logic 1000
Mother via Therapy/Because Music
Reviewed by John McEvoy
Album released 22nd March 2024
Australian musician & DJ Sam Poulter (Logic 1000) finally has her debut album out on the 22nd March and based on my first playthrough of the album, I have to say that if a mix of deep and funky house is your thing, then it’s well worth getting hold of a copy of this album.
From the insistent drum break beat of opening track ‘From Within’ through to album closer ‘Grown On Me’ (one of my favourite tracks) this the perfect showcase of what Logic 1000 is all about.
Guest appearances from Rochelle Jordan & Kayla Blackmon on “Promises’ and Self To Blame’ respectively, enhance an already great album, and whilst it would be fair to say that the ‘Funky House’ genre is a busy one to say the least, there is certainly enough here to suggest that the future is a bright one for Logic 1000 within the dance world.
Having become a mum for the first time in 2022, (hence the album title) she has certainly had more pressing matters to deal with, and based on the quality of this album it certainly seems to suit her.
All in all, an impressive release that deserves to do well, and is well worth checking out.
Tracklist:
· From Within
· Promises (feat Rochelle Jordan)
· Can’t Let Go
· Side By Side
· Self To Blame (feat Kayla Blackmore)
· Cartier
· Heartbeat
· Saint Rex
· All U Like
· Every Lil’ (feat DJ Plead & MJ Nebreda)
· Oceanic
· Grown On Me
Links:
saint saviour
Sunseeker via VLF
Reviewed by James Fortune-Clubb
Album released 22nd March 2024
Another new artist to me - Saint Saviour brings out her fourth album 'Sunseeker' this month on VLF.
English singer songwriter Becky Jones, originally of The RGB's and subsequently vocalist with Groove Armada, has been releasing solo material under the moniker of Saint Saviour for the last decade and a half. Whilst Jones' Saint Saviour releases have seemingly not troubled the charts, they have received critical plaudits from the likes of BBC 6 music etc.
'Sunseeker' is another production and collaboration with sought after producer Bill Ryder-Jones (former lynchpin with The Coral) and provides an ethereal, spacey landscape of well produced songs, which are well enough sung and delivered.
But there's something lacking here and I'm not entirely sure what that something is?
Purely personal preference, but I'm not a big fan in general of an overly vibrato vocal, which sporadically appears here throughout, but I'm sure that there's many who are.
There's a couple of guest appearances from Orlando Weeks, Jadu Heart and producer Bill Ryder-Jones on the track 'Not Nothing' - although his presence barely registered unfortunately.
'Sunseeker' has occasional echoes of...
French electro duo Air, but lacks their pop sensibility.
Alt rock band The Eels, but without enough left field edge
Salford singer songwriter Ren Harvieu but not as interesting
So in summation, Saint Saviour's 'Sunseeker' is well produced, pleasant, nice, inoffensive, but just not enough there to capture and hold my interest - underwhelming.
Links:
sam evian
Plunge via Flying Cloud recordings/Thirty Tigers
Reviewed by Stuart Condie
Album released 22nd March 2024
For the most part, I try to listen to new music, at least once, without conducting the slightest research into the artist or the back catalogue and without establishing which genre the hive mind has decided it exemplifies. I came really close to breaking my own rule on this one, if only to check that this was genuinely a 2024 release. There is a sense of timelessness about this album which really had me doubting.
Sam Evian has made his name as a producer working with a range of artists including Cass McCombs and Big Thief but Plunge is the fourth album released under his own name. Refreshingly I have to say that this doesn’t sound like a producer’s album. There is an overall spontaneity here, a mile away from the sense you can have of every passage having been played a hundred times to get “just that take” and every guitar tone and drum mic placement having been agonised over for hours.
That’s not to say that there’s no craft here; quite the opposite, but the point is that it’s not showy and certainly not there for its own sake. To make an album that feels so instantly familiar without lapsing into pastiche and which pays appropriate homage to its antecedents without ripping them off can’t have been easy.
This is a collection of guitar-centred songs delivered without histrionics and featuring fabulous vocal harmonies throughout. If the guitar and saturated Fender Rhodes inspired keyboard tones (see particularly Why Does It Take So Long for the latter) put you in mind of things you’ve heard before, so what? It chimes with the stated loose overall concept and time frame of the album, a reflection on Evian’s parents’ love story.
The album kicks off with the lead single Wild Days, the video for which goes a long way to explaining how this music came together. Evian gathered friends and previous collaborators in his own studio in the mountains and laid the whole thing down in 10 days of sessions recorded almost wholly from the floor. In an era when the bulk of new music seems to be assembled from component parts recorded and shared over the internet by people who need not necessarily even meet, the benefits of sitting musicians in the same room and having them play together seem stunningly obvious. I wouldn’t draw stylistic comparisons to The Band and the celebrated Music from Big Pink, but the collective ethos is certainly consistent.
This song runs largely over an insistent bass figure with shifting harmonies over the top and then catches you out with an unexpectedly jarring dischord in the middle before resolving back into the original driving pattern and a guitar solo. As with most of what follows, these elements are all given long enough to make an impression without overstaying their welcome.
There’s a fairly explicit nod to “You Got It” to kick off the second track, Jacket and indeed a general feel of the Travelling Wilburys throughout as the vocals and guitar run over a rising and falling four-bar riff. Rollin’ In is probably the most pared back song in the set with the distorted guitars replaced with acoustic tones, and some gentle sax over the relaxing sound of waves breaking on a shore. Why Does It Take So Long is something of a return to business as usual with a great guitar play-out but Freakz contained this album’s biggest surprise for me with the chorus being built around a direct quote from Weather Report’s Teen Town. It’s great that this is played and not sampled. If the musical references here are from Evian’s upbringing, there is some fabulous parenting on display.
Wind Blows is another mid-paced exercise and like much of the album shows real musical democracy at work by keeping all the instruments essentially equally prominent in the mix. Runaway is another shuffle but one which builds intensity as successively the piano, guitar and organ take turns to front up over a deceptively complex chord progression. Although I did say that I couldn’t see any real comparisons with The Band, I did pick up a reference in the first line of Another Way to coming “down off the mountain” which could easily be seen as a nod to Up On Cripple Creek. Stay with its layered guitars, pedal steel solo and serene vocal harmonies put me in mind of George Harrison albeit with a surprisingly abrupt ending.
So Sam Evian clearly has an extensive and impressive record collection or a really happy set of musical memories, but this short album is much more than some extended musical shoplifting exercise. As well as being properly respectful of the influences it carries, there is a sure-footedness about all of this which tells me that Sam Evian doesn’t mind the world knowing what he’s been listening to.
Track Listing:
1. Wild Days 3.39
2. Jacket 3.12
3. Rollin’ In 4.45
4. Why Does It Take So Long 4.04
5. Freakz 3.23
6. Wind Blows 4.04
7. Runaway 4.23
8. Another Way 2.44
9. Stay 3.17
Links:
the wandering hearts
Mother via Chrysalis Records
Reviewed by Neil Milner
Album released 22nd March 2024
Mother is the absorbing third album from British trio The Wandering Hearts. It’s sound, and even the album cover font, have strong echoes of the past and it offers a mixture of musical styles, including country, folk, pop, and blues.
The band is made up of Tara Wilcox (vocals), A.J. Dean (vocals, acoustic guitar), and Francesca 'Chess' Whiffin (vocals, mandolin). As the title suggests, new parenthood is a dominant theme with both Tara and Chess pregnant during the recording.
It’s a record rich with powerful vocals and harmonies, technically excellent musicality, and sonically strong production. That combination makes for obvious First Aid Kit comparisons. But this is not a pastiche record. It, and they exist on their own merits.
Some songs are intense, broody, and sultry, such as Still Waters, Tired, Rivers to Cry and the wonderful Not Misunderstood.
Others are more overtly pop with strong melodic hooks reminiscent of yesteryear hits, notably on Hold Your Tongue and Letter to Myself, which has 1990s number 1 running through it like a stick of Hits Radio rock.
Tired is a classy song, with echoes of Chris Isaacs and his Wicked Games in its arrangement, vocal delivery, and production. Similarly elegant is Waiting, a luxuriant string heavy ballad complete with close harmony vocal.
The press release states that, ‘album highlight Not Misunderstood broods and builds, warning of a looming emotional storm’. It is easily the album highlight and reminds me of the brooding intensity of commercial peak period Jose Gonzales. The band sing and play the song as though they have no choice. It’s either create this, or face life in an eternal dark void from which there is no escape.
It’s not an innovative record. At times it can be predictable. There’s plenty of borrowed melodies and musical styles. But the powerful harmonies and sonics, musicality and lyrical themes mostly make it rich and captivating.
Overall, it’s a delightfully polished, occasionally intense, sonically strong record with a mature sound for a maturing audience who may not have yet fully embraced the arrival of early middle age. But don’t despair, life experiences become richer and more interesting when youth finally wave’s you goodbye. Take this record for example.
Track listing:
01 - About America
02 – Still Waters
03 – Tired
04 – Letter To Myself
05 – Hold Your Tongue
06 – Waiting
07 – Dance Again
08 – Not Misunderstood
09 – River To Cry
10 – Will You Love Me
11 – What Fools Believe
Links:
the buffalo skinners
Picking Up What You're Putting Down - Loose Chat Records
Reviewed by Liam McEvoy
Album released 29th March 2024
The Buffalo Skinners return with their fourth studio album Picking Up What You’re Putting Down. The band who originate from Scarborough are known for their intricate blend of roots-rock and roll and country and this sound is polished to perfection on this latest album.
With The Buffalo skinners receiving significant acclaim for their previous releases this newest offering is sure to generate glowing praise once again as” picking up what you’re putting down” shows The Buffalo Skinners at the magnificent best.
Beginning like as a busking band in Scarborough The buffalo Skinners have refined and perfected their sound and the bands influences are clear from the first note of the title track “picking up What You’re Putting Down with the 60’s rock and roll sound at the forefront of the album.
The Buffalo Skinners are not just a one trick piney however as throughout the record the inflections of folk and country are intricately woven. Whether it be the violins on “Slim Richmond” and “Double Blue Line” or the delicate vocal harmonies on “Come down” and the epic closing track “ Regret Regret”, The Buffalo Skinners have masterfully fused the sounds to produce an incredible polished album.
With Picking Up What You’re Putting down The Buffalo Skinners seem to have truly refined their craft to produce an album that shows a band at the peak of their creative powers.
Out on the 29th March 2024 this is an album that should not be missed.
Track List:
1. Picking Up What Your Putting Down
2. Wrong Crowd
3. Cheesecake
4. Sonny Song
5. Slim Richard
6. Carve Yourself A Stone
7. Washing My Hands
8. One Rule
9. Wear It On Your Sleeve
10. Double Blue Line
11. Come Down
12. Regret, Regret
Links:
james
Yummy - Via Virgin Music
Reviewed by Levi Tubman
Album released 12th April 2024
35 years ago, James released one of their biggest songs Sit Down, asking us to sit down next to them, and while we might have sat they did not, with this their 18th album to date, they are not a band to rest, but do they still have the magic all these years later?
Is This Love opens the album, with simple electronic drum loop, touch of organ and then the vocals, Tim Booths voice is unrecognisable, rising over the music, this itself hasn’t dulled an inch over time. Asking Is this love we just Weaponised and what is it good for? It’s a simple love song, with simple words with the phrase Peace OF Mind repeated as backing vocals over Tims vocalising, while the number of instruments grows, adding bright accents, it’s a simple musical theme throughout, gentle introduction to the album showing music doesn’t have to be over complicated to be good.
