I've been thinking back to my hopes and expectations for music in 2007. At the start of the year, I was most looking forward to new albums from Arcade Fire and The Innocence Mission and hoping that Tindersticks would get back together and record a new album. I was also hoping to attend more gigs than I did last year.
Well, I attended less gigs than in 2006 but the shows I did get to were absolutely brilliant. Tindersticks did get back together and record an album, but we have to wait until 2008 to hear it. The Innocence Mission and Arcade Fire albums were both excellent, although The Arcade Fire didn't manage to improve on 'Funeral'. But as with every year in music, 2007 brought some excellent new discoveries for me.
I don't know how I managed to avoid getting into the Hold Steady until this year, but from the moment I heard 'Boys and Girls In America', I was hooked. Certainly through the summer and early autumn I played little else but their three albums. Seeing them play live in July was one of the highlights of my year. I also discovered The National, who are a kind of American version of Tindersticks. As for new artists, I really liked the work of Twilight Sad (I still think of them as a mix of The Proclaimers and My Bloody Valentine, no matter what anyone says), the moody Tiny Vipers and the indie-folk of Emmy The Great, who surely will hit the big time next year.
One unexpected pleasure was the sheer brilliance of 'In Rainbows', which is 'a grower' of extreme proportions and I never expected, ten years after 'OK Computer' to love a Radiohead record as much again.
There were disappointments of course. The Bill Callahan record was, to my ears, poor. I spent a few weeks pretending to like it and trying to force myself to get into it, but it just seemed so unfocussed and meandering. The Iron and Wine record left me cold, despite the fact that I loved 'Our Endless Numbered Days' and it was sad to hear Wilco dismantle everything that made them great over the last five years.
What is sadder than any of these things though, is the fact that my home town of Bedford now doesn't have a record shop. Since I was a boy I have shopped for records in Bedford. I remember when we had an HMV! As I grew up and got into more alternative music I would spend hours perusing the racks of Andys Records and Sounds Good To Me, now we don't even have a Music Zone or a Fopp. It is sad for me because I have to order records online and wait for my visits to London but it is even sadder for music fans growing up today, who will never know how much fun it is to spend half an hour in a record shop with £20 in their pocket, choosing records on the quality of the sleeve and asking the friendly record shop owner if they can have a listen. Tragic. They will never know what they are missing.
Anyway, 2007 was great. My gig of the year was Mountain Goats at the Union Chapel, my album of the year will be revealed (as will the full top 30) next week.
Here's to 2008 and new LPs from Tindersticks, Mountain Goats and American Music Club.
Friday, 14 December 2007
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Emmy The Great
While I still haven't got over the excitement of finally seeing The Mountain Goats play live and the joy of it being every bit as good as I hoped, I wanted to also write about how much I enjoyed the set from Emmy The Great.
Emmy is Emma-Lee Moss, born in Hong Kong, now living in London. She performed with a second singer/piano player and a violinist. Her songs are a mix of indie and folk, sounding a little like Belle & Sebastian may have sounded at times had Isobel Campbell had a stronger singing voice. She only played five or six songs but they were all strong and the performance of the band overall was very assured. Highlights were a superb cover of John Prine's 'Christmas in Prison' which has been stuck in my head ever since Saturday and current single 'Gabriel.
You can hear more on Emmy's Myspace site:
http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat
Emmy is Emma-Lee Moss, born in Hong Kong, now living in London. She performed with a second singer/piano player and a violinist. Her songs are a mix of indie and folk, sounding a little like Belle & Sebastian may have sounded at times had Isobel Campbell had a stronger singing voice. She only played five or six songs but they were all strong and the performance of the band overall was very assured. Highlights were a superb cover of John Prine's 'Christmas in Prison' which has been stuck in my head ever since Saturday and current single 'Gabriel.
You can hear more on Emmy's Myspace site:
http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat
Sunday, 9 December 2007
The Mountain Goats - Union Chapel 8th December 2007
So, I finally got to see The Mountain Goats play live. Last night The Union Chapel played host to the Pineapple Folk Festival, featuring TMG, Micah P Hinson, Emmy The Great and Alisdair Roberts. With all due respect to the other artists though (and Emmy The Great played a very nice, if short, set) this, for me, was about finally seeing John Darnielle and Peter Hughes play their amazing songs live.
The Union Chapel is a beautiful venue, easily my favourite in London. The acoustics are as clear as you'll find anywhere and in between sets there is some lovely scenary to look at. The Goats arrived on stage at 8.30, wearing some smart suits which according to my girlfriend made Peter Hughes look like Nathan Petrelli from Heroes. John played acoustic guitar and sang and Peter played bass.
They opened with 'Wild Sage' from last year's 'Get Lonely' LP, John singing with the hushed whisper/gasp in evidence throughout that album. As the set progressed we were treated to some real favourites including 'Dance Music', 'Jenny' and 'This Year'. The atmosphere was fantastic, the auidence were so enthusiastic and John seemed really happy and looked to be enjoying himself immensely.. One of the highlights was him moving away from the microphone during 'Maybe Sprout Wings' to sing unamplified, the Church was so silent that you could hear him clearly and the effect was spine-tingling.
For the closing song of the main set they played 'Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton', yes, complete with the 'Hail Satan' singalong ending and were joined on stage by Eddie Argos from Art Brut. The only complaint I have was that the set wasn't longer, but it was great that a) John said they would be back in 2008 and b) the title track of the new LP 'Heretic Pride' was played and was absolutely brilliant...very lively and upbeat too.
This was a wonderful night, one of the best sets I have seen and I hope John enjoyed it as much as us fans did.
Full review of the Pineapple Folk night later in the week, but for now, here is the TMG setlist...
Wild Sage
Tollund Man
The Recognition Scene
You or Your Memory
Cobscook Bay
Love Love Love
Heretic Pride
Tulsa Imperative
Jenny
Dance Music
Maybe Sprout Wings
This Year
The Best Ever Death Metal band in Denton (with Eddie Argos from Art Brut)
Encore: Houseguest
The Union Chapel is a beautiful venue, easily my favourite in London. The acoustics are as clear as you'll find anywhere and in between sets there is some lovely scenary to look at. The Goats arrived on stage at 8.30, wearing some smart suits which according to my girlfriend made Peter Hughes look like Nathan Petrelli from Heroes. John played acoustic guitar and sang and Peter played bass.
They opened with 'Wild Sage' from last year's 'Get Lonely' LP, John singing with the hushed whisper/gasp in evidence throughout that album. As the set progressed we were treated to some real favourites including 'Dance Music', 'Jenny' and 'This Year'. The atmosphere was fantastic, the auidence were so enthusiastic and John seemed really happy and looked to be enjoying himself immensely.. One of the highlights was him moving away from the microphone during 'Maybe Sprout Wings' to sing unamplified, the Church was so silent that you could hear him clearly and the effect was spine-tingling.
For the closing song of the main set they played 'Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton', yes, complete with the 'Hail Satan' singalong ending and were joined on stage by Eddie Argos from Art Brut. The only complaint I have was that the set wasn't longer, but it was great that a) John said they would be back in 2008 and b) the title track of the new LP 'Heretic Pride' was played and was absolutely brilliant...very lively and upbeat too.
This was a wonderful night, one of the best sets I have seen and I hope John enjoyed it as much as us fans did.
Full review of the Pineapple Folk night later in the week, but for now, here is the TMG setlist...
Wild Sage
Tollund Man
The Recognition Scene
You or Your Memory
Cobscook Bay
Love Love Love
Heretic Pride
Tulsa Imperative
Jenny
Dance Music
Maybe Sprout Wings
This Year
The Best Ever Death Metal band in Denton (with Eddie Argos from Art Brut)
Encore: Houseguest
Monday, 3 December 2007
The Innocence Mission 'We Walked In Song'
Clearly, my profession of choice would be a record reviewer. However, even if I had the talent to perform this duty, I am starting to wonder if I would find it possible to work to the guidelines required. I have read a review of The Innocence Mission's new album in Uncut, it can't be much more than 100 words, it is a 'safe' three star review and sticks to Wikipedia type facts about the band and offers the insight that as the record is largely about Karen Peris' Father who died while the record was being written, it is sombre. If someone asked me to give them 100 words on the new Innocence Mission LP, I think I would find it impossible.
I first became a fan of The Innocence Mission in 2001 after a recommendation from a friend. They are husband and wife Don and Karen Peris with assistance from bassist Mike Bitts. Karen sings and plays guitars and piano, while Don plays most of the guitars, drums and occasionally sings backing vocals. Their music is a kind of dreamy, light, folky sound, with mainly acoustic guitars and Karen's beautiful, childlike vocal over the top. The songs often focus on themes such as childhood, religion and friendship.
2003's 'Befriended' was written shortly after the death of Karen's Mother and it is partly a tribute to her life and partly an album about coping with her death. It remains one of my favourite albums of all time and will inevitably, at some point, make you cry.
This year the follow up album finally arrived. Released in January 2007 in the USA and out in the UK next January, 'We Walked In Song' is, in many ways, a companion album to 'Befriended'. I have lived with this album for most of this year and there haven't been many weeks when I haven't listened to it at least once.
Karen's Father died during the writing of this album and if you listen to the album just once and read the lyric sheet through, you might get the impression that this is a sad, sombre album. You'd be wrong. Instead of dwelling on sadness and loss, the lyrics look for hope, joy and happiness in the things that remain. So there are songs about members of Karen's family as well as several songs about the kindness of strangers and the way that moments like these can light up the day.
Opener 'The Brotherhood of Man' sets the scene with lyrics such as:
"Waiting at the airport on my suitcase,
a girl traveling from Spain became my sudden friend,
though I did not learn her name.
And when the subway dimmed
a stranger lit my way.
This is the brotherhood of man."
Elsewhere on the same song, the sadness shines through...
"We meet an older man who seems to know
I miss my dad.
And he smiles through the limbs.
We talk easily with him
until the rain begins."
Karen sings this song beautifully, complemented by intricate guitar pickings from Don. 'Happy Birthday' and 'Love That Boy' are tributes to members of Karen's family but it is after these two tracks that the album really hits it's stride.
'Into Brooklyn...' is the most upbeat, catchy song on the album and the first to contain anything so loud as a drum! Its a song, you'll be humming for days after you first hear it. 'Lake Shore Drive' has more of an alt.folk sound than anything else here, it is a joyous song too, as Karen decides to leave regret and grief behind whilst never letting memories fade
"It seems the right time
to let go of the steep incline
of this day and to know you’re mine
forever and I will be fine.
In me will you shine,
shine, shine, will you shine"
Later on, 'Since I Still Tell You My Everyday' is an impossibly sad and lonely song, performed with a very sparse acoustic arrangement and 'Over The Moon' and 'A Wave is Rolling' focus on optimism for the future with some very nice imagery.
As has become something of a tradition on Innocence Mission records the final track features harmonies between Karen and Don. They sound great singing together, as Don's voice compliments Karen's very well. 'My Sisters Return from Ireland' is a great closer with Karen's lyrics hoping that she too can show kindness to others in the same way as it has been offered to her.
There is not a huge variation in sound or themes on this record so don't expect that. But, if you want to hear gentle, emotional songs performed by great musicians and singers than you won't go far wrong with 'We Walked In Song' and you'll probably find yourself gradually purchasing all of The Innocence Mission's superb back catalogue. There is a lot more to them than meets the eye.
9.8
I first became a fan of The Innocence Mission in 2001 after a recommendation from a friend.
2003's 'Befriended' was written shortly after the death of Karen's Mother and it is partly a tribute to her life and partly an album about coping with her death. It remains one of my favourite albums of all time and will inevitably, at some point, make you cry.
This year the follow up album finally arrived. Released in January 2007 in the USA and out in the UK next January, 'We Walked In Song' is, in many ways, a companion album to 'Befriended'. I have lived with this album for most of this year and there haven't been many weeks when I haven't listened to it at least once.
Karen's Father died during the writing of this album and if you listen to the album just once and read the lyric sheet through, you might get the impression that this is a sad, sombre album. You'd be wrong. Instead of dwelling on sadness and loss, the lyrics look for hope, joy and happiness in the things that remain. So there are songs about members of Karen's family as well as several songs about the kindness of strangers and the way that moments like these can light up the day.
Opener 'The Brotherhood of Man' sets the scene with lyrics such as:
"Waiting at the airport on my suitcase,
a girl traveling from Spain became my sudden friend,
though I did not learn her name.
And when the subway dimmed
a stranger lit my way.
This is the brotherhood of man."
Elsewhere on the same song, the sadness shines through...
"We meet an older man who seems to know
I miss my dad.
And he smiles through the limbs.
We talk easily with him
until the rain begins."
Karen sings this song beautifully, complemented by intricate guitar pickings from Don. 'Happy Birthday' and 'Love That Boy' are tributes to members of Karen's family but it is after these two tracks that the album really hits it's stride.
'Into Brooklyn...' is the most upbeat, catchy song on the album and the first to contain anything so loud as a drum! Its a song, you'll be humming for days after you first hear it. 'Lake Shore Drive' has more of an alt.folk sound than anything else here, it is a joyous song too, as Karen decides to leave regret and grief behind whilst never letting memories fade
"It seems the right time
to let go of the steep incline
of this day and to know you’re mine
forever and I will be fine.
In me will you shine,
shine, shine, will you shine"
Later on, 'Since I Still Tell You My Everyday' is an impossibly sad and lonely song, performed with a very sparse acoustic arrangement and 'Over The Moon' and 'A Wave is Rolling' focus on optimism for the future with some very nice imagery.
As has become something of a tradition on Innocence Mission records the final track features harmonies between Karen and Don. They sound great singing together, as Don's voice compliments Karen's very well. 'My Sisters Return from Ireland' is a great closer with Karen's lyrics hoping that she too can show kindness to others in the same way as it has been offered to her.
There is not a huge variation in sound or themes on this record so don't expect that. But, if you want to hear gentle, emotional songs performed by great musicians and singers than you won't go far wrong with 'We Walked In Song' and you'll probably find yourself gradually purchasing all of The Innocence Mission's superb back catalogue. There is a lot more to them than meets the eye.
9.8
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Bonnie Prince Billy 'Ask Forgiveness'
I have been accused of liking everything I review, so I am going to make a concerted effort to find some absolute rubbish to listen to in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I have been enjoying this absolutely lovely eight track EP of covers by Will Oldham.
Albums of cover versions are often recorded as contractual obligations or to buy an artist some time while they are working on new original songs, but this has evidenly been made as a result of Oldham's sheer love of music in general and these songs in particular.
This is a very low key release with no fanfare and the packaging does not contain a tracklisting, just a list of the writers of each song. For TracksandGigs this has meant some 'internet research' had to be carried out. Each of the songs is recorded with a light acoustic sound with hushed vocals and harmonies (courtesy of Meg Baird from Espers), making them sound like a companion piece to last year's mellow 'The Letting Go'.
The first track is a cover of Mickey Newbury's 'I Came To Hear The Music' which happens to be my Mum's favourite song ever and apparently the first song I ever heard, as a child of a few day's old! Here it sounds quite beautiful, sparse and low key but still powerful. Oldham's version of Bjork/Thom Yorke's duet 'I've Seen It All' is equally memorable and almost hypnotic. Those who have never heard the song before will find themselves hanging on every word of the extremely engaging lyrics.
The quality continues, there is no duff track here at all. Halfway through he even throws in a brand new original song, 'I'm Loving The Street' which is maybe the most joyful Oldham song I have ever heard. The highlight comes at the end with an unexpected version of R Kelly's 'The World's Greatest', drawing attention to the power of the words and doing away with the vocal histrionics, it is a revelation.
This is a really wonderful collection of songs and a joy to listen to.
9.0
Albums of cover versions are often recorded as contractual obligations or to buy an artist some time while they are working on new original songs, but this has evidenly been made as a result of Oldham's sheer love of music in general and these songs in particular.
This is a very low key release with no fanfare and the packaging does not contain a tracklisting, just a list of the writers of each song. For TracksandGigs this has meant some 'internet research' had to be carried out. Each of the songs is recorded with a light acoustic sound with hushed vocals and harmonies (courtesy of Meg Baird from Espers), making them sound like a companion piece to last year's mellow 'The Letting Go'.
The first track is a cover of Mickey Newbury's 'I Came To Hear The Music' which happens to be my Mum's favourite song ever and apparently the first song I ever heard, as a child of a few day's old! Here it sounds quite beautiful, sparse and low key but still powerful. Oldham's version of Bjork/Thom Yorke's duet 'I've Seen It All' is equally memorable and almost hypnotic. Those who have never heard the song before will find themselves hanging on every word of the extremely engaging lyrics.
The quality continues, there is no duff track here at all. Halfway through he even throws in a brand new original song, 'I'm Loving The Street' which is maybe the most joyful Oldham song I have ever heard. The highlight comes at the end with an unexpected version of R Kelly's 'The World's Greatest', drawing attention to the power of the words and doing away with the vocal histrionics, it is a revelation.
This is a really wonderful collection of songs and a joy to listen to.
9.0
Monday, 26 November 2007
a non-music weekend / darjeeling limited
I have just had, very unusually for me, a weekend with very little music involved. Didn't go to a gig, didn't buy a record, didn't listen to much music. Weird. What did I do?
I went swimming, but thats not unusual, I go swimming every day. On Saturday I went to the football with my brother, Luton Town beat Southend. It was a great game. I mean, technically it wasn't, but we won and we probably deserved to and I just enjoyed it so much. The worse Luton Town are, the more I love them. When they were good recently, I lost interest slightly.
Yesterday, we went to see The Darjeeling Limited which is the. new. Wes. Anderson. film.
This is a huge event for me. At the risk of turning this blog into TracksandGigsandFilms, I am a big Wes Anderson fan and The Life Aquatic, which came out two years ago, is my favourite film ever. I enjoyed Darjeeling, but thats not enough for me and a Wes film, I expect to be affected by it, touched by it and I expect it to carry me through the two or three years til the next one. Was it that good? Truth is, I don't know yet. I need to go and see it again and I may do that this afternoon (I have a day off). The soundtrack was great though, as it always is for a Wes film.
Anyway, I am saying nothing of note here so I shall leave. I will return tomorrow with my more considered thoughts on The Darjeeling Limited. and other things.
Buffalo Tom in London on Saturday. 'Phew rock n roll' eh readers?
I went swimming, but thats not unusual, I go swimming every day. On Saturday I went to the football with my brother, Luton Town beat Southend. It was a great game. I mean, technically it wasn't, but we won and we probably deserved to and I just enjoyed it so much. The worse Luton Town are, the more I love them. When they were good recently, I lost interest slightly.
Yesterday, we went to see The Darjeeling Limited which is the. new. Wes. Anderson. film.
This is a huge event for me. At the risk of turning this blog into TracksandGigsandFilms, I am a big Wes Anderson fan and The Life Aquatic, which came out two years ago, is my favourite film ever. I enjoyed Darjeeling, but thats not enough for me and a Wes film, I expect to be affected by it, touched by it and I expect it to carry me through the two or three years til the next one. Was it that good? Truth is, I don't know yet. I need to go and see it again and I may do that this afternoon (I have a day off). The soundtrack was great though, as it always is for a Wes film.
Anyway, I am saying nothing of note here so I shall leave. I will return tomorrow with my more considered thoughts on The Darjeeling Limited. and other things.
Buffalo Tom in London on Saturday. 'Phew rock n roll' eh readers?
Thursday, 22 November 2007
American Music Club- new LP
Both of my long term favourite bands release new albums in February, and both have returned with 'modified line-ups'. I speak of course of Tindersticks and American Music Club.
AMC are back with only Mark Eitzel and Vudi present from the original line up. My view on this is, that as long as Mark and Vudi are there it is still AMC and it is perfectly OK.
I became a fan of American Music Club in the late 90s when they were on, so it seemed then, a permanent hiatus. During the years before they got back together I saw Mark Eitzel play a solo show at Dingwalls and this remains one of the greatest gigs I have ever seen. I have never felt so supportive and protective of an artist as I was in those two hours. Just getting through the gig without walking away seemed to be a personal battle for Mark and for every sulk or change of guitar, you knew there was an amazing song coming up if he could keep going. I'll never forget the version of 'Last Harbour' he played that night.
I got to see AMC play live twice after they reformed in 2004. The first was an exceptional gig and a real joy to see Mark looking so happy and comfortable on stage, the second was a bad gig mainly due to sound problems. Mark had a face like thunder throughtout. This is how it is with Eitzel and AMC, you never know what kind of show you're going to see but its always worth going along because the good nights make up for ten of the bad.
So, now they're back. New album 'The Golden Age' is out in February with a UK tour at the same time. Their US record company have put a track from the album on their website (see link below). Its called 'All The Lonely Souls Welcome You to San Francisco', a title that only Eitzel could come up with. Its a lovely song, more 'California' than 'Love Songs For Patriots', with a chorus that you'll be humming all day. Enjoy.
http://www.mergerecords.com/news.php?month=Nov%202007#327
AMC are back with only Mark Eitzel and Vudi present from the original line up. My view on this is, that as long as Mark and Vudi are there it is still AMC and it is perfectly OK.
I became a fan of American Music Club in the late 90s when they were on, so it seemed then, a permanent hiatus. During the years before they got back together I saw Mark Eitzel play a solo show at Dingwalls and this remains one of the greatest gigs I have ever seen. I have never felt so supportive and protective of an artist as I was in those two hours. Just getting through the gig without walking away seemed to be a personal battle for Mark and for every sulk or change of guitar, you knew there was an amazing song coming up if he could keep going. I'll never forget the version of 'Last Harbour' he played that night.
I got to see AMC play live twice after they reformed in 2004. The first was an exceptional gig and a real joy to see Mark looking so happy and comfortable on stage, the second was a bad gig mainly due to sound problems. Mark had a face like thunder throughtout. This is how it is with Eitzel and AMC, you never know what kind of show you're going to see but its always worth going along because the good nights make up for ten of the bad.
So, now they're back. New album 'The Golden Age' is out in February with a UK tour at the same time. Their US record company have put a track from the album on their website (see link below). Its called 'All The Lonely Souls Welcome You to San Francisco', a title that only Eitzel could come up with. Its a lovely song, more 'California' than 'Love Songs For Patriots', with a chorus that you'll be humming all day. Enjoy.
http://www.mergerecords.com/news.php?month=Nov%202007#327
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