tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51246284644222830852012-02-11T21:08:23.162+11:00Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.comBlogger421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-40560709023571801622009-08-26T01:44:00.003+10:002009-08-26T02:07:19.900+10:00

Sonic Youth are always a tough band to review. They are one of the most consistent and inventive forces in rock music- this much we know. While their last album, Rather Ripped, was a goldmine of understated jangle-pop, bluesy rock and claustrophobic lethargy, there is always that creeping, nagging feeling (as there is with any Sonic Youth album) that it pales next to 1989’s masterpiece, Daydream

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-20790500638546072622009-08-22T15:57:00.006+10:002009-08-26T00:48:49.070+10:00

<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --As a genre, science fiction seems to cop a lot of flack. Time and time again, the key point that many critics seem to miss is that Star Wars isn’t science fiction. Star Trek hasn’t been science fiction for over a quarter of a century. Not in the real sense, anyway. There is a real difference between an action film featuring space

Damiennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-18276073059928563182009-04-23T23:57:00.008+10:002009-04-25T23:50:50.904+10:00

2006’s Jarvis was a mixed bag. It is not uncommon for an album, especially a solo debut, to have a strong half and a weak one, but of these cases there are very few where the second is so clearly the one to keep. But, sure enough, after cringing one’s way through such vacuous derivative slush as “Black Magic” and “Fat Children”, respite could be found in the glorious “Big Julie” and “From

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-35173044645192513752009-04-14T21:34:00.006+10:002009-04-21T12:29:27.928+10:00

me⋅di⋅oc⋅ri⋅ty /ˌmidiˈɒkrɪti/ [mee-dee-ok-ri-tee] –noun, plural -ties.1.the state or quality of being mediocre.2.mediocre ability or accomplishment.3.a mediocre person._______________________________________________________________Mild disappointment is a funny thing. Its like mild curry, mild weather or a mild case of dyssentry. Often, as a budding film-reviewer, I'd rather abhor a film than

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07386326294743443137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-90061351833928482782009-04-14T16:33:00.004+10:002009-04-14T16:46:15.337+10:00

“I feel like I’ve been shot up into the stratosphere”, claims Natasha Khan aka Bat For Lashes. She sure is cosmic! Actually, Bat For Lashes is Bjork-lite. There’s nothing particularly amiss with Two Suns. Her second outing is just as topped with moody melodies as Fur And Gold. It’s just that a listener would only choose this record if they lacked the bravery to embark upon Bjork’s far bolder and

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-73087102591463024682009-04-14T15:30:00.005+10:002009-04-14T15:34:52.288+10:00

Watersports is like an acid trip that goes terrifyingly awry. Instead of seeing a spectrum of colours, your senses are hounded by swamps of reptiles with oversized jaws, heavy and feculent. Mi Ami lie somewhere between Gang Gang Dance and Can. They create free formed music, while their vocalist barks incessantly in a high pitch. There’s scarcely any discernable time structures or melodies (until

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-13442787815442614722009-04-14T11:39:00.013+10:002009-04-14T13:55:50.681+10:00

Morrissey blah blah legend blah blah The Smiths blah blah solo career blah blah downhill in the 90s blah blah but Vauxhall and I was quite good blah blah ambiguous sexuality blah blah comeback blah.With the obvious preface out of the way, we can take a look at Years of Refusal. Opener "Something is Squeezing my Skull" is a perfect summary of the "Angry Moz" mode, with thumping beats, Fripp-esque

Damiennoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-153195552230135802009-04-13T20:29:00.012+10:002009-04-13T22:13:04.430+10:00

Science And Sorcery is saturated in funk. After the verve of Vessels, the wolves and cubs have decided to lay back and produce a considerably looser record. “What Are They Running” has a devilish Mayhew bass and a toe tapping kick drum, it’s irresistibly racy. The production is dirtier, forests away from the power production on Vessels by Tony Doogan. The song ends with improvised percussion,

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-52214137645856791922009-04-12T18:39:00.011+10:002009-04-13T19:31:37.574+10:00

Belle & Sebastian have been one of my favourite bands for years. The first album I heard, The Boy with the Arab Strap became an instant favourite for me and I sought about finding all their stuff. Surprisingly, one of the last albums I heard, was actually their first. Tigermilk, like so many of their albums, sounds absolutely lovely. Cheery tunes, soft voices, twee pop in all its glory. But this

Philoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01336317591531759272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-70730814383198784272009-04-12T14:12:00.015+10:002009-04-13T21:47:55.569+10:00

Drum’s Not Dead is an album in the truest sense of the word. There are scarcely any songs on here that a cognisant individual would skip to, apart from the final track. Drum’s 12 songs are to be listened to consecutively, in their rightful and deliberate context. Separately they do not amount to more than experimental oddities, but as a whole they create an eye-opening listening odyssey.“Drum”

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-47083540899381017962009-04-11T16:06:00.009+10:002009-04-13T20:01:24.811+10:00

