Desert Hearts
Hotsy Totsy Nagasaki
Gargleblast / No Dancing
It's always a delight to put on a new album by a band you've never heard of and get some instant satisfaction, and it's a surprising uncommon situation.
I can openly admit that I had never heard of Desert Hearts before, and certainly never heard their 2002 debut album - Let's Get Worse. Released through Rough Trade in 2002, that album got some good reviews from the likes of Mojo and Uncut, but never really broke through... instead settling for 'cult classic' status - apparently evident my the number of myspace users using it's track titles as their moniker. This is certainly not a band that you would associate with myspace however, and what is even more surprising is the news that the band is from Belfast. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course, just that their sound is so American, with it's blend of Pavement/Fugazi/Misc American Indie.
Opener D Moon Pilot's version of a slow Fugazi shuffle quickly dispenses with the vocals to power up some extra hardware and get this party started. Sea Punk is pure Pavement with it's instrumental licks and arrangements, overlaid with Charlie Mooney's deceptively pleasant vocals ...but again with this track and the next vocals often play second fiddle to the guitars.
This three piece can unleash when necessary and they often do. While it's title might suggest one thing, the furious groove of Central Line suggests nothing of the sort.
Roisin Stewarts vocals add another element to their sound in power pop jam Ocean - beefed up by Mooney's back up vocals. Once again the guitars show they really know how to rock, and perhaps the Andy Miller production credit can offer some explanation. As well as showing some of the roots of the band's sound, his previous credits of Arab Strap and Mogwai do give the album some non-American reference points - particularly Mogwai's slow building rhythms and lines. Goodbye Everything's strong bass line builds slowly, with slight lyrics build around an instrumental esque jam that would site happily on a Tortoise or Mogwai album.
This is a surprising record, and one that will hopefully keep expanding as I spend more time with it.... hopefully cementing it's current place as one of this year's early favourites.
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5th Feb 2007 - Tumblr
3.5