Chimpomatic

The Postal Service

Give Up

Sub Pop

I came across this side project from Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello after reading Sub Pop's FAQ entitled " I AM MAKING A SHORT FILM FOR COLLEGE THAT IS GOING TO A SMALL FESTIVAL. I ONLY HAVE A SHOESTRING BUDGET, CAN I USE THE ENTIRE SUB POP CATALOG FOR FREE IN MY FILM? OR MAYBE JUST A FEW SONGS BY NIRVANA AND THE SHINS? PLEASE, I PROMISE I WILL THANK YOU?", to which they replied "...to acquire a license for a Sub Pop artist, excluding The Postal Service, The Shins, or Nirvana, which you aren’t going to get..."

Having previously heard whispers about both Nirvana and The Shins, but having never, ever even heard of The Postal Service I found myself instantly intrigued by the 'stay away and don't be so predictable' warning. I pretty soon found myself checking them out - and it caught me off guard. Having never heard Death Cab For Cutie (who by name alone I had assumed were as bad as Hootie and the Blowfish) or Dntel, it was not what I was expecting at all.... but I did quickly realise it was one of the highlights on Sub Pop's Songbook of Songs compilation from 2005. Status restored. I heard heard of them after all and even made a mental note to "check out that band on track 14"

Sounding like beats from in-a-good-mood-Aphex Twin crossed with the storytelling, upbeat style of Ben Folds, the first couple of tracks are superb. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight has all the beeps and squeaks in just the right places, and a building, restless energy. The energy continues into Such Great Heights, which is probably the stand-out track on the album. Not that I know for sure, as at this point I pretty consistently doze off. It's just one of those albums that works like a big glass of red wine - relaxing and easy to listen to in the best way possible. Literal, story telling lyrics over gentle pulsing beeps.... ahh. They also do a great cover of guilty pleasure Against All Odds, but unfortunately that's not on the album.

For the purpose of this review I have done a mild bit of further research, and  things do become a little less memorable towards the end of the album, without being bad - just less striking. There's a definite side-project vibe to the album, although hopefully it's success will help bulk things up with a follow up. Ben Gibbard's voice can get a little too sweet and sccahrine, and I think I just start tuning him out. I guess that's where the FAQ comes in, as there is no doubt these guys would sit very comformably on the soundtrack to a Zack Braff movie of your choice.

#Music
#CSF

26th Jul 2007 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Monkey: Journey to the West

Palace Theatre, Manchester

The flagship event of the Manchester International Festival is an ambitious one: An opera with music by Damon Albarn, designs by Jamie Hewlett and direction by Chen Shi-Zheng entirely in Mandarin. The two-hour work involves a cast of 45-odd martial artists, acrobats and singers - and in the case of Fei Yang, who plays Monkey, often all three simultaneously.

The event is nothing short of spectacular. The opening sequence, with animations by Hewlett, which deals with Monkey's birth (hatched from a giant egg, which was expelled from a great stone) is perfectly coordinated with the live music. Later in the scene, which switches effortlessly to the live players, Monkey with other monkeys climbs up the bamboo trees - which is reminiscent of the scenes in Crouching Tiger and Flying Daggers, except that these people are really doing it.

The story, which many chimps will be familiar with, is a Chinese classic. Monkey is obsessed with seeking immortality and magical power, and travels over continents to find a teacher. He eventually finds Subodhi, a Taoist master, who teaches him how to fly on a magical cloud that can carry him on great distances, and the art of transforming himself into anything he wants.

He then dives into the Eastern Sea and finds the Old Dragon King to whom he boasts of his prowess and requests a weapon to equal his ability. The King gives him the magical iron rod, which can change from the size of a needle to the size of a mountain, and is so powerful it holds down the ocean floor.

Monkey travels to Heaven to demand recognition of his power, and gate crashes a birthday party for the Queen Mother of Heaven. Incensed that he was not invited along with gods and sages, he wreaks havoc - eating all of the heavenly peaches, each of which takes 9000 years to ripen and bestows an extra thousand years of life. He fights with all of the gods and sages, winning every battle, and proclaims himself a Great Sage Equal to Heaven. The Queen Mother of Heaven eventually pleads with the Great Buddha to step in to get the Monkey King under control. Monkey is imprisoned under the palm of Buddha.

Five hundred years later, the Buddha sends the goddess Guan Yin to find a believer to journey to India to bring the Holy Scriptures to China. She chooses Hsuang-tsang, a handsome, devout Buddhist monk and gives him the name Tripitaka after the Scriptures themselves. Guan Yin enlists Monkey to protect Tripitaka and they embark on their journey, finding Pigsy and Sandy on their way and offering them the chance of redemption in return for their service. They encounter many adventures and obstacles on their Journey to the West.

The text, which alternates between spoken word and song is delivered entirely in Mandarin, the inclusion of subtitles which are hard to read due to the heads of the people in front, help only a little. Surtitles wouldn't have worked here either, since the theatre has a huge amount of restricted-view seating. That aside the story is easy to follow, and it is often the case in opera, even those sung in English, that you cannot hear the words.

The sound-world is exotic and far from conventional. The orchestra consists of some western instruments - 2 violins, cello, trumpet, trombones, tuba and percussion - as well as instruments from China such as the Pipa, Zhongruan and Zheng, which are all string instruments. Damon Albarn also includes a substantial amount of electronics, including an Ondes Martenot (as used extensively by Jonny Greenwood), and keyboards. Also in the pit are 9 singers who contribute to the overall sound, often wordlessly. All of the music is amplified too, which adds a further dimension to the sound. The entire opera is held together by the young conductor André de Ridder, who can be seen cueing the singers on stage - often whilst they are suspended mid-air, mid-flight and mid-fight.

The music is a mixture of Ennio Morricone (particularly Farewell to Cheyenne, from Once Upon a Time in the West), Philip Glass (circa Koyaanisqatsi), and Tibetan Buddhist chant. Albarn manages also to avoid writing music that sounds Chinese, whilst simultaneously doing exactly that. His gift for melody and riff-making are also pleasingly evident here.

Taken as a whole, then, this opera does what opera should do at its best - it entirely captivates for the duration of the show. I was completely caught up in the story, the music, the animation and the action on stage. I couldn't help thinking though, whether this opera was successful because of the huge spectacle, and if the lavish production was stripped away it would be as impressive. It is certainly as big a production as those found at the Met in New York, or the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden.

Rumour has it that the production will be transferred to London at some point. It moves to the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris from late September. I saw cinematographer Christopher Doyle after the show, perhaps he will be making a DVD of this run. Definitely worth seeing.

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#cnrth

5th Jul 2007 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Justice

†

† (or "Cross" as some places without access to the outer limits of their keyboards are calling it) is a great debut from this French dance duo.

Crunchy, bit-crushed reworkings of Franz Ferdinand, N*E*R*D and esp Simian's We Are Your Friends over the last few years have seen their name float to the top of the "new Daft Punk" pile; the tracks here suggest they've also listened to Aphex Twin's Windowlicker, taken the template and worked out something new with it. Touches of Mr Oizo too.

Excellent early single Waters Of Nazareth is included, along w D.A.N.C.E. which manages to get away w a kids' choir in full sound-of-summer bouncy hit fashion. It's pop w a lot of dirt left in, sounds fresh, works as an album, though you've got to suspect it'll sound even better busting out of the Plastic People speakers than it does on the CT kitchen set-up

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#chimp71

12th Jun 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Dizzee Rascal

Maths & English

XL

My my, hasn't he grown. The third album from the young up-start sees age and experience add eight to his still gritty rhyme style. The blueprint is still the same since his 2003 Mercury Prize inning debut Boy In Da Corner but with the gift of hindsight he is able to craft a much fuller ecord not just in content but also in style enlisting the help of US rappers Bun B and Pimp C, Shy FX and finishing off with an all UK line up of Alex Turner and Lily Allen.

This new maturity is expressed from the outset with World Outside where Dizzee illuminates the importance of seeing the bigger picture that lies beyond both his fame and the ghetto roots that he has come from. You can almost hear Earl's brother look up from his beer with the start of the next track Pussyole saying "Tell me they didn't just go oldskool." Here Dizzee raps furiously over the awesome Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock beat bringing a fresh dose of grime to this classic. Where's Da G's questions fake gangsters while Bubbles is a full-on dick swinging boast-fest about Dizzee's success. But you can't argue with a word he says here as it's all true, it's all to be applauded and it's all rhymed over the tightest production.

Tracks like Hardback (Industry) illustrate just how far this MC has come. This song sounds like Dizzee Rascal's pitch at a school careers evening explaining the pitfalls of making it big in the music industry as he dishes out advice over a deep, booming beat. It's the stark contrast of tracks like this and the ego filled, abrasive moments like first single Sirens and album closer U Can't Tell Me Nuffin' that make this record so appealing. On Suk My Dick Dizzee claims "When I was a kid I had a chip upon my shoulder but it aint getting better as I am getting older." This is so true and somewhere in this line lies the success of Maths & English. The dust certainly has settled on Dizzee's life of Grime but it is the sign of a great artist to be able to preach words of startling wisdom with honest conviction while also retaining the edge that put him at the top in the first place.

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4th Jun 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Veils

Nux Vomica

The only common thread running through The Veils from their 2004 debut The Runaway Found to this exceptional follow-up is frontman Finn Andrews himself. Having seen off various label difficulties to make their debut, Andrews emerged from the aftermath as the only member of the band and went back to New Zealand to regroup. Nux Vomica is the fruits of his labour and it's an impressive progression from the folk-tinged debut.

It's quite evident that the success of some bands can be attributed to the group effort and that sometimes it's just the work of one leading vision. Listening to Nux Vomica it's not hard to feel that Andrews' very presence in the band is not the only factor that makes him The Veils. His voice has evolved into an all commanding and utterly compelling power that drives this record and if he hadn't formed Grinderman would have Nick Cave wishing he'd made it.

From the opening Not Yet we get the simmering tension and howling ferociousness of Andrews' gothic story-telling and the ease with which this band can climb to majestic heights. And it's from this lofty position that Andrews is able to cast his eye over this world and pose his questions of faith and purpose that run through each song. The manner in which these questions are asked is thrillingly varied. The kitchen sink domesticity of Advice For Young Mothers To Be sees Andrews assume the position of the young mother-to-be and her sad story is told to the false jaunt of a Divine Comedyesque sing along comparing her current state to "this crown of thorns." This theme is expressed once more with startling contrast on Jesus For The Jugular. The churches dependance on both sides of the good and evil spectrum is highlighted with blood-curdling honesty over a gritty blues riff. It's the fiercest song on the record going for the jugular in both style and content and it's not until the beautifully serene Under The Folding Branches that you realise how much of a rest you needed. The comfort of these folded branches has Andrews daring to hope for the future claiming "Now is not too late, heaven can wait another year or so."

I could remain in these serene surroundings for ever if it weren't for the overwhelming pull of the title track that follows. This is where Andrews really lays his cards on the table daring to confront God himself, firing question after question "What say you Lord, why is the truth of us so hard to unveil?" With slowly tightening fists and rising anger the song threatens to explode all the way through and though it by no means ends this album it seems a fitting point to end this review. From here on in you coast to the finish line with more questions than when you started but thank Christ there's people like Finn Andrews who can ask them so perfectly.

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#BC

1st Jun 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Arctic Monkeys

Astoria, London

Does it actually matter what I report here? Every self respecting music buff already has a stance on the Arctic Monkeys and I'd bet my mortgage on the fact that whatever you read about them your opinion is already set. Word on the street was that touts were flogging tickets for a mere couple of hundred quid for tonight's performance at the Astoria. Temptation was to sell up my Chimpomatic soul, take the cash and run. Either I could have insisted that the lucky recipient write a review for me or I could just make it up .........after all, don't we already know all about the Monkeys from Sheffield?

I'm reminded of my teaching days when a fight in the corridor, snow in the playground or the last day of term ensured that whatever I said was destined to go in one ear and out of the other. For such moments we were advised to leave the kids with 'a golden nugget,' even if everything else was a meaningless drone they should at least remember one key point. But more of that later.  No doubt you could join the dots in the Arctic Monkey's story between the following key phrases; 'myspace', 'best selling début', 'Gordon Brown', and 'Brit Awards'. And no doubt you've made your mind up which camp you belong to. Either your one of the tribe who shrug that they're a band with 'a few good tunes but not worthy of the praise, a band for skinny jeaned kids who missed out on Nirvana, the Stone Roses or even The Strokes for that matter' or they are 'saviours of rock n roll purveying witty vignettes on 21st century Britain'. Prior to tonight my mind was made up, I was firmly in the former camp.

So now for the part where I stand in front of the class who prefer to gaze out of the window or write notes or carve messages into the table taking no notice of what I say. On the basis of tonight's performance I am a convert, I get it and I now understand the hype. Whatever it is (its surely time to reclaim the phrase 'X factor' from ITV tea time telly) these boys have definitely got it. It is something that in all my years of gig watching I've only witnessed in a very select few. There's nothing ground breaking - its a set of basic lighting, no pyrotechnics, not much banter, and few histrionics. There seems no need for razz-mattaz when music can speak for itself. With the audience in the palm of their hand the enthusiasm is sucked up and thrown right back. Assured, controlled and confident their sound is full of an energy that makes one feel they've been struck by lightning. Tonight's real revelation is the rhythm section that recalls Reni and Mani in full flow, all tight, funky, rumbling, rockin....... I could go on but I expect you won't believe me.....

These boys are unfazed by the expectations, they know they've got it and it's apparent that they are absolutely buzzing. Not yet have they become wearily complacent or developed a cock-sure swagger to alienate all but their hard core fans. On the contrary, they're eager to please, they're the kids at school who really do want to throw the best party possible. 'Come on Alex' shouted one skinny jeaned fan and the Monkey's leader visibly grew in stature 'thanks very much, encouragement is always welcome'. Crucially they never surrender control. The exuberant crowd chanted for Mardy Bum so the band cheekily struck up the opening riff before launching instead into I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor; the fans were ecstatic and the Monkeys confirmed that they still call the tune.

So can they keep it going? Can they resist the mass sing-alongs, or translate some of this magic to record in order to convince the doubters? I don't know. A number of new songs from their soon to be released album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' were showcased tonight suggesting a more muscular, bluesy sound which dares to seek out a different tempo. The crowd lapped it all up even if their toes didn't tap as furiously and the choruses were as yet too unfamiliar to chant along.  Contrary to the advice espoused in Fake Tales of San Francisco I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
The bell is ringing and its time to run out of the classroom to resume the fight, play in the snow or head home for the holidays. So what is the golden nugget that Mr Muxloe wants you to take with you? It is this - forget your preconceptions and go check these boys out. Preferably you should do it while they still have a wide eyed wonder at the beauty of simple rock n roll, before they get lazy on the decadence of success and before they starting writing bloated songs about 'woe is me, no-one understands me now my days consist of drugs and super-models'. I'm not telling you what to think just saying 'please think again'.

#Music
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#Muxloe

14th Apr 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Timbaland

Timbaland Presents Shock Value

Unfortunately this latest offering from the apparent genius producer Timbaland proves that no album is the sum of its parts alone. It's another dream-team album featuring the same old names, Timbalake, Furtado, Missy Elliot, Dr Dre, 50 Cent and some new ones that really have no business here, like The Hives and Fall Out Boy. Put alongside the work this guy has done on other peoples records, Shock Value suggests that Timbaland can dish out advice but just can't take it.

It all starts off so well with Oh Timbaland making great use of a Nina Simone Sinnerman sample and the catchy Give It To Me with Nelly Furtado, but then Timbalake's effort Release signals a steady decline into monotonous, forgettable tripe - out of which the album struggles to pull itself. Not surprisingly the absolute ground zero of all this crap comes with the Fall Out Boy collaboration One & Only, but actually having said that, if we're judging between levels of shitness it's hard to separate any of the final 3 tracks. Timbaland has worked with many of these artists before and this album sounds like a sweep up from their cutting room floor. The one star rating here is earned in the first track alone along with Timbalake's gaul to ask us in the closing track, "Don't it sound good to ya, don't you agree."

