New video: The Drums -- Me and the Moon

ONE of the acts of 2010 return with this fun-loving video for Me and the Moon.
Although it's the first video without Adam Kessler, The Drums remain effortlessly cool.

Beastie Boys announce Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 track list

THE circus surrounding Beastie Boys' forthcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 continues to grow by the day.
In a statement issued on beastieboys.com, the trio announced the track listing for Part 2, scheduled for a spring 2011 release, will be pretty much the same as that of Part 1.
Let's hope it's worth the wait.

Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 track list:

Tadlock's Glasses
B-Boys In The Cut
Make Some Noise
Nonstop Disco Powerpack
OK
Too Many Rappers (featuring Nas)
Say It
The Bill Harper Collection
Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)
Long Burn The Fire
Funky Donkey
Lee Majors Come Again
Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament
Pop Your Balloon
Crazy Ass Shit
Here's A Little Something For Ya

New track: Cee-Lo Green -- Old Fashioned

CEE-LO Green follows-up his mega-smash Fuck You with Old Fashioned - the next hit from his up-coming album The Lady Killer.
Enjoy.

Keepaway -- Sideways Smile

Keepaway from mentioning Animal Collective
KEEPAWAY exploded onto our radar earlier this year with the release of Yellow Wings, but its hazy, polyphonic ambience is sadly a distant memory in Sideways Smile.
Sideways Smile is more of a sideways step, sounding similar to a rough cut from one of Animal Collective's earlier albums.
But we can't be too harsh on Brooklyn three-piece. Keepaway remain one of 2010's most exciting discoveries and Kompetitor, the forthcoming free digital release, is sure to keep us occupied for a few months.

Kanye West's "banned" artwork

KANYE West left an intriguing tweet just before I retired for my well-earned 40 winks last night – oh, the mires of maintaining a transatlantic relationship.
It read: “Yoooo they banned my album cover!!!!! Ima tweet it in a few...”
Well, he posted the “banned” cover to forthcoming My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a couple of hours later and, within minutes, it was everywhere.
What the hell is it? It kinda looks how Kanye would look if he were morphed with Sonic the Hedgehog, getting jiggy with Ronald McDonald's winged mother in a drunken stupor.
He added: “In the 70s album covers had actual nudity... It's so funny that people forget that... Everything has been so commercialized now.”
They’ve done you a favour, Kanye. You were cooler when you wore a backpack.
Kanye seems to be the PR king and this revelation can only heighten the frenzy surrounding MBDTF’s release in November.
Luminous Plectrum cannot wait

Top five albums of 2009

2009? Aren't you a bit late?
LUMINOUS Plectrum is busy compiling its end of year lists for 2010 and, while we're at it, here's a reminder of what tickled the fancies last year.

5. Wild Beasts – Two DancersI FEEL far too guilty to be putting this incredible piece of work at number five but, alas, that’s life. Wild Beasts have matured from 2008’s spellbinding Limbo, Panto, to release the beautiful Two Dancers, one of 2009’s greatest highlights. Hayden Thorpe has one of the most definitive, erratic and distinguishing voices in indie rock and clearly sets this band apart from the rest. They’ve grown from the rough and ready hits from Limbo Panto, which included Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants – arguably one of the greatest songs of the century - to produce immaculate, if a little unfashionable, masterpieces. Bassist Tom Fleming shares more of the vocals on this release and his deeper tones are welcome, but it will always be Thorpe’s punishing vocals that will propel this band to greatness. Think Kate Bush mixed with a little Sparks.
Stand out track: Hooting and Howling

4. Girls – AlbumWE had been waiting a while for Girls’ debut album and it hasn’t disappointed. This could have been my album of the year and it is a clear surf-rock classic for the 21st century (not in the way The Thrills were billed to be a few years back) but I guess I am just fonder of the three above it. Girls are exciting and Album is a joy to listen to. Its androgynous, drug-induced lyrics will push you deeper under Album’s skin with each listen. This is one enjoyable discovery.
Stand out track: Laura

3. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus PhoenixPHOENIX'S latest effort is pop music at its finest. The French rockers have built up a reputation as a band who can put a smile on anyone’s face with hook-driven Summer rock tunes and have put in a stellar effort in trying to succeed their previous and flawless release It’s Never Been Like That. The album is just over 30 minutes long but don’t let that put you off. It’s quality, not quantity and there is a hell of a lot of quality crammed into this beauty. Up-beat opener Lisztomania is one of the catchiest tracks of the year and sets a high precedent but 1901, Fences, Rome and Girlfriend ensure the sun is always shining when listening to this.
Stand out track: 1901

2. Future of the Left – Travels With Myself and AnotherTHIS album is visceral, vicious, vivacious and oh so victorious. We are all mourning the death of Mclusky but this confirms they really are dead. Explosive front man Andy Falkous is on absolute form screaming through alarmingly tight punk rock tracks such as Arming Eritrea, Chin Music and You Need Satan More Than He Needs You. If you haven’t checked out Future of the Left (formed of members from Mclusky and Jarcrew), you really must. FotL are definitely my favourite live act of this year and Travels With Myself and Another is album you won’t be able to take out of your stereo for some time. Prepare to be gripped.
Stand out track: You Need Satan More Than He Needs You

1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post PavilionPICKING the number one slot was the most difficult part of this list. I thought long and hard as to whether Merriweather Post Pavilion deserved it…and it does by a long shot. To have been released in January and to still hold a significant of playing time on my iPod is something to be commended. It truly is their best effort yet and is a supersonic assault on the senses. They have released countless efforts prior to this but it seems AC have finally created a concise, majestic sound that could easily see them become one of the most important outfits in the past ten years. The wonderful opener, In The Flowers, is arguably one of the greatest music moments of the year. It starts off lazy but explodes into something utterly breathtaking. This is a special album and from the sound of the Fall To Be Kind EP, released earlier this month, it seems as if AC are going to get better and better.
Stand out track: Bluish

Diamond Rings -- Something Else

Diamonds are forever.
JOHN O'Regan is having a storming 2010.
After releasing Luminous Plectrum's song of 2009 All Yr Songs towards the back end of last year, the Canadian's been very busy with new releases being thrust into our ear drums left, right and centre.
Something Else is a tight piece of indie pop and its low budget video reflects the song's sincerity.
This is essential viewing.
His anticipated debut album Special Affections is out on October 25.

John and Jehn announce UK tour dates

ABSORBING French lo-fi duo John and Jehn will embark on a UK tour this November.
John and Jehn are building up a reputation for their electrifying live performances and recently toured with British Sea Power.

Tour dates:

November 15 - The Cooler Club, Bristol
November 16 - Old Blue Last, London
November 17 - Captains Rest, Glasgow
November 18 - The Deaf Institute, Manchester
November 19 - Moles, Bath
November 20 - Stealth/Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
November 22 - Forum, Sheffield
November 23 - Haymakers, Cambridge
November 24 - Coalition, Brighton

Artist spotlight: The Disappeared

TO define Manchester, it would be sensible to say it’s a cultural hub that spawned some of the greatest and most important bands in music history.
Yeah, yeah, we can name drop all day (joydivisionthesmithsandmorrisseyneworderthedurutticolumnthefallbuzzcocksthestonerosesautechre….and breath) but what about the current Manchester bands gigging hard in front of a daunting backdrop that is the city’s illustrious music past?
The Disappeared are a four-piece indie/rock band that take the best bits of their predecessors and main influences (The Clash, Bloc Party, The Cribs, LCD Soundsystem) and package it into a fiercely infectious, guitar-driven sound – with attitude.
Songs Welcome Back, Take Me to Manhattan, Step It Up and Karen Silkwood are superbly well-written and already have the band’s stamp of quintessentially British catchy guitar hooks entwined with passionate vocals – which is even more impressive as they only formed in late 2008.
Take a slab of The Jam, sprinkle with a touch of Wire and gloss with Inspiral Carpets and you’ll have something pretty close to The Disappeared.
Luminous Plectrum took time out with The Disappeared’s Jeremy Santhouse, whose voice and vocal style is similar to Mark E Smith’s but clearer and with more conviction, to find out a bit more about them.

LP: Who do you sound like?
I think that, like most bands, we probably still sound like some of our influences. It's inevitable, really, for anyone working in any creative medium. I guess if you're a writer just starting out, you'll probably be writing a little in the style of your favourite author or journalist. Same if you're an artist or a musician. It takes time to find your own voice.
LP: Who are your influences?
Lyrically it started with people like Joe Strummer and Paul Weller. Both of them produced songs which changed my life and my understanding of the world. More recently, though, I think people like Mike Skinner, Jarvis Cocker, Guy Garvey and Alex Turner have all produced amazing work.

LP: What are your musical influences?
They tend to vary according to what I'm listening to. I'm very easily influenced. Right now I love the Cribs, Editors, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Queens of The Stone Age. Hmm, all quite "guitar-ey" too, I've just realised. I'm listening to a lot of Oasis again as well. And I keep re-discovering Revolver by the Beatles. It's my favourite Beatles album, because of the arrangements, and the sheer quality of the song-writing.

LP: Do you play live often? Have you got any future gigs lined up?
We've gigged a fair bit in the last 18 months, mostly around Manchetser and the North-West. One of our very first gigs was at Chorlton Arts Festival last year, which was slightly nerve-wracking! I'm just in the middle of writing some new songs now, so when they're finished we shall definitely be out gigging again.
LP: Where would you like to see yourselves in the next five years?
It'd be nice to think we'd be popular or well-known (which aren't necessarily the same thing). One of the big difficulties we face musically is the current X-Factor/Britain's Got Talent culture. It's empty, it's shallow and as Sting recently identified, it does little more than produce a succession of Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston/Boyzone clones. There's nothing original about that.

My upbringing was by courtesy of The Clash, The Jam and numerous other bands who made my head spin with excitement. Even today, I find very few bands putting out songs whose lyrics make me go "wow". Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys is a fine song writer; Mike Skinner of The Streets broke ground in his delivery and use of English, advancing on what Eminem had done some years previously. But a modern-day "Setting Sons" album? A 21st century "Sandinista" with that giant sweep of politics, history, social comment and rock'n'roll? Don't make me laugh. Nobody's even coming close.

