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
Of Montreal
2009′s been a corker, and we’ve only just entered its second half. And what better way to mark its passing than by a quick, chronological rundown of the best live moments thus far…
Of Montreal at Manchester University Students Union – January 29
Men dressed as pigs sprayed the crowd with pink feathers during the final, euphoric chorus of ‘A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger’. A man dressed as a tiger held another man upside down whilst he bit his crotch (meanwhile, ninjas infiltrated the dance floor). Barnes underwent three costume changes; one of which left him naked except for shaving foam. These, and countless other relentlessly mental antics, felt like the perfect visual manifestation of the smile-inducing schizophrenia of last year’s Skeletal Lamping. And, luckily, the musicianship suffered nothing for the band’s visual ambitions. From the opener ‘She’s A Rejector’, the crowd were instantly energised and dancing right up until Barnes and company closed their encore with a fun and well-earned cover of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ (punctuated by Barnes launching himself into the crowd and trashing gear with his guitar). I left the gig smeared with shaving foam and pink feathers. Surely you must agree that any gig which allows me to use the sentence “I left the gig smeared with shaving foam and pink feathers” deserves an honourable mention as one of the best of the year? … Continue Reading
Is Folk the new black? Considering the amount of product the style is shifting at the moment you could be right in thinking so. Here then are commentaries on three of the latest offerings to tempt you away from all that Pop and Indie nonsense you know you’re really all too old to be bothering with anymore – two from these very shores and the third from parts Scandic.
Thomas Dybdahl
First up we present Thomas Dybdahl‘s EP. The boy Dybdahl hales from Norway and already has four albums to his credit. This ep is the opening salvo in his attempt to create some market interest in the UK. Song one ‘Be A Part’ has a reasonable Country-ish, strumalong flavour to it and would go down pretty well in the background of a beer garden afternoon. ‘From Grace’ is rather more earnest and needy and leans too close to James Blunt, despite the above average backing performances, for my taste. ‘Pale Green Eyes’ starts off nicely with some dreamy xylophone noodling but then when the vocals come in there’s a bit of a WTF? moment before the whole thing morphs into a fairly interesting duet. The juxtaposition between the fast and slow parts is though unfortunately not handled in the best fashion. Lastly ‘Stay Home’ also gets off to a slow start – picked acoustic guitar and swoony violin. The deeper vocals hinted at on the previous track make a more convincing appearance although as time goes on they do start to sound a bit freak-on-the-end-of-a-phone so possibly you’d prefer to go out somewhere else than hang out with TD as he yearns away.
The Destroyers
Off to Birmingham next for The Destroyers. I’ve no idea what 15 is in Latin but that’s how many make up this thoroughly envigorating troupe (think Gogol Bordello or A Hawk and A Hacksaw and you’re on the right track). They’re ‘Out Of Babel’ single is three excellent minutes of no nonsense Balkan-inspired knees-up, whilst b-side ‘Where Has The Money Gone?’ comes across like Captain Beefheart fronting a Pogues/Fall supergroup. Having said all of that, their own description on MySpace as “The Prodigy meets Borat” is equally apt. You need to get hold of this and make it part of your pre-pub soundtrack, grab the album whenever it comes out and see them live the first chance you get.
Smoke Fairies
Bringing up the rear we have London-based duo Smoke Fairies who offer up a more Americana-ised version of Folk on their Frozen Heart ep although they definitely have more than one string to their bow. Track one, ‘Fences’, brought to mind PJ Harvey in its recounting of a forced move out of a city habitat and the easy pleasures of spending rather than saving. The title track employs a successful mix of slide guitar and Sandy Denny-esque vocal duetting to great effect in a tale of fading love. Song three, ‘He’s Moving On’, has a sparse yet warm sound as Jessica & Catherine track the progress of a restless male. At number four ‘Morning Light’ actually initially had me thinking of Madonna circa-Music but as it progresses there is clearly more depth and feeling within it’s four minutes then those initial few seconds hint at. Finishing things off comes ‘We Had Lost Our Minds’ which returns to the stylings of the title track to close out a very satisfying listening experience. … Continue Reading
As a music obsessive, having a disposable is a sublime prospect; that it’s not portable is far from devastating when the sample giveaway is so huge. As a mix CD-giver, being able to limitlessly share playlists is so hugely complementary to the ego-boosting that encircles the desire to make compilations; it’s a snapshot into my taste for the world to see. As a receiver, it’s also sublime – there’s none of the chit-chat of Last.fm, just music.
Does this change or eradicate the need for music reviews, though? Or does it just make certain of their purpose: a time-saving measure. The answer is probably that it’s too early to tell… though there’s no harm in finding out more, from more people than me. … Continue Reading
Manic Street Preachers
“We’ll release one double album that goes to Number One worldwide. One album, then we split. If it doesn’t work, we split anyway. Either way, after one album, we’re finished”
So claimed James Dean Bradfield in 1992. And at every available opportunity, the band repeated this laudable intention to anyone who would listen. And to a lot of people who wouldn’t. But, 17 years later the Manics are about to release their ninth album. Clearly, the boys from Blackwood were always the contradictory types.
But if they split tomorrow, they wouldn’t just be leaving behind nine bits of round plastic. They would be leaving behind a legacy greater than perhaps any band in the last 25 years. ‘Life-changing’ is a term which is grossly over-used, but it is an incontrovertible fact that the Manics have positively influenced the thoughts, tastes and values of thousands of people. … Continue Reading
Maxïmo Park - Quicken The Heart
It’s overcast outside, dull as two-year-old drizzle, so what can we do to pass the time? Oh hold on there’s a lightbulb emitting its soul around the circumference of our musoish brain: let’s liveblog our reaction to the new Maxïmo Park LP, Quicken The Heart. You can live through us that way. You trust us implicitly, right? Just hit F5… coming up very very soon!!! It will begin at 12pm…
If you’re hanging on the refresh button, here’s some background – it’s genuinely the first time I’ll have listened to the new album. For real. Watch my mind unfold before your very eyes. Not just any mind, but a ‘Park afficcionado‘s mind.
From what we’ve read so far, criticisms have centred around Smith’s vocals being “irksome” or something. Which is, well, a bit selfish. They’ve consistently proven themselves one of the most diversely influenced bands out there in the semi-mainstream. Their B-sides over the years are worth seeking out, so very worth seeking out – edging towards alt.country, eulogic folk paeans, way more than that. So the fact that we’re now at album three has created quite some stir round these parts. … Continue Reading
Jeff Buckley - Grace
I find it difficult to listen to Nick Drake’s Pink Moon, and Elliott Smith’s Figure 8 without bringing to mind the tragic events that they foreshadowed. The softer part of my consciousness is prone to rewarding the music with more credit than is warranted, perhaps out of sympathy. With Jeff Buckley‘s Grace however, I have no such afflictions.
Having said this, it’s not as if Grace doesn’t try to lure its listeners into that trap on more than one occasion. From the outset, the echoing guitar harmonics of ‘Mojo Pin’ work alongside Buckley’s eerie, wordless vocals to create a soundscape evoking images of the supernatural, the uncontrollable and the inevitable. The proceeding title track goes one further. “Have a little wine, we both might go tomorrow”, Buckley murmurs over a relentless picked guitar pattern, unknowingly poignant in his instruction.
But as I’ve said, Grace is an incredible feat – regardless of the unfortunate circumstances that we now know it in. The next three tracks -’Last Goodbye’, ‘Lilac Wine’ (written by composer James Shelton), and ‘So Real’ – are a chance to evaluate the album from an unbiased standpoint. ‘Last Goodbye’ is perhaps as close as Grace gets to a standard pop song, with Buckley howling “kiss me, please kiss me, kiss me out of desire, baby no consolation” over a background of jangly strumming and wonderfully orchestrated strings. Then enters the slow-burning ‘Lilac Wine’, an altogether more refined affair sure to send any listener into the persona of a dreamy recluse. Following that is ‘So Real’, hiding just around the corner. It’s the heaviest song of the record so far, complete with a startlingly feedback-drenched bridge.
A criticism is that Grace isn’t as concise as it could have been. The idea of Buckley as a small child often crosses my mind, a child unable to remain concentrated on any given thing for a prolonged amount of time. Even within these last three songs, we’ve seen him swing through chart-topper, almost operatic crooner and impassioned rocker.
On the flip side, this range in genre and style also presents itself as a talent; if you’re not convinced by the original ten tracks alone, have a listen to the bonus disc of the Legacy Edition of Grace. It sees Buckley cover influences ranging from country blues on ‘Parchman Farm Blues’ to soul and gospel on ‘I Want Someone Badly’. The disc is a totally separate achievement. … Continue Reading
The Balky Mule - The Length Of The Rail
The Balky Mule’s Length of The Rail (review here) is one of our highlights of 2009 thus far. So imagine our salivation when its alias Sam Jones sent us a track-by-track rundown of each of its 15 tracks… … Continue Reading
Flo Rida
Unless you were living under a rock for most of 2008, your ears may have found it hard to stay virgin from the sounds of this Miami born rapper. Hitting the floor running almost seems like an understatement as 2008 saw Flo Rida top charts, win awards and have multitudinous nominations including B.E.T’s 2008 Best New Artist, MTV’s 2008 Best Male Video and 2009 Grammy Awards’ Best Rap Song.
Love Is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
It’s yet another of our extended reviews, this time around focusing on Love Is All’s second long-player. We find out the opinions of two our writers, on this occasions – and come up with a mostly resounding ‘affirmative’.
Joseph Rowan says:
Like The Zutons, Love Is All have a secret weapon, in the shape of a saxophone. Unlike The Zutons, however, the saxophone isn’t their sole redeeming feature. New saxophonist Åke Strömer squeals away pleasingly in the manner of X-Ray Spex on the more energetic tracks, but he doesn’t provide the sole additions to the band’s musical palette. The glockenspiel, something of an indie-pop regular, is used to great effect on ‘Last Choice’ and an understated harmonica line really adds to the downbeat feel of ‘More Uncertain Future’.
Of course the more traditional-sounding songs are still present, the slices of frantic garage-pop in the manner of great earlier singles like ‘Busy Doing Nothing’. But, bizarrely, some of these are the least satisfactory songs on the album. Breakneck opener ‘New Beginning’ does everything right: it keeps up a tremendous pace for its whole duration and is simultaneously catchy and shambolic. The guitars are loud and energetic and Josephine Olausson’s voice, always on the cusp of being in tune, is a remarkable force in itself.
Similarly, closing track ‘19 Floors’, with its buzzing keyboards and Sonic Youth aping instrumental jam is a great end to the album. But between these fantastic bookends lie a number of somewhat unremarkable songs that definitely bring the word “filler” to mind. The title track, ‘Boat Song’ and ‘Give It Back’, to name the three worst examples, have all the right ingredients but lack much in a way of direction as they stagger from riff to riff in the hope of stumbling across something memorable. If you’re not going to innovate in a genre that’s admittedly somewhat stagnant then you’d better be damned sure you’ve got some killer hooks, and a lot of middle tracks on the album are noticeably lacking.
Fortunately, the disappointing tracks on the album are not so frequent as to overshadow its real highlights. These are where, surprisingly, the band drops the tempo somewhat and allows some of their older influences to shine through – not just the 80s indiepoppers of the C86 variety, but reaching back earlier to 60s soul and doo-wop groups. ‘Giants Fall’ owes a huge debt to fellow Phil Spector fans The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Just Like Honey’, but it’s a refreshing change of pace and ‘Cats’ features a wonderfully harmonised chorus. In general the vocal interplay between Olausson and guitarist Nicholaus Sparding is very effective, making the band sound like a less insubstantial Alphabeat. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in possible album highlight ‘More Uncertain Future’, a classic two-viewpoint break-up song, somewhat reminiscent in feel to The Postal Service’s ‘Nothing Better’.
It is these tracks, ultimately, that showcase an interesting direction in which Love Is All could evolve on future albums. Having said that they are still capable of writing the kind of chaotic-yet-charming indie-pop that they became known for, although one suspects how much longer they can continue to get fresh material out of that particular avenue. A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night is hardly genre-defining but it certainly suggests that Love Is All are a band who still have something interesting to say.
Does Greg Salter agree?
While it’s hard being single, it’s slightly less hard being single if you’re an indie music fan; you’ve got band after band ready to soundtrack your loneliness, pain and failed attempts at finding ‘the one’ at indie discos and second-hand bookshops. The Smiths, The Cure, and Belle and Sebastian all knew how to fuse melancholy with irresistible pop songs, and more recently Los Campesinos! have forged raucous, hooky, odd little songs out of the neuroses and growing pains that come with being young.
Think of Gothenburg’s Love Is All, and particularly the lyrics of frontwoman Jospehine Olausson, as playing to a similar audience, though one a few years older and a little wiser, though no less neurotic. Olausson casts her eye of the kingdom of singledom, from her viewpoint slap bang in the middle of it, and it is her anecdotes, ruminations and wry observations that form the, very human, heart of Love Is All’s music, her childlike voice a little more prominent in the mess of jerky rhythms than on 2005’s Nine Times That Same Song.
A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night continues, in terms of sound at least, where their much-lauded debut left off. ‘New Beginning’ roars out of the blocks to kick off the album, with the rhythm section rumbling along at a frantic pace and the now familiar, to Love Is All fans, sax squalling alongside. Olausson, all credit to her, keeps up, this ball of energy in amongst the noise, looking for the new beginning of the title but finding herself ‘in a taxi going home/Far too early on my own’. ‘Give It Back’, meanwhile, appropriately find Olausson regretting wasted time over angular, machine gun-precision guitars at top speed; ‘Forget I ever mentioned my heart’, she sings, as the song pauses briefly before jettisoning off once again to its close.
It’s this combination of Olausson’s gallows humour and her band’s enthusiastic backing and shouted backing vocals which makes the best tracks here difficult to resist. ‘Last Choice’ finds Olausson alone at the end of a party, watching everyone else pairing up and quickly seeking out someone else; ‘I’m not your kind and you’re not mine/But for tonight you’ll have to do just fine’ looks sad written down but they sing the words so gleefully, tongue firmly in cheek, that it’s difficult to notice.
A bit of refreshing honesty is the order of the day, then. Love Is All aren’t pushing any myths; laughing in the face of movie romance, having their dreams unfulfilled by wishing wells, and lying awake in an empty bed, long into the night. And they’re not afraid to vary the pace, either; ‘A More Uncertain Future’ in particular works well, and sounds like the prettiest break-up ever. Unafraid to either speak from the heart or stick a sax solo in the middle of a song, Love Is All are a charming proposition, their intelligence and humour providing an antidote to all overblown, over-serious bloke-rock between here and Sweden.
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