I return to his page with a bit of trepidation. It's been well over a year since I've ventured back to this site & frankly it's inexcusable. A result of lethargy, much more than a lack of inspiration, for six years, Rotten Radio On Causticvox! has been my friend, hobby & alter-ego. The drive for new music to include on the stream has kept me with one ear on new Alternative Music & the other mining gems from the past. Nonetheless, I've left this site dormant & I now find that inexcusable! Too much has happened & is happening in the world of Alternative Music & I would be remiss if my views & commentary weren't part of the discourse. I've lived & breathed it far too long. It's my hobby, life & love. I left off January 1st of 2013 with my best of 2012. I don't intend on reliving 2013 here but with the plethora of new music that year as well as what's currently available, I should delve into who & what currently has my ears in euphoria.
I start with a band called Affairs. The Hull, U.K. quintet don't quite have a proper LP available but they will soon. They were kind enough through all of last year to send me all of their singles which I love highlighting on Rotten Radio to this day.
Next is Made In Japan. I've been gushing about these Aussies for two years now & their latest LP Tame All Those Thoughts solidifies them as an Alternative Band that has arrived. Unfortunately, not many have actually heard this marvel of a band. Their first LP from 2012, Sights & Sounds, was/is so fucking good, I couldn't get it out of my speakers for half a year. The latest is still stuck in my speakers 8 months after its release & for good reason. Listen below & you'll have a better understanding of why Made In Japan is currently the best Alternative band. Period.
Shredding guitars are bands Northeast Party House, Radkey, Holograms & Eagulls. I'm the first to admit that Northeast Party House sounds so similar to Bloc Party that there could be some sort of copyright infringement. But frankly, Bloc Party has been so uninspiring recently I welcome NPH as the new holders of the throne. Next, Radkey holds so much promise. They're Punk, Post-Punk & so talented, I Hope the pressure of a full length release doesn't find them losing the edge they've shown to date. In addition, although Holograms & Eagulls are a bit ahead of Radkey in that they do have full length releases under their respective belts, those releases demonstrate that these two bands are worth watching now & in the future.
In addition to these fledgling groups my ears have been greeted by the likes of Funeral Party, Kindest Cuts, Mode Moderne, & Principe Valiente. Funeral Party is perfect Indie Pop. Witness "Where Did It Go Wrong" below. In a just world, they'd be recognized for the brilliance of that one song alone. Of course the world is not just. Hopefully we'll see a new release this year from the Funeral Party gang. The other three bands featured below are a bit darker. Kindest Cuts is a revelation--from Canada! They're the first Canucks I've heard perfecting a classic Dark Wave/New Wave vibe & they do it to near perfection in decades. Mode Moderne is a chameleon. They straddle the lines between Goth/Post-Punk & Indie. Fortunately, regardless of what style a particular song is in, they do it well. Finally, Principe Valiente is a band without boundaries as well. The soaring vocals & impeccable musicianship make them another one to watch.
What I've laid before you are bands that give me pleasure in the present & hope for the future. The state of music in general has been horrid for nearly 20 years. The state of Alternative Music has pretty much followed suit. The handful of bands I've highlighted actually demonstrates that the state of Alternative Music is not still-born. There are new bands with respect for the past, with eyes set on the future. With that I have hope for more music worth listening to. It takes a bit of a search, but when you find gems like these it's worth digging through the dirt!
J. Rotten