singles
august '05
madness - shame and scandal
first track to be released from the bands magical seven's 7th studio album sees the lads don their porkpie hats and hit the ska cover version route. while this may be easily disregarded as an easy catalogue filler, it has to be said that madness always incorporated choice cover versions throughout their 'classic' period. so what of this particular new era? well the song has a saucy lyrical content that fits in perfectly with the funny-sad pathos ridden classics that madness were never really recognised enough in making (can we move from fuckin' 'baggy trouser's puurrrlease). the instrumentation is as solid as anyone who has studied/loved the traditional art of reggae should - and with the production duties being taken care of by dub legend dennis bovell this of course sounds great. not a clean and slick digital studio creation, instead it's real live band sound, with the echoed horns kicking when they are meant to, the bass pushed to the front, keyboard maestro michael barson on the best hammond organ stabbing licks, and suggs being .. well suggs. it'll make people of a certain age swoon and smile, while their kids will be embarrassed at the unbridled joy that 3 minutes of radio friendly pop-ska can introduce to a household.
also - spread across the various formats are some interesting extras. the 7" (i suspect it will be limited - aren't they always!) has a fine dubbed up version, whereas the cd single has the band tackling with fine grace, horace andy's classic 'skylarking' and the heavy and non-madness deep and heavy reggae styled 'dreader than dread'. and to be honest these far outweigh the light and airy radio choice. so do yourself and get the full set.
you know it makes sense in a mad kinda way of course.
science - (i saw) something in the shadows
comprising of Rebecca and her sonic partner matt jones, minuteman/ultrasound and currently helping out the live incarnation of the engineers, science have been playing out for a while now, and even sent me a demo of 3 tracks. but nothing prepared me for the epic prog-glam 6 minutes that they have dropped on the wire here.
stunning stuff that builds and builds from a calm and seductive coldplay styled opening with the strung out guitar and piano to an almighty crescendo of choirs and keyboard/guitar madness. as with the previous demos, rebecca's voice is an interesting prospect, which can at first feel out of place, but as the song develops it's own life, her vocals become at ease with the excessive sonic surroundings and suddenly all manner of chills are beginning to creep up the spine. knowing that both rebecca and mat are fans of david bowies glam period its wonderful to hear them strip out the eras glorious guitar solos and strap them into their own creations.
i just know that this song is going to become a firm fave for a long long time.
available as a download via the shifty disco download singles club : more detail
stateless - the bloodstream ep
new band from leeds release a debut ep on the achingly cool regal (clor, alfie) imprint. over the course of the 19 minutes here, the band play around with the modern studio toys on offer, they draft in jim abbiss to sprinkle his in demand skills over the results and in the process create large dramatic guitar music with obvious digs towards both radiohead and coldplay, as well as nodding towards the more listenable aspect of electronica. subsequently the majority of this ep sounds like an clash between the epic sonics of the last unkle release and classic era radiohead. favourite part though has to be mentioned - the final section of 'bluetrace', which has the biggest fattest analogue synth noise that is ripped straight out of jean michel jarre's catalogue making me smile immensely
file under : interesting.
king creosote : jump at the cats/favourite girl/so forlorn
not sure as to which track is going to be the single, and to be honest this country and western take on bar band blues with a dash of drunken pogues instrumentation (accordion, harmonicas !) would never really get much airtime. however, the final drawn out 7 minute groove of 'so forlorn' is interesting. sweet melodies and a gorgeous chord change riff makes this like a stripped down beta band, or even spiritualised affair that has really hit home with this particular listener, making me listen to the other songs with a more open ear.
the album 'kc rules ok' is out soon, and if terry wogan were to drop 'favourite girl' into his playlist i am sure that the togs would lap up this brand of beers and thrills.
the cribs - martell
cracking tune. when i heard the bands previous release i had em down as yet another garage band setup. which they admittedly are, but they seemed to be able fuse rip roaringly good fun time songs into the basic noise. yes it's a straightforward throwback to all things britpop, but in 2005, surely you have noticed that this is not a bad thing. just enjoy it.
dungen - panda
when i received the album i have to admit i just never felt it. yes it is different, it sounds like nothing else being released in 2005, and may indeed may make a lot of the serious music press drool with its psychepop excess, but over the hour it was just too much for my simplistic ears, i couldn't connect with the timewarp noises the multifaceted twists and turns were just too dizzying to full appreciate. having said that this single release is a perfect mini-section of the album, and features probably the albums highlight. so jump on in and see if you enjoy the tripped out excess of the scandanavians 60's pop.
aeon spoke - emmanual
coldplay have qa lot to answer for. where they seem to be able to extend their emotionally drawn out sci-fi guitar rock to the masses, there are bands all over the planet who seem to think a little angst a few piano chords and a sensitive vocal line will make them millions. and you know, for aeon spoke it may just do so. but please, i aint buying into this pain.
harrisons - wishing well
full review : here
kt tunstall - suddenly i see
sorry 'kt' i dont.
gorillaz - dare
you know this is ace. the killers of baggy (the tag line for the first blur album declared it to bring on the death of baggy) teams up with the naturally baggy godfather and in the process makes the ultimate fried disco classic of 2005. the video needs to be seen of course, though the lack of murdoc is somewhat concerning. i realise noodle is in control of this new phase .. but really her ego needs to be controlled. ahem. still, this is album highlight and will propel the excellent album back to the top slot. wonder if the remixes are up to scratch .. only time will tell.
coldplay - fix you
against my better judgement the album has become a bit of a returner to the playlist @ ireallylovemusic hq. its the new pink floyd isn't it. all nonsensical empty lyrics wrapped in massively easy on the ear surroundings that hits the central nervous system and permeates your dream state. orchestral epicness and mass acceptance has made it very difficult to openly like coldplay in 2005. but some how i cant resist. cant resist. cant resist.
the sonic art - do you ever feel
atmospherics and indie rock combine. while not a gripper, there is some interesting ideas being put into action, but little to make this stand out from the glut.
nine black alps - unsatisfied
3rd single from the bands well received debut album. having heard the final closing few songs @ glastonbury, i expected this to be a continuation of their nirvana love, but no. the band have a well defined guitar pop side that i was not aware of before, and this seriously catchy 3 minute number is going to really help propel the band to greater heights. perfect mtv/angry teenager noises, with a very nice and sensitive b-side as well called 'lost house'.
the bravery - unconditional
despite the fact that the press have outed this lot as a purely fabricated band, i bear them no grudges. enjoy your 3 minutes in the limelight. oh, hang on you already have. this is well crafted indie rock, with a bit of sharp synth action. a re-release of their debut single, in which the lead haircut demands that 'he just wants love', which is fair enough. let's hope he gets it.
steve lawler - that sound
8 minutes long. grief. expecting some banging hard house tune, when the old school italio piano house riff kicked in i smiled. is this back ? of course, once the beat kicks in very little really changes but that's the whole point, we get an obvious vocal sample holding the focus and making the hands-in-the-air vibe complete. this totally backed up by the breakdown @ 4 minutes, where the vocal and piano are left to their own, before the machines kick the groove back into touch and the implied euphoria is resealed. classic 92 house action.
funeral for friend - monsters
never listening to the radio (or in this case watching mtv i suspect), means i don't hear any new stuff that doesn't arrive through the letterbox, but recently, whenever i have visited an old fashioned record shop there is always a classy eye catching cover by funeral for a friend, (or ffaf for short !) on display. they are obviously getting a lot of love. unfortunately the big and brash americanised riffs with melodic heartfelt vocals make me wonder about the whole .co.uk domain they maintain.
cadillac - locomotive
now this could be more interesting. far away echoed 'howl at moon' vocals open the proceedings before an almighty fuzzed up bass riff distresses the woofers, prior to the track hitting a monstrous uptempo vibe. production by rich 'black crowes' robinson proves that not everything has to be 1973. kerrang readers and fans of queens of the stoneage should investigate this norwegian band further i suspect.
ciccone - my summer never comes
madonna has influenced many bands of all genres in her path to world domination. so here comes an indie rock band proving that the woman still commands dues even in 2005, but whether this libertines style of rough and ready will make her smile is another matter altogether. catchy and pleasant enough, but doesn't really go anywhere that i haven't been taken before. a splash of the coral, a hint of streets (in the vocals), and a chunk-o-doherty, but, what's this? flip the record and there is a lovely extra hidden away, 'last breathe', with a deathly dark humour lyric, melodic piano, and girl-boy vocal interplay (cerys matthews is running around the grey cells as an obvious reference) adding an extra level of spice to the action - is the death natural, or something more sinister? i guess that's up to you to decide. a far more interesting song.