Video / Download: Two Lines - Lightships

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Lightships is the new project from Gerard Love of Teenage Fanclub - judging by the above the album Electric Cables, out now on Geographic, should be pretty special. The sunny melodies of Teenage Fanclub are still present, but here they are dressed in shimmering delicate meandering instrumentation.

Raf Daddy of 2 Bears fame has done a remix and you can stream or download it below. It's surprisingly laid back, taking the original and just adding some scattering bass and electronic noodling whilst keeping the slow pace.

 

EP Review: High U Gonna Feel - Den Ishu

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Previously unknown to me, Den Ishu has just released a really nice four track EP on Supernature.

Title track 'How U Gonna Feel' drops some heavy funk, a hard, substantial bass line keeping things moving amongst tweaking strings and the odd flourish of live bass. This is a track that instantly feels very, very close - the drums high in the mix and the whole thing incredibly crisp. It's a pretty irresistible start to the EP.

'Your Experience' may be a little less immediate, but it's just as good - a Detroit groove builds whilst a clipped vocal harps on about the importance of 'the experience'. It's clearly a dance floor piece but it does it pretty well. 'Say The Word' continues the progression - it's harder and more introspective than either other cut, synths swirling claustrophobically, holding one pretty much continuous warbling melody line for about a third of the song. With nice percussive breaks and plenty of high-end it once again proves Ishu's chops.

Avatism turns in a seriously deep remix of 'How U Gonna Feel' that focuses on a few key elements and throws in some piano jazz for good measure. It's very dark and creepy but also seriously catchy, dropping a massive bass line halfway through that you can't help but move to.

A really consistent but varied release.

High U Gonna Feel is out now on Supernature.

Album Review: LateNightTales volume Two - Belle and Sebastian

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Image source: The Music Slut

Embarrassing fact or not (I'm really not sure) - I've never really listened to much Belle and Sebastian. 'The Boy With The Arab Strap' is excellent but beyond that I draw a bit of a blank. The LateNightTales albums are generally worth a listen though and so when a copy popped through the letter box I stuck it on regardless of relatively modest excitement levels.

And I'm very glad I did because it is probably the best LateNightTales I've heard. It's far more eclectic than I would have expected and there are not just one or two but a number of tracks by artists I've not heard of that I will certainly check out more of.

Things start off relatively psychedelic with Broadcast's 'Ominous Cloud' instantly plunging us into a swirling world of slightly trippy sixties pop. It feels like being stuck between the celluloid of The Wicker Man and Performance. Nothing on this album stays as it is for long though and soon you are enveloped in Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges' Latin Jazz and things feel much warmer than you would ever have expected on such an album.

Bonnie Dobson's 'Bird of Space' is back in bonkers psychedelia territory but it is also strangely beautiful, Dobson's shrill vocals dancing around sitars and sweeping strings to create a disconcertingly epic sound. In amongst all this weirdness Gold Panda's 'Quitters Raga' fits like hand slipping into glove, highlighting Belle and Sebastian's selection skills and Gold Panda's utter brilliance.

After the Pop Group, whom are probably the sole bum-note, their avant-garde post-punk still leaving me cold, things get even more sublime. All too brief, the Stan Tracey Quartet's 'Starless and Bible Black' provides a brief one-minute stellar jazz interlude that feels like free-wheeling through space, see the Earth vanish from view and barely caring. The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Darlin' Be Home Soon' is a perfect contrast, filled with the same dull ache but wrapped up in earnest pop melodies and beautiful production. Belle & Sebastian's cover version of the Primitives 'Crash' is good, but mainly serves to highlight how brilliant a lot of the other material here is.

I could go on, but you should probably just listen to the album... There is just so much worth hearing. A dub of Pete Shelley's solo record 'Homosapien' almost steals the show but it is Remember Remember's heartbreaking 'Scottish Widows' that does. A haunting, perfect piece of music - call it new-classical, call it post-rock, I call it fantastic.

In summary then? You'd be foolish not to.

Belle and Sebastian's Late Night Tales Volume 2 is out now, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links]; stream now on Spotify.

EP Review: What You Do - Miguel Puente

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Image source: Resident AdvisorFollowing on from last week's ode to John Talabot here is a bit more warm dance music from Barcelona for you.

Johnny White and Nitin's No. 19 Music have recently had releases from Louie Fresco and the highly in demand Maceo Plex but now it's the turn of Barcelona based Mexican Miguel Puente. All three tracks here feature a slightly retro sound that harks back to late eighties house, albeit with a fairly progressive edge. Cue bouncy bass lines and a minimal approach to production that relies very little on anything beyond drums, bass and vocals.

All three tracks here are relatively similar - they could almost be different takes on the same record. Title track 'What You Do' has a hard bouncing bass line but despite being the title track it is probably the least interesting. 'It's Been So Long' has some melodic keys and feels perfect for those moments just after the sun has dipped below the surface. 'Save Each Other' is best though, with the same heavy bass as the other two tracks but some massive echoing drums and some massive reverb - it's well worth a listen.

What You Do is out now on No. 19 Music.