Jagwar Ma @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 20/06/2013

Gabriel Winterfield is infectious, present tonight with Sydney based outfit Jagwar Ma, he has obvious intent, to play some of the best new music to be heard this year and to have fun doing it. Selling out Manchester's Deaf Institute, not an easy feat when the city's student population have decamped to lick their wounds for another summer, the crowd seem no less eager than the band to comply to their manifesto. The band, completed tonight by full time member Jono Ma twiddling knobs on synth and beats duty, and touring bass player Jack who moves with such splendour that he most definitely would have still been present on stage if he was instrument free. The trio open with "What Love" a track that first appeared as b-side to early single Come Save Me but now takes precedence on both the début album Howlin and the bands live set list. The throbbing synth line's of "What Love" give birth to Gabriel's soaring vocal lines which, aided by delays and loops, sound every bit as luscious live as they do on record. The extended versions of tracks, witnessed in the non-radio friendly edits, glow and demonstrate a band who have truly embraced a diverse range of influences. The result is an act who have enough vocal melody and pop credibility to break the mainstream but with deep grooves and the oft referenced baggy Madchester beats that wouldn't be out of place curating the Warehouse Project. This marriage is recognizable on "Let Her Go" where a dab hand at lyrics reveals Gabriel confessing “I've become undone I want my lips stitched back together”. The song balloons to a chorus every bit as much Beck as it is Chemical Brothers before the inevitable, but nonetheless desirable, lyrical decay and dance beat influx. The band drops "Come Save Me" and "Man I Need" to rapturous reception before closer "The Throw" demonstrates best where the Madchester acid house comparisons come from as the flailing limbs of the band are reciprocated by the crowd. It seems lazy to solely reference the acid-house scene from the 80's when writing about Jagwar Ma because for a post-hacienda Manchester resident they seem to speak to more than just that generation and with Gabriel's boyish good looks, confident stage persona and most of all the strength of the music, we may see them adorning the walls of generations to come.

Toro y Moi @ Parklife Festival's Now Wave tent, Manchester, 09/06/2013

With the calendar turning once again to festival season, and thus Manchester's ever growing Parklife festival, certain acts stood raised against a intriguing and varied bill. One of these being Toro y Moi, the alias of South Carolina resident Chazwick Bradley Bundick, why a pseudonym was needed one can only wonder. Achieving recognition in certain spheres (Rolling Stone, Pitchfork etc.) with début Causers of This, Chaz was hailed as a pioneer of an emerging genre chill-wave movement but has yet to have cross over success. His follow up Underneath the Pine offered a musician differing from his début with more emphasis on vocal melodies and introducing elements of funk to his sound destined to be the soundtrack to the connoisseur's summer. Appearing on the Now Wave stage on the Sunday of the festival Toro y Moi was a promising start to the second day which boasted a billing of diversity and quality throughout the day, commendation to Now Wave as always for enriching the quality of Manchester and the festival. Backed by a three-piece band Bundick demonstrates the strength of the songs of his most recent release Anything in Return, which demonstrates the great diversity of Chaz's song writing introducing a more pop-conscious sound on his longest release yet. In the live sphere the record is given room to grow providing a stage for unreleased tracks affording them a much deserved spotlight. “Living High” is given power through the chorus that one might miss in the sheen of the album's production standing as one of the strongest moments of the set. This added energy does however in no way detract from the subtleties of the album's production and tracks swell with as much quality live as witnessed on the record. Finishing the short set with Anything in Return's lead single “So Many Details”, Toro y Moi set the bar high for the tent's acts to follow with Chaz's reserved but confident stage presence not betraying the strength of the songs and being every bit as enticing as the previously documented performer. It seems that as his Afro grows, now at a respectable size, his following and reputation will continue to do so and soon he will receive billing and reception that reflects the quality of his performance and music.

Brown Brogues @ Bench Lunchtime Live Presents, Manchester, 09/03/2013

Free music, free drinks, free niggles of laughter emerging from those who revel in the knowledge that the band on show today are not usually ones suited to an acoustic set in an art gallery. The band in question are the Brown Brogues a scuzzy reverb sodden garage duo from Wigan and the setting is Bench Live Presents. . . Whilst the set packed with catchy tunes it is clear through the eccentric yelps and howls emerging from singer Mark Vernon that they aren't taking themselves seriously and in these boyish misdemeanor's is a real attraction to the band in the same way one wishes to be included in the humor of an in joke. But as Mark, and drummer Ben Mather, try to fog their nerves with chuckles the strength of the songs is unmissable, where the usual swampy mix makes it difficult to extract lyrics, in the stripped down set they shine through and it is evident that there is a dab hand at work. With one of the more amusing being recent single Don't Touch My Hair, which displays pleas of hair fondler’s to stay away and leave their hair in a narcissistic state of perfection, even after death. The stripped back sound also suited fan favorite Anyone But You allowing Ben to demonstrate a surprisingly delicate falsetto on backing vocals. Although it may have been an odd setting for the duo a strong performance riding on a set of very strong songs hopefully they won't think twice before attempting an event like this again for they appear more diverse than they may think.

Photo by Dom Varden: http://vivalifestyle.co.uk/brown-brogues-do-lunchtime-live/

Mac Demarco "Ode to Viceroy" track review

In a world of contradictions within which “slackers” like the Canadian Mac Demarco can act as functioning human beings we are introduced to his favourite brand of cigarettes by a dedicational tune named Ode to Viceroy. In this musical world which is so saturated with sonnets for smoking weed a nod to cigarettes is wholly unpredicted and existing in an un-paralleled field of one. The song opens with uneasy chords reminiscent of the introduction to Ghost Town by The Specials, if the track in question had its rpm decreased to 1rpm. It soon breathes into life as a sea breeze of a track that seems to hint to surf acts such as Best Coast, well Best Coast if they were endorsed by Marlborough Reds and fronted by a stoned Damon Albarn.  Add a sprinkling influence from King Kruel’s appreciation of obscure chord progressions and you have a humtastic piece of music. In a recent interview with Chart Attack, he discusses the inspiration for the track as a longing for his preferred ciggy’s whilst forcibly dealing with a lesser brand on tour. Whilst I have never experienced said longing, I personally opt for the sweet taste of my ventolin inhalers, this ditty certainly tempts me to trade my desire for asthma attack relief with a viceroy cigarette. Thankfully, I can treat this desire with another spin of this beautifully written Ode to Viceroy by the ever lo-fi scribble of Mac Demarco as he laments his separation to his cigarettes. This article is in no way a promotion of smoking, although the song concerned may very well be.

Listen Here:
http://soundcloud.com/capturedtracks/mac-demarco-ode-to-viceroy

Jagwar Ma "The Throw" track review

Recently Australia has truly shone brightly with stellar releases from DZ Deathrays, Cloud Control, Pond and obviously Tame Impala. Jagwar Ma has taken this baton and has developed an eclectic sound marrying 60's soul vocals with a dance edge evident on earlier release Come Save Me. They have since established themselves as a strong talent. Jagwar Ma, comprising of Gabriel Winterfield and Jono Ma, have continued in this creative vein on The Throw amalgamating dreamy vocals with tie-dye drenched synths that I'm sure is how a lava lamp would sound if its function was hit singles and not blob production. They begin the track with a refrained loop that introduces the optimistic summer feel of the track as an exhuberant guitar line sneaks in that develops into a sound not to dissimilar from how I imagine the rave scene at Manchester's Hacienda nightclub. The song seems to come to a natural close until Jagwar Ma ushers in a break that doesn't stop delivering swells of synths and even though we're far from Summer it certainly feels as though the sun is slightly closer. It won't be long until Jagwar Ma grow from NME darlings into a fixture in anyone's calendar.

Listen now on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/jagwar-ma

Brown Brogues @ Roadhouse, Manchester, 12/1/2013

 

 Scuzzy, reverb drenched and dressed as a pair of slutty sailors, Manchester's very own Brown Brogues take to the stage to launch their new album Born To Lose. The self proclaimed “noise duo” certainly do like to make a racket, with a set so sodden with spikey punk and sludgy blues that John Lydon wouldn't curl a lip at. The garage couplet have adopted a stripped back approach having only guitar and drummer on stage with the drums being only floor tom, snare and ride cymbal, almost as stripped back as the drummer himself flashing the flesh beneath his increasingly hot hot pants. The duo truly seem to give all and invite support band Queer'd Science onto the stage whilst singer Mark Vernon finds his way through the crowd pouring shots into the gaping mouths of the audience. Brown Brogues certainly are a spectacle and something with spontaneity and catchy tunes a plenty certainly evidence that Manchester has a vibrant scene that is certainly thriving underneath its rain strewn streets and all for under a fiver!

Everything Everything "Cough Cough" track review

Cough Cough is the lead single from Manchester's very own Everything Everything's sophmore album Arc (the track and band so good they decided to name twice). The track splutters into life with indecisive lyrics that pave the way for the staggered drums and smooth vocal melodies that blend effortlessly. The thing that is so special and hard to pin down about this band is their capability amalgamate the wonderfully angular with something seductively smooth, which is evident by the bucket load in this recent single with their static guitars, jumpy synth and drums beating their way through your lug holes all within the first 50 seconds but with a truly luxurious chorus. The unity and precision of the band is truly thrilling and when the verse does give way to the spontaneous soaring chorus we are greeted with lyrics of intrigue about personal compromise for profit, “There's something wrong but its okay if we're still getting paid” whistles singer Jonathan Higgins in his canary pitched falsetto. Something also notable is the pallet of atmospheres they draw into the song with the heavy bassline and repetitive lyrics chanted in the bridge making the bliss of the chorus all the more special showing completely dynamic sonic shift from a band who are truly clicking right now. All there is left to say is that hopefully the rest of the album, released on the 14^th of January, will be as interesting and vibrant as this single.

Listen now on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/everythingeverything