Band of the Moment #8

So April rolls on and we’re back with another band for you all to check out. The summer infused Mayfly’s who come from Kingston-upon-Thames are the perfect band to brighten up these awful rainy days we’ve had recently.

With 11 tracks over on their Soundcloud page, we had enough to gain a clear insight into this wonderful band. Aurelie Konter’s vocals sound a lot like a Kate Nash infused with Lily Allen - a very easy listening voice that you struggle not to fall in love with, while the guitars, bass and drums flow together to create fun and feel good records. Opening track ‘My Doll’ is an indie pop-tastic treat, it has an underlying base of pure funk and soul – themes which are brought much more to the fore in ‘Don't Mind If I Don't’ , ‘Daft Punk Medley’ and ‘Hold On Care’. The more you listen to this band the more you like them – they’re also give a truly international feel with tracks like ‘La Española’ and ‘Guacamole’.

There’s nothing to dislike about this band. They give a sense of not taking things too seriously and just general fun through their records (which, if other reviews are true, is also how they are in person). So if you are, like me, sick of this wet and miserable weather and are longing for sunny days and summer then have a listen to the Mayfly’s and you’ll soon find yourself drifting off into a better place.

Check them out;
http://soundcloud.com/mayflys/tracks?page=1
http://mayflysmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Mayflys
https://twitter.com/TheMayflys

Madison - a quick review

When this blog was started, one of the things I personally hoped for was it would simply mean I could discover new bands, if people liked the rubbish I wrote then that was an added advantage.

The fact the blog is now perilously close to hitting 2,000 page views has amazed me. Yet more outstanding are the bands we’ve been turned on to since starting. A few of them are ones we’ve stumbled upon but others are ones who’ve sent us messages and, in the likes of Madison, who sent us a link to their soundcloud page earlier this week it appears there’s not a shortage of fantastic, untapped, unsigned bands out there who just need some promotion.

The first song on their soundcloud was a piano led ‘Like Glue’ which is probably the most ‘pop’ friendly track we’ve heard so far. Lead singer Russell’s voice is fairly distinctive with a colloquial twang and when combined with the elegant piano means the whole song sways with an essence of the Frey’s ‘How To Save a Life’ which is a form that clearly works as that song was huge, and while this is not a style of music I personally like, you can’t say this is a bad track.

The next single ‘Armbands’ was a pleasant surprise, completely different to the first track this is far more like current indie faves ‘Twin Atlantic’ who also hail from bonny Scotland. It’s got everything that works; catchy lyrics you can sing along with, drums which you want to move to and instantly recognisable guitars. If the rest of their stuff is based on this then they could potentially be a good band. While ‘Like Glue’ is a good song, it just doesn’t seem right. ‘Armbands’ is far more your traditional and proven band sound, but there’s a reason why it’s  successful and as long as Madison keep to it, then they have strong potential - Keep going guys!

Band of the Moment #7

Our next hottest band is in the shape of the four piece all female, ‘Pins’ hailing from Manchester. These have been on every major site out there in the blogosphere recently so it’s only fair we do the same, which I’m sure they’re over the moon about. Probably.

Having only one song recorded makes this slightly harder to back up, but these are going to be huge.  Such is the hype of these girls already that it rivals the wave that built up in the few months before ‘The Vaccines’ broke through last year.  On first listen of ‘Eleventh Hour’ I was amazed, Warpaint remain my favourite girl group in years, and ‘Pins’ are similar in the way their psych-esque, distorted guitars, and epic riffs float over the thumping and capturing drum beat.  Faith Holgate’s haunting vocals become almost a choral chant entrancing you in to this song further, until suddenly it’s over. Leaving you wanting more. Much more.

I hope they can transfer this epic song to the live stage, and that the rest of their catalogue matches the level of ‘Eleventh Hour’ but I’m positive they will be and will definitely be in attendance at their next London gig. Follow them now, go and see them if you can because I promise you, by the end of 2012 they’ll be massive.

Check them out;

http://soundcloud.com/pinsmusic

http://www.wearepins.co.uk/

French Crops live review...

Now we here at Mixed Musing headquarters like to think we know a good band when we hear one, and a few weeks ago when one of the guys from French Crops contacted us we discovered, what we believed, to be a very promising band, and tonight we went to discover if they could actually transform across a promising record to the live arena...

Being first on and facing a half empty room it was no easy challenge for the boys but they appeared with a swagger and braced with an armoury of banging tunes they thrashed out pure classic rock and roll. “Jack in the box” and “know How” got the crowd moving, as friends and fans of the band led the way but what really proved the defining moment was penultimate song, “The Avery” having now filled the room with an eager crowd the boys ripped into their debut video/single with devastating ease, foot tapping turned into full on jumping and the crowd was in the palm of the bands hand.

Tonight proved why French Crops are one of London’s hottest unsigned bands and you had better get into them now before they launch into the mainstream. Our only criticism?  The set wasn’t long enough, and the guitar heads had too much excess string which kept flashing in the lights and could have been cut off, but that’s pointless criticism for the sake of it, lads, you smashed it tonight and we’ll definitely be at your next gig. Awesome stuff.