If you are the sort of person inclined to chop up your year into monthly chunks, you know that some months are better than others. And in 2014 terms, October astrides this calendar year like a collossus. The overall quality meant that it was harder than ever to keep the list to ten choices only, and as I listened to roughly double my monthly amount and had more reviews published than usual, I have gone giddy and selected 15 albums. Enjoy.
Vashti Bunyan 'Heartleap'
my review (the 405)
"Vashti has said that Heartleap will be her final album, and with that statement it is as if she has come full circle. For someone who walked away from the music business at the age of 25, it is fitting that she has bookended her career with this album. It has been made on her own terms and in her own time, with her in total control of the finished product. In other words it is a total re-establishment of the self-confidence that she lost in the '60S. Best of all, Heartleap works superbly as a collection of songs, and can only serve to extend and preserve her legacy."
A Winged Victory for the Sullen 'Atomos'
my review (the 405)
"Apparently conceived and performed over a relatively short time span, Atomos is a very powerful work and one which could well bring modern classical music to the attention of people with only a passing interest in it, in much the same way as Philip Glass and Steve Reich have done. It's a beautiful record which well worth your attention."
Wrekmeister Harmonies 'Then It All Came Down'
my review (the 405)
"Then It All Came Down was premiered last year in the National Bohemian Cemetery in Chicago, under a full moon. When you hear it, that all makes sense. The natural yet eerie setting, surrounded by reminders of mortality, and the potential interest in the occult. This is a superbly assembled piece, with a great grasp of dynamics and an understanding that its subtle moments can be just powerful as those times when it becomes a complete aural assault. Then It All Came Down is a noisy beast, but it is a beautiful one too."
The Twilight Sad 'Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave
my review (the 405)
"This fourth album comes across as a consolidation of the edgy noise of their early records and the electronic aspects of its predecessor. They sound as powerful as ever, and their penchant for weaving subtle folk melodies amongst their noise is still pretty special. Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave is a highpoint for the Twilight Sad and in many ways it is the best record they've made to date."
Scott Walker and SUNNO))) 'Soused'
A controversial record of course, but a brave and brilliant one as well. Despite the fact that it sees the enigmatic Scott join up with the experimental doom-metal of Sunn0))) this seems like a step away from his very challenging Avant Garde trio of albums. Sunn0))) play with a fairly straight bat, hitting the fuzz when they need too, and the main eyebrowing raising moments come from Scott's barmy attempts at poetry.
Allo Darlin 'We Come From the Same Place'
Personally I never thought Allo Darlin were that "twee" so it is odd to read reviews which say they have grown up. This album was created with the members living in different countries for the first time, due to Elizabeth leaving the UK. Musically and lyrically however, We Come From the Same Place carries on where its fine predecessor Europe left off. There are some lovely lyrical gems and some decent tunes, and if anything has changed it is that Elizabeth's voice sounds more confident and established. Maybe that's what people mean by sounding grown up. Hear for yourself...
Grouper 'Ruins'
It's early days but this already seems like a very special record. Grouper aka Liz Harris nearly always works alone, but this time she has dispensed with any artificial studio work and recorded four long sad songs with just voice and piano in a seemingly untreated room. There are many incidental sounds that are picked up - thunder and rain, crickets and the ping of a microwave - it is quite a revealing listen on headphones. The songs themselves are sad and beautiful, and overall Ruins is pretty wonderful.
Azar Swan 'And Blow Us A Kiss'
my review (the 405)
"Azar Swan have set out to make a pop record and have succeeded. Currently there is so little darkness and experimentation within the world of pop that And Blow Us A Kiss comes across as a genuinely exciting record, and one which shows a lot of their contemporaries in the worlds of the goth/industrial/dancefloor crossover that they have plenty of tricks up their sleeve."
Flying Lotus 'You're Dead'
When FlyLo emerged last decade people became aware of his jazz heritage and the family connection with Alice Coltrane. However, 'You're Dead' is the closest any of his records has got to jazz, albeit in a free-form freaked-out version. The psychedelic touches are there of course and that frustrating, teasing way that he flips away from one idea before it is really finished with is still in evidence as well. The title does hint at a fairly morbid effort, and it does get darker than he has before, but ultimately it is well worth hearing for the adventurous and ambitious turns that the music takes.
