Posts tagged Los Campesinos

Los Campesinos! – By Your Hand

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5 months ago
in ,

If ! were ever going to live up the Nosferatu D2 mantra of every band you love letting you down eventually, it seemed as if now would be that point.  After three spectacular albums, the band has undergone a fundamental shift in it’s lineup for fourth album Hello Sadness, with three of the seven members of the band departing and being replaced.  As such, I’ve been a little bit wary about the direction the band would take from this point, so I’m greatly relieved by just how good first single By Your Hand has turned out to be.

Continuing the path into more personal territory that stood out on the last record, the band describe Hello Sadness as “ten songs of love, loss and heartbreak nail-gunned to a back-drop of broken, tangled bodies, creeping, dead-eyed animals, suffocating, looming shadows and World Cup exits. It is an honest, bare bones documentation of breaking up and trying not to break up in the process.”  By Your Hand is the opener, and given that by the time we reached the end of the first verse we’re already hearing about girls vomiting on Gareth’s rental tux, I suspect this is just the tip of a rather painful iceberg.

Hello Sadness will be released on November 14.  The band are offering an advance bundle including the album, a demo CD, a DVD and a t-shirt for £25, or £20 if you’ve got Heat Rash.  Pretty good deal I’d say.  You can get it through their web store.  This was taken rather badly by Avalanche Records.

MP3 Los Campesinos! – By Your Hand

Website / Twitter

DJing in Rochester this Friday!

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8 months ago
in ,

A shameless bit of self promotion here, but I’ll be guest DJing at the delightful Moogie Wonderland indiepop clubnight this Friday in merry olde Rochester.  Free entry, 8pm-2am at Oliver’s (which used to be Enigma) on the High Street.  Full details available here.

Things that may or may not be on the playlist:

Top 24 Songs of 2010

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1 year ago
in ,

The song list this year has a lot of crossover with the records list from yesterday.  I suppose that is to be expected to a certain degree, but I get it’s a little repetitive for me to be banging on about the same bands over and over again.  Still, that’s the nature of these lists, and I’m not going to throw in other things for the sake of it.

1. ! – A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State, or, Letters from Me to Charlotte

Los Campesinos! manage to win the double, taking both best record and song of the year.  If I’m perfectly honest, the song choice is pretty arbitrary.  Letters from Me to Charlotte just about stands out in front to me, but it could have just as easily been The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future or In Medias Res.  Or about half of the album to be honest.

2. – Fairweather Friends

Another one where I spent a fair bit of time trying to decide exactly which song from the record to go with, before settling on Fairweather Friends.  It’s probably best represents the EP, as well as the Superman Revenge Squad project as a whole.  The usual topics are on the agenda here: death, looking back on past relationships and irritating people at gigs.  All topped off with some beautiful strings.

MP3 Superman Revenge Squad – Fairweather Friends

3. – Dancing


Dancing is probably the most personal song on the Standard Fare album, yet it still sums up the band perfectly.  You’ve got heart on sleeve verses about breakups and getting back together interspersed with rapid sections about how dancing will make everything okay.  If any band could sum up the state of the current indiepop scene, it’s this.

MP3 Standard Fare – Dancing

4. – Say No to Love

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart just bring good feelings.  I was slower to warm to them than most, but in the past year, I’ve fallen for them completely.  Say No to Love is a lovely little bridge between the first and second albums, and while it doesn’t mess with the formula too much, it’s just too wonderful for me to complain about that.  Quite possibly my favourite current band for videos too.

MP3 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love

5. – Try Try Try

This song pretty much hit me out of nowhere in the summer when I saw Antarctica Takes It! live twice in a couple of days.   I was only familiar with their first album at that point, so Try Try Try was quite a surprise as there’s nothing like it on there.  The vocals on it might not be as strong as some of their others, but the lyrics and the way it’s constructed more than make up for that.

6. – Rabbit Kids

I love pretty much everything on Life! Death! Prizes! so you get Rabbit Kids pretty much entirely because I love the video so much.

7. – Harriet, by Proxy

It’d be easy to dismiss Johnny Foreigner at this point.  Two albums in and they haven’t achieved the success they rightly deserve, but hopefully a shift to the plucky Alcopop! will give them a new boost.  The brilliantly titled new EP You Thought You Saw A Shooting Star But Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears And That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With The Sky So Clear And Sea So Calm shows the band exploring newer territory too.  Harriet, by Proxy is the most obviously JoFo song on there, and reminds us exactly why we were so excited about the band in 2007.

Listen on Music Fan’s Mic

8. Allo Darlin’ – Dreaming

Allo Darlin’ could do no wrong this year, and Dreaming was the pinnacle of their work.  The song features the guest vocals of Monster Bobby that gives this a rather Heavenly-ish vibe, which is no bad thing.  The video was shot during London Popfest last year and is just lovely.  Wandering around London late at night has never looked so enjoyable.

9. – Smash Hits

Quite possibly the oldest song to be included here, but I only discovered it this year, and it was on Kid Canaveral’s debut album this year, so I’m going with it.  A brilliantly snobbish tale of the horrors of dating a girl whose “music taste’s shite” that’s just great fun.

10. The – I Need Your Mind

I came late to The Broken Family Band party, so I’m jumping in early with Singing Adams, the new band of BFB front man Steven Adams.  If you’re already familiar with his former band, you know what to expect here.  The alt-country leanings may have been toned down considerably, but there’s more than enough of the same catchy pop sensibilities and witty lyrics to go around.  As a debut single, I Need Your Mind is remarkably self-assured and firmly cements the band as one to go to big things this year.

11. – Euston Station


12. Belle & Sebastian – I Want the World to Stop


One of the few bright lights from a horrendously disappointing album.

13. – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?

Playful enough to be a nice easy listen, while also resonating a little more for those who have been in such a situation.  Exactly what any good pop record should be doing then.

MP3 Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?

14. – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)

This Many Boyfriends continue the long indiepop tradition of entirely songs based around references to other bands.  Not just the Pastels either.  Springsteen, The Go-Betweens and if I’m not mishearing, The Cribs all manage to get themselves mentioned in the song.  There’s not much more to it beyond these references, but it still has a rather endearing charm to it.  It sounds rough and ready, which is about the only style you can go with when your spending three minutes comparing music tastes with a loved one.

MP3 This Many Boyfriends – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)

15. – Boyfriend Devoted

16. – Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK

Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK (which the nerd in me really hopes is a Buffy reference) may be their finest release yet, striking the perfect balance between 90s US indie rock throwback and their own sound.  If any band has a chance of making it big in 2011, it’s Stagecoach.

17. The Just Joans – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book

A glorious tale that manages to combine two somewhat conflicting topics: religion and masturbation.  It’s hard to imagine many bands that could get away with lyrics like “struggling with the word of god / a hand on my bible, a hand on my knob”, putting The Just Joans into a rather unique position.

MP3 The Just Joans – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book

18. – The Winter Stories

Listen on Myspace

19. – Afraid of Everyone

20. – Whitechapel Boys

Listen on Myspace

21. – Are Philosophers Lonely?

Short and to the point, Are Philosophers Lonely? addresses exactly what the title suggests.  Are philosophers destined to be by themselves?  Moving between wryly comic images (philosophers eating tv dinners) and something rather more melancholy (“even their sweethearts don’t know what they’re talking about”).

MP3 Soda Fountain Rag – Are Philosophers Lonely?

22. – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two

City of Glass, the debut album by Love Ends Disaster! was a favourite of the year, and while there’s some stunning songs on it, it’s this one that stands out.  Conventional wisdom would suggest I was swayed by a Doctor Who reference, but there’s more to it than that.  That might have got my attention in the first place, but it’s just a really good song regardless.  There’s the kind of melancholy vibe that always works for me, but it also has the “this should really be a hit anthem” quality to it too.  Throw in some actual TARDIS sounds as well and you’re on to a winner.

MP3 Love Ends Disaster! – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two (live)

23. – I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me

I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me is literally what it sounds like, a joyous celebration of the fact that a woman seems to like our narrator, despite the fact he knows absolutely nothing about her. Why let pesky details like that get in the way? That we end up with lines like “I can’t wait to tell my girlfriend” makes it all the more perfect.

MP3 Roadside Poppies – I’ve Just Been Told That A Woman Fancies Me

24. – The Bike Song

The Grave Architects really don’t sound like anything I’d expect a band (presumably) named after a Pavement song to sound like.  The first part of the song might just get away with it.  A little on the quaint side perhaps, but what do you expect for a song that starts “the first love of my life was not a girl, it was my very first bike”?  It tells a fun little story of learning how to ride a bike and falling in love with cycling.  Then about a minute in, it turns into, of all things, a rap epic.  Yes, rap.  And somehow it gets away with it.  Nothing I can say here is going to do justice to a terribly white man with his fluorescent shirt and cycle helmet rapping about evil motorists cutting him up.  Of course, that’s not it.  It then decides to just rock out a bit, proclaiming, with full earnestness “I love my bike!” over and over.  It’s all utterly stupid, but every time I watch the video above I find myself grinning from ear to ear.  I think my favourite part of it is actually watching the people biking in the background and their reaction to the singer’s antics.  Brilliant stuff.

Top 10 Records of 2010

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1 year ago
in

So 2010 turned out to be the year where my enjoyment of indiepop turned into a full blown obsession.  Pretty much everything I’ve listened to (or rather, listened to and liked) this year falls into the genre, or at the very least, flirts with it in some way.  So any end of year lists will be rather myopic genre wise.  I simply haven’t listened to most of the critically acclaimed albums released this year, nor do I care to.  Regularly now I will look at Pitchfork and not even recognise a single band on it’s front page.  A few years ago that would have bothered me.  Not now.  So if indiepop isn’t your thing, this probably isn’t for you.  But then given that’s about all I post these days anyway, you probably buggered off months ago anyway.

A small caveat to this list: I originally planned to write this as an album list, but then it occurred that some of my favourite releases this year have been EPs.  So I opened it up a bit to include them.  Because it’s my blog, and my list, and I can do whatever the hell I like.

1. ! – Romance is Boring

So let’s talk about you for a minute..

So opens the third Los Campesinos! record, before proceeding to spend fifteen songs doing exactly the opposite.  Which on the basis of the previous two albums is hardly a surprise.  Gareth has always been a horribly/wonderfully solipsistic songwriter, and while the imagery may have grown more elaborate, the same basis premise is here: Airing ones issues through the medium of song.

It’s an idea that may have started to grow tired by now, if not for the fact the band behind him have evolved greatly too.  While certain songs (There Are Listed Buildings, Straight In At 101) are recognisable when compared to the Hold On Now, Youngster… era, much of the album isn’t.  We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed hinted at grander things, and Romance is Boring follows though.  As an album, it’s remarkable how all over the place it is, and yet it still works as a coherent whole.

It would have been easy for a band like Los Campesinos! to keep churning out You! Me! Dancing! on record after record, but they seem to have no interest in doing so.  It’s a gamble, and one that sometimes misfires (Who Fell Asleep In still feels slightly out of place), but overall, it’s a stunningly well constructed album.  The intimidating part is how much further they can go down this route.  We’re a long way from even two and a half years ago, when I boldly proclaimed that they would be the “best band to only release one album”.  That I’m happy to be proved wrong is one thing, that each album manages to improve on the last is astounding.

MP3 Los Campesinos! – The Sea is a Good Place to Place of the Future

2. Allo Darlin’ – Allo Darlin’

I feel like dancing on my own, to a record that I do not own

Allo Darlin’ were a band I was drawn to in 2009, and fell in love with in 2010.  They also managed to become my most seen live band too, with me managing to squeeze in six of their gigs over the course of the year.  There’s nothing particularly original about Allo Darlin’, and indeed, many have written them off as “the usual twee bollocks” or the such.  Which is fine, but they aren’t claiming to do anything particularly new.  The point is that they do what they do incredibly well.

What we’ve got here are straight up, simple, jangly pop songs.  Call and response male-female vocals are here.  Handclaps are here.  Excerpts of Weezer and others are here.  Lyrically, you’re running through the usual subjects: unrequited love, pop culture and exactly why you keep playing in a band when making no money.  As a representation of exactly what the DIY scene of today, nothing tops it.

MP3 Allo Darlin’ – My Heart is a Drummer

3. – The Noyelle Beat

I’m only twenty two, I still don’t know what it is that I’m supposed to do

It’s hard for me to disassociate Standard Fare from Allo Darlin’, which may explain their similar position here.  Both were noticed by me around the same kind of time, I’ve seen the two play together repeatedly, and both released stunning debut albums in the first part of the year.  The Noyelle Beat is a scrappier album than it’s counterpart, and one that leaves you wondering just how three people manage to make so much noise.

MP3 Standard Fare – Dancing

4. – Dead Crow Blues

All those people who come to my gigs and talk through my set / To them it’s just another half hour in the pub, but I’ll never forget

There’s something depressing about Dead Crow Blues, the fourth Superman Revenge Squad release, and it’s not just in the music.  Sure, Ben Parker isn’t the happiest of souls, but this stems more from the fact no one seems to be taking any notice.  Between the stunning Nosferatu D2 album (only £3.99 – GO!) and these SRS EPs, the man is proving himself as one of the best songwriters in the country.  Lack of recognition aside though, this is by far his strongest work yet.  Musically little has changed (a guitar, the odd strings, and for the first time, a drum machine on one song), but that’s for the best as Parker’s delivery of his lyrics is by far the main appeal here.

MP3 Superman Revenge Squad – Fairweather Friends

5. – Life! Death! Prizes!

Maybe we should run to my dirty flat, talk about the things that make us sad

I didn’t get on with Shrag’s first album for the longest time, and it really only clicked for me a few months before I picked up this one.  Life! Death! Prizes! works far more immediately than it’s predecessor, even if it’s hard to tell why.  The music is slightly more developed, and some of the more abrasive vocal deliveries have been restrained, but it’s pretty much more of the same.  It’s loud, fast and catchy.  All elements that likely explain why it spent more time in my car CD player than any other record this year.

MP3 Shrag – Tights in August

..and rounding out the top ten:

6. – Shouting at Wildlife

7. – Teatime Favourites

8. – Living and Growing

9. – You Thought You Saw a Shooting Star but Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears and That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With the Sky So Clear and Sea So Calm

10. – City of Glass

Los Campesinos! – Too Many Flesh Suppers

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1 year ago
in

! are one of those bands where even their weakest material is still infinitely more interesting than what most other bands put out.  Too Many Flesh Suppers is the ideal demonstration of this.  Recorded as part of the Romance is Boring sessions, it was eventually left off of the album, finally being used as a b-side and an iTunes bonus song.  It’s not hard to see why it didn’t quite fit.  It’s not as coherent as most of the other songs on the record, jumping around all over the place, and it also has the kind of pace that would have cause a slight drag, similar to how Who Fell Asleep In does already.  Yet it’s by no means a bad song.  If I’d heard this from any other band, I’d likely be very excited about it, even if it’s little more than a curiosity for a Los Campesinos! fan.

Los Campesinos! will play an NME Awards Show (yeah, me neither) with Summer Camp at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on February 2.  Heat Rash, whatever that might be, is apparently coming soon.

MP3 Los Campesinos! – Too Many Flesh Suppers

Website / Twitter

Live: Los Campesinos! // The Garage, London

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1 year ago
in ,

This will likely be less of a review and more generally excited babble about how much I enjoyed this gig.  Because I did.  It seems that ! can’t disappoint me live.  And this was my fifth time seeing them.  First time was the epic show that had me, a friend and 150 A&R types at their first London gig in 2006.  Second was at the Spitz in 2007 which also had the mighty and Nosferatu D2 playing their final show.  After that it was the utterly insane Reading 2008 performance, and then their Electric Ballroom effort later that year.

First up were the brilliant though, who I was also seeing for the fifth time.  Walked into the place a few minutes into their set and they were already tearing up the room.  They ran through a good chunk of Grace and the Bigger Picture, as well as, if I’m not mistaken, at least one new one.  The inevitable highlight though was Gareth Campesinos! joining the band onstage to take lead vocals for a storming rendition of Criminals.

Next up was Frankie & the Heartstrings.  They were alright.  I suspect I would have enjoyed them a bit more if I’d actually known any of their songs beforehand.

It was clearly Los Campesinos! that everyone was there to see though, and that carried over to an incredibly boisterous performance.  The band opted for a greatest hits package, including songs that hardly ever get a live airing, which made the night all the more special.  The International Tweexcore Underground, My Year in Lists and Knee Deep at ATP were all busted out, along with a good chuck of Romance is Boring.  On record the differences between early LC! and current LC! is becoming increasingly pronounced, but live they throw themselves into everything with equal verve.  The gentler songs from four years ago manage to have the same energy as the current ones do.  A lot of this is down to the way Gareth lets loose on every single song (including the inevitable taking to the crowd), and I’m sure he must have lost about half of his bodyweight in sweat by the time the gig was over last night.

A brilliant gig all round.  Below you’ll find a new version of Romance is Boring taken from the new Los Campesinos! EP that went on sale last night.

MP3 Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring (Princess version)

The All’s Well That Ends Well EP features four new versions of songs from the Romance is Boring album.  It’s available directly from Wichita Recordings, or at selected record stores.  By which I suspect “selected” means all three that are still open.  10″ only, of course.  And labels wonder why they struggle for sales..

Website / Myspace / Twitter

22 Songs

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2 years ago
in ,

I’ve missed far too much music in the past year to make a proper best of list, so instead, here’s a list of 22 songs that I’ve loved from 2009. Listed in alphabetical order, not preference. Even though all of them are bloody good.

– Preaching to the Converted
So 2009 didn’t turn out to be the year that 4 or 5 Magicians finally “made it”. They did manage to put out their first proper album though, and despite a few missteps, it’s an excellent start. Dan Ormsby’s great talent as a songwriter shine through throughout, perfectly chronicling both a struggling band and the state of the country side by side.
Obama is your new Che Guevara / Scouting for Girls are your new Nirvana / You’ve written ‘Free Tibet’ on the back of your hand / But you figure Tibet is a part of Iran
Youtube

Allo Darlin’ – Henry Rollins Don’t Dance
Pretty much the song of the year for me, although The Polaroid Song put in another strong effort for Allo Darlin’ Seemingly going from strength to strength at the moment, I’m half expecting them to be everywhere this year.
But in my head you’re Patrick Swayze / You drag me from the corner and call me ‘baby’ / But baby you don’t even wanna see Dirty Dancing
Youtube

– Another City, Another Sorry
The album as a whole never quite lived up to the promise, but The Answering Machine did manage to deliver some superb individual songs. Kind of what the Arctic Monkeys might be sounding like now if they hadn’t turned to shit.
I’m sort of lacking certainty / Situations tease the drunk out of me
mp3

– Demons Out!
Three albums in and Art Brut seem to be stuck in a holding pattern. No real advancement in terms of songs or abilities. A set of decent songs that are a hell of a lot better when performed live due to the natural charisma of Eddie Argos. I suspect Art Brut are about as a popular as they are ever going to be at this point. Which is why we can expect plenty more songs like Demons Out! in the future.
How am I supposed to sleep at night when no one likes the music we write / Record buying public, we hate them / This is Art Brut vs. Satan
Youtube

– French Navy
2009 seemed to be the year that Camera Obscura finally came into their own, to the extent that after 13 years, the band were finally able to give up their day jobs. Each album has seen the band grow considerably, with more complex and elaborate arrangements making their way in. It might have taken a while, but they certainly aren’t the “female Belle & Sebastian” any longer.
Spent a week in a dusty library / Waiting for some words to jump at me
Youtube

– Horoscope
The album was a little patchy, but Horoscope is an excellent little song. Mattias Björkas’s voice is the standout attraction here. He may sound like a Euro-Morrissey, but it’s incredibly easy to drift away in his voice.
I don’t believe in happy ever after / A pyramid scheme, I keep telling you
mp3

– Pink Sabbath
A band that creates such a ruckus that they require a whole new genre has to be created for them (fight pop). Dananananaykroyd’s album was an assault on the ears from start to finish, but in a good way. If such a thing is possible.
Buy it, run it, kick it, fuck it, yeah
mp3

– First Love
It took her the best part of five years, but Emmy the Great’s debut album just about lived up the high expectations. Boldly leaving off a number of “old favourites” in favour of a more structured collection, the album is a grower, but worth investing the time in.
You said I have a room / At the top of the stairs / I have a room with a view
Youtube

– Something Global
Possibly the most exciting band that I came across this year, I can’t think of album that has anywhere near as much play on my car stereo. And boy does it sound superb when bombing along at speed. Wonderfully unhinged.
So give me my hook / I know it might sound lame / Do you like my new look? / Waistcoats are so today
Youtube

– The Year of Letting You Down
The first of two songs on this list to feature Catherine Ireton, who quickly became one of my favourite voices. A small start for someone who deserves to be huge.
I met with a little success in my work / You wouldn’t call it taking off / But you wouldn’t call it starving
mp3

–
..and here’s the second. For some reason that’s baffling to me, the Gold Help the Girl album didn’t seem to get the acclaim I expected it to. The fact it’s not showing up on many end of year lists is deeply confusing to me, but I suppose you can’t win them all. The song choice here is pretty arbitrary, as it could have just as easily been I’ll Have To Dance With Cassie, Musician Please Take Heed or a handful more.
The dawn will touch me in a way a boy could never touch / Their promise never meant so much to me
Youtube

– Choose Yr Side and Shut Up!
An excellent song from what was an ultimately disappointing second album. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it and all, but it doesn’t even come close to Waited Up Til It Was Light. This album opener hints at the bigger things in store though. Short and to the point, it has anthem written all over it.
So we scattered pretty / Arcs across the city / Turned pockets of doubt / Into blankets of hope
Youtube

Let’s Wrestle – We Are The Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon
A slightly disjointed debut album from Let’s Wrestle still brought us a bunch of excellent little songs, if nothing incredibly exciting. Still, a band very much of their time. Few others can so perfectly articulate life in modern Britain.
We’re going down the job centre / And soon we’ll come out with a job
Youtube

Loney, Dear – Surroundings
Typically late to the party with stuff like this, I never got into Loney, Dear (is there a comma or not?) much when the critically loved Loney, Noir came out. I absolutely love Airport Surroundings though. You’d think that would inspire me to check out the rest of the album, but I still haven’t got around to it. One day.
The last pain got away when I gave up myself / I bought a ticket to hell when I met up with you
mp3

! – The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
Utterly, utterly perfect. The album is quite good too. So I’m told.
I ask her to speak French and then I need her to translate / I get the feeling she makes the meaning more significant
mp3

– Footsteps
The debut album from Pocketbooks delivered on all of the promise of the past few years. One indie pop gem after another, it makes me very excited for the future. From their adoration soaked performance at Indietracks to high profile support slot of God Help the Girl, bigger things are almost certainly in their future.
From the supermarket aisles to the dance floors of provincial towns / I’d occupy my vacant hours just waiting for something
mp3

– Molten Hearts
It always great when you discover a great band that is still rocking as if it’s 1994, and that’s exactly what Projekt A-ko do. Distortion, lazy vocals and even the odd “woo”. More like this in 2010 please.
I’ve got no fashion sense / I haven’t got any sense / I’ll never make any sense
Lastfm

– Break
Another band unashamedly influenced by the 90s US indie rock scene, Stagecoach bring the sound of Seattle to Brighton. Break is three minutes of song perfection, from a band we’ll be hearing a lot more of in the near future.
It’s not like her to cross the line / But she crossed it before and she’s gonna cross it one more time / Shit breaks / I kick in her face
mp3

– Super Sad Morgan
Pretty much any song from the supremely talented Ben Parker could have made it onto the list. I actually debated placing a Nosferatu D2 song on here, but it seemed to be pushing things a little. His songs are a masterclass in the writing of lyrics. Quite why a label hasn’t snapped him up is completely beyond me.
If someone mentions Woolworths again I think I’m gonna combust / We stole all of the Pic ‘n’ Mix from out her hearts
Lastfm

– Black Heart Blue Eyes
One of the most beautiful songs of the year from a band I really need to listen to more of. Black Heart Blue Eyes has such a wonderfully theatrical sound to it, topped off with some perfectly snappy wordplay.
Bigotry’s obligatory around here / There’s nothing for me to defend / Just got to go
mp3

– Berlin, Without Return…
Everything that the debut album should have been but never managed. Ramesh Srivastava’s vocal is as pitch perfect as ever, once again with a song worthy of his talents.
Do you spend your whole life trying to get back home? / Where do you go?
Youtube

– The Wolf
Now a fully formed band, The Young Republic may not be the same band they were a few years ago, but they know exactly what they want to be. Shifting from orchestral indie pop to Americana isn’t the easiest leap, but they’ve pulled it off with style. Incredibly self assured.
It hasn’t been this bad since my grandpa was a kid / He made it through, he never told us what he did
Youtube

New Los Campesinos! video – There Are Listed Buildings

0
2 years ago
in

One day ! are going to break my heart. It’s actually amazing that they haven’t already given my usual somewhat brief flings with bands. Generally it’s album before it all goes to hell, sometimes not even that long. ! have been the band I have most consistently enjoyed since starting this blog thing. A lot of bands have come close to the excitement they manage to generate in me (*, , ), but no one quite pips them. Three and a bit years on from first covering them, I’m writing about songs from their third album with just the same admiration as back then.

There was some concern when The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future appeared that we’d moved past the upbeat, manic incarnation of the band. Shades of a more restrained, thoughtful version of the band were previously hinted at on the last album, so it wouldn’t have been too surprising. There Are Listed Buildings puts those fears to rest. While not as loose as the original You! Me! Dancing! days, it still feels like something that would have been right at home last time around. This is the sound of a band on the very cusp of legendary indie status. It’s just going to take one perfect record to tip them over the top.

The third, currently untitled, album from Los Campesinos! is due to be released early next year. Presumably on Wichita.

* The same Johnny Foreigner that have an upcoming album called Grace and the Bigger Picture on Best Before Records. That everyone else seems to have received a promo for except me. I mean, it’s not a big deal. I certainly don’t expect promo material. Ever. Even if it’s the album I’m most excited about this year. Not like Another Form of Relief was the very first music blog to cover them god knows how long ago. Oh no. Not that I’m bitter or anything.**

** Seriously, I’m not. All in jest. Just really want to hear the damn thing.

New Los Campesinos! – The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future

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2 years ago
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At times, it’s difficult to believe that ! are the same band that leaped onto the scene a mere three years ago with You! Me! Dancing!. Since then, it’s seemed as if the band wanted to get away from that song, or rather that general sound of slapdash joy. Second album We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed seemed to suggest that a move into darker, more complex territory was inevitable.

Which leads us to The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future. It’s certainly bleaker than previous efforts, both lyrically (battles with anorexia, drug use, kissing Tories) and musically. This is all slow builds with strings dominating, into the occasional explosion of noise. It’s never excitable like their previous work though. This is a song that has been precisely arranged into a thing of beauty.

I don’t know if this is what we can expect from Los Campesinos! going forward or whether we’ll be getting a mixture of this and the old shouty chaos, but on the basis of this, either one would be fine with me.

The third, currently untitled, album from Los Campesinos! is due to be released, er, sometime in the future. I think I read January somewhere. Whether or not this song is on it I couldn’t tell you. I’m a fountain of information me.

If we were in charge of.. The Mercury Music Prize

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2 years ago
in

When I was first approached by BBC Music to put together a list of albums I think should be nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, I was initially hesitant. First of all because I don’t much care for awards, and if I’m honest, have never paid attention to the Mercury Prize. Secondly, because I hardly ever listen to complete albums these days. I want to be an elitist snob and pretend that I do, but most of my music is absorbed via an iPod on shuffle.

Throwing around the year’s music in my head though, I realised that it’s actually been a bloody good year for British music. I initially came up with a couple of albums, then a couple more, and it kept going from there. In the interests of brevity, I’ve limited the final tally to seven exceptional albums and a handful of honourable mentions at the end. I don’t expect a single one of these to actually be nominated for the prize, but hey, I’m happy to be proved wrong.

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Okay, so it’s not a radical departure for the Belle & Sebastian mould for Stuart Murdoch’s solo/side/whatever project, but that’s no bad thing. It’s not often these days that albums tend to tell a complete story, and that is what we have here. Ably held together by Catherine Ireton and an array of guests, it’s not absolutely perfect – the Funny Little Frog cover is especially misguided – but it unashamedly embraces the album format when everyone else seems to be fleeing from it.

MP3 God Help The Girl – Come Monday Night

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Dananananaykroyd

– Hey Everyone!

I’m under no illusions that the prize would ever get near an album like this, but that doesn’t make it any less deserving. To find a band with this much energy on stage is rare enough in itself, but to get the same urgency on record is near impossible. Dananananaykroyd manage it, giving us one of the finest debut albums in years. It’s loud, it’s messy, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

MP3 Dananananaykroyd – Pink Sabbath

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Camera Obscura

– My Maudlin Career

Camera Obscura give us three out of three so far for the Scots. It felt like Camera Obscura had reached their peak with their previous album Let’s Get Out Of This Country. Then My Maudlin Career pops up and blows it out of the water with it’s beautifully textured songs. It’s taken more than a decade, but this is the album Camera Obscura were destined to make.

MP3 Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career

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Emmy the Great

– First Love

Out of all of the albums on this list, I’d imagine First Love is the one most likely to turn up on any Mercury lists if any of them do. I can’t quite pinpoint why, but Emmy does seem to fit the slightly left of the centre singer-songwriter style that seems to have made the lists in previous years. The album is a grower for sure, but there is some stunning songwriting on display here. Emmy has only barely scratched the surface of what she is capable of.

MP3 Emmy the Great – We Almost Had A Baby

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Los Campesinos!

! – We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Los Campesinos! remain the most posted band on this blog, and rightly so. Coming out with a good first album and then following it up with one of the best albums of the year within six months is no mean feat. Evolving beyond the “tweexcore” fun of the first, this is an album that actually has emotional depth and philosophy added to the proceedings. All while still continuing to sound like quite nothing else that’s around at the moment.

MP3 Los Campesinos! – We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

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Thomas Tantrum

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Thomas Tantrum pick up right where the dearly missed Life Without Buildings left off. Rough, random songs jump all over the place, but the appeal here is in the voice of Megan Thomas. Breezily floating between gentle and slightly unhinged, she gives the songs an unpredictable air. That their debut album is so strong is all the more impressive given they were a pretty mediocre live band only a year earlier.

Video Thomas Tantrum – Work It

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Aidan Moffat

& The Best Ofs – How To Get To Heaven From Scotland

Seems only fitting that we end with yet another Scottish album, resulting in them making up more than half of the list. It’s taken Aidan Moffat a little while to find the project that suits him after Arab Strap split, but The Best Ofs seems to be it. Allowing his songwriting and voice to be front and centre plays right into his strengths and results in an album more consistent than anything he and Middleton put out.

MP3 Aidan Moffat & The Best Ofs – Big Blonde

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Honourable mentions
– Reservoir
– Inside Your Guitar
– I Worked On The Ships
– The Golden Spike

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