The Mark Out

Takin' A Break

2008-10-05T22:17:00.002+01:00

The Mark Out will be on hiatus for a bit, hopefully it won't be too long.

In the meantime, watch some Wire DVDs:

Bodies Of Water - A Certain Feeling

2008-09-17T23:00:00.001+01:00

There's a hugeness to Bodies of Water's second album, A Certain Feeling, that I find irresistible. I've always been fascinated by lavish production; layered music with rich instrumentation - and this has it cracked completely, overflowing with vibrancy and a sense of wonder. If you liked early Polyphonic Spree, Arcade Fire or the majesty of Sufjan Steven's pomp you should be all over this release.

The album's eclecticism is certainly 21st Century, where seemingly anything goes, with genres flickering between (to name but a few) quick-step tropicalia bursts of energy, show-like choruses, Spaghetti Western soundtracks, loose percussive funk, and a real penchant for (my personal favourite) doom-laden, VU-ish stoner chugs but there's none of the slightly knowing, hipsterish undercurrent you sometimes get with such releases - the songs flow and ebb together, and there feels as if there's a deep pulse that goes through the entire record, keeping it all hanging together as styles change and instruments burst through. No two songs really sound alike, but there's a definite vibe throughout that sounds completely unique to the band.

Think anthemic pop, with a psychedelic/krautrock/progressive sensibility - it's everywhere but knows exactly where it's going (I really need to start listening to more sensible music that's easier to describe!)

Download: Bodies of Water - Under the Pines (MP3)

All over an urgent rhythm, Under The Pines has extended instrumental grooves, shimmering feedback, loose solos and doomy bass whilst all being tied up with a catchy chorus. It's hard to pick a sample track, due to the variance, but this'll put you on the right path.

Buy from Secretly Canadian and Emusic.

The band are also on tour in the UK in October, I have no idea how they'll pull off these songs live, but would love to see them try (and succeed I'm sure):

October 2 London, Concrete And Glass
October 3 Glasgow, Captains Rest
October 4 Middlesbrough, Westgarth Social Club
October 5 Belfast, Speakeasy
October 6 Dublin, Whelans
October 7 Galway, Roisin Dubh
October 11 London, Forum w/Calexico
October 13 Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
October 14 London, Cargo

Myspace

The Fiery Furnaces - Remember

2008-09-11T21:45:00.000+01:00

I'm still not sure that I've fully got my head around Remember, a live double-album from avant-indie rocksters The Fiery Furnaces, featuring performances from between 2005-2007. To put it bluntly, the album is bonkers. Completely and utterly hatstand, but it's good - excellent at times.

It's certainly not your typical live album featuring the usual songs verbatim to the album versions. There's barely any crowd chatter or applause, introductions can occur midway through tracks and there's nary a pause between each song - giving the impression of one huge medley. Although the band are well-known for their free and easy approach to playing live, with songs often having a very different sound to recorded, the album takes it even further by editing together the same song with verses, lines, choruses etc from completely different shows. Sweet pop can turn into thrash into funk into prog into...well you get the picture, only Eleanor Friedberger's sweet vocals provide some kind of constant throughout - something to cling onto. It's a dizzying experience, almost overwhelmingly so over the course of 130 minutes and 51 tracks (the band even warn not to listen to the whole album in one go - sage advice!).

I'm no great expert on the band, so it can be bewildering at times with fragmented songs flying through and shifting styles at lightning pace, but for fans I'm sure it'll be frequently revelatory - with reimagined and reworked songs changing at the drop of a hat, reprises appearing, lines from other songs working their way in. Single Again is a good example, reappearing a couple of songs after it's initial airing in the middle of Don't Dance Her Down, then again for an official reprise. Don't expect it to sound like the radio edit either!

Even if you're not too familiar with the music, expect one of the most unique and at times, thrilling, live albums you'll ever hear.

The Fiery Furnaces - Navy Nurse (Live) (MP3)

Buy Remember from Play or Amazon.

More info at Myspace

Metallica - Death Magnetic

2008-09-10T20:50:00.002+01:00

Everyone has heard some of the new Metallica material now, surely? Rather than trying to sue everyone on the internet, the thrash titans have decided to embrace modern culture and provide streaming tracks, behind the scenes videos and early access to songs through their Mission:Metallica site which as an exercise in PR after the entire Napster debacle is a truly sterling effort so rather than the veil of secrecy that has surrounded previous releases they're openly sharing the wealth.

I'm still not entirely convinced with Death Magnetic; despite listening to it a number of times it feels like all surface at the moment - no riff or solo really leaves an impression in my mind, and it's almost completely forgotten after playing through. Saying that, whilst it's on I'm flicking devil signs and air guitaring like the closet metalhead that I am and I genuinely enjoy listening to it - but will I still be doing so a year or even a month from now? I'm not sure at all.