Run the Jewels 'Run the Jewels 2'
Run the Jewels debut appeared out of the blue and - like this one - was given away free over the internet. At the time it seemed like a one-off but after a couple of successful tour and a great reaction to that debut, the duo of El-P and Killer Mike have released a follow-up. Album two continues where the debut left off, though this time around it flows even better, and sits together as a set really well.
Jane Weaver 'The Silver Globe'
This is Jane Weaver's sixth solo album, and although some people may know her as a folk influenced musician, The Silver Globe is a concept album taking its name from a Polish sci-fi film - yet it manages to be both a coming of age tale and a romantic paean, though I haven't quite got to grips with the story yet. It goes heavy on the synths and prog touches, yet equally unafraid of pop melodies. There are some gentle subtle songs, some electronic noodling and this tune, which sounds like Can and Hawkwind at the same time...
Thurston Moore 'The Best Day'
The most Sonic Youth sounding effort from any former Sonic Youth person to date, and I don't think many people would complain about that. It is half of SY of course, as Thurston is joined by Steve Shelley on drums, whilst Deb Goodge from My Bloody Valentine and James Sedwards from Chrome Hoof form the rest of the four-piece. This time Thurston has side-stepped the obvious noise, improv and folk stylings of his recent projects to make a damn good rock record. It isn't all straight SY songbook though, and the likes of the drone-folk piece 'Tape' show that those other influences are never far away.
Iceage 'Plowing Into the Field of Love'
I haven't gotten on with Iceage's records to date, but 'Plowing Into the Field of Love' is totally different to anything they've done before. So much so that a lot of their fans have turned their noses up at it. In contrast to their earlier efforts, this time the singer has adopted an unhinged Shane McGowan style delivery - not quite in tune - and the music is a rich cacophony of edgy 80s acts like The Gun Club, Crime and the City Solution and the Bad Seeds. Brave to see a band completely change tack, and I hope they can gain some new fans in the process.
Caribou 'Our Love'
The contented Caribou album. A record all about love, and consequently one that is more in touch with Dan Snaith's equallty great Daphni project than previous Caribou releases. It is joyous, dig in!
Heat Leisure 'III & IV'
I'm on a mission to reclaim the word 'psychedelic' from the epidemic of garage bands, so this is the second psychedelic album in the list, after Flying Lotus. Heat Leisure are a collective featuring both of Guardian Alien, the Pontiak brothers and Steve Stromhier from Beach House and these two long pieces owes a debt to the early records of Can and Amon Duul II. The voice which introduces the whole thing is the original Merry Prankster, former Grateful Dead MC Ken Babbs, who has contributed a long monologue. The rest is a joyous, often improvised jam.
Showing posts with label The Twilight Sad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Twilight Sad. Show all posts
Listen: 10 of the best releases of the month, February edition
Listen via Spotify
my review
There is an old adage about albums "growing on you" or "warranting repeated listens". In my experience this is very true of Tramp. Brutally honest and self-analytical, it sounds best when you are on your own late at night. I'm reminded of that old discussion about “who sings better in the dark?” The answer, at the moment, is Sharon van Etten.
Listen via Spotify
my review
I can't see many fans being disappointed with this as they have updated and added new dimensions to their sound, whilst still managing to sound like themselves. James Graham's lyrics are still intriguing and his vocal delivery totally works within these arrangements. The voice isn't lost within multiple noise guitars, instead it soars above a wall of synths. Impressive from start to finish, they can certainly consider this a success.
Listen via Spotify
A change a direction, some would say even a re-invention for Mark Lanegan. That distinctive bassy voice of his sounds great as usual, though this time around the musical emphasis is on keyboards and synths, which is a surprise, but it works.
Listen via Spotify
my review
Ultimately The Wishes of the Dead works as both a fine collection of contemporary songs and a homage to legendary folk guitarists. The fact that it may make post-rock fans check out the recordings of Blind Willie Johnson or the Rev Gary Davis is an added bonus.
Listen via Spotify
A huge return to form for the Tindersticks, this is their best album since the mid-90s. 'The Something Rain' manages to sound like classic Tindersticks whilst adding little extra things here and there. Almost worth it for the 9-minute story song 'Chocolate' on it's own.
Listen via Spotify
my review (the 405)
There are no radical departures from earlier Windy & Carl releases, but after eight albums and nearly 20 years into their musical adventure, this is as impressive as any of their releases. For fans of shoegaze, drone-rock and ambient guitar music, this is definitely worth investigating.
Listen via Spotify
my review (the 405)
'Where It Hits You' is his fifth studio album and is a slice of luscious Americana, not unlike some of the work of Lambchop, in that it is rooted within country music yet it uses such a wide range of sounds and influences that it ends up being something distinct.
Listen via Spotify
Rumours of a change in direction are a bit unfounded although the mock-metal opening track is a bit surprising, this album carries on where their debut left off, it's still essentially a mix of noise guitars and sugary vocals. The difference lies not in the metal influences, but in darker pop songs such 'End of the Line' which show a depth of emotion that their flashy image often masks.
Listen via Spotify
Much more of a coherent band recording than the Cloud Nothings debut, in fact this is somewhere between pop-punk and post-hardcore, and the songs are longer and more developed this time around. This evokes classic Dischord releases and was recorded by Steve Albini, even if the band insist he "played Scrabble on Facebook the whole time" he was in the studio!
Listen via Spotify
A delicate collection of short songs, which deals with some pretty heavy subject matter. It is one thing to set out to write about depression and dysfunction, but Perfume Genius manages to tell his tales with an eye for detail which not only brings you further into the experience, it also rewards repeated listens. It's early days for me with this album, but I expect I will be exploring it more in the coming weeks.
Other honourable mentions this month go to the EPs from Fucked Up, which is on Spotify and Burial, which isn't.
Other non-Spotify albums worth a listen are
Young Magic (my review is here), Minimal Wave Tapes Vol 2 (my review is on the 405)
Lambchop's Mr.M and the long awaited new album from the Dirty Three.
review: The Twilight Sad, No-one Can Ever Know
This third album from the Twilight Sad is a slight departure from their earlier records. The powerful, distinctly Scottish vocals of James Graham are to the fore as always, and the intensity of their stark songs is still intact; the main difference is the guiding hand of Andrew Weatherall and the presence of some heavy synths and driving beats in place of the shoegazing wall of guitars found on their previous album.
It's a change that has worked well for them. At the heart of it all, the Twilight Sad are the same band and their songwriting is distinctive, often using long melody lines that seem rooted in folk music. In fact this was underlined by a recent interview where they stated that all the songs here can be played and sung with just an acoustic guitar.
'Alphabet' is a subdued opening track, with creepy synths from the start, but this is still unmistakably the Twilight Sad. 'Dead City' ups the pace a lot, and although it's the longest piece here, it throbs along with a pounding Krautrock pulse and a soaring refrain. It's one of the most immediate highlights here. I try not to compare bands to others, but the single 'Sick' does strongly evoke Radiohead with its opening guitar passage and muted beats. It slowly layers more instruments into the mix and builds into yet another highlight.
They return to the motorik beats for the taut, claustrophobic 'Don't Move', a typical Twilight Sad lyric which hints at a story but gives little detail away. This is about a couple “paired off in the violence”, and it hints at the album title with the couplet “I want you more than you will ever know/ I'll hurt you more than you will ever know.” This creepy theme is continued on the uptempo 'Don't Look At Me'.
'Nil' begins with an edgy synth backdrop, not unlike a Trent Reznor soundtrack piece, while James gives another strong vocal performance as the music builds again. It sits at the heart of the album and is one of the best songs here, coming across as a strong story song with something sinister at it's heart and much tension in the refrain “I won't let you out through the day again.”
'Not Sleeping' is also atmospheric and layered, and once again those lyrics draw you in. “Be careful who your arms are around” is a great line I think.
'Another Bed' is actually reminiscent of someone like Giorgio Moroder with it's danceable beats and big soaring synths. I can see why it's a single, although it isn't typical of the slow-burning nature of the rest of this album.
'Kill It In The Morning' was the first track they previewed from the album late last year, and in a way it announced this new direction. It sounds less like the Twilight Sad than the rest of this album, coming across more like Liars in its intensity and hints of discord, but it's a pretty strong way to round this album off. It leaves you wondering where they are going next on their musical journey.
Perhaps this making this album was a risk but I think it has paid off. I can't see many fans being disappointed with this as they have updated and added new dimensions to their sound, whilst still managing to sound like themselves. James Graham's lyrics are still intriguing and his vocal delivery totally works within these arrangements. The voice isn't lost within multiple noise guitars, instead it soars above a wall of synths. Impressive from start to finish, they can certainly consider this a success.
'No-one Can Ever Know' is out today on Fat Cat.
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