This is a special return from Ex Libras. Much fancied around the time of the release of their debut album Suite(s) and its follow up EP Cut(s), the band went off the radar for several years leading up to the release of this comeback EP, which is undoubtedly something of a triumph. I missed them first time around (more fool me) so as the first bars of the title track’s sinuous groove kicked in I was taken aback. The press release likens the band to Radiohead and Foals and this is not too far wrong. There’s something of the compositional creativity of the former mixed in with the aggression of the latter as each of the EP’s four tracks wend and wind their way to some particularly fascinating musical destinations. On this evidence a full length album can’t come soon enough. Ex Libras are certainly a band to watch.
Andrew Wasylyk – Soroky
Now a member of Idlewild, previously a member of The Hazey Janes and sessioned for Electric Soft Parade and School of Language, Andrew Wasylyk has a stellar pedigree and. on the strength of this musically strong and lyrically emotive album, a promising future. Beginning with the woozy piano of ‘Last of the Loved’ and its intelligent use of chromatics (not to mention a fabulous Crowded House-apeing chorus), Soroky is a fine album. Centrepiece and high point ‘Empress Ballroom’ calls to mind Grizzly Bear at their most opulent, whilst ‘Morning Falls to Blue’ builds gloriously to a cinematic climax. This is an album full of musical intelligence and with enough twists and turns to keep even the most demanding listener happy.
Nova Heart – Nova Heart
Watch the video for Lackluster No. below
I get a lot of music sent to me. A lot. Not much of it is classified as ‘minimalist post-punk/electro from Beijing’ so when the debut album from Nova Heart landed in my inbox my interest was piqued. The band feature Helen Feng who, the press release reliably informs me, ‘has been dubbed the Blondie of China’. The record was mixed by Rusty Santos (TV On the Radio, Animal Collective) and there is something of a Dave Sitek influence throughout. As you’ll hear from ‘Lackluster No.’ if you watch the video above, things brood and shape-shift without ever really losing control. ‘No Controversy’ and ‘Evil’ both ricochet along percussively, the latter one of several tracks here to feature some wonderfully jarring guitar effects work. ‘Right Wrong’ has a synth-driven, disco-infused chorus to die for, and ‘My Song 9’ could pass for some of the best recent work of Russian shoegazers Pinkshinyultrablast. This is a wonderful unexpected surprise.
Jono McCleery – Pagodes
Watch the video for an acoustic version of ‘Desperate Measure’ below
When you’re blessed with the kind of voice that Jono McCleery is (it’s the kind that could stop you in the street singing the phonebook, or whatever the modern equivalent of that is) the temptation could be to skimp on the other crucial element of the solo artist’s art: the songs. On ‘Pagodes’ everything works beautifully in tandem. McCleery’s vocal performances range from wistful and intimate, as on ‘Age of Self”, all the way to the understated yet complex ‘Fire In My Hand’ where the emotion causes cracks to appear on more than one occasion. Having been featured as a vocalist with Portico this year, perhaps it’s no surprise that there is plenty of jazzy electronica here. ‘Halfway’ draws you in with its syncopation before letting rip with a gorgeous chorus that wouldn’t have been out of place on the recent Grasscut album. Allied with this, tracks such as ‘Bet She Does’ position McCleery as an acoustic singer songwriter par excellence, whilst ‘Pardon Me’ takes things in a piano-driven Benjamin Clementine direction. What is clear at the end of the listening experience of this album, and it is an album to be experienced rather than consumed, is that Jono McCleery is a prodigiously talented artist deserving of a much wider audience. Don’t miss this album.
If you’re eagle-eyed, or your memory is better than mine, you’ll remember that I swooned over the performance Esther gave at this summer’s Irregular Folk Festival in Oxford. The best compliment I can pay this driving EP of dark, brooding techno, is that as I listened, I remembered each of the songs from that performance. These are four beautifully crafted tracks. Esther has a haunting, spectral voice, which cuts through even the most densely populated track. She also has a winning way with a vocal hook. Each song here contains within it the kind of chorus that pop hit factory songwriters kill for. The fact that the emotion of each song is so keenly felt is even more to Lane’s credit. At times reminiscent of the best bits of Poliça, this is sterling stuff that should be all over the radio. For me, the best track here is ‘You Know’, which grows and grows in to a real electronic mini-symphony, but to pick favourites is to potentially diminish the power of this collection as a whole. Just listen to it.
USA Nails – No Pleasure
Watch the video for ‘I Am Normal’ below
USA Nails brings together members and ex-members of Oceansize, Hawk Eyes, Kong, Future of the Left, Silent Front and Dead Arms. So you know what you’re getting. This is fast, loud, uncompromising, technical and downright heavy and fun post-hardcore. At times it reminds me of These Arms Are Snakes, but I may well be ignorant in this regard. The album barely lets up from the first to the last. ‘You Sing For Yourself’ is monstrous and its time signature changes are a joy. The distorted bass of ‘Laugh It Up’ gives the pummelled listener something to hold on to in a sea of musical chaos, and ‘Make Me Art’ really tips things over the edge in to an extra dimension with some brazen guitar work. If you like your rock records to actually rock, this second album from USA Nails is for you.
Victories At Sea – Everything Forever
Listen to ‘Bloom’ below
Victories At Sea are probably the most exciting band to have emerged from Birmingham this decade. They’ve been supporting Editors this month, so their progress in to the hearts and minds of the indie-loving nation is virtually assured. But is the record any good? Well, in a word, yes. Citing influences ranging from Slowdive to Mogwai and all the way through to dancefloor fillers Factory Floor, this is a record the like of which 2015 has not seen. That in itself is a great thing to be able to say about a debut album from a British band. Much more than the sum of its parts or influences, Victories At Sea make a truly unique artistic statement which is a real joy as the year wanes to its end. ‘Florentine’ is a driving indie pop song with a pumping rhythm bed. So is ‘Up’, which reminds me of the brilliant Losers from a few years ago (featured members of Cooper Temple Clause as I remember). DMC is darker and largely instrumental, creating a foreboding atmosphere which leads in to ‘Poles Apart’, a song with another great pop chorus, and swathes of guitars which envelop the listener like a winter fog, before the track lets go in a percussive coda. Is this a pop album? Yes. Is this a post-punk album? Yes. Is this a rock album? Yes. Is this album beyond simplistic categorisation and simply one of the best of 2015? Most definitely.
So, dear readers, I’ve been extremely remiss recently and not posted about any of the myriad records I’ve been sent. I bet you were having palpitations. This will be a long post. There are a lot of records to cover. As such I will be perhaps somewhat more cursory than I can be on occasions, prone as I am to verbosity in the Word Count department. Take it from me though, there’s a lot to love in each one of these releases. Some of them are very special indeed. I’m writing about them in no particular order. See you on the other side.
Lovedrug – Notions
Watch the video for Spinning Out of Control below
I’ve loved the music of Lovedrug for almost half my life. That’s a scary thought. ‘Everything Starts Where It Ends’, the band’s second album, was a vastly underrated indie rock masterpiece. “American Swimming Lessons” from that album remains one of the most wonderfully bombastic American rock songs of recent memory. Whereas, in the past, the band were driven on an urgent alternative rock plane, now things are a lot straighter, more radio-friendly. On this album, Michael Sheppard plays almost everything, as well as producing and mixing. In a sense, it feels like more of a follow-up to his recent album with the Boys on the Radio moniker than it does to Lovedrug’s last album Wild Blood, but this is still a potent record full of great songs. I just wish, personally, though that the handbrake had been let off a few more times. Maybe on the next album!
Any trio which claims to root themselves in jazz and heavy metal (not that there are that many, admittedly) is going to get my attention, and that’s exactly what Zeitgeist have done. Their self-titled debut album may only contain five tracks, but they are all weighty, both in terms of length, and in terms of ambition compositionally and in terms of performance. The off-kilter ‘Haiku’ is a particular highlight, as melodic and rhythmic shifts you might normally expect to see on a Meshuggah album are carried off delightfully in the realm of the more traditional jazz setting. For me, this band have no true reference points. They’re closer to The Bad Plus than, say, Trichotomy, with the odd nod to Neil Cowley Trio, but something about the way the three instrumentalists combine leaves them out in a realm all of their own. One to seek out.
Get the Blessing – Astronautilus
Watch the video for Phaenomena below
Show me a fan of modern jazz or, to hell with it, intelligent progressive music, who finds it hard to fall in love with Get the Blessing and their incredible blend of rhythm and brass and I’ll show you….well, I don’t know what I’ll show you, because I’ve not met anyone who’s spent any time in the company of any of their albums and failed to fall head over heels in love with them. “Astronautilus” continues the band’s recent form, with a series of solid-gold grooves and crescendos which build so meticulously that they’re on top of you before you even realise they’re there. Opener ‘Carapace’ is an astonishing example of one such. ‘Monkfish’ shows another string to the band’s bow, as wailing brass compete with a head-spinning drum track. This has to be one of the finest jazz releases of 2015. Do not miss it.
Fred Abbott – Serious Poke
Watch the video for ‘Adrenaline Shot’ below
You might have already clicked play on the video for ‘Adrenaline Shot’, the opening track on Fred Abbott’s debut album. If you haven’t, and your day is on the drab side and needing a boost, I strongly recommend you stop what you’re doing this instant and listen to this song. There, feel better? I thought you would.
Fred Abbott used to be part of Noah and the Whale, the ultra-intelligent pop band who achieved dizzying success a while back. Now Abbott’s back, and he’s brought all the musical intelligence which characterised his former band at their best moments, whilst adding a heady dose of straight ahead rock and roll. At times, this touches on Tom Petty, at others, such as on ‘Awake’, it is Bruce Springsteen’s name that most easily comes to mind when searching for a comparison. If you like your singer-songwriters to have a widescreen sheen, ceiling-high choruses and just the merest hint of an alt-country twang, then “Serious Poke” is the album you’ve been longing for.
Sons of Kemet – Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do
Sons of Kemet emerged with their twin drum and twin brass attack two years ago in a blaze of publicity and a Mercury nomination. Most of the publicity seemed to centre on the presence of the huge hair and huger talent of Seb Rochford in their ranks, but in a sense, this was an unfair distraction from the visceral and vibrant qualities which characterised their debut album, “Burn”. Instead, as on “Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do”, it is the compositional talent of Shabaka Hutchings which most persistently demands, and merits, attention. These are simply brilliant pieces of music, fantastically conceived, and faultlessly executed. Whether it’s on the understated yet insistent ‘Breadfruit’, or the gloriously expansive ‘Tiger’, this is a band which, far from being at the peak of its powers is only just seeing top gear in the distance. The sky is the limit for the potential of this quartet.
What we have here is some fine, mostly very chilled and downtempo, electronica. Ash has been receiving support all over the shop from BBC 6Music DJs, so there’s no doubt that this debut album is going to make quite a dent. His roots in trip-hop are obvious throughout, particular for me on the gorgeous ‘They Do Not Know Yet’, while ‘Six Eight’, which is in…..6/8 immediately follows, showing the jazzier leanings which lift this from being a one-paced slow groove record into being a collection suffused with gravitas and beauty. At thirteen tracks, the album is quite a lot to digest in one sitting, but it works well as an extended snapshot of the breadth and depth of Walker’s talent and potential. The gloriously named and otherworldly ‘Root Veg’ is a woozy late album highlight not to be missed, too.
Autobahn – Dissemble
Watch the video for ‘Society’ below
This is gloriously uncompromising stuff. Seemingly universally lauded, “Dissemble” is a hard pill to swallow at first, but one that has serious restorative powers. Equal parts Cooper Temple Clause-esque squall, as on opener ‘Missing In Action” and foreboding, krautrock-esque drive on ‘Immaterial Man’, which immediately follows it, the album is really singularly indescribable. Built on unshakeable melodies, and with the unmistakeable vocal performances of Craig Johnson giving the band an extra string of individuality to its bow, there is simply no way that this album will not end up as one of the albums of 2015. By the time the dissonance of ‘Passion’ cavorts its way into your heart and mind any thought of resistance will be long gone. Autobahn must be a fearsome proposition live. Make a point of checking them out.
Sweet Baboo – Boombox Ballads
Watch ‘Walking In the Rain’ below
Like the most impenetrable prog rock album, now our attention turns to a gorgeous album from folk-influenced singer and songwriter Sweet Baboo. Don’t be fooled by the winsome strumming that begins opener ‘Sometimes’, there’s a depth and resonance to this album which is on show the moment the strings, brass and what sounds like an accordion, spring into action at the song’s coda. ‘Two Lucky Magpies is a beautiful piano ballad augmented again with legato strings, whilst the yearning of ‘I Just Want to Be Good’ would be bound to cause anyone who heard it to invite Sweet Baboo in for a nice cup of tea. Chock full of memorable choruses, and meticulously constructed soundscapes, if this is your introduction to Sweet Baboo, as it is mine, you won’t be disappointed.
Maserati – Rehumanizer
Watch the video for ‘Rehumanizer II’ below
Something special here from Maserati. I’m new to the band, and a search to try and work out where this fits in the canon of the band is less straightforward than it might first appear to be, but I make this their eighth album. Whether it turns out that I can’t count, or not, all the evidence suggests that Maserati are a band who are still on the up. Their blistering amalgam of metronomic krautrock, programmed drums and explosive passages of full on psychedelic rock wig outs is a potent combination. Best exemplified in the stupefying end to ‘End of Man’, really there are few bands as exciting as Maserati in full flow on the scene at the moment, on this evidence. Only ‘Montes Jura’ breaks the mould on this set, with more of a focus on the glistening synth-driven 80s element of their sound, it is a nice diversion, a brief pause, before the rock returns with a vengeance. This isn’t out until October 30th, but get prepared, this is a fine album.
Hills – Frid
Watch the video for ‘Milarepa’ below
Once again, this is heavy stuff, on the third album from Gothenberg-based Rocket Recordings (Goat et al) signees Hills. This is cited as their ‘most intense and out of mind outing yet’ and it’s not hard to disagree. Opening groove ‘Kollektiv’ may very well take you over. By the time it lets you off for a few seconds with a Sitar-esque interlude, you will probably be under the band’s spell, not to emerge until 60s influenced closer ‘Death Will Find A Way’ has wound its, erm, way round and round your subconscious. In between times, ‘Natural Drone’ proves itself one of the most correctly-titled songs of recent times, carrying within it some lovely squalls of guitar, while ‘Och Solen Sänkte Sig Röd’ really stretches things out, it’s near 11 minute peaks and troughs among the record’s most satisfying moments. Best taken as a whole though, “Frid” adds to Rocket Recordings’s stellar recent output. Hills appear to be another band not to miss live, should the chance arise.
Muncle – Hot Brain
Watch the video for ‘Chicken Or Egg’ below
Muncle is the brainchild of one Mike Griffifths, a Bristol-based multi-instrumentalist and longtime member of several fine bands, some of whom I think (if I have this right) I shard a stage with in a previous life. On ‘Hot Brain’, which was mastered by Ed Woods ((Jamie Lenman, The Xcerts, The Who, Idlewild), but otherwise self-recorded, produced and mixed, Mike presents a stark study of his personal and private frustrations, doubts and questions. So, you might think this would be an introspective record. You’d be wrong. It explodes in to life with the wall of sound that is ‘Kick Up A Fuss’ and barely lets up from there. ‘Glass To the Wall’ is a fantastic, Reueben-esque series of melodic twists and turns. ‘Obituary’ has a chorus that Blur would be more than happy to steal, while the breakdown in ‘Mother Was Right’ is a spellbinding moment. Lots of people make records at home. Not many of them turn out as good as this one.
I could write reams and reams about why Laura Cannell and her album, “Beneath Swooping Talons” are among the very most exciting of my most recent discoveries. I could wax lyrical about the sheer emotional power and resonance of her instrumental performances, about the meaning they convey without recourse to anything as trite and trivial as words. I could tell you that this album has reduced me to an awed hush on more than one occasion even as I’ve been preparing this post. But really, when it’s all said and done, you’d be better served clicking the link above and spending some time immersing yourself in the these pieces yourself.
Alif – Aynama-Rtama
Watch the video for Holako (Hulagu) below
I can’t claim for one minute to be a World Music aficionado, but something about the heady mix of Eastern and Western styles on this debut album from Alif has quite beguiled me. As you’ll hear from the track in the video above, Alif are a band bridging the gap between cultures, in a similar way to another of this year’s success stories, Mbongwana Star. Listening to the way the Buzuk and the Oud dovetail so beautifully with keyboards, bass and drums, all topped off with traditional Arabic poetry, the feeling really does come that a kind of musical and consensus has, if it has not been reached, been made possible. If ever listening to an album can make me feel ignorant and narrow-minded in my appreciation of what music has to offer, this one is it. There isn’t an album I’ve heard in the last few months which has caused as deep an emotional response in me as this one. Make a point of seeking it out.
Light Music, from Milwaukee, Canada, are described as an ‘epic pop band’. Rarely has a genre description for a new band with a debut album been more apt. As you will have heard if you’ve clicked on the link to listen to ‘Nessum Dorma’, the opening track from “Ocean’s Daughter” there is a lot going on with this music. The button marked ‘skyscraping ambition’ has been pressed in the studio. Everything about this record is huge. The mix is full and layered, the drums sound huge (just check out the build in the part on ‘True Colours” for one example) and the songwriting wilfully seems to take things in unexpected directions. At times, the scope is Muse-sized. At others, Civil Twilgiht and Circa Survive are the closest reference points. Tiis is beautifully executed heavy modern pop music.
Shannon and the Clams – Gone By The Dawn
Watch the video for ‘Corvette’ below
‘Gone By The Dawn’ is the fourth album from Shannon and the Clams. Unless you were there the first time around, it’s unlikely that you will have heard anything like their mix of 50s surf rock (‘I Will Miss the Jasmine’), bar ballads (‘My Man’) or stomping dancefloor fillers (‘Point of Being Right’, which, itself reminds me of the best of Nicole Atkins) before. This is music full of attitude, and with a clear aesthetic, but without the songs such acts rarely get as far as a fourth album, and Shannon and the Clams have songs aplenty. The title track is a luscious waltz which teeters on the blink of melodic collapse throughout to an enormously satisfying degree, whilst ‘Telling Myself’ swings and rolls along at quite a lick with a trademark 50s guitar riff whilst lead singer Shannon Shaw, whose vocals are fantastic throughout the album, somehow contrives to sound a little (a very little) like Julian Cassablancas at his most rasping. You’ll find yourself humming the chorus for the days. This is a fun album. Remember when people made those?
“Spark”, the new album from exceptional talent Kat Reinhert shows her vocal and compositional versatility. She has a a voice which seems to crest melodic waves endlessly, and these thirteen songs provide ample moments with which she can show her prowess to its full extent. Over the mournful groove of ‘Heavy’ her tone is easy, light and precise. “My Arms’ gives her a chance to show her depth and warmth over a light and playful melodic backing. ‘Little Compartments’ builds from an ominous-sounding beginning into an atmospheric climax. What is most pleasing about this set is its musicality. Each player is enabled to show their chops as the record is peppered with solos and instrumental passages which, rather than merely filling time, add greatly to the whole. What cannot be escaped however is that it is Reinhert’s voice which makes this album as special as it is. She is a special talent.
Small Feet – From Far Enough Away Everything Sounds Like the Ocean
Watch a live video for ‘Gold’ from this album below
Simon Stålhamre, the main driving force behind Swedish band Small Feet, is purported to have learnt English from watching television as a virtual recluse after leaving school early. I wish watching television did me that much good. Small Feet’s debut album is as extraordinary as the backstory of its primary songwriter. ‘Gold’ the opener is a strident, acoustic-driven piece of emotive 60s pop. It is immediately followed by ‘River’, which sounds like a Simon and Garfunkel offcut, by way of Scandinavia, yet with a much deeper emotional depth than even the much-lauded duo could match. Quite a claim that, but there we are. When the chorus hits, and the reverb-drenched vocal harmonies find the sweet spot, there’s nothing else in the world that matters apart from seeing what happens in the rest of this song. Very few debut albums can grab and hold a listener to this extent.
There are too many other strong moments here to describe them all. The haze which floats above the groove of ‘Backwards Falconer’ is an unusual and enticing touch, while ‘Lead Us Through the Night’ has a lovely instrumental break which we hear through a fug of reverb and delay before vocals return with crystalline clarity.
I was going to say that perhaps this is the album Neil Young would make if he had spent his life in Scandinavia. Perhaps Justin Vernon’s process and output would be similarly affected by a spell in Northern Europe, but in actuality, there is only one Small Feet. This is a deep, important piece of art.
HeCTA – The Diet
Watch the video for ‘Sympathy For the Auto Industry’ below
So by now you will have heard that members of Lambchop, noted alt-country mainstays as they are, have decided to take a turn not just leftfield, but have planted an entirely new field of their own. In case the listener is in any doubt, the uncompromising four-to-the-floor of ‘Till Someone Gets Hurt’ opens the album and, within seconds, any worries about this being a pastiche or tokenistic attempt at electronica are dispelled once and for all. This is the real deal. As an organ pulses in the song’s latter section we could be on any refined and discerning dancefloor in all of the world.
And nor does the pace slow down, either. ‘Prettyghetto’ has an outrageously funky bass riff as its jumping off point, which is oddly reminiscent to me of short-lived hitmakers Hockey, while ‘The Concept’ utilises atmospheric synths and quirky vocal samples to make its point.
Throughout everything, hooks abound. There is a beating pop heart in the midst of this record, but it never once, not even for a second compromises on its primary objective: this is music to get you moving. It is impossible that it will fail.
There’s just too much music in the world. I can’t listen to it all. Why should I bother? You might think be thinking such thoughts as the seemingly endless stream of fairly average music spews all over the internet. It’s a good job you’ve got me then, isn’t it. Loads of releases to get through today. A lot of different genres. There’s something for everything.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.