[Music] Introduce a Personal Favourite Album of Yours

[Goldstone1976]

Low - The Curtain Hits The Cast (1996)

"Anon" – 4:18
"The Plan" – 3:40
"Over the Ocean" – 3:47
"Mom Says" – 5:19
"Coattails" – 6:51
"Standby" – 5:09
"Laugh" – 9:34
"Lust – 4:04
"Stars Gone Out" – 4:26
"Prisoner" – 3:46
"Tomorrow One" – 3:49
"Same" – 2:05
"Do You Know How To Waltz?" – 14:37
"Dark" – 0:53

On this album, Low were a married couple of Mormons, playing a single guitar and a couple of drums, plus a bass guitarist. The fact that they are religious helps to get the most out of this album as there are times when a tension intrudes into the superficially straightforward arrangemwents and the whole thing threatens to come off the rails whenever notions of lust, nothingness and darkness start to appear in the lyrics. Apart from the penultimate song, this is a quiet album. It is also slow. To repeat: will NOT appeal to anyone who does not want a slow, quiet album. Guitar strings are hit, strings vibrate for a long time before they are hit again. The spaces between the sounds are important, which makes you feel that every chord is important, with a minimum of fuss and wastage. There are beautiful vocal harmonies between husband and wife. When they stray from this formula, it feels a bit threatening - for example, the fluid guitar line running through "Laugh" bookended by creepy open stringed chords becomes angrier and angrier as the song progresses until the anger is suppressed and the song fades away in a feeling of intense resentment. Likewise, "Lust" drifts along in a very melancholy way until some strangely boldly-struck chords lead to a sudden ending of the song. "Do You Know How To Waltz?" is a drone, intensifying over 14 minutes until it is sheer white noise underpinning a very sinister three chord progression, totally unlike every single other song. In the context of the album, quite shocking. I love this album, but it's an acquired taste - needs patience, headphones, a dark room and a bottle of beer.

Bloody hell! I've never heard these guys before - thanks for the tip; they're brilliant.

 

[tinycowboy]

Bloody hell! I've never heard these guys before - thanks for the tip; they're brilliant.

My pleasure - watch out for the guitar solo in "Over The Ocean" - it'll blow your socks off. See if you can learn it!

 

[tinycowboy]

'Do You Know How to Waltz?' is marvellous. I think that Secret Name is their best album, not that I've heard it for yonks: one of those albums I foolishly leant out. I also don't know why Mimi doesn't sing more for them.

Secret Name is also a great album. Have they done a happier song than "Starfire"? Love the lyric from that song "I am a tool". Bit childish. Long Division is probably my second favourite.

 

[Buzzer]

Wow! You must really enjoy the power. Probably to do with penile dimensions. How the hell am I meant to know how many copies it sold?

Says the bloke who thinks it clever to pick Desmond Tutu up for his bad use of grammar.

 

[big nuts]

Bon Iver - For Emma, forever ago
Caribou - Swim
Destroyer - Kaputt
Maps - We can create
Matthew E. White - Big Inner
Sleigh Bells - Treats
Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals

More than one but if pushed I would go for Bon Iver although it's sold pretty well and was the Resident record of the year when it came out (2010 I think)

 

[sten]

This thread is for those records that you love but you don't think have reached a large level of acceptence (so no Dark Side of The Moon, Thriller, Blonde on Blonde etc....) Any genre, any era. Sell it to the good folks of NSC. I'll start.

Women - Public Strain

Released: 2010
Label: Jagjaguwar
For Fans of: My Bloody Valentine, This Heat, Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground
Reccomended Tracks: Eyesore, Heat Distraction, Drag Open



Women's second LP was the first great record of this current decade. Essentially a distillation of everything that is wonderous about alternative rock. Sonic Youth's love of unusal tuning, My Bloody Valentine's beautiful distortion and the Velvets knack of being able to write gorgeous pop songs in amongst the sonic maelstrom. I was lucky enough to catch them touring this record before the band was torn apart by infighting. Any hopes of a meaningful reunion were quashed by the tragic and untimely passing of guitarist Chris Reimer in 2012.

Women live on through a variety of means, the surviving band members are in Viet Cong, Friendo and Androgynous Minds, their producer Chad Van Gaalen's solo work comes across like a more chart friendly version of "their" sound, whilst there are also a whole host of young bands from their home of Alberta, Canada looking to emulate them, most promisingly Faux Fur.

Like it can defo make out the influences you talk about

 

[Buzzer]

Low - The Curtain Hits The Cast

Yes! Great choice. Haven't listened to it in years.

 

[Normal Rob]

Cricklewood Broadway by Beady Belle. A Norwegian Jazz band. An uplifting groove Jazz style that just lifts you. Listen to the first 20 seconds of the below, and you'll see.

 

[Worthingite]

Cold Fact by Rodriguez - a whole documentary (which I believe won at the Cannes film festival a couple of years back) was made about not being well known in his own country, but becoming one of the biggest selling artists in Australia and post apartheid South Africa. A truly beautiful album, with no filler whatsoever, and perfect for listening to on a hot summers day in the garden with a few slow beers.

Special mentions to Sugarman, the opening track, which was the basis of the title of the documentary (Searching for Sugarman), and track 3, Crucify your mind, a personal favourite of mine

I don't usually post on music threads because my music tastes aren't as "out there" and as varied as some, this is the best I can bring to the table!!

http://youtu.be/vKYEYNX-Eug

 

[brakespear]

which features my favourite 'hidden' track ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snssa2enfDE
(the hidden track originally only appeared on the UK version of the album I think and was then released as an 'official' track on Sparklehorse's next album)

 

[Goldstone1976]

Cold Fact by Rodriguez - a whole documentary (which I believe won at the Cannes film festival a couple of years back) was made about not being well known in his own country, but becoming one of the biggest selling artists in Australia and post apartheid South Africa.

Yep, it was called Sugarman, the title of the first track. A really good documentary.

EDIT: I see you've edited your post and put in the correct title, Searching for Sugarman. Sorry for the error.

 

[Buzzer]

A few more spring to mind

Wiseguys - The Executive Suite
Lovage - Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By
Mila Jovovich - The Divine Comedy (I kid you not. I love this album)
David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time
ediT - Crying Over Pros For No Reason
Sun City Girls - Funeral Mariachi
JJ - No 3
Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man - Out of Season

 

[dingodan]

 

[Guinness Boy]

Someone to Drive You Home by The Long Blondes

Art rock at its very best. Every single track is superb but "Giddy Stratospheres" will be your best introduction. I seem to remember [MENTION=14921]spring hall convert[/MENTION] mentioning he'd met the singer too, lucky boy.

 

[Buzzer]

Lovers of Jazzy Funk might like this

Menahan Street Band - Make The Road By Walking. This is the bonus track from it. Absolutely superb stuff.

 

[somerset]

I really would like to offer you guys a US band called Rainbow Kitten Surprise, their only album so far is Seven + Mary on download only.... (Some on you tube).... http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MuBEJ4nS5Lc

 

[Guinness Boy]

Cold Fact by Rodriguez - a whole documentary (which I believe won at the Cannes film festival a couple of years back) was made about not being well known in his own country, but becoming one of the biggest selling artists in Australia and post apartheid South Africa. A truly beautiful album, with no filler whatsoever, and perfect for listening to on a hot summers day in the garden with a few slow beers.

Special mentions to Sugarman, the opening track, which was the basis of the title of the documentary (Searching for Sugarman), and track 3, Crucify your mind, a personal favourite of mine

So I know you should never mention DJ mixes or Best Ofs in great album threads (unless you're Alan Partridge) but David Holmes and The Free Association made a mix that was part very rare soul tracks and part tracks by The Free Association which were more modern electronica. It's one of the best mix albums I've ever owned and put me on to a lot of different music. "Sugarman" is track number two on it.

 

[spring hall convert]

Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man - Out of Season

I only found this recently. Anyone that has any love for Beth Gibbons (Portishead's) voice is going to love this.

 

[Juan Albion]

I've always thought that the way "Oceanic Feeling" by The Prayer Boat was overlooked was a crime. Here's the title track.

 

[Buzzer]

I only found this recently. Anyone that has any love for Beth Gibbons (Portishead's) voice is going to love this.

Yep. Most definitely. Rustin Man is ex-Talk Talk and it really doesn't surprise me that the album sounds the way it does if you listen to it after Talk Talk's last 2 albums. Can I add them too? I've always thought they deserve a huge audience.

Incidentally, Beth Gibbons' last musical contributions that I heard was guesting on a black metal track. Gonga, I think it was called.