Full English BreakfastThis a strange, beautiful, brilliant record which sounds like it has been unearthed from a capsule buried by Rough Trade in 1979 and yet at the same time, is curiously modern.
A concept album by art-pop performer Alvine Spetz, each track has an addictive charm. Weird and wonderful sounds and melodies provide the base for the flow of Alvine’s surreal, and very English, lyricism.
It would be perverse to try and use language to further describe the joys that unfurl themselves on frequent listening to this remarkable record. Perhaps the following list will whet your inquisitive appetites - think The Fall, Here Come The Warm Jets, Ivor Cutler, Postcard Records, Can, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End. And then stir in a spoonful of unique tune-smithery and you are almost there.
The world is waking to Alvine’s magic. Don’t you think you should too ?
‘A highly eccentric but thoroughly engaging electronic/art-pop debut that aligns him with the Fall, Denim and Frank Zappa.’ Uncut.
‘It pulls together the sound of the Fall, Edwyn Collins, Devo and Wire … seriously good.’ Sunday Times (4 stars).
http://www.myspace.com/fullenglishbreakfastmusic
Lucky Elephant-Starsign TrampolineIts always a charming surprise when listening to a new band to find they have made a conscious effort to make music that has real resonance through the craft of sound.
Recorded from start to finish on analogue tape, Starsign Trampoline is a delightful melange of organic melodies and warm vintage instrumentation. There are hints of early Beta Band and fellow IoW ex-pats The Bees, and moments where they wander into cosmos-gazing Flaming Lips territory.
Singer Manu has a sweetly searching voice with a hint of melancholia. His French accent comes through in flashes of charm. Allied to these are the wonderful sounds of sun blasted echo tapes, Harmonium and Wurlitzer. A jazzy backbeat underpins a sultry, purposeful groove. No wonder Lucky Elephant have found a home at Sunday Best, patrons of Bestival - this is music to listen to as the sun sinks into the horizon.
“The vision has always been about urban living, fast living, modern living and the ticking struggle it creates…” explains Manu, “but beneath all that, it feels a lot more about how we want to live our lives Vs how we have been programmed.”
I think we can all raise our glasses to that sentiment.
http://www.myspace.com/luckyelephantmusic
Wilco (The Album)If you have yet to connect to the music of Wilco, then this, their seventh album, is the perfect place to start. For fifteen years Jeff Tweedy and his band have explored music through the prism of Americana, embracing all its rich delights and adding their own.
The band’s story has had its fair share of tragedy and strife yet here they sound as if they have come stumbling out of a dark thicket into a sunlit clearing.
Which isn’t so far from the truth. Invited by Neil Finn to participate in an album for Oxfam with members of Radiohead and Johnny Marr, the band found themselves decamped from the onset of a Chicago winter (brrrrrr) into the sunshine and beauty of New Zealand. The experience clearly tickled their mojo, because with this album they have hit what old timers might once have called a solid gone groove.
Album opener ‘Wilco (the song)’ is a raw splice of Creedence and The Velvets, humming with funky intent. ‘Deeper Down’ highlights just what a great voice Tweedy has. ‘You Never Know’ has a tipsy swagger and irresistible ‘I don’t care anymore’ chorus. ‘Everlasting Everything’ could be a lighters aloft show closer but they are not really that kind of band. A poignant poem with a sweet refrain ebbs, flows, builds, swells even to a magical climax.
All that, and a cover which appears to show the band preparing to have a birthday party. With a camel. Called Albert.
http://www.myspace.com/wilco
The Boxer Rebellion - UnionThe Boxer Rebellion are a band who can defiantly say, we have done it our way.
A fourpiece from all over (American singer, Aussie guitarist, English bass n’ drums) they have an immediacy to their sound that locks on to the listener and propels us eagerly forward. Epic bursts of rich, beautiful noise punctuated by a voice that at times is reminiscent of Morrissey at full pelt.
Their first EP garnered swathes of critical praise, and we would all know their name already if singer Nathan Nicholson hadn’t had to undergo major surgery for a life threatening condition and their label collapsed. The band understandably lost their impetus, but went to ground, re-generated and released brilliant first album ‘Exits’.
Follow up ‘Union’ has already been a massive digital success. Lead track ‘Evacuate’ became the first global itunes single of the week, selling more than 500,000 copies. And now, in a ground breaking deal with HMV, they have bypassed record labels, going direct to all
HMV stores where they will soon be playing showcase gigs.
The album is released on Sept 14th
http://www.myspace.com/theboxerrebellion
The Gaslight Anthem - The ’59 SoundIf you don’t live there, it would be fair to suggest that the only two points of reference you have about New Jersey are The Sopranos and Bruce Springsteen.
Well, high-octane, soul-punk rock n’rollers The Gaslight Anthem are from New Jersey and while they certainly aren’t mobsters, they are like all great bands, a gang. And they love Bruce.
Here is an album of hook drenched, full tilt, euphoric rock and roll. It is relatively meaningless to attempt to describe their sound further. Far more revealing is what singer Fallon has to say about the band’s swift ascent to being one of the best new live acts on the planet:
“If this is in front of us and this is actually possible, well that’s the best thing in the world, you know and we’ll smile every time we play, that’s a fact.”
And so will you.
http://www.myspace.com/thegaslightanthem
Zero 7 - Yeah GhostHere’s a welcome surprise. Played blind, even the keenest ear might have a job recognising the latest from godfathers of exquisite ambient, downbeat dream pop Zero 7.
In between albums (Simple Things, When It Falls, The Garden) core duo Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker have experimented with pared-back electronic side projects, Kling and Ingrid Eto. And it is this exploratory inquisitiveness that pervades Yeah Ghost.
From intoxicating dance pop through to acoustic folk, these songs and instrumentals are all mystically vibrant, subtly challenging, and artistically ambitious. That they succeed so well in breaking from their past is no small part due to the excellence of their chosen collaborators. Up and coming talent in the form of singers Eska and Martha Tiltson make the tunes soar.
From the spooky electronica of album intro ‘Count Me Out’ to its shuffling, twitchy closer ‘All of Us’, you will be richly rewarded by Zero 7’s shape shifting genius.
http://www.myspace.com/zero7official
Moby - Wait For MeHow refreshing it is to alight on a new album by an artist you might have thought had had his day, only to sit stunned as waves of beautifully paced, poetic electronica wash over you.
It appears we have David Lynch to thank for this creative reinvention. It was at a lecture by the film maker when the message that creativity for its own sake is a beautiful, wonderful thing in itself struck Moby like a blinding flash.
Retreating from commercial concerns and big money studios, Moby crafted his best work in years, at home, with evident joy, since this album is a bewitching gem.
A few touchstones as to his new direction would be the occasional flash of Massive Attack at their low slung, bass heavy best, and moments of exquisite mystery which suggest Boards of Canada. During ‘Mistake’ even Joy Division have entered the room. These are clearly lofty artistic peaks and Moby reaches them with effortless grace.
Ten years on from ‘Play’ and we should feel very pleased that he has brought us another truly special album.
http://www.myspace.com/moby
The Nextmen - Join The DotsWith ten years as The Nextmen under their belts, London based Brad Baloo and Dom Search unleash an album dense with exuberant beats and joyful spirit.
Inspired by their wide-ranging DJ sets, the duo incorporate and venture beyond the hip-hop focused sound of their earlier productions to unite soul, dancehall, reggae, breakbeat, dubstep and pop styles. The intention is to literally join the dots between the broader musical styles within their already bulging and ever expanding record collection.
As scenesters and party makers of note, it was easy for the duo to invite a first rate clutch of guest vocalists and contributors. Lead single ‘The Lions Den’ is an extra large breakbeat-belter featuring Ms Dynamite. ‘Facts’ features the up and coming Roots Manuva endorsed Jimmy Screech, while two gems have Dynamite MC in full flow.
‘Join The Dots’ is a press play and walk away album. It’s a party and you need to dance. Leave everything else to The Nextmen.
http://www.myspace.com/thenextmen
Just Jack - All Night CinemaFrom the lush orchestral salvo and syncopated handclaps that kick off ‘Embers’ it is clear that this is the Just Jack album we have been waiting for since his double gold status ‘Overtones’.
Produced and almost entirely written by Jack, this is a genre busting album, packed with infectious, catchy, hook-laden tunes. Razor sharp lyrics deal with ordinary life in England as seen by Jack, which prove to be both arrestingly perceptive and highly amusing.
‘I never saw myself as a rapper’ insists Jack. ‘I always saw myself as a singer songwriter who had a little bit more to say than could fit into conventional songs’.
Sublime, poignant, slice of life poetry, with a golden touch for a pop tune. Perfect.
http://www.myspace.com/justjackuk
Baaba Maal - Television‘I think the musician’s role is to give advice, to warn people, and to make them aware of what they might not have thought of themselves. We use melodies and harmonies to make songs enter your mind.’
So declares the celebrated Senegalese master-musician Baaba Maal of the songs on Television. With its subtle blending of electronic dance elements with the timeless essence of West African musical traditions, the record is a groundbreaking successor to 2001’s Grammy-nominated Missing You.
Collaborating with singer Sabina Sciubba and keyboardist Didi Gutman, both members of New York’s Brazilian Girls, has been a masterstroke. The subtleties of modern electronica allied with the intoxicating rhythms of West Africa make for a rich stew of heady melody, funk and something very new and wonderful.
These songs enter your mind and leave a powerful imprint. ‘Television’ is a magnificent album, and should find its way into the collections of anyone who treasures music.
http://www.myspace.com/baabamaaltelevision
FABRICLIVE47: Toddla TThe latest from the superlative FABRICLIVE series is a living, breathing summation of all that is exciting about club music today.
At the helm, 24 year old Toddla T, earning his moniker when just 12 with a love of hip hop and his first set of decks. A Sheffield youth born into a society defined by cultural mix at school and in his neighbourhood, Toddla soon embraced local flavours of dancehall, ragga, grime and techno.
Hot on the heels of this spring’s year’s debut ‘Skanky, Skanky’ comes this seventy searing minute mix, veering from genre to genre, never missing a beat.
“I really wanted to represent an average DJ set in Fabric from Toddla T and (regular collaborator) Serocee, Sheffield sonic stylee - as if a sweaty Sheffield basement was transported to Farringdon for the night “. And if that thought tickles your wiggle bone, then this is made for you.
Not available from myspace but here's Toddla T http://www.myspace.com/toddlat
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