Chimpomatic

DJ Shadow

The Outsider

Shadows inspired first album Entroducing has dated, his second The Private Press hasn't. His third, The Outsider is less likely to even get off the ground.

Shadow has indulged in some of his own musical preferences here with the majority of the first half of the album as straight hiphop with guest rappers. Unfortunately on the whole the quality of these initial tracks is poor. The rapping, both lyrically and stylistically, as well as the beats, sound like something from a Busta Ryhmes b-sides album. A case in point being Keep Em Close (featuring Nump!), with chorus lyrics "keep your friends close but those that you want to rob, keep them closer"

One of the most appealing aspects of Shadow as an artist was his commitment to producing hiphop that shied away from this kind of predictable bragadosery nonsense. Its a shame he has included this too many times on this album. Much of the rapping sounds like it was recorded in one day as a freestyle with no preparation. Set against Shadows reputation for attention to detail this just doesn't work. Enuff featuring Q-Tip and Lateef exemplify this most glaringly.

Having said all this the second half of the album largely moves back to the innovation and eclecticism of samples, beats and instrumentation upon which Shadow made his name. The guitar on the New Orleans inspired Brocken Levee Blues, and the drumbeats on Artifiact really shake the listener out of the monotony that the first tracks slip them into. Unfortunately for this album I suspect it will be a case of too little too late.

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18th Sep 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Blood On The Wall

Awesomer

Recently bands like Brakes and Blood On The Wall have opened the floodgates and made albums like department stores, there's something for everyone. They don't claim to specialise in anything but as a whole they create a record that reflects our current state of pluralism. This is the second full length from the New York trio and the pace and furious energy is maintained here as it was on their self-titled 2004 debut.

As their name may suggest Blood On The Wall don't create Gwar style death metal, instead Awesomer is a medley of furious punk, rolling indie-pop and ominous stoner rock. Vocal duties are shared between brother and sister duo Ben and Courtney Shanks and their styles couldn't be more different or more complimentary. Courtney delivers slow, brooding, breathy vocals not unlike the Cowboy Junkies while Brad takes the less subtle approach, screeching and wining like Frank Black's little brother.

Courtney's opener Stoner Jam is exactly what it claims to be until brother Brad comes in and scratches his nails down the blackboard of your ears with Reunite On Ice. You start to think how annoying this voice should be but it's not. Though Brad is certainly given the dirty work while Courtney is there to give the record weight she plays him at his own game on the dirty little number Can You Hear Me and Brad, not to be outdone, turns out some very listenable indie-pop gems like Right To Light Tonight and You Are A Mess. His finest moment is the short but sharp Gone, while she shines on Dead Edge Of Town.

Though it doesn't always work the eclectic nature of this band recalls early Beastie Boys, throwing in some truly pulverising punk interludes. If you chuck enough ideas around you are bound to end up with something exciting and that is what Awesomer is, it's one idea after another coming at you fast and with out care to the point where it seems so packed full that you find yourself amazed it only takes up 31 minutes of your time.

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14th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Danielson

Ships

More conceptual weirdness from the leader of art-rock collective the Danielson Family. Once you've got past the often irritating screeched vocals this is a rewarding experience.

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14th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club

The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club

This is the debut album from the Cardiff based trio and although terms like art-pop or art punk are being banded around (like having met at art school makes this album a sure thing), don't be fooled. I was sceptical at first as they had all the makings of a big disappointment - lots of media hype, quirky name and heavy styling - but after the first listen you start to see that these early signs are very misleading. With Adam Taylor on vocals and guitar, Emma Daman on drums, Louise Mason on bass and all contributing to backing vocals the result is a rich yet stripped down noise that assaults and delights at the same time.

The first highlight comes early on with Stupid As Wood. It's dark rolling guitars tell you that it means business. Adam Taylor's vocals stab at you with erratic energy putting your nerves on full alert. Impossible Sightings Over Shelton could be the Pixies in their heyday while Such A Chore clatters around almost unrecognisably until a gloriously catchy chorus blasts in out of nowhere. A Hundred Years Of This Street is a minor masterpiece, changing pace at an unrelenting rate while Ban The Gin is pure, precocious noise. The finest moment has to be Under The Yews. Just as you've summed them up as angular punk who's power comes from it's simplified, raw sound you get this multi layered, slow burning ground assault that confidently creeps up and kicks your arse.

The great thing here is that, while very conscious of their roots and not ashamed to show their influences, this trio seems to bash around like they aren't even aware of a music scene and this honesty is displayed with cocky ease and the result is thrilling.

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13th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Little Miss Sunshine

(dir. Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris)

This is the feature film debut for directorial partnership Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and sees them produce a delightful piece of cinema on a par with 2005's Sideways. Like Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine is a road movie that depicts deeply flawed characters in unusual and often forced situations struggling to cope with the pressures of life.

Here we have the Hoover family who are dysfunctional to say the least. Father Richard (Greg Kinnear), a hopelessly optimistic motivational speaker is trying to sell his nine-step programme to being a winner, supported and pitied by his wife (Toni Collette) whose brother (Steve Carell), a troubled Proust scholar, has just failed in his attempt to commit suicide. Meanwhile their Nietzsche obsessed son Dwayne has taken a vow of silence until he fulfils his goal of becoming a pilot while seven year old Olive, a slightly plump, four- eyed little girl dreams of becoming a beauty queen. As if all this wasn't eccentric enough they have a coke-snorting grandfather (Alan Arkin) living with them as well.

The film sees the Hoovers embarking on a long and tiresome journey to California in an old camper van after Olive gains a place in the Little Miss Sunshine finals. What we are treated to along the way is a touching portrait of family dynamics, the difficulties of being young and old and developing the ability to see what is truly important in life. The thing that makes this story so delightful is that the characters never slip into a stereotype, this is largely down to the writing but the subtle and heartfelt acting by everyone makes it compelling viewing. Abigail Breslin, who plays Olive is utterly charming and truly electrifying to watch but the foul mouthed grandfather is the one that really steals the show, one of his finest moments being his life lessons to the 15 year old son to "fuck a lot of women, not just one, a lot." He then goes on to say what a great position he's in being fifteen as he can have any fifteen year old he wants, if he waits till he's sixteen he could be looking at eight to ten.

The film doesn't try to make any judgements or provide any answers to the problems confronting these characters but that's where it shines. It is quite outrageous at times but always retains reality and with a proper belly laugh ending leaves you on a high. We have been swamped with Hollywood big budget movies this summer but with films like this it's important to remember that the American independent scene is, on the whole, a place of real quality and rare beauty.

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

Midlake

The Trials Of Van Occupanther

This is the second outing for the Texas based lo-fi quintet Midlake, and sees them exploring 70's influenced soft rock to beautiful effect. Perfect vocal harmonies, layered guitar, strings and organs all contribute to make this a corny and yet surprisingly appealing piece of work.

The album begins with its finest moment. Roscoe could be a lost Fleetwood Mac classic. The lyric "When I was a child I wondered what if my name had changed to something more productive like Roscoe, and born in 1891 waiting with my aunt Roselyn," sets the scene of this song and, in fact, the whole album. It has an 'other worldly' quality to it as if hailing from a time long ago. Bandits floats gracefully on the breeze while Head Home picks up its feet slightly and threatens to disappear off into a classic Neil Young guitar solo but sadly never does. In This Camp does a similar thing but ups the anti a bit more making these two songs some of the most interesting moments. They change pace nicely with confident guitar work blowing out the cobwebs.

This record is so effortless in terms of a listening experience that I am surprised it doesn't become too easy and therefore forgettable, especially as it sometimes treads dangerously close to Travis territory. It's akin to looking through an old family photo album, with its bleached out images of you and your brother in 70's clothing, squinting at the sun, but then you keep flicking and the photos get older and you see how your grandparents used to live. There are moments of melancholy but overall the feeling of nostalgia is a comforting one.

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7th Sep 2006 - 5 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Psapp

The Only Thing I Ever Wanted

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

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4th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Mountain Goats

Get Lonely

Get lonely is exactly what you will do when you listen to John Darnielle's follow up to 2005's harrowing "The Sunset Tree". Anyone who has ever suffered a painful split from a loved one will find plenty of familiar ground here and anyone who is going through this right now I urge you to steer clear. I listened to this on a drive home one evening and on pulling up to my house I had to shake myself from this dream and remind myself that I was still loved and she was just inside that door. The music here is as sparse and minimal as the moments of joy in Darnielle's life and his falsetto delivery of woe is powerful and crippling.

Many of the songs chart the various stages one has to go through after a break-up. "Woke Up New" describes the first morning you wake up alone and how your daily routine is peppered with memories of the person that shared your life. He wanders through the house, lost, and states "an astronaut could have seen the hunger in my eyes from space." In "Half Dead" he throws himself into menial jobs "trying not to get caught, try to think like a machine," he tells himself as he sorts through her old things. "Moon Over Goldsboro" charts that time in the break up recovery when you allow yourself to reminisce about your lost love either thinking you can handle it or knowing you can't but the masochist in you needs the pain. Each memory is followed by the line "Still wake up alone," as if she is following him everywhere like a ghost.

But the song that really finishes you off is the title track where Darnielle really sets the scene of a world empty and cold that has no place for you now that you're alone. It features the achingly beautiful line, "and I will get lonely and gasp for air, and send your name up from my lips like a signal flare."

Darnielle's emotional power doesn't really come from intricately crafted poetry as it would from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, but from his simple descriptive lyrics and hushed, delicate singing and although "Get Lonely" navigates very well known waters it does it with heart breaking grace.

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4th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Extras

Season Two

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

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

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

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4th Sep 2006 - 35 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Chad Vangaalen

Skelliconnection

After 2005's reissued Infiniheart Sub Pop put out the second full length from this Canadian folk/rock/synth/indie kid who also did all the album art work and - if you haven't guessed already, it's quite eclectic.

It's such a gift when you get to review a record that has obvious sources of influence, you just bang on about that and don't really have to form any of your own opinions. So when I first heard Slelliconnection I dreaded the review as I was probably going to have to do some thinking and I hate doing that. Sure it has some comparisons but none of them are obvious enough to base a review on. So I'll get them out of the way first then if there's time I will do some thinking.

Vangaalen's use of low-tech synthasisers and plinky-plonky keyboards instantly brings to mind the work of the late Grandaddy. In fact this comparison crops up a few times with Chad's voice sometimes taking on the soft, sensitive hush of Jason Lytle. It has the inventiveness of The Flaming Lips and the delicate banjo folk of Sufjan Stevens.

The main thing to remember about Skelliconnection is not to judge it until it is finished. It spans so many different genres from the heavy riffage of the opening track Flower Garden to the gentle folk of Wing Finger with some fantastic little instrumental ditties thrown in, the best one being Viking Rainbow. Rumour has it that a lot of the sounds we hear on this album come from home made instruments. This is very evident on Viking Rainbow with its primitive, clunking, synth beats and, heavy drumming and distorted melodies.

The inventiveness and shear scope of this record are definitely what make it good but they also become its undoing. After the opening three tracks the album drifts into no man's land and loses its way amid experimentation, genre hopping and lazy repetitive lyrics. It doesn't seem to specialise in anything and so is in danger of being slightly unmemorable. Thankfully it finds its direction again with the fantastic Graveyard. It's a slow building folk masterpiece that begs to go on for a lot longer than it does. It is then followed by Dead Ends, the records summit both in grandeur and intensity. Here Vangaalen really lets us have it, giving Roy Orbison a run for his money. It's almost as if THE Bruce Dickinson has instructed him to "really explore the space here". Thank god he doesn't have a cowbell.

So to sum up, this is a piece of work that is by no means perfect but demands respect. In a world where originality is hard to find artists like Chad Vangaalen are essential, and after the recent Sufjan Stevens offering its nice to hear a folk singer that's willing to grow some balls and mix things up a bit. It doesn't always work but at least he tried.

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1st Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Cut Chemist

The Audience's Listening

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

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

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

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

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

Low Winter Sun

Two-part Thriller

Decent two-part thriller on C4, that follows bad cops Mark Strong and Brian McCardie as they off one of their colleagues and then head up the investigation into the crime themselves… Worth catching.

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31st Aug 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Devastations

Coal

This is the second full length from Melbourne trio Devastations and I think it might just see me through to the next National album - whenever that might come. Musically it certainly is comparable, largely due to front man Conrad Standish's low mumbling voice. Thematically it's a different story - these are love songs indeed but they are more like Nick Cave's Murder Ballads than label mates The National's strangely uplifting songs.

Sex And Mayhem starts things off with typical meandering vocals accompanied by an ever-increasing layer of instruments. But if you thought things were going to be as cheery as this, then The Night I Couldn't Stop Crying makes you think again with it's ominous, jangling guitars and Standish's particularly dark mumblings barely audible over the screeching guitar feedback. Things take a slightly different turn with the introduction of Tom Carlyon on vocals on Terrified. This is not a turn for the worst by any means, the lyrics are still dark but sung with an almost Bryan Ferry croon. If things are all getting too mumbly and simmering for you at this point Take You Home soon changes that. It's the most up-tempo song on the album and builds nicely to a crescendo of guitar noise and feedback.

Though I prefer Standish's vocals the album is brought to a glorious close with Dance With Me. It tiptoes in quietly with Carlyon's lonely vocals but is steadily joined by piano, accordion and a string section to produce a truly heart breaking finale.

This album is aptly named, as if ever there was a musical equivalent of coal then this would be it. Dark, impenetrable and slow burning. Great stuff.

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30th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

At The Drive-In

In/Casino/Out

I've back-tracked my way to At The Drive In and am thoroughly enjoying all three of their albums. Like Minor Threat covering Fugazi... if that were only possible.

