Listen Up! No. 21: Stagecoach - Map to the Freezer

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I'm not entirely sure whether the video is a send-up or a tribute to laughably unrealistic 90s explosion advert Speed, but either way I'm charmed - this Surrey lot have crafted an excellent slice of breathless, punky indie with just enough trigger-happy melody to hold it together. Like a ballsier (and thus far less irritating) incarnation of Los Campesinos.

"I had a dream I shot you with mace and I... hope you're not okay", they say. Food for thought for the critics...





Flip to about 1.20 for the music, or revel in the majesty of Keanu's adrenalin-addled performance. Hmmm.

Listen Up! No. 20: Larsen B - Marilyn

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New-fangled jangle-wangle. And running drums. Can't go wrong with running drums.

Listen Up! No.19: The Like - Fair Game

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Chameleon-like girly quartet The Like take on their most pleasing guise yet - 60s doo-wop meets garage-rock angles and a vocal which recalls the slightly sneering sing-song of Elastica's Justine Frischmann (at least in the verses). If I'm not mistaken, this one has Mark Ronson at the helm of the production desk, which gives it that indelible top-10 sparkle. The haters might scoff, but better this than he give the Kaiser Chiefs any more air time, right?

The vid also comes courtesy of Gia Coppola, which makes it cool, or something. Skip to 2 mins for the song.

Listen Up No.18: Besnard Lakes - Albatross

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Slightly belated as lead-off singles go (the album dropped in March), for those who haven't picked up the excellent The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, here's a gentle reminder of why you should. Think skyscraping guitars, peaked only by the soaring melodies. As far as the vid goes... it's some kind of faux-espionage intrigue that's gone way over my head but still retains my interest. Oooo, deep.

Listen Up! No.17: Kele - Tenderoni

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Bloc Party's increasingly frowning frontman releases his debut solo effort - 'The Boxer' - this week, and he's only gone and the done the whole electro/dance thing hasn't he! Who saw that coming (erm...)? Anyway, to save you the trouble of listening to the whole thing (which is fairly mediocre), here's the only track you desperately need. It's essentially a gentleman's update of Wiley's 'Wearing My Rolex', but by Jove, it's a belter.

Listen Up! No.16: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Higher Than the Stars

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Artsy/cuddly new video from TPOBPAH - the emo-est hipsters this side of 80s jangle-pop - showcasing their artsy/cuddly new track. Directed by Dylan Mulick (?), apparently.

Listen Up! No. 15: Black Francis - Cinema Star

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Missed this? Missed out. Something Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV doesn't seem to be doing much of, judging by the lyrics.

Listen Up! No 14: LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

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Yes, I know - last month called and wants its new songs back - but regardless, this track still warrants mention for perfectly distilling the oft-barmy hedonism of boozing, all in a flurry of sharp one-liners and David Byrne vocals. If there was any justice this would've been number 1, not 190 (eek!).

Listen Up! No. 13: Thomas Tantrum - The Last Kiss

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This is the best I've heard in a while of the shiny new tracks PRs occasionally feed into my inbox to break up the monotonous stream of penis enlargement and Nigerian banking emails. Yes I wish my penis were bigger, no I don't want to invest $12000 in Dr. Ernest Dadanu's 'Freebank of Lagos', nor divulge my bank account details.

This unsigned Southampton quartet mix the trigger happy guitar-smarts of Good Shoes with a more palatable take on The Long Blondes' Pulp-apeing debut.

The Last Kiss by Thomas Tantrum

Kate @ WorkItMedia made this all possible - ta. 

Listen Up! No.12: Joy Formidable - Whirring

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Remind yourself of this pristine slab of crunchy bubblegum-shoegaze whilst awaiting news of the Welsh trio's their next move (apparently a full debut LP is in the pipeline). And see them live if you get the chance.

Listen Up No. 11: The Drums - Forever and Ever Amen (Saint Etienne remix)

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Interesting sideways cut of one of the otherwise duller offerings from the Brooklyn (/Florida) quartet. My only surprise is that it's not Ian Carmichael (yes, they love Sarah Records) providing the remixing services - watch this space.

Listen Up! No. 10: Band Of Horses - Laredo

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Band of Horses' Infinite Arms breaking the UK Album Charts at no. 21 must be the least forseeable music story of the year thus far - evidently the record buying public aren't as wearyingly ignorant as we thought. It's still slightly precious to my mind, but the driving southern rock of tracks like this one might explain the sudden boost in fortunes this side of the pond.


Band of Horses - Laredo

Listen Up! No. 9: Laura Marling - Made By Maid

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(Nu-) Folk doesn't always mean ukelele's, banjos and a horribly misjudged faux-authenticity - Marling once again proves herself head and shoulders above her contemporaries (and lovers).