Robyn Writes

Review: Cayetana – Nervous Like Me

I’m just gonna come out and say it. Cayetana might actually have come out with the record of the year. At the very least, it’s certainly up there in that category of bands who release incredible, gut-wrenchingly honest debut records. From the opening chords of ‘Serious Things Are Stupid’, as Augusta Koch’s perfectly imperfect vocals ring out “I came here alone / and I plan to leave that way”, it’s difficult to think that this record could be anything but amazing. Nervous Like Me is infectious, low-fi pop-punk ambrosia. Drink it in and be inspired.

Nervous Like Me may not be punk rock 101, but it’s certainly rooted firmly in that tradition. It’s impossible to think that they barely knew how to play a damn thing before forming in 2011, but three years and a shedload of shows can teach you a thing or two. That being said, these tracks aren’t a million miles away from 2012’s demo., in that they’ve got that raw, unflinching emotion running the whole way through, and an almost organic sense of melody. Kelly Olsen’s beats are executed to absolute precision, and Allegra Anka’s rumbling basslines tie each song together beautifully. From the surf-punk splendour of ‘Animal’ to the scuzzy, unrelenting buzz of ‘Favourite Things’, it all fits together perfectly against the odds.

In a genre that’s oversaturated by dudebros (although this is getting lesser and lesser, which is awesome), it’s also pretty great to hear these kind of songs coming from a female perspective. It’s easy to get burned out on tracks about perpetual teenagers or disillusioned male millenials when there’s so much around, but Cayetana’s simple, heartfelt approach is honest and refreshing. There’s still all the trials and tribulations of being 20-something right here, right now, but it’s beautifully presented and completely absorbing. ‘Madame B’ sums it all up better than anything else could. Before the bridge kicks in, Koch drawls “Tell me, is there strength behind my eyes?” and I don’t think I’ve ever empathised with a song so much. Even if you’re a non-believer, as ‘South Philly’ builds to a triumphant crescendo, you’ll get it. You will.

If I haven’t convinced you how incredible this record is (it’s likely I haven’t, because I just can’t stop gushing about it), then head over to SoundCloud, take half an hour and discover something extraordinary.

5 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Still Bust – 77 For You (57 For Me) [EP]

It’s been a bit of a tough time for Still Bust recently. Just before heading into the studio to record this EP, long time drummer Sam Piper left the band. For a band that have pretty much been a whole for ten years, that’s a tough pill to swallow. However, they carried on, got four tracks laid down and stepped up to the plate. The result is a fast, frenetic and compelling record, spitting out modern-life vitriol as far as the eye can see to a backing of mathy-as-fuck hardcore.

It took about ten years for Still Bust to record a proper album. A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not) was absolutely cracking – we reviewed it when it came out last year. However, it was a sprawling affair in places, distracted in others. It was also a lot more cut-and-dry punk rock. 77 For You (57 For Me) shows that Still Bust have learned from past endeavours and instead, they’re back as a lean, mean, guitar-thrashing machine. The production’s a lot slicker, Matty’s vocals are a lot more vicious, and there’s a lot of tasty breakdowns. For a four-track EP, there’s some beastly tracks, like record closer ‘Twenty Foot (Broken Foot)’ which clocks in at 6:19, finishing on a round of blast beats that Immortal might be proud of. No track is under three minutes, which is a far cry from the last record, but it works in Still Bust’s favour – no track is easily forgettable.

Opener ‘It’s Your Fault And You’re Stupid (Kind Regards Barbaros Icoglu)’ shows that they haven’t lost their penchant for ridiculous song titles. It’s also got one of my favourite ‘call and response’ vocal bits in any song ever, stupid time signatures and a misleading ending – you think it’s all over, but it comes right back in for another assault. ‘TV On After Breakfast (Would You Like Your Haircut Today)’ is a damning attack on social media, with a fantastic chorus and wicked half-time bits threaded throughout. ‘I’ve Never Been More Happy To Have A Hypo (However This Could Mean I Have Irreparable Knee Damage)’ has a lot more melody than the previous songs, but is just as technically proficient, with a rock and roll riff between the first and second verses that’ll make you want to punch the air victoriously (protip: don’t do this while driving. You will hit the roof of your car. It will hurt) with joy. ‘Twenty Foot (Broken Foot)’ is a great closer – Matty’s pained screams across a slow, echoing backing are utterly absorbing and wholly devastating. It’s a really powerful ending to an ultimately brilliant record.

So Still Bust have come out swinging, and they’ve done it splendidly. Hardcore record of the year from the Gloucestershire boys? It just might be so.

4.5 out of 5 high fives!

J-Pop Sunday: No Cars

It’s not unfair to say that there’s often some pretty left-field stuff coming out of the Japanese music tradition. In the UK, we don’t usually get exposed to a lot of it – Polysics are probably what most people who have a vague interest in alternative music conjure up when someone says ‘weird Japanese rock’. Arguably, it’s because we don’t often have access to it, but what if I told you that one of the strangest, most fantastic bands you might ever encounter in your life are a J-pop band based in London?

No Cars are quite simply, bloody mental and absolutely phenomenal.


No Cars like food, the Northern Line and sellotape. Yep.

Quick Guide
Act Name: No Cars
Line-Up: Haruna Komatsu (vocals, guitar), Takaco Iida (vocals, bass), Tomoko Komura (vocals, keyboard), Candy Tanaka (vocals, drums)
Years Active: 2011 to present
Genre: Indie-pop
Robyn’s Choice Tracks: Where Is David Bowie, Do Re Mi Farming, Jap Trap

A couple of weeks ago, I was hanging about at the Worcester Music Festival while Charlie, who does the Notes from the Keybed column, was doing some DJing between bands. We were in Monroes Cellar Bar, which is probably the tiniest venue I’ve been in to date, and all of a sudden, three Japanese girls and a reasonably tall man start bringing a buttload of stuff onto the stage. About 20 minutes later, said Japanese girls come out of the back room in matching white blouses and pink ribbons, and the tall man sits behind a drum set in a tanuki kigurumi. The show hasn’t started yet, they’re all still setting up, but they have their own line check song and it’s one of the most adorable things ever. The keyboardist bashes some keys, nods and pulls out a bag of lettuce. She balances a glass full of pink confetti on her Casio. She peers into a tote bag, checking everything’s in there. They’re all pretty much ready to go. I have no idea what the hell we’re in for.

When No Cars finally begin their set, the place is packed. Everyone’s crowding round, trying to get a brief peek at whatever’s going on up there. And first of all, they all stand in a line, sing a nursery rhyme style song in Japanese while keyboardist Tomoko tries to fan the confetti over them like sakura blossoms in the wind. This is not a band afraid to approach stereotypes and rip the living shit out of them. Then, as lead singer Haruna picks up her guitar, counts the band in and they jump into ‘Cress’, Tomoko sits disinterestedly on a bar stool, chewing on lettuce. Eventually, she hops down and starts offering it to the crowd. A No Cars set is a bizarre piece of performance art – from inviting someone on stage to be harassed as a ‘James Anderson Puppet’ to wrapping up your lead singer’s face in Sellotape, there’s not really anything that can be considered ‘average’ or ‘ordinary’. But it’s far more than just a spectacle – No Cars really do have some brilliant songs, and their surf-rock indie-punk sound is catchy, immediate and indeed, well crafted.


They also have a song about tuna. Tasty, tasty tuna

Let’s take ‘Where Is David Bowie’ as an example. From No Cars’ first record Yoko Eats Whales, it’s genuinely a song about trying to find David Bowie. But it’s super cute and it’s got these great, jangly guitars that are just ever so slightly out of kilter with the rest of the rhythm. When presented live, it turns into a crazy pantomime – Tomoko puts on a David Bowie mask and lurks creepily behind Haruna and bassist Takaco before Haruna stops and asks “where is David Bowie? Where the fuck is David Bowie?!” The audience gleefully yells “he’s behind you!” before it all picks up again, and while it’s utterly bizarre and captivating to watch, it’s just as addictive to listen to. It’s hard to sing along to a No Cars song, as the band often flit between Japanese and English, but the simple melodies provide the perfect backing for the bizarre subject matter. ‘Jap Trap’, from new album Yoko Makes Tits Bigger With Airbrush, is the sort of thing that’ll be kicking around your head for days. ‘Do Re Mi Farming’, all about people banging on some hay bales, has some absolutely wonderful key changes and wicked bass lines – not to mention that retro Casio sound! Plus, I don’t know any band that can craft a ballad to filter coffee that sounds as good as this.

What you have in No Cars is blissfully aware pop music, filled with laughter and joy – it’s impossible to walk away with a No Cars set or listen to a full record without a huge grin on your face. So take a walk on the strange side, pop on over to Bandcamp and prepare to have your mind blown.

Review: J Mascis – Tied to a Star

J Mascis has pretty much done it all. From hardcore bands to Dinosaur Jr, doom metal to alt-rock, there’s not a lot of musical ground that he hasn’t covered. Now on his second solo studio album proper, Mascis strikes a heartfelt chord with 41 minutes of sweeping melodies and intricate guitar work. Don’t worry though – there’s still a few wonderfully grungey bits to satisfy even the staunchest Dinosaur Jr fan.

For a dude who famously called guitar “a wimpy instrument”, Tied to a Star is predominately acoustic – the wimpiest form of them all, one might say. The record picks up where 2011’s Several Shades of Why left off, and opening track ‘Me Again’ is soft, pretty and ethereal – not too unlike Elliott Smith’s later work. In contrast, ‘Every Morning’ is an upbeat, jangly affair, and wouldn’t be out of place on a teen movie soundtrack. Mascis dips in and out of different guitar styles throughout the whole record, predominately focusing on folky, indie tones, but occasionally delving deep into country styles and even Eastern-inspired riffs. ‘Heal The Star’ is a great example, blending traditional guitar styles with grunge-tinged feedback in the background. The entirely acoustic ‘Drifter’ is so cleverly crafted that it’s impossible to tell whether it’s double-tracked or just one guitar. There’s even the odd solo in there – ‘Trailing Off’s final few seconds are just fantastic. For such a wimpy instrument, J Mascis completely owns it.

There are fewer collaborations in Tied to a Star than in its predecessor, but Mascis still ropes in a few old friends to help out here and there. The duet with Cat Power on ‘Wide Awake’ is, quite simply, perfect. Pall Jenkins, Ken Maiuri and Mark Mulcahy also make appearances – in particular, Maiuri’s presence on piano is an integral part of the record, and adds an incredible amount of depth to an already intriguing collection of songs.

If there are any issues with Tied to a Star, it’s perhaps that it all blends together too easily. There are a hell of a lot of highlights in the record, but if you’re not listening out for them, it all sinks into one, long, blissful soundscape. Mascis’s soft, slightly croaky vocals lead you through . It’s not inherently a bad problem to have – the fact that everything blends together so well shows just how accomplished Mascis’s songwriting is, but it sometimes feels as if you’ve missed something, and that feels like a real shame.

There are a lot of bands out there doing stuff like this these days. And they probably learned it all from J Mascis. Even in his much heavier records, it’s impossible to find more intricate songcrafting than this. Its release is timely, providing the perfect farewell to summer with a soulful, occasionally melancholic, but ultimately beautiful approach to the ‘acoustic solo record’.

4 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Wrongchilde – Gold Blooded

Mat Devine is taking a bit of a break from Kill Hannah to try something new. His solo project, dubbed Wrongchilde, took to PledgeMusic with some fairly outrageous packages for the truly devoted to raise the funds to produce a debut album. Devine’s managed to pull in some big names from the American alternative scene, like Gerard Way and Sierra Kusterbeck, and it’s fair to say that in some ways, Gold Blooded is a pretty ambitious record.

In other ways, it just sounds like a softer version of Kill Hannah. Fans of KH won’t be disappointed, but they won’t exactly be surprised either. While Kill Hannah have been consistently putting out big rock tunes since forever, a lot of slower, more considered tracks have been sneaking on to their latest records, despite a surge in popularity that would probably have suggested otherwise. But, it’s fair to say that Gold Blooded takes full advantage of the experience and sound that Devine’s been previously crafting and cranks it up to 11. Tracks like ‘Call Me Crash’ and title track ‘Gold Blooded’ probably wouldn’t sound out of place on a KH record, with sweeping and echoey guitars, big riffs and clever hooks.

However, there’s a huge influx of 80s influence, both good and bad. The huge synths and goth vibes on ‘Lace Up Your Boots’ are just perfect, and ‘Hopeless Beach’ sounds like it just stepped out of a John Hughes movie. Seriously. A fairly awful key change in ‘Dance to Your Heartbeat’ nearly threatens to unseat the record entirely, but Gerard Way’s appearance in ‘Falling in Love Will Kill You’ rescues it all from certain oblivion. If there’s any 80’s pop cliché you can name, Devine’s probably made it, but nine times out of ten, it’s far too good to bemoan. Instead, you’ll be jumping in the car and heading off on one of those coming-of-age roadtrips… even when you’re 20-something.

Lyrically, Devine’s still as abstract as ever, but his storytelling skills remain perfectly intact. There are many tales of heartbreak, though none as eloquent as ‘Frostbite Year’, and lead single ‘Falling In Love Will Kill You’ goes in hard and fast with the metaphor, offset just perfectly by a gentle acoustic backing. For the most part, it’s all pretty beautiful.

Whether you’re a Kill Hannah fan or not, it’s going to be impossible to ignore Wrongchilde. Devine’s first pop album is absolutely stunning – the perfect soundtrack to summer.

4 out of 5 high fives!