Hits The Spot: Cub

Image by Tom O'Neill

It's always nice when the opportunity arises to include two Illegal Tender favourites in one post, so when I heard that the recently blogged Baby Monster had remixed Wolf Gang's debut single Pieces Of You (released through the almost sickeningly Midas-like Neon Gold), I couldn't resist.

I'd even go as far as to say that I prefer this over the original, Baby Monster have just given the track more energy and life and when the piano kicks in, it just takes off.

Wolf Gang - Pieces Of You (Baby Monster Remix) (YSI)

Competition: Zootime

In an unprecedented move and courtesy of the magnificent Gold Panda and good friends Brilliantly Different, I'm giving away two pairs of tickets to the Gold Panda / Simian Mobile Disco gig at Camden's Roundhouse which is part of the iTunes Festival on the 29th of July.

Rather than have you answer some ridiculously easy question or just mail me your details with "OMGZ I LUV GOLD PANDA!!!!1", I thought that I'd make it a little more interesting.

If I were asked to describe Gold Panda's sound or how one of his
tracks made me feel, I don't think I could do justice to either.

With that in mind, I'm asking you to send in a drawing, painting or photograph that best represents the feeling, thoughts or emotion conjured in your mind when listening to the track Back Home (which can be found on his Myspace).

Please email illegaltendermagazine@gmail.com with the subject line Gold Panda Gig and include a link to the image as well as your name with the restriction of one image per person. The competition will close on 15th of July.

The two winning images will then be chosen by myself and Gold Panda and will be announced the next day. Good luck!

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Pre-order Gold Panda's debut release (via Various Production) the Miyamae EP (which includes track Back Home) now through Puregroove and Rough Trade.

Hype: One Day I Woke Up To Find There Was A Hole In My Mind

Every now and then you - or I at least - come across a track that just makes you think "This is why I love music so much." and Once And For All by London's Clock Opera is one of them.

The new project of Guy Connelly (formerly of The Corrections), Clock Opera are already receiving a lot of interest from labels and the like and I also have it on good authority that their live show is something of a spectacle.

Although it's still early doors, there's already a huge sound there and with performances at the likes of London's Paradise Gardens and Lattitude Festival, I'm looking foward to hearing more from them and seeing how things take shape in the coming months.

One thing's for sure, if there are more like the track below on the way then this could be something really special. Here's one of my tracks of 2009...

Clock Opera - Once And For All (Limited Download)

Plug: I'll Pretend To Start Again

You Animals - Halfway to Heartbreak

I've been a fan of You Animals since their formation from the embers of Komakino.

In fact, Komakino were the first band I ever interviewed and are some the nicest guys you're likely to meet. Frontman Ryan even contributed an interview himself back in the day.

Finally, after what seems like an age, they are releasing their debut single through Fear & Records and the video for which can be found above.

With dates coming up in their native Derby, Nottingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool and London to name a few, they're certainly not sleeping on it! All dates and more info can be found on site so there's no excuse not to get to one.

Halfway to Heartbreak / You Left Your Heart In The City will be released as a 7" on July 13 and to celebrate, here's the B-side (which I actually prefer!).

You Animals - You Left Your Heart In The City (YSI)

In Motion: He Says That He Got In Trouble

HURTS - Wonderful Life

I'd heard a lot about this video and finally caught a glimpse courtesy of FUCKING DANCE. Everything about both the video and the track are incredible.

Wonderful Life sounds like a classic that I'd long since forgotten but suddenly stumbled upon to remember why I loved it in the first place, the video hammers that home even more with the black and white vibe.

HURTS are the result of the gradual development of Manchester bands Bureau and Daggers and are about as hot as it gets right now.

Hype: Storm Clouds Gather Overhead

Almost every UK blog worth it's salt is already all over London's Radiant Dragon, to the point that my pride got the better of me and I decided not to add to the furore.

This was obviously a stupid notion and being a big fan of his 'Chinese-kraut electronic space rock', I can't hold out any longer.

He's supporting Kap Bambino at Liars Club next week and also has a number of dates in London coming up including a performance for Lassaiz Faire Club supporting IT favourites colouringIN.

Despite being about the 23 Morecambe Bay cockle pickers who drown back in 2004, this track makes everything seem 20% better 100% of the time.

Radiant Dragon - Oysters (YSI)

Hype: Sit Down, Relax.

Kentish Town's Dansette Junior are comprised of Will Hunt and Lawson (of sniTch DJs).

Taking their name from an old model of Dansette record players, DJ mix elements of analogue synths, guitars and digital programming to create quite an eclectic sound.

Each track almost sounds like a completely different band and it would be both a tedious exercise and a very long post if I were to try to put them all in to words; so I'll just let the music do the talking as usual.

They have gigs coming up in all the right places with dates at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, YOYO at Notting Hill Arts Club and their local The Flowerpot in Kentish Town so get to one if you can.

Dansette Junior - Takin Over (YSI)

Hype: Toss And Turn Until We Find Our Way

West Coast duo Baby Monster are one of the hottest US bands bringing the heat right now that's not attached to either the Brooklyn or Boston scenes which seem to be so prominent at the moment.

Their sound nestles somewhere in between the cut-and-shut beats of South Central and grandiose style and scale of MGMT. There's even a little bit of a The Eraser era Thom Yorke vocal in their track Young Bridget Bardot.

Whether Baby Monster can hold their own against the hyperbole wave riding (but no where near as good everyone keeps telling me) Passion Pit or the mainstream juggernaut that is MGMT remains to be seen, but this a band with as good a chance as any that I've heard this year.

Baby Monster - Curses (YSI)

Hype: Invented Problems For Fragile Minds

London five-piece So Say So are a band that I've really fallen in love with recently.

The result of the amalgamation of members from two defunct bands, Kerrigan of they don't sleep and Jeion of Optimist Club respectively, as well as bringing friends Thom, Caroline and Graham into the fold, So Say So seem to have found the perfect balance of the experimental instrumentalism of their previous bands with a more traditional songwriting ethic.

I haven't heard a new band of this ilk that have really grabbed me as instantaneously as this since F. Lunaire/Disappearers and having already supported The Veils and Hjaltalin, this is a band who are on the up.

So Say So - The Slow Game (YSI)

RSS Change

Due to Google wanting to control the universe, it seems that my old feed was deleted and will no longer work on Hype Machine.

Therefore, I'm going to ask all of you who subscribed to the old feed to please re-subscribe with the new one by clicking the ridiculously large icon below. Apologies for the inconvenience.