Where were we? Asked that the time before last time, do we need a new editorial yet? Enough of that and on with this and the music and the what we said last time or last week or last year. You’ve read all this already, never mind the damn editorial, cut to the chase and never mind the biscuits or the catfish, just jump down past this bit, who needs a damn editorial? Let the actual music do the actual walking and the actual talking. Exact same thing again, another five (or so) slices of musical things that have passed our way recently and however you like to slice it and of course it was the price of apples and here comes the intro, Don’t be flippant she said, how could it ever be flippant? I can’t remember why she said that now, in one ear, out the other, “Gawd, is Organ still going?”

Five? There’s something rather compelling about five. Cross-pollination? Five more? Is there another way? A better way? A cure for pulling flying rabbits out of the clouds? Is there a rhyme? Is there a reason? Was there ever a reason? What do reasons make? Five more? Snake oil? Everything must go and no, we never do and the proof of the pudding is in that proof reading. When we started this thing, oh never mind, it doesn’t matter why we started this damn thing and like we asked last time, does anyone bother reading the editorial? Does anyone ever actually look down the rabbit hole or is it all just method acting? We do really try to listen to everything that comes in, we do it so you don’t have to, we are very (very) very very picky about what we actually post on these fractured pages or about what gets played on the radio or indeed what we hang in a gallery. Cut to the chase, never mind the editorial, there’s loads of music further down the page, well five or so pieces of music that have come our way in the last few days and what’s Wordsworth? Just the basic facts and links and those sounds (and visuals), that’s surely all you need…

Here we go, five more slices of music that have recently come our way, in no particular order, starting somewhere in London with Ebbb…

1: Ebbb – Now don’t be mixing up this band with The Ebb, this band have three bees flying around and a debut EP waiting for you. We’re told that the elusive London trio Ebbb step boldly from the shadows to announce the release and the band’s first output for new label Ninja Tune — “home to trailblazing artists like Young Fathers; Black Country, New Road and yeule — a fitting platform for their genre-eschewing sound”.

Here comes the hype, there is substance though, “Without releasing a single song, the band — comprised of producer Lev Ceylan, vocalist Will Rowland and drummer Scott MacDonald — have built a storied mythology on London’s underground live circuit which spawned the likes of Squid and black midi. Commanding an atmosphere at gigs that has been described as “an almost religious experience”, the melding of Ceylan’s engulfing and enthralling production and beats, with Rowland’s endlessly capable vocals, along with MacDonald’s added stomp, quickly resulted in the band being one of 2023’s word of mouth live sensations. Despite being together for barely a year, the band have already landed on something truly singular. Fusing pulsing rhythms, immersive electronic production, sparkling melodies, layered vocal harmonies and beats that veer from ambient to industrial, the result is an idiosyncratic hybrid of sounds. One that the group describes as “Brian Wilson meets Death Grips.”

Not really hearing the hard bite of Death Grips, this is a far more gentle ride, a refined brightness, crisp, a glow, these five slices on this debut EP kind of feel like sketchbook pieces right now, a taste or a major work to come maybe – flavours, bites, teasers. Answered is beautiful, and yes, (Yes) slight feels of something religious, uniquely so? Gentle giants, going for the one, refreshing and indeed, Beach Boys or at least Brian Wilson’s graceful ideas. A so far unpredictable journey, a set of joyous bursts of experimental pop music.  Sparkling…. 

“I like that it can’t be pigeonholed,” says Lev Ceylan, speaking of the forthcoming EP. “We really do love plot twists – where it just explodes into something completely different.”

Bandcamp /Ninja Tune

And in contast, time to fly….

2: The Flying Luttenbachers – Another release while we wait for the new album, a gathering together of things on an album called The Dissonant Fist of Modernism and in the words of Weasel Walter. “some of the finest Irritainment available is offered up in this quasi “Greatest Hits” package of previously released material from various albums spanning the long career of this ever morphing cult of confrontation and contrariness! A lovely introduction to the expanding body of sonic terrorism falling under the rubric of The Flying Luttenbachers brand. Almost 60 minutes of insufferable carnage and chaos!” Bandcamp will sort you out and eys, they might be outtakes but no oen does outtakes and things that didn’t make the cut like The Flying Luttenbachers do, worth the price of entry just for Medusa

3: Horse Jumper of Love, a taste of their new album, a track that just feels good without really being groundbreaking or that different – they just have their thing sounding and feeling right and sometimes that’s more than enough. A track from the album Disaster Trick out August 16th, 2024 via Run For Cover Records

4: Polarlicht are from Lyon, France, thet talk of the dark side of fairy tales, Lost Genration is the follow up to last year’s debut EP. Find the new single and the previous EP on Bandcamp

5: Armlock – Horse Jumper brought us here, one thing leads to another and once again there’s just something very right about this peice of music from Armlock. They don’t sound liek the kind of band who’d get you in an armlock, this is Guardian, from the album ‘Seashell Angel Lucky Charm’ out July 12th, 2024 via Run For Cover Records once again. Armlock are from Melbourne, Australia, as always, Bandcamp will tell you more

And while we’re here…

One of the most underrated bands of the back then, Felt, well maybe not, but there were one or two almsot perfect moments. During the ‘80s Felt made ten albums and ten singles for the Cherry Red and Creation labels. These records have recently been remastered and revisited by Lawrence.

and talking of those Eightles, there we were listening to something new that some music PR company had insisted we would like, we didn’t, we usually don’t, just about to shut YouTube and delve headfirst into the next e.mail when the Tube spies who for once got it right and told us what we really wanting to listen to and indeed watch was this rather cooking version of Eighties (or Come As You Are as Kurt liked to call it when he wasn’t listening to Boston’s Smells Like Teen Spirit). You’ve got to love the Joke.

One more…