In the shocking and
brilliant 2003 documentary ‘Touching The Void’
the protagonist is in part saved by his desire to not perish while the
song ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’ the infectious Boney M ear worm from 1978 is playing
through in his mind. This desire to not meet his demise with that song as his
mental soundtrack spurns him on to dig that little bit deeper and ultimately
survive his ordeal, I have to admit the same feeling has gone through my head
when driving.
Whichever way you try and look at it everything we do
is strewn with danger that plots to end our days at every turn, there are
endless ways that our existences could be extinguished in everyday life but
when you are driving it is given a very real physical metal framed form.
Concentrating on controlling the vehicle so as not to career into moving or
stationary objects obviously focus’s or maybe at very least raises the mental
possibility of failing and careering into the tree in front of you or losing
control on a corner and rolling your vehicle down a steep hillside to its
crashy end. These are far from morbid thoughts, they are the concerns and real
possibilities that keep out eyes glued to the road and hopefully keep our minds
on the task at hand. This concentration is either heightened or distracted by
music, Just as Joe Simpson in his herculean trials of survival on the snowy
peaks of the Siula Grande I too have been spurned on to survival by the desire
to not die when listening to a certain piece of music for a while I was forced
to listen to a very limited selection of radio stations in my car due to a few
technical dilemmas but this could be a great tip in car safety because there
was no way I was going to meet my maker while listening to ‘D.N.A’ by Little
Mix or anything by Conor Maynard in fact most of Radio 1 is probably designed
to stop sentient people of taste dying in road accidents because there is no
way I’m winging my way to the afterlife sound tracked by that nonsense. The
same can be said in reverse though – I would first like to add a disclaimer
that I am in no way suicidal or prone to thinking about my own death any more
than I think it is perfectly natural to, but there are certain things I have
considered and a playlist is certainly one of them. Handing over the control of
my music catalogue will be a consideration in any will that I make in hoping
that it can transfer to someone who will grow to love it as much as me. Time
goes in to considering the music that will be played at many points during the
average individuals life and for a diehard music obsessive these considerations
and deliberations are amplified in their importance and there are far more
factors and options to consider, in a very real sense of the terms there are
acceptable songs to live buy and acceptable songs to die by.
In the world of purchasing
music and producing there has been some sad deaths and some institutions that
are ill to a possibly terminal level it would be remiss of me not to mention
both even though in some ways I feel sadly responsible in my own small way.
Something that couldn’t
possibly be fingered to me is the sad end of ‘The Mars Volta’ who have parted
ways after 12 years and 6 phenomenal albums, the two driving forces behind the
band have met inconsolable differences that forced Cedric Bixler into admitting
that he can no longer consider himself as art of the group as a whole. This
group and the work of these 2 individuals in forwarding the world of rock music
in a variety of new and seemingly incomprehensible ways will probably be
massively overlooked but in my mind there are very few musicians releasing
music today who have such a strong vision and direction and seeming lack of
concern for the mainstream or the sellable, they have explored every avenue
that entered their strange and tortured brains with panache, gusto and above
all incredible skill. I remember very clearly the first time I heard this band
and the building hope and fear as the opening intro to their debut album built
and built in its atmosphere and tension, the moment of silence before the drop
was a whirlwind of musical emotion with a myriad of possibilities about to play
into my ears and change my connection to rock forever more. Ever since that
point I have been entertained amazed and enthralled with this group ever since
and will be one of the many that will miss there blend of so many genres and
ideas that is completely unrepeatable. They became a touchstone in my
estimation of any person’s musical taste and for those I have shared the love
with or introduced to their work there is a bond that will endure. I’m not
completely shocked at the band calling it quits, with such complex intricate
and evolutionary music there is a level of passion and involvement needed that
must be all consuming, the relationships required to fuel that level of
exertion must be so hard to endure in the sanest of situations, throw in
massive drug use, tormented minds and a powerful will to be weird it is a
stroke of pure fluke and genius that they ever managed to release a single
song. Watch Zac De La Rocha introduce them and be amazed by the live ferocity of a band that i will always be glad that i have known.
The other point I must
raise I will do so only in brief as it seems the story has not yet reached a
definitive conclusion and my part in this one does make me feel slightly
guilty, I’m speaking of the state of affairs within the HMV retail group.
Looking back with rose tinted spectacles it was a very happy two years I spent
working for this company, that is forgetting all the time I hated the actual
minutes of the actual days, but the team of wonderful individuals I worked with
are what would be the sad loss to the high street and the overlooked skills and
knowledge on display is what can never be replicated by a website download or a
delivery service. My guilt comes from not only the albums that I “borrowed”
while working for the dog but in general the way I consume music as a customer
in general, I apologised for this fact when I first started writing this blog,
in many ways it is sad in a very doe eyed nostalgic way that the way in which
we consume music has changed but here we are and at the heart of it my biggest concern
is that the product itself will not be affected by the way in which it reaches
its customer. I will talk about this more as the story reaches any kind of
conclusion but for now let me turn my attention to the sounds that have reached
my ears in January of this year and will be setting the president for the year
to follow.
Villagers
– {Awayland}
It was in the
cavernous slightly soulless venue of The Brighton Centre that I saw the impish
figure of Conor O’Brien looking frail and small alongside his band supporting
Elbow, playing to a crowd that were certainly the more recent Elbow fans and
not such appreciators of the introverted music with its tales of ancient gods
and fables entwined in the Celtic and worldly mystery. I didn’t feel sorry for
them but I did for the audience who made little attempt to muster the small
amount of effort it would have taken them to fall in love with this dreamy and
pointed music that was washing into my ears, I did my best to stand out as the
one guy in the audience who owned there excellent record ‘Becoming A Jackal’
and howled at the sky along with them as there set finished and hoped they got
the message that somebody cared. I have heard in interview that the group did
not enjoy the touring experience and nearly didn’t continue, the band separated
in distance and luckily for us have come back with a new streamlined approach
that hones their sound and adds some new elements that really fit there
aesthetic while still having the same haunting ambience. Conor admits to only
really experiencing electronic music in his phase of disillusionment with the live performance and has added these effects
to great effect among this record such as the start of the track I will link
below ‘The Waves’ which dare I
say it has a very Radiohead sound (the curse of a Radiohead comparison can be
deadly). But as usual it is the lyrical mysticism and the sly turn of phrase
that has me clambering to hit repeat on this release “and we’ve got to keep the wheels in motion, and we’ve got to get the
kids before they grow, God forbid they retain their sense of wonder” manages
to be bitter and bittersweet all at the same time “I Believe this land is my land, you are not the same at all, c’os the
man in the sky has got my back” is a damming indictment to release while
their country is once again killing over land ownership, a protest song with a
subtlety that Bono could only dream of. They seem to be one of the few Irish
bands that escape the constant labelling and mention of their heritage because
they wind meaning into their music that has appeal on a personal level and
nothing to do with nationality. I urge you to listen to this album with an open
heart, my first new album of 2013 and we are off to a very strong start.
Everything
Everything – Arc
I’m glad that I am
talking about these next two albums next to each other as I feel that they are
both sides of a coin that shows where attention can get misguided towards a
shinier more polished but ultimately less accomplished act even when their end
goal appears to be similar. So first of let me say that I do like this album,
it has many things that I look for i.e. use of syncopated rhythms vocal lairing
and a linear approach to the songs that see them grow and change around a
central theme, the one thing that is really missing is charm. The band formed
in a rabble of press acceptance and being hoisted up a poll before they really
did anything, a sense of entitlement spread cross their smug faces (seriously
don’t put your mug shots on the cover of your album when you look like such
smackabale pricks). They announce and advertise themselves as trying to sound
different and breaking moulds which is just a vapid and ultimately despicable
statement as people describing themselves as ‘a bit wild, what you see is what
you get I speak my mind’ which nine times out of ten translates to ‘I’m too
loud, arrogant and ultimately a boring disappointment’. I don’t think much to
the vocal in general it sounds so forced and unnatural and the sometimes obtuse
lyrical content seems so false that I’m sure the singer has less idea what he
is talking about than I do so what chance do I have? The themes are supposed to
be alluding to a dystopian future, it’s supposed to be pessimistic and yell to
us that we are pretty much fucked as a species, this should be right up my
street, I should love this record but I don’t I really really don’t.
Dutch Uncles - Out Of Touch In The Wild
Much less of a
fanfare has followed this British group who are being different and staying
true to a sound that is all their own without feeling the need to tell us that,
doing that crazy thing that bands can do such as letting their music do the
talking and hiding their actual faces behind an artistic approach and a love
for what you are doing over who is listening. The music in this album is pointed
direct and wonderfully syncopated by a wonderful array of percussion
instrumentation that gives each song a sound that you can’t quite put your
finger on. The subtlety and sleight of hand to this release makes it so much
more appealing and accomplished than that of ‘Everything Everything’ this of
course doesn’t deliver the instant impact that the more impatient band might
crave but for the listener gives a deeper feeling when the tunes play into your
headspace..
