Some really very good tracks on the Bearpark album Wilderness End.
Check out my review over at God Is In the TV and stream the opening track from the album, ‘Boxers,’ below. I also particularly recommend ‘Untitled.’
Savages have announced that they will release their sophomore album Adore Life on January 22, 2016. It’s the long-awaited follow up to their debut Silence Yourself which was released in 2013.
Released on Matador, the tracklisting for the album is as follows:
1. The Answer
2. Evil
3. Sad Person
4. Adore
5. I Need Something New
6. Slowing Down The World
7. When In Love
8. Surrender
9. T.I.W.Y.G.
10. Mechanics
The first track to be heard from the album is ‘Adore,’ the video for which can be seen below:
Nearly five years since the release of her second album, 21, Adele has today revealed the first track from her third album 25.
Entitled ‘Hello’ the track is available to download now, and the album is available to pre-order. It will be released on November 20. You can stream the video below, which has had nearly 5 million plays in its first day. The video also features a cameo by American actor Tristan Wilds (The Wire, The Secret Life of Bees). The track is already topping the iTunes charts in the UK, and not surprisingly, the album’s pre-sales are topping both Amazon and iTunes, too.
The artwork for the album is at the top of this post. The tracklisting for the album is as follows:
1. Hello
2. Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
3. I Miss You
4. When We Were Young
5. Remedy
6. Water Under The Bridge
7. River Lea
8. Love In The Dark
9. Million Years Ago
10.All I Ask
11.Sweetest Devotion
25 is released by XL on November 20.
Mogwai -‘Central Belters.’ (Rock Action)
According to legend round these parts of Scotland, when one Aidan Moffat told his Gran that his band was called Arab Strap, she responded by saying ‘But you’re from Falkirk! You should call yourselves Central Belt!’ One assumes that she didn’t know what an arab strap was (be careful where you google it, for most people it’s definitely NSFW). Obviously he didn’t take his Gran up on her suggestion, but a couple of decades later, erstwhile labelmates (on Glasgow’s legendary Chemikal Underground label) and collaborators Mogwai have given the title Central Belters to this exhaustive (but most definitely not exhausting) anthology of their first twenty years as a band.
The central belt refers to the middle of Scotland, the bit that includes Glasgow and Edinburgh. Central Belters is a massive 3-CD or 6LP vinyl set that stretches from early singles through albums and EPs up to last year’s Rave Tapes which became the first Mogwai album to reach the top 10 in the UK. Whilst most of Mogwai’s music is instrumental – but not all – the distinctiveness of their sound has ensured over the decades that their fanbase has grown and soundtracks the the experience of living in Scotland incredibly well. Not least the beauty of the place and the bleakness that descends.
Mogwai might seem to have specialised in the very quiet to the BLOODYFUCKINGHELLIJUSTJUMPEDOUTOFMYSKIN with their music (it’s not on here but the track ‘Like Herod’ from their debut Young Team is a prime example of this), but one of the very impressive things about this band is how they have continued to evolve and develop over the years. And whilst Mogwai fans might grumble about tracks they think should have made the cut (no ‘Ex-Cowboy’ or ‘Dial:Revenge’ guys?!), the album has been awesomely sequenced showing the many facets of the band. So there’s a chance to hear favourites again (I never get tired of ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ or ‘Stanley Kubrick’ for example), and also rediscover tracks again (I’d forgotten how good ‘Friend Of the Night’ and ‘Remurdered’ are). And it finishes with their 2001 single ‘My Father My King’ which is a twenty-minute long version of a Jewish prayer that rams the point home about how unusual and damn special they are.
At thirty four tracks and close on four hours, it’s a lot of Mogwai to ingest. Practicalities of the modern age may mean that not many will be able to deal it all in one listen (nothing to do with quality but those interruptions and irritations). It’s maybe Mogwai for connoisseurs rather than a simple ‘Introduction to…’ – though in this day and age of playlists rather CD-Rs or C90s perhaps that’s a moot point. But it is a wonderful collection, and proof of how utterly vital they remain.
*****
Central Belters is released by Rock Action on October 23.
At the risk of duplicating too many posts, this was an act I was delighted to discover the other day.
Joy Atlas are shortly to release their second single -‘Notice It All’ – and you can check out the post that I wrote on it for God Is In The TV by following this link here
And if you like that, which you should, this is their debut single from earlier this year ‘Dismount.’
Elvis Costello fans, especially completists, have a very expensive few weeks ahead of them.
The man, born Declan McManus, has just published his autobiography, entitled Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink. Later this week (October 23) will see the companion ‘soundtrack’ entitled Unfaithful Music + Soundtrack album. This is a genuinely career-spanning compilation, which also includes two previously unreleased tracks ‘I Can’t Turn It Off’ from 1975, and ‘April 5,’ a collaboration with Kris Kristofferson and Roseanne Cash. It also features collaborations with a diverse selection of artists, including The Roots, Brian Eno, Burt Bacharach and The Brodsky Quartet.
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN (LIVE) – Elvis Costello And Steve Nieve
2. POISON MOON- Elvis Costello
3. WATCHING THE DETECTIVES – Elvis Costello
4. OLIVER’S ARMY – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
5. RIOT ACT – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
6. NEW LACE SLEEVES – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
7. MAN OUT OF TIME – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
8. I WANT YOU – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
9. WHEN I WAS CRUEL NO.2 – Elvis Costello
10. STRANGER IN THE HOUSE – George Jones With Elvis Costello
11. BEYOND BELIEF – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
12. HOME TRUTH – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
13. INDOOR FIREWORKS – The Costello Show Featuring His Confederates
14. SHIPBUILDING – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
15. CINCO MINUTOS CON VOS – Elvis Costello And The Roots
16. BEDLAM- Elvis Costello And The Imposters
17. DEEP DARK TRUTHFUL MIRROR – Elvis Costello
18. ASCENSION DAY – Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint
19. RED COTTON – Elvis Costello And The Sugarcanes
DISC 2
1. VERONICA [DEMO] – Elvis Costello
2. IN THE DARKEST PLACE – Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach
3. I WANT TO VANISH – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
4. MY DARK LIFE – Elvis Costello With Brian Eno
5. THE OTHER SIDE OF SUMMER – Elvis Costello
6. LONDON’S BRILLIANT PARADE – Elvis Costello
7. GHOST TRAIN – Elvis Costello
8. SUIT OF LIGHTS – The Costello Show Featuring His Confederates
9. JIMMIE STANDING IN THE RAIN – Elvis Costello And The Sugarcanes
10. THE BIRDS WILL STILL BE SINGING – Elvis Costello And The Brodsky Quartet
11. WISE UP GHOST – Elvis Costello And The Roots
12. ALMOST BLUE – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
13. ALL THE RAGE – Elvis Costello
14. COULDN’T CALL IT UNEXPECTED NO. 4 – Elvis Costello
15. ALISON – Elvis Costello
16. MY THREE SONS – Elvis Costello And The Imposters
17. I’M IN THE MOOD AGAIN – Elvis Costello
18. APRIL 5TH – Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello And Kris Kristofferson *
19. I CAN’T TURN IT OFF – D.P. Costello *
In addition, there will be a reissue in conjunction with Back To Black of his first eleven studio albums, released between 1977 and 1986, and the issue of the Taking Liberties collection of b-sides and rarities, previously only available in North America. The list of albums, which will be released on October 30 is as follows:
My Aim Is True, This Years Model, Armed Forces, Get Happy, Trust, Almost Blue, Imperial Bedroom, Punch The Clock, Goodbye Cruel World, Taking Liberties, King of America, and Blood and Chocolate.
In honour of this, an Elvis classic:
and ‘April 5’
Photo credit: Philip Wagner
As I’ve mentioned before, as well as this, my own blog (now running for over nine years, which I’m very proud of), I write for various other websites as well.
One of these is God Is In The TV – and for today’s ‘A song for today’ feature I’d like you to link to God Is In The TV for the rather fantastic ‘…And The Things We Bury’ by Written In Waters.
I get no shortage of recommendations of music to check out. This one came from an old school friend.
Hailing from Huddersfield, and drawing on influences including The Buzzcocks and The Fall, unsigned (as far as I can see) Lost Cassettes are Danny Maguire (Vocals), Rob Martindale (Guitar), Gary Bamforth (Bass), and Matty Roberts (drums). They posted this ode to Mr. Lau who could fix everything, and it’s absolutely fantastic. Whilst I do not claim to speak for the dead, once in a while I hear something, and I think ‘I’m sure John Peel would have loved this!’
I know I do…
I can’t find out a huge amount of information about the band – not even really a press photograph, but it’s the music that matters, right? You can stream and pay your own price here for the EP here:
Produced by Ed Buller (who has worked with some of 17 Seconds’ favourite acts like Suede and Pulp), ‘Brothers’ by Affairs sounds like an anthem that’s ready to roll. Actually, it’s already out!
The single is ‘Lyrically inspired by the Tom Hardy film Warrior, the song explores the theme of brotherly love between both siblings and male relationships and how it can often prevail, even through the hardest of times.’ The band have been championed by both Tom Robinson and Janice Long, among others, and this is simply a fantastic song, and deserves to be played loud. Plus the video is really rather fine, too.
The band met at Hull University (also where Everything But The Girl got together, many moons ago) and are now based in Manchester. Reportedly, they were brought together by their mutual appreciation of ’80’s music, art, slick hair, tight jeans and loose hips.’ If you like what you hear, check out their soundcloud page for more tunes.
I’m rather shocked at myself to discover that – considering I have long enjoyed their music – I haven’t featured Edinburgh dark pop trio Dead Boy Robotics on the blog before.
The band – Gregor McMillan, Mike Bryant, and Paul Bannon released their debut, self-titled album in November 2011. Four years later, on November 20, they will follow it with New Cells.
The first track to do the rounds from the album is the single ‘Arrival’ which you can stream and download for free right here. Dark pop is how they describe themselves, dark pop is exactly what they make, and it’s fabulous:
The Skinny magazine, meanwhile, have premiered the video for the single, which is also rather fantastic: