Introducing...

This is the first in a hopefully long run of articles. Every Monday Gigwise.com will run my weekly guide to all that is going on in new music. So expect to hear about the best new acts, essential tracks to download, key debut album releases and where you can see all these things live in your home town. Read on for the first installment...

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Asher Roth
How’s this for a breath of fresh air? A rapper who is a self confessed Dave Matthews Band fan, who claims to not relate to 90% of hip-hop and doesn’t even own a car to put 25 inch rims on. Pennsylvania’s Asher Roth has had 13 million plays of his ‘I Love College’ single on Myspace and with its mix of a party atmosphere and a stoner ethos it’s not difficult to see why. The track originally sampled Weezer’s ‘Say It Ain’t So’ but has since been changed due to legal wrangling (Rivers Cuomo didn’t like it). Jay Z’s label Def Jam clamoured to sign him but Roth currently resides with Universal who are celebrating ‘I Love College’ hitting the Billboard top 20. As a white rapper with a sense of humour inevitable comparisons to Eminem have been made but these are dismissed out of hand, "That Eminem comparison is barely accurate/My rapping is as passionate, but lacks the psychopath of it" he says on ‘Silly Boy’. Asher Roth will release his debut album ‘Asleep In The Bread Aisle’ in April featuring collaborations with Ludacris and Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green.

Asher Roth Myspace

Tweak Bird
Following the likes of Turbowolf and MC Rut in making garage rock sound monumental in 2009 are Tweak Bird of Los Angeles. Their feral take on the age-old genre is a decibel smashing riot with little care for beauty or intricate sonic invention. ‘Whorses’ is a riff heavy party track seemingly made for flailing limbs and waterfalls of beer, similarly ‘White Lips’ could be DFA1979 if they were caged for 23 hours of the day and poked with sticks. Angry, thunderous and most importantly fun Tweak Bird are a force to be reckoned with. The EP ‘Reservations’ is available now via Volcom.

Tweak Bird Myspace

Top 5 New Tracks to download.

1. Cocknbullkid- ‘I’m Not Sorry’. Stylish electro glamour with streetwise vocals backed up by a Metronomy production job.
2. Favours For Sailors- ‘I Dreamt That You Loved Me In Your Dreams’. Not since Morrissey’s nocturnal monologues have dreams sounded so beautiful. This is a dizzying Weezer-esque slice on romance from the bands superb ‘Furious Sons’ EP.
3. The Big Pink- ‘Velvet’. Epic dose of hypnotic, maudlin shoegaze from the men behind Merok Records (Klaxons, Crystal Castles) and recent NME Award winners.
4. Two Door Cinema Club- ‘Undercover Martyn’. Wrestling the title of indie disco floor filler away from Mystery Jets will be a tough task but if anyone can do it it’s these three Northern Irish boys. Just try keeping your toes from tapping.
5. The Soft Pack- ‘Nightlife’- Fresh from touring with Franz Ferdinand these San Diegans hit the UK with their first proper single. An effortlessly cool, nagging and addictive slice of post-Strokes rock: it more than lives up to the hype.

On Tour this week.

Yo Majesty play shows in Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, London and Bristol. La Roux is supporting Lily Allen (Bristol, Southampton, Brighton, Norwich). Everything Everything play The Lexington in London (Tuesday), Birmingham on Wednesday then hook up with The Maccabees to play Glasgow, Sheffield and Coventry. Dutch Uncles play an album launch show in Manchester (Monday). The Joy Formidable and Chew Lips support Howling Bells in Liverpool (Monday) and The Invisible play dates with Doves in Coventry (Tuesday), Portsmouth (Wednesday) and London (Thursday).

New albums out this week

• Formerly in charge of the Kill ‘Em All clubnight and now musicians in their own right Filthy Dukes release their first full length record ‘Nonsense In The Dark’. It features collaborations with Orlando Weeks of The Maccabees, The Secret Machines and Samuel Dust of Late Of The Pier.
• Hatcham Social, championed by Tim Burgess, release their album ‘You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil’ this week. Featuring the superb new single ‘Murder In the Dark’ it is available on Fierce Panda.

News

• Little Boots has announced the details of her first single since topping the BBC Sound of 2009 poll. ‘New In Town’ will be released on May 25th and is produced by Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen, Ladyhawke)
• Vivian Girls follow up their debut album with a 7” single, ‘Moped Girls’ to be released in May.

Video of the week

Introducing...