Here we find the best new talent kicking around on the scene and report back to you to say who you should be looking out for in 2008.
Nephu Huzzband
We at shadders are shallow enough to take notice of bands with what can only described as ‘wacky’ names so nephu huzzband appealed straight away. Not only this we are swayed by cheap gimmicks so the fact that the promo cd of papers looks like a small vinyl single mean’t we were in hook like and sinker!
Musically it’s well up our alley, raw lo fi alternative guitar rock gives you some idea where nephu huzzband are coming from. Names like The Cure have been banded about which ain’t too far from the truth. So nephu huzzband are early contenders for name of 2008 so take our lead and take note of the strange ones! To give you a better idea of what nephu huzzband are about here are a few answers they gave us to our myspace interview challenge questions, the full interview can be found on the myspace interview page.
Who are you & where are you from? We are Nephu Huzzband, a band from Nottingham. Tom Bentley-Vocals/Guitars, Adam Popple Guitars/Vocals, Jamie Barrow-Bass/Vocals, Rob Challinor-Drums.
Have you got a website too (you can blatantly plug it), what’s it got on it and is it worth a visit? We have a dedicated download site at www.indiestore.com/nephuhuzzband where you can buy our music, which is definitely worth doing. Any exclusives and free remixes are via this site only.
If you had to pick a musical genre in which to pigeon hole yourself which one would you go for? On our myspace we’ve gone for alternative/indie/post-punk; but we’re not really down with the whole pigeon-holing of genres due the vast amount of influences we have.
What was the last CD / download you bought and was it any good? Tom – Seasick Steve – Doghouse Music, it was very good for fans of the blues. Jamie – Les Savy Fav – Lets Stay Friends which was excellent, my album of 2007. Adam – Bloc Party – Weekend in the City, it had it’s good bits, but was pretty disappointing overall. Rob – McCoy Tyner – The Greeting, an amazing musical experience.
Why should somebody buy a copy of your single / album / download and not say a couple of pints of lager? For a start, it’s cheaper than a couple of pints of lager and you’ll be able to keep it for longer as well. Plus, no one yet has been sick from over consumption of our music.
In ten words write your own press release (swearing is definitely allowed!)… Noisy progressive indie punk band playing edgy and raw music.
<Satellite – State>
Beauty in music discuss… Satellite state know you can create a beautiful sound and their debut ep shows it in abundance. Opener of the four tracker ’plans’ is a melodic success story but it’s eclipsed by the epic ‘sometimes / always’ which tries for and attains epic status, Gary Nicks understated yet stunning lead vocals shimmer over ethereal backing vox and sweeping guitars, it’s flaming awesome. They’ve been together since forming in
Look See Proof
Like yer indie? Like to have a dance about? Like it nice and poppy? If you’ve answered yes to all of these three questions that look no further than Look See Proof. ‘Do you think it’s right’ (out via weekender records) is the kind of old skool guitar indie that fills dance floors up and down the country and if their forthcoming album is packed with more of the same then 2008 is going to be one hell of a year for Look See Proof. They may have a crap name and be from Hertfordshire but this four piece including a pair of brothers have the tunes to break out of Herts and into the indie big time.
Chris Singleton
Not really a new idea these days but here's somebody else who's digitally giving away his new album. What makes Chris Singleton differ from the like of Radiohead and The Charlatans is that this lad hasn't already got oodles of cash in the bank!
We actually know of Chris Singleton from a single we reviewed last year, pretty good as we recall too, good honest stuff. By all accounts the Irish Times from his native land has said it's some of the best pop rock you'll hear this year, which is nice.
The idea of 'giving away' came from when he was a kid he loved swapping tapes, this obviously was before the digital revolution took hold and make the old fashioned C90 obsolete. In those days it was cool to make compilation tapes of all your fave tunes (and if you had your vcr hooked up to your stereo you could 'tape' cool bits of films too) and pass to your friends.
These days obviously the concept has moved onto sharing mp3 and Chris has very kindly allowed his album 'twisted city' to be downloaded for nothing.
If you fancy a taste then head over to www.singletonmusic.com/free/
You'll be faced by a good old virtual cassette and then can register to download the full album, music for nothing, can't be bad.
Duffy
Strange we should be including an artist that has spent about twelve weeks at number one on the incoming page but for those who page no attention to the hit parade and haven’t switched on a radio for the last six months read on, for those who have you’ll know exactly what I’m going to write next! Looking every one of her 23 years and some Duffy is the latest ‘sensation’ to plunder the past for their own ends but unlike say scaby Amy Winehouse Duffy does it rather tastefully and a little more impressively. Duffy may well borrow heavily from the sixties, but for example ‘Distant dreamer’ has also the feel of a song recorded in the golden era of female pop, it also reminds of the Specter wall of sound vibe. Then there’s obviously ‘Mercy’ and it’s motown feel, it’s just a cracking tune in any era and that’s why it’s on it’s way it be one of the biggest sellers of 2008, even by March. Bit of a surprise that Duffy and all her hype actually seems to come up with the goods and no doubt she’ll sing along to that.
The Electric City
The essence of a great band is good songs, plenty of energy and that little bit of something else you just can’t put your figure on… The Electric City have that little something else. ‘Dark Skies’ is a bloody cracking tune, storming guitars with a blinding vocal and a little electro noodling way back in the background adding to a big, big sound. They look the biz too with that on the verge of greatness vibe going on which all told is a winning combination, our friends electric indeed!
Doug Walker
Lets look at the background of the rise thus far of Doug Walker. Singerman wants to make it big, sees big fat mega DJ who is handed a CD, bizarrely talkalot DJ doesn’t bin it but plays it to his multi million audience and next thing Warners are coming knocking with a big fat contract. Who’d have guessed that the one song an hour that Chris Moyles would play would be an unsigned singer songwriter called Doug, fact is sometimes stranger than fiction! Play it he did several times in fact, several months later a re-recorded ‘The Mystery’ is released and even more weirdly is back on the Moyles breakfast show but this time playlist backed. The great thing about ‘The Mystery’ is that it is just a splendid song, it’s immediate and poppy as hell. The nah nah nah chorus is a bit of a letdown but the rest of the song is spot one. Fair play therefore to the big fella, looks like he’s got one right!
Paul Hourican
Ireland musically has always being a bit of mixed bag; Dana and a turkey have represented them at Eurovision and they have given us the bloody Corrs for Christ’s sake! It’s not all bad though as we found out by discovering somebody (very late it has to be said) like Damien Dempsey and in Paul Hourican we think another gem is finding its way across the Irish Sea with the latest shipment of Guinness! Strangely Paul is joined by a Corrs guitarist on record but we won’t hold that too much against him, as he’s very much the solo singer songwriter. Vocally there’s only a slight Irish lilt and musically his journey through Dublin, London and New York shines through. We have in our possession ‘Intro’ and ‘Let the enemy in’ ep’s which all told total seven tracks which suggest he has not only the vocal talent but the songwriting ability to break through, perhaps he should hand a couple of CD’s to Chris Moyles too!
The Tupolev Ghost
Fabonacci
http://www.fabonacci.co.uk/
www.myspace.com/faonacci
Steve McQueen – the come back of The Automatic
Whilst the incoming page tends to focus on the new bands that are hitting the streets here we welcome back The Automatic. After losing unique talent Pennie it and a luke reaction to recent tour it looked like the writing was on the welsh wall for these lads but Steve McQueen is 3 minutes and 38 seconds of pure indie pop heaven. It has all the Automatic hallmarks; big guitars, monster choruses and is poppy as hell. It answers a lot of questions asked, what a blinder!