Eux Autres - Sun Is Sunk

Lee Hazlewood told Nancy Sinatra to sing These Boots Were Made For Walkin' like "a 14-year-old who fucks truck drivers". Eux Autres' Heather Larimer sings with the cool detachment of a woman who's just had congress at a truck stop and found her partner disappointing.

Eux Autres' new six-track ep Sun Is Sunk sets dirty garage rock against west coast sunshine pop. The growling guitars and neon-lit lyrics of Home Tonight could be off Lou Reed's Transformer; the duet between Heather and brother Nicholas on Ring Out is a rematch of Hope Sandoval and Jim Reid on the Mary Chain's Sometimes Always.

There's a strange warmth to the outsiderness of Eux Autres' pop. No matter how stark the music, how flickering the emotions, they pull you in every time. The House Of Love used to do that, too, a long time ago.

Allo Darlin' - Capricornia

Capricornia is a song about Australia from an album called Europe. After Tallulah, it's Allo Darlin's second song about Australia and it similarly throbs with the ex-pat's aching longing.

The Australian theme is underscored by Capricornia's driving jangle and energy bearing a musical kinship with Sunlight In A Jar by The Lucksmiths.

You can place both those songs in the area of pop's playground marked 'offspring of I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better by The Byrds'. It's a great place to be and marks Europe as one of the albums to watch out for this year. Allo Darlin' - Capricornia by Slumberland Records

G. Green - Tequila Sunrise

The first great record of 2012? Right here thanks to California's G. Green. While we're waiting for a new Box Elders record, this roaringly stupid and stupidly infectious rock'n'roll polaroid will do nicely, thanks very much. If you like The Babies, Mazes, Times New Viking and ever thought that Big Dipper were fucking ace, then this will bake your biscuit.
It's released in a couple of weeks on flexi.

Robert Forster's beautiful low-slung ass

An interview with raconteur, wit and gentleman Robert Forster is always good value. My favourite is this short Q&A with NME from early 1993.


What would be the last thing you'd sell for money?
My beautiful low-slung ass.

Dean's Eleventh Dream by the James Dean Driving Experience

I know, it's the start of the year and perhaps I should be declaring what the year's greatest new group is, but in the absence of credible candidates these past three days, let's call for a James Dean Driving Experience retrospective.

11 songs mining The Byrds' jangle with rare aplomb, similar to what Primal Scream did for a short time and what Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes did for a couple of years. Only better. They were better than most.

Their debut single Dean's Eleventh Dream is one of my favourite singles of all time. Send all of their songs back out into the world and there'll be new fans: as long as there are romantics, daydreamers and teenagers there'll be a new audience to love the James Dean Driving Experience.