magic beanz!

Those believing in such things seems that Santa though delayed finally made it to fill seasonal stockings full to brimming with a free to download EP from the highly enthused about Song, by Toad imprint which according to the gift note aside being a little thank you Christmas gift of sorts also gives a little sneak peak as to the artists / musicians currently being prepped for release action by the label next year. Entitled ‘magic beanz’ the EP is a hearty gathering of 6 acts who should  radios fail to pick up and fall adored to you’ll at least certainly be guaranteed to hear more from here. Opening the proceedings Garden of Elks who’ve actually featured in these pages earlier this year when we hooked up to their demo cut via the esteemed Fat Cat web site wherein fond words and comparisons to the Fall and the Turbines where uttered in a rather long sentence which given we received no hearty thanks let alone the thunderous rush up to our door to shake hands on a script well penned we then ought to conclude did not go down well. Anyhow now along comes ‘this morning we are astronauts’ – this babe comes etched in a pulse tightening tension that radiates white hot  ripped ablaze in swathes of feedback cyclones which to these ears sounds not so dissimilar to the trademark grooving of the much missed Skywave. Up next Le Thug with ‘basketball land’ which I should say had we been in the market for doing end of year lists might right now be making a very last minute bid to nick the top spot, frankly to gorgeous for its own good and one of those rare wow moments like the first time we heard Bang Bang Machine’s ‘geek love’ traipsing out of the transistor for this arresting gem comes sweetly gilded upon a frost tipped choruses of celestial sirens demurred and haloed in ethereal glazes to sound not unlike a heavenly no ceremony or a super chilled MBV styled super glider on cruise control transmitting love noted distress calls into the beyond – certainly in terms of affection stakes up there with that frankly unreal release from the Harrow via everything is chemical (which had we been doing lists would have stolen it ahead of Goodnight Lenin as single of the year). Again previously unknown to us digitalanalogue stump up the genteel choker ‘café royal’ – 4 minutes of beautified silent majesty caressed and dinked in a fragile neo classical framing whose frost chiselled poise should prove to be something of interest to those much admiring of the Aussie imprint hidden shoal and the home grown cathedral transmissions label. Numbers are futile certainly know their way around a slice of ear candy with ‘vice over reason’ curiously emerging showered in dream pop trimmings powered by stuttering mathian motors traced upon a calypso dinked chassis that might well have those tokolosh dudes over at static caravan raising an enviable eye. Plastic animals appear to do a neat line in the delivery of quietly stately shimmer pop with the not so happily titled ‘burial party’ fizzing and cooing like some wallowing Decembrists cut left out in the cold and unloved and tendered by the Church. Last up on this pre teaser feast passion pusher who like the aforementioned garden of elks has in recent times blown us away somewhat and now returns to finish the job with the acute ache of ‘BLT’. Now despite all attempts to muster up an alternative reference marker Passion Pusher still sounds to these ears like some dark clouds descending pessimist bedevilled by love’s car crashes who for arguments sake we’ll call Gary Wilson being backed by an assortment of happy jangly strummy chaps who to save disagreement we’ll call Micro Disney or should that be Decoration, anyhow what is certain is the small detail that the cut is bit of a gem, agreed morose and miserable – but still nonetheless a gem.  https://soundcloud.com/songbytoad/sets/song-by-toads-magic-beanz