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30th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Miami Vice

(dir. Michael Mann)

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

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

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

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

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

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Rifles

No Love Lost

These Jam wannabees hailing from Walthamstow have put together a pretty catchy short album. Certainly good enough to win me over from initial scepticism. Check out She's Got Standards, Hometown Blues and When I'm Alone. Nothing new but still entertaining.

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Dears

Gang Of Losers

Bella Union

The Canadian indie rockers go some way to drop the Blur sound-alike sound, which can only be a good thing. Gritty subject matter is treated with epic grandeur to produce a quality third album.

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Young Knives

Voices Of Animals & Men

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

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

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

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

She Wants Revenge

She Wants Revenge

If Interpol model themselves on Joy Division, then these guys are more like Human League. It's not bad, but the parody wears thin quite quickly - leaving a pretty empty listen behind.

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Six Degrees

Pilot Episode

New drama from JJ "Lost/Alias" Abrams, following six strangers whose NY lives start to overlap. Much more mainstream fodder than Lost or Alias (no spies, gadgets or black smoke monsters in the pilot) which may be why it's the first US show that ITV1 have picked up in the UK for ages. Characters are: Grieving Mother, Moody Photographer, Doubting Businesswoman, Girl Hiding From Past, Nice Lawyer, Shady Chauffeur. Dorian Missick, Hope Davis, Erika Christensen, Bridget Moynahan, Campbell Scott, Jay Hernandez make for a decent, multiracial cast. Bit cheesy in places, but might work; good to see a mainstream drama that's trying to do a little more than just have another law firm with kooky characters etc.

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

High School Musical

Kenny Ortega

Demented combination of every guilty pleasure ever: Grease, Saved By The Bell, Bring It On, Karate Kid etc etc, HSM is a worldwide phenomenon. Not standard chimp fare, but strangely enjoyable

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29th Aug 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip

Pilot Episode

New show from Aaron "West Wing" Sorkin, applying the walk'n'talk model to a Saturday Night Live-style comedy show. Matthew "Chandler" Perry, Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet all chat through the super-sharp dialogue like they're really enjoying themselves. Classy, intelligent, angry and a little cheesy, but it feels like this will work as a series.

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28th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Pearl Jam

The Point, Dublin

Having seen Radiohead earlier this year, and with My Morning Jacket coming up in September and MC Hammer in done 1990 only Pearl Jam and Wilco remained as the pillars of my music taste yet to be seen live. Now, after one memorable night in Dublin, Wilco stand alone.

This could have gone either way, as I have been into this band since I was a kid and although I love the new album it rarely gets played when a Pearl Jam mood grips me - often losing out to such classics as Vitalogy or No Code. I was quite surprised to find myself at the front of a seething mass of frenzied fans as I thought it was just me, CSF and a few other Chimp affiliates that still followed this band. Apparently not. Even though the Dire Straits sounding Inside Job is far from being my favourite track on the new album I was very grateful to hear its slow steady build up as the opening track. Had a more anthemic opener been chosen I fear my rib cage would have collapsed under the pressure of 7000 foaming, sweaty fans. This calm intro didn't last long as the band began to race through a string of the best of the new stuff, with the mighty World Wide Suicide being a crowd favourite.

From then on the order of the day was 'hands-in-the-air-platoon-moment-classics,' and it was simply dazzling. Given To Fly had the fans in a blissful state of euphoria and the wonderfully extended version of Daughter was followed by the live favourite Better Man which saw Vedder's voice being drowned out by the swell of a 7000 strong sing along which couldn't help to send shivers down the spine. As if this wasn't enough the first act was brought to a climactic finish with the phenomenal Rear View Mirror, Pearl Jam's finest moment in my opinion. It's a pretty epic song at the best of times, the bands Bohemian Rhapsody if you will, but tonight it was extended beyond my wildest dreams. It dipped and soared and seemed as if it would never end until finally it burst into a climactic crescendo with every light in the house being called upon.

Two encores later and just about every classic you could possibly wish for (including a cover of Dublin favourite The Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy) and I was truly exhausted. Every time I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Eddie Vedder through sweaty bodies and other peoples wet hair plastered across my face he looked to be having a really good time. Lots of banter with the crowd made us feel that this was an important night for him and the band as well as us, and after a lengthy rendition of Neil Young's Fuckin' Up Vedder thanked the crowd for welcoming them back after six years and humbly departed the stage.

It was clear to see the bands unity after 15 years of playing together as they often huddled together and jammed furiously, as if alone in this great hall. In true Donnington Monsters of Rock style they all stepped aside during Even Flow for a five minute Matt Cameron drum solo which was simply ossum. My only criticism was the shear size of the venue. I gave up fighting for my life while straining to see anything along time ago and even though it beats sitting it's far from ideal. Apart from that it was everything I expected and much, much more.

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25th Aug 2006 - 9 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

The Letting Go

Something has happened to Billy, he's not so depressing anymore. During 'Lay and Love' he eulogises about a woman. 'From what I've seen, you're magnificent, you fight evil with all you do… From what I hear you're generous. You make sunshine and glory too. When you walk in things go luminous.' What's going on? What happened to the Billy that made me feel my life is so much better having heard how tough his life is? Is she the one he's in love with? But then why not? For someone with such poetic sensitivity, he's bound to find love.

I really could preach about Bonnie Prince Billy forever, how special and rare his talent is etc. I love the way he peppers biblical references in his previous albums. The thing about Bonnie Prince Billy is whenever I listen to his songs I get lulled into a false sense that I'm listening to something very pretty and sweet, only to be stunned he's actually singing about the very opposite of that - sometimes dirty sexual encounters, at others times kinky affairs. 'No Bad News' is a fine example of this, a very melodic song about someone bearing bad news – by far the best song here, and the most accessible. His melodies don't always immediately hit you, they take time. But once they do you really do feel like you've worked for it – and you feel an ownership to it. "The Letting Go" in some ways has lost that edge, as it is more accessible, but that edge has been replaced giving us a fuller, meatier album. This is a fantastic album with beautifully crafted songs.

'The Letting Go' has a female vocal to complement Will Oldham's coarse voice - vocal harmony of the highest order. At times these songs feel like duets. There are drum beats too – we're talking electronic beats - but having said all this we're still talking about Bonnie Prince Billy and even when he attempts more accessible songs they still have something no singer can get near. His lyrics are like little Raymond Carveresque stories, full of poignancy and wonderment.

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25th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Tapes 'n Tapes

Madame Jo-Jo's

A great set from apes 'n apes favourites Tapes 'N Tapes. Pretty much a one-albumitis gig, but The Loon's good enough to hold up live. Drummer totally on it, rest of the band looked like they were enjoying it as much as the chimps. Worth catching if you can.

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23rd Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Big Lebowski (Oudoors at Somerset House)

(dir. Joel Coen)

As usual "Some new shit came to light". This time with about 2000 other dudes and dudettes at Somerset House. Great movie, great setting, hampered only by a little drizzle mid-way.

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22nd Aug 2006 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Dexter

(Season One)

Michael C Hall (David Fisher in Six Feet Under) plays a forensic cop in this show on FX later this year. The twist is... he's also an anal retentive serial killer! You see?!

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

The Evidence

(Season One)

You see some clues. Then the crime unfolds. Then some cops w issues solve it. Will you solve it before them? Probably. Martin Landau wears a Warhol wig. Like one of those Swords and Sorcery books for eight year olds. Only not as involving.

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21st Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Electrelane

Singles, B-Sides & Live

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

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

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

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

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

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

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20th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

M. Ward

Post-War

Post-War is a warm, lovely record. Determinedly low key and melancholic from the outset, it is however never less than immediate and grabs your attention throughout. M. Ward's song writing is as strong as ever; the opening Poison Cup is a quietly stunning masterpiece and Requiem is another early highlight.

As an album it feels altogether more polished and coherent than its predecessor Transistor Radio. The sound is slightly bigger and warmer without Ward loosing his slightly loose and ramshackle quality. The excellent first single Chinese Translation is majestic, with it's shuffling guitars and drums. Later, Chimp favourite Jim James guests on the excellent Magic Trick - a rousing bar room sing-a-long. Great.

Bush Hall gig review.
Click here for pictures.

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18th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

The Cursed Sleep EP

Billy whets our appetite for the forthcoming album The Letting Go with this 3 track EP. Although it only features 1 track that won't be on the album, it's a typically glorious listen.

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17th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Foo Fighters

In Your Honor

Everybody loves Dave Grohl, including me, so the idea of a rock/accoustic double CD from the Foo Fighters certainly has appeal. The first (rock) disc is pretty thundering, with a great opener In Your Honor sounding like an angry, heavier Pink Floyd, followed by a handful of great, powerful numbers (No Way Back, Best of You, DOA). After that however, a couple of average tracks with fairly whack lyrics make you realise what an unfaltering pace the album has, and that's actually a problem. Things pick up towards the end of disc one with Resolve sounding like fairly classic Foo, and The Deepest Blues Are Black is pretty good, but moving onto the acoustic disc and things flatten out again...

There are a lot of good tracks on disc two, but without the juxtoposition of heavier tracks, there's no real yardstick for what stands out and what doesn't. Don't get me wrong, you get a lot for your money and there's more than a CD's worth of really top tracks, but you might be advised to edit and sequence your own version of this album.

Nice idea, but an unsuccesful one.

UPDATE: A hot tip from chimp jnr: organise a playlist by track number (1,1,2,2,3,3 etc) and things even out a lot better.

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17th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Absentee

Schmotime

I have made it my mission lately to source bands who's lyrics go deeper than the obvious and could stand alone without the music to disguise their shallowness. So I was excited at the prospect of the first full length release from this promising British indie quintet. Their mini album Donkey Stock. released in 2005, was an unexpected gem and although Schmotime expands on a lot of the good points about Donkey, it ultimately fails to impress. And this annoys the hell out of me. It really has the makings of a great piece of work. Singer Dan Michaelson has a voice steeped in Tom Waits / Tindersticks tradition and lyrics that can often match the wit and tragic irony of Morrissey.

The element that lets the whole thing down is the music. Absentee's main manifesto, I would imagine, is that they make tragic melancholic songs about lost love and wasted life but set them to ironically jolly music. Whenever Morrissey or The Smiths tried this, in my opinion, it didn't work and it doesn't work here. Like Girlfriend In A Coma, songs like We Should Never Have Children see exceptional lyrics being lost in the weak, upbeat musical accompaniments. It hurts to hear lyrics like "darling we should never have children, they'd be one in a million ugly swine," go unappreciated. He then goes on to point out, with profound observation, the dangers of what would later become "A burning family tree, generations of falling leaves." In the excellently titled Truth Is Stranger Than Fishin he starts off, "One hundred fisherman set sail with rods out but only hooking tail." Here Michaelson uses the sea and the shore as metaphor for their distanced bodies and cuttingly points out, "besides I prefer slightly firmer lands." This metaphor for his lovers body as territory is continued in what is another brilliantly titled song, Something To Bang. In it he states, "I'm tired of being a man, always farming your land."

Even as I write these lyrics down their genius makes me wonder if I have got this band wrong and that I should persevere more, but I have really tried and as much as it pains me I just don't buy it.

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17th Aug 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Assault On Precinct 13

(dir. Jean-Francois Richet)

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

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

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17th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Our Lady Of The Highway

Beauty Won't Save Us This Year

Imagine for a minute that in some parallel universe David Gedge from The Wedding Present was born a twin and his other half was then shipped off to a loving family in Oakland, California where he grew up with the same hopeless luck with women as his brother. Then he gets into music and tries to convey this anger and disappointment in song. Dominic East would be that brother and his band Our Lady Of The Highway would be the result

Musically this is pretty run of the mill alt-country but it's the lyrics that East almost spits out at a long departed ex-lover that make this record interesting. They start off pretty tame as on Lord Stop The Bar where he says "There's of a box of your records that you won't get back," a venomous progression can then be charted, as in the standout track OYBAT where he talks about a letter he has sent to this unfortunate ex where he states, "Every thing I Want to do to you is in the last paragraph of the 3rd draft that I will never send to you" through to End Of The World where he admits "I can't count all the curses I've put on you." But it's at the point where he says "It's raining in all four chambers of my poor heart" where David, the long-suffering yet supportive brother would reach for the phone and call Mrs Gedge. "Mum, I think you better come get Dominic, he's really losing it."

When he's not spitting, East can produce sensitivity not unlike Ben Folds but it always has an edge, but this bitterness seems quite genuine and yet tongue in cheek and is delivered with a passion than can only be applauded. It's also free to download on eMusic, so gains points there.

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17th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Liars

Drum's Not Dead

The 3rd album from the New York art school trio is a difficult, yet I suspect, genius piece of work.

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16th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Notorious Betty Page

(dir. Mary Harron)

The bog-standard approach of this film barely lifts it above the standard of a Biography Channel profile - giving us no real insight into the history of this iconic model. Nice posters though.

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15th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Spinto Band

Fopp, Camden, London

In the abscence of dark lighting, a PA system, a raised stage and alcohol - the Spinto Band sounded like a bunch of special kids let loose in music class. Plus, we were the oldest there by about ten years.

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15th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Shearwater

Palo Santo

This is Shearwater's fourth full-length and sees Jonathan Meiburg take the reins entirely from once collaborator Will Sheff of Okkervile River and sees them take a slightly new turn away from maudling Americana towards a much grander sound. Red Sea, Black Sea is the first sign that there's a new sheriff in town, and he means business. It ticks over slowly to start with then bursts with grandeur both instrumentally and vocally with Meiburg really starting to explore his range. It's this grandeur that makes Palo Santo so different from other Shearwater releases.

We see it again in Seventy Four, Seventy Five - the albums best moment. The thumping piano counts us in then the now characteristic bass heavy drums thunder through with the ever-increasing intensity of Meiburg's vocals. The only complaint is that as on Red Sea, Black Sea it all ends too suddenly.

There have been many comparisons between Meiburg's voice and Jeff Buckley. This is very evident and adds a certain sensitivity to other more low key tracks like Failed Queen and the album closer Going Is Song, a heartbreaker of a song that eases the album to a melancholic resting place.

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14th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

M. Ward

Bush Hall, London

Wandering onto stage looking like Paul Giamatii's lost brother, M. Ward instantly dispelled my preconception that he would be a mannered or uneasy performer. He opened alone on the guitar with 'Paul's Song', that was as plaintive as it was capturvating. The small and intermate Bush Hall was a perfect setting.

Like all great music M. Ward instantly reminds you of many things, that somehow you cannot quite put your finger on. His guitar playing has something of John Fahey about it and his voice has echoes of Tom Waits and Billie Holiday. I could well be wrong though. But he most definitely is his own man.

After this stunning opening he was joined by his full band and demonstrated that he has many other strings to his bow. Where the opening was gentle and almost sedate the band ripped through a rousing 'Four Hours in Washington' and a storming version of the great 'Big Boat'. Although he played most of his excellent previous album 'Transistor Radio' and previewed songs from the forthcoming 'Post-War', Ward left the stage after an hour and a bit, which felt all too brief to me. And there was no 'Hi-Fi'.

Still great though.

Click here for pictures.

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14th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

TV On The Radio

Return To Cookie Mountain

Brooklyn based band pen multi layered, challenging yet highly original gem. The album that keeps on giving but never puts out.

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14th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Occasion

Cannery Hours

Solid offering from this New York band but they make no attempt to disguise the massive Pink Floyd influence.

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14th Aug 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Longcut

A Call And Response

Late Night Bus was The Longcut's 2004 shortcut. A Call And Response is the longcut from The Longcut and the long and short of it is that it cuts the mustard.

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12th Aug 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

(dir. Adam McKay)

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

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

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

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

THAT JUST HAPPENED!

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

Peter, Bjorn & John

Writer's Block

Writers Block is the third album from this Swedish power-pop trio and its summer release could brighten up many a cheery bbq or dinner party. Young Folks is the obvious single here; it's a jovial little number featuring Concretes vocalist Victoria Bergsman. Somehow it manages, by the skin of its teeth, to remain on the right side of cheesy-we're-as-happy-as-The Magic Numbers-pop, but treads a very fine line. The whole album tends to tread this path, never crossing the line but coming dangerously close on occasions.

Up Against The Wall starts off this way but then seems to drift off into almost New Order territory with the last 4 minutes taken up by a glorious beat/guitar instrumental. This really picks the album up only to be dashed by the appalling Paris 2004. I would like to amend my earlier statement about how they never quite cross the line into Magic Numbers stomach churning happiness. They cross it here with the chorus "I'm all about you, you're all about me, we're all about each other." Thankfully this doesn't herald a halftime descent into puke, and we resume proceedings with The Cure-sounding Lets Call It Off and the even more Cure sounding The Chills. This obvious influence is not a criticism and it works very well creating 2 of the more interesting tracks on the album.

This isn't a bad piece of work. It's one of those records that demonstrate such clear influences but as those influences come from great sources it tends to work. But at the end of the day, the fact that they are so glaringly obvious is their ultimate undoing.

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10th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Diableros

You Can't Break The Strings In Our Olympic Hearts

This is the debut full-length offering from the Toronto based sextet and it further goes to show that the mighty talent that has been flooding out of this country for years is not looking like subsiding. Their sound has been compared to the baritone seriousness of Interpol but The Diableros bring a welcome change to this style injecting furious urgency and a passion that leaves Interpol's Paul Banks' vocals sounding slightly laboured and sluggish. For me this album continues the good work already done by bands such as Interpol but take the music to places I always want Paul Banks and his merry men to go every time I listen to them.

One of the stand out tracks, Push It To Monday, saunters in with a Springsteen-esq "Born To Run" bass line and with the introduction of Pete Carmichael's vocals we soon have a true 'hands in the air' classic The Boss would be proud of. While Tropical Pets has an arrogant swagger worthy of Oasis in their Supersonic heyday.

The Diableros have more in common with The Wedding Present than any of their countrymen. As on albums like Bizarro or Seamonsters the vocals here are so under produced they are barely audible over the 'wall of sound' guitars that frequently attack your ears. At first I thought this was going to be a problem but then realised what effect this under-production had on the overall feeling of the record. It gives it a certain immediacy and rawness that is only found when a band play live and the audience is left stunned by the sheer energy of what they are seeing. You really feel exhausted at the end of each song, as so much emotional ground seems to have been covered in such a short and frantic space of time. This is quite a rare feeling with a lot of indie music these days as if the bands don't quite have it in them to grab you by the scruff of the neck and kick your arse.

I could go on and list so many instances where this is happens on this record but none so satisfying as on the album closer 'Golden Gates.' It starts off with a marching drum beat and simmering vocals then, as if shifting up to a hidden gear, it accelerates to a stomping finale that really evokes the defying sentiment of the albums title, "You Can't Break The Strings On Our Olympic Hearts," and for a glorious moment you profoundly believe this to be true.

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Oneida

Happy New Year

Jagjaguwar

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Golden Smog

Another Fine Day

The title to this record sums it up perfectly. The operative word being 'Fine.' It describes a state that is neither really bad nor really good. And it's 'Another' fine day, which hints at a monotonous state of fineness that goes on and on in a Groundhog Day fashion, never improving or getting worse. It's the kind of state where life just passes you by and you don't notice it. This is just what tends to happen to this record. It is yet another under-par offering from the apparent "Super Group" consisting of members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, The Jayhawks and Wilco. Wilco's Jeff Tweedy's stocks have risen sharply in recent times and as a result his input here is minimal. When he does grace us with his presence he gives us the 2 best songs on the album, Long Time Ago and Listen Joe are classic Tweedy but they only serve to highlight the blandness of the rest of the songs.

When playing Another Fine Day in my car I had to turn it down so people didn't think I was listening to Crowded House. That's not a good sign.

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Black Angels

Passover

However you arrange your record collection these days, you will have no trouble fitting this lot in. Whether it's by mood, genre or simply alphabetical you'll find this Austin based group sits nicely between Black Sabbath, Black Mountain and The Black Keys. The only other reference that I didn't mention as it kinda ruins my theory is The Velvet Underground. This band take their name from a Velvet classic, "The Black Angels Death Song" and at times the spirit of Nico is summoned to great effect.

These guys aren't trying to rewrite musical history but Passover is a damn good listen none the less. Album opener Young Men Dead rolls in with a dirty piece of plodding, monotone guitar accompanied by the lyric, "Head for the hills, pick up steel on your way" and the mood is set for a gloomy, psychedelic and often heavy rock delight.

The Sniper At The Gates Of Heaven follows a structure that is employed throughout most of this album, it marches into view like the advancing armies of Mordor and builds the sense of impending doom magnificently with the help of Alex Maas' anxious and highly strung vocals while Bloodhounds On My Trail evokes The Velvets' world of drugged out, paranoid psychedelic but soon leaves it behind as the volume is notched up and off we plod to far rockier shores.

It's not all this satisfying though, The First Vietnamese War sounds like John Goodman's funeral speech to Donny in The Big Lebowski with it's simplistic and relentless "War Is Hell" subject matter. This sentiment is continued on the albums closing hidden acoustic track where we get the lyrics "He's fighting in the Iraq war, what for?" and it's a shame that this highly fulfilling album ends with the repetition of "Somebody please stop that war." But these complaints are few and far between and don't come close to ruining an album that satisfyingly ticks all the rock boxes.

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Idlewild

(dir. Bryan Barber)

Under The Cherry Moon, The Bodyguard, Swept Away, Glitter… the popstar-to-actor route isn't exactly littered with a long list of great movies. So, even though I've enjoyed Outkast's output over the last few years, I wasn't exactly looking forward to their movie debut.

But they've pulled it off. Idlewild's not without its faults, but in making an old-fashioned musical they've created an enjoyable vehicle that plays to their strengths.

Set in the Prohibition-era South, Big Boi (aka Antwan A. Patton now he's an actor) is a roguish bootleg booze-running club owner/rapper (yup, lots of anachronistic flourishes here) who's a ladeez man/nice guy really. Andre 3000 (aka Andre Benjamin now he's an actor) is a mortician by day/piano player in Big Boi's club at night. A foxy singer shows up, there's a nasty gangster moving in on the action, Big Boi gets trouble from his wife, Dre's getting it from his uptight dad etc…nothing too original in the plot but it works.

Shot by Bryan Barber, who did the videos for The Whole World, Hey Ya! and The Way You Move, it's packed with little animated touches, bursts into choreographed musical numbers every now and then (which is fine, as they are both playing musicians who are singing songs - it's not one of those musicals where they burst into song when they want someone to pass the toast), and lets the Outkast charisma come through.

The music's up to scratch too - basically the Outkast template reworked in an early jazz style - but still using drum machines, rapping, hip hop breaks etc.

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3rd Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet