Unsigned Noise
Send your work of genius through the ears of The Stool Pigeon to the address on the contact page. Please mark the envelope ‘Demo’.
Nunhead trio FORMS FORMS FORMS freely admit that “the music industry could not care less” about their idiosyncratic pop in the blurb they’ve sent with their three-track demo. Pity, because these three guys have a certain spark that could be explosive – if only they’d tightened up and stop sounding like a haphazard Yummy Fur. Still, they’re much better than The Cribs. Here’s hoping they’re not as fucking ugly as those Jarman brothers as well.
www.myspace.com/formsformsforms
Beware of the ‘fusion’ band, for sometimes they can sound truly god-awful. Thankfully THE FICTION’s seventies punk meets dub reggae via powerpop musical endeavours don’t sound entirely naff. A tad on the agit-punk side but without all the politics stuff that makes your head hurt, this is quite compelling stuff. Similarities to Hot Club de Paris, Blur and a really stoned version of The Ruts are all there. Daniel McIntosh’s lyrics are reminiscent of a Mark E Smith – but only if Smith had taken a shit load of lithium. Senseless, poppy and deliriously wonderful. And considering they already have a “large following from university” success is surely round the corner.
www.mysapce.com/thefictionlondon
East London’s THE BRUTE CHORUS make the kind of the music that’s a bit mardy but ostentatiously bombast in places. Songs about innocent boys and whiley women seem to be the Brute’s schtick and very catchy they are too. Fans of Rumble Strips, The Zutons and Hot Hot Heat could do worse than give this lot a go.
www.myspace.co/thebrutechorus
As befitting a band that calls themselves DOG YEARS, this quartet from Newcastle sound a little bit sombre, blue and down on their luck, but in a really lo-fi American indie rock sorta way. Think Marcy Playground (anyone but me remember them?) via a super lethargic Lemonheads and a less cynical Pavement and you’d be halfway to understanding how understatedly gorgeous the songs on Dog Years’ album You Can See the Joins are. Certainly one to keep your eye on.
www.myspace.com/dogyearsmusic
TIM GOALEN is the London-based singer-songwriter succeeding where the likes of Jack Peñate et al have all failed. Along with his backing band, THE TREMORS, and his flamenco meets rock guitar playing, Goalen makes the exquisite kind of indie pop that can make you swoon with romantic delight (‘Come Back To You’), or leave you jittering about erratically on your feet with songs like ‘The Fever’. Fans of The Boss and Herman Düne need look no further. There’s something truly special about Tim Goalen & The Tremors.
www.myspace.com/timgoalenmusic
LITTLE JOY BOX has sent over three love hearts and a pink balloon with their demo. That’s sweet in all, but for future reference we’d prefer MONEY. There’s not much we can tell you about who these lot are or from where they’ve come from, but what we can tell you is that this is sweet female-fronted pop with a rock edge. Not a riotous affair by any means, for these are songs that leave you pleasantly indifferent. Still there’s a glockenspiel in there somewhere, so extra points awarded for that.
www.myspace.com/littlejoybox
From the opening drumbeats of THE KLOUDS demo, it’s clear that this trio from London come from The Jesus and Mary Chain school of hard knocks. It’s raucous, dark and very, very brooding. But in a way that draws comparisons to Primal Scream and a less complex and ornate Sonic Youth. Huzzahs for that all round. But they’ve also listed Muse as one of their musical influences on they MySpace page, which is a bit worrying. Definitely worth a spin if you’re up for seventies rock guitars and some early nineties indie pop.
www.myspace.com/theklouds
MICHAEL McLINN is a London-based multi-instrumental singer-songwriter that, vocally, sounds exactly like Martin Rossiter from The Smith’s only commercially successful cover band, Gene. Sonically, however, McLinn is far more adventurous and his look a little bit more eccentric. Twinkling harps and delicate pianos makes this demo quite fey, but pretty too.
www.myspace.com/michaelmclinn
Our pick for the fat advance: Close call but Tim Goalen & The Tremors have enough commotion and excitement in their tunes to shake the earth beneath our feet. Give those geezers some cash… and quick!
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- Unsigned Noise (Posted in 017 June 2008 | Demos | The Stool Pigeon Review)
