Mark Eitzel 'Demos Before Love Songs'

Not in any way a new recording or a new release, this has been available on limited edition cd for a while but is now available for all via itunes.

'Demos..' was recorded in 2003 with Jay Bennett (formerly of Wilco) and Eitzel's solo tour band at the time. Shortly afterwards Eitzel reformed American Music Club and many of these songs appeared on their reunion album 'Love Songs For Patriots'. These songs capture Eitzel at a career crossroads. At this point he hadn't released a new set of songs for over two years and had just released an album of his own songs recorded with Greek musicians. His solo shows were either incredibly magical or shambolic. I saw him play live in London in 2002 and it was an utterly spellbinding show, one of the best shows I have ever attended.

A couple of these songs were played then and it was clear that Eitzel had written some of the strongest material of his career. The brutal version of 'Patriots Heart' here is a much more raw performance than the one recorded for LSFP. 'Freedom' is an early version of 'Another Morning', a song directed at Eitzel himself and his failings. 'Bookstore' is 'Myopic Books' in demo form, one of Eitzel's warmest and simplest sentiments and a lovely song.

There are a couple of unreleased songs and any would have sat easily on LSFP.

These songs work well as a document of where Eitzel was at the time. It is easy to imagine how he could have recorded these as a stripped down solo album had the AMC reunion not happened. If you are a fan, this is an essential purchase, not least for the stunning version of 'Home', one of the most passionate songs Eitzel has ever written.

8.1

['Demos Before Love Songs' is available to buy at http://americanmusicclub.com/ and available to download on itunes. AMC tour the UK in September]

back from holiday...

sorry for lack of updates but have been away. loads of stuff coming up, including...

Bowerbirds and The Walkmen album reviews.
Tindersticks, AMC, Sun Kil Moon live reviews
some Guilty Pleasures features.

keep checking in the next few days.

song of the day

TracksandGigs is currently really enjoying the new album from New York's The Walkmen. In particular 'In The New Year' is spectacularly beautiful and loud. Plenty of guitars and superb drumming. Think of a louder version of The National with a singer who likes to 'let rip' a bit more with his voice.
Its on their Myspace anyway.
Review coming soon.

Elbow 'The Seldom Seen Kid'

I had always lumped Elbow in with bands like Snow Patrol, Coldplay and Keane, worthy but dull MOR specialists with little interesting to offer. Reviews of this new(ish) album caused me to think again and when somebody compared the craft on this album to some of Tindersticks' finest, I had to see what I was missing and buy this record. I've been listening to it on and off for the last few weeks, desperately trying to find a reason for all the fanfare.

Opener 'Starlings' is promising, starting with electronic rumblings and the odd orchestral stab before Guy Garvey's low, mumbling vocal begins. Its a well-written song and a perfect opener in many ways. From here on I struggled. 'The Bones of You' is alright- sung with some heart and with some nice flamenco sounds. 'Mirrorball', however, is the sort of tedious love song that has been done to death by the aforementioned MOR bands. Offering absolutely nothing to recommend it and not even a spark of originality. I listened to it less than an hour ago and now can remember nothing other than the cliched "everything has changed" refrain. It is at this point that Garvey's voice stops sounding original and endearing and starts to grate.

Thankfully, 'Grounds For Divorce' which follows, is good. Featuring a great guitar riff and a catchy, dark lyric it is upbeat and fresh sounding. 'Audience With The Pope', a song about everything having to wait "if she needs me" is absolutely awful. Rather like being sat next to someone on the train having a long and boring phone conversation, listening to this drone on with a sentiment which has been done a million times before is really quite depressing. Not uplifting, or thought-provoking, or touching in any way. Just dull.

From here the album drags on for what seems like an eternity. I should mention that a couple of the remaining songs are tributes to a friend of the band who died a couple of years ago. These songs actually aren't as bad as you might imagine and avoid being overly sentimental. Elsewhere though, Richard Hawley guests on a track and then, a couple of songs later, the band have a go at doing a Richard Hawley song! It is all a bit odd, but 'One Day Like This' with its strings and swooning vocals is clearly an attempt to re-write Richard's 'Cole's Corner'. Guess what? Not as good.

The person who compared this to Tindersticks is now not in my good books. It sounds nothing like Tindersticks, lacking the originality, the darkness, the heart and the edge.

It is not bad music necessarily, just un-necessary. I can't imagine a time in my life when I would want to turn to this record. I certainly wouldn't play it to be uplifted but when I feel sad and want music to help me linger in that sadness a while I turn to artists like Bonnie Prince Billy, Mark Kozelek, The Innocence Mission etc and I can't imagine Elbow filling that gap either. I suspect this is background music for dinner parties.

4.8

['The Seldom Seen Kid' is out now on Polydor. Plenty of better albums are also out now on smaller labels.]

Mark Kozelek '7 Songs Belfast'

This year's Sun Kil Moon 'April' LP seems to have created some controversy amongst fans and reviewers alike. TracksandGigs gave it a 9.0 and I was surprised to see some negative reviews and comments elsewhere. In retrospect it is an even better record than I thought at the time. It is also very much a record out of time though- these days people seem to want handy mp3s and downloads and the desire for a cohesive album that works from start to finish and makes sense if listened to all the way through just doesn't seem to be as strong as it once was. Sad that people don't seem to think they have the time to devote to giving a 70 minute piece of music the attention it deserves.

Anyway. In advance of his tour with Sun Kil Moon this Autumn, Mark Kozelek has released a 7 song live EP. Bizarrely, despite the title, it contains six songs recorded in Belfast and one in Manchester, all last Autumn.

The songs are all vocals/guitar and the track listing is a good mix of old, new and borrowed. Its great to hear Kozelek sing John Denver's 'Around and Around' again and a re-worked version of 'Gentle Moon' from 'Ghosts of the Great Highway' is another highlight. Ultimately, if you are a fan of Koz, you will be glad to purchase what is effectively an added bonus to last year's 'Little Drummer Boy' live album. Mark has a beautiful singing voice, there is simply no denying that and as a document of a night at a solo Kozelek gig, this works perfectly.

One for the fans then and if you want to hear full band renditions of songs from all phases of Koz's career, you'd be well advised to purchase tickets for this Autumn's Sun Kil Moon European tour. TracksandGigs will be there for one show and having seen a full-band gig from SKM back in 2004, I am very excited indeed.

8.0

'7 Songs Belfast' is out now on download from http://www.caldoverderecords.com
You get the cd free if you buy anything else from the Kozelek store AND the cd will be on sale at the Autumn dates. Just you try and find an excuse for not buying one...

more on Conor Oberst album

apologies for the lack of updates but there's not much new out there and I have been listening to old Innocence Mission albums (albums that I never, ever tire of) and the Conor Oberst album.

Regarding the latter, I may have under-rated it even with the 8.4 mark I gave it (incidentally, after letting albums 'sink in' after reviewing them, I think I also under-rated the Fleet Foxes LP and over-rated the Mountain Goats LP this year...everything else I pretty much stand by). It is a superb record and the song 'Moab', not a track I noticed much in the first few plays, is a favourite at the moment. A song about moving on and then coming home...about finding peace...it is all kinds of wonderful and Conor sings the lines "see those headlines coming towards us/ that's someone going back/ to a town they'd said they'd never/ yeah they swore it on their lives", like he totally believes in what he is singing and the music he is making. Good to hear. If you haven't already bought this album, do so now.

There is more stuff coming up soon though. Including a review of the new Mark Kozelek live EP and live reports from Sun Kil Moon in London and Tindersticks in Brighton.

and if you think there's something else I should be listening to, let me know...

Sleeping Years London Gig

TracksandGigs are pleased to announce that the brilliant The Sleeping Years are playing London on Wednesday August 27th.

They are playing a charming looking venue called The Betsey in Farringdon with a band called The Miserable Rich. TSY will be on stage at 8.45. Would be nice to get as many people there as possible for TSY, TracksandGigs would love to see them get a headlining gig at, say, Union Chapel or Bush Hall.

Anyway, tickets are only a fiver and you can get them here
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/34677
venue only holds about 50 people so be quick...

Conor Oberst 'Conor Oberst'

Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst has been described as the 'new Dylan' several times in his career so far. While this tag seems to be given to any American who can tell a story and play an acoustic guitar, this never seemed appropriate to Oberst as much of the music he has made with Bright Eyes and the Desaparecidos has mixed the folk sound with indie rock and punk. The last couple of Bright Eyes albums moved more consistently towards an alt.country sound though, and this solo album continues this trend.

This seems to only have been labelled a solo album due to the absence of Bright Eyes collaborator Mike Mogis. Much of the record still has a full band sound and it is not the vocals/acoustic guitar record that you might have expected. If ever Oberst has made a record that reminds me of Dylan and a particular part of his career though, this is it. Recorded in Mexico and with a cover that shows Conor sleeping in a hammock, this record is extremely reminiscent of 'John Wesley Harding'/ 'Nashville Skyline' era Bob Dylan.

Focusing largely on themes such as escape, moving on and death, 'Conor Oberst' starts with 'Cape Canaveral' a sparse, acoustic ballad. From there, it settles into a run of fuller country-sounding songs which Oberst sings well, with a warm voice lacking the histrionics of old. 'Danny Callahan', a true story about a boy who died of bone marrow cancer is touching and 'Get Well Cards' is a 60s sound song with organ and harmony vocals.

Elsewhere, there are some more upbeat numbers. 'I Don't Want To Die In The Hospital' is the most 'Bright Eyes' sounding song here complete with the manic vocals of old, while 'NYC- Gone Gone' is a fantastic bar-room stomp that you'll be singing along with on the first listen. The closing 'Milk Thistle' ensures that the album is bookended by Oberst's quiet reflections on death and moving on, its a thoughtful, peaceful end to the record.

'Conor Oberst' really surprised me. I wasn't keen on the last few Bright Eyes albums but this is a rich, atmospheric record that is very well played and recorded. The die-hard Bright Eyes fans may not like this new direction but this may just be his best work to date.

8.4

['Conor Oberst' is out now on CD/2LP on Wichita. Available from all good independent record shops. itunes/hmv/amazon don't need your money]

Juliana Hatfield 'How To Walk Away'

Juliana Hatfield, over ten years, made some consistently excellent singer-songwriter pop/rock albums that were undervalued by critics and largely ignored by the public. Whatever the reasons were for this, it is a fact. 1995's 'Only Everything' is her classic, a post-grunge album that was crushing but somehow celebratory and one of the finest records of the 90s. Other highlights included the raw, angry 'Bed' and the lush 'Beautiful Creature'. Then there were the albums that never were (if you see what I mean). 'God's Foot' should have kept up the momentum after 'Only Everything' but an ignorant and short-sighted record company scuppered this and her 'best-of' 'Gold Stars' contained enough brand new material for a fine album in its own right.

In the last few years things have changed slightly. 2005's 'Made In China' was a reaction to it's polished predecessor 'In Exile Deo' and was harsh and difficult to love. Hatfield is now releasing her music on her own label and this new album comes a couple of months before her eagerly awaited memoir 'When I Grow Up' which tells the story of her life in music.

'How To Walk Away' follows thematically similar ground to many of her previous albums; lost and fading love and loneliness. The music is more polished this time, the punky sound of 'Made in China' is almost completely absent and the songs are mainly mid-tempo with lots of harmonies and catchy choruses. Most of this is fine, you do feel that this is the type of song that Juliana could write in her sleep, just off the top of my head I can think of several songs from her back catalogue that could have slotted seamlessly into this album....'Cry In The Dark'...'Somebody Is Waiting For Me'...'We Will Rise Again' etc etc.

Nothing wrong with that, but there is nothing really new here either. 'The Fact Remains' offers an efficient take on an old theme, 'My Baby' is a familiar ballad with sparky lyrics ("you used to look into my eyes/ now we just have sex and watch TV") and 'Remember November' maintains Juliana's run of pretty much one heartbreaker on every album. It should be noted that her singing on this album is very assured and confident and she takes more risks with her vocals than on previous records, especially 'In Exile Deo' where she largely sounded on autopilot.

This is a good album which will please fans but not change the world. It has to be said though, I am really looking forward to reading her book. She has had a long and difficult career, must have some great stories to tell and we already know she is an excellent writer.

7.0

['How To Walk Away' is out now on itunes, or better still, you can buy it directly from Juliana at www.julianahatfield.com ]

Record Shops Part 2 - Rough Trade East

Inexplicably, TracksandGigs had yet to visit the all new Rough Trade shop in Brick Lane which has now been open a year. I was a regular visitor to Rough Trade Covent Garden before it sadly closed but despite loving the whole concept of Rough Trade East, I had never managed to get down there. It was mainly the 'East' that was the problem. Brick Lane is 13 tube stops from where I work so I can't pop there at lunchtime and it is a million miles from where I live (not quite, but a long way) so getting there really required an effort to me made. And until today sadly, for me, I had not made that effort.

But a half day's annual leave was taken and a visit was made. I spent a good 45 minutes in there and could happily have been there all day. It was so nice to visit a proper record shop again. There are so few around these days (see previous post) and of those most are struggling but Rough Trade East is great. It has everything you could want....well stocked racks that unlike the old days at Neals Yard, you could actually get to without having to form a queue, listening posts with interesting choices of albums, a coffee bar no less, a seating area to sit while pondering purchases, a wireless computer area and the same old helpful, friendly Rough Trade staff.

It would be the future of record shops if actually buying records hadn't become such an old fashioned thing in some people's eyes. TracksandGigs has decided to take a half day every month to make that journey to Brick Lane. I recommend you do too, its good for the soul.

[reviews of my purchases coming soon]

Port O'Brien 'All We Could Do Was Sing'

Justin Vernon may believe he has this year's best story behind an album, with his log cabin antics that have been repeated in every single Bon Iver review since, but Port O'Brien's Van Pierszalowski comes a close second. This album was written while Van spent a Summer working on his Father's commercial salmon fishing boat on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Unsurprisingly then, there is much talk of the sea and indeed, fishing on this album and if you think that would make it a dull affair, you'd be wrong.

This is Port O'Brien's debut album although they have previously released a cd of cobbled together odds and ends. They are the aforementioned Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin along with the recently recruited rhythm section, comprised of Caleb Nichols and Joshua Barnhart. The music they make, could be described as indie-folk, they occupy similar territory to San Francisco's The Dodos. The album is a mix of upbeat poppy numbers and lo-fi acoustic ballads. One style never really takes over completely and it all works together very well.

Opener 'I Woke Up Today' is immediate, catchy and could easily gain a lot of airplay with its 'chant-along' hook line which makes it sound like a distant cousin of Arcade Fire's 'Keep The Car Running'. The more reflective songs comparing a life at sea to a life in the city, such as 'Fisherman's Son' and 'Don't Take My Advice' provide the gentle acoustic ballads. Elsewhere, 'Pigeonhold' is unrepresentative but glorious with its electric guitar riffs, 'Will You Be There?' is a touching love song and a virtual re-write of 'When I'm 64' and 'The Rooftop Song' is an enjoyable instrumental anthem.

There is a huge amount to enjoy here. Certainly Port O'Brien have been influenced by artists such as Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens but they draw their influences together very well to make a varied record that is both celebratory and reflective.

8.1

['All We Could Do Was Sing' is out now on City Slang on cd and lp. It has lovely cover artwork so TracksandGigs recommends getting the LP.]

Haley Bonar 'Big Star'

TracksandGigs first heard from Haley Bonar when she released her debut 'The Size Of Planets' on Low's Chairkickers label in 2003. It was an extraordinary album from someone who was still in her teens. Mixing world weary ballads with sparkier story-songs, it marked her out as one to watch and contained two bona-fide classics, the stripped-down ballad 'Am I Allowed' and the keyboard led yearning of 'Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy'.

From there Bonar took three years over the follow-up which TracksandGigs somehow missed. Thats a shame because it would have helped to have heard the progression to this, her third album. Once again she has produced the album herself and plays the majority of the instruments.

This is a much more consistent folk-rock record than her debut, acoustic guitars and keyboards dominate. The songs, however, sound less interesting than on 'Size Of Planets', mixing love songs with others which chronicle the good and bad of a life in the music industry. Bonar's voice is warm and rich and songs like 'Green Eyed Boy' are pleasant enough but there is little edge to it and none of the spark that set her apart from the likes of Aimee Mann. 'Queen of Everything' with its electric guitar and 'when are you going to blow your stack' hookline is more successful and 'Along' is a haunting piano ballad.

This record is lush and well produced and may well appeal to fans of country music and lovers of singer-songwriters like the aforementioned Mann. For me though, its a disappointment from an artist who has shown she can write songs that stay long in the mind, this album is just too much like pleasant background music.

6.0

'Big Star' is out now on Afternoon Records. 'The Size Of Planets' is still in print on Chairkickers Music.

Record Shops

Not much in the way of new releases during these harsh Summer months. We do have a couple of reviews coming soon but first I want to get on my soapbox.

The news arrived this week that Sister Ray have gone into administration and may have to close. For those that don't know, Sister Ray is a record shop (go to Wikipedia kids) in Berwick Street, London. It used to be Selectadisc which formed part of the TracksandGigs London Record Shop Crawl (which included... Rough Trade Covent Garden, Fopp, (HMV), Selectadisc and Reckless Records), a crawl which has ceased to exist. As recently as ten years ago, my home town of Bedford had two great independent record shops (Andys and Sounds Good To Me), now the only place to buy music in Bedford is WHSmiths and even they seem to be phasing it out.

Its a sad state of affairs and we all know and hate the reasons for it, but what can be done? Probably...not a lot. The record shop as we knew it will die. Rough Trade East and Pure Groove are the last bastions and will go down fighting. In the meantime you, music lover, can do this:-

- Buy from online indy record shops. There are some great ones out there. TracksandGigs supports Norman Records in Leeds and Piccadilly Records in Manchester. Most of the stuff reviewed here are bought from them. Don't give Amazon or HMV your money, they don't need it. If you buy from NR or PR you get a friendly, fast, efficient service and you get a great email every week with lots of recommendations.
Find them here...
www.normanrecords.com
www.piccadillyrecords.com

- Rediscover sound quality. MP3 sounds awful. You know it does, I know it does, sometimes we put up with it but if you buy something on itunes and like it, surely its better to buy it on vinyl or even cd so that you can hear it properly, as the artist intended it to sound, not compressed out of all recognition.

- Don't steal music. If you like the sort of artists that are reviewed on this page, every sale does actually matter to artists like this.

What can record companies do? They seem to be doing very little, but some do and TracksandGigs likes these ideas...

- Some record companies (Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar) will give you a free mp3 download of an album when you pre-order it. This is a great idea as it stops people who cannot wait for an album to be released 'needing' to turn to illegal downloads.

- The new Beck album on vinyl comes with a free 320kps high quality download that sounds like it is being played on vinyl, with the sound of the needle hitting the record included. This is one of the best ideas I have ever heard. We all prefer the quality of vinyl, but we like to have an album on our ipods too, so this gives you both and with a neat twist.

In the meantime, lets hope Sister Ray finds a buyer.