We’re back, did you miss us? Showcasing you new and undiscovered music for The Edge, The Angle is that tool to aid you in the discovery of some future successful tunes, or at least that’s what we’d like it to be. Anyway, let’s get to the four songs lined up for you, which as always have been selected by university students.
1. The Concept – ‘Gimme Twice’
It seems that the concept of calling your band The Concept isn’t exactly new; a simple search on Google will prove this. Nevertheless, this Swedish group have a good future ahead of them, although that future seems to have stirred up some controversy. With shimmering guitars, frantic vocals and synths ever-present, this song could quite easily be part of a Phoenix B-side, or even their most recent album. At best this is a fun celebration of indie pop at its finest; at worst it’s a straight rip-off of a highly successful band. So far it’s a good start but The Concept are going to have to add more of their own personality if they want to knock off those initial criticisms and gain greater recognition.
2. Big Gigantic – ‘It’s Going Down’
Making ravey, dub-influenced music with a lot of jazz saxophone on top could be a very gimmicky and shallow idea, but saxophonist Dominic Lalli integrates them in his new project Big Gigantic so perfectly it feels natural and completely accessible. Building the atmosphere splendidly along with plenty of melodic synth lines and big beats to get funky to as well, it’s a solid outlook for Big Gigantic, with just enough dubstep influence to appear current, but no so much that your ears don’t bleed. You can download their new, free single here.
3. Young Guns – ‘Bones’
‘Bones’ is the title track from Young Guns’ forthcoming second album. They have stuck with the huge choruses from their debut album and grown into one of the most promising British rock outfits around. Big riffs, strong guitar solos and an emphatic singalong chorus from ‘Bones’ prove that the new album has the potential to challenge any lingering doubts about the state of rock music in this country. The album is released on February 6th.
4. Various Cruelties – ‘Chemicals’
Various Cruelties are an indie rock four-piece from West London, and have already had the great fortune to open for The Vaccines and pick up a slot on Jools Holland in the last six months. Led by lead singer Liam O’Donnell — who provides a persona that would be the eclectic mix of the Gallagher brothers, Ian Curtis and Alex Turner — they are a smart, snappy and soulful take on the guitar group of today. With a powerful and catchy chorus along with moody, exuberant interludes, ‘Chemicals’ shows the band off very nicely, akin to Arctic Monkeys but not quite as dark or with so much angst. Their debut album is set for release in March.
Contributions from David Martin, Joe Turner and Joe Moor.
