Sound Choice

Sound Choice is the online blog of music Journalist Josh Carvell, covering the best new bands and notable releases from old favourites. Most of the pieces written on here can be found at The National Student or Redbrick.

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Track of The Day: Theme Park- Wax

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Track of The Day: Slackerpop- The Xcerts 

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New Band of The Day:Ink

Ink are perhaps one of the most enigmatic new bands that we’ve featured, but they are also one of the most promising.

The quirky pop duo comprised of Miriam Massie and Colin Mack have yet to play live, yet their work in the studio has charmed the like of The Guardian and The Reccomender into singing their praises.

The track in question that has everyone talking is Ink Goes On, a dreamy pop track that combines a twinkly melody over a slow, meandering bass line in a simple, yet charmingly effective song destined for widespread attention.

The video for Ink Goes On is equally as charming, showing the story of a girl who wants her lover to communicate with her in ink only, in order to demonstrate his love and commitment. No other form of communication will do, as the way she sees it, ink lasts.

When the pair release an album, expect Ink to climb straight to the top, especially if the rest of their songs are half as strong as Ink Goes On. 

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Track of The Day: Boy- Waitress

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Track of The Day: Mallory Knox- Hello

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Track of The Day:As Elephants Are- Lucifer

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Blitz Kids announced as main supports for upcoming Lower Than Atlantis tour.

  Sound Choice favourites Blitz Kids have been confirmed for Lower Than Atlantis' upcoming UK/Europe tour.

You can catch the pair at the following dates:

Feb 19 - Hafenklang, Hamburg Feb 20 - Magnet - Berlin Feb 21 - Orangehouse - Munich Feb 22 - MTC, Cologne Feb 23 - Melkweg, Amsterdam Feb 24 - Dynamo, Eindhoven Apr 13 - Mandela Hall, Belfast

Apr 14 - The Academy, Dublin Apr 16 - Solus, Cardiff Apr 17 - Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton Apr 18 - Academy 2, Manchester Apr 19 - QMU, Glasgow Apr 20 - University, Leeds Apr 21 - Westlands, Yeovil Apr 23 - Waterfront, Norwich Apr 24 - Pyramid Centre, Portsmouth Apr 25 - Shepherds Bush Empire, London

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New Band of The Day: Electric Guest

Los Angeles duo Electric Guest's funky pop music has a strong retro feel with enough bravado to take them to the very top.

Front-man Asa Taccone’s family are no strangers to the limelight either- his brother Jorma is one third of comedy outfit Lonely Island, with showmanship clearly coming natural to the Taccones.

Electric Guest are seen at their best in ‘This Head That I Hold’, an effortlessly addictive piano led track that shows strong 60’s Motown influences. Taccone’s falsetto vocals complement the twinkling piano, while Matthew Compton’s drums add the two tapping groove that makes the song destined for major attention.

Another standout track from the band is ‘The Bait’, a funky, bouncy electronic song with a hook filled chorus in which Taccone shows off his vocal prowess once more. The bands trademark retro feel is present here yet again, and the song would not sound out of place gracing the charts in the 70’s.

Whether or not you find Electric Guest’s soulful retro sound cheesy, it cannot be denied that the band perform with such a swagger that it will come as no surprise if they become one of America’s next big things.

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Interview: Bullet For My Valentine

Bullet For My Valentine are back. The Welsh rockers have returned to take their place at the top of the UK heavy scene with their upcoming album Temper Temper. Sound Choice speaks to drummer Michael 'Moose' Thomas ahead of the release of the band's latest single.

It’s been two years since Bullet For My Valentine released Fever, and the band are busy gearing up to enter a new era with their upcoming album.

Moose is more than happy with the change, stating: "It feels amazing actually, I’m glad to get over touring Fever actually, and I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter with Bullet."

The band have timed the album well, coming back at a time when heavy music is a much changed and revitalised scene, with plenty to get excited about: "It’s a great thing for live music at the moment, and its nice to be a part of it and get back on with what we do."

Elaborating, Moose says: "The heavy scene is really strong at the moment - it’s awesome!"  

What’s particularly grabbed the band is a certain upcoming band from Sheffield: "We love While She Sleeps; we got to hear about these guys as they share our management company and we think they’re going to do really well."

That’s not to say the band haven’t still got the talent to make an album that will turn heads: "We’ve gone into the studio without thinking too much, and what’s come out is probably one of the darkest albums we’ve ever done."

Although, the band have also admitted that their influences for Temper Temper have been a lot more eclectic this time around: "I’ve been listening to a lot of Muse and Led Zeppelin, a mixture which I think comes through in my drumming on the album."       

Yet the bands trademark sound is not evident in the forthcoming single and the album’s title track, which has proved divisive: "A lot of people online were like “what the fuck is this?” But equally the song is getting a lot of radio play, and that’s bringing in some new fans."

But old fans of the band need not worry: "Temper Temper is the most different song on the whole album; the rest of the album is just classic Bullet for My Valentine," says Moose.

That's not to say the band will be reverting back to their old style however, as they have simply moved on since then: "I would say to people that we’re more than capable of writing another Poison, but you can’t make the same record twice and we don’t see the point in doing so."

Despite the change of style, Moose is keen to emphasise the band have largely remained the same: "Nothing else has  really changed except the sizes of the venues, we feel we’re still largely the same band from seven years ago."

They have made a point of keeping their feet on the ground as well, making sure to not let success get to their heads: "We don’t think about any of the success we’ve had really, as we don’t want the band to drift off in the wrong direction. When it’s all over, then we’ll think about it, and hopefully we’ll look back and be proud of ourselves."

Continuing, he adds: "We’re proud to have lasted as long as we have. A lot of bands now tend to only make one or two albums and we’re still going strong."

The band still have their sights set high despite everything they’ve achieved already: "We want to have a legacy and be up there with the band that influenced us like Iron Maiden and Metallica," Moose continues.

 With a strong album, the band could certainly start to push towards emulating their heroes and start creating a legacy of their own, but it’s no small feat. Yet they are right to keep pushing themselves in this manner, and with such ambition it’s hard to see the band disappointing with their upcoming album.

2013 should be a busy year for Bullet For My Valentine, with Temper Temper set for release in February, kicking off a fresh cycle for the band: ‘"n 2013 we plan to take the album round the world, tour it and keep touring it until we get sick of touring and make another record."

Clearly there’s much to be excited about for fans of Bullet For My Valentine. Whether or not you took to the band’s new single, the band are set to exceed all expectations with an album that will undoubtedly leave no fans unsure if Bullet have still got it.

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Interview: Birds vs Planes

Birds Vs Planes are a band on the up. The Carlisle five-piece’s angular indie rock has slowly been gathering supporters, setting the band on an upwards trajectory that is set to see them shake off their underground status and loudly announce themselves to the world.

Ahead of a busy winter for the band, Sound Choice speaks to vocalist Jenny Jones to get the lowdown on their big plans.

Stylistically, Birds Vs Planes can be hard to pin down with their varied sound. Jones emphasises this, stating: ‘Our music has quite an eclectic sound; it can go from very optimistic to quite dark fairly quickly’.

 In part, this is due to the band’s individual tastes: ‘we’ve got a very different taste in music individually, which comes out a lot in our music’ 

What is consistent in their songs, however, is the bands song writing ability, showing a maturity that isn’t necessarily obvious upon a first listen. Throughout the band’s material, the vocals have a strong understanding, with the juxtaposition between the two often providing many a hook filled chorus.

Jones agrees, adding: ‘there shouldn’t be an argument between the two lead sounds, and we try not to make our music to congested. We think it’s important to not have too many things going on at once’

Nowhere is the bands skilful craft more obvious than in their upcoming single ‘Relative Worth’. Here the back and forth relationship between the vocals and lead guitar provide a toe tapping treat of angular rock at it’s finest. The frantic, urgent guitars contrast perfectly with Jones’ voice during verses, shifting to complement the vocals in the melodic chorus.

Birds Vs Planes - Relative Worth by Music Bakery

However, the band do not stick to a formulaic approach for their songs, with their upcoming EP Relative Worth epitomising the diversity of the band.  When pressed about the EP, Jones stated: ‘It’s a very diverse album, with some fast paced, high energy numbers complimented with grander songs focusing on the emotion of the songs.’ 

Continuing, she said: The EP will be out mid to late January, with the title track being released as a single on the 17th December’.

A fact that is constant pointed out by critics and undoubtedly will continue to be emphasised is the fact that Birds Vs Planes is a female fronted band. It is worrying that outside of pop and folk a female vocalist is still considered an anomaly.  Jones agrees, adding: ‘It can be devise, but I don’t think it should’.

‘I think it’s important that we’re not always labelled as a female fronted band. Often in descriptions of us we immediately get compared to other female fronted bands such as Susie and the Banshee’s and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’. Although its easy to make such comparisons, they are purely based on the gender of the lead singer and don’t reflect the sound of the band.

