Chimpomatic

Wires On Fire

Wires On Fire

Buddyhead

Ever since the mid-80's - when those two school buses carrying the Punks and the Metalheads crashed on the way to the high school - LA seems to have cornered the market on a certain genre of music. You could describe it as punk influenced metal, maybe with a touch of West Hollywood sleaze. Sure the genre is long out of high school now, probably driving it's own muscle car around town - but the agenda is still the same.

Following in the steps of the likes of The Bronx and The Warlocks, Wires On Fire are a pretty incendiary bunch - and it's no surprise to find out they are on tough talking and generally entertaining website/label Buddyhead. Hard and heavy, this is punk sensibilities with a penchant for guitar solos. You know they're going to rock live, but for this debut they've just laid down a sold album with some promise.

C+ (2.5 stars in chimp terms). Has potential, but could try harder.

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24th Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

RJD2

The Third Hand

XL

This is the first album RJD2 has put out without the help of Def Jux Records and there's a good reason for that. His much hyped debut Dead Ringers followed on nicely from the work of DJ Shadow in the world of sampling and gave the aggressive yet progressive alt hip-hop label a new string to its bow. Then in 2004 came Since We Last Spoke. Obviously plagued by the constant comparisons to Shadow, this album signaled a shift in direction for RJD2. Still containing the sampled structure this album leaned more towards mellow vocal tracks than its predecessor taking much of its influence from 70's rock. Now in 2007 the transformation is complete. I hope the artist will forgive me for one last Shadow comparison but just as The Outsider was an album to silence all stereotypes and went to one extreme end of the musical spectrum and embraced hip hop in all its grime The Third Hand goes the other direction and almost rejects all things hip hop and embraces pop.

The fact that RJD2 has fled the Def Jux fold shows just how much he's changed direction. This album still has the impeccably produced beats but heavily relies on vocals. It's a pretty slick piece of work with some beautiful instrumental moments. Reality is one of the stand out points with a funky-ass guitar bass line sampled over a classic RJD2 break-beat that chops and changes repeatedly and weaves in and out of the singing while Get It revisits old ground as one of the few purely instrumental beat pieces. But I'm sure that I've picked out these two as highlights as they most resemble the earlier work and I'm not proud of that.

This album will not go down too well with true blue hip hop heads who followed him earlier on, and unfortunately I think I am one of those. I hate to say that - as I love artists who can break away from a successful sound and forge a new path, but this album sees a total shift in genre. This is not in any way to suggest that it's a bad album, far from it, as pop music goes this is better than most. The production is impeccable, the beats strong and the whole thing floats on a multi textured bed of strings, samples and synths.

I can really respect this shift in direction. The change we all saw in Shadow's The Outsider seemed to come from a bitter resentment that all and sundry were making careers off his sound and the piece of shit he gave us was supposed to give a two fingered salute. The Third Hand however seems to come from a more genuine, honest place and is just the sound of an artist wanting to move on from where he started no matter how good a place that was.

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16th Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Ghost

In Stormy Nights

Ghost first came to my attention as the backing band for ex-Galaxie 500 maestros Damon & Naomi, on their timeless album "With Ghost". To this day it's an a permanent favourite, with the soft folk sounds creating a gentle, complex base for the soaring, beautiful vocals.

In Stormy Nights sees the band release their ninth album through Drag City, and Masaki Batoh leads his rotating band of followers though a varied, eclectic range of songs and styles, drawing from a diverse range of musical styles.

The opening sounds of Motherly Bluster were exactly what I was expecting, with Batoh's thick Japanese accent presiding over a textured layer of sounds and acoustic guitar. However, second track Hemicyclic Anthelion is a 28 minute marathon of experimentation that unfortunately drifts along without much focus or direction. Akin to hanging around in a late night Tokyo tube station, I rarely find myself in a situation or mood to listen to it. As a result it disrupts the flow of the album, which without it only clocks in at 5 songs / 30 minutes.

Things bang back into action with the military stomp of Water Door Yellow Gate, sounding like a Japanese Nick Cave poisoned poem. Gareki No Toshi segues on from this, with distorted shouts and sound effects sounding like a Fugazi rehearsal session (the opening of Birthday Pony is actually the track I'm thinking of - for you Fugazi heads).

Most comparable to This Mortal Coil, Ghost has much of the same eclectic feel, with strange successes (such as the rambling bagpipes on Caledonia) and unfortunate failings. Moody soundscapes and soundtracks are often misplaced, and seem at odds with each other - rather than sounding like a cohesive body of work by one artist. While the final track Grisaille brings hints of the captivating acid-folk charm that I heard on Damon & Naomi with Ghost, for the most part those moments are unfortunately often drowned out.

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10th Feb 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Hours

Narcissus Road

The Hours is the brainchild of Martin Slattery and Antony Genn - veterans of various bands and production credits from Unkle to Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. Slattery's keyboard work for the likes of Black Grape is an instant reference on the album, which begins well with a tense opening piano beat that threatens to explode but never does. This is the structure of much of the album and it really works. Antony Genn's vocals are intense and urgent and come at you with an Interpol-like might. These are epic songs and this is totally down to a great use of restraint. The rarely let go and so retain the tension throughout the album.

