Negative Space

I was a massive fan of Demo, a four-track cassette put out by Kent bad boys Negative Space, last year, so much so I added it as one of my favourite releases of last year. They are back, this time in 7" form, with four more killer post-punk tracks. They are chiseling further into the crust of the Earth, striking black gold in vitriol and mutual mutilation - having taken their DNA from DNA and platforming an institution out of Institute, Negative Space are spreading their own desiccated disease. They are playing a show in Brighton March 21, with Diat and Sealings - should be one of the best shows of the year, seriously.

This Miaou Is More Like A Roar

Dan over at local boutique record label Bon Voyage whispered in my ear at the beginning of the year that he had some special releases earmarked for 2012. Well the first one is ripe to drop. French duo Looks Like Miaou have put together a raw and intense self-titled debut, a cacophonous maelstrom that echoes out of a rubbish bin with just the right resonance of anguish, isolation and fetid angst. The guitar lines are warbled, serrated and diseased; the vocals interchange between mumblecore sweetness and light to aggrieved, anguished wails; the electronics hiccuping throughout feel contrived, ad hoc and organic all at once. It's a confronting yet overtly compelling album. Chloe and Constant are apparently part of a life-punk collective living in Marseilles who are at odds with the continental beauty of their environment, gnashing their teeth as they revel in nihilistic oblivion. This LP certainly mirrors such aspersions. It's dark and vicious, yet like most things in this realm it's indelibly seductive.


Put out through Goner Records in the States, Looks Like Miaou hits Aussie shores April 30th thanks to Dan and his Bon Voyage crew. Pre-order this excellent LP here.

Looks Like Miaou - Chevreuil Rodeo
Looks Like Miaou - Canif & Diana Ross