DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Scott Wright's coverage of music from across the pond.
Dollars to Pounds: Fair Ohs
- story Scott Wright
As the Summer Of Rad draws to a close, here is a band that epitomizes the past few months of UK good times. Fair Ohs equal FUN. Matt Flag, Joe Ryan and Eddy Frankel are super posi dudes who combine hardcore and highlife to bring the party pain. You may have heard their recent sunshine jam “Summer Lake” on these fair pages. Here is another called “Almost Island.” I spoke to Fair Ohs about Benga music, recording songs on dictaphones and the dudest of dudes, Chevy Chase.
Download: Thee Fair Ohs, “Almost Island”
Dollars to Pounds: Darkstar
- story Scott Wright
Listening to Hyperdub’s new retrospective 5 Years Of Hyperdub you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re in the clairvoyance business. A kind of record label Allison DuBois, they have spent the past half decade releasing music that sounds like the future (and probably solve convoluted ghost crimes in their sleep). Their latest act of sonic soothsaying involves Darkstar. The London-based duo is the label’s first band, a move that sees them striking deeper into the unknown. Is Hyperdub the new XL Recordings? Could be. But while Darkstar is a band, it’s still a Hyperdub band. Listen to the haunted mechanics of new single “Aidy’s Girl’s A Computer” here and admire the silent running of these 21st century man machines. I spoke to James and Aiden about sci-fi, Radiohead and Pitchfork’s 480th best single of the ‘00s.
Download: Darkstar, “Aidy’s Girls A Computer”
Dollars To Pounds: Othello Woolf
- story Scott Wright
Othello Woolf is an awesome name. He could be the romantic hero of a trashy, bodice-ripping novel, the kind that has Fabio on the cover, his lustrous mane rippling manfully in the breeze. And Woolf is a romantic hero of sorts, but one with considerably less-stupid hair. A solo soul man he stalks the streets of London, weaving woozy funk into sentimental songs, hitching weird new noises to vintage emotions. Here is an exclusive track called Deep Water which sounds like a subaquatic Steely Dan. I asked Mr Woolf the big questions like whether he prefers Laurence Fishburne to Nicole Kidman.
Download: Othello Woolf, “Deep Water”
Dollars to Pounds: Invasion
- story Scott Wright
Recently I was asked to invent a fantasy supergroup but every band I came up with sounded like something from the Judgment Night soundtrack. I should’ve followed Invasion’s example. Imagine Dimebag Darrell, Aretha Franklin and John Bonham hooking up. Then imagine them all younger and hotter. Now imagine Bonham as a flame-haired girl. That’s basically Invasion. Motown meets metal. Really heavy doom metal, but the upbeat, ecstatic kind. Axeman Marek, drummer Zel and Chan, the dynamite-voiced niece of PP Arnold, make up this unholy trinity. I spoke to Marek about witchcraft, Dungeons and Dragons and quality metal.
Dollars to Pounds: Forest Swords
- story Scott Wright
It’s now eight years since Aaliyah’s untimely passing, but her influence continues to lap at distant shores. The Wirral peninsula in north-west England is a dramatic stretch of coastline and muse to Forest Swords, a solo songsmith who carves dusty sound from its half-known hills. He has a new tape out and from it here’s the ancient grind of “Glory Gongs.” But you should buy it for the b-side, a haunting cover of Aaliyah’s “If Your Girl Only Knew” that twinkles with twilight sadness. I spoke to Forest Swords about that song and how his music “echoes his environment.”
Download: Forest Swords, “Glory Gongs”
Dollars To Pounds: Trailer Trash Tracys
- story Scott Wright
“Opposites Attract” by Paula Abdul may have been about her ill-advised, zoophilic flirtation with a denim-clad cartoon cat, but the song’s sentiment, that ying plus yang equals awesome, remains unsullied. Take Trailer Trash Tracys. Like a tidal wave and an ice sculpture, Jimmy-Lee’s reverb bombast and Susanne Aztoria’s fragile coos shouldn’t get along, but the combination ends up both potent and poignant. Here is the demo of their epic new Spector-goes-shoegaze single, “Candy Girl”. I spoke to them about Twin Peaks and New Edition and stadium rock.
Download: Trailer Trash Tracys, “Candy Girl (demo)”
Dollars to Pounds: Pens
- story Scott Wright
Here are the great Cornholios. They need T.P. for their bungholes… I wanted to leave the introduction to my chat with Pens at just that, but then thought better of it. So imagine that Mike Judge made a scratchy cartoon about three dumbass English girls who steal some broken instruments and get wasted playing a shambolic, bagels ‘n’ Breeders-fueled racket which transforms into an amazing trash-pop funfest called Hey Friend, What You Doing? It would be awesome. Here are the great Penholios. They need T.P. for their bungholes.
Download: Pens, “Networking”
Dollars to Pounds: Delphic
- story Scott Wright
Blending literate rock and dynamic dance music into something epic and awesome is practically a Mancunian tradition and it doesn’t take a psychic to see that the latest masters of this dark art, Delphic, are heading for stadium-filling über-fame. The Manchester trio channel their hometown’s illustrious musical heritage and enough future pizazz into songs that are ready to incite frenzied and emotional fist-pumping on a massive scale. We’ve got an exclusive premiere of the thrilling Parallels remix of the new Delphic single “This Momentary,” which is sure to have you thrusting a lighter/your phone skywards and wondering where you can score some ecstasy. I chatted to the band about the north and raves and Chernobyl. Delphic, being serious-minded and mysterious dudes, replied to my questions as an amorphous, hive-mind whole.
Download: Delphic, “This Momentary” (Parallels Remix)
Dollars to Pounds: Internet Forever
- story Scott Wright
Twee is back and it’s fitting that the internet, where a keyboard-playing cat is worshipped as a god, should have a hand in its resurrection. The cute, late-’80s precursor to indie rock, twee was precious and raucous, poor fidelity and rich in whimsy. Now bands like Internet Forever are channeling its precocious spirit into songs that are as sweet and fuzzy as peaches bathing in a sea of kittens on a planet made of marshmallow. “Pages of Books” is an exclusive track from the trio’s forthcoming debut single. We emailed each other about Livejournal and “lolz.”
Download: Internet Forever, “Pages of Books”
Dollars To Pounds: Graffiti Island
- story Scott Wright
“Wolf Guy” is a song by London-based trio Graffiti Island. Its chorus goes, “infected with congenital general hypertrichosis,” repeated four times and it is catchier (ha!) than you could ever imagine. Another song, about cannibals, contains the line, “I want a pipe made from the bones of a man’s pinky finger.” They have lots of these deadpan ditties, songs that sound like The Cramps after a 12-hour horror movie marathon. Here you can stream “Moon Tan,” a new track from a four-way split 7-inch (with Pens, Crocodiles and Dum Dum Girls). It’s out in August to coincide with their first US tour. I had a chat with them about ridiculous Ghanaian movies and GG Allin.
Graffiti Island, “Moon Tan”
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