The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Album)

My other contribution to the Muso's Guide Top 50 of 2009 countdown.

Plenty of artists have capitalised on the upsurge in popularity of the revival of 80s and 90s indie-pop. However, none have done so with quite as much aplomb of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. While some bands seem to spend years honing their sound, The Pains… appear to have just dropped out of the sky with a sound that is at once unique and zeitgeist-embracing. Their debut album is a collection of upbeat and compelling songs, riddled with hooks and slathered in that wonderfully echoey dreaminess of C86. The songs are consistently strong, with particular highlights for me being ‘Come Saturday’ and ‘This Love is Fucking Right!’ What is even more encouraging is that they have followed up this record with an EP which occasionally even surpasses parts of the album. So then, a wonderful debut record, with the tantalising promise of an even better follow-up to come. Can this band do any wrong?

Asobi Seksu - ReWolf (Album)

Earlier this year, New York shoegazers Asobi Seksu released their third studio album Hush. It showed progression from their previous releases, moving away from their usual noise-heavy sound to something a little less ostentatious. As it turned out, the record proved slightly underwhelming, but then it had two very strong predecessors to live up to.

Asobi have always been partial to giving us the odd little sweetener between albums, and they’re at it again with ReWolf, which is a collection of acoustic reworkings of their existing compositions and a Hope Sandoval cover, all laid down in a single day in London last year. It’s actually a repackaged and renamed version of the previously tour / webshop only ‘Acoustic at Olympic Studios’, and is presumably designed to tide us over while they work on Hush’s follow-up. And, if that is ReWolf’s main aim, then you can certainly say mission accomplished. What we get here is an interesting curio, which showcases a starker, more fragile side to Asobi Seksu which we have only really seen fleeting glimpses of on previous releases.

By removing the heavily layered noise normally present on most of these songs, they have definitely emphasized the beauty of Yuki Chikudate’s voice.
However, in doing so they have also inadvertently taken away an important component in what was good about them in the first place. Because part of what makes Asobi Seksu interesting is the contradiction between the tumult of the guitars and the beguiling little girl lost vocals. Without that juxtaposition, this album can occasionally sound a bit one-dimensional, and at worst comes off like those pointless acoustic versions bands sometimes put out as b-sides when they’ve run out of songs.

ReWolf’s best moments are mainly the songs which were already relatively quiet, like Blind Little Rain and Breathe Into Glass. The emotional pull already present in those songs is amplified and thus so is their intrinsic quality. A large chunk of the credit here is due to Yuki’s delivery, the prettiness of which is unquestionably the highlight of the album. Of the songs which get a major reworking, only Thursday really benefits. Perhaps this is because the delicately melodic rehash it receives seems a bit less wishy-washy and a lot more thought out than some of the other songs on here.

Really then, ReWolf is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s a sweet and occasionally gorgeous listen, and like all of their records is a logical step from its predecessor, but it also leaves them at a bit of a crossroads. You wonder now what Album Four will sound like. I don’t think there’s any fear that they’ve fallen out of love with noise. Anyone who saw them on their UK tour earlier this year probably still has a faint ringing in their ears, so I think I can say with confidence that they won‘t be descending into radio-rock hell for the foreseeable future at least. That said, it might still be worth crossing your fingers that Yuki and James are astute enough to realise what makes their band so compelling.

6/10

Gig of the Year - Dananananaykroyd (Newcastle Cluny - 21/10/09)

My bit from Muso's Guide's Gigs of the Year Feature

For all the praise it received this year, Dananananaykroyd’s album Hey Everyone didn’t quite click with me until I saw them at The Cluny in Newcastle in October. Their live show took me back to my formative gig-going experiences and the rush of The Cooper Temple Clause’s early sets. It blended merciless aggression with sheer fun, and their onstage chemistry was a joy, blurring the lines between band and crowd. It felt less like a gig, and more like a party, and predictably the hour or so they played felt like five minutes. They’ve got a big reputation as a live band, and it’s entirely justified.

Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers (Album)

My two penn'oth on my favourite album of this year for Muso's Guide's impending Top 50 Countdown.

The prospect of Manic Street Preachers finally recording Richey’s last lyrics was both mouth-watering and terrifying. This weighty task had dogged them for fourteen years, what if it proved too great? Such trepidation seems foolish, even insulting, now. The process of finally exorcising their ghosts triggered a catharsis, as the band delivered one of their best albums yet, sounding more alive than they have in years. James’ delivery and guitar work, in particular often reached his high watermark of 1994. The songs were typically dense and occasionally harrowing, but they also contained odd flickers of the mordant humour that has long since been written out of Richey’s history. There’s also a real tenderness present in Nicky’s heartrendingly flat vocals on ‘William’s Last Words’, a strength always possessed by the Manics, but rarely fully appreciated. With Journal For Plague Lovers, the Manics have enhanced Richey’s legacy, when they could easily have harmed it.

Josephine Foster - Graphic as a Star (Album)

Josephine Foster has constructed a career out of the gloriously weird. Her track record thus far includes a children’s album, reinterpretations of 19th Century German standards and a dabble with frazzled acid-rock. Her latest release is a characteristically singular project which sees her setting the poems of Emily Dickinson to a minimal folky backing. As you might expect, the record is not a particularly easy listen, but it’s mostly worth the effort. The barely-there instrumentation puts the focus on Foster’s arresting voice which flutters and gently soars. Her obvious vocal talents are highlighted more by her restrained delivery, as she skilfully sidesteps any temptation to warble. Graphic as a Star is clearly a beautiful piece of work, but sometimes unrelentingly so. The result is akin to the effect having the heating on for too long: You’re toasty warm, but a bit sluggish and drained. For this reason, this is the archetypal late night album, tailor-made to lull you into a deep and cosy sleep. I’m not sure if this is what Josephine Foster or indeed Emily Dickinson intended, but, hey, in these stress-ridden times, the arrival into the public domain of anything this soothing should be welcomed.

3/5

The Albums of the Year - Part Two

Reasonably assured that no albums released in the next six weeks will have sufficient impact on me to be counted in the year's upper echelon, and after much painful deliberation, I've settled on the following as my top ten records of 2009. In reverse order, in time-honoured blog-countdown style, naturally...

10: Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
It is delightfully weird, sounding like the chirruping of some demented bird, and the songs are undeniably glorious. I couldn't stop listening to this for weeks after it was released.

9: The XX - XX
The undoubted hype record of the year, and the backlash inevitably started soon after release. However, there's a reason for the hype. With minimal ingredients and maximum precision, the Cockney teenagers were able to summon levels of black drama on a par with Interpol and The National.

8: The Horrors - Primary Colours
This received similar hype to The XX, and largely because of the surprise element. Nobody expected these immaculately coiffed ex-NME darlings to produce something so searing, and deep. Yes, it's very derivative, but this doesn't stop it being a fantastically well-realised piece of work.

7: Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, The Commuter
Grandaddy never received the Pavement-sized recognition they deserved in their lifetime, and this record hasn't pushed Lytle to untouchable status like Malkmus, but it should have. It's a gorgeous piece of bruised songcraft. The warmth Lytle is still able to conjure up is awe-inspiring.

6: Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
Fur and Gold was rightly lauded and this is leaps and bounds ahead of even that. On this record, Natasha Khan has gone from simple singer-songwriter to someone producing high art. Her voice is better than ever, and the Scott Walker duet is spine-tingling.

5: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
The first great record of 2009, and the point at which some people stopped considering other albums for the top prize of the year. It was massively (and predictably) hyped in indie circles, and (even more predictably) panned by the backlash brigade, but it is brilliant. Panda Bear's increased influence has smoothed off some of AC's more abrasive edges without blunting their creativity.

4: Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Had this been released later in the year it would probably have been even higher. Another artist to have shown incredible progression from an already strong debut. The noise and menace is still there, but the harshness has been buffed out in place of something more mesmeric, but no less beguiling.

3: Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
Speaking of massive progress... Little to say on this other than that it is jaw-dropping stuff. Incredible maturity and depth to their sound that you wonder if they can ever top this.

