They've both made such a little go a very long way

Is there a more charming group out there than the Pet Shop Boys? It never ceases to amaze me how they've maintained the quality control across their career to date. I loved 'Fundamental', the last album, and I've just watched 'Cubism', the live DVD from the tour to promote it. The set is fantastic, the show is vibrant, bright and a wee-bit camp. The sound is great and the occasionally reworked numbers are always inspired.
I have to confess that a not inconsiderable part of me buys PSB DVDs for the commentaries. If you've not got the 'PopArt' DVD then it's worth picking it up immediately. Listening to Neil and Chris grumbling their way through all of their hits is genuinely hilarious. They don't feel obliged to say something's good if it's shit. In fact, they don't even stop at shit, they bury the poor videos. Also worth a watch is the 'A Life In Pop' documentary DVD. It's a hugely extended version of what was shown on Channel 4 last year and features copious interview footage with both of them.
Another piece of PSB merchandise that no music fan should be without is the coffee-table dream, 'Catalogue'; a book collecting all of their artwork along with suitably scathing commentary from Neil and Chris. It's a charming document of mainly excellent art - along with a few shit bits and bobs. Plus, it has a shiny dust jacket. Oooh, dust jacket's a word you don't hear as often as you should.
Musically, they've always been spot on and while I can't deny that their Eighties records sound dated - they quite clearly do - when it comes to PSB, it seems oddly appropriate and is almost charming. Furthermore, I really like 'Release', the 'indie' guitary album from five years back that features tracks like 'Home & Dry' and the quite brilliant retort to Eminem, 'The Night I Fell In Love'. I'm not ashamed to say that I love their version of 'Go West' and 'West End Girls' remains one of the greatest pop songs of all time.
However, the track of theirs I love the most is 'Yesterday, When I Was Mad'. It's chaotic from the off, irrepressibly jolly throughout and so perfectly worded I can't ever imagine becoming tired of it. "Darling, you were wonderful, you really were quite good." Ah, the perfectly placed 'quite'. I'm smirking.

Is he kicking in a nonce?

Drinking Water To Stay Thin

I remember becoming obsessed with the Manics when 'A Design For Life' was receiving its first plays on Radio 1. I'd followed the news about Richey's disappearance without really knowing anything much about the band. The subsequent enjoyment I derived from the parent album, 'Everything Must Go' brought about my first ever 'i love this - i must buy everything they've ever done' moment, something which has plagued my record-buying ever since. I remember thinking 'Generation Terrorists' was too long (it is), that 'Gold Against The Soul' was beefy but a little uncool (yup) and that 'The Holy Bible' was plain bloody scary (yes, although I've since realised it's also an amazingly good record).
Buying the cardboard wallet, 2 CD sets for each single was a delight and the quality of the b-sides ensured that I was always there on release day, queuing up with more than one copy. I'm playing the Stealth Sonic Orchestra Instrumental version of 'Motorcycle Emptiness' as I type this and it's beautiful. It was released on the second CD for 'Australia', the picture on the inner sleeve being a morose sheep, and proved that remixes can occasionally be good value.
This sense of good will was tested a little with 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', an album that needs three or four songs removing from it, and 'Prologue To History' adding into the mix. While well-meaning, 'SYMM' is a truly appalling attempt at dealing with the Hillsborough disaster. In addition, the singles didn't quite scale the heights of the EMG era, in particular 'Tsunami', which remains one of the few Manics songs that actually make me want to detach my right foot with a rusty spatula, lightly saute it and attempt to eat it with chopsticks.
'The Masses Against The Classes' seemed like a step in the right direction, with its 'Motown Junk' for the noughties feel but what followed was a musical junkshop, 'Know Your Enemy'. There's some great stuff in there if you're willing to spend long enough searching, but to get to it you'll have to wade through a pile of shit. There's a good EP in there, waiting to be let out one day.
My enthusiasm began to falter, a situation not helped by the lacklustre new tracks for 'Forever Delayed' the cash-cow greatest hits. However, a last-minute headline at V2002, replacing Travis, demonstrated to me that the band were finding their fire again. The b-sides set, 'Lipstick Traces' has its moments, but it's far from essential listening, and served as interim product before the next studio album, 'Lifeblood' appeared in 2004.
Lots of people seem to think 'Lifeblood' is shite. Even the band appear to be distancing themselves from it, despite the fact that it works superbly as a set of songs. Ok, so whoever picked 'The Love Of Richard Nixon' as the lead-off single needs shooting, but tracks like '1985', 'Glasnost', 'Empty Souls', 'I Live To Fall Asleep' and 'Cardiff Afterlife' deserve to be heard. Thankfully for those who haven't yet had the pleasure most shops appear to be selling this album for £3 or less these days. Give it a good home.
Finally the critics are back on side with the new album, 'Send Away The Tigers', and with good reason. It has the energy of the first couple of records, some of the spikey sound of 'The Holy Bible' and the crowd-pleasing sweeping choruses of 'Everything Must Go'. It's short, it's powerful and it's unashamed fun. If you can listen to 'Autumnsong' or 'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough' without pogoing round the room then I expect you to have a bloody good reason why.
I'm off to see them very soon. Can't wait.

It's about talking - what we did before the internet

A non-music post today. You'll notice that Nick Abbot's LBC Podcasts occassionally pop up in the 'playing today' section on the right hand side. I'm a huge fan of his dry, sarcastic approach to phone-in radio and have followed him around since first hearing him on the old Talk Radio back in 1998. I recommend that you check out his Saturday night show, 10pm-1am on LBC, 97.3 FM in London, channel 0177 on Sky and via www.lbc.co.uk
Meanwhile, here's a clip from the show that's been quite splendidly animated. Worth watching a few times to get all of the giggles.

It would seem they DO make them like they used to

I'm still not 100% certain that the differences I perceive between vinyl and CD aren't just in my mind as a result of having read too many audiophile websites. It must be said that a number of LPs in my collection beat the pants of their CD equivalents. The most recent of these is the latest Damon Albarn project, 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' which, while still not sounding perfect, is a lot less cluttered and compressed sounding on vinyl.
I have a habit of buying albums I particularly like on more than one format. I thought I'd got round that with the new Wilco album, 'Sky Blue Sky'. Pre-order offers from their American store listed the 180g audiophile double vinyl as coming with a free CD copy of the record. Excellent, I thought, just the one purchase this time. Then, a few weeks later, came the announcement about there being a CD/DVD edition with a sizeable amount of content on the DVD. Thus came my second purchase of the album. I'm sure I'm a fool when it comes to music, but once again I don't regret it. My double vinyl arrived from America today - rather speedily, it must be said - and it sounds beautiful, not to mention its excellent gatefold packaging and the quality of the vinyl. Wilco have pulled off this trick with their last two studio albums as well - 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' is available on an import HQ pressing from Sundazed records, while the last album, 'A Ghost Is Born' should still be fairly readily available on double 180g vinyl. Both sound terrific and are notable improvements on the CD editions. This is less obvious with the new album, which manages to convey its warmth on CD also, however the vinyl still has that natural sound that sad types like myself talk about without ever really explaining.
If you've got a decent vinyl setup, and can deal with occassionally getting a truly shit pressing, then you might know what I'm talking about. It's certainly not for everyone, but this latest release is a fine example of how to do things properly.
In addition to all of that, the CD tucked in with the vinyl is an enhanced edition allowing access to a variety of exclusive content over the coming months, which for some reason is absent from the UK editions of the CD and CD/DVD copies.
Other notable decent vinyl releases of late: Manics - 'Send Away The Tigers', Arctic Monkeys - 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' and the spiffing Arcade Fire - 'Neon Bible' which is double vinyl, but the forth side is etched with the bible design from the sleeve. Should you wish to point out why I'm mad to like vinyl, please do. If you wish to join the LP lovefest with tips of your own I'd also like to hear from you.

Speaking of Arcade Fire, seems a good excuse to post this beguiling cover of 'Guns Of Brixton' from when they were on the BBC's 'The Culture Show'.

Hear This...

Short but sweet today, as I'm keen to get back to Peter Guralnick's 'Sweet Soul Music' book, which I've returned to yet again after picking up his biog of Sam Cooke for all of £3 in Fopp today.
Musical Revelations of the week:
Maps - We Can Create - a fabulous electronic album that's simultaneously blatantly retro and one of the freshest sounding albums of the year.
Wilco - Shake It Off film - found on the DVD with 'Sky Blue Sky' this is a wonderful film with some outstanding performances of songs from said album.
Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars - now I get it! It's not so much cluttered as layered. If you've already dismissed it, give it one more shot.
Sly & The Family Stone - Life - never heard this record before, but it was the only one of the splendid new, deluxe reissues series that Fopp had left in stock. A really engaging soul/funk album that I'm particularly glad I took a punt on.

Non-musical revelations of the week:
Peep Show - so they could maintain the high-standards, with the final episode the stand out for series 4. The pissing scene - ahem - was quite brilliant. Shame about the film, based on what I've read and heard about it.
A Bit Of Fry & Laurie - finally bought Series 3 and 4 and am once again enjoying the genius of these two. 'Hey Jude' sung with a helium voice was a particular highlight.
Andrew Collins' That's Me In The Corner - finished Andrew's final installment of his autobiography. This one deals with his time at the NME, Q, Empire and the like and while a little lower on the whimsical humour of the first two, is an absolute belter for any media obsessives like myself. There few genuinely feel-good autobiographical works out there, but all three of College's efforts fit into that category. I can't recommend them highly enough. The others, should you wish to explore further, are Where Did It All Go Right? and Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
I keep meaning to buy his biog of Billy Bragg, but never quite get round to it. Anyone wish to persuade me to do so?

Till tomorrow.

A storm in a C-cup

It slightly scares me that I'm already at a stage where bands of my indie youth have anthologies available, rounding up their material for what must be a relatively minimal audience. My Life Story's superbly titled best of, 'Sex and Violins' came in the post this morning, along with the b-sides and rarities companion, 'Megaphone Theology'. I have to confess that I danced around the kitchen like a total twat whilst cooking breakfast to the sound of vintage singles like '12 Reasons Why I Love Her' and 'It's A Girl Thing'. They weren't particularly outstanding pop songs at the time - let's face it they might have actually been successful if they had been - but they're great fun. Orchestral and arch, The Divine Comedy comparisons were never far away, although as a TDC fan I don't associate them too closely. The fact that so few indie bands used orchestras and aimed for that classic, big sound meant that they inevitably got lumped together.

There are some splendid lyrics littered among these tunes but it's the nagging pop melodies that do the trick. At one point I was quite conscious of the fact that one of the songs was achingly MOR, but that was kind of the point with My Life Story - it was using fairly conventional music to offer a different spin on Britpop. I remember MLS from back when I used to buy the NME. Back when it was still full of detailed features, piercing wit and printed on bog roll it used to provide details for a selection of charts and every time My Life Story released a single you just knew it would go in around 37 and then piss off with a true sense of urgency.

Everybody has their slightly uncool favourites from their youth. I remember the stick I used to get just for liking The Divine Comedy, but at the time My Life Story were a guilty pleasure satisfied only by occassional plays on the Evening Session and in the first minutes of the Top 40 countdown. Only now do I feel able to welcome them into heart of my collection. You might find you're more willing to humour old Jake Shillingford and his clan these days too.

***

I've got the 'Sunken Treasure' DVD by Jeff Tweedy on at the moment, and it's just past his tremendous rant at the audience about talking. It's moments like that that make it an essential purchase. You genuinely feel part of something right across the 95 minutes. But more importantly, is this point about not talking at concerts. The number of times I've got to see fairly low-key bands and had to endure - and I genuinely don't think there's a better way to put this - utter fuckwits wittering on to each other, or even worse on their mobiles, while the act on stage are playing a song that wasn't a single or isn't immediately accessible. Why spend the £15 to come along and stand there bloody talking? What's the point? If you're not bothered about the band - don't come. Tossers.

I guess I'm getting on in years

The special edition of 'Release The Stars' by Rufus Wainwright arrived in today's post. Another pre-order deliverd bang on time there then. However, the delay was forgotten once I'd chucked the bonus DVD into the player. Along with four live performances for some online broadcast, there's a 22 minute interview with the incredibly camera-shy and self-deprecating Wainwright, in which he talks about each track on the album.
He's bloody engaging is Rufus. The two concerts of his that I have attended have been joy from start to finish. His between song banter is sublime and his ability to spin a yarn and sculpture his words is second to none. Listening to him witter on about Brandon Flowers in a white suit and his favourite antique shop in Tulsa somehow provokeda more amenable attitude towards the new record. Prior to this insight I have to admit that I wasn't entirely convinced by the new album. It seemed to lollop along with no great variety in pace or vocal styling, but once he's sat there and listed the 27 classical composers he's ripped off with the string arrangments, there's suddenly plenty more to listen to.
'Release The Stars' is certainly not an immediate record. Whereas 'Poses' grabbed me and made me its gibbering gimp for a fortnight, this one takes a bit of work. But once the intricate melodies creep out from under the shadow of a certain man's ego it all starts to make glorious sense. Everyone knows by now just how marvellous 'Going To A Town' is, but there's plenty more where that came from. As with the Wilco album, it's worth checking out the DVD before you play the album through, so as to set the context and give you a clear idea of what you're listening for. The previous four albums seems likely to get a dusting down over the course of the weekend, and if you've not got any Wainwright in your collection may I suggest you sort yourself out. 'Poses' and 'Want One' are the record to begin with - the former the most accessible overall album, and the latter containing one of my all time favourite songs in 'I Don't Know What It Is'. Once you've learnt to love them, it's 'Want Two' and the debut, imaginitely titled, 'Rufus Wainwright'. Enjoy.

Here's a clip from the Fillmore DVD that accompanied early copies of 'Want Two'. It begins with a brief piece to camera, but then Rufus performs that afore-mentioned, 'I Don't Know What It Is'.

They don't want us to leave the house

As Imogen Heap pointed out in the slightly shabby music paper that's shoved in The Indie at random intervals, record companies need to lower the prices for albums when you download them. To charge essentially the same price for compressed, protected tracks from iTunes as it is for a physical CD of the same thing seems ludicrous. And while some labels and artists are doing their bit for the record shops by putting a bit of extra effort in when it comes to the packaging or the content (Wilco, Travis, Duke Special), there are those offering download-only material in an attempt to snare extra sales with minimal effort (Wilco, Travis, Duke Special). This has particularly annoyed me with the new Wilco album.
'Sky Blue Sky' is quite beautifully presented - the double 180g vinyl comes with a mini-LP replica style card sleeve edition of the CD tucked inside, while the afore-mentioned deluxe editon has a tremendous DVD with live performances and interviews. However, in addition, US purchasers who visit certain indie stores also receive a bonus disc with 2 tracks unavailable elsewhere - 'One True Vine' and live take on 'Theologians' left out from 'Kicking Television'. I can just about get past the annoyance of this - well, living in the UK, they're not going to bother releasing it over here. Then comes the iTunes bonus track. 'Let's Not Get Carried Away' is a splendid little addition to the record and can currently be purchased from iTunes without buying the entire album again. BUT - why are these songs being offered to promote online purchases? In Wilco's case they make such an effort with other aspects of packaging and audio quality that I'm less inclined towards a big sulky huff, but it's happening a lot.
An online only, independent record store that I'm very fond of, Norman Records, made the point on their newly established blog that it's fucking bonkers for independent labels to be releasing records a week early as download only. The notion that the independent community sticks together appears to be a bucket of old bollocks. The industry still hasn't figured out what the best response to downloading and the internet is and so they try to offer incentives but keep the price fixed. They improve the deal for consumers who want to buy physical product, but then still dangle download carrots despite securing your custom. To be blunt, in the same way the 2CD collector's set knackered the singles fans, they're tapping into the completist nature of the obsessive fan. I've become increasingly fond of Wilco in recent years, and thus 79p here and 79p there is something I'll cave into, but it still pisses me off that some music is only available by these digital means. (I'm aware, by the way, that 'Let's Not Get Carried Away' is available in the UK on the b-side of the 'What Light' 7" - except I can't find a copy of that for love nor money either) The worst example of this was when The Divine Comedy's 'To Die A Virgin' was dropped down from 2CDs to one and the second CD's content became download only. I'm sure that a part of my obsession with having music in as high a quality as possible is psychological, but part of my resurgent love of vinyl is the warmth and breadth of sound you can get from it. Compressed, rights-protected AAC files don't really have the same charm. Or sound. Duke Special chappy is releasing a cover of 'Tainted Love' with Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy with the 75th re-issue of 'Last Night I Nearly Died', only this time it will be download only. And so, despite the Duke campaiging for his latest album to be released as a heavyweight vinyl boxset of six 7" singles and his singles being released on 78rpm 10"s, along comes a digital download 'bundle'. Ideal for the audience the previous releases will have targeted!? It's bonkers. But the obsessives are by their very nature the minority. Thus, we're knackered, reduced to ranting in a futile fashion on a blog with a small, but shall we say burgeoning, audience.
Rant over.

Till next time.

Tony Blair and endless skinny women

Welcome to the first in an occasional series of musical gifts. To be fair, they'll be gifts that no bugger's buying and thus people shouldn't get too upset about them being on this here site. To begin, a song that reminds me of the summer of 1998. Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley were less than a year into a marvellous reign as Lords of Afternoon Radio on Radio 1 and this track was their record of the week. However, unlike most records of the week it ended up being a record of the weeks. It ended up occupying the title for three weeks and as a result it was tattooed onto my soul. After tracking a copy down in my local independent record store it became a prized possession. I still play this CD regularly, and am distraught if I'm away from home without in one form or another.
'So, you evasive arse, what is the song?' I hear you cry. It's 'I've Had Enough' by Hillman Minx. Yes, I know, you've never heard of them, but I swear to you, you need to hear this track. Designed as a polemic against the post-Britpop, Loaded-dominated 'beer and tits - wahey!' atmosphere of the late nineties, it manages to capture an early disillusionment with the supposedly improved UK that New Labour had implied it would offer. Plenty of the targets will raise a smirk, but I don't want to analyse the lyrics here - they're most effective when you listen to them.
Which, rather conveniently, you can do here

Do let me know what you think. Although, if you think it's crap, you're wrong, naturally.

Speak soon.

He bears more grudges than lonely high-court judges...

Ah, good old Moz. As I mentioned in a previous entry, I'm on a bit of a Smiths/Morrissey kick at the moment. I'm currently reading bits of Johnny Rogan's 'Morrissey - The Albums' and Simon Goddard's 'Songs That Saved Your Life', both of which break the analysis down to individual songs, although the first of the two also deals with the solo releases of our man. They're both engaging books, and while the hardcore fans seem to hate Rogan with a passion, his comments on the solo stuff have spurred me on to go back and listen to ignored, and critically unpopular, albums like 'Southpaw Grammar' and 'Maladjusted'. While I may not agree with everything he has to say about the songs, it's given me a chance to listen to them in a fresh light.
What I've particularly enjoyed about the experience is noticing just how splendid Morrissey's voice can be. It's unique, it's distinctive and occasionally compared to a malfunctioning foghorn, but at times it can floor you. 'Vauxhall & I' is getting played a lot at the moment, and it only serves to point out how bizarre it was for the Britpop scene not to hold their natural royalty aloft. Weller was the appointed guv'nor of Britpop, but Moz was certainly deserving of a similarly elevated position.
Anyway, a more critical approach to the man and his tunes will appear here once I've got my thoughts in order, but I thought it was worth posting this so that anyone who might class themselves as a regular reader can do some homework and then may even join in via the comments option. T'would be splendid to hear from you.
Here's 'The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get', from 'Vauxhall & I'

Till next time.

Ooooh...a card sleeve!

Walked in this evening to find the deluxe edition of the Wilco album on the floor. I hadn't thrown it there, nor had it crept in during the day and arranged a provocative pose for itself - it had simply come through the door from an online shop. My initial quibble is with the phrase 'Deluxe Edition'. It has a card sleeve - like all Wilco albums on Nonesuch - and the booklet and discs come in a normal jewel case. The only 'deluxe' thing about it is the bonus DVD. But then surely you just say 'Bonus DVD' on the packaging. If it's deluxe I expect it to be in a ridiculous book that doesn't fit on the shelf or in a digipack made of old egg boxes - not a bloody jewel case. If anything this is a sensible edition - with a bonus DVD. It's a minor gripe because the DVD is great. For a start the audio is LPCM 48/16 rather than Dolby Digital. If that means bugger all to you, all I'm saying is that the audio is excellent quality. The interview with Jeff Tweedy is nicely chopped around some live performances. He comes across as a decent enough chap who just wanted to make a good record. Thankfully he succeeded.
I feel obliged to point out that all of the naysayers that have been calling this album average are talking out of their, no doubt perfectly formed, fundaments. It's a cracker of an album and one which has rarely been away from my cd player for the last few months. It's certainly gentle, and less spiky than the last couple of albums but the songwriting is meticulous and the tunes gradually ensnare you until you keep wanting to go back and hear them again. So, in closing, it's great. Just not deluxe, like.

The Manics managed a No.2 album with 'Send Away The Tigers', I notice. It's great compared to the absolute stillborn release of 'Lifeblood', but I read with interest that it got there with sales of 38, 697 - only 700 or so copies behind the number one album from the Arctic Monkeys. 'Lifeblood' sold 23,000, or thereabouts, in its first week, missed the top ten and was never seen again. I have to confess to being slightly surprised by their resurgence - not because the music's shite, simply that I never thought they'd be 'cool' again. I'll be seeing them on the current tour and will feedback accordingly.

The Moz singles boxset for the years 91-95 was also on the doormat this evening as I'm on a bit of a Smiths/Moz kick at the moment. Currently digesting two books on his music and will attempt to form my thoughts, feelings and interpretations of his work into something here fairly soon. It's pretty, by the way. I'm a sucker for these things.

Here's a track from the spiffing Wilco record, entitled 'What Light'.



More soon.

Brand expansion

The home site for the whole Vinyl Junkies idea is available by clicking to the right of this post. Recently the nature of the original site has moved in a more blog-like direction and I figured that it might be worth firing up the old blog that I'd created alongside the site. I will cross-post between the two sites and will aim to keep posting to this site regularly. The random musings will be mainly concerned with music and will frequently be doing no more than advising you to buy a certain record. I can assure you that these recommendations are simply as a result of liking the record, and not receiving back-handers in brown envelopes. Or white ones for that matter. Or any envelopes. Or indeed, any back-handers.
Should you wish to get to grips with my writing style and decide whether or not it's going to be worth returning here, I would recommened you visit the main site and have a look through what's currently available over there. It'll pass the time at the very least.
Right then, the latest site post is below this one but let the random musings begin.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen is the name of an album - not, repeat not, a band - according to cheery chap Damon Albarn who fronts the supergroup of sorts. Regardless of his desire to maintain the mystique surrounding the group this album remains one of my favourites of 2007 thus far. I returned to this record today as a result of the constant rain (see post below). It's an album that I think suits rainy British days perfectly, in a way that no band have managed since The Smiths. It's melancholic, occassionally glum, but full of shimmering melodies and musical touches that betray the calibre of the musicians involved. If you're ignored it because of a sniffy aversion to Damon Albarn or if the singles haven't quite grabbed you, I urge you to give it another chance. It takes a few listens, but once it's got you, it's near perfect. Here's the slightly bizarre video for 'Kingdom Of Doom'


As a footnote to this, I should point out that the vinyl edition sounds much better than the CD. The CD appears to be yet another victim of the 'loudness wars' that people with odd hair and no friends spend far too long talking about. In other words it's a bit mashed up and distorty (heh! I invented a word!)

It's Still Here

Hello again.

It's absolutely pissing it down here, and has been for the last 48 hours. My foot's aching after falling down the stairs, but apart from these things, all is well. I hope the same can be said for you. Amongst the music related post this month was a particularly scary promo item with additional security. Now, I'm used to watermarked CDs - apparently any rips from these discs can be traced back to the original. Not sure if this has ever happened, I would imagine everyone's too shit-scared to try it - and sealed cases for promos, but for the promo of the new Marvin Gaye reissue set for 'In Our Lifetime' it not only had a unique number on the CD, but it was also written on the jiffy bag. I didn't really feel like I should be opening the thing, for fear of somehow incriminating myself. It's like when you see a police car and you automatically feel guilty - even though you've done nothing wrong (unless we have any drug-barrens or multi-national fraudsters reading). Anyway, I'm pleased to report that the music on the discs is spiffing, containing the original mixes of the album before they were remixed, without Marv's consent, ahead of finally being released.

Other promo stuff of note - in other words, some bands to keep an ear out for in coming weeks and months - includes Dirk Darmstaedter's new album, 'Our Favourite City'. While his name makes him sound like middle-management in Ikea, the music is sun-kissed indie-soul straight out of the world of Josh Rouse's excellent '1972' album. The cover looks bleak and you expect it to be a mopey, singer-songwriter record with 'woe is me' written through it and twelve songs that are identical bar the painful metaphors for loneliness. Joyous pop of the highest order. He used to be in a band called, 'The Jeremy Days'. Poor bugger's clearly never had any luck with names. See and hear him in action here:

Also, coming soon is the new album by Jonathan Krisp with the quite tremendous title, 'No Horse, No Wife, No Moustache'. It's part Royksopp and part Lemon Jelly. It's that quirky dance music with vintage samples and easy listening sounds peppered with electronic trickery and loops to provoke twattish grins on a hot summer day (and after 48 hours of solid rain, as it turns out). It's on the Cookshop label, while Dirk is on Tapete.

There's plenty of vintage soul on the way as part of the Stax 50 celebrations, including the Johnnie Taylor live album, as well as the old Stax/Volt singles boxset reisssued as 9 separate CDs. Those CDs are naturally essential items for any self-respecting record collection and currently going for £5 in that there high street shop that rhymes with, well, shop. Also, 'This Is Soul', essentially the FIRST soul compilation has been reissued in a mini-LP-style gatefold sleeve along with a stack of bonus tracks. Nothing new, but they all sound tremendous next to each other - and it looks pretty!

As for the more conventional stuff, there's some great mainstream releases on the shelves at the moment. People always expect me to be apologetic for liking the Manics, but I stand by the fact that they are rarely anything other than excellent. 'Know Your Enemy' was a pile of shite and 'This Is My Truth' was a few songs too long, but otherwise there's much to love. 'Send Away The Tigers', their latest offering, is one of their best. Short and to the point, it's riff-heavy, power-chord-obssessed and epic in a way that every other writer is comparing to 'Everything Must Go' - can't see any point in disagreeing for the sake of it. If you've had even a passing interest in the band in the past, you'll love it.

Wilco's album got a mention last time out, and it's finally in the shops now. It's possibly their best, and so I will briefly talk about it again. The heavyweight vinyl edition is on the way, as their 180g vinyl pressings for their last two studio albums were quite something, and this one will suit that treatment just as much. Not much more to say other than buy the bloody thing.

Say it very quietly, but the Travis album's quite good. It's their best since 'The Man Who', if not their best ever. There's bit more kick on some songs and they've ditched the two things that have held them back in recent years. (1) Fran's desire to be politically active in his lyrics, despite this sounding really rather crap (2) A constant determination to keep making songs that sounded like the old, successful ones. 'The Boy With No Name' sounds much less forced and is all the more enjoyable for it. Still not the greatest lyrics, mind.

Tiny Dancers have an album called 'Free School Milk' out in a few weeks and it's barn-storming indie-pop to listen to whilst chewing on a bit of straw and putting on an embarrassing and potentially offensive 'farmer' accent. 80% enjoyable album from a band who are almost frighteningly eager to please. If you're after future eBay profits, then picking up their early singles now mightn't be a bad idea.

The Maps album, 'We Can Create' is a thing of electronic beauty which will wash over you at first, and runs the risk of not being recognised as the classy collection of tunes it is. Mark Ronson's 'Version' is worth picking up for the Amy Winehouse take on 'Valerie' and a funk/soul instrumental take on Coldplay's 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face'. There's also a re-worked version of Maximo Park's 'Apply Some Pressure'. Their latest album, 'Our Earthly Pleasures' reminds me of The Jam and Gene at times - no great surprise that they'd be linked - and in no bad way. It's got some intriguing lyrics, a number of which I'm still not sure about - Profound or Shite? An example: "Nightfalls, And towns become circuit boards". Listening to it the first time, in the rain, it charmed the pants off me, but when I listened back to it I was less sure. Anyway, it's a decent little record that I'll keep returning to.

Oh, and Bjork's new album's out. It has to be said that listening in surround sound to her music makes me even more convinced that sounding like a mad fucker on your records must make it quite fun in the studio. At times 'Volta' is beguiling, but at other times it's plain scary. I've no idea if it's any good yet - does anyone else feel like listening to Bjork is a little like homework? You know you should do it, but it's hard motivating yourself to do it properly, or to get to the end. Hmmm, and the packaging's a sod to get into.

More soon. Much sooner than before. No really.

Speak soon,

Gaz

(Cross-posted to the blog in the hope of you nipping over to the site)

Humble Pie

I remain utterly convinced that nobody's reading this and yet I carry on. Another quick mention for Misty's Big Adventure - both of their albums are now on virtually constant rotation and I refuse to believe that there is anything to dislike about them.

I'm about to swallow huge lumps of humble pie. When Arcade Fire first appeared on import in my local music emporium I was curious enough to listen to a couple of tracks but they really didn't do anything for me. I tried again when the hype started building in the UK, but still something wasn't right. However, I'm beginning to suspect that they have suffered from hype disease. My inital listen - to one or two songs - was indecisive and then subsequent hype sent me scuttling in the other direction. Since the album has been reduced and also widely lauded by people whose opinions I actually respect, I've found myself finding it increasingly tough to hold out. So, a copy of 'Funeral' is on its way in the post right now. I'll comment on this re-evaluation as and when it happens.
This raises the interesting question (well, to me) of how much hype actually affects the way we approach music. I remember, during the nineties, loving the nature of hype in the NME. Witty, extravagant and frequently way off the mark, it caused some great purchases. These days, hype seems so much more direct, and yet I imagine that's more down to the cynicism of getting older and outgrowing the hype-loving publications. That said, I steered well clear of Bloc Party for a while thanks to the NME, not to mention Ryan Adams' hero-worship from Uncut. It turned out both have much to recommend them, but for some time I was put off in a way that isn't hugely helpful to someone obsessed with music. Perhaps, this time I'll learn my lesson and avoid psychological snobbery.

Can't see it happening, mind.

R.E.M.embering something special

Elsewhere on the interweb a debate is raging about R.E.M.'s finest offering to date and 'Murmer' and 'Automatic For The People' are having their usual high showings. However, for me, it's got to be 'New Adventures In Hi-Fi', a record that became widely regarded as sub-standard for reasons I've never quite worked out. Sure, it goes on for a while. But, as that while contains some bloody marvellous music, what's there to worry about? If it was a James Blunt album that went on for 70 minutes then there's no defence, but when R.E.M. are cutting loose and doing an album for musos the world over, I say let them get on with it. That said, a James Blunt album of only 1 minute is still 60 seconds too long.
Why 'New Adventures'? If your life has thus far never been peppered with the joy of 'Electrolite', the closing track on the album, you have truly been missing out. Understated, marvellously construced and culminating in a desolate, beguiling refrain of 'I'm not scared, I'm outta here', it is as close to perfect as any song I can think of.
There's plentry more where that came from too. 'New Test Leper', 'The Wake Up Bomb' and 'E-Bow The Letter' are all captivating pieces that do their own things, while 'Be Mine' has a wailing chorus that is muffled and yet utterly stunning. And that's what key to this album - much of it shouldn't work, but it does.
On a side note - if you have the required kit, track down a copy of the DVD-Audio that has it in 5.1 - well worth a listen. That said, 'Up' sounds the best in that format should you care!

***

A friend made an observation today that the lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys is only a couple of steps away from being George Formby. Try singing 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' in the same voice as 'When I'm Cleaning Windows' and you'll see what I mean. You'll never hear that record the same way again.

Musings

The debut album from Misty's Big Adventure arrived today. Having fallen head-over-heels with their second, 'The Black Hole', I had high hopes. I played it twice, back to back, and it appears to be of a similar vintage. This band are utterly joyous and I cannot praise them too highly. There is a tongue-in-cheek nature to some of the lyrics that stay the right side of being annoying and the music is stunning. So unbelievably quirky that I genuinely don't think I can do them justice with mere words. Both CDs can be had for not too many of your British quids via the internet.

I listened to the recent Richard Hawley effort, 'Coles Corner' again last night, just prior to turning in. It really is as beautiful as them there taste-makers suggest. He's got one of those delightful voices that sound just like he's been preserved since the 1950s. The songwriting's spot on too. I've enjoyed his stuff in the past and had somehow done a disservice to 'Coles Corner'. I've still been playing it, don't get me wrong, but I was under the impression he'd always been this good. Not so. I dug out 'Lowedges' the other day, and while it's still a mighty fine record, the near-perfection of his latest effort is not there. It's been out a few months now, so no doubt some bargain buckets music emporium will have it at £7 or less soon.

Having said that, I wish to remind everybody to support their local independent record store. If we're not careful, soon we'll all be left with HMV, Borders and Music Zone to sell us the same 50 CDs and inflated prices. No chance of happening upon Misty's Big Adventure in the racks then.

New Year part 2 - 2006

Following on from the orgiastic delights of 2005, 2006 is already shaping up to have more than its fair share of decent records. The afore-mentioned, Lost Revue have their mini-album, 'Orphans And Vandals' officially released at the end of this month and has an energy and youthful spirit that is deserving of much acclaim. (See the entry on this blog from November for more details.)

Beth Orton's back in February with a tour and a new record entitled, 'The Comfort Of Strangers'. It's a great album and there is much to enjoy for old fans and new listeners alike. Apparently it was recorded in a couple of weeks and thus there is less of the polished production of old. It's far more rootsy and folksy and absolutely compulsive listening.

Rilo Kiley's lead singer, Jenny Lewis, has an album, 'Rabbit Fur Coat', out on Jan 23rd which picks up from the folksier moments of last year's 'More Adventurous'. Ertswhile music publications have already started sniffing about it not being as good as her 'day job' but I'd like to quickly point out that they're talking not inconsiderable amounts of bollocks on this occasion. It's a great record that benefits from Lewis having the freedom to do what she wants. So often when lead singers from acclaimed bands have a stab at solo work things go rapidly down the toilet (Ashcroft, McCulloch and er, Ashcroft), but this is a model of restraint and a very high watermark. Delightful.

Belle and Sebastian are back too, with 'The Life Pursuit'. It's got the jingle-janglies that pervaded the previous, Trevor Horn produced, album along with a whole other bundle of sounds from electronic pop to glam rock. A little more relaxed than the remarkably polished, 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress', this one careers around with a whimsical charm that keeps the pace up right to the album's conclusion. You'll not go far wrong if you pick this one up.

Obviously, there'll be loads of fabulous music coming out in the next few months that I know naff all about right now. Assuming I remember, I might even pop back here and write about what I find.

Just wish to conclude this with a quick mention for an utterly fabulous record from last year that I've only recently managed to get hold of. 'The Black Hole' by Misty's Big Adventure is a true joy - a clattering meeting of twee-indie, jazz, pop and music-hall and a few other hard-to-describe ingredients. There are Magnetic Fieldsy elements to the vocals and a darkly comic tone to the lyrics. Hard to think how anyone could not like it. Keep an eye out for it on your next tussle with the music racks.

New Year part 1 - Last Year

Well, it comes as no surprise to me that this hasn't been the most frequently updated blog that you can find. Should anyone be reading this - it appears at least one person has - then I'll do my best to update more frequently.

For me at least, 2005 was an absolutely cracking year for music. Elsewhere on the internet where I waste far too much time I contributed to a list of Year-end Top 10 lists and for the sake of, well, space-filling I'll reproduce the list here.

10. Duke Special - Adventures In Gramophone
A great little indie record that has some excellent nods to music hall and is sufficiently different from the whining-young-man formula.

9. Damien Jurado - On My Way To Absence
A bit of a surprise this one. It came about partly through my increasing love affair with Secretly Canadian records and a review sticker by one of the staff in my local music emporium. Fragile without being too flimsy and with some deft little musical tricks, the closing minute of 'Big Decision' is one of my musical moments of the year.

8. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
This one is shaping up to become a firm favourite so I've pushed something else out of the ten to make way for it. Instantly captures your attention and a decent progression from the first two albums.

7. Pernice Brothers - Discover A Lovlier You
If nothing else, the song 'Saddest Quo' puts this record in the top ten. If you like Teenage Fanclub and don't have this yet then you can add it to your list. Wonderful harmonies and decent songwriting.

6. Richard Swift - The Novelist / Walking Without Effort
Comprising some bits that were released in the past, but balls to that, this one was another slight surprise. His voice is slightly ragged, and lived in combined with some Wainwright-esque flourishes on the musical side of things.

5. Teddy Thompson - Separate Ways
A soulful, Sexsmith-esque vocal with very sharp indie songwriting. A fairly full production that is bolstered with Wainwrights dropping it at various points. It certainly shits all over Sexsmith's record with Don Kerr. Great stuff.

4. Supergrass - Road To Rouen
Still delivering the goods. Another fantastic record.

3. Elbow - Leaders Of The Free World
I always thought there was a tiny bit missing from previous Elbow records, which I really liked but never loved. Not sure what it was but they've found it with this one. Really strong songwriting throughout and on 'Great Expectations' some of the most endearing lyrics I've heard in yonks.

2. Magnolia Electric Co - What Comes After The Blues
Gruff, laid-back and picking up from where Songs:Ohia left off, this album was a delight. I wasn't too bothered at first, but after picking it up second hand soon after its release it's become a firm favourite. Could well have been my number one had this bloke not had a new one out...

1. Josh Rouse - Nashville
This has overtaken '1972' as my favourite Rouse record now, after many, many plays. It's still a sheer delight and 'Sad Eyes' will be on compilations I make for as long as I have my sanity.

The Lost Revue - great new music

Just in case you're a blogger not a fighter and haven't read the main site's proclamations about the genius of new band, The Lost Revue, I figure I should pop some info up here.

Their debut mini-album came into my possession over the weekend and is an absolute joy from start to finish. It made me grin like a small child on a trampoline and it made me dance like a dickhead. This record delivers on all of the bluster and hype attached to The Libertines that they so resolutely failed to match. It has elements of Strummer's vocal style, with the the rhythmic bounce that is essential to 2005 indie, and yet it's also unlike anything else I've heard all year.
Not convinced yet? Go to www.thelostrevue.com and there are free mp3s for you to experiment with. If you're feeling even more brave, for a brief time, early copies of the mini-album 'Orphans and Villains' are available at www.popfiction.biz

I've no reason to say this other than the fact that their record is bloody marvellous. Try it, you may well agree.