Jones adds: ‘It’s a shame, but it’s not something I have a major problem with. The band is a group effort.’ 

The tail end of 2012 has been a very busy time for the band, but there is still much left to do before the year is over: ‘‘Our single relative worth comes out on the 17th of December, and we’re doing a few gigs around then including 3 gigs with Glasvegas’. 

With the release of their EP in 2013, the band will be storming into the New Year with their most ambitious material yet in what Jones promises will be their busiest year yet.  If you haven’t already gotten on board with the band, Birds Vs Planes should certainly be earmarked as ones to watch in 2013.

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New Band of The Day: Escapists

Having enchanted their way onto the pages of NME and primetime Radio One, the future looks bright for Escapists.

Drawing from the likes of The Shins and Arcade Fire, Escapists anthemic alternative indie may not reinvent the wheel, but the band show enough potential to one day be mentioned in the same breath as their idols.

The band are arguably at their finest in Northern Lights, the opening song to their debut EP Burial, an eerie understated intro gradually builds until the song erupts in a crescendo of urgent guitars and infectious vocals, with a sing-along chorus destined for festivals.

A more fragile side of the band is shown in the track Ghost In Your Bedroom.  It is a melancholic, minimalistic effort that stands out with its beautiful yet simplistic melody. A violin and cello add to vocalist Simon Glancy’s soft voice, creating a haunting sense of Isolation and minimalistic beauty.

Escapists’ epic brand of Indie rock is far grander than the stages they are accustomed to, and with a bit of fine-tuning the band will have an audience to match their music

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New Band of The Day: Gary Clark Jr.

We may be latecomers to the Gary Clark Jr. bandwagon here in the UK, but it won’t be long before we get in line to sing the praises of this blues legend in the making.

He is being heralded as the saviour of blues, and rightly so. His ability with a guitar is beyond impressive and invokes memories of Hendrix himself. This is aided by a smooth, soulful voice that is injecting life back into the genre.

The song that has Brought Clark Jr. the most acclaim so far is Bright Lights. It is a smooth yet moody track where Clark Jr.’s R'n'B vocals combine with rough, powerful guitar riffs and fiery guitar solos in a track that is already being described as timeless.

The next song to catch our eyes is Don’t owe you a thang. It is a fast,  toe-tapping tune enthused with a 60s spirit. Clark Jr’s tight, winding guitar drives the song with all the groove and bravado of B.B.King, and his impassioned performance has both the soul and skill to match the blues legend himself.  

Clark Jr. is currently preparing to release his new album Blak and Blu next week and it may well be the album that brings blues back to the charts, bringing with it the success that such a talented musician deserves.

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New Band of The Day: Blitz Kids

As we’ve mentioned before, British rock music is in a good place. With bands like Blitz Kids, we can safely assume the future of the genre is equally as bright.

The band combine the technical ferocity of Glassjaw with the dance rock sensibilities of Canterbury, and with the support of Red Bull Records, the band have been given their shot at becoming as big as the former.

One of the band’s most striking songs is Story, with the band employing the vocal services of Kids In Glass Houses’ Aled Phillips. It is led by a riff that brings back memories of The Fall of Troy, and it erupts into a hook filled chorus that shows the band have the pop rock sensibilities to match their technical tunes.

The aggressive side of the band is very much shown in Hold Fast. It is a frantic song that darts between chaotic riffs and urgent yet infectious choruses. Lyrically lead singer Joe James describes an existential crisis, stating, “I’ve taken for granted the feeling of staying young, Now my head fills my heart with a riot and a loaded gun.”

With an album out in November, its only a matter of time before people start paying attention to Blitz Kids again. They are ready to push out of the periphery and take centre stage as rock’s next big thing.

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Interview: Walk The Moon

With their self-titled album Indie rock outfit Walk The Moon have loudly announced their arrival into the American consciousness. Sound Choice sits down with guitarist Eli Maiman ahead of the album's UK release to see what’s getting the US excited.

To many in the UK, Walk The Moon are an unfamiliar entity, but with a sound tinged with a distinctly British influence  it is easy to warm to them. Their synthesized indie rock will undoubtedly draw comparison to the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Two Door Cinema Club, and Maiman is more than happy for that to be the case.

When asked about the band's British sound, Maiman said: "The British vibe mostly came from our influences. We’re certainly into The Killers who, while aren’t British, draw a lot from the British heritage. We’re also really into David Bowie and a lot of Britpop so we draw some of our sound from there.’" 

 The Walk The Moon sound is certainly one that has been developed and refined, as a listen to their debut I want! I want! will reveal. The band have become more energetic and their songs more infectious. While these elements were there in the band's debut, they hadn’t been fully realised and capitalised on until their self titled follow-up.  Maiman described the bands progression as "us getting tighter, both as people and as a musical unit", with the two years of experience and exposure setting the band off on a trajectory that is likely to lead to the very top of the genre.

Elaborating on this Maiman stated: "I think the band has got better and more dynamic live over the past few years, and I think we really got that across on the new record."

It is clear that Walk The Moon are at their best when they have an audience in front of them and they excel on putting on a show that can delight existing fans whilst creating new ones with their compelling, inclusive live performances that very much involve the audience.

Maiman elaborated on the band's live performances, stating: "What I find special about Walk the Moon shows is that there's a real emphasis placed on community.

We don’t want to be this band that’s separate from the audience. We really want to be there having an experience with the crowd."

The band have a particular way of including the audience in their shows as well: "Before a show, we’ll come out and paint people’s faces. For a young band like us coming to England for the first time, it’s a good way to introduce ourselves and connect with new people."

For young people in particular it is easy to relate to the band. Throughout the album, particularly in their hit single Anna Sun, there are themes of youth and escapism running through their lyrics. Maiman puts this down to the band's situation at the time of the albums conception: "A lot of the record was written near the end of our college careers, and that’s a pretty intense transition period."

Expanding upon his statement, he said: "We found ourselves wondering who we are and where are we going and how we can be adults while maintaining a semblance of childhood and youth."

The band certainly have come of age with their new album, and its success has led them to Britain, where they have been preparing for this week’s UK release of Walk The Moon, which they hope will bring them further success in the UK. 

When asked about the bands profile as up and comers in the UK, Maiman said: "It’s exciting. There’s definitely a perk to being put in front an audience that doesn’t know you, it tends to keep us hungry. We go on stage wanting to make the audience love us, and we want to win them over. So for us it’s really fun."

With the album release in the UK and touring commitments, the tail end of 2012 is a fairly busy one for the band as they look to continue their surge upwards. When asked about the band's plans, Maiman replied "Other than world domination?’" before stating: "We’re going on tour with fun for a month, which is really exciting, we’re going to see a lot of places I never dreamed of seeing before then take a month off in December to recharge our batteries. Expect us back in the UK again in early 2013."

With such a strong album and an impressive live performance Walk The Moon should easily prove as big a hit in the UK as they have back in America.  But their catchy Indie Dance tracks may not be enough for world domination. The band will simply have to settle for domination of the airwaves.

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New Band of The Day: Bo Saris

Meet Bo Saris, the Dutch Soul singer people are calling "the male equivalent of the late Amy Winehouse." His groovy, 60’s inspired music is shaped by Soul legends such as Marvin Gaye and Prince, and is led by a voice that could rival both.

His latest single She’s On Fire is a bouncy tune, with a blues led guitar providing the backing for Saris’ smooth falsetto in what is a hook filled track. What is particularly striking is the effortless power of his voice as he coolly demonstrates his ability in an infectious chorus.

Bo Saris’ music may not reinvent the wheel, but that is beside the point. It is a fresh take on a genre that has been somewhat dormant lately. Saris is well aware of his ability, but with such a smooth bravado it will come as no surprise if he receives major attention in the near future.

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Interview:The Other Tribe

Welcome to The Other Tribe. The Bristol six piece are a tribal dance outfit that are set to rise to the top with their infectious, bouncy summer songs. Sound Choice sits down with Miles Metric from the band as he tells us why we should all join the tribe.

The Other Tribe certainly have a distinct, yet diverse sound that experiments with the many aspects of dance. Metric expands upon this, stating: "We’d describe ourselves as dance music, but with a really strong tribal edge through our use of percussion, tribal instruments and a coherent tribal theme."

He goes on to say: "There are many elements to our music, as we experiment with house, techno, electro, pop, indie. But it’s so much easier just to say dance!" This diversity is evident, with the summery nostalgia of Skirts completely contrasted to the fast, bass driven techno of Businessman on Diazepam, yet the band's essential tribal undertones shine through in both tracks.

Many of The Other Tribe’s tracks have an undeniable energy and appear to be written with a firm focus on their live show. Metric echoes this sentiment, stating: "We write our songs with the live element in mind, and we try and make our songs sound as close to the live experience as we can."

The live experience is something to behold as well and it is when The Other Tribe feel most at home. Speaking about their live shows Metric states: "We try and encapsulate the excitement of a DJ set by having our show completely fixed, with no gaps in between the songs. So it’s a non stop rave for 45 minutes!"