2: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The band with the worst name of the year ironically nearly produce the best album. It distills all the good points about shoegaze and twee 90s indie pop, compressing them into a near perfect half hour or so. A record which becomes more and more addictive with every listen, and what is even more pleasing is the fact that the recent Higher Than the Stars EP contains songs that are arguably even better.

1: Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers
It's impossible for me to judge this record objectively, given that the Manics have always meant more to me than any other band. I awaited this album with real excitement, but also an equal measure of trepidation. I mean, what if they hadn't been able to live up to Richey's lyrics? I did them a real disservice though. After 20-odd years of friendship and 14 years of wrestling with his ghost, of course they understood the grandeur of their task, and of course they were able to do it justice, The entire band sound absolutely revitalised, meaning that I'm in two minds about whether now is the right time to end their story, or whether they should work with this newly rediscovered passion to make more awesome records.

So all things considered, 2009 has been a great year for new music. Fingers crossed for 2010...

The Albums of the Year - Part One

We've reached that special point in the year when the Coke advert is imminent, kids and grownups alike are swarming around the window of a certain Newcastle department store, and pasty indie kids all around the world are hastily compiling best of the year lists like some kind of grisly game of top trumps.

So, in the spirit of the season, and in anticipation of the lists that will soon litter the blogosphere, here's the first half of my favourite twenty albums of the year.

20: Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Not their best work, sure, but even allowing for the occasional drift into autopilot, Sonic Youth still creatively outshine most of their peers / grandkids

19: Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone!
A screamy blast of almighty power, which only really makes proper sense once you've seen them live.

18: Grammatics - Grammatics
It might have been completely overblown, but the point is that this kind of bombast hasn't been done this well since Dog Man Star.

17: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
In which the delicately hewn craftstmanship shown on the last couple of albums reached its apex of near perfect woodsy charm.

16: Sky Larkin - The Golden Spike
Infused with the vigour of youth, the sort of brilliant pop which could only be made in England.

15: Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
A tough album for them, but an undoubted success. Working with Homme gave them a welcome harder edge, and once again they showed progression without it seeming forced.

14: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
The first of a seemingly endless slew of indie bands gone disco, and by far the most perfectly executed.

13: Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective
Lockett Pundt (the 'other' one from Deerhunter) gives a clue why Deerhunter went from nothingy garage band to incredible dreamy space cadets after he joined.

12: Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
One of the cleverest and most enriching songwriters we have produces arguably his best collection of songs. Worth exploring again and again and again.

11: Years - Years
Ohad Benchetrit of Do Make Say Think puts together abandoned song fragments to make an unexpectedly cohesive collection. Like making a banquet out of the scraps left over from dinner.

Part Two to follow tomorrow...

Styles Make Fights - 4/11/09 - Cluny 2 (Gig)

Barely two weeks ago, we extolled the virtues of The Cluny. Well, Newcastle’s greatest gig spot recently said a commendable ‘fuck you’ to the recession and commandeered the former theatre next door, turning it into a mini-Cluny, called, of course, Cluny 2. The place is imbued with as much character as its big brother, and is a fitting addition to the family.

Our first visit there is for a show which marks the launch of the sterling new EP by Newcastle’s very own brilliant indie-popsters Styles Make Fights. The line-up, hand-picked by our headliners, starts off with a wonderful solo performance by Kieran Rafferty of White Collar Weapons.

We don’t believe for a second his assertion that he is part of ‘a thirteen piece band where twelve people haven’t turned up’, but in spite of his bare-faced lies, he’s a wonderfully likeable performer. His boisterously self-deprecating on-stage persona is reflected in his songs, raggedly charming as they are.

For someone who is presumably more used to playing with a band than alone, he looks completely at ease up there, and doesn’t seem at all perturbed when bits of his guitar start detaching themselves in his hand (alas, not the last guitar malfunction we will see this evening). His between-song chit-chat is as likeable as his songs, so that even when he is shamelessly touting for a job or a gig you can’t help but feel warmly towards him.

Second band Brilliant Mind are just as enjoyable as Rafferty, warming up nicely as their set goes on. They are the sort of classic indie pop band which only England has every been able to produce, and feature a front-man with some impressive Morrissey-meets-Paul Smith moves.

The songs at their disposal already seem completely effortless and fully-realised. It also definitely helps that they are all such good musicians, because the sharpness of the execution emphasises the sheer quality of the music. The fact that their best song of the night ‘Leave it Out, Rob’ is a new one is obviously an encouraging sign. They are a great foil for Styles Make Fights, sharing a similarly keen ear for a sharp melody.

As the years have gone by, our headliners have maintained a powerful pop sensibility but they’ve gradually instilled it with something a little edgier and darker. This has given them an enticing extra dimension, and might be something to do with the addition of new(ish) singer James, who gives a tetchy, agitated presence to their show.

The energy embedded in the songs has always been one of their strengths. As usual, this is reflected in their delivery, which carries the assurance of a band who know that they have a consistently strong set. With every show that goes by, songs like ‘Not Around’. ‘Rita and Betty’ and ‘ Chauffeurs’ sound more and more like classics. Even when they are struck by the distressingly potent curse of the malfunctioning guitar which is prevalent tonight, they manage to hold it together without any fuss or drama, consummate pros that they are.

Going into the second decade of the 21st Century, we find ourselves at a bit of a crossroads in the North-East. The decade’s first wave of our bands, led by Maximo Park and the Futureheads, found massive mainstream success. Then the second wave featuring the likes of Kubichek and Dartz produced fantastic albums, but kind of fizzled out. We are definitely primed for another attack on the national music scene, but we just need some kind of catalyst to kick it off. Tonight has made it quite clear that there is sufficient quality in the region to suggest that the third wave can’t be far off.

Talons' - Songs For Babes (Album)

Have you ever wondered what the best record you’ve never heard is? Well, you might as well save your brain the work, because it‘s probably The United Colors of Trouble Books by Trouble Books. It’s a feast of gentle ambience which will bathe your brain in a soothing, delicate fuzz.

One of the main protagonists of Trouble Books is Mike Tolan, who, not content with recording beautiful music under one moniker, also issues solo(ish) records as Talons’.

Under this name, Tolan has released a number of home recorded CD-Rs, and we now see his first full release, Songs for Babes. It’s a concept record of sorts, with each song apparently named after a different woman. But don’t worry, it sounds nothing like Kelly Jones. With most songs featuring just Tolan, his guitar and miscellaneous background chirruping (of which more later), it’s not a million miles away from his work with Trouble Books.

On Songs for Babes, he certainly manages to capture the same sense of warmth that made The United Colors… so captivating. As the songs are crafted from such minimalist elements, there is a fragility about them which is almost uncomfortable at times. ‘Erin’, for example, is a short but devastatingly beautiful song which juxtaposes the mundanities of day-to-day life with crushing, world changing horror with particularly affecting results: “It’s kinda like the feeling you get when you’re peeling the flag magnet off your car.. Oh, when I think of 9/11, I wish I would’ve followed you home”.

There are so many moments on this record which show Talons’ impressive command of the nuances of song construction. Coming from him, the gentlest lilt of the voice or trickle of melody can have a massive impact. The acapella ending to ‘Taz’ and gossamer-thin delivery of ‘Angela’ are just two examples from an endless list of possibilities.

The emotional pull doesn’t just come from the words, or Tolan’s fragile, careworn voice, but also from what lies under the surface of the songs. What lifts Talons’ above the clichéd hell that apparently automatically dictates ‘man + guitar = emotion’ is the gently bubbling ambient undercurrent. Weird, noodling effects combine with everyday background noises like police sirens, seagulls and chattering friends to create an incredibly intimate feel, as though Tolan is singing to you and nobody else.

‘Songs for Babes’ is an album to wrap around yourself while the wind and rain batter your windows. It is further proof of Mike Tolan’s peerless ability to create spacious beauty, seemingly without any effort at all. He is one of music’s best kept secrets. For now.