Tuesday 15 December 2009

In the Inbox

Once again, I’m afraid to admit that I’ve let my inbox grow too full of unread e-mails from bands, promo companies, etc etc – so what better way to spend a Sunday morning than writing Christmas cards and listening to them? Here’s some of the picks…

Dirty Strangers

You might not recognise the name, but you’ll recognise the style of music. And you’ll certainly spot some of the names in “guest performers”, a certain Keith Richards also writing some of the tracks. In that respect, it’s entirely what you’d expect, a slightly modern Rolling Stones. They’ve been going since the last 80s, but the music is still popular (and will be for ages), so it’s a tried and trusted format! Have a listen to Bad Girls, with Richards.

Dionne Bromfield

Amy Winehouse’s god daughter and on her “Lioness” record label, Amy herself summarises her protégé:

"The first time I heard Dionne sing, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Such an amazing voice from such a young girl. I'm just so proud of her. I'm very lucky to have a record label. I've got all these people that I love, that are really talented - and Dionne is my number one."

Most of the songs on her myspace are covers of classic Motown numbers, which isn’t a bad thing when they’re sung this well. There’s only clips I’m afraid, but there’s enough to make me want to hear more – which is a nice tease.

Damn Vandals

These four graffiti artists have traded in their ASBOs for rock 'n' roll.

The band met on an internet graffiti forum and together decided to paint "Destroy Mondays" eight foot high on the side of a commuter train parked up near Catford.
It was 2007.
Rumbled by a police sting operation they got 500 hours community service. Their punishment was to re-decorate the local youth club.
After hours one night they stumbled on a room containing guitars and a drum kit.

The rest is soon to be history.

Not bad for a gang of convicts, it has to be said. I think that Tsunami High is a bit Bowie-esque, which is a nice twist on a standard indie-rock selection.

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