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ALBUM REVIEWSLatest releases from 2013...
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LONDON GRAMMAR
Live Review - Le Sucre
(15/11/13)
I had been waiting to see this band live for a while,
having steadily listened to this Nottingham trio for a sizeable chunk of 2013… Their
debut album If You Wait confirmed highest hopes: London Grammar’s previously
released Metal & Dust EP was no fluke and their brand of cinematic classy pop
is without a doubt one of this year’s highlights.
Yet, as per usual when discovering a new band, especially when the debut album is as stunning as this one, the live shows end up being make-or-break time: this early on in the band’s career, the gigs could very well be underwhelming compared to the studio efforts… Furthermore, considering the band’s chilled musical style, there is a risk the live performances might end up sounding slightly monochromatic.
I am pleased to report that in London Grammar’s case, all nervous reservations were rapidly dispelled.
The venue, Le Sucre, is a new one on the Lyon scene: a small, rather intimate setting which suited the gig perfectly. The set opener ‘Hey Now’ set the tone with Hannah Reid’s pitch perfect voice silencing the audience and grabbing everyone’s unwavering attention. Rare are voices that have that transfixing effect, but from the very beginning, her assured and remarkable vocal presence has a maturity that goes beyond her years. What’s more, hearing her live for the first time, one is impressed to find out the studio production was heavily directed towards the orchestration and less on her voice. As wonderful as it is to experience her performance live, it is all the more impressive that her stunningly powerful high pitches and her often gentle and soulful warmth weren’t the result of post-production tampering but the sound of her raw talent, one which truly shines here.
The following song, a personal favourite, ‘Darling, Are You Gonna Leave Me’, is a down-tempo and smoothly melancholic number that sees Dot Major (whose French is very solid) moving from the keyboards to the bongos and guitarist Dan Rothman excelling by confidently marrying Hannah’s soothing vocals with his minimalist guitar. This song is a true highlight, one which shows that the band has understood how to use silence and breathing space to their full advantage.
All through ‘Interlude’, ‘Shyer’ and ‘Strong’, the vocals remain the key factor in making sure that the songs effortlessly flow into one another. The synths, piano and beats juxtapose very well with Reid’s voice and while the guitar work is pleasantly effective, it remains quite stripped down. ‘Strong’, one of the album’s high points, does however manage to give the instrumental parts more room and for the best.
The slightly Portishead-sounding ‘Stay Awake’ builds up to Reid’s angelic-sounding pitches towards its end and ‘Flickers’ stands out with its excellent percussive penchants. The cover of Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ is well received and manages to be both beautiful and chilling, with a great piano line and an upbeat ending which borderline incites the audience to dance, a feeling mirrored later in ‘Metal & Dust’’s finale. The single ‘Wasting My Young Years’ has the audience clapping with the repeated lyrics “We are”, showing that the atmosphere can progressively go from chilled to more electric with this band, a blend which they manage to revel in; they expertly and effortlessly mange to interweave tempos, not once allowing stagnation. Again, Reid’s impassioned vocals help, not because of her often classical and crystal clear delivery, but also due to her gorgeous energy.
The main set ends with the aforementioned ‘Metal & Dust’, arguably one of the band’s best tracks. It showcases this tempo journey of sorts, by gently starting off with an ambient feel, becoming more and more rousing and excellently culminating in a beat-heavy and danceable climax. Of all the songs played tonight, ‘Metal & Dust’ shows how simultaneously relaxing, beautiful and rousing London Grammar’s numbers can be, how they can intoxicate their public with a nocturnal melody that is elevated to something altogether more dramatic, catchy and enthralling.
The band finishes the evening with a well-judged encore, a cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’; an excellent choice which suits the band well. It shows once more that whether they wish to cast an emotional, rousing, intimate or catchy pop spell on you, all are very much in their powers.
The mind boggles when you think that Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dot Major hadn’t released any music about a year ago… What they are capable of at this point goes shows they’re not only here to stay but that the future looks very bright for this young trio. For the time being, London Grammar has released one of 2013’s most stunning albums and has confirmed their success with a live performance that lives up to the album’s strengths.
Don’t know them yet? Get busy.
Yet, as per usual when discovering a new band, especially when the debut album is as stunning as this one, the live shows end up being make-or-break time: this early on in the band’s career, the gigs could very well be underwhelming compared to the studio efforts… Furthermore, considering the band’s chilled musical style, there is a risk the live performances might end up sounding slightly monochromatic.
I am pleased to report that in London Grammar’s case, all nervous reservations were rapidly dispelled.
The venue, Le Sucre, is a new one on the Lyon scene: a small, rather intimate setting which suited the gig perfectly. The set opener ‘Hey Now’ set the tone with Hannah Reid’s pitch perfect voice silencing the audience and grabbing everyone’s unwavering attention. Rare are voices that have that transfixing effect, but from the very beginning, her assured and remarkable vocal presence has a maturity that goes beyond her years. What’s more, hearing her live for the first time, one is impressed to find out the studio production was heavily directed towards the orchestration and less on her voice. As wonderful as it is to experience her performance live, it is all the more impressive that her stunningly powerful high pitches and her often gentle and soulful warmth weren’t the result of post-production tampering but the sound of her raw talent, one which truly shines here.
The following song, a personal favourite, ‘Darling, Are You Gonna Leave Me’, is a down-tempo and smoothly melancholic number that sees Dot Major (whose French is very solid) moving from the keyboards to the bongos and guitarist Dan Rothman excelling by confidently marrying Hannah’s soothing vocals with his minimalist guitar. This song is a true highlight, one which shows that the band has understood how to use silence and breathing space to their full advantage.
All through ‘Interlude’, ‘Shyer’ and ‘Strong’, the vocals remain the key factor in making sure that the songs effortlessly flow into one another. The synths, piano and beats juxtapose very well with Reid’s voice and while the guitar work is pleasantly effective, it remains quite stripped down. ‘Strong’, one of the album’s high points, does however manage to give the instrumental parts more room and for the best.
The slightly Portishead-sounding ‘Stay Awake’ builds up to Reid’s angelic-sounding pitches towards its end and ‘Flickers’ stands out with its excellent percussive penchants. The cover of Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ is well received and manages to be both beautiful and chilling, with a great piano line and an upbeat ending which borderline incites the audience to dance, a feeling mirrored later in ‘Metal & Dust’’s finale. The single ‘Wasting My Young Years’ has the audience clapping with the repeated lyrics “We are”, showing that the atmosphere can progressively go from chilled to more electric with this band, a blend which they manage to revel in; they expertly and effortlessly mange to interweave tempos, not once allowing stagnation. Again, Reid’s impassioned vocals help, not because of her often classical and crystal clear delivery, but also due to her gorgeous energy.
The main set ends with the aforementioned ‘Metal & Dust’, arguably one of the band’s best tracks. It showcases this tempo journey of sorts, by gently starting off with an ambient feel, becoming more and more rousing and excellently culminating in a beat-heavy and danceable climax. Of all the songs played tonight, ‘Metal & Dust’ shows how simultaneously relaxing, beautiful and rousing London Grammar’s numbers can be, how they can intoxicate their public with a nocturnal melody that is elevated to something altogether more dramatic, catchy and enthralling.
The band finishes the evening with a well-judged encore, a cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’; an excellent choice which suits the band well. It shows once more that whether they wish to cast an emotional, rousing, intimate or catchy pop spell on you, all are very much in their powers.
The mind boggles when you think that Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dot Major hadn’t released any music about a year ago… What they are capable of at this point goes shows they’re not only here to stay but that the future looks very bright for this young trio. For the time being, London Grammar has released one of 2013’s most stunning albums and has confirmed their success with a live performance that lives up to the album’s strengths.
Don’t know them yet? Get busy.
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Many thanks to Seb for these fantastic black and white shots.
- D - 17/11/13
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ARCADE FIRE
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The cover art of Arcade Fire’s latest album features a photo of Rodin’s Orpheus and Eurydice sculpture.
For the heathen amongst you, here’s the skinny of Ovid’s tale:
A fine lass by the name of Eurydice dies bitten by snakes and her fella Orpheus, overcome with grief, starts playing mournful songs so powerful that the gods joined him in weeping. The deities advised Orpheus to descend into the Underworld so that he could smooth things over with Hades. Hades and his wife Persephone are softened by his cause and tell him Eurydice can return to him. One caveat: he needs to walk out of the Underworld in front of her and not look back until they reach the ‘upper world’. They set off and as they near the end of their trip, Orpheus, the silly bugger, anxiously turns to look at Eurydice before they fully reach the ‘upper world’. She gets pulled back into death for a second time… That time for good. Takesy backsies rules sadly apply…
How is this relevant, you ask?
Well, aside from the fact the band address the characters in two back-to-back tracks called ‘Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)’ and ‘It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)’, the answer is three-fold:
1) All good things come to those who wait… because after months of teasing, consisting in a grand-scale viral marketing graffiti campaign, a surprise gig with big papier-mâché heads and the release a new single ‘Reflektor’, which showcased an art-disco approach with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy producing and David Bowie showing up to do some backing vocals, the wait for the band’s fourth LP is finally over… It’s called Reflektor and it’s a double album, with 7 tracks on Volume I and 6 on Volume II. Calculators at the ready… That’s 13 new tracks.
2) Reflektor is about duality and the conflicts inherent to everyday opposites: light vs dark; the fleeting moment vs memories; the finite vs the infinite; the upper world vs the underworld... Sounds like cringe-worthily A-Level material, doesn’t it? Fear not… Read
on.
3) Much like Orpheus, the band isn’t afraid of taking a leap of faith, stirring things up and taking the listener on an epic odyssey.
Let’s take a trip…
***
Volume I
The first volume (term used in the nifty two-part booklets that accompany the release) starts with the leading single ‘Reflektor’, no doubt one of 2013’s best tracks. It kicks off with a funky beat, followed by gently bittersweet vocals between Win Butler and Régine Chassagne (making the best use of her French), introduces a catchy refrain, twists in some synths and saxophones, decides to move into a dancefloor territory, gets moodier and almost electro, then decides it wants to be played in stadiums, adds David Bowie on backing vocals and before finally dying down with some excellent piano refrains, cinematic strings and back to the bongo beats that started it all off. As you can tell, it’s a journey in itself, a thrilling 8 minute track that takes the listener “entre la nuit et l’aurore, entre le royaume des vivants et des morts” as Régine sings (literally: ‘the place between night and dawn, the place between the living and the dead’, introducing beyond the track’s title the album’s themes of reflections / doubles / peering behind the mirror). The song’s various moods intertwine and merge brilliantly into one momentous track that clearly shows the band’s sky-high ambition with their fourth album, ‘Reflektor’ not only being a brilliant first track but also a statement of intent. One immediately feels the stylistic shift for the ensemble, which nevertheless manages to preserve the band’s signature sound.
‘We Exist’ is next, a dancefloor number that is Volume I (and II’s, for that matter)’s most Saturday Night Fever moment. The throbbing bassline has a Michael Jackson / ‘Billy Jean’ feel about it and the overall attitude is swaggerific. It’s not as long as the previous song but lasts nearly 6 minutes, showing from the get-go that the band are in it 110% and will not waver. That being said, the third track ‘Flashbulb Eyes’ is under 3 minutes and is a strange mix of crazed, ska-calypso-jungle that clearly shows that the band’s Caribbean influences in this album. The rhythmic "hit me with your flashbulb eyes" mantra is fun but the overall skittery number feels like a form of interlude before ‘Here Comes The Night Time’. The same carnivalesque Caribbean musical theme continues but slightly slower and more electro. Inspired by their trip to Haiti, the upbeat percussions are confronted to some darker bass rhythms. It all comes to a head two-thirds in when rapid drumming and saxophones suddenly and briefly burst in; the “Here comes the night time” lyric is repeated in this feverish episode and then… the calm settles once more. Curiouser and curiouser.
‘Normal Person’ breaks the Haitian atmosphere and starts with a Butler saying “Thanks for coming out tonight!” and asking “Do you like rock’n’roll music?”. The guitars are back and even if the swagger and groove remains, this marks the first mainstream rock number on the album. Its abrupt ending leads into the penultimate track of Volume I, a handclapping and joyful ‘You Already Know'. It’s the most pop based song thus far, complete with a great chorus, reverb, echoes… and samples from Jonathan Ross! Its Cure-sounding antics segue into the excellent closer ‘Joan Of Arc’. Its punk rock intro morphs into a catchy glam-rock and stomping track that flirts with the psychedelic. It is one of the band’s high points with its “If you shoot, you better get your mark” lyrics and bizarrely works with the glorious mess that preceded it.
***
So far, the previously used term ‘glorious mess’ encapsulates the proceedings quite well: there’s been a veritable orgy of musical influences in the relentless 7 songs that each take turns left, right and center. The trip to Haiti has clearly been a transformative experience and the band seem prone to mood swings, making sure that no one can just sit back and ease into a linear listen. It’s surprising, ambitious, bass-heavy and quite addictive…
***
Volume II
The second part of the journey commences with ‘Here Comes The Night Time II’. It is a short, minimal and calm introduction. Its slow buildup of cellos and sweeping strings is gorgeous, feeling like the band is space-bound at this point.
What follows with ‘Awful Sound (On Eurydice)’ sounds like the uprising, a beginning that showcases Latin rhythms that quickly show the re-emergence of the oneiric strings heard in this volume’s first track. The lush pop sound continues in this ballad of sorts, allowing for a mellow sensation to settle for the first time. However, just when things get comfortable, a progressive sound gets louder, accompanied by the lyrics “an awful sound when you hit the ground”. It disappears and reappears before the track abruptly comes to a halt, as if the air-bound balladry suddenly crashed to the ground. It all kicks off again with ‘It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)’, the second part in this diptych, which boasts some excellent bass riffs and is the liveliest track on the second CD. It’s a more traditional-sounding Arcade Fire sound, which is hardly a bad thing and works well. The synth-heavy ‘Porno’ follows, with disco synths that were heard in the previous volume. It’s an excellent track that also benefits from a lovely piano line and those brilliant strings the band has seen fit to heavily include in the second part of the Reflektor voyage. The sudden stops seem like a recurring trend also, as ‘Porno’ also ceases without warning.
Thematically speaking, the theme of death is omnipresent, never more so than on the aptly-named ‘Afterlife’, the album’s second single. The slightly grating opening lyrics get better as the song progresses, leading to a terrific chorus and dance influences that here manifest themselves as rhythmic afrobeats. It is an energized and anthemic number that has a mournful heart, a sentiment that is only galvanized by Régine’s terrific backing vocals.
The journey ends with ‘Supersymmetry’, a brilliant track that has some of the album’s best lyrics and stretches of orchestral ambience but is sadly burdened with a hidden track that is composed of strange sounds that add nothing but a layer of indulgence to the lengthy track.
***
The second volume is all in all less manic and mellower than its swagger-filled big brother and seems more immediately accessible because it sounds more unified. However, it does lack the excitement Volume I provided, even if James Murphy’s touch can be felt in both. Put simply, the first is the dance-influenced and rhythmic daytime listen while the second is nocturnal and more ambience-filled.
***
Diverse, cinematic, dense and spectacularly ambitious in its scope and length, Reflektor is a left turn for the band. While it is arguably too long for its own good, lacking in longer spurts of Régine taking vocal center stage (their previous excellent album The Suburbs had more) and the fact the grandiose experimental and swerving directions will alienate a few, Arcade Fire’s fourth outing nevertheless remains a ridiculously thrilling listen.
To hark back to the beginning of this review, there is a fourth reason why Rodin’s Orpheus and Eurydice sculpture graces the album’s cover: Reflektor is the sound of the band not looking back and instead delivering a record that takes everyone out of their comfort zones. While it isn’t as revolutionary as what Radiohead did with Kid A, the comparison works as both bands had fun throwing out the rule book and emerging triumphant. Arcade Fire’s music, from their 2005 debut Funeral to this year’s Reflektor, is so damn good it might as well make gods and nymphs sob.
Key Tracks:
Volume I: ‘Reflektor’, ‘Here Comes The Night Time’, ‘You Already Know’, ‘Joan of Arc’.
Volume II: ‘Awful Sound (On Eurydice)’, ‘Porno’, ‘Afterlife’.
- D - 27/10/13
For the heathen amongst you, here’s the skinny of Ovid’s tale:
A fine lass by the name of Eurydice dies bitten by snakes and her fella Orpheus, overcome with grief, starts playing mournful songs so powerful that the gods joined him in weeping. The deities advised Orpheus to descend into the Underworld so that he could smooth things over with Hades. Hades and his wife Persephone are softened by his cause and tell him Eurydice can return to him. One caveat: he needs to walk out of the Underworld in front of her and not look back until they reach the ‘upper world’. They set off and as they near the end of their trip, Orpheus, the silly bugger, anxiously turns to look at Eurydice before they fully reach the ‘upper world’. She gets pulled back into death for a second time… That time for good. Takesy backsies rules sadly apply…
How is this relevant, you ask?
Well, aside from the fact the band address the characters in two back-to-back tracks called ‘Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)’ and ‘It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)’, the answer is three-fold:
1) All good things come to those who wait… because after months of teasing, consisting in a grand-scale viral marketing graffiti campaign, a surprise gig with big papier-mâché heads and the release a new single ‘Reflektor’, which showcased an art-disco approach with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy producing and David Bowie showing up to do some backing vocals, the wait for the band’s fourth LP is finally over… It’s called Reflektor and it’s a double album, with 7 tracks on Volume I and 6 on Volume II. Calculators at the ready… That’s 13 new tracks.
2) Reflektor is about duality and the conflicts inherent to everyday opposites: light vs dark; the fleeting moment vs memories; the finite vs the infinite; the upper world vs the underworld... Sounds like cringe-worthily A-Level material, doesn’t it? Fear not… Read
on.
3) Much like Orpheus, the band isn’t afraid of taking a leap of faith, stirring things up and taking the listener on an epic odyssey.
Let’s take a trip…
***
Volume I
The first volume (term used in the nifty two-part booklets that accompany the release) starts with the leading single ‘Reflektor’, no doubt one of 2013’s best tracks. It kicks off with a funky beat, followed by gently bittersweet vocals between Win Butler and Régine Chassagne (making the best use of her French), introduces a catchy refrain, twists in some synths and saxophones, decides to move into a dancefloor territory, gets moodier and almost electro, then decides it wants to be played in stadiums, adds David Bowie on backing vocals and before finally dying down with some excellent piano refrains, cinematic strings and back to the bongo beats that started it all off. As you can tell, it’s a journey in itself, a thrilling 8 minute track that takes the listener “entre la nuit et l’aurore, entre le royaume des vivants et des morts” as Régine sings (literally: ‘the place between night and dawn, the place between the living and the dead’, introducing beyond the track’s title the album’s themes of reflections / doubles / peering behind the mirror). The song’s various moods intertwine and merge brilliantly into one momentous track that clearly shows the band’s sky-high ambition with their fourth album, ‘Reflektor’ not only being a brilliant first track but also a statement of intent. One immediately feels the stylistic shift for the ensemble, which nevertheless manages to preserve the band’s signature sound.
‘We Exist’ is next, a dancefloor number that is Volume I (and II’s, for that matter)’s most Saturday Night Fever moment. The throbbing bassline has a Michael Jackson / ‘Billy Jean’ feel about it and the overall attitude is swaggerific. It’s not as long as the previous song but lasts nearly 6 minutes, showing from the get-go that the band are in it 110% and will not waver. That being said, the third track ‘Flashbulb Eyes’ is under 3 minutes and is a strange mix of crazed, ska-calypso-jungle that clearly shows that the band’s Caribbean influences in this album. The rhythmic "hit me with your flashbulb eyes" mantra is fun but the overall skittery number feels like a form of interlude before ‘Here Comes The Night Time’. The same carnivalesque Caribbean musical theme continues but slightly slower and more electro. Inspired by their trip to Haiti, the upbeat percussions are confronted to some darker bass rhythms. It all comes to a head two-thirds in when rapid drumming and saxophones suddenly and briefly burst in; the “Here comes the night time” lyric is repeated in this feverish episode and then… the calm settles once more. Curiouser and curiouser.
‘Normal Person’ breaks the Haitian atmosphere and starts with a Butler saying “Thanks for coming out tonight!” and asking “Do you like rock’n’roll music?”. The guitars are back and even if the swagger and groove remains, this marks the first mainstream rock number on the album. Its abrupt ending leads into the penultimate track of Volume I, a handclapping and joyful ‘You Already Know'. It’s the most pop based song thus far, complete with a great chorus, reverb, echoes… and samples from Jonathan Ross! Its Cure-sounding antics segue into the excellent closer ‘Joan Of Arc’. Its punk rock intro morphs into a catchy glam-rock and stomping track that flirts with the psychedelic. It is one of the band’s high points with its “If you shoot, you better get your mark” lyrics and bizarrely works with the glorious mess that preceded it.
***
So far, the previously used term ‘glorious mess’ encapsulates the proceedings quite well: there’s been a veritable orgy of musical influences in the relentless 7 songs that each take turns left, right and center. The trip to Haiti has clearly been a transformative experience and the band seem prone to mood swings, making sure that no one can just sit back and ease into a linear listen. It’s surprising, ambitious, bass-heavy and quite addictive…
***
Volume II
The second part of the journey commences with ‘Here Comes The Night Time II’. It is a short, minimal and calm introduction. Its slow buildup of cellos and sweeping strings is gorgeous, feeling like the band is space-bound at this point.
What follows with ‘Awful Sound (On Eurydice)’ sounds like the uprising, a beginning that showcases Latin rhythms that quickly show the re-emergence of the oneiric strings heard in this volume’s first track. The lush pop sound continues in this ballad of sorts, allowing for a mellow sensation to settle for the first time. However, just when things get comfortable, a progressive sound gets louder, accompanied by the lyrics “an awful sound when you hit the ground”. It disappears and reappears before the track abruptly comes to a halt, as if the air-bound balladry suddenly crashed to the ground. It all kicks off again with ‘It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)’, the second part in this diptych, which boasts some excellent bass riffs and is the liveliest track on the second CD. It’s a more traditional-sounding Arcade Fire sound, which is hardly a bad thing and works well. The synth-heavy ‘Porno’ follows, with disco synths that were heard in the previous volume. It’s an excellent track that also benefits from a lovely piano line and those brilliant strings the band has seen fit to heavily include in the second part of the Reflektor voyage. The sudden stops seem like a recurring trend also, as ‘Porno’ also ceases without warning.
Thematically speaking, the theme of death is omnipresent, never more so than on the aptly-named ‘Afterlife’, the album’s second single. The slightly grating opening lyrics get better as the song progresses, leading to a terrific chorus and dance influences that here manifest themselves as rhythmic afrobeats. It is an energized and anthemic number that has a mournful heart, a sentiment that is only galvanized by Régine’s terrific backing vocals.
The journey ends with ‘Supersymmetry’, a brilliant track that has some of the album’s best lyrics and stretches of orchestral ambience but is sadly burdened with a hidden track that is composed of strange sounds that add nothing but a layer of indulgence to the lengthy track.
***
The second volume is all in all less manic and mellower than its swagger-filled big brother and seems more immediately accessible because it sounds more unified. However, it does lack the excitement Volume I provided, even if James Murphy’s touch can be felt in both. Put simply, the first is the dance-influenced and rhythmic daytime listen while the second is nocturnal and more ambience-filled.
***
Diverse, cinematic, dense and spectacularly ambitious in its scope and length, Reflektor is a left turn for the band. While it is arguably too long for its own good, lacking in longer spurts of Régine taking vocal center stage (their previous excellent album The Suburbs had more) and the fact the grandiose experimental and swerving directions will alienate a few, Arcade Fire’s fourth outing nevertheless remains a ridiculously thrilling listen.
To hark back to the beginning of this review, there is a fourth reason why Rodin’s Orpheus and Eurydice sculpture graces the album’s cover: Reflektor is the sound of the band not looking back and instead delivering a record that takes everyone out of their comfort zones. While it isn’t as revolutionary as what Radiohead did with Kid A, the comparison works as both bands had fun throwing out the rule book and emerging triumphant. Arcade Fire’s music, from their 2005 debut Funeral to this year’s Reflektor, is so damn good it might as well make gods and nymphs sob.
Key Tracks:
Volume I: ‘Reflektor’, ‘Here Comes The Night Time’, ‘You Already Know’, ‘Joan of Arc’.
Volume II: ‘Awful Sound (On Eurydice)’, ‘Porno’, ‘Afterlife’.
- D - 27/10/13
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HAIM
|
Hype can be a wonderful thing and HAIM (it’s pronounced ‘hi – im’ and is the Hebrew word for ‘life’) have been indulging since they hit the scene with debut Forever EP over a year ago. The buzz surrounding the Californian group has been huge and the three sisters have finally decided to put an end to the teasing with the release of their first full length album, Days Are Gone.
We find known favourites such as ‘Falling’ and its upbeat and catchy hooks, the shoulder-shimmying ‘Forever’, the infectious ‘Don’t Save Me’ and the familiar mournful guitars of ‘Go Slow’s slow jam, meaning that a lot of the album has been something many have been listening to for months now. Not that this is a bad thing but it does sadly limit the surprise factor for fans of the first hour.
However, the trio’s brand of catchy 80s-indebted pop, funky rock mixed with 90’s R&B influences makes this album worth the wait. The rigorous song quality is present throughout the entire album and the sisters showcase their unique sound via their versatility: the strong and sassy ‘The Wire’, the 80s-sounding ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’, the gentler ‘Honey & I’, the powerful and hip-hop influenced ‘My Song 5’, the memorable album closer ‘Running If You Call My Name’… It’s an impressive mix of musical genres, boasting sing-a-long choruses, excellent riffs and great vocal and instrumental performances.
The title track 'Days Are Gone' (co-written with Jessie Ware and Kid Harpoon) stands out in the way it takes all the band’s influences and expertly compresses them in one song: R&B hints that end up bordering on electro territory, mixed with soulful vibes and pop synths, completed by a monumental chorus. It’s one hell of a track that goes to show the girls are just warming up and cannot be caged to one genre or sound. Another highlight is ‘Let Me Go’, a heavier rock track with percussions galore and one hell of an attitude. Its anthemic feel is only galvanized by the wonderful three part harmonies, making it an absolute gem.
Days Are Gone often sounds like it could be a greatest hits compilation because the songs are so familiar and delivers some upbeat tunes with downbeat lyrics: it is huge fun to listen to and you want to dance to these songs that thematically deal with post-break up emotions, bad decisions and how shit relationships can get. It's an interesting dichotomy that works wonders thanks to the energetic and feisty trio.
The whole thing comes off as if Fleetwood Mac and Feist had a bluesy-pop-rock lovechild… with retro R&B and percussive penchants… and Joni Mitchell as fairy godmother. Don’t ask how that works; it’s not important right now. What is important is that HAIM have created a signature sound that is as retro as it is refreshing, living up not only to the hype but also to their name as you’d be hard pressed to find an album this year so slick and infectiously full of life as this one.
This is not the last we’ve seen of these hugely talented lasses and their upbeat swagger… and that’s something to feel to feel good about.
Key Tracks: ‘Falling’, ‘The Wire’, ‘Don't Save Me’, ‘Days Are Gone’, ‘Let Me Go’.
- D - 30/09/13
We find known favourites such as ‘Falling’ and its upbeat and catchy hooks, the shoulder-shimmying ‘Forever’, the infectious ‘Don’t Save Me’ and the familiar mournful guitars of ‘Go Slow’s slow jam, meaning that a lot of the album has been something many have been listening to for months now. Not that this is a bad thing but it does sadly limit the surprise factor for fans of the first hour.
However, the trio’s brand of catchy 80s-indebted pop, funky rock mixed with 90’s R&B influences makes this album worth the wait. The rigorous song quality is present throughout the entire album and the sisters showcase their unique sound via their versatility: the strong and sassy ‘The Wire’, the 80s-sounding ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’, the gentler ‘Honey & I’, the powerful and hip-hop influenced ‘My Song 5’, the memorable album closer ‘Running If You Call My Name’… It’s an impressive mix of musical genres, boasting sing-a-long choruses, excellent riffs and great vocal and instrumental performances.
The title track 'Days Are Gone' (co-written with Jessie Ware and Kid Harpoon) stands out in the way it takes all the band’s influences and expertly compresses them in one song: R&B hints that end up bordering on electro territory, mixed with soulful vibes and pop synths, completed by a monumental chorus. It’s one hell of a track that goes to show the girls are just warming up and cannot be caged to one genre or sound. Another highlight is ‘Let Me Go’, a heavier rock track with percussions galore and one hell of an attitude. Its anthemic feel is only galvanized by the wonderful three part harmonies, making it an absolute gem.
Days Are Gone often sounds like it could be a greatest hits compilation because the songs are so familiar and delivers some upbeat tunes with downbeat lyrics: it is huge fun to listen to and you want to dance to these songs that thematically deal with post-break up emotions, bad decisions and how shit relationships can get. It's an interesting dichotomy that works wonders thanks to the energetic and feisty trio.
The whole thing comes off as if Fleetwood Mac and Feist had a bluesy-pop-rock lovechild… with retro R&B and percussive penchants… and Joni Mitchell as fairy godmother. Don’t ask how that works; it’s not important right now. What is important is that HAIM have created a signature sound that is as retro as it is refreshing, living up not only to the hype but also to their name as you’d be hard pressed to find an album this year so slick and infectiously full of life as this one.
This is not the last we’ve seen of these hugely talented lasses and their upbeat swagger… and that’s something to feel to feel good about.
Key Tracks: ‘Falling’, ‘The Wire’, ‘Don't Save Me’, ‘Days Are Gone’, ‘Let Me Go’.
- D - 30/09/13
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VOLCANO CHOIR
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Justin Vernon is not one for procrastinating. After two brilliant albums with his main band Bon Iver, some production gigs and guest spots with various artists and bands including Kanye West, he also finds the time to buff-up his discography by cozying up with a Wisconsin post-rock band called Collections Of Colonies Of Bees.
Great name, don’t you think?
So, the combination goes something like this: Justin Vernon + Collections Of Colonies Of Bees = Volcano Choir.
The group’s first effort in 2009, 'Unmap', was all over the shop; it was an ambiance-heavy offering that sounded like an experimental side-project rather than a cohesive LP. However, this year’s 'Repave', the band’s second outing, is something else entirely: Volcano Choir now feel like an actual band, managing to maintain the experimental vigor of 'Unmap' while adding a welcome, more structured feel to the songs. The music is thereby richer, with the orchestration providing some memorable melodies (the masterful percussions and beats being particularly noteworthy) and Vernon fully taking the reins on this one.
Verdict?
From the opening track ‘Tiderays’, a gentle-starting number which progressively goes post-prog-rock, to the pulsing electro-tinged album closer ‘Almanac’, this eight-track affair consists of imaginative and soaring gems, blessed with both triumphant and tender choruses, sonic atmospheres and poignantly obscure lyrics.
Tracks like ‘Acetate’ and ‘Comrade’ come as a surprise, the former due to its rousing bite and the latter because of its borderline groovy electronic loops and very catchy chorus. ‘Alaskans’ and ‘Keel’ both tread familiar Bon Iver ground, which is nothing to be upset about. However, two tracks stand out in particular: ‘Byegone’ and ‘Dancepack’.
The album’s lead single ‘Byegone’ makes a mark thanks to its brilliant orchestration, a tune that shares some common DNA with Arcade Fire (the "set sail" chant being faintly reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s ‘Wake Up’). It is a dramatically cathartic song that culminates in a cinematic crescendo that is worthy of the best soundtracks. As for the powerful ‘Dancepack’, its punchy rhythm and chiming guitars contribute to making it the album’s best track: it’s an emotionally loaded anthem that could have been at home on a TV On The Radio track listing. Its excellent "Take note, there is still a hole in your heart" lyric lingers long after the song has finished.
As much as 'Repave' sounds similar at times to Bon Iver, mostly because of Vernon's distinctive falsetto and the overall tone, one of comforting melancholy, Volcano Choir has delivered something that fully stands on its own two feet. It is a grandiose album, brimming with ambition and heart, one you do not want to foolishly miss or casually dismiss.
Key Tracks: ‘Comrade’, ‘Byegone’, ‘Dancepack’, ‘Almanac’.
- D - 04/09/13
Great name, don’t you think?
So, the combination goes something like this: Justin Vernon + Collections Of Colonies Of Bees = Volcano Choir.
The group’s first effort in 2009, 'Unmap', was all over the shop; it was an ambiance-heavy offering that sounded like an experimental side-project rather than a cohesive LP. However, this year’s 'Repave', the band’s second outing, is something else entirely: Volcano Choir now feel like an actual band, managing to maintain the experimental vigor of 'Unmap' while adding a welcome, more structured feel to the songs. The music is thereby richer, with the orchestration providing some memorable melodies (the masterful percussions and beats being particularly noteworthy) and Vernon fully taking the reins on this one.
Verdict?
From the opening track ‘Tiderays’, a gentle-starting number which progressively goes post-prog-rock, to the pulsing electro-tinged album closer ‘Almanac’, this eight-track affair consists of imaginative and soaring gems, blessed with both triumphant and tender choruses, sonic atmospheres and poignantly obscure lyrics.
Tracks like ‘Acetate’ and ‘Comrade’ come as a surprise, the former due to its rousing bite and the latter because of its borderline groovy electronic loops and very catchy chorus. ‘Alaskans’ and ‘Keel’ both tread familiar Bon Iver ground, which is nothing to be upset about. However, two tracks stand out in particular: ‘Byegone’ and ‘Dancepack’.
The album’s lead single ‘Byegone’ makes a mark thanks to its brilliant orchestration, a tune that shares some common DNA with Arcade Fire (the "set sail" chant being faintly reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s ‘Wake Up’). It is a dramatically cathartic song that culminates in a cinematic crescendo that is worthy of the best soundtracks. As for the powerful ‘Dancepack’, its punchy rhythm and chiming guitars contribute to making it the album’s best track: it’s an emotionally loaded anthem that could have been at home on a TV On The Radio track listing. Its excellent "Take note, there is still a hole in your heart" lyric lingers long after the song has finished.
As much as 'Repave' sounds similar at times to Bon Iver, mostly because of Vernon's distinctive falsetto and the overall tone, one of comforting melancholy, Volcano Choir has delivered something that fully stands on its own two feet. It is a grandiose album, brimming with ambition and heart, one you do not want to foolishly miss or casually dismiss.
Key Tracks: ‘Comrade’, ‘Byegone’, ‘Dancepack’, ‘Almanac’.
- D - 04/09/13
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BLOC PARTY
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Things never get boring with this lot.
Not only does each album mark a certain stylistic evolution (from post-punk indie goodness to heavier riffs, via dabbles in electronica), the band also has a tendency of keeping its fans guessing as to whether their next release might in fact be their last…
Not even one year since the release of their fourth album, the band have announced they will enter an “indefinite hiatus” after the summer festivals, a run of concerts their drummer Matt was inexplicably absent for (replaced by Hot Chip’s Sarah Jones).
It’s not the first time there’s been beef mind you, since they flirted with breaking up after the release of ‘Intimacy’. Their most recent full length record ‘Four’ (link to review) was recorded after this first hiatus, during which time singer Kele Okereke even found time to record a solo album, further fuelling rumours at the time that the band might never record together again.
To further confuse things this time round, Bloc Party have now released a five song EP which may or may not be their swansong. Who knows at this point?
Backdrop and gossip over, how does ‘The Nextwave Sessions EP’ hold up?
The radio friendly ‘Ratchet’ kicks things off. It is a familiar song as it has been part of the band’s set for a wee while now and it’s great finally hearing a recorded version of this dance and synth-friendly frenetic track, which is slightly reminiscent of ‘Tenderoni’, one of Kele’s solo tracks. The latter adds some mild hip-hop influence to his delivery, while the guitars and slinky base lines make this a real joy to listen to.
‘Obscene’ follows and couldn’t be more different than its predecessor. Coupled with slow pulsating drum beats, it is a slow ballad that allows the frontman to shine once more his tender side.
The pace changes once more with ‘French Exit’, a post-punk number that could have been at home on ‘Four’. Russell Lissack’s guitar work is brilliant but the overall track remains a bit of a weak link here.
The ambient-like ‘Montreal’ is next. It is an atmospheric track that has a ‘Silent Alarm’ feel about it and is very tonally similar to ‘Obscene’.
The final track ‘Children Of The Future’ has a slightly Smashing Pumpkins-sounding beginning and is a terrific song. It comes from the heart and serves as a fitting closure to the EP. Fans will no doubt focus on the lyrics, especially Kele’s fantastic and poignant delivery of “Be all that you can be / Be all we never were / Succeed where we failed… We will not be the last.” A farewell? A promise to return? Maybe just a damn good lyric…
It’s true that this EP has a relatively short amount of time to make a grand impression. It doesn’t so much set a tone as prove that Bloc Party have never failed in keeping their singularity whilst exploring new grounds. If ‘The Nextwave Sessions EP’ is their swansong, it’s a great way to go… It is a potpourri of what the group does best, from indie-rock, slow love songs to danceable and guitar-driven anthems. If ‘The Nextwave Sessions EP’ is not a last goodbye, rejoice because it’s the sound of the band reminding its public why they are one of the UK’s best. It is potentially the sound of a closing chapter before the next wave arrives. Maybe that’s what the title is all about… Who knows?
Either way, while the EP isn’t anything revolutionary, there’s much to celebrate in this short and sweet release.
Key Tracks: ‘Ratchet’, ‘Obscene’, ‘Children Of The Future’.
- D - 19/08/13
Not only does each album mark a certain stylistic evolution (from post-punk indie goodness to heavier riffs, via dabbles in electronica), the band also has a tendency of keeping its fans guessing as to whether their next release might in fact be their last…
Not even one year since the release of their fourth album, the band have announced they will enter an “indefinite hiatus” after the summer festivals, a run of concerts their drummer Matt was inexplicably absent for (replaced by Hot Chip’s Sarah Jones).
It’s not the first time there’s been beef mind you, since they flirted with breaking up after the release of ‘Intimacy’. Their most recent full length record ‘Four’ (link to review) was recorded after this first hiatus, during which time singer Kele Okereke even found time to record a solo album, further fuelling rumours at the time that the band might never record together again.
To further confuse things this time round, Bloc Party have now released a five song EP which may or may not be their swansong. Who knows at this point?
Backdrop and gossip over, how does ‘The Nextwave Sessions EP’ hold up?
The radio friendly ‘Ratchet’ kicks things off. It is a familiar song as it has been part of the band’s set for a wee while now and it’s great finally hearing a recorded version of this dance and synth-friendly frenetic track, which is slightly reminiscent of ‘Tenderoni’, one of Kele’s solo tracks. The latter adds some mild hip-hop influence to his delivery, while the guitars and slinky base lines make this a real joy to listen to.
‘Obscene’ follows and couldn’t be more different than its predecessor. Coupled with slow pulsating drum beats, it is a slow ballad that allows the frontman to shine once more his tender side.
The pace changes once more with ‘French Exit’, a post-punk number that could have been at home on ‘Four’. Russell Lissack’s guitar work is brilliant but the overall track remains a bit of a weak link here.
The ambient-like ‘Montreal’ is next. It is an atmospheric track that has a ‘Silent Alarm’ feel about it and is very tonally similar to ‘Obscene’.
The final track ‘Children Of The Future’ has a slightly Smashing Pumpkins-sounding beginning and is a terrific song. It comes from the heart and serves as a fitting closure to the EP. Fans will no doubt focus on the lyrics, especially Kele’s fantastic and poignant delivery of “Be all that you can be / Be all we never were / Succeed where we failed… We will not be the last.” A farewell? A promise to return? Maybe just a damn good lyric…
It’s true that this EP has a relatively short amount of time to make a grand impression. It doesn’t so much set a tone as prove that Bloc Party have never failed in keeping their singularity whilst exploring new grounds. If ‘The Nextwave Sessions EP’ is their swansong, it’s a great way to go… It is a potpourri of what the group does best, from indie-rock, slow love songs to danceable and guitar-driven anthems. If ‘The Nextwave Sessions EP’ is not a last goodbye, rejoice because it’s the sound of the band reminding its public why they are one of the UK’s best. It is potentially the sound of a closing chapter before the next wave arrives. Maybe that’s what the title is all about… Who knows?
Either way, while the EP isn’t anything revolutionary, there’s much to celebrate in this short and sweet release.
Key Tracks: ‘Ratchet’, ‘Obscene’, ‘Children Of The Future’.
- D - 19/08/13
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SIGUR ROS
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Sigur Rós, reduced to a three-piece combo now that their keyboardist and co-founder Kjartan Sveinsson scarpered, have released their seventh album, entitled ‘Kveikur’… and it’s loud, dark and even aggressive.
You read correctly.
Turns out no keyboardist = bold move.
The Icelandic wonders have over the past twenty years and across six albums graced us with epic, soothing and rousing music, but hardly somber material. Their best albums (the holy trinity remaining ‘Agaetis Byrjun’, ‘( )’ and ‘Takk…’) have treated the listener to uplifting crescendos and goosebump-inducing stuff. However, as familiar as their sound has become, nothing quite prepares you for more industrial sounds, percussions galore, omnipresent drums, heavy bass lines and the overall bolder sound this album takes, especially after last year’s ‘Valtari’, which was ultimately quite bland and forgettable.
For instance, the excellent opening track ‘Brennisteinn’ surprisingly sounds like the band have been given the Nine Inch Nails treatment, with industrial noises and a juggernaut bass line: it’s just as rousing as their best work but in a moody way we haven’t heard since their first two albums. ‘Hrafntinna’ excels thanks to its eerie rattling percussions, ‘Stormur’ has rhythmic similarities with electro-pop and the thunderously appealing yet ever-so-slightly nightmarish titular track has something borderline Depeche Mode-sounding about its construction. Even the closing number ‘Var’, with its calmer piano-based melody, has a dirge-like quality to it that unsettles rather than soothes.
That isn’t to say that the whole tone is somber or that they’ve gone completely off the tracks: Jónsi Birgisson's trademark vocals remain recognizably ethereal, but contrast with more distorted and louder sounds, anchoring them in a darker place. Certain tracks do hark back to a more classical Sigur Rós sound, such as the beautiful ‘Rafstraumur’ or ‘Isjaki’, but even these tracks have a catchy instrumental urgency about them that is highly representative of this album’s raw energy as a whole.
The album’s overall strength resides in its ability to aptly balance a heavier, grittier sound with accessible melodies. There is a clear departure from the calmly meditative atmospheres of their previous albums and ‘Kveikur’ is as unnervingly rocky as you’re ever going to hear the band. It’s still hauntingly cinematic, but more like a knee-jerking and feverishly pulsing dreamscape as opposed to an angelic Attenborough icescape.
So, if you were hoping for a departure from their previous two albums (the folkier 2008 album ‘Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust’ and the aforementioned ‘Valtari’), you’ll be thrilled. If you were hoping for the return of the band’s shadow-veiled textures and moody climaxes they did so well in ‘Agaetis Byrjun’ (with the wonderful sound of ‘Ny Batteri’ ringing in the ears), prepare to be wholly satisfied. If you were hoping for one of the band’s best albums yet, ‘Kveikur’ and its anxious energy will convince you they’ve delivered their most daring record to date.
Key Tracks: ‘Brennisteinn’, ‘Isjaki’, ‘Kveikur’, ‘Var’.
- D - 24/06/13
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KANYE WEST
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Kanye West has been his own worst enemy for a while now. Whether it be the infamous 2009 MTV Video Music Awards fiasco with Taylor Swift, the overt narcissism he actively flaunts (one track on his new album ‘Yeezus’ is actually called ‘I Am a God’… and there is no doubt he probably thinks so…), the mind-numbingly annoying Kimye (the unit that he forms with illustrious hoe-bag and insipid reality TV bint Kim Kardashian) and the fact he’s just named his newborn daughter North West (I shit thee not), his public image does tend to negatively bleed onto his career…
It poses the age-old question whether one can separate the public persona and the art, in order to simply enjoy the latter whilst discarding the former.
It gets even more complicated with Mr. West because there’s a sense he’s aware that he can be an utter nuisance. As he so eloquently puts it in a lyric in his most recent single ‘New Slaves’: “I’d rather be a dick than a swallower.”
Charming.
So yes, there’s the public image and then there’s the music. The first one steadily wallows in its frustrating and damaging nature. The second sees Kanye West’s albums just getting better and better.
Indeed, make no mistake, while his sixth studio album ‘Yeezus’ is a more challenging and aggressive listen compared to his acclaimed and borderline flawless 2010 effort, ‘My Dark Twisted Fantasy’, it is nevertheless a bold and extravagantly multi-layered offering. Styles and genres merge and co-exist (from loud industrial-electro to smooth soul via some surprising prog-rock), Daft Punk produce certain tracks, Nina Simone gets sampled, Frank Ocean and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon both lend a helping hand / vocal chord, all resulting in 10 adventurous and inventive tracks that go to show how brilliant West is when he’s not busy filling up the gossip columns and trying to make everyone believe that the sun does actually shine out of his arse.
Get it? The sun shines out of his butt… Because it sets in the West…
Poor puns aside, ‘Yeezus’ is highly recommended.
Key Tracks: ‘Black Skinhead’, ‘New Slaves’, ‘Blood on the Leaves’, ‘Guilt Trip’.
- D - 22/06/13
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DAFT PUNK
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Daft Punk are releasing a new album.
Cue collective excitement… hullabaloo… commotion… buzz… hype… agitation… hoo-ha… ruckus... titillation… trepidation… tintinnabulation, even!
…
…
You don’t know what tintinnabulation means, do you?
…
…
Sigh.
…
It’s a word created by the masterful Edgar Allan Poe, which he used in his poem ‘The Bells’.
“… To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells…”
The word refers to the lingering sound that stays in the air once a bell has been struck.
…
…
Don’t say I don’t treat you in these reviews.
…
Back to our French duo.
Rare are bands that can stir such a build-up, which is terrific but can nonetheless be a mighty curse – it’s the infamous Episode 1: The Phantom Menace syndrome.
So, does 'Random Access Memories' live up to the hype?
Not really.
Before anyone gets their irritable panties in a twist, the slightly underwhelming nature of this album does not come from the fact this reviewer wanted 'Discovery' Part 2 or couldn’t stand the band exploring new ground. Far from it. It’s just that this album, heavily anchored in the retro-futurist / 70s Disco-Funk vibe, lacks punch. It is not a bad album, far from it, and even if it does feel like you’re listening to a new combination of sounds throughout, it is hard to shake the overriding sentiment the album remains slightly uninspired and not as exciting as many would like it to be.
What 'Random Access Memories' is however, is a surprisingly slow paced and an enjoyable listen, with standout tracks being the bizarre disco jam 'Giorgio by Moroder', the excellent Julian Casablancas-featuring 'Instant Crush', the funky strut-inducing 'Lose Yourself To Dance', the already overplayed and Earth Wind And Fire throwback 'Get Lucky', the album’s crowning gem 'Doin' It Right', featuring Panda Bear, and the epic closing track 'Contact'.
So, while the band’s fourth studio album cannot be diagnosed as having a case of The Phantom Menace, 'Random Access Memories' is unarguably overlong (74 minutes) and isn’t worth the hyperbolic frenzies people are getting into. However, if you let go of expectations and just enjoy, it’s a chilled and stylishly fun album... Just not one deserving tintinnabulation.
Key Tracks: 'Instant Crush', 'Doin’ It Right', 'Contact'.
- D - 21/05/13
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THE NATIONAL
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“Sorry I hurt you but / They say love is a virtue…”
The Brooklyn-based band The National is back with a rich and morosely beautiful sixth album that now betters their already brilliant 2008’s The Boxer and personal favourite Cherry Tree EP.
Lead by Matt Berninger’s unique baritone, the boys have birthed with ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ a bewitchingly confessional and elegant record, blessed with brilliant melodies and lyrics, especially in ‘Demons’ and the upliftingly mournful ‘Sea Of Love’.
Never once bathetic for the sake of it and always boldly sumptuous, this release’s quality won’t be a surprise because of the band’s back catalogue but remains one to treasure.
One of this year’s best? Undoubtedly so.
Key Tracks: ‘Demons’, ‘Sea of Love’, ‘Slipped’.
- D - 21/05/13
The Brooklyn-based band The National is back with a rich and morosely beautiful sixth album that now betters their already brilliant 2008’s The Boxer and personal favourite Cherry Tree EP.
Lead by Matt Berninger’s unique baritone, the boys have birthed with ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ a bewitchingly confessional and elegant record, blessed with brilliant melodies and lyrics, especially in ‘Demons’ and the upliftingly mournful ‘Sea Of Love’.
Never once bathetic for the sake of it and always boldly sumptuous, this release’s quality won’t be a surprise because of the band’s back catalogue but remains one to treasure.
One of this year’s best? Undoubtedly so.
Key Tracks: ‘Demons’, ‘Sea of Love’, ‘Slipped’.
- D - 21/05/13
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YEAH YEAH YEAHS
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If you are the kind of person who’s in the market for a review of the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, followed by a rant of epic proportions… let me tell you… you might be in for quite a treat…
It’s been thirteen years since the rock scene got the pants down spanking it needed with bands such as The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Libertines, The Von Bondies and Yeah Yeah Yeahs releasing their debut efforts. Since then… Well… The Stripes are gone but not forgotten, Julian Casablancas and his lot have progressively lost the plot, The Libertines are no more due in large part to Pete Doherty’s promising drug abuse and The Von Bondies are… well, I don’t know where.
It makes you wonder if putting ‘The’ in front of your name isn’t a one way ticket to curse-ville.
No matter… What does matter is that we can thank the stars for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who have over the years managed that rarest of things: remaining steadily and excitedly relevant.
Indeed, from their wonderful NY revival debut ‘Fever to Tell’, their more introspective ‘Show Your Bones’, to their triumphant ‘It’s Blitz!’, the band has managed to evolve while maintaining what makes them so enjoyable and special in the first place: an exciting ambition that translates into an infectious energetic credibility that has not yet wavered.
Each album has its tone: the first was punk-rock gem, stripped down to its most essential components; the second a refreshingly vulnerable release that still packed an energetic punch (having seen them live for this album, I can guarantee the validity of this statement); the third was a departure from its predecessor and boasted a sleeker, electro-clash sound which saw them edge towards a more synth-pop / even borderline dancefloor-friendly direction.
Now, four years after ‘It’s Blitz’, it’s time for their fourth effort… MOSQUITO.
Yes, that Bold Caps-Lock on the album title just now was intentional: there’s something in-your-face theatrical about this album, mirrored by the brilliant album cover. The insect-themed artwork by Beomsik Shimbe Shim is an extreme eyesore, granted, but a thematically relevant one. I proudly state that I quite like it!
Right, less about sleeve art, more about the songs… Unconventionally for my album reviews, I’m going to mix things up here and do a track by track review:
1. Sacrilege
This is the album’s first single and arguably the most sexual song here. This is hardly surprising, as Karen O’s vocals have always been dripping in sex, but her intensity and trademark pitches make this one of the bands’ most sensual and raunchy numbers, one I’d happily associate with PJ Harvey’s The Dancer for sheer orgasmic-inducing content. Where ‘Sacrilege’ takes things further is the addition of a choir, which gradually transforms this track into a heightened gospel number. ‘Mosquito’ kicks off the proceedings with a bang (pun intended).
2. Subway
This slow number, whose core is a steady locomotive rhythm, a sort of percussive heartbeat in the form of the metro clatter, is a stripped back ode to the NY subway system. It’s a tender ballad which basically announces the tone: this is an album that’ll be chockablock with surprises.
3. Mosquito
This is a wakeup call, the first one of the album, fittingly so considering it’s the titular track. One often wonders why the album is named after the song. Here, it’s because Karen O has repeatedly said she hates mosquitoes. Fair enough. How does this translate in the song, you ask? Well, the track encapsulates the strange overall tone of the album: eerily sexy and hauntingly fascinating. Even if this isn’t their greatest song, the theatrical whispering and the Spanish sounding electric riffs give it an energetic quality. The repeated “sssssssssuck your blood” and the "Are you gonna let them in / They’re hiding beneath your bed / They're crawling between your legs" lyrics simultaneously invoke fear and an unmistakable dark sense of sexuality, a double-edged sentiment present throughout the album.
4. Under the Earth
An odd one, blessed with strange and mildly discordant noises and a prominent bass line. The choir from the opener is back again, even if it’s a lot less prominent. All in all, a broody beast.
5. Slave
This one is very reminiscent of ‘It’s Blitz!’. It starts off slowly in its pop vibe and then turns into a terrific rock song, with guitars becoming the centerpiece. The addictive begging “you keep you keep me” is a line you’ll be repeating to yourself quite a few times after having heard this track…
6. These Paths
‘These Paths’ is one of the album’s most experimental tracks: it’s a very electro tinted and synth-friendly, with skittering percussions and mild voice sampling. Yet another reminder of how Yeah Yeah Yeahs can take risks and still manage to make it sound unmistakably theirs…
7. Area 52
A raucous one, which wakes you up with a startle, much like ‘Mosquito’ did. It starts with a siren burst / emergency alarm wail and stands as the most rock-based track on the album. It’s certainly the song with the most memorable riffs, ones which reminds the listener of Iggy Pop and The Stooges during their peak.
8. Buried Alive
After the rock-infused previous number, this takes the baton and makes a mild tangent. The terrific guitar riffs are still very much there and hark back to the ‘Fever To Tell’ days, but they are here surprisingly married to vocals from guest Doctor Octagon, who shows up to do some mild rapping. Sounds like a mess, you say? Rapping, you cringe? Trust me, it works and the overall horror-esque atmosphere is palpable, making ‘Buried Alive’ a personal favourite.
9. Always
When considered on its own, this short minimalistic song can be considered as a weaker track. However, within the structure of the album, it works perfectly. The lyrics evoke the concept of marriage and the slightly ethereal synth work, the aerial vocals and Dust Brothers-like accompanying percussive beat serve as a sort of welcome break before the final stretch the final two songs form.
10. Despair
This is ‘Always’’ naughty and overachieving little brother. Despite the title, it is one of the most positive songs on an album which seems to generally come from a dark place. The “My sun is your sun…” chorus is fantastic and the number culminates in an uplifting climax. ‘Despair’ shows quite clearly how the past songs have worked very well together and have all been leading up to the closing number…
11. Wedding Song
… And what a closing number… Concluding the album is this emotional, surprising and mind-blowing song. The album as a whole has boasted oddly experimental beats, overly theatrical rock-soaked riffs and surprising twists but no one could have guessed ‘Mosquito’ would end with such a neat, slow and catchy song, akin to ‘Maps’ on ‘Fever To Tell’. ‘Wedding Song’ is a confessional love song and one of the record’s best, showcasing Karen O’s vocal prowess. She sounds the best on this closer. It is also appropriate that the last song of the album has yet another album- encompassing lyric: in many ways, ‘Mosquito’ is “violent bliss”…
All in all, these swift 40 minutes do not make up your average rock record and for all those of you who thought they had this band pegged (post-punk / art-punk outfit who occasionally did more radio-friendly numbers), think again – ‘Mosquito’ is Yeah Yeah Yeah’s most conceptual, unhinged, playful and emotional album to date. It is a disorientatingly joyous affair as well as somber one, a sexy and visceral offering that is the band’s most quirkily fascinating and oddly cinematic effort thus far.
Sound messy / daunting / not your cup of tea / that album cover bother you? Just try it – you’ll be floored.
Key Tracks: ‘Sacrilege’, ‘Area 52’, ‘Buried Alive’, ‘Wedding Song’.
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Lastly, I shall convolutedly use this review to stand on my soap box and say a few more words.
You see, Yeah Yeah Yeahs recently went on a crusade of sorts by posting a notice at the door of one of their gigs, asking fans to stop using their smartphones during the shows. The notice read: "Please do not watch the show through a screen on your smart device/camera. Put that shit away as a courtesy to the person behind you and to Nick, Karen and Brian."
Upon reading this notice, I let out an audible and joyous “FUCK YEAH!!”.
The band is far from the first one to address this infuriating issue, but I’m glad they’ve added their name to the list… and may many more follow in their footsteps.
I have touched about this subject before, re: a Ben Howard gig (link) and reiterate my thoughts: willingly putting something in between you and the actual live event – like watching the events on TV while they’re actually going on just outside your window – is pointless, stupid, disrespectful to those around you and people who do it are on par with those who go to gigs only to drunkenly pick a fight. The cameraphone obsessed ones are just on the other side of the spectrum.
However, beyond the sheer nuisance of having your vision blocked lies a deeper malaise.
Over the years, I’ve been staggered at the sheer amount of phones in the air…
I own one too... It’s in my pocket… That’s its home. End of story.
It’s just plain sad to see so many glued to their phone screens during the gig, saying that they’ve seen an artist performing. They haven’t: they’ve watched them through a lens. It’s not the same thing at all. Some people nowadays just can’t seem to steer away from the self-documenting / “I’ll post this on the networking service I’m currently using in order to brag that I’ve seen so and so live” attitude. These persons are part of a generation which I sadly belong to / am close to, a generation that suffers from textbook technological displacement and who actually miss out on the experience of seeing a band live because they have been spoilt by the wonders modern technology offers them. These are individuals who don’t know / have forgotten how to live in the moment.
It also goes to show that certain people are more interested with projecting an image of themselves rather than actually being the kind of person they wish to be. “By posting this gig video, I am logically an active, sociable and fun person who deserves your attention”, when in reality, outside of the digital world in which they have created their digital persona (social networks are a good example of this), they are anything but.
“Oh, but we’re just uploading it to YouTube so we can share it with our friends who aren’t here tonight…”
This was an excuse I overheard at a gig once. Yes, nice thought but it’s a frequently heard defense… no matter how much eyelids are batted! I get it - it’s all to do with this obsession we now have for ‘sharing’ / documenting every single thing on every single medium nowadays, but again, ever selflessly thought about the people behind you who can’t see the stage without a myriad of bright screens plaguing the view??
This phenomenon (the title of a good Yeah Yeah Yeahs song on ‘Show Your Bones’, I might add) is sadly not just limited to gigs and spans across several artistic fields, including the seventh art: a plethora of tech dependent morons defecate over cinema-going experiences by not shutting off their phones or even texting during films… What does that say about this generation and their attention span?
So, getting back to the original issue, even if I think that a few cheeky snaps here and there at a concert are more than ok and allowed, I nevertheless would be in favour of altogether banning phones in concert venues, theatres and cinemas because many take it too far.
How does one go about banning smartphones? God knows. I’m just rightfully condemning!
Even if I have no problem whatsoever with embracing the fact we can share more these days and should welcome advances, I would still like to thank Yeah Yeah Yeahs for ‘outing’ this cultural / social issue once more.
Has this rant been overly long and almost as time consuming to read as the Mosquito review?
YES!
Has this rant been in vain?
PROBABLY… as my readership fanbase is wonderful but numerically limited! (Tell your friends, damn it!)
Will these nuisances who claim to be music fans surrender their phones before a gig?
MOST DEFINITELY NOT!
Why?
BECAUSE THEY ARE, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED / INSINUATED, SLAVES TO THEIR TOYS!!
Should I be elected Supreme Minister of Propaganda and control these issues with zeal and a never-faltering determination to….
No, wait… that’s a bit much…
I will finish this off by saying that if you’re reading this and are guilty of watching live shows through your phone screen, please stop ruining others’ evening and let me be the one to tell you that you are trying to create a memory of something you’ve never lived. Sort your lives out before I take the liberty of taking your prized technological possession and shoving it where the sun don’t shine…
- D - 16/04/13
It’s been thirteen years since the rock scene got the pants down spanking it needed with bands such as The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Libertines, The Von Bondies and Yeah Yeah Yeahs releasing their debut efforts. Since then… Well… The Stripes are gone but not forgotten, Julian Casablancas and his lot have progressively lost the plot, The Libertines are no more due in large part to Pete Doherty’s promising drug abuse and The Von Bondies are… well, I don’t know where.
It makes you wonder if putting ‘The’ in front of your name isn’t a one way ticket to curse-ville.
No matter… What does matter is that we can thank the stars for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who have over the years managed that rarest of things: remaining steadily and excitedly relevant.
Indeed, from their wonderful NY revival debut ‘Fever to Tell’, their more introspective ‘Show Your Bones’, to their triumphant ‘It’s Blitz!’, the band has managed to evolve while maintaining what makes them so enjoyable and special in the first place: an exciting ambition that translates into an infectious energetic credibility that has not yet wavered.
Each album has its tone: the first was punk-rock gem, stripped down to its most essential components; the second a refreshingly vulnerable release that still packed an energetic punch (having seen them live for this album, I can guarantee the validity of this statement); the third was a departure from its predecessor and boasted a sleeker, electro-clash sound which saw them edge towards a more synth-pop / even borderline dancefloor-friendly direction.
Now, four years after ‘It’s Blitz’, it’s time for their fourth effort… MOSQUITO.
Yes, that Bold Caps-Lock on the album title just now was intentional: there’s something in-your-face theatrical about this album, mirrored by the brilliant album cover. The insect-themed artwork by Beomsik Shimbe Shim is an extreme eyesore, granted, but a thematically relevant one. I proudly state that I quite like it!
Right, less about sleeve art, more about the songs… Unconventionally for my album reviews, I’m going to mix things up here and do a track by track review:
1. Sacrilege
This is the album’s first single and arguably the most sexual song here. This is hardly surprising, as Karen O’s vocals have always been dripping in sex, but her intensity and trademark pitches make this one of the bands’ most sensual and raunchy numbers, one I’d happily associate with PJ Harvey’s The Dancer for sheer orgasmic-inducing content. Where ‘Sacrilege’ takes things further is the addition of a choir, which gradually transforms this track into a heightened gospel number. ‘Mosquito’ kicks off the proceedings with a bang (pun intended).
2. Subway
This slow number, whose core is a steady locomotive rhythm, a sort of percussive heartbeat in the form of the metro clatter, is a stripped back ode to the NY subway system. It’s a tender ballad which basically announces the tone: this is an album that’ll be chockablock with surprises.
3. Mosquito
This is a wakeup call, the first one of the album, fittingly so considering it’s the titular track. One often wonders why the album is named after the song. Here, it’s because Karen O has repeatedly said she hates mosquitoes. Fair enough. How does this translate in the song, you ask? Well, the track encapsulates the strange overall tone of the album: eerily sexy and hauntingly fascinating. Even if this isn’t their greatest song, the theatrical whispering and the Spanish sounding electric riffs give it an energetic quality. The repeated “sssssssssuck your blood” and the "Are you gonna let them in / They’re hiding beneath your bed / They're crawling between your legs" lyrics simultaneously invoke fear and an unmistakable dark sense of sexuality, a double-edged sentiment present throughout the album.
4. Under the Earth
An odd one, blessed with strange and mildly discordant noises and a prominent bass line. The choir from the opener is back again, even if it’s a lot less prominent. All in all, a broody beast.
5. Slave
This one is very reminiscent of ‘It’s Blitz!’. It starts off slowly in its pop vibe and then turns into a terrific rock song, with guitars becoming the centerpiece. The addictive begging “you keep you keep me” is a line you’ll be repeating to yourself quite a few times after having heard this track…
6. These Paths
‘These Paths’ is one of the album’s most experimental tracks: it’s a very electro tinted and synth-friendly, with skittering percussions and mild voice sampling. Yet another reminder of how Yeah Yeah Yeahs can take risks and still manage to make it sound unmistakably theirs…
7. Area 52
A raucous one, which wakes you up with a startle, much like ‘Mosquito’ did. It starts with a siren burst / emergency alarm wail and stands as the most rock-based track on the album. It’s certainly the song with the most memorable riffs, ones which reminds the listener of Iggy Pop and The Stooges during their peak.
8. Buried Alive
After the rock-infused previous number, this takes the baton and makes a mild tangent. The terrific guitar riffs are still very much there and hark back to the ‘Fever To Tell’ days, but they are here surprisingly married to vocals from guest Doctor Octagon, who shows up to do some mild rapping. Sounds like a mess, you say? Rapping, you cringe? Trust me, it works and the overall horror-esque atmosphere is palpable, making ‘Buried Alive’ a personal favourite.
9. Always
When considered on its own, this short minimalistic song can be considered as a weaker track. However, within the structure of the album, it works perfectly. The lyrics evoke the concept of marriage and the slightly ethereal synth work, the aerial vocals and Dust Brothers-like accompanying percussive beat serve as a sort of welcome break before the final stretch the final two songs form.
10. Despair
This is ‘Always’’ naughty and overachieving little brother. Despite the title, it is one of the most positive songs on an album which seems to generally come from a dark place. The “My sun is your sun…” chorus is fantastic and the number culminates in an uplifting climax. ‘Despair’ shows quite clearly how the past songs have worked very well together and have all been leading up to the closing number…
11. Wedding Song
… And what a closing number… Concluding the album is this emotional, surprising and mind-blowing song. The album as a whole has boasted oddly experimental beats, overly theatrical rock-soaked riffs and surprising twists but no one could have guessed ‘Mosquito’ would end with such a neat, slow and catchy song, akin to ‘Maps’ on ‘Fever To Tell’. ‘Wedding Song’ is a confessional love song and one of the record’s best, showcasing Karen O’s vocal prowess. She sounds the best on this closer. It is also appropriate that the last song of the album has yet another album- encompassing lyric: in many ways, ‘Mosquito’ is “violent bliss”…
All in all, these swift 40 minutes do not make up your average rock record and for all those of you who thought they had this band pegged (post-punk / art-punk outfit who occasionally did more radio-friendly numbers), think again – ‘Mosquito’ is Yeah Yeah Yeah’s most conceptual, unhinged, playful and emotional album to date. It is a disorientatingly joyous affair as well as somber one, a sexy and visceral offering that is the band’s most quirkily fascinating and oddly cinematic effort thus far.
Sound messy / daunting / not your cup of tea / that album cover bother you? Just try it – you’ll be floored.
Key Tracks: ‘Sacrilege’, ‘Area 52’, ‘Buried Alive’, ‘Wedding Song’.
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Lastly, I shall convolutedly use this review to stand on my soap box and say a few more words.
You see, Yeah Yeah Yeahs recently went on a crusade of sorts by posting a notice at the door of one of their gigs, asking fans to stop using their smartphones during the shows. The notice read: "Please do not watch the show through a screen on your smart device/camera. Put that shit away as a courtesy to the person behind you and to Nick, Karen and Brian."
Upon reading this notice, I let out an audible and joyous “FUCK YEAH!!”.
The band is far from the first one to address this infuriating issue, but I’m glad they’ve added their name to the list… and may many more follow in their footsteps.
I have touched about this subject before, re: a Ben Howard gig (link) and reiterate my thoughts: willingly putting something in between you and the actual live event – like watching the events on TV while they’re actually going on just outside your window – is pointless, stupid, disrespectful to those around you and people who do it are on par with those who go to gigs only to drunkenly pick a fight. The cameraphone obsessed ones are just on the other side of the spectrum.
However, beyond the sheer nuisance of having your vision blocked lies a deeper malaise.
Over the years, I’ve been staggered at the sheer amount of phones in the air…
I own one too... It’s in my pocket… That’s its home. End of story.
It’s just plain sad to see so many glued to their phone screens during the gig, saying that they’ve seen an artist performing. They haven’t: they’ve watched them through a lens. It’s not the same thing at all. Some people nowadays just can’t seem to steer away from the self-documenting / “I’ll post this on the networking service I’m currently using in order to brag that I’ve seen so and so live” attitude. These persons are part of a generation which I sadly belong to / am close to, a generation that suffers from textbook technological displacement and who actually miss out on the experience of seeing a band live because they have been spoilt by the wonders modern technology offers them. These are individuals who don’t know / have forgotten how to live in the moment.
It also goes to show that certain people are more interested with projecting an image of themselves rather than actually being the kind of person they wish to be. “By posting this gig video, I am logically an active, sociable and fun person who deserves your attention”, when in reality, outside of the digital world in which they have created their digital persona (social networks are a good example of this), they are anything but.
“Oh, but we’re just uploading it to YouTube so we can share it with our friends who aren’t here tonight…”
This was an excuse I overheard at a gig once. Yes, nice thought but it’s a frequently heard defense… no matter how much eyelids are batted! I get it - it’s all to do with this obsession we now have for ‘sharing’ / documenting every single thing on every single medium nowadays, but again, ever selflessly thought about the people behind you who can’t see the stage without a myriad of bright screens plaguing the view??
This phenomenon (the title of a good Yeah Yeah Yeahs song on ‘Show Your Bones’, I might add) is sadly not just limited to gigs and spans across several artistic fields, including the seventh art: a plethora of tech dependent morons defecate over cinema-going experiences by not shutting off their phones or even texting during films… What does that say about this generation and their attention span?
So, getting back to the original issue, even if I think that a few cheeky snaps here and there at a concert are more than ok and allowed, I nevertheless would be in favour of altogether banning phones in concert venues, theatres and cinemas because many take it too far.
How does one go about banning smartphones? God knows. I’m just rightfully condemning!
Even if I have no problem whatsoever with embracing the fact we can share more these days and should welcome advances, I would still like to thank Yeah Yeah Yeahs for ‘outing’ this cultural / social issue once more.
Has this rant been overly long and almost as time consuming to read as the Mosquito review?
YES!
Has this rant been in vain?
PROBABLY… as my readership fanbase is wonderful but numerically limited! (Tell your friends, damn it!)
Will these nuisances who claim to be music fans surrender their phones before a gig?
MOST DEFINITELY NOT!
Why?
BECAUSE THEY ARE, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED / INSINUATED, SLAVES TO THEIR TOYS!!
Should I be elected Supreme Minister of Propaganda and control these issues with zeal and a never-faltering determination to….
No, wait… that’s a bit much…
I will finish this off by saying that if you’re reading this and are guilty of watching live shows through your phone screen, please stop ruining others’ evening and let me be the one to tell you that you are trying to create a memory of something you’ve never lived. Sort your lives out before I take the liberty of taking your prized technological possession and shoving it where the sun don’t shine…
- D - 16/04/13
|
THE FLAMING LIPS
|
Having only started listening to The Flaming Lips since ‘The Soft Bulletin’ (1999) and only properly getting into them with the wonderful, the inventive, the playful, the incredible, the…
… I’ll stop now …
… their 2002 release ‘Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots’, I consider myself a fan without being claiming to be a die-hard.
I am however constantly fascinated by the eccentric nature of the band and how no one really knows what they’re going to do next. Four years after ‘Yoshimi’, they released ‘At War With The Mystics’, an enjoyable beast much in the same vein as its predecessor, but with an added sense of the operatic. Their twelfth album, ‘Embryonic’, was a new direction for the band – an anti-commercial record that was tad too chaotic and the wrong side of psychedelic for me. Still, you could never fault their ambition. They then did a track-for-track remake of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of the Moon entitled ‘The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon’ (yep, that’s the full title) and followed that up with a collaboration album which boasted, amongst others, Bon Iver, Nick Cave, Yoko Ono and Kesha…
As you do…
This is a band that identifies the obvious, zones in on it and the proceeds to beat it to death with an experimental stick of trippy-ness given to them by a crow with laser beams coming out of its eyes… and subsequently run a mile.
Now we come to the band’s new release, aptly named ‘The Terror’.
Indeed, the title should be a hefty clue as to the general tone.
It’s dark.
Duh.
You see, prior to the release, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne said the following regarding their new release: “We want, or wanted, to believe that without love we would disappear … we know now that, even without love, life goes on … we just go on … there is no mercy killing.” In this regard, ‘The Terror’ is in fact a concept album: if The Beatles famously stated that “all you need is love”, the Flaming Lips’ latest is about carrying on in the absence of love.
The trippy opener ‘Look… The Sun Is Rising’ starts off the proceedings, with its clattering beats and jagged guitars. It sounds like the beginning of an epic adventure, one into dark and otherworldly psychedelia. From then on, the nine tracks cohesively merge into each other and form just what the first song announced: an experimental and disorientating journey, filled with disconnected and airy vocals, arrhythmic pulses, scratchy guitars and plenty of synths.
‘Be Free, A Way’ and ‘Try To Explain’ are vaguely poppy and lead to ‘You Lust’, a thirteen-minute long song that is worrying (the heavily whispered and borderline sinister “Lust to succeed” lyric), claustrophobic and pulsing with an utterly absorbing darkness. It is followed by the excellent titular track, as if everything has been leading to the famous ‘Terror’ the album gets its name from. This is the core of the journey, where The Lips wanted us to go. It’s a beat-heavy number that exposes the darkness of the whole album, with the lyrics like: “We are all standing alone / The terror's in our heads / We don't control the controls”.
‘You Are Alone’ is the listener leaving the ‘Terror’ and continuing the journey. The song’s repetitive clanging, like a short alarm bursts, adds to the sense of unease and is almost a reminder, saying that the trip isn’t over yet. ‘Butterfly, How Long It Takes To Die’ sees Coyne taking the sunrise / sunset imagery and creating something majestically gloomy. This song is the definitive high point of the album: it’s poetic and disturbingly beautiful.
The final two tracks hark back to the sounds of the first, looping the loop as it were. The hypnotic ‘Turning Violent’ is another album highlight and surprises with some sudden loud offerings of industrial noises. It leads us to the album closer 'Always There... In Our Hearts'. This song is the return home after the journey. That doesn’t mean we’re back exactly where we started. It’s the most lyrically moving piece, harking back to the themes of love, isolation and identity, how we possess all the keys but rarely know how to use them. It’s a brilliant song to close on and has a very rock-infused conclusion, with heavier and less distorted drumming, ending ‘The Terror’ on an intense high.
It is worth mentioning that the album also comes with a bonus track, released as the lead single: ‘Sun Blows Up Today’. It is very upbeat and almost chirpy, reminiscent of some of the band’s past songs. It makes sense for it not to be included in the main tracklist (it comes on a separate mini-CD with the main album… for those of you who still physically buy records… and has a cover of The Beatles’ ‘All You Need Is Love’… to ironically hammer the thematic point across!) but remains a great little song that reminds us The Lips are capable of being chirpy as well as gloomy, even if ‘The Terror’ solidly pledges allegiance to the dark side.
Despite the differences between both bands and the albums, ‘The Terror’ is in many ways The Lips’ ‘Kid A’, in that it is a listening experience and not one that should be ignored. It is an atmospheric and dark odyssey that won’t be to everyone’s liking but does remain completely accessible. Even if we’re far from some of the euphorically colourful songs of the previous albums (‘Fight Test’, ‘The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song’…) and are here in immersive Lynchian territory, it’s an album that intelligently does not alienate. ‘The Terror’ can be challenging but it is VERY rewarding. It takes several listens to fully appreciate it (let alone write a review of it) and deserves to be listened to as a whole: it’s only when you isolate yourself with this album that you can be engulfed and hear / feel what the nine songs ambitiously and cinematically form.
Yet again, this album is the sound of The Flaming Lips daring to be original and distancing themselves from any commercial nonsense by just doing what they please. Few bands can do this and stay the course. We should be happy that they are one of these bands and that in this gloomy trip, we may have found one of this year’s most original and unique albums.
There may yet be a die-hard Flaming Lips fan in me yet…
- D - 06/04/13
|
SUEDE
|
Aaaah, Britpop…
Full disclosure: I remain a huge fan. I look back nostalgically on that time, when Oasis and Blur were locked in a charts battle, when Radiohead released ‘The Bends’ and Supergrass’ ‘I Should Coco’ reigned supreme… A time when Pulp were still good, when The Verve delivered their never-bettered ‘Urban Hymns’ and Catatonia had hits.
Then there was Suede.
I was never the band’s biggest fan but took comfort in knowing they were there, reassuringly lurking in the back, with Brett Anderson’s distinctive and impressive vocal reach ringing in my ears. They were the escapist side to Britpop, one which counterbalanced the Oasis / Blur rivalry and added a touch of dirty pop glamour to the mix. Their 1996 album ‘Coming Up’ was a definitive highlight, with songs such as ‘Trash’,‘Lazy’ and ‘Film Star’ and I even enjoyed the oft-criticized follow-up ‘Head Music’, a solid record which boasted the infectious single ‘She’s In Fashion’.
Enough about the past and my enjoyment of it – let’s get on to ‘Bloodsports’, the band’s sixth studio album and first in a little over 10 years. You see, the last time anyone heard of Suede was in 2002, when they released ‘A New Morning’, championed by the lead (and very pleasant) single ‘Positivity’. The album remained underwhelming and lead the band to unofficially call it quits a year later. ‘Bloodsports’ is their comeback.
So, should we care after 10 years?
The answer is yes. Care away, because ‘Bloodsports’ is a terrific effort, whether you look at it as a comeback album or no. Everyone wants them to be “back, better than ever” and these comeback albums have the tendency of being instantly and blindly lauded. Take a look at the latest David Bowie release ‘The Next Day’, his first since 2003’s ‘Reality’. After having listening to it a few times now, it’s a cracking album but not worth the frenzied hype currently surrounding it. Creative? Yes. Clever? Also. The masterpiece everyone is hyperventilating about? Not that I can tell… and this is coming from a Bowie fan!
I’m getting sidetracked again…
‘Bloodsports’ opens with ‘Barriers’, a decent and confident start to the proceedings. However, things only truly get fun once the second track kicks in:‘Snowblind’ gets the guitars working and is up there with some of Suede’s best tracks. From then onwards, the enjoyment doesn’t stop: the single 'It Starts And Ends With You' is an instantly appealing number that more than stands its ground with past glories such as ‘Obsessions’ and ‘The Wild Ones’.
What follows are the brilliant and darkly glamorous ‘Sabotage’, the dreamy ‘For the Strangers’ and ‘Hit Me’,one of the catchiest songs on the album. This track is a bit too obvious to be utterly compelling, but it’s a reminder of what Suede does best: good, soaring pop. Things then slow down with the melodramatic ‘Sometimes I Feel I'll Float Away’ and the piano ballad ‘What Are You Not Telling Me?’. Both are very enjoyable but unfortunately lead to the rather bland ‘Always’, the album’s low note, it has to be said. Things come to a swift end with ‘Faultlines’. This epic last song is a terrific closer that makes us forget the previous and slightly dreary tracks. Quite simply, you go from the lowest point of the album (‘Always’) to its peak.
All the songs are about relationships, more specifically, when focusing on the lyrics, about the various stages of relationships: lust, obsession, infatuation, passion, dependency, abandonment… This follow through line makes for a very coherent listen, one that is not only enjoyable but very gutsy, proving that ‘Bloodsports’ is an overall return to form that doesn’t pale in comparison to the band’s best, namely ‘Dog Man Star’ and‘Coming Up’.
I may have spent more time discussing what surrounds the album rather than the music, but it’s fitting: the album’s tracks speak for themselves on this occasion, that is to say they’re pleasantly familiar, distinctive, assuredly coherent and at times exciting. The ten songs make for a quick listen and it’s hard not to be satisfied. It’s a comeback album that goes beyond what could have been its limitations and serves not only as a reminder of how good the band was, but also as a promising confirmation that they are not one that belongs to the past.
Key Tracks: 'It Starts And Ends With You', 'Sabotage', 'Faultlines'.
- D - 20/03/13
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LIVE REVIEW:
|
2012 was one hell of a year for Emeli Sandé: her debut, ‘Our Version of Events’, went on to become one of the year’s best selling albums; she performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics; she won the Q Award for Best Solo Artist, three MOBO Awards and, earlier this year, two Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Album of the Year. To top it off, she recently released her live album, recorded last November at the Royal Albert Hall.
Not too shabby for the 26 year old former medical student who started off penning songs for, amongst others, Alesha Dixon and Cheryl Cole… * Shudder… even if I can’t deny a slight attraction to Alesha… *
It was with great anticipation that I saw her live for the first time last weekend and even with her hefty reputation preceding her, my expectations were met… and then some.
The opening act was a certain Charlene Soraia, a pixie-like talent from London who delivered a solid set of songs, including a surprisingly spot-on cover of The Calling’s ‘Wherever You Will Go’, a version which, if I’m not mistaken, was recently used in a Twinings tea commercial… Could be wrong about that one, but it did sound very familiar… Her genuine performance and good vocals, interspersed with decent onstage banter about her “arse” of an ex-boyfriend and how Serge Gainsbourg’s voice makes her make a delightful and slightly high-pitched ‘brrrrrr… click’ noise (which she was kind enough to repeat when I chatted to her after the gig - I won’t deny it made my ovaries skip a beat. I mean… not ovaries… I… I fucked my sentence…), made for a very entertaining first part. Look out for her soon-to-be-released album entitled ‘Love is the Law’.
Emeli Sandé’s arrival on stage was met with thunderous applause. I was personally unaware of her fanbase in France. I have been a fan since she released ‘Our Version of Events’ (click here for album review) and was impressed by the hefty turn out. Whenever I mentioned her, the slightly annoying “Oh, she’s the one who’s kinda like Adele” response usually cropped up, to which I usually (calmly) corrected my interlocutor(s), stating that the only similitude is the fact that Sandé is just as good an export…if not better.
First thing to mention is Sandé’s impressive stage presence. Her sunny and energetic disposition exudes warmth but also an infectious passion that makes her a joy to watch. Throughout the gig, she engaged with her audience many times and clearly enjoyed every minute of the performance. And that Scots accent… Swooooon…. Her ‘battle-esque’ stance often shows that she started (and still dabbles in collaborations) in the rap scene; it contributes to the rawness she injects into her show, an energy that can’t quite be heard as much in the aforementioned live album. Then again, that symphonic live show was (naturally) string-heavy and was purposefully a different tonal beast… However, here, with the help of her excellent backing band and two singers, the whole concert had a more energetic and at times dance / feel-good quality to it.
Her clear vocals were impressive throughout and one tends to forget how much Nina Simone is an influence until you hear her phenomenal live pitch and delivery. Not once did she hit a bum note. Now, I’m not the kind of person to scrutinize - I tend to just let go and enjoy the show - but when a flawless vocal performance like this comes along, you do tend to notice.
She managed throughout the show to expertly balance her set with piano-based ballads (‘Clown’), dance infused numbers (‘Daddy’), gospel-fueled moments (new track ‘Pluto’, which should apparently make an appearance on her second studio release) and at times even reggae undertones (the excellent opener ‘Heaven’). The second it gets too gentle, there’s a pick-me-up, again with a genuine excitement that sounds like she’s singing these songs for the first time. ‘My Kind of Love’ and her emotional rendition of ‘Read All About It’ were particularly powerful in this respect and served as yet another reminder of how talented a songwriter she is.
If ‘My Kind of Love’ and ‘Beneath You’re Beautiful’ were particular high-points, she still shined brightest with ‘River’ and a song she introduced as being “an older one, which was available on YouTube a few years back”: ‘Kill The Boy’. Coupled with a few soaring electric guitar riffs on stage, this song was for me the highlight of the evening and felt like a Bond theme in the making, perfectly marrying chilling soul and raw energy. I still maintain that Sandé can out-Bond Adele’s great ‘Skyfall’ and urge the 007 producers to get in touch, pronto.
She finished the evening with a two part encore (‘Mountains’ and ‘Next To Me’) which was interrupted by a birthday celebration… You see, the concert I went to was on 9 March and Sandé’s 26th birthday is on 10th, so her crew came out with a candle-lit birthday cake, much to her surprise. It was a sweet beat that made the birthday girl’s smiles and intense closer ‘Next To Me’ all the more enjoyable.
All in all, this was a moving, energetic and uplifting gig, one which confirmed the much deserved hype, musically and atmospherically, as the crowd were enthused and there wasn’t an alienated or sad face coming out of the venue. I strongly recommend to all who can get their hands on a ticket of Emeli Sandé’s Our Version of Events Tour to do so.
Lastly, the matter of fainting people... Always a bad thing? The mysterious ‘Zoe’ agrees with me that no, sometimes it’s enjoyable.
- D - 11/03/13
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THE LUMINEERS
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As previously stated in several of my reviews, debut albums are tricky to be fair about: one can get caught up in the joy of discovering a new band and can very quickly get over zealous… However, in the last couple of years, several artists have deserved the praise.
Off the top of my head: The Joy Formidable, Emeli Sande, Ben Howard, Of Monsters and Men… and if I’m being honest, Ed Sheeran. (As uneven as his debut was, the wunderkind has done well.)
Here come The Lumineers…
Despite being around for many months, their foot-stompingly cheerful single ‘Ho Hey’ having received a fair bit of airplay and making a niche inside my brain much like Of Monsters and Men’s ‘Little Talks’, the Colorado trio’s debut album has only recently been released in Europe.
One easy comparison to make (which no doubt has been made on several occasions) when first listening to the eponymously titled album, is to label The Lumineers as the US answer to Mumford & Sons. The album does anchor itself in the very trendy folk-rock revival wave, which was kicked-off once more thanks to the stellar efforts of Arcade Fire several years back, picked up by the great Fleet Foxes and which has seen the aforementioned Mumford & Sons exporting their banjo -pop abroad with great success.
However, I for one have been getting a tad peeved with the faux-folksy combos, in sad part due to the way it’s become so fashionable to listen to Mumford and to praise them like they’re the best thing since Ben & Jerry’s The Vermonster.
They’re not.
Few things are.
Now, I usually tend to just enjoy what I enjoy and utterly disassociate the music from the artists themselves or the fanbase (how else could I in all good consciousness listen to Fall Out Boy for instance, considering their emo band members and their very annoying fans?), but seeing insufferable and interchangeable skinny jean-wearing, same hair-style sporting, shirt top-button buttoned, NME-cool list worshiping, fashion obsessed, pretentious try-hards that only fickly listen to a certain musical genre because it’s currently fashionable makes me want to scratch myself.
Therefore, everything should point to me hating The Lumineers…
I don’t.
They’re great.
I shout it from the rooftops to both sides of the spectrum, the understandably skeptical and the hoards of hipster-indie crews, eagerly awaiting the next trend so they can capriciously change their entire wardrobe and listening penchants: THE LUMINEERS ARE GREAT, DON’T DESERVE THE COMPARISONS AND FAR MORE EXCITING THAN MUMFORD & SONS!!!
What sets The Lumineers apart is the overall lack of manufactured feel that many of their contemporaries suffer from, making them sound anything but artificial. This is not a band who sounds like they’re pretending. Granted, the same DNA is present (banjos, hand-claps, hollers, mandolins…), but The Lumineers is a stripped down and honest record, one which boasts a variety of songs, showing their strengths. Plural. There are upbeat folk numbers (‘Flowers In Your Hair’ and its wise simplicity; the brilliant ‘Ho Hey’; the string-plucking ‘Classy Girls’, which sounds as if it could have been recorded live), catchy melodies (‘Flapper Girl’; ‘Dead Sea’), but also more somber, intimate tunes, ones that show this band have something more (‘Slow It Down’ and its piano goodness; ‘Charlie Boy’ and its chill-inducing cello; the beautifully heartbreaking ‘Stubborn Love’ ; the quiet riot that is ‘Morning Song’). There is not a bad apple in the bunch: the band manages to put into all 11 songs their energetic passion, their lyrical eloquence and at times their ethereal-sounding emotion.
There is nothing particularly new. There is no rewriting of any rules. There is however a band who have put their hearts on their sleeves and delivered an album that is compellingly enjoyable, head and shoulders above the majority of the competition.
Give them a listen or ten: you’ll be hooked as I am.
Key Tracks: They’re all brilliant.
- D - 13/02/13
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THE JOY FORMIDABLE
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The Joy Formidable’s fantastic 2011 debut, The Big Roar, remains one of the best debut albums in recent years. Songs like ‘Whirring’, ‘Austere’ and ‘A Heavy Abacus’ reminded many of the excitement experienced when listening to early Muse.
Which reminds me. Do you want to hear a joke?
Yes?
OK, here goes:
Muse’s The 2nd Law.
Sorry – we’re back.
(I’m not sorry at all and you know it. Feel free to go back and read what I think about that album: link.)
Since then, the Welsh band has supported The Foo Fighters and Muse for their last tours, showing to what extent their ambition was clearly set: play large venues, deliver loud and infectious riffs mixed with their energetic and clever blend of catchy tunes.
But what of a second album? Well, first of all, it looks like this:
(I’m not sorry at all and you know it. Feel free to go back and read what I think about that album: link.)
Since then, the Welsh band has supported The Foo Fighters and Muse for their last tours, showing to what extent their ambition was clearly set: play large venues, deliver loud and infectious riffs mixed with their energetic and clever blend of catchy tunes.
But what of a second album? Well, first of all, it looks like this:
The band knew of the ‘that difficult second album’ syndrome and that expectations were high post-The Big Roar. The beauty is that they embraced this and borderline spelled out their statement of intent in the title of their sophomore album, Wolf’s Law.
After a quick trip on the ever-faithful Wikipedia, one learns that Julius Wolff, who looks like this:
…developed a theory in the 19th century basically stating that however hefty the burden that is placed upon ones bones, these can adjust to cope with the extra load.
The title thus refers to the band not faltering under the pressure of their previous success and affirming that they will adjust to whatever is thrown at them… and boy, have they done so with brio!
From the exciting opening ‘This Ladder Is Ours’ to the very strange and operatic closing number ‘The Turnaround’, the whole album is brimming with exciting songs, which go from panoramic (‘Forest Serenade’; ‘The Hurdle’), just plain good (‘Tendons’), to surprisingly intimate (‘Silent Treatment’). The latter shows a side to them we haven’t fully heard before; it is a straightforward ballad that flaunts the band’s range and capacity to marry OTT riffs (the Pumpkins-ish ‘Bats’) with songs that are more stripped down.
As for the album’s first single, ‘Cholla’, it is a playful one with a decent “Where are we going? / What are we doing?” chorus, but like ‘Little Blimp’ doesn’t set itself apart compared to superior tracks like the epically insane ‘Maw Maw Song’or undoubtedly Wolf’s Law’s highlight ‘The Leopard and the Lung’.
Musically speaking, Wolf’s Law is sheer greatness, so much so that the lyrics, while very good, often seem to pale in comparison. The sound is more polished that the first album, showing an evolution that is clever enough to retain the original rawness, led by singer Ritzy Bryan’s simultaneously powerful and light vocals, that made The Big Roar so bloody good. However, what makes this band so damn terrific is that they show intelligence: their aforementioned ambition is measured and doesn’t become a hindrance. They explore new ground, with a wider palette of sound (pianos, cinematic strings, greater orchestrations, especially on ‘The Turnaround’) but don’t overdo it, retaining what made them so great in the first palce. No mean feat.
Wolf’s Law is a great follow up and to continue the Muse analogy (I’m knee deep now, I can’t just stop…), it feels like the Welsh trio has released their Origin of Symmetry. Let’s just hope they don’t go down the self-parody and farcical route the Devonshire trio has progressively taken.
May The Joy Formidable’s ascension continue.
Key Tracks: 'Maw Maw Song', 'Forest Serenade', 'The Leopard and the Lung' … and if you haven’t discovered The Big Roar, I suggest you do so post-haste.
- D - 02/02/13
The title thus refers to the band not faltering under the pressure of their previous success and affirming that they will adjust to whatever is thrown at them… and boy, have they done so with brio!
From the exciting opening ‘This Ladder Is Ours’ to the very strange and operatic closing number ‘The Turnaround’, the whole album is brimming with exciting songs, which go from panoramic (‘Forest Serenade’; ‘The Hurdle’), just plain good (‘Tendons’), to surprisingly intimate (‘Silent Treatment’). The latter shows a side to them we haven’t fully heard before; it is a straightforward ballad that flaunts the band’s range and capacity to marry OTT riffs (the Pumpkins-ish ‘Bats’) with songs that are more stripped down.
As for the album’s first single, ‘Cholla’, it is a playful one with a decent “Where are we going? / What are we doing?” chorus, but like ‘Little Blimp’ doesn’t set itself apart compared to superior tracks like the epically insane ‘Maw Maw Song’or undoubtedly Wolf’s Law’s highlight ‘The Leopard and the Lung’.
Musically speaking, Wolf’s Law is sheer greatness, so much so that the lyrics, while very good, often seem to pale in comparison. The sound is more polished that the first album, showing an evolution that is clever enough to retain the original rawness, led by singer Ritzy Bryan’s simultaneously powerful and light vocals, that made The Big Roar so bloody good. However, what makes this band so damn terrific is that they show intelligence: their aforementioned ambition is measured and doesn’t become a hindrance. They explore new ground, with a wider palette of sound (pianos, cinematic strings, greater orchestrations, especially on ‘The Turnaround’) but don’t overdo it, retaining what made them so great in the first palce. No mean feat.
Wolf’s Law is a great follow up and to continue the Muse analogy (I’m knee deep now, I can’t just stop…), it feels like the Welsh trio has released their Origin of Symmetry. Let’s just hope they don’t go down the self-parody and farcical route the Devonshire trio has progressively taken.
May The Joy Formidable’s ascension continue.
Key Tracks: 'Maw Maw Song', 'Forest Serenade', 'The Leopard and the Lung' … and if you haven’t discovered The Big Roar, I suggest you do so post-haste.
- D - 02/02/13