Justice in the World: Dr. John Grabs Deserved Grammy

So the Grammy Awards took place last night in Los Angeles, and the main headline news is that Gotye and Kimbra won Record of the Year for their dreary and staggeringly successful ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, and that the likes of fun. and Mumford & Sons also picked up awards. Reason enough to not follow the headlines, you might think – fortunately though, the National Academy still has some class. Dr. John won Best Blues Album for his fantastic LP Locked Down (review). Congratulations to the good doctor!

[Audio] Daughter – “Run”

London trio Daughter have been a fascinating prospect for a while now. I wrote a little something about Elena Tonra’s atmospheric folk project towards the end of last year, and now the word is that a debut LP can be expected on 4AD sometime early in 2013. New single “Smother” has just been released, and in an interesting move its B-side is this re-worked version of “Run”, which first appeared on Daughter’s Demos EP.

Stream – Drokk: Music Inspired by Mega-City One

First things first – Wordcore is still alive! Other things have taken precedence over music writing for a little while now, but relative normality is on its way.

Back to the subject at hand, and in some of the best music news I’ve heard this year it was revealed a while back that Geoff Barrow of Portishead fame and acclaimed composer Ben Salisbury had created an album together based on the world of 2000AD character Judge Dredd and I’ve now had the chance to listen to Drokk: Music Inspired by Mega-City One. It’s not half bad – as one or two people have already noticed it’s very clearly inspired by some of the greats in film soundtracks of the 1970s and 1980s, and the first track immediately put me in mind of John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13. Fans of Portishead, Brad Fiedel and Giorgio Moroder will also find much to like, as of course will followers of Joe Dredd himself. Happily, you can stream and purchase the music now at Bandcamp.

[Video] The Dø – “Too Insistent”

Released in France back in March where it reached #14 in the chart, Both Ways Open Jaws is the second album by experimental pop duo The Dø. I’m lucky enough to be reviewing the record on its forthcoming UK release, and an early favourite is this incredible track “Too Insistent”.

[Audio] Flights of Helios – “Helios 1″

I caught their first gig supporting Spring Offensive in Oxford last week, and now Flights of Helios release their first mysterious snippet of recorded sound. This may be slight, but interesting things are to be expected from these guys – rest assured.

[Video] Visions of Trees – “Sirens (Novocaine)”

While I wait to cover Visions of Trees’ show at Oxford Jericho Tavern on the 20th, the moody electronica duo release a new video for their single “Sirens (Novocaine)” out on Deadly People on the 17th.

[Video] Dan Mangan – “Post-War Blues”

Filmed for Canada’s CBC Radio 2, Dan Mangan performs “Post-War Blues”, perhaps the best track on his new third LP Oh Fortune which can still be streamed courtesy of Exclaim and which is out soon on Arts & Crafts.

[Video] Foreign Slippers – “Avalanche”

Only a week or so after I mentioned that it was in the pipeline, the video for “Avalanche” by brilliant Swedish folk-pop songstress Foreign Slippers has arrived. Directed by Harry Amies and involving a great many other contributions, the video sees a pair of crude puppets in a slightly unnerving story, intercut with Gabi Frödén singing and looking suitably mystical. The song is a real highlight of the debut Foreign Slippers record Farewell to the Old Ghosts and adds some elements of dark soul to Frödén’s usual acoustic sound. Click “more” to watch the video below, or see it on Vimeo.

Foreign Slippers play Upstairs at the Garage in London on the 13th of October, supported by Burning Codes. I may just have to make plans for another trip to the Big Smoke…

[Video] Kele Feat. Lucy Taylor – “What Did I Do”

Kele Okereke’s first post-Bloc Party solo album, last year’s The Boxer, was both pretty accomplished and fairly successful. The follow up EP goes by the name of The Hunter (not to be confused with the Mastodon album, obviously) and is out on Wichita on October 31st. This video for “What Did I Do” features Lucy Taylor, odd dancing and topless Kele (oo-er).

Stream Dan Mangan’s “Oh Fortune” LP at Exclaim

His 2009 second record Nice, Nice, Very Nice may have been patchy, but Vancouver singer-songwriter Dan Mangan is undoubtedly a major talent. In fact, his song “Basket” is probably one of my favourite tracks of the last few years, and the word is that he’s also a formidable live presence. If this video is anything to go by, the word is correct. Mangan has a third album by the name of Oh Fortune out on Arts & Crafts on September 27th, but Exclaim have an exclusive stream.