Album Review: Maxïmo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures

Our Earthly Pleasures is the second effort from the Newcastle quintet, and while their debut effort – A Certain Trigger – was defined by its hastiness and raw energy, the band has taken much more time and care in crafting their second release. This time, production duties were given to Gil Norton, producer to Foo Fighters and Pixies circa Doolittle. The result is an album that is more anthemic, bolder, and certainly more radio-friendly, but perhaps lacking some of the eager, nervous energy of their debut.

‘Girls Who Play Guitars’ starts the album off on a strong note. While it’s instantly clear that this is a more polished effort than Trigger, the energy from Trigger is still eminent in the angular guitars and Smith’s energetic howl. Lead single ‘Our Velocity’ continues the album at a similar pace. The album briefly dips when it reaches the middle two tracks, ‘When ‘Karaoke Plays’ and ‘Your Urge’, which are both forgettable tracks; both seem to keep a constant flat-line of dynamics for the duration of the song.

Smith’s lyrics throughout are fantastic, and possibly even save some of the songs from obscurity. On ‘A Fortnight’s Time’ he sings, on relationships, ‘when it comes to girls I’m mostly hypothetical / if I list their names it’s purely alphabetical / when it comes to girls I’m truly theoretical / if I touch their nerve it’s merely dialectical’. Similar themes are prevalent through the rest of the tracks, but it doesn’t get old. As has been the case with their other songs, Smith proves himself the backbone of the band.

Our Earthly Pleasures is better sounding, both crisper and cleaner, and more calculated than their previous work. Whether this is a good thing really depends on what you prefer. But while half the album is made of catchy rock songs that will be sure-fire hits (‘Girls Who Play Guitars’, ‘A Fortnight’s Time’, ‘Our Velocity’), the other half is forgettable (‘Your Urge’, ‘Sandblasted And Set Free’, ‘By The Monument’). If one thing’s for certain, make sure you see this band live, as reports of their live gigs in the UK show that even the weaker tracks on the album will sound fantastic when the middleman of the sound-deck is cut out.

Do the D.A.N.C.E.

Here's the new video clip from French act Justice; both the song and the video are two of the coolest things I've heard/seen in ages. Look out for the 12" single soon (including 'Phantom').

JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E.
Uploaded by edbangerrecords

Gorillaz call it quits

From NME:

Damon Albarn has confirmed that Gorillaz will release no more studio albums.

The Blur singer said that the only project left for the cartoon band will be a film featuring a score composition, that has previously been linked to filmmaker and 'Monty Python' mastermind Terry Gilliam.

Speaking to BBC Radio 2, Albarn said: "We're trying to make a film next, starting in September hopefully. It will be a film score. There won't be another pop record."

This could well turn out to be one of the smartest moves Albarn makes, as it seems that the fictional band reached their peak with the release of Demon Days. Expect rumours of a Blur reunion to start any day now.

Please bear with us...

...as I work my way through 250-odd tracks from artists that performed this year at South By Southwest 2007.

Expect a bunch of free music and artist profiles. soon. I promise.

Album Review: LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver

Many will remember LCD Soundsystem for giving us the anthemic ‘Daft Punk is playing at my house’ a couple of years ago. If you ended up buying that eponymous album, it seemed like that was unfortunately one of the few highlights present.

Thankfully, James Murphy has rectified that by releasing a follow-up that is so strong, and so well put-together that I will be quite surprised if it doesn’t feature in many critics’ top lists of 2007. Album-opener ‘Get Innocuous’ kicks off the affair sounding a lot like James Murphy’s other main pseudonym/project, DFA; with lots of processed beats and repeated synth loops. But what makes Sound Of Silver so wonderful is that it really traverses a wide range of styles – it’s clear that Murphy is, in a sense, creating a mosaic of many of his favourite styles of music. If you played someone the first track, followed by the final track ‘New York I Love You But…’, they’d think you were playing two completely different artists.

It’s this chameleon-like quality of the album that makes it so enjoyable to listen to, and yet at the same time it is completely cohesive in its entirety. Elsewhere on the album, Murphy engages in a bit of political commentary on ‘North American Scum’, and writes slightly melancholic lyrics on ‘All My Friends’. The peak of the album is, appropriately, right in the centre, with ‘All My Friends’ and ‘Us Vs. Them’ both long sprawling tracks (each clocking in at over 7 minutes), that start off with minimal beginnings and gradually build and build until you realise that you’re nodding your head to the churning, swirling beats that are coming out of those headphones. Highly recommended.

Ed Bangin'

Ed Banger Records is a French label run by Busy P, who also happens to be the manager of Daft Punk. By now, the Ed Banger label had really made itself known worldwide, especially in Melbourne after the Ed Banger party, and Sebastian & Kavinsky's amazing set at Golden Plains festival. These guys have been putting out fantastic, dirty dance music for a while now, and it's all gotten better with their Ed Banger Records Vol. 2 compilation. You can get a hold of their stuff from the U.S. here, and from France here.

For now, here's one of the originals (and best) from the Ed Banger archives: SebastiAn - Ross Ross Ross

Album Review: Dead Frenchmen - Wonderland

When I first heard about Dead Frenchmen, I thought “Wow, what a cool name for a band!”. But I was wary. You see, too many times have I allowed myself to be swayed by a band before I’ve heard them, simply by how cool their name is, or how awesome their album art is, or how hot they look. Whatever. I’m superficial. But for once, I’m pleased to announce that Dead Frenchmen are more than just a really cool name. They’re a great band, that’s just released a really cohesive debut album.

When I say ‘cohesive’ I mean that Wonderland is an album that isn’t rough around the edges; it sounds streets ahead of what you’d expect from a debut album, in its song writing, production, and how well-rehearsed the band sound. From listening to Wonderland, you’d easily be mistaken in thinking this was the second or third effort from the band, once they’d had a chance to get their game together and polish things up a little.

Dead Frenchmen have already been (fortunately or unfortunately) garnering the Interpol comparison that so many bands receive, particularly if the vocals sound like the low crooning voice of singer and guitarist Michael Pledger. But the vocals are really the only thing that’s similar to their peers. Together with drummer Greg Doig, and bassist Toby Dundas, the band exhibits none of the NY pretentiousness, and instead exudes a genuine intensity that only comes from a band loving what they do. The trio have managed many great moments on the album, with songs like ‘Passenger’ and ‘Out Of Phase’ sounding fantastic. However, one criticism is that at times it seems that the album lacks variation, with some tracks tending to sound a little too much like the previous one, partly because the levels of the instruments on each track sound exactly the same throughout the album.

Wonderland is a great album as far as debut albums go, and hopefully, if the band tries some new things with their song writing, their sophomore effort will be something to eagerly anticipate.

Album Review: Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City

It was always going to be a little difficult for Bloc Party. After releasing a debut album that was both commercially and critically salivated upon, the stakes were high. When a band releases their second effort, it seems they often follow one of two paths: they either stick to what worked on their previous album, or they might try and branch out a little. Unfortunately for the band, whichever they choose, there will be fans who deride the band for either being ‘lazy’ or ‘pretentious’ (Radiohead's Kid A, anyone?), respectively.
There have been many bands in recent years that were hugely hyped after their first album, only to release a disappointing album after. Bloc Party haven’t done this. They’ve released a good album, it’s just not great.

On A Weekend In The City, Bloc Party, with the help of star producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol, Kasabian) decided the only way to go from their debut was bigger, brighter and bolder. From listening to the album, however, it seems that all three of those goals were attempted through the mixing desk, rather than through the band members themselves. As a consequence, while the first four tracks on the album, including the lead single ‘The Prayer’ have great riffs and pulsing drums that are now iconic of the ‘Bloc Party sound’, they lack any of the conviction that made their first album so endearing. Instead, the songs on AWITC sound decidedly hollow, which is also partially a result of so many of the tracks having long-winded openings or breaks devoted to lead singer Kele Okereke hurting my ears with his falsetto.

In trying to satisfy the entire listening public, Bloc Party have made their rock tracks sound rockier, and their ballads ‘more ballady’. However, AWITC just ends up sounding like Bloc Party diluted. While there are some great songs on the album, that will surely find their way onto indie dance floors around the world (Song for Clay, Hunting for Witches), in trying to be the jack of all trades, Bloc Party simply come off as appearing the master of none.

Album Review: Fionn Regan - The End of History

It seems that the singer/songwriter is a curious creature; they’re always incredibly depressed about something or other. Maybe they actually do have no other friends, and are forced to vent all of their sadness through the songs they write, maybe they’re just taking the old mantra “write about what you know” to another level. In any case, you’d be forgiven for expecting the newest singer/songwriter on the scene, hailing from Dublin, would release an album full of rainy days and broken hearts, the sort that seem to multiply any gloomy feelings you have while you listen.

Thankfully, Fionn has decided to buck the trend, and what we have is an astoundingly beautiful, while often-nonsensical, debut album that rewards the listener with every further play. And while there is some of that trademark despondence throughout, the overall tone of the album is lighter than that . Opener ‘Be Good or be Gone’, arguably the album’s stand-out track, has a chorus that is completely infectious, while the shuffling drums on ‘Hunters Map’ augment the mysteriousness of Fionn’s lyrics. On ‘Put a Penny in the Slot’, Fionn sings lyrics you can’t help but smile at: “I apologise/I seem to have arrived/home with items in my bag from your house”, and even manages to name-drop Paul Auster and Saul Bellow, all while we wonder what in the world he’s actually even singing about.

While some of the album (specifically the latter third) comes off as a tad bland, the album as a whole showcases Fionn’s potential. While The End of History is by no means perfect, there is definitely the possibility that in another album or two we could have someone to fill the still-now-empty void that Elliott Smith left years ago.

Instead of an album full of depressing self-pity, Fionn has released a debut of startling brilliance, with the kind of maturity that is most uncommon for a debut album.

New Shins; Bloc Party Albums

Two of the most eagerly anticipated albums of early '07 have been winding their way around that world internet network for quite a while now, so I thought I'd give some short thoughts on them based on first impressions.

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

Simply put, this record sounds amazing. Most of the tracks manage to grab my attention, and the songwriting has come leaps and bounds. Hopefully this release will catapult the Shins' over and above simply being 'that band Zach Braff loves'.

Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City

On first listen it seems that Bloc Party's style has evolved, but I'm not sure if it's necessarily for the better: the hooks seem fewer and further between, and there's a lot more powerchords here. It almost sounds as if a group of 15-year-old schoolkids just made a band and really wanted to sound like Bloc Party. I'll wait and see what the final mix sounds like.