de-minimis

14 June 2011

esmerine

The name isn't nearly offbeat enough for my liking but the music is divine. Bruce Cawdron of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Beckie Foon from Thee Silver Mt Zion have released their first album for six years as a free stream on Soundcloud.

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this Montreal music collective before but in case you haven't heard of them they are a loose co-operative (or should that be co-operatives) of like-minded musicians who make the most wonderful experimental and post-rock music. I can't just leave it there with that description though as it seriously undersells them. They also play what could loosely be described as modern classical pieces too. They play under a handful of band names and membership is often very fluid. What never wavers though is the quality of their output and this album, 'La Lechuza' is up there with their best in my humble opinion.

All the songs are shorter than usual with the longest coming in at under 7 minutes, making it also one of their more accessible albums too. The first 4 tracks have an oriental feel to them but I'm woefully ignorant of the instruments used (apologies for this) and so could have got it completely wrong. The bridge within this album is 'Trampoline'. A song that starts with a similar feel to the first three but ends with a more western violin and percussion arrangement. The track that stands out for me is 'Snow Day for Lhasa' dedicated to a musician friend of theirs who died of cancer on New Year's Day 2010. They venture into relatively uncharted territories with a singing accompaniment to a traditional orchestral ensemble. It's as delicate as it is rare but never once does it feel twee. The rest of the album has more of a familiar feel to it with instrumental pieces veering between a rainstorm of sound to the gentlest pitter-patter of the lightest shower. The last track also features singing, presumably Beckie Foon and her voice has a compelling quality to it. They may do this for the love of it but they are very very good at what they do and definitely one of my favourite albums of the year so far.

p.s. I've just been listening to 'Snow Day for Lhasa' again and I'm blown away how wonderful this song is.

legends of hip-hop

There's an exhibition in Paris from 17th June showcasing the work of photographer Sophie Bramly during 1981 when she was fortunate enough (or was it prescience?) to capture the exact point in time that hip-hop exploded onto the streets of New York. Anyone who has any interest in dance music will love these photos. The show is at 12MAIL Gallery in Paris but those of us who are unable to get over to see it can see some of the photos online here:

http://www.nowness.com/day/2011/6/4/1477/legends-of-hip-hop

We need some appropriate music. Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazzy Five - 'Jazzy Sensation' released on Tommy Boy Records (now that takes me back!)

13 June 2011

i want to go where the weather suits my clothes

I love that line. It's from Nilsson's 'Everybody's Talking At Me' and it's been very apt today. I woke up feeling hungover and groggy and it wasn't self-induced. I guess I should drink more water before I go to bed. I've also got a bit of a hacking cough and a cold that won't budge and I awoke to a November rainstorm - in June. I really struggle to get up at 6 am in these conditions. Where's my frigging medal?

Luckily retail therapy tends to cheer me up and I had good reason to shop. I'd recently purchased some CD racks to house the overflowing collection that had built up around my living room. Foolishly, I thought space for an extra 800 CDs would have been ample room and then some. Yesterday I sorted out all the ones I didn't previously have room for and have filled both racks - completely filled both racks! Have a look, I think we're going to need a bigger boat.

Ah well, at least I could break my self-imposed ban on buying new music (a ban I have repeatedly flouted, I'm ashamed to say). My first trip for what seems like ages to Rough Trade was good fun and I picked up the following new titles:

Sophie Barker - Seagull [She's a collaborator with Zero 7]

Secret Cities - Strange Hearts

Jim White - Sounds of the American

Dengue Fever - Cannibal Courtship

Trentemoller - Late Night Tales

Lee Scratch Perry - Rise Again

and the following albums that I should have bought ages ago:

Elliott Smith - New Moon

Unklesounds - Edit Music For a Film

I was reading the sleeve-notes to the Elliott Smith album, it's a 2 CD retrospective lovingly compiled by friends who really knew him, and I did well up a bit. It's a very honest account of the man and his music. It does seem odd that I miss him so much when I never ever met him, I only saw him in concert a few times and he's been a long time dead but his music got me through some tough times.

All in all, it's a pretty mixed bag music-wise and I hope to review most of these soon. Let's leave tonight on a happy note. Can it get any better than a 1981 video of Debbie Harry performing 'Call Me' on the Muppet Show? I don't think so.

laura hocking and the long goodbye

Ms Hocking is one of my favourite folk singers around at the moment. She released an EP a few months back that was the culmination of 4 years work during which quite a few life-changing events occurred although the whimsical nature of the songs don't really reflect this. She has a real talent for songwriting and a great ear for a tune. These are toe-tappingly catchy and her voice has a crystal-clear quality which all adds up to making this a very good EP. At least an 8 out of 10 from me.

12 June 2011

sunday sessions

Anyone up for some Sunday evening-type tunes? I've gone for a mix of 'recently' old tunes and some brand new releases. I hope there's something here you like.

DJ Unkle - Final Home (Piano Mix)

Bop - Rovor

Secret Cities - Love Crime [This is from their new album. If you like the Beach Boys - and who doesn't? - then you'll probably like this album too]

Dimbleby and Capper - Beautiful But Boring

Emmy the Great - Iris [This is new out too]

and lastly, Herman Dune - Tell Me Something I Don't Know. [This is the first track on his album released this week.]

cults - abducted

This is rather good from the Cults. It's called 'Abducted'.

I love the arguments that rage on the Youtube comments pages. This one has some great online tiffs going on.

hadestown

Quite by accident I stumbled across this delightful folk-opera by Anais Mitchell with the lovely rumbling Greg Brown playing the role of Hades. I don't know an awful lot more than what the blurb tells us on the video so (and I'm hoping no-one takes offence at this) I'm just going to cut and paste it here:

Hadestown: A folk opera retelling of the story of Orpheous journey to the underworld to save his wife Eurydice, in the setting of a post-apocalyptic depression era America. Rich with archetypal images and elements, and in the context of the current global economic problems (even though it was written years before the Sept 08 banking crisis), it is more Americana than Greek tragedy, although it closely follows this Orpheous story version. The arrangements, the lyrical story creation, and the players, including Greg Brown as Hades in "Why We Build..." and Ani DiFranco as Persephone in Our Lady of the..." are robust, masterful and immaculate. This recording is destined to be considered a Masterpiece amongst musicians and listeners alike.

Who said folk music doesn't have balls?

11 June 2011

letter from america

Hafdis Huld (sigh - I adore her) recently video-blogged about her US tour. You can watch it here.

protest to m1 (pacheko remix)

When the video is as good as the tune you've just got to share it, haven't you?

10 June 2011

the subs are warming up

I hadn't appreciated up til now but Argentina has quite a thriving rock scene. One of the best bands around are Sub who released their lastest album, 'No Desaparecer' earlier this year. They have a classic college rock feel to them, like early REM or American Music Club or even the Gun Club but definitely have their own sound and the fact that they sing in Spanish too helps keep that identity.

SUB - NO DESAPARECER by musicadesub

You can download the whole album together with some of their earlier stuff from here.

bon iver

Just a quickie. Bon Iver's got a new album out and you can listen to it in it's entirety here: http://cdn.topspin.net/api/v2/widget/78889

09 June 2011

angerbird

I told you bandcamp was good, didn't I? Well, if you're still in doubt let me prove it to you. There's a new album out today from a band I'd never heard of before. They're from Canada, they're called Angerbird and the title is rather lovely - 'Vespa in the Sun'.

It reminds me in part of the Primitives at their most reflective or the Cocteau Twins in their poppier days - or dare I say it, the kind of pop that Paisley and Charlie are doing right now. Does this mean we are going to see a return to the kind of clever, whimsical pop in the charts? Fingers crossed.

Amazingly, the whole album is free too for download so there's no excuse for not giving it a try.

when saints go machine

The Danish 4 piece are conquering the world with their brand of electro-pop and release their new album Konkylie this month. I've only heard this track 'Church and Law' from it so far but keep an eye out for a full review right here.

another lunchtime...another couple of tunes

Strange boys - Be Brave

Stornoway - We are the Battery Human

Claude Von Stroke - Greasy Beat (feat Bootsy Collins)

Black Grass - Nice Up

peaking lights

If I take one album on holiday with me this year then it's this one. There's something really chilled about this album that just cries out for sitting on a sun lounger, headphones on and drink in hand - I'm thinking Pastis - it's cool, it's an acquired taste and is best enjoyed slowly, just like this album.

The husband and wife duo of Aaron Coynes and Indra Dunis have returned with a new album, 963 and it's a real corker. It's very dub-laden and bass guitar driven throughout and a droney psychedelic feel that sounds like the Doors at their stoned best. They sound like they've thrown everything into this album with hiss and reverb popping up throughout. It's as if they've had spiritual production from Augustus Pablo, the speed at which this is pitched at but for all the weight of the tunes it still retains an ethereal quality. There's a really catchy tune bubbling under on 'All the Sun That Shines' but it's difficult not to be taken aback at the sheer heaviness of it all. 'Bird of Paradise Dub Version' is just beautiful with an ominous bass line that takes all in its path.

It's not all overdub. 'Key Sparrow' has an other-worldliness to it and some exquisite organ and guitar work to boot. There is one track that is a work in progress for me - 'Summertime' is a difficult tune to get your head round at the beginning but the yawning, druggy guitar sound that kicks in makes this one of the most interesting tracks on the album. You can listen to the album in its entirety on Soundcloud but I'd recommend you get it onto your iPod ready for the holidays.

08 June 2011

as camp as you like

bandcamp.com is a website specifically for musicians to sell directly to their listening public. It's invaluable for artists and bands that don't have recording contracts as it gives them a worldwide marketplace in a user-friendly way that MySpace just can't match. I like the fact that, unlike MySpace, it is just music and is very easy to negotiate and read (is it just me who finds MySpace just unmanageable at times?) and as an avid music listener it means I can explore new bands in so many different ways.

I've been browsing it tonight and here are just a few of the tunes that I've discovered from it.

I haven't even scratched the surface with this website yet and found loads of great stuff. I could be here all night posting music that I like. Get involved and support your not so local bands!

lunchtime listening

Horace Andy - Pure Rankin

Sugarcubes - Mama

XTC - Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me)

Lazy Mouth - I Like You

robag wruhme - thora vukk

Robag Wruhme aka Gabor Schablizki has mellowed since his days as one half of the Wighnomy Brothers. He's been busy working on a mix for fellow travellers, Kompakt Records but this month also sees the release on DJ Koze's label, Pampa Records of his new album, Thora Vukk.

Wruhme's music has always had a subtlety especially in the drum patterns and there is a warmth to the sound that he's brought with him from his previous partnership. The album works on several levels and is deceptively clever. As background chill-out music it's just perfect and really is a cut above the usual chill-out Cafe Del Mar output. It's vary catchy too with some real tunes in there to tap your feet to but if you really want to appreciate his art then invest in some quality headphones so that you can best hear all the layers that have been piled onto this paradoxically minimalist album.

There are no weak tracks on here although some of the pieces are only a minute or so long but these act as a sort of crossroad to the next track and compliment the bigger compositions perfectly. The album crackles, fizzles, snaps and pops in a beautiful way. It's definitely been a good month for new music. You can hear the entire album on soundcloud here.

poor little rich girl

Poor Little Rich Girl by Paisley and Charlie (see also previous blog entries) is precisely the kind of song that no-one seems to make anymore. It's infectious, it's got great lyrics, is unashamedly radio-friendly and hasn't even a hint of auto-tune.

It's not exactly new, having been previously released last year as 'Julia Misbehaves' but has only just been made available as a download with this new moniker. It has a warm and familiar feel to it for me, having my formative years in the 80s and early 90s when the indie charts seemed chocka full of this kind of ethereal pop. With a very English flavour - it's the type of music that really has to be English both in subject matter and in the delivery - fans of the likes of Dubstar or Kirsty MacColl will doubtless enjoy this musical trip down memory lane.

It's available to download for just 69p from Amazon right here.

07 June 2011

northern (soul) monkeys

I've been beavering away at work all morning whilst catching up with some Northern Soul compilations. I've made it my life's mission to really get to grips with northern soul/ rare groove but enough chat, more music:

Bob Seger - Heavy Music