This post marks the return of the round up, something that I used to do for singles on my old website. Due to an overwhelming amount of music being sent me, and time constraints in my personal life, some things will get full reviews, the rest covered in the round ups. It’s not necessarily any reflection on quality, merely what I think I can impart to the reader on each release. At least this way stuff that would have otherwise been discarded gets a few words in passing.
Maths and Physics Club have a new LP, I Shouldn’t Look As Good As I Do out on Matinee. Which, when you see them geekily crammed into an old Beetle on the cover, is as ironic as you like. It’s also virtually the perfect pop album. Ten tracks in length, sumptuous melodies abound, an effervescent atmosphere and a general cheery vibe. Those indie fans downbeat after the Lucksmiths split last year, and looking for a replacement could do much worse than Maths and Physics Club.
Also new on Matinee is Cats On Fire’s collection of old stuff called Dealing In Antiques. After kicking off with a cover of Your Woman that sounds like a cross between Kele from Bloc Party and Robert Smith fronting a crisp indie pop tune, the album features lots of lovely indie pop, beautifully sung. Although at times this can be a bit weedy and samey, when they do get it right it sounds great. Such instances are Don’t Say It Could Be Worse which reminds me of Ballboy, and They Produced A Girl which a more ballsy Drums.
Those who were The Wookies, are now Golden Hours. The first single under their new moniker isn’t a patch on their previous efforts. Pioneering is reasonably interesting, like a subdued and less frenetic Futureheads. Wash The Night Eyes is merely alt-80s ok-ness.
The second EP in a trilogy from Breton, Sharing Notes, is also out soon. It’s an interesting piece of work with lead track The Well falling somewhere between Gorillaz, Bloc Party and Scroobius Pip. The title track is pretty good dirty trip hop, while Episodes is like first album Foals, jittery and knowingly fashionable. Finally 15X is an annoying post-Rapture groove. Intriguing stuff, some good, some not so.
Finally Harper Simon releases Wishes And Stars off his debut album. It’s rather good, but a tad too much like his dad Paul for my liking.
The Cats On Fire and Maths And Physics Club albums are out now on Matinee Recordings
The Golden Hours single is out now on Broken Tail Records
The Breton EP is released by Breton Labs on 5th July
The Harper Simon single is out now on [PIAS] Recordings
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