Category: Some Great Stuff I&#8217;ve Heard Recently

Watch the video for ‘Blood On My Hands’ below

This band features Max Portnoy, son of Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater. Max and the rest of the band are 15 or 16. Some reviews of this record I’ve read are quite snide in saying that the age, or lack of experience, of the band members tells. I think this is nonsense. This is straight-up high quality progressive metal. Throughout, Max’s drums are stellar. So much nuance in the playing. The songwriting throughout is killer too. Opener ‘The Edge of Sanity’ is a strong start, with effervescent instrumental solo-ing and a great hook of a chorus. The genre might be somewhat esoteric, but if progressive metal is your thing then Next To None are a band you need to watch out for.

Motopony – Welcome You

Watch the video for ‘Get Down (Come Up’ below

Daniel Blue, lead singer of Motopony, has one of those voices. It is instantly reognisable. It can turn its hand (or should that be voice, I don’t know) seemingly to any genre or style of song and give it a beauty, an intensity, a vulnerability, that other, often much-vaunted singers just can’t reach. This is a welcome return for the band, now featuring new members and something of a new sound, following a long wait from their splendidly woozy self-titled album. Whereas that record was marked by an almost spectral beauty and the electronics of erstwhile colleague Buddy Ross, this album takes much more of a 70s glam stomp approach to proceedings. The first half of the album is dominated by fuzzed out guitars, competing with Blue’s caterwauling vocal to splendid effect. This is Motopony but not as we knew it. As he sings “Life, in 1971, I wanna be there, I wanna have fun” it is clear that Daniel Blue and his cohorts have got as close to living in 1971 as it is possible for a bunch of bearded wonders in 2015 to manage. One listen to this joyful summer record and you’ll be wanting to join them.

Vennart – The Demon Joke

Stream it here

Watch the lyric video for ‘Don’t Forget the Joker’ below

It’s wrong, isn’t it, that one of the first things I notice about Mike Vennart, live guitarist for Biffy Clyro, member of British Theatre, former member of Oceansize and now solo troubadour extraordinaire, is that he has grey hair. Yes, yes it is wrong. I have grey hair too. I also have a lot less talent than Mike Vennart. I’m just jealous.

If you like any of the aforementioned bands, or you like your guitar rock literate and inventive one minute and crushingly heavy the next, this is an album for you. Time signatures change all over the place, like its effortless. It isn’t. The songs are chock full of hooks. Just watch the video above and tell me you can’t remember the chorus by the end. More than that, though, it just rocks. ‘Retaliate’ is a muscular song with a buzz-saw riff and a skyscraper of a chorus. ‘Infatuate’ explodes into a glorious groove and when the release of the chorus hits it feels just like people tell me Opium does.

It takes a special musician to marry progressive technicality with pop song structures and hooky riffs, but Vennart manages this to a tee. Don’t miss this record.

Wolf Alice – My Love is Cool

Watch the video for ‘Giant Peach’ below

It feels almost superfluous to write about Wolf Alice and their debut album, “My Love is Cool”. You might have seen them at Glastonbury last weekend. You’ve probably heard or read people swooning and raving about them. The album has quickly garnered the status of being the most exciting British guitar music debut of the year. There is an assuredness about the band, and the album, that makes it plain that they know that stardom beckons. So, what of the record, is it worth giving in to the hype and giving Wolf Alice a chance?

Well, in a word, yes. This is a beautifully-constructed, shoegaze-leaning album. Songs like ‘Bros’ will work splendidly on the radio but serve notice of their explosive potential in the live setting. ‘Lisbon’ begins taut before, in point of fact, exploding. The song does this twice. It is exhilarating. There’s really no other word to describe the evocative nature of the visceral and yet intensely melodic coda at the song’s climax.

Elsewhere, ‘Swallowtail’ and ‘Soapy Water’ show a more considered and nuanced side to the band. At times it feels like Wolf Alice are a band yet to truly settle down in to their final identity. While they’re figuring it out, it’s a lot of fun being a fly on the wall.

Son Lux – Bones

Watch the Video for ‘You Don’t Know Me’ below

With Son Lux freshly expanded to a three-piece, the seemingly boundless compositional creativity of main man Ryan Lott has a fresh scope and impetus. “Bones” is a gorgeous album. ‘Change is Everything’ is the closest thing there has ever been to a Son Lux single to my ears, a spine-tingling moment on an album of tingle-inducing moment. ‘Flight’, with its (synthesised?) flutes, gives the listener a real sense of, well, flying. “Are we now what we’ll be, are we fixed or free?” Lott asks. This is music which feels free, free to explore the recesses of the possibilities of orchestrally-infused electronica. It’s the kind of music that is so intricate, layered perfectly realised that it has the potential to cause the head-shaking wonderment of other musicians, if not their outright retirement.

Elsewhere, the rolling percussion of ‘Undone’ as it breaks down into a bossa nova slink and then continues upon its merry, rolling way, is a contrary centrepiece for the album. We might not know what it is trying to be, but Son Lux are in constant and complete control. Just follow meekly after them. It’s for your own good.

Mutoid Man – Bleeder

Listen to ‘Sweet Ivy’ below

This is the debut full-length album from Mutoid Man. This band features members of Cave in (Stephen Brodsky) and Converge (Ben Koller and Nick Kagaeo). If you don’t like your music hard and fast, with hints of melody, then you should probably move along;. If you’re still with me, then we’re on to something special here.

I must be one of the only people still allowed to post on the internet who thought that Cave In’s album for major label RCA, “Antenna” was something of a masterpiece. Apparently if you like the band you have to hate it, which is a shame, as I really quite like it. It blended heavy pop-rock (herein lay the problem, I believe) with progressive passages, and enough aggression to make you sit up and take notice. Cave In toured with Foo Fighters. They played them off the stage, and then sank without trace. This was unfortunate.

All of which to say, I was pre-disposed to liking “Bleeders”, in spite of the fact that it is a lot faster and harder than anything on “Antenna”. Brodsky’s crystal clear melodic vocals remain intact. He really has a fantastic set of pipes. Throughout the riffs are intricate, yet accessible. The experience of these guys shines through. They sound like they’re having fun, but also at great pains to show that they can really play. It’s not right to single out individual tracks. This is the best punk/post-hardcore album of the year. Nothing else will come close. Mutoid Man are an exciting, potentially important band.

Tags Album, Album Review, Brace Yourself PR, EP, EP Review, Inside Out, Motopony, Mutoid Man, Next to None, Silver PR, Son Lux, Stereo Sanctity, Superball, Tell All Your Friends PR, Vennart, Wolf Alice

https://soundcloud.com/estherjoylane/travelling-light

A Slice of Irregular Folk

Post author By adminhs
Post date 21 June 2015
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Yesterday, my wife and I had the tremendous joy and privilege of being part of what, having been there, I can only assume to be The Greatest Music Festival you’ve never been to. It’s called Irregular Folk. It’s in Oxford. It’s on today. You should stop reading this and go now. Come back to my waffle later.

Right, did you have a nice afternoon and evening? Have you sampled the amazing local pies, spellbinding local brews, the ambiance of the venue, hand-crafted by the amazing Vez and her team of volunteers? Did you find yourself transfixed by the bonkers and yet oh so right musical fare on offer? Did you, latterly, find yourself wishing this sort of thing happened all the time? Yes, so did I. Jolly good, we’re on the same page. Now you can sit back, relax and read about what I thought of yesterday.

Irregular Folk was up against it yesterday. It rained. A lot. The Perch, a wondrous pub that my wife tells me is an Oxford institution, is only reachable by car or across fields. Sadly, this led to some people staying away. They missed a treat.

Arriving having already dried out once that day, we ran the gauntlet (well, my wife ran, I sat back in my wheelchair and let it all happen) from the comfortable confines of the pub to the majestic marquee which housed the event and, dripping, stepped inside, to find ourselves transported to another world entirely. The marquee had it’s own bar. This means it wins. Aside from this, the decor in the “room” was to die for. Photo frames, candles, books meticulously positioned, I’m not really doing it justice. Suffice to say that it is obvious that Vez’s skill in room design is unsurpassed. Not just that but, and this is quite a feat for an event taking place in a tent, the sound was absolutely flawless. Having played several festivals in my previous life and suffered the consequences of half-bottomed line checks and elastic band and mice powered sound systems, to hear everything so clearly and so obviously how it was designed to be heard, is something for which Jimmy Hetherington, the event’s sound guy has to be applauded. This was quite plainly no smalltime festival, this is a boutique event which deserves to be more widely known.

So, we so far have locally brewed beer, locally made food, beautiful ambiance and situation, fantastic sound, and crap weather. But what about the acts themselves? Sadly, we’d missed Theo Bard and Gitta De Ridder by the time of our arrival, but having heard the rest of what was on offer I will hastily be checking them out. As we entered the tent, the inimitable George Chopping was finishing his set of spoken word. George was the compere for the event, and if his contributions between sets were anything to go by, this would have been quite something. The man was a mine of witticisms, social commentary and one-liners you had to hear to believe. He says the kind of things you might find yourself thinking, but censoring, in the interests of propriety, but then wishing you hadn’t. George doesn’t, and as the evening wore on, his contributions added a huge amount to the camaraderie which developed between stage and audience.

Next up was Esther Joy Lane. She delivered a taut set of beat-driven electronic pop songs. Listen to one of them below

Listening to this again the morning after, the mix of Grasscut, Lapalux and Howling in the beats reinforce the view I formed at the time that Esther would be a perfect fit for the Ninja Tune roster. It seems almost unbelievable that she has only been performing live since January of this year. Already featured on BBC 6Music, and no wonder, this is an artist who could go far. I’m truly excited to hear a fuller release from her, and I hope that a label such as Ninja Tune will support her in fulfilling her obviously huge potential. Of course, I could be way off in knowing what Esther’s ambitions are! With a slightly fuller sound and the confidence that regular gigging can bring she can become major player on the UK scene. Her set yesterday was over all too soon.

Next up was the wonderfully named Bastardgeist (or Joel to his friends). How do you describe the music of Basstardgeist? Well, like Esther Joy Lane, he makes ample use of a MacBook Pro, producing and manipulating beats and swathes upon swathes of atmospheric synths. He also has a falsetto to die for. Although based in New York, his music is infused with textures found around the world. Perhaps most intriguingly of all, many of his tracks on display this evening are built around an amplified Thumb Piano. Yes, a Thumb Piano. It’s bonkers, and should be rubbish, but instead is gloriously claustrophobic one minute and open-endedly orchestral the next. It’s pop music. It’s obtuse dance music. It’s fantastic.

I was transfixed. I wanted to learn to play the Thumb Piano. I want to tell everyone in the world how fantastic this music is. All in the space of 30 minutes. Bastardgeist is playing Norwich this evening and then returning from his home in New York later in the year for a headline tour. I will be in the front row.

Did I forget to mention that the staff at The Perch braved the squalls to bring food to us from the pub throughout the evening? They did. Ample space between sets could be a disaster at an event like this, but actually it merely served to give more focus to what seemed to be the primary aim of the event, to enjoy a relaxed time together in the presence of artistic greatness.

Next up were C Duncan. Chris and his band are on the cusp of releasing a lovely debut album on Fat Cat Records, had travelled from Scotland to play, iced cakes for the event (naturally, Vez makes cakes for the performers, because she doesn’t have enough else to do) and presented a polished and diverse set of electronic folk songs. Having spent some time with the album in preparation for writing about it in July, it was a pleasure to see how well these songs transferred to the live stage. Once I’d got over my disgust at how young the band looked (I think I’m getting old) I was captivated by their close harmonies, and the way they were able to move seamlessly from fractured folk on the one hand and stomping summer-inspired pop on the other. It was a great set. I hope that the addition of a drummer to the live act will give them an added punch and confidence, without taking away the intimacy they were able to convey as a trio. And, in case I didn’t spell it out, the album is one to keep an eye out for.

Next, there was more bad news. Laura Moody, the night’s headline act was unwell and unable to play. It’s her birthday today so I hope she’s better! She had been replaced at the last moment by another artist with a fantastic name, Salvation Bill. I’d never seen, experienced or known of Salvation Bill up to the point when he meekly appeared on the stage at around 9.30. My life will never be the same having witnessed him. This wasn’t a set at a festival. It wasn’t even an event. This was something else entirely. You’d think that a guy, a guitar, some backing tracks and a drum machine couldn’t do much damage. You’d be wrong. Salvation Bill has a voice to die for. Like the best bits of Matt Bellamy, Chris Martin and Kate Bush (!) and he obviously has a musical mindset permanently directed towards “set phasers to stun”. I wish I could tell you what the songs were about, but I really have no idea. I recollect one about a barking dog which ended up dead, and another which had something to do with prison, but I have to be honest, I was alternating between laughing at the audacity of the lyrics, and the compositional mastery on display to take proper notice. Chords progress in ways that every producer I’ve ever had has told me that they’re not allowed to, however much I’ve argued. Melodies strain at the bounds of common sense before, each and every time, tumbling over in to the supposed abyss of wrong, only to turn out to be perfect. That the evening finished with a chorus of looped howling dogs while “Bill” cavorted round the venue playing a deranged saxophone solo might make it sound like some kind of debauched nonsense, but it was a perfect end to a really special evening.

My only sadness is that I can’t be there today.

One final note. The bill of the evening flowed perfectly. It had been meticulously curated. It made perfect sense, in spite of making no sense at all. For this, and for so much else, huge kudos to Vez. Irregular Folk is a new “Do not miss” date in my diary. Make sure you don’t either.

Tags Bastardgeist, C Duncan, Esther Joy Lane, Irregular Folk, Laura Moody, Live Review, Oxford, Salvation Bill, The Perch

Order the album here. You can also listen to all the tracks from it here too

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: A Catch Up

Post author By adminhs
Post date 21 June 2015
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So, I got busy. I got behind. At some point, the sheer volume of music people who’ve read things I’ve written or who I’ve been in touch with has become huge. What’s astounded me most of all is that the absolute vast majority of it is absolutely brilliant. However, the sad and honest fact is that I just can’t write about it all, much as I’d love to. And so, I’m returning to the original premise of this series of posts. If I hear something which I think is fantastic, and necessary listening, I will write about it. I hope that whoever reads this will grow to trust me that I don’t knowingly or willingly listen to stuff that is no good. I hope you’ll also trust me that if I hear something and don’t write about it, it’s because I either don’t get it (this happens!) or I just didn’t love it enough to write the kind of positive review I think is the only kind worth writing.

And so, with that said, let’s do something of a mopping up job.

Rival State – Gutter Mouth EP

Buy the EP here

Watch the video for ‘Keepsake’ below

This is a musically fine EP of crunchy radio rock. In places it reminds me of the long-mourned (by me, at least) Leeds band The Glitterati. At others, The New Regime come to mind. As you’ll see (and hear) from the video above, there is plenty of musical intelligence to go alongside the aggression and lyrical aggro. That said, having initially glossed over the record, on the grounds of finding the lyrical bombast somewhat cliched and tiresome, I have thoroughly enjoyed it having returned to it. The band start a UK tour next week. I’d recommend checking them out. I hope someone cheers them up somewhere along the way too.

Sharon Van Etten – I Don’t Want To Let You Down EP

Order the EP here

Sharon Van Etten has a fantastic voice. She writes powerful songs in which she, it seems, revels in laying herself entirely bare. This brief five track EP begins with the groove-driven title track which, at first sight, appears to be a jaunty little number, until she starts singing that is. ‘Just Like Blood’ slows things down, featuring the kind of piano riff that Thom Yorke would be proud of. Van Etten’s layered vocal close harmonies and occasional dabbles with alternative melodic choices are really to the fore here. ‘I Always Fall Apart’ is in a major key, a major key! And yet, as the title suggests, she always falls apart. If only she could be happy, just once.

Flippancy aside, Sharon Van Etten is a fabulous singer-songwriter and still criminally underrated. She’s playing Glastonbury next week. If you’re lucky enough to be there, do make a point of seeing her. Hopefully there’ll be a new full-length album from her before too long.

Outblinker – Pink/Blue EP

Order the EP here

Watch the video for the Radio Edit of ‘Pink’ below

And now for something completely different. This is the debut release from Scottish instrumental post-rock/punk/funk/electronica/unclassifiable four-piece Outblinker, and damn fine it is too. Comprising two tracks, but weighing in at a hefty and concentration-requiring 23.02, this is punishing stuff, in just the right way. The fusion of acoustic and electronic instrumentation feels just right, as ‘Pink’ builds in it’s first 6.45, followed by a breakdown propelled on bleeping synths and competing melodies. It is wonderful, hypnotic and yet at the same time there is so much going on that you find your mind being drawn to different places in the mix. One minute a drum fill holds the attention, the next there’s a new synth layer to wrap your mind around. It truly is stupefying stuff.

Double A-sided with ‘Blue’, a much more menacing slow burner of a track which, again, draws you in to an unexpected degree, this is an exciting debut release from a band who have arrived fully formed. Here’s hoping for more, and soon.

Urvanovic – Amateurs

Another great new discovery from Edinburgh, Urvanovic, whose name sounds like a Yugoslav player from Italia 90 (or is that just me?), offer a delightful take on music hall pop. It’d be lazy to cite Belle and Sebastien as an influence, but this seven-piece are certainly in that ballpark on “Amateurs”. Thankfully though, tracks such as ‘Bubblewrap’ and ‘The Mine’ have enough drive and punch about them to elevate Urvanovic above any potential criticisms for being ‘pastoral’ (pop music’s answer to beige) or twee. This is beautifully constructed, multi-layered pop music for the discerning listener. Another band who must be an incredible live proposition.

Superpoze – Opening

Listen to an exclusive mix by Superpoze below

We’re dotting right along the genre gamut today! Next up is the debut album from French DJ Superoze. I have to admit to not being an electronica aficionado, as I think I have done on these pages before, but this album has a beautiful hue. I don’t know if it is meant to be, but as the record carries me along, it is a soothing listen. Superpoze has collaborated with a heap of people. I’ve heard of none of them. What I do know is that ‘North’, ‘Time Travel’ and ‘Ten Lakes’ are brilliant expositions of relatively minimalist techno. I’ve been writing this post for ages now. I’m inventing genres. The mixes are spacious rather than attacking your senses. Time drifts by as you become more and more involved in the slowly-developing musical landscapes.

Do you like electronica? You will find this sates your thirst. Do you dislike electronica? Try this. Do you have no idea what electronica is? Try this for starters. With apologies to Superpoze for my lack of understanding!

J Fernandez – Many Levels of Laughter

Stream the album below

And on we go again. This time we find ourselves in the realm of woozy, folky psychedelia. ‘Between the Channels’ pulses along on a bed of Rhodes and off-kilter guitars, building a backdrop for J Fernandez’s sweet vocals. “Communication is a waste of time between the channels” he tells us. Preach. There’s a lovely use of strings here, along with some lovely chord progressions which take things in a 70s prog direction (honestly). This first taste of J Fernandez indicates how well his music fits on the roster of the wonderful Joyful Noise! (Son Lux, Thee Oh Sees) on which this album is released. If you’re a fan of that roster, this’ll fit beautifully in amongst your collection. You’ll be able to tell right from the get go.

From this beautiful introduction, we’re taken on quite a journey. ‘Read My Mind’ weaves and winds, once again combining synth and guitar layers to good effect, never getting in the way of J’s compelling vocal delivery. Once again, a lovely tag section is a highlight, and there’s a choppy funk guitar solo thrown in for good measure. Elsewhere, ‘Holy Hesitation’ has more urgency, with an elastic bass line delivering us into a daringly scored chorus. ‘Apophis’ grows from an organ-driven beginning, the album’s most relaxed moment, while closer ‘Melting Down’, to all intents and purposes, puts its title to music, as everything progressively comes apart over the course of six and a half minutes.

An album for the summer, this is a fine place to start with the singular talent of J Fernandez.

Birth of Joy – Live at Ubu

Watch the video for How it Goes from the album below

And now to an album so good it basically defies description. If you like prog or psychedelic music, this is one for you. If you think the Hammond B3 is the greatest of all musical instruments, this is an album for you. If you like slow burning progressive epics, this is an album for you. If you like anarchic romps, this is an album for you. If you want to gain a snapshot of why Birth of Joy are one of the best live bands in Europe, this is the album for you.

Recorded over two nights at the prestigious Ubu in Rennes, France, this is a dizzying document of the live prowess of a fine band. I first came across Birth of Joy through my love of Motorpsycho, Spidergawd, and a lot of other European bands who straddle the edge of ‘normal’. To my shame, previous album, “Prisoner” was one I never quite gave enough time to. Having digested this amazing effort, that’s a mistake I will have to rectify forthwith. If I were to write about individual tracks I’d be here all day. Suffice to say, this is a raw, ridiculously high-energy double album you don’t want to miss.

Tags A Badge of Fellowship, Album Review, Birth of Joy, EP Review, Gold Star PR, InHouse Press, J Fernandez, Outblinker, Review, Rival State, Scream Promotions, Sharon Van Etten, Some Great Stuff I've Heard Recently, Superpoze, Urvanovic

Download the single from iTunes here

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: Vant, Leprous, Bells Atlas, Built to Spill, Chuck Ragan & Rocky Votolato

Post author By adminhs
Post date 30 May 2015
No Comments on Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: Vant, Leprous, Bells Atlas, Built to Spill, Chuck Ragan & Rocky Votolato

Vant – Parasite/Do You Know Me? Double A Side Single

Watch the video for Do You Know Me? below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mprGjEfjMFA

It’s interesting how wrong you can be about a band. I saw Vant in Northampton on their recent tour. They were very….competent. Having been supported by two local bands who were well supported and brought energy in abundance, Vant came onstage, with a more polished sound, and plenty of attitude. They appeared not to want to be there (who can blame them? Northampton on a Friday night being not exactly the height of cool), fairly listlessly played for about 35 minutes and got off stage as quickly as possible. Sure, they had a couple of strong choruses (both featured on this single) but their best song was a country and western swing-along which felt like a throwaway, but was actually really very strong indeed. I couldn’t really fathom how they were going to be the “next big thing”.

And then I heard the two tracks that make up this double A side. With a combined playing time of 3 minutes and 59 seconds, the band are certainly not hanging around. Opener ‘Parasite’ is a furious blast of snarling punk energy. It could be a lost Strokes classic. If only they played songs like they meant them. It lasts 1 minute and 24 seconds and still finds time for a ripping guitar solo. As a statement of intent it is unimpeachable.

As yo will have gathered if you’ve spent some time with the second song here, ‘Do You Know Me’ is something completely different. It is infused with a thunderously-beating melodic heart. It has a soaring chorus. It crests and bests anything put out by any band in the Britpop + sub genre in recent times. It’s the kind of thing that people used to get over-excited about The Vines for, or Cooper Temple Clause, or perhaps Nine Black Alps for, but it’s better than all of them. Seriously. If there’s more where this came from then Vant could be on to something very special indeed.

Sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me.

Leprous – The Congregation

Order the album here

Watch the video for ‘The Price’ below

Leprous are a Norwegian prog metal band.

Still reading?

Good. That’s seen off the ones with weaker stomachs.

Released on the renowned Inside Out label, “The Congregation” is an eleven song exercise in melodic progressive metal. My initiation to Leproous, this album is not, perhaps, as heavy as you might expect from something termed “metal”, but the musicality at play here more than makes up for any shortcomings in the aggression department. This is a band with some serious chops. ‘Rewind’ is driven by some great tom work as it convulses through a soaring verse which, honestly, could only be created by a Norwegian band. I have no basis for that, except to say that the whole section, and indeed the whole song just sounds, well, Norwegian, in the best possible way. There’s no other part of the world that creates music that sounds like this. The way that guitars and synths augment one another, the almost complete lack of screaming in the vocals, their beautiful purity. ‘Triumphant’ features some lovely rhythmic work. If you can find and keep hold of the “1” you’re a better man than me. Later in the album, ‘Moon’ tastefully incorporates Rhodes and a bed of synths before exploding in to another glorious chorus. Again, I’ve lost the 1. Again I don’t really care. This is just too good.

To all intents and purposes, these could be the best kind of pop songs, except that most listeners would end shaking their heads in disbelief. If only people would persist! They are delivered with an alarming conviction. I can only imagine what they must be like live.

Bells Atlas – Hyperlust EP

Pre-order the EP here

Watch the video for Future Bones below

This EP is the follow up to the self-titled debut full-length from Bells Atlas. Again, an entirely new band to me. Coming in I had no idea what to expect. This is what their website says about them:

☀ kaleidosonic•soul•punch ☀

⚡ afro-soul, rhythm pop-sicles ☄ taste the r’nbow //// missy elliot meets bjork meets shadowcats and jolly sludge monsters ⚡

So, basically, anything goes, right? Well, yes, basically. As you’ll gather if you listen to the opening track from this EP above, there is plenty of soul, funk and groove here. Arguably it touches on reggae too. There are fantastic vocals, choppy guitars, and the kind of rhythm parts that make you sway in spite of yourself. There are time signature changes (always a plus, I’m sure you’ll agree). At points, it seems to me to touch on Eska or Laura Mvula of recent vintage, but this is far more creative and out there than either of those admittedly masterly artists have produced thus far. The beauty of this track is that it contains approximately three sections which could be argued to be its chorus, whilst never over-emphasising any.By the time the song is complete, I’m almost dizzy with the journey that I’ve been taken on. I don’t know what Bells Atlas are trying to say, I haven’t understood their language yet, but it’s the first language I’ve wanted to learn in a long time.

‘Sugar For the Queen’ swings in a 70s soul direction for a while. It has some glorious vocal harmonies in its tag section. Again, the interplay between bass and drums is fantastic.

I know I’m always raving about music. That’s the point of this section of my website, but seriously, SERIOUSLY, what is in the water that these guys are drinking? I want some.

‘Mess It Up’ rolls along on a dub groove and features an obvious “grab hold of me and never let me go” chorus, which is quite comforting amid the sheer musical turncoatism of the rest of this EP. It is, of course, a brilliant song.

Closer ‘Bling’ develops from some processed vocals and distant drums into another swinging wonder. These guys can seriously play. Just to prove that they don’t want to be pigeonholed once again (!) there is some crunchy guitar on this one too. Just, you know, because.

I’ve never seen or heard of an Atlas like Bells. Immerse yourself in this brave new world. Don’t ever leave it.

Built to Spill – Untethered Moon

Pre-order the album here

Watch the video for ‘Living Zoo’ below

Do you ever wish the 1990s and its College Radio Rock boom hadn’t ended? Did you love Built to Spill the first time round? If you answered yes to either of these two questions then “Untethered Moon” is the album you’ve been waiting for.

I missed Built to Spill the first time round, but when I heard that they were back and with a new album on the way, I was intrigued to find out what they were all about. I have to admit to total ignorance. I was expecting some kind of shouty post-hardcore. Shows you how much I know. Some of these albums are wasted on me.

Of course, devotees of the band, and I’m certain there are many, know exactly what they will be getting with this new record. To my ears, sprawling opening duo ‘All Our Songs’ and previous single ‘Living Zoo’ offer a fuzzier, much more progressive take on peak-period REM (sacrilege! heresy!), with an added musicality and glorious propensity for wigging out. You have to wonder why Built to Spill’s reformation is not causing even more of a stir on the basis of these opening tracks.

Elsewhere, ‘Another Day’s’ driving 6/8 and heavily crunched Leslie organ (I hope that’s what it is) is a major highlight, as the aggression is amped up. Conversely, ‘Never Be The Same’ is almost sweet, festooned as it is in 60s pop vibes, This is a band at home in a variety of styles, but in vocalist Doug Martsch they have a leader distinctive enough to make them stand out from the crowd. For a band formed in 1992, “Untethered Moon” feels like a surprisingly youthful and jaunty record, the sound of a band maturing and improving ever more with age.

Chuck Ragan & Rocky Votolato – Kindred Spirit Split EP

Pre-order the EP here

Watch the video for ‘Sparks of Recovery’ below

Chuck Ragan and Rocky Votolato are fine singer/songwriters in their own right, but these long time friends, Kindred Spirits if you will (fnar, fnar, fnar) have joined together to showcase each other’s tracks, and draw attention to their individual releases and forthcoming tours. Fans of either will find much to love here. Opening with three from Votolato, you will be able to see and hear for yourself that ‘Sparks of Recovery’ is a gorgeous folk rock song with a chorus to die for. ‘St. Louis” begins gently but contains a hint of snarl. Again, a fantastic chorus is the centre of the song. By the end of ‘Let Go’, if you’re not making a plan to immediately check out Rocky’s 2015 album “Hospital Handshakes” I’d be surprised. I know that I will be doing so.

Chuck Ragan’s half of the EP begins with ‘Justice and Fair Shake’, immediately lifting the tempo and the intensity of the EP. Where Votolato’s voice is tender, Ragan’s is strident and powerful. The driving fiddle on this track is something of a standout. We very much know we’re in the Deep South now. Again, perhaps unsurprisingly, a cast-iron gold chorus will ensnare you if you give it a chance. Chuck sounds somewhat like a vagabond, so that this is the title of the next track is apt. A bar-room stomp of a song, with some tasty Hammond, this makes it 5/5 on the stonking chorus front. Closing out the EP is ‘Before Dust’, a 3/4 full of violin and soaring guitars, where, if it’s possible, the vocal intensity raises up a notch. The weather-beaten story swings along carried on an almost chanted gang vocal and a walking bass part par excellence.

I have to admit (again) that this was my introduction to both artists, and for that I have to thank Side One Dummy. As a sampler of where both these fine songwriters find themselves as 2015 rolls towards summer, this is unbeatable. Delve in to the back catalogues of both. I fully expect not to be disappointed as I do in the coming days.

Tags Album, Album Review, Bells Atlas, Built to Spill, Chuck Ragan, Country, EP, EP Review, Goldest Egg, InHouse Press, Leprous, Prog, Rocky Votolato, Side One Dummy, Some Great Stuff I've Heard Recently, Vant, Warner

Some Great Stuff I've Heard Recently Uncategorized

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: Lone Wolf, Jaga Jazzist, Maribou State, O Face

Post author By adminhs
Post date 30 May 2015
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Lone Wolf – Lodge

Buy Lodge here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOaNgTbjEJk

If you fail to fall in love with this album, I’d have to question whether you love music. It is a simply beautiful collection of songs. Understated, largely centring on the piano and vocals of Paul Marshall, “Lodge” is the first album Marshall has created since his split with Bella Union. He certainly seems to benefit hugely from his new-found independence. Full of moments, this is an album to resonate with the deepest parts of the soul.

‘Alligator’ is a truly stupefying track. It’s percussive piano opening gives the mistaken impression that it will turn in to a Coldplay pastiche. Blissfully, the eventual outcome couldn’t be further from the truth. The entrance of muted trumpet at 1.12 is a hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck moment, as the album truly takes off. So much emotion is conveyed in those short stabs of brass, as they’re joined by bass and distant drums, as Marshall’s falsetto simply soars. It is one of those rare moments in music which words cannot do justice to. Honestly, I shouldn’t even be bothering to try. The second time it happens, and the trumpet of David Warmegard begins to improvise, carefree in the midst of such tension and barely concealed agony, the effect is merely doubled.

‘Crimes’ (video above) is a more straight ahead song, the syncopated piano bass riff drives the song, as Marshall unleashes his inner soul man, calling to mind and surpassing the work of the brilliant recent album from Benjamin Clementine.

Undoubted highlight of the album though is ‘Mess’. Its’ chord progression is perfect, shifting between major and minor at the drop of a hat, but always at just the right moment. Marshall breathes and aches every single drop of emotion out of every lyric and vocal note. Time signatures subtly shift, but never obtrusively. Synths and guitars drift in and out, never denying front and centre position to the pleas of the writer to be taken away from the mess he finds himself in. By the song’s end, it feels as if a real emotional breakthrough has been made. Or at least you have to hope so.

This is an album to get lost in. We are fortunate that Lone Wolf had the emotional capacity to make it, and that it has been communicated so wonderfully to tape for posterity.

Jaga Jazzist – Starfire

Pre-order Starfire here

Watch the video for the album’s title track below

How do you go about reviewing a Jaga Jazzist record? It’s virtually impossible. Their fusion of jazz, psychedelic rock, synth rock and assorted other genres as the mood takes them is unparalleled. Let’s face it is, is virtually impossible to imitate. The band’s seemingly never-ending well of direction shifts and stylistic feints makes them impossible to pigeonhole. Just watch the video above if you don’t believe me. Recurring melodic figures are present and correct, but it is a song which has to be taken as a whole. This is no bitesize nugget of pop goodness. This is akin to an orchestral symphony purloined, bastardized and spat out through the medium of contemporary instrumentation. It should be a tough listen, or at least tough to focus on, but this is no background music. This is music to be lived in and through. It can change you. It can open your eyes and ears to the musical possibilities that exist at the very fringes of what might be considered popular. It is, finally, a simply fantastic piece of music. There are very few, if any, active bands in Europe at this point who could imagine, and then carry off successfully, the kind of thing which Jaga Jazzist does as a matter of course.

There are four other tracks on this album. They are all similarly epic in scale. They all show that the genius of Jaga Jazzist only continues to grow and find new outlets of musical possibility. To describe them is redundant. To seek to understand them feels almost rude. Instead I can only ask you to note the sheer unbounded enthusiasm I have unburdened myself of in these short paragraphs and suggest that the very next thing you do upon finishing reading this is pre-order this album. You simply must.

Maribou State – Portraits

Pre-order Portraits here

Watch the video for Rituals below

Chris Davids and Liam Ivory make up Maribou State. This, their debut album on Counter Records/Naim has been a long time coming. If you are an electronica aficionado you probably knew about them before I did (about a week ago), but now I’ve heard them I once again, as I often seem to in the course of compiling these posts, am kicking myself for not cottoning on earlier. I really should stop kicking myself. It hurts.

What we have here is a fine, warm sounding dose of relatively low key electronica. The ten tracks here combine subtle guitar licks (see ‘Home’ and ‘Say No More’ for key examples) with sweeping synths (‘Wallflower’ and its insistently eastern vibes) and some fine guest vocals from Pedestrian, Holly Warren and Jono McCleery (whose work you may have enjoyed on the recent Portico album I reviewed on Drowned in Sound)) to great effect. Of course, underpinning it all, and the thing on which the album either stands or falls, are the beats and production of Maribou State’s core pair. These are inventive throughout. Always impressive, yet never really seeking to be the centre of attention. ‘Raincoats’ is a key example of the duo’s primary expertise, as all the elements which make this such a fine album are amalgamated together in one deeply satisfying track

One listen to this album will, I predict, be all you need to accept unequivocally that Maribou State are a coming force in electronica. A fine summer album, this is the perfect time for Maribou State to mount the next offensive in their campaign to take over the world one pair of ears at a time. The news that the band hope to bring their vibes to the live arena in the coming months can only be intriguing. Something to watch out for.

O-Face – Mint EP

Pre-order the EP here. You can also stream two tracks there, including current single ‘Yolanda’

O-Face are a New York band who came together during their time at Bard College, which is just about to come to an end as they graduate. Congratulations guys. Oh to be young again with so much possibility ahead.

As graduation gifts and memorials go, a new EP is a creative and lasting one. Fortunately from the sound of this record, the members of O-Face have definitely not wasted their time in their chosen seat of learning. ‘740 Turbo’ starts big and gets bigger. An ode to a “luxury station wagon”, it seems, this has all the propulsive jingle jangle (that’s a technical term, naturally) which should see the band become a hit on College Radio on their side of the pond. The disarming urgency of the vocals, possibly from a guy named Seth (it is not clear) elevate this track to unforseen heights of fist-pumping rockness. By its end, I want a luxury station wagon. I do not drive. Good job guys.

‘When You Assume’ is a more restrained effort. It has a mid-section which appears to be the band’s George Michael moment (the synths and funk guitar, in case you’re wondering). ‘Yolanda’ develops a lovely 6/8 groove, reminding me at times of Menomena or Ramona Falls, before exploding in to a glorious coda. Yolanda is the one for him, apparently. Let’s hope she agrees. Next, they tell us that ‘O-Face is Breakin’ Up’. Let’s hope not. This song could soundtrack one of the epically emotional bits on American teen drama. The good kind. If there is one.

Final track ‘ Torres’ (is it about the footballer, or the singer-songwriter or some other Torres? We will never know) has a fantastic groove. Instrumental, it grows and grows and keeps on growing, ending with a the kind of grin-inducing squall of feedback and general cacophony which shows that O-Face have it in them to transcend genre. They are simply a rockin’ band. I sincerely hope they are not breaking up, and that we will hear more from them soon.

Tags Album, Album Review, EP, EP Review, Goldest Egg, Jaga Jazzist, Lone Wolf, Maribor State, Naim, O Face, Silver PR, Some Great Stuff I've Heard Rece

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: Rainer, The Weather Station, Anthony Strong

Post author By adminhs
Post date 25 May 2015
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Rainer – Water

Watch the video For Nocturn below

This is the debut album from Rainer. That it sounds far too mature, assured and confident to be a debut album is perhaps no surprise. Both of the bands’ members have been around the block several times in acts which met with varying degrees of success. The joys of success and the challenges of supposed failure have done nothing, it seems, but hone the talents and heighten the drive of Nic Nell and Rebekah Raa. On this record, Nell’s glitchy yet confident production and beats (see ‘Trouble’ and ‘Leave’) for particular key examples, are augmented by vocals from Raa which sound completely in control, even through dynamic shifts, beautiful layering and harmonies, and great use of different vocal tones. The field of indie-pop is a crowded one, but there are elements to Rainer’s approach, not least their strong sense of song craft, that should stand them in good stead. I can think of no greater compliment to pay them that, at times, this debut album sounded like a more focused Imogen Heap. I have no idea whether they’ll see it that way, but there we go. It will be interesting to see how things develop for them in the months and years to come. The flecks of glockenspiel, clarinet and other instruments not normally associated with this genre which appear throughout the album suggest that there is major scope for the development of a wider and even more enticing sonic palette on future releases. For now, though, this is a fine introduction to an intriguing new (to me) act.

The Weather Station – Loyalty

Do you love Joni Mitchell? What about Leonard Cohen? Perhaps the recent re-emergance of Linda Perhacs on Asthmatic Kitty has got you really excited. Maybe the folk work of people like Holly Williams has captivated you. Well, to that august list of deceptively gentle sounding titanic songwriters we can add the name of Tamara Lindemann, aka The Weather Station. “Loyalty” her new album is a beautiful folk release, one of the best of 2015. Recorded with members of Feist’s band, the combination of gentle strumming and careful augmentation (banjo, piano, organ, brushed drums) do their job wonderfully in supporting The Weather Station’s primary asset, Lindemann’s crystal clear vocal. Equal parts smoothly relaxing, yet urgently exploring lyrical themes of suffering and sorrow, the eleven tracks of “Loyalty’s” duration can slide by seemingly in a lilting moment, but engage with them and you’ll find a purposefully beating heart within. ‘Floodplain’ moves melodically and harmonically in unexpected directions, while ‘Shy Women’ makes splendid use of subtle changes in time signature to bring its effect firmly home. Those are my highlights, but this is an album best taken as a whole. If you’re looking for some new folk in your life, this is the record for you.

Anthony Strong – On a Clear Day

Watch the video for the title track below

And now for something yet completely different. And yet, the voice and chilled piano stylings of jazz man Anthony Strong feel so comfortingly familiar that you feel like he, and his new album “On a Clear Day” have been part of your life forever. Anthony has a clear voice, seemingly from a bygone era when jazz was the most prominent of popular music forms. The title track of this album (video above) has an effortless groove which will draw you in. You will not escape it. The horns and flutes may grab the attention, but it’s the floating arpeggios and the ease with which Strong crests the melodic highs and reaches in to his boots for their depths which will impress most.

His takes on jazz standards ‘Whatever Lola Wants’ and ‘As Time Goes By’ show that he truly has the chops you need to make a dent in this most crowded of areas, while strong and intricate arrangements bring life to tracks which would otherwise run the risk of sounding tired and dated. And so the album progresses. Strong’s vocals fantastic throughout, a solid collection of songs, and an inventive band giving just the right amount of light and shade throughout.

And this is the pitfall for this kind of album. This is not a genre where it is easy to come up with a “new” way of showcasing your wares. It really has all been done before. As such, it is unlikely that this will be a life-changing album, unless this is your introduction to smooth vocal jazz. But it is a very fine album, and provides Anthony Strong with an opportunity to gain the attention at home which he richly deserves, and which has already been coming his way in spades in Europe. What’s not to love about a good old-fashioned jazz crooner after all? Go on, dig in and enjoy a smooth bank holiday Monday.

Tags Album, Album Review, Anthony Strong, Cannonball PR, Feist, In House Press, Rainer, Some Great Stuff I've Heard Recently, Stereo Sanctity, The Weather Station

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: Eska, Crazy P, Charlie Barnes, Crocodiles, Pfarmers

Post author By adminhs
Post date 18 May 2015
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I’m quite behind on these posts at the moment, so apologies to the PR people who are probably chomping at the bit to hear what I have to say about their releases. This is meant to be fun for me 🙂

There’s some really interesting and diverse stuff in this post, so without further ado or waffle, I’ll get on with it!

Eska – Eska

Watch the video for the fantastic ‘Rock of Ages’ below

10 tracks of completely sublimely soulful and spiritually-charged jazz-pop is what’s on offer here. Eska has an incredible instrument of a voice. There’s not a track here which doesn’t feature her vocal as its main focus, but the glory of the vocal performances are that they are never overpowering or overbearing. This is an album of pop songs, but the kind of pop songs which are not spoon-fed or given to you on a plate. It took me several listens to digest the record and work out that tracks such as ‘This is How a Garden Grows’, the spine-tingling ‘Rock of Ages’ and ‘To Be Remembered’ were fantastically constructed songs with much to admire compositionally. Melodically and harmonically, these songs go in directions you wouldn’t expect but which feel just right. You’ll be grooving along before you know it. As a lot of her press has attested, Eska is the best singer you’ve never heard of. There’s a sweet tone and timbre to her voice, with just enough grit to separate her from the crowd of soul singers in the marketplace just now. She could be the missing link between Laura Mvula and Lianne La Havas, but to pigeon-hole her thus would be to diminish the strength of this fine album.

Crazy P – Walk Talk Dance Sing

Watch the video for ‘Witch Doctor’ below

This is apparently the seventh album from Crazy P, a band who split themselves between Manchester and Nottingham. My initiation in to the ways of Crazy P, “Walk Talk Dance Sing” is probably an album that does exactly what it says on the tin. It will make you do all this (if possible for you) and more. It’s an unrelentingly fun-sounding piece of work, in spite of some darker lyrical matter, right from the moment the solid groove of ‘Like a Fool’ kicks in. The groove continues right to the closing track, ‘Witch Doctor’ (you will have seen the video above, and in between Crazy P take us on a joyously funky ride. Previous single ‘Cruel Mistresses’ is a prime example. A chorus to die for, soaring atop a synths and choppy funky guitars which are at once familiar and exhilaratingly fresh. Crazy P aren’t changing the world, but if you want a fun album chock-full of intelligent pop music for grown ups, you won’t get much better than ‘Walk Talk Dance Sing’ in 2015.

Charlie Barnes – More Stately Mansions

Watch the video for ‘Sing to God’ below

Charlie Barnes is a fiendishly talented singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is a collaborator of Mancunian rock heroes Amplifier. His debut album is produced by Steve Durose of who has worked with both Amplifier and Oceansize. So what you might expect is that it is an unremittingly heavy album, short on subtlety and high on technical musicianship, to the detriment of song craft. Well, you’d be wrong. This is not a record to be cast neatly in to any kind of genre label or box. Barnes has something of the Jeff Buckley or the Freddie Mercury about his vocal delivery, but apes neither to the point of parody or pastiche. Instead, whilst giving a nod to both, his performances, aided by the diverse yet effective collection of songs on “More Stately Mansions”, show that he is, in fact, a singular talent. Whether it’s on the ambitiously almost symphonic title track, the writhing ‘Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth’, which is a beautifully composed epic giving rise to Muse comparisons from when they were, you know, good, to the more restrained ‘Dresden’, (which, it has to be said, builds to a truly spectacular and pyrotechnic conclusion) this an album which defies categorisation, yet is successful at every step. Barnes and his band can rock hard, as on ‘Sing to God’ (see above) but there is much artful subtlety on show here too. A man who knows his way round a fully-realised piece of music, Charlie Barnes is a name to watch in the months and years to come. I can only imagine that his live show is something special. This is a brave and vital album.

Crocodiles – Boys

Watch the fun video for ‘Foolin’ Around’ below

It would be all too easy to dismiss Crocodiles as just another psych-rock band on the treadmill of that genre’s seemingly never-ending revival. That would be to do them a great disservice, however. “Boys” is a many-headed best of an album. From the off, with ‘Crybaby Demon’ which is a driven by a sumptuous salsa beat underneath its swathes of organ and guitars and a chorus that lodges itself in your brain never to leave, this record is a cut above. ‘Do the Void’ has a bass line in its intro which comes perilously close to ‘Billie Jean’ but settles in to a jaunty tune the likes of Dandy Warhols have been yearning unsuccessfully for for years. ‘Hard’ is, as you might imagine, a pretty uncompromising listen as the guitars are sharpened. The distortion added to the bass is a nice touch. This song is a more effective and straight-ahead take on the formula popularised in recent times by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club than that band themselves have managed recently. Somehow or other, ‘Transylvania’ reminds me of ‘Buddy Holly’ era Weezer. I imagine it’s not supposed to, but there we go. I have quirky ears. It also sounds like it features an off-kilter saxophone solo. Not your average psych workout.

As you’ll have gathered, this is an album that runs the gamut of what is possible within the realm of contemporary psych rock. Without falling into the trap of trapping us in their swamp thing, Crocodiles have made a fine return. One might even say it’s a fun album, but I’d probably be shot for that, so let’s pretend I didn’t say that, ok?

Pfarmers – Gunnera

With a pedigree as good as that of Danny Seim (Menomena, Lackthereof), Bryan Devendorf (The National) and Dave Nelson (David Byrne and St. Vincent, Sufjan Stevens), it’s no surprise that “Gunnera” is an arresting prospect of a debut album from this new collaboration. According to Seim, According to Seim, “The record is about a dream I had where I’m reluctantly accepting a fear of drowning by focusing on being reincarnated as a giant Gunnera plant, which thrive on the banks of rivers (specifically the Jordan River i.e. the Biblical promised land) after I paint myself gold and sink to the bottom like the El Dorado of South American folklore.” I can definitively report that this is the best record about a fear of drowning anyone reading this will have heard.

Not just that, it’s a musical wonderland. Opening with the almost competitive synth and brass of ‘Benthos’, you’d be forgiven for wondering what alternate world you’d stepped in to, but all fears are assuaged, and rendered meaningless by the pulsing synth pop of ‘You Shall Know the Spirit’ which really reminds me not just of The National, but of some of the best work by David Bazan, as well as his synth project, Headphones. “When the spirit moves inside of me, you’ll know, cos I’ll stop breathing’ goes the lyric as a dark opening is drawn out in to a mid-section replete with a cavorting horn melody. Indeed. ‘Work For Me’, with it’s concoction of synths and processed drums, asks the question “how will I know when there’s love in the room?” Again, indeed. ‘El Dorado’ is a plain great pop song with a fantastic hook. ‘The Ol’ River Gang’ has an urgent drive to it that would make it a post-punk classic (and indeed it still might be) were the synth and horn parts supplied instead by guitars attacked in an overwrought fashion. So, yes, it’s a modern classic take on the synth-driven post-punk genre. You can keep your opinions on whether the hyphens are misplaced.

And on it goes. ‘How To Build a Tube’ could be an offcut from Sufjan’s “The Age of Adz” album with its amalgam of pop nous with synth sheen. Closer ‘Promised Land’ perhaps the destination in Seim’s journey of conquering fear is another track which begins with a fog of swirling synths, with ever more layers being added throughout the song’s first two minutes. As a percussive chordal pattern emerges from around the 2.10 mark, the sense that the song is arriving at its first stop becomes apparent. At 3.07, the first vocal: ‘Picked my suit up from the dry cleaners now I’m going bak to the Promised Land’ which is repeated amidst a swirl of horns before an invasive drum part and grooving bass part take the song home. A fine ending to a truly enticing debut offering from Pfarmers. Don’t miss this one, whether you are a fan of the members’ other projects or not. The mix of instrumentation and honest spiritual searching is fantastic.

Flying Colours – ROYGBIV EP

Buy the EP here

Watch the video for ‘Not Today’ below

It seems like no post in this series is complete without a review of a release from a band in the thick of the shoegaze revival, and this one is no exception. Australia’s Flying Colours (not to be confused with the American prog supergroup of the same name) have recently released their debut EP on the ever-fantastic Club AC30, as well as laying waste to the UK on tour with Russia’s finest Pinkshinyultrablast. The fact that this is on Club AC30 should give you the nod that this is a release worth investigating, as should giving a few minutes of your time to the video above. If that’s not enough, let me tell you that these 5 tracks exhibit the best elements of My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver, and give the recent releases from both bands a more than decent run from their money.

‘I Don’t Want To Let You Down’ rolls along on a convulsive rhythm with some beautifully squally guitars floating above a seismic bass riff. The song has a fantastic singalong pop chorus which should, no, must make it a shoe-in for 6Music airplay. All the elements are in place. This is just one of those moments, when a band aligns all of its best elements in one short burst of song craft. Fantastic. ‘Running Late’ jingles and jangles more, showing another side of the band, whilst ‘Not Today’ (video above) is a straight-ahead driving rock song par excellence. ‘In the End’ is a short, sharp blast of punky energy, showing yet another side of this versatile band. Closer ‘Leaks’ survives the ignominy of stealing a Kula Shaker riff to end things on a cacophonously energetic note.

The end of the experience leaves two thoughts:

1. An album from these guys will be a thing of wonder

2. I sorely regret not being well enough to attend the recent Pinkshinyultrablast/Flying Colours show in Leicester. I will do all I can to ensure such silliness does not occur again.

Tags 9PR, ABOF, Album, Album Reviews, Amplifier, Charlie Barnes, Crazy P, Crocodiles, Eska, Flying Colours, Gold Star PR, Menomena, Naim, Oceansize, Pfarmers, Review, Some Great Stuff I've Heard Recently, Superball Music, The National

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: Superheaven, Hop Along, Jupiter, Taffy

Post author By adminhs
Post date 9 May 2015
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Superheaven – Ours is Chrome

Watch the video to I’ve Been Bored below. Ours is Chrome is out now. Play the bands’ own version of Space Invaders at this link too. Go on, you know you want to,

A couple of years ago (it might be longer, my memory isn’t what it used to be), I picked up a Soundsupply Drop which either contained, or led me via Basement, another fantastic modern rock band, to the music of Daylight. (NB, this isn’t the way to start a review-it’s been a long week). Daylight’s album, Jar, was a fine piece of work. Straight-ahead and uncompromising, it was a big sounding rock song, full of anthemic songs, churning guitars and a confidence which suggested that they were a band destined for the top. I really grew to enjoy Jar. It became something of a go-to album for me on days when only loud guitars would do the trick.

And then, as so often happens, time moved on, many more albums crossed my path, and nothing more was heard of Daylight.

A couple of weeks ago, Side One Dummy sent me the info for the new album from Superheaven, a band the press-release likened to Smashing Pumpkins. This squarely hits the spot for me. I was in. And then, I discover that Superheaven is actually Daylight. You didn’t see that coming right from the first paragraph at all did you.

So, Superheaven aren’t a new band, they’re an established act with a new name. “Ours is Chrome” pretty much picks up exactly where Jar left off. ‘Next to Nothing’ is a riff-driven, chiming rock song. It follows a similar formula to it’s predecessor, album opener ‘I’ve Been Bored’. Guitars alternately rage and ring, bass riffs rumble, hi-hats are forward in the mix, snare drums accentuate militarily, toms are full and rounded. ‘Room’ keeps the feeling low, before ‘All the Pain’, if it’s possible, ups the angst quotient even further, slowing the tempo and adding tonally competitive guitar flourishes to the mix.

This is an intense listen, but has been mixed and mastered in what feels like a bright direction. All the record’s tones are clear and precise which, conversely, doesn’t actually help. Where ‘Leach’ or ‘Gushin’ Blood’ could be punishing exercises in suffering, they come off as somewhat bouncy, radio rock songs. It’s intriguing that such a heavy album could be so easy to listen to. If this is what Superheaven were seeking, then they should have no fear. I can well imagine that any of the songs on this album could make its home on radio in the months to come.

Hop Along – Painted Shut

This, the second album from Hop Along, is an enigmatic mixture. Equal parts 90s alt rock, college rock, jangling indie and intensely melodic, the elements which could make “Painted Shut” something of a standard-issue indie rock album are not just offset, but thoroughly obliterated by the abrasive vocals of Frances Quinlan. She rasps, she rages, she hooks you in and draws you in to a world where injustice, mental instability, self-inflicted suffering and shame seethe competitively to dominate and demand attention. The sheer force of Quinlan’s delivery on tracks such as ‘The Knock’ and previous single ‘The Waitress’ can, as it were, knock you backwards.

There’s much more to this album, though. Throughout the guitar tones are just right, sometimes fuzzed-out and urgent, at others almost playful, in line with the relaxed and focused work of the rhythm section. This has the effect of building a wide palette from which Quinlan can emerge. It’s an unusual combination, a combination, in fact, that probably shouldn’t work, and wouldn’t, were it not for the qualities of musicality on show. These are strong songs, well crafted and delivered expertly. The production is unfussy but sympathetic and, through it all, the sense that Frances Quinlan is a coming songwriter is never far from the surface.

See the video for Powerful Man below. Painted Shut is out now

Jupiter – Bandana Republic

Bandana Republic is out now. Watch the video for Do It Below

Anyone for a bit of disco? “Bandana Republic” is the second album from Parisian trio Jupiter. Where the other albums I’m writing about today are all on the serious and important side, “Bandana Republic” is a joyful, gloriously fun ten track romp to pull you right into the heart of the Parisian summer.

Right from the scene-setting ‘AV’, you know you’re in for a fun ride. Of particular note, to my ears at least, is the ever-inventive bass work, which draws the ears and the mind into a groove and then places them in to an album-lasting headlock. This, allied to playful synths, choppy funk guitars, and consistently pretty vocals, largely from Amelie mean that Jupiter are able to carry you away into a world that is all of their own making.

Single, ‘Do It’ is one the album’s strongest moments. That’s probably why they released it as a single. All the elements described above are firmly in place, and it features the kind of chorus that several grasping female pop stars who have gone down this route in the last few years would kill for. Go on, watch the video above. You’ll love it. If you like that, you’ll love this album.

Taffy – Darkle EP

Darkle is out now. Watch the video to the first single from this EP, Suicidal Bunny below

Coming on like a cross between Blur, Stone Roses and Elastica, Taffy are one of the few bands from the exciting Japanese rock scene to have made a concerted and successful effort to gain attention in the UK. After two full-lengths and a stunningly consistent B-Sides and rarities album, the band continue their partnership with the, again astonishingly consistent Club AC30 label (Fever Dream, Flying Colours, Gavin Clark, Pinkshinyultrablast, Exit Calm) with the “Darkle” EP.

If you’ve been an aficionado of Taffy in the past, you’ll know what you’re getting here. A driving, punchy band, guitars which squeal and squall in a fashion Graham Coxon seems sadly to have forgotten, and vocals which at first sound sugary sweet, almost twee, but have a habit of burrowing deep inside your cranium and steadfastly refusing to leave. It’s a formula that works startlingly well. ‘Redamancy’ starts moodily, opens out in to a pre-chorus which is almost sweet, before it’s chorus of “I miss you today, I miss you more” is delivered atop groaning guitars which take us back to Radiohead circa 1994-95.

‘Young Times’ swirls and swoons. ‘Remember to Remember’ is chordally and melodically gorgeous, which takes its time, before building in to a stratospheric chorus which hits at just the right moment. ‘Dr. K’ takes things in a punkier and punchier direction, all energetic drive and spiky guitars. ‘HBD’ closes the EP proper with what sounds like a live demo take of ‘Happy Birthday’. I kid you not. The band even manage to take this three chord wonder into a swirling new direction. It very much makes me want to go and see them on my birthday. To actually close the record, ‘Young Tines’ is remixed by psych rock doyen Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre). His take on the track adds a little space and emphasises the prettiness of the melodies at play. It is a welcome addition.

Taffy are, without question, an exiting and essential band in the continuing shoegaze/psych revival. Now if only more of their compatriots would see their way to releasing in the UK.

Tags 9PR, Album, Album Review, Best in Show, Club AC30, EP, EP Review, Hop Along, Jupiter, Saddle Creek, Some Great Stuff I've Heard Recently, Stereo Sanctity, Superheaven, Taffy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k82CwUmC-Wg

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: False-Heads, Fever Dream, Timeshares, San Fermin

Post author By adminhs
Post date 26 April 2015
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False-Heads “Wear and Tear EP”

Buy the EP here

False-Heads are a new band whose star is definitely in the ascendant. With a sound much in thrall to the grunge rock of the 90s (‘Twentysomething’ from this EP is the kind of song you wish had been on the post-reformation album from Pixies) but which leaves plenty of room for the psych guitars of Luke Griffifths to come to the fore, it’s no surprise that Q Magazine and NME have already been taking notice. ‘Wrap Up’ is the lead single and opening track of the EP. Without further ado, check out the video.

As you will have no doubt by now seen, the song is built on a muscular riff, and features a chorus hook that shouldn’t work but somehow does. It’s a promising start. From there we get the aforementioned ‘Twentysomething’ which is, if anything, a much more arresting prospect. It screams of a band with depth and potential. ‘Snatch’ keeps the pace up, with a verse which reminds me hugely of the Australian band Emperors (this is a good thing). Closer ‘Nothing In There’ begins by taking the intensity down a notch. A moody song, its cacophonous crescendo is somewhat predictable but still exceedingly satisfying.

This is a really solid EP. I am looking forward to seeing what False-Heads come up with next.

Fever Dream – Moyamoya (Released April 27th)

Stream the album here

Released on the ever-reliable Club AC30 (seriously, do they ever put out anything any less than wonderful?) “Moyamoya” is the debut full length album from live mainstays Fever Dream. A lot has been written about how it sounds a little bit like My Bloody Valentine. More has been said about how it sounds like the kind of “indie” that was popular around 20 years ago. To lampoon Fever Dream with the implied snooty criticism of these associations is to do them a great disservice, however. “Moyamoya” is a fine album. It’s unrelentingly loud, swathes of guitar squall from Adey Flint dominate throughout. Sarah Lippett’s bass is never anything less than strident, and as for the whirlwind that the drums of Cat Loye envelop the listener in, well you’ll just have to listen to find out. This is intense stuff. I’ve already said that Fever Dream are live mainstays and it shows. Right from the word go, as ‘Watch You Sleep’s’ uncompromising opening gives way to the duo of singles ‘Serotonin Hit’ and ‘Nightcrawling’, there is a confidence, an assuredness which belies the fact that this is a debut album. These sound like songs which have been loved, coerced and cherished in to existence. Fever Dream sound like a band who know each other inside out, know each other’s strengths and weaknesses musically. There is a fantastic natural rhythmic pocket found throughout by Lippett and Loye which can only be built through years of hard gigging.

And it never really lets up. Song after song hits you between the eyes, but with so much melodic intentionality that you never lose sight of the song within the sound. This is no small feat. Often, it seems, the choice is between intensity for the sake of intensity, or melody at intensity’s expense. Fever Dream have the balance just right. There’s plenty here to satisfy the hardest-hearted of rock fans, be they of an MBV persuasion or not. A particular favourite of mine is ‘Dance Forever’, which has the temerity to bounce, yes bounce along in the lead up to the chorus, before the playful nature of the song is overtaken by a glorious wall of feedback.

Most satisfyingly of all, the passion never lets up. Closing pair ‘Flux’, with its busy, changeable, yet hypnotic rhythmic pattens and the smack between the eyes that is ‘Vapour”s anthemic chorus carry as much of a punch as anything in the first forays of ‘Moyamoya’. This is a consistent piece of art. My only regret is that I was ignorant of them till now. Now to find a live show….

Timeshares – Already Dead

Stream the album here

Pre-order the album here (out April 28th)

Timeshares are a New York punk band. “Already Dead” is their second album, but their first for Side One Dummy, a label whose seal of approval is a sure sign of quality. At times (see ‘The Bad Part’, for example) Timeshares come off as a band paying homage to the punk of the 80s, circa The Replacements, as well as a good part of the modern punk revival (I know, I know, punk never died). That is only the half of what makes this an exciting proposition though. For every gritty vocal from Jon Hernandez which places the band firmly within the punk fraternity, there is a guitar tone which twangs just enough, and I mean just enough, to hint at the influence of country. Country-tinged punk might sound like a terrible idea to you, but trust me, the energy on ‘Same Day, Different Week’ and ‘Heavy Hang’ will make a believer out of the most cynical hack. Sure, there’s plenty of straight up rock to be found here. ‘Heavy Hang’ is followed by the decidedly straight-ahead ‘Spend the Night’.

There are some clever musical moments too. ‘(Corner of) Park and Park’ features a repeating and beautifully delivered bar of 5/4 (I think) which really grabs the attention and also has an elastic song structure which firmly moves Timeshares away from any accusation of being a standard four-chord punk band. They seem able to turn their hand in several directions, even at times, such as on ‘The New Incisions’ giving rise to comparisons with the phenomenally successful The Hold Steady (not sure if they’ll love that, but there we go). “Already Dead” is the sound of a growing band straining at the bounds of potential and possibility. The world could well be their oyster.

San Fermin – Jackrabbit

Stream the album here (and read a fascinating interview with bandleader Ellis Ludwig-Leone while you’re at it)

Pre-order the album here (You really, really should, it’s out on April 27th)

Ellis Ludwig-Leone seems like quite a dude. He’s been an assistant composer to Nico Muhly (who worked on strings for Sigur Ros along with a heap of other things). He’s worked on arrangements for Sufjan Stevens and Passion Pit. This year he is set to score a ballet in the upcoming New York City Ballet season. In short he is prodigiously talented. Projects birthed in the minds of musicians such as this can go one of two ways: either they can drown under the weight of unrealised delusions of grandeur, or they can soar to unimagined heights of beauty, panache and musicality. Fortunately “Jackrabbit” sits squarely and thoroughly in the latter camp. It is, to put it bluntly, an astonishingly good album.

Brought in to enigmatic life by an eight-piece band – Ellis aided by John Brandon (trumpet), Stephen Chen (saxophone), Rebekah Durham (violin/vocals), Michael Hanf (drums), Charlene Kaye (lead vocals), Tyler McDiarmid (guitar), and Allen Tate (lead vocals), these are great songs. With Tate and Kaye swapping lead vocal duties, there are moments where each of the band are given a chance to shine. Whether it’s the understated and unsettling drama of ‘The Woods’, the kind of song Thom Yorke is regularly deified for, which part way through briefly explodes into a St Vincent-esque kitchen sink jam, the groove of ‘Emily’, which somehow sounds just like Interpol, without prominently featuring guitars in any sense, instead saving its best moments for the trumpet of John Brandon, or the joyful pop of the title track, by the end of the fourth track, if you’re not sold then I will eat my hat. That’s not the half of it though. It’s only just a quarter. “Jackrabbit” showcases more ingenuity, imagination and fully-realised ambition over its fifteen (FIFTEEN) tracks than most artists manage to showcase in an entire career. ‘Parasites’ is one track which shows just how far the compositional mind of Ellis Ludwig-Leone can take him. Tones and instrument families compete. Tempos shift. Kaye and Tate swap vocals, with Tate almost, but not quite, falling over the edge of singing in a different key, brass and strings float in and out, there is a choral interlude or two, and that’s only in the first half. Before the songs’ end it builds to the kind of conclusion that you often hope a song will build to but it barely ever does.

I could write similarly hyperbolic descriptions of almost every song here, but I expect you get the point by now. It’s probably time I brought this thing in to land.

So, here’s the deal. Ellis Ludwig-Leone is a compositional genius. He has brought his vision to full and vibrant life with the help of some creative players. This is a brilliant album which transcends genre classification. It would be a travesty if, as a result, it failed to find a home in your heart. Don’t let that happen.

Tags Album, Album Review, EP, False-Heads, Fever Drean, San Fermin, Some Great Stuff I've Heard Recently, Timeshares

Some Great Stuff I’ve Heard Recently: Cartesian Jetstream, Grasscut, Jackson Scott and Andreya Triana

Post author By adminhs
Post date 21 April 2015
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Cartesian Jetstream – Ancestors