Chimpomatic

Band Of Horses

Everything All The Time

Sub Pop

First up, comparisons with My Morning Jacket are inevitable. On the first few listens, I had to check that Jim James himself wasn't providing the vocals on a couple of tracks. With that in mind, the chase cut to as it were, let's base the review around that knowledge. Let's suppose that MMJ had a younger brother, who hung around the practice sessions and was witness to their particular brand of genius. He's maybe thinking to himself, yeah that's pretty good - but those extended, distorted solos are a bit distracting, at times they get in the way of a nice, clean, imaginative pop song. I like the reverb on the vocals, I'll have that (It's possible that a couple of tracks were actually lifted straight from the outtakes of a MMJ session - Part One and I Go To The Barn Because I Like The could well be from At Dawn). The result is a charming, dreamy album with enough emotional weight to demand full attention. Comparable to MMJ and completely comfortable with that comparison.

Apologies, if you've never heard of My Morning Jacket. If this is the case, I can only presume it is your first visit to Chimpomatic - welcome.

Update: With the Chimp team seemingly in approval, it looks like this is going to stay the distance. I'm prepared to admit it when i'm wrong: This is not just a good album, it looks like it's going to be a classic.

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2nd Oct 2006 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Charlotte Gainsbourg

5:55

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

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

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

Kings Of Leon

Day Old Belgian Blues

Recorded live at AB Box in Belgian (sic) on 11/04/04, this six-song limited edition EP showcases..... the fact that the Kings of Leon are trying to plug the gap between studio albums with this load of filler. This band were never prolific with their b-sides, and this live EP just makes that obvious. Uninspring versions of six songs - all which feature on the excellent studio releases - and not a sneaky rarity in site. Give this a miss and hold out for studio album number three.

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26th Sep 2006 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

My Morning Jacket

Astoria, London

After missing them in NYC, London (twice) and then Brighton it was a relief to see My Morning Jacket finally walk onstage at the Astoria. Following much of the same vibe as Okokonos they certainly did not disapoint. It Beats 4U was fantastic, Phone Went West, Run Thru, Magheeta and more. They tick all the boxes when it comes to the one album rule, pulling from a huge range of great tracks and turning every one into an extended rock-a-thon. When they finally played my favourite, The Bear, this gig sealed it's place in ossumness. - CSF (4.5 Stars)

After a few cancellations I was highly anticipating this gig. Starting superbly with a string of tracks from the latest album followed by all time classic One Big Holiday it was living up to all my hopes. The latest album (Z) is by far the most accessible with short tracks which quickly move on. Like the back catalogue though, the gig became more sprawling as time went on. Solos and track finales were extendedly played out as the band indulged in some great moments. Unfortunately at times there was a sense that this was getting to be a little too much for much of the audience. Certainly more for the hardcore but a good show all the same. - CJ (3 Stars)

MMJ surpassed all expectations at the Astoria on Friday as they raised the roof with an awe inspiring, riff heavy, rock marathon. Front man Jim James set the pace with an inexhaustible display of energy and enthusiasm, sometimes looking as if he resented his singing duties preferring to rock out with the rest of the boys gathered, worshipingly around the alter-like drum kit as each song was stretched to breaking point. High points were Gideon, One Big Holiday and Run Thru. - BC (4.5 Stars)

As a relative newbie convert to the mighty MMJ I probably wasn't as psyched up as the rest of team chimpomatic for this gig, but I came away on a real rock high, glad that CSF had managed to get me to get over my misgivings about their name and actually get round to listening to them. Wasn't prepared for the full-on epic jam quality, the duelling guitar action or indeed the sheer volume of hair-rocking... almost made me want to grow my hair back (in a kind of bizarro universe Crosby Stills Nash & Young move). Highlights for me were probably all the Z hits - It Beats 4 U, Gideon etc - but I was still pretty much with them by the end when it seemed like they were just really enjoying themselves. And frankly, if you were in such a great band, why wouldn't you want to just keep playing? (4 Stars for me, probably would have been higher if I'd got round to getting into them earlier…) C71

See photos of the gig here.

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26th Sep 2006 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

White Whale

WW1

Like the great ocean herself White Whale have managed to create an album of immeasurable depth that can at times rise to majestic swells of dazzling proportions, drowning you in its drama and carrying you off to far flung places but it can also be a bit wet. I use the ocean as metaphor here as this is the principle theme that punctuates most of WW1. Tales of sea faring voyages, grand ships and intrepid admirals are delivered in style by the breathy vocals of front man Matt Suggs. Drawing comparisons to label mates Spoon, Suggs writes music that is as grand as it is delicate and tells his tales with expertly crafted and slightly surreal lyrical compositions.

Nine Good Fingers opens with the line "Wont you lay your nine good fingers on me but keep that long one wrapped in gauze," and features lots of lyrics about finger finding melodies and toes tapping in time. And tapping is exactly what your toes will do through most of this album especially on O'William, O'Sarah where the anthemic chorus gives way to a long rhythmical interlude where a fantastically raw drumbeat creeps in as if being played in their garage and takes the song past the 7 minute mark. This leads on nicely to the album highlight of The Admiral, a sea faring story from days of old, told with epic grandeur and at times ferocious passion. It's an impeccably crafted gem that is unfortunately followed by the albums lowest point. I Love Lovely Chinese Gal is an ill considered low-fi ditty about East and West and is full of uncharacteristically obvious lyrics. But it's not worth dwelling on as normal proceedings are resumed straight away as the record finds its wave again and sails off into the glorious sunset with many a high point including We're Just Temporary Ma'am and Forgive The Forgiven.

WW1 is a wonderfully rich album combining live instruments with drumbeat and synth to great effect. It's great to see a debut album with its sights set so high and a band not afraid to attempt the epic and the grand. Their devotion is heard on the all-guns-blazing finale of One Prayer where Suggs exclaims, "It's our duty to go down with this ship." Hopefully that won't be necessary and if their maiden voyage is anything to go by this ship is destined for great things.

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26th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Wooden Wand And The Sky High Band

Second Attention

New York avant-gardist Jason Toth re-emerges after last years solo album and his many outings with The Vanishing Voice to bring us this quality psych-folk classic. Second Attention is packed full of religious references which are delivered with Toth's ironic, country drawl and the result is refreshingly hard to label. Compared to his earlier work Second Attention is a relatively straightforward, song-orientated affair that channels healthy doses of Dylan and the odd dab of Hendrix.

The fantastically gospel Portrait In The Clouds starts off as a sing along folk ditty about religious redemption repeating the chorus "God's Portrait in the clouds, I am bloodthirsty no more." Then along with the strumming acoustic guitar comes an almost question and answer formation between a gloriously bluesy electric guitar and organ. This is a pattern employed on the most interesting moments on this record. The more conventional folk numbers like Crucifixion Pt. II and Dead Sue are where the early Dylan comparisons appear, with their rambling, repetitive story telling formation but the best moments are found in songs like The Bleeder, Sweet Xiao Li and Mother Midnight where The Sky High Band really shine. On the whole the band takes a back seat allowing Toth's vocals to take centre stage but on the occasions when the grimy electric guitar creeps in the song is transported to new territories. This is what ultimately makes this record a success; it's ability to surprise you. Even though by his standards Toth has created a relatively conventional piece of work it is clear to see that Second Attention has been born out of a colourful history of music appreciation.

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21st Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

My Morning Jacket

Okonokos

Fewer and fewer bands seem to put out a decent live album these days, so it's a refreshing change to see My Morning Jacket releasing a live CD (and upcoming DVD) "Okonokos". Inspired by Neil Young's Marshall-speakers-and-Jawas efforts with Rust Never Sleeps, the band put on two shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco, inviting the crowd to come in fancy dress. Fancy lighting and a load of trees on stage set the scene and the band proceeded to rip through two nights of extended jams, cut through with Jim James amazing voice.

The album is certainly not just the Jim James show, turning in relatively few of the spine-tingling moments found at his solo shows, or on the Acoustic Cistouca EP. Instead it's very much a full band affair, swapping the delicate drum machine-style of It Beats 4 U for a beefed up sound that turns the song in the opposite direction and re-invents it as a heavy love song.

Crowd favourite One Big Holiday is a highlight, but there is certainly no shortage - The Way That He Sings, Golden, Anytime - all fantastic. This is a band that has no problem producing new material, and they showcase a broad range here, including some less well known tracks like O Is The One That Is Real. The band specialise in re-working and expanding old favourites and X-Mas Curtain and the finale of Magheeta are supurb.

If you're looking to convert a potential fan then this probably isn't the right album to use. Start them off with Z. If you're a fan already then you won't need much convincing, and you won't be dissapointed.

We're off to see them at the Astoria tomorrow. Review on Monday.

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

Midlake

The Trials Of Van Occupanther

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

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

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

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

The Mountain Goats

Get Lonely

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

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

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

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

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4th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Cut Chemist

The Audience's Listening

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

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

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

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

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

Devastations

Coal

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

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

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

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

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30th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Young Knives

Voices Of Animals & Men

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

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

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

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Pearl Jam

The Point, Dublin

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

The Letting Go

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

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

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

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25th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Electrelane

Singles, B-Sides & Live

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

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

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

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

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

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

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20th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

M. Ward

Post-War

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

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

Bush Hall gig review.
Click here for pictures.

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18th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Absentee

Schmotime

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

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

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

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

Our Lady Of The Highway

Beauty Won't Save Us This Year

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

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

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

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17th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Shearwater

Palo Santo

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

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

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

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14th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

M. Ward

Bush Hall, London

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

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

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

Still great though.

Click here for pictures.

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14th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Diableros

You Can't Break The Strings In Our Olympic Hearts

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

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

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

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Oneida

Happy New Year

Jagjaguwar

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Black Angels

Passover

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

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

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

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Idlewild

(dir. Bryan Barber)

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

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

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

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

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

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3rd Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

The Forum, Kentish Town, London

We've been loving the Clap Your Hands album this year, so were looking forward to this gig at The Forum (high on the favourite venues list). Support band The Boy Least Likely To... sucked, following the recent "branding+website+aren't-we-wacky, c'mon sing along=boy least likely to be bought by me" formula of quite a few UK bands. Once they were out of the way and most of the balloons had been popped the show really started. Clap Your Hands were kind of as expected (with the exception of the Scarecrow hat and actual country styles) - serious but not too serious, straight down to business and thoroughly holding the crowd's attention. They were soon onto the one of my favourites, In This Home On Ice - and the crowd were loving it. Almost every song seemed like your favourite, including several new songs - all sounding good. The band few us a few red herrings, starting songs with a bit of blues finger picking before rolling into Is This Love, or stretching things out. The sound didn't seem to do much to lift the muffled lyrics out of the music at first, but pretty soon everyone was picking out the zeitgeist (sub: please check my grammar) highlights, like sex, and drugs, and rock and rock and rock and rock and roll. Lead singer Alec Ounsworth didn't have much to say, but the couple of the other guys chipped in now and then with some banter and a couple of song introductions.

One thing I did overlook when anticipating this gig was my own rule of not seeing bands with less than three albums under their belt - and that's where these guys loose points. They were undoubtedly great performers, putting in amped up performances of nearly their entire album, many of which are already near classic songs.... however, take away the two skimpy ditties and the entire album clock in at barely 35 minutes. A not-enough-songs scenario ensued, with the band huddling between nearly every song to discuss how to proceed. They did everything you'd expect, and while the new songs were certainly good ("Satan Said Dance" in particular) they were still unknown, not bringing anything like the same crowd response as Details Of The War or The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth. A harsh critic may say it was like seeing Radiohead in support of Pablo Honey, where they were playing mystery songs of their forthcoming album second album. A more generous one may say it was like seeing Oasis just before Definitely Maybe.

The awesome Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood has always had the promise to be stretched out as a 10 minute Free Bird -style jam, and it looked briefly like that might close the set, however an enthusiastic stage diver managed to unplug Alec Ounsworth's guitar, bringing that dream to an somewhat abrupt conclusion.

The band came back on with a new song (or was it a cover?) and although the encore was padded out with the un-listenable Clap Your Hands even that song sounded good live, before Heavy Metal finished the set and upped it's position on the grid.

Looking forward to the "Sophomore Plus" world tour of London.

Click here for pictures.
www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com

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11th Jul 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Sufjan Stevens

The Avalanche

This was billed as a collection of out-takes and demos from the 2005's critically acclaimed Illinois album. Having announced his plan to make a record about each of the US states, Sufjan Stevens became the hardest working man in the music industry. Not only are there loads of states, but each album he makes is twice as long as your average record. So what does he do? He makes more albums in between. Like Illinois wasn't long enough that it has yielded enough extra's to make another album - and The Avalanche weighs in at 1.2 hours.

I was quite excited about this album as I am a big fan of Mr. Stevens but have to admit I am quite disappointed and for very baffling reasons. My main complaint, and this is where it becomes baffling, is that this record contains too many new songs and not enough rehashed old ones. I told you it was strange. What I mean by this is that in recent years Sufjan Stevens' sound, though brilliant, has become very polished involving a myriad of instruments and backing singers to create a very complex and layered sound. So what I wanted from this release was the same songs pared down to their bare essentials, his rough sketches before he drafted in the horn section. And the best moment on this record is when just that happens. There is a beautiful rendition of the best Illinois offering 'Chicago' early on, but then he goes on to include 2 more renditions of the same song and none of them are as good as the afore mentioned versions. By the end of the album you are quite bored of 'Chicago'.

I know I sound ungrateful and any other band that put out an album of new songs that were this good would get a glowing review, but with Sufjan Stevens I want less. He puts out so many great songs that he is in danger of saturating the market. This album is no exception. 'Saul Below' is a beautiful, melancholic gem and 'Pittsfield' is simply heartbreaking. Here Sufjan lets us into his troubled past through a dialogue with his less than perfect father. "I can talk back to you now, I know, from a few things that I learnt from this TV show." It's as if he is assuming the role of himself as a child but with the gift of hindsight. It is uplifting but in the saddest of ways. Only Sufjan can make my heart break like this, but he does it so often and it's becoming a problem, my broken heart needs to protect itself and is in danger of becoming immune. I had it playing at home as I was writing this review and my girlfriend said, "sometimes the stuff you listen to can be a bit wet." Of course I scoffed at this and told her she was wrong, but then secretly found myself agreeing with her. Sorry Sufjan but I just don't think the world needs this album.

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11th Jul 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Nathan Fake

Drowning In A Sea Of Love

This is a surprisingly beautiful release from the Reading based artist Nathan Fake, on the Border Community label. I say surprising because I really haven't been buying this type of music for a while as the market got so saturated with it. Drowning... is a blissed out, synth-electronica album not unlike something you may find on the fabulous German label Morr Music. It's warm electronica with soul. It's dedicated to creating soundscapes and moods rather than minimal bleep, glitch displays. He manages this by slowly building the structure with simple beats awash with ever increasing layers of synthesizers, cymbals and the occasional sample. The first track, 'Stops' is the highlight. The beats trickle down like water over the top of a slightly unnerving sample of breathing. A delicate beat fades in and the melody begins and sparkles with such vulnerability it could almost collapse. It is like someone has fitted an iPod to your head while you are deep sea diving and all you can hear are these tiny drops of beats and your own breath.

While no song quite tops the opener it is a very satisfactory experience, changing mood often from meditative to almost dancy-electro-pop. Fake isn't pushing any boundaries here and is walking in some very well trodden footsteps but is certainly doing them proud and filling them well.

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11th Jul 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Thom Yorke

The Eraser

Earlier this year the Radiohead drought we had all been experiencing was finally over as they announced a massive tour and speculation about a new album was up and running. The shows were dazzling and many new songs were showcased, but talk of a new album was soon silenced when we were told not to expect anything until next year. Then, on their message board, Thom Yorke floated the certainty of a forthcoming collection of things he had been working on with past producer Nigel Goodrich and tongues were wagging furiously once more. He was quick to forbid any mention of the word 'solo' when talking about 'The Eraser' and stressed it was a collection of laptop ditties he had been working on for years and didn't spell the end for Radiohead.

And so here we have it, Thom Yorke's not-solo, solo record. And what a puzzling little thing it is too. I wasn't expecting to be treated to glorious, euphoric, acoustic gems from the master of guitar song writing, I knew it was a laptop affair and so I think I expected The Gloaming, the wonderful beat/click excursion on Hail To The Thief. As it turns out we get none of the above. Instead 'The Eraser' is a collection of 9 very minimal, stark and unforgiving experiments. I must admit to having a hard time with this album at first. I was so excited about it's release and had formed expectations. After the first few listens I thought it was shallow, thin, lazy and lacked not just the grandeur but the immediacy and urgency of Radiohead's recent stuff. None of Radiohead's albums are perfect and they always manage to include a song that goes nowhere and lets the side down (a Frank Lampard if you will.) 'The Eraser' seemed full of such songs and appeared to have been released far too soon and needed a lot more work. But then I started to think of it as more of an artist's sketch book, a place and opportunity where the artist can experiment with style and content and not be burdened with the need to finish or resolve any ideas, a place where he can touch on more personal themes and opinions as if these creations were private and never meant for exposure. I then started to see it differently and although it is far from perfect it has something that Radiohead can never produce.

The title track starts the proceedings off on a rather low-key manner with a soft beat skittering around a repeated piano cord. Yorke's vocals are equally as soft and seem to float over the ever more layered backing arrangement. The lyrics take on the Morrissey like structure of 'The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear,' there is a slight pause then the song drifts back in with a beautiful subtlety that is often seen throughout this album. Analyse is one of the more successful, beat driven songs that follows with Yorke reflecting on the role we play in this life stating, "it gets you down/you're just playing a part."

The Clock has all the makings of the kind of material I had expected from this album, starting off with Yorke's now trademark beatboxing, for want of a better word, the sort of noises and grunts he makes over the beat as he is getting himself into the zone. A rolling bassline and a beat that threatens to build progressively caries us away with the doom-ridden vocals of 'Time is running out for us.' and yet takes us nowhere and builds to nothing. This is quite often the case for many of the songs and on the first few listens is very annoying. As soon as he has established the melody and promised you so much the tempo is sustained and then ends.

The closest this album comes to a single is Black Swan, which is to be used on the new Richard Linklater animation A Scanner Darkly. I am surprised at this choice as it is one of the weakest songs. A rather unimaginative beat accompanies the repeated vocal "this is fucked up." Unfortunately this heralds the low part of the album with the turkey 'Skip Divided' bumbling along with monotonous mumblings labouring over empty beats and terrible lyrics. "I'm a dog, I'm a dog, I'm your lap dog/ I just need my number and location."

The quality is resumed however with the beautiful Atoms For Peace. This song has a slightly different feel to it than the rest of the album. I would hesitate to be so shallow and say that it hints at a more positive outlook but the Boards Of Canada type woolly beats and fuzz that accompany the uncharacteristically sweet vocals create a strange kind of nostalgia and almost lullaby feel.

This airy feeling is literally washed away as we move on to And It Rained All Night. The now familiar curtain of doom once again descends and the sinister synth washes are slapped on thick. Yorke is clearly getting accustomed to his new instrument and as he layers samples, twitches, and booming bass to create the nervous apprehension that precedes an approaching wave. Here we see Yorke's environmental concerns and fears and are reminded of Stanley Donwood's woodcut cover image that depicts King Canute trying to hold back a giant wave. This is one thing that I was glad to see in these songs. Although they are much simpler in construction than any Radiohead song they can be interpreted in many different ways. The have very obvious political messages and yet can be seen on a much smaller scale to be about more personal fears and emotions to do with love and relationships, a theme we have not seen much of since The Bends.

Harrowdown Hill is probably the high point of this album and yet the lowest point in terms of mood. On this song Yorke has manages to create one of the saddest and heart wrenching songs of his career. It is sung from the point of view of someone who has clearly died in suspicious and tragic circumstances and with a deep sense of regret he speaks his parting words to those he is leaving behind. This feeling is overwhelming and only amplified when we find out that the song is in fact about the tragic suicide of government scientist Dr. David Kelly. Harrowdown Hill is the Oxfordshire woods where his body was found in 2003 and with the lyrics "You will be dispensed with when you become inconvenient," Yorke is, for the first time, not mincing his words. This all contributes to the general and important point to note, that this is not a Radiohead album and the sooner you understand this the sooner you start to get it and enjoy it. This took me some time and for a while was very disappointed with what I was hearing. Harrowdown Hill is a prime example of a far more direct approach to what Thom has to say. It's as if his band has become too big to really spell it out and he is using this opportunity to let us know what he thinks. It doesn't always work but when it does, as on Harrowdown Hill, it is electrifying. Thom Yorke's work has flaws but that is what makes it so compelling - and this is no exception.

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6th Jul 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Superman Returns

(dir. Bryan Singer)

Been wondering what Bryan Singer's version of the man in tights was going to be like - especially after being thoroughly baffled by the mess that is X-Men 3 (which he was supposed to be doing before this came up).

First up, Superman Returns is a pretty family-friendly summer romp. The music is there from the 1978 version, as is the Marlon Brando "hello, my son" voiceover, which all makes it seem like a remake more than a new version. Even though it's always difficult to hold both the Superman and Star Wars themes in your mind at the same time (ie they're basically the same song, thanks John Williams), it's still pretty rousing stuff that gets you in the mood for watching some dude fly around.

The plot, such as it is, is that Superman's been off somewhere for five years. And now he's back. Just in time to save Lois Lane from dying in a space shuttle-related plane crash. Pretty 80s scenario.

Even though he looks like he's just got out of college, Clark Kent is such an ace reporter that he's able to get his job back after also being away for five years "finding himself". Which is handy. Lois Lane's now got a kid, and she's living with Cyclops, who isn't too thrilled when her big blue ex shows up to whisk her off her feet, fly her to the moon etc. Kate Bosworth isn't as feisty as Margot Kidder, which is a shame, as you'd expect Lois to be more go-getting in 2006 than 1978.

Brandon Routh looks like they've cloned Christopher Reeve, with some weird dna that makes him come out really smooth, like a waxwork human. He's quite good at the Clark goofiness, and does all the flying stuff pretty well, but he doesn't really seem that bothered by having been on an existential quest for the last five years that didn't really work out.

Kevin Spacey camps it up as Luthor, with Parker Posey lounging in the background with his henchmen, including one whose job seems to involve videotaping everything they're getting up to.

Overall, it's pretty enjoyable, and really works in the imax version I saw - you also get 20 minutes reworked in 3D which is fun - although the flashing 3D glasses that come onto the screen do break things up a bit, and make it seem much more like a ride. Which it is. Could have done a lot more with the "man of feel" stuff that they seemed to be going for, but it's not a flop; more a competent action comic that follows all the blockbuster conventions. Doesn't hit the satisfying intensity of Batman Begins, but it's way better than X3 or the not-very-Fantastic Four.

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5th Jul 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom

When you read any review or press release about this album you will get the same line time after time. "This is Mike Patton's long awaited album heralding a return to his mainstream form." Well that may be so, but I am glad I wasn't holding my breath for the past 5 years. You know when you rediscover an album you used to like from your reckless heavy metal days, then while listening to it the nostalgia wears off and you realise why you stopped liking that stuff in the first place - you grew up. Peeping Tom is a similar listening experience. It sounds immature and dated, despite the guest list - which includes such visionaries as Anticon's Dose One and Odd Nosdam, plus hip hop legends Kool Keith and Dan The Automator.

I was a big fan of Faith No More and although my favourite album was "Introduce Yourself," with Chuck Moseley on vocals before Patton took over I am still so disappointed with this offering. If I had to pick some highlights then I would say 'Mojo' is one of the stronger songs although I am so bored of people like Rahzel the human beatbox, making weird sounds with your mouth, big deal, Jones from Police Academy soon killed off that little party trick. The only reason I would pick out 'Sucker' as another highlight is because it features Starbucks very own yawn-tastic Norah Jones saying Mother Fucker. Not really a good reason to like a song I know - but hey, I like Mr. Patton and am clutching at straws here.

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4th Jul 2006 - 9 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Stuart A. Staples

Bush Hall, London

In support of his latest album Leaving Songs, Tindersticks' Stuart A. Staples played this small show in London, as well as a few dates around Europe.

The show started off well, with my current favourite song Old Friends No. 1 setting the pace, before moving onto a healthy chunk of the new album and 2004's solo album Lucky Dog Recordings, such as Marseille Sunshine, Shame On You and Already Gone. Staples was backed by superb drumming, a keyboard, lead guitar (from Tindertsicks) and double bass - and when the band was at full steam they were superb, like rock and roll Mariachi's (check surveillance for a drumming clip).

Although Staples seemed a bit under the weather it seemed more likely to be hayfever or flu, rather than the whiskey. Where early Tindertsicks songs seemed drunk, troubled and biographical, his solo material seems more general and is presumably informed by more current experiences. Like Hal Hartley's lack of good movies since he was married, perhaps the happiness of later life has put the fire out. The raucous days of Whiskey & Water somehow seem likely to have been replaced by a self-imposed night on the study sofa after too much congnac.

Although he was determined to play only his solo stuff (apart from one Townes Van Zandt cover - Sixteen Summers, Fifteen Falls), you could tell that the crowd were hoping for the nostalgia of a few Tindersticks favourites. Where certain bands (e.g. Radiohead) seem to keep moving forward and enlisting new fans, other bands seem to retain the same dwindling set of loyal fans - who just grow old together. Where this can make for a fantastic loyal atmosphere at a concert (e.g. The Wedding Present), in some cases (Fugazi included) it can just mean that the energy has gone from the crowd, leaving a subdued performer - unsure of how things are going. As Staples himself commented "I have no idea if you are enjoying this or not."

Click here for more pictures.

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8th Jun 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Brown Bunny

(dir. Vincent Gallo)

Motorbike racing loner Bud Clay (Vincent Gallo) travels across America for a race in Los Angeles, meeting several girls along the way - all the while looking a replacement for the love that he has lost, haunted by the memory of the last time he saw her.

Prior to seeing this film there were two forces governing my expectations:
1. The awesome trailer, laying Jackson C. Frank's song Milk And Honey over a split screen montage of an empty highway and an accident at a party.

2. The literal barrage of negative press following the screening at Cannes, and mostly regarding the edit of the film and the X-Rated sex scene with Gallo and Chloe Sevigny.

As Buffalo 66 had been so enjoyable I was at the very least intrigued to see what could have gone wrong with this alleged train crash of a movie. Things start of OK, with a slow sequence following Bud Clay as he competes in a race in New Hampshire. The shooting style seems like a mid 70's documentary, using grainy handheld footage. Clay then packs up his bike into his van, but before heading out on the open road he meets a young girl and convinces her to come to California with him. As she runs into her house to pick up a few things, Bud Clay changes his mind and drives away. Cue 20 minutes of Gallo driving. No dialogue. Repeat.

While Gallo is quite effective and watch-able, a lot of the interest is based upon some knowledge of his off screen personality - plus you are always waiting to see if nothing really does happen. The shooting shooting style is nice (and occasionally great), but you can't help but feel it's not quite how it should be. A long shot will focus on Gallo driving, while an out of focus landscape rolls past in the background. Except the foreground will be slightly out of focus too. The DVD was presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 (leaving black bars on the left and right), but then some shots of the film seemed like they had been spliced back into the film after some some time literally on the cutting room floor... to no apparent effect.

The hype around the movie is mainly due to it's explicit nature, but if Gallo really wanted to improve the film he could have started by chopping that entire scene out, as it really does provide no further exposition or depth to the characters. The scenes following the x-rated scene do make the film somewhat more worthwhile, making the viewer think back over what they have been watching and draw some kind of sense - but the trailer was just as effective as the movie, setting up the tragedy and creating the same emotional impact in a mere two minutes. The poster is great too.

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8th Jun 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet