Monthly Archives: March 2011

Glastonbury Longlist

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It was a matter of no small pride that I was one of forty bloggers picked to be a judge for the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition earlier this year.

I was sent 160 songs and had to whittle it down to three. Friends were envious of the fact that I got to do it, a free Glastonbury ticket (if I get to go it will be the first time in well over a decade) and wondered how I was going to decide.

Sometimes I had to force myself to listen to the end of tracks. Othertimes I went to find out more about the bands concerned.

The Longlist for Glastonbury can be found here. We [the bloggers] all got sent different artists. Later on this week,the 123 acts will be narrowed down to a shortlist of just 8 acts who will compete at April’s live finals for a main stage slot at this year’s Festival. They will be chosen by the final judging panel which consists of the following 10 judges: Michael Eavis (Glastonbury organiser), Emily Eavis (Glastonbury organiser), Nick Dewey (main stages programmer), Martin Elbourne (main stages programmer), Malcolm Haynes (Dance Village programmer), Steve Symons (West Holts programmer), Philippa Aylott (Radio One producer), Angus Baskerville (live agent), Paul Charles (agent/promoter/manager) and Chris Salmon (music journalist).

I have to say that I have absolutely no control over the next stage, but I wish every one of the acts concerned the very best.

The three acts I picked were Edinburgh’s Matt Norris and the Moon, Glasgow’s The Day I snapped and Cork’s Zombie Computer. And no, I don’t know any of the bands personally!

Follow the links above to find out what they sound like!

Miniature Dinosaurs

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I’ve mentioned Miniature Dinosuars before…this is their latest single out today, entitled ‘Fight Or Flight’ it’s the opening track on the four track EP ‘Off The Radio.’

Check this out and then go and buy it! Sheer joy from the boys as always.

For more info, see here

Album review – Kurt Vile

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Kurt Vile -‘Smoke Ring For My Halo’ (Matador)

..and yet again, Matador demonstrate why they are one of the best labels on the planet).

This is Kurt Vile’s fourth album, and it sees him well and truly having left behind the tape and cd-r scene that he started out in. In a way, parallels could perhaps be drawn with Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. While their musical styles may be miles apart, theyve both refined and developed their acts and progressed to more establihsed indies.

If you’ve not heard Vile’s music, don’t assume that he’s just another singer-songwriter-guitarist. Comparisons could be drawn with both Neil Young and Dinosaur Jr; in fact, part of Smoke Ring For My Halo was recorded at J Mascis’s Bisquiteen Studios andVile also contributes to mascis’s new studio album, Several Shades Of Why.

Considering he’s still a young man, there’s a sense of the world-weary about Vile. And yet, this is actually very endearing and attractively, musically speaking. The music is folky Americana, the atmosphere smoky and stoned. There are a number of excellent tracks on this album and I have given up trying to pickout highlights to recommend. Suffice to say that the two free tracks that have been doing the rounds ‘In My Time’ and ‘Jesus Fever’ are excellent examples of what this album is like, and I really like ‘Puppet To The Man’ and ‘On Tour’ as well.

There may be some who find this album hard to get into, but each listen has revealed something new, some else…If you get the chance to listen to it, without having anything else to do it will truly reward you.

****

Smoke Ring For My Halo is released on Matador on March 7.

Kurt Vile -‘In My Time.’ mp3

Kurt Vile -‘Jesus Fever.’ mp3

Album review – Marianne Faithfull

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Marianne Faithfull -‘Horses and high Heels’

There is no disputing that Marianne Faithfull is an icon and a legend. While some people may try to continue raking over her past, the real reason that she remains in the public eye is that she continues to record and make great records. More importantly, she is doing this on her own terms, without feeling the need to collaborate with Take That or appear on package revival tours.

Whilst the high pint of her career remains 1979’s still-astonishing Broken English, there is much to recommmend on this album, her 22nd. Getting past the frankly awful front cover artwork (like something a junk shop refused, frankly), the album opens with three very strong songs. The triple whammy is ‘The Stations (written by Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan), the encounter with an old lover ‘Why Did We Have To Part?’ and ‘That’s How Every Empire Falls.’ The latter is like the Stones’ ‘She’s A Rainbow’ grown older and wiser.

There is an Americana-edge to the album, which works better on some tracks than on others. There is a dip in the middle of the album with ‘Love Song’ and ‘Gee Baby’ and I cannot help thinking that the album would have been better off without them. No matter: the pace and quality of the album do pick up again.

La Faithfull shows no signs of stopping. Whatever label you want to attach to her, I favour: ‘Marianne Faithful: Singer.’

***1/2

To download ‘Why Did We have To Part?’ go here

Horses and High Heels is released on March 7.

Album review – Blancmange

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Blancmange -‘Blanc Burn’ (Proper)

I was really looking forward to reviewing the comeback album from Blancmange. Stephen Luscombe abd Neil Arthur produced some excellent hits in the first part of Eighties, even getting two entries in John Peel’s hallowed Festive Fifty with ‘Feel Me’ and ‘Living On The Ceiling.’

However, the first three tracks on this album are so awful that they do remind you why comeback albums can have such a terrible reputation. It is particularly the lyrics which let this album down. ‘By The Bus Stop @ Woolies’ (and yes, the ‘@’ is actually in the title!) has lyrics which may hark back to awkward teenage relationships but just sound silly.

As for ‘I’m Having A Coffee’… I can honestly say I wrote better lyrics as a thirteen year old. Certainly better than ‘I’m having a coffee/it’s in the pot/the kettle is boiling/I want it so hot’ is up there with Def Leppard’s execrable ‘I suppose a rock’s out of the question?’ for sheer naffness.

It’s not all bad. Tracks like ‘Don’t Let these Days’ and ‘the western’ work well. However, they are not strong enough to redeem the album, leaving the whole work feeling like a massive let down, especially to someone who was looking forward to it.

Shame. A Missed opportunity.

**

Blanc Burn is released on Proper on March 7.

The Western by blancmange

Album Review – Acid House Kings

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Acid House Kings -‘Music Sounds Better With You’ (Labrador)

Remember when you thought Vampire Weekend were going to be like plastic goths, more wet weekend in Whitby than Ivy Leaguers playing African pop? Well, seeing as they’ve been away for six years you may need to know that Acid House Kings are not Chicago-based purveyors of 808-infused basslines. The Swedish trio have scrapped more than half an album but finally they are ready to unleash Music Sounds better With You on the world. And while we’re tidying up pre/misconceptions, nothing to do with the 90’s hit single by Stardust, either…

It’s ten songs and a mere half an hour long, but there’s precious little wrong with this album. In fact, when it arrived, it went on the stereo PDQ and has remained pretty nearby ever since. There’s definitely something je ne sais quoi mais c’est Scandinavian about them, in the same way that the Cardigans, Kings of Convenience and Royksopp have that edge to them. This is indie-pop, bittersweet, in a way that is minus feedback and low on the tweeness that puts people’s teeth on edge.

Album opener ‘Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?’ has been doing the rounds since before Christmas and sets the tone (qualitywise) for the rest of the album, where it finishes with ‘Heaven Knows I Miss Him Now.’ It’s a quality record, and you find yourself wishing that the last Belle & Sebastian album had been anywhere near as good as this.

Even if you think you don’t like indiepop, cock your ears this way. Everyone should hear this album. And hopefully,many of you will buy it, too. Let’s have no misunderstandings about that.

****

Music Sounds Better With You will be released on March 22 on Labrador.

Acid House Kings -‘Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?’ mp3

Album review – Rev78

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Rev78 -‘Boy In the Blitz.’ (self-released)

This album certainly grabs your attention with the opening and former single ‘Killing Me’. The sound is the Smiths meeting Idlewild with its’ chiming (and indeed charming guitars) before going straight into ‘Old Fashioned.’

This album seems to have arrived out of nowhere, almost disconcertingly assure of itself, without being cocky and mercifully, without sounding like a bunch of oasis wannabes. It’s certainly music that aims high high, wears its’ ambition confidently on its’ s;eeves, and it’s not hard to imagine this band filling arenas.

Much of this will of course depend on there being a resurgence in guitar bands in the mainstream, which is much talked about and needs bands to help achieve this (it might be the Vaccines, I sure as heck hope it’s not going to be Brother or Frankie and the Heartstrings). It will doubtless appeal to those who enjoy the post-punk back catalogue and those bands who have taken inspiration from that era (Editors, Bloc Party, Futureheads etc..)

As a debut, this has some great songs and it’s certainly not hard to think of it as being a potentialoly successful album.What will be important is the band finding a voice of their own, and developing characteristics that will make them stand out from the crowd.

***1/2

Boy In the Blitz is released on April 4.

Strokes – Last Nite part.2?

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strokes under cover of darkness

OK, so it isn’t, it’s the song that they released for free (for forty-eight hours!!) last month – ‘Under Cover Of Darkness.’

And when I say ‘Last Nite’ part 2, it’s because it feels not that they’re repeating themselves, but have rediscovered why they were so great in the first place. The Strokes’ Angles will be out in just three weeks time, and whilst I still live in hope that someone lovely at Rough Trade will send me a promo, I’m really impressed with what I’m hearing so far.

…and that’s particularly considering I wasn’t blown away by their last album or some of the solo projects since then. Sure, the album may have had a painful birth, but I’m actually upbeat about this record.

The video for ‘Under Cover Of Darkness’ is kinda Kubrickesque (minus any corridors of blood or scary twin girls, that I can see any way):

Meanwhile, they’re also previewing another track from Angles entitled ‘You’re So Right.’

What do you think?

Coming up on 17 Seconds…

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OK folks, as you’ve probably picked up between the lines here, we are shortly about to have a baby, so that means that the blog may well be on the backburner for a bit.

However, there are treats coming your way. Including:

An interview with Hiatus! Yes, Cyrus who is responsible for the frankly awesome ‘Insurrection‘ video and this video for ‘Save Yourself’ chatted to me for half an hour, so will be writing that up when I get a moment. Check out Hiatus’ album Ghost Notes if you get a chance. Actually, sod that: check out his album!

Album reviews…

I’ve heard more than sixty new releases so far this year (which is quite good going, I suppose), and I have posted a number of reviews here on the blog.

I flagged up Kurt Vile last week; Two very different releases I am also enjoying are the art-metal of Earth’s new album Angels Of Darkness Demons Of Light and the gorgeous indie-pop of Acid House Kings’ Music Sounds Better With You. the former is out now; the latter is due at the end of the month.

Here’s a track from each (bear in mind these are very different styles and may induce a negative reaction in narrow minded folk):

Earth -‘Father Midnight.’ mp3

Acid House Kings -‘Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?’