new music round-up #2

If you are interested in these new music updates, then please follow us on Facebook. From the latter part of March we will posting tracks we like as we hear them - no need to wait for these monthly round-ups. Meanwhile, here are some selections which we stumbled upon recently.

Gazer
The name suggests yet another shoegaze act, but refreshingly Gazer lean more towards an energetic post-hardcore intensity. Hailing from Cincinnati "Fake Bulbs/Phone Commercial" collects their two most recent EPs. Shades of Big Black and even Lightning Bolt - well worth a listen.


Malojian
Malojian is the stage name of songwriter Stevie Scullion, from Northern Ireland, a fine purveyor of melodies and this strong tune is a taster from his forthcoming second album 'Southlands' [pre-order from the Pledge Music campaign here.] Malojian's debut 'The Deer's Cry' was widely acclaimed - and we reviewed it here


Meltybrains?
From some reason I had this Irish act pigeonholed my head as techno, but 'Donegal' and the flipside 'IV' are both packed full of ideas and are much harder to define, as their music encompasses the same sort of widescreen ambition found in the likes of These New Puritans, Talk Talk, and in particular, Luke Sutherland's old band Bows.


NRVSLVRS
San Francisco 6-piece cracking out some tasty, epic indie-rock in the TV on the Radio vein. Keen to hear more of these people. Their album 'The Golden West' will be out next week (March 16) Also check out their earlier single 'City Lights'


Andrea Balency
Franco-Mexican artist Andrea Balency has built on her 2014 buzz with a brand new EP entitled Volcano, which demonstrates sound very imaginative composition and production. It is a shame that FKA twigs got there a few months earlier, because really these artists have evolved independently and have arrived at a similar sound independently. This is lush, though.


The Chemistry Experiment
It has probably been the best part of a decade since I saw this prog-influenced Nottingham quintet live. This new single is taken from their ten-years-in-the-making second album Gongs Played By Voice and is a catchy slice of psych-pop.


The Machismos
A blast from the past here. Machismos is the project of Sam Marsh, once the singing drummer of good old Jacob's Mouse, and this is a re release of the previous single 'My Narghile' from their new upcoming album 'Britpop Fucked My Wife' in March. Love it (and I'm old enough to have the original 7")


Sasha Siem
Classically trained Anglo-Norwegian music Sasha Siem is gearing up to release her debut album Most of the Boys. She has previously worked as a composer but this is her first "rock" release. I was going to say traditional rock release but it is nothing of the sort, as it takes wildly imaginiative leaps into non-conventional songwriting, in the playful spirit of the likes of Laurie Anderson and Tom Waits.


Taman Shud
Over the years I've been inclined to take most band's self-descriptions with a pinch of salt, but Taman Shud call themselves "Blackened psychedelic motorcycle punk" and I reckon that is spot on. There is a Middle Eastern feel to this - their name is Persian after all - and overall it has an intense tantric quality.


Acre Tarn
Acre Tarn is the electronic music project from Anna-Louisa Etherington, a singer/producer originally from the Lake District. Her music comes across as a dreamy ethereal version of left-field pop, not a million miles away from Grimes's material. In an ideal world this would be in the charts, there's even a hookladen chorus.