Chimpomatic

Casino Royale

(dir. Martin Campbell)

Had real misgivings about this James Blonde reboot when i saw the first trailer, started to think it might be alright when the second one came out, and actually really enjoyed most of it when i actually got to see the whole thing.

Won't go into too much detail here, as (unless you've read the book) the plot hasn't come out too much, and it's fun watching it unfold. suffice to say, for once, it's not about foiling some daft plan to TAKE OVER THE WORLD, more a small-scale operation (well, relatively - it's still Bond) involving terrorist funding, hitmen, slick boats, glammed-up women, men in tuxedos, guns, bombs, and lots of Texas hold 'em (007's caught on to the poker boom).

It's all pretty crunchy action, with a brutal couple of kills to get things rolling. Much less emphasis on the arched-eyebrows "hey, i'm delivering a line in a BOND FILM NOW" wink-wink lines that made the Brosnan era so uneven.

Daniel Craig steps into the tux with a thuggish style that seems to fit; he's not the suavest dude in town, but there's a weight to the way he flips between cold killer, and icy charmer working his "emotions? me?" lines on Eva Green.

Judi Dench is back as M, but moneypenny's only referenced in a throwaway line, and there's no Q, which works - there are some gadgets, but they're not really there to save the day as much as before - no "if only i had my magnetic belt on right now i could totally save this hot chick" moments.

Cameos to watch include Richard Branson and some VIRGIN planes, producer Michael G Wilson as a corrupt police official, and Jeffrey Wright in what could be a recurring role if he plays his cards right (ho ho). He's also recently found himself on the "him again?!" list at Chimp Towers, after popping up in The Manchurian Candidate (pretty lame really), Syriana, and Broken Flowers.

There's also a lot of product placement going on - not quite as much as the last few maybe, but still lots of totally unnecessary screen time looking at brand names. I'd like to thank VIRGIN, ROLEX, FORD, VERSACE, ASTON MARTIN, SONY ERICSSON etc for annoying me in this film.

BIt of an odd moment where some misc African guys manage to smuggle machetes into Montenegro; yup, that's what they all do…

The only other major downer is a truly awful nu-rock theme tune from Chris "Soundgarden" Cornell and David Arnold, which totally ruins a great animated opening sequence full of playing cards melting into each other with Daniel Craig looking generally louche. What a waste. Think the themes have been the worst things about the recent films; this one makes you think Madonna's effort was ok. It would be so easy to find something classy that would fit, rather than trying to get all modern and do that terrible processed rock sound.

film: ***.5 - solid effort, James Blond = Royale without the cheese, like to see more
soundtrack: * silence would be goldeneye next time
product placement: * we know you can afford some expensive toys James, stop showing us them all the time

#Film
#chimp71

3rd Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Cat Power

The Roundhouse, London

I arrived with mixed feelings about tonight; I had been a moderate fan of Cat Power before being rather taken by her latest album, The Greatest. I had heard the rumors that live, she blows very hot and cold; sometimes enlightened, sometimes frustratingly shambolic.

Then to confuse matters further, the 11-piece band take the stage and launch into a Charlie Parker-style jam. Although compelling, it is completely unexpected and proves to be something of a curve ball from what follows. Much chin stroking ensues.

Cat Power aka Chan Marshall then sheepishly ambles on stage - clutching a mug of tea, looking not unlike a cleaning lady who has taken a wrong turn. Then things begin to make sense, both the music and the preconceptions that I had had, as the band launch into Living Proof. Immediately striking, her voice proves to have other-worldly qualities and absolutely stunning and yes, Marshall herself is restless and quirky but endearingly so. However the strong and tight ensemble of musicians prove to be a muscular, well drilled, accomplished and much needed foil for her.

Later, the band leave the stage and she sings alone, accompanying herself on piano, then guitar. There is a plaintive I Don't Blame You and she turns The Animal's-owned House of the Rising Sun into a mournful strum. In this intimate setting she truly excels herself. The band then return for a rousing finale, including a reinterpretation of Satisfaction as a soulful blues stomp, to great effect. Thrilling stuff.

So, she is great after all.

#Music
#Gig
#marmot

3rd Nov 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Oxford Collapse

Remember The Night Parties

Sub Pop

Recalling a time when bands were about a few college friends playing guitars in a garage, off-beat drumbeats and a guy singing (maybe even two guys signing), Brooklyn's Oxford Collapse are a refreshing blast of nostalgia for a time when being in a band was about hanging out, having a good time and playing shows for friends - probably in the garden of a college pool-party, as the title and cover art of Remember The Night Parties might suggest.

Oxford Collapse are latest signing on Seattle's legendary Sub Pop label, and it's a fitting home. I'd place these guys somewhere between 80's post-punk from the likes of The Replacements and classic-era Sub Pop bands like Mudhoney. Bands from a time before 'Alternative' was a genre on your iPod. With the multiple attack force of Michael Pace and Adam Rizer on vocals, this three man band are all rhythm and chorus with barely a lead guitar break in sight.

Following on from two albums on the New York indie label Kanine, Sub Pop roped in John Agnello for production duties (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.), and the bands first album in a top-end studio has yielded superb results. Where their previous album A Good Ground had a dilapidated, shambling charm, it was lacking some focus - and although their press release still describes the bands live shows as 'shambolic,' the issue has certainly been addressed here.

Following the gentle breaking-in of He'll Paint While We Play, Please Visit Your National Parks (mp3 here) sets the tone for a childhood summer style trip out to The Lake. Loser City ups the pace, with the most Mudhoney-esque track on the album firmly positioning the album in the Super 8 soaked memories of childhood, proclaiming "Broke your projector, incurred expense."

However, the album's best point is also it's worst - it's all rhythm and chorus with barely a lead guitar break in sight. Coming up to half way through it begins to drag slightly... but just when I started to lose interest is when it really picks up, making what would have been Side-B in the old days the preferred choice - an uncommon situation with most albums. The most successful tracks are those which sway from the standard MO - going instead for a less homogenised whole and building the sound of the songs on much more varied, simpler and punchy frameworks.

The high strung guitars, stuttering drums and wailed-verse -vs- chorus-wailing of Lady Lawyers make for an obvious college radio favourite, that ratchets up the pressure over the absurd lyrics. A string of great tracks follow, from the escapist Let's Vanish, through the military drumming of Kenny Can't Afford It, and the down-tempo hazy remembering of Forgot To Write to the sing-a-long name-checking finale of Your Volcano.

Evocative, narrative lyrics coupled with a sea of guitars build the sound of this world, and rather than just music or just lyrics it is the overall approach that creates the nostalgic mood. A world where if John Hughes was directing Oxford Collapse would definitely be playing in the punker's bar on the wrong side of the tracks - and they'd probably turn up as the band at the prom too, wearing shabby tuxedos and forcing the preppies to let themselves go.

#Music
#CSF

3rd Nov 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Dosh

The Lost Take

The road that Dosh has chosen or is destined to travel is well trodden and as a result can often be perilous. Instrumental hip hop sounds like a good idea but can often fall into the chill out trap and forever condemned to an eternity of middle class diner parties. Fortunately Martin Dosh skillfully avoids these pitfalls and his third full length for Anticon "The Lost Take" is easily his best yet - and actually has no right to be classed as hip hop.

Having started off playing drums in the avant-guard DIY outfit Fog, Dosh released his debut self titled album in 2003 followed by 2004's Pure Trash which featured assistance from Anticon heavy weights Doseone, Jel and Odd Nosdam. With The Lost Take the collaborations are just as frequent but of a different sort. Dosh has cleverly enlisted the help of a plethora of musicians from Fog's Jeremy Ylvisaker, Erik Appelwick from Tapes 'n Tapes and the wonderful violin of Andrew Bird. This is the key to the success of this record. Proficient on most instruments himself, Dosh has created a record that though predominantly drum based is a homage to the art of live orchestration. "Um, Circles And Squares" is the first instance of this dazzling love for music. Here, Bird's strings form a beautiful cushion for Dosh's rolling Rhodes sequences and drum beats. This prepares us for the album highlight of "A Ghosts Business". This could be a scene from a Disney cartoon about the nighttime goings on in a music shop. After the owner leaves the store, the instruments come alive and jam erratically to their hearts content expressing the unbridled freedom that an instrument would if it was locked up in a shop all it's life. As conductor, Dosh makes us think he's lost control of his orchestra - but expertly brings them into line with Prefuse 73 style cutting and pasting.

This track is very important to the album as a whole. Not only does it let us know what this man is capable of, but gives us a valuable insight into the intentions of The Lost Take. Every song after it seems to work better with this knowledge. By enlisting the help of such talents, Dosh creates a rich pallet from which to work his magic. Appelwick's crunching guitar chords give strength to the piano and drums of "MPLS Rock And Roll", making it a triumphant anthem - while his subtle finger picking weaves softly amongst the textural percussion contributing to the delicate warmth of "O Mexico".

I imagine each of the twelve tracks on The Lost Take as an intrepid group of explorers in the old Tarzan movies bravely making their way through the jungle. Comprised predominantly of toffee-nosed British aristocrats and their native bag carriers, they negotiate the perilous mountain path known as "Chill-Out Pass". To lose your footing here would mean plummeting into the raging crocodile infested waters of Hoxton-quiff-sporting-Foxton's employees, hungry to get their soft hands on the next soundtrack to their upcoming Thai fusion themed dinner party. Sadly, not everyone here makes it to safety. "Everybody Cheer Up Song" and the closing sax horror of "The Lost Take" only lose their footing for a second, but that's all it takes on this journey to fall to the depths of mediocrity. But everyone else bravely push on to the other side. Once there, they find the going slightly easier, as a path of sorts has already been forged by people like Four Tet and Prefuse 73, but armed with the brave pioneering Anticon spirit the remaining members of The Lost Take form their own roads through this wilderness to discover new and rich pastures. One would hope that after showing such courage Dosh won't rest on these green and plentiful lands but will strive on to higher ground.

#Music
#HHG

3rd Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Drones

Gala Mill

ATP

Of the new bands I've listened to recently, it's quite clear that The Drones would beat them all in a fight. A coiled aggression runs through Gala Mill and frontman Gareth Liddiard sings like a man with experience of a hundred brawls and of pain in all its varieties.

Two things about The Drones previous (and 2nd) album, that will give you a good idea about what you are going to get from Gala Mill:

1. It was called 'Wait by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'. A title suggesting themes of conflict, nature and vengeance, a title that says "We aren't messing about here."

2. It won the Australian Music prize for best album, beating off the likes of Wolfmother.

Gala Mill, whilst more economically named, is an album full of conflict, nature and vengeance and perhaps more importantly, has Australia running through its adrenalin-charged veins.

