Friday, 28 January 2011
Cold War Kids, Oh Dear
What happened?
I had a dream that one day the Cold War Kids would return with an album to rule all albums. But it would obviously have to be in the same mould as Robbers and Cowards because it's still the best thing they've released. Things even looked promising after last years Behave Yourself EP, but then the band decided to recruit producer Jacquire King [of Kings of Leon fame (later albums)] to help them out with their new album Mine is Yours.
Obviously the band felt it was time for them to hit the big stage, sell out massive stadiums and what-not. Provide bread for their kids. Get their faces on Q, Mojo and Rolling Stone covers.
Like the title Louder Than Ever suggests the album does sound big. In fact it sounds positively huge. But so did Kings of Leon's Only By The Night when it came out. Mine is Yours uses a lot of the same elements as OBTN. So many in fact I had to do a double check to see what I was listening to. Now you can make your own mind up whether this is a good move from Nathan Willett and co.
Mine is Yours just leaves me missing the raw qualities of We Used to Vacation and Hospital Beds but it does have the feel of a grower. So for now I'm just going to pop on Robbers & Cowards and have a good time.
Laters
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Shells
It's great how these days pretty much any young kid can just kickstart their own rock 'n' roll fantasies by just setting up a bedroom studio. All it really takes is a microphone and a crappy old tape recorder. Add a bit of determination and perseverance and you might have the blogosphere's next overly hyped lo-fi sensation.
Production's a bit of a different matter. Unless you're going for that lo-fi sound, you generally want your tunes to be audible. Same as no-one would want to listen to a crystal clear Ariel Pink as it wouldn't be "authentic enough". Getting the sounds right is the painstaking part.
Khalid Rafique aka. Shells makes post-rock influenced IDM that will appeal to fans of Seams and Four Tet. And he does it well. New track Clay shows us how good a glockenspiel can sound over a pulsating bassline. Perfect.
Clay by shells
Also I'm gonna give credit to anyone who names an EP after a Bret Easton Ellis novel as Rafique has done with the Lunar Park EP. It took me a while to realise but Clay might be a reference to Ellis' Less Than Zero. I love it even more for that now.
Both Clay and the Lunar Park EP are available from his Bandcamp page
http://shells.bandcamp.com
Production's a bit of a different matter. Unless you're going for that lo-fi sound, you generally want your tunes to be audible. Same as no-one would want to listen to a crystal clear Ariel Pink as it wouldn't be "authentic enough". Getting the sounds right is the painstaking part.
Khalid Rafique aka. Shells makes post-rock influenced IDM that will appeal to fans of Seams and Four Tet. And he does it well. New track Clay shows us how good a glockenspiel can sound over a pulsating bassline. Perfect.
Clay by shells
Also I'm gonna give credit to anyone who names an EP after a Bret Easton Ellis novel as Rafique has done with the Lunar Park EP. It took me a while to realise but Clay might be a reference to Ellis' Less Than Zero. I love it even more for that now.
Both Clay and the Lunar Park EP are available from his Bandcamp page
http://shells.bandcamp.com
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Tis The Season To Be Jolly (TGE)
It's that time of year again boys and girls. Yes, time for the first announcement of acts to be playing at the greatest urban, coastal festival England has ever seen. Oh yes, The Great Escape is back with a bang.
"A bang" meaning loads of the newest and most cutting-edge acts out there at the moment will be congregating in Brighton for some of the coolest nights out, some of the most over-the-top queueing systems and some of the most random street gigs. Basically there should be something there for most people who enjoy life through audio.
Great Escape line up
There are some names on that list that are already causing me to wet my pants, and the list is just gonna keep on growing. Maybe I'll be able to fix my mistake of not seeing Warpaint last year, have a massive dance fest with the likes of D/R/U/G/S, Teeth and Seams. Or I could just relax and have an easygoing time with Big Deal and Villagers.
I was nice and thoughtful enough to make myself a Great Escape 2011 Spotify Playlist.
However if you're also interested in listening then click on here.
"A bang" meaning loads of the newest and most cutting-edge acts out there at the moment will be congregating in Brighton for some of the coolest nights out, some of the most over-the-top queueing systems and some of the most random street gigs. Basically there should be something there for most people who enjoy life through audio.
Great Escape line up
There are some names on that list that are already causing me to wet my pants, and the list is just gonna keep on growing. Maybe I'll be able to fix my mistake of not seeing Warpaint last year, have a massive dance fest with the likes of D/R/U/G/S, Teeth and Seams. Or I could just relax and have an easygoing time with Big Deal and Villagers.
I was nice and thoughtful enough to make myself a Great Escape 2011 Spotify Playlist.
However if you're also interested in listening then click on here.
Monday, 24 January 2011
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Coma Cinema
Coma Cinema are back in a good songwriting mood for their third album Blue Suicide set for release sometime soon (this year) on Wonderbeard Tapes.
Coma Cinema's Blue Suicide has a lot of texture for being just one guy's music project (maybe a little help from friends?). The sullen vocals are still there but you just feel he's progressing leaps and bounds in the whole music-making game. My favourite example of this is Greater Vultures.
If you're willing to eat what the vultures are not
Blue Suicide isn't out yet, but when it does come out, odds are you'll be able to download it from Coma Cinema's website like his previous two.
http://comacinema.org/sounds.html
Coma Cinema's Blue Suicide has a lot of texture for being just one guy's music project (maybe a little help from friends?). The sullen vocals are still there but you just feel he's progressing leaps and bounds in the whole music-making game. My favourite example of this is Greater Vultures.
If you're willing to eat what the vultures are not
Blue Suicide isn't out yet, but when it does come out, odds are you'll be able to download it from Coma Cinema's website like his previous two.
http://comacinema.org/sounds.html
Friday, 21 January 2011
Catwalk
I've been looking for a chance to write about Catwalk and their fuzzy beach-tinged garage songs and I haven't found/needed any other reason than the fact that (Please) Don't Break Me is one damn cracking tune. Seriously. The bridge and its killer tempo shift makes my knees do a bit of a wobble every time I hear it.
Grown into a fully fledged band from frontman Nick Hessler's solo project it seems these guys are going places. They're already playing gigs with the likes of Warpaint, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Twin Shadow and PVT. So very much in good company.
The (Please) Don't Break Me 7" was released on Captured Tracks and I'm sure this isn't last we'll hear of Catwalk.
Grown into a fully fledged band from frontman Nick Hessler's solo project it seems these guys are going places. They're already playing gigs with the likes of Warpaint, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Twin Shadow and PVT. So very much in good company.
The (Please) Don't Break Me 7" was released on Captured Tracks and I'm sure this isn't last we'll hear of Catwalk.
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