http://www.culturedeluxe.com/ Culturedeluxe is updated regularly with the latest album reviews. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:49:05 GMT http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6356 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6356 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT I`ve got a real problem with the term "Chamber pop". It`s as if, ever since Arcade Fire released `Funeral` back in 2004, it`s been the de facto description to tag on a band when trying to avoid saying, "sounds a bit like Arcade Fire." I say this because "sounds a bit like Arcade Fire" seems to be the instant comparison of any band that introduces violin, brass or any other instrument that doesn`t find itself in the guitar / bass / drums / keys staple of popular music as a main component of their sound. By that token, all bands that employ any classical instrumentation are just an Arcade Fire rip-off. An, by that token, every band that uses the old classic of guitar / bass / drums is just a poor imitation of the first rock album you ever heard. Obviously we all know this isn`t the case. But, before I start adding a soapbox on top of my soapbox I should really move on, for there is something quite grand emanating from my speakers…<br><br>Harmonies! Pizzicato strings! Accordions! Charming brass! It`s the love-child of Neil Hannon and the Brewis brothers! Bloody brilliant! We could even call it Chamber pop. Hello, Left With Pictures and your album, `Beyond Our Means`.<br><br>Sitting at the heart of this record is its makers’ love of craft. Everything feels like it has been pored over meticulously; the appreciation of the effectiveness of dynamics is at the key to Beyond Our Means’ success – and they even admit it on the album’s opening track: <span style="font-style: italic;">`</span><em>Every cadence and every rhyme / every pick, every slide, every hook they`ve all been tried</em>.` Strings come and go; harmonies are deployed sparingly; percussion is a driving force and then, at the next turn, merely an atmospheric device. It’s the level and understanding of restraint that keeps the myriad instruments and ideas under reigns; no track breaks into a fourth minute and yet nothing feels that it lacks focus.<br><br>Peppered throughout the record is a collection of narratives that conjure imagery of a nostalgic, English childhood – the main theme of the album. We`re falling over in stinging nettles, introducing the girlfriend to mum, and taking trips through Waterloo; and all this delivered with an unaffected middle-English accent with not a stiff upper lip nor plum in mouth in sight. And that’s what struck me first about this album, just how very bloody English it is. It`s refreshing to listen to a record bereft of a faux American accent or affected cockney drawl.<br><br>These weaving stories do little in the way of ambiguity, but that’s not the point. In its essence this is a collection of folk songs, and that’s what folk songs do: tell stories.&nbsp; And as with good folk music, all these tales play out through articulate, witty turns of phrase and whimsical childhood imagery. We reminisce about snow coated winters, <span style="font-style: italic;">`</span><em>Fetch me a barrow and a spade / I don’t mind if I get waylaid / I’ll make the most of my cold white host</em>` the world beyond the back garden, `<em>Up above the flight paths are busy now / they to and they fro to places I will never know</em>` and endless summers, "<em>July seemed an acre of time stretching out beyond Hadrian`s wall.</em>" It`s this sense of youth -- that excitement of the unknown that you only experienced when you`re young -- that brings the album to life. I`m sure it snows just as much now as it did when I was nine, summer lasts just as long with much the same weather, and I know where those planes go and the DVT, bad food and fear of delays that come with them. However, for 35 minutes, Left With Pictures pack in enough musical ideas and childhood escapism I just don`t care about now.&nbsp; I`m not sure what is beyond Left With Pictures` means, because releasing one of the most brilliantly realised orchestral pop albums of the year isn`t.<br> ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6371 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6371 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT Just shy of the second anniversary of their debut single (both sides of which are included here), Hawley Arms acolytes The Brute Chorus finally release a debut album after a prolonged singles campaign that has seen their intriguingly ramshackle, percussion-heavy rock win them a growing legion of fans at their regular live shows.&nbsp; For this reason their decision to perform their catalogue to date completely live (as they did at Camden`s legendary Roundhouse this February) and release <em>that</em> as their first album is both inspired and, on the evidence of this disc, highly enjoyable.<br><br>Those previous singles (`Chateau`, `Grow Fins`, `She Was Always Cool` and the Elvis swagger of `All The Pilgrims`) are all present as is the band`s well-documented of various mythologies represented by `Hercules` (a percussion-heavy tale relating an unlikely competition between the Roman hero and Biblical strongman Samson), `Nebuchadnezzar` (paying tribute to the Babylonian ruler through the medium of Franz Ferdinand-esque pop smarts) and `Blind Ulysses` (a powerful, maudlin ballad which is hardly surprising given the tasks that befell the Roman Odysseus - imagine doing it unsighted). &nbsp;<br><br>However, lack of vision is not something you can accuse The Brute Chorus of.&nbsp; With their music inhabiting an unlikely nook somewhere between Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Franz Ferdinand, they cleverly plunder the best of what`s left of the independent music scene and on `The Cuckoo and the Stolen Heart` - a theatrical argument set to music and featuring guest vocallist Tigs having it out on stage with Brute frontman James Steel - they introduce dirty, stompin` country to a hipster audience for whom cowboy boots are a fashion statement rather than a sensible footwear choice.<br><br>Debut single `Chateau` has never sounded better in this new version, a brooding `Psycho Killer` for rockabilly revivalists or, if you prefer, Marc Bolan`s `Jeepster` soundtracking an unhinged nightmare.&nbsp; It remains one of the main reasons to buy this very strong debut.&nbsp; Highly assured from start to finish, they barely put a foot wrong, apart from an almost staged false start to `The Ransom` which is left on the final print, almost to comic effect.&nbsp; It`s a smirk immediately wiped away by the heartrending closer `I`m Gonna Shake Your Treehouse Down` which forms a (just like) honey base and goes on to explore new paths of guitar-fuzz that any Brothers Reid afficionado will embrace.&nbsp; ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6378 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6378 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT We were offered a tantalising glimpse of what this album could hold in store when ‘Papillon’ hit the airwaves, the band themselves declaring that they were making an album that would split opinions. They haven’t failed to deliver. Album opener and title track, ‘In This Light and On This Evening’ is certainly a bold choice to kick off proceedings with its repetitive and darkly atmospheric vocals gradually building to an explosion of synths and bass. I have to admit that this song took many, many listens before it started to click and with its simple brooding, despite the endless comparisons, it’s the only moment in three albums worth of material that they’ve actually sounded like Joy Division.<br><br>That’s the real trouble with this album. A lot of it takes a while to click and a lot of people won’t have the patience to sit there and listen to it 10, 15, even 20 times. They’ll dismiss it as being crap. However, when Editors get it right they really get it right with ‘Bricks and Mortar’ and ‘You Don’t Know Love’ sitting comfortably alongside the best stuff that they have written. The former is THE Terminator inspired song, its synth line seemingly lifted straight from the film, and is the closest that we get to an anthemic ‘Smokers...’ type song on the album. The latter is the album highlight with a steady build up, complete with ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’, before bringing Tom’s increasingly emotive vocals over a rare example of their signature guitar riffs.<br><br>Next comes ‘The Big Exit’, which I would describe as poor, but others have described at brilliant. A further example of opinions being split. After that we have lovely, melodic ‘The Boxer’ and ‘Like Treasure’, which features their most commercially appealing synth hook, after ‘Papillon’. To close the album we are given to vastly different songs. ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’ is full of dark energy and is the heaviest we have ever seen Editors whereas the album closer, ‘Walk The Fleet Road’ is a beautiful, layered track; certainly the best album closer we have seen from them so far.<br><br>All in all, this could prove to be a pivotal record for them. It’s impossible to predict whether they will lose or gain fans but we see them growing in to themselves both in terms of inhabiting a record and in terms of ambition. We’ll have to wait until the next album to see where all of this takes them. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6322 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6322 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT Just skip past the first minute if you dare. It`s the best thing John Carpenter hasn`t recorded in several years. Sub Focus` eagerly awaited debut album has come as a very welcome and unexpected surprise. I was expecting the bangers we already know and love such as recent funky ass, Pendulum-baiting "Rock It" (surely the bastard drum &amp; bass cousin of Daft Punk`s "Robot Rock" ?) and the massive wonky time clown step anthem "Timewarp" complete with the massive hoovers that don`t know if they are ascending or descending.<br> <br> I could even expect tracks like the later Photek / later Rufugie Kru stylings of "World Of Hurt" - the basslines and distorted synths although at complete odds with the clear vocals are perfectly counterbalanced, rescuing what could have been a little of a disaster in unsure hands. Other drum &amp; bass tracks such as "Follow The Light" move towards the typical Hospital sound without managing to sound quite as Jazz-Wanky as occassionally the Hospital sound can drift towards thanks to a subtle trance influence, similar to the sound of late 90`s Blue Amazon with the then unaffected influence of what was to happen to trance, if in spirit if not in tempo.<br> <br> It`s really great to hear some fantasticly memorable songs in here also - "Splash" has Euro-riff all over it, as does "Triple X". There`s a definite and refreshing intent to make a good album rather than just a collection of good tracks. And that`s the jump off point for what makes this album. Look away now if you`re a Sub Focus fanatic and don`t want to have the album ruined ...<br> <br> This is an album that just happens to have some Drum &amp; Bass tracks on it. It also has some bloody great old school breakbeat. And House. And Dubstep. And Fidget-House. This makes it a great album for anyone remotely interested in Dance Music, and contender for the Dance Music album of the year.<br> <br> Yes, it took me three listens to suddenly realise it, but "Last Jungle" is The Future Sound Of London`s "Papua New Guinea". Or just a few samples away from being it anyway. The fact that it took me three listens is testament to how well it`s constructed however. It bears repeated listening, and it`s respectful enough to get away with it, and has just enough tipping of the hat to early Omni Trio to get away with it. We`re still in breakbeat territory however at this point.<br> <br> But when you get to "Move Higher" you`ve moved to a completely different part of the club. Calvin Harris would be proud of the huge riff here. A contender for another single surely as some remixes will take this in directions other than the house / fidget dancefloor it sits in for some parts of the track. Stick a complete vocal on it and there will be a top 40 hit in this. Then there`s the Italio-Piano house of "This Could Be Real", and the dubstep of album closer "Coming Closer". Despite not being in the genre we know Sub Focus for, never at any point does any of it sound anything less than credible.<br> <br> Let`s underline it one more time however - there`s some huge songs on this. This album deserves to be accordingly huge. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6376 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6376 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT As soon as the samples started in the first track, `Stand By for Mind Control`, I knew I was in for something a little different and a little special. `Pink Fuzz!` is full of lush synths swells, filter sweeps and random samples from start to finish. A few of the stand out tracks are `I hope I Die in the Arms of the Girl I Love` (very dreamy with a funky break beat),` Pink Fuzz!` (which includes some cheeky x-rated sample goodness), `God Can`t Come to the Phone Right Now` (I could see this track being played in Monty Python`s version of Heaven from `The Meaning Of Life`) and `The Hippies and the Beats` (great horn work and to reply to a sample used, "Yes, I can dig it!"). Any one of these tunes could be compared with early Air or Groove Armada. Solid stuff.<br><br>The album really has a warm and fuzzy feeling to it. It`s a perfect soundtrack for those long Sunday drives to nowhere, some deep reflection or a little mood music to help you with the ladies (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). My only real criticism would be some of the synths&nbsp; sounded very similar throughout the album. Even so,&nbsp; `Pink Fuzz!` is an impressive debut album that has me eagerly awaiting The Protagonist!`s next outing.&nbsp; ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6359 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6359 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT The opening track of ‘Goodnight Unkown’, ‘Sharing’, bursts into earshot with a bombastic, four-on-the-floor bass and snare pattern. Guitars pound a heavy downstroke and Lou Barlow projects his familiar swashbuckling narrative tempered with an emotional fragility. In one sense, Barlow’s output outside of Dinosaur Jr has largely been an attempt to reconcile the accusatory with the tender. The pendulum has swung to favour either side depending on whether the record sleeve bears the name Sebadoh, The Folk Implosion or his own, but the introspective analysis of relationships and/or himself has always been the cornerstone. Barlow has said of his latest record that it is “a cross between my later work with Folk Implosion and my earlier work with Sebadoh…to my ears anyway”. This is probably true, but the Barlow of ‘Goodnight Unknown’ seems to have lain to rest a lot of the venom which coursed through a good deal of his Sebadoh material. There is nothing on this record, for instance, to match the fury of ‘Freed Pig’ or ‘It’s All You’ (from ‘Sebadoh III’ and ‘The Sebadoh’ respectively). <br><br>This apparent catharsis doesn’t leave much room for electric guitars; the strings employed on ‘Goodnight Unknown’ are almost entirely of the acoustic persuasion. Barlow wrings as much invention from this setup as probably anyone could, percussion ranges from non-existent to relentless, and despite the sparseness of electricity, there is a suitable range of styles and studio engineering flourishes to ensure his various bandmates are not conspicuous by their absence. This grab bag of Barlow-isms includes a gentle streak of bluegrass combined with some heartfelt chord changes for ‘Too Much Freedom’, a very beaten up acoustic guitar contrasted with delicate psychedelic overlays on ‘Faith In Your Heartbeat’. These two numbers are followed by the clear standout track of the album- ‘The One I Call’, a gorgeous ballad which should serve as an abject lesson to Snow Patrol of just where they are going wrong in their attempts to rip this man off. ‘The One I Call’ is a graceful confessional which typifies the weather-beaten maturity of the album. Barlow opens the track with a line up there with some of his best lyrics “I didn’t know flowers bloom on their own, I tried and tried, overwatered, the flower died”. Lines like this, backed by a plaintive guitar and glockenspiel, lend a wistful air of contrition to the song that is genuinely affecting. <br><br>‘Goodnight Unknown’ rattles through 14 tracks in quick fashion, only three of the tracks creep over the 3 minute mark, and even then just by whisker. The pace is never rushed however, and for an intensely personal album such as this, the brevity of songs seems fitting, like they are vignettes or postcards alluding to a tumultuous soul. The cumulative effect of these snapshots is a collage documenting how an artist’s creativity and emotional intelligence do not always suffer when some hard-won baggage falls by the wayside. <br>... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6336 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6336 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT ‘Pot of Gold’ was originally scheduled for release last year, but never properly saw the light of day due to the collapse of the company tasked with distributing the record. Traces of that aborted launch can be seen here and there on the Internet, but it must have been very frustrating for Alice Russell to see her baby enter the world stillborn. So now, to let everyone know that the album is most definitely here to stay this time, ‘Pot of Gold’ is to be released at the same time as a 22 track double CD of remixes from the likes of Mr Scruff and DJ Vadim. So far, so British underground hip-hop/dance royalty. <br><br>The first thing to be said is that Alice Russell’s voice is clearly amazing, and the move towards a more club-orientated soul and r&amp;b sound evident on ‘Pot of Gold’ gives her license to really let rip with her vocals. The trouble is though, that many of the tracks on ‘Pot of Gold’ just don’t have the quality to compete against her enormous voice, and rather buckle under the strain of trying to. To use a football analogy, there is a certain ‘route-one’ quality to a lot of ‘Pot of Gold’, so the songs come across like their primary purpose is to seek the quickest way to another sky-scraping vocal. The dominance of Russell’s vocal, combined with the tiredness of the big-band arrangements, unfortunately means that the stale hint of cabaret haunts this album. Track seven, a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, is emblematic of what ‘Pot of Gold’ might have been; Russell slows the track right down to a hushed gospel number, but in the process strangles the life out of it. The character of the original is eschewed for a low-key drama, which unfortunately fails to grab the listener in the way it should. When the chorus arrives the break-out horns and cymbal washes fail to bring any vitality back to proceedings either. <br><br>The production by TM Juke is good; everything is crisp and sharply defined, without becoming too much for the ear to take, in so far as capturing the bombastic sound of a big-band approach to soul goes, it would be fair to declare ‘Pot of Gold’ a complete success. The band Russell recorded with are obviously no slouches either, here and there they let loose with some tight modal jazz like the electric piano solo on ‘Got The Hunger?’ Compared to the expansive sights of previous album ‘My Favourite Letters’ though, it feels like an exercise in inertia. The majority of tracks revolve around 12-bar blues motifs and lack enough of the invention required to lift them out of the ordinary. For sure this is still a million miles better than some of the terrible neo-soul clogging the charts like hateful fat in arteries, inexplicably, my mind is drawn to NeYo as I type this, but for someone of Russell’s undoubted talent, much more should be possible. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6309 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6309 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT The Los Angeles <span>Italo</span>-disco trio channel ABBA and the 70`s (while still sounding fresh) with their new release `Expressions`. The album sounds like a best of collection from a band you`ve loved for years. Whether it`s the surfer guitars on `Thousand Crazy Nights` or the vocal wail at the beginging of ABBA inspired `I walk Alone`, you get a deja vu feeling like you grew up listening to this album but forgot about it and just found it again. Within seconds I found myself tapping my feet, knoding my head and belting out the chorus like I was a background singer. "Light of Love` makes you think someone dusted of a lost b-side to The Dixie Cups hit single `Going to the Chapel` while `Love, Violent Love` makes you think of Neil Diamond and sequined jump suits (which may or may not be a bad thing). `Warm in The Shadows` is a bizarro version of Blondie`s `Atomic` while ` Goodbye Everybody` ends the album on a very folk flavored, James Taylor vibe (think - "I`d like to buy the world a coke"). This is a very catchy, extremely fun album from a band that isn`t afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6319 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6319 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT In which The Raveonettes continue doing what they always do, but do it well.<BR><BR>I imagine reviewing The Raveonettes now is like reviewing The Ramones back in 1982. What on earth is there left to say? You kind of know exactly what they are going to do, they`ve tried experimenting with their sound to limited success, they know what they do well and they can churn it out for the rest of time. Their fans will almost always be happy with it.<BR><BR>For good reason too. Tracks `like Bang!` and `Last Dance` have the summer breeze and attitude of almost everything they`ve done since `That Great Love Sound`. They are the great epic sounds that Johnny probably hoped he would get when he agreed to work with the gun totting lunatic. `Boys Who Rape` mixes warped intro noises with a whistle-able song filled with swear words that you`ll find embarrassing when you play it on your CD player when driving your gran around.<BR>&nbsp;<BR>`Oh I Buried You Today` and `Heart of Stone` come over like lost Jesus and Mary Chain songs. Not surprising really, the both cover a lot of the same territory. For a second I thought that `Suicide` was going to turn into the theme from `The Monkees`, which really would have been a surprise, but it sticks to the tried and tested formula. Sharin Foo remains reliable on `D.RU.G.S`, a song that spells out its subject matter in as obvious way as possible in more ways than one. `Breaking Into Cars` is a lost Timbuk3 track in everything but name. Always a good thing.<BR>&nbsp;<BR>After the fast and furious feedback of `Break It Up Girls`, the album winds down with `Wine` - the kind of track Jim and William Reid would be happy with. Thus it all ends. No major shocks, no huge diversions from their sound, but then again they`ve no need to. The Raveonettes are like The Ramones during the seventies to early eighties. You can rely on them to produce the goods no matter what else is happening elsewhere. We should be grateful for that. <BR>... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6330 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6330 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT In these days of "you only get one shot then you`re dropped" music career plans, you really need to plan an album carefully - grab the listener with the first couple of tracks, lest they switch off.&nbsp; Katsen, however, perhaps with the blessing of their label Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation, seem intent on making the listener wait. Everything appears "so electro, so formulaic" until track four `I`m a Doctor` which begins something like an Eddy Temple-Morris jingle and quickly flips out into 21st century glam rock, reminiscent of both a crazy day in the <em>BBC</em> Radiophonic Workshop and the Human League`s Empire State Human.&nbsp; Suddenly there`s a serious need to sit up straight and listen to this Brighton double act. &nbsp;<br><br>From here the journey is smooth, yet hair-raisingly thrilling.&nbsp; `Island in an Island` is a Russian doll of a song, both from the tightly-boxed lyrics to the modular electro bloopery and `Drax` beautifully simulates Pacman on an acid holiday - all is well in Pacland until the ghosts come.<br><br>A cover of The Passions` `I`m in Love With a German Filmstar` (presumably intended as one of the talking points of the album) is, again, functional yet not spectacular and is easily eclipsed by the off-key fun in the instrumental title track that follows.&nbsp; But it`s the final two tracks `Where Nobody Can Find Us` and `Florian` that are the most impressive.&nbsp; The former is sadly merely a poor chorus away from being a brand new `Together in Electric Dreams`, but it is conclusive proof that years spent battering away with the sound-chips on a <em>ZX Spectrum</em> can finally yield sparkling results.&nbsp; A track which irresistably calls to mind the classic-yet-barmy computer game `<em>Rock Star Ate My Hamster</em>` cannot be anything bar fantastic, particularly when you delve into layer upon layer of computer-generated harmony. &nbsp;<br><br>Ending with what appears to be a tribute to Kraftwerk`s Schneider, `Florian` begins with original-krautrock-vinyl-crackle and becomes a synth-ballad duet between Donna Grimaldi and, apparently, the virtual vocoded voice of the man from Dusseldorf. Deceptively simple melodies and lyrics such as `<em>The dashboard lights your face again / But I`m just taking things apart again / Such as shame, I really think that we could have been friends</em>` combine to make this a rather touching closer given the mechanical nature of everything that has gone before. <br><br>Putting their unremarkable start down to some form of nerves, or simply a poor tracklisting, `It Hertz!` is every bit as fun as that `wacky` title suggests - and that`s 8-bit, naturally, as it should be. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6348 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6348 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Much has been written about San Francisco double act Girls. On the most part this is due to the band`s willingness to discuss their propensity for prescription drugs (on the band`s MySpace page it lists www.drugs.com as their official website) and singer-songwriter Christopher Owens` upbringing in the Children Of God, a religious cult whose reputation includes reports of child molestation, a practice known as Flirty Fishing (where women would "show God`s love to men" in the hope of evangelism), and River Phoenix as one of its former members.<br><br>In Owens` songwriting, the product of these dysfunctional influences manifests itself, for the most part, as large slice of sun-baked, hazy, San Fransisco stoner pop. What on paper could have easily turned itself into a solipsistic nightmare manages to sit just the right side of pretentious -- and it`s all the better for it.<br><br>Lyrically we`re presented with the usual suspects of love "<em>I only want to be with you all of the time</em>," rock `n` roll "<em>I`ve got a cool guitar and a bag of marijuana, man</em>," and, on the album`s seven-minute centerpiece `Hellhole Ratrace`, the lust for life "<em>I don`t wanna die with out shakin` up a leg or two</em>."<br><br>With Girls taking a very literal approach to the making of a lo-fi album (the band report that for the most part the album recorded in rehearsal studios after hours, as it was cheaper) Chet White, the other half of the duo and at the helm of production duties, has turned in quite the performance. It`s hackneyed for sure but this record sparkles. The width of sound achieved is remarkable. At the heart of almost every track here is a lackadaisical guitar part full of small mistakes and idiosyncrasies. Building on this White has employed all manner of vocal harmonies, percussion,&nbsp; sepia-tinged reverbs, and thick distortion. `Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker` takes 60`s California pop and throws a shitload of Kevin Shields at it, Yo La Tengo would love to have written `Laura`; it sounds like Girls didn`t even try.<br><br>By wearing so many influences on their sleeves (the surf-pop of the Beach Boys, shoegaze introspection of Spiritualized and the scuzzy rock n roll of Iggy &amp; The Stooges) the album falters by lacking any obvious coherence, which can make it difficult to pinpoint the record -- or the band for that matter -- with any real "sound".<br><br>An example in point can be seen when taking a look at the album`s track lengths; six of the 12 on offer here clock-in under the three minute mark: ostensibly, we have a pop record on our hands. In contrast to this, the remaining tracks fall between just shy of five minutes up to a full seven minutes. With this in mind -- and with Girls` minds rooted in the halcyon days of 60s/70s San Francisco -- we have a record which deserves a format befitting its maker`s musical roots: 12" vinyl.<br><br>Played out on MP3, downloaded&nbsp; in seconds from high-speed broadband ready to be discarded if it fails to tick the box of instant gratification, the album falls into an incoherent jumble of influences trying to pin down a sound of its own. Listen to "Side A" on repeat and you have lo-fi pop record full of catchy hooks, melodies and good time rock n roll. "Side B" presents a more thoughtful, sleepy, spiritual(ized) experience. And that`s this record`s double edged sword: the sum of its two individual "sides" prove to be greater than the whole. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6357 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6357 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px; ">DJ Yoda, turntable master known for his earlier `Cut n` Paste` releases, has released his newest in the `Cut n` Paste` series `The Thirties Edition`. DJ Yoda seamlessly puts breakbeats, drum n bass and scratches underneath these classic songs and movie samples and has created a mix that is entertaining from start to finish.<br style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><br style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">The album is full of sampled tunes such as `Vera Ward Hall`s Trouble So Hard` and `Sometimes` by Bessie Jones (Moby used both on Natural Blues and Honey respectively), Moondog’s ‘Lament 1, Bird’s Lament’ (the original sample from Mr Scruff’s ‘Get a Move On’) as well as Thelonious Monk’s ‘Black and Tan Fantasy’ (Wu-Tang Clan`s ‘Shame On A Nigga’ sampled this). The album includes tracks from Harry McClintock, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway and many more.<br style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "><br style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">This is not as engaging as some of his earlier mixes (like How to Cut and Paste Mix Tape Vol.2 and FabricLive 39) due to the fact that he plays it safe with a lot of the tunes and music he uses to throw underneath the tracks. That said, this is still a great addition to an already great series (I prefer this mix to the Country &amp; Western Edition<i style="line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "></i>) . DJ Yoda does it again. Can you dig it?</span> ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6339 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6339 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ……. Or the late seventies in Gloucester to be more precise, a young Dr Foster would happily lie on the floor of the family sitting room copying various album covers into his sketch pad whilst older, long haired brother Boney Al would stomp around, headbanging and singing out of tune to the songs on said LP’s (before his gang of proto biker mates would call for him &amp; off he’d pop on his Suzuki C50 to ummm raise hell). Fast forward to the present and Boney Al is a happily married man living in Glasgow (possibly still stomping around, singing out of tune &amp; headbanging although with considerably shorter hair) and Dr Foster has long since packed away his pencil, pad and dreams of becoming the new Roger Dean (look it up Kids) and is now contently writing articles like this one. Those days, however, do hold fond memories for me as does the music that soundtracked my artistic aspirations, so when the chance to review the back catalogue of one of the pivotal bands of that time came up, well for me it was a chance to revisit a (for the most part) very happy childhood.<br><br>Black Sabbath were one of the best selling rock bands of their generation and considering the now celebrity status of their former lead vocalist (one John ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne) and the ongoing popularity of heavy metal, it’s hardly surprising that digital re issues of the Ozzy era&nbsp; LP’s are now being released. The first three albums ‘Black Sabbath’, ‘Paranoid’ (which featured probably their best know tracks ‘Paranoid’, ‘War Pigs’ and ‘Iron Man’) and ‘Masters Of Reality’ were rolled out earlier in the year so now it’s time for the second wave, ‘Vol 4’, ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’, ‘Sabotage’, ‘Technical Ecstasy’ and ‘Never Say Die’ to emerge from their analogue tomb . Just as the toll of time hasn’t been particularly kind to me (hair loss, middle age spread etc) neither has it to these releases. Listening back to these albums highlight how things have changed since they were first released, with music becoming more politicised and lyrically more inventive. Unfortunately, most of mid period ‘Sabbath’ falls either to the ‘evil pixies of the forest’ type which was so wonderfully lampooned in Spinal Taps ‘Stonehenge’ or the ‘Big Bottom’, ‘Sex Farm’ misogyny found in the likes of ‘Dirty Woman’ (Technical Ecstasy). Actually part of the problem with revisiting these albums that if you have seen the aforementioned film it’s is hard to listen to Black Sabbath without having a bit of a chortle as, even though the bands life did not directly influence Rob Reiners classic, (although looking a Sabbaths history, it easily could have) musically ..well let me put it this way, you could easily stick a Sabbath tack on ‘Smell The Glove’ and it wouldn’t sound out of place or visa versa. In fact there are songs from most of these LP’s that probably would’ve been dismissed by the Spinal Tap crew as to obviously comedic for their spoof.<br><br>The albums do decline in quality as the band themselves fell apart due to drug and alcohol abuse with ‘Vol 4’ and ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ on a par, standing head and shoulders over the rest. That said most the albums have at least one stand out song, with Vol 4 it’s ‘Changes’, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath has the title tack, Sabotages ‘Hole In The Sky’, Technical Ecstasy ..err doesn’t&nbsp; really have one and Never Say Die’s punkish titular track is a definite high point in a very poor LP.<br><br>Although it was great to listen&nbsp; to the likes of ‘Sabbra Cadabra’, ‘Snowblind’ and ‘Sympton Of The Universe’ again, overall I think it may have been better idea to ‘let sleeping bats lie’ and just compile a greatest hits collection instead. <br> ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6354 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6354 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Rather tantalisingly titled `Revenge` (for what?&nbsp; Well, it says here that it`s revenge on both a whole city and the whole of history - now that`s what`s called doing it in style), the debut release from Sheffield`s Johnny White is a very sombre affair indeed - but I guess that`s what happens when you record alone in various sheds.&nbsp; Almost entirely instrumental save for the odd passionate vocoded metal growl (`What Happened` and `Hoods Up`) or whispered, unintelligible pleading (`The Forest`), `Revenge` is hardly brimming with sing-a-long choruses either.&nbsp; What it does have in abundance, however, are ears bent sympathetically towards old Krautrock masters and the ethereal, neo-psychedelia of Maps, MGMT, M83 et al.<br><br>Tracks differ markedly as the album saunters on.&nbsp; Intro `Christmas Eve` finds apocalyptic horns nestling among a smoky harbour scene while `What Happened` is the sound of Fuck Buttons joined by Black Flag`s Chavo (both appear to be influences).&nbsp; However, a complete about face follows with the stark, solo piano of `For to Become`, a lost Tangerine Dream track stripped of its electricity.&nbsp; This discontinuity and retrogression makes for an exciting passage through the disc`s eight tracks.&nbsp; Where, on other records, it detracts from the enjoyment, here the lack of genotype and unconforming variation holds your attention admirably.&nbsp; By the time we reach `In The Wild Hotels of the Sea` (a complex array of microchip arpeggios - imagine Johann Sebastian Bach had written a Brandenburg Concerto on a Commodore 64) the closing track of this impressive Mini-LP, we`ve literally ridden rollercoaster through styles, themes and technical artistry.&nbsp; Revenge is sweet.<br> ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6295 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6295 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT BADDIES! <br><br>BIG GUITAR RIFFS! <br><br>LOADS OF HARMONIES! <br><br>FAST/FUNKY/TIGHT RHYTHM SECTION! <br><br>Qu’est c’est “The Futureheads?” <br><br>I think I can finish the review there, kthxbai. * <br><br>That is totally and utterly unfair, if slightly based upon truth.&nbsp; Like their North Eastern counterparts they specialise in punchy tracks that keep the feet moving. Like Sunderland’s finest they put on a great show live (as their showcase performances last year at In The City demonstrated). The problem for bands who are engaging on stage is that very often it doesn’t transfer to the studio. Or even worse they try to make themselves sound completely different from what got them noticed in the first place. You think you’ve signed the next festival favourites and you get an album of Goth ballads recorded via a tin cup and a piece of string. Not good. <br><br>It’s a small mercy that the production here does the job, so to speak.&nbsp; Play it loud and put everything in red. Make everything sound like it should be pounding in the biggest club or field. `Tiffany...I’m Sorry` changes from a song that is humorous on stage (Mr Webster M begins to tell a tale of his youth only to realise he’s got it wrong) and turns it into something that wants to blow something in your stereo.&nbsp; `Colin` does exactly the same but to your <em>I-pod</em>. There is variation in the style, if rarely the speed. `We Beat Our Chests` makes me think of Spandau Ballet’s `Chant No, 1` which as any fule kno is the only Spandau song approaching decency. Chanting is big with Baddies. `Open One Eye` just screams with big drums and sing-a-long lines. It is the audio equivalent of 20,000 people jumping up and down and throwing beer at each other. Few things sound better. &nbsp;<br><br>And after 35 minutes it’s all over. A guitar growls as it fades into the distance. Gone. Is it original? About as much as most pop.&nbsp; Is it clever? Only in its own context. Is it worth it? Yes, very much so. If the recent Reading Festival showed that&nbsp; guitar music isn’t totally dead then maybe an album in which every song could be a single has a chance to do well. Or least it would in a sane world. But we live in world where people type kthxbai, so you do the math… <br><br>* - Editor`s note: For those of you who don`t live on planet geek.&nbsp; `Kthxbai` is web short hand for `Ok, thank you, goodbye` and I must be in a good mood to even let it approach this article without being removed...er, lol? ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6287 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6287 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Imagine if you will that Norman Cook had been born Italian, had discovered that micro-samples rather than wholesale lifts were the future, and hadn`t forgotten after his first album that there was a great deal of life in funk beyond the occasional collaboration with Bootsy Collins. If you picture this, then slip on Phonat`s debut self titled album and prepare yourself for 52 minutes of the most inventive electronic music you`ll hear this year. It`s that good.<br><br>The introduction is simply that - it prepares you well for the minuscule samples that you`ll have to get used to for this album. When the album starts proper with "Get Down My Dirty Street" it won`t make a whole lot of sense until the bass drum kicks commence. It`s that rare moment when order is extracted from the chaos in a kind of funk-rock rarely heard outside Krafty Kuts studio normally. Album highlight "Learn To Recycle" takes this to the extreme with what sounds suspiciously like Def Leppard dragged onto the dancefloor, in several small, well-butchered pieces. I suspect a lot of people would relish this image, and it`s just as delicious as it sounds. Just when you think you`ve got it, it changes in style completely - if the wilfully obtuse samples haven`t already, the tempo changes are certainly guaranteed to fuck up any dancefloor.<br><br>Thankfully however, Florentine Michele Balduzzi is not a one trick pony. You would easily imagine you had unwittingly found a missing Daft Punk track if you had slipped on "Set Me Free" by random. I know because I`ve done this in the past month I`ve been listening to this album. Have a look for yourself if you don`t believe me - the video for this current single can be found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMBvQYesc_E">here</a>. "Love Hits The Fan" meantime is surely the bastard lovechild of Daft Punk and Todd Edwards. Not every-one`s taste for sure, but effective in what it is - a cool slice of laid bank cut up funk. He also can hit off tech-step drum &amp; bass effectively as heard on "Bad Boy" - the cleverest and yet utterly grin-some drum &amp; bass you`ll hear this year outside of a Squarepusher album.<br><br>He can play the pop game too - witness Ghetto Burning with the street wise vocals and too cool for school sample drops last heard in Cyantific`s "Ghetto Blaster". Album closer just continues on the generally guitar and tempo fuckery that`s prevalent throughout the album. It`s a common theme in that he doesn`t give you time to concentrate properly. In answer to a question he poses, I hope his mum likes the record - I sure think he will find a lot of fans will. A welcome debut and one that will benefit from repeated listens. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6349 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6349 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT By the end of track two, the sublime `Slumber Party`, you feel The Phoenix Foundation may have metaphorically `shot their load`, that such grandiosity, rock-pomposity has no place so early on an album (apart from obviously a Queen album)...but just as the Lord of the Rings movies gave us a huge, early New Zealand bang with those huge, fiery fireworks, so too do this Kiwi act although, ironically, their `Gandalf`, which follows, is resolutely insouciant in comparison.<br><br>`40 Years` is then disarmingly buoyant. It seems to achieve an unlikely goal in polishing the tobacco-chewing turd that is bar-room, singalong, country-blues-rock and, at best, creeps towards the level of Pixies at their most intentionally obtuse.&nbsp; Later `No One Will Believe Me When I`m Dead` at least has the decency to come out fully as a rootin`-tootin` stomp-a-long.&nbsp; There`s literally only a pair of ill-fitting dungarees, a bottle of moonshine and about thirty teeth missing from it and you`ll find it difficult not to tap your toes - you just won`t be raucously clapping along or suddenly finding your cousin strangely alluring.<br><br>`Pure Joy` is an atrocious Noel-sung Oasis track flailing for its life in a whirlpool of unnecessary strings while psychedeliuc instrumental `Omerta`, although very enjoyable, sounds perplexingly like a completely different band.&nbsp; Much better is the switch back to considered melancholy with `A Day in the Sun`, a quick break from everyday despondency and a surefire entrant on the coolest mixtapes out there...that`s if people still make those.&nbsp; If you do, you`ll want this.&nbsp; But most of all you`ll want `Bright Grey`, the final track on the album which finally delivers - what`s that? - a hummable chorus - and one swimming, nay floating derisively in charming indie fuzz. &nbsp;<br><br>Sadly there aren`t enough other reasons to recommend this any higher and, while The Phoenix Foundation, do appear to have the ability to regenerate themselves many times (and in completely different musical guises), jacks of all trades and masters of none is a phrase that springs to mind. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6333 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6333 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT With only her cover version of Catherine Wheel`s `I Want To Touch You` as an earlier reference point, I approached `The Yearling`, the third solo LP from Piney Gir, with an open mind and some trepidition.&nbsp; By the sound of things, she`s not a girl to be messed with.&nbsp; Don`t...you`ll only break her heart again.&nbsp; Yes, this is frank, confessional and often very beautiful.&nbsp; For instance, `Early Days` is a bittersweet country yarn, a heart-melter with added accordian and `There Was a Drunk` is honest catharsis mixed with bitter criticism and the tell-tale lyric: <em>`I`m really quite nice when I`m sober / Shame you don`t bother to look behind this cover</em>`.<br><br>`Of All The Wonderful Things`, conversely, is a brilliant glance back at a failed relationship sung as a contradictory duet waltz between Piney and Eamon Hamilton of Brakes (`<em>I think you might have got the story wrong / stop pretending / and I wish you hadn`t put it in a song / shame of the ending</em>`).&nbsp; The comic warmth of the record leaves you imagining the couple embraced in a reconcilliation slow-dance by the final bars - long after the song has morphed into a psychedelic Disney sing-a-long.&nbsp; Finally finding her resolve slipping, the track ends with a decisive cry of `Stop!`.&nbsp; This is a brand new `Something Stupid`, a venerable classic song nestling among substantial but often average playmates. <br><br>Those tracks standing out include `Oleanna`, a dark slice of Europop transposed to Kansas City and irritatingly familiar (Kylie Minogue`s `Confide in Me` keeps springing to mind).&nbsp; it fits in before the double header of `Love is a Lonely Thing` and `Weeping Machine`, the former a showtune solliloquay which finds Gir pouring her heart out against a brutal flute solo.&nbsp; `Weeping Machine` meanwhile is just brutal, full stop.`<em>You`re the devil in disguise / ... /I try to erase every memory of your face</em>`.&nbsp; There`s no provision for reconcilliation, no grounds for innuendo, just the outpouring of feelings, the maudlin sound of violin and the kiss-off: `<em>Why can`t we just pretend you were never mine?</em>`<br><br>Redemption comes with the upbeat tuba-pomp of the decision to live vicariously `For the Love of Others` and the `<em>love me, love my dog</em>` rule is laid firmly on the ground.&nbsp; Best to beware it too fellers, this is a powerful glimpse into the mind of a woman scorned no matter how it may occasionally be glazed with the whimsical honey and nursery rhyme hokum of the likes of `Abelha: Bumblebee`.<br> ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6296 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6296 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT I think you’ll find no true Victorian English Gentleman would be associated with such noise..and anyway, aren’t you Welsh? What? A joke? Oh you crazy kids. Yes these joke are very old and tired, but then so am I so what are you gonna do about it? <br><br>VEGCs sophomore effort continues where they left off - by which I mean ‘listened to by very few people‘. If you didn’t like them before you aren’t really going to change your mind now. If you did like them before you are not really going to care about my meandering thoughts. If you’ve never heard of them, well, how can I describe them? Quirky. Very quirky. Oh so quirky. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci with balls. `God Save Us From Being So Primitive` is very primitive, a sludgy swamp rocker with hints of The Cramps. `Watching The Burglars` takes more than an element of Bow Wow Wow. `Bored in Belgium` takes great pleasure in repetition. `Periscope Envy` has the new wave sound of Devo. At their best VEGC can say that they have an understanding of sonic soundscapes. Each song has its own footprint that makes it different from the last track. It’s vibrant, your mind fills with colours when you listen to it. &nbsp;<br><br>All of this means that it can be very divisive. Marmite music. You’ll either love it and follow it with passion, or scratch your head and wonder what all the fuss is about.&nbsp; You can love `Dogs`, then wonder how the same band can produce `The Venereal Game`. An album of extremes. Approach with optimistic caution. ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6275 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6275 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT <P>The documented evidence of Harmonia &amp; Brian Eno`s collaboration is re-released with previously unavailable material, some twelve years after it first appeared and twenty one years since it was initially recorded, meaning that this release aptly&nbsp;coincides with its 33 1/3 anniversary. </P> <P>`Tracks &amp; Traces` was actually recorded after Harmonia had already, and possibly acrimoniously, decided to split following the releases of `Musik Von Harmonia` and `Deluxe`, both of which are now rightly perceived as seminal records by connoisseurs of the krautrock genre. The story goes that Brain Eno, while on his way to Berlin in order to set about recording another seminal album by the name of `Low` with a certain chap by the name of Bowie, decided to take a detour in order to work on some experimental approaches to composition with the three members of Harmonia. Needless to say, the result was a startling proto-ambient affair of dense textural tones and autumnal pastoral elegance, all of which would be synthesised and symbiotically welded to pulse-skipping, concrete rhythms. This is music as architecture, inhabiting a space between silence and sound. Harmonia here sound like a machine-inhabiting poltergeist at a new age séance, The Stones to Kraftwerk`s Beatles.</P> <P>On ‘Vamos Campaneros’ Harmonia sound as if they are pre-empting John Carpenter’s haunting electronic soundscapes, while on ‘Down By The River’, they are in tranquil mood, before apparently inventing insectile 8-bit meets Kevin Ayers wig outs in the malevolent textures of ‘Luneburg Heath’. </P> <P>Next up is ‘Sometime in Autumn’ which could arguably be viewed as a direct precursor to Eno’s work with Bowie on the previously mentioned ‘Low’, while ‘Weird Dream’ is a ketamine-infused out of body experience. Perhaps the finest track on this album however is the hypnotic ‘Almost’, an initially slight affair, which reveals itself after repeated listens to be something far more substantial, filtered as it is through a spectrum of intermittent swells and collages of esoteric vibrations. Add to this, the additional material curated by Michael Rother -&nbsp;who put this new release together without the aid of either Dieter Moebius or Hans-Joachim Roedelius (both of whom have latterly described the end results as being&nbsp; “wonderful) -&nbsp;has also digitized what he has described as being an additional&nbsp;twenty seven&nbsp;fragments of material collated from those initial explorative sessions, sculpting these sound textures into three additional tracks and simultaneously causing Julian Cope to wet his pants in anticipation of what is now the definitive version of this wonderful album. </P>... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6279 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6279 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Library music.&nbsp; Just when you think that the vaults have been all but exhausted those nice people at <em>Finders Keepers</em> come up with another way of enticing you to once again reacquaint yourself with the unfamiliar sounds from way out by calling upon the unique skills of breaks master and cut creator, Los Angeles’s very own, Gaslamp Killer. Having worked with that other beat anomaly Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer turns in another sterling job of mixing and mutating these strangely compelling slabs of esoteric, uneasy listening into a rather fine collection that any self respecting library music enthusiast would be only too happy to add to their already, one suspects, rather burgeoning collections. <br><br>Obscure cuts of Sci-Fi pulp weirdness here cosy up nicely alongside incredibly funky <em>Hammer</em> screamadelica, which only adds to serve up an “All Killer” mix that both deconstructs and reconstructs this material in unfamiliar ways, while simultaneously pleasing the enthusiastic library obscurist in all of us. <br><br>It starts up ominously enough with a fine mash up of the funeral organ sound of Lubos Fiser’s ‘The Sermon’, John Hill’s ‘Europa’ and Jan Jankeje’s South Indian Line’. What follows is a moogy-tastic, steel drumming, quasi-psychedelic, freak-beat master class in cut chemistry that recalls the halcyon days of London’s <em>Smashing</em> club and great albums such as Martin Greens ‘Sound Gallery’ collections, containing as it does, a whole host of familiar and unfamiliar names. <br><br>This is an album chock full of fresh exotica, folk stomping prog rock and ultra modern trip hop invention that is an essential purchase for those of you who prefer a slightly left of centre aesthetic to your sound library recordings, as with most of the <em>Finders Keepers</em> output, this is yet another essential purchase to add to your collection.&nbsp; ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6312 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6312 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT In 1968 Bob Dylan`s backing band, The Hawks, decided to branch out without Zimmerman and put together an album of their own. Under the new moniker of The Band they released `Music From Big Pink`, a collection of country/folk/rock numbers which has gone on to be afforded the label of "seminal".<br><br>What does this have to do with The Big Pink? Well, nothing really. The reason I open with a small history lesson in classic folk rock is because, although the band have confirmed that they take their name from The Band`s debut, the similarities stop there. On first seeing the name Big Pink I was expecting a heart-on-sleeve ode to all things 60s Americana; the next Fleet Foxes or Midlake. I was wrong, very wrong; but this is not necessarily a bad thing.<br><br>`A Brief History of Love` stakes its claim from the moment you press (or click, or touch) play. After the opening bars of distant, delayed and delicate guitar tinkering, a wash of phasing distortion and pulsing bass enters the fold. The opening lyric – <em>"She got lightning in her hair"</em> – comes delivered as a mantra before the whole thing arrives: more distortion. Add to this electronic flourishes and a very loud tambourine and you’ve got acts one and two sewn up: organic meets electronic.<br><br>For act three, in a brilliant deployment of the loud / quiet / LOUD dynamic (another link to the Pixies is via the man responsible for both bands’ artwork), the whole thing erupts in to speaker shattering, ear destroying distortion, still with a ethereally treated vocal mantra shimmering over the top. Game on.<br><br>The rest of the album plays out in much the same way musically. `Too Young to Love` ups the ante on the electronica and beats, `At War With the Sun` has been lifted from a John Hughes film soundtracked by the Horrors, and `Velvet` takes a more Bristol approach.<br><br>Serving as welcome counterpoints, `Love In Vain` (void of almost any electronics) `Count Backwards from Ten` and the album`s title track (a duet) drop the tempo without ever dropping the feel. Void of these well placed rest-bites the record would feel it was lacking in ideas; with them they serve to not only strengthen the album as a whole but highlight the breadth of Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell’s writing ability.<br><br>The theme of the album – that’s right, the history of love – is tackled from every viewpoint available. From psychedelic ambiguity: “<em>They’re waiting for us to arrive / 200 naked pure gold girls</em>” fear of commitment: “<em>Three words shared we said too early on</em>” and the fear of love lost: “<em>If you really love him, tell me that you love him again</em>” all bases are covered and all are delivered in a drawl that falls somewhere between Richard Ashcroft and BRMC.<br><br>With the current glut of “noise” and electronic bands that are currently monopolising column inches (read: The Horrors, Pains Of Being Pure At Heat, School of Seven Bells et al) it’s easy to dismiss yet another band that finds it hard to shake the words “My Bloody Valentine” from their press coverage. In this album however The Big Pink have managed to find their own niche in an increasingly crowded genre by blending big electronics with big walls of sound. Hang on, isn’t that what Kasabian did six years ago?&nbsp; ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6325 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6325 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT For all the plaudtis and critical bouquets hurled at the Arctic Monkeys` Alex Turner for his inventive lyricism, many calling him heir-apparent to Jarvis Cocker as bard of Sheffield, it`s possible that his musings simply sparkled when placed alongside such uninspiring modern prose as `<em>All my people, right here, right now / Do you know what I mean?</em>`&nbsp; To compare Turner`s lyrics to Cocker`s is futile since each is delivered in such a different manner.&nbsp; However, the sprawling monologues that the Pulp frontman used to favour around the time of their <em>Gift</em> recordings are somewhat resurrected, often in breathy Franglais, in the debut LP by Oxford `diseuse` George Pringle.<br><br>Each `cinematic mini-epic` matches George`s vocal (part Audrey Hepburn sophistciation, part excitable Vicky Pollard chatter) to retro-inspired electronic backings - all recorded on her twin laptops and later mixed along with Stereolab`s Andy Ramsay.&nbsp; Topics covered in her synthpop journal include a hazy night in Camden`s Koko, Virgin Suicides-inspired fantasy daydreams and criticism of math-rock masturbation.&nbsp; The influence of Bjork, the Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine is scrawled across the too short intro `Big Screen Kiss` and is scattered liberally across the remainder of the LP.<br><br>`Carte Postale`s two chord voyage of self-discovery via <em>Street Fighter 2</em> (with the fantastic and wholly viable assertion that each new year actually begin in September - something I`ve been subliminally petitioning for years) perfectly demonstrates Pringle`s skill at new age, urban poetry and is matched later by the touching reminiscence of `S.W.10` and a final farewell to adolescence.&nbsp; `Sparkomatic Miami`, meanwhile, is a more rigid, restricted and almost robotic recital of Pringle`s concrete poetry over a backing her hero James Murphy would be proud of.&nbsp; Best of all though is when she combines her social commentary with her best attempts at singing on`Physical Education (Part 1)`, stealing liberally from The Stones` `Satisfaction` and Diana Ross` `I Feel Love`. &nbsp;<br><br>Former Lamacq favourite `LCD I Love You But You`re Bringing Me Down` is actually one of the weaker tracks on here with Pringle attempting to recreate the staccato delivery of Delta 5 when I`d rather hear more in her flowing, conversational style and `Bonjour Tristesse` begins annoyingly like one of The Ting Tings` seemingly interchangeable hit singles, becomes something rather special but ultimately goes nowhere for ten minutes.&nbsp; Only `Pop Hit` shows Pringle`s singing voice in a good light with a strong combination of Long Blondes` sass and <em>di-rigeur</em> electro finesse.&nbsp; There`s no irony in the title - given the right promotion it could send Pringle down a chart tangent - but that would surely rob us of her strongest material...the perpetual teenage angst, the clumsy poetry and these lovely, long, drawn-out, ethereal soliloquies.&nbsp; `Salon Des Refuses` is more than just a wonderful chance to peer over the shoulder of a young woman as she writes her diary.&nbsp; Although by no means flawless, there are plenty engrossing, engaging entries in this electronic journal and I look forward to another installment soon.&nbsp; ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6307 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6307 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Since seeing her act as the rock star lead singer in `Strange Days`,&nbsp; I knew Juliette Lewis had the ability to rock my socks off. After four years, two full-length albums and countless tours, now she is back with her new solo project sans The Licks (good thing I bought more socks!). This album, produced by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta, easily shifts from Gossip inspired punk of `All Is For Good` to the Bloc Party, rock heavy feel of `Fantasy Bar` and the avant-garde style of <em></em>`Female Persecution`. <br><br>`Terra Incognitea` has a very Janis Joplin-flavoured track in `Hard Lovin` Woman` and even a love song, `Romeo`, which has one of the catchiest hooks I`ve heard in years, "<em>You and I underneath the blue light, Always and forever / This love we steal, Feels so real, Always and forever / I keep you inside, Something to remember.</em>"&nbsp; It nice to see that Juliette likes to push herself and her music and the variety of vocal / musical styles she uses throughout the album are impressive.&nbsp; It may have taken her a while but Juliette has finally found herself and, in the process, made a tremendously good record (that rocks!). ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6313 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6313 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT It’s electro-rock Jim ..but not quite as we know it. ‘Get Color’, the second LP from this L.A. quartet starts off in abrasive style with opener ‘In Heat’ which is all fast pounding beats, glitched synth noises and low mixed, psychedelic vocals. This then segues effortlessly into single ‘Die Slow’ which has slightly slower pounding beats, glitched synth noises and low mixed, psychedelic vocals and is followed by ‘Nice Girls’ with it’s pounding beats, glitched synth noises …well you get the picture. <br><br>The whole LP is a barrage of noise and, what it lacks in subtlety (God, even Motorhead were known to mellow it down occasionally), it more than makes up with a mesmerising, imaginative (although headache inducing) collage of interesting sounds. It’s really nothing new, Health`s Krautrock forefathers were ploughing the same sonic fields eons ago, however they have managed to bring the sound kicking and screaming into the modern day with aplomb and, given the choice between this or whatever’s clogging up the UK singles chart at the moment, well I know what I’d rather my kids were listening to. Noise annoys … yep, ace isn’t it!<br> ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6341 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6341 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Frank Turner is not a man you could accuse of lacking conviction - I very much doubt he could sing this review without turning it into an impassioned plea to bear arms against a rising tide of fascists and mediocre indie-warblers (and you`ll be left wondering which is worse).&nbsp; In that sense Turner is a one-trick pony - he can do shouty sincerity (`Live Fast Die Old`), gentle sincerity (`Faithful Son`) and 100mph sincerity (`Try This At Home`) - but it`s a trick that, for the most part, he does well.<br><br>Fans of his previous album, `Love, Ire &amp; Song`, will find familiar themes on this release: punk romanticism, politics and the need to get up off your backside and grab life by the throat are all present and correct. However, the album lacks some of the narrative hooks of that last album - instead, after a few blistering opening salvos, there`s a tendency for songs (such as `Richard Divine` and `Sunday Nights`) to plod along.<br><br>It`s not a bad album by any means, but it lacks some of the rawness and pith that drew me into `Love, Ire &amp; Song`. Perhaps more depth will be revealed with repeat listens. Still, I`m definitely not sold on the abundance of piano. Oh, and `The Road`, despite being the most obviously sing-a-long friendly track, was reminiscent of The Levellers (which may or may not be a compliment - I`ll leave that to you). ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6297 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6297 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Manchester Orchestra have been called everything and thus we know nothing. Search through that reliable source called the Internet and you’ll find everyone from Pearl Jam to Weezer via Pixies and Black Rebel Motorcycle. Well make up your mind. &nbsp;<br><br>They certainly have the right friends in the right places. Kings of Leon, Raconteurs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, they’ve all shown their love for this band one way or the other. Maybe they all really think that they come from Manchester. I’m only saying that because the band they most remind me of are fellow grunge revivalists Nine Black Alps. Now, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot Nine Black Alps. They never were as heavy as some reviewers thought they were, they were always too radio friendly to ever be a replacement for Mudhoney, but their youthful sound worked well and I could sit back and listen to their albums more than once. Great to listen to in a car or a long train journey. &nbsp;<br><br>The same goes for Manchester Orchestra. This is a band who are less Nirvana, more Foo Fighters.&nbsp; A track like `I Can Feel A Hot One` is too sickly sentimental for comparisons to some of their influences.&nbsp; A fact that is especially disappointing when you consider how wonderfully rude a song with a title like that could be. `My Friend Marcus` is cut from a similar cloth: Americana-tinged, radio-friendly rock. It’s teen rock, a couple of steps up from McFly, more acceptable than Fightstar because at least it’s listenable - and, you know what, there is nothing wrong with that. `Tony The Tiger` is the kind of daytime <em>Radio 1</em> song that would make me listen to <em>Radio 1</em>. `Everything to Nothing` (another track from the slower side of the album) will be hated by your average muso type, but as songs that girlie girls will love you can hear a lot worse. `I’ve Got Friends`, `The Only Ones` and `Shake It Out` are good beginner’s mosh pit records. `In My Teeth` is delightful melodic kindergarten psychedelic rock. &nbsp;<br><br>I was in a pub once with a very good bunch of musicians. Great people.&nbsp; We were having a drink while waiting for a club called <em>Bastard</em> to open and Mark and Tone were talking about music that kids they knew were listening to and I expressed surprise when Tone said that he liked Busted. Tone looked at me in the same way a wise dog looks at a stupid but eager pup.&nbsp; Correctly he pointed out that if he had a twelve year old son or daughter he would hope they were listening to them as at least it was a step in the right direction and it was good pop. The same goes for Manchester Orchestra.&nbsp; The old heads may not like it, but screw ‘em. This is music to be young and have fun by. &nbsp; ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6302 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6302 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT This is Dot Allison in an easy, reflective mood. Gone are the funky electro touches of songs such as `Strung Out` (just as everybody else starts putting them in) and the trance ambiences of `Afterglow`. Instead we get the torch ballad and country tinges of `Paved With A Little Pain`. Bosom buddy Pete Doherty brings the ramshackle rock to proceedings by gently screwing up `I Wanna Break Your Heart`, a song that just about holds up well despite all efforts to make it collapse. `Buzzing Around The Honey Pots` has the insular acoustic beauty that you’d expect, it breathes insecurity and uncertainty while being rich in colour. Actually, the more I listen to this album, the more the mood comes across as being something between the last Portishead album and Bats For Lashes’ first. In fact she sounds a bit like Natasha Khan on `Fall To Me`, or maybe that should be Natasha Khan nicked her breathy vocal style from Dorothy. <BR><BR>The other big duet on this album is with Paul Weller, a track originally recorded for his `22 Songs` album and indeed it does sound more like a Weller track than an Allison one, but the change of pace works well in its own context. I believe that he gave her quite a bit of support for this album by allowing her to use his studio, thus allowing her more time to experiment. She’s also said in interviews that she’s spent more time writing poetry and concentrating on lyrics. This probably explains the sparseness of tracks such as `Montague Terrace In Blue` or `Jonny Villain`. She wants you to concentrate more on what she’s saying than on some of her earlier songs. &nbsp;<BR><BR>Overall this album is more pleasing than essential, but it is worth investigating. If nothing else it is further proof that although Dot may never get mainstream success she will always be an artist that provides material that needs to be heard by as many ears as possible.&nbsp; ... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6263 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6263 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT <P>Things I know about The Cribs: Their singer jumped on the Kaiser Chiefs table during the <EM>NME</EM> awards and was hospitalised, he also is dating the lovely Kate Nash. They released a single `Mens Needs` that I liked but not enough the buy the album. They have haircuts reminiscent of the Jim Carey character in `Dumber and Dumber` and yet the <EM>NME</EM> love them and they are all related apart from new member, legendary ex Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.&nbsp; No surprises then that it`s the last fact, being a die hard, badge wearing Smiths fan (Glastonbury `84 ..I was there!!) that made me decide to finally listen to a Cribs album in it`s entirety.</P> <P>The first thing I realise on listening to `Ignore their Ignorant` is that it takes more than a talented guitarist to create something as magical, unique and individual as The Smiths.&nbsp; In fact, rather ironically, some of the songs sound more like Johnny Marrs` ex songwriting partner`s solo output (`Victim OF Mass Production`) than that of his former band. However I doubt there was any intention by The Cribs to emulate The Smiths, so we will leave it at that and judge the LP on it`s own merits. And surprisingly there are quite a few.</P> <P>If you can get pass Ryan Jarman`s slightly off tune, monotone vocal delivery (sort of a cross between Lou Reed, David Gedge and Mark E Smith - `<EM>errr...that sounds brilliant, are you quite sure?&nbsp;- Ed</EM>) you will discover that The Cribs actually have a knack of mixing very good pop melodies with their straight forward, no frills guitar driven songs as evident on the quite wonderful `Last Years Snow` and the album`s title track (the one song that Marr`s influence is definitely evident).&nbsp; Other highlights include latest single `Cheat On Me`, token slowie `Save Your Secrets` and LP opener `We Were Aborted` that manage to lift the album above the more workmanlike `Nothing` and the dull `Stick To Yr Guns`.</P> <P>So the greatest LP of the year so far (pre empting what the <EM>NME</EM> will probably say) ..well no ...but the best album by three Yorkshire, bowl headed brothers with a legendary Manc guitarist in tow ...you betcha! </P>... http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6314 http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp?id=6314 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT ...