I needed to save up some space on my music server and actually considered deleting the better part of my Chinese collection. Unfortunately, I started with checking out some Zhou Hong-albums. Needless to say, I ended up deleting nothing … can’t help it, but this sentimental crap just breaks my heart. And I love how Chinese and American country music basically is the same thing, when it comes to chord changes and production values.
Category: Uncategorized
Edward Penfold’s barrettesque backyard
It is impossible to write about Edward Penfold without mentioning Syd Barrett. Penfold’s voice, tonally gliding down and then up for emphasis here and there, and the detached yet personally observational lyrics, are all pure Syd.
On Penfold’s debut album “Caulkhead” that influence was fittingly wrapped in shambolic recording techniques and untuned instrument sounds. And it worked like a charm.
Although the new album “Denny Isle Drive” remains in ‘denial drive’ when it comes to what century we live in, it is much better recorded than the debut and contains considerably less out-of-tunefullness. But adding an element of order turns out to be a stroke of genius, especially as it is still beautifully juxtaposed with chaos.
Whereas barrettesque twists and rhythmical turns are kept firmly in place, the beauty of the arrangements and the pastoral brilliance of the songwriting open doors to hitherto undiscovered psychedelic backyards.
The lyrical themes on “Denny Isle Drive” are simultaneously lucid and solipsistic, as is well illustrated on the track “Betsy’s Linen,” sung in an unevenly metered out voice:
“Mixing my words with my drinks
And poured it all down the sink
A fleeting moment to think
Now I find
Left behind
A piece of mind
I’ve got something to say
It’s on the tip of my tongue
The teeth and the lips and I’m done
The only thing is, when I open my mouth
The words that I found are gone
I don’t mind”
Throughout, there is a fragile balance between homage and inventiveness, and where Edward Penfold will go next is anyone’s guess. But right now he is mining pure gold. A 24 carat instant classic.
The best Pugwash album since ‘Jollity’
My first reaction when listening to the new Pugwash album “Silverlake” was: Wow!!
After a few more listens, I liked it even better. So brace yourself for a volley of superlatives if you read on.
Many artists make a couple of inspired albums and then get lost when trying to figure out to what to do next. Thomas Walsh – who on many levels is the embodiment of Pugwash – does not have this problem. He just tries to do one thing, and that is to make The Perfect Pop Album In The Sky With Diamonds.
Hence, in an almost Zen-like way, his creativity seems always focused on how to get there, rather than wasted on thinking about where to go.
A band who famously set out to emulate pop perfected by giants was of course Badfinger. But whereas they suffered from – and ultimately were destroyed by – being in the shadow of the Beatles, Thomas Walsh uses his giants as shoulders to stand on.
Sometimes he focuses more on evoking his inner XTC; in other cases it could be his Kinks or his ELO. But rather than compete, he instead uses those giants of pop to channel inspiration.
As a result, there are opportunities for new angles and new ways for Thomas to challenge himself.
At least on “Sliverlake” that is definitely the case. Not only is he channeling his inner Jason Falkner; the new album is made as a duo with the man himself. While standing on Jason’s shoulders, he is employing the giant, lock stock and barrel.
The results really do sound fresh. To Thomas’ baritone, guitars and Mellotron, Jason is adding basically everything else – and that includes engineering, production and mixing.
But despite sprightly arrangements and a crisp production, this album is all about the songs. On my second day of listening, I was staying at a hotel and just put the album on through the tinny speaker on my iPhone. Normally, I would not stand listening that way, but with “Silverlake” the melodies just continue to shine regardless.
I would say this is the best Pugwash album since “Jollity”. It is that good!
Michael Head = magic
Så har då äntligen årets mest efterlängtade platta landat. 11 år efter mästerliga “The Corner Of Miles And Gil” med Shack och två år efter haveriet med “The Olde World” som skulle samla ihop överblivet material från minst lika härliga “The Magical World of the Strands” från 1997. Det var därför svårt att tro på detta innan man faktiskt hade plattan i händerna. Men det är sant, den är här nu.
Och trots strul, alkoholproblem och otäckt tyngre drogmissbruk är det tveklöst Michael Head som är tillbaka. Detta är inte hans bästa platta. Hans röst låter dessutom om möjligt ännu mer som tappad bakom en ullkofta. Men “Adiós Señor Pussycat” är ändå i en klass för sig.
Om jag förstår rätt har skivan spelats in i omgångar under flera års tid, men den låter ändå sammanhållen och konsekvent. Trots att en del av spåren är ganska ambitiöst arrangerade, är ljudet däremot ganska luddigt och det känns inte som det har funnits någon större budget för mixen.
Men vad gör väl såna detaljer när låtmaterialet är så starkt. Öppningsspåret “Picasso” har samma tidlösa kvalitet som the Strands och redan andra spåret “Overjoyed” skulle platsa på vilken Shack-platta som helst. Plattans enda cover, nordirländska folklåten “Wild Mountain Thyme”, blir dessutom i händerna på Head britpop på ett helt annat plan än någonsin Oasis.
Köp därför genast “Adiós Señor Pussycat” och se till att den blir den bästsäljare den förtjänar att vara. Och skaffa sedan allt annat som popgeniet Michael Head har gjort. Absolut allt!
Better than Cope!
Being Julian Cope’s little brother can’t be easy when you release your first solo album somewhere around the age of 50. If nothing else, most reviews probably start by mentioning that fact.
So there it is. But the comparison is relevant.
Joss Cope followed his elder brother into the Liverpool music scene and played with people like Les Pattison and Pete Wylie. Moving down to London, he eventually became a member of Biff Bang Pow and also played on some of Julian’s albums such as “Fried”.
That lead to him forming Freight Train with Donald Ross Skinner and releasing a single in 1985. Here the story starts to get confusing. The Bandcamp page contains some questionable statements as to what actually did see the light of day. It claims there is a full Freight Train album. If so, I’d love to hear it!
Joss later allegedly released two albums with his own band Something Pretty Beautiful. I know of a 12” single from 1989 that was compiled into a mini album the year after. Would love to hear two full albums – but I doubt they exist!
I find it easier to believe there was an eponymous album on the DyscFunctional label in 1994 as the The United States of Mind comprising amongst others Ashley Wood from the Chemistry Set. But I have searched the internet high and low for a copy, and haven’t found it. Anyone got a copy?!?
All this back history is relevant because Joss Cope’s “Unrequited Lullabies” feels very much like a revelation. Although recorded in Finland, it is very much in touch with the Cope brothers’ Liverpool days.
Yet simultaneously, it also sounds remarkably fresh. There is a bounce to the music and Cope’s voice shows no sign of corrosion. It all adds up to an album that has that extra spark I have been missing on albums from elder brother Julian for… decades.
The album’s penultimate song, “What’s The Plan?” begins and ends with the following lines:
“I thought that history
stayed in the past
and never came back to haunt”
But that is exactly what happens here. And it is a fantastic thing.
Summery with autumnal depth
I never wrote about Ralegh Long’s debut album “Hoverance” because it took me almost a year to appreciate its singular beauty. I am still a slow learner, and it took a couple of months to find my way into his equally intriguing follow up. The lesson here is that just because something doesn’t jump screaming at you, it does not have to be trivial.
Although “Upwards of Summer” is a poppier listen, Ralegh’s hallmarks are all there; his nuanced and reflective voice, quavery background instrumentation and melodies that unfurl their secrets gradually, both in terms of pace and in time spent listening.
And while the pace is somewhat higher and the rhythm slightly more driving, there is still an appealingly furious tenderness to the songs. Ralegh Long probably couldn’t be loud even if he tried screaming.
Summery on first listen, but with autumnal depth. The album still gets better each time I put it on. I suspect this album will age extremely well, and I will probably still be listening to it ten years from now.
