Band To Check Out: Windmill

Not totally new to The Sound Of Confusion, we first heard Liverpool's Windmill when they released their debut single 'Birdman' earlier this year. Since then, the duo has fleshed out into a fuller band and are getting to work on their debut album. With follow-up single 'Where Are We Now' matching 'Birdman''s haunting richness, it could be quite something. They finished in the top 3 on Chartburst two months in a row, so it's not just us that likes them. Check out Kev's review and visit their profile for more info.





Windmill's website





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Champs - Down Like Gold

Album review by KevW for www.soundsxp.com

Is the boxer on the cover of this début album by Isle Of Wight brothers Michael and David Champion meant to show that, compared to other islands around Britain, their home has on occasion punched above its weight musically? Over the years it's given us The Bees, Hefner man Antony Harding, and is home to former Rolling Stone and The Pretty Things founder Dick Taylor amongst others (we'll just gloss over Level 42, yeah?). Either way, as Champs, this pair are proving they can be a match for most. 'Down Like Gold' contains some stunningly beautiful music (recorded in a converted water tower at Queen Victoria's former residence, Osborne House) and sometimes sounds like a huge collective of vocalists and musicians rather than a duo.

Once you bring harmonies into the equation (barring gospel) then thoughts immediately turn to overused comparisons such as The Beach Boys and Fleet Foxes. Well, those much aped bands must be an inspiration to a point, particularly the latter, however, if the classic cliché of “pastoral” is used for the American bunch, then here it can be substituted for “choral”. This isn't, as far as I can tell, a religious record by any means (although the gorgeous single 'St. Peters' is perhaps a reference to the Vatican), but at some points listening to it sounds like a religious experience. Musically we get piano and guitar with some expertly used percussion and drums that craft a heavenly atmosphere, and the hum of organ fleshes things out, but really this is all about the strength of songs and, above all else, the glorious vocals. A prime example of how they turn decent songwriting into something more stately would be the title-track, but there are many more.

Champs ease us into this otherworldly wonder with the gentle dreampop/Americana of 'Too Bright To Shine', a song that could be very simple, but the precision attention to detail that pervades each of these ten songs makes it become quite magical. They do up the pace once or twice. Single 'Savannah' is what The Delays have spent a career trying to sound like and only achieved in rare flashes, it's very impressive guitar-pop, and same can be said for 'My Spirit Is Broken'. Champs even show a desire to experiment more with the sample-based second section of this song. Unless you knew, you'd think it was another track entirely, and this could bode well for not treading the same path on future releases. It's that collision of voices that raises the standard above what most bands reach though, and you can hear this (along with that expert arranging and producing) on 'Pretty Much (Since Last November)', the roof-raising 'Only A Bullet Knows Where To Run', the more upbeat, incredibly pretty baroque pop of '8mm Desire' and 'I C Sky' with its haunting atmosphere. They sign off with another indiepop track, 'White Mountain', and this is a culmination of all the good points displayed throughout 'Down Like Gold'. These brothers might be Champion by name, but they're also champions by nature: a gorgeous introduction.







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Band To Check Out: Flora Tropics

Another one of the fine bands we've found flying high in the Chartburst charts recently. Flora Tropics make dance-inflicted indie but also branch out into more post-rock oriented directions. The young London group won't get bogged down to a certain set of rules, but they don't do anything without ensuring that tunes remain firmly at the heart of everything. Check out Andy's review and go to their profile for more tunes, photos and links.





Flora Tropics' website

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Lone Doe - Bound Out Amongst The Day Flies

EP review by jay@thesoundofconfusion.com

A little while back we became utterly smitten for the intoxicating delights of Lone Doe. The long-players and EPs, among them 'Window Window' and 'Upon First blush', are all exquisitely crafted journeys that take your hand and lift you up into other worlds (they all come 'name your price' so there truly is no excuse not to have them). Then here we have Lone Doe's new, startlingly good EP 'Bound Out Amongst The Flies'. It dropped into my world a few months back and I almost feel a little guilty in keeping its breathtaking charms to myself all this time. It's become a fixture in my sonic day. Whether sound-tracking a long hot bath or a 6am, number 73 journey to work, its strength, depths and assurity have become friends who I choose to share many things with. There is only one complaint: at a mere four tracks, 'Bound Out Amongst The Day Flies' is near unforgivingly short. All you can hope is that a bigger sibling lands really, really soon.

Lone Doe acknowledges the shadow of Justin Vernon and his many guises, most notably Volcano Choir, but here we find that shadow being cast aside, with songs that sit alongside some of Vernon's best. Like Vernon, Lone Doe has the ability to cover you in a blanket of warmth, cocooning you and leading you through to watch the chrysalis crack and a kaleidoscopic butterfly spread their wings. Rich, undulating swathes of organic synth draw you into 'Heraldry'. Layers of sound then lie upon each other. On the synths go a urgent, captivating guitar, on that a strident drum, flashes of sound dance across your head, ethereal harmonies float down alighting over the layers. There is an expansion of noise filling headspace. A moment of sparsity, where the foundations of sound sparkle before a perfect cresting wave of vocals sweep you up. In lesser hands, there would be the need to push from here to a bells and whistle climax, but by allowing 'Heraldry' to find its own path, we are gifted with an infinitely more rewarding and enriching song.

Without allowing you to catch your breath, angular, biting sonics twist and turn around you, like watching a moth dance with a flame. 'Taste The Iron' is abrasive where 'Heraldry' was warm. And yet the deeper you go into 'Taste The Iron' you become enthralled. It has an early Elbow, Bloc Party taste. An insistent, bleeding piano underpins the angles of sound above it. Lone Doe then delivers one of his most impassioned, earthy vocals that binds 'Taste The Iron', enabling it to grow, unsettle and touch you in equal measure. Stepping away from the vehement pulse of 'Taste...', we are allowed to submerge ourselves in more serene, stately waters. That is not to say that 'No Glory' is by any means a lesser here. It may be the most adventurous and consequently the most rewarding of the 'Bound Out...''s four. Those waters are set on the shores of heartbeat pulsing bass, sky-reaching piano, and topped by utterly mesmerising vocals. It is hard to tell if these vocals are a choir of many, a clutch of a couple or simply perfectly tracked echoes of a single voice. It really doesn't matter. In fact it matters not how 'No Glory' is constructed. There are touchstones of Sigor Ros in the song's mid-point thunderstorm of sound before it spirals onto a plane of wonder, as all instruments drop away and you are floating on nothing more than what seems a thousand massed voices that are somehow many yet one. Enraptured.

Then to the last. Or as we hope, an end to a chapter. 'Door Jar'  has a quiet sonorous rumble echoing through its start, then we are drenched in a elegiac sweep of voice and sound. It hits you like sun through the grey clouds. 'Door Jar' then stretches and unfurls its golden wings. You are soaring with it on warm winds, revelling in its giddy heights, smiling with its encompassing rush. 'Door Jar' is a captivating and soul-stirring end to what maybe Lone Doe's best collection of songs yet. Then when you look closely you see that this was all recorded at home. Hard to take in, so you simply play again.





Lone Doe's website

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Band To Check Out: Black River Wild

London-based blues/rock/folk/alt-country quartet Black River Wild took their gritty, southern-sounding tunes to the top end of the alt-country chart on Chartburst in April. Check out Kev's review and listen, like and vote via their profile.





Black River Wild's website





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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Days Of Abandon

Album review by KevW for www.soundsxp.com

It's likely that The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart know what it's like to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Those early singles and their 2009 debut album were a mixture of melodic indiepop and fuzz-coated C86 guitar songs. With half of the alternative music world adopting a lo-fi approach shortly after, them repeating the same trick wouldn't just seem like the easy way out, it would dilute them in a sea of similar-sounding bands. Yet brushing up the sound would put off the indie fans who always “prefer their early work” and potentially lead to accusations of selling-out. As it turned out, 2011 follow-up 'Belong' did up the “fi” ratio, but it also contained some very fine tunes. Was it as good as the debut? No. But not because of the slight evolution in sound, simply because the standard of songs, although high, could never match a record so universally loved.

So where next? The outlook didn't look great when it was revealed that TPOBPAH were now essentially Kip Berman and guests, with much of the original band having left. As it turns out, 'Days Of Abandon' is anything but a fall from grace, rather, it's a reaffirmation of what excellent pop songs Berman can pen. Fuzz fans will be left wanting, but this is no sell-out, no shot at the top of the pop charts; 'Days Of Abandon' is a beautifully-crafted indiepop album that removes the focus away from guitars a touch, further evolving the band's sound, and brings in more synth. It's been over five years since they came to most people's attention, and to expect them to have remained stagnant would be expecting them to be complacent or devoid of ideas. The crucial factor about their third LP is that the writing is fantastically good. Instead of toning things down or opting for a less full sound, Berman has produced a lush and, at times, life affirming set.

Maybe the suggestion that the group could now sound more like the work of a singer-songwriter was the reason behind picking 'Art Smock' as its opener; this is an acoustic, strummed number that may trick you into thinking TPOBPAT had radically changed, although it's really quite pretty. After this perhaps deliberately misleading opener, it's straight into single 'Simple And Sure', a melody-fuelled, glistening indiepop track that is much more indicative of what's to come. For more of the same irresistible goodness then head for 'Eurydice' and the magnificent 'Until The Sun Explodes' (if you preferred the scuzz, then this one's as close as you'll get). The transformation in sound may be continuing, but the female-led 'Kelly' shares musical DNA with earlier songs like 'A Teenager In Love' and even calls to mind The Smiths. This strong female vocal adds another dimension to 'Life After Life' too. 'Masokissed' is another that's unmistakably TPOBPAH, despite their natural progression. There's an anthemic edge to the summery, twinkling 'Beautiful You', the sky-scraping 'Coral And Gold' and brass-laden closer 'The Asp At My Chest': these really are wonderful tunes.

So, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart in 2014 then. Distortion? No. Sound like they were recorded on a Dictaphone for 50p? No. As good as the debut? I'd have to go with a no on that one too. But... masterfully written songs? Heaps of melody? Still an underground treasure? Looking ahead, evolving and not diminishing the quality of their work? Yes to the lot. Berman has shown talent, adaptability, resilience and also that he's one of the best there is when it comes to taking the sounds of classic underground bands and making them his own. Ably backed by a new set of musicians, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart can still be considered, now as much as ever, big-hitters when it comes to the world of indiepop. A dazzling collection.





The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart's website

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VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! Some Of Our Favourite Acts On Chartburst!

Article by soul1@thesoundofconfusion.com

It's set to be an exciting month as things ramp-up on fan-powered music treasure trove and discovery site Chartburst! Lots of The Sound Of Confusion's favourite unsigned and self-released acts are signed up and will be entering the charts in the next day or so, with the top three from each chart at the end of the month earning themselves the chance to be heard by highly influential labels, producers, A&R and other people who could boost their career! It's FREE for any band who are not under contract to sign up to Chartburst and get themselves heard by music fans and industry professionals alike, so if you're in a band, then what are you waiting for?

Amongst the excellent bands and artists that you'll be able to vote for and support are many we've covered heavily in the past. You'll need to register an email address to vote, and this is simply so you can't register repeat votes - it's all done fair and square! And you definitely won't be receiving any spam or anything like that, registration just takes a second. Here are a few to check out, but the next few days will see many more being added, so browse the charts, the "Explore" and "Discover" sections, and let's see if we can get some decent music the big break it deserves! If you see a "thumbs up" symbol it means you can like the track, it you see the all important "V" then it means that song is in the chart and needs your vote!

Vote for Sad Day For Puppets (Check out their profile)

Christine Leakey's profile

The Incredible Flight Of Birdman's profile

Colour Of Bone's profile

Georgian Waters' profile

HUSH!'s profile

Documenta's profile

Tom Lugo's profile

Windmill's profile

Please give them your support! Not only that, but have a look around the site, pick a genre you like and you'll find LOADS in the "Explore" section, so it's an excellent way of discovering some new music - and there will be a LOT more to come!

Chartburst's website

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