Mike Taylor - Liars - “Freak Out”, from the CD, Liars

I was pleasantly surprised by the new Liars disc which, in addition to their debut, is miles more accessible than either of their last two releases, Drum’s Not Dead and They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. For their new one, it seems as if they dug back through the annals of rock history and spent some time listening to dark underground classics like Sonic Youth’s EVOL and Public Image Limited’s The Flowers Of Romance. There are a few balls-out rockers here, a few noisy experimental tracks and a song, “Houseclouds”, which almost begs for a dance remix. Still, this is heady stuff. It’s overbearingly clad in black and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but isn’t nearly as caustic as they’ve been on previous releases.

This week’s selection, “Freak Out”, sounds as if could have been pulled straight from The Jesus And Mary Chain’s Psychocandy, marrying a pop melody with a wall of feedback. If any of Liars previous output has put you off, I invite you to give this new one a chance. They definitely went to school before recording it, and the result is a more palatable disc destined to reach a wider audience.

Matt Shiv New Young Pony Club - - “The Bomb” from the CD Fantastic Playroom

This 5-piece electro-pop outfit from London was recently nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize award in the U.K. You’ve probably already fallen in love with the band’s first single “Ice Cream”, even if you don’t know it’s them! The track was widely used in an Intel commercial campaign earlier this year.

Their debut album “Fantastic Playroom” is overflowing with infectious beats and lead singer Tahita Bulmer reminds me of a young Debbie Harry (although at times she almost sounds spot-on like Shirley Manson). On the second proper single from their debut, I’m not entirely sure what Tahita is going on about when she sings “Don’t speak ’cause your mind is amazing”, but it hardly matters. Who has time to think about the lyrics when you can’t stop shakin’ your ass?

New Young Pony Club - The Bomb

Joe Long - The Fiery Furnaces, “Ex-Guru” from the CD Widow City.

I have always been an on again / off again fan of the Fiery Furnaces. I know that the Friedbergers get a kick out of being odd and offbeat most of the time, but I certainly dig their more accessible stuff the most. I think that is why I have always loved the straightforward punch of a song like Single Again, from thier EP a couple years ago. I feel the same way about this new song from the band, Ex-Guru.

Once again it is pretty straightforward, for FF I guess and it is really upbeat, fun and over the top catchy. And I should not leave out the fact that there is a synthesizer storm of sorts midway through the tune, highly recommended indeed. Admittedly, Eleanor does not have to do too much to win me over, but this song makes me hungry for the new album. The new disc, Widow City arrives on October 9th, the same day Matt & Eleanor will be here in town at the Southgate House for a show, count me in!

The Fiery Furnaces - Ex - Guru

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 1:10 pm and is filed under MP3's, Song Of The Week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.