Mixtape August 2017

The Soundtrack to August is here featuring both new uncovered bands and seasoned campaigners supplying a mixture of the tastiest indie pop rock dance and trip hop nuggets available.    

Minidiscs - Format of the Future

1) The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness by The National - Perfect!

2) We Were Beautiful by Belle and Sebastian - An unexpected new drum and bass direction from Belle and Sebastian.  The slide guitars are unnerving but once the horn section kicks in you start to accept it.

3) Head of the Horse by The Drums - The Drums are now reduced to a one man band who plays jangling indie laments.  Taken from the new album Abysmal Thoughts.

4) The Way You Used To Do by Queens of the Stone Age  - Hard rock veterans are about to release their seventh album Villains in August, their first in four years.

5) Slam by Way Out West -  It is fantastic to see these 90's trancers producing tunes to rival their glory years.  This is a banger.

6) Can't Do by Everything Everything - Manchester, once again, deliver the goods.

7) Avant Gardener by Gordi - One Aussie artists covers another.  Gordi's cover somehow enhances Courtney Barnett's original version.

8) Humongous by Declan McKenna - Talented Brit who has just release his debut album.

9) Signs of Life by Arcade Fire - The new Arcade Fire album is out now and it's restored order to the cosmos.  I may have oversold it - it doesn't suck.



 10) Less Than by Nine Inch Nails - Trent Reznor returns to expand the influence of the Audio-Industrial Complex.

11) I Wanna Be Like You by Black Grape -  Shaun Ryder and Kermit bring the disposable good time vibes.  But will Bez rejoin them or release his own tambourine solo album?

12) Entitled to That by The Allergies - Like a cross between Big Beat and Motown.  The Allergies can't do wrong in my book.

13) All The Pretty Girls by The Darkness - The debate rages as to whether The Darkness are cheesy because they are ironic or just because they are cheesy.  I tell myself it is the former which is how I live with myself.

14) Don't Delete The Kisses by Wolf Alice - A hypnotic swirling storm of bliss.

15) Oh Lord by Club Sport - Great Aussie band with a gospel number.

16) Leave (Alternative Version) by R.E.M - The original version appeared on 1996's New Adventures In Hi-Fi album and was sung over a loud siren.  It was a pleasure to find this alternative arrangement of a personal favourite - enhanced by not having that bloody siren ringing throughout.

17) Cowboys or Indians by UNKLE - Creepy trip hop from UNKLE's sixth album.

18) Groove Is In The Heart/Californian Girls by Crocodiles - I stumbled over this wonderful cover of Dee-Lite and The Beach Boys recently and can't get enough of it.

19) Spook City by Moses Gunn Collective - Psychedelic pop from Queensland. 

20) Flash by The Belligerents - More infectious indie pop from Brisbane.