Today you have the bewitching Qasr by Sheherazaad, the ‘organ-driven garage-rock wig-outs, breeze psych-pop and groovy funk instrumentals’ of Boots N Cats by Beans, Finnish chart-topping nu-metal stars Blind Channel’s new album Exit Emotions and the looming cloud of fuzz and noise creeping your way that is A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin. by Dez Dare. Read about them below.
Sheherazaad – Qasr
Erased Tapes
This is an emotional, beautifully crafted record. The sounds behind the vocals are built to emote almost as much as the voice, delicate guitar and water flowing, a plucked string instrument and a violins song. Piano and strings.. they are all perfect. But they fade into insignificance as soon as she starts singing. A voice rich and warm, lithe and sensuous, sad, lonely and lost. It yearns for love then sounds like it’s found the love of its life, it’s astoundingly emotional. As I said, an utterly beautiful record. I have found that once you put it on you need to listen to the whole thing, over and again.
Beans – Boots N Cats
Fuzz Club
Boots n Cats feels like you and your mates, male and female, sat in the sunshine drinking beer and laughing at each other. It’s a comfortable, easy listen that never strays too far out of recognition, just grooves its way into garage rock and psychedelia then wibbles its way free into fantastic funky breaks. I like it a lot. There’s alot going on but it sounds so together that it just flows through you and around you as you smile, laugh and take the piss out of your friends. This is one for everyone, have a go.
Blind Channel – Exit Emotions
Century Media Records
Blind Channel have topped the charts in their native Finland and also competed in Eurovision. Much as some would hold these up as being uncool I wish to counter it, if a nu-metal, their words, band can do either of the above.. More power to them. As for this album, it’s an Emo churning, punk pop grooving, nu-metal shouty treat. Let me be clear, there is absolutely nothing new here, it’s not groundbreaking, on any edge and out there. It’s exactly what you expect when you see them. But that doesn’t mean that kids don’t need hugely mentally emotional supportive music about living with shit lives in shit places and not ending it all. It’s the nu-metal, emo, punk pop equivalent of Idles shouting ‘Keep Fucking Going’ at the end of Joy. However much you laugh at this having been done before it doesn’t mean it’s not exactly what it should be right now.
Dez Dare – A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin.
God Unknown
This is a trip inside Dez’s brain, how he makes his autism understandable to himself and to us. It’s about the overwhelming electrical impulses inside his head feel, how they look and how they sound to him. It’s an electrical, grunge ridden, bonkers beat monster. The reason that it sounds like this to us is that we are not inside Dez’s brain. It’s distorted, disjointed and very very heavy in places. He accepts, fights against and smashes stuff up, he apologises, worries and nothing fits, his brain fizzes, sparks and manically moves. It’s a trip and a half and one you need to take with him.
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Sheherazaad’s website is sheherazaad.com, she is also on Instagram, Facebook and Bandcamp.
Beans are on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.
Blind Channel’s website is blindchannelofficial.com, they are on Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram.
Dez Dare’s website is dezdare.com, he is also on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.
All words by Adrian Bloxham.
