Scientists have determined that the Earth’s surface will not be able to support human life much longer, due to pollution and overpopulation. In 1957, Dr Carl Garstein proposed three alternative solutions. The first was a drastic reduction of the human population on Earth. The second, the construction of vast underground shelters. Alternative three?

Once again this is being typed in a twenty four hour café in a late-night teeth grinding caffeine frenzy because I have spectacularly failed to prepare again. It seems I can’t grasp the notion of a monthly column because I always look at my phone and realise how late in the month it is (this column is supposed to go out on the last Monday of each month, barring my laziness, my editor’s whims, and cosmic coincidence) and realise I need to serpently seek out at least three underrated underground wonders within a few hours of the deadline because I’ve spent yet another month listening to nothing but Atomic Rooster and Black Sabbath b-sides. That and I’m working hugely at the moment (but doing a lot of driving, so more time to listen to music) and trying my best to live in the early days of a better nation, so that might explain the general tardiness and slovenliness of this column.

There’s a new Bongripper isn't there? Yes. Miserable WAS available for free if you were dishonest, though that offer may have ended by the time this sentence slithers through the internet and up your face pipes. Miserable is another forty minutes of Chicago doom, as always, thuddingly heavy in the way Wagner and Sabbath and Sleep only glimpsed. Like all Bongripper records, I won’t be able to give an honest assessment until I’ve lived with it for a few months, been through a winter with it, and quite possibly used it as a decongestant when the annual flu spell leaves me with aching limbs and sinuses full of concrete and a desire to listen to something that will melt my feeble plastic brain. After only a dozen or so listens this new record sounds great though.

We’ve covered plenty of blackened thrash metal here, so why not have some more, the free debut by Nolti Nan Gana Nan Nolta is not only a mouthful but a great slice of underground metal. If that doesn’t sharpen your battleaxe, try Tar Hag and their spectacular Ancient Vessel. While it appears to have been recorded in the next room, there’s something appealingly conventional about their rock and roll.

If you want to chill out, you need Out Through The In Door by Sun Of Man. It’s the perfect music for this time of year. As 5-Track put it, “you can see winter from here, but the days are still bright”.

Expect next month’s column to either come in a fug of newly minted Scottish raveolution comedown smoke or clipped sentences of depressed and downtrodden downer commonwealth commoner misanthropy. Maybe the Proclaimers will set the tone of the nation, although I’m not holding much hope of that eventuality. Maybe the hopeless subchuds that usually elect absolute arseholes to power (and fill the charts with crap and go and see awful films as well) will pull it out of the bag when the chips are down, my naive optimism is internally clashing with my inherent distrust of all organic beings and forming a kind of lump at the base of my skull that I should probably get medical help for.

There’ll be great music, whoever gets elected. Tweet me some that you discover.

Act now, and you too can regret following me on twitter @stevendinnie

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Across 110th Street’ by Bobby Womack (Alkalino Rework)

You know that, at one point, this track is going to give you that characteristic sound of those Bobby Womack vocals. Before any of that though, Alkalino sure builds this one up smoothly and sweetly, and even the first introduction of Womack’s vocals are sweet with a string of subdued “whoooo-oooooeeehh”s. Then you get those grated vocals so typical to Womack, saying that he isn’t saying (...) that what he did was all right. So it is confession time here, with this track having been used for the 1972 film of the same name. In the mean time, Alkalino is giving you this nice disco ride underneath all the lyrics, love the gentle guitar in there, as well as that bass that is so smoothly integrated into all the rest. Naturally, there’s a little beat going on to provide the backbones to this whole operation, but that, too, isn’t intrusive at all. It’s all smooth as all get out, even when the horns come in at about four minutes in. The chorus gets a bit more pace with both how Womack sings as well as because of the extra strings, and around the five minute mark Alkalino starts working the dramatics with plenty of sounds to give you some extra oomph, just to slide you back into that soft disco of before a little bit later. Lovely smooth ride with a blast from the past with the title song to that 1972 crime film. Soundcloud seems to not be working for this one so see the Media section below for the bandcamp version.

‘Night Flight’ by Midnight Magic

I really like Midnight Magic, the New York disco collective which released an album a few years ago that included some ace singles like ‘Beam Me Up’ and ‘Drop Me a Line’, which are just disco behemoths as far as I’m concerned. Here they tone it down, take you back into the night a bit, not as all out party as the two songs I just mentioned. More the soundtrack to your stroll through the NY city streets after midnight. Love the bass they’ve got going there, which combine nicely with the brass that comes in every now and again. On vocals you’ve got Tiffany Roth, whose got a real power voice that she manages to turn into something elusive and dreamy here as she prods you to Fly, fly, fly, fly to the future. In the last minute you’ve got some double vocals going on, with Roth doing some singing over a vocal line of doob-doob-doo-oeh, which was already present in the song from the very start. They’ll be coming out with a new 5 track EP, and this single will get a bunch of remixes from the talented lads of both PillowTalk as well as No Regular Play, so it’s just the gift that keeps on giving, really.

‘Inga e som vi e, hogt over marken’ by Little Jinder & Melo (HNNY remix)

Now, I don’t know any Scandinavian language, and chances are that unless you are from one of those countries, neither do you. That’s okay, as HNNY’s remix of this track originally by Little Jinder & Melo gives you plenty of those dancefloor vibes that you won’t be thinking of what the heck they are singing. Some lovely house elements with this tinge of R&B for flavour, the percussion is very catchy, with the steady snare to provide the base here. The vocals, though I’ve got no idea what they are singing, have plenty of soul in them, so it’s a joy to listen to them anyway. And for a long stretch before the third minute mark you get plenty of opportunity to do so with the vocals being basically the only thing out there. After that you get a nice bass, and really all the dancing HNNY provides is just spot on. That guy, I just love his work (If you have never heard his edit of TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’ check that one out!), so smooth, and he always manages to keep plenty of flavour in there. This one, it’s a free download, so if you’re feeling like adding to your Scandinavian collection, this one is a worthwhile addition I would think.

{soundcloud}https://soundcloud.com/hnny/inga-e-som-vi-e-hogt-over-marken{/soundcloud}

‘What They Say’ Darkside

The Darkside project will go on indefinite hiatus, with the lads doing just a few more shows and then its curtains for at least a while. That’s too bad, as I loved the combination of Nicolas Jaar’s electronical wizardry and the piercing guitar of Dave Harrington. It had always seemed like such an underused combination, and these guys went into it with full force. Here, at first, the rhythm is dictated by both the electronical sounds as well as Harrington’s plucky guitar, which he, about 1:55 in, makes come out a bit more prominent, as a caged tiger waiting to burst out. You feel the slow build-up from the atmospherical start, waiting for it all to come out running. This happens at about 2:50, where they add a deeper bass sound as the base layer, a light, springy electro sound to give the perception of pace, and it rides those sounds for a while until about 4:20, when some auxiliary sounds come in to give it a little extra flavour. Near the end drawn out synth sounds and the guitar wind it all down with some extra atmosphere. I wouldn’t say this instrumental cut was their very finest track, but in terms of aesthetic you get a good idea of what the project has given us. The album is spectacular (if you get through those first five minutes of noise that is...), and live they boost the beats for the dancing and that live momentum you want to build. Glad to have seen them earlier this year when they were touring.

‘Sunsplash’ by Luke Million (Jacques Renault dub remix)

I’m a big fan of Jacques Renault, and here he comes with a dub mix for Luke Million’s track ‘Sunsplash’. Certainly the dubby beat is there, though it is the bass that will have people swaying on the dancefloor. After about fifty seconds the light piano takes over, a little later on getting combined with the bass again for the ultimate effect. At about 1:40 you get some extra synth lines in there which work well. It is a nice mixture of the beat and the bass for the lower registers, and then all the synths, pianos, whatever giving you that summer party vibe. Especially those transitions like around about 2:50 are fun, where he slides into that quicker paced piano, that’s lovely. At 3:20 he strips the higher sounds for a string of percussion which, soon enough, get that bass as a companion. He mixes that with all kinds of synth sounds, waiting for over a minute to get those piano lines back in there. It’s a lovely remix, a nice mixture of the bass to dance to and the lighter sounds to add this feeling of fun to it. Add to that some moments with a bit of extra percussion and even a piano solo, and it’s an agreeable affair to have a little dance on no doubt.

{soundcloud}https://soundcloud.com/futureclassic/luke-million-sunsplashjacques-renault-dub-remix{/soundcloud}

‘Bother’ by Les Sins

Les Sins is Toro Y Moi, and now that talented young man is gearing up to release a new album under that moniker, which you could say gives room to his more house urges. The album will be called ‘Michael’ (as in, Jackson?) and it will be out on the 4th of November, with this being the lead single. He certainly isn’t one to waste time, as this song starts right in the club. You’ve got the “crowd sounds” in the back as one guy is saying that they shouldn’t bother him, he’s working. Probably he’s working it on the dancefloor and not in the office, as with that punchy beat Toro Y Moi makes no bones about how this album will differ from his general output. He also adds plenty of percussion in there, and a little melancholic piano to give it some feeling as well. Really enjoy the transition at about 2:15, where he moves back to the main beat, that’s a nice momentum builder. At about 2:30 he turns down the house, and goes to church for a minute with some sounds that, in my mind, are accompanying who someone is descending from the heavens or something like that. Just before the end he does go back, not to the beat, but to the guy saying that he is working, to make it all go full circle. I really like this guy, seen him live, he’s awesome, so really intrigued by this project. And I do like this track, though out of the album context it does sometimes feel a bit as if he tries to cram all his house ideas into a 3:45 song. By doing that he still gives you plenty to enjoy here though, so all’s good.

