W/e 28/06/24 - Been Stellar, Lola Young, Rui Gabriel, The Mysterines, The Breeders

Our best week for 3 months, with 3 entries into our 2024 top 20.

Congrats to Been Stellar, but also Mysterines for an almost unanimous TOTW.

Mysterines are 80 places down on their 2022 debut, although Matt and Si, just, preferred this one.

Simon has the 😀 with his most enjoyable week since September. (Jim also had his highest scores this year)

Andy takes the ☹️ for the 2nd time in 3 weeks.

The Breeders sit on our classics with Sly and the Family Stone and The Jam, and perhaps surprisingly 6 places above Last Splash.

Sam

Been Stellar : cool as fuck angsty rock . Anyone else want to see them live ? 8.2

Lola Young : quirky fun sweary ! Pretty good : 7

Rui Gabriel: light , frothy , a bit on and off . 6

The Mysterines: theyve grown up a bit , more thoughtful . still a great voice . 8

TOTW many contenders but i'll go for Sink Ya Teeth by the Mysterines

The Breeders : odd choice for Simon ! for a debut album its a bit disjointed and could flow better . But its still got plenty of power and packs a musical punch . 8

Guy

Been Stellar - I might not be as excited by these as others but i think with a few more listens my score would rise. Defo got that NYC sound. Perhaps a bit rough and ready atm - 7.7

Lola Young - Decent listen if a little liberal on the obscenities. A few catchy tunes and a touch of Florence in places - 7.2

Rui Gabriel - Another that I thought was decent (not a bad week). It probably didn’t go anywhere particularly but it had that nice soft indie pop feel to it - 7

The Mysterines - I want to like this band more but I struggle a bit. This for me was a step down on previous offerings. There were however one or two top tunes including my TOTW - 7.3

TOTW: Sink Ya Teeth by The Mysterinesn (top tune)

The Breeders - Lots of Pixies moments (the highlights) but overall it didn’t really do it for me with too much filler - 6.8

Justin

Been Stellar - not bad indie rock but drifted over my head despite several listens 6.6

Lola Young - this was a great mix of rap, indie and folk style vocals and music. 7.2

Rui Gabriel - like the laid back indie lo-fi styling. Nice voice too. 6.8

The Mysterines - better than expected. All the songs sound like a quality slow song on an indie/rock album but need some livelier ones 6.5

Totw Messy - Lola Young

The Breeders - love the Pixies and Cannonball, but as with the other Breeders album just doesn't click with me. 5

Andy

Been Stellar - Lovely stuff, grimy NYC youth doing what they should be doing 7.5

Lola Young - A brutally honest take on the young woman singer brand. More Self Esteem than Tay Tay, Wish you Were Dead was particularly brutal 6.5

Rui Gabriel - Slightly lesser Car Seat Headrest sounding indie, nice enough 5.5

The Mysterines - I much prefer them when they rock out a bit and despite sounding a bit like Siouxsie this left me a little flat, but not a total dud 6

TotW - Wish You Were Dead by Lola Young

Breeders - I like this, always a fan of Kim Deal singing over some scuzzy guitars. As per all the Steve Albini tributes a classic example of his production style, barely touching what the band are doing 7

Jim

Been Stellar 7.5

Cracking debut, with a few TOTW contender gems, title track and I Have the Answer in particular. The moodier bits are very FDC, with some Glasvegas maybe as it ramps up

Lola Young 7.5

Enjoyed this blend of gritty pop, hip hop and R&B. She’s got something interesting to say that's not too cliched. Probably grew up listening to Mike Skinner 😆

Rui Gabriel 6

Pleasant but somewhat forgettable.

Mysterines 8

I was a tad apprehensive after the AYL set, and whilst it's not as instantly loveable as the debut, and a fair bit darker, it grew on me and in Stray and Sink Ya Teeth they have a couple of contenders for my 24 for 24. Looking forward to seeing them next weekend with this homework behind me.

TOTW Mysterines - Sink Ya Teeth

Breeders 8

Not up there with Last Splash, but it still packs a punch, and the Pixies twang is timeless.

Simon

Been Stellar: muscular and intense, the layered guitars and percussion reminded me of Ride with shades of Radiohead as well (particularly the vocals) - impressive stuff. 8

Lola Young: not a big fan of this style of angsty girl pop but this a cut above some of the other examples we've heard - strong vocals, plenty of spirit and a plethora of catchy tunes, even if some of the subject matter is a bit predictable. 7.5

Rui Gabriel: nice, mellow vibes with a lot of charm on display here, perfect for the hot weather - tracks with Kate Teague (whoever she is) are excellent. 7.5

Mysterines: in two minds after first listen but a second spin won me round - a lot of substance to their new material, Stray and Sink Ya Teeth the obvious standouts although think the rest will grow on me more over time. Great vocal as always. 8

Breeders: one of the first albums I thought of when Guy suggested doing a classic each week - not as full throttle as the Pixies, the songs are sparser and more atmospheric but no worse for it, imo. It's great strength though is that its constituent parts sound so perfectly balanced - as Andy said, Steve Albini knowing exactly what (not) to do. 8.5

TotW: Mysterines - Sink Ya Teeth

Mark

Been Stellar - unfortunately only had time to listen to it once on a long train journey last weekend and there was a lot of Bitburger pils under the bridge since then, but I liked what I heard, definite Fontaines influence in there - 7

Lola Young - surprisingly good, like a cross between Amy Winehouse and Steve Lacey, setting aside the effing and jeffing I thought this was a really good album, loads of interesting musicality set to unflinchingly direct lyrics, hats off to her. Boyfriend sounds like a piece of work, but I'd say she can handle herself - 7.5

Rui Gabriel - pleasant laid back summery jingle jangle, I liked it when it sounded like Lou / Velvets, not so much when it went a bit Noah & The Whale - 6

The Mysterines - the songs sound better amped up compared with the accoustic album launch in a church I heard them at last week, still a tad dark and gloomy though, needs a few more big numbers a la Sink Your Teeth - 7

TOTW - Messy by Lola Young

Erol

Been Stellar – so New York rock, so impressive. I can hear many influences in this, including the Strokes and Radiohead. Top guitar arrangements coupled with hypnotically moody vocals. 8.8

Lola Young – how refreshing to hear a new artist with a fresh sound. Reminiscent of the London soulful swagger of Amy Winehouse with the gusto of Beth Ditto punching through on the more upbeat tracks. I can forgive her potty mouth as this is really very good. 7.8.

Rui Gabriel - pleasant enough but unremarkable. 6

Mysterines - there are a couple of pearls on this album (The Last Dance and Sink Ya Teeth) but apart from that, I was a tad disappointed. I will go back to this but what’s happened to the driving guitar laden indie sound that impressed us all so much on the first album? It’s just a bit too downbeat, which was disappointing. 7

TOTW - Scream from NY, Been Stellar

Breeders – this oozes baggy t-shirted youths bobbing up and down in a sweaty basement bar, with the odd mosh pit moment thrown in for good measure. The grungy baseline and general scuziness was particularly appealing. 7.5

Matt

Been Stellar - driving, cool NY rock. Totally valid Strokes comparisons. 7.2

Lola Young - a lot to say and said well with touch more deftness than some peers. Not quite Baby Queen, maybe more a junior royal. 7

Rui Gabriel - it's low key but well constructed, engaging and draws you in. 6.9

The Mysterines - the more introspective tracks aren't bad just unexpected but for my money they're better when it's in your face, confident rock so definitely preferred the latter tracks, which were a good run. 7.6

Totw - The Mysterines, Sink ya teeth