Pop International

In the sky will be seen a fire, dragging a tail of sparks...” Just as Nostradamus prophesised in his quatrains, The Comet Is Coming: “The great star for seven days will burn, the cloud will cause two suns to appear and the big mastiff all night will howl.” End times are upon us people, but Danalogue The Conqueror, Betamax Killer and King Shabaka are here to spread light and joy and fire, for they are The Comet Is Coming. Marvel! As great jolts of electricity burst forth from their fingers. Gasp! As their lungs expel musical mantras as seismic as an earthquake, as heady as a timeless ritual. Swoon! At the sheer interplanetary vastness of their cosmic explosion of polyrhythmic sound and head-bending colour. And get down with it on their debut EP Prophecy. Purveyors of freak-out space funk, The Comet Is Coming are a musical metaphor for society as it speeds towards meltdown like a fireball on an unalterable collision course. For it has been written. In 1682 and 1757. In 1997 and 2020 and 2148. Just like Halley’s Comet and Hale-Bopp before them, this trio are here to blaze a trail across the firmament, smash through the atmosphere and rocket off into unknown territories on a one-way ticket to the centre of the mind’s third eye. This is no doom-trip though; it’s last night of the earth party-time, babes. It’s a Prophecy. Five tracks of freewheeling psychedelia and honking jazz punk mayhem is your soundtrack. Strap in and lift-off to the dizzying ‘Neon Baby’. Slip down the helter skelter wormhole of ‘Star Exploding In Slow Motion’ and wake up dazed on a verdant astral plane in time to ‘Do The Milky Way’. Moon-bathe in a sonic Sea of Tranquility that is ‘Cosmic Serpent’ and comedown to the dark ambient state-of-the-universe address that is ‘Final Days Of The Apocalypse’. But most importantly: hit the floor and shake it like there’s no tomorrow. Here is the universe in a microcosm; the life-force distilled down to its raw essence: sex and dancing. Sub-bass, slamming analogue, unhinged sax breaks. The rhythm of life. Armageddon is coming: what better way to spend it than letting our brave young voyagers take you on a topographical journey of a different bent? These three planets aligned in 2013, having between them played with bands including Melt Yourself Down, Soccer96, Sons Of Kemet and Polar Bear, and a plethora of other projects. Sonic comparisons? Near impossible. But let’s at least throw in Space Invaders, ‘70s sci-fi films, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, post-punk, ‘80s dance and electronica as guiding beacons of light. “There will be fiery explosions in the skies,” said Nostradamus. “Great slaughter, then triumph and festive celebrations.” The Comet Is Coming. The celebration has begun. For it has been written. Record Label: Leaf Style: Pop

Record Label: Jippie! Style: Pop

Composer: Fraktus Label: Staatsakt (Universal Music)

Artist: die Liga der Gewöhnlichen Gentlemen Label: Tapete (Indigo)

Artist: Kelela Label: Warp

Artist: die Liga der Gewöhnlichen Gentlemen Label: Tapete (Indigo)

Artist: Grimes Label: 4AD

Artist: Aino Löwenmark Label: Traumton (Indigo)

Artist: Images at Twilight Label: Indie Recordings

Record Label: Tin Angel Style: Pop

When the national radio broadcaster Triple J unearthed Boy & Bear in 2009, the zeitgeist snatched them up, up, up. Not only did their name feature a creature of the American woods at a time when foxes, deer, wolves and bears of both panda and grizzly breeds were in high demand, but their music matched the family-friendly folk-pop thus signified. Boy & Bear’s 2013 album Harlequin Dream had a bit of Bruce Springsteen’s everyman allure and a bit of Fleetwood Mac’s guilty pleasure party vibe. They shied short of whistling but, still, the five men from Sydney’s northern beaches seemed one Blundstone boot away from writing a world-conquering anthem like Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. They didn’t, but Harlequin Dream did debut at No 1 on the Aria charts. Limit of Love, however, doesn’t test anyone’s limits. To its merit, it is crisper and less rustic than the previous two albums. The single Walk the Wire encapsulates this sensation best. It leaps from the starting gates as sleek and hungry as a Melbourne Cup favourite no one can wrest their eyes from until it streaks past the finishing line. There are only two synthesiser notes and a handful more on guitar and bass but they’re so effective they seem lab-tested. This song is impossible not to like – Boy & Bear know this, everyone knows this. Limit of Love will polarise no one. It will bring daytime-dancing bliss to sunburnt festival crowds and it will be played a lot on the radio. The album has already hit No 1 on the Aria charts. And the guys will cram genially into radio studios – pros, by now – and talk about how it was recorded with minimal fuss in Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio and, later, in a rental on the New South Wales south coast, an experience Hoskings describes in the press release as: “Just being with the boys, in a space where you have gear set up, you have fridge full of great food and wine, playing music and surfing.” Record Label: Nettwerk Style: Folk / Pop

The Tiger Lillies re-tell this classic novel from Berlin in the Weimar years, also performing it as a stage show in Frankfurt A year on from their World War I concept album A Dream Turns Sour, which was very well received both in the UK and when the band toured overseas, The Tiger Lillies are back with a musical side-swipe at love, death, desire and corruption. The Story of Franz Biberkopf is enjoying a long stage-run in Frankfurt with the band performing the songs from the album every night there. The inspiration for this album came from the tragic-ironic life of Franz Biberkopf, the hero of German writer Alfred Doblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz, one of the most important novels to come out of the Weimar Republic. In this way it joins the company of earlier Tiger Lillies albums in the band’s growing repertoire of work inspired by literary classics, such as Hamlet, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and of course the award-winning Shockheaded Peter. Our hero Franz is a petty crook, just out of prison and adrift in the depravity of inter-war Berlin, who eventually finds some stability when he falls in with a kindly prostitute. But things go wrong when she gets murdered, and Franz understands he can never escape the criminal underworld. These themes of the dregs of human existence all find their fond corners in the songwriting imagination of Tiger Lillies' founder and front-man Martyn Jaques, who had sympathetic work here making an album of songs about poor, unfortunate Franz. He then acts as our tour guide as the next few songs take us round the hopeless and the fallen of Berlin. To add as well, this album about Berlin was also produced there, recorded and mastered by Timm Brockmann at Studio 64, with extra work done at Blurt Studios in London. Martyn Jaques is on vocals, accordion, piano, organ and guitar, Adrian Stout on double bass, musical saw and jaw harp, with Timothy Remfrey on drums. The trio are joined by Suzana Bradaric and Axel Ruhland on strings, Ole Tholen on saxophone and Timm again on synthesiser and sampler, organ and percussion. Record Label: Misery Guts Music Style: Indie Pop

digipak. LION SHEPHERD is a new music project by Kamil Haidar and Mateusz Owczarek in which the musicians their inspiration in ethnic music. The music they create is a mix of world music, trance, progressive rock, blues, and Middle Eastern motifs. Among other performers, the album features Jahiar Irani (an Iranian musician who has made recordings e.g. for Kayah’s Transoriental Orchestra album) and Rasm Al Mashan (Naxos Orchestra, Soomood). In addition to traditional European instruments, there will be the Syrian oud lute, the Persian santur, and various Indian and Arabic percussion instruments. The project led by Haidar and Owczarek involves not only musicians but also graphic artists, filmmakers, design artists, people working with mapping art, and even fashion designers. The artists involved in the project will create unique performances that go far beyond the traditional notion of a concert. PROFILES: Kamil Haidar A vocalist and producer who has been active on the Polish rock scene for years. Released three studio albums, including two with the Maqama band. With this band, Kamil Haidar toured most of Europe. He has made recordings in Poland, Los Angeles, and the UK. Among the musicians he has worked with, one can name such stars as Doug Pinnick, who played with the legendary King's X band, Michael Parnin, Chris Sheldon, known for his work with U2, Biffy Clyro, and Skunk Anansie. References to Middle Eastern music are his trademark. They are present in all of his productions, no matter if it is rock, acoustic music, or world music proper. - Mateusz Owczarek He is a recognized multi-instrumental virtuoso and is considered to be one of the best young guitarists. Prizewinner of numerous music contests and a demon for studio work. Despite his young age, he is a very experienced concert performer who has toured throughout Europe. He has played on stage with many Polish and international stars, including Zbigniew Hołdys and Michael Lee Firkins. He is a co-founder of the Lion Shepherd band, where he plays not only an electric guitar, but also an Arabic lute and all kinds of acoustic guitars. Mateusz Owczarek is a co-author and co-producer of the Hiraeth album. Record Label: Glassville Records Style: Rock

Record Label: Tin Angel Style: Pop

Record Label: Morr Style: Pop

John Blek’s voice carries a tinge of sadness with storyteller insight and Robbie Barron’s guitar a snarl of menace. The sound is filled out with David Murphy’s pedal steel and Anna Mitchell’s atmospheric keyboards (her 2015 solo album was equally noteworthy). The title may be misleadingly topical as may be the somewhat disconcerting preoccupation with morbidity, but that should not deter investigation of this impressive second album by the six-piece Cork band. While their debut made good currency out of alt.country leanings, these nine tracks are more cohesive and mature, with echoes of The Jayhawks. The title is taken from the opening ballad Guard My Borders, which is redolent of that excellent British band The Leisure Society, but these borders are more personal than political. A band on the up. Record Label: Tonetoaster Style: Singer/Singwriter

The Physicists are an industrial metal band from Helsinki Finland. The music consists of sporadic, fuzzy riffs, catchy hooks and song structures that could only occur when Dr. Frankenstein took the brains of every member of Kalmah and stuck them into Rammstein. The vocals alternate between artificia Record Label: Inverse Style: Industrial / Metal

Eva Cassidy's performance at the Blues Alley jazz club has become musical history. Twenty years on, experience for the first time every song recorded on the night of the 3rd January 1996. Nightbird is Eva Cassidy ultimate tour-de-force 31 songs recorded in one night at the Blues Alley jazz club in Record Label: Blix Street Style: Pop

Artist: Bill Wells Label: Karaoke Kalk

Artist: Beat Happening Label: Domino Recording Co.