Tongues return with Heartbeat, their first new release of 2016 and, as we've come to expect from Tongues, it's a track that you can't help but love. Balancing complex music which brings to mind the likes of Hot Chip and Radiohead in one of their better moods, with the band's trademark electropop and all topped off with a chorus that perfectly fits the currently summery feel of their hometown Glasgow, Heartbeat is a track you don't want to miss.
Grab the single at the following places and watch our for a new e.p. from Tongues very soon. You should also note that Heartbeat is the first release on Little Tiger, a brand new independent label run from the Riverside Music Complex in Busby. Keep an eye out for more from them too.
2015 has been a year when my ears have been stuffed with outstanding new tunes both from seasoned artists and from new ones. One of the many wonderful things about writing this blog is the number of tunes that artists send me to listen to, so Best Single focuses on songs that have been sent to me or that I've stumbled upon online. That means Everything Everything miss out for No Reptiles and Hot Chip miss out for Hurrache Lights but they'll cope. This isn't going to be a top twenty however as I don't want to miss anything out from what has been a great year for music - instead, it'll be a review of sorts followed by the virtual handing over of the virtual award.
Electronic music is this blog's main thing and a number of acts I've got to know and whose music I love have released a number of singles this year and they are all worth listening to if you haven't already. Leading the way are Tongues who's three singles (Anymore, Religion and You Never Knew Me) have all been on heavy rotation round here this year. Check out Tongues Soundcloud page other them all. What makes Tongues stand out is the sheer digital perfection of their take on electronic pop. At the other end of that spectrum, you'll find the "melancholitronica" of Shards three singles ( Just To Get Something Started, Afterwards and Sad Sayonara, Goodbye) fit the band's self anointed description perfectly. Clever, thoughtful electronic music that, like Tongues, won't fail to move you. Again, check out Shards Soundcloud page to enjoy the music yourself.
Apache Darling are another band who've rightly grabbed a lot of attention this year. Firebird was an example of powerful synthpop that really caught my ear this year. Their powerful love performances are always worth catching too. Also on the pop front, Kloe's Grip and Touch were highlights this year. You suspect that big things await Kloe. One of my real favourites this year were Twi§ted, the Glasgow based duo who are going to be huge next year. Everything they've released this year has been superb and Scunnered was a close runner up to the event winner of this award. Here's the video for the track that the band released last week
Continuing the electronic theme, Shona Brown had a superb year with her 10 in 10 project which saw her release a single a month from November 2014 onwards. This year's Your Silence Is So Loud was my favourite of the bunch. Fiona Soe Paing's Heartbeat and Analog Angel's Your Breath showed new exciting sides to acts, both of which promise much for the future. Let's not forget HQFU too whose Dust & Dirt and Ca$hle$$ Lip$ have already seen an Almost Predictable head her way. YuTaNi gave us one of this year's great tracks with Mt. Minakami. Away from Scotland, synthpop singles by Rodney Cromwell, High Jinx and the superb Priest were also highlights. Death Of Hi Fi's superb Swim Away is also a track you really have to catch from 2015.
It wasn't all synthpop though. Edinburgh's Gus Harrower produced confident, insanely catchy pop with Girl I Didn't Know and the marvellous Mt Doubt's Soak was a towering beast of a song. Wozniak and Kill The Waves also produced some superb material and Woodenbox gave us one of the songs of the year with More Girl Than Friend.
There's only one Almost Predictable however and this year, the Almost Predictable for Best Single goes to The Insomniac Project for their frankly perfect debut single In And Out (Of My Head) which this blog was proud to exclusively preview in August. This band is surely bound to get bigger and bigger. Their music is infectious and their live performances already have something of a celebratory air to them that should only see them play to bigger and bigger audiences as they develop. One to keep and eye on for certain. I caught up with Debz and Andy from the band for a chat. Before we get to that though, have a listen to the track
APA: Congratulations on winning the Almost Predictable for Best Single for In And Out (Of My Head). How's 20125 been for you?
Andy: It's been a great year, put simply. Even though we launched as a band in late 2014, we feel that this has been the first year that we can look back on and appreciate what we've done. We've hit a few milestones that we wanted to hit and, most importantly, we are on the up and pushing forward with more exciting things. We're played some great shows and still have a couple more to play, so for me, personally, having the connection and energy on stage and seeing it rub off on the crowd has been a highlight.
APA: What have been your highlights of this year?
Debz: There are two highlights for me. Our single launch at Sleazy's was mega. The venue was packed and the atmosphere was amazing. (APA: I was there and it was). I have to say though, our recent gig at King Tut's with Crash Club and Our Future Glory was something else! I've seen so many of my favourite bands play there, so I felt a bit giddy. It was a wicked night, although I think I'm still feeling the effects of the overzealous lighting man and his extreme strobe action!
APA: How did you find the reaction to the single? It seemed to go down extremely well.
Debz: We were a bit overwhelmed with the reaction to the single, so many kind words from bloggers and journalists. It was definitely what we wanted for the first single, but it's certainly not what we expected. In fact, we got quite a few emails that we were looking at thinking "Is this spam? Because if not it's AMAZING!"
APA: Your live shows are fast developing a reputation for being something special - how have you found the reaction to your gigs this year?
Debz: We've only played a small number of gigs, so to see people dancing and singing along to stuff is brilliant. I'd like to think we always bring loads of energy to the live shows, so it's amazing to see the audience getting into it too. We're definitely going to try and play a lot more next year.
APA: What are your plans for 2016?
Debz: As well as getting a few more gigs under our belt, we're working on a new single. I get the feeling 2016 will come with as many surprises as 2015. We've got a bit of a plan in mind, but the exciting thing is seeing what unexpected things happen along the way.
