatigue or disinterest, the reasons for the silence were actually pretty exciting: we were hosting a freakin’ SXSW showcase, putting the final touches to the BrainChild Line-up and cooking up this little baby: CITR LIVE, a new, monthly, art and music showcase that aims to blend the 2 worlds seamlessly.
The aim is simple, to take our online space into the real world in a way that sums up the blog and what we do, whilst also engaging with our readership in an innovative new way.
To put it even more simply, we’re not just putting on another gig.
Every month we’ll handpick a fine artist or collective to collaborate with a musician that we’ve been hyping up on these very pages.
But rather than waxing in vague marketing terms about the project and what it is, we’d rather show you. Below is a gallery of the fantastic MadeScapes ^ and their visceral multimedia installations, with Soundcloud links the killer artists we’ve booked this month.
See you there!
8-LATE 
£5
BUSSEY BUILDING: PECKHAM
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/525433147500120/">EVENT RSVP</a>
MadeScapes ^
<a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/20514-announcement-citr-live-001-jamie-isaac-iyes-azakel-kirk-spencer-visuals-by-madescapes/attachment/45079_10151131420116561_1981764929_n/" rel="attachment wp-att-20522"><img class=" wp-image-20522 alignnone" src="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/uploads/2013/03/45079_10151131420116561_1981764929_n.jpg" alt="" width="432" height="288" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/45079_10151131420116561_1981764929_n.jpg 720w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/45079_10151131420116561_1981764929_n-300x200.jpg 300w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2013/03/45079_10151131420116561_1981764929_n-50x33.jpg 50w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /></a>
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Jamie Isaac
With his first EP due out in May, this is surely the year that Jamie Isaac surges into the eyes and ears of just about everyone. Delicately arranged yet vast and brooding in its scope, Jamie has a very special sound on his hands; he’ll be playing the entire new EP at our first show.
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IYES
Brighton’s IYES’s came out of nowhere when they dropped their ridiculously buss-worthy debut track Lighthouse. A track that inspired me to write this, “Sure they want you to think about loss, that special someone that got away, but they also want to place you in a nightclub at 3am, gormlessly staring into a strobe light, wondering how the fuck you’re going to bounce back from it all.” It also made me shout at my computer a lot, i do that when i like music.
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(UPDATE) MOKO 

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Kirk Spencer
With his second EP just dropped, Kirk Spencer is playing his first London date for a little while now to promo the record. The EP is MORE than worth a listen, chopping and playing with an insane number of styles to create something that sounds genuinely original.
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Announcement: CitR Live #001 – Jamie Isaac, MOKO, IYES, Kirk Spencer – Visuals By MADESCAPES ^

Longtime CitR favourite Jamie Isaac comes into 2014 off the back of one of last years finest EPs, and new cut She Dried suggests an even more exciting direction for the nineteen year old Londoner. Pinned down by a choppier beat than we’re used to from Isaac, the vocals are stronger, the production is bolder and there’s a much more sensual, dare I say sexual vibe to the track. Check it below.
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New: Jamie Isaac – She Dried

I’ve been waiting for Lakutis to drop 3 Seashells for an absolute age. Ever since I first heard his verse on Das Racist’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMeAvOgDUdE" target="_blank">‘Amazing’</a> I’ve been a keen follower of the rapper and this release on Greedhead, Himanshu Suri’s label, hasn’t let me down.
The mixtape is short and sweet, clocking in at under 25 minutes, which suits his rapping style perfectly. Lakutis’ lyrics tend to be quick-fire and referential, favouring splattering homophones and shout-outs to film and TV in his nasal tones. The album title itself is a reference to the Snipes/Stallone masterpiece Demolition Man. If you use the term masterpiece lightly.
The beats are constantly intriguing and come from a number of underground producers, as well as some more established names like Hot Sugar, with Steel Tipped Dove providing some of the stand-out tracks. The only song that left me feeling a bit cold is ‘Body Scream’, which comes across as a cheesy rap slow jam, but pretty much everything else on the mixtape is fire. Listen to ‘Too Ill For The Law’ or ‘Jesus Piece’ and tell me I’m wrong.
You can give 3 Seashells a spin below and download it in the same place. Rappers this good need to get paid.
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Mixtape: Lakutis – 3 Seashells

New Sunboy is always great. This track comes courtesy of <a href="https://dontneednomelody.com/" target="_blank">Don’t Need No Melody’s</a> 80N7 label compilation (if you aren’t already on their blog, check it out; always posting killer, unheard music), and is another glorious sprawling psych-rock indebted outing. With their lead vocals getting more and more confident with every release, they’re rapidly becoming one of the most exciting new bands around right now. Check out A.B.C.D.N.A. below.
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New: Sunboy – A.B.C.D.N.A.

Having made an impact a couple of years back with her debut <a href="https://wafia.bandcamp.com/releases" target="_blank">self-titled EP</a>, Brisbane’s WAFIA is really starting to make an impact, most notably with a feature on Japanese Wallpaper’s <a href="https://soundcloud.com/japanesewallpaper/breathe-in-ft-wafia" target="_blank">Breathe In</a> a little under a year ago. As well as re-uploading her own original track, Alice, she’s also put out a superb cover of Mario’s 2004 classic Let Me Love You. Produced by 23 year old Aussie Jack Vanzet aka <a href="https://soundcloud.com/thrupence" target="_blank">Thrupence</a>, it’s one of the best covers you’ll hear this year. Check it out below, alongside her own track, Alice.
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New: WAFIA – Let Me Love You (Mario Cover)

In possibly the most remarkable line up announcement of the year so far, Primavera have revealed their full festival bill this evening. Initiated by the screening of a line up announcement movie, along with a live stream for those not lucky enough to find them in a handful of Spanish cities, what Primavera has assembled is an absolute stellar set of artists.
Having already announced Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Pixies, new line up highlights include Queens of the Stone Age, Kendrick Lamar, Disclosure, St. Vincent, Metronomy, Chvrches, Warpaint, Jamie XX, Real Estate, The National, Haim, John Grant, Jagwar Ma, Factory Floor, Nine Inch Nails, Volcano Choir, Mogwai, Foals, Cut Copy, and Ty Segall.
You can read the full line up in the poster above, and you can purchase tickets, in the inevitably short time they’ll be available, <a href="https://www.primaverasound.es/entradas" target="_blank">here</a>

News: Primavera Announces Full Line Up

Showcasing their debut LP with a first of its kind blog-orientated promotional campaign (<a href="https://bodymusic.alunageorge.com/" target="_blank">more info here</a>), British dance duo AlunaGeorge have made Body Music available for online streaming, ahead of its release next week. Having featured on Disclosure’s smash hit White Noise, the London two, piece who came second in BBC’s Sound of 2013, are set to follow in the footsteps of their previous collaborators. With a series of hyped shows at festivals over this summer, including playing to a packed tent at Glastonbury, Body Music is a record packed full of potential singles. Featuring the previously heard You Know You Like It, Attracting Flies and Your Drums, Your Love, you can expect Body Music to be one of the most played records of the summer.
Body Music is released next week on <a href="https://www.vagrant.com/" target="_blank">Vagrant</a>.
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Stream: AlunaGeorge – Body Music

It is circumstances or chance of nature is what Lax focus’s on and attempts to capture. At the core of Lax’s work is her choices that carefully frame natural patterns.
Working with the land itself, digging at the river beds of Bristol, to gather the silt for her beautifully rhythmic floor pieces. Delicately drying, cracking after it’s carefully and delicately applied to the floor of the gallery. Alongside her floor pieces Lax has equally beautiful and painstaking drawings that run alongside, as a means to capture the shifting of time within our environmental surroundings.
I myself cannot wait to see her work in the flesh, alongside the work of Kathy Hinde, and Alice Vandeleur-Boorer, in Bristol’s Looking Glass gallery and it latest show “As Far As The Eye Can See”.
Opening TONIGHT and running for the rest of the week, “As Far As The Eye Can See” looks to be a really great combinations of perspectives to create a really exciting show on contemporary ecology.
Check Out More Of Laurie’s Work <a href="https://www.laurielax.co.uk/">HERE</a>
See More About The Looking Glass’ Nights and Show <a href="https://thelookingglassbristol.com/">HERE</a>

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Artist Profile: Laurie Lax

Feature image: ‘Big Sauce’ 2014
As well as being a contributor here at Crack in the Road, Sophie Chapman is also a multimedia and installation artist currently in her final year at Central Saint Martins.
I caught up with her ahead of tomorrows CitR Live #3 where she’ll be exhibiting some of her latest work.
 
CC: One thing that intrigues me about your work is a figurative precariousness and fragility paired with a harshly handled, almost cobbled together aesthetic, how do you manage to balance the two?
SC: Throughout the work, in practice i.e. in making it and when it is done and I am arranging the stuff- there is a constant attempt to balance some areas and off balance others. And it’s tricky. I want some parts of it to build a rhythm and allow the viewer in that way, and other things to throw that off. In doing so I hope to achieve an experience similar to everyday moments of navigation, you always unconsciously try and make sense of what’s going on around you. The objects are like drunk objects, not behaving how they should.
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‘Art about cats, exploring consciousness’ 2014
Do you have any overarching themes to your practice or does each piece of work tell us something different?
I am at a moment of trying not to tackle everything at once, even though it feels like I should. To take on examples of the work rather than tackling the world. So the overarching themes relate to consumption I guess, as to drink in experience, bodily, and information wise, is like an ongoing glugging down, even if you don’t want to. Within this is an interest in ‘things’ the feel of things and the colors and textures of things. How this can be fucked with to demonstrate their thingly-ness.
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‘Chewing beige, tribute to Rauschenberg’s chicken burger’ 2014
How do you incorporate the viewer in your installations?
I am working really hard right now to do this, it seems to be my main focus. In a physical sense, I’ve been thinking of obstructing entry to the space, changing the way one moves around the ‘stuff’, the affect that has emotionally- if you get to slump into a chair, or stand up too straight not to knock something over. And also in that all the stuff is full to the brim loaded with pop cultural/artistic/historical references, even if half-arsed and not pursued, the pictures of Gazza, the pub carpet, the tie-dyed net curtains rely on the audience’s previous experience of the material, or similar material. So then in a way it becomes up to the individual how far they pull on these different strings, how much they let these signifiers take over the work or not.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on a piece for the CSM open studios event, which will incorporate suggestions of bathroom décor, with the furniture of a corner shop. Also hopefully adding sound to the work for the first time. Which is another element I’d like to play with, another material to throw off the immediate understanding of the work.
I’ve been thinking about this in relation to keeping the work mobile, including changing the arrangement throughout the duration of the show, I think adding sound will create another layer that can be experienced in very slight, momentary ways. Adding to the multiple versions of the work- as people seeing the work at different points in the show, will experience it very slightly altered from each other. I think this keeps the things activated and keep them dying as sculptures.
 <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/uncategorized/27320-artist-interview-sophie-chapman/attachment/img_7473/" rel="attachment wp-att-27326"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-27326" alt="" src="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/03/IMG_7473.jpg" width="1402" height="2102" srcset="https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/03/IMG_7473.jpg 2336w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/03/IMG_7473-200x300.jpg 200w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/03/IMG_7473-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://api.crackintheroad.com/images/2014/03/IMG_7473-33x50.jpg 33w" sizes="(max-width: 1402px) 100vw, 1402px" /></a>‘The feeling when your lying on the bed’ 2014
I think this ongoing, open ended-ness relates back to some of my overarching concerns- with wanting to simulate a contemporary perspective of the world, what it is to be around.
Our present moment is one of the constant stream of information and ideas in the present day, things are very much unfinished, unsure, so many half read versions of the truth through the flow of images and language on the internet, the tube, the street etc. This is my way of encapsulating the flux that I am constantly endeavouring and perhaps failing to pin down in my work.
What is at the forefront of your research right now?
I’ve been reading a lot about space, the politics of space. As well as looking at research as practice- process driven work is very important to me, exploring intuition in practice, and the importance of not knowing and uncertainty. There are some great shows on in London at the moment, especially from female artists such as Trisha Baga and Helen Marten, which has been a massive help for my work. I’ve also been looking at poetic strategies, as a messing with language is inherent in what I am into.
I am also researching bean bags and garden chairs, I want to create an inside outside feel, and that slump I was on about. Pointed to the corner at something that is not a TV.
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Installation shot ‘Its About to Start’ performance event, Central Saint Martins, 2014
Other than CitR Live #3, where else can we see your work at the moment?
I am showing in an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/134852236685544/?fref=ts">Open Studios</a> event at Central Saint Martins on Friday 14th March and at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/486264948152204/?fref=ts">Thames Tower Residency</a> Friday 21st March. Soon the second issue of <a href="https://tripmag.co.uk/">TRIP</a> will be out featuring some of my photographs. And a profile in an upcoming issue of Avenir Magazine.
Thanks Sophie!
<a href="https://cargocollective.com/sophiechapman">https://cargocollective.com/sophiechapman</a>

Artist Interview: Sophie Chapman

Premiered on Zane Lowe’s show earlier tonight, From Eden is taken from Hozier’s new EP out 31st March. Following on from the resounding success of last years single Take Me To Church, 2014 will see Hozier take in the festival circuit, with dates at Leeds/Reading Festival and SXSW already announced. Practically written for the performing circuit, From Eden is just another string in his bow for what will surely be a captivating live set.
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New: Hozier – From Eden

‘if there’s a cool spot in hell / I hope you’ll get it’ Isn’t that just the ultimate declaration of modern love? Multi-talented singer songwriter Mat Cothran has released music under the Coma Cinema moniker for several years now, and whilst all the output under that moniker has been exemplary, it would be offense to simply write-off Elvis Depressedly as another side-project. With this usual self-depreciating wit combining with a cunningly realistic sense of broken faith, Weird Honey is one of Elvis Depressedly’s finest tracks to date. Check it out.
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New: Elvis Depressedly – Weird Honey

The name of Best Kept Secret Festival denotes mystery and the undiscovered, but the acts gracing the stages around Beekse Bergen park this June include some of the most celebrated and discussed in contemporary music. Here we look at just a few of the big names playing by the lake from June 20-22. For more ticket information head <a href="https://www.bestkeptsecret.nl/en/tickets/" target="_blank">here</a>, and for coach travel from the UK, check out <a href="https://www.planetfestival.co.uk/festival/best-kept-secret" target="_blank">Planet Festival</a>.
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 Interpol – Friday, Stage 2, 21.15 
Paul Banks and his not-so-merry band of beatniks return from their two year hiatus and in September will release El Pintor, their fifth album. People will flock to see them for pulsing hooks from that and classic records Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics (now twelve & ten years old respectively, so ‘classic’ is only slightly improper).
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Pixies – Friday, Stage 1, 22.15 
Ignore the Apple ad – Pixies are going to be the throwback band of 2014 festivals, like Pulp in 2011 or Oasis in 20-soon (love you Noel). Catch them first at BKS, where you can hear new album Indie Cindy, groove to the the bass of Debaser and ask yourself again, Where Is My Mind?
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Slowdive – Saturday, Stage 2, 18.15 
There may not be a sound more suited to the idyllic setting of this festival than that created by this Berkshire band, so how fortunate that Slowdive are back. Whether you are revisiting after twenty-plus years or just encountering their music, this will be the perfect place to embrace their dreamy guitar lines and soothing vocals.
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CHVRCHES – Saturday, Stage 2, 21.40 
2013 and indeed the first half of 2014 belonged to CHVRCHES, but what do you do AFTER you have electro-popped to glory around the globe? A good chance to try some new tracks with a savvy crowd, perhaps? Who knows, but whatever Lauren, Iain & Martin perform will be sure to get you dancing. God may be dead, but one senses CHVRCHES are just getting started.
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The Horrors – Sunday, Stage 2, 16.45 
So Now You Know’ from this year’s Luminous is one of the best things Faris Badwan and co. have released, and what’s more, it sounds epic live. Recalling The Verve’s ‘So It Goes’ in more than just name, it is a track that deserves to be heard before you, and that’s before you get to eight years and four albums’ worth of other diverse material.
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Belle & Sebastian – Sunday, Stage 1, 19.30 
It is a big year for Scotland, but some things Caledonian will surely stay the same. We can rely on Stuart Murdoch & bandmates to put the indie in independence referendum (not sorry) with tunes to stretch your smile from the Netherlands all the way back to Glasgow.
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Elbow – Sunday, Stage 1, 21.45 
A festival this welcoming to all-comers deserves the people’s band to close the weekend. Elbow are surely that, their expansive sound like two huge Northern arms thrown around the world. The Take Off and Landing of Everything has been received with joy by both old and new fans, and like their previous efforts will probably take on a new dimension in the live arena.
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Best Kept Secret 2014: 7 Big Names

Bizarrely named after the retired Spanish footballer, Ivan Campo have been riding the Manchester freak folk scene for years.
Keeping off the mainstream’s radar and clinging tightly to creative control of their compositions. Campo’s cleverly constructed melodies are captivating. Their lyrics often intricate and intelligent.
To celebrate the launch of their newest album ‘Seven Ancient Wonders’ the band is giving away two tracks, Terracotta Army and Porcelain Pagoda, available to download free from their <a title="Ivan Campo - Bandcamp" href="https://ivancampo.bandcamp.com/album/terracotta-army-porcelain-pagoda">Bandcamp</a> page, you can also stream them below.
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If you’re in Manchester you can even hit the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/623196207714697/">album launch party</a> tonight at the Castle Hotel, with support from Otters Gear. Tickets are £5 with a free EP on the door.
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ivancampo.net">https://www.facebook.com/ivancampo.net</a>
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/atheist_lenses/6790841143/">Atheist_Lenses</a> via <a href="https://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

MPfree: Ivan Campo – Terracotta Army / Porcelain Pagoda

Somerville trio Gem Club are criminally underrated. Their 2011 album Breakers remains a sombre, rainy day beauty; that manages to come across as both utterly immersive, and somehow distant. New cut Hypericum doesn’t alter the formula too much, with the fragile vocals and intimate piano sections combining with the bolder, expansive string parts. Check out Hypericum below, taken from In Roses, out 28 January on Hardly Art.
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New: Gem Club – Hypericum

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/bisonbonasusband">Bison Bonasus</a> remain shrouded in anonymity. The London based artist/band just released his/their debut single, the spell bounding If The Moon Did Not I Wouldn’t Either. With an epic intro hitting you like a shock wave that feels like a ’70s art-pop all-star jamming, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bisonbonasusband">Bison Bonasus</a> explore the big orchestrated psychedelic pop latitude with an innocence and a playful heart. A dazzlingly stylish work that recalls <a href="https://idiotglee.bandcamp.com/album/life-without-jazz">Idiot Glee</a>‘s artistic pop roots and leaves one with hopes that much greater things are upon us….
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New: Bison Bonasus – If The Moon Did Not I Wouldn’t Either

With just over four weeks until this year’s London Popfest, the line-up has almost been finalised. Taking place across three venues in London, this year’s event boasts appearances from Cambridge based <a href="https://hongkonginthe60s.com/">Hong Kong in the 60s,</a> The Orchids from Glasgow and <a href="https://burningheartsmusic.com/biography/">Burning Hearts </a>all the way from Finland.
Ok, I’m not going to lie, when I first heard about London Popfest I wasn’t instantly sold. Staccato electric guitar and vocals lost in reverb all seemed pretty 2005. So I pulled together a Spotify playlist of some of the artists at this year’s festival. Two weeks later I’ve got my ticket, my tambourine and I’m more twee than<a title="Johan Angergard, KING OF TWEE" href="https://www.qromag.com/uploads/2011/04/labradorinterviewa.jpg"> this guy</a>.
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Tickets are available at: <a href="https://londonpopfest.com/">londonpopfest.com/</a>
Friday 1 March at the Grosvenor
Young Romance 8:15 
Burning Hearts 9:00 
English Singles 9:45 
Milky Wimpshake 10:30
(How Does It Feel to Be Loved? at the Canterbury Arms in Brixton for post-gig dancing!)
Saturday 2 March at 100 Club
Big Wave 4:00 
The Tuts 4:50 
The Garlands 5:40 
Martha 6:30 
September Girls 7:20 
This Many Boyfriends 8:10 
Speedmarket Avenue 9:00 
Standard Fare 10:00
(dancing until very late!)
Sunday 3 March at the Lexington (please note early start!)
Hong Kong in the 60s 3:45 
Flowers 4:30 
Cocoanut Groove 5:15 
The Orchids 6:15

News: Line up confirmed for London Popfest 2013

Just putting this out there, Kings of Convenience do nothing for me. I’ve no problem with them, they just never clicked for me. Which is why I’m particularly happy to find one half of the duo, Erlend Øye (aka The Whitest Boy Alive, another no clicker) is seemingly turning his attention and clear talents to a new use, creating 70s Italo-pop pastiches.
La Prima Estate immediately sets itself up as firmly indebted to the works of that era, coming off as the soundtrack to every it’s-not-racist-it’s-just-a-bit-of-fun 70s comedy that ITV4 plays. The synth flute is delightfully weedy and the Italian lyrics successfully evoke the sentiment the track aims for – if incomprehensible to an ignorant like myself.
Sure, this isn’t going to top any of end of year lists, or going to set the blog-hype machine on fire, but these days that’s nicely refreshing. Coming at the end of July, it’s the perfect summer holiday track.
Shame it’s pissing it down.
By the way, answers on a postcard: what’s the name of that 80s detective series with an antique dealer in it that was seemingly always on reruns throughout my childhood? This sounds like a cut from that.
 
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New: Erlend Øye – La Prima Estate

Floridian duo, X priest X are causing quite the stir across the inter-web at the moment, particularly with new track Isn’t It So. Fellow Florida based producer Dromes has given their previous track Samurai the remix treatment and its quite the listen. The bubblegum pop aesthetic has been cast aside, with Madeline Priest’s vocals scattered loosely throughout this thoroughly dark and electronic affair . This stuff feels like Orlando at 2am. Give it a listen below:
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New: Dromes – Only One (ft. X Priest X)

Well this is just a little bit beautiful. A year on from the release of their debut track, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/aquilouk/calling-me" target="_blank">Calling Me</a>, British duo AQUILO (Ben and Tom) return with the simply wondrous You There. Tender and elegantly composed, it’s easy to see how the tranquil nature of the environment in which they recorded (the Lake District) has rubbed off on the track. This is Bon Iver levels of artistry.
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New: AQUILO – You There

‘Draw your gun and fire between 
Our future plans and the gasoline, 
the reddest eyes than turn to green 
whilst bruising blue in the sea’
Elusive new outfit Séyi dazzle on their debut track Icecold, with the help of a ‘flatmate’ on backing vocals. Purposefully mysterious? You bet. Bloody brilliant? Of course.
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New: Séyi – Icecold

Oh boy, this is a good remix. Nashville duo Jensen Sportag take the knife to Change, by BBC Sound of 2014 nominee BANKS. Turning what originally comes across as an ode to victims of domestic abuse, into a late night chillout session, it’s the best remix of the year thus far, maintaing the sincerity that made the LA songstresses version so appealing in the first place.
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New: BANKS – Change (Jensen Sportag Remix)

Scantily clad women pouring milk and froot loops all over their writhing bodies? This is like my seventeenth birthday party all over again. Manchester’s hottest new export, Father Sculptor have unveiled (via <a href="https://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/news/premiere-father-sculptor-unveil-lowlands-video/" target="_blank">DIY</a>) these slightly unsettling visuals to accompany forthcoming single Lowlands, featuring a couple of rather attractive young women. Iconic and heavily sexualised, it almost works as a direct contradiction to the grandiose sound of Father Sculptor, with the chorus of ‘long forgotten memories, of this city, still inside me / wanting to believe that I am free, that I can leave‘ providing the starkest contrast to the cereal induced self-mutilation.
Lowlands is taken from the Faith & Violence EP, out <a href="https://fathersculptor.bandcamp.com/music" target="_blank">15 April</a>. Keep your eyes peeled for a UK tour.
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Video: Father Sculptor – Lowlands

Brighton once again proving to be a hotspot for exciting new music, ‘dark pop’ duo MIAMIGO impress on their debut track, Opinions. Mixing the out-and-out festival-ready pop capabilities of Bastille with added positive of not being intensely annoying. Most likely initially written in a cramped bedroom somewhere, it’s quite a talent to be able to compose with such broad horizons. Check out Opinions below.
p.s. Isn’t there a part of you that wishes they were called MIHERMANO?
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New: MIAMIGO – Opinions

Sheffield based band Abe just dropped their debut EP, the mysteriously titled Heave-Ho and the aforementioned single is the perfect introduction to their sonic universe. The first thing you’ll notice is Clubbs Coldron‘s deep, alluring voice in heart aching electro-pop single Wink Wink. An ’80s inspired synth-pop ballad expertly toying with modern production techniques yet gushing with all the warm emotions of a misunderstood past. Wink Wink will have you craving more; tame this hunger is by streaming/purchasing their Heave-Ho EP at their <a href="https://abesmusic.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a> page.
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Introducing: Abe

With no location, no names, and no images, The Acid are arguably the first identity free outfit. Their self-titled debut EP, which has no official release date, but appears to have been streaming online for a couple of months, is slowly but surely racking up more and more plays. Almost rendering the term ‘track’ completely pointless, The Acid are able to switch seamlessly from glittering electronica, to minimal, whisper led pop at the flick of a switch, or in this case, the thud of a muted pad. There’s touches of sultry R&B (Basic Instinct) which the likes of BASECAMP and Ben Khan have done so well recently, alongside drone driven moments (Tumbling Lights).
Not only are The Acid anonymous, they’re also genre-less, rarely allowing themselves to be pinned down to a singular sound, and perhaps it’s this that makes their debut release such an engrossing listen. There’s shades of Radiohead, James Blake and Jai Paul in amongst the at times gloriously cluttered EP, an outing littered with potential, both when it comes to commercial success, and the composition of beautiful music. Clocking in at just over twenty minutes, it’s an introduction to be remembered, and has all the nuances of a group with far more experience than they suggest. Stream the EP below. (<a href="disconaivete.com" target="_blank">via</a>)
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Introducing: The Acid

If there’s one aspect of the internet’s role in promoting music that we tend to overlook, it’s the metaphorical flattening of the land, making it far easier for any musician, anywhere in the world to have their music heard. Sure, there’s no denying the fact that it’s still more difficult for an act from Central Africa to gain a following than it is for an act from Central London, but the scales are slowly becoming less and less biased. Greek duo <a href="https://plasticflowers.eu/" target="_blank">Plastic Flowers</a> are a true testament to this, having only been together for two years and already garned quite a following online, as well as the chance to play at this years SXSW Festival in Texas.
With their fantastic new EP Aftermath released days ago (through <a href="https://store.manicpoprecords.com/products/507676-plastic-flowers-aftermath-ep" target="_blank">Manic Pop! Records</a>), featuring the beautiful CitR reviewed <a href="https://api.crackintheroad.com/music/18259-video-plastic-flowers-in-you-im-lost/" target="_blank">In You I’m Lost</a>, the only way is up for this ‘self-desctructive pop’ group. We’re delighted to be able to bring you the first viewing of the visuals to accompany the EP’s lead track, Dead Promises, a twisted yet strangely well-rounded gem, drawing from early 00’s chart-busting pop and 90’s shoegaze. A video with a real organic feel to it, it’s a perfect reflection on the minimal, emotive and ever-so magical sounds of Plastic Flowers. Check it out below (directed by <a href="thecorereel.com" target="_blank">the cOre</a>), as well as the EP underneath that, which is available on 7″ vinyl and name your price download.
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/58182565">PLASTIC FLOWERS – DEAD PROMISES</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/stathismourdoukoutas">Stathis M. “one of the cOre”</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.
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Video Premiere: Plastic Flowers – Dead Promises

Liverpool singer/songwriter/producer Låpsley is arguably the most exciting new artist in the UK right now. With a couple of her tracks now certified ‘blog hits’, 2014 is shaping up rather nicely, and there’s no doubting that every major label will be keeping an eye on her. New track, Painter (valentine) strips things back to the core of her music; her elegant, considered production and her confident vocals. Play it once and you’ll play it five times.
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New: Låpsley – Painter (valentine)

This hauntingly delicate track comes courtesy of Sweden’s Nouv Shy aka Carl Boman, featuring <a href="https://soundcloud.com/gltorne" target="_blank">Gorgeous Gustroder</a>, although I’m not entirely sure in what capacity. Past almost feels like a long lost brother to RY X’s Berlin; lovelorn, tender and emotionally fraught. Listen below.
I would run with you for miles
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New: Nouv Shy – Past (Feat. Gorgeous Gustroder)

Artwork by Jimmy Wragg <a href="https://twitter.com/Sui42" target="_blank">(@Sui42)</a> 

There are moments in popular music history that, due to their seismic impact, will never be forgotten. Elvis joining the army. The Beatles’ first tour of America. Grandmaster Flash releasing ‘The Message’. The list goes on…
Well, let me be the first to tell you that James Blake and Chance The Rapper doing a song together is more important than all of them combined.
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‘Life Round Here’ opens with a shot of some trees. At first I thought there was something up with my laptop’s video, black and white? I was literally seconds away from loosing a primal howl before I realised this might mean something. The question was though, what?
Then I got it.
Stick with me here, and try to keep up, we’re about to delve into some serious analysis. Now, James Blake is an indie(-ish) artist, while Chance The Rapper politely categorises his genre for us, and these are two different types of music that rarely cross. You could say that their genres are polar opposites, the former generally inward looking, the latter outward, almost as if they’re BLACK AND WHITE. Stacking further layers of meaning, I noticed that James Blake is white and Chance is black! Imagine that!
I almost pissed myself from excitement.
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After this we’re treated to above image, which is something I haven’t managed to comprehend. Any idea what a group of “bad bitches” “poppin'” in front of a “stately home” could mean in this context? Me neither.
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Here, Chance The Rapper is in a ‘leader’ hat with a bird hanging hard in the back. Now, I could be wrong, but I think the cap is suggesting that Blake and Chance are some kind revolutionaries blazing a path of pure originality. Or it’s just a cap.
That fancy-ass crow then takes flight shortly after this shot. With birds being a symbol of boundless spirit and exploration, as they can travel to places humans are unable to, I think this builds on the suggestions of the creative track they’re trundling down. Put it this way, have you ever considered what the world would be like if rap and rock somehow combined to make a <a href="https://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/364417/Fred+Durst.jpg" target="_blank">new genre</a> of music <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk" target="_blank">unheard before</a>?
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The final shot of the video is of the (Brits read: fucking massive) (Americans read: undersized) car they’re driving down the road melting into the mist. Honestly, this shot kinda confused me, it’s definitely not the ending I would’ve chosen. I mean, if the whole of the ‘Life Round Here’ video is filled with juxtapositions to reference how CRAAAAZY it is for an indie musician and rapper to be working together, shouldn’t the end have reflected the song itself? The car should have crashed.

Man vs. Video: James Blake & Chance The Rapper – Life Round Here

JUNGLE were possibly my favourite new band to emerge from 2013, and with their signing to illustrious label XL Recordings now confirmed, it’s clear that the only way is up. Infectious hooks galore, and with an attitude to live performance that quite frankly puts most other artists to shame, they’re bold, innovative and deliriously fantastic. New single, Busy Earnin’ picks up where the Chess Club Records EPs left off, with their 60’s soul meets early 90’s dance vibes. If there’s been a more downright enjoyable single released this year, then I’m yet to hear it.
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New: JUNGLE – Busy Earnin’

One of my favourite discoveries of 2012, Toronto trio <a href="https://admin.crackintheroad.com/music/17659-introducing-shy-kids/" target="_blank">shy kids</a>, have been awfully quiet since the initial hype that surrounded the release of their debut trio of tracks. With new material on its way, I was over the moon to hear from one third of the group, Patrick Cederberg, with this offering in the form of a solo-project, titled Censor Static.
Pieced together over the course of three years, it’s a far more personal experience than the three tracks we’ve been gifted so far from shy kids, and feels like much of a revealing of demons. There’s still the jovial, upbeat swing found with shy kids (Fits), but it’s the complex structure and unique characteristic of each and every track that really defines Censor Static as more than just ‘a side-project’.
Lyrically, Our Timing is one of the finest LP’s of 2012, with the sort of prose that the fourteen year old in me wants to scribble onto my math binder. Take second track The Pain In Giving Space, with Cederberg smirking ‘I didn’t wanna write another fuckin’ love song, so I put a “fuckin” ’cause I knew it wouldn’t belong. Sentiment and sediment we lay upon our loved ones; bodies just like memories, we bury them then move on.’. It’s self-depreciating, yet a moving testament to individual creation, amidst the bizarre samples, introspective lyricism and a tell-tale ability to piece together a few chords, Censor Static marks Cederberg out as an immensely talented songwriter.
Personal highlight, the stunningly raw Awash has the sort of Dashboard Confessional / Conor Oberst-esque lyrics that are both highly emotive and utterly immersing. It’s disjointed, slightly eccentric, harrowingly honest and above all, completely enchanting. Check out Awash below and Our Timing underneath that.
I hear that we’re defined by the ones we leave behind. Well, I’ve abandoned many hearts, and marks left to remind girls of what they’ve meant to me, and men of what they should’ve seen, and mankind what it should have been.
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Review: Censor Static – Our Timing

The best music is timeless: it sounds great now, it would’ve sounded great 40 years ago, and in 20 years, you know you’ll be able to find the 7-inch lost in the bottom of a box in your parents house, and it’s still going to sound great. It’s genre-less, emotional, and you’ll never forget it. As soon as you hear it, you fall in love with music all over again.
Upon hearing <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hayleycouponmusic?fref=ts" target="_blank">Hayley Coupon</a>‘s ‘Pendulum’, this is how I felt. This is a songwriter at her most vulnerable, crooning her way through a soft melody, and leaving her heart on the floor. There’s no fancy effects, no attempt to make something innovative or ‘out of the box’. She just sings, pours her heart to you, and hopes that you accept it.  ‘Let Me Be’ has a similar effect, and reinforces the comparisons I’d make between Hayley and songwriters like Carole King and Joni Mitchell.
The New York City songwriter released her debut EP ‘Remembrance’ earlier this year, which you can listen to on <a href="https://soundcloud.com/hayley-coupon/sets/remembrance" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>. I hope you feel the beauty in this as much as I do.
 
[soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/hayley-coupon/pendulum]
[soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/hayley-coupon/letmebe]

Introducing: Hayley Coupon

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q_7fT-vSXU
Although Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson have made guest appearances on each others albums, I’ve been waiting for quite some time for The Uncluded to release a song. I mean, this was one of the oddest collaborations that I can think of. Unexpectedly, I’m not particularly surprised by the sound, which is standard Kimya Dawson style anti-folk with the addition of Aesop Rock laying down some bars at opportune moments, but, damn, does it work. Which I have to say, did shock me somewhat.
On first listen, ‘Earthquake’ appears to lack a certain amount of substance, but, after a couple of spins, it becomes apparent just how much of a fantastic job The Uncluded did with the song. The group ally the cute melody with sombre and touching lyrics, while remaining wholly enjoyable. Aesop Rock in particular is on top form, taking a slight step away from the hyper-dense internal imagery of Skelethon, while still retaining his innate lyricism, his verse is heartbreakingly beautiful:
October ended with a single feather funnelling its way to muddy earth in front of funny sparrow copycatting / Eventually it would select and circle one, as if to pause and crown the victim of a loss I wasn’t comprehending.
The Uncluded, who entitled their release Hokey Fright, made the album art and tracklist available as well, both which can be found below. It’s being released on the 7th May through Rhymesayers, so stick that date in your diary. Honestly, I can’t wait to hear the whole album. Here’s to hoping it lives up to the standards now set by ‘Earthquake’.
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01 Kryptonite 
02 Delicate Cycle 
03 TV On 10 
04 Earthquake 
05 Organs 
06 Superheroes 
07 Jambi Cafe 
08 Batts 
09 Scissorhands 
10 Eyeball Soup 
11 The Aquarium 
12 Teleprompters 
13 Alligator 
14 WYHUOM 
15 Boomerang 
16 Tits Up

Crack in the Road

The Dead StrangeDead House

Introducing & MPfree: Cameron Crook

Inner OceansI Don’t Mind / The Night (Demos)

Francis LungTsunami Blues (Cause Of Me)

KYLIANRemind Me

Introducing: Grace Mitchell

ExploradoraYard Rock

Announcement: CitR Live #001 – Jamie Isaac, MOKO, IYES, Kirk Spencer – Visuals By MADESCAPES ^

Jamie IsaacShe Dried

Mixtape: Lakutis3 Seashells

SunboyA.B.C.D.N.A.

WAFIALet Me Love You (Mario Cover)

News: Primavera Announces Full Line Up

AlunaGeorgeBody Music

Artist Profile: Laurie Lax

Artist Interview: Sophie Chapman

HozierFrom Eden

Elvis DepressedlyWeird Honey

Best Kept Secret 2014: 7 Big Names

Ivan CampoTerracotta Army / Porcelain Pagoda

Gem ClubHypericum

Bison BonasusIf The Moon Did Not I Wouldn’t Either

News: Line up confirmed for London Popfest 2013

Erlend ØyeLa Prima Estate

DromesOnly One (ft. X Priest X)

AQUILOYou There

SéyiIcecold

BANKSChange (Jensen Sportag Remix)

Father SculptorLowlands

MIAMIGOOpinions

Introducing: Abe

Introducing: The Acid

Video Premiere: Plastic FlowersDead Promises

LåpsleyPainter (valentine)

Nouv ShyPast (Feat. Gorgeous Gustroder)