Best Album…
…Zoey Van Goey – The Cage Was Unlocked All Along.
They say you can’t polish a turd, but then again someone keeps giving Glasvegas gigs. It’s a shame that those miserable sacks have to be such a blemish on the otherwise impeccable Scottish soundscape, but fellow jocks Zoey Van Goey are the perfect antidote. Likened to Belle and Sebastian whilst sounding nothing much like them, their debut album is an uplifting and wide-eyed gem of a record. The joint male-female vocals have a silky smooth, dreamlike air, recounting tales of pure, youthful escapism- of hiding in basements, of cages made from skeleton bones, of sweethearts setting off alarms in pursuit of adventure. Every track feels like a small and perfectly formed hug from the band to you, and the whole thing bursts with individuality, charm and warmth. Check out We Don’t Have That Kind of Bread to kick you off.
Peaches at Benicassim
Best Gig…
…Peaches- FIB Benicassim, Spain
Having never heard or seen Peaches before pushing my way to the front of the crowd at her scorching hot performance at the Spanish festival, it’s fair to say she blew my eyeballs clean out of my skull. Following her band’s entrance- clad in electro lizard chic, obviously- to the theme of the A-Team, the crowd just combusted as Peaches catapulted onto the stage and delivered a phenomenally energetic display of barnstorming, foot-stomping showmanship.
Oozing sexuality and sexual ambiguity and sweat, she flew around the stage like a sparrow caught in a kitchen- changing costume no less than seven times (including a strobing codpiece for the finale) in a show that featured set climbing, crowd surfing, Peaches manipulating her own laser show, an appearance by Iggy Pop (of sorts) and sexual assault both from and upon the crowd by the sleaze-loving songstress. By the time, Peaches is screaming for you to Shake Yer Dix, no one is putting an argument. I’m still shaking mine.
Keep an eye out for…
…The Bundles
It’s hard to recommend this band on their own merit since they haven’t released anything yet, but it features the two most prominent and well respected figures of the antifolk scene- Kimya Dawson, and Jeffrey Lewis. The musical powerhouses of plinky-plonk have reunited after doing a few shows together earlier this millennium to record their debut album. If the names don’t mean anything, Dawson is the gorgeous and childish crackle of a voice that soundtracked the film Juno, and Lewis’ influence and output as an artist is what has made the current antifolk gang of Munford & Marling & Co what it is today. Get your hopes high, because these two can only be capable of making magic together.
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