NA in the UK: Mystery Jets, Shangaan Electro

It’s a light week for new records in the UK.. But even on a light week, there are surprises. In the absence of marquee names, we get some promising up-and-comers. Here’s a look:

Mystery Jets, Serotonin – South Londoners return sounding more confident. Craig McLean writes:

Serotonin, true to its name, delivers a straight rush of uplift and joy. The album is assembled from a patchwork of influences, but it manages to be considerably more than the sum of its parts — mostly because all of those parts are thrilling: “Its Too Late To Talk,” which rises to the blue sky on soaring harmonies and chiming chords, is Surf’s Up-period Beach Boys. “The Girl Is Gone” builds another wall of vocal overlap, this time throwing thunderclap drums into the mix. “Show Me The Light” is studded with an improbable — but wildly entertaining — disco throb. “Flash A Hungry Smile” is a particular joy, a real headphone treat: a torrent of psych keyboards ushering in artful and skipping British New Wave songcraft, and more sun-kissed West Coast singing. Surfin’ XTC anyone?

Betty and The Werewolves, Tea Time Favourites – This is my pick of the day. Brash, infectious, and fun crash-pop from three girls and a guy from London. I sez:

Scrappier than their peers in Standard Fare, who released this year’s charmingly wide-eyed The Noyelle Beat, and brasher than fellow scenesters Allo Darlins, Betty & The Werewolves nail the under-explored spot where The Runaways meet Tallulah Gosh. Lead Betty Laura McMahon is equally adept at brassy shouting (see the yelping sing-along chorus to “Eustace Station” of “I don’t want dinner and a movie/I just want someone to move me”) and breathy wistfulness, as on the contemplative “Good as Gold”. In the best indie-pop tradition, she makes slyly observed pop out of the mundane stuff around her … The result combines the sweet neurosis of Love Is All, the gum-popping cool of Vivian Girls, and the confrontational edge of the Long Blondes into an irresistible and pitch-perfect indie-pop debut.

Noun, Holy Hell – Witchy, Patti Smith-channeling punk/folk with gnarled edges left poking out on purpose — this is an intriguing project featuring Screaming Females’ Mariss Paternoster.

Various Artists, Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music From South Africa – A fascinating collection of exactly what the title implies: sun-kissed polyrhythms given an 80s-electro sheen. On Honest Jon’s, which, to my knowledge, has never put out a bad record.

Cherry Ghost, Beneath This Burning Shoreline – Darkly cinematic alt-rock tinged with Nick Cave ranginess and bleak gorgeousness of In Rainbows-era Radiohead.

Kingdom of Sorrow, Behind the Blackest Tears – In case you hadn’t gathered from the album title/cover art/song titles, this is not bhangra. New metal from Relapse, heavy on the snaky, bar-rock wah-wah guitar leads and Saint Vitus biker vocals. Good stuff.

Feeder, Renegades – Vaguely bloozy modern rock with Idlewild-anthemic choruses and lots of late-90s distortion sludge.

Singles, 7-inches, and EPs
Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Say No To Love – The low-key, late-summer shimmer of the Pains’ latest single, “Say No To Love” is here. We love these dudes/dudette, but to call us “biased” is an understatement.

Black Lips/Pierced Arrows, Scion A/V Garage – Black Lips / Pierced Arrows – Split single from Black Lips and Pierced Arrows. “Best Napkin I Ever Had,” the Black Lips song, sounds exactly like a Black Lips song, and a good one at that, while Pierced Arrows’ gets a little crust-punkier with it.

Geologist, White Mud Creek – New single from Geologist! Sounds like a Brooklyn freak-folk demo being played from the bottom of a coal mine.