Chimpomatic

The Earlies

Scala, London

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

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

Explosions In The Sky

All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone

Texan band Explosions in the Sky are apparently some kind of phenomenon. The word of mouth marketing surrounding the band has probably already crossed your path - but if not here are a few facts:

Their songs regularly run on past 7 minutes.
They have no vocalist.
Their 4th album finds the band still on a small indie label (Bella Union)
They sold of London's Koko with the only publicity being a mention on their website

The band use slow building drums and a huge range of guitar sounds construct complex musical landscapes, which grow and evolve before unleashing in a torrent of heavy pounding drums and dueling guitar solos - and on this album the piano is often a key player, particularly on What Do You Go Home To?, which could easily have been the soundtrack to a Michael Mann shoot-out.

While bands like Mogwai have often claimed this style as their own, for me they are frequently distracted by bleeps and twitches, with songs often never quite developing like they threaten too. That is never the case here - with multiple moments of unrestricted release making this one of the most passionate and engaging instrumental albums I have heard in quite some time. It would be hard to singe out specific tracks, and there is certainly very little on here that could work as a single. This is a very much an album which is to be listened to as a complete piece of work. Often structured like a classical symphony, there are multiple moments of repeat, refrain and reprise, making this very rewarding listening which has a comforting warmth and familiarity to it.

Apparently they rock live, and it's not hard to believe - undoubtedly whipping up a lighting storm of volume and feedback of epic proportions, transforming their music into a living, breathing monster. For me however, this the kind of music I like to listen too to put me to sleep. Not because it is boring. Not because it is quiet - which it frequently isn't. Because it is so flowing, passionate, emotional and moving that it is thoroughly engaging, and listening to it focuses my thoughts, allows me to relax and ultimately leaves me happy and exhausted. Brilliant.

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#CSF

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

Love Of Diagrams

Love Of Diagrams EP

Matador Records

Melbourne band Love of Diagrams are a band that instantly conjure up a dozen influences, and while I can't put my finger on exactly what they most sound like, Blondie, Gang of Four and Yeah Yeah Yeah's are certainly a handful of suggestions. For once however the strong comparisons are not a criticism of unoriginality - instead giving their music an instantly recognizable feel that makes the songs seem like old favourites that you haven't heard in a while.

Pace of the Patience has catchy interplay between singers Antonia Sellbach and Luke Horton, with the girl/boy contrast giving them a sound like the mathematical punk of  Gang of Four. The Pyramid is where the Blondie influence is most obvious - although mainly in Antonia Sellbach's voice rather than the actual sound of the music or song structure, which is often less traditional that the more obvious Blondie hits.

The  production could do with a bit of sharpening up in places - as the muddy vocals are a bit low and sometimes that undermines what seems to be crisp pop-rock trying to get out.  although No Way Out does address this problem a bit - using that mathematical rhythm to create a track like a beefed up version of  Bis' Eurodisco. I'm sure the band are sick of the Gang of Four and Blondie comparisons by now, but having "One way or another" as the hook in your song was just asking for that.

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

The Early Years

The Luminaire, London

The Early Years just seem to be going from strength to strength (didn't I start my last review with that line?). First came their superb debut album - The Early Years - and a supporting tour, then they came right back with an EP of new songs, and now another supporting tour. The Luminaire is always a nice venue - small and friendly, with a good stage and a great atmosphere.

After some support from Beggars new signing Wolf & Cub, The Early Years took to the stage - setting up their own gear and getting ready to go. A  quick test on the pedal controlled strobe light and we're off. They don't waste and time getting into it, and their brand of minimal vocals guitar powered rock makes for a great live experience.

All Ones & Zeros and The Simple Solution are just two highlights of absolute brain melting rock, with their slow building rhythms and pounding sounds. The dueling guitars are what provide the obvious power of the band, but the superb drumming is not to be overlooked, holding the whole thing together.

A quick formation change for some of the more electronic songs causes a slight glitch in the flow of things. Although the songs sound great, is there really a need to put Beckham in goal, just so David Seaman can take a free-kick?

While the often minimal vocals can occasionally make for an unfocused stage presence, I'd often find myself mesmerised and transfixed - especially when that strobe light was going - and I'm slightly suspicious that the band only played one song, hypnotised the crowd and then spent the rest of the show sipping Pina Coladas in the dressing room. Either way, they rock. Check them out.

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25th Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Autokat

Late Night Shopping

Where these boys come from, which is Manchester, late night shopping = burglery, not a thursday evening in Harvey Nicks so this should put their debut album into some context. It's a raw piece of home made post rock that deals with the usual themes of urban city life in all its grime and glory. Signed to Manchester's influential Akoustik Anarkhy label, Autokat follow in the footsteps of bands like The Longcut and Nine Black Alps, but have more in common with bands like Warlocks or Chimpomatic favorites Working For A Nuclear Free City.

Opening track Shot sets a fair pace as its chiming guitar slowly turns into an awesome grinding riff that lays down a spiky platform for the vocals. The song eventually disappears off into a great slush of prickly guitar noise that turns this forthcoming single into a very grand opening statement. Seven Years is a much cleaner sound with more pronounced vocals while Dealy is the first of two well placed instrumental tracks that really give this album breathing space. Innocence really gets you to your feet after the rather lazy Bowling with its pure Gang Of Four beat, jangly guitars and upbeat muscle. Along with Shot it's one of the joys of this record that unfortunately is too few and far between.

Late Night Shopping can be patchy at times and the grit of the harder tracks is not always upheld throughout the album but it has a brilliantly fresh mix of melody and darkness. It can be sinister but can also lift you out of its threatening grasp with great floaty pop. Like fellow Mancs Working For A Nuclear Free City, this debut changes tempo so frequently and with such ease that the result is a record that's so packed with ideas and possible avenues for future pursuit and at the risk of sounding like a school report, this band oozes potential and though not all of it has been realised with this record it makes for a rosy look at the road ahead.

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21st Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

His Name Is Alive

Detrola

4AD

4 years ago His Name Is Alive released Last Night which would prove to be their final outing with longstanding partners 4AD. Now they resurface with Detrola, their debut for the aptly named Reincarnate Music and after repeated listens this proves to justify the wait. Sounding like a best of compilation of the band Detrola is a very rewarding listening experience spanning many tempos and moods. After the ever increasing applause of the introduction that turns into a deafening wave of noise the listener settles into some of the warmest and sublime avant-pop produced by this band for years.

I Thought I Saw is perfect lounge jazz while In My Dreams is more of a pushier, synth driven affair. *C*A*T*S* is the standout peak of the album, and with it this band reach new heights of song craft perfection. Lovetta Pippen's sweet vocals are simply heart melting and dance effortlessly around the delicate beat and layered textures. Though nothing after this quite reaches its heights the mood is sustained and the beauty maintained until Send My Face ends things on a somber note and makes you want to start over again.

Detrola mixes a spot on blend of glitchy power pop, melancholic soul and soaring beauty with such refreshing playfulness. It's broody and sexy yet profoundly heart breaking. In My Dreams' innocent lyric sums it all up perfectly. "It's so beautiful, it's like a 6 it's like a 9."

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9th Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Hours

Narcissus Road

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

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

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

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

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9th Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Arcade Fire

Neon Bible

Rough Trade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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#BC

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

The Shins

Wincing The Night Away

Sub Pop

Anyone not taken with the first two albums by The Shins - 'Chutes too Narrow' and 'Oh. Inverted Word' - won't find anything here to convince them otherwise. Those, on the other hand, who found them to be a refreshing breeze of Beatle-ish pop should be satisfied, as 'Wincing the Night Away' is basically more of the same 'It shouldn't work but it does' formula.

