Blondes – Blondes

Blondes - Blondes

By Russell Warfield

Writing about Blondes puts me out of my comfort zones. I don’t know much about electronic music, and all its wobbly, wonky sub-genres. I have no idea whether the term ‘hipster house’ – the tag commonly attached to this duo – is meant to be serious, a joke, an insult, or some combination of the three. But this doesn’t matter. You don’t need an encyclopedic knowledge of the continental IDM scene to be ravished by Blondes. It’s a record which makes an immediate connection with its listener – bathing your ears in glorious textures, sharing with you an unbridled sense of joy. Just wait for the simple-but-oh-so-effective bass lick of opening track ‘Lovers’ to kick in, and you’ll know that this album is going to be your friend. … Continue Reading

Of Montreal – Paralytic Stalks

Of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks

By Russell Warfield

At this point in Of Montreal’s career, it’s becoming just as much fun to guess what they’ll do next as it is to actually hear it. Beginning their life as a jingly-jangly ’60s pop outfit, more recent efforts have included a sort-of concept album which saw vocalist/mastermind Kevin Barnes transform into a black transsexual funk vocalist called Georgie Fruit halfway through its running time, as well as an hour long patchwork of thirty-to-sixty second ADD-riddled vignettes. 2010’s False Priest split the difference, combining the electro-funk production of Skeletal Lamping with the ready-for-radio song structures of Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?. Eager to buck a trend before it’s even formed, however, Paralytic Stalks delivers itself without apology as Barnes’ weirdest, darkest and least accessible work yet. … Continue Reading

Lana Del Rey – Born To Die

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

By Russell Warfield

By and large, I’ve successfully insulated myself from the Lana Del Rey whirlwind until hearing Born To Die. An indeterminate number of months ago, a friend of mine asked me if I’d heard ‘Video Games’ yet.  I gave it a cursory listen of about twenty four seconds, gave it an internal two word review of “some bollocks”, and left it at that. My first observation/concession about the actual album: ‘Video Games’ is not the “some bollocks” I originally fingered it to be. Simplistic and manipulatively melancholic on first listen, it reveals itself as a vehicle for a haunting and addictive melody – ultimately a much higher cut above the similarly omnipresent weepers from the likes of Adele. … Continue Reading

Chairlift – Something

Chairlift - Something

By Russell Warfield

While it’s true to say that Charlift’s 2008 single ‘Bruises’ didn’t become as embedded into the public consciousness as something like Feist’s ‘1234’ when it was used in an iPod advert a few years ago, it nevertheless drew plenty of positive attention from the exposure all the same. But in an almost Herculean effort to not capitalise on momentum, Charilift went into radio silence for four years, underwent a course of inter-band relationship drama, lost a member, and only now return for their second bite of the cherry. … Continue Reading

Cate Le Bon – CYRK

Cate Le Bon - CYRK

By Russell Warfield

Cate Le Bon. I hope against hope that that’s her real name. Either way, she certainly exudes a smoky nonchalance befitting of such a moniker. From the opening bars of ‘Falcon Eyed’, jaunty guitar chords are stabbed out with a charming sloppiness, underpinned by a loose and carefree drum pattern. The sound feels raw and ramshackle – blissfully uncaring of the fact that it sounds in danger of losing its most basic of grooves at any moment. But Cate gives no fuck for such false concerns. She knows what she’s doing with these ragged little songs, and she’s in no mood to oversell or needlessly polish her efforts. With an opening track which drags its heels to your ears with an deliciously can’t-be-bothered fade in, CYRK announces itself as a record which isn’t desperately interested in trying to arrest or impress its listener. … Continue Reading

James Blake, Bristol, Anson Rooms

James Blake

By Russell Warfield

November 29, 2011

This is the second time I’ve seen James Blake live this year. The first time was very early this year in Leeds, when the vocal-based debut album material hadn’t quite nestled in with me yet. That show was a conversion of the highest order – an absolutely engrossing hour of sound, dispelling any shadowy doubts I might have had about the merits of his slightly more restrained full length. Tonight was equally as excellent, and with half a year’s worth of absorption of his incredible album under my belt, my ability to appreciate his craft was also healthier than last time. … Continue Reading

Cass McCombs – Humor Risk

Cass McCombs - Humor Risk

By Russell Warfield

Coming just a few months after the gallows-bothering Wit’s End, there’s been quite a lot of (over)analysis about the inclusion of the word ‘humor’ in the title of Cass McCombs’ second LP of the year, heralded by some as proof of this being a sharp departure from his last record. My first obvious objection to this conclusion: it’s almost inevitable that Humor Risk is going to seem comparatively sprightly when juxtaposed with the deathly gloom of his last album. Second objection: it’s only a title, it’s still Cass McCombs, and it’d be a brave person who would bet on him ever putting out a record of jaunty piano vamping. … Continue Reading

Constellations Festival 2011, Leeds

Constellations 2011

By Russell Warfield

November 12, 2011

This year’s Constellations Festival was a double-decker treat for me. Not only was it a second straight year of excellent music at Leeds University Union (and only the second year in total, to boot), but it was also the first time that I managed to get back oop n’rth after graduating from the university earlier this year. Gorgeously decorated stages aside, it was a joy to roam around the place, enjoying performances, supping on pints which didn’t require me to sell a kidney to purchase. (Note to self: don’t just turn this into a review of how much you love Leeds) … Continue Reading

Constellations Festival 2011: Clashbusting

Constellations 2011

By Russell Warfield

Single-day festivals are a real pleasure of mine: lots of great bands, all in one place, without guy-ropes. And my favourite incarnation of forefather event Dot to Dot was the Manchester version, where pretty much the whole affair was homed within the confines of the Student Union building, minimising both drinks prices and walking distances. How fabulous, then, to have Constellations Festival fall into my life in Leeds last year, fully formed, seemingly from nowhere, operating almost identically, but better. For a debut appearance, its line up was staggering, with the likes of Four Tet, Broken Social Scene, Les Savy Fav fronting the bill – and this year is looking just as sexy. But, alas, the inevitable other side of the coin rears its ugly head: clashes. The schedule is out, so let’s talk this through together… … Continue Reading

EMA, London, Cargo

EMA

By Russell Warfield

September 14, 2011

As much as I’ve loved EMA’s debut record over the last few months, I must admit to having had some worries about whether the album’s dank, crawling atmospherics would result in the live concert equivalent of being tossed off by a freezing cold fist. In the event though, I wasn’t stood with such a tense wince across my face as that, and that’s because EMA’s live performance necessarily translates through a lateral move into more of an organic incarnation of instrumentation and delivery.

This is made instantly clear by the opening performance of album highlight ‘Marked’ – a song which, on record, proudly boasts the shrill squeaking of fingers sliding between frets as its loudest ingredient in the mix. Tonight, however, the predisposition towards cultivating a sense of creeping dread through production and mixing tactics is replaced by a far simpler (in a subtle sort of way) vocal-guitar-drums rendition of the song. Sure, we lose something in the menacing vocal filters which originally sold her gravelly drawl of ‘marrrhrhked’ so perfectly, but – as a live performance – the simpler arrangements, and the more human feel, allows the song to breathe in a more suitable way for the occasion. … Continue Reading