It's straight down to business on 'Jezebel', an 8 minute epic that staggers and sways like a hardened fighter whose legs refuse to buckle. Liddiard's unashamedly abrasive accent snarls about subjects such as nuclear testing in Australia, the Beslan school massacre, a cow that glows in the dark and the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl. Track 1: like a punch in the gut!

There you are - winded. So they follow up with 'Dog Eared', a sinister ballad and 'I'm Here Now' another 8 minuter about heroin addiction that starts slow but ends up pinning you against the wall, threateningly requesting your full attention. 'The Words of the Executioner to Alexander Pearce' is self-explanatory - as long as you know that Alexander Pearce was a cannibal, rapist from The Drones' home state of Tasmania. Phew! 'I Don't Ever Want to Change' changes pace and provides some welcome rocking out, and even though it is about depression and denial, it is a strangely comforting song in the midst of all the down-tempo sluggers. The final track 'Sixteen Straws' is Gala Mill's most ambitious. Close to ten minutes, it's like a traditional folk ballad, as Lilliard spins 30+ verses into a 1st person tale of forlorn convicts avoiding the Catholic prohibition of suicide, by drawing straws to decide who will kill another and thus send them all to the gallows,

It's a hard and dark album, but a rewarding one. That is, if you can stay the distance.

#Music
#chimpovich

3rd Nov 2006 - 5 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Cadence Weapon

Breaking Kayfabe

Upper Class Recordings

Imagine if you can: it's the year 2040 and the music scene is in a state of crisis. RnB rules the charts and is all that's allowed to be played on the radio. Since the earliy naughties the hip hop section of the record store became known as 'Urban' and most rap albums had to incorporate some form of RnB just to make sales. Artists such as Common and Kanye West who were targeted by the RnB militia to spread this evil seed in the hip hop community eventually buckled under the pressure and stopped recording altogether. Rumor has it that Common was set to release an album called Strictly Hip Hop but it never saw the light of day due to death threats to his family. So the genre formerly known as Hip Hop disappeared from the public's view completely. But an underground resistance refused to die out and continued to filter quality beats to those in need. There was a great war and the resistance was nearly quashed so in order to put an end to this they developed a group of cyborgs known as The Anti Pop Consortium and sent them back to the year 1985. Their mission was to kill a little boy called Craig David who would go on to popularize RnB in Europe. The mission was accomplished but unfortunately made absolutely no difference to the future at all. The resistance analyzed the growth of RnB and noticed that instead of it being attributed to the evil of one person it was born out of the apathy and boredom of the world at large. So a new plan was formed and a new cyborg crafted, better, stronger, faster. His name was Cadence Weapon.

Canada was selected as the best place to start this attack as the glare of the RnB Eye was firmly focused on America and Britain. Sent back to the year 2005 he unleashed his first wave of destruction, a devastating mixtape called Cadence Weapon Is The Black Hand and then so as not to give the RnB militia time to recover he hit them again in 2006 with Breaking Kayfabe, a collection of hip hop cuts so strong and so forceful that it sent shock waves throughout the world. Breaking Kayfabe (Kayfabe being the Resistance code for RnB scum) was designed using the original blue prints of The Anti Pop Consortium mission. The sound was hard and electronic so as to allow no fertile ground for the RnB 'Good Singing' germ to grow. This new model of machine was equipped with enough skills to become a one man army and the whole Breaking Kayfabe project was crafted by Cadence Weapon himself, from the sterile, impenetrable and chest-stomping beats to the venomous lyrics spat out with such force and machine-like precision.

For a while the enemy was crippled due to the force of this attack but they soon regrouped and retaliated with a double fist. Both Lamar and Usher released records of such dazzling vocal beauty that the world was gripped by their evil tales of perfect love making. Luckily Cadence Weapon's arrival was strong enough to wake many hip hop warriors, including Busta Rhymes and LL Cool J, from their RnB sleep and the war was won. RnB was forever kept under wraps being confined to young girls and those genuinely gifted at love making. There was a brief uprising in France but that was no biggy.

The facts: Cadence Weapon is 19, from Canada and this album is really, really good. Best bits: Oliver Square, Black Hand and 30 Seconds. There's no stopping this kid, it's what he does, it's all he does.

#Music
#HHG

1st Nov 2006 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

(dir. Adam McKay)

Dreamworks

Legendary 70's News Anchor and leading chauvinist, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) has his world thrown into chaos, with the arrival of rival Victoria Corningstone (Christina Applegate) and her fabulous 'heiny'.

It's The Frat Pack, so you know what you are getting. Ferrell just stays the right side of completely maniacal. The 40 Year Old Virgin, Steve Carell, is excellent as mentally retarded weatherman Brick Tamland (who will go on to be a key advisor to the Bush administration) and old friends Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson and Tim Robbins drop by for a nice set-piece on feuding News Teams. However, it's Burgundy's Spanish-talking dog, Baxter, that steals the film - with the frankly brilliant ending.

#Film
#chimpovich

1st Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Working For A Nuclear Free City

Working For A Nuclear Free City

Melodic

This is a promising debut from the Manchester quartet and it benefits greatly from its release on the always-worth-a-listen Melodic record label. Known better for complex glitch-pop electronica like that of Minotaur Shock or Lucky Pierre, Melodic have tirelessly strived to give us innovative and engaging music. Their artists have always been eclectic and so it's no surprise that a guitar band such as Working For A Nuclear Free City should attract their attention. The spirit of The Stone Roses lives on in these guys, but their use of electronics sets them apart from the 90's Manchester scene fusing The Longcut, Primal Scream and Ian Brown with a sound all their own.

The scene is set beautifully with the opening celestial grandeur of 'The 224th Day', which builds you up gloriously only to drop you suddenly into the dirty beats of 'Troubled Son'. The earth shaking bassline mixes ominously with the murky vocals that make this record so interesting. It is described as techno music played on guitars and from this opening display that description seems pretty apt. 'Dead Fingers Talking' has enough arrogant swagger to have been penned by Ian Brown himself and firmly reawakens rocks danceable side.

The band started off as an instrumental trio and only recruited vocalist Ed Hulme 2 days before their first live gig. This is the key to the success of their music. They have created a wonderfully sophisticated blend of dark, beat driven rock, washed out indie bliss and programmed electronic instrumentals that really aim for the stars. It's a very well paced album and the use of minimal, orchestral down time brings added weight to the moments of might. Once you have them pegged as Manchester's new Roses as in the astral psychedelia of 'Over', they blast you with sonic noise until you retract that comparison. 'Innocence' is 'Fools Gold' meets David Axelrod and breaks into the most shamelessly funky bass twang heard since Starsky and Hutch, while 'Forever' chugs along effortlessly on a bass heavy beat that gradually fades into the cinematic soundscape of the closing track 'The Tree'.

Having started Stone Roses and finished Philip Glass you really question what the hell you just listened to. This band set up comparisons only to dash them with a sound so refreshingly open minded that it's almost impossible to predict the way forward for them. Describing their mission with this debut they claim "We want to create an alternative to the retrospective trend in music, to get the focus back on something innovative." So as Kasabian are busy claiming rights to the musical throne they'd do well to keep an eye on the rear view mirror for the challenger speeding up behind them, more than capable of steeling their self appointed and somewhat imaginary crown.

#Music
#BC

31st Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Akron/Family

Meek Warrior

Young God Records

This is the third album from the enigma that is Akron/Family and as always it is a weird and often wonderful journey. This New York based quartet do everything they can to confuse you, alienate you, dazzle you and ultimately impress you with their brand of freak folk, post-rock and whatever other genre they decide to drop during this 35 minute slice of madness.

I say madness but for their standards this is quite normal. It's basically a regular alt folk, semi religious record in the style of Danielson or Davandra Banhart that's framed by two crazy, freak out monster jams. To open an album with a song like 'Blessing Force' lets the listener know early that to sit comfortably would be a mistake. Tribal drums, crashing cymbals and feedback start things off, before this turns into group chanting which heralds what we all think is the start of this song, but no. Another whiplash change of direction and the song careers off in another direction, that of head-fuck, twisted guitar and yet more sprawling drum landscapes. Then 3 minutes later we get the free-form jazz section and if you look ahead on your iTunes time bar you realise with horror that you have 2 more minutes of this ear-piercing noise to go. Just as the Rowntrees Fruit Pastel adverts dare you to eat one with out chewing, Akron/Family dare you not to skip this bit. I took up this dare once and finished the track but never again. As ambitious as 'Blessing Force' is, it does sound a bit like a nine minute show-reel and as the beautiful lo-fi folk of 'Gone Beyond' gently follows you can't help thinking that what just went before was nothing but a glitch in the system and somehow a particularly experimental Liars track found its way on to the start of this album.

So from here on in we get the delicate country ditties of the title track, the sparse soundscapes of 'No Space In This Realm' and the fragile finger picking of 'Lightning Bolt Of Compassion'. Then comes the other freak-out monster jam. 'The Rider (Dolphin Song)' is a measly seven minutes though and easier to stomach than its predecessor. It's a dark, brooding scuzz-bucket of noise that explodes erratically into formless improv. It's the evil cousin of Radiohead's 'National Anthem' and finishes you off with a deafening squall that must utilise every instrument in the studio. But the Family don't leave your bruised and pummeled corpse there. No, they pick you up, dust you down and take you to Sunday School with the closing track 'Love And Space'. Here, each band member gets a turn in chanting the "Lord Open My Heart.." mantra and all the craziness from the past 35 minutes is nicely forgotten.

This is another brave example of Akron/Family's talents. By painstakingly constructing their beautiful folk landscapes, only to destroy them in a reckless act of sabotage, they challenge the listener to question what they're listening to. While this is the albums strength it is also its failing. The experimental moments are too few and far between and instead of the annoying wrecking balls they try to be, when put amongst the delicate psych-folk of the other tracks they become the best songs on the album and are so powerful that the others appear out of place. But there is more than enough on Meek Warrior to confirm that Akron/Family are one of those important bands that refuse to be classified and will go on challenging you and daring you whether you like it or not.

#Music
#BC

31st Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Thunderbirds Are Now!

Make History

It's growing on me this one. I was ready to dismiss it as an immature effort from a band with a terrible name. However, as a teacher friend assures me; sometimes it's the cheekiest students you warm to the most, you just have to look that bit harder for their strengths and qualities.

It starts off promisingly; the picked guitar and vocal harmonies of album opener, 'Panthers in Crime', are a walk in The Shins territory, but that is as well behaved and grown up as the record gets. Once the drums kick in after a minute or so, it's all hyperactive energy and fun, fun, fun! Track 2, 'The Veil Comes Down', stays dangerously close to the Mcfly (band, not Parkinson's Ambassador) school of conventional, guitar pop. But they pull it back after that. If all this adolescent bounding around and Ryan Allen's nasal singing, make them obvious contemporaries of The Spinto Band, then 'Open Us Up' is their 'Oh Mandy' with its 'Woah-oh Woah-oh' shouty chorus. This is the one that will probably jump out of the record and onto the indie radio stations.

It's more of the same for the next few songs. The dubiously titled 'Shit Gold' is possibly the most interesting on the album. Here, they take a few breaths and slow things down a bit - letting the bass, irregular drums and quirky little synth noises drive things forward.

It is a fun album, they are pretty tight and have a confident sound, but I can't help thinking they have better songs in them. I'd have to check out their previous two albums to see if this is true or not. Were I to write a school report for this Detroit 4-piece, it would read "Could try harder to release their obvious potential." Or as Allen himself sings on 'PPL R ANMLS' "We gave you a chance, now give us a results!" Ditto.

#Music
#chimpovich

30th Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Brightblack Morning Light

Brightblack Morning Light

Matador

I was due to review this a while back, but like the vibe of the record itself, I couldn't really be arsed. This is seriously chilled music, all brushes on drums, echoed vocals, wah guitar, deep bass and lolling, rolling organ - with the occasional visit of a slide guitar, to add a touch of spice to this herbal heavy recipe. It's the sort of music to listen to when doing something else, like sleeping or fending off the Sunday morning hangover. As the whole album is so one-paced, ie, Sloooooooooooooooooooow, it feels like one long song, punctuated by a few pauses - no doubt a time for the band to get another lungful of Mother Nature's finest. I like it though. A good one to listen to as an alternative to Zero 7's overplayed 'Simple Things', that is if you can be bothered to put the disc in the player.

#Music
#chimpovich

30th Oct 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Subtle

For Hero: For Fool

Anticon

I haven't heard a hip hop album this original since the last Subtle album. Formed in 2001 by Anticon's Jel (Jeffrey Logan) and Doseone (Adam Drucker) Subtle took their time getting started. After a few singles and 2 EP's, Summer and Autumn, they finally got around to their debut full length in 2004. A New White was a multi layered musical masterpiece that vaguely clung to the fringes of hip hop fusing programmed and live beats, with electronics, strings and Dose's expertly delivered vocals. Their stage show was equally magnificent with a white top hat and tails clad Dose springing around the band like a court jester possessed. While on tour in 2005 their bus skidded off the road paralyzing keyboardist Dax Pierson from the chest down. It seems a small miracle this album was ever made due to the seriousness of Pierson's injuries not to mention the fact that much of the harmonica and backing vocals come from Dax himself.

But thankfully it was made - as it's yet another forward thinking piece of Anticon splendor. Since the demise of cLOUDDEAD and Themselves, and with Deep Puddle Dynamics being less than productive Subtle has become the main vehicle for Doseone to flex his outstanding lyrical muscle and with Jel on beats, Marty Dowers on woodwind, Jordan Dalrymple on guitar, Alex Kort on cello and the afore mentioned Pierson, Subtle's sound is textured to say the least. The key to their success is their grasp of contrast, light and dark, blur and focus, chiaroscuro if you will. Their multi layering of samples, instruments and sometimes indecipherable spoken and sung vocals create a pea soup like fog of sound that is then punctuated by its opposite. Sharp beats and Doseone's acutely pronounced prose spring from this fog at a thrilling pace but never become formulaic, quite the opposite. Much of Subtle's music is confusing and can often make the listener feel as if he is involved in a private conversation of which he knows nothing about, the music never goes where you think it will and although the theme of human pointlessness and the general decay of society is graspable the delivery is often in the form of surreal word play that moves on quicker than you can keep up.

As a whole For Hero: For Fool adopts the same contrasting form that each song does. A Tale Of Apes I & II usher in the fog with the use of post rock mush, Boards Of Canada style nostalgia-synth and Kraftwerk electro pop while Middleclass Stomp swamps you with it's glorious power-cord pop. The three main points of sharp focus are the hip hop extravaganza of Midas Gutz, the unashamedly danceable The Mercury Gaze and the jaw dropping Return Of The Gaze. Here Jel lays down the most complex beat of clicks, scratches and stabs with Doseone's rapping coming in softly at a pace that defies comprehension, he never misses a beat, he doesn't even breathe. His nasal delivery seems to take on the same properties as the electronic, stop-start beat and an accompaniment of gentle acoustic guitar and brushed cymbals culminating in wailing guitar and crashing drums makes this the finest moment on the album. Vocal dexterity is Dose's forte and when put with Jel's masterful grasp of the textured beat the result is an aural delight.

Hip Hop was born from the deconstruction and reassembling of other genres and for that reason remains one of the most versatile music forms. It's creative perimeters are huge. There is nothing it can't borrow, steal or sample. This scope is expressed perfectly in the music of Subtle who seem to see no limits to how far they can stretch this genre. In the hazy, surreal fog of For Hero: For Fool boundaries and classifications are simply not visible.

