Another month, more releases to trawl through. There's enough that I've virtually abandoned recently to suggest that the ones left range from pretty good to something special, even when they're not presented in traditional album form:
Savages - Silence Yourself
A post-punk debut that feels like the three decades preceding it didn't happen, Silence Yourself has some fantastic songs and a great overall feel and structure. Listen alongside Iceage's You're Nothing for the ultimate 2013 post-punk experience - it's just as good as that album.
Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap (mixtape)
Chance seems to take his cues from The College Dropout-era Kanye and J. Dilla without necessarily emulating either. "Fun", and "quirky" are words that come to mind. You won't need to listen to Acid Rap too many times for some of these hooks to lodge in your head.
Merchandise - Totale Nite (EP)
A heady 30 minutes of psychedelic space-rock rubbing shoulders with hardcore punk and occasional Depeche Mode-like gritty euphoria. Has to be heard to be believed I suppose.
DJ Rashad - Rollin EP
One of footwork's biggest names releases a 4-track EP on Hyperdub (and I finally hear it). It's hard to choose a highlight, but "Drums Please", a collab with DJ Manny is perhaps my favourite right now. A good month for footwork releases, as a scroll down will reveal...
RP Boo - Legacy / FACT mix 384 - RP Boo (May '13)
What RP Boo can't do with vocal samples isn't worth knowing. The footwork originator's debut album Legacy collects some of his best jackhammer beats from the last 10 years. Meanwhile on his FACT mix he spins some entirely different tracks into a constant 160BPM mix - the way they were meant to be heard.
Inga Copeland - Higher Powers (mixtape)
I've been playing Inga Copeland's Don't Look Back... EP so much that an extra 20 minutes of demo/ additional material was always going to sit well with me. Best here is "A World In Danger III", featuring familiar collaborator Scratcha DVA.
Vår - No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers
A debut concocted of militaristic snares, triumphant acoustic guitar and throbbing electronica, from members of Iceage and Lower. "Vår" translates as "spring", and this group seems to capture a type of youthful abandon, as looming as the shadows of darker subject matter may be.
Bambooman - Hollowed EP
Strange, hypnotic, relaxing instrumental hip hop coming from a man from Leeds. Despite the shortness of the tracks here they come together as an astonishingly developed whole. A few here are definite keepers, and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next.
Them's your lot from me this month. The next Culture Shock mix ought to be coming tomorrow, featuring tracks from releases here (if not try a previous instalment). Next month expect new releases by Boards of Canada, Kanye West, Melt Yourself Down, Young Fathers, Run The Jewels, Holden, Austra and more (bring it on!)
In all honesty I'm not sure if "Reach For The Dead" is the single best piece of music I've listened to all week. However, as with other Boards of Canada fans there's a certain substance to their music that induces a rush of excitement that no long-winded, "mysterious" advertising campaign can't match. I'm not saying I'm immune to this kind of hype: certainly "listen to Tomorrow's Harvest" has been scribbled over my unconscious like love notes to a girly friend, and I'm not trying too hard to resist setting myself up for disappointment. But that's also because I secretly believe that an album with tracks like "Reach For The Dead" simply won't be one.
With early releases such as Twoism and debut album Music Has The Right To Children (if you've only listen to one electronic album, make it this one) Boards of Canada seemed to extract and remove any trace of human arrangement from their music, presenting their CDs as discarded artefacts from another time: collections of music from advertisements, wildlife documentaries and instructional videos allowed to arrange themselves amongst urban decay. Gradually these urbane influences crept out of BoC's subsequent releases and became more pastoral, even more alien. I'm not sure if "Reach For The Dead" is an extension or a departure from this trajectory. Granted the opening hissy synth drone possesses the same haunting quality that has remained a constant in BoC's music (aided along with stretched out and twisted inhuman voice samples), but the lack of percussive elements throughout the first half of the track make this drone sound freer, perhaps lonelier (illustrated to great effect in deserted scenes of the accompanying music video). When the familiar electronic drums arrive they don't so much as propel the track into a new phase as ground it back into inescapable mechanical reality, a sound and theme so far out of time with Boards of Canada that has always sounded timeless.
Tomorrow's Harvest, the new album by Boards of Canada will be released on the 10th June on Warp Records. Pre-order on Bleep and receive an instant MP3 download of "Reach For The Dead".
You know, I was worried. Maybe I wasn't the only one. Maybe I still ought to be. The reputation of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the last Kanye West solo album is only for someone as brilliantly ambitious as the one who made it to be able to face. Far from shying from it, or introducing the new album with a relatively modest or "safe" sound (like those from the intermediary Watch the Throne and Cruel Summer projects), Kanye instead chose to debut two songs for his Saturday Night Live performance that demonstrated the next creative leap of his career.
"New Slaves" had already made it online, as shaky camera phone footage captured a projection of Kanye's head projected onto the side of buildings across the globe, but "Black Skinhead" was entirely new, and even more of a radical departure. Built on the industrial-glam shuffle that underpins Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People", it's surely going to be one of the most divisive stylistic changes in rap this year. But the SNL performance is nothing if thrilling: if MBDTF was Kanye facing and overcoming his demons, here he sounds indistinguishable from them, screaming and yelling in a way that overcomes ridicule by emulating the feeling of genuine menace.
"Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves" will feature on Kanye West's upcoming album Yeezus, out 18th June via G.O.O.D. Music / Def Jam.
I included the first single from James Holden's forthcoming album The Inheritors, "Gone Feral", on this month's edition of the ever-popular Culture Shock, so I suggest you go there if you missed that. This new one, "Renata" is instantly warmer than its predecessor, with its resonant bass tones playing underneath chippy arpeggiators and Holden's signature knocking percussion. It's a slow but sure builder, not unlike Jon Hopkins' recent "Open Eye Signal" (same place), reaching a satisfying plateau about half way through before playing around with jazz rhythm patterns before closing.
Daphni's remix is, for my money, an improvement on Holden's mix. Dan Snaith's approach is usually fun and here he isolates a five-note motif, giving it a similar jazzy percussive treatment but this time with more of a swing, helped along with some chopped up R&B vocal snippets (almost positively Aaliyah, but I don't have time to check, you know the one). This version is more careful to reach its crescendo but is no less effective. I like the way that once the track has appeared to finish, it restarts not once, nor twice, but thrice; paring it back to a progressively 2-step/garage feel each time.
Holden's new album The Inheritors is out on the 17th June on Border Community. The "Renata" single, backed with remixes by Daphni and Steve Moore, is out a week earlier on 10th June.
One of the best qualities reflected in Janelle Monáe's The Archandroid was its robustness, the feeling that it could take you anywhere at any moment, more than likely somewhere you never thought possible. This effect is achieved by that album's effortless track sequencing, which switched up neo-funk and contemporary classical like they were one and the same. Without hearing "Q.U.E.E.N." in the context of its parent album The Electric Lady then probably takes away something from the intended listening experience. However it's an accomplished piece on it's own merit. Erykah Badu brings her signature guest vocals but it's really Janelle who takes centre stage with her girl-friendly lyrics and from-the-shoes-up approach to singing, turning into rapping by the track's climactic final minute. Some nice lead guitar is the other main component of this funky jam.
There was a lot to get through this month, but hopefully I've sorted out (my take on) the great from the merely good. It doesn't help that some of last month's albums spill into this month, or that some records absent from this month's schedule will undoubtedly find their way to me by this time next month, but such is the nature of these things:
Suede - Bloodsports
Having not been particularly familiar with Suede's previous output (I know they were huge, but I'm only young!) I was at first put off by the bombastic approach to production on Bloodsports. But now it's clear to me that it has some truly fantastic songs. Highly recommended to any type of rock music fan.
Steve Mason - Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time not only challenges conventions of singer-songwriter type music, bringing elements of musique concrète, country and electronica together, it also presents itself as a sharp and poignant commentary of the condition of modern Britain.
The Knife - Shaking The Habitual
With Shaking The Habitual the Knife pull off as many interesting ideas as the album has minutes (98 to be precise). A landmark album not only in Swedish electro pop but in the wider tradition of experimental double albums, it stands unique and proud.
A Hawk And A Hacksaw - You Have Already Gone To The Other World
Billed as an alternative soundtrack to accompany the Sergei Parajanov film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (i.e. a concept album around this story), there's little to fault with A Hawk And A Hacksaw's latest. Even without visual accompaniment it's an epic story made of Eastern European-inspired folk songs and mood music. Very enjoyable.
Bells Atlas - Bells Atlas EP
A short set - three songs plus two remixes - from the Oakland-based Bells Atlas, who "capture the spirit of an eclectic range of influences, including Highlife, Hip-Hop, Samba, R&B and aspects of Indie Pop".
James Blake - Overgrown
I haven't listened to this one as much as I'd have liked yet. Nevertheless two years after his debut James Blake is strikes again, with an immaculately produced album expansive enough to seamlessly feature guest placements from both Brian Eno and RZA. If you enjoyed the first you probably know that by now.
Big K.R.I.T. - King Remembered In Time
K.R.I.T.'s new tape reminds you why he expects to live up to his name. Some of the middle few tracks may be out of place in my opinion, but the rest easily matches the best of K.R.I.T.'s other mixtapes. He's Southern rap's answer to Kendrick Lamar, and if you've been following him pick it up below!
Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge - Twelve Reasons To Die
If any Wu-Tang member was going hold my attention with a new album, it was bound to be Ghostface. His new record charts the origin story of his persona, and Adrian Younge's live arrangements help him to successfully recreate the feel of a good old gangster flick.
Demdike Stare - Testpressing#001 / Testpressing#002 (EPs)
I've not given Demdike Stare enough dues with Single of the Week, but these new "Testpressing" releases spiral out of the duo's most experimental tendencies. Which means that each track is different; quite unlike anything I've heard in electronic music. Let's hope there's more to come in this series.
Neon Neon - Praxis Makes Perfect
A Neon Neon album is like a lesson in social history, only fun! The subject of this one is the infamous left wing publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. It has track names like "Hoops With Fidel". It's very good. For fans of Metronomy as well as Gruff Rhys/Super Furry Animals and Boom Bip's other projects.
Next month expect new releases by Deerhunter, Savages, the Fall, Daft Punk and more. Maybe by that time I'll have gotten around to the rest of this month's albums. Tracks from some of these albums/EPs can be found on my latest monthly mix Culture Shock (check the channel from tomorrow).
For many music fans (myself included, admittedly) this week's singles release schedule are dominated by two things: Record Store Day exclusives and the official (single edit) of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". Thundercat, a.k.a. the Brainfeeder affiliated bassist, singer and composer Stephen Bruner resembles those more overt choices for a potential Single of the Week entry only in the sense that he is one) exclusively paving out a career of neo-soul that is equally influenced by the jazz fusion of artists such as Herbie Hancock and 80s television themes like the one he shares his moniker with, and two) unafraid of bringing some serious funk back into the field he associates himself with. "Heartbreaks + Setbacks" was produced by Flying Lotus and the often-overlooked Mono/Poly and together the three of them have put together a song richer in texture than even anything from Thundercat's first album The Golden Age Of Apocalypse: a lush arrangement of acoustic and electronic sounds including live (sounding, at least) drums and spacious, spacey synth patterns. However the two outlying qualities of the song are Bruner's soft, confident vocal and the dexterous notes coming from his bass guitar, mixed just high enough for it to be appreciated without taking over the song completely. If Daft Punk had instead released a single as fantastic as this last weekend there'd be twice as many people interested.
There is nothing about the latest album by Swedish techno-pop icons the Knife that doesn't whiff of pretension, or scream for attention so loudly that you'll either be immediately turned against it or will highly admire its audacity. Shaking The Habitual follows on from Tomorrow In A Year, a collaborative album with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock from a few years ago that left listeners thoroughly divided, to the extent that the majority of Knife fans refuse to acknowledge it as a "real" Knife album. Perhaps rightly so, but siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer most likely hold their Darwinian opera in higher esteem, as it appears to have cast a long shadow over their already ambitious creative output. They are also masters of knowing their audience and how to manipulate their perceptions, as the masterful PR campaign leading up to Shaking The Habitual has demonstrated. The gap between 2006's Silent Shout, or their ubiquitously loved 2004 single "Heartbeats" is so large at this stage this isn't by any means unexpected. Before we go any further, why not think about what you would have wanted from a 2013 Knife record, and then consider the group's own interpretation of their art:
There have certainly been other musicians in this confusing position before now, but not many have been so coquettish about it. Hearing a ten minute single as a taste for an album always seems like a tantalising prospect (ask Justin Timberlake's fans), but as they say, the proof is and forever shall be in the pudding. If and when you hear "Full Of Fire" you'll find yourself biting into a scathing, frothing piece of industrial (if it can even be called that), probably with pieces of glass and sharp grit sadistically thrown in for bad measure. And personally I find it strangely delicious, once my palette has adjusted to it. Listening to the whole thing unravel into a distorted mess as Karin delivers lines as tongue-in-cheek as "liberals giving me an nerve itch" never once feels irritating or overdeveloped. Further noise experiments pop up later as "Oryx" and "Crake", and are brief and inspired. Maybe José and his guitar will give them a go once television has advanced to neurological brainwave transmissions and Sony need a jingle.
That seems to be one of the main themes of this 98 minute album. Beyond remodelling themselves, and discussions in gender, ecocritical and postmodern politics (certainly more on those to come, don't wet yourself with excitement just yet!), the Knife are as keen to Shake The Album Format in as many ways to ensure they get as much out of their monstrous length as they possibly can. Naturally this has led to the argument that some of the tracks are needlessly long, and that others don't belong on a Knife album at all. The first red target to be painted is on "Old Dreams Waiting To Be Realised". In itself it's a fifth of the album's length, vocal-less, beat-less and stubborn as fuck. Situated at the end of CD1 it's presumably intended to separate the record's two halves; maybe even to procrastinate for the wonderfully bouncy "Raging Lung". It serves both roles excellently and without it the listener would be left with 79 near-continuous minutes of strange pop, which maybe wouldn't work as well. It sounds like I'm being terribly apologist, and certainly I've heard better tracks in this style, but as I say it works as both an interlude and an interesting musical motif in itself.
(If needs must there is a single CD version of Shaking The Habitual available that omits "Old Dreams Waiting To Be Realised, but I doubt the packaging is as good. Believe me when I say the double CD gatefold is lush.)
What about proper tunes, banging beats, good pop? Any of that? Of course! One of the great things about Shaking The Habitual is that it shows off previous qualities of the Knife in new contexts, including the duo's approach to lyrics, drum patterns and sounds, and Karin's versatile, bedspringy vocals (I'm becoming aware that she must be one of my favourite singers by now). The tribal, infectious fourth track "Without You My Life Would Be Boring" is the closest to traditional Knife in terms of both sound and length, but in the company of freakier manifestations takes on another layer of manic instability with Karin's rapid screech (and mentions of elf and tiger piss?). "A Tooth For An Eye" is slower but equally an infectious single, and "Stay Out Here", which finds Karin fluctuating vocal roles with visual artist Emily Roysdon and Light Asylum's Sharon Funchess, almost feels like an expansion on the more menacing corners of contemporary R&B. "Ready To Lose" also feels like familiar ground for the Knife, a closing track that may have dated as far back as Deep Cuts by the sounds of it. There's enough detail given to these songs, as much if not more than the more challenging moments, and they're far from effervescent, even if they are catchy.
But it's not all fun and games. Overriding all of the Knife's pop desires is their sense of political message, or rather various messages, as Shaking The Habitual is something of a grab-bag when it comes to these identities too. Think of it as a manifesto, one that eschews all of Karin and Olof's interpretations of gender, class and environmental politics on both a Scandinavian and a global level into one pink bubblegum bubble. Karin's lyrics are of course an obvious place to look. From the Salt-N-Pepa loan that gargles out the end of "Full Of Fire" to the "urge for penetration" that colours "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" she's definitely reaching for the admirable task of rebuilding perceptions of gender from the ground upwards. "Fracking Fluid Injection", a ten minute barren wind chamber of an instrumental towards the album's end is a clear inquisition of a different kind of penetration (though maybe not completely different): drilling for the release of natural gas from under the earth's surface. Further attention to political concerns envelop the album's visuals: the choice of Marit Östberg as the director for the "Full Of Fire" video was a bold message in itself, but the images of housekeeping protest and outdoor BDSM even more so.
If Shaking The Habitual can be said to be successful of anything it would be that it fully rewards listeners for the attention it lavishly invites. It completely embraces the spirit of unconventionality, from its eye-straining artwork to its demanding length. By doing so it becomes a rare thing in today's music culture: completely unique and unforgettable. The Knife called their first tour "An Audiovisual Experience", and the same name could apply easily to this set. It is more experience than album, and one of a growing number of releases that chooses to innovate with structure significantly more than has been done since the popularisation of the CD in the eighties. As an album of songs, Shaking The Habitual is undoubtedly going to disappoint some, but as an experience of time, craft and endurance, it's fast on its way to being a classic.
I struggle to think what Young Fathers' latest, Tape Two is going to sound like. The Scottish hip hop trio clearly have some confidence in it, enough to release "The Guide" as a free download offcut; a track that strongly evokes the 90s post boom-bap feel of that decade's rap abstractioners. Between "The Guide" and new one "I Heard" Young Fathers have easily set themselves up to the group when it comes to UK hip hop, and one of the most forward groups in all of rap right now. "I Heard" doesn't even feature rapping for the most part, rather a old soul vocal that feels nothing if not sincere and heartfelt. The whole track is pinned by keyboard and click-track drum that themselves somehow sound sorrow in their simplicity. An atmospheric cloud (not in that sense) of synthesis wells up over the top to bring out the intensity further, and group vocals on the chorus merely cement its overall greatness.
I have a lot of time for Deerhunter. I've been a fan since my first listen of their 2010 album Halcyon Digest, and have spent the 2 1/2 years since working backwards through their discography, and enjoying releases from side projects such as Atlas Sound and Lotus Plaza. Their self-described ambient punk sound reached its pinnacle with their previous LP, but Deerhunter aren't left barren without it. When they decide to scuzz it up, like they do with the title track to their forthcoming album Monomania (and presumably the rest of the album will follow suit), they're still able to craft excellent songs. Follow the details of "Monomania" like you would any other Deerhunter song; the bass, guitars and drums follow excellent, complimentary patterns. And singer Bradford Cox is as much of a personality as ever, as the band's performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon proves. It's essentially business as usual, only louder.
March may be the month where album releases have really started to get tight. Most of these choices are either pretty odd or relentlessly heavy (or both), and all are memorable. Looking at April's release schedule it may cross your mind to look at March as the calm before the storm, but the albums and singles here are all top drawer stuff, so check them out if they appear interesting:
clipping - midcity
A name-your-price album/mixtape from an incredibly noisy hip-hop trio. I'm really enjoying the songwriting and tight lyricism clipping are bringing here, and admire the new ground they've found between the Death Grips, Shabazz Palaces and Jeremiah Jae influences.
David Bowie - The Next Day
A startlingly solid late-career album from one of popular music's most celebrated figures. Bowie may not be reinventing himself quite so freshly as he did during his astounding 70s run but draws from his many strengths already amassed to create the best kind of retrospective.
Hookworms - Pearl Mystic
The debut album from Leeds-based Hookworms is a nigh-on flawless foray into modern psychedelic rock, written and produced masterfully by key member MJ. If this doesn't break the top 10 albums of the year, 2013 will be especially rich in musical quality.
Gnod - Chauderlande
More of a compilation than a proper album, Chauderlande collects the six tracks that made up Gnod's two Chauderlande LPs and repackages them onto one CD. Still these tracks are absolute monsters. "Tron" and "Genocider" in particular are likely to be the heaviest psych rock opuses you'll ever have the pleasure of encountering.
Inga Copeland - Don't Look Back, That's Not Where You're Going (EP)
These are the first three solo tracks Inga Copeland has released, although they feature production from DVA and Martyn. They sound like highly twisted dance-pop tunes, with killer vocal hooks and squelchy basslines. If you want your brain scrambled, and for others to wonder why, choose this one.
Pete Swanson - Punk Authority (EP)
30 minutes of relentlessly harsh techno noise that doesn't forget the emphasis on rhythm and repetition. Each Pete Swanson release seems to be a honing of this formula, and with Punk Authority he may have produced his strongest results yet.
Next month expect new albums from the Knife, the Flaming Lips, James Blake, the Haxan Cloak, Phoenix and more. Tracks from some of these albums/EP's can be found on my latest monthly mix Culture Shock (check the channel from tomorrow).
Vampire Weekend are the band you may feel like punching at times, what with their gravel-handed approach to, well, everything. But they remain just agile enough to sidestep your misguided blows - that deserves credit. This double-A single, which takes two tracks from their upcoming third album Modern Vampires of the City, isn't too far removed from the band's regular territory, but even that seems to reach a pretty far distance. "Diane Young" is the faster of the two. I'm not sure if Vampire Weekend have been goofier than they are during these three minutes, but they've certainly come close. Thankfully they pull it off, with it being too loony to make it sour: Ezra Koenig's modulated Buddy Holly-ism's and a dangerously catchy inclusion of synth horns are the most characterful elements of this appeal, alongside the stuttered, rudderless instrumental section. The other side, "Step" is the steadier song. Producing a lyric video for this song may not have been a good idea, as Ezra's words aren't the most poetic or coherent, yet like Stephen Malkmus he has a way of making that factor not matter. It's still a pretty, carefree ballad with a strong melody, and I imagine it will translate well in a live setting. I don't this group are about to drop off any time soon.
Whatever way you look at it, I really don't need to do this review. The Metacritic page for m b v, the new album from shoegaze pioneers and critic/fan faves My Bloody Valentine currently hosts 44 professional reviews, none of which rank the album below 6/10, and there have been innumerable other professional, semi-pro and in particular fan-written and videoed (see YouTube) insights into this critical hallowed ground. My two cents aren't going to be particularly gripping, or notable, or controversial. But here goes.
When the superlative-enticting Loveless, what was thought for years to be the last My Bloody Valentine album there'd ever be, was released on pre-Oasis Creation Records in 1991, I had yet to be born. So I'm not able or willing to approach this review from any substantial point of longing or nostalgia, or weightily fluctuate between belief and doubt in the skills and intentions of one of modern music's least understood reclusive geniuses; in short, no 22-year wait for me. This idea seems to be the first thing many of these reviews contain. Forgive me for deconstructing a little further, but the other main attribute to these pieces is their willingness to tell the reader a story, as the event that happened to them, in many cases less than a day before publication, needs to be framed as a highly significant cultural event. Do these people imagine that when people bring up the questions "where were you when the Twin Towers collapsed?" or "where were you when the Berlin Wall came down?", they'll be able to pipe in with "what do you remember about when that My Bloody Valentine album crashed the internet and we all sat there clicking the Refresh button waiting to get onto the site at midnight?"?
Of course I'm exaggerating. I doubt any of these people actually think that this new release, of limited commercial interest, will translate to a larger group of people. I can't know the minds of every music superfan, especially those who have properly reached the end of the 22-year journey and are shedding tears of joy and relief as their fingers hit the keys, but I do know that the days of a genuine event in music are most likely over (even if there have been a few noble attempts recently). Lord knows what the band themselves think about all this fanfare. You can't blame them for avoiding the spotlight; the discrepancy between the instant gratification-seeking "Now!" culture My Bloody Valentine have hungover into and the slow-burning, treated and re-treated to perfection formula they've worked from since 1988 seems to be massive. It's a relief then that m b v takes absolutely no interest in the 21st Century, or any concept of time but its own. It is simply, "the new record".
And not for humility's sake either. With little background information of the record we have no idea how much of it is recent material, or how much of it was written and recorded in the years immediately following Loveless. But it's of no importance. As an album in three parts of three tracks each (for argument's sake), the first section is the most pigheaded towards the idea of radical evolution. Which isn't to say it's ugly and unrefined; in fact completely the opposite: it serves as a reminder of the beautiful anguish of the previous record. The first track, "she found now", ensures the album begins not with a bang, but with a whimper, albeit a pretty, droney whimper. It makes sense that this song is sung by bandleader and crucial component Kevin Shields, whose studio experiments redefined the possibilities for guitar-based music; a radical change that has yet to be matched since (to those unfamiliar with My Bloody Valentine, this cannot be overstated). It's true that it shares similarities with another track that bears his lead vocals, "Sometimes", but this is far from a bad thing. It means that the album has a disarming yet familiar start, that shies away from controversy and comforts the listener into staying put for the remainder of the experience. What's most impressive about "she found now" is the sense of rhythm given by one delayed guitar. Given that Shields recorded the majority of the album by himself, with the exception of Bilinda Butcher's vocals and Colm Ó Cíosóig's drum parts, the track has an extra personal feel; and the listener can feel the meaning of the several years it may have taken to record and release it. The rest of the band appear on the next two songs, which feels like the true reintroduction. Bilinda sings in her signature indiscernible vowels over the solid rhythm Colm musters up for "only tomorrow"; her voice at times shifting up and swooping over Kevin's many buzzy guitar layers (I'm becoming increasingly aware that describing m b v's guitar sounds with words is an increasingly moot point, but believe me when I say the first guitar break here is truly awe-inspiring). "who sees you" completes this initial triptych, and furthers the idea of repeating and expanding on simple phrases from the previous track. On this one the guitars sound the most aggressive yet, which contradicts the paradisal softness of Kevin's vocal (subtly backed by Bilinda, to powerful effect). And two more incredible guitar breaks! Forget the time this music has taken to surface: when this formula can be executed to perfection over and over, I'm thankful to be able to listen to it at all.
The album then decides to break and do something entirely new for the band with its second act. The following track "is this and yes" has no guitars whatsoever, instead led by organic, astronomic keyboards and Bilinda's unusually forefronted vocals. Colm's bass drum is the only other addition to the song, which sounds like it was recorded inside the moon. It's definitely pretty, but to finally delve into criticism there is an issue with its length. Some reviewers feel as though it goes on for too long, like an unscheduled meander through the galaxy, but I'd say the opposite is actually true: I feel that given a couple minutes more it could stumble across something even more spacious and ultimately worthwhile. "if i am" is a little stronger, bringing Kevin and Colm back to the front; with the former dipping his guitar in gracious amounts of chorus, tremolo and flange, but struggles to make a mark when compared to the high quality of material elsewhere. I'd also say something about Debbie Googe's bass here like everyone else, if only because I've neglected to mention her involvement so far (whatever it was), except it really doesn't make a huge impression on me personally. The next track "new you" is a great improvement, especially because it allows for the return of Colm's heart-stopping drum breaks and those floaty, flute-y keyboards. Again Bilinda takes the trophy home for the sensuous doo doo doo's during the outro. Overall this segment of the album was the one that impressed me the least; the vanilla segment of this most Neapolitan record, but chocolate takes m b v somewhere entirely more adventurous and alien.
The opening guitar squeal of appropriately named "in another way" is so unexpected, uncharacteristic and perhaps a little tasteless that more than one reviewer has mislabelled it as the sound of "bagpipes". Three seconds later all is redeemed however when Colm's thunderous drums break through the clouds and lead a pack of loud, lively guitars onto the ravaged earth. It's maybe the most, well, punk rock-sounding song My Bloody Valentine have released since "You Made Me Realise". Thankfully vocals are kept to a minimum, leaving it to the other instruments to jam it out. It gives the feeling that the rulebook has truly been thrown out, for better or for worse. What follows is essentially a three-and-a-half minute studio experiment, "nothing is"; an exercise in rising intensity created using Kevin's choppy, buzzing guitar and Colm's very loud, booming drums, again using that weird "live looping" technique. It may come off as a little banal or worthless, but really I find it difficult to fault. Up to this point, m b v has been arguably everything that was demanded of it: a continuation of the sounds and experimental, involuted and ethereal (ugh) nature of Loveless, yet simultaneously a progression. Yet unbelievably the bravest, and possibly strongest track of the whole album was saved for last: "wonder 2". "Soon" this ain't; instead it's the heaviest song My Bloody Valentine have put their name to. The drum and bass-inspired rhythm section is a dead giveaway that Kevin at least began working on it during the 90s; only he could have paired it with the sweeping, aeroplane engine flanger effect and other assorted propulsive noise. As ever the structure is simple, the lyrics are a non-starter, but the texture is beyond anything you've ever heard. Imagine if it had been released during the 90s - it would have been copied a hundred times over by now.
This is the thing about My Bloody Valentine as a whole to me. "Texture" is the most important word. If music were texture alone I believe that Loveless would be the greatest album of all time, and I'm not the only person to think that. And certainly on that album its undefined, boundless, androgynously sexual, violently pleasurable multitude of textures were aided immensely by songwriting, structure, timing and above all inventiveness, which essentially when combined with its critical reception, influence and unintentional legendary status makes it the perfect album in this regard (the phrase "painted themselves into a corner" comes up more than once). After rumours of long bouts of depression and creative drought, Kevin Shields didn't ever need to follow Loveless up; it seemed to many to be an impossible task. Above all it shows a dedication to his role as a musician: many of his peers released great albums during their time, but furthered themselves with work that shattered the illusion of unapproachable, godlike craft. In this regard even a terrible album would have sufficed in allowing My Bloody Valentine to continue making music. But that's not what m b v is. It's not Loveless, but it's not weaker than a 6/10. It's a very reflexive listen, and if it succeeds at anything else it will hopefully bury the idea that an important album needs to be exemplary of its time. It's not of this time, or any other. And I enjoyed it very much.
Okay, I'm having it both ways this week, but let me explain...
Both of my highlighted singles this week come delivered by known R&B songstresses, and both incorporate an element of remix to them. It was tough to choose between them, so I thought why not both? Also it makes a break from the Pete Swanson and the Knife coverage. The new Ciara single "Body Party" may sound more than a little familiar to fans of 90s R&B slow jams, as it reworks elements from the Ghost Town DJ's classic "My Boo". Producer Mike WiLL Made It slows it down even further with gorgeous synthesisers, taking out some of those rolling hi-hats in exchange for sparse finger-snaps and co-writer Future's Autotuned oohs. Meanwhile on our side of the pond emergent pop guru Dev Hynes has finished recording a new album for original Sugababes Mutya, Keisha & Siobhan, and apparently their idea of "having a bit of fun at the end of the last session" was to record a cover of Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools (Drank)"! With both of these singles the stars are the singers themselves, each putting in excellent vocal performances worthy of their source material. Ciara's solo is both sexy and passionate, and MSK's strong harmonies pre-empt what will hopefully be a return to form for them.
Speaking of Kendrick, fans should look to my Culture Shock Mixcloud channel for a surprise in the next couple of days...
Having already bookmarked Shaking the Habitual as an album to watch out for, and after the nine-minute techno- pop disintegration "Full of Fire" and its Marit Östberg-directed "short film" acting as a substantial, redefined "Welcome back!" package, the Knife's latest single didn't even need to be impressive. Yet "A Tooth For An Eye", the new record's opener compliments its predeccessor (and successor, reading the tracklist), working as an excellent signifier of another facet of the group's sound. The video description wants us to know that the song "deconstructs images of maleness, power and leadership" (I thought all Knife songs were about this?). During the song this message comes from the ever-masterful voice of Karin Dreijer, whose vocal talents bring a strenuous edge to the reasonably sweet and oddly inviting synths, as well as the geographically adventurous percussion. The Knife have taken enormous strides between their last album and here, and suddenly a 100-minute pallette of new material seems very appetising indeed.
If Rustie owned his own club I would definitely swoop by. If I close my eyes when hearing "Slasherr", the latest offering from Glasgow's synth surpher and one half of the "Triadzz/Slasherr" 12" out in a few weeks on Numbers, I can imagine a chromatic orgy of lights and sounds batting beside prophetic string quartets and antiquated Nintendo consoles. With the success of Warp/Numbers cohort Hudson Mohawke it's good to find Rustie hasn't fallen into a trap (so to speak) of overseas commercial allure; "Slasherr" sounds as ahead of the curve as ever, and if "Triadzz" can match its dizzying barrage Rustie'll have his name on another tasty piece of wax.
February's release schedule was dominated by the still difficult to believe return of shoegaze originators My Bloody Valentine, whose new album m b v really has to be heard if you've yet to have had the pleasure. But other albums, from both young and veteran artists, are also worth checking out. Here are my favourites: Mountains - Centralia
An eerily beautiful album of ambient electro-acoustics, that references Terry Riley and Brian Eno. This one is continuing to grow on me with every listen.
Grouper - The Man Who Died In His Boat
This one is a sequel of sorts to Liz Harris' breakthrough 2008 album Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill, and is therefore more centered around the acoustic guitar than more recent Grouper albums. Again, I'm looking forward to spending more time with it.
My Bloody Valentine - m b v
I hope to be reviewing this one in the future so I don't want to say much about it yet. The music can speak for itself for now.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away
Nick Cave goes back to his quieter, romantic side for the latest Bad Seeds album. The softer moments are balanced out with epics "Jubilee Street" and "Higgs Boson Blues", which are as good as any songs Cave's written.
Iceage - You're Nothing You're Nothing is a more challenging album than Iceage's debut, New Brigade. If you weren't sold on that album, this one isn't for you. The first two and last two tracks are the best, I find.
Trade - SHEWORKS005 (EP)
Trade is the collaborative project of Blawan and Surgeon, and their EP for She Works The Long Nights contains four tracks of heavy, pulsating modern techno. It shows off the capabilities of both producers extremely well.
Rainer Veil - Struck (EP)
As my Single of the Week feature suggests, I'm looking forward to what Rainer Veil will do in the future. Until then there's their EP for Modern Love, which is more than gratuitous.
Atoms For Peace - AMOK
Finally I was pleasantly surprised by the electronic-cum-Afrobeat project of Thom Yorke/Nigel Godrich/Flea/Joey Waronker, Atoms For Peace's AMOK. It's expensive-sounding fun, and lord knows Thom needs some of that every once in a while.
This month expect new albums/EP's from David Bowie, Pete Swanson, Justin Timberlake, CHVRCHES and more. Tracks from some of these albums/EP's can be found on my latest monthly mix Culture Shock (and in previous mixes if you care to look):
As brilliant as the original is, there's evidently something about "Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage" that when let loose turns Blawan's most recogniseable tune from dread-y techno into noise-punk assault. Thank Albini that Girl Band found it then. The Irish group originally submitted their cover of "Garage" as their contribution to Quarter Inch Collective's Quompilation #3, but it's a ferocious piece by itself; all tight, monotone drumming and held-out distortion reaching an inevitable climax and going over the top. With only eight words to work with the vocals rely on both the band's intensity and the inane excellence of the titular phrase; the results are quite spectacular. This isn't dance-punk (at least not in the DFA sense) but Girl Band's "Garage" encounters the possibilities when the doors between the two worlds are broken down.
In Rainer Veil, Manchester's Modern Love label has found a duo similar in sound to their big gun Andy Stott, whose Luxury Problems album found great success for all involved at the end of last year. It's still early days for Liam Morley and Dan Valentine - Struck is their first release together - but there seems to be a lot more going for them in the EP's 25 minute stretch than simple copycatism or capitalisation. Amongst its influences sit the cerebral tropics of Clams Casino's Rainforest EP, especially on the busy jungle (no pun intended) of the title track and the 2-step stretch "Wade In". Elsewhere "Slow Beaming" revels in soft, forceful bass and heavenly vocal samples. The seven minutes of "Bala" are perhaps the most Stott-like and seem to repeat ideas put to better use elsewhere on the EP, such as "Yield", but overall Struck is a very impressive debut for Rainer Veil and maintains a consistent hazy atmosphere against the grain of the heterogeneous nature of their ideas.
Growers often pass by unnoticed. Fads garner attention to collective sounds, but obscure individuals. Frozen in these moulds, these individuals are expected to dissipate along with the freshness of their sub-genre, be forgotten, maybe get a job at the Carphone Warehouse if they're lucky, and get on with life as underappreciated as the rest of us. We're a fickle lot.
Such is the curse of "post-dubstep". Here today (2010-2011), gone tomorrow (2012+). Naturally at the time we knew it was ridiculous to group any new UK bass-inspired pop musicians as being inherently alike, but we did it nonetheless. If the post-dubstepper wants another fair crack at the whip, there are two ways in which to progress. The safer, though less rewarding path to follow is the same one they walked roughly 2-3 years earlier, knowing that the fashions have changed, and the chances of ever releasing an album as successful as their debut have already floated away on the breeze. In the case of the xx, it's probably enough to get by. Musicians, consumers and critics alike are a lot more resilient to the second path, change. The second album is always a baptism of fire, but for Darkstar it's hopefully saved them in the long run.
It feels especially unfair to lump Darkstar in with the others (I'm bored of the word already, forgive me), given their careers' resemblance with an (admittedly marginally earlier) trajectory of the equally adored and reviled poster-boy James Blake, who is also setting co-ordinates for 2013 for his re-emergence. Originally a duo on Hyperdub Records, Darkstar's first public turning point was the introduction of permanent vocalist James Buttery, a decision which ushered their something-else-entirely debut album North with a cover of the rare Human League b-side "You Remind Me Of Gold" (ringing any bells?). But as I say, people still curiously fear change, even when a group have shown to be adept at it, and are eager to sneer at anyone attempting to do something beyond the one or two things they've been prescribed. Which bluntly, is ridiculous. The first steps for News From Nowhere were relocating from Hyperdub to Warp, and bringing in frequent Wild Beasts producer Richard Formby. A more drastic, inspired or brave proposal couldn't be made.
The album begins with soft, manipulted drones. "Light Clock Body Starter" really is lovely, and an avid, confident statement not necessarily of less being more, but certainly more beautiful. It cuts suddenly to the jack-in-the-box of "Timeaway", which is where we're really treated to the group's vocal harmonies (as are the vocals themselves). In fact on every song the vocals are vague, disconcerting, even pensive; greatly contrasting the album's playbox of colourful loops, synths and samples. It's something Darkstar have above the rest. Often song structures are abandoned for great periods of time, leaving the listener to wallow in uncertainty in their absence, like in "Armonica", or left hanging altogether ("Amplified Ease"). It's pleasant to find an altenative to the build/drop formula, one post-dubstep was previously inclined to keep in some form. Percusssion as a whole is used sparingly, yet effectively. Sometimes as compensation songs are vocal-led, recalling old nursery rhymes, or the Beach Boys. It's probably not intended to actively tug at nostalgia, but as ever its hard to say where these songs are really coming from.
Conversely, it can be argued that songs on the album don't really go anywhere either. This is true, and previously I may be inclined to say this is a bad thing. Even Animal Collective, the album's closest reference point, usually have a stronger direction to their music, for all their recycled bloatedness. But here Darkstar use aimlesness as a form of expression. Animal Collective would never release an album called News From Nowhere. Lost in the thick fog rising above second album wasteground, the trio courageously re-emerge with wide-eyed expressions, resisting the temptations of clinical IDM or old soul dirge for something more adventurous, yet introspective and unique. These conflicts of situation and intention result in a feeling of damp happiness. When distilled into "Amplified Ease", I'm rewarded with one of my favourite songs of the year so far.
"Hold Me Down", the album's final seven minutes is another great example of this feeling. Like Wild Beasts' Smother closer "End Come Too Soon" it's content to take things slowly in order to drip every last drop from Buttery's voice. It's sign of maturity, of being satisfied with reality and realism, and is ultimately more effective than absolute escapism and whimsy. The sleeve of News Frrom Nowhere evokes that of Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam, but instead of depicting an instantly digestible sugary substance it shows unnaturally coloured, inedible-looking flowers and berries. Darkstar's album takes a little time, and may not sustain interest for the whole year, but for now is charming and different enough to justify being ingested in a different way.
