OUR BRAND NEW BLOG FEATURING MUSIC NEWS, INTERVIEWS, FEATURES, LIVE EVENTS + CREATIVE WRITING

Monday 29 March 2010

Camera Obscura/Richard Hawley Split Announced




News from the 4AD website is Glasgow's Camera Obscura and honey-coated Yorkshire crooner Richard Hawley will be releasing a split 7" of sorts on May 17th 2010.

The A-side is CO's cover of Hawley staple The Nights Are Cold, taken from Late Night Final, Hawley's first full length proper, released back in 2001.

B-side is CO's The Sweetest Thing remixed by Hawley, with added Hendo's

No mention of it on their myspace or official website as yet so content yourself with this lovely clip of a young Hawley playing the popstar with the massively under-rated (in Tally Ho's humble opinion) Longpigs.


Yeah alright, so this whole story was just an excuse to post the She Said video...is that so wrong?

Fresh & Only's Live - Free Download



Our friends at the awesome new site Sick of the Radio have a streaming Fresh & Only's show that you can download for free here!

Featuring nine tracks, some of which are unreleased at the moment, the download is taken from a radio session F & O's did for independent NY based station WFMU back in 2009...Real Nice.

Sunday 28 March 2010

Happy Birthday - S/T LP



At the start of the year, the fickle inhabitants of blogs-ville went a little loco over a track called Girls FM by Happy Birthday, a band fronted by Vermont-based Renaissance man Kyle Thomas, the talent behind Tally Ho! favourites King Tuff.


Just like the saccharine sentiments the title implies, Girls FM has hooks that cut deeper than The Raspberries ever could but its cocky Casanova boasts are betrayed by an inherent frailty that suggests it was made to soundtrack the first-date-nerves of 16 year old virgins the world over...not sure what that says about us but its awesomeness can not be denied.

Well Sub Pop agreed and signed the band; which also consists of Thomas' Vermont homies Chris Weisman and Ruth Garbus; with the proviso that they deliver an LP's worth of honey-dripping, teeth rottingly sweet power pop.

Not ones to disappoint, the resulting album, Happy Birthday is the best thing we've heard so far this year. Released in the UK on 15th March, it's been on the stereo non-stop, bleeding 70's pop perfection into Tally Ho! HQ and as we mourn the passing of Alex Chilton, its a poignant reminder of the power of the genre that Chilton cut his teeth in.

Listen to Girls FM on their myspace here or visit Sub Pop's home page here to score a freebie in the form of LP highlight Subliminal Message.

Friday 26 March 2010

Tally Ho detectives uncover true identity of band Cults




General consensus says new popular band Cults are the work of an already established artist. General consensus speaks that it could not be possible for a band to pop out of nowhere and emerge on Pitchfork. General consensus deems that the songs are too polished, too well-produced to be the work of nobodies.

Who is general consensus? I don't know. But he is right.

Tally Ho the blog has uncovered the secret through methods of detection and sleuthing skills that columbo would be pleased with. Cults is the work of none-other than pitchfork jilted indie almost-legend Travis Morrison. The same Travis Morrison that brough you Dismemberment Plan, and the uniformly awful solo album 'Travistan'.

His website claims that he is 'RETIRED! No shows, no records, no band. Just relaxing in Brooklyn. Befriend me on facebook. I'm so nice!'. But Tally Ho! Has it on good information that this is all a ruse.

Enjoy Travis Morrison in this video clip featuring some saucy babes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbNOgJai31k

NB: Our source for this also believes giants used to roam Earth, that Kate Moss was the alien in the Daily Mirror UFO hoax thing and thinks Daniel Johnston was on the x-factor.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

S.C.U.M.



I knew a girl who used to talk about the midweek blues. She would refuse to do anything on a wednesday, as a miasmic three day drug comedown set it like clockwork every week. This new video for S.C.U.M. looks and sounds like the midweek blues in the best possible way. It's leaf right out of the book of old goth stuff that I like but probably shouldn't - bands heavy on concept, make-up and woozy draining synths. The Virgin Prunes even called an album 'If I Die...I Die' for christ sake. By the way, once your done looking at the S.C.U.M. video then look at the cover for that Virgin Prunes album. It's fucking ridiculous:



S.C.U.M. - Paris

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Heavy Medicine


After what seems like an enternity from the first booze-fuelled rumblings of a Tally Ho cassette compilation. We are pleased to announced they will be delivered in the morning from our man in the north Terry the Tapist.

And here's the bands featured on the comp called 'Heavy Medicine':

Andrew Cedermark, Wonderswan, Dignan Porch, Fresh & Only's, Big Troubles, Grasshouse, Rent Boys, Fluffy Lumbers, The Whines, Wounded Lion, The Nicholas Cage, Treasure, Frat Dad, White Fence, Christmas Island.

Stay tuned for a release date and launch details.

Munch Munch


We'll be playing some records and dishing out some zines (providing we get them printed in time) at this one in Brixton on Saturday. Hope you can join us.....


Adentures in The Beetroot Field Present

Munch Munch - live
Tripwires - live
Portasound - live
Islington Boys Club - live
Firas dj
AITBF djs
Free Tally Ho zines!

Munch Munch are infamous for their exciting and unpredictable live set, and their frenzied instrument swapping. Their debut album, out on Tomlab records later this year presents a more focused and ambitious side of the band, without losing any of the energy. Essential viewing for fans of Why, No Age, Deerhoof and Ariel Pink.

After the live acts Firas will be playing a high energy melange of future electro beats.

From 9pm – 2am | £3 entry

Monday 22 March 2010

Montage Populaire




Montage Populaire are going places in 2010 and with songs like the irresistible Break Up The Band under their belt, Tally Ho can't help but wish them well.

A Southampton-based six piece who've so far only recorded a handful of demos, Mon Pop's love of hooks and their ability to match wild song structures with tight harmonies has seen them receive plaudits from Artrocker and NME. They've just been shortlisted in a competition being ran by Q Magazine, which will see the winner play at Glastonbury this summer.

Having shared a bill with emerging groups such as Is Tropical and Thomas Tantrum, as well as a support slot for Vivian Girls, the boys are concentrating on getting their sound just right before they release anything officially, but in the meantime you can catch them live on April 5th when they play the Bloody Awful Poetry night at the Lock Tavern, Camden.

Check out Break Up The Band and their other demos on Myspace here

Sunday 21 March 2010

Weed Diamond - Snowmelt 7"





Denver, Colorado is the picturesque setting for the forthcoming spring release from five piece garage wreckers Weed Diamond. The aptly titled Snowmelt kicks off with a stomping glam rock beat then the sharp siren guitars join the party and it gets LOUD!

On the flip, Oklahoma turns out to be the perfect companion to the shimmer of Snowmelt. A more straight-forward rocker than the title track but no less affecting, its irresistible guitar tones will stick with you long after the needle leaves the groove.

Snowmelt is available on pre-order from Transparent Records here

and you can check out Snowmelt & Oklahoma here

Friday 19 March 2010

Washed Out in 6 easy steps!




Ingredients:

Sampler x1 (x2 if you want to look like you are working hard at this)
Reverb plug-in (make sure it's got some huge settings like 'cathedral' and 'stadium')
Electric guitar (Don't worry you won't be making anything up on this)
Voice
Panda Bear Record

Instructions:

1. First let's make the voice right. Take your Panda Bear record. Copy the voice, put shitloads of reverb in it and sing as though you've been dumped, or your mum just told you to get a job and move out of the basement.

2. Use your sampler. Sample this:



3. Slow it down

4. Add some reverb. Shitloads of it actually - (Use setting 'Stadium')

5. Copy the spikey synth part with your guitar.

6. Record your vocals we prepared earlier.

You should have something like this:



Congratulations, you made Washed Out's 'Feel It All Around in 6 easy steps!

NB: Tally Ho actually really digs Washed Out and his jam 'Feel It All Around'.

Thursday 18 March 2010

Oberhofer



If you're a certain age you'd probably remember every single kid wanting to make or own a Tracey Island from Thunderbirds. A weird blip of culture that collective embarassment prevents anybody from mentioning. These days the Tracey Island is Animal Collective and every kid wants to be in it. For every fifty painful dudes hollering down the house in their bedrooms you get one guy like Oberhofer.

Oberhofer is a New York kid who got an internship at Matador and just ran with it, ran to his laptop to burn a disc, ran back to the office whereupon the bosses at Matador ran out of nice words and just signed the damn thing. The songs have a tickle of Animal Collective and a draping of Weezer. I could talk about unholy unions, this meets this, if blah had a baby with blah, but it would feel cheap and exhausting and the internet already has its fill of that so instead just stop reading and go and listen to Oberhofer at his myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/oberhofermusic

Side-note: Two weeks until somebody calls their band Tracey Island.

RIP ALEX CHILTON




Cool Muthafucker...

Seems like all i do on this thing is post about my favourite artists dying.

This is tough to take, Big Star have been a constant source of joy in my life since i first got into their music as a Mojo mag inhaling sixteen year old. Nothing can compare to listening to September Gurls full blast in your headphones whilst taking in a long summmer evening...

Chilton was a true visionary, a real artist in an increasingly commodity driven industry who never rested on the laurels of his earlier acclaim (even if only critical). He was a fearless musician, producer and collaborator with the likes of Tav Falco, Alan Vega, The Cramps and countless others and he will be greatly missed.

If like me you never did get the chance to see him play live...this should bring a smile

Wednesday 17 March 2010

The Future Looks Bleak








I-pads... E-readers... Things have got a little bit hairy for that arcane format the book in recent years. But it's not just publishers feeling the pressure. Where does book cover artwork exist in a world of web savvy consumerism? I was down at the English Pen event 'Judging a Book By it's Cover' in Farringdon last night to listen to musings on this very subject.

It got me wondering how much longer we'll be clutching our favourite new records, not just for the songs but for the pretty pictures on show. Probably more to the point, whether we'll be clutching them at all.

Anyway here's some of our favourite and worst artwork from the last year. We'll let you decide which category they fit into....

Record Store Day - List of Releases




Voracious vinyl consumer, cd fiend or connosseur of the cassette; whichever you are there'll be something for you to drool over to your hearts content come Record Store Day on Saturday April 17th.

Below is a list of bands that have announced releases at the time of posting, no doubt there'll be more treats and rare releases confirmed in the meantime. It goes without saying that Tally Ho will keep our ear to the ground and keep you posted!

Flaming Lips
Neu!
Thermals/Cribs
The Cribs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Bright Eyes
Simian Mobile Disco
First Aid Kit / Peggy Sue
Beach House
Caribou
Edwyn Collins & the Maccabees
The Black Keys
Midlake
Pin Me Down
Slow Club
The Hold Steady
Andreya Triana featuring Flying Lotus / Mr. Scruff
Primary 1 -
Jimi Hendrix
Editors
Bullet For My Valentine
Broken Bells
Menomena / Helio Sequence
Bloc Party
Lissie
The Album Leaf
Happy Birthday
Dum Dum Girls / Male Bonding
Soundgarden
Steve Mason
The Fall
She And Him
Pavement
Wooden Shjips
Electric Eels
Wood Pigeon
The Paddingtons
Teenagers In Tokyo

As well as the above list, you can find a list of participating stores at the official site here

Villagers - Becoming A Jackal



Stumbled upon these folks on the Domino Records site today. Villagers is the outlet for the dreamy folk flourishes of Conor J O'Brien and friends.

Following some pretty decent support slots with labelmates Wild Beasts and the inimitable Cass McCombs, their debut album 'Becoming A Jackal' is about to drop on Domino in May.

The title track will be released on record store day (April 17th) and here's the alarming yet charming video...this is a lovely song and we'll be keeping an eye on this lad...



You can check them out here

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Kings of Convenience hate Torrents




It was way way back on the 14th of October that I presented myself at the Barbican to interview Kings of Convenience (Eirick and Erland). I was led down a spiraling, labyrinthine set of thin corridors and stupid stairs to a smorgasbord of snack food, bottled water and Scandivavia's famous sons Kings of Convenience. The interview happened so long ago that I can't remember it. Infact, it might have been a dream because it feels like I just woke up from October 14th. But here it is in all it's weird glory - Tally Ho! interviews Kings of Convenience.

Tally Ho!: It’s been five years since the last record, how does it feel to have such a long break

Eirick: Well it wasn’t actually a break. It just takes us that long to make a record. There was never a break, it’s a slow process with our methods – I can only write songs about something that means to me. Nothing happens that much in life to inspire a song. I can always write a song about my neighbour or my aunt’s cat, but those songs never work.

TH: It’s never forced?

Eirick: No, no, it’s more like an ongoing biography.

TH: And what about ‘Riot on an Empty Street’, that was the title of the last album but a song of the same name is on ‘Declaraton of Dependence’ – tell me about that.

Eirick: Well we included it because it’s a good song. Some songs stay in your subconscious and ‘Riot on an Empty Street’ was one of those. It’s a way of proving to ourselves we aren’t so fashionable – the fact the song is old doesn’t matter.

TH: Well your style is pretty set. There’s been a lot of change in music, especially with the internet and mixing of genres. Was it a conscious decision to retain your style?

Eirick: Yeah, it’s a conscious decision. We were so happy about having fun, that’s the main thing – from the beginning ‘Quiet is the new loud’, was a way of limiting opportunities – it’s about walking the same path. We have developed though, of course we are writing songs we couldn’t have written ten years ago.

TH: You aren’t obvious as outwardly experimental as a band such as Animal Collective who do something new with every album, is it a challenge to experiment within the blueprint?

Eirick: We are always curious. We always look for ways of making new rhythms on the guitar – there are no drums which takes away the obvious way of creating a rhythm so with the guitar you have to work harder. It comes as a surprise when we discover a new way of introducing that into a song. We even met a guy in America who said he recorded ‘Scars on Land’ but with himself freestyle rapping over the top – he said it was a good groove.

TH: That’s great did you hear it?

Eirick: Sadly no, I asked him to send it to me.

TH: One for a new remix album maybe? Will you do another one like Versus in 2001?

Eirick: I don’t think so – we don’t meet a lot of people who want to remix our stuff.

Erland (after waking up from being asleep): Plus when we did Versus in 2001 it was fun and exciting but now it’s somehow done. For us it would only be great if someone really great did it, someone like Prefuse 73. But then why would he do it, why would he spend so much energy remixing our band when he can be doing his own thing. It doesn’t make sense.

TH: With some of the titles on 'Declaration of Dependence', do I detect a kind of Socialist overtone?

KoC: [Laughter] tell us which?

TH: Freedom and it’s owner? Almost sounds like a Karl Marx book, was that the intention?

KoC: [More laughter]

Eirick: It’s not a political song

Erland: Well a lot of our songs could be just about a girl, but then it could also be applied to a friendship or the world in an observation of society.

Eirick: That’s the ideal – a personal observation which is relevant to more people that just yourselves.

TH: To stick with the socialist theme what about filesharing? That’s a kind of communism right?

Erland: It’s the one thing worth discussing at the moment. Making music is such a huge headache because of it. One thing is I won’t get paid for it and then you can make an album but you can’t decide your own release date, it gets sent to journalists and then suddenly it’s out there. People who buy the record get it later – it’s just not fair. I dig that the world is like a library, everyone rich and poor can enjoy it, but as long as there are no established rules in the world about release dates then it’s bad for the music world. Why would you bother? It makes the world into Berlin, everyone is happy to just have a coffee, talk about projects and never do it.

TH: Like communism.

Erland: It’s very similar to communism, exactly – it’s the exact same problem as communism.

Eirick: I’m not an anti-capitalist; money is a very important energy source. When money is gone from the music world then the fuel is gone. It’s not just about money but it’s an important symbol of value. When the money is gone the value is lessoned. For the audience too, it’s harder to appreciate music – since music became ubiquitous and free my own ability to enjoy music has dissipated. You only know something is valuable to you when you might lose it. You need to be able to desire it.

TH: I bought a Bob Dylan album when I was 15. I hated it on first listen but I spent £13 so I listened to it 30 times until I liked it. People don’t do that now.

Eirick: Exactly.

Erland: True, and it comes down to whether the governments will help. There needs to be an internet police where I can say “Oops my record is on the internet, please take action”. It’s a technical question.

TH: Are the regulations stringent enough?

Eirick: We are in the early days of the internet still. It’s like barbarianism; we will go through some revolutions and wars, just like in early society.

TH: But then on the other side of the argument what if a kid who downloaded the new album then bought tickets for the show tonight?

Erland: True, and for us as musicians, we will only be able to continue making a living if I could play live. If I had an accident I would be fucked. If I couldn’t play live then I would have no money.

TH: And then you have the new deals where the live revenue is shared down the middle with the artist.

Erland: Well, the record label has to get something back from their investment, they spend the money so that is fair. But now record companies are more and more interested in creating artists instead of signing already good artists. It’s the only way. If you are a good musician you can do it yourself on Myspace and the internet– why would you go through a label now? Because they will take your live money too.

TH: It’s outdated for the artist when you can do the process yourself.

Erland: Saying that, we are very happy with our label though, we were one of the last to be released the old fashioned way. And now our snowball is too big to be stopped. We are very happy.

TH: Do you still record it all yourselves?

Eirick: We do a lot ourselves, sometimes using Erland’s living room. It’s all about sofa music, something that can be performed on a sofa. But it’s hard to play, a lot of rhythms can be missed, or harmonies – but it still needs to feel live. The imperfection makes it feel more like a moment in time. Not computer music, that’s not our aim.

TH: Are you looking forward to the Barbican tonight?

Erland: Maybe, we will have to see, the venue is strange – we didn’t pick it but we were happy to play the Barbican. We prefer places like the Astoria where the people can be a ‘we’ rather than split up – somewhere like Koko for instance.

TH: Where’s the best to play?

Eirick: Paridiso in Amsterdam on this tour – it holds 1500 people but it can be so intimate. You feel like you are all part of one group. Sometimes we play in the wrong venue. If you don’t get the magic happening then it’s not the right venue.

TH: But you like London?

Eirick: Yeah, especially after the congestion charge. I lived here ten years ago and it’s so different.

Erland: It’s much more fun now. Somewhere like Brick Lane, you can go there and bump into people, it’s great.

Eirick: It doesn’t feel frozen.

TH: How does it compare to Bergen?

Eirick: It doesn’t. It’s so small, if one person moves away the energy is gone. But people are a lot more important than a place – and culture. There are a lot of good people in Bergen, there’s a groundedness in the culture. If you are a musician you have to know how to play your instrument – you can’t get away with just looking cool. There’s a lot of good musicians in Bergen.

Monday 15 March 2010

The Bundles - Our 100th Post





That's right, we've hit the 100 mark in just over two months. Not bad going if we do say so ourselves!

The honour of being the subject of this momentous post goes to The Bundles. The collective brainchild of Jeffrey Lewis and Kimya Dawson, The Bundles debut record is out today on K Records and was a Chinese Democracy bating NINE YEARS in the making. Not too surprising when you consider the hectic lives of those involved.

The record is a mixture of the duelling vocals Kimya perfected with a certain Mr Green in the early days of the 21st Century, with the frantic slap-dash acoustic approach to punk that Jeffrey Lewis and his brother Jack (also serving in The Bundles) continue to practice over their many releases.

It took a while but we've managed to track down a myspace page for them...

check out a couple of tracks here

Dignan Porch


With only a few days to go before we recieve our cassette compilation 'Heavy Medicine' back from mastering, the Dignan Porch track 'As You Were' which we snared for the tape has been featured on Pitchfork's forkcast. We've been a tad worried recently that we were a little US heavy with the band selection for the cassette, so it's a treat to see some fellow Londoners making waves abroad.

'As You Were' is taken from the band's upcoming album Tendrils which is due oout March 30th on Captured Tracks. Listen to the track here....

http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/14038-as-you-were/

Fang Island

The new album from Brooklynn's Fang Island has hit the shelves this week. Here's the video for the first single to be released from it back in December. The wonderful 'Daisy'.

Cults

Ever ones to flow with the tide, here's that Cults number thats got everyone gassing.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Rush to Relax




Australian garage band ECSR will release their third LP, Rush To Relax on 17th May in the UK. Its already out in the US and Australia i believe, and you can hear some of the new tracks on their myspace.

First listen suggests ECSR have stayed faithful to the meat and potatoes garage of their two previous long players, with influences from The Fall to Tommy James and the Shondells ringing out in the new material. But there's a new frailty to the lyrics, Brendan Suppression's vocals have lost some of their cock-sure swagger, replaced with a willingness to lay out a few home truths whilst the guitars do the posturing and peacocking.

UK label Melodic have hinted at the prospect of some dates to support the release so here's hoping!

Friday 12 March 2010

Kisses


Have a listen to this syrupy pop gem from Princeton frontman Jesse Kivel's (of Jodie and Victor fame) new project Kisses. Yet more Californian dreamscaping that makes us eternally jealous....

http://theyellowstereo.com/2010/03/kisses-bermuda/

Ariel Pink


It seems with the introduction of 4AD (who he signed to last year) Ariel Pink has ditched some of the lo-fi squalor of his previous records. We're pretty happy with the fruits none-the-less!

Hear his new song 'Round and Round' due for release on April 26th here......


http://www.lala.com/#artist/Ariel%20Pink%27s%20Haunted%20Graffiti

Guilty Pleasure Part II

noone wants to touch this...

Guilty Pleasure

No one can touch this!



Queen performing White Queen from Queen II (that enough queen's for you?)

Thursday 11 March 2010

Mantles Podcast download




The Mantles are; along with Nodzzz, Fresh & Only's and Thee Oh Sees to name but a few; creating such a buzz around San Francisco at the moment its hard not to get excited...

Their debut LP, released last year on Siltbreeze, was a highlight for us here at Tally Ho (see our forthcoming issue for an interview with the band) and we just happened to stumble upon this great local San-Fran blog with a free podcast download of a recent Mantles interview and live session!

Check it out here

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Love Is All - Interview





Our favourite sonic-Swedes Love Is All are soon to unleash their third LP 'Two Thousand & Ten Injuries', 23rd March (22nd U.S) to be exact. Here at Tally Ho HQ we've had a chance to get to grips with the record recently and can assure you it's a near perfect piece of hook laden alt pop. Teaser track Kungen, available as a download for a while now, is still the immediate highlight but after a couple of listens the whole thing bursts open and hits you with a bunch of knock-out pop hooks from leftfield.

We managed to catch up with their ace drummer Markus Görsch for a chat about the writing and recording of Two Thousand & Ten Injuries.

Tally Ho: Where did you record the album?

Markus Görsch: We recorded at our own studio Bananaflux in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is our practice space in a building full of small "indie" bakeries - we get really good bread for free sometimes! - that we have turned into a studio with some nice old equipment we got.

Was the recording any different to how you've approached previous records?

MG: This one is recorded entirely on tape and mixed on a desk with everybody helping out pushing buttons and moving the levers. Also, it was different because we were'nt really making an album as much as just trying out ideas when somebody had them. It was a very enjoyable process for eveyone because the rule was that you should show up whenever you felt like it and contribute to the songwriting only if you wanted to.

One thing that strikes me about the record is the strength of the male backing vocals on songs such as Early Warning and Kungen, did they just evolve during the recording process or was there a conscious effort to bring that poppy element into the fold?

MG: Thanks! We listened a lot to the Zombies Odessey and Oracle and wanted to copy their arrangements in our own sloppy style. At the time I was kind of into the idea of singing without words, just trying to make some human sounds that feel good without trying to express any information, really.




Third album in, you seem to have nailed your winning formula...has the creative process changed at all since you began to write together?

Yes, I think nowadays everyone is writing their own songs and then we e-mail them back and forth and everyone adds their little things. Seven songs out of ten used to be written by Nicholas (Sparding-guitar/vocals), except the words that were always by Josephine (Olausson-keyboard/vocals). But nowadays she writes her own music and so do Johan (Lindwall-bass) and I.

Do you ever feel the need to perform/record with others besides the band, to keep things fresh and exciting?

MG: Yes, I try to play with as many people as make sense... I have been working a lot with an album with my other band Glenn and Glenn, but till looking for a label to put it out.

What is your favourite song on the new album and which one do you most look forward to playing live?

MG: I like Repetition and Kungen, they are both fun to play!

Have you got any UK shows lined up to support the record?

MG: We are trying to book a couple of UK shows right now, let's see if you want us back!

You're no longer releasing records on Whats Yr Rupture...How are Polvinyl treating you!?

MG: Polyvinyl are very nice and seem like a very professional label. But we'll see, the record isn't out yet!

Thanks to Markus for taking the time out to chat! For more info, as always http://www.myspace.com/loveisall8

So near....so far out!

Here is a new super-8 tastic video for Real Estate's(and the award for most overused word so far 2010 goes to) ethereal and dozing track Suburban Dogs.

Kinda fits in with the vibe of the below vids too so enjoy...

So near.... So Far

The sun's sporadically had his hat on over the last week, unfortunately he's still wearing his winter duffle too. Maybe these will warm you up a little bit more as we wait for summer...

Summer Camp - Ghost Train (viral) from Paddy Power on Vimeo.





Tuesday 9 March 2010

Music Week join 6 Music debate




Editor of music biz stalwart Music Week, Paul Williams has urged the BBC to rethink the planned closure of much loved digital channel 6 Music. In an open letter to BBC head Mark Thompson, Williams spoke of how 'to axe 6 now would only weaken the BBC’s ability', to fulfil its public service remit, at odds with the Strategy Review that has thrown the channel's future up in the air.

Williams joins the growing number of leading music industry figures alligning themselves with the campaign to save the channel from being culled.

You can read the full letter here

We can but hope...

Monday 8 March 2010

Pill Wonder

Check this out...The video for 'Wishing Whale' from Pill Wonder's debut LP release Jungle/Surf on Underwater Peoples. Lovely Stuff.

wishing whale - pill wonder from Martin Anderson on Vimeo.

Dark Knight of the Soul

And you can listen to that album (legally mind) by Mark which features some amazing songs working with the likes of Jason Lyttle, Wayne Coyne and Julian Casablancas right here:


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104129585

Sunday 7 March 2010

RIP Mark Linkous


Sparklehorse mainman Mark Linkous is reported to have committed suicide today.

Linkous was working on a new Sparklehorse LP and his collaboration with producer Danger Mouse and director David Lynch, 'Dark Night Of The Soul' was due an official release after what seemed like a year of battling against record company bureaucracy.








We leave you with the beautiful It's A Wonderful Life, forget the bad taste pun of the title and enjoy the great music Mark made.

Friday 5 March 2010

New Fresh & Only's

Fresh & Only's, those pure-pop peddling San Franciscan's have started the ball rolling towards the release of their new LP (out soon on In The Red).

They've posted two new songs on their myspace here and have also released the Eye Bodega directed video for new track Vanishing Cream, available soon on a 7" through Plasti Spoons.

Check it out below...



Also keep a look out for the new Tally Ho! zine, coming very soon to an establishment of ill repute near you, it features a lovely interview with F & O's affable bassist Shayde Sartin, oh and did we mention they've got an exclusive track on our forthcoming Heavy Medicine Cassette? Well, now you know x

Thursday 4 March 2010

Dum Dums Tape

Aren't them cassette things dead good... an almost obsolete format that no-one can listen to, but look really pretty. Well we're putting one out and so are the Dum Dum Girls, so who cares.

After taking stock of a year or so in the limelight, they've decided to drop a limited 400 copies 11-track tape called 'Blissed Out' of some of their best songs.
It's available from Sub Pop, Rough Trade and Art Fag.


Blissed Out:
01 Ship of Love
02 Hey Sis
03 Throw Aggi (Black Tambourine cover)
04 Catholicked
05 Let It Be Me (Gilbert Bécaud cover)
06 Mercury Mary
07 Brite Futures
08 Put a Sock in It
09 M.Y.O.B. (Delta 5 cover)
10 Longhair
11 Dream Away Life

Tuesday 2 March 2010

Ahem...



Dry your eyes...they'll be here in May!

Psyched!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dum Dum Girls


Live at The Old Blue Last with Yuck and La La Vasquez. Weds 24th Feb.
(SEXBEAT)

We never thought we'd be able to say this.... but we saw a little band at the Old Blue Last on wednesday night and it sounded fantastic!
 
For a venue which has been putting on great bands for years, the recent refurb has appeared to exorcise most of the problems which sparked a lacklustre evening (The sound blokes always been good, we're not having a dig) and entirely fitting for a Dum Dum Girls show which surpassed any of their scuzzy garage intentions.
 
It was those smashin lads Sexbeat again last week, providing us with the first of a string of DD birds London dates and a lineup to keep the genetically identical east london faithful as punch pleased as the en mass label supremos in attendance to see openers Yuck and La La Vasquez.
 
We haven't quite made our mind up on either of these guys/gals yet, Yuck are the lastest working the hype machine and it's no wonder with the departed members of Cajun Dance Party on board (who were actually alright, it's just good pop no matter what you think) but the Thurston Moore vocals can get a little tiring. Having an American drummer isn't quite enough justification for this Yank-a-fied wailing, we reckon. I'm quite sure we'll be proved wrong on this; they'll be huge, play four days at Knebworth and won't care what this poxy blog writes anyway. So wear those influences like a Traffic Wardens uniform lads.
 
La La Vasquez are girls playing guitars, and that's enough for us. We'd like to have our own little La La's we could keep in a drawer and return in times of Winter hardship for a smile and a cuddle.
We're quite happy to fall into the self-imposed stereotyping of girl bands as cute because a) they are b) it's easy and c) with the likes of Viv girls and the Dum Dum's around you might get a few shows out of it but you won't quite be as good. Just nice enough.

And so onto the Dum Dum Girls. We've been waiting for this one for a while. There's this amazing American zine called Yeti which is basically everything Tally Ho has ever wanted to be. Pretty pictures, great short stories and amazing compilations of new bands. Well Dum Dum Girls first properly came to my attention in that. I'm sure that will upset the more web friendly of my co-bloggers 'God man we heard that stuff like, forever ago'.

But anyway, whether you've been waiting a year... or two, this show was entirely worth it. There's usually something lost in the live performance of our genre-spanning labelled americans, I mean you can't imagine the likes of Smith Westerns or Fresh & Only's without some kind of Ridley's world of wonders carnival-esque smash.

What the Dum Dums probably regard as the distorted, low-fi authenticity stamp of their records like last years 'Your Alone E.P' vanishes on stage. Your left with the kind of ethereal pop beauty of Mary Weiss leading her pack away from Queen's back streets and down a sunshine, beer soaked road to the coast.

Favourites 'Hey Sis' and 'Catholicked' manage to retain the punk sound lead singer and founder Dee Dee must hold dear, whilst also acting as a prelude to 50's pop ambition. It's this combination of melodic awareness and groaning guitar that pull the band way ahead of the crowd. Just listen to new single 'Jail La La' live or on the record and you'll understand just how perfectly they've managed to eat up the ground between teen heartbreak and garage dirt.

A beautiful voice, perfect pop and did we mention they're cute too. More please....

The Velvet Underground

Fantastic news for all good music fans...... The Velvet Underground will not be reforming!

Contrary to what you might think reading this blog, we're not too enamoured with the prospect of any old reunion. I was twelve when Pavement sadly split, and quite frankly still in love with a disenchanted end of brit-pop (so i'll bang on about this one as much as possible). But with the the Velvets it's a diffferent story all together.

After the bands Lou Reed, Moe Tucker and Doug Yule took part in a Q&A in New York last December, rumours were rife of new dates possibly late this year.

However John Cale has been quick to quash any speculation when talking to BBC 6 music.
"It's not something that I can see happening on the basis of the past. Anyone who wants to reform The Velvet Underground for a series of concerts, to make some money, I understand that, but you can't do that."

And on his relationship with Lou Reed he added.
"I haven't spoken to Lou in a long time, but we're in touch because of business. There's no communal effort to enjoy each other's company any more."

Let's hope it's true and we don't have to enjoy some money grabbing at the expense of our favourite oldest records.

Keep it like this......

Monday 1 March 2010

Nice Face

The latest in a long line of fuzzed out punk releases from the alternative universe that is the Sacred Bones label, Nice Face have a new LP that touches on ghetto blast thrash, sinister electro and gutsy new wave, keeping things interesting without surrendering to the limitations some lo-fi luminaries have been known to self-impose upon their work.

Check out their myspace here for some tracks from the album and previous releases including Fuck It Tapes cassette only release of 'Can I Fuck It'.

Treasure


Shameless self-promotion isn't usually our bag down at Tally Ho. Largely because we sit around on our arses doing geeky things on computers and have nothing worthy of interest.

However our resident scribe Scott was on the BBC Lancashire Introducing Show last Thursday night with new band Treasure.

Treasure began as the one-man sampling project of Hari Ashurst Venn and with a US album release of debut album 'Kites' due in April on Waaga Records and a UK tour, their definitely ones to keep an eye on over the next few months.

If you're interested in hearing some guttersnipes at 'trendy' london types, a heated discussion over the price of lancastrian ale and a few songs live. Then listen to the show again on the iplayer here...

Or check the band out on our upcoming cassette release 'Heavy Medicine'. Oh, there we go again talking about ourselves.

http://www.myspace.com/treasuretheband

BBC Threatens 6 Music Closure, People Get Upset

Recent rumblings coming from White City regarding budget cuts and the scrapping of the BBC 6 Music channel have led to public protest's on Twitter and Facebook respectively.

Since the news leaked and the public outrage became clear, Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, who had previously welcomed the news, has backtracked in spectacular fashion and now claims he is an 'avid listener' of 6 Music.

The channel, which is currently only available on digital radio, covers a broad spectrum of genre, concentrating on esoteric music with shows by ex-music scribes such as Stuart Maconie, Yorkshire Drip Jarvis Cocker and ex-Fall and radio 1 man Marc Riley attracting a large following of articulate and passionate music fans.

Tally Ho! loves the channel and urges anyone who's ever listened to Lamacq whilst cooking something lovely in the kitchen, or awoken of a Saturday to hear Adam & Jo's familiar banter bumbling out the speakers, to register their support at the following link...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-6-Music/318069702319