THE GIRLS ARE POST: Introducing The Kindest Lines

Kindest Lines are an emerging synth-pop band from New Orleans, made up of Justin Blaire Vial, Brittany Terry and Jack Champagne. Currently signed to Wierd Records, the band had their debut album Covered in Dust scheduled for its imminent UK release on 20 June 2011, which follows the release of their initial eponymous EP, released in 2010.

The group create dreamy synth-pop in a very literal sense, in that they try to create a musical soundscape where songs are dreamt up from a collage of undulating synth sounds. They very much subscribe to the Phil Spector style of music creation, with a thick wall of analogue synths permeating subtly through the vast majority of their music. Whilst Kindest Lines openly cite Spector as a key creative influence for their music, the group are also very much indebted to bands like The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen, from the varied synth and drum machine timbres, to the guitar sounds, which are jangly and reverb heavy, with plenty of modulation and flange effects laid across most of the guitar parts. Such guitar styles are particular evident in key tracks such as ‘Baltimore’, and their recent single ‘Destructive Paths to Live Happy’.

Whilst Kindest Lines describe themselves as synth-pop, unlike the work of artists like Holy Ghost! or LCD Soundsystem, Kindest Lines utilise synth sounds whilst containing with more traditional instruments. When this instrumentation is combined with Brittany Terry’s soft, cool, despondent and distant vocals, Kindest Lines’ music in reality sound much more similar to dream-pop, reminiscent in particular with the likes of Au Revoir Simone and The Hundred in the Hands.

Kindest Lines create music that is essentially cool, calm and contemplative, without being overtly cold, negative or down-beat. It is an obvious comparison to make perhaps, but the Kindest Lines’ work is in a way very similar to the history of their home town of New Orleans – containing smatterings of positivity, through their invention of jazz and the New Orleans Mardi Gras, mixed with sober trials and tensions that permeated from the BP oil disaster and hurricane Katrina.

Kindest Lines have no concrete plans for any tour dates in the UK, but they have a number of gigs scheduled throughout the rest of 2011 in the US.

See this at TGA at: http://thegirlsare.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/introducing-kindest-lines/

GIITTV POST (Album Review): Big Deal – Lights Out

Lights Out is the impending debut album release by new boy/girl duo Big Deal. The group are formed of American boy Kacey Underwood and British girl Alice Costelloe, who in a very “White Stripes” kind of way like to retain an enigmatic degree of mystery over the status of their personal relationship with each other, and how exactly the band formed. This is all superfluous to the release of their album however, which is more focused on the trans-Atlantic vibe of their music, which is unapologetically filled somewhat paradoxically with US style guitars and UK subtlety and subdued vocals.

Lights Out is mostly constructed of guitars and vocals, with only the very occasional usage of pad-synth strings constructed on GarageBand. This album is not mellow, drab accoustica however; there is a wealth of guitar parts in each song with a huge variety of timbres, most of which are electric. There are also some distorted interludes present which are fairly reminiscent of pop punk, post-rock and grunge. Much of the guitar parts have these all-American influences, but in more subdued moments there is a definite folk-cum-Britpop vibe, evident through stripped-down, starker timbres and quieter styles of playing. The significant presence of guitars throughout this album is very refreshing when one considers how little the guitar as an instrument has been focused on in indie music over the past couple of years. It is also very refreshing to hear very little overt influences from older generations of music, with Big Deal focusing much more on 90s/00s influences instead. Indeed, many of the timbres used throughout Lights Out should encourage at least a small degree of nostalgia from anyone in their 20s or 30s of guitar musics past.

Whilst many of the tracks here have heavier elements within the individual guitar timbres, this album is essentially a mellow and delicate affair. Tracks such as ‘Chair’ and ‘Swoon’ seem to work particularly well, where Big Deal attempt to embrace the obvious simplicity of their work instead of trying to transcend it with too many thick flangey overdubs. These more subdued tracks also focus on developing the melody of the song well, creating beautiful vocal lines with quietly curious harmonies.

Understandably, the other major focus of this album is Underwood and Costelloe’s vocals. Both sides of the duo have lovely voices that are delicate, warm and rich. The lyrics are also a key focal point in each track. Whilst the lyrics do often deal with teenage angst such as homework or episodes of identity crisis, there is little over-laboured dramatisim in its sentiment or delivery. Instead, the sweet innocence within Big Deal’s concern and despondency actually has a very universal edge, and certainly does not alienate their work into the disconcertingly melancholic area of emo.

Lights Out is a very pretty, contemplative, heartfelt, considered and delicate album, and is delightful in its innocence and simplicity. However, it is not overwhelmingly different or exciting, however, perhaps due to its sparseness it might has the strength to grow on you, as subtle music often does. But there are certainly some weaker, filler tracks present in this album, which at times make mostly fine album a little bit staid and disappointing.

See this at GiitTV at: http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/index.php/2011/08/22/big-deal-lights-outmute/ 

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST: New Music - Electricity In Our Homes

A couple of weeks ago I saw Electricity In Our Homes perform at Rough Trade East, promoting the release of their recent single Aching, Breaking, Shaking For You. I had been interested in the group, and made some effort to follow their developments since they first emerged in 2008, but this was the first time I had seen the group perform live. I have always been aware that their music was cool, pleasant and hip, but live the band really revealed themselves as utterly fantastic musicians, creating really interesting, intoxicating music.

Electricity In Our Homes describe their music as a discordant, dissonant, confused, mingling funk, but in reality their work is much more complex than that. They clearly have funk based influences, especially with the complex rhythm section (which exhibits some exuberant drum patterns and elaborate bass playing), but they also draw from a lot of marginal art-rock influences, especially from the 1980s. They also have elements of progressive rock and the avant-garde within their work, with a covert vibe of the likes of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa deep within their sounds.

The trio, made up of Paul Linger, Bonnie Carr and Charles Boyer, are all fantastically talented musicians, with a charming, nonchalant air to their energetic performances. There is a fast and furious speed to their work, especially in a live setting, but this speed is more based in excitability than aggression. This lightness in the group’s work is anchored by the curiously innocent dynamic between the male and female vocals, which often sing in a pleasant, pleasing chorus.

Electricity In Our Homes have taken the typical alternative route with their releases, putting out a number of singles and EPs, released on vinyl and MP3 only, on a variety of smaller labels. They have their debut album, Dear Shareholder, in the pipeline, which will hopefully be released later in 2011.

See this at MTTM at: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/the-next-best-thing/new-music-electricity-in-our-homes/

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST (ALBUM REVIEW): Beirut - The Rip Tide

The Rip Tide is the third full-length release from Beirut after their recent hiatus. Their last release was way back in 2007, and the group’s sound has changed somewhat since then. Where The Flying Cup Club was filled with an almost innumerate amount of instruments, from cellos, accordions, ukuleles, violins, saxophones and euphoniums, this new album has a much more stripped down feel to it, focusing instead on brass, piano and vocal parts. Whilst The Rip Tide clearly features the work of other members of the Beirut collective, the album once again feels much more focused around Beirut’s major Svengali – Zach Condon. This feels like a very personal and considered release, focused instead around Condon’s key musical and instrumental passions.

Brass instruments are still the clear focus, however, which is typical of Beirut’s work. The brass are complex, harmonious and varied, and are laid over with interesting effects to create a very enticing, dynamic approach, at times powerful, in others dreamlike. The general vibe and influences of the instrumentation is also your usual Beirut fair – there are still major influences from Balkan folk, mariachi music, and French chanson pop. These styles are sampled and proliferate throughout the album, but there are also new elements such as Irish folk. The track Payne’s Bay in particular sounds not unlike The Pogues circa Rum, Sodomy and the Lash, both in the technique of the violin parts and the tracks general melody.

The Rip Tide has a slightly more pop inspired vibe than previous releases – it is certainly more accessible and light-hearted than some of Beirut’s earlier work. This is not a pop record, but there is more of a general vibe of quiet positivity, indeed, at times the music is light-hearted and sunny even. Unlike many of Beirut’s world-folk influenced contemporaries such as Arcade Fire and Bon Iver, there is less obvious sobriety and darkness in the music on this album. Even in quieter songs, there is an only vague hint of melancholy; tracks such as Port of Call and the album’s title track are genuinely beautiful, touching and enjoyable, as opposed to being drenched in sorrow. They occur as a polite change of pace, rather than acting as a deliberate downer.

This album is short, and at 33 minutes it is Beirut’s shortest release so far. Its length is a good marker of the sedate, unobtrusive nature of this album – it is a perfectly good body of work, but it is not particularly innovative, groundbreaking or different. It is however perfectly pleasant, and at times beautiful, heart-warming and moving, and always, always an engaging listening experience.

See this at MTTM at: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/album-reviews/beirut-the-rip-tide/

THE GUARDIAN (ZEITGIEST): Weezer – Weezer (The Blue Album)

Released in 1994, this debut album from Weezer is still perhaps considered by fans and critics as Weezer’s magnum opus, with only their second album, Pinkerton, vying for alternative supremacy. The album went three times platinum in the US, produced three hit singles in both the US and the UK, and was re-released in its deluxe incarnation in 2004. At the time of release though, it provided a refreshing sense of charming humour and geeky vulnerability against the general gloom of grunge. This first Weezer album was influenced by the likes of Nirvana and The Pixies, but they also introduced a strong power-pop vibe (gained in no small way from the work of Cheap Trick) that gave their music a more uplifting, perky indie rock sound, that was a real step forward in the alternative rock scene.

