Tracks Of The Week, 03.07.16

Drawing comparisons to Mac DeMarco and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Mild High Club’s ‘Homage’ is the latest addition to your off-kilter summer playlist.

Described as telling the tale of a “private investigator attempting to trace the steps of the sound and the spirit of American music” and seeing the band’s founder Alexander Brettin approach the album in a freer way than the first, the upcoming album (and, in turn, ‘Homage’) is almost reminiscent of Sgt. Pepper in its peculiarity.

Brettin’s ever-present jazz background – paired with the summery psychedelic twist – suggest a sinister, almost circus-y feel to the sunshine of L.A and, as unsettling as it may be, it’s what Mild High Club do best.

Skiptracking, the new album from Mild High Club, is out 26 August on Stones Throw Records.

Sometimes, you’ve just got to get weird. And luckily, the likes of Grawl!x – the brainchild and alter-ego of James Machin – are there to guide the way. That said, Grawl!x, as proved with the latest single ‘Gumption’, isn’t as much weird as it is unbelievably clever.

Part of Aye!, the second album in a trilogy dealing with the five stages of acceptance, ‘Gumption’ features instrumentation by acclaimed Derbyshire band Haiku Salut, who work with Machin’s carefully constructed soundscapes; rather than just a track, ‘Gumption’ is an intricate composition – a creation far beyond what most can dream of. And in an ode to just how magical ‘Gumption’ and the rest of Aye! are, Machin took them on a tour of UK’s most beautiful churches, arguably the most fitting place for the complexity of their sound.

Following two tracks/videos telling individual stories of homelessness in Northern UK towns, Manchester band PROSE have shared their latest single ‘Further’. Though less of a pressing issue, ‘Further’ fits in with both ‘All Too Familiar’ and ‘Half The Man’: just as homelessness is real so are relationships and both play (or have played) a part in the life of the band. And reality is what PROSE are about.

As expected from the band ‘Further’ is unbelievably anthemic, not just because of its sound (though it’s choruses and catchy hooks do help) but because their honest, working class voice makes it impossible not to feel a little bit affected by the track. Quite rightly, this voice is getting out and ‘Further’ will no doubt take PROSE to the next level.

Home Of The Brave, the debut album from PROSE, is out 8 July. Catch them live at the album launch at the Sebright Arms on 6 July.

‘Five-piece’ and ‘drum and bass’ are two things that don’t exactly go hand in hand. Yet for Ukrainian band The Erised the size of their band does nothing but work in their favour. A collection of drum & bass producers (Detail and Hidden Element) along with singer/songwriter Sonya and jazz, rock and pop musicians what The Erised create is actually rather beautiful; take ‘Liars’ for example.

Partly due to Sonya’s outstanding vocals, and partly to the band’s insane ability to create such deep emotion, ‘Liars’ is moody and completely mesmerising. This is how to be experimental.

Melissa Svensen
@melyeaahh

Melissa Svensen

Melissa Svensen

Melissa, 22. Editor. Student, music journalist, probably talking about Blur or Bowie