Andy: Yeah, as Debz say, we do have a plan in mind, however, ultimately we just want to keep growing as a band and keep having fun. We feel we've only just scratched the surface as far as exploring sounds and writing material is concerned so there will be plenty of time spent creating new songs and, critically, letting our fans hear them live and on record.
APA: Finally, given how this blog began there's an obligatory Depeche Mode question. What's your favourite Depeche Mode track?
Andy: Got to be honest, I'm not the biggest DM fan (sorry) (APA - that's ok...) however they do have a couple of cracking songs. Personal Jesus is really tribal and has a great drive to it - out of their big hits that's definitely my favourite. As a more left field option. The Things You Said from Music For The Masses is a really nice song. It screams 80's New Romantic, however it does have a sense of timelessness about it and some of the synth lines and lead parts are beautiful. It's a sort of lullaby almost, similar to Asleep by The Smiths which is another song I love
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Basically, picking The Things You Said forgives any suggestion of not being a big DM fan - easily one of the band's most wonderful tracks. Anyway....thanks very much to The Insomniac Project for taking part and I look forward to hearing what the band has to come for 2016. As for all the other bands who've sent me songs this year, thank you too and please feel free to keep sending as much music as you want next year and beyond.
Congratulations to The Insomniac Project - well deserved!
Hot on the heels of July's excellent Religion (review), Tongues return with the next track from their debut e.p. which is due out in a few weeks' time.
You Never Knew Me is, for me, the best Tongues track to date. Filled to the brim with Kraftwerk like bleeps and beeps, overlayed with superb beats, the track builds to a surprising but excellently powerful ending. What's exciting about this track and indeed all Tongues work, is that every new track represents a progression from the last. I'm looking forward to seeing how they top You Never Knew Me as it's really rather special.
Tongues are one of the bands I've featured on my ongoing New Bands 2015 series (right here) and they caught my ear because the superb Colours In The Dark and Anymore were two of the finest examples of synthpop I'd heard in a long time. Anymore also featured on the second Almost Scottish Fiction e.p. which you can still grab at no cost at all here. It's no surprise that Tongues have continued to attract praise from all sorts of places and their recent set at T In the Park on the BBC Introducing stage unsurprisingly went down a storm.
The excellent news I have for you Tongues have released a new track today and that track, Religion, is available for you to listen to below. Religion is a cracking track; a combination of chants, vocoded vocals, laid back beats and instantly catchy synth melodies that you can easily see a packed venue bouncing along to very happily indeed. This track is a prime example of why Tongues are fast becoming talked about in more than just blogging circles. Religion is a prime slice of clever, hook laden electronic music that you are bound to fall in love with.
For more info about Tongues, check out their Facebook page
Following the success of Almost Scottish Fiction Volume 1, we and Scottish Fiction are delighted to announce the release of Almost Scottish Fiction Volume 2. For this release, we've increased the number of tracks from 4 to 6, giving you 50% more new Scottish music that is entirely free to download, listen to and fall in love with. Once you've grabbed this, go and check out the bands' websites, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, see them live and buy their music. This month's tracks are:
APACHE DARLING - MORE THAN ME
Apache Darling are a synthpop duo from Glagsow who produce some of the finest pop music the city has produced in ages. More Than Me was the first track they released and it rightly gained a lot of attention. Apache Darling are a genuinely thrilling prospect and More Than Me captures all that is great about this band
very very small inclusions - RAIN RAIN
With a band name taken from the grading scale used to judge the clarity of diamonds, you'd expect crystalline clear music from very very small inclusions. What you get is a dispersion of influences and ideas, with themes of introspection. This track, Rain Rain features heavy tom-toms, with pure and acoustic sounds, and airy vocals. This track is taken from the band's album Dispersions.
TONGUES - ANYMORE
Tongues is Tim Kwant from Kill The Waves solo project and Anymore was his first release. The song was a smash on Soundcloud and the buzz it created spread far and wide. A slice of laid back electro pop with a huge chorus, Anymore will grab you straight away and never let you go.
BEAM - HEX
BEAM is the glorious sounds of singer and songwriter Amy MacDougall, who has been in the past better known for contributing to other people's music; for example King Creosote. However, Hex is the sound of her own music, mysterious vocal loops, cello, piano and an overall dreamy feel.
THE INSOMNIAC PROJECT - BREAKAWAY
The Insomniac Project have kindly allowed us to use a brand new track, Breakaway and it is a cracker. Disco fused with LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip, Breakaway is destined to get anyone grooving. The band play a headline show at Stereo in Glasgow on May 30 - go along and watch Breakaway work its disco magic
SEAS, STARRY - NEWARK
Coming from the Aberdeen four piece's album Tyto Alba, Newark is a perfect illustration of the effects laden ambient music that Seas, Starry produce so well. Taking influence from the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Errors, the band drag the listener's ear to the furthest edges of electronic instrumental music
It seems that every time I look at Twitter or Facebook, I discover a new Glasgow based electronic band and for someone who tries to cover that sort of thing, that's excellent. Last night I came across Tongues and, by a rather marvellous coincidence, they've released new track Anymore today. Tongues are described on their website (http://www.tonguesmusic.com/) as "Bold Synths, Deep Subs and Vocoders" which pretty much nails it. With definite echoes of the likes of early Hot Chip, Tongues' debut track, Colours In The Dark, introduces the band perfectly. It's an instantly memorable track and one that has rightly been praised by anyone who's heard it
The follow up, Anymore, is a sparser, more minimal affair that combines electronics, beats and a superb chorus to quite wonderful effect. It's something that I'd recommend you go and hear straight away.
Tongues' debut gig is on 12 April at Broadcast in Glasgow and it's definitely one to get along to. For more information, check out their website above or the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/tonguesmusic?fref=ts)
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