Things, thngs? I got an armful of things mate, the smell of what? Nobbie’s Nuts in Nottingham, no amount of whatever or being cruel to be kind…. Sleaford Mods spit out another dose of gritty East Midlands reality and a new album, meanwhile over in Los Angeles, True Neutral Crew all tied up in knots (not Nottz!) on the cobbled floor, they got an armful of flipping tunes mate , none of it flipping boring, this is real, Weatabix from Trader Joe’s? Raise the alarm .
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Meanwhile (with no z)….
True Neutral Crew are Daveed Diggs of clipping., Brian Kinsman formerly of Foot Village, Margot Padilla of I.E, and Signor Benedick The Moor. Their 2nd mixtape was released digitally over the weekend, the release sees the U/S group continuing to combine their interests in both rap and post-punk flavoured noise rock, resulting in what they “half-jokingly call krautrap”.
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The title ‘#POPPUNK’ refers to the ghost possessing this collection of songs. Hiding beneath swathes of noise and big beat production are bright, joyous melodies and driving live drums. Quick and acrobatic rap verses are bookended with catchy pop hooks. At once both intricate and complex while still being simple and silly. While the krautrap aspirations from their debut mixtape remain, the spirit of hyperactive LA artpunk groups like Oingo Boingo and Sparks is likely behind the haunting. Why the unusual set of inspirations though? Is it mere instinct? Is it all a riddle? Is it nonsense? Perhaps the best advice for deciding comes from the lyrics of the opening track, “It’s modern art. When you see it, see it for what it is.”
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‘#POPPUNK’ welcomes a bunch of guests including Glasgow rapper diss1, industrial noise group Robedoor, Venezuelan balladeer Algodón Egipcio, beatpunk godfather Boo Hiss, pianist/composer Lauren Bousfield (ex-Nero’s Day At Disneyland), and noise-soul pioneer S.R. Cano (tik///tik).
THE ORGAN 