Category: Album Reviews

Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Songs Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele
Self-Released
www.amandapalmer.net

When Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls decided to split from Roadrunner Records earlier this year she did so for the benefit of being able to release music any way that Amanda Fucking Palmer wanted to. Her actual words regarding the matter were ‘I’M FREE AT LAST. RAHHHHH’ and sure, this might sound like the exclamations of someone who’s finally lost their shit but she’s since released her first EP, unambiguously entitled ‘Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele’. Unquestionably, she has indeed finally lost her shit.

For me as a listener and lover of music made by people who are doing whatever the hell they want (and particularly those who attribute magical powers to cheap thrift store instruments, because come on…) this was fantastic news. And the EP delivers exactly what it promises. Amanda Palmer bounces her way through some of Radiohead’s biggest hits pre-Amnesiac (the eerily happy and wonderful rendition of Idioteque is the most recent song she tackles – although tackle really isn’t the right word, and Ukulelehead is definitely accurate wordplay) and it’s nothing short of fucking magical.

Beginning with the expected uke crossover ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ it would be easy to expect the EP to follow in a similarly obvious fashion; this is not the case. Exit Music is given the sombre piano treatment it screams for, but is somehow made even more frightening with some drunken banshee howls to bring it to a devastatingly tragic close. No Surprises is equally despondent, making that bright ‘this-is-how-i-release-music-now-you-slags’ cover seem almost like a big trap. Not unlike when someone tells you a racey joke and then say that they’re not kidding. This EP is bright and joyful and deeply, deeply upsetting at the same time. I’m not kidding.

You can pick up the EP by following THIS LINK. It’s only 84 cents (which is like, half a penny) and that all goes in Radiohead and Paypals pocket. Any further donation you make goes straight to Amanda herself. You should all fund her musical insanity because I’d love to hear more things this!

Stanley

Crooks And Lovers
Hot Flush
myspace.com/mountkimbie

Following the success of two of last year’s best EPs, Mount Kimbie have returned in 2010 with a brand new LP on Hotflush recordings. Make no mistake, this is an album of new songs that have been recorded and mixed in sequence like all the best records are. None of these tracks have been previously released, and from the moment you click play you are stepping into Mount Kimbie’s vision; finally realised and sustained over a near-perfect full length record.

The duo’s penchant for chopped up vocal samples and fragmented synths is typically involved on some of Crooks and Lovers best moments. In particular ‘Before I Move Off’, which bursts into life with emotive clips of female vocals; lyrics are unclear and unimportant but a strong sense of mood is perfectly conveyed. Similarly, ‘Carbonated’ works in much the same way, using virtually the same song structure but enhanced by a crackling rain sample.

Mount Kimbie are far from a one trick pony, though, which is partly the reason journalists have found the duo so difficult to pin down. Adding to their usual cocktail of influences that range from ambient to dubstep, there is also a surprising amount of live instrumentation here. Most noticeable are the guitars on opener “Tunnelvision” and later “Field”, which add an extra dimension setting them apart from their peers.

It’s not until the penultimate track, ‘Mayor’, that the band cave into the tension that they have so carefully constructed, delivering a banger which sets the album into climax. The track is the fitting release, after a record that has bubbled and fizzed so beautifully. Yet while it’s a definite standout moment, as Mount Kimbie have so brilliantly proved, the real joy is in the journey itself.

Sleekly Lion

Nothing Else
Brainfeeder
www.brainfeedersite.com

With the current wave of electronic music becoming increasingly impressive, it is no easy thing releasing a record on the Brainfeeder label, housing as it does the likes of Flying Lotus and Gas Lamp Killer. That Lorn stands alongside these hallowed names says a lot about the talent of the Illinois producer.

Having been described by Crossfire’s Sleeky Lion as “a cross between Nosaj Thing and Starkey”, Lorn most certainly flits between both worlds, taking in Nosaj’s often-haunting atmospherics whilst sporadically dropping in Starkey-esque heaviness. But that shouldn’t be the sole description of this excellent album, as the depth of the beats mean he’s not simply grabbing stems from his peers.

None An Island, the second track on the album, sets the tone of what’s to come perfectly, with its staccato introduction which quickly becomes enveloped by the fuzziest of basslines before the aforementioned Nosaj sounds blends in with synths developing the melody. The percussion that runs through the album is also well worth nothing with the rolling snares of Army of Fear bringing a resolute backdrop to the eerie synths and jarring keys, which, though appearing sparsely, give an eye-opening dimension to the track.

The album isn’t necessarily 80s influenced, but tracks such as Greatest Silence, Void I and Void II could easily have been the theme tune to a Blade Runner sequel. Indeed, the latter two tracks could easily find themselves as a soundtrack to some dystopian wasteland played whilst rumbling across deserted tarmac.

Encompassing both melody and atmospherics, Lorn has stamped his mark on the world in a defiantly impressive debut. Definitely one to check out.

Abjekt

Jesus Stole My Girlfriend
Ecstatic Peace!
myspace.com/violentsoho

It might be the cultural omnipresence of the notion of planting ideas into someone’s subconscious (thank you Inception, thank you so very much) that’s making me write this but I was first introduced to Brisbane’s alt-rock four-piece Violent Soho in a dream. No, hear me out, I’m serious. To my conscious knowledge, I had never been introduced to Violent Soho prior to the lucid events that were unfolding before my closed eyes. And yet, at every pivotal point in this dream, the now unmistakable opening riff to ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend’ would play. No matter what was actually happening, whether the room would flood with purple water or my hands would become novelty sized keys, the soundtrack was always that damn riff.

It wasn’t until I heard the song in the office the following day that I learnt that this Weezer-heavy riff served as a prelude to a bunch of long haired dudes spitting about how, as the title suggests, Jesus stole their girlfriend. In the current states of mind I’d hazard a guess that the demise of this imagined relationship narrated by the Oz rockers was a result of someone with equally long hair planting an idea in the girl’s head. The angst in the eye-rolling lyrical punches certainly share the same conviction as anyone who’s suffered the consequence of another becoming absorbed by an idea, which given the nature of the accused girlfriend-stealer isn’t at all far from the case. It certainly works here – a perfect topic to spill some shouty rage amongst a whirlwind of sleazy riffs and vengeful drums. Watch out though, it might sneak deep down into your subconscious and take you over.

Stanley

Beatsteaks – Limbo Messiah
Warner Bros.
myspace.com/beatsteaks

The Beatsteaks’ Limbo Messiah finally gets its UK release this week and boy is it worth the wait! The German punks have been doing their thing for 15 years now and have built up a hardcore fanbase – they sold out London’s ULU in June. More than just a fine punk album, Limbo Messiah incorporates nuances of many types and styles of music resulting in a varied record that mixes up the pace to satisfying effect. There are hints of the King Blues in there but also a more classic straight-up punk backbone akin to the likes of Rancid and Bad Religion. Lead single ‘Jane Became Insane’ (the music video can be seen below) is only the tip of the iceberg as tracks like ‘Demons Galore’ dig a lot deeper with an uneasy driving offbeat that opens up to the most simple yet wonderfully melodic refrain to the lyrics “This is mine, it will never be yours”. I challenge you not to have that little snippet in your head for days after listening!

The Beatsteaks are good at what they do. Very good. Over their years in existence they’ve honed their craft to perfection and here they’ve produced a collection of catchy punk songs that incorporate their own unique outlook and have a twist of originality about them. Driving punk beats and ever-so-slightly-gruff but wholly melodic vocals coupled with the knack to write a good tune and a catchy chorus mean that Limbo Messiah is a winner.

Winegums