If you are a fan of post-punk music and raw guitar playing (or melodic rants), there’s no way you should miss this Leeds lads that we’re featuring for this week’s The Next Big Thing. They are Eagulls. People tend to know and recognize them because of “the open letter” that they put on their blog, and then they recently took it down. Because some people really took their post out of the context (even worse, some consider it as a publicity stunt, which seriously confuses us), we are not going to bring what the letter is all about, and we’ll be focusing more on their music.

Eagulls are a five-piece band consist of Mark ‘Goldy’ Goldsworthy (guitar), Henry Ruddel (drums), Liam Matthews (guitar), Tom Kelly (bass), and George Mitchell (vocals). The story of how they met is created by a circular friendship. Henry and George are a long-time buddy, and Liam met Henry at Leeds University. At that time Liam split up from a band which used to jam together with Goldy’s band, and their band stopped jamming. Long story short, after a couple of times of hiatus, the band decided to play together, and then George suggested the band to pick Henry as their vocalist since he used to play in a punk band.

Eagulls emerge as the ones to watch with their post-punk music and the genuine vocals that we really hail because we find them as a more rock version of the Cure. In March 2014, they launched their self-titled debut album. The album is opened by a raw intro, with a fierce bassline that will constantly remind you to the other post-punk bands. Some of their songs like ‘Possessed’ or ‘Tough Luck’ will give you a little vibe of the early Clash (and once again we have to mention the Cure). If you listen to their previous work, the album sounds darker and gloomier, and it’s agreed by Mitchell on his interview with Interview Magazine “When we first started, it was experimenting and stuff like that. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve gotten more bitter, and more agitated with what we’re doing. When you’re doing the same thing over and over again you do get pissed off. Working shitty retail jobs, moving house every year because we’re on student contracts, shit like that. That’s why the music has gotten a bit darker.”

They may sound darker, but Eagulls deliver a music that totally will satisfy post-punk music fans. Their amazing adrenalin rush sounds give a tight melody and a great combination of a loose noise. Eventhough The Guardian’s Paul Lester wrote “Arguably the least interesting thing about Eagulls is their music. It is, to our ears anyway, standard trebly/tinny ramshackle punky thrash that sounds like a rocky Cure attempting to approximate the primeval clatter…”, we still in an awe with this Leeds-based post-punk’s tremendous potential and everyone is going to agree they will be one of the best England’s exports, especially after their performance on David Letterman.

Here comes the first band for 2014’s edition of The Next Big Thing (We know you all are cheering “Finally!” over there, since we have been postponing to debut the first article for this weekly feature)! So, we decided to pick Darlia. The band who are hailing from Blakcpool but now are a Manchester-based rock band. Darlia consist of three members, they are Nathan Day (vocals), Dave Williams (bass), Jack Bentham (drums).

Nathan and Jack used to play together when they were 12 (however, they didn’t start it as a band), Nathan was on guitar and Jack on drums. As the time went by, they also stopped this ‘jamming-session’ and didn’t have any image to do anything about music.A couple of years later, the boys got to have a same shift as a cleaner at their college. They got their rhythm together again, and by the time Dave jumped in, the three decided to form a band and have found their vision for music. The name ‘Darlia’ is not a slang from a sexy looking supermodel Daria Werbowy. Nathan has sort of obsession with flowers. And one day, when they were about to have their first live show in Blackpool, right before they hit the stage, a girl came to him and brought him some flower. Since the band hadn’t settled with any names, the band decided to come up with Darlia as their name.

In 2013, they launched their debut E.P, ‘Knock Knock’. Most of the riffs ftom their songs will revive you to Nirvana, which you can clearly hear in their song, ‘Queen of Hearts’. It’s really hard not to find their music has a major influence of Nirvana’s, and a bit of reminiscent to Queens of The Stone Age’s. Eventhough the band state to QmunicateMagazine that they don’t have any influences to their music, Nathan said “Honestly, not in a negative way but I just don’t think there really is. We don’t try to make anything sound like anyone else. We can appreciate what people and other bands do but nothing really affects the way we sound. It literally sounds the way it is, because that is the way it is.”. What is really interesting to us is how Nathan’s vocals can channel from a Brit-pop sound to a howling rock n’ roll. The other thing that makes this band becomes very dynamic in sound is how they will remind you to The Cure and a bit of Placebo on song ‘Candyman’. The other track from Darlia that will hook you is ‘Choke On Bones’, the song erupts with a killer intro and a quiet chorus to get you into some mosh.

