Returning to the UK after a break away, I opened the altrock inbox to some very pleasant surprises. I don’t think the Sunday Selection has ever been so closely fought, as it has of late, and so I thought it only right to bring in the new by featuring three excellent new tracks. We’ll also pick up on the terrific new single from the recently hyped Girl Band, a previous winner of the FG weekly accolade.
Experimental four piece Eyes & No Eyes will release their self-titled debut album in the Spring, but in the meantime they have previewed 'Hidden Thieves', featuring their slightly unusual guitar, bass, drums and cello line-up. They have toured already with an eclectic bunch of artists including Gravenhurst and Damo Suzuki, and 'Hidden Thieves' is acid-tinged Sonic Youth with South Coast DNA firmly embedded.
From London, Whales In Cubicles also have a debut album 'Death In The Evening' due for imminent release. 'All The Pretty Flowers' is the single and it carries its distinct melodies and gentle soundscapes beyond the territory of Pavement towards the mainstream. Quite lovely.
Fellow Londoners The Kut perhaps impressed most with their new single, 'No Trace'. Dreamy vocals over a driving musical theme quite reminiscent of Deftones – who could possibly argue with that? I really hope we’ll hear more from The Kut.
We are hearing more from Dublin’s Girl Band, a previous Sunday Selection, and it’s pretty good. Six minutes of grinding noise pop isn’t obvious single material but in this case it works quite spectacularly well. You can download 'Lawman' for free here:
Read previous Simon Says columns here. To appear in a future Simon Says column, tweet @nxgater or email altrock(at)fadedglamour.co.uk.
We're a collaborative British music, film and TV blog. "Trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and pop."
