Third verse same as the first....

When the Goo Goo Dolls first let slip that they were recording a new album, 4 years after the last offering 'Let Love In', there was alot of talk about being rockier, stripped-down, even darker. As someone who has a great love of the Goos, i was damn excited by the prospect of a return to the heavier, punkier sound that shone through their earlier albums. Well now 'Something For The Rest Of Us', the 9th album from the band, is with us. Does it hold up to the scrutiny fans are going to pile on it? Let's find out!

The first track 'Sweetest Lie', bursts over you in much the same way as 'Stay with You' started off the previous album - a brilliant rush of pop-rock filled with the standard Goos lyrics - love, loss and all that jazz. It's a good start to an album that actually starts to fulfill the promises of a rockier return-to-form. Then the next track, 'As I Am' kicks in. It's a step down from the opener - a mid-tempo 'thank you for loving me' number, but still engaging enough to keep the attention.

Now I'm not going to go through an exaustive list of the songs, but the bottom line is that, if you're a fan of the Goos, you're going to find a lot to like about this album. The instrumentation never really moves away from the standard vocals/guitar/bass/drums malarky, but they have never been a band to mess about with accordions or bagpipes. However, as the album played through, I couldn't help but notice a real lack of actual rock songs. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of moments - the electric solos come thick and fast, and the distortion never loses it's edge. But the majority of tunes lack the 'darker' edge that was promised: lyrically they revolve around the same love-and-loss vein frontman Jon Rzeznik has been mining... well since 'Name' first introduced a mellow side no-one had seen up 'til then. Then again, i'm not entirely sure lyrically the Goos aren't 'dark' anyway - the ratio of sadness to upbeat is pretty bleak, with songs ranging from despairing of life ('Big Machine') to outright bitchyness (the beautifully cutting post-divorce song 'Sympathy'). The band flirts with some more mature orchestration - lead single 'home' uses a cut-down minor verse, surprisingly effective despite the rather camp use of 80s synth, while the closer 'soldier' is a downbeat extensive metaphor comparing a life collapsing with a soldier in the trenches. But frankly, it seems like Rzeznik and his boys are incapable of keeping a lid on the bouncy harmony-laden melodies, and throughout the album's more melancholy sections there is always a sing-along chorus waiting in the wings to jump out and turn the song into a hands-in-the-air singalong.

One of the best descriptions I ever heard of Snow Patrol was that they were stuck in 'arena-rock purgatory' - churning out the same basic tune because it sold records, not because it was what the wanted to play. I honestly have thought at times that the Goos are held down by the same chains - 'Name' and 'Iris' were such massive hits, and so different from their typical output at the time, that they basically shackled the band to inoffensive pop that is full of lyrical emotion and no... I hate to use the word 'soul', since it seems soo cliche, but it honestly fits. Some tracks out of the last few albums have been so transparently trying to cash in off 'Iris''s popularity that you can't help but feel something else than musical love is pushing Rzeznik's songwriting pen.

I realise that last paragraph sounds amazingly harsh on the band, but it was not meant as that - apart from a choice few I have enjoyed nearly all of the post-Iris output. It's just... when you put it up against the early albums there is little doubt that their sound has strayed out of the rock it once inhabited, and firmly into the pop territory. That's what this album is - despite all attempts to the contrary, it's a pop album. And I'm ok with that, but I can't find myself wondering what would have happened if they'd really let rip and pushed back against the legacy Iris left them with...

Admittedly a large portion of this feeling is fueled by the bonus tracks: a pair of covers. 'Postcard from Paradise' is a Paul Westerburg number, that bounces like Bon Jovi at his happiest, with just the lightest touch of harmonica. 'Rough Boys', on the other hand, is almost worth the price of admission alone. If (when!) you get the album, I suggest grabbing the special edition off iTunes, or somewhere that has this track attached. It is both hands down the rockiest track on the album, and the best. A cover of a Pete Townsend tune, it quite simply rocks. It reminds you what the band can do when they put their mind to it, and is well worth tracking down however you do it.

In the end it has to come down to whether the album is worth getting. And I have to say yes. Definitely. It's well worth the money, unless you have a crippling aversion to listening to light rock. Just try not to think too hard about where that darker, edgier album we were promised went...

On the nature of rocking and/or rolling...

When you start to look at a history of rock, certain names have a lot of weight, predominantly ‘cause they’ve been around since the dinosaurs (and The Rolling Stones) roamed the earth. Iron Maiden. Status Quo. Bon Jovi, Metalllica. AC/DC – bands with discographies longer than a small novel, and normally sharing 10 drug addictions and 4 brain cells between the lot of them. A while ago I was reminded of the existence of the later of these when I finally got around to catching Robert Dowry Jr.’s latest adventure in red metal and alcoholism. People made a big thing of Iron Man 2’s reliance on AC/DC music, and it spurred me to check out the latest offering from everyone’s favourite Australian hard-rocking siblings (no, not those ones. Or those ones)

So, for those of you far to busy to read the whole thing, I have a simple question. Did you like Back in Black? Do you enjoy rocking and/or rolling? In which case, get this album (although you probably already have, since I’m admittedly a touch late to the party. In which case, good job! Go listen!) For everyone else, here’s the long version…

The first thing you notice upon picking up a copy of ‘Black Ice’, their most recent (2008) album, is the names. ‘Rock ‘n Roll Train’, ‘War Machine’, ‘Spoiling for a fight’, ‘She likes Rock n’ Roll’. It’s clear that old age and nearly a decade out of the studio, have not mellowed their outlook on life, nor their propensity to write songs about exactly two subjects - rock and women. We’re on familiar territory here, and the band knows it, playing to their strengths and creating an album as familiar as it is heavy. There is not a touch of over-production, and few fancy tricks. From the fast-paced opener of ‘Rock n’ Roll Train’ to the dirty blues crunch of ‘Stormy May Day’, the album is uncomplicated straight-up rock. And actually, it’s very refreshing. In a time when you can’t release an album without some strange synth elements, or incorporating the sounds of an obscure aboriginal tribe because it makes you a ‘proper’ musician, it’s a pleasant feeling to find an album that never tries to trick you, and doesn’t require a PhD in music nerdery to properly appreciate. This is straight up rock – the guitars never dip below ‘very distorted’ and it’s full of big, sing-along choruses that follow AC/DC’s age-old tradition of repeating the name of the song 5 times over. As ever, blues rock is the order of the day, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t branched out just a little bit. ‘Anything Goes’ is far mellower than much else they’ve put out. I wouldn’t call it a ballad by any stretch of the imagination, but it definitely owes alot to the likes of Bon Jovi – creamy reverb-laden guitar and met-her-in-a-bar lyrics. ‘Stormy May Day’ moves the formula in the opposite direction, using dirty slide to invoke a delta-blues feel. These kind of cuts provide nice distractions from the main affair, and help make the album feel far less like 15 copies of exactly the same song.

However, there is no escaping the fact that this is a band who see no need to escape the niche they’ve found for themselves. When you pick up this album, you know exactly what you’re getting into – pretty much exactly the same deal as the 15,000 albums that have come before. For most bands, this would be a deal-breaker – no-one wants to pay again for exactly the same songs. But AC/DC seem to be immune from such criticism – maybe it’s because they’ve been around for so long that they’ve got a free pass. Maybe it’s just because they are very good at what they do. This album doesn’t try to change anything that doesn’t need changing, and it makes no apologies for leaning heavily on its history. You can teach an old dog new tricks, but sometimes you don’t need to. Sometimes the tricks it’s known for years are still good enough for one more go around. So it is with ‘Black Ice’. Pick it up, crank it up loud and enjoy. Save your brain cells for the next pretentious indie album that takes itself far too seriously.

Gig review roundup - Part 1: James Murphy's electronic circus and the Adventures of the Sleepiest Icelander in London

Many things have happened over the last while, several of them gig related! In the interests of not taxing the magical gnomes that run the internet too hard, I'm splitting them into 2 sections. First up, LCD Soundsystem and Seabear!


LCD Soundsystem


Y'know, there's something to be said for small bands, and small gigs. Small bands tend to be immediate: no wibbling around with endless set-ups and checks. I was thinking this as LCD were stopped the show for the second time to poke at various medical looking monitors and twiddle dials - the electronica equivalent of making sure your hair is perfectly tussled and your jeans tight enough! James Murphy is a veteran of the scene, and it really showed in his attitude. This was a dude not to be flustered by anything the world could throw at him - technical failures were met with a slight shrug and a casual amble over to fix things, and when things weren't exactly right, he just re-started the song so they were. After what seemed like an age they finally got into the swing of it, and god damn was it worth it!


Murphy has stated several times that this would be LCD's last album, so this was something of a swansong for the band - not that you could tell in the nonchalant attitude of the members. Throwing out hits like so much candy, LCD went through an equal measure of new songs and classics. It seemed though that most people were here for the old stuff - lead single "Drunk Girls" was met with cheers and screams, but the reaction seemed almost muted for that off the new album. Or perhaps that was just because the crowd went absolutely nuts every time a song off the first two albums came on. Starting with not one, but two renditions of "Us vs. Them", Murphy and crew headed though a large portion of Sound of Silver, arguably their best album. "All My Friends" stole my heart, and "Someone Great" was given a poignant turn when Murphy dedicated it to several fans who had lost loved ones recently - a surprisingly tender moment that endeared the guy to me. As the band wound down, then came the moment most people had been waiting for - the familiar start of "Daft Punk is playing in my house" - a fantastic version that deafened just about everyone in the place! But stealing the show completely was the final song of the night, a 10-minute rendition of 'New York I love you, but you're bringing me down" that rose like a storm through the whole venue - the perfect way to end a gig!


Given Murphy's background as a producer, it's unsurprising that the sound was immaculate. Heck it should have been - he spent 1/2 the show wandering away from the mike twiddling dials! The visuals were also very well presented - there was a hefty lighting rig at the back throwing out blinding patterns, a laser light-show making it feel kinda like a rave, and even a glitterball! (yay!). The one black mark against the gig would probably have been the lack of involvement with the other members - i guess it's the price to pay for being tied behind hefty electronics, but the band weren't really lively, and mostly just seemed content to put their heads down and get on with it. But when they're putting out music like that, I'm really in no position to complain!


Seabear


If LCD was the pinnacle of high-maintenance, high-profile gigs, then it's hard to imagine a more polar opposite than Icelandic troupe Seabear, seen upstairs in the Garage in Camden. I reckon there were probably no more that 100-150 people there in total, maybe less. It felt very exclusive - like some fabled hipster Shangri-La only known by the select few. The placid blue lighting and atmospheric music definitely aided that particular image - I felt my indie cred rising just walking into the joint! Taking the stage, the first thing that hit me was how big the band were - 7 members crammed onto a tiny stage that felt the same size as a bus-stop! I spent the entire gig waiting for one of them to accidentally knock the others out with a mistimed bass swing, but it never happened. They must have practised alot!


Anyway, the music. Heading into this gig, I did idly wonder how loud they would be - bands have a tendency to ratchet it up a few notches live, but Seabear are so quiet anyway -  I didn't know if it would make a difference. They really surprised me though - they knew how to rock out! Granted, this wasn't exactly Slayer, but there were definitely some sneaky electric guitar solos thrown in when no-one was looking, and the more upbeat songs like "Softship" really benefited from the extra umph! Special mention has to be given to the violinist - "Arms" was the first song I heard of them, and it was the violin that really endeared me to them. Seeing them live made me realise just how fantastic her playing is - it really pulled the band together, and baring the vocals, was the stand-out element of the band. The horn and trumpet played a surprisingly muted part, as did the electric guitar (apart from a couple of excellent solos!); in fact, the whole band kinda seemed to be asleep! I don't mean that in a bad way (sorta), but they really did seem to be suffering from lack of sleep - lead singer Sindri Sigfússon (thank you Wiki!) kept closing his eyes like he was trying to catch quick naps in between lines, and I'm pretty sure the brass player did nod off for a brief period! Either that or they were ill - I found out that they actually had to cancel the next show, so it's quite possible! 


Finally, it would be terribly remiss of me not to mention the opening band. Seabear are one of those bands that like to support themselves it seems - their keyboardist Sóley Stefánsdóttir had just put out her solo EP, so she performed as the opener, backed by a few members of the main band. Though her stuff was very good, it was possibly a bit too laid back for a live gig - I very nearly fell asleep during it! Still, I have to take my hat off to anyone with the courage to break away from a band and do their own thing, and she's definitely doing it well!

Let's get this show back on the road!

Ok, so you know the drill:- blah blah exams blah blah final essays blah blah no time etc. Thankfully they are all out of the way now - academia coming to a close! Still, that gives me more time to write for this blog - I've got a nice lineup of gigs, albums reviews and general random claptrap to (hopefully) entertain you!

So here... we... GO!

Into the Heart of Darkness...

Sometimes, in the course of life, bad things happen. Sometimes they happen for a reason. Sometimes it is pre-ordained. Sometimes it is just bad luck. Well, such a terrible fate was waiting for me at a seemingly innocent gig about a month ago. It has taken me this long just to work through all the trauma of that horrible night. A night that I now feel duty-bound to share with you. To save you, should you find yourself in the same position.

Sit down, gentle readers, and let me tell you a tale...

I was up in Birmingham with an old friend of mine to see A.F.I - by all accounts a cracking band live, and there was much anticipation. The pub we were in was kinda dead, so hoping to grab some good places we headed to the Academy. Little did we know that inside this innocent looking building lurked a terrible darkness. Arriving just as the first opening act were winding down, we grabbed a beer, found some spaces, and settled down to wait out the second act before AFI took the stage. Then began the longest 1/2 hour of my life...

The band was called 'Sick Of It All', and without resorting to cheap jokes, I was. Within about 3 chords. Imagine if you will, dear audience, all the worst parts of metal thrown together. The guitarist was sporting a fake blond mohawk. The bassist looked like a frat party had thrown up on him. The singer had enough ink to put a cartographer to shame. And the drummer... well I can't actually quite remember what the drummer looked like, but in the best tradition of metal drummers, I'm going to assume he looked like the Missing Link.  This was a bad first impression, to say the least, but a band can play good music without good fashion sense? right?

The actual music was basically what you could have expected from a band called 'Sick of it All'. Distortion, fast guitar and screaming. Lots and lots of screaming. The singer's vocal chords must have looked like they'd been through a cheesegrater by the end of the set. From the moment the song started, to the final note, he screamed. If he wasn't screaming, he was pumping his arms trying to get the audience to do the same. And we're not talking about good screaming either. AFI have some screaming, and they can get away with it because it's not too bad - they make it work and they switch it up alot with actual melodic singing. This singer did not stop screaming once. Like literally, there was not a normal recognisable note in the entire set. His voice sounded like a bear with throat cancer. It sounded like an angry squirrel doing Tom Waits impressions.  As you might be able to tell, this was not good singing. You would not find this in a textbook on 'How to Sing'. Except with a big red cross through it. And maybe some skulls for good measure.

As for the songs themselves, well who can tell? Apparently there were some lyrics there, but I honestly couldn't tell - the only word I made out in the whole set was 'die'. And that's only because it was repeated quite alot. So, with the power vested in me, I'm going to declare that all thier songs were heartfelt confessions of their eternal love for puppy dogs, rainbows and big happy smiles. Yeah, that's the ticket - makes me feel much better...

I realise this review is a touch one sided, so I should probably be a bit positive about the music... well the drummer wasn't too bad. He must have had biceps like steel girders to keep up with all the double-time machine-gun drumming going on! And the guitarist... well he certainly knew how to turn on a distortion pedal. I'm just not too sure if he knew how to turn if off again.

I could go on, but I think I've made my point. By the end of the set I couldn't take it anymore - despite my love of metal as a genre, I had to go hide in the loos until the buggers had stopped playing. I did not realise it when I first passed through that dark portal, but that night saw the end of a quest I did not even know I was undertaking. This was not just a bad opening band, gentle readers, no. They were the bad opening band. And somehow, I feel a cold comfort in knowing that things may never be as bad as that dark, dark 30 minutes. I have weathered the storm of terrible thrash-metal, faced up to the demons of god-awful fashion choices. I have endured a band so bad they overcome my abilities to metaphor about just how bad they were. And I have come out stronger. Let it be known, dear readers, that I do such things to warn you from being caught in such a foul trap as I was.

Goodnight.


AFI were good though

More Icelandic warblings by the worlds leading ice-flow hipster

I have a suspicion that there is a correlation between the sound of a band, and the sort of surroundings they see when they look out the window. Built up affluent cities lead to fast, insistent tunage.  More industrial townships (like the German old-school metalworking towns) lead to slower, more pounding beats. When you start to move out into the country, the pace of life slows down, and so does the music – there is a greater sense of peace, as well as the constant danger of banjo attack* But the point of this rambling theory is Iceland. Iceland seems to be a magical place, full of wonder and a pearlescent sheen that covers everything like a cross between a travel agents and a perfume advert. I say this because all the music that comes out of Iceland is beauty incarnate – melodies so delicate they feel like they would break if you even looked at them; singing so ethereal that you’re pretty sure the singer isn’t entirely human. Bjork, Sigur Ros, Seabear... the best word I can think to sum them all up is atmospheric. Two new albums have dropped out of Iceland recently, so I thought it high time to give the Icelanders some love! So here is part one, ‘Go’ by Jonsi

I don’t blame you if you don’t immediately recognise the name of Jonsi. But queue up any of his songs, and you’ll certainly recognise his sound – close your eyes and you could swear blind you were listening to a Sigur Ros album. And you’d be pretty much right – Jonsi (real name Jón Þór Birgisson, according to the wonders of Wikipedia) is the lead singer of Sigur Ros, a band well known for creating music so beautiful it makes Helen of Troy look like Gordon Brown on a bad hair day. ‘Go’ is his first solo effort, and is as beautiful and meticulously crafted a record as you’d expect from the one responsible for Sigur Ros’ delicate melodies. Starting with the upbeat duo of ‘Go Do’ and ‘Animal Arithmetic’, the 9 tracks making up Go show a far greater emphasis on pop than Sigur Ros - most of the cuts have a renewed urgency about them that will be quite refreshing to anyone tired of 9-minute minimalist epics. But make no mistake, this is still Sigur Ros through and through. Indeed, taking the two side-by-side, it becomes clear that Jonsi is the main force behind Sigur Ros’ songwriting – the ethereal harmonies, the stratospheric vocals... this is a Sigur Ros album by any other name. Compare for instance the beautifully quiet and delicate "Grow Til Tall" with Sigur Ros’ equally lovely “Svefn-g-englar” – the stylistic similarities are very clear. Jonsi has swapped things up this time around though – as I mentioned earlier the stronger focus on pop lends itself to more upbeat tunes than his main band, and you’ll definitely find yourself falling asleep less through this album! ‘Go’ also sees Jonsi experimenting more with different languages – Sigur Ros famously wrote sang several of their albums in a made up language called ‘Hopelandic’ – a kind of bastardisation of Icelandic and gibberish. It’s undeniable that it added to the mystery and beauty of the songs, but it also formed a barrier between the band and the listeners. You couldn’t become as involved with the songs, because the vocals became just another layer of texture, rather than an anchor or a story holding the framework of the music together. ‘Go’ sees him singing more in his native Icelandic (which he also did for the latest Sigur Ros – clearly he's forgotten how to speak Hopelandic!) and with increasing snatches of English – ‘Tornado’ talks of the protagonist exploding like a volcano and laying waste to everything as a tornado, and while it’s still difficult to follow the thread of the stories (if indeed any do exist) it helps create a feeling that you actually know a bit of what's going on inside his head.

I guess my recommendation on this album comes down to a simple question - do you like Sigur Ros? If you like them, you will like this album, simple as that. It's a wonderful distillation of what makes Sigur Ros fantastic, while eliminating some of the gumpf that may have turned people away from them in the past. And if you don't like Sigur Ros... well then have a listen anyway - it's also a fantastic pop record in it's own right.

Tune in next week (or whenever I manage to get round to it) and I'll take you through "We Built A Fire" by Seabear! See you there!


* herds of wild banjos are a common sight throughout the heavily rural areas of the US, as well as parts of Cornwall and Norfolk. While weak individually, they are deadly in packs

And tonight, for your listening pleasure...

Finishing that review of 'Heaven Is Whenever', I suddenly realised that I hadn't included any music links for you to listen to. This must be rectified post haste!

Constructive Summer - fantastic song, fantastic piano. Surprisingly uplifting

Chillout Tent - Drugs drugs drugs. And oranges. And a rather creative video!

Hurricane J - the big tune off 'Heaven is Whenever'

And finally The Weekenders - another one off the new album. Possibly my second-favourite on the album, the tune is simply fantastic. And he seems so damn happy!

Make with the clickies!

In which a singer who looks like someone's dad starts acting like it...

 The Hold Steady deal in tableaux. Now onto their 5th Album, the New York band have cornered the market in indie-rock snapshots of drugs, booze and sexed-up 20-somethings in Manhattan. So I came at their latest offering, ‘Heaven is Whenever’ expecting another 12 tales of drug overdoses, hangovers and one-night stands that made their previous albums so damn enjoyable. But something strange is afoot on this LP. It creeps up on you slowly, and isn’t obvious at first glance, but the unthinkable has happened.

The Hold Steady have grown up.

The songs still have the same driving rock and the melodies are still razor sharp (with one serious caveat – I’ll get to that in a moment), but the songwriting has definitely taken a different turn. Take lead single ‘Hurricane J’, where singer Craig Finn advises that it’s better to be “22 and banging round in restaurants than 22 and banging round in bars”... Seriously? Is this the same man who sang about getting so smashed on drugs at a festival that he passed out, woke up in the medical tent and started making out with the first girl he saw? (‘Chillout Tent’) Or who described his marijuana trip as “starting in a vestibule and ending in a hospital”? (‘Hot Soft Light’) You find the same ideas throughout – the fantastic ‘Soft in the Center’ finds him giving some surprisingly zen relationship advice to a guy just starting on dating “I know what you’re going through. I had to go through that too”, while ‘Barely Breathing’ has the band firing salvos against the overly violent nature of mosh-pit shows. It seems that the Hold Steady have finally started to mature a little bit. It’s a strange change, and at times the transition is rather jarring – the aforementioned Barely Breathing comes off as just too preachy – but it’s a surprisingly strong and coherent album. The only track that harks back lyrically to their old songs is ‘Rock Problems’, which sees Finn back on his old stomping grounds – a party in Brooklyn where the music is loud and the drink is strong. But even here his new-found maturity invades – Finn finds himself cornered by a fan who asks if he was drunk at a previous show “since some kids from the net said the sound kinda sucked”. But it safely passes, and he goes back to being drunk again.

So outside of this strange new world, how is the album as a whole? In a word: Fantastic. In two: Bloody Fantastic. The centre of the Hold Steady has always been Finn and his beautifully human way with words. This new mature approach to lyrics has been greatly helped by a renewed emphasis on actually singing – in previous albums Finn has half sung, half spoke his lyrics to rather mixed results (in my view at least – I know some people love his delivery). Heaven is Whenever sees him making a far more conscious effort to actually sing, and the results help drive the songs along better. There is still a healthy streak of D.I.Y Punk running through the band, but this time around it is counterbalanced by a more professional sheen, no doubt in part brought on by some serious mainstream appeal after hits like ‘Constructive Summer’. Which, sadly, brings me to the one downside of this album. The previous albums have been bolstered by some truly stupendous piano work by Franz Nikolay, and his piano lines helped make songs like ‘Constructive Summer’ or ‘Stuck Between Stations’ into amazing tunes. Sadly he left the band before this album, and it really shows. There is a far stronger emphasis on guitar, but the hole left by Nikolay’s departure still gapes. As I was listening to the album, I kept waiting for the beautiful piano lines to sweep in. There are still some good keyboard parts from his replacement, and the melodies on the whole are amazing, but I can’t help thinking how much more fantastic a song like ‘The Weekenders’ would be with their old pianist at the keys. Also the album does deflate just a touch with the softer ‘We Can Get Together’ in the centre – it’s a lovely song, and the sentiments are touchingly sad, but it just goes on a touch too long.

Admittedly though, I’m nitpicking. Heaven is Whenever is a fantastic album, and one that deserves some seriously play from anyone with a love of rock. The more mature direction, while surprising, really helps the album as a whole. Let us hope they continue on such a strain! Go, grab it. You won’t be disappointed. Unless you were expecting the CD case to be full of strippers or something. Then you will be disappointed. Sorry.

An american, a welshman and a scot walk into a bar...

What is it about country music that just attracts bitchyness and depression? It seems like the minute you pick up a slide guitar, suddenly the world becomes full of dark storm clouds and killer sharks. One day I shall create a band that plays nothing but totally happy, non-ironic country music, and the world shall spontaneously explode with joy and awesomeness!

Anyway, rant done. The reason for this late-afternoon bitchery is a morning spent listening to Sparrow and the Workshop, a rather fantastic multi-national country band. I saw them supporting Idlewild, and I must say there were one of the most impressive opening bands I've seen in a very long while. A three piece based in Glasgow, but hailing from all over the place, they play the sort of highly-emotional alt-country that would make Neko Case sit up and take notice. The main lass definitely came across as a 'sparrow' - quiet almost to a fault and consistantly thanking us for listening to them and not throwing anything. But when the drums started up, I was amazed to find this tiny american had a voice that swapped easily between a delicate squeak to a full throated roar, was simply fantastic - easily making her presence felt despite a rather sub-standard PA setup. The rest of the band supported her fantastically - the bassist swapping between instruments to add to the texture, and the drummer backing her vocals was some beautifully placed harmonies. I have an immense respect for any drummers that manage to sing while they're playing - i've played just enough drums to recognise what an absolute bastard of a job this is! So he gets full marks not just for managing to balance both at once, but make it look so damn easy at the same time!

Musically, they are heavily based in the sort of powerful country championed by the best of the american alt-country crowd - the aformentioned Neko Case springs best to mind, but also The National and london-based crooners The Smoke Fairies (who, if you haven't listened to them already, track down - they're amazing!). 3/4 time signatures, minor harmonies and slide guitar is the order of the day, overlaid with her delicate vocals, and just a touch of southern-twang to make it more authentic (Glasgow not being the hub of Nashville country that some people take it for!) The lyrics are entrenched firmly in the staples of country music - lost loves, unhappiness, unfaithfulness, general bitchery, etc. The power of the music matches the dark nature of the lyrics, with songs frequently starting softly and rising to a storm as life falls apart for the protagonists.

They're a small band at the moment, but gaining momentum rapidly and fully worthy of a breakthrough when their full album is released in a few weeks. Keep your eyes on these ones, especially if you like Mumford & Sons, Neko Case or alt-country goodness in general. Have a few links to have a listen - they're fully worth it!

Into The Wild

Devil Song

I Will Break You

Happy listening!

Bitesize album reviews for the gentry!

So, I thought the best way of resurrecting this ol' musical endeavour was by rounding up and doing mini-reviews some of the best albums I've been listening to over the last few months. So without further ado, I'm going to look at 3 of my favourite for 2009 - 'Lungs' by Florence & the Machine, 'Conditions' by the Temper Trap, and Passion Pit's debut slice of disco-rock goodness, 'Manners'. All debuts, and all absolutely fantastic! Right, onward!


Florence + the Machine "Lungs"

What's really left to add that hasn't been said already? This one has been winning accolades left right and centre, and with very good reason! The songwriting is top-notch - an excellent mix of pop, soul and rock with just the smallest touch of disco. Powerful drumming, heavy on the toms, lend a pounding, darkly-manic bend to the fantastically gripping 'Drumming Song' and drive along the lead single of 'Dog Days are Over'. The guitar work is light and low in the mix, while the occasional string line adds an ethereal quality to several numbers, most noticeably 'blinding', where it builds to a beautiful crescendo over the course of the song.

All of this is great, of course, but the real clincher for the album is there in the title - Florence Welch. She is the driving force behind the album, and really turns it from simply a good album into one of the best of the year. Over the course of the running time her voice goes from a soft lullaby ('I'm not Calling You A Liar') to harsh, soaring blues ('Girl With One Eye'), to triumphant gospel (a fantastic cover of 'You've Got The Love') all with equal skill. No doubt about it, the titular 'lungs' of the album belong to her, and they are amazing! That girl can sing.

But outside of her vocal skills, there is a surprisingly mature, and dark, lyrical edge to the songs. Below the soaring melodies lie songs about detachment, loss, bitterness and a general obsession with less pleasant areas of human nature. Nowhere is this more obvious than the beautifully bitchy 'Girl With One Eye', where Florence tells of mutilating a lady because she seduced her man. Here the guitar work is used to wondrous effect - slightly off-kilter Spanish/blues melodies keep the listener off guard and a beautiful string scratch symbolising the knife going in makes me wince even now! And while we're at it, there is the rather excellent 'Kiss With A Fist', which sounds like Jack White if he got up on the wrong side of the bed!

T'be honest I don't really have much bad to say on this album. Some of the bonus tracks get a little bit shaky, and thank you iTunes, I don't need 3 different versions of 'Dog Days', but outside of that, 'tis pretty damn fantastic. Go listen!


The Temper Trap "Conditions"

Sometimes first impressions can be very misleading. I first saw, and heard of, The Temper Trap while tagging along with a friend to the free festivals iTunes were running over the summer. When I listened to them, I wasn't blown away. They were ok, yeah, but not exactly oral sex and cookies. Looking back, I think the blame lies alot on the sound system - the vocals were swampy and the guitar hardly cut through at all. Also they were playing with Mumford and Sons that night, which is a completely mismatched pair if I ever saw one! Anyway, sometime later they started getting some airplay, and I decided to give them a second try, so found myself a copy of 'Conditions' on Spotify and sat back to listen. Next day I bought the album.

Though it may sound weird, the first thing I thought of listening to this album is a song called 'Emotion Sickness' by fellow Aussie grungers Silverchair. If you haven't heard it, go search it out on Youtube - it's a fantastic little tune. It's a slow-burning, emotionally powerful number that takes time to get to the punch, but when it does, it's second to none. Temper Trap's album is similar to this - several of the songs take a long time to get going, but the pay off is worth it. Tunes like Resurrection almost sound like Tool songs, building up layers of drums and heavily reverbed guitars until it all comes crashing down, in the best way possible.

This isn't always a plus point though - several songs (Soldier On being the worst offender) are over-extended to the point of stagnation. But when it works, boy does it ever work well.

As I said, Temper Trap are one of these bands heavily reliant on effects and production. The sound is big - far bigger than the 4 of them sound like they could make, but it works very well given the nature of the songwriting. The lead singer frequently reaches dog-whistle levels of pitch, but it complements perfectly with the riff-based guitar work. The best example of this is probably the intro to lead single 'Sweet Disposition', where his vocals hit the stratosphere!

This album has it's share of faults - the lyrics are often seem as floaty and light and the melodies that contain them, but it is an album bursting with power. Also bonus points must be given to 'Fader', which is possibly one of my favourite songs released all year. Brilliant, simply brilliant.


Passion Pit "Manners"

Finally, we come to Passion Pit. This is a lot pushed onto me by my sister and is a tasty bit of indie electro-pop with a chewy disco centre (to torture a metaphor until it screams). Passion Pit are a bunch of American indie kids who seem to enjoy keyboard synths and distorted vocals far more than is probably legal in most states. 'Manners' is the first major label release for them, drawing together several EP tracks and some new stuff.

While I'd normally separate out the individual elements of the band's sound, that's kinda hard with Passion Pit - all of the instruments blend together into one homogeneous lump. This is very much noise rock - imagine Sigur Ros shot through the heart with adrenaline and E and stuffed through a moog synthesizer until they stopped being all sad and beautiful and started bouncing around like lunatics. They make heavy use of keyboards and all the flexibility that allows - just listen to the harpsichord-style intro to 'Moth's Wings' or the 60s game show syth of 'Little Secrets'. It gives the entire album a very eclectic style, and this is enhanced by the almost child-like vocals. I really can't decide whether I like the singer's voice or not - most times he sounds lovely, but there are times when he wanders into rather worrying territory. One of the worst offenders of this is 'Sleepyhead', where I honestly can't take silly falsetto dootings and distorted melodies seriously at all.

Now it sounds like I'm ripping on the album, but honestly Sleepyhead is the only bad apple in an otherwise very very good crop (bunch? barrel full of? whatever.) Whereas normally I feel the vocals and lyrics stand seperate from the rest of the song, here they are another melody line just as the guitar and keyboards are. I must have listened through this album a dozen times or more, but I couldn't tell you what half the lyrics were. And indeed, if you take the elements individually, they don't add up to much. But put them all together, and you get a syrupy, tasty mess of electro-awesomeness (3rd food metaphor this review. I must be hungry). Songs like the aformentioned 'Little Secrets' just make you want to smile and dance around like a mad thing. And despite the darker tones of many of the lyrics (that which you can make out anyway) the songs nearly all have a wonderfully happy beat to them. This is music made for dancing, and the band clearly has a fantastic time and a real love of performing - because of this, all the little problems of the album are rendered moot by the sheer joy of the 12 tracks that make it up