Spring Offensive, a 5 piece university band with a difference, are definitely a band to look out for. They’ve just brought out their third release of the year, The First of Many Dreams About Monsters which despite technically being a single is over thirteen minutes long and composed of five seperate parts.

It’s been referred to as a ‘mega-single’ and is certainly just that. The First of Many Dreams About Monsters is somewhat of a concept record and Spring Offensive have made it known that it was inspired by On Death and Dying, the book by Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Küber-Ross that first documented the ‘grief cycle’. Each of the five parts to the song represents a different stage of the cycle; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance but that band have pointed out it isn’t about Küber-Ross or the loss of a loved one but about the potential insensitivity of writing about grief.

The First of Many Dreams About Monsters has been made available as a free download by the band and their earlier releases are available from the Spring Offensive myspace.

Released 20th August 2010.

Special Benny, an extraordinary British band I first featured on this blog almost a year ago are finally ready to release their debut ‘Toys’, a largely instrumental 9 track album. Toys has been a long time in the making and nearly didn’t happen at all. Special Benny first released the Rumblestrip EP back in 2006 but the band started to lose momentum as different members followed their seperate paths in life. A send off gig was played and then nothing more until late 2008 when Special Benny discovered a newfound enthusiasm for their music and went onto eventually complete Toys.

Toys opens with Air Filter, an absolutely blinding track released as a single last Autumn that sets the tone for the rest of the album perfectly. Special Benny themselves have said their musical tastes vary greatly and this really comes through in Toys. There’s a certain lucid quality to their sound and it’s hard not to get drawn in by it, particularly in a somewhat repetitive track like Sine and Step. Either way, you can tell right from the first listen how much studio time has gone in to this recording to make Toys exactly what Special Benny had envisaged down to the finest of details. I’m really glad that this band didn’t fall apart before they truly got started, there’s no stopping them now.

Released 6th September 2010.

With the King Felix EP released in April and now this remix, Laurel Halo is still very much active in a scene of her own. In keeping the tightly bound sound of BRAHMS’ whilst adding her own unique, transdimensional qualities to the music, this track has the perfect balance all remixes should have but very rarely do. I’m sure we can expect to see a lot more from both BRAHMS and Laurel Halo in the future.

Below, the video to Laurel Halo‘s remix of BRAHMS’ Another Time.

Lemonade is the 2nd collaborative effort from Ukranian composer Heinali and American poet Matt Finney (of Finneyerkes). Matt is a word artist from Millbrook, Alabama and makes his music with the help of composer Heinali.

On first listen Lemonade is a dark, mysterious 6 tracked fully unique creation. From the first song ‘A Beginning’, Heinali and Matt Finney take us through an emotional journey where Matt paints a picture in our mind with his words that represent deep meaning. Matts voice moulds well to the backing tunes, which generally remind you of outer space with someone talking through a phone. Throughout the tracks there are hints of influence from Brand New and Bright Eyes, and the lyrics are really thought provoking especially in track Lemonade. This style of music is very new and unique and breathes a breath of fresh air into the indie music scene. At the end of the day they’re just two good, broke friends who live on opposite sides of the world trying to make music that they love and hopefully other people will like as well.

It is available for free download and you can also purchase the album with bonus material by naming your own price. (a couple of extra songs and a book Matt wrote)

By Sophie Stratford

The Frequency are an independent rock band from Los Angeles, CA, they are relatively unknown psychedelic techno pop. Marc Cazorla and Alex Stiff are the core songwriting and recording duo behind the music and use an array of analogue and vintage instruments in creating sounds that have been described by NME as “stripped back music strengthened by simplicity as much as beauty”.

Track Love Is One is a soft techno rock anthem. The Frequency’s music is totally unique to anything you’ve heard before. Inspired by music from Pink Floyd, Can, and Spiritualized, their live show adds another level of intensity to the music.  Their show has been described as an audio/visual feast for your senses.

By Sophie Stratford