Chimpomatic

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

Scout Niblett

This Fool Can Die Now

Since a 2001 7 inch split with Songs: Ohia, Nottingham's Emma Louise Niblett has been quietly releasing records on Canada's influential Secretely Canadian, as well as the great UK label Too Pure. With her forth album, This Fool Can Die Now, she has enlisted the help of a range of colaborators - most notably Bonnie Prince Billy, who provides vocals on single Kiss and three others.

Will Oldham's fingerprints are all over this record, in more ways than voice alone and with Steve Albini handling production duties the ingredients are here for a dark and dirty mix of gothic-death-country-rock. The powerful vocals and downbeat atmosphere makes for an engaging listen, with Kiss and Nevada dredging up an chilling majesty.

While songs likes Moon Lake and the Van Morrison cover Comfort You make the most of Niblett's powerful voice and the sparse-but-loud production technique, things do get a little tired towards the end - with Yummy and single Dinosaur Egg seeming like over-trodden territory.

It can feel like if Niblett could just stay away from Oldham and Albini bad influence, meet a nice guy and settle down things might brighten up considerably. Having said that, as 2005's return of The Wedding Present proved, a bit of personal strife can be exactly what keeps the creative juices flowing.

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6th Nov 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Electrelane

No Shouts, No Calls

Too Pure

When I ask people if they like Electrelane and their answer is not "hell yea, those girls rule," they get greeted with a look of utter confusion like they've just replied in a language that I am not familiar with. Surely there is only 2 possible ways to answer this question and that is the obvious "yes" or " I'm sorry but I've been in a coma for the last 10 years and haven't heard this band to which you refer." In my humble opinion to hear this band is to love them. I first came into contact with Electrelane via their second album and debut for Too Pure, The Power Out (I was in a coma when they released their first record Rock It To The Moon in 2001.) Their expansion of the instrumental rock jams of before to include the most beautiful vocals was a wise move and made this record one of the best albums of the last 5 years. Strangely though, it's follow up seemed to leave this behind slightly and 2005's Axes was an admirable extension to their sound, offering up a much more challenging listening experience - but it didn't capitalise on the successes of The Power Out as much as I had hoped.

Luckily, Electrelane's fourth release No Shouts, No Calls ties up unfinished business perfectly and seems a much more logical follow up to The Power Out than Axes did. It's exactly what I wanted from this band and is a damn near perfect album. From the first note of opener The Greater Times your heart will let out a sigh of relief as if it had been holding its breath since the last release. "I've been waiting for you," it claims, well so have we. The majority of the songs here follow a similar formula. They take the form of the most perfect day. They start off gently with the sweetest melody then slowly and only when you're completely ready do they rise and pick up speed to an invigorating gallop. They either wind down as gently as they begun or collapse in a heap of exhausted joy. They contain long hours of sunshine and any clouds that may occur are welcome. In Berlin is a perfect example of this winning formula. The blissful vocals ease us in over the most delicate of piano melodies. The rhythm of the drums carries us higher to be joined gradually by the string section which soars to majestic heights. It's simply beautiful and shows this bands versatility and ability to move the listener with a punch and a whisper.

The punch comes in the form of Between The Wolf And The Dog. This is one of the few times when this gradual build up technique is not employed and it's a wake up call to any lazy ears. The drums are relentless and pounding and the guitars even more so. It's also one of the few nearly instrumental tracks recalling their earlier work. The instrumental muscle is diffused nicely by some sweet oo's and ah's in the middle, but all in all this song serves to get your attention. The other song that strays from the formula is Cut And Run. This is a stripped down ukulele love ditty and is as light as The Wolf And The Dog is heavy. It's airy and joyous and provides light relief from the emotion that went before.

No Shouts, No Calls is Electrelane's most accessible album to date but is also their most joyous. It is packed full of blissful lyrics of devotion and unfailing love and a lot of the dark experimentation of earlier works have turned into more fully realised entities making the album as a whole way more consistent than past efforts. The Power Out will always be dear to me as it was my savored moment of discovery of this band but this release solidifies them as one of the most treasured bands of recent times.

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25th Mar 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet