DARK CAPTAIN
Dead Legs & Alibis
LOAF47
LoAF 2011
10 Tracks. 61mins01secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD Spotify: STRM

In the three years that separate Dead Legs & Alibis from its predecessor, London-based quintet Dark Captain have found themselves on the road quite a lot, criss-crossing Europe and the US, as well as bagged themselves a ‘single of the week’ spot on iTunes in the US with their single Jealous Enemies, and, crucially, dropped half of their name to return to the original Dark Captain of their early days. During that time, they also considerably honed their soft psychedelic folk, working on their songs to give them more substance and filling them with a stronger dynamic.

On their debut album, Dark Captain presented a series of beautifully crafted pop/folk songs with a gentle experimental touch, served by delicate instrumentation and softly brushed vocal harmonies, and this is what fuels much of Dead Legs & Alibis too, but the songs show a much more mature and confident approach Continue Reading »

SEELAND
How To Live
LOAF38
Lo Recordings/LoAF 2010
10 Tracks. 34mins50secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Seeland is the meeting of two like-minded musicians, both hailing from Birmingham, who have, through their respective previous bands, contributed to the retro-futuristic movement which emanated from the second English city during the mid nineties. A former guitarist with Broadcast, Tim Felton left the band after their second album, Haha Sound, and joined forces with ex-Plone Billy Bainbridge, who had been part of the Broadcast caravan during the band’s 2003 tour. Brought together by a common love of Neu!, Harmonia and Cluster, amongst others, the pair began working together and released a first single and EP on Stereolab’s Duophonic in 2005/6, eventually resulting in a first full length, Tomorrow Today, published on Lo Recordings’ sister imprint LoAF last year.

Now also counting bass player Neil McAuley, Seeland continue to develop their particular blend of electronic pop on their second album, How To Live. Continue Reading »

Formed by former members of Plone and Broadcast, Seeland first appeared in 2005 with a seven inch single released on Stereolab’s Duophonic, followed the year later by an EP. Both releases showcased the band’s beautiful electronic pop which would be developed further on Seeland’s debut album, Tomorrow Today, released last year. With a second album under their belt, themilkman caught up with ex-Broadcast Tim Felton to talk about starting from scratch and finding a label, writing songs, the retro-futuristic sound of Birmingham, the revival of Krautrock and taking the band to the next step. Continue Reading »

SEELAND
Tomorrow Today
LOAF23
LOAF Recordings 2009
12 Tracks. 43mins23secs

Buy: CD | iTunes

Formed at the end of 2004 by Tim Felton, who previously officiated as part of retro-futuristic sci-fi popsters extraordinaire Broadcast, and Billy Bainbridge, once a member of fondly remembered electronic entity Plone, two of Birmingham’s finest bands of recent years, Seeland released their first single on Stereolab’s Duophonic in mid 2005, followed by an EP a year later. Since, they have grown into a trio as bassist Neil McAuley joined the ranks, and have developed their sound to fit the realm of their first long player.

Fond of old style library music, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Joe Meek or early German Krautrockers à la Kraftwerk or Neu!, Seeland add some refined pop touches which find their roots in the early to mid eighties synth pop of the Human League or Depeche Mode to create a rather warm and inviting record with Tomorrow Today. Continue Reading »

DARK CAPTAIN LIGHT CAPTAIN
Circles
LOAF17
LOAF 2008
04 Tracks. 16mins35secs
Format: CD/Digital

London’s ever expanding (it seems) and mysteriously named Dark Captain Light Captain came together in early 2006 around the nucleus of guitarists and vocalists Neil Kleiner and Dan Carney, and have since grown into a full six-member outfit, but their music has lost nothing of the fragility it had in the early days. Circles is the band’s second release and follows last year’s debut single Jealous Enemies/Mid-Session Interval. It is also the prelude to the band’s first album, scheduled for later in the year.

Building their songs around gentle vocal layers and harmonies, brushed with acoustic guitars, soft rhythmic patterns and discreet electronics, DCLC have undoubtedly refined their sound since Jealous Enemies and developed the music lexicon which informs their work to great effect. Continue Reading »