ALBUM: OUTFIT - PERFORMANCE

Liverpool quintet Outfit have been on our radar ever since their run of shows supporting the indefatigable Everything Everything on their February UK tour. Since then they have been tantalising fans by uploading album demos for a few hours at a time throughout the spring, and the finished article, in the form of debut record Performance, will be released next week.

If, like us, you’re feeling delirious from the improbable heatwave hitting the UK, this album will not do much to quell the delirium - if anything, it is more likely to enhance it. Performance is transformative in several respects: whether you’re after a bad-dream kind of ambience, some Eastern vibes or party atmospherics, this record will take you there.  Not only does Performance move up and out in this manner, but also forwards and backwards; while ‘Spraypaint’ evokes comparisons with Tears For Fears and company, album closer ‘Two Islands’ could not be more current, sure to be heard in hip high-street clothes stores the world over.

The title track, nestled in the middle of the album, is a refreshing moment of clarity in amongst the madness. A cautionary tale on the now all-encompassing nature of performance, this track has Andrew Hunt mournfully crooning “now everything echoes the same way”. It is clear that to Outfit, the idea of performance is not just a lyrical touchstone but something that permeates the record in numerous ways. “All the world’s a stage” Shakespeare once wrote, and the band have taken this old adage to heart, creating percussion out of DVD drives, snowy footfall and snooker balls among others.

This is a bold debut; Outfit have cultivated a sound borne of confidence and imagination, a combination which many bands don’t manage to achieve this quickly. Performance is a delightfully chameleon record that will, if there is any justice in the world, turn many heads. For those who embrace the adventure on this album, there are many rewards to be had.

8/10

Stream the album here

Outfit

EP: CHVRCHES - RECOVER

After the success of single 'The Mother We Share', CHVRCHES have released EP 'Recover' to tide fans over while the Scottish trio work on their debut album. There is an awful lot of hype surrounding this band, and so far they look up to the challenge of working under such pressure. The title track is, to put it simply, massive; synths soar, as do Lauren Mayberry's defiant vocals. 'Zvvl' and 'Now Is Not The Time' do much to enchant the ears, and while the tendency is to skip past the remixes that so often pad out a single or EP nowadays, both of the 'Recover' remixes are credible listens. With a busy summer schedule and a debut record imminent, CHVRCHES look set to become one of the bands of 2013. 

CHVRCHES

VIDEO: VUKOVI - THICK SKINNED

After the release of latest EP 'Sweet Swears' last October, Scottish quartet Vukovi have dropped a video of 'Thick Skinned' live in session for our delectation. 'Thick Skinned' is arguably the strongest track on 'Sweet Swears' and this video showcases not only the track's irresistible appeal but also the raw energy that has earned the band such a positive reputation on the road. This is nearly four minutes of indefatigable and chameleon-like rock; the band cite such disparate influences as Florence Welch, Deftones and Foals, and all of these influences can be located within the many layers of 'Thick Skinned'.  With a new live session soon to be unleashed, don't expect Vukovi to run out of steam any time soon. 

Vukovi

ALBUM: VILLAGERS - {Awayland}

There’s not a lot to say about Villagers that hasn't already been said. A subject of much well-deserved gushing from music critics and musicians alike, Conor O’Brien and co had the task of converting the hype generated from a Mercury-nominated debut album into a second effort that would solidify their status as one of the most exciting and interesting acts around. The result of this endeavour comes in the form of ‘{Awayland}’.

Debut album ‘Becoming A Jackal’ was a slow-burner, and ‘{Awayland}’ has the same sort of feel about it. ‘My Lighthouse’ doesn't quite carry the weight of previous album opener ‘I Saw The Dead’, but despite this it is no less poignant. ‘Nothing Arrived’ is pleasant enough but ultimately feels as empty as the non-arrival it describes. ‘Judgement Call’ has potential but in the end just feels like a poor man’s ‘Ship Of Promises’. Holding ‘{Awayland}’ up to the light of ‘Becoming A Jackal’ seems a little obvious but it is a necessary exercise, and in parts the second record does not reach the heights of its elder sibling.

There are treasures to be had, however, and what treasures they are. The title track makes for a perfect interlude midway through the album; its simplicity is devastating and one wishes only that it could have been longer. The closing trio of ‘Grateful Song’, ‘In A Newfound Land You Are Free’ and ‘Rhythm Composer’ beguile, console and charm in equal measure. Slithers of electronica can be found snaking through such tracks as ‘The Waves’, tentative yet successful experiments. Where Villagers get it right on ‘{Awayland}’, they really get it right, and if the record ages as well as ‘Becoming A Jackal’ then who knows what heights the band will reach. 

7/10

Villagers

ALBUM: EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - ARC

After what seems like an age since we first heard lead single ‘Cough Cough’, Everything Everything’s second album ‘Arc’ is here for us to devour, and there is certainly plenty of meat on these bones. After such a promising debut effort in ‘Man Alive’ there has been so much attention on the Manchester-based quartet that they could well have buckled under the pressure; instead, they have held strong and created another brilliant album.

What is perhaps most striking is that this time around, the cerebral pop that is integral to the Everything Everything sound has a more human edge to it. There aren’t quite so many metaphors to unpack; the listener already has some of the touchstones for themselves. This brings a softness that tempers the more frenetic moments on the record, and nowhere is this marriage of the smooth and the rough more evident than in ‘Armourland’, the closest the band get to a love song of sorts. The sharp-edged verses give way to choruses that yearn and serenade like a warped cabaret crooner. Elsewhere, ‘The House Is Dust’ shows a preoccupation with the future of mankind, and ‘Feet For Hands’ couples a quasi-flamenco sound with a particularly eloquent monologue of despair and depression.

As well as these interludes of introspection, there are the flourishes and sonic spectacles that we have come to expect from Everything Everything. ‘Torso Of The Week’ works its way up from just voice and drums to an explosive chorus that cannot fail to get your feet tapping, while ‘Radiant’ is sculpted around a guitar hook so catchy it may never leave your head. To follow up a Mercury-nominated debut album is undoubtedly a tricky task, but with ‘Arc’ Everything Everything have made it look stupidly easy.

9/10

Everything Everything