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#HHG

10th Apr 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Windmill

Puddle City Racing Lights

2007

Judging by the longest losing streak in betting history Grandma Muxloe’s tealeaf reading powers of prediction seemed to have passed me by. Future forecasts are not my strong point.  But I can already guess with confidence your first two thoughts on listening to Puddle City Racing Lights, the debut album from Windmill.  

First up will be the question ‘haven’t we already heard this before?’  You might wonder if this is perhaps an album mislaid by Mercury Rev at some time after Deserters Songs but just before they lost themselves in a haze of pomposity.  Or maybe you’ll think to yourself  ‘cunning, this boy Windmill stumbled on a stash of out-takes from Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush sessions and has added some 21st century beats to pass them off as his own’.

Secondly you’ll have to make a decision on Windmill’s voice.  It’s a transatlantic lilt, failing to reflect his Welsh origins, which is delivered in a pitch which some might laud as ‘soaring’ but others might deride as ‘grating’.  Its not one for the tabloids to seize on in the manner with which they ripped apart Joss Stone for dropping Devon in favour of LA but it might strike you Indie kids as being an indicator of a possible lack of veracity in Windmill’s credentials.

On both counts my advice would be to ‘get over it’.  Sure, Windmill has worked with a template laid out before but give him a chance because he’s added splashes of new colour to bring it all to life once more. It's like Warhol screen-printing over familiar images – they might be the same but they are also so very different.  As to the voice, it may be an acquired taste but it shouldn’t be enough to put you off.  If it does then you lose out in the way that you would if you turned down Sienna Miller or Daniel Craig (depending on your preference - Muxloe is an equally opportunities reviewer after all) on the basis that you don’t usually go for blondes  - some people will just never be satisfied.

Rather than set his sails to capture breezes blowing down from Liverpool and Manchester or gusts up from Bristol and London, Windmill has unashamedly located his mill facing westward to America.  But that’s no bad thing as the winds whipped up across the Pond have provided more than enough energy and ideas to power a dynamo of a debut album.  The key to his appeal is that, admirably backed by The Earlies live band, he has created sound-scapes so vivid that they suck you right in.  It’s not so much like watching a film but more like slipping on a virtual reality headset.  By the time the album finished I needed to be reminded that I wasn’t actual an asthmatic Model’s Agent caught up in a Tokyo car crash. Big things, and even Mercury Prizes, have been predicted for Windmill.  I’ve checked the tea leaves but have not the faintest clue what they foretell so will not be joining some of these wilder soothsayers.  All I will say is that the boy Windmill has made a cracking start and deserves whatever plaudits come his way.

#Music
#Muxloe

25th Mar 2007 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Earlies

Scala, London

If it were possible to capture the screech of the last tube train on a Saturday night grinding along the rails and then morph it into an urgent melody you’d probably end up with a sound similar to Maps - support act for The Earlies’ Scala show. You’d probably be mighty glad you caught that musical tube too revelling in the cacophony rather than bemoaning Mayor Ken’s extortionate price hikes.  All of which acts as a rather neat introduction to The Earlies.
 
Anyone familiar with the ‘sardines in a can’ closeness of commuter’s bodies on a rush hour Victoria line train will have recognised the tight squeeze of fitting 11 members of this Anglo-US ‘prog-rock-folk-psych’ combo and their various musical instruments on the small Scala stage.  But rather than whinging about having someone’s arm pit in your face, ruing the look you know your boss will give you for being late or imploring the girl listening to James Blunt too loudly to turn it down this journey is nothing but a pleasure.
 
The stage might be small but the sounds, and the Earlies’ ambitions, are big. This lot don’t do things by halves. Why have one drummer, flutist or melodica player when you can have two? Where other acts might drown each other out or trample on each other’s toes the Earlies just egg each other on to better things. They’re like kids daring each other to jump from an ever-higher branch of a tree.  And all this is delivered with such child–like earthy warmth; introducing No Love they announce ‘this song is about love and shit’. No need to apologise for the ‘shit’ when love is expressed as sweetly as this!
 
The sound, and indeed image, of The Earlies is of an overgrown school orchestra. The music teacher has nipped out into the corridor to sort out a fight and so left to their own devices the kids rock out to the sounds that please them most. Think of the opening to The Simpsons – the part where Lisa stuns the rest of the orchestra to silence by veering off into a freeform Sax solo. The Earlies are only the orchestra that Lisa deserved. They would have had the gumption to stick with her, providing the accompaniment to whatever musical imaginations she might have conjured.  Singing ‘it’s alright to let yourself down tonight’ your reviewer was tempted to reach out to tap the ‘fists aloft’ guitar player on the shoulder and say ‘don’t worry mate, you’ve no let anyone down tonight’.  Check em out, you won’t be disappointed.  

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#Muxloe

7th Mar 2007 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Arcade Fire

Neon Bible

Rough Trade

In 2005 the Arcade Fire gave us Funeral - and with it music was exciting again. No sooner had the music industry heard all 10 songs that it set about desperately trying to find the next source of this feeling. The well timed release of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah saw that band ride this wave with another stunningly exciting debut. So it's 2 years on and Clap Your Hands got in there first with their reply, so what of Neon Bible? Is this a one trick pony? Well, what do you do after such a powerful debut? As we are seeing with Some Loud Thunder, the answer is to play it cool and take it all down a notch. No such idea ever crossed the mind of Win Butler and co. when making Neon Bible. The agenda is clear here, take everything great about Funeral and times it by ten - reveal the iceberg. It's the sound of a band who know full well that they make big music. The best word to describe Neon Bible is massive. If you intend to listen to this album you will need to brush up on 'The Platoon Position', as mid way through the opening track Black Mirror you'll find yourself in need of a suitable body position to justify such grandiosity. It's triumphant music which is surprising considering all the previous themes of death, resentment and wasted life are at its heart and the inclusion of war and the demise of America it's thematically pretty bleak. Musically and stylistically it hasn't changed much from Funeral although it seems quite obvious that someone's been listening to Bruce Springsteen. So with the immortal words of The Boss "Just wrap your legs round these velvet ribs and strap your hands across my engines,"  I will begin with what will undoubtedly become a tired and over-used driving/cars metaphor to describe this album.

If the opening track with its rumble of thunder and deep, pounding drums is akin to the feeling of getting behind the wheel of a high performance vehicle then Keep The Car Running is the point where you come over the brow of a hill and see the open road ahead. The delicate guitar strum at the start hints at the pace ahead and makes your heart flutter with impending excitement.

Title track Neon Bible is the early stop at the service station to refuel when all women and children hear the words they dread. "Get what you need cos we're not stopping again." And with Intervention we are most certainly back at full speed. It's the grandest song on the album, shit it's the fucking grandest song this side of God Save The Queen (National Anthem not Sex Pistols.) Anyone frowning at my use of cuss words will see that they certainly are justified. Starting with a chapel organ the size of St Pauls Cathedral if every hair on your body doesn't stand on end consider yourself paralyzed. I don't know how this song will be played live as no building with a roof could possibly contain it.

Black Wave is pure Blondie with it's sublime melodies courtesy of Regine Chassagne, who until now has been the power house behind the backing vocals. Ocean Of Noise brings things down a notch with it's washes of strings and soft vocals but the driver of this car wasn't joking when he said we wouldn't be stopping again. This was merely a momentary drop in intensity before the full mariachi band bring this song to a glorious close.

The Well And The Lighthouse comes in with rapid pounding drums and Butler's frenzied vocals forever building and with Antichrist Television Blues The Boss really comes to the forefront. With it's strumming acoustic structure, passion fueled tales of working for the minimum wage and unstoppable tempo this would make Bruce wish he'd written it. As do many of these songs this one builds and builds to such tremendous heights then suddenly stops and makes you think that had it not stopped so suddenly you could very easily have shit yourself with joy. Windowsill is more of a slow builder but guess what, it lifts you up on yet another earth shattering wave of sound and rings you out at the end.

The inclusion of No Cars Go is the only questionable element to this album. Having heard its original form on the early EP this feels like all too familiar territory and even though it's been working out since its first appearance its inclusion here still feels a bit unnecessary.

Things are brought to an exhaustive close with My Body Is A Cage and please welcome back on to the stage, the huge fucking chapel organ. "My body is a cage that keeps me from dancing with the one I love, but my mind holds the key," sings Butler "Set my body free." This song is the end of a movie, it's the unfeasible tracking-crane-shot that lifts from close proximity and keeps on lifting, encompassing everything, showing us the whole picture. And with it's climax your body drops from the Platoon Position and though all your senses try to stop you, you press play again.

So to put this tired metaphor to rest, this is an awesome journey that covers a lot of ground. It never hits traffic, it sometimes slows down for safety reasons while passing through small villages but never opts for monotonous motorway driving and always takes the scenic route.

#Music
#BC

7th Feb 2007 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Five Days

(dir. Otto Bathurst, Simon Curtis)

When a young Hertfordshire woman disappears while buying flowers, her two children also go missing - as the police and media machine spring into action.

Superior drama from the BBC and HBO. The series has the high-quality writing and acting that the BBC has recently been more than capable of producing, with the production value of an American show. This however, is a distinctly British story - with none of the (sometimes) psuedo-Americanization seen in State Within, Spooks or Torchwood.

This is a complex and well-thought out script, that unfolds the story over 5 days (one day per episode) - using the interesting device of picking non-consecutive days (1,3,28,33,79) that are pinnacle moments in the case. That allows the writers to fill in the blanks with detail and hindsight, analysing the way that a case like this effects those involved, the community, the media and the general public.

#TV
#CSF

24th Jan 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Best of 2006

BC

Top 5 Albums of 2006

1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
2. Joanna Newsom - Ys
3. The Diableros - You Can't Break The Strings In Our Olympic Hearts
4. Loney Dear - Sologne
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

Runners Up:
Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
Howie Gelb - 'Sno Angel Like You
Grandaddy - Just Like The Fambly Cat
Clinic - Visitations


Top 5 Films

Little Miss Sunshine
The Departed
Capote
Casino Royale
Borat
Pan's Labyrinth


Biggest Disappointments (In order of disappointment)

DJ Shadow - The Outsider
Miami Vice
England Football
England Rugby
England Cricket
Thom Yorke - The Eraser


Top 5 Gigs

Radiohead - Hammersmith Apollo
Pearl Jam - Dublin
My Morning Jacket - Astoria
TV On The Radio - Koko
Morrissey - Alexandra Palace

#Music
#BC

20th Dec 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Best of 2006

CSF

For me this has been one of the best years for music in a long time. A handful of new bands have emerged with debut albums that have set the tone for a promising career, and this is the first time I have struggled to narrow down the list of favourites... rather than struggle to fill it. Accomplished debuts from The Early Years and The Longcut just missed out on a place, as well as albums from returning artists like Yo La Tengo, Yeah Yeah Yeah's and M. Ward finally making it clear to me what all the fuss is about. And Pearl Jam had a new album and put on the show of a lifetime in London.

My top albums, reduced to as few as possible and in a vague ascending order:

6. Tapes 'n' Tapes - The Loon
With the awesome single leading the charge (see below) this self-released debut from the Minneapolis band has all the right ingredients, and as one inspired hack wrote "This is the record I'd want to make if I formed a band". It's certainly not perfect, and although it never lulls it doesn't quite flow in a couple of places... but for a debut album it's awesome.

5. Oxford Collapse - Remember the Night Parties
These guys were a shot from the blue and if this was a November/December list they'd probably take the gold medal. Again it's a slightly uneven start, but by the midway point I'm totally hooked. Pure garage band fun.

4. The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
I've been so generally underwhelmed by The Strokes that it took a hooky copy of this mid year to even provoke me to try before I buy... but I take it all back. Far more adventurous that Room On Fire and an easy equal to Is This It?

3. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
The ups and downs or the tone of an album has been on my mind recently and this is possibly the one album in this list that gets it right. Mellow start, build up, high point around the middle, wind down, strong finish. A definite band to watch.

2. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
I was already thinking the worst when this album arrived, and the double track listing took a look to break down. It's biggest flaw is the length and pacing - as track by track there's hardly a dud on here. Easily their best album, with some absolute classic tracks. Their next one will surely get it just right...

1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
You can argue that it's a 2005 release, but since it took off 12 months ago this infectious debut has never faltered and never lulled on rotation. You can't listen to track one - which is surely a negative - but it's like a non-stop rollercoaster ride with your friend who's one drink a way from plastered, with a finale that should never stop.



Singles
Midlake - Head Home. Great rolling vibe that is slightly lacking on the album as a whole.
Tapes 'n Tapes - Insistor. I thought it might dull, but it's still the note-perfect highlight off The Loon.
Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh). For a track that momentarily sounds like it's heading into funky monk territory, this is possibly RHCP's greatest. The constant build up and the amazing final chorus are inbelievebale. Just when you can't take any more you can almost hear Frusciante plugging in an extra guitar.

Films
Brick - a great Sundance debut
The Departed - flawed but thoroughly entertaining
Little Miss Sunshine - touching, with non-stop laughs
Awesome - awesome. Resurrecting the near zombie that is the concert movie.

Biggest Let Down:
Miami Vice

TV:
Wire
Entourage

Live:
PJ Astoria
PJ Dublin
MMJ Astoria

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#CSF

20th Dec 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

120 Days

120 Days

Smalltown Supersound/Vice

120 Days is a fair assumption of what might have happened had Ian McCulloch or even Bono turned up for the post of Ian Curtis' replacement instead of Bernard Sumner. Fusing driving 80's beats, tight guitar arrangements and soaring vocals, Norway's 120 Days have crafted a tidal wave of sound with their debut LP. Their intention to 'go large' is evident from the 9 minute techno opener of Come Out. It's long, sprawling, cold, impenetrable, it's late night motor-way driving, it's Michael Mann and it sums up the grand vision of this record. Taking the best bits from the 80's indie scene and injecting a bit of Kraftwerk here and there this is a most satisfying debut and although they never reach the intensity or raw passion of bands like Joy Division or Neu! they still manage to create a grandeur that at times is quite thrilling.

They tend to stick to a tried and tested formula with each track creeping in on a swirling, astral synth wave making way for the hard, bass heavy drum-machine beat to kick in. This driving techno-like structure provides acres of space for the dark vocals as they slowly building us up to majestic heights. The stand out moment is Get Away, and with it we see a brief emergence of a more rock orientated structure with the sweeping synths making way for soaring guitars and Adne Meisfjord's vocals break out from their electro confines to embrace a more passionate level of intensity. This all culminates with the epic 11.5 minutes of closing track I've Lost My Vision. Often a closer of this length means an annoying hidden track that follows 6 minutes of silence but here it's beats all the way home. The vocals have the luxury of starting 2 minutes in and then slowly dropping away to let the music span out over this vast landscape only to return later to remind you just how awesome this song is. Then just as any self respecting track would be called in for their dinner, 120 Days plays on with a soaring 2 minute guitar finale.

The albums formula can seem repetitive at times but it sounds intentional and adds to the high speed-4 am-sprawling-Autobahn vibe. The synths echo the sweep of street lights as they pass over head every second for miles and miles and the beats become the evenly spaced motorway repair lines that bump the wheels over and over. It all becomes quite mesmerizing at times and this debut should be accompanied by a government warning not to listen to it while driving.

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29th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Steve Turner & His Bad Ideas

New Wave Punk Asshole

"No-one gives a shit what you think. No-one gives a shit what you do. No-one gives a shit what you say, so you might as well do it anyway." - 'No-one Gives a Shit' - Steve Turner.

From the opening track on his new album, it appears that Steve Turner has decided to take a piece of his own advice. Much like Graeme Coxon had to separate himself from Blur to make music more to his liking (which coincidentally sounds a bit like Steve Turner) it seems that Mudhoney guitarist Turner has a creative itch he can only scratch when the rest of the band aren't looking. So off he went and recorded this, his 3rd album.

Musically, it is unsurprisingly from the same gene pool as Mudhoney but with less fuzz and more keyboards. Less Grunge, More Garage. Like his suprising and good previous album 'Bad Ideas' (not suprising that it was good, suprising that that's what a Steve Turner solo project sounds like) New Wave Punk Asshole continues Turner's apparent preoccupation with an approaching middle-age. Where 'Bad Ideas' was slightly melancholic, 'New Wave Punk Asshole', as the title suggests, is more self-deprecating, a shrug of the shoulders and a grumble at the ageing process.

All the songs have a certain charm and some are genuinely funny, Turner would make a great narrator in a sitcom. Here he is trying to get laid on Sex Date Saturday Night "We're not getting any younger, our relationships are pretty much failures, we might as well do it together" or this fantastic salvo on Stupid Blues "My friends are stupid, some of them are morons, I don't understand how we got to be so boring." A depressing thought for the rest of us when you think he still tours and records with Mudhoney.

A fine record of 16 little gems coming in under 35 minutes. Like the sitcom, I look forward to seeing what Slightly Grumpy Steve is up to in series 4.

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#chimpovich

23rd Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Cut Chemist

The Audience's Listening

Lucas Macfadden, aka Cut Chemist, is obviously a man who knows when he's standing on a sinking ship. If he didn't he'd be blind as its been clear ever since their first full length album that Jurassic 5 were never going to surpass the genius that was their first ep. So the backbone dj of that once glimmering light has quit and gone at it alone. On first hearing about this solo debut I thought it was going to be Cut Chemist following in the footsteps of good buddy DJ Shadow. But The Audience's Listening is nothing of the sort. Cut Chemist has obviously pin pointed where he excels and stuck to it. And that area would be straight up hip-hop beats and scratches. The album is basically 43 minutes of the instrumental interlude tracks that punctuated the Jurassic 5 LP's. and although I found these slightly tiresome they really seem to work here to form a complete unit.

(My First) Big Break starts proceedings off in classic Jurassic interlude form with beats heavy and samples and scratches a plenty. It's a good start but does hint to you that the album may never get much deeper than this and there's only so many scratches and samples one can handle and though this is quite true we are treated to a more varied array of these tried and tested formulas. As on the album's best offering The Garden, a jolly loop of guitar twangs builds up slowly and instead of taking the regular route of dropping the big beat after the first twelve bar set he keeps it simmering. So when the beat is eventually dropped it feels great and with the added female vocal and slightly orchestral under-layer we get a song with more depth and weight than the entire album put together.

Normal service is resumed until Storm, the best of the vocal tracks featuring Edan and Mr Lif. and with help as good as this you can't fail. Cut Chemists beat is more electronic and linear than normal and Edan's spits his opening vocals with venom flowing smoothly into Lif's intense delivery. All this along side a driving, banging beat that is occasionally interrupted by stabbing bleeps. The samples are minimal and the scratches done away with and the result is fantastic.

Cut Chemist proves that he has a completely different agenda with this record than Shadow. He is not trying to break into new hip hop territories, he's just making beats to get you moving and for the most part he succeeds.

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31st Aug 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Miami Vice

(dir. Michael Mann)

Following the ratting-out of some FBI agents, Miami Detectives Crockett and Tubbs head deep (deep) undercover to trap the drug traffickers who are responsible. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx assume the mantle handed down from the classic 80's TV show but, as you've no doubt read elsewhere, this movie bears very little resemblence to that. The focus here was supposed to be realism and action - both of which are delivered in fits and spurts.

The setting and photography of the movie is often superb, such as a night-time shot across the bows of two speedboats heading up a river, or the afterburners lighting up on Crockett's Ferrari as it speeds down a night lit highway. However, the contrast between the intensely grainy night scenes (often shot with mostly 'available' light) and the crystal clear daylight scenes is often jarring.

All of these things could go unnoticed in the movie if at least the script or the acting held things together - but here they are the two weakest areas. There is not a single great performance in the movie to match even Tom Cruise's over-the-top outing in Collateral. Foxx and Farrell (surely they should start an ice cream company?) are both just playing their own movie-star persona - and add little depth or emotion to what could easily have been classic roles.

The script is so thin that I found myself looking for twists, turns and red herrings where there simply were none. There's no subtext here - just straight-up 'text'. The multiple 'love' scenes, (generally with Audioslave accompaniment) were enough to make anyone puke and, while the action scenes are handled well, there's not much that we haven't seen before - most notably in Michael Mann's own films (the shootout in Heat, the nightclub killing in Collateral).

This movie had all (or most) of the necessary ingredients, but just couldn't get the mix right to bake up something special. So disappointing.

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Da Vinci Code Movie

(dir. Ron Howard)

Vite! Ou est la Mona Lisa? Ah oui, it's over 'ere! Zere must be another clue 'ere, non?

Tom Hanks runs around Paris with Audrey Tatou looking for medieval clues, with Jean "Leon" Reno and kerrrazy albino monk Paul Bettany on his tail. Gandalf helps them out a bit with some Biblical history and a quick Photoshop guide to the Last Supper. He's also got a private jet which totally comes in handy at the last minute. Phew. Doctor Octopus is one of the secret society head honchos.

Other escapes involve some doves showing up to scare off some gun-wielding baddies with their powerful symoblism; using the old "chuck the tracking device out the window" trick; and er, shutting a van door. (if anyone can explain what actually happens in this scene, i'd really like to know...)

At one point Tom Hanks utters the immortal line "Get me to a library!" But Audrey manages to find a kid on a bus who's actually figured out how to make his 3G phone work. This is possibly the most unbelievable scene.

It's competent, trashy, stupid fun, packed with some hilarious lines, corny plot "twists" and the odd noisy shock. And it saves you the trouble of reading the book. Be great if it flopped, but it won't.

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#chimp71

17th May 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Archie Bronson Outfit

Derdang, Derdang

These days a record label is not complete until it has a David Byrne inspired vocalist on their books. Rough Trade got theirs with The Arcade Fire, Wichita with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and now Domino have found theirs. Hailing from the West Country, Archie Bronson Outfit are not something you would want to listen to if you were of a nervous disposition, or in the least bit on edge. This is not a criticism, it’s just a pretty stressful experience listening to Derdang Derdang, the groups second album. They have managed to create a real sense of urgency that except for the final track is pretty much unrelenting. The whole album can be summed up in the stand out track Dart For My Sweetheart. On the whole, I frown upon songs that use counting, or days of the week as their structure - but this one is an exception. It starts “One is a gun with a dart for my sweetheart,” and continues up to twelve. All this over methodical, driving and jangling guitar and drums. Arp, the drummer and lyricist says, “There’s a nursery rhyme feel to the lyric, the counting stuff.” His kids ain't getting no sleep tonight.

The band claim this album was written and recorded in a very short space of time while they were all living together - and this comes as no surprise to me. It has a captivating sense of immediacy and the ever building tempo in each song threatens an approaching explosion, but rarely gives in. The tension comes from a combination of repetitive guitar rhythms, screeching free jazz saxophone and distinctive, paranoia filled vocals - delivered with such energy and force you have to either switch off or sit up and take notice. On Dead Funny he orders us, “don’t worry just get your head down.” Sound advice I think.

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10th May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Spartan

(dir. David Mamet)

A Secret Service agent (Val Kilmer) is called in to lead the investigation into the inadvertent kidnapping of the President's daughter by white slave traders.

Playing out like a high-brow, super-condensed, 100 minute version of an entire series of 24 (it's not that hard, drop the Presidential sub-plot, Kim Bauer and most of the explanatory dialogue), this super taught thriller from David Mamet was a refreshing take on the action/adventure genre. Val Kilmer makes an enigmatic lead, generally dishing out ("don't make me zero you out") or even totally dispensing with Mamet's snappy dialogue and just getting on with the job at hand. Characters pop up and go with little introduction and we only ever hear what is heard by the men in the field... but that feeling of being on the inside only adds to the immediacy of the situations the Ice Man finds himself in. The riviting pace and atmosphere make this one not to be missed.

"I am dangerous" Grr.

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7th Feb 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Broken Flowers

(dir. Jim Jarmusch)

After being dumped by his current girlfriend, middle aged romeo Bill Murray takes to the road to look up his old girlfriends - in the hope of finding the writer of an anonymous letter informing him that he has a 20 year old son.

Some odd press had preceeded this film. All the reviews seemed complimentary, but it was generally getting around 3 out of 5. Being a big fan of Bill Murray (and the type of film where 'nothing much happens') this seemed like a high probability hit in the chimp camp. Jim Jarmusch has always had my respect, and for me he's been getting better and better - honing his ideas into a more engaging format.

As a result I was very surprised that in some ways this film seemed like a step away from the style of his more recent films (I'm thinking Ghost Dog) and back towards the slow, detached style of early films like Stranger Than Paradise and Down By Law. Even Down By Law had a bit of action, whereas this film really did seem incredibly slight. Bill Murray is pretty much left to his own devices, which is fine on one level as he's always watchable, but beyond the amusing tracksuits his character really didn't seem to have the depth and history that it needed. He seems to pop up in the lives of these women, give us no real insight into what they ever had together and then he gets home with no resolution.

Jessica Lange's pet psychologist provides a few laughs, Chloe Sevigny makes only the briefest of appearances, and only Jeffrey Wright really makes much of an impression. On the whole, pretty disappointing.

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1st Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Patti Smith @ Meltdown 2005

Royal Festival Hall

patti smith totally rocked during her track-by-track 30th anniversary performance of Horses, from the stunning opening line "jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine…" to the blow-out ending. flea on bass and trumpet for some of the songs, tom verlaine sitting on an amp at the side (possibly making up for the shoddy television performance on monday), and lenny kaye showing how it's really done. she was totally commanding, had real presence, dealt with all the hecklers "whatever you say, you're not going to impress me…" and proved that she's really the iconic figure you always read she is.

and it's the first time i've ever seen a standing ovation from the first song onwards… not surprising when it's her stunning version of gloria (wonder what van thinks?), but still pretty impressive.

oh and she had 2 pieces of advice: look after your teeth, and never wear new shoes to an important job. so she ended up dancing barefoot…

john cale's opening set, also w flea on bass, was pretty good too, even if neither dr chimp or i recognised any of the songs (ie no velvets nostalgia this time)

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#Gig
#chimp71

26th Jun 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet