Angular Artists on the up

• 10th Oct 2004

That whole East London thang still hasn't shown any signs of subsiding. But who are we to complain. The most diverse yet equally fragmented and often sterile musical city in our country finally has a scene which has second-rate hacks all of a quiver.

As far as we were concerned, New Cross and associated districts music came to light not with Pete Libertine but with Art Brut. Ironic that, seeing as oly guitarist Chris hails from that way. But the last 6 months or so have shown that there are many, many more great bands out there. It's as if people were actually listening when Eddie Art Brut Argos demanded, “Form a Band!”

So now you can find dozens of East London song-makers thrashing out songs every night of the week. The Violets, The Wear, the brilliantly named The Fucks… the list goes on. Some good, some truly awful, but all in it for the.. well.. love of live music.

Two such bands have stood out recently.

luxembourg (with a lower case “l” to avoid confusion with the Benelux principality) were, according to prescient promoters The Fan Club, “the best unsigned band in London”, “developing their own unique pop blend combining elegance, eloquence and soaring harmonies” (SoundsXP).

As the NME boldly declared “luxembourg have enough beef to
graduate into a proper rock band.”

“Let's hope not!” – Angular Records

In June, luxembourg graced Angular's second release, “Rip Off Your Labels”, an album celebrating the glories of slumming it in the London underground.

What the Housemates Don't You was their debut single on Monday 6th September 2004 and was backed with the Lamacq playlisted
Close-Cropped and live favourite (aren't they all, dear?) Pin Me Down.

It is – of course – brilliant And now, armed with tunes destined to ram indie dancefloors up and down the country. luxembourg are a fingernail away from touching the stars.

Which is nice.

London pop tarts The Boyfriends, who were recently John Kennedy's “Single Of The Week” on Xfm, embarked on their first UK tour recently.

The fast rising punk poets are number 3 in Lauren Laverne's
Top Ten tips for great things in this week's NME (“Expect them to be cocking a snook at a Royal Variety Performance near you soon”), have announced an absoloutely FREE London show at uber-hip new band
night, Club Hedonistic at the Archway Tavern. Despite being in Archway, the first night, featuring Red Jetson and The Ludes, was a riotous success and this second night is shaping up to be even better.

The Boyfriends' debut release is a split EP with Sheffield's fabulous The
Long Blondes. The Boyfriends' songs are No Tomorrow and I Love You,
described by the NME as “shimmering Smiths pop with eloquence and bite” and “top notch indie melancholia” respectively.

John Kennedy has been championing both tracks, declaring No Tomorrow an “anthem for a new generation”. The EP will be available from Rough Trade shops and by mail order from link from 20th September.

The Boyfriends are booked to record an Xfm session next month, with a
further session for Resonance FM also pencilled in.

The Boyfriends also had their moniker on the front cover of Boyz magazine, as the lead band in a major feature on the best of
London's underground music scene.

That'll do nicely for now . . .