The Goo 1
Singles Reviews Mould - Chunks Mould explode out
of the gate with a thumping bass drum and some intricate riffs. Singer/ Guitar Joe Sherrin’s half sung lines will have you immediately checking whether Fugazi singer Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye has decided to make a guest appearance. The comparisons with Fugazi don’t end there. They leave room for the absorbing basslines, hit strongly on the loud-quiet-loud and fundamentally make your hair stand on end. Another coup for Borderline 2.0. DC Pale Blue Eyes - Pieces of You This is the lead single from what will be their third album coming 2025. Their second album This House dealt with the loss of the lead singers Dad. The thematic remnants continue as he stands among his father’s possessions, “Surrounded by boxes, This is every bit of you”. It’s a lovely piece of dream-pop, backed up by the BSide ‘How Long is Now’ which brilliantly dabbles with krautrock electronica. DC Helen Ganya - Chaiyo! Helen Ganya came to my attention when I picked up her 2022 album polish the machine with a notably excellent title track & brilliant ‘afterparty’. This is the second single from her Share Your Care album due Feb Next year. “Chaiyo!” broadly translates from Thai as “Hooray” referencing her late grandfather's exclamations whilst watching boxing. The ghostly opening yields to an excellent celebratory crescendo. I’m certain to be at her May date in The Grand Social. DC The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Don’t Look at Me What an unbelievable slice of psychedelia. The steady beats and gangling guitars provide the backdrop to the exquisite vocals from Aimee Nash. Her voice curls on the smoke from the back of the room, through cracks of sunlight and half remembered dreams. The repetition of the words lends to the hazy glimmer of the band in a blurred existence. A must see in the Olympia in Feb. DC Captain Mustache - Diavola The French electro sensation squeezes out another release before the year end having seen Kompakt Recordings issue multiple 12’s remixing tracks from 2023’s The Super Album. He is also a stablemate of New Jackson on Permanent Vacation. This is another tight modern electro gem. The lead synthline gives it some nice pop, with the sustained chorus notes bringing to mind the classic French label Goodlife. Fans of Extrawelt should dive straight in. DC PAGE 14 mary in the junkyard - bear walk The British trio mary and the junkyard are on the way up. They released a very well received EP ‘this old house’ in the summer and the twin of this single ‘this is my california’ just a few weeks earlier. This is a beautiful country folk number about the fear of losing a lover to the city lights. The fiddle and brushed drums, compliment the fragile vocal delivery of Clari Freeman-Taylor. DC The Horrors - Lotus Eater The is the lead single from their Night Life album scheduled for release next March. It will be their first album since 2017’s V. ‘Lotus Eater’ is drenched in atmospheric synths. Its 4/4 beat which propels the track along drifts more and more to the club environment, with dubby breakdowns and broken beats providing a moody soundtrack to the existential lyrics. Two other strong album tracks see out this edgy Return. DC Moreish Idols - Slouch We can see here the further genesis of the South London quintet. The first two EP’s were more of a jazz tinged artrock before September’s single Pale Blue Dot reverberated with an upbeat Americana. This track deals with co-frontman Jude Lilley’s battle with chronic illness “Dull ache, I limp, I move by a fraction”, and lands somewhere between Squid and bdrmm’s output. More electronic, more moody and fuzzy and arguably more brilliant. DC