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DELPHIC
Collections

It was a rare thing that Delphic managed with their debut album, welding rock and dance, melody and beats in a way that didn’t suck. Even three years on, Acolyte maintains an urgency and immediacy that few crossover records possess: it was derivative, sure, but it made the familiar seem vibrant, even essential. But that’s a precarious alchemy, and from the off it’s pretty clear that Collections hasn’t got it quite right. All the elements are there (the immaculate production, the rhythmic drive, the relentless swell towards an anthemic chorus) yet somewhere along the assembly line they’ve omitted any feeling, any conviction from their sound. Collections at times seems to sound like ‘N Sync, at times to collapse into Backstreet Boys. And that, nevertheless, can’t be a value.

ARTIST: Delphic
TITLE: Collections
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2013
TIME: 43:02 min.
WEB: http://www.delphic.cc/
PURCHASE: price – 20.99$

01. Of the Young [03:55]
02. Baiya [04:23]
03. Changes [04:29]
04. Freedom Found [04:20]
05. Atlas [06:10]
06. Tears Before Bedtime [02:51]
07. The Sun Also Rises [03:38]
08. Memeo [03:39]
09. Don’t Let the Dreamers Take You Away [05:05]
10. Exotic [04:32]

Delphic – Of the Young

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2:54
2:54

Occupying a low-lit, vivid space, they unite a distinct concoction of ideas and influences that taps a rock and punk lineage. However, their sound neatly neighbours the darker, atmospheric reaches of today’s R’n'B finest, as well as timeless walls of sound. The Thurlow sisters taught themselves to play guitar as teenagers, but it wasn’t until the closing moments of 2010 that the very first lo-fi 2:54 home demos leaked onto the web, prompting a flurry of critical acclaim that’s only ever grown with the band. Recorded mostly by Mercury-winning producer Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey), and all mixed by the legendary Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, Nine In Nails), the 10 songs that make up 2:54 are ripe with danger and beauty. This is a record that thrums with life, and over the course of its tracks it becomes clear that this is a rarefied, captivating affair, a beautifully sustained exercise in mood and tension that almost feels in a league and scene of its own.

ARTIST: 2:54
TITLE: 2:54
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2012
TIME: 41:57 min.
WEB: http://www.twofiftyfour.net/

01. Revolving [04:01]
02. You’re Early [04:08]
03. Easy Undercover [03:44]
04. A Salute [04:24]
05. Scarlet [04:40]
06. Sugar [04:06]
07. Circuitry [04:11]
08. Watcher [04:26]
09. Ride [03:23]
10. Creeping [04:54]

2:54 – Revolving

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SCISSOR SISTERS
Magic Hour

No lesser an authority than Bono has called them “the best pop group in the world,” and their first three works have sold more than seven million units worldwide. This is the brand new studio album from Scissor Sisters, featuring the smash-hit single Only the Horses.

ARTIST: Scissor Sisters
TITLE: Magic Hours
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2012
TIME: 57:37 min.
WEB: http://www.scissorsisters.com/

01. Baby Come Home [03:00]
02. Keep Your Shoes [02:52]
03. Inevitable [03:54]
04. Only the Horses [03:39]
05. Year of Living Dangerously [03:53]
06. Let’s Have a Kiki [03:50]
07. Shady Love [03:56]
08. San Luis Obispo [03:48]
09. Self Control [03:13]
10. Best in Me [03:44]
11. The Secret Life of Letters [03:49]
12. F*** Yeah [00:28]

12. Let’s Have a Kiki (dj nita remix) [06:54]
13. F*** Yeah (seamus haji remix) [03:53]

Scissor Sisters – Only the Horses
Scissor Sisters – Let’s Have a Kiki (dj nita remix)

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TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS
Trouble

Trouble is one of the most eagerly awaited debut electronic albums for years, with previous singles Garden, Tapes & Money, Trouble and Household Goods joined by a wealth of new music. Surely and steadily, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs has seen his star rapidly ascend and this is a celebration of electronic music’s diversity and range. There will also be a cracking double single of American Dream Part II / Stronger released together with the album, and with both headline and festival dates locked in across the UK, Europe and around the world in the coming months, there can be little doubt that the soundtrack of the summer will definitely be Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

ARTIST: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
TITLE: Trouble
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: June 11, 2012
TIME: 63:43 min.
WEB: http://totallyenormousextinctdinosaurs.tumblr.com/

01. Promises [04:20]
02. Trouble [03:49]
03. Shimmer [04:45]
04. Household Goods [03:35]
05. Your Love [03:50]
06. You Need Me On My Own [03:45]
07. Panpipes [06:12]
08. Garden [04:36]
09. Solo [05:49]
10. Tapes & Money [03:40]
11. American Dream (pt.II) [05:08]
12. Closer [06:38]
13. Fair [02:32]
14. Stronger [05:04]

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden

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THE MACCABEES
Given to the Wild

Third album from the britpopsters The Maccabees: the five piece from London spent two years writing and recording this follow-up to 2009′s critically-lauded Wall Of Arms. Having previously written as a collective, Given to the Wild saw the band explore a new approach to songwriting: avoiding the studio, each member retreated to their South London homes to develop ideas individually. From here the songs evolved into the 13 tracks that would make up this album, an epic and beguiling masterpiece of distorted pop, psychedelia and soulful guitar wig outs.

