Monday, 17 December 2012

A Glossary of Essential Musical Styles 2012

 

 
 
Pop. Indie. Rock. Electronica. Soul. Do these words mean anything anymore? Switch on the internet and you could be mistaken for thinking that genres have blurred into one big blue memey. But dig deeper and you’ll find that there are more than ever. As we reach the end of the year, here, in my humble opinion are the essential musical movements of 2012.

APUS OCTANS

Chameleon ooze wave made by pagan Slovakians in Tatra caves. Eastern European cybercriminal hackers will bolt terrifying chameleon ooze onto your hard drive from their hermetically sealed abodes above Teri Meri Kahaani and Martin. Pugilistic Meciar bastards.

STIFF ZOMBIE MOCK

Proving that it is possible to be wonderfully eclectic without being namby-pamby the prime movers of the scene, Stinging Nettle, Crow Snot and Lenient Noose, trip out over Stomach Cramp beats and Shopping centre synths with cadaveric aplomb.

GARGOYLE

Smelted in the UK by Crog, Anal Nipple and See Shark Kick Shark, Gargoyle is the sickly bastard brother of Nu-metal and Doom. Gargoyle does roughly what Candlemass did, except slower, heavier and with the addition of facial gurning and morbid tics.

URBAN SLAG STAG

Contemporary nu-wave of old wave’s new wave. They’re not really waving, they’re beating each other up in the lap dancing clubs of Gdansk. Music to watch girls by or Music to buy girls with a watch.

WIMPY

Not to be confused with the burger chain and Popeye’s mate, although admittedly it is quite confusing due to all the participants of the scene frequenting said burger bars like modern day denizens of the Korova Milk Bar, minus the milk, bowler hats and ultra-violence. Basically a bunch of wimpy kids in boiler suits discussing Solomon Eccle’s minty chalice.

JAW DROP

An orgy of clammy voices and malodorous beats declare this sturdy response to post-dubstep open for business. Uniting such disparate talents as DJ Mezzotint, Gibbet and Gash Phlapp, the genre buckles under its own weight unhindered by talent and unchecked of ego.

VILLAGE SIMPLETON

Less a collective of bands, more a collective mindset. Tends to describe a group of village dwelling hipsters who gather in the local pub, pump the jukebox full of coins and sing along to The Killers records like they were sub-Meat Loaf tracks and Ocean Colour Scene Unplugged. Attempted Moustache derigeur.

NAIL FACE

Nail Face is a term recently coined by Blackpool’s Laughing Policeman to describe that feeling created when passing obscure 80s Fleetwood post-punk bands through the warped Pleasure Beach haunted house Moog of righteousness.

MAQUILLAGE

Bands named after the bynames of late Medieval Burgundy dukes seems quite an isolated movement but like other micro-scenes – Vintage Fanny, Babycham Deer, and Turkish Bamboo – it has its devotees. A convenient appellation for the thrillingly chivalrous bands that make Circulus sound like Gangnam Big Bang.

SLAG PUCK

The flicker of fascination with musical cultures from around the world add an exotic flavour to the Slag Puck movement, Marble Faun and Lillian Gish both scour the internet for ‘exotic’ sounds from their bedsits in Berkshire. A MIA for the anti-X Factor generation terrorists.

FACE EROSION

A self-defined movement of post-hardcore bands with a heavy anti-melodic emphasis, Anthisan, Ventriloquist’s Cock, Butt Gum and Snivel, all hark back to the 80s hardcore scene before it became all about Henry Rollin’s Smeg fridge and book signings.

COARSE GRIND

Esoteric subset of Leeds ghetto house that evolved into Wallpaper, lately popularised by Klutz Rev’s Stifler and Fluffy comps and the Coarse Grind leanings of mythological producers Temple of Bacchus. Comes accompanied by its own dance style, essentially a sleazy 70s Dr Hook misogynistic hump against the Artex Monkey’s wallpaper.

SQUALID PLANK

Prow, Dead-Eyes, Knobbed Rope, Tarbrush and Horse-Bait, all currently boasting the Squalid Plank sound, essentially post-punk skeleton crews with maritime leanings. Seminal gathering at Camber Sands ‘The Plague Sail Weekender’ is now logged into the annual bleak-mid winter festival circuit.

GAWP HOUSE

House lifers sneer at this obsessive 4x4 affectation, but to the converted nothing beats standing on a dancefloor and staring at the elevated DJ whilst not dancing, notebook in hand and iRod in eye.

VAN KUR

Takes its name from that posho wonky glitch dubstep DJ Toby Van Kur. Nocturnal dubby Aquacrunk music forms the soundtrack to many Fresher’s Fairs, Welcome Powerpoints and night-bus rides home after Coldplay gigs.

SODDEN BASS

‘A brutal disembowelling of Drum and Bass, drowned in a vat of reverb, techno and whump and then poisoned with a throbbing gristle doner’, was how one meme cat described this Bass soaked movement on Pitchfork.

MOROCCAN LATECOMER

Simple arithmetic, you do the math! Moroccan bands who are late to the Witch House fad. Combines eerie found sounds from Mogador Kasbah floors, faceless beats, a smattering of existential ‘oOoOoOos ‘, and smart reference points to Bogarting joints in Casablanca speakeasies.     

PRANGSTEP

Dissolution, Clithero Orifice and Penny Dreadful may have been prodding their fetid mugwump of a flag into music’s backside for years but now a new generation of orc punks are ready to take up the mantelpiece of dub-step with punkish flourishes.

NICKI’S MINGE

Derulo, Pixie, Florence, Lily, Kelly, Sadie, and Queen’s of Noize all swear by it.

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