Chimpomatic

Longcut

You Got The Love / Idiot Check

Melodic

Chimpomatic favourites The Longcut are back with a limited edition Double A 7" on the fantastic Melodic label out of Manchester. A bonus track from the recording sessions for A Call And Response, Idiot Check is a toughened up version of their sound, using their trademark pounding rhythms and minimal vocals to great effect.

You Got The Love is exactly what you might be suspecting - a cover of the club classic. Hearing any band cover a classic like this always has interesting results, and this is no exception. It's beefed up and raw, with the Longcut's signature style seeping through.

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19th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

Kings Of Leon

Because Of The Times

RCA

Although many bands have a far more pedestrian schedule, Because Of The Times seems like a long time coming - with the Kings of Leon taking a casual 3 years to follow up their last record. Debut Youth and Young Manhood was 2003, Aha Shake Heartbreak came in 2004 - with only the measly Day Old Belgian Blues EP offered to fill the gap. Forget that non-starter though, as they are back with a top quality album - and they are suffering from a heavy does of 'Awesome Third Album Syndrome'.

With Knocked Up, things start with a track pretty much guaranteed to tick a few boxes with me. 7 minute opening tracks have a habit of appearing on some of my all-time favourites - At Least That's What She Said being the most obvious example. It shows that a band have a certain confidence in their sound and are happy to turn the rules on their head, and in this instance it's a confidence that is well placed. The moody bass line sets the scene for the slow build up to the inevitable unleashing of guitars that does not disappoint.

The sound on this album is stripped down and bare - working in all the right places with the minimum of fluff and fan-fare. Caleb Followill lets his wild instinct take over as his unrestrained screeches confidently lead the band into edgy territory on Charmer, while the wall of guitars on McFearless are surely destined for a back-lit, smoke machine filled arena - complete with strobe lightling. Although the sound seems less 70's American than before (I never could quite pin down exactly who) it does have a more distinct sound of it's own here, as well as pulling in a wider range of influences - with even a touch of Police reggae on Ragoo. The heavy bass-line of My Party, or the Edge style guitars of True Love Way and Arizona are accompanied throughout by superb drum lines that could have been lifted from Sunday Bloody Sunday.

There are also quite a few brat-pack-80s-prom overtones that work well, adding a well placed bit of nostalgia to tracks like True Love Way and giving the band a bit more of a grounding in the same popular culture as the rest of us - rather than the mythical 70's vibe that they seemed to have on their previous records.

While their own style vs substance ratio was never in question, marketing-wise the Kings of Leon have often been lumped in with the likes of The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs in that play-all-the-festivals-but-somehow-not-taken-all-that-seriously-category, as their relative lack of success in their homeland shows (noted on Fans). Hopefully this album will move them in the public eyes away from the hype and into the serious camp - with the likes of Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Radiohead.

This is the first album in ages that actually feels like a complete work to me - perhaps even more so than their own previous efforts. A good album should play out like a good career - cracking debut (Knocked Up), a solid couple of tracks with some experimental touches (Charmer, On Call), then a track that takes what has been learned and puts it to awesome effect (McFearless). The album is full of hearty meat and potatoes with the centre forming a solid core to the album, capturing the mood and tone of the record as a whole.

It's already an easy contender for album of the year (about the 4th contender so far I think and it's only March), and should prove to age even better that Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak. They may not be as old and grizzly as they sound, but the Kings are certainly maturing with age.

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8th Mar 2007 - 32 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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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 Departed

(dir. Martin Scorsese)

Jack Nicholson's Boston mob have a long term mole in the State Police department, who is keeping them one step ahead of the law. As a response, the undercover department - led by Martin Sheen and sidekick Mark Wahlberg - put their own man deep undercover with the mob. So deep that no-one knows who is to be trusted.

While the original Hong Kong version Infernal Affairs is a great story that is slickly made, the ante is up with this Hollywood re-make and Scorsese is all-in. The story is slowed down and stretched out, giving it room to breathe, grow and live - and the all-star cast make almost every role memorable. 

There's a few timeless director tricks from the master Scorsese - such as some sneaky iris pulls - plus great music, pyrotechnic editing, stellar performances and of course brutal violence.

A couple of bluescreen shots show up some storyboarding boo-boos that undermine things a bit - not to mention the shockingly bad Photoshop work on the family photos. While the script is great with fantastic dialogue, the thing that most lets the film down is the original story. While the use of text messaging and mobile phones is a realistic update to the undercover story some key moments are clumsily handled. While Hong Kong movies have a habit of going with style over substance, that just won't wash with a movie of this calibre. A little bit of mystery about who was actually the rat would have helped, and the double-dating shrink just seemed to make the whole world of the movie a bit too small.

However, after dropping the ball with Gangs of New York and batting a slow and steady  average with The Aviator, Scorsese is firing on almost all cylinders here - chasing after the glory days of Taxi Driver, Goodfellas or Casino. The acting is assured and superb almost throughout - particularly from DiCaprio, thoroughly impressing me for almost the first time. It's a totally entertaining masterpiece that can be watched over and over - and it has all the trademarks you'd expect from this hall-of-fame director working with the cream of the Hollywood crop.

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26th Feb 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