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PROTON PROTON
So without further ado, the first ever band to be featured on the
musicOMH New Music Guide is Proton Proton. Sounding like the
maladjusted offspring of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Fugazi, the NY
trio use a homemade guitar-bass hybrid (the 'gass') to drive forward spiky
rhythms and a unique bark of a voice.
Post-punk, art-rock or whatever the
hell you want to call it - it's not a world away from Clap Your Hands Say
Yeah, and does really have to be heard to be understood, such is the
unpigeonable nature of their craft. This is taut, razor-sharp and right on
the edge of what has been known to prick the public consciousness of
late.
THE SEVEN MILE JOURNEY
And now, to quote Monty Python, for something completely different:
post-rock. Where Proton Proton were short, violent and schizophrenic, The
Seven Mile Journey are lingering, calm and could create atmosphere in a
dentist's waiting room. Post-rock certainly isn't everyone's bag, and many
people just couldn't sit through a ten minute epic, but if you've ever had
the slightest interest in the genre, then you shouldn't miss this Danish
band.
Songs like Through the Alter Ego Justifications build and build into
monstrous beasts of ambient moodiness. This isn't as immediate as say,
Sigur Ros' latest offerings, but more hardened post-rockers would be
well rewarded by a look at, and a listen to, The Seven Mile Journey.
THE MEKKITS
Returning very much closer to home, but with no greater contiguity of
genre, Manchester's The Mekkits, ought to be well forward in the
queue for a record deal. The five-piece are well known on the local scene
and so they should be.
From barbershop to indie and back again, it's easy to
see comparisons with The Beach Boys, The Zutons and The
Futureheads. History, perhaps their best track, belongs more at the top
of the charts than in the unsigned club nights of the rainy city. The
Mekkits are relentless sun-shiny fun and could really be one of those
'next-big-things'.
THE INTERRUPTIONS
My next pick have played some of the same places as The Mekkits, in and
around Manchester, but Blackpool's The Interruptions are a very
different proposition. Local institution New Order find their
spiritual successors in the five-piece and this is also quite
Cure-ish, though Dave Moore's high pitched vocals mark them out as a
bit different from their inspirations.
Perhaps their music isn't always
totally groundbreaking but The Interruptions are fine performers in their
own right. For fans of rumbling bass, sparkling codas and fine live
performances, you couldn't go far wrong with these guys.
KIM CHI
From the sublime to the somewhat ridiculous now, and a trip
(double-entendre intended - you'll see what I mean) into the world of Kim
Chi. The omniscient Google will inform you that kimchi is Korea's
favourite food. Its namesake is now set to be the peninsula's favourite musical export.
Kim Chi describe themselves rather charmingly as follows: "Kim Chi is Asia
Wong (1/2 Chinese, 1/2 Japanese American) and Mary Nguyen (Vietnamese
American) as Kim and Chi, two hyperactive girls singing and dancing in
Korean.
Backed by the beats of DJ BiBimBop (token white dude), the duo make
their way through a series of misadventures dictated by dialogue from Korean
language instruction tapes. All the lyrics and samples in their songs come
from these tapes, which makes sense, as neither of the two speak Korean.
Their performance is backed by PowerPoint presentations in English and
Korean, explaining what's going on." Confused? Me too. Fortunately the end
result is really wonderful, like Smoosh, but somehow more endearing,
cuter, and cooler.
And so ends the first of many guides to the best from the world of being
your own roadie and publicising via MySpace. From New York to Manchester,
Korean PowerPoint presentations and Danish post-rock and all from the
comfort of my delightful box room-cum-bedroom in a dingy student house. I'll
be back in two weeks when the good ship musicOMH will be plotting another course
through the ocean of corporate slaves that dream of jacking it all in to
become rock stars.
In the meantime, check out these bands. You'll thank us
for it, not only because when they're going platinum in five years time
you'll be able to say that you were "there from the beginning", but also
because this is genuinely good, interesting music that deserves your
attention - hence the need for this feature. Hope you enjoyed it, until next
time...
* Is your music online? Are you an unsigned or own label artist? Tell us about your new music for our next unsigned feature on 6th March at:
unsigned@musicOMH.com
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