Remote - Remote

Album review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

It's impressive what you can achieve in a year. Remote only formed in 2011 and almost right away they set about recording this self-titled debut album which was released at the end of 2012. The quintet must have either had a few songs up their respective sleeves before they got together, or they naturally gel in the studio and everything simply falls into place. There's nothing particularly simple about this album though, and they touch upon different sights and sounds of the music world as they travel through this set of songs; maybe this is an indication that different members each contributed whole songs to the project. Despite the variation, 'Remote' is an album that gels well and sounds highly accomplished for a debut.

If we take a track-by-track guide, it will be perhaps the best way to put across the listening experience that Remote give you. The get things going with 'Hold Me Now I'm Yours To Keep'; it's a big song and the mid-pace makes those guitars and vocals all the more powerful, rather like a slow moving force than a quick hit. That said, it's actually one of the more conventional tracks and may be off-putting to fans of more alternative sounds, but don't worry, they're just getting going. They ramp up the pace for single 'Silhouette' which is a glossy and modern new-wave track with echoes of New Order when they make heavier use of the guitars. It also fits in well with what many indie crossover bands of recent years have been doing. They opt for a similar approach on 'Prototypes' but here it works better and they sound like they're flying.

It's here they change the pace again and we stumble upon a definite highlight in the anthemic 'Black Rain', a great piece of synth-powered post-punk with a melody that sticks in your head. This is classy stuff. They slow things further on 'Gods Playground' but this is no mid-album lull, as this song is another highlight and shows yet more diversity, turning into quite the epic by the end. On the off-chance you were missing the more lively numbers, then 'Time Of Our Lives' immediately follows and is one of the best here, brilliantly combining those synths with the traditional band set-up for something approaching dreamy electronic shoegaze; the short blast of 'Web Of Convergence' has a similar effect and it's almost as if the album grows in stature towards the end. 'Skyrise' is a confident track but another of those that tickles the mainstream a little too much for alternative types, and then 'Auto-Inter' draws the lot to a droning and atmospheric close. To be honest it's a bit of a mystery as to just how these guys aren't better known yet.







Remote's website

Stream the album in full

Buy the album





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Zen Mantra - Fossils

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

When we saw the tag "dream punk" it immediately appealed to us. Listening to Zen Mantra's new single 'Fossils' didn't disappoint either, this sounded like the work of a band who weren't short on talent, but who were they and why hadn't we heard about them until now? Throw all assumptions out of the window. What we thought was a band who'd been around for at least a couple of albums turns out to be an 18-year-old bedroom producer called Sam Perry who's from New Zealand and will be releasing his debut album on June 10th. I guess you could use the word "surprised"; one guy did this song in his bedroom and it sounds fricking amazing.

The intention of making music that had the energy of punk and the atmosphere of psychedelia sounds like a good one, and if this is the result then it's even better than expected. Oddly, 'Fossils' is neither overly punky or psychedelic; it's a little of both but also ties in with what bands like Diiv and other indie dreamers are up to. Only potentially better. There is a lot of energy in this song, and a lot of atmosphere. It's like shoegaze totally revitalised. To say it's impressive is maybe an understatement, but Zen Mantra is doing a similar thing to many other bands but to a higher standard. On his own. This is the first single from 'How Many Padmes Hum?', we're already thinking it could be an album of the year contender if he keeps this standard up.



Zen Mantra's website

Pre-order the album





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Ryan Power - The Prize

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Despite still being relatively unknown, Vermont's Ryan Power is a singer-songwriter with a difference and has been making records for over a decade now. Think of singer-songwriters and you think of dull guys who want to be Bob Dylan or Ryan Adams. Ryan Power is a little different, and this single from his forthcoming album 'Identity Picks' which is out on June 25th shows exactly why. All of Power's work is written, produced and released by the man himself, so to have a career as essentially a one-man band/producer/label for that long you have to have more than just a couple of ideas.

'Identity Picks' will be his fifth album and 'The Prize' is alt-pop that's a challenge to find a direct comparison to. It almost sounds tongue in cheek, and it probably is, but it's not novelty. The music is playful and fun; a combination of basic electronic beats and retro-sounding keyboards, this blends soul, synth-pop, funk, indie and more. There's plenty of thought here too, you can see that much just by examining the vocals; where others may sing the song in a fairly straightforward way, Power uses different layers and odd techniques. In fact oddness is the overall impression you get from this song. Oddness, but in a good way... at least we think it's in a good way...



Ryan Power's website

Pre-order the album





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Febueder - Alligator

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

I don't know how many times we've talked about the cross-pollination of musical genres on here in the past few months, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record (nothing new there) this new single from Ascot band Febueder seems determined to cram in as many different elements as possible. Not in separate parts or different sections of the song, but all mashed together as one. Their debut EP 'Soap Carv' is soon to be released on new London label Castle Recordings, but being as multi-faceted as it is, it gives you little idea of what the label will be about. I guess we wait and see.

So to the song: strange reverberating, repeating sounds get things moving, shortly to be joined by a deep and plodding bassline, guitar that could be from any number of different musical styles, and a vocal that has its roots in reggae or dub. Then the song pauses for a few strange and atmospheric seconds before bringing things back much where they left off. This is a minimal synth track, it's an electro-pop track, it's indie, it's reggae, it's goth, it's trip-hop; it's almost everything. Where this positions it in terms of potential audience is tricky to gauge. The only thing 'Alligator' is not is commercial. Again I guess we have to wait and see...



Febueder's website





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Waylayers - S.O.S

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

It's nice that this song comes attached with the message "The video is directed by Alex Brown, he's done amazing vids for the likes of The Maccabees, James Blake, Thumpers, Cave Painting and, erm, One Direction". We won't hold that against him (to be perfectly honest I don't think I've actually ever heard One Direction, so maybe they're amazing! Ten trillion pre-pubescent girls can't all be wrong can they?!). To the matter in hand: the video is indeed very good in a dark and mysterious way, but I'm no film critic, so I'll leave you to make your own minds up on this one.

'S.O.S' is the new single from Dalston's Waylayers and will be featuring on their forthcoming 'Fault Lines' EP which is out in June. There's an interesting contrast to the song; you could easily strip a few of the layers away, particularly the beat, and end up with a minimal synth track that would be befitting of The xx or even James Blake, you could happily make this a brooding slowie. Yet it works well as the electro-pop track that it is, gradually moving from the ever so slightly stark beginning to a more euphoric finale that could find favour further afield. It sounds like Waylayers know exactly what they're doing.





Waylayers' website

Catch them live:

31 May 2013 - How The Light Gets In Festival, The Globe, Hay, UK
14 June 2013 - Koko, London, UK
15 June 2013 - Isle Of Wight Festival, Isle Of Wight, UK
16 June 2013 - Isle Of Wight Festival, Isle Of Wight, UK
22 June 2013 - Beach Break Live Festival, Newquay, UK
26 July 2013 - Wickerman Festival, Scotland, UK
26 July 2013 - Kendal Calling Festival, Kendal, UK
27 July 2013 - ?Redfest Festival, Surrey, UK
02 August 2013 - Sugarmill, Stoke, UK
03 August 2013 - Y Not Festival, Derbyshire, UK





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Battleships - As You'd Begun

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Sydney's Battleships are a band we've been following for a year or so, and with the release of their mini-album 'To You' back in December, we suggested that maybe their softly softly approach would end up paying dividends. This lot are a band who've bided their time and built solid foundations on which to hopefully form a career, or at least gain enough of the spotlight for long enough to make the whole forming a band thing worthwhile. They haven't chased hype or rushed into anything. 'To You' was their first substantial release, following a few singles, and it was a solid and confident mini-album.

They're not done with it yet, and nor should they be. There was enough on the record to make releasing a few singles as much of a necessity as a hopeful stab at more promotion, and it's in this way that they bring us a video and radio edit for 'As You'd Begun', one of the album's best tracks. It's piano led alt-rock that's designed for a big stage; we're not talking stadium rock, but nevertheless, this isn't flimsy indie fodder, it has plenty of clout. We're standing by the prediction that if Battleships keep on doing things exactly the way they are then they could go a long way.





Battleships' website

Stream the mini-album in full

Buy the album





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Lowing - I Will Wait For You (Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy)

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

First, let's just debunk that myth in the title there. I have no wish whatsoever to be a cowboy. And I grew up on a farm, so this isn't wimpy city boy talk! Is this new single by Joakim Lowing a little more proof that Europe is getting right into its Americana at the moment? We've already had some top tunes from Kjartan Bue, a man who's beating the Yanks at their own game, and now comes this. Lowing is actually a Swedish artist, but has recently been signed to Dutch label Goomah Music who should be releasing his debut album later on this year.

With a gently plucked guitar he ushers in this expansive piece of alt-country which has plenty of whistling and handclaps before we even get to the vocals. There will, however much we try and skirt around the issue, be comparisons made to Fleet Foxes, especially as the song builds towards its end. This is prime "canoeing music". That shouldn't put anyone off or take away from what Lowing is doing; let's not forget that half the world is getting that same comparison at the moment, and a least Lowing has a good enough tune in 'I Will Wait For You (Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy)' to back it up. Perhaps global warming will eventually turn Scandinavia into sweltering, cactus-ridden desert, and then these guys will be happy.



Lowing's website





For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter

contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk