Literature - Arab Spring

22 minutes of fresh and breezy jangly indie pop with some C86-ness to it, this album is a breath of fresh air for a sunny day!  This album powers along from opening track "14 Seconds" through to album closer, "I am Right Here." 

Other than the fact that this 4 piece hail from Austin, Texas, although I believe they are moving to Philidelphia soon, I don't know an awful lot about them, except that this is their debut album and it is 10 tracks of foot moving tunes, some great hooks, machine gun drums and infectious melodies. 

Literature are: Kevin Adickes, Nathaniel Cardaci, Seth Whaland and Mike Yaklin

Arab Spring is available here as a "Name Your Price" album: BANDCAMP

Contact, Befriend, Like and Love Literature here: Facebook

The Right Nows - The Right Nows

Another fantastic band from the Sunny Day Records camp who pump out enough energy in their sound to power a small country, The Right Nows take their inspiration from the psychadelic garage bands of the sixties, mix it up with some garage punk and power pop, slice in a few choice riffs and serve up some catchy timeless melodies.

The Right Nows come from Cedeira, a small town in the northwest of Spain, a region with a fruitful tradition of wild rock’n’roll & garage bands, formed in 2007.

Befriend, follow, like and love The Right Nows here: Facebook

Listen to the self titled album here: Bandcamp

Buy the album on 10" Vinyl here: Sunny Day Records

The Nomads - Live at Liseberg, Gothenburg.

 As most regular readers are aware, I don't normally do live reviews, the reason being is that I get so indulged I usually forget the set list and last night was no exception, I also forgot my camera (I did have my iphone though!) but it was such a great evening I thought I would share it.

Heading out on a hot and sunny Wednesday evening to see The Nomads playing at Gothenburgs theme park, Liseberg, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but having listened to their records for more years than I care to remember and not having had the privilege of seeing the band play before, I didn't want to miss the show.
I arrived shortly before the show began and took a seat at the Taubscenen stage.  Looking around me I was heartened to see that it wasn't just a load of middle aged folks sitting around waiting for a trip back to younger times and old memories, there was a healthy mix of the young, the old, the knowledgeable and the curious.

 

The Nomads formed back in 1981 and released their 18th album last month entitled "Solna" which is the name of the town that the band hail from in Sweden. I have to say that I wasn't expecting these guys to put on a great show 31 years into their career, they only play a few shows every year now but judging by their performance you would have thought they were playing every night of the week!

 

"Can't Go Back" from the new album "Solna."

The Nomads are one of those legendary bands that have spawned imitators galore on their home soil, but none have yet surpassed the original Swedish outfit, not that this is an issue, the band themselves are moulded from the stylings of bands such as The Stooges, MC5, Roky Erikson and The Cramps to name a few and they do a great job, cranked up guitars are the order of the evening here with Hans Östlund playing staggering guitar riffs with a seemingly ease and a coolness more suited to a twenty something axe man, but hey ho, if you've got it!

All those years of sonic style screams don't seem to have affected vocalist/guitarist Nick Vahlberg either who delivers a virtually note perfect set which from experience I know isn't easy on a hot, sunny day.

These two original members of the band are supported perfectly by Björne Fröberg (bass) and Jocke Ericson (drums) who both play with fiery passion.

This was a flawless set with a mix of old and new numbers delivered with real passion and conviction and the band shows no signs of giving up anytime soon, much to the delight of this fan, and to all the other cheering, whistling and clapping fans who I shared the evening with last night.

All photos by Wayne Lundqvist Ford.

Befriend, Like and Love The Nomads here: FACEBOOK

(The new album is available to buy here in their "shop" section)

Official Website: http://www.thenomads.se

The Semis - High On Pop

A little while back I ran a feature on The Semis - Decapitator Blues and now they are back with another 5 track mini album which sounds just as sweet as one would expect from these craftsman tunesmiths!

The Semis are a superior rock n roll band with a mid-fi beachy garage-pop vibe. They meld solid gold songcraft with pure rock n' roll id. And theyre ok with that.
The Semis music has been featured in regional commercials, the movie Dropped Frames and the Bravo series Flipping Out

They are constantly writing and recording. And swimming... and slaying.

Download "High On Pop" (Name your price) here:BANDCAMP

The Semis have four essential albums;

Route 666 ( 2004 )
White Powder Black Power (2007)
Back To The Beach (2010)
Decapitator Blues (2011)

all of which can be found here:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-semis/id45392330
and here:
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TheSemis

other earlier demos can be found here:
http://thesemisrock.bandcamp.com/album/upper-middle-trash

Follow, befriend and like the band: FACEBOOK

The Smoggers - Shame On You SINGLE NOW AVAILABLE

The Smoggers serve up a "smoggersboard" of rip-roaring garage punk for your delight on their latest release "Shame On You."  This is as true to sixties garage punk as a band could be, great farfisa organ, guitar distortion turned up to 11 a solid bass and percussion section with the whole scenario set on fire by vocalists Jesus and Fernando Smogger.

 The Smoggers are:

 Fernando Smogger - Vocals Guitar, Harmonica

 Jesus Smogger - Vocals and Guitar

Gusti Smogger - Bass Guitar

 Ana Smogger - Drums, Farfisa and Vocals

This new 7” contains three gripping tunes under an impressive artwork by scene ace Darren Merinuk, who brings his own insightful view of the genre. The songs were analogically recorded by Mike Mariconda and Maxi Holler at The Hollers Analog Studio in Málaga in April 2012. The original A side, entitled “Shame on You”, is definitely one of the Smoggers’ best songs ever, with its doses of piercing farfisa and gorgeous fuzz guitar. The cover of the 1980s Texan band The Delinquents, “It’s Just Not the Same”, brings a punk new wave song into a new original dimension of dark rock and roll. The third tune is informed by wild guitar riffs, hypnotic vocals and bursting rhythmic energy.
The Smoggers then, like a good diamond mine, are both dazzling and prolific. Their music is one of the best veins of 60s roots discovered recently. All but without a break, they surprise us with stunning gems from the core of rock and roll. Find out for yourself with this exciting single, published by a new label, KOTJ, whose production, based on the excellent criterion of its main factotum, is bound to impress you both in Spain and abroad. (AlexMagicpop2012)
http://magicpopcat.blogspot.com.es/

The single is available from:

KOTJ RECORDS
P.O.BOX 4042 47080 VALLADOLID SPAIN EMAIL : KOTJ.Records@yahoo.com http://kotjrecords.blogspot.com.es/

The Smoggers album "Chinese Food" is also available at Bandcamp for a mere €5, go take a listen!

Contact the Smoggers: smoggers @ hotmail.com

Get the single from: KOTJ.Records@yahoo.com

Download Chinese Food: BANDCAMP

Befriend, Like and Love The Smoggers: FACEBOOK

Los Immediatos - 4 Tickets To Wonderland

Another great Spanish band hailing from the Sunny Day Records band camp, Los Immediatos deliver a heady album of mid to late sixties stylings with a touch of psychadelia thrown in for good measure.
I don't know if they add something to the water in Spain to continue producing these bands or if it is the healthy dose of Vitamin D the bands get, and to be honest, I don't really care as long as they continue to maintain this standard of output.
Los Immediatos are really at the top of their game and if there was a music event at this summers Olympics, these guys would be making a slow trip back to Toledo weighted down in gold!

No doubt one of the most talented bands in Spanish pop scene in the last three decades, perfect embodiment of teen beat spirit, creators of amazing pop melodies and with a creative curriculum not many could equal.

Los Immediatos have become an important brand in the Spanish 60′s scene in the last decade due to their hard-working ethos, they have performed in every corner of the country and have even taken their shows to in-famous partys such as the Primitive Festival (Holland) and Festiva Beat (Italy). They shared stages with well-known names such as The Pretty Things, The Trashmen, The Fleshtones, Dr. Explosion and a long etcetera... yeah, they are real veterans ready to get on their van at any chance to play their instruments!

If you like The Shakers, Los Brincos, The Hollies, The Squires, Beau Brummels or Powder this is your band, this is your record. 

 Stream the album here: BANDCAMP

Buy the album here: Sunny Day Records 

(Los Immediatos back catologue available too)

Befriend, Like, Love and Follow Los Immediatos here: FACEBOOK 

 

 Sunny Day Records
 

Phenomenal Cat - 'Electricity & Volts' single FREE DOWNLOAD

'Electricity & Volts' is the 5th single from 'Postcards from the British Empire: 12 Singles in 12 Months'

Phenomenal Cat are back with their 5th single release of the year, and once again, true to form, they deliver another delectable slice of power pop for our listening pleasure all neatly packaged up nicely in their best cover to date.....looking great guys!!!


 

Get the free download: HERE 

(If you haven't done so already, download the first 4 singles FREE as well!)

Befriend, like and love Phenomenal Cat here: FACEBOOK