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BAD FRIDAY!
Peluché,
Dead Coast,
Les Sueques,
Calva Louise,
Flights of Helios,
Videocean,
Dirty Blondes
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The Windmill, Brixton
Good Friday, 14th April 2017
3pm till late

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Album Review

The Fresh & Onlys
Long Slow Dance Souterrain Transmissions,

Article written by Paul M - Oct 21, 2012

Fans of the offerings to date from San Fracisco's the Fresh & Onlys will get a surprise when they hear their fourth album. The previous long player, Play It Strange, was a highlight of 2010, with its lo-fi vocals, crashing drums, scuzzy riffs and twangy psych flourishes displaying a garage heart. By contrast, Long Slow Dance sounds polished, more melodic and definitely commercially more instant. Indeed messrs Morrissey and Marr are a clearer inspiration here than any of the Nuggets releases. Presence of Mind in particularly, evokes an uptempo take on Back to the Old House with its opening strings and drawled vocals. Meanwhile Dream Girls has a slight country air, but only if Magnetic Fields were born in Texas, and the title track is a wonderful crooned love song ("You'll be the purest of wine and I'll be the dirty cup") accompanied by warm West Coast harmonies.

Thankfully it's not all lyrically introspective and intelligent indie, good though that is, as the album highlight Foolish Heart shows they still have a fuzzbox to call on when they so wish. It starts off pleasantly restrained enough, switching between plodding echoey vocal yelps ("I don't want to be a fool anymore") and a great hooked chorus before launching into a three minute mashed lead solo / krautrock head bang. It sounds amazing on a cheap pair of headphones, God only knows how good it should sound live.

So, despite having now produced four albums and a couple of EPs in only five years, the quality, like the hills of their home city, continues to rise.

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/thefreshonlys