TEN4SE7EN: Episode 36

Ryan(StopMe): Better late than never, here are my ten favourite tracks from this week:

The Broken Family Band’s vocals have tinges of Bowie in the way they pronounce “We could drink booze or Tea” and have the good humour to rhyme it with “Eat cake on your Settee”. It’s the combination of this great way with a rhyme and the invitingly chilled Rock sound that makes ‘Mimi’ such a great record.

All three songs on DJ Vadim’s new ‘Hidden Treasure’ EP are essential and stylistically varied. But I had to pick one, so I went for the lightning-fast Rap and soothing beats of ‘Soldier’ featuring Big Red and 5Nizza.

Those endearing Rock-‘n’-Roll-throwback-Aussies Jet have got a new album called ‘Shaka Rock’ on the way later in the year. The hard rockin’ sonic-assault of ‘K.I.A. (Killed In Action)’ makes for a tantalising taste with it’s marching Drums and waves of squealing feedback. Unlike Oasis before them, they are three albums in and can still remember why we liked them in the first place.

Jet have gone gore crazy for the tracks promo video. The first pop video to feature a girl having her head put through a bread slicer :-s – View here if thats your bag.

‘Nothing Rings True’ is a mournful cut from King Creosote’s predictably excellent new album. The ghostly samples swirling round the central acoustic performance create a gorgeous dream like atmosphere.

It’s the Harpsichord that I love on Rohan Lee’s ‘No Easy Way Out’. It makes a dainty counterpoint to the hazy Dub sounds.

If you follow his blog you’d have noticed that I’m a big fan of producer Smoove (aka Smov). I’ve been meaning to put Smoove & Turrell’s ‘I Can’t Give You Up’ in a TEN4SE7EN for ages now… I can’t explain why, because it’s a flavoursome Soul cut that any sane person would have been shouting about from the first second they heard it.

Again I’ve liked The Sweet Vandals’ ‘Too Much’ for a long while and it’s only this week I’ve decided that I truly love it. If you dig The Bellrays raucous take on Soul (And who doesn’t?) then you’ll adore it.

The Tallest Man On Earth’s wonderfully intimate ‘Shallow Grave’ album is pure Lo-Fi-Acoustic magic from start to finish. I could’ve picked any track to recommend but I went for the Country tinged sorrow of ‘Pistol Dreams’.

With the bouncy rhythm provided by a nice chunky Bassline ‘Angel Of Death’ could be a huge Indie/Pop single. Slow Down Tallahassee have all the charm of late-Eighties Lo-Fi Popsters The Vaselines.

Alasdair Roberts’ ‘You Muses Assist’ features the delightful couplet of “You muses, you muses assist, all down-trodden spirits uplift”. This is beautiful Scottish Folk adorned with ‘Bryter Layter’ style production flourishes.