The albums thread - 2014

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

Pixies - Indie Cindy: actually pretty decent, much better than I expected. For me, better than Trompe Le Monde.

Really! That suprises me as I read some average reviews. Not listened to any of the reincarnated Pixies, I love their original albums though.

 

[tinycowboy]

Really! That suprises me as I read some average reviews. Not listened to any of the reincarnated Pixies, I love their original albums though.

It won't make many year end "Best of" lists, but it's better than the reviews suggest.

 

[tinycowboy]

Two more quickies:

Sharon van Etten - Are We There: another singer-songwriter with a lovely voice and pleasant tunes. Mainly piano-led, with rocky guitar elements at times. Quite liked it, but hard to imagine ever really loving it.

Strand of Oaks - HEAL: Goshen '97 is the best track here. Thought I'd get that out of the way quickly. Parts sound a bit like Springsteen, parts are reminiscent of The War on Drugs. "JM" sounds a lot like Cortez the Killer. Inward-looking lyrics about past unhappiness. Quite oppressive. Some tracks sound like they could be on an alternative soundtrack to Drive, if they were looking for male vocals and a slightly rockier feel. Terrible falsetto - thankfully sparingly used. Whole album is a bit heavy-going. Don't think it will be on regular rotation, but Goshen '97 could well end up on my year-end list, with its Gaslight Anthem meets J Mascis sparkle.

I need something a bit lighter - Todd Terje, here I come!

 

[spring hall convert]

Sunn and Scott Walker to release a collaborative effort later in the year on 4 AD

http://thequietus.com/articles/15676-scott-o-scott-walker-sunn-o

Amazing.

 

[tinycowboy]

Todd Terje - It's Album Time: fairly consistent, undemanding housey kind of stuff. Inspector Norse is, of course, a joy. Could do without earnest vocals and lyrics.

Luke Abbott - Wysing Forest: well, a whole lot of noises, some ambient, some grating. Interesting for a while, hard to love.

Beverly - Careers: some very nice patches, some slightly dull bits. For fans of The Aislers Set, garagey lo-Fi American all-girl indie with 60s feel and fuzzy guitars and vocal harmonies.

 

[Kumquat]

Has an album called Heal by Strand of Oaks been mentioned yet? Just stumbled across it and its ****ing amazing.

 

[tinycowboy]

Has an album called Heal by Strand of Oaks been mentioned yet? Just stumbled across it and its ****ing amazing.

Yes - see my superficial review above. Glad you liked it; I found it good in parts, but tiring in other parts. Can't argue with Goshen 97 though.....

 

[Kumquat]

Yes - see my superficial review above. Glad you liked it; I found it good in parts, but tiring in other parts. Can't argue with Goshen 97 though.....

It seems to tire late on but can't argue with the first three quarters. As you say Goshen 97 is brilliant as much for the lyrics too.

 

[Flex Your Head]

I'm sure this will be of interest to some of you who like a varied bag of indie-related goodies, especially at just £2 (min).

Woo! We've just released a sizzling 55-track compilation featuring bands playing at this year’s Indietracks.

The compilation ranges from dancefloor fillers and punk pop assaults to electropop and acoustic folk. It includes well-known artists such as The Hidden Cameras, Dean Wareham, Allo Darlin’, The Chills and Sweet Baboo, alongside the brightest new bands like Joanna Gruesome, The Spook School, Mega Emotion and TeenCanteen.

All proceeds will go to the Midland Railway steam railway charity where our festival takes place. The compilation costs a minimum of £2 to download, but extra donations will be very much appreciated by the railway.

To see the full tracklist and to download the album, please visit our Bandcamp page:

http://indietracks.bandcamp.com/

 

[tinycowboy]

Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal: I was expecting Pavement, but I got Tapes 'n Tapes. Boo! I quite liked the first song and I thought that, if the first song was the best, it would be quite an average album; however, if it was the fourth or fifth best, it could be quite good. I think it was the best. Too many songs are too ordinary, clunking, chugging away in a tired fashion, sounding like extended live jams. Overall, underwhelming - made me think of my wife's litmus test for music: if this band were singing in French, would anyone give it the time of day? In this case, I'm not sure they would. However, plenty of people will disagree with me there. Less vitality than the first album.

First Aid Kit - Stay Gold: Easy listening, nice crystalline harmonies, good songs, if a little predictable and polished. Good for two songs at a time, time will drag a little thereafter.

Next up will be Flyying Colours - Flyying Colours EP - VERY 1991, but I need to decide whether that's in a good way, or a bad one.

 

[tinycowboy]

Woo! We've just released a sizzling 55-track compilation featuring bands playing at this year’s Indietracks.

28. The Popguns - Still Waiting for the Winter 03:57

I'll pay £2 just for that one. I'll download when I get home - I just hope it's not like that punk rock compilation cited in the Blue Minkies song "Tough Punks Are Square"...

 

[tinycowboy]

Flyying Colours - Flyying Colours EP: I think I like this. The coloured heavy vinyl edition has now sold out, so download only. It sounds kind of like Ride (first song has Leave Them All Behind bass inflections coupled with some bits of Orange Crush by REM), plus some obvious MBV influence on the more woozy Wavy Gravy, a bit like Cheatahs too, and (blimey, I seem to be saying this a lot - what IS going on??) the rockier parts of the Engineers' first album. Not perfect, but stirring in parts.

I don't think I've reviewed this, which is strange, so here goes:

Perfect Pussy - Say Yes To Love: Superb, highly recommended. Really, really good. Invigorating stuff. Kind of shouty Riot Grrrl, but with tunes of sorts, kind of Sonic Youthy in parts, sometimes there's a kind of jangly guitar, vocals can be a bit Love Is All-ish when they're not being Huggy Bear-ish. This album rocks and shouts and satisfies. Strangely (because it's pretty short), it seems a couple of songs too long, but it's not a problem. A hit.

 

[tinycowboy]

Posse - Soft Opening: If Frank Black took the Pixies and melded them with Yo La Tengo when they're being quiet, but occasionally borrowed the guitar from Lift To Experience, but not that often, and sang songs about small pieces of everyday life, it might sound like this. It's very pleasant listening, but ultimately makes me feel depressed when I realise that the lyrics apply to me. Is it just me? Hopefully not.

Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle: Kind of tuneful, but ordinary indie-rock/pop, nice variety of instruments, with liberal use of brass. Not breaking any new ground, but pleasant enough when you're in the right mood. No killer tunes, all quite consistently OK.

The Heartbreaks - We May Yet Stand A Chance: Oooh. Deary me. Can't live with the vocals. At all. Okayish kind of indie stuff, but will not be played again by me.

 

[spring hall convert]

Enjoying Inventions - Inventions at the moment.

It's a collab between Eluvium and Explosions In The Sky guitarist Mark T. Smith. Sounds pretty much exactly as that would suggest.

 

[spring hall convert]

Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal: I was expecting Pavement, but I got Tapes 'n Tapes. Boo! I quite liked the first song and I thought that, if the first song was the best, it would be quite an average album; however, if it was the fourth or fifth best, it could be quite good. I think it was the best. Too many songs are too ordinary, clunking, chugging away in a tired fashion, sounding like extended live jams. Overall, underwhelming - made me think of my wife's litmus test for music: if this band were singing in French, would anyone give it the time of day? In this case, I'm not sure they would. However, plenty of people will disagree with me there. Less vitality than the first album.

I'm not sure I get the fuss - first album was 4 absolute stonkers in amongst loads of filler. I'm really not sure about the second record, nothing seems to stick out. I can't shake the feeling that there are bands equally as adept at this sound far closer to home.

It probably doesn't help that they were pretty lacklustre when I saw them live (probably not the bands fault to be fair.)

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

I've got a massive music boner for the Kasai Allstars album "Beware the Fetish". Kasai Allstars are a 25 piece band based in DR Congo, the album features lots of twangy guitars, chanted signing, random percussion instruments. If you like that The Very Best album of a couple of years ago, or African/World music, I would highly recommend this.

Also enjoyed Inventions - Inventions.

The new album from First Aid Kit is getting multiple rotations, must be the sunny weather as sunny country music isn't generally my thing.

The new album from Braid is also good.

Really looking forward to the Wytches album.

 

[spring hall convert]

I've got a massive music boner for the Kasai Allstars album "Beware the Fetish". Kasai Allstars are a 25 piece band based in DR Congo, the album features lots of twangy guitars, chanted signing, random percussion instruments. If you like that The Very Best album of a couple of years ago, or African/World music, I would highly recommend this.

Just got on this myself - it's an absolute cracker.

 

[Mr Banana]

La Roux - Trouble in Paradise. It's my album of the year already, but my deep need to have my insecure views validated has just turned up in the Grauniad's review. She's taken the good bits of 80s dance and given them a modern relevance/twist/sheen. Hats off.

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[tinycowboy]

I've got a massive music boner for the Kasai Allstars album "Beware the Fetish". Kasai Allstars are a 25 piece band based in DR Congo, the album features lots of twangy guitars, chanted signing, random percussion instruments. If you like that The Very Best album of a couple of years ago, or African/World music, I would highly recommend this.

Also enjoyed Inventions - Inventions.

The new album from First Aid Kit is getting multiple rotations, must be the sunny weather as sunny country music isn't generally my thing.

The new album from Braid is also good.

Really looking forward to the Wytches album.

OK - Kasai Allstars, Braid and Inventions are all downloaded now. Expect some rather vague reviews soon....

 

[tinycowboy]

La Roux - Trouble in Paradise. It's my album of the year already, but my deep need to have my insecure views validated has just turned up in the Grauniad's review. She's taken the good bits of 80s dance and given them a modern relevance/twist/sheen. Hats off.

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It'll have to wait a couple of days. First album was patchy, but oh what patches.