ARTIST: The Maccabees
TITLE: Given to the Wild
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2012
TIME: 52:56 min.
WEB: http://www.themaccabees.co.uk/

01. Given to the Wild (intro) [02:11]
02. Child [04:31]
03. Feel to Follow [03:29]
04. Ayla [03:47]
05. Glimmer [04:04]
06. Forever I’ve Known [05:22]
07. Heave [04:27]
08. Pelican [03:45]
09. Went Away [03:39]
10. Go [04:13]
11. Unknow [05:09]
12. Slowly One [04:18]
13. Grew Up at Midnight [04:01]

The Maccabees – Pelican

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THE DUKE SPIRIT
Bruiser

The Duke Spirit have spent the past 8 months whipping their new tunes into fighting shape. The seven-year-old U.K. outfit (Liela Moss, Toby Butler, Olly Betts) decided to write their third album as a quartet after guitarist Dan Higgins exited, asking new bassist Marc Sallis to join the squad more recently. The result: supreme focus and a scaled-down sound that cuts to the heart of The Duke Spirit more precisely than ever. After two albums of opaque lyrics and increasingly dense sounds, with Bruiser, The Duke Spirit are breaking down the barriers between their epically melodic blues rock and the rest of us. And the outcome is spectacular.

ARTIST: The Duke Spirit
TITLE: Bruiser
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: September 27, 2011
TIME: 47:24 min.
WEB: http://thedukespirit.com/

01. Cherry Tree [03:33]
02. Procession [03:12]
03. Villain [04:45]
04. Don’t Wait [04:01]
05. Surrender [03:18]
06. Bodies [04:35]
07. De Lux [04:36]
08. Sweet Bitter Sweet [04:25]
09. Running Fire [03:20]
10. Everybody’s Under Your Spell [03:23]
11. Northbound [04:41]
12. Homecoming [04:35]

The Duke Spirit – Cherry Tree

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YUKSEK
Living On the Edge of Time

By the time you’re a few numbers into this second album from Reims artist/producer Yuksek (aka Pierre-Alexandre Busson), several reference points will have sprung to mind (mainly fellow French electro acts Phoenix and Daft Punk but also The Knife and even Duran Duran). Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, however, because Yuksek blitzes these ingredients into his own yummy concoction. Living On the Edge of Time sharpens the poppy songwriting hooks he revealed on his 2009 debut, Away From the Sea, with snappy stand-outs. These tracks apparently reflect Yuksek’s transient life on the road but they’re catchy enough to shake our asses: surely one of the best and underrated producers kicking around.

ARTIST: Yuksek
TITLE: Living On the Edge of Time
LABEL: Polydor / Universal
RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2011
TIME: 44:44 min.
WEB: http://yuksekmusic.tumblr.com/

01. Always On the Run [03:38]
02. White Keys [03:21]
03. Off the Wall [03:22]
04. On a Train [03:59]
05. Say a Word [03:05]
06. To See You Smile [03:05]
07. The Edge [05:50]
08. Fireworks [04:21]
09. 9-Miracle [04:05]
10. You Should Talk [04:00]
11. Dead or Alive [05:07]

Yuksek – Always On the Run

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WHITE LIES
Ritual

Ritual is the follow-up to White Lies‘ debut album To Lose My Life… and was produced by Alan Mulder (Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails) at the Assault & Battery studios in London. The album features the single Bigger Than Us.

ARTIST: White Lies
TITLE: Ritual
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: January 17, 2010
TIME: 49:41 min.
WEB: http://www.whitelies.com/

01. Is Love [04:52]
02. Strangers [05:25]
03. Bigger Than Us [04:43]
04. Peace & Quiet [05:54]
05. Streetlights [05:00]
06. Holy Ghost [04:22]
07. Turn the Bells [05:04]
08. The Power & the Glory [05:13]
09. Bad Love [03:58]
10. Come Down [05:10]

White Lies - Bigger Than Us

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KLAXONS
Landmarks of Lunacy

Before their latest album Surfing the Void, Klaxons had a collection of material in 2008 that was rejected by their label. Pushed aside and buried away for two years, this material is now resurfacing as an EP titled Landmarks of Lunacy: given for free on their website, it has been released on X-Mas day.

ARTIST: Klaxons
TITLE: Landmarks of Lunacy
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: December 25, 2010
TIME: 22:28 min.
WEB: http://www.klaxons.net/

01. The Pale Blue Dot [04:05]
02. Silver Forest [03:29]
03. Ivy Leaves [03:30]
04. Wildeflowers [04:04]
05. Marble Fields [07:20]

Klaxons – The Pale Blue Dot

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KLAXONS
Surfing the Void

Surfing the Void is the second studio album by 2007′s Mercury Music Prize winners, the Klaxons. Shedding the Nu Rave tag by working with esteemed producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn, At The Drive-In), the group revel in more dense and cosmic influences ranging from progressive rock to space-age folk and kraut-rock. Constructing vast and imaginative soundscapes with their trademark harmonies and melodies, thisis their most adventurous and boldest recording to date.
Includes the tracks Flashover and Echoes.

ARTIST: Klaxons
TITLE: Surfing the Void
LABEL: Polydor
RELEASE DATE: August 25, 2010
TIME: 38:24 min.
WEB: http://www.klaxons.net/

01. Echoes [03:45]
02. The Same Space [03:12]
03. Surfing the Void [02:30]
04. Valley of the Calm Trees [03:17]
05. Venusia [04:08]
06. Extra Astronomical [03:17]
07. Twin Flames [04:20]
08. Flashover [05:07]
09. Future Memories [03:42]
10. Cypherspeed [05:09]

Klaxons – Twin Flames

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