‘It’s all ears on Homme at the minute as the, well, homme and his fellow rabble-rousers continue to unleash bits and pieces from Queens of the Stone Age’s forthcoming sixth full-length recording …Like Clockwork and having already bestowed My God Is The Sun, and both I Sat By The Ocean and If I Had A Tail upon ye we’ve now another from that infamous Studio Brussel session in the form of ruinous chugger Keep Your Eyes Peeled. An appositely disquieting listen, the clodhopping thud of a superbly guttural guitar forms the bed of nails upon which Josh’s semi-operatic vocal sadistically boogies, wondrously effeminate harmonies later swirling giddily about astonishingly low fidelity production values and thundering drums. Rargh, and whatnot…’
…Like Clockwork is anticipated June 3rd on Matador Records.
‘We’ve been away for a bit. Call it what you will – compassionate leave, or whatever else – but it felt good to escape the internet, if only for a brief while. Don’t get me wrong – I find music to be the best method of utmost escapism, though there comes a point at which another extraneous tweet re: Random Access Memories accompanied by a panoramic iPhone shot taken from the apex of The Shard may just prick your rage, tip you over the edge and condemn you to the murky dregs of madness. I was getting there on Monday, although here to allow for all the irritation to ebb away pacifically is Tokyo teen Left Right Arms, whose infantile vocal ambiguity recalls Jónsi on a dewy morn as xylophonic vulnerability and plush acoustic strums cocoon such sublime unintelligibility on the gently epic Outer Space. Subtly cinematic and yet simultaneously introspective, it’s the emotive denouement to his newly fashioned Bear EP and it positively soars. Almost like a certain construction down around SE1…’
‘There’s an inimitable off-kilt pop dexterity to all that Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild’s When Saints Go Machine contrive to fabric, and no longer is Iodine merely ‘a chemical element with symbol I and atomic number 53’ but instead also a massive splash from the Danes’ forthcoming third, Infinity Pool. It’s a record which, released in conjunction with EMI, may see the Scandinavian eccentrics enter into a more widespread cognisance and along with the Killer Mike-featuring Love And Respect, Iodine is an incontrovertible highlight that serves as a nebulous billow of avant-garde suavity pumped out of the experimental and into an all the more mainstream aesthetic – its chorus a deferential, if perhaps indirect homage to Kate Bush’s inexhaustible Running Up That Hill. And tirelessly excellent this one is, as well.’
Infinity Pool is released May 20th on EMI / !K7.
‘By this time next week, we’ll already have (albeit only ephemerally) relocated to Barcelona for day upon day of decadent overindulgence and musical extravagance, for this year’s edition of the quintessential left field festival, Primavera Sound, is now upon us. I can practically taste the Estrella Heineken fizzling away at the rear of my palette and, truth be known, the way this British springtime’s currently panning, out I’m almost relishing the prospect of inevitable sunburn. Almost… Storms are currently forecast for the week though that can’t be right, right..? Anyhow – as is so often our wont with these sorts of aestival shenanigans, below can be found a rundown of who we’re itching to get over and see most impatiently, as we tick through our Fest Bests in a purely alphabetical order. That said list neglects to comprise our beloved likes of Daniel Johnston, Parquet Courts, Allah-Las, Sean Nicholas Savage, etcetera ad infinitum attests to the strength of this edition’s ineffable billing, and there’s even an opportunity to witness whether or not The Knife can rectify the heinous wrongs of last week. Just don’t pin too much hope on that one, and instead affix all optimism to the following…’
Fest Bests: Primavera Sound 2013.
