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Friday 9 December 2011

Three for all.

Apologies for missing last week’s Three for all, a late night at work combined with a weekend in London meant time was limited, plus I bet no one noticed anyway. So, my festive Three for all will be pushed to next week, and my end of year lists will also appear sometime soon.

My three songs this week (technically from last week) are all courtesy of the fine people of 6 Music, having heard all these singles played recently, and, to be honest, it's not my most diverse selection, featuring three young bands who fit the classic ‘white, male, guitar-based indie’ label. Comparisons can be easily drawn between them, but what’s wrong with consistency?

First up is Geordie three-piece Little Comets, whose song Worry has been doing the rounds for a few weeks and has worked its way onto the A list at 6, quite an achievement in itself. The band has already had an eventful career, including signing with a major label and then acrimoniously leaving, before releasing their debut album in early 2011.

This song has a sound reminiscent of Vampire Weekend, particularly its riff and vocals. It’s a burst of sunshine, full of bounce and intricate guitars, perfect for forgetting the dreariness outside.

Taken from an EP of the same name released on 12 December, Little Comets are one to watch for next year.

 Little Comets - Worry by indieisnotagenre

Next up is Bear Cavalry, increasing the tempo with new track Roman Summer. This four-piece from Hampshire formed in 2008 and have released several EPs to date, this song is the first song on their latest EP, Maple Trails, also released on December 12.

The precise intertwining riffs that start the song and provide a balance after the louder moments are what grabbed my attention when I first heard it on 6.

The variation between the delicate and technical verses and the raw and noisy chorus suggest a band still finding their sound, but of one technically capable of creating any sound they want. It reminds me of Foals’ Cassius, which is not a bad starting point for any band.

 Roman Summer by Bear Cavalry

Coastal Cities’ Thinktank is the last song this week. The song has been around a while, but was rereleased on an EP of the same name on 5 December, and has been getting some decent airplay over the last two weeks.

Coastal Cities are five guys from High Wycombe, the founding members met in detention when they were 17, I like stories like that.

And Thinktank is full of pacey guitars and drums, projecting a real youthful energy, drawing comparisons with early material from The Drums, who took a liking to the song and tweeted about it upon its first release earlier in the year.

The heartbeat of the song for me is the overlapping guitar lines that soundtrack the short but catchy exclaim of ‘It’s just a thinktank, It’s just a thinktank’ in the chorus.

 Coastal Cities - Thinktank by CoastalCities

These three songs can hopefully help drag you through these short and dark winter days with a bit of energy and brightness, and provide you with a brief respite from the endless repeats of Slade and Wizard that haunt this month every year.

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