NO PICTURES REVIEWS

THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE – WILL EVER PRAY (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

2011-05-29T00:48:00.000-07:00

THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE – WILL EVER PRAY (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

I don’t think I will ever feel at ease with Australia. Its just too vast, just too hot. It’s the kind of place where bad things happen beneath a tempered sun that can’t help but influence and direct a person’s behaviour in unhealthy fashion

Originally hailing from such parts The Doomed Bird Of Providence is not so much a band as it is a gang. At last count it was five strong and growing. With this their arsenal of instruments has grown over time and now as they present their debut album their aural vision is as clear and powerful as ever.

Boasting a previous criminal record, when the Doomed Bird Of Providence first unleashed their wares a couple of years ago with their self titled EP on Laily Recordings it was a prized eruption that contained a solid set of songs at the hands of band leader Mark Kluzek which eventually led to low level scandal regarding the selling of goods on eBay.

With Will Ever Pray the message is clear: this band is here to give you nightmares, to saddle you with guilt as the Poms must be forced to pay for previous indiscretions.

The piece opens with vocals distributed like lashes. From here strings soon drop, sinking their claws into proceedings from where they never let go. With this accordion then seeps in as the occasional piano keys drip like blood and guitar parts are driven and tempered.

Something of a concept album possessing a staunch inflicted narrative Will Ever Pray is a two part monster as the first four songs telling tales of early exploration and deportation by ship in and around the Australia region. Then “the massacre of the whole of the passengers and part of the crew of The Sea Horse on her homeward passage from Sydney” consumes the following five track finale. Naturally its downbeat content but ultimately more entertaining and accessible than watching the History Channel. In other words this is a previously untapped fountain of information.

Comparisons do not come easy or necessarily clear in compliment. Obviously the accordion is an instrument that does not get a lot of action in a rocking world and while hardly being Klezmar, its use and execution is somewhat more ghastly than the dark, likeable and comic Tiger Lillies. Likewise the heavy violin strings delivered in an Australian context obviously recall The Dirty Three however when they layer in tandem and echo with guitar it feels akin to darkland Velvet Underground. To this you can perhaps throw into the mix a sense of Tindersticks but ultimately the band is so much more as it offers a sound that it earnest and very much its own. You won’t hear anything else that sounds like this in a hurry.

Of the first half raft it is “On The Deathbed Of Janus Weathercock” which provides the highlight with the detailed description of a man’s demise as all comes together sonically and majestically lending something of a tranquil air to anything but a peaceful demise. The hooks here are the kind that give birth to goosebumps. This physical reaction however may also be as result from the fact that Weathercock was a notorious poisoner.

As the second half of the record begins and the massacre ensues this chapter opens with a ten minute plus instrumental of ringing strings as a queasy sensation prevails and an eventual hook and loop that perversely reminds me of an unidentified staple from my past (sorry to be vague). From here a clap shanty spurs the crew into action as by part 3 there is talk of “slashing throats” and “cutting out tongues” which makes for a horrific snapshot in time. With this part 4 resumes the score motif as delicate piano ticks lend the piece a calm after the storm feel, housing a raindrop like sensation to represent the closure and conclusion of the rain in blood (reign in blood). By the end the devastation feels like jubilation as a change in order feels very much on the cards.

To garner a full appreciation of this record it is beneficial to listen intently as the multitude of instruments all jostle for position while at the same time being given space to breathe. This is a truly tight outfit and very talented musicians playing to their strengths and syncing in the most dogged and accomplished manner.

Curiously this makes for very good public transport music especially trips that are long haul. While sat squashed onto a train with my fellow passengers I can’t help but empathise and liken my plight as I envisage all aboard being driven and dragged to a destination against our wills as the necessity outweighs the enjoyment of our existence and whisks us into bondage, suffering and misery. With this I can’t but view it all as a shared experience and use it as an effective tool to combat the labour of my day.

This is the real deal.

Did ya.

Thesaurus moment: carnage.

The Doomed Bird Of Providence

The Doomed Bird Of Providence live

Front And Follow

FUNERAL PARTY – NEW YORK CITY MOVES TO THE SOUND OF L.A. (RCA/SONY MUSIC)

2011-04-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

FUNERAL PARTY – NEW YORK CITY MOVES TO THE SOUND OF L.A. (RCA/SONY MUSIC)

I have to concede that against my better judgement I really fucking like this song. I know its full of reckless abandon and other such professional rock clichés but the bounce to it is pure and the thrills come astonishing and genuine. For a rare moment a new guitar band on a major label appears to have produced a song that genuinely rocks!

At the risk of having shoes thrown at me this song is how I would imagine a morphing of At The Drive-in with Nation Of Ulysses to sound. The chanting is there, the chops are there and, most important, the passion seems there. It’s a perpetual motion machine in the slickest manner possible.

As to what the song is actually about remains something of a mystery to me. It could equally be about disco dancing as some kind of east coast v west coast rivalry. However the rap wars this is not. And thus I have to concede that it is the mystery of the intent that causes me some slight doubt towards the act.

Ultimately though I just suspect that this band is too good looking and well adjusted to be for real, to maintain such an exciting flow of music and inhabit a special place in my heart that is driven by the need for things to be pure and credible, not necessarily done in the name of money grabbing and dollar.

For now I will indulge and enjoy this song but eventually it will be forgotten, dismissed long before the band gives birth to disappointment and breaks my heart. That makes sense, right?

This is already their funeral.

Thesaurus moment: pow.

Funeral Party

RCA

Sony Music

FRANK SIDEBOTTOM – GUESS WHO’S BEEN ON MATCH OF THE DAY (CHERRY RED)

2010-07-08T15:51:00.001-07:00

FRANK SIDEBOTTOM – GUESS WHO’S BEEN ON MATCH OF THE DAY (CHERRY RED)

It was genuinely sad news to hear that Frank Sidebottom (or rather Chris Sievey) had lost his fight against cancer a few weeks ago. When news initially broke that he had unfortunately got the disease the fact that he was continuing to perform on the live circuit suggested that he was going steamroll and power through the illness. Sadly this was not to be.

Originally I thought Mark Radcliffe was Frank Sidebottom or vice versa but soon it became apparent that they were both birds from the same tree, from a rich Manchester scene with a staunch and glowing legacy. Frank Sidebottom was a hilarious creation, a lo-fi character that was always around but never seemed to quite get the breaks or the right vehicle with which to work his magic. Undaunted however he kept plugging away in a manner that should serve as true inspiration to anybody in either comedy or music that carries on regardless in the face of slack apathy.

Prior to this year’s World Cup beginning Frank was already pushing his World Cup single (hey, he might as well, every other schmuck was) and as soon as his passing was announced immediately people on Twitter began suggesting that his fan base get together and attempt to fire the single to the top of the charts. Quickly some kind of campaign began to take place and before long a realistic amount of followers looked in place to get the song a decent chart positioning. Unfortunately things then took a turn for the worse as it was discovered that Sievey had passed away without leaving any assets and it appeared that his family would not be able to afford a fitting funeral for such a treasured performer. With this the Twitter campaign took on a different role and within days £21,000 had been raised for his send off.

Now the time has come to release the single. Originally it was supposed to be “3 Shirts On Me Line” but I sense/fear that that song was never correctly recorded in time. Instead the good people at Cherry Red have quickly pulled together this digital single of typical Frank delivery in the style of George Formby gone chipper, Manc and mental. The song barely lasts a minute but that’s not the point, its Frank! Under such circumstances who can deny? The other track is “The Robbins Aren’t Bobbins” which is his ode to his beloved Altrincham. It sounds like it’s from a different era, which is perhaps/probably is.

Seldom do charity records feel worthwhile but for once this release does as it represents tribute to a genuine and truly entertaining individual that is a sad loss to the profession and industry. For years I have vowed never to open an iTunes shop account but especially for this release I did. With proceeds going to cancer charities here is hoping that the record places high on Sunday 11 July (World Cup Final day). It will, it really will.

Take care.

Thesaurus moment: frolic.

Frank Sidebottom
Cherry Red

MICAH P HINSON – TAKE OFF THAT DRESS FOR ME (FULL TIME HOBBY)

2010-06-07T01:41:00.000-07:00

MICAH P HINSON – TAKE OFF THAT DRESS FOR ME (FULL TIME HOBBY)

This is something of an uncomfortable throwback. As I listen to the seven inch with the sun gloriously shining through my open window I find myself very tempted to close said window for fear of my neighbours witnessing me listening to such a song.

This is not healthy music. The singer songwriter genre is a true minefield, an area where the good is hard to distinguish from the bad because on the whole most of it sounds bad.

Micah P. Hinson is an artist I am supposed to like. In a way he is half David Berman and half Johnny Cash but beyond that there is very little to grasp onto (and nothing has got me so far).

Check out the sentiments: “take off that dress for me.” This guy is begging for sex, he is debasing himself, acting like a pussy in search of satisfying his needs. And the sad truth is that presented with this song the fevered ego from the apple of his eye will probably comply as she finds his advances charming and wayward compared to the usual alpha male route of being rutted that she is akin to. Am I wrong about this?

By now I am so fucking bored of the singer songwriter format, of the way it exposes my generation of being both po-faced and selfish, of egocentric and generally hinting of being chock full of control freaks. This is a marketplace that is drowning, filled to the brim of so many variations of the same thing with only subtle differences and certainly not enough in itself to truly stand out from the flock. Do you remember that scene in Animal House where John Belushi grabs the guitar of the prick crooning on the stairs and smashes the instrument to pieces? That should be performed on so much music right now.

I might be wrong.

Thesaurus moment: sly.

Micah P Hinson

Full Time Hobby

THE FALL – BURY (DOMINO)

2010-05-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

THE FALL – BURY (DOMINO)

At the end of the day the sad truth/reality was that this was the only release I bought on Record Store Day that I actually wanted beforehand. And I only got it out of good fortune when one of the Rough Trade clerks happened across some copies and did a shout out to the people in the queue to see if anybody wanted one. I swear half an hour before this moment I had seen a man the age of Mark E. Smith carrying a pile of about fifteen copies of this record to the counter. That should not have been allowed but in a way it all seems apt

Despite now being on their best record label for years The Fall artwork remains wonderfully incoherent, messy and looking tossed off in seconds. There are just some things that remain reassuringly constant.

“Bury” is another great slab of vinyl. Perversely it reminds me of a lo-fi version of “No One Knows” by Queens Of The Stone Age but it is also so much more. We have a Bury here in East Anglia but it is nothing in comparison to this.

In many ways The Fall is a better act than ever. Without doubt Mark E. Smith runs a tight ship and with its revolving door of musicians these days it’s not so much a band as an outfit with a squad mentality akin to the greatest football clubs. This is the modern way of doing things, deal with it. With this process in mind you can’t help but think in another life Smith might have made for a great football manager. Maybe Manchester has a successor for Fergie after all (pending a reverse Tevez dose of treachery).

Wonderful distortion welcomes this song into the world which is then promptly pursued by a fine stomp and seemingly random musings from Mr Smith. It’s all about Mr Smith. This is the stuff of legend, it still sounds great after all these years and uses terms such as “municipal buildings” which you will be hard pressed to unearth anywhere else in music. In a time when we need this music the most it truly comes to the plate and pays off tenfold.

Thesaurus moment: reliable.

The Fall
Domino

VILLAGERS – BECOMING A JACKAL (DOMINO)

2010-05-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

VILLAGERS – BECOMING A JACKAL (DOMINO)

Here is another limited edition release from Record Store Day. By the point of this purchase I was just snapping up any cool looking or sounding release in order to bump up my goodies and prevent the people at the counter giggling at my pathetic collection of rubbish sucker releases. I’m not so sure that this release should have made the cut however.

I have actually see Villagers and it was not an experience I would care to share or repeat. The buzz was good with them being signed to Domino and all but the reality was trite and laboured. For this I blame Bon Ivor and his log cabin bullshit.

Hailing from Ireland unfortunately this means Mr Conor J. O’Brien possesses a singing voice that reminds me of Feargal Sharkey gone through an auto tuner. And we all know what happened to that guy.

It is all very impassioned and aimed (maybe cynically) at an audience experiencing a crisis and mentally drifting off into the distance as life becomes difficult for their kind. Am I being too harsh?

Taking a deep breath and endeavouring to listen to this afresh things don’t really manage to improve as his storytelling style of lyrical narrative portrays a slow version of life that I just cannot relate to, one where a person has too long to dwell on the whimsy of life and little in the way of an arc existence. I bet skinny people have sex to this music.

I still blame The Wicker Man.

Thesaurus moment: grandiose.

Villagers

Domino

GUNS N’ ROSA PARKS – ANTIFREEZE EP (GIVE PRAISE RECORDS)

2010-05-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

GUNS N’ ROSA PARKS – ANTIFREEZE EP (GIVE PRAISE RECORDS)

Sometimes some bands’ names are so tasteless and gauche they are pure perfection. Guns N’ Rosa Parks are such an example of this.

This is hardcore music, the kind perfectly designed to piss your neighbours off on a Saturday night when they are listening to their pop music ever so slightly too loudly for your liking and tastes.

Growing up listening to this music I have always gawped on in despair as hardcore music has slowly become more metallic and moronic as a result but thankfully here is a band just the right side of the aggression, of exciting time changes and a solid rhythm section that doesn’t get rinsed over by needless and unnecessary guitar solos.

Squeezing ten songs onto two sides of seven inch classic will never get old or boring for me and when songs possess titles such as “I Hate Assholes”, “Can’t Relate” and “Hungry Hungry Hippocrites” there is more than likely always going to be something for me to grab onto.

With a quick burst of energy now my neighbours (whoever they may be) appear to have lowered the volume on their own shitty music although the strains of “La Bamba” are decipherable in the background. This is a range war.

Guns N’ Rosa Parks can have my seat at the back of the bus any day of the week.

Thesaurus moment: much.

Guns N’ Rosa Parks
Give Praise Records

ASH – DARE TO DREAM (ATOMIC HEART RECORDS)

2010-04-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

ASH – DARE TO DREAM (ATOMIC HEART RECORDS)

This was the final record I bought at Record Store Day, which was being pushed with the premise of being a Mogwai remix. To be buying such a seven inch for £5.99 featuring two acts that I haven’t had any interest in for years. This purchase truly represents the meltdown felt from the frenzy of Record Store Day.

Over the past year I have been watching Ash valiantly shit out regular seven inch singles attached to letters but never once have I been inspired, motivated or compelled to actually buying one of them. Today things have reached letter N (number 14) so I guess by now it is probably too late to begin my collection if I should desire so.

And I don’t. “Dare To Dream” is something of a mess. A mess with sprinkles. Even now after both acts have had their best days Ash and Mogwai make for awkward and uncomfortable bedfellows and on this release it only appears to etch out the worst elements in each band as Tim Wheeler’s silly vocals emerge very camp against a dragged out and doggy Mogwai aural drawl. In a way it sounds like Joy Division mutating into early New Order as they discover drum machines but from another perspective there is a sense of languid betrayal in how it also sounds something of a sonic abortion.

The release is a one sided affair with an etched b-side that looks relatively aesthetically pleasing. It’s all relative.

Thesaurus moment: hill.

Ash

Atomic Heart Records

FUCKED UP – DAYTROTTER (MATADOR RECORDS)

2010-04-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

FUCKED UP – DAYTROTTER (MATADOR RECORDS)

This is a confusing release on many many levels. Firstly I experience “the Peel” in not knowing whether I am playing the seven inch at the correct speed or not. When the vocals appear on what I believe to be “David Comes To Life” I would seem that I am indeed playing the record at the wrong speed. My confusion from what the actual track is stems from the fact that the single has the b-side label on both sides of the record. Was this a mean track done playfully on purpose?

The biggest confusion for me however arises due to the fact that I just don’t get Fucked Up. I sincerely want to love them and indulge but when the record comes up to plate and faces an open goal somehow it just spoons the effort beyond the grave.

Starting again now at the correct speed the store opens up with “Magic Word” which is a mesmerising shuffle that sounds almost skiffle and strangely Ice Cream For Crow all at the same time. I think this is something Charlie Hodge would recommend to Elvis during a drinking session. Wha’ happened? Isn’t this supposed to be the current pinnacle of punk?

Listening to “David Comes To Life” at the correct speed is a far more enjoyable experience than listening to it at the wrong. Go figure, I’m an idiot. The vocals sound discerningly dub as the guitar loops all surrounding parties in unnecessary fashion.

“Crooked Head” is the track most recognisable as Fucked Up with Pink Eyes trademark artistic expression being best represented with a backbeat that feels as if it is working against him rather than with him. As with much of their material it makes for an uncomfortable sync, one that does not do as much justice to the other as should be.

Coming with a useful Fucked Up 7” list insert, this release is culled from a session at Daytrotter Studios in November 2008 and is the Fucked Up contribution to Record Store Day 2010 on many levels.

Thesaurus moment: balk.

Fucked Up

Matador Records

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG – SUNSET SOUND SESSION (BECAUSE MUSIC)

2010-04-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG – SUNSET SOUND SESSION (BECAUSE MUSIC)

With Beck still in tow this is a Sunset Sound Session single released to coincide with Record Store Day 2010 of two tracks culled from said session recorded for KCRW radio in Los Angeles.

“Heaven Can Wait” is a plonking ditty that brings to mind rural green California in the late sixties just as the dream is dying and all the idealists are frantically clinging onto their dreams. In other words it is a summery sounding affair with an explicit spring in its step.

Charlotte Gainsbourg possesses a genuinely unique vocal style. By unique I mean that she often sounds male, perhaps this is the result of too much Lemon Incest (although equally this could just be the influence of Hansen). Regardless it means that her act/spiel/shtick is full of quirk and character which serves to enable her to appeal to an uncomfortable audience.

The Beck input as composer and lyricist is tangible as a bendy narrative is churned out, one that possesses the devil may care attitude of a person that no longer need worry about the world.

Roaming onto the other side things sound/become very mechanic and minimal with the frenetic rush of “IRM” that almost rides into Stereolab territory screaming of a person desperately trying to be kooky and different while running the music equivalent of an egg and spoon race.

Its all breezy and disposable stuff, material that could equally be at the beach or in the sewer come a few months time.

Thesaurus moment: spring.

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Because Music

FOALS – SPANISH SAHARA (WARNER MUSIC LTD)

2010-04-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

FOALS – SPANISH SAHARA (WARNER MUSIC LTD)

I once saw Foals play live at Latitude Festival and unfortunately it was one of the most feeble sets I have ever witnessed from a band with such clout being pumped into and put behind them.

Its not all hate from me honestly I have genuinely liked a number of their singles but sometimes you just have to shrug and concede “I don’t get it.” I remember when I worked at the studio and how the A&R (A&E) lady was raving about in the context of all this nu-rave gimmick stuff. At this point I genuinely thought there was more to them. Then Sub Pop signed them in the US so surely there must be something there to grab hold of. So with nice looking artwork on Record Store Day as all the limited edition releases I actually want have gone to pushier individuals than myself here is me giving them another chance.

On that note I’ll be fucked if I know what they are doing on this single. For starters it is so fucking quiet and subdued. Why is this? What point are they trying to make? Is this them sounding mature? Sounding as if operating on a knife edge? Am I playing the record at the wrong speed again? (no to that last one).

So well done, once again the kids have been let down by a band claiming so much and delivering so little. How the fuck can Warners be justified in supporting this? Why are they wasting the earth’s resources on such dross?

Eventually the song crawls out of its stupor only to resemble some eighties sports television soundtrack. Can the bar be actually lowered any further?

Thesaurus moment: spoon.

Foals
Warners Music Ltd

SHE & HIM – IN THE SUN (DOMINO)

2010-04-21T00:50:00.000-07:00

SHE & HIM – IN THE SUN (DOMINO)

For the longest time on Record Store Day 2010 I found myself wandering around with just this seven inch in my hand. Truly people were swarming all over limited edition stuff in the style of Sex And The City wannabes at a Next sale. For a moment I felt panic, I wanted out of the record shop but there was no escape. So instead I found myself just standing in a corner breathing heavily hoping to bide my time until the real goodies hidden behind the counter were to be unveiled for the patient mannered types such as myself. It didn’t happen. As I saw somebody carry off their vinyl version of the Sonic Youth Starbucks compilation for the eleventh time I knew my She & Him seven inch would not be alone in order to maintain cred as I approached the counter. From here when I finally approached the checkout with my pile of potentially mediocre vinyl, including my £6 She & Him seven inch, my pain was justified as the man smiling behind the till handed me a cloth tote bag that came exclusively with this release. Had my pain in one foul swoop suddenly been justified? I had only been in the store almost two hours by this point. Was it worth it? For £41.42 I got my record store rush.

I just dropped this record. Literally and physically, I haven’t even got around to listening to it and the corner of the spine is now already bent. The value has just gone from mint to just very good. Suddenly it doesn’t feel worth it.

She & Him feel like flavour of the month right now, which is not necessarily a band thing because Zooey Deschanel has a high level of cred right from back when she was a scene stealer in The Good Girl. That said actresses taking up indie rock has something of jaded history (Juliette Lewis and Scarlett Johansson a dubious list begins with you).

In a sad way Deschanel’s efforts remind me a bit of Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line and as such make them DOA. In John Peel style I begin listening to the seven inch at the wrong speed (listening to it after the Factory limited edition ten inch I also got at Record Store Day). Dare I even suggest that it may sound better at such a speed (I’m down with the kids and their chopped and screwed).

I was given to believe that this would be a full on country assault but instead it is a far more sprightly affair. Her voice reminds me a lot of Tanya Donnelly, Shannon Wright and Sarah Shannon from Velocity Girl (all fantastic vocalists) but strangely the most striking aspect that grabs me is the piano line courtesy of M Ward that reminds me of the “Self Preservation Society” theme song from The Italian Job and thus it all comes full circle and the selection never escapes Hollywood.

Thesaurus moment: wrap.

She & Him
Domino

VARIOUS – FACTORY RECORDS COMMUNICATIONS (FACTORY RECORDS/RHINO)

2010-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

VARIOUS – FACTORY RECORDS COMMUNICATIONS (FACTORY RECORDS/RHINO)

Released for Record Store Day 2010 this ten inch sampler features four tracks from the strongest arms in the Factory Records legacy. As ever with most Factory releases the packaging looks amazing, minimal but stark and tastefully done as in some respect/degree this release just represents the latest plundering of the Factory back catalogue.

After visiting Manchester earlier this year I now find myself with something of a larger appreciation for the place and the music that came from within it. Indeed it was watching 24 Hour Party People almost ten years ago now that snapped me with a moment of clarity that read “this is how a record label should be” and within a few weeks I had jacked in my own label Gringo Records.

Back on vinyl this music sounds better than ever. Despite the best efforts of Peter Hook to undermine their legacy a song such as “Transmission” will always represent the pinnacle of British independent music. The playing is frenetic, the intentions and message are just terrifying as it represents all things that were right with a genre that was supposed to be about disenfranchised individuals. This was the band performing at their peak.

“Ceremony” by New Order follows still enabling the dark elements of the band that they used to be. In comparison to Curtis the vocals of Sumner sound robotic by design, required to be startling and cold by necessity. In order to keep up business as usual it all had to be aloof.

Turning over The Durutti Column selection “Sketch For Summer” is a tweeting bird affair creating a casual roam for the listener as the label’s mentally challenged older brother act takes a stroll around the recesses of their own mind. It’s a window.

Smartly the Happy Mondays selection is the club mix of “Hallelujah” which serves to remind the listener that the band was not necessarily always the cartoon drug addled idiots that they resemble these days as they take their touring circus act around the globe doing the festival circuit cheapening their act with each blow. Received from its natural home on vinyl “Hallelujah” is such a sickly smooth piece of work with the best kind of grooving bassline offering the recipient the best in both worlds of beats and guitars. This still probably sounds magnificent in a club today, this has genuinely aged majestically. Well done chaps.

I’d take the exploits of Tony Wilson over Malcolm McLaren any day of the week. He was only a pretend prat.

I love ten inches.

Thesaurus moment: tool.

Joy Division
New Order
The Durutti Column
Happy Mondays
Factory Records
Rhino

TINDERSTICKS – FALLING DOWN A MOUNTAIN (4AD)

2010-04-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

TINDERSTICKS – FALLING DOWN A MOUNTAIN (4AD)

Opening with a sense of urgency that sounds akin to a ticking time bomb, the latest offering from the Tindersticks is a wider selection of sounds than their previous album “The Hungry Saw” and for it the band appears to have taken on a new kind of persona and objective. Whether this progression has worked its way into the actual songwriting remains open to debate but from the off it is evident that something is up, something has happened.

Emerging victorious from some kind of resurgence in recent years their influence feels wider than ever as the measured sound of Tindersticks offers a kind of indie decadence that feels somewhat more permissible in this age. Maybe this the result of an audience maturing or perhaps just the positive affect of an industry look back to a time more tangible and analogue.

There is immediately a Lalo Schifrin feeling to proceedings as via the title track a new kind of looseness prevails as an expansive loungey sound prevails. This dramatic and mysterious stuff, in a world where Stuart Staples appears to be harbouring a secret and a confession looks destined to follow albeit with something of a struggle. This is sex music. I have had a friend confide in me how he used to shag to the Tindersticks music and now it would seem that person (the receiver) is somewhat sexually damaged as result. Where there is blame, there is a claim.

The songs on show range from the exciting to the tender but as the album reaches the fourth song it draws a real clunker as “Peanuts” plays out teasingly in the most stupid of fashion. Yes the word “peanuts” is easily substituted for the word “penis”, it does not take a four and a half minute song to demonstrate and demonise this. So horribly cheese, much like Staples’ cock I would imagine.

Thankfully of the ten songs on display that the one real disappointment as the lyrics remain explicit but equally amusing in thankfully not so childish a manner. “Hubbard Hills” sounds like the closing credits music of Withnail & I while “Keep You Beautiful” is earnest in every way that is good and professional. The single “Black Smoke” offers the biggest hook in an acceptable manner.

Of all the tracks most resolution appears to be found in “No Place So Alone” which seems to go around the houses in desperate fashion before arriving at some kind of accomplished understanding and happy outcome.

From here the remainder of the album cascades into oblivion offering the atmosphere of a beautiful ending (“Piano Music” does exactly what it says on the tin). These are the closing credits.

Tindersticks are a great band without doubt; they just take up a bit too much time and patience on occasion.

How could something this good emerge out of Nottingham? It’s a rotten rotten place.

Thesaurus moment: siren.

Tindersticks

4AD

LOS CAMPESINOS! – ROMANCE IS BORING (WICHITA RECORDINGS)

2010-04-03T01:57:00.000-07:00

LOS CAMPESINOS! – ROMANCE IS BORING (WICHITA RECORDINGS)

This is something of a refreshing throwback to spiky and scratchy lo-fi DIY bands from a few years ago, the ones that pushed forward an idea that my own generation were able to attempt and succeed at in producing on the proviso that there was something more to it than the desire to be a star. For this a sardonic wit always felt essential, necessary with view to confuse and sometimes abuse anyone around looking to be of a discerning nature.

The most obvious reference for a single such as this is Art Brut along with the early boy girl dynamics of the Delgados before they discovered strings and bloated arrangements. In this it is obvious just where the appeal comes from, in the desire and need for the listener to hear nasty yet tuneful guitar music that doesn’t sink and drown in cliché.

Hailing from Cardiff (although without being Welsh) it is strange how so many bands are emerging from Wales at the moment. They are not necessarily all good but it does suggest something about the way boredom is being dealt with in places away from the supposed centre of the universe (London).

“Romance Is Boring” is a great sentiment, one that points at something away from Care Bears and daydreams. As ever I sense I am arriving late to the party with my enjoyment of this band but giving them the benefit of my doubts of try hard this is the kind of fun explosive indie guitar song that sadly feels rare these days.

“Too Many Flesh Suppers” on the flipside is an altogether more angular and confused state of affairs, less directed and suggestive of their appreciation/fondness for Broken Social Scene. To some ears this will sound like a mess but to others it will be gold. Sadly though it is a song that never lives up to its great title.

This won’t help me recapture my youth, nothing will.

Thesaurus moment: bellow.

Los Campesinos!
Wichita Recordings

THE DUSTAPHONICS – BURLESQUE QUEEN (DIRTY WATER RECORDS)

2010-03-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

THE DUSTAPHONICS – BURLESQUE QUEEN (DIRTY WATER RECORDS)

Perhaps not with the smartest of reasoning I am finding myself these days purchasing a lot of seven inch singles just based on their artwork. As the format becomes sadly rarer by the week, this growing personal throwback for me presents itself more as a piece of art rather than a salient music format. This single is a very good example of this. I really hate the way the world of the single has gone now, the Sunday charts are so pathetic it is unreal and there is no way in hell that a band selling an MP3 or two on a given date will or should constitute a single release. The idea of doing an “MP3 single” is one so redundant to me. The other day I heard a pretty decent song by a band from Liverpool and I decided to check out the release date of the song I found myself faced with a two week wait to buy it from iTunes etc. I promptly laughed my fucking arse off as I found the song on seconds via Hype MP3. It is what they deserve.

This release however is the polar opposite of such backwards management. For me passion oozes from the tangibility of the release. So who the hell are The Dustaphonics? I have no idea what their music sounds like but what I do know is that they come with amazing artwork.

Looking at the sleeve alone you get the impression it is going to be dirty, like something you might find in a John Waters or Russ Meyer movie. Yes, music from a better time. The cover features a golden age comic beauty, shameless and suggestive.

Having already reviewed the record before even playing the record finally upon hearing it I find myself introduced to something that sounds akin to The Cramps fronted by Lisa from the BellRays. It is slow paced and dripping in swagger with dirty sax spewed sporadically over proceedings. This is very fun stuff.

The writing credit includes the name “T.L. Satana” which indeed does turn out to be Tura Satana, most famously the star of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! which lends another exciting aspect to the record as it transpires that she is indeed responsible for some of the lyrics/words in some capacity (although perhaps she didn’t realise it).

Perhaps the less said about the b-side (a cover of The Jiants “Tornado”) the better.

Thesaurus moment: pine.

The Dustaphonics
Dirty Water Records

TINDERSTICKS – BLACK SMOKE (LUCKY DOG)

2010-03-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

TINDERSTICKS – BLACK SMOKE (LUCKY DOG)

In a rare moment of happiness Tindersticks manage to put down a relatively upbeat tune championing the after affects of being blown out (shot down). With it comes a pulsing and almost euphoric take on proceedings where Staples’ delivery occasionally reminds of Lou Reed’s barbed vocal method where lines sound like statements and accusations thrown out amongst the bitterness.

The Tindersticks aren’t necessarily a singles band. Years ago Mark And Lard did a skit where they posed as the band releasing a Christmas album of pub sing-along to which the joke was not very well received. And in many ways rightfully so as this is a band plainly with a vision and intent, a message that is pure and need not mockery as their own humility offers enough self depreciation alone.

As the protagonist talks about going to the river you begin to wonder for the wellbeing of the narrator. The black smoke in question sounds poisonous stuff, stuff that I can very much identify with. As the river in the story changes meaning a new degree of urgency and betrayal appears offered to the track and it begins galloping to the defeat line. If the Velvet Underground had been from Nottingham the city would still have been a shit hole.

Towards the end as Staples tells of “making love in the afternoon” the saxophones take over adding a strange air to proceedings. And then it is all over. It’s a mucky mucky world that we live in. It is not necessarily Coltrane.

On the other side of proceedings “Just Drifting” offers up the Tindersticks take on Psychic TV. I am positive the Genesis version never sounded as silky as this.

This is the world we live in.

Thesaurus moment: burnt.

Tindersticks

Lucky Dog

JIMI HENDRIX – BLEEDING HEART (SONY MUSIC)

2010-03-08T01:08:00.000-08:00

JIMI HENDRIX – BLEEDING HEART (SONY MUSIC)

There is a real sense of fear and reservation attached to approaching this record. For years now the vaults have been raped as the reputation of Jimi Hendrix has been kicked to death by greeding associates in the music industry skimming off any piece of work that he scratched out during his career, be it in his sleep or at the top of his game. It is going to be weird now for me to watch people from my era get treated in such a way, people such as Kurt Cobain whose career has already gone through the ringer but not to the point (yet) that 40 plus year recordings (such as this) have emerged.

At the end of the day though Hendrix was Hendrix and what that meant was here lay one of the most innovative players in the history of guitar music.

For once though his legacy (or rather scraps thereof) have been treated with a decent degree of respect, packaged in a way fitting of his talent and influence. From a hot looking record sleeve through to a decent sound actually coming from the stereo this happily for once does not feel like some kind of cynical cash in (even though at the end of the day it is).

“Bleeding Heart” is a cover of an old Elmore James number that Hendrix unsurprisingly makes his own almost immediately which he then carries for over six minutes in a beautiful fashion with his legendary warm playing and underrated vocal talents. And boy does it sound good on vinyl. Often the bluesy moments were the ones that created least ripples for Hendrix but when he got in right he had the ability the make the sun shine brighter even if it made the listener feel bleaker.

Released for the collectors and not necessarily with view of snagging anyone new into the fold “Peace In Mississippi” is a more the classic, expected fare of Hendrix, a pounding exploration into the heights of sounds that his guitar was able to bring. With Redding and Mitchell backing him up these were the moments you sensed he lived for, the spring to satisfy his artist curiosity and needs with the ability to feed and thrill the listener along the way. To see and feel this music live must have been to touch base with a higher being.

Why is it than anybody else attempting this stuff can only ever fuck it all up? Class screams right through.

Thesaurus moment: learn.

Jimi Hendrix
Sony Music

SONE INSTITUTE – CURIOUS MEMORIES (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

2010-02-28T01:28:00.000-08:00

SONE INSTITUTE – CURIOUS MEMORIES (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

The Sone Institute are one of those acts that produce a wide series of sounds that exhibit a huge scope of imagination and lengthy influences that provide a distinct setting for the task ahead. Listened to with a clear head, yours will be a mind soon muddled and disfigured by the sounds and images imposed onto your soul.

In the past Sone Institute have displayed a talent for spilling beats over the most cautious of tones in a style similar to Broadcast while mixed with an easy listening intellect and kitsch awareness (appreciation) akin to that of Jonny Trunk. Within such a gesture there is true fluctuation of two grand and downbeat worlds convulsing and marking something wholly fresh into the ground. With Curious Memories they have expanded further on this premise extending their arsenal and truly succeeding with every avenue they visit.

The album begins with a thunder bolt followed by crazed and disorientating fairground attraction atmospherics on the wonderfully named “Inter Asylum Cross Country”. The track sounds like something RZA may have cooked up and used on one of his scores. Truly a song to come with stitches.

With “The Wind Began To Switch” the record reaches a frenzied pace as handclapping hysteria coupled with grandiose strings that sound straight out of an American television cop show from the seventies bursts onto the scene. The crazy beat sounds excessively like Lalo Schifrin’s work on Dirty Harry only now bettered to a blistering pace.

Eventually it all mellows out quite significantly, changing identity like a chameleon on a mirror, touching zones that you might expect as output from acts on labels such as Ninja Tune and Kitty-Yo. A true blissed out harvest of an experience occurs as ambience overrules the exotic early impetus of proceedings in assaulting fashion. It has to be said the swinging of systems in such schizophrenic style does make for a difficult listen.

For some reason I come away from listening to this record with the theme music from The Professionals running around in my head.

This is music for the movies.

Thesaurus moment: flick.

Sone Institute
Front And Follow

BEACH HOUSE – NORWAY (BELLA UNION)

2010-02-25T03:45:00.000-08:00

BEACH HOUSE – NORWAY (BELLA UNION)

I used to have an online buddy hailing from Norway. In fact I feel when she disappeared from the cyber world I actually lost a potential love for in Line Larsen I truly feel I met (in an online capacity) a potential soul mate. Our interests were similar and we exchanged similar worldviews and a sense of fondness prevailed that could have remained/lasted strong for a long time. When she disappeared off the face of the internet I truly feel fearful that something bad occurred to her in real life. I really wish she would get back in touch I miss her so.

At this point the single has almost concluded as I acknowledge that the first time I am playing this seven inch I am paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to it. My bad.

Beach House appear to have come out of nowhere, they are being lauded by all quarters as a sudden stream dreamy (sometimes drippy) bands begins to overwhelm indie pop. If it were a bit louder you might compare it to the shoegazers.

It all feels rather minimal. Half the time the vocalist (I’m loathe to say singer) appears to be making up words, exchanging lyrics for noises they appear to be making up on the spot.

There appears to be a prevailing leaning towards an eighties slickness and sensibility to sound at the moment. I am truly struggling to decide whether this is a good thing or not. Here with “Norway” I am being presented with a layered set of sounds padding out a strange set of sentiments being exhibited by the frontman that be. With creeping, underlying sonics I would not be surprised if new My Bloody Valentine material were to sound like this (or at least the demos might).

Perversely this ultimately sounds to me like the singer from the Wannadies fronting the accompaniment of Ryuichi Sakamoto in “Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence” mode with a dabble of MBV effects stirring underneath. Random.

The b-side sounds a bit like Scrawl.

They’re from Baltimore but not like in The Wire (the TV show not the magazine).

I think I missed the point.

Thesaurus moment: hut.

Beach House
Bella Union

VARIOUS – ON THE BEACH MIX CD

2010-02-19T01:40:00.000-08:00

VARIOUS – ON THE BEACH MIX CD

On The Beach is a club night at the Buffalo Bar in Islington on everything third Friday of the month. It plays a gross mixture of dirty underground and unpopular songs covering US indie, post punk, electronica, hardcore, grime and sometimes even pop.

This is a compilation CD that was given away at their club night in February 2010 I believe to celebrate their tenth night. What do I know though; when I picked up my copy of the disc I was drunk and just had a McDonalds. It features eighteen tracks typical of what gets played at the club proving something of an eclectic soup selection.

The disc opens with “I.O.U.” by The Replacements, a thumping case of hard rocking classic American indie that people have heard of but mostly have never actually heard. This then melds into the backwards electronic beats of Dan Deacon and my stereo player is already reeling. You too will be reeling once you’ve had enough of that cheap Eastern European beer that the Buffalo Bar puts on as “special” on the night.

Not wishing to be too white and middle class they drop hip hop (sometimes even grime) in the form of Dominique Young and Roll Deep in addition to the classic that is “Witness (1 Hope)”. This will help you swing your pants.

Essentially you can’t help but feel the heart of the club is in US indie being that the club features many faces that frequent All Tomorrows Parties. This point is well made by the inclusion of Polvo, Cap’n Jazz, Ted Leo and Health, a band I defy anybody to attempt to dance to. Good luck fucker.

Also no selection of knowing modern hipster music is complete without its silly pun band names as represented today by Hudson Mohawke and Joy Orbison. Laugh it up.

Elsewhere “Roadrunner” by Jonathan Richman pops up at some point not feeling out of place like the scary nonce in the corner.

Then that is it. The lights come up and it seems time to go get a kebab except I am actually here at home sat listening to this record in my pants. Where did my life go wrong?

An education.

Thesaurus moment: promo.

On The Beach

Buffalo Bar

GRAFFITI ISLAND – PET SNAKE/DEMONIC CAT (FIN DU MONDE RECORDS)

2010-02-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

GRAFFITI ISLAND – PET SNAKE/DEMONIC CAT (FIN DU MONDE RECORDS)

This is a terrifying seven inch that really has to be seen and touched to be believed. Housed on one-sided vinyl the reverse of the release is snakeskin seven inch. Lush. Quite frankly it makes me feel queasy to touch, sick to experience and ill to move onto my turntable. It is also a disco plate with one of those large jukebox holes. In this day and age such aching decadence is purely criminal, this is most definitely the best way to go out.

With this record Graffiti Island do it again, this is all painfully great stuff creaking like coolest hula party never assembled in a manner that should cause Calvin Johnson to reconsider his output of recent times and take pride in the fact that he has influenced so many that are now doing things so much more better.

There is a Petsmart theme to this record, a tone of affection that comes with the wrong love of having angry pets. Well, perhaps not but that is my interpretation. Sue me.

At the fear of sounding too gushing the package just turns me on with its warped Snoop Dogg crossed with Garfield gone wrong cover artwork. This is graffiti of the highest order, a demonstration of smut and angular thinking.

Returning to the music the pulse is strong with this one. The rudimentary guitars are survived by vocals ascribing major intent as an echo blossoms to scintillating and terrifying degrees. “Demonic Cat” in particular describes a high degree of mischief with its “666 lives”. The lurching motions of the song perfectly describe the movements of somebody up to no good. These songs would be perfect for the Batman TV series soundtrack. If only Adam West hadn’t already made it.

262/300

Thesaurus moment: chum.

Graffiti Island
Fin Du Monde Records

DANDY WARHOLS – THE DANDY WARHOLS COME DOWN (CAPITOL)

2010-02-09T01:25:00.000-08:00

DANDY WARHOLS – THE DANDY WARHOLS COME DOWN (CAPITOL)

The Dandy Warhols were never cool. Their credentials were hip and to be honest their music was never mind-blowing good. With this their career came and went much in the same way one record chancers such as Bush would manage to etch out a career (well, income stream) in one foul swoop. Then suddenly Dig! came out and suddenly the band were viewed in a whole new/different light. Unfortunately it just came too late for them.

When the Dandy Warhols broke in the mainstream it was with a real sense of cashing in on the final days of cashing in on the alternative nation. With this the band rocked a look that appeared druggy and weird and would pull stunts such as having their lesbian keyboard player perform encores topless. What a statement, so forced.

As with bands such as The Strokes this was an “indie” act that found themselves bigger in the UK than they were in their home country. This must be such a disorientating and polarising sense of accomplishment and the manner within which the UK music press was set up being that the coverage was weekly and actually more national than the US being a tastemaker nation if done right our scene was an easy nut to crack.

Then there was the thing with the Brian Jonestown Massacre that pretty much absolutely nobody knew about at the time. If only Anton Newcombe’s plan to turn them into the new Blur vs Oasis had have come off what a great set of appearances on Top Of The Pops that would have produced. Brian Jonestown Massacre didn't get the career of the Dandy Warhols but they definitely had better songs.

This was their second album and the one with the hits. I have to concede I have great memories of getting drunk and dancing at an indie disco to “Every Day Should Be A Holiday”, a song that always for always be too closely for comfort resembled “Hungry Like A Wolf” by Duran Duran.

What always let the band down was just how weedy their guitar sound was. This did not feel like a rock band let alone a cutting edge alternative act. They may have had the look of something interesting and dangerous but painfully all too often that would prove to be style over substance.

Certainly the band does not help things by opening the album with seven minutes of nothing. “Be In” is a frustrating cart of aimless noodling and gradual growth, the sort of thing that sounds great when you’re fucked up on drugs.

Then they drop the first single of the album with “Boys Better”. Its actually a pretty decent soup of many sounds that delivers a catchy hook of empty sentiments and silly intentions. Its vacant in exploration so it is best to just hang onto the snappy parts that glisten. Noticeably high in the mix are the keyboards. Pia was not to be outshined.

With “Minesotter” the band sounds like Brian Jonestown Massacre. Whether this was intention or even maybe actually vice versa is open to debate. Then Courtney opens his mouth and he sounds like Black Francis. Were they going for the Pixies on downers?

“Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth” with hindsight now feels written directly about Anton Newcombe. This is probably their most famous track, certainly the one with the most controversial set of lyrics although the actual message of the song is quite open to debate. It was quite relieving to hear in Dig! that the band hated the video for the song. Sure enough they looked like prats in it. Then three minutes later it is over and I am none the wiser about the world and certainly far from feeling like I am under the influence.

There was always a shoegaze and psychedelic side to the band that for me would remind of Echo And The Bunnyman (certainly with “Good Morning” on this record). Ultimately though these songs were just not catchy.

Late on the album serves up “Cool As Kim Deal” next to “Hard On For Jesus” as you can’t help but feel this was the band trying too hard, to take weird swipes at one icon while endeavouring to garner favour from another. And vice versa. Except the band just wasn’t in with these circles. That said I have to express a fondness for the latter.

It all ends with “The Creep Out” as the album crumbles to a mess. They just had too much time and budget to explore these things.

A comedian (Robin Ince) gave me this CD while he was having a clearout. About halfway through the disc gives up the ghost as initially it repeatedly skips, and then drops out before eventually spinning to a halt. This is a fine metaphor.

Thesaurus moment: fabricate.

Dandy Warhols

Dandy Warhols live

Capitol

SLEATER-KINNEY – SLEATER-KINNEY (MATADOR/CHAINSAW RECORDS)

2010-02-08T01:23:00.000-08:00

SLEATER-KINNEY – SLEATER-KINNEY (MATADOR/CHAINSAW RECORDS)

The debut record from Sleater-Kinney is something of a much more blunt affair and one that comes as a surprise after hearing them be so attractively structured over the years with their almost overground nudging “hits.”

I actually wound up possessing this record by accident as it was given away free at a Robin Ince gig as he found himself having a clear out at home, disposing of records that he felt he has grown out of while freeing up space at home.

These are the real royal roots of Sleater-Kinney in Riot Grrrl. The songs hold a subtle menace in the dark playing of guitars that appear to hover and loom over proceedings. Even though the band were not slipping into baby doll cliché there is a shared sound in their playing that goes with early Hole and Babes Into Toyland as failing persuasion remains constant in the motored motion of their songs. This was also a sound often executed by bands like Drive Like Jehu displaying an uncomfortable and uneasy trait. There aren’t many laughs attached to this record.

Elsewhere there is a definite Bikini Kill and Huggy Bear vibe (especially on “Sold Out”), albeit one with as much shouting. On the whole this was a band displaying leanings towards the smarter side of the movement. At the end of the day though I would argue that technically this band was superior to all the female bands that came before it as they abstained from filling out their sound with bass and incorporated intricate guitar part one after the other to produced a layer sounded of hidden depths that provides many riches for those who invest a closer a ear.

Clocking in at just under 23 minutes it is almost impossible for this album to outstay its welcome. Perhaps stifled slightly by low budget recording funds the songs take their force from other elements such as the empowering message of “The Day I Went Away” in addition to the self defensive tone of tracks such as “How To Play Dead”. Also there is no denying the hooks of “Be Yr Mama”.

Also at this stage the vocals were still yet to manifest themselves into their later shriek and instead find themselves delivered in a more menacing mumble.

Worth noting is that Janet Weiss did not play drums on this record as instead Lora Macfarlane performed the duties. Basically this was a band still finding their way.

The record ends in a kindly manner displaying the softer side of the band prior to one last blast of screaming offering clear demonstration that there was more to this act than was tasted here.

Way to begin!

Thesaurus moment: flourish.

Sleater-Kinney

Matador

Chainsaw Records

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB – EVENING/MORNING (UNIVERSAL RECORDS/ISLAND RECORDS)

2010-02-04T02:05:00.000-08:00

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB – EVENING/MORNING (UNIVERSAL RECORDS/ISLAND RECORDS)

There is a Bombay Bicycle Club in Holland Park. I have never been inside because I do not ride bicycles. There is something rather Darjeeling Limited about this band’s moniker, a name that captures an image and sense of better times for our empire, a period when we actually appeared to possess some sway and influence. There is also a prostitute in Holland Park I know but that is beside the point.

This band has one terrible name. It belittles them, conjures up an image that does not necessarily sum up an act you imagine is interesting or any good. Inventiveness does not appear on the agenda if so much consideration has been put into such a wacky band name you figure these are now spent mental forces.

Riding against expectations “Evening/Morning” is a wonderful song. It has forced me to take interest in a band/act that I was determined to give a wide birth. Within the confines of this tune there is a subtle hint and suggestion of greatness, a trait that serves to elevate.

The first third thirty seconds of this song is made up entirely of build and anticipation. It is the musical equivalent of starting up, of being exciting in the most subtle fashion. It’s in the small things. Then with this some distorted bass grandstands and slaps some direction to proceedings.

I think the delight in this song is the simplicity of proceedings. The form structure is unconventional, more about blocks of direction rather than a traditional verse chorus verse delivery. In many ways it shouldn’t work but royally it pays off in abundance as a delicate charm exudes in the strange vocals on offer and the restrained manner in which the band is playing. This is music for those away from the norm but who still listen to Radio One.

In the most upbeat way I am reminded a lot of Maximo Park (the vocals) and a little of Yo La Tengo (the music). Some will also hear a bit of Biffy Clyro and possibly Super Furry Animals in there too. It’s all gravy.

It’s all downhill from here.

Thesaurus moment: enriching.

Bombay Bicycle Club

Universal Records

Island Records

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS – HOLLYWOOD (679 RECORDINGS/WARNERS)

2010-02-01T01:12:00.000-08:00

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS – HOLLYWOOD (679 RECORDINGS/WARNERS)

This in theory is the kind of record I ordinarily hate. There seems to be nothing genuine in the article. The girl is indeed beautiful but her warbling traits really ruin the picture. Not only do they not fit the face but they also come over as truly insincere as a result. Also the story being told attached to the tale of the song sounds just plain ridiculous. There is no way I should be buying into this. Unfortunately however I am.

With warbles that appear to suggest some kind of female Bryan Ferry, despite the load of old toss that are the lyrics it is a very catchy and infectious pop song. This just might be the female chart equivalent of being persuaded into doing something very bad by a pretty face.

At the moment I’m struggling to decide whether this girl is a truly innovate (innovatively marketed) artiste with a genuinely distinct voice or if she is a polished up version of Hazel O’Connor or Lene Lovich. The whole “Hollywood” spiel raises a few questions suggesting that she both sees it for what it is but also still yearns a piece of that pie.

Her looks will get her everywhere. Welcome to this year’s Lovefoxxx.

Thesaurus moment:

Marina And The Diamonds
679 Recordings
Warners

WILD PALMS – OVER TIME (POPULAR RECORDINGS)

2010-01-14T02:50:00.000-08:00

WILD PALMS – OVER TIME (POPULAR RECORDINGS)

Whether or not this band was purposely named after one of the weirdest TV shows in recent memory regardless the music coming from this single is some of the wickedly spikiest guitar stuff I have heard in a long time. For once here is a post punk band that actually sounds sinister and at home in possession of records by Wire and Gang Of Four.

Scratchy to the point of being disorientating, “Over Time” reminds me a lot of These New Puritans and Liars, which is a pretty decent prospect considering how the post punk direction can also be seen to turn bands into sounding like The Editors as well these days. Its all about being successful purveyors of the spastic jerk time sequences, of unleashing and delivering it in a stand out manner that ideally transmits straight into the portion of the listeners mind that will cause their heart to pulse and legs to move.

I’m not really sure as to where this band and song are able to fit into my everyday existence and wellbeing, this isn’t the first time a band has sounded like this and most definitely it won’t be the last but in a climate such as the current this is a sound and trait that manages to stand out over the rest of the bands that are making it into the few remaining music magazines.

Its all going to be downhill from here.

Thesaurus moment: optimism

Wild Palms

Popular Recordings

THE DRUMS – I FELT STUPID (MOSHI MOSHI RECORDS)

2010-01-07T03:08:00.000-08:00

THE DRUMS – I FELT STUPID (MOSHI MOSHI RECORDS)

The Drums are a funny band, they remind me of The Cure (without the taste of Goth) in the most unoriginal of ways. This is a throwback to eighties indie that does not necessary serve anybody or anyone involved very well.

I feel I have to question the mentality behind this band and just why “the kids” are tapping into this music at this time. As I close my eyes and envisage a stupid skinny kid in a cardigan wearing large coloured glasses and sporting a fringe that reaches his chin I can’t help but think this is not the future solution to the woes of the world.

Do I actually have anything good to say about this record? I can’t help but feel the record arrived dead on arrival for me, why would a band call a song “I Felt Stupid” while displaying such front and egging on such a response from a listener such as mine? I felt stupid? You look fucking stupid.

Flipping over and flipping out I begin to feel nauseous as it appears I am now being mocked as “Down By The Water” is not a cover of the PJ Harvey song but instead some kind of feeble emotional outpouring of a future gang rape victim in a modern doo wop style.

And to think these people get their end away more than me.

Thesaurus moment: snare.

The Drums

Moshi Moshi Records

DEERHOOF – CUSTOM MADE EP (ATR RECORDINGS)

2010-01-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

DEERHOOF – CUSTOM MADE EP (ATR RECORDINGS)

Have we really reached the stage where it has become acceptable and expected that we now shell out £10 for a double seven inch single? At least its environment crushing heavy vinyl.

Working on the premise of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue this marriage of songs makes for a solid declaration of how wonderful the music of Deerhoof can be. This is a band then feels unique, difficult sound but still very digestible that does not sacrifice fun in the name of exploration.

The release opens with an alternate take of “The Tears And Music Of Love” which actually sounds like a song title straight out of the Blonde Redhead songbook but is actually a track that sounds like a frenetic toddler clapping. Originally found on “Offend Maggie” this version is a rough and ready take on events that lends a lot of energy and real boost to the tablet. This more resembles the live version and dare I say the song sounding at its best. Eventually it culminates with calamitous drums marking the climax of proceedings.

Flipping over the “something new” arrives in the form of a piano and vocal version of “Makko Shobu”. This does not necessarily sound like Deerhoof, indeed with a neon video it could pass for real J-Pop. It is a gorgeous and delicate romp that reminds me of snowflakes and Christmas. Satomi might be singing about toilets but in my mind this stuff serves to make me happy.

Moving onto the second seven inch the “something borrowed” element arrives in the form of a remix by Germlin of “Rrrrrrright” which the band invited to deconstruct and reassemble on their website a few years ago. I even did a DJGRAM remix of the track that essentially just combined the culmination (and birth of Darth Vader) from Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith. It was lazy but amusing. This remix is altogether far more considered as it adds an element of chiptune to proceedings, almost retaining an android theme. It is a swift reworking that would definitely be at home on some crazy video in a scuzzy amusement arcade either side of the Atlantic.

The collection concludes with a full band version of “Blue Cash” which actually makes me think of “My Valuable Hunting Knife” by Guided By Voice if it were being played on the beach in a Hawaiian shirt. Its sweetness.

In many ways the best band around. Shame about the artwork

Thesaurus moment: savant.

Deerhoof

ATP Recordings

THE TEMPER TRAP – FADER (INFECTIOUS)

2010-01-05T03:06:00.000-08:00

THE TEMPER TRAP – FADER (INFECTIOUS)

Now this along with Delphic appears to be what is going for fresh new alternative music at the beginning of 2010 and this illustrious last decade of man.

If I’m to be nice I will commend, comment and concentrate on the fat pop hooks of the record, of how the band appear very able to produce a catchy tune that actually remains in the memory after the record has finished. Its all down to the chorus and the removal of difficult long words in preference to making animal noises.

You feel like this record should come accompanied by a sachet of shower gel as it is so clean, so devoid of acne and fresh faced. Now this shouldn’t be.

So who on earth are The Temper Trap? They are actually from Australia and as far as I am concerned they can fuck off back to Australia. Apparently they are noted for “their atmospheric sound featuring grand guitars set to pulsating rhythms.” Yes, where to start with this. Surely an atmospheric sound would suggest some kind of presence, some kind of volume that serves to move me (the listener) into experiencing some kind of emotional reaction. Likewise if there are grand guitars on this record then I ain’t hearing them. And as to pulsating rhythms, surely you need a pulse in the first place. With these guys I just don’t feel it.

So salient, so dull.

Move on there is nothing to be heard here.

Thesaurus moment: wrong.

The Temper Trap
Infectious

DELPHIC – DOUBT (CHIMERIC RECORDS/POLYDOR)

2010-01-04T03:04:00.000-08:00

DELPHIC – DOUBT (CHIMERIC RECORDS/POLYDOR)

Not exactly pissing my pants with excitement at the reality of having an autographed picture disc copy of this record this is Delphic and Delphic are very 2010. Unfortunately.

Alternative music nudging the mainstream is currently taking on a very cleansed outlook on life and proceedings. Like some kind of horrible nightmare I appear to have been transported back to the eighties Back To The Future style.

There is nothing new in this record, it only survives on possessing a large hook at the chorus in order to accommodate the stupid haircuts that their audience are only all too happy to accept and be exploited by. Finally I am truly beginning to feel too old for music, for anything that anyone beneath the age of 25 finds entertaining or invigorating.

With this and The Temper Trap to will on the middle class masses the time is ripe for invasion, for a real power and entity to grab and take control of our country because there sure as fuck is nothing here to defend our rights and liberties. Quite frankly this is the alternative music equivalent of a child ripe for bullying.

I blame Coldplay.

Thesaurus moment: transparent

Delphic
Chimeric Records
Polydor

KUNT AND THE GANG – XMAS 2009 EP (DISCO MINGE)

2009-12-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

KUNT AND THE GANG – XMAS 2009 EP (DISCO MINGE)

With all this festive talk of Rage Against The Machine versus Simon Cowell for the Christmas number one this really should be a time to reflect on what is important in the music industry, of what is pure and decent and away from all these Sony promoted monsters, of what is independent in spirit and ultimately more deserving of being played at the end of the Christmas Top Of The Pops just because it celebrates what is in earnest the happiest time of the year.

More in keeping with Fairy Tale Of New York and (Here It Is) Merry Christmas than the two pieces of shit whoring their way to the top of the charts, Kunt And The Gang is here to save Christmas music for everyone with a crass sincerity that should make X-Factor, Rage Against The Machine and Sony all bow their heads in shame.

This is not the first time I have championed Kunt And The Gang on these fine pages and at this rate it will not be the last. Once you get past the blunt and puerile humour that fuels these songs things suddenly click into place as the tunes remain fixed in your head and his pop claws dig in. The premise is simple, this guy is John Shuttleworth mixed with Wesley Willis reading from the pages of Viz all packaged in a wonderfully Essex manner. For such foul mouthed content the songs are surprisingly upbeat, positive and happily despite the language despatched and involved not in the least aggressive. Forget raging against the machine, forget being a wet lad covering Miley Cyrus – this is where the real fun in music is come Christmas.

OK, so the sentiments of wishing your neighbour a kuntish Christmas on “Kuntish Christmas” after he borrows and breaks your Strimmer are perhaps a bit negative but schadenfreude rocks in the right context. Likewise referring to Mary’s snatch as a “sausage wallet” on “Jesus (Baby With A Beard)” is actually quite testing to the senses, exceptional both in the offensive and creativity stakes.

The closer is “Santa’s Sack” which features the tale of Kunt as a child discovering Santa Claus having sex with his Grandma, a song that more than once features the word “disturbed.” Very apt.

This is as far removed from Scrooge and The Stooges as you can get. Where’s me jumper?

Merry Christmas!

Thesaurus moment: chuckles.

Kunt And The Gang

Kunt And The Gang live

AIDAN MOFFAT & THE BEST OFS – KNOCK ON THE WALL OF YOUR WOMB (CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND)

2009-12-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

AIDAN MOFFAT & THE BEST OFS – KNOCK ON THE WALL OF YOUR WOMB (CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND)

At some point something really bad happened to Aidan Moffat. I’m not talking about all the drunken antics and shenanigans his poor man’s growling MacGowan songs were talking about but it was some kind of moment of clarity, a weird epiphany it would seem that spoke to him and told him to “stay the course, you’re doing fine.” Was it his inner child? Did an angel Aidan appear on one shoulder and a devil Aidan appear on the other and the angel Aidan won? Whatever it was that happened to him he just fucking changed.

Personally I no longer feel comfortable around his records. Is this supposed to be some kind of serenade? What is going on with the music that accompanies this? It’s almost as if he is betraying his gin soaked roots. Be foul, be nasty just don’t be like this.

Thankfully the flipside “The Lavender Blue Dress” saves the day as its Ivor Cutler crossed with Irvine Welsh wrapped up in a Dirty Fan Male delivery is the ramblings of a dirty dirty man, like a nonce reading from Dr Seuss. Its not that content is x-rated it is that the person doing the reading is, the whole concept of the absurd positioning serves to make it seedy and when the inevitable moment of smut you expect is waiting around the corner never arrives once more you feel tricked by the most cunning of foxes.

The back cover of the single features Moffat lying on the floor in a hospital room next to some bedpans and a fan. I hope he gets better soon. There’s a ship coming in, its time to get well.

Thesaurus moment: dank.

Aidan Moffat

Chemikal Underground

DEERHUNTER – VOX CELESTE 5 (SUB POP)

2009-12-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

DEERHUNTER – VOX CELESTE 5 (SUB POP)

Initially I thought I was playing this record at the wrong speed but alas a change of speed did not improve things any and suddenly the realisation hit that Deerhunter do indeed sound like a shoegazing vision of The Strokes. Forget all the My Bloody Valentine and Pavement comparisons, with warm and fuzzy vocals and train track straightness of the guitar line there is no question that they sound like The Strokes. Now whether that is something to be treasured and/or trusted is another thing.

I have to concede away from the hype and away from the impossible comparisons to match in aspiration taken without preconceptions this is a joyfully mesmerising thing and as proceedings slowly/subtly grow into a swirling mess there is plenty of charm to be taken from the emissions.

The lauding of Deerhunter this year has served as a painful reminder of just how old and out of touch I really am and to now endeavour to party with the cool kids is running the risk of being viewed as some kind of nonce at a disco (or nightclub as I believe they are called these days). Its all very warm and subtle, snugly in a manner that feels foreign and difficult to/for me.

Elsewhere on the other side “Microcastle Mellow 3” feels like something of an indulgence, a spit in the face of a person giving the band a benefit of the doubt. Where am I going wrong with this band? Should I trust my gut instincts or those of a pale skinny kid in clothes several sizes smaller than my own. Growing old is devastating me.

Thesaurus moment: nook.

Deerhunter
Sub Pop

TIMES NEW VIKING – MOVE TO CALIFORNIA (MATADOR RECORDS)

2009-12-05T00:03:00.000-08:00

TIMES NEW VIKING – MOVE TO CALIFORNIA (MATADOR RECORDS)

There is a distinct air of crappy on purpose attached to Times New Viking and as a result it is a beautifully damaged thing.

“Move To California” for me was one of the standout tracks from their last album Born Again Revisited, an album I initially thought was actually called Born Against Revisited in some barbed tribute to the band of the same name, such is the fractured snap of proceedings.

I’m not quite sure what California holds for these peeps but you do feel it is not much as here appears to be an act that thrives on misanthropy, of not fitting in or having peers or compliments.

The single is housed in a ramshackle package where the inner sleeve is made out of the crappy kind of brown crate paper that in bygone times you would have got your fruit and vegetables handed to you in. Then slipping out comes the insert which you suspect is going to tell you the name of the pretty girl playing keyboard but instead it is a reprint of an angry email declaring how Times New Viking are the worst band that they have ever encountered. The suspicion that this declaration is coming from the dude in Kasabian is still to be confirmed.

Boasting four tracks of true enlightenment I have to concede that I think I got my initial perceptions of their album completely wrong. There is a genuine identity to this recording technique, one away from the origins of lo-fi that only adds to the conceit and methodology. So as a result coupled with the exuberance and hook display on this single it is win all around. I love this band.

Thesaurus moment: optimistic.

Times New Viking
Matador Records

AN EXPERIMENT ON A BIRD IN THE AIR PUMP – BUY A LIFE EP (BUY A LIFE RECORDS)

2009-11-25T00:43:00.000-08:00

AN EXPERIMENT ON A BIRD IN THE AIR PUMP – BUY A LIFE EP (BUY A LIFE RECORDS)

Produced by Tim Burgess (but don’t let that put you off) there is plenty to take from An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump. For starters (a point I have laboured before) they look fantastic and are the kind of band you want to be into just in order to boast to your friends. In addition there is quite a sense of darkness and danger attached to proceedings, healthily crafted witches of grunge persona that transcends your usual white bread Goth types.

“Silent Hour” leads the release sounding much like PJ Harvey back when she used to make records with Steve Albini. With tortured vocals delivered at the helm, the sparse content of the music and eventual swoops of guitar malice display an attitude that is so valued at a time of so much fresh and cleanliness attached to music inhabiting this genre.

Moving on the tribal like drums that remind of Moe Tucker continue to pound through as “Smear” maintains the Harvey vibe addressing similar sort of territory as tracks such as “Dry” did previously. All is assisted by guitars the JAMC would have dug and bludgeoned. Also knowing this band’s tastes it is probably also a nod to everyone’s favourite Germs guitar player.

Flipping over “Only In Death” rises in the manner of Huggy Bear with a bouncy chant and winning smile. This is sensibly uncomfortable.

Leisure.

Thesaurus moment: perturbation.

An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump

BLUR – LIVE 2009 (PARLOPHONE/EMI/THE TIMES)

2009-11-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

BLUR – LIVE 2009 (PARLOPHONE/EMI/THE TIMES)

It’s a relief to consider that the big Blur comeback of 2009 was able to avoid embarrassment or blushes and despite their age the band were able to kick it with exuberance and gusto that suggested the band were still in it for the sport as opposed the money. These great songs being performed at the risk of sounding cheesy and rusty managed to avoid such pitfalls as the band pulled together at just the right time before it was too late and they were too old.

This is a live CD that was given away with the Sunday Times in November 2009 collecting together ten songs from various performances over the summer. It came coupled with an exclusive and extensive piece serving as some kind of promotion for their “All The People” live recordings.

It begins with two songs from their gig at Goldsmiths College (domain of the brat) in the form of “She’s So High” and “Girls & Boys”, the first of which sounds more beefy and mature than ever.

The third song on the compilation is the selection from their hometown gig at the East Anglian Railway Museum, which being pedantic is actually in Wakes Colne and not Colchester. That very night the annual Abandon Ship gig was being played at the Colchester Arts Centre, which was always the more obvious of stages for the band to be doing their hometown return show on. Ironically here a live version of “Badhead” is selected from the show which was the song covered by local heroes Hissing At Swans at said Arts Centre. When all is said done the strength of the song powers through as it would seem both versions that June night were magnificent.

From here it moves onto a version of “Parklife” recorded in Southend where Damon Albarn takes on the Phil Daniels parts as the band tear through the song at breakneck speed. This song has always sounded weird with Albarn doing the duties but with additional brass it manages to paper over the cracks as the new pace of the song suggests they’re just doing it to get it out of the way.

The Hyde Park summer shows are represented here by “Song 2” and “The Universal” but in most people’s minds (those who were not there) the shows are now represented by the Youtube video of those two Chavs dry humping at the back while the band rock out in the distance. Modern life is indeed rubbish.

In the end though it was their headline set at Glastonbury that was seen by most people when it was triumphantly beamed live on BBC2 that Sunday night. With all the momentum behind them they sounded as good as ever, jubilant in a sharing and affectionate manner where everybody wins and no flags were waved. As the coverage had to step away for a breather the BBC went straight into brash coverage of The Prodigy headlining the other stage and suddenly it felt like all music came from Essex for a moment.

You would have to be slightly blinkered to say that it all sounds amazing but it definitely doesn’t stink. These were the better songs of an era/movement where there were more villains than heroes.

Thesaurus moment: reciprocate.

Blur
Parlophone
EMI
The Times

KUNT AND THE GANG – I SUCKED OFF A BLOKE (DISCO MINGE)

2009-11-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

KUNT AND THE GANG – I SUCKED OFF A BLOKE (DISCO MINGE)

When Katy Perry first released “I Kiss A Girl” I used to sit opposite a lesbian at work and whenever the song would arrive on the radio with its charged intention I couldn’t help but snigger at the posturing of a silly little girl acting up as I would look straight at Claire wondering just what was going on inside her mind at the time. Was this the song that permanently resonated within her mind? Is this really the girl nation soundtrack?

Displaying the best and worst that Essex has to offer Kunt And The Gang return with a special four song tour single to accompany his riotously offensive live show that never fails to cross several boundaries of good taste.

It will probably come as no surprise to discover the “I Sucked Off A Bloke” is an homage to Katy Perry’s “I Kiss A Girl” faux homosexually tomfoolery. The rhythm and stroke of the original tune remains in his voice as the music that accompanies it resembles something of a cross between John Shuttleworth and Wesley Willis gone x-rated.

“She’s bound to take it out of context.”

This is the kind of music would suspect a person might get arrested for. As during the second song “My Nob Is Bigger Than Your Nob” Kunt compares his knob to looking like “Justin Lee Collins eating a sausage”. Later Kunt also accuses Little Kunt of a knob so cheesy it could be bait in a mousetrap. If by this point you are still listening your threshold is fine, strong even and generally in life you will definitely do all right.

Additional delights arrive in the form of “That’s My Erection” and his “Michael Jackson Tribute” both of which generally serve to make a person feel like a better person of tuning in.

In such politically correct times these songs serve as a refreshing beacon of freedom, where people can make their own choices and decide for themselves if they do not want to pander to the rules of behaviour (accepted social conventions) that television so cunningly subversively enforces on us through the mediums of GMTV, Vernon Kay et al.

This is not Forrest Gump. Forrest Kunt maybe but not Forrest Gump.

If only everything from Essex was so great.

Thesaurus moment: homage.

Kunt And The Gang

Kunt And The Gang live

MAYYORS – DEADS EP (SELF RELEASED)

2009-11-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

MAYYORS – DEADS EP (SELF RELEASED)

This is a truly bold and nasty sounding statement of a piece of vinyl. Stripped bare there is fuck all information held within the limited packaging giving the vessel something of an air of mystery seemingly with the intention of leaving things pure for the music doing all the talking. With no Myspace or record label attached there is no dog and pony show necessary.

Charging out of Sacramento this is a severe and frenzied attack on the senses that recalls the heyday of the Butthole Surfers at full strength crossed with a host of acts on Gravity Records such as Antioch Arrow. Also throw in the sensation of a speeded up Bardo Pond on uppers instead of downers coupled with Pussy Galore gestations and you have quite the sonic soup.

For a while now there has been a real buzz surrounding Mayyors as the band appears to be serving as a vehicle for a number of seasoned and accomplished musicians (primarily Chris Woodhouse of FM Knives fame) to let loose and take off in a new, more experimental direction away from their existing and established outfits.

As with all things swinging on a hype there is the risk the listener may eventually get their fingers burned but for now Mayyors rule the roost.

Highly recommended.

Thesaurus moment: ghoul.

Mayyors

NIRVANA – LIVE AT READING (UNIVERSAL)

2009-11-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

NIRVANA – LIVE AT READING (UNIVERSAL)

This was the moment for our generation where it all appeared to come together, where everything felt right and that our people had won the culture war regardless of the direction and what was deemed permissible by the industry and our parents. Of course it was all fleeting and ultimately an illusion but what an amazing time to be part of such a movement. Nirvana was a band with purpose. They were stoically to the left but not weak with it. This was the heaviest band on the planet and somehow their might came coupled with amazing songs and a truly exciting and infectious perceived way of being. By acknowledging how bleak our collective experience of existence was it felt empowering and a general threat to the old guard in power running thing. Then three things ruined: Kurt killed himself, the internet ruined everything and 9/11 slammed the door closed on what had felt accomplished ten years earlier. It happened.

Nirvana headlining Reading 92 was a great thing. The majority of the set was broadcast on Radio One that week which lent an immediacy to proceedings and managed to capture the moment; helping us stuck in our bumfuck towns feel part of the event. Over the years however the truth has emerged as to just what a horribly miserable and muddy experience the weekend was. That said despite the conditions a line-up consisting of Public Enemy, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Beastie Boys, Mudhoney, Pavement, L7, Rollins Band, Public Image Limited, Shonen Knife, Manic Street Preachers, Teenage Fanclub, PJ Harvey, Melvins, Screaming Trees, Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy makes it the greatest rock festival lifetime of our (my) generation.

After much suggestion and rumour over the weekend that the band would not even be performing eventually the band literally rolled onstage Sunday night as Everett True brought out Kurt Cobain in a wheelchair sporting a large blonde wig and a hospital smock. As Novoselic followed onstage shaking his head in concerned manner this was the “Kurtney”. From here it rose from the wheelchair to “sing” the first few lines from “The Rose” (which Mudhoney had covered on the Sub Pop 200 compilation a few years earlier) before falling backwards in seemingly an unhealthy state.

Then the band rose and stormed into action opening the set with “Breed” in waspy and ferocious manner. From here faultless versions of “Drain You” and “Aneurysm” follow as the ball truly gets rolling on one of the greatest sets in rock history.

As the band tear into “School” they are now more than warmed up as one of their oldest tracks also sounds like one of their heaviest with a really nasty sound that resembles a band truly on fire.

After this track the band begin playing up to rumours that they were splitting announcing that it is their last gig “tonight” before declaring that they’re about to do a new record before launching into a tidal wave version of “Sliver”. It closes with Dave Grohl stating “we practised last night”.

“In Bloom” follows which was a rare airing for a song they seemed to seldom play live. This then leads into “Come As You Are” and after only twenty five minutes of play we have already been handed our arses.

The infamous singalong for “Lithium” occurs next. Considering that this was around the time of their appearance at the MTV Awards doing this song, this performance is somewhat tighter. This version was previously included on the “Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!” video originally released in 1994 just over six months after Cobain killed himself.

As someone in the crowd yells a request for “Sub Pop Rock City” (actually a Soundgarden song) Grohl eggs on Novoselic to tell a joke as the band gears up to play “About A Girl”, the first song in the set that fails to growl.

At this point Grohl calls out to the bootleggers to record as they band tear into a song called “The Eagle Has Landed” which actually became the song’s name in various music publications for a while. The song is actually “Tourettes” and this version of the song actually previously appeared on the “From The Muddy Banks Of Wishkah” live compilation put out in 1996.

Then they play “Polly” and kill it all.

Much like “In Bloom”, next “Lounge Act” gets a rare live airing. Perhaps it was just a tough song to play live as the version here certainly does sound plodding in contrast to the version on Nevermind.

After this song Dave begins drumming a cover of “Satisfaction” by Devo before Kurt tears into his own cover version of “More Than A Feeling” by Boston which Dave and Chris happily sing along to before Kurt regains control and rips into a wonky version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” which remains defiant and powerful despite his apparent nonchalance and sarcasm. Pixies rip off. It seemed like Kurt did everything he could to ruin the song on this night but he just could not murder it.

Continuing to chew up the scenery “On A Plain” drops in the heaviest tone followed by a machine gun entrance and incendiary run out for “Negative Creep”.

Prior to another new song Kurt dedicates the track to his “all of day old daughter and my wife” and due some “pretty extreme things being written” about them he says that she now thinks “everyone hates her now”. With this in mind he gets the audience to yell “Courtney we love you” before the band purr into a version of “All Apologies” that possessed slightly different (and in my opinion better) lyrics to the version that wound up on In Utero. With all the singing towards a sun/son it feels a very paternal song and even if it wasn’t written about his expectant child it certainly gives off such an impression adding a heavy degree/dose of emotional weight to the piece. It was so exciting to hear this song at the time, the new material was promising so much and this was definitely a band that appeared to have a huge and great future ahead. This was why the band was the greatest on the planet at the time and right up until their demise eighteen months later.

From here the band churn into the always muddy “Blew” which was often a set closer (ironically cast considering it being the opening track on Bleach).

When the band return for an encore Kurt wishes “a happy birthday to Dave’s mother” which causes the audience to sing a round of “Happy Birthday” before Dave declares “the power of the bootleg”. With this the band then strolls into “Dumb” before ripping things up once more with an incendiary play of “Stay Away” motored by more rapid drumming from Grohl. Listening to this you can almost forgive him his subsequent indulgence with the Foo Fighters over later years.

“Spank Thru” soon follows and as ever never fails to entertain even if this is not the best version of the track that there ever was (that version resides on the Sliver EP). On this night it just sounded a bit too much like Elvis Presley was on the vocals,

For some reason (probably licensing/royalty/legal) the band’s cover of “Love Buzz” is sadly missing from the CD release of this concert which is a real loss because on this night their performance of the track was by far the greatest I have ever heard. As Kurt wheels out an extended noisy introduction when the song finally boots in it is as powerful as things ever got. This version even tops the one that almost saw Kurt lose his life to a promoter early in their career.

After the cover the band roll out a few bars of “Smoke On The Water” before launching fully into a cover of “The Money Will Roll Right In” by Fang which Mudhoney themselves had recently covered and included on a fantastic Sub Pop compilation called Revolution Come And Gone. Personally I always preferred the Mudhoney take on the track but there was mistaking that the sentiments of the song were prevailing wholesale at that moment in time.

As the band began exhaust their material they chipped in with another cover in the form of “D-7” by The Wipers which had appeared as a b-side on the “Lithum” single in addition to the Hormoaning release in Asia that fans were now shelling out big bucks for. The lacklustre nature of the song was conducive in signifying the end was nigh.

Then it all comes to a climax as Chris sarcastically rips into his rendition of “Get Together” by Chet Powers before the band tears into “Territorial Pissings” which they charge through in minutes ahead of the inevitably equipment trashing that saw Cobain playing the “Star Spangled Banner” in a modern take on the Hendrix. Then with Krist banging a snare and Dave swinging around a broken bass guitar it concludes at

11.33PM

with Kurt giving his guitar to the audience and the lights coming down as “Bustin’ Surfboards” by The Tornadoes begins ringing around the arena.

This was our once in a lifetime music moment. How green was our fucking valley?

Thesaurus moment: everything.

Nirvana

Universal

SPUTNIKO! – PARAKONPE 3000 (360 DEGREES RECORDS)

2009-10-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

SPUTNIKO! – PARAKONPE 3000 (360 DEGREES RECORDS)

This just might be the future of presenting albums: release it as a DVD of videos only. No CD, just DVD. Years ago Sonic Youth did it with their Goo video but the plums went and released it as a conventional record also. Plums.

Sputniko! is a female Japanese artist currently residing (and inventing) in London. Citing Takako Minekawa (Mrs Cornelius) as one of her many influences here possessed are thirteen tracks of demented and subversive chiptune, almost J-Pop songs in that neon manner only Japanese artists seem able to construct/contrive. With the cute smiles they get away with murder!

Things begin with “Google Song” and the tale of shy Japanese schoolgirls too scared to speak to boys they fancy who instead put their name into Google as a fluffy adventure into subtle stalking. Playing on stereotypes, perversion and a wicked sense of fun early Sputniko! reveals herself as a cunning exploiter of the listener’s awareness.

With the invention of Wakki Sputniko! demonstrates her invention of being able to play an instrument designed by herself with movements of her armpit. On the DVD she later demonstrates that Wakki is a knitted soft toy with a Wii controller inside it and on “Wakki Song” this is where the gift is best examined and executed.

Live favourite “Chinko Song” continues the silly theme of the piece especially when considering that when this pretty young lady is repeatedly singing “chinko” as the chorus she is singing the Japanese word for “penis.”

Slowly the album begins to resemble the music equivalent of commuters reading Anime porn on Tokyo underground as “Child Producing Machine” becomes possibly first and definitely the most explicit ever pop song about a lady having her period. During the middle of the song she gives birth in what feels an increasingly uncomfortable listen from a lyrical standpoint especially when considering the tone of the vocal delivery and the upbeat Nintendo music guiding the song. With lyrics such as “I’d rather be a cyborg than a goddess” who can fail? Here comes a nervous smile from the listener.

Basically here is the dark undercurrent that ripples beneath the beautiful neon lights of the Japanese experience, the one where cartoons are about killers, bears are gloomy and the females are not so subservient after all. There is part of me that suspects she is something of a female Japanese Borat but at least a good one with it.

In this format accompanied by a grand set of clever videos expertly delivered on a small budget this is a really stunning offering caked in humour and cultural difference confusion. Sumptuous.

Thesaurus moment: edifying.

Sputniko!
Sputniko! live
360 Degrees Records

TRACY MORGAN – LIFE, LOVE & LUST (URBANWORKS)

2009-10-14T05:21:00.000-07:00

TRACY MORGAN – LIFE, LOVE & LUST (URBANWORKS)

I have to admit that this stand-up DVD and album is a few years old now but thanks to his performance in 30 Rock Tracy Morgan has now gained worldwide exposure with his scene stealing moments and with some further investigation I managed to uncover this true gem of a stand-up comedy performance.

Released as a DVD but coming with a bonus audio CD of the show this is by far the best and funniest example of the stand-up art form I have seen this year.

Obviously a great black stand-up comedian is always going to be compared to Richard Pryor and there are definitely some moments that come straight out of his legacy but as with a lot of modern comedy the real strength comes in his invention with crassness. With this he has that great assertive delivery that snaps and bites just on the right side of sounding aggressive.

As an individual Morgan is a very endearing and mysterious person. A person widely known for wrestling with various demons his deliver contains a lot of confessional material and streams anecdotes for which a hyperbolic measure feels almost impossible.

Listened to through headphones on public transport this is embarrassingly laugh out loud stuff. Delivered in a seemingly purposely dumb manner Tracy picks apart peoples tiny foibles with a distinct lack of bashfulness but never is humility a casualty in the piece.

When Michael Jackson passed away earlier this year it felt scarily apt to be listening to Morgan’s run down of his situation on “Don’t Be Like Mike” and how the guy probably just need “a plate” and some family compassion. Of course Tracy also acts how he would happily boast of being sucked off on the spinning teacups by Michael to his homeboys but that is beside the point.

His admissions of porn preferences and sexual acts (“I like to eat the pussy until I burp”) is both enlightening and levelling as he points out flaws and hypocrisies on both sides of the fence in the war of the sexes.

After a couple of sharp and revealing family anecdotes about relatives tooting cocaine and his cousin Jimmy (“Negative Ass Jimmy”) being in a wheelchair but earning no sympathy in the process, the most genuinely funny material arrives in his observations regarding superheroes. Or rather more to the point why there are no black superheroes. After quickly dismissing the Hulk as just being “some drunk white dude” and revealing that Robin “wanna fuck Batman up” Morgan leaves the listener with a whole new perspective on the Marvel Universe.

It all comes together at the end with a bit too much information on the subject of love revenge (“Monique”) and Tracy Morgan fully earns his stripes as a scary talent housed in a scary human being. Off the back of SNL and 30 Rock though the world knew this already.

Even if it isn’t, it feels fearless.

Thesaurus moment: jocular.

Tracy Morgan
UrbanWorks

LEYLAND JAMES KIRBY – SADLY, THE FUTURE IS NO LONGER WHAT IT WAS (HISTORY ALWAYS FAVOURS THE WINNERS)

2009-10-07T01:10:00.000-07:00

LEYLAND JAMES KIRBY – SADLY, THE FUTURE IS NO LONGER WHAT IT WAS (HISTORY ALWAYS FAVOURS THE WINNERS)

This is not merely an album but a series of mesmerising releases that represent a very ambitious body of work from Leyland James Kirby who has traditionally been known as V/VM and more recently The Caretaker. With numerous versions of multiple vinyl and multiple CDs, each with individual and breathtaking pieces of artwork by Ivan Seal, the version that I am listening to today is the double CD.

Expansive and vast the work is filled to the brim with emotive minimalism not afraid to draw out a pregnant pause but dedicated to uncovering an eclipsing sound that fills any room with furniture of the mind. As an echo sound rings out all of a sudden the sun begins shining into my room with a fresh method.

This is score music, something designed to layer lives and events, to inhabit the mind and thought process of the listener and energise their being with view to setting them aside from the troubled and mundane. The music lends to breathing space to thought and assists in conjuring conclusions and resolutions, potentially lending answers to moments of internal decay. For this you can be truly thankfully for such a furrowing work of art.

The obvious touchstone is the work of Badalamenti on the Twin Peaks soundtrack, a subtly energised drone pierced by keys that in the best traditional of Lynch is beauty with the suggestion of impending menace lying underneath. It is a harsh realm.

There is a meditative air to this music as the sonic exploration goes long and far, often sounding similar to Kirby’s work as The Caretaker in addition to basically sounding like being submerged under water or dumped into a sensory depravation tank (not necessarily out of will). More or less it sounds like structural movement, be it personal/internal or industrial/commercial. These are lofty heights.

As I emerge on the other side a true sense of euphoria resounds. I have to concede were I to feed this to most people I know they would probably spit in my face or if I put it on the stereo at work I would possibly run the risk of being sacked, this is a very personal experience, one that feels like a genuine connection between the conductor and listener, the author and audience. For such an accomplishment the man has to be applauded.

Thesaurus moment: neubauten.

Leyland James Kirby

History Always Favours The Winners

OWEN TROMANS & THE ELDERS – THE FALL OF ACRE (SACRED GEOMETRY)

2009-10-06T01:34:00.000-07:00

OWEN TROMANS & THE ELDERS – THE FALL OF ACRE (SACRED GEOMETRY)

The Tromans by now is something of a seasoned songwriter that has been subtly very prolific with his output that stretches right back to his stint fronting San Lorenzo. After a number of solo efforts here he is once more backed by a band to great degree of success.

Early on there is a staunch Wire/Gang Of Four attached to proceedings with “The Bad One/House Of The Magicks” as a post-punk Jekyll And Hyde feel slaps/snags the track between the rails taking the listener to a very dark place as atmospherics bubble in the background while in the foreground jagged guitars and snarling vocals rule the roost. This could weather the music of a murder in the rain as a high standard for the record gets set from the start.

As the record revolves equally the sound evolves when a whole new series of instruments are introduced on “Golden Connection” and a mesmerising tone is added like one of those acoustic tracks on a Led Zep record. With it comes a warm trumpet that sooths the sound into some kind of graceful submission and luscious conclusion as the minor epic closes out to the sound of the coast in all its glory.

Elsewhere there a number of hook laden chants but as the album arrives at “The Dead-Eyed Man” a collective shanty feel erupts over dealings paying tribute to the traditions that came before these times.

The standout track arrives in the form of “Acre”, a genuinely epic workout that represents the sound of a man going through torture as the song distorts and descends into some kind of treasured madness but never outstaying its welcome.

By the time the disc rolls to its conclusion the overriding emotion is one of pleasance at what appears to be some of the bleakest times, this feeling is warm(th).

With a raven on the cover looking over proceedings this is a true departure with everything ventured and everything gained as the eleven tracks on display surf over many spaces and genres to create a very accomplished series of events.

Often with these tunes I feel he is singing about me. There is a lot of depth here.

Thesaurus moment: requite.

Owen Tromans

Sacred Geometry

LOU BARLOW – THE RIGHT (DOMINO)

2009-10-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

LOU BARLOW – THE RIGHT (DOMINO)

It has to be noted that when the NME recently gave this effort a mention it stated that this was latest of his many side projects that included Sebadoh! I can’t in my wildest imaginations expect that quote went down well although I think J Mascis could be heard giggling in the background.

So here are the breathy tones of Mr Lou Barlow. I have to admit for years I was scratching my head as to why people were saying Snow Patrol sounded like Sebadoh/Barlow but once it finally clicked with me it was obvious. And here indeed this is now a song that no longer sounds like a Sebadoh off cut, it kind of sounds like Snow Patrol. With that in mind then Domino should be working overtime to snag that section of the crowd and bring them into the house that Lou built and proceed to sell thousands upon thousands of units of Lou, Sebadoh and even Dinosaur product. However unfortunately at this time nobody is selling units by the truckload, not even Snow Patrol.

Over the years Lou’s solo efforts have been mixed in quality and indeed occasionally his own efforts with Sebadoh were often eclipsed by Loewenstein’s. Indeed when Loewenstein put out his record nervously we looked at each other and felt “this is better than a Lou effort.”

The timing and appearance of a Lou solo record at this time is a strange one, especially with a new Dinosaur record doing the rounds. In “The Right” the world is now in possession of a real plodder and not too much else.

I once had a boss called Mr Barlow. He was considered something of a “doddery old fucker” amongst those around him and there is a certain degree of risk that with solo efforts such as this Lou’s little indulgences may end up carrying a similar kind of tag.

Thesaurus moment: listless.

Lou Barlow
Domino

ANDY NICE – THE REMIXES (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

2009-10-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

ANDY NICE – THE REMIXES (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

Created to accompany and compliment his recent “The Secrets Of Me” album here is Andy Nice again now with a four song EP to download for free featuring a quartet of electronica acts each offering reshaped and enhanced versions of tracks from said album.

The initial reconstruction comes from the hands of fellow Front And Follow recording artists Sone Institute. To the string-based haven of “The 4th Man” now added into the mix are further intricate atmospherics adding a new dimension of mortality. Keys drop into the mix as vastness rules supreme and the layer affect hits home.

Following comes the remix effort of Yellow6 serving to compliment the original cello strands with a delicate bass pulse giving the track “Orangeblu Home” a new lease of energy and infusion of trait before it all breaks down in calculated method at dusk with eleventh hour female vocals emotively dropping in. With it a submerging sensation is added to the already claustrophobic feel of the track.

Stepping up next is the Isnaj Dui take on “Dr Titan” with is a full frontal squeal of angst allowing the cello to breathe in amongst desolate whistles and mesmerising sounds that serve to further enhance the hypnotic aspects of Mr Nice’s music.

Keeping up with the Front And Follow theme/motif of the releases the final remix comes courtesy of Elite Barbarian who also take a stab at “The 4th Man”. This is the most full on electronic remix of the release as bleeps hang heavy over proceedings often snuffing out key textures of the original.

As an exercise in music exploration these four new renderings manage to add new textures to already fulfilling pieces of music creating a whole new identity all their own. Awash with chilled elements none of the remixes outlast their welcome.

This EP can be downloaded for free at www.jointhecircle.net/andy

Thesaurus moment: again.

Andy Nice
Sone Institute
Yellow6
Isnaj Dui
Elite Barbarian

Front And Follow

MALE BONDING/EAT SKULL – SPLIT SINGLE (TOUGH LOVE RECORDS)

2009-09-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

MALE BONDING/EAT SKULL – SPLIT SINGLE (TOUGH LOVE RECORDS)

As ever Male Bonding invade the joint with scratchy guitar and a reckless sense of adventure. Today with their contribution to this split single of “Year’s Not Long” they up the tempo/pace from their usual trudge before winding up in some kind of circling frenzy that revitalises proceedings before the band launch into the final leg of their energy infused declaration of fuzz. The increase in speed does not serve them well as it feels as if it dilutes their temperament gives them something of an upbeat sound that doesn’t snap as effectively as previous efforts from them.

The Eat Skull effort sounds as if it has been recorded from a television using a cheap cassette player. It is a real spinning top of an affair of warped funfair surf guitar music that almost sounds like a Hammond organ and vocals delivered in an equally dizzying fashion and crashing expletive. This is fat person go-go dance music, made to look ugly when really under the masks are clean faces and stupid but cool hairstyles. “Heaven’s Stranger” would make good theme music to a camp television show about a one legged crime fighter.

A nuisance to the industry.

Thesaurus moment: haze.

Male Bonding
Eat Skull

Tough Love Records

PENS – HEY FRIEND! WHAT YOU DOING (DE STIJL)

2009-09-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

PENS – HEY FRIEND! WHAT YOU DOING (DE STIJL)

A more raw and earnest album will be impossible to find this year. Sounding like a cross between a female hardcore band and The Shaggs, this serves to remind me why I fell in love with crude lo-fi guitar music in the first place. This is the less is more principle in action and thriving.

Pens follow in the great traditional of band scratchy, primal lo-fi bands where the passion and desire far outstrips the mechanicals on display. They’re not angry enough to be Huggy Bear, they’re not crazy enough to be Bette Davis And The Balconettes and they’re not skilful enough to be Sleater-Kinney but certainly there are slight elements from each within their songs and sound which makes for an individual and fresh batch of compositions.

Purposely naïve there mere name of the album along suggests a kind heart and ritual curiosity within their ranks. The album then gets rolling with a track entitled “Horsies” which is a basic gang singalong akin to a playground patty cake. By the time the drums come crashing the charm has oozed to an uncompariable degree. Perhaps the band should have named themselves Crayons instead.

Everything is slightly distorted with this record. By design this is probably a tactic executed to hide technical frailties and gives uniqueness to the sound but regardless it is a system that works, giving the band the kind of stars and chops they require. Often the guitars are a huddled fuzzy mess and the drums sounds like they are being bashed out on a biscuit tin but the key is that the songs are still there, the hooks are genuine and exhilarating. Once upon it felt like all records sounded as exciting as this one.

A song such as “1-2” pleasantly reminds me heartily of early Dischord seven inches and the more exciting moments of Free Kitten. Elsewhere the excellently named “Fukufuckinfuk” truly accomplishes the Huggy Bear vibe while “Freddie” contains the kind of vocal loops that are excitingly dizzying.

Racking up fourteen tracks, most of which barely make the two minute mark, in many ways this is the perfect record for a band such as Pens to be releasing as their first effort (i.e. a young band cutting their teeth). This is the real sound of teenage expression. Buy into now before this kind of art is finally lost.

I’m reviewing this while watching Predator.

Thesaurus moment: energy.

Pens
Pens live

De Stijl

TIMES NEW VIKING – BORN AGAIN REVISITED (MATADOR)

2009-09-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

TIMES NEW VIKING – BORN AGAIN REVISITED (MATADOR)

The sound of Times New Viking is truly fucked up. They are out of tune and they don’t even sound as if they are playing actual instruments, more using appropriations of what instruments should sound like. All in all this is a record that sounds as if it were made out of cupboard.

As a result of this the reality that there is a drive behind proceedings says a lot about the determination of the band and the apparent strength of their songs in the sole/soul, bloody minded desire to see things through until a hook is found. I guess this has been what lo-fi ingenuity has always been about.

With drums that sound like they are boxes falling down stairs, the hardest hook to arrive first is the chorus refrain of the title track “Born Again Revisited” as the song descends into true dementia, a refreshing voice from the back raises her hand and lends the song a kiss.

In sounding so bad and awful there is true invention in the process. The fact that the sound has been rendered so sharp and nasty but yet remains (just about) listenable indicates that there is no off switch on the genius button here.

Ultimately it feels as if this muck is some kind of response to the horrible slickness that no comes with the digital age, the bland anonymous cold feel of listening to music through a computer. As we now reach the Skynet era of music and how Kraftwerk appeared to once predict songs being manufactured by robots this is in many ways as pure a statement of/in music as you can get as they purposely apply a recording technique akin to the playing technique of The Shaggs. With its transgression this is a true blessing.

To be found are genuinely rocking joints that come in the form of the optimistic sounding “Move To California” and the Germs echoing opening “I Smell Bubblegum”. It’s definitely not all great but certainly is fun.

This is the sound of what Guided By Voices would be like if they were hoodlum kids packing more than just guitars and sticking scissors into open electric sockets. Any band that has a 36 second song called “Take The Piss” cannot be bad or wrong.

These songs were born to be heard on vinyl.

Thesaurus moment: scuff.

Times New Viking
Matador Records

THE MALE NURSE – MY OWN PRIVATE PATRICK SWAYZE (GUIDED MISSILE)

2009-09-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

THE MALE NURSE – MY OWN PRIVATE PATRICK SWAYZE (GUIDED MISSILE)

The Male Nurse were this amazing Fall-esqe spiky lo-fi band that hit the DIY scene around the same time as Bis, The Delgados, Urusei Yatsura and Mogwai et al. Sharing a guitarist with The Country Teasers they sported one of the scariest and most awkward looking frontmen around.

They put out a few singles but when they recorded a session for John Peel in June 1997 it revealed them at their most demented as the stand out track “My Own Private Patrick Swayze” describing a scenario that could only be derived from the most disturbed recesses of the human mind. The whole season was great but it really was this song that stood out and astounded and set The Male Nurse several pegs higher than the latest crop of The Fall wannabes.

Proceedings begin with the singer Keith Farquhar declaring that he has his “own two feet high Patrick Swayze living under his bed at night.” Through the ensuing verses what happens to this little man gets described in great depth, not least the reality that the two foot high Patrick Swayze would get regularly measured and if he grew he would be in trouble. Next the narrator describes how his favourite item of clothing for the two foot high Patrick Swayze is the “Elvis gear.” Finally at night Swayze would apparently be found serving cocktails “wearing men’s but women’s stockings and suspenders” but eventually being wrapped up in gaffa tape and being the prize in some demented game of pass the parcel. Fantasy in indie never got so explicit or spectacular. You can bet neither Pete Doherty or Kasabian ever wrote songs like this.

Tapes of this session/performance rapidly circulated and in my own experience occasionally served as car singalong music in a decrepit Wayne’s World style.

Sadly the band missed the boat on this momentum and by the time the song was finally released as a single it was long after the enthusiasm for the Peel session had died down and even then it felt as if this version of song (unsurprisingly inferior to the session version) was laboured and rushed out. The band never even released an album.

Elsewhere on the record “Deep/Fried” is a real departure from the band away from their original scratchy guitar roots moving onto tinny drum machine beats and keyboard hopscotch pierced by nonsensical repetitive lyrics. In many ways this would prove to be their song most in the spirit of The Fall.

Today as the news of Patrick Swayze’s passing on the same day as Keith Floyd filters through here is my backwards tribute to a very bad actor.

Thesaurus moment: inspired.

The Male Nurse
Guided Missile

DINOSAUR PILE-UP – TRAYNOR (FRIENDS VS RECORDS)

2009-09-15T01:56:00.000-07:00

DINOSAUR PILE-UP – TRAYNOR (FRIENDS VS RECORDS)

Sounding like the Weezer take on grunge this is a relatively clean affair when I had been led to believe that this would be the return to superfuzz.

Believe it or not once upon a time circa the early nineties a hell of a lot of indie bands sounded like this, bands that were too clean for Kerrang but packed enough punch in order to alienate themselves far enough away from the charts and too much mainstream coverage.

There is an air of a good Senseless Things song and a sharp Mega City Four one attached to this one sided seven inch (one side for reasons known only to the band and their label).

You would like to think that the “Traynor” reference is to Todd Trainor, which would be cool, but there is nothing really in this record that would suggest anything so savvy. Instead all signs appear to point to a sound that will eventually soften and have any nasty, rebellious edges ironed out as the band, if they are lucky, will find themselves being picked up by good management and a major in the style of say a Nine Black Alps only to find themselves being dropped one record later. At least it is not pop punk or dad rock.

For a band sending out such negative vibes you really do not sense any such malice in their delivery or voices. Suck it in, toughen up.

Yours sincerely.

Thesaurus moment: lambs

Dinosaur Pile-up
Friends Vs Records

MALE BONDING/COLD PUMAS – SPLIT SINGLE (FAUX DISCX)

2009-09-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

MALE BONDING/COLD PUMAS – SPLIT SINGLE (FAUX DISCX)

With screwy sounding surf guitars and vocals delivered in the style of a teenage Mark E. Smith the relentless brawl of Male Bonding is a fun step back to the lo-fi scene of the late nineties that felt capable of taking on all comers using instruments akin to items made from cereal boxes. In a world that sometimes appreciates raucous, loud and distorted guitar explosions when soughting a pay off, this is the stuff of kings.

The comparison that immediately springs to mind when considering Male Bonding is The Yummy Fur crossed with an aggressive Vampire Weekend; I think they might more appreciate a nod towards the No Age element of their stylings. Regardless any band that states that the Drowned In Sound forum is “like an indie British National Party” (as in Loud And Quiet magazine) cannot be all bad even if the jibe just stretch Mick Hucknall.

On the flipside Cold Pumas provide something altogether more atonal. Caked in white noise with machine drums straight from the nearest factory pounding its way to dysfunction, piercing shards of jagged guitar then arrive and enter the mix as a device to confront. These people playing on this record are not men, they are a well oiled machine pumping out sounds in a most efficient fashion on a production line of noise with the sole purpose and intent of putting the listener at ill ease and to make them move (convulse) involuntarily. Health never sounded this good.

Thesaurus moment: noisome.

Male Bonding
Cold Pumas
Faux Discx

LYDIA LUNCH – BIG SEXY NOISE (SARTORIAL RECORDS)

2009-09-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

LYDIA LUNCH – BIG SEXY NOISE (SARTORIAL RECORDS)

It is always a relief to discover that a legend of the scene still “has it.” Split over a sexy side and a noisy side Lydia Lunch once unveils yet another set of vocal styling. Spread over six songs this beautiful piece of twelve inch vinyl is a nasty and distinct return to form. With James Johnston and Terry Edwards on board there is little chance of this sounding bad.

Proceedings open up with “Another Man Comin’ (While The Bed Is Still Warm)” and the greatest song Royal Trux never recorded. Herein Lunch is almost rapping as she sounds more like a hip witch than ever and dirty with it. The collision is heavy bass, dark Hammond and jagged guitar stabs make for a funky soup.

Soon saxophones are added to mix as a nightmare smoky lounge scenario broaches proceedings all in a Bad Seeds setting. By the time the Sexy Side comes to a close the saxophones sound as if they are initiating some kind of rabid violent act of female empowerment.

The Noisy Side lives up to its billing providing a more dynamic threesome starting with the aural drowning that is “Baby-Faced Killer”. The sentiments do not improve any as a distortion heavy cover of Lou Reed’s “Kill Your Sons” attempts to melt my stereo. Soon the reality of proceedings hits that the quality of the music is far outweighing the standard of the words being spoken. Regardless of this fact it still falls/comes together as positive but hostile musical act.

It is now Sunday night and I am still writing this fucking review long after I have purchased it. In the distance some bozo is playing “Radio Gaga” by Queen at some ridiculous volume and it is making me sick. With view to drowning it out and representing on my own behalf I am playing this at a creasing volume and plainly it just work. Now I await the feeling of a boot being thrown through my open window as the person that just turned off his Queen record retaliates. Oh course that person needs to finish borking their partner first.

Thesaurus moment: decadent.

Lydia Lunch

Sartorial Records

POLVO – IN PRISM (MERGE RECORDS)

2009-09-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

POLVO – IN PRISM (MERGE RECORDS)

Long considered the lost heroes to indie rock the Polvo sound is a mish mash of various grand rhythms, inventive in a way that very few bands of their ilk accomplish as it routinely tugs as the heartstrings and consciousness of the listener.

Polvo are a band that do not overdo it, their compositions are very organic, paced and lengthy and difficult to clearly compare against any of their peers and colleagues. The playing exemplary as the rhythm section provides a driving pulse which allows the guitar parts and vocals to meander and adventure, exploring new sounds and methods of creating unique explosions of expression from guitar.

Many consider them math rock but that’s a tough sell, I just don’t think the pace of the piece is quite set that way. The band that mostly springs to mind as I listen to this is June Of 44, who in some ways felt like a Slint sibling. Elsewhere when things become fuzzy there is an air of Bardo Pond on a small scale attached to proceedings. With “A Link In The Chain” it even enters some kind of strange Sebadoh territory.

Spread over eight songs this is their fifth album and their first for twelve years, which proves to be a worthwhile. The album flies out of the blocks with “Right The Relation” which is a chunky distorted piece of work with an upbeat chord sequence and the kind of impassioned and heroic vocal delivery that you thought was cool before you knew better.

It genuinely feels like a long time since I have heard a band making music like this. There is a truly cavalier sense to proceedings as it feels like this is a band making music that they like without any intention of playing to or for their audience. As a result the songs maybe longer and more meandering than is necessary but the apparent sense of sincerity outweigh any such concerns. There feels a lot of drive within this record.

With “Beggars Bowl” there is a real intensity within the thundering noise of a band sounding as if it is moving an entire building. Imagine Helmet at the top of their game not so eager to get into the guitar solos. It is that plus wonder.

Seldom does guitar music sound as adventurous and optimistic in this era. This is a band not lost to hairstyles.

Thesaurus moment: recoup.

Polvo

Merge Records

THE BIG PINK – VELVET (4AD)

2009-08-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

THE BIG PINK – VELVET (4AD)

The Big Pink come on like a smoothed out, well ironed version of the Jesus & Mary Chain, in a way benefiting from such a glossy makeover while at the same time struggling to appear sincere and pure of origin.

As the drums open up the store a person would be forgiven for thinking they were about to be introduced to “Life’s What You Make It” by Talk Talk, the drum sound similarity is just uncanny. Soon however all gets revealed as being a dank, nonchalant sheet metal assault on the senses which does truly exhilarated in its execution. There is a fair bit of power attached to this record and its scorching guitar sound but not really quite enough to get overly excited about as the storm soon descend into nothing.

Unfortunately this is a band it feels almost impossible to fall in love with. In addition to the obvious comparisons made early they are also reminiscent of the Ravonettes, which while not necessarily being a bad thing, is not a great thing either. There is just not a band feel attached to the act, truly it feels more like an exploration in the studio and a solo effort that is perhaps a tad too clean without enough external influence.

In the process of this band going overground and reaching daytime it comes with a sense of keenness to pander and impress, one that you feel will eventually dilute the sound pushing the glorious guitar sound into the background while the cringeworthy vocals and lyrical content step out more into the forefront. Eventually I can’t help but feel this band will sound like Mansun.

Get it while you can.

Thesaurus moment: fleet.

The Big Pink
4AD

SOULSAVERS – SUNRISE (V2)

2009-08-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

SOULSAVERS – SUNRISE (V2)

Providing something of a vehicle for the finest voices of our generation’s alternative rock voices this is a very solid single making the most of what god has handed them to work with.

This release sees Will Oldham going head to head with Mark Lanegan. A number of years ago I used to belittle the efforts of Oldham to my friend, choosing to instead expound on the offerings of Lanegan as being far superior. This was evening before he had gained a surge in credibility but unsurprisingly I found myself being lambasted, which I think was the intention of my comment in the first place. The words “to me they inhabit different worlds” have always stuck with me. However here they both are exchanging sides of a single, covering each other’s songs. I guess I wasn’t so far after all, undeserving of my indie lambasting.

“Sunrise” is a Lanegan composition to which Oldham does a great service as do the Soulsavers with a classy backing that eventually finds itself drenched with harmonica in most exhilarating and haunting fashion. To his credit Oldham does not attempt to ape Lanegan’s vocals but he does audibly stretch his own range. By the end of proceedings I feel I am listening to the best thing Oldham has done in a very long time. This weighs heavy.

On the flipside Lanegan has a crack at “You Will Miss Me When I Burn”, which in my opinion happens to be one of Oldham’s strongest songs and definitely one of my favourite. Here however Lanegan unfortunately sounds achingly like something towards Bruce Springsteen and as a horrid strings drop in on the action the song is ultimately butchered as it loses it emotional impact as every facet of this interpretation is just wrong. It might as well be fucking Chris Martin covering it for all the impression that it leaves. Scumbag.

Thesaurus moment: standards.

Soulsavers
Will Oldham
Mark Lanegan
V2

ANDY NICE – THE SECRETS OF ME (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

2009-07-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

ANDY NICE – THE SECRETS OF ME (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

Sometimes it takes the most traditional of instruments to make the most personal statement of music. The depth of one man not relying on the lazy method of speech to communicate is one that surprisingly speaks volumes in this case and example, echoing lost moments of pleasure and pain in a very non stifling or exclusive way.

In modern music history often the cello has appeared on the recordings of some of the greatest acts ever but only in a sneaky saboteur type role that fills out and lends weight and strength to the sound. Often it can appear to be something of a lazy gesture for an act to introduce a string section as it exploits the reality that it is an instrument that sits very uneasy in the centre stage, especially in more modern settings.

With this in mind seldom in modern composition, away from soundtracks and generic classical recordings, has the cello been given the breadth to lead in such a context and manner (indie/alternative). As a result Andy Nice stands out in this field inhabiting a similar sort of territory as the Dirty Three but in a more direct manner.

The comparatives that echo most in mind are a nod to the Penguin Café Orchestra at their most beautifully downbeat as well as the kind of score music that you will fortuitously often come across by accident in Asian movies such as In The Mood For Love and Sympathy For Lady Vengeance.

Spread over seven tracks Andy Nice is a true professional and dedicated veteran to his trade and has worked hard to earn his stripes as a master of his instruments. Currently part of the string section in The Tindersticks his musical resume includes Baader Meinhof, Cradle Of Filth and Sade.

The reflective nature and journey of the music on show serves as a perfect calming companion to the most contemplative of moments. Prozac on ice.

Thesaurus moment: meditative.

Andy Nice
Front And Follow

LA ROUX – BULLETPROOF (POLYDOR)

2009-07-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

LA ROUX – BULLETPROOF (POLYDOR)

There is a weird kind of karaoke feel to this singles that finds itself horribly drenched in eighties synths and lame electronic pad drums that hardly serve to inspire or allow the listener to ever really be impressed with what is on offer.

The whole spiel about La Roux appears to be over he pointy her hair is today in a very “is she? Isn’t she?” kind of way.

I guess listened to from one angle aesthetically there is a kind of CSS or Ting Tings feel to the sound of the single but to compliment it there is just no edge or exoticness or absolutely anything in there to generate personal interest in La Roux in where she is from and what she is about. Instead the lyrical content is just some clichéd riddle about not being taken for a ride after being taken for a ride in the first place.

The single does however look impressive delivered as a seven inch square with no off cuts from the sides. This is not economic or ecologically friendly but crappy pop tat like this is never going to be. And then on the sleeve there is the squiggle that represents how La Roux has kindly autographed my copy to add the personal touch. What, they’re all autographed?

Lady Gaga this is not but there is a lot of money being pumped up her arsehole all the same.

Modern music hey, what you gonna do?

Thesaurus moment: synthetic.

La Roux
Polydor

PETER DOHERTY – THE LAST OF THE ENGLISH ROSES (PARLOPHONE)

2009-07-03T14:59:00.001-07:00

PETER DOHERTY – THE LAST OF THE ENGLISH ROSES (PARLOPHONE)

Endlessly entertaining it is always great to know that there is a new Pete Doherty record knocking around. Even if it doesn’t sound the greatest it is reassuring that you know some kind of occurrence is bound to happen soon. Here is a man who is both an officer and a gentleman.

I have to concede I never really liked Pete Doherty when he was popular. His music was shit and his fans idiots. The Libertines were never anything more than a bad UK version of The Stokes but it was Carl Barat evidently who was the deadwood in the pairing judging by the standard of subsequent bands and projects.

One of the best things that can be said about Pete Doherty’s solo material is basically that it doesn’t sound like The Libertines (or over Babyshambles for that matter). Here is a lounging and surprisingly lyrical run out that comes almost with a classical feel and more than a passing resemblance to The Auteurs although I cannot imagine Luke Haines would be too endeared by such a comparison as this lacks the darkness of his content. In comparison Pete seems happy to sing about gatherings and long for a sense of party and togetherness rather than anything too divisive.

Towards the end of the song as things become wonky it begins to sound like old Pete is beginning to speak in tongues, possibly due to some kind of skag withdrawal but as the mumbles clear slightly it appears he is just blabbering on in French. Bonjour!

He is not an English rose.

And at what point did Peter become Peter? At school my best friend was called Peter and ultimately I ended up turning on him like a true shit, treating him badly and bringing him down in order to keep me up (head above water). His mother used to pick on me. It just recently occurred to me that she might have been Asian but there is no one around to confirm this. Perhaps she is why I now desire Asian companionship, perhaps I always fancied Peter’s mum. She was a cook after all and here I am now working in a restaurant. In the long run it all comes together.

Thesaurus moment: indolently.

Peter Doherty
Parlophone

THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE – THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE (LAILY RECORDINGS)

2009-07-02T03:16:00.000-07:00

THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE – THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE (LAILY RECORDINGS)

Despatched dark and dusty, a small part of the Australian outback has found itself transplanted and captured in London for this release.

Almost like a post-rock (spit!) take on Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds soliciting The Pogues with a little pinch of the Tiger Lillies this is a true soup of string drenched compositions being pierced by jarring Australian vocals sung in a near shanty style about topics such as murder and honour amongst thieves. The orchestration of the songs is such that you find yourself removed from your surroundings and driven to hell. If you have ever been to Australia and felt miniscule when faced by the darkness of nothing but hot stinking hateful territory then this is where this music is at. Flight Of The Conchords this most definitely is not (bloody Kiwis).

Of the four songs on offer the epic “Dorothy Handland” with its extended instrument section at dusk would not feel out of place sitting on a Dirty Three record.

As the release draws to a brooding conclusion it is with a sadness echoed by none and a future that feels uncertain depending on the conduct going forward of the band that judging by the lyrics may or may not scupper their fortunes. Personally I await their return/response with real anticipation.

It’s not only the bird that feels doomed at the outset of this record.

You call that a knife?

Thesaurus moment: guilty.

The Doomed Bird Of Providence
Laily Recordings

SPOON – GOT NUFFIN (ANTI)

2009-06-29T03:21:00.000-07:00

SPOON – GOT NUFFIN (ANTI)

With a staunch groove delivering a straight line pattern “Got Nuffin” opens with pounding drums straight out of “My Sharona” as a guitar part akin to “Motor Away” by Guided By Voices kicks in prior to Britt Daniel delivering a first line that reminds of “Paint It Black”. Within twenty five seconds Spoon have taken over the world.

This is what Spoon does best, they splash out with a restrained desperation that can often feel like their lives are falling to pieces and this is all they have left. Everyone is a star in this outfit as the rhythm section powers the piece through lending plenty of breathing space for Daniel to express his feelings (“got nuffin’ to lose”) while having a good guitar workout akin to lightning strikes providing his latest headache.

In many ways Spoon produce perfect pop songs. The structure is classic but the playing possesses exploration and angst that offers enough to fill the cup of a hipster. In other words your dad could get into this record as much as the guy with the nose piercing. In a world of so much overnight sensation this band is consistently skilled. Held up against their historically great moments this maintains their standard of quality.

Then it possesses the craziest fade out in recent history. Where did that come from? Did the guy at the desk get fed up and decide to just turn the dial down? Such weirdness is always available from Spoon.

On the other side is “Tweakers” followed by “Stroke Their Brains” which displays the band realising their playful side, their primal urge and their id. This is at the listeners’ expense. As I said, weirdness is available.

Thesaurus moment: consummate.

Spoon

Spoon live

Anti

TORTOISE – BEACONS OF ANCESTORSHIP (THRILL JOCKEY)

2009-06-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

TORTOISE – BEACONS OF ANCESTORSHIP (THRILL JOCKEY)

For a record that appears to be getting universally panned I cannot really see what the problem with it is. Sure it has a bit of a stupid name but with the guitars now toned down and the keyboards turned right up, with an apparent influx of beats and new rhythms surely this should be appealing to the sensibilities of the crowd that has bought so heavily into Battles as it would appear Tortoise attempt to regain/rediscover some kind of face, even crown.

It is the distinct sudden overdrive of keys that is most strikingly noticeable about this release. This feels very much like a change in tactic, a step up in gear and maybe even some kind of regeneration.

There is no escaping that the pinnacle of achievement in post rock is to serve as an effective to score to bad sex in some tawdry movie and for this purpose Beacons Of Ancestorship certainly can serve.

The record opens in a confident, confrontational and upbeat manner with “Prepare Your Coffin”. Never before can I recall the band ever upping the pace (and stakes) to such a degree. The extended addition of keys is one of the most telling adjustments. As a result all sounds very slick and fluid even if from one perspective the track could have been the theme to Treasure Hunt in the eighties.

Moving onwards the strange sonic devastation of a song such as “Yinxianghechengqi” leaves you with hope for the genre that one day once more things will rise dirty again for the genre and the tugging will be again at our coattails as opposed to of their own cocks. With frenetic impulses the reckless abandon seems to serve as a steel determination to sabotage.

Soon it returns to business as usual with the clockwork repetition and precision of a well oiled machine, an almost synthetic group force displaying/deploying an even temper and discipline which far surpasses the playing of the majority of their peers.

Elsewhere “The Fall Of Seven Diamonds Plus One” is distinctly Morricone sounding lending an epic tone to the collection of compositions. Today Tortoise are painting with broad strokes on an echoing canvas. In contrast with its stuttering tract “Penumbra” sounds like something MF Doom might happily spit over.

There is a more futuristic sense and feeling to proceedings. Often here are selections that would have sounded great on the score for Blade Runner or Escape From New York, a vibe that acts such as Zombi Zombi were discovering a few years ago.

Tortoise now are somewhat the music equivalent of NASA, a formerly groundbreaking institution now only viewed (heard) fondly by way of some kind of forced nostalgia. As a result everything they now have to do needs to be sharp on all levels due to playing to a crowd continually looking for adjustment and progression on the genre. Ultimately though once more it is a display of growth and maturity from people at the top of the games.

The beats are strong with this one.

Thesaurus moment: revital.

Tortoise
Thrill Jockey

SHONEN KNIFE – SUPER GROUP (TOMATO HEAD RECORDS)

2009-06-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

SHONEN KNIFE – SUPER GROUP (TOMATO HEAD RECORDS)

Its been really sad attempting to track this record down because it just does not appear to be out there. The fact that I am listening to this now via a promo copy I bought from Ebay that was actually pushing the European tour as opposed to the actual release of the record suggests sad and bad time for one of the most charming bands in alternative rock history.

There is a train of thought that dictates that if you have heard one Shonen Knife record that you have heard them all but that isn’t quite the case, you need to dig deep for buried treasure because behind the cute faces there is often some very dark and deep content.

The sound on this record is as good as ever and immediately it is noticeable that the addition of Ritsuko Taneda to proceedings adds a lot to the bass sound, rounding it out more and helping it gain weight and depth. Indeed the record opens with one of her basslines.

The songs essentially remain the same, hook filled objects of classic rock, one minute sounding like The Ramones, the next The Runaways, the next AC/DC, the next jangly indie but all the while it is caked in Japanese love, the kind our cousins only appear capable of producing sincerely and efficiently. OK, it is plainly obvious at this point of the review that this band is playing to a home team supporter but this genuinely does not make the enjoyment of this record exclusive to only loving parties and relatives, instead it serves as a reminder of how great guitar indie pop can and should be but sadly feels lacking and in short measure these days.

Formed 28 years ago now it is much to their testament that the band, even if it is just Naoko from the original line-up, is still going and with it they have plenty of tricks left in their pockets.

It’s a genuinely beautiful thing.

Thesaurus moment: magnetism.

Shonen Knife
Shonen Knife live
Tomato Head Records

SCREAMING TEA PARTY – GOLDEN BLUE (STOLEN RECORDINGS)

2009-06-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

SCREAMING TEA PARTY – GOLDEN BLUE (STOLEN RECORDINGS)

Screaming Tea Party make it a tough thing to like their record. You cast a blind eye/ear over the frisky guitar sound of the first song (a sound you have heard many times before) in preference to concentrating on the vocal delivery that has some kick individuality to it but then the song changes tact/gear and falls face first into a muddy bank of cliché. I swear.

Undeterred the record carries on and things genuinely improve as spacious sounds intercept the straight line of the guitar on this seven song frenzy. Honestly the opening track “I’d Rather Be Stuck” was just a blip on the radar.

“Car Crash Beauties” follows and offers much more with fizzy, dark and frenetic option that leans more towards a scratchy, post-punk edge complete with distinctly Japanese indecipherable vocals. The band then later display Gang Of Four-esqe tendencies on “The Witch From Oregon” which aptly climaxes with jarring industrial sounding guitars that cause discomfort.

There is a real depth and wealth of different sounds on offer here. The title track of the album sounds very much like Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Its weird. Then “Holy Disaster” arrives at track five supplying a huge bag full of Beach Boy-esqe harmonies.

“Today Is The Day” is where it all comes together the best. Staunchly reminding me of a great lost band called Superstar Disco Club, it sounds very much like Macrocosmica and Urusei Yatsura and that long missed late nineties anthemic sound of fraggle rock. Proceedings here are upbeat and the track benefits from not being clear just as to which language the song is being sung in.

The overriding impression given from this record and selection box of treats is that this is a great band with a great record in them but sadly this is just not it. Next time maybe. Hopefully.

Thesaurus moment: jejune.

Screaming Tea Party
Screaming Tea Party live
Stolen Recordings

VARIOUS – FRONT & FOLLOW YEAR ONE SAMPLER (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

2009-06-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

VARIOUS – FRONT & FOLLOW YEAR ONE SAMPLER (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

Given away free in goodie bags at the Front And Follow showcase at the Union Chapel this four act eight song sampler displays the diverse and adventurous nature of the label and the high quality in place on it’s roster.

Elite Barbarian open proceedings with their dense beats and trickling sound. The two selections come from their “It’s Only When You Get To The End That It Makes Sense” album and are a mesmerising couplet of surround sounds with a whiff of robotic engineering. Best served bold.

Arriving emotively Yonokiero deliver their painfully personal account of existence in the form of their acoustic compositions layered with subtle strings and atmospherics that gives the execution a really full sound. Formerly the masterminds that drove Hirameka Hi-Fi a dual (and duelling) songwriting force here on this occasion the two songs reflect the expertise of each barrel being taken from their magnificent “Blue Apples” album. This is how guitar music should be composed and performed.

The third act featuring on the sampler is cello player Andy Nice who delivers demo versions of tracks that are set to appear on his album “The Secrets Of Me.” The incredible string theory that is attached to his playing transfixes the listener and goads them into witnessing and feeling the moment of treasure as his strings collide into a magnificent soup of generous emotion.

Rounding things off comes Sone Institute who deliver a sample laden groove that echoes the kind of retro lounge that Broadcast and/or Jonny Trunk offer up on a good day. Their second offering on the compilation is reminiscent of a breeze on a summer day and serves to spark the imagination of memories from my youth and cause me to question whether the colours were so vivid after all.

Four out of four, Front And Follow is an outstanding record label.

Thesaurus moment: multifariousness.

Elite Barbarian
Yonokiero
Andy Nice
Sone Institute
Front And Follow

SONIC YOUTH – THE ETERNAL (MATADOR RECORDS)

2009-06-08T00:52:00.000-07:00

SONIC YOUTH – THE ETERNAL (MATADOR RECORDS)

It is a great world and a great time to be alive when I find myself still becoming very excited about a brand Sonic Youth record. Now free of the corporate handcuffs offered up by DGC and then Universal this is back to being indie on an indie (if that ever mattered).

This is their sixteenth studio album. Could you name all sixteen of those? I have to admit I couldn’t and such is the rub with Sonic Youth: they are just as capable of writing something indulgent and forgettable as they are living up to their grand legacy and admired tradition.

Now on Matador its now really clear if they have made the record they’ve been wanting to make or the record that they think their audience wants. Ordinarily you certainly would expect the former from Sonic Youth but today they sound cohesive and thankfully very much the latter. Maybe even with the return of such noisemongers as My Bloody Valentine they now feel something to prove again in the noise stakes.

The Eternal is a pretty impressive piece of work. That’s not to say their last few records haven’t been good, it’s just that they haven’t been mind-blowing. It opens well, impressively with “Sacred Trickster” which is a barely two minute rocket of an opener that offers much in the way of promise as distortion, hooks and an angry Kim vocal are all present.

From here the wreckage of the record truly begins as “Anti Orgasm” thunders out as perhaps the first truly incendiary song they have produced in recent years that dare I say veers towards Dirty territory. As a sly Bowie drops in a descending guitar line serves as some kind of countdown to a sonic explosion prior to entering into a blood drenched tirade before meandering into a heart stopping mechanically military pause. Eventually the song floats off into the abyss as it outstays its welcome by two minutes. Such is the Sonic Youth way of doing things.

Obviously the perfect start proves too much to maintain (and too good to last) as the twiddly “Leaky Lifeboat” pays tribute to failed Beat writer Gregory Corso much in the same way the man himself etched his career. Its pretty fitting.

Today I am incredibly chuffed to report that the noodling of “What We Know” served to royally upset a tetchy lady on the tube. This is where Sonic Youth remain essential. Obviously long term fans will have heard all this before but to many this is still the kind of music that just sounds indecipherable and indescribable, something that hurts their ears and hurts their feelings and often this is a good way of listening to the band, to take a step back and pretend this sound is new. Indeed you won’t be hearing it anywhere easy, on any of the radio or TV stations handed to you on a plate in exchange for you handing them your personality and your arse. “What We Know” indeed offers up something great, a wonderfully heavy track that features some true power chords in amongst the squiggles. “What We Know” seems a song steeped in experience and lines such as “it’s been quite a ride” suggests the band are somewhat relieved to still be in the position that they are.

The almost pop sensibilities continue on the almost Roxy Music sounding “Poison Arrow” while “Malibu Gas Station” almost sounds like an update of “The Sprawl”.

At times there is a very optimistic sound to areas of this record and when Thurston opens with “sweet temptation came today” on “No Way” suddenly the Youth part of the band’s name seems gestured.

Unsurprisingly Lee chips in with a standout track which on this record takes the form of “Walkin Blue” which builds to a tremendous climax as he strides in confident and measured style until wigging out at the essential moment as he insists that everything is “clear”. It’s obvious!

The record ends on the almost ten minute “Massage The History” which is as ugly as the length and title would suggest, a repetitive track that doesn’t really go anywhere other than to test the patience of the listener. Thank god they lumped it as the ending.

With the dust settled ultimately you have to appreciate the ability that Sonic Youth possess to still sound so strange and inventive, especially when it comes to the squares that don’t want to be challenged in this modern. Go to sleep America. I don’t think the band are ever going to produce an out and out amazing album ever again but there will always be great tracks and super annoyances held on each.

This is more than you know.

Thesaurus moment: discharge.

Sonic Youth

Matador Records

THE GOSSIP – HEAVY CROSS (COLUMBIA RECORDS)

2009-06-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

THE GOSSIP – HEAVY CROSS (COLUMBIA RECORDS)

It all feels like it has gone a bit futuristic for The Gossip, this is not punk rock, its too popular! As she announces that it is a “cruel cruel world” you can’t help but feel that these sentiments no longer quite ring true for Beth.

This is an alternative love song, one caked in angst and an embarrassingly amount of heart being worn on the glittery sleeves of the band. Bouncing like a positive jam to fat lesbian girls everywhere I’m not so sure that my love affair with The Gossip will last much longer. With drum beats that belong in a seventies discotheque and a glow that will never truly sit easy with anything indie or punk rock (pure DIY style) it is still a great victory to have reached these heights with such a vehicle but the ensuing diluting affect of any modern Rick Rubin production job can only ever serve to disarm and disappoint. Heavy Cross – oh the burden, with the metal symbolism is this an eleventh hour attempt to snag the Kerrang! audience?

A song about still being persecuted by the masses, the story begins by reaching out to its audience of converts and sufferers as if the bad times still surrounded the existence of this band. Now that the hard work has paid off and Beth has won the chocolate factory is it really still possible to buy into this?

Its easy to fantasise about Beth Ditto, a most forward and feisty individual designed to break odd shaped hearts and as a result a shitbag little indie band being given the gloss treatment is perhaps not the right product for her to be peddling at this time (although the BBW clothes range doesn’t look so great either).

Go solo. Beth, just admit it.

Thesaurus moment: treasure.

The Gossip
Columbia Records

SPEECH DEBELLE – SPEECH THERAPY (BIG DADA)

2009-06-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

SPEECH DEBELLE – SPEECH THERAPY (BIG DADA)

With opening bars that sound like Tortoise when the first riddles of spit come from Speech Debelle’s mouth it is immediately evident that there is something fresh being delivered

Arriving as one of the freshest sounding albums of recent histories Speech Debelle conjures up a blissful and accurate description of modern life. Choosing to avoid such defeatist hard beat electronics in preference to a modern measured acoustic and jazz backing this is a contrary collection of delicate rhymes coupled with bleak content juxtaposed against a very laidback and appealing sound.

The appearance of Micachu on track “Better Days” sends the album through the stratosphere as modern day pressures display modern day techniques in an explicit outpouring of very tangible woes and stresses offering a new brand of method to deal with them. The Micachu backing coupled with strategic strings offer a haunting and melancholic demeanor, suggesting optimism even though at hard times it is hard to envisage.

“Spinnin’” is the money shot, the track with the wicked hook and immediately memorable chorus that emphasizes a positive energy and indulges in nothing, being crisp, swift and truly effective. The collective (the backing) almost make the song sound straight out of the playground and some kind of hopscotch celebration. It wins on every level.

Following “Go Then, Bye” is another crisp and explicit description of a universal moment sculpted in a manner I have rarely found so gorgeous or interesting. As strings rain over the track the pained scenario becomes extremely vivid and clear, realistic and never lost to sentimentality or hyperbole. It is genuinely gifted stuff.

When Roots Manuva turns up as ever he manages to make any work sound superior and majestic, adding a paternal and guardian vibe to proceedings with a contribution that was potentially telephoned in.

Spread over thirteen tracks this is a massively confident and accomplished debut. Within its construct it manages to tap into modern strain of life that many feel so deep and experience every day of their lives which is not dealt with churlishly or cheesily but music’s latest superhero Speech Debelle.

Thesaurus moment: unalloyed.

Speech Debelle
Big Dada

GRAFFITI ISLAND/RAPID YOUTH/OLD BLOOD/MALE BONDING – SPLIT SINGLE (PARADISE VENDORS)

2009-06-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

GRAFFITI ISLAND/RAPID YOUTH/OLD BLOOD/MALE BONDING – SPLIT SINGLE (PARADISE VENDORS)

Here is a release that serves as a signal of optimism for music while also providing fond memories and nostalgia of the lo-fi DIY scene of the late nineties.

Squeezed onto one piece of seven inch are four raucous, loud and poorly recorded bands driven by enthusiasm first and talent second, making the most of their resources. Releases such as this are now almost a thing of the past and that is a definite tragedy when it comes to contemplating the future of music.

Recently coined as no-fi I think this music will only ever work on vinyl, the format that has always been most forgiving to the most primitive expressions of music. I could not possibly imagine listening to this noise as an MP3 or on an iPod with a clear head. Live however I cannot imagine a more fantastic din as I hope to see these ramshackle bands live very soon.

I was first introduced to Graffiti Island a couple of years when they hopped aboard the stage at the Scala before Les Savy Fav looking effortlessly uncaring and cool playing songs that sounded like Beat Happening covers which they made all their own. This it seemed was the musical equivalent of a homemade Hawaiian shirt bearing a grudge. Needless to say I loved their one song set for the audacity and the tunes. As stylised and forced as it may feel, I just love this band. Their contribution to this release is a spacious and busy party number benefiting from a HUGE hook that pierces and seals its place in the consciousness of my mind. It feels retro in two ways.

Rapid Youth turn up with an altogether cloudier and muddy marching and galloping affair. In the midst of so much fuzz this song/band also possesses a wicked hook that serves to deliver skewed pop to disorientate.

On the flipside everything about Old Blood is wrong and this only serves to make you love them worse. If you have recorded a demo and fucked it up you will recognise this track. Despite the horror there is a definite beat to the performance and a degree of coherence to what is a fiery exhibition. Noise is a beautiful thing.

The more mannered Male Bonding close proceedings with a playful lo-fi song that reminds of a Yummy Fur chant with prickly bursts of energy and a pride all of its own. It’s a rough as the rest of the release and just as charming.

This record is good times.

Thesaurus moment: commotion.

Graffiti Island
Rapid Youth
Old Blood
Male Bonding
Paradise Vendors

EMPIRE OF THE SUN – WE ARE THE PEOPLE (VIRGIN RECORDS)

2009-05-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

EMPIRE OF THE SUN – WE ARE THE PEOPLE (VIRGIN RECORDS)

Delivered on banana yellow vinyl, upon the first few listens of this song on FM radio it immediately struck me as being the kind of record that stops traffic. It certainly pulled me away from the reality of what I was doing at the time at work.

It is the chorus that slays the listener by design. Filled with words to crush a person’s heart in a really rare gesture of needing to know, the voice of the song reeks of desperation. This has been one of those rare songs that has found me rewinding and listening to it immediately again afterwards and repeating this process for six or seven turns. It has also seen me looking/grabbing for the lyrics eager and desperate to work out a specific interpretation, searching for the source of the meaning of the apparent pain. This is a song it appears touches a nerve and serves solidly to empathise with and spread/share the sadness.

It is tough to gauge just what really Empire Of The Sun are about. The sound is very Australian and retro eighties as the artwork once more pays a major nod to retro fantasy art from the eighties appealing those with disposable income who were fans of Labyrinth, Legend and the Neverending Story. This really is a package that should not be liked.

I wonder if JG Ballard would approve of such usage of his title? I can’t imagine Christian Bale does.

Escapism seldom tastes so bright and shiny.

Thesaurus moment: glossy.

Empire Of The Sun
Virgin Records

AKRON/FAMILY – SET ‘EM WILD, SET ‘EM FREE (CRAMMED DISCS/DEAD OCEANS)

2009-05-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

AKRON/FAMILY – SET ‘EM WILD, SET ‘EM FREE (CRAMMED DISCS/DEAD OCEANS)

Over the course of “Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free” the Akron/Family manage to execute an exuberant mish mash of classic left field joints whilst making their spontaneous and schizophrenic sound very much a flavour of their own.

With “Everyone Is Guilty” starting off the show it bounces in sounding like some euphoric combination of Tortoise and Battles before the vocals and accusations that come with kick in the audience’s experience and adds an element of unease.

In addition to being very creative and playful musically the songwriting lyrically is also very emotionally explicit not necessarily accompanied with a smile.

The album (and band) is something of a two headed monster. It is in the moments that record descends too far down into folk/country territory that holds the collection back, folk/country being a sound/genre that is seldom able to lift itself out of cliché and cheese.

As my life continues to turn into a surreal shell of its former existence the more whimsical moments of this record such as “Many Ghosts” helps the Akron Family to provide a kind of twisted Disney breakdown score to proceedings.

Away from the noisefest of “MBF” the stand out track on the album for me is “Creatures.” Opening as if sounding like an almost acoustic take on drum and bass it couples with Dr Seuss nursery rhyme type lyrics of affection to provide a perfect backdrop to feeling young. By the time the song reaches the chorus the wind instruments have made a cameo appearance and a light feel dominates proceedings and a person listening can only begin to feel mesmerised as they fall in love with the process at the exact point the “up and down, down down down” mini mantra kicks in. Right now the sun is shining for a reason.

A rare and a good thing this is an indie rock album that sounds like attendance at a campfire.

Thesaurus moment: milieu.

Akron/Family
Crammed Discs
Dead Oceans

THE BLACKOUT – CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT (EPITAPH)

2009-05-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

THE BLACKOUT – CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT (EPITAPH)

Boy do I feel like a fucking chump for buying this record when thinking that it was something else.

What it is is a horribly chunky riff-tastic piece of heavyset pop punk metal that is really written and recorded with all bulls eyes and focus set on angst ridden and tetchy teenagers and the money that their parents give them.

This is a particularly bad piece of teen angst exploitation as the subject matter of the record gives of the apparent impression that it is about the inclusion of the listener into some kind of bat crypt movement these (probably) eyeliner wearing punks are part of. Ultimately though the Misfits this is not. It’s just all too serious.

Painfully with the kids signing in the background on the chorus rather than some great SST or even Epitaph band from the ages instead all the hoop and holler actually reminds me of the po-faced seriousness of the music moments of The Lost Boys. I wonder if fangs come with this record.

So yeah, this isn’t good, this isn’t rebellion, this isn’t what the future captains of industry will be listening to once they have grown up. Bankers might like to listen to it while snorting coke and fucking prostitutes but only in that depressing athletic way where haircuts possess more value than iPods. What the fuck am I talking about?

Hats off for calling the b-side “Pastor Of Muppets” though.

They’re Welsh?

Thesaurus moment: no.

The Blackout
Epitaph

MICACHU – JEWELLERY (ROUGH TRADE/ACCIDENTAL RECORDS)

2009-04-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

MICACHU – JEWELLERY (ROUGH TRADE/ACCIDENTAL RECORDS)

With her backing band The Shapes the debut album from Micachu is a wretched mess of ideas and systematic hooks that sound autistic and extrovert.

Not very easy on the ear on first listen the fifteen tracks on display here display a sense of adventure not so common in modern (accepted) music and in many ways actually reminds me of those wonky early Pavement EPs that could often be rendered into nothing more than glorious noise. Rather than hulking lo-fi guitars here Micachu exhibits a more eclectic arsenal of instruments in reckless abandon (many homemade and very unorthodox) suggesting a personal leaning and preference towards Beck and a poison combination of whitey folk hip hop.

In her voice Micachu displays something of a hybrid of Kimya Dawson and a drunken teenage Polly Harvey (especially on “Guts”) as the music drips in Bjork weirdness but in a favourably M.I.A. crossed with Captain Beefheart influenced manner. That is not forgetting the Raincoat-esqe tone of sarcasm.

Produced by Matthew Herbert the rhythms hold surprisingly well considering what they are manufactured by as something of a paper thin version of legendary musical strangeness, sounding like a true outsider even if she is not necessarily one. That said, the times the songs fall on their arse they do come with something of a passing resemblance to The Shaggs in delivery and mentality.

You can tell the young Micachu has listened to music all her life as she rips off the intro to The Champs “Tequila” on “Calculator” probably without even realising it.

The highlight of the piece is “Worst Bastard” with its genuine pop hooks and tasty sentiments that provide real attitude and a flow that energises.

Ultimately the results are mixed as songs begin to lose hooks in preference to extensive meandering and exploration making the album something of a patience tester but equally unique in execution and definitely something to search out in the name of adventure.

You may hate me for “recommending” this record.

Thesaurus moment: intrepid.

Micachu
Accidental Records
Rough Trade

MORRISSEY – SOMETHING IS SQUEEZING MY SKULL (POLYDOR/DECCA)

2009-04-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

MORRISSEY – SOMETHING IS SQUEEZING MY SKULL (POLYDOR/DECCA)

There is so much pleasure to be taken from this year’s Morrissey model and the empowering confidence that is exuding there from. This is Morrissey in a defiant mood, indulging in ageing disgracefully and looking to offend with it.

With a sleeve that features Morrissey draped around a statue of Johnny Ramone, there is a punkish ferocity to proceedings that musically, dare I say, actually reminds me of early Fugazi. After only a few bars the track is already crisp and snapping with true bite, no surprise then that it was chosen as the opening track of on “Years Of Refusal”. This is something I cannot recall having heard from Morrissey’s band before. Why the sudden rise in tempo? Did something happen to his heart rate? Is this urgency real? Is he dying?

Once established as a more sprightly outing than usual the lyrics kick in as our man gets all defensive and accusatory opening with the greatest of lines in “I’m doing very well, I can block out the present and the bad now.” Take that disbelievers, within the first two lines of his new album he has told you to fuck off. He then ups the stakes with the inflammatory retort “I know that by now you think I should have straightened myself out but you drop dead.” These are fighting words. This is a man that will take you on and win. He should be running a pub in the East End and he knows it. I want to tap into his defiance. And fast.

“There is no love in modern life.”

At time when the musicians of this era seem to resemble old school boring politicians that people would vote in and keep their fingers cross for, this truly is a supreme being in this environment. This cuts to the bone with a poetry others can only dream of nearing.

Its great when heroes live up to their billing and reputation.

Thesaurus moment: heavyweight.

Morrissey
Decca
Polydor

AN EXPERIMENT ON A BIRD IN THE AIR PUMP – THESE SINS EP (TROUBLE RECORDS)

2009-04-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

AN EXPERIMENT ON A BIRD IN THE AIR PUMP – THESE SINS EP (TROUBLE RECORDS)

For a while now there has been something of a subtle buzz regarding this band and in reality it all seems something of an exercise of style over substance but a style such as this, compared to the current defining fare, I am very happy to find myself being suckered in and lapping it up like a kitten licking milk.

I always wanted to date a reformed goth, a lady with a dark demeanour but obviously one that would not be laughed at in the street by teenagers. My ideal goth lady would possess a finely tuned sense of humour in addition to a pretty good record collection including records by The Cure (the good ones and the bad ones). Now if you added to this equation the lady being Asian, chunky and with a killer fringe you have something and someone I could get very excited about. Suddenly you see how I (and not I alone) have been suckered in my An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump.

Musically there is a restrained, undistorted Jesus & Mary Chain feel to the band with primal Moe Tucker-esqe drum beats and patterns coupled with looping guitars and a tribal sounding delivery in both the vocals and lyrics that are goth in a Lydia Lunch kind of way, unashamedly taunting in content.

By the time we reach the cover version of “100%” by Sonic Youth a distinct No Wave tone appears to have found its way onto the b-side (named the “Inside” to the a-side’s “Outside”) followed by the most expressive song of this restrained release in “The Past Between Us”.

This band would have been a perfect goth band for 4AD in the eighties but now, I’m not so sure. Here’s hoping for good things however.

Thesaurus moment: mode.

An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump
Trouble Records

SONIC YOUTH – SACRED TRICKSTER (MATADOR RECORDS)

2009-04-20T00:50:00.000-07:00

SONIC YOUTH – SACRED TRICKSTER (MATADOR RECORDS)

I’m not actually sure that this was released as a single. Indeed the copy/version I have appears to be some kind of radio promo that I purchased on eBay for an amount not necessarily value for money. My woes then continue as I place the one track CD into my player and it is according to my mini stereo a blank CD. What are these people doing to me?

This is the lead track from The Eternal, which is the band’s first album on Matador now that they have been freed from their evil corporate contract with the devil of Geffen (who appeared to turn into Universal towards the end).

Clocking in at just over two minutes it is a relief to hear the band pulling together to stoke a coherent, relatively structured song that focuses on the ride rather than the mechanics involved. You always need to know where something originates from in order to enjoy it.

Ultimately Sacred Trickster proves a fruity and lively lead track with vocals from Kim that eventually become awash with glorious distortion gummed guitar. As she recounts moronic questioning along the lines of “what’s it like to be a girl in a band” it suggestions some form of frustration as the lyrics feel as cut up as ever with the agenda most definitely remaining music first and words second. And then there is still time and room for a big fuck off hook.

In a world where music is barely being released on physical formats now and singles are now all but in this the past despite the quality of this song you still would not be likely to hear it on the radio.

Thesaurus moment: muliebrity.

Sonic Youth

Matador Records

JANE’S ADDICTION – MOUNTAIN SONG (WARNERS)

2009-04-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

JANE’S ADDICTION – MOUNTAIN SONG (WARNERS)

It was thanks to Perry Farrell’s unique sounding vocal delivery that it was always possible to spot a Jane’s Addiction song from a mile off. After the waterfall like opening of Farrell falling down and delivering his announcement yell Dave Navarro takes over playing through the storm as if her were revving the largest engine fuelled with napalm.

Re-released to coincide with Record Store Day (and probably the song’s appearance on Guitar Hero 4) you always felt that the timing of Jane’s Addiction was just too early and after the huge contribution (and investment) that they made with Lollapalooza and the creation of the monster version of alternative rock that exploded with Nirvana, geographically the gods were not smiling on them as they missed out on the Seattle rush.

Lifted from “Nothing’s Shocking” I still swear today that the influence of this record is far more reaching than people remember, realise or acknowledge. At school I seldom made friends with people in the year above me but as I wore my favourite Mudhoney wrestler t-shirt the lank haired greaser in a Jane’s Addiction shirt in the year above always gave me the thumbs up and nod of approval.

Compared to their alternative rock counterparts Jane’s Addiction were pretty clean in comparison. Navarro’s playing is incredible and there is no doubting his talent or credentials as the guitar on this single is relentless and grandiose all at the same time, which with hindsight may have meant they were just too well polished to be cool from the indie standpoint of the alternative nation and then with Farrell’s vocals and general appearance they were just too weird for the metal crowd. As I said bad timing and bad positioning.

Thesaurus moment: midst.

Jane’s Addiction
Warner Records

YEAH YEAH YEAHS – ZERO (POLYDOR/GEFFEN)

2009-04-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

YEAH YEAH YEAHS – ZERO (POLYDOR/GEFFEN)

This is actually a much better song than initial plays would suggest. Held within the depths and layers of the experience is an intricate system of textures that subtly serves to expound on the strengths of each instrumentalist involved. I believe the official term for this record is that it is a “grower.”

“Zero” is the kind of indie song that stays around for years. On a good day the Yeah Yeah Yeahs seem to inhabit a space that delivers a sound that quite confidently rubs shoulders with the width of the New York sounding ranging from the pop of Blondie to the noise of Sonic Youth. Whether taking the best parts of both and creating something more cohesive and salient is good thing or a horribly derivative gesture is open to debate and would vary on what kind of listener to grill.

From my perspective initially I did not click with this song but subsequent repeated plays on daytime Radio One drummed the song into my consciousness as the subtle moments gradually turned into sledgehammer blows of noise pop with hooks that dug deep.

Possessing a very satisfying and pleasurable intro it gradually builds to something of an exhilarating resolution that glistens and pulses with orchestral somersaults as the band yet again finds its way towards producing something very unique and industrious.

Flipping over there is an Erol Alkan rework that sees the track injected with breezy bleeps and a bouncy sense of fun that makes things frenetic and displays the range of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs capabilities and how they have managed to broaden their horizons and sniff up against the mainstream. For the win.

Thesaurus moment: nadir.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Polydor
Geffen

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED – AGORAPOCALYPSE (RELAPSE RECORDS)

2009-04-15T01:20:00.000-07:00

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED – AGORAPOCALYPSE (RELAPSE RECORDS)

Agoraphobic Nosebleed is one of those bands that most people in the UK would have heard of through their tracks being played by John Peel. That guy was amazing for pushing such slabs out of noise through the stereo, turning Radio One into something rebellious and truly anti parent. There is absolutely nothing about the station these days that even lingers near being so edgy.

This is the band’s fourth studio album and again it rides the line of more metal than hardcore being grindcore. For years the band has been infamous for its song titles and we are not let down here as such poetry as “Dick To Mouth Resuscitation”, “White On White Crime” and “Druggernaut Jug Fuck” makes the grade.

Unsurprisingly it is pummeling and relentless stuff that really requires a fine tuned and trained ear to truly appreciate the nuances of such a gnarly game and genre as ultimately the music is the kind more likely to generate annoyance and anger out of the majority (your parents, your neighbours) and enjoyment for the minority.

On face value this is an obnoxious racket but within the content there are several nods to current affairs and issues discussing a real curiosity and concern for the state of the world. In “Timelord One (Loneliness Of A Long Distance Drug Runner)” comes a subtle nod to an English Tom Courtney kitchen sink drama movie classic from the sixties while “First National Stem Cell And Clone” addresses that old chestnut and national sticky wicket. Now if only you could understand the lyrics without having to consult the booklet or look online.

Born in 1994 and hailing from Springfield, Massachusetts there is a kind of Simpsons vibe to their work, one of dark humour delivered with a sledgehammer blow providing the perfect soundtrack to wandering around a supermarket to.

I was agoraphobic when I was younger (but that’s a story for another time).

My neighbours are currently banging on the wall, time to turn this shit up.

Thesaurus moment: busted.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Relapse Records

VETIVER – EVERYDAY (BELLA UNION)

2009-04-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

VETIVER – EVERYDAY (BELLA UNION)

A happy song for happy people. I’m not really sure where this is supposed to fit in with the everyday running of the world but as an ode to an individual on a summer day it could well serve as a spring to action for the dozen or so individuals that listen to this band and its music.

Vetiver are friends of Devendra Banhart, that annoying flash in the pan from a few years ago that acted as skag to the indie kids when dabbling in and sampling folk. For most this is not much of a recommendation.

I can’t really work out why this kind of music is popular with the indie masses. It is slow and uneventful (and for the most part unenlightened). I suspect in order to appreciate this record you need to be happy with your lot, accomplished or devoid of aspiration just happy to poodle along allowing your parents to pick up the cheque along the way and never feel any consequence for your actions. This is the aural equivalent of begging.

The name Vetiver is apparently derived from the grass (no, me neither), perhaps a gesture of the food stuffs the mooing mob audience is ingesting whilst listening to this music.

Hippy shit.

Thesaurus moment: vacant.

Vetiver
Bella Union

MARK SULTAN – HOLD ON (SUB POP)

2009-04-13T02:19:00.000-07:00

MARK SULTAN – HOLD ON (SUB POP)

Coming in a beautifully package pink vinyl form Mark Sultan charges in like a swami with a true rock and roll gesture sounding a cross between Buddy Holly and Billy Childish. The spirit is strong in this one.

I’m not really sure as to why or how but this sound seems to be making something of a return in certain circles at the moment. As distinct as it is it is also disturbing.

Mark Sultan is a Canadian musician that has been playing in various garage bands for years under a whole range of different names. His most recent persona was the excellently named BBQ and with this release appears to be his latest regeneration Dr Who style.

The flipside features a ghostly Joe Meek number that eventually goes out of its way to destroy itself and cast a dark shadow over all that involved in the affair of playing and listening to this record. This is the bite of rattlesnake.

The wicked cover art, Luscious pink vinyl and the fact the release came on Sub Pop were ultimately the elements that saw this purchase and sadly not the musical content held within. Try again.

Thesaurus moment: bluff

Mark Sultan
Sub Pop

THE HOLD STEADY – A POSITIVE RAGE (ROUGH TRADE/VAGRANT/FRENCHKISS)

2009-04-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

THE HOLD STEADY – A POSITIVE RAGE (ROUGH TRADE/VAGRANT/FRENCHKISS)

There is definitely something about The Hold Steady that appeals to my Guided By Voices sensibilities along with the idea and concept of rocking out while also being a reckless grown up in the process. The Hold Steady are the brand of rock that God himself designed in a message/effort to insert some excitement back into guitar music and listening to their records or watching them live the enthusiasm of their music genuinely transmits to the listener in the form of energy and excitement.

This seventeen track live album documents the culmination of the busiest and most successful period of the band’s existence. The CD comes coupled with an exuberant DVD documentary that serves well to portray the Hold Steady live experience as being one of the most thrilling and earnest live shows of the past few years.

The DVD opens with footage of their lost weekend in London a couple of Januarys ago and having been present myself at the Saturday night Borderline show I was able to witness first hand the ferociously positive manner in which the set was delivered and how drunken and sweaty their performance could be. Personally for me it represented one of those perfect Saturday nights where party seemed/felt plausible and optimism flew high.

Opening with “Stuck Between Stations” by the close of the first song you can already sense and smell the emitting from their performance.

A Positive Rage is the perfect description of this band and the live experience attached to their existence. Somehow in his delivery Craig Finn manages to accomplish the feat of vocalising with both a smile and a sneer as he the method resembles more melodic speaking rather than conventional singing. The song topics sting and amaze, they are pretty bleak in content but also ablaze in some kind of resignation of that is how things are and this is the way to deal to with them. The optimistic cynicism of this band is the key to its existence and popularity, these may be dumb and primal songs musically but lyrically they border on genius.

As “Massive Nights” kicks in it is a true stadium rock display of celebrating a tangible club/house party. Here is a rock band steeped in with a tradition one foot in classic rock and another in hardcore. The licks are large and so is the ferocity.

The interaction between the band and the audience comes through on this album as basically the Hold Steady are one of those bands that just make you want to pick up a guitar and rock out but everyone knew that anyway already.

Thesaurus moment: efficacious.

The Hold Steady
Vagrant Records
Rough Trade Records
Frenchkiss Records

DOOM – BORN LIKE THIS (LEX RECORDS)

2009-03-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

DOOM – BORN LIKE THIS (LEX RECORDS)

At first I didn’t really pay any mind to the latest MF Doom incarnation but then suddenly I was hit with the track “Cellz” which opens with a Charles Bukowski reading of his poem “Dinosauria, We” and quite frankly it sounds as if the world is ending. This is my kind of music.

For years I have never been able to work out how come Marvel Comics haven’t sued a large part of the hip-hop community into oblivion. What we have here is quite obviously the arch nemesis of the Fantastic Four had he chose rhymes over world domination. Perhaps Marvel takes it as a compliment, perhaps the slight changes in persona/identity (i.e. MF Doom instead of Dr Doom) keeps things far enough away from copyright infringement to be safe. Running on the same theme Ghostface Killah pops up as Tony Starks and NOT Tony Stark. It’s a fine line between stupid and genius.

This is a street album viewed through the escapism of being a superhero. It is both dark and respectful; playing out beats, rhymes and tunes in a classic manner. Delivered as a running narrative over seventeen tracks the content of Doom is now darker than ever as all concepts become bleaker. I say it is seventeen tracks but being in such a format many of these are bridging verses caked in minimal rhymes and disorientating samples, six of the tracks indeed fail to even reach two minutes in length.

There is a healthy dose of golden age TV referencing/nostalgia, not least on “Angelz” featuring Tony Starks/Ghostface Killah who appears to be reading the television listings from 1978 before tearing into a big sexy description of his Charlie’s Angels. Raekwon also makes a fleeting appearance on “Yessir!” (which in another era may have been the lead single) but the pick of the guest spots/slots comes from Empress Sharhh on the gorgeous “Still Dope” which with its glory hole loop/sample serves as a prime affirmation. The other standout track is “Absolutely” with its laidback destruction via minimal beats and heavy crackles that make things feel like 1994 once more.

Overall it’s a pretty solid record, if not a perfect one, the superhero samples, old skool beats and trademark MF Doom rhymes (mouth too close to the mic, few stops for breath, all smashed out direct in a very straight line) make for one great episodic adventure.

Thesaurus moment: marvel.

Doom
Lex Records

THE NOISETTES – DON’T UPSET THE RHYTHM (VERTIGO)

2009-03-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

THE NOISETTES – DON’T UPSET THE RHYTHM (VERTIGO)

I feel foolish and duped for purchasing this record. For some crazy reason I thought this band was going to be something else but as soon as the needle hits the admittedly impressive vinyl the penny drops and it is just the latest form of indie disco shambles and mess. This feels like such an Uncle Tom kind of record.

Currently appearing in a Mazda advert ripping off a White Stripes video (“Seven Nation Army”), absolutely everything about this song/single stinks of making money and running. The crude sexual overtones are hardly subtle and these echo the whirring sentiments and message of the dirty slag that is this song.

At the end of the day it all sounds like being at some horrible fun park that was torn apart by Hurricane Katrina and now the government wants no part of this embarrassing reality so in the words of the singer its “DIY to paradise” (or something).

There is an argument to say that this song is infectious but so also is swine flu and if this record sounds new and fresh to you you obviously were not around in the eighties, more you were a putrid piece of jizz dribbling out of your father’s cock and reluctantly crawling into your mother’s cunt into a womb that was just as uninterested and unwelcoming. In fact anyone that likes this song/single, you were a mistake and should have been an abortion were it not for the fact that clinic charges too much.

Why is there such a vacant fucking look in these people’s eyes? This is a bad record.

Thesaurus moment: before.

The Noisettes
Vertigo

DR MIXOMATOSIS – MODULE 23: ORIGINALITY IN MUSIC (SELF RELEASED)

2009-03-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

DR MIXOMATOSIS – MODULE 23: ORIGINALITY IN MUSIC (SELF RELEASED)

Much like those old Open University programmes that the BBC2 used to show on Saturday mornings in an era before Dick And Dom and Hider In The House, there is a strange appeal to the lecture of Dr Mixomatosis with this module.

In what could so easily have slipped into patronising instead the lecture happily overdoses on the entertaining in order to reach the height and pinnacle of show business: edutainment.

This is the disc that accompanied the lecture and with this CD you get ten acts for the price of five.

Beyond the crushed midget drone of “The Really Useless Group” opener the examples of originality (or rather lack there of) kicks in with “Unacceptable In The Eighties” which is a very slick and accommodating mash up of “Come As You Are” by Nirvana and “Eighties” by Killing Joke, which is a rip off even noticed by accountants (albeit ones that were students in the eighties themselves). The job Dr Mixomatosis does here is a very astute and tasteful one that acknowledges the value of the offending/guilty track but also how it ultimately adds and improves the use of the riff.

With “Drugbusters” the thievery performed by Ray Parker Jr on Huey Lewis And The News is painfully exposed in what is a more alarming and shocking (and previously unheard) piece of evidence.

The process of borrowing is next highlighted on track four by Kelly Osbourne raping Steve Strange of all his Visage glory to produce a song that sounds like a lukewarm Ladytron. Was it really worth the pain? This is the decision for the listener to make.

The closing example is perhaps the most heinous and disturbing but also the one that displays the biggest degree of revenge by using the original to expose the fraud as an aural/oral piece of cheese. With “Call On Valerie” Dr Mixomatosis manages to empower Steve Winwood to get up out of his comfy chair and wrestle back his vocals/lyrics back from Eric Prydz and with it substance and heart. Steve Winwood may not be a popular place to be at right now but up against this tat its Dad’s Army all the way.

And so it is with minimal persuasion that Dr Mixomatosis opens up the ears of the listener and allows them to make up their own decision as to whether true originality is possible in music and if/when liberties are taken is it possible to be fraud and still maintain credibility.

Thesaurus moment: pinch.

Mixomatosis

NIRVANA – THE TRIPLE PLATINUM EP (NO LABEL)

2009-03-14T07:46:00.001-07:00

NIRVANA – THE TRIPLE PLATINUM EP (NO LABEL)

This is the point that music becomes a fetish item. This record is a prized rarity for all the wrong reasons and as a result it is a thing of beauty. In the wrong eyes/hands/ears a purchaser could feel ripped off but in a learned mind the things that could make this bad are the things that actually make it exciting.

When Nirvana broke music was still exciting, fresh from a format perspective and exciting to collectors as the songs still possessed some kind of tangible value, still had personality and individuality. As MP3s songs just literally get lost in the shuffle but when Nirvana came along it was years before the digital nation took over and ruined many prized aspects of the glory of music.

The concept and idea now of doing a seven-inch bootleg feels truly absurd. This unfortunately confirms just how Nirvana (and grunge) was truly a lifetime ago.

From an aesthetic viewpoint everything about this record is wrong. With the garish green colour choice and crap fonts used on the artwork to the sneaky way the gorgeous white vinyl attempts to disguise (justify) itself as a promo you sense not a lot of love was put into the construction of this record. Indeed the photo on the cover features the drummer (Chad Channing) that wasn’t even part of the band at the point it reached triple platinum. Full of faults, you cannot but love this record and see it as anything but beautiful.

Reading the tracklist you are met with nonsense. At no point did Nirvana have songs called “Not What It Means”, “She Said” or “Make It Big” in their cannon. Instead the songs are “In Bloom”, “Breed” and “Pay To Play”.

The version here of “In Bloom” is a poorly transferred copy of the rather jagged Sub Pop video from the Chad Channing period and in my opinion superior take on the song. Following is a demo version of “Breed” that arrives abruptly and sounds finished if not polished. Perhaps I’m wrong, maybe it is just a poor lift from Nevermind. Either way the energy of the song remains undiminished and undisputed. Finally is the demo to “Stay Away” called “Pay To Play” that eventually wound on that strange Geffen Rarities compilation they put out for no reason in the mid-nineties. Again rougher and starker this is possibly a better than the eventual version that wound up on Nevermind.

This release causes me to crave for a music industry of old. There is no excitement or glamour in stealing tracks as MP3s but the downright theft of tracks to produce this distorted but beautiful release is the stuff of dreams.

Thesaurus moment: crafty

Nirvana

MORRISSEY – YEARS OF REFUSAL (DECCA/POLYDOR)

2009-03-11T01:36:00.000-07:00

MORRISSEY – YEARS OF REFUSAL (DECCA/POLYDOR)

Despite some kind of apparent indie conspiracy still working against him, the rejuvenated and revitalised (vital) 21st century model of Morrissey is truly a magnificent thing to behold. Now more resembling landlord at the Queen Vic, as opposed to speccy twatty geek of old, there is a real element/air of growing old with disgrace as a real snide and bitter tone remains to his musical output even if his backing hasn’t grown or matured with him. This record is the ultimate in defiance from the snide Stephen Fry of music.

It must be tough entering being a Smiths fan for the 25th year knowing that in the back of your head (and maybe in the forefront) the loser victim mentality of his actions and words remain something of an influence on your fabric and being. For this, rightly or wrongly, it is good (maybe essential) to gain the occasional nod of acceptance and loyalty.

This music remains perfect for anyone male and bitter looking to indulge in sarcastic defiance, an act probably immature that one that not to bother a care. He isn’t the tortured soul, it is his audience that are the tortured ones. As if Morrissey needs some fucking blogger telling him what he thinks about his new record.

Years Of Refusal kicks off with a bang as he wastes no time in posturing his lack of concern with “Something Is Squeezing My Skull.” Within the song come a number of self analysing questions that sound like echoes of words written by negative scribes to whom he later responds with “well you drop dead.”

The tribal drums of “Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed” give a real marching tone to proceedings as his words sting with “life is nothing much to lose, its just so lonely here without you.” In a questioning fashion he appears to reacting to mistrust with a vengeance lacking in so many.

By the time he is “Throwing My Arms Around Paris” it is becoming evident that Morrissey is feeling as lonely as his listeners. Once more it feels like he is acting out of defiance, trying to convince himself as much as anyone elsewhere. Here is a person that looks to reject before he gets rejected.

An entertaining air of arrogance is attached to “All You Need Is Me” aimed directly at all those naysayers that have criticised his actions and words in recent. These words could almost be aimed directly at my friend who liked to refer to him as the “Racist vegan.” Its all about wrong adoration. He knows he sells papers with what he says.

Likewise here is someone who very much knows his audience, not least for the nod to the Mexican fans on “When Last I Spoke To Carol”, which is kind of ironic to me considering that one of the last times I spoke to my friend Carol was at his Roundhouse show a year or so ago.

For some reason “That’s How People Grow Up” suddenly makes sense placed in this collection. Whereas previously it looked lost as a cash in extra track on his most recent hits compilation placed against the tone of the rest of this record it fits right in with the nonchalant look of revenge.

It is genuinely impressive how this record holds up and remains strong until the climax as “Sorry Doesn’t Help” endeavours to put things into context before “I’m OK By Myself” serves to send out a message of self satisfaction primed to be picked up and adopted by any lonely heart able to accept.

For me this record came perfectly times, arriving just as my heart lay in its current state of tatters. Basically the words of this record helped to put things into perspective (too much fucking perspective) as I found myself able to crawl out of moping and into anger. I’m better than that.

As the daft racist accusations now lend the music a new kind of edge that it quite possibly does not deserve in the current musical climate come the end of 2009 this will be an easy contender for album of the year

Thesaurus moment: secure.

Morrissey
Decca
Polydor

THE SLOW LIFE – BE NOT AFRAID (TRACE RECORDINGS)

2009-03-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

THE SLOW LIFE – BE NOT AFRAID (TRACE RECORDINGS)

With “Be Not Afraid” The Slow Life serve up a kind of chimed melancholy with one of the most atmospheric affairs that will be committed to disc all year.

Often positively reminiscent of Karate (Geoff Farina et al) the highly emotive output is the kind of music that paints pictures with its distinct elegance. Displaying a similar kind of determination as Lungfish, a towering sense of duty reverberates around the mind of the listener with its haunting throes of distant winds recall memories now left behind.

There is something distinctly unique in this gesture. Very rarely do you come across and discover such a calm and well paced record. With the unique chiming percussion it gives off an air of drizzling rain falling from the sky, seating a downbeat scene ripe for reflection.

When the record arrives at “When You Carry A Hammer” there is a sense and feeling of being in the presence of greatness. I doubt there will be a more complete and near perfect song produced all year. In a world (genre) where the craft often omits hooks in preference to attempting to appear smart “When You Carry A Hammer” somehow manages to perfectly sync all elements of what is great song writing and delivery.

As the remainder of the album plays out you are firmly on The Slow Life’s side, impressed and optimistic over the course of which these times are taking.

Afterwards I feel drained.

Thesaurus moment: rich.

The Slow Life
Trace Recordings

OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT – THE GIRL FROM THE BBC (ONE LITTLE INDIAN)

2009-03-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT – THE GIRL FROM THE BBC (ONE LITTLE INDIAN)

Despite the nice guitar sound there is something horribly flouncy that serves to hold this song back. Then once it really “kicks in” there is something so horribly lacklustre about the whole affair that it makes me want to go outside and find the nearest tramp or pregnant lady and kick them firmly between the legs with my biggest boot possible.

Just what is the fucking point of this song, record and band? This is a seven inch single on vinyl, this dross is quite literally killing the planet and with me wasting electricity on playing it on my turntable in a way I am joining them in draining the planet’s resources. Now who is the bigger bloody fool now?

With a chorus that features “do do da da do” or something equally tedious in a way it does sound like Gary Numan on a crap day using guitars instead of robots and computers but also it is the band Menswear that comes to mind as I lock and load my shotgun and consider doing bad things if this song does not finish soon.

When they talk about the girl from the BBC is it any particular one? Can’t we possibly get hold of her (them or it) and get them persuade this band to do something else, to talk them down and never look back? Can we?

The song has finished now and the sun has actually come back out. All good things.

Thesaurus moment: meh.

Official Secrets Act
One Little Indian

NEKO CASE – MIDDLE CYCLONE (ANTI)

2009-03-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

NEKO CASE – MIDDLE CYCLONE (ANTI)

Neko Case follows in a long tradition of amazing US indie female songwriters. This talent comes coupled with a staunch and fresh appreciation for the country twang that mature and hip audiences appear to admire and desire these days. I’m not really quite sure why this is but certainly Neko Case fits into the pretense of being both a rough and wholesome example of this kind of spirit.

The Neko Case audience is not your traditional country fanbase. This is a more lefty and considered set of people, folk more inclined to be sympathetic to such a lady’s apparent plight. With this in mind it serves to make the audience easier to dupe, to cloud when proceedings become cheesy. In a way this record and the relationship between audience and listener is really quite patronizing on many levels.

From this is Throwing Muses without the chops at which point the question becomes: can the voice and lyrics carry this record? Not to my knowledge. Occasionally it sounds like Kristin Hersh fronting Mazzy Star which isn’t necessarily a promising thing.

There appears to be two forces tugging at this record and these are the desire of directions. One is country and the other is indie. Both are worlds inhabited by oddballs but one is structured towards existing in a green belt while the other a grey belt. As the majority of the listenership exists in the latter but yearns the former it all becomes something of an effort it would seem to keep everybody happy.

For some reason I keep labouring the fact of the audience. I just can’t get with how country music has seeped into alternative rock in recent times. I don’t think they make for good bedfellows and often they seldom have more in common that just being performed and listened to by middle class white people (some might say the educated). Why should I take exception to this? I just find snobbish, a gesture towards exclusivity.

Back to the music and with “Prison Girls” a true moment of greatness is hatched in the most beautiful and emotive of songs singing of a pained and convincing existing that culminates in a sense of realistic resignation, acceptance and grudgingly attained beauty. If only the rest of the record had sounded like this. There is an infuriating inconsistency attached to this album.

Sometimes you cannot force yourself to like a record that you were destined to hate.

Thesaurus moment: trailer.

Neko Case
Anti

ROTHKO – THE LONGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS EP (TRACE RECORDINGS)

2009-03-02T04:58:00.000-08:00

ROTHKO – THE LONGEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS EP (TRACE RECORDINGS)

Powering out of the gates after the momentous “Eleven Stages Of Intervention” album, it is business as usual for the ambient bass monster that is Rothko. High on atmospherics and emotions this four song EP appears to represent the current state of the nation with regards to the minimal direction Rothko now appear to be taking.

The release opens with “Give” and a righteous groove harbouring some kind of motional discontent on a wayward journey. The bounce that comes from the playing on this track is infectious and eventually verging on menacing. As it disappears off into the distance at the climax all once more seems well.

For an EP this is a lengthy and ambitious collection laden with more atmospherics than ever before, something most vividly displayed on the second track “Declaration”. These songs feel like an outpouring with the way the open with ambience before eventually erupting into contained chaos, assertive ahead of aggressive. As the release ends with rattles on “For The Day We Said” it feels like a summons, a coded message to a higher power, a confession and ultimately a conclusion.

With titles of songs almost act as some kind of riddle the tender texture of sounds serve as a surprisingly emotive affair as the listener is able to extract their own interpretation from the bass reading.

Let this band forever be strong.

Rothko
Rothko interview
Rothko live
Trace Recordings

EMMY THE GREAT – FIRST LOVE (CLOSE HARBOUR)

2009-02-23T14:45:00.000-08:00

EMMY THE GREAT – FIRST LOVE (CLOSE HARBOUR)

Earthy and acoustic, Emmy The Great on this occasion feels very much the antithesis of Kate Nash and all those other ballsy young teenage girls that like to sniff out any kind of weakness available at their disposal in order to exploit and manipulate before getting daddy to pay to bail them out. Perhaps and maybe.

I don’t think Emmy The Great will be too impressed to hear that of anybody else in music this reminds me most of Lisa Loeb. And that Hallelujah refrain – it’s just playing into people’s hands! Leave that kind of shit to the wonder lips on the face of Alexandra Burke as she attempts to butt fuck Leona Lewis (Lennox Lewis’ drag persona) out of the stratosphere. Leona of course will be all right, her music industry dad will see to it.

So what is really wrong with Emmy The Great? You sense she sees and hears herself as some kind of Beth Orton talent when really you the impression that she is some twee bitch they dug up out of the compost heap. “Piss on your grave” indeed.

Given a second hearing I flip the seven inch to hear the opposite offering which turns out to be a cover version of “Burn Baby Burn” by Ash. I don’t know what to say about this version of the song; I didn’t really like the original so it is unlikely that I am going to appreciate a floppy cover of it.

These fucking kids.

Thesaurus moment: wet.

Emmy The Great
Close Harbour

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS – IAMUNDERNODISGUISE (FULL TIME HOBBY)

2009-02-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS – IAMUNDERNODISGUISE (FULL TIME HOBBY)

When I first play this single scarily it is at the wrong speed and immediately I hate it for its pretensions and druid feel. After such a keen cover and artwork featuring lavish packaging my gut instinct is that it just does not match up. I revert to what I think and hope is the correct (normal) speed for the single and begin to judge again.

Even with the change of speed I am not convinced that this is a good move as I am faced with a set of vocals that resembles the Wicker Man soundtrack crossed with The Cranberries with a touch of Circulus. This is not a good thing.

In the court of King Arthur this may have cut the mustard but in the modern world and such crisis as terrorism and the credit crunch I truly cannot see how this song, record, band and/or music improves our environment any.

Flipping to the b-side and hoping for something better I find myself faced with more of the same, yet another stupidly conceived piece of tat complete with electronic beats born from song kind of unnecessary remix.

Knowing nothing about this band I enquire further and discover it is the dude from Simple Machines hooking/shacking up with two twins he met at an Interpol concert. That’s not a good thing either.

Interestingly though the original School Of Seven Bells is a mythical South American pickpocket training academy.

I don’t get it.

Thesaurus moment: somnolent.

School Of Seven Bells
Full Time Hobby

CHAPTER XIII – VALENTINE (LEVELSOUND MUSIC)

2009-02-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER XIII – VALENTINE (LEVELSOUND MUSIC)

There is a subtle amount of responsibility that comes with reviewing music that no one else is willing to touch. To heavily criticise such a piece of music and slag it off at ground zero is a heinous act akin to kicking the crutches away from a cripple. Sometimes however it feels like a necessary evil.

This two track CD single (I think) is released to coincide with the most frightful of Hallmark holidays (along with the commercialisation of Eid) “Valentine” is a tepid and gloomy offering confusing the most quizzical parts of my brain (if I have one) and causing me to stroke my chin and wonder just who is going to listen to this.

For such a commercially orientated release, the sound really stands out as being muddy and cheap sounding. There is no bite or purpose to this record it just sounds like grown ups trying to play music they don’t understand from a tab book purchased in a bad music shop.

Referring to the press release, the boast of “full on percussion” really is not the most salient of points and where the “harmonious venom” just quite is, is something of a Baker Street mystery to me, Baker Street that would probably actually embrace this release for all its big ties (major label distribution apparently) and business acumen. It is all built on sand.

I have to concede at this point that when I was sent the email asking me if I wanted a copy I was drunk.

Thesaurus moment: devoid.

Chapter xiii
Levelsound Music

MORRISSEY – I’M THROWING MY ARMS AROUND PARIS (DECCA/POLYDOR)

2009-02-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

MORRISSEY – I’M THROWING MY ARMS AROUND PARIS (DECCA/POLYDOR)

Morrissey circa 2009 is becoming something of a revelation as takes his rightful spot as elder statesman of indie with the kind of personality and charisma that nobody else appears to possess in this day and age of tepid and too willing to please alternative music.

Complete with irksome inner sleeve featuring the man and his band covering their cocks with seven inch singles (who’d have thought Morrissey a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan sharing such lowbrow common ground) there is plenty to turn a normal person off with this packaging but you persist anyway.

The single begins with the igniting of an energy and within seconds of this opening gesture Morrissey is already flopping around expounding his declarations towards Paris. These are truly confusing sentiments as I had never had Mozza down as being much of a fan of the French.

As ever it’s all about love and the weight here appears doused and drenched upon an entire city because he is feeling in a rejected frame of mind. Is it truly his audience, his homeland or a real person that is bring on this emotional baggage and toll?

To me and many this is an abjectly beautiful song with painful sentiments that are dissolving into some kind of sense of negative contentment as the song plays out. Despite my reservations there is true pay off at the close of this song as it ends with the eternal declaration “yes you’ve made yourself plain, yes you’ve made yourself very plain” delivered and executed in the most defiant and nonchalant of manners. Even in the face of rejection the elder statesman Morrissey is able to win.

We care.

Thesaurus moment:

Morrissey
Decca
Polydor

YONOKIERO – BLUE APPLES (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

2009-02-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

YONOKIERO – BLUE APPLES (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

Musicians have to mature. If for nothing else they have to have “continued professional development” but equally if an act or songwriter continues to regurgitate the same turgid shit year after year it becomes insincere and even worse, boring. Bands that have a career (or yearn/strive for a career) tend to find their formula early (often a variation of someone else’s sound), stick with it and wind becoming stale and boring in the process. This can often carry an act through a long career as the quality of the material gets distracted by hype, personality and whole set of other elements that do not relate to the art therein. This album represents a victory against that kind of complacency and the beauty of evolution.

The two headed monster that is Yonokiero is the enduring partnership that fuelled the fire of Hirameka an indie generation ago and provided many noisy lo-fi moments and dreams rejuvenating a small circle of people and daring to brush up against some big dreams while tussling with real (professional) indie heavyweights.

At this point I have to admit I could never truly be subjective about these guys. I have lived with them, toured with them, argued with them, been sick on them but that is all in the past and with this record I am sufficiently detached and genuinely presented with something I was neither expecting nor recognise. Sure I have been hearing demos of many of these songs for a couple of years now but nothing in this form. I remember their first gig at a house party called the Green Man Roundabout Festival and how thrilling it was to witness the rebirth and reinvention.

The most noticeable transition and addition to their arsenal is the expansion of instruments and sounds. Pleasantly sedate, after all the noise and furore of Hirameka, this is very much their Unplugged In New York (especially on the intro on “Randolph Bourne”), echoing a similar direction that other heroes have taken in evolution with bands such as The Evens.

The highlight tracks amongst the Nick Drake enthused collection include “Hey Now”, one of the older songs on show full of gliding pop with an “About A Girl” feel and Larry Sanders nod in the song title. Conversely in a batch of carefully crafted tunes it is the loudest and heroically lumbering of “Rewound” with its “time for reunion” mantra coupled with beautiful disorientation in its distortion which provides a real bipolar response.

With vocals that are generally hushed in delivery, adding an air of mystery and often menace, it is difficult to decipher what is being said all of the time but for those that are clear the lyrics flow as closely coded and guarded riddles only a spectator next to the trees could fathom, a kind of antidote to the Neil Strauss way of thinking and a different take on making sense of situations. This is the work of a yo yo ego.

Its not perfection but in a world so cold you have to welcome and support such a rank contender/outsider.

Thesaurus moment: restoration.

Yonokiero
Front And Follow

OCEAN BOTTOM NIGHTMARE – WE ARE SERIOUS EP (PHAT PHIDELITY)

2009-02-02T02:24:00.000-08:00

OCEAN BOTTOM NIGHTMARE – WE ARE SERIOUS EP (PHAT PHIDELITY)

Ocean Bottom Nightmare (or rather OBN for short) find me on a fortuitous day as I desire something heavier, heavier than heaven, heavier than hell.

Hailing from Nottingham, what we have here are a hardcore snapping three piece leaning more on the metal side of hardcore as opposed to the punk.

Happily citing bands such as Mclusky and Reuben as their inspirations, here is something of an uninspired take on that sound, a sound that lacks a sense of humour that the genre so needs/requires to thrive on. If you really take life so seriously, as this EP title would suggest, soon you’ll adopt some kind of straitjacket as modelled by the latest version of the emo crowd.

On their side is a distorted bass that briefly makes the music breath and stand out but as the stern demeanour of the apparent personality of the band and its music take over and overwhelm such touches, the whole thing is inevitably lost to the ages.

In the end, this music is rock leaning towards the metal tone and taste of Kerrang readers, the music just feels too well adjusted to cause any real ripples in the grand scheme of things and you can shout as much as you like and you just will not be taken seriously. Unless of course you are good looking and goth girls want to fuck you. Are you?

Thesaurus moment: Zavvi.

Ocean Bottom Nightmare
Phat Phidelity

EXTREME NOISE TERROR – LAW OF RETALIATION (OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS/POWER IT UP)

2008-12-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

EXTREME NOISE TERROR – LAW OF RETALIATION (OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS/POWER IT UP)

As a Bukowski scribed sample of Mickey Rourke drawling in Barfly opens “Nothing No More” it captures one of my all time favourite quotes about people – “I just seem to feel better without them around.” The astute use of this statements add a whole new level to the pummelling assault that is Extreme Noise Terror revealing depths that are not distinguishable on the surface. These samples are littered all the way through the course of this album.

Peel approved and endorsed, ENT have always lingered on the fringes of greatness as much as they linger on the fringes of society. Perhaps best known for their association with KLF and attack on the Brit Awards in 1992 (particularly upsetting Trevor Horn in the process) ENT are owned by the metal crowd which begs and probably answers the question as to why this band does not appeal to a Melt Banana either. Despite the two bands’ output not being wholly different, the reality is the uniform is just wrong.

Over the course of nineteen tracks ENT do what they are best at: pummelling the senses and spitting out crazy instructions in the least vocally coherent fashion known to man. To say to this is a real rush is a ridiculous understatement as on the right day in the correct frame of mind this is as exhilarating as music gets.

Hailing from Ipswich, home of the prostitute murderer and quite frankly the cheesiest football club in the country, that kind of rural home vibe rubs off in the outback goofiness of this record compared to these times. This ain’t what the cool kids are listening to but when was a track called “Rat Hell”?

The day I purchased this CD I bought it with view to impressing a Chinese lady I was meeting for the first off the back of her Gumtree. As I stood outside Karen Millen at Covent Garden awaiting her arrival I patted this CD in my pocket and pondered “this will serve me well all right.” Forty minutes later after she had failed to turn up my arse was out of joint, which is pretty much the sensation you are left with coming away from this record. She turned up in the end, which like ENT, is better late than never.

Thesaurus moment: devastation.

Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror live
Osmose Productions
Power It Up

KUNT AND THE GANG – MEN WITH BEARDS (WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?) (DISCO MINGE)

2008-12-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

KUNT AND THE GANG – MEN WITH BEARDS (WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?) (DISCO MINGE)

If you have ever laughed at a Derek And Clive record/routine you will have acknowledged just how funny and satisfying swearing and being crass can be. In times of such hellacious judgement and subtle political correctness squashing almost every form of art containing an element of edgy humour or anything that challenges the status quo, you just need to blow off steam and go all out to offend with view to weeding out.

When Bob Weston pointed out at ATP that the audience resembled an “indie rock Taliban” he was very much onto something, he was also probably wondering to himself “what are they hiding?” I sense your average guitar wielding may frown upon and fail to see the humour in such infantile musical exploits.

For a release to contain a “libel-free radio edit” this is generally a sign of good things in the bad taste stakes, an indication and suggestion of a person taking lyrical risks being playful in delivery.

Very rarely these days do you encounter releases that are enjoyable and challenging, that are genuinely likely to cause offence and sting with a true cavalier approach and attitude of being so carefree and callous? Ultimately Kunt (and Little Kunt) is only saying what we are thinking but delivering it with skill in a manner the majority of us could only dream of. This is visionary poetry.

Thesaurus moment: indelicate.

Kunt And The Gang

MIKA MIKO – SEX JAZZ (EXTENDED) (SUB POP)

2008-12-02T06:11:00.000-08:00

MIKA MIKO – SEX JAZZ (EXTENDED) (SUB POP)

Succeeding where, say, Erase Errata failed, Mika Miko plunder through a barrage of Raincoats and Slits influenced sounds with the greatest of success able to achieve some kind of coherence that can so/too often alienate the listener from such base expressionate recordings.

As Mika Miko are fully aware, the introduction of saxophones into a punk song is a guaranteed short cut to post-punk cred and so as a result what we have here on number three of the latest edition of the Sub Pop Singles Club is a very deliberate and concise statement of affairs and nod to being a going concern.

In a climate where Magik Markers are able to get away with murder, here is what I would class a band that is a mid point between The Shaggs and Magik Markers, a comparison that would likely not be received very positively but said/stated with no insult intended. Hey, I could have said they remind me slightly of the band from Gene Simmons Rock School TV show.

By the time you reach the Black Flag cover on the flipside they have rendered the song unrecognisable causing me to question if it is even a cover at all. This is primal.

Thesaurus moment: instinct.

Mika Miko
Sub Pop