Monthly Archives: May 2011

Album Review – Crystal Stilts

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Crystal Stilts -‘In Love With Oblivion’ (Fortuna Pop)

When Crystal Stilts released their debut album, Alight With Night, a couple of years ago, there were doubtless those who saw them as being yet another US band in love with the c86 sound. There were, after all, a lot of them around. Yet it was clear, if you paid more than half an ear to them, that there was more to them than just jangling guitars. and so it continues on their sophomore album.

With the first play, before the album has even finished, I know that this is an album that I am going to want to play again and again. I may have been sent this album to review; but it sounds so good to these ears, I would indeed be prepared to spend my hard-earned wages on it, in order to listen to the psych rock-post punk- garage rock meets the Doors and Joy Division sound therein.

There are, indeed, quite a few bands who should be listening to this and taking notes. Mazes: it is just not sufficient to have cool record collections and regurgitate them, you actually have to go somewhere with it. Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: do not cave into pressure to recapture another era that a few people are whispering will be the next thing to come back into vogue in time for your own sophomore release. Strokes: get outta Manhattan and see what living in Brooklyn will do for you.

There’s so much to recommend here: ‘Alien Rivers’ and ‘Blood Barons’ are dark, psychedelic workouts, while on the other hand, tracks like ‘Silver Sun’ and ‘Half a Moon’ are more of the jangly variety.

Way ahead of much of the competition, a very welcome return.

****

In Love With Oblivion is out now on Fortuna Pop!

Review – Steve Adey

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Steve Adey -‘These Resurrections’ EP (Grand Harmonium)

Regular readers will know that I have reached moments of complete singer-songwriter saturation on this blog at times over the last year.

So it is a delight to be able to report that the These Resurrections EP by Steve Adey (an Edinburgh based artist, no less) is something that goes against the grain of David Gray wannabes, and instead shows that fragile does not need to mean wimpy, and acoustic does not mean half-assed. he will be releasing a new LP later on this year, but for now, this EP is a gorgeous treat.

The subtlety of Talk Talk circa Spirit Of Eden and the haunted beauty of The Blue Nile circa Hats hang over this five track EP, worth it for closing track ‘Just Wait Til I Get You Home’ alone. I know next to nothing about Steve Adey at this moment in time. I ahve taken this at fac value and been very warmly blown away.

Search it out. That is all I want to say.

****1/2

These Resurrections is out now on Grand Harmonium

Stream the tracks below.

Tomorrow (voice) by Steve Adey

Infidel (short version) by Steve Adey

Soundtrack /One by Steve Adey

These Resurrections by Steve Adey

Just Wait Till I Get You Home by Steve Adey

Some covers for Saturday

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Last Friday’s covers seeemd to go down well, so I thought I’d post some more.

First up, two from The Breeders. ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’ is taken from their debut album Pod, and originally appeared on The Beatles’ The Beatles (AKA The White Album). The second was by the Who, and appeared on the Breeders’ Safari EP. Some people have wondered if this was in reference to the fact that Kim Deal’s then other band The Pixies were about to call it a day.

The Breeders -‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The Beatles cover).’ mp3

The Breeders -‘So Sad About Us (The Who cover).’ mp3

Sticking with a 4AD related act, Belly’s cover of ‘Trust In Me’ appeared on the single of ‘Feed The Tree.’ The song originally appeared in The Jungle Book, and Siouxsie and the Banshees also did a version on their cover versions album Through The Looking Glass.

Belly -‘Trust In Me.’ mp3

A final 4AD track for today; both the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Automatic and the Pixies’ Trompe Le Monde are underrated albums in those bands’ respective and highly respectable back catalogues. ‘Head On’ by the Mary Chain was covered by the Pixies on their final (so far) studio album in 1991:

Pixies -‘Head On (Jesus and Mary Chain cover).’ mp3

Speaking of underrated albums…I still have a soft spot for Neil Young’s underrated 1982 synthesizer opus Trans. So do Sonic Youth, it would appear…

Sonic Youth -‘Computer Age (Neil Young cover).’ mp3

The Cardigans covered a number of Black Sabbath songs in their own style. Here they take on an Ozzy Osbourne solo track:

Cardigans -‘Mr. Crowley (live).’ mp3

Speaking of bands covering bands that seem to be polar opposites…

Shop Assistants -‘Ace Of Spades (Motorhead cover, John Peel session).’ mp3

Dinosaur Jr’s take on the Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’ has a very sudden ending; to the extent that for years I was convinced I had only ever heard incomplete versions…Duh!!

Dinosaur Jr -‘Just Like Heaven (The Cure cover).’ mp3

I’ve not posted a lot of Elton John or the Beastie Boys in five years of doing this blog, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

Beastie Boys -‘Benny and the jets (Elton John cover).’ mp3

…and finally, just for good measure:

X-Lion Tamer -‘Starsign (teenage fanclub cover).’ mp3

Album review – CocknBullKid

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CocknBullKid -‘Adulthood.’ (Moshi Moshi/Island)

The debut album from Anita Blay is one of the releases I have been most looking forward to this year. Shortly before Christmas at the end of last year, I received a promo of five tracks from this twelve track album, and I was certainly won over. Now that the final, finished product has arrived, it has been well worth the wait overall.

Ms. Blay’s music is a clever and infectious mix of high quality pop, fifty years of soul and R’n’B and generous lashings of indie. the three singles released so far from this album -‘One Eye Closed,’ ‘Asthma Attack’ and the particularly excellent ‘Hold On To Your Misery’demonstrate how great her music is, and how varied and diverse both her influences are and her approach.

Perhaps there are a couple of duff tracks (‘Mexico’ and ‘Hoarder(The House That Heartbreak Built)’) but this is a strong debut. In a landscape littered with faux-folk and meat’n’two veg indie bands, Ms. Blay is a very welcome presence. She is a real star and it would be nothing short of a crying shame if the general public do not make this a huge hit.

****

Adulthood is released on May 23 on Moshi Moshi/Island.

Cocknbullkid – Cocknbullkid by gilda intheair

Album review – Rome Pays Off

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Rome Pays Off -‘There’s No Simple Explanation.’ (Trace)

Mark Beazley and Crawford Blair were original members of Rothko, the three piece act who consisted of three bass players. Rothko finally called it a day last year, and this is the pair’s first recordings togetehr since 2000.

Like ¡Forward, Russia! used to do, their songs all take numbers. Not that they appear in that order in the album, but they are named in the order that they were recorded.So there are twelve songs on this album, but for whatever reason, there is no Song Two or Song Twelve. ‘Song Eleven’ opens the album and ‘Song Eight’ closes it. Got that? Good!

The album is gorgeous, beautifully atmospheric and strikes the right balance between experimental and accessability. Each track stands alone in its own right, but it adds up to one very impressive whole. Ifyou never heard Rothko, then at a push parallels might be drawn with parts of the work of Mogwai and Om. However, this essentially stands alone on its’ own terms and is all the better for it.

****

There’s No Simple Explanation is out now on Trace.

SONG 8 by Rome Pays Off

Album review – Gang Gang Dance

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Gang Gang Dance -‘Eye Contact.’ (4AD)

OK, it’s probably stating the blindingly obvious to state that this record seems to be very much the critical and cool hit of the moment. Thing is, it is an absolutely brilliant record. It deserves every bit of praise that has been passed its’ way and more.

Eye Contact is the New York-based band’s fifth album. Last time round, on Saint Dymphna, they collaborated with a the unknown rapper from the UK called Tinchy Stryder. How times change. There’s many acts out there that would like to give the impression that they are genre-defying; Gang Gang Dance genuinely are.

Over the course of a ten track, forty seven minute album, GGD frequently have more ideas in one song than many will manage over an entire album. And there’s more going on over the course of an entire album than many will manage over their entire careers. Thing is, whilst it can seem like a helluva lot to take in in one go…you don’t need to. Repeated visits reveal just how brilliant this album is. There’s hints of warped electronica meeting the Neptunes, arty indie, nineties post-rave chill and a punk as anything attitude bringing it all together.

Astonishing album opener ‘Glass Jar’ – which is eleevn minutes long -kciks off proceedings and is one of the best of a pretty impressive bunch of tracks. But as well as single ‘MindKilla’, there’s also the very impressive ‘Adult Goth’ (which when you hear it you will realise is exactly what it is, somehow! Eye Contact also includes guest appearances from Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip on ‘Romance Layers’ and Tim Koh of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. In many ways these two acts are fellow travellers, or at least they would be if it wasn’t for the fact that gang Gang dance seem to be so far out there -and yet, utterly accessible, too.

This is a truly astonishing album.

*****

Eye Contact is released on May 9 on 4AD.

Gang Gang Dance -‘Glass Jar.’ mp3

Gang Gang Dance -‘Mind Killa.’ mp3