Those Handsome Animals - The New Renaissance, album review

There aren't many albums that people spend most of their adult life waiting for, but The New Renaissance is possibly mine....

A very brief history lesson first....  Despite entering into very few serious musical discussions in this day and age, MySpace was a prominent tool for a generation, not just for unsigned bands to share their wares, but also for fans of those bands to mobilise, and without it social media probably wouldn't be where it is now (make of that what you will).  

But what happens when one of your favourite MySpace bands never delivers a full album and that little music player in the right hand corner becomes a distant memory?

From the embers of a local band that ignited a North London suburb's suppressed live scene, Enfield's answer to Alex Turner, Thomas Millett, kept the dream alive with the formation of Those Handsome Animals, and those in the know have waited patiently since 2010, through fallow periods, role-call tweaks and false starts.

But enough self-indulgent reminiscing from this thirty-something reviewer, what does the album sound like?

It sounds like an album comprised of guitar, bass and drums should sound like, and more.

Limited palette does not make for limited returns, in the right hands it results in a creative use of the resources available and perhaps certain nuisances may be lost on the more casual listener, their discovery makes the listening all the more rewarding.  Those lyrics, that riff, this chorus... I understand that Spotify has spoiled you for choice, but repeated listening, dancing and shouting along is key to this release.

It's early Oasis rock‘n'roll with an art-rock yelp rather than Liam's trademark snarl, it's The Cribs at their singalong best, it's The Cure at their most pop, it's The Drums without the hype and it's Billy Bragg at his most acutely observant, it's all this and more rolled into a lean, but rippling, sub-40 minute running time.

It kicks off with 'Megadrive', a track urging the world to 'clear a space on the map’ for this band, it serves as Those Handsome Animal's theme tune, a 21st century alternative twist on 'The Monkees’ or ‘Banana Splits’, and in an awkwardly meta way, the theme of this album from the offset seems to be themes...  Pick almost any track and layer it over a montage of John Hughes movie clips and your provided with an updated take on romanticised teenage-angst and epoch-defining musical touchstones, if only John Hughes wasn't directing ’80s movies about American young adults but instead was the figurehead behind theatrical releases capturing the mood of London's Generation-Y urbanites.

And Generation-Y is an apt name, although perhaps Generation Why would be more appropriate.  This album questions Brexit.  This album questions modern relationships.  This album questions modern life.  In fact the title track goes as far as listing a number of current quandaries and shrugs them off with the frustratingly nonchalant refrain of 'that's modern life’.  This album speaks directly to a generation that are even questioning why Generation-Y has fallen from common parlance to the rampant use of 'Millennial' that we don't particularly feel part of, or even want to be a part of.

This album is downtrodden  but hopeful.  This album is essential but likely lost already in a marketplace of voices wanting to be heard.

This album makes my heart ache.  Not with romantic fervour but by connecting to my own crushed spirit.  

I identify with the simple joy of the release from my grip of my phones intrusive alarm when on holiday, I identify with being in the 48%,  I identify with having too much choice thanks to our prevalent connectivity, I identify with social media frustrations that didn't exist ten years ago, I identify with escalating house prices that are destroying the London I know and assumed I'd always live in.

I identify with this album in a way that I don't think music fans were able to identify with The Menace or Chinese Democracy.

This album speaks volumes to me, and I hope that it connects with more than just a niche demographic of white guys from the Northern outskirts of London that I'm all too aware that I belong to, but if it doesn't.... that's modern life.

And yes, it was worth the wait.

The Invisible - MK-ULTRA, album review

MKUltra... A prime example of heightened paranoia and the conspiracy theory culture that has risen in the digital age alongside omnipotent social networking and a right-swiping society with a deteriorating attention span, although the US government's illegal mind control programme may not be as prevalent as tinder and snapchat, it has certainly taken its rightful place in the niche corners of the internet that firmly believes the world's most popular music artists are among the highest order of the illuminati...

Whilst Rihanna and Jay-Z's suspicious status has yet to be proven, MKUltra is (or was) very real, and has given birth to a creative response among the arts that plays on our fears of government power.  Forget off-shore tax havens and shady allowances made for second properties, for there are far more sinister strings that have been pulled in an attempt to create sleeper soldiers through mind control and experiments with LSD.

More than 40 years since proof of these practises came to light, The Invisible, aka Enfield multi-instrumentalist Jake Bradford-Sharp, takes this subject as inspiration for his debut long player, a concept album that not only threads together a fictionalised account of an MKUltra test patient but also weaves together a rich tapestry of musical influences that reach back through the decades almost as far back as the controversial practise itself.

The 60s psychedelic influence of Pink Floyd is an obvious one to tag this release with, along with the expansive and progressive sounds of the 70s that could be heard emanating from the likes of Yes, but harder edged guitar riffs call to mind rock titans such as Black Sabbath, and a far more recent touchstone would also be Muse, who have managed to fuse stadium rock with a sense of the overblown and an overbearing theme of paranoia and political mis-trust.

Perhaps the strongest thread that runs through this accomplished debut is a home-grown predilection for British eccentricity that is not only self evident but also self serving in the aforementioned works of Syd Barrett, Rick Wakeman and Matt Bellamy, and is explored here through no mere pastiche or doe-eyed hero worship, this has been seriously crafted in a way that blends musical styles and extravagant opuses without feeling bloated or over-reaching, and I constantly have to remind myself that this is all the work of just one musician... in fact the involvement of others could possibly have diluted such an ambitious and focused piece of art.

Here is an album that challenges you to put aside distractions for its duration in what is another conscious decision to go against the grain of modern music, and each track opens itself up to deeper dissection of both a critical and literary nature... I hear shades of Tom Vek in brief opener Inside Voices, but I also hear an awakening experience, there are three key tracks that each have their sights set on reaching epic proportions standing tall within the framework of the album, but the shifting sonic identity within these longer tracks and the flow of the album raises the listener's own questions as to whether one track has truly ended and another one yet begun, surely a reflection of the inner turmoil and disturbed psyche of MKUltra patients.  Recollections of mind-control experimentation collide with musical experimentation perfectly, and This Drug, The Discovery, and Dreamscape all are fascinating in their ability to hold your attention as they unravel over an extended run time, again I'm reminded of the paranoid stadium rock of Muse, but also of mostly forgotten early-noughties vanguard noiseniks The Cooper Temple Clause and (the sole American group brought to my mind) The Flaming Lips, and their own uncompromising approach to making music since the band's inception, except right now there isn't a single pink robot in sight...

Each listen reveals further depths not only in the sonic construct of MK-ULTRA, but also in the storytelling that the 'concept' of the album is pinned upon, providing a cohesive story structure that complements and mirrors the equally cohesive marriage of myriad styles and sounds.

Centau - Centau, album review

Writing, recording and releasing music is a labour of love, and this fast paced digital age has made creative technologies more affordable and more accessible, but that doesn't necessarily mean that every song and shred of music that makes its way online is worthy of further attention.

Thankfully there are acts such as Centau that are a testament to hard work and talent paying off and producing a polished end-product, the work of Enfield's Raihan Rubin, this solo project and self-titled debut album that recently landed on all major streaming services is a study in dynamic rock, and the knowledge that it had been solely constructed with minimal input from outside forces only makes the listening experience all the more bewildering.

Whilst the vocals may not be the most conventional to have been heard alongside such driven drums and guitar riffs, the sheer ambition and craftsmanship that has been poured into producing such a professional end-product is breathtaking and makes for an inspirational story for any aspiring bedroom music maestros, the intricate guitar work and multi-tracked vocal takes seem faultless and each new listen brings about another nuance that I had previously missed in the mix.

To my ears, Centau harks back to 90s era rock bands that struck big and found themselves filling stadiums as they filled the gap left by grunge and the earlier hair-metal of the 80s, shades of Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters are present alongside a number of other contemporaries, but I can also hear the more modern sounds of Muse and Biffy Clyro ringing through in the style and tone of the album, but what I can hear most is maturity.... This sounds like an album that has grown, perhaps this is the result of one man at the controls, the entire thing sounds considered, but this can't just be put down to sole working practises, the entire operation and resultant sound must have been intentional.

As a D.I.Y produced debut album, it outstrips any and all expectations put upon it.

Poet Palms - .the inzz and outzz of thoughts in my pocket, album review

With leaden arms and a woozy head I paused to survey the abundant musical landscape, I had come here I search of something 'experimental' and now I was taking stock of the surrounding area as my motor functions continued to float somewhere beyond the realm of normal practicality.

Skinny withered fingers flash across the touchscreen and dip in and out of new releases like some kind of malnourished Winnie The Pooh feverishly tasting from the honey pot using the sense of sight alone, discarding those that don't look right, those that don't appeal, with no real sense of why, but when I've found it, then I've found it.

And I've found it.

I've found the voice that speaks to me.

Speaks to me through poetry.  Speaks to me through brevity, and beauty.

Speaks to me through complexity and pretentiousness, because I love finding something that it can be a challenge to love, I love holding my head up and declaring that perhaps my taste is the emperor's new taste.

But above all that I love passion.

And I love the dizzying power of creation.

This dainty and lithe creation that was spawned of minds and now beams directly into mine. Words and sounds, definitely poetic, occasionally musical, purely avant garde and now a part of my life.  Fleeting glimpses into other lives exist here without boundaries or formulas, these are snapshots of genius fused to maverick productions, both feeding and solidifying each other in the symbiotic process.

I found this.

Or did it find me?

Daniel Haaksman - African Fabrics, album review

previously published on glasswerk.co.uk


While we've made it through January but now seem living through February prepared to cower from the next potential mega-storm to batter British shores, there is light at the end of the tunnel... or at least a soundtrack to the journey through this meteorologically challenged tunnel that will help take your mind off broken fence panels, lost weather vanes and embarrassing battles in public with your umbrella.

This is a public service announcement, for your own safety and sanity, please bunker down in a secure holding and tune into the latest sunshine-blessed offering from Daniel Haaksman.

The Berlin based label-owner and DJ was brought to my attention with a high-tempo debut album helmed and released in 2011, previous to this Haaksman had been exporting some of the finest Baile Funk to the wider partying public, and it is reassuring to know that his musical flirtations with cultural diversity are still going strong, and that it is this passion for spreading 'world-music' to the world that forms the thematic backbone of this album.

It is possible to simply play this album from start to finish and only hear the music, to become lost in the rich musical textures that feel delightfully foreign to the common-or-garden Englishman, to feel compelled to move to the beats and the rhythms emanating from the stereo, but this is to only scratch the surface of the full ’African Fabrics' experience.

More than just an album to brighten up dark days and lively up your party playlists, Daniel Haaksman borrows from and translates South African pop music, Ugandan rap, Columbian guitars, Angolan kudora and Zimbabwean marimba into electronically paired productions fit for European consumption, and this is the driving factor that brings together all these richly diverse sounds that straddle a continent, yet to uneducated ears simply sound 'African'.

Five years ago the British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare referenced the famous René Magritte painting “Ceçi n´est pas une pipe” when he declared that “A picture of a pipe isn´t necessarily a pipe, an image of “African Fabric” isn´t necessarily authentically African”, and it is with this mindset that Haaksman wove his own music.

Just as fabric or art that echoes a particular culture may have its manufacturing and distribution methods far removed from the geographical location that spawned it, so has the interconnection of the World Wide Web created a false approximation of what even enlightened souls would consider as authentically African music, homogenised and filtered as accessibility to diversity, Daniel Haaksman has created a new tapestry that pays homage to the originators, yet is self-aware in its own knowledge and strongly alludes to the fact that these new 'African Fabrics' carry a “Made In Berlin” label.

Released February 26th via Man Recordings

Bang Gang - The Wolves Are Whispering, album review

The effortless Icelandic cool drips from the opening bars of The Sin Is Near as it shuffles with a glacial downbeat electro rhythm that, with the help of fellow countrymen Bloodgroup, shares more than a passing resemblance to the darkly majestic and almost undanceable music of The Knife. Setting this out as the standard-bearer of new album, The Wolves Are Whispering, seems a slight mis-step as proceedings unfold and rather than the chilling electronica that was first hinted at, Bang Gang instead is gingerly revealed to be something akin to Coldplay's cousin from Reykjavik as the following tracks, Out Of Horizon and My Special One, pile on the MOR guitars built for driving anthems and the familiar form of the piano ballad, creating a stark contrast with these well-worn FM radio staples.

 

The vocals lent to Silent Bite by Ladytron's Helen Marnie fail to inject any reasonable amount of interest to a plodding and uninspired rocker, but thankfully the album then commits another about turn with the concurrent trio of songs stating with Lonely Bird that sets a much sparser tone that reintroduces the atmospherics that had been trampled over by excessive instrumentation that feels unnecessary in these particular circumstances and are best left to those bands with ambitions of bounding across stages with enthusiastic energy.

As the album closes out with Wait By The Lake and the rousing We Will Never get along it feels that a far healthier balance has been struck between stereotypical indie bands and painting a hauntingly beautiful scene with all the aloofness and eruption of creative uniqueness that Iceland has been musically renowned for, and the strength of the songs themselves is glimpsed as reflections on the album are considered. At just nine tracks long, The Wolves Are Whispering is brief in comparison to most albums and yet I still find an entire third of it's running time to be ill fitting and jarring against what could have been a startlingly svelte and moving collection of songs, nothing that cannot be remedied by skipping ahead or the reshaping of a playlist, but when viewed as a whole it is a shame that I look upon this album and am moved to mourn its weaknesses rather than firmly stand by it and shout about its subtle strengths.

Linus - Linus, album review

Whilst 'Stealth' album releases are amongst the latest fads to be realised by a record industry that is still pondering how to be relevant in a digital age, as utilised by Beyoncé, Thom Yorke and Drake, it is altogether less newsworthy but certainly a massively interesting concept to behold when even the birthing of a new creative identity flies under everybody's radar.

When a facebook acquaintance made during my time covering Enfield's music scene, nonchalantly posts 'I did a thing' with a link to a 9 track album it was perhaps fortunate that it neatly coincided with some rare downtime and a need to drown out the sounds of the polish builder working on next door.

I'll admit that I know little of Josef Kirby, I know of him as the lead singer of local Djent-Metal rockers UNX and I gave the band a glowing review for their debut EP a little over two years ago, and much like that EP, it is the developing progression of sound and style that creates a truly listenable body of work.

The age old contrasting of light and dark, quiet and loud, are characteristic of the eponymous nine track instrumental album released under the guise of LinuS, and it is the thoughtful crafting of these nine tracks that is wonderfully realised, with the absense of an intimidating vocal presence the entire focus is solely on the music, and whilst there are a handful of whirling maelstroms these are few and far enough between with far more time spent on the building of clearly defined roles for the instruments involved, the instrumentation certainly is not sparse, but simply has had all but the most essential elements stripped away and each detail is given appropriate room to breathe, relying as much on what is not included as what is.

My knowledge of metal's musical touchstones is woefully lacking, I can recognise the required moshpit baiting and neck breaking guitar riffs and driven drum rhythms even if I cannot match them to the tide of bands that have served as inspiration, but I can hear the sci-fi epic nature of Muse's output that has launched them into a stadium filling stratosphere upon ... And Here They Come, In There Thousands, at near 7 minutes long it is buoyed by a lightness and woozy atmospheric that serves it well and it is telling that this has been chosen as the showcasing track when the album loads in the bandcamp player, it is not merely a midway point on the album chronologically but also thematically as it heralds some lengthy movements that retool the albums already accessible take on metal with an added ambience.

It is from this point forward that the debut long-player emboldens itself with magnificent opuses that are wonderfully crafted and bely the fact that they were uploaded on a whim.  

Self-produced using Cubase and with all guitar parts and bass played solely by Josef himself alongside programmed drums, the arrival of Linus in the world, as a musical identity and as an album, may go unnoticed by many but it has certainly not gone unnoticed by me, and I hope future musical endeavours are announced to a wider audience with more than just a four word facebook status.

FabricLive 80: Mumdance, compilation review

A maelstrom, a heaving monstrosity of noise. Static and feedback pirouette in a divinely unsettling manner, giving way to beeps and whistles and god knows what else. But it certainly isn't music.

And it certainly isn't a conventional way to kick off a mix CD that's sole purpose is to channel the spirit of the longstanding club that lends it's name to the flagship banner being flown. Sticky, sweaty dancefloors would not move to this. Around five minutes into the mix and the whirling sounds become slightly cinematic, six and a half minutes into the mix and the crescendo gives way to a dirge of clipped and sparse... well... to call them beats would be to lend them musical credibility.

 

The grime fuelled carnival spirit that Mumdance flirted with early in his career is unrecognisable and instead his delivered mix is a jarring and almost undanceable mess of experimental dance pushed to the very limits of its own definition. More Aphex Twin than Artful Dodger, Mumdance creates a potentially self-indulgent journey through warped sonics and time signatures that never once even considers the possibility of being a mainroom main-stay, bar a last minute sprint for the finishing line over a measured and unrepentant last-ditch furore into jungle and drum 'n' bass.

Words at times cannot comprehend the boundaries that are being pushed.

Personally I thrive on the sounds of the outlandish, and even I find this 70 minute mix to be unnerving in a sober state of mind, any reasonable combination of pills, thrills and bellyaches would relegate this compilation to a shuddering and sickening flashback that is better best forgotten.

But this sanctioned soundscape must be fit for someone's consumption.

Tread carefully. Move Carefully. Dance carefully.

Approach with extreme caution.

Released 16th March on Fabric

 

Late Night Tales - Jon Hopkins, compilation review

I slip into a candle-lit bath.

This feels like a perfect fit.

Other Late Night Tales releases often have a vibe of an afterparty, a melding of minds as records play in the wee small hours, but Jon Hopkins turn in the series feels different... more personal, more insular.

His offering is a mix for the individual.  To call it constructed is to do it a great disservice, it feels more natural than that, gently pouring from one musical movement to another, the ebbs and flows often gradual, virtually no announcement is made as one track takes the reigns from the other.

The tranquil state is thrown on occasions, vaguely psychedelic turns or disturbances that jar against the relaxed ambience, haunting and cutting a swathe through the safety of a run-of-the-mill chill-out session, because this is no run-of-the-mill chill-out session.

Jon Hopkins' acclaimed musical states are writ large across the 75 minutes, it is grandiose, yet personal, meditative, yet reaching, and I find myself still listening even once the bath water has gotten cold.

Released 2nd March on Late Night Tales

Tonik Ensemble - Snapshots, album review

previously published on glasswerk.com

Sigur Ros sure have a lot to answer for, having seemingly single-handedly set the precedent for what is expected of music hailing from their near-mythical and majestic home of Iceland.

Tonik Ensemble feels no need to let up on the inherent atmospherics that have become culturally defining, but there is an added edge,  a deeply felt darkness that pours across the 8 tracks, and a beat driven underbelly topped off with carefully selected vocal collaborators lift this above the ethereal stereotypes.

It is certain that Snapshots is delivered on a chilled wind of glacial cool, yet as it whistles through your bones it also reflects touches of Faithless's most introspective moments with the crowd-bouncing synth refrains wisely sidestepped for more individualistic tendencies.  Echoing of inward bound paranoia and whirls of emotion, Tonik Ensemble has crafted a delicate beast that dances its fragile dance in the overlooked darkness of uncrowded dancefloors.

Released February 10th on Atomnation

Dark Horses - Hail Lucid State, album review

Dark, rhythmic, and bordering on evil.

Presumably that was the sound that 'Hail Lucid State' was trying to capture.



With Death In Vegas' Richard Fearless on production duties, this second bite of the black cherry rapidly bears down upon the release of Dark Horses' debut album just last year, and with ten tracks that clash a very British penchant for doom-laden gothic pop in the style of The Cure headlong into a swirling whirlpool of psychedelia, cascading beautifully into an abyss of bleak hypersensitive bliss, then why wait any longer to unleash more of your tainted jewels upon your adoring public?

Whilst the cold, sparse electronica of 'Sevens' poses a clear indication of why Crystal Castles chose to sign Dark Horses to their Last Gang Records imprint, it is the rest of the album and the reverb drenched echoes of Siouxie Sioux cavorting with Kate Bush against a backdrop of roots rock and guitar riffs that would resonate with fans of The Cult that show why names such as Tame Impala, Kasabian, Sigur Ros, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Noel Gallagher, The Dandy Warhols and Beck have all seen something within Dark Horses that they identify with and felt fit to invite them out on tour as handpicked guests.

It is at a meeting point between all of these bands that 'Hail Lucid State' exists, surely anyone that has caught Dark Horses on one of their numerous support slots for the aforementioned acts will have been mesmerised by the bands wide-ranging scope, and yet it is these numerous touchstones the band evokes that will also be winning them new fans, not only amongst audiences but amongst touring artists, and also amongst a record buying wider fanbase if there is any justice left in this crazy, mixed up world.

Late Night Tales: Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand are here to tell a Late Night Tale.

And where other artists in these series of compilations have a tendency to kick back and recline in the fine company of some chill-out records, the veteran Scottish Art-Rock group have committed to this mixtape the sonic equivalent of being invited back to their very own decadent multi-roomed 'Stately Home'-party.

Picture the scene, perhaps a raucous post-gig after-party has spilled out of the venue’s own late bar, and all the liggers and groupies and hanger-ons and drug dealers are treated to a private performance as Franz keep the night going in spectacular fashion, in the lavishly decorated smoking room you catch the band indulging themselves with a set of eclectic cover versions before you follow the faintly sweet smell that definitely isn't nicotine to the attic full of stoners commandeering an old record player and putting on a lazy, hazy run through of the Beatles 'I'm Only Sleeping' before laying back on their beanbags and floating upstream...

As you shake off the lightheadedness and venture back to the party in full swing you stumble and pass through different rooms and differing vibes, each housing a small soundsystem in full swing, from happy clappy hippies to loud and lairy rock'n'rollers, you throw shapes to funk and reggae, a mixture of seemingly disjointed styles reminds you of drinks you have been mixing all night and into the wee hours of the morning.

You've popped, you've rocked, you've skanked, you've pogoed, you've puked and you've pulled and you've had the time of your life in this maze-like house, but the light has been trying to stream through the heavily curtained windows for at least a few hours, and maybe you should try and get out now, go home, sleep it off.

But with the grand oak front door finally in sight you make your way past that same smoking room from earlier, where Alex Kapranos now holds court over a room of cross-legged or passed-out former revellers, reciting poetry and telling tales and providing the perfect counter to the debauched and divergent party that you thought would never end.

His soothing accent lulls you away from the hectic night and the fuzzy memories of frivolity, it lulls you deeper into the pile rug on which you share with the most fastidious Franz followers, and finally his soothing accent lulls you into errant sleep.

Groundislava - Frozen Throne, album review

the email subject header promises a 'dancehall infused single', it apparently has a video of people dancing to the track on the streets of New York, i download the album and get a few tracks into a safe, and ultimately dreary, female vocalist and multi-instrumentalist going through the motions.  did i hear anything 'dancehall infused' before turning off?

no. i did not.

and on to the next album in my hastily decided upon 'to review' pile.  thankfully it engages almost immediately.

i skim read the premise of this album, in much the same way i skim read the press release of the last.  the terms 'concept', 'dreary world', 'producer' were the initial hooks, enough for me to hit download.  once the music has spoken for itself, there will be plenty of time to go back if i need any more info.

aurally, Groundislava's Frozen Throne boasts results that could have been cobbled together by an on-trend collaboration of Frank Ocean dabbling in production duties for Bastille, sheer gossamer future-pop that rides a wave of current trends without sounding like it tries too hard, a teaming of two 21st century chart-breakers would surely breed this strain of soul-synth-pop magic.

in fact, the collaboration is between the two LA based entities, producer Groundislava and band Rare Times, on 6 of the 10 track set, and the album is furnished with a wonderful eighties sheen that crackles with George Michael-eque big money charisma as it takes the retro sound to tell a tale of a man falling in love with a virtual girl and retools it with a new nobility lifted from beats, breaks and those three dirty letters.... EDM, as we follow the narrative into a digital world, to escape the bleakness of real life and embark into a constructed world that appears to be far more fulfilling.

(see, i told you i'd get round to ready the press release properly)

Despite sounding like the plot of an 80's special effects laden cult classic movie, the issues of what we truly perceive as 'reality' in a post catfish-effect world teaming with internet trolls are thoroughly relevant in a time when simply setting up an online profile can allow you to live your life as whoever you choose to be.

Past, present and future stories collide as Groundislava basks in the glory of his own terraformed landscape, welcoming travellers on a pilgrimage for new pleasures, greeting listeners that may have already discovered M83 after cutting their teeth on the familiar top 40 sounds of CHVRCHES, Aluna George and Disclosure.

In an uncertain modern world, Groundislava provides the perfect soundtrack.

6&8 + Day Before Us - May Propre Fable, un Dimanche

sometimes, music stumps me.

basing my output on my ability to put my own thoughts, feelings and opinions into words, being stumped leaves me feeling rather redundant.

and mostly I tend to feel this way towards music when I feel that my own words will lessen the true experience of just listening.

this is certainly the case in point with 'May Propre Fable, un Dimanche', a startlingly ethereal experimental soundscape that shifts and mutates from dreams to nightmares within a heartbeat, played out across sonic environments that at first seem unthreatening, giving way to my own very human instinct of feeling unsettled by the sounds that I am surrounding myself with, and ultimately wondering if I can even bare to carry on listening, as the whirlpool of emotions dredged up across the space of a few minutes cause such a drastic reaction to the audio atmospherics.

and even putting aside the music, for now, let's focus on the jarring, creepy vocal jaunts that are strewn across the sparse thirty six minute running time, turning simple statements, sentences and facts into mantras that echo like a horror movie, an unemotional delivery that means nothing, yet left to our imagination, could mean anything.

there is power in the art on display here, exemplified in the fact that the release is presented as a number of rooms, rather than tracks bearing pretentious titles, and in fact, the ever more pretentious framing device, and the collaborative efforts of 6&8 (spoken word fleshed out with ambient electronica from the UK) combining with Day Before Us (French semi-classical dark cinematic ambience) reeks of high brow pretentiousness and enthusiastic chin stroking, and if that is the reaction you elicit from this kind of art, then so be it... because art is made to produce reactions, differing from person to person.

and art is made to be experienced, throwing my wayward attempt at a review into disarray, even I myself throughout the course of writing this have pondered how so much of what I have written could be perceived as negative, yet here is a collection that I have enjoyed.

'May Propre Fable, un Dimanche' by 6&8 + Day Before Us 
is available via Auditory Field Theory

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience Part 2, album review video

yes readers, we are now going multi-platform

here is a review of the brand new Justin Timberlake album, the follow-up to March's The 20/20 Experience part 1, for you to watch with your eyes and hear with your ears

it is our first attempt at this form of review, so please be kind



i'm planning for these video reviews to be a regular feature that sit alongside the writing, more likely to cover some of the higher profile releases that shall be coming our way over the next few months

any feedback is welcome, but like i said, please be gentle with me

Franz Ferdinand - Evil Actions, Review

NME seem to grace us with the occasional covermount occasionally these days, certainly, with so much music available freely online, being a taste maker with freebies isn't a neccesity, so instead they have changed tack and are targeting the fanbases of established artists with, so far, divisive demo collections.

With new album upcoming and the marketing machine rolling into town, the spotlight this time falls upon the arch-dukes of pop, Franz Ferdinand, hoping to fire up interest in Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions, indeed, the title track of the album and preceding single opens this collection in demo form, although casual listeners will be hard pressed to spot the difference between this version and the one all over the airwaves.

And it is this polished finish, even on apparent demos and live studio versions that mark 'Evil Action' out in comparison to recent freebie demo collections in the same vein coming from The Vaccines and The Cribs. Franz are now seasoned veterans in this game, and even their demos are startlingly slick and well thought out, making this CD a well placed companion piece (or even cut-price alternative) to their latest release.

Four tracks taken from the new 10 track album are present and correct, either as demos or Konk studio sessions, and a further two tracks, including single Evil Eye, are presented as extended mixes courtesy of producer and DJ, Todd Terje, with the dance-tinged elements almost psychedelic production echoing back to Tonight: Franz Ferdinand and its remix collection, Blood.

Connecting the dots between Franz Ferdinand's previous exploits is also achieved by the inclusion of Do You Want To, presented as another Konk take, from 2005's You Could Have It So Much Better, and harking even further back, and rounding out the collection is a remix of breakthrough single, Take Me Out.

Daft Punk managed to steal the summer with uber-hit Get Lucky, and have been ahead of the music game for years, but when tasked with retooling Take Me Out, it seems the Parisian robots doth their metallic caps to the art-punk Glaswegians, their remix doesn't stray too far from the base template, instead it simply ramps up the tension of the chorus with some building synths, other than that, it lets the genius of the original recording shine through undeterred.

As a covermount, it is amazing value for money, and as a Franz Ferdinand artefact, it is a worthwhile addition to their growing back catalogue, showing that the world of angular pop and indie dancefloors just wouldn't be the same without them.

Hackney Colliery Band - Common Decency

The summer of 2012 and all of the negative energies and grumbles of washed out summers that typify us British have been erased by the sun drenched positivity and pride that arrived with Jubilee celebrations and stuck around as our over analysed and over debated Olympics finally took hold.

It was the summer of 2012 that I discovered Hackney Colliery Band, and near enough couldn't escape them at times. With a fuzzy head after birthday celebrations, I travelled the DLR to the newly opened London Pleasure Gardens, and as i walk in a crowd has gathered round a brass band, the vibe is casual, they almost look as if they are busking here, the mood is playful and engaging, and the music... hang on... what is that they're playing?

 

 Those that stumble upon Hackney Colliery Band in a similar situation to mine with have no doubt done the same cartoon style double-take, the sound is stunningly colloquial, a strange throwback that is as much an indulgence as it is a curiosity. Yes, this is a brass band, yes, with trumpets and trombones and other instruments I may be able to name after adequate research... but what is that they're playing?

To base a review purely on the merits of their cover versions would be poor form indeed, new album Common Decency sees to that, but those that are paying attention to this band are surely doing so after hearing hip-hop melded with a good old British sense of fun, and when I perched my bum on the grass in front of a stage in Victoria Park for an Olympic celebration of Sports and Music, surely those that booked Hackney Colliery Band must have thought the same.

The beauty of the album is that it isn't just a covers album, unique original material is abound, and for those unfamiliar with the source material it is sometimes difficult to discern which is which, making this flighty and joyous rumble of brass and rebellious behaviour a joy to revel in.

I won't lie to you, at live outings and on record, Kanye West's pompous and already mammoth sounding All Of The Lights takes on a majestic incarnation when being blasted out by brass horns, it is my favourite track by a country mile and just the thought of it sends a shiver up my spine and a smile across my lips. Empire State of Mind by Jay -Z/Alicia Keys is a magnificent reinterpretation and the closing Prodigy medley is bloody good fun, but Smile for The Webcam and You Got What I Need also hold their own against the easy lure of recording the songs of others and watching fans flock to you.

 

And as the summer seemed to be signalled that it was time to wind things up with the Olympic Closing Ceremony, and BBC newscasters walking around the stadium talk about and hint at the sights we may see coming up later, who is that I can hear in the background, performing as a precursor to the main event, its only that Hackney Colliery Band again?!?

With good reason have they found so many new acolytes along their musical journey, this is enthralling feelgood music that would fit in at village fêtes as perfectly as it would at trendy Shoreditch nightspots, if there is one thing that is universal, it is fun, and as the summer of 2013 draws in, I've got good reason to believe that Hackney Colliery Band should be the perfect soundtrack to every summer.

Benin City - Fires In The Park

Music and poetry collide spectacularly in a kaleidoscopic array on this debut album from trio Benin City.

And is is hard to know where to start singing the praises of Fires In The Park, so why not start at the start with opening track, People Will Say, a mid-tempo moody beast that lurches along with a loose jazz fusion groove, more than adequately taking the weight of the heavily thought through vocal delivery.

It is this enchanting way with words that provides just one of a handful of focal points on this release, taking the jam-packed nature of rap, which when used properly can say so much, and slowing it down to an almost spoken word pace that still manages to ride along with the music, and certainly, the comfortable pace gives the words room to hang in the air, ripe for picking, and almost every listen provides me a new favourite couplet or another line that I can relate directly to my own life.

Another plus point that works in the albums favour is the vastness of musical skills that are flexed across an everchanging soundscape, where the first track lurches, the second one bounces, fuelled by a driven pulse that grows into a full on electro-samba, Faithless quickly demonstrates Benin City's capabilities, and across just two songs they have grabbed my attention and refuse to let go.

The beautiful lament of Wha Gwan from which the album takes its title is a fragile and emotional plea that is as uplifting as it is heartbreaking, tugging at heart strings as it builds, and then Pencils drops with a slow bass walk that pulls us through a vitriolic vocal performance that is virtually spat straight into your face, switching from raised spirits to an almost confrontational throwdown .in a mere heartbeat.

This is surely why Benin City are ones to watch, and ones to watch closely, ones to study with great intent... because they are worthy of the attention.

I've only waxed lyrical about four tracks so far from a thirteen track album, and already I have said more than I ever usually find to say about almost any act I have had the fortune to review.

I could seriously continue breaking down the album into bite-sized chunks, but it is the full scope of this band that make them so appealing, for those yet to be turned onto Benin City, the shades of Wretch 32 colluding with Saul Williams should provide an ample jumping on point for both hipsters and mainstream hip-hoppers, whilst the musical diversity shown by Crystal Fighters and Faithless (the band, rather than the aforementioned track) should point you roughly in the right direction of an act that squirms against generic pigeon-holing.

And again we stumble upon another focal point, for Fires In The Park can simply be listened to, and enjoyed, or it can be voraciously consumed, taking the time to pick over the enjoyable experimentation of the band's productions, richly layered and magically uncompromising in its subtle nuances of strange effects and distortions that bleed faultlessly into the vaster picture, hiding in plain sight and demanding to be discovered.

Music and poetry colliding, that just doesn't do Benin City any justice at all, in fact it is almost demeaning to boil such complex tapestries of sound down to two simple specifics.

Those that merely read this review won't understand, and music and poetry colliding will be all they take away from this, but I'm hoping that it incites further investigation and that Fires In The Park will invite further word of mouth reactions in those curious enough to dig deeper.

E.m.m.a: Blue Gardens

As an 80s baby, the 16 and 8-bit noises of old consoles and gameboys will always tug at my heart strings, wrestling me from this interconnected world and taking me back to a time when the Tetris end screen figured pretty highly into my life goals.

Enter E.m.m.a, wielding a debut album that swings wildly for my memories, taking swipes at my past both distant and more recent, Kirby's Dreamhouse and Streets of Rage are mashed up with the pirate radio stations that used to blast out of our 6th form common room and the garage nights where a friend of a friend that owned their own decks and a boxful of vinyls would provide the gateway drug to real going out when we'd finally all turn 18.

Chuck in some Notting Hill carnival vibes for good measure and a healthy dose of Burial style dubstep and that pretty much sums up the listening experience, an experience that feels tailor made to my own personal tastes. Whilst the experimentation with chip-tune may be nothing original, the way it is presented here certainly feels different, atmospheric yet edgy, a balance of light and dark, dreamy soundscapes and devastating bass.

And I doubt I could tire of it, seemingly fresh and yet overwhelmingly nostalgic, for me at least, those that haven't revelled in a fondness for clubbing and late 80s/early 90s gaming may not understand the virtues I am extolling, but others of my generation will surely find this to be a culturally rich sonic masterpiece.

Fall Out Boy: Save Rock And Roll

Seeking Susan Boyle has been a one man band since its inception, but no longer...

introducing herself with a review of Fall Out Boy's comeback album is Nelly da Conceição Estrela, who caught my eye with her work over at her own blog, student-journalist and who i'm proud to welcome to the fold.



This may be a little biased seeing as I am the biggest Fall Out Boy fangirl ever since my best friend made me listen to ‘Dance, Dance’ off their 2005 album ‘From Under The Cork Tree’.

I saw Fall Out Boy perform for the first time at the O2 Arena in March of 2009 and it was magic for my little teenage heart. It was a wonderful night and I’ll never forget how I felt like I was part of one big family as we all sung the lyrics to ‘Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner’ in complete unison.

The 4-piece band from Illinois, Chicago went on to have an impromptu hiatus from 2010 until early February this year. To the delight of many die-hard fans (myself included), they had secretly recorded a whole album (insert squeals here), titled an ambitious ‘Save Rock And Roll’. Although, I feel that it’s a satirical device, the album title is fitting.

A music video was released four days after their comeback was announced, starring 2 Chainz, a popular hip-hop artist. Hardly rock and roll, but I applaud the boys for putting out creative feelers and trying to do something different.

The polar worlds of hip-hop/rap and rock have collided before; does anybody remember the music video of Korn’s ‘Twisted Transistor’ featuring rappers Lil jon, Xzibit, Snoop Dogg and David Banner? To my disgust, a small group of so-called ‘fans’ were exercising their right to free speech and making albeit racist remarks at the collaboration on the YouTube comments for the single ‘My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up)’.

 

There were some people who made genuine comments on the album, referring to the repeated usage of technology instead of what they call ‘real instruments’. To some degree, I’ll recognise that some of the songs are severely lacking in the raw essence we saw in ‘Infinity on High’ (2007) and ‘Take This To Your Grave’ (2003).

As a drummer, I found myself to be disappointed in the beats and found them to be a little too edited and saturated to connect with. Having said that, I do really like the clap sample intro from ‘My Songs’ (which went platinum in the U.S.) and the intro to ‘Rat a Tat’, which features Courtney Love. The star-studded album also features the likes of Elton John, Big Sean and Foxes, an up-and-coming British singer and songwriter.

As a fangirl, I was psyched for this album and I still find myself grooving to it. I have to respect that this album was produced with 100% heart and that Fall Out Boy are trying to shed their negative sell-out ‘emo’ phase and trying to please no one but themselves with their music.

And that takes a lot of cojones, especially in this wonderful, weird digital age.

words by Nelly da Conceição Estrela