Don't step on me, I'm crunchy....

It is fair to say that I have neglected this blog.

I have seen many wonderful bands in my virtual abscence.

Fever Ray, Mew, Múm... really good shit. But none of this has drawn me back to this shit.

I've also heard a number of fantastic albums, most notably of late Art Brut's Art Brut Vs. Satan (a truly stupendous album wherein Art Brut realise their fullest potential courtesy of Frank Black's production). But still, not enough to bring me back to this place.

But tonight has reminded me of everything that is wrong with me.

I am a substance abuser. I find it hard to function without... substances. Of some sort or another. I'm not that picky.

And I'm old. If not in body, then definitely in soul. I can't enjoy what it seems that other people do any more. I can't have fun at a "party" if it involves "party games" of some sort. When you are five years old, then cool. Whatever. Similarly, when you are 43 and have given up on happiness entirely then you can let go from whatever stupid fucking illusory drudge you have set up for yourself with a quick, drunken game of charades or some shit. Hell, it's either that or wife-swapping by that point.

But I can't take any joy in one of these, and haven't yet hit the point where I could possibly fool myself into enjoying the other. I'm in a horrible limbo.

Basically I'm now a crispy shell of bitter cynicism.

Now we get on to the relevance of this post to this blog.

as you may have gathered, I've had a slightly shitty night.

But there has been something which has turned it around for me. Noah and the Whale.

I've mentioned before on this blog that I truly love Noah and the Whale. Their new album is no exception to this. They have managed to construct what is in theory the most self-indulgent and cliché ridden idea for an album ever; a concept album based around a break-up. Yup. An album both pretentious and self-involved. I can see y'all chomping at the bit right now.

But, as much as I would love to hate this, I can't. It is beautiful. The music is spine-chilling. It eliminates anything that could have been labelled as twee from their sound and leaves instead a haunting, dreamy folk pop. And Charlie Fink takes the opportunity to tell a story. I've read criticism of this album on the basis that Fink's lyrics are somewhat immature and clichéd. There is an element of this that is true. The album describes what can only really be thought of as a first love lost. It dwells on that feeling that there will never be anyone like this again, when we all know there will be.

But what those critics miss is that Noah and the Whale have created a concept album based around a break up, rather than a break up album. Fink's lyrics do occasionally dip into the trite, but precisely because they need to dip into that feeling that we all, at some point, undergo; that we have lost the only person we will ever love. The album as a whole though describes both break-up and the overcoming of this. The first half of the album is concerned with loss. The loss of love, and how all we want in this situation is to have what we had again.

The album transforms, though, half way through. Suddenly we have the song Love of an Orchestra, bracketed by two instrumental tracks. To a certain extent, these form a buffer from the emotional involvement of the rest of the album. They acknowledge the subject matter of the album as somewhat contrived; the subject of a songwriter, rather than a direct transcription of personal experience. Fink draws upon his own troubled relationships insofar as he believes he can isolate what we experience universally, and most frequently in pop music, and translates this inot a musical confessional on love.

The second half of the album dwells upon the recovers. Dark moments of realisation and growth. Determination to change. The beauty of an unrealised future unfolding ahead of you. Again, there is nothing spectacularly original on offer in itself. The true beauty of this album lies within the story it tells. It is a universal story. Perhaps one more alien the older one gets, the more one realises that life repeats itself endlessly, but something we can all identify with on some level nonetheless (even if we would be embarassed to say so). The storytelling is enhanced by the fact that the deluxe edition of the album comes with a pleasantly pretty/amusing film directed by Fink and the band, which essentially is designed to complete the album. Gaps in the narrative are filled and the visuals complement the music of the album wonderfully.

Even when I have been left feeling drained of my humanity, Noah and the Whale are capable of tapping into something in my being where blood and hope still flow.

Go listen to The First Days of Spring.

The obligatory end of year list...

...not entirely sure I'm entitled to an end of year list, considering I only started this in March and have completely ignored it for the past two months. I had good reasons. I was drunk, for one. But I'll make a list anyway. There won't be any particular order, and they will, of course, reflect nothing but my momentary mood right now, but here is... (fanfare)

NOT DAVE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2008

Tv on the Radio - Dear Science
A very special album. Tv on the Radio have been peddling wonderfully out there art rock for a while now, drawing critical plaudits aplenty. This year's Dear Science continued that tradition, but, for the first time, the band sounded like they were having an awesome time doing it too. The album is still dark, moody and weird. But it is also full of sex, funk and joy. A wonderfully approachable way into a fantastic band.

The Do - A Mouthful
Probably the most obscure band on this list. For now, at least. A female fronted arty indie-pop band that jump between genres like cartoon frogs do lilypads (never seen a real frog on a lily pad, will have to look in to that). Throughout it they combine a fantastic sense of playfulness (particularly on the dazzling "Playground Hustle") with a tendency towards melancholy and heartbreak. An album to make you dance and cry.

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
What is there to really say? Elbow finally made it big, and nobody could ever hold it against them. Mercury Prize, huge festival crowds and the anthem of the summer in "One Day Like This". Even if they turn shit now (which, touch wood, they won't), at least they've left us with a warm and gorgeous classic in this album.

Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
What happens when you combine dance, funk, electro, nonsense lyrics, David Bowie-vocals and everything that happens to be in the kitchen at the time (including the sink)? You get a fucking mess. Despite this, Late of the Pier appear to have done something similar (and very much more) and still have managed to come up with one of the most original and vital albums of the year. The sound of youth. Wrecking up your house.

Gojira - The Way of All Flesh
I've recently got my metal-head back on. And this has been the soundtrack. Completely brutal, what more do you really need to know?

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Not entirely sure this belongs here. The album as a whole is flawed, but when the songs work they work so well you can pretty much forgive anything a little duff that might surround them. Bleepy atari noises, noisy noisy noises and sexy (noisy) yelps combine to make something that can be truly spine chilling. And that isn't even mentioning the live show. Listen to "Courtship Dating" and tell me you're not tingling either down the back of your neck or somewhere between your legs.

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Nothing revolutionary, but that isn't the point. This is the sound of Lewis maturing as a musician, and becoming who she wants to be. Surrounded by musicians that she loves working with, she has created a polished collection of indie-pop Americana that revolves around the rather epic "Next Messiah". Well worth your time.

Beck - Modern Guilt
Not the greatest album ever. Not even Beck's greatest album. But it belongs here because, for the first time in a fair while, Beck sounds relevant again. This may have a fair amount to do with Danger Mouse's contribution to the album as producer, but his peculiarly golden touch would be nothing without the brief but brilliant selection of songs steeped in the paranoia (and guilt) of the modern world that everyone's favourite scientologist has managed to put together.

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
For a very long time people have been trying to force My Morning Jacket into a comfortable classic rock/Americana pigeon hole into which they've never really fitted all that well. This year they exploded outwardly in spectacular fashion. Although Evil Urges does contain the same country and classic rock influences that dominated My Morning Jacket's early output, here it is combined with funk, ballads to sexy librarians and more than a hint of insanity. The truly manic "Highly Suspicious" and the truly fantastic "Touch ME I'm Going To Scream" stand as point in case.

Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down
On the surface of it, this is simply a happy, sunny, summery pop album full of happy, sunny, summery pop songs. And with the hit single "5 Years Time" still bouncing around a number of unsuspecting skulls, it is easy to see why many would dismiss Noah and the Whale. But closer inspection shows something rather different, but at the same time more in keeping with the anti-folk scene which spawned them. While the album is full of upbeat folk tunes, the lyrics are pretty much exclusively occupied with death and heartbreak. This is not the feelgood album of the summer. But nor is it simply moody navel-gazing. Noah and the Whale look deep into the abyss and come out singing. Damn well hope I can do the same.



Well there you go. I'm sure I've missed off everything that anyone who matters actually likes. But that is the nature of these things. Notably absent is any rap music, so I offer honorable mentions to both Roots Manuva's Slime & Reason and Cadence Weapon's Afterparty Babies. Here's to hoping I can keep this damned thing updated at least once a month in 2009.

Frank Turner - Long Live The Queen: Good music, good cause and what the fuck else are you going to do with 79p?

Just passing on the information really. It is a beautiful song, and I think everyone would agree that the Breast Cancer Campaign is something worth supporting:

Because all it takes is 79p for a good cause...‘Long Live The Queen’ is a heartfelt, poignant story of a close friend passing away from breast cancer. Though a hard subject, Frank has written the song as a way of celebrating his friend’s life and the legacy she has left behind. Lexi tirelessly campaigned and fundraised for breast cancer charities and it’s with this inspiration that Frank and Xtra Mile Recordings will be donating proceeds from the sale of the single to the Breast Cancer Campaign charity.

As October is Breast Cancer Awareness month – this single couldn’t be released at a more important time and together with Breast Cancer Campaign, Xtra Mile will be working towards raising as much money and awareness as possible.

Already, the single has been picked up by XFM, 6Music, and by long time supporters Mike Davies and Zane Lowe on Radio 1. Jo Whiley (and now Sara Cox who is covering Whiley’s maternity leave) is also a recent Frank convert, playing previous single ‘Reasons Not To Be An Idiot’ a couple of times on the Radio 1 daytime show leading to plays of Long Live The Queen over the next few weeks.

The video is also gaining some attention. It was a New Entry at Number 3 on MTV2’s Myspace Chart and its getting played on NME TV, TopShop amongst others.

The single is released on the 20th October 2008 so get yourself over to Itunes / 7 digital or whatever digital download service you prefer. Remember to do it only from the 20th and make sure you download the single rather than the album track or it wont go to charity or towards the chart!

All your help is much appreciated and for a good cause.Plus it would be pretty hilarious to get FT in amongst Duffy, Winehouse and Rihanna.

http://www.frank-turner.com
http://www.breastcancercampaign.org
http://www.xtramilerecordings.com
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37480586907

Frank says: "As you may already know, Long Live The Queen is coming out as a download single on October 20th, the day before the start of the UK tour. It's going to have a few unreleased B-sides packaged with it as well. A lovely package, I'm sure you'll agree. Now you may also know that proceeds from the single are going to Breast Cancer Campaign. You might also be aware of the fact that recently I've been getting support from people like Jo Whiley and Sara Cox at Radio 1, and MTV2.

All of this together leads us here at FTHQ to an idea. We're basically in the middle of sneaking into the mainstream music world, which is hilarious, and most of it is thanks to you guys doing what you do best: getting organized and pestering people. So it occurred to us that it would be genius to break the Top 40 with this single.

I know that a download-only single of a song on the album already isn't necessarily something everyone's going to rush out and get. But at 79p, it's not a massive ask. If we can get over 4000 people to download the song in the week of release, then we'll have done it. And the best part is, we'll be raising some serious cash for charity in the process. We're going to sort out a pre-order thing for y'all as well. The important thing is that the downloads are all in that week.

So, are you with me?"

Fight Like Apes - Fight Like Apes and The Mystery of the Golden Medallion

By Fight Like Apes standards the title of their debut full length, Fight Like Apes and The Mystery of the Golden Medallion, is actually quite a sensible name (other than sounding slightly like a long lost Famous Five book); it's certainly easier to take in than their e.p. David Carradine Is a Bounty Hunter Whos Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch. The album has a fair amount to live up to though as, bizarrely titled though they were, Fight Like Apes previous releases demonstrated a fantastic ability to write fun, loud, eclectic and frankly rather insane pop music. So how does the Irish, female fronted band's newest release stand up to inspection?

Not so well, it turns out. Don't get me wrong, it is, overall a good album full of exactly the kind of music that the band do so well. The problem is that, over the twelve songs of the album, five are simply re-recorded versions of previously released songs, and one of the remaining seven is the eight second burst of "Megameanie". This wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for the fact that these new versions are generally inferior to the old ones; over-produced and over complicated (the exception to this rule is the far more thouroughly reworked version of "Snore Bore" - now "Snore Bore Whore" - which, although sounding generally similar to the old one is at least a song reimagined rather than simply polished up). The new songs on the album are good though, particularly album opener "Something Global" in which the band seem to actually be trying to say something, which is a pleasant change of pace from their usual lyrical irreverence. But it does almost feel like they'd have been better off simply releasing another e.p. of the new material.

If you don't own anything by Fight Like Apes yet, then I can heartily recommend this album to you. It is fun, noisy, unusual and will leave you humming (which is a good thing). But if you are already fairly familiar with this band, I simply recommend downloading the new songs and waiting for an album of all new material, which will hopefully live up to the promise this band clearly demonstrates.

Arrrrr, Jimlad: Bad Puns and Piracy...

I feel it is time to broach the subject of piracy. I do it here because, as part of trying to keep on top of new music (which is something you should try and do, especially if you wish to write about it - there's not a lot of point in me reviewing Rubber Soul out of the blue unless it becomes in some way topical), I do download music illegally. Bad David.

The problem is that it is very, very expensive to buy music. Especially new music. You can, from supermarkets or online shops, get a new album for about £8 usually. Which isn't bad. But not everyone can even afford that. And, more often than not, you'd quite like to actually be able to hear an album before you part with your cash. Of course, there are legitimate ways of hearng music for free. Myspace. Radio. Listening points in shops. But very rarely will you actually get a chance to hear an album in full before you buy. So instead, and because it is so easy, you simply download. For free.

This, of course, is not an excuse. It is simply a fact; this is the way things are. If I know I want an album, I will buy instead of download. If I like an album that I have downloaded, I will make an attempt to buy it (albeit often at a reduced price, or second hand). Or I will go and see the band live.

But is piracy wrong? Does it harm the music industry? Does it harm the bands?

We are, of course, all aware of the Piracy is a Crime campaign from the adverts at the beginnings of DVDs. Y'know the ones; You wouldn't slap an otter. You wouldn't rape your auntie. So don't download films. Those and the Knock-Off Nigel adverts on televsion, that somehow find downloading a film equivalent to stealing from a whip-round (if the whip-round was in aid of the TimeWarner company, then maybe...). These are, of course, ridiculous. Nobody is deprived of property with a digital download. And, with a free digital download, you also have the guarantee that money is not funding organised crime or terrorism as it, allegedly, does if you buy copied DVDs or CDs.

All you are doing is not putting the money in the pockets of the publishing company. So, does this amount to harming the industry? I think the inevitable answer is yes. Record companies are selling fewer CDs. Especially the bigger ones. But there is little sympathy forthcoming to fatcats that are going to have to tighten their belts a little.

The bands themselves are rarely well served by record companies (see Steve Albini's brilliant rant on the subject: http://www.runnylove.com/albini.html). Of course, bands have in the past relied upon record labels to promote their music and make it available. But in the digital age, bands can promote themselves and release their own music and videos far more easily than ever before. Illegal downloading is, ironically, a part of this. It is far easier for anyone reading this blog to discover new music than it was even twenty years ago. Things like the Indie/Rock Playlist, a monthly Torrent file full of new bands, obscure covers and b-sides, are a wonderful way of discovering dozens of artists that you would never have heard of under different circumstances. Bands who will then gain new fans, who may well pay to see them or own their CDs.

There are people who will be happy simply download music and not put anything into the pockets of the people who created it. But I, personally, believe that this is a minority. People enjoy seeing bands live. People like me like to own albums, particularly if any thought has been put in to the artwork (I almost wish that bands would combine vinyls and digital downloads (buy one, get the other), simply for the extra possibilities this allows with album artwork). And most people want to see their favourite bands survive, prosper and continue to create the music they love.

Perhaps a donation system would work - websites that are free to access will often have a paypal donation system that people happily contribute to. In many ways this wouldn't be a million miles away from how Radiohead released In Rainbows, with each downloader choosing how much they wanted to pay. This system worked for Radiohead, but then Radiohead have a global fan base already. Several bands have also been giving music away, either as downloads (The Crimea, Nine Inch Nails, The Charlatans) or with newspapers (Prince being the highest profile exmaple).

The simple fact is that, for better or for worse (although, in case you haven't noticed, I think for better), piracy is here to stay. These different trends in the distribution of music acknowledge this. And just as musicians are having to adjust to this, we as consumers are going to have to aswell. Things like voluntary payments will have to become more commonplace, and hopefully, people will remain willing to pay for things that they enjoy. It may well be the case that it will become impossible to become a multi-millionaire as a musician (although anyone popular enough and willing to sell their soul to the world of advertising will surely have a rather plentiful income). Piracy might be, on some level, wrong. It is stealing in so far as you are getting something for free which is "supposed" to be paid for. But music will never die from piracy. It would have already if it was going to. As long as people love music and don't take it for granted, and people love making music it will struggle on. Just, y'know, do what you can.

I Live With Some Of The Whitest People On Earth...

...it's almost painful. Not that, y'know, I'm from the "streets" or the "ghetto" myself. I'm not sure they have them in Devon. Or Norfolk. In fact, I am probably whiter than most people myself by shere dint of being inexcusably middle class and paler than the famously Friendly Ghost. But I do enjoy hip-hop and like to listen to it without people saying things like "Is he just shouting over a Casio keyboard?" or "Did they just say the N-word?". As such I'm currently locked away in my room giving a once over to the latest output of a certain mister Rodney Smith (a.k.a. Roots Manuva); the new album Slime & Reason.

Anyone familiar with Roots Manuva's previous album, Awfully Deep, with it's in depth exploration of the many dark recesses of Smith's mind may wonder/worry about what new depths of paranoia this release might have been able to plumb. The good news is that Slime & Reason is altogether a far more upbeat album. Many of the tracks, especially the much lauded collaborations with producer Toddla T such as "I'm A New Man" or the lead single "Buff Nuff", are bass heavy songs that would actually allow people to dance at a party as compared to sit in a dark room and worry about mental illness. In many ways this has to be an improvement.

This isn't to say that Roots Manuva has suddenly gone all light and airy and put out a pop record. There is still plenty of depth, both musical and lyrical, on show here. The ominous and pleading "It's Me Oh Lord" combines brooding, fuzzy bass with lyrics that are (literally) pleading to God about Smith's situations in life (y'know, slightly mad, pressure of being a UK hip-hop innovator etc). Which is something you're fairly unlikely to get from the Usher's (is he still alive?) and ummm... Fiddly Cent's of the world, or any of the guns and bitches brigade. Combine this with an obvious desire to keep at the cutting edge of hip-hop musically, something evidenced by the impressive list of collaborations including the aforementioned Toddla T, Metronomy, Ricky Ranking and, on the special edition of the album's dub-heavy bonus disc DJ Wrongtom, it is obvious why Manuva is held in such high regard within the music industry (whatever his own feelings on the subject might be).

Whether this is actually a better album than Awfully Deep, or if it comes to it Run Come Save Me or Brand New Second Hand, is a difficult question. It is different. There is almost a sense in which it could be seen as trying too hard to seem fresh. In a recent interview, Smith stated:
"I always thought I was down with the movement, but I've been travelling around and hooking up with some of the younger guys, and they see me as a crossover. I say, 'I ain't crossed over yet, what do you mean?'"*
Slime & Reason is possibly the sound of Roots Manuva getting back down with said movement. This is, of course, not a bad thing; the album is new and exciting. Time will tell if it stands up as well as previous efforts have. I'm hopeful though.


*http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-roots-manuva-of-hiphop-911920.html - Worth a read.

Jeffrey Lewis is Everything You Want To Be

Another night, another pitcher of wine, another gig.

But this one was a good 'un.

The opening band were The Middle Ones, who, for my money, have to be one of the best bands in Norwich right now. Although if you ever attempt to tell them this they will almost certainly deny it vehemently. In fact, tonight, they seemed vaguely embarassed by the fact people were applauding them. But they will have to get used to that, as their twee pop sound is very trendy right now and, especially with a full band encompassing accordians and penny whistles, they certainly deserve a far higher profile than they currently have. Highly recommended, especially if, like me, pretty acoustic pop and female harmonies are your thing.

Next up was Tiger MCs. It has to be said that they were basically playing fairly bog standard indie rock, but they did it well; what the band lack in originality they make up for with decent songs. They are a band which is fairly unlikely to change your life, but will almost certainly make you nod your head.

There will now be a brief interlude in which I will berate the audience at this gig. I know it is "cool" to be disinterested. To just stand dead still. Perhaps nodding your head a bit if you are really into the music. But, based on the cheers and applause that greeted pretty much every song by The Jeff Lewis Band, I'm fairly sure the crowd were enjoying themselves, and yet there was only, just about, a dozen people in the crowd who were even coming close to doing anything like dancing. I, y'see, am a dancer by nature (which isn't to say I can dance; I simply make do with flailing whatever happens to be available to me wildly). And I'm fairly sure there has never been a band that has been offended by anyone swaying a bit to their music. If you are at an opera, then fine, sit still rather than moshing wildly in the aisle with the usher. But at a gig, please dear God, let go for an hour and move. It's fun. Trust me.

Now that I've got that out of my system we can move on to the band. For those that don't know, Jeffrey Lewis is a comic book artists and anti-folk* legend from New York. And live he and his band (including his brother Jack Lewis) are fantastic. It is fun, clever and exceptionally literate (a fact best demonstrated by his brilliant musical lecture on the history of punk music in East Side New York). Imagine the spirit of beat poetry, something which comes out especially during the interludes in which Lewis runs through a comic book creation accompanied with lyrics, with the attitude and sound of punk rock combined with folk music. The most explicit example of this meeting of genres is the brilliantly stripped down cover version of Crass' "Punk Is Dead" in which the lyrics of a classic piece of aggressive punk rock suddenly a thrown into the foreground, showing them to be a match for the noise that usually obscures them. There's plenty of the fast and dirty songs to accompany the likes of this though, meaning that rocking out is a viable alternative to literary analysis most of the time (always a bonus for a gig). It has to be said that the attitude of punk, which Crass so famously proclaimed the death of, is alive in kicking in music like this.

* After being asked tonight what exactly anti-folk is, and bluffing something of an answer, I decided to rely on the repository of all human knowledge, Wikipedia, for a definitive answer. Aparrently, anti-folk "takes the earnestness of politically charged 1960s music and subverts it into something else." A delightfully non-specific answer which leaves my interpretation of "the sound of folk music with added nihilism" fairly legitimate. As far as I can tell, it is basically the sound of kids who grew up listening to both punk rock and Bob Dylan who then tried to combine the two in one way or another.