Eskimo Joe have just released their brand new album only weeks ago. To this one bear it feels like a departure from the old. The single bouncing all around radio at the moment Foreign Land is also the album’s opener. Sadly Foreign Land is a goodbye to the past Eskimo Joe.
The new album really kicks off with Losing Friends over Love. It’s a mature Eskimo that we’re greeted with. This new album is littered with hooks and catchy melodies. These melodies are so much more subtle and this is shown in the songs complexity. They are so simple and still deep. Perhaps the stand out track is Sound of Your Heart, which could have easily have been written by any love-drenched fool but fits into the sound of this album so well.
The album closes out with Please Elise and Morning Light. Please Elise is another catchy pop-rock tune that sounds like it was written for Aussie band End Of Fashion. Oh hang on ….. It was written by the lead singer of End Of Fashion. While Morning Light is a climatic rock tune filled with acoustic guitars strings and a soft voice which builds and builds upon its layers. It’s a album which takes a few listens to get a hold of , and in some ways it’s a shame this wasn’t released in summer because some of these songs have a great summer vibe to them. Definitely worth checking out.
VB.
Art vs. Science are a 3-piece from Sydney waiting to subscribe you to their chaotic-electro party. You might have seen them across the country on their debut EP Launch Tour, Good Vibrations , the Ben Sherman Tour, at Triple J’s One Night Stand or even this weekend at the Come Together Festival. They’ve been around.
They come out swinging with Flippers, the debut single. A crunchy and kooky party anthem and with infectious lyrics like ‘use your flippers to get down’ you cant resist. Sure there is a tinge of electro but its utilised in such a way you don’t feel too dirty and disgusting after each listen. Following Flippers is Parlez Vous Francais which might be the single to break them. Again it’s a mish mash party anthem featuring thick guitar riffs non-sensical lyrics and is a tune perfect for that house party your planning while your parents are away this weekend.
The EP finishes on a wishy-washy note. Hollywood finishes the EP is like a conclusion on an essay. It tries to sum up the EP. It’s a cut and paste of all the textures making up this band and as a track its pretty disappointing. Overall this is a bright light in the Aussie music scene they’ll burn the torch nice and bright, not sure for how long but they will definitely follow in the famous footsteps of Midnight Juggernauts.
VB
Here is a dose of strange music news, courtesy of one of the most interesting producers going around - Danger Mouse.
Danger Mouse (one half of Gnarls Barkley) has collaborated with singer-songwriter Sparklehorse, and with a long list of musical contributions from some big names, Dark Night of the Soul has been hotly anticipated ever since it was first announced.
And then record label EMI stepped in, and halted the physical release of the album due to an unspecified dispute with the artists. The result? Danger Mouse is releasing the album as a blank CD-R, inviting fans to download the music from illegal sources.
Danger Mouse 1, EMI 0.
Check the story out here.
CB
Spotted this one on NME.com, its nice to see some ambitious musicians but maybe they have their sights set a little too high... let us a know what you think ? Leave us a comment!
Hey guys,
Here is another taste of the upcoming Placebo album, Battle for the Sun. Album comes out on June 5th.
Enjoy
CB
Royksopp emerged from the ice and anonymity of Norway in 2001 with their debut record ‘Melody AM’. A delightful little morsel of chill out pop sprinkled in the warm glow of the synth. The last release in 2005, ‘The Understanding’, flirted with a trancier hard side of dance music. If ‘Junior’ were a soup it would have the right amount of every ingredient. Its part pop, part storming electro, part ballad, part beautiful. Something for everyone. The album’s first track and single ‘Happy Up Here’, is a perfect opener, as it welcomes new listeners to the Royksopp sound. It doesn’t stray very far from the Royksopp formula of warm, up beat synths paired with intoxicating vocals. The track receiving the most dap is ‘The Girl & The Robot’ featuring Robyn of ‘Konichiwa Bitches’ fame. It is part pumping dance tune, part heart breaker layered amongst a crunchy melody. Continuing the collaborations Lykke Li pops up on ‘Miss It so Much” which sounds like a track that was created purely for her, and would fit perfectly on any Lykke Li record (please release more music Lykke Li!!!). Closing out the guests on the album is Karin from The Knife and her cameo on ‘Tricky Tricky’ which might just find its way on to a few compliations later this year when remixes start filtering out, its definitely got some life to it and it’s a nice change of direction for Royksopp. Although Royksopp have dived into newer edgier sounds, this album is paced really well due to the slower, down tempo tracks that are the glue for this record. Tracks like ‘Vision One’, ‘Royksopp Forever’, ‘ Silver Cruiser’ and particularly ‘You Don’t Have A Clue’ provide the alum with its most intimate and delicate moments. Royksopp craft these tracks so well, it’s hard to find anyone who does down-tempo so well these days. This a album that pulls the best bits from the past, reshapes it and produces something essential for 2009. It’s an album worth buying because it doesn’t represent just 2009 or just dance music. It has a bit of everything in it and its timeless, it’ll sound just as good (and relevant) in a few years as it does today. VB
So a few years ago while working for a large and prominent record chain I made a made a judgement way too soon. I called out the Gnarls Barkley record ‘The Odd Couple’. I called it the worst album of the year and personally thought it was the musical let down of the last decade. But I was so wrong! ‘The Odd Couple’ is a modern day soul classic, just sit back and listen to the pain in Cee-lo’s voice. I haven’t seen this live but checking it out on You Tube this album translates even better on stage then it does on record. Check it out: This is a cool cover of Reckoner by Gnarls .. check it out ... So have you ever dismissed or acclaimed a record before you’ve really gotten into it or let it pass you by? VB *CB would like to applaud the seesawing opinion of his co-blogger. There is hope for Vampire Weekend yet! ** VB would like to shout down Vampire Weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!
So here’s who you’ll be seeing at Splendour In The Grass 2009.
Placebo - Sleeping With Ghosts
The April 2003 release of ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’ by indie superstars Placebo is probably going to raise a few eyebrows when suggested as an album of the month. It’s mine because it’s the album that sucked me into Placebo. The melody, the tones, the way the music fits together, the atmosphere – it’s all dark yet polished and unforgettable.
The album has more shades of electronica then any Placebo album before. Perhaps this is reflecting the darker edgier subject matter that the band/ singer is trying to deal with, or possibly trying to see situations as clear-cut when really they are trickier and more difficult then first examined. The stand out track must be the title track ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’. It’s a eerie almost acoustic/electronic track about a tale of loss and comfort with deep synth’s ringing out but still retaining a authentic placebo-esque sound. ‘Bulletproof Cupid’ is a blitzing opener that opens the ears and preparing them for the experience ahead. ‘English Summer Rain’ is another of the stand out tracks on the album; the fusion of synths and guitars is perfected again with both complementing and emphasising the other. The atmosphere that oozes from this track to me anyway hopefully to you guys too creates a feeling that you could easily be in the middle of a muddy (or dry field for those not in the UK) Placebo in front of you and rain drenching every bit of your body.
Memories like these are the crux of the album as Moloko mentions in an interview “For me it's about the relationship that you have with your memories. They inhabit your dreams sometimes. There can be a lot in the future that's gonna remind you of the ghost of relationships past. So I see the album as a collection of short stories about a handful of relationships. Most of them mine.”
This revealing and enthralling collection of songs creates an album for me that I’ll be forever grateful for introducing me to Placebo, and this is one of my favourite albums of the 2000‘s
Till next time
VB!
In a similar vein to a previous post looking at ageing rockers, I have been thinking recently about the virtues of artists or bands that choose to (or are forced to) retire after only one album. Those who are forced are generally speaking called "one-hit wonders", and while this is accurate it often comes with a negative connotation, an expectation that they should have gone on to make many more popular songs, why should artists not be happy that they have been able to make even one good song considering how many of us will never come close?
Not to deny that there is a lot of good music (we wouldn't be writing this blog if there wasn't), there is a difference between goodness and greatness, and a difference between greatness and genius. Amidst the thousands upon thousands of bands and artists that have come and gone, there are only a few that have demonstrated genius over a long time.
Music is literally everywhere today. The rise of the iPod has allowed people to easily create a soundtrack to their lives, and it is easier than ever before for people to create music in the comfort of their own home. In this climate of musical saturation many artists can release multiple albums off the back of one good song, and thanks to commercialism we will continue to buy the albums as they come out. While I believe that pop music is the most guilty of this crime, rock, indy, and electronica all fall foul of repetition.
I personally like the idea of artists or bands setting themselves an end date for their musical career. The Streets is a prominent example, with Mike Skinner having announced early in the bands career that they would be releasing only 5 albums. I am sure that Mike will stay in music, but to have the conviction to call it quits on his own terms is admirable.
Sometimes bands are given their opportunity to quit while they are ahead, and yet ambition, pressures from others, or even greed push them to do one more song, album, or tour. There has been a rash of old rockers returning to the scene in recent years, and I simply cannot see how this improves their image (I am not talking about those artists who have been performing for decades, but rather those who have disbanded for 10 or 20 years only to return in mediocrity).
And then there are bands who make one amazing album, implode, leaving one or two members to pick up the pieces and try and make it work again. INXS was never the same after Hutchence's death. And while I would desperately love to be proven wrong, I fear that the reincarnated Wolfmother will pail in comparison to that amazing first album (although I am a fan of the new single).
So what do you think? Should artists call it quits after one good song, album, or decade? Or should all artists be allowed to continue producing music as long as someone is willing to record it?
CB
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