Tracks
: (click
to listen to samples)
1
- for
my sister (Foggy Bottom)
2 - in
motion (Ely)
3 - Hello
my old friend (ProXima) - video clip : click right and "save target"
4 - Tales
of youth (Arsen)
5 -
I write your name on rice (Surface)
6 - Wish
(Barbara Ann)
7 - Time
stole my sandals (Cutback)
8 - Je
ferai tout ce qu'il y a à faire
(Amok)
9 - Slow
down (Curtain -*) You
and your ghosts (Friends of P. -
(Friends of P. - **)
10 - Punk
is dead (Proxima)
- video clip : click right and "save target"
(*)
french
release of the compilation
(**) international release of the compilation |
Preying
Lizard Music (USA)
The
Ultimate Indie Hooks Compilation
Volume 1 is now available for purchase. Preying Lizard highly
recommends this one! Read the Review and hear cuts from this cool cd on
Pirate Radio.
Preying Lizard Music (USA)
Alcatraz
has put together an awesome line-up of new talent on the Indie scene. I
think that a lot of time and effort was put into this outstanding Indie
release by both the label and the artists featured. Every band on the
cd belongs on the cd. It flows evenly and leaves the listener feeling
good about the cd. The Ultimate Indie Hooks Compilation Volume 1 rocks
from beginning to end.
The first tune on the cd is by a band from France who go by the named
Foggy Bottom and the song is called "For My Sister". It's a straight
ahead rock tune with distorted guitars that are layered in a similiar
fashion to the bands Foo Fighters and Bush. There's a cool keyboard
throughout the tune that is simple and tastefully presented. At times
it sings along with the lead vocals and really adds a nice aural trip.
The vocals are very good & full of personality. The
overall
production and performance is excellent and I look forward to hearing
more of Foggy Bottom.
Next up on the cd is a band from Ireland called Ely who keep up the
pace set by Foggy Bottom. This is another nicely done rock tune that
has hooks all over the place. Without copying, Ely's lead vocalist and
band have a tinge of Radiohead happening on this song. I also hear a
bit of U2 in their sound but Ely push way past comparisons. There's a
lonliness in the tune..with lyrics that a freaking tight...and hope is
discovered! The song "In Motion" lives up to it's name. It's a mantra
for modern man. "Keep on Moving". This song definitely should have you
hunting for more by Ely. Cool band.
Then the cd slows a bit with a drippingly hip song by Frence band
ProXima entitled "Hello My Old Friend". The lead vocals are set up by a
slow moving tripped out band performance. It's the kind of song that
you close your eyes and daydream about colors and happier times. The
lead vocalist sings "I will dream for you" and you almost believe him.
I bet his dreams are totally tripped out for real.
Fourth on the cd is a band called Arsen from France who are also
fitting for the cd. There's a eighties vibe to their music and for them
that's a very cool thing that works well while maintaining a modern
sound of their own. The guitar churns along with a fluid sound in the
vain of Echo and The Bunnymen. Definitely a European sound to Arsen and
it's refreshing to hear their song "Tales of Youth".
Up next is Surface from the UK with their song "I Write Your Name On
Rice". The song continues giving the cd a
eighties
vibe bringing to mind the Church, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Modern
English. But again like the others it maintains a modern feel to it and
is full of hooks to dig. The title makes you wonder if Surface actually
saw the sign they sing about.
The United States is represented by Barbara Ann who comes out of
nowhere with this rip roaring track that will put you in mind of the
altrock band Garbage and that to me is a very cool thing. There's a
feedbacking guitar that screams in the background while she sings about
love lost. When the band comes in with the drums it's full and rocking.
There is what sounds like someone scratching the strings on a acoustic
guitar and it works well. Production on this song is tight
and
the vocals by Barbara Ann range from a whisper to an all out scream.
Barbara Ann also is featured on the cover of the cd which I won't
comment on or my wife will have my nuts.
Number 7 on the cd is a band called Cutback and I'm not sure where they
are from. But I am sure I dig their song "Time Stole My Sandals" which
mixes modern and classic rock influences creating a very cool vibe
which reminds me of Fastball and Procol Harum combined. There's a great
sense of melody and hooks happening on this tune. The band should be
very proud of this track and the tune leaves me wanting to
hear
more from them.
From France Amok sings "Je ferai tout ce qu'il y a a faire" and I have
no clue what the singing is about. I think it is about the French
hating Americans or something. (Just joking) It's most likely a love
tune that also flashes back to the eighties but has that modern twist
to it. There's lot's of techno vibes and dance beats happening around
this very hooky tune. Regardless of what Amok are singing the song is
tripped out and produced very well.
Curtain are from France also but sing in English. This band has had to
been influenced by the Cure and the lead vocals are very Robert Smith
sounding. But once again they maintain their originality and perform
"Slow Down" with a precission that leaves me wanting more. The mood is
dark and eerie with a snare drum that will make you thing their about
to hang someone. The production is perfect.
Last but not least is another tasty song by ProXima entitled "Punk Is
Dead". This song rocks like a Beatles tune, think "I Am the Warlus" on
speed. There's lots of changes and a groovy sounding lead at the end
that sounds like a Sitar lick. Appropiately, being the last song on the
cd, the tune ends with the sweet sound of vinyl...the end of the lp and
the tonearm wanting to jump back on. It's a cool track.
Overall this cd made a very good impression on me and I would recommend
anyone who digs good rock music to buy "The Ultimate Indie Hooks
Compilation Vol.1" without hesitation. You can sample the tracks and
read more about it on the Alcatraz website.
The Mag Me magazine (UK)
Winging its way over from France and
showcasing talent from all over
the place, the first instalment of the Ultimate Indie Hooks Compilation
is a varied creature, with alternating genres sitting side by side like
a school dinner table (girl, boy, girl, boy…you get the
gist).
With some chirpy piano chiming over the rocking chords of Foggy
Bottom`s "For My Sister", the title of this compilation seems justified
before we`ve even reached the melodic verse and anthemic chorus. But
this is only the first track so let`s reserve our judgement for the
time being!
Ely are next up with "In Motion", which has a rich blend of Kaiser
Chiefs style vocals mixed with brit-pop guitars and pounding bass.
There is a certain melancholy in the verse that gets pushed aside by
the up-tempo chorus.
With two offerings on the record, Proxima first track stunningly
recreates the sound of Radiohead fronted by John Lennon. The second
Proxima track, "Punk is Dead", sounds completely different. Gone are
the Radiohead and Beatles references and in are the "Guided by Voices"
style beats. Although impaired by a suicidal song title, this is a
really good track.
"Tales of Youth" comes from early Placebo-a-likes, Arsen. This track
has a spacious verse that`s light on guitars and in doing so leaves
plenty of room for the build-up to the wall of noise chorus, which hits
home with a memorable melody.
Surface`s "I Write Your Name on Rice" is a bit disappointing with dodgy
sounding instrumentation and Morrissey meets the Housemartins vocals.
There are some nice ideas in the song but unfortunately they don`t
really make it across the border due to passport related irregularities.
However, delivering an excellent indie track with Cardigan-esque vocals
and grungy guitars, things are picked right back up by Barbara Anne`s
"Wish". With just guitar and vocals during the verse and an
everything-we-got big chorus that gets grittier as the song goes on,
the track ends with a bitter scream-fest that contrasts with the
earlier lost-little-girl vocal sound.
"Time Stole My Sandals" is a funky track from Cutback with a rhythm
bouncier than a fat bloke on a trampoline. Tight harmonies and a slight
hillbilly feel all add nicely to the up-beat tune.
"Je Ferai Tout Ce Qu`Il y a Faire" is, not surprisingly, entirely
French and after a slightly rocky start, the pop sensibilities of Amok
kick in with disco drums and spacey electronic noises all finding a
place amongst the warm piano chords.
"Slow Down", by Curtain, has haunting vocals, rhythm loops and bursts
of eerie guitars with lots of effects. With a sound that surely nods at
The Cure, this track would have been the one they used to come on to
stage.
There really are lots of hooks on this record and on the whole, the
good tracks win the day. Foggy Bottom, Ely, Arsen, Barbara Ann and
Curtain are the pick of the bunch with Cutback and Amok adding the
surprises.
Bring on volume 2!
- SILENT UPROAR (USA)
"... ProXima, the only
act on the CD to have more than one track on display, provide the
album’s highlight with “Hello My Old Friend,” ..."
- ZICAZINE (France)
“Si le fait de sortir une compil
n’a rien de
très
original à l’approche des fêtes de fin
d’année, celle que nous propose Alcatraz
Production a le
mérite d’être riche et bien faite !
… on
appréciera ‘Tales of Youth’ pour son
petit
côté Placebo, la voix décapante de
Barbara Ann que
l’on retrouve sur la pochette dans une tenue plutôt
engageante ou encore les deux titres de ProXima, le groupe maison de
l’histoire, qui se fend d’un « hello my
old friend
» et d’un « punk is dead » bien
balancés
… une rondelle qui mérite vraiment sa place sur
le
marché. Une démarche sincère
qu’il serait de
bon ton d’encourager » - Fred Delforge, ZICAZINE
- METALLAND (France)
"ALCATRAZ
Prod sort une compil rock
(artistes de différents pays : Fr, UK, Ir, USA) : The
Ultimate
Indie Hooks Compilation vol 1. Plus d'infos prochainement."
-
RAMDAM (France)
"Mise
en boîte par le label
Alcatraz, cette compilation englobe dix titres majoritairement rock
même si les artistes présents sur ce disque
proviennent
d'horizons divers. On retrouve ainsi cinq groupes français
(Amok, Arsen, Curtain, Foggy Bottom et ProXima), deux anglais (Cutback
et Surface), un irlandais (Ely) et une chanteuse américaine
(Barbara Ann). La première partie nous offre cinq plages
bien
balancées. Entre la pop légère de
Hello My Old
Friend ou I Write Your Name In Rice et le rock noisy de morceaux comme
For My Sister, In Motion ou Tales Of Youth, de loin la meilleure
composition de l'album, on ne s'ennuie pas un instant ...". Nicolas
Gillet
- Speedvibes (France)
"Oulala
! Attention les amis ! …
cette compilation concoctée par le label français
Alcatraz prod marque un tournant du rock ! … et c'est
particulièrement vrai pour le rock français,
puisque l'on
trouve 5 artistes frenchies dans ce 10 titres ravageur (Amok, Arsen,
Curtain, Foggy bottom, et ProXima) ! Ces 5 grenouilles pleines de
ressort côtoient sans complexe 2 groupes british (Cutback, et
Surface), 1 irlandais (Ely), et une américaine pleine de
charme
qui a posé pour la pochette de la compil (Barbara Ann).
C'est de
l'artistiquement supérieur ! rien que du bon ! allant du
noisy
punk jusqu'au rock énervé, en passant par des
touches pop
vivifiantes ..."
- UniversalMusic.fr, rubrique Français : Frenchy
but chic
– (France)
"
Le rock français à
nouveau sens dessus dessous, après une vague de sorties
aussi
impressionnantes qu'excellentes. On commence cette semaine par trois
compilations …"The Ultimate Indie Hooks Compilation Vol. 1",
alias "la compile des tubes indés", on trouve des groupes de
toutes origines, dont une majorité de Français,
comme
Foggy Bottom, ProXima, Amok ou Curtain. Mais vous êtes en
droit
d'avoir un faible pour l'Américaine Barbara Ann, qui montre
sa
petite culotte sur la couverture… " G. Verlant
- VS
Magazine (France) :
«
… une mention
spéciale peut-être attribuée
à LA formation
de cette compilation, j’ai nommé Barbara Ann
(comme le
titre d’un des morceaux des Beach Boys), du nom de la
demoiselle
un peu aguicheuse qui exhibe son cache-sexe de manière
effrontée sur la pochette de ce disque. De sa voix de Lolita
allumeuse et de son Rock bien balancé, cette
dernière
serait capable d’enflammer en quelques notes
n’importe
lequel d’entre nous … » DeadStar VS
Magazine
-
W-FENEC.org (France) :
"Alcatraz
Prod ne se contente plus de
dénicher des artistes rock, maintenant ils nous les
apportent
sur un plateau de présentation histoire de faciliter notre
choix
! The ultimate indie hooks compilation volume 1 regroupe donc 9
artistes … tous très rock n roll …
Cette compil
indé est trés agréable à
écouter
…"For my sister" de Foggy Bottom ouvre les ébats
…
le "Hello my friend" de Proxima, résolument pop, Proxima
étonne en flirtant sur le terrain d'Exsonvaldes, seule la
guitare déchirante est là pour identifier le
groupe de
Music for pleasure … Place aux filles avec "Wish" de Barbara
Ann, ça commence comme un titre de song-writeuse (sic) et
ça se termine par de gros accords, de gros riffs tombent sur
la
douce voix de Barbara et un solo apparaît, la classe, un
excellent titre ! …"Je ferai tout ce qu'il y a à
faire"
de Amok est très rythmé, tout y est
millimétré, des touches électro
à la basse,
tout a son importance et c'est aussi grâce aux artistes comme
Amok que la scène pop française se porte bien...
Proxima
remet ça avec "Punk is dead", un morceau bien plus dans ce
à quoi ils nous habitués, du rock avec des
guitares
grasses et ici une boucle qui tabasse (un peu fort) sur des guitares
zébrantes ...The ultimate indie hooks compilation volume 1
est
indée, rock, fraiche, espérons que le volume 1 ne
soit
pas juste là pour faire style" OLI
- MusicZine/Inaudible (Belgium) :
"Concoctée
par
le label français Alcatraz, cette compile nous
entraîne
à la découverte de 9 groupes ou artistes en 10
morceaux.
Le trio parisien Proxima a ainsi droit à deux plages, une
formation qui avait d’ailleurs fait l’objet
d’une
chronique en 2002, pour son elpee « Music for pleasure
»… l’excellent Foggy Bottom, dont le
rock noisy est
aussi sucré que celui du défunt Sugar de Bob
Mould.
…Chez Amok, on imagine facilement une rencontre entre Luis
Trio
et Jean-Louis Murat … Ely pratique un post punk vivifiant
… " Bernard DAGNIES
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