James have always mixed acoustic with electronic, a band as much at home with an acoustic set or a dance tent, while not a dance number Life Is A Fucking Miracle’s first minute is an electronic drum beat, with some keys and bird noises before kicking in, with a retro beat and subdued vocals singing I’m Another Dumb Fish In Another Dumb Bowl its only a few seconds before we get the expected burst of joy and energy, the James festival sound singing of life and its miracle, the dark and light of the verse and chorus work smoothly together both letting the band stretch their electronic wings.
Shadow Of A Giant is a giant of a song relying heavily on vocals, the first couple of minutes spoken with slight instrumentation, choral style backing vocals framing Tim’s lead brings a spiritual warmth to the song, coming in at over 6 minutes the longest track is a beautiful stopping point in the middle of the album where the band take a slight downshift.
A band not afraid social observation we get a couple of tracks on our modern life, first up Mobile God, it’s a social observation of this digital era. Im The Last Thing You Stroke In The Evening Before Bed, I’m The Lover You Touch In The Morning In Your Bed, the opening line giving you everything the song entails right there, your mobile is the book end to your day, it’s a damming review on the electronic device set to a fun upbeat soundtrack that calls to get you up and dancing, and with every line making a very good point, how many fans will listen to this album on their phone? We cant escape the mobile but it can help us listen wonderful songs like this.
Following up is Our World, with a whistled intro, its again more energetic fun, upbeat and lively, designed to get a crowd going with a catchy chorus, while the lyrics call on humanities crimes of the past and present, We Don't Own The World She Came For Free, and Why Obsess With Nationality? A band who have always believed in freedom beautifully put a voice to what they see as injustices in a fun bright way happily singing it out with La Ra Ra, La Ra Ra’s
Rogue is a bit of a throwback to James’s music of old, with references to age and paying his dues, a little autobiographical, it’s not negative, it just points out a few facts, that yes dancing can get harder but he’s still going, still trying and about to go Rogue, with fast paced music and lyrics I can see this being a live favourite.
With Folks, James almost go out of their way to do this. The opening line, Folks Lets Hit The Road, it’s time for us to leave and they invite us to. While the lyrics might be clear, the music not so much, processed sounding an old tape wavering in pitch and tempo before coming down into a neat simple beat with guitars, before again telling us it’s time to go, you can picture Tim sat on the edge at a festival, the end of a set, feet kicking against the stage as he tells us he’ll see us on the other side, a beautifully structured outro you at times get the sense it’s the end of a life, but be it the end of an album or a person, it’s a beautiful work of art.
Some albums are for diehard fans, some for the casual listener and some are a listeners first experience of a band. This album has a lot to give all these groups and more, but where I think it has the most to give is for fans who have fallen out of love with them, with songs that are going to bring up memories of listening to the big hits of the past while bringing them exciting new material to keep them listening.
James are one of most underrated bands of their generation, capable of writing huge fun hits and thoughtful observational complex numbers all of which have Tim’s unmistakeable voice who still has one of the best voices out there, all of which is present here from the start.
Track Listing:
1. Is This Love
2. Life’s A Fucking Miracle
3. Better With You
4. Stay
5. Shadow Of A Giant
6. Way Over Your Head
7. Mobile God
8. Our World
9. Rogue
10. Hey
11. Butterfly
12. Folks
Links:
palace
Ultrasound
Reviewed by Chris Morley
Album released 5th April 2024
Producer/ artist pairings can often become so sacrosanct that the mere idea of breaking them could trigger thoughts of imminent collapse- think George Martin & the Beatles, Martin Birch & Iron Maiden, Terry Brown & Rush, or Nigel Godrich & Radiohead, say.
With this new album Palace are once more teaming up with Adam Jaffrey a mere eight years after he stepped behind the boards for their first tentative dalliance with what both probably saw as a beautiful future together.
But, as we must surely ask at this juncture, does it hold that same magic? Have both still got it? Or was So Long Forever a mere summer fling of a record, with Ultrasound a comparatively feebler attempt to get the old magic back?
On this evidence we should be glad they went against Taylor Swift's advice & got back together over nightmares & ice cream. For yes, there is something there so stickily sweet you'll probably want more, but balanced with a little of the heavier stuff for something a bit more nuanced.
But it was ever thus, as long- time listeners will probably attest, & their forthcoming record store dates will probably give both long- termers & those new to their tangled web something to savour before the main event of their own headline shows, which will give them chance to show off a lovely Hugh Syme- ish album cover as well as the new songs, Love Is A Precious Thing probably the one destined to relocate bums from seats as things wear on.
Links:
yellow days
Hotel Heaven
Reviewed by Stuart Clarkson
Album released 5th April 2024
Yellow Days third album welcomes the listener to a louche, decadent world dripping with sleaze which in the musical style.
1970’s Lennon/Bowie inspired vocals complemented by a Tame Impala like sparse, low-fi musical backdrop play out an album based around the concept of fake luxury and the TikTok inspired aspiration of ubiquitous fame.
The result is a departure from the trippy vibes of 2022’s Inner Peace album to an altogether more intense darker offering.
This chimes with Yellow Days aka George van den Broek’s expressed desire to cut loose from his previous offerings and start afresh.
The talented 20-something Londoner recorded this album entirely in his Brick Lane flat and in the process played every instrument , programmed all the drums and laid down the vocal parts.
The album weighs in at an economical 7 tracks lasting under half an hour. The opening track repeats the line ‘Welcome to the hotel heaven, this is how thunder starts‘ a number of times and serves as a brief introduction to the concept.
The remaining 6 songs showcase the artist’s charismatic vocals which take on an a glam funk styling at times. The vocals drip with attitude as the album unfolds allowing the emotive vocals to shine and dominate.
Worth investigating for those in search of something a little different to the norm.
