Nico Muhly & Teitur "Confessions" (2016)

Confessions

release date: Oct. 21, 2016

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]

producer: recorded by Saskia Coolen

label: Nonesuch Records - nationality: USA / Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Describe You" - 4. "Small Spaces" - 7. "Nowheresville" - 8. "Coffee Expert" - 11. "Love Hits You Where It Hurts" - 14. "Time to Dry"

Collaboration album by classical American composer & conductor Nico Muhly and folk pop singer / songwriter Teitur of the Faroe Islands. The album appears to be recorded on the spot with Muhly as conductor of Holland Baroque Society Orchestra at Muziekcentrum Frits Philips, Eindhoven in The Netherlands. The two main collaborators are both credited as musical composers with Teitur as songwriter and vocalist, and most of the songs have been written especially for this album consisting of 14 compositions with a total running time at just below 48 minutes. The song "If You Wait" from Teitur's Story Music (2013) has been re-arranged and is here listed as "If You Wait a Little Longer" (track #10).

Musically, this is on the border of popular music touching on classical, or simply a neo-classical project. Teitur sings in his usual melancholic style accompanied by a full orchestra with bold focus on strings. Most but not all compositions are with lyrics but still Teitur and Muhly share composer credits on all tracks, and it's not really surprising to find Teitur in this unusual territory. He has often made use of strings and composed music of 'chamber pop' and most recently he has been experimenting with other styles, most noteworthy heard on Story Music, and now in another field here with Muhly.

Other artists have made attempts of transgressing the borders between popular music and the classical sphere - most often without much success, and Confessions is yet another example of pitfalls in that category. To me, it ressembles Elvis Costello's attempt with The Juliet Letters (1993) with The Brodsky Quartet in the way that the vocalist (from the popular culture) seems determined to continue his singing style only accompanied by classical music, and in that respect I find that Teitur fulfills his job better than Costello managed, although Costello and The Brodsky Quartet actually was met by some acclaim and eventually went on a tour to promote the album, which again was seen as an artistic and commercial success. I don't think Muhly and Teitur will be greeted with the same kind of open arms for their initative. They are simply not as famous as their British collegue, but their project does overshine the aforementioned collaboration by being more daring, or perhaps Teitur's singing style simply fits the chamber pop universe better. Anyhow, I'm not a fan of this regardless the momentarily fine moments they do produce with their colliding spheres. I know absolutely nothing about Nico Muhly and only sought the album out because of Teitur's presence, and in his discography the album falls in the lower part as his so far second least favourable album to date.

The Prodigy "The Day Is My Enemy" (2015)

The Day Is My Enemy
release date: Mar. 30, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Liam Howlett, Neil McLellan
label: Take Me to the Hospital - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Day Is My Enemy" - 2. "Nasty" - 4. "Ibiza" (feat. Sleaford Mods)

6th studio album by The Prodigy was about 6 years in the making. Apparently, the album was a band effort, as contrary to the last two albums with Howlett in control of everything. According to Howlett the word 'violent' kept coming up when describing the album, and truth is, it's rather fitting. It's almost like an edited version of The Fat of the Land, from 97, only angrier.
I must confess that I haven't been a great fan of the band since the mid-90s, and have often been disappointed about their musical change into a more hip hop universe with heavy sampling and tribal, however, this is in a sense a return to form, although, I rejected it the first many times. It has a certain quality - it's quite good, but I don't really find it near great.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5, Drowned in Sound 2 / 5 stars ]

Robert Forster "I Had a New York Girlfriend" (1994)

I Had a New York Girlfriend

release date: Oct. 25, 1994

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]

producer: Robert Forster

label: Rough Trade Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Nature's Way" - 3. "Echo Beach" - 4. "Tell Me That It Isn't True" - 5. "2541" (4 / 5) (live with Grant Hart) - 6. "Anytime" - 7. "Locked Away" - 8. "Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow" - 9. "Alone"

3rd studio album by Robert Forster following one year after his sophomore Calling From a Country Phone is like that released on Beggars Banquet - with Rough Trade distributing optical issues for the German and Scandinavian markets. The album consists of 12 compositions that are all covers with Forster sending his praise to some of his idols. The album is recorded with a short list of familiar names including bassist Mick Harvey, keyboardist Conway Savage - both from The Bad Seeds - and with drummer Clare Moore. Also future Bad Seeds member Warren Ellis plays violin on two tracks. The songwriters represent all types of styles and are credited for music spanning several decades, and they are as follows: Randy California (of the American band Spirit), Guy Charles Clark (American folk / country artist), Mark Gane (of American band Martha & The Muffins), Bob Dylan, Grant Hart (of American punk rock band Hüsker Dü), Herbert 'Happy' Lawson (American country songwriter), Steve Jordan & Keith Richards (song taken from Richard's solo debut), Neil Diamond, Tom Kelly & Billy Steinberg (song from their project i-Ten), Michael Hansonis (of German indie rock band King Candy), Mickey Newbury (American singer / songwriter), Bill Anderson (American country songwriter).

It's a quite coherent release despite the fact that all songs originally stem from various stylistic genres. All compositions have that distict personal touch of Forster's songwriting skills, which makes them all sound like his personal songs. Of course it helps that he only makes use of a handful of musicians and also that the individual songs mostly are arranged with focus on the performance of the vocal, guitar and / or piano backing, so that the songs have a re-arranged mix that fit in a jangle pop and folk-territory - and that works quite nicely. It still contains elements of Forster's love for traditional country, but nowhere to the same extent as you fill find on Calling From a Country Phone. Best songs here are, however, the jangle pop arrangements of the original new wave song "Echo Beach" by Martha & The Muffins, the country song "Anytime" by songwriter Herbert Lawson, and the punk rock song "2541" by Grant Hart. Alongside these, other songs shine almost as bright making the whole thing a fine collection of "lost classics".

In Forster's autobiography "Grant & I" he talks about this album as something he wish he'd never recorded. He says it was made in a rush, hardly without preparation and that it's basically a mistake compared to his better '93 album. Well, I'm sorry Robert, but I simply do not agree. This is a better album because of good material and a personal take on highly diverse songs. And perhaps the unpreparedness to the recording process just gave it that extra quality of Forster origin that others find in it - the same product he finds insufficient.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

The Streets "Cyberspace and Reds" (2011)

Cyberspace and Reds (mixtape)
release date: Jan. 24, 2011
format: digital (13 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,42]
producer: Mike Skinner

label: self-released - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Came in Through the Door (feat. Kano)" (2,5 / 5) - 2. "4 O'clock" (3 / 5) - 3. "Don't Hide Away (feat. Wiley, Rinse and Ice Kid)" (2 / 5) - 9. "Breakbat Barz (Scru Fizzer)" (2 / 5)

A mixtape album by The Streets only made available as a download album in 320kbps MP3 format, and it features a different kind of music than what normally is associated with The Streets. The mixtape was released a month before the final album release but contains tracks Mike Skinner mixed after the completion of Computer and Blues, and reflects, according to himself, what he is concentrating on, as he already regards the final album as music of his past. Well, it may be a step into a new area for Skinner but it's not interesting to listen to. I merely find it sketches or unfinished mixes, experiments, more than much else, and not really comparable to his other studio albums.

Nina Simone " 'Nuff Said!" (1968)

'Nuff Said! (live)

release date: Oct. 1968

format: cd (2011 RM) / vinyl (2015 reissue) (MOVLP1028)

[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]

producer: Joe René

label: RCA Victor / Music On Vinyl - nationality: USA

Live album by Nina Simone succeding the album Silk & Soul (Oct. 1967) is a eleven-track album with 8 tracks being recorded live at Westbury Music Fair, Long Island, New York on Apr. 7, 1968. Three songs (tracks #1, #8, and #11) are studio recordings from May '68. The song "Why?" is with strong memory of and a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., who passed away three days prior to the concert - it's a song written on the day of the recording by jazz bassist Gene Taylor (aka Calvin Eugene Taylor) and Simone handles this with supreme quality.

'Nuff Said! is Nina Simone in an exquisite performance, and the 2015 vinyl reissue by Music On Vinyl is a great pressing.

Highly recommended.

LCD Soundsystem "LCD Soundsystem" (2005)

LCD Soundsystem [debut]
release date: Jan. 24, 2005
format: cd (2 cd)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: The DFA [Tim Goldsworthy & James Murphy]
label: DFA, Columbia - nationality: USA

Track highlights: Disc 1: 1. "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" (4 / 5) (live on Letterman) - 2. "Too Much Love" - 3. "Tribulations" - 6. "On Repeat" - 7. "Thrills" - 8. "Disco Infiltrator" - - Disc 2: 1. "Losing My Edge" - 7. "Yr City's a Sucker (Full Version)"

Full-length studio album debut by LCD Soundsystem after having released a number of singles and the self-titled ep LCD Soundsystem in 2004 where one will find all 4 tracks on this album (tracks #1, #3, #6 & #8). The album was released both as a 2-disc album as well as an ordinary 1-disc album with the tracks #1-9 on DFA Records - founded by British musician and producer Tim Goldsworthy with American dj and musician James Murphy together with manager Jonathan Galkin. Together the two are producer-unit The DFA ('Death From Above').
LCD Soundsystem is a mere musical collective consisting of 7 individuals with songwriter James Murphy at its centre. As it simply states on the back cover info of the album: "most sounds": James Murphy [and] "other sounds": Tim Goldsworthy, Eric Broucek, Tyler Pope, Nancy Whang, Patrick Mahoney, Mandy Coon [the remainders].
Musically, it's clearly built on electronic but there's bold use of classic rock instruments like ordinary electric guitar, bass, keyboard and drums, or: it really depends on the individual tracks. "Movement" and "Never as Tired as When I'm Waking Up" are indie rock, alt. rock tracks, but the majority of the tracks are more indietronica-founded with various elements from synthpop and alt. dance, and there are clear funk-elements on most tracks. At times I find that the music by LCD Soundsystem sounds much like a combo of Talking Heads and B-52's in updated versions, at other times more like Devo, Depeche Mode or Gang of Four with the addition of funky and / or electronic bits, and then it also strikes me to build on (primarily) British electronic music exemplified by The Chemical Brothers and Underworld, but nevertheless, in an original blend.
It's a quite dance-oriented album and it harvested broad critical acclaim as well as a number of nominations including the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Electronic / Dance Album.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Q, Rolling Stone, NME 4 / 5, Blender, Uncut 5 / 5 stars ]

Bruce Springsteen "Wrecking Ball" (2012)

Wrecking Ball
release date: Mar. 2, 2012
format: cd (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Ron Aniello, Bruce Springsteen
label: Columbia Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "We Take Care of Our Own" - 2. "Easy Money" - 3. "Shackled and Drawn" - 4. "Jack of All Trades" - 7. "Wrecking Ball" - 9. "Rocky Ground" - 10. "Land of Hope & Dreams"

17th studio album by Bruce Springsteen following three years after Working on a Dream in a Deluxe Edition containing two bonus tracks. The album is the first in a series of albums with producer Ron Aniello.
Wrecking Ball is a nice return to form by The Boss, and it secured Springsteen several Grammy nominations and #1 positions on album charts lists world-wide including important top charts in the US and in the UK.
On Wrecking Ball he demonstrates how he's still capable of making fine music drawing on his back-catalogue and at the same time renewing himself. It contains several songs with celtic folk elements, but generally, it's a diverse but fine uptempo album.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

The Specials "More Specials" (1980)

More Specials
release date: Oct. 4, 1980
format: cd (2002 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,14]
producer: Jerry Dammers and Dave Jordan
label: EMI Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)" (live) - 2. "Man at C&A" (live) - 3. "Hey, Little Rich Girl" - 4. "Do Nothing" (live) - 6. "Sock It to 'Em J.B." - 7. "Stereotypes / Stereotypes, Part 2" (single version) - 9. "I Can't Stand It" - 10. "International Jet Set"

2nd studio album by The Specials originally released by 2 Tone Records. With this the band seeks out other styles and genres, and the album is a bit of a strange blend of influences. Most tracks are still with ska revival as the core of all songs, but some compositions are shaped as either rock & roll, soul, art pop, post-punk or easy listening / lounge compositions. The first four songs starts out, more or less as the natural follow-up to the debut album, although, "Man at C&A" has elements of post-punk, but giving the time of its release at the peak of cold war politics, it feels very natural, but #4, "Pearl Café", clearly bears elements from rock & roll and easy listening, and from here on it becomes more evident that this album is something else with its blending of styles. This is an even more striking experience when confronted with the vinyl album, where side A shares the tone of the predecessor, and with side B as a whole different thing. #7 "Stereotypes / Stereotypes Part 2" share characteristics with songs by The Clash from their album Black Market Clash (1980) blending dub and reggae, and on #8 and #9 the whole album is more likely as an inspirational source to later contemporaries as The Style Council, The Clash and its album Sandinista, sophisti-pop by Everything But the Girl and much later styles of The Cardigans with its 'blue eyed' pop mix of easy listening and calypso. Tracks #9 and #10 are yet again something else making me think of Portishead meets Gorillaz and a sound that today is considered to have helped shaping the style of trip hop.
Several guest musicians appear on the album including Rhoda Dakar singing duet on #9, Madness' sax player Lee Thompson on #4, and the US new wave trio The Go-Go's appear as backing vocals group on #11 "Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)".
The album fared well reaching #5 on the UK albums chart list and it generally was handed positive reviews. Also, the two singles from the album did well nationally when "Stereotype" and "International Jet Set" peaked at #6 and #4 respectively. Time has certainly not questioned the importance of this particular album. In retrospect, the album has been cited as a corner stone of modern popular music with its influence on the shaping of sophisti-pop but especially in defining the trip hop genre and may likely be seen as source to songs and albums by diverse artist like the aforementioned together with Portishead, Massive Attack, Blur and Gorillaz. More Specials is like the debut enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Some of the album's compositions that travels the furthest from the band's trademark of ska revival are typically songs by keyboardist Jerry Dammers and, allegedly, his interest in and will to experiment with other styles, already in '81 led to the band's demise. Dammers take a stronger role as band leader on this album, and his ideas to incorporate new styles is said to have played a decisive role in the internal conflicts that ultimately led to changes within the band. The vocalist group of The Specials, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding all left the band to form the trio Fun Boy Three, and the remainders of the band changed its name back to The Specials AKA in 1981.
I think, I may have listened more to this than the debut album by The Specials, but also more over the years. The debut stands out as more of a whole with its distinct ska revival and '2 tone' sound that connects it to a specific time and place, but I have always felt that this album is an even more exiting experience consisting of more original compositions, and has an almost surreal sense of timelessness that connects it with future styles, which makes me think of it as the band's best and most original album and a release that should be attributed all the acclaim it rightfully deserves.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, Uncut, Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]

Björk "Jóga" (1997) (single)

Jóga, cd single
release date: Sep. 15, 1997
format: cd
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Björk, Mark Bell
label: Mother Records - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: 1. "Jóga (Howie B Main Mix)" - 2. "Sod Off" - 3. "Immature (Björk's Version)" - 4. "So Broken"

Single cd release from the forthcoming album Homogenic originally released by One Little Indian. Yes, "Jóga" is a strong and fine composition, and here it's in a slightly altered version, and with the 3 extra tracks (which are found on the Japanese album version of the album) it doesn't really contribute with anything new.

Kent "Du & jag döden" (2005)

Du & jag döden
release date: Mar. 15, 2005
format: cd / vinyl (2015 reissue)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,32]
producer: Kent, Stefan Boman
label: RCA / Sony BMG // Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. 400 slag" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Du är ånga" - 3. "Den döda vinkeln" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Du var min armé" - 5. "Palace & Main" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Järnspöken" (5 / 5) - 7. "Klåparen" (4 / 5) - 9. "Romeo återvänder ensam" - 11. "Mannen i den vita hatten (16 år senare)" (4,5 / 5)

6th studio album by Kent, and once again the band spent 3 years to get ready for a new album, and this time they got everything right it seems.
This is perhaps my all-time favourite Kent album being forced to choose just one. Then it doesn't make much sense to pin one out as the best, but this is clearly among their two best album releases - the other being Röd (2009). This is also the album that made me love the band and acknowledge their status as the best rock band in Scandinavia. It's an album without fillers, and it balances a beautiful combo of melancholic ballads, blue-eyed chorus-based pop songs, and up-tempo synthpop. Du & jag döden is also a cornerstone in their musical progression in the way that it's like a solid statement of a move from guitar-based indie pop towards an acceptance of synthesizer-founded synthpop within an alt. rock universe. Guitar, bass and drums are still very much in use but now accompanied by drum machine, synths and electronic devices in a near perfect blend.
Highly recommended.
EDIT: Without much luck, I have searched and searched for an original pressing and then settled with a 2015 pressing of the album on vinyl, which a few years later also happens to be a highly sought after issue.

[ collectors' item ]

2005 Favourite releases: 1. Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté In the Heart of the Moon - 2. Kent Du & jag döden - 3. Sigur Rós Takk...

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~

"Den döda vinkeln"

"Jag var länge ensam, enda barnet
Ett monster underst i en hembyggd våningssäng
och på håll såg jag ljusen dö i dimman
precis när mörkret tändes upp igen

Och jag såg dig springa över skaren
i jakten på din sagolika vy
och du lärde mig att fullständigt försvinna
in i dina tankar,i ditt huvud står jag fri

Ge mig en vinterdrog
Ge mig allt du har
Kom nu, jag är kroniskt låg
Bara mörkret hörs
I ditt öga var en storm jag såg
som sommarsnö
I döda vinkeln ser jag allt du gör

Och där kommer dom jag ser dom mellan träden
Snälla kan du hjälpa mig att fly
Deras ögon är som mareld över världen
Jag kryper där i askan, fågel Fenix född som ny

Ge mig en vinterdrog
Ge mig allt du har
Kom nu, jag är kroniskt låg
Bara mörkret hörs
I ditt öga var en storm jag såg
Blåsa sommarsnö
I döda vinkeln ser jag allt du gör

Ge mig en vinterdrog
Ge mig sommarsnö
Kom nu, jag är kroniskt låg
Bara mörkret hörs
I ditt öga dansar stormar små
men det är du som för
I döda vinkeln ser jag allt du gör"

~ ~ ~

"Järnspöken"

"Dom brände Grönan och skolan står där ensam nu
Cykelställen står tomma än, trots att loven är slut
Dom fäller kastanjeträden i allén framför skolgården
och jag rör mig tyst, hör inte hemma här, jag är vålnaden

Jag vet inte varför, men kanske är det därför jag minns det så väl
Dina stora ögon, dina bruna händer, dina vassa knän

Var det dig jag såg, som en skugga ur mina drömmar
Var det dig jag såg, dig jag svor att aldrig glömma

Dom gräver i parken och frosten i marken, blir ett försvar
och vid hörnet av kyrkan där järnvägen går, har dom spärrat av
Någon ligger i gräset, med frostiga kläder, så stilla och vit
och blåljusen blinkar, tänk vad man kan göra med en liten kniv

Och jag vet inte varför men jag återvänder alltid hit
Det var väl något vi gjorde, något vi sa här som förändrade mitt liv

Var det dig jag såg, som en skugga ur mina drömmar
Var det dig jag såg, dig jag svor att aldrig glömma
Var det dig jag såg som ett spöke från döda drömmar
Var det dig jag såg
Har jag äntligen lyckats glömma?"

~ ~ ~

"Klåparen"

"Du går på ditt oefterhärmliga sätt
över skolgårdens grus för dig själv
I ditt nyklippta hår, likt en irländsk idols
Din spegelbild i fönsterglas
beundrar varje steg du tar

Och så blinkar det till
Gröna, röda, gula ljus
Du var på nålar när du kom
med ditt insmugglade rus

Och så släcker dom ner, för en sista stilla chans
och allting svartnar i panik när du ser att alla redan har en dans
och allt är som förut

Och du minns den du var med förakt, lite hat
och man blir lik sin mor eller far
Du har förändrat ditt sätt, suddat ut varje spår
men i själen din ja långt, långt in ekar tonåringens vrål

Och så blinkar det till
och dom tänder alla ljus
och du var ensam när du kom, nu har magin brunnit ut
och så släcker dom ner
Alla skyltar alla ljus
och när parken ligger tom, inser du att din kväll just tagit slut
och allting är som förut

Och så blinkar det till
och dom tänder alla ljus
Du var ensam när du kom
och du är lika ensam nu
och så släcker dom ner alla gator alla hus
och när staden ligger tom inser du
att det är så ditt liv ser ut
och allting är som förut"

~ ~ ~

Tom Waits "Mule Variations" (1999)

Mule Variations
release date: Apr. 27, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,04]
producer: Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan
label: ABTI- / Epitaph - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Big in Japan" - 2. "Lowside of the Road" - 3. "Hold On" (official video) (4 / 5) - 4. "Get Behind the Mule" - 5. "House Where Nobody Lives" - 6. "Cold Water" - 8. "What's He Building?" (official video) - 10. "Eyeball Kid" - 11. "Picture in a Frame" - 12. "Chocolate Jesus" (live) - 13. "Georgia Lee" - 14. "Filipino Box Spring Hog" - 15. "Take It With Me" - 16. "Come on Up to the House"

13th studio album by Tom Waits following a long 5½ years after The Black Rider (1993) is his first album of new material after leaving Island Records, on which label he had been on a contract since '83. Instead of trying to renew his contract with the established record company, he chose to sign a contract with the newly established and independent label, ANTI-. All sixteen tracks are credited Waits, twelve of which are co-written with his wife, Kathleen Brennan. The album is a rather long affair with a total running time of more than 70 minutes.

The album is simply a clear improvement over his '93 release, but as it has often been the case with Tom Waits, this one marks a musical shift. The '90s have been, if anything, his experimental decade, and sometimes it proved very successful, while at other times he hit a little off the mark, but he has always been an exponent of making music in surprising new ways, as with this one, where he chooses to record his voice via megaphone. Mule Variations is an album with elements from blues rock in a singer / songwriter context and compositions that may be called experimental in an art rock category, and some tracks are influenced by cabaret / circus music, but at the same time it's more laid back - like a collection of songs inspired by country rock and / or Americana, and this is probably where the really new elements come into the picture when talking about Waits.

The album would prove to be Tom Waits' most significant chart-topper ever on the Billboard 200 in his home country, peaking at number #30, and not only was it a success here as it went to number #22 in France, No. #13 in Australia, No. #9 in the UK, No. #4 in Germany, and then it simply topped the album chart in Norway. More honors followed when Mojo nominated it as "Album of the Year" and Waits himself was nominated in "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for the song "Hold On" at the '99 Grammy Awards, and Mule Variations won the award "Best Contemporary Folk Album" - his second award at the Grammy Awards.

The strength of the album lies very much in the supplementary lyrics, and these are not seldom the fascinating narratives created by Waits' wife, Kathleen Brennan. The album is quite complete and functions as a whole from an artist who knows how to renew himself and his music.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian 4 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Mogwai "Mogwai Young Team" (1997)

Mogwai Young Team [debut]

release date: Oct. 21, 1997

format: digital (19 x File, FLAC Deluxe Edition)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Paul Savage (recorded by)

label: Chemikal Underground - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home" - 2. "Like Herod" - 5. "Tracy" - 7. "With Portofolio" - 8. "R U Still in 2 It" - 10. "Mogwai Fear Satan" (official shortened video)

Studio album debut by Scottish post rock band Mogwai following the full-length compilation album Ten Rapid released 6 months earlier is recorded by Paul Savage (track #7 by Andy Miller) released on a small independent Scottish label. During the recording sessions for the album the band was expanded to a quintet by the inclusion of Brendan O'Hare (former drummer of Teenage Fanclub). The band is made up of Stuart Braithwaite on guitar, John Cummings on guitar, Dominic Aitchison on bass, Martin Bulloch on drums, and with new member Brendan O'Hare credited on piano and guitar. The album was originally released as double vinyl lp and 1-cd issues as the playing time exceeds 64 minutes. The standard issue comes with ten tracks and the single compositions vary in length from 01:34 to 16:20 minutes - with nearly all of the remaining tracks revealing likewise unconventional playing times (except #6 and #7 at 3:28 and 3:11 respectively). Shortly after the album release, new member O'Hare was dismissed from the band, who then continued as a quartet the following year.

Needless say, the music is with a certain dominance of guitar-sound in a band with three guitarists but that's by no means to say guitars take up 3/5 of the music. All but one track on the album are instrumentals - with lead vocalist Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap featuring on track #8. Being mostly instrumentals, the compositions are, however not without vocals. Several tracks are composed with speaking parts as a form of background noise, some of which are samples, and generally speaking, noise does amount for a central portion of both the single composition as well as the album as a whole. Tracks may start out gently, with few instruments playing softly at low key when it all explodes as a wall of noise rock before it then returns as sudden as it erupted - like an abrupt change of weather.

Mogwai Young Team is a strong debut from one of the most poignant bands of the post rock genre. This isn't just another band copying My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Slint, Talk Talk, The Cure or any other artists in shaping its own soundscape. They set a new set of standards within the alt. rock genre and show us that contemporary post rock is more than Sigur Rós and that playing post rock doesn't necessarily mean "more of the same". This debut album is already a modern classic. The band may have produced better albums since, but it's remarkable how original and how much of a whole this album really is. It's a certified grower.

Recommended.

[ bandcamp ]

[ allmusic.com, NME, PopMatters 4,5 / 5, Pitchfork 9,2 / 10 stars ]

Lisa Ekdahl "Olyckssyster" (2004)

Olyckssyster
release date: Sep. 8, 2004
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Lars Winnerbäck
label: RCA Victor - nationality: Sweden

5th studio album by Lisa Ekdahl. This is Lisa back on track. Instead of making cover versions and / or tribute releases, she has finally made another fine album of folk pop and singer / songwriter in Swedish, and then again her voice shines.
Imho, the album is one of her better, and just puts it outside her top-3 albums.

PowerSolo "Lemon Half Moon" (2001)

Lemon Half Moon [debut]
release date: 2001
format: cd (ESP 998-2)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,52]
producer: Kim Kix (aka Kim Jeppesen)
label: E.S.P. Recordings - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "I Know a Game" - 4. "Kat Nazer" (live) - 14. "Eing Eing Eing"

Studio debut album by PowerSolo consisting of Kim Hjort Jeppesen (aka Kim Kix) on vocals and guitar, his brother Bo Hjort Jeppesen (aka Atomic Child, aka Atombarnet) on guitars and backing vocals, and with Jens Søndergaard (aka Chief Benz, aka JC Benz) on drums.
This is really like nothing else. The trio mix all (like in: ALL) kind of genres and musical styles to whatever it is they play. The most recognised styles here are psychobilly, punk rock, country rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, new wave, industrial and no wave. Despite the huge pot of styles, it's highly energetic and full of humour. The lyrics often include a lot of swearing, sexual references, and are mostly about life... as such. Work, sex, addiction, relationships, moral, love, women, cats, sex, alcohol, music, ignorance, and... sex. Well, this is not their best. It mostly sound like a lot of recorded jam sessions under the influence of some form of stimuli.

Grant Hart "Hot Wax" (2009)

Hot Wax

release date: Oct. 6, 2009

format: digital

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: uncredited [rec. by Howard Bilerman; Mark Wisti]

label: Con D'Or Records / MVD Audio - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "You're the Reflection of the Moon on the Water" - 2. "Barbara" - 3. "Charles Hollis Jones" - 4. "Schoolbuses Are for Children" - 6. "California Zephyr" (acoustic live) - 7. "Sailor Jack" - 9. "My Regrets"

3rd studio album by Grant Hart follows ten years after the album Good News for Modern Man and is released via the independent label MVD Audio. Another 10 years! Well, you really cannot blame Hart for being busy releasing new material, however, he has recently founded his own record label Con D'Or and with assistance from MVD Audio, he has managed to release nine new compositions. It's no secret that Hart already back in the mid-80s found consolation in drug abuse, and unlike former band associate Bob Mould who took to rehabilation, Hart seems to have rejected just that. His '99 album was well-received by the media but as most of his releases post-Hüsker Dü the album didn't succeed commercially.

He initiated these recordings in a collaboration work with members of post-rock collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor (the band was inactive from 2003-2010), but apparently, Hart didn't feel he benefited from the work and almost halfway through he turned to MVD Audio head Mark Wisti who then helped finishing the album. The early tracks appear to be the ones recorded by Bilerman (tracks #1, #2, #4, #9). Much in concordance with his two previous solos, Hart plays most instruments on his own except from occasional string sections.

Stylewise, this is difficult to narrow in, although there are traits from a post rock influence on tracks #2 and #9, but it mainly comes out as modern pop / rock or indie rock with references to traditional 1960s music of folk rock, psychedelic rock and baroque pop reminding the world about Jefferson Airplane and Scott Walker.

Grant Hart is one of America's big secrets. Those who know of him, praise his music and his few albums, and as with his previous releases Hot Wax contains truly fine music without reaching the same level as he demonstrates on his '99-album.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Julian Cope & Donald Ross Skinner "Rite" (1993)

Rite

release date: Feb. 1993

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]

producer: Donald Ross Skinner

label: Ma-Gog Records - nationality: England, UK

1st album by Julian Cope in an official collaboration with musical friend Donald Ross Skinner, who has featured on Cope's solo releases since Fried (1984). The album is the first on Cope's own label Ma-Gog, which later became Head Heritage.

Musically, there is not much that ties this to previous albums from Julian Cope. The only common feature is Cope's experimentation with styles, and he has previously found inspiration from krautrock and elements from electronic styles, but the album here consists only of long instrumental ambient compositions with the shortest track running 9 minutes whereas the longest clocks in just below 25 minutes. With a release on their own label, Cope and Skinner have ultimate freedom to do whatever they feel like, regardless of fans and others. And well, here they have thrown themselves into something completely different, like a playground of theirs.

The result may not quite live up to expectations for an album by Julian Cope, who has guaranteed quality music of original content since the early 80s. Most of all, Rite sounds like a soundtrack to a non-existent film, or like a mix of music from funk of the 70s and electronic forays of the early nineties, but apparently, also without great renewal. Still, don't expect to find tracks here that resemble anything Cope has released before. Some of the music may be found on the BBC documentary "The Modern Antiquarian (A Megalithic Road Trip)" from 2000 [better version here] based on Julian Cope's book of the same name. The documentary demonstrates Cope's interest in Neolithic finds and is an extensive field trip with Cope as tour guide to various interesting prehistoric finds in Southern England, Scotland, and Orkney. With images of the magnificent nature and ancient stones, the music comes into its own right - which again shows us that this music is suitable as an accompaniment to a visual side that the album itself lacks.

If nothing else, Rite shows some of Cope's sources of inspiration with ties to a more experimental side, which at the same time points in the direction of the perhaps more exciting collaboration with Thighpaulsandra (aka Tim Lewis, who later should become an essential part of the space rock band Spiritualized), and together they form the duo Queen Elizabeth, who released the homonymous debut album in '94.

Not recommended.

The Durutti Column "Sex and Death" (1994)

Sex and Death
release date: Nov. 1994
format: digital (facd2.01)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Stephen Street, Vini Reilly
label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Anthony" - 2. "The Rest of My Life" - 3. "For Colette" - 6. "My Irascible Friend" - 7. "Believe in Me" - 11. "Madre Mio"

9th "real" studio album by The Durutti Column released on Factor Too and co-produced by Stephen Street and Vini Reilly. As on Obey the Time (1990) and the successor Fidelity (1996) Reilly has really picked up electronic as his new musical playground. It's still music created for guitar but in an ambient electronic soundscape with the addition of traditional strings (violin and cello), and this release is much more interesting. The album was released on the new-founded label Factory Too, founded by Tony Wilson (co-founder of Factory Records) in the ashes of Factory Records, however, this new label didn't survive long as it was closed in 1996.
Without being one of of his best, the album offers some fine compositions where the overall impression is that Reilly is still searching for his style.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]