The album is not soft or flat however – it is very riff heavy, with fat, grating guitar chords, at times dissonant and shredding, immediate and hard. But within this guitar orientation, there was a clever nerdiness, especially present in the lyrics and vocal style. The album demonstrates complex harmonies and falsetto vocals, similar in style to barbershop quartet, and they also have a wry vulnerability to them. The lyrical content, whilst quick and sharp, also displays real, genuine insecurities, and deal with fairly harrowing concepts, such as ‘Say it Ain’t So’ which focuses on Rivers Cuomo’s attempt to make sense of his parent’s divorce, and ‘My Name is Jonas’, whose topic is the aftermath of Cuomo’s brother being in a serious car accident. The lyrics are also well constructed as well as emotive, with Cuomo creating perfect, neat little vignettes within every narrative.

This album is literally chock-full of generation defining songs, with a distinctive style that is still infectious. The group also retain a huge following too big to be considered cult. I was first introduced to Blue in sixth form, ten years after its original release, and its presence amongst my peer group, too young to have caught the album in 1994, was huge. Weezer were everyone’s favourite band, and Blue was a good contender for the most popular album. As we start to approach the album’s twentieth anniversary, I am sure its popularity is still retained by newer and older listeners alike. The album received numerous accolades, including being listed in Rolling Stone’s great 500 albums of all time, and Pitchfork’s best albums of the 1990s. Weezer’s eponymous examples how fantastic guitar music in America was in the 1990s, and is one of my favourite albums of all time.

See this at the Guardian online at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/album/c7b245c9-8099-32ea-af95-893acedde2cf?commentpage=last#end-of-comments

THE GUARDIAN (ZEITGIEST): Nedry – Condors

Condors was the first (and to date only) official release by Nedry, and was re-released in 2010 on Monotreme Records after an initial short run in 2009. The trio, who formed in 2008, is made up of two guys and one girl, who throughout Condors created an intriguing, original and unusual mixture of post-rock, dubstep, post-dubstep and electronica, using guitars, laptops, voices and synths. They have had their work compared to the likes of Bjork, Burial, Battles and The XX, which should give you a clear idea of the kind of complex, diverse music Nedry have created with Condors.

Condors is an interesting, pretty, and often dark album, ruled by glitchy textures and oppressive synth timbres. The album is effectively a plethora of these diverse synth sounds, woven together in a way that is rich, dense, and deeply convoluted, with a wide variety of complex effects that really penetrate the listener mentally and physically. The synth sounds included are clearly of laptop origin – many timbres have a stark, digital coldness and preciseness that could only have been made with 0s and 1s. Synth is typically the predominant instrument throughout the album, but there are no post-modern allusions to new wave – this is music that is thoroughly modern and grounded in the progress of the present.

Guitars also occur throughout this record, and whilst they often remain subdued their presence and input is fairly prolific, and twist the album into being indie-dubstep instead of harbouring a more traditional dubstep vibe. Timbres are unobtrusive, soft and rounded, varying from the almost classical guitar style found in ‘Apples and Pears’, to the more post-rock, Battles influenced track ‘Scattered’, with its screeching, relentless, dissonant chords. There is some paper-thin percussion and some bass parts too, but they are mostly synth derived, with warped, muddy, resonating sounds which fill the album with a subtle degree of menace.

One of the most interesting, and simple elements of Condors however is the marvellously unnerving vocals of Ayu Okakita. The beauty in Okakita’s voice is subtle and girlish, and from her wistful and breathy style to her haunting, banshee-like wailing, she demonstrates a true emotional context. The weary, sombre and measured style of her vocals is clearly reminiscent of Bjork’s work, and as exciting as the music is Okakita’s voice ground the album in more emotional terms, and stops the music for degenerating to far into the realms of pure synth experimentation.

The general vibe of the album is dubstep timbres mixed with post-dubstep ambiance. The clash of throbbing, surging, tense dubstep punches with the cooler, detached beauty of post-dubstep has created a very diverse album – at times it is overwhelming and frenzied, at others delicate and soothing. Furthermore, Condors manages this feat easily, switching approaches with swiftness and ingenuity. The album is varied, fresh and interesting, and most importantly displays some fantastic music. 

