December blues..

Well my hands are blue anyway, and I have essays to start (hence; blog) and I turn 20 next week.. blue times to cap off a blue year.  But musically 09’s been alright, so long as you pretend that we Brits have a ban imposed on creativity – I try to, it makes the shit coming out more digestible/ignorable.   A big Brummy candle was blown out this summer when Untitled Musical Project called it quits after years of not getting very far, there last set in Birmingham  even got cut short, and the feeling of an era ending has only been compensated by the emergence of Das Bastard - featuring Untitled’s Kieran Duffy on talkstick. 

Better things have come from across the pond.  January saw the summery trip ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ released, turning this writer thoroughly on to the Animal Collective path.  The experimentalists are just about to release its supporting EP ‘Fall Be Kind’ (07/12/09 – hint! for those who want to get alex a birthday present..) and 2010 could be busier as they get set to release an Animal Collective movie!   Unsurprisingly the EP has leaked, and it’s much darker then their predecessing LP, lacking any catchy numbers, like m.p.p. had ‘Summertime Clothes’ and the epic ‘Lion In A Coma’.

 

Animal Collective – Graze

Favourite release of the year by far has to be Sunset Rubdowns ‘Dragonslayer’, definitely to be listened to from start to finish.  Dragonslayer feels like Spencer Krug (of Wolf Parade fame) challenging the Decemberists for best rock-opera album of the year – just underproduced and with a D&D theme, from the slow and sombre intro ‘Silver Moons’ to the climatic ‘Dragon’s Lair’, interspersed with some beautiful individual triumphs like ‘Paper Lace’.  Much better then the last Wolf Parade effort, and in toe with Handsome Furs awesome ‘Face Control’ I might recommend that they stick to their side projects. 

Sunset Rubdown – Idiot Heart

I talked about Japandroids last time I posted on here (6 months.. phew) but seeing them last month supporting the inaudibly awesome A Place To Bury Strangers at the flapper reminded us how damn fine Aprils ‘Post-Nothing’ was, and it was nice to see the Vancouver pair enjoying what they do – in comparison to the headliners whose wall of sound rock (PS – I was told APTBS were the loudest band around, the volume was nowhere near 11) came with little enthusiasm.

Enough about why 2009 was good, a few things to look out for in 2010:

Vampire Weekend are back, will ‘Contra’ match up to the scarily successful self titled debut?  New single ‘Cousins’ makes me think yes, with the speed of A-punk and the wittiness that epitomised ‘Vampire Weekend’ – however the initial album teaser ‘Horchata’ let me down, it feels cliché’d, with lyrics that feel forced and uninteressant.. time will tell.

More importantly 2010 sees the release of ‘Astro Coast’ from Florida’s Surfer Blood – already one of my favourite albums of 2009.  Their bouyant, sunkissed rock already has me wanting to hear new material, which is slightly infuriating in truth.  ’Fast Jabroni’ makes my heart swell, feels like it should be the soundtrack to every romantic films final kiss for the near future.  For those who read this (anyone..) I implore you to check them out, you’ll thank me.

Surfer Blood – Fast Jabroni

See you in another 6 months..

Jesus was a black man, wait, I thought he was bat man.. no..

..that was Bruce Waaaaaaaaaaaayne.

Not actually hear to talk about Black Grape (but them and Dreadzone are all I remember of my youth in music) but thinking of guilty pleasures; totally retracting all previous statements about Bloc Party.  Properly listening to Intimacy after nearly a year of sulking/mourning the ‘Silent Alarm’ days and fuck! me, when you approach it as an album and not a Bloc Party album its actually doing a rather fine service to the tech-oriented side of alternative music.  ‘Ares’ and ‘One Month Off’ are as ballsy as ‘Helicopter’ and ‘Signs’ was practically a tear jerker – but I’m blaming my now overthrown conjunctivitis for that slip of emotion.   I’d recommend checking out the Armand Van Helden remix, it’s radical in comparison; but perhaps fits with the album better…

 Bloc Party – Signs (AVH remix)

Anyway, you’ve all heard of Bloc Party, you might not know much about Animal Collective and you really fucking should.  Latest release ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ is the best 2009 album I’ve heard so far, and should I spend my summer lying in grass, looking at clouds and.. drinking.. (fingers-crossed) it will be this album I’m at the very least singing to myself.  But it’s making me contemplate purchasing a boombox for such situations.  I’ve been annoying everyone in Hull with the chorus for ‘My Girls’ (which Ruby Isle do a great remix of..) but it’s really all about the summery bliss of opener ‘In The Flowers’ and total favourite ‘Summertime Clothes’ which both benefit magnificently from beautifully romantic lyrics, one of distant love, one of new love, but love none the less.

