London five-piece The Murder Act are set to release their debut EP Traum this week. Sounding like a marriage between The Birthday Party and NEU! gone wrong, the Murder Act create a very dark, almost sinister wall of noise. Think distant vocals, drones and hypnotic synths. The band started out because they were getting bored with the music they were hearing and wanted to create something new. I must admit they accomplished that goal. The Murder Act do not allow themselves to be labelled and put in a box. Rather, they seem to bring an exciting mixture of krautrock, post-punk, minimal and no-wave.

The EP will be released on April 25th, on hand numbered limited edition 12″ vinyl and digital download. The Murder Act are also having a launch party on April 20^th, at The Victory. They will be playing alongside Old Forest and Dogfeet (ex Stavin’ Chains), while ECC and Dee Sada will be spinning some records. Make sure you come down! This is a free party, which will allow you to spend the money you saved on Traum, a must-have vinyl for everyone who likes their music flooded with feedback and distortion.

You can stream the album and pre-order your copy here, while a free download of R.A.P.E. can be found here.

The future is looking bright for North London four piece Islington Boys’ Club! Sitting somewhere inbetween the rock and electro bands of this world, IBC create music that is innovative. Uplifting rock music filled with exciting hooks, pounding drums and intelligent, beautifully sung vocals. They have shared stages with the likes of O.Children, Dark Horses and Is Tropical and played The Stag & Dagger and 1234 Shoreditch festivals this year.

Their debut AA side single Pristine / Plastic 16 is set for release on Monday 22 November 2010 through Club.The.Mammoth, in association with Too Pure. Don’t hesitate to get your copy because this beauty is a limited edition: only 500 7″ vinyls will be pressed.

As if this isn’t enough, this week’s madness has just started for Islington Boys’ Club. On Thursday 25 November, they’re sharing the stage with bands such as Bones, Arrows of Love and The Tenebrous Liar. This combined with Blue on Blue and Mikey Spider djing, I recommend you get on your dancing shoes an head to The Camp around 7:30 PM!

To make sure this summer will be a good one, CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH are presenting an amazing line-up on July 16th. Islington Boys’ Club, Relics, The Caulfield Beats and Big Deal will be performing, and after that our very own Offset DJs will get behind the decks, amongst many others such as ECC, The She Set and Daniel Devine. Best bit is: it’s all for free, so you’ve absolutely no reason to miss out on this night of revelry!

E.p 1, the very first release by Red Drapes, is now available from both Rough Trade stores. The EP is handmade by the band and limited to 100 copies. It includes a five track cd, and a booklet with full lyrics to each song. Tracks contain Reflection, First Hand, Subside, Hush Now The Dockyard and Dirty Windows.

Rough Trade description:
Their melancholic sound and strong lyrical emphasis takes influence from post punk and new wave bands like Joy Division, Echo & The Bunnymen and The Smiths. A dystopian and somewhat nihilistic view of modern life is documented and encapsulated in their songs. Seen recently supporting O Children, The Chapman Family and Chapel Club.

Red Drapes are planning to make another edition of this EP, titled E.p 2, later this summer.
Next opportunity to catch Red Drapes live is on May 21st at Stag and Dagger Festival.

Don’t hesitate to get your copy or you might regret it later!

Brandon Jacobs and Thom Warren, better known as Goodnight and I Wish*, are working on a new album. Bursting with new ideas and under the working title of ‘The Great, Perpetual Motion Experiment!’, GAIW* expect the album to be released this autumn. Leaving the childlike lullaby-pop behind, GAIW* are with this new album exploring more spiritual horizons. Focusing on a variety of alternative life theories, each and every song on this album will have its very own musical identity.

“For this album, I have been focusing on a different subject matter to the previous, childlike - poetry songs. I have been researching the many different alternative theories to life as we know it, such as the hollow earth theory, ascension, spiritual enlightenment, pre-constructed soul contracts, 4th and 5th dimensions, and starwalking. I have also found a connection with this to Buddhist ideas of Karma and the life cycle. Out of all of this I have composed around 13-15 pieces of music that express these ideas and how they relate to my life and the closest people that I share my life experiences with.”

As a small sneak-preview to the forthcoming album, Brandon Jacobs posted a video for one of the new songs called “A Prophecy” onto the band’s Facebook page.

“’A Prophecy’ is one of the last songs that I have finished for the album although I actually wrote it some time ago. During this period I have be re-exploring my routes in the foundation of my musical interests which I think comes through in this song. But the other songs on the new album are extremely varied in sound and feel. I have approached each song as its own separate entity, like a life form I suppose. So you can expect to hear a wide variety of contrast.”

Whereas Brandon has been self-releasing the previous GAIW* singles, EP’s and albums, he is now on the look-out for someone who would be interested in helping him with this new release. If you are interested or know someone who might be, you can contact him through brandon.jacobs@goodnightandiwish.co.uk

For more news and information on Goodnight and I Wish*, visit www.goodnightandiwish.co.uk

After some great accomplishments, such as releasing the amazing studio album ‘Kick’ on the Independiente label and touring with the likes of Placebo, ROMANCE and Ulterior, White Rose Movement are splitting up.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that the collective that has been White Rose Movement has decided to call it a day. It has been a very hard decision to make, White Rose Movement has been our lives and passion for these past few years.”

This sad news was announced on their MySpace quite some time ago already, but now the end really is near: in less than two days, on April 16th, White Rose Movement will be playing their last ever show at Sala Santana 27 in Bilboa. The band is encouraging their fans to hop on a flight and have a last sangria with them, so what are you waiting for?

Two men, two women. One band, sounding like something you’ve never heard before. With influences such as Nick Cave, Neu! and Einstürzende Neubauten, their sound has been described as ‘dirty feedbacky horror-garage krautgaze for the masses’. They are said to be the new thing on the London scene, and have been spotted playing at a variety of clubnights, such as Decasia and MOLE. The Murder Act have been in the studios last weekend, recording a few of their tunes. New songs will be on their MySpace soon, and there are some rumours about a cd release, but for now you’ll have to do with some of the live videos you can find on both YouTube and the band’s MySpace profile.

Watch: The Murder Act - Fuck It, live at Decasia presents: Blackchapel

Find The Murder Act on MySpace // Facebook

DiscError is offering a free Death In Plains download to celebrate the release of the band’s debut vinyl on the DiscError label. The 7″ single ‘Over And Above’ will be out on November 17th and will also be available as a digital dowload.

The song up for download is called ‘Yeah Go’ and is not taken from Death In Plains’ debut 7″, but from the ‘Over and Above Digital EP’ which includes remixes by Passions (DISARO/Kitsune) and Premier Rang (Italians Do It Better/Eskimo). Want to hear it? Yeah? Go!

The new year has just kicked off, and R O M A N C E are more than ready to make it a mind-blowing one.

First of all, they’re featured in the new issue of P.I.X. On January 7th they’re heading to the studios to record the three tracks that are now on their myspace, plus a new track, which they promise to upload soon. Only two days after that, there’s this:

facebook event.

On Wednesday 14th, R O M A N C E will play at Brave Exhibitions.
facebook event.

It’s busy times for An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump. Only one week since their debut EP ”These Sins’ was released, they already surprise us with a new treat. Because the Birds love us, and Christmas, (and, more honestly, to prove that they really have been writing new stuff,) they’ve blessed us all with 4 brand new, more than exciting songs which they’ve put upon their blog. Have you just wet yourself out of pure excitement?! Too early, you haven’t heard the best part yet: they’re free downloads!

Smear
From Black To Blue
Just Walk
False Fright