Esben And The Witch "A Scratchy Spotlight"

I hopped onto this brooding broomstick via The Stool Pigeon music paper, when they favourably featured Esben and the Witch on the 'demos and myspace' review page in the Summer 2009 edition. Taking the name from a macabre Danish fairy tale (Is there any other type!) read about the fairy tale, this trio, based in Brighton U.K, claim to be influenced by glaciers, caverns and waning moons. For the benefit of those of you, who prefer more conventional comparisons, I'd pitch them in a coven attended by The Cure, Radiohead, The Cranes, Portishead and This Mortal Coil.

It's 'Gothic' in the traditional sense of the mood being melodramatic, conjuring up a sound of an evening of hedonism with Mary Shelley and Lord Byron, as opposed to being in a mood because one's too hot because yer wearing all black in the height of summer and the mascara is beginning to run type of goth.

This nightmare electro-post-rock is the product of Rachael Davies (vocals, percussion) , Daniel Copeman (electronics, guitars) and Thomas Fisher (guitars, keyboards) The musical brew is concocted with the ingredients of an organ, drum machines, some glockenspiel action and a groove box connected to a kaosillator!? as well as some scratchy guitars, which always goes down well here. A real plus point is Rachael's strong pure voice that's got enough oomph to carry the tunes and maintain the listener's interest.

'About This Peninsula' is shimmery and spectral and the tense 'Marching Song' hovers with a nervous spiky energy that beguiles. 'Eumenides' is a taught tune with ghostly siren like whispers, this one recalled for me, that fine recent episode of Dr Who called "Blink" You know the one with the moving statues which had us all hiding behind the sofa. The pick of the pack for me is 'Corridors' which has a menacing rattlesnake hissing sound, it makes your skin crawl but in a good way, then it slowly builds up into a dramatic climax. They're currently unsigned with a solitary E.P '33' under their cloak. You can download it here generously made available by the band for gratis.

Esben And The Witch have bagged themselves a slot at end of the road festival in September, where they should put in a spellbinding show (shucks! I almost made it through the review, without a reference to the blindingly obviously pun, oh well) Will they be accompanied on the stage by their resident owl? just like Birdpen have their bird mascot on stage, is this a new feathered based genre? perhaps I can lump'em together in a NME 'making up a hot new scene' stylee... how about "hardclaw", "fieldgaze" anyone? "chirp rock" "drum and cheap"...... hmm, I'll get me cloak!

Blips On The Blog Radar
http://breakingmorewaves.blogspot.com/2009/07/esben-and-witch-new-waves-breaking-more.html
http://www.thefourohfive.com/articles/1487
http://thesonicminefeild.blogspot.com/2009/05/esben-and-witch-33.html

Esben And the Witch - Confide In Me - Cover of the Kylie Minogue classic recorded live at The Freebutt, Brighton, 28/01/09

Upcoming Gigs
25 Jul 2009 Brighton The Freebutt
06 Aug 2009 London Hoxton Square Bar & Grill
22 Aug 2009London Notting Hill Arts Club
11 Sep 2009 Dorset End Of The Road Festival
01 Oct 2009 Sheffield The Harley

http://www.myspace.com/esbenandthewitch

http://www.last.fm/music/Esben+and+The+Witch

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Esben-and-the-Witch/117347218297#

We Have Love - "A Scratchy Spotlight"

Digging through dusty old records, sorting the wheat from the chaff, is a breeze compared to attempting to do the online equivalent. To say that trawling through the never ending virtual crate of online music, clamouring for attention in the brave new world of myspace accounts, is an overwhelming task is something of an understatement.

Yet here, at 'Scratchy Towers' we have grasped the internettle and are delighted to bring to your notice, some of the the daisys that stood out in the field of weeds.

First up is a band who have covertly crept into my consciousness, We Have Love are a lo-fi electro outfit, with tendencies to stray into dance beats. A debutante from the finishing school of icy cool pop.

This trio are from Stockholm in Sweden and Bethany May is on lead vocals, Per commands the software and Anna also contributes vocals. Out of the collection of tunes up on their myspace site, there are a clutch of songs that show great promise. Currently, these are still in a sketchy demo format, but with a bit of spit and shine, could polish up into magnificent jewels.

'Goodbye' is the type of pristine cool yet perky pop, that those masters of the genre St Etienne, penned throughout their career and would sit very comfortably in their back catalogue.

Eponymous track 'We Have Love' is a taut minimal track stripped down to just the essentials. Imagine something along the lines of Laurie Anderson covering Talking Heads 'Psycho Killer' fronted by a voice reminiscent of the legendary glamour of actress Louise Brooks.

'Fay Wray' has been given the benefit of a remix treatment from Sven Fröberg and Fredrik Persson, of Greek Theatre and is perhaps the strongest song of the pack. It's a delicate slice of psych pop with an intoxicating piano hook, which whirls with a wistfulness of a silent movie star, contemplating the the onset of the talkies: "I am big, it's the music that got small"

Blog blips on the radar...

http://www.swedesplease.net/ (01/05/09)

http://www.hallockhill.net/ (05/05/09)

http://www.digfisongs.com/ who describe them as

"A fantastic mixture between shoegaze and electropop, between soundwall and fluffy beats, between shyness and self-confidence, between decadence and glamour"

We Have Love - Dancing - a teaser video featuring Shunda K from Yo Majesty guesting on vocals and giving We Have Love a hip hop flavour. buy it here

DancingTeaser


www.myspace.com/wehavelove

http://www.wehavelove.se/

www.myspace.com/yomajesty

http://www.myspace.com/430590514 (The Greek Theatre)

Birdpen - Live Review

Act: Birdpen, The Bays, LCD Soundsystem (DJ Set)
Location: Southampton, U.K
Venue: Orange Rooms
Date: 11/06/09

The beautiful and bewildered came together for a highly anticipated evening of throbbing rock and rave.

