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Single Review

Dinosaur Pile-Up/ The Broken Family Band/ The Morning Paper/ Moscow Olympics/ The Brian Jacket Letdown/ Love Is All/ Wavves
Singles round-up

Article written by Ged M - Apr 14, 2009

Dinosaur Pile-Up unapologetically rock out with a single-minded riff-tastically grungy song, ‘Traynor’ (Friends Vs Records, one-sided 7”). It’s powerfully melodramatic, and raises the ghosts of Nirvana and Ash, but have we come so far post-rock that we’re back to rock again? Dinosaur Pile-Up Myspace

The Broken Family Band have a new label, better artwork and a beefed up guitar sound but new single ‘Salivating’ (Cooking Vinyl 7”) still has the same salacious Steven Adams lyrics. It’s a rattling good riffy rock record though. They re-work ‘Love Your Man, Love Your Woman’ for the b-side; this “soft eyes version” is chiming, chilled out and charming. band homepage; label page

LostMusic’s latest release (on 7” with free digital download code) is a split single between Sweden’s The Morning Paper and the Phillipines’(!) Moscow Olympics. The Morning Paper’s ‘Always Real’ reminds me of New Order circa ‘Ceremony’, a digital melancholy of synths and electronic drums that unfolds into a pretty chorus. Moscow Olympics are the answer to your prayer (if you ever made one) for Filipino shoegazing, the band’s feathery vocals sublimated beneath a swirly, shimmering sea of guitars and keyboards. It’s Lush (in every sense of the word), a delicate dreampop that will crumble if you play it too loud. Moscow Olympics Myspace; The Morning Paper Myspace; label homepage

The name irked me so much I avoided listening to The Brian Jacket Letdown for a long time. I’m only slightly less anti now that I’ve heard ‘White Lies’ (Genepool Records). Their collection of strange instruments is impressive, including the rare early 70s Mattel Optigan keyboard used on the single, but this is a strange folk-funk hybrid that sounds like Bowie in the 80s, Beck and Roxy Music. The fretless bass should have been left in that decade too; this is just out-of-time. The folky, M Ward style ‘Devil In My Room’ though is more on the money. Try and hear the toilet bowl being played for percussion, which sort of sums them up. The Brian Jacket Letdown homepage

Love Is All’s ‘Wishing Well’ (What’s Your Rupture Records 7”) is classic Scandinavian garage pop, passionate, warm and wonderful, that luxuriates in its lo-fi set up and slays you with its melody. It’s partnered with a cover of Faith No More’s funk-metal ‘Epic’, losing the macho bollocks but none of the power, with Josephine keeping up the indie-rapping. Another smart single from our favourite Swedes. Myspace page
label page

I read recently that distorted noise sounds even more distorted in MP3 format because the extra compression adds additional high frequency whirrs and shrieks; that would probably make Wavves’ latest sound like the Beach Boys frying bacon in a sheet metal works but you’d need to burn the songs from this exclusive 7” (Fat Possum Records) to find out. It seems to work just as well on vinyl though; ‘California Goths’ gallops along manically like scratchy surf music while ‘Here’s To The Sun’ is melodic thrash-pop, throwing in lots of woo-woos, all covered in grime . Brilliant stuff – unless, of course, you’re an audio purist. Myspace page

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