This Town Need Guns

Don't worry reader, I'm not suddenly taking a Charlton Heston role. To be honest, South London has enough ruddy weapons as it is.

No, instead I talk of Oxford based post-rock merchants. This Town Needs Guns are a fine little outfit who are pushing forward with vocal laden post-rock to aplomb. Off the back of support slots with Cats and Cats and Cats (who, despite hype are really pretty average) and more impressively, The Young Knives, whom they supported on Saturday and whom EGNTS missed at the Drowned in Sound free gig early that afternoon due mostly to Soccer Saturday and laziness.

The band, who find salvation with Meet Me In St Louis and others on Big Scary Monsters (1st home of Get Cape Wear Cape Fly) have just released a split EP/album with Cats x3 are on top of the world, shaming the Cats x3 effort with punchy instrumentation and cleverly engineered vocals. It's somewhere between Wheat, Aereogramme and something I can't quite put my finger on, maybe it's a touch punky?? Dunno. It's certainly some of the best recorded DIY stuff I've heard for a while. Well done lads!

Enjoy.

This Town Needs Guns - "26 Is Dancier Than 4"

Beats Francais

God! It is SOOO nice to have France alt-beats smashing out of the radio. I doubt we'll ever get the days when Daft Punk, Cassius, Air, Tahiti 80 et al were all we heard at the indie disco but it's certainly welcome relief to shake my ample ass to something that isn't fucking new rave.

Surely this isn't some sort of French reactionary antithesis to Klaxons and the gang over on this side of the Channel??

It appears to be a revolution lead (albeit from the sidelines) by Daft Punk who have ensured than everyone is pulling their socks up, and with socks pulled up almost to their armpits are Justice. OK, they've been about for a bit but debut LP "Cross" beats the living daylights out of any of the New Rave efforts...yes, even the Klaxons!

EGNTS caught them live at Field Day back in august and despite some shit hot mixing they failed to get the crowd going, primarily this wasn't their fault as due to strict curfew rules in Hackney, the pa got quieter and quieter and quieter.

But don't let this put you off, this is club-tastic tuneage and works a thousand times better on record, especially when considered that like so much good euro-pop, they are so delightfully easy to remix with everyone from the majestic MSTRKRFT to (friend of Norway) Alan Braxe to SMD. It is the former which I have chosen to enrich your lives.

Justice - D.A.N.C.E (MSTRKRF remix)

Klaxons Take The Mercury

Despite being one of the biggest grossing albums of 2007 and the catalyst for the whole "New Rave" fashion trends, Klaxons victory at the Nationwide Mercury prize last night was bordering on surprise. Most on the on-the-night hype was with the charming Bat For Lashes and the resident drunkard Amy Winehouse, both of whom put in much better performances in front of their peers, judges and industry types at The Dorchester.

Personally, I'm quite chuffed, this has been a year for New Rave and I think it's pioneers deserve recognition. As an album it's actually reasonably accomplished (far more than their live show) and whilst it seems to follow the KLF's "How To Have A Number One The Easy Way", there are some excellent stand alone tracks. Granted, there are evidently better albums, but more deserved...that's a tough one. Klaxons as a unit work VERY hard and their almost non-stop touring is tribute to this. OK,so their no James Brown (R.I.P.) but the effort they've taken to secure this is massive and was evident by the tears last night and the all-night drinking that followed...and let's not forget, they're South East London boys as well!

Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow