Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her reviews of new music with singles from Radio Free Alice 2010 and splint Continuing Endless
Artist: Radio Free Alice
Track: 2010
Australian new wave/post-punk band Radio Free Alice share new single 2010, and tantalisingly state this is the first track from a body of work set for release later in the year. The opening few bars reminded this reviewer of The Skids ‘Into The Valley but 2010 quickly shifted into something completely different.
Lyrically it is about young, unrequited love and the vocal delivery is perfectly pitched for such a theme. The percussion canters along once it hits its pace and there is simply no melancholy here. Rather the heartfelt lyrics are delivered with passion and feeling. ‘2010’ is a little gentler than previous tracks by Radio Free Alice but there is still an edge. The five piece include bass, guitar, synths, saxophone as well as drums and its pretty darn cool to show such versatility.
The band expand on the tracks origins: “We’ve been playing the song live for almost a year now. Musically we were influenced by early The Cure and The Smiths. The song focuses on the instrumentation rather than the vocals more than any other track on the EP. It’s the first and only song we have with a pretty much totally instrumental chorus.”
Radio Free Alice are about to embark on their inaugural UK visit for a string of festival and headline dates, including two showcases at The Great Escape, Dot To Dot Festival, Live at Leeds and more. I’ll see you down the front.
THE GREAT ESCAPE SHOWCASES
Thurs 16 May - Komedia Basement - 12:25pm
Thurs 16 May - Charles Street Tap - 8:15pm
TOUR DATES
Sat 11 May - YES (Mood Swings Festival) - Manchester, UK
Tue 14 May - Folklore (Crosstown Showcase) - London, UK
Sat 18 May - London Calling Festival - Amsterdam, NL
Wed 22 May - Paper Dress Vintage - London, UK
Thur 23 May - The Dome (w. HighSchool) - London, UK
Fri 24 May - The Shacklewell Arms (Wide Awake Festival) - London, UK
Sat 25 May - Live at Leeds In The Park - Leeds, UK
Sat 25 May - Dot To Dot Festival - Bristol, UK
Sun 26 May - Dot To Dot Festival - Nottingham, UK
Tue 28 May - The Social (So Young Magazine Party) - London, UK
Fri 7 June - Broadcast - Glasgow, UK
Sat 8 June - Sneaky Pete's - Edinburgh, UK
Wed 12 June - Bar L’Intermediarie - Marseille, FR
Thur 13 June - Supersonic - Paris, FR
Sat 15 June - Rock For People Festival - Hradec Klavove, CZ
Tue 18 June - The Social (Form Showcase Night) - London, UK
Thur 20 June - The Social (Communion Showcase) - London, UK
* * *
Artist: splint
Track: Continuing Endless
splint have released their fourth track on Nice Swan Records, Continuing Endless. It’s a sprawling song, full of dense atmosphere and guitars heavy with static and edgy riffs.
The five piece have produced a song where the instrumentation is in charge. The vocals are distorted and unclear, which I suspect is the point. This is music to be wrapped in, the blanket of sound enveloping the listener. The repetition dominates and cautiously grows until the final third when Continuing Endless seems to get its second breath. But listen closely, the construction begins to slowly fall apart, seeming to labour to reach its final conclusion.
splint with be touring with Martial Arts over the next month and will have a show at The Great Escape in Brighton. Grab the opportunity to see this enigmatic Calder Valley/Manchester hybrid and fall under the spell of their mesmeric music.
Fri 17 May – Leeds, Brudenell
Sat 18 May – Brighton, Great Escape Festival @ Revenge w/Nice Swan
Fri 24 May – Halifax, Grayston Unity
Sat 25 May - Manchester, Akoustik Anarkhy at The White Hotel
Sat 15 June – Sheffield, Hallamshire Hotel
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