Santigold is so cool. That has to be understood for the frenetic energy of ‘Master of my Make-Believe’ to work. Track one, ‘GO!’ hears Santigold, born Santi White, formerly Santogold (all pretty naturally cool) hears her bouncing on the hustled beat “People want my power”. This kind of grandiose production and big balls beats carries on to ‘Disprate Youth‘ where the beats sound sort of blissfully tacky. Looped distortion guitar lines that smack of the latest Death Grips LP with reggae rhythms bubbling under the surface. The LP is spacey and eclectic with her Brooklyn roots seeping through via her sniggering flow and turbo-chic image. 

Don’t be deceived by the tranquility that you might find in ‘Disprate Youth’ or ‘God From My Machine’- Santi still keeps her rickety beats and feverish lyricism on the guttery sounds of ‘Fame’ and ‘Freak Like Me’ the latter smacks of M.I.A circa Kala but that isn’t such a bad thing when all we hear of M.I.A is a few naughty gestures at the Superbowl whereas Santigold is making this kind of album. Personal highlights include the penultimate ‘Look At These Hoes’ which explains Santigold’s sudden camaraderie with OFWGKTA (Earl Sweatshirt came and partied with her at Coachella) she is being precocious and underground in a way that the stage-school-swag of Azealia Banks misses out on. This album is noisy from start to finish and showcases that the silliness and rapid animation on her earlier hits like ‘Creator’ and ‘Say Aha’ as in no way been lost to maturity. 

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London Calling’s playing and the kids are getting pretty restless. In their first couple of years bubbling under the radar Camden’s Tribes have created quite the fan base of loyal fans that hero-worship the ramshackle swagger of this four piece. The amble on and open with the luxurious ‘Whenever’ which has the crowd singing along instantly with the chorus catchier than any Guetta inflicted hook riddling the charts. There is an air of affection towards Tribes, as they play album hits like ‘When My Day Comes’ or the phenomenal ‘Sappho’ they seem happy to playing to such adoring fans, which is somewhat of a rarity in an age where reluctant indie is so cool. They head lock one another and spray water on the drummer with a tomfoolery that The Vaccines and so many other try hards could never quite capture.  The set is rapid with highlights including ‘Girlfriend’ and ‘Corner of an English Field’ all songs which prove their debut LP is worth celebrating. It’s not musical genius and a lot of the songs sound strangely familiar which could be a result of the slightly generic melodies but I find it hard to believe Tribes are a band trying to be anything different. Their sheer embracing of all that is big whether it is chorus, shirt or stage dive is quite endearing as well as extremely engaging to watch. As the show comes to a close, lead singer Johnny (who has been called to by various members of the crowd in a ‘I’m your mate’ kind of way) promises one more song and the crowd are treated to ‘Coming of Age’ which is another catchy sleazy pop-rock anthem from Tribes. You can’t expect anything more, and nobody really does. They are a band that sings about growing up, trying to be cool and staying out late. Their best song, ‘We Were Children’ demonstrates this blissful innocence the best. The gig ends and everyone is happier for the experience. Whilst most of that happiness is from a gig that was rapid, buzzing and energetic, it would appear a lot of it is happiness for four boys who played a Clash song then came on and played some solid rock ‘n’ roll numbers. The kids are going to be alright after all.

The venue is sold out and everybody seems ready for Miles Kane. The Rascal come Last Shadow Puppet has been touring his debut solo effort ‘Colour of the Trap’ for almost 2 years and this Bristol show marks the pinnacle of its success. Like him or not, you can’t deny that… Some people appear to like him. He swaggers on with snakey hips and and a shirt last seen lacquering Delboy’s car seat. Opening with hit single, ‘Inhaler’ Kane knows how to please his audience. He leans away from the mic and commands some action and he most certainly gets it. The northern foundations of his music make for a second-rate Oasis crowd in the Bristolian venue. He runs through other album tracks like ‘Quicksand’ and ‘Telepathy’ and they all receive a similar response. The hard bit is working out exactly who Miles Kane is. He is dressed like a cross between Shane Richie and Tyler the Creator but 13 tracks in, he covers Tom Jones. He is like a hybrid of all that is almost cool to make the ultimate nearly cool artist. There is no denying that tracks like opener ‘Inhaler‘ and the penultimate ‘Rearrange‘ are infuriatingly catchy and for many almost anthemic. In Kane’s defense, the somewhat intolerable tones of his voice on record and combatted by his indisputable showmanship however the beckoning of the crowd and constant ‘AVE IT‘ persona does become slightly tiresome. There isn’t too much disappointment on the realisation that it will be a show with no Last of the Shadow Puppets material. Kane has legitimately found a fan-base on solo material regardless of past efforts. He plays his debut almost in its entirety before encoring with ‘Come Closer’ and all the tracks are sung along to and create a sense of energy that Kane can’t help but thrive off. Miles Kane struts off the stage having played another show as what many would call a modern Rock ‘n’ Roll star. Working out exactly who Miles Kane is proves to be somewhat of an impossible task. His fans love him, his album sells and his live show seems to complete the picture. The generic nature of his work for many is nostalgia which the public seem to adore and mock in equal measure. I can’t see Miles Kane going anywhere and after tonight’s show it doesn’t look like he plans to. If I sound confused, it’s probably because I am. 

New Jack White LP. 

“BLUNDERBUSS”

Out now on XL Recordings.

It’s number one so if you can’t hack that just download some Iron and Wine B-Sides.

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Bristol outfit Goan Dogs make a sound that is far fetched from their surroundings. The dusty drum rolls and spaghetti western guitar parts don’t seem like they could be born out of the mundane Bristolian landscape but Goan Dogs’ cinematic sounds work an absolute treat and poses one of 2012’s biggest homegrown hopes.

Currently on their Facebook page you can download their ‘Christchurch Sessions’ which are 3 ready made hits including the rousing and wonderful ‘Hold Me Back’. It’s quite dramatic music but the Wild Beasts like vocals of their lead singer makes the hook “Hold me back or I’m coming in” a ready-made festival favourite. Their recent support set to Kyla La Grange stole the show without doubt. Their musicianship is tighter than most proudly lackluster indie bands and the song writing is genuinely phenomenal. Putting narrative in to guitar music is a hard task indeed. Most of the time it comes across artificial or just embarrassing but on Goan Dogs‘ ‘As A Train Rolls By‘ is a story like no other sung like this band grew up in the plains of Texas. 

There hasn’t been much circulating about this band thus far but give it time. Their irresistible harmonies and stirring beats are a recipe for success. Think Jack White built for radio or The Vaccines with some ideas. The songs are strong but they are coming from an even stronger place. 

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