Darlia may sound like a mixture of modern age of Nirvana or Queens of The Stone Age, but they are surely going to resound the guitar music to be on track. Their bass-line, thrashy drums, and also addictive raspy roar that comes out of Nathan’s voice are the things that will make them go big and hard to forget (especially with the bleached-look that Nathan has, Kurt Cobain’s doppelgänger award!). The band made it very clear that they are not trying to be another version of others, “We’re not trying to sound like rock and roll; how can you make rock and roll sound different? We don’t want it to. We’re not inventors, we’re musicians.” said Nathan on who inspired their music. No matter how close or similar they sound to the other legendaries, Darlia have hooked us with their E.P (too bad it only has three songs) and also their other works which will bang our heads.

Katie in Waxahatchee definitely sounds much quieter, her debut album which was recorded in her bedroom, ‘American Weekend’, contains of her honest and emotional lyrics wrapped by a sweet acoustic guitar. The debut was released in 2012 and it was named as the top album in 2012 by Dusted Magazine, and even Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 is a fan of her song, ‘Be Good’. Her highly praised work on the debut is followed by the second album, ‘Cerulean Salt’. The second album still sounds as good as the first one, but the materials are quiet different. Both of the albums have a different state of the emotional states, “The first record comes from this place of emotional desperation. The second record comes from an observation of being at a certain place in your life, realizing that your childhood is over and realizing where your life is going to go. It’s more of an observation of a certain point in your life. It’s raw, and sad. Both records are sad. The first record is broader than the second.” said Katie on the materials of both of the albums.

Waxahatchee is just pure, you might think most of her songs are just narrating about sad stories, but there is actually more in it. It tell about the point of view in her life, it’s just not the plain sad story that has nothing in it. Musics like Waxahatchee don’t come really often lately, that is why Guardian.com also gives an A to Waxahatchee, “No wonder she is being greeted so warmly: older critics haven’t had one of these for a while, and younger ones won’t have experienced one in real time. She reeks of 1993, does Crutchfield, and she recalls the heyday of college radio and alt rock”

Their first debut, ‘Shelter Song’, is an experimental song which turns into a genius work with an amazing influence of west coast pop. You’ll hear this kaleidoscopic effect on their songs which is a result of the vintage equipments that they used to the songs. As we quote from Guardian on Temples’ Shelter Song “The singer gets the vocals just right, sounding appropriately intoxicated, dazed and suffused with surreal daydreams, with his invocations to “take me away to the twilight zone”. Temples have performed with bands like Mystery Jets, Stealing Sheep, and Moon Duo in Leeds. The newbies of Heavenly Recording which is a label for TOY, really good at things that they do, their experimental work with sounds or effects doesn’t lose a sight of their songs, we are pretty much sure Temples need to get the recognitizion (they deserve).

Temples have this infectious melodies which will linger on your mind once you listen to their music,  If you are a die-hard fans of psychedelic music, you’ll have this higher expectation for the original psychedelic tunes on their music, but Temples are a fabulous new band that will give you a nonstop hallucinogenic experience.

The dynamic duo brings back the baggy music to the 2000s era. If Baggy doesn’t ring you a bell, we’re going to explain it. Baggy  was a dance-oriented music which was such a happening music in british in the late 1980s – early 1990s. Baggy was pretty much on the same way as the madchester’s band. And Yes, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays can be considered in having baggy influences. Enough with the music history lesson and now Back to Jagwar Ma! Jagwar Ma attract the praises from the press after releasing another song “The Throw”. The press applauds the dup for their skillful way in mixing the music, the madchester scene got intertwined with a psychedelic glazed and more groovy tunes.

According to their Facebook page, Jagwar Ma got their influences in making music by Aphex Twin, Phil Spector, and Martin Hannett. In the early 2013, the duo were chosen to be one of the line-up for Big Day Out 2013’s side show. The duo are now with the label Future Classic ( which also has worked with Tensnake, Classix, Flight Facilities, and many more).

Jagwar Ma are just another prove of how great Sydney’s music scene in building their amazing new music. And eventhough we are still confused why they put their location into “Antartica” as they also said that they are living in Sydney plus having great moments in Berlin and Tours. Those places don’t even have a connection with Antartica, well, You shouldn’t even care to stuffs on Face Book (And why are we discussing it anyway). We just can’t wait to see how Jagwar Ma wrap up their debut album and demolish their greatness, mate!

It started by when the musical partners, bassist/vocalist Chilli Jesson, guitarist/vocalist Sam Fryer, keyboardist Peter Mayhew and drummer Will Doyle met at Reading Festival’s campfire. The band were formed in 2011, the main reason of why Palma Violets were formed is they just don’t feel the music when they saw other bands and it seems bringing the band to the another level. The band also felt like they need to do something out of their boredomness with pub and clubbing. It brought them to host an event at a converted Georgian terrace in Lambeth, which’s called Studio 180. By performing there, Palma Violets got the turning point of the band’s career. Rough Trade, the well-known indie label who released bands like The Strokes and The Libertines, snapped their performance that night.

Eventhough Palma Violet has passed some levels that many other new bands are aiming to, they still think they need to be covered from such a media coverage of their music. NME is one of the examples, NME labeled the band as “The best new band in Britain” and also put the band to be the next generation of The Libertines and The Strokes. This gives a different reaction from the band. The drummer, Will Doyle, said that this thing is such an over the top statement since the band only have three songs and it’s way too early to call them that way while the band are still in the very early stage of their career.

Palma Violets’ musical influences are garage rock and psychedelic, but the band that brought them into music are far from those rock star names who are famously known, it’s “Snatch and The Poontangs”. Snatch and Poontangs have been the band role model in making music, the band stated that Snatch and Poontangs are the best visual of how music should be created. If you know Snatch and The Poontangs, you must be very surprised with the fact of how Palma Violets put them as their role model, but if you haven’t heard of Snatch and The Poontangs before, We suggest you to look them up on the internet.

“Best Of Friends” which is the band’s first ever single, get to be voted by NME as song of the year of 2012. Zane Lowe also listed the band’s track on his “Hottest Record in The World”. Palma Violets’ debut album “180” which also worked by Pulp’s Steve Mackey, will be released on February 25th 2013. Palma Violet also join Django Django, Miles Kane, and Peace for NME Awards Tour 2013
Well, Palma Violets might only have done few songs, but we are sure once their debut album hit the store, it will reveal their purely great music. (Alcander Alonzo)

If we can quote from George Gerswhin that ”True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time..” ,  probably that prove whats happening right now in our local music scene. Time changes and we can get influences and ideas from so many places, some are just making it worst but some making the best of us out. Here are some of our local bands that we sees potentially giving their best out for this year.

STARS & RABBITS ( YK ) are an Indonesian folk music duo, formed in early 2011 in Yogyakarta. The group consisted of singer-songwriter Elda Suryani (born May 29, 1983) and musician Adi Widodo (born July 31, 1983). Their single ‘Worth It’ drew them attention from a small variety of communities in Indonesia and the United Kingdom, as part of the indie pop/folk scene. Stars and Rabbit engages a do-it-yourself approach to writing and recording. Their music is a melding of pop and folk influences with raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance.

Why? In this folk era which is getting bigger specially in Indonesia, this Jogja’s duo may have more attention because of the vocalist, Elda which previously was with supergroup EVO, have more soft and comfortable sound in this band.

contact:
+62 812 2704 0992 / +62 856 4380 4520 / link 

HIGHTIME REBELLION ( JKT ) A breath of fresh air with a unique breed between Brit pop, funk, folk, the psychedelic beat and baseline of House music, perfected with the sultry voice of its female vocalist, Indonesian indie band Hightime Rebellion, shapes a music genre of its own. Their upcoming album, which includes singles ‘Crest of Mind’, ‘Waking Hour’, ‘Writer in the Window’ and the notable ‘All Things Borrowed’, sounds like a Beatles-esque cover of Blondie songs with an atmosphere reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas.

