Sunday 27 January 2013

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 27/01/13 - Night Engine, Alice in Chains, Wake Owl, Joe Gideon and the Shark, Mexican Institute of Sound

Five tracks that laughed in the face of snow this week!




Shell Hunter:-
Night Engine - 'I'll Make It Worth Your While' 


A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a Guardian tip off for 'Ones to watch out for in 2013' and I saw a friend from my college days in the photo! I knew he was seriously into music so I had to look into them and wow, Night Engine totally float my boat! Being a big fan of 80's music but no particular genre, meant that as soon as I heard tracks like Seventeen, Treat Me Like A Baby and this one, made me want to kick my legs out and break into a running man like frenzy. You can hand pick your favourite influences such as Bowie and Talking Heads but I'll Make It Worth Your While gives me a bit of Weird Science by Oingo Boingo! Believe me that's not a bad thing, and there aren't enough bands doing it now in my opinion! Catch them at the Borderline in London on 20th Feb if you are lucky enough to get a ticket or get their first single Seventeen / Treat Me Like A Baby which will be released on February 18th.

You can catch them on Sound Cloud, Facebook plus Twitter! 

London Scouser:-
Alice In Chains - 'Hollow' (2013)



Once again they are back, and once again it sounds like they have never been away. I was absolutely gutted when they disbanded when Layne Staley died as they have been a huge influence on the heavier side of my musical taste. They returned in 2009 with the brilliant Black Gives Way To Blue album, and in March they are releasing an as yet untitled album. I for one cannot wait. They will be playing at 'Download' this year which has a great line up (click here) including Korn, Rammstein, QOTSA & Iron Maiden, but alas I'm working and won't be able to go. Hopefully they will throw in some other gigs in the South that I can go to. 



SFW:-
Wake Owl - Gold (2013)
As the "new folk" genre gains in popularity and more and more artists come to the fore, this week we have Wake Owl vying for our attention. Wake Owl is the project of singer/songwriter Colyn Cameron and "Gold" is the first single off the Wild Country E.P. His style is very similar to Ben Howard, (not a bad thing) and with sweeping strings and gentle touches, it is the perfect track to accompany a long winters day walk!

Old Pa's Corner:-
Joe Gideon and the Shark - The Insignificant Bullet(2013)

Joe Gideon and the Shark are a brother/sister duo from London. The Shark (aka former Olympic ribbon gymnast Viva Gideon) are now on their second album release 'Freakish (2013)' released this January, is a concoction of blues, beats and spoken word. This track the 'Insignificant Bullet' (great title) really is a mish mash, I can hear The Velvet Underground, The Talking Heads, Pulp and even The Strokes, all in this one song.  This is definitely an interesting one.

I'll tell you what!, I like shark music.  


Flycasual:-
Mexican Institute of Sound - 'Mexico' (2012)


I've only just heard this despite it being released last summer, all thanks to last months Songlines CD sampler, I just love the horns! The excellent 'Mexico' is taken from Mexican Institute of Sound's (the name given to DJ Camilo Lara's creation) third album 'Politico'. Politically charged tracks on the state of the country (drug violence, contested election) all delivered with wit and humour (if a little sobering judging by the video), a spattering of Hip Hop/Electro and sprinkled with Mariachi trumpets, what's not to like!

Checkout previous Tracks of the week here

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TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 27/01/13 - Night Engine, Alice in Chains, Wake Owl, Joe Gideon and the Shark, Mexican Institute of Sound
4/ 5
Oleh

8 comments

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27 January 2013 at 17:25

SH - Wow! that is so 80's. The guy sounds like the Heaven Seventeen singer
LS - that sounds like some gig...and as you say it would be good for 'your heavier side' This is good.
SFW - this is good too and I feel with a few hearings will become a favourite. I want to hear it again immediately. A good sign.
FC - Would love to know what they are saying...but it has a nice feel
to it. Great Vid

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28 January 2013 at 13:07

Three tunes caught my ear this week. Wake Owl is nice, Joe Gideon is good too (I'd add The Go-Betweens to your list of comparisons OPC), but most intriguing of all is the Mexican Institute of Sound, which I really enjoyed. In fact I've spent the last half hour checking out more of their tunes & I'd recommend their take on 'Bitter Sweet Symphony', 'Sinfonia Agridulce', and accompanying low budget Verve inspired video, which is well worth 4 minutes of your time. Thanks for introducing me to these guys (or this guy) Flycasual.

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Anonymous
31 January 2013 at 08:09

Night Engine - I'm flying back in time and it's not as scary as I'd feared! Nice sounds.

Wake Owl - I'll be keeping an eye on these blokes. Strings nicely effective.

Mexican Institute of Sound - by winner for this week. Extremely groovy. Must follow this up. 'Mexico...la la la!'

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31 January 2013 at 10:07

SH, Night Engine have captured that 80's sound so perfectly. I can hear all my favourite 80's tracks rolled into one...I'd be surprised if these guys don't make it big.

LS, riffage...yes! Not so sure on the vocals though, I'm sure it'll come through in the end. I'll look fwd to the album.

Sfw, ghostly..really good track.

Old Pa, another good track. I couldn't help but be reminded of that track 'How Bizarre' by OMC. First hearing mind.

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31 January 2013 at 10:10

Thanks the Swede. I knew of the Verve cover but not the video, definitely a clever and interesting take on it!

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31 January 2013 at 12:57

LS- I heard it on the XFM rock show and assumed it was an oldie! Really like it and hoping we can catch them if they tour
SFW- I like this and you're right, a nice touch of winter there
Pa- like this more after a second hearing, good name too
FC- and we have a winner, absolutely muy bien!!

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31 January 2013 at 16:44

SH - love it, perfect description too
SFW - again I really like this. I'm gonna dig out my Turin Brakes stuff now cos this reminds me so much of them
FC - will take a few listens but not bad. I remember buying IMS's first CD a few years back and being disappointed that no one else was as impressed as I was
OP - another one that will take a few listens it reminds me of Talking Heads

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