The Best of February

tUnE-yArDs

It seems like barely four weeks ago we published The Best of January and that’s because it was – February is only four weeks long. We like to keep it simple, at the bottom of this article is a condensed musical version of what we’ve been talking about last month. That means there are singles from Field Music, Gorillaz, Two Door Cinema Club, Efterklang and Tunng. Tracks from the albums by Midlake, The Archie Bronson Outfit, Pantha Du Prince (with help from Panda Bear) and Hot Chip.

We also saw Shearwater, New Young Pony Club and tUnE-yArDs live as well as taking a second look at Arctic Monkeys. Cate Le Bon waxed lyrical on Syd Barrett’s second solo album (Barrett) and we reviewed her first. Looking back we celebrated Chemical Underground past and present and caught up with members of the long-split-up and much-celebrated Life Without Buildings.

Here it is: Muso’s Guide – February 2010

The best of January

Beach House - Teen Dream

For the intrigued/lazy amongst you we’ve decided to condense a month’s worth of blabber into an easy to digest Spotify playlist. Included are tracks from reviewed albums by Laura Viers, Beach House and Delphic as well as some January singles (OK and some late December ones) from These New Puritans, Late of The Pier, Plan B, I Was A King and The Strange Boys. … Continue Reading

2006: Gnarls Barkley, Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

While it was only a few short years ago, 2006 was a real game changer in terms of this decade. The previous year saw the implementation of digital sales into the singles chart and by summer this year Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ became the first UK number one not to sell a single physical copy. It was the also the year that YouTube went supernova and allowed many of us to check out classic clips of bands performing on Top of The Pops while we mourned the final weekly episodes. While the great rush to add people to your fledging MySpace account may have been slightly earlier, there are two acts that will forever be associated with it; Lily Allen and The Arctic Monkeys. … Continue Reading

Words with Blue Roses

Laura Groves

As a big fan of Blue Roses’s wonderful debut album and having been lucky enough to catch her a couple of times live before at The Great Escape and Glastonbury, Muso’s Guide was pleased to have the opportunity to chat to Blue Roses’ Laura Groves before her gig at The Captain’s Rest in Glasgow, earlier this month. Having to jettison an interview indoors thanks to the elderly gentleman, wearing his medals and a large poppy (it was Remembrance Sunday) who insisted on querying the war records of drinker’s grandfathers (no, really!) and not satisfied with was asking who had their medals. Laura chatted to us about her year, approach to song-writing and upcoming plans as well as Wild Beasts, gender roles in music and Twitter out in the wind and cold. Considering Laura had to cancel one gig before this night due to a sore throat, Muso’s Guide was very relieved that the tour was completed without anymore illness.

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Listen, Do You Want To Know A Secret? – thirteen under-appreciated Beatles songs

The Beatles

The coverage and discussion of The Beatles‘ re-issues this September carried with it the associated feeling that it marks the death of the CD-age in the same way the band helped to usher it in. Coupled with the sense that there’s very little that can be written about the greatest and most popular music of the 20th Century in the 21st, we decided to shine a light on a few of the Fab Four’s fabbest moments that don’t typically find their way onto compilations.

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First Aid Kit – Hard Believer/Waltz For Richard

First Aid Kit

If you didn’t already know that First Aid Kit’s Klara and Johanna Söderberg were Swedish sisters it’s likely that you wouldn’t guess their nationality from their music. They could quite easily come from the North West of the USA, home of Fleet Foxes who gave them a leg up by showcasing their heartbreaking cover of their ‘Mountain Tiger Peasant Song’ on their MySpace page. Now signed to Wichita, they have a debut album out next year and this lead-off single is a perfect showcase for them.

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Laura Marling and Friends, London Royal Festival Hall

Laura Marling

August 11, 2009

It was possible the couple in front of us that had tickets for Le Cirque Invisible at QE Hall, and didn’t twig they were in the wrong venue. And that makes me consider the improbability of this concert on face value.

Laura Marling, with one album to her name, is here playing to 3,000 people in the Royal Festival Hall and acting as Jools Holland showcasing a group of her contemporaries and friends who have, for the most part, not released more than a clutch of EPs in a show consisting of two one-hour sections. Despite this, there’s a palatable sense of excitement beforehand for the talent from the west London folk community (or whatever daft moniker you’d like to christen it with, nu-grass, nu-folk, Earls Court Convention [Ed - kudos]) taking to the stage.

Each of the artists is introduced via a video shot, after which a visibly nervous Marling strides on stage and opens up with the country-tinged ‘Mama How Far I’ve Come’; it’s the first of over half a dozen new songs showcased from her second album, due next spring. One of the first guests amongst the array of sofas, drum kits and a grand piano is the record’s producer Ethan Johns, who debuts the track ‘Hello Sunshine’ (co-incidentally the title of Adams’s forthcoming collection of writings). More intriguing though is his on-stage presence for a number of Marling’s songs, suggesting he leant his hand to playing a number of instruments on the recently completed record. … Continue Reading

Slow Club: “if you call us twee, we’ll kick you in the tits”

Slow Club

Muso’s Guide caught up with Slow Club in Aberdeen last month whilst they were supporting Jamie T. Here’s what they had to say on the then forthcoming release of their debut album Yeah, So:

The album is out soon, some of the material has been about for a while now. How did you decide what went on, what stayed off?

Charles Watson:  Most of it is pretty new actually; there are re-recordings of older songs though. It felt like an accurate representation of what we were playing live really and were enthusiastic about. There was no label pressure to leave any song on or off, although a few people made suggestions. It came together over time. I think we finalised the track listing on the last day.

There’s also the special edition isn’t there, with some b-sides / early singles and live tracks from Union Chapel to round things up. … Continue Reading

The 2009 Mercury Prize – our predictions

It’s less than a week until the nominations for the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize are announced in London. While there’s no real science behind trying to guess the twelve albums which make the list, there are certain albums that give off a vibe of the Mercury. Right here, Muso’s Guide takes a look at what records might be prominently displayed at your nearest HMV later this month. … Continue Reading

Glastonsunday, Worthy Farm

We Have Band

June 28, 2009

Sunday: a day spent mainly at the Pyramid. This means a walk up to The Park for Micachu and The Shapes is out of the question and we’re stuck watching Status Quo. This won’t do, we decide not to wait for their hits and head back down to John Peel for We Have Band, winner of the festival’s Emerging Talent competition. We are glad to see them play to a healthy amount of people and the three way sharing of “Oh, oh, oh” on ‘Oh!’ is some of the best fun we have had all weekend.

Later Tony Christie is on the Pyramid doing ‘Amarillo’, a conga weaves past us and man, woman and child are grinning like simpletons. We are still buzzing though after hearing the masterful ‘Walk Like a Panther’ in person and wanting to seek out last year’s Made In Sheffield which we never got round to hearing at the time. It’s then back into the Guardian Lounge for more cake, tea and newspapers and the relaxing aural soundscape of The Penguin Café Orchestra. There’s no rousing of anyone from the floor this time, though. … Continue Reading