#10

Its Monday and as usual there is only one thing for you to look forward to...Stew time!! This week we have actually managed to get the new post out on time, which is a momentous occasion all on it's own. The new voting system will be here from this week, I may have forgotten to put it in last week (my bad), so vote for your favourite track of the week and let us know if you like what we are doing! This is our 10th edition which we are proud about (yeah you should be proud of us as well), so there may be a few changes and additions over the coming weeks to make the blog better for you guys. If you have any suggestions as to how we can improve your time spent on the blog or if there is just anything you want to see on the blog then just let me know via comments or email.

In other amazing news I'm super ridiculously amped that The Drums are going to be gracing our South African shores with their gifted presence. These guys are my favourite band. There is no other band that can compare to them for me. The Drums are the epitome of what indie really is, it's the lifestyle where you really don't care what others think of you, you don't try to fit into any crowd, you just be your ridiculously fantastic self. The Drums do this effortlessly, their music doesn't fit into any definitive category, it tells stories of their lives and combines dreamy melodies with melodramatic lyrics which leaves their souls bared for all to see. For a band of this calibre to come to South Africa is a HUGE thing, it shows that our musical culture is starting to develop into something beyond TV pop and boring radio rock. No longer are we satisfied with the latest offering from Lady Gaga or Nickelback (Shudder). This can only lead onto further great things, and great bands who break the mould of what music should sound like will begin to frequent our shores on a more common basis. Final note on this topic - I saw The Drums in February in Melbourne, they were spectacular, first and only time in my life in which I sang and danced throughout an entire hour-long set and did so with a couple thousand other people. So who's road tripping with me to watch them and who's house am I crashing at??

Well I went on for a heck of a lot longer than usual so I'm pretty sure that you are ready for some music now, and I'm not going to disappoint you...

1. The Drums - Money

I have featured The Drums before on this blog a while back. That was their first single back when they were blissfully ignorant of the struggles of the world. 'Money' comes off their second full length album, Portamento. The album's sound is a lot more cultured and carries stories of the life of the lead singer. They still manage to maintain their joyous chorus's and bass lines throughout. 'Money' is a particular favourite of mine, it tells a familiar story that students around the world can identify with. "I want to buy you something, but I don't have any money", I can relate to this song all too well, I've even been known to slyly put this song on when taking a girl on a date just to hint that I may be lacking funds, yes its shameful but it worked...I hope that certain ladies aren't reading this blog this week (That could be an awkward next meeting). The chorus will get stuck in your head, there is no doubt about that so get ready to be singing about your lack of money for the next few days.

2. Swim Deep - Honey

This song has been on repeat in my house since I found it about a week ago, I think my parents are close to kicking me out because they really have heard this song too many times now (for me you can never listen to it enough). Swim Deep are Birmingham locals who are finally set to make a splash on the music scene. They have burnt through record labels like Luke MacDonald burns through hair-bands, (for those of you who don't know Luke, this figure is ridiculously high), they have finally settled on a label and are set to release an album late this year. They play indie pop with synth overtones to complete the sound. 'Honey' is another exceedingly catchy number with one particular line where the lead singer elongates the phrase 'don't just dream in your sleep, its just lazy' until it ends up sounding like 'Don't just dream in your sleep, its lazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy' but don't take my word for it, go listen to their joyous rhythms yourself!

3. The Wombats - Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)

I actually can't believe that I had forgotten to put The Wombats onto the blog before now, I really love these guys. They have changed from an indie band on the outskirts to become one of the most rounded bands in their particular genre. The Wombats are Liverpudlians (I can never get used to that name, it sounds like a disease) and have been around since 2003 so they are old boys on the music scene. They started out sounding very much indie-rock but have since progressed much more towards post-punk (Starting to become an old hand at these classifications). 'Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)' takes you back to the good old days when they were just starting up their band in a hotel room in Tokyo and they were free to trash things as they liked without any backlash from the press, it really is a powerful and fantastic number. I'm pretty sure that you are going to love this one.

4. Oberhofer - o0Oo0Oo

Oberhofer have been described as being the sound of happiness, admittedly this was probably said by a teenage female who was high at the time. The thing is, I find it hard to argue with that sentiment (No, I'm not high or teenage or female). Oberhofer are fun, fresh and full of joy, (My high school English teacher would be so proud of that alliteration). The thing that I enjoy most about Oberhofer is that they have a raw and edgy sound, it takes me back to the days when indie music was produced in garages and not in big time studios. I really could have chosen any song off their EP because they are all great but I settled on this one because of it's ability to make me smile even on a Monday morning in a week where I have tons of work to do. Time to put a smile on your face!

5. Wild Beasts - Hooting & Howling

Wild Beasts are a fantastic band from Kendal in England, they play a combination of indie-rock and dream-pop. In my humble opinion they are the best protagonists of that combination.They really are a top class outfit and are critically acclaimed in the UK. With a name like Wild Beasts you expect something crazy right? Well at first you may not think that they deliver on this but as you listen more you find that these guys are so fantastically crazy in terms of the music that they conceive and deliver to us! One last thing...does anyone else think that at first glance the lead singer is a female and not a male? It can't just be me can it??

There we go, that's the 10th edition of The Weekly Stew done. I hope that you enjoyed this week's track list, remember to vote for your favourite in our poll. See you all next week!