Week #21: Lucknow Pact / The Pear Traps / The Chain

I'm almost completely in the dark about Lucknow Pact. Google 'em and you get a wiki page about a semi-known Muslim agreement.  Facebook 'em and you get nothing. Myspace 'em and you'll find a wincey bit of information: they reside in Gothenburg and from there they evoke some pretty damn sumptuous soundscapes. Take 'Waiting In The Sun' for instance, where their vocals vaguely recall Tunde Adebimpe's in their bewildering range. The result is one truely catchy tune. The video which accompanies it is also one of the best (if simplest) promos this epoch has seen. Oscar for the director plz.

The Pear Traps utterly startled me when they arrived in my inbox last week. Who on earth was this perfectly concocted band? Their new self-titled EP was the reason for the revelation. Encompassing FX-laden vox, rolling guitar flickers and a sheer knack for sublime song-writing, it made for an exhiliratingly gloomy listen (in a great Alligator-era The National sorta way). You can stream the EP below, download 'Come Home' for free and purchase the whole EP for only $4 on their bandcamp.

Fetishize your bass really, really bassy? Your bells really, really twangy? Feel like dancing about the room like a rampant lunatic? Get a load of the new 'Lostwithiel' EP from The Chain. It definitely ticks your criteria. The now-legendary R & S label release it soon.