Finally...the man responsible for easily the finest album of the year so far is touring the UK. Bill Callahan returns to the Union Chapel on August 19th. Having seen him play there back in 2003 and enjoyed a stunning gig, I will be there in August. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketweb.
He will also play Duke of Yorks in Brighton on August 18th, the Stereo in Glasgow on the 23rd andthe Thekla in Bristol on the 26th.
Hope Jim White is on the drums..
Friday, 15 May 2009
back from holiday
Tracks&Gigs is back from a week's holiday!
Unfortunately this was supposed to have been kicked off by seeing Morrissey live at the Albert Hall on Monday, but he cancelled so I have nothing to report on that.
Have now got lots of catching up to do on various new releases and a couple of promos so expect a lot of posts in the next couple of days..
Unfortunately this was supposed to have been kicked off by seeing Morrissey live at the Albert Hall on Monday, but he cancelled so I have nothing to report on that.
Have now got lots of catching up to do on various new releases and a couple of promos so expect a lot of posts in the next couple of days..
Friday, 8 May 2009
new Twilight Sad song and tour
T&G favourites The Twilight Sad are finally close to releasing their long awaited second album, the follow up to 2007's awesome 'Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters'. No release date yet, but September is the rumour.
Gideon Coe played a song from the album, entitled 'Downstairs', on wednesday night on 6 Music. You can hear the song by using the 'listen again' feature on said radio station's website. It sounds unsurprisingly brilliant, tense, dark and powerful. There's definitely a bit of Joy Division in there. Sounds like they have gone with the slow, brooding sound that they used on the 'Here It Never Snowed...' EP but who knows what the rest of the record sounds like?
Well, if you want to know, you may well find out some more by attending one of the recently announced UK gigs listed below...
13 May - Rainbow, Birmingham, UK
14 May - Water Margin, Brighton, UK (The Great Escape)
15 May - Audio, Brighton, UK (The Great Escape)
17 May - Bullingdon Arms, Oxford, UK
19 May - Joiners Arms, Southampton, UK
20 May - Fleece, Bristol, UK
21 May - Stag & Dagger, London, UK
22 May - Stag & Dagger, Leeds, UK
23 May - Stag & Dagger, Glasgow, UK
Gideon Coe played a song from the album, entitled 'Downstairs', on wednesday night on 6 Music. You can hear the song by using the 'listen again' feature on said radio station's website. It sounds unsurprisingly brilliant, tense, dark and powerful. There's definitely a bit of Joy Division in there. Sounds like they have gone with the slow, brooding sound that they used on the 'Here It Never Snowed...' EP but who knows what the rest of the record sounds like?
Well, if you want to know, you may well find out some more by attending one of the recently announced UK gigs listed below...
13 May - Rainbow, Birmingham, UK
14 May - Water Margin, Brighton, UK (The Great Escape)
15 May - Audio, Brighton, UK (The Great Escape)
17 May - Bullingdon Arms, Oxford, UK
19 May - Joiners Arms, Southampton, UK
20 May - Fleece, Bristol, UK
21 May - Stag & Dagger, London, UK
22 May - Stag & Dagger, Leeds, UK
23 May - Stag & Dagger, Glasgow, UK
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Single of the Week
runner up this week is Stuart Murdoch's 'God Help The Girl' project's 'Come Monday Night', which I blogged about in April..
BUT...single of the week...and on 4AD is..
Broken Records 'Until The Earth Begins To Part'
I blogged about these super Scotsmen in January and they are going to be HUGE. This single is a thing of wonder, soaring, uplifting and quite quite glorious. Trouble is, all the bands I want to compare them to (with the exception of Arcade Fire) are horribly unfashionable (hang on, are Arcade Fire fashionable now?) so I am going to whisper the following words. del. amitri. the. waterboys. Yes! Its the BIG MUSIC!
Enough. Single of the Week! Out on 4AD on Monday on lovely vinyl and horrible download. They're playing the ICA in June don't ya know. Can't wait for the album.
BUT...single of the week...and on 4AD is..
Broken Records 'Until The Earth Begins To Part'
I blogged about these super Scotsmen in January and they are going to be HUGE. This single is a thing of wonder, soaring, uplifting and quite quite glorious. Trouble is, all the bands I want to compare them to (with the exception of Arcade Fire) are horribly unfashionable (hang on, are Arcade Fire fashionable now?) so I am going to whisper the following words. del. amitri. the. waterboys. Yes! Its the BIG MUSIC!
Enough. Single of the Week! Out on 4AD on Monday on lovely vinyl and horrible download. They're playing the ICA in June don't ya know. Can't wait for the album.
Morrissey 'Maladjusted - re-presentation'
Unlike with 'Southpaw Grammar', I don't have particular memories of listening to 'Maladjusted' all that much first time around. I do recall that I had a promo and was fond of the lawyer-baiting 'Sorrow Will Come In The End', finding it amusing and brave (not so brave to pull it from the final release though!) and I thought 'Alma Matters' was an ok single, catchy but slight. Since news of this re-issue/representation etc etc broke, I have read nothing but condemnation of 'Maladjusted' and pretty universal acceptance of the view that this is Morrissey's worst album, a shambolic mess. So, with some trepedation, I purchased it anyway and have been listening to it a lot this past week.
As with 'Southpaw..' Morrissey has tinkered with the track listing, a more serious tinkering this time. Five songs are added, two removed and in this case this really does have the effect of creating a very different sounding album. The two songs removed are both "character" songs whereas the songs that come in feel more personal, and this, along with the frequently used piano and acoustic guitar creates a record that is ballad-heavy and much much lighter that 'Southpaw..' or any of Morrissey's music since.
Generally it works well. The first two tracks (the title track and 'Ambitious Outsiders') are atypically dark but 'Trouble Loves Me' which follows is beautiful. A rich ballad on a par with some Smiths classics it has humour too ("on the flesh rampage/ at your age"). There are a fair few songs which follow this formula... sad lyrics, acoustic guitar, piano and Morrissey singing more softly than he often does, more his "I Know Its Over" voice than his "Panic" voice. 'Lost' is excellent too and I wonder why it was omitted from the original album, perhaps the lyrics ("if i see you and i tell you/ that i've watched you/ don't make fun of me later/ cos i'm just lost") were deemed unsuitable to musical trends and national moods in 1997, but when did Morrissey ever want to fit in?
Perhaps the slight problem here is a lack of variety. Most of the songs are sorrowful, dignified and pleasant to the ear. 'He Cried', 'Now I Am A Was' and 'Wide To Receive' all blend into one a little. 'This Is Not Your Country' is a thoughtful, slow ballad about Northern Ireland and 'Satan Rejected My Soul' is livelier but 'Alma Matters' and 'I Can Have Both' are Mozz by numbers.
Other reviews I have read of 'Maladjusted', especially a one-star review (in both senses) in Uncut have dismissed the album as lazy and lacking in ideas and tunes. Its nothing of the sort, Morrissey evidently put a lot of effort into this record and his singing is superb. He could have put ten of the sad, mournful ballads onto one album and it would have been one of his best but would anyone in 1997 have wanted to hear that anyway?
This re-presentation is another excellent release, beautifully packaged and with more illuminating sleeve notes. 'Maladjusted' is nowhere near as bad as most people will have you believe.
7.4
['Maladjusted' is out now. Morrissey plays the Albert Hall next week!]
As with 'Southpaw..' Morrissey has tinkered with the track listing, a more serious tinkering this time. Five songs are added, two removed and in this case this really does have the effect of creating a very different sounding album. The two songs removed are both "character" songs whereas the songs that come in feel more personal, and this, along with the frequently used piano and acoustic guitar creates a record that is ballad-heavy and much much lighter that 'Southpaw..' or any of Morrissey's music since.
Generally it works well. The first two tracks (the title track and 'Ambitious Outsiders') are atypically dark but 'Trouble Loves Me' which follows is beautiful. A rich ballad on a par with some Smiths classics it has humour too ("on the flesh rampage/ at your age"). There are a fair few songs which follow this formula... sad lyrics, acoustic guitar, piano and Morrissey singing more softly than he often does, more his "I Know Its Over" voice than his "Panic" voice. 'Lost' is excellent too and I wonder why it was omitted from the original album, perhaps the lyrics ("if i see you and i tell you/ that i've watched you/ don't make fun of me later/ cos i'm just lost") were deemed unsuitable to musical trends and national moods in 1997, but when did Morrissey ever want to fit in?
Perhaps the slight problem here is a lack of variety. Most of the songs are sorrowful, dignified and pleasant to the ear. 'He Cried', 'Now I Am A Was' and 'Wide To Receive' all blend into one a little. 'This Is Not Your Country' is a thoughtful, slow ballad about Northern Ireland and 'Satan Rejected My Soul' is livelier but 'Alma Matters' and 'I Can Have Both' are Mozz by numbers.
Other reviews I have read of 'Maladjusted', especially a one-star review (in both senses) in Uncut have dismissed the album as lazy and lacking in ideas and tunes. Its nothing of the sort, Morrissey evidently put a lot of effort into this record and his singing is superb. He could have put ten of the sad, mournful ballads onto one album and it would have been one of his best but would anyone in 1997 have wanted to hear that anyway?
This re-presentation is another excellent release, beautifully packaged and with more illuminating sleeve notes. 'Maladjusted' is nowhere near as bad as most people will have you believe.
7.4
['Maladjusted' is out now. Morrissey plays the Albert Hall next week!]
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Serpentine Sessions
Surely the gig of the year will take place in London on July 1st as Tindersticks play Hyde Park as part of the 'Serpentine Sessions' series of gigs.
Nice to see a series of gigs with multiple bands playing that is focussing on bands on independent labels. The headliners over the three nights are Tindersticks, Regina Spektor and Bon Iver with more bands for each night to be announced soon.
Full details here
http://www.serpentinesessions.com/home/index.aspx
It does sound like a great concept, and having seen Tindersticks play an absolutely amazing outdoor show at Somerset House in 2002, I already have tickets for 1 July and suggest you get some too...
Nice to see a series of gigs with multiple bands playing that is focussing on bands on independent labels. The headliners over the three nights are Tindersticks, Regina Spektor and Bon Iver with more bands for each night to be announced soon.
Full details here
http://www.serpentinesessions.com/home/index.aspx
It does sound like a great concept, and having seen Tindersticks play an absolutely amazing outdoor show at Somerset House in 2002, I already have tickets for 1 July and suggest you get some too...
Friday, 1 May 2009
Morrissey 'Southpaw Grammar' re-presentation
In 1994, Morrissey released 'Vauxhall and I', an excellent and consistent record that mixed Morrissey's perspective on his various troubles at the time with some lighter, character-based songs such as career-highlight 'Now My Heart Is Full' with its "loafing oafs in all night chemists". As I was a bit too young to fully appreciate The Smiths back in the 80s, this was the album that made me grow to love Morrissey's songs and I look back on 'Vauxhall and I' with nostalgia now. Its hard to believe it was 15 years ago.
Just a year later, when Steven Patrick came to record the follow up album, Britpop was in full swing. He could have attempted a bandwagon-jump and made an album full of cheeky ditties about loveable cockney rogues....but it was never likely that he would want to do that and so came 'Southpaw Grammar', a difficult album then and a record that was all but written off by the music press at the time. For me, it was a seriously under-rated collection of songs. If my memory serves me correctly it was released on a bank holiday and I remember playing it and thinking "thank goodness, he hasn't done what the NME would have wanted him to do".
'Southpaw Grammar' contained some of the most powerful songs of Morrissey's career. Just eight songs long and bookended by two ten-minute epics, it was as far from 'Parklife' as could be. It is also one of the most musically-minded Morrissey albums. Recorded with simply two guitars, a bass and drums, it is murky and claustrophobic but on the long songs in particular, the drums and guitars are given free reign to such an extent that the swirling coda to the 11-minute 'The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils' is thrilling even without any input from SPM himself.
On the original release, the middle section of the album contained the shorter, more comercial sounding songs and here on this 're-presentation', Morrissey front-loads the album with these songs...possibly the only thing that could have saved it commercially at the time. It starts, then, with a spring in the step, 'The Boy Racer' is typical Morrissey knock-about.."he thinks he's got the whole world in his hands/ standing at the urinal", while 'Dagenham Dave' ("I love Karen/ I love Sharon/ on the windowscreen") could have been on any 90s Mozzer album, but is fun nonetheless. Elsewhere, 'Just Do Your Best and Don't Worry' offers re-assurance to a friend and 'Reader Meet Author' may just contain yet another attack on the NME.
This time around then, the darker, longer and more majestic songs ('The Operation', 'Southpaw' and the magnificent 'The Teachers...') come later, only for a couple of songs that didn't make the original cut to close the album. 'You Should Have Been Nice to Me' is the best, light and wistful, its a mystery why it was left off back in '95.
The other new additions don't really add to the record that much but what make this re-release even more essential is the new artwork, with some nice photos of Mozz and more importantly, the simply enthralling sleeve notes written by the man himself which reveal much about Morrissey at the time and also show that if he ever penned a memoir, it would be likely to rival 'Chronicles'.
I hadn't played 'Southpaw Grammar' much in the last few years and now I wonder why that is. It is a great record, powerful and triumphant, one of his best. It serves as evidence that sometimes an album is judged on how it fits in with the times, rather than on its quality. Morrissey went on to make 'Maladjusted' two years later before taking a seven year sabbatical. I'll take a look at the re-issued 'Maladjusted' next week.
9.0
['Southpaw Grammar' has been re-presented by Morrissey and is out now on beautifully packaged cd]
Just a year later, when Steven Patrick came to record the follow up album, Britpop was in full swing. He could have attempted a bandwagon-jump and made an album full of cheeky ditties about loveable cockney rogues....but it was never likely that he would want to do that and so came 'Southpaw Grammar', a difficult album then and a record that was all but written off by the music press at the time. For me, it was a seriously under-rated collection of songs. If my memory serves me correctly it was released on a bank holiday and I remember playing it and thinking "thank goodness, he hasn't done what the NME would have wanted him to do".
'Southpaw Grammar' contained some of the most powerful songs of Morrissey's career. Just eight songs long and bookended by two ten-minute epics, it was as far from 'Parklife' as could be. It is also one of the most musically-minded Morrissey albums. Recorded with simply two guitars, a bass and drums, it is murky and claustrophobic but on the long songs in particular, the drums and guitars are given free reign to such an extent that the swirling coda to the 11-minute 'The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils' is thrilling even without any input from SPM himself.
On the original release, the middle section of the album contained the shorter, more comercial sounding songs and here on this 're-presentation', Morrissey front-loads the album with these songs...possibly the only thing that could have saved it commercially at the time. It starts, then, with a spring in the step, 'The Boy Racer' is typical Morrissey knock-about.."he thinks he's got the whole world in his hands/ standing at the urinal", while 'Dagenham Dave' ("I love Karen/ I love Sharon/ on the windowscreen") could have been on any 90s Mozzer album, but is fun nonetheless. Elsewhere, 'Just Do Your Best and Don't Worry' offers re-assurance to a friend and 'Reader Meet Author' may just contain yet another attack on the NME.
This time around then, the darker, longer and more majestic songs ('The Operation', 'Southpaw' and the magnificent 'The Teachers...') come later, only for a couple of songs that didn't make the original cut to close the album. 'You Should Have Been Nice to Me' is the best, light and wistful, its a mystery why it was left off back in '95.
The other new additions don't really add to the record that much but what make this re-release even more essential is the new artwork, with some nice photos of Mozz and more importantly, the simply enthralling sleeve notes written by the man himself which reveal much about Morrissey at the time and also show that if he ever penned a memoir, it would be likely to rival 'Chronicles'.
I hadn't played 'Southpaw Grammar' much in the last few years and now I wonder why that is. It is a great record, powerful and triumphant, one of his best. It serves as evidence that sometimes an album is judged on how it fits in with the times, rather than on its quality. Morrissey went on to make 'Maladjusted' two years later before taking a seven year sabbatical. I'll take a look at the re-issued 'Maladjusted' next week.
9.0
['Southpaw Grammar' has been re-presented by Morrissey and is out now on beautifully packaged cd]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
