Never heard them before.  Of the bands you mention I bought a Brand New album ages ago, back when I used to pick a load of albums out from end of year lists in mags.  Remember latching onto one track in particular but not liking them enough to delve much deeper.  Biffy are a'ight, can't knock them after I got dragged to a gig and got smashed with a mate who loved them.  I thought they were all singalong radio rock ballads pre gig, but they surprised me with a huge live sound.  Can't call myself a fan but good luck to them and the like, a few of their songs are great. 

On to this lot.  I'm quite keen on the first track.  My first thought was that there's a touch of Jeff Magnum to the vocals, backed by a slightly noisier band.  It sounds a bit like a lot of the American indie stuff I was listening to in the early 2000s, but that's not a bad thing because I was listening 'cos I really liked a whole bunch of it.  Good stuff.

Wasn't so keen on the second track.  They've turned their sound into something different but I'm less keen on the direction they seem to be taking here.  If I already like a band I quite like it when they weigh in with a heavier-than-usual track if they can pull it off, but I usually have to find an in elsewhere.  I've not listened to enough of Manchester Orchestra to immediately dig them with big sound + strings on an almost cold listen, if that makes sense.  

Third track is somewhere in between.  I prefer the jangly pop rock sound to the grandiose crunch of the second, but the song isn't as good as the first.  

I'll give their first album a go when I'm washing up tomorrow, despite having never heard it it made me nostalgic for an era I've not revisited much lately.

I'm supposed to be watching Suicide Squad but it looks shit so I'm on a noughties Youtube journey and reading old Pitchfork review instead.  I'll be singing soon.

I’m always up for doing it again. Whether anyone wants to read it is another matter.

I've listened to a smattering of Manchester Orchestra over the past couple of days.  Did all of Mean Everything to Nothing, then a spot of Spotify shuffle through the speakers at work.  They're alright, I'm not going to get into them on the back of what I've heard but I did enjoy the album and would listen again (that can be my reference point, rather than listening to more stuff I'll just repeat that one now and then).  B- for the band but A+ for Gav, the stream of consciousness was a great read.  Back to Pop for tomorrow.  Anyone want next week?

Here, I really enjoyed those Manchester Orchestra tracks, Gav, thanks for putting them in here!

Not a band I'd heard of because am audio pleb, but I don't mind a bit of shoegaze in my listening rotation when the algorithm throws it up. 

I think my favourite track was The Gold, which took me completely by surprise as I've had everyone's favourite teenage american girl bedwetter musician Phoebe Bridgers doing a cover of it in my rotation for the last few weeks. So here's a link for that for comparitive purposes:


Think my second fave out of the 3 was the first track, I really enjoyed the slightly more raw sound it had and the slightly higher tempo and it felt a tad more toe tappier as well than the other two tracks. 

Have added them into my 'pls shove into my random selection mr algorithm' pile so look forward to hearing more as when they pop into my headphones.

Can I take after face? 2 Bob on the artist

Are we guessing? Malkmus or Frightened Rabbit?

Gav wins.

We need some oestrogen up in here. Let me introduce you to Katzenjammer.



Four girls from Norway (and yes, you can caricature them if you want – the sexy one, the hippy chick, the posh girl and the clever one, maybe?) who met at music school, where they felt like the outcasts in the corner. They formed a gang, they called it a band, and they roped in a classmate as songwriter (in those early days, the girls just did the arrangements – they gradually moved to writing their own stuff). All technically accomplished singers, all multi-instrumentalists, all independent songwriters, and all charismatic performers, Katzenjammer go so far beyond being a triple threat that I need new language to describe them. They’re an everything threat.

Anne Marit, Marianne, Solveig, and Turid. Huge pop stars in Norway, well-known in Germany and Sweden, and a bit of a cult favourite over here in the UK – probably better known for their incendiary live shows than for their albums.

Katzenjammer often get called a folk-pop band, but to be honest they defy classification. Partly that’s because they all write songs separately, to perform together, and each member’s songwriting is massively different. Take a dash of bluegrass, with banjo, ukulele and vocal harmonies. Add a rock drummer. Grab a giant bass balalaika (yes, really) and use that to bring a weird Russian rockabilly vibe to proceedings. Throw in a bit of polka, some PJ Harvey and just a pinch of the Dresden Dolls. Add some trumpet. And an accordion. Maybe a smidgeon of the Levellers. Perform on a burlesque stage. Then, suddenly, tone it all right down and play a couple of simple, beautiful, folk-tinged pop tunes inspired by your day job as a palliative care nurse. Just as the crowd are catching their breath with a tear in their eye, scream like a banshee and tear into a stomping, witchy, absolute bitch of a song about riding into battle on the back of the Devil himself.

Katzenjammer gigs tend to get a little carried away. I once saw Anne Marit play seven instruments at once for a whole song. The girls all take turns on vocals and they swap instruments and stage positions over and over and over again. It’s quite an experience.

This isn’t about masterful songcraft. This isn’t about perfect rhymes. This isn’t about being big and clever and this certainly isn’t about restraint. This is about music that’s full of joy and life and dancing and vodka and stomping and singing and passion and fire.

So let’s bring this down a notch and let you hear some tunes. That’s why you’re here, after all. I’m torn as to what sort of videos to post here. Music videos or live shows? I guess you need a little of both.

Lady Grey
Let’s start with the sort of gentle folk-pop that made them stars back home in the first place. This is gentle upbeat pop that wouldn’t hurt a fly. Don’t dismiss it as fluff though – give it a fair go. This stuff can be a real earworm. It’s cute but deadly.



A Bar in Amsterdam
This is the gateway drug. Katzenjammer’s most accessible song. The anthem. There’s nothing to it, really – it’s barely a tune, only just qualifies as a song – but it gets people moving, every damn time. There’s a long build-up to this one – skip to about minute in if you get impatient.



There are so many more I want to post. Curvaceous Needs, Bad Girl, Demon Kitty Rag … but time and space are limited.

Hey Ho On the Devil’s Back
Let’s just watch Katzenjammer rock the fuck out.



Fucking love that ending. Unfortunately, Katzenjammer split in early 2016. No more live shows in sweaty basement dives. I miss you girls, but we’ll always have Glasgow. We’ll always have Edinburgh. And I always know I can find hours upon hours of your German festival appearances on YouTube.

Yo a trumpet has appeared in the second song

Track 3. THEYRE HAVING SO MUCH FUN OMG I LOVE THEM.

God damn that was fucking great, thanks Poppo.

I got really really sad when I heard about them splitting. I’d only been a fan for a year or so.

I have their land of confusion cover on my decent covers playlist. I've never heard their other output, but it is great. Nice work Pops.

I’m a bit drunk on the tube home here, but I’m actually in tears at Rouj’s reaction there. Makes me feel like I did a good thing. Sharing enthusiasms is one of the purest things we can do for each other. Hugs everyone.