Saturday, May 15, 2010

Hungary for Summer

So I’m sitting here stewing in my first hangover of the summer and thought thats its time I whack up a summer song to celebrate the end of my exams! Yes that’s right folks second year is officially over, well depending on repeats as always.

http://www.myspace.com/hungrykidsofhungary

The first summer lovely that I’m going to review is Wristwatch by the Hungry Kids of Hungary. Hailing from Australia the quartet make the kind of indie pop that is the perfect soundtrack for a few cheeky cans in a field on one of the three sunny days that we get in Ireland, which will probably occur during the Leaving Cert.

The song begins with a bubbly bass line that is burst by a well inserted clap which introduces the songs hyper tempo and immediately has your foot tapping. This repeated riff soon collects energy from swiftly strummed rush of guitars. A series of momentum building pauses introduce the vocals which soon become the heart of the songs pace. They talk of the rushed panic that can be involved in self discovery. They also use a collection of random sounds that focus your attention in amongst the songs hyper energy and inject the personality that their name suggests. The keys add a fun fairground dimension to the song and give it a solid foundation at times. And finally the drums work beautifully in this song by using sharp crashing symbols to punctuate the pauses and they work to keep the song as tight as a ducks arse. I'll have to stop myself now before I analyse the fun out of this gem. At the top is a link to their MySpace I strongly encourage you to start loving them.

Monday, May 10, 2010

FOE

Well after months of scrupulous planning I have decided that it’s time to take a break from my study that I’m not doing, and make my first post. When I stumbled across a "handsome stranger called death" by FOE on hypem earlier I was immediately hooked. The chilling keys, pulsing bass line and subtle drums all combine with the run along lyrics to create a thick tone of billowing grey cigarette smoke. The lyrics are smooth and have a powerful vulnerability when they talk of the singer’s mortality. The beautiful descriptions of the handsome stranger paint a clear Parisian picture in your mind. To me this song is musical ether; it’s got a grunge pop core with an artistic 1960s blues feel. When I hunted down their MySpace I was a full blown FOE addict.


http://www.myspace.com/thisisfoe


On their page along with "handsome stranger" is "tyran", a modern grunge gem driven by unforgiving cunt out lyrics, the distorted raw energy from the razor blade guitars and the marching snare accompanied by the crashing symbols. The chilling keys haunt the background yet again with flutters and subtle chords.

And finally there is "Charity Case" a rush of sprinting lyrics twined with a sharp returning guitar riff and an eerie walking keyboard line. The bass is constantly complimenting the song by weakening and strengthening itself at the perfect times.

I really hope these guys get signed because right now I am craving an album!