Just For Kicks: Zaza, Real Estate, Joe Gideon & The Shark.
Posted by: nick
All the tracks in Just For Kicks have a bit of a dreamy quality to them, be it the hypnotic rhythms of Zaza, the sunny day alt.folk guitar of Real Estate or the county and western style narrative of Joe Gideon & The Shark, there’s something about all these tracks that transports you to another plain.
Friday
Zaza is Jennifer Fraser and Danny Taylor, both originally west coasters who eventually hooked up in New York, apparently by fate. They’re no strangers to great music. Jennifer used to play in The Warlocks and Danny has close ties to The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. As Zaza they create intensely rhythmic, dark dream-pop. The duo is set to give their mesmerizing debut EP “Cameo” a physical release in the States this August, as of yet there doesn’t seem to be an official UK release scheduled but with tunes like ‘Sooner Or Later’ it won’t stay that way for long. For now though they’re giving away the whole thing as a download here. Woo hoo!
For Fans Of: Cocteau Twins, Yeasayer, Ride.
Saturday
mp3: Real Estate – Suburban Beverage
Real Estate is a New Jersey four-piece featuring former Titus Andronicus member Martin Courtney and guitarist Matt Mondanile who also records as Ducktails. The band make gorgeous old-time sounding summertime guitar pop. ‘Suburban Beverage’ unfolds slowly and never really gets to too high a pace but carries you along on a warm wave of guitars, light percussion and soft vocals. The band have just released ‘Fake Blues EP’ in the UK through Half Machine Records so be sure to check that out if you like this.
For Fans Of: Forest Fire, Band Of Horses, The Clean.
Sunday
mp3: Joe Gideon & The Shark – Harum Scarum
Joe Gideon & The Shark is London brother/sister duo Joe Gideon (guitar/vox) and Viva (drums and backing vox) who’ve been playing their blues rock/alt.country/art pop across the UK since 2006, supporting the likes of Archie Bronson Outfit, Sons and Daughters, Great Lake Swimmers, Alela Diane and most recently Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Before that they used to play in a band called Bikini Atoll and before that Viva was an Olympic gymnast for Great Britain. Joe lived in Bolivia for a bit. They’ve just released their debut long player ‘Harum Scarum’ on Bronzerat records. ‘Kathy Ray’ is one of the more laid back tunes but features Joe’s trademark narrative vocals which are ever present on the album. He’s a storyteller at heart.
For Fans Of: White Stripes, Archie Bronson Outfit, Joeyfat.
