Just because you operate the world’s most influential independent music website doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to put on a decent festival. I mean, given Pitchfork’s impeccable scenester credentials and the air of smug self-satisfaction that permeates some of its article this could have been the American equivalent of being trapped in a Shoreditch industry party. But all credit to them- they acquit themselves marvelously with a superbly-organised event that delivers the musical quality you’d expect from the hipster bible without the pretension that mars its closest UK equivalents. (*cough*FieldDay*cough*)

Tortoise were a curious choice of opener – though generally lumped in the post-rock bracket they sound little like Explosions In The Sky and their ilk, their songs much more complex than the endless glacial crescendos that usually beset the genre. Their ferocious introduction involved a dual drum assault that’d do Boredoms proud, but their progression towards a more cerebral, minimalist direction, whilst technically dazzling, was too inaccessible to engage the crowd. Then again, they were miles better than Yo La Tengo, the kind of band who extend a song not because it needs to, but because they’ve apparently run out of ideas. Maybe it’d have been more riveting for established fans (especially as the setlist was picked by public vote), but by the end of their fiftieth interminable jam I just wanted them to go away.

Playing the first hometown show in over a decade, The Jesus Lizard provided the adrenalin shot the festival needed. Even at the age of 49, David Yow is one badass motherfucker, flinging himself into the audience at every opportunity whilst snarling incomprehensibly at everyone and everything, while the simple-but-effective brutalist guitar and driving bass of David Sims and Duane Denison ensure they’re musically satisfying to boot. Needless to say, they were a tough act for Built To Spill to follow and sadly the Boise-based indie veterans struggled to rise to the challenge, their competent performance emasculated by a muted, tinny sound mix. It’s a real shame, as they’re an immensely talented bunch with a formidable back-catalogue and some of the most impressive guitar skills around, but a few killer tracks apart (‘Carry The Zero’, ‘Conventional Wisdom’) they fell far short of what they’re capable of.

Indeed, it was left to Cymbals Eat Guitars, a band that owe a hell of a debt to Built To Spill to show them how it should be done. One of the most promising new bands I’ve seen this year, the New York youngsters delivered a confident, commanding performance that belies their age. They’re still too much in thrall of their influences to have found their niche yet, but they sure as hell have potential. Fucked Up’s beachball-munching antics provided an entertaining interlude before a revelatory set by The Antlers; much heavier and voluminous than their twinkly, delicate recorded output would suggest, the post-rocky ending of ‘Hospital Beds’ was almost Mogwai-esque in its tinnitus-baiting splendor.

Beirut

Alas, we then had to survive The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Bowerbirds battling it out to see who could bludgeon us into a state of catatonia first. TPOBPAH’s competent but repetitive indie-pop can be fun when they’re on form, but here it listlessly missed the mark and as for Bowerbirds…well, I endured 20 seconds of their tepid, tuneless wuss-folk before wanting to stove my face in with a brick. On the plus side, they only made Owen “Final Fantasy” Pallett seem even better in comparison, the one-man musical genius mesmerising the crowd with just a violin, keyboard and loop-pedal. His vocals have an arch shrillness that’s sometimes hard to get along with, but there’s simply no denying that the man has more talent in one pizzicato-ing finger than the vast majority of acts touring today.

The good times kept rolling with a strong showing from Beirut – not the most melodically varied band in the world, but Zach Condon was on sparkling form and the mariachi brass and Balkan-tinged balladry was the perfect tonic for the early evening. And ever-dependable Brooklyners The National put the finishing touches on a superb day; what they lack in razzle-dazzle, they make up for with emotional honestly, peerless songwriting and Padme Newsome’s mentalist violin freakouts.

“We’re the most professional band to play at this festival…ever!” proclaim The Mae Shi (or is it Signals?) as they open up Sunday in typical ramshackle fashion. Now down to just three members and in the midst of a messy break-up, this could well have been their final performance as a band- and if so, it was a fittingly shambolic swansong to their career. The first half of the set was frankly embarrassing but once they brought on rap duo Vacations things improved dramatically, with closer “Run To Your Grave” poignantly reminding us that underneath all the chaos and bullshit, they were one hell of a band.

The National

Dianogah were one of my favourite discoveries from ATP: Breeders so to find out female vocalist Stephanie Morris had passed away a fortnight later put a bit of a downer on this set, which the band dedicated to her memory. Their instrumental post-rock/math-rock fusion, centered around two bass guitars and drums can get a little repetitive at times, but the intricacy of their rhythms and self-depreciating humour set them apart from their peers. Local band The Killer Whales were a chronically shirtless bunch whose liveliness rather outstripped their originality but with vibrancy and a sense of fun on their side, they had much more going for them than the tedious Blitzen Trapper, whose charms continue to elude me. The Thermals’ cover-heavy set was undemanding fun, as long as you’re able to accept they’ve only got one song, whilst The Walkmen failed to impress from my (admittedly distant) vantage point, although Hamilton Leithuser’s intense performance deserves some kudos. Also disappointing were noise/garage rock duo Japandroids- a bit too much like No Age for my liking in any case, they also seemed overly scrappy despite their enthusiasm.

With Sunday a little disappointing thus far, it was up to M83 to save the day. My ardour for these superior shoegaze-revivalists had somewhat dimmed after an underwhelming ATP set, but tonight they redeemed themselves and more with a career-high performance. If you’ve ever seen one of their regular shows, you’ll know they tend to start low-key and slowly build up from there, but here they cut straight to the chase, dropping beats under everything and transforming their spectral electronica into a full-on rave. Morgan Kibby looks and acts more like Karen O every time I see her, and even the typically laid-back Anthony Gonzales is looking more animated these days, making this more fun to watch than the static performances of old. ‘We Own The Sky’, ‘Skin Of The Night’ and ‘Graveyard Girl’ all sounded astonishing and in fact the only thing that held this back from perfection was the timing- had it been shifted only ninety minutes later to hit the sunset, this would have been a show for the ages. They rather overshadowed Mew, who despite moments of grandeur were clearly not firing on all cylinders, their set tilted too far towards their more obtuse material and the strain of a punishing touring schedule reflected in a muted performance.

M83

The only act of the weekend to descend from a pulsating psychedelic vagina, The Flaming Lips are a band *designed* to close festivals. From the giant inflatable hamster ball Wayne Coyne uses to ride over the audience to the sixteen metric tons of confetti they swamp Union Park under, their performance almost creaks under the weight of Coyne’s theatrics, with the music often playing second fiddle to the spectacle. The fan-picked setlist means Coyne’s out of his comfort zone, but occasional awkwardness aside, there’s lots of rarities to please the fanboys – the first airing of the excellent ‘Bad Days’ in over a decade, the never performed B-side ‘Enthusiasm For Life’ and even ‘Fight Test’, subject to legal action by Cat Stevens because of its melodic similarity to ‘Father and Son’. As always, there’s too much proselytising and not enough songs – whilst Coyne was jabbering on they could have played several more numbers (were ‘Turn It On’ and ‘Waitin’ For A Superman’ really too much to ask?) but criticism dissolves like so much fairy dust in the face of that most wondrous of communal sing-alongs ‘Do You Realize?’

So, the verdict? Well, it’s probably the most consistently enjoyable festival I’ve attended- the site is perfectly sized and easy to get around, the number of quality performances would put many far larger events to shame, the poster and record fairs were worth the price of admission alone and even the less impressive acts weren’t all that bad. There’s room for improvement- it’s not got much way in character (partly due to its limited size), the sound on the first day left something to be desired and the lack of anything truly spectacular despite the strength of the line-up was disappointing. But if you ever find yourself in Chicago and have the urge to check out a music festival that combines the crème de la crème of alternative music with an intimacy rarely seen this side of the Atlantic, you could do a hell of a lot worse than Pitchfork.

The Flaming Lips

Upper Air is of a similar quality to Bowerbirds first album Hymns For A Dark Horse, but reached by a slightly different path, the lyrics focus on relationships and love and being astounded by nature, sometimes in the same song. A more varied musical approach is also pursued, with things like organ, autoharp, varied percussion (less of a reliance on the ol’ bass drum) and upright bass being utilized with some interesting acid etched results, whilst still retaining a basic rustic folkiness. This is a clean sounding album, guitar tone, vocal, violin and that upright bass all beautifully presented.

Mark Paulson has left, or is perhaps less involved in Upper Air, in his place is Matt Damron who is listed as ‘drummer’. No doubt about that as there’s more kit audible, (cymbal and snare, for example), the bass drum is still there, it’s just usually paired up with the newer percussion (‘Beneath Your Tree’ being a good example), when it’s not trying out new approaches like the long rumbling thunder in ‘Ghost Life’, ‘Crooked Lust’ and ‘This Day’ (as opposed to the usual thump-thump-clack). It’s good to see the band trying something new out, like the thick organ droning in ‘Chimes’, or stunning upright bass in ‘Bright Future’, and even better when it blends in well with the already established aspects of their sound.

It’s fair to say that the last album was about nature, either damning human neglect of it in ‘Marbled Godwit’ (just one song of many in that vein), weaving a pleasant fantasy world with it in ‘Burr Oak’, or coming from a non-human perspective in ‘Hooves’ and ‘My Oldest Memory’. This sensibility is retained throughout Upper Air, but used in different ways, by far the most common theme throughout is Moore trying to better understand and relate to the listener humanity’s (Moore’s) place and connection to the world and the cycles of things. ‘Teeth’ has lines like, “Oh, and the fleeting sun/Oh, the wild, gold beauty/So consumed, so removed/In the far reaches”, paeans to nature. More personal pronouns appear, “In my great sun/without boundaries/My love’s a giant welt/My heart is burning” and “You are strong and sure without me/You are boldly dismantling” grounding the lines to a person and their perspective, the latter line also alluding to the timelessness of nature, which also pops up briefly in ‘Crooked Lust’, “I live with the tides/I live in reverence/And know the days are endless, endless/But, darling, you seem like you’re anxious”. ‘Chimes’ sees Moore feeling a connection to all that was, “I draw my breath from an ancient earth”, all that is  “Oh the light is astounding/Like a sulpher cloud amongst these stately pines” and all that will be “Well, I could hold my gaze just steady/And in a thousand years we’d barely think the same”. He reveals how he feels insignificant in comparison “Well, this is my joy spiralling/These are my spoils for simply breathing”, almost unworthy “Still for all my faults/I draw my breath from an ancient earth”. ‘Northern Lights’ also covers this ground with the lines “And I do need the wind across my pale face/And I do need the fern to unfurl in the spring/And I do need the grass to sway/Yes I do need to know my place”. ‘House Of Diamonds’ could easily be added here too.

With a trilogy of connected songs in the middle of the album the personal takes centre stage, from wild beginnings in ‘Beneath Your Tree’, to a more steady and lasting romance in ‘Ghost Life’ and dewy eyed sweetness in ‘Northern Lights’, we get a look at parts of a relationship (Moore and Tacular’s?). What connects these songs, apart from a clear narrative that gradually turns more and more into Moore’s perspective/narration as each song passes, is the imagery of a shared look. In ‘Beneath Your Tree’ wild and lusty declarations are traded between Moore and Tacular, “I could bleed, bleed, bleed for days/But my heart would still beat for you dear”, before reaching a point of crisis, “And we’re soon lost/And we’re terrified“, which is suddenly and beautifully calmed, “But I’ll always find my way to your eyes“, this last line brings all of the lust and wildness in the dueting and traded verses down to a point where a real lasting connection is revealed between the two people. This opens up the next two songs where the implication of a more permanent connection is played out. ‘Ghost Life’ starts out with echoes to the last song where big declarations are made “At the margins of the land I get to know your skin/Where the sand dunes slope into a wild ocean/Where the great plain heaps into a jagged mountain”, but a more realistic tone enters soon after, “And yet some days we are stones cold and stuck/Whether in time or place or head or heart/But dear we’ll never feel the years with the wind at our backs” (a little reminiscent of ‘Dark Horse’ from the debut). This is the relationship maturing and becoming stable, and as a result the declarations are somehow more powerful and concise, “Love/Shapeless love/Wild, tireless love/Fast in the free ether/Ghostly white/And seething hot“. The eyes return, ‘Swift to the backs of our eyes/Deep wanting eyes”, confirming the connection to the previous song and the one to come. Tacular dueted, and even had a couple of lines, in ‘Beneath Your Tree’, and had brief backing vocals on ‘Ghost Life’, but ‘Northern Lights’ is completely from Moore’s perspective. Forsaking those lusty declarations of the last two songs, he says “I don’t need from you a waterfall of careless praise“, showing how the relationship has become more comfortable and contented with neither needing to impress the other. The softly romantic “But all I want is your eyes/In the morning as we wake/For a short while”, finally ties all three songs together.

Bowerbirds manage to hit some rarefied heights on this album, both in lyrics and music. The cascading play of ‘Crooked Lust’ is delightful, ‘Northern Lights’ has an acoustic strumming that’s like a cross between early Bob Dylan and playfully lapping waves, the off-key plucks in ‘Teeth’ which could be a violin, and more. As I was saying at the start, this new album is of a similar quality to the debut, but different. The lyrics are about inter-personal relationships and trying to understand ones life and ones surroundings, it’s nice to escape to a place where someone is actually trying to answer those sorts of questions for themselves, and the music is more open and diverse, with the band trying out new textures and ideas. Upper Air is nothing less than a big success.
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mp3:> Bowerbirds: ‘Northern Lights’

Bowerbirds on MySpace

Bowerbirds

“Not many people have beards in Britain. I mean, back home everyone I know has a beard. Everyone in my band has a beard. Everyone in my other band has a beard. But you get to England and then….no beards”. Gig goers of the UK, you have been warned by sometime Bowerbirds member, and full time Megafaun Brad Cook to get your hair folicles back to work. He has a point- the crowd tonight is decidedly unhairy, a surprise given that Bowerbirds play the kind of delicate fusion of folk and americana that normally brings out the facially fuzzy in their droves. But I digress.

When you have a novelty band name based around the names of members of your band, it must be hard to take when one of said name members decides to call it quits. Take pity then on Tim and Sam’s Tim and the Sam band with Tim and Sam. Perhaps they will just be called Tim from now on. Pleasant enough for the first few songs, Tim and the other members ply a fine line in pastoral folk post rock somewhat akin to Midlake let loose on Explosion in The Sky’s toybox. Frontman Tim layers loops of his acoustic guitar, making for a dense,all be it slightly twee sound. However, after a while, the limitations of only having a certain amount of loop time become apparent and the guitar lines get over repetitive. Part of TASTASBWTAS’ problem is that there is not quite enough going on musically to justify being an instrumental act- a fact that the band may perhaps realise themselves, as frequently Tim’s guitar picks out a clear vocal melody line over his layered guitars. There is some talk of recruiting guest vocalists in the future, a prospect which may yet move the band forward to brighter pastures.

Tim and Sam......

All the way from Australia, Oliver Mann is an interesting prospect. An operatically trained Baritone accompanying himself on sparse parlour-style guitar he comes on like the missing link between Tindersticks’ Stuart Staples and Bryn Terfel. When the first notes come from his mouth there is an audible gasp from the crowd, a note of shock at the sounds coming from within Mann’s chest. Joined by the Dirty Three’s Jim White on his most recent album, tonight is a more stripped down affair, and unfortunately a somewhat confused Borderline crowd seem unsure how to take his unusual voice and arrangements. For those who made the effort there was some uncomfortably desolate things to listen to. That is not to say Mann is without a sense of humour, a fact he demonstrates ably when he says “I’m going to pick things up a bit. Let’s face it, it shouldn’t be hard.” Late in the set, a song about visiting China then getting busted with a load of smack, landing up in jail and then escaping thanks to a pair of leather shoes is a lyrical treat for those who have bothered to keep listening.

Oliver Mann

When Bowerbirds finally take the stage, they look tired. Due to some strange tour booking they find themselves in London for a one off UK date sandwiched between shows in Paris and Nantes, facing a 10 hour drive after the nights show. As soon as the first notes of “Hooves” kick in however, things are as they should be, Phil Moore’s delicate nylon guitar lines framing the lilting harmonies between himself and partner Beth Tacular. Having parted company with multi-instrumentalist Mark Paulson the band are joined tonight by the aforementioned Brad Cook on bass and Matt Damron on drums. Showcasing the majority of upcoming release “Upper Air” it is clear the band have moved on from the rawer, minimal arrangements that graced debut “Hymns For A Dark Horse”. Gone, for the most part, are the songs based around Moore’s intricately picked acoustic guitar parts, replaced by a more strummed style. Of the new material, “Beneath Your Tree” is a real highlight, Tacular and Moore’s vocals combining beautifully with the accordion. It takes some talent to make the phrase “gnarly thicket” sound magical, but somehow they manage to pull it off.

In places the addition of a full band doesn’t quite suit the Bowerbirds sound, and the abscense of Paulson’s violin is to the detriment of “Dark Horse”, replaced as it is with a twinkling piano that strips it of it’s rawness, resulting in a “lounge version”. Tonight, Bowerbirds are at their best when stripped to the bare bones, as the encore of “Bright Future” and “Olive Hearts” shows, Moore taking the stage alone and picking gently at his guitar and letting his voice enchant the audience as they drift out into the warm London night.

Bowerbirds' Phil Moore

Bowerbirds Setlist
Hooves
My Oldest Memory
Beneath yr Tree
House of Diamonds
Chimes
Silver Clouds
In Our Talons
Bur Oak
Teeth
Ticonderoga
Slow down
Northern lights
Dark Horse

Encore:
Bright Future
Olive Hearts

Bowerbirds' Beth Tacular

Bowerbirds' Brad Cook

My Bloody Valentine

H-O-L-Y-S-H-I-T

Check out the lineup for this years Primavera Festival. Full details in the official press blurb below.

Barcelona, 18th of February 2009 – Once again, the best of international independent music will meet in the Parc del Fòrum of Barcelona. The festival, which this year will take place from the 28th until the 30th of May, maintains its eclectic quality by presenting an array of artists, who stand out in the originality and quality of their performances. The festivalgoers will witness an amazing display of talent from the participating bands.

This new edition of Estrella Damm Primavera Sound will be marked by the double performance of My Bloody Valentine, the mythical band of the 90s who made a comeback last year, by the visit of Sonic Youth with their new record, the classics of indie rock Yo La Tengo, the elusive electronic music of Aphex Twin, the ex lead singer of Pulp, Jarvis Cocker and the British band Bloc Party.

In the section of artists with a long history are artists of the calibre of The Jayhawks and the return of one of the most important bands of post punk: A Certain Ratio. Joe Henry (selected by Rockdelux as best concert of 2008) and the veteran Michael Nyman will also perform at the festival. Other influential artists who will be there in the Forum from the 28th to the 30th of May are Shellac, the Black Lips revitalizing punk, the frontman of Grandaddy Jason Lytle, the mythical and overpowering The Jesus Lizard, Magnolia Electric Co, from France, Phoenix, the Sonic Boom Spectrum, the kings of drone metal Sunn O))), Kimya Dawson or the hardcore Fucked Up.

Every year we try to include a high number of bands playing in Spain for the first time and this year among the chosen ones are: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Crystal Stilts, Girls, Lemonade, Sleepy Sun, Shearwater and Carsick Cars, a young band from China, protégés of Sonic Youth.

The national bands, which will increase in the next few weeks, include Extraperlo and The Lions Constellation launching their debut LPs, the comeback of Veracruz with one of the records of the year, the psychedelic metal of Cuzo and the robust post hardcore of Rosvita.

The area of more experimental sounds is covered by artists such as Ariel Pink and Marnie Stern, the unbeatable duo Lightning Bolt or what promises to be the concert of the 2009 edition, Dan Deacon with an ensemble of 15 musicians presenting his new record.

Electronic music and hip hop still have their space in the Estrella Damm Primavera Sound with the visit of the rapper Ghostface Killah, a live performance by Squarepusher, the revelation Ebony Bones, the captivating eclecticism of Girl Talk, the ever efficient EL-P and dance music from DJs like A-Trak (Dj of Kanye West and the coolest hip hop agitator) and Michael Mayer.

The full festival tickets for Estrella Damm Primavera Sound 2009 can be purchased for 115 € (+ booking fee) up until February 22th. The full festival tickets will cost 130 € (+ booking fee) from February 23rd.

The only official ticketing companies are: the entire Tick Tack Ticket network, the CD Drome shops in Barcelona and Madrid, Seetickets UK, Fnac France and PayPal through the festival website.

CONFIRMED ARTISTS: A-Trak, A Certain Ratio, Alela Diane, Andrew Bird, Angelo Spencer, Aphex Twin, Ariel Pink, Art Brut, The Bad Plus, Bat For Lashes, Black Lips, Bloc Party, Bowerbirds, The Bug, Carsick Cars, Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts, Cuzo, Chad VanGaalen, Damien Jurado, Dan Deacon Ensemble, Deerhunter, Dj Mehdi, The Drones, Ebony Bones, El-P, Extra Life, The Extraordinaires, Extraperlo, Fucked Up, Gang Gang Dance, Ghostface Killah, Girl Talk, Girls, Jarvis Cocker, Jason Lytle from Grandaddy, Jay Reatard, The Jayhawks, The Jesus Lizard, Joe Crepúsculo y Los Destructores, Joe Henry, John Maus, Karl Blau, Kimya Dawson, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Lemonade, Lightning Bolt, The Lions Constellation, The Mae Shi, Magik Markers, Magnolia Electric Co., Mahjongg, Marnie Stern, Michael Mayer, Michael Nyman, My Bloody Valentine, The New Year, Oneida, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Phoenix, Plants & Animals, Ponytail, Rosvita, The Secret Society, Shearwater, Shellac, Simian Mobile Disco, SkatebÅrd, Sleepy Sun, The Soft Pack, Sonic Youth, Spectrum, Spiritualized, Squarepusher, Sunn O))) performing “The Grimmerobe Demos”, The Tallest Man On Earth, Throwing Muses, Uffie, The Vaselines, Veracruz, Vivian Girls, Wavves, Women, Wooden Shjips, Yo La Tengo and Zombie Zombie.

ATP STAGE: Ariel Pink, Carsick Cars, The Drones, El-P, Gang Gang Dance, The Jesus Lizard, Lightning Bolt, Magik Markers, Shellac, Sleepy Sun, Sunn O))) and Wooden Shjips.

Photography by Simon Godley

Tom Waits @ Le Grand Rex, Paris, July 25
The smoke of 1,000 Gauloises curled round Le Grand Rex’s art-deco facade in anticipation of Tom Waits, who was in Paris for two nights on his Glitter & Doom tour. Waits prowled the specially constructed circular stage like a demented carnie, injecting all of his 58 years of experience into a remarkable performance that swung from gypsy-folk to vaudeville to gentle jazz crooning. Sawdust billowed around him as he stomped his way across a circus ring of his own making. Skipping effortlessly through an extensive back catalog, Waits prompted the crowd to croon along with “Innocent When You Dream” before morphing into a human mirrorball, simply by swapping a hat, for “Eyeball Kid”. When a shower of glitter fell around spotlit Waits at the climax of “Let It Rain”, it felt as though the audience had been transported into the ringmaster’s own peculiar, magical universe. An outstanding showman giving his all in a beautiful venue on a warm summer’s evening – I’m pretty sure it doesn’t get better than that.—Ro Cemm

Wave Pictures @ the Borderline, London, July 30
The most striking thing about seeing the Wave Pictures live is just how amazing – as in, virtuoso level – a guitarist David Tattersall is. On record it’s easy to be sidetracked by the sharp, funny lyrics and almost overlook the musicianship, but live, it practically smacks you around the head. Nearly every song in their set had a brilliant guitar solo – always a genuine, worthwhile musical addition, never an excuse for a show-offy noodle. David was so engrossed in a particularly captivating break during “Tiny Craters in the Sand” that he didn’t notice when his whammy bar fell off, and looked most surprised when it was handed back to him afterwards. Part of the delight of the Wave Pictures is that they are such unassuming individuals, yet produce such a lyrically and musically brilliant performance. They are a band that can renew your waning faith in live music and leave you dashing for the last train home with a huge, foolish grin on your face.—Jude Clarke