It does feel like the release that the "fans" have been craving since The Black Album with the precision-drilled guitar, (mostly) relentless pace and at times appears to be a real throwback to the early years - My Apocalypse even picking up a Kill 'Em All'ish chug to the riffery. Sadly, even with Rick Rubin behind the boards, the drums still sound like someone slapping a bin lid, but we can't have everything I guess.

Stream Death Magnetic in full. Buy from Friday everywhere.

Terrible ballads, embarrassing lyrics, riffs that are built for armageddon. You know what you're getting.

The Mole - As High As The Sky

2008-09-05T22:36:00.005+01:00

I've just recently stumbled across As High As The Sky the debut album from Canada's The Mole (out on Wagon Repair) after reading this excellent Resident Advisor review. It doesn't seem to have crossed over beyond the specialist press, which is a real shame, as it's one of the strongest, varied and most accessible dance albums I've heard all year. I'm not really sure where to start with the highlights - the seemingly never-ending subtle build of Ain't It The Way It's Supposed To Be, a deep nagging bassline rising from the looped vocals and cowbell; Hey Girl (I Feel So Good)'s Revolution 909 meets disco breaks funk, the muted, almost minimalism of Like the way you move, sparking electronics patter over the sampled drums and sparse atmospherics. A distinctly varied listen - think French House reworked for the disco re-edit generation with a minimal and tech-house sideroom; clearly in love with the endless grooves from the past but with slinky 21st Century production. A perfectly sequenced album that's as strong when choosing individual tracks as listening as a whole, I can't recommend it highly enough.

The Mole - Ain't The Way It's Supposed To Be (MP3)
The Mole - Baby, You're The One (Edit) (MP3)

Baby, You're The One is a true dancefloor destroyer; no huge electro breakdowns just Chicago House repetition, deep rolling basslines and a constant synth sting.

Buy As High As The Sky from Boomkat (only £6.95 on CD!) or Emusic.

You've Got Mail: Young Sensation! and Jong Pang

2008-09-03T22:37:00.005+01:00

Another dip into The Mark Out's mailbag reveals two rather spiffing new bands itching to get their music heard.

First up; Young Sensation!, another band who like their punctuation, and have a sleek line in sharp, indie pop but with a tasty jagged edge to it. Amongst their influences they list Arcade Fire, Interpol, Comet Gain and Wolf Parade which are all pretty much dead-on musical comparisons.

Download their excellent new single, Kitty Magic:

Young Sensation! - Kitty Magic (MP3)

The lead singer reminds me a fair amount of Bryan Ferry on this with all the sass and vocal inflections required, but the band can back up the swagger (also, Kitty Magic brings to mind Do the Strand - but that may just be me). Anyway more info and tracks at Myspace, all good stuff.

Next up, Jong Pang, by way of the nu-pop powerhouse that appears to be Scandinavia (or more precisely, Denmark). Their music (the brainchild of producer Anders Rhedin) is gorgeous pop layered with swathes of ethereal shoegaze effects whilst the tempo levels are kept high with almost tribal percussion - an interesting mix for sure, but it works a definite lush magic.

Jong Pang - Small Cut Sensations (MP3)

Swoonsome. More tracks streaming at Myspace of a similar quality, check the Steve Reich-gone-pop of A House In Heartbeats!

Last.fm TV and Google Chrome

2008-09-02T22:44:00.000+01:00

This is a bit old but came to me whilst looking through some old bookmarks; well worth a look: Last.fm/Youtube Mashup

Type in your Last.Fm username or any artist - some nifty coding will then produce your own personalised music channel using Youtube videos from the last.fm details. As it'll be tailored to your own personal tastes, don't expect a lot of flicking.

Try it for yourself, or give mine a look for some goodness (well, I think so): My Page.

Also, without wanting to turn this into a technology blog; try Google's new browser out - Chrome.

Combines most of the best features from the other browsers, adds more than a couple of it's own and runs like shit off a shovel. Even at this first public beta stage, it's my new default - the Google software ninjas strike again.

Learn more about Chrome here, and the ultra-geeky stuff through the medium of comics, here (illustrated by the legendary Scott McCloud).

Review: Jeffrey Lewis - Norwich Arts Centre 20th August 2008

2008-08-31T14:27:00.002+01:00

I don't often go to gigs where I'm not very familiar with the headliner's material - I'd heard a handful of tracks from Jeffrey Lewis but beyond some enthusiastic reviews and recommendations from friends, I really wasn't sure what to expect so it was with a sense of curiosity that I ventured to the Norwich Arts Centre (One of the best venues in the United Kingdom, ladies and gentlemen).

Of the two supports, I'm struggling to remember anything from Tiger MCs set; enjoyable enough but nothing at all to lift above any other US-indie influenced band, however Norwich based (by way of Manchester) openers The Middle Ones were excellent. Seemingly fuelled on pure twee, they have some sparkling lo-fi acoustic indie pop songs in amongst the recorder, accordian and cardigans. It's strangely charming after spending a summer watching some extremely well-oiled live shows to see a band who appear to be terrified of playing in front of an audience and seem genuinely overwhelmed by the positive reaction from the crowd. The lead singer did have a tendency to slip into a slightly harsher accent at times, which introduced unhappy memories of Kate Nash, but on the whole - lovely, lovely, lovely.

