Tennis – ‘Young And Old’
Originally written for and published on The Line Of Best Fit…
Rather appropriately released on Valentine’s Day, Tennis – a.k.a. Denver-based husband and wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley – bring us their second record Young And Old just over a year after the pair released their debut Cape Dory in January 2011. A series of songs written about their shared experience sailing around the Atlantic, Cape Dory was an album wrapped in whimsy and nostalgia, a romantic record of their days before married life. On their 10-track follow up that romanticism remains intact, even down to the album’s title – based upon Romantic poet John Keats’ work of the same name.
Awash with early ’60s syths and woozy odes to modern dream pop, Tennis inevitably draw parallels with the likes of Beach House, Summer Camp and Best Coast. Low key yet upbeat, each hum of Moore’s electric organ is wrapped in nostalgia, while her rhyming lyrics – such as ‘Travelling’’s “This must be rare ‘cos nothing else could compare, not that I’m aware of” – add further depth to the innocent poeticism present throughout the record. With its familiar melodies and vintage Beach Boys tones the album’s formula is simple yet slightly saccharine, particularly during tracks such as ‘Robin’ and ‘Take Me To Heaven’. Likewise each song is concise, all of them resting around the three-minute mark, a pattern that allows each song to slowly take shape before sinking into the next. Yet for all its passion, there’s no element of surprise during Young And Old. That’s not to say, however, that it’s a disappointment.
Album opener ‘It All Feels The Same’ is a perfect way for Tennis to submerge their listeners into the cool ripples of their lo-fi American surf-pop. Beginning with the words “Took a train to, took a train to get to you/Finally got there and I couldn’t find you anywhere”, Tennis carry their theme of travel and journeying through into album number two. While these lyrics are not exactly profound, in their own context they feel appropriate in their simple delivery, particularly when presented against the music’s soft backing tones. After ‘It All Feels The Same”s climatic ending, the record moves deftly into ‘Origins’, the record’s first single. It’s clear to see why it was selected as Young And Old’s introduction: with Moore’s arpeggioed verses and Riley’s reverberating guitar, ‘Origins’ is a euphoric clash of varying tempos and multiple instruments.
Fellow Fat Possum labelmates The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney was chosen as producer, for his own experience with self-producing, and he has successfully captured the home recorded, un-slick techniques that this record demands. This perfect pairing is most evident in tracks such as ‘High Road’ – where Moore mournfully notes: “Paradise is all around, but happiness is never found” – and ‘Dreaming’, a song that is as fanciful and hazy as its title suggests. Carney also crafts the band’s preference for flooding their melodies and vocals to the fore, unlike many of their musical counterparts who tend to wash their vocals with overpowering shoegaze synths and distorting feedback fuzz. Here, the vocals are not as densely layered as they were in previous tracks such as ‘Marathon’, Carney allowing Moore’s delicate, two-line vocal harmonies to shine through alone.
If there’s a negative to note, it’s that occasionally some songs slide a little too easily into one another, rendering it difficult to differentiate between them. As such there are moments where the momentum lags somewhat, particularly during third track ‘My Better Self’ with its slightly monotonous melody. Despite the permeating drumbeats at the song’s start, it plods along at one pace, with a minimal guitar line and barely audible organ melodies. While it’s not a bad song, compared with some of Young And Old’s other offerings – such as the ’80s infused ‘Petition’ with its high, distorted chorus, and the upbeat joviality and doo wop of ‘Travelling’ – it certainly lacks the lifting and lilting movement that the majority of the album exudes.
Of the ever-expanding wave of surf-pop bands to appear over the last few years, simply put: Beach House, with their moodier, more progressive take on the genre, do it best. Yet there’s no denying that Tennis have still come up with a joyful album, one replete with a lusciously summery vibe and a smattering of exceptional songs. With its romanticism intact, Young And Old’s lyrics echo the very promise of its title: it still has its youthful, innocent touch, yet also hints at its dedication to their musical past. During Tennis’ relatively short career the duo have clearly achieved much and crafted some sublime songs, yet you can’t escape the sense that with a little more variety their releases would go even further, both on record and in a live setting.
All images and music used with permission...
The Dø – Bush Hall, London, 26/01/2012
Originally written for and published on The Fly…
It’s been over a year since Finnish-French duo The Dø released any new material, but that is not a problem for the vast audience excitedly assembled in Bush Hall tonight. Surrounded by chandeliers, multiple mirrors and red theatre curtains, tonight’s venue is the perfect backdrop for The Dø and their dramatic performance.
With no support band, and a set that lasts nearly two hours, the show is all about soaring vocalist Olivia Merilahti and the multi-instrumental Dan Levy. As the pair – and three others – take to the stage, in front of an immense array of cymbals and brass instruments, they fall into an a capella introduction, a tribal technique that is much repeated throughout the set. Meanwhile ‘Playground Hustle’ erupts, with its bluesy-bass line, before the band begin ‘Gonna Be Sick!’, which sees Merilahti repeatedly shout “I’m gonna throw up” through a fairy-light encrusted megaphone.
Choosing to play material from both ‘A Mouthful’ and ‘Both Ways Open Jaws Extended’, the set is varied and textured, both in terms of pace and volume. ‘Slippery Slope’ bears witness to saxophone solos and chanting;‘B.W.O.J’ is an explosive instrumental interlude of synths and guitar, and ‘Bohemian Dances’ contrasts brass and piano melodies with Merilahti’s tender soprano lyrics, which are echoed back by the appreciative audience. ‘Too Insistent’ is also rapturously received, and illustrates that the quintet can do ballads just as well as the booming beat-led songs that see the entire audience dancing. With its surprising explosive ending, ‘Too Insistent’ encapsulates the band’s live appeal: the fact that they completely re-invent their recordings for the stage, creating a distinctly exhilarating atmosphere.
Returning for their encore the band begin ‘At Last’, where all five suddenly stop towards its end and pose as statues, continuing the theatrics. Tonight’s final song is a powerful rendition of ‘Dust It Off’ beginning delicately before building to a euphoric end. It’s a perfect track to conclude with, one that accentuates Merilahti’s vocals – the crowning jewel in The Dø’s musical majesty – yet also the duo’s ability to contrast cascading loudness with startling softness to magical effect.
Image and music used with permission...
Kathleen Edwards – ‘Voyageur’
Originally written for and printed in the Spring Issue of DIY magazine..
‘Voyageur’ – in every sense of the title’s meaning – is a record that sees its creator, Kathleen Edwards, investigate and expand both her sonic and lyrical content with the exactitude of a valiant voyager. As the Canadian songwriter’s fourth full-length, ‘Voyageur’ manifests Edwards’ progression from her earlier records, whilst retaining her charm and personal style over its 10-track duration. Her vocals – often reminiscent of The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan – remain beautiful, yet forlorn and while her music revels in quietude, replete with sombre undertones that swell beneath its cheery instrumentation, there is an innate blossoming beauty that informs every track.
Co-produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – who also provides backing vocals and plays guitar, piano, organ, bass, banjo and xylophone on the record – vast similarities to can be made to his band’s latest eponymous record. The production is crisp, yet fluid, as each instrument and vocal shines individually, yet works harmoniously together. Recorded in the multiple surroundings of Fall Creek, Wisconsin and Toronto, ‘Voyageur’ also evokes the similar nature and place-driven imagery of Bon Iver, while also delivering on the title’s promise to take its listener on their very own journey.
This feeling of movement is evident throughout ‘Voyageur’s entirety, illustrated on opening track ‘Empty Threat’ and its chorus’ lyrics: “I’m moving to America, it’s an empty threat,” through to ‘Pink Champagne’s “Thinking the grass could be greener at last.” Meanwhile, on second track ‘Chameleon/Comedian’ Edwards’ sings: “You’re a chameleon and you hide behind your darker side,” before continuing: “I don’t need a punch line.” As a violin intertwines with electric guitar notes, these eerie lyrics weave their way to the forefront of the song, demonstrating her renewed interest in bringing to life her own autobiographical, first-person narratives rather than the tragic characters portrayed in older songs such as ‘Six O Clock News’ and ‘Alicia Ross’.
Partnership is a key component within ‘Voyageur’, and as well as featuring members of Edwards’ touring band, also present is a cast of collaborators such as Bon Iver’s Sean Carey, Norah Jones, Stornoway and Francis And The Lights. ‘A Soft Place To Land’ – a duet with Vernon – is the first track to observe vocal contribution. Through her multiple rhyming couplets, particularly, “I’m looking for a soft place to land/ The forest floor, the palms of your hands,” the pair highlight their tender twin vocals. Later, ‘House Full Of Empty Rooms’ begins quietly, almost to the point of seeming acapella, before soft piano notes and Vernon’s tenor vocals creep in once again, their dual vocals a deliciously harmonious match, and one of the album’s standout features.
Wrapped in an aura of relative tranquillity, ‘Voyageur’s first thunderous moment comes during the wonderfully uplifting ‘Change The Sheets’, a song that witnesses the record at its most joyous. Originally heard on her recently released 7” ‘Wapusk’, ‘Change The Sheets’ is a keyboard–driven powerhouse of elation, as her lyrics: “Change the feel under my feet/ Change the sheets, then change me,” welcome a hopeful sense of transformation within the record’s personal expedition.
At the album’s centre is the dual intensity of ‘Sidecar’ and ‘Mint’, both written with Edwards’ long-time collaborator Jim Bryson. ‘Mint’ and its classic rock beginnings and choral harmonies sounds akin to mid-90s Sheryl Crow, particularly as she sings: “God knows I want to/ God knows I need to/ God doesn’t know you like I do.” Meanwhile, organ-inspired seven-minute closer ‘For The Record’ negates a different path altogether. “Hang me up on your cross,” Edwards laments, “For the record, I only wanted to sing songs.” Here, Norah Jones shares vocal duties, demonstrating another high-profile collaboration that works beautifully, yet never detracts away from Edwards’ own musical creations and intricacies.
“I just hide behind the songs I write,” sings Edwards on ‘Chameleon/Comedian’. Yet with every song that she performs on ‘Voyageur’ Edwards takes a step closer to becoming the big-name she deserves. For there’s something different about Edwards’ folksy take on music – it’s soft, yet it’s also exciting; it’s occasionally sombre, yet it’s also far from gloomy. Both varied and beautifully evocative, ‘Voyageur’ is the perfect listen for merging wintery wistfulness with ethereal wonder.
All images and videos sourced with permission...
Owen – ‘Ghost Town’
Originally written for and published on The 405…
As Mike Kinsella’s sixth album under his solo pseudonym Owen, ‘Ghost Town’ is a record that comes replete with layers of instrumentation, as well as tiers of contexts and meaning, each just waiting to be peeled back and explored. And as a 10-year project in the making, Owen and its newest full-length ‘Ghost Town’ appear to see Kinsella – and indeed his elusive, dual persona of Owen – exactly where he should be.
As an album written in the wake of his firstborn’s birth, it isn’t surprising that ‘Ghost Town’ is a record scattered with homely and childlike references. This is a record with a strong theme running throughout, not only of new life, but also of death. This sense of the macabre, and indeed the album’s eponymous ghostliness, sees Kinsella lyrically battle against the tempestuous relationship that he had with his late father. Lines such as “Ghosts that don’t know they’re dead” are complimented with vividly painted pictures as demonstrated through, “I’m not coming home until these demons get bored / In mirrored eyes I see kerosene / And you’ve got my matches” on ‘Too Many Moons’.
As ever, these portraits are contrasted with Kinsella’s down-to-earth, colloquial narratives and language, such as: “I guess I’m still angry/ Still punching walls that look like you/ Drop-kicked an old lady,” on ‘No Language’ and his beautifully intoned rhyming couplets, like: “Dropping excuses like dead skin/ Ignoring bruises like children.” Amongst Kinsella’s typical narrative-style lyrics are surprising expletives, particularly unexpected during moments such as, “Fuck you and your front lawn / I’d rather die with my front hands tied” on ‘There’s No Place Like Home,’ adding a sense of surprise amongst the otherwise peaceful track. As much of the album was recorded during Cap N’ Jazz’s 2010 reunion tour, some of Kinsella’s loudest moments as Owen to date rear their head, continuing the record’s unexpected nature.
As well as life and death, religion also plays a strong role in the album’s contextual output, as demonstrated on ‘An Animal’: “Maybe God will save my soul but in this world I’m an animal with clothes on/ An animal with needs.” The more obviously titled ‘I Believe’ continues this theme, proclaiming, “I believe there is no white light, somebody’s mistaken or somebody lied,” while choral touches add contrast with its rare use of external vocal input. Yet Kinsella also turns his subject on its head, as he takes a step back from traditional religious imagery to unveil the words, “I just found Jesus / Swimming at the bottom of the bottle I keep crawling out of.”
Comprised of Kinsella’s complex acoustic finger-picking, ‘Ghost Town’ is rendered fully-fleshed alongside the addition of soft melodies and a mix and quiet and loud percussion, as after each and every listen its intricacies and lyrics progressively manifest themselves. ‘Ghost Town’ marks the transition over the years from the sparse, acoustic offerings of his self-titled debut album, through to the more string-laden present such as 2009’s ‘New Leaves’ and ‘At Home With Owen’, making it more akin to the likes of his previous band-based project American Football. Yet far from being full-band, ‘Ghost Town’ is very much the solo project you’d expect. All instrumentation is Kinsella’s own: it is his own detailed guitar work that gently picks its way beneath his inimitably raw and slightly abrasive trademark vocals, alongside the backing of faint feedback, ambling xylophones and steady drumming.
Ultimately, the album is everything you’d imagine from a record titled ‘Ghost Town’: it’s magnificently haunting, sparse, yet surprising and painfully personal to its author. While it is a record scattered with a darkness that hints at the sinister, Kinsella still retains his rawness and unfaltering fluidity that has kept fans captivated by Owen since the project’s very beginnings, while creating an album that allows his listeners to get lost in its simplicity, or delve a little deeper and face their own internal demons along the way.
All images and music used with permission...
Halls – ‘Fragile’
Originally written for and published on The Line Of Best Fit…
The elusive Halls is a creator of his own blend of electronic music that is gloriously spacious, yet introspective and gripping. Almost two years in, the project finds its introverted protagonist Samuel Howard clutching an impressive self-titled and self-released EP, his double-sided single Solace/Colossus and a stash of credible remixes including those for his self-confessed objects of admiration Patten and Gold Panda.
Away from his bedroom – or indeed the university halls from which his moniker is derived – in Fragile Howard has created a series of interconnected looping cinematic soundscapes, which immediately bear witness to a newfound confidence and skill. At just 15-minutes long, with each track progressively increasing in length, Halls packs in an astonishing amount of details and textures into a short space of time. Fragile is a four-track exploration of the boundaries that Halls can push against: there’s certainly less crackle and fuzz than his previous ventures, and his vocals are more frequent and crisper, yet his lyrics remain subtle and indecipherable, a technique that feels entirely purposeful.
It is Howard’s vocals that truly add an affecting depth to music that would perhaps segue succinctly within the dubious post-dubstep genre. Fragile also succeeds in simultaneously presenting a huge growth of confidence in both Howard’s ability to construct immense instrumental compositions, but also the self-assurance to apply his voice to his recordings. Yet his vocals always appear to come secondary to the driving beats that are cast over them, heard most obviously in ‘Sanctuary’ – the record’s repetitive, synth-soaked introduction. Swelling and replete with his muted vocals, it sweeps seamlessly into second track ‘Lifeblood’ which features a classical piano, rather than electronic keyboards that Halls is accustomed to. Meanwhile the deep, displaced vocals and bouncing beat glitches sound as though it could easily have been a b-side to Radiohead’s The King Of Limbs.
As the first song to be showcased prior to the EP’s release, third track ‘I Am Not Who You Want’ fits into the record as wonderfully as it did when originally played as a singular passage of music last year. It is within this particular track that Howard’s echoing vocals really stand out, with the pitch reaching haunting higher heights than the characteristic lower register that he tends to use through the rest of the release. The sound of strings trickling through from the song’s background as the track progresses continues to further its depth and foster Halls’ foray into the cinematic.
Fragile’s final track ‘Fade To White’ begins with two minutes of repetitive eerie synth drones and faint syncopated beats, before a sole treble piano line comes into play, adding texture and contrast to the song’s backbone. Layers of throbbing percussion and jarring glitches become more apparent with each and every listen, and as the only song on the release to be entirely instrumental, it makes a fitting outro. It’s murky, but succeeds in expanding its spaciousness yet retaining its focus, and as the song ends abruptly – particularly when placed alongside the fluidity of the rest of the record – it is somewhat surprising.
You can listen to Halls’ ‘Fragile’ here:
While aesthetically, his artwork, videos and design is completely in keeping with atmospheric, earth-orientated landscapes, musically, Fragile – and indeed Halls’ previous recordings – are soundtracks to the gloomy winter elements. This uniformity of visuals alongside a complementary sound is reinforced by the similar backing drone present throughout each track, as well as the gapless transitions between songs, all which accumulate to give an enormous sense of cohesion, and a body of music that works as a cyclical, continuous piece of composition. Enchanting and intricate, trance-like and translucent: together these distinctly different elements clash and create something beautiful, for Fragile is a collision of the ambient, whilst being wholly accessible. As its title suggests, Fragile is graceful, delicate and subtle, yet harbours all the markings of Halls – past and present – and heralds a future for Howard as a British electronic mainstay.
All photographs and music used with permission...
Originally written for and published on The Line Of Best Fit…
“I wanna change, but I wanna stay the same,” Kurt Vile sings on ‘Peeping Tomboy’, the gorgeously effortless eighth track on Smoke Ring For My Halo. As his fourth solo full-length release to date, the prolific Vile demonstrates a renewed, progressive sound without compromising his distinctive loose n’ lazy, distorted vocals, and his lingering lyrical wit.
Both time transcending, yet distinctly American, Philadelphian Vile creates guitar music at its modern best. Smoke Ring… bears witness to fuller instrumentation, particularly on the electric eccentricity that is ‘Puppet To The Man’. The occasional smattering of a harp and piano – especially effective on the rambling ‘Society Is My Friend’ and ‘On Tour’ – shows Vile’s versatility, while the repetitive marrying of percussion and strings on ‘Runner Ups’ is full-bodied and blissful.
Yet Smoke Ring… is as spacious as it is densely packed. This is Vile’s trademark finger picking acoustic song writing, yet fully fleshed and evolved, as Vile makes the transition from his previous home-recorded, crackling efforts towards a more polished collection, while losing none of the rawness that makes his music so charming and timeless.
From the haunting demise of ‘Ghost Town’, through to the astonishingly upbeat ‘Jesus Fever’, and the immense beauty of ‘Baby’s Arms’, Smoke Ring For My Halo is an album that can only be bettered in a live environment, alongside his band The Violators, and surrounded by his silent, enraptured fans.
You can discover and read the rest of The Line Of Best Fit‘s top 50 albums of 2011 here…
The Line Of Best Fit Albums Of The Year: #30 Rustie – ‘Glass Swords’
Originally written for and published on The Line Of Best Fit…
With four years behind him, 2011 was the year that Glasgow-based producer Rustie finally unleashed his debut album. In Glass Swords Russell Whyte – under his alias of Rustie – has created a modern dance album for people who don’t even like ‘dance music’ in its standardised form. Each track is varied and versatile, complete with epic build-ups and breakdowns, and a dizzying array of influences. Released via Warp, Glass Swords is a constant 46-minute high, demonstrated most audibly in standout tracks ‘Surph’, ‘All Nite’ and ‘After Light’. Indulgent yet effective, Glass Swords is pure euphoric escapism.
You can discover and read the rest of The Line Of Best Fit‘s top 50 albums of 2011 here…
Mariachi El Bronx – KCLSU, London, 17/12/11
Originally written for and published on The Fly.co.uk
“How’re you motherfuckers doing tonight?” Matt Caughthran’s opening words are not exactly the welcome you’d expect from a mariachi band, but then Mariachi El Bronx are not quite your typical mariachi act. Schizophrenic in their musical output, Mariachi El Bronx is the four-year strong endeavour of punk quintet The Bronx. Tonight, The Fly is witnessing the Californians in their newer transformation, and despite reservations about their punk-meets-mariachi mix, all sceptical thoughts are cast aside once they begin to play.
Comprised of a nine-piece band – made up of trumpets, accordion, charango, gritos, drums and a viola – all members’ trademark tattoos are covered and swapped for full-on traditional costumes. Beginning with ‘48 Roses’, Caughthran dedicates the song to Craig David. This humour continues in all pauses: ‘Matador’ is dedicated to “all the sex shops,” then ‘Great Provider’ is played in honour of “Big Ben… and Chevy Chase,” much to the audience’s delight.
Both albums’ material is equally represented, yet the best crowd reactions are saved for the immensely brass laden ‘Slave Labour’, ‘My Brother The Gun’ where group vocals are employed to supreme effect, the evident instrumental skills of ‘Cell Mates’ and ‘Silver Or Lead’, where Tim Kasher of Cursive joins the band on stage.
Returning for the encore with the rarely played ‘Fallen’, Caughthran prolongs the song’s ending, revelling in the applause. This is a front man who knows exactly how to fire up his rapturous crowd: “This is dedicated to all the punk rockers out there,” he yells as they start their final song ‘Quinceniera’, rather aptly considering the band are set to continue their night across London as The Bronx. This initial performance is sold out, and the elated crowd are clearly here for both shows, proving that four years down the line, Mariachi El Bronx is certainly no hoax.
Image sourced using Creative Commons...
The 405 Albums Of The Year: #1 Brontide – ‘Sans Souci’
Originally written for and published on The 405…
Despite Brontide’s formation in 2008, this year finally saw the release of their long-awaited debut album. While Sans Souci may have been a long time coming, its intense, continuous flow of instrumental punches are both arresting and astounding, and completely capture the chaotic cacophony of the live shows that have retained immense interest around the band since their inception. Simply put, Sans Souci was completely worth the wait.
You only have to watch the three-piece live once in order to witness their onstage sense of urgency and raging rapport, and with Sans Souci Brontide succeeded in securing their instrumental explosions on record, while simultaneously achieving the perfect blend of brutality and beautiful melodies. Meanwhile, the continual, cyclical nature of the album ensures that the band demonstrates their ability to create a well-crafted, ongoing passage of music – yet for all the focus on the record as a entire piece, it speaks volumes that each and every track on the album can be enjoyed as individual entities.
Despite its release in May, Sans Souci has remained omnipresent throughout the year, presenting itself as one whole seamless glissando of heaviness, whilst crucially retaining its accessibility. As the year’s progressed, so has the band’s popularity, and consequently Brontide’s non-stop showcase of Sans Souci – densely packed with thundering riffs, intense drum patterns and textured guitar work – has continued to whip up its listeners into a staggering maelstrom of immediacy until the very end.
You can read the rest of The 405‘s Album Of The Year picks here…
DIY Tracks: Bear Cavalry – ‘Roman Summer’
Originally written for and published on This Is Fake DIY…
Gosport-based four-piece Bear Cavalry are back, having freshly re-released their ‘Maple Trails’ EP this week. Both vibrant and uplifting, ‘Roman Summer’ – a song that, as its title suggests, exudes summery shimmer – ripples with layers of intricate guitar melodies, soft yet technical drumming, and a brilliant brass and keys section. Vocally, the track switches from falsetto melodies through to tenor tunes, before finally incorporating exuberant group vocals towards its end. This vocal variety cumulates in a crescendo of a chorus, which surprises nicely with its contrasting volume. Spirited and sparkling, both Bear Cavalry and ‘Roman Summer’ are guaranteed to banish the winter blues.
See and hear the rest of This Is Fake DIY’s Tracks picks for 16/12/2011 here…
DIY Tracks Of 2011: Lykke Li – ‘I Follow Rivers’, M83 – ‘Midnight City’ & I Break Horses – ‘Hearts’
Originally written for and published on This Is Fake DIY…
#35: I Break Horses – ‘Hearts’
Shoegaze revivalist duo I Break Horses, AKA Fredrik Balck and Maria Lindén, are the latest Swedish act to sweep British audiophiles into a frenzy of hushed electronic fandom. Pulsing and incredible, ‘Hearts’ – the second track from their debut album of the same name – showcases everything that makes the band so special, and indeed sets them apart from their musical peers: from their irresistible looping melodies through to powerful synthetic drumbeats, consuming electronics and Lindén’s distinctive soprano notes that flow endlessly in the background. Simultaneously commanding and charming, ‘Hearts’ offers a mesmerising introduction to one of 2012’s ones to watch.
#9: Lykke Li – ‘I Follow Rivers’
Lykke Li’s wonderful second album ‘Wounded Rhymes’ may be an record shrouded in heartbreak and regret, but this isn’t a quiet, reserved album full of banal balladry: this is a full-throttle explosion of sentimentality, exposed most evidently in uplifting tracks such as ‘I Follow Rivers’. It’s Lykke’s unique voice – strong, yet delicate – that continues to hold focus, while clashing with her more despondent lyrics. It may well be powerful, with thundering kettle drums announcing the song’s arrival, yet ‘I Follow Rivers’ signals a complete change in direction for Lykke, one that accurately demonstrates her increased evolution as a songwriter and a performer.
#16: M83 – Midnight City
Perhaps 2011 will be remembered for being the year that reintroduced the world to the joy of a saxophone solo (see Bon Iver’s beautiful ‘Beth/Rest’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge Of Glory’). Either way, French dance-pop outfit M83’s long-awaited return with the dreamy ‘Midnight City’ this July thrilled with its euphoric electronic melodies, and that sax ending. Initially serving as the first taste of what would become one of the year’s very best records, ‘Midnight City’ is one of Anthony Gonzalez’s finest tracks to date, one that builds, transforms and truly captivates both on record and in a live environment.
DIY Albums Of The Year: #45 Iceage – ‘New Brigade’
Originally written for and published on This Is Fake DIY…
Arriving pre-tagged as the latest ‘saviours of punk’ and amid tales of notorious live sets, Danish four-piece Iceage were always destined to be divisive. Densely packed into 23-minutes of raw post-punk, their debut album New Brigade is relentlessly varied and savagely fractured. Dissonant and down-tuned, primal simplicity reigns: from its ominous instrumental beginnings, through to the visceral ‘Total Drench’, and anthemic ‘White Rune’. Soaked in steely modernity and amongst 80s odes such as ‘Remember’, hollow-voiced singer Elias confronts throughout with his demanding lyrics. Bold, powerful, yet tinged with youthful naivety, New Brigade may split opinion, but it’s also an undeniably exhilarating journey.
The rest of This Is Fake DIY‘s top 50 albums of the year can be read about online here, or in the winter issue of DIY’s print publication.
DIY Albums Of The Year: #12 The Horrors – ‘Skying’
Originally written for and published in the winter issue of DIY magazine…
To see the rest of DIY’s top 20 Albums Of The Year, featuring the likes of Kurt Vile, Bon Iver, The Antlers, Lykke Li, St Vincent, PJ Harvey, The Weeknd, Wild Beasts and more read it online or pick it up in paper from one of these locations…
Despite Primary Colours’ 2009 Mercury nomination, Skying has emerged as the ever-evolving The Horrors’ most powerful, inventive release yet. From the echoing beginnings of ‘Changing The Rain’ and the hypnotic ‘Still Life’, through to the final pulses of ‘Oceans Burning’ Skying is as ethereal as it is euphoric, as immediate as it is wandering.
With their unwavering DIY attitude – no producers, a handcrafted recording studio and homemade instruments – Skying is a labour of love that rewards. With its 80s-soaked synths, guttural guitars and Faris Badwan’s unmistakable baritone vocals, Skying removes you from both time and place in a way that only the finest records can, firmly establishing The Horrors as one of Britain’s best bands.
Image and video used with permission...
An Interview with The Joy Formidable
Originally written for and printed in Zero Core magazine…
2011 has been The Joy Formidable’s year. Since the release of their debut album ‘The Big Roar’ in January Ritzy Bryan, Rhydian Dafydd and Matt Thomas have been touring relentlessly, accumulating an ever-increasing fanbase along the way. Returning fresh from an American tour, where they performed on Letterman and right before they head back again for shows supporting Foo Fighters, they’ll return to the UK. So are they excited about their homecoming shows?
“Absolutely. It will be our last UK tour this year and also our biggest shows to date, so it feels very special,” Rhydian explains. “We’re going to mix things up, play some tracks that people haven’t heard yet and do things differently – to keep both us and other people on their feet. The UK’s where it all started, so it just feels great to be back on home soil.”
But just what is it that makes the band so embraced abroad? “Every band’s different. I think that we had nice timing, it seems as though everything’s just progressed naturally,” he explains. “Not too much hype or anything like that, no setting ourselves up for any bullshit. It’s always just been loads of shows and things have all just seemed to fall into place.”
There might not have been ‘hype’ as such enveloping the band, yet the explosion of their presence at festivals and in the press is undeniable. Yet great record or not, the band’s incessant commitment to touring is one thing that surely increased their success. “I know there are lots of bands that are afraid to tour as much as we do,” he laughs. “But we love being on tour and the variety that being out on the road brings. We’ve done a lot of shows and that’s a big part of the fabric of the band. That will never stop.”
Amongst other accolades, the trio have also just been nominated for the Welsh Music Prize, yet remain unfazed about making the shortlist: “I don’t like getting too involved, but I think that what’s nice about it is that we’re a band from Mold in North Wales, and it would be nice if we could put that on the map a little bit. Somehow we always get tied into across the border, people think we’re fucking Scousers or something! But we have our own identity so I think it’s important that that gets recognised.”
“We’ve had a great year. We’re very proud of what we’ve done creatively with the album, that’s the core of it all for us really,” Rhydian elaborates, when queried on their highlights so far. “There’s been loads – our first Glastonbury, playing with Paul McCartney at the Millennium Stadium on our home turf and especially performing with the Manics.”
It’s certainly been an eventful year, but what’s next for The Joy Formidable? “We’re always writing – I think it’s important to document everything. We’re looking to put out an album next year, which we’re really excited to be sharing with people,” he continues. “We’ve also got loads of shows next year, it’s more of the same really! It’s a heavy schedule ahead, but happily so.”
Let’s hope 2012 is just as rewarding.
The Joy Formidable’s new EP ‘The Big More’ is out now via Atlantic Records.
Dananananaykroyd – KCLSU, London, 12/11/11
Originally written for and published on The Line Of Best Fit…
When Glasgow noise-botherers Dananananaykroyd announced in September that their latest tour would in fact be their very last, the news was met with a sigh of mournful surprise from their fans. With final record There Is A Way garnering universal critical appeal and an album support tour that saw the six-piece tighter than they’ve ever been, things certainly appeared to be looking bright.
Yet after five years together, tonight is Dananananaykroyd’s last ever show in the English capital and they’re in the sweaty club room of Kings College London’s Students Union which reeks of snakebite-fuelled nights and drunken dancing. It’s this party aspect of the venue that is particularly apt. Branding themselves as “party hardcore” all these years hasn’t been for nothing: Dananananaykroyd have cemented their reputation for chaotic and energetic live shows with an underlying sense of camaraderie and the pleasantries that undercut many of their contemporaries’ brutality and macho mayhem.
This togetherness presents itself in numerous ways. First there are the beginnings of ‘Pink Sabbath’, where dual vocalists Callum Gunn and John Bailey Junior make everyone on ground level sit and crouch down before summoning them to rise at the song’s climax. Initial crowd surfers are scolded and comically pushed off the stage to prevent the danger of hurting other audience members. Then there’s the inevitable wall of hugs, Dana’s take on metal’s own wall of death – an act that sees the band split the audience twice, creating a mass of sweaty smiles and entangled limbs.
With a set list that comprises both familiar and recent songs alike – featuring ‘Watch This!’, ‘Pink Sabbath’, ‘Infinity Milk’, ‘Some Dresses’ and ‘Chrome Rainbow’ – the band satisfy even the most hardcore fan. Newer tracks such as ‘E Numbers’ and ‘Muscle Memory’ gain as rapturous a reception as many of the band’s older and more popular material – reminders that they should have perhaps stuck around for longer.
http://soundcloud.com/workit/dananananaykroyd-e-numbers
At the heart of every Dananananaykroyd’s gig is fun: from Gunns’s be-cloaked Golem-esque introduction through to JBJ’s dancing on speakers and the whole band taking turns to burst into the crowd and share their drinks, the boys are clearly hell-bent on enjoying their final shows together. There’s yet another line-up change – new drummer Paul is here tonight – but if there’s any animosity behind the split, it’s not evident on-stage. The entire band are full of smiles with JBJ and Gunn displaying the same amount of gusto and energy as ever, their vocals alternately contrasting and blending in a deliciously cacophonic manner.
Before the band exit the stage, they all sit around the drum kit, one by one, intermittently sipping beers, and share a laugh, taking in their enraptured audience. From the unbarriered front row, and the masses behind them, through to the wall of people in the gallery above, Dananananaykroyd take a moment to soak up their surroundings and enamoured crowd for one of the last times before they gradually trickle off stage.
Their last post on their band website – the one that announced their split – finished with the words: “We’re going to convert all that sadness into a million joyous moments for these upcoming gigs!” On this promise they certainly delivered. The encore is one big sweaty send off, one that sees us embraced in yet another wall of hugs to fan favourites ‘The Greater Than Symbol And The Hash’ and the closing notes of ‘Black Wax’, and both the audience and the band wouldn’t have it any other way. R.I.P Dananananaykroyd, you’ll be missed.
Image sourced using Creative Commons...
Islet – The Lexington, London, 16/11/11
Originally written for and published on The Line Of Best Fit
After a brief pause in their recorded output of late, the glorious Islet are back on the road, showcasing an even wilder exaggeration of their frenzied, psychedelic compositions. The Cardiff four-piece are a band notorious for their luxuriant, frenetic live performances as they are for their more reclusive ways of dealing with press and all social media matters. Yet while their recordings remain wonderfully shambolic and, until very recently, wholly self-recorded, there is nothing remotely scruffy about their production – it’s controlled chaos that outpours most visibly in their performances.
The lore and magic that encompasses an Islet live show is its necessity for audience interaction – willing or unsuspecting – throughout. Tonight they begin with a sequence of handheld chiming bells in and amongst the crowd, barely audible at first until their movement alerts the room to their presence. One by one Emma, Mark, John Thomas and Alex take to the stage and assemble with their chosen instruments – for now at least.
Mark commences the set with an intense ensemble of vocodered vocals, eerily singing the words “You are a Romeo” in his deep bass voice. Next Emma kneels on the floor, as Alex switches to bass, and Mark chants, “Shadows cover my face.” There’s dual drumming on display from the very start, another of Islet’s much-loved trademarks. As the first song ends, Emma pulls the crowd forward, closing up the gap between members and audience, something that allows their full intensity to permeate The Lexington’s surroundings, particularly as they begin a loud, bluesy track, complete with frenetic guitars and an organ ending that shows off just how versatile and varied they are. With a lack of space between songs, each new track swims into the next and blurs any semblance of defined genre, beginnings or endings. It’s to Islet’s credit that the audience are as responsive to their new material as they are to their older, more familiar songs.
http://soundcloud.com/theartof/02-this-fortune-mastered-16bit
After this series of unheard tracks from the band’s long-awaited debut album Illuminated People comes ‘This Fortune’, the latest song to be debuted by the band. Its opening drumming intensifies the audience’s rapture as their ears pick out the first faint waves of familiarity as ‘This Fortune’ incorporates Islet’s characteristic primal chants and schizophrenic drumming with renewed cohesion. A track that sees bassist Emma take over the majority of the vocals, from soft alto verses through to swelling, soaring soprano choruses, this particular song sees her very much becomes the front woman, as her moves, and assured vocals cement the band’s own faith in their new material.
Older track ‘Horses And Dogz’ comes next, its thunderous bass line the catalyst for the chaotic movements unfolding on stage. Here Islet very much reinvent themselves as their older incarnation, a result, perhaps of their comfortable familiarity with the songs and it’s in these that they really come alive. Mark begins to clamber all over the speakers and proceeds to poke the front row his his drum sticks: Alex starts to bash his drums sticks against the amps above him. The drumming erupts, before Emma takes over the kit from JT for the remainder of the show, rather than their hitherto practice of switching endlessly between songs, another trick that shows their set’s growth and renewed structure, without compromising any of the excitement.
After their first and only pause, 45-minutes into their set – where Islet talk with warmth and humour and genuinely remark “What are you all doing here when Frozen Planet’s on TV?” – the band recommence with the doom-laden introduction of Wimmy opener ‘Dust Of Ages’. The off-kilter vocals and cacophonous harmonies collide with prolonged organ notes and the reappearance of those initial chimes, bringing a change of pace and dynamics to tonight’s set list. Penultimate song, and live favourite ‘Iris’, contains a unusually prolonged introduction, complete with two tambourines and jarring guitar notes, and the song gets more and more manic as it progresses until ultimately the four of them stand up and scream in their audience’s faces. The band end their tremendous hour-long set with another new song that they introduce as ‘The Bear’, its plodding keys intro suiting its title. With its two opposing keyboards, initial lack of guitars and frantic instrument swapping, this final song encapsulates all of Islet’s eccentricities, energy and oddness into one.
Islet are a band about the break into more widespread public consciousness, on the very cusp of even brighter things to come. Despite the musical intricacies and intense attention to detail in their entire performance, throughout the set you can see them laughing, and genuinely having fun while they’re at it, particularly as Mark ends his set appearance by diving face-first into the audience and crawling on the floor bare-backed. It’s always exciting to see one of your favourite bands play unheard songs before the record is released, and even more so when those songs prove to be absolutely phenomenal. And as the band’s first exposure of new material, the tracks showcased from Illuminated People tonight whets your appetite for that long-awaited debut full-length even more, while simultaneously showcasing themselves as not only one of the UK’s very best live acts, but one of the UK’s best underrated bands.
DIY Tracks: Niki & The Dove – ‘Mother Protect’ (Goldroom Remix)
Originally written for and published on This Is Fake DIY…
Niki & The Dove have had an incredible year, one that’s been complete with high-demand shows and two stunning EPs. Now Goldroom, aka Binary’s Josh Legg, has reworked ‘Mother Protect’, the Swedish duo’s most euphoric track to date. While Malin Dahlstrom’s soaring vocals remain largely untouched, the tribal tremor of the original is transformed and extended into a seven-minute floor-filler. Alongside heavily placed piano lines and its disco-based, beat driven direction, ‘Mother Protect’s multi-faceted sonic alteration fuses 80s-electronica with clattering cowbells and fantastical fairy-tale lyrics, which all coexist to create this thoroughly elating take on a song that’s already dazzling in its own right.
See and hear the rest of This Is Fake DIY’s Tracks picks for 18/11/2011 here…
DIY Tracks: Islet – ‘This Fortune’
Originally written for and published on This Is Fake DIY…
With their recent expansion into a five-piece, Cardiff’s Islet are back, showcasing an even wilder exemplification of their frenzied, psychedelic compositions along the way. A track that sees bassist Emma Daman take over the majority of the vocals – from soft alto verses through to swelling, soaring soprano choruses – ‘This Fortune’ incorporates Islet’s characteristic primal chants and schizophrenic drumming with renewed cohesion. As the band’s first release in a year, ‘This Fortune’ will whets your appetite for that long-awaited debut full-length even more, while simultaneously cementing themselves as not only one of the UK’s very best live acts, but one of the UK’s best underrated bands full stop.
See and hear the rest of This Is Fake DIY’s Tracks picks for 11/11/2011 here…
DIY Tracks: David Lynch feat. Karen O – ‘Pinky’s Dream’
Originally written for and published on This Is Fake DIY…
After 2010’s collaborative ‘Dark Night Of The Soul’ with Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse, film auteur David Lynch is poised to release his debut solo full-length ‘Crazy Clown Time’. This is not the first time that Karen O has contributed to celluloid sounds, as her varied soundtrack for Where The Wild Things Are proves, yet ‘Pinky’s Dream’ showcases the Yeah Yeah Yeahs front woman’s wild transitions from yelping and whispering to soaring soprano to perfection. A song where the filmic truly collides with melody, ‘Pinky’s Dream’ welds synth-led menace and driven drum beats to accumulate in a manic noir nightmare that only Lynch can conjure.
See and hear the rest of This Is Fake DIY’s Tracks picks for 04/11/2011 here…
DIY Tracks: Johnny Foreigner – ‘(Don’t) Show Us Ur Fangs’
Originally written for and published on This Is Fake DIY…
“We’ve been wasted lately.” And so begins the opening sentiments of ‘(Don’t) Show Us Ur Fangs’, the first single from Johnny Foreigner’s forthcoming album ‘Johnny Foreigner Vs Everything.’ Yet far from being the whirlwind, punch-drunk flurry of growling guitars and stylised shouting that we’ve come to expect from the Birmingham three-piece, the guitar lines are more delicate and less visceral, the pace slower without losing its kinetic pulse. The characteristic girl/boy vocal harmonies of Alexei Berrow and Kelly Southern still remain, alongside the driving beats of Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, while the inclusion of softly-used glockenspiels and the ever-personal lyrics make this one of their very best songs to date.
See and hear the rest of This Is Fake DIY’s Tracks picks for 04/11/2011 here…
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