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).