The Middle Ones - For Giving (MP3)
The Middle Ones - River Song (MP3)

More at Myspace. Bonus marks for the overlapping vocals too, one of my favourite underused touches in songs.

It soon became clear that my lack of prior knowledge of Jeffrey Lewis (joined tonight by the Jitters - his brother Jack and drummer "Dave" (Beauchamp)) and his songs wouldn't matter a jot; the set was a real joy. A supremely charismatic performer, his other love as a comic writer/artist brought some brilliant moments where he sang through his own detective movie and the History of Communist Korea in comic form.

I had a genuine moment when he played his cover of Crass' Punk is Dead; goosebumps throughout. Changing the music from the brittle punk of the excellent original to a fingerpicking acoustic style. The fire and passion burning in the lyrics, a direct contrast to his usual stream of consciousness highly personal style, comes through just as strong when sung by Lewis as being spat out by Crass' Steve Ignorant.

As he admitted that he hadn't drafted a setlist, requests were taken and it was just a generally laidback set from a band clearly enjoying themselves to a adoring crowed - he's certainly earned at least one new convert to the cause, I'll be there for sure next time around.

As tempting as it was to buy his entire backcatalogue after the show, I'm currently buying his music track by track from Emusic to really appreciate his amusingly offbeat songs. Everyone seems to have at least one moment or line of brilliance, something that you want to share with anyone who'll listen - whether it's the "she really said" on Don't Be Upset, or the ending sentiment from The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song.

Jeffrey Lewis - Don't Be Upset (MP3) (from City & Eastern Songs - Amazon/Emusic)

Jeffrey Lewis - Punk Is Dead (MP3) (from 12 Crass Songs - Amazon/Emusic)

Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters - I Ain't Thick, It's A Trick (MP3) from their excellent Daytrotter Session (also on 12 Crass Songs)

Jeffrey Lewis - Williamsburg Will Oldman Horror

Jeffrey Lewis - The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song

Sadly neither of the two tracks above were played but I'm totally in love with them, the lyrics!

Mailbag Roundup: Scion

2008-08-29T21:02:00.004+01:00

One of the perks of blogging is that you get sent an awful lot of great music into your inbox to share, the downside is that there's only so many hours in the day. I always try and listen to everything I'm sent so these may be a little "out of date" in internet time but they all have The Mark Out's quality seal of approval. One of my pet hates are blogs that post up seemingly all tracks they receive without any sense they're actually heard, just a copy and paste of the PR and MP3 - we're supposed to be sorting the wheat from the chaff, reducing the level of noise rather than adding to it. Apologies, rant over - it's been a long week!

All tracks are courtesy of the good people at Scion A/V, enjoy the music (all at a DJ-friendly 320kbps):

EPMD - Run It (Herve's Got His Hands Up Remix)(MP3)
EPMD - Run It (Sinden Remix)(MP3)
(from the EPMD - Run It Remix EP from Scion A/V)

OK, the Hervé remix of Run It just straight kills - dirrrrty synth basslines overpower everything, driving further down and down whilst Sermon and Smith are looped over the top. Sinden takes the same track and moves into 2-step territory, with a big oscillating bassline and letting the MC's ride the beat. Both highly recommended.

Bumblebeez - Rio (Boy 8-Bit Remix)(MP3)
The Presets - This Boy's In Love (Kevin Saunderson Remix)(MP3)
Muscles - The Lake (Azzido Da Bass Remix)(MP3)
(All taken from Scion A/V's Modular Remixed Compilation.)

Saunderson's remix of The Presets' This Boy's In Love takes a typically dark career through techno's corridors via Detroit - maybe too much for the dancefloor but perfect for headphone listening. By comparison, Boy 8-Bit's rework of the Australian hiphop hipsters Bumblebeez comes over like FutureSex/Love Sounds-era Timbaland with a penchant for chopped vocals, fidget house bass and the Amen break. Azzido Da Bass' remix of Muscles' The Lake may be the best of the lot; it doesn't peak until about 5 minutes in after the Translyvanian breakdown so you have to be patient for the rewards but it's minor key acid electro release is well worth the wait.

PS: The picture doesn't have any relevance to the music, it's just amazing - an image of the Walled City of Kowloon. More if you're interested.

Bert & Ernie do Ante Up

2008-08-25T23:47:00.004+01:00

A work of genius. The guy who made this must have the patience of a saint, after spending 10 hours at work on a Bank Holiday this is the perfect tonic. Every moment with Bert in is pure brilliance.

BROWNSVILLE!

XL Recordings - The First Chapters

2008-08-23T23:00:00.001+01:00

I've been reliving my formative years this weekend after buying XL Recordings excellent old school rave compilation The First Chapters. Check the full tracklisting below!

