Shh... do you hear that? That's the sound of any indie cred I had shrivelling up and dying, since I'm gonna talk tonight about "Riot!", Paramore's most recent album. Sure, it's a very different album, and a very different band, from everything else I've looked at so far, but 'tis still an excellent album, and well worth the effort. So unblock your ears and steel yourself all ye indie kids, for we're going on a daytrip to Emoland!
Let's get this out of the way first - Paramore are an emo band. They be young (God I felt old typing that!), loud and frequently overly-emotional/straight-up angsty. However, for the remainder of this review, suspend your general waryness and bigotry against Emo music - I know it is a beautifully easy target that won't fight back that much, but that is a discussion for another time. For the interests of this review, emo is rock is alternative is whatever - 'tis all music, and frequently good.
Right, down (finally) to the music! Riot is the 2nd album from the band, and even if you're never heard of the band, you've probably heard some of their stuff - be it (the rather stupidly titled) "Crushcrushcrush" from the Twilight OST, or "Misery Business", which seems to have been on every 360 game for the last 6 months. Myself, it took me about 2 months of being stalked by their songs before I took them seriously and gave them a proper listen, and was pleasantly surprised! Frontwoman Hayley Williams has a voice far surpassing her 21 years, and it is her vocal ability that is the driving force behind the band. Tracks such as "Hallelujah" show her to have a strong range, and the emotional kick to back that power up. The rest of the band have more than their fair share of skill and back up Hayley perfectly, but this is really her show, and she steals it well and truly.
I want to talk for a moment about the lyrics. Straying back into stereotypical emo territory for a moment, a large part of my troubles with emo music comes from the supremely depressing/self-pitying nature of the lyrics. Now, I'm all up for a bit of that every now and again, but most bands seem to be something of a one-trick pony - 'tis self-pity and angst, or nothing. Though I was expecting that from Paramore, I was surprised to find a real vein of strength and optimism running through the songs. Songs such as the aformentioned "Hallelujah", or "Miracle" concern themselves with trying to save relationships and being strong in the face of things going tits up, rather than running away. There is a temptation to label this strength as feminism just because it is sung by a woman, but I think this is misguided. I think it speaks more from a genuine positive view on life by the band, rather than an attempt by Williams to leverage her sex for the good of her songs. It would still be powerful whether it was sung by a man or woman. Nevertheless, other songs run the spectrum from stereotypical "we're young and don't like how you run the world" rantings of "Born for this" to obsession with "Stop this song". The lyrics can be blunt and lacking finesse much of the time, but it fits with the fast and powerful style of music paired with them.
Musically, Riot fits into the pigeonholes of power-pop/pop-rock/emo/whatever - heavy distortion is the order of the day, with fast guitar-work and a drummer who plays like he has made mortal enemies with the crash cymbal for all he beats the poor thing. There is only really one song where they slow it down - the rather pretty, if a wee bit cliche, "We Are Broken", which sonds more than a little like something Amy Lee would put out. I guess that is quite a good byline for this album - it is very safe. It breaks no new ground, but it never intends to - it won't tax the listener at all, but it is an awesome album to just kick back and enjoy. And I can imagine it would really come into it's own at a gig, since this sort of powerful, heavy distorted rock is always best listened to ear-breakingly loud, with about 200 other sweaty people having the time of their lives. So, if you get a chance, grab a copy of the album - and if you can, get the special edition, 'cause there are some good extra tracks stuck onto it. Before I go, here's some links to get you started:
CrushCrushCrush
Misery Business
That's What You Get
Peace,
J
Monday 27 July 2009
Thursday 2 July 2009
Panda panda panda panda pan-panda!
I just got back from a rather excellent night watching Deerhoof down at the Scala. This was something of a new experience for me - though I know of the band, I honestly hadn't listened to much of their stuff - the little I'd listened to seemed cool, but I couldn't name more than a handful on songs. Anywho, I was searching for something to cheer myself up, and it seemed like a fun way to pass and evening - turns out I was totally correct! So, I'm gonna try and say some stuff about what I just heard - though it's gonna be a trifle light on details, given my general unfamiliarity with the band...
Fronted by the truly miniscule vocalist/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, Deerhoof are rather an odd mashup of various different generes. Listening to them tonight, I heard pop, heavy rock, a touch of metal, free improv jazz, and even blues rock a la the Rolling Stones. So yeah, pretty much everything you can think of rolled into one. And you know what, it works! It admittedly took a little while to get into the swing of things - they have an extremely choppy style of playing, with very little structure to the songs - tunes can go from quiet and melodic one moment to completely over the top blasting rock the next with nary a warning. It makes listening to them highly disconcerting - you're never entirely sure where songs are going to go next - whether they are going to bring in some sort of chorus, or wander off into a bass-led jam for a few minutes.
But after a few songs I just switched the analytical bit of my brain off, and just went with the flow, and it was awesome! There is a real disarming charm about the whole band - though the lead singer seems rather sombre and serious, it's hard to take anyone seriously when they're singing about sunflowers or pandas, or pretending her bass (using a Hofner Violin "Beatle" bass - always a bonus!) is an aeroplane! The whole band had a rather fantastic stage presence - whether they were going mental with instruments, climbing the scaffolding or just raising guitar feedback to an artform!
It would be terribly remiss of me not to mention the drummer. Simply put, he is one of the most orgasmic drummers I've even seen play. Seriously - he has a love for the drums that's probably illegal in most US states! Dude spent the entire time laying into his kit with a massive half-crazed grin on his face, coordinating the time and key changes with dramatic flourishes that required one arse-load of a lot of skill. He was great fun to watch, and seemed to be the driving force behind the band - he did most of the talking between songs, and you got the feeling that even though Matsuzaki was up front, he was the real power behind the band.
If it seems like I've been hazy on the actual songs themselves, it's cause they seemed less seperate songs, and more segments for the band to jam through. Even the singing was not really distinct in any way - apart from the occasional moment of clarity, Matsuzaki uses her voice mainly as another instrument to the noise, making high-pitched beeps or single-phrase repetition to add texture to the rest of the band. Generally though, they were a fantasic band to see live, and one I'd recommend if you get the chance. Just turn your brain off, kick back and enjoy the noise!
J
p.s - if you were wondering where in the world the title comes from, it's taken from one of their songs - I'll throw a linkie-type thing up here...
Panda!
it's actually a pretty good example of their songs - disjointed segments, silly lyrics and awesome spazz-out drumming!
p.p.s - special props to the support act, a french band called 'Anabel's Poppy Day', who had some rather fun wierdo pop, which I had a blast with, despite the lead singer sounding like Betty Boop with a very bad headcold!
Fronted by the truly miniscule vocalist/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, Deerhoof are rather an odd mashup of various different generes. Listening to them tonight, I heard pop, heavy rock, a touch of metal, free improv jazz, and even blues rock a la the Rolling Stones. So yeah, pretty much everything you can think of rolled into one. And you know what, it works! It admittedly took a little while to get into the swing of things - they have an extremely choppy style of playing, with very little structure to the songs - tunes can go from quiet and melodic one moment to completely over the top blasting rock the next with nary a warning. It makes listening to them highly disconcerting - you're never entirely sure where songs are going to go next - whether they are going to bring in some sort of chorus, or wander off into a bass-led jam for a few minutes.
But after a few songs I just switched the analytical bit of my brain off, and just went with the flow, and it was awesome! There is a real disarming charm about the whole band - though the lead singer seems rather sombre and serious, it's hard to take anyone seriously when they're singing about sunflowers or pandas, or pretending her bass (using a Hofner Violin "Beatle" bass - always a bonus!) is an aeroplane! The whole band had a rather fantastic stage presence - whether they were going mental with instruments, climbing the scaffolding or just raising guitar feedback to an artform!
It would be terribly remiss of me not to mention the drummer. Simply put, he is one of the most orgasmic drummers I've even seen play. Seriously - he has a love for the drums that's probably illegal in most US states! Dude spent the entire time laying into his kit with a massive half-crazed grin on his face, coordinating the time and key changes with dramatic flourishes that required one arse-load of a lot of skill. He was great fun to watch, and seemed to be the driving force behind the band - he did most of the talking between songs, and you got the feeling that even though Matsuzaki was up front, he was the real power behind the band.
If it seems like I've been hazy on the actual songs themselves, it's cause they seemed less seperate songs, and more segments for the band to jam through. Even the singing was not really distinct in any way - apart from the occasional moment of clarity, Matsuzaki uses her voice mainly as another instrument to the noise, making high-pitched beeps or single-phrase repetition to add texture to the rest of the band. Generally though, they were a fantasic band to see live, and one I'd recommend if you get the chance. Just turn your brain off, kick back and enjoy the noise!
J
p.s - if you were wondering where in the world the title comes from, it's taken from one of their songs - I'll throw a linkie-type thing up here...
Panda!
it's actually a pretty good example of their songs - disjointed segments, silly lyrics and awesome spazz-out drumming!
p.p.s - special props to the support act, a french band called 'Anabel's Poppy Day', who had some rather fun wierdo pop, which I had a blast with, despite the lead singer sounding like Betty Boop with a very bad headcold!
Sunday 28 June 2009
Soulmates never die, and neither do excellent albums...
Ah Placebo, how we love thee. Been listening to their new CD "Battle for the Sun" for a while now since its release, and thought I'd give it a quick review for anyone who hasn't picked it up. Or I guess, for anyone who has picked it up and gives a toss what I think about it. In fact, what the hell, this review is for everyone! Huzzah!
This is the first Placebo album with their new drummer, and it really shows throughout the songs. The new member (one Steve Forrest, or so Wiki tells me) adds far more attack to the album than has been seen before, and gives the songs far more energy - and they really are better for it! Generally I've always felt that Placebo albums fell down with the quieter numbers - songs like Centerfolds, Narcoleptic or Bionic were often the weak points to the stronger, more powerful songs. The band seems to have realised this, and 'Battle for the Sun' is noticeably sparse on softer songs, preferring to keep it faster and heavier.
Now, I'm not gonna give an exhaustive blow-by-blow account of the album - leave that to those that get paid for this sort of gig! But I will pick out what I think are the high-points of the album...
Far and away the best song on the album is the single 'For what it's worth' - with Brian Molko's trademark semi-cryptic lyrics ("You're a god-shaped hole tonight") being augmented by a rather nifty brass section, which is a different direction for the band, but one that totally works. Definitely a fantastic little number, and well worth listen. Other good tunes include the strangely life-affirming 'Bright Lights', with a wonderful rising synth line bringing a smile to my face whenever I listen to it. On the other end of the scale, 'Devil in the Details' is the sort of slow, powerful songwriting that Placebo does so well. Starting out quiet and unassuming, it quickly rises to a powerful creshendo that makes for awesome listening. There is also 'The Neverending Why', a fast powerful song that hearkens back to songs like '36 Degrees' or 'The Bitter End'. Probably the next single, this one.
Listening to this album, one thing that occurs to me rather randomly is that this album seems to be far less sex and drug-obsessed than previous offerings - Brian seems more interested in relationship issues and cryptic but beautiful sounding couplets and lyrics. Don't know what that means for the band, but 'tis an observation nonetheless.
Anywho, as a final note, here's some youtubes for a couple of songs from said new album - enjoy!
For What It's Worth
Battle For The Sun
Keep it Ninja,
J
p.s. - If Brian does happen to be reading this - please stop changing your hair all the time! You looked perfectly good with the medium-long hair - keep it like that! Much appreciated.
p.p.s - Random bit of trivia - the song 'Ashtray Heart' is actually named after Brian's first band, formed with the bassist Stefan before they formed Placebo. So there you go!
This is the first Placebo album with their new drummer, and it really shows throughout the songs. The new member (one Steve Forrest, or so Wiki tells me) adds far more attack to the album than has been seen before, and gives the songs far more energy - and they really are better for it! Generally I've always felt that Placebo albums fell down with the quieter numbers - songs like Centerfolds, Narcoleptic or Bionic were often the weak points to the stronger, more powerful songs. The band seems to have realised this, and 'Battle for the Sun' is noticeably sparse on softer songs, preferring to keep it faster and heavier.
Now, I'm not gonna give an exhaustive blow-by-blow account of the album - leave that to those that get paid for this sort of gig! But I will pick out what I think are the high-points of the album...
Far and away the best song on the album is the single 'For what it's worth' - with Brian Molko's trademark semi-cryptic lyrics ("You're a god-shaped hole tonight") being augmented by a rather nifty brass section, which is a different direction for the band, but one that totally works. Definitely a fantastic little number, and well worth listen. Other good tunes include the strangely life-affirming 'Bright Lights', with a wonderful rising synth line bringing a smile to my face whenever I listen to it. On the other end of the scale, 'Devil in the Details' is the sort of slow, powerful songwriting that Placebo does so well. Starting out quiet and unassuming, it quickly rises to a powerful creshendo that makes for awesome listening. There is also 'The Neverending Why', a fast powerful song that hearkens back to songs like '36 Degrees' or 'The Bitter End'. Probably the next single, this one.
Listening to this album, one thing that occurs to me rather randomly is that this album seems to be far less sex and drug-obsessed than previous offerings - Brian seems more interested in relationship issues and cryptic but beautiful sounding couplets and lyrics. Don't know what that means for the band, but 'tis an observation nonetheless.
Anywho, as a final note, here's some youtubes for a couple of songs from said new album - enjoy!
For What It's Worth
Battle For The Sun
Keep it Ninja,
J
p.s. - If Brian does happen to be reading this - please stop changing your hair all the time! You looked perfectly good with the medium-long hair - keep it like that! Much appreciated.
p.p.s - Random bit of trivia - the song 'Ashtray Heart' is actually named after Brian's first band, formed with the bassist Stefan before they formed Placebo. So there you go!
And tonight we'll start it all again...
Urgh, man, what happened? Last thing I remember there was this old dude, and he was offering me candy, and then it all kinda gets hazy for about... 3 months. Anyways, I am back once again, victorious in the face of essays and fit and ready once again to fight the good fight in the name of good music and bad jokes. So, without any further delay, let's get down to business!
J
J
Monday 13 April 2009
a notice
as you've probably noticed, I haven't really been updating this blog in recent weeks. Blame lies in uni essays - I'm getting near the deadline for my MA essays, which has left me with very little free-time to work on this. So yeah, I doubt I'll get much done in the next month or so. If I get some free time, I'll try to put up some more entries, but most probably I'll be resurrecting it in June when the deadlines have come and gone.
Sorry,
J
Sorry,
J
Sunday 5 April 2009
A quick note...
Having just got back from seeing the Presidents of the USA, I have an announcement to make. Ok you ready?
If you're tall, please don't stand at the front of gigs.
Thank you for your attention on this grave matter. Full review of the Presidents gig coming soon as I've regained my hearing.
J
If you're tall, please don't stand at the front of gigs.
Thank you for your attention on this grave matter. Full review of the Presidents gig coming soon as I've regained my hearing.
J
Sunday 29 March 2009
The following is not an attempt to get into Jenny Lewis' pants... honestly...
So, after a hefty day at work and a quick break to remind myself how much I suck at Street Fighter IV, I guess it's time for another foray into bands which, due to the theory of hipster diminishing returns, are far less cooler now more people are interested in them. Up this go round is one probably most of you lot will have heard of, but I love them anyway, so here we go - Rilo Kiley.
Hailing from that big ol' mythical place over the ocean called the United States, Rilo Kiley are yet another indie rock band, though their sound would probably be closest called alt-country-indie-rock-pop-stuff. Their 2004 offering, 'More Adventurous' leant heavily the way of country, with one in particular ('I Never') almost sounding like something Dolly Parton would put out if she was feeling sorry for herself. But let that not put you off them, dear reader! The rest of the album shines with some truely wonderful tracks, ranging from quiet reflective tunes ('The Absence of God') to upbeat single-ready material ('Portions for Foxes'). Rilo Kiley are another of these bands that seem to swerve wildly around whatever song style happens to take thier fancy, but they are all linked by a wonderfully dark sense of humour in the songs. From a bitter take on the Bush administration (since this album came out during the period when it was cool to hate Bush) to a graveside rememberence of old loves to a random pondering of what would happen if your legs revolted against your brain.
This wonderful lyrical sense continued into their follow-up - 'Under The Blacklight', though they added another musical genre to their repertoire - disco. Again, please refrain from closing the browser now and hiding under the bed - it's not that bad! Many of the tracks have this wonderful laid-back groove to them - either that or they start sounding like a soundtrack for a porno - but a very relaxing porno! Add in some lovely gospel backing vocals, and you've got a good time!
right, i'm running out of words, so let's have some tunes. sadly, Rilo Kiley have been part of the great Youtube culling, so I've had to shop around for these ones - the quality isn't the best, so apologies...
Silver Lining
The Moneymaker (one of my favourite songs)
Portions for Foxes
One of the things you've probably noticed, especially of the last two, is the overtly sexual nature of the lyrics (and of lead singer Jenny Lewis). It's something a lot of commentators have picked up on, and even tried to turn into a bad thing. In my opinion, if you're going to go after anyone for overly sexual lyrics - go after glam rock bands! That particular herd could be thinned out one hell of a lot! Just stay away from Z.Z.Top, and I won't mind.
J
Hailing from that big ol' mythical place over the ocean called the United States, Rilo Kiley are yet another indie rock band, though their sound would probably be closest called alt-country-indie-rock-pop-stuff. Their 2004 offering, 'More Adventurous' leant heavily the way of country, with one in particular ('I Never') almost sounding like something Dolly Parton would put out if she was feeling sorry for herself. But let that not put you off them, dear reader! The rest of the album shines with some truely wonderful tracks, ranging from quiet reflective tunes ('The Absence of God') to upbeat single-ready material ('Portions for Foxes'). Rilo Kiley are another of these bands that seem to swerve wildly around whatever song style happens to take thier fancy, but they are all linked by a wonderfully dark sense of humour in the songs. From a bitter take on the Bush administration (since this album came out during the period when it was cool to hate Bush) to a graveside rememberence of old loves to a random pondering of what would happen if your legs revolted against your brain.
This wonderful lyrical sense continued into their follow-up - 'Under The Blacklight', though they added another musical genre to their repertoire - disco. Again, please refrain from closing the browser now and hiding under the bed - it's not that bad! Many of the tracks have this wonderful laid-back groove to them - either that or they start sounding like a soundtrack for a porno - but a very relaxing porno! Add in some lovely gospel backing vocals, and you've got a good time!
right, i'm running out of words, so let's have some tunes. sadly, Rilo Kiley have been part of the great Youtube culling, so I've had to shop around for these ones - the quality isn't the best, so apologies...
Silver Lining
The Moneymaker (one of my favourite songs)
Portions for Foxes
One of the things you've probably noticed, especially of the last two, is the overtly sexual nature of the lyrics (and of lead singer Jenny Lewis). It's something a lot of commentators have picked up on, and even tried to turn into a bad thing. In my opinion, if you're going to go after anyone for overly sexual lyrics - go after glam rock bands! That particular herd could be thinned out one hell of a lot! Just stay away from Z.Z.Top, and I won't mind.
J
Friday 27 March 2009
The Best Party Ever (again)
So, I just got back from seeing The Boy Least Likely To at Cargo in London. In short, an absolutely stonking gig. Here's the long version...
I've never been to Cargo before, but it's one of those tiny backroom venues of which London seems to have hundreds. This one was especially small, but it suited the band's sound perfectly, and it allowed everyone to get close to the band and still bounce around like mad things. While the band was setting up a couple of the members came on stage with armfuls of balloons and started throwing them at the audience - starting off a massive balloon fight that went on well into the set!
When they finally took the stage, they played a healthy mix of stuff off the new album, favourites from the old and a couple of b-sides and a storming cover of faith - "written by some guy a few years ago, but made famous by us!" This one was especially good since the guitarist and drummer seemed in cahoots, and kept hijacking the song to play 'smoke on the water' at every possible opportunity. They seemed to have kicked all the songs up a notch, and even the quiet 'my tiger my heart' was sung faster and with a lot more bite than the album version - I think I prefered the slower version, but it worked really well with every other song on the setlist.
The band seemed to be having a whale of a time up on stage - main dude Jef was bouncing around like a Tigger and one of the lasses had even made cake that she was dolling out to people (and she'd brought a cheese sandwich for herself!) I've been to gigs where the bands don't really seem into thier music or the performance (Athlete during the Tourist tour comes to mind) but this was different - every member of the band seemed to be truely loving being up on stage, and it really came across in thier performance.
So yeah, a fantasic gig from a truely talented band. Loved 'em!
J
I've never been to Cargo before, but it's one of those tiny backroom venues of which London seems to have hundreds. This one was especially small, but it suited the band's sound perfectly, and it allowed everyone to get close to the band and still bounce around like mad things. While the band was setting up a couple of the members came on stage with armfuls of balloons and started throwing them at the audience - starting off a massive balloon fight that went on well into the set!
When they finally took the stage, they played a healthy mix of stuff off the new album, favourites from the old and a couple of b-sides and a storming cover of faith - "written by some guy a few years ago, but made famous by us!" This one was especially good since the guitarist and drummer seemed in cahoots, and kept hijacking the song to play 'smoke on the water' at every possible opportunity. They seemed to have kicked all the songs up a notch, and even the quiet 'my tiger my heart' was sung faster and with a lot more bite than the album version - I think I prefered the slower version, but it worked really well with every other song on the setlist.
The band seemed to be having a whale of a time up on stage - main dude Jef was bouncing around like a Tigger and one of the lasses had even made cake that she was dolling out to people (and she'd brought a cheese sandwich for herself!) I've been to gigs where the bands don't really seem into thier music or the performance (Athlete during the Tourist tour comes to mind) but this was different - every member of the band seemed to be truely loving being up on stage, and it really came across in thier performance.
So yeah, a fantasic gig from a truely talented band. Loved 'em!
J
Wednesday 25 March 2009
Songs for 5 year old bipolar drug addicts...
Ah, 'The Boy Least Likely To', how we love thee! I thought I'd talk about these today, since I've got tickets to see them tomorrow (*does happy James dance*) so I'd thought I'd introduce them, then try and do a review of the gig tomorrow. Sound good? Ok, on we go...
Hailing from the middle of Buckinghamshire, the two musos that make up the band are responsible for some of the most infectiously happy pop I've come across in a long long time. Acoustic guitars, xylophones, banjos and a touch of bleepy-boop electro drive the tunes along, and their songs run from quiet acoustic numbers (the heart-breaking 'my tiger my heart') to full blown dance-around-looking-like-a-pillock tunes ('when life gives me lemons, I make lemonade').
As good as the music itself it is, the most noticible thing of this lot is the lyrics. As wierd an image as it might be, this is music written by a 5-year old bipolar drug addict. One minute lead singer Jof Owen will be singing about sticking pencils up his nose, then in the next breath he is complaining about how he will never amount to anything, before wandering back onto the topic of drug-abuse and fluffy toy animals. Lyrics like 'I know i look shiny and bouncy, but i'm all empty inside' (talking about a bright red balloon!) or 'I'm happy 'cause I'm stupid' just drive home the image of the band as a group of manic-depressives barely controlled by happy pills. I'm sure they're actually a lovely bunch of people, but i'm a sucker for slef-depricating lyrics, so I really like their style.
Their debut - 'The best party ever' was released waaaaaaay back in 2002, and they took their sweet time getting the follow-up out, but it was finally released this month. Once again it is a fantastic piece of work, with an emphasis on some truely beautiful violin lines. Lemme point you towards some of thier stuff, so you can make your own mind up -
Be Gentle With Me
Every Goliath Has Its David
A Balloon On A Broken String
Truly stonking stuff! I'd heartily recommend it to anyone when they're having a bad day - a little listen to these tunes will perk you right up!
J
Hailing from the middle of Buckinghamshire, the two musos that make up the band are responsible for some of the most infectiously happy pop I've come across in a long long time. Acoustic guitars, xylophones, banjos and a touch of bleepy-boop electro drive the tunes along, and their songs run from quiet acoustic numbers (the heart-breaking 'my tiger my heart') to full blown dance-around-looking-like-a-pillock tunes ('when life gives me lemons, I make lemonade').
As good as the music itself it is, the most noticible thing of this lot is the lyrics. As wierd an image as it might be, this is music written by a 5-year old bipolar drug addict. One minute lead singer Jof Owen will be singing about sticking pencils up his nose, then in the next breath he is complaining about how he will never amount to anything, before wandering back onto the topic of drug-abuse and fluffy toy animals. Lyrics like 'I know i look shiny and bouncy, but i'm all empty inside' (talking about a bright red balloon!) or 'I'm happy 'cause I'm stupid' just drive home the image of the band as a group of manic-depressives barely controlled by happy pills. I'm sure they're actually a lovely bunch of people, but i'm a sucker for slef-depricating lyrics, so I really like their style.
Their debut - 'The best party ever' was released waaaaaaay back in 2002, and they took their sweet time getting the follow-up out, but it was finally released this month. Once again it is a fantastic piece of work, with an emphasis on some truely beautiful violin lines. Lemme point you towards some of thier stuff, so you can make your own mind up -
Be Gentle With Me
Every Goliath Has Its David
A Balloon On A Broken String
Truly stonking stuff! I'd heartily recommend it to anyone when they're having a bad day - a little listen to these tunes will perk you right up!
J
Tuesday 24 March 2009
Sexy music for Sexy people - it's the New Pornographers!
Based out of fairest Canadia ,the New Pornographers draw their influences out of many different types of music, including rock, pop, jazz, folk and country, but the end result is eminently listenable Indie Rock. Lyrically they can be difficult to approach - they seem to grab hold of every idea that comes their way and jam it into the songs, occasionally causing a schizophrenia on par with The Beatles 'Day in the Life'. But somehow it all works. Happy clappy pop rubs shoulders with the dense ochestration of all those indie bands that take themselves too seriously (*cough*arcadefire*cough*).
They've released 3 or 4 albums as it stands, with the last two - 'Twin Cinema' and 'Challengers' being the most accessible of the lot. If forced at angry badger-point to choose, I'd have to pick 'Twin Cinema' - it ranks as one of my favourite albums of all time, and is responsible for me killing my hearing by playing "Use It" far too loud!
That seems like a decent point to throw some links your way
The afformentioned Use It
Sing Me Spanish Techno
and Challengers - the title track off their latest album
...pretty good, eh?
It would be totally remiss of me not to mention Neko Case when talking about the Pornos. All the members of the band have bands/solo careers of their own, but Case is one of the most famous. She also stands out since her solo stuff is extremely country-based - a million miles away from the tunes she sings with the rest of the group. Still, she brings to them some fantastic harmonies and excellent song-writing skills. I would have no doubt in saying 'go see them, hypothetical undecided blog-reader!', but that goes double if you're lucky enough to catch them when Neko is playing, since she seems to have an on/off relationship with them.
Anyways, they be good, so go listen!
J
They've released 3 or 4 albums as it stands, with the last two - 'Twin Cinema' and 'Challengers' being the most accessible of the lot. If forced at angry badger-point to choose, I'd have to pick 'Twin Cinema' - it ranks as one of my favourite albums of all time, and is responsible for me killing my hearing by playing "Use It" far too loud!
That seems like a decent point to throw some links your way
The afformentioned Use It
Sing Me Spanish Techno
and Challengers - the title track off their latest album
...pretty good, eh?
It would be totally remiss of me not to mention Neko Case when talking about the Pornos. All the members of the band have bands/solo careers of their own, but Case is one of the most famous. She also stands out since her solo stuff is extremely country-based - a million miles away from the tunes she sings with the rest of the group. Still, she brings to them some fantastic harmonies and excellent song-writing skills. I would have no doubt in saying 'go see them, hypothetical undecided blog-reader!', but that goes double if you're lucky enough to catch them when Neko is playing, since she seems to have an on/off relationship with them.
Anyways, they be good, so go listen!
J
Monday 23 March 2009
John Darnielle will have his revenge on Seattle!
So, I thought I'd start with a group that are very dear to my heart - the Mountain Goats. You may have heard of these guys - they've been around the indie rock scene for donkey's years, and have managed to garner a pretty decent following, though still remain pretty much unknown over this side of the ocean (oh yeah - did I mention I'm based in the UK? No? Well now you know!)
As anyone who's taken a listen to them will tell you, the main hook with these guys is emotion. Lead singer/song-writer/head honcho for the band John Darnielle comes from a troubled childhood, and he takes all the crap he's gone through and uses it as ammunition for his tunes. Sometimes this can make it very hard music to listen to - anyone not happy with the idea of child abuse, drugs and broken families should probably stay away from them if you're feeling in a sensitive mood. That is not to throw them away as melodramatic - his troubles lend Darnielle a real power to his voice - here is someone who has been through hell, and has come out the otherside intact, and refuses to bow down to anything that tries to screw him up anymore.
Anyways, preaching aside, here's the lowdown on the music - the Goats are mostly about cut down acoustic work. Most tracks revolve around Darnielle's vocals and guitar work punctuated by sparce drum and bass by the other members of the band. In the last couple of albums they've been experimenting with a more electric sound, and a fuller band have brought them along since the earlier albums which sound like they were recorded in a garage while Darinelle played whatever happened to come into his head.
Hmm... this is starting to sound waaaay to Wikipedia-ish, isn't it? Tell you what - i'm just gonna go give you some tunes to have a listen to - go give them a shot will you? I'll wait...
This Year
Sax Rohmer #1
No Children
...back again? Did you like 'em?
I was lucky enough to see these guys live 1/2 a year ago, and I must say it was one of the most powerful gigs I've ever been to - two parts fantastic music, two parts John Darnielle's fantastically self-depricating sense of humour, and one part therapy session!
If you wanna listen to some more of them, have a hunt down of some of thier more recent albums - they're probably the most accessible of the lot. Specifically I'd recommend 'We Shall All Be Healed' and thier latest - 'Heretic Pride'. Check them out - you won't be dissapointed!
Keep it Ninja,
J
huh, well that went smoother than expected! Maybe this blogging lark won't be as difficult as I'd first thought... now I've just gotta tighten up my rambling so it's actually good. Oh well, no-one's actually reading at the moment, so I can continue to witter like this for a while longer... gotta stop talking like a secondary-school music teacher as well...
As anyone who's taken a listen to them will tell you, the main hook with these guys is emotion. Lead singer/song-writer/head honcho for the band John Darnielle comes from a troubled childhood, and he takes all the crap he's gone through and uses it as ammunition for his tunes. Sometimes this can make it very hard music to listen to - anyone not happy with the idea of child abuse, drugs and broken families should probably stay away from them if you're feeling in a sensitive mood. That is not to throw them away as melodramatic - his troubles lend Darnielle a real power to his voice - here is someone who has been through hell, and has come out the otherside intact, and refuses to bow down to anything that tries to screw him up anymore.
Anyways, preaching aside, here's the lowdown on the music - the Goats are mostly about cut down acoustic work. Most tracks revolve around Darnielle's vocals and guitar work punctuated by sparce drum and bass by the other members of the band. In the last couple of albums they've been experimenting with a more electric sound, and a fuller band have brought them along since the earlier albums which sound like they were recorded in a garage while Darinelle played whatever happened to come into his head.
Hmm... this is starting to sound waaaay to Wikipedia-ish, isn't it? Tell you what - i'm just gonna go give you some tunes to have a listen to - go give them a shot will you? I'll wait...
This Year
Sax Rohmer #1
No Children
...back again? Did you like 'em?
I was lucky enough to see these guys live 1/2 a year ago, and I must say it was one of the most powerful gigs I've ever been to - two parts fantastic music, two parts John Darnielle's fantastically self-depricating sense of humour, and one part therapy session!
If you wanna listen to some more of them, have a hunt down of some of thier more recent albums - they're probably the most accessible of the lot. Specifically I'd recommend 'We Shall All Be Healed' and thier latest - 'Heretic Pride'. Check them out - you won't be dissapointed!
Keep it Ninja,
J
huh, well that went smoother than expected! Maybe this blogging lark won't be as difficult as I'd first thought... now I've just gotta tighten up my rambling so it's actually good. Oh well, no-one's actually reading at the moment, so I can continue to witter like this for a while longer... gotta stop talking like a secondary-school music teacher as well...
Wednesday 18 March 2009
Hello, and Welcome
Well hello there peoples of the internet. Guess I should probably do some introducing. My name's James, and I'm a musician cunningly disguised as a post-grad student. Been interested in this whole blogging malarky for a while, and finally got persuaded a while ago by a friend of mine to start one up myself, so here we are.
I do my own music, yeah, but i'm gonna try and stay as far away from that as possible. I'm not here to promote my own music - there be other avenues for that. No, I'm gonna talk about the music that interests me - gig and album reviews, general musings and anything that pops into my brain. Part of the reason for me starting this was to try and introduce people to music they wouldn't otherwise listen to - the sorts that don't make XFM and kinda fall by the wayside ready to be discovered. But don't worry, I'm not gonna go all indie-elitest on you. But if I can get some people listening to some new bands, then job done!
So, hello and welcome! Hope you'll enjoy the ride!
J
I do my own music, yeah, but i'm gonna try and stay as far away from that as possible. I'm not here to promote my own music - there be other avenues for that. No, I'm gonna talk about the music that interests me - gig and album reviews, general musings and anything that pops into my brain. Part of the reason for me starting this was to try and introduce people to music they wouldn't otherwise listen to - the sorts that don't make XFM and kinda fall by the wayside ready to be discovered. But don't worry, I'm not gonna go all indie-elitest on you. But if I can get some people listening to some new bands, then job done!
So, hello and welcome! Hope you'll enjoy the ride!
J
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