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Heroes

Season 3, ep1: The Second Coming

ABC/BBC

Much better opening for the next chapter of Heroes: Villains. Really tested my powers of endurance last time with all that nonsense about the wonder twins who couldn't quite tell just why Sylar was such a bad tour guide. Sticking the most likable character, Hiro, waaaay back in the past (and not letting him time-jump out of it for almost the whole series) wasn't that great either, and having a neutered Sylar meant that the threat level just wasn't really there. Never quite got to grips with the whole Shanti virus thing either.

Anyhow, this time we're back with Nathan Petrelli's shooting at his press conference - whodunnit and why? Not quite a question to keep us guessing like JR or Mr Burns, but not bad either. Seems like they've used the writers' strike break to focus it all a bit more. Hiro has a great beyond-the-grave dvd interaction with his dad Mr Sulu, Sylar's back to his evil watchmaker ways (is it my imagination or is there always a tick-tock sound effect whenever he's onscreen?), and Claire gets one of the best moments of the series so far when she manages to out-gross Sylar during a particularly uncomfortable moment.

Mama Patrelli looks like she's shaping up to be more of a player this time, there's a new super-speedy girl who doesn't get affected by Hiro's time-stopping and it also looks like we're going to see some of the non-powered up cast joining the freaks. If it can keep up this pace then it might just have been worth wading through the last lot.

#TV
#chimp71

27th Sep 2008 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

TV On The Radio

Dear Science

4AD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bellowhead

Matachin

Navigator

When I was a kid what I knew about traditional folk music was based solely on watching in bewilderment at the people wearing cloth beermat waistcoats who wandered round my home town at the annual folk festival. Nowadays I like a bit of what might be called ‘alternative folk’ - Bonnie Prince Billy, Iron and Wine, etc. Yet, I still don’t know an awful lot about folky folk folk. So, at first it was hard to know what to make of the second Bellowhead album, Matachin (apparently a dance involving swords).

Initially it seemed like the traditions of English folk music were firmly in place with ye olde ballads and whiskey soaked sea shanties abounding. However, the inspiration from jazz, cabaret and also a darker, abstract, circus troupe verve are all evident and you realise that they’re not so easy to label.

They themselves say “above all this is a BIG band” – and with 11 sharp suited Bellowheaders playing 20 instruments the band is certainly big. The mix of the normal folk instrumentation – fiddles, mandolins and guitars – with glockenspiels, trombones, saxophones and frying pans creates a boisterous, quirky and drunken atmosphere. Further, the arrangements are topped off with some fine storytelling. Apart from on angry instrumental jig – ‘Trip to Bucharest’ - the centuries old tales of lost love, cholera and prostitutes who service priests are delivered with a showman’s swagger by lead singer, Jon Boden. And on pieces such as “Roll Her Down The Bay” and “Kafoozalum” the entire band join in and sound like they’re having a right good time of it too.

This probably explains why their live performances have won them high praise from their own scene and beyond. They’ve been the resident band at the Southbank Centre, performed to much applause at the Proms this year and even made a new fan in Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis after playing on ‘Later... with Jools Holland’.

So, while I thought folk might not be my thing beforehand, I found myself surprisingly enjoying the twists and turns on this album. I like the cut of their jib. Tho not enough to make a waistcoat out of beermats.

#Music
#Locochimpo

25th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Sic Alps

A Long Way Round To A Shortcut

Animal Disguise

The far reaching arm of the internet has empowered the music listening public but changed the way we listen to and experience this music. One of the casualties is the emergence of a 'local scene' and the excitement of feeling like you are one of a select few that is hearing this music hasn't been felt by many for a long time. For a while now L.A. club The Smell has been the epicenter of a small genre commonly known as 'shitgaze' - a lo-fi punk rock sound often drowned in noise and scuzz. The main players are No Age, Abe Vagoda, and this band - Sic Alps. To make it easy for us this side of the pond, guitarist Mike Donovan and drummer Matthew Donovan have compiled the story so far in one nice easy 26 track album gathering together together all their 7' and 12' releases since 2006.

Arranged in reverse chronological order A Long Way Round To A Short Cut puts its best foot forward with stripped down garage rock occupying most of the first half. Songs like Message From The Law and Bells (With Tremelo And Destortion) serve up a solution of dirt covered blues riffs with murky vocals. They rattle with tinny, DIY production and rumble with basslines so wrapped up in fuzz they play out like month-old cheese. It's not until we get to the halfway point of RATROQ that this record changes course. It's a course that you'd be able to see coming but RATROQ marks the shift and downward plummet into the avant-guard noise creations that this band started with. It's like A Love Supreme being put through a bandsaw and it continues on from there with Social Strats and I Am Grass (Restored) following suit.

So from the hiss-soaked blues rock of the latest singles, Sic Alps take us on a back-track through their short but conscientious career through the squinting screech of their feed-back faze and finishing up with the 2006 releases that adopted a kind of stoner-rock lethargy but with added grime. The latest releases are undoubtedly more palatable but the early 8-Track recordings are essential listening when trying to understand this band and the scene they belong in.

24th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Chad Vangaalen

Soft Airplane

Sub Pop

The Canadian one-man-band returns from the success of Skelliconnection with his 3rd album and one that consolidates all his learnings so far into the best example of his creativity so far. Soft Airplane maintains the DIY aesthetic that Vangaalen has mad his own but manages to inject just enough new-found sophistication to make this record a welcome departure from the previous 2 but familiar enough to keep them relevant.

Using various analogue recording devices Vangaalen lays down a wonderful mixture of dainty folk (Willow Tree), grimy indie-rock (Inside The Molecules) and glitch heavy electronica (TMNT Mask). Using all sorts of instruments from synthesizers, guitars, to any number of home made things that make make noise each song bristles with a creativity and open-mindedness that has always been more than obvious but here seems to sit more comfortably in its skin. The records may swing between genres at an alarming rate but the unifying thread in all his work is the voice. Throughout each tale of death, nightmares and love lost and found Vangaalen's voice quivers with the vulnerability of a flickering flame and yet can rise to a cavernous scale like on the riff heavy Bare Feet On Wet Griptape.

With his mixture of traditional song craft and homemade electronics, Soft Airplane oozes melancholic nostalgia but shines forth with the hope of a contemporary outlook. It's an album so full of ideas it's hard to imagine all this emanated from just one man. It plays out like the work of an artist entirely dedicated to his craft and one who's influences are never denied but instead used as a launching pad for a journey that is all together his own.

23rd Sep 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Catfish Haven

Devastator

Secretly Canadian

With an introduction that will make you almost sure you are listening to a legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd bootleg, Catfish Haven's third album Devastator kicks off with a confidence and enthusiasm that makes them hard to place. Your immediate assumption might be that the band are a 70's rock tribute act, and while the album is unashamedly retro there's a wealth of great material on here - worthy of many of of the band's obvious influences.

If Aretha Franklin has refused to let Matt "Guitar" Murphy quit the cafe and put the band back together, Jake and Ellwood Blues might have called on second choice backing band - Duane and Gregg Allman. Their southern rock could have pushed the Blues Brothers into a whole new territory, adding a heavy-rocking boogie to their Sam Cooke-influenced soulful style. Surpringly enough, Catfish Haven are not a sprawling 11-piece rock orchestra, but just a three piece from Chicago - with a very big sound.

The party train leaves the station on opener Are You Ready, before passing through the infectous Prince-tinged guitar of Set In Stone (an unmissable highlight and certainly a future Chimpomatic Song Of The Day, mp3 here), as George Hunter wails "There's a train, that leaves the station of my mind". There's no slowing down for the foot-stomping piano on Buying My Time, or the furious instrumental workout of Full Speed as this unstoppably entertaining listen plows full steam ahead, right through to the very end.

This is one retro sound that has been long in need of re-invention and thankfully the band remain firmly on the side of homage rather than pastiche - more Black Mountain than Wolfmother. You can either jump on board right here, or at the very least dust off some Allman Brothers and leave your blues at home.