Their show is a lot more dynamic and interactive than you would expect from a normal dance show: "We have the dynamic aspects of an indie or rock band on stage but we’re definitely playing dance music."

  With such a refined live show it is no wonder all the right people are starting to pay attention to the band and their profile has risen sharply in the last year, somewhat taking them by surprise: "It’s been brilliant but really surreal. We’ve had a lot of Radio One and XFM play recently, our favourite moment was hearing ourselves on Radio One for the first time, we just ran around the kitchen screaming!"

There is a feeling among The Other Tribe that their hard work is finally starting to pay off, which Metric alludes to: "It’s literally a dream come true, but I’m still too confused by the whole situation to talk about it in any logical sense, but its really nice."

Their profile may even be set to increase further with the release of their debut EP Skirts. Describing the EP, Metric reveals: "We’ve got our favourite song, with some remixes we’ve done for some awesome bands such as T Williams, Jody Wisternoff and Don Diablo."

Already the early signs are good for the EP: "We’re getting a really good response from the remixes, with quite a few Djs picking up the tracks and playing them here and there."

 The Other Tribe have provided something fresh with their tribal take on dance music. In Skirts the band have had a late summer hit, a perfect slice of nostalgia to dance along to and remember a brief time when the weather wasn’t so miserable. Their tribal dance music is slowly converting people across the country and inducting them into the swelling ranks of The Other Tribe. 

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Interview: Axewound

When it comes to new bands, few can claim to have a more exciting line-up than Axewound, a band featuring members of Bullet For My Valentine, Cancer Bats, Pitchshifter and Rise to Remain. TNS sits down with drummer Jason Bowld to discuss all things Vultures.

As the band boasts such an impressive line-up from both sides of the Atlantic, the question of how they came together immediately arises. Bowld reveals that the formation of Axewound was somewhat of a simple affair: "Me and Matt Tuck (Bullet For My Valentine) shared a common interest in metal, and decided to put a really heavy side project together, with Liam (Cancer Bats), Joe and Mikey joining once we decided to put an album together and it was a match made in heaven."

And so Axewound were born, a group of people Bowld describes as "Nice and easy to work with, bringing an extra bit of chemistry into an already exciting band."

 Having members from already well-known bands can be exciting for fans, but it certainly brings a level of expectation to their music. But Bowld believes it hasn’t really affected the bands approach to the album, stating: "I think the expectation can hinder you if you let it, but we've kept our focus on the music." 

Elaborating, he says: "When we got together we didn’t try and make something out of our reach, we did what came naturally. Matt and I got together and said “right lets just write brutal stuff, keep it changing and not get comfortable."

Consequently, the bands debut Vultures was written in 21 days, keeping overthinking to a minimum and leaving little time for tinkering. The end product is an album that that Bowld is proud of.

However it would appear fan expectation has played on his mind since: "In some ways our old bands have made things harder because people might expect more. But for us we’re content doing what we like and writing something fun."

And the result is Vultures, an album Bowld describes as "raw, organic, fast moving and honest metal." It is a diverse album that does not settle with a single sound, experimenting with the different facets of metal.

Speaking about the albums diversity, Bowld states: "Metal is guilty of sounding very samey and it’s challenge to write a track that’s got 10 original tracks on it and I think we’ve done that."

It is a fair comment by Bawld. The album darts between rock, melodic metal and thrash metal in an aural assault that has the expertise and confidence of a band that is both technically skilled and fiercely passionate about their music.

Throughout the album, vocal duties are alternated between frontman Liam Cormier and Guitarist Matt Tuck, with the former taking the lead, enabling Tuck to take a break from the frontman duties he performs with Bullet For My Valentine. Having two capable vocalists has certainly given the band a a richer sound, but it hasn’t come without it’s drawbacks: "Ultimately you’re going to get Bullet fans saying that Matt should sing more and Cancer Bats fans wanting Liam to sing more."

It is an inevitable result of the bands history, however Bowld is certainly justified in saying "I just wish some people could see it as a new band, and not compare us to Cancer Bats and Bullet." Bowld suggests that best way to listen to Axewound is to listen with no preconceptions. After all, fans expecting a Cancer bats or Bullet for my Valentine style record are bound to be disappointed.

Thankfully Axewound have proved with Vultures that they more than live up to the hype, with a relentless, aggressive album that has proven the band are more than their constituent parts. With this album the band have propelled themselves to the head of an already burgeoning metal scene. Not bad for a side project eh?