Gold Panda

There is a new centre to my universe.

Gold Panda.

I seriously cannot get enough!

I stated recently that had I not only discovered Gold Panda last week on Sound Cloud that I think the album Lucky Shiner would have been definitely one that I was eagerly anticipating. In fact, having not purchased the album myself yet, but finding a little player from which to stream it I have found myself listening to it upto 6 times a day depending on the amount of time I have to be sat at a computer.

Maybe I have gone Gold-Panda-crazy. I've heard it can happen. Maybe it just solidifies my status as a square.

Either way the man of whom I have come to form a non-real, but very real affiliation for, based primarily on this interview, produces some great awkward-techno and will be up there now with my religious-type love for The Field. There is actually a Gold Panda remix of The Field, but I am having to work myself up to something quite so momentous.

Here is Lucky Shiner..

The Chemical Brothers

After an interview with The Chemical Brothers on 6 Music and hearing approximately 30 seconds of one of their new tracks I decided that I liked the new album.

They had mentioned that they had not done the album based around guest vocals. Which I like! A lot! Not having the pressure and constraints of particular vocals to work around or work them into tracks seems to have worked wonders on this album. It works brilliantly as an album.

It has some very different moments in it. And my current two favourite are probably very different from one another. The depth and ferocity of Horse Power means that as a track it is an actual phenomenon. But the dreamy and circular nature of Another World has actually had me hitting repeat far too many times as is healthy.

The Chemical Brothers - Another World from ikkunapaikka on Vimeo.

Belle & Sebastian

Ooooh, how exciting is it when Belle & Sebastian are releasing new music? I don't think words can accurately articulate the feelings of those a little bit twee. Or a lot twee.

I love the world.

For now.

Although, what if the album isn't very good?!

Then I'd hate the world.

I think I hate the world now just through fear of it not being very good.

Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love [via YouSendIt for 7 days]

balanceisrestored

Funeral Party

Picture: What I can't have...

Post Funeral Party Leeds Festival set:

"I could go home now. I'd be happy. I could go home and not regret anything. How can anyone top that performance?"
"What about LCD Soundsystem later?"
"The only thing that could contend. I'll stay for James hitting his cowbell. Even then they'll never put on a performance like that! Funeral Party are my new favourite band!"

The performance by this band at about 2:30 in the afternoon, in a half empty tent, was the best live musical performance I have seen by a band that I didn't know much about. It blew me away. Confident. Energetic. Tight.

It very nearly moved me to buy a t-shirt based on the performance alone. But at £20 my crippling poverty won out again.

Ignore all the fucking shite comparisons that lazy and boring music journalists tell you these guys are similar to, just to make you listen to them. Take two minutes out of your own time and life to listen for yourself.

I don't care if they make it big or not. I like them. Actually, I will probably be quite upset if they hit it really big and I have to go see them in an arena type setting. Critical acclaim. They can have that. But not commercial success.


Funeral Party - Just Because

WRSTLRS

I had planned on blogging about another highlight of Leeds Festival today, but last week I stumbled upon a track sent to me on SoundCloud, and I am so excited to share it that the other will have to wait. It was from some new group by the name of WRSTLRS and immediately I was in love.

Matt Bergeland and John LaMonica are from America. For a more precise location go on Google Maps and type in their name. It won't help. I'm sorry. Extremely new and hurrying to create a website and get their music heard. Laptops and a mic. They create a sound that is instantly likeable. I want to hear more. Agreement that their music is brilliant was confirmed by the other members of my household, with their highly differentiated music tastes (plinky-plonky folk Vs. grime). So Pop Cultureddd will definitely be championing WRSTLRS.

This happens to be my current favourite track:

Did You Come To Save Us by WRSTLRS

Oh, and join their FaceBook group/page/thing! Do it now!

Holy Fuck

Holy Fuck are always good to see live. It is a given.

At Leeds Festival everyone seemed to enjoy their performance. It was brilliant after all.

If you've never come across them before you really should have a part of your non-brand MP3 player dedicated to them.

To get you in the mood...

YT006- Holy Fuck - LP by Young Turks

Everything Everything

Everything Everything were really impressive at Leeds Festival. One of the opening acts of the festival and they really set the bar high. Their sound is varied and diverse throughout the set, but with enough melodic coherence to understand that this is a very accomplished group of musicians.

Definitely worth investigating.

I like this. It is a good video too.

Everything Everything 'My Kz, Ur BF from Blink on Vimeo.

Mr Oizo

My life will simply not be fulfilled until I can experience this...