Bearded FFP. B
Track Reviews
58
Lodekka Lodekka EP (Freshly Squeezed Music)
Lightspeed Champion Midnight Surprise (Domino)
Los Campesinos! The International Tweexcore Underground (Wichita)
The future for this project is already uncertain. Graphic designer Stuart Dace has been a bit of an odd-job man on the music front - working for labels and as a session musician (providing saxophone for Primal Scream’s Screamadelica) but, despite a fantastic first offering in the form of this Freshly Squeezed Music released EP, there are no future plans - which is unfortunate. That said, if this little masterpiece consisting of four, wellbalanced, simplistic, reverb-embracing tracks picks up some well-deserved steam, then maybe one day we will be lucky enough to be graced with a Lodekka full-length. Reminiscent of a number of Ninja Tunes acts in its ambience and its electronic beats, Dace makes use of his multi-instrumentalist nature. Embracing a wide range of instruments, the ukulele can be heard to full effect in opening track ‘Yes Mr. B’ – complimented by a cheeky melodica. Full of quirks, Dace’s trusty sax is bought out for ‘Happy Snapper’ – a great jaunt through some interesting uke riffs, switching between a Spanish and Hawaiian style of playing – the sounds more exciting with each listen. There are some electronic elements to this EP that are more indicative of acts such as Funki Porcini and Bonobo – but what sets this apart is the sounds of ‘real’ instruments, coupled with an intelligent restraint on opportunities for improv that would make this record over-long and tiresome. With songs that could be deemed as short in length for this genre, this EP is a little tease – all we can do now is sit here, patiently, yearning for a full-length.
As far as I know, the only person still mourning the 2006 Test Icicles split is my friend Chris. Quite apart from having one of the most godawful names in music they didn’t really do much other than be zeitgeisty, which has its bright side for erstwhile singer Dev Hynes, who has since sneakily switched his loyalties to the London folk scene. Having chummed up with Emmy The Great, who he collaborated with on a couple of Christmas songs last year, some angel smiled on him enough to whisk him off to Nebraska with Emmy and members of Tilly and the Wall and Ambulance to do backing vox. On first listen it’s difficult to see why they bothered. A pick ‘n’ mix mess of trad folk ingredients, ‘Midnight Surprise’ is more survey than song. Tick all that apply: fingerpicking, Americana guitar wails, wailing choruses, the mandatory violin (and we thought they were a sucky instrument at school – who’s laughing now?), soulful yet upbeat tune and the occasional mathboy rock noodlings to recall your roots. Seriously? It’s a demo rather than a song, an expanded one in the case of the 10-minute version – which adds little to the overall sound. Rather than expanding the themes on the radio edit, it does the same for longer and with more Americana and occasional bits of brass to add to the bring and buy aspect. The low key pleasures of ‘No Surprises’ – which actually is a demo – act as a much-needed antacid after all that audio squabbling, and stripped down to acoustic guitar and piano, Dev’s vocals come across plaintive and, better yet, as if he’s actually meaning something when singing. Call me old fashioned but lyrics are quite important part to a song and the ones here just don’t do anything other than fill air. A screechy cover of that song from Hair that’s always on telly adverts hammers the last nail in this particular coffin.
The latest single from Welsh indie pop group Los Campesinos! is an often ironic, sometimes self-deprecating tale of pride in a developing genre that readily opens itself up to criticism but also a very large level of interest and praise... or something along those lines. Another one of them university bands, these educated upstarts have only been around for little over a year - playing their first gig in May 2006. Naturally, as poor students the band had to promote themselves through the Internet, resulting in some well deserved radio play. A paltry 6 months after their first show, the band were signed to Witchita. The track opens as standard for an indie pop band - handclaps - some slopcharm vocals, slightly reminiscent of Kid Carpet in that respect. But then suddenly the chorus has hit within 30 seconds and the boy-girl vocals set over a beating crash cymbal powers into a violin-synth lead riff. But the charm in this track lies with the drum-style - it’s not overly adventurous, but it chops and changes, stops and starts yet still holds together the crazy messy mixture inevitable of a 7-piece. Certainly not as twee as it could be this does the band a multitude of favours. It’s the erratic nature that makes this single worth listening to – certainly merits a listen.
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KB
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