Sunbears! Vinyl Brightens Our Day

As 2011 draws to a close, Alphabet Band Sunbears! (‘S’, obviously) are already laying claim to having the sexiest piece of wax for the whole of 2012.

The vibrant, psychedelic, electro-indie pair released their debut album, You Will Live Forever, digitally and on CD in November, but on 10 January, the guys go vinyl; and what a piece of vinyl it is. Just take a look, bear witness to its magnificence and revel in its glory.

We just love the multi-coloured, translucent marbled effect and have already put an order in for our copy. This LP is so majestic looking that we would probably even buy it if it was a Bieber album (ok, maybe not) but thankfully the music on it is pretty darn good as well. You can stream the album below to check it out for yourselves, then head over to Synconation to pre-order your copy. You probably won’t find anything sexier to buy for just £18 all year.

UPDATED: Listen: Conveyor preview new single, “Mukraker”

Fresh from their appearance in our list of great EPs from 2011, Brooklyn based Conveyor are already looking ahead and planning on grabbing 2012 by the scruff of the neck and making it their bitch.

To whet our appetite for the delights that are to come, they are currently streaming excellent new single, “Mukraker”, over at One Thirty bpm.

The track is another sonic gem; a wistful, shoegazey lament, peppered with warm lyrics and a soft but welcoming flurry of horns that tumble and cascade over the track as it swells delicately to its climax. Add in an AM radio sounding coda, and you are left with a big reason to be excited for the forthcoming full length debut from the band.

We might well be a little bit in love with Conveyor, and by the end of 2012, we hope you will be too.

“Mukraker” will be formally released as part of a split 7″ single with fellow Brooklyn outfit, Illuminator, and it will also be available on their Bandcamp page on 2 Jan.

UPDATE You can now stream the song directly, right here.

Merry Christmas From Alphabet Bands!

Merry Christmas from all of us here at Alphabet Bands. Thank you all for your support this year, we look forward to sharing even more great new music, interviews, reviews and features with you in 2012.

For now though, here’s a little something to help get you in the mood.

Merry Christmas!

Kites Release New Track: “This Jumped-Up Boy In Livery”

Yesterday Kites gave us all an early Christmas present when they released a brand new track, “This Jumped-Up Boy In Livery”, online. As we know from our chat with lead singer Matthew a few weeks ago, he values honesty in his music above almost everything, so it is not difficult to guess where “Jumped-Up Boy…” is coming from. It’s even less difficult when the singer himself posts accompanying messages like this one:

“Never before have I had the audacity to pen lyrics that are so indulgently self-pitying – and, for me, that’s saying something. Let’s just say that it has been one of those months.”

If the result will always be this delightful Matthew, we say do it more often. Like preceding single, ”Brother” the narrative is not only clear but framed in some very modern sounding retro synth melodies. There is a dash of Delphic about this track as well as just a pinch of the Human League, combining to make a truly intoxicating mixture.

As for the indulgent self-pity, pah. The very best pop music is built on a foundation of introspection, insecurity and even a degree of self-loathing. We’d much rather hear that than brash, self indulgent glorification of success and celebrity. You went to the VIP section of the club again? That’s nice dear.

Anyway, if Kites keep banging out tracks as sharp and entertaining as this, it could well be a long time before Matthew finds himself suffering “one of those months” again.

“This Jumped-Up Boy In Livery” is available via Kites Soundcloud page and you can stream it below.

Free Download: Paper Crows Cover Kate Bush – Cloudbusting

While the majority of music critics fell over themselves to praise Kate Bush’s first new album in forever to the hilt and shoe-horn it into end of year lists, we were left more than a little underwhelmed. It is true to say that like most, we were very excited by the prospect of new material from Ms Bush, so much so that we originally overlooked the frankly ridiculous premise and execution of lead track, “Wild Man” and allowed it to make us even more excited for what 50 Words For Snow had in store. Ultimately the delivered album felt like a letdown and a major disappointment. Yes, there are many that will disagree (we can hear the emails being typed out as we speak) but there you go.

Thankfully salvation is at hand, not from Ms Bush herself, but from London-based goth-pop duo, Paper Crows, who have taken it upon themselves to remind us of how good she could be by releasing their haunting cover of “Cloudbusting” as a free download. The track has been kicking around online for ages but that should not detract from its quality. Emma Panas’ ethereal, icy vocal is a lovely and surprising contrast to Bush’s warm, rich voice and the addition of Bjork’s drums from “Human Behaviour” actually sits perfectly underneath it all.

You can stream the track below and if you love it, which hopefully you will, you can download it for free from the bands website.