Essential new music from Getdown Services, Pencil, Most Things, Opal Mag, Michael Georgian and Water Machine.
Getdown Services by Sion Waters | Words: Hazel Blacher, Elvis Thirlwell, A.L. Noonan
Getdown Services – 'Eat Quiche, Sleep, Repeat'
Calling all aficionados of the cold buffet: it's time to collect a paper plate and get in line beside the trestle table, because Getdown Services have returned with another buttery, flaky, stone-cold banger for the good people to feast upon before they get started on those delicious little cheese cubes with the pineapple on them. 'Eat Quiche, Sleep, Repeat' sees the prized, fast-rising Bristol duo strike the perfect balance between heartfelt sincerity with witty irreverence, packaging plonking pianos and boogie-rock guitar chugs over twinkling, stripped back beats and a sharp, humorous set of lyrics. Serving as the first single from their upcoming EP 'Primordial Slot Machine' and arriving alongside a meteorically huge 70 date tour announcement, the track finds the genre-traversing pair ruminating over those day-to-day exasperations that might cause one to "bring a certain sadness to the conga line". Despite their self-proclaimed state of being "always at least Semi-Miserable", here Getdown Services exude a similar warmth to a trusted best friend, whose hilarious quips and disgustingly huge heart could lift you, giggling, out of the gloom on the bleakest of days. (Hazel Blacher)
Pencil – 'The Pencil'
Calling to mind that Leonardo DiCaprio 'Pointing Rick Dalton' meme from 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood', the 'self-titled' new single from London quintet offers an enticing slice of self-referential mythologising. Enigmatically described by the band as "an invitation to our listeners and also ourselves - a portal into a world which is still a mystery to us", the band warmly invites us to "step inside", letting us know that we now "hold the pencil". Who knows what holding 'the pencil' means, but one thing is clear here: through their sumptuous rhythmic shuffles and vocals that glide through the air like starlings carrying a weighty melody of heartfelt sincerity; through each long, lavish orchestral excursion gilded with violin flutters of utmost elegance, pencil are a band that blur the line between dingy venue and high-class concert hall. It's also clear, if it wasn't already, that seemingly everything pencil touches turns to gorgeous. And there's more to come when their debut EP Bohemian Clutter lands next Friday (9th May) via state51. (Elvis Thirlwell)
Most Things – 'Lucky'
In an era of stylistic maximalism, newly emerging artists cast their nets wide when fishing for influences. Informed by the abundance and variety of streaming services and social media, artists blend disparate styles casually; fusion is ubiquitous, minimalism is passé. Most Things, the bass and drums duo of Tom Phillips and Malachy O'Neill, wholly upend these notions on their latest single 'Lucky'. Squeezing more bang out of a tightly wound rhythm section than a 10-piece post-everything collective ever could, Most Things' latest single is snappy, dense and forthright. Mumbling words of a fractured romance while falling between the cracks of London streets, 'Lucky' bounces on thick bass pops and splashed out drums. Two minutes, two instruments, one purpose: impact. Less is more. (A. L. Noonan)
Opal Mag - 'I Don't Like You, But I Love You'
The third single from Brighton indie dazzlers Opal Mag continues a fine streak of releases that kicked off with the excellent September debut 'Looking For'. Opening with the kind of woozy synths that might round-off the emotional finale of a John Hughes teen-flick, 'I Don't Like You, But I Love You' is a track that rises and rises, builds and builds before erupting into a brazen, all-sparkles headrush of big-chorus glamour. Slotting herself into that lineage of star-slaked, love-burst indie-rock that recalls The Breeders, or, more recently, Wolf Alice, Opal Mag serves up a stark, coming-of-age landscape of love, frustration, and formative growth. "'I Don't Like You, but I Love You' is about the push and pull of wanting to stay in a relationship but losing yourself in the process." says Opal Mag, and, boy, are we rooting for them. (Elvis Thirlwell)
Michael Georgian – 'Where the Love Begins'
Pairing the throb of electro basslines with soaring Italo pads, Michael Georgian showcases the second single from his upcoming debut EP 'Machine Music' - 'Where the Love Begins'. Following the darkwave inflected grooves of prior single 'Fantasy', 'Where the Love Begins' pivots toward starker territory, eschewing colourful synthpop density for acid-flecked restraint. Georgian balances vulnerability with outspoken attitude, blending sensitive reverbed vocals that speak of "acting like I'm on the edge of a knife" with the brooding rumble of KORG MS20 bass oscillations. While the verses bubble and tick with Kraftwerkian drum sequencing and muffled sampling, the chorus uplifts and purifies. A nostalgic 3am coupling of soul and circuitry - play it loud, play it on good speakers. (A. L. Noonan)
Water Machine – 'River'
Buoyed with all the caffeinated swagger of a jaunty mid-afternoon stomp through a wizened suburban jungle, Water Machine's 'River' grooves and wiggles with a charming, kooky warmth and infectious zip. A roguish bassline springs the song into action, leading a twanging choir of guitars and vocals to bob breezily over tides of hip-swinging percussion and squelchy synths. Lyrically, despite "none of the band hav[ing] ever owned a boat", the Glasgow newcomers say that the track is about a fictitious "hostile relationship between you and your neighbour who you're convinced is trying to steal your boat". So, if there's anyone reading this from the helm of their cherished vessel, whose seafaring neighbours have been shooting it covetous glares, Water Machine have forged the perfect munition to blast out from the deck, all-masts blazing and without a care. (Hazel Blacher)
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