Discovery: Portugal. The Man, My Bloody Valentine, Glasvegas

Listen to me carefully: I have never known a period in my musical history like the last year. The lucky thing is that whilst my methods of musical consumption have changed my fervour for new music is higher than ever before and now, via this blog and reviewing on God is in the TV, I have found more new bands that I like and have expanded my musical repitore further in the last 9 months than in years, closely related to 2003 for new bands.



Portugal. The Man
Experimental rock? Dividing musical opinion? Sounding like a best of compilation of various genres? Portual. The Man, apart from playing havoc with the Word grammar check, are one of those bands found whilst browsing message boards and Wikipedia genre lists that via the love of Last.fm and Myspace they perked my intrigue. A couple of downloads later I have decided that they are good. The take influences from the last 500 years of music distilling that impressive and imerssive sound clash and came out with a sound that has made other critics go “This is just piss” and some go “I like the nature of this”. I fall in the latter camp, and really quite like them.
Sounds Like: The Mars Volta being told to make their songs 4 minutes long or they wil be forced to play Girls Aloud songs.
Try: Chicago, from Waiter: “You Vultures!”


My Bloody Valentine
Okay, I am late to the party with this one. I had not even heard to My Bloody Valentine 4 months ago. Well, that might not be true – I am sure I had heard them, but knew who they were? Understood their importance? Not a chance, but after the furore over their live shows in the last months (including 20 minutes of white noise) I have to admit I missed them pretty outrageously. Why? Not sure… but they are fantastic, especially Loveless, their second album. Is there a third album due 18 years after they stopped? I hope so.
Sounds Like: The Smiths being thrown into a box of explosions
Try: I Only Said from “Loveless”

Glasvegas
I might have been late to the party with My Bloody Valentine by I have been on the bleeding edge with Glasvegas, finding them a year ago playing Libertines raw rock now they are the second coming of shoegaze. To many young indie boys I will call shenanigans on the Twilight Sad or Proclaimers shouts – that is just people realising that most Scottish artist sing out of the accent, good or bad. However, following the lead of Roddy Woomble in his later years, the Scottish Accent is going the way of Arab Strap and making a resurgence. And it works on the Glasvegas records. Expect a review of the album soon.
Sounds Like: The Beach boys with a hang over playing at the far end of a room