Huzzah, summer’s here! After a lovely walk along the Cornish cliffs – and suffering terribly from sunstroke – I took it upon myself to record another podcast for Bearfaced Records, the ersatz record label I run with a few of my friends. Normally these podcasts are brought on by an exclusive band session or exciting guest, but this time there’s no purpose other than to give a warm and friendly welcome to the warm and friendly weather that (touch wood) heralds the onset of summer.
As such, all the songs featured are of a somewhat summery nature, but mostly they were included merely because I happen to like them. The summer months will see some quite spectacular Bearfaced Podcasts, with sessions and guests aplenty, but for now you can sate your appetite for great music with this subtle, graceful darling of a ‘cast…
You can download the ‘cast directly from its page on the Bearfaced website, or if you’d rather subscribe (as I do) you can easily find it in iTunes by searching for “Bearfaced Podcast”.
This short EP (only four tracks long) was a surprising treat. I say surprising, but having heard nothing about Canadian band Dark Mean I was approaching this record with no preconceptions at all. As such, the quality of this EP was only surprising in that I first listened to it whilst trawling through a batch of less-than-average-quality records I’d been sent for review. You’d think that hearing music with no expectations or biases would mean you’d be more susceptible to a records merits, but I often find that I am actually more critical than usual. An unknown band has everything to prove and making a good first impression is essential; the slightest hiccup or miss-step in the opening minute or so can throw a bad light on an otherwise first-rate record.
Dark Mean, by contrast, made no such mistakes on their debut EP frankencottage. I made it all the way through the record without even thinking about skipping any of the tracks – a notable feat despite the short length of the EP. It’s not reinventing the wheel or pushing any boundaries, but as far as inoffensive Canadian indie-pop goes these guys tick all the boxes. And they do so with enough panache that you can forgive them their dreadful name (one of their band members is called Mark Dean…) and the hyperbole on their myspace (“extending beyond the traditional boundaries of pop music” they certainly aren’t…).
In short this is a competent debut. They say it’s the first part of a 3-EP cycle, so I look forward to their next effort (due later in the summer) with great interest. If you fancy hearing frankencottage all the way through, they’re offering it as a free download if you sign up to their mailing list via their website.
I caught Matt Hegarty, who trades under the moniker Matthew and the Atlas, live at the Zenith Bar in Islington a week or so ago [note: this was in June 2009]. I was thoroughly impressed with what I saw and managed to wheedle an EP out of the guy, and I’m pleased to report that, much like his performance that night, it’s excellent.
I’m not normally a fan of husky, honeyed vocals but in this instance I feel I must make an exception. His delivery is probably best described as “soulful”, but that term’s been so over-used by music hacks that it merely sounds trite and meaningless here. Suffice it to say there’s enough gravel in his voice to impart plenty of bluesy imagery, but with enough genuine personality to prevent it coming across as too mannered. And while all this was very impressive in a solo acoustic performance, the record itself takes things to another level entirely.
Normally the addition of banjo/slide-guitar/etc is merely par-for-the-course for solo singer/songwriters, but in this case they are handled with such subtlety and grace that the end result far exceeds the sum of its parts – a depressingly uncommon occurrence in my experience. The scope of this record is vast, especially as it’s merely a self-released EP. I’ll cut this review short here, as I’m in danger of dissapearing in a whirl of hyperbole and over-enthusiasm. Just have a listen to the tracks bellow; they’ll tell you far more than I ever could (surely a prime example of the benefits of mp3 blogging over print-media).
It looks like Matthew’s being a busy bee vis-a-vis gigs this summer, so if you get the chance I heartily recommend checking him out.
This short EP (only four tracks long) was a surprising treat. I say surprising, but having heard nothing about Canadian band 
I caught Matt Hegarty, who trades under the moniker 
Eaten by Monsters 