Hightime Rebellion gained early popularity and cult following through the club music scene such as Indo Dance Music Festival and Revive, transgressing to indie gigs namely JKT: Superbad!, RRREC Music Festival, Time Out on the Up BDG: Minimaliste, Interlude. They finally drew public attention through large events, such as Nylon Music Festival 2011, Trax FM Terusik Traxkustik 2011 and Java Rockin’land 2011.

Why? Maybe this is one of the bands that we heard mostly in every gigs in 2011. After releasing 3 of their singles last year, they promised to make their full studio album this year, as one of Jakarta’s band who got signed under FFWD Records their debut album will be one of the most anticipated this year by indie music listener.

contact:
Marine Ramdhani of FFWD Records at 0818220164 / hightime.rebellion@gmail.com / @hightimeband

POLKA WARS ( JKT ) is an alternative band which formed in early 2010. At first, this Jakarta-based band consists of 4 young men : Karaeng Raja Adjie, Billy Aulia Saleh, Giovanni rahmadeva & Xandega Tahajuansya. Polka wars will also be assisted by a variety of reliable producers with a variety of different backgrounds from Indonesia. The first is Uga Swastadi, who’s continuing his musical studies in US at the moment, to the various experimental / noise / hip hop musicians such as Rizky Auliya (Sawi Lieu, Sangsaka Worship) and Wing Narada Putra (Maverick ), with hope that they’ll got a wide range of song characteristics on their next release.

Why? The rising of folk era will be more competitive because of quite many old bands coming back this year or some of them maybe changing their genre to folk. So this band with some Mumford & Sons kinda style, can be another alternative band we should anticipated as the next big thing.

Contact
Deva +62 857 1686 3638 / +62857 1686 3638 / @polkawars

Roman Foot Soldiers ( JKT ) Like their hometown Jakarta, Roman Foot Soldiers is a blend of many eccentric musical characters. Such contrasts however didn’t produce a clash of creativity, but it did inspire the group to pursue a sound unique enough to satisfy all band members’ appetite.

As for the name of the band, it represents both their fascination for epic war films and solidarity. Six distinct pieces brought together by a common cause: a passion for music.

Why? The band was made in Vancouver, Canada and actually already released their EP titled Kitsilano with 2 singles and a video clip titled ‘You Make Me Feel Like Summer’, and in late 2011 they also released their new video clip titled ‘Waterfront’. We put them on our list is because beside of their good looking appearances and also their songs remind us of a France band, Phoenix

Contact:
link@romanftsoldiers / link 

The Triangle ( BDG ) With sounds of indie rock mixed with acoustic guitar, The Triangle apparently got much influences from many alternative music from Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkin, The National till Snow Patrol. With music that more using dark theme, Riko which we may know from Mocca band, making this band more authentically as dark yet melodically sounded, or as they say their music are “Masculine, sophisticated, grande, technical, and melodious”

This band itself is on the process of making new album, and they said they’re inspired by isolation theme, which we can hear from their first single “How Could You”.

Why? Riko which more recognise from the swing indie pop band Mocca, already make moves and get more attention from his twitter and social network strategy and got positive respond from his fans, so this year they are going to release their second single. Lets see if Riko and his band can erase the image of his pervious swing style band.

Contact
Vira Yudha 0818622344
Triangle Management
Jl. Ambon No.8 Bandung
contact@thetriangleband.com
@triangle_band / link

Deugalih & Folks After spending years setting his “solo career” into first gear—-post-Schizophones—-in 2010, Deugalih officially created another talented ensemble to accommodate his peaking interest in folk music.

On August 17th, 2011, their single album debut, Earth, has been released by Wastedrockers. The single “Earth” was actually an old song by Deugalih, written in 1998. The song then received a full make-over and rearrangement which later was rerecorded as their single debut. Earth begins the Deugalih & Folks’ journey to their debut LP next year. In the mean time, we hope you will enjoy the single “Earth”. (Dede Wastedrockers)

Free download here ► 

Why? Try to download their single ‘Earth’, and you will know why we put them on our list as one of the most anticipated local band which the debut worth to be waiting for this year.

Contact
+62 8180 900 9272 (Ricky Arnold) / deugalih@yahoo.com /  link

[rendha/othy]

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