Secret Crush #1: The Veils

Some bands are amazing, but don't get nearly enough love. It can't have escaped your attention that approximately 88% of the bollocks written on the internet is about unbearably new, frankly unproven bands with two decent songs. Best of luck to them all, of course, but also, it pains me a bit that the world is literally awash with bands who despite their obvious talents, can't get arrested. Bands and musicians who didn't quite appear at the right time, or wear the right hats, or something, and have therefore failed to become as massive as they really deserve to be. There are lots of bands in this category I love, but none more so than the Veils.

I shan't bother to give you the full Wikipedia spiel on them. Suffice it to say that if you have ears, and they work properly at least some of the time, you need to listen to this man sing:

The crazy-brilliant Nick Caveisms don't stop there either. I got into the Veils thanks to a particularly effusive review in Q, which had taken time out from blowing Coldplay and Muse to review the debut release by a bunch of stragglers from New Zealand called The Runaway Found, in 2004. In that review - no more than a paragraph or so long, was something about a man with a voice that combines the best bits of Liam Gallagher and Jeff Buckley's singing. I picked the album up soon after, on spec, and can kind of hear that in the early stuff, like this:

I've loved them like slightly odd relatives ever since. Each album, from The Runaway Found to the darker, more assured Nux Vomica (2006) 2008's Sun Gangs and the Bernard Butler-produced EP Troubles of the Brain from 2010 has revealed a better, braver band. For reasons that defy logic, however, they're not headlining enormous festivals and having streets named after themselves. This is a band, after all, whose lead singer was described as "a young but maturing real artist in the vein of Nick Cave and David Bowie" by the man who signed him, Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis. I mean, come on.

I've never seen them live, as they seem to appear in front of people about as often as Halley's Comet, but will do (hopefully) when album four comes out next year. More here:

Aren't they just fucking fabulous? Show them some love here, follow them here and buy everything they've done off iTunes or wherever. Don't torrent them, else I'll be round to slap you in person.

Oh, one more thing:

OK, now you can go. Tell everybody! Run, you fools!

Tame Impala and the Death of the Echo

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What?

This from our For Fuck's Sake desk:

"At the campus of Ole Miss in Jackson, Mississippi, things got a little out of hand after Barack Obama's re-election was confirmed, AP reports:

"A protest at the University of Mississippi against the re-election of President Barack Obama grew into a crowd of about 400 students with shouted racial slurs as rumors of a riot spread on social media.
Two arrests were reported. University officials say there were no injuries or property damage Tuesday night.
A university spokesman says the gathering began after midnight with 30 to 40 students protesting Obama's re-election but quickly grew. Rumors exploded on Twitter after student journalists posted a video calling the gathering a riot.
Chancellor Dan Jones condemned the disturbance, saying most students and faculty are "ashamed" of the actions of a few."

 

Tunes, and the dropping thereof

The music is nearly. nearly, nearly finished. Just tinkering, mastering, tricksy little edits that I'm either like 'fuck it, no-one'll care' or 'just get that fixed, and we're away' about. I am actually excited about this. Hardly anyone's heard anything, and I'm hopeful it'll surprise people. It's good enough to, mostly. Vocals are the icing missing on this arhythmical cake, and I'm still in two minds about them. Might try it.

Videos, a YouTube channel, a Twitter feed, a blog, a brand and emails to people in the know will all be prepared prior to 'launch', but the hardest bit is almost there... unless I persevere with six months of multitracked vox and additional real-world sounds, of course. Still no proper name for it though. Will think up something suitable soon.

"Those eyedrops you gave me, they didn't do shit."