Dancing Into, And Out Of, Difficult Situations

I've had a long day. A fifteen hour day yesterday leading into a 6am start today, followed by two exams, marking 35 Year 11 & 12 English short stories, had a drawn out issue get drawn out even further - and it's been raining all day. Admittedly Scout Niblett got me over the hump; Crushed Beaks got me smiling; and _ got me smashing beers. But in these twilight hours, I've somehow slid back into a melancholic smoulder. And I don't know why, but twee queer pop is the one thing that is attuned to this weird malaise, courtesy of one of Fortuna Pop!'s roster cards, New York's The Ballet. They released their latest LP of Stephen Merritt-skewing indie pop gems, I Blame Society, on Monday. I haven't heard it, but I've heard 'Difficult Situations' - and although I don't have a boyfriend, there is a lot here mirroring my worldview. Such is life...

Showing The Tropes Of Crushed Beaks

Another track that has made it onto the long weekend playlist alongside yesterday's Spring King has been another UK band, Crushed Beaks, and their title track from their upcoming Tropes EP (out on ASL Recordds). I've spoken about these fuzzed out garage kids before, and if you can't get all shiny-happy-drunk on life on this, regardless of how shitty your day looks, then we are on different train lines to Hell. This is all about catchy hooks as it is about peeling paint off the walls - HPV for the ears. I'm loving where these guys are heading.

Crushing Beaks Is Grim

London duo Crushed Beaks impressed last year with their Close-Ups/Sun Dogs 7", but they also put out a split with Torches a little while back that fell through the SM cracks a bit, which is a shame because it was pretty sweet. So I'm not missing the boat on 'Grim', a one-off digital track release through Paint It Black. It's a bit more up front garage pop with some tropical flourishes, rather than a wall of noise, and Matt Poile's vocals are more noticeable this time around, which is a refreshing change of pace. This is hook filled heaven too - a great way to kick off a Sunday.

The two-piece will celebrate the unveiling of ‘Grim’ with a series of shows, including dates at London’s Old Blue Last on 21st June and an appearance at Sheffield’s Tramlines Festival. Expect to see the dusty remains of crushed beaks around the street corners as 2012 steers towards a close.



And here is Crushed Beaks' contribution to their earlier split, a cover of Torches' 'VTOO' - its pretty rad too - download it!

Video Vacuum - Mister Heavenly, Portico Quartet, Lester The Fierce, Crushed Beaks

Well it may still be spring in Australia, but the feel-good temperatures emblematic of the season appear to have fled, allowing summer to beat on down earlier than expected. I'm working in a room made for thirty people - it's currently housing 34, and only one ceiling fan is working. Sure, I should be molding these kids' futures, but screw it, let's watch some flicks!

That veritable supergroup Mr Heavenly have really impressed with their Out Of Love record on Sub Pop, an album that has indie pop on a skewer, slow roasting in a kiln of fun (I'm not getting on any press releases with that one...). Opener 'Bronx Sniper' is one of the more impressive cuts off the album, and it now has a suitably funky yet bizarre video. The band hit London for the first time later this month, and hints are thrown that they will be Down Under quite early on next year - get excited.



I have to say that for a Mercury Prize nominated act, Portico Quartet don't readily ring a bell. The East London-centric act have their 3rd self titled album ready to flaunt, which delves into new sonic territories, drawing on the inspiration of electronica, ambient, classical and dance music as they take their strange, beautiful, cinematic, future music to exciting new vistas. Influences are listed as Burial, Flying Lotus, Max Richter, Steve Reich, Bon Iver...the eclecticism yet musical verbosity bodes well.



Lester The Fierce is the newest project from Anita Lester, the irresistible chanteuse who is set to release her stunning debut EP ‘The Summer Deluge’ this November. The visual artist turned performer describes her music as ‘dark cinematic folk rock,’ her songs bleak but beautiful and full, illustrating her experiences of love and death in a unique and often graphic way. Below is her luscious video for 'Holland'.



Finally we have Crushed Beaks, a London duo that we only just brought to your attention a couple weeks previously. They continue the build up to their debut single release with a brand new video for lead track ‘Close-Ups’. Taking in the band’s shared love of kitsch horror films, the video for ‘Close-Ups’ is a brilliant juxtaposition against the song’s bittersweet melodies. As if being forced through a broken vintage projector, both Poile and Morris seem to be convulsing and morphing into different beasts throughout. Eyes twist and mouths foam as the song nears its effervescent climax.



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Time To Get Your Beaks Crushed

We have another shimmering noise shoegaze pop band from London. And yep, they're good too.

Duo Matt Poile and Alex Morris, better known as Crushed Beaks. Having formed in 2010 through a shared love of Italian horror films (and seriously, haven't we all fallen a bit harder for someone when they get their Fulci hard-on?), Crushed Beaks set about putting their fuzzy wall of melodic noise to record. Their mixture of relentless, pounding drums and salacious, swirling melodies found the two creating a live force to be reckoned with, yet they have chosen their first single proper to take the step into different surroundings to their DIY recording norm. Whilst the guitars were kept in their natural Wendy House environment, the drums were taken to New Cross’ Zion Chapel where they were given the somehow ghostly strength the songs so demanded. It really pays dividends, as you can hear below.

They are set to release their debut single proper through the Too Pure Singles Club on November 21st in the form of ‘Close-Ups/Sun Dogs’. It's the B-side we have streaming below. It's pretty fucking awesome, I'm sure you'd agree! The vinyl will be white, thus luscious, and can be pre-ordered right now.

Sun Dogs by Crushed Beaks