Did the traditional Bank Holiday trundle into town to my independent retailer of choice. It was pissing down, once again. I didn't really go in with any major intentions - possibly some Morrissey vinyl I'd seen listed on their website (no sign of it) or the HQ Belle and Sebastian vinyl reissues (no sign either). Instead, I left with four CDs which I'd been after with varying degrees of urgency (from plenty to barely at all). I'll give each a brief mention. Firstly, Warren Zevon's 'Preludes' has been out for a couple of weeks and I noticed the promo in the bargain bin. I was quite happy with this until I remembered a review I'd seen that talked about the booklet and the like and suddenly I was drawn to the Z section to see what the real thing looked like. Thus I ended up paying twice the price of the promo copy - but I do have a nice box for my copy. Not played this one yet, but will get back to you on it.
I have played the other three, however. Cinematic Orchestra's 'Ma Fleur' is dense, atmospheric and languid. It's charming and engaging but not absorbing. I don't think it deserves some of the reviews it's had, suggesting it's simply dull and samey. It'll take some time, but I suspect I'll grow rather fond of it. It automatically qualifies for the 'late night' pile.
Feist's newie, 'The Reminder', was far more enjoyable than I expected. I hear you ask, 'well, if you didn't expect it to be good, why did you buy it?' Firstly, fuck off with your logic. Secondly, a friend recommended it in the highest possible terms (although he is quite fond of Starbucks, so perhaps I should never have trusted him in the first place). It's the musical equivalent of an ornate vase. You know it's 'art' and you have been known to really like it, but I wonder if I'll ever form an emotional attachment to it. It does come in one of those curvy cases, which is always nice.
The final disc is on Secretly Canadian records. It's a label I have grown to really love. It's one of those labels whereby you can simply purchase a record because it's on that label and will thus be ace. I just said ace. Sorry about that. This realisation began with Songs : Ohia, followed on logically to Magnolia Electric Co and then Damien Jurado, Richard Swift and Jens Lekman followed. All ace. Ah, did it again there. At least I'm consistent. It's by Frida Hyvönen, entitled 'Until Death Comes', and it's sparkling, witty, Tori Amos if she wasn't bonkers and had a more curious voice kind of stuff. The lyrics can't fail to grab your attention. After only one play, it comes highly recommended. As I said, this was purchased because of the label name alone - well, and a nice sleeve, but mainly the name.
That'll do for now.
Please leave a comment if you're checking this blog out regularly. I'm well aware that this will probably make me look very unpopular, but such is life.
I have played the other three, however. Cinematic Orchestra's 'Ma Fleur' is dense, atmospheric and languid. It's charming and engaging but not absorbing. I don't think it deserves some of the reviews it's had, suggesting it's simply dull and samey. It'll take some time, but I suspect I'll grow rather fond of it. It automatically qualifies for the 'late night' pile.
Feist's newie, 'The Reminder', was far more enjoyable than I expected. I hear you ask, 'well, if you didn't expect it to be good, why did you buy it?' Firstly, fuck off with your logic. Secondly, a friend recommended it in the highest possible terms (although he is quite fond of Starbucks, so perhaps I should never have trusted him in the first place). It's the musical equivalent of an ornate vase. You know it's 'art' and you have been known to really like it, but I wonder if I'll ever form an emotional attachment to it. It does come in one of those curvy cases, which is always nice.
The final disc is on Secretly Canadian records. It's a label I have grown to really love. It's one of those labels whereby you can simply purchase a record because it's on that label and will thus be ace. I just said ace. Sorry about that. This realisation began with Songs : Ohia, followed on logically to Magnolia Electric Co and then Damien Jurado, Richard Swift and Jens Lekman followed. All ace. Ah, did it again there. At least I'm consistent. It's by Frida Hyvönen, entitled 'Until Death Comes', and it's sparkling, witty, Tori Amos if she wasn't bonkers and had a more curious voice kind of stuff. The lyrics can't fail to grab your attention. After only one play, it comes highly recommended. As I said, this was purchased because of the label name alone - well, and a nice sleeve, but mainly the name.
That'll do for now.
Please leave a comment if you're checking this blog out regularly. I'm well aware that this will probably make me look very unpopular, but such is life.
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