Mutes - Inertia

Hello again, gentle blog readers. It's been another while, hasn't it? There's been an awful lot of awful going on Chez TheGeneral and time has somewhat slipped away in a haze of something unmentionable (clue: life has been a breadless shit sandwich)

Nearly a month has passed without so much as a murmur, but I'm back again (briefly) to bring you glad tidings of great joy about a brand new EP from a wonderful act I've featured on here more than once.

If you're a regular visitor to this page (HI MUM I CAN SEE YOU!) you'll recognise the amazing Mutes who I've written about a fair bit. That's because I love them so. And I want you to as well.

James from the group is just about to release his 3rd solo EP called "Inertia", and the band's 4th in total. It comes out on 23rd February.

First of all, the necessaries:

The band's Twitter:

twitter.com/mutesmutesmutes

The band's Facebook

facebook.com/mutesuk

The band's Bandcamp

mutesuk.bandcamp.com/

I've been lucky enough to get a preview of "Inertia" this week and it's every bit as brilliant as I hoped it would be. It's a perfect mix of guitars, synths and shoegazy-breathiness.

Lead track from the EP is called "Less Existence" and if you go to their bandcamp page (linky above), you can stream and pre-order this track, like, now, dudes. I love the harmonies in it and the gentle repetition - it's got such a breezy depth to it and a feeling of space. The synths in it are just dinkily perfect and offer a great catchy hook.

The other main highlight on the EP for me, is "Soft Spots", which is simply beautiful - with its haunting guitar pick, and again, some dreamy, ethereal harmonies. This is real memory music, it's something to treasure and revel in. Every time you listen, you'll hear something new - and the EP bears repeated visits to get to the heart of it.

In total there are 6 tracks on this collection and every one offers something slightly different to the one before. Put 23rd February in your diaries and get this beauty downloaded - it's essential Spring listening!

Mutes - Starvation Age EP

And so, it continues. I welcome back theexistentialist for his second blog outing of the day. This time, he's also featuring another act I've written about before on these very pages. The spectacular Mutes...

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Mutes - Starvation Age EP

thegeneral has been kind enough to allow theexistentialist a 2^nd blog post. And once again, theexistentialist wants to talk about an artist first discovered by reading thegeneral’s blog.

Last year, thegeneral reviewed the brilliant debut EP by Mutes. thegeneral’s review can be found HERE. 

Well now, they are back with a brand new EP called Starvation Age. This is a cracking collection of tracks, and dear readers, you really ought to think about hoisting yourself over to this link on Bandcamp to buy the EP mutesuk.bandcamp.com/. 

The EP is beautifully sequenced, with each track weaving into the next, each song also manages to sound distinct and different to the previous. .

Boyish is a glorious and gentle intro that builds-up the noise level, and then unfolds into the more distorted, harder, rockier Holy Terror. The vocals are indiscernible, but are crucial to producing the disturbed and dark sound of this song. 

After a brutal opening, this melds into a soft, lilting, dreamscape. Memory Serves continues the quiet mood, adding just a hint of melancholy.

Kissing Trees has a rougher psychedelic garage sound. In fact, Kissing Trees reminded me so much of The Velvet Underground that I expected the ghost of Lou Reed to pop-up and provide some kind of vocal accompaniment.  However, the track is instrumental, which is fortunate, because James doesn't sound a bit like Lou Reed vocally :D (they are both great, just not alike, at all). 

The garage-psychedelia of Kissing Trees brilliantly leads into the title track and closing track, which is a pounding, thundering and noisy finale. An amazing way to end the EP – a fuzzy, noisy slice of psychedelic rock.

thegeneral's 2014 Round Up Award Ceremony With Optional Sausage On A Stick

It's that time of year again, the time of year literally no-one has been eagerly waiting for. Perhaps even less of you than that. It's time to once again put the champagne on ice (Yorkshire Tea in the pot), to roll out the red carpet (this year, a rather fetching off cut of carpet from "Beige Monstrosities R-US") and artfully arrange the snackettes in a bowl on the coffee table.

It's "thegeneral's 2014 Annual Round Up Award Ceremony With Optional Sausage On A Stick" and although last year's will take some beating (several of the bands have yet to get over me doing that impression of Judy Finnegan - and I'm still waiting for Matt Berninger to come and whisk me off my feet), we're going to carry on manfully and see what treats are in store for some of the bands and acts I've really loved this year.

Let us get cracking with some festive cheer...

The Best of The Best In Genres:

Best Bit of Prog-Rock Goodness For 2014

Rob Reed - Sanctuary



Released in July this year, this was a superb paean to Reed's fascination with Mike Oldfield, A wonderful, original composition, which took in elements of Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn and Incantations, this quickly became my most listened to album of the summer and garnered much critical acclaim for Robert. A thoroughly engaging and beautifully composed listen.

You can read my original post HERE

You can buy "Sanctuary" from HERE

Best Bit of Trippy Electronica for 2014

Ninetails -  Radiant Hex



Liverpool's Ninetails have undergone something of a brilliant transformation since they released their initial EPs back in 2012, they've gone from a frankly marvellous and original complex guitar sound to a band that are now not afraid to experiment with soundscapes, trippiness and ambient delights. This was far and away my favourite bit of electronic tinged goodness this year and hopefully there'll be more to come from them in the not too distant future.

You can read my original post HERE

You can listen to "Radiant Hex" HERE

Best Punky Punks of 2014

Cross Wires - Assembly/Your History Defaced



Punk is such a contentious genre and many bands claim to fit into it, while being about as subversive as a Marks and Spencer's Mushroom Quiche. Cross Wires are a proper bona-fide punk outfit that really capture the essence of the music, yet still retain their own identity. "Assembly" was one of the best EPs I heard this year, without a doubt and it should be high up on any self respecting punk's playlist.

You can read my original posts HERE

You can listen to Cross Wires HERE

Best Shoegazers Since My Bloody Valentine Award 

Mutes - MPDG



Mutes. Lovely lovely Mutes. When I heard their EP "MPDG" earlier this year it took me back to a time when my hair was long, my clothes were black and I walked around with a permanent air of ennui about me (though that might be last week if you listen to most of my friends). Mutes have brought the gentle art of shoegazing back with a 21st century twist, "MPDG" was an EP of lovely contrasts, great songs and beautifully thought out music. One to watch in 2015.

You can read my original post HERE

You can listen to Mutes HERE

The Folk Me (!) Alt-Country Award

Blair Dunlop - House of Jacks



I'm a big folk music fan, weaned on it from my youngest years - bands like Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention were some of my fondest and earliest musical memories and Blair Dunlop carries on than fine tradition, and puts his own spin on a genre that is often misunderstood. "House of Jacks" is a superb album, one for well initiated folkies, but also one for people who don't know much about the genre and want a good initiation - it's alt-country tinged brilliance shows Blair to be a very talented singer/songwriter/musician. More please, Blair, in 2015.

You can read my original post HERE

You can listen to Blair HERE

The Best of The Best Best Best Best

Most Missed Forevs, Like

Tusk



Tusk. Gone but nevs forgotten. There isn't much more to say. I thought I was bereft when Blank Maps split up, but I'll miss these guys heaps. There's still lots of time to catch up on their witty brilliance and musical aceness, so I heartily suggest that although they've gone, you click on my linkies and get acquainted. They were a brilliant band, much missed but hoping they'll return in some way, shape or form in the coming year or two.

You can read my posts about Tusk HERE

You can listen to Tusk HERE

Best Single of 2014

The Everglows - Sugary Sun



The Everglows have become an oft-featured fixture on these pages the last few months, but "Sugary Sun" was definitely my single of the year. I loved it for it's psychedelic tinged awesomeness, it imbued the 60s without turning into a pastiche. This is one of those tracks that makes you glad to be alive. I'm expecting great things from them next year.

You can read my posts on The Everglows HERE

You can listen to The Everglows HERE

Best EP of 2014

Static Future - Assembly



This EP was a very very welcome late musical addition to the year, I'd so loved the band's last single "Marseille" and this release "Assembly", coming earlier in December is just as wonderful. Static Future are a band of great talent, I love their slightly ska-y, punky, syncopated rhythms and strong vocals. They should be getting much more attention than they are - so make it your mission to add them to your playlists in 2015.

You can read my posts on Static Future HERE

You can listen to Static Future HERE

Best Album of 2014

Co-pilgrim - Plumes



Co-pilgrim were one of the loveliest discoveries I made this year and now I've found them I'm hooked. "Plumes" is a genuinely brilliant album, full of simply stunning harmonies and wistful melancholia. Reminiscent of bands like Teenage Fanclub, yet ploughing their own furrow in an effortlessly stylish way. This is a record I've played over and over and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

You can read my post on Co-pilgrim HERE

You can listen to Co-pilgrim HERE

Best Band of 2014

Flights of Helios



Easily my favourite act of the year. Flights of Helios have been a real joy to listen to. Their single "Factory", released in March is one of the best songs I've heard in years (the bassline at the start is IMMENSE) and they followed it up in fine style with a third outing called "Succubus" just in time for Halloween, which was equally captivating. They're a band that I'm going to continue to champion heartily and that really do deserve great success. A worthy winner.

You can read my posts on Flights of Helios HERE

You can listen to Flights of Helios HERE

So there you have it, thegeneral's blog of the year awards are complete - and it's now time for me to take a little break into the new year.

Every single band (whether featured in this review or not) have been a joy to feature on these pages through the last twelve months, and I've really enjoyed hearing from, listening to and writing about some genuinely outstanding music during 2014. Here's hoping 2015 is just as brilliant. I'm sure it will be.

It just remains for me to wish you all a safe, happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year - see you in January.

Much love
thegeneral

Mutes - M.P.D.G

It's been a while dear readers, hasn't it? I know, and I am eternally sorry. Thank you for all the e-mails and letters that didn't flood in, demanding to know where I'd disappeared to. It's nice to feel loved and wanted. By no-one. I could tell you what I've been up to, but I'd have to kill you - and that wouldn't be nice, would it? It might sting a bit.

Anyway, yes, I am back, after another short break and I'm ending my radio silence with an EP that I had sent to me just last week by Mutes. I was mightily impressed with it and wanted to feature them as soon as I could.

So, as I always start these posts - here are the necessaries, hoik your lapels off to the bandcamp page to have a listen to the sneaky pre-release preview track:

mutesuk.bandcamp.com/

Now, I've been lucky enough to have the entire EP to play, not just this track - however, being as that's the song you've all just listened to, I'll start there. Hands up if you were a shoegazer in the 1990s? This should, in the nicest possible way, take you back there. M.P.D.G has such a nice feel to it, spacy, distant, aloof, ever so slightly trippy and muted. It rattles along at a really nice pace, the guitars on it are elemental and rhythmic, and sort of blend in with the slightly hard to discern androgynously ambiguous vocal.

The rest of the tracks mark a slight departure, but are equally as beguiling. "Hope" - the opener, is a paean, a delicate chant, that paves the way into "M.P.D.G". It's ever so slightly haunting in it's simplicity. Then we move into slightly more trippy, ambient territory with "Port Sunlight" and "Phonophobia", again, both haunting tracks that feel as though they could seep into your brain and disturb your sleep. They're sepia toned, blurred at the edges and although they're slightly experimental in nature, they work as a nice contrast between the opening two tracks and the final song of the collection "Smother" which has a nice hook, a wispy vocal and moves back towards shoegazing again.

The tracks all have an ache to them. I know that probably sounds like rather a strange comment to make, but there's a feeling of isolation in them, a sense of everything being slightly off kilter. It's hard to explain until you've played them through a few times and come to understand how they're layered and put together, but that's how it feels. It's the sort of music you'd probably want to listen to if you were needing a bit of head-space and some time alone, to just sit in stillness.

The EP itself is coming out in full on 22nd April, via onenoteforever records - they also look after the mighty Toliesel - who I featured not that long ago on these very pages. I'd highly recommend you take some time out of your day and give Mutes a go. If it's something a little out of the ordinary you want - this new EP should be your go to.

7th May Update - Mutes have officially released M.P.D.G today, so please go to mutesuk.bandcamp.com/ or store.onenoteforever.com/album/mutes to download, like, right now and stuff.

You might also want to check out this performance of "Smother" from the EP, which is beautiful and highly recommended by me.

Mutes - Smother (LIVE)