The Hot Five – My favourite new tracks of the week, usually rounded off with a classic, obscure or alternate track from my music collection.

Track of the week: Amber Run – ‘Pilot’

Having already revealed a video for latest single 'I Found', Amber Run have now debuted a brand-new video for their upcoming EP's title track, 'Pilot'.  The video follows on from the harrowing plot of the ‘I Found’ video, both of which can be viewed below. The track itself is full of character, and the Nottingham five piece have clearly got a knack for arranging their music as huge chorus emerges from a comparatively subdued yet still energetic verse. Having just finished a series of summer festival dates, Amber Run were recently voted as one of the top 10 acts who played the Isle Of Wight Festival by attendees, and they will support Lewis Watson on his UK tour this September.

‘I Found’ :

‘Pilot’ :

The Magic Numbers – ‘Shot In The Dark’

The Magic Numbers are a consistently underrated band. New LP ALIAS was released this week, with singles ‘Shot In The Dark’ and ‘Roy Orbison’ showing the diverse talent within the band. The guitar-driven ‘Shot In The Dark’ produces a sound closer to the band’s live performances, with the song written and arranged by the band in their own recording studio. The song details lead singer Romeo Stodart battling with his “inner demons”; he elaborates on this, saying that “there’s an uncertainty within yourself about how your life’s going to pan out, so I guess we’re all taking a shot in the dark. That’s the outlook. It’s kind of like an internal monologue, sung to me”. ALIAS was released this week, and the band will head out on a headline UK tour in September.

KONGOS – ‘Come With Me Now’

I get the feeling that this track is going to be one of those Marmite moments; you’ll either love it or hate it. ‘Come With Me Now’ is sure to have you stamping your feet to the beat; it benefits from great production, and the character of the vocal melody in the chorus makes this track instantly distinctive. KONGOS have already become the fastest debut artist ever to top the billboard chart (breaking Lorde’s recent record), having already sold over 1 million copies of the single in the US. I get the impression you’ll be hearing more from KONGOS in the not too distant future, the band are currently touring with Kings of Leon and are set to return to the UK in October.

Nathan Fake – ‘Black Drift’

Nathan Fake and fellow Border Community artist Wesley Metsell have recently set up their own label, Cambria Instruments. The label’s first release features a track from both artists, available in all digital formats and on limited edition 12” vinyl. Not only does Nathan Fake have a fantastic name, but ‘Black Drift’ is also the perfect combination of esoteric melodies and slamming percussion, resulting in a definitive piece of atmospheric techno

Hidden track of the week: Editors – ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’

Every now and then a forgotten track from my iTunes library plays on random and I get hooked again. Quite simply, I forgot just how good this track was, with lead vocalist Tom Smith at his magnificent, dark indie best. Editors most recent album, The Weight of Your Love, was released in 2013, and the band will play both Zurich Open Air and Berlin Festivals within the next month.

You can follow Tom on twitter @tom_fake

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘A Simple Design’ by The Juan MacLean

The Juan MacLean is coming with a new album this year, and this track kind of perfectly embodies what that band is about for me. You’ve got all the dancey goodness you can expect from a band whose most well-known track is called ‘Happy House’, but it also has this slight sci-fi/robot vibe to it, which gives it this innate Juan MacLeanness. This feel is enhanced to the max by those typical vocals by Nancy Whang, who sings on a lot of DFA bands, but on none are her vocals so fitting as when working with this band. This because she doesn’t only simply provide the vocals here, but that voice kind of seems to be part of the fabric. Obviously, there’s not only that thuddy drum sound which seems so typical DFA, but there are plenty of atmospheric synths as well, all which have some industrial/robotic vibe to them. And that’s the thing isn’t it, there’s such a clear vibe to this, almost detached in its robot studies, and yet it is also a song I would be dancing merrily to (if only for that springy piano sound that’s in there as well). In the chorus Whang sings that It is not a simple design / but I had it and everything you’ve build comes falling down. First of, this song is naturally not a simple design with lots going on, but the base structure providing the rhythm does provide these almost restrictions in its repetition, and in that falling down and the dancing you are free. It’s like a Robert Longo charcoal a bit. And, like those Longo’s, it’s absolutely awesome.

‘World Restart’ by Kindness feat. Kelela & Ade

This one starts lovely with that double feature of the horns and the two vocals, after which it kicks in some rhythm with the drums and bass. That trifecta really is the core of this track, with all kinds of secondary sounds providing extra atmosphere to it. I love the amount of horns on this one, it is rare you see that nowadays, especially with the horns being used in multiple ways (and right on through each other). I love how these horns sometimes come together, like they are being used as different layers as part of the whole structure, and then everything is stripped except for the two layers of horns, which suddenly work together in perfect unison. The vocals are silky smooth and give it a nice airy, dreamy feel, and Kindness does well to give the rhythm section enough deep vibes and punch to carry this one forward and keep it semi-dancey. New album coming out, so stay tuned.

‘Games for Girls’ by Say Lou Lou & Lindstrom

Lindstrom gets the dancing going on this one, immediately coming out of the gates with that catchy, space-discoey sound that certainly sounds like it should get all the girls dancing. At about fifty seconds in he comes with some light piano, after which he dives into a deliciously catchy instrumental for a little while. Plenty of Say Lou Lou here as well, with the vocals being very prominent. In that sense it is really close to, you know, a pop song, really. One I could actually see played on the radio. It’s got the timeframe (3:20), it is structured like one, and the lyrics “little boys with fancy toys”, that certainly seems the kind of thing kids would just love to be singing with its implied naughtiness. Aside from the start, where one can hear a shimmer of deepness, the track is really light sounding, really easy on the ear, and, above all (and that is certainly the one thing that draws me to it) really catchy.

‘Lotusland’ by Telephones (Discodromo remix)

This one starts by letting you listen to the seaside for a bit, though after about sixteen seconds in, nature is rudely disturbed by this deep bass sound that seems to come straight out of a Mojito commercial with its hip shaking madness. Discodromo quickly adds some percussion and, ehrm, ducks, dials down the bass for a moment, and at 1:35 he adds some extra drums to give this track some oomph for the dancing again. A little later he adds a spacey sounding synth (which I wasn’t expecting to be honest), and soon enough more keys come in to balance out all the deeper bass and drum sounds, giving it some atmosphere and momentum as opposed to just rhythm. In the mean time that bass is still rolling like there’s no tomorrow, so you definitely still have that core sound to be dancing to. By the midway point this track has evolved into this fully fledged sound, with plenty of stuff going on on top of the rhythm, which slowly gets dialled down a bit for Discodromo to come back with the beat at about 5:20 to help you finish this song dancing. I love how this one is set up, immediately coming out with that bass to get you dancing, and then just adding layer upon layer to patiently create the song whilst everyone is already on the dancefloor. Lovely remix by Discodromo.

‘I Feel It Comin On’ by NY Stomp feat. Matthew Kirkwood

NY Stomp is Dutch producer Gerd, and this lad knows a thing or two about house sounds, and he certainly puts that on display here. He teases with the beat for the starting minute or so, with the soulful vocals of Matthew Kirkwood singing that He feels it coming on, though the only thing NY Stomp gets on are the house-y piano sounds that do provide the vibe and flavour of house, though the real dancing has to wait for when the beat comes in to complement that piano, which is at about 1:30. So you’ve got the beat, the piano, and those vocals that have yet to differ from that one party line he’s been singing all the way through; and all of that gives you this really old school house vibe one can’t help but get jacking to in the club. So if you want a nice slice of old school house, this one is there for you to get your game on I reckon, with this stream obviously being a clip as a “real” house tune will have you at it for at least double its length.

‘Rain’ by Wrong Steps

The Boiler Room presents, and if The Boiler Room presents you can bet your little hiney that you can do some form of dancing to it. In this case, it presents Wrong Steps, and what Wrong Steps provides is this unpolished, garage like dance tune with plenty of dance music trademarks (just listen for a few seconds after the two minute mark and you’ll find that traditional base sound that everyone knows and can dance too), but on top and next to that it is a pretty experimental little humbug this one. It is definitely an intriguing one with multiple layers that often seem to run slightly off of each other, creating this double layer effect which is kind of odd and nice at the same time. If you listen from about 3:30 to 4:20 you get a nice idea of that, with plenty of experimental electronical sounds, but always returning to some form of an “easy” beat to dance to. So it never loses connection with the dance side of it, making it useable in the club, but always exhuming this underground vibe with the grainy, non 4-on-the-floor sounds. Definitely one I can just imagine hearing in a small Berlin club or something.