Momeraths

Crayon Colours

Quirky lyrics, and Alice In Wonderland themed 5 piece the Momeraths, are perfect rainy day listening. I'm looking outside and the weather is grim, then I listened to this EP and and I'm filled with the zest of summer time. Their acoustic/folk sound mixed with a melodica, an accordion, a guitar and catchy melodies will bring joy to your ears. 'The Boyfriend Song' has to be my favourite track, the male and female vocals harmonise brilliantly together and give their songs a fun and charming quality. As I listened more, I thought they sounded a little like Panic At The Disco's new sound (by the way, if you haven't heard it, it's much better than the Fall Out Boy sound-a-likes from their first album!) which made me fall in love with them, and 'Johnny Coop' and 'The Photographer' made me want more. A witty and bizarre little band who seem so innocent, create the most imaginative tunes that you can listen to over and over again and not be bored. If there was a colour to describe their EP, it would in fact be Crayon Colours!

Amy Baker

Tidy Hooker

Unkool by Design

My Dad likes 80’s music. I remember experiencing the delights of Human League, Pet Shop Boys and mid-career Stranglers on the car stereo when I was younger, and I even borrowed his Terence Trent D’Arby album recently. So it was a shock to discover, somewhere in my late teens, the dark, seedy musical underworld prevalent during the decade, and that it was much better than the music I had assumed to be representative of all that the synthesiser could offer. Tidy Hooker like 80’s music too. ‘Unkool by Design’ is as moody as a Goth being forced to wear shorts, and darker than a mole’s airing cupboard. All the hallmarks of the genre are there; the percussion at times sounds like a baby playing with a salt shaker, and at other times like a man wielding a pickaxe at the far end of an empty Sheffield Arena. Opener ‘M.P.A’ is a hypnotic, robotic stomp, with the suggestive lyric, ‘that’s a little too close / but I could learn to like it’, and an instrumental breakdown reminiscent of a broken vending machine. Frontman Jay Gibbo lends a magnetic focal point to each track with a sleazy croon that is part cruise-ship entertainer, part dangerous lunatic. As the main riff of ‘Even the Queers Love Her’ kicks in, it’s impossible not to visualise strangely dressed characters slapping each other in the face, or boldly-coloured semi-robots running backwards (as per the classic New Order video for ‘True Faith’, for anyone just doing their GCSEs....). Yet while the music that influenced TH is now two-and-a-half decades old, the overall sound produced does have a unique stamp. It’s unlikely to form your soundtrack to holiday sunbathing, though.

Jon Cooper

Pint O’Spirits

EP

These Bristolians at least offer a different take on indie music, taking up a mantle recently left somewhat understaffed after the death of the Cramps’ Lux Interior. Their music swings on a rockabilly groove with an Ian Curtis-type baritone laid over top. All three songs on this demo are catchy and an enjoyable listen, even if the band doesn’t sound like it’s stretching itself overly much. Pint O’Spirits (the song) is probably the best distillation (pun intended) of their sound, with some varied and crunchy guitar bits and a sped-up, bluesy bridge that keeps the song interesting throughout its five and a half minutes. I’m curious to hear what these guys could do over an entire album. It could be a fun listen, as long as they manage to maintain the feel of this demo without the resulting songs all sounding too alike.

Dion Curry

Mybe

The Calm before the Storm

It’s not often that you experience a genuine sense of excitement at the prospect of hearing a new record; it’s even less common to have that initial childlike feeling justified by the end of the first listen. Even taken on face value, this EP is ace, but the fact that I recall Mybe from their early days (we’re talking mid-90’s), playing venues like the Green Room in Chesterfield, adds a nostalgic dimension to proceedings. Discovering that it’s available for free via their website is the icing on the cake, and the cherry, at least in name-dropping terms, is provided in the form of (relatively) new guitarist Andy, who I’m pretty sure was in the year below me at school. TCBTS is packed with upbeat, hook-laden nuggets of exhilaration that knock the likes of LostProphets into a cocked hat. ‘State of Emergency’ must be the catchiest song to ever emerge from Dronfield, and ends with a storming bit of half-time that is tantalisingly brief. ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ is a melting pot of everything good about the recent infatuation with 80’s music, with its echo-laced vocals and another memorable chorus, and ‘The Long Goodbye’ must surely be a live favourite thanks to a shout-along backing vocal that evokes the memory of sweat and warm, flat lager. ‘Falling Down’ slows the pace, but the adrenaline levels are maintained thanks to a spine-tingling, strings-enhanced chorus that soars like the climax of an historical cinematic epic. If my understanding is correct, TCBTS has been released as an appetizer for Mybe’s forthcoming new album. It’s probably worth jumping on the bandwagon now; come the end of the year it’ll be moving an awful lot faster.

Jon Cooper

Steph Fraser

Pretend

It’s always refreshing to hear a collection of songs that don’t rely heavily on drums and electric guitars. Accordions, banjos, mandolins, acoustic guitars, penny whistles and sleepy piano lines accompany Steph Fraser’s beautifully hypnotic vocals. There are similarities both to Beth Orton and fellow Hull folkster Tegwen Roberts. Title track ‘Pretend’ is a rich and dynamic mixture of instruments, yet at no point are the vocals lost in the mix, which is just as well as the lyrics are certainly worth listening to: “If you look through these iron bars you will find hungry eyes longing to breathe the fresh air.” The EP drifts through another ballad – ‘Swimming Into The Dark’, which introduces a little electric guitar. The third song, ‘Ballad of a Smart Arse’ ironically feels the least ballad-like with an aggressive undertone from the opening lines: “They’ll give you all the answers to the questions they don’t ask. How did we get here and how the hell we gonna last?” This features a great acoustic riff – perhaps something it would be nice to hear more of throughout the other tracks. It’s a collection of thoughtful and imaginative songs that serve as a reminder that there is so much great music to hear out there, if only we look for it.

Matt Taylor

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