10 EPs / singles Q3 2017
Barringtone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raEFJLjRGvg
biG GRunt – In Session
https://megadodo.bandcamp.com/album/in-session
Green Seagull – Scarlet / They Just Don’t Know
https://megadodo.bandcamp.com/album/scarlet
Kiran Leonard
https://kiranleonard.bandcamp.com/album/derevaun-seraun
Lemon Twigs – Brothers of Destruction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_BXTFs8ovw
Magpie – Picasso On A Log
https://magpiefrome.bandcamp.com/album/picasso-on-a-log
Radiophonic Tuckshop – EP
https://soundcloud.com/…/radiophonic-tuckshop-ep-preview-st…
VÄLVĒ – #1 [the theosophical society]
https://valvemusic.bandcamp.com/…/1-the-theosophical-society
Wild Beasts – Punk Drunk and Trembling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrmGrkuiY50
Richard Wileman – Ghost EP
https://richardwileman.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-ep
10 albums Q3 2017
Buttonhead – Never or Forget
https://buttonhead.bandcamp.com/album/never-or-forget
The Clientele – Music for the Age of Miracles
https://soundcloud.com/tapete-reco…/the-clientele-lunar-days
The Granite Shore – Suspended Second
https://thegraniteshore.bandcamp.com/alb…/suspended-second-2
Ralegh Long – Upwards of Summer
https://raleghlong.bandcamp.com/album/upwards-of-summer
Oddfellow’s Casino – Oh, Sealand
https://microcultures.bandcamp.com/album/oh-sealand
Ariel Pink – Dedicated to Bobby Jameson
https://arielpink.bandcamp.com/a…/dedicated-to-bobby-jameson
L’Rain – L’Rain
https://astronautico.bandcamp.com/album/lrain
The Sexual Objects – Marshmallow
https://thesexualobjects.bandcamp.com/album/marshmallow
Sparks – Hippopotamus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j2CJN8rmBE
This Is The Kit – Moonshine Freeze
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=435SDzZYz0E
The Granite Shore
“Tell me if you can
where does the sadness come from?
Will it ever end
and what would happen if it did?”
So begins the second side of Granite Shore’s new LP “Suspended Second.” With band leader and Occultation label head Nick Halliwell’s immensely melancholic baritone standing out in the mix, the questions seem relevant to ask.
On debut album “Once More From The Top” from 2015, the sadness related to the tragic story of the rise and fall of a rock band. This time round, the source seems to be Brexit and the overall state of the world.
But despite all the sadness, there is no cynicism. The Granite Shore’s music is somehow pure. And more now than before, it is unashamedly tuneful, even anthemic.
Although there is anger, it never rises to the surface. Instead it is wrapped in lushly orchestrated chamber pop that acknowledges its own lost-in-timeliness in a way that I believe even Nick Drake would have approved of. Imagine the Divine Comedy without the comedy, lead by a crooner without the croon.
But this is not music that drags you down; on the contrary, it gently fills your lungs with air and makes you, at least for an instant, think about the larger scheme of things. For a fleeting moment, a suspended second of Brexit history hangs shimmering in front of you. Then it is gone again.
But the heavily understated quality of the music remains, and makes you keep thinking.
In a sense, this is not so much a review as a text to celebrate that music of this kind can be made in 2017. And I could think of few records more worthy of a physical purchase. The packaging promises to be as gorgeous as for the debut album, and represents quite an effort for a minuscule label such as Occultation.
Pop with pedigree
Hot on the trails of that charming debut EP by the Radiophonic Tuckshop I recently wrote about comes another wonderful debut EP by a band called Magpie.
And just like with the Tuckshop, the members of Magpie have been around the block before. Half of the band, Andy Morten and Mike Poulson, started playing together in the Nerve as far back as the early 90s. They then formed Bronco Bullfrog and put out a smashing debut album in 1998.
Bronco Bullfrog has been an on and off affair since then and to keep busy Andy also released a little gem of a solo album under the very psychedelic 60s influenced moniker Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder in 2009.
Andy Morten has penned three of the four tracks here and they very much reflect his encyclopaedic knowledge gained from penning everything from Shindig! Magazine articles to innumerable 60s psych reissue CD sleeves.
But for good or bad, those who discover Magpie will mostly be power pop aficionados. Yet this isn’t power pop. After all, what is powerful with lines like:
“Well, my clothes are getting dirty
and my shoes are full of holes
and my hair is lank and greasy
and I’m feeling much too old”
Nothing, really!
Instead, this is pop music that has so much confidence in itself it doesn’t need to resort to power to get the point across. In the sense that it references the forgotten pop geniuses instead of those 60s pop giants everyone knows, I would rather call this deep pop.
And given the slight country feel to these tracks, the deep pop reference here is definitely the Honeybus (with whom Any Morten once played a reunion concert…)
If you don’t know the Honeybus, your first priority should be to change that. But if you do, then this Magpie EP is absolutely something you want.
Popgruppen 