Oh, the anticipation

Gosh, Mock The Week is rather funny. That Frankie Boyle does come out with some outrageous stuff. Chortle.
Anyway, that Magnolia Electric Co boxset. I suspect that may be the least grandiose introduction it'll ever get, but what do you expect from a two-bit blog that doesn't really get freebies? It's lovely. 'Sojourner' comes in a little wooden box with a slidy lid and the band logo on the front. It's got a weird, utterly useless poster, four CDs, a DVD and some glossy cards explaining each of the discs. Oh, and a medallion. Let's not dwell on that or we might think that Magnolia Electric Co are wankers.
The music, for that, as I am occasionally prone to forgetting, is what it's all about, is rather splendid. Recorded across four different locations - hence the four discs - and each featuring a different line up - Molina being the only constant, the sounds vary from full-on blues-rock right down to sparse, solo, acoustic recordings full of background hiss and fuzz. None of it is less than splendid.
However, I can save myself a lot of time on the reviewing here. First up, if you've never bought a Magnolia Electric Co/Songs : Ohia/ Jason Molina record before, this isn't the one to start with. If you have then it's very easy to give you some reference points. The most obvious starting block is the 'Fading Trails' album from last year, which features selected highlights from these four sessions, hence the fact that it doesn't hold together as well as most of Molina's albums. If the majority of it was up to scratch for you then this set is an absolute must. If you've not gone down the MEC route, but did like Songs : Ohia, then my guess is that you were turned off by the fuller production and bluesier, Neil Young feel to the last Songs : Ohia album, 'Magnolia Electric Co'. In which case, you will enjoy approximately half of the boxset with ease, but I suspect the other 50% could win you over if you give it a chance. It's still fairly restrained and contemplative, even when it gets as close as Molina can manage to 'rocking out'.
It is, essentially, a collection of music that lays out the different approaches that one man has taken towards music over the years. It takes all of the things that have made Molina's records great for the last however-many years and condenses them down into one set of tunes. It's a greatest hits featuring tunes that, in the main, you've never heard before.
Remember, cheapest option is to buy direct from Secretly Canadian.

I'm a nice girl, me

Musical Revelations Of The Week:
Hamfatter - What Part Of Hamfatter Do You Not Understand? I've been hugely fond of this record for the last two months since it dropped onto the doormat. The artwork promises little and they've not got the best band name I've ever heard, but they've got the tunes. A whole album full, to be precise. I've been playing this rather a lot today for vaguely professional reasons and I'm still discovering new bits I love about it. I won't say too much now, as it's not out till mid-July, but around release time I'll deploy hyperbole like you wouldn't believe.
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - #3 This one that I have to thank Radcliffe and Maconie for. 'Loop Duplicate My Heart' was an early single of the week on their new Radio 2 show and their name lodged at the back of my mind as a result of its shining brilliance. I was tootling around town on Friday evening, in the mood to pick up a few bits and bobs and this popped back into my mind. Glad it did. Very Magnetic Fields-y with some superb summery sounds.
Songs : Ohia - The Lioness I've been working my way through Jason Molina's back catalogue over the last couple of years, and this was the last album for me to pick up. The blessed Norman Records got a second hand copy of this in on vinyl last week so I figured it was time to get hold of it. Once again, it's a beautiful, fragile album that creates an atmosphere and commands your attention. I'm conscious of the fact that his albums need a bit of time to be absorbed and that I flit about far too quickly to truly appreciate them. Thus, I have mentioned it here so that it might actually remind me to spend more time with the Molina cannon in the near future.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
Alex James - 'Bit Of A Blur' Yes, I know, it's a book primarily about music, but when you bear in mind that I spend as much of my free time obsessing over music as possible it's hard for anything else to creep in. Anyway, it's as good as I had hoped. I've even forgiven him for selling his soul to the Mail on Sunday and letting them print extracts in the run up to its release. It's honest, breezy and chirpy. It doesn't get bogged down in the first sixteen years of his life like so many biographies that end up boring the arse off you before you get to the good stuff. I'm just over a hundred pages in and he's already up to the recording of 'Parklife'. Suits me just fine.
Another quick mention for Blurcast.tv (full details below) at this point. Currently watching/listening to the '13 Live' show that was on BBC2 to promote said album, back in 1999. Excellent stuff.
Big Brother - Apparently they have a moral conscience after all. Did they need to show the clip though? Was it really essential viewing? In a sense I do agree that it had to be aired once in context in order for it to be put to bed, but at the same time Channel 4 can't really claim to have been acting with anything other than ratings in mind, as with the Diana show. If nothing else it confirmed my opinion that Emily wasn't even half as clever as she thought she was. The flimsy attempt at an explanation in the diary room was disturbingly confident, almost as if she didn't really believe anything would happen. Yes, I'm still watching it, four days after the point at which I normally storm off in a huff complaining about how annoying they all are. I still think that, only I seem to be more tired in the evenings and less willing to get off the sofa.
New Zealand rugby team - Is there any point having the World Cup later this year? Watching the destruction of France at the hands of the All Blacks, who themselves were not at their best, made it quite clear that nothing much is up for grabs this autumn. However, for some insane reason, New Zealand will be playing a warm up game against Canada next weekend. Canada? Even my beloved Welsh team managed to put a bucketload of points past them last year, so what sort of challenge will they present for the world's best rugby team?

Deluxe packaging is surprisingly effective

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.
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