The infectious “Handprints” is a strong return for Buckinghamshire four-piece As Elephants Are. A sharp mix of jangly guitars, kinetic rhythms and an overwhelmingly catchy chorus hook, “Handprints” comes all tied up in a shimmery atmosphere of dream-pop romanticism. Look for As Elephants Are’s “Hand Prints” EP March 31st.
As Elephants Are 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.2
The Bulletproof Bomb can refer to the #7 car in the 1968 Hanna-Barbera cartoon Wacky Races. In which that car was driven by 7 little gangsters, all sitting in the front, sometimes shooting their Tommy Guns (thank you wikipedia). This is just one possible rationale for the naming behind this new punky 5 piece from Sutton. Having recently heard “Suitcase” on their soundcloud, I must say I am hooked. The surf-garage rock burner is infectious and a shit load of fun. The forthcoming b-side “Spaceman” is a nice follow up, with a breezy feel and is just as catchy. Reviewed by Brian Litwin
The Bulletproof Bomb (Pre-Order)
TOUR DATES
March 1st, Troubadour, London
March 14th, The Water Rats, London
March 20th, The Grey Horse, Kingston
March 21st, Native Tongue, Epsom
March 26th, The Macbeth, London
April 2nd, Ibiza Rocks The Snow, Meribel, France,
Rating 8.4
After a string of stellar singles, Temples finally dropped their Sun Structures full-length this week. All the singles are included on the album and the goodness doesn’t stop there. Not surprising considering that this band even comes up with awesome B-sides. Among the deeper gems on the album is “A Question Isn’t Answered”. It fades up with handclapping and a melodic tribal chant over a mid-tempo stomping groove. The song builds into what has been called a rock freight train. Psychedelia is prominent in Temple’s sound, and this tune has a heavy John Lennon/late-Beatles feel. One can even imagine John writing the line “a question isn’t answered if an answer isn’t questioned”. Temples are aiming high, as well they should be. Following an extensive UK and European tour, they will hit Coachella, and then hit a few more US dates before gracing various summer festivals. I saw them last May in England and can vouch for their live chops. Temples should be slotted in the top tier of any list of UK bands with the best chance to break loose in 2014. Reviewed by Bruce Rave
Temples — A Question Isn’t AnsweredTemples 
(Facebook)
* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
D.D Dumbo out of Australia, who’s “Tropical Oceans” track from last fall we dug, drops today a new video for his languid molasses-dipped cover of Roy Orbison’s iconic ballad “Crying”. As if distilling the pace of the 1961 track and its time through the lens of today’s velocity and speed, performance footage in the clip of the great Mr. Orbison carries a tempo that is nearly unintelligible to a modern eye. The feeling of it is quite powerful.
D.D Dumbo 
(Purchase)
Rating 8.3
Sundara Karma are the latest UK buzz band win for Chess Club Records. SK on “Cold Haven” mix influences as diverse as The Smiths, surf pop & The Doors in a manner that is as engaging as it is unconventional. “Special”, “different”, “unique”, “about to blow up”; words in phrases throw around with high frequency in the music blogging game. Well, Sundara Karma are indeed “special”, “different” and “unique” and for those reasons and many more are “about to blow up”. Get in now. “Cold Haven” is out March 10th.
Sundara Karma (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
“The Falls” off Racing Glaciers’ new EP, Ahead Of You Forever, keeps with the groups’ paradigm of creating layered music that builds into a cascade of sound, yet it is a more danceable departure from their previous EP. With uptempo percussion, guitars and bass, rounded out with horns and keys, “The Falls” is a full track that will make your ear hairs happy to be moving. Reviewed By Desiree Autobee
Racing Glaciers (Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Nick Thorburn’s band Islands are celebrating their ninth anniversary this month. Bruce Rave enjoyed a chat with Nick at the Troubadour prior to their fine LA show last month. They of course chatted about the new album, band mortality, and Islands’ decision to go DIY. Nick’s actor friend Michael Cera produced a Spinal Tap-flavored Islands rockumentary that you can see below. Bill Hader, formerly of SNL, perfectly plays the role of Island’s ‘fictitious manager’. Enjoy the interview, then check out the video. You’ll probably see characters who remind you of people you know. Side note on the interview: the very beginning of the recording got cut off. Nick has lived in various cities and was in Montreal when Arcade Fire were first coming up. I asked whether that time in Montreal was his most formative musically and he replied that it was actually high school that really set him in motion. That’s where we join the chat.. By Bruce Rave
Islands 
(Facebook)
Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
If you fancy seeing a new band that aces a modern version of early Stones meets The Yardbirds meets soul, you can put this in the bank: You will love The Strypes live. These Irish kids are in their mid-teens, they’ve played hundreds of shows around the UK and Europe, and their “Snapshot” album went top ten in England. The time has finally come for them to invade America. The Strypes will surely have a high profile at SXSW, and they recently flew over for a handful of major market shows in addition to their winning US TV debut on Conan O’Brien.
The Troubadour in LA show was star-studded on January 28. Elton John, whose management company handles The Strypes, was perched in the VIP balcony. Members of Muse, Blondie, and many other bands were on hand to see this band getting some much deserved attention in the States. I’d seen The Strypes and interviewed them last May at The Great Escape in Brighton, England so I knew what I was in for. The young lads more than delivered, playing over an hour. Like their album, there were lots of cover songs and there was only one song that wasn’t blazingly fast. This band is letter tight and, if anything, they might have actually played a bit too fast. Chalk that up to LA adrenaline.
The Strypes even dressed smart with suits with open shirts and they really locked in to a perfect groove with about five songs remaining. They band especially hit their stride during a covers medley of “You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover” into “Si Si Rider”. Their “Blue Collar Jane” EP is out now with the album “Snapshot” dropping stateside in mid-march. Beyond their youthful intensity, this is a supremely talented band. See this band live! Reviewed by Bruce Rave
The Strypes 
(Facebook)
Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
