Saturday, November 8, 2008

Such Is Your Strange Allure

I trust you've already checked out Vivian Girls' new and very cool video for "Tell the World"? If not, you can find it here. I also should tell you about the lovely indiepop all-dayer happening in Nottingham on Sunday next week. I wish I could attend but sadly I can't afford both that and Christmas Twee. A Smile and a Ribbon was even asked to play, but we're having a break from gigs just now. This flyer presents the final line-up, along with some classic Kes imagery.

Finally, Crystal Stilts have released their first album Alight of Night and you can get it from Slumberland right NOW. I have to agree with Brouges that it's one of the best this year! It delivers on the promises of their recent ep, with louder and crispier mixes of a couple of older tracks like "Spiral Transit", "Bright Night" and "Shattered Shine". Among the new treasures, the extra brooding "Graveyard Orbit" and the relentless thump of "The SinKing" shine the brightest. The reverb-drenched vocals works well buried at the bottom of the mix, because the one thing you can wish of this band is a stronger singer with more personality.

Comparisons to Joy Division abound, but I can't stop thinking of The Aislers Set and 13th Floor Elevators, with The Gun Club or Echo & the Bunnymen as optional flavouring. "Prismatic Room" stands starkly with it's near-major tonalities and JAMC melody. And just like with Vivian Girls, mentioning The Index cannot hurt either. You can hear "Prismatic Room" by going here, as it opens our monthly Don't Die On My Doorstep mix! I really wish they get all the hype they deserve (and more to it), cause that's the only chance I have of ever seeing them on a Swedish stage. And it's hard to imagine this kind of music sounding better in the studio than in a damp pub cellar, the electrics crackling under the dripping plumbing.

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