It’s entirely appropriate that the forthcoming European and American tour has a date in Berlin as this album will feel entirely at home there surrounded by a background of hedonistic indulgence with a touch of lewd impropriety thrown in for good measure.
Links:
the k's
I Wonder If The World Knows - LAB Records
Reviewed by Chris Morley
Album released 5th April 2024
Playing support slots is one thing, but on this evidence the K's can expect to make the step up fairly comfortably off the back of this, the all- important début album backing up their hard- won live reputation.
The question of its title emphatically answered with an easy' if it didn't before, it should soon enough” , a later Nineties/ early Noughties indie energy fizzing throughout as befits a band sounding as if they were built on & indeed for the live stage.
The studio merely providing a touch of finesse on top of songs perfected seemingly via some sort of muscle memory thanks to the rather handy training wheels of performance in front of a crowd without the pressure of headlining, festival gatherings up & down the country hardly the worst to have in your back pocket either.
And sometimes the easiest thing to do is replicate what goes down on stage on record- see the likes of Black Sabbath's self- titled debut, Metallica's Kill' Em All & Judas Priest's Unleashed In The East for an admittedly not bad hat- trick of such attempts.
While the K's sit about as far outside the spit & sawdust of thrash as its possible to go, there is a similar sense of immediacy & energy here, a desire to get the songs out & presumably to a festival near you very soon- expect to hear the likes of Heart On My Sleeve doing the rounds on radio before they hit the Reading/Leeds/ Isle Of Wight circuit.
Links:
the libertines
All Quiet On The Eastern Esplenade
Reviewed by Dave Flerin
Album released 5th April 2024
Well, the princes of indie have returned with a dirty new album to save us all from the new Kings of Leon record. The Libs are back, like mad, drunk friends banging on your door at four in the morning with reckless abandon.
It’s been nine years without them, but thirty seconds into Run Run Run and it feels like they’ve never been away. They’ve got older but the music’s new, and it’s bathed in that comforting layer of grime lots of us have come to adore, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s a record which at times sounds like a wild ride in a jalopy chariot down the cobbled hill in the Hovis ad. But along with all the ragged bluster, Pete, Carl, John and Gary still peel back the surface veneer now and again to show us what’s going on underneath it all, where they sing about being “brutalized” and “the tears fall like bombs without warning”.
Then a tune like “Merry Old England” strolls into view with a swoonsome melody which kicks in and brings with it some lush strings and sloppy, amateurish guitar to remind us just what they’re all about. Next, we get wistful Libs and then a rollocking cockernee punky little number with some very Steve Jones-y riffing.
Carl and Pete have matured into such confident and assured singer-songwriters that “Baron’s Claw” could be a mid-set song of a residency at a backstreet Parisienne jazz club, in an alternate universe, with Edith Piaff next up doing her greatest hits. It’s no-surprises Libertines towards the end of this album, which isn’t setting the world on a new course, but will comfortably cement their place in the hearts and minds of the already faithful.
They’re such a polarising band; delighting a few, and disgusting most of the rest. All the grim old headlines, media smears, filthy reputations and cartoon personas should be put aside; they’ve surely, finally earned their right to be heard without prejudice by a wider audience, and officially declared national treasures. Art, ugliness, humour, beauty, pathos, honesty; so many different strands of what make us human are here. Give it a spin, you might just like it.
It's out now in the usual range of formats and you can catch them live in early April and on a national UK tour from September.
Links:
gun
Hombres via Cooking Vinyl
Reviewed by Dave Flerin
Album released 12th April
Hmm, Glaswegian “hard rockers” GUN are back to dispense some more of their particular brand of rock, and TBH I’m still scarred from listening to their last offering two years ago, so I’m not looking forward to it. Opener, “All Fired Up” rhymes “burning with desire” with “gonna take me higher,” so if these rhyming couplets are anything to go by, it’s going to be a long 35 minutes. Thankfully, its guitar solo actually sounds like hard rock this time, so it already sounds way better than their acoustic album I reviewed back in 2022.
It's a well-produced album, with the all-important “rock” guitars presented at just the right level of rockingness. They still remind me of Bon Jovi when they get motoring like on “Take Me Back Home”, but lots of people like them, so that’s not a bad thing is it?
They prove early on that they’re capable of shaking things up a bit with tunes like Fake Life, which is built round a big glamrock stomp; and by this point I’m feeling bad for judging them totally by their previous record, as this is infinitely superior. It’s still definitely not music for me, but I can see how people into this genre could really like GUN.
Tracks like “Falling” really take me back to the 80s glory days of this type of rock. When I close my eyes though, I still can’t imagine the bright young things dancing along to it, so I’ll stick to my assertion from 2022 that this music is for middle-aged rockers; but they need music too, don’t they?
There are slower singalongs for the couples at live shows, like “You Are What You Need”; numerous Bon Jovi-esque rockers; and even one which reeks of ZZ Top. By the time “Never Enough” drops I’ve totally stopped being po-faced about GUN and started to realise that they’re actually ok. I had a similar inner turmoil for decades about “Top Gun” and refused to watch it until about 2022, and it actually turned out to be great, throwaway fun. Not every record has to be the one that changes your life, does it?
“A shift in time” has a 5% Beatles influence if you listen hard enough; and I can also detect a 3.7% influence from Primal Scream’s “Give Out But Don’t Give Up” on this album, too.
“Hombres” doesn’t end with their “Day In the Life” but with “Pride,” a rather upbeat, lightweight rocker, which still compliments the rest of the record.
So, where does all that leave us? Well, I found this album to be surprisingly palatable; so maybe there’s a rocker in me yet, waiting to break out. “Hombres” has some nice melodies, and enough light and shade to make them (if you don’t look too deep into it) very listenable, if rock is your bag.
Links:
flowered up
A Life With Brian - London Records
Reviewed by Chris Morley
Album released 19th April
Given the obvious links & connotations, is it too lazy to label Flowered Up as a sort of early Pink Floyd for the baggy generation? Refrain if you will from stamping up & down on your Reni hats & let us run with the theme- for it feels like there's more to them than an almost P-Funkish devotion to the “ party all day every day” philosophy which would eventually swallow them whole.
Consider the stretched out Interstellar Overdrive out for a good time that is Weekender, in its own way every bit as out there as anything you might have stumbled across at UFO- here updated for those who'd rather have been at the Hacienda doing a saucerful of something they probably shouldn't, a snapshot of a time before things got out of hand & the gates of dawn snapped firmly shut....
But before they did came Take It, an affirmation taken all too literally by both Maher brothers- Liam & Joe- as well as sections of the audience in their all too brief heyday, it would seem. Not messiahs but probably very naughty boys, not that it detracts from the lysergic quality of most of what's on offer here- file under Happy Mondays with a psychedelic tint , free your mind & indeed allow your ass to follow.
Links:
shelter boy
MERCYLAND - via Scruff of the neck
Reviewed by James Fortune-Clubb
Album released 26th April
April sees the release of new album 'MERCYLAND' from Shelter Boy (issued via Scruff of The Neck).
This is the second album to be released by German born Shelter Boy (real name Simon Graupner).who has previously prompted comparisons with King Krule and Mac DeMarco.
So what does MERCYLAND bring to the early 21st century singer-songwriter table then?
Well, Shelter Boy offers us ten new songs, apparently documenting his time growing up from adolescence to young adulthood.
His method of delivery and singing style sound surprisingly southern English - presumably in tribute to, and via the influence of, the plethora of London born singer songwriters delivering songs in a similar sounding vein?
SB gives us a pleasing collection of singalong, happy sounding, vaguely alt-pop ditties with a rough edge to the vocals - keeping it reeal. There's a definite air of euphoria to many of the tracks, almost quasi One Direction by turns - although I suspect that's possibly not the sound or the demographic he was aiming for?
The songs are well written enough, they're competent and occasionally quirky, but as with the production, they're more often than not predictable and disappointingly unadventurous.
Having said that, there's definitely a market out there for these kind of tunes and many of the songs on MERCYLAND generally have a certain pleasing swing about them.
So whilst MERCYLAND does feel like lacks originality and maybe these kind of songs have been done by others before and better - I can see how SB's songs would work well in a live setting as a good old-fashioned hearty singalong, indeed many of the tracks feel almost premeditated for that purpose and nonetheworse for that.
Links:
the idoru
Undertow - via Black Star Foundation
Reviewed by Chris Morley
Album released 26th April
In a world where heavy metal is seemingly divided into endless subgenres, its refreshing to find a band embracing the simple but effective “two shades of Black” template- that is to say Flag & Sabbath, the speed of the first with the slow-burning heaviosity of the other helping to make this what it is alongside whiffs of Tool, Slayer & the Melvins, a short, sharp blast of what sounds like focused anger of the sort more commonly found among the punks making this quite a bracing but effective listen, in the vein of early hardcore.
Buried under a layer of sludgy Tony Iommi- isms from Tibor Szalkai on guitar it may be, but Gregg Ginn is equally present & correct in the execution, Mario Szirota a capable Robo/Bill Ward behind the kit as Matyas Mohacsi supplies the Geezer Butler/ Dez Cadena touches on the bass in a happy marriage of Master Of Reality & My War- the Sewn Shut single a blistering preview, close study of the likes of Reign In Blood hopefully soon to pay off & have The Idoru spreading the symptom of the universe a little wider across Europe at least.
Links:
Youbet
Way To Be - Hardly Art Records
Reviewed by Andi Bridges
Album released 10th May 24
Nick Llobet (they/them), the main driving force behind youbet, comes across as the very essence of a tortured artiste. Across the 12 tracks on offer the lyrics touch on the duality of self-love and self-loathing. They use clever wordplay and tongue-in-cheek humour to obliquely explore dysfunctional relationships, regret, self-confidence or the lack thereof, queerness, and self-discovery. The album was four years in the making and is their debut disc for Hardly Art. It was written and produced by them at home in Brooklyn. It follows 2019s Compare and Despair, the debut album.
Nick is joined on the album by Micah Prussack and Joanna Quinn as the other members of youbet, as well as collaborators, including Julian Fader (Ava Luna), Adam Brisbin (Buck Meek), and Daniel Siles.
Musically, there are elements of shoegaze, however much of it is off kilter. Swapping between a childlike innocence, reminiscent of Syd Barrett, to some heavy fuzz guitar. Opening track: Carsick was the lead single last year, which dances around Llobet’s frustration with their own addictive personality, hence the lyric “Knowing when to stop/It must be sweet”. The vocals are in a high register and are quiet sweet sounding, sometimes at odds with what is happening musically. Way To Be follows and serves up more of the same. Most of the songs are around the 2.30/3-minute mark so never outstay their welcome.
Nurture revolves around a dreamy guitar riff, possibly the most tuneful track on the album. Seeds Of Evil, demonstrates Nick’s playful ability to play a light melody against darker lyrical subject matter.
Do, track 6, is probably my favourite track on the album. It’s dark both musically and lyrically with Nick wringing some really weird sounds out of his guitar, whilst singing “I’ve made my bed and I sleep in it”. Peel, has a Latin vibe to it, based around a flamenco guitar part that Nick studied growing up in Florida. It also employs the Carter Scratch technique as a nod to Maybelle Carter.
Llobet concludes, “Every song I birth is an opportunity to reinvent myself and gives me a chance to perform through a different spiritual filter. Each song is like a creature that lives within the depths of my soul, waiting to be written. I have this growing collection of spirit demons that keep me company in my creative life.”
A number of tracks have been recorded Live@WFUV, as a straight 3 piece: guitar/vocals, bass and drums, and posted on YouTube. They are played at a slightly quicker tempo, and they sound stronger for it.
There is an unpredictability across the tracks, but when taken as a whole, there is a definite formula. I can see Nick’s vision across the disc, that said it’s not an album that’s easy to listen to, but when someone is laying their inner thoughts and feelings bare, it shouldn’t be.
Links:
pokey lafarge
Rhumba Country - New West Records
Reviewed by Stuart Condie
Album released 10th May 24
Pokey LaFarge; a new, if instantly memorable, name to me. This album is far from his first rodeo however. His output has been impressive since his self-released debut in 2006. I count 10 previous releases. Would the music stick in my mind to the same extent as the name?
The first thing to say is that there’s little or no possibility of bringing any misleading advertising challenge over this album; “Rhumba” we are promised and for the first few tracks at least, that’s what we get. We get it at different speeds, in a mix of major and minor moods and with just enough variation in instrumental accompaniment to keep things interesting.
But there’s also sufficient variety of general Americana on show to validate the “Country” label too. Nothing, I would stress, in the least mawkish and no mention I could hear of trucks. There are a few themes on show here but probably the most obvious is the idea of moving. This is a celebration of place as well as of the sheer joy of getting there. The vocals are kept high in the mix throughout, typically with sufficient reverb to create the impression of a live performance. If that draws attention to the fact that we aren’t always dealing with deep philosophical thought in the lyrics, it’s none the worse for that.
One You, One Me kicks things off with a familiar and insistent rhythm and stabs of tinkling piano. The song celebrates a love based on a perfect match or on things which naturally and inevitably belong together. But there’s also a big hint of the overall mood of the album to come here in the lyric, “Just like a summer day that never fades, We’ll stay hotter than a new dance craze”. This is music for brighter days when there’s plenty time to get things done and it doesn’t really matter if it takes until tomorrow.
For A Night picks up the tempo slightly but hits the same sort of groove and with the catchiest of choruses (“Let me try to help you feel better, If only for one night”). There’s a glorious, if short, horn-driven middle eight and a clarinet playout, after a false ending, with a brand new hook which could have merited a song in its own right.
Run Run Run takes us into mambo territory and strikes a rare notice of urgency if only to urge us not to sit still and accept our lot. “You’ve got to run, run, run, Don’t stop until you get there son”. The whole song spins over two chords but there’s enough going on, particularly when the vocals are left on top of percussion alone, that you won’t notice.
It’s with Sister Andre that we start to move away from purely rhythm-driven songs to something with a more complex structure, but again it serves to support a relentlessly optimistic attitude, even in the face of setbacks. So Long Chicago is an infectious little shuffle and, despite myself I couldn’t help joining in with the “Uh-huhs” that drive the song along. It’s Not Over (“’Til it’s Over”) is explicitly about sticking with it in the belief that there’s better to come. The initial, “Closed doors I can’t open, Opened doors I can’t close” sets the scene, but only to say that all is not lost. I was reminded for reasons I can’t quite tie down, of Roy Orbison in this track but on playing it through repeatedly I found Edwyn Collins coming to mind as well.
Home Home Home is the obvious counterpart to Run Run Run, at least in suggesting that all this travel is leading somewhere. With some twangy guitar figures and the harmony backing, this feels like a gentle step on the road to rockabilly, but with an air of longing to be back amongst family and the familiar.
Made To Be Loved sees Pokey’s vocals shared and harmonised with a female voice and is probably the most saccharine of all the songs in the set. Even here though, the point is not to give up because redemption, of the romantic type at least, remains firmly on the cards. “No matter what’s been done to you, You were made to be loved”
The album finishes with You Make My Garden Grow which I found the least convincing track, but I think that’s possibly because I found the slightly and doubtlessly deliberately less polished vocal jarring with the overall optimism of the piece as a whole. Lyrically I have to concede that it’s consistent; why plant seeds if not because you expect something good to grow?
I doubt this album will be on my top 10 list for this year, but in saying that, if I want something to lift my mood – and who doesn’t need that from time to time – I could definitely see this getting a spin. It’s a musical travelogue, but the travel here isn’t about running away, it’s about moving on because there’s something good to find. Can’t fault that attitude one bit.
Tracklist:
1. One You, One Me
2. For A Night
3. Run Run Run
4. Like A Sailor
5. Sister Andre
6. So Long Chicago
7. It’s Not Over
8. Home Home Home
9. Made To Be Loved
10. You Make My Garden Grow
Links:
frank turner
Undefeated
Reviewed by Andi Bridges
Album released 3rd May 24
The second review I did for Wall Of Sound was the 10th Anniversary release of Frank’s England Keep My Bones. It blew me away and I vowed to explore his back catalogue on the strength of it.
So, it seems only fitting that I now get to review his latest offering Undefeated, his tenth and the follow up to his 1st number one, 2022s FTHC. As usual it is written by Frank and recorded using his trusted band: Ben Lloyd (guitar), Tarrant Anderson (bass), Callum Green (drums) and Matt Nasir (piano) at the studio he co-owns in Essex. The difference is this time he has produced it himself. Released as usual by X-Tra Mile Recordings.
Frank says: “There are no clichés about the difficult 10th album, so in some ways, that's a liberating statement. But at the same time, I have a duty to justify writing and releasing a 10th album. That's a lot of records for anybody. Also, I’m 42. Which is not a sexy, rock’n’roll age. But all through my career, I've been interested in writers like Loudon Wainwright III or The Hold Steady, people who write about adulthood, essentially.”
To a certain extent on first listen it appears to be a bit of a mishmash, across the 14 tracks there are a lot of influences. That said all that has happened is Frank is allowing his 25+ years as a music fan to show itself. Do One starts the set, “I’m still standing up and there’s nothing you can do”, upbeat and defiant, it sets the tone nicely for a collection titled Undefeated.
Followed by the rather tongue in cheek, Never Mind The Back Problems, that fairly races along and wouldn’t feel out of place at a Pogue’s gig. Ceasefire appears to be a letter to his fifteen year out self trying to square to circle of where he is now to where his younger self wanted to be at this time in life.
Girl From The Record Shop, comes over all pop punk. A modern reference would be Blink 182, however for those of you with a more mature vintage, I would suggest Blondie circa Parallel Lines. Pandemic PTSD revisits the gift that keeps on giving and alludes to the mental fallout from that time. There is some tasteful organ underpinning the tune. Letters keeps the tempo up, dealing with the lost art of expressing oneself with pen and paper.
East Finchley slows it right down and Frank delivers a plaintive vocal over a sparse backing.
No Thank You For The Music, sees the angry Frank of yore return. This time railing against the music industry, “I don’t want to be in any gang that you’re in”. The Leaders basically warns us against trusting our leaders because “Your leaders’ not your friend”, all over a Bo Diddily rhythm. International Hide And Seek Champions wonders what it would be like to just say- sod this being an adult malarky let’s just run away.
Show People is very Americana, I’m getting a sense of Tom Petty from the backing music, although the lyrics are very English. On My Way is the start of the album’s mellow section, being an acoustic track. Followed by Somewhere Inbetween, with its off-kilter drum pattern, again Frank lyrically reflecting on where he is now. Lastly, we get the title track Undefeated, where you would expect an up-tempo rocker, Frank delivers a laid back piano driven tune stating he is undefeated.
I love this album, not just because it is Frank Turner but because it covers so many musical bases. It’s an album that could only be written after half a lifetimes experiences.
Links:
gabrielle
A place In Your Heart
Reviewed by Levi Tubman
Album released 10th May 24
With one of the most recognisable voices in the industry, Gabrielle is back with her 8th studio album, with over 30 years in the industry, multiple awards and millions of records sold she’s an artist who’s never shown any signs of slowing down.
Opening the album is Sorry, straight out of the box her voice is smooth and soulful, singing “Sorry doesn't cut it You have to know I'm gutted Will I ever get the chance again?” its an emotional apology from start to finish, it feels genuine and heartfelt suddenly picking up speed at the end before a delicate fade out, a beautiful start to a record.
Followed by Miss You and Wont Be There continues with the contemplative theme, with lines like “Cutting ties is never east” the repeated phrase “Youre gonna be lonely lonely lonely” and “Begging me to take you back, please leave me alone youre the reason that youre sad” it cements it as such a personal and heartfelt record with Gabrielle proudly wearing her heart on her sleeve, you’re drawn in and feel part of the story.
Change picks up the pace, louder guitar and drums brining the feel of a more traditional pop song, while it has poignant moment, where she declares “My time with you, I could never be myself it is a song about change, and growth both within the world and the world around her so when she sings “‘The woman that I used to be, she’s gone forever cant you see’” feels more of positive thriving than sad reflection.
The albums title track, A Place In Your Heart carries on the positive growth, brighter and more upbeat, showing the full range of her voice, from humming in the intro through to straight out rock as the band kick fully in, this isn’t a sound I’m used to hearing with Gabrielle but her voice sails effortlessly though it, with positive lyrics and driving drums, its quite different to the rest of the album but no less brilliant.
We then get songs like rainbow, slow acoustic melodies which makes full use of her voices beautiful tone and fragility, the music is a wonderful accompaniment, but this would stand up acapella, its 3 minutes of a showcase for one of the best voices of her generation, its beautiful.
The later half of the album brings us back to more of her RnB roots, Taken Over has a real 90’s vibe with that classic Gabrielle, while it starts to move more back into rock towards the end of Lifeline, it feels an effortless progression, instead of a clumsy join we get the two styles working together.
Rounding off the album we get Conquer. After the personal journey of the album she does feel like a Conquer, or maybe both Gabrielle and the subject of the song are, especially with lyrics such as “The battle is won” and “Love is like my armour I know you’ll catch me if I fall” It really feels like the ending of a story, the album has a real start middle and ending.
A story is the best way to describe this album, her voice leads through a personal introspective journey and what a voice, instantly recognisable making every note seem effortless, working again with producer Ian Barter, the sound is crisp and clear using the stereo space to send solos off to one side or the other, surrounding the listener with instrumentation and layered backing vocals.
I knew it would be a good album, you don’t sell that many records unless you have talent but I didn’t really know what to expect from it, but after a lot of listening I can say not just “A contender for” or “so far this year”, but with 7 months left to go, album of the year.
Track list:
1.Sorry
2.Miss You
3.Won't Be There
4.Good Enough
5.Never
6.Change
7.A Place In Your Heart
8.Rainbow
9.Taken Over
10.Lifeline
11.Feel
12.Conquer
Links:
lip critic
Hex Dealer - via Partisan
Reviewed by James Fortune-Clubb
Album released 17th May 24
Latest NYC upstarts on the block and stars of SXSW - Lip Critic set their debut album 'Hex Dealer' (great album name) free into the unsuspecting wild this month - via Partisan.
It's a short sharp shock of an album, the majority of the 12 tracks coming in at well under the 3 minute mark and nonetheworse for the brevity.
Opening track 'It's the magic' is the longest track on the album, coming in at an epic (by their standards) 4+ minutes and perhaps the most interesting. It starts slowly with Dave Gahan-esque vocals, before switching it up to something more akin to an overexcitable Keith Flint on too much sugar.
In fact thereafter, that's more or less precisely where the album stays, never straying far from the speeded up Prodigy remix mode - same station, same spot on the dial.
There's a feeling of great speed and uncompromising anarchic energy throughout and I'm sure Lip Critic would be great live at a festival or a small sweaty club, but ultimately 'Hex Dealer' proves somewhat two dimensional and nothing particularly new.
Nonetheless Lip Critic have given us a still enjoyable album and a bit of a shot in the arm - but only for a while, as we wade our way through the shouty, beat ridden waters of the 12 tracks, unfortunately it ultimately proves to be verging on the tedious.
So, more variance, more experimentation and wider net casting next time around please.
Links:
the lovely eggs
Eggsistentialism via Egg Records
Reviewed by Stuart Condie
Album released 17th May 24
Less a band than an independent multi-media arts phenomenon, The Lovely Eggs – married couple Holly Ross and David Blackwell – have nonetheless turned out a regular stream of recordings since the first single release in 2008. This latest album, the splendidly titled Eggsistentialism, will be their seventh full length release and the fifth on their own Egg Records label. Their established prioritising of art over commercialism has seen them produce extravagant limited-edition packaging and branch out into Eggs TV, a YouTube series exploring a much wider alternative and underground scene. Throughout they have enjoyed some high-profile support notably their collaboration with Iggy Pop, a self-confessed fan, on the single I, Moron in 2021.
Eggsistentialism then is the latest dispatch from Eggland after a four-year gap and again shows some real dedication to the all-round experience with limited editions accompanied by signed art prints, additional art work and unusually coloured vinyl. There is a UK tour about to kick off and in the absence of conventional management, publicity and logistical support, the Eggs will doubtless be clocking up the miles in their specially modified van as they work their way from Glasgow down to Brighton and back north to finish in Manchester. It’s clear from some of the advance media coverage that the last few years have seen no let up in artistic activity but the battle to save the Lancaster Music Co-Op – community rehearsal and recording facilities as well as home – has been a major focus. More on that later.
Before getting into the songs, I think it’s worth a quick reference to a message on the landing page of the band’s website (thelovelyeggs.co.uk). “This is our band. We do exactly what we like. That’s how it goes when you have your own band. Some of our songs are ten seconds long. Some are four minutes long. We don’t care. Because it doesn’t matter. We have a lot of different sounding songs. Welcome to our world.” It’s certainly true that there are different sounding songs on show here (and one lasts for seven minutes!), but for the most part we switch between synth-driven electro and out and out punk rock. What is constant over the album though is the intensely personal and observation driven lyrics. Listening to this album, I feel that I know these people and what fuels them.
After a short, but promisingly epic Intro with tubular bells over synth chords and “Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs”, we make the most abrupt possible jump into Death Grip Kids. Making the frustrations of struggling with bureaucracy as explicit as possible, this kicks off with Holly issuing the instruction to “Shove your funding up your arse” before launching into a slice of uncompromising riff-driven punk rock. You can really feel the anger and determination driving this one and while “We don’t want the foyer” sounds very specific and just one of doubtless many battles with the Council, there is a bigger theme here about being allowed to get on and do the right thing in the face of obstacles and opposition.
Nothing / Everything is a chunk of electro-pop with a glorious keyboard hook over big power chords. Lyrically it’s about the contrasts and the comparisons of settled domestic life and love with the daily challenges of just getting on and living. Meeting Friends at Night also uses some familiar electro beats and keyboard sounds (hints of Depeche Mode) to get into a laid-back groove before kicking halfway through into punk territory which lasts through to an extended playout. People TV will have immediate appeal to anyone who has ever tried to create an imaginary narrative about and around the lives of complete strangers (oh, ok, just me then?) and features the album’s second reference to coffee being poured on to the street from cars. There are some memorable lines here and “I’m a 50-piece jigsaw, With only 48 pieces in” will stick in my head for a while.
The lead single from the album, My Mood Wave, is a big production number with chiming guitars and gorgeous vocal harmonies all the way through. There’s a retro, almost dreamy, feel to this confirmed by, “I am trying to know how to feel, When there’s nothing around me seems real”. There’s no need to guess what kind of mood lies behind I Don’t Fucking Know What I’m Gunna Do which is just about as unfiltered as it gets. It’s musically every bit as punchy and in your face as the title suggests. We’ve all had days like this.
Memory Man motors along over a heavy insistent riff and a big robot voice behind what feels like a sequence of unconnected thoughts and observations from Holly. Things starts with an almost scat-style unaccompanied vocal and builds instrumentally. Although just about as stylistically different as it could be, I was reminded of Steven Wilson’s Personal Shopper and its recitation of the sort of stuff we buy and attach importance to which ultimately don’t matter at all. Who doesn’t want “A baking tray signed by Yoko Ono”?
There’s a lot of echoes of various sorts in Echo You. The songs starts and ends with a sinking bass note I thought I should know but it was only with the electro drum sounds and the solid four beats in the bar of the bassline through the verses that I got to Kraftwerk and Autobahn in particular. So an echo of another song, but also echoes from the repeat of the line “I echo you”, the spoken word echoes of some of the sung lines and finally the interplay between the sung line and the synth which plays the notes back. Clever stuff to mess with your head. The song starts stripped back, progressively adds layers and hits a full rock sound about two minutes in before returning to the sparser feel of the start through to the decaying bass note at the end.
The opening lyric of final song, I am Gaia is instantly disarming. “When you tell the crowd you’re broken and they clap for more” stopped me in my tracks. The whole song, over long synth chords and an unaltering steady beat is a stream of consciousness capturing the doubt and vulnerability lurking dangerously close to the surface of the banalities of life. I found this really affecting.
It would be easy, and lazy, to pigeonhole this album – it’s electro, it’s punk, it’s poetry with a musical accompaniment – but it’s much more than all of that. It has a feel of moments captured at times of high drama and low ebb, of anger and sometimes, of despair. Of course, I could be way off beam with that and it may be the case that these songs have been intensely laboured over and sculpted in the four years since the last album was released. If so, it was worth every minute it took.
Track listing
1. Intro
2. Death Grip Kids
3. Nothing / Everything
4. Meeting Friends At Night
5. People TV
6. My Mood Wave
7. I Don’t Fucking Know What I’m Gunna Do
8. Memory Man
9. Things
10. Echo You
Links:
