Earlier in the year God is in the TV had a virtual board meeting. Tired of publications thoughtlessly sprouting hyperbole and praising the UK’s latest go-getters only to abandon them weeks later, we decided it was time to make a stand against consumerism on the internet. Enter the New Music section, part of the site dedicated to the continued promotion of up-and-coming musicians who surpass the usual and shine at what they do. Fundamentally, we’ve been operating a yearlong Tips for 2012.
The response has been fantastic, and you readers voted in Mary Epworth, An Axe, To Arms Etc and Ed Tullett as our respective Featured Acts. Their coverage culminated in our first ever showcase in London this November, with each band playing to a packed out and appreciative crowd.
But this feature isn’t about them. Keen not to forget the other bands entered by the team, recently Bill Cummins and sub editor Tiffany Daniels went through all the Preaching from the Pews entries with the sole purpose of finding those we ought to remember alongside our Featured Acts. Over the course of the next few weeks we’ll spoon feed them to you one more time – with some exclusives in tow – to welcome in the New Year with a bellowing sparkle of talent.
Rob St John
“Recorded in three separate locations, Rob’s debut Weald is invariably influenced by its surroundings and by the musicians that have contributed to it, amongst them Ian Humberstone and Meursault’s Neil Pennycook. St. John himself hails from rural Lancashire – his Northern lilt filters through into his music to replicate a gravely, untrained James Yorkston or a withdrawn Johnny Flynn. Elsewhere the project has already drawn comparison to King Creosote and Low. Whatever his influences, Rob St John certainly produces some of this country’s best acoustic music.”
Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea by Song, by Toad
Katie Malco
“With an arrangement that contains handclaps, cooing verses and the ever present acoustic guitar, Malco avoids the typical girl-with-guitar genre by pushing stalwart pop tunes to the forefront of her music. The result is a simple bow to innocence in the face of adulthood, ready to be filed between Laura Hocking & The Long Goodbye and early Emmy the Great. The Fife native quotes Bruce Springsteen, The Weakerthans and The Shins amongst her favourite artists and has worked with various members of My First Tooth and Reuben.”
Katie Malco – Get in the Car by alcopop
Bella Spinks
“Bella Spinks‘ music is an ethereal, enchanting and sometimes intimidating foray into folk and acoustic music that calls to mind Tori Amos circa Little Earthquakes and Under the Pink, and a subdued Regina Spektor.”
EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD:
Bella Spinks – Music Is What Feelings Sound Like by drunkenwerewolf
Dad Rocks!
“Dad Rocks! is the alter-ego of Snævar Njáll Albertsson. When he’s not busy being the singer, guitarist and trumpet-player in the much-loved Danish post-rock/indie band Mimas, Snævar puts pen to paper writing beautiful, lush acoustic tunes.”
Oax
“Oax’s debut EP is amazing. By the end of the five-track release you’ll be in a similar state of shock as the Grecian referee who witnessed Usain Bolt hurtling down the tracks at the 2009 Olympics. Lead song “Love and Crashing” prances up to its audience and plays a game of boo-whose-there, before it grabs the nearest person by the shoulders and lets out a ghastly wail. If “Love and Crashing” is the Ryan Adams track of This Distance, then “Scoundrel” is a square up homage to Weezer, complete with a killer riff and suitably unreserved chorus. Elsewhere “Liar, Cheat, Jerk” cloaks itself in a purple haze and pretends it’s in a slow motion recap of Woodstock, and “Sutures” – sung by Chris Simpson – is a refreshing blast of sonic (and alto) infusion.”
Oax – Love and Crashing by drunkenwerewolf
Among Brothers
“If you live in the South West and know good music from bad, chances are you’ll already have stumbled across Among Brothers. Based in Cardiff, the six-piece have carved the way through their local scene to support bands like The Thermals, and draw comparison to acts as diverse as Efterklang, Sigur Ros, Grammatics and Anathallo.”
EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD:
Among Brothers – Loved by drunkenwerewolf
Grant K. Fennell
“Alas, I expect if I were forced to label upon Fennell a genre, it would have to be ‘acoustic’, ‘singer songwriter’, ‘folk’. And true, he is all three of these things, but he is so very much more. The limitations these often throwaway words place on a musician are claustrophobic and unfair. Still, another pigeonhole I can confidently place Grant in is that of ‘poet’. Perhaps a presumptuous statement, yes, but truly, the way in which Fennell binds together words is astounding. Creating a mirage out of dark and twisted metaphors of life, love and death, merely reading his lyrics overwhelms you with emotion before you have even pressed play.”
EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD:
Grant K. Fennell – Cold Home & The Family Bones by drunkenwerewolf
There’ll be more from team New Music in the coming week, so keep your eyes sore and your ears open!