Opener, 'Sleeping Lessons' has already edged into the leading pack of my favourite Shins' songs. The band obviously feel comfortable that they have a committed fan base, so start the song off slowly; main-man James Russell Mercer singing over looping keyboard scales, before the rest of the band confidently crash in after 2 and a half minutes. First single 'Phantom Limb' sounds a bit cheesy at first, but is a grower (there's that Shins formula).

Things take a slight left turn with 'Sealegs' slowing it down and making good use of a new drum machine, the squelchy synth solo at the end gets dangerously twee however. But hey. This is The Shins. The band that Natalie Portman said would change your life, in the film ' Garden State' and if there is one thing I'm sure of in life, it's that when Natalie Portman talks to me, I listen and I listen hard.

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2nd Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Deerhoof

Friend Opportunity

ATP

You get a fair idea about a band who have a touring list as diverse as Deerhoof's. Radiohead, The Roots and Wilco are but a few, and not every band would appeal to such a varied range of fans. That's because Deerhoof are not just any band. They used to be a good band who made intriguing and challenging unclassifiable pop music. Now they are great band who are just as unclassifiable but produce such sublime musical moments that will undoubtedly shape your life if you let them. They're the kind of band that have the power to make you feel smug if you get them and embarrassed if you don't and for the last 13 years they have kept us wondering if we do truly get them.

With their new album Friend Opportunity a lot of questions are answered. They seem to have listened to their previous album The Runners Four the same way I did and come to similar conclusions. They've taken all that was great about that album and crafted this one. They've trimmed away a lot of the avant guard sprawl that they started with back in the day making Friend Opportunity a beautifully paced and refreshingly brief delight.

Satomi Matsuzaki's achingly sweet, candy-pop vocals are given full range here and are perfectly contrasted and complimented by the thrilling brut force power pop that drives this sugar coated juggernaut. The album hits the ground running with The Perfect Me. It's driving guitar opener is abruptly punctuated with Matsuzaki's Roadrunner like lyrics, "Meet me, meet me, meet the perfect me." and it's somewhere during this song that you begin to suspect that these words herald the beginning of a glorious introduction to the perfect Deerhoof.

There is no point in describing each high point here as it changes every time I listen to the record. At the moment Believe E.S.P is doing it for me in a big way, but last week it was Wither The Invisible Birds? This is where this album shifts gear and gracefully pulls away from its predecessors. It's a wondrously orchestrated landscape in which Satomi's voice spreads its wings and soars to new heights. It ceases to be sugar pop and blossoms before your ears into sublime maturity.

Unfortunately however for a band like Deerhoof one cannot sit comfortably through these wonderful moments. They're not out to please unconditionally and there's always a lesson or two that needs to be taught. The album finishes with Look Away, a 12 minute marathon of feet shuffling noise that very nearly undoes all the good work that went before. But as it finally fizzles out you realise that lurking in this irritation lies the reason you love this band. It's not the kind of song you want to hear again but without its threat the whole experience wouldn't be anywhere near as thrilling and the success of this album rests in the balance between this threat and the delivery of pure unrivaled joy.

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2nd Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Soho Venue Bar, London

With their second album Some Loud Thunder about to hit the shelves, Brooklyn's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are in the UK for a promotional tour - starting with this low-key gig at TVFKARRB (The Venue Formerly Known As Raymond's Revue Bar). Currently called "Soho Revue Bar", the venue is in the legendary former strip club (poles still intact) at the bottom of Berwick St. It's a nice little place, with Goodfellas style table lamps and velvet booths - and the perfect place for a little warm-up gig like this.

The band showed up on stage a little late and seemed slightly nervous about things as they kicked of the show. Alec Ounsworth led his band through the proceedings, sticking mainly with the new album for a while - with "Love Song No 7" and "Underwater (You and Me)" sounding particularly good.

There were certainly some sound problems in the venue, with a partial power cut through one song. The band were certainly in no hurry however, meaning the momentum of the show was often lost a little between tracks - but when things picked up and the chatty crowd quietened down the band showed some of their magic. While some of the new songs seemed a little under developed and malnourished in a live setting there were plenty of highlights. "Satan Said Dance" has been in live rotation for a while now and it showed - fast, tight and furious guitars rolling along to a pounding beat. "Yankee Go Home" was beefed up from it's album version - with a Brian May-esque guitar solo added for good measure. Out of the context of the (possibly over-produced) album, the songs true strengths have more of a chance to shine through - and while there is still plenty of room for development, a handful of the new tracks were already standing up well next to old favourites like "In This Home On Ice" (described as a 'song about ice') and "Details of the War" - which was stretched out here like a long-lost Neil Young classic.

45 minutes later and the show is wrapped up, with the epic first album closer "Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood" proving to be the final track. A Wedding Present style guitar frenzy classic that showed plenty of what this band is capable... and will hopefully be delivering for many more years to come.

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1st Feb 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Working For A Nuclear Free City

Rocket

It's no secret these days that the kids are wearing the rock trousers and they're in danger of showing up their older and wiser counterparts when it comes to sheer quantity of quality. The much favored Arctic Monkeys are still fresh from a prize winning debut and we already have enough new material from them to fill another. Likewise Working For A Nuclear Free City gave us their self titled debut late last year and here we are in January with a fantastic 4 track ep of songs not only new but that display a definite progression.

This ep shows a more mature sound and will go some way to dispel the Stone Roses comparison which was so tempting in their debut. Opening track "Rocket" shuffles its feet beautifully for the first half then explodes with a cacophony of just about every instrument available and the result is thrilling. The boys do it again with "Heaven Kissing Hill" which starts with an Arab Strap style monologue which then opens up into soaring instrumentals. This song ends with the same beard stroking spoken word but soon crumbles into laughter showing this bands refreshing ability to not take itself too seriously. Another great instrumental master-class follows then things are brought to a close with "Stone Cold". This revisits their earlier Roses sound but still works and judging by the first 3 tracks and this songs title this closer could be the bands way of laying to rest their previous influences and preparing the ground for new seeds. But we shall have to wait and see what's in store for this band but if this little taster is anything to go by it could come at any time and the chances of quality is pretty high.

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31st Jan 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

LCD Soundsystem

Sound Of Silver

These days fashion is a major player in making an album hit or miss - and James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem proved this in 2005 when their self titled debut took everyone by storm. It being the right time for their blend of self referencing, witty beat punk wasn't the only reason it was such a success. The album was full of well crafted, intelligent music which set the bar high for their second installment. "Sound Of Silver" sees them take stock of all that has gone before and move on confidently.

'Get Innocuous' creeps in with a whisper and the album is off to a perfect start. A 2 minute gently rolling beat intro is the frame work for Murphy's unassuming vocals. This could be vintage Talking Heads if it wasn't for the fiercely electronic structure. It tells us from the outset that some new strings have been added to this bow and to start the difficult second album off with a 7 minute piece of lushness like this sends out a message of confidence and progression. 'Time To Get Away' revisits old ground with wailing vocals stabbing at stuttering beats but the new ideas soon return. 'Someone Great' opens with an almost Top Gun theme morphing into Human League synths and the stand out track 'All My Friends' continues the 80's synth revival with a more piano led driving beat that never pauses and could go on forever. James Murphy's vocals are taken down a notch as in the opening track and the result of this change is stunning. Its relentlessness is awesome and even though the pace never changes you feel as if you're building up to something powerful. As in the best Joy Division moments it's this combination of a rolling bass structure, subtly building vocals and the guts to take a song past the 4 minute mark that make this album memorable.

This is a band settling into their sound and a displaying a progression that shows a lot of maturity. Their 2005 debut was perfect for that time both in content and style. Murphy's DFA label was huge, pioneering a very exciting electro/indie crossover and the sound that emerged from the labels history was fresh and a generation of super-cool indie kids were more than ready to accept Murphy's blend of synth beats and abrasive punk musings even though his lyrics often ridiculed the image conscious demographic that followed him. But since then the elctro-punk style has become somewhat tired so this album couldn't have been easy for the band. Talking Heads have been the principle influence for some of the best bands to emerge in the last 3 years and they certainly feature here. But this influence has brought a more earthy sound to LCD and that's where the maturity lies. Just as with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Some Loud Thunder we see a band who after making people sit up and take notice of their first statement are now settling in for the long-haul and although they've eased off on the gas they're making music with more depth and durability.

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30th Jan 2007 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The King Khan & BBQ Show

What's for Dinner?

In The Red Records

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

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

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#BC

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

Benjy Ferree

Leaving The Nest

Domino

As 2006 drew to a close the music scene typically turned in on itself and pumped out endless retrospective compilations to distract us while the new release section of the record stores were replaced with 'Best Of 2006' rundowns. I have never understood the January blues syndrome as this month welcomes the return to form of new music and late December's creative droubt comes to an end. After such thirsty times any relief is welcomed but it is all the more rare when it tastes as sweet as 'Leaving The Nest.' This is the debut album by Domino's new boy Benjy Ferree and it's sure to be a quiet classic.

Ferree's biography reads like any cv and has very little to do with music making. After pursuing a passion for cinema he moved to California and ended up being a nanny to various Hollywood big hitters including David Lynch. The acting thing never seemed to happen and after many sing-song sessions with the kids he realized he possessed a certain talent for song writing. Encouraged by Fugazi's Brendan Canty, Benjee set about compiling his debut work.

This potted history is important when you hear the album. It oozes class but also humility. The songs seem almost improvised and sound like work produced from the innocent mind of someone who never intended to be doing this. 'In The Countryside' starts things off on a refreshingly upbeat note as the lyric "So happy hands all in the air" is repeated with a jaunty swagger. You would be forgiven for assuming that such sugary sweet lyrics could only be the work of a musician hell bent on bogus, loved-up, pop stardom (two words: Magic Numbers,) but that's the great thing about this album. It is happy music, if I can be so sweeping, but not overwhelmingly so, and it's genuine. The compositions are simple and lo-fi and having established these loose perameters Ferree allows his sound to go where it pleases. 'The Desert' is classic Ben Folds with its light melody, 'Private Honeymoon' evokes the hollow, emptyness of Jeff Buckley and 'Leaving The Nest' recalls the mighty Jack White.

While these comparisons - and a good few others - will inevitably spring to mind, Ferree's sound remains his own. 'Leaving The Nest' is a culmination of natural talent, experience and a totally honest love of music. I predict great things for this guy and thank him sincerely for starting 2007 off on such a high.

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18th Jan 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Big Sleep

Son Of The Tiger

French Kiss

The Big Sleep are a 3 piece band hailing from Brooklyn NY and they make a big rock noise. Sometimes it's psychedelic noise, sometimes straight up driving noise, but on the whole it means business. Son Of The Tiger opens with a musical eqivalent of a firm kick in the nuts. Brown Beauty is an instrumental sonic onslaught that holds you in its tight grasp as it steadily builds from dark and brooding to loud and heavy to louder and heavier. As you stand there, breathlessly exhausted, mouth open they hit you with a second wave with Murder. This is Electrelane after a music lesson with Wolfmother. Sonya Balchandani's vocals are sweet and subtle and are an effective contrast to the heavy riffs and crashing symbols around her.

Unfortunately, The Big Sleep are not able or willing to keep up this pace and the album takes a slight dive into no mans land as spacous, plodding stoner rock becomes the prefered method. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but after the power of the opening tracks the album seems to drift off into obscurity. Tracks like S.K.B and Menemy tend to start out fine but soon get lost in muddy cymbols and feedback and all to often lack the guitar structure of the earlier gems. However things pick up with Shima. It's jangly opening guitars are a welcome break from all the fuzzy, heavy riffs and the vocals are more audible becoming the focus that unites the song. It has more of an indie feel and builds more naturally to the familiar cymbal cacophony finale. This short break prepares you nicely for the moody title track that follows. It's a similar deal to earlier but seems to work better here and the screeching guitars and thudding rhythm really satisfy.

The Big Sleep have put together a very refreshing blend of dirty, shit kicking rock with dulcet female vocals and also seem to be in love with the entirely instrumental heavy jams of bands like The Longcut or Kinski. Put all this together and you get an album that isn't perfect but has guts and isn't afraid to grab you by the scruff of the neck and give you a darn good shaking.

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11th Dec 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Some Loud Thunder

Wichita

No sooner have I compiled my best of 2006 list with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's stunning self titled debut coming in at number one when it's follow up, slated for a January release, lands in our laps. They say the second album is always the difficult one and this must be made all the more so when your debut received such overwhelming critical acclaim. Some Loud Thunder is certainly not what I was expecting and after the first few listens I was quite disappointed not to be dazzled by the energy that was present on the first album. I would like to tell you that now after about 25 plays it has solidified it's place in my 2007 list but I can't. I am enjoying it a lot more than I was, but there remains a slight whiff of disappointment still.

The structure of the first album was was quite relentless with many high points, few lows, some nicely placed instrumental breathers - all of which culminated in a fantastic finale that just made you want to start the whole thing again. This time it's a different agenda. It's a much more low key affair with really only one obvious peak coming mid way through the album. Most of the songs seem as if they are building to something but never do and while they have virtually abandoned the instrumental fillers they have adopted a slow burning sound that whispers rather than shouts. This new approach at times produces some beautiful moments and really challenges the listener to stick with the program but also makes parts of the album quite laborious.

So, purely on the strength of their debut I have persevered with this one and have come to see it in a new light. Instead of viewing it as the weak follow up to a fluky start I have a sneaky feeling that this is the work of a band that intend to be around for a while. It seems their debut was designed to get our attention and all the praise that this brought has provided them with the creative space to explore new territory. This could be the album that calms things down and eases off on the pace that quite often leads to a bands early demise, or it could be just plain crap. - BC (3 stars)

Some Loud Thunder is by turns intense, moving and powerful. There is barely a bum note on the album and the song writing and music have taken on a depth and scope beyond Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The album sounds quite like a movie sound track in places and a lot of the music often seems very familiar - regularly sounding like a reprise to a track you never heard.

This quality is also it's flaw and the first few tracks sound like a slow building intro into the album, before the remaining tracks quickly sound like tghings are winding down. With the exception of the obvious single Satan Said Dance there is no middle ground on the album and it feels like it is missing it's heart. The album never quite grabs hold of you as a complete piece of work, and it lacks the cohesiveness of the first record. The infectious, awkward quality of their previous effort is also noticeably absent.

The relative lows are no where near as annoying as the ditties on album one, and the album remains almost completely solid in quality - but also lacking in the giddy highs of Yellow Country Teeth, Is This Love, Home On Ice or the countless other peaks on the rollercoast ride of the debut album. Some Loud Thunder's main flaw is in it's pace. Improved track sequencing and editing back of some of the tracks, plus a couple more more tracks would have made this an instant classic, rather than just a solid follow up - CSF (3.5 stars)

Here's a song by song break down:

1 - Some Loud Thunder. The album starts abrubtly, with the band mid-flow and sounding at their most Talking Heads. This seems an odd place to start as it sounds like a mid-album track. This song makes it clear that this isn't going to be an album like the first one. No real chorus to speak of but some nice rhythm and hand claps. Hopefully the shocking sound quality of this track is due to the promo only featuiring a rough mix, that will be improved by January.

2 - Emily Jean Stock. This seems a better place to start but sums up the first half of this record. The whole song seems to brew like it's building up to something but never does, but it has a lot of the harmonies that made the first album so listenable.

3 - Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles In The Air And Burning? A very low key affair and continues the steady build up of the record. It simmers up to mid point then plateaus nicely into a harmony filled home-straight. A bit like a Radiohead b-side, with a few tuning up/washing up sounds.

4 - Love Song No.7 (mp3). The beautiful piano opening of this one mark it pout as a definite highlight. The sparse, atmospheric atmosphere smake sit sound like a love song rising out of the chaos of a sound check.

5 - Satan Says Dance. This is where the album peaks and it's tempo puts the previous songs into context as you realise that everything has been building to this point. It is the one song that recalls their previous work as we are treated to the rolling drum running pace that made the last record so electrifying. They have thankfully updated this format with a myriad of electronic bleeps and tweaks that lay down a rich tapestry of sounds, sounding like tuning up chaos in a kids music class. We get the familiar repeated vocals of and the odd "alright now" which certainly gets the toes a tapping. This song rises like a polished, crisp gem from a murky pool to become the standout peak of this album, and a certain single. "No whips, no chains, just dancing, dancing, dancing". Welcome to Hell.

6 - Upon Encountering The Crippled Elephant. This is the only instrumental ditty here and and makes fine use of the stereo recording format. It's as if you're walking down a deserted street and in the distance a lone figure approaches, as he gets closer you realise he is playing the accordian and you stop and cautiously watch as he passes you by without so much as a glance, then he is off on his way into the distance once more. That is unless he bumps into Damon Albarn and spends the afternoon in an East End music hall.

7 - Goodbye To Mother And The Cove. This is a beautiful song that starts off with a delicate high pitch plucking and ever so slowly builds. Sounding like a reprise to earlier themes, the vocals are dripping with melancholy and help to gently carry the tune to the military drum finale.

8 - Arm And Hammer. The acoustic strumming structure of this song never seems to go anywhere and the vocals jar more than ever making this one of the weakest tracks, which should probably have been relegated to b-side status.

9 - Yankee Go Home. The free-wheeling of the first album is a distant memory on this methodical and well-planned track. The first of several finales.

10 - Underwater (You And Me) (mp3). This could be the closing credits to a film. The pounding drum beat gives the mood a light feel and never changes all the way through. It is accompanied by a floating bass line and clanging bells that have cropped up frequently throughout the album, again echoing the idea of reprise and themes of retreat. Sadly it's not the final track as it's monotony seems to draw things to a close nicely.

11 - Five Easy Pieces. The monotony is continued however here on the album closer. An acoustic structure this time provides the background to the reverb-heavy distant vocals that wine and wail and threaten never to stop. They are punctuated every now and again by the gloriously dreamy bass line that really makes this song a fine one to bring things to a close.

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8th Dec 2006 - 9 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Flaming Lips

Hammersmith Apollo, London

Having seen Midlake a week earlier at the ULU and found them disappointing, simply because the sound quality was very poor, I luckily decided to get to this gig at the Hammersmith Apollo early - and it turned out that Midlake would also be supporting the Flaming Lips. Seeing them again at the Apollo was so encouraging - you could really appreciate Tim Smith's voice and their nostalgic sound, which really resonated across the room. Sadly, no one had a clue who they were. Van Occupanther's fantastic songs like Roscoe, and Head Home came and went without any fuss, unlike at ULU - where the crowd clearly adored them, singing along to every word. It was sad; a great band like Midlake can really appeal to a wider audience, and even though the sound quality was better at the Apollo, the uninformed crowd wasn't quiet sure how to receive them. They had driven all the way from Paris especially for the show, and afterwards had to drive back to Lille to perform another gig the next day. Let's hope they had more success across the channel.

I had heard the Flaming Lips really put on a show - a friend once saw them live where they gave out mini radios for everyone. A local radio station would be broadcasting a song live, and when that song was performed everyone had to switch on their radio so they could hear it in stereo. Back at the Apollo, balloons were hovering above our heads as the crowd diligently played 'keepy upy' with them. The band came on stage accompanied by mass eruptions of cheering, shouting, confetti, more giant green balloons, and mirror balls - 3 mirror balls.

Opening the set with The Soft Bulletin's hit single Race For The Prize, Wayne Coyne got into his translucent giant balloon and walked across the crowd. My god, it was friggin amazing. As the show moved on the balloons really began to irritate, and you soon noticed popping sounds, as they were very quickly eliminated. More confetti was fired into the crowd, with the never-ending audience sing-a-long lasting from start finish - ending with Bohemian Rhapsody - Flaming Lips style.

Ever-articulate circus leader Wayne Coyne marshalled proceedings, first encouraging everyone to celebrate the recent mid-term defeat of George Bush's Republican Party, then apologising and praising how wonderful a crowd we were - how he has subjected us to all this confetti and balloons, and singing along to surreal lyrics - yet we didn't boo him once. He went down on his knees and thanked us all, watched on by a crowd of Santas on the right and green aliens on the left, holding touch lights. The rest of the band was dressed in super hero outfits. I can't think of another band that has put so much effort into making sure they entertained us.

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6th Dec 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Robert Gomez

Closer Still

Bella Union

Robert Gomez is a singer songwriter from Denton, Texas. There must be something in the water there, as Gomez is the 5th Denton signing to London's Bella Union Records - following on from Life To Experiance, Jetscreamer, Mandarin and Midlake, who he supported in London in last month.

Title track Closer Still uses a punchy, driving bass line which fills out with strings and even a bit of brass to end up as a rich, textured epic. Gomez' low voice has a smoky, restrained power to it - and the arrangements of tracks like She's A Dog often bring to mind 70's Tom Waits. Pretty much every instrument you can imagine pops up somewhere - strings, brass, even a Xylophone, and while that adds a lot to the sound, occasionally the arrangements seem too large for Gomez' voice.

Shaky Tom Waits comparisons aside, Gomez' sound and voice are best compared to indie veteran Elliot Smith, and his distinctive voice works just as easily with sparse arrangements such as the closer When They Were So Brave, although the less distinguished Stuck Inside provides a hesitant note that sometimes sparse just isn't enough.

There's range and breadth in the song writing here, and Closer Still provides a tasty taste of what we can expect when new album Brand New Towns arrives in January 2007.

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1st Dec 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Dan Sartain

Join Dan Sartain

One Little Indian

This is the second full length from the Alabama based musician and at 24 Sartain has managed to create a timeless piece of work that oozes bitterness but is delivered with an upbeat confidence. Recorded partly with a mariachi band and partly with The White Stripes producer Liam Watson, Join Dan Sartain is a lighthearted and refreshingly honest example of one man doing what the hell he feels like.

The great success of this record lies in it's subtle air of defiance. The 15 songs here represent a polite two fingers up to just about everyone in Sartain's life. As the last notes of the closing track Love Is Black ring off you can imagine Dan Sartain, with the arrogance of a young Johnny Cash, throwing his guitar at the mixing desk and storming out of the building mumbling "fucking record that, see if I care." The music isn't at all aggressive and it's hard to pin down just where this defiance comes from, but the effortlessness with which Sartain delivers his short little ditties is a good place to start. The furious pace of the opening track Drama Queens set's Sartain's agenda from the outset. At one and a half minutes it's a tightly packed bundle of forked tongue bitterness and it hooks you in good and proper. And talking of tongues, Sartain's seems firmly in his cheek as he skips through many different genres from the dirty grunge of I Wanted It So to the spanish love song Besame Mucho, originally recorded by Elvis. The warmth of the mariachi accompaniment of Flight Of The Finch is contrasted nicely by the fierce musings of two of the albums highlights, Gun Vs Knife and Hangers On.

It's great to hear an album that obviously comes from a rich tapestry of sources and though many of them will instantly spring to mind they will be wiped clean just as quickly and the lasting impression will be be a work very much its own. The arrogance of the music is reflected in the title of the album and if this is Dan's raleigh call to join him then I for one am in. I say that but at the same time get the impression that you can pledge allegiance as much as you like but the final decision lies with Dan himself and after hearing this record I am left with the immortal words of Eddie Murphy ringing in my ears, "This is my house, if you don't like it, get the fuck out."

I like it, I like it.

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30th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

120 Days

120 Days

Smalltown Supersound/Vice

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

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

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

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29th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Ratatat

Classics

XL

You may be wondering how the hell this NY duo managed to make a greatest hits album after only one record. Answer: Classics is just a witty title for their follow up to the 2004 debut, and yet after the first listen you start to imagine that this title could quite easily come into it's own as each song is packed full of catchy hooks, beats and melodies that it can't be too long before the media pick up on this and adorn every advert with a Ratatat riff just as they did with artists like Royksopp.

Ratatat are Mike Stroud and Even "E*vax" Mast and they make eclectic instrumental music using predominantly guitars and electronic beats but back up these grand statements with sampled textures. Classics was born out of their extensive touring with bands like Interpol, Franz Ferdinand and the Killers and brought about the shift from the stripped down, looped sound of their debut to the fuller and grander feel of this record. "Audiences usually responded way more strongly to our louder, more aggressive songs," recalls Stroud. "So this time in the studio, we were more conscious of trying to please a crowd, without selling ourselves short. Also, playing so many gigs inspired us to make the new record sound much more live."

I would certainly agree with this statement on many levels. Classics does sound like an album made very much with an audience in mind. It steers away from any challenging curve balls and often plays safely into the listeners hands. But just as this is a criticism it is also the albums strength. It may occupy the safe middle ground but it does so with the pride and is of the highest quality. The reason many of the songs could make it onto adverts is because they are so good and give you what you want straight away.

The beat-heavy thud of 'Lex' will have your hands clapping and toes tapping in no time, while the sweet melodies of Tropicana reveal the boys admiration for bands like The Beatles and The Kinks. Much of the album was recorded at Bjork's upstate New York rural retreat and sounds like it provided the duo with much needed focus. It also explains the various animal noises that pepper these songs like the tigers on 'Swisha', the birds and bug noises on 'Tacobel Canon' and the impressive roar that provides the back bone to the stand out track 'Wildcat'. 'Loud Pipes' moves expertly from the rewind plodding beat to the tip toe tinkle with a gracefulness that makes this record easy to listen to but not easy listening.

It's hard to pin down what separates good instrumental music such as this with all the bland dross that serves to numb all creative impulses we may be lucky enough to receive and after listening to Classics I still don't know but there's enough honesty gone into this record to tell me that this is one of the good ones. The title may scream of misplaced arrogance but the music doesn't.

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24th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Chin Up Chin Up

This Harness Can't Ride Anything

This is the second album from Chicago's Chin Up Chin Up and sees them make slight yet important improvements on their previous LP. 2004's brilliantly titled We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers was a great piece of understated indie bliss and The Harness Can't Hide Anything is a similar story only singer Jeremy Bolen has brought his vocals more to the foreground changing his hushed tones to a more raw, unpolished delivery. As a result their sound has become a lot less polite.

From the outset you can feel the sound being more in-focus as the title track gets things off to a good pace with it's driving guitars and fast drumming. Although most of the songs tend to employ a repeated vocal and guitar rhythm as their home straight the sound never becomes repetitive.

I Need A Friend With A Boat is probably the best song on the album. It chimes in with Cure-like guitars and steadily builds to a fantastic crest of driving bass lines, piano and violin. Blankets Like Beavers follows similar suit until half way through spews out a glorious synth drive that takes the song off to new heights of rhyhthmical Spoon territory. Landlocked Lifeguards shows it's teeth a bit more finishing off with a din of screeching guitars and crashing cymbals which sets up the beautiful Stolen Mountains. This is the most delicate song on the album revisiting the hushed vocals of their previous work. It has a gentle, plodding rhythm as its structure but nicely turns into a drum/string medley with a bit of glockenspiel thrown in as well.

The Harness Can't Hide Anything is a similar story to White Whale's WW1 in that it is all really solid but as a result doesn't have any obvious highlights - but also has no low points either. On the final song Trophies For Hire Bolan sums up the album very well when he says, "These lakes are not oceans, these trees are not forests," but in his defense, sometimes the grand, dramatic landscapes which he hints at are not always what is needed and Chin Up Chin Up haven't aimed for that but have produced a quality piece of indie rock, what more could we want?

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22nd Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Robert Pollard

Normal Happiness

Must Destroy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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#CSF

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

Joanna Newsom

Ys

OK, you're going to have to bear with me on this review as I am breaking a strict rule of mine while writing it - and that rule is to never embark on a review until you know what the album is about. To mislead the hoards of readers we have on this site with knee-jerk opinions would be a dreadful misuse of responsibility. So from the outset I will be honest and admit that I haven't got a clue what the hell is going on on this second full length from the enigma that is Joanna Newsom. The reason I am not waiting until I do know more is that I get the impression that that day will never come, but as I have firmly made up my mind that this is a work of unrivaled genius I think that is justification enough to start the review.

Clocking in at just under an hour and boasting only 5 songs, the longest being almost 17 minutes, Ys certainly is a commitment. Starting this album is an experience akin to standing at the foot of a massive mountain. You know you want to climb it but the view from the bottom makes you question whether you have it in you and it's not until you've completed the first leg of the opening 12 minutes of Emily that you start to realise what an epic journey you have ahead of you but the view from there is so special that to reach the summit fills your heart with excitement and you push on. Those who do reach the top are rewarded in ways too profound to mention. Not only is there the sense of pride on having made it this far but the strange compulsion to go straight down to the bottom and do it all again is overwhelming.

So despite not knowing anything about the meaning of this work we have established that it's quite good and so can distract ourselves with some background facts concerning it's conception and production. It follows in the footsteps of 2004's critically acclaimed debut The Milk Eyed Mender and takes it's title from a mythical Breton city that was flooded as punishment for the decadence of its inhabitants. Newsom describes dreams she had after having written the record that the title had to have a Y and an S in it and should only be one syllable, after coming across a reference to this myth she knew that Ys, pronounced 'Ees', had to be her title. The album features a whole host of stars backstage. It is engineered by Steve Albini, produced by Jim O'Rourke and all but one song is given full orchestral arrangement by Van Dyke Parks, it also has the occasional backing vocal by boyfriend Bill 'Smog' Callahan. But it's Newsom herself that ultimately makes this record what it is. Her voice achieves a much more expansive range here going from booming depth to ear-piercing squeaks to a floating beauty that is simply heart melting. Her debut had her lumped in with the acid-folk of Devandra Banhart which in my opinion didn't do her any favors. This record will undoubtedly put an end to all that as its richness and awesome scope makes it near impossible to label. Comparisons to the work of Bjork and Kate Bush are valid only in terms of vision and shear single mindedness. As time moves on it will be impossible to guess when this album was made, it has a timeless quality and no references to modern times whatsoever. (I thought I found one on Emily when what I supposed was the lyric "The media writes just what causes the light and the media's how it's perceived," turned out to be "The meteorite's just what causes the light and the meteor's how its perceived.") You get immersed in the vivid descriptions of nature and stories that are told with such a beguiling use of language that you stop trying to follow their meaning and sit back content to let your heart dance in the warmth and ease with which these magical words tumble out. There is little point in going through the album song by song as this is a piece of work where each element has to be seen in the context of the whole. It's not just the length of the songs that makes them so daunting, they feature no standard chorus structure, there is virtually no let up in the flow of expertly pronounced poetry or free flowing harp and Park's orchestration sweeps you up and catapults you across his epic cinematic landscape and each song leaves you exhausted. But the profundity of this exhaustion comes from the honesty of the artist, none of this album seems contrived or pretentious. It's one of those rare moments of originality that is self made.

You can arm yourself with as many facts as you like about this album but none of them will help you on your journey, they will only weigh you down. Just as Luke bravely put away his mechanical means of navigation on his assault on The Death Star so must we turn off logical thought on our long trek towards the summit of Mount Newsom and let some other force guide us. To do this is the only way to reach the top and once there the view will be more spectacular than you could possibly imagine.

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#BC

20th Nov 2006 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Midlake

ULU, London

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

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

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

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

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16th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

My Morning Jacket: Okonokos - The Concert

(dir. Sam Erickson)

Sony BMG

As an accompaniment to their recent live album Okonokos, My Morning Jacket filmed their two night stint at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore as a DVD release, which also ran in limited cinemas.

Harking back to the classic days of the concert film, Okonokos is basically a straight live performance form the band, bookended with a mild narrative - the product of Jim James' wild imagination. While this doesn't really add much in terms of an actual narrative, it creates an atmosphere for the concert - which is clearly mirrored with the concept created for the show itself - a kind of victorian gentlemen's congregation in some bear infested wood. The crowd have generally entered into the swing of things, and they are rewarded with a stella performance from the band as usual.

The DVD's pitfall is the almost unavoidable trap set for all concert movies (yes, the Song Remains The Same included) where they rarely create the same atmosphere as actually being there. As far as these things go it is a good one - the bands' boundless enthusiasm is clear, and on mind blowing tracks like One Big Holiday and Lay Low, you do actually feel like you're there, on stage with the band in a guitar huddle. Plus you can watch animal-esqe drummer Patrick Hallahan doing his Steam Engine robotics in close-up.

The DVD is pretty much note for note the same as the CD (minus At Dawn, I Think I'm Going To Hell and Dancefloors), so really it's a case of one or another - and concert DVDs do work well as an audio-disc-with-visuals. There's no complaints on either format, and this live album and film serve their purpose well - as a (hopefully not too long) bridge between studio albums. Another well timed step from My Morning Jacket, as the band move on from there classic album Z hopefully onto bigger and better things.

Roll on 2007.

#Film
#CSF

14th Nov 2006 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Yo La Tengo

The Forum, Kentish Town, London

Veteran Indie shufflers Yo La Tengo are in Europe this month, in support of both their recent album I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Kick Your Ass, and their soundtrack to the Will Oldham movie Old Joy, for which they made a panel appearance at the London Film Festival. For they London show they booked up The Forum, with support from post-rockers Minotaur Shock.

There was anticipation in the air from the muso crowd, which included to my surprise a heavy set tough-guy tout that I had seen outside. He was re-directing people who were blocking the view of others, and was ready for a punch up when one guy was chatting as the band started.

For a band with such a vast back catalogue, the show was dominated by ...I Will Beat Your Ass for a good 75%. After a beautiful I Feel Like Going Home and a jaunty Beanbag Chair we were straight into the 10 minutes epic Pass The Hatchet.

The band had the aura of seasoned veterans, and the crowd were loving it. Ira read out an amusing item from the Independent regarding the dangers of being a drummer (Bloc Party have unsurprisingly fallen foul) and warned that Georgia would be taking it a little easy' tonight, but thankfully that was not the case. Working the stage like a three-man-one-man-band (or even a Marx Brothers musical interlude - Ira would be Chico), they swapped instruments and tasks seamlessly, avoiding the tedious, self-important setting-up delays that so many bands seem to fall into. The variation ads another dimension to their show and they easily motored through inspired versions of most of their awesome new album - plus a handful of older tracks, including a great Don't Have To Be So Sad.

While Ira and Georgia seem to have all the fun, you can't help but feel sorry for James who definitely gets the short straw - repeating the same bass-line for 10 minutes, while Ira freewheels along like an indie Hendrix. Sometimes that freewheeling goes too far off the tracks, and the songs get just too strung out - dwindling into free-jazz territory, and it was hard not to notice some of the crowd developing visible headaches - me included. This was most noticeable on Blue Line Swinger. The song disintegrated into 10 minutes of jazz-feedback - and while it did pay off with a great finale as the rhythm synced out of the chaos, it's hard to know if it was worth it. Much like Less Than You Think, the poison pill on Wilco's A Ghost Is Born.

Although they were chatty and the crowd certainly seemed engaged, the band can seem rather distant on stage. When the audience stop stroking their beards and get more involved the band softened up and it became more of a rock show that a performance. The encore put the whole thing up a notch and was they highlight of the show - with the band returning to the stage and literally taking requests from the audience, a technique which might be useful more often. It seemed that the audience were universal in their choice of favourites, and classics like Autumn Sweater show this band to be truly magnificent.

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

14th Nov 2006 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

TV On The Radio

Koko, Camden

I find it near impossible to sum up the sound of TV On The Radio and when I try to think of an equivalent in order to aid my description I find myself stumped. But one thing I did discover in the majestical surroundings of Camden's Koko was that with two and a half albums strong this Brooklyn 5-piece know exactly who they are and what they are doing.

With it's numerous balconies dripping in ornate decoration and rising skyward to a huge revolving glitterball, Koko is a venue like no other and the view from the stage must either thrill or daunt any band. The addictive thing about TV On The Radio is their grasp of restraint. Their sound is so complex and threatens to explode but rarely does so I was interested to discover how this style would cope with a venue such as this. Dirty Whirl, a highlight from the new album Return To Cookie Mountain crept in humbly with hushed atmospheric sampling and front man Tunde Adebimpe's sweet whistling. This built up slowly and then the band unleashed their sound. It was the sound of twenty men and it was awesome. Adebimpe is the lynch pin to the dazzling show TV On The Radio offer. His theatrical dancing, thorough exploration of the space around him and inexhaustible passion and energy is electrifying and like nothing I have seen before. And his voice, well damn that boy can sing. Often constructing beautiful harmonies with guitarist and vocalist Kyp Malone, Adebimpe's voice more than filled the hall.

The stage seemed cluttered with the various machines that make this sound so unique. The standard drums, guitars and vocals are all fed through samplers, loops and distortions to produce a wall of sound that is oozing with texture. As expected Wolf Like Me was an instant highlight. As the only drum heavy, rock-out tune on the album this is as close as this band come to a standard song, so for it to emerge crisp and triumphant from the murky bog of noise was a delight to which the hungry crowd responded accordingly. Earlier songs like Young Liars were treated to the same extended format with the music slowly fading away to leave Adebimpe's exposed vocals to bring it to a close.

Not all the songs worked with the live treatment and this is due to the intricate subtleties that are so important to their sound not to mention the obvious sound problems experienced by Kyp Malone. I Was A Lover opens the new album with such hollow beauty, but that was lost here. The dense texture that is crafted around this song simply swallowed up the vocals reducing them to just another element in this texture. But this was a minor complaint and was soon forgotten as a free standing bass drum was brought on to the stage to herald the start of Let The Devil In. This was pounded on by at least two other band members as the crowd were encouraged to sing along. Adebimpe opened the song with dulcet vocals only to produce a mega-phone which he proceeded to shriek into as more and more previously unnoticed musicians joined the stage beating a myriad of cymbals, drums, tamborines, you name it. The result was a near tribal stampede of sound that refused to stop. It built and built to epic proportions and launched this gig into memorable territory.

After the dazzling My Morning Jacket show in September I got to thinking, "What separates the good gigs from the great gigs?" I have seen many a great band showcase their back catalogue with expert precision but have often been left feeling slightly flat. These gigs were as good as their albums, but the great gigs go further and make you feel like you are witnessing something specific to this moment, something spontaneously crafted and bigger than the music. This is what was happening at Koko that night, a live event that would be lost in any other format. All too often I leave a very enjoyable gig but mentally tick that band as 'done', the opposite was the case here and as I emerged from my grand surroundings into a rainy night I hoped this would not be the last would see of TV On The Radio.

#Music
#Gig
#BC

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

Jeremy Enigk

World Waits

Reincarnate/Sony BMG

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Music
#chimpovich

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

Pavement

Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition

Domino

The Pavement re-release juggernaut continues with their third album getting the treatment this month, now re-branded as Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition. Following in the steps of the exhaustive first two re-issues (Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins), Wowee Zowee has been expanded with a re-remastered version of the classic 1997 album, accompanied by an assortment of B-sides, demos and live tracks from the period.

After the relative radio-friendly hits of Crooked Rain, Wowee Zowee was a relative critial and commercial disappointment on it's release, and the band retreated for a two years before releasing a follow up. In retrospect it is quite possibly the best Pavement album, finding the near perfect balance of the wacky schizophrenia of their early albums with the crafted 24 track song writing of their later albums Brighten The Corners and Terror Twilight. We can only imagine what extended titles are in store for those two.

Eclecticism is the name of the game with Wowee Zowee, and literally handfuls of different styles are covered. From the beautiful opening acoustic chords of We Dance, the music hall sounds of Motion Suggests Itself, Spiral Stairs' trippy Western Homes, or just the straight-up greatness of Black Out, Father To A Sister Of Thought, AT&T or countless others, this is an album that's as hard to define as a collection of Ween rarities.

For all the variation however, this is an album that works superbly. The songs play off each other and make a cohesive, balanced whole - with the highlights enhanced by the lighter, fun numbers.

And so we move on to the bonus material. B-sides from the album's singles (Rattled By The Rush and Father To A Sister Of Thought) start things off, and the Pacific Trim EP is a genuine bonus - recorded to coincide with an Australian tour, this release features all 4 tracks of the Rare EP - including notable mentions for vinyl-only I Love Perth and lead track Give It A Day. A cover of the Descendents It's A Hectic World is disappointing, and rambling tracks like Soul Food serve to highlight Pavement's habit of wandering off into musical cul-de-sacs. A demo of We Dance overlooks the natural beauty of the track, highlighting instead Malkmus' tounge-in-cheek English accent for a song which theories have suggested was influenced - either as a homage or pastiche - by Malkmus' friendship with some of the original Brit Poppers, including Damon Albarn (clearly influenced by Pavement in the mid 90's) and Wire fan Justine Fleischman (a former member of Malkmus' current band The Jicks).

Deeper into disc two a handful of tracks recorded on that same Australian tour showcase the band at their best, with off-kilter humor peeling away to uncover musical magic - illustrated most clearly by Box Elder, which recovers from near disaster to highlight how great this track is - from the often overlooked Westing (By Musket & Sextet) compilation.

One thing this album does bring up is how these re-releases monsters perform as self-contained albums. Is there ever such a thing as too much? The original was always long (56 minutes and 18 songs) and it could be argued that it was already sprawling (check out the re-ordered version here) and it is certainly front loaded with the absolute best-of-the-best tracks. At 50 songs and 156 minutes this new edition certainly adds a lot more to that mix, leaving no doubt that the best comes first - as although there are certainly some gems in the bonus material they never equal the epic heights set by the first two handfuls of tracks off the original.

Should this review rate the album as a whole? Or the original album as a whole, with the disposable extra of 32 bonus tracks? As a devout Pavement fan I'd always choose to have more, but if I was trying to convert a rookie to their majesty this would certainly not be the place to start.

I'm going to plump for something in between on this one, as although it is one of my favourite albums, I'm speculating that it is unlikely I'll be flipping on disc two all that often. But with the age of playlists and compilations upon us Pavement have delivered an ideal gift: A classic album with a selection box on the side.

#Music
#CSF

7th Nov 2006 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

So Divided

Interscope

...Or as CSF quipped 'You will know us by our really long name' and to be completely honest, that was all I really knew about them. Of course, I knew of them - a name like that doesn't erase quickly - but I mostly remember them for the one, very Sonic Youth-ish track; Mistakes and Regrets and the hectic video that went with it. After that, I mentally labelled them art/prog rock (ie. 'difficult') and filed them alongside the likes of The Mars Volta.

So, when the new album arrives and the first thing I hear is a church bell on Intro: A Song of Fire and Wine, it's a case of rolled eyes and "Here we go again!" But then track 2, Stand in Silence, bursts through the speakers and I apologise. This is one of the best tunes I've heard this year. Admittedly, I am a sucker for a meaty riff, and this one is a beauty, but to get from said riff, into a military type fanfare that wouldn't be out of place over the final scene of Top Gun and then back again: it's a tip of the hat to you guys (who we will know…)

The band then seem intent on keeping the listener guessing what is round each corner, so much so that So Divided could simply have taken it's title from the range of music within. Wasted State of Mind begins with Indian drums and ends with French Accordian, Naked Sun is a 70s blues rock/groove with rousing brass section. Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory is a note perfect cover (if slightly slicker) from the mighty Guided By Voices album, Bee Thousand. Eight Day Hell is all joyously upbeat a la The Polyphonic Spree - who I find too saccharine, but in isolation one song works well here.

All this leaping around does indeed leave the record slightly divided and lacking in a clear vision. However, this can also work to it's advantage, as there is something for everyone here. All the songs are written with intelligence and performed with mucho passion so that, like the seasonal selection boxes soon to appear on supermarket shelf: you may well have your favourites (more track 2 please) but once in a while you can gorge on anything - and when the quality is this good you welcome the change.

#Music
#chimpovich

6th Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Dosh

The Lost Take

The road that Dosh has chosen or is destined to travel is well trodden and as a result can often be perilous. Instrumental hip hop sounds like a good idea but can often fall into the chill out trap and forever condemned to an eternity of middle class diner parties. Fortunately Martin Dosh skillfully avoids these pitfalls and his third full length for Anticon "The Lost Take" is easily his best yet - and actually has no right to be classed as hip hop.

Having started off playing drums in the avant-guard DIY outfit Fog, Dosh released his debut self titled album in 2003 followed by 2004's Pure Trash which featured assistance from Anticon heavy weights Doseone, Jel and Odd Nosdam. With The Lost Take the collaborations are just as frequent but of a different sort. Dosh has cleverly enlisted the help of a plethora of musicians from Fog's Jeremy Ylvisaker, Erik Appelwick from Tapes 'n Tapes and the wonderful violin of Andrew Bird. This is the key to the success of this record. Proficient on most instruments himself, Dosh has created a record that though predominantly drum based is a homage to the art of live orchestration. "Um, Circles And Squares" is the first instance of this dazzling love for music. Here, Bird's strings form a beautiful cushion for Dosh's rolling Rhodes sequences and drum beats. This prepares us for the album highlight of "A Ghosts Business". This could be a scene from a Disney cartoon about the nighttime goings on in a music shop. After the owner leaves the store, the instruments come alive and jam erratically to their hearts content expressing the unbridled freedom that an instrument would if it was locked up in a shop all it's life. As conductor, Dosh makes us think he's lost control of his orchestra - but expertly brings them into line with Prefuse 73 style cutting and pasting.

This track is very important to the album as a whole. Not only does it let us know what this man is capable of, but gives us a valuable insight into the intentions of The Lost Take. Every song after it seems to work better with this knowledge. By enlisting the help of such talents, Dosh creates a rich pallet from which to work his magic. Appelwick's crunching guitar chords give strength to the piano and drums of "MPLS Rock And Roll", making it a triumphant anthem - while his subtle finger picking weaves softly amongst the textural percussion contributing to the delicate warmth of "O Mexico".

I imagine each of the twelve tracks on The Lost Take as an intrepid group of explorers in the old Tarzan movies bravely making their way through the jungle. Comprised predominantly of toffee-nosed British aristocrats and their native bag carriers, they negotiate the perilous mountain path known as "Chill-Out Pass". To lose your footing here would mean plummeting into the raging crocodile infested waters of Hoxton-quiff-sporting-Foxton's employees, hungry to get their soft hands on the next soundtrack to their upcoming Thai fusion themed dinner party. Sadly, not everyone here makes it to safety. "Everybody Cheer Up Song" and the closing sax horror of "The Lost Take" only lose their footing for a second, but that's all it takes on this journey to fall to the depths of mediocrity. But everyone else bravely push on to the other side. Once there, they find the going slightly easier, as a path of sorts has already been forged by people like Four Tet and Prefuse 73, but armed with the brave pioneering Anticon spirit the remaining members of The Lost Take form their own roads through this wilderness to discover new and rich pastures. One would hope that after showing such courage Dosh won't rest on these green and plentiful lands but will strive on to higher ground.

#Music
#HHG

3rd Nov 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Drones

Gala Mill

ATP

Of the new bands I've listened to recently, it's quite clear that The Drones would beat them all in a fight. A coiled aggression runs through Gala Mill and frontman Gareth Liddiard sings like a man with experience of a hundred brawls and of pain in all its varieties.

Two things about The Drones previous (and 2nd) album, that will give you a good idea about what you are going to get from Gala Mill:

1. It was called 'Wait by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'. A title suggesting themes of conflict, nature and vengeance, a title that says "We aren't messing about here."

2. It won the Australian Music prize for best album, beating off the likes of Wolfmother.

Gala Mill, whilst more economically named, is an album full of conflict, nature and vengeance and perhaps more importantly, has Australia running through its adrenalin-charged veins.

It's straight down to business on 'Jezebel', an 8 minute epic that staggers and sways like a hardened fighter whose legs refuse to buckle. Liddiard's unashamedly abrasive accent snarls about subjects such as nuclear testing in Australia, the Beslan school massacre, a cow that glows in the dark and the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl. Track 1: like a punch in the gut!

There you are - winded. So they follow up with 'Dog Eared', a sinister ballad and 'I'm Here Now' another 8 minuter about heroin addiction that starts slow but ends up pinning you against the wall, threateningly requesting your full attention. 'The Words of the Executioner to Alexander Pearce' is self-explanatory - as long as you know that Alexander Pearce was a cannibal, rapist from The Drones' home state of Tasmania. Phew! 'I Don't Ever Want to Change' changes pace and provides some welcome rocking out, and even though it is about depression and denial, it is a strangely comforting song in the midst of all the down-tempo sluggers. The final track 'Sixteen Straws' is Gala Mill's most ambitious. Close to ten minutes, it's like a traditional folk ballad, as Lilliard spins 30+ verses into a 1st person tale of forlorn convicts avoiding the Catholic prohibition of suicide, by drawing straws to decide who will kill another and thus send them all to the gallows,

It's a hard and dark album, but a rewarding one. That is, if you can stay the distance.

#Music
#chimpovich

3rd Nov 2006 - 5 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Akron/Family

Meek Warrior

Young God Records

This is the third album from the enigma that is Akron/Family and as always it is a weird and often wonderful journey. This New York based quartet do everything they can to confuse you, alienate you, dazzle you and ultimately impress you with their brand of freak folk, post-rock and whatever other genre they decide to drop during this 35 minute slice of madness.

I say madness but for their standards this is quite normal. It's basically a regular alt folk, semi religious record in the style of Danielson or Davandra Banhart that's framed by two crazy, freak out monster jams. To open an album with a song like 'Blessing Force' lets the listener know early that to sit comfortably would be a mistake. Tribal drums, crashing cymbals and feedback start things off, before this turns into group chanting which heralds what we all think is the start of this song, but no. Another whiplash change of direction and the song careers off in another direction, that of head-fuck, twisted guitar and yet more sprawling drum landscapes. Then 3 minutes later we get the free-form jazz section and if you look ahead on your iTunes time bar you realise with horror that you have 2 more minutes of this ear-piercing noise to go. Just as the Rowntrees Fruit Pastel adverts dare you to eat one with out chewing, Akron/Family dare you not to skip this bit. I took up this dare once and finished the track but never again. As ambitious as 'Blessing Force' is, it does sound a bit like a nine minute show-reel and as the beautiful lo-fi folk of 'Gone Beyond' gently follows you can't help thinking that what just went before was nothing but a glitch in the system and somehow a particularly experimental Liars track found its way on to the start of this album.

So from here on in we get the delicate country ditties of the title track, the sparse soundscapes of 'No Space In This Realm' and the fragile finger picking of 'Lightning Bolt Of Compassion'. Then comes the other freak-out monster jam. 'The Rider (Dolphin Song)' is a measly seven minutes though and easier to stomach than its predecessor. It's a dark, brooding scuzz-bucket of noise that explodes erratically into formless improv. It's the evil cousin of Radiohead's 'National Anthem' and finishes you off with a deafening squall that must utilise every instrument in the studio. But the Family don't leave your bruised and pummeled corpse there. No, they pick you up, dust you down and take you to Sunday School with the closing track 'Love And Space'. Here, each band member gets a turn in chanting the "Lord Open My Heart.." mantra and all the craziness from the past 35 minutes is nicely forgotten.

This is another brave example of Akron/Family's talents. By painstakingly constructing their beautiful folk landscapes, only to destroy them in a reckless act of sabotage, they challenge the listener to question what they're listening to. While this is the albums strength it is also its failing. The experimental moments are too few and far between and instead of the annoying wrecking balls they try to be, when put amongst the delicate psych-folk of the other tracks they become the best songs on the album and are so powerful that the others appear out of place. But there is more than enough on Meek Warrior to confirm that Akron/Family are one of those important bands that refuse to be classified and will go on challenging you and daring you whether you like it or not.

#Music
#BC

31st Oct 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet