Our monthly look at the best new albums and EPs.
The Golden Dregs by Declan Haughian | Words: Lloyd Bolton, Hazel Blacher, Brad Sked, Otis Hayes
It's all happening with the year in music fullyunderway, already with a number of albums staking their claim to end-of-year list spots. This month, we unpack a flurry of great new records across a breadth of styles which have caught our ears, our favourites comprising The Golden Dregs, Brown Horse, Y, Fib, Sculpture Park, MIEN, The Late Joe Bowman, Nature Kids and Jawharp.
The Golden Dregs – 'Godspeed'
The Golden Dregs' fourth album 'Godspeed' profitably captures the band at their most ambitious. Expanding from the solo project of Ben Woods into a collaborative seven-piece (built out of the existing live band), the project has grown from its gothic Americana core to absorb a broader range of folk influences and alternative influences. The album kicks in with the big synth hook and chorused baseline of 'Big Ideas', the first of a number of moments where, in its rich textures set against close-mic'ed vocals, the record recalls Deerhunter at their most transcendent ('Imagining France' is where the comparison really comes into focus). Across 'Godspeed', songs reflect on the oxymoronic relationship between connectivity and alienation, particularly online and in the big city ('Linoleum', 'The Company of Strangers'). In their newly expanded setup, The Golden Dregs seem now to be living up to their full potential, traversing genres where necessary to make each song a vividly drawn vignette. (Lloyd Bolton)
Brown Horse – 'All The Right Weaknesses'
'All The Right Weaknesses', the second album in as many years from Norwich 5-piece Brown Horse, is a burning delight, defined by the band's freewheeling spirit. Guitars shamble and clang beautifully over an Americana rock potful that feels as authentic as its influences from across the Atlantic. Sharing songwriting duties evenly, the band's songs find an impressive cohesion. That unity is captured wonderfully on this new album, which was recorded as live in the wake of a busy year on the road. The rock classicism of their sound is juxtaposed by lyrics full of individuality, making for a winning patchwork celebrating that celebrates human complexity and unpredictability. (Lloyd Bolton)
Y – 'Y'
Horns jump between personalities as they switch from smooth melodies to wild, frantic whirls, drums cascade with equal energy and the guitar takes on all kinds of personas as it comfortably flirts with funk, punk and jazz. This is Y, one of the most exciting of the latest crop of Windmill graduates. Signed to Hideous Mink, this genre-defying and intensively eccentric group show themselves to be an exciting prospect who have quickly developed an eclectic style, ranging from the furious jazz-punk of 'Why' to the psychotic lounge of 'Ladies Who'. (Otis Hayes)
Fib – 'Heavy Lifting'
Packing a snappy, zesty punch, Fib's 'Heavy Lifting' refreshes the senses and zings on the palate like that first voracious guzzle of crisp, cool lemonade on a scorching summer's afternoon. Released via Julia's War Recordings (a label founded by They Are Gutting A Body of Water's Douglas Dulgarian), the debut album from the Philly-based band zips with a hearty yet ephemeral quality, both through its prompt 26-minute run time and the sheer scope of musical ideas condensed and explored within it. Sonically it calls to mind the skittish, math-rock angularity of bands like Palm, combined with a sparser instrumentation and close-up, dry production, reminiscent of, say, Cola or Wombo. The resulting concoction is an invigorating blend of uptempo post-punk and proggy jangle, made all-the-more affable by its indie-rock nucleus and dulcet, pop-leaning melodies. With no shortage of gumption or creative flair, Fib are a band unafraid to give it all they've got, and although it's their debut, 'Heavy Lifting' achieves a balance of complexity and accessibility that often takes bands a few goes to master. (Hazel Blacher)
Sculpture Park – 'Monument to Effort'
Sculpture Park's debut album, 'Monument to Effort', is a collection to get lost in. The band are something of an indie supergroup, pooling members who also play with Qlowski, Spirit Blue and The Golden Dregs (with whom Mair also plays keys), but this record marks them out in their own right as one of most original and quietly innovative new bands in London at the moment. 'Monument to Effort' brims with ideas unexpectedly contrasted against each other, displaying that alchemical collective inspiration that all bands hope to find. We feel in full force the coalescence of the group's ideas to form a unique and expansive sound, generally built out of atmospheric, sustain-heavy keys, loose rhythms and refrain-heavy lyrics, which gradually modulate to produce emotional nuance. (Lloyd Bolton)
MIEN – 'MIIEN'
Seven years after the release of their debut self-titled ablum, MIEN, the supergroup that is Alex Maas (The Black Angels), Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone), John Mark Lapham (The Earlies) and Robb Kidd (Golden Dawn Arkestra) return with another sonic blast force of sprawling psychedelia. The cosmonautic supergroup act as the closest thing to a real life psychedelic Avengers, collectively bringing forth a galactic gem of a sequel to our mortal lands, highlights including lead single 'Evil People' and the expansive electro space-time ripper 'Silent Golden'. (Brad Sked)
fantasy of a broken heart - 'Chaos Practitioner'
Following on from last year's debut 'Feats of Engineering', art pop duo fantasy of a broken heart have returned with new EP 'Chaos Practitioner', a record they describe as their "most bedroom collection to date". Soaring through a sweet, celestial bubblegum of quaint drum machines and twee melodies, on this latest release the Brooklyn duo's playfulness and whimsy offsets against a gorgeously varied and labyrinthine collection of songs, like dream pop if you loaded it into a Sega Megadrive and turned the saturation up to the max. There are some truly breathtaking moments on 'Chaos Practitioner', and, while growing more featherlight with each release, fantasy of a broken heart drift us closer to a state of empyrean reverie that makes living that little bit sweeter. (Hazel Blacher)
The Late Joe Bowman – 'Restaurant Town'
The debut EP from South London artist The Late Joe Bowman is an expressionistic howl of punk electronica. The tone is set by opener 'And It Cried', which combines a growling murk with operatic vocal in what feels like an ambitious and exciting channeling of Scott Walker's later output. Across the EP, lyrics capture a loathing for the material world around us and the way it is so easy to project this back onto ourselves, and in this regard the snooze-hitting closer 'Porridge' is a perfect conclusion, its angst matched with rare ferocity by cataclysmic bursts of synth and guitar. 'We're Too Careless' is the highlight, however, with a 'Fear of Music' verse collapsing into a nightmarish hyperpop climax. (Lloyd Bolton)
Nature Kids – 'Nature Kids'
The self-titled debut album from Leeds band Nature Kids is a gently jangling delight with a sound that crystallises the gold-encrusted sunlight that filters into your bedroom on a summer's afternoon. The devotion to Pavement is felt beyond just the 'Range Life' reference in the band's name, with a wonky grace permeating across the album. The spiritual guidance of Neil Young also makes itself felt, as on 'First Moon' in particular. It is clear, however, that these starting points only begin to explain what this band is about. 'Lamplight' has a xylophone (or perhaps keyboard-on-xylophone-setting?) riff that feels quite Cate le Bon in character, 'Slow Grower' is an aptly named and masterfully executed build, and closer 'Spit Off the Bridge' has a real minimalist beauty to the guitar and keys ad libs that captures the messy and optimistic magic of the youthful scenes described. After winning a spot at Green Man through last year's Rising competition, this album reaffirms the exciting potential of this band. (Lloyd Bolton)
Jawharp – 'untimely divorce of tooth + gum'
In this climate, it is an impressive feat to develop a reputation as one of London's most forceful live bands. Fans of this particularly pulverising four-piece will be glad to find that same chaotic fury condensed into their debut album. Screamed lyrics are blitzed by distortion beyond much recognition, but their expressive import carries as just another instrumental detail alongside slamming drums and wailing guitars. The joy of this band is those moments of crystal clear detail, be it a canny guitar lick or a collective pause (as if mocking our human need to draw breath in the face of all of this), in which the guiding hand and the light from above all become apparent for a half second before the blasting noise returns and the mosh collapses back in on itself. (Lloyd Bolton)
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