Details:
Big Scary Monsters’ sister label Alcopop! have always done things a little bit differently; from their 3” CD singles club to this, a mixtape released on actual cassette tape: customised and limited edition, which is probably just as well because only a limited number of people have tape decks anymore. But it might be worth the effort of finding one because like BSM’s ‘Record Label, Schmecord Label’, ‘Alcopopular: Volume 2’ is full of treats and gems. Especially if you like your indie poppy and little bit skew-whiff.
There are a few names already more familiar than others, but it’s nice to hear from them again. Like Kid Carpet’s no-budget, no-fi electro; or Dartz!, who still sound clever and influenced by Q And Not U a lot, but ‘Latin And Greek’ finds them with new energy after their break. Jeremy Warmsley is reliably brilliant on ‘Ice.River.Cold’, while Johnny Foreigner keep hold of their Best New Band In Britain crown with ‘Cranes…’. It’s classic JF, but even faster and more catchy than usual. Sam Isaac is a favourite of Alcopop! followers and rightly so. ‘When The Silhouette Drops’ isn’t as instantly loveable as the single ‘Sideways’, but it shows a new, even more delicate side to him.
I suppose Bostonian duo Harry & The Potters are a familiar name in a way, and ‘Wizzard Chess’ just manages to stay on the right side of Weird Al’ Yankovic. The Honey Brothers’ have a familiar drummer, Adrian Greenier star of TV drama ‘Entourage’, who breaks the actor-in-rubbish-band stereotype by being in a band that sound like a stoned, slo-mo Weezer. And Sky Larkin and scratchy post-hardcore types Wintermute (Two more brilliant bands from Leeds) deserve to be household names.
Then there’s the real newbies. Like Arthur (Think, a poppier Bloc Party), who confuse matters because their fronted by Hannah Shark - a shouty, yelpy frontwoman (ie: the best kind). Decades’ folk-emo also impresses; as pretty as you’d expect a song called ‘Mary Angel’ to be, with fiddles, mandolins, understated harmonies and a very quiet rock-out at the end. And it’s not just because we can’t think of any others, but this might be the best indie mixtape since ‘C86’.
Listen: www.myspace.com/alcopopinmyblood
Tracklist:
Side A:
1. Arthur - Complications
2. Dave House - Beep Beep (Hi Hi)
3. Kid Carpet - Employee Of The Month
4. Decades - Mary Angel
5. Dartz! - Latin And Greek
6. Harry & The Potters - Wizzard Chess
7. Sky Larkin - One Of Two
8. The Young Playthings - Hot Sex With The Girl I Love
Side B:
1. Sam Isaac - When The Silhouette Drops
2. Wojtek Godzisz - If You Hurt Me
3. Wintermute - Ask A Stupid Question
4. The Honey Brothers - O Dear
5. Jeremy Warmsley - Ice.River.Cold
6. Johnny Foreigner - Cranes And Cranes And Cranes And Cranes
7. Windmill - Fluorescent Lights