I was looking forward to catching the opening act, Birdpen, as they had impressed me earlier in the year, after seeing a performance of theirs, thus warranted further investigation. Going under the nom de plumage of Dave Pen, Mike Bird and James Livingston Seagull, this trio create a deep dark dank storm of edgy layered riffs that build up a menacing head of steam. The looping rhythms make it clear that this ain't no 'Tweety Pie' chirping away in a guided cage, but more of a merciless vulture circling ominously in the unforgiving desert, eyeing up your sun blistered face.

The guys peck a stage presence, that is reminiscent of their moniker, heads relentlessly agitate up and down, as the riffs slowly build up to an incessant threatening pace, forcing you into submission with those beautiful but brooding songs. There are aspects of Birdpen's song writing, that flutter towards a more mainstream indie pop sound but I sense they most enjoy investigating sonic experimentation and perhaps their birdpenremixes site points the way to the this group's next stage of development. This is a sinister Slowdive sloshing around with Spaceman 3 sensibility, pluming marvelous!

A self released debut album 'On/Off/Safety/Danger' was released back in October 2008. The second single from this collection, titled Off, is due for an August 2009 release, go and get it from i-tunes buy it here, the early bird catches the worm as they say!

One downside at live events I've recently picked up on, is the insistence of certain sections of the audience to gabber on to their mates, even though the act has begun playing, show some respect! it ain't no hotel lounge bar and show some etiquette, no one wants to hear you babble. we paid our hard hard earned dosh to listen to the band, so shut it or move to the bar; moving on from the mini-rant onto the main live act of the evening.

The Bays are Andy Gangadeen (drums), Jamie Odell (keyboards), Simon Richmond (samples, keyboards) and Chris Taylor (bass) The project was meant as a one-off performance in London back in 1999, but they have been gigging intermittently since, gaining a reputation as an improvisational, instrumental dance band, who together deliver a mish mash of menacing electronic dub throb. Apparently part of their manifesto is that they refuse to sign to a record label, release records, sell merchandise or even rehearse.

Each gig is a unique event with a combustible mixture of techno, house, drum'n'bass and special effects thrown into the counter cauldron. The interaction between the quartet was intriguing as they adjusted their music according to the feedback vibe of the crowd and how the mood takes 'em. Each band member trotted off on their own exploratory path yet the performance hung together, an archipelago of four volcanic islands seemingly independent but inextricably linked underneath the surface, pummelling yet pleasing the crowd with a diverse set of pulsating beats.

LCD Soundsystem: I'm not going to comment on the relative quality of this D.J Set as it is a subject I know little about (it's never stopped you writing before, I hear you cry) suffice to say that, as we left the scene early due to it being a school night, the floor was crammed with a packed hot and sweaty crowd bouncing away and getting "jiggy" as the modern verbal vernacular goes, so they tell me!

Birdpen - Breaking Precedent - Official Video, directed by Simon Gesrel

http://birdpen.com/

http://www.myspace.com/birdpen

http://www.myspace.com/birdpenremixes

http://www.youtube.com/user/Birdpen?gl=GB&hl=en-GB

http://www.thebays.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bays

http://www.myspace.com/thebayslive

http://www.lcdsoundsystem.com/

A Broken Consort - Box Of Birch

A Broken Consort is the moniker for one of Lancashire artist Richard Skelton's musical projects, it's meaning is originally, to stand for an ensemble whose instruments are not all from the same family (read more here)

Richard Skelton is an artist from Lancashire, UK, who has created and collaborated in spine tingling music under a number of guises including Heidika, Riftmusic, Carousell, Harlassen and Clouwbeck. He has released two albums of A Broken Consort material on his own private press, the Sustain-Release project. This creative press was born as a commemorative tribute to his late wife Louise, with the intention of publishing her artwork alongside his own musical offerings. The second A Broken Consort album Box of Birch, originally released in 2007, has recently been picked up and given a second airing via New York label Tompkins Square

It's difficult to encapsulate the type of music this is, classically orientated, yet adventurous and experimental, with a twist of an ambient brooding film soundtrack thrown in; a hybrid of musical families if you like! The promotional material suggests "Skelton creates powerful, instrumental music out of densely-layered acoustic guitar, bowed strings, piano, mandolin and accordion, often laced with delicate, shimmering percussion. The result is something utterly unique" It's hard to argue with that description and fans of Peter Broderick would do well to investigate further.

I have to confess had this one nearly slipped through the net, as I was alerted to it earlier in the year, yet put it on the back burner, despite taking to the music and being particularly impressed by the sumptuous packaging "It was originally published in a boxed edition that contained, among other things, birch twigs collected from the West Pennine Moors" Skelton showed beautiful attention to detail that pushed this release from being being just 'a product' into an artifact, longing to be treasured. It took a nudge from that venerable music magazine Mojo - designed for ageing rock collector bores, a demographic circle in which Scratchy hits right in the bulls eye, who have given Box Of Birch a favourable write up in their 'The Vinyl Countdown' column in the July 2009 issue.

buy it here via the New York label Tompkins Square, it comes in all the usual formats including the all important heavy vinyl.

A Broken Consort - Box Of Birch - Available from 28th April 2009



http://www.myspace.com/abrokenconsort

http://www.tompkinssquare.com/

http://sustain-release.co.uk/

http://richardskelton.wordpress.com/

More References:

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/a_broken_consort

http://www.discogs.com/A-Broken-Consort-Box-Of-Birch/release/1042209

http://antigravitybunny.blogspot.com/2009/03/mp3-broken-consort-elder-lie.html

http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-a-broken-consort-the-elder-lie_064242.html

We Made God - Live Review

Act: We Made God

Location: Southampton, U.K

Venue: Talking Heads

Date: 26/04/09

On this sleepy April Sunday evening, these guys had come to deliver a blistering set, at a venue, which has a good reputation as a showcase for interesting alternative music. So it was an easy decision to wander down and give my earlobes a sonic workout, as opposed to the usual end of weekend feet up in front of 'Heartbeat' with a glass of sherry: Lester Bangs eat your heart out!

Platterhorn managed to negotiate a couple of hours off family duty and he was happy to also sample We Made God, with just a minor caveat, that we stopped off for a post-post rock gig kebab on the way home. During the aperitif to the main act, we were treated to three interesting support acts, varying from emo-electro rock to 'Fugazi-like' hardcore punk trio, so something for all the family to enjoy there. It's a shame the crowd was a bit sparse and the atmosphere was a bit flat, as it must be hard for these bands to get pumped up to perform, when there's minimal feedback from the audience. Playing live is an important part of the learning curve of a band and it's vital to try out what works, outside the confines of a practice studio.

The main act on the bill We Made God come all the way from Hafnafjörður in Iceland, this gig was part of a short tour of the U.K promoting their self produced debut album 'As We Sleep' which was released via Maybe Records on March 27th 2008 in their native country and October 2008 in the U.K. The youthful quartet Magnús (vocals, guitars) Arnór (guitars) Stúni (bass) and Biggi (drums) make up the numbers and have been together for about five years. Together, they create a moody desolate sound, chiseled from a sonic landscape, which billows raucous clouds of storming riffs. It's a ferocious sound, with outbursts of frenetic chainsaw riffs, cutting through the introspective passages, all anchored by Maggi's anguished guttural howling vocal style.

We Made God are exponents of experimental rock, cut from the similar cloth as their fellow Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros (let's get the obligatory reference point out of the way) however I was struck how much more heavy their sound was, in this live setting. It's easy to see why they have garnered positive reaction from the likes of Kerrang and Q music magazines with four star reviews. It's crunching stuff which makes the floorboards tremble and 'W M G' could sit comfortably on the bill of a Download festival for instance. Their album would nestle nicely next to the Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Black Mountain on the hard rock rack at the record shop. Yet they have enough variation within their songs to appeal to the mainstream crowd as well as the indie kids.


The band have got a strong stage presence, at times looking like grungy Thunderbirds marionette puppets, as if they were controlled by the ghostly hand of Kurt Cobain, with imaginary strings making them bob up and down in the rocky parts unleashing a foursome frenetically freaking out. The singer looked as though he was exercising some serious demons in his singing technique to the point where he admitted he was in danger of fainting.

The strongest song Gizmo was given an airing as was Sub Rosa and the last song We Lost The Battle, We lost the War stuck out as a highlight. As the evening drew to a close, all that was left to do was for the small but appreciative crowd to head home, in our case via the local Kebab shop, with the warm sound fuzz of 'W M G' still ringing in our ears, shish kebab filling our bellies and gooey chilli sauce dripping down our shirts!

We Made God - Gizmo from the album As We Sleep directed by Óskar Bragi Stefánsson



http://www.myspace.com/wemadegod

Twiggy Frostbite

As I stumbled across the charming video for the track 'Heroes' by Swedish five piece Twiggy Frostbite, I was immediately seduced by the cute animation and the bitter sweet nature of the story line. It's a real quivering lip heart breaker and guaranteed to move even the most hard bitten cynical music blogger to tears. The music is beautiful and reminds me of that seminal track by Stina Nordenstam, Little Star, with it's delicate vocals and sweet but sad delivery.

Twiggy Frostbite are from Gävle have been together since 2006 and contain members of blogland darlings The Deer Tracks along with death metal punksters Grizzly Twister! The current line up is Elin Lindfors on vocals, Anna Karin Berglund on keyboard, Emma Sjöberg on bass duties David Kramer on drums Joel Thedéen on guitar and input from Joakim Westlund on guitar.

According to the promo blurb they're inspired by the smell, the acoustics and everything to do with The London Underground. Presumably, they romantically mean, the eerie lights zipping through tunnels and spooky echoes bouncing off chambers rather than smelly armpits in the rush hour, sick stained seats and the caterwaul of out of tune buskers, which will be the more familiar images conjured up by the majority of average London commuters.

Right here comes the factual bits: The debut album is called Through Fire and was released via Despotz Records in Sweden on February 18th 2009 It's currently scheduled for a U.K release on 1st June 2009.

Here's a breakdown of the inscrutable lyrics for those of you wanting to have a singalong...

Heroes
Seconds before the end,
The final moment is ours to make
If it matters
This is the time, or it'll be too late
In present tense
Attack or defense

None of us are heroes,
we just sing their songs
I wish you would fight for me,
I wish you were strong
Just a first attempt
No second chances will come our way
It requires bravery
More than any of us can say
In present tense,
Attack or defense

None of us are heroes,
we just sing their songs
I wish you would fight for me,
I wish you would hold on
None of us are heroes,
we just steal their words
I wish you would fight for me,
though the idea is cursed
Because none of us are fighters,
we just start the fights
And then leave it to ease off,
leave it to die

Twiggy Frostbite - Heroes - Video: Ina Steinnes



http://www.myspace.com/twiggyfrostbite

http://www.myspace.com/thedeertracks

http://www.despotz.se/

http://www.myspace.com/thegrizzlytwister

http://www.stinanordenstam.net/

http://milkmilk-lemonade.blogspot.com/2008/12/twiggy-frostbite.html

My Brightest Diamond

"String Players Wanted: If you like Pierre Boulez as much as PJ Harvey, call me!"

This was the ad posted by Shara Worden to bring together a motley crew of esoteric performers, that became My Brightest Diamond. It also perfectly sums up their music, which straddles the twin colossi of music genres; classical and rock.

Shara Worden was born into a house of diverse musical aesthetics and was something of a musical prodigy, starting to write songs from the age of three. She was the granddaughter of an epiphone playing travelling evangelist, her father was a National Accordion Champion and her mother was a pianist.

This background, immersed in diverse musical influences, coupled with formal music training via a degree in opera from the University of North Texas, has led to a song writing technique, that tippy toes through lush, orchestrated, dramatic and delicate fields of sounds. A move to New York City opened the door to various musical collaborations, most notably with Padma Newsome of The National and with Sufjan Steven's on his celebrated Illinois album and the 2003 Christmas E.P project.

My Brightest Diamond released their first record in 2006 called 'Bring Me The Workhorse' on Asthmatic Kitty Records This was followed up by 'A Thousand Shark's Teeth' in 2008 with an album of remixes entitled 'Tear It Down' sandwiched between these two full length albums. The following video accompanies the track 'Inside a Boy' taken from the most recent album. It is a cute, dreamy animation and is well executed in a style reminiscent of Jamie Hewlett (Monkey, Tank Girl, Gorillaz etc)

Any artist who uses 'crepuscular' in their promotional blurb (one of the finest words in the English language) is worthy of a Scratchy thumbs up.

My Brightest Diamond - Inside A Boy

Upcoming Gigs

21/03/09 Lookout Mountain, GA, Covenant College, U.S.A

22/03/09 Lexington, KY, Al’s Bar U.S.A

http://www.mybrightestdiamond.com/

http://sharaworden.com/

http://asthmatickitty.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Brightest_Diamond

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Hewlett

Marina & the Diamonds - Live Review

Date: 26th February 2009
Location: Southampton Venue: Hamptons

Marina and the Diamonds have been hotly tipped in the music meedja (Arena and Dazed &Confused coverage) as well as sparking off plenty of positive blog chatter, she also sparkled with enough promise to be placed in the coveted "Scratchy's Twelve Grooves of Christmas" back in December. read more here

This talented lady has now embarked on a short tour promotional the debut single, a double A side, called Obsessions/Mowgli's World which is now available on pre-order via Neon Gold Records with the official release day now on the 9th March 2009. She set off a bidding war from fourteen different labels and has now signed an album deal with 679 Recordings (part of the Warner label) The first stop on this tour was in Southampton, so on hearing this exciting news, I rounded up the usual suspects, Morris Chancer, Platterhorn and The Milky Bar Kid for an evening of dad dancing down at Hamptons.

Hamptons is a cracking little venue, which seems to attract a mellow crowd of asymmetrical haircut indie emo students, as well as a cross section of non mainstream music lovers. It was particularly pleasing to see that the management had eschewed the usual design by numbers 'sophisticated' pre club bar makeover, usually lifted off the pages of Wallpaper magazine, for a much more eye catching classic album cover montage, plastered over some of the walls. What can be be more satisfying than to stare at a wall, mentally ticking off each old school gem with a mumble of "got this, got that" whilst supping dodgy lager from a plastic glass? However, just to set the record straight (crappy pun intended) this little parlour game didn't extend to owning the Bruce Willis or Leo Sayer albums.

We only got to catch the tail end of the final support act Arthur due to an unforeseen overrunning hair appointment incident from Mrs Chancer delaying our arrival (I bet NME writers don't have to contend with such issues) but the spirited and spiky set from them, had warmed up the crowd enough for Marina to make her entrance to a keenly anticipating throng. On a side note, the stage is curiously located, effectively in the 'shop window' which must give the impression to passers by, of a window display of fashion dummies having a party after a hard day's standing around showing off haute couture.

No one could accuse Marina of giving a static performance as she launched into an opening number 'Seventeen' with the wild abandon of Cathy calling for Heathcliff through the window. Now eagle eyed readers will spot the Wuthering Heights connection, which segways neatly into all those Kate Bush comparisons that keep popping up in reference to Marina and the Diamonds. Now there certainly is a likeness here and Hazel O'Connor/Regina Spector are also apparent, but there's a unique quality to this lady's singing voice and song writing that defies pigeon holing and bodes well for the future.

The ska/rock inflexion of the second song ‘Girls Girls Girls’ got the crowd bouncing around and this was followed by 'I Am Not A Robot' with the lead singer's energetic theatricals complemented by the backing band settling down and slipping into the groove. The tempo slowed for a passionate performance of the signature tune 'Obsessions' which engaged the waverers in the audience.

Next up was a brave and very enjoyable cover version of Gwen Stefani's 'What You Waiting For' taken from the excellent Love Angel Music Baby album. At this point Marina sized up to the microphone with those cuckoo introductory hollers that opens up 'Mowgli's Road' and got Hamptons bouncing but before we knew it, the lights went up and it was all over.

A short but splendid set of songs from a promising performer, who has the charisma to exude on the stage as well as in the studio. This year, should see Marina and the Diamonds make major strides into the affections of music fans who like classy original indie pop. The one caveat is that I hope there's plenty of new material in the pipeline and that producer Liam Howe can dig out some more songs from Marina's mine of creativity, of the calibre of the half a dozen we heard tonight, they will be needed to take her potential to the next level..

Marina and the Diamonds - Mowgli's Road - BBC Sessions



Upcoming Live Gigs
28 Feb 2009 Stealth Nottingham
01 Mar 2009 Start the Bus Bristol
24 Mar 2009 Fashion Trip ! New York U.S.A
27 Mar 2009 Vassar College (Acoustic Set) Poughkeepsie, New York U.S.A
11 Apr 2009 Get It Loud @ Lancaster Library
24 Apr 2009 Camden Crawl Camden, London
25 Apr 2009 Camden Crawl Camden, London
01 May 2009 London Callin 'Paradiso' Amsterdam
02 May 2009 Live @ Leeds
03 May 2009 Sounds from the Other City Salford
21 May 2009Stag & Dagger (Bar Music Hall) London

http://www.myspace.com/marinaandthediamonds

http://neongoldrecords.blogspot.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing/artists/marinaandthediamonds/

http://www.4ortherecord.co.uk/Marina-and-the-DiamondsInterview.html

Arthur - http://www.myspace.com/arthurtheband

The Do - On My Shoulders

The Dø are Finnish/French duo, Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti and Dan Levy, who combine to bring together a quirky Scandinavian pop sensibility with a liberal sprinkling of Paris chic to their songwriting. They had a number one hit in France with 'On My Shoulders' taken from the 2008 debut album 'A Mouthful'. This is one of those songs that creeps up on you on the first few plays and surreptitiously gets under your skin, so that before you know it, you're humming the chorus and pressing repeat on the mp3 player. Olivia's precocious vocals are infectious, as they hook the listener in, with high maintenance mannerisms and Dan is not afraid to push the envelope with his jackdaw like eclectic musical style, but always keeping one eye on a decent melody. It's released in the U.K on Monday 09th February 2009 and is well worth checking out. Enjoy!

The Dø - 'On My Shoulders' from 'A Mouthful'



http://www.myspace.com/thedoband

Small Feral Token - Twelve Grooves of Christmas Part 11

Small Feral Token unleashed a corker of an album this year called 'Digipop' which popped out back in October. They were favourably featured in the national press in their native Sweden, but mystifyingly have barely registered in the U.K music press so far, thus I'm determined rectify the error of music blogland's ways and correct this oversight.

The 'Feral' sound could be pigeon holed as 'electronica pop' chirping from the same perch as highly commercial acts, like Kylie Minogue and Robyn. Yet they also have some of the musical magpie tendencies of Gwen Stefani and soar amongst the experimental clouds of Björk or Kraftwerk. All the while, lurking beneath the beats, is a brooding undercurrent of foreboding and implied menace, a la Portishead, so whilst all of these elements combine to produce a sumptuous mainstream peacock, concealed beneath the fine drapery, lies the heartbeat of an avant-garde Hitchcockian crow, slyly feathering the nest.

Small Feral Token is made up of the creative partnership between Lotta Westholm and Natalie Sjölund, who are based in Stockholm. Song writing duties are divided up with Lotta composing the foundations of the songs and Natalie writing the lyrics. Together they self produced their debut album 'Digipop' with some collaborative input from Aron Lamm. It was released via mondonuevorecords and is well worth checking out.

Here is the fantastic but spooky new video for the song 'Passionate Glue' It peeks into a nightmarish world, set within a padded cell, trapped within a German Expressionist painting. Lotta and Natalie play 'Alice in Wonderland' type characters, partaking in a nutty knotty knitting circle. Nurse, more meds please, I've dropped a stitch! It was filmed in collaboration with author & director Sandra Nilsen and the crew from Branbomm Film.

Small Feral Token - 'Passionate Glue'



http://www.smallferaltoken.com/

http://www.myspace.com/smallferaltoken

http://mondonuevo.se/

The Boxing Lesson - Scratchy's Twelve Grooves of Christmas Part 10

Occasionally, here at 'Scratchy Towers' we like to chill out, roll a metaphorical fat one and let our 'freak flag fly' Some of the best backing music to get us in that mood is by post rock pugilists The Boxing Lesson from Austin, Texas.

The latest video accompanying the track 'The Dark Side Of The Moog' taken off their 2008 album release Wild Streaks and Windy Days is a bit of a corker. It's directed by Eric Power of clearproductions.net, who has produced an animation with a woodcut style that is vaguely reminiscent of The Beatles 'Yellow Submarine' animated film but realised in a sinister David Lynch style.

The Boxing Lesson roll out a brand of psych-rock fit for the twenty first century that shimmys, and soars in epic dramatic spacey tracks but they can also knock you out with a more direct garage band inspired sound. If you like Secret Machines, Porcupine Tree or the most obvious reference point, Pink Floyd, these guys will be a heavyweight contender in your collection.

The video for The Boxing Lesson - 'Dark Side of the Moog'



www.myspace.com/theboxinglesson

www.youtube.com/theboxinglesson08

Marina & The Diamonds - Twelve Grooves of Christmas Part 9

If I was to stick my neck out and make a tip top prediction for an act from our Christmas list, who's going to make a significant impact on 'muzbizland' in 2009, I'd say it has to be Marina and the Diamonds. She first cast a spell over me back in May with her intoxicating mix of dramatic piano led compositions, off kilter resonant angst driven singing and general maverick demeanor.

We appear to be in a golden era for producing talented female singer songwriters who have been wholesomely raised on a diet of Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell. Marina's songs are hewn from a similar rock and her ability to sparkle with catchy hooks, might just propel her into the mainstream market, now the general public's tastes are becoming more open minded to songs of unabashed individualism, since they've been softened up by the collective talents of Bat For Lashes, Likke Li, Feist and Kate Nash.

Marina has teamed up with the fledging boutique label Neon Gold Records. They are set to release 'Obsessions'/'Mowgli's Road' as a double A-side 7" single, limited to just five hundred vinyl copies on Valentines Day 2009. If you just can't wait until then, you can get a free download copy at http://neongoldrecords.blogspot.com/ and they promise future remixes from Giantess and Little Boots, hurrah! She is also busy working on her debut album produced by Liam Howe who has worked with Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Here we have the fab new video which is simple, graceful and beautiful.
Marina and the Diamonds - 'Obsessions'


Marina & The Diamonds, "Obsessions" from Neon Gold Records on Vimeo.


http://www.myspace.com/marinaandthediamonds

http://neongoldrecords.com/

Rosie and the Goldbug - Twelve Grooves of Christmas Part 4

Rosie, Plums and Pixie, these names conjure up an image of characters of a whimsical Sixties children's animation, but they're actually the three members of Cornwall's finest musical export in 2008, Rosie and the Goldbug.

It's been quite a year for the band with the release of their self-titled debut album, which received many favourable reviews. They are getting plenty of deserved positive feedback in the national press at the moment, culminating in a support slot on tour with Cyndi Lauper.

We first caught the bug back in July and quickly followed this up with a live review of their exuberant live show, Rosie is a natural star as a front woman and the trio put in a highly polished performance, despite playing what must have turned out to be the most low key gig of the year for them. Their catchy yet kooky sound is dramatic, dynamic and dazzling. A case of "Wham bam, thank you for the glam dram Ma'm, from a fan " if you please..!

Rosie and the Goldbug - 'You've Changed' was released as a mp3 single at the start of this month and the video has Rosie charging around the Cornish countryside on a white horse, bearing a distinct resemblance to an treasured antique doll doing a Boudicca impression after overdoing the Smirnoff and redbull, marvellous!



http://www.rosieandthegoldbug.co.uk/

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=132530915

Fiction, My Empty Phantom, My Education

Austin, Texas has always been receptive to an alternative music scene and has played host in the past to pioneers of experimental rock, Go Roky, go! There currently appears to be a burgeoning wave of ambient post rockers willing to push the envelope of conjuring sound scapes.

Fiction originated, in 2005, as a collaboration between Jeremy Roye (vocals, laptop, effects) and Michael Zawodniak (keys, synths, bass, vocals) The following year, the duo later expanded the line up, with the addition of multi-instrumentalists Matt Latour (drums, flute, bass, vocals) and Henna Chou (cello, keys, bass, vocals) and starting playing live.

Their sound is experimental, with an evident influence of the Radiohead style of pushing the boundaries ethos, particularly in the vocal styles and wobbly head technique of the lead singer. Thrown into the plot are an assortment of strings, synthesizers, multi-part harmonies, electronic beats, live looping/sampling, and flute, all culminating in a satisfying musical page turner. The tempo of the melodies has a slightly twitchy, claustrophobic feel with repeated listens revealing extra layers of sounds, hidden under the nervy, chanty vocals.

The 'You Will Never' E.P was released back in late October 2008. A debut album provisionally titled, American Hologram, is pencilled in for release in early Spring 2009.

I have to give them an 8.23 out of ten! Usually I would shy away from clumsy 'marks out of' reviews but I will make an exception just this once, in order to shoe-in a superfluous librarian in-joke, indulge me please.



Your next chance to catch Fiction live is on the 13th December 2008 @ The Space Cave, 3109 Walnut St, Austin, Texas with D.J Mos Jeficit, Hello Lovers, Many Birthdays, and Little Stolen Moments in support.

http://www.cantrememberthewords.com/

http://www.myspace.com/cantrememberthewords

http://www.virb.com/fiction_austin http://www.myspace.com/thulsadoompete

http://thatotherpaper.com/austin/a_fiction_in_the_writing

They also play Lamberts on 24th January 2009 with My Empty Phantom and My Education, which sounds like a jolly good night out, if it wasn't a three thousand miles trek, I'd be tempted to pop down and catch this triple trippy toe tapping toasty of a show.

My Empty Phantom is basically a one man show from Jesse Beaman, who creates a very pleasing Eno-esque ambient soundscape, chilled but lively enough not be soporific. Have a break from the twenty four hour rush hour of twenty first century living and check out this live version of the hypnotic Field Of Flowers.



http://www.myspace.com/emptyphantommusic

My Education have been creating epic sonic post-rock with a twist of Americana since 1999 and have four albums under their belt. It comes as no surprise that they've been involved with two original film soundtracks for Angels Egg and Sunrise, as their music has a definite cinematic quality about it. I can imagine one of their tracks, as the backdrop to a Wim Wenders movie or an indie flick, set in in a Texas trailer park.

The latest album 'Bad Vibrations' was released in June 2008 and this is the video of the title track, which is laconically lovely but a little bit eerie as well.



myeducationmusic.com

http://www.discogs.com/artist/My+Education

http://www.myspace.com/myeducation

The Boxing Lesson

Here at Scratchy Towers, we thoroughly approve of those post rock pugilists from Austin, Texas The Boxing Lesson. We are delighted to go another round with them, by showing their latest video accompanying the track 'The Dark Side Of The Moog' taken off their 2008 album release Wild Streaks and Windy Days.

The video is directed by Eric Power of clearproductions.net, who has produced an animation with a woodcut style that is vaguely reminiscent of The Beatles 'Yellow Submarine' animated film but realised in a sinister David Lynch style.



Nov 10 Spaceland ? Los Angeles,CA
Nov 11 Plush ? Tuscon,AZ w/Dead Confederate
Nov 13 Percolator ? El Paso,TX
Dec 12 Emo?s ? Austin,TX
Dec 13 The Mink ? Houston,TX

The homespun naive art of this video, also has echoes of some of the more bizarre five minute cartoons that the BBC used to show, in the hallowed 5.35p.m slotback, back in the Seventies, just before the evening news was broadcast. As well as scheduling much loved greats like The Clangers and Bagpuss, they would intersperse these, with creepy, surreal cartoons that must have given a generation of little ones, the heebie-jeebies.

Ludwig especially resonated with me, shown from 1977, it was a crystal egg that metamorphosed into a creature with mechanical devices, set to the music of Ludwig Van Beethoven. . Ludwig and his strange friends, like the dodgy man in the bushes, watching events through binoculars! were forever etched onto my fragile malleable young mind. The cartoon was created by Mirek and Peter Lang and was narrated by Jon Glover, with arrangements by Paul Reade of The Flumps.



www.myspace.com/theboxinglesson

www.youtube.com/theboxinglesson08

www.sonicbids.com/theboxinglesson

www.imeem.com/theboxinglesson

http://profile.myspace.com/ericpower

http://www.thechestnut.com/ludwig.htm

Little Boots

In my humble opinion Little Boots stole the show on last weeks edition of 'Later with Jools Holland' first shown on BBC 07/11/08. Sure, Fleet Foxes were sublime and The Killers were on top of their game, but for pure quirky energy and out of the foil freshness, Blackpool's finest power pop pixie, Victoria Hesketh (Little Boots) shone out, amongst a very strong line up.

Now I realise that I'm a bit slow out of the blocks on picking up on this artist, as she is already getting lauded by those in the know in muzbizland, but better late than never eh! The mix of lo-fi piano pop mixed with electro grunge, is brought alive by her keen ear for a blistering pop hook in the melody and has there ever been a better use of a stylophone in music history? Joe Goddard from 'candonowrongatthemoment' electro nerd band Hot Chip spotted her potential and was moved to polish her demo, producing her debut single Stuck On Repeat. She previously served her apprenticeship with Leeds based Dead Disco, who released a self titled album back in 2007.

If your not convinced yet that Little Boots is the future of pop, let me tell you that she uses a Tenori, this is a hand-held screen that acts as an instrument, with the aid of a grid of LED switches, that can be activated to create an evolving sound scape. "It is intended as a toy, but we've pushed it to its limits" quotefromhere It looks like a space invaders console, crossed with the head from Marvin the Paranoid Android of 'Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy' infamy; if that doesn't get yer feet a toe tappin, nothing will.

Little Boots - Stuck On Repeat (Live On Jools Holland)


Little Boots - Meddle (Live On Jools Holland)



http://www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk/

http://www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk/

http://www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk/blog/

http://uk.youtube.com/littlebootsvideos

http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/artists/littleboots/

http://www.myspace.com/deaddiscohq

Jack Davis and Sailcat

One of the great losses of modern popular culture is the lack of opportunity for an artist, designer typographer or musician to make their mark and express their creative vision on the 12"x 12" canvas that is a record cover. No amount of creative packaging within CD covers can replace the record sleeve as an ideal forum to create a visual impact, as for mp3's, no matter how convenient they are, the accompanying visuals are a non starter.

As a nipper, I used to seek out Mad magazine paperbacks, featuring many of artists that influenced and informed my early scribblings, Duck Edwing, Don Martin 'Mad's Maddest Artist' and Sergio Aragones were particular favourites of mine. The cartoon work of Jack Davis also caught my eye, with his accomplished pseudo realistic brushwork, usually illustrating wacky parodies of popular t.v and movie culture. He was an intregal part of the Mad team, indeed his work had featured right from the first issue and continued to feature in another 241 issues.

Jack's draughtmanship was also put to good use in other fields of illustration like movie posters, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World being a particularly appropriate example. Jack's instantly recognisable style also adorns dozens of album cover sleeves as well.

Jack's appealing style was particularly suited to the medium of the album sleeve, as he could convey an impression of the music/sounds that lay within, using his wild, surreal imagination to paint an eye catching scene. Let's face it, his artwork not only enhanced the record, but was sometimes the best thing about the product. London Record's legendary Phase 4 label, particularly favoured his style, often using his services on some of their more esoteric pressings.

What is the finest Jack Davis album cover? I hear you ask.. in the faux sincere style of a reality show presenter, I can truly say that it's been hard to narrow down a particular favourite as they're all winners, but if I had to pick a champion, it has to be Ray Martin's 'The Sound Of Sight' album. The sheer chaos and frenzy of the cover art is a delight to behold and captures the very essence of the varied styles of music that are recorded within. The artwork explodes off the page, as do the sounds from the stereo, making this a very successful realisation of what must have been initially, a tricky brief.

I leave it to endlessgroove.com to sum up exactly why this is the pinnacle of Jack's cover art career. This next bit is sourced from www.endlessgroove.com/issue4/lp4s2.htm

"The Sound of Sight may very well be the summit of the London Phase 4 concept. Like Battle Stereo, the album sounds as if one is listening to a movie soundtrack without the picture. In fact, with the subtitle Music For an Experiment in Imagination, that's exactly what Phase 4 had in mind. One of the best uses of sound effects I've heard on any album of this type."



Another Davis cover that I hold dear to my heart, is the debut album from Sailcat. They were formed by Johnny Wyker and Court Pickett in 1972, both of whom previously were in The Rubber Band. They brought in many established players from the Southern Rock music scene and legendary Muscle Shoals guitarist Pete Carr produced the album. 'Motorcycle Mama' was released on the Electra label and they had a radio hit with the title track which reached number twelve on the Billboard chart.

This was the soundtrack to a period when every self respecting dude was cruising the freeways of America on a chopper straight out of Easy Rider. As you can deduce, there was enough room for his ole lady and the kids riding pillion, all of whom are sticking it to the man, flicking the system a metaphorical bird, by clearly breaching health and safety guidance/rules, as they're not wearing any helmets on the album's front cover.

This slab of Southern country rock is a pleasant enough listen, but the star of the show and the main reason for owning this, is the fantastic artwork by Jack Davis. It's a concept album of sorts, based on a self destructing drifter, who dreams of settling down and starting a family, he then meets a woman who turns out to be more than a match for him.

An entertaining account of how the album got made, written by Richie Unterberger, can be found here. Johnny Wyker briefly resurrected the Sailcat name in 2002, with an album called 'Wild Water-Ski Weekend' on the Mighty Field of Vision label and is currently involved in this project.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Davis_(cartoonist)

http://lambiek.net/artists/d/davis.htm

http://hairygreeneyeball.blogspot.com/2008/09/jack-davis-goes-on-record.html

http://hairygreeneyeball.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-jack-davis-on-record.html

http://lpcoverlover.com/category/jack-davis/

http://www.endlessgroove.com/issue5/jdintro.htm

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/darb321/album_covers_by_jack_davis

http://www.collectorsquest.com/blog/2007/01/11/jack-davis-album-covers/

Matt & Kim - Daylight

Brooklyn's finest dance duo, Matt & Kim have come out of a two year hibernation to release a real doozey of a feel good track 'Daylight' that has a killer piano/drum lick, which will burrow it's way under your skin and head straight for your cerebral cortex, pretty much from the first play.

Now I'm usually pretty slow on picking up on zeitgeist tunes in the media, as my friend can bear witness when I came home from a hard day's vinyl digging last year and commented that I kept hearing a toe tapping tune song about a brolly, blasting out of every car/shop in the town centre, to be informed that this was Rhianna's current number one smash hit that had topped the charts for weeks. However, I reckon this tune could bubble up, at least amongst the more discerning crowd, if there's any justice left in the music meedja.. it's also a free, legal download, what more can you ask for! Enjoy...



It also reminds me of Justice vs Simian's 'We Are Your Friends' which became the soundtrack of indie hipsters back in 2006, becoming omnipresent, as essential backing music to all 4music type of t.v programming, you know the kind of show, where impossibly cool and attractive presenters deliver witty 'off the cuff' post ironic comments, linking frothy filler American teen lifestyle shows. Despite this, the 'Friends' track still puts a smile on my face and 'Daylight' brings out the same sunny disposition in me, this is quite an achievement, as friends and acquaintances can testify to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dcDPBnz3rQ

http://www.mattandkimmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/mattandkim

http://www.greenlabelsound.com/

http://profile.myspace.com/justicevssimian

Scorpions - Lonesome Crow - Fly To The Rainbow

The veteran Teutonic rockers are rolling out for a short tour of the U.K this month and have enlisted former members Uli Jon Roth and Michael Schenker to join them. This gives me an opportunity to highlight two classics of their early back catalogue, which might have fallen off the critical radar for those of you, who only associate the band with the Berlin Wall toppling, lighter waving, corny whistling, cod rock Winds Of Change song.

The Scorpions go way back to 1965 when Rudolf Schenker started up the band in Hanover, Germany, influenced by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and the many British beat groups like The Yardbirds, Pretty Things and Spooky Tooth that followed in their wake; they served their apprenticeship delivering standard beat sounds.

By 1970, the group's line up had settled down with the addition, from the band Copernicus, of vocalist Klaus Meine and Rudolf's younger brother Michael, who had already estabilished his reputation, as a child prodigy on the guitar, with Cry (1968-1970) . The five piece were completed by Wolfgang Dziony (Drums) and Lothar Heimberg (Bass) together they made a debut album, which was issued only in Germany in 1972.

Lonesome Crow is regarded as a footnote in the Scorpions discography, as it's sound is far removed from the straight forward hard rock tunes, like Rock Me Like A Hurricane and Lovedrive, that gave the band such commercial and critical success in the later Seventies and Eighties. However, aficionado's of early Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and progressive psychedelic Krautrock bands, like Can and Neu, should be making a beeline for this fine example of the genre. The experimental fluidity of the tracks culminating in the thirteen minute epic title track gives room for Klaus Meine's operatic vocals to be stretched and complemented by the remarkable guitar workout from junior Schenker, who was sixteen when he recorded this, and bar some obvious Hendrix influences, delivers an incredible performance.

The album cover featured is the U.K Heavy Metal Worldwide re-release from 1982, which is preferable to the original cover, as it features Rodney Matthew's glorious artwork.

Lead Track Promo for I'm Going Mad 1972



In 1973 Michael left to join UFO, whom Scorpions had supported and led to the temporary break up of band, this must have created an interesting Sunday lunch atmosphere round at the Schenker family table for a while. Rudolph, however, didn’t let the grass grow beneath his feet and soon enlisted Uli Jon Roth, who had previously completed lead guitar duties on the UFO tour, so the Scorpions were back with a refreshed line up and went into the studio to record the second album.

Fly to the Rainbow, released in 1974, had a harder edge, with fewer excursions into the Krautrock experimentalism and wistful psychedelia of it’s predecessor. Uli’s soaring guitar antics were overtly following in the footsteps of Hendrix, yet his mastery of the lead guitar proved to be an exciting addition to the formula. Some tracks still retained a dreamy quality to them, notably on This Is My Song and the title track. In some ways, this is a more fully realised album than 'Lonesome Crow' with tighter, more disciplined song structures delivering more oomph to the mix.

If 'Fly to the Rainbow' straddled between the stoner and rocker Scorpions, the next album In Trance, defiantly set it’s stall out as a hard rock album and signalled the end of the musically more far out Scorpions and the beginning of the commercially successful outfit that went onto sell twenty million plus albums.

This Is My Song 1974



European Tour
October, 12th Newcastle Carling Academy U.K
October, 13th Glasgow Carling Academy U.K
October, 15th Manchester U.K Apollo
October, 16th Southampton Guildhall U.K
October, 18th London Hammersmith Apollo U.K
October, 19th Wolverhampton Civic Hall U.K
October, 25th Strasbourg Zenith France
November, 2ndTallinn Estonia
November, 4th Riga Latvia
November, 6th Vilnius Lithuania
November, 10th Yaroslavl Russia
November, 19th Estoril Portugal

http://www.the-scorpions.com/english/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpions_(band)

http://www.rodneymatthews.com/

http://www.joegeesin.com/rodney-matthews.htm