A&R Factory

Mike Power – I Like You: prepossessingly pure alt-rock

Posted on 16 December 2022

Fuelling the intimate feels of Elliott Smith with the swanky proto-punk zeal of the Kinks and the melodic colour of the Beatles, the latest single from Mike Power which carries eccentric echoes of Pavement, Courtney Barnett and Decemberists, is a soul-rendered alt-rock riot.

The tight instrumental framework of I Like You allows the affably sweet sentiments in the uninhibited declaration of passion to hit that little bit harder as you lose yourself in the blossoming soul that heightens the winding alt-90s influenced rhythms to the nth degree. It doesn’t quite drop the L word, but I think we can all agree that the ‘like’ phase in a foundling relationship when we’re enamoured by every idiosyncrasy is just as prepossessing.

I Like You is just one of the singles to feature on the increasingly popular sophomore album, Compulsions, from the NYC-formed Mike Power band. We wholly recommend making time to appreciate the dynamism of it in its entirety.

I Like You is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A&R Factory Present: False Heads

Posted on 11 June 2016

The past few months have seen the ‘Godfather of punk’ himself, Iggy Pop, singing the young trio’s praises and name-checking them along Sleaford Mods and Skepta as one of his favourite artists right now (“These kids make a lot of noise. I like it!”). After being blown away by their live show, Ex-Ramones manager Danny Fields excitedly declared the band as “the future of rock n’ roll”, while The Libertines’ Gary Powell quickly signed up the young upstarts to his 25 Hour Convenience Store label.

NME, Clash Magazine, Q Magazine, Artrocker, Drowned In Sound, 6Music, Radio X and BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens have also all waded in with support and praise for the trio’s delinquent, punk-driven assault, that finds themselves caught somewhere between the early grunge of Foo Fighters, the infectious songwriting of Pixies, and the snotty punk attitude of The Buzzcocks.

Following two early DIY EP releases (‘Tunnel Vision’ and ‘Wear and Tear’), False Heads were invited in to Pete Townsend’s studio earlier this spring to cut a series of new tracks, and ‘Thick Skin’ is the first single to emerge from those sessions – a perfect riot of energetic, leering bawdiness that is released on July 1st, and sets another huge marker for a band whose remarkable rise is seemingly unstoppable. ‘Thick Skin’ is released through 25 Hour Convenience Store on July 1st 2016, available from all good digital stores. False Heads have also announced a series of new live dates in their hometown, including a performance at the Camden Rocks festival in June, and at The Roundhouse this July to celebrate 40 years of punk.