As promised a while ago, below are the Autumn UK tour dates from genius singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. From what I understand, Mark will be playing AMC songs at these shows and will also be playing the piano each night. These gigs are essential, Mark's show at Dingwalls in 2002 remains the greatest gig I have ever attended - I cannot remember ever experiencing so many emotions at one show. Support comes from The Hold Steady's Franz Nicolay. Most dates, including the London one, don't go on sale til next week:
4.10.09 - Exeter -Phoenix
6.10.09 - Winchester – Tower Arts Centre
7.10.09 - London - St Giles in the Fields
8.10.09 – Brighton – The Basement
3.11.09 - Bristol – St Bonaventures
4.11.09 - Birmingham – Glee Club
5.11.09 – Manchester - St Margaret's Church
7.11.09 – Edinburgh – Cabaret Voltaire
8.11.09 – Newcastle – Cluny 2
9.11.09 – Leeds - Brudnell Social Club
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Single of the Week
My 'single of the week' this week is 'The Swimmer' by Alice Gun.
I'd never heard of Alice before this and I admit I was attracted by the song title (being a swimmer myself). Glad I checked it out though, cos its a lovely, tense, atmospheric piece with cello, accordion and a assured vocal. Piano-led b side 'Minty Fresh' is almost as good.
One to watch for certain. Turns out this is Alice's debut single. She's a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and signed to Ambiguous Records. 'The Swimmer' is out now on vinyl and digital, you can listen at www.alicegun.com and I suggest that you do.
I'd never heard of Alice before this and I admit I was attracted by the song title (being a swimmer myself). Glad I checked it out though, cos its a lovely, tense, atmospheric piece with cello, accordion and a assured vocal. Piano-led b side 'Minty Fresh' is almost as good.
One to watch for certain. Turns out this is Alice's debut single. She's a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and signed to Ambiguous Records. 'The Swimmer' is out now on vinyl and digital, you can listen at www.alicegun.com and I suggest that you do.
Zak Sally returns with single and LP
Former Low bassist Zak Sally returns with a new single and LP in the next couple of weeks.
Zak was always the star of Low as far as I was concerned and I enjoyed 'My Secret World', the song that he made available last year as a preview of the album to come. The LP is 'Fear Of Song', the title apparently references Sally's dilemma over whether to continue to make music after the Low split. It will be self-released, I understand but the first single 'Why We Hide' is out on 7" only via Sub Pop next week. Incidentally the b-side is the superbly titled 'When I Said I Missed You I Just Meant My Aim Was Off (The Quiet Life)'.
More news about the release-specifics of 'Fear Of Song' when I get it...
Zak was always the star of Low as far as I was concerned and I enjoyed 'My Secret World', the song that he made available last year as a preview of the album to come. The LP is 'Fear Of Song', the title apparently references Sally's dilemma over whether to continue to make music after the Low split. It will be self-released, I understand but the first single 'Why We Hide' is out on 7" only via Sub Pop next week. Incidentally the b-side is the superbly titled 'When I Said I Missed You I Just Meant My Aim Was Off (The Quiet Life)'.
More news about the release-specifics of 'Fear Of Song' when I get it...
Friday, 10 July 2009
The Duckworth Lewis Method 'A Methodology'
Music and cricket, two of my favourite things, so what could be better than an album about cricket? There's never been one before, to the best of my knowledge, but now Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh have created one and released it, just in time for the Ashes.
Naming the album after a very complex cricket scoring system may put off those fans of Hannon's music who do not also love cricket, but they shouldn't be scared, this is a short album of lush pop songs, plenty of swooning strings, big choruses and harmonies..the songs just happen to be about The Summer Game.
For the most part this works well. 'The Age of Revolution' is a catchy, upbeat number reflecting on the changes to cricket in recent years ("always denied entry by the English gentry/ now we're driving Bentleys and playing 20/20"). This is the first single and seems to have been the template.
Writing a whole set of albums on the topic of cricket does seem to have been a challenge for Hannon though. 'The Sweet Spot' uses a double meaning for the title but the song has nothing whatsoever to do with cricket and 'The Nightwatchman' hints at the anxiety suffered by batsmen who are 'not out' at the end of a day's play, but seems more like a desperate love song by the end.
The undoubted highlight though is an absolutely hilarious account of Mike Gatting's dismissal by Shane Warne in the 1993 Ashes, from the perspective of Gatting himself. Over an jaunty piano tune, we hear the funniest lyrics of the year so far, including an inevitable reference to a cheese roll. Totally priceless. Would love to hear what Gatt would make of it.
All in all, this is a pleasant album with some nice string arrangements and some catchy melodies. I do feel that they could have gone further with some more interesting cricket themes and stories, but that's because I love my cricket just as much as I love my music. An enjoyable little album for the Summer.
6.7
['The Duckworth Lewis Method' is out now on Divine Comedy Records. The DLM play Rough Trade East on Monday 13th July at 7pm]
Naming the album after a very complex cricket scoring system may put off those fans of Hannon's music who do not also love cricket, but they shouldn't be scared, this is a short album of lush pop songs, plenty of swooning strings, big choruses and harmonies..the songs just happen to be about The Summer Game.
For the most part this works well. 'The Age of Revolution' is a catchy, upbeat number reflecting on the changes to cricket in recent years ("always denied entry by the English gentry/ now we're driving Bentleys and playing 20/20"). This is the first single and seems to have been the template.
Writing a whole set of albums on the topic of cricket does seem to have been a challenge for Hannon though. 'The Sweet Spot' uses a double meaning for the title but the song has nothing whatsoever to do with cricket and 'The Nightwatchman' hints at the anxiety suffered by batsmen who are 'not out' at the end of a day's play, but seems more like a desperate love song by the end.
The undoubted highlight though is an absolutely hilarious account of Mike Gatting's dismissal by Shane Warne in the 1993 Ashes, from the perspective of Gatting himself. Over an jaunty piano tune, we hear the funniest lyrics of the year so far, including an inevitable reference to a cheese roll. Totally priceless. Would love to hear what Gatt would make of it.
All in all, this is a pleasant album with some nice string arrangements and some catchy melodies. I do feel that they could have gone further with some more interesting cricket themes and stories, but that's because I love my cricket just as much as I love my music. An enjoyable little album for the Summer.
6.7
['The Duckworth Lewis Method' is out now on Divine Comedy Records. The DLM play Rough Trade East on Monday 13th July at 7pm]
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Mark Eitzel to release countless new records imminently...
Possibly TracksandGigs' favourite songwriter of all time, Mark Eitzel, has blogged about a string of upcoming releases.
He is putting the finishing touches to a solo album, after that he is due to work on some songs with Peter Buck, he is also about to record a tour cd for his Autumn European tour...and...there is the prospect of a new AMC album in 2010.
Thanks Mark, that's enough to keep us going for a while!
In other news, I am currently penning a review of Neil Hannon's 'Duckworth Lewis Method' cricket concept album, which contains possibly the funniest song I have ever heard.
also... you can now pre-order the new Magnolia Electric Co album 'Josephine' from Secretly Canadian and receive an instant download of the whole album. Bargain.
More tomorrow..
He is putting the finishing touches to a solo album, after that he is due to work on some songs with Peter Buck, he is also about to record a tour cd for his Autumn European tour...and...there is the prospect of a new AMC album in 2010.
Thanks Mark, that's enough to keep us going for a while!
In other news, I am currently penning a review of Neil Hannon's 'Duckworth Lewis Method' cricket concept album, which contains possibly the funniest song I have ever heard.
also... you can now pre-order the new Magnolia Electric Co album 'Josephine' from Secretly Canadian and receive an instant download of the whole album. Bargain.
More tomorrow..
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Hope Sandoval returns!
Back in the early 90s, Mazzy Star were one of my favourite bands. It seems a bit strange actually to call them a band, since they consisted of David Roback's bluesy guitar sound and Hope Sandoval's dusky voice. They did produce some magic though and anyone who has ever heard Sandoval sing has been longing for some new material from her since a solitary solo album appeared in 2002.
Well, she's back! 'Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions' release an album 'Through The Devil Softly' in September and a single 'Blanchard' in August. TracksandGigs has heard 'Blanchard' and can confirm that it is a slow, sultry ballad with acoustic and slide guitar and sounds marvellous.
In other Sandoval news, this time which T&G finds a little harder to believe, Sandoval is planning a tour and Mazzy Star are putting the finishing touches to their long awaited fourth record. From experience, we'll believe both of those events when we see them...
Well, she's back! 'Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions' release an album 'Through The Devil Softly' in September and a single 'Blanchard' in August. TracksandGigs has heard 'Blanchard' and can confirm that it is a slow, sultry ballad with acoustic and slide guitar and sounds marvellous.
In other Sandoval news, this time which T&G finds a little harder to believe, Sandoval is planning a tour and Mazzy Star are putting the finishing touches to their long awaited fourth record. From experience, we'll believe both of those events when we see them...
Saturday, 4 July 2009
The Low Anthem 'Oh My God, Charlie Darwin'
There are times, rare but glorious, when you hear an artist's music for the first time and you know that you will most likely listen to their music for the rest of your life. This happened to me with Tindersticks, when I first heard Innocence Mission's 'Befriended' and when I saw Low play live in London...now it has happened to me again after a mere few days of listening to The Low Anthem's second album 'Oh My God, Charlie Darwin'.
On opener 'Charlie Darwin', singer Ben Knox Miller uses a Bon Iver style falsetto to relate a tale of a drowning world.."oh my god, the water's all around us...oh my god, life is cold and formless" over a sparse, gentle melody. It is stunning and hymn-like, an incredible opener.
They follow with two more ballads, the best of which 'Ticket Taker' is a crushed love song from the perspective of the guy collecting tickets for entry onto a modern day ark which is saving people from the aforementioned floods. Knox Miller uses his natural voice here, a strong singer-songwriter voice and the added harmonica make this the first real Americana sounding track on the record. You will be enthralled by the lyrics at this stage though.
They change direction here and Knox Miller reveals the third different singing voice used on this record. This time, it is a throaty roar as the band move through two Stones-esque rockers with all the exhuberance of Dylan circa 'Highway 61 Revisted', rousing rootsy stompers both.
The pace changes again for perhaps the best track of all. '(Don't) Tremble' is a beautiful, stripped down ballad with acoustic guitar in one speaker and birdsong in the other. Knox Miller sings of staying strong, not giving up...human resilience ("...do not tremble, do not sweat/ for where then would you get?"). His voice is like a whisper in your ear, haunting but comforting.
It is hard to see how the record could have faltered after reaching such heights and thankfully it doesn't. What follows includes 'Champion Angel', the album's key rocker, a joyous Arcade Fire/Walkmen style epic with some glorious guitar and enough of a chorus to have you singing along and even considering punching the air. There are another couple of low-fi ballads and a reworking of 'To Ohio' to finish.
The songwriting on 'Oh My God Charlie Darwin' is exemplary. Individually the songs are poetic, well written and affecting. Collectively the record tells a story which is touching, life affirming and a comment about aspects of the modern world. The writing is vivid enough to allow you to conjure up images in your mind of some of the scenes described, you will care about the record and the people within the stories.
The music itself is often low key, allowing the words to take centre stage but there is great innovation too. 'Oh My God Charlie Darwin' is a record to treasure. Containing echoes of the work of some of the all time great songwriters, this is a magnificent album - one of the very finest that I have heard in the last decade.
9.8
['Oh My God, Charlie Darwin' is out now on Bella Union. The Low Anthem tour the UK in September]
On opener 'Charlie Darwin', singer Ben Knox Miller uses a Bon Iver style falsetto to relate a tale of a drowning world.."oh my god, the water's all around us...oh my god, life is cold and formless" over a sparse, gentle melody. It is stunning and hymn-like, an incredible opener.
They follow with two more ballads, the best of which 'Ticket Taker' is a crushed love song from the perspective of the guy collecting tickets for entry onto a modern day ark which is saving people from the aforementioned floods. Knox Miller uses his natural voice here, a strong singer-songwriter voice and the added harmonica make this the first real Americana sounding track on the record. You will be enthralled by the lyrics at this stage though.
They change direction here and Knox Miller reveals the third different singing voice used on this record. This time, it is a throaty roar as the band move through two Stones-esque rockers with all the exhuberance of Dylan circa 'Highway 61 Revisted', rousing rootsy stompers both.
The pace changes again for perhaps the best track of all. '(Don't) Tremble' is a beautiful, stripped down ballad with acoustic guitar in one speaker and birdsong in the other. Knox Miller sings of staying strong, not giving up...human resilience ("...do not tremble, do not sweat/ for where then would you get?"). His voice is like a whisper in your ear, haunting but comforting.
It is hard to see how the record could have faltered after reaching such heights and thankfully it doesn't. What follows includes 'Champion Angel', the album's key rocker, a joyous Arcade Fire/Walkmen style epic with some glorious guitar and enough of a chorus to have you singing along and even considering punching the air. There are another couple of low-fi ballads and a reworking of 'To Ohio' to finish.
The songwriting on 'Oh My God Charlie Darwin' is exemplary. Individually the songs are poetic, well written and affecting. Collectively the record tells a story which is touching, life affirming and a comment about aspects of the modern world. The writing is vivid enough to allow you to conjure up images in your mind of some of the scenes described, you will care about the record and the people within the stories.
The music itself is often low key, allowing the words to take centre stage but there is great innovation too. 'Oh My God Charlie Darwin' is a record to treasure. Containing echoes of the work of some of the all time great songwriters, this is a magnificent album - one of the very finest that I have heard in the last decade.
9.8
['Oh My God, Charlie Darwin' is out now on Bella Union. The Low Anthem tour the UK in September]
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