Björk @ Hammersmith Apollo, London, April 14
The problem with being such a prolific attender of gigs is the inevitability that they stop being as special as they used to be. So it is pretty unprecedented for me to stagger out of a venue open-mouthed with incommunicable wonder, but that is exactly what I did on this unforgettable April night. Clad in a headdress made of multicoloured pom-poms, the irrepressible Icelandic pixie queen skipped onto stage to the tribal percussion of “Earth Intruders”. It was a spellbinding introduction to a show that, flat Antony Hegarty duet apart, was never less than enchanting. It’s hard to pick highlights from a night comprised almost entirely of them, although Toumani Diabaté’s stunning kobe on “Hope”, a bewitching rendition of “Hunter” and a glorious “Who Is It” all deserve special mentions, as does Björk’s fantastic 10-piece all-female brass section The Wonderbrass. But it was the unabashed techno-singalong of “Hyperballad” and the sheer jaw-dropping spectacle of “Declare Independence” that made the night transcendental, the latter’s mix of earth-sundering bass, silver confetti and arching lasers one of the finest closing numbers I’ve ever seen. Björk, I know you’re old enough to be my mother, but will you marry me?—Adam Elmahdi

Photography by Fleur Neale

Neil Young @ Hammersmith Apollo, London, March 8
In hindsight, I can’t believe I debated whether to go or not. Sure, the ticket prices were a bit steep, but you got some history for your cash. On the night, the set was split in half: first acoustic, then electric. I never thought I’d prefer the acoustic set, but to hear “A Man Needs a Maid”, “Harvest Moon” and “Ambulance Blues” so crystal-clear and in the flesh surpassed all my expectations. There were too many spine-tingling moments to distill into one paragraph. “Mr. Soul” sounded as fresh as it must have 30 years ago – God only knows what it was like then, because even now it sounds like a tear in the face of music. That was before I was floored by “Down by the River”: a wall of guitars cut through the years, trashing my sense of awareness and sucking me inside the sprawling anthem. It was only then that I truly realised I was in the presence of a living legend.—Rich Hughes

Photography by David Emery

Bon Iver @ St Giles Church, London, June 4
By June, Justin Vernon had watched the Bon Iver phenomenon flicker into being, ignite and roar through the music world. Still, through months of media and audience hysteria, he remained steadfastly modest. For a man concerned with all that is solid and enduring, a church whose history stretches back 900 years was a fitting venue for the last performance of his first UK tour. Three hundred lucky souls squeezed into pews and aisles, crammed into corners and dangled off balconies. Three hundred rocked back and forth, shivered and clasped hands with their neighbours to the strains of “Skinny Love” and “Flume” as Vernon’s crystal-clear vocals reverberated with an otherworldly significance; 300 filed out shiny-eyed and with a catch in their throats. Early Bon Iver gigs had left me with the thrill of discovery and later ones with the warm satisfaction that comes from a display of brilliant craft and flawless delivery, but that night has earnt an eerie, mythological place in musical memory, as though marking the time that Vernon crested an unfeasibly high peak and looked down on the world below with serenity and joy.—Emily Moore

Photography by Mike King

Photography by Chris Boland

Leonard Cohen @ Glastonbury Pyramid Stage, June 29
Forced out of retirement because of an evil manager who reportedly embezzled him out of $5 million, Leonard Cohen was back, literally performing for his livelihood. Most acts would struggle on the 80,000-capacity Pyramid stage, but Leonard Cohen immediately transformed the rubbish-soaked field into an intimate coffee house, performing one classic after another in his trademark whispered, weighty way. Each song was triumphant, from a singalong-to-the-heavens “Hallelujah” to a gorgeous, haunting “Suzanne”. Cohen lowered his cap and bowed to the audience after each song in gratitude. It is difficult to describe precisely how, but it transformed me. I have never seen a gig like it and quite possibly never will again. Kudos to you, Leonard.—Shain Shapiro

Photography by Valerio Berdini - another date, same tour

Elbow @ De Montfort Hall, Leicester, October 16
“We haven’t played a gig this good in years,” Guy Garvey said as Elbow left the stage, and you could well believe him. That night, every song was played to its utmost strengths – the brass stabs at the beginning of “Starlings” were never more fanfare-worthy, “Mirrorball” never so cascadingly lovely, “Newborn” never so heart-wrenching and “Grounds For Divorce” never so vituperative. Everyone in the room sang along, attempting to restrain themselves from punching the air as Garvey cajoled them and himself into greater vocal heights. Some artists struggle with the leap from small venues to huge halls, but Garvey thrived on it: swapping banter with the crowd; leaning forward on the mic stand as if to make a physical, literal connection with the audience; projecting that voice of bruised experience and heart right around cavernous De Montfort Hall. On their post-Mercury Prize victory lap, Elbow had nothing to prove and they played as though they were on top of the world. (Which, to be fair, they were.) The crowd knew it, too, singing back on the mini-anthems, deathly quiet on the wracked ballads. Guy passed on a marriage proposal before “Mirrorball” and, on receiving the good news afterwards, declared, “Thank fuck for that!” He bid the happy couple, “Congratulations – now here’s a song about gut-wrenching heartbreak” before launching into “The Stops”. Like pre-encore closer “One Day Like This”, whose televisual ubiquity has not dented its emotional heft one bit, the whole set was at once gorgeous and triumphant.—Simon Tyers

And the rest…

2. Radiohead @ Roskilde Festival, nr Copenhagen, July 3
3. Tindersticks @ End of the Road Festival, September 14
4. The Acorn @ End of the Road Festival, September 13
5. Neil Young @ Roskilde Festival, nr Copenhagen, July 5
RC

2. Envy @ EITS ATP, Minehead, May 18
3. Betty and the Werewolves & The Research @ the Portland Arms, Cambridge, November 5
4. Fleet Foxes & J Tillman @ the Junction, Cambridge, November 11
5. Holy Fuck @ 100 Club, London, April 8
6. Melt-Banana @ Soul Tree, Cambridge, June 24
7. Port O’Brien @ Concrete + Glass Festival, 93 Feet East, London, October 3
8. The Resistance, Holy Roller & Fuck Dress @ the Portland Arms, Cambridge, October 11
9. The Death Set @ Reading Festival, August 23
10. Volcano! @ the Portland Arms, Cambridge, November 16
JC

2. Sigur Rós @ Latitude Festival, July 19
3. Sunset Rubdown @ Luminaire, London, May 22
4. Joanna Newsom @ Latitude Festival, July 20
5. Wolf Parade @ Electric Ballroom, London, December 1
6. My Bloody Valentine @ Roundhouse, London, June 20
7. The National @ Olympia, Dublin, May 15
8. Of Montreal @ Koko, London, October 16
9. Wildbirds and Peacedrums @ Luminaire, London, June 5
10. I’m From Barcelona @ Scala, London, November 25
AE

2. Jens Lekman @ EITS ATP, Minehead, May 17
3. Fleet Foxes @ the Junction, Cambridge, November 11
4. Band of Horses @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London, July 8
5. Rolo Tomassi @ Portland Arms, Cambridge, September 29
6. Elbow @ Corn Exchange, Cambridge, October 6
7. Johnny Foreigner @ Barfly, Cambridge, May 6
8. James Blackshaw @ CB2, Cambridge March 29
9. Fuck Buttons @ Barfly, Cambridge, February 7
10. Battles @ EITS ATP, Minehead, May 17
RH

2. Young Marble Giants @ Primavera Festival, Barcelona, May 28
3. My Bloody Valentine @ the Roundhouse, London, June 23
4. Shearwater @ St Giles Church, London, November 22
5. Edwyn Collins & Roddy Frame @ the 12 Bar, London, July 29
6. The War on Drugs & Bowerbirds @ the Windmill, London, August 20
7. HEALTH & Skeletons @ Luminaire, London, May 1
8. David Thomas Broughton @ Red Eyed & Blue, the Wilmington Arms, London, May 13
9. Wave Pictures @ the Enterprise, London, March 11
10. Fanfarlo @ the Nash Room, ICA, London, April 25
EM

2. The Gaslight Anthem @ LA2, London, December 5
3. Sigur Rós @ Westminster Central Halls, London, June 24
4. Bon Iver @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, September 11
5. Shearwater @ Bush Hall, London, September 17
6. Frightened Rabbit @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York, October 17
7. The Revival Tour @ Blender Theater, New York, October 13
8. Hauschka @ King’s Place, London, November 11
9. Billy Bragg @ the Roundhouse, London, March 4
10. The Hives @ Brixton Academy, London, April 18
MP

2. The Burning Hell @ Cafe Zapata, Berlin, October 15
3. Jeffrey Lewis & Los Campesinos! @ Lee’s Palace, Toronto, May 29
4. Stevie Wonder @ O2 Arena, London, September 11
5. Slayer & Mastodon @ Hammersmith Apollo, London, October 30
SS

2. Johnny Foreigner & Dananananaykroyd @ the Charlotte, Leicester, October 1
3. Bon Iver @ End of the Road Festival, September 13
4. Dirty Three @ End of the Road Festival, September 12
5. Okkervil River @ Truck Festival, July 19
6. Of Montreal @ Summer Sundae Festival, August 10
7. The Acorn @ End of the Road Festival, September 13
8. Future Of The Left @ This Ain’t No Picnic weekender, KCLSU, London, September 27
9. The Mae Shi @ Summer Sundae Festival, August 8
10. Ballboy @ Indietracks Festival, July 27
ST

It’s been quite a year for live music, 2008; an emotional roller-coaster of euphoria and heady nostalgia and all sorts of superlatives you might reach for to try to describe a clenched throat that doesn’t know if it’s holding back ecstatic cheers or warm tears.

There was the 12 Bar last month, a fragile Edwyn Collins leaning into the protective, wiry shoulder of Roddy Frame, straining resistant limbs and lips into familiar old shapes for a tiny crowd of shiny-eyed Dundonians. There was the Roundhouse a few weeks before that, Kevin Shields’ mouth yawning wide and silent into the din, my skin rippling as though the waves that buffeted the front row were real and not mere sound. And there was the holy still air of St Giles church, in the balmy early days of June, when Justin Vernon raised a guitar to the heavens and 300 faithful erupted into triumphant thanksgiving. It’s pure luck to be granted one such fleeting, epiphanical moment a year, never mind two from one quiet Wisconsinite. Iconic performances seem to have littered the summer months like chewing-gum wrappers, and now another has just fallen at our feet and blown past, reminding me of Winnaretta Singer’s line about the rare and particular breed of music that reminds us that we have “a reason for living on this rock: to live in the beautiful kingdom of sounds.”

Bowerbirds

The night belongs to Bon Iver, but it begins with Bowerbirds, old friends of Justin who seem to suffer slightly from always being the bridesmaid and never the bride. Their album Hymns for a Dark Horse is inarguably one of the year’s best – sparse but pure of tone, dissonant and often downright sinister, but satisfyingly full of glowing harmonies. Phil and Beth are both graced with idiosyncratic voices you’d not imagine would mesh easily with any other, never mind each other, but through some weird alchemy they are a graceful and captivating pairing. Still, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them fulfil their considerable potential live. Cranked up to fill a 2,000-capacity hall, their sound is inevitably heavy-handed and a bit crude, and a noisy crowd obscures the sound for all but those in the front. The miniscule variations in pace and tone that, on the album, reward infinite listens – Mark’s calmly confident presence on drums as opposed to Beth’s looser, more instinctive hand; Phil delicately sliding words on and off the beat – are near-inaudible. Phil moves the set along pacily, managing a difficult situation as best he can. “Matchstick Maker” is introduced as “the quiet one”; as he turns to Beth to start the song he seems to shake his head with a frustrated laugh. It’s gorgeous and understated to my ears, just about filtering through the chatter, but then I am barely two metres from the speakers. Mark joins the harmonising on new song “Teeth”, a three-part vocal wonder of Beach Boys magnitude that fills the hall more robustly and bodes very, very well for the future.

When Bon Iver come on stage, the crowd goes eerily silent. It’s a moment, and a date, heavy with import; it feels as though the weight of history is on them. They slide into “Flume”, all clarion electric guitar and full-throated vocals. It’s a big sound, a confident, almost stadium sound, all the quiet soul-searching and introversion of the past few years blossoming into a glorious hope and confidence in the future that they can perhaps only now begin to express. Justin crackles with energy, thrashing around in a long, noisy finale to “Creature Fear”. He bounces between one of the ten or so guitars piled behind him and a keyboard in front, building up a massive wall of reverberating sound that echoes through “Lump Sum” and “Creature Fear”. New song “Blood Bank” crashes in like Neil Young at his most pounding and epic, all four-to-the-floor drums and Hammond-effect keyboard rising into high, throbbing dissonance. The crowd quiets for Mikey Noyce, the baby-faced, angel-voiced guitarist, to sing “Simple Man” (“We’re gonna do some covers for you now,” Justin announces half-jokingly, “cos we don’t have all that many songs, you know?”). By the time they kick into closer “Skinny Love” – as raw and assertive tonight as the album version is quietly brooding – there are three drummers on stage, all burning with fierce energy. The screams and applause, 2,000 pairs of arms raised high, maintain a hysterical pitch as the band retreat and re-emerge for an encore. With the first bars of “For Emma”, there are cheers and suddenly hundreds are clapping along in time – faintly embarrassing but for the genuine adoration behind it. Band and audience rollick through the song with joyful abandon. Then there’s a hush as Bowerbirds emerge. They gather round an old-school chrome mic. Justin is holding an acoustic guitar.

Bon Iver have covered Sarah Siskind’s “Lovin’s For Fools” many times by now – always in closing, always near-a capella, mostly with Bowerbirds but also, once, with Siskind. Youtube clips like this one have been flying around with abandon. The song distills much of what is so special about this band: the way they reach for strength through vulnerability; the way they reveal the agony and ecstacy at the core of humanity. There is nothing more that a mere description of the timbre of a voice or the pluck of a string can convey.

Set list
Flume
Lump Sum
Creature Fear
Blindsided
Blood Bank
Re: Stacks
Simple Man (Graham Nash)
I Believe in You (Talk Talk)
Skinny Love
The Wolves (Act I and II)
For Emma
Lovin’s For Fools (Sarah Siskind)

More photos

mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Flume’ [Daytrotter Session]
mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Lump Sum’ [Daytrotter Session]
mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Re Stacks’ [Daytrotter Session]
mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Creature Fear’ [Daytrotter Session]
mp3:> Bon Iver & Sarah Siskind: ‘Lovins For Fools’ [Live in Nashville]

Beth Tacular, (Accordion, Bass Drum, Backing Vocals), Phil Moore, (Lead Vocals, Guitar, Tambourine), Mark Paulson (Violin, Pedal Keyboard, Bass Drum, Backing Vocals), are the three members of Raleigh, North Carolina’s Bowerbirds, a band that has crafted a brilliant album which could be called folk, but such a classification falls well short of truly giving justice to what they sound like. When listening to Hymns For A Dark Horse you get the feeling that these songs are physical objects as much as they are ephemeral waves of vibrations. Filled with ideas, imagery and metaphors in the lyrics, melodies, themes and rhythms in the instrumentation, songs seem so bursting with life that they are something you experience, something that you can walk around, prodding and peering at.

The band’s musical style doesn’t change much during the album, the most constant and distinctive aspect of their sound is a big bass drum, which serves as main percussion. It’s deep booming is often interspersed with the drumstick clacking off the rim of the instrument, and that rumble-clack is a re-assuring presence throughout most of the songs. The acoustic guitar often leads the way with an unhurried mix of folk picking and strumming, with the nylon strings audible and a bass sometimes drops by to add some very subtle low end. There is also some nice variety with violin, accordion, piano, tinkling bells and tambourine mixing and matching, or going it alone with the drum and guitar. Some lovely backing vocals from Ms Tacular and Mr Paulson join in on a few tracks, such as ‘Dark Horse’, ‘My Oldest Memory’ and ‘Bur Oak’.

The melodic sensibility of the band roams from East European folk to, well, American folk, but it’s not about how widely influenced they are, there is just something utterly transporting about how they craft and develop melody. With the descending accordion melancholy on ‘My Oldest Memory’, the flitting up and down vocal ‘deets’ on ‘In Our Talons’, the old-timey rustic and rhythmic ‘Bur Oak’, the vocal, accordion and guitar symbiosis on ‘The Ticonderoga’, being the most beguiling twirls and flows to be found on the album. Phil Moore’s voice, (which is strikingly similar to Irishman Fionn Regan’s), can sometimes sound strange, a mannered top-and-back of the mouth delivery, but he can stretch out and amplify the brilliance of a melody line when he chooses to, the chorus of ‘Olive Hearts’, the last verse in ‘Slow Down’ and the line ‘You’re the kindling, still/That burns below my heeaaaaaart’ with it’s sweetly aching drawn out last word, in ‘Hooves’, are just three examples of this.

The band self-recorded this album, which is quite stunning when you actually consider the clarity of sound; my favourite song of the whole album is ‘Human Hands’, and it’s almost completely down to the little intricacies in the decisions they made while recording. From the way the nylon strings of the guitar are so audible, a small amount of buzz from a string not being completely held down, to the out of tune piano, to the clunk of a foot releasing the sustain pedal of the piano as the last thing you hear before the next song begins, all help to ground the music to these individuals and their physical use of the instruments. The album sounds like people playing in a room together, clear when needed and muffled when needed, seemingly always with a grip on what they want to filter through to the listener.

As for the lyrics, well, as I have said, they are bursting with life. Fantasy and narrating from an animal’s perspective, two of many themes carried throughout the album, can be found in ‘Hooves’, ‘We’re back to when I was born on a full moon/I nearly split my mama in two’ is some shocking, quite inhuman, imagery, the song goes on in the perspective of a horse/foal and finding the love and drive from your nearest and dearest when you most need it. Other tracks like this include ‘In Our Talons’, ‘Slow Down’, ‘The Ticonderoga’, and ‘The Marbled Godwit’. ‘The Marbled Godwit’ is packed with meaning in every line, the first verse and run through of the chorus is from the perspective of the bird flying home from across the sea. With the chorus the most prominent theme of the album comes through, human civilization encroaching upon nature, ‘Bound to your oil machines…Hoarding the land and sea…Stolen through violent means’. The next verse is from the perspective of a fisherman at sea in his boat, he realizes how small he is in comparison to the sea and therefore nature itself, ‘The waves do toss this worthy vessel/Impress upon my tiny brain’, and he goes on to note how the sea (nature) ‘talks in a hush/A little disappointed’. The nail in the coffin comes with the line, ‘Death, when all want masquerades as need’, at the end of the chorus, the greed and heedlessness of mankind contained in one line. This song is the best developed look at this theme, we get perfectly fine variations on this earlier, with ‘In Our Talons’ and ‘Human Hands’, but this song is perfectly balanced in the lyrics, well placed in the middle of the album, and has a lovely violin playing throughout.

There are songs that take a turn for the personal, ‘Bur Oak’ is about finding inspiration for writing, the lyrics referencing all sorts of folk and fantasy related things, ‘Olive Hearts’ has a narrator starting out in melancholic introspection, but soon being reeled in by a friend to go to a party, where the ‘sequined girls’ have their ‘skirts hemmed high’, and the ‘mannered men’ have ‘smoke screened eyes’, the olive hearts in question being the garnish for martinis. ‘Dark Horse’ shows us a person preparing for the onset of winter, both physically and mentally, ‘He sang, “you, my friend, are alone, alone”… And we split our cords of oak/And we keep this wood stove burning/While the bitter winds are blowing’. But there is the sense that the narrator sees this oncoming cold as natural, something that can’t be stopped, only endured, and that there is nothing wrong with that, ‘We stow our words in the cellar/So we never lose hope’. The extra songs added on to this re-issue continue in a similar vein to the rest of the album, ‘Le Denigracion’ speaks of the denigration men suffer in war, ‘And each one has eyes in the honest places/But will turn wonder into weeds’, ‘Matchstick Maker’ is a quite traditional folk song, with the narrator leaving behind some misdeed, a wonderful line ‘Took a job in the city/Making matchsticks to start other men’s fires’, showcases the lyrical cynicism that has been there throughout the album.

The lyrics all interlock on this album, and while they are strong and interesting on a song by song basis, the album does feel holistic, every theme strengthened, every song knitted, and the album glitters brilliantly.
90%

Links
Bowerbirds [myspace] [band site]

Damien Jurado

Jagjaguwar and Dead Oceans, the consistently fine spin off labels from Secretly Canadian have oodles of interested signings and new releases coming up – so, in a condensed form, heres everything in one bite sized-ish post. Here goes…

Bon Iver

Signed in the US to Jagjaguwar (4AD in the UK) Bon Iver appeared on New York radio station WMYC this week. You can stream the appearence below, which features mega performances of ‘Creature Fear’ and spine tingle inducing rendiditon of ‘Flume’. Plus a chat about the album, which to be fair doesn’t really reveal too much. Just the same old “so I hear you recorded this in your fathers log cabin” etc etc.. Still worth it for the songs though – listen below:

If mp3′s are more your bag, then you can still grab the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G live session from Daytrotter.

mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Flume’ [Daytrotter Session]
mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Lump Sum’ [Daytrotter Session]
mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Re Stacks’ [Daytrotter Session]
mp3:> Bon Iver: ‘Creature Fear’ [Daytrotter Session]

Also, watch this recent footage of Bon Iver and labelmates Bowerbirds perform Sarah Siskind’s ‘Lovin’s For Fools’ shot at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. Hopefully they’ll perform it together at Shepherds Bush Empire next month – Bowerbirds are supporting Bon Iver at the sold out show on 11th September. Speaking of Bowerbirds, Brooklyn Vegan has some real nice shots of a recent show of theirs, here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Women

Jagjaguwar will release Women’s self-titled debut full length on October 7th, 2008 throughout the world (January, 2009 release in the UK, and Canadian label Flemish Eye is releasing the record in Canada.) The band will tour the U.S., Canada and Europe in support of the album throughout 2008, and tour dates will be announced soon.

The band’s debut was recorded by Sub Pop and Flemish Eye artist Chad VanGaalen over 4 months on ghettoblasters and old tape machines in his basement, an outdoor culvert and a crawlspace. Sometimes light and spacious, at other times eerie and dense with an ominous weight, Women hint at the Velvet Underground, Swell Maps or This Heat; a lo-fi masterpiece cloaked in layers of vibrato and guitar wash.

mp3:> Women: ‘Black Rice‘
mp3:> Women: ‘Group Transport Hall‘

These Are Powers

After witnessing the chaos and energy of a These Are Powers live set, Dead Oceans were immediately enthralled with this band, and after a long courtship and some hot and heavy dating, they have finally announced the start of a long and fruitful union. First, Dead Oceans will re-release Taro Tarot and Terrific Seasons in October 2008, followed by an LP of new material in the first part of 2009. The band will support the re-releases with tours of both North America and Europe this autumn.

mp3:> These Are Powers: ‘Cockles’

Secretly Canadian have a couple of decent releases coming up too.. David Vandervelde’s sophomore album Waiting For The Sunrise is released next week in the States (22nd Sept in the UK) – fairly decent easy listening fare. Look out for a review soon. Also, Damien Jurado is set to release his new LP Caught In The Trees on 9th September in the States (27th Oct in the UK) – judging by the lead track ‘Gillian Was A Horse’ we’re in for some what of a treat. I can never understand though why we have to wait so long for UK release dates..

Oh – and one last thing, Dead Oceans new signings The Donkeys will release their staggering self-titled debut on September 8th. It really is quite fantastic – download an mp3 below and see for yourselves. Country-rock at its very finest. Look out for a review nearer the time of release.

mp3:> David Vandervelde: ‘I Will Be Fine’
mp3:> Damien Jurado: ‘Gillian Was A Horse’
mp3:> The Donkeys: ‘Walk Through A Cloud’