News The Neu Bulletin (25th April 2014)

The Neu Bulletin is a daily update of the most exciting new things DIY’s listening to. Some of the music you’ll like, some of it you won’t. We can’t please everyone, sorry.

Every day we offer up a choice show, a song of the day (branched under the understated heading “big Neu thing”) and a little something extra that’s caught our attention. Check back here every day for your latest Neu Bulletin delivery.

THE GIG
Woman’s Hour - Manchester, Gullivers


Ahead of their ridiculously gorgeous debut album ‘Conversations’, Woman’s Hour play a DIY Presents gig in Manchester. We recently caught them playing a sold out show at London’s Purcell Room. The stage was covered in tall, glowing pyramids and the band had live interpretations down to a T - expect something special

THE BIG NEU THING
Baby In Vain - ‘Corny #1’


Danish trio Baby In Vain make music that’s come straight out of a Breaking Bad face-off scene and a grubby Midwest jukebox. Lola Hammerich, Benedicte Pierleoni and Andrea Thuesen begin seedy and ready for blood on ‘Corny #1’. All in good time - the song eventually gains some semblance of structure, all with the help of head-crushing guitars and a rhythm section not dissimilar to The Stooges and the recently departed Drop Out Venus. Baby In Vain channel their inner muck and they sound gloriously disgusting in the process.

Baby In Vain play Brighton’s Great Escape Festival (8th-10th May) and London’s Old Blue Last on 12th May.

OTHER NEU BUSINESS
Gent Mason - My Peak


It’s easy to get a bit over-excited on your birthday. Those Amazon vouchers fly by a little quickly; another slice of tear-strewn cake won’t hurt; what’s another four pack of beer when there’s a birthday to celebrate? Gent Mason is no stranger to taking birthdays very seriously. Two days ago he woke up at the crack of dawn and shared ‘Better’, a track all about self-improvement; appropriate considering how quickly this guy’s improving. With ‘My Peak’ - the second half to ‘Better’ - the birthday buzz doesn’t fade one jot. Pitch-shifted vocals, sharp beats and a soulful charge to piece everything together - let’s give Gent Mason a few more birthdays if it improves his output.

GIIV - Slowly Alone


Embracing the abrasive is becoming gradually easier. What was scary is now the norm. NAH and GIVV are trying their best to make sure this doesn’t remain the case. Sludging through with an intimidating clank, ‘Slowly Alone’ doesn’t arrive with standard-form intensity - it amplifies it tenfold. Battered, almost broken, it’s a repurposing of the traditional that sounds unorthodox. Menacing, and full of coarse swagger, ‘Slowly Alone’ makes a statement by trying so hard not to. [Joe Price]