Music To The Ears: 1

WEST COAST HOT SHOT LIST

BY OSCAR NICHOLAS

The West Coast of America, undeniably one of the greatest places in the world for surfing, hazy days, reverbed guitar and whining vocals. The style of music is a formula that I have loved for the last few years of my life and transcended my obsession with music one step further. West Coast is a genre in its own right, it can merge punk, pop, rock and even psychedelia. It doesn't even have to be from California, it just has to not give a frick and be timelessly fresh. I thought it only right to express why it is the west coast is so freaking awesome, dude (maybe I don't suit that though). Here's The Music Picture's top five West Coast acts. 

For all the artists featured and more check out this link for The Music Pictures West Coast Playlist.

TY SEGALL

1.   Top of the list has to be without a doubt, the unsung hero of the West Coast, Ty Segall (pronounced Tai, just in case you were wondering). Segall has featured in a plethora of orange county, underground bands, he has had huge influence on the scene and been solo since 2008. 

Hard hitting riffs and power house beats under his unique Californian growl make his music exceptional. A rock n'roll, surf, punk attitude sound. What pushes Segall above is the sheer amount of music he has produced. Since 2008 he has created five studio albums and one joint album with White Fence all of exceptional quality. He calls his music garage rock, but epitomises the West Coast.

FIDLAR

2. Drugs, screams, alcohol, guitars and drugs make up Fidlar. West Coast stoner punks who have song names such as Cheap Beer, Cocain, Shrooms, Crackhead Ted and The Punks Are Finally Taking Acid, they create wild shows and energetic records. The Los Angeles band formed in 2009 and have some of the best band illustration around.

Fidlar stands for a saying the band heard from local skater kids: 'F**k It Dog Life's A Risk'. Made up of 4 guys they released their debut, self titled album last January. They are now hot slots at British festivals and are currently touring with Chicago rockers The Orwells.

I was lucky enough to see them in 2012 at Reading Festival and to rub singer/guitarist Zac Carper's head in a mosh pit. I was also lucky enough to see them at The Garage, in London in Febuary 2013 and once again rub Carper's sweaty hair (favourite anecdote).

BEST COAST

3. A softer side of the West Coast brings you Best Coast. Fronted my the iconically cool Bethany Cosentino. They have reached huge success with their lo-fi style, chilled reverbed guitar and catchy vocals. Their breakthrough record, Crazy For You, lead the band to be a key contender on the festival circuit and connected them with childhood idols such as Green Day, No Doubt and Iggy Pop who they've performed and recorded with. 

Their energetic live shows and fast passed rhythms make them a perfect West Coast band. The duo formed in 2009 from Los Angeles.

WAVVES

4.Happy go luck post-punk, surf rockers Wavves formed in 2008 from sunny San Diego. Stoners with fast paced strumming and the West Coast attitude. They are refreshing to listen to, with a sound that combines indie vocals with mass amounts of reverb and awesome lyrics. 

Friends with other West Coast acts like Fidlar and No Age they have wild joint shows creating huge buzz for the West Coast scene. 

Breakthrough record King Of The Beach pushed Wavves to success in 2010 and their latest album Afraid Of Heights even landed them on Grand Theft Auto V. 

BLEEDING KNEES CLUB

5.As the only non natives in the list, from the Australian Gold Coast, Bleeding Knees Club hold as much of the West Coast sound as any other act. They are so lo-fi they could have easily been recorded 30 years before they were even born. Made up of duo Alex Wall and Jordan Malane, they both share the microphone.

They recorded their debut album Nothing To Do in 2012 in New York, produced by Dev Hynes, aka Blood Orange. 





To steam all the West Coast artists featured on this list and more check out The Music Picture's West Coast Playlist.

Review 8

METRONOMY - LOVE LETTERS

BECAUSE MUSIC 2014

BY OSCAR NICHOLAS

The Devon four piece, Metronomy, have produced their analogue fuelled, fourth album Love Letters. As a follow up to their masterpiece The English Riviera, the record is all together slower and more emotive. The album shows why the band have such a status in pop, with a subtler vibe. Still with the same unique Metronomy, indie/electro feel, the LP has added funk and motown influences, which shows a different side to the band.

