I am badly behind with T&G due to my new job. But, coming soon..
- Review of Portishead album
- on Sunday evening there will be a review of Tindersticks at Royal Festival Hall
- and other stuff
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Retribution Gospel Choir 'Retribution Gospel Choir'
"I thought slow and quiet was the way to go. I was wrong"
So said Alan Sparhawk of Low, upon the release of their 'The Great Destroyer' album in 2005, which was Low with added rock. Since then, Sparhawk formed a side-project with Mark Kozelek, Eric Pollard and Matt Livingstone, which enabled him to make the louder, rockier music that was interesting him. RGC have already released a couple of EPs and now, with Kozelek producing but not playing, they have released their first full LP.
It contains ten tracks, two of which are previously released Low songs, and weighs in at just over 30 minutes. At a recent Low gig, Mimi Parker remarked of RGC "they just all solo at the same time". She may have been joking but she's not entirely wrong. The songs all follow the loud-quiet-loud formula, lots of guitar and plenty of repeated one line choruses.
The problem with this record, for me, is that there is none of the warmth that you can find on most Low records. Sparhawk's voice struggles with the pace of these songs and sounds weak and there is little variety and subtlety.
If you want to hear how Low would sound as a rock band, buy 'The Great Destroyer' instead. This sounds like a hurried, lazy, predictable album.
4.7
So said Alan Sparhawk of Low, upon the release of their 'The Great Destroyer' album in 2005, which was Low with added rock. Since then, Sparhawk formed a side-project with Mark Kozelek, Eric Pollard and Matt Livingstone, which enabled him to make the louder, rockier music that was interesting him. RGC have already released a couple of EPs and now, with Kozelek producing but not playing, they have released their first full LP.
It contains ten tracks, two of which are previously released Low songs, and weighs in at just over 30 minutes. At a recent Low gig, Mimi Parker remarked of RGC "they just all solo at the same time". She may have been joking but she's not entirely wrong. The songs all follow the loud-quiet-loud formula, lots of guitar and plenty of repeated one line choruses.
The problem with this record, for me, is that there is none of the warmth that you can find on most Low records. Sparhawk's voice struggles with the pace of these songs and sounds weak and there is little variety and subtlety.
If you want to hear how Low would sound as a rock band, buy 'The Great Destroyer' instead. This sounds like a hurried, lazy, predictable album.
4.7
Saturday 26 April 2008
new Twilight Sad song
just a quick update, because my first week of working in London has left me feeling absolutely shattered and I've just been listening to Bon Iver on repeat all week anyway....
But! There is a new song on The Twilight Sad's Myspace! It is dark, brooding, menacing and hmm, almost shares a title with one of the tracks from their debut album. Almost, but not quite. 'Here It Never Snowed, Afterwards it did' is from a forthcoming EP, of which little is known so far.
You can hear it at.... http://www.myspace.com/thetwilightsad
But! There is a new song on The Twilight Sad's Myspace! It is dark, brooding, menacing and hmm, almost shares a title with one of the tracks from their debut album. Almost, but not quite. 'Here It Never Snowed, Afterwards it did' is from a forthcoming EP, of which little is known so far.
You can hear it at.... http://www.myspace.com/thetwilightsad
Friday 18 April 2008
song of the year so far - Bon Iver 're:stacks'
Its been a funny year so far. In terms of music it has been wonderful, but for me there have been times of real uncertainty and worry regarding my working life. Things have turned out really well in the end and I start an exciting new job on Monday after leaving my previous job of seven years.
It has been a strange couple of months. I remember sitting on the train in February, at a time when I had to make a big, scary decision and reading Laura Barton's 'Hail Hail Rock n Roll' column in the Guardian, where she eulogised about Bon Iver, an artist who was then unknown to me, and wrote "...This is, I suppose, a perfect album to listen to if you need to make a decision, to leave somebody, or to stay with them, to quit your job, to get over someone. Its listening makes for solitary work; it requires concentration and dedication and a willing vulnerability, but in listening to it repeatedly you establish a kind of routine that frees your thoughts."
How right she was. 2 weeks later I was listening to the album ('For Emma, Forever Ago') and you can read my thoughts in a post below; it took me a while before I could bring myself to try and review it, so in awe was I of the record.
The record has followed me around ever since. It was playing on my ipod when I stood outside my new employer's offices before my interview two weeks ago. It was playing on my stereo the next day when they phoned to tell me I'd got the job. It is playing now, as I sit here thinking about next week. Excited/scared.
're:stacks' is my favourite track on the record because it is so calming. It is the last song on the album and after all that has gone before, it seems to settle everything into place, leaving all as it was before.
"everything that happens is from now on
this is pouring rain
this is paralyzed"
Its been a strange time. In a funny way these last few weeks have been like a state of limbo and maybe thats why Bon Iver has soundtracked everything so well ("it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away"). Everything moves on now, but I think this record will stay with me for a very long time.
It has been a strange couple of months. I remember sitting on the train in February, at a time when I had to make a big, scary decision and reading Laura Barton's 'Hail Hail Rock n Roll' column in the Guardian, where she eulogised about Bon Iver, an artist who was then unknown to me, and wrote "...This is, I suppose, a perfect album to listen to if you need to make a decision, to leave somebody, or to stay with them, to quit your job, to get over someone. Its listening makes for solitary work; it requires concentration and dedication and a willing vulnerability, but in listening to it repeatedly you establish a kind of routine that frees your thoughts."
How right she was. 2 weeks later I was listening to the album ('For Emma, Forever Ago') and you can read my thoughts in a post below; it took me a while before I could bring myself to try and review it, so in awe was I of the record.
The record has followed me around ever since. It was playing on my ipod when I stood outside my new employer's offices before my interview two weeks ago. It was playing on my stereo the next day when they phoned to tell me I'd got the job. It is playing now, as I sit here thinking about next week. Excited/scared.
're:stacks' is my favourite track on the record because it is so calming. It is the last song on the album and after all that has gone before, it seems to settle everything into place, leaving all as it was before.
"everything that happens is from now on
this is pouring rain
this is paralyzed"
Its been a strange time. In a funny way these last few weeks have been like a state of limbo and maybe thats why Bon Iver has soundtracked everything so well ("it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away"). Everything moves on now, but I think this record will stay with me for a very long time.
Monday 14 April 2008
single of the week... Tindersticks 'The Hungry Saw'
OK, so TracksandGigs may not have had a 'Single of the Week' before, but this is a special occasion...
Tindersticks release the first single from their amazing 'The Hungry Saw' LP today and it is the title track. 'The Hungry Saw' is one of the best examples of the new sound and renewed vibrancy of the band following the line-up changes and quick recording of their first album in five years. It sounds raw and fresh with a great lyric from Stuart Staples about the devil lurking in all of us. Musically it sounds like something from the first album, a mix of 'Patchwork' and 'Her', with the most catchy and immediate chorus, Tindersticks have ever produced.
B Side 'Back To The Earth' is just as rough around the edges. With another interesting lyric and catchy melody, this is an addition to the list of 'quirky' Tindersticks songs, sounding like 'Desperate Man' mixed with 'Just A Dog'.
Single of the week anyway, or indeed....of the year.
While on the subject of The 'Sticks (less than three weeks til they play London now! Can I wait? No.), fans should check out the revamped and better than ever Tindergigs ( http://www.tindergigs.com ). The number one resource for tinderinfo on the internet.
'The Hungry Saw' is out now on 7" and download
Tindersticks release the first single from their amazing 'The Hungry Saw' LP today and it is the title track. 'The Hungry Saw' is one of the best examples of the new sound and renewed vibrancy of the band following the line-up changes and quick recording of their first album in five years. It sounds raw and fresh with a great lyric from Stuart Staples about the devil lurking in all of us. Musically it sounds like something from the first album, a mix of 'Patchwork' and 'Her', with the most catchy and immediate chorus, Tindersticks have ever produced.
B Side 'Back To The Earth' is just as rough around the edges. With another interesting lyric and catchy melody, this is an addition to the list of 'quirky' Tindersticks songs, sounding like 'Desperate Man' mixed with 'Just A Dog'.
Single of the week anyway, or indeed....of the year.
While on the subject of The 'Sticks (less than three weeks til they play London now! Can I wait? No.), fans should check out the revamped and better than ever Tindergigs ( http://www.tindergigs.com ). The number one resource for tinderinfo on the internet.
'The Hungry Saw' is out now on 7" and download
Thursday 10 April 2008
song of the day- The Twilight Sad 'That Summer, at home, I had become the invisible boy'
Despite the fact that I can barely stop playing Sun Kil Moon's 'April' album at the moment and consider it a masterpiece in the art of songwriting (I'm particularly bewitched by the creepy, tightrope walk of 'Heron Blue' at the moment), today's 'song of the day'* is 'That Summer, At Home, I Had Become The Invisible Boy' by The Twilight Sad.
The Sad are great. They remind me of two things I like very much: Scotland....and Anger. Scotland, Edinburgh in particular, is one of my favourite places in the World and no-one sings in a broader Scottish accent than The Sad's singer James Graham and...well, come on, we all enjoy a bit of anger.
'Last Summer...' is simply glorious. Opening with a pounding drum beat, the first 90 seconds is all simmering aggression and it builds, and builds until it becomes a magnificent wall of sound, white noise and fury. I have previously compared The Twilight Sad to The Proclaimers backed by My Bloody Valentine, but in truth no comparison does them justice: to make a song sound this angry, this furious, this demented, but still keep a lovely melody going is a work of true genius. It is cold and brutal but somehow, at the same time, warm and engaging.
I play this song when I'm angry. Its a song to play loud, almost until your ears bleed. I play it when I am thinking about the people who have wronged me, or when I am full of righteous indignation at slow people in the fast lane at the swimming pool, as I swim past them and think "why don't you go in the bloody slow lane?", I hear James Graham in my head singing "and they're plotting behind your baaaaack". Yes they are James.
The best thing of all is that the next song on the album, 'Walking For Two Hours' is equally brilliant. It conjurs up images of long cold hikes in Scottish hills, walking for miles without seeing another human being. It is as cold as ice. It also makes me think of Dalry Swim Centre, the best swimming pool in the world.
There you are then, The Twilight Sad....absolutely brilliant.
If you do not already own their album 'Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters', you must be mad, but luckily you can read about it, buy it and hear tracks that will make your hair curl here..
http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/release.php?id=221
The Sad are great. They remind me of two things I like very much: Scotland....and Anger. Scotland, Edinburgh in particular, is one of my favourite places in the World and no-one sings in a broader Scottish accent than The Sad's singer James Graham and...well, come on, we all enjoy a bit of anger.
'Last Summer...' is simply glorious. Opening with a pounding drum beat, the first 90 seconds is all simmering aggression and it builds, and builds until it becomes a magnificent wall of sound, white noise and fury. I have previously compared The Twilight Sad to The Proclaimers backed by My Bloody Valentine, but in truth no comparison does them justice: to make a song sound this angry, this furious, this demented, but still keep a lovely melody going is a work of true genius. It is cold and brutal but somehow, at the same time, warm and engaging.
I play this song when I'm angry. Its a song to play loud, almost until your ears bleed. I play it when I am thinking about the people who have wronged me, or when I am full of righteous indignation at slow people in the fast lane at the swimming pool, as I swim past them and think "why don't you go in the bloody slow lane?", I hear James Graham in my head singing "and they're plotting behind your baaaaack". Yes they are James.
The best thing of all is that the next song on the album, 'Walking For Two Hours' is equally brilliant. It conjurs up images of long cold hikes in Scottish hills, walking for miles without seeing another human being. It is as cold as ice. It also makes me think of Dalry Swim Centre, the best swimming pool in the world.
There you are then, The Twilight Sad....absolutely brilliant.
If you do not already own their album 'Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters', you must be mad, but luckily you can read about it, buy it and hear tracks that will make your hair curl here..
http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/release.php?id=221
Monday 7 April 2008
Tapes 'N Tapes 'Walk It Off'
Difficult second album. Not so much for them maybe, but for the listener.
When Tapes 'N Tapes burst onto the scene in 2006, they were a breath of fresh air. Full of youthful enthusiasm and energy, their debut album 'The Loon' was a vibrant mix of Pavement and The Violent Femmes and tunes like 'Cowbell' and 'Insistor' suggested that the Minneapolis based band could become very special indeed.
I started to worry a little about this follow up album when I heard that Dave Fridmann was producing it. Not my favourite producer (see Low dvd review), I feared that Fridmann would bury the band's catchy riffs and hummable hooks under a big wall of 'fuzz' and make this album a big mess.
Its not a mess exactly, but its not an improvement either.
Opener 'Le Ruse' is actually a great start. Certainly more dense than anything on 'The Loon', the fuzzy guitars sound great here and the melody peeks through. Its a short blast of an opening track and 'Time of Songs' and 'Hang Them All' build on this, using roughly the same template as their debut album. Considering the fact that the latter is track 3, it is sad to report that at this stage the band pretty much run out of ideas. There are decent moments, 'Conquest' is funky and 'Say Back Something' is pretty and has a nagging melody similar to 'Omaha' from 'The Loon' but much of the rest is noisy and tuneless.
'Walk It Off' is a record of two halves. The first sounding like a louder follow-up EP to 'The Loon', the second sounding like a jam recorded for a demo tape, suggesting that the band should have continued writing for a few months before recording. The production doesn't help, the vocals are too low in the mix and the melodies are drowned out. There will be no comparisons with Pavement or The Violent Femmes, which may please the band but they now need to decide where to go next, because 'Walk It Off' is a major disappointment.
5.6
'Walk It Off' is out now on XL Recordings
When Tapes 'N Tapes burst onto the scene in 2006, they were a breath of fresh air. Full of youthful enthusiasm and energy, their debut album 'The Loon' was a vibrant mix of Pavement and The Violent Femmes and tunes like 'Cowbell' and 'Insistor' suggested that the Minneapolis based band could become very special indeed.
I started to worry a little about this follow up album when I heard that Dave Fridmann was producing it. Not my favourite producer (see Low dvd review), I feared that Fridmann would bury the band's catchy riffs and hummable hooks under a big wall of 'fuzz' and make this album a big mess.
Its not a mess exactly, but its not an improvement either.
Opener 'Le Ruse' is actually a great start. Certainly more dense than anything on 'The Loon', the fuzzy guitars sound great here and the melody peeks through. Its a short blast of an opening track and 'Time of Songs' and 'Hang Them All' build on this, using roughly the same template as their debut album. Considering the fact that the latter is track 3, it is sad to report that at this stage the band pretty much run out of ideas. There are decent moments, 'Conquest' is funky and 'Say Back Something' is pretty and has a nagging melody similar to 'Omaha' from 'The Loon' but much of the rest is noisy and tuneless.
'Walk It Off' is a record of two halves. The first sounding like a louder follow-up EP to 'The Loon', the second sounding like a jam recorded for a demo tape, suggesting that the band should have continued writing for a few months before recording. The production doesn't help, the vocals are too low in the mix and the melodies are drowned out. There will be no comparisons with Pavement or The Violent Femmes, which may please the band but they now need to decide where to go next, because 'Walk It Off' is a major disappointment.
5.6
'Walk It Off' is out now on XL Recordings
Sunday 6 April 2008
Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw
I have to admit right from the start that there may be a lack of objectivity in this review. Tindersticks are my favourite band. They have been since I first heard the majestic sound of 'City Sickness' whilst watching MTV's 120 Minutes in 1993, I have loved everything they have recorded and have seen them play live many times, on six occasions from 2003-2004 alone. I am so happy to have a promo of this album and will be buying it on cd and vinyl on the day of release etc etc. So, this review is probably mostly of interest to Tindersticks fans looking for an idea of what to expect from this new LP.
And it is an LP that most of us never thought would see the light of day. At the end of the tour for 2003's 'Waiting For The Moon' album the band were playing mainly olf songs from the mid-90s and it seemed like a farewell tour. To a certain extent it was. The time had come for a change in the band. Singer Stuart Staples regarded 'Waiting For The Moon' as a bit too lush and polished and songs like 'My Oblivion', which sounds amazing live, seemed stifled by the string arrangements on record. After two Stuart Staples solo albums, a 'Don't Look Back' concert for 'Tindersticks II', the band are back, minus violinist and strings arranger Dickon, drummer Al and bassist Mark. This has been a somewhat controversial move amongst the band's fan base, but the truth is that if you listened to this album without knowing any of this, you probably wouldn't guess that the line up had changed.
Opening track, the handily named 'Introduction', sets the scene for the album with a keyboards-led instrumental not dissimilar to 'Somerset House' from Staples' first solo album. This leads nicely into 'Yesterday's Tomorrows' a brassy, driven track focussing on the familiar theme of ageing and time passing- a subject which many of Staples' lyrics have looked at in recent years. It is instantly Tindersticks, possibly a distant cousin of 'People Keep Comin' Round' but fresher and looser than anything on the last couple of albums.
'The Flicker of a Little Girl' continues both the lyrical themes and the loose sound. Acoustic guitar led this time and with some hilarious 'woo-hoo' backing vocals, this is breezy, light and summery. 'Feel The Sun' has prominent violin and is one of the few tracks that you could have imagined being on the last few Tindersticks albums.
After the brassy, Dexys-style instrumental 'E-Type', the album hits a run of magnificance that lasts right to the last second and I make no apologies for the track by track review. I honestly never thought I would be sitting here listening to a new Tindersticks album, much less that it would be this good.
'The Other Side of the World' is a classic 'Sticks big ballad, on a par with 'Raindrops' and 'Tiny Tears', it builds to a crescendo with stunning lyrics like "I loved you through the wilderness/ I loved you through the shit/ I loved you through the best times...". This will be amazing live and David Boulter's keyboards are understated by integral here. After the last instrumental 'The Organist Entertains' we have the title track which is one of the most instant and exciting sounds Tindersticks have ever recorded. After a wonderful '1,2,3,4' intro, they produce a raw, catchy pop/rock song somewhere between 'Her' and 'Patchwork' with some stunning lyrics ('Hello darkness my old friend/ its time to jerk those tears again'). Its so fresh and immediate that it puts a smile on your face from the first listen and in another universe at another time, this would be a huge hit.
Just when you think things can't get any better, 'Mother Dear' is a lo-fi,moody classic with a great, discordant guitar solo, 'Boobar' is a guitar heavy slow burner with some marvellous call and response lyrics and 'All The Love' is a simple, beautiful love song that stops you in your tracks every time.
This just leaves closer 'The Turns We Took', which may or may not be about the band themselves, but in any case is this album's 'I Know That Loving', the most soulful song on the record.
This album was written and recorded very quickly and it shows. It is not as polished as 'Waiting For The Moon' but it is fresh and exciting and sounds like the band had a lot of fun making it. Listening to it over and over it is easy to understand why the line up changes were necessary and no-one should complain about them because this is right up there with Tindersticks' very best albums.
9.7
['The Hungry Saw' is out on April 28th on Beggars. CD/LP/Download. Tindersticks are touring April-May and playing Summer festivals]
And it is an LP that most of us never thought would see the light of day. At the end of the tour for 2003's 'Waiting For The Moon' album the band were playing mainly olf songs from the mid-90s and it seemed like a farewell tour. To a certain extent it was. The time had come for a change in the band. Singer Stuart Staples regarded 'Waiting For The Moon' as a bit too lush and polished and songs like 'My Oblivion', which sounds amazing live, seemed stifled by the string arrangements on record. After two Stuart Staples solo albums, a 'Don't Look Back' concert for 'Tindersticks II', the band are back, minus violinist and strings arranger Dickon, drummer Al and bassist Mark. This has been a somewhat controversial move amongst the band's fan base, but the truth is that if you listened to this album without knowing any of this, you probably wouldn't guess that the line up had changed.
Opening track, the handily named 'Introduction', sets the scene for the album with a keyboards-led instrumental not dissimilar to 'Somerset House' from Staples' first solo album. This leads nicely into 'Yesterday's Tomorrows' a brassy, driven track focussing on the familiar theme of ageing and time passing- a subject which many of Staples' lyrics have looked at in recent years. It is instantly Tindersticks, possibly a distant cousin of 'People Keep Comin' Round' but fresher and looser than anything on the last couple of albums.
'The Flicker of a Little Girl' continues both the lyrical themes and the loose sound. Acoustic guitar led this time and with some hilarious 'woo-hoo' backing vocals, this is breezy, light and summery. 'Feel The Sun' has prominent violin and is one of the few tracks that you could have imagined being on the last few Tindersticks albums.
After the brassy, Dexys-style instrumental 'E-Type', the album hits a run of magnificance that lasts right to the last second and I make no apologies for the track by track review. I honestly never thought I would be sitting here listening to a new Tindersticks album, much less that it would be this good.
'The Other Side of the World' is a classic 'Sticks big ballad, on a par with 'Raindrops' and 'Tiny Tears', it builds to a crescendo with stunning lyrics like "I loved you through the wilderness/ I loved you through the shit/ I loved you through the best times...". This will be amazing live and David Boulter's keyboards are understated by integral here. After the last instrumental 'The Organist Entertains' we have the title track which is one of the most instant and exciting sounds Tindersticks have ever recorded. After a wonderful '1,2,3,4' intro, they produce a raw, catchy pop/rock song somewhere between 'Her' and 'Patchwork' with some stunning lyrics ('Hello darkness my old friend/ its time to jerk those tears again'). Its so fresh and immediate that it puts a smile on your face from the first listen and in another universe at another time, this would be a huge hit.
Just when you think things can't get any better, 'Mother Dear' is a lo-fi,moody classic with a great, discordant guitar solo, 'Boobar' is a guitar heavy slow burner with some marvellous call and response lyrics and 'All The Love' is a simple, beautiful love song that stops you in your tracks every time.
This just leaves closer 'The Turns We Took', which may or may not be about the band themselves, but in any case is this album's 'I Know That Loving', the most soulful song on the record.
This album was written and recorded very quickly and it shows. It is not as polished as 'Waiting For The Moon' but it is fresh and exciting and sounds like the band had a lot of fun making it. Listening to it over and over it is easy to understand why the line up changes were necessary and no-one should complain about them because this is right up there with Tindersticks' very best albums.
9.7
['The Hungry Saw' is out on April 28th on Beggars. CD/LP/Download. Tindersticks are touring April-May and playing Summer festivals]
Thursday 3 April 2008
Bon Iver 'For Emma, Forever Ago'
I'm still amazed at how many truly great records have emerged so far this year. Many of them have been from artists who were already very familiar to me, but for the last few weeks I've been listening to an album by someone of whom I knew nothing until very recently.
Laura Barton of The Guardian wrote a column back in February praising an album called 'For Emma, Forever Ago' by Bon Iver with such enthusiasm that I simply had to find out if the record could really be as good as she made it sound. Being unwilling, and probably fundamentally unable, to wait for the album to be released by 4AD in the UK in May, I managed to get an import copy of the album and have been playing it almost every day since, trying to get a grip on what to make of a truly unique record.
Bon Iver is in fact Justin Vernon. Following a split with his previous band, Vernon spent the snowy winter of 06/07 in a hunting cabin in Wisconsin, completely alone. During this time he wrote and recorded the songs on this record with a small amount of additional recording done later, mainly adding backing vocals and drums. The bulk of this record then, is simply Vernon singing and playing guitar. If you think that sounds dull, you'd be wrong.
9 songs, 37 minutes but so many melodies and hooks that your head will spin. You will find snippets of these songs appearing in your head all the time- on the train, while you're exercising, at work, in your dreams...
Vernon's voice is used as an instrument. A lot of the time you can't actually tell what he's singing without referring to the lyric sheet, he sings in a falsetto a lot of the time, but other times his voice is cracked and rough. He uses space to tremendous effect, the songs and the instruments are allowed to breathe and this makes you feel that you are sitting in the cabin with Vernon, listening to him play.
The album is very much a piece to listen to all the way through, but there are standout tracks. 'The Wolves' is simply haunting, with the bare minimum of instrumentation, Vernon lets his words hang in the space of the song. 'Creature Fear' meanwhile, has a fantastic release of a chorus that you are waiting for all through the song. 'Skinny Love' is the most catchy song here, with Vernon's voice at it's loudest and most cracked on the rousing chorus. The gorgeous final track 're:stacks' is quiet and somehow triumphant with lines like "its hard to find it when you need it/ when your money's gone/ and your as drunk as hell".
The best way I can describe this album is as a true listening experience. Listen to it enough and you'll feel like you're a part of it, as mad as that may sound. Unfortunately, though, no review is going to do this record justice or adequately describe how it sounds. I will say that whoever you are, if you are reading this you need to check this record out. You need to hear it. It may end up meaning a lot to you.
9.7
'For Emma, Forever Ago' is out now on import from Jagjaguwar and out in the UK in May through 4AD'
Laura Barton of The Guardian wrote a column back in February praising an album called 'For Emma, Forever Ago' by Bon Iver with such enthusiasm that I simply had to find out if the record could really be as good as she made it sound. Being unwilling, and probably fundamentally unable, to wait for the album to be released by 4AD in the UK in May, I managed to get an import copy of the album and have been playing it almost every day since, trying to get a grip on what to make of a truly unique record.
Bon Iver is in fact Justin Vernon. Following a split with his previous band, Vernon spent the snowy winter of 06/07 in a hunting cabin in Wisconsin, completely alone. During this time he wrote and recorded the songs on this record with a small amount of additional recording done later, mainly adding backing vocals and drums. The bulk of this record then, is simply Vernon singing and playing guitar. If you think that sounds dull, you'd be wrong.
9 songs, 37 minutes but so many melodies and hooks that your head will spin. You will find snippets of these songs appearing in your head all the time- on the train, while you're exercising, at work, in your dreams...
Vernon's voice is used as an instrument. A lot of the time you can't actually tell what he's singing without referring to the lyric sheet, he sings in a falsetto a lot of the time, but other times his voice is cracked and rough. He uses space to tremendous effect, the songs and the instruments are allowed to breathe and this makes you feel that you are sitting in the cabin with Vernon, listening to him play.
The album is very much a piece to listen to all the way through, but there are standout tracks. 'The Wolves' is simply haunting, with the bare minimum of instrumentation, Vernon lets his words hang in the space of the song. 'Creature Fear' meanwhile, has a fantastic release of a chorus that you are waiting for all through the song. 'Skinny Love' is the most catchy song here, with Vernon's voice at it's loudest and most cracked on the rousing chorus. The gorgeous final track 're:stacks' is quiet and somehow triumphant with lines like "its hard to find it when you need it/ when your money's gone/ and your as drunk as hell".
The best way I can describe this album is as a true listening experience. Listen to it enough and you'll feel like you're a part of it, as mad as that may sound. Unfortunately, though, no review is going to do this record justice or adequately describe how it sounds. I will say that whoever you are, if you are reading this you need to check this record out. You need to hear it. It may end up meaning a lot to you.
9.7
'For Emma, Forever Ago' is out now on import from Jagjaguwar and out in the UK in May through 4AD'
Tuesday 1 April 2008
Low 'You May Need A Murderer' dvd
I used to be a really devout Low fan. To the extent that, on the 'Trust' tour, I saw them play live four times in a week, effectively following them around the country. They were one of my favourite bands at that time, I loved the sound the three of them made- Alan Sparhawk on vocals and guitar, the fantastic Zak Sally on bass and Mimi Parker on drum(s) and beautifully sung vocals. They made a run of three albums ('Secret Name', 'Things We Lost In The Fire' and 'Trust') that were slow, menacing and extraordinarily beautiful. And then it all changed.
Dave Fridmann produced 'The Great Destroyer' and it was at least two louder and much faster, more of a 'rock' record than Low had ever recorded before, it had some great songs but also, for the first time, some to skip. The gigs in support of it were great but somehow it felt that something had been lost. Then, Zak Sally, the supremely entertaining and engaging bassist left the band amongst a string of rumours and then cancelled tour dates following the news that Sparhawk had a breakdown and was hospitalised. Last year's 'Drums and Guns' was, for me, the worst Low album to date. Despite the fact that the songs, dark though they were, sounded like traditional, slow Low songs, they were produced (by Fridmann) to within an inch of their lives- all kinds of electronic noise and drum sounds added to them, making it almost impossible to hear the songs beneath all the effects. By all accounts, the songs were played in 'traditional Low style' on tour and sounded very different.
This documentary film features extensive and extremely candid interview with Sparhawk and Parker at their home and also shows concert footage. Sparhawk's mental health and relationship with drugs are focussed on frequently, Parker revealing that she believes trying to 'drive the group' for so long became too stressful and caused his breakdown. The contrast between Alan's role in his local Mormon church and other aspects of his life are a strong feature and seems to be something that he himself is grappling with, "nobody is listening to God anymore, and the people who say they are, are liars" he says, with some feeling.
It is a fascinating insight into these two people's lives and what drives their band. Sparhawk admits that he can't sing as well as Parker and she, in turn, says that she would never have been a part of the band were it not for him, revealing that he bought her first drumset for her.
Incidentally the stunning live version of 1999's 'Two Step' here, reminds me that this is perhaps still Low's greatest song, whilst the live version of 'Breaker' devoid of all the electronics and containing some brutal guitar is a significant improvement.
The footage of Sparhawk and Parker at home and at their Church remind you how unique Low are as a band and Sparhawk shows himself to be an even deeper thinker you'd imagine. Fans of Low may be surprised and disappointed to learn that Zak Sally's departure from the band is not even touched on here, which seems an odd omission considering the amount of unflinching honesty elsewhere. This is, though, a fascinating and engaging documentary about a band of contrasts and contradictions.
8.4
Dave Fridmann produced 'The Great Destroyer' and it was at least two louder and much faster, more of a 'rock' record than Low had ever recorded before, it had some great songs but also, for the first time, some to skip. The gigs in support of it were great but somehow it felt that something had been lost. Then, Zak Sally, the supremely entertaining and engaging bassist left the band amongst a string of rumours and then cancelled tour dates following the news that Sparhawk had a breakdown and was hospitalised. Last year's 'Drums and Guns' was, for me, the worst Low album to date. Despite the fact that the songs, dark though they were, sounded like traditional, slow Low songs, they were produced (by Fridmann) to within an inch of their lives- all kinds of electronic noise and drum sounds added to them, making it almost impossible to hear the songs beneath all the effects. By all accounts, the songs were played in 'traditional Low style' on tour and sounded very different.
This documentary film features extensive and extremely candid interview with Sparhawk and Parker at their home and also shows concert footage. Sparhawk's mental health and relationship with drugs are focussed on frequently, Parker revealing that she believes trying to 'drive the group' for so long became too stressful and caused his breakdown. The contrast between Alan's role in his local Mormon church and other aspects of his life are a strong feature and seems to be something that he himself is grappling with, "nobody is listening to God anymore, and the people who say they are, are liars" he says, with some feeling.
It is a fascinating insight into these two people's lives and what drives their band. Sparhawk admits that he can't sing as well as Parker and she, in turn, says that she would never have been a part of the band were it not for him, revealing that he bought her first drumset for her.
Incidentally the stunning live version of 1999's 'Two Step' here, reminds me that this is perhaps still Low's greatest song, whilst the live version of 'Breaker' devoid of all the electronics and containing some brutal guitar is a significant improvement.
The footage of Sparhawk and Parker at home and at their Church remind you how unique Low are as a band and Sparhawk shows himself to be an even deeper thinker you'd imagine. Fans of Low may be surprised and disappointed to learn that Zak Sally's departure from the band is not even touched on here, which seems an odd omission considering the amount of unflinching honesty elsewhere. This is, though, a fascinating and engaging documentary about a band of contrasts and contradictions.
8.4
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