News Tracks: Broken Bells, Bombay Bicycle Club & More

The evenings getting darker, the weather is getting colder, and Friday is more or less the time reserved for taking shelter with a hot water bottle and a nice mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows, whipped cream, and all the trimmings. One of those trimmings should be DIY’s coveted Tracks feature, because once again, our writers have put together a bumper crop of musical morsels for your weekend devouring. This week saw the welcome return of Bombay Bicycle Club, another banging collabaration from dance maestro Flume, and a slew of other new releases. We’ve pulled and tugged at the duvet of the internet, and no corner has been left unturned.

Bombay Bicycle Club – Carry Me

The first teaser of the North London boys’ fourth album in five years (they’re nothing if not prolific) has Jack Steadman and cohorts delving a little deeper, sonically. Sure, the quartet’s happy-go-lucky rhythms and harmonies are there, bubbling under the surface, but layers of synthetic sounds surround them, making the whole thing sound a little, well, grown up. (Emma Swann)

George Ezra - Did You Hear The Rain?

If you haven’t heard bluesy Bristolian George Ezra yet, feast your lucky ears on ‘Did You Hear The Rain?’, along with Ezra’s debut music video. His London show sold out in 24 hours, and it’s easy to understand why. The voice that bursts out of one young, very intense man seated on a throne is soulful beyond belief, and coarses with legendary vintage influence. Ezra, though, manages to make it effortlessly belong to him. (El Hunt)

Broken Bells – Holding On For Life

Danger Mouse and James Mercer have reconvened for ‘After The Disco’, set for release in mid-January. The first cut from the pair’s second collaborative full-length is a part-gospel, part-old school rock ‘n roll ditty that circuits countless genres, all tied together by a slick-as-hell bassline. (Emma Swann)

Holding On For Life (Official Audio) from Columbia Records on Vimeo.

Iyes - Til Infinity

Following a prolonged spur of silence since the release of their delicate yet epic ‘Glow’ and ‘Lighthouse’ demo’s back in March, the Brighton pair have made quite the re-entry with latest track ‘Til Infinity’.

The simultaneous hand- clap- drum- beat combination against an almost-eerie repeated vocal sample provide the perfect backdrop for Melis Soyaslanova’s hushed and honeyed tones before splattered synths give way to an achingly catchy chorus and painfully emotive male vocals. Coming to a slow at 2:00, all percussion cuts and the pure, dainty vocals are left to stand alone before being shrouded once again by tight, electro-pop beats. It’s a more confident and controlled effort than ever, which still manages to maintain their refreshing, future-pop charm - the kind of spine-tingling stuff that lets you know Iyes are subtly upping their game.(Laura Eley)

Creeper_ - It Hurts

Creeper_ is Martin Hadley, philosophy student and contemporary lovelorn bedroom pop game Todd Rundgren. ‘It Hurts’ is a luminescent late nite jam, a song of salvation for all the sadboys out there who are more than happy to mix Drake with Dean Blunt, jazz-fusion joints with Laraaji’s zither workouts and Julia Holter b-sides. Its as lovelorn as Caspar David Freidreich’s The Wanderer, as gorgeously gloopy as John Martyn’s seminal ‘Couldn’t Love You More’, as perfectly succinct as Raymond Carver at his finest. It’s a talk in the dark, it’s a walk in the morning. It’s melancholy magic from a moonlight masochist. Keep it with you for the nights when it feels like the one you covet is never going to fav you again, for those moments when rain on a rented rooftop’s your only companion. Treasure it. Pray that Hadley - who also plays bass for Rowan Martin and is thus fully embedded in London’s Mondeo/Sophistipop revival - stays sad. (Josh Baines)

Flume - The Greatest View (ft. Isabella Manfredi)

It wouldn’t be premature at all to predict big things for The Preatures - they’re featured in next week’s DIY Futurepop special, and stamps of approval don’t come better than that. Isabella Manfredi’s sultry voice of rumpled velvet laces with Flume’s futuristic dancehall like condensation spreading across cold glass, the fading crackles of a shimmering firework. Harley Streten has been a busy man, getting everyone from How To Dress Well, Autre Ne Veut and Ghostface Killah involved in his forthcoming extended version of his debut. On new track ‘The Greatest View’, Manfredi holds her own on a record surrounded by legends.(El Hunt)

††† (Crosses) - bi†ches brew

Chino Moreno is a busy man. In between fronting post-hardcore legends Deftones, the goatee’d icon fills his days with a myriad of side projects, the latest of which is Crosses (or †††, if you’re the kind of person who refers to Alt-J as ∆). The three-piece - which also boasts Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and the brilliantly-named Chuck Doom among its ranks - released ‘bi†ches brew’ earlier this week; a doomy, electronica-infused track that offers a promising glimpse of their upcoming debut full-length. Continuing on the path first tread by last year’s imaginatively titled ‘EP 2’, Crosses continue to deepen their previously solely-electronic sound, adding influence from Moreno and Lopez’s day jobs in the shape of a huge, drop-tuned, guitar-led chorus. The closing 15 seconds are a fittingly furious culmination to a track that seems to swarm and stalk the listener right from the off - a haunting footnote to a horror story that arrived just a week too late for Halloween. (Tom Connick)

Raleigh Ritchie - Overdose

The Weeknd and Banks may be holding down the fort in the US for sensual R&B at the moment but singer-songwriter Raleigh Ritchie is showcasing that same sound in a very British way. New track ‘Overdose’, produced by Sounwave - who produces for the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q – has that West Coast feel to it. Ritchie sings over the rattling, rickety beat and soothing acoustic guitar riff about a failed relationship in his enunciated British accent. Opening with the harsh words “Let’s break up” delivered in the softest tone – it sets the atmosphere for the rest of the song as he tackles the predicament of being unhappy - with someone or alone. (Aurora Mitchell)

Flesh - Dead Lonely

Perhaps I shouldn’t be endorsing a band that tag their Soundcloud with ‘snot’, ‘dick’ and (quite brilliantly) ‘flaccid-house’. But apart from reeling in some extra support from internet-browsers that are about as savoury as a stick of liquorice, it’s also mirrors Flesh’s manifesto to bash-out brash music that’s right in your face (as well as your ears). New track ‘Dead Lonely’ follows on from the caps-lock insolence of ‘UR GORGEOUS’; it’s twisted Brit-pop that gnashes-its-teeth through caustic vocals splattered with sweat, snot and sulphuric acid. Apart from being slightly unsavoury and not being a popular yeast extract, ‘Dead Lonely’ is like Marmite; you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it. You’ll love it. (Kyle MacNeill)

Snowbird - Porcelain

It’s always an age-old argument - just what is it that can make music so special? Of course, the answer is a combination of a number of sounds, styles, expressions and words. Often though, the answer seems to relate to the voice. The voice is our most powerful and natural form of expression. Ex Cocteau Twins bassist and now head of Bella Union, Simon Raymonde is someone who knows all about the power of an astounding voice and Snowbird, his new duo formed with singer Stephanie Dosen are built around Dosen’s wonderful vocals. Porcelain is the duo’s first track and it’s simply gorgeous, a graceful orchestral piano ballad as gentle and fragile as the title suggests. It’s familiar in tone and style to Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil. Indeed, Raymonde describes Dosen’s voice as the first he has had a real connection with since his ex band mate Elizabeth Fraser. Ahead of a forthcoming album, Moon, this is a stunning beginning to a beautiful musical relationship. (Martyn Young)

Keston Cobblers’ Club - Ya Hey (Vampire Weekend Cover)

Many moons ago in a little town called Keston, there lived a clever cobbler. A downturn in business gave him the idea that if people didn’t need to get their shoes fixed; he had better give them an excuse to. In order to get the good folk of Keston using their soles in a frivolous manner, he hosted many a night of music and dance. Rumours of this event spread far & wide - and the people of Keston wore down their shoes like never before, keeping the cobbler busy from then on. Adopting not only the name but also the Cobblers’ idea of music healing the world - Keston Cobblers’ Club are a band like no other. This time bringing us a cover of Vampire Weekend’s ‘Ya Hey’, it’s unsurprising that the tremendously toe-tapping group have done it again. Drenching the track in their special blend of effortless vocals and dancing rhythms, its energy resides long after its end in the form of a smile that will refuse to leave your face for hours. This nifty little cover is the first release to embrace our ears since their ‘Scene of Plenty” EP (that features a useable train set within its sleeve: amazing) and follows both a sold out UK headline tour and a support tour with To Kill A King. So as much as you’ll want to be keeping the Cobblers all to yourself, I’m afraid this lot are going to be everywhere very soon. (Joe Dickinson)

Finnmark! - Brännö

It’s safe to say there aren’t many odes to small Swedish islands, but then again perhaps Finnmark! aren’t your typical band. Essentially the latest artistic vehicle for former Just Handshakes bassist (and borderline obsessive Scandophile) Ed Forth, Finnmark!’s latest offering. ‘Brännö’ is taken off recent EP ‘We’re Not Köping’ - named, of course, after a Swedish town and also featuring ‘I’m Considering A Move To Sweden’ - and comes with a video that feels like the local tourist board commissioned Martin Parr to do its annual enticement film. Oh, and the song? It’s instant, immediate and damn catchy like all good pop songs should be, and features backing vocals somewhere between Ricky Wilson and a Gregorian chant, which isn’t something you can say every day. What more could you want? (Gareth Ware)