The first single released from Love Letters was I'm Aquarius, as an album teaser. It has been on repeat on radio music shows since it emerged and is gaining more and more attention. Catchy female vocals loop: 'Shoop doop doop ah' behind a bassy analogue organ. Good chilled indie that progresses with texture.

Opening track The Upsetter is frankly absolutely gorgeous. Every layer adds to it perfectly and subtly. It sways through analogue synths and acoustic guitar that build behind soft vocals sung as a tenner an an octave higher than usual. It has a hum to it. The track alters the stereo direction of Joe Mount's vocals, with an added clean guitar solo that pushes the sound into something superb. The Upsetter feels just as strong as any of Metronomy's hits such as, The Bay or Heartbreaker. 

Tittle track Love Letters is the highest velocity record of the LP. Its Motown gloss and catchy beat makes it a great indie dance anthem. It starts slow until the songs tittle booms through female vocals, and Mount's voice passionately sings 'Love letters all I see, On every day I read'. The track then transgresses to a perfectly implemented trumpet solo (don't say that to often these days).

Metronomy are set to tour the album and play festivals. Although it hasn't felt like they've been away Love Letters is a comeback for the band. The album was recorded entirely in analogue at London's Toe Rag Studios, notorious for their old school approach to production.

The move to tape tracks didn't stop Love Letters from sounding fresh. The classic instrumental track Metronomey started with is present in the LP with Boy Racers. A warped, bass, filled rhythm sits below smooth drums and altered key effects create a catchy refresher within the record.

A slower more sensitive collection of tracks close Love Letters: Call Me and The Most Immaculate Haircut play with a more alt balled style composier.

Reservoir the ninth song on the record has the repetitive listen touch about it. Almost sounding like a eighties arcade quest it bounces Love Letters to its penultimate beat. Weather you want to relate 'reservoir' as a comment to Metronomey's previous album, The English Rivera, is for Mount's brain to decide, the track is beautifully composed and ironically happy as its digital roots.

Just as it started Love Letters finishes with a slow, simple track, Never Wanted. 'But it gets better' is sung over a bass riff and chirpy guitar flicks until the direction turns to a more misty, ambient sound and then gets dropped into its fuzzy analogue closure.

Although Love Letters could be called a less impactful album compared with Metronomy's previous compositions, the LP feels like a real and more mature side to the band. A step up from indie niche pop to full international status.

Rating: 8

Review 7

EAGULLS - EAGULLS

PARTISAN RECORDS 2014
BY OSCAR NICHOLAS 

When an old formula is given a fresh take magic can happen. Eagulls self titled, debut LP is solid and hard hitting. The new wave, punk rockers fill the album with reverbed riffs and shouts of passion. Like an angry Joy Division, the band pound through the album with a raw style.

Opening track Nerve Endings starts things off with a high tempo, misty punk explosion. Hard drum beats, heavy bass and phased guitar work perfectly with the howling vocals of George Mitchell overlaying. 'Still nerve endings, Still nerve endings wont die' are the lyrics that peak the power house track, perfect for a punk sing-a-long. As an opening track, Eagulls go full throttle and don't hold back throughout the album.

Based in Leeds the five piece are adding to the so called 'guitar band revival'. Eagulls are gaining attention in the US, recently performing Possessed on The David Letterman Show, they are bringing their grundgy ora to the masses.  Their debut LP has that attitude and undertone that gives them the rebel appeal.

Although raw, they show in Eagulls they can be catchy too. Tough Luck the fourth track on the record has a more melody driven backbone. Echoing vocals give the track an element of space and repetitive cries of 'tough luck'  lead over fast passed guitar and drum layers.

The manner lyrics are cried, screamed and expelled shows the passion in the record. Footsteps and Fester / Blister are breathtaking displays of throat power (literally from some band members). The tracks swoop in and out of hard beating drums and guitar to unexpectedly soothing bridges that build you back to the full slam of their sound.

Through all the feedback and attitude Eagulls debut is not going to be a record to slip through the radar. They are set for a multi-continental, mammoth tour with dates set until August so far. Eagulls are not a new band either, they have been working on their craft for years and this might be a crucial moment to leave the stain they want.

They end the album with Soulless Youth, which has similarity to a previous single Council Flat Blues. As they started the record with power and attitude they end it, howling the songs tittle over the buzzing sound into a fade.

Rating: 9

Exceptional Single: 1

THE ACID - BASIC INSTINCT

INFECTIOUS MUSIC UK 2014
BY OSCAR NICHOLAS


Sometimes with truly great music it is impossible to pin point why it has such attraction. Under layers and layers of care there might be something that makes it exceptional but it could just as easily be a combination of everything. Everything in its right place, timed to perfection with the right amount of passion. A song that can change the pace of your heartbeat. Although perceptions of sound vary depending on the individual and their ideas of perfection, some music seems to stand above. To have a piece of sound that provokes such feeling is not an everyday event.


The Acid - Basic Instinct, this is one of those songs that make you want to blurt out cliches about the hairs on your neck and the unsteadiness of your heartbeat. The first encounter with Basic Instinct is an experience, heightened by the music video from Dugan O'Neal (available at Nowness).

Consisting of Brighton based Adam Freeland, Californian artist Steve Nalepa and Australian producer Ry X. The Acid aim to make genre-less music. The combination of acoustic guitar, electronic hits and noisy distorted peaks build tension beautifully. All toped by soothing vocals that haunt your ears and layer into harmonies that eventually explode with the screams of "I'm tired of your warning". It then turns into a haze and fades out. 

The music video was created especially for their first track and features LA dance group WIFE. The slow-motion, out of this world movement and visual imagery compliments the music perfectly. 

The Acid's self titled, debut EP is to be released 14th April.

Rating: 10

Review 6

CYMBALS - THE AGE OF FRACTURE

TOUGH LOVE RECORDS 2014
BY OSCAR NICHOLAS

Faith in indie with joy and bounce. Cymbals latest album, The Age of Fracture, holds what every summer record needs (apart from its January release). The London four-piece named the LP after a book by Princeton academic Daniel T. Rogers. It follows the books themes based on history and society. Cymbals have created music with substance and concept which frankly is a well received breath of fresh air. To be honest The Age Of Fracture sounds like Radiohead on LCD.

From the start, The Age Of Fracture builds into a haze of synth, guitar and catchy drum beats. Opening track Winter '98 feels as though you are ascending into a mist of tip tapping melodies. The track has been produced in a way that gives the impression of space. Sung in french, the unique, crying, vocals of Jack Clerverly give the signature Cymbals touch.

The ear-worm of the record has to be the electro-pop formulated, finger on repeat, The Natural World. However the lyrics have a darker mood than you would expect from the bouncing rythem and flow. The song's concept is at a juxtaposition. 'I don't know enough about you, to be kind, to be kind to you' are the lyrics that peak the records chorus. The Natural World has the awesome quality that allows it to get better with time.

As the LP continues it feels like a journey. Regardless of the moody lyrics the record has a very bright sound. Tracks You Are, Empty Space and The 5% sway through comfortably with a series of interesting effects.

Just like any good conceptual album The Age Of Fracture has a short interlude track, The Fracture Of Age. The beat of which flows into the charismatic Like An Animal, a previously released single. The line 'No bodies looking and no one cares' is repeated before the layer of indie pop melt into more synthy, guitar twanged smoke.

The colourful indie music has a summer vibe to it, which is strangely pleasing mid February. Erosion the eighth track on the LP especially has a warm sound to it. Perhaps you could call it an indie barbecue song.

On the non-bonus edition of The Age Of Fracture the second last track is surprisingly titled The End. A 7 minute long, bi-linguale song, that sounds like a alternative pop, Super Mario soundtrack.

The darkest track on the record, Call Me, is a raw taste of Cymbals. Its bass filled melody, no vocals and slow tempo giving it a more serious vibe.

The Age Of Fracture: Bonus Edition gives one more goodbye. Smaller The City is a sweet finale, another tip tapper, it is sure make you bob your head, well at least a bit.

All together it is a hopeful record to be enjoyed in any climate. However I hope to be hearing Cymbals in a festival when the sun does finally come out.

Rating: 8

Review 5

KWABS - WRIGHT OR WRONG

WARNER MUSIC UK 2014
BY OSCAR NICHOLAS


The latest EP, Wrong Or Right, from digital blues artist Kwabena Adjepong aka Kwabs, is one of the most soulful pieces of music to be released this year. Tracks glide in a retro, futuristic style through the combination of Kwabs timeless vocals mixed with modern production. An otherworldly counterbalance is created. The sound is clean and solid. Although his music holds resemblance to artists like James Blake, it still has its own unique quality.

Before Wright Or Wrong the London based singer showed off his raw talent through several simplistic performances on YouTube. Influences from gospel and R&B are clearly present in his style. Kwabs latest EP however -under the warped construction of London artist and producer SOHN - is a different dimension of soulful bliss.

Opening track Wrong Or Right is emotive and characterful. It has a chilled backbone of an arpeggiated synthesiser that hides under Kwabs smooth voice. I don't want to be your leader, I don't want to let you down, are the cold lyrics that greet you. The poetic side of blues is present regardless of the computer based beats. As the song builds it feels more like a journey than a fight. It peaks with soulful, vocal outbursts.

Second track Last Stand has more power. Far from chirpy, the sound creates tension. Warped rhythm and transcending bass run throughout and raise the reverbed vocals. Last Stand is the peak of the EP, it has that edge from a tune to banger. As Kwabs' lyrics layer over and he sings still burning from the heat of your touch it becomes something special and mystic. Defiantly a track to watch this year.

The EP has a more chilled vibe once you reach the third track Spirit Fade. The sound is a combination of analogue arcade and unique vocals.

As a finale opening track Wright Or Wrong is jacked up with a house remix by producer Ben Pearce. Almost doubled in length from the original, the 6 minute remix compliments the EP. The track has a Disclosure/Bondax feel. It is a unusual farewell to a hopeful artists first impression.

Rating: 7

Review 4

CRIM3S - STAY UGLY

UNSIGNED 2013

BY OSCAR NICHOLAS

Its such a shame when incredible sound and talent slips so far under the radar. The understated EP of 2013 has no doubt come from Crim3s. The twisted and dirty poundings from their second EP Stay Ugly deserves more recognition, in this writers opinion, than most big artists have received over last 12 months. Crim3s is formed of alternative model Sadie Pinn on vocals and her partner Rou Rot producing the tracks. The duo create witch-house/crank-wave masterpieces, with a unique Crystal Castles texture.

From the start Stay Ugly hits you full capacity. Warped layers of distorted bass and synths sit below Pinn's howls and screams. Opening track Lost is disgustingly gorgeous. The vocals are dissected and smothered in reverb over the crazy back beat. If you listened to it on drugs I imagine it would be terrifying.

Although hectic and intense Crim3s have an overlooked subtlety. The second track of Stay Ugly, Pansy  is full of sorrow and pain. I'm sick of this Pity, Mark my hate, are some of the emotive lyrics featured. And throughout the EP feelings are spilled over the almost trance like music. In Dose Pinn's vocals come out as cries, nothings here and nothings clear.

Stay Ugly is a follow up to the duo's self titled debut EP. The deathly, 8bit, devil arcade style of Crim3s is smoother than before. However they are yet to produce anything would be out of place in an sweaty, body filled, underground rave.

The closing track Stress, has a playful start and almost feels bouncy. It whirls back and forth to a build of bass and samples. After the pounding and faded screams of the word suffocate, silence may seem uncomfortable.

It may be that as a huge Crystal Castles fan, anything that holds its own in the genre I feel deserves recognition. Stay Ugly has the sincerity that the Alice and Ethan format needs to be triumphant. Its not easy being dirty and provoking but this EP feels right even if I can't pinpoint it.

Rating: 9