Apr
19
Seeed
April 19, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Seeed are excellent. They’ve got the joyous touch and carefree hip-hop sound of N.E.R.D, the rawness of someone like Dizzee Rascal and some of the most innovative reggae touches I’ve heard in a while. A total mish-mash of influences that totally gels.
Apr
15
Nova International
April 15, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Nova International’s second album opens with the type of falsetto chorus that usually has me running a mile but stay a while and the singer pulls it off – it’s quite a joy. Nova’s overall tone on this CD is pretty melancholy and I hear quite a departure from their first album but ‘Bored’ and […]
Mar
15
Paula
March 15, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Paula was Berlin duo classically-trained Elke Brauweiler and ex-drummer Berend Intelman but from what I can see on the web Intelman has ‘kind of’ left but still retains some songwriting role of some kind.
Mar
12
Boozed
March 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Like The Datsuns, Boozed worship at the altar of AC/DC and do so with their heads held up high. Personally I think this bunch from Osnabrueck do it with a bit more panache than other Angus-wannabes – their name is a masterpiece for a start. If you want to know what this band are all […]
Feb
1
Turbostaat
February 1, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Turbostaat are a four piece originally from Husum way up north in Germany and formed in 1999 from the remnants of a bunch of other punk bands in the area. They remind me a lot of The Fall or better, AFI: they’ve got the pounding, moody, downtuned guitars so beloved of the California punkers (what […]
Dec
14
De Phazz
December 14, 2005 | Leave a Comment
I first encountered De Phazz on the La Suite Hôtel Costes album. Pompougnac selected ‘Jazz Music’ as track 2. for his collection and I don’t recall getting much past it thanks to constant replaying.
Dec
12
Die Aerzte (The Doctors)
December 12, 2005 | Leave a Comment
Along with countrymen Die Toten Hosen, Die Aerzte were the founding members of Germany’s old-school punk generation. The Berliners still command massive respect.
Sep
19
Slut
September 19, 2005 | Leave a Comment
Quite simply Slut take themselves far too seriously. Soundwise they’ve the deadpan delivery of Joy Division which they occasionally carry off very well (Homesick being a good example) but more often than not, like our own Muse, Slut are the wrong side of monotonous with none of the quirky charm of other low-fi type bands […]