It’s mother’s day soon. Vous comprenez? What are you going to bestow on your mother to illustrate your undying gratitude? She already has too many Rod Stewart Best Ofs. And what of your other anxiety? Anything which you purchase her might be inflicted on you also. A: This compilation.So Frenchy So Chic is delightful. It’s topped to the rim with sweetness and sophistication, 2 very notoriously

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-60512636446621947092009-04-10T22:34:00.015+10:002009-04-13T14:29:11.106+10:00

Graham Coxon can play guitar. Graham Coxon can play guitar better than just about anyone. Graham Coxon is the Johnny Marr of the 90s. These are facts that you could almost forget on his last release, the perfectly fine Love Travels at Illegal Speeds, where Coxon hid his technical virtuosity behind power chords and straight-ahead mod-punk structures. Or further back in his solo career, when he hid

Damiennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-18819990910648015152009-04-10T18:54:00.005+10:002009-04-11T11:23:45.391+10:00

If I was the teacher of a pole dancing class, this record would soundtrack my every lesson. These beats are SAH-vere! But whereas the cover is outlandish and effervescent, the music within is actually very lifeless. The entire affair is disappointingly listless.At the beginning, it seems dangerous and sexy. It loses momentum quickly though and becomes nauseatingly repetitive. “So sexual, so

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-28684067717753152602009-04-09T10:45:00.008+10:002009-04-13T21:03:25.531+10:00

Spiderland is a difficult record to define. At times it’s post rock, other times math rock and even grunge. It’s a bit like Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation meets something undefinable. Some of the guitar riffs screech, fuzzy and unrefined. At other times, they’re pristine and clear. “Breadcrumb Trail” sounds like rock Rilke. “As I walked toward it I passed a crowd of people...she smiled at me,

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-79503272177792432432009-04-08T00:04:00.006+10:002009-04-08T09:43:29.534+10:00

Wolf Parade, Wolf&Cub, Wolf Eyes, Wolfmother, Holy Fuck, Fucked Up, Fuck Buttons, Girl Talk, Women, The Morning after Girls, not to mention the countless amount of ‘The’ bands. Now crystal is the new animal as we have: Crystal Castles, Crystal Stilts, Crystal Skulls and of course Crystal Antlers (which very strategically adds an animal part to the new band name trend).Crystal Antlers are hard to

Sods Madmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11043959925168448080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-82640579193794563272009-04-07T17:48:00.007+10:002009-04-13T14:23:34.689+10:00

The French are perhaps the least confrontational people on Earth. Everyone who's ever tried to invade France has succeeded admirably - Bismarck, Hitler and Tina Arena all swept through Paris whilst the locals sketched each other half-naked and benefitted from universal health-care.Phoenix are no different.They're as non-threatening as Marcel Marceau at the Eurovision Song Contest. They're

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07386326294743443137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-58603316242353257612009-04-06T19:16:00.006+10:002009-04-13T14:21:54.990+10:00

Justice, there’s scarcely anything journalistic or profound to say about them. They’re just a pair of cool mother fuckers. The point of difference though, is that Justice are a pair of cool mother fuckers who have the chops to back their chic. Their brand of elect-rock is untouchable. Planisphere is a single song, severed into four movements. It was conceived to accompany Christian Dior’s Homme

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-90425325802225726002009-04-05T12:34:00.004+10:002009-04-05T12:46:35.693+10:00

Fever Ray is not from our solar system. Karin Dreijer Andersson is an alien with a predilection for ominous electronic music. One half of Swedish duo The Knife, she engages in vocal gymnastics that can only be gawked at. Her voice is shrill and part of that constellation whose stars include Bjork and Kate Bush. She’s a tuneful extra terrestrial looking for companionship. These inhuman impressions

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-49824417555106022592009-04-04T23:13:00.010+11:002009-04-05T02:18:08.190+11:00

From all available evidence, it appears that live Pavement shows come in two varieties: very on and very, very off. Theirs is a style that, on record, glorifies the remedial, the happy accident and the sheer joy to be found in a burst of obscene noise. This can be hard to replicate live- play it too loose and they become an unfocussed mess, play too straight and it just isn’t Pavement.Luckily for

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-42786278358223916902009-04-04T22:30:00.007+11:002009-04-13T14:21:26.500+10:00

Antony Hegarty’s voice is awe. It’s the kind of voice that masses of music lovers gush over and justly so. It’s immaculate, achingly delicate. If other musicians were to express the lyrics strikingly sung here, it may come across as cloying or contrived. Antony however, sings with the utmost conviction and sorrowful sincerity. You only have to listen for confirmation.The Crying Light is laced

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-75648804475165406672009-04-04T19:27:00.008+11:002009-04-13T21:02:56.586+10:00

Entertainment! spits riffs in your face. Guitars are punctuated, grainy and sparse. Sounds are cut short and snappy. The record’s post-punk preoccupation with consumerism is as relevant today as it was in 1979. “Ether” spouts lines repetitively about “Dirt behind the daydream”. “Natural’s Not In It” has enough golden lyrical nuggets to populate generations of epitaphs: “This heaven gives me

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-85044285052177470082009-04-04T16:37:00.006+11:002009-04-13T14:20:43.774+10:00

