Valerio Berdini braved the Brixton Academy for a show which brought the venue down and restated the fact that Queens of the Stone Age are in his top 5 live acts of all time.

Continue Reading

What initially strikes you about the debut EP from House of Brothers, aka Andrew Jackson, is how beautifully sparse the recording is. Each of the instruments, including Jackson’s impeccable vocals, are given space to breath and inhabit their own space. The title track is a delicate tale of mystery. The skittish acoustic guitar is perfectly played, each chord striking a place straight through to your heart. There are some faint strings, a piano and some percussion, but they never detract from the song itself. They’re just this to augment it and give it some additional weight.

“Electric Light” is a little more uptempo and fleshed out. It comes across as something Elliott Smith would have included on his final albums. The almost double tracked vocals are layered over some lush piano and drum accompaniment. The song itself though is introspective, finishing with the refrain “Don’t wake me, I want to be alone”.

Standout track though is “These Days”. It’s almost as if Nick Drake has been transported into the 21st Century. A tale of modern life through its trappings and degenerating relationships; “can you draw me a map of, this place and where we are”, “sitting in my bed all day, reminds me of you”. The gentle acoustic guitar takes centre stage with additional strings and drums expertly used to flesh it out.

This entire EP is a perfect lesson in how to record a singer/songwriter. Each of the songs is only about the words and what the artist is trying to convey. The use of strings etc that seems to be used by artists to automatically convey certain feels and emotions are actually used perfectly on Deadman. Fleshing out the great songs and emotionally raw lyrics that Jackon has conjured up. Whilst some of the tracks sound a little brash and raw, almost demo like, in quality, this just hints at great things to come from one of the artists to watch in 2008.
80%

Links
House of Brothers [myspace]

It’s the same thing every year, what do you get the person who has everything?!? Well, how about a Belle & Sebastian 2008 calender that celebrates the beautiful city of Glasgow?

Each month it features a band member in one of his or her favorite places in the city. The photos, courtesy of photographer Marisa Privitera and B&S leader Stuart Murdoch, were all taken this year at locales such as Stow College, the Transport Museum, and Queens Cafe.

On the off chance that they’ve got that, you could always treat them to a puzzle, a frisbie, playing cards, or a comic book instead…

Full details and ways to spend your cash here.

From The Basement is a new music series that features intimate live performances from the finest musicians on the planet. It’s been recorded in high-definition at Maida Vale studios in London with live sound by renowned record producer Nigel Godrich. From The Basement has no host and no studio audience, instead the artist and their performance take centre stage.

FTB made its debut last December as digital download only but TV stations around the world soon came calling and now a six part series has been recorded, and will be shown as part of a new weekly music strand called Centre Stage on Sky Arts. Which is the only negative part about this I guess…

The first episode launches on the 1st December with a performance from the White Stripes, alongside The Shins and Neil Hannon. The series will feature the following:
 
1st December 2007 – The White Stripes, The Shins and Neil Hannon
 
8th December 2007 – Thom Yorke, Albert Hammond Jr and Envelopes
 
15th December 2007 – Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Jamie Lidell
 
22nd December 2007 – Sonic Youth, Jose Gonzalez and Laura Marling
 
29th December 2007 – PJ Harvey, Super Furry Animals and Free Blood
 
5th January 2008 – Damien Rice, Autolux, E (from Eels) and Architecture In Helsinki

Register at www.fromthebasement.tv for the latest news on forthcoming shows and behind the scenes bits and pieces.

The folk stylings of London’s Noah & The Whale seem to be finding themselves hyped from all corners of the blogosphere… and who are we to go against that? Impressing us with their timeless debut single “5 Years Time”, we thought we’d catch up with them to ask our 20 Questions. And apparently it was the highlight of their short lives to date… Continue Reading

Icelandic born composer Jóhann Jóhannsson caused a medium sized storm in my teacup earlier this year with his wonderful IBM 1401, A User’s Manual. This fascinating piece of work explored the question of whether or not computers have the ability to inspire melody, taking the clicks and whirrs from Iceland’s first supercomputer to make a beautiful album where even the reading of a printer manual can sound something special. His early work is unknown in the UK, hence the release by 4AD of Englabörn, previously released on Touch Music back in 2002.

Englabörn was written to soundtrack Havar Sigurjonsson’s Icelandic play of the same name. It is written to be performed by both electronic devices and conventional instruments, giving a welcome blend of icy soundscapes with the warmth of an orchestra. There is much repetition - as you would expect in a soundtrack - but with varying reflections on a theme providing much atmosphere.

Opening track “Odi Et Amo” sets the theme well. Its sampled, garbled voices pushed to the front whilst strings lament in the background. Much of the album plays like a Japanese videogame soundtrack - in fact, gaming fans who enjoy the music in Zelda (particularly the Ocarina of Time) will adore this album. “Salfraedingur” will remind you of moments running across Hyrule Field. “Salfraedingur Deyr” sounds like music to a boss fight. Whilst “Bad” just makes me think of getting power-ups from the fairies. This is a fine composition, gentle with a hint of the sinister, and certainly worthy of its second release.
83%

Links
Jóhann Jóhannsson [official site] [myspace]

So, we brought you the video to this rather touching new song, “Flakes”, from the Mystery Jets earlier in the week. But those lovely boys have emailed us the track to let you, dear reader, download it for free!