Joy Formidable – Wolf’s Law
I’m making rash
judgments here but I can’t help feeling there has been an element of pressure
here that has led to a rush to release this album that has done nothing to help
the difficult second album. With the 2011 release ‘The Big Roar’ the band had
written a set of songs that played to their strengths and set them apart as
having a sound that was all their own, they had huge successes in the live
field and made some fans that I am sure will be awaiting this release eagerly.
For me although the sound is still very much in tact there is little to give
this release the same definition and drive as the previous and leaves it
sounding like a bit of a necessary afterthought. I feel a bit mean now because
there is definitely a passionate performance evident here and the sound in
question is still as strong as it ever was and there are small snippets and
riffs that have great potential yet for me there is not enough coherence to
define and link the songs and make the album stand out as anything other than a
continuation of the same process. I will listen again and in some different
environment’s and hope that this is not another band who are going to be ground
to dust by the machine in which they operate, but they do need to realise that
album two doesn’t mean you have to amp it up and that amping it up doesn’t only
mean turning it up to 11.
Esben
& The Witch – Wash The Sins Not Only The Face
Intelligent, dark and
brooding are words that could have you running a mile but while all the bands around
seem to be trying to recapture pop sensibility it is a refreshing sound to hear
something so brooding and gloomy with a real sense of style that goes past the
gothic label people might throw at them just because they have the word ‘Witch’
in their name. Calling a band Intelligent is somewhat of a double edged sword
that I don’t really get the sense of, if the music is intricate and well
written then you can say so without having to shelve it as cerebral that might
conjure thoughts of inaccessible music that is self-indulgent and impersonal
where I do get a straightforward sound from this album that seems to have
direction and still feature some of the dreamy pop vocal that seems to be in
vogue at the moment. Yes they might take their name from Norse fairy tales and
there album title from Greek myth but these are just sounding boards to create
brooding music with an air of malevolence not try hard attempts to seem like
academic know it all’s.
With the massive disappointments
from the likes of ‘Crocodiles’ and ‘The xx’ last year there is gap for this mix of sparse yet immense music
which manages to blend beats and guitar layers from a popularised format and
mix it with the menacing edge that sets them apart. The music is atmospheric
and for that it is intelligent, it is thought out and designed to take you to a
place of their design this is also intelligent and there is no trace of overstatement
and the flourishes are subtle enough to avoid being cringe worthy which is also
intelligent so take from the pigeonholing what you will but listen and be
intelligent enough yourself to make your own conclusion.
I Am Kloot – Let It All In
I will make a point
of declaring my love for this band before I try and do anything as difficult
for me as talking about their work in an anything approaching critical manner,
I hang on their new releases with baited breath and in my blind love I believe
they can do little wrong. The natural and seeming necessity of song writing to
this band comes through in droves in this album especially with the stripped
down sound of the first 2 songs, if these songs were not getting released they
would be sang as John Bramwell hung on the end of Manchester bars letting his
soul pour out for all around to soak in. The love of drinking and the way that
seems to embroil itself into the music and the approach is an obvious draw to
me and blends itself perfectly with the laid back honesty of which the songs
are written and performed. As with the last Album Guy Garvey and Craig Potter
come in as producers which is a product of these bands close links ever since
Kloot started recording – the additions of augmented instrumentation makes
these songs much bigger much lusher but at heart they are still bitter songs of
drunkard loss and disappointment, Is there a drive to get this band to escalate
their performance platform to a larger level as Elbow have done, in many ways I
hope not because it is the bitter cynicism and flat misery that give Kloot all
their charm, writing songs as a knee jerk reaction to life without the need to
put them through the stadium rock machine. I don’t know if the extra production
adds or detracts from the performance, I’m sure that live it will disappear and
we will be left with three old friends with the simple instrumentation and
there sad songs of alcohol and loss which are the things that make this band
great. They are so stylistically and thematically strong that there is a core
to what they do that is unshakable and so endearing, but saying that it is in
songs like ‘These Days Are Mine’ where we hear that Elbow sound adding to that
core and widening the appeal and scope of the music that can only for now be a
good thing especially when it is balanced in misery and simplicity with the
album closer ‘Forgive Me These Reminders’.
Lots more great music on
the horizon and already playing round in my head and for now I have nothing but
free time rattling about the house with only my laptop to keep me company. I
hope there is much more time for music of my choosing this year because it only
takes a few weeks to realise how much I missed the way it enriches my life,
that and a good debate with one of my closest music compadres and I hope to be
back in full ranting style very soon, until then listen well and live loud.
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