Category: Album Reviews

With the Purple dubstep sound having been made relatively mainstreamly popular through Joker and ably backed up by Gemmy, it was interesting to see where fellow Bristolian Guido would take it with his album Anidea. Building on a variety of influences, Guido has tailored an extremely listenable twelve track album that is sure to be critically acclaimed across the board.

From the opening track, it’s clear that the producer knows how to pen a tune with a catchy hook. Whilst the title track might not be the most complex of melodies, it’s a head-nodding slow-burner which segues into the defiantely purple Orchestra Lab and Woke Up Early with their flowing basslines and periodic squelches.

He does move into more R&B influenced territory with the vocoder vocalled Beautiful Complication and Way U Make Me Feel but it’s with the fuzzed out Shades Of Blue and 80’s esque brass of Mad Sax that he really excels. He never overdoes the bass, which would routinely ruin his melodies, instead keeping a happy medium throughout allowing each track to glide as a whole through the speakers.

This album was eagerly awaited by many and it’s no disappointment. Check out Cat In The Window below to get a taster.

Abjekt.

Breakage may well be known as a D&B producer, but with his latest album, Foundation, he certainly proves his prowess on the boards with a variety that’s unnervingly on point regardless of the genre he locks down. His use of guests also help to enhance the beats on the 16 track album, from the legendary David Rodigan to the hipster’s favourite Burial through to UK Funky MC Donae’o.

Indeed, Rodigan’s appearance, which rides alongside the relentless throb of sub-bass and the impossibly hype-bringing bars of D Double E and Footsie on Hard, is a perfect way to break out the album, as it does on track three. Whether he brings the old school flavour, like on the short Digiboy Radio with its authentic crackle and hum or hits more two-step vibes of Over featuring Zarif [standard instant reload material], Breakage does it tight and does it big.

Obviously his more straight up D&B tunes are there for the purists and prove him to be the shining star that many see him as, but its his dexterity which stands out on Foundation. With Speechless, he rounds the album off with as mainstream a track as you could imagine and yet it still sounds cool and ingrains itself with its catchy chorus and dubstep vibings.

Yep, this is a biggun, it’s no surprise the plaudits are clamouring to lay accolades on this one.

Abjekt.

With the release of their new album, Eyes and Nines, Trash Talk find themselves in the unusual position of being a hardcore band attracting mainstream plaudits. It’s not exactly a new phenomenon, yet it’s nonetheless bizarre to see a band gain so much critical acclaim, while the rest of the genre goes virtually unnoticed. Still, Trash Talk doesn’t seem to be paying too much attention to the hype, as they stomp from venue to venue leaving a trail of controversy in their wake.

Of course, it’s the band’s live show that is responsible for their growing reputation, yet Eyes and Nines is an uncompromising record that stands proudly on its own two feet. While fans of the band might comment on increasingly sharper production since their early recordings, if broadsheet readers are hoping to find something vaguely accessible then they should think again. What can be found here is an aggressive collection of songs that rarely exceed a minute and a half, flipping between breakneck speed and slow, brutal riffs.

Trash Talk are arguably at their best when in the crossover between these two styles. Album highlights Flesh and Blood and Explode are good examples of this, both racing out of the traps in a frenzy of guitars before breaking down into steady beats with fist-pumping sing-a-long vocals. Completing a trio of consecutive songs, Hash Wednesday shows off the band’s variety, with brooding doom guitars that recall the likes of Harvey Milk.

While this might not be the gateway record or gentle introduction to hardcore some might have hoped for, what Trash Talk have produced is their best and most furious record to date. Inevitably coming to a town near you soon, Eyes and Nines will always be best experienced live with the band in their natural environment. Check out the band’s new video below to get a sample of what that might look like.

Sleekly Lion.

Please be politely warned, for what you are about to read should give your summer 2010 the soundtrack your ears are craving for as Monster Head Room, the debut album by Sacramento’s Ganglians is very much a contender for Record of the Year year at Crossfire.

Here’s why: this 3-piece simply have a knack of jamming a laid back beat, psyching it out until it almost breaks whilst at the same time creating a wonderful soundscape of Beach Boys infused psychedelic indie that is tinged with 60’s freak. It’s lush.

Their trippy mix of memorable, acid-tinged pop is delivered across this album from start to finish. Dark and mellow tracks such as ‘The Void’ do a very good job of instantly swimming into your veins. This personal favourite was re-recorded for the album and creeps into your consciousness enough to warrant that first morning tune that your mind plays you as soon as you open your eyes. They have that ‘cricket noise round the campfire’ shit on lock but singer Ryan Grubbs can also pack in catchy-as-hell pop melody’s throughout this album.

Highlights include the classic ‘Valiant Brave’, a mammoth track that builds into splendour much akin to Atlanta’s Black Lips whose psychedelic prowess (when on form) can be equally magical. It’s this magic though that makes this album so special as Ganglians bring with them a world that more addictive than any other record this year so far, a world that would be complimented by a dose of the best Mexican mescaline, a bath bong and a smoke machine.

They can also kick out the jams as proved on the banging ‘100 Years’ a song that one one listen made me think of bands such as The Butthole Surfers, they also bring garage-surf sounds in this collection of 13 tracks as present in ‘Blood In The Sand’ and there’s also Brian Wilson’s artistically innovative influence on tracks such as ‘Candy Girl’, another track that was rebuffed for this release.

‘Monster Head Room’ has everything you ever could have hoped for in an album at this time of the year and should give you the same buzz as your first listen to MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular. Look out for Ganglians as they are about to hit the UK for the first time ever this year and you would be foolish to miss them after hearing this record just once, yes, it’s that instant. Go feed your music habit right now and get stoked on the discovery, it will be well worth it.

Slack

Valient Brave by souterraintransmissions

The Void by souterraintransmissions

Ganglians – Blood On The Sand from jbls on Vimeo.

Sage Francis is back with a new album and this time he’s taken a very different route to his creating a sound unlike anything he’s put out before.

Sure he’s had guitar samples across his albums here and there, but this record sees him get rid of his traditional hip hop beats in favour of some stripped down acoustics and nods to punk in places.

Does it work? Well, for the most part it really does and surpasses,as a whole, his past two albums. His lyrics have always been there, regardless of the background, sharp, witty and easily quotable, but the use of real drums, even the dusty ones on Slow Man, really give him a canvas to highlight his vocals, something he does with aplomb.

It’s not a perfect album, there’s a slight dip in the middle but when he rounds it all up with the Yann Tiersen co-produced The Best Of Times [which you can hear below], that lull is forgotten, the beautiful melody emblazoning itself subtly on the listener’s ear drums. Bringing in the likes of Death Cab’s Chris Walla, Mark Linkous and members of Calexico and DeVotchKa was a bold move, but Francis has ridden the storm and come out the otherside with an album well worth listening to.

Abjekt.

Right, now I’m not a fan of mash-ups for the most part. Danger Mouse’s Grey Album wasn’t all that, Jaydiohead just made me want to bump straight up Dilla without Thom Yorke anywhere near it and Lush Life’s combination of the amazing Beach Boys with the anything-but-amazing Kanye West just made me sad. But there is finally a mash up album that I can actually enjoy and it really is a belter.

Max Tannone, the man behind the aforementioned Jaydiohead experiment has combined the vocals of Mos Def with a number of old dub tunes to great effect. Whether it’s the fact that the sunshine started peeking it’s head around the clouds the day I downloaded this or not, I don’t know, but this just gives my step a little bounce and even, dare I say it, makes me smile.

Taking in songs like Ms Fat Booty and putting nice vibesy guitar licks around them just works, it’s as simple as that. Oftentimes these mash ups just seem very contrived to me, whereby the producer has tried to just force the two songs into a marriage but without being able to give them a true vibe.

Mr Universe is a perfect example of why this album works. Hip hop scratching on the intro, a lilting guitar running throughout the entire track and Mos’ distinctive vocals running energetically around the whole thing. It’s not overbearing but it most definitely gets the summertime daydreams going.

The entire track can be streamed or downloaded here.

Is it worth it? Mos Def.

Abjekt.

While Jaguar Love might still feel the weight of their former glories, forthcoming record ‘Hologram Jams’ sets them apart from their past projects. While Blood Brothers had been a ferocious assault on the senses, Jaguar Love feels almost like that band’s trendier younger brother; all lively synth melodies and drum machine beats.

While this approach is likely to be divisive among Blood Brothers fans, at its best the record is a contagious electro-pop triumph. Single “Up All Night” is a great example, with its thumping chorus and boundless energy. While vocalist Johnny Whitney has tamed his vocal screech, he remains as distinctive as ever as his new found restraint allows for more melody. If it’s melody you’re looking for, however, then this isn’t the place to look. Like much of the record, “Up All Night” feels loud and garish, feeding the riotous punk energy you’d expect from the pair into a pop format.

This aesthetic also translates into the song’s music video, with a budget cut n’paste style that flashes with colour and enthusiasm. Like the music itself, the videos separate parts make little sense on their own, but have somehow been chopped up and rearranged into something oddly captivating.

Sleekly Lion.

Man, you know you’re getting old when bands start celebrating 20th, 25th and even 30th anniversaries of albums… that you brought 1st time around!!

Case in point; “Let’s Wreck the Party” by Canadian trailblazers DOA, that I purchased from the band after a gig at the 100 Club, London is September 1985. Years later I read that the copy I had, with a small DOA logo in the centre of the cover sleeve, was in fact a misprint, due to a cock-up at the printers, and was replaced as soon as the proper covers were pressed up. The cover of this reissue CD though is the original North American sleeve, with a photo of the band disrupting a family Thanksgiving Dinner, turkey and all!

Released on Just in Time Records in Canada, and Alternative Tentacles in the U.S.A and Europe, the line up saw Joe Shithead (vocals/ guitar) Dave Gregg (guitar) augmented by a new, but seasoned rhythm section for the bands 3rd LP; Brian “Sunny Boy Roy” Goble from the (Canadian) Subhumans on bass, and departed drummer Chuck Biscuits older brother Dimwit on drums. Dimwit had played with Shithead in their pre-DOA outfit The Skulls, and had been in and out of DOA since their incarnation…

So, revamped line-up, and “Let’s Wreck the Party” also a saw marked shift from the straight up full tilt rowdy Hardcore Punk of the first 2 albums, and a more Hard Rocking direction with great effect. I loved this album at the time and all these years down the line it still floats my boat big time, with songs that rally against money grubbing corporations, the plight of North America’s native population, mainstream media control and “General Strike” encouraged people to stand up for their rights in the work place.It’s a topical number, and a timely reminder that whilst many of us have redundancy constantly hanging over our heads, tighter working conditions and zero pay rises to deal with an ever increasing cost of living, the bosses and company CEO’s still get their six figure salaries and mega bonuses: “everything is not alright, and there’s no end in sight”. The latter track remains a staple of DOA’s live set, as does “Race Riot” with its blunt anti-racist message… “race riot, don’t buy it, we don’t want that crap – no, no, no”…

If you’re starting out with DOA, then I’d recommend you first check out “Hardcore ‘81” and “Something Better Change”, but definitely follow them up with a shot of “Let’s Wreck the Party”.

Pete Craven

As the harsh chill of winter is gradually replaced by blue skies and sunshine, Barcelona’s Delorean are ready to drop the perfect summer soundtrack. Their forthcoming record, Subiza, will make you think twice about dancing in dingy clubs and want to break out into the sunshine.

Opening track and single, Stay Close, should give you a flavour of what’s to come; all sun drenched pop euphoria and nostalgia. Although it seems abstract to associate music so closely with sunshine, every sound here seems to melt together as if left out in mid-summer heat. While the song begins with a fairly basic progression, it’s quickly saturated with idyllic backing vocals and lush background noise. Given the popularity of bands like Washed Out and Toro Y Moi in recent months, Delorean’s poppier take on blissed out synth music might well capitalise on this zeitgeist.

Following on from last year’s well received Ayrton Senna EP, Subiza (named after the Spanish town where it was recorded) will be released on June 8th. Just in time for festival season, then, so check the video below and prepare for summer!

Sleekly Lion.