Archive for 2009

Initially released on triple 10″ vinyl as part of the financially crippling 20th anniversary box set from earlier this year, Warp have seen fit to unleash the more accessible CD format for both casual listeners and less well-off fans. Fans that perhaps blew their budget on a Beatles box set…

So, yes, a great year for Warp: the label that continues to spirit away from the indie competition. Their consistent ability to sign great talent and develop artists has produced some of the finest (though heinously named) intelligent dance music (IDM) on the planet. OK, not just dance music: Maximo Park and Grizzly Bear are two of their breakthrough guitar acts, and let’s not forget those barking Brummies, Broadcast.

Unheard, though, features only one song (and it’s Broadcast’s) where strings – tethered to bridges, straddling nuts glued to wood surfaces – vibrate with any resonant depth. Laden with woolly IDM programmed by only a handful of artists from an extensive roster, it’s downbeat Scot duo Boards Of Canada (BOC) who get proceedings underway. With their typical trip-hop drum patterns awash with synth noise, ‘Seven Forty Seven’ sounds less like a commercial airliner and more like standing on cliff inhaling deep gusts of ocean air before absolutely nothing sinister happens whatsoever. It’s stirring stuff from the BOC vault: a potential indicator of Unheard’s manifesto.

But with a wide and varied roster, the choice of nine artists to deliver the eleven songs on offer here is puzzling. Both Plaid and Nightmares on Wax double up on their contributions with neither really delivering anything that could be deemed remarkable. The only thing worth remarking on Nightmare on Wax’s ‘Biofeedback Dub’ and ‘Mega Donutz Dub’ is how unremarkable and aged they sound. It’s as though Steve Beckett called George Evelyn for some ‘exclusives’ and George lent back in his armchair, fingered some dusty DATs and said “Yeah, Steve. I got some hot shit for ya.”

Plaid snake through the quality gap with expected looping analogue pops; Broadcast’s controlled cacophony ‘Sixty Forty’ most likely benefits from being played on vinyl and FlyLo’s ambient sideshow, ‘Tronix’, is perfectly missable. The real stunners come from Autechre’s ravey ‘Oval Moon’ (IBC Mix), Seefeel’s histrionic ‘As Link’ and Clark’s short-lived, lethal, ‘Rattlesnake’.

An album for completests (who probably already own the box set) – Warp, really shouldn’t try to spoil us.

EDIT – Dec 30th.

I realise I compiled this list too early.

10. Kill It Kid – Kill It Kid

With an average age of just 21, these youngsters from Bath have dipped into and dusted off classic American rock, blues and country to come up with one of the most enjoyable guitar-based albums of the year. If this is the sound of their debut, expect much more from them in the years to come.

9. Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age


A psychotic collaboration between Ghost Box’s Hauntologist supremo, Julian House, and Brummie psych duo, Broadcast, results in a series of 23 clipped pieces; this is an album to be listened to as one giant, mysterious piece. If John Lennon was still alive, I like to think he’d have made a record like this.

8. Hudson Mohawke – Butter

The second entry for Warp Records comes from Scotland’s former DMC champ. Butter is, as the cover suggests, a lush and lurid experience fully composed on FruityLoops! With banging beats and Rn’B stylings from the late ’70s and early ’80s, Butter is stylistic, frequently stupid, occasionally bewildering and a complete hoot of an album.

7. Belbury Poly – From An Ancient Star

From the Ghost Box stable comes Jim Jupp’s latest excursion as Belbury Poly. Having been accidentally sent his previous (and brilliant) album, The Owl’s Map, I was eager to hear this. Moving backwards from what sounded like the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Jupp’s mixolydian muggy moogs tackle Neo-Druidism with typically affected aplomb. Conjuring up images of Oliver Postgate’s  TV characters appearing in episodes of Tomorrow’s World, Jupp has carved out a gorgeous ’70s niche of his own.

6. P.O.S. – Never Better

Minneapolis uber-rap label Rhymesayers unleashed a handful of great albums this year, but P.O.S.’ is the one that excelled. Featuring future classic, ‘Purexed’, Pissed Off Steph had the full package this year – right down to the stupendous CD artwork. With deep, conscious content, raps hotter than the sun, and beats to match – the anticipation of P.O.S.’ next record alone could be enough to see him stumbling into the overground. Brace yourselves.

5. Russian Circles – Geneva

Chicago’s three-piece rock outfit, Russian Circles, crafted the most melodically and dynamically interesting instrumental records of 2009. Call it post-rock, call it metal, call it what you want. The fundamental success of Geneva is down to the fact that it just rocks harder than any other distorted record I’ve heard in 2009. Packed with dynamic interplay between the three musicians, it’s intelligent, muscular music.

4. Blakroc – Blakroc

Sharing their name with Vernon Reid’s BlackRock coalition, this collaboration between The Black Keys and various rap artists that includes (amongst many others) NOE, Rza, Ludacris, ODB, Q-Tip and Mos Def makes for one of the best hip-rock albums…ever. Thanks to The Black Keys’ stirring instrumental work, Blakroc 2 can’t be far away.

3. Madness – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate

Yes, it’s Madness. Specifically, its the sound of Madness writing and releasing their best album to date. Filled with pop melodies and deep roots reggae, this is my feelgood record of the year. If you’re sick of all the tiresome London-bashing, stick this on and expect to be carried away on a nutty carpet-ride over the Thames. Wondrous.

2. Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue

The third album to chart from Warp comes from Stephen Wilkinson (Bibio). Packed with a dedication to vintage tones and love of all things electronic, Ambivalence Avenue is a simple album filled with complex production. Though rubbished on some messageboards that compared this to earlier work, this will stand as the defining work of the young producer.

1. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Surprised? I was. After listening to Yellow House, I initially found Veckatimest (the fourth Warp album here!) to be much safer than Grizzly Bear’s previous. However, on further listening, it’s easy to see why this ridiculously named album will feature on lists this year. Not only do the tight vocal harmonies and deft musical melodies carry emotional gravitas, the record’s production standards are heavily progressive. Yes, though it’s filled with reverb, and regurgitates the spirit of the sixties, it simultaneously captures hip-hop grooves and challenges every alternative band on the planet to achieve this level of comprehensive ability.

Veckatimest unequivocally distils the essence of what this generation is attempting to do: use modern production styles to reinvigorate an era when music was at its most revolutionary. Broadcast, Bibio, Kill It Kid, Belbury Poly, BlakRoc are all at it, and, when the results sounds this good, who cares how derivative it is? Not I. No, sir.

Don’t forget to download my mixtape of the best of 2009!

It’s almost Christmas. Sleigh bells aside, it’s  horns, glockenspiels and timpani drums that easily define the sound of Christmas – all capable of casting the listener into warm rooms lit by open fires where wet socks and boots sit adjacent to a heavy, old wooden door. Almost.

There are seasonal feelings scattered throughout Efterklang’s Performing Parades: a live CD and DVD package that finds the Danish outfit playing their 2007 album Parade in its entirety. Collaborating with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra, the earthen scratches of violins are juxtaposed with airy vocals giving Performing Parades a dramatic, cinematic quality that, whilst being imaginative for a ‘rock band’, remains conclusively thematic throughout.

‘Polygene’ opens with its warm fifth harmonies and tentative clicks, beeps and squeaks, and it’s not long before the group begin to build with uniquely triumphant plodding that escalates to crescendo. Unusually, for a genre so bombastic, Efterklang sidestep unnecessary pomp, and the simple violin melody on ‘Him Poe Poe’ can attest to that. Delicately rising through the thick wall of acoustic instruments, and well complemented by a simple arrangement, it is Efterklang’s vision, not ambition, which kills off gratuitous grandiosity.

Mads Brauer is responsible for injecting proceedings with healthy doses of electronica and the most successful track to host his contributions is the morose, minor key ‘Blowing Lungs Like Bubble’. Somewhat incomprehensibly adored by the indie glitterati, it’s songs like ‘Caravan’ and album closer ‘Cutting Ice To Snow’ that offer up the most poptastic moments. Hell, the latter even includes sleigh bells…

With a bulk of the DVD reserved for the live performance, it’s unusual that it’s the live recording that makes for mediocre viewing. With average rendering, both the audio and visuals suffer – making the whole staid performance appear rather ‘budget’. With the CD boasting such a glittering recording, it’s a disappointment. Also included on the DVD are seven music videos from Parades along with a 35-minute behind the scenes documentary.

Regardless, it’s about the music, and Karsten Fungal’s orchestral arrangements are so beautifully entwined with Efterklang’s mysterious sounds that the group may have created, not just a record with the potential to be classic, but a sparkling musical meme.

Hype is rarely justified; and the hype surrounding vanity project, Them Crooked Vultures (TCV), was unlikely to ever be a convincing corroboration.  Nevertheless the judicious trio of Josh Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl carry with them a combined calibre that is, without doubt, likely to remain unmatched for what remains of this decade. If Grohl’s appearance on Queens Of The Stone Age’s Songs For The Deaf (2002) set pulses racing, then TCV should send the blood gushing from the heart out of all available orifices. TCV tend to deal in the instinctual – the animal.

The jaunty ‘New Fang’ as driven by Grohl’s varying drum patterns and Homme’s continued sliding dedication to ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons is  gleefully underpinned by Jones’ bold bass, and though it seems a simple enough song – one that could appear on QOTSA’s Era Vulgaris – it’s the bewildering changes in pace that demonstrate the group are not merely functioning as individuals obsessed with their own parts: TCV is a fair representation of equally matched musicians. Of course, Homme, as frontman naturally takes the lead, but even the most cursory of listens reveals each member throwing their guts at each song.

Mercifully moving on from the 1967 garage-rock production style that Homme has dwelled on for far too long, TCV is a natural sounding rock record containing more than a few occasional surprises. The horn arrangement at the end of ‘Mind Eraser, No Chaser’ (reminiscent of second QOTSA album, Rated R) adds a certain pomp to proceedings, whilst the intermittent clavinet panned to the left of ‘Scumbag Blues’ adds a quirky funk to an otherwise unchained, rifftastic behemoth. But, again, TCV attempt to avoid the predictable and ‘Bandoliers’ is struck with galloping two-part guitar harmonies and strings that echo Babe Ruth’s 1972 record, ‘The Mexican’.

Some tracks, however,  merely serve as ammunition for dense, dull, prog-rock warfare. ‘Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up’ wanders off into Hendrix-styled ‘Third Stone From The Sun’ territory complete with hypnotic bass riff, heavily echoed vocals and tapped triplets on Grohl’s ride cymbal. Though probably great fun to play – it makes for an incredibly leaden listen. Similarly, ‘Gunman’ sounds about as dangerous as Franz Ferdinand playing at a Thursday night disco in Woking.

Unfortunately, aside from ‘Caligulove’ these closing tracks represent the worst of TCV: self-indulgent, meandering, uninspiring and completely bereft of hooks. Considering the album starts so strongly, TCV could have delivered a classic, finely toned EP; but, as it is, it’s a little flabby with room for improvement. Considering the makeup of the band – that’s really saying something.

That said, it’s important to maintain perspective. After all, this is Josh Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl all in the same band. It’s not going to be complete tosh, is it?

How I wish The Killers lived at Albert Hall, because then it’d be a great deal easier to find and kill them. Seriously. The Killers are the most inappropriately named band in the living, breathing pantheon of turgid pop / rock history since ’60s combo Philip and Evereth’s Dulcimer Orchestra released the album ‘Phile’. Nevertheless, so many Mormon-loving admirers have flocked to bask in the band’s euphonic guitar maladies that the quartet has gone super-global. So revered are they, that there is now a graffiti image of the band within the esteemed corridors of the Albert Hall alongside other artists that played there: artists that include The Who, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.

I personally pity Killers fans, but they can now at least stay out of my way with their very own live DVD to keep them glued to their screens, and there’s even a copy of the band’s very first live CD of the same show all bound together in one bondage-inducing digipack. That should keep them bopping piously around their marble-flecked patios! Oops, sorry. Sorry that you are fans of The ‘Killers’, for they are a band that sound more like pillows – pillows with strings. The Pillows. That’s a more appropriate moniker. Brandon?

But now, here we are – ready for a show lasting just under two hours packed with some 24 tracks. As if that wasn’t torturously fulfilling enough for the most ardent Killette, there are even BONUS festival performances from Oxegen, Hyde Park and the V Festival. Yes, iconic ‘aint they? Spanning their young five years in the spotlight, the DVD is beautifully captured by director Dick Carruthers and producer Jim Parsons with stunning colour rendering that also flicks ‘artfully’ into black and white. Wonderfully complemented with the inclusion of both Dolby 2.0 and 5.1 surround soundtracks it’s perhaps the inclusion of this technology that marks the DVD in superiority to the CD, which generally suffers from unsatisfactory audio in comparison. For example, the distorted guitars of anthem ‘Somebody Told Me’ packs punch on the DVD, but is nothing but a tired drone on CD.

Nevertheless, The Killers’ ridiculously catchy melodies are driven by a determined performance by the band, particularly frontman Brandon Flowers who, quite naturally, plays excessively to the audience to make for good representation on camera. Material from 2007 compilation, Sawdust, comes in the form of ‘fan favourite’ ‘Sweet Talk’ along with their cover of Joy Division’s ‘Shadowplay’ (from the 1979 ‘Unknown Pleasures’ album – a title I could relate to whilst watching this performance).

Taking their cue from classic British synth-pop, this atrocious American band sap the grit and soul from influences, replacing it with tawdry Las Vegas fakery. Even the set is a neon set of tat: all plastic palm trees, digital skies and glowing chaos.

Still, we must respect the public demand, and the public wants what the public gets – but I don’t get what this society wants. Therein, lies a very real and tragic reality.