And here it is, enjoy!

mp3:> Mystery Jets: Flakes

Greetings dear readers from the deepest darkest South Walian Valleys. Progress to report down in these parts, XFM are finally set to go live today (Thursday 29th). They will be on the furthest reaches of the FM at 106.8-107.3 and promise to provide a welcome alternative to the beeb and the usual commercial dross.
 
To celebrate their launch Funeral For a Friend are set to play a secret gig tonight at a location to be announced over the airwaves and on t’internet (http://www.xfmsouthwales.co.uk/). And to welcome in the festive season with a Wintery and Welsh theme, the Super Furry Animals have been recruited for a special christmas gig at Cardiff University for the princely sum of £20 (tickets available here http://winterwonderland.trinitystreetdirect.com/opentickets/ticketselection.asp).
 
Elsewhere things are looking somewhat barren in the run up to Santa’s big day. Crowded House (4th December), The Manics (6th), Madness (10th) and Funeral For a Friend (again, 22nd) look to spice up advent in the Cardiff International Arena. Aside from the Xfm gig, Cardiff University Union host The Klaxons with Simian Mobile Disco on the 2nd and The Wombats on the 11th. Finally the tiny Cardiff Barfly will struggle to fit all eight of The Warlocks complete with two drummers on to the stage on the 6th December.
 
Heres hoping XFM can improve the standard of live music as well as freshening up the morning drive to work.

Links
XFM South Wales [official site]

Butlins here we come! The mighty Swedish troubadour Jens Lekman has been invited by both Pitchfork and Explosions In The Sky to play their All Tomorrow’s Parties festivals next year, which will take place on May 9-11 at Camber Sands and May 16-18 at Minehead respectively.

It hasn’t been confirmed whether Lekman will be joined by his backing band or not but it’s rather exciting all the same. Jens will join an already stellar line-up of acts lined up for the festivals, including The Hold Steady, Los Campesinos!, Broken Social Scene, Iron & Wine and Meat Puppets. I wonder if they have a bingo hall at either venue? Surely the obvious choice for a Lekman show..

For full line-ups, ticket information and availabilty head on over to the ATP site. We caught up with Jens a couple of months ago to chat about his new album Night Falls Over Kortedala, read the interview in full here.

Supergrass make their long awaited return early next year with the release of “Diamond Hoo Ha Man” via Parlophone on January 18th. The track is the first single to be lifted off their new album due in March 2008. The as yet untitled album was swiftly recorded over a couple of weeks in Berlin at the legendary Hansa studios and produced by Nick Launay (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave).

The indie pop stalwarts will be previewing new material at a handful of shows in December, although, don’t expect a ‘full’ Supergrass lineup. Bass player Mick Quinn has been forced to opt out of the shows following a recent accident. He will be replaced by Charly Coombes, the younger brother of Gaz and Rob.

Sun 9th December XFM Winter Wonderland Show, Brixton Academy, London
Thu 20th December Town Hall, Oxford
Fri 21st December Town Hall, Oxford

Tool have announced the release of the long awaited video from the platinum album 10,000 Days, entitled Vicarious, on 18th December 18.

The DVD includes a documentary that takes you through the history of Adam Jones’ visual effects work, and the process and people involved in the creation of the groundbreaking all CGI video “Vicarious.”

Audio commentary on the video comes courtesy of comedian David Cross plus there’s a tour of Alex Grey’s CoSM and plenty more… (so it says here).

Minneapolis is home to a lot of great music, there’s no denying that. One of the city’s latest contributions is Turning, singer-songwriter Dan Israel’s ninth album. By his own promotional material’s admission, Dan is not exactly a household name, although he has worked with some of Minnesota’s finest musicians. Giving assistance on Turning are Marc Perlman (Jayhawks), Dave Boquist (Son Volt) and Jessy Greene (is there anyone Jessy hasn’t played her violin with?), to name just a few.

As you may have inferred from the guest list, Turning is most certainly an Americana record. Dan sings in a very deliberate manner, with a voice caught somewhere between Greg Brown and Randy Newman, and his songwriting has earned him some local awards - most notably 2006 Songwriter Of The Year and 2005 Song Of The Year (Minneapolis Music Awards). The basic theme of the album is one we can all relate to - that although life can be difficult and uncertain, there is always some underlying hope to cling to. OK, so it sounds cliché, but the songs are good.

“Triangle” gently opens the album with a very stripped back Dan on vocals and guitar and Jessy Greene on violin. It also prefaces the album’s aforementioned theme: “I had some hope today, seems like I saw a ray, of how good it could really be/And then just for once, I was not hauling tons, and it felt pretty good to me“. Dan wastes no time in proving he can rock out some with the full-band, hand-clapping “Counting On You”, and his Randy Newman-ess takes center stage with the ragtime piano on “Occasionally”.

The album takes a political detour in “Song For Africa”, bemoaning the genocide in Darfur. It should be noted, too, that a portion of the proceeds from the sales of Turning will be donated to the American Refugee Committee (www.arcrelief.org) or Save Darfur (www.savedarfur.org). Immediately returning to happier subject matter, all you dads out there may feel a connectedness to “Never Go Away”, written for Dan’s little boy. The album starts to lag a bit with the last few tracks. At 48 minutes, Turning is not necessarily overly long, but it does contain 14 songs and may have been better served by shaving a track or two.

With his local awards and a 2006 SXSW Showcasing Artist appearance under his belt, Dan Israel may very well be headed for greater success. Turning is a solid album that could, and should, introduce him to a wider listenership.
76%

Links
Dan Israel [official site] [myspace]

Conor Oberst and M. Ward are mates. Ward opened for Bright Eyes during his 2002 Lifted tour. He joined Oberst and Jim James a couple years later for their collaborative triptych trek. When Bright Eyes was in LA with help from the LA Philharmonic a couple months ago, Ward was watching in the wings.

So maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Oberst and Ward have gone one step further and, allegedly, formed a band.

This interesting development came from a Omaha City Weekly report, which suggested that Oberst and Ward’s unnamed band plans to record an album next year. However, neither Oberst’s nor Ward’s camps could confirm the story.

It might become a bit clearer on December 29 and 30, as Conor Oberst takes the stage at Minneapolis’ 400 Bar as a solo artist with “a different backing band,” according to a Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune report. “Word from 400 Bar management,” the report states, “is that Oberst wants it explicitedly known these won’t be Bright Eyes shows– i.e., he won’t be doing any of those songs! He will be playing new material.”

This COULD be one of the developments to watch for next year, until that Andrew Bird / Wilco collaboration takes flight…

I’ve not seen the film yet, but according to Metacritic, it’s bold and individualistic or, if you read the detractors, superficial and lacking in a point. If all those things are true, then this is the perfect soundtrack.

I’m Not There, the movie, is an arty biopic of Bob Dylan. I’m Not There, the soundtrack, is a collection of more than 30 covers of his songs, from the obvious to the not so, and pretty much covering all the bases in the process (as long as all the bases is alt.country, pop and er, well, alt.country and pop really). As with almost every compilation you can think of, especially of covers, it’s a hit-and-miss affair. And while 34 songs sounds like a lot, anyone with a penchant for the wrinkly old American folk reactionary should find a good chunk of them worth keeping.

What amazes me is that you can murder a Dylan song, especially if you get to pick the one you want to play, and how. I don’t own any of his albums, but have massive respect for his ability. As a poet, songwriter and activist, his credentials are impeccable. But, and I know I’m going to lose a few of you here, he can’t sing for shit and he delivered some wonderful songs with a, well, rather basic approach to ‘entertainment’. So covering these masterpieces, on paper, has got to be a doddle for a pro, right? Wrong. Los Lobos, The Hold Steady, Sonic Youth and The Black Keys all blow it – even Yo La Tengo (who ruin one of two) and Stephen Malkmus (who murders two of three). And who the hell decided John Doe should get two cracks at it? Awful nonsense both.

But there are a lot of goodies too – I’m still listening to about two-thirds of them. Calexico are all over “I’m Not There” like a rash (as are ‘super group’ Million Dollar Bashers), with a variety of guest vocalists, the best being Iron & Wine, Roger McGuinn and a brilliant turn by Willie Nelson on “Senor”. Mason Jennings, Tom Verlaine, Mark Lanegan, Jeff Tweedy and Sufjan Stevens all put in an honest day’s work, but special mention has to go to Karen O’s “Highway 61 Revisited”, Mira Billottes’ “As I Went Out One Morning” and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot’s “Just Like Tom Thumb Blues”, all of which stand out from what is, on paper, a pretty impressive crowd. And I know I shouldn’t say it, but Antony and the Johnsons’ “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is really lovely too. But don’t tell anyone I said that.
72%

Links
I’m Not There [official site]

The Mars Volta have announced three UK shows to support the release of their forthcoming album, The Bedlam In Goliath which is due for release on the 28th Jan next year.

March
11 Glasgow Academy
13 Manchester Apollo
14 London Brixton Academy

Look out for more shows soon, there’s plenty of scope for extra dates around the country…

Having announced a full UK tour in February 2008, Band Of Horses today announced a London show on their first jaunt around the UK since May 2007. The band will be playing KOKO in Camden town as part of the NME Awards Shows.

Tickets for all other dates are on sale now. London show tickets went on sale this morning. Act fast, as they’re sure to go pretty quick.

Tour dates are:
20th February – Dublin, The Button Factory
21st February – Glasgow, ABC
23rd February – Birmingham Academy
24th February – Manchester Academy
25th February – Bristol Thekla
26th February – London KOKO