Somehow, I managed to miss this at the end of last year. A collaboration between two of my favourite bands/rappers/artists around at the moment. Roots Manuva spits over the top of live favourite No Kind Words from last year’s Wall of Arms album from The Maccabees.

With new lyrics from Mr. Manuva the song has taken on an even more epic feel. If that were possible.

The Maccabees are one of the best live bands in Britain today, although I’m straight up refusing to see them at the Brixton Academy as it’s too big. I remember seeing them at Dingwalls and it proper kicked off. End of reminscing.

The Maccabees feat. Roots Manuva – Empty Vessels

Perhaps ULU wasn’t the best venue for them though.  It’s not really a great venue for anyone to be honest.

Luckily, I am now away out of this cold country (it’s going to ‘feel like minus ten next week. MINUS TEN!) to head to the sandy shores of Goa. Love it.

The above is in no way related to jamming on the beach on Christmas day.  It is utterly excellent though, and I’ve come across it so very late.  Glacially epic. Perfect for that walk home through an industrial estate in Acton on your way back from work when it’s dark, damp and rubbish.

I’ll leave you with this.  Skipping straight over the Christmas songs (Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me for Christmas No.1? Stupidly ironic) let’s get to incredibly twee songs for New Years.

‘Allo Darlin’ – Please spend New Years with me

Sigur Rós are pretty much my favourite band in the world and now the lead singer Jónsi is going to release a solo album in March 2010. Great news.  Below is the first song that’s emerged on das internet and it’s utterly lovely.  Download it and listen.

Oh yeah, a lilikoi is a passion fruit apparently.

Nico Muhly arranged the strings, and they’re pretty amazing I think you’ll agree.

jónsi – lilikoi boy Zshare link.

We have no idea why this is tagged as Monarchy, but she's quite cute, no?

Giving a lesson in how to self-promote and create hype, here’s Monarchy. Like the last new act we blogged about, Worship, they hide in anonymity, however these anonymous souls have kindly blessed us with more than one song.

They’ve (how do I know it’s a they?) also done a couple of remixes for Guillemots’ front-man Fyfe Dangerfield’s new solo effort and Penguin Prison, as well as a very bizarre Master Shortie remix. If we’re being honest that last track is properly terrible.

Anyway, enjoy below the tracks below. Gold in the Fire is nice and builds really well with a luverly rolling synth and reminds me a lot of The Golden Filter and a much more chilled out Chew Lips. Okay, nothing like that last one, but we’ll be posting about them soon and just wanted to squeeze their name in here for some reason.

Also, we have a sneaking suspicion that we know who the space creating artwork fella’s are.

Monarchy – Black, the colour of my heart (Zshare)

Monarchy – Gold In The Fire (Zshare)

P.S. like the google image for ‘monarchy’ above? It was that or the Queen.

(this is a radio rip from Erol Alkan’s 6mix show which is well worth a listen)

Sounds a bit like Paul MacCartney, no?  Also, what an outro.

Worship are possibly a four piece from London and are playing the Lexington on the 7th of December.

I say possibly because all I have to go on is the photo on their myspace which you can see above. It’s taken by someone called Sam Steager which most likely means it’s just a nice arty photo (or he’s in the band). Who knows?

What I do know is that they have one song, In Our Blood, and it’s pretty great. A sub-five-minute slice of ice cool filtered guitars and vocal which dreams it’s way through the song. Almost perfect for those walks back from the tube station when it’s dark far too early.

Worship – In Our Blood (Zshare)

We can exclusively (in the style of a Daily Mirror exclusive) bring you a link to the Guardian’s exclusive viewing of Mumford and Son’s new video for their new single Winter Winds (click here).

I think it might have been filmed on their album launch party which took place on some farm outside of London. Not sure though.
Oh yeah, I forgot that I’m obliged to mention the words ‘barnstorming’ and ‘nu-grass’ any time Mumford & Son’s are referred to. So there you go.

Lion Club are quite hard to find on Google – what with the Lion Club International Volunteer Organisation monopolising most of the search results. However, they’re soon to start driving towards the top of the search as they’re sure to be a big success in the next year or so.

Watching them in their support slot for The Drums at the Barfly it’s apparent that they are very comfortable on stage. With former Crystal Castles drummer Tom Cullen providing their driving force and lead singer and guitarist Lewis Rainsbury providing the focal point of a very tight outfit they’re certainly talented musicians (unlike headliners the Drums who, despite having some brilliant songs and genius choruses also have one of the worst guitarists I’ve ever seen).

With an average age of about 17 they are sickeningly young, and one of their parents (probably) is on hand with a Volvo estate to transport their gear back to whichever leafy suburb of London that they undoubtedly reside in.

Former Test-Icicle Rory Bratwell has been helping them to produce and record their first demos and veteran promoter Sean McLusky is currently managing them. Lion Club will almost certainly be on the books of a major soon – if they’re not already. Their dark and epic songs steeped in synths and big choruses are crying out for a big name producer to give them that spit and polish that would definitely see them bother the charts given a bit of publicity behind them.

With a massive debt owed – like nearly every other band – to Joy Division and more recently Interpol, Lion Club are very likely to be compared to White Lies, and in truth they are very similar, right down to the lead singer’s voice. They’ve got the deep vocals which build and build with the guitars, and the choruses which stick in your head (although I have no idea what is actually being sung on Lead Me To My Lover).

Record companies will definitely be queuing up to get Lion Club riding the coat tails of White Lies’ (who this blog tipped for the top years back) success.

With just two demos on their MySpace and a couple more on last.fm they’re obviously being kept under wraps, as they claim to have already written enough songs for a double-album, and the songs they play at the Barfly are certainly evidence that they know how to write a good hook and a big chorus.

Lead My To My Lover finished off their support slot at the Barfly and is perhaps their biggest and best song of the demos on the internet. Check it out below.

Lion Club – Lead Me To My Lover

Lion Club – Middle of the Night