#Music
#HHG

27th Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Ben Folds

Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP

Following on from yesterday's nostalgic Squarepusher review comes a 'new' LP from 90's hero Ben Folds. Although culled from 3 internet-only EPs, The Bens EP he did with Ben Lee and Ben Kweller and a couple of singles and compilation tracks, Supersunnyspeedgraphic features many of the Folds' trademarks, and his unique approach and charm are in full effect on many of the tracks.

While he's been recording no-stop since the early 90's and no doubt thinks he is 'expanding', 'progressing' or 'developing' his sound with recent albums like Songs for Silverman, Ben Folds has little idea that he will be forever labeled as the soundtrack to hazy art school barbecues in the summer of '96. And let me say right now - that's no bad thing.

A cover of In Between Days gets the full Ben Folds' treatment, presented here as an upbeat sing-a-long that tumbles along sounding like the drum kit is not properly secured, and a dilapadated piano has been resurected for one last jam - bringing a welcoming pub singalong atmosphere.

Adelaide is a highlight, building up from the most simple of piano licks into a full blown epic with witty, engaging lyrics providing an autobiographical feel - also present on There's Always Someone Cooler Than You.

Bens Kweller and Lee make an appearance on Bruised - and Ben Lee's brief vocals make me realise how much hope was pinned on him as a prodigy back in the day. I blame the collapse of Grand Royal for that one.

The album certainly has the feel of a compilation rather than a themed studio album and amongst the highlights there are certainly a few duds. Out of the context of an album some of the ballads - like Still - can sound contrived and a bit forced, and a cover of Dr Dre's Bitches Ain't Shit mis-fires. While it's impeccably done in the style of a Ben Folds' ballad, that just focuses the emphasis onto bitches and hoes in the lyrics just makes it seem like a tired joke - done better by The Gourds with their cover of Gin And Juice. If you don't speak English however that could well be your favourite track...

While there are no sublime moments on a par with Mess or Brick there is plenty on this album to recommend to more than just completist collectors out there. For such a prolific performer Folds' rarely puts a foot too far wrong and this is no exception.

So, get round mine for about 4pm, the coals will have whitened and I'll start the grilling.

#Music
#CSF

27th Oct 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Squarepusher

Hello Everything

Listening to Hello Everything is like eating a meal where the most delightful flavours dazzle and seduce your taste buds with every chew. But purely on the restaurants reputation alone you harbor a deep fear that at any moment you will eat something that will blow your head off. Perversely though, It's this fear that makes the whole experience so memorable and actually the fear is in vain as for the most part Squarepusher keeps his trademark noise explosions to a minimum on this, his tenth album.

Hellow Meow's busy beats and clicks start things off at an erratic yet gentle pace, they mean no harm and are soon joined by the crazy bass skills that make the work of the multi instrumental Tom Jenkinson so unique and so interesting. Feeling more affinity with experimental jazz than the electronic scene, Jenkinson has been pushing the boundaries of both since his 1996 debut Feed Me Weird Things. His use of live instruments, sampled noise and the most pent up beat-interplay make this one man band a force to be reckoned with. His work is as much Charlie Parker as it is Aphex Twin.

Hello Everything finds him in more comfortable shoes. A track like Theme From Sprite would not be too out of place on a particularly experimental, late night hour of Jazz FM and Circlewave 2 is a truly sublime piece of music with its delicate composition of tinkering cymbals and rising synths. There are glimpses of early Squarepusher muscle on the standout track Planetarium. The classic hollow breakbeats are given depth by the deep, brooding underlying bass line while the slightly Jean Michel Jarre organ builds things to a majestic grandeur.

Rotate Electrolyte has a beautifully nostalgic feel to it. It takes me back to the mid-90's when Drum & Bass meant something to me, days when artists like Photek and T Power constructed the most amazing journeys that were often dark yet rose to such uplifting heights. This feeling is continued in Welcome To Europe and show Jenkinson's focus on melody on this album. The breakbeats are regulated and uniform and provide a stable platform for the ever rising Dr Who-like synth orchestrations. Of course songs like these lull us in to a dream like state of bliss and then with Plotinus and The Modern Bass Guitar we are reminded that we're listening to a Squarepusher album. The teeth come out with these two tracks with the melody being all but obliterated by the machine gun breaks, bleeps, thumps, "sounds a bit like Goldie" clicks, stabs, twists, squeals and whatever else Jenkinson can get his hands on.

But to get through a Squarepusher record with only two kicks in the head isn't bad going and not at all disappointing. The album's title suggests that Jenkinson sees this album as a bit of a retrospective as it does in a way look back and compile much of the ground breaking work he has done in the past. It doesn't however sound like a cop-out move of an artist out of ideas, far from it. Hello Everything will undoubtedly recruit more fans to the Squarepusher rollercoaster but retains all of his visionary integrity to keep on board his old ones. It's a highly intelligent and honest piece of work by an artist quite obviously in love with making music.

#Music
#BC

26th Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Sebadoh

III

Who are Sebadoh? Well, Ill let them introduce themselves, courtesy of Showtape 91 the 11 minute spoken-word epic that closes side 2 of the re-issue of 'III', the aptly titled 3rd album, from this Massachusetts 3 piece.

Amongst other things, Sebadoh are:

- "Your new favourite dope-smoking renaissance threesome"
- "Your post modern folk-core saviours"
- "Featuring that guy who played bass in Soul Asylum, Lou Barlow"
- "3 more reasons to leave your boyfriend. Way to Go, Sebadoh!"

So there you have it; cynical, sarcastic, funny, confident and impossible to pigeonhole. Whilst III was their third album, it marked something of a starting point for the band. Previous albums The Freed Weed and Weed Foresting were self released cassettes that unashamedly wore (literally) their creative influence upon their sleeves. For III Lou Barlow and Eric Gaffney were joined by Jason Lowenstein, and whilst not compromising their taste for musical extremes, produced an album that heralded the introduction of 'lo-fi' in the midst of the Grunge Explosion.

Barlow, freshly liberated from a traumatic stint in Dinosaur Jr. (not Soul Asylum) used III as something of an exorcism, wasting no time in having a dig at J Mascis on track 1, The Freed Pig "You were right, I was battling you, trying to prove myself". From then on, the album takes the familiar shape and form of a typical Sebadoh album, ie. all over the place. Track 2 is a blistering cover of Minutemen's Sickle & Hammers, the heavily distorted bass (a signature sound) and blood curdling screams of Scars, Four Eyes is followed by the delicate Truly Great Thing "Make it easy and I'll hold it against you, Make it hard and I'll run away". Back to their herbal muse for Smoke a Bowl, a song which wouldnt be out of place on the Black Lodge Jukebox in Twin Peaks. How do you follow that? With the country hoe-down tinged Black Haired Gurl of course.

The album continues in this vein before closing with As The World Dies, The Eyes Of God Grow Bigger which captures the split personality of the band perfectly; acoustic singalong, followed by distorted screamalong, all ending with the cheery farewell "BLOOD ON THE WALLS, BLOOD ON THE WALLS." Hey, a trip with Sebadoh isn't ever easy, but you go to some interesting places along the way.

Disc 2 of this re-issue is immediately a winner, in that it includes the Gimme Indie Rock EP - the title track of which, is possibly the finest 3 and a half minutes this prolific band ever laid to tape. The rest of the extras all add to the whole; unreleased songs from the recording sessions, raw 4-track versions of old songs and the bizarre closer Showtape '91. At a hefty 41 tracks, the new 'III' might help solve that terminal puzzle: 'What to get the Sebadoh fan who has everything?'

#Music
#chimpovich

25th Oct 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Brakes

The Beatific Visions

After 2004's Give Blood, Brighton's Brakes are back with their second album The Beatific Visions - and the bets are on. Where Give Blood was an eclectic and electrifying collection of tracks, it certainly wasn't without it's problems. It showed great promise however and the threat of a more permenent band (The Electric Soft Parade is another band featuring two of the Brakes) spending more time focusing on a new Brakes album was a tasty prospect.

Opening track Hold Me In The River fulfills the early promise right fom the start. The playing is sharp and focused, with the song quickly shifting up through the gears. The guitars are high on the priority list, with a sliding screech like a muscle car burning rubber. Although the song is more focused tha some of the more comedy elements of Give Blood, there's still plenty of room for wit - with Scarlett Johansson being amongst this song's topic of fun.

There's no drop as we move on with Margarita and the album's already sounding like an old favourite. The country-punk element of their sound is one of the band's strong points - making for taught and engaging songs without the constraints of sounding like everyone else at the moment. This aspect to the Brakes sound has evolved and matured with this album - no doubt helped by the fact that the album was recorded in Nashville with a who's who from all over the record industry. Recorded by Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, White Stripes) at The House of David studio (as used by Elvis amongst others) and featuring David Briggs (of Muscle Shoals, and Elvis' 70's band). If I Should Die Tonight showcases all of these elements to full effect, creating a superb modern country sound layered with guitars and piano under a simple but engaging lyric.

My main gripe with Give Blood was always the under-developed feeling of some of the songs, which seemed to end just as they got started. That has been addressed on several songs here, but unfortunately Mobile Communication, No Return and title track Beatific Visions are the least successful songs this time round. The songs seem to flatten out into a far more conventional sound and structure, robbing the band of much of their originality. It's a small niggle however, and things pick up again with Cease and Desist and the excellent Porcupine Or Pineapple? - distilling recent wars to a few simple words. Spikey, spikey, spikey. At 1.04 it's the shortest track on the album, which still only clocks in at 28 minutes for 11 songs.

The balance seems a bit lost on the album, which could possibly be rectified different sequencing... although I think from now on I'm just going to shut up and keep my opinions to myself, as if this is any evidence to go by Brakes can do a good job of moving things on by themselves. There are some fantastic songs on this record and it just adds further evidence that the band are heading in the right direction, making great music along the way.

#Music
#CSF

24th Oct 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Loney, Dear

Sologne

Loney, Dear is the brain child of Sweden's Emil Svanangen and this outfit is often described as the one man band with nine members. Whatever that means is a mystery but it does go some way to describe the sound of Sologne. Loney, Dear's blend of DIY indie-pop and lo-fi folk brings to mind solo artists like Stina Nordenstam or Mugison, but the rich tapestry of sounds that is woven around his most delicate of lyrics could be compared to experimental indie kids Grandaddy. All of these comparisons only go a fraction of the way to describe the originality and arresting beauty of this album.