Sure, you can find examples of folk bands and singer-songwriters who are prepared to put their hearts on their sleeves (Billy Bragg, I'm applauding you here). But where are the mainstream rock bands who are trying to take on the mass market with some intelligence? My list consists of the Manic Street Preachers, perhaps The Cribs too, but precious little else.

So here's the dilemma. Should I be writing songs to fill that gap? Listen to the songs on our website - I'm happy tackling the untouchables as Radio 1 might call them (politics or religion to name but two subjects). Or should I just say "fuck it" and stick to Moon/June, Love/Above and similar rhymes?

Actually I know that the answer is to stick to my guns, stay focussed and write about the stuff that's important to me. As Edwyn Collins says in A Girl Like You: "....Too many protest singers, not enough protest songs." Maybe *that's* part of what we need as an antidote to X Factor music: less of this empty vacuous rubbish and more protest songs, more commitment, more statements of intent. You can count me in.

You can listen to The Disappeared by clicking here.

We HEART new music. If you would like to have your band featured, e-mail luminous_plectrum@hotmail.co.uk

Gauntlet Hair -- Out, Don't...

Running the gauntlet
GAUNTLET Hair follow up the thrilling I Was Thinking with this whirring example of luscious guitar-driven magic.
Following I Was Thinking’s formula of distorted, jagged axe wielding and dramatic, echoed vocals, Out, Don’t… fully justifies the enormous promise the duo exerts and exhibits astronomical aural euphoria.
These lads are possibly the most exciting act to come out of 2010.
You can find Out, Don’t… on Gauntlet Hair’s new EP Out, Don’t.../Heave via Mexican Summer.

Album review: 3OH!3 -- Streets of Gold

WARNING: This album offends life itself
BRASH electro popsters 3OH!3 have delivered an album that’s perfectly polished but ultimately corrosive to the eardrums.
Streets of Gold, the third studio album from Colorado the two-piece, is jammed with loud, obnoxious pop tunes complete with ridiculous, sometimes deliberately confrontational, lyrics that offer less substance than an empty carrier bag.
The pair tell of stories brimmed with youthful confidence – which would be fine if Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman both weren’t in their mid to late 20s.
Déjà Vu boasts of drunken misogynistic debauchery as they complain of going to the same bars, chatting to the same girls and getting into the same shenanigans on their, quite clearly, fun-filled nights on the tiles.
The anthemic We Are Young could cause an uprising of trendy angst-ridden teens with lyrics like “we are young, we are young/we drink and fight and we love just because” but they up their song-writing calibre in House Party, chanting “Gonna have a house party in my house”.
For most of Streets of Gold, the listener will question whether if this is serious or a parody, but worryingly it seems as if they are trying to pass this off as plausible music. What's the point of taking the piss if The Lonely Island does it a million times better?
There is a plus side to the album – the synth-heavy backing tracks, with vicious hip-hop snare beats sound current and fresh and have been crafted with style.
The streets may be paved with gold for this platinum-selling duo but this album is a challenge from start to finish.

Album review: Disturbed -- Asylum

ASYLUM, the fifth studio album from US hard rock titans Disturbed, is a record that offers less mobility than a straight jacket.
Disturbed have made a fortune sticking to the formula of David Draiman's ear-shredding vocals over thundering guitar riffs but it's all very much the same here.
Instrumental album opener Remnants maintains a steady pace before Asylum explodes into life with Mike Wengren's machine gun-esque foot drum beat and a thick, rumbling bass line.
But this has to be the album's only high-point as it sinks into a murky pool of mediocrity.
The gruesomely named The Infection starts promisingly with its breathtaking introduction but crumbles away without a whimper and the same can be said for Never Again, despite Draiman's thought-provoking lyrics on the holocaust.
The album's song titles are particularly morbid, such as Sacrifice, Crucified and Another Way To Die, but it all fits in perfectly with the suffocating, gloomy atmosphere the record conjures.
Heavy metal fans should love it but there's very little here for the easier listener to get excited about.

Bands that should have been bigger: Stellastarr*

REJOICE! Luminous Plectrum returns.
DO you, like me, lie awake at night thinking which bands were cruelly denied indie world domination by the likes of The Killers, The Kaiser Chiefs and Kings of Leon? Damn you, NME.
While we're hearing the abomination that is Brandon Flowers' new solo material, it's an ideal time to sit back and remember the forgotten artists circa-2003/2004.
First up - Stellastarr*
Who? The new-wave New Yorkers repackage the excting aspects of Talking Heads and early R.E.M to cook-up a blistering energy that's as enthralling as frontman Shawn Christensen's dazzling vocals.
Their debut self-titled album, released in 2003, picked up relative success but the follow ups, Harmonies for the Haunted (2005) and Civilized (2009), have been largely and criminally ignored this side of the Atlantic.
It's a travesty that such talent should be overshadowed by tepid, watery wank.