One of the most satisfying breakthroughs of last year for me was Joseph Mount's Metronomy and their sophomore album, Nights Out. For many, it was a totally re-energizing experience that sounded unlike anything else on the planet. Well, I'm getting that same sensation listening to fellow Londoner Mica Levi (aka Michachu). A 21-year-old protégé of Matthew Herbert, Micachu and her band the Shapes make precocious and explosive avant-folk that's cut from the same twitchy, junky cloth as Metronomy's future rock. Signed to Herbert's Accidental imprint in the UK, the trio have released two singles to date and according to Insound's upcoming releases page, the debut album, Jewellery, which has already leaked and is destined for the same glowing attention Metronomy received in '08, will drop courtesy of Rough Trade on April 7.
"Golden Phone" is a blast of scattershot ambition, a reckless experiment where the acoustic elements (guitars) are smashed into the electronics (keyboards, drum machine) to see what destructive beauty will result from such violent mischief. The NME name-dropped Broken Social Scene and Hot Chip in their review, and though I hate to agree with them, they nailed it.
Aside from her leftfield scope of music-making, Micachu is also quite the mixtape compiler. You can download a copy of her Filthy Friends mixtape featuring Man Like Me, Ghost Poet, Kwes, Jack Penate, the Fields, Naked & the Boys, Toddla T, Suicidedogz, Golden Silvers and many more of her friends by clicking here.
Micachu "Golden Phone"
"Golden Phone" is a blast of scattershot ambition, a reckless experiment where the acoustic elements (guitars) are smashed into the electronics (keyboards, drum machine) to see what destructive beauty will result from such violent mischief. The NME name-dropped Broken Social Scene and Hot Chip in their review, and though I hate to agree with them, they nailed it.
Aside from her leftfield scope of music-making, Micachu is also quite the mixtape compiler. You can download a copy of her Filthy Friends mixtape featuring Man Like Me, Ghost Poet, Kwes, Jack Penate, the Fields, Naked & the Boys, Toddla T, Suicidedogz, Golden Silvers and many more of her friends by clicking here.
Micachu "Golden Phone"