{"id":300631,"date":"2025-12-05T15:23:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/300631\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T15:23:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:23:10","slug":"melodys-echo-chamber-teed-the-housemartins-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/300631\/","title":{"rendered":"Melody’s Echo Chamber, TEED, The Housemartins, more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to December and what will probably be the last regular Indie Basement of the year. New releases dry up \u2014 there\u2019s not much this week \u2014 and list season will begin soon so stay tuned for that. Until then here\u2019s a mix of two new albums (Melody\u2019s Echo Chamber, TEED), a fantastic Baxter Dury remix EP featuring Jarvis Cocker, DJ Parrot and Marie Davidson, and two catch-up reviews of records I didn\u2019t write about at the time of release (Ribbon Skirt, Litronix), plus a look back at The Housemartins\u2018 perfect debut album for his week\u2019s Indie Basement Classic.<\/p>\n

Over in Notable Releases<\/a>, Andrew gives the latest from redveil, HAYWARDxD\u00c4LEK \u2013 HAYWARDxD\u00c4LEK (This Heat drummer Charles Hayward and MC d\u00e4lek) and more a spin.<\/p>\n

You can play catch-up on November here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll keep the intro short as the days are currently. Head below for this week\u2019s reviews.<\/p>\n

\"melody's<\/p>\n

Melody\u2019s Echo Chamber \u2013 Unclouded (Domino)
Melody Prochet gets a new band but keeps her old sound in her appealing fifth album<\/p>\n

Thirteen years and five albums into her career as Melody\u2019s Echo Chamber, Melody Prochet has settled into a pleasing groove, making lithe, jazzy, effervescent psychedelia with an insanely talented group of musicians that includes Dungen\u2019s Reine Fiske. Apart from Fiske, though, Unclouded features a new backing band led by producer Sven Wunder and featuring incredible Heliocentrics bandleader Malcolm Catto (Madlib, DJ Shadow) on drums, Daniel \u00d6gen and Love Orsan of Swedish dreampop outfit Dina \u00d6gon on guitar and bass, and gossamer string arrangements by Josefin Runsteen. She continues to make some of the best-sounding records within the psych genre, and the album is worth hearing just for the rhythm section alone, but everyone here brings their A-game.<\/p>\n

If Unclouded isn\u2019t as inventive or challenging as 2018\u2019s amazing Bon Voyage<\/a>, songs like \u201cChildhood Dream,\u201d \u201cEyes Closed,\u201d and the very sunny \u201cDaisy\u201d (which features El Michels Affair\u2019s Leon Michels) are a lightly trippy delight that goes down smooth. Don\u2019t fix what ain\u2019t broke, I guess.<\/p>\n

Unclouded by Melody\u2019s Echo Chamber<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"baxter<\/p>\n

Baxter Dury \u2013 Allbarone Remixes (Heavenly)
Jarvis, Parrot, and Marie Davidson take Allbarone to the dancefloor on this essential remix EP<\/p>\n

Baxter Dury\u2019s great new album Allbarone<\/a> \u2014 one of my favorites of the year \u2014 takes him into full-on dance territory with an emphasis on French Touch\u2013style disco. So it makes sense that he\u2019d commission remixes, and this EP features two by Indie Basement regulars that are absolutely killer. Parrot & Cocker Too \u2014 Richard Barratt (DJ Parrot \/ Crooked Man) and Pulp\u2019s Jarvis Cocker, who worked their magic on Baxter\u2019s \u201cMiami\u201d back in 2017<\/a> \u2014 take \u201cAllbarone\u201d into thunderous techno-house territory, turning it into an absolute stormer. Parrot did similar work on R\u00f3is\u00edn Murphy\u2019s 2020 album R\u00f3is\u00edn Machine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Montreal\u2019s Marie Davidson (maker of another of 2025\u2019s best<\/a>), who transforms \u201cSchadenfreude\u201d from swirling disco into a minimal, icy club jam that makes even better use of singer Fabienne Debarre\u2019s French whisper \u2014 and even includes a second verse from her that wasn\u2019t used in the original song. I\u2019m going to say it: this is better than the original. Rounding out the EP is an instrumental of Davidson\u2019s remix that\u2019s excellent in its own right. I can only hope there are still more remixes to come.<\/p>\n

FOR MORE: Listen to my conversation with Baxter on our BV Interviews podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n

Allbarone Remixes by Baxter Dury<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"ribbon<\/p>\n

Ribbon Skirt \u2013 Bite Down (Mint Music)
Polaris prize-nominated debut from this Montreal duo shouldn\u2019t be missed<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago was the 2025 M for Montreal Festival<\/a>, which was also celebrating its 20th anniversary. BrooklynVegan has been attending since 2008, and this year we had an official showcase on the festival\u2019s opening night that included Montreal duo Ribbon Skirt, whose debut album Bite Down was released back in April and was nominated for this year\u2019s Polaris Music Prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On it, Tashiina Buswa and Billy Riley \u2014 who previously recorded together as Love Language (the name was already taken<\/a>) \u2014 craft clever, compelling indie rock that swings between soaring and sludgy, tender and tense. Their songs have roots in the \u201990s but the production and arrangements feel entirely modern, with layers upon layers of hooks and melody. The not-so-secret weapon here is Tashiina\u2019s voice, which can go from sultry to snarl to shriek depending on what the song needs, making for a meaty, deeply satisfying record.<\/p>\n