Tomorrow Japandroids release Post-Nothing on 12″ only – buy it whether you have a record player or not.  It’s easy to say it because there a twosome but there like what Death From Above 1979 would sound like had Sebastian Grainger not gone and joined a country-rock band. 

Japandroids – Heart Sweats

In totally none important to the rest of you news it’s two of my best friends birthdays today:  Kashif ‘Missing in action’ Nazir is gonna be the big 2-0, *claps* and Gareth ‘Satsumas and pears’ Thomas is 21 and soon to be violently drunk.  Congrats to both of you, so much love is in my heart for the pair of you that I may well vomit up some of it.

Sorry about that, au revoir..

Alex.

Passover.

Born in December, died in April; a more generous saviour would of timed his existence better to compliment British summertime.  But anyway, merry chocolate everyone..

As previously mentioned, new locations have brought about a lacklustre amount of musical opportunities, so much so that in the entirety of 2009 I’ve been to one gig, in three fucking months! The one-and-only accolade falls on the shoulders of The Thermals, Oregon’s favourite lo-fi punk mastergeniuses. I was reliably informed the trio will return to these shores come summer, after touring the states to push the recently released ‘Now We Can See’ – the video for titletrack is just below and the Ruby Isle remix vid is in the blog below…

The easter holidays, like all holidays prior, have mostly seen me sitting on my moms sofa, watching daytime tv, eating pringles and wishing i had friends who wanted to go to the park. In between such monotonous moments I’ve been spending better time dwelling on of Montreal’s most recent, though almost a year old, ‘Skeletal Lampings’ and admiring it’s drift down story lane: kicking in with the joys of young love; seeing in some bad times; then some sad and confusing times; but capitulating with the epic ‘Id Engager’ – a celebration of singledom so chirpy I feel I’ve been duped.  They’ll be in London town this summer.   Here’s a fanvideo for my current favourite ‘Gallery Piece’, reference!..

Sadly in search of a better of Montreal video I’ve discovered that the awesome fabchannel.com has shut down, as far as I was aware this was the only point the dutch were allowed internet access, a great place to procrastinate the hours away.  Sorely missed (but not so sore that I didn’t notice 4 weeks ago when the closure was announced.. oops.)

Another reportable distraction from essays is the entirely more downbeat Crystal Stilts, who ring out like all my favourite goth bands cold turkey attempts (..if they were to have/need them) mistreated and empty, but still remarkable in its beauty and talent.   Their debut ‘Alight of Night’ teamed with poverty is my motive for downloading spotify.  If your lucky enough to be attending this years dot-to-dot festival, or are a Londoner, then check them out next month, for me, please.. if not; listen to this.

Crystal Stilts – Crystal Stilts

Tschus.

A return to arms…

..as for so long; mine were lost.  It wasn’t idleness. 

Now maybe it’s cupid and fate haunting me but I’m finding it hard to dodge lovers right now (not lovvers - don’t try and dodge them…)  and married ones at that, so conservatively compliant the music world has become since my last entry, maybe.  There’s Mates of State, who have been legit for 4 albums now – great stuff for polyvinyl records but rubbish for rock’n'roll, covering the married with kids angle; Handsome Furs tackling the newlyweds look – and more then handsomely might I add …

phwoar abit – and there not just visually attractive, the guitar hook of ‘I’m Confused’ screams sleaze alone (download:  Handsome Furs – I’m Confused ); not half as sexy but more recently I’ve been lulled by the Paper Cranes, who are kitscher then a box of kittens eating cupcakes with titles like ‘I’ll love you till my veins explode’ and just the general feel-good-factor of everything they do (download: The Paper Cranes – Telephone )

Anyhoo..

If you’ve never seen Art Brut, or if you have, actually even if you don’t like Art Brut now is the time to go and see them.  Not so much because new single Alcoholics Unanimous maintains there form, nor because there now taking on satan, but because there April/May tour will be avec’d by the Robocop Kraus, the only krauts that could ever make me travel to York (those bastards are making me travel to York!).  I’d of never denied 2005’s ‘They Think They Are The Robocop Kraus’ is a beast of an album, I dug it out earlier when I heard the news and I figured out where my occasional lust for curiously shaped disco started.  This is the first tour of the UK they’ve done since Tom Vek was popular, I more then advise, I command you go!

 

Roight.. covering up for the lack of recommendations for so long.. have some videos – call it my top3 of 2009 so far..

3.  Chairlift – Evident Utensil
// beautiful voice, crazy video – Kanye tried to rip it off y’know

2.  Ruby Isle – Now We Can See (Thermals cover)
// the Thermals belting new single, gone fucking nuts.. and a gorilla

1.  Handsome Furs – I’m Confused
// already mentioned, bloody sexy, no more needs saying

See you again in 6 months…

 Alex.