Glasvegas is Bringing Black Back

What is a Geraldine? Is it a beverage? Is it a type of a car? A hand-sized mammel that lives in the Scottish Highlands?

While we’re at it, what’s a Glasvegas? For some reason, whenever I hear the name of this band, I think of Dirty Vegas, then I think of that song that was in the Mitsubishi commercial, then made fun of in the first skit in the first episode of Chapelle Show.

Regardless, Glasvegas puts a glorious spin on gritty post punk that makes it relaxing and smooth. I’ll describe it as gritty-smooth, which I realize is an oxymoron.

It was hard to pick my favorite song of this album, but Geraldine slightly surpasses their other jams as a single in my opinion.

Manchester Orchestra is neither from Manchester nor an actual Orchestra. They are a grunge rock band formed in Atlanta around 2005.

They sound like something that came out of Seattle 10 years prior. Maybe they just grew up listening to those records.

Video found via RockWorms.

Sweet shades Jamie T!

Jamie T, born Jamie Treays, has been described musically in many ways. My favorites are ‘one man Artic Monkey’ and ‘The bastard lovechild of Billy Bragg and Mike Skinner doing his best Joe Strummer impression.’ Mike Skinner being the man behind The Streets, of course.

I’m hit or miss with most of Jamie T’s tracks. I’m a big fan of this one, as with a few others, especially ‘Sheila’ , but some of his other songs are a little too experimental for me.

Never the less, you only need a few tracks to make it big these days, and Virgin Media has already signed him up.

Freakin’ Huge in the UK, the Arctic Monkeys have yet to take over American airwaves and venues, though they came close a couple of years ago with the release of their first album.

The Arctic Monkeys formed in 2002, while still in high school, in a suburb of Sheffield.

This jam is one of their lighter ones, though still featuring their trademark dueling distorted guitars.  Supposedly, they only learned to play guitar a year or two before their first album.  That should give hope to any aspiring musician, especially one with no history of playing instruments.

My favorite track off their new album, Off With Their Heads.

The Kaiser Cheifs were formed in 1997, but didn’t release their first album until 2005. You may know their song Ruby, coming off their sophomore album Your’s Truly, Angry Mob.

Their single Oh My God was also covered by Lily Allen and Mark Ronson.

They were named after the South African soccer club Kaizer Chiefs, where Leeds United captain Lucas Radebe used to play.

Similar Jams:

Kasabian – Processed Beats
The Futureheads – Skip to the End

An English Post Punk band from Sunderland, The Futureheads get their name from the Flaming Lips album Hit to Death in the Future Head.

They met at the City of Sunderland College, using public practice space there to perfect their sound. The Futureheads then released their first EP in 2005.

Rumor has it that singer and guitar player Barry Hyde’s younger brother Dave, who joined the band in 2002, received a golden guitar from his parents as a child, which was then stolen by Barry. Dave then took up the drums.

Their parents were apparently less inclined to give out golden drum sets.

Jams Similar to The Futureheads – Skip to the End:

Bloc Party – Pioneers
The Editors – The Racing Rats
Razorlight – Back to the Start

I’ve already written about their song On, but wanted to include a song from their freshman album too, Silent Alarm. After two years of deliberation, I still can’t decide which album I like better, Silent Alarm or Weekend in the City. Both albums bring the post punk goodness.

And just as I finally make a decision, Bloc Party released their third album Intimacy for download on August 21, though CD versions of the album won’t be available until October 14. Here are some results for downloading Bloc Party’s Intimacy.

I’m going to include a song from their third album shortly. For now, want to pay tribute to some of their earlier tracks. Pioneer is one of the most loved Bloc Party songs.

Similar Jam:

Tokyo Police Club – Nature of the Experiment

Lighter Jam:

Razorlight – Back to the Start

Darker Jam:

The Editors – The Racing Rats

And so continues the focus of this blog on British post punk bands…

The Editors are considered by many as the second biggest rock band in the UK after The Arctic Monkeys. Their songs sound a bit like a cross between Bloc Party, U2, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Interpol.

Founded in 2002, The Editors met while studying music technology at Staffordshire University. This track is off their 2007 album ‘An End Has a Start.’

Similar jams:

Razorlight – Back to the Start
Bloc Party – On

More Hectic:

The Sunshine Underground – Put You in Your Place

And just when you think they were overly sentimental and heart-broken, they show up in band photos, smoking cigarettes while staring expressionlessly into the camera. Phew. Now its up to The Kooks and Razorlight to duke it out over ‘most stereotypical looking British rock band of the 2000′s.’ I’m currently giving the slight edge to the Kooks.

My favorite track off their self-titled second album, the beginning has a little bit of a ska sound, but then quickly phases into a beat and melodies more common with brit rock.

I heard their singer/songwriter, Johnny Borrell, had a little fling with Kirsten Dunst at SXSW last year. At first I was like ‘yea,’ but then on second thought I was like ‘I’m not so sure’ Either way, he’s in my top two for the tightest-white-pants-worn-by-a-male-lead-singer award. Him and Aaron Behrens from Ghostland Observatory.

These guys tour a bunch in Europe, though recently have been coming to the states more frequently, including San Francisco.