Bite Down by Ribbon Skirt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"litronix\"<\/p>\n

Litronix \u2013 One A Day Keeps The Doctor Away (Invada)
Geoff Barrow gives Kevin Litrow\u2019s theatrical solo project a dose of Vitamin G<\/p>\n

Kevin Litrow, who spent much of the 2000s as one half of LA duo Dance Disaster Movement, makes music these days as Litronix, a one-man-band affair that dabbles in everything from synthpop to lounge to early rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. You may have seen him opening for Beak><\/a> on their last two North American tours, and now Litronix are signed to Invada Records, the label run by Geoff Barrow, who until recently was Beak>\u2019s singing drummer (and one-third of Portishead). Barrow produced One a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, the third Litronix album, and it\u2019s a very good time \u2014 just weird enough to keep listeners on their toes.<\/p>\n

This is by far the most fully realized Litronix album to date, managing to bottle Litrow\u2019s theatrical stage presence \u2014 part Devo, part sweaty Pentecostal preacher \u2014 into great recordings and production. Every song\u2019s an anthem of sorts with a belt-it-out chorus, and the music rises to meet his voice as synthesizers and guitars engulf you in near-immersive sound. Making this more of a concept record to go with its title and artwork, the \u201creal\u201d songs are interspersed with jingles for various daily supplements (Vitamin X, Vitamin O), forming an optimal sonic supplement to your musical diet.<\/p>\n

One A Day Keeps The Doctor Away by Litronix<\/a><\/p>\n

Litronix also just released an awesome Beak> remix of album standout \u201cBus Stop\u201d which steers it into 1980 synthwave territory:<\/p>\n

Bus Stop (Beak> mix) by Litronix<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"teed<\/p>\n

TEED \u2013 Always With Me (Nice Age)
No more dinosaurs: TEED leans into atmosphere over bangers on his third album<\/p>\n

It took 15 years, but Orlando Higginbottom got tired of writing and saying his nom-de-dance, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, and officially changed his name to its acronym, TEED, which most people were using exclusively already. What hasn\u2019t changed is Higginbottom\u2019s elegant brand of dance music, which remains airy, sophisticated, and dreamy. He\u2019s not aiming for bangers with Always With Me \u2014 though \u201cThe Echo\u201d and the title track come close \u2014 but an atmospheric vibe where his vocals are as smooth as everything else on this swaying, appealing album. It\u2019s better suited for a midnight drive down the coast during a full moon than a sweaty club.<\/p>\n

Always With Me by TEED<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"the<\/p>\n

INDIE BASEMENT CLASSIC: The Housemartins \u2013 London 0, Hull 4 (Go! Discs, 1986)
The Housemartins\u2019 wonderfully jangly and thoughtful debut album holds up remarkably well<\/p>\n

In the mid-\u201980s there was a bumper crop of jangly British guitar bands who sprung up in The Smiths\u2019 wake. One of the best was The Housemartins, from Hull in West Yorkshire, who may have been some Smiths fans\u2019 second-favorite band in 1986 thanks to their unbelievably catchy choruses and a jaunty vibe cut with biting humor and sharp social commentary. (They also counted a pre\u2013Fatboy Slim Norman Cook as their bassist.) Many people still treat Top 10 UK hit \u201cHappy Hour\u201d as a pub anthem, but the lyrics show a clear disdain for homogenous British culture: \u201cIt\u2019s happy hour again \/ I think I might be happy if I wasn\u2019t out with them.\u201d With a video as goofy and fun as the one for \u201cHappy Hour,\u201d the confusion is understandable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy Hour\u201d appeared on The Housemartins\u2019 debut album, London 0 Hull 4, which proclaimed on the cover \u201c16 songs \u2014 17 hits!\u201d and whose title made their disdain for the nation\u2019s capital very clear. While there are plenty of strummy, sardonic earworms (\u201cSheep,\u201d \u201cSitting on a Fence,\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re Not Deep\u201d), the album also showcased their love of doo-wop and gospel, which set them apart. You can hear that side on the anti-nationalist anthem \u201cFlag Day,\u201d the melancholic \u201cThink for a Minute,\u201d their a cappella cover of \u201cPeople Get Ready\u201d and \u201cLean on Me\u201d (which was not a cover).<\/p>\n

London 0 Hull 4 is a perfect album: tuneful, smart, funny, thoughtful, and varied, with production that avoided most \u201980s rock clich\u00e9s, helping it remain as evergreen as its equally classic (and copied) cover art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to December and what will probably be the last regular Indie Basement of the year. New releases…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[120816,120817,36873,36874,120818,96,120819,120820,120821,120822,120823,120824,120825,120826,128,120827,120828,120829,120830,120831,120832,120833,120834,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-300631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-baxter-dury","tag-baxter-dury-allbarone-remixes","tag-bills-indie-basement","tag-bvhome","tag-crooked-man","tag-entertainment","tag-fatboy-slim","tag-geoff-barrow","tag-jarvis-cocker","tag-litronix","tag-litronix-one-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away","tag-marie-davidson","tag-melody","tag-melodys-echo-chamber","tag-music","tag-parrot-cocker-too","tag-ribbon-skirt","tag-ribbon-skirt-bite-down","tag-teed","tag-teed-always-with-me","tag-the-housemartins","tag-the-housemartins-london-0-hull-4","tag-totally-enormous-extinct-dinosaurs","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}