ALBUMs
- Album Reviews
- Album Reviews
As legend has it that very fine Amen Dunes debut album called ‘Love’ took close to a year and a half, sixteen musicians, and five different recording studios to complete.
So much music was made and songs created that not all could make it onto the album; so arriving on 19th January 2015 via Sacred Bones is the EP ‘Cowboy Worship’.
There are some alternate takes here from Damon McMahon. A version of ‘Green Eyes’ featuring Harvey Milk’s Stephen Tanner and ‘I Can’t Dig It’ as it was originally arranged when the song was written in China,
There is also a band version of ‘Lezzy Head’, featuring Dunes mainstays Jordi Wheeler and Parker Kindred, as well as a cover of This Mortal Coil’s interpretation of Tim Buckley’s classic, ‘Song to the Siren’, featuring Ben Greenberg (Hubble) on guitar.
Damon had this to say about the EP. Cowboy Worship as a concept certainly did not begin with ‘Love’, but instead ‘Love’ began with Cowboy Worship, was born from it, and in turn added a new link to the chain.
It’s good to have some more music and those gloriously sparse vocals coming out of the speakers again. Let’s hope there is a full Amen Dunes album to follow later in the year.
Pete
9/11
EP track list:
I Know Myself (Montreal)
Song to the Siren
I Can’t Dig It (China Street Blues)
Green Eyes (Music Blues)
Lezzy Head (Burial)
Love (Montreal)
Amen Dunes 'Cowboy Worship' EP is set for release on Jan 19th via Sacred Bones.
- Album Reviews
Torquay rock band The Stone Angels follow up their 2012 debut album, with their self-titled 4 track EP.
Frontman and founding member Dan Hughes really mixes up the genres and styles on this release, and it almost serves as a showcase to any listening record companies as to how adaptable they are.
Opening cut 'Hard Hearted Woman' kicks off with a guitar riff that Rival Sons would be proud of, and the hard rocking tale of the heart breaking girl is classic rock fodder.
Next up is 'Valley of the Kings', which could have been lifted off any Magnum album in the last 20 years, all rhythmic drumming, synths and an insanely singable chorus.
'Take Me' changes direction again, and we’re almost in dance music territory, again with a ridiculously memorable beat and chorus….it's been an ear worm all day.
Final track Have 'Mercy On Me' is the weakest for me, being a more generic rock song that just meanders rather than arrives anywhere.
All in all, this is really good. The musicianship is excellent and after a few plays, you’ll be hearing the melodies and choruses running around and around your head.
Keith @kjsmith4082
8/11
- Album Reviews
Brand new band Klozapin (no I don’t know what the name means either) release self-titled debut after only a year or so together.
Hailing from New York, this 4 piece originally started the project from a bedroom, then quickly realised they had enough desire and talent to put out an album. Whilst the press release may suggest the band delight in being uncategorisable, the most obvious genre is most definitely psychedelic.
Swirling reverb guitars kick off the album and lead track Head, which builds and builds until it collapses in on itself.
Next track in, Rise, has the vocals so buried in the mix that it might as well be instrumental, to sit alongside a couple of others on the album.
Naming tracks Distortion and White Noise hint at the overall effect the band are looking for, and they do not disappoint with the trebly head rushing theme maintained throughout.
The excellent Hivemind may slow the pace slightly, but not the intensity and the wall of sound - one for fans of Mogwai..
Another highlight for me is the (almost) instrumental White Noise. Urgent drumming over ebbing and flowing swirling guitars.
The almost middle Eastern influenced Communication closes the album in a sedate, weird and unexpected way. I assume just what the band wanted.
An interesting album, not entirely successful to my ears, but with enough highlights to retain my interest and wonder what they will build on for album number 2.
Keith @kjsmith4082
7/11
You can hear and buy this album via Bandcamp
- Album Reviews
Formed by friends Lemmy Gurtowsky and Dan Jones upon relocating from their native Connecticut to Amherst Massachusetts California X have been gaining attention since their self tiltled debut released in 2013. February 2015 sees the release of California X’s new album ‘Nights In The Dark’,
This band first came to my attention when dear departed fanzine The Fly had this debut album as one of their albums of 2013. That album was a breathless mix of overdriven fuzzed up guitars, massive riffs and tunes, and Nights In The Dark carries on where that left off.
Title track Nights In The Dark kicks off the album with menacing guitars warning of the storm to come, before fading into a Dinosaur Jr type power pop jaunt. Red Planet, up next, carries on the mood, again with heavy guitars, vocal buried within the mix, but again retaining the tunes and hooks.
California X boast a dual guitar attack and vocalist Lemmy (sadly, he doesn’t play bass) is at the forefront of the sound. All that being said, the album offers up a couple of surprises in the shape of two delicate gorgeous instrumentals ; Ayla’s Song, a 2 minute acoustic fingerpicked palate cleanser, and Garlic Road, more resembling of a fully formed song, sparse piano chords and all.
Backbone and standout highlight of the nine songs on the album are Blackrazor (Pt1) and Blackrazor (Pt2). Part 1 is a massive riff heavy dirge of a song, think 90’s heavy grunge, while Part 2 ups the pace to resemble a Dio era Sabbath vibe. If they don’t play this track as an encore live, I’ll be massively disappointed.
Summer Wall (Pt1) and (Pt2) close the album, and the band head back more towards their heavy indie roots.
Whilst this album lacks some of the urgency of the debut, that’s by no means a criticism, and I guess one would describe this as the sound of a band maturing. Mature or not, lets hope they play live in the UK (Leeds please) soon, because they have created certainly my first essential album of 2015.
Keith @kjsmith4082
9/11
- Album Reviews
Hot on the heels of 2014’s Single Mothers album, Justin Townes Earle releases the companion piece Absent Fathers. Originally devised as a double album, a change of heart sees the 2 halves of a whole released as separate stand-alone cuts. (You can buy both albums together on vinyl).
This Son of Steve, Earle has not drastically changed from his original blueprint of country tinged folk Americana, with the pedal steel prominent on most cuts on the album, and that’s a blessing. It doesn’t take a genius to work out the theme of the album is anger towards his father growing up, and the lyrics and song titles bear testament to this. The music however remains mid paced and largely acoustic, but lyrically this elevates them to something more edgy and raw.
The first 4 tracks on the album set the scene for this autobiographical story : “Farther From Me” - surely a play on words ?, “Why”, “Least I Got The Blues” and “Call Ya Momma”……
The beautiful, melancholy Night & Day follows these, a song I’ve had on repeat these first cold days of the new year.
The threateningly titled “Someone Will Pay” is a further album highlight with its restrained, precise guitar work and almost sounds celebratory despite the song title.
The simple acoustic guitar picking “Looking For A Place To Land” closes the album, and seemingly this episode in JTE’s life.
With a voice somewhere between Ryan Adams and Ron Sexsmith, JTE belies only actually being in his early 30’s, but this perfectly suits the wintry, melancholy late night vibe of the album.
Maybe not an album meant to be listened to on the beach in the sun, but more with a glass of Jack Daniels next to the fire, bear with it, because repeated listens will be rewarding.
Keith @kjsmith4082
8/11
Loose Records will be releasing both albums together as a specially packaged double vinyl LP to coincide with the release of Absent Fathers
Justin Townes Earle & Andrew Combs Tour dates
17 Jan GLASGOW, Oran Mor (Celtic Connections)
18 Jan GATESHEAD, Caedmon Hall
19 Jan MANCHESTER, Band on the Wall
21 Jan OSLO, John Dee
23 Jan STOCKHOLM, Sodra Teatern
24 Jan GOTHENBURG, Pustervik
25 Jan MALMO, KB
26 Jan BERLIN, Grüner Salon
28 Jan HAMBURG, Nochtspeicher
29 Jan AMSTERDAM, Paradiso
30 Jan GRONINGEN, Oosterpoort
31 Jan ROTTERDAM, Rotown
01 Feb UTRECHT, Tivoli Vredenburg
03 Feb LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club
05 Feb BRISTOL, The Tunnels
06 Feb LONDON, Union Chapel
- Album Reviews
That ‘difficult second album’ scenario seems to have been brushed aside by Sam Genders and his Diagrams collective with 'Chromatics'. This first new album for us in 2015 is an absolute gem.
Interesting and engaging songs. Sam has a very listenable voice and a whole host of instruments and styles cover the record. The sound is never overcrowded and you can just imagine the smiles on the faces of the band and the many contributors to the record, as they recorded this album.
2012's debut album "Black Light" was again a lovely effort but Chronmatics take it all to another level. In this fast moving world we live in, a lot can happen over the period of 2 years, “Relationships are a constant thread. In all their frustrating, exciting, mundane, beautiful, wonderful, sexy, scary glory,” reveals Sam when talking about the album’s themes of the album’s themes. “And there's lots of hope in the songs. They shouldn't be taken too literally mind you... in my head Chromatics is life in Technicolor; with all its ups and downs.”
Chromatics, is a collaborative process which includes vocals from, amongst friends and family members, The Smoke Fairies whilst the brass and string arrangements come courtesy of Danyal Dhondy and Sam Ewens. ‘London drummers Karl Penney, and (Cacophony drummer ) Fletcher Adams provide the bedrock whilst live band members Emma Black and Ben Malitskie provide Baritone Saxophone and Viola.
Leo Abrahams produced the record which really is a perfect way to get you on the road to recovery after all those Christmas and New Year’s Eve excesses.
Included with the CD package is the bonus 'Chromatics' instrumental album. Whereas most instrumental albums that cross our path can best described as 'Post-Rock', this extra album could be described as 'Breath of Fresh Air-Rock'. I found that an interesting way to play the album is to combine both discs on the ipod and play the instrumental version first followed by the lyrical version.
Ex-Tunng man Sam is now based in Sheffield where, obviously the sun must have shone last year when this album was being recorded. This album will be on the playlist for some time to come.
Pete
9/11
The band play The Lexington in London on Wednesday 21st January.
Other dates:
11th Feb - France, Paris, Le Point Ephemere
12th Feb - France, Lille, La Paniche
13th Feb - Germany, Berlin, Comet Club
14th Feb - Germany, Hamburg, Molotow Club
25th Feb - UK, Manchester, The Ruby Lounge
26th Feb - UK, Bristol, The Lantern
4th Mar - UK, Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
- Album Reviews
Third album from David Bronson a man rapidly mastering and maturing his varied songwriting craft and that of musical storyteller. Opener Songbird is immediately engrossing with gentle acoustic guitar and a voice that reminds you of an Al Stewart or David Gray in places. The song builds with backing voices into a much bigger piece than where it started.
'Move Like Water' is a Simon Felice like styled ballad and the singer's in the background are quite astonishing. This album is full of 'big songs' that grow and grow from quiet beginnings. An exception is 'Task' which lays down a funky groove from the start with pounding drums that drive the song along to its conclusion.
David's voice takes on a falsetto on 'Song of Life which highlight's his vocal range. 'My Good Friend' has a 70's West Coast feel and the record concludes with the beautiful 'Passing Fiction'
David is joined on the record by the likes of vocalist Robin Clark, guitarist Carlos Alomar and his daughter Lea-Lórien Alomar. Guitarist Robbie "Seahag" Mangano, drummer Lautaro Burgos and vocals from Gordon Grody make up the recording outfit. Godfrey Diamond produced the album.
Eleven songs in all, this is a varied and enjoyable album of many styles, so sit back and relax with David Bronson.
Pete
8/11
David Bronson – Questions is release on 13 January via Big Arc Records
- Album Reviews
Alex Highton was brought up in Liverpool and is now based in Cambridgeshire and the diverse nature of these areas and the changing landscape seems to have imprinted itself on his second solo album, 'Nobody Knows Anything' which is full of changes of style and pace throughout the 13 songs on the record.
Sweet guitar and strings and an even sweeter voice the music is very engaging. An accomplished singer-songwriter, much in the vein of a Guy Guvey or Dan Michaelson (Alex himself cites Sufjan Stevens, Here We Go Magic & Joni Mitchell as big influences) there is a story to every song and the album certainly grows with each play. Songs of relationships that however dark, are delivered with the brightness of summer day music wise.
Alex's debut, 'Woodditton Wives Club' received airtime from BBC6 Music & BBC Introducing and his subsequent tour included our favourite festival, SXSW in Austin so there was plenty of experience to hand for that difficult second album. For the new album Alex is joined by what seems a cast of thousands which includes his long-time cohorts double-bass-player Jonny Bridgwood and drummer Howard Monk, producer David “Bear” Dobson, Signer/songwriter, Laura J Martin, Bonnie Dobson, Jonathan “Tall Tree Six Foot Man” Czerwik, Nancy Wallace (of The Memory Band and The Owl Service), John Howard and Robert Rotifer all make appearances, next to “my wife, my kids, the dentist who lives next door and loads of others”.
Both of Alex’s albums are available via Bandcamp so you can have a listen for yourself HERE
Pete
9/11
- Album Reviews
"This will come as no surprise given the name, but The Classical is most concerned with ancient, timeless things. While not every song on 'Diptych' is specifically about antiquity, a number of them were conceived and written on a month-long academic trip to ancient sites in Italy. We like to think that you could approach each song the way you might approach an artefact: perhaps it's opaque and a bit strange at first glance, but with further contemplation you can uncover a fundamental humanity and a distinct pulse." So say's The Classical's is Juliet E. Gordon.
Juliet writes the music and lyrics, whilst drummer Britt provides the bedrock of sound for those lyrics to rest on. The duo live and play in the Bay Area of San Francisco, indeed Juliet lives in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge which must cast a mighty big shadow, listening to some of the album's dark lyrics, Indeed that experimental brooding dark space that comes across on a Scott Walker album where he has the knack of exploring the outer limits of music is well and truly present on 'Diptych'.
This is no ordinary album, slivers of Jazz, acoustic singer-songwriter moments and industrial soundscape noise all entwined on an album that is best sat down and listened to. The record deserves you concentration as it will reward with each listen.
Nine songs most stretching to the 6 - 8 and 9 minute mark all evolve as they progress. A sign of the times I guess that this much variation in sound can be achieved by just two people.
There are many duos around today all playing fabulous music, Wye Oak, Royal Blood, Drenge and The Lost Brothers all spring to mind this year with their own unique sound and style, which is something The Classical bring to the party in bucket loads on 'Diptych'
You can listen to the whole album HERE (late at night, in that favourite chair sipping a malt whisky perhaps) then dip into your pocket for a mere $6 (or £3.50) and purchase a unique record, something really different from a band who we hope emerge from the shadow of that bridge very soon.
Pete
8/11
1. The Blue Room
2. Shovel & Bevel
3. Byzantine Tango
4. Deft With Language
5. Driveby
6. Sicily: Catacombs
7. Escapeboards, pt. I
8. Our Lady of Revenge
9. Younger Days
- Album Reviews
Tom DeLonge’s (side) project Angels & Airwaves release their fourth album The Dream Walker following a three year gap after 2011’s Love: part Two.
As DeLonge is also front man of power trio Blink 182, I went into this album with a certain expectation of brattish post punk pop songs, all 3 minutes long bursts of high-energy adrenaline. Yes, there’s some of that evident, especially with lead single Paralyzed, but what surprised me was the heavy use of synths on certain tracks such as The Wolfpack and Kiss With A Spell, the latter with touches of Depeche Mode evident.
The album is just part of a project which also includes an animated short film and graphic novel, and as far as I can tell is actually a concept album about someone controlling his dreams, something which traditionally sends people running to the hills, but rather than ponderous and over complicated, this is an album full of surprises. Each song seems to vary hugely from each of the others on the album, and none ever overstay their welcome.
At times dark, album highlight for me is Tunnels, written after Tom’s father sadly passed. The band has turned personal sadness into a gorgeous elegy to hope and reflection.
Mercenaries returns to the more familiar rock format, big chorus, soaring guitars, and urgent drumming, but even this seems more controlled and measured than previous work from either band, and all the better for it in my eyes.
The lovely The Disease follows, with its sing along chorus just asking to be belted out by the teenagers at next years festivals..
The 40 minute album closes with another highlight, the melodic space rock Tremors and then into the only acoustic track on the album Anomaly.
A surprisingly dark, measured and melodic album, this is a real grower and rewards repeated listens. This is a real find as winter takes hold, and sure to please existing fans and any newcomers stumbling across it.
Keith
8/11
- Album Reviews
I can’t let the year past by without a shout out for Lost on the River – The New Basement Tapes.
Released at the same time this autumn as the ‘Complete Basement Tapes’ the legendary recordings in the Big Pink by Bob Dylan and the Band in 1967. The release of these recordings long sought after, often bootlegged and semi officially released was an actual historical musical milestone this year.
So while all the attention was on the official Bob release, The Lost on the River album almost shuffled itself on to the racks unnoticed. I picked it up more out of interest, expecting another half-hearted all-star bash album. How wrong I was. There is nothing half-hearted about the effort put into the songs on this album.
What this release actually does is follows the same timeline as the music from the Big Pink. These are for the most part original Bob Dylan lyrics form 1967 but lyrics never put to music.
The lyrics were left in the trusty hands of T Bone Burnett, and Lost On The River was written and performed in a “creative collaboration” by Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops), Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons).
The end result is nothing short of superb. There seems no egos here, each song so well constructed, interesting and beautifully performed.
Kansas City seems a theme throughout and the songs are nicely varied in style mainly because the lyrics were handed out by T Bone Burnett to the artists to create the songs individually and then bring them into the studio to record as a group.
You can’t really pick out one contribution over the other but Rhiannon Giddens really shines throughout the record and her lead vocal on Duncan and Jimmy is nothing short of tremendous.
Is there a Volume Two I wonder?
Pete
11/11
