Skies Are Rare

Q&A with The Widest Smiling Faces

2012-02-11T16:11:00.000Z

Aviv Cohn - aka The Widest Smiling Faces - is an incredibly talented singer songwriter from Brooklyn and has recently released his new album Me And My Ribcage, which is available as a free download over on his Bandcamp page. The album is a crushingly beautiful collection of melancholy and subdued acoustic tracks that perfectly showcase Aviv's enormous aptitude as a composer and musician. I was lucky enough to catch up with Aviv and had the chance to ask him a few questions about the new record.

SKIES ARE RARE: Hi Aviv, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. What are you up to today?

THE WIDEST SMILING FACES: Celebrating a birthday, and the same old, also I got a new delay pedal, so working on arranging some songs for that.

SAR: Happy birthday! And congratulations on the release of Me and My Ribcage last month. Has it been a challenging project to wrap up or did things fall in to place pretty easily?

TWSF: It's been a fascinating twisty kind of bizarre experience, somehow things fell into place and I found myself in an ideal situation and was able to record the album in a fitting way. I was very fortunate in that regard however, so I can't help but feel grateful that things worked out.

SAR: It sounds like a very isolated record. Are other people involved in any stage of your writing, recording or production; or is it very much a solo effort?

TWSF: One of the things I'm really grateful for is that I was able to record the album with Chris Wojdak, who's a great friend and musician. He performed all of the piano and accordion parts on the album, as well as contributing some guitar layers and producing the entire affair. Also Daniel Spenser did an incredible job of capturing the esoteric symbolism of the album with his visual artwork as well. I tend to do a lot by myself in general however.

SAR: Was it a hard decision to distribute the digital release for free?

TWSF: My feeling was that anyone who wanted to get the album for free could do so with little difficulty. The only reason to pay for music these days is to support the artist(s) and/or to own a physical copy/collectible. CDs can just be burned from the digital files, and so selling them doesn't really offer a unique experience. So for people who would like to support me by getting a physical copy, I'd rather thank them by providing something more worthwhile and "real." So that's what I've been working on.

SAR: I really love the textures that you achieve through the different instrumentation. Do you just strip it back for live shows or do you have a band?

TWSF: The sound during live shows is quite a bit different than on the album. It's a good deal more shoegazy. I use a looper to create many layers simultaneously, so i wouldn't say it's stripped down, it's more of a sidewards jaunt.

SAR: What guitars and pedals do you use?

TWSF: On the album we used a Gibson ES-339 and a Fender Stratocaster into a Deluxe Reverb. Live I use a Gibson ES-339 and either a Deluxe Reverb or a Vox Pathfinder 15R depending on the venue. For pedals I use a Boss TU-2 and DD-2, MXR Carbon Copy, Diamond Vibrato and a Roland RC-20XL.

SAR: Some of the guitar technique on the album is seriously impressive. Have you always preferred playing with finger picking?

TWSF: I really enjoy the tactile sensation of writing and performing music with my fingers and the organic sound that results from physical contact with the strings. It also lets one play multiple notes at the same time, which suits me personally, as I've always been drawn to polyphony.

SAR: What's your favourite film that you've seen recently?

TWSF: Probably Tree of Life by Terrance Malick.

SAR: As ever, there are some really great bands playing out of Brooklyn. Who's your favourite local artist that a visiting tourist would never have heard of?

TWSF: This is really tough as there are so many incredible artists here. While I can't presume to know who anyone would or would not have heard of, Phone Home, Albert Goold and Liam Kirby are all really amazing. Chris Wojdak, who produced the album, has a lot of beautiful songs as well, and I hope he'll put them out some time.

SAR: What are the chances of you making over to the UK soon?

TWSF: I really want to, I haven't had the opportunity yet, but I'm hopeful that it will happen soon.

A Place To Bury Strangers - Onwards To The Wall EP

2012-02-03T22:48:00.000Z

One of my favourite (and loudest) bands ever A Place To Bury Strangers have a new EP out next week and are very generously giving punters a free pre-sale stream. If you're not familiar with APTBS I suggest you line up their first record, strap yourself to your chair and bite down hard on your tongue.

The new EP from the New Yoikers noise makers is a really fun five track. 'Fun' might not immediately seem like the optimum word to describe APTBS, but as with any difficult second album that smashes it out the park, any sequels are going to be 'difficult second album' to the power of 8. Onwards To The Wall is totally fun.

At their core APTBS are a guitarist who makes his own ridiculous noise pedals and likes to show them off to large crowds of hipster children with the volume turned to 11. To their friends, they're an intricate and dark New York noise rock band who have smashed the shoegaze kids into humble (and frankly welcome) submission with their blend of 80s power metal and distorted sonicscapes. To be honest, you'd think it's a style of music that has limited diversity - but APTBS are absolutely capitalising on their ring-fenced intellectual property of the genre. There is nobody who has made this style of music better in the past 5 years and the latest release doesn't succumb to the unnecessary qualms of 'third time unlucky' material. They also have sweet artwork, for maximum bonus points.

Take a listen and then buy the final bounce:

Django Django - Default

2012-02-02T20:30:00.000Z

There have been a number of notable recent releases that I've been meaning to write about but haven't got round to it. Let's kick off with the hugely anticipated debut record from indie British outfit Django Django.

Django Django play a mixture of krautrock and experimental indie which produces rather lovely results. The four piece are originally from Scotland and have been clearly influenced strongly by their compatriots The Beta Band. They've been doing the circuit for a few years now and I enjoyed seeing them at a festival in 2010. However the record Default marks their first full length release and is easily the best album I've heard of 2012 so far.

As ever, it all boils down to the fact that Django Django are doing something remotely experimental, interesting and diverse. The second track of the album Hail Bop sounds like it could have been written by Courtney Taylor-Taylor a decade ago, the eponymously named song Life's a Beach breathes a 21st century breath in to surf rock, and Firewater sounds like a B-side to Can's Tago Mago.

You can listen to the album for free now on Spotify here. Enjoy!

Stream Gonjasufi’s new album MU.ZZ.LE

2012-01-21T15:13:00.000Z

The rather fantastic Sumach Ecks - aka Gonjasufi - has a new album out Tuesday on Warp. You can now stream MU.ZZ.LE in its entirety over on Warp's Soundcloud page. Unfortunately embedding is disabled, so you really are going to have to head over to this page for the stream. The album retains Gonjasufi's self-produced unique sound; a style which I've been remarkably impressed with. If you're not familiar with his work, MU.ZZ.LE is as good a place as any to start with and as it's only really a "mini album", may in fact be easier to get stuck into than his 2010 record A Sufi and a Killer.

You can preorder the album on CD or double 10″ vinyl now here.

The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin Documentary

2012-01-16T21:44:00.000Z

Pitchfork TV have uploaded a series of videos that fantastically document The Flaming Lips's seminal record, The Soft Bulletin. The series has been produced in association with Vans and provides a really great insight in to the band's history and recording antics, with interviews with band members, producers and record label execs. Pitchfork describe the videos as an "oral history of The Soft Bulletin", which is a pretty apt description.
I've embedded all of the videos in this post for your browsing pleasure. Enjoy!

Andrew Bird reveals information on forthcoming album

2012-01-09T19:45:00.002Z

I'm hear to tell you that today's most exciting music news may not be the reformation of At The Drive In. Although I suppose it may be. The website Beats Per Minute posted this afternoon a sneaky sneak-peak in to the new Andrew Bird record, Break It Yourself, which is due out on March 6th.

The post includes album artwork, a full 14 song track list and a short teaser trailer of Andrew Bird playing one of the new tracks at his barn in Illinois, whist sitting on the stairs like the casual cat he is. The post goes on to quote Bird as he speaks about the rough and rustic recording of the record:

"We rolled tape as we were learning the songs and to our surprise we started nailing the songs by the second take. I think we got a rough, unfussy honesty in this session." Bird sums up the sessions by describing them as a "mix of distilled, grounded songs and some wild soloing."

Sounds great from here! Thanks to Beats Per Minute and Paste Magazine for the original feature.

Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself from Mom+Pop on Vimeo.

Saito Koji - Guide

2012-01-02T13:41:00.001Z

Hello residents of Blogland and welcome to another year on planet Earth! (The last year in fact according to most well respected scientists I've chatted to). I take it everyone had a fabulous Festivus and if your recent consumption habits have been anything like mine, you'll be foregoing lunch for the next eleven months in an attempt to shed the Christmas stuffing. And I've been royally stuffed; I don't think I've done potty properly for about a fortnight.

Anyway that's enough of my ablutions - let's crack on with the hard-backed-two-thousand-and-twelve music annual (collector's edition) that is Skies Are Rare. And what better way to set us off than with some stunningly beautiful ambient music, which helpfully comes in a double-dip recession whacking finance and guilt free package.

Japanese multi-instrumentalist Saito Koji's new record Guide is available for download on the Resting Bell website and is well worth the effort. Koji creates eroded, swelling soundscapes that, whilst lacking in any real dynamics, are still wholly engaging in their own right and aren't parked in the category of 'background' music. Guide is only inches away from being simply an atonal mess and flirts openly and courageously with the often befallen traps of noise. There is also little deviation between tracks; most of which have similar synth voices and all of which clock in at exactly three minutes in duration. However this little novelty actually makes for a strangely pleasant pattern. The three minute cut off point for the tracks (which also share almost identical volume envelopes) quickly becomes engrained in your subconscious and by the latter half of the twenty-four minute record, is almost subconsciously satisfying.

Generally Guide makes for enjoyable listening for fans of ambient. The aforementioned repetitive streak is a footnote underneath what is a fine record at an affordable price tag. It's meditative, short and free. Give it a whirl:

http://www.restingbell.net/releases/rb103-guide

Lilacs & Champagne

2011-12-19T10:34:00.001Z

We recently proclaimed Grails's 2011 record Deep Politics as one of our favourite records of the year. I was therefore really excited to learn that Alex John Hall and Emil Amos from the band have been working diligently on a side project called Lilacs & Champagne, with an album apparently ready for distribution on Mexican Summer as early as next month. So; possible contender for album of the year 2012? Possibly getting ahead of myself.

Needless to say the one track they have previewed on Soundcloud sounds mightily impressive. It retains the dark, mysterious tones of Grails but is certainly something new. It's psychedelic western meets trip-hop. I dig!

Lilacs & Champagne - Everywhere, Everyone by Mexican Summer

Tim Hecker - Dropped Pianos

2011-12-15T23:08:00.002Z

2011 has been a fantastic year for Montreal based electronic artist Tim Hecker, with acclaimed album Ravedeath, 1972 released in February and a follow up EP, Dropped Pianos following in October. In fact, to call the latter a follow up is slightly incorrect, as the series of 9 short “sketches” which comprise the record were actually recorded by Hecker back in 2010. These tracks all form the core of what became Ravedeath later in the year.
What makes Dropped Pianos so compelling however is the break in form that it takes in that it was written and performed almost entirely on piano. It sets itself apart in that it lacks much of the shimmering ambient noise that characterised Ravedeath and other more recent works such as 2009’s An Imaginary Country and the 2006 masterpiece Harmony in Ultraviolet. However, because the EP itself formed the basis of what would become Ravedeath the difference in instrumentation and style are what make it the perfect complement to its larger, more developed descendent.

The tracks themselves are often bold and brusque, with Hecker letting individual chords or very basic single note leitmotifs that crop up later on in Ravedeath create the foundation for the tracks. It is not a pretty or delicate work, and it not afraid to let empty space around these recurring themes to do much of its work. There are also hints of more traditional “Hecker” hidden in these tracks as well. Sketch 5 in particular has an undercurrent of distortion running through its repetitive and menacing second half, much more characteristic of wall of sound noise that he is undoubtedly a master of. Listening to the sketches I am constantly filling in the more sparse parts of the tracks in my mind thanks to these little musical hints, and feel the same pangs of excitement from them as I do from their album counterparts. The sparse piano makes them feel almost like memories or shadows of their true form. They are more introspective and haunting, compared to Ravedeath where the listener is bombarded by Hecker’s outspoken and unique brand of sensory overload.

This then is the paradox of Dropped Pianos, and the reason I enjoyed it so much. Despite being an earlier work, releasing it post-Ravedeath means that it can allude to something more complete, enabling it to exist as a standalone piece. Had it been released beforehand I feel it would have lost much of its allure as it would always have been only a glimpse of something much larger. It feels very much like it is holding back the floodgates of a torrent of noise, elements of which are straining at the door and occasionally seeping through the cracks. It is reminiscent of the perverse delight that the viewer takes in knowing what tragedy will befall the main character in a horror film before they do. For me that self-awareness is what makes Dropped Pianos so compelling. However, it is not a standalone work and probably not for someone new to Hecker’s work, but all the same it leaves me feeling even more impressed by the depth and complexity of Hecker’s work.

Skies Are Rare's top 25 albums of 2011

2011-12-10T14:15:00.000Z

Here are our top 25 albums from a great year of music. Please do comment or vote on our Facebook poll for your favourite. I beg forgiveness for any glaring omissions - they may or may not be intentional.

We look forward to doing it all again next year!

25.		MOGWAI- Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
24.		SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA- Finest Hour
23.		GRAILS- Deep Politics
22.		BATTLES- Gloss Drop
21.		THREE TRAPPED TIGERS- Route One Or Die
20.		JACASZEK- Glimmer
19.		PJ HARVEY- Let England Shake
18.		KATE BUSH- 50 Words For Snow
17.		JAMES BLAKE- James Blake
16.		ARMS & SLEEPERS- Nostalgia For The Absolute
15.		JOHN STAMMERS- John Stammers
14.		WHITE DENIM- D
13.		FLEET FOXES- Helplessness Blues
12.		THE DUKE SPIRIT- Bruiser
11.		UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA- Ffunny Ffriends
10.		RADIOHEAD- The King Of Limbs

9.		COLOURMUSIC- My ____ Is Pink
8.		KEVIN DEVINE- Between The Concrete & The Clouds
7.		SUUNS- Zeroes QC
6.		WILD BEASTS- Smother
5.		tUnE-YaRdS- w h o k i l l
4.		TIM HECKER- Ravedeath, 1972
3.		BON IVER- Bon Iver
2.		THE ANTLERS- Burst Apart

THIS WILL DESTROY YOU- Tunnel Blanket

Oval - Systemisch

2011-12-02T18:04:00.000Z

Earlier this year BBC 6 Music’s Stuart Maconie featured Systemisch by German electronic group Oval during one of his Sunday Evening “Freak Zone” hours. I was so enamoured with it that I immediately got my e-hands on a copy and it became a popular accompaniment to revision for my finals in May. Oval’s other work is a mixture of styles. From the aggressive ambience of 1995’s 94 Diskont to the Haschuka-esqe, prepared piano inspired sounds of 2010’s O, they have remained pioneers of ambient/glitch. In an era of digital synth patches, sequencers and cheap home recording equipment, the ambient genre has been one which has flourished in the internet driven world as artists have found themselves with the tools available to make convincing, if not terribly inventive music at home.

Perhaps then this is what makes Systemisch so appealing in that it was written largely by purposely deforming, scratching and even marking CD’s with felt tip pens to blend existing recordings into something quite different. The result is an ostensibly ambient album, but one whose existence rests on the familiar glitch skipping sound of a CD that most of us who regularly used a Discman or still buy CD’s are familiar with. The work behind the more rhythmic tracks such as “Catchy DAAD” and “Gabba Nation” unveil intricate attention to detail which combines what can only be the tediously exhausting work of mutilating CD’s to fit the correct tempo and feel required to a song with the inherent musicality of creating a pleasant sounds track overall. Other tracks such as “Schoner Wossen” blend different repetitive tracks with one another to create polyrhythms, where others like “Oval Office” focus more on moody ambience in a Boards of Canada vein. The result is an album that is as enjoyable for not only it’s sound, but also because the listener is aware that it was a product of what must have been hours of incredibly hard work.

Systemisch is more than a traditional ambient album. It has a special quality that sets it apart from the many thousands of other albums that came after it, because of what it represents. It required much more than what many ambient artists today have to put in to create an album from scratch. Whilst in many ways the tone and the feel is one that could be easily recreated today, its age and its circumstances have, and should earn it a place in the hearts of any discerning fan. But it is not a traditional album and understandably many may find the constant skipping sound extremely annoying. However, it is a testament to what real “blue sky” thinking can produce; when individuals put their mind to creating something unconventional, but inspired. (Even If it’s not quite as impressive as the Sun Centred Theory of the Universe or the Theory of Relativity, and other dull stuff like that.)

TKOL RMX 1234567

2011-11-30T21:35:00.001Z

I know that The King Of Limbs remix album has been out for some time now, but I only really got round to listening to it in the past couple of weeks. If you too have had a brief lapse in concentration and have not yet listened to TKOL RMX 1234567, then I highly suggest that you rectify this immediately.

Of course I'm a big Radiohead fan. Of course you are too. But this remix album is something else. If anything, a lot of the remixes are such a departure from their originals that only titbits of various instrument stems reveal themselves. We're used to hearing Radiohead cut up and rejigged, but every single track on this album is an immaculate re-imagining of one of the best albums of the year, from the greatest band ever. The roster of artists is of course staggering, including all of the usual suspects (Caribou, Four Tet, Jamie XX) along with some names that you may not have heard of yet, but will soon be investigating further.

The highlight for me has to be Four Tet's version of the track Seperator, which starts with an ethereal harmony before breaking in to a submotion beat akin to Massive Attack.

Listen to TKOL RMX 1234567 on Spotify now.

65daysofstatic - Silent Running

2011-11-23T15:49:00.001Z

I've been trying to force myself to read a bit more fiction recently. I generally have a dire attention span and despite the connotations with being somewhat dim witted, I'll readily admit that reading for pleasure has always been difficult for me. Yet the fruits of reading - particularly fiction - are not unknown to me, so when I do get going with something good, I find huge rewards. At this point you may be wondering where this post is going, but bear with me.

A couple of weeks ago I went on holiday for a few days and forgot to take the book I was currently reading; The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey - a book that is indicative of the sorts of quick-fix 'self-help' manuals that I've indulged in recently (woe is life). So I knew I wanted to dive into something entirely different. I found myself in Waterstones in Stratford-Upon-Avon with Neil Young's autobiography Shakey in one hand and Iain M. Banks' Consider Phlebus in the other. Having had a love-hate relationship with fellow genre penman Peter F. Hamilton in the past, I was curious to explore another author's creativity in the mind expanding arena that is science fiction. Sorry Neil.

Without descending in to a book review, I find that sci-fi is often unique in its ability to tickle the imagination of the reader. It's outer-worldly, ethereal and often so far beyond our paradigms that we are forced to picture the scenes using a high level of independent creativity. This means that different readers experience the imagery in entirely alternative ways. This interpretation fascinates me, which is why I was intrigued when I saw that 65daysofstatic have recently recorded a live soundtrack to the 1972 sci-fi movie Silent Running.

I have not seen Silent Running so when I first listened to the sound-track from 65dos, I enjoyed being able to try and paint the mental pictures that they were trying to represent with sound. As it goes, I liked the creative exercise but wasn't blown away by the music itself. Perhaps it would make more sense if I were to listen to it with the visual accompaniment. However it did make me listen to the album in a different way; knowing that the sounds were themselves a musical interpretation of another medium, film. And in some ways, that's good enough.

You can download the soundtrack here.

In Praise Of... This Heat

2011-11-09T10:07:00.003Z

Morning one and all! Time we all laid down our worries and took a moment to appreciate a classic band that seemed to get somewhat lost in the annals of time. A band that sound incredibly unique, mainly because they were far too ahead of ther time back in the late 70's. A brilliant, bizarre whirlwind, bringing in raucous elements from punk, post-punk, dub, electro sounds reminiscent of Aphex Twin via Pink Floyd.

Pure experimental genius from Camberwell, This Heat.

Their self-titled debut, released in 1979, was revelatory for me when I first heard it. Few music nowadays sounds truly original, though we have entered a phase of brilliant genre-bending music; far more common nowadays than two or three decades ago, to my ears at least. But formula's have always existed - 1979 was no different. Upon hearing This Heat's twisted, tape-looped debut, sounding like it was recorded in a dripping, freezing basement-cum-cave, I hear the makings of something extraordinairy, and something new.

24 track loop

When I first heard '24 track loop' I was astounded. Its start simply, if eerily enough. But as a thrashing beat emerges, morphing around hand-claps and twitching computer bleeps, you find yourself listening to something utterly different, strange and compelling. It would not sound out of place on a modern day underground dance comp, yet this was recorded in 1978, at the peak of the British Punk explosion. Unfortunately for Charles Hayward, Charles Bullen and Gareth Williams, this was precisely their commercial downfall. John Peel gave them their first airplay, and was a long time champion of the band (they released a Peel Sessions record in 1988) but other than some high critical praise, the music going public seemed to take no notice.

I like to think that in this day and age, us mad musical consumers, lovers, experiencers, would have found some big room in our hearts for the lads from Camberwell. But perhaps this is precisely the point; I feel that without This Heat, and some of their contemporaries, the bridge they presented between the early beginnings of electronic music, your Kraftwerk, Faust, and the raucous, angry punks finding themselves adrift in a Britain they felt meant nothing to them, and that they had no place, might not have existed, and if it had, it certainly wouldn't have been as quite an interesting bridge to cross as it became.

makeshift swahili

The bands follow up, Deceit, released in 1981 is one of my favourite albums of all time. The punk sound that they were moving beyond made its biggest influence on this record; roaring guitars have a menacing interplay with the almost messianic chanting nature of the vocals, and the violently reverberating tape looped sounds. The fear and fascination with the disturbing, ever-changing nature of the future features heavily on the record.

a new kind of water

A new kind of water is the bands masterpiece - a futurist post-rock extravaganza with a thumping drum beat, hypnotic guitars and lyrics that convey the paranoia and anxiety brought by the looming shadow nuclear war and folly of trying to fix the world's problems without understanding the consequences.

This Heat are a band that are screaming out to be rediscovered. The band recently reissued their entire back catalog in the outstanding Out of Cold Storage box, remastered and aching to be experienced. You can find it at their website. If you're a fan of Joy Division, Kraftwerk, Zappa, Big Black, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Faust, PJ Harvey, Aphex Twin, you will find something to love from this criminally neglected band.

Jacaszek - Glimmer

2011-11-07T11:36:00.000Z

Morning all. I feel tremendously fresh today - the weather is crisp; I've been for a jog; and I'm on holiday all of this week. This gives me the opportunity to write some short pieces about some of the new music I have been listening to recently.

First up: Jacaszek.

Michał Jacaszek is a Polish electroacoustic musician who makes cinematic soundscapes using a combination of both electronic and acoustic instruments. Jacaszek's latest record Glimmer is one of the most exciting ambient records I've heard in a while. It's no secret that my musically critical mantra is simply 'do something interesting', which can understandably be somewhat difficult for ambient music. This is one of the main reasons why I am fanatical about ambient. When something is produced that is magnificent yet seemingly so sparse in activity, it should be revered. Glimmer falls in to that camp.

I also love the fact that Glimmer has a truly signature sound yet is uncompromisingly progressive. At times the record stoops to a macabre solemness and elsewhere it's reassuringly warm. Despite this variety, the use of classically baroque sounds such as the harpsichord and clarinet stamp Jacaszek's Eastern European watermark all over the record. The entire album is eerily beautiful and picking out highlights is somewhat nonsensical. However the cacophonous crescendos of the track Evening's Strains To Be Time's Vast - which ultimately conclude in an almost inauspicious way - is a stand-out moment for myself.

SPOTCAST: November 2011

2011-10-29T17:41:00.003+01:00

Everything's been a bit quiet on the playlist front for a few months now, so I'm happy to post that we're bringing back a monthly Spotcast. Weekly editions may have been a bit eager. Especially when real life matters get in the way of Internet land. Having recently had to move back to my parents' attic due to financial constraints (I work 50+ hours a week in central London; thanks baby-boomers, or 1%, or is it 99%?), it's been difficult to bring regular instalments. It's also oddly more difficult to discover new music when you're busy but hoping to set that straight soon as I've got 17 days holiday to take before the end of the year.

So here's your monthly dose: November's 'Spotcast' as we like to call it; a helpful blend of 'Spotify' and 'Podcast' (like 'Edutainment'). Hope it aids you through the blustery dark evenings and hopefully you find something new or at least something you enjoy in there.

NOVEMBER 2011 SPOTCAST [Will launch Spotify]

01- Crystal Castle - Year of Silence
02- Colourmusic - Feels Good to Wear
03- Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Strangers are Strange
04- This Will Destroy You - Killed The Lord, Left For The New World
05- The Meters - Lonesome and Unwanted People
06- Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - In A Hole
07- Iran - Can I Feel What?
08- TV On The Radio - Caffeinated Consciousness
09- Washed Out - A Dedication
10- Robag Wruhme - Tulpa Ovi

Voice Blanket, R.I.P.

2011-10-25T23:11:00.007+01:00

Who's winning in the music business? In a world where every god forsaken industry is dominated by a handful of corporate raconteurs, it is humbling to know that perhaps consumers simply don't need the multi-nationals in music anymore. Gigs are where the money is now, whilst mass production has never been easier or cheaper for musicians thanks to the internet. Smaller labels now have the potential to reach just as far, and artists have been popping up all over the place without any contract to speak of.

No stone has been left unturned, and perhaps the music industry strikes a chord with people who want nothing less than an all out war. We download songs illegally all the time, without any fear of being strung up by the Mick Jagger's, or spat on in the street, and for the most part we've gotten away with it. What they don't realise is, whilst they were playing with hand-puppets and making small children cry, we have been busy practicing. So many of us hid beneath castled bed linen, all curled up with another layer of voice blanket (John Peel)...using the record and pause buttons strategically so that we could hear our new favourite songs again and again. They can't stand this up on capital hill, outsmarted by the gutter boy. All their time spent taking it in turns to fluff themselves and what do they have to show for it? A rash and U2. Not to worry though, they can bandage the wound with internet red tape. Keep those massive record labels alive just long enough to parade what few shit acts they have left on MTV. Good night and good riddance.

JEFF the Brotherhood

2011-10-19T22:26:00.007+01:00

Just a quickie tonight guys! I'll spend more time come the weekend; buy you a lovely romantic meal, expensive red wine, foreplay - all that jazz.

But now, there's just time for a searing slice of garage psych rock - enter JEFF the Brotherhood!

Around for a couple of years, this wonderfully noisy duo from Nashville serve up familiar but brilliant, classic garage rock noise, whose fuzz never fails to bring a smile to my face. These guys are just having loads of fun - newest album We Are The Champions is chock full of stupid, teenage nonsense (Hey Friend - is a great example, and one that is surprisingly touching).

Give the new single a listen - its being released on Jack White's Third Man Records, so should get the guys some great exposure, and just fucking enjoy some back-to-basics stupid fun.

Robag Wruhme - Thora Vukk

2011-10-06T21:07:00.000+01:00

Every now and then, I go through a season of listening almost exclusively to minimal techno interspersed with gangster rap. I find that the polar opposites help me stabilise my own furious existence. Leaving the latter genre to a future - and far more explicit - post, let me please you by introducing you to Robag Wruhme.

Chances are that quite a few of you are already familiar with Robag. He is the quintessential European electronic musician; batting for the German team in the ever-lasting test match against the Dutch. Robag is an all-round player; adept at making the usually routine seem intriguing, and occasionally flamboyant with neat little flourishes. Ever at the heart is stonewall minimal techno. And that's what you should expect and revel in when it comes to his 2011 album Thora Vukk.

Check it out if you're a fan of Pantha Du Prince et al. Oh yeah, I heard some guy called Apparat released an album this week? Anywho...

Robag Wruhme – Thora Vukk

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffriends

2011-09-26T21:11:00.000+01:00

About a week ago, I discovered Unknown Mortal Orchestra through the delights of Last.Fm recommendations and I've since played their 2011 debut record Ffunny Ffriends a total of 10 times. You don't have to be a maths genius to figure out that is a fairly high plays-to-days ratio. So what's the business?

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are a three piece hailing from Portland, Oregon and play Krautrock, Beatnik throwback. They've maintained a fairly distinctive sound throughout the album, using lo-fi guitar melodies, psychedelic vocals and hard-panned drums and bass. The result is something sublime and I hope you'll check it out.

They are touring the States at the moment with Toro Y Moi, before coming to Europe in November. They'll be at XOYO in London on the 28th November.

The Duke Spirit - Bruiser

2011-09-21T19:25:00.000+01:00

It's with brimming excitement that I write the following sentence. The Duke Spirit's new album Bruiser was released on Monday in the UK. There aren't too many artists that give me a warm fuzzy feeling when they release something new, but long term favourites Duke Spirit are certainly one of them. Remember that feeling when Radiohead released In Rainbows? Yeah, a bit like that. Also as if that wasn't enough, seeing them last month at The Boston Arms confirmed my undying adoration for Ms. Leila Moss.

The comparisons to In Rainbows don't quite stop there. Whenever a "fuzzy album" comes to the fore - as per above - there's always that nagging risk that it is going to suck. How on earth are they going to top the one before? In The Duke Spirit's case, the weight of expectation can hardly be as insurmountable as that of Radiohead, but their two albums prior provide good collateral to fuel the fire of nervous suspense. The wave of relief when you realise that your favourite artist hasn't succumbed to the perils of "that difficult nth album" is almost as fuzzy as the news of the release itself.

And me oh my how The Duke Spirit have overcome. Bruiser is an absolute belter of a record. They played the record from start to finish at the gig at the start of the month. For me, this was a bit of a bitter sweet treat. On the one hand, it was great to hear new material and be rest assured that they've still got it. On the other hand, I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get that many vintage songs; although their encore was essentially a medley of hits. The gig did however give me instant familiarity with the songs on Bruiser. The songs stuck with me from the first listen and have been circulating my head ever since.

This album is a fine delivery of catchy, indie-pop songs that scream of The Duke Spirit's signature sound and calibre. Although Bruiser can hardly be heralded as a coming of age album for TDS - or a dramatic diversion from their earlier work - it offers enough of a development to keep you on your toes. A catalogue of unrelenting anthems from start to finish.

This fantastic time lapse video was taken on the evening of The Boston Arms gig and features the album track 'Running Fire':

New Music Pick of the Day - ∆

2011-09-19T09:41:00.005+01:00

or Alt-J (you get the symbol when holding down Alt-J on a mac, apparently. Macs are evil.) have been peeking just over my New Music Horizon since they released four tracks on their Soundcloud page back in May, and I have just discovered their BBC Introducing Maida Vale Sessions on Youtube which has set me off over them all over again.

BloodFlood

The Leeds four-piece have a really intriguing set of tracks (free to download) that hint of a shining future to come. Odd folksy vocals over skittering percussion on first track 'Tesselate' offer a richly detailed visual canvas, bringing to mind King of Limbs and In Rainbows Radiohead. Then the quietly beautiful Matilda creeps in and things change up, reminsicent of Wild Beasts, albeit lost in some deep, dark, Northern Woods. 'Hand-Made' and 'Breezeblocks', alternatively fragile and funky, round out this free-helping of outstanding new music nicely. Head over to the their Soundcloud (linked above) and grab yourself some delectable aural morsels.

The new track above comes courtesy of the BBC, and sounds great. Intricate, achingly beautiful interwoven sounds, with detailing that isn't as visible in their Soundcloud songs, its instantly my favourite ∆ track. And it gets even better! Their first single has just been announced, a double AA release of Floodblood (the twice-differently labelled track in the video above, I assume) and Tesselate, and you can preorder yourself a copy here. I predict a bright future for these lads - lets kick start if for them.

Kevin Devine - Between The Concrete & The Clouds

2011-09-13T21:02:00.001+01:00

I feel like I've been searching for Kevin Devine since October 21st, 2003. From early on in my exploration of music, I've been a huge admirer of the work of Elliott Smith. In my naivety I probably discovered the news of Smith's untimely death many months after his October 2003 passing, but I distinctly remember the crushing realisation that this guy wouldn't be making any new music any time soon. The same sensation hit me when I heard that Mark Linkous had taken his own life. Whilst I like to think that my musical spectrum is fairly broad, I've always had a special place for the breed of contemporary American singer-songwriter as epitomised by Linkous, and especially Smith. This has meant I've been on a hunt for someone fresh to carry the mantel of these late heroes, and I think I may have found it in the shape of Kevin Devine.

Kevin Devine has only recently come in to my radar with his latest effort Between The Concrete & The Clouds, which is due for release on September 13th. In actual fact, this is his sixth album. After playing Between The Concrete pretty much on repeat over the past week, I decided to check out his back-catalogue. It's possibly with tainted goggles when I say that nothing comes close to the calibre of this latest record. But then I guess that's the right way round, right? Artists develop, improve and learn during their careers. And by the sounds of things that's exactly what Kevin has been doing; on a Fibonacci-like trajectory.

This one comes with a five star recommendation folks. Especially for those Elliott Smith fans amongst you - at times the likeness can be uncanny. That's not of course to say that I don't appreciate Kevin Devine in his own right, but he's certainly filled a Figure 8 shaped hole in my life.

You can listen to Between The Concrete & The Clouds for free on Spotify now.

End Of The Road 2011 - Review

2011-09-07T19:25:00.000+01:00

Whilst I'm still reeling in the euphoric hangover from End Of The Road Festival 2011, I thought I'd jot down some highlights hindsights. This year's EOTR was a noticeable up-size from last year's, with potentially a 100% increase in size, scale and attendance. They had introduced a new main stage, increased the campsite size dramatically and had made getting in to the festival site an arduous struggle. Nonetheless I still found myself almost perpetually thinking "Well isn't this lovely" - no charm has seemingly been sacrificed.
In correlation with the increase in capacity, they managed to bring in a stellar array of bands and EOTR's line-up now surely rivals that of any other English festival. I don't think I saw a single set in it's entirety during the whole weekend because there was always something else worth seeing on. Not to say that clashes were frequent: the stage planning was immaculate. I think it would have been possible to see a decent chunk of every single artist there if you so desired. As a slight caveat, I would say that the music ended a bit too early. I get that they want to maintain the 'family' vibe (I've literally never seen so many babies), but the headliners would tend to round up the evening's entertainment well before midnight. They should have held off a few second choice artists for some late night rocking. For example, how about putting Wooden Shjips and The Black Angels on after Mogwai. Audience numbers and audience state of minds would have been higher. On the Friday, White Denim followed Beirut and fucking rocked the place.

As with any live performance, there are always going to be some surprises and some disappointments. There are also going to be some acts that deliver upon high expectations. My top picks from the weekend are Tune Yards, White Denim, Bob Log III, Wild Beasts, Willy Mason, Timber Timbre and Midlake. I was pleasantly surprised by both Mogwai and The Black Angels having been disappointed the last time I saw them. Despite being a huge fan, I unfortunately found it hard to really get in to Joan As Police Woman and Beirut were also disappointing. I'm slightly peeved at missing The Walkmen, Josh T Pearson (it rained!), and She Keeps Bees. Joanna Newsom sent me to sleep - in a good way.

I'm sure I'll be back next year and would defy anyone to attend and have a bad time. Whilst the festival has ballooned in size and stature, there is still something magical about it. It's not like you can like on the grass and watch the baby peacocks at Reading.

P.S. More like Emmy the not so Great! Ha! Words.

Colourmusic & Youth Lagoon

2011-08-25T10:23:00.003+01:00

Howdy one and all. Enjoying a wonderfully rainy August? I certainly am - I don't think I've spent this much time indoors since discovering the internet for the first time. Ahem. On to this weeks musical nonsense babbling - a delicate slice of woozy, floaty indie pop and a rip-roaring psychedelic garage rock barrage covered in a multitude of nipples. Lets start there.

'Beard'

The video for the opening track to Colourmusic's sophomore effort 'My ___ is Pink' leads into one of the finest releases of the year with every goddamned cannon blazing, and it doesn't really let up from thereon in. While 'Beard' is one of my favourite tracks on the album, and showcases the Ohio Quintet (well, one of the members is a Yorkshireman, but one who clearly got lost in Flaming Lips land) at their dirty best; all searing, fuzz-drenched garage ecstasy (if one thing is clear about this band, is that they are having a whole heap of fun) the album has far more nuance than this frenetic track lets on. Fans of Colourmusic's fellow Ohio rock Legends, the aforementioned Flaming Lips will find much to enjoy on this album - the rapturous 'You for Leaving' brings to mind the Lips' Cosmic-Church tomfoolery on 'At War With the Mystics', but the overall feel of the album seems to be more about, at the core of it, fucking around and having a wicked time while they're at it. They turn their hand to a number of sounds, and the album's centre piece, for me, is the frankly epic 'The Little Death (In Five Parts)' which manges to incorporate a post-rock ear for lush soundscaping and a thought for what a track can sound like beyond the normal three-minutes, and they pull it off with aplomb. Eerie vocals creep in, and the song changes course a number of times (not sure if its quite five, but it probably is) all within the bounds of their pysch-flecked garage noisiness. Wonderful. Go and take a gander at three Ohioites and one Yorkshireman's Pink Blanks. I dare you.

'July'

Onto something rather different now; to Idaho's 'Youth Lagoon', a.k.a Trevor Powers, a bedroom indie musician whose created some stirs with his free-to-download single 'july + cannons' (available here). The two tracks have really whet my appetite for his soon-to-drop album 'The Year of Hibernation', to be released through Fat Possum Records on the 27th September. Beautiful percussive backing and haunting vocals that permeate through 'July' really lend an air of something greater, something that we can universally hold and clutch close. Its gorgeous, waltzing melody really carries you along with it, to somewhere altogether different from a rainy, grey morning in North West London. It really is one of the finest tracks I've heard all year, and is superbly accompanied by 'Cannons', a song wonderfully orchestrated around an upbeat guitar and bouncy drumming that brings to mind hundreds of clapping hands, but when you delve into the song its virtually brimming with subtle, beautiful instrumentation that delights me to no end. Marvellous stuff, and definitely the one to watch this September - if the album can live up to these nuanced melodic masterpieces then 'The Year of Hibernation' could certainly be the best thing to come out in 2011. Here's hoping.

Enjoy the rest of the week guys, and lets hope it perks up to the sound of 'Cannons' and 'Beard' like I have.