i was very sceptical when i read about a new the decemberists record. their last one “the crane wife” was a strange combination of indie and prog rock and i found those prog rock songs just too pathetic. but “the crane wife” was a concept album based on a japanese fairy tale. so i hoped for less grandiloquence this time.
the decemberists’ new album “the hazards of love” is not based on some old stories. but instead of less epic storytelling they lost the mundane indie rock songs and went prog rock all the way. with bare grandiloquence.
it is really difficult to say why i like it this time. maybe because without the dichotomy of the indie vs. prog rock songs the album sounds more monolithic. or maybe it is because of the new found dichotomy of epic songwriting vs. minimal production. the album sounds just like a rough mix or peel session of …and you will know us by the trail of dead.
that reminds me that i should give the new …and you will know us by the trail of dead another listen. i totally love “so divided” and “festival thyme” was a nice little appetizer. but when i listened to “the century of self” it just didn’t click. but it needs to because they decided to go vinyl again and the artwork just rocks.
the decemberists myspace
Freitag, 27. März 2009
Freitag, 20. März 2009
The Shutes – Alternative Way
this tuesday the phonogram people publicized a page from the coming 2nd comic of “the singles club” series. i’m waiting for this 2nd part since weeks now and all i get is a single page... bummer. anyway, it’s in the works and that is good to know.
for those unfamiliar to the phonogram comics: it’s basically about the magick (sic) of music. and even though they feature some obscure magick rites, in the end it’s only about the everyday magick of music everyone can experience. e.g. the most hated group of “retromancers”: djs playing only hits of the past, songs everybody knows and everybody likes and surely will dance to. simple trick, no craft involved. or the magick of a record that captures you by the first chord and makes you play the record over and over again.
a day before the phonogram preview got publicized i went to see The Bishops. the last time i went to the club they were playing i was just “a little” late and could only catch the last two minutes and the encore. this time i went extra early since i decided i also want to see the opening band. extra early turned into just in time; so i walked in and got in line for the cloakroom as The Shutes started playing. and that, ladies and gentlemen, was one of those above mentioned magick moments. when michael champion started singing with his squirky, high voice intoning syllables like a hypnotic mantra i just stood and stared.
lately i have quite often tried to miss the opening band but for some reason and without knowing The Shutes i wanted to see the support act. and that was one of the best decisions ever. either the isle of wight, yes, that’s where they’re from, grows some real magicians or some real lucky folks. i hope, as they are still unsigned, that they find a nice record company soon and i’ll have more than the few myspace tracks to listen to.
the rest of the night was pretty… not disturbing but at least unsettling. and i don’t know what unsettled me more: The Bishops who seriously seem to think that opening your tie, jump around, grimace and strike a chord a little harder makes them a real wild rock band or the audience who, in large parts agreed with them.
The Shutes myspace
for those unfamiliar to the phonogram comics: it’s basically about the magick (sic) of music. and even though they feature some obscure magick rites, in the end it’s only about the everyday magick of music everyone can experience. e.g. the most hated group of “retromancers”: djs playing only hits of the past, songs everybody knows and everybody likes and surely will dance to. simple trick, no craft involved. or the magick of a record that captures you by the first chord and makes you play the record over and over again.
a day before the phonogram preview got publicized i went to see The Bishops. the last time i went to the club they were playing i was just “a little” late and could only catch the last two minutes and the encore. this time i went extra early since i decided i also want to see the opening band. extra early turned into just in time; so i walked in and got in line for the cloakroom as The Shutes started playing. and that, ladies and gentlemen, was one of those above mentioned magick moments. when michael champion started singing with his squirky, high voice intoning syllables like a hypnotic mantra i just stood and stared.
lately i have quite often tried to miss the opening band but for some reason and without knowing The Shutes i wanted to see the support act. and that was one of the best decisions ever. either the isle of wight, yes, that’s where they’re from, grows some real magicians or some real lucky folks. i hope, as they are still unsigned, that they find a nice record company soon and i’ll have more than the few myspace tracks to listen to.
the rest of the night was pretty… not disturbing but at least unsettling. and i don’t know what unsettled me more: The Bishops who seriously seem to think that opening your tie, jump around, grimace and strike a chord a little harder makes them a real wild rock band or the audience who, in large parts agreed with them.
The Shutes myspace
Freitag, 13. März 2009
Love Is All - Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites
for some stupid reason i sold a good part of my record collection some years ago. i just took all the records i haven’t listened too in a while and unfortunately also those i felt i had listened too once to often. that proved to be a huge mistake. yes, for the moment it felt like i’d never listen to some of them again pretty soon a developed the urge to do so and of course to buy them back.
i thought i got everything until a friend sent me he mp3s of The Dubrovniks second album „Audio Sonic Love Affair”. now the treasure hunt was on. the first check in the usual places returned negative. no listing in Discogs, GEMM or Amazon. and of course no eBay. so i started an eBay search and waited. and waited. and waited. two weeks ago i got the email that a new item with the description “The Dubrovniks Sonic” got listed. first it looked like i’d be the only one interested but 2 days before the end the first bid got in. and on the last day the second. that smelled like an exciting finish. but these two rivals didn’t expect my determination to get this record! well, the end turned out to be pretty lame and i got the record for almost no money. lucky me.
but i’ll definitely never sell any records again that i listened to a lot. just like the second Love Is All album.
Love Is All is from Gothenburg, Sweden. a place i’ve been to quite often and gladly. i’m not sure if the fact that i like the record so much brings up all those memories of Gothenburg or if it’s my affection for the city that makes me liking this record so much.
any way “Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites” is a great tune to be stuck in my head and already has been before i knew of the band being from Gothenburg.
Love Is All myspace
i thought i got everything until a friend sent me he mp3s of The Dubrovniks second album „Audio Sonic Love Affair”. now the treasure hunt was on. the first check in the usual places returned negative. no listing in Discogs, GEMM or Amazon. and of course no eBay. so i started an eBay search and waited. and waited. and waited. two weeks ago i got the email that a new item with the description “The Dubrovniks Sonic” got listed. first it looked like i’d be the only one interested but 2 days before the end the first bid got in. and on the last day the second. that smelled like an exciting finish. but these two rivals didn’t expect my determination to get this record! well, the end turned out to be pretty lame and i got the record for almost no money. lucky me.
but i’ll definitely never sell any records again that i listened to a lot. just like the second Love Is All album.
Love Is All is from Gothenburg, Sweden. a place i’ve been to quite often and gladly. i’m not sure if the fact that i like the record so much brings up all those memories of Gothenburg or if it’s my affection for the city that makes me liking this record so much.
any way “Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites” is a great tune to be stuck in my head and already has been before i knew of the band being from Gothenburg.
Love Is All myspace
Mittwoch, 4. März 2009
The Bishops - City Lights
to be honest i had planned this week's blog to be about The Futureheads’ “The Beginning Of The Twist” since i recently rediscovered their album. but then The Futureheads came along.
there’s a series of compilations of old Decca recordings, subdivided into genres of their contemporary fashion. So, of course, some bands appear on “The Beat Scene” and “The Mod Scene” and even those not appearing on both are hard to assign to just one of the labels just by their music. without knowing the dress code it’s hard to recognise the subtle distinctions between powerpop, pop punk or mod. with a few exceptions, of course.
Scroobius Pip discovered this just recently in his remake of his song “Thou Shall Always Kill” when he stated: “thou shalt be aware that there are no longer any musical genres; they are all just different dress codes and fashion styles.” well, right, but he is wrong assuming this to be a new phenomenon. actually the dress code always came before and defined more the subculture than the music did. before there where rockers in the music scene there was a dress code and a culture the musicians came from or addressed. same with the mods or the punks both listening to reggae, dub or soul before forming their own bands and creating a new subgenre in music. and later skinheads with a very strict dress code listening to music as diverse as ska and punk, northern soul and hardcore. in the end "skinhead" was always just a dress code and never a musical genre.
judging from the looks in the band shots i’d put The Bishops in the Mod Revival drawer reminding me of the horribly underrated late 70s, early 80s band The Chords or maybe The Killermeters. musicwise a little stiffer than the mod or mod revival bands back then. i really don’t expect anyone today smashing guitars, drums or amplifiers during their live sets but do i really need to hear that the band is wearing rented suits they don’t want to crumple.
The Bishops myspace
there’s a series of compilations of old Decca recordings, subdivided into genres of their contemporary fashion. So, of course, some bands appear on “The Beat Scene” and “The Mod Scene” and even those not appearing on both are hard to assign to just one of the labels just by their music. without knowing the dress code it’s hard to recognise the subtle distinctions between powerpop, pop punk or mod. with a few exceptions, of course.
Scroobius Pip discovered this just recently in his remake of his song “Thou Shall Always Kill” when he stated: “thou shalt be aware that there are no longer any musical genres; they are all just different dress codes and fashion styles.” well, right, but he is wrong assuming this to be a new phenomenon. actually the dress code always came before and defined more the subculture than the music did. before there where rockers in the music scene there was a dress code and a culture the musicians came from or addressed. same with the mods or the punks both listening to reggae, dub or soul before forming their own bands and creating a new subgenre in music. and later skinheads with a very strict dress code listening to music as diverse as ska and punk, northern soul and hardcore. in the end "skinhead" was always just a dress code and never a musical genre.
judging from the looks in the band shots i’d put The Bishops in the Mod Revival drawer reminding me of the horribly underrated late 70s, early 80s band The Chords or maybe The Killermeters. musicwise a little stiffer than the mod or mod revival bands back then. i really don’t expect anyone today smashing guitars, drums or amplifiers during their live sets but do i really need to hear that the band is wearing rented suits they don’t want to crumple.
The Bishops myspace
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