[thebedroomep-blog]

This awesome new track from King Tuff gives us a hint of things to come from his eponymous new album, due to drop 29th May via Sub Pop records. Fuzzy vocals mix with exhilarating riffs to deliver a Wavves-meets-Los Campesinos! sound that I adore. I've had it on repeat all morning and now the sun has just come out. Coincidence? I think not. Summer vibes from a glorious song.

[thebedroomep-blog]

Here's a video of Fantasy Rainbow playing Song for Nobody by the seaside with acoustic guitars. It's gorgeous.

Hopefully we'll have a full review of the brilliant EP No Hope. Not Ever up by the weekend along with a couple of other track reviews and features so, for now, enjoy this.

[thebedroomep-blog]

Perhaps the only word to truly describe the newest single from Nylon Sky is "epic". It's the sort of track that grabs you by the scruff of your neck and drags you through a maze of distinctive metal riffs and soaring choruses. And then there's the enormous breakdown at the end. Just listen to it.

Released for download on Monday 26th March via Crash Club Records. 

[thebedroomep-blog]

Hymn//Emily Kokal (Warpaint)

Is this a hint of things to come from Warpaint? I do hope so. This is gorgeous. Kokal's voice is beautifully haunting and her songwriting brilliant. Bring on the next Warpaint LP. 

[thebedroomep-blog]

In Your Bed//Pale Man Made

The latest single from Newcastle rockers Pale Man Made, In Your Bed is an upbeat track full of their self-proclaimed "boy-girl fuzz". With influences from the likes of The Wedding Present and Orange Juice, and a sound not-unlike Los Campesinos!, this track is well worth checking out - if for the bizarre video alone!

The single is released as a free download on 16th April on Odd Box Records and is an exciting taste of their forthcoming album Red Box Secrets, due in May.

[thebedroomep-blog]

I've got a hell of a lot of love for this song. It's the lead single from upcoming album Sweet Heart Sweet Light which is out 16th April over here. It's an upbeat, optimistic epic track that twists and turns, bounces up and down and does a full front flip right in the middle. It sounds like a wonderful hypothetical collaboration between Gorillaz and Arcade Fire. In other words, it's bloody brilliant.

[thebedroomep-blog]

Anna Calvi//Anna Calvi - 8/10

Just because this album was released over a year ago doesn't mean I can't post about it, right? Right. I've had it on repeat all afternoon. It's a glorious and elegant collection of soaring songs of religion and history. If you haven't already heard it, then you really ought to.

[pitchfork]

Watch the new Girls video for “My Ma” directed by Aaron Brown.

[blearyeyedbrooklyn]

[thebedroomep-blog]

Moon In My Mind//Frankie Rose

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The Truth//Graham Coxon

[thebedroomep-blog]

R U Mine?//Arctic Monkeys

And suddenly, Arctic Monkeys are kings of the internet. Dropping videos when you least expect them is becoming a trend for the Sheffield group. Perhaps this is the "new tune" Alex mentioned for the upcoming Black Keys tour. Perhaps it's a Record Store Day release. Perhaps it's both. Or, perhaps, they realised it was such a good rock and roll track that they couldn't sit on it any longer.

[thebedroomep-blog]

If lively lo-fi garage-surf-rock is what you're after, look no further. Best Friends' second EP is released on 26th March 2012 on Art is Hard Records and is filled with glorious riffs and catchy choruses. 

[thebedroomep-blog]

The highly anticipated latest EP - No Hope. Not Ever. - from Fantasy Rainbow is here for pre-order/streaming/download and it is really rather good. It's a far less poppy, darker and brooding affair and even better than Teens (perhaps). Released 19th March by our old friends at Tiny Lights Recordings.

[thebedroomep-blog]

Lost Gems #1 - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose by Bombay Bicycle Club

The first in our series of lost gems; albums that are incredible but got lost deep in the recesses of our iPods' shuffle settings. This beautiful record croons of angst, desperation and loneliness and was such a promising debut album. It's a shame Jack Steadman and co. dropped the rockier vibes for the following two LPs - but then we wouldn't have Shuffle or Still.

Rating: 9/10

[thebedroomep-blog]

We want to hear your music! If you're in a band or make sweet, sweet tunes that are kind to the ears then please get in contact at [email protected] or on Twitter (@TheBedroomEP). We'll do a review and might even interview you if you're interesting.

[thebedroomep-blog]

El Camino - The Black Keys

Being an eighteen year old without a driving licence juggling two jobs, I spend a lot of time walking to and from bus stops and pick-up points, down a long and winding country lane that eventually leads to the offices of The Bedroom EP. This evening, as a frost crunched beneath my brogues and a sharp wind twirled around my waist, I took the opportunity to have a (somewhat belated) first uninterrupted listen to The Black Keys latest record El Camino. 

One listen later and I am obsessed. "How could I have waited this long?" I asked myself as the euphoria of lead single Lonely Boy reaches it's climax and I found myself precariously sliding over the icy road as my feet were unable to refrain from doing an embarrassing jig. I thank a deity for dark nights and infrequent traffic down Cow Lane. The fact is - embarrassing jigs aside - that this is rock and roll. The Jonas Brothers can tell you otherwise when they bring out their glittered Gibsons but The Black Keys are really doing it. Critics all over the world are damning the "guitar music" genre into a perpetual oblivion but I don't understand how this is possible when this record is only just over one month old. This album is not only first class but it is also the kind of album that will inspire people to pick up guitars in their bedrooms and make the same sort of riff-laden tracks. I promised myself not to write anything about a "rebirth" in rock and roll music or use any other terrible clichés like that, but if there were one record and one band to lead a "revolution" (What have I become?), then this is it.

Back to my journey home then. I pass a cluster of trees that block out the little remaining light as they hang over the road just as the drums for track number two, Dead and Gone, lead on from Lonely Boy's wonderful introduction. I feel like I'm in a Guy Ritchie movie in this setting. It's something pretty special.

Coupled with a simple bassline, it's just not possible to keep still to this beat. It's not hard to imagine the vocals that lead you in being screamed back by adoring fans live (Mental note: Must see The Black Keys live - spare Coachella ticket anyone?). It's a classic BK song, blues and woe and a guitar solo to make your heart race and your palms sweat. There's something about Dan Auerbach's guitar in that it just seems to exhale sex. 

This doesn't stop. Not a chance. Gold on the Ceiling is a glorious guitar-led track that powers on and soars up. It's the sort of track to make you puff your chest out and, once again, feel like a Cockney gangster on an important job on this chilled evening. Oh, the dreams of a middle-class Yorkshire teenager.

Little Black Submarines follows this and is one of the most natural-sounding songs I have ever heard. It flows beautifully from the soft opening in an almost campfire-esque manner. The romantic within me likes the idea of this song spontaneously developing in a late-night session in a studio out in Nashville and marvels at the poetic nature of the songs. Perhaps it's just me, but a beautiful, slow song about insanity is just perfect. As I round the corner and come out on to the straight stretch beneath Murky Hill, Auerbach's voice seems like the unspoilt grass I pass by - raw, yet fantastic to behold. As the road stretches out before me, the pace slows to a halt, and I pause too, before that signature guitar comes hurtling back in followed by the crashing drums of Patrick Carney, the other half of the outfit. It's a full on rock out. That camp-fire feel is forgotten about as quickly as it was introduced and suddenly we're thrust into this incredible, epic moment. It's awe-inspiring. Quite simply the best track I've heard for a long, long time. 

There ain't no rest following that, either. Money Maker blasts in and we're back in Black Keys' territory. The verses are smooth, blue and upbeat, whilst the chorus is a huge roar. A really huge roar. That's a short, sharp song to be sung back in huge arenas, without a doubt. There really has been a gaping hole ready to be filled by a band that makes blues rock and roll and this album cracks it. Run Right Back continues in the same vain. Drums are too often overlooked as merely percussion rather than instruments by "guitar bands" these days (Here's looking at you, Paramore et al) and therein lies a uniqueness in two-pieces such as The Black Keys and The White Stripes. The guitars and drums are used to compliment each other as part of a duo, and El Camino rarely finds them competing in songs.

A more prominent bass line and a jumpy guitar in Sister offers a breath of fresh air but doesn't shy away at all from the vibe of the album. That same signature guitar solo is there, just in a different place, a different time. It's nice to hear what sounds like a synth organ as in the build up to Little Black Submarines that adds an alternative layer and perspective to what could have become a rather slow, similar back half of the album.

I'm nearing the lights of home now and it's as if the drums are shouting "Did you forget about me?" as the laid-back but fast-paced Hell of a Season kicks off. Once again I'm reminded of the sensational song-writing this album offers. Every song is something new. We find ourselves amidst a rare and slow breakdown before the guitar solo soars upwards and Patrick Carney pounds on my ear drums. The song has a slow finish unlike the big climaxes to previous songs, giving me a chance to breathe. Stop Stop has more of a pop feel to it than the rest of the album but it's certainly one of the record's hidden gems. Goosebumps appear, not due to the cold but the moment when the drums cut out before the chorus and then again with the stripped back chorus towards the end. It's another brilliant track and is a slower and softer track to add to The Black Keys' enormous live army. 

The final two tracks are delightfully polished songs that pass by all too quickly and then I'm home. Nova Baby opens with a fuzzy melody not unlike those that shot Smith Westerns into the limelight not so long. Yet again, it's something little bit different to what we were perhaps expecting or have experienced on a previous record. It's a tremendously happy song. Well, I feel happy.

The grand finale to the tremendous El Camino is entitled Mind Eraser and is raw Black Keys at their best. The guitar riff bounces around beneath glowing vocals and there's a certain sense of nostalgia to Auerbach's lyrics: "Oh, don't let it be over" like the end of any great album should really have. This is the last track on a record, your record, your work, your artwork. There should absolutely be a sense of finality to the song and that's why the slowed end works so beautifully.

Like I said at the start, I'm not about to use clichés but if you really think "guitar music" is dead after listening to this record then there really is something terribly wrong with you. 

The Bedroom EP's rating of El Camino by The Black Keys: 10/10

Best track: Little Black Submarines

Advised listening: On a dark country lane in the heart of Yorkshire, of course. 

[thebedroomep-blog]

Given To The Hype

The Hype. The hype that is sucking the very life out of the better side of the music industry. The hype that Arctic Monkeys somehow avoided but Klaxons fell to. The hype that brandished The Vaccines in our faces incessantly throughout 2011 and the hype that demanded this week that The Maccabees' latest album topped the chart. It didn't.

All week long we have noticed tweets and articles, blog posts and even Facebook statuses pushing and urging people to buy Given To The Wild so that it could make it to number one this evening. Funnily enough, very few of these same examples actually praised the album. The belief that The Maccabees might finally break through to become the world-wide sensation they're apparently destined to be seemed to eclipse whether or not this album is worthy of propelling them forward into the uncharted territories of headlining festivals and becoming a force to be reckoned with. 

The album isn't bad. It's a good album. A solid album. Better than their previous work, it has allowed them to grow in more ways than one. This album will expand their fan base, it will sell plenty and it will land them better shows, that much is certain. It is not the album that will define the band's career and legacy though. It is not a brave, genre defining obra maestra, nor is it the sell-out pop record on the other side of the coin that would make them millionaires. I doubt the latter will ever be a serious option for the indie outfit but the former... Perhaps the former will make an appearance in the future, but perhaps not. For now, we have a good 7/10 record with a couple of high-quality songs on there and a well-established band in our midst. 

Is there a lesson here? Need there be a lesson here? Absolutely. The lesson is fairly simple - You won't have a number one album unless it's good enough to be a number one album and you won't be "the next big thing" unless you actually are "the next big thing". The NME needs to stop shoving the unnecessary in our ears just because they have to find the freshest sound. Leave the music be and only say it's fucking excellent if it really is fucking excellent.

(Note: Where was all this hype for El Camino? There was a slight buzz in comparison to this week but that really is a fucking excellent record.)