On the season's edge...

As everyone clings to the hope that the warmish days mean summer's still here, the chill in the air at night and the fact that it's pitch black by tea-time means autumn's scraping on the door like Freddie Krueger... Give up the ghost, people. I saw my first tree devoid of all its leaves today: a circle of brown leaves on the floor made the poor thing look like its skirt had dropped.

With the change in the season comes a change in the sound of new music. Through the wonders of (Hey You) What's That Sound?, I've discovered The Mary Onettes, (love the name!). My, oh, my... they're amazing. Where to begin? The emotional sweeping melodies, the sparse Joy Division tinges and the mixture of retro and modern like hearing the Stone Roses for the first time... Hailing from Sweden, it would be easy to talk about the magpie effect; a bit of New Order here, The Byrds there and a pinch of Echo and the Bunnymen but like their fellow Scandanavians, Lorraine (where ARE they?) The Mary Onettes have created their own sound.

And I fucking love it.

Their eponymous album, Mary Onettes, has been out for a few months (how Joy Division is that cover?) but now is the time. The track below is my favourite and cuts through bonfire smoke like a knife!

The Mary Onettes - Void (mp3 Download)

And the next song is the one that got me going...

The Mary Onettes - Lost (mp3 Download)

And go here for the gorgeous Pleasure Songs video

AND...

If only the farmer knew of the wanton vandalism


ONE NIGHT ONLY (name, blurgh, band yay!)
I couldn't imagine this band doing the summer festival circuit just yet... With a very autumnal feel, their forthcoming single, You & Me is out at the end of September. I heard this the other day and instantly thought of a steamy pub dancing around an overcoat mountain. But you could easily imagine this north Yorkshire band taking over the airwaves and purloining the summer like The Kooks... if only their name wasn't as naff. Go to their MySpace for a listen...