These are the albums which have made repeat listenings for me in recent weeks:
Glaswegian post-rock pinups Mogwai released
Mr. Beast this month, although it has been knocking around on the int0rweb since before Christmas. I love it, even though it lacks any epics a la
Like Herod or
Fear Satan. It's a much more digestable record than we are accustomed to from Mogwai owing to a relatively short average track time. I think it's narrow minded to use a 1997 Mogwai record as a yardstick for a 2006 Mogwai record in the first place, but many have lamented the absence of any 10-minute-plus tracks. There is a variety of tempo and mood changes from one track to another as you listen to the album through. This gives the album a coherance and cadence which is difficult to find in their previous work. Fingers & toes crossed they will be confimred for Electric Picnic.
I don't know if they are putting something in the water in Austin, Texas however
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness have a name almost as cumbersome as their neighbours and friends
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. Their debut album is called
Fear Is On Our Side. The nomenclature isn't ironic. Reserved, distant vocals are floated along on deliberate, assiduously erected towers of spikey guitar flourishes. The songs are brilliantly taut and clinical. Many people have made comparisons to
Interpol. I can see why in the technical profile of the drums, guitar and vocal in the album, however the mood is something different, more serious, more antiseptic. I'm thrilled they chose darkness, awesome album.
Collisions is Calla's fourth album and has been my introduction to the band. This NY band create lush atmospheric indie rock. At times they sound almost claustrophobic with the heavy droning bass pulverising your brain and emphasising the dramatic nature of the breathy lyrics. This album reminds me of one of my favourites of last year, Dead Meadow's
Feathers. Highly recommended.
Drowning In A Sea of Love is an exceptional debut album from the 22 year old tech-house genius and messiah of British electronic music, Nathan Fake. The Apple powerbook wielding Norfolk native was blessed with the stage-like name and it seems the talent to go along with it. This album eschews the dancefloor immediacy of his previous work which can be found on some of Fabric's legendary compilations. There is plenty of sublimely howling synth used expertly to craft cavernous electronic landscapes. The album never feels rushed or in your face, it's more like a blissfull drive through the countryside on a beaming Sunday afternoon.
Sony flung Swede Jose Gonzalez onto everyone who is anyone's coffee table late last year with their
Bravia commercial which was backed by Gonzalez's twist on the song
Heartbeats. The original Heartbeats was done by fellow Swedes
The Knife. The Knife are a reclusive and eccentric Brother and Sister pair whose grammy nominated 2003 album
Deep Cuts contained the embryo of the Bravia ad. While the album failed to take the grammy for best record, they did secure best pop act that year. However, they boycotted the ceremony by sending two representatives of the artistic group
Unfucked pussys dressed as gorillas with the number 50 written on their costumes in what I've read was a two fingered salute to male dominance in the record industry. So now you know, you're going to have to listen to this one for yourself;
Silent Shout is The Knife's brand new album, it's got electronic beeps and blips and vocals and it's very, very good.
Finally, something for the weekend. Under Master Padraig's direction we've been making an effort to get away from the music-with-vocals-and-guitar nonsense (Arcade who?) back to our true first love of the beat. I've sampled much solid new stuff lately from The Orb, Dominik Eulberg and Richie Hawtin. Now, enter Ricardo Villalobos. Last year his name was lost on me among the myriad of contributors to Fabric's compilation series. If you like electronic music and you haven't listened to this guy yet, you need to drop what you're doing right now. This is the best dance music I've heard in a long, long time, scratch that, maybe
ever for a studio album. This is dark, sinister, filthy menacing techno at its zenith. The Chilean born, Berlin adopted muse gets bracketed under minimal but there is too much going on in his music for that tag. 2004's
Thè au Harem d'Archiméde or last year's
Achso are vital records for anyone with electronic dreams.
Published by Paul.
The GAA have just released a statement indicating that the 7 players from Tyrone and Dublin banned for 8 weeks after a brawl involving both teams last month have had their bans overturned. No indication was given as to why the appeals were upheld. The decision means that all 7 players are available to play for their counties this weekend.