See this at the Guardian online at:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/album/481d6878-6c21-4afd-b22c-9c26b578c5e7?commentpage=last#end-of-comments

THE GIRLS ARE POST: Complete 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 - Your Favourite Song: Bow Wow Wow – ‘Lonesome Tonight’

I love the entirety of Bow Wow Wow’s back catalogue anyway due to its innovative and buoyant nature, but this track is a particular favourite of mine at the moment, due to its coldly beautiful minor melody, arresting vocal delivery and general ambience of upbeat music meets distraught lyrical sentiment.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/3hfNVM5BqOPgQbFLkWWCiE

Day 02 - Your Least Favourite Song: Beats International – ‘Dub Be Good to Me’

I cannot exactly explain why I dislike this Beats International song so much, as musically it is quite an accomplished, interesting song. Perhaps I have unacknowledged aural links to a negative experience that are triggered by this song, but I also dislike the eerie Ennio Morricone sample, and Lindy Layton’s despondent performance of some fairly sombre lyrics.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/0LatWThfKUOdIj3x6V6xKu

Day 03 - A Song that Makes You Happy: Mint Royal with Lauren Laverne – ‘Don’t Falter’

This Mint Royale track came out in a gloriously hot summer when I was very happy and very, very young, just before I first attended Glastonbury festival. Its mirage of samples work really well together to create a wonderfully effervescent sound, accompanied by Laverne’s delicate vocals and lovely, heart-warming lyrics that never fail to cheer me up.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/6DLwsWoXzYQf3Kbw8rKiZv

Day 04 - A Song that Makes You Sad: Janelle Monae – ‘Cold War’

Monae‘s music is so wonderfully diverse – her work swoops and weaves through all sorts of musical styles and instruments, as well as emotions and attitudes. This song has a desperately sad and angry vibe, replicating the feeling we all get from time to time, that life is just a lonely, pointless battle. 

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/5al9is1AQnaI3lTi20DUG6

Day 05 - A Song that Reminds You of Someone: The Thermals – ‘Pillar of Salt’

A typical connection perhaps, but this Thermals song reminds me of my boyfriend and our life together – not only was it included on an early mix-tape (on a real tape) that he made me, but the lyrics also resonate, being about a couple struggling through the mundanity of suburban life, planning their escape.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/5dyFRTACKvmwoIg3vFLhxr

Day 06 - A Song that Reminds You of Somewhere: Bat For Lashes – “Priscilla’

This Bat For Lashes song reminds me distinctly of the first place I heard it; my dorm room in the first year of university, watching E4 Music in the morning before a lecture - it epitomizes the excitement of being in London, and university, constantly experiencing new things and new music.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/0AyK4Y8XBzlNnQO7yE2waO

Day 07 - A Song that Reminds You of a Certain Event: The Hundred in the Hands – ‘Sleepwalkers’

This Hundred in the Hands track has remained in my memory as it was released the week I started my first music industry job researching new single releases, and was one of the first tracks I researched that I actually heartily enjoyed.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/1dGVe8z9zD4NxLxLqUvtz9

Day 08 - A Song That You Know All the Words To: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Heads Will Roll’

When this Yeah Yeah Yeahs song was released it really hit a musical sweet-spot for me in a way that their previous back catalogue had not. I listened to this song repeatedly when it was released in the summer of 2009, and the words have stuck with me long after it finished saturating my listening time.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/3zvHOVC4jikl6jORSr6OLE

Day 09 - A Song that You Can Dance To: CSS – ‘Patins’

CSS create excellent dance music; perfectly positioned on the cusp between indie and electro, with upbeat tempos and a poly-rhythmic elements. ‘Patins’ is the perfect example of this, with an excellent guitar hook and a marvellously effervescent quality.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/0CYH92f3TkdxVAfWvh4Kbu

Day 10 - A Song that Makes You Fall Asleep: The XX – ‘Islands’

All of The XX’s music is beautifully delicate, soft and calm, and ‘Islands’ is my favourite track - with very unassuming timbres that just wash over you gently it is very sedating and soothing, perfect for inducing sleep.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/2SMn57cBVxoD4TArscpovk

Day 11 - A Song from Your Favourite Band: Au Revoir Simone – ‘Shadows’

Au Revoir Simone are my favourite ever girl band - they create really rich, complex, thought-provoking music which is innately feminine, whimsical and beautiful. ‘Shadows’ is to my mind one of their best tracks, with really interesting synth techniques and a deeper darker sound than much of their earlier work.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/2jZf49KpWLpIhTdvLjeCIp

Day 12 - A Song from a Band You Hate: The Saturdays – ‘Missing You’

I do not know if you could really classify The Saturdays as a band per se, but my God do I hate them. Put simply, they embody everything I dislike in both music and women – vocoders, empty lyrics and cheap midi-synths meets simplicity, ignorance, childishness and vacant sexuality.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/63BaAKm304qELvF2mQItBy

Day 13 - A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure: Madonna – ‘Borderline’

Although I love Madonna, I must admit that some of her back-catalogue, and especially her earlier stuff, is very cheesy. ‘Borderline’ definitely falls into this category, with its cheap synth pop and squeaky girlish vocals, but there is something very infectious and curiously almost innocent about it.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/4FMNpPI7mkhdeFCCk6fZiE

Day 14 - A Song that Nobody Would Expect You to Love: Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce – ‘Telephone’

For reasons unknown to me people are always surprised when they find out that I like Lady Gaga, and especially that my favourite song of hers features another incredibly mainstream pop artist – Beyonce. To me though both Lady Gaga and Beyonce are both perfect examples of powerful, modern women in pop music, creating their own controversies and some very interesting, dynamic pop music along the way.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/00BuKLSAFkaEkaVAgIMbeA

Day 15 - A Song that Describes You: Ida Maria – ‘Oh My God’

This Ida Maria song perfectly encapsulates both musically and lyrically my life and general demeanour at present, in that both are a whirlwind of rushing, uptight excitement; angst-ridden but yet ultimately still trying to remain positive, upbeat and optimistic against overwhelming fragility and uncertainty.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/22Db3cyRKuGQGOh9puBtjv

Day 16 - A Song that You Used to Love but Now Hate: KT Tunstall – ‘Other Side of the World’

Hate is a strong word, and there are very few tracks that I have truly loved but ended up hating, however, when KT Tunstall released her first album, I, along with numerous advertisers throughout the country, played this track to death. An unfortunate consequence of this is that I cannot listen to it anymore without feeling impassive, bordering on bored.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/4A9E08l34BkPsCDAmOpHxb

Day 17 - A Song That You Hear Often on the Radio: The Pierces – ‘Glorious’

The only place I listen to the radio a lot is at work, where the station of choice is BBC Radio 2. This track by The Pierces has been played at least two or three times a day for the past two months or so, so thank God I like it.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/1GhyhZ2Sm6XoAzsvgWqIZ8

Day 18 - A Song that You Wish You Could Hear on the Radio: Nedry – ‘A42’

There is a slim chance that Nedry’s wonderful brand of subtle, developed, post-rock meets dubstep might have possibly been played a little on Radio 1 or 6 Music, but it certainly was not on any radio playlists and would never be played on Radio 2. This is my favourite track of theirs and I would love to have first discovered it on the radio – what a station that would be.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/1aM6vHDutX0oOV4ZbRMwNO

Day 19 - A Song from Your Favourite Album: Moloko – ‘Indigo’

Favourite albums are much like favourite tracks – subject to frequent change. However, the album Things to Make and Do by Moloko has been a consistent favourite of mine for over ten years, and I still listen to it repeatedly. ‘Indigo’ is my favourite track from it.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/5cRLgwOYoPgbwMq8l5k5QD

Day 20 - A Song that You Listen to When You’re Angry: Laura Marling – ‘Devil’s Spoke’

Laura Marling may seem like a strange choice for an angry playlist, given her soft acoustic folk music style. I however find that much of Marling’s second album, and especially ‘Devil’s Spoke’ have a sullen, coolly angry vibe that perfectly represents that uncertain, vague kind of despondent anger often felt.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/4dqhnjsX69qGQ7DCMSTY7v

Day 21 - A Song that You Listen to When You’re Happy: The Noisettes – ‘Wild Young Hearts’

The Noisettes certainly fall into the more facile, pop side of indie, but they still make very upbeat, positive music that is perfectly conductive for a happy mood.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/5sGLBYekUu92DDD65k9BlJ

Day 22 - A Song that You Listen to When You’re Sad: Marina and the Diamonds – ‘Obsessions’

Most of Marina and the Diamonds’ debut album is upbeat with a positive message, but this track finds her blue, sombre, scathing and reflective, with softer, colder vocals, and simpler instrumentation. The lyrical content mixed with the instrumentation lend an important sense of solidarity, as well representing my own blend of sadness, which is almost always mixed with anger, concern and self-obsession.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/50e8ksucu6yo0cYF47xCC9

Day 23 - A Song that You Want to be Played at Your Wedding: Sublime feat. Gwen Stefani – ‘Saw Red’

Much of this song is simply the phrase “Everyday I love you a little bit more” recycled over and over, which is all my boyfriend and me choose to hear through the other more vengeful elements of the lyrics. I love Gwen Stefani for her undeniable sass, and Sublime for their infectious upbeat-ness, so this song for me is a ball of joy, perfect for such an important, happy day.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/3Q5pj4sEpo3nVsbqzox0La

Day 24 - A Song that You Want to Play at Your Funeral: The Shangri-Las – ‘I Can Never Go Home Anymore’

I have not really been emo enough, or indeed old enough to give this entry proper thought previously, however, when I first heard this track by The Shangri-Las a few months ago I was almost moved to tears by its desperate, disbelieving and heart-broken sentiment, and I would ideally like people to feel utterly distraught and inconsolable when I shuffle off this mortal coil.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/1tZgF7en4VzVpkKnhuySlR

Day 25 - A Song that Makes You Laugh: The B-52s – ‘Rock Lobster’

So much of The B-52s’ music is innately funny, not just in their chosen subject matter, but the delivery of the vocals, the quirky, stilted instrumental techniques, and their curious retro timbres. This song has got to be their funniest.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/3oz4aQOLZ9MXqZ4HPUeV7W

Day 26 - A Song that You Can Play on an Instrument: The White Stripes – ‘The Hardest Button to Button’

This track by The White Stripes is not a difficult one, and I can play it on both bass and guitar (and lets face it, I could probably play the drums too, Meg’s parts are not often complicated).

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/7N3DKWBC8pKoTf0JzyYKaj

Day 27 - A Song that You Wish You Could Play: Vanessa Carlton - ‘1000 Miles’

While much of this Vanessa Carlton song has simple chord structures, the key piano riff, which I think is the lynch-pin that made this song so popular, is fairly complex to me, who barely achieved Grade 1 on piano. I even bought the sheet music to this track and got absolutely nowhere with it.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/2JFEZO2ZxzffY0wd9MYEu3

Day 28 - A Song that Makes You Feel Guilty: Dolly Parton – ‘Jolene’

I rarely have anything to feel particularly guilty about these days, but this beautiful, and much scoffed at Dolly Parton classic does resonate a twinge of guilt at my younger past, where I had a notable disregard for other people’s relationships, and happily flirted, lead-on and even took more than a couple of attached boys.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/0PYNG70wvQ3X3fCcfDWJG6

Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood: The Selecter – ‘On My Radio’

When I was little I developed a bit of an obsession with ska; my first CD I ever bought was a compilation called This is Ska which I found in Somerfield’s, and I played it on a loop for a long, long time. This song by The Selecter was a particular favourite for my young self.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/3Qmtadha85zkLH1H9EGi3u

Day 30 - Your Favourite Song at this Time Last Year: Anni Rossi – ‘Machine’

This time last year I was very into Anni Rossi - my boyfriend turned me onto her after which I listened to her album Rockwell everywhere I went. Listening to this track immediately transports me back to a year ago, although I still adore her innovative usage of the viola and delicate, positive sound.

Hyperlink: http://open.spotify.com/track/2qG494XyjhPfwOlW5z4jz9

See this at the girls are at: http://t.co/ehuDVfd

THE GUARDIAN (ZEITGIEST): The Avalanches - Since I Left You

Released in the UK in April 2001, Since I Left You is to date the only full-length release by Australian plunderphonics collective The Avalanches. The album gained a significant amount of attention at the time of release, with its two major singles, ‘Since I Left You’ and ’Frontier Psychiatrist’ charting well and receiving a heavy amount of airplay on BBC Radio 1. The album was also well received critically, at one point receiving a stupendously good review score from Pitchfork of 9.5. Since the initial release of Since I Left You, The Avalanches have fallen into relative obscurity, although significant rumours are beginning to circulate that their long awaited sophomore album may be set for release as soon as late 2011.

Since I Left You was a number of years in the making, and the album release was delayed many times. This is perhaps understandable due to nature of The Avalanches music – Since I Left You was reputedly made up of over 3,500 samples from records, movie soundtracks and television episodes. Additionally, legal issues over copyright are always a lurking problem when dealing with sample based music, although interestingly The Avalanches were one of the first acts to be granted sample rights by Madonna, whose iconic ‘Holiday’ bass-line was sampled for the track ‘Stay Another Season’.

Since I Left You is essentially made up of soundscapes and congruous washes of sound. Tracks blend seamlessly into each other, with the vibe and focus of the music changing subtly with each song as the album progresses. Many tracks, including the title track are gentle and soft, with a nebulous, vague air to them. Slightly lo-fi, calmer tracks have had their edges buffed and feathered into in a heady ambient mix, wrapping the listener in a comfortable sonic blanket.  There are upbeat tracks too though, with deep, complex and sometimes pounding rhythms. There is definite energy in tracks like ‘Close to You’, which clearly originates from the mix of funk, r&b and hip-hop samples, which fits perfectly within this new context.

The major, continuous element through the entire album, however, is the wealth of texture. Each track is riddled with almost innumerable parts and a huge variety of timbres, as well as the lo-fi ambience and vinyl crackles that are generally present. Each timbre and technique sampled is interesting, from chanson vocals to spoken word clips the entire body of work is like a sonic homage to popular culture, swirling and pulsating around the listener’s sonic field.

Every sample is well selected however, and collectively the album is not simply a mess of sounds, mashed together into indiscernible nonsense. Since I Left You works as music, it is not just an experiment – there are cohesive melodies and solid beats amongst the haze of sound. This album perfectly examples how wonderfully subtle sample based music can be. Never heavy-handed or arrogant, Since I Left You truly is a master class in sample-based music. 

See this at The Guardian online at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/album/28438e4f-3710-459f-a332-a1eba9dd1f26?commentpage=last#end-of-comments

Opinion is Free: My Thoughts on New Music

Recently Record of the Day published an outgoing message from their music editor James Foley, which featured him philopshising over the state of the music industry as he has seen it from the inside, and how it has developed over the past few years. A key element of his piece focused on his concerns over the music industry’s current preoccupation and orientation towards to new music and new artists. Ironically, considering that one of Record of the Day’s primary focuses in their daily mail-out is key new records, Foley used his last message from the publication to question the privileged position that “new music” currently holds in the music industry. A particular statement of his springs to mind:

‘In the past six years I’ve seen the obsession with the new - particularly in the UK – become so prevalent that it has led to an intensifying of the worrying short-termism in terms of artist signings, development and media attitudes’

I have to disagree with the general sentiment of this statement, and indeed the general apprehensive attitude Foley expresses toward the progress and development of new music. In my opinion there is still plenty of space for established acts in the music industry. Fair enough, the handling of artists into their second and third albums by record companies is often appalling. Many labels are constantly looking for the “next big thing”, without actually nurturing and supporting the talent they already have. But there is no doubt that new music is exciting – it shows promise, progress and freshness, something more established acts often find difficult to maintain.

It is therefore utterly vital to focus as much attention as possible on the new acts - on the burgeoning music industry. Music must progress, and it is very difficult for artists to push their music developmentally, let alone music genres and the industry generally, once they are established. Record companies, (excluding a few very good independent labels) are literally all about revenue, which leads to a great deal of restriction on how artists actually develop. Gone are the days when artists can work on their sound and develop a proto genre with every new album. This is not 1969. Labels want artists to recreate the sounds that the audiences know and love (and are willing to pay for) ad infinitum.  We therefore need new artists to introduce new sounds to the industry.

Additionally, in the contemporary music industry, with millions of acts uploading new tracks everyday to Bandcamp, Sound Cloud and MySpace, it is very difficult to get new artists noticed. Whilst the industry maybe be slightly obsessed with the next big artist, there are so many of them out there in the internet ether, so many truly excellent artist that we haven’t heard of yet, that we may never hear of. Every new act therefore has to become obsessed with promotion. Promotion of new artists saturates everyone in the industry’s inboxes every single day, because every new act wants to be the one that gets noticed. And the only way to be noticed is by being as prolific and as clever with promotion as possible.

I think it is a fantastic thing that the thirst for new music has become so pronounced, and that “new music editor” is becoming one of the most heavily coveted roles in music journalism. Progress is not something to be lamented, and I am fully of the opinion that if established artists work hard, produce good music, and do not rest on their laurels, then they have just as much chance of success now as they have ever had.

HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Playlist of the Week - The Beatles

The Beatles – yawn. That has generally been the stock HCE reaction to The Beatles for quite some time. It seems to us that the music industry, music culture generally, and in particular music journalism has used The Beatles as a measuring stick for all other music for far to long. Yes – The Beatles were very important at the time – they progressed popular music to a wide, commercial audience very quickly in new, unusual ways, and their influence in some way lives on in all popular music, from rock to rap. But we do get rather tired of The Beatles always being labelled the best band, always being at the top of any greatest song/album list, always being the only band that any critic above the age of 50 EVER talks about. Music has moved on from The Beatles, but the industry struggles to. Music is more diverse now that ever, more challenging, interesting, better, slicker, faster. There are artists making music as good as The Beatles every single day. Progress is a fantastic thing, and wearing constant, nostalgic rose-tinted glasses is just sad, whether you are 15 or 50. The Beatles laid the foundations for popular and rock music, but to think nothing has ever surpassed them is narrow-minded.

However, whilst it is tiresome to constantly hear about how important The Beatles are, and how *fantastic* Sergeant. Pepper is, it is important not to forget that The Beatles did from time to time create some truly groundbreaking, awe-inspiring sounds, which still sound innovative and challenging today. A lot of their “experimental” music was often a bit puerile, ill conceived, or just plain shit, but some tracks were dark, heavy and deep. Here are what we consider to the best Beatles tracks, both in terms of innovation and musical quality.

1.     ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ – Abbey Road

This is my favourite Beatles song. It has such a dirty, bluesy edge, and pushes rock in heavier territory than it had ever previously been. With stripped down instrumentation and production, immense guitar parts and soulful vocals, building slowly and oppressively to a dense, over-powering conclusion, many elements of this track still work in a contemporary music setting.

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2.     ‘A Day in the Life’ – Sergeant Pepper

This is really the only half decent Pepper track – most of the others just sound like a mess. This track mixes ambient, classical, pop and rock together into a weird amalgamation that sort of works, and it has lots of sonic events and instances that are just marvellous. The development and transference from one part of the song to another in particular is excellent, and of course, the development of the song, its composition, and methods of recording were highly unusual and innovative at the time.

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3.     ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’ - The Beatles (White Album)

The White Album, as a body of music, was much more experimental, varied and progressive than any of The Beatles previous releases. This was the group truly delving into musical experimenting, with avant-garde quips, usage of samples and musique concrete as much a musical constant as guitars and percussion. The album is not easy to listen to in parts, but it pushes the listener out of their comfort zone and into new territory. ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’ examples all these qualities perfectly, with its unannounced tempo changes, metaphorical lyrics, dark sentiments (“I need a fix ‘cause I’m going down”), and experimental effects.

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4.     “Get Back” – Let it Be

To my mind McCartney’s best track. The lyrics are ok (good for McCartney), but what really makes this track good is the music. Billy Preston’s organ work adds an interesting alternative element to it, but really it is the simple, clean, rotating hard rock instrumentation. This is stripped down Beatles, but without all that earlier, schmaltzy stuff.

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5.     ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ – The Beatles (White Album)

This is a quietly haunting song, cold and dark, and shows The Beatles making some musical developments towards heavy rock, a genre still completely in its infancy at the time. It is not perfect; whilst the lyrics are good, the melody in the chorus is a bit weak, and undermines the stark beauty of the music and sentiment in the verses. Its also a shame that George Harrison felt he had to bring in Eric Clapton to perform the lead guitar parts throughout the song, as Harrison’s versions on demo tapes are actually better than the recorded release.

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6.     ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ – Help!

Apparently this song was Lennon “doing Bob Dylan”. However, whilst the stripped musical elements of the track are a similar style to that of Dylan, this was one of the first Beatles track to show a deeper, more jaded outlook, both in the lyrics and the music. It was from this track onwards that Lennon started to relinquish some of his personal demons within his work, and it became all the better for it, developing his archetypal radical, biting edge.

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7.     “Medley” – Abbey Road

The “Medley” on side B of Abbey Road is actually nine songs run into one another, and is conceptually very innovative. No other major artists had really honed the idea of “concept music” at the time, and this is a whole side of odd little part song, mangled together, each with a very different vibe. Some of the tracks are a bit weak, ‘Sun King’ and ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’ for example, but others are truly fantastic, and deserve to sit up there with their best tracks. ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ and ‘Golden Slumbers’ in particular are beautiful, with the Beatles exampling some of their best vocal performances, and it is difficult to surpass ‘The End’ in terms of guitar solos, with Lennon, Harrison and McCartney all appearing in a single, short song.

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MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST: Introducing Pinkunoizu

Signed to Full Time Hobby, Pinkunoizu are an emerging alternative act that are a bit math rock and a bit chillwave, with lots of guitars, synths and ambient sounds. The band have a couple of London gigs lined up in September ahead of their debut EP Peep, scheduled for release in Nov 2011, and they are also in the process of developing their first full length release due out in 2012.

Pinkunoizu are certainly an interesting bunch. The group have derived their name from the Japanese translation of the term “pink noise”, although the group are actually based in Copenhagen and Berlin. To continue to their quirkiness, they have a picture of a fox on the moon as their EP cover. An unusual approach to some perhaps, but Pinkunoizu have a very cool vibe about them that really works, and in addition they have some fantastic music to offer.

Pinkunoizu have a distinct lo-fi feel to their work, mixing nu-folk, 60s Japanese pop and post-rock. They look to quite dark, intelligent, alternative acts for influence, citing musician such as Devo, The Fugs, Can, Matmos and Faust as key influences on their work. The result of these diverse elements are beautiful soundscapes that are harmonious and calm, but with a subtle edge – a hint towards harshness and despondency. There are some samples and ambient sounds, but guitars are still heavily present in their work. There are vocals involved too, but they are haunting, ethereal and vaguely incoherent.

Pinkunoizu currently have their track Time is Like a Melody available for free download. It is a beautiful track, and an example of promising things to come.

See this at MTTM at: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/the-next-best-thing/introducing-pinkunoizu/