It has already been an amazing year for music and its still only March. It is one of those years when all of my favourite artists seem to be releasing records and I can hardly believe that already I have had albums to review by Tindersticks, American Music Club, Mountain Goats and Stephen Malkmus.
Just when things couldn't get better, Mark Kozelek releases a new record too. I've been a fan of Kozelek since his run of amazing albums with Red House Painters on 4AD in the early 90s. Since then, with the last RHP record (which was effectively Koz's first solo venture) and his first release as Sun Kil Moon, Kozelek has matured into a consumate singer songwriter. 2003's 'Ghosts of the Great Highway' was a simply magnificent record, mixing beautiful acoustic ballads with Neil Young styled guitar epics, it was the best album of Kozelek's career and a hard act to follow.
He has taken five years to do that. In between he has released a solo live album and an album of Modest Mouse covers that was a delight, probably to all but fans of the band he covered. 'April' though, is the true Sun Kil Moon follow up and is a quite formidable album, clocking in at 74 minutes and containing several ten minute songs. It is no album to play to anyone new to Kozelek's work and requires dedication and perseverance from the listener.
Like most of Mark's work it focuses on lyrical themes of memories, dreams and reminiscing. Ten minute opener 'Lost Verses' sees Kozelek wandering the streets of San Francisco looking in on old friends over a nagging acoustic melody.
"I haunt the streets of San Francisco
Watch over loved ones and old friends
I see them through their living room windows
Shaken by fear and worry
I want them to know how I love them so"
It sounds instantly familiar, maybe because it is seemingly a companion piece to 'Have You Forgotten' from RHP's 'Songs For a Blue Guitar'. It is beautifully played, unhurried and understated and a highlight.
'Lucky Man' is similarly evocative, this time describing the sights, sounds and memories of Kozelek's time growing up in Ohio. It begins a run of gentle songs with beautiful guitar playing and singing, including the love song 'Moorestown' and the haunting, mesmorising 'Heron Blue'.
The album changes direction slightly with 'Tonight The Sky', an astonishing ten minute riff-driven number, which sounds like Magnolia Electric Co and ends with a superb guitar drone/feedback section. It cannot be quite as good as the unbelievable 'Duk Koo Kim' from 'Ghosts of the Great Highway' but it is close. The mood changes again with 'Like The River', one of the shortest songs on the album and certainly the most country-sounding. It benefits from its simplicity though and from perfectly fitting backing vocals from Bonnie Prince Billy.
'Ghosts of the Great Highway' ended with spanish guitar on 'Si Paloma' and 'Pancho Villa' and this record does the same with closer 'Blue Orchids' which features a lovely instrumental section at the end.
I haven't mentioned every song here and in truth a couple of the mid pace songs such as 'The Light' and 'Tonight In Bilbao' lag a little but there is certainly no filler here. 'April' is an extremely well written record and is in fact something of a singer-songwriter masterclass. It requires several listens before the melodies and lyrics start to unravel and the songs become familiar but listeners will be rewarded for their dedication as this is the work of an accomplished songwriter not afraid to take risks. Kozlelek has produced a stunning set of songs here that will stand the test of time.
9.0
'April' is out now on digital download from Calo Verde Records and out on Monday on CD.
Tuesday 25 March 2008
Saturday 22 March 2008
non tracks and gigs
No Tracks or Gigs mentioned here but I have to mention that my local cinema has finally decided to show PT Anderson's 'There Will Be Blood', I went to see it today and.....
Wow.
What a film.
The sort of film that stays in your head for days and days after you've seen it. Beautifully shot, amazing acting from both Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano (who was also superb in 'Little Miss Sunshine') and a great soundtrack from Jonny Greenwood.
A masterpiece. (and there were five of us in the cinema to see it..)
Wow.
What a film.
The sort of film that stays in your head for days and days after you've seen it. Beautifully shot, amazing acting from both Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano (who was also superb in 'Little Miss Sunshine') and a great soundtrack from Jonny Greenwood.
A masterpiece. (and there were five of us in the cinema to see it..)
Wednesday 19 March 2008
Kimya Dawson - Remember That I Love You
I am ashamed to say that I knew nothing of Kimya Dawson or her former band The Moldy Peaches until I saw the film Juno. With a soundtrack featuring half a dozen of her songs and a very strong music/film connection I am sure I'm not the only one who raced home to google her and try to buy some of her records. To take advantage of slow people like me, K Records are re-releasing several of Dawson's solo albums in the UK and this, her most recent and the most 'Junofied', is the first.
Listening to 'Remember That I Love You' is a very intimate experience. The songs are personal, recorded onto four track with friends helping out and heavy on the words and voice and light on the music; strumming is pretty much all you get, with a bit of whistling and the occasional flute. The album is largely focussed on the theme of how you should love yourself no matter what your shape or size. It is undeniably pretty but there is a fine line between pretty and twee...and even cloying, and this record treads that line fearlessly and with varying amounts of success.
Opener 'Tire Swing', the most prominent song in Juno, is marvellous. Beautifully written and sung, it will put a smile on your face and have you singing along. It also has a lot of assonance (I think thats the word) which makes it sound really pretty. 'My Mom' on the other hand, is for me anyway, far too personal and detailed to enjoy as a song. I am reluctant to criticise it too much due to the subject matter but it is no fun to listen to.
'Loose Lips', also from Juno' is better again and has some great lines about George Bush and some nice lyrics offering listeners the chance to send Kimya an IM if they are feeling suicidal. Things go downhill a bit from here and you realise that the Juno soundtrack curator knew what she was doing in picking the songs she did. 'Caving In' has a distractingly unpleasant violin line and 'I Like Giants' would have been rejected by Belle and Sebastian due to excess tweeness.
The song I really have a problem with though is 'The Competition', a song about how Kimya took being sad and depressed and turned it round into an achievement because of how many people "relate" and email her to say "Thanks for saying the things I didn't know how to say" and how she is happy to make a living by "being Kimya Dawson". If this was tongue in cheek it would be OK, but I believe it is sincere. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would want to listen to this song.
There are other nice moments though. 'France' is nice and funny and has some clever rhyming and '12/26', a song about the USA's reaction to the Tsunami raises some good points.
I wanted to like this album and I really thought I would. I still love 'Tire Swing', its one of my songs of the year. I think there might be a USA/UK difficulty here. There are people I know in the USA/Canada who will love this record and wouldn't even consider the things I have problems with. I don't know why that is, but I cannot suspend my cynicism as much as I would need to, to enjoy this record.
Nice, pretty, sincere - but too much of all three for me I'm afraid.
5.9
Listening to 'Remember That I Love You' is a very intimate experience. The songs are personal, recorded onto four track with friends helping out and heavy on the words and voice and light on the music; strumming is pretty much all you get, with a bit of whistling and the occasional flute. The album is largely focussed on the theme of how you should love yourself no matter what your shape or size. It is undeniably pretty but there is a fine line between pretty and twee...and even cloying, and this record treads that line fearlessly and with varying amounts of success.
Opener 'Tire Swing', the most prominent song in Juno, is marvellous. Beautifully written and sung, it will put a smile on your face and have you singing along. It also has a lot of assonance (I think thats the word) which makes it sound really pretty. 'My Mom' on the other hand, is for me anyway, far too personal and detailed to enjoy as a song. I am reluctant to criticise it too much due to the subject matter but it is no fun to listen to.
'Loose Lips', also from Juno' is better again and has some great lines about George Bush and some nice lyrics offering listeners the chance to send Kimya an IM if they are feeling suicidal. Things go downhill a bit from here and you realise that the Juno soundtrack curator knew what she was doing in picking the songs she did. 'Caving In' has a distractingly unpleasant violin line and 'I Like Giants' would have been rejected by Belle and Sebastian due to excess tweeness.
The song I really have a problem with though is 'The Competition', a song about how Kimya took being sad and depressed and turned it round into an achievement because of how many people "relate" and email her to say "Thanks for saying the things I didn't know how to say" and how she is happy to make a living by "being Kimya Dawson". If this was tongue in cheek it would be OK, but I believe it is sincere. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would want to listen to this song.
There are other nice moments though. 'France' is nice and funny and has some clever rhyming and '12/26', a song about the USA's reaction to the Tsunami raises some good points.
I wanted to like this album and I really thought I would. I still love 'Tire Swing', its one of my songs of the year. I think there might be a USA/UK difficulty here. There are people I know in the USA/Canada who will love this record and wouldn't even consider the things I have problems with. I don't know why that is, but I cannot suspend my cynicism as much as I would need to, to enjoy this record.
Nice, pretty, sincere - but too much of all three for me I'm afraid.
5.9
Thursday 6 March 2008
Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago
I'd heard so much about this record, and all good, that I couldn't wait for the 4AD UK release in May and so bought the US import. Played it for the first time this evening and am struggling to describe it.
Its an incredibly atmospheric listening experience, so much so that you sometimes feel that he is in the room singing to you. It is also one of the most special, unique albums I have heard in a long time.
Full review soon.
Its an incredibly atmospheric listening experience, so much so that you sometimes feel that he is in the room singing to you. It is also one of the most special, unique albums I have heard in a long time.
Full review soon.
Tuesday 4 March 2008
M Ward again
a couple of hours after the 'She and Him' post, inspired to listen to 'transistor radio' again and I'm struck once more by what a beautifully recorded album this is. I just love the sound of it and I remember playing it on vinyl for the first time and the sound being so warm and fuzzy and just perfect for this record.
the way the songs blend into each other is sublime, 'hi-fi' giving way to 'fuel for fire' gets me every time.
just bliss.
the way the songs blend into each other is sublime, 'hi-fi' giving way to 'fuel for fire' gets me every time.
just bliss.
She and Him
Just a quick post to say I am currently greatly enjoying the taster track from the forthcoming She and Him album.
She and Him are the ever brilliant M Ward (I still rate 'Transistor Radio' as his best album so far. Beautiful sounding album) and actress Zooey Deschanel who is best known, for me at least, for her role in the lovely 'All The Real Girls'. Turns out that Deschanel has a great singing voice too. She sings and M Ward plays guitar and arranges. They have an album out on March 18th on Merge.
There is a track to listen to on their Myspace (link below) and its very nice indeed. Ward's guitar playing style is very distinctive but hearing Deschanel's vocals (Nancy Sinatra/ The Ronettes) over the top is a very new experience and I can't get this song out of my head. Can't wait for the LP.
http://www.myspace.com/sheandhim
She and Him are the ever brilliant M Ward (I still rate 'Transistor Radio' as his best album so far. Beautiful sounding album) and actress Zooey Deschanel who is best known, for me at least, for her role in the lovely 'All The Real Girls'. Turns out that Deschanel has a great singing voice too. She sings and M Ward plays guitar and arranges. They have an album out on March 18th on Merge.
There is a track to listen to on their Myspace (link below) and its very nice indeed. Ward's guitar playing style is very distinctive but hearing Deschanel's vocals (Nancy Sinatra/ The Ronettes) over the top is a very new experience and I can't get this song out of my head. Can't wait for the LP.
http://www.myspace.com/sheandhim
Saturday 1 March 2008
Stephen Malkmus 'Real Emotional Trash'
Back in 1994 my favourite three bands were Pavement, Tindersticks and Grant Lee Buffalo. Nothing lasts forever, Pavement and GLB both split five years later and Tindersticks are just returning after a four year hiatus with a modified line up. I've been disappointed with the solo careers of Stephen Malkmus and Grant Lee Phillips and I approached this, Malkmus' fourth post-Pavement LP, with some trepedation having bought it more out of a sense of duty than any genuine excitement.
'Real Emotional Trash' sees the return of Malkmus' backing band 'The Jicks' who were absent from 2005's dull 'Face The Truth'. This is a good thing and means this is Malkmus' first record to have a cohesive band sound since the days of Pavement. The sound is heavy on guitars with solos and jams dominating most of the songs but some interesting keyboard and drum parts feature too.
Malkmus sounds far more interested than he did on the previous two records, singing with real passion on the likes of 'Dragonfly Pie' and the superb closer 'Wicked Wanda'. The highlight though is undoubtably the ten minute title track. I have seen this described as overly long and boring. It isn't at all. Instead, it is a genuine epic, starting off slow and introspective and building into a stunning exploration of sound, melody and noise.
For the first time since his solo debut, Stephen Malkmus has produced an album that his both enjoyable and interesting to listen to and it improves with each listen as there are some strong melodies here underneath all of the guitar noise.
This album doesn't stop me wanting Pavement back but it is the best thing Malkmus has recorded since they split.
8.0
'Real Emotional Trash' sees the return of Malkmus' backing band 'The Jicks' who were absent from 2005's dull 'Face The Truth'. This is a good thing and means this is Malkmus' first record to have a cohesive band sound since the days of Pavement. The sound is heavy on guitars with solos and jams dominating most of the songs but some interesting keyboard and drum parts feature too.
Malkmus sounds far more interested than he did on the previous two records, singing with real passion on the likes of 'Dragonfly Pie' and the superb closer 'Wicked Wanda'. The highlight though is undoubtably the ten minute title track. I have seen this described as overly long and boring. It isn't at all. Instead, it is a genuine epic, starting off slow and introspective and building into a stunning exploration of sound, melody and noise.
For the first time since his solo debut, Stephen Malkmus has produced an album that his both enjoyable and interesting to listen to and it improves with each listen as there are some strong melodies here underneath all of the guitar noise.
This album doesn't stop me wanting Pavement back but it is the best thing Malkmus has recorded since they split.
8.0
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