Pocketbooks - Promises, Promises

Pocketbooks are back with a new single Promises, Promises ahead of their second album Carousel, due in September. If you like sumptuous, pristine pop, then this is just the thing for you. It follows in a similar vein to the material on debut album Flight Paths, which is no bad thing considering how good an album that was. Emma sings this time, and if anything her vocals are getting even better and the melodies sweeter.

Promises, Promises is a free download available here
The album, Carousel, is out in September but their label Oddbox Records are shipping advance copies now. Order here

A novel idea

I guess some of you may be wondering why the dearth of posts in recent months. Well, time is short for many reasons, but mainly because I've finally gotten around to doing more work on the draft novel I wrote as part of NaNoWriMo 2008. Work is going well and subject to a couple more read throughs and tweaks I think it's getting close to the point where I try and get it published. If anyone has any sage advice or helpful contacts in this area they would be much appreciated! Normal service will hopefully be resumed soon. Either that or I'll be sidetracked on the fanzine I've been collating work for. One way or the other I hope you will stick with me and keep reading the blog...

Airship – Kids

Kids, the second single from Airship sounds like Richard Hawley fronting an unashamedly over the top pop band. It’s a song that goes over the barricades and into the charts many times over, with a surging chorus and irresistible verses that can’t wait to be reacquainted with that chorus again. Here’s a song that the word effervescent was invented to describe.

Kids is out now on Play It Again Sam
The Airship website is here

Deportivo – Neighbourhood

Neighbourhood is the second single from West London band Deportivo. Despite the clunky clichéd lyrics and slightly plodding tune, Neighbourhood isn’t all bad, but only in a kind of Athlete excitement way. The DPPLGNGRS remix starts brilliantly with chiptune bleeping, thumping synth beat and zooming electronic car noises, which transform the song into something else entirely. The Arclite Productions remix doesn’t add a lot to the tune particularly, it tries its best and perks it up a fair bit, but the first remix is the one for me.

Neighbourhood is out now. Find Deportivo on Facebook here and Twitter here

Findlay Napier & The Bar Room Mountaineers – File Under Fiction

One thing about Findlay Napier, is he is dependable and has therefore delivered a solid album here. The title track is a suitable rousing opening and One For The Ditch is a closing time blues. You also get the cracking singles Raise A Glass and Valentine’s Day that I’ve gone on about before on here. There is also Spread Thin, which is an altogether more interesting thing, a bit of a quick swerve and something that goes from sounding like Arab Strap to a big old Del Amitri chorus. Fine stuff. Cut Me Off is a feisty fiddle led tune, while One For Me is a beautiful melancholic duet to close the album.

File Under Fiction is out now and available from Findlay's website