April Vice Reviews

Battletorn
Terminal Dawn
Mad At The World Records

9 We featured Omid from Battletorn waaaay back in the Obsessions Issue as he owns the largest collection of Runaways memorabilia in the world. He also plays in the best Thrash-Punk band in the world. 16 songs in 12 minutes that sound like Hellhammer, Dropdead and DRI raping each other. Essential.

Lovvers
A Good Book EP
Johnson Family Records

8 The Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg should have been like an English version of the Blood Bothers but a million and one time better. Shame they split. Here is Shaun who used to scream with the Murder Of playing puerile spazzed out punk that hits all the right notes. Like Antioch Arrow on bad drugs. The sleeve has a nice painting of horses on it.

Dungen
Tio Bitar
Subliminal Sounds

5 Like Les Claypool guesting with Phish but with annoying whispered vocals that you won't understand. Unless you are Swedish. It's pretty much like the last one except they've gone all Joanna Newsom on the breakdowns.

Kicks Like A Mule
Gravity’s Rainbow
Me & My Brother Records

7 In some weird zeitgeist inverting twist of fate the debut release from this chic new London micro-venture is rave-pensioners in hiding Kicks Like A Mule covering the Klaxons only real out and out dance number. KLAM haven’t touched a studio in about half a century and it shows but its still good fun and will no doubt get battered to death everywhere as of right now.

Simian Mobile Disco
Attack Decay Sustain Release
Wichita

6 This is OK in a middle of the road electro-house kind of way and everything but I thought these guys were meant to be like Paul Epworth version 2.007? All the kids are going be mighty bummed when they buy this CD and discover an attempt to make a ‘serious’ dance record without a ‘We Are Your Friends’ in sight. Where are the hits? Way to lie to us all guys…


V/A (Mixed by G-Ha and Olanski)
Sunkissed
Smalltown Supersound

9 Coming on the label that bought us last years pretty much perfect Lindstrom solo collection is this exquisite mix by two Scando jocks who are probably old enough to know better. It showcases the spectrum of Norwegian dance from Rune Lindeback through to his cosmic heirs via remixes of spaced out rocker guys like Sareena Maneesh. Imagine Optimo but in Norway. There you go.

Malajube
Trompe-L’Oeil
City Slang

6 Why do people wet themselves about bands like this just ‘cos they are from Canada? These guys even sing in French so they are really playing the race card for all it’s worth. Good thing really because their self-conscious bash at quirky, melodic pop falls far short of Of Montreal or pretty much any E6 band ever.

Coley Park
Rhinoceros
Big Potato Records

7 Sometimes when you are having a bad day and you hear something a little nice it will pick you right up even if it isn’t really all that great in the same way that if you do shitty ecstasy all night a pretty average pill will have you fisting the roof. This is a pretty average album but compared to some of the shite it’s swimming with at the moment it’s like a nugget of gold amongst the Monday morning diahorrea.

Black Helicopter
Invisible Jet
Ecstatic Peace

8 When the first chords of this rang out I almost came in my pants cos it sounded just like the beginning of Green Machine by Kyuss. This record is not as good as that warped, fuzzed-out behemoth of desert perfection but it isn’t a million miles away either.

Asobi Seksu
Walk On The Moon
One Little Indian (single)

5 Like a crap Cure song but with a girl singing instead of a creepy overweight old guy in badly applied make up. They are probably going for some sort of emotive MBV thing but this will probably end up as muzak in a credit card ad as opposed to changing anyone’s life.

Plastic Operator
Different Places
Fine Day Records

7 Some Belgium guy and a kid from Canada form like Voltron to produce one of those insanely catchy laptop-pop affairs that is already selling Coke and replacing the Postal Service in your girlfiends I-Pod.

Viva Voce
Viva Voce Loves You
Full Time Hobby

5 What’s with all this love and happiness and sunshine coming out of bunnies asses pop at the moment? I just don’t buy it that all these earnest American indie types are happy all the time. Maybe they are happy because they are selling so many records. In a world where Modest Mouse are shitting all over the Billboard chart and Jonny fucking Marr has started playing guitar for them shit like this is a pretty safe bet I suppose.

Holy Hail
Born Of A Star/I Owe
ACTH Records

6 Competent, bleepy, synth-led indie-electro sort of thing. You know. The original is sort of amusing cos the singer chick sounds a bit like a female Scatman John. Seriously, give it a listen. The Shir Khan and Bonde Do Rlole remixes are both a lot more fun than the original and will make people dance. Probably.

Battles
Mirrored
Warp

8 Not as clever as it thinks it is but a pretty amazing rock record nonetheless. John Stanier still drums like Desperate Dan on heat while, skinny, speccy dudes make confusing loops and delayed, syncopated rhythmic patterns pop up all over the place around him. Warp weren’t wrong signing these guys up.