While I continue to marvel at the new Mountain Goats and Twilight Sad albums (reviews coming soon, I promise), I've also been enjoying a fantastic audience recording of a recent Low gig.
Check out http://www.archive.org/details/low2009-09-18.spbmc2
The gig took place just a week ago and contains a brand new track. Alan Sparhawk recently said that he had re-evaluated his back catalogue and this is evidence of that. After all the studio trickery pokery of their last album, Low are back to making raw spine-tingling music again.
Kicking off with a stunning 10-minute version of 'Shots and Ladders' from 'Trust' and featuring an incredible rendition of 'When I Go Deaf' and some white-hot electric guitar in the intro to 'Canada', this is the sound of a band going back to doing what they do best. Incredible tension, power and beauty, one of the best bands in the world, sounding supreme.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Friday, 25 September 2009
Monsters of Folk 'Monsters of Folk'
I am pretty overwhelmed with the amount of new releases I have to review at the moment! I am the proud owner of the new Mountain Goats album on promo and have been listening to that to try to get to know the songs before the UK shows in a couple of weeks. I also have the new Richard Hawley record to assess and am currently awaiting delivery in the next couple of days of the Twilight Sad, Hope Sandoval and Port O'Brien records...
'Monsters of Folk' is the hideous title of the new collaboration between M Ward, Conor Oberst, Jim James and Mike Mogis. Having previously toured together in some kind of Rolling Thunder Revue style, the four have now made a record together in some kind of Travelling Wilburys style.
The record is split pretty evenly into songs written and fronted by each of the artists and each plays to his strengths. Oberst's contributions are largely wordy, country songs of the type that worked well on his self-titled solo record a couple of years ago, Ward does his retro, smokey-ballads and fuzzy rockers and Jim James brings soul/country pastiches. James actually provides the highlight, in the record's most untypical song. 'Dear God' is a striking soul number, sounding modern and catchy.
There's not enough of this, elsewhere much is stodgy and staid. Oberst sound like he is going through the motions, providing mellow country tunes with little direction or effort. Worst of all is 'Man Named Truth', country rock by numbers and with bland lyrics. Ward's contributions are largely more successful, 'The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me' is undeniably lovely, 'Whole Lotta Losin' is cliched but lively at least and while 'Slow Down Jo' is lazy and languid, that is at least, apparently, the intention in this case.
The record's main problem is that over the course of an overly long sixteen tracks, the mood hardly ever changes from mid-tempo and middle of the road and the lyrical focus is on general, broad themes such as 'hitting the road...moving on..." and 'life and death', there's little in the way of interesting ideas and wordplay. No song sounds like it was begging to be written, instead much seems forced and directionless.
Also, it seems a terrible waste to have a record with three truly great singers and then have them hardly ever sing together. A few years ago on Jenny Lewis' 'Rabbit Fur Coat' LP, Ward, Lewis and Oberst sang 'Handle With Care' together, alternating verses and sharing the choruses. It sounded vibrant, exciting even and it shows what 'Monsters of Folk' could have been, with just a little more inspiration and invention.
As it is, there is plenty of pleasant, listenable music here, but it is not, I would imagine, a record you would feel the need to return to time and time again.
6.5
['Monsters of Folk' is out now on Rough Trade]
'Monsters of Folk' is the hideous title of the new collaboration between M Ward, Conor Oberst, Jim James and Mike Mogis. Having previously toured together in some kind of Rolling Thunder Revue style, the four have now made a record together in some kind of Travelling Wilburys style.
The record is split pretty evenly into songs written and fronted by each of the artists and each plays to his strengths. Oberst's contributions are largely wordy, country songs of the type that worked well on his self-titled solo record a couple of years ago, Ward does his retro, smokey-ballads and fuzzy rockers and Jim James brings soul/country pastiches. James actually provides the highlight, in the record's most untypical song. 'Dear God' is a striking soul number, sounding modern and catchy.
There's not enough of this, elsewhere much is stodgy and staid. Oberst sound like he is going through the motions, providing mellow country tunes with little direction or effort. Worst of all is 'Man Named Truth', country rock by numbers and with bland lyrics. Ward's contributions are largely more successful, 'The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me' is undeniably lovely, 'Whole Lotta Losin' is cliched but lively at least and while 'Slow Down Jo' is lazy and languid, that is at least, apparently, the intention in this case.
The record's main problem is that over the course of an overly long sixteen tracks, the mood hardly ever changes from mid-tempo and middle of the road and the lyrical focus is on general, broad themes such as 'hitting the road...moving on..." and 'life and death', there's little in the way of interesting ideas and wordplay. No song sounds like it was begging to be written, instead much seems forced and directionless.
Also, it seems a terrible waste to have a record with three truly great singers and then have them hardly ever sing together. A few years ago on Jenny Lewis' 'Rabbit Fur Coat' LP, Ward, Lewis and Oberst sang 'Handle With Care' together, alternating verses and sharing the choruses. It sounded vibrant, exciting even and it shows what 'Monsters of Folk' could have been, with just a little more inspiration and invention.
As it is, there is plenty of pleasant, listenable music here, but it is not, I would imagine, a record you would feel the need to return to time and time again.
6.5
['Monsters of Folk' is out now on Rough Trade]
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Micah P Hinson 'All Dressed Up and Smelling of Strangers'
A covers album!
There are two ways of doing a covers album. One is to choose some relatively obscure songs and do some respectful and reverential versions, upsetting nobody and probably introducing your fans to some new artists. The second way is to laugh in the face of this notion and just choose your favourite songs and record them exactly as you choose. Micah P Hinson has chosen the second option.
As a result, the Texan troubadour presents a two volume collection of covers, divided loosely but not completely into a set of intimate acoustic recordings and louder full-band efforts. Hinson aims high and tackles well loved songs by the likes of Dylan, Cohen, Denver, The Beatles, Buddy Holly and, er, Emmy The Great.
Inevitably, with a project like this, the songs are executed with varying degrees of success. One constant though is Hinson's deep Texan drawl, a quite wonderful instrument which conveys real emotion; smooth and soothing one moment, harsh and broken the next, it has served him well with his own songs and in many ways works even better here...
..Take 'The Times They Are A Changing', no point in doing a cover of this you might think, especially not in exactly the same acoustic tradition as the original, but it is a joy because Hinson sings it so well, emphasising some of the words differently and stretching some of the syllables out, it is engaging and rich...and wisely he doesn't ruin it with a harmonica solo. Similarly, he does a great job with Emmy The Great's 'We Almost Had A Baby', switching it to the male perspective and having fun with lines like "I am a man...but before I met you, fuck, I was only a kid" and he does a straight, perfectly sung version of Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne'.
If Volume 1 is filled with moody, lo-fi americana versions of standards, Volume 2 is far more adventurous and playful. For example, Hinson yells out Buddy Holly's 'Listen To Me' over a wall of guitar noise and Leadbelly's 'In The Pines' may lack the naked emotion of Kurt Cobain's version but is just as edgy and desperate.
'All Dressed Up and Smelling of Strangers' is a triumph for Micah P Hinson. As covers albums go, it is daring and experimental, but most of all it showcases what an amazing singer Hinson is. He takes on some of the all time greats here, and never sounds out of his depth.
8.1
['All Dressed Up and Smelling of Strangers' is out now on Full Time Hobby]
There are two ways of doing a covers album. One is to choose some relatively obscure songs and do some respectful and reverential versions, upsetting nobody and probably introducing your fans to some new artists. The second way is to laugh in the face of this notion and just choose your favourite songs and record them exactly as you choose. Micah P Hinson has chosen the second option.
As a result, the Texan troubadour presents a two volume collection of covers, divided loosely but not completely into a set of intimate acoustic recordings and louder full-band efforts. Hinson aims high and tackles well loved songs by the likes of Dylan, Cohen, Denver, The Beatles, Buddy Holly and, er, Emmy The Great.
Inevitably, with a project like this, the songs are executed with varying degrees of success. One constant though is Hinson's deep Texan drawl, a quite wonderful instrument which conveys real emotion; smooth and soothing one moment, harsh and broken the next, it has served him well with his own songs and in many ways works even better here...
..Take 'The Times They Are A Changing', no point in doing a cover of this you might think, especially not in exactly the same acoustic tradition as the original, but it is a joy because Hinson sings it so well, emphasising some of the words differently and stretching some of the syllables out, it is engaging and rich...and wisely he doesn't ruin it with a harmonica solo. Similarly, he does a great job with Emmy The Great's 'We Almost Had A Baby', switching it to the male perspective and having fun with lines like "I am a man...but before I met you, fuck, I was only a kid" and he does a straight, perfectly sung version of Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne'.
If Volume 1 is filled with moody, lo-fi americana versions of standards, Volume 2 is far more adventurous and playful. For example, Hinson yells out Buddy Holly's 'Listen To Me' over a wall of guitar noise and Leadbelly's 'In The Pines' may lack the naked emotion of Kurt Cobain's version but is just as edgy and desperate.
'All Dressed Up and Smelling of Strangers' is a triumph for Micah P Hinson. As covers albums go, it is daring and experimental, but most of all it showcases what an amazing singer Hinson is. He takes on some of the all time greats here, and never sounds out of his depth.
8.1
['All Dressed Up and Smelling of Strangers' is out now on Full Time Hobby]
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Yo La Tengo 'Popular Songs'
Yo La Tengo are one of those bands that I've always thought I should be a fan of, but never quite got to grips with. They've been going 25 years too, so there's been plenty of opportunities. For anyone who feels the same, 'Popular Songs' may be the album that does the trick...it worked for me at least.
The cover art showing a mangled cassette is actually oddly appropriate because the number of twists and turns and changes of direction that this record takes make it sound like some kind of US indie mix tape. Opener 'Here To Fall' sounds like something from Flaming Lips' 'The Soft Bulletin', insistent and hypnotic with the foreboding hook line "I know you're worried/ I'm worried too'. It sounds orchestral and grand, a really great start. The mood lightens with a couple of dreamy, vaguely psychadelic tracks before a superior slice of Garage rock arrives with 'Nothing To Hide'.
This is how things go. Styles vary wildly from track to track; 'Periodically Double and Triple' is stylish and soulful, while 'If It's True' is a dreamy duet, all sunshine and smiles.
Just when you think the record has settled down on a steady indie pop sound for a few tracks (never less than catchy and slick by the way), they end the album with three extended mainly instrumental workouts. The best of these 'More Stars Than There are in Heaven' unravels slowly and gently over a masterful nine minutes.
There is a lot of music here and much of it is very good. This is a hard record to pin down but has certainly made me eager to explore Yo La Tengo's extensive back catalogue.
8.0
['Popular Songs' is out now on Matador]
The cover art showing a mangled cassette is actually oddly appropriate because the number of twists and turns and changes of direction that this record takes make it sound like some kind of US indie mix tape. Opener 'Here To Fall' sounds like something from Flaming Lips' 'The Soft Bulletin', insistent and hypnotic with the foreboding hook line "I know you're worried/ I'm worried too'. It sounds orchestral and grand, a really great start. The mood lightens with a couple of dreamy, vaguely psychadelic tracks before a superior slice of Garage rock arrives with 'Nothing To Hide'.
This is how things go. Styles vary wildly from track to track; 'Periodically Double and Triple' is stylish and soulful, while 'If It's True' is a dreamy duet, all sunshine and smiles.
Just when you think the record has settled down on a steady indie pop sound for a few tracks (never less than catchy and slick by the way), they end the album with three extended mainly instrumental workouts. The best of these 'More Stars Than There are in Heaven' unravels slowly and gently over a masterful nine minutes.
There is a lot of music here and much of it is very good. This is a hard record to pin down but has certainly made me eager to explore Yo La Tengo's extensive back catalogue.
8.0
['Popular Songs' is out now on Matador]
Thursday, 17 September 2009
er....Pavement HAVE reformed
Still can't quite believe this but I may just get to see my second favourite band of all time play.
Pavement ARE going to play some shows next year.
See... http://www.crookedrain.com/
How incredible is this?
Pavement ARE going to play some shows next year.
See... http://www.crookedrain.com/
How incredible is this?
Exclusive - Pavement have not reformed (yet)
Contrary to what you may read on just about any music site you might click on today, Pavement, the greatest American alt.anything band of all time have not yet reformed or announced any dates.
It does look likely though that my prediction of a 2010 reunion might just turn out to be spot on. There are a couple of rumoured festival/benefit gig dates and the absence of any sort of denial. On the other hand, Stephen Malkmus and Scott 'Spiral Stairs' Kannberg both have albums scheduled for next year and will presumably be touring those. Any Pavement reunion would have to involve a lot of rehearsing so its hard to see how it is all going to slot into the first 8-9 months of the year (assuming that they are going to play the Summer festivals).
One thing to be sure of is that 'Terror Twilight' gets the deluxe re-issue treatment next year and I am sure Matador would just love to tie that in with some kind of 'best of', to co-incide with a tour.
All just rumours and dreams for now. That's not to say that I haven't been dreaming..
[review of extraordinary Micah P Hinson covers record coming soon]
It does look likely though that my prediction of a 2010 reunion might just turn out to be spot on. There are a couple of rumoured festival/benefit gig dates and the absence of any sort of denial. On the other hand, Stephen Malkmus and Scott 'Spiral Stairs' Kannberg both have albums scheduled for next year and will presumably be touring those. Any Pavement reunion would have to involve a lot of rehearsing so its hard to see how it is all going to slot into the first 8-9 months of the year (assuming that they are going to play the Summer festivals).
One thing to be sure of is that 'Terror Twilight' gets the deluxe re-issue treatment next year and I am sure Matador would just love to tie that in with some kind of 'best of', to co-incide with a tour.
All just rumours and dreams for now. That's not to say that I haven't been dreaming..
[review of extraordinary Micah P Hinson covers record coming soon]
Monday, 14 September 2009
God Help The Girl 'Stills' EP
Two albums have been dominating my listening time in the past few weeks and they are both records that I under-rated at the time of their release. I have considered re-reviewing both but it may suffice and ease my conscience to just go on about them endlessly and wait for the 'end of the year' lists to right my wrongs.
One is The Duke and The King's sublime 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' and the other is Stuart Murdoch's 'God Help The Girl' side-project. When I first heard this record, I thought it a little showy and forced. In my defence I did keep listening and what I heard eventually was exceptional songwriting from Murdoch and Catherine Ireton's wonderful, crystal clear voice. The songs are sad, happy, funny and wise, the story is compelling and the ending tugs at the heartstrings. It is a monumental achievement and a beautiful, winning piece of art. Thats what I should have said first time round. At least I have learnt my lesson and am now 'living with' albums a lot longer before writing about them.
Anyway, GHTG have now issued 'Stills', an EP of songs from the same sessions as the album but which didn't make the cut. This appears to have nothing to do with quality, but instead Murdoch's intention to sequence the album so that the story unfolds with each song. It works on the album but means that this EP is also essential listening.
From the brassy 'I'm in Love with the City' to the torch-song 'Stills' and the funny/tragic 'The Psychiatrist Is In' these are five more perfectly executed pop songs and fans of Ireton's warm vocals will find plenty to love here.
I have only two more wishes from God Help The Girl...a London performance of the album in its entirety and a box set with the album, the EP and the b sides.
Get to work then Stuart...
['Stills' is out now via Rough Trade on 10" vinyl and download]
One is The Duke and The King's sublime 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' and the other is Stuart Murdoch's 'God Help The Girl' side-project. When I first heard this record, I thought it a little showy and forced. In my defence I did keep listening and what I heard eventually was exceptional songwriting from Murdoch and Catherine Ireton's wonderful, crystal clear voice. The songs are sad, happy, funny and wise, the story is compelling and the ending tugs at the heartstrings. It is a monumental achievement and a beautiful, winning piece of art. Thats what I should have said first time round. At least I have learnt my lesson and am now 'living with' albums a lot longer before writing about them.
Anyway, GHTG have now issued 'Stills', an EP of songs from the same sessions as the album but which didn't make the cut. This appears to have nothing to do with quality, but instead Murdoch's intention to sequence the album so that the story unfolds with each song. It works on the album but means that this EP is also essential listening.
From the brassy 'I'm in Love with the City' to the torch-song 'Stills' and the funny/tragic 'The Psychiatrist Is In' these are five more perfectly executed pop songs and fans of Ireton's warm vocals will find plenty to love here.
I have only two more wishes from God Help The Girl...a London performance of the album in its entirety and a box set with the album, the EP and the b sides.
Get to work then Stuart...
['Stills' is out now via Rough Trade on 10" vinyl and download]
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