When Rock and Roll Saved Me

I’m pretty sad that the whispers about the Strokes new release are already smeared with resentment. This Is It was one of my favourite things to come out of the last decade as it was for NME and I was hoping for another classic from these boys. True guitar bands will always hold a special place in my heart. There is something beautifully nostalgic about a group of men thrashing about on stage with strong simple riffs. It makes you feel young and ready to take on the world.

So we can morn the passing of The Strokes genius. But you don’t have to throw your sweaty t-shirt to the ground just yet, look towards another great band instead. For rock and roll is not dead.

The Dirtbombs released their new EP this month and what a great noise it is. The perfectly named Party Store is a tribute to the 80’s electronic music revolution. But it’s not like a lot of the 80’s revival stuff that has been popping it’s head up over these past few years it’s something with a bit more musical graduation.

They’ve compiled a collection of covers of early techno and house tunes that originate from their hometown Detroit, whilst adding some of their wild live drums and smashing vocals from Mick Collins.

The best track on the album by far is Good Life. It’s that 1988 classic from Inner City, that if you don’t know the song by name then you’ll sure as hell know it by ear. It’s the one that you can out your fists up in the air with. And The Dirtbombs have made it into something that is so perfectly George Michael. They’ve cleaned it up with their trademark tight double drums and dirty guitars.

Jaguar’s instrumental thrash sends lifts you out of the vintage record shop isle and into the depths of a dark club with beautiful people doing less beautiful things.

Cosmic Cars is so dirty that it makes me want to scribble on walls. And the penultimate track Tear The Club Up is one of the best Friday tracks I’ve hear for a while. It calls for you to ignore your inbox and get your shirt creased.

This record is so fresh, bringing the old techno gems into their own. It’s just like Amy Winehouse’s cover of Valerie that makes the original sound empty and sad in comparison. So thank Detroit for The Dirtbombs, I think they’ve smashed it.

THE MOON IS LARGE

The moon is so near. This is what happens when it gets too close.

Fever Ray is an inspiration too us all. As is the director of this Martin de Thurrah.

Teaching Us How to Dress Well

I have gladly watched the James Blake mania unfold. Finally the masses are getting the subtlety of minimal beats and coming round to the idea of the whole electronic scene. The Blake frenzy brought back memories of when I first heard Crazy by Gnarles Barkley on Zane Lowe’s show in 2005. As I was not yet internet savvy I could only wait eagerly by the radio for its next airplay.

I stumbled upon Blake back in November of last year whilst on a late night blogging binge. Unlike so many, my love affair with his music didn’t start with his now populist record James Blake, but with his less known EP Klavierwerke. I was surprised by the space and choice of tuning on this record. It was so refreshing.

It was on this same midnight marathon I found something else that vibrated up through my headphones and made me clench my sweaty fists with excitement. How To Dress Well.

HTDW is a Brooklyn/Chicago based producer and caught similar attention in New York around the end of last year. He mixes heavy vocal samples and scratchy nostalgic hip-hop beats, bringing you a surprising combination of Bon Iver vs. Prince. The guy, Tim Cohen, has been releasing EP’s every month throughout 2010 banking an obsessive following and some serious bangers.

The lo-fi quality of recording scream for a perfect back-story. Like a modern day Robert Johnson. Maybe he recorded the whole album on the way back from his brothers funeral or was stranded on a ship 2000 miles away from his girlfriend and sent her these songs that she then leaked to the bloggers. But alas, he is just some weird kid from Brooklyn who moved to Germany for a while to do his philosophy post-grad.

His album Love Remains was released in Europe last month with some truly enticing tracks. The album starts with Ready for The World, a silently wailing tune with haunting, intangible vocals. My Body lifts you into something that sounds like a crackling Backstreet Boys demo. You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Goin’ is a bloggers favorite. You can imagine a beautifully trendy hipster playing the track to his girlfriend before he catches a flight to LA to meet his mate who is producing his own (delete where appropriate) band/record/performance hip-hop crew/TV channel/fashion label. But it’s still a bloody great track.

Walking This Dumb is a marching industrial mix, with a huge Berlin influence. But my favorite on the record and the true banger is Decisions featuring Yuksel Arslan. Arslan is an aged Turkish Surrealist painter, still very much alive. Although I’ve not yet understood how the artist was involved with the song the similarity of a fragmented dream-like creation is a huge motif for both musician and painter.

Throughout HTDW’s Love Remains you can recognize that he is at the forefront of the new lo-fi but highly skilled production that is beginning to hit the mainstream pop chart. If you need more of an introduction into this trend of great experimental pop I’d say start with this guy. The masses have only just opened themselves to James Blake’s smooth moves, but I am entrusting you with a deeper love affair.