Lyrically it's a mixed bag. All In The Jungle repeats the excellent line "The greatest comeback since Lazarus" and builds up a nice boxing story with Ali fight samples over the end, but then a few tracks later you get this..."I love you more than all my hooded tops, I love you more than Tony Soprano and for those who don't know me that's a fuck of a lot." The song has the same tension as the other songs but the lyrics are laughable. They seem to be tongue in cheek but are sung with such seriousness. I mean who doesn't love Mr. Soprano and every now and again I could be seen in a hooded top but I wouldn't use them to declare my undying love for someone. Unfortunately this song undermines things and makes for the rest of the album difficult listening - emphasised later on with a dose of fucking swearing. I like a dose of Explicit Lyrics as much of the next time, but it's so unnecessary here that it just seems trite in the context of these often operatic storylines. It's like sitting through a family gathering when your 90 year old granddad could come out with anything at any time and you're just waiting for it.

The slow jams like Icarus don't work as well as the others. They fall into the Coldplay/Snow Patrol grey area and are left behind by the strength of their pent-up counterparts. Murder Or Suicide disappears off into a fantastic piano based instrumental pounding session which really hammers home the fact that the piano is definitely man of the match here.

This is a debut with more than its fair share of promise but it seems far too aware of itself. It's too literal and sometimes takes itself way too seriously. It's no surprise that Jarvis Cocker is a fan of these guys as storytelling third-person lyrics are his forte but The Hours don't have the kitchen sink wit that made Cocker's work so original.

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9th Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

The King Khan & BBQ Show

What's for Dinner?

In The Red Records

Imagine if you will that it's Saturday night back in good old 1955 and you're on your way to the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance at your local high school. You've heard rumours of a scuffle going down tonight and lo and behold in the car park, amid a crowd of onlookers, lies the badly beaten body of the school geek George McFly. You walk on without pausing - because lets face it, he had it coming. Further on, you come across evidence of another more curious showdown. 5 well dressed guys lie sprawled out on the road and judging by their attire you realise that some heavy shit has just gone down. This is the remains of Marvin Berry and his Starlighters who were due to play at this dance. You ignore the frantic banging coming from the trunk of their low-rider as you race into the hall to find out who will be playing in their place. The first thing you notice is the stunned look on everyones faces as you enter the nautically decorated gymnasium - and as your eyes follow theirs to the source of this horror you know your night is over. The earlier trail of destruction could only have led to this. The stage had been overrun by Biff and his boys - the school bullies - and the sound they are making is indescribable. Popular songs from the hit parade being raped and pillaged in front of your eyes - and at top volume. Someone kicks a speaker over and a panic ensues. In the pandaemonium something hits you hard on the head and everything fades away as you fall to the ground unconscious.

The next thing you know you're in your bed at home and it's the present day. Sitting up in bed you realise that it was all a very bad dream and one you have no wish to repeat. The radio alarm clock clicks on and the sound hits you like a bolt of lightning. The music playing is loud, obnoxious, intrusive and fills your heart with dread. As the DJ announces the band as The King Kahn & BBQ Show you know that the ordeal you have just been through was no dream. That terrible night really happened, but the most terrifying thing of all was that it was still going on and this King Khan is the result of it. They had kept their sound of that night - 50's inspired pop butchery - but it had clearly gathered the grime of the last 50 years and now presented itself as a twisted mutation of Marvin Berry, the punk movement and the unquenchable hostility of those who crashed the Prom. As if that's not bad enough you find yourself quite liking it, it's catchy and as you lean over to turn it up you see that its 8.25 am. Damn! You're late for school!

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27th Jan 2007 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Snowden

Anti-Anti

Jade Tree

There is an episode of Father Ted, where a drunken Father Jack gets stuck in a cupboard with the world's most boring priest. I was reminded of that scene whilst listening to 'Anti-Anti' from Atlanta's Snowden. Not that I had an urge to down a bottle of Toilet Duck and swear at nuns - it's just that after a few listens I was sapped of any will to write about it.

It's not the songs themselves, which are nicely played and put together. It's more singer Jordan Jeffares' monotone voice that does it. He sounds so bloody bored and miserable, it is as if he himself can't wait for the songs to end. Of course there's nothing wrong with misery, as the Emo hordes will no doubt pasionately concur and which their obvious inspirations - Interpol - do particularly well. But whereas Interpol's songs work on building layers of atmosphere, the Snowden tunes are more punchy and direct and Jeffares' vocal sits moodily on top of it all - like a pissed off teenager at a family function.

In isolation it's fine, I heard title track "Anti-Anti" before the rest of the album - and was immediately taken by it. It's probably the most upbeat and easily the strongest on here. To be honest there's not a bad track as such, obviously a lot of thought has gone into it and the music itself is interesting, working best in 'Counterfeit Rules' and 'Stop Your Bleeding', where the tempo is kept relatively high.

But as a whole, its just too mopey for me. To cheer him up, I might buy Jeffares some helium ballons before he records the next album, which even if they don't lift the mood should lift his voice a touch.

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23rd Jan 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jay-Z

Kingdom Come

HOVA comes out of retirement with mixed success. A few very good tracks but otherwise average. Chris Martin features (!)

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24th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Robert Pollard

Normal Happiness

Must Destroy

The ever-prolific Robert Pollard is back (again) with a new solo LP Normal Happiness. The press release explains how The Beatles or The Who might release two albums a year and that was the norm in those days, and should not be frowned upon now. They seem to be overlooking the fact that between 2005's Beneath A Compound Eye and this second official post-Guided By Voices solo album Pollard has put out another 3 side-project albums on which he is clearly the captain of the ship - The Takeovers, The Keene Brothers and Psycho And The Birds. Plus that Bubble soundtrack mini-LP.

Putting side-projects aside for a moment, this is clearly a Robert Pollard solo album and the closest thing we're going to get to a new Guided By Voices record for the foreseeable future. Where the side-projects are defined by their lack of definition, Normal Happiness is a fairly coherent record - featuring 16 concise chunks of pop-rock which barely clock in at over two minutes each. It follows the late-GBV era of Half Smiles Of The Decomposed in style, playing clever lyrics off against musical themes and concepts. As usual it's a roller-coaster of variable quality, but rather than me giving you a general consensus, let's get specific.

1. The Accidental Texas Who - Near perfect. Bob's outrageous comedy English accent at the start sets the tone for the album and makes the track seem like throw-away brilliance, effortlessly changing gear. 5 stars.

2. Whispering Whip - A moody opening starts the song well, but once that trump card is played it looses a bit of direction. 3 stars.

3. Supernatural Car Lover - A future Song Of The Day. Flawless power-pop, with a catchy underlying guitar lick powering it along. 5 stars.

4. Boxing About - Effortless and beautiful. 3.5 stars.

5. Serious Bird Women (You Turn Me On) - Megaphone vocals undermine this ballad, which stretches a bit thin. 3 stars.

6. Get A Faceful - Catchy, but slightly plodding. Like watching Carl Lewis do the 100m in 13 seconds. 2.5 stars.

7. Towers And Landslides - Starts and ends abruptly, once the mission of the song has been accomplished. 2.5 stars.

8. I Feel Gone Again - A low-key number that starts acoustically and builds into 70's sounding power pop of the Toto calibre (but about 8 minutes shorter). 3 stars

9. Gasoline Rag - Quirky stop-starting number with good production and a galloping chorus, but it's a bit thin on the lyrics. 2.5 stars.

10. Rhoda Rhoda - Average musically. M.O.R. 2.5 stars.

11. Give Up The Grape - Plodding, but nice key changes and a more lyrical drive. 3 stars.

12. Pegasus Glue Factory - Blending in musically from the previous track, the album is now coming back together. This great-title of a song could be a Genesis b-side, building up to an improv sounding jam. 3.5 stars.

13. Top Of My Game - Finger picking and lyrical. A fresh start. 3 stars.

14. Tomorrow Will Not Be Another Day - Starts in the middle, like a back-from-the-break lick on the Dukes of Hazzard. Would have liked it to be more of a Skynyrd 10 minute jam. 3 stars.

15. Join The Eagles - Contemplative and lyrical. A possible tuba on the end. 3 stars.

16. Full Sun (Dig The Slowness) - With simple lyrics recalling his own GBV songs (the carpenter's and their wives), there's little room for vocals here - giving way to a superbly building musical jam, packed with bleeping synthesizers. Back to the best. 4.5 stars.


So, there we have it. 50.5 out of a possible 80. 3 stars. Tracks 1, 3 and 16 make it into my ever expanding best-of-bob-projects playlist. The record seems to literally reference Guided By Voices themselves in several places (both musically and lyrically), bringing a nostalgic feeling to some of the records like a magic wand. As we've recently seen with GBV's lo-fi peers Sebadoh and Pavement, when is more too much? If I'm honest I'd be hard pressed to name any GBV record as a flawless classic, but the flaws are what made them classics, and this just follows that same logic.

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21st Nov 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Band of Horses

Tour EP

Sup Pop

Nothing much new to report here, other than confirmation that "Everything All Of The Time" is one of the albums of 2006, plus a taste of the band's live sound - including one non-album track.

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17th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Midlake

ULU, London

The prospect of seeing Midlake live was an exciting one. The superb album The Trials of Van Occupanther is peppered with themes of nature, conjuring nostalgic feelings of the countryside and man's relationship with it. A bunch of grown men with gruffty beards singing delicately about nature is a wonderful juxtaposition. A juxtaposition reminiscent of Grandaddy perhaps, but to compare Midlake with Granddaddy would be wholly unfair - overlooking their own unique sound.

After strong support form Robert Gomez and Fionn Regan, Midlake took to the stage. The crowd went crazy when they started playing the single Rosco, and there were cries for a repeat of the same song. Every song was accompanied with some strange film in the background - some homemade, others seeming very familiar and possibly a Roman Polanski film - but don't quote me on that. The films really helped to bolster the song's strange eerie feel, conjuring a lost time and lost place. It was nice to see that the band were very humbled by the crowds' affection towards them, singing along to all their songs.

There's something strangely important about wanting to see a band we like live, but so often they never live up to the same sound quality we know them for. And particulary when you have a band that doesn't make 'jump-up' music, the sound quality has to be spot on. Sadly this wasn't the case at ULU. The gig itself was entertaining, but the sounds did no justice to Tim Smith's vocals and of course the songs lost much of their eerie magic. They ended the set with current single Head Home, perfectly apt and a crowd pleaser to finish on a higher note.

Luckily, I caught the band a couple of nights later, supporting the Flaming Lips at Shepherd's Bush... with much more satisfying results.

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16th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jeremy Enigk

World Waits

Reincarnate/Sony BMG

First, a bit of back story: Jeremy Enigk used to be lead singer in Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate, whose 1994 album Diary (released on Sub Pop) is quite rightly considered something of a classic. The success of Sunny Day Real Estate's sound lay in the combination of Enigk's incredible, almost angelic, voice and a rhythm section that gave the songs a harder/darker edge. When you take into account that William Goldsmith (drums) and Nate Mendel (bass) went onto join the first incarnation of Foo Fighters, then you get an idea of the calibre of personnel.

And herein lies the problem of an Enigk solo project. Stripped of the energy and aggression that a 'band' provides, it is left to his voice to carry the songs, the music barely putting up a fight in competition. But is singing alone going to make a good album? Meatloaf has a good voice right? A bit harsh maybe.

Things start off well, Been Here Before showcases the complete range of Enigk's talents, starting slow and introspective before getting BIG, so big, that it takes a church organ to provide the song's break. In fact, what goes on pre/post organ could neatly describe what does and doesn't work on the album. The better songs are the quieter, more acoustic songs, where the music assumes a bit of character, rather than being a bit-part vehicle for 'the voice'. Canons, Damien Dreams and Dare a Smile fall into this category. The latter of which could almost be a Guided By Voices song, that is if GBV's Bob Pollard was to put down the bourbon and beers for a moment.

It's when the songs get epic that things start to go awry, City Tonight being a fine example. Not content with a dodgy synth opening, it begins with the line "Am I Late to the Kingdom of Love", before POWER drumming and guitars kick down the door and take the song home. This is Simple Minds in all their 80s glory, it's a song that conjures up an image of Richard Gere in slow-motion - probably on horseback. But Simple Minds not only had massive songs, they also head massive success, so I suppose dues should be given.

Overall, genuine good points beat potential bad (depending on where you stand on Simple Minds). It's actually quite refreshing to hear an honest album by a singer/songwriter doing what he does best, without compromise, rather than the multitude of bands around at the moment simply aching to be cool.

As for a score. I'll start with a 2 and award an extra mark for being a nice alternative to those other Golden-voiced Juggernauts, Keane and Coldplay, (at least Enigk sings like he means every word). But I'm going to have to dock half a mark for Am I Late to the Kingdom of Love. I hate Richard Gere.

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13th Nov 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Blood Arm

Lie Lover Lie

They're a confident bunch, The Blood Arm. One would suppose you don't get nominated for Best New Band in LA (2004) through modesty and reticence. "I told you before, when I was young and obscure, it takes more than an ocean, to keep me ashore" proclaims singer Nathanial Fregoso, on album opener 'Stay Put!' a White Stripesy number, that has forceful pianos accompanying Fregoso, before being joined by crashing cymbals and distorted guitars.

Confidence, doesn't necessarily mean substance though. The piano hammers and cascades, driving all the songs along at a brisk tempo, so that as a whole, the album sounds like a collection of Show Tunes; 'Blood Arm: The Musical' if you will. Here's our hero proudly announcing that "I like all the girls and all the girls like me." 'Suspicious Characters'. Here's the chorus-line, linking arms and belting out an ode to the Road Trip 'Going to Arizona'. Like its theatrical cousins from the West End, 'Lie Lover Lie' isn't going to change the world, but for those times when you just want to get drunk, forget about thinking and have a good time, this could be what you need.

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20th Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Torchwood

Season One, Episode One

New Doctor Who spin-off series (oooh it's an anagram). Captain Jack Harkness (the American one who snogged the Doctor) is in charge of another one of those super top secret alien police organisations where everyone wears long trenchcoats and spends their time reverse-engineering alien technology and ordering pizza.

Feels similar to Who, with added swearing, which feels a bit pointless - it's not much more graphic than Who, and seems almost mean to make a spin-off that kids can't watch (or won't be supposed to). It's got the same sort of budget (ie not enough for large crowd scenes, so there's a bit in the pilot where a cop is trying to usher people away from a crime scene, but there's no-one to actually usher away, which is quite odd), and mines the Men In Black secret HQ idea, except it seems to be hidden under the Cardiff cultural centre. For some reason they keep having meetings on top of buildings, perhaps because they stretched the budget to include some helicopter shots.

It's not bad, and might build into something worthwhile, but it's hard not to feel like we've seen all this done much better w the X-Files, MIB, Dark Skies etc… That said, would rather see BBC3 making this than another series of A Packet Of Crisps, or Dogtown…

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10th Oct 2006 - 130 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Black Keys

Le Trabendo, Paris

October 5th 2006

In a postmodern world where everyone sounds like someone else, The Black Keys are pretty easy to pigeonhole. Sitting somewhere between The White Stripes and Wolfmother, they take heavy blues and run with it. And thats about it. "I woke up this morning" nah, nah, nah, "Tied up my shoes" nah, nah, nah. They don't have the inventiveness of The White Stripes to make only being a two piece their selling point, and they don't have the punishing power and speed change fun of Wolfmother - preferring the slower heavier, sound.

None the less, it was an entertaining show. Although there is little variation between their songs, and there was little stage chat or interruption, that one hour long smoky-blues-jam that they played was a good one. They obviously love what they are doing, and they do it well. There was power and passion and the venue was electric with the enthusiastic, well behaved, civilized Parisian crowd. Hats off to opening band and Black Mountain side project Blood Meridian too. They warmed things up nicely with their own band of bluesy rock ...and they spoke a bit of French.

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6th Oct 2006 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Stephen Malkmus

Kindling For The Master EP

Domino

4 remixes of Stephen Malkmus' latest single provide disco entertainment for mix tapes, but surprisingly it's Hot Chip who take the honors - with their Jan Hammer style re-working.

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2nd Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Charlotte Gainsbourg

5:55

From the uber-cool monotone cover photograph, to the A-list guest list (Jarvis Cocker, Air, the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich) and Ms. Gainsbourg's obvious pedigree; this record promises much yet only partially delivers.

As you would expect from such a stellar line up, much of the song writing and music is excellent. It is a crying shame that the weak link throughout is Gainsbourg herself – who seems a little lost and listless. Her half breathless whisper is thin and strains to hold the songs together, despite the obvious strength of some of them – 'Everything I Cannot See' in particular.

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29th Sep 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Susumu Yokota

Wonder Waltz

Susumu Yokota is undeniably a genius of modern music. Originating from Japan's minimal techno scene he has strived to create compositions of such complex depth and at the same time dazzling simplicity. His most praiseworthy work however has taken on a more abstract quality and still very much in his prime he has created three classic albums that defy comparison. Grinning Cat saw Yokota depict the Alice In Wonderland story through atmospheric soundscapes while The Boy And The Tree and his master work Sakura follow a similar path creating multi layered sounds out of sampled and live percussion and strange noises never before heard by the human ear. The result can barely be described as music but touches on a kind of ugly beauty that is absolutely captivating.

Wonder Waltz is his recent album on Lo Recordings and while it still has his trademark touch it is nowhere near as interesting. Listening to the three previously mentioned records can be a frustrating experience as they never quite give you what you think you want and quite often what you think you want is some sort of beat or rhythm to emerge out of these soundscapes to bring some form to the abstract. This album proves that you shouldn't trust those form searching instincts as he gives you exactly what you have craved for years and it is disappointing. There is too much form here and the result is a little ordinary. When I say ordinary I mean by Yokota's standards, as this is far better than most other down tempo music trickling out of the tired 'chill out' scene.

There are however glimmers of Yokota's genius throughout the album, the finest moment being Pegasus 150 with its eastern horns and vocal harmonies floating over a beat sampled entirely from galloping horses hooves. Another highlight comes with Robed Heart, a beautiful violin piece accompanied by a delicate percussion beat and vocals sung in English which sees yet another departure for Yokota.

So on the whole this is a solid album with many genuinely rewarding moments but seen in the context of his back catalogue Yokota proves that it's not always best to get what you want.

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26th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Psapp

The Only Thing I Ever Wanted

Now on Domino, Psapp put up an intriguing cross between Four Tet and Stereolab with fascinating, organic sampled beats and floaty vocals. Gets dull in places but works overall.

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4th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Extras

Season Two

Still not convinced this is a work of unparalled genius, but there's just enough in Extras to keep it watchable. In a way, it's a much smaller scale enterprise than The Office, despite the gaggle of cameos they've roped in (this series includes Orlando Bloom, David Bowie, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Sir Ian McKellen, Daniel Radcliffe, Robert Lindsay and Keith Chegwin).

For series two, Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) has landed a sitcom, but it's not turning out to be the realistic show that's going to stand the test of time he wanted it to be (hmmm, what can he be thinking of there?). Meanwhile his sidekick Maggie is still arsing about as an extra - first ep sees her in some legal drama w Orlando Legolas, who can't believe she doesn't fancy him (and craps on about how everyone fancied him and not Johnny Depp on the Pirates set).

Sort of works, but it is all pretty luvvieish really, and the bits where celebs say outrage stuff (Keith Chegwin going on about blacks, queers and jews in this one) just so Millman can be baffled is getting a bit tired...

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4th Sep 2006 - 35 comments - 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

The Young Knives

Voices Of Animals & Men

This is the debut full length from Leicestershire art/punk-pop trio and it's a mixed bag, which ultimately falls short of the high praise given by many critics. They have been heralded as the new Pulp with their oh-so-English wit but they don't come close to Jarvis Cocker's originality. Their sound is basic and lead singer Henry Dartnall seems far too aware of himself. Current single Weekends & Bleak Days starts off with the classic lyric "Hot summer, what a bummer," and rarely goes much deeper than that. Whatever originality they possess seems to have been manufactured to suit a gap in the market.

But I said it was a mixed bag and with the bad stuff out of the way the second half of the album really picks up. Once they drop the bravado as on Another Hollow Line the quality starts to shine through. The vocals are toned down and sound more real while She's Attracted To tells the story of that situation we can all relate to when you punch out the father of your girlfriend and uses much chunkier instrumentation and almost Parklife spoken vocals that genuinely make you laugh. In Loughborough Suicide, the best and most resolved track on the album, we see exactly what they are capable of. All the English pathetic wit works perfectly here and brings to mind previous masters of this art form such as Morrissey. The line, "I'll never go down fighting" is repeated proudly as the song dips and rises to different tempos, it just makes me wish it wasn't the second to last track.

Although Voices Of Animals & Men is a good listen I can't give it a particularly high rating as it seems like the product of an extensive market research session with NME readers to find out just what kind of sound they want at the moment. This feeling effects every aspect of The Young Knives from their accents to their anti-indie image. Instead of the oh-am-I-having-a-photo-shoot-I-didn't-realise casual bullshit of bands like Razorlight, they adopt the slightly podgy, comfortable-living, conservative party, suit and tie look that's equally affected. But once you get past all of that they show great promise that I hope they can mature into.

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Electrelane

Singles, B-Sides & Live

"Singles, B-Sides & Live" is a title that speaks for itself, with this album collecting together some odds, ends and non-major(ish) label releases from this Brighton based all-girl band.

Things start off well, with heavy instrumental Film Music - which is exactly that. I'd like to think it would be laid over a montage of a murderous rampage at a seaside fairground. I Love You My Farfisa is another moody highlight, building up a slow instrumental until it finally bubbles over with a screaming finale.

Cover versions have a great way of bosltering your opinion on a band - either when they cover a favourite song, or do an unusual cover that sends you off looking for the original. Bruce Springsteen's I'm On Fire does the business here, falling nicely between both camps.

Some of the live tracks are also covers and, while the sound quality often leaves something to be desired, the enthusiasm of covers of Roxy Music's More Than This and Leonard Cohen's The Partisan have definitely added this band to my live hit-list.

The album suffers from the lack of sequencing that often thwarts a compilation album. Here they have gone for Singles (by date) / B-Sides (by date) / Live (by date). That seems to lump things into blocks, making the album top heavy on sound quality, but bottom heavy on the material that is most 'new'. The album does however collect together some real gems - mostly suitable for inclusion on a flirtatious mix-tape.

Electrelane have been on heavy rotation in the office this year, so if you don't fancy this one then at least get a copy of the Steve Albini produced album The Power Out.

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20th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Assault On Precinct 13

(dir. Jean-Francois Richet)

On New Year’s Eve, a heavy snow storm forces a prison bus transporting arch-criminal Larry Fishburne to take shelter at an old Police precinct - which is a day away from closing. As the storm sets in, so do the baddies, forcing the motley crew to band together.

OK, it’s one of those re-imagining things, and maybe it’s not as good as the original - but even that’s a re-make of Rio Bravo, so who’s counting? Just forget about that and watch it on it’s own merits and it's not too shabby. Ethan Hawke puts in a reasonable show as the flawed hero character, and there’s a couple of twists and turns here and there that keep things moving along. An old-school Saturday-video-rental-type-movie that keeps everyone entertained until the pizzas arrive.1

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17th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

(dir. Adam McKay)

Highlander may have been the "Oscar winner for most awesomest movie ever," but Will Ferrell's latest movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is here to put up a fight.

NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby was brought up a winner ("If you ain't first, you're last!"), so his life is town apart when Frenchman Jean Girard (Staines' own Sacha Baron Cohen) arrives and knocks him off the top spot. His life implodes, to the point that even lifelong "Shake 'n Bake" sidekick John C. Reilly turns his back on him, morphing instead in to "The Magician". Luckily Ricky's long lost drunk of a dad comes back into his life and leads him to salvation - through some ingenious use of a cougar.

There is some vague political subtext, with the rivalry between the backwards Americans and prententious French sophisticates - but let's not kid anyone. If you seen any movie with Ferrell, or the Wilson brother's, or Vince Vaughn for that matter then you probably have a pretty clear idea of what to expect here. It's dumb and drawn out, like a series of disconnected sketches from an unfinished TV pilot. There's never any doubt how it's going to end, but there are plenty of laughs along the way.

It doesn't have the clever sub-text and emotional depth of cinematic classic Old School, but there are some genius More Cowbell moments from Ferrell. Those, plus a great red-neck soundtrack (and the fact that John C. Reilly's favourite Jesus has white wings and is backed on stage by Lynyrd Skynyrd, while he is drunk in the front row) are almost worth the future DVD rental price alone.

THAT JUST HAPPENED!

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11th Aug 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Oneida

Happy New Year

Jagjaguwar

This is the eighth full-length album from this Brooklyn trio. On the whole it's a pretty patchy affair but when it's good it's great, as on the album masterpiece Up With People. This epic assault, clocking in at nearly eight minutes, is the reason to get this album. It's by far the heaviest song on the album with relentless guitars that sound like an engine refusing to start - calling to mind speed metal heroes Anthrax. Although Oneida fail to reach these heights again, the rest of Happy New Year is an interesting listen spanning many genres and tempos, but somehow falling short.

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Animal Collective / Battles

Astoria, London

Mogwai covering Four Tet or Matt Sweeney backed by DJ Shadow - I can't quite think how to sum up Battles. For certain, they were utterly compelling and instantly distinctive. In fact I have never been so mesmerised by a support band. They had the ability to take their muscular riffs and take them to unexpected places whilst never becoming indulgent or anything less than immediate.

Then came Animal Collective, who confused and frustrated like no other: I guess that may have been the idea. On record they manage to sound both abstract and dizzying - yet always carried by the unerring ability to find melody and structure in even the most far reaching places. The lightness of touch that graces both Feels and Sung Tongs was somewhat lost live. Songs merged into an indistinguishable mire of noise and monotony - and only occasionally to any effect. Although the crowd seemed to bestow endless goodwill towards them there was a general air of perplexity. Only on the great 'Did You See the Words' did things finally fall into place.

But despite these frustrations, you can't help but admire Animal Collective. They are utterly unique, fearless and challenging. It just hard to know what to make of it all - they are undoubtedly a brilliant proposition on record and in lead singer David Portner they have a twisted Tim Buckley-like voice that can take a simple refrain and take it to extraordinary places.

Enjoyable? Hardly; Frustrating? Always.

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14th Jul 2006 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Stuart A. Staples

Leaving Songs

Leaving Songs is the second solo album from Tindersticks front man Stuart A. Staples. Where 2005's Lucky Dog Recordings: 2003-2004 was a loose collection of songs written over some time and recorded at Staples' home studio, Leaving Songs is a collection of songs written over the last year and recorded at Mark Nevers' studio in Nashville, with Dave Boulter, Neil Fraser and drummer Thomas Belhom.... followed by a bit more recording back in the UK featuring Tindersticks' stalwart Terry Edwards and longtime collaborator, Gina Foster.

For me, things started to tail off for the Tindersticks with Simple Pleasure. The songs became less urgent and relevant, presumably due to the maturing years and situations of the band. Leaving Songs starts off on a different note, with Staples strong baritone voice accompanied only by an acoustic guitar on Old Friends No. 1. However, as the song progresses one by one another guitar joins in, followed by strings, a hammond organ - and before you know it you are back in the classic Tindersticks territory of a song like Drunk Tank. This is no complaint, in fact this song has everything that for me has been missing in Tindersticks' more recent albums. It seems like a moment from a western, where the apparently heartless gun-for-hire cowboys come back to save the town from bad guys.

The song builds up such a fantastic layered atmosphere, that it sets the bar for the album almost as high as it can be, and unfortunately it is moment that isn't topped. The Path, Which Way The Wind and The Road Is Long are weak, methodical affairs, that have lyrics that are less than revolutionary, mostly seeming to be about moving on, making decisions and so on zzzzzz. The duets on the other hand (with Maria McKee and Lhasa de Sela) sound like they are trying to re-create the good-old-days of songs like Traveling Light, but not quite making the grade.

Things pick up a bit with Already Gone and This Old Town, creating the kind of run-down-seaside-town-crossed-with-a-spaghetti-western atmosphere I'm always looking for. While Old Friends No. 1 is currently nudging at the top for title of "my current favourite song" I'm afraid the album as a whole doesn't come close to Tindersticks at their best.

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6th Jun 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Takeovers

Turn To Red

If you thought John Frusciante was prolific (releasing 6 records in six months), think again. Robert Pollard has just released 3 records in one week... and that's just his most recent stuff. As Guided By Voices, he was pretty much kicking out a record a year, alongside literally dozens of solo/side-projects - many under the banner of the Fading Captain series. Check out the excellent GBV Database for a thorough discography, as well as an exclusive collection of rarities to download.

With the demise of GBV in 2004, these releases have taken a more central stage, and with three at once you could never complain of non-proliferation.

The Takeovers is a collaboration with former GBV bassist Chris Slusarenko, with other guests such as Dan Peters from Mudhoney. On paper it is possibly the most conventional of the three new records. The record starts with news-headline-style spoken word track, bringing a sense of impending doom to the proceedings. It also starts the album off with a focus that is rarely seen from Pollard. Insane/Cool It is a lo-fi rocker, but from First Spill Is Free onwards the tone of much of the album is almost concept-like, with a sense of 'the end of the party', and the come-down (of America...?).

OK, let's back that up a bit, as I'm reading way too much into it. Although the news-headline-style voice comes up again later, the message is not carried through with much clarity, and the album quickly looses focus. Sweet Jelly and The Public Dance are highlights, with the instrumental The Public Dance in particular capturing the down beat vibe mentioned earlier, sounding like a club band playing to a near empty room at 3am in the morning.

With a bit more focus the record could have been classic, but unfortunately nothing quite comes close to the boni-fide classics contained on every single GBV record, and it is quickly superseded by the other two new releases.

...continue to Psycho And The Birds.

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28th May 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Psycho And The Birds

All That Is Holy

Although it is the most lo-fi and rough edged of three new albums from GBV's Robert Pollard, All That Is Holy has some of the most promising moments. Recorded with long time collaborator Todd Tobias, the album was apparently done as home recordings by Pollard - who then sent on the demos to Tobias 'to dress them up'. That 'dressing up' is not particularly reflected in the sound, and in the age of the home computer there seems less and less need for the 8-track sound Pollard has long been enchanted by. The playing is distinctly amateur - sounding like a far from finished demo - but the songs are often inspiring and never dull.

The Killers is a unfinished rocker, which still sets the pace for the upbeat album. The 2 minute Father Is Good is a rough diamond capable of sitting on any great Guided By Voices album. The middle of the album is where it is at it's strongest, with a briefly coherent sequence of Alabama Sunrise, Jesus The Clockwork and Disturbed.... but ultimately things tail off again, and the album doesn't finish that strongly.

The demo sound is hard work, and occasionally grueling. Stick with it however, as the album contains some great material.

...continue to Keene Brothers.

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28th May 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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17th May 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Various (Domino) Artists

They’ll Have To Catch Us First

Though nowhere near as comprehensive as 2003's Worlds Of Possibilities this is nice little update on the goings on at Domino. Not many surprises as most of the best bits I already have but a stand out track from Archie Bronson Outfit and Clearlake make it all worthwhile. Old favourites include Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Billy, The Kills and Sons and Daughters. All in all a good listen and some future avenues to pursue.

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28th Apr 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Bob Dylan

Brixton Academy, London

It was a tough call seeing this or Jeff Tweedy tonight. One, a bonifide legend who might not be back, the other a mini-legend, who will almost certainly be back - with and without Wilco. That made the decision easier, and the huge queue snaking all the way round the Brixton Academy at 7.30 certainly added to the excitement.

Everyone got in pretty quickly, and at about 7.40 the lights went down for an ice hockey style introduction for the "legend of the 60's counter culture, duke of spook... etc". The crowd went crazy when Dylan shuffled on, and kicked things off with Maggie's Farm. We also got Positively 4th Street, Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine), Girl Of The North Country and Highway 61 Revisited. The Band (I wish) were certainly good, but no one really moved off piste without a nod from the commandant, and certainly no one broke into a sweat. Dylan himself was captivating to watch, but mainly due to the fact that you were in the presence of a living legend... rather than what he was doing (not playing the guitar, occasionally playing the harmonica. The older geeks in the crowd (some with binoculars, many taking notes) seemed determined to like every single move or shuffle, and every song started with a race to be the first to recognize it.

The band shuffled off after a brief bow, but nothing was said to the crowd. They predictably shuffled back on for an encore with Like A Rolling Stone, which was the first time the crowd actually had a chance to sing along. As the chorus came up the crowd swelled up - but then after one line, Dylan's different delivery (Like a ROLL-ing stONE!) just caught everyone off guard and put an end to it.

All Along The Watchtower wasn't bad, but all in all it was a bit like seeing a really good jazz band (or even Steely Dan) on a Cross Channel Ferry doing Dylan covers. In the club style.

Should have seen Tweedy.

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23rd Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Paycheck

(dir. John Woo)

After selling 3 years of his memory to an evil corporation, engineer Ben Affleck slowly discovers mysterious details of what happened in the missing years - thanks to a series of apparantly meaningless items he left in an envelope....

Pretty standard future-thriller, in the post-Minority Report world of action-is-better-than plot. Ben Affleck doesn't do anything to change his status of 'only in it for the money' and John Woo drops the ball as usual.

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6th Aug 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet