Tracks Of The Week, 18.11.16 - GigslutzGigslutz

It’s rare that a band manages to capture their heritage so precisely; particularly when that heritage is split. Yet ALEXANDR have created the perfect marriage of their half-French and half-British backgrounds in such a way that does justice to both without ever being to the detriment of the other.

It’s an odd combination, for sure. While nothing about their latest single ‘You Won’t Get Another Chance’ sounds disjointed at all, it seems to combine Parisian chic with a 90s fuelled Northern-ness; a slick, very French coolness with a scruffier, very British one. Yet both work in unison, and the outcome is 90s indie with a facelift: catchy guitars, infectious beats that are just as home in the dingy clubs of Manchester as they are in Paris.

UK TOUR DATES:

6 December – the Green Door Store, Brighton
7 December – The Good Ship, London
9 December – The Zanzibar, Liverpool

With current influence coming from the likes of Glass Animals, Childish Gambino, Grimes and Warpaint, ATTU (the DIY project of Stefan Antoinette) was bound to be exciting.

And now, as a 5-piece band, ATTU most certainly don’t disappoint. With latest single ‘Staying Together’, Antoinette secures his own brand of bittersweet indie, an infectious blend of reflective vocals and uplifting guitars.

Described by Antoinette as being about “feeling you’re trying to make things work but you keep getting in your own way,” ‘Staying Together’ is moving, exciting, but most of all completely compelling and likeable in a way that can’t be denied by anyone.

Taken from her debut album, ‘Wanderer’ sees Netherlands-born Gitta De Ridder provide the perfect soundtrack to bitterly cold winter days.

Though wintery in its folk-pop influence, Gitta’s intricate guitar playing adds a warmth to ‘Wanderer’. The kind of warmth that you get from a fire (when you know that if you get up you’ll be cold again) ‘Wanderer’ is just as gripping, and most certainly as calming.

Nailing the beautifully poetic, but equally conversational, nature of folk tunes, ‘Wanderer’ is proof of Gitta’s progression since her self-produced EP in 2015.

UK TOUR DATES:

Tuesday 22nd November – Green Note, London (w/ Beatrix Players)
Thursday 1st December – Loughton Folk Club, London

Taken from their upcoming album Lemon Memory, Leeds’ Menace Beach have shared their latest track ‘Give Blood’.

The first track recorded for the album, ‘Give Blood’ is a brief insight into the band’s new sound. Though the track definitely doesn’t shy away from their much-loved scuzz and raw energy it pairs it with a pop sensibility that as evidence of their exploration of “The Opposite.”

After a few seconds of stopping and starting, ‘Give Blood’ quickly turns into one of Menace Beach’s strongest tracks to date: evidence that an exploration into the unknown – in this case regarding both sound and producer – can be the best thing to do.

Menace Beach will be touring the UK as a five-piece band throughout January and February next year. Dates can be found here.