Ali Love

Just a little bit later than usual, here’s our weekly look into the blogopshere where we talk about six tracks we found out about in the previous Wednesday-to-Wednesday seven-day period.

Ali Love – Love Harder (Prins Thomas remix)

Spaceness by Prins Thomas of course! Who else? None other than the Lindstrom accomplice turns this rather poppy track into a space disco eight minute lovefest. Hips a flailing on that sweet bass, which keeps on coming and coming. Who needs vocals, right? Well they do come in, first kind of high and on the background, but at the half mark (as in, almost precisely the half mark I reckon) they get a more prominent place. This is after you’ve been seduced for a good four minutes by Prins Thomas and his space disco qualities, and after that you’re so into the song that the vocals offer just a bit of variation in this nine minutes behemoth. Prins Thomas makes it pretty easy to start singing along a bit as well. So if you find yourself singing and dancing like a loon, Prins Thomas is to blame, as this is one seductive remix.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1052337/Ali+Love+-+Love+Harder+Prins+Thomas+Diskomiks+

Hurts – Unspoken Love (Fred Falke remix)

Oh gosh, these vocals, so melodramatic aren’t they? I’m so on the fence about this band, it is perhaps a bit too much, and Falke opens with vocals only. He’s got a voice, but it sounds so devoid of… something. It is hard to explain when vocals just don’t do it for you, isn’t it? But these don’t. I reckon that you could compare the singing to that of the bloke from White Lies, so if you’re fine with that you probably will not have the same problem as I have with this one. Vocals do play a huge part in this remix though, so it might just be a make or break really. Fred Falke, ah, well, you know, it is impossible for him to churn out a good, fluent, catchy sound, and he does so here. It is well danceable, and he produces the smoothest remixes. He gives the vocals a very prominent position though, but if you like the vocals you might just think this remix is ace, because the Falke sound does fit in I would reckon.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1034527/HURTS+-+Unspoken+Fred+Falke+Remix+

Black Van – Yearning

Black Van is a new collaboration between Kris Menace and one half of Moonbootica, and I’m especially taken with the former, the latter I don’t know quite as well. I might have to start checking some of his stuff out though, because this track is well nice. It throbs along lovely with that beat, and it is just so lovely to listen to. That beat is the main ingredient of this track, and things come and go. I love it when they stop around the half mark, and obviously it slowly returns to where it left off. This track is just so lovely and easy to listen to. No vocals here, just that lovely beat that just keeps flowing. Looking forward to more from this duo, but this is an exciting start.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1042004/Black+Van+-+Yearning

Vitalic – Second Lives (Mustang remix)

I love Pascal Arbez alias Vitalic. Seen the man twice last year, and both times were ace. Plus last year’s album was one of my personal favourites. This is a single from that album, and it is remixed by the Belgian duo Mustang. At first I thought their take on the song was a bit off. The new elements did not really seem to fit along with the original track. I don’t know if I got used to the sound or if they tweaked their approach as the song progresses, but I really started to like it. Especially that stuff they do around the 4:30 mark, that is well ace and very danceable. Love the guitar at the end as well, I don’t think that’s in the original either.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1046443/Vitalic+-+Second+Lives+Mustang+remix+

Justin Faust – Holdin On (Moullinex remix)

This bounces along quite nicely actually. Love the rolling bass on this, the piano stops, and it is just lovely to listen to really. I feel like I’m repeating myself a bit in this column, but in that aspect it is kind of similar to the Prins Thomas and Fred Falke remixes and the Black Van track in that it just is very fluent and very smooth. I wish the vocals would be a bit more out there, I wouldn’t have mind a bit of traditional disco vocals on this one actually, but other than that just a lovely track to listen to. The stop and go thingy works perfectly for me, and as said, it’s all about the bass on this remix, courtesy of Moullinex.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1052644/Justin+Faust-Holdin+On+%28Moullinex+Remix%29

‘Spanish Sahara’ by Foals

Much ado has been made about this track in the past few weeks, which to especially indicates the popularity of this band. It also means that I’m not going to swing anyone either way, as most people probably already have made up their minds about this track and have listened to it. And since the latter almost surely is the case not much use in telling how the track goes, because you will know most likely. Slow start, then it builds, then it stops, then it builds again, but not into the frenzy of some of their debut albums. To me it was surprising that the songs starts off with actual singing, I never really saw him as a singer and I was more than happy with him spitting out fragmented sentences, modernist style you know? But this isn’t too bad either, more of a narrative lyrically I have the idea, perhaps that is because of the more singing nature of his  voice. It is atmospheric though, that is nice, and I do kind of like how this track is drawn up. If nothing else I’m now more intrigued with their upcoming album.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1055186/Foals+-+Spanish+Sahara

Summer Camp

So Summer Camp are not Swedish, but in fact Jeremy Warmsley (interviewed here) and Platform Editor Elizabeth Sankey.

We also now know there’s this single which is really rather good, and painfully few songs on their MySpace that hint at a band who are great in creating the kind of hazy music that you can quite happily get lost amongst this summer. ‘Ghost Train’ is such a song.

As with Summer Camp’s other tracks ‘Ghost Train’ begins with a line from another ’80s movie classic. This time Cameron Crowe’s, Say Anything…. “I’m sorry, it’s just you’re a really nice guy, and we don’t wanna see you get hurt” before the response, “I wanna get hurt!”. While ‘Ghost Train’ isn’t homage to the film, it does share themes of interactions and potentially putting distance between them.

It has that traversing landscapes aura about it. Coupled with overtones of adolescent long distance relationships, struggling to exist via poor connections and cross-country trains amid changing seasons. It’s a sweet and airy chug along with an O Superman-esque “Dear, dear, dear, dear, dear/I, I, I, I, I/You, you, you, you, you” over an awkward, infectious and darling synth line. The vocals are subtle and light yet bloom on the chorus. 

Summer Camp – Ghost Train (viral) from Paddy Power on Vimeo.

Fionn Regan - The Shadow Of An Empire

It’s been almost four years since Fionn Regan released his debut album, The End Of History. Any questions about what he’s been up to in that time are answered with a single listen to its successor: he’s been growing some balls.

The End Of History was generally well received by the music press, but its whimsical, plinkety plunkety folk always felt a bit like a facsimile of a great album rather than the real thing. Regan’s soft, string-backed harmonies created moments of wonder, but the acoustic cleverness began to wear thin after a while.

There’s no chance of laying the same accusation at the door of The Shadow Of An Empire. This is an album that has contrast in spades, largely due to Regan having electrified his output, both literally and metaphorically. ‘Protection Racket’ opens proceedings like a statement of intent, all crashing cymbals and wildly jangling guitars. This song, like much of the album, sounds as though Regan has blended his Irish Wicklow mountains roots with a rich vein of American alt-rock heritage. Ryan Adams would be happy to claim ownership of many of these tracks, not least because Regan seems to have a much more dependable sense for a catchy melody.

The Shadow Of An Empire still shows many of the musical calling cards that were prevalent on The End Of History, but the clearer differences between light and dark make them far more effective. Regan retains his habit of threading lyrics laden with inference across repeated vocal refrains, but throws in changes of pace and a depth of expression that gives every song its own character; its own particular sensibilities.

None reflects this better than ‘Violent Demeanour’, which opens with acoustic picking and Regan’s melancholy, rolling vocal before switching to an on-off, piano-backed chorus. The second verse comes with soft electric guitar backing and the odd crackle of drums before the chorus is repeated with an urgent, shuffling percussion that gives it breath-taking pace. Meanwhile, Regan’s elegantly crafted lyrics hint darkly at social dislocation and trauma: “The institutions with the metal halls / Chain the mentally ill to destitute walls / The wards of state do not illuminate / The margins.”

Another hangover from The End Of History is a tendency to carry trebly chord patterns on a heavier, rhythmical bass line. It’s a trick used to powerful effect on ‘Catacombs’, the verses of which are built around a stepped, dropping lower refrain and a parallel teasing, intermittent acoustic riff that raises its head between lines.

Oddly, closing track ‘The Shadow Of An Empire’, from which the album takes its name, is one of the least engaging, relying on clunking piano chords to carry its classical folk vocal. The song’s musical repetition forces attention on the lyrics, which don’t quite rise to the challenge. While there’s compelling imagery aplenty –“On the sawdust / The circus band / I heard rehearsing on the Strand / By the lovers who understand / Every note must be planned” – it’s difficult to pick out exactly what Regan’s driving at, and the song drifts a little as a consequence.

But these are minor ticks on an album that sounds like a coming of age. Regan’s throatier, grittier style thrives when combined with his old feel for a tune, making The Shadow Of An Empire more listenable than its predecessor, without losing any of its intelligence and depth.

Clock Opera

Imagine what happened when the amazing Clock Opera remixed our favourite NYC psychesters The Phenomenal Handclap Band?

Before you find out, here are some words: the turn-of-phrase “baby I could move the world” sounds all manta-esque in this remix, the blips are so perfectly timed, the build just keeps giving (so much that I can picture a crowd under strobe lights screaming for its climax), the disco rhythms are bite-sized and delicious and plague-like, and – wait – the whole thing’s damn fine. A marvel.

Now here’s ‘Baby’, all heavenly:

And this is the tasty original:

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

Cate le Bon - Me Oh My

With her vampish bowl-haircut and blackened eyelids, Welsh chanteuse Cate Le Bon could pass as the third member of Telepathe. Only sonically, she’s opted to eschew layers of stroke-of-midnight hypnotics for simple, stark compositions, taking the listener to intimate places and keeping firm hold of those achingly hipster credentials.

And who knew things were getting so morbid over the border these days? Me Oh My, Le Bon’s witching (half) hour, was recorded for mentor and Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys’ Irony Bored label after she appeared on his Neon Neon side-project album, Stainless Style. But whereas the sleazy electro glide of the track in question, ‘I Lust U’, didn’t allow for the eccentricities of her Nico-imbued vocal or her urge to write about death and darkness, the fact she initially wanted to call this debut ‘Pet Deaths’ speaks volumes about what fascinates her most.

From the first solemn line – “I fought the night and the night fought me” it’s a sometimes spooky sometimes melancholic tension that she weaves. Take the first few gentle, subdued bars of the title track, or the downright unsettling ‘The Terror of the Man’, which uses poignant repetition to claustrophobic effect. The lamenting ‘Burn Until the End’ starts off all sombre vocal and eerie acoustics before augmenting into a crashing wall-of-noise wigout, while ‘Sad Sad Feet’s sleepy backbeat sees the singer “headed for the black” in wistful, regretful mode

Throughout, Le Bon’s vocal manages to walk the line between smudged vulnerability and a clipped kookiness, albeit always treading an individual path. Charm, talent and credibility are three things the girl has in spades, so what’s so frustrating about Me Oh My is its complete lack of memorability and absence of focal points. While the beefy guitar of ‘Hollow Trees Home Hounds’ adds some meat to what’s so far a rather brittle skeleton and ‘Shoeing the Bones’ comes the closest to being an unforgettable song, there remains a complete lack of hooks or choruses. It’s palpable that Le Bon has got the goods, now she just needs to know what to do with them. Sadly though, you’d be forgiven for thinking that after a first listen, her moonlit world is a pleasant yet inanimate experience, and not one you’d desperately need to return to.

New Young Pony Club - The Optimist

I remember seeing New Young Pony Club whilst I was at university a few years ago when they were touring with the NME on the same bill as CSS and the Klaxons.  I was swept up on the nu-rave bandwagon and really liked their original, edgy sound. But then they sort of disappeared.

With only a hazy memory of their previous work (mainly ‘Ice Cream’), I was expecting more of the same; plinky-plonky ’80s electro, nu-rave pop – and their new album The Optimist delivers, but on a larger scale.

First track ‘Lost A Girl’ is, in true NYPC style, quite jerky.  On the first couple of listens, I thought the track had jumped.  It’s something that takes a bit of getting used to, and the erratic theme continues throughout the album, whether it be mid-track, or a more abrupt ending.

‘Stone’ is slower, stripped down compared to the other tracks.  In contrast, ‘We Want To’ is a an upbeat, almost anthemic track, with layered vocals and a brash bassline.  Likewise, ‘Dolls’ is a spunky song full of sparky lyrics such as “We think you’re strange/so you act like a stranger” and “I thought I had a brain/I don’t seem to have one”.

Conversely, ‘Before The Light’ has a haunting tinge to it; it starts with an electro drum beat, soon joined by a bass line (both in double time, a bit like Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’) that drives the song forward, before vocalist Tahita Bulmer’s echoey vocals come in.  Add piano chords and lyrics like “Don’t look at me now/look at my intellect/The things I leave behind/Like footsteps” before the vocal jumps between octaves for the chorus, and before you know it the song has sucked you in.

After a couple of listens to the album, I realised who NYPC reminded me of.  The ’80s beats, keyboards and almost dissonant vocals could be likened to Roxy Music – particularly on the opening track ‘Lost A Girl’.  This, and ‘Before The Light’, are the album’s beacon songs, but overall it’s a pretty strong album.

NYPC have evolved into a more mature version of themselves; the ’80s influences are still evident, but they’ve lost some of that nu-rave ‘in your face’ attitude.  That’s not to say they’ve lost their edge.  In fact, the entire album is quite edgy, and New Young Pony Club’s sound is still fresh enough to stand out amongst a lot of the mundane bands being played at the moment.

The day’s hand-picked programme represents the shared ambition to bridge the gap between different types of performance and open up new audiences to an array of diverse talent.

It’s all at The Camden Head, Sunday April 4, from 3pm – late, and Beyond The Curve tickets can be bought from We Got Tickets for £8, or £6 if you’re quick enough. Here’s that link again: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/74842

Now, breathe in as you take more than a cursory glance at the programme:

3pm: Lisa Wells Turner: ‘The Opposite of Waiting’
A one-woman  show pushing the boundaries between theatre and song, blending physical theatre and classical music, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009. “Thought-provoking” (ThreeWeeks), “an intelligent, thoughtful exploration of reality” (What’s On Stage).

3.45pm: Marcus Orlandi: ‘Never Better’
- The London performance artist and writer presents a time-lapse narrative choreographed to digitalised sound, premiered at Scenepool 2009 at Camden People’s Theatre.

4.30pm: Poetry, curated by award-winning poet Helen Mort (five-time Foyle Young Poet of the Year, winner of the Eric Gregory Award, and most recently the 2010 Cafe Writers’ Prize)
-  Helen Mort reads from her latest pamphlet ‘A Pint for the Ghost’, Poetry Book Society Choice for Spring 2010
-  New work from Ashna Sarkar, the sparky London performer nominated one of 21 Poets for the 21st Century
-  Kerri French, Best New Poet in the 2008 collection of the acclaimed US publication
-  The animal musings of Lizzy Denning (whose recent publications include The Times and The Rialto)
-  Dark fairytales from Rebecca Varley-Winter, reading from her forthcoming pamphlet
-  The lyrical stylings of Benjamin Morris

5.45pm: ‘Scenes From The City’ by Broken Glass Theatre Company
A short radio play from the critically-acclaimed London fringe company, accompanying a series of projections as part of an exhibition of Ben Lambert’s surreal illustrations for the short story by Vicky Flood, following a shifting perspective of city-life. The illustrations will also be displayed alongside original photography by David Reece, re-ordered and re-arranged throughout the exhibition to demonstrate the changing nature of the piece’s connections.

6.30pm: ‘I Dreamt I Was A Hammer And Everything Was Glass’ by The Monroe Transfer, animated video by Gemma Burditt
A 20-minute animation using photocollage, drawings and After Effects to visually interpret the slow strings, visceral intent and exhilaration of ‘I Dreamt I Was A Hammer And Everything Was Glass’. Gemma Burditt makes music videos for the BBC and EMI, and The Monroe Transfer produce meticulously crafted “fabulous waves of orchestral sound” (Drowned In Sound).

7pm: Short film
-  ‘57 Ways’ – a short film by experimental video artist Sharlene Bamboat, exploring disporia, queerness and the body
-  ShortsAmorpha – two short films accompanied by live music and found-sounds

7.30pm: Thom Ashworth
A solo set from Thom Ashworth, lead singer of dynamic post-rock savants Our Lost Infantry, using a combination of pre-recorded found-sounds with live instrumentation and a live voiceover. The pieces mix dark with light starkly, taking cues from Steve Reich, Tortoise and Godspeed! You Black Emperor.

8.15pm: Ruby Corset: Cellist, Singer, Serial Killer…
Theatre cabaret from a reclusive aristocrat with a penchant for Rohypnol. From the highest echelons of British Society comes a darkly comic set of beautifully gruesome songs and hilariously murderous musings.  “A true femme fatale”, Ruby Corset was nominated as one-to-watch in the Nivea Funny Women’s Award 2008.

9pm: Robin James
Finger-picked acoustic guitar, boundless despair and a fragile, peculiar falsetto mixing tenderness with extraordinary control form Robin James’ “helium-tinged Nick Drake” (God Is In The TV), a dark, sometimes oblique humour introducing personal anecdotes with the exposed honesty of Nick Drake.

9.30pm: The Peryls
Dark, lyrical and enchanting folk-noir is inspired by Russian animation, forgotten London crime figures, the British Empire and White Album era Beatles. The Peryls dress in their finest Victorian garb, concealing a sinister grin behind a respectable top hat and cane.

10.30pm – late: Muso’s Guide DJs
Muso’s Guide DJs will be playing a variety of songs to keep you on your toes until the bank holiday Monday rises, along the lines of Electrelane, The Radio Dept., M83, Lykke Li, and Memory Tapes.

We’ll see you there!

Islet - image from thisislet.com (the unofficial fansite)

March 5, 2010

I could prepare for writing this review by trawling endlessly, needlessly for track names, photos, and an overview of what the selected few hacks who’ve written about Islet have to say. I did, in fact, and it turns out that more’s been written about their decision – be it because of a lack of recorded material or otherwise – to shun the internet. They have no MySpace, sure, but the fact is that an image-search reveals their appearance, a look at their Last.fm or Songkick page (subject to gig promoters’ efficiency) tells of their upcoming tour-dates and press, just like this, is still filtering through. They’re proof that hometown-phenomena still happen.

More importantly is just how astonishing a live band this Cardiff quartet (on this showing) are. It’s a rhythmically mesmeric assault bursting with all sorts of variation. They swap instruments relentlessly and each song is gawpingly stirring, leaving the audience amazed. Everything they emit is so fluent, even when they take on their more tribal persona and run around the venue calling out or playing their guitars at members of the crowd.

There’s a frenzy around every sound they plug into, and when unexpected sections fizz out of the same band-members, the same instruments, it’s astounding. Islet’s rock-smart and dramatic unpredictability is confounding, turning their vision into colossal sound. Vocals, or rather sometimes sounds, pepper the music with new dimensions, and the sheer exuberance of the performance is stirring, fascinating.

Drawing on a mind-sweep of similar artists including the likes of Holger Czukay and Steve Reich for their bold and oft minimally-textured mind-blowers, there’s also a lot to be taken from the likes of no-wave royalty Half Japanese and Swans in Islet’s sound. All of this is a giant disservice to their sheer squeal, so take name-drops and references as mere SEO-friends rather than literal buzzwords.

I’ve heard a few people separately squeal something along the lines of “Islet are the sort of band that make we want to make hand-made fanzines”, and I can join that collective now. Their super-human show exists outside of structure, time and expectation.

Screaming Maldini - Kookaburra Sings

Imagine Scouting For Girls built a time machine that took them back to around 1984.  Once there, they stole The Smiths’ youthful spirits and creativity, then returned via 1992, where they had a tutorial in time signatures from Dream Theater and a magic lesson from Paul Daniels.  Are you still with me?  If so, then you have a good idea of what to expect from Screaming Maldini’s ‘Kookaburra Sings’.

In general I have a natural aversion to the words ‘juxtaposition’ and ‘fusion’, but I am struggling to find any better words to describe the sound Screaming Maldini make.  The vocals are most definitely indie but the pristine production, brass and synth give the whole thing a very poppy, ska-like feel. And then you get the prog thing.   The odd time signatures (usually 5 or 7 beats in the bar) and bizarre chromatic circus-esque key changes, along with some rather zingy keyboard sounds, conjur up an image of a band as fascinated by dungeons and dragons as they are by rock n roll.

There is a good deal of proficiency here and it’s to be respected, as is Screaming Maldini’s drive to create something genuinely unique.  The mania of ‘Secret Sounds’ and ‘The Extraordinary’ is arresting, in a good way, and you find yourself tapping your foot (if you can keep time) and getting carried along quite nicely.  ‘The Albatross’ is the token slower, atmospheric tune and is has a haunting female vocal that is rather pleasing. ‘Miniatures’ is the most ‘proggy’ track on the album, but also has some really catchy hooks and a synth-reggae breakdown in the middle where they sing about ships. And then there’s the uplifting ‘I Know That You Know That I Would Wipe The Snowflake From Your Eye’. It’s the longest song title in the world… what’s not to like?

The risk Screaming Maldini run with straddling so many genres is in alienating them all – it’s all a bit weird for commercial mainstream tastes but is not broody or messy enough for the Emo indie fans and yet is probably too indie for the ska subscribers.  I therefore can’t see Screaming Maldini rushing to the top of the charts any time soon.  However I’d definitely buy a ticket to their gig:  if they have half the energy on stage as they put across on ‘Kookaburra Sings’, it’d be a good show.  Now where did I put my pink wizard hat?