After Hours

We Are Scientists have a new song. Its very refined, just a couple cords all the way through. My excitement in finding it wasn't matched on my first couple listens. But I'm hoping its a grower.

[mp3] We Are Scientists - After Hours

Miss Marling and Friends

The picture is a bit serious but thankfully its not all doom and gloom. As if recording with Noah and the Whale and releasing and promoting her debut album "Alas I cannot Swim" isn't enough, Laura Marling has teamed up with The Mystery Jets in their new single "Young Love". Marling has a great voice for pop and its nice hearing alongside the bigger sound of Mystery Jets rather than just over her solo stuff. This is definitely feel-good material.

[mp3] The Mystery Jets - Young Love (feat. Laura Marling)

Alongside Marling, there's a whole load of other female musicians making headlines. The whole world seems to be going mad for female voices and happy-go melodies. Duffy and Lykke Li are a just a couple of those with things happening right now.

[mp3] Duffy - Mercy
[mp3] Lykke Li -Dance. Dance. Dance
[mp3] Lykke Li - Complaint Department

Here's a nice little indie-pop number from Mae Shi, taken from their latest LP "Hlllyh". They've been dubbed experimental but with the proliferation of electronica outfits these days, they're nothing too edgy. This song is a lot of fun though.

[mp3] The Mae Shi - Run to Your Grave

Crystal Castles self titled debut is out this month and I am very much looking forward to seeing them in March. Thrash-electro? Here's one of the more tame numbers....

[mp3] Crystal Castles - Vanished

Dance in March

The release of 2008's "it" band, Foals debut LP "Antidotes" is drawing closer. So you don't have to wait so long to catch a listen, here's a little sample. Their style doesn't really exceed that demonstrated in their singles "balloons" and "hummer" - lots of thudding drums, really sharp and shimmering dance melodies and bloc-party-esque wails.

[mp3] Foals - Heavy Water (link removed)
[mp3] Foals -Red Sock Pugie(link removed)
[mp3] Foals -Two Steps Twice(link removed)



March also sees the release of another ever anticipated Kitsune compilation. A little strapped of big names and with too many remixes - another Teenagers' Homecoming remix (really?) - its not as good as the last couple. But hey its still Kitsune.

[mp3] Late of the Pier - Broken (Fairy Lights Mix)
[mp3] DATA - Aerius Light (Kitsune DJ Friendly Edit)

Grand Archives

The Grand Archives are Mat Brooke's ("Carissa's Wierd", "Band of Horses") latest project. Their self-titled debut will appear on shelves from the 19th February and its rather good. A more upbeat and optimistic affair than any of Brooke's work with other bands, the album is genuinely warming. Grand Archives employ the southern twang of Band of Horses (just listen to those harmonicas and steel pedal guitars) but add that little bit more through a whole load of studio experimentation which included using cellos for bass lines, violin bows on guitars and more percussion than you could possibly fit in an 11 track LP. Plenty of overlapping vocal harmonies and simple acoustic guitar chord progression mean this is accessible as indie comes.


[mp3] Grand Archives - George Kaminski
[mp3] Grand Archives - Index Moon

Metronomy Relight

When Metronomy released their first and only album "Pip Paine (Pay back the £5000 you owe) a couple of years ago, the only feeling it left on fans and critics was one of disappointment. After their brilliant single, "You could Easily Have Me", the rest of the album failed to live up to its fantastic effect studded guitar and dance ethos. But new single, Radio Ladio is a return to the brilliance of their first single and hopefully marks a permanent return form. Trademark metronomy effects zip around alongside some justice-like children's choir to create a tune that is both danceable and easy to sing along to.

[mp3] Metronomy - Radio Ladio
[mp3] Metronomy - You Could Easily Have Me


The Mountain Goats are set to return with their sophomore, Heretic Pride. Very much living up to their name, the Goats are the outdoorsy type, mixing simple folk acoustic ballads and some singing thats destined for a campfire setting.

[mp3] Mountain Goats - New Zion


Los Campesinos! are set to release their debut LP without singles "The International Tweexcore Underground" and "You throw parties, we throw knives". Its okay though because there's plenty on there that sound just the same. Not that its bad or anything. Plenty of jing jangling pop goodness in their teen-heavy indie debut.

[mp3] Los Campesinos! - Broken Heartbeats Sound like Breakbeats

They've probably started to run out of money since their days of brit pop success, so Supergrass return in The Verve's footsteps. Their return with "Diamond Hoo Ha Man" is set for the end of March. Sounds a bit like their old stuff mixed in with a bit of Jet. The result is a tad bland.

[mp3] Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha Man

Pop Register's Top of 2007

Though all music critics like to present themselves as an all-seeing, all-knowing messenger of good music, I will admit that 12 months is a long time and I may well have missed some blinders over the last year. Regardless, here are the albums and the songs that the Popregister has adored over the last 12 months. These albums are not ranked in order of their musical complexity or their contribution towards contemporary music, rather are picked because I have enjoyed them most. (and yes, there is no Radiohead!)

The Popregister's Top 15 Albums

1. The Wombats - A Guide to...
- The most fun album of 2007, and for that reason my favorite.







2. Patrick Wolf - Magic Position
- There's no one quite like patrick wolf. His third LP marked his poppiest and best to date






3. Beirut - The Flying Club
- Surpassing his first effort, Beirut this time uses Paris as his primary influence. With a wide arsenal of instruments and a catalogue of styles dating back to the 40s its a layered and pop filled lp.





4. Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
- An American indie band in the top 5! Every time i listened to this album I discovered my new favorite song. A grower of an album and indie pop at its best

5. The Maccabees - Colour it in
- With their jittery post punk guitar tunes and Orlando Week's tremoring warble the Maccabees were quickly cast into the category of post libertines garbage. But given a little time even the most cynical could come around to their trashy, duelling guitars and wailing choruses.

6. MIA - Kala
- Urban, electro, indie, jungle? Probably all and plenty more rolled into the formula. Plenty of pop sounds from the most unlikely of places.

7. Justice - †
- Uncompromising and ultra modern dance tunes. From the pop strings and childlike chorus of D.A.N.C.E. to the grinding, record screeching whirlwind of Stress, its def the best dance album of 2007

8. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
- Kings of American indie return with a southern twang. Plenty of whittling ballads and even some heavier tunes in their sophomore

9. Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
- Establishing themselves as rock heavyweights, the slightly less hairy kings return for a third effort. Arena anthems and plenty of growl.

10. Jack Penate - Spit at Stars
- Funky jigs, checkered shirts and plenty of bubbly pop tunes mixed in with some soulful acoustic tracks. What more could you want?

11. The Cribs - Mens Needs..
- Singing along to just a couple of tracks will leave you with a sore throat. Plenty of enthusiastic vocals in this to-the-formula English indie but some great infectious tunes and punchy guitar melodies.

12. Wu- Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
- After seeing them perform on New Years there's no way they aren't making the list. 9 rappers, one group and a whole lot of madness. Wu Tang clan ain't nothing to fuck with!

13. Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
- Though the spitting, shouting vocals are a bit much after a while, there's no knocking the lyrical quality (if a bit religious) and fantastic sound of the CWK's debut

14. Digitalism - Idealism
- Perhaps the most like Daft Punk of the emerging new wave of electro outfits. This record will take you around the universe in a futuristic sonic world of bleeps and thumps.

15. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga
- Tends to fizz rather than go off with a bang yet has grown on me along with many others. Inoffensive and highly engaging.


The Popregister's Top 10 Singles

1. Cajun Dance Party - Amylase
- Amazing that a bunch of teens can produce something so brilliant

2. Noah and the Whale - 5 Years Time
- Probably the happiest song i've ever heard

3. Lightspeed Champion - Midnight surprise
- 9 minutes long yet I can't stop listening to it from start to finish

4. SebastiAn - Walkman 2
- A rehash of SebastiAn's signature tune. Packs a loads of guts.

5. MIA - Paper Planes
- Kala's best and surprisingly so considering the pop hooks come from firing guns and the kerching of cashiers.

6. Late of the Pier - Bathroom Gurgle
- 80s synth pop rehashed with panache.

7. The Wombats - Backfire @ the Disco
- A chorus that will drive even your neighbors insane. So good it should be illegal

8. The Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
- The pop charts can lay host to a decent track once in a while...

9. The Whip - Divebomb
- Best electro tune of 2007

10. The Cribs - Men's Needs
- Why people listen to indie.


Top 5 Remixes

1. Das Pop - Fool for Love (SebastiAn remix)
- Little known indie band given a new life thanks to trademark SebastiAn

2. The Klaxons - As above as Below (Justice remix)
- A match made in heaven delivers a relic

3. Liars - If fit when I was a Kid (Crystal Castles remix)
- Splashes of Crystal Castles' retro beeps and bleeps sound perfect layered over trademark liars

4. RATM - Killing in the name of (mr Oizo remix)
- What better to mark the return of the best metal band of all time than by bringing one of the their signature tunes into the 21st century

5. Dragonette - I get Around (Midnight Juggernauts remix)
- Camp pop turned dirty electro


3 Most Disappointing Albums

The Twang - Love it when i feel like this
- Well I never thought they were good...

Good Shoes - Think before you speak
- Sounds like an LP of remixes from their only good song, photo on my wall

Black Rebel - Baby 81
- Not a massive flop just nowhere near as good as it should have been.


3 Airwave Whores I love

Chris Brown feat. T Pain - Kiss Kiss
- synth of the vocals makes it sound like bad 90s pop. Always cracks a smile when i hear it though

Soulja Boy - Crank that
- Now whenever someone says the word "you" i think of lil soulja boy

Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls
- Discovering Sean Kingston is actually really chubby made this song even more funny.


Top 5 Movies of 2007

I have missed plenty of good movies...

1. Rocky Balboa (a personal and inexplicable obsession)
2. No Country for old men
3. Last King of Scotland
4. Hot Fuzz
5. Babel

Chilled Tunes for Xmas

Exams, other writing commitments and a sheer lack of inspiration has meant that the popregister has been a little neglected over the past few weeks. Xmas is also a busy time for me, hitting up the USA West Coast hot spots, so updates will be scarce. So here's a nice one to keep ya going.

I've never really been a big fan of singer songwriters. I don't even know my Rufus Wainwright from my Willy Mason. To sound a little cliched, the whole solo acoustic/piano ballad is just a bit samey. There's only so much you can do with a voice and one of two instruments. That said, people like Patrick Wolf are really tearing up the genre, mixing electronica effects, multiple instruments and lots of editing. But there's a few artists proving that the down-to-the-bones recipe can still work. The following three maintain a simple sound but manage to stand apart. Expect big things from all of them in 2008.

Adele has the soulful tone of Amy Winehouse, the cockney twang of Kate Nash and choruses so powerful you'd think she was singing about the apocalypse. She's signed to XL records, home to popregister faves Cajun Dance Party and Jack Penate. Her first single "Hometown Glory" received a hearty amount of air time on BBC Radio 1 and her latest single "Chasing Pavements", released next month is likely to take the same route. Adele's sound is rooted in her voice. There's nothing wrong with her sound sonically, but the drums and piano or guitar really just provide the foundations for Adele to let rip with their careering vocals. She must have some hearty lungs because her voice is big.

[mp3] Adele - Chasing Pavements (link removed)
[mp3] Adele - Hometown Glory

Soko is the innocent girl down your street who actually isn't that sweet. With her French accent and playful acoustic guitar work she seems as pure as can be. But her songs are or of bitterness, revenge and even murder. There's a lot of depth to the little voice. Her tunes are wonderfully simple and poppy. You just want to look after her.

[mp3] Soko - It's Raining Outside
[mp3] Soko - I'll Kill Her

Lightspeed Champion is probably the oddest looking guy in the world. He doesn't do himself any favors with his Victorian Englishman dress and chunky framed glasses either. But appearance aside, his sound is quite refined. Simple acoustic scores, the odd violin and a bit of backing represent the Lightspeed construct. Think black version of Patrick Wolf, minus the electronica. I think his "Midnight Surprise" is the only song over 9 minutes to ever break into my top25 most played.

[mp3] Lightspeed Champion - The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine in)

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I also have to say. The new Wu-Tang Record is immense. Have a listen.

[mp3] Wu-Tang Clan - Rushing Elephants