We expect great things from you

With the mention of Cajun Dance Party in my last post I thought I'd go over my list of bands/artists that I would like to sign for my imaginary record label.

The Cajun's were at the top of this list purely because their brand of saccharinely sweet pop songs are just that damn good, and the song writing talent shines through for all to see. Also, in the words of the great Steve Lamacq, "that's a lovely voice you've got their fella."

Go to their MySpace page for a listen of their new demo The Race. It's a lovely slice of indie-pop, and has a violin bit at the end. I'm an absolute sucker for violins me. XL are bastards for signing all the decent acts before me.

Right, on to the unsigned lot.


First up are The Svengali's. One of them is brothers with someone in Cajun Dance Party, but I can never remember which one. Basically, they're a lot like CDP, but seemingly far more bitter in their general outlook. That said, it's still gloriously fun indie-pop. Check their MySpace to listen to their self released single Sting in the Tale / Swimming Upstream and buy it here.

The Svengali's - Love Letters for Delinquents (demo) (Zshare)
The Svengali's - Runaway (demo) (Zshare)


Second up we've got The Hussy's. Quite frankly how someone's not given them a massive pot of cash in return for their signature is beyond me. It seems to be the trend now for bands to go unsigned for as long as possible. The biggest unsigned band in the UK right now are The Wombats. I imagine they keep their head above water, like their predecessors to the title of biggest unsigned band the Long Blondes, by going on ridiculously long tours and selling out the venue. Anyway, once The Wombat's finally sign for a lot of money it'll be The Hussy's turn.

Sounding something like the lovechild of The Pipettes and the aforementioned Long Blondes, The Hussys serve up joyfully infectious indie-pop so good that I have no hesitation in proclaiming them to be your new favourite band.

The Hussy's - Tiger (Zshare)
The Hussy's - We Expected (Zshare)


Two will do for now. More coming soon.

In with the daffodils..

So it's finally spring, the sun is out, and you don't have to wear ridiculous coats all the time. I always like to celebrate this fact by finding songs which reflect my mood about this whole no-coat wearing situation.

This is the new song by The Teenagers, France's coolest band since, well, Justice I guess. It's about Scarlett Johansson (obviously). I recorded this from their MySpace page a couple of days ago and haven't stopped listening to it since.

The Teenagers - Starlett Johansson (YSI)
The Teenagers - Starlett Johansson (Zshare)

They're finally starting to go and play some live shows, and since I can't direct you to any links where you should go and buy this song, you should definitely hit this up. The lineup is immense. (click to buy tickets, and remember to take some change for the, er, reasonable drinks at the Scala.)

They're playing an All Ages gig at the same venue with The Presets and Metronomy on the same date (it's just a bit earlier, y'know, as they've all got early bed times) for all you under 18s out there. If you're over 18 don't go, it'll be horrible.


This is Example. He's from about 10 minutes from where I live. This means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but y'know, it's always nice to support local artists. Not that he needs anything from me. He's clearly about to be fairly big, having just signed to Mike Skinner's label The Beats.

This song is from his mixtape which you really should order from here quickly as it's about to sell out.
What says "the sun is out" more than Tracy Chapman's Fast Car? Rapping about borrowing someones Porsche to try and pick up girls. That's what.

Example - I Need A Fast Car (YSI)

Now this lot, Cajun Dance Party, I've been following a while and was going to feature in my 'Ones-to-watch' list for 2007, but since we're nearly 4 months in I'm scrapping that. They've recently signed a fairly mega deal with XL, who seem to be snapping up all the best unsigned acts these days. However, they're releasing their debut single on the fantastic Way Out West label, home to other great acts well worth checking out like Late of the Pier, Video Nasties, and Laura Marling. Buy it here.

These are just demo. Listen to the brand new, brilliant sounding single versions on their MySpace.
Cajun Dance Party - The Next Untouchable (demo) (Zshare)
Cajun Dance Party - Amylase (demo) (YSI)

The Next Untouchable was deservedly Steve Lamacq's demo of 2006 and you've seriously, got to check out the chorus on Amylase. It's slightly non-sensical, but try and not sing along. Dare ya.

First things first..

Right, hello.

These two are songs which make me pretend to be a big superstar DJ. You know, looking out over 2,000 odd people with their hands in the air waiting to go mental? Yeah? Oh.
Basically, listen to the breakdowns.

Para One - Dudun Dun (Boys Noize Remix) (buy here)
Klaas vs. I Am Finn - I Love You (Van She Tech Hip Remix) (buy here)

This song makes me love music so much right now, yet also despair a lot as it should by rights be EVERYWHERE. It should be all over the TV and radio. I think I heard it the other day on Radio 1, but it was being used in some advert thing. Not. Good. Enough.
Union of Knives - Evil Has Never (buy here)

This song is not new rave, as that's a joke genre which has somehow become real. It is however utterly, utterly fantastic. To dance to this song you just pretend to play a drum, march, close your eyes, and move from side to side.
Shy Child - Down On You (buy here)

Sorry for the Zshare hosting. I'm having trouble working out how you actually upload things to normal webspace.
Also, sorry for the AWFUL colour scheme. I asked blogger to shuffle the colours and this is what it did, I'm still trying to work out how to make my posts have a title, so please do suggest new colours etc.