Category Archives: Music
65DaysOfStatic: We Were Exploding Anyway
It’s interesting that the ‘post-rock’ label is most disliked by the members of the bands themselves…which says more about how the press and the industry like to pigeonhole things than anything I think. Perhaps this is the reason why the latest full-length from 65daysofstatic sounds like they’re trying to distance themselves from the genre; The Distant & Mechanised Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties from their The Destruction of Small Ideas LP hinted at this but it wasn’t until I heard Weak4 that I realised what it really meant.
Weak4 sounds like a chaotic, desperate battle waged by 65dos’ live drummer against the insistent samples of their electronic percussion…and he seems to be winning. It’s in keeping with their industrial vibe (well, they are from around Sheffield!) but is certainly different from their earlier material. The reaction of some fans has been so far mixed; it’s still a great song to me though…and it’s not even the best that We Were Exploding Anyway has to offer.
Seven albums that changed my life
My PC is on the blink this week so I’m having to run it in safe mode just to get the main programs to work. Which doesn’t leave me with much I’m able to do…fortunately most of my music collection is on both CD and my hard drive so I won’t be going completely insane from boredom just yet (although I suspect it’s only a matter of time).
In terms of my guitar geekiness, it’s originally this bloke’s fault. Cheers for that, Nick
Since I want to write *something* to take my mind off the obvious annoyances but can’t watch fansubs or DVDs to write about, I figured I’d do a variant on the ‘favourite albums’ thing. Lists like those are self indulgent and meaningless so I’m outlining albums that have left a big impression on me and have marked important moments in my life as a musician/music fan. Still self-indulgent I guess, but at least somewhat meaningful – I also recommend you listen to them if you get the chance.
My Vitriol: A Pyrrhic Victory EP
I often wonder what’s going on with My Vitriol. After making such a splash with their debut album Finelines, followed by a two disc reissue and numerous tours and interviews, things have been very quiet on the releases front for a very long time. Recording albums isn’t something to be rushed but it’s been eight years or so, y’know? I’m hoping A Pyrrhic Victory is a sign of things to come and not the milestone for several more years of hiatus.
The thing is, this record has everything I love about MV and more but it’s barely a taster. War of the Worlds, bandied around as the single for that infamous upcoming second album, is one of their strongest numbers; hell, it’s absolutely immense (and as such, is excellent live). The shrieking rise-and-fall guitar riff is accompanied by vocals battling for supremacy over what I reckon is Ravi’s heaviest ever recorded drumming. It feels more insistent and brave than anything on their first album; like much of Muse’s recent work it’s hard to tell whether the lyrics are about world events, personal issues, or both. Basically it’s MV at their best, and is worth the RRP on its own.
The Verve’s 1992 back catalogue
Back in my high school days many thought the Battle of the Bands between Blur and Oasis marked the high point of the Britpop scene but amidst the high-profile chart topping acts many talented outfits went under the radar. The Verve, consisting of vocalist Richard Ashcroft, bassist Simon Jones, guitarist Nick McCabe, drummer Peter Salisbury and (for a time) guitarist/keyboardist Simon Tong, found chart success with their 1997 album Urban Hymns but they had been vying for the big time way before then. I must confess I hadn’t heard of them before this, so had to retrospectively work back to 1995′s A Northern Soul and beyond.
The funny thing is, their pre-’95 material sounds nothing like what the band’s fans are familiar with today. Ashcroft’s smoker’s baritone isn’t there, the indie ballad theme of the songs isn’t there. They owed little to their more (then) successful contemporaries at all; hell, McCabe could have passed for a younger 70s-era Dave Gilmour because the entire band wore their hair down to their shoulders. Looking back, I’ve decided that, ironically, their earliest songs were actually their best; at the very least they ought to be as well remembered as the more recent ones.
My Bloody Valentine live 2008: Manchester Apollo
It’s strange to think that the last time MBV played a full live show I was in my final year of primary school; suffice to say that after sixteen years then, expectations were high but at the same time nobody was entirely sure what to expect. As it stands, we have yet to hear any new material so all that we have to comfort ourselves with is that the new record is, in the band’s own words, “three quarters finished” and that the recent performances held so far in London, Manchester and, later this week, Glasgow, are providing them with a bit of extra motivation to get it completed.
The move back into the rigours of playing live and facing their fans once again seems to be taken in a somewhat tentative fashion judging by the timid and restrained on-stage presence that helped cement the ‘shoegaze’ title that their music is supposed to be categorized under. The support act for the evening, Spectrum, proved to be a well chosen warm-up outfit for the occasion, however: their ambient post-rock atmospherics (not dissimilar to Spiritualised, a band that was spawned from Spaceman 3 as Spectrum were) set the mood perfectly; and perhaps promises a comeback for Peter Kember too. The main event of the night was of course MBV’s comeback, which proved to be quite an experience.
Sennen: Where the Light Gets In
After their debut mini-album Widows and a couple of singles, the Norwich four-piece Sennen have finally released their first full-length effort Where the Light Gets In. I won’t pretend I wasn’t looking forward to hearing how they had fared during their latest studio sessions – from their university days to playing various venues in their home town to their contract with Hungry Audio, the band had been wearing their shoegazing heart on their collective sleeve while honing their own distinctive sound.
I’ll get the lazy and somewhat unhelpful comparisons out of the way before reviewing the record proper: as the band’s name suggests, they owe much to shoegazing legends such as My Bloody Valentine and especially Ride, a fact that is evident when you consider how things like spacey, jangling guitars and wistful harmonised vocals are present in both this and the early efforts from the old dreampop scene. What matters here though is that Sennen have carved a niche for themselves so the comparisons I’m drawing here have a positive connotation: whether it will garner the same long-term acclaim as the likes of Nowhere I wouldn’t even hazard a guess, but this is still one of the best new UK guitar rock albums you are likely to hear this year.
Muse: Black Holes and Revelations
I can remember a time when Muse were dismissed by many as Radiohead soundalikes; ironically at the time when the latter were moving away from the alternative rock and indie-based roots. four albums down the line, Muse seem to be following the same pattern in experimenting outside the guitar-orientated territory but in truth they have been pushing the envelope for some time now. In the case of Black Holes and Revelations the efforts of the Devon trio have crystallised into their most consistent and startling piece of work to date; crucially it still feels like a natural progression from their existing back catalogue.
The eclectic blend of alt-rock, metal, classical and electronica that has earned the band their reputation has continued to evolve, providing a backdrop for frontman Matthew Bellamy’s lyrics encompassing personal issues, politics, conspiracies and the supernatural. It’s a heady and volatile mix, which has over the years drawn criticism for being bombastic and pretentious; Muse have always kept their artistic excesses more or less in check but in this record they use this to their advantage. It’s their most ambitious and daring album so far but the gamble pays off.
Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward
To date, Depeche Mode’s high water mark has always been 1990′s Violator LP but their 1984 effort, Some Great Reward, can also be considered a milestone in their career. The fact that it was recorded in partly in Berlin may have heightened the influence of electronic trendsetters Kraftwerk but the main reason why this record is, for me at least, a turning point in their back catalogue is where it hones the dark yet catchy signature sound that they are known for today. Much of the lyrical content turns away from the politics and social commentary (such as Construction Time Again‘s Everything Counts) towards a stance that is more personal and introspective; this increased emotion is juxtaposed with a crisp, almost industrial synthesised sound that is very much a product of its time but somehow still feels fresh nearly a quarter of a century later.
My Bloody Valentine: Isn’t Anything
MBV effectively drew a line under the ‘shoegaze’ scene with their album Loveless but its predecessor Isn’t Anything is a timely reminder of how they themselves helped define the genre in the first place. It may lack the polish and perfectionism of what followed yet in some aspects it actually meets the greatest heights that Kevin Shields and co attained.
One point on which this album scores higher than Loveless is how each song, whether the listener finds it to be a highlight or not, is a separate part of the whole rather than a succession of pieces that blur into one; that is to say, it is an album that contains memorable songs that stand out as individual pieces. There are many highlights to Isn’t Anything, most notably Belinda Butcher’s distinctive approach to lyrical performance.
Dir en Grey live in London
The Angry Men of Osaka have come a long way from the point of view of their international fans. Their native Japan has had them all to itself for a decade now, although the’ve made some noteworthy appearances in the US recently. It’s all the more significant, then, when their first visit to the UK is not one but two sold-out shows on consecutive nights.
