Rhythm & Booze An online music webzine created by music lovers for music lovers.

29 May, 2012

Breton-Jostle/Foam

Filed under: electronic,indie,post-funk,post-punk,Recorded Reviews — Tags: bfreton, foam, jostle — willmunn @ 17:08

Regular readers of Rhythm & Booze will no doubt have seen my continuing love for all things art rock or post punk shaped, one of my most recent musical crushes is that of the brilliant South London based experimental spiky electro clatter rockers Breton.

I’ve waxed lyrical (on this very site) on how I’m rather partial to the four-piece’s unique combination of electro pop and serrated post punk, a throbbing sound that makes you want to simultaneously holler and leap in the air without a care in the world, well the band’s brand new double A-side single is more of the same.

Jostle is lifted from the band’s recent debut album, Other People’s Problems, opens with a delicate tapped out rhythm before a club friendly synth and driving bass line join the mix followed by jerky lead vocals creating a wonderfully infectious slab of bubbling art rock complete with a delicate, hushed middle section and rousing, holler along post-punk finale that’ll leave you punching the air as you scramble for the repeat button.

Foam is a brand new track inspired by the Solidarity uprising in Gdansk that ultimately led to to the downfall of Communism in Poland, a lofty subject matter perhaps, but in the hands of Breton, the basis for an addictive track of contagious electro indie, with the intriguing nature of the lyrics effortlessly complimented by a combination of stabbing synths, half spoken lyrics and contagious beats.

As with everything Breton have released to date, the new single is an essential must have for anyone who like’s their music to invigorate the body and the soul or move the mind and the feet, brilliant stuff as ever.

Rhythm & Booze Rating 10

www.bretonlabs.com

 

31 January, 2012

Damn Vandals-The Beautiful Mind EP

Filed under: indie,post-punk,Recorded Reviews — Tags: beautiful mind EP, damn vandals — willmunn @ 19:23

London based four-piece Damn Vandals follow up recent single success with Can’t Go Dancing When Your Gone and Bayonet (reviewed on this very site) with a brand new four-track EP, which should further enhance their reputation as the must see new band and could also see them as a definite mainstay on this year’s festival circuit.

Once again the band mix and match spiky riffs with a dark brooding groove to create a stunning EP of jagged post punk anthems and moody yet infectious indie anthems that’ll leave music fans the world over bowled over and completely intoxicated by their unique, edgy sound.

The title track kicks off proceedings with a monstrous dense riff before frontman Jack Kansas unleashes his jaw dropping croon bringing to mind everyone from Ian Curtis (Joy Division) to Jim Morrison all wrapped up in one unique package into the dark dangerous sound of the Damn Vandals.

He Pulls A Knife follows proving that Beautiful Mind is no one off, once again the band weld layers of swaggering taut guitar, pulsating bass grooves and those aforementioned unique vocal tones that really help the band stand apart from the ever growing London indie music scene.

Damn Vandals  have something that a great deal of bands seem to lack, a sinister yet sexy swagger that entices the listener to explore further, suggesting there are new thrills and spills to discover on each and every track and the band prove that theory with the  EP’s closing two numbers, the sharp angular Union Jack Boxes and the addictive bruised beauty of Trouble With Jesus, proving that the band don’t deal in filler, each and every track leaves the listener stunned and desperate for more.

If you, like me, enjoy your indie rock with a blackened soul, a ton of depth and more bite than a starving crocodile you’ll find a great deal to love about the contagious sounds of those Damn Vandals.

Rhythm & Booze Rating 1o

http://www.facebook.com/damnvandals

2 August, 2011

Janice Graham Band-Murder

Filed under: Blog,funk,hip hop / rap,post-punk,Recorded Reviews,ska — willmunn @ 09:22

Janice Graham Band are a four-piece band hailing from the musical hotpot of Manchester, the band mix and match funk, ska, hip-hop, post punk and garage to create a unique and intoxicating sound that has already received plaudits from such heavy weights in the music world as Mani (Primal Scream/Stone Roses) and Clint Boon (XFM) among others.

Since the band’s formation they’ve already performed at this years Isle Of Wight Festival along with securing high profile support slots with the likes of Little Barrie, Kid British and Madness among others. The energetic and original sound has found the ears of  the acclaimed Acid Jazz Records, who are currently working on the bands debut, which is set to be unleashed early next year, the long player is set to be something of a concept around love, life, sex and death. Set around one man’s descent into a hedonistic descent towards darkness, self-destruction and ultimately Murder.

The aptly titled Murder is the first taster of the aforementioned full length album and all I can say is wow what a stunning statement of intent, the band lay down a thick, dirty ska bounce complete with a dub like elastic bassline, a subtlibly dark yet infectious vocal, a brilliant trumpet breakdown and the most addictive chorus I’ve heard in a long whilst. Murder is dark, brooding and yet ever so bouncy.

The B-side, Assassiner, cleverly lifts the bass from Murder but showcases the band’s hip-hop influece as lead singer Joe Jones delivers a contagious Manc tinged rap, whilst the band create an intriguing and addictive backdrop.

As introductions go, Murder by Janice Graham Band is pretty damn perfect, the two tracks leave you desperately wanting more, needing to here what else the band manage to stir into the delicious musical stew that’s already evident here. If the band manage to continue in this vein the full length album is set to be very special indeed.

Rhythm & Booze Rating 10

www.janicegrahamband.com

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