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Free song download of "Devil's Crayon," from Wild Beasts' debut album, Limbo, Panto (coming out on Domino, on November 4). This latest Brit sensation sounds nothing like you'd expect (i.e. not like Arctic Monkeys), with the band spanning skewed rock, '70s pop, disco, highlife, and even jazz. Add the inimitable vocals of Hayden Thorpe -- who effortlessly goes from Antony-esque falsetto to Tom Waits growl in a matter of seconds -- and you have one of the most daring and accomplished "indie rock" albums in quite a while.
I realize there's hardly a shortage of lo-fi indie bands at the moment, it being the Brooklyn sound de rigeur, but trust me when I tell you that Women are something different entirely. Sure they might have a name which screams "try Googling us asshole," but their obstinate twos up carries perfectly into the music itself and the resulting hiccup of an album is one of the most satisfying indie rock experiences of '08 thus far. Recorded in their Canadian basement apparently to busted boomboxes over a period of four months, it does sound like a labor of love. There's a huge difference between lo-fi and merely sloppy, and so often the two get confused giving rise to some pathetic excuses for music, but thankfully Women are anything but unfocused. This is an ineffably smart record, at times broaching the defiantly untrendy world of math rock in the technical riffage of "Lawncare" or "Sag Harbor Bridge" but staying far, far away from the high fidelity obtuse onslaught of genre pioneers Don Caballero. You see, stylistically the band seem just as fond of Royal Trux-lite garage rock, just as enamored by the experimental clatter of the Silver Apples and with a sizeable 60s pop collection (there are more than just a few sly nods to the Beatles/Beach Boys-era of classic songwriting) -- basically they meet the critical expectation of the flood of bands who are regarded as having "eclectic influences." It's funny because just as I was marking myself down as tired of a certain genre, a band pop up who confound all my expectations blending a large handful of my favorite musical styles and ending up chancing upon one of my favorite albums of the year. Proof lies in the Velvets-do-Brian Wilson-on-tape charm of album highlight "Black Rice" -- if you don't find yourself weak at the knees by this little gem then you don't like music. It really is that simple. -John Twells
Two extremely excellent albums of "Desert blues" from Etran Finatawa, a six to ten person ensemble from Niger, composed of members from two distinct nomadic tribes, the Taureg, and the Wodaabe-Fulani. They've been active since 2004, and interestingly, the principal members did not even speak one another's language when they began their collaboration. Not only that, but the Wodaabe-Fulani half of the group's musical culture has long been grounded in an instrument-less vocal polyphony, and the fact that they were able to adapt that tradition to the Taureg's storied guitar culture is quite amazing. Their first album, Introducing, was released in 2006 and was recorded in a French studio; it's a little more polished and produced compared to this year's Desert Crossroads, which seems to have more of the open air vibe you'd associate with a group of desert nomads. You'll find more of the kind of guitar heroics you've heard on the Tinariwen and Terakaft albums on the first record, with the second being a tad bit earthier and communal. It's really a toss-up as to which is better, combining their two cultures has given them an amazing depth of material to work from, and they've really been successful at creating a diverse body of work across these two albums. Needless to say, if you've enjoyed the aforementioned Tinariwen and Terakaft, definitely check these guys out, as they're working in a similar idiom while still bringing something new we haven't heard yet. -Michael Klausman
I have to say I'm pretty much a sucker for anything the Jewelled Antler Collective throw at me, and even though there might have been a fair few releases in the last twelve months, the mention of a new Blithe Sons album fills me with a goofy joy. Loren Chasse and Glenn Donaldson's last record under this moniker was over four years ago, and though they've both released plenty since then, rarely have they achieved the unbridled successes of We Walk the Young Earth. The Great Orthochromatic Wheel' isn't exactly trying to mirror their early almost poppy material, but succeeds in recreating the good-natured, brisk drones they are so well known for. Half of the record was recorded indoors, and half outdoors, but rather than jump abrasively from one method to the next, the change is fluid and necessary. When indoors they rely on the reverb of the room to swallow the pastoral tones and rustling percussion giving the tracks a homespun warmth as acoustic guitar drifts over half-heard flute. Sure, if you've heard Jewelled Antler related releases before it's not going to be a huge surprise in terms of sound, but these two musicians are the masters of their genre, and offer a Zen-like peace and strength of mind to their compositions. The album comes into its own, however, when the duo take their recordings outdoors and the shimmer of the environment adds an arresting calm to the pipe-led drones. There's a sense of ancient folk tradition here somewhere, twinned with the chilly wooded surrealism of Peter Brotzmann & Han Bennink's seminal Schwarzwaldfahrt. The very idea of two people going out to the forest to record tracks still makes me interested regardless of the music itself, so thank goodness it's actually worth listening to anyway. Gorgeous music for tea drinking and other worthwhile philosophically-inclined pursuits -- huge recommendation. -John Twells
Ultimate, all time favorite territory here with Shirley Collin's debut False True Lovers, recorded in 1959 for Folkways during her relationship with Alan Lomax. I'm not ashamed to say that this album is one of a very small few that has actually made me break down and cry, in this instance on a cold and lonely winter night some years ago. A long while back, when Gian Carlo still worked here, he put up one of those little handmade cards you find in the shop from time to time, and he compared Collin's voice to that of a "ship sailing in the night," as true a description I've ever heard, and a phrase that has stuck with me ever since. I love a number of Shirley Collin's albums, but none as much as this one, and while it may not be appropriate for every occasion, the riches to be found herein are truly incomparable. -Michael Klausman
What can I say about Editions Mego boss Peter Rehberg that hasn't been said already (possibly by me...) -- well I may as well recap a little; he records under the Pita moniker and was responsible for some of the most genre defining releases of the last ten years with albums that became cornerstones of electronic noise music. In recent years his efforts have been re-focused somewhat to take in work under the KTL moniker (together with Sunn O)))'s Steven O'Malley), so it is surprising to see this CD emerge from the Emego stable. Released under his own name rather than the Pita moniker, this finds Rehberg take a slight change of direction; I would still call it "extreme computer music" but the sounds have been tempered slightly, probably as these pieces are collaborations with the Paris based puppeteer and choreographer Gisèle Vienne. Written for Vienne's theatrical productions, we hear Rehberg framing his work around something very visual and this somewhat mutes his penchant for aggressive db levels, giving rise to some haunting and almost early-electronic/Radiophonic Workshop sounding pieces. Of course the blackened mood is still very much on show, helped along beautifully by the words of Dennis Cooper who lies his sadistic lines over Rehberg's aural bed of nails chancing upon the album's most horrifyingly effective moments. Spanning four years of recording, it amazes me just how well these pieces work as an album as it was never the intention for them to be heard in this way, but in spite of this it is probably my favorite work from Rehberg for some time, just pipping his killer No-Fun 12" from last year. Let's hope there's even more material on the way -- grim and extreme... just the way I like it. -John Twells
One of the more pleasant surprises of this year has been the resurgence in popularity of the indie Britpop sound of the mid to late '80s. With bands like Vivian Girls and the Muslims gaining much deserved acclaim for their propulsive, fuzzy guitar sound, we're finally seeing some killer UK indie groups getting the reissue treatment. This week we see the release of the Shop Assistants' killer debut album, but let's not forget about the underrated bittersweet jangle of the Popguns. Formed in '87, this Brighton-based band had a sound that combined the frothy, Rickenbaker buzzsaw of their contemporaries with the immediate pop sound of the Smiths. Lead singer Wendy Morgan's soaring vocals definitely had a hint of a Moz melodrama, and the songs had a solid, straightforward pulse to them, reminiscent of late Wedding Present. Like the Present, the bounce to the songs was undercut by the sad, introspective lyrical rumination on love gone wrong. As stated before, the Popguns were a bit more straightforward and not as primitive as their contemporaries, but these songs are some of the best-constructed, indie-pop songs of that era. It's nice to see this one available again. -Duane Harriott
Although Harold Budd claimed retirement with his fabulous double disc offering Avalon Sutra, the last year has seen his productivity shoot up with striking collaborations with the Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie and this latest extended work with guitarist Clive Wright. There might not have been a giant shift in style either, but we must remember that this is a style that Budd helped create along with Brian Eno in the early days of ambient music. These days it feels like a genre maligned, with people all too quick to damn so much ambient music as new-age Frippery but listening to Budd it's hard to doubt his intentions. Here is a musician who has perfected his art, and while there are plenty of young producers who will cite him as an influence, they rarely reach the distilled bliss and melancholy Budd injects into his compositions. Here his distinct echoing piano tones are aided on their journey by Wright's lilting fretwork which takes us high up into the clouds and doesn't let up until the final note. Sure there's nothing edgy about this, but it's honest and good natured, something you can't say about much these days. The subtle harmonies and half-hummed ambience will stay with you for hours, if not days later and this is a disc that can aide you into the deepest of slumbers. Gorgeous music. -John Twells
Across his career, field recordist Chris Watson has undoubtedly created one of the most remarkable bodies of work ever put to tape. His skill at capturing and presenting the auditory lacuna of the natural world is unrivaled, and he does so with the poetic vision of an Aldo Leopold or John Muir. For Cima Verde, he trains his sights and high powered contact microphones on the alpine terrain of Northern Italy across a range of seasons, capturing everything from the subtle shifts in high altitude air pressure, to the songs of migratory birds and ravens, and even the nearly imperceptible dissolution of a snowfield in spring. Watson loves working enveloped in the mysterious hours of dawn and dusk, when one's sense of reality is invariably heightened by the infinite diversity of nature spread before you. That he makes such a feeling palpable across every track of this album is no less than a minor miracle. -Michael Klausman
Now on her umpteenth album for the Monika label, German electro-pop songstress Barbara Morgenstern erupts with possibly her most honed work to date with the imaginatively titled BM. The style hasn't changed significantly since The Grass Is Always Greener, but the hybrid-dance excesses have thankfully been toned down to allow her songs the room they always needed to breathe. Maybe this is down to, in some way, her collaborators -- most notably the irrepressible Robert Wyatt who lends his distinctive vocal chords to the album's highlight, "Camouflage." While the record as a whole doesn't exactly retain the haunting beauty of this stand-out moment, there are some very strong tracks, and the production is undoubtedly of a higher standard than her previous work. Utilzing the expert string-work of Antony and the Johnson's cellist Julia Kent, there is an almost widescreen focus at times, taking Morgenstern's work slightly out of its Berlin stronghold for a second. Of course Germany is always at the heart, from the Deutsche lyrics to the amusing "Come to Berlin," but at times it feels as if she'd be just as happy in a smoky New York cabaret. When the jaunty synthesizer sounds and drum machines fade out, it leaves just Morgenstern and her ineffable charisma -- and sometimes that's all you need. -John Twells |
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