Le Loup are a charming little six-piece hailing from Washington DC. I've been a bit slow on the uptake on this one, Family was released last September but has only just wormed its way onto my ipod priority list. It's bloody good though. It kicks off with Saddle Mountain which has this awesome tribal energy, it's kind of like a folky funeral dirge except happy. Grow has amazing energy and is full of joy. Morning song is one of my favourites with fantastic harmonies and plucky banjo, yum. Title track Family starts out fairly dull and then explodes a few minutes in into a kind of Arcade Firey greatness, this only lasts about a minute though which is disappointing. Forgive me is all over the place, it's great- a kind of folky Animal Collective. Go East is like a rising sunset, lovely. I think my favourite track from the whole album is Sherpa- shouty and drummy with a smile-inducing melody. Celebration is also shouty, harmonised greatness. Go listen.
Unfortunately, they don't have Family on spotify but they DO have their first release, 'The Throne of The Third Heaven Of The Nations Millenium General Assembly', a pretty unnecessary title but beautiful nonetheless. They use everything from banjos to telephones in their songs. It's a consistent album packed full of pretty little ditties but Fear Not is definitely the stand out track, other good un's include Planes Like Vultures, To the Stars To the Night and Breathing Raptures.
They remind me slightly of Bear in Heaven; a band getting a lot of attention following the recent SXSW Music Industry shindig in Austin, Texas. Except Bear in Heaven are a bit shit. Wholehearted Mess is a half-hearted mess attempt of a song. They have been compared (wrongly, in my opinion) to Atlas Sound who are amazing. Howeverrr, Lovesick Teenagers is quite interesting, it sounds like an 80s video game and Dust Cloud is pretty good. I've actually decided I hate them now but check them out for yourself.
Another gem I stumbled across recently is Memory Cassette; ethereal, pretty noise- a bit like Air France, in a good way. Asleep At A Party is pure class, you can hear the muffled rumblings of people talking in the background JUST LIKE WHEN YOU'RE ASLEEP AT A PARTY! I like, check it out.
Spotify all the above: Good shit
Hyped new band Summer Camp have a similar sound- dreamy, muffled backing and nostalgic vocals are the order of the day. It's a little bit twee but I love it anyway. Here's the video for new single Ghost Town:
Summer Camp - Ghost Train (viral) from Paddy Power on Vimeo.
