Perils from the Sea is a collaboration between Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon and solo) and Jimmy LaValle (The Album Leaf).
The material consists mostly of sparse synths and electronic percussion, leaving plenty of room for Kozelek's voice. The instrumentation is repetitive but with a hypnotic quality which is all down to LaValle while Kozelek handles the lyrics and vocals. The style probably lends itself to those who like to sit down and listen to music. The record opens with What Happened to my Brother, which sounds like a glorious 8-bit video game. On Gustavo, Koz's vocals sound weary but in a deliberate way, he has a husk that befits the music and the lyrics. Whilst each track centers around a repetitive synth, keyboard or organ line, the array of sounds stops this record from being a one trick pony. I haven't seen any confirmation from LaVelle (who wrote all the music) but many of the compositions strike me as being influenced by Arvo Part's tintinnabuli style (I notice this mostly since Spiegel Im Spiegel is my favourite piece of music). Kozelek's vocals take an even more raspy and heartbroken tone in You Missed My Heart, which may be the highlight of the album.
Caroline sees us dip into the most familiar territory since it has a picked guitar lead, which slowly takes a backseat to the percussion and vocals, which include the now customary boxing reference! Even as a hardened fan, I've grown a little frustrated with Kozelek's almost exclusively finger-picked material of the last few years and countless live releases, so this record is quite the delight which only grows stronger with each listen. A victory for removing oneself from a comfort zone into new territory. 8.5/10 Tracklisting 1. What Happened To My Brother 2. 1936 3. Gustavo 4. Baby In Death Can I Rest Next To Your Grave 5. Ceiling Gazing 6. You Missed My Heart 7. Caroline 8. He Always Felt Like Dancing 9. By The Time That I Awoke 10. Here Come More Perils From The Sea 11. Somehow The Wonder Of Life Prevails Perils from the Sea can be purchased from Caldo Verde records.
The Men have described New Moon as "their most intensely personal album" and they certainly serve up both an enchanting and complex record that will demand effort from any listener. The record opens with a low-key country number, Open the Door before we're served up a double whammy of raucous Americana-like workouts with Half Angel Half Light followed by Without a Face. It's as if someone ripped up the country-rock rule book, sped things up and turned all the amps up to 11, like someone held a gun to Tom Petty's head and told him to put together a real fucking rock and roll record by the morning or they would blow his brains out (note - this record does not sound like Tom Petty...), the songs are raw and haven't been laboured over. There's definitely a Neil Young and Crazy Horse vibe on some of the songs, like I Saw Her Face, which would fit seamlessly onto Zuma, complete with raging guitar solo. High and Lonesome gives us a couple of minutes to catch our breaths and reflect with a forlorn slide guitar taking centre stage. It isn't long before before you're caught up in another whirlwind, as The Brass does its best to melt your brain. Lead single, Electric, is probably closest the band come to sounding like previous record, Open Your Heart.
The album closes with Supermoon, which features more of that crazy, crashing and burning wig-out that that gives your brain a real workout, not in a look at us type way, just a band that is pushing themselves to their very limit, dragging the listener along with them whether they like it or not. The only thing missing is an actual kitchen sink! I haven't been left reeling like this by a closing song in a long time, while the band may have gone in a slightly more traditional direction they have not substituted any of their intensity and in some ways have even upped it, they have to play even harder in this setup. For me, New Moon is the strongest record of 2013 so far. I managed to pick up bonus EP, Campfire Songs at their record release show, a 5 song set, which sounds like the title suggests, a bunch of guys sat around a campfire with acoustic guitars. It's a lovely accompaniment to the record, the vocals are distant, almost demo-like. At their sold-out Bowery Ballroom show, openers Parquet Courts impressed me greatly, I had listened to their record, Light Up Gold, which did pass me by a little bit but off the back of their support slot I will certainly revisit.
Nude Beach were also on the bill, who I had seen the previous night supporting The Babies at the Knitting Factory, they play an unashamed retro garage rock that is infectious, thankfully that night they played their best song, Some Kinda Love, which they hadn't played the night before.
This was the first time I had seen The Men, and they do not excel at subtlety! It must be a difficult job to get the sound right when you've got 5 guys going full-on all the time, the vocals were way too low in the mix but aside from that small complaint the band absolutely rifled through their set, even the slow numbers seemed to give little respite.
The set was obviously tilted towards the new material, but we still got a smattering of material from the previous two records, the venue erupted when they stormed through Open Your Heart, in particular. They are an impressive live act, and I'll certainly be hoping to catch them again now that I've had a chance to immerse myself in the album.
Spanish Moss marks an occasion where I really should have listened to my wife, who said I would love this band, I dilly-dallied for some reason but she wasn't wrong. Kelp is billed as an EP, but the six songs total over 35-minutes and it feels worthy of an LP-status. The psychedelic rock masterclass opens with Fuzz Puzzle, a sprawling monster clocking in at close to 10-minutes, Ian Caddick's guitar engulfs the listener in a napalm of solos, this is one of the most powerful performances committed to tape. At times it sounds like the wheels are about to fall off but the band keep things together while vocalist Tom Madden's reverb-laden vocals vie for attention in amongst the flames.
Patrick Haight's production is spot-on (forgive the pun), recorded in January 2012 (released August 2012) on a Tascam 388 to produce that proper old-school garage rock feel. Deliberately going for a retro sound and influence is a bridge some bands get stuck on, but while they wear influences on their sleeve, the quality of the songs smash through any inclination for simple nostalgia. The other stand-out on the record for me is the penultimate track, Witch Rings, with another snaking riff before a break-out into Dark Side of the Moon-era Pink Floyd (an obvious and lazy comparison, but you will know exactly which bit when you hear it), then pummeling us with that riff again. The band blast out the chorus repeating "always remember, always remember..." not as a simple lyric, but as a demand, you will remember this sonic assault! As the guitar screams to a crescendo, we seam into the final track, Catherine's Last Trip, treated to a final guitar flurry to leave our minds blown and battered. 9/10!! Tracklist
1. Fuzz Puzzle 09:47 2. Chemical Catherine 05:32 3. Vril Loop 01:52 4. Space Drugs 07:11 5. Witch Rings 07:38 6. Catherine's Last Trip 03:34
Spanish Moss are: Ian Caddick (lead guitar) Tom Madden (rhythm guitar/vocals) Tav Palumbo (drums/vocals) Jesse Perez (bass) Kelp is available on vinyl (which I have, despite not currently owning a record player...) from Spot On Sound and cassette from Burger Records and Under the Gun, it can also be downloaded for a bargain $3 on the band's bandcamp page.
Question: A Chilean based cosmic music band releasing their album on Sacred Bones, what could possible go wrong? Answer: Nothing! The production on II is crystal clear and we're treated to an array of sounds attacking a repetitive drum and bass combination, With bands like Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips also on the radar, lovers of space-rock jams finally have some contemporary options without having to dig out their Neu! records for the thousandth time. While there is clear influence on the record there is something about it that seems fresh. It's hard to pick a standout track, but after the driving rhythms of Trees, 9 and Rio, the more atmospheric 99 does leap out with its swirling synths and wandering guitar delays. The record ends with Pulsar, a 15-minute wig-out that Porcupine Tree used to do so well in their early days (circa Up the Downstair through to Signify).
It's easy for this kind of spacious psychedelic music to seem aimless and meandering, but II seems to have a focus, you're being taken for a ride, but the band know the best route and will not get lost while you get to enjoy the view. Föllakzoid have a few shows lined up around the US, one of which takes them to NYC at the Mercury Lounge on the 21st of March with fellow Chileans The Holydrug Couple, which I'm certainly hoping to attend! Is there a fertile South American music scene just waiting to be unearthed? Or perhaps there is already and I am shamelessly ignorant, either way, I am looking forward to finding out. Juan Pablo Rodrigues (vocals) Domingo Garcia-Huidobro (guitar) Alfredo Thiermann (piano, synthesizer) Diego Lorca (drums). Tracklist:
New album Clockwork Angels is Rush's 19th full length studio LP (most sources claim it's their 20th, but 2004's covers EP, Feedback, was little more than an otiose indulgence best forgotten...).
2007s Snakes and Arrows suffered desperately from a lack of pace and passion, it basically sounded like a classic rock album recorded by a bunch of 50-somethings. While there isn't anything drastically wrong with most of those songs (though there are certainly some poor moments, hello Larger Bowl...) it's simply an uninspired record. Clockwork Angels, on the other hand, sounds like a band reinvigorated and with a sense of purpose.
To bring up the dreaded c-word, it's a concept album, inspired by Steampunk and Voltaire's 1759 novella, Candide, which I confess I haven't read but know of. The record achieves a nice balance between marrying the lyrics as a whole albums worth of work but also not sounding out of place as individual songs.
The album kicks off with the two songs that were digitally released last year, Caravan and BU2B, which both seem to have benefitted from either a re-recording or a remix. Caravan probably wouldn't have been out of place on Snakes and Arrows although the "I can't stop thinking big..." chorus is catchier than anything they wrote on that album. BU2B has a drive and urgency that I didn't really feel on the digital release and rather surprisingly has become an early favourite, there are some wonderful arpeggios from Alex that, when analysed in their own right hark back to some real classic Rush moments.
However, given the relative familiarity with those first two songs, you don't get that new record feeling until the title track kicks in, and is filled with some particularly furious drumming from Neil. There's a great range of light and shade on the album and the title track seems to include all of this in one song, although the band also let loose on occasion and thrash through a few heavy riffs, most notably on Carnies. Alex also seems to have upped his game a little here, his Eastern-twinged solo on The Anarchist is incredibly pleasing.
While Rush tend to work best with some combination of intricate and (leaning towards) heavy instrumentation, they can sometimes struggle when trying to really tone it down and write a ballad or just a mellow song in general. Halo Effect tries to bridge that gap somewhat, it perhaps falls a little short as it isn't until the bridge that the song seems to demand attention.
For the moment at least, the finest song on the album is The Wreckers, which came about with Alex and Geddy swapping instruments in the writing stage, the intro reminds me of the band Ride (who excelled at that ethereal whilst also crunching guitar sound), while the verses are definitely something that Geddy probably comes up with in his sleep, it wouldn't have been out of place on his solo album, My Favourite Headache. The chorus is Neil at his best lyrically and with or without the context of the Voltaire inspiration, aims a big dig at religion (which he also tackled on S&A's Faithless) and societal norms:
All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary of a miracle too good to be true,
All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary of everything in life you thought you knew,
All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary of a miracle too good to be true,
All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary, 'cause sometimes the target is you.
Things rev up a gear with Headlong Flight, a song that they would have played about 25% slower on the previous album, If any of the band stand out in particular on this record then I think it's Neil, he mentioned recently about giving it his best while he was still physically able to, and that really comes across in the music. His drumming hasn't been this ferocious in many a year, it will be interesting to see just how physically draining these songs will be to play live. I'm tremendously looking forward to seeing them at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in October (although I am trying to make myself forget just how much the ticket cost).
The album closes with The Garden, which seems to have become a favourite among fans, but I have to confess I'm struggling with it a little bit. I mentioned earlier that ballads are not really in Rush's comfort zone and I think this is evidence of that, it sounds over-sentimental and more in the realm of dodgy AOR bands from the 80s, not a band that has just rattled through one of their best albums in 25 years (which obviously, somewhat ironically, puts us into the 80s...). It's rescued somewhat by some nice arpeggio work from Alex in the chorus and a decent solo (which comes after a somewhat nauseating bridge). If they play this live I hate to imagine all the lighters (or do people just use iphones these days) held aloft in the air, this isn't Bon Jovi...
It's not a perfect record and at times suffers from the cut and paste pro-tools method of songwriting they have had for the last decade, but for the most part the songs are focused and it's a record that is greater than the sum of its parts and one of which the band should be proud.
I am certainly in a minority when it comes to Rush fans, in that I think 2002's Vapour Trails is among the band's finest work. So while Clockwork Angels isn't quite the revelation and return to form that some are saying, it is certainly one of their best efforts from the 2nd-half of their career.
Tracklist:
1. Caravan
2. BU2B
3. Clockwork Angels
4. The Anarchist
5. Carnies
6. Halo Effect
7. Seven Cities Of Gold
8. The Wreckers
9. Headlong Flight
10. BU2B2
11. Wish Them Well
12. The Garden
La Sera is the solo project of Vivian Girls bassist Katy Goodman (aka Kickball Katy). While I love Vivian Girls, La Sera pull off that extremely rare feat where a side-project is actually better than an artist's "main" band.
With two albums under her belt, the self-titled release in 2011, new record Sees the Light completes a double whammy of wonderful tunes that deserve a much wider audience.
Who can resist the sugary guitars and lullaby vocals of Never Come Around? And to top things off it is also accompanied by a fantastic and playfully gruesome promotional video.
The first album is a real pleasure, full of bright and dreamy guitars it's a perfect pick-me-up, but if I had to pick a favourite however, it would be Sees the Light which has a wider range of songs and moods, the swagger and triumphant breakup of Love that's Gone is swiftly followed by the fast-paced Please Be My Third Eye, then you have the shimmering guitars of I'm Alone and the low fuzz of How Far We've Come. It's a bit like the debut set everything up for the second album to blow everyone away, the songs are just great (as they also are on the debut).
I also had the pleasure of catching a show in Williamsburg at the Cameo Gallery where the band pulled off an incendiary 50-minute set which was full of energy and style. Backed by members of Darker My Love, La Sera are a much tighter live unit than you would expect from a side-project, catch them if you can!
(Photo by me. Though we were right at the front which wasn't the best spot for photos!)
Lead promotional video from Sees the Light is for Real Boy / Drive On which features more of that twisted humour.
Also, as a fellow cat lover I'm happy to report that Katy posts regular photos of her felid companion, Walt.
I first saw Anna Calvi supporting Carina Round (whom I also first experienced as a support act, opening for Gutter Twins) in July 2009 at the Water Rats. She was jaw-droppingly good, cue close to two years waiting impatiently for her self-titled debut album to be released on Domino Records...
The record remains one of, if not the strongest release of 2011 and has what seems a rare sense of identity and confidence seldom seen from a debut these days. It's been described as a dark record and while one could easily nod in agreement to that statement, it perhaps conjures the wrong impression, yes it's dark on occasion but I find it a beautiful and uplifting effort. Anna knows when to leave space for the songs to breathe and other moments to let the music soar to a natural crescendo. It's the ease with which Anna is comfortable in such a wide dynamic range and volume that demands attention from the listener, and it's certainly an album that rewards any attention you can afford. When it's all too easy for music to become a bit more disposable in this digital age, it's seemingly hard to make time to just sit down and listen to something, but I assure you, dear readers, this deserves your time.
Having first experienced Anna in a live setting, you can't help but be struck at how incredible her guitar playing skills are, this virtuousity appears in a more subtle form on the record overall, so I would certainly urge you to catch her live if at all possible. Though this is not to say these studio versions are in any way watered down, there's just something about the intensity and passion with which she performs live and her range of skills from classical to flamenco, rock and blues become overtly evident.
Oxford - May 2011
Anna is complimented by drummer/backing vocalist Daniel Maiden-Wood, who dominates his modest setup and knows just the right moments to add a bit of flare or drive a song forward. Mally Harpaz completes the lineup, mostly playing the harmonium (that's an instrument you don't see all that often) but also contributes with other instruments and additional percussion.
Calvi's vocals are reminiscent of some of my favourite singers such Jeff Buckley and PJ Harvey (unfortunately it seems to be quite hard to be a good female singer without being compared to the great Polly Jean at some point...) among others.
The album kicks off with a low-key guitar instrumental, Rider to the Sea, which hints towards an Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western standoff. Desire is the second single release from the record, Calvi uses phrases like "the devil" as personal metaphors and this song features Brian Eno, who is a huge fan. Desire has a real drive to it while it's also hard not to be entranced with the perfect production on the record, you get some sense of euphoria as she belts out the chorus while the song builds to a triumphant finale.
My personal favourite song on the album is Suzanne And I, I love the pounding drums and the perfect guitar sound, it's a real victory and as you hear the album unfold you feel as though the band have really agonised over every single second of every song, they must all take their art very seriously but do so in a way that doesn't come across as pretentious. Listening to interviews where Anna is so mild and softly-spoken you wonder how she must flip some kind of mental switch to project such a powerful and commanding vocal when singing.
Oxford - May 2011
The Devil certainly evokes the Jeff Buckley reference I made earlier and it's these quiet, reflective songs that really draw you in, immersed in the space between each note, aching for the next snare hit like listening to the best slowcore can offer. The mood perks up again with the album's debut single, Blackout, which features some rare bass guitar but at this point that only emphasises how little the presence of a bottom-end has been missed (and this coming from someone who plays bass).
I think this performance of Love Won't Be Leaving (from the TV show Live From Abbey Road, the song starts at 1:21)showcases Anna's all-round qualities, the dynamic range I spoke of, great voice and the blistering guitar solo is something to behold. Please give it your time, I do wish the extended mid-section was on the record. The only word I can use is blistering!
I wanted to get this blog piece done in time to predict that Anna would get nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize - I couldn't really care less about it, but people do usually get some extra exposure from it, which will hopefully be the case here. There's something old and new that Anna is doing and I imagine I will continue to be entranced by her and hope she has a long career, let's hope she isn't put under too much pressure and allowed to flourish on her own terms.
Oxford - May 2011
All photos taken by me apart from the album cover.
