daily confessions

It's fresh to the indie music scene. Here's a preview:

-to be updated shortly-

18.07.2012
Green Day - Oh Love  SINGLE

Get set. ¡Uno!..¡Dos!...¡Tré!... Oh. 'Uh, ready?' is the seemingly half-hearted reply the petty party pooping dunkers announce, that's if the lead single of their album trilogy is anything to go by anyway. The oh so average midtempo wails (cringe) of wanting to be "faraway" suggest that their hearts no longer lie with the "same old story", and we too could argue they need a change from music. Now you just can't ignore the irony behind 2004 superhit American Idiot. "Epic as fook"? Oh, Billie. Repetitive as fuck.

14.07.2012
The Royal Concept -  EP

We're not sure if sounding exactly like French rockers Phoenix is a crime or an achievement. Add a tad of Two Door Cinema Club too and you've got Stockholm quartet The Royal Concept. Yet clearly they don't take themselves as seriously as bigger acts, hence the energetic living room trashing in their Gimme Twice video. Bless 'em. Emerging from the Swedish underground only towards the end of last year, they're fresh, upbeat and certainly catchy. D-D-Dance, loyal to its name, promotes vigorous feet tapping. Chorus "always on the go" somehow rings home Alphabeat. Okay, maybe they're not complete Phoenix copycats after all. Watch 'em...

13.07.2012

12.07.2012
Bombay Bicycle Club - Beg   VIDEO

'AAAH, it's stuck in my head', sound familiar? Tunes on in the mornin' when getting ready for the hustle and bustle the day brings, tracks wiring into the skull, beats pumping, feet tapping and head bopping... the starring pair epitomise the often infectiousness of sound with which the track's fast chorus mirrors (minus the annoyingness that usually accompanies such tuneage). Funky as a monkey. Think OK Go's notorious treadmill fun. Unclear if they are professionals specialising in freestylin', or merely BBC's Norf Landaaan bruvaas. Budget-job or not, it is definitely relatable.

11.07.2012
Bloc Party - Octopus  SINGLE

Paternity breaks aside, the quartet reunite with their roots with this cheeky little guitar orientated number, moving on from their previous electro experimentation. Perhaps Okereke's recent naming as 'sexiest man in indie rock' has given him a self-esteem boost - 'maybe we were doing something right after all', we can imagine him thinking. Observe how Okereke's vocals have their own space between the fidgety guitar, the sense of rhythm that Bloc Party always had. Original indie sound intact, it can only get better. We shall see with album Four.

10.07.2012
The Killers - Runaways    SINGLE
Just when we thought they'd done a runner themselves after the 4 year stint since Day & Age, The Killers tease us with a taster of their upcoming album, (long awaited for sure), Battle Born. Frontman Flowers beautifully (blonde hair, blue eyed cliché yet poignant character included) depicts a youthful love facing the reality of pregnancy as well as the contemplation that their love may not be what it once was. Dainty patient piano chords to begin, then impacted by the interrupting guitar riffs to really get the song going. Sorry, it's no Mr Brightside though. Still... Runaway: Summer soundtrack, 2012 festival favourite. Simple. 

8.07.12
Florence + The Machine - Spectrum (Say My Name)  SINGLE
Staying true to herself, Flo rides a Magic Carpet in this catchy track. That familiar formula in hand, or 'potion' (we are in no way endorsing Magic Mushrooms here), the choir choruses are accompanied by the sharp harp twanging of previous visions, You've Got The Love included. The flame-haired persona writes of the "colour" resolvent from letting the "spectrum in", naturally interpreted as the beauty of falling in love. Ambiguity in abundance, others have identified the rainbow imagery
with the liberation of LGBT communities, but perhaps that reminds us too much of Lady Gaga. Certainly uplifting.

7.07.12
A Place To Bury Strangers - Revenge  TRACK
We did initially wonder if iTunes had mistakenly confused this sound with an episode of Scrapheap Challenge. Cranky. Blowtorch and sandpaper artillery feedback included, it honestly is true to its 'garage indie' genre. "Refresh" in an awkward but deliberate loop, or maybe Strangers' Apple Mac has crashed? Soundtrack for the Hadron Collider? Explosive energy in a dynamic distortion. Not so pop friendly, but it definitely is different.

6.07.2012
Lostprophets - We Bring An Arsenal    SINGLE

Almost a football chant, the infectious choruses only reassert Lostprophets' strong position in the UK alternative scene. Active since 1997, the prophets proclaim "if you think we're done, baby, we'll bring it" just as their American tour is about to commence. Echoes of "We'll sing it", it's easy to imagine this song storming a gig. Evidently, further track releases are to follow.  Some might call it arrogant, we call it confident. And confidence gets you everywhere, right? 

5.07.2012 
Jack White - Blunderbuss   ALBUM

He's back. With undertones of The White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army', White confuses his past with shades of the blues. Jack isn't really sure what to do with himself. The shifting mood, the varying pace, piano and electric guitar and percussion of On and On and On are indicative of his desire to deal with the 'Missing Pieces'. The recent divorcee strikes us, oh so maturely, with a memorable, yet often unpredictable, return.


4.07.2012
Levellers - Static On The Airwaves   ALBUM
Twenty-five albums in, Levellers still continue their political lyrical thinking. Echoes of Billy Bragg? Those melodic choruses, 'After The Hurricane' included, really are reminiscent of 60-something Labour supporters bellowing catchy Karaoke lyrics down the local, beer bellies hungry for more. Nevertheless, the lefties proclaim "there's a light at the end of the road"...



3.07.2012
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Everybody's On The Run    VIDEO

LA set, away from the disconcerting "same pouring rain" of Britishness perhaps with which Noel associates Blur (remember the infamous disputes? sibling squabbles with Liam too?), Gallagher comments on his chase for further fame. Mischa Barton, leopard print undies accompanied, also gets a run for her money. 

2.07.2012
Coldplay ft. Rihanna - Princess of China     VIDEO

Over 20 million views to date, yet it's still not too mainstream to be indie. Chris Martin (sexiest man alive) in a Kimono, "one more thing Jackie!" rings a bell. It's what we all wanted. Rihanna too.