Noisy Colours

Hey gang,

Doyal here again with five tracks made by bands that are cool.

Hope you guys enjoy the tracks and that you've had a good weekend, seeing as it's been only 3 days since the last post (Stu you need to get your act together).

Enjoy the songs and stay classy.

1. Dave Matthews Band - Gaucho

DMB are one of those super experienced, incredibly musically tight, Hall of Fame bands that sell out stadiums wherever they go. Dangerous Dave himself was born in Joburg, South Africa but moved to NYC at age 2. This 22-year-old band was formed when Davo, (Doyal and Dave are apparently tight friends and have nicknames for each other), harvested some of the best local, underground jazz musicians to back him up. This is from their latest album "Away From the World".

2. EFTERKLANG - Sedna

I got introduced to these guys when the effervescant Matthew Mole dumped a folder onto my computer full of cool music. This song is from the Bon Iver mould; slow and captivating.

3. Churchill - Change

Honestly, I stumbled across these guys in the little suggested bar on the right hand side of a different YouTube video. INCREDIBLE music video though, you have to watch it and not just press play and walk away!

4. Foxygen - On Blue Mountain

These dudes are trying their hardest to recreate a modern-day Rolling Stones, and they most definitely pull it off. Although a little different for some, I really enjoyed this super indie vibe.

5. BlakRoc - Hope You're Happy (ft. Billy Danze, Nicole Wray & Q-Tip)

The Black Keys, magical band of beauty, were busy recording some golden tunes when Mos Def (American rapper), interrupted the session and recorded a song with them for fun. Then they were all like "Bros that was sick, let's do more!", so they recorded another 10 songs in the next 10 days with more rappers. Like I said, magic.

Hope you enjoyed this week, catch you next time on The Weekly Stu!

Late Lunch

So it isn't Monday, or even Tuesday but a Friday morning that the latest edition of The Weekly Stew hits your screens. I apologise for that but between my 21st birthday party and other issues I just didn't get a chance to write the post earlier. So here we are at the beginning of yet another fantastic edition. Durban's weather is hot, this post is hot and some people even tell me that I am hot (My mom and sisters count right?).

Last week's favourite track, as voted by you lovely readers, was 'Caesar' by '44th Sunset', looks like you guys also love your Aussie Indie-pop.

Lets get down to business straight away because I can't deprive you of your music any longer...

1. Jagwar Ma - Come Save Me

Jagwar Ma are from Sydney. Only an Australian could have come up with a name like that. 'Come Save Me' features on the Fifa 13 soundtrack so quite a few of the gents that read this blog will be familiar with the track. This steamy little electro dance track is guaranteed to get your pulse beating faster and make your palms sweaty with anticipation for when the chorus hits and you can let all of your fantastic dance moves loose on the crowd around the room, yes it's so good that it makes me think that even I can dance to it's smooth grooves and hypnotic vocals. Go have a gander at it's epic music video that will make graphic designers drool!

2. Palma Violets - Step Up For The Cool Cats

Palma Violets are another London sensation. They even managed to scoop the award for song of the year from NME for another of their tracks, I love NME so I should therefore love these guys. I adore them. The band play a hauntingly beautiful concoction of garage and psychedelic rock that has throwbacks to yesteryear. The 4 piece's debut album drops a little later this year and I think that it will find a great place in my collection! The best thing about Palma Violets is that they keep everything simple, in the age of overproduction and auto-tune it is so cool to hear a band that just sounds like it has been recorded in a garage, which it probably has, yet still sounds fantastic! I hope that you come to love them like I do now!

3. Frightened Rabbit - The Woodpile

Oh yes! I found a Scottish indie rock band and they still have their accents! Try to top that. There isn't much better than hearing a band blaring out some good indie rock and then this Scottish Burr just begins to sound from the vocalists mouth...It's a little slice of heaven for a listener's ears! Frightened Rabbit come from the tiny Scottish town of Selkirk and have been together since 2003, their sound has always been a mixture of indie rock and folk and throughout it all the accent has remained. If I had an accent like that I would probably make it onto South Africa's most eligible bachelors list, (I promise that I was joking). Go ahead and let Scott Hutchison sing his Scottish heart out and delight your ears!

4. Clubfeet - Everything You Wanted

Have you ever wondered what happens when you combine a couple of South Africans with some Australians from Melbourne? Well you get 'Clubfeet'. The 5 piece synth-pop group has been making waves in Australia for the past year or so with their indie-dance madness! 'Clubfeet' has two vocalists who combine to give you a taste of sweet joy with their honey coated hooks and seemingly endless fervour that comes along with their music. They are similar in nature to 'Hot Chip' and 'Cut Copy' so if you like that type of thing then these guys are for you! They also happen to have a rather epic music video which is original and sleek to watch! Check it out!

5. The Vaccines - Teenage Icon

The Vaccines are a West London 4-piece that have captured a nation with their particularly indulgent brand of indie rock which has lead to them being compared with greats like The Ramones and The Strokes. 'The Vaccines' formed in 2010 and have gone from strength to strength since then, they headline festivals and sell out venues yet they still retain their rocking tendencies! Their second album went gold within 3 week's of its release in the UK last year and I can understand why. Great beats, vociferous vocals and bombastic guitar work combine to make 'The Vaccines' the full package!

6. The Vaccines - Wetsuit

To end it all off this week I had to put in a bonus track from the Vaccines which captures what you all love most in the world...Festivals and Instagram. Yeah that's right I know that you sneakily all adore Instagram no matter what you say!

Thanks for reading guys! Enjoy the rest of your week and we will see you again on Monday this time! Don't forget to vote on the top right hand side of the page for your favourite track of the week!

Summer Lovin'

We're back!! 

The time for fear and boredom has come to an end as The Weekly Stew is back in action once more! We took quite a lot of stick for taking an extended break over the holiday period and yes, I may only post once a week but I want each and every one of those posts to be good so I wasn't going to post anything unless I had time to do it properly and over the holiday period there just wasn't time for me to do that.

During this blog-break some fantastic things happened...David Bowie released new material for the first time in 10 years, The Black Keys announced that a new album is on the way and I (Stu/Stew/The Dark Horse) turned 21. Yes I know that I am now old and thus should start using a typewriter instead of a laptop!

Since you have all been deprived and depraved for such a long time, I thought that I would give you an especially special edition so that you have some summer tunes to enjoy as you trek down to the beach, or if you are unfortunate enough to live in Joburg, as you trek to Sun City!

Without further ado lets begin!

1. Atlas Genius - Trojans

The first Stew of 2013 is kicked off by the infectiously happy sounding and feeling Atlas Genius. The band is comprised of 3 brothers and an English friend, who make guitar-driven indie tunes that are reminiscent of Pheonix, except these brothers come from the beautiful city of Adelaide and not from Southern France! As you listen to these guys you can't help but feel summer is here, from light and clean vocals to strangely harmonious guitars they really put a smile on your face! Another of their songs 'If So' features on Fifa 13 so quite a few males will be acquanted with these boys already! Atlas genius have started to put Aussie dance guitar-rock back on the map.

2. Plan B - Ill Manors

Yes it has finally happened, there is going to be some rap on The Weekly Stew! When you hear the song you will understand why! 'Ill Manors' was one of the most outstanding songs of last year, it managed to capture the anarchy and anger that led up to the London Riots where the youth of London went wild and let all of their pent up frustration go! The song captures the huge divide between the rich and poor in the UK and how it breeds contempt and burning hatred! Ben Drew, also known as plan B is a 29 year old from Birmingham who has had a fair amount of success in Britain with his music and acting, he has moved from hip hop to soul and rap and at all times he has carried a fiercely loyal fan base with him. I can only hope that he continues to create music like this, music that talks to a generation's frustrations and desires!

3. 44th Sunset - Caesar

The Aussies are taking over summer! 44th sunset are yet another infectiously happy sounding group from the land of Koala's and terrible vest tans. These teens hail from Perth and as their music video shows they wouldn't have anything else to do other than ride trains if they didn't make such sweet music. These kids are following in the footsteps of last summer's Aussie teen sensations 'San Cisco'. 'Caesar' is a typical teen summer anthem, it has jangling guitars, a solid drum beat and some rather interesting vocals that give it an eccentric and eclectic sound that sticks with you. My neighbours must be sick of hearing the chorus blaring by now after I've played it solid for the past two weeks! I trust that you will love these kids, who can't dance, as much as I do!

4. Gung Ho - Strangers

Gung Ho are guaranteed to get your fingers tapping and your feet stomping and then haunt you with their eerie vocals that somehow manage to touch your soul. OK reading that back I might sound a little bit emotional but I promise you its true. The Brisbane 3 piece has created an indie-pop sound that seems to flow effortlessly from verse to chorus and back to verse again until suddenly 3 minutes later the song is over and you don't know what happened to you! I am most definitely a fan and cannot wait until they release a full length album of more songs reminiscent of this offering!

5.  Deap Vally - Gonna Make My Own Money

Deap Vally are loud, they are brash, they play hard and they even party hard, best of all...they are females! The duo that is known as Deap Vally come from California and have been turning critics' heads with their particular brand of blues rock 'n roll. They sound slightly like Jack White in all his glory and they have an attitude to match his at the best of times. It looks like these women are going to be dominating the airwaves for years to come, who needs a nagging wife when you have these ladies to screech into your ear!

Thats it for the first Stew of 2013. I hope you enjoyed the madness! See you all again next week!