After years of being on the decline and deemed to ‘never return’, both indie and rock music are having a bit of a revival at the moment. It’s down to the work of a realm of, mainly newcomers, that are determined to bring the brash, hard side of rock n roll back. Let’s see what this sextet have to say…
Eagulls
The Leeds outfit are a controversial lot. In their short time on the scene, they’ve performed as a convicted murderer and his victims, created a music video with a decomposing brain at its center and had the police raid their home during the making of said music video; divisive enough?! Well if you can put the music ahead of the people, you’ll have a fun time with Eagulls, for they are a raucous, vibrant band that are focused on bringing back brash beats.
Already the punk-rockers have featured on big-time US shows like ‘David Letterman’, supported Scots Franz Ferdinand on tour before finally releasing their titular debut album earlier this year. It was a critically acclaimed record, that has led to them grabbing a number of gigs at a range of festivals in the summer, aswell as an Autumn UK tour, the future looks controversial, but bright for this bunch of Yorkshiremen.
Drenge
Loveless is one word you could describe to Drenge’s music alright. It’s big, booming and unassuming. But Eoin and Rory LOVELESS (see what I did there?!), are changing the game of rock music. Their first album, the titular ‘Drenge’ is fantastic, one of the rare records that is sounds even better in a live environment. The two are brooding and very moody on-stage, participating in very little banter between the crowd, and even away from playing music, they can be pretty harsh, claiming to be ‘not totally overjoyed’ at the namecheck given to them by Tom Watson MP.
Drenge are yet another band that look like they’ll have a long, fruitful career as a top rock band, sure the duo’s drums and guitar riff based music may need an evolution at some point to truly take them to another level, but for now, they are exciting, with a second album in the offing.
Circa Waves
A bit of a happier bunch, Circa Waves are from Liverpool and are a indie band with catchy hooks and a seemingly inoffensive attitude. They sound like a mixture of an in-explicit Libertines and with shades of the Strokes thrown in for good measure. They’ve already picked up the coveted title of ‘Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record’, for top tune ‘Stuck In My Teeth’, got a good number of festival dates penned in for the summer.
Not a whole lot is known about the band, which is kind of refreshing in the modern day market, as it is usually so easy to find out a tonne of comprehensive information about someone just like that. Perhaps by the end of this summer we will all know about Circa Waves.
Warpaint
Two albums through their lifespan and a perfume campaign later, Warpaint have been around for a bit, sure, but it’s only now they’re breaking through into the mainstream. They weave intricate guitars, truly haunting vocals and driving post punk rhythms into gorgeous, songs that skirt the line between psychedelia and intimacy. Both live and recorded, they sounds incredible and often take your breath away. The all-girl quartet from LA have toured incessantly the world over the last couple of years; with standout performances at CMJ and SxSW, comparisons with the intimate stylings of the xx are justified, and even then, Warpaint seemingly offer a wider range of tracks than the, at times, boring Brits. These girls might not be your typical girl-band, but are instead creators of some beautiful, beautiful music.
JAWS
The Brummie band are just one of a wave of summery, bombastic tunes to be coming from the country’s Second City. Whilst they may not be quite as established as fellow Brummies, Swim Deep and Peace, they’re certainly on their way having toured with both groups and building a solid fanbase the world over. Just one look at their Facebook posts sees the level of diversity amongst their fans, something that is difficult to achieve in the diluted market that is the music industry in 2014.
But no, the surf-pop anthems put out by the band are obviously in great demand, and further collaborations with their fellow ‘happy rockers’ is doing them some good, as fandoms cross over and everyone is a winner. They aren’t the most creative lot in the world, but there is most certainly scope for improvement, the potential is there even if JAWS are not quite the finished article just yet.
The Family Rain
One album in, The Family Rain are already a huge deal amongst blues-rock circles, since forming in 2011. ‘Under the Volcano’ released in Feb 2014, and was a long time in the making. Till then, the band were bubbling under the surface, gaining traction and momentum that resulted in their debut release garnering a lot of positive attention amongst outlets like the NME and the Guardian. Impressively so too, given they had played festivals like Pukkelpop, Latitude AND supported the Rolling Stones before this year’s LP.
Wow. Well, they did put out a number of EP’s just to give the world a taster of what was to come, but they are a strong, if not slightly angsty blues group, that are unique and refreshing to listen too. Their success’ to-date are pretty exceptional the more you look at them, and you wouldn’t bet against them extending their niche sound to the masses.
So that’s my pick, what do you think? Sound off below!
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