Many years ago I used to write a music fanzine & website with friends, it was called To Hell With... and I haven't written any music reviews since it ended in 2006 so these are my first attempt. Just a few short views on some of my recent purchases.
Bella Union www.beachhousebaltimore.com
I’d seen this album mentioned alot on the internet, so listened to a couple of songs on youtube before taking the plunge, Beach House are boy/girl duo from Baltimore, described as dream-pop and Bloom is their fourth album. That dreamlike quality is certainly evident, as the guitar & keyboard combine to create delicate webs of melody that feel like they could break with the slightest breeze. Victoria Legrand’s vocals are seductive yet detached, the lyrics suitably mysterious, suggesting rather than telling. Bloom is one of my favourite albums of the year so far, and a record that could equally soundtrack a gloomy wet day as a sunkissed roadtrip.
I’d seen this album mentioned alot on the internet, so listened to a couple of songs on youtube before taking the plunge, Beach House are boy/girl duo from Baltimore, described as dream-pop and Bloom is their fourth album. That dreamlike quality is certainly evident, as the guitar & keyboard combine to create delicate webs of melody that feel like they could break with the slightest breeze. Victoria Legrand’s vocals are seductive yet detached, the lyrics suitably mysterious, suggesting rather than telling. Bloom is one of my favourite albums of the year so far, and a record that could equally soundtrack a gloomy wet day as a sunkissed roadtrip.
Highlights: ‘Myth’, ‘Other People’, ‘The Hours’.
Ample Play www.cornershop.com
I bought this album, having heard the song ‘What Did The Hippie Have In His Bag?’ on BBC 6Music. Like quite a few people of the britpop generation, the only Cornershop album I have before this, is ‘When I was born for the 7th Time’, an album I adored for it’s east-meets-west sitar & tablar tinged indie-funk. Well they’ve moved on from that, adopting a more electronic & eclectic style, that took a while to grow on me, the old funk sensibilities are still there, as are the indian influences, each track here is a collaberation. While I still find it a bit patchy, repeated listening is rewarding as tracks like Milkin’it & Dedicated reveal themselves.
Highlights: ‘What Did The Hippie Have In His Bag?’, ‘Who’s Gonna Lite It Up?’, ‘Milkin’ It’.
M’lady’s http://coasting.bandcamp.com
Coasting are, as best I can tell, two girls from Brooklyn that moved apart (to Portland & Memphis) but still made a record together in Michigan. I was introduced to them by Everett True’s excellent Collapseboard, and the song ‘Kids’, a gloriously joyful indiepop song that makes me want to jump around with a cut n’paste stop motion video to match. The rest of the album is deliciously lo-fi indie-punk with a firm grip on what makes a great harmony, an adundance of energy and vitality and a love of the old quiet-load dynamic that when done well as it is here, never gets old.
Highlights: ‘Kids’, ‘Portland’, ‘Pirates Cove’.
Interscope www.AzealiaBanks.com
Azealia Banks probably isn’t someone you would expect me to like, I was also led to her by Everett True and the song ‘212’ from this EP. She has been compared to Nicki Minaj, not something I can qualify, the Minaj songs I’ve heard haven’t been my type of thing and to be honest the 3 other songs here I find pretty bland and formulaic, fast paced rap-pop to a nightclub beat. ‘212’ however is a different animal altogether, beneath the filthy lyrics is a primitive beat that opens up into a dancefloor beast, that as Banks’ wraps her tongue around the sexual imagery with considerable relish (watch the video) could make even the shyest person bump & grind with the best of them.
Highlights: ‘212’
Don Giovanni Records http://shellshag.blogspot.co.uk/
Yet another I found from Collapseboard, hailing from Brooklyn, Shellshag are husband (Shell) & wife (Shag) duo. Rumors In Disguise is another minimal punk record, in places reminding me of a more lo-fi grungey Lemonheads, it has all the touchstones that are bound to make me love them, squalls of white noise, stripped down hooks, ‘Resilient Bastard’ could almost be Weezer in their prime, the short sharp burst of ‘Rumor’ comes complete with doo-wop handclaps & catchy as hell "I wanna make it with you" refrain, and dirge of ‘Rock and roll ruined my life’ contrast greatly with bittersweet closer ‘Carry On’. Oh, and it has the best album cover I’ve seen for a long time.
Highlights: ‘Resilient Bastard’, ‘Crashing Rockets’, ‘Carry On’.
LITF www.akirathedon.com
Unkillable Thunderchrist is the latest from the UK’s most prolific rapper, Akira the Don, his 28th mixtape is full of impossible to clear samples & is better than most artists official releases. What sets ATD apart is the joy he takes in everything he does, even when he’s eviscerating the coalition & politicians on ‘Lemmings’ & ‘Weird & Creepy’. And yes ‘Lemmings’ does sample the classic computer game. ATD’s collaboration with Time on ‘Too Sweet To Be Sour’ is a fitting & suprisingly touching tribute to Adam Yauch, while closing track ‘Wu-Wear & Acid’ is a stunning end to the collection, and shows a man, as the Hunter S. Thompson sample* suggests "riding the crest of a high & beautiful wave", long & far may it carry him.
Highlights: ‘Lemmings’, ‘Too Sweet To be Sour’, ‘Wu-Wear & Acid’.
*Well actually a quote from the Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas film.
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