From the first two songs you would be forgiven for thinking that this was yet another record of oh-so-chart friendly, run of the mill, male singer/songwriter crap but wait until you hear The City, The Airport and if you have any heart at all you will reevaluate your earlier judgments, discard your heavy robes of cynicism and jump head first into Sologne's warm waters. It starts of with a cheap casio synth beat overlaid with Svanangen's musings of "the city, I don't want another life that's killing me," then expands like a great bird into a cacophony of instruments, backing vocals, wails, shouts, you name it. It's the childlike equivalent of Radiohead's Let Down and rises and rises with such effortless grace that you want it to go higher and higher. And from here on in it's pure quality. Le Fever is a lonely, melancholic tale but continues the swell of emotion with increasing instrumental textures. Come to think of it, they all do. Songs like In With The Arms creep in with gentle folk sadness then slowly rise to a tearful euphoria with lines like, "Off with the boards, off with what's keeping you down, in with the arms." It's quite exhausting as each song starts you low then lifts you up. We get a little break with the Money Mark style instrumental organ ditty of Grekerna, then the final euphoric blow is dealt in the form of I Lose It All. It's a shame this doesn't end the album as it reaches heights way higher than any thing else as it ticks along at a steady pace then eventually explodes into a piano heavy, drum pounding, Rocky running up the steps glorious piece of crescendo magic that will leave you hands in the air and eyes to the sky wasted.

I do hope I'm not building this up too much but it's just such an honest piece of music akin in charm and emotion to Sunset Rubdown's Shut Up I Am Dreaming and each song on Sologne could be the closing soundtrack to a desperately sad film but as you dry your eyes it's genuine beauty reassures you that everything's gonna be alright. If last year was the year to look to Canada for the best in indie music then in 2006 Sweden is launching a typically Scandinavian counter attack. It's restrained, measured yet unfathomable in its quality and creativity. My only fear is that this quality could easily be undone by a Vodafone advert and then I would have to disown this album. Providing this doesn't happen, Sologne may just make my 'best of 2006' list.

#Music
#CSF

24th Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Crash

(dir. Paul Haggis)

Paul Haggis' stylish directorial debut manages the astonishing task of condensing the sprawl of LA into a movie-studio sized hamlet, where every cast member's life is intertwined with the others. Pulls the heartstrings, but is essentially empty.

#Music
#CSF

24th Oct 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Ladyfinger (NE)

Heavy Hands

If the title of this Omaha based four piece suggests slender beauty then think again. The album title Heavy Hands gives more of a clue to what these boys are up to. The general MO here is to fuck you in the ears and these four horsemen of the rock apocalypse do a pretty thorough job.

Following in the dark, well trodden footsteps of bands like Motorhead Heavy Hands never lets up and is not too dissimilar to being punched in the head for just over half an hour. This is not a complaint though, they deal a quality blow to the head. They are on tour with The Bronx this month and should warm the crowd up pretty well with their rock broth of pounding drums, nose bleed riffs and primal vocals. If you've got the balls for it but wouldn't mind those balls getting a damn good bruising then let Ladyfinger lay on their Heavy Hands.

#Music
#BC

23rd Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Mr Hudson + The Library

The Bread + Roses EP

It's often an interesting idea to combine hip-hop beats with more traditional vocals. It's also often a bit bland when it happens. Only the remix of the title track Bread + Roses, with more edgy beats and distorted vocals, is really of interest here.

#Music
#CJ

23rd Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Mr. Lif

Mo Mega

Mr. Lif could rhyme over a pneumatic drill and you would have to sit up and listen and with fellow Def Juxter El P on production for 8 of these tracks a pneumatic drill isn't too far off the mark. This is Lifs follow up to 2002's I Phantom and it's as intense as ever.

Lif's delivery is cold and relentless but its in the subject matter where you really find the heart and soul of this album. The general concept on Mo Mega is how the increasingly modern world is slowly consuming the lower, poorer classes and with his unique monotone, nasal drawl he lambasts everyone from the President to the FBI to fast food chains. Lif never messes about and with El P behind him chucking out dirty beats to make your eyes water the flavor is as hard hitting and uncompromising as the political onslaught of early Public Enemy.

The early stand out is Lif's relentless attack on McDonalds with The Fries. Here we get his conspiracy theory of how the government is using fast food to cripple the poor and its told with dazzling vocal skill. Do excuse the hefty quote coming up but it's pure genius. "A new disease that you caught at Mcydee's, in your quarter pounder with cheese, order with ease, super size please. People won't even survive through the drive thru. kids blacked out in the back with a happy meal, what a crappy deal, but it was only four ninety nine so there's more people in line, yea the plan's running fine, the parking lot is now a burial plot where you can park and rot if you can find a spot."

The best thing about most Def Jux releases is that they often feature other label artists which is always a real treat. Here we see the intensity peak with Take Hold, Fire! featuring the mighty Aesop Rock and El P. These guest vocals come as a welcome break from the relentless tone of Lif and it makes for a classic Def Jux lyrical master-class. This signals a general easing off on the political accelerator and the comic frivolity of Murs Iz My Manager comes as a breath of fresh air. Here the two rappers argue about why Murs should manage Lif to make him more commercial. Lif is having none of it and at one point Murs asks how he is supposed to get Lif the Herbal Essence sponsorship if he never washes his hair.

From here on the beats are lighter and more 'hip hop' I guess. The vocals ease up as a result and once you get to the end you just want another go. Rappers like Mr. Lif and his Def Jux buddies are really stretching this genre and it's thrilling to behold. If I was a Head Of State I would look on this group with some worry. They have such a ferocious style that you get the impression that if their music doesn't change things they are perfectly prepared to walk into the Oval Office and start breaking some heads.

#Music
#HHG

23rd Oct 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet