Chimpomatic

Psapp

The Only Thing I Ever Wanted

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

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4th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Mountain Goats

Get Lonely

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

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

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

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

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4th Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Chad Vangaalen

Skelliconnection

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

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

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

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

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

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

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1st Sep 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Cut Chemist

The Audience's Listening

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

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

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

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

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

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 Dears

Gang Of Losers

Bella Union

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

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Young Knives

Voices Of Animals & Men

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

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

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

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29th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

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 Cursed Sleep EP

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

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17th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

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

Liars

Drum's Not Dead

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

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16th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

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

TV On The Radio

Return To Cookie Mountain

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

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14th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Occasion

Cannery Hours

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

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

The Longcut

A Call And Response

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

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

Peter, Bjorn & John

Writer's Block

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

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

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

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10th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Diableros

You Can't Break The Strings In Our Olympic Hearts

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

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

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

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Oneida

Happy New Year

Jagjaguwar

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Golden Smog

Another Fine Day

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

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Black Angels

Passover

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

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

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

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

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7th Aug 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

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

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

The National

Koko, Camden

"The English are waiting and I don't know what to do." Sings Matt Berninger of The National at Koko last night. This line seemed all too true for the charismatic lead singer who looked visibly stunned and overwhelmed at the rapturous applause that greeted him and his band. While cracking open a bottle of champagne he admitted, "this is the first time we have played to this many people who have just come to see us." I too was quite surprised at the frenzied response to every song and the general hysteria that resided in the hall that night. And it was well deserved.

Opening with the glorious Secret Meeting and just about playing every song they know, as well as a few new ones, this soon evolved into a truly stunning and memorable gig. It's such a treat these days to see a front man with a personality, who is genuinely reacting to the passion and emotion of the songs - rather than assuming an act. On songs such as Daughters Of The Soho Riots, Berninger whispers into the mic as if he was holding his lover, his hands gently yet firmly clasping the neck whilst he pours his heart out as if they were the only two in the room. In between verses and songs he would pace around nervously, biting his nails like a troubled man waiting outside his lovers door, rehearsing the devastating words he is about to utter. After screeching the repeated mantra 'My mind's not right' on Abel, Beringer looked genuinely shaken at the power of his own voice.

As is often the case at great gigs, the crowd is treated to revamped and reworked versions of familiar favourites. The achingly beautiful Wasp Nest smouldered like the cigarette permanently burning between Berninger's clasped fingers, then gradually rose to a mighty crescendo that morphed into the awesome Murder Me Rachel. The highlight of the set, and the moment that brought this gig into four-star territory, was the mighty Mr November. If much of the night saw Berringer straining to keep his emotions under wraps, this was the point where he lost the fight. Clearly feeding off the crowds unified and deafening chant of "I'm the new blue blood, I'm the great white hope," the front man gave it all he had, screaming over and over "I wont fuck us over, I'm Mr. November." Fantastic. And all this while being flanked by two twin hobbits from Lost's Driveshaft.

Click here for more pictures, and here for a review of November 2005's gig at ULU.

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1st Jun 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Broken Family Band

Cold Water Songs

I only recently discovered this band with their latest release Balls so am now working my way back through their discography. I have arrived at this 2003 release to find the standard still high. From the outset it pours water on my theory that a lot of modern rock’s lyrics wouldn’t stand up once the music is removed. On ‘(I Don't Have The Time To) Mess Around’ we get the classic line, “There’s a dog sleeping in my bed, if I tickle his balls he gives me sweet head.” Genius. This album has all the trademarks of their subsequent works, self-loathing and relationships that have ended on less than amorous terms. The stand out track would be the beautiful ‘Devil In The Details.’ The hatred in this album is more down played than the others and this song embodies that, presenting such a sad disappointment one feels when discovering the deep-rooted faults of someone you used to love. The majority of the album is very much in the country vein and is generally more sedate than their more recent releases, except for the raucous ‘Don’t Leave That Woman Unattended’ which explains just why this guy gets himself into so many disastrous relationships.

This is a very consistent bunch making good quality music spanning many genres (well, two) and I intend to work my way through the lot.

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22nd May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Grandaddy

Just Like The Fambly Cat

I don't know what it is about this band but their strange tales of childlike melancholia told with such charm and unrivalled innocence do something beautiful to me and I am so upset to hear that this will be the last little gem they will be offering the world. This fact considered, it is hard to listen to this without getting all sad and retrospective. This feeling is laid on thick from the first track; 'What Happened..' is a simple yet effective opener comprising of various children asking the question “What happened to the family cat?” This summons up all the emotions necessary to make this album work for you, a sense of regret, loss and a childhood long passed. However we are soon firmly shaken out of this self-pity by ‘Jeez Louise’ and we remember all the good times we had with this band. It is impossible to listen to this album and not interpret Jason Lytle’s lyrics as explanations for the break-up. ‘Rear View Mirror’ hints at the frustration of a journey spent forever looking back and once you get over the initial disappointment that this is not a cover of the Pearl Jam classic of the same name it soon becomes the standout track on the album. ‘Elevate Myself’ is a fantastic casio-drumbeat manifesto on exactly why Lytle is doing what he’s doing. Among his wants and don’t want’s he claims “I don’t wanna be a part of all the quality that falls apart these days.”

Initially I was quite disappointed with 2003’s ‘Sumday’ feeling it lacked the quirky elements I so enjoyed in ‘The Software Slump.’ I soon revised this opinion as the beauty took hold and although a lot of the songs on ‘…Fambly Cat’ would fit comfortably on ‘Sumday’ it does go some way to bridge the gap. It’s a pretty up and down affair in general, with Little feeling sorry for himself one minute then, as in the glorious semi-instrumental ‘Skateboarding Saves Me Twice,’ telling us that everything will be just fine.

I cant help listening to the last track ‘This Is How It Always Starts’ without thinking of those terrible compilation moments that Gary Lineker shows us as England inevitably and unjustly exit the World Cup. The songs they pick (usually REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’) guide us through the highs and lows of a great yet ultimately tragic journey and you could imagine a similar compilation of Grandaddy’s best moments set to this beautiful and soaring finale marking the end to a truly wonderful journey. And this album as a whole could be those highlights. On ‘Elevate Myself’ Little states “ I’d rather make an honest sound, watch it fly around and be on my way.” And that’s exactly what he has done. His sound will continue to fly and I wish him good luck.

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22nd May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Radiohead

Hammersmith Apollo, London

OK, what you are about to read is a totally 100% biased, one-sided opinion masquerading as fact but I don't care. This was a perfect gig. All morning I have tried my hardest to pick holes in it and find some kind of fault but I'm afraid I concede, simply perfect. Whenever people ask me what was the best gig you have ever been to I get nervous because I feel my answer should be some seminal moment in music history, like "Sex Pistols at St. Martins" or the "Stone Roses at Spike Island", when all that really ever came to mind was "MC Hammer, Wembley Arena supported by the mighty Snap". But now I have an answer to be proud of.

I suppose the only slightly less-than-perfect point was that they opened with a new song Videotape that Thom Yorke plays on the piano so no one can actually see him until the second song. But that was National Anthem and the show was under way. This was followed by 2+2=5 which is when the crowd really found their legs or lost them depending on where you were standing. I had heard that this tour was going to be an opportunity for the band to air some new songs and some of the lesser played ones. This was true but they still managed to treat us to such classics as Karma Police. This is what I would refer to as 'A Platoon Moment' where I assume a Willam Defoe, hands-in-the-air-euphoric stance only this time not being gunned down by the Viet Cong. This pose was invented for this band and for this moment. It was nothing less than spectacular.

Three of the most impressive moments were the opening tracks to 3 of their best albums. Everything In It's Right Place, Airbag and best of all Planet Telex. Here the band arranged a supped up version of such magnitude that it was almost unrecognisable and sounded like something off Kid A or Amnesiac. The set list didn't seem to be set in stone either and after repeated crowd requests for OK Computer's epic Let Down they finally obliged. Maybe it isn't a song that is often played as half way through the second verse Thom seemed to forget the words and backed away from the mic looking confused. The crowd soon came to his aid and rose with a crescendo of straining voices bringing a grateful smile to the front man. What was also very evident is that we are in for a treat judging by some of the new stuff that was played. Arpeggi being a particular highlight, a slow building number that evolves into a power house finale making full use of Ed O'Brien's impressive backing vocals which are fast becoming Radiohead's secret weapon.

So two encores later and a string of classics having delighted and exhausted the worshipping crowd we are eased down from the clouds gently with Everything In It's Right Place, which saw Yorke come to the front of the crowd and dance along with us with a big smile on his face. I will end this review by apologising again for my rather over emotional sentiments but I am not of sound mind. If you want an over technical and slightly cynical opinion go read Pitchfork but as for me, if I was Sam Becket from Quantum Leap, I could definitely 'leap' now.

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19th May 2006 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Morrissey

London Palladium

Due in part to my near death experience during the last Morrissey gig at Alexandra Palace two weeks ago I felt a bit cheated and wanted to see him properly in a smaller, more intimate and civilised environment. The Palladium fits this description perfectly and was a specific request by the man himself as a venue to perform the last 3 shows of his tour.

It all started off so well. Our seats were in the Royal Circle and we had a perfect view. As is customary on this tour a version of You'll Never Walk Alone is played at top volume to signal the imminent start to the proceedings. Hands were already in the air and I could barely contain my excitement. As expected, the reception was rapturous and the show kicked off in style. A few songs later came the riff heavy How Soon Is Now, which was greeted with utter delight and simply rocked. Morrissey seemed to be really enjoying himself - indulging in plenty of banter about how Radio 1 refuse to play his single and that The Palladium felt like home to him as he played here 20 years ago. However, it soon became evident that he was experiencing some difficulty with his earpiece and started to not finish songs, saying how terrible the sound was - despite us telling him it sounded fine. At one point he even asked the crowd "please someone, say something encouraging." The sound problems really seemed to be rocking his confidence and it soon appeared like he was just going through the motions and wanted to get off the stage as soon as possible. As a result he decided not to come back on for the encore and the disgruntled crowd booed as they left the venue.

Despite the great start and an excitement that is rarely found at live performances I left with a deep feeling of disappointment. The sound problems were clearly not his fault and were a cause of some distress to him but I would have thought a performer of his magnitude and experience could overcome this and not give the audience the impression that he was bored and we weren't doing enough to entertain him. After what I thought was a fantastic version of Life Is A Pigsty he asked us why we were clapping. I thought the sound was fine. Vocals are often an element that can get lost at rock gigs but his voice is always so clear and this was no exception. The crowd's excitement was killed by the obvious look of frustration and anguish coming from the man we had paid a lot of money to see. I guess he can just chalk it up as a bad day at work, but for the two fans I spoke to in the pub afterwards who had paid £190 per ticket it was a disaster. I haven't given it a rock bottom rating as the first 45 minutes were awesome and the venue was fantastic. I also have a new favourite track; Ganglord. This B-side to the new single is a classic in waiting.

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15th May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Them / Themselves

Them

This is underground hip hop at it’s finest. One of the strongest offerings on the ever expanding and boundary breaking Anticon label, Them is Doseone of cLOUDDEAD fame and the mighty Jel on the beats. This is a faultless combination and one that has been tried and tested many times, the most recent being Subtle’s awesome album A New White.

Anticon was started by Sole (Tim Holland) and Pedestrian (James Brandon Best) in 1998 and was born out of a love of poetry and the more traditional side of Hip Hop. Since then these lonesome travellers have stopped for any hitchhiking art school dropout or beatnik poet they deemed suitable for the Anticon belief system. Two of the first to join were Jel (Jeffrey Logan) and Dose (Adam Drucker.) Their first collaboration was on the 1998 self titled album Deep Puddle Dynamics. This was basically every one from the early days of this label and this is how they intended to proceed, with every one contributing to eachothers work. And so they did and have fast become one of the most prolific producers of challenging and inspired poetry driven Hip Hop around today.

I can't think of a single release not worth a listen and this semi-self-titled album released from 2000 is one of the strongest. It nods towards the more traditional hip hop more than most of the labels' albums, by this I mean it has beats. But they are intelligent and deep, organic beats that never over do it. Dose's vocals are as always pure, surreal and totally screwed-up genius. In one of the strongest tracks Death O A Thespian, Dose admits, "I don’t believe in Zeus but I’m scared stiff of clowns," and if you hadn’t seen him his voice would conjure up similar disturbing clown related images or even gnarled, jaded pixies that lurk in dark nightmarish places muttering incomprehensible words of wisdom. The clown theme is continued in another fantastic example of this partnership, Another Part Of The Clown.

The final track ends with the words, "You know when energy is flowing, teach yourself to write and let Them buy the album." This seems to be the exact thing this bunch of modern-day visionaries did, and my gratitude pours forth.

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12th May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

cLOUDDEAD

cLOUDDEAD

In 2001 artsts Doseone, Odd Nosdam and Why? Put out an album that would truly erase any label or genre they and their collective had been previously assigned. cLOUDDEAD's self titled debut is a collection of 10" singles comprised of six different movements each featuring a guest vocalist. This probably sounds pretentious and it so easily could be but the group navigate the rocky ground between up-your-arse, self indulgent, clap-trap and pure genius with expert ease and always remain on the right side. It is impossible to pick out tracks as the whole thing is one big murky bog of samples, atmospheric beats and textures that see Dose and Why? emerge every now and then with vocals that defy imagination and conjure up worlds only visited in dreams or nightmares.

It is so hard to describe this piece of work. There are no comparisons that can be made. It is one of the purest things I have ever heard. More than any other album from the Anticon collective this epitomises the ethos of this group, and that is one of limitless expression and the constant commitment to genre defying art. They have never topped this album for me, but have come exhilaratingly close many times. Genius.

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

Buck 65

Secret House Against The World

Buck 65 could read a shopping list or even my last rights and I would love it, so I guess I am not the best person to write a review of his music. I think this is his eleventh album (I lost count ages ago) and it sees a real departure from the previous works. He is known for his hobo like musings about life, love, shoe-shine and just about anything -and all this over self-crafted beats and soundscapes. But here we see a new musical injection that at first jars, as it is not what we expect from Buck, but then we realise that the very thing we love about this guy is his freedom from any genre, collective or type and we are right back loving him again.

There are some sublime moments of real beauty here and most of them come with the new inclusion of a female voice that sits so pretty next to the Waits style growl of Buck. We first see this new combo on ‘The Suffering Machine, ‘ a gentle, acoustic led song full of heart wrenching sadness about a lost soul ambling aimlessly from place to place with no friends and waiting for the “Black angel,” to carry him down. On his web site, Buck reviews his own albums. He says that this album has what was missing all along and that is melody, female voice and lushness Well this song has all of that. I never thought a hip hop song could bring tears to my eyes but The Floor does just that. You listen with open mouth as he tells the story of his abusive father coming home and throwing "the goldfish to the cat on the kitchen floor" while his beaten and down trodden mother just smiled "the saddest smile I’ve ever seen in my life."

Buck has grown up with this album. It is about serious stuff and though it has all the profound musings that we have come to expect, the musical composition adds weight to the words and it’s truly moving. Buck gives it three out of five on his site but I will see that and raise it.

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

Sunset Rubdown

Shut Up I Am Dreaming

Jagjaguwar

Whoever said the best music is being made in Canada is such a bore. We have all known that for ages, and here is some more evidence. Sunset Rubdown is a spin off group, fronted by Wolf Parade’s keyboardist and vocalist Spencer Krug and it's a little gem of an album. Krug’s distinctive voice makes this very comparable to Wolf Parade, but it’s a much more low-fi and immediate affair. Having said this the band manages to create such epic masterpieces out of next to nothing. Sparse, stripped down songs like Us Ones In Between plod along with such delicate beauty, and the contrast of seemingly cheapskate instruments overlaid with some of the most profoundly sad and insightful lyrics I have heard in a long time is powerful to say the least. Creatures great and small are a common theme on this album, lyrics like “I have heard of creatures who eat their babies/I wonder if they stop to think about the taste” are then reversed to say “Oh baby mother me before you eat me.” The Empty Threats Of Little Lord is another gem that echoes this sentiment, where “If I ever hurt you it will be in self-defence,” and “If you ever come at me I’ll hurt you,” are seen in a different more pathetic light when considering the songs title. Again, they follow such a delicate structure that it almost threatens to collapse under its own frail melancholy.

The lyrics to each song could be read as a book of poems and would still retain their impact and profundity when removed from the music. They create an almost dream like landscape of wild creatures and lovers that live forever. On the epic seven minute long The Men Are Called Horsemen, Krug structures the whole song around the horse metaphor stating “If I was a horse I’d have bricks in my mane, If I was a horse I’d throw up the reins." But then continues on to claim “But I am no horse and you are no angel.” Another seven-minute masterpiece brings this unexpected delight to a close with the title track Shut Up I’m Dreaming, which is what I would advise you tell people if they talk over this album. It is worth dedicating time to this.

Recently, I saw a poll of the best lyrics in modern pop music. I think the winner was a Morrissey lyric, and it got me thinking about the content of a lot of the songs that structure my life. To my surprise I found that though they were songs of undeniable genius, very few of the lyrics really stood up to scrutiny once taken away from the music. This isn’t always necessary but it’s great when you come across some that do. I strongly recommend looking these songs up and reading them as poetry, you won’t be sorry.

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10th May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Archie Bronson Outfit

Derdang, Derdang

These days a record label is not complete until it has a David Byrne inspired vocalist on their books. Rough Trade got theirs with The Arcade Fire, Wichita with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and now Domino have found theirs. Hailing from the West Country, Archie Bronson Outfit are not something you would want to listen to if you were of a nervous disposition, or in the least bit on edge. This is not a criticism, it’s just a pretty stressful experience listening to Derdang Derdang, the groups second album. They have managed to create a real sense of urgency that except for the final track is pretty much unrelenting. The whole album can be summed up in the stand out track Dart For My Sweetheart. On the whole, I frown upon songs that use counting, or days of the week as their structure - but this one is an exception. It starts “One is a gun with a dart for my sweetheart,” and continues up to twelve. All this over methodical, driving and jangling guitar and drums. Arp, the drummer and lyricist says, “There’s a nursery rhyme feel to the lyric, the counting stuff.” His kids ain't getting no sleep tonight.

The band claim this album was written and recorded in a very short space of time while they were all living together - and this comes as no surprise to me. It has a captivating sense of immediacy and the ever building tempo in each song threatens an approaching explosion, but rarely gives in. The tension comes from a combination of repetitive guitar rhythms, screeching free jazz saxophone and distinctive, paranoia filled vocals - delivered with such energy and force you have to either switch off or sit up and take notice. On Dead Funny he orders us, “don’t worry just get your head down.” Sound advice I think.

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10th May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The Raconteurs

Broken Boy Soldiers

Broken Boy Soldiers sees Jack White team up with fellow Detroit buddy Brendan Benson and finally get a chance to play with the boys. And don’t those boys have some fun. Following typical ‘side project’ form, the agenda is a lot lighter here compared to the Led Zeppelin’s lofty direction. Level is another highlight with suitably grimy and screeching guitar action.

As you may notice, all the highlights picked out above feature White on lead vocals. I feel the album loses its immediacy when Brendan Benson steps up. His songs follow a well-trodden Beatles/Harrison path and lack the grit that White brings to the mix. When these two vocalists are put side by side it is all too evident how unique and powerful White’s voice really is. The best Benson songs are when Jack is backing him up. Intimate Secretary, is a prime example of this. The jury is out on this track as it has very questionable lyrics. “I’ve got a rabbit who likes to hop, I’ve got a girl who likes to shop, I’ve got a pen but I lost the top,’ You could be forgiven for mistaking this for an extract from Wayne Rooney’s secret diary ...although he’s the one doing the hopping now.

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4th May 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Morrissey

Alexandra Palace, London

I think I could see Morrissey live every time he is in town, it is such an experience. Musically it is impeccable, but half the enjoyment comes from watching the type of fans he attracts and the effect he has on them. His music has the ability to reduce hardened middle-aged men to the mushy, teary-eyed romantics and it is fascinating to watch. Queuing up outside Alexandra Palace last night you’d be hard pushed to guess the band we were all waiting to see. It was a veritable melting pot of misfits, mods, Goths, England fans, dweebs, dickheads and righteous dudes. Beer guts were proudly displayed and back pockets adorned with wilting daffodils (Gladiola’s obviously not in season just yet), a sight to behold indeed.

After waiting at the front of the massing crowd through two support acts (one being Domino’s Sons And Daughters which were very good), the time had arrived and the lights dimmed. Amid deafening “Morrissey!” chants that would put the crowd at Stamford Bridge to shame the excitement was awesome. On walks the man himself and with the words “For what you are about to receive I am truly sorry.” The band explode with The First Of The Gang To Die. This was particularly ironic as my girlfriend very nearly was. The crowd erupted and surged back and forward with such pressure from the back and sides we struggled to keep our feet. So after waiting at the front for 3 hours it took less than 1 song for us to be at the back of the hall.

But without fearing for your life you are able to appreciate the show a bit more. And what a show it was. The man is notoriously private and sedate for the press, so it really feels like a privilege and an honour to see him so animated and vocal when in front of his fans. As usual the set list was mainly comprised of his new material but he did treat us to Girlfriend In A Coma and the show highlight How Soon Is Now? The super-extended rendition of this Smiths classic was greeted with absolute euphoria and a sea of worshipping hands in the air, stuff to make your spine tingle. The other highlight was Life Is A Pigsty which, in my opinion, is the best track off the new album. It was also interesting to notice how the songs off 2004’s You Are The Quarry, especially the encore of Irish Blood English Heart, are treated by the fans as classic Morrissey now.

The combination of such a legendary personality and a truly fantastic backing band (who strangely resembled Jonathan Ross’ ‘Four Poofs And A Piano’) made this performance truly live up to one of Morrissey’s opening statements “Welcome to the lost art of live music.” I can’t give it a perfect score because my girlfriend nearly died.

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2nd May 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Broken Family Band

Balls

Please refer to everything I said about this band in the review of their previous album but just add balls. This album keeps us guessing even more. The opening track lets us know that this ain't gonna be another straight-up country offering. It’s pure rock, and kicks things off nicely. It’s another hate filled masterpiece that has it’s grubby little fingers in many genres. Fantastic stuff.

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28th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The New Pornographers

Twin Cinema

I really can’t understand why everybody is wetting themselves over this album. Pitchfork gave it 9/10. That means it’s one point off Wilco’s A Ghost Is Born. No chance. It’s so flat and unoriginal. Vocals are uninspiring and, as CSF rightly pointed out, songs like My Street sound like an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and not even a good one like Starlight Express, which ruled. I am however reserving judgement and if I come around to popular opinion then I will rewrite this review but until that time the official statement from Chimpomatic HQ is that it sucks.

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28th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Various (Domino) Artists

They’ll Have To Catch Us First

Though nowhere near as comprehensive as 2003's Worlds Of Possibilities this is nice little update on the goings on at Domino. Not many surprises as most of the best bits I already have but a stand out track from Archie Bronson Outfit and Clearlake make it all worthwhile. Old favourites include Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Billy, The Kills and Sons and Daughters. All in all a good listen and some future avenues to pursue.

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28th Apr 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

The Broken Family Band

Welcome Home Losers

This band is great and they really shouldn’t be. They just don’t stick to the rules and that pisses me off. I first discovered them on a Rough Trade ‘Country’ compilation and that’s where you would expect to find them, not in Cambridge which is where they are from. But they sound so damn country, and what pisses me off more is that they make great country music. This record is packed full of sadness and bitterness and delivered with such irony that it is surprisingly upbeat. It is tongue-in-cheek like The Hansome Family and sounds like the secret diary musings of a man who has had so much crap dumped on him from various relationships that he is left with no other option than to see the funny side of life. I suppose this is their English side coming out. Bravo.

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28th Apr 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Spank Rock

Yoyoyoyoyo

I am all about Baltimore at the moment. Granted I am three seasons late, but The Wire is rocking my world and so is this album. Baltimore’s Spank Rock are the new signing to Big Dada and they have gone and made the most exciting hip hop I have heard since the last Anticon offering. Unlike the Anticon posse it doesn’t take itself seriously at all. It sounds like a cross between Tag Team’s ‘Woop there it is’ Antipop Consortium and a fair dose of 2 Live Crew. It’s low down and it’s dirty.

MC Spank Rock’s chief concerns here range from the contents of a woman’s biker shorts to his less than admirable intentions as to what to do with said contents once he has acquired them. Song titles like 'Back Yard Betty','Coke & Wet' and 'Screwville, USA' tell the whole story yet despite this it is a very intelligent piece of work with amazing production. It is very tongue-in-cheek (which cheek? I hear you ask, and you would be right to) but not in a gimmicky Darkness way, more in a Licence to Ill kind of way.

To put it bluntly it’s just really good fun and the beats alone will get you stripper dancing in no time. So lets all repeat after me “Tap dat ass, c’mon Tap dat ass.”

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24th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jel

Soft Money

It’s great to see someone who is constantly helping out everyone else finally do something for themselves. And that is exactly what we have here. Having created the beats for some of the most memorable Anticon records including Subtle and Themselves, Jel now gives us his first solo LP. And it’s good.

I have read comparisons to DJ Shadow and even Massive Attack, but that is to misunderstand this album. It has a totally different agenda. At heart it is a straight up hip hop album - the beats are rich, heavy and hold your interest long after many other instrumentalists have lost it. You really come to understand just how Anticon can make such beguiling music when all the vocals have gone and the beats stand alone. And stand alone they certainly do, especially on WMD, one of the few vocal numbers. As you can guess, this is an anti-Bush barrage of abuse but the beat is so damn fine that even Dubya himself would find it hard to keep his foot from tappin'.

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24th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

This album took a few plays to really get it but then it just seemed to click and I went from finding it slightly annoying to thinking it was the greatest thing I had heard for ages. And it is. Granted it starts off bad but the second song gets the greatness well under way. A lot of bands have emerged recently that quote Talking Heads as their main influence but none sound as similar as this one, yet despite that it is one of the most original records to grace my eager ears. Details Of The War was a stand out track from the start. As is quite common throughout the album the song construction is the interesting thing with its lack of any verse/chorus/verse structure and the lazy ‘I really can’t be bothered’ vocals building up slowly on a rolling bass line to a fantastic peak. The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth follows on nicely. It has a certain nostalgic sound to it with a very New Order bass line and towards the end it threatens to disappear off into a mammoth Wedding Present style guitar solo but sadly not many bands have the balls for this.

I really could go on to talk about each track as there is something to note about every one but I may as well skip to the last one as it simply rules. Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood is an awesome piece of work. It starts off with a guitar strumming pace that will get every head nodding and foot tapping in audible range. Alec Ounsworth’s vocals glide in with expert ease and we are off. The pace stays the same to the very end as the vocals trail off into what should be a very grating repetition of “child stars, child stars, child stars…” This song sounds like it could go on at this pace for another 15 minutes at least and really it should but instead it stops abruptly as if your mum has come into the room and can’t stand any more of this guys voice and pulls the plug.

And really that is what we should all be doing but we aren’t. We love it despite our brains yelling how annoying it should be. This band has received so much word-of-mouth hype and for once it is all well placed. Clap your hands and say fuck yeah. (sorry for the cuss word but I feel it was necessary..)

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24th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Loose Fur

Born Again In The USA

As one gets older we notice things about our personalities that we either like or dislike and as much as we tried to fight them when we were younger we soon give up and learn to accept them. We even start to warm to some traits and see them as important threads in the marvellous tapestry that is us, despite the fact that they annoy the hell out of people around us and sometimes land us in jail. Recently I have discovered one of these facts about my personality and in the words of the Dude “Some new shit has come to light.” I have discovered that I have the worrying ability to become so totally obsessed and consumed by something that all logic and sense leave me when it enters my thought. About a month ago the subject of my obsessions became anything Wilco/Tweedy. It seems like we have waited far too long for new Wilco material and I just couldn’t take it. So I would spend hours, days combing the internet for anything Jeff Tweedy had ever put his hand to, any collaboration, any live morsel even if it was recorded from the toilets.

So you can imagine my delight when Loose Fur’s second album landed. Finally something legitimate and legal to quench my insatiable thirst. Like any addiction quality rarely comes into it, so it took me a while to ask myself if this album was any good. And it is, though not reaching the dizzy heights of pure genius that Wilco reside in. It goes without saying that my favourite moments are when Jeff is on point but on the whole this is a solid piece of work with just the right mix of straight up rock, melody subtlety and experimentation. It seems like less of a side project for the boys ( Jeff Tweedy, Jim O’Rourke and Glenn Kotche) and yet still manages to sound like three musicians enjoying a day off. This is seen quite clearly in The Ruling Class, a jaunty little number about Jesus shooting crack. Further on there’s a great instrumental song An Ecumenical Matter which really shows off the compositional skill of this dream team. And the album finishes with 2 songs worthy of any Wilco B side. Wreckroom with its fantastic guitar solo’s reminiscent of the jaw dropping opener on Wilco’s A Ghost Is Born and the slightly Sesame Street sounding finale of Wanted.

This album will certainly keep me satisfied until the next Wilco offering and maybe if I stay away from him long enough Jeff and his layers might just lift this damn restraining order.

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11th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Calexico

Garden Ruin

The problem with rewriting any rule book is that quite often you are then forbidden to follow those new rules, this is left to the lesser beings that are content to bring up the rear. Instead you are constantly expected to lead the way. Trust me, I speak from experience, this is the burden I must shoulder and so too must Joey Burns and his band of merry Mariachi’s. Since their departure from pioneering alt-country group Giant Sand, Calexico have set the pace in this most creative of genres reaching their creative peak with 2003’s Feast Of Wire. With their recent offering the band adopt a more direct approach producing a much less challenging yet still high quality and more palatable piece of work.

I wasn’t blown away by the first 3 songs and it was all riding on the fourth, if this didn’t stop me in my tracks I would have to exercise my ‘Suck it and see’ rights at Fopp. Luckily for me (you tend to get dirty looks by the Fopp staff if you ‘Suck’ too often) Panic Open String though not a clincher made me take notice, and I continued to take notice with the next 2 songs. Letter To Bowie Knife seemed to bring some weight to the album and Roka heralded a return to familiar territory for Calexico, that of sun-drenched, dusty tex-mex arrangements. But the two moments that really confirmed its place for me came near the end with Deep Down, a slow building triumph that really wets your appetite for the grand finale that is All Systems Red. Here the boys really pull out all the stops and build up the tempo so slowly and so intensely that what is otherwise quite a low key, safe album leaves you gasping and exhausted and surprisingly thrilled.

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11th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Britt Daniel & Bright Eyes

Home: Volume IV

The teaming up of various artistic greats is not always a recipe for success, as Real Madrid found in this seasons Champions League and James Lavelle and DJ Shadow found on Psyence Fiction. But on this 4 song EP from Spoon frontman Britt Daniel and Bright Eyes the collaboration works to great effect. They complement each other very well. Oberst lends his trademark intensity and passion to the mix and although I am a huge fan of anything by Bright Eyes, Daniel manages to amp up what can sometimes be quite a whimpering and whining sound with some bass heavy Spoon magic. As a result the Britt tracks are the stand out moments with ‘You Get Yours’ being better than most Spoon songs. This sounds all the better with Conor’s backing vocals being shrieked from the back of the recording studio. A great piece of work that more than moistens the appetite for future collaborations. If only they could find room for Jeff Tweedy.

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11th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

Pink Mountaintops

Axis Of Evol

Jagjaguwar

More low down and dirty stoner rock from Steve McBean, the man who brought us 2005’s self titled Black Mountain. Axis Of Evol is a slightly more sedated affair than Black Mountain but the sentiment is the same. On both ventures McBean talks to us like a mysterious bible toting preacher man who rode into town to either save our souls from Satan or steal them as punishment for all our earthly sins. The music here is so slushy and sleazy you just know that whatever agenda this preacher has he has seen his fair share of smut. Lord Let Us Shine starts off with an electronic beat so grimy it could be used for an early 2 Live Crew backing track for some dirty stripper ass shaking but instead turns into a gospel like euphoric prayer to the Lord above.

This album with its themes of warfare, Armageddon and generally anything penned by the Devil himself is a damn good listen. It threatens to rock out at any moment but never does, McBean assures us of this on Comas when he states “No, I’m not headed down a highway to hell,” (loosely translated, “You listen to AC/DC you pay the price.”)

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10th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet

The National

Alligator

Along with Arcade Fire this album was one of the highlights of 2005. I wasn’t that familiar with The National before this but soon became obsessed with Alligator. It is so infectious and unlike anything I can think of. Lyrically this album is fascinating. Curious and often beautiful poetry is delivered with deep, baritone restraint by front man Matt Berninger. The often confessional subject matter is strangely hopeful and yet tinged with melancholy

The National hail from Brooklyn (or is it Ohio - Ed.) and yet have little in common both thematically or musically with the New York house style we are used to hearing. Lyrics like “My bodyguard shows her revolver to anyone who asks and yes she comes to attention when you come up to me too fast,” and “Come be my waitress and serve me tonight, serve me the sky with a big slice of lemon,” hint at a surreal and yet romantic view of this world that thought provoking and touching. It’s hard to break this album down into standout tracks as it is such a complete work of unrivalled originality but if I had to I would say Lit Up, Friend Of Mine and Geese Of Beverly Road simply rule.

Alligator is the reason I constantly find myself trawling through the new releases, because every so often you come across something like this that moves you with its beauty, its honesty and its quality. The trouble is that everything else gets judged accordingly and I am rarely satisfied now.

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10th Apr 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Spoon

Gimme Fiction

I always imagine ten-pin bowling competitions to be really boring. They basically wait for their opponent to slip up slightly and not get a strike. If Spoon was your opponent you just know that they aren’t going to slip up any time soon judging by their last five bowls and you’re in for a long night. They are such a solid band. Even if you search their back catalogue for a sign of weakness expecting to find a Pablo Honey, you wont. Their style has changed over the years but they make consistently good albums. Gimme Fiction, their fifth full-length album, is yet another strike from Britt Daniel and the boys from Texas.

I think what makes it so refreshingly different from all the other bands we hear today is its musical composition. It’s nothing too experimental but the emphasis is on rhythm and bass rather than lead guitar. The drums run the show coming in heavy and loud and do so much more than merely provide a backbone for a song. Britt’s vocals fit in perfectly with this rhythm, he seems so into this beat often dropping in the odd ‘yeah, alright’ in between versus.

Standout tracks include Mathematical Mind, a fantastic song that rolls along on a piano bass line and slowly builds to a cacophony of drums and symbols, with Britt’s guitar stuttering awkwardly over the top, stabbing erratically. This track was great live as Britt would stagger over to the corner of the stage in his own world hammering furiously at his strings like Richie Cunningham possessed by John Coltrane. Another highlight is I Summon You, one of the more regular acoustic based songs - but again accompanied by some great drumming. What I wouldn’t give to be on a camping trip with Mr Daniel, sat round the fire, bellies full of some grilled wild animal, a couple of brewski’s in hand and Britt reaching over for his well travelled beat up old acoustic guitar, “D’ya know this one?” he asks as I slowly drift off to sleep to the hypnotic strumming of I Summon You. Perfect.

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10th Apr 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet