2007

I've been thinking back to my hopes and expectations for music in 2007. At the start of the year, I was most looking forward to new albums from Arcade Fire and The Innocence Mission and hoping that Tindersticks would get back together and record a new album. I was also hoping to attend more gigs than I did last year.

Well, I attended less gigs than in 2006 but the shows I did get to were absolutely brilliant. Tindersticks did get back together and record an album, but we have to wait until 2008 to hear it. The Innocence Mission and Arcade Fire albums were both excellent, although The Arcade Fire didn't manage to improve on 'Funeral'. But as with every year in music, 2007 brought some excellent new discoveries for me.

I don't know how I managed to avoid getting into the Hold Steady until this year, but from the moment I heard 'Boys and Girls In America', I was hooked. Certainly through the summer and early autumn I played little else but their three albums. Seeing them play live in July was one of the highlights of my year. I also discovered The National, who are a kind of American version of Tindersticks. As for new artists, I really liked the work of Twilight Sad (I still think of them as a mix of The Proclaimers and My Bloody Valentine, no matter what anyone says), the moody Tiny Vipers and the indie-folk of Emmy The Great, who surely will hit the big time next year.

One unexpected pleasure was the sheer brilliance of 'In Rainbows', which is 'a grower' of extreme proportions and I never expected, ten years after 'OK Computer' to love a Radiohead record as much again.

There were disappointments of course. The Bill Callahan record was, to my ears, poor. I spent a few weeks pretending to like it and trying to force myself to get into it, but it just seemed so unfocussed and meandering. The Iron and Wine record left me cold, despite the fact that I loved 'Our Endless Numbered Days' and it was sad to hear Wilco dismantle everything that made them great over the last five years.

What is sadder than any of these things though, is the fact that my home town of Bedford now doesn't have a record shop. Since I was a boy I have shopped for records in Bedford. I remember when we had an HMV! As I grew up and got into more alternative music I would spend hours perusing the racks of Andys Records and Sounds Good To Me, now we don't even have a Music Zone or a Fopp. It is sad for me because I have to order records online and wait for my visits to London but it is even sadder for music fans growing up today, who will never know how much fun it is to spend half an hour in a record shop with £20 in their pocket, choosing records on the quality of the sleeve and asking the friendly record shop owner if they can have a listen. Tragic. They will never know what they are missing.

Anyway, 2007 was great. My gig of the year was Mountain Goats at the Union Chapel, my album of the year will be revealed (as will the full top 30) next week.

Here's to 2008 and new LPs from Tindersticks, Mountain Goats and American Music Club.

Emmy The Great

While I still haven't got over the excitement of finally seeing The Mountain Goats play live and the joy of it being every bit as good as I hoped, I wanted to also write about how much I enjoyed the set from Emmy The Great.

Emmy is Emma-Lee Moss, born in Hong Kong, now living in London. She performed with a second singer/piano player and a violinist. Her songs are a mix of indie and folk, sounding a little like Belle & Sebastian may have sounded at times had Isobel Campbell had a stronger singing voice. She only played five or six songs but they were all strong and the performance of the band overall was very assured. Highlights were a superb cover of John Prine's 'Christmas in Prison' which has been stuck in my head ever since Saturday and current single 'Gabriel.

You can hear more on Emmy's Myspace site:
http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat

The Mountain Goats - Union Chapel 8th December 2007

So, I finally got to see The Mountain Goats play live. Last night The Union Chapel played host to the Pineapple Folk Festival, featuring TMG, Micah P Hinson, Emmy The Great and Alisdair Roberts. With all due respect to the other artists though (and Emmy The Great played a very nice, if short, set) this, for me, was about finally seeing John Darnielle and Peter Hughes play their amazing songs live.

The Union Chapel is a beautiful venue, easily my favourite in London. The acoustics are as clear as you'll find anywhere and in between sets there is some lovely scenary to look at. The Goats arrived on stage at 8.30, wearing some smart suits which according to my girlfriend made Peter Hughes look like Nathan Petrelli from Heroes. John played acoustic guitar and sang and Peter played bass.

They opened with 'Wild Sage' from last year's 'Get Lonely' LP, John singing with the hushed whisper/gasp in evidence throughout that album. As the set progressed we were treated to some real favourites including 'Dance Music', 'Jenny' and 'This Year'. The atmosphere was fantastic, the auidence were so enthusiastic and John seemed really happy and looked to be enjoying himself immensely.. One of the highlights was him moving away from the microphone during 'Maybe Sprout Wings' to sing unamplified, the Church was so silent that you could hear him clearly and the effect was spine-tingling.

For the closing song of the main set they played 'Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton', yes, complete with the 'Hail Satan' singalong ending and were joined on stage by Eddie Argos from Art Brut. The only complaint I have was that the set wasn't longer, but it was great that a) John said they would be back in 2008 and b) the title track of the new LP 'Heretic Pride' was played and was absolutely brilliant...very lively and upbeat too.

This was a wonderful night, one of the best sets I have seen and I hope John enjoyed it as much as us fans did.

Full review of the Pineapple Folk night later in the week, but for now, here is the TMG setlist...

Wild Sage
Tollund Man
The Recognition Scene
You or Your Memory
Cobscook Bay
Love Love Love
Heretic Pride
Tulsa Imperative
Jenny
Dance Music
Maybe Sprout Wings
This Year
The Best Ever Death Metal band in Denton (with Eddie Argos from Art Brut)

Encore: Houseguest

The Innocence Mission 'We Walked In Song'

Clearly, my profession of choice would be a record reviewer. However, even if I had the talent to perform this duty, I am starting to wonder if I would find it possible to work to the guidelines required. I have read a review of The Innocence Mission's new album in Uncut, it can't be much more than 100 words, it is a 'safe' three star review and sticks to Wikipedia type facts about the band and offers the insight that as the record is largely about Karen Peris' Father who died while the record was being written, it is sombre. If someone asked me to give them 100 words on the new Innocence Mission LP, I think I would find it impossible.

I first became a fan of The Innocence Mission in 2001 after a recommendation from a friend. They are husband and wife Don and Karen Peris with assistance from bassist Mike Bitts. Karen sings and plays guitars and piano, while Don plays most of the guitars, drums and occasionally sings backing vocals. Their music is a kind of dreamy, light, folky sound, with mainly acoustic guitars and Karen's beautiful, childlike vocal over the top. The songs often focus on themes such as childhood, religion and friendship.

2003's 'Befriended' was written shortly after the death of Karen's Mother and it is partly a tribute to her life and partly an album about coping with her death. It remains one of my favourite albums of all time and will inevitably, at some point, make you cry.

This year the follow up album finally arrived. Released in January 2007 in the USA and out in the UK next January, 'We Walked In Song' is, in many ways, a companion album to 'Befriended'. I have lived with this album for most of this year and there haven't been many weeks when I haven't listened to it at least once.

Karen's Father died during the writing of this album and if you listen to the album just once and read the lyric sheet through, you might get the impression that this is a sad, sombre album. You'd be wrong. Instead of dwelling on sadness and loss, the lyrics look for hope, joy and happiness in the things that remain. So there are songs about members of Karen's family as well as several songs about the kindness of strangers and the way that moments like these can light up the day.

Opener 'The Brotherhood of Man' sets the scene with lyrics such as:

"Waiting at the airport on my suitcase,
a girl traveling from Spain became my sudden friend,
though I did not learn her name.
And when the subway dimmed
a stranger lit my way.
This is the brotherhood of man."

Elsewhere on the same song, the sadness shines through...

"We meet an older man who seems to know
I miss my dad.
And he smiles through the limbs.
We talk easily with him
until the rain begins."     

Karen sings this song beautifully, complemented by intricate guitar pickings from Don. 'Happy Birthday' and 'Love That Boy' are tributes to members of Karen's family but it is after these two tracks that the album really hits it's stride.

'Into Brooklyn...' is the most upbeat, catchy song on the album and the first to contain anything so loud as a drum! Its a song, you'll be humming for days after you first hear it. 'Lake Shore Drive' has more of an alt.folk sound than anything else here, it is a joyous song too, as Karen decides to leave regret and grief behind whilst never letting memories fade

"It seems the right time
to let go of the steep incline
of this day and to know you’re mine
forever and I will be fine.
In me will you shine,
shine, shine, will you shine"

Later on, 'Since I Still Tell You My Everyday' is an impossibly sad and lonely song, performed with a very sparse acoustic arrangement and 'Over The Moon' and 'A Wave is Rolling' focus on optimism for the future with some very nice imagery.

As has become something of a tradition on Innocence Mission records the final track features harmonies between Karen and Don. They sound great singing together, as Don's voice compliments Karen's very well. 'My Sisters Return from Ireland' is a great closer with Karen's lyrics hoping that she too can show kindness to others in the same way as it has been offered to her.

There is not a huge variation in sound or themes on this record so don't expect that. But, if you want to hear gentle, emotional songs performed by great musicians and singers than you won't go far wrong with 'We Walked In Song' and you'll probably find yourself gradually purchasing all of The Innocence Mission's superb back catalogue. There is a lot more to them than meets the eye.

9.8