It has been a little while but Eugene McGuinness is back with a new song ‘Lion’ as a free download.
Most recently he’s been busy touring as part of Miles Kane’s band but this sees a return to normal duties. ’Lion’ is lively, uptempo and ridiculously catchy track swathed with swagger and a heavy, spooky guitar line or, according to the man himself, it’s just meant to be the biggest ‘fuck off’ my soul could muster”. Either way it’s a great track and offers an insight into new album, due for release in early 2012.
You can watch the video and download the track below. Check out ‘Fonz’ too, a timely reminder of what he’s already done.
We’ve passed the halfway mark of the year so what better time to take stock of the best albums so far this year. A lot will change by the year’s end with albums from Modeselektor and Toddla T yet to be released and I have yet to listen to SebastiAn, The Horrors and Digitalism properly.
Here’s the 10 albums of 2011 so far (the album title links go to full reviews). I hope this is useful to people, enjoy.
“They push the parameters of their guitar/drum-machine set-up to its very limit, a fantastic record seeping with clanking, sleazy and dark snarling blues/punk hybrid.”
“W.A.R (We Are Renegades) has everything; great rhymes, wordplay and head-nodding beats while lyrically it’s hard-hitting, intelligent and insightful, providing a scathing attack on the industry and society.”
“Hotel Shampoo manages to strike the perfect balance between Rhys’ desire to indulge his oddities, lyrical humor and touching sentiment while making it all sound so natural and effortless.”
“an eclectic patchwork of electronic music takes us on a rollercoaster ride where you can never tell what is coming next; dubstep to disco, hip-hop to house, electro and the experimental”
The sceál of 2011 so far has been one of ‘so much great music, so little time’. Managing to listen to so much music can be a daunting task not to mention writing about it. Here’s a quick round-up of albums I have been listening to a lot.
Pharoahe Monch – W.A.R (We Are Renegades)
Pharoahe Monch‘s latest offering is quite simply one of the finest hip-hop records of the past few years, let alone 2011. W.A.R (We Are Renegades) has everything; great rhymes, wordplay and head-nodding beats while lyrically it’s hard-hitting, intelligent and insightful, providing a scathing attack on the industry and society. This is hip-hop with something to say, a welcome relief from the hordes of bling obsessed industry spun celebrity pretenders.
Like his wordplay this one flows effortlessly slinking between the heavy gospel feel of ‘Let My People Go’, old school vibes of ‘Hitman’ and ‘Clap’ and the fiery anger of ‘W.A.R’ and ‘Calculated Amalgamation’. If one line could sum up an album it would be from the later, “No justice, no peace, no settle / We are renegades, fuck your gold medal.”
This is the work of a master, no doubt about, this is a going to be classic.
I must admit having consistently ignored and disregarded her output over the years, I am not best placed to write about PJ Harvey. But here I am, prepared to admit how wrong I was and heap praise on her latest album, Let England Shake.
It’s an enthralling collection of brooding and dramatic gothic scores exploring Englishness, perils of colonialism and the ravages of war. While there’s obviously a message here it is not preachy, preferring to explore rather than lecture on these themes of war, death and loss. All of which resonate today.
It’s an album which is both tragic and beautiful, rife with dark and horrific imagery of blood spilt battlefields. It is also one which needs to be listened to in full to be appreciated (that said ‘Let England Shake’, ‘The Last Living Rose’ and ‘The Words That Maketh Murder’ where the ones which sucked me in).
Let England Shake is a creative, emotional and fearless record which is an obvious contender for album of the year.
ESRCDR01 is the first complilation from London-based label Electric Sound Records, founded in 2010.
ESR came about from a desire to try and promote experimental music following a stint putting on the shows in London catering to this increasingly marginalised canon. They give away digital music for free because ‘no one pays for music anymore anyway’.
ESRCDR01 is an eclectic mix of psych, krautrock and experimental synth all wrapped up in a nice DIY ethic, it certainly gives an idea of what the label is all about. Contributors range from acts on the label, artists from clubnights and some like-minded associates.
You can stream some of my choice picks or download the whole 13-track album for FREE here. The tracklisting is after the jump.
A while back myself and my mate Leigh (Easy Music For Difficult Ears) decided on the idea of blogswap/joint post. The premise simple; a double whammy of his regular ‘Something for the Weekend’ feature. We begin in 1977 with Leigh taking an extensive look at The Normal, while I roll back a couple of years to sample some vintage Simple Kid. It is only mannerly to allow the guest to go first, so without further ado…
The Normal – TVOD
As the first generation of punk began to falter toward the end of 1977, emphasis began to move away from much of the trash rhythms of the previous eighteen months.
Indeed, the next couple of years would see the scope of instrumentation widen greatly, as artists – struck by punk’s feverish nature – embellished their creations with elements of jazz and funk (The Pop Group), dub (Public Image Ltd., The Raincoats) and rap (The Clash) amongst others.
Heavily featured throughout the emerging post-punk/new wave movement was, of course, electronics. Whereas numerous “no wave” artists (see DNA or Teenage Jesus and the Jerks) may have digressed musically in the pursuit of more art driven formulae, industrial acts (such as Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and SPK) existed on a parallel plain, where self-made electronic sounds and stark noises modernised post-World War 2 concepts like Musique concrète.
Amongst the melee was Daniel Miller – a.k.a., The Normal. Miller, an experienced film editor was dismayed at the apparent need to abide by a three-chord structure within punk’s narrowing walls – rather than confine himself to such barriers, the disillusioned Miller purchased a Korg 700S synthesiser. Recorded in his house on TEAC four-track recorder, Miller produced two ultra-minimalist songs that would later make up his first – and only – single.
Once finished, the songs, “TVOD” and “Warm Leatherette”, were largely single-note / arpeggio affairs, laced with acidic lyrics housed within morbid themes. Images of death in a car crash and televisual addiction ran throughout; although the pictures painted remained largely cartoonish in nature.
Released in October 1978, the split-single TVOD / Warm Leatherette was also to be the debut release on Mute Records – a label set up by Miller himself to carry his own recordings. However with no new material forthcoming, Miller set about shaping Mute into an independent label that would become as important and influential as its peers Factory Records and Rough Trade; the latter of whom helped distribute Mute’s early releases.
As the decade turned, artists such as D.A.F. recorded projects for the label, while Miller himself released an electronic version cover of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis Tennessee” under the banner of Silicon Teens.
By 1981, Fad Gadget and Non had also joined Mute’s roster, before the label reached the stratosphere thanks to the success of new electropop signings, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Yazoo and later, Goldfrapp. Come the beginning of the century, Mute was sold to EMI.
In truth, TVOD / Warm Leatherette single is not widely known within the mainstream consciousness; if anything, it is a musician’s single – a release that helped define its immediate aural surroundings, leading to other artists to extend the boundaries of leftfield electropop and synth-driven new wave.
Simple Kid – Staring at the Sun
Simple Kid aka Ciaran McFeely, is one of those enigmatic artist who refuse to bask in the limelight of their success, preferring to remain in the shadows.
Simple Kid rose to public prominence with the release of SK1 in 2003. A stunning album which captured punters imagination on both sides of the Irish Sea, no mean feat. It demonstrated the Cork natives savvy for witty and at time silly lyrics with catchy-as-hell melodies. SK1 mixed the bouncier and chirpier moments of Britpop era Supergrass and Blur with T. Rex glam swoon and catchy trip hop and electronic beats and synths. It is a formula which probably shouldn’t have worked but it did!
Just as it looked as though he was destined for bigger and better things SK disappeared off the radar, apparently quitting music to escape its pressure and taking up a job in his local video shop. Thankfully this was not to be the end. In late 2006 he returned to the fore with SK2. His second LP saw him embrace his lo-fi id, producing an album of self-produced scuzzy recordings with a real quirky indie-country vibe.
The record was received well by critics and fans alike but as he returned to hibernation once again in 2008 we hoped there was much more to come. Unfortunately it was not to be, a brief message adorned his website to confirm Simple Kid is no more.
A brief but fruitful and exciting musical career, perhaps we may see him return to music under another guise, hopefully he does. Music needs guys like this.
I had intended posting this last week but the death of my modem put an end to that, unsurprisingly it’s quite difficult to keep a blog going with out an internet connection. I popped along to the launch of It’s A Disagreeable Thing To Be Whipped upstairs in Whelan’s on Saturday night and it didn’t disappoint. Ginola deserve particular praise for what was a scintillating performance, it’s always a plus when a band you’ve been looking out for don’t let you down. Enough chatter, here’s the piece meant for last week, hopefully the blog will be firing on all cylinders soon.
Ginola and Turning Down Sex have joined forces with Quarter Inch Collective for a new split cassette, It’s A Disagreeable Thing To Be Whipped.The split release is a loud and noisy 25 minute fusion of punk and hardcore.
We met Ginola last year with double a-side You Never Met Someone Like Me. This time they weigh in with a further seven tracks of feisty shout-a-long garage punk, think Double Dagger meets Zero Boys. Meanwhile Turning Down Sex deliver six tracks of highly charged hardcore punk, all of which are new to me.
The Quarter Inch Collective has been a great addition to Irish music. Since I took up this blogging malarkey they have outdone themselves with a number of quality releases including the superb Quompilation #1. Fear not, this release is of an equally high standard and has had me captivated the past week and driven the neighbors demented no doubt.
There’s a few tasters below, you can stream It’s A Disagreeable Thing To Be Whipped in full over on the Quarter Inch Collective site. It is limited to 100 copies on cassette but can be downloaded via bandcamp too.
The Strokes returned with Angles last month following a lengthy hiatus. The album has received a mixed response from critics with many tending to tilt toward the negative. This is a brief attempt to redress the balance somewhat.
Much has been made of Casablancas taking a step back from dictatorial creative control. Previously he’d taken charge of nearly every aspect of the music, but, on this occasion songs from other members are featured. This odd collaboration process has born an album of scatter-shot diversity. Yet, somehow Angles sounds a lot like a first cousin of his solo album, 2009′s Phrazes For The Young. ‘You’re So Right’, ‘Games’ and ‘Two Kinds Of Happiness’ signal a shift towards a sound rooted in ’80s new wave/post-punk and could have slotted right in to his aforementioned solo record. They also sound boldly futuristic.
The signature spiky strokes lo-fi garage sound remains at the heart and soul of this record; ‘Taken For a Fool’, ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ and the clever twists of ‘Machu Picchu’ are exeptional. There are further stylistic departures with the drumless ‘Call Me Back’ and glam-esque ‘Gratisfaction’.
Burdened with so much expectation from 5 years away, their return isn’t so much a masterpiece thanAngles showing us The Strokes are still very much part of the mix ten years on from Is This It. Angles isn’t perfect, its scattered, disjointed and experimental; call it what you will but it is a damn fine album.
Brooklyn quartet Crystal Stilts, were at the forefront of what has become a lo-fi garage rock revival when they released Alight of Night back in ’09. That record resembled a cocktail of The Bees crossed with Joy Division or The Wedding Present, but what of now?
The intervening years have done them no harm at all, returning with ‘Through The Floor’, our first glimpse at what expect from their second album, In Love With Oblivion, out this April.
‘Through The Floor’ is still firmly in the lo-fi/post-punk camp, an extremely catchy number, the hazy drawl protruding above hand-claps, piano stabs, ooohs and lovely jangly guitars works wonderfully, wonderfully well.
Give ‘Through The Floor’ as spin below or download it via RCRDLBL here.
Dublin hardcore punk outfitWounds were one of the first bands to be featured here with a piece on their explosive debut EP Dead Dead Fucking Dead.
I was shocked to find out one of the guys from the band, James had a very serious accident last year and ended up spending four months in hospital. Thankfully he’s made an excellent recovery, hopefully he continues his speedy recovery.
Remarkably they announced via their blog that they are already working on a debut album so watch this space.
Other news from the band is they have kindly made three tracks (two from the EP) available for FREE via bandcamp.
Domino Records have decided to sign off 2010 with a little festive cheer in the shape of a free MP3 sampler of their releases in 2010.
The excellent 14-track compilation includes tracks from Villagers, Steve Mason, Clinic, The Fall, These New Puritans and lots more from Domino’s cataloge this year.
It’s available stream or download for free from www.dominorecordco.com. Here’s three very good reasons why you should!
Okay, it’s simple, these are my personal picks from what’s been a great year for music. There’s been so many wonderful records throughout 2010 which made this a pretty arduous task to be honest.
Right, that’s enough waffling - Drum roll please – Here it is the ‘Barrygruff Albums of 2010′.
New York producer Max Tannone’s spell binding mash-up album pits Mos Def’s intelligent and insightful political lyrics with the feel good vibes and rhythms of old school reggae and dub cuts. This is nothing short of genius.
The Brothers Chemical returned from the brink with this one. They rediscovered their independence, blew away the cobwebs and started again. The result? A more patient album free from the pressure of big name collaborations which concentrated on doing what they do best, making great dance tunes. They haven’t gone away you know.
We Are Animal are a curious 5-piece from N. Wales who wrote and recorded their album in households, slate quarries, fields and woods around their locality. This DIY attitude helped conjure up something rather exciting, original and organic – a curious mix of eccentricity, buzzing guitars, pummeled drums and Rapture-esque disco-punk, often sounding like a dancier Super Furry Animals.
Flynn continues to outshine almost all his folk contemporaries, we find him in a sombre mood sounding wise beyond his years. There’s no happy-clappy folk pastiche on offer here, rather superb songwriting with stirring, heartwarming and sombre folk music. A solid follow-up to 2008′s A Larum, marginally fails to surpass his former achievements.
Dubbed as “the introvert and darker sibling who lives in the attic” to last years quirky, jolly and bouncy dance record. In reality Senior is more of an afterhours record than a club floor filler as they scale effervescent and melancholic synthesized soundscapes.
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