Labour & Love

I’m not often one for providing exclusives – indeed, with my current record on posting I can’t even claim to be remotely current, let alone cutting-edge – but it seems that on occasion I can actually offer you music before anybody else.  One of the joys of being a music blogger is the ratio of Work-Put-In versus Free-Stuff-Received-In-The-Hope-That-I’ll-Review-It, and every so often that free stuff takes the form of extremely hot-off-the-press demos.  The latest addition to that pile on my desk(top) came from Labour & Love, a band so new they haven’t even had a full rehearsal yet.  How’s that for an exclusive?

This kind of demo – post-songwriting but pre-arranging – is quite often scrappy and rough-as-a-bear’s-arse*, and Labour & Love’s CD is certainly no exception.  However, what it lacks in polish and focus it makes up for in spades with the quality of the songs held within.  There’s an air of maturity and sophistication here that speaks volumes about where this band are headed.  In fact I’m in danger of sounding like an effusive fanboy; this set of songs, even in this rough setting, really stand out as something special.

Since receiving this demo I’ve heard that the band have started rehearsing and are gearing up for a summer season of gigs, armed with a sound that is somewhat akin to “The Replacements doing Johnny Cash covers in the style of The Grateful Dead”.  I can easily see these guys riding the “Nu-Folk” wave popularised lately by Mumford & Sons and their ilk, but there’s quite a bit more to Labour & Love than simple bandwaggoning**.  There’s a deeper current running here, one that speaks of a richer heritage and wider artistic base than can be claimed by the current crop of folkie scenesters.  There’s the bite of a vintage Fender that, coupled with a classic American country vibe, gives these songs more menace and presence than even the Mumford’s can muster.  Quite frankly I can’t wait to hear these songs fleshed out with the full band sound that Labour & Love are promising to deliver.

Long story short: It’s a risky business, sending out your music before it’s completely finished, but it’s certainly paid off for Labour & Love.  I’ll pin my colours to the mast and say without fear of being proven wrong that this is a band guaranteed to cause a stir this summer, and when they get around to fleshing this set of songs out into a proper album it’s going to be a real triumph.   A genuine diamond in the rough.

Labour & Love – Armchair Philosophy

Labour & Love – Love is Art***

*A technical term used a lot by sound engineers.

**Another technical expression, prevalent in critical theory.  Barthes and Adorno could hardly write a sentence without using it…

***At the band’s request, these tracks are stream-only.  I’m reliably informed there’ll be a proper EP out soon, so keep your ears to the ground.  I know I will be.

 

Tour De Hearts: Friska Viljor

When I first hear this record I was immediately struck by the expanse of the sound.  Not an epic U2-style expanse, but more a breadth of instrumentation reminiscent of early Arcade Fire and current favourites Broken Records.  In short, I was sure there must be at least seven band members.  It turns out the band consists of only two guys…

Hailing from Sweden, Friska Viljor were formed when two friends, Daniel and Joakim, both broke up with their girlfriends, got drunk, and wrote some songs.  So far, so Bon Iver, but this isn’t the kind of record you’d expect to come from two broken-hearted Swedes; it’s phenomenally cheerful.

I must come clean and admit that I usually find “cheerful” music to be a little sickly-sweet and lacking in emotional scope, and yes, this LP does occasionally get a little cheesy.  Yet thankfully it still manages to retain some bite, and there’s certainly some very good songs on display here.  On a couple of tracks they dabble with some generic synthesizer action (which sounds hopelessly European) but when they stick to real instruments they make for a highly engaging and satisfying listen.

Friska Viljor – Taste of her Lips

Friska Viljor – On and On

 

Snarebrained: Found

A few years ago, in the halcyon days of my youth, I found myself in a mind-numbingly menial summer job that involved excessive exposure to Radio One all day everyday.  This was, of course, a black period in my life, but the incessant nagging and appalling playlist repetition did serve one purpose.  It was in this manner that I first heard about the SXSW (South by South West) Festival.

Now it appears that SXSW can be the making or breaking of many a new band, and is as such considered “quite a big deal”.  Alas, SXSW is held in Austin, Texas (allegedly the last bastion of taste, decency and free thinking in that cultural wasteland that is the Deep South) and therefore a bit of a bugger to get to if you’re from the UK.

So, in order to raise the funds for their airfare, Scottish indie scenesters Found have released the download-only LP Snarebrained.  I know two “charity” posts in as many weeks is a little gauche of me, and this record consists mostly of remixes and collaborations, which is a format that can be rather hit or miss, but it is still rather good despite itself.  And it’s all for a good cause, as if that made any difference.

You can buy and stream Snarebrained from their website (see link above) but to whet your appetite here’s an old one of theirs:

Found – Admission Number Two