Chimpomatic

Best Of 2008

HHG

It was a good year for Hip Hop with some real heavyweight contributions from the likes of Lil Wayne, The Roots and Kanye West. Q Tip came out of retirement with a great album and Atmosphere gave us the fantastic When Life Gives You Lemons Paint That Shit Gold. But ultimately these 5 rocked my world.

Albums

Why? - Alopecia
This record dropped pretty early this year but has remained a permanent fixture ever since. Building on the clever songcraft of Elephant Eyelash, Alopecia is almost too packed with ideas to fully comprehend.

Black Milk - Tronic
Just as the year draws to a close, Black Milk drops his best work yet: super tight production mixes with raw old school might to produce a hip hop classic.

The Roots - Rising Down
Thank God for George Bush or we may not have ever had a record as venomous and thoroughly pissed off as this. Leaning more on the classic hip hop than the live band, the Philly boys really delivered here although the guest MC's nearly stole the show.

The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale EP
From out of nowhere came this EP full of playful bravado and classic old school hooks. "The new black version of the Beastie Boys."

lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
The most anticipated hip hop record of the year actually made good on its promise.

Songs
The Roots - Rising Down (feat. Mos Def & Styles P)
Black Milk - Losing Out
Why? - By Torpedo Or Crohn's
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
Lil Wayne - A Milli

Disappointments
The Mighty Underdogs
Sounded good on paper, especially with Def Jux behind them, but in reality was a pile of shit.

Subtle - Exiting Arm
It was their most commercial release and certainly promised great things. But somehow it lacked some of the quirky excitement of all of their previous work.

TV
The X Factor
That duet between Beyonce and Alexandra...nuf said.

Movies
Sex And The City (Only because I went to the World Premiere and sat near SJP and Gary Lineker, it's the only way I see movies so was the only one I saw)

#Music
#HHG

29th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Best Of 2008

BC

Looking down my list of the best albums of the year it seems that with the exception of Black Mountain, this year has been all about the debut album. Some fine releases from the likes of Calexico, Okkervil River and Deerhoof but it was the new boys who really stepped up. All the surprises for me came from a very healthy US underground indie/punk scene with No Age heading the lot. The highlight of the year would have to be meeting and interviewing David Berman of Silver Jews, a true artist and someone I could have talked to for hours. With the steady and inevitable decline of the Western World to look forward to next year I am hopeful that some new musical talent will rise from the ashes to guide us through it all.

Albums

Black Mountain - In The Future
We've had this so long it almost seems like last year that this rocked my world. It's had a solid road testing for 12 months and is still as mighty as it's first play. A comprehensive delivery of all that was promised on the first record.

No Age - Nouns
This record really lit a fire in me this year and started a frenzied search into the context from which it sprung. It's a furious and unbridled blend of hazy shoegaze, garage rock and dirty punk and is all delivered with remarkable ease.

White Denim - Workout Holiday
A ramshackle chaotic work of genius that treads a fine line between electrifying soul infused garage punk and utter shambles.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
The whole conception of this debut in total isolation in deepest Wisconsin gave it a great angle to get the critics chattering but since its release earlier this year it has risen from that chatter as utterly captivating and has introduced Justin Vernon as one of the most beguiling voices of the year.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
It's been a tough old year for everybody and this 4 piece from New York has brought nothing but warmth and cheer to it from the start. Even way back in January it was obvious that this would feature in this list.

Close seconds
Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw
Four Tet - Ringer EP
Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs

Songs
Tindersticks - Intro
TV On The Radio - DLZ
Portishead - The Rip
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Black Mountain - Stormy High

Gigs
Bruce Springsteen - Emirates Stadium
Silver Jews - ULU
No Age - Electric Ballroom
Black Mountain - Scala
Radiohead - Victoria Park

Movies
The Orphanage
No Country For Old Men
In Bruges

TV
Summer Heights High
The Wire - Season 5

Biggest Disappointment
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges. I really have nothing good to say about this album. I think I'm done with these guys sadly.

#Music
#BC

19th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Best Of 2008

Harris Pilton

Best Live Band - Zu

Sneaking in at the last minute (saw them twice in December) come Zu, an instrumental group consisting of Drums, Bass, and Baritone Sax. This, you might think, is not a recipe for success in these modern times but Zu have an unconventional approach to their sound which has to be heard to be believed. The honking Baritone is barked hard through overdrive and fuzz, the Drums played with power and true flair, while the Bass (?) seems to perform the role of just about everything else a band could need - metal guitar, brass riffs, sweeping electronics and some of the deepest low-notes known to mankind. The result is the sheer chunky heaviness of Helmet with the experimentation of Krautrock. No chance of the mix sounding empty with this trio - you just keep wondering who is doing what, and how the hell they can sound like that. Expect unusual time signatures, a party atmosphere and a monstrous sound.

Best Album - The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent

Thirty years into the turbulent history of The Fall, Mark E Smith is reunited with producer Grant Showbiz and, it would seem, the joy of making records. Imperial Wax Solvent is arguably the best Fall record ever, capturing something that was often hinted at during the previous three decades but never so consistently nailed. Thing is, MES has a great band these days and it sounds like he really digs what they can do, and this in turn produces some great vocal performances and lyrics from the main man. The titles tell you a lot:- Wolf Kidult Man, Latch Key Kid, Senior Twilight Stock Replacer, and 50 Year Old Man. One track is called Can Can Summer, and once it hits the main riff you realise why :- this is the Fall album where MES comes closest in sound to the group he has long-admired - Can. Smith's wife Eleni Poulou makes a considerable contribution to the album with way-cool squelchy analog synths and one lead vocal on the magnificent I've Been Duped (in which you'll hear her sing something about two hairy men digging up Scotland. Brilliant). But central to the proceedings is the wry old goat himself - clearly enjoying himself, sounding happy and enthusiastic, better recorded and lyrically sharp as ever. I've played this album all year long, and can't wait to hear the next one.

Best Game - Far Cry 2 - Ubisoft Montreal

The Far Cry franchise got off to a spectacular start in 2004 with the release of the original PC only game. Stunningly realistic landscaping, open fields of play and extremely smart (cunning even) AI enemies. A great start for any game series, which had console owners chomping at the bit. Sadly, the console based adaptations of the first Far Cry did not live up to expectations, with less diversity to the scenery, dumber AI, and on-rails game play. This was a big disapointment to anyone who'd played the original PC version, leaving console owners feeling rather short-changed. Far Cry 2 can be considered the first proper follow-up to the original, and it even raises the standard by several notches. Coming up to this release, Ubisoft were pretty confident about FC2's landscaping and weather modelling but it's not until you've seen the game running that you'll truly appreciate how spectacular this game looks, and how well it plays. Set in Africa, the story-line is mature and non-patronising, playing as a first person shooter with 50 square kilometers of free-roam play area. You choose your missions and when to do them, leaving you free to just roam about fighting off attacks from just about everyone you encounter. The AI is back to being cunning, the gently unravelling story is compelling, and the action is full-on. Sadly, there is one problem with this otherwise-perfect game:- many Xbox 360 owners have had their game's save files corrupted (all of them) by some mystery bug when they get to 88 percent game completion, forcing them to start all over again. That's a serious glitch and one which Ubisoft should be trying to address without delay. Luckily, I only encountered one single corrupted save file, losing only half an hour of progress. I checked my stats when I completed the game and found that I had enjoyed almost 60 hours of gameplay without ever getting bored.

#Music
#HarrisPilton

16th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Black Milk

Tronic

Fat Beats

Black Milk's official debut Popular Demand dropped last year to critical acclaim across the board. The detroit MC and producer was hailed as the rightful air to J Dilla's crown. And through his next release The Set Up with fellow Detroit MC Fat Ray and this, his second solo album, he is more than living up to the praise that seems to follow him everywhere he goes. Tronic is not only the best collection of songs from Curtis Cross, but sneaks in as one of the hip hop records of the year.

The title may suggest that this record sees Cross embracing technology but it's a wonderful mix of earthy beats and futuristic production. You can tell all this from the first song. Long Story Short introduces itself with a gently tinkling piano then launches into the deepest old school break since KRS dropped Step Into A World. It's pounding beat is enshrouded in raw production and synth washes making the whole thing kind of awkward but loose. This is dramatically contrasted with the following track Bounce. Sounding like the backing tune from an 80's Michael Mann car chase Bounce simmers with a rolling synth melody and a gentle click-clap beat. It's as smooth as Long Story is raw so with only 2 tracks under you belt you're already wondering what the USP is on this record. But that's it's beauty, whereas a lot of hip hop records show their cards too early Cross' main objective is quality whichever form that may take.

The tinny funk break on Give The Drummer Sum continues this nod to the old school as a fabulous retro fanfare melody envelopes the whole thing. This is echoed on the soulful Try, full of intricately spliced samples around which Cross slots his effortless verse. Again, in contrast comes Hold It Down with it's deep booming synthesisers and The Matrix, a dark, brooding and deathlessly serious cut curtsy of DJ Premier and featuring some great guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch and Sean Price. It also features the awesome line "You couldn't hang if you were Ving Rhames in Rosewood." Then you've got Cross' rarely seen ability to drop a slice of hip hop so perfect it could storm any pop charts given half a chance. Losing Out is that tune and it's pure class, infinitely listenable, the dopest baseline and some lightning rapping from Cross himself and the mighty Royce Da 5'9. Each verse is spat with strength and power and the production is tight, yet free to evolve as the song progresses.

In short Tronic is solid, exciting, supremely impressive and takes this Detroit artist into new territory. His quality was always evident on his previous releases but Tronic showcases every facet of that quality and introduces some more. It's a powerhouse of a record.

#Music
#HHG

14th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

ATP Weekender Curated by Mike Patton / Melvins: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Butlins, Minehead

When ATP announced this event six months ago, I could hardly believe my luck. I make no secret of my devotion to the Melvins and all things Ipecac (Patton's label), so this weekend festival (3 hours drive away) was like a gift from the almighty. As acts got added to the lineup the ticket value seemed to increase - especially when Butthole Surfers were added to the bill - so this was an event for which my expectations were pretty high. And whaddya know? They delivered 100 percent satisfaction, a weekend of eclectic and exciting music surrounded by like-minded people. And so, amidst the spartan tat of this windswept and freezing off-season holiday stalag, people gathered from all over the world to celebrate the left-of-centre and the truly gifted, on two main sound stages and one quadrophonic rig in a smaller venue.

(The) Melvins opened up on Friday as 'Melvins 83' - bringing original drummer Mike Dillard back to revisit their punky roots. Regular Melvins drummer Dale Crover played bass for this short set and was introduced as Matt Lukin. They were great - Mike Dillard sounded really tight - a performance that he can be justly proud of.

With so much going on, there were often choices to be made between two stages - throwing up some unexpected delights and a few minor disappointments. And so, in no particular order, a few words about some of the performances that I did see.

Best thing I've seen all year award goes to Zu - Italian noise-funk trio with the HEAVIEST sound I have EVER heard. Absolutely astounding virtuoso playing with not a hint of chin-stroking introspection. Big, noisy, intelligent party music - I cannot recommend this band highly enough. Want to see the most highly drilled weirdos in the world? Then check out The Locust - falling under the vague umbrella of Math-rock, these costumed and masked humanoids deliver precision salvos of Rhythm'n'Noise. What the drummer was doing looked inhuman. Brilliant. There were some understated and beautiful performances too - notably Martina Topley Bird who has the voice of an angel and Joe Lally (Fugazi) who has the dignity of a war veteran. At the other end of the scale (ie, dignity and restraint missing) was Squarepusher. Whilst his playing and programming are faultless, the smothering fog of his gigantic ego suffocated the fun out of the room. Thanks Tom, but we can make our own minds up about when to cheer. Audience response happens naturally when the music connects with people, and the winners in this respect were Taraf De Haidouks - the most awesome gypsy band on the planet. When they played, the room became a party, and once their time onstage was finished they just carried on outside. Makes you wonder how come our own folk music is so dull. Representing the slightly looser approach to music was the amazingly messy Butthole Surfers. Who knows how wasted Gibby Haines was, but he did punctuate one song by shouting "Three fuckin' hits of MDMA!", so that might have been a clue. Pretty damn psychedelic. Another treat was country-pickin' Junior Brown - possibly the greatest stunt-guitarist you will ever hear in your life, and with a rich barritone voice like a fine matured bourbon. There was a special performance of Stockhausen's Kontakte in the quadrophonic room - mixed from the original masters by Stockhausen's sound projectionist and complimented by a pianist and percussionist on stage. The sound system was crystal clear and the crowd remained quiet and respectfully awed by the one of the original noise-masters. By contrast, "America's funny man" Neil Hamburger was trying to achieve the goal of goading the audience towards "a crescendo of boo's" as he put it. Provocatively tasteless and badly delivered jokes about Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger coupled with general abuse of audience members. I liked it - and there was one genuinely funny joke - (What's worse than Muslim Extremism? Chinese Democracy). Mike Patton himself resisted the temptation to make appearances with multiple bands, concentrating instead on orchestrating a fine performance of The Director's Cut with his band Fantomas. They played the whole album and it sounded wonderful, with Patton clearly in an excellent mood - so much so they even gave us an encore of Al Green's Simply Beautiful which Patton dedicated to "all the laydeez in the house", prompting many female screams, whistles and a general gusset-moistening.

Booby Prizes go to the following - Big Business (hampered by a blown-up bass amp, and a subsequently muddy mix), Leila (technical problems not exactly enhancing something that seemed boring in the first place), Porn (onstage intrusion by mystery drunk guitarist [turns out it was the bloke out of Mastodon] leading to aimless collapse of order), James Blood Ulmer (great voice, but guitar playing somewhere beyond loose), and White Noise (the ledgendary David Vorhaus served up softcore euro-trance which bore no reference to his early experimental works). Didn't get to see Mastodon, Isis, The Damned, Farmer's Market or Kool Keith, so sorry about that. There was only so much a person could take in, but having said that, this was still the best music festival I have ever been to. Support ATP! They rule.

#Music
#Gig
#HarrisPilton

9th Dec 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Unforgiven

(dir. Clint Eastwood)

Malpaso

THEN: Seen as something of a resurgence for the serious western, Unforgiven tells the tale of two retired gunslingers (Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman), who are approached by a short-sighted young hopeful, after a local whorehouse puts up a bounty for two brutal cowboys. Meanwhile, hard-nosed sheriff Gene Hackman rules the town with an iron first - and runs any bounty hunters out of town.

David Webb Peoples' excellent script re-wrote the heroism, bravery and gentlemanly behaviors of the old west into a bloody, misfiring, mauling - and cast Eastwood perfectly as a bastion of days gone by. The film was something of a return to form for Eastwood, as both and actor and a director - and the Academy duly noted him for both. He moved up a notch in directing terms after this and hasn't really looked back.

NOW: Still unbelievably powerful, if anything, Unforgiven has improved with age, sitting comfortably with the films that it was made in honour of, at the western's throne. Eastwood handles the action and the direction like a master carpenter - showing a magnificent storytelling skill inherited from the likes of Don Siegel and Sergio Leone. There's no flashy camera work, just a restrained observation that never interferes with the story and serves it perfectly.

Eastwood's central performance as William Munny is so reserved and withdrawn, it's surprising you can feel anything for him at all. Few actors can remain silent in a scene while everyone talks around them - and still steal the show, but Eastwood does it, drawing heavily on much of his prior screen history to silently fill out Munny's back story. Morgan Freeman comes a close second of course and the pair of them have a great chemistry, which would be repeated masterfully in Million Dollar Baby. Brutal, engaging, vengeful and brilliant.

#Film
#CSF

5th Dec 2008 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

(dir. Alex Gibney)

HDNet Films

"Of all the correspondents, he was the least factual, but the most accurate." Frank Mankiewicz, George McGovern's 1972 campaign manager,

Great doc on the original wildman behind a typewriter, Hunter S Thompson. Packed with footage from the many highlights of his psychedelic journey through the American Dream: hanging with the Hell's Angels, fending off lizards in Vegas hotel bars, heading out on the campaign trail with George McGovern, talking football with Nixon, running for sheriff, hunting boar with machine guns and ingesting a seemingly non-stop diet of bourbon and drugs.

All his co-pilots are here - along with some of the people he took shots at along the way - the mighty Ralph Steadman whose scratchy drawings brought the Gonzo ethos to life, Rolling Stone head honcho Jann Wenner, Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Buffet, both Mrs Thompsons, Johnny Depp (who played him in the Terry Gilliam film), Pat Buchanan, Jimmy Carter and George McGovern.

It's a film that plays it pretty straight - but that's probably wise when your subject is so out-there. Engaging, moving, inspiring and funny, it's a very enjoyable tribute to a man who planned his own funeral years before shooting himself.

#Film
#chimp71

3rd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Danielson

Trying Hartz

Secretly Canadian

The double disc Trying Hartz compilation brings together a sampling of the work of Daniel Smith - recorded under various names, including Danielson, Danielson Famile and Brother Danielson. Perhaps best known for his well-received 2006 album Ships, the compilation provides an interesting document of the metamorphosing artist, as he fins his feet and cements his direction.

While musically Smith is influenced by his Christian 're-awakening', this is not your typical religious recording - although gospel certainly plays a part in defining the rambling indie artist, as he pulls in guitars, banjos, sample and more.

This is a well put together package that avoids the usual inconsistency of a compilation and remains a cut above the typical demos package, with a pretty crisp production - although it is lacking when it comes to bottom end, and that doubles in intensity due to the consistently high-pitched vocals. Things also lose a little focus as the album starts pulling from a live catalogue.

From the roaring opening and shuffling drums of Animal In Every Corner to the delicate banjo balladry of Daughters Will Tune You, there is plenty to recommend here - and the seemingly scattergun approach actually forms a pretty consistent shape. The problem is, without the unhinged craziness of Deerhoof, or the dogged persistence of Sufjan Stevens, things can easily drift into no mans land.

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#NM

1st Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Mighty Underdogs

Droppin' Science Fiction

Def Jux

In the mid 90's and early 2000, whether going under the name Solesides or Quannum, this crew, consisting of members of Blackalicious, Latyrx and DJ Shadow, couldn't put a foot wrong and without resorting to mindless thug-rap they crafted their own brand of mindfull hip-hop that displayed an unrivaled lyrical dexterity and creativity. All their releases whether solo or collectively involved collaboration and together amassed to a group of artists forging their own way in this game and just getting stronger and stronger by the year. With the massive collaborative release Quannum Spectrum in 1999 and Blackalicious' NIA the following year they seemed to be reaching their creative peak and, in my opinion, have slowly shrunk from those heights ever since. Gift Of Gab's raps became far too conscious of their do-good nature, Lyrics Born's solo releases were almost too aesthetically pleasing and possessed little of the edge he previously exhibited and Lateef The Truth Speaker briefly shone in his Maroons project but then all but disappeared. DJ Shadow kept up his end for as long as he could but then even he had to fall and did so gloriously with The Outsider.

So that said, the thought of Gift Of Gab teaming up with Lateef again for this Mighty Underdogs project more than moistened my palette for a return to form and seeing that is was all taking place on the ever-reliable Def Jux label was further proof of an imminent comeback. Sadly this isn't the case and it really pains me to say that. My criticism of the last two Blackalicious albums, that they are far too riddled with preaching lyrics about spirituality and love, are not my criticisms here and some may argue that I am beng slightly and unfairly hard on the boys. I have been wanting them to toughen up for ages, to spit out the odd swear word and show they are human, so when they finally do, on tracks like Gunfight and Aye I cringe like my dad's trying to be cool. I don't know why but it all sounds slightly forced and fake.

Everything's in place here for a great record. Lateef's flow is as tight as it always used to be and Gab's dexterity and speed with which he delivers his lines is top notch. While not quite matching up to Quannum Spectrum's use of guests, heavyweights like MF Doom and Casual make a richer tapestry - not to mention the DJ Shadow produced UFC Remix. But the inclusion of Chari 2na, Jurassic 5's self proclaimed 'Lyrical Herman Munster,' on War Walk only highlights how this genre has moved on, leaving behind these MC's - whereas an artist like Doom seems as fresh now as he did over a decade ago. So after much agonising deliberation I deduce that the key thing missing on this record is a sense of relevance. Time, and indeed Hip Hop has moved on since their heyday and though there may well never be a couple of MCs quite like Lateef and Gab it's what they rap about here that makes them seem irrelevant. As the album title suggests it's definitely fiction that is being dropped here and their tendency to use obvious narrative concepts as the basis for many of the songs is what makes the record so awkward. Gunfight sees Lateef assume the character of a heat-packin' wild west cowboy, Ill Vacation is a jaunty little holiday song while Science Fiction is, guess what, all set in outer-space and seems to run over what sounds like the Man With Two Brains soundtrack. One of the most puzzling and cringing of these concept tracks is Aye where all the protagonists are lusting after a certain female of rather sluttish tendencies. Not only is the concept of these righteous MC's sniffing round some ho quite curious but it also reminds me of the Latyrx classic Lady Don't Tek No and I am instantly made aware of the gulf that exists between the two songs.

Hands In The Air keeps things simple and for that reason works well, no over-ambitious concepts, just the solid rhymes over simple beats and Laughing At You is a triumph for the same reasons: it stays simple. Victorious is a great way to end the record and one that comes from a retrospective angle as both MCs reflect on a triumphant career. This record is by no means bad but it's impossible to form a critique without comparing it to these guys' previous work and it's at this point that the record falls very short of the mark. This crew and all their affiliates defined an era of hip hop for me and their continued commitment to a different moral path to many artists of the genre has always been inspirational, so it pains me all the more to see them left behind. I am sure they all have a lot more to contribute but they really need to reassess what they're about before the next release.

#Music
#HHG

26th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jake One

White Van Music

Rhymesayers

Almost a quarter of the way through this record we, the listener, are encouraged to "steal money from your grandmother's brazier...or take it from the whore on the corner... and buy this fuckin record." While this site by no means condones such behavior a prompt acquisition of Jake One's debut is strongly advised.

Seatle's Jacob Dutton, aka Jake One, has contributed production to some of the most well known artists in hip hop today and also to some of the lesser. He may not be a household name like some of his contemporaries but the respect he commands from those in the know is such that an album as expansive and diverse as White Van Music can flow so coherently while featuring MCs as varied as it does. What makes White Van Music so enjoyable and so unique is that it pitches underground heroes like MF Doom alongside tried and tested chart-topping heavyweights like Busta Rhymes. Having done tracks for G-Unit's debut Beg For Mercy he is accustomed to laying down dark atmospherics for a more hardcore style so to have that flow alongside rappers like De La Soul's Posdnous is something rarely heard.

But this isn't just your regular who's who of hip hop comp. He may dazzle us with the guest list but when Jake One pairs people up on the same track it becomes something quite special. The earliest of these collaborations is The Truth, featuring the gritty delivery of Freeway which is contrasted perfectly by the free flow of Brother Ali. Both rappers represent different ends of the spectrum but their partnership is inspired. More suited is the duo of Posdnous and Atmosphere's Slug. As they weave in and out over the expertly crafted shuffle/clap beat their similarities become obvious. This can also be said for White Van which features the slow, intense styles of Alchemist, Evidence and a brief appearance by Prodigy. This audio curation is only possible if the brains behind it has a deep understanding of the artists he is working with and Jake One certainly does.

There is no overriding style that ties every song together here and on paper it shouldn't really be this good. An album as stylistically diverse as this isn't going to please everyone all the time and does feature some rappers that don't necessarily float my boat. Keak da Sneak provides a laborious cut on Soil Raps and Little Brother's moment on Bless The Child is less than inspiring with the beat severely outstaying its welcome. However these moments of bordom are few and far between, the rest is pretty solid. Besides the aforementioned collaborations the other highlights are I'm Coming, the album opener featuring Nottz and Black Milk, an artist who, for me, is going from strength to strength, the menacing Dead Wrong featuring Young Buck and both the MF Doom cuts. Trap Door and Get 'Er Done really show this producers versatility and his nack for matching the right beat to the artist. Doom's hulking delivery skulks over a suitably shuffling beat that might plod along as you'd expect but the glimmers of jazz high-hat rhythm provide the dense warmth that is needed to support the weight of the voice. So instead of setting your iPod to shuffle you may as well go see that whore with the necessary cash you need to buy this album and the job's done.

#Music
#HHG

20th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Wilderness

(k)no(w)here

Jagjaguwar

It was just before the music stopped on my first listen through ‘(k)no(w)here’ that I thought the first track was going on a bit. Then I read the blurb.

“Conceived as one musical piece... The eight identifiable parts of ‘(k)no(w)here’ are not readily separated from each other, such is the flow from and into each part.”

Ah ha! Clever. Very good. Well done. Carry on.

So, hats off to the 4 Baltimore Art Rockers for doing that. It works really well. The ebb and flow of the album and the blending of tunes into one long track definitely helps build up the tension here. Someone wiser than me described their skill as ‘delaying gratification’ – and that sums it up nicely. Many of the songs here seem, Escher-like, to build and build. The full force is held back, before they let fly at just the right moment.

It’s a big expansive sound for a 4 piece. It’s nervous, it’s brooding and urgent. The angry asthmatic rasp of James Johnson – who is occasionally backed up by guitarist Colin McCann (aka Lord Dog Bird) – creates an engaging contrast with the music.

These dudes are quite serious about their output being artistic and honest. A fact which no doubt contributes to them being held in such high esteem from their label bosses at Jagjaguawar and beyond. Their output certainly isn’t pandering to any fad or fashion. While in places it reminds me a bit of Captain Beefheart in places, overall it feels original and beyond comparison (though do take into account my limited knowledge of art rock).

All up, I think this album is excellent. It’s a real grower. Note, though, that some of the magic is lost if you put it on shuffle.

#Music
#Locochimpo

18th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Devil's Whore

(creator: Peter Flannery)

Channel 4

Four-part drama set during the English civil war, with Andrea Riseborough playing Angelica Fanshawe, a proto-feminist courtier who finds herself at the heart of Cromwell's revolution. 

Channel 4's historical dramas sometimes suffer from budget problems which make it look like there just weren't that many people around in ye great hiftorical momentes of olde Englande. Here, they just about get away with it, thanks largely to a great cast cast: as well as the mighty Dominic "McNulty" West as Oliver Cromwell, they've also got one of TV's all-time best swearers, Peter "come the fuck in or fuck the fuck off" Capaldi (although he's a lot meeker as King Charles than he was in The Thick Of It), John Simm (ever-reliable, and engaging here as a freestyling blade-for-hire), and Michael Fassbender, (Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen's Hunger).

Weirdly it was shot in South Africa - it's a lot cheaper to make it look like 17th century England than 21st century England now is apparently. Fanshawe's journey from naive noblewoman to roving highwaylady is highly entertaining, though it's hard to know how fast and loose they've played with the history (the English Civil War wasn't on the curriculum at Chimpschool) - was Cromwell such a fun guy? Or is that just the McNulty charm seeping through Dominic West's grin? Would she really have been allowed to chat back to the King in the way that she does? 

Historical questions aside, it's an engaging romp, with a good mix of swashbuckling, drama and moustache-twirling that looks like it'll be worth following for all four episodes.

#TV
#chimp71

13th Nov 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Undeclared

(creator Judd Apatow)

Undeclared follows the lives of a group of freshman students at a fictional US University. While not exactly a sequel to the excellent Freaks & Geeks, this comedy drama is a something of a logical follow up - featuring some of the same actors, in similar roles, with the high school setting upgraded to a freshman University dorm. The most notable difference is the contemporary setting, as opposed to the retro 70's of Freaks & Geeks.

Judd Apatow moves up from the exec producer role he took on Freaks & Geeks into the fully-fledged Series Creator seat here, and the series he created turned out to be something of a training ground for many of his regulars - with the young Seth Rogan serving as a writer and story editor on much of the show and Jason Segel taking a major role. A pink-eye free Jay Baruchel puts in sympathetic performance as Steven, tentatively finding his way through college, as well as dealing with a parental break-up - while the cameos come thick and fast from the likes of Adam Sandler (as an asshole version of himself), Will Ferrell (as a temperamental essay forger) and even Ben Stiller. Loudon Wainwright also puts in a recurring performance as Steven's father.

College rights-of-passage could be considered dangerous ground and I would imagine it's the kind of thing BBC3 could fuck-up beyond all recognition. Storylines here cover many of the standard University plots, but that also provides the main reason for the show's success. You'll be able to relate to the underage drinking, the friend-making process, the sexually successful roommate, the cool kids/geeky kids divide and the driving around town with the one guy with a car in search of a party you're not really invited to. As this show finds its feet there is a natural feel to much of the dialogue and the humor is well-timed, comical, contemporary and believable, much like The Office or Spaced, and effortless performances from many of the lead roles really fill out the characters, making for an eminently watchable show.

Unfortunately, like its predecessor, this one bit the dust after the fickle US market failed to recognise its brilliance...

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#CSF

7th Nov 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid

NYC

Domino

For their fourth collaborative album in 3 years, Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid turn to Reid's home town for inspiration. Recorded at the famous Manhattan studio Avatar, that has seen artists such as Miles Davis, Steve Reich and The Roots pass through its hallowed doorway, this album draws from the sounds and feel of New York City. With past recordings being challenging to the extreme, NYC seems to incorporate all the ground that these two artists have covered in the past and has managed to bring it all into line for what must be their best and most certainly their most accessible album to date.

All six songs rely on the contrast of simplicity and complexity with each structure being drastically stripped down compositions that employ an incredibly limited musical pallet. Having said that, each song glistens with intricate complexities that are packed into their formless shell with seeming abandon. Hebden is credited with providing simply "electronics" which heavily understates his contribution. Each track is laced with his trademark texture consisting of swirling atmospherics, mumbling white noise and clipped electric guitar. But of course at the centre of all this is Reid's drumming. Like a flock of swallows flying in unison, Reid's drumming holds all the elements together as it darts from one place to the next. It is the basis of each composition and yet drifts along with utter freedom. It can provide backing texture to Hebden's twiddling and samples or it can rise to centre stage with awesome strength and confidence.

The most challenging moment is chosen to lead the album, with Lyman Place kicking things off with an incredibly tense seven minute opener. It's like being in a lift in the tallest building in the world and watching the floor-count rise higher and higher with ever increasing speeds. If you can get past this, the record really starts with 1st & 1st. Like the credit crunch has bitten into the supply of musical notes, this song is built around a 4 or 5 note funk hook that is repeated in all its forms as Reid's drums take on almost tribal rhythm. 25th Street really captures the chaos of Manhattan's streets as frantic drumming churns inside out along with a multitude of fractured samples, including what sounds like the last sips of a McDonalds coke through a straw. Hebden's triumphant EP released earlier this year is brought to mind as this chaos effortlessly slips into a regular 4/4 beat towards the end, but he miraculously manages to restrain himself form this form and structure and lets the beat see out the rest of the song but continue no further. Arrival and Between B&C adopt a more abstract approach and choose a blanket-type structure that covers the whole song in feather-light cymbals and astral synths. But, when mid-way through Between B&C the drum roll ceases and a deep piano melody drops in, the result is electrifying.

Departure closes the album with a ground-mat of delicate, looping glockenspiel that recalls Hebden's early work as Four Tet. It's a beautiful way to finish and it simply gleams with jewell-like clarity and sensitivity. Reid really embeds his drumming deep into the distance and it's from this all encompassing bed of rhythm that Hebden's restrained percussion sparkles. It's a gentle way to close this accomplished recording and really completes the journey through this city, a journey that has been terrifying, mesmerising, hypnotic, exciting and ultimately blissful. Avatar's musical ghosts haunt every beat of this record as it brings into harmony the free-form creativity of MIles Davis, the avant-guard flare of Steve Reich and the The Roots' sense of rhythm. It oozes tradition and yet is acutely contemporary and is the glorious sum of many years of ceaseless creative pursuit by both artists and something not to be missed.

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#BC

6th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Fucked Up

The Chemistry Of Common Life

Matador

The word "fuck" has become more acceptable throughout the "noughties", leading to bands casually incorporating this once offensive descriptive word. Not too far in the distant past I recall a dreadful funk metal band having to drop the fuck from their name to be replaced with funk; it was fortunate that their songs featured a sprinkling of slap bass. We currently have a batch of bands that incorporate fuck but this does not necessarily define the band to fit a obvious category of music, for example Fuck Buttons and Holy Fuck. Fucked Up in contrast are far more blatant with their intent: they are what it states on the tin - or in this instance on the album cover.

Having spent my teenage years influenced by then present and past performers of hardcore, both Minor Threat and Guerrilla Biscuits are two bands that I still listen to and have great affection for. It has on occasion briefly crossed my mind if any bands had emerged and managed to give this genre a kiss of life - unfortunately Fucked Up fall flat on their angry faces.

Hailing from Toronto, Fucked Up have been banging out their high brow hardcore since 2002, releasing numerous singles and producing energetic memorable live performances. Kicking off their second full length album with a pointless eighties thrash album tactic of beginning a song with a flute or a gentle tinkle of piano keys which is predictably kicked aside with the subtly of a hammer. As an indication of how unadventurous and dull The Chemistry Of Common Life is, the first few seconds are the highlight.

It is annoying to hear a supposedly aggressive band sound so boring. The guitars sound weak and lack any energy or ferocity, vocalist Pink Eyes (all the band have wacky names) is very reminiscent of Nick Sakes from the Dazzling Killmen which is a comparison to a more complex and far superior band.

Fucked Up did make me annoyed but that was due to having to listen to such offensively inoffensive music.

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#R.Hammerstein

22nd Oct 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Desalvo

Mood Poisoner

Rock Action

Desalvo's lead 'singer' P6 wears a Kevlar vest on stage, the cover to their debut album pictures two nuns with ball gags in their mouths and the album is brought to a close with a song called Cock Swastika. All of the above should tell you that this isn't a band that tried out for X Factor this year. Desalvo hail from Glasgow and spew out the most abrasive, feral sound that ranges from the seminal noise of metalcore artists Converge to the brutal compositions of concept-metallers like Mastadon.

Mood Poisoner is a full throttle rape of your ears and never lets up for its short and yet ample 35 minute duration. With driving percussion and guitar chords that drill, unopposed into the sanctuary of your head, Desalvo's debut is unrelenting - and yet out of this overwhelming blast comes a feeling of boredom. Yes it's uncompromising, but its message and overall power is compromised by the lack of variety in its delivery. P6's vocals are like a band saw stuck in the 'on' position and with his high pitch scream I can't help being reminded of the Young Ones.

I know the band will probably come and kill me in my sleep for saying this but I'll take my chances.

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#BC

21st Oct 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Stills

Oceans Will Rise

Arts & Crafts

Oceans Will Rise sees Montreal rockers The Stills return with a third album, and a new home - on Broken Social Scene's Toronto-based Arts & Crafts label.

Bombastic opener Don't Look Down seems like a radio-friendly introduction for what to expect from this album, as it's gently pounding drums and keyboard chug things along - with a catchy chorus and a well-oiled guitar solo. Snow In California continues the radio-freindly sounds, and I feel I've been misled.

The record label and album art might portray them as another bunch of hard rocking Canadians, but there's little here to recommend to the Black Mountain-loving, Kokanee drinking plainsman. Like Pablo Honey-era Radiohead, these guys have always sounded like they have the potential to sell out hit the big time, and that sentiment is only re-inforced here. Through tracks like the anthemic Eastern Europe or Dinosaurs the band seem to have one eye on the stadium rock prize, with a slickly produced and ambitious record. There's a place for all that of course, just not my place.

Oceans Will Rise rolls with the punches here and there and while there's certainly some beef to the sound here and there (Roobius), it's just so polished that it offers little new or engaging. While the lyrics and meaning of the album might be laced with doom and gloom - it all gets lost in the eminently catchy tracks and glossy production.

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#CSF

20th Oct 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy With Harem Scarem and Alex Neilson

Is It The Sea?

Domino

‘They’re really great live…’ people often insist, when I appear unconvinced by their particular musical offering. It is true that a live recording often reveals the real character of a band; there is an immediacy which can lift the music above an album template. There is always the risk, though, that a live performance can expose the over-produced limitations of a band’s music.
No one could ever accuse Bonnie Prince Billy of being ‘over produced’ and Is It The Sea? confirms his natural habitat as the stage rather than the studio. This is a brilliant record which bears witness to one night on BPB’s 2006 tour of Scotland and Ireland. He is joined by Edinburgh’s Harem Scarem on close harmonies, fiddle, flute, banjo and accordion and Glasgow’s Alex Nielson on drums and percussion. Much of the vitality of this recording comes from the contribution which these collaborators have to make. The highland lilt of their fiddle, accordion and flute accompaniments give BPB’s primal tales of love and loss, a real sense of depth. Their harmonies are always pure and direct; there is no great elaboration, only a mainlining of the musical heritage that BPB's revised American folk stems from.

Particular high points include Birch Ballad, a mesmeric Is It The Sea and an increasingly demented version of Cursed Sleep. In the act of performance many of the songs have been turned and twisted from immediately recognizable favourites.

Billie’s music has always carried a kind of medieval foreboding which is dramatically amplified here. In the case of Molly Bawn, the song’s minor key and archaic language are given an extra twist of Celtic wailing. The result is that the balladic tradition from which this song springs, appears alive and well in the hands of Bonnie Prince Billie.

There is a real authenticity to these recordings and a genuine fervour in the audience’s response. We are as far removed from the boot-tapping folksiness of American country as is possible. Instead the backdrop to these performances is that of a European heritage, an aural culture where tales were passed from generation to generation by firelight. Bonnie Prince Billie has appeared to us in many different guises but on Is it the Sea? he is at his most convincing as a kind of musical emigrant brought back to his roots.

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#LG

19th Oct 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

TV On The Radio

Dear Science

4AD

Sweeping and ambitious in scope, this is an eclectic record with so many levels it will take literally weeks to properly decode. Near impossible to predict, the record twists and turns, changing key, pitch and tempo - but never seems disengaging.

Halfway Home starts the album with pounding drums, hand-claps and a be-bop harmony building up the pace and pressure quickly and steadily. The track is a perfect gateway into the album - to the point that that it momentarily seems to have escalated things prematurely to a momentum that cannot be maintained. Just when it can't build anymore, a last minute tempo shift takes things up another notch - leaving you floating on the full steam of this relentless album. Like a crash course in TVOTR you are now schooled and ready to proceed.

Described as having a 'pop edge', that edge could at its most accessible be described as being as equally inspired by the likes of N.E.R.D. or Outkast as by the more rock roots of T.V.O.T.R.'s previous records. The rapped vocals of Dancing Choose stray dangerously close to cringeworthy, holding strong on just the right side of Blondie or the Edge's embarrassing efforts for long enough to balanced out by the delicate chorus - just one of dozens of unpredictable changes in the electric song-writing of the album.

The sound may be wide, but never seems scattergun. It's radio friendly but still relatively weird - and as a band TV On The Radio seem thoroughly cohesive and dedicated to the task at hand. Dave Sitek's production is immaculate, polishing and smoothing the uncountable elements into a densely packed whole - from the Bob Marley-esque bass-line of Golden Age to the twisted ballad Family Tree, which slows the pace a little, pitched perfectly at the old "end of side one / start of side two" point on the record. Close in style to 4AD's own This Mortal Coil, the track layers slow vocals over delicate string arrangements, building beautifully in momentum to end with trip-hop drums.

Red Dress and Love Dog provide side two highlights, and by the time you make it through to the electric frenzy of DLZ, or the anthemic drums and brass-band of Lover's Day it's all become something of a rousing finale, bookending the record by maintaining the momentum of the opening track so totally, that there's an almost euphoric atmosphere as the last note passes. There's a substantial range of bonus track and limited-edition type versions of the album, but after the logical conclusion of Lover's Day I can't imagine they'll do much to improve the shape of this perfectly paced and superbly crafted album.

TV On The Radio set the bar pretty high with Return To Cookie Mountain, but I'm happy to report that their 2006 album now seems like The Bends next to Dear Science's OK Computer. Both great records for sure, but this seems like an evolutionary leap forward and a shoring up of the band's sound and ambition. A certain contender for 2008's best-of lists and a consistently rewarding listen.

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#CSF

26th Sep 2008 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Mogwai

The Hawk Is Howling

Wall Of Sound

Scottish post-rockers Mogwai are back, with The Hawk Is Howling - their sixth studio album. Wall Of Sound are the label this time, with Matador releasing the record in the US.

The obtusely named I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead starts with a delicate piano, before building slowly as bass, guitar and drums layer on top of each other, steadily heightening the intense atmosphere. There are no vocals or lyrics of course, and as Jim Morrison didn't play guitar it's hard to know what he's saying. In fact, without lyrics the song titles are all we do have to decode this album and work out what Mogwai are trying to say. Thankfully "The Sun Smells Too Loud", "I Love You, I'm Going To Blow Up Your School" and "Thank You Space Expert" spell it out in black and white.

While titles like these might offer little in the way of explanation - seeming more like very personal thoughts and ideas - they do add a certain intensity and suggestion to the music, however misleading they may in fact be. Eschewing some of the more left-field experiments of previous records, the album plays a fairly straight bat - with most songs concentrating on a slow-burning intensity that leads to eventually reward, rather than the more pummeling up/down sound of some of their post-rock contemporaries. Where Explosions In The Sky virtually never fail to deliver an unmitigated rock-out, some of these songs do tend to boil a bit too long - failing to bubble over and ending instead in anti-climax by going for a more constant atmospheric approach, raher than hugely distinctive peaks and troughs. As a result, much of the album can slip by unnoticed - all thorurughly fine, but just slightly dis-engaging.

Mogwai have always seemed to have a bullet-proof mystique to them, from their cult name, through obscure concerts on Scottish islands, to the superior artwork of this and other records - dismissing potential commercial projects to work on the likes of the Zidane movie. The Hawk Is Howling does nothing to damage that reputation, instead just becoming another piece of a diverse cannon of work, much of which doesn't quite encapsulate the band as it seems like it should.

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18th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Kings Of Leon

Only By The Night

Sony

With relatively little fanfare, Tennessee's London's favourite sons the Kings of Leon are back with Only By The Night - their fourth long player in 5 years, and a mere 18 months since the barn-storming Because Of The Times. I'm not sure why that merits a mention, but in a world where The Verve just ambled out number four it seems prolific - particularly when The Kings seem to have spend the last 18 months playing Brixton or Hammersmith every other week. However, next to The Doors (6 in 5 years), Led Zeppelin (8 for 10) or even The Beatles (13 for 7) that shouldn't really be something to write home about.

Moody opener Closer starts the album, before grungey lead 'free download' Crawl does little more than offer an introduction to the band's new fuzz-drenched sound. In contrast, actual single Sex On Fire provides the most obvious link to the band's previous successful formula, as Caleb Followill wails over great drums and moody guitars about being seemingly double-crossed by another Black Hearted Woman. As usual, it's a formula that works - producing perhaps the most succesful song on the album.

Although the band are claiming to be 'ready to tackle their southern roots again', this album is even more of a departure from their original sound - a transition mirrored perfectly with their beards getting shorter and jeans getting tighter. The lyrics and story-telling here seem more and more detached from the band's image - and stories of life on the wrong side of the tracks, ramblin' in the desert and calling 'shotgun' with some hot fresher just don't reconcile with the dude I've been seeing in the gossip columns, hanging out in VIP London hotspots with famous rock-star daughters.

17 starts off like it's their contribution to a Now Christmas! album, as Caleb croons "She's only 17...!" , while the cowbell heavy I Want You, or dragged out soft-rock anthem of Cold Desert seem to match the Hill Valley sentiment of "I'm gonna be somebody!" - with added 80's rock producton that would have graced a Bon Jovi ballad. Manhatten echoes the sentiment with "Gonna show this town!" and you start to feel like there's a confidence crisis going on somewhere. Surely they are somebody by now? Or maybe this is all about the band's still relative lack of success stateside - and NME hasn't made it to Tennessee yet.

With these guys, rather than having a new album's worth of great material it seems like perhaps a shift of branding might be the cause of the quick turnaround - as the band try and play the credibility card and crack the elusive US market, where they still only sell around 200,000 copies per album. The result is unfortunately a strange mix of too much effort and not trying hard enough.

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#CSF

12th Sep 2008 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Somers Town

(dir. Shane Meadows)

Optimum

Young runaway Tomo leaves Nottingham and gets the train to London's King's Cross, before getting mugged and losing all his posessions. He falls in with Polish immigrant Marek, who has moved to England with his father - a builder at the new St. Pancras station who passes the evenings drinking with his mates. The two boys develop a friendship with french waitress Maris - all the time growing closer themselves.

Shane Meadows black and white follow-up to his superb Dead Man's Shoes and This Is England takes a simple premise and fleshes it out with outstanding performances and a lightness of touch. The film realistically portrays the birth of a friendship and the genuines camaradarie between two boys from different circumstances and the pains of growing up - and the acting is superb, particularly from Thomas Turgoose, who displays a baffling assuredness and confidence for a fifteen year-old.

Some controversy surrounds the film's production - as it was revelaed that it was produced by advertising agency Mother, on behalf of it's client, Eurostar. While the sponsors input is not overt in the Casino Royale sense ("Is that a Rolex? No, Omega"), it is present and it's most substantial effect is possibly the restriction of the film entering the kind of difficult territory that Dean Man's Shoes or This is England delved into. Without any real antagonism, the film doesn't move forward very far and settles instead for being a funny and charming portal of a new friendship, rather than explore the notions of immigration, homelssness and exploitation that it merely touches on.

Even though Tomo can't possibly have a passport the boys don't bunk the train, but manage to take a trip to Paris (only two hours away!) in search of their first love. This scene perhaps sums up the film's best aspects, with the earlier black & white photography serving as a counterpoint to this eventual Super 8 nostalgia that looks fondly upon coming of age. At 75 minutes this serves as more of an EP that a full-length, but it provides enough evidence that Meadows has a mature confidence behind the camera that shows yet more promise of great things to come.

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8th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

XX Teens

Welcome To Goon Island

Mute

Add one more X to this band and you've got a world of Google strife, but without it you've got a five piece London band who spew out endlessly pleasing, driving art-rock (what the fuck does art-rock even mean?) very much in the vein of bands like The Fall. Formerly known as Xerox Teens, this band have recently signed to Mute for their debut - Welcome To Goon Island. It's pretty much a DIY record which sweeps from genre to genre throughout but always manages to maintain the frantic pace. Front man Rich Cash yelps and screams like a twisted David Byrne but can slow it down to a deep spoken word delivery reminiscent of Damon Albarn. Rolling basslines lay down the cover fire as raging drums and driving guitars leap forward dragging with them all sorts of things that make a musical noise. The result is a impenetrable broth of sound that treads fearlessly on the right side of anarchy and the wrong side of politeness.

An idyllic strumming harp heralds the coming of this debut, then in contrast to its gentle emergence comes the erratic beat and frenzied vocals for opener The Way We Were. This pace and enthusiasm is something you get used to on this record as song after song continues the full throttle drive of this group. B-54 employs the spoken word over 4/4 beats that are quickly layered by the rhythm guitar and crashing cymbals

The ultimate success of this debut is its wide sphere of influence and inability to fall neatly into classification. It squeals with raw punk sensibility but will lace the potion with structured and melodic horns like on Ba (Ba-Ba-Ba). Every composition threatens to come apart at the seams but holds tight to structural elements with driving rhythm and rising melody repeatedly acting as pillars around which the unruly kids play. It has the open-mindedness of a group at the start of their career as guitar is often traded in for saxophone or trumpet. Lead single Darlin' illustrates this perfectly as the brass fanfare announces. Then as the crashing din of every drum in the room storm the stage Cash's muffled and distorted vocals dart fleetingly in and out of audible range. To make things stranger and even more textured the relentless beat is curiously joined by delightfully melodic and thoroughly out of place Caribbean steel drums. With military percussion bringing things to a close Cash confuses us even more with the repeated lyric "the chinese are comin," just as the closing bars are dominated by an electrifying african bongo drum solo.

All these conflicting elements in less capable hands could be a disaster but under the guidance of this band it all works. The only thing that does seem a bit shoe-horned is Brian Haw's monologue that finishes the record. The song itself For Brian Haw is the bands final sonic attack but the lyrics rarely stray further from the title and as Haw's voice fades out with the sound of Parliament Square traffic it does seem like a political statement tacked on to the end of the record. XX Teens may be a part of a slightly over subscribed genre and though they wear their influences proudly if not obviously on their sleeves it doesn't detract from this impressive debut. They fail to live up to the creativeness of many of the bands they reference but their enthusiasm and energy bode well for the future.

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#BC

3rd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Stereolab

Chemical Chords

4AD

Stereolab return with Chemical Chords - their ninth studio album, which is being billed as something of a comeback. While technically this is the band's first studio album since 2004's Margerine Eclipse, it's not like there's been nothing but silence. 2005 brought the EP collection Oscillons from the Anti-Sun, while 2006 brought 6 new singles (collated on Fab Four Suture) and the 'Greatest Hits' collection Serene Velocity. With the winding down of Too Pure, this album is brought to your senses by 4AD, but Stereolab's own label Duophonic is still calling the shots.

In the seventeen or so years that the band have been going, their once unique style has been much appropriated - by other bands, as well as dozens of Stereolab-esque purveyors of music-for-mobile-phone-adverts. With the odd exception, as time has passed the band themseleves have become less abrasive - less post-rock, more yacht rock - and that trend contunes here.

Stangely, the upbeat Neon Beanbag is not dissimilar to Yo La Tengo's bean bag infused track - Beanbag Chair. They must have got that memo. While there are darker moments here and there - such as the atmospheric title track - it's Laetitia Sadier's upbeat vocals that provide the defining constant here, floating in and out around through the light pop of Valley Hi!, the xylophones of Silver Sands and the piano of Daisy Click Clack. There are touches of Motown here and there and the electronics have a more organic, less organic sound than on some efforts - but to be honest, having pretty much pioneered this style, it's hard to criticise Tim Gane and his merry band of popsters.

The delay may have been (somewhat) significant but the results are the same. Another album of pleasing, if not challenging electronic nicety.

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29th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Damon and Naomi

Damon and Naomi With Ghost

Sub Pop

THEN: Following them demise of Galaxie 500, this was the fourth album from Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang - and to beef things up a bit they enlisted the help of psychedelic Japanese band Ghost, who added an even more dense layer of atmospherics to the album's sound.

NOW: Still the definitive Damon & Naomi record, providing everything you need to know about these guys. Cerebral, medative and moving - put this on and set your afternoon to 'snooze'. Beautiful. 

SUB POP SAYS: “We never thought we would perform because there’s no rhythm section, and us being a former rhythm section, we thought there’s nothing worse than a band without a rhythm section.”

KILLER TRACK: Judah & The Maccabees

NEXT: 2001 - The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

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14th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Sunny Day Real Estate

Diary

Sub Pop

THEN: 1994 and Sub Pop was at the top of its game. Others such as Touch and Go, Blast First, Amphetamine Reptile, Cargo were all dishing out quality fayre, but it was the Seattle label that remained the go-to choice for hard-rocking anger and good times. So Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary caught a lot of people off-guard. Mostly it was singer Jeremy Enigk's voice, this guy sounded like he could actually sing - and it sounded like he was singing about intensly personal themes too, hence 'Diary' I suppose, this couldn't be right from the label who gave us Mudhoney, the band who sang about being drunk for 24 hours. Add to that the slightly creepy and childlike artwork of the record and it felt like Diary was a step in a new direction. Luckily, whilst making us think, it also rocked. Hard.

NOW: Little surprise that Dave Grohl called up rhythm section Nate Mendel (bass) and William Goldsmith (drums) when putting together his new project Foo Fighters in 1995, the drumming especially is awesome across the whole album. Take opener Seven for example: nearly five minutes of constant rolls and fills across a track that was a permanent fixture on many a mix-tape made around that period (to both guys and girls - evidence of the rocking and sensitive all-roundess of the group).

I hadn't listened to it for a while and seemed to remember the intensity level dropping off after Seven and In Circles, but no, the quality remains consistently high across all eleven songs. From the blistering Rounds and Shadows, surreal Grendel and Pheurton Skeurto and the epic 47 and 48. It's fair to argue that Diary was amongst the first Emo records, but don't confuse it with the cynical bullshit of today, there is far more intelligence to Diary than simply plastering on a bit of eyeliner. A classic of classics.

SUP POP SAYS: “Sunny Day’s key members have seemingly engaged in just about every rock cliché imaginable.”

KILLER TRACK: Seven

NEXT: 1995 - Pond - Practice Of Joy Before Death

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#chimpovich

12th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

L7

Smell The Magic

Sub Pop

THEN: Sub Pop of 1990 was a very male led and largely Seattle based affair. That L7 were made up of four girls from Los Angeles is a good marker of the uncompromising nature of this band and their debut album Smell the Magic. The quartet who were definitely more Riot Grrrl than Girl Power, earned notoriety on these shores by dropping their trousers live on The Word or going one step further at the Reading Festival by throwing a used tampon into the crowd, along with the challenge "Eat my dead uterus!"

NOW: Sound charming don't they? But such 'fuck-you' antics were very much part of the appeal of the music coming out of Sub Pop at the time. Like a reincarnation of the Punk explosion that inspired many groups in the scene, it wasn't necessarily the music that mattered most - some distorted barchords and single fingered solos would work just fine - as long as it all came with plenty of anger and attitude. Released in a year when the eyes of the alternative world were all fixed on Sub Pop, Smell The Magic can make legitimate claim to being the archetypal 'Grunge' record, with album opener Shove as anthemic as any Touch Me I'm Sick or Teen Spirit. "My neighbours say I jam too loud. SHOVE! America thinks I should be proud. HUH!"

SUB POP SAYS: “L7 are a primal rock machine.”

KILLER TRACKS: Shove. Fast And Frightening

NEXT: 1991 - Mudhoney - Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

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#chimpovich

11th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Ponytail

Ice Cream Spiritual

We Are Free

Ponytail are are four-piece band from Baltimore featuring two guitarists, a drummer and the individual vocal stylings of singer Molly Siegel (Yep, Harris Pilton scores a review for another band with no bass player. Must be something about 2008, because that's the third band this year that eschews the services of the lower frequencies). So, on the one hand here is a band which doesn't rumble the floor (bad), but on the other hand, they are also a band which still sound great when they throw the rule book out of the window (good).

There's nothing as straightforward as a song here, well not the sort of song you could sing the words along to, nor the sort that is served up in a verse/chorus framework, but nevertheless the sound Ponytail deliver is still very catchy, joyful and full of poppy hooks and melodies. Everything is pretty frantic - drummer Jeremy Hyman serves up solid garage rock rhythms at a furious pace while the twin guitars of Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong riff, battle, noodle, wig out and mash together in an unremitting orgy of late-60's inspired jamming. Meanwhile in the few remaining upper-mid frequency gaps, Molly Siegel vocalises her way through the entire record like a day-glo toy on happy juice. Screeching, yelling, making mouth noises and sometimes flirting with a melody, Siegel manages to swerve the band's sound away from The Allman Brothers (acknowledged in one track title) and into a land of dementedly happy ultra-neon flowers and sunshine, all racing by at a breakneck speed making your head spin from an overdose of colour saturation.

It's noisy, and it's fun, so go check it out. But it is full on from the word go and pretty much relentless. Most of the time the band sound like they've just hit the final minute of an already epic number and are pulling all their freak-out chops for the big final chord - except Ponytail start their songs that way then carry on from there. Wacky, but in a good way.

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8th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet