Introducing: Great White Shark

February 18th, 2012 • Introducing

The idea of packing your bags and upping sticks to a foreign city is always an appealing one. If the city in question is Berlin, what with its reputation as a haven for the arts and an embracer of hedonistic creativity, it becomes even more so.

Great White Shark are the product of such a shift – three of its members moved over from London a little while back (“to escape their frustrating and repetitive lives”, no less) after dissolving (or putting on hiatus) their previous musical commitments, one of which included the relatively successful indie rock outfit Eight Legs. Whilst there, they met a locally based radio DJ cum drummer, and completed the GWS lineup.

Their music, particularly on their 4-track “Bring Us Back Together” EP (released through Berlin’s Snowhite label back in September) harks back to the mid to late eighties / early nineties, with bands like The Smiths, Echo The Bunnymen, The Stone Roses and The Brian Jonestown Massacre coming across as potential founding fathers of their neo-psychedelic based sound.

Of course, they put their own spin on things by adding a current indie-pop sensibility to the songs (see the uplifting EP title track in particular, with its Johnny Marr-esque riff) which make Great White Shark a very interesting prospect for 2012. Below is a new ‘basement demo’ of a track called “Forever Cool”, which didn’t appear on the aforementioned EP. Further new recordings, according to their blog, are imminent.

Tags: Berlin, Bring Us Back Together EP, Eight Legs, Forever Cool, Great White Shark, Snowhite, Studio East

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Article source: http://laissezfaireclub.com/2012/02/introducing-great-white-shark/

Introducing: Atlantics

February 14th, 2012 • Introducing

For those of you who remember singer-songwriter Nat Jenkins – a mainstay on the London indie scene a couple of years back – he’s now fronting a new four piece band called Atlantics, who’ve hit the ground running since their first gig at the end of last summer.

Classic British rock ‘n’ roll songwriting is at the forefront here – on their two online tracks, they display elements of everyone from The Rolling Stones to The Clash to The Libertines to The Kooks – the latter a band who Atlantics have opened for at several continental European dates in late 2011 (Paris and Madrid amongst them), subsequently building themselves a small but devoted fanbase abroad.

“Clean The Sun” is a highly charged, stomping rock ‘n’ roll number which we imagine is probably already a ‘live favourite’, whilst “How High” is a more medium paced affair with some great harmonies – reminding us of bassist Nipsy Fergus Russell’s previous band Smokey Angle Shades, one of the greatest ever groups never to have proceeded beyond the capital’s toilet circuit.

Whilst this is certainly nothing new, Atlantics are clearly (and audibly) an outfit who play with a large degree of conviction, and Jenkins’ rough and ready vocal really portrays a man who means what he’s singing – traits that will stand them in good stead in their quest to become a successful UK guitar act of the ’10s. A full length is already in the can, we read – so keep an eye out for its release this year.

Clean The Sun by ATLANTICS

How High by ATLANTICS

Tags: Atlantics, Clean The Sun, How High, Nat Jenkins, Nipsy Fergus Russell, The Kooks

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Article source: http://laissezfaireclub.com/2012/02/introducing-atlantics/

Introducing: Devin

February 8th, 2012 • Introducing

Brooklyn native Devin Therriault – or simply Devin as he goes by musically – is a new-ish singer rekindling the feral energy of The Buzzcocks, The Undertones and The Hives with his unpolished, in-your-face rock ‘n’ roll.

His current calling card, “You’re Mine” is a high-speed adrenaline rush, and while it might be a little too much for some more sensitive souls, isn’t half short of swagger and self belief. All leather jackets, Brylcreem and Shure 55 microphones, it’s the antithesis of anything resembling a Micro Korg, and essentially, Devin is Chuck Berry for the generation who think The Vaccines, rather than The Strokes, changed rock ‘n’ roll.

Recently signed to US indie Frenchkiss (Local Natives, The Drums), Devin released a 7″ EP (which included “You’re Mine” as the lead track) through the label in November just gone, and is set to release his debut full length, “Romancing”, shortly.

He’ll be playing his first ever UK shows at the end of the month too, in short run that includes a support slot with The Drums at The Roundhouse (27/2), a headline show at The Shacklewell Arms (28/2) and one at Barfly (29/2), with our lot The Static Jacks. For a full list of dates, click here.

MP3: Devin – You’re Mine

Tags: Devin, Frenchkiss, You’re Mine

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Article source: http://laissezfaireclub.com/2012/02/introducing-devin/

Introducing: Maker

February 5th, 2012 • Introducing

From the ashes of a number of former Brighton bands (amongst them The Agitator and The Perils) comes Maker, a brand new quartet from the seaside town who are turning the clock back to 1977 or so with their revved up MOR power pop (and also their appearance, although we assume the two are intertwined).

Fronted by singer Lana McDonagh, it’s her sweet and melodic vocals which take centre stage on their songs (at least the three they’ve posted online so far). Bearing a striking resemblance to those of Stevie Nicks, Cyndi Lauper or latterly Lissie Maurus, you could quite easily imagine her getting stuck into “Go Your Own Way”, “Time After Time” or “In Sleep”, the standout track from Lissie’s 2010 debut.

Of the tracks they’ve shared with the public, “Missing”, with its upbeat pace, striking hook and three-and-a-half minute duration, is a pre-packaged hit just waiting to soundtrack a million (or more) five o’clock drives home. That’s not to dismiss it as mere Radio 2 fodder, however, we’re simply saying that the potential reach of this group is quite considerable.

Neither of the other two songs, “We Got It (All Worked Out)” and “Secret Heart”, display a dip in the quality control button, suggesting a band who already have a keen ear for what makes a viable, concise pop single (or have simply listened to Rumours a few times). No gigs have been announced at the time of writing, although with the interest in the band sure to reach palpable levels in the next month or two, we expect live appearances to be imminent.

Tags: BRIGHTON, Danny McGurn, Lana McDonagh, Maker, Missing, Secret Heart, We Got It (All Worked Out)

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Article source: http://laissezfaireclub.com/2012/02/introducing-maker/

Introducing: Redspencer

February 4th, 2012 • Introducing

Rummaging through the Facebook page of the last band we featured, Woe Flutter, we came across Redspencer – another Gold Coast group who look likely to be making waves over the the course of 2012.

The band are originally from down the road in Glen Innes, Northern New South Wales – population of 5,944 – and it’s perhaps an isolationist existence here in their formative years that informs their beautiful, sunny and tripped out psychedelia, which references everyone from fellow Aussies Tame Impala to The Beatles to Fleet Foxes.

Certainly, it’s not a brand of music you’d expect to be made by a band in a heaving metropolis, and with their lo-fi production and hazy vocals, you’re really whisked away to a place where the pace of life is significantly slower that what you’re used to (assuming you live in London, like us).

“Sally Forgets Good Times” and “Happy Slow Riverbends” are the two tracks in the public domain – and both, with their real throwback feel, conjure up images of Woodstock, the early Isle Of Wight festivals and Vietnam War movies. The latter isn’t short of mean pop hooks, either, and could well be a major calling card for the band as they bring their laid back and soothing sounds to the world at large – which, on the current evidence, would be most welcome indeed.

Sally Forgets – Redspencer by Deaf Ambitions

MP3: Redspencer – Happy Slow Riverbends

Tags: Glen Innes, Gold Coast, Happy Slow Riverbends, Redspencer, Sally Forgets Good Times, Triple J Unearthed

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Article source: http://laissezfaireclub.com/2012/02/introducing-redspencer/