1) SL2 - DJ's Take Control
2) The Prodigy - Charly (Alley Cat Mix)
3) Nu-Matic - Hard Times
4) Kicks Like A Mule - The Bouncer (Housequake Mix)
5) SL2 - Way In My Brain (Remix)
6) The Prodigy - Everybody In The Place (Fairground Remix)(MP3)
7) Liquid - Sweet Harmony
8) SL2 - On A Ragga Tip
9) Awesome 3 - Don´t Go (Kicks Like A Mule Mix)
10) Dance Conspiracy - Dub War (Chapter One)
11) Jonny L - The Ansaphone (MP3)

Wall to wall classics, anyone familiar with the era should know a good number of these tracks pretty intimately. It's almost impossible to buy decent (unmixed!) compilations these days - believe me, I've looked - so it was an essential purchase. It may be a little SL2 and The Prodigy heavy, but they were some of the biggest artists of the time so it's understandable. I've shared my two favourite tracks, the manic joyful exhuberance of Everybody in the Place - still one of the best tracks The Prodigy have ever made, I can't listen to it without putting my hands in the air - and the nightmareish throb of Jonny L's The Ansaphone with the disturbing, yet darkly humourous recorded message from his ex-girlfriend, timestretched and distorted. Cold maybe, but strangely brilliant.

Buy The First Chapters at Emusic or Amazon. Please note this isn't the same as The First Chapter released back in the day, I've still got a couple of these on cassette! The new release is a compilation of sorts of all the releases, covering the more rave-centric tracks. I may do a old school rave throwback special in a couple of days, this release has completely re-ignited my love for the music - I'm not sure how much of it is nostalgia, but I genuinely think it's fantastic dance music. Did this stuff escape the UK at all, does it have a following in the US for example?

I've also been listening to The Prodigy through the wonders of Simplify Media after a friend shared their first two albums (I literally haven't heard them for the best part of a decade). It's basically a way to share your music with others over the internet; choose which folders you want to share and invite your friends to listen in. After installing the client when they're online, you can stream what they've shared through Winamp or Itunes and vice versa - it even works through the iphone for those fortunate enough to have one (or alternatively, those insane enough to pay the current phone tariff!) It works perfectly and I've noticed no ill-effects on my PC. If anyone wants to add me, pop me an email and I'll send you my username.

TV on the Radio - Golden Age

2008-08-20T20:54:00.002+01:00

In advance of their forthcoming album Dear Science, (punctuation intentional), due 23rd September, TV on the Radio are streaming a new track, Golden Age, from the release on their website. Guess what? It's great!

TV on the Radio - Golden Age (Stream)

A slight deviation from their usual style, think Talking Heads with a serious early Prince slinky minimalist funk afflication. There's a touch of Bowie in the song too, with the song seemingly slipping into Heroes at one point. There's incredible urgency to the verses, constantly building and building and the release comes in the glorious, trumpet flecked chorus that lifts the weight right off the song. They make it sound all so easy, so effortless.

Capricorns - River, Bear Your Bones

2008-08-18T20:18:00.004+01:00

I listened the hell out of UK instrumental Sludge/Stoner heroes Capricorns last album Ruder Forms Survive; it was the kind of album that never left my car, was always the first pick on my MP3 player - I knew every riff, every timechange, every musical shift off by heart. It's quite comfortably one of my favourite albums of the last couple of years.

So, I couldn't be more excited when their latest opus, River, Bear Your Bones was released last month. The atmosphere is just as dark and overcast but seemingly forgoing the almost constant bludgeoning heaviness of Ruder Forms Survive for a slightly more varied musical vocabulary taking in math-rock and prog - songs shift around as fluidly as the river in the album title. That isn't to say it's not a heavy album, it just feels that the journey is sometimes longer before your body is assaulted with precision drilled riffs.

Their music is just as complex and intricate as similar bands like Isis, Baroness or Pelican, but with none of the pretense that can often creep in, as perfectly summed up by Rock Sound in their review:

There’s an appealing grittiness to Capricorns’ instrumental rumblings. Whereas contemporaries such as Pelican opt to look down on humanity from the heavens, Capricorns seem at home amid the urban sprawl, lurking in dimly lit bars and passed out in piss-soaked back alleys.

Drummer Nathan Perrier, is frequently superlative; loose and proggy when required but providing a consistent framework for the guitars to work around. At times he sounds like he's playing in his own free-jazz band, but it's kept in check by the tight, angular riffs from guitarists Nathan Bennett and Kevin Williams. Get this shit on Rock Band and watch people lose their minds trying to keep up!

Still pushing forward, Capricorns have produced the best metal album these ears have heard so far in 2008. If this is their swansong (as rumours have suggested it may be), I can think of no finer parting document - an album that you can almost guarantee you'll still be listening to years from now, it's avant-metal with all the brains but without losing any of it's balls.

Capricorns - Owing to the Fogs (MP3)

Buy River, Bear Your Bones from Emusic, Rise Above Records or Amazon

More info and tracks at Myspace

Shred Yr Face Tour 2008 - Los Campesinos!, No Age, Times New Viking

2008-08-17T23:11:00.001+01:00

In association with UK music website Drowned In Sound, the Shred Yr Face (annoying wannabe Sonic Youth spelling intentional) hits the UK this October featuring the spelling nightmare that are tweecore warriors Los Campesinos!, Sub-Pop's ambient-punk duo
No Age and the none more lo-fi Times New Viking. I won't be attending as unfortunately none of the shows are anywhere near me and I've already travelled enough of this godforsaken isle in 2008 watching bands in dark, smelly backrooms to last me a lifetime but this should be good for those who can make it:

October
14 Brighton Komedia (£12/14; 01273 647100; tickets; 14+)
15 Liverpool Carling Academy 2 (£10; 0151 707 3200; tickets; all ages)
16 Leeds Irish Centre (£10/12; 08700 600100; tickets)
17 Dublin Whelans (13 euros; tickets; 18+)
18 Glasgow School of Arts (£10/12; tickets)
20 London Electric Ballroom (£10; 020 7403 3331; ; tickets; 14+)
21 Bristol Fleece (£10; ; tickets; 18+)
22 Manchester Academy 3 (£10; ; tickets; 14+)

Tickets go on sale 18th August (tomorrow as I type!)

I've seen all three bands before and I'd say that Times New Viking are the best of the bunch. Their Rip It Off album is one of my favourites of this year; so much scuzz, rawness and fuzz in the lo-fi production but the songwriting is so strong and joyful that it bursts shining through. It took a while to sink in (and listening to individual MP3s doesn't really bring across their best) but when it clicked, oh man - brilliant stuff, like bursting through the clouds in a plane. Live, they lose the noisy production layer and leave just the amazing songs played LOUD. They have a new 10" EP, Stay Awake, due 21st October so should be some fresh material played out.

Times New Viking - (My Head)/RIP Allegory (MP3) (Buy Rip It Off from Emusic or Amazon)
Times New Viking - Call and Respond (MP3)(from the forthcoming Stay Awake EP on Matador Records : Preorder)

Call and Respond is brand new from the forthcoming EP (I haven't seen it on any other blogs actually), and follows on nicely from the last album - feedback, ragged guitar and hiss again do battle with the joyous female/male co-vocals.

As much as I like No Age on record, they've disappointed me on the two occasions I've seen them this year - there always seems to be something missing, some disconnect between them and us. I love the more ambient guitar-effect soundscapey stuff on their albums, which is put aside to a degree on stage in favour of the punkier material. Others have loved them in concert, but I'm still unconvinced.

No Age - Eraser (MP3) (Buy Nouns from Sub Pop or Amazon - my vinyl copy bought from the band at ATP came with free MP3 downloads of the album too)

Los Campesinos! are a funny one, still coming across as a band who've been given the keys to the sweetshop and can't quite believe their luck; at this year's ATP, lead-singer Gareth spent most of the midsong banter on the verge of tears as they were fulfilling their life long dream to play the festival (comparing it to Wembley Stadium or Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage). Sweet and loveable to a degree, and they certainly have an exuberant stage show, but with second album We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed due later this year (less than 12 months from the release of their debut) they may have to toughen up a bit before their live act becomes too twee. They are great when it all comes together, but the 2nd album could be a make or break for them as I can unfortunately see them losing their way - they still haven't written anything as good as their admittedly nigh-on perfect EP material either...

Los Campesinos! - How I Taught Myself to Scream (MP3)(Unreleased track courtesy of Pitchfork)
Los Campesinos! - Don't tell me how to do the Math(s) (MP3) (Buy Hold On Now Youngster from Amazon)

How I Taught Myself to Scream is not from the new album, instead an offcut from their debut. Noisier and more angular than usual, it's not quite up to tracks like Do the Math(s) but still a strong little tune for a throwaway. The new album may sound like this, it may not - my guess is as good as yours.

Mustard Pimp Remixes

2008-08-15T21:39:00.005+01:00

It's always a treat to sift through the tracks in your email inbox and come across something top-notch. Like seemingly the majority of the internet, I've been following the fidget-house scene for the last couple of months and Mustard Pimp have been good enough to send two new remixes of some recent anthems by Crookers and Bryan Cox:

Bryan Cox - Let's Go To Work (Mustard Pimp Remix) (MP3)
Crookers - Il Brutto (Mustard Pimp El Burrito Remix) (MP3)

The Bryan Cox remix is really where it's at, turning the original Miami Bass turned electro teardowns into fist pounding hatstand breakdown-fuelled arpeggiatation. When it drops, it just don't stop. The Crookers remix is nice too with it's almost cartoonish electronic bounce, although I prefer the Bloody Beetroots mix - still well worth your time.

More from Mustard Pimp, as ever, at Myspace.

Disco Beard - Beardiality EP

2008-08-15T20:24:00.001+01:00

Fresh from their Beardism collection a few months back, Disco Beard are back with more free re-edits to please, surprise and generally make you move.

A strong 4-track collection, the Beardiality EP near enough instrumentalises the modern classics Over & Over and House of Jealous Lovers whilst Divine's You Think You're A Man is extended beyond measure - the excellent intro beefed up and let run like some twisted fusion of Blue Monday and You Spin Me Round. None more camp.

Beardiality Tracklisting:
HOT CHIP - Over & Over (DanceEdit)
THE RAPTURE - House Of Jealous Lovers (DiscoStyle)
DAFT PUNK - Human After All (ShortEdit) (MP3)
DIVINE - You Think You're A Man (BigOneEdit)

I've upped an MP3 of the reworking of Human After All, one of the few edits I've heard that actually reduces the length of the original dramatically. It works though, leaving just the sleek essentials. Am I the only one who's liking Daft Punk's last album more and more now?

Hot Chip - Over & Over (DanceEdit)

Get the full EP for FREE from Disco Beard's Myspace. Be warned! It won't last forever so don't hang about.

Fujiya & Miyagi - Knickerbocker

2008-08-15T00:14:00.001+01:00

Fujiya and Miyagi - Knickerbocker

I caught up with Fujiya & Miyagi originally in June 2006 for their Transparent Things album and Knickerbocker is the first single from their new LP Lightbulbs, out September 16th in the US (September 1st in the UK I believe).

It sounds like one of Can or Neu!'s Krautrock epics condensed into a 3 minute pop song, always on the verge of taking off into the ether as rhythms interlock, synths bubble and the vocal mantra builds but reigned back at the last second. I'd maybe prefer if they stretched it out a tad longer, as the drummer is so damn tight and hypnotic, but I like this. A lot. The video isn't half bad either - there must be a technical term for when images correspond with the lyrics on videos? Whatever it is, they put a smile on my face.

You can pre-order a special Lightbulbs pack here, check the contents:

...you can pre-order a special Fujiya & Miyagi pack, where for £25 you will receive a copy of the Special Edition version of the album (in a book-style packaging), a limited edition album screen print (12" x 12") and a T-shirt which will all arrive with you the day of release (September 1st)

Edit: Further investigation on their Myspace indicates that they have one of those 43-minute long Nike/itunes workout tracks (as seen before from LCD Soundsystem, Aesop Rock, A-Trak etc) in the bag, so my hope for an extended F&M jam looks as though it'll be fulfilled.

volcano!

2008-08-13T21:53:00.002+01:00

I'd be surprised if you like the new single from Chicago's volcano! (the exclamation mark is very intentional) on first listen. There's just so much to process; do you focus on the lyrics (denouncing the misguided nature of some of the self-aggrandizing popstars involved in Live Aid and similar campaigns), the guitar melody that jumps jerkily around like it's got an itch it can't scratch or follow the drum and basslines that sound as if they're refugees from a free-jazz record but forced to do battle in the confines of a structured song? The human brain isn't designed to handle all this in one go.

BUT! there'll be that niggling feeling in the back of your head that this song really has something that you can't place your finger on, something you want to hear more of. You'll listen again, again and again, it will all make glorious sense and you'll realise that Africa Just Wants To Have Fun is one of the best songs from 2008.

At it's heart, it's really a pop song - just flattened, stretched, remorphed, scrambled and smashed into a form that makes complete sense to volcano! and will blow the mind of any innocent passerbys. This is a good thing.

Like the Dirty Projectors and Deerhoof's brand of angular avant-indie? Africa Just Wants To Have Fun couldn't be more up your street.

Download: volcano! - Africa Just Wants To Have Fun (MP3)

Any song that can invent the frankly brilliant word "Philantharopicacool" gets the thumbs up from me.

You can buy the single direct from Leaf here and their second album, Paperwork is due on the 1st September in the UK (16th for those on the other side of the Atlantic).
If the opening single Africa... is anything to go by, it'll be more "accessible" but just as forward looking and unique as their highly-rated debut Beautiful Seizure.

New Marnie Stern!

2008-08-12T20:30:00.000+01:00

Ooh, this was a nice suprise for a wet Tuesday evening - some brand spanking new finger-tapping from Marnie Stern (who I waxed lyrical about last year), courtesy of Pitchfork.

Her new album, titled This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (yes, really), is due on the 7th October and Transformer is the first taste. I can't get over how good the song is actually; slightly more approachable than much of her debut, but still with the phenomenal guitar shredding and relentless drumming (from Hella's percussion god Zach Hill). One of the things I love about Marnie's style is that it's so virtuostic without ever sounding wanky - It feels like an unstoppable force of nature.

Marnie Stern - Transformer (MP3)

It's truuuuuuueeeeeee! I love it so much already, the wait for the album will be interminable.

Check out more Marnie at Myspace.

Field Day 2008 - A Review

2008-08-12T12:01:00.000+01:00

The rain. My god the rain. It fell, fell, stopped for a while, then fell some more. Blessed with the best of the English summer, Saturday's Field Day at London's Victoria Park was always going to have a job truly lifting spirits but despite the weather's best attempts I actually had a pretty good time.

As mentioned in my previous post on the event, last year's had a reputation for bad organisation, big bar queues and poor sound. This time around the beverage situation was fine, never having to wait longer than about 5 minutes for a drink isn't bad at all for a festival. Toilets were a different story due to complete confusion - many men seemed to be oblivious (unless they all needed a number 2?) that there were banks of urinals nearby due to the lack of information posted so queues snaked around. Some kind of makeshift sign just pointing this out would have worked fine and sorted the issue out.

Soundwise it was a mixed bag. The Bugged Out dance tent suffered the worst with Modeselektor apparently ending their set early out of frustration (I left after about 15 minutes when I could barely make out the music over the talking of the crowd) but didn't notice any real problems on the other stages, although I tended to be pretty close to the speakers. One of my pet peeves is people at gigs/festivals who have no interest in watching the bands and the day suffered because of this. Due to the rain, countless attendees stayed in the music tents rather than relaxing outside - this meant a constant level of talking (which was especially bad in the larger dance tent, as mentioned above) and a general lack of atmosphere with few people dancing and lots of standing around talking/taking photos of self. I've been spoilt by the dance festival perfection of Sonar I guess but this was one of the biggest disappointments. People who don't have the courtesy to at least face the stage whilst a band is on reserve a special kind of hatred too, why do you even bother attending?

Back to the bands. I saw a couple who were reasonably good but left no real lasting impression, washing over me in the usual festival fashion (Wild Beasts, Howling Bells, Magistrates) and one who were probably the worst band I've seen this year (Filthy Dukes - terrible LCD Soundsystem copyists). As Modeselektor were a washout, I wandered off to see the previously unknown to me The Emperor Machine who were pretty darn great. Chunky psychedelic basslines, general analogue synth goodness and a real sense of the funk won me over - will be keeping tabs on them from now on for sure.

Deciding to give the much anticipated Crookers a miss due to the conditions in the dance tent, I wandered over to the main stage to see Of Montreal whose show at this May's ATP Festival was magical. They didn't reach quite the same heights this time around - partly due to the weather, partly due to the number of umbrellas obscuring views (wear a raincoat guys!) - but still clearly amongst the best live bands around. They just make the effort to put on a performance (in every sense of the word) with mimes, dances, wrestling and glitter balloons all happening whilst they belt out the tracks. I'm no great fan of their music on record, but it all comes together perfectly live - the 12 minute closing of The Past is a Grotesque Animal is still psych-krauttastic, shivers were felt (and it wasn't just from the driving rain).

Technical difficulties meant that I caught the entirity of The Mae Shi's spazz-pop-punk set and...they were a bit of a letdown. Barnstorming when I saw them in Leeds earlier in the year, they appeared strangely out of sorts and their best song, Run to your Grave seemed to be tossed away rather than transformed into the huge life-affirming anthem it was back in May.

Les Savy Fav by contrast were absolutelyfuckingamazing, one of the shows of the year. Frontman extraordinaire Tim Harrington was on fine fine form with the usual madcap stage antics, trips into the crowd and costume changes. His Singin' In The Rain dance routine and modified underpants will live long in the memory. Completely worth the attendance fee on their own.

Les Savy Fav - The Equestrian (MP3) (Buy Let's Stay Friends from Amazon)

For a couple of seconds I was tempted to head off after LSV until I remembered that bonafide Techno legend Richie Hawtin was DJing in the Dance Tent. The sound had much improved by this point, and despite a general lack of decent space, he was superb. The visuals were slightly disappointing at first but picked up about an hour through, when they became more closely in tune with the layered and pounding music - a general masterclass of mixing and track selection. If anyone finds a bootleg copy let me know!

So, for me the good outweighed the bad and I'll more than likely be back next year if there's a decent lineup and a tad more common sense with the organisation. Many negative factors (the weather, the band dropouts - including Dan Deacon who I couldn't wait to see, due to a stolen passport) were totally out of the festival's control and if it's a sunny day, should be an excellent day out. For now, a solid 6.5/10.

I can take no credit for all these fantastic photos, all are from jennaphoenix's flickr. Thanks!

Youtube Video of the Year

2008-08-11T20:20:00.004+01:00

This video is probably old news now but it still has me in fits of laughter everytime I watch. I can't envision a time where 1.10 onwards will ever stop being funny.

Head across to Youtube for the annotated version. BIG UP!

Boredoms - 77 Boadrum Documentary

2008-08-07T21:57:00.004+01:00

OK, I got bored with Ebay so I started watching this Vice Boredoms documentary that just popped in my inbox instead. Covering last year's 77 Boadrum event held in NYC, it's fascinating stuff. The first 4 (out of 10) segments have been uploaded with additional sections to be added each day, the best is yet to come I'm sure (the whole thing kicks off into a huge groove later on).

Part 4 below covers the beginning of the event, with the drummers starting off slowly but surely:

Click here for the rest of the documentary, keep checking back for the complete broadcast.

Tomorrow, being 08/08/08, marks the return of the unified drumming workshop with the Nike-sponsored 88 Boadrum kicking off in both NYC (led by Gang Gang Dance) and LA (The Boredoms once again). I'm stupidly jealous of anyone able to go to either, all for free too!

Fingers crossed for a 09/09/09 event in the UK next year. 99 Drummers maybe?

LL Cool J - Marley Marl Freestyle

2008-08-07T20:32:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post as I need to get back onto ebay for their half price listings, but this track caught my attention:- LL Cool J freestyling over a string-heavy Marley Marl beat, a lesson in flow and rapping technique. I haven't really followed Cool James since the Canibus beef, but this certainly shows how the young 'uns how to do it. It's not mindblowing, but it slips down smoothly for sure.

LL Cool J - Marley Marl Freestyle (MP3)

It's supposedly from a mixtape called Golden Era Lost Tapes but further info on this sketchy at best, so your guess is as good as mine.

Thanks to Spinemagazine for the MP3.

Burial revealed

2008-08-05T20:57:00.003+01:00

No doubt appalled by the idiots at the Sun trying to out him as Norman Cook, dubstep genius and current Mercury Music Prize favourite Burial has emerged from his self-imposed shroud of anonymity and in a Myspace blog update today revealed himself as.....Will Bevan (pictured above):

tunes

hi

for a while theres been some talk about who i am , but its not a big deal
i wanted to be unknown because i just want it to be all about the tunes.
over the last year the unknown thing become an issue so im not into it any more.
im a lowkey person and i just want to make some tunes, nothing else. my names will bevan, im from south london, im keeping my head down and just going to finish my next album, theres going to be a 12" maybe in the next few weeks too with 4 tunes. hope u like it, i'll try put a tune up later

sorry for any rubbish tunes i made in the past, ill make up for it

a big big thank you to anyone who ever supported me, liked my tunes or sent me messages, it means the world to me

big up everyone, take care, will ( burial )

Although it's disappointing that he felt compelled to have to reveal his identity rather than stay in the shadows as he wanted to (I'm all for mystery in music), this is a deft way to do it - "No big deal, means more to you than me, I'm all about the tunes etc". It seems slightly sad that anyone not actively seeking fame and making music purely for it's own sake is viewed with suspicion. As he mentions in his post, new Burial material soon (even maybe today on Myspace) so keep your ears pricked.

The below track is from the superlative Untrue, you all have it already don't you? If not, why the hell not?

Burial
"Ghost Hardware" (mp3)
from "Untrue"
(Hyperdub)

Buy at eMusic/Boomkat

Vessels - White Fields and Open Devices

2008-08-05T00:38:00.001+01:00

I wrote about Leeds' finest Vessels back last March and now after some heavy touring over the past year honing their songs and a couple of weeks in Minnesota's Pachyderm Studio (birthplace of Nirvana's In Utero and PJ Harvey's Rid Of Me), they're just about to ready to drop their debut album, White Fields and Open Devices (released August 18th on Cuckundoo Records).

Produced by John Congleton (knob-twiddler for Explosions in the Sky, Micah P. Hinson and Black Mountain, as well as frontman of The Paper Chase), the band have all the finest elements of post-rock with their powerful, sweeping arrangements and taut explosiveness but there's none of the by-numbers approach that can often creep in to the genre - there's so many ideas bubbling away, so many different influences - that they have produced a sound that they can almost call their own.

Lead single from the album, A Hundred Times In Every Direction, is a twin-drum-kit epic that shifts from gentle, Do Make Say Think-esque pitter-patter to immense sheets of pummelling guitar-noise before building and building for the monumental finish. According to last.fm, I've just listened to it 10 times in a row and it's still leaving me floored.

Vessels - A Hundred Times In Every Direction (MP3)

You can pre-order the CD from Myspace or their website.

Catch them on tour in the UK this autumn in support of the release:

Wed 3 September - Buffalo Bar, LONDON (with Eat Lights: Become Lights, Semaphore, Island Line)
Sat 6 September - Bestival, ISLE OF WIGHT
Sat 13 September - Brudenell Social Club, LEEDS (album launch)
Fri 10 October - The Portland Arms, CAMBRIDGE (with The Last Dinosaur and Victoria & Jacob)
Sat 11 October - The Chichester Inn, CHICHESTER
Sun 12 October - Oakford Social Club, READING
Wed 15 October - The End, NEWCASTLE (with British Expeditionary Force)
Thu 16 October - The Captain's Rest, GLASGOW
Sun 19 October - Brainwash Festival, Brudenell Social Club, LEEDS
Thu 23 October - The Freebutt, BRIGHTON
Sat 25 October - Brixton Windmill, LONDON (with Cats and Cats and Cats, Luke Leighfield, A Genuine Freakshow)
Sun 26 October - The Croft, BRISTOL

Below are some live videos featuring some more tracks from the upcoming album:

Vessels - An Idle Brain and the Devil's Workshop (live)

Vessels - Altered Beast (live)

Vessels - Look At That Cloud! (live)