22nd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Juana Molina

Un Dia

Domino

Juana Molina's fifth album opens with the line, "Undia voy a cantar las canciones sin letra y cada uno podra imaginar si hablo de amor, de desilusion, banalidades o sobre platon." And for those of you who don't know, this translates as, "One day I will sing the songs with no lyrics and everyone can imagine for themselves if it's about love, disappointment, banalities or about Plato." You don't have to dig too deep into this record or even speak her language to understand that she is well on the way to this goal. Un Dia is clearly the result of some pretty ruthless examination of her past work as here, Molina pulls out certain elements that previously lay hidden and fades other's expertly into the background. The two factors to which I refer are the emergence of rhythm and the receding of the vocals. The rhythm and pulse of this music is key and as each groove and beat writhe over and inside eachother, Molina's minimal and whispered, repeated vocals become just another tool for this truly mesmeric and seductive sound. Un Dia is as uncompromising and mesmeric as some of the finest work by Japanese experimental artist Susumu Yokota and not since Joanna Newsom's Ys have I heard such a fiercely original record.

Describing the rhythm in her previous work as being "like a hidden layer in Photoshop," the aim with Un Dia was to bring to the forefront something that had previously been obvious to her but not to others. This rhythm, being played out on wood, cymbal, gentle acoustic guitar and bombo leguero and woven from delicate electronic glitches produces trance-like compositions that slowly gather momentum, taking on more instruments with every revolution until they swirl around your head in a magical frenzy. Molina's voice is heavily sampled and looped creating a complex mesh of repetition that is at the heart of this trance. It's incredibly seductive music but not in a Siren sort of way. The seduction occurs by the sheer weight of sound that rises up before you and the unrelenting endurance of it. Most of these songs surpass the seven minute mark and all build on an initial rhythm and maintain this to the end, gathering a throng of support along the way. And yet it all plays out with the lightest of touches.

With opener and title track Un Dia, Molina's voice is so distant as are the numerous instruments that, as the song progresses, it feels like you are being slowly surrounded by sound. The expert production allows each sound to, in turn, loom out of this impenetrable ring and approach your ear. Some of these compositions are quite unrelenting and refuse to give the listener what they want. This works out to be the ultimate success but the songs that build to what can very loosely be described as a pay-off are simply dazzling. Vive Solo begins with quiet acoustic strums and Molina's voice assumes angelic simplicity. The gentle clap of the rhythm creeps in and this builds the tempo with incredible subtlety until Molina's breathy deliveries evolve into almost horn-like tone and sound out like an instrument of another planet. Los Hingos De Marosa follows a similar structure laying down complexly woven textures of electronic chirps that are eventually punctuated with Molina's blissful voice.

Whether dancing playfully around the rhythm or swirling with nagging endurance Molina evolves and contorts her voice to fit the organic sounds that surround it and its captivation lies in its ability to greet you with the most human of touches and also behave in truly otherworldly ways. Her use of voice-as-instrument here has created a restless, magical, narcotic master piece.

19th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Mogwai

The Hawk Is Howling

Wall Of Sound

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

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

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

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

18th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Vivian Girls

In The Red

The indie revival continues with this album from Brooklyn's Vivian Girls - pulling girl-group harmonies over the top of shoe-gazing guitars that know a bit about feedback. After a vinyl-only release on Mauled By Tigers sold out in no time, In The Red have stepped in to give this debut full-length a wider distribution.

The album starts as it means to go on - jumping striaght into the already full-flowing maelstrom of All The Time - and the tempo seldom slows from there. You could easily megamix the tracks together with a half-dozen (Going Insane, Tell The World, No ...."No, no, no. No. No. No.") all following a clearly cut template.

Such A Joke tries to bend the formula a little, with the spinal bassline tying together an almost surf sound, but here the production values just blend the promising track into mush. In the era of home studio and Garageband, there little excuse for sounding like an 8-track recording. Where Do You Run finds the band heading into Lush's well mapped territory - emulating Miki Berenyi's love-lost lyrics over charming harmonies, making for easily the most successful track on the album.

There's no doubt that some of the production problems would be overcome in a live setting, as the band have an undoubted energy and charisma. At best they head towards the steady sound of 80/90's 4AD and the likes of Lush or The Amps, but next to someone like Electrelane, these Vivian Girls seem pale and tired in comparison.

#Music
#NM

17th Sep 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Lambchop

Oh (Ohio)

City Slang

The task of reviewing a new Lambchop album is a tricky one indeed. Firstly this band tend to make albums so subtle and complex that to form an opinion in only a few listens seems futile as from past experience a Lambchop album will have its delights set on slow release. Secondly, and similarly due to the great wealth of subtleties, the changes and progressions that occur between albums seem minimal or certainly not obvious. Only the more ardent fans will notice any great shifts in style or theme from record to record but to everyone else they all sound pretty similar.

There are however some pretty seismic (in Lambchop terms) changes on Oh (Ohio) and that is namely its accessibility. Kurt Wagner has always crafted songs that ooze romance but the sheer weirdness that has always lurked underneath these lounge acts has always hinted at a tongue being in cheek. The result of this has always put a slight chill in the smokey air and has set our quirky narrator at a distance from his subjects. But from this distance he has always been able to view life in all its detail and pass comment with a unique profundity. On Oh (Ohio) the profundity remains but the distance seems to have lessened and a new warmth has crept into these songs.

Please Rise illustrates this new shift perfectly. Wagner's lethargic vocals stand alone as this song emerges, then slowly it is joined by a delicate and quite distant piano. With cavernous guitars this song gently rises and rises until Wagner's closing line of "stand over me" is enveloped in glistening music that has formed such a protecting layer of warmth that a song that opened with such vulnerability ends with a great sense of peace. This closeness is also evoked by a pleasing increase in pace dotted perfectly throughout the shuffling. Sharing A Gibson With Martin Luther King Jr. is the best example of this. As it skips along on a rolling bassline and jangly guitars, its continuous momentum dipping and peaking forming a fantastic mirror to the monotone vocals that never over exert themselves along the way. On Popeye these two elements are kept separate as the first half drifts by on bristling melodies and thick, dripping vocals only to be rudely interrupted by a thrilling instrumental second half that kicks off hot on the heals of the dying notes that preceded it.

Earlier in the album on the beautiful Slipped Dissolved And Loosed, Wagner is joined by a soft female vocal accompaniment that shadows his chorus like a cool breeze and provides companionship to his often lonely delivery. The opening line to this song "I am not familiar with the typography of your mind," is brought to mind as we near the end of the record with I Believe In You. It's a strikingly intimate way to end a record and reflects the love song we heard earlier and indeed serves as an insight into "the typography" of Wagner's mind. With this song Wagner emerges from the world he creates in his music and puts us and him very much in the now, commenting on everything from God to organic food. It's an apt way to end a record that, with many of his eccentric kinks ironed out, is more palatable, easier to get on with and more safe. His alarmingly high falsetto vocal levels never get an airing here but in those deep tones that trickle throughout Oh (Ohio) there is plenty to listen to.

16th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

David Vandervelde

Waiting For The Sunrise

Secretly Canadian

A couple of weeks ago, during a particularly stressful time I received an all important and long awaited phone call. Needing to quickly write down the information relayed to me over the phone, I scrambled around in my bag for something on which to write and all I could lay my hands on was the Waiting For The Sunrise press release. Sadly this was as close as this album would come to being essential.

Believe it or not, that intro in no way suggests this to be a bad album. Vandervelde's mini-debut in 2007 was a warm breeze blowing over much of the releases that year. It was heavily steeped in rock history, particularly that of Marc Bolan but was enjoyable none the less. The trick is making that heavy emulation last over more than one album and by the sound of his followup the plan was simply to change the point of reference. This year, soft rock and the sound of Fleetwood Mac are the source in question and much the same enjoyment is gained from this as with the debut but it really doesn't seem enough.

Opener I Will Be Fine is classic Mac as it tip toes in on a delicate beat and dainty piano tinkle. Vandervelde's hazy vocals are light and breezy and allow much room to the music as they fade to the background during extended bridge sections. Hit The Road plods endlessly on amidst a fuzzed out wall of guitars while Someone Like You rises above the sun-bleached haze to produce a nice guitar driven melody and colourful injections of retro keyboards.

Much of the feeling of the 70's is evoked on Waiting For The Sunrise including theinability to stop playing when a song has run its course. Someone Like You hits the 4 minute mark and enters into an instrumental of swirling keyboards that you'd think would see out the rest of the song, but then in come the vocals and the next half begins, but the next half is much of the same and it all just seems like an inability to say goodbye. Need For Now is as non-desrcript as you'll get and it still goes on for over 6 minutes, much of that being the same kind of plodding keyboard instrumentals. Lyin' In Bed is even longer and covers even less musical ground than it's predecessor.

This is a well produced and musically solid album, while Vandervelde has an impressive vocal range and more than achieves his goal. But when the goal seems like little more than emulation, you have to ask yourself what the point of all this is. The reason why there isn't much back story to this review is that I did actually lose that press release when the information adorning the back of it no longer seemed important to me. The same can be said for David Vandervelde unfortunately.

15th Sep 2008 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Kings Of Leon

Only By The Night

Sony

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Metros

More Money Less Grief

1965 Records

Peckham teenagers The Metros have been doing the rounds for a while now, slowly building the anticipation for this release through a series of singles and EPs. The band met at school and the sprit of Grange Hill is still present here - with stories of life in south London so vivid, you'll expec a banger on a fork to come flying towards you at at any moment. While the evolution of the band has not been rushed, it seems like it was always inevitable - with a record sleeve designer and a session bassist among the band's parental heritage. Add to that a demo produced by Baxter Dury and James Endeacott's 1965 Records seems like a perfect home for the band.

Live, The Metros are endlessly entertaining - with cheeky lead singer Saul Adamczewski's boundless energy and stage presence carrying the show effortlessly. Stop/start bovver boy beats owe more than a passing nod to the storytelling-meets-ska of Madness or Squeeze - and you know these guys would drive a Cortina if they could. The clean, sharp production and the upbeat playing style suit the songs perfectly - vividly portraying the hard times of living life in the teenage party fast-lane.

While the enthusiasm behind the band and this record is undeniable, things don't really expand much beyond what we've heard already, from the extensive run of singles - and the album offers little new over the 38 minutes. Once you've heard the ska-tinged snarl of Education Part 2, or the stop/start bounce of Last of the Lookers, you've pretty much heard them all. Having said that, if you like those tracks, you'll probably like it all - and what's not to like? Have a few drinks, pogo around and sit tight, as there's bound to much bigger and better things from this promising band in the future.

#Music
#NM

11th Sep 2008 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Ben Weaver

The Ax In The Oak

Bloodshot

Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine producer Brian Deck joins Ben Weaver once again on his sixth studio album and the result is a more experimental sound that lifts this record from the sometimes slow grind of his previous efforts. The partnership here between these two artists is more of a collaboration as Deck does way more than produce this piece of work. The Ax In The Oak sounds more like a question and answer exercise as one artist uses what the other has given as a launching pad for multiple departures.

All the regular trappings are here, with Weaver's gruff delivery dominating every second, his lyrics as bare and exposed as ever but the addition of beautifully subtle electronic texture seems to go some way to providing much needed warmth and support to these exposed vocals. But ultimately it's the vocals that makes Ben Weaver so unique. Like Silver Jews' David Berman, Weaver has an ability to see the world in all its day-to-day minutia and uses this attention to detail to describe the larger concepts we all struggle to understand. Opening song White Snow declares "You get one wish for each dot on a junebug's wing / And there's only one dot on the one I'm holding...I'm not going to waste it on you." Likewise, Anything With Words states "The truth is no rounder than a tired horse's eyes."

The themes in Weaver's songs are as earthy as his voice. Nature features strongly with foxes, hawks, alligators and crows all drifting by the desolate Weaver landscape. This is very real music as every hum-drum experience contributes to Weavers creative tapestry. But reality isn't always pretty and Weaver doesn't shy away from this. His tales of monotony, loneliness and dead birds can sometimes sound awkward but it's in this awkwardness that the captivation lies.

Such wisdom appears quite startling from someone in his late twenties and the manner by which this wisdom is administered is also staggeringly mature. For an artist like this to be so often compared to Tom Waits the mind boggles at what he'll be sounding like in 20 years time. But great music will often disguise both its origins and the direction it intends to go and throughout all six of this guys records both these elements remain unclear. The standout track here is Hey Ray and if this is any kind of hint at the road that lies ahead for Weaver's music then it is more than encouraging. The lonely strums of the acoustic guitar are so shrouded in loneliness that when they are eventually enveloped by Deck's warm bass and delicate beat it's hard not to feel a shiver. At over six minutes long Hey Ray is the most subtly ambitious song to date. It shows Weaver's ability to sing about desolation so convincingly and yet shroud his words with such intimacy. He's left "the ax in the oak and the pot on the stove" but assures us he'll "be back in a while." Mr. Weaver, we await your return with baited breath.

10th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jaguar Love

Take Me To The Sea

Matador Records

Fans of disbanded Seattle bands Blood Brothers or Pretty Girls Make Graves , may be excited to know that certain members of each (Cody Votolato and Johnny Whitney from BB. Jay Clark from PGMG) have joined forces, relocated to Portland, formed Jaguar Love, signed to Matador records and now released their debut album "Take Me To The Sea". Those same fans might also like to know, that while the complex and creative intesity that marked previous incarnations remains in place, the hardcore brashness has been smoothed down into something altogether more melodic. Not too melodic mind, as they have already snagged a support slot for leading rockers Queens Of The Stone Age in the States. Those fans need fear not either, Johnny Whitney's unique vocals are certainly present, correct and unique as ever.

And here's the crux of the matter; personally I've never engaged with either of those two former bands - so I'm taking no emotional currency with me into "Take Me To The Sea". The tunes are indeed complex, interesting, well put together, energetic and all the rest of it - but there is no escaping those vocals. Some of the more favourable critical comparisons out there include "pure Bolan-esque glam" or "Robert Plant on Steroids". Some of the less favourable "...like Perry Farrell after a sex change" or this gem..."..like a child being tortured". I'm in the latter camp - and while the music maybe "At The Drive-In', the vocals are definately more "Alvin The Chipmunks", which unfortunately makes the album pretty much unlistenable.

9th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Somers Town

(dir. Shane Meadows)

Optimum

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

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

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

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

#Film
#CSF

8th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Serpent

(dir. Eric Barbier)

Fid?lit? Productions

Midway through a divorce, successful middle-class Parisian Vincent Mandel gets involved with old classmate and blackmailer Joseph Plender, who has held a grudge since their school days. As Plender infiltrates his life, things slowly descend into hell.

Another tight French thriller coming up fast on recent success Tell No One. Based on an English novel - "Plender" by Get Carter writer Ted Lewis - The Serpent takes the Hollywood conventions of suspense and film noir and transposes them seamlessly to modern day Paris. The movie is confidently directed by Eric Barbier, who is happy to play on the storylines of the past - including France's own Cache, as well as Manhunter and The Fugitive, while Vincent is played suitably empathetically by Yvan Attal (from Munich, and er Rush Hour 3, Prison Break Season 4 and Tom Cruise in the French dubbed version of Eyes Wide Shut) - who himself directed a chunk of upcoming ensemble movie New York, I Love You.

In hindsight, some of the plot twists are a little precarious - and the movie actually ends up wriggling out of some of the traps it sets itself up for- but when you're in the moment it all makes perfect sense. It all gets a bit epic in the end, but remains far more restrained then your average Hollywood effort. Why can't Britain make more movies like this?

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5th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Dudes

Brain, Heart, Guitar

One Four Seven

So, ambitious name aside, how do Canadian rockers The Dudes sound? Like a smoothed out White Denim that's been thrown through the blender and re-packaged with a more cohesive brand. Singer Dan Vacon has vocals so similar to White Denim's front man that I was convinced it was a related release. Must just be fans of that sound.

The only problem is, this is actually a UK release of The Dudes overlooked 2006 album, and these Dudes have been tearing up the plains of Calgary since 1996, when White Denim were still playing catch in the garden with their dads.

For such an independent record, this album has a polished studio sound that makes it hard to place the record in a particular period. Live favourite Dropkick Queen Of The Weekend is a highlight, harnessing infectious pop licks to a rock mentality, while the story-telling lyrics of A Cup To Put Your Blood In are built around offer a more engaging narrative. The Fist recalls the mainstream sound of 80's American rock - a highway pounding bassline, backed up my a harmonious chorus - while The Celebration Of Kindness attempts to stretch things out with a more ambitious jam.

The sound and style of the band often recalls the Black Keys (Don't Talk, Love Is Dangerous, Mom 100m), again offering a smoothed-out, more approachable take on things. While White Denim's oddball character is one of their most appealing aspects, the Black Keys lack of cohesion has always seemed like there's a missing element in their sound, which prevents it really taking hold. Here that gap is filled with more hooks, beefed up guitars and sing-a-long chorus'.

Admittedly there's not a huge range here either, which has saved them from any kind of scathing attack, as I'd struggle to pull out a sub-standard track. This is a band you can throw on the stereo, crack open a beer and kick-back to - and sometimes that's just fine.

4th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

XX Teens

Welcome To Goon Island

Mute

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

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

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

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

3rd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Donkeys

Living On The Other Side

Dead Oceans

Imagine if you will, some Hollywood genius decides to remake that 1977 Burt Reynolds vehicle about a vehicle; Smokey and the Bandit, except this time, it's the Dude, not the Tache behind the wheel. That's right, stoned cinematic legend that is Jeffrey Lebowski on a (not too stretching) mission to transport a cargo of Sasparillas across a not that far distance along the United States' west coast. Replace the bloodhound for Donny (we'll leave Walter out of this chilled out trip) and see how our heroes fare.

Who would you use for the soundtrack? Not so long ago, you might have gone for the relatively succesful UK bands, The Thrills or The Bees, Dublin and Isle of White residents who wished they were elsewhere (late 60's/early 70's California to be precise), but such a movie surely deserves something a bit more authentic. So, to said Hollywood genius, why not use 'Living on the Other Side' by Southern California residents, The Donkeys. Made up of four best friends, (two of which are genuine California surfers no less), The Donkey's debut album oozes laid-back chilledness. Slide guitars, brushed drums, simple solos, lazy vibes, barely awake vocals, It's a road trip; Destination: vague. Arrival time: more so. I could tell you about specific songs, but, well....

For those lazy Sundays, when you can't find that album of Whale sounds, stick it on, it will be worth it, even if you can't remember what you just listened to once it's finished.

2nd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Calexico

Carried To Dust

City Slang

Pressing play on the new Calexico record is akin to gently parting the curtains after a restless, fever plagued night to find the new day outside well into it's swing, the world still spinning and the sun still beating down mercilessly. As the light streams in you're weary figure is bathed in its healing warmth and your woes of the night before are banished to a distant memory. And the more this album casts this light on all other offerings from this band, 2006's Garden Ruin is illuminated as something of a blip, a brief moment of bad form, and even though it was by no means a poor album it has become glaringly obvious that Carried To Dust is what this band do best. But that is not to suggest that this is merely Calexico by numbers.

Having opted for the bold yet polite statement of Garden Ruin, Joey Burns turns the haze up once again and he and his blissful music retreat into the shadows. And its from here that the familiar dusty sounds of Calexico emerge gently, feeling no need to hurry or impress, choosing the subtle, time honored approach and allowing their sweeping cinematic panoramas to gradually seep into your being. It's a roaming album that makes its way through sprawling, sun-baked terrain, its eyes set on the ocean ahead as a symbol for new shores. Along the way it picks up many characters from murdered political poets to refugees displaced from their homeland.

Musically, Carried To Dust is a masterclass. Every note played and every word breathed serves the grand purpose. The dry landscape of Two Silver Trees is pricked by the crispest of notes that twinkle like timid sprouting shoots. Burns' whispered vocals step into the light cautiously then as the music swells the song expands to magnificent sweeping vistas. The same can be said for The News About William that follows. The addition of the string section provides the grandeur here with Burns' voice rising from its hushed tones to match the soaring horns and violins.

Calexico can evoke scenes of endless landscapes bathed in light and warmth but in an instant can fill these visions with seething tension. Fractured Air both in title and sound illustrates this perfectly with its clipped guitar and clenched reservation. The apocalyptic Man Made Lake simmers all the way through, the beat and tinkling piano suggesting a twilight where all is not at rest. This tension is brought to a magnificent and unusual head as screeching guitars bring this song to an uneasy but expert close. Then by contrast, songs like Slowness with its sweet female accompaniment and slide guitar and the album closer Contention City drift along on a warm breeze with lazy, idyllic lethargy.

House Of Valparaiso could be one of the most perfect Calexico songs to date. It has all you want from this band from Burns' hushed tones setting the scene then the heat being turned up ever so slightly with the inclusion of gentle mariachi trumpets. These are then layered by the rising vocals soaring effortlessly over head of the pitter-patter rhythm like a thermal riding bird of prey. Carried To Dust consolidates all that this band has learnt from its long history. It doesn't just rehash the many successful elements of 2003's Feast Of Wire but builds on these via the lessons learnt from Garden Ruin. Calexico have always been a band that dare to experiment with the tradition in which they are firmly planted but their need for experimentation never overtakes the music. It is always employed solely to serve the song and this album shows that it's this reserved flair that is the ultimate triumph for these songs.

1st Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Fiona's Story

BBC One

Intense take on a middle-class nightmare, with Gina McKee as a mother of three whose world collapses when husband Jeremy Northam is arrested on suspicion of downloading child pornography.

With such heavy subject matter, this was never going to be an easy watch. But the performances from both leads make this a compelling watch. Both run through a dark kaleidescope of emotions, from denial to anger, heartbreak to despair, confusion to frustration. The script avoids the hysteria the issue commands in the tabloids, in favour of a quiet, understated exploration of what it would be like to witness firsthand such a shocking disintegration of a couple's belief and trust in each other.

There's a restrained fury at the betrayal underpinning the one-off drama's understanding of the complexities and nuances of the situation, lending it a rigour that's undeniable. Not an easy Sunday night watch, but still one that is both rewarding and illuminating.

#TV
#chimp71

31st Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Stereolab

Chemical Chords

4AD

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

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

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

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

29th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

King Khan & The Shrines

The Supreme Genius Of King Khan & The Shrines

Vice

"King Khan and the Shrines" aka "King Khan and His Sensational Shrines" aka "The Supreme Genius of King Khan and His Sensational Shrines" is the work of Blacksnake, aka King Khan. Phew, that's a pretty major identity crisis. After rave reviews for their 11-man-band live shows, Vice Records (home to the not-dissimmilar Black Lips) has put together this Greatest Hits, for a first-time-ever worldwide release. Thankfully it's a Greatest Hits of 16 actual songs, not band names - and musically there is a lot less of an identity crisis.

Pulling tracks from 3 studio albums (the Liam Watson produced Three Hairs & Your're MIne, the Hazelwood produced Mr Supernatural and the more recent What Is?) this compilation rounds up pretty much everything you will need from the Nugget's infused nostalgia of Khan's heavy garage psych.

From the word go it's a hotrod-race of breakneck guitars, thundering bass-lines and unhinged solos - and it's not until Fool Like Me that things slow down. The bluesy balladry of Shivers Down My Spine changes the pace briefly, while Burnin Inside starts by attempting to move out of the pre-defined template, before realising what the 'supreme genius' of King Khan & The Shrines actually is. 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'.

Khan's former Spaceshits bandmate Mark Sultan (aka BBQ) is absent from this release, and the effect of that is hard to judge through the lava-lamp haze, but at a guess I'd say there's slightly less of a 50's vibe here, and more of an early/mid 60's - but that could just be the herb talking. While it's lacking the unhinged genius of the BBQ album, What's For Dinner?, everything else is present and correct. Funky bass-lines, broken hearts, and hot chicks with great ass.

28th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Roots Manuva

Slime And Reason

Big Dada

In the hip hop Olympics Roots Manuva has always been Team GB's only hope - and since his remarkable debut Brand New Second Hand in 1999 he has continued to produce brutally honest work that - while encompassing hip hop, dub, ragga and funk- manages to sound essentially British, but at the same time different from all other sounds that trickle from the UK hip hop scene. His 2001 follow-up Run Come Save Me saw Rodney Smith gain wider acclaim being nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and took the dark subtleties of BNSH and mixed them with a new found penchant for the 'pop hit'. Lead single Witness was voted greatest UK hip hop tune of all time by the readers of Hip Hop Connection. In 2005 came the the introspective Awfully Deep which, while receiving its dues in musical acclaim, was largely misunderstood by Smith's gathering throng of fans.

Thankfully Slime And Reason is unlikely to suffer the same injustice and is a dazzling return to form for our reluctant hero. Trying to narrow down this emcee's strengths is something of a challenge. He's done more than most for UK hip hop and yet his beats need only the slightest nudge to stray from their hip hop root. He can hit us with a crowd pleaser like Witness then retreat into the introspective shadows for the rest of the record. Despite his success his rhymes are laced with the insecurities of the common man and so as a result he's able to counteract his critical acclaim with the kitchen sink wit of a hip hop Morrissey. Slime And Reason incorporates all these contradictions and is a marvelous summation of his career so far. It plunges into the textured depths of Run Come Save Me while tapping the money-making hit machine of Witness to a fuller effect. The beats crunch with electro futurism and yet this album more than most draws on a sound of old.

The record seems to be divided into 2 halves and each half draws on a different source. The Jamaican record label Studio One provides the sonic source material with a grass roots dancehall flavor running through much of the first half of the record. This is where the carnival atmosphere is created and by track 7 we've been given more hands-in-the-air but shakers than on all his albums combined. Opener Again & Again is a ramshackle celebration of Smith's inspirational roots with its looped brass section sample bobbing to the swagger of the rhythm. Do Nah Bodda Mi is a stand out moment here and is almost certainly set for dance floor greatness this summer. Produced by dancehall maverick Toddla T, it's a no holds barred romp featuring lightning guest vocals and contrasted monotone Smith rhyming. Buff Nuff assumes a similar tempo and is as shameless as things are ever likely to get. Sadly this song suffers greatly under the shadow of the recent Flight Of The Conchords song Boom - and together with Smith's attempts to entice a female by offering her a lift on the handlebars of his push bike, this song is virtually impossible to take seriously.

The second half draws on his hip hop influences and is a lot less fun and with songs like It's Me Oh Lord it does tend to get bogged down in its seriousness. However, this contrast is what we love about this emcee. He really has a lot to say which, in this genre, can sometimes be a rare thing. We see his bare boned insecurities about success and money in 2 Much 2 Soon and the trials of a family man reduced to a "long streak of piss" nursing a "lethal concoction" in a local pub. Well Alright with its examination of Manuva's place in the music business and The Metronomy produced Let The Spirit are two of the best and most worthwhile tracks on here and will be the songs that take this record back to the greatness of the debut.

The album begins with Again & Again's line "A lot of people don't know about Smith, how I came to the scene and came to uplift" and ends with the subdued The Struggle. With bookends like this its easy and yet curious to see Smith's sense of vulnerability in this life and this business. He's been a household name in hip hop circles across the world for some time now and this fourth installment can only project him more into people's consciousness. But his charm and lasting appeal may well reside in the fact that no matter how big this album gets it will always be a case of "The struggle continues on".

#Music
#HHG

27th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Richard Swift

Ground Trouble Jaw

Secretly Canadian

Since the fairly tepid review we gave Richard Swift's breakout album Dressed Up For The Let Down in 2007, he's proved to be a grower and surpassed all expectations with a barrage of mid-season releases - from the electronica of Music From the Films of R/Swift (released under the name Instruments Of Science And Technology), to the low-key Richard Swift As Onassis, to this free EP - available from Myspace and eMusic amongst others.

This release is closer in style to his 2007 LP than any of the other releases, taking in as many styles as a Ween record, while somehow maintaining Swift's own identity (a telent Ween often seem to lack). The sarcastic taunts of The Bully make for an amusing listen, literally kicking off like one of The Pharoahs from American Graffiti, the song takes a swinging 50's vibe and overlays the sarcastic jaunts of local tough guy. "Huh. Nice ending, jackass".

60's Motown is the touch stone of choice on Lady Luck, as Swift again applies his modern touch to a classic sound. The comedy keyboards on The Original Thought and A Song For Milton Feher manage not to disrupt things, highlighting Swift's love of Lennon-era Harry Nilsson,before it's back to a rolling 50's vibe for highlight Would You.

A hook up with Jeff Tweedy (witnessed in person by our man BC) has led to Swift recording his next 'proper' album at Wilco's loft studio in Chicago - and if this EP is the kind of stuff the guy is capable of 'between' albums, I'll be paying far more attention next time.

26th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jay Reatard

Singles 06-07

In The Red

As the title may suggest, this compilation covers a very short space of time for this energetic songwriter, but one listen and you'll see that Jay Reatard has produced more quality material in one year than many bands get to in a life time. Jay Lindsey has been around for a while fronting various bands, but most notably The Reatards, which was actually just him alternating between vocals, guitars and a beat played out on an up-turned bucket. His recent solo work consists of one album, 2006's Blood Visions and a whole host of singles and EP's that are now out of print. So In The Red Records offer us this 17 song run through that collects together all these rare loose ends and the result is a startlingly consistent sonic clenched fist that repeatedly pounds your face for 38 minutes.

Opening track Night Of Broken Glass will let you know exactly what to expect from this collection as it launches in to screams and machine gun punk rock like a slightly polished Beastie Boys a la Heart Attack Man. Another Person is slightly more melodic, incorporating swirling synthesizers around the rapid drums and Reatard's voice that assumes an almost 80's New Wave monotone. The refreshing thing about Jay Reatard is that he never tries to do anything else but punk rock, but that's not to say that this collection lacks variety. Every song sounds like Jay Reatard but to write this off as a punch-in-the-face punk hammering would be wrong. Songs like I Know A Place and Hammer I Miss You keep a healthy pace but allow more percussion and melodic vocals with the latter evolving into a blanket tone of rising group vocals that seem remarkably majestic. Don't Let Him Come Back rides on a Monkey's-like rhythm section and is quite pedestrian by Reatard's standards.

But then, by contrast, you get the twin assault running down the middle of the record beginning with It's So Useless. Sounding like a possessed Marc Bolan, Reatard creates a near perfect punk song with the chorus being shrieked in time to crashing cymbals gladly recalling my Sham 69 days. All Wasted is slightly less abrasive but manages to merge the New Wave monotone with So Useless' catchy chorus, this time ending with the repeated chant of "All zombies are wasted, all zombies are useless to me."

For all its might and pace this is well crafted and slightly over polished punk rock. I may have described it as a clenched fist but I wouldn't be surprised if the fist had well manicured nails, maybe with glam-polish and relatively soft skin. Reatard's voice is very melodic no matter how much he tries to hide it. You do start to cry out for more short, sharp bursts like It's So Easy or Blood Visions with their classic punk urgency and pogo capabilities. This collection is less Black Flag and more Pop Levi, but at the same time he gives you enough indication that if it came to it he'd kick Levi's ass in a punch up. But if this doesn't satisfy your Reatard cravings then look no further. Having recently found his home at Matador, we lucky people get another round up of Reatard with the imaginatively titled "Matador Singles '08" compilation hitting stores on October 6th. The two compilations should undoubtedly show this guy as an artist of unrivaled energy and enthusiasm who seems physically unable to stop spewing out quality rock at an alarming rate.

25th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Lucky You

(dir. Curtis Hanson)

Warner Bros

Hot shot poker player Huck Cheaver (Eric Bana) struggles to raise the $10,000 needed to get into the World Series of poker. His chances seem slim when his world champion father returns to town and cleans him out. Luckily, he meets aspiring singer Drew Barrymore, who puts a few things into perspective and teaches Huck a few life lessons. A deal with a loan shark gets him into the final and Huck has finally has the chance to prove himself to his father.

Eric Bana's series of hollywood mis-steps continues with this dull poker-drama from 2007. As usual, you can see the thinking behind his unfortunate choice - written by Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Ali, Munich, The Good Shepherd) and directed by LA Confidentail man Curtis Hanson. Unfortunately Hanson's reputation is one of inconsistency, having followed LA Confidentilal with a series of not unsuccessful left-turns - the excellent Wonderboys, then 8 Mile, then In Her Shoes. What's the comon demonimator here?

You've seen this movie a million times before - Rocky, Karate Kid, Color Of Money - but with poker the subject matter is so dull that a near-constant stream of exposition is needed to let the viewer know what's happening. "Two Kings? Huck's going to need a Jack or better to win this one!". Hanson's already covered this story in the excellent 8 Mile, and without the captivating double act of Tom Cruise and Paul Newman in Color of Money, or the flashy direction of Casino, this is just another dull Vegas drama.

Robert Duvall is the wise old man who teaches his distant son a thing or two - the hard way. Drew Barrymore delivers a fairly typical sub-par performance, telling Bana the cold hard truth and making him look inside himself. Unfortunately on this occasion he doesn't find a green giant.

#Film
#CSF

22nd Aug 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Oxford Collapse

Bits

Sub Pop

Just because the Sub Pop 20 marathon is over, doesn't mean the label has stopped putting out quality records and with a squeal of burning rubber (literally) Brooklyn's Oxford Collapse kick off their fourth LP. It's an exciting start, as the twins vocals of Michael Pace and Adam Rizer battle over the clatter of drums on Electric Arc, comparing their memory skills - "I can remember things" / "I can't remember things". The almost balled-like sound of the downtempo Vernon Jackson finds the band in a reflective mood, taking their foot of the accelerator for once .....for a moment at least, before they sing "88 Miles Per Hour!" on Young Love Delivers, while orchestrated strings add a more subtle dimension to A Wedding.

While the record is certainly ambitious - building on the college radio sound of the band's previous efforts - the ideas just don't seem as well honed, making for a less successful result. The band seem to be overflowing with ideas and excitement, yet unable to quite get that all shoe-horned into focused song-writing. Bubbling guitars permeate nearly every song, while the disjointed drumming fails to lift itself up as it has previously. The charming quirkiness just doesn't gel together in many places, giving some of the songs a disjointed feel that makes them hard to grow into.

The band have scored a keg and moved into party-hard mode for Men & Their Ideas, but it's too little too late. While Remember The Night Parties was a little slow to get going, the half dozen tracks that closed out the album bumped it into my mainstaream, setting expectations high for this release. While all the ingredients from that previous recipe are here, for some reason the album just doesn't quite take off. The problems here are similar to those noted in my review of their recent Hann - Byrd EP - but where a five track EP may distract you away from the cracks, they become more evident in this longer form. While this is still a good record, rather than build on the promise of their last LP and move up to the next level the band stay put for now. I'm maintaining Oxford Collapse's status at "one to watch".

21st Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Oxford Collapse

The Hann - Byrd - EP

Comedy Minus One

In anticipation of their recent LP Bits, Brooklyn rockers Oxford Collapse put out this 5 track EP as a quick appetiser. Sub Pop take a back seat on this one, with small label Comedy Minus One running up the 500 copy vinyl-only release. Not to worry if you're not a vinyl junkie however, as thanks to the digital revolution it's also available at your local download store.

The trade mark dual vocals of Micheal Pace and Adam Rizer are in full effect from the very start, as Internet Cafes in Micronesia are amongst the subjects covered in Bikini Atoll, before the vocals slip away and the song moves into a pounding instrumental jam. The call and response of Among Friends (mp3) doesn't quite take off, before bassist Adam Rizer takes a more central vocal role on The Pilgrim.

Things pick up with the almost line-dancing style of Genetic Engineering, peddling an amusingly sarcastic positive message. This more thought-out approach makes for a more engaging song - and once you are past the bizarre hip-hop intro, Bikini As Hole continues the approach, bookending the album with a beefed up re-working of the opening track.

While finding the band in their most familiar form - counterpoint John Hughes-esque stories of guys at parties over frenetic jangling guitars and pounding drum tracks - there's a more adventurous approach to the later music here, building on the success of Remember The Night Parties with a more considered sound. The songs don't quite have the same punch just yet, but for a mid-season EP it's a worthwhile effort. Let's hope things have beefed up for Bits, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow.

20th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Cool Kids

The Bake Sale EP

XL Recordings

Here we have 2 teenagers from Chicago rocking fly gold chains and cheap NWA type sports hats, who assume a pastiche of a bygone era of 80's hip hop so brazenly that you'll question why you love it so much, but love it you will. Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish give us their debut release The Bake Sale EP, a ten track collection of stripped down, minimal beats that form the sturdy foundation for their well crafted rhymes that cover girls, bikes and breakfast cereal and all that lies in between. The english language is expertly broken down into a series of syllables that are piled on top of one another like kids building blocks. The simplicity of their delivery and subject matter disguise their complex arrangements forcing multiple plays and before you know it this EP will be under your skin.

Opener What Up Man opts for the spoken beat with rhythm being formed of the words tick, tick, clap, tick, tick, bass. It's like a DIY, Ikea flat-pack song that unfolds and dazzles with its blatant simplicity. Lead single 88 taps the retro vein with shameless confidence as does Gold And A Pager which takes its lead lyric from Ice Cubes NWA line "Fuckin' with me cause I'm a teenager, with a little bit of gold and a pager." With the deep clap beats this tune is methodical and clinical in its delivery but while assuming this plodding pace you can really take your time to marvel at the complexity of this groups writing. Bassment Party takes its influence from a Miami Bass rhythm and picks up the pace perfectly but still refrains from over complicating things.

"We're the new black version of the Beastie Boys," claim this band and that group's album Paul's Boutique is certainly brought to mind here. This ain't rocket science, it's clever, but humble about it - which makes for a dazzlingly simple album that while nodding blatantly to the past comes across as effortlessly now. Hip hop bands that take their influence from the old school tread a perilous road that soon runs out of steam. We all love the old school but it evolved for a reason and the Cool Kids inject enough of their own contemporary ideas into their sound to separate their fate from the likes of Jurassic 5. The Bake Sale is a refreshing debut indeed and one that will surely be on this reviewer's top 5 list come Christmas.

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19th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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No Age / Health / The Lovvers

Scala, London

August 11th, 2008

A triple bill from label/promoters Upset The Rhythm - purveyors of some fine DIY indie. First up are The Lovvers, Nottingham based punkers with all the right moves for UTR's energetic and studendish crowd. After a quick scout around the inter-cyber-webway I can't tell you much about the members of the band, but they have got a great frontman and there's more than a hint of Flipper about them.

Next comes Health - avant garde LA noise experimentalists with a reputation based on playing Live - and from the moment they start playing you can see why they've gained such kudos. The band seem right at home onstage - creating a seething cauldron of beautiful noise, listening to and playing off each other. Instruments are used as noise sources, effects boards and the band's infamous "zoothorn" are much in evidence, while furious tight drumming locks the whole thing together. Soft ethereal vocals find their way into the music along with captured loops of squalling guitar and sheets of pitch-shifted noise. Quite an experience.

A bit of a hard act to follow, and this is the unenvious task faced by duo No-Age , who seem genuinely psyched to be playing at the Scala tonight. They sound rather straightforward after the sonic battering of Health, and their use of looped sounds is much more submerged in the mix, but their charm and enthusiasm count for a lot here tonight, and the crowd are well up for it. I'm pretty sure no-one went home disappointed, but for me the highlight of the evening were Health - I'd just like to have seen them play for a little longer.

RATINGS: Health (4 stars) No-Age and The Lovvers (3 stars)

18th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

No Age

Nouns

Sub Pop

NOW: With Sub Pop hitting their 20th year in many ways not much has changed. Superb albums from Fleet Foxes, Flight Of The Conchords or Band of Horses could be described as influenced by the past, but No Age perhaps sums up both where the label is at now and where it has come from. Taking their name from a 1987 instrumental compilation on SST Records, 'No Age' provides a nod to one of Sub Pop's major influences, while the band's sound and style recall the zine aesthetics of the label itself. The DIY sound of this LA two-piece hides some ambitious ideas - and just as Sonic Youth took inspiration from The Stooges and Steve Reich in equal measure, these guys seem to pull ideas from Sonic Youth or My Bloody Valentine, in both punk and experimental terms.

From the super-8 fuzz of Eraser to the thundering cymbals of Ripped Knees, this is a confident, retro, futuristic and inspiring second album. While it might not contain 'hits', Nouns shows signs of a promising future for the band,.

SUB POP SAYS: "Spiritual heirs to both Thurston Moore’s wide-eyed experimentalism and the all-encompassing, stark DIY art-is-life aesthetic of the Crass collective"

KILLER TRACK: Eraser (mp3)

15th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Kinski

Down Below It's Chaos

Sub Pop

THEN: Like a hit-man's shot to the head, silenced through a pillow, Kinski's third album hits the target with muffled ferocity. Deep, wooly guitars rumble and thunder their way through this album sometimes accompanied by minimal vocals or simple melody but often just push forward with pounding drums as their only guide. (Read our original review here)

NOW: While a year is long time in rock music, I'm happy to report that Agent Kinski still takes no prisoners.

SUB POP SAYS: "Down Below It’s Chaos sums up Kinski’s past and propels them into the ozone."

KILLER TRACK: Plan, Steal, Drive (mp3)

NEXT: 2008 - No Age - Nouns

15th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Band of Horses

Everything All Of The Time

Sub Pop

THEN: Let's suppose that My Morning Jacket had a younger brother, who hung around the practice sessions and was witness to their particular brand of genius. He's maybe thinking to himself, yeah that's pretty good - but those extended, distorted solos are a bit distracting, at times they get in the way of a nice, clean, imaginative pop song. I like the reverb on the vocals, I'll have that (It's possible that a couple of tracks were actually lifted straight from the outtakes of a MMJ session - Part One and I Go To The Barn Because I Like The could well be from At Dawn). The result is a charming, dreamy album with enough emotional weight to demand full attention. (Read our original review here)

NOW: WIth their popularity buoyed by a total market saturation of the radio friendly / soundtrack friendly / ad friendly awesomness of killer track The Funeral, Band of Horses have exploded - at least in Sub Pop terms. Strengthened by a series of blistering live shows, the band's identity has also matured - lifting them out of the My Morning Jacket sound-a-likes category into a place of their own. Packed full of great tracks - The First Song, Wicked Gill, Our Swords, The Great Salt Lake, Weed Party - rather than fading away, this album his matured and improved, contributing to their top five spot in the Chimpomatic "most-played" chart.

SUB POP SAYS: "Achieving musical transcendence is a tricky feat, almost definitively"

KILLER TRACK: The Funeral (mp3)

NEXT: 2007 - Kinski - Down Below It's Chaos

15th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Low

The Great Destroyer

Sub Pop

THEN: After a long career spattered with promise, potential and occasional excellence it all came together for slowcore heroes Low with this, their first album for Sub Pop. From the pounding opening of Monkey, through California, Just Stand Back and more ...it's all killer and no filler.

NOW: While this album still rocks hard, the utter dissapointment of follow-up Drums & Guns has put the band back in the dark ages. Personal bias aside however, The Great Destroyer retains it's majesty - and maintains it's position as a fall-back favourite.

SUB POP SAYS: "The beautiful harmonies of Sparhawk and Parker ...stood in stark contrast to the era’s fascination with 'grunge'."

KILLER TRACKS: California

NEXT: 2006 - Band of Horses - Everything All The Time

15th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Comets On Fire

Blue Cathedral

Sub Pop

THEN: Released in the not too distant past of 2004, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Comets On Fire had been banging out this bruising musical onslaught for many moons. With two low-key releases they had gained a credible reputation which perhaps was due to their youthful energy and driving riffs, rather than the lack of tight leather trousers.

Rock music at this early point of the 21st century had also gained a resurgence and was appealing to a more mainstream audience, not that this had an effect on San Francisco-based band. With a traditional backbone of 60/70s rock music, their sound was enhanced in my opinion by an urgency and aggression that pushed them into a grey area and did limit them from a larger audience.

NOW: After numerous listens throughout the years I still find the songs only vaguely familiar; this is both a blessing and a curse. The freshness, not necessarily originality, makes each song stand up and be heard, but yet I can never recognise a track instantly nor mange to hum along. Maybe this is due to the looseness of structure or the lack of a basic repetitive beat which allows you to simply lock in and rock out! The stand-out track is Wild Whiskey, which is an instrumental that allows the instruments some breathing space; this does not mean I that I would prefer an instrumental album because the passionate cry of Ethan Miller generally gives the sound added impact. Still, the impression I was left with from this my first introduction to the band is that I want to witness them live, where I believe they would be in their element.

SUB POP SAYS: "Flag-bearers of modern psychedelia"

KILLER TRACK: Wild Whiskey

NEXT: 2005 - Low - The Great Destroyer

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15th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Postal Service

Give Up

Sub Pop

THEN: Letting of steam from his day job as front man for Death Cab For Cutie, Seattlite Ben Gibbard struck up a long-distance recording relationship with Los Angeles-based Jimmy Tamborello from Dntel. The results were an ecstatic blend of electro-pop, toning down the seriousness of Gibbard's day job and creating some great singles and EP's -boosted by left-filed covers from label mates The Shins and Iron & Wine.

NOW: With no real evidence of a follow up and Death Cab just releasing a new album, Ben Gibbard stated that it was unlikely there will be another Postal Service album "before the end of the decade". Strange that Sub Pop's all-time number three hitter should still be another man's side project, but what can you do.

SUB POP SAYS: "Instead of hiring someone to lay Gibbard down for the dirt nap, he (Jimmy Tamborello) asked DCFC’s leader to lay down vocals on a track for his upcoming album."

KILLER TRACK: Such Great Heights (MP3)

14th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Iron & Wine

The Creek Drank The Cradle

Sub Pop

THEN: Not to doubt their ability to unearth a great band, but at first glance Iron and Wine might appear a very un-Sub Pop signing. A mellow fellow, hushed vocals, an acoustic guitar and a tape deck do not normally make up the type of act the label is renowned for. However, it quickly becomes clear that their judgement on Sam Beam's talents was spot on.

NOW: It still sounds like some lost tapes of a folk genius from the 60s or 70s. Sparse guitar, haunting vocals whispering evocative stories on the memories of loves found and lost. While I prefer his 2nd full album (Our Endless Numbered Days), this is still a great record - easily recommended as a soundtrack to staring out the window on a long train journey.

SUB POP SAYS: “An ode to an older … part of America defined by “traditional values,” pastoral imagery and arcane manners.”

KILLER TRACK: Upward Over The Mountain - although ‘Killer’ so isn’t the right word

NEXT: 2003 - The Postal Service - Give Up

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#Locochimpo

14th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Shins

Oh, Inverted World!

Sub Pop

THEN: In 2001 Sub Pop took a gamble with The Shins and rolled the dice on a run of 4000 copies of their debut album. Sales went well and then and the band's second album Chutes Too Narrow came out to positive reviews, before the band had two tracks from Oh, Inverted World on the soundtrack to Zach Braff's Garden State in 2004, as well as a name-check in the film from Natalie Portman. The publicity has since pushed sales of this album past 500,000+

NOW: Still a pretty good debut, but for me this was just a warm up for the band they have developed into. Chutes Too Narrow took things a bit darker, while Wincing The Night Away added some considerable beef to their sound.

SUB POP SAYS: "The little album that could"

KILLER TRACK: According to Natalie Portman, New Slang will "change your life".

NEXT: 2002 - Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank The Cradle

14th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Damon and Naomi

Damon and Naomi With Ghost

Sub Pop

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

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

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

KILLER TRACK: Judah & The Maccabees

NEXT: 2001 - The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

14th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Zen Guerilla

Trance States in Tongues

Sub Pop

THEN: The ZG's fourth album was their first with Sub Pop. They’d already had a reputation as one of the best live bands knocking about and this long player gave them a dozen more blues, punk and fuck-you rock’n’roll tunes to blast out live. Trance delivers a slap round the face and a punch in the gut for good measure. BANG. How’d you like that shit? I like it nicely thank you.

NOW: We’ve all heard stuff like it before (Led Zep, AC/DC, Stone Temple Pilots) and since (a paired down version supplied by the Black Keys). While the sound clearly isn’t "now", it’s still pretty good now. The intensity and power of this record are immense and it’s a shame they’re no longer "active" as I’d have liked to have seen Andy Duvall drumming with my own eyes.

SUB POP SAYS: “Their sound is as genuine and as pure as Al Green’s sweat”

KILLER TRACK: Magpie

NEXT: 2000 - Damon & Naomi - With Ghost

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#Locochimpo

13th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Murder City Devils

Empty Bottles Broken Hearts

Sub Pop

THEN: Second release from the heavy Seattle sextet, adding organ chops from one-time Hole bassist Leslie Hardy on top of the bluesy guitars.

NOW: "When you're sleeping in a truck stop, when you're living in a parking lot, it's hard to pull yourself up..." MCD are a rough ride on the wrong side of the tracks, gravel-throat blues hollers, wolfman howls, Bad Seeds-style barroom rock'n'roll kicked out at speed. They sound like they're having a good time singing about their bad times. Not quite enough to transcend the confines of the genre, but still pretty proficient.

SUB POP SAYS: "Unique blend of punk rock and garage swagger"

KILLER TRACK: Hey Sailor

NEXT: 1999 - Zen Guerilla - Trance States In Tongues

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#chimp71

13th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Pigeonhed

The Full Sentence

Sub Pop

THEN: Pigeonhed was the result of noted Seattle engineer/producer Steve Fisk collaborating with singer Shawn Smith and Soundgarden bassist Kim Thayil. Dabbling with electronics and tape loops Pidgeonhead were an 'experimental' band, giving Sub Pop one of it's most left-field releases.

NOW: There's elements of Trip-Hop, a hint of Prince and even touches of Gospel in this hard-to-Pigeonhole album - but it still maintains an 'Alternative' tone. This still rates as a fairly left-field album and - while the meandering electro-funk of tracks like P-Street hasn't fared well - Shawn Smith's distinctive vocals add much to the atmosphere and still create several memorable tracks.

SUB POP SAYS: "Fisk and Smith contributed to some of the finest bands in the Northwest—Brad, Satchel, Pell Mell, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Beat Happening."

KILLER TRACK: For Those Gone On

NEXT: 1998 - Murder City Devils - Empty Bottles Broken Hearts

13th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Sebadoh

Harmacy

Sub Pop

THEN: Sebadoh's eighth album and their fourth for Sub Pop, saw the Massachusetts (rotating) 3 piece pick-up the succesful formula of its preceeding release, Bakesale. That 1994 smash reached the dizzy heights of number 40 in the UK albums chart, thanks largely to toning down some of the more off-the-wall ideas that marked earlier records and focusing on a more consistent sound, with more emphasis on 'songs'. Harmacy picked up that baton and as a result (and perhaps inevitably) was the band's most mature release at the time.

NOW: More mature maybe, but that's not to say the imagination and slight eccentricity that has secured Sebadoh an intensly loyal fanbase (guilty) is not present here. With songwriting duties split largely evenly between Lou Barlow and Jason Lowenstein, it weaves and bobs at differing pace; from the jaunty, effortless pop (Ocean / Can't Give Up) 3 chord punk (I Smell A Rat) rocking instrumentals (Sforzando! / Hillbilly 2) and painstaking love song (Willing To Wait) all held together with a tighter production than previous releases. Basically, Harmacy sits comfortably in a formidable canon of releases from these indie rock legends.

SUB POP SAYS: "Since each member of Sebadoh writes songs, their sound can be very different from one song to the next. Where once we heard three voice screaming at once, now they talk in harmony"

KILLER TRACK: Always tricky to pick a killer from the mixed bag that is a Sebadoh record, but of the nineteen here and in the interests of fairness I'll go for (Jason's) Mindreader and (Lou's) Ocean.

NEXT: 1997 - Pidgeonhed - The Full Sentence

13th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Pond

Practice of Joy Before Death

Sub Pop

THEN: Ecstatic reviews from the British Music Press (never trust those guys!) set the pace for the much anticipated Pond, who made an early attempt to move away from the plaid shirts / long hair stereotype and onto the short hair / t-shirts prototype. After their '93 debut, this second album aimed for a darker sound - before major label debut Rock Collection failed to break the band in 1997.

NOW: While Pond were a little late on the Grunge circuit, they were also a little behind the 'alt' continuation that powered through the mid-90's. Without the grandiose ideas of Smashing Pumpkins, or the crunching power of the Foo Fighters, these songs are done few favours - with the muffled production doing little to lift the appealing buried melodies out of the quagmire. Could do with a little more distance between the quiet and loud of their "quite quiet / quite loud" formula.

SUB POP SAYS: "We just wanted danceable, driving drums, and lotsa melodies and hooks, and it all seems to come out murky and thick".

KILLER TRACK: Sundial

NEXT: 1996 - Sebadoh - Harmacy

12th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Sunny Day Real Estate

Diary

Sub Pop

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

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

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

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

KILLER TRACK: Seven

NEXT: 1995 - Pond - Practice Of Joy Before Death

12th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Earth

Earth 2

Sub Pop

THEN: Earth's first album, Earth 2 passed over me on its initial release but I do remember its cover. The white background with tasteful typography had a quality that stood out among the other alternative bands. Not that alternative is the best word to describe Earth. There was a certain amount of interest I around Earth 2, what with having such a memorable name and also the fact that no one seemed to be able to stomach the repetitive drone.

NOW: Only three songs in length but still a long player, Earth 2 is a challenge and that really is an understatement. The songs run along at a painfully slow pace and time changes are scarce. Because of the lack of variation the Earth sound could fall under the category of background music if it was not so intimidating and intense. Yet I like this album even if I can only stomach listening to one song at a time. Earth have gone on to expand their sound and improve, thankfully into something more substantial.

KILLER TRACK: Definitely one of the first 3.

NEXT: 1994 - Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary

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12th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Monkeywrench

Clean As A Broke Dick Dog

Sub Pop

THEN: With Mudhoney in full swing, the ever-active Mark Arm and Steve Turner collaborated with Tim Keer of Poison 13 and an even more Nuggety side-project was born.

NOW: With Mark Arm having found his true voice with Mudhoney, this is a long way from Green River. Harmonica, touches of brush drums and stretched-out bluesy jams with extended instrumental sections makes for a great listen. It's a mild attempt to do something new, but not really. Like a Muhoney album without the belting killer tracks, but a bit more subtlty.

This is the side project that won't quit - with new album Gabriel's Horn out this year.

SUB POP SAYS: For fans of: Mudhoney, The Big Boys, Lubricated Goat, The Sonics, The Dicks, MC5

KILLER TRACK: Doubled Over Again

NEXT: 1993 - Earth - Earth 2

12th Aug 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet