Fightmilk - Contender

 

New album from indie pretenders out via Reckless Yes on Friday 14th May

The second album from the South London four-piece is breaking out in May, following on from the 2018 debut Not With That Attitude.

Formed in a beer garden in 2015, Lily and Alex used the energy of post-break-ups into an indie pop soundtrack indebted more to the Britpop era culminating in the 2018 release on the Fierce Panda label after two EPs. The DNA of the band is alt-rock with power pop riffs about the embrace of failing relationships but with a sunny disposition.

In response to the pandemic which put everybody on hold, vocalist/guitarist Lily speaks about her writing process; 'I was inspired to write ‘...Space’ by watching someone who keeps loudly proclaiming they’re going to save humanity and change the world constantly make excuses for why they haven’t got round to it. It’s largely about emotional labour and rockets and I’m dead proud of it.”

Heavier material abounds from 'Cool Cool Girl' and 'Banger #4' to the more vulnerable 'If You Had A Sister'; a trend this reviewer is noticing in recent releases is that many bands are putting on tracks that may well run less than 90 seconds. 

In the past such tracks would be deemed surplus or merely unnecessary filler but now following the pandemic - it is more evidence of a band or performer making up for lost time by issuing an idea or riff as a matter of pride on the sequencing of an album as more of a bridge to the next track rather than an afterthought.

From the handclap feel good of 'Hey Annabelle' to the 'The Absolute State of Me' with its personal subject matter there is a lot of accessibility and engagement within this album.

Full of synths, guitars and group vocals, Fightmilk have created an infectious album of pop and indie vibes incorporating the surfer vibe of California and goes hand in hand with this newest of new wave of indie bands along with Pillow Queens and Sonder Bombs; bands led by female vocalists who infuse their music with an energy and power that is refreshing.

Contender is out from Reckless Yes and is available here

Thanks to Wall of Sound for the review opportunity.

For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her - McKinley Dixon

 

Debut album from Virginia rapper, McKinley Dixon on Spacebomb

As a white Anglo-Saxon music lover, you are always tentative to review black rap music. I was born a stones throw from the breeding ground of Chas and Dave and the old architectural haunts of Flanagan and Allen, that is my musical heritage. Yet to listen to black music is always an eye opening occasion, it brings you into new grounds of language, composition and social exploration.

Unlike the gangsta rap so prevalent in my formative university years such as 50 Cent, my ears have always been more keen to listen to the socially conscious rappers - those who use their platform as a means to get a message across of what it means to be a young black person in the United States of America.

The first artist who piqued my interest was Lupe Fiasco - his double hit of The Cool - was seminal and is somewhat overshadowed by the monster that was the early career of Kanye West and then you have the works of Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean.

This new album by Richmond based artist, McKinley Dixon is more in the part of socially aware rap but also uses the music as a way of exploring his own social form but showcases the power of communication and connection

Tracks such as brown shoulders is so soulful yet has the message underlying of processing grief, yet you still have those chart hits such as Never Will Know a collaboration with Micah James and Gold Midas a feelgood jam which goes hand in hand with the soulful protective styles (feat Abby T).

Dixon is a well read artist indebted to the recently departed Toni Morrision on his track 'B.B.N.E' using her words to time travel to a different time.

'Bless the Child' has three beat switches but shows Dixon tracing patterns through time, it is as if Dixon is challenging black people to revisit more than one timeline and question everything about their place in society.

The huge array of influences across the musical spectrum running from jazz, rap, soul and blues means this will be a ripe live show once we get to that sense of normality. Dixon thinks of himself as a time traveller and in his words, 'Storytelling is time travel, it's taking the listener to that place. Quick time travel. Magic. These raps I’m making are no different than stories told around the campfire. They elongate the culture'.

This album marks Dixon out as a force to be reckoned with as a solo artist and collaborator across the music diaspora, a genuine talent of intellect and artistic integrity.

Follow McKinley Dixon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her is out from Spacebomb or bandcamp

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review op

Buffet Lunch - The Power of Rocks

 

Eclectic debut album from Scottish four piece out 7th May via Upset the Rhythm

Buffet Lunch are a four man band from Scotland, who are on a mission to serve up imperfect pop songs with humour and energy, this has been formed into the kaleidoscopic debut album that is The Power of Rocks out on 7th May from Upset the Rhythm.

The parts of the band consist of Perry O'Bray (vocals/keys/guitars), Neil Robinson (bass), John Muir (lead guitar) and Luke Moran (drums), who came together through a love of all things pop and indie and everything in between the two cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Together the foursome of constructed a wonky DIY feel to their cacophony of sound which runs the gamut of emotions from loneliness and downbeat to the upper echelons of breezy melody.

Recorded on the banks of Upper Loch Fyne in Argyll over four nights and five days at the beginning of March 2020 before the world pandemic took hold, there is a sense of living in the moment when listening back to the album's eleven track sequence.

A blend of production and musicianship take hold as the run times of songs differ throughout from the sub two minute shouts of 'Pebbledash' and 'Bladderwrack' combine against the longer more traditional 'Looking at Liz Talent's Chair' and 'Ashley's New Haircut'.

This encompasses everything with a seemingly brief 38 minutes total run time yet the melodies and compositions stay with you throughout and after the fact - from the bop and riffiness of 'He Wore Two Hats' to the anthemic title track which embraces the feeling of climate and location of recording that took place.

An album of time and place at once, this is a work that may be difficult to access for many but you are certain people said this of Black Country, New Road at the beginning - when the ear worm worthiness of songs take hold it cannot be denied.

For fans of such obscure artists as Sweet Baboo (do check out Wild Imagination from 2017) and those other eclectic bands of the last few years such as BCNR and Pet Shimmers; this is an album that is both mesmerising and engaging.

The Power of Rocks is released on 7th May via Upset the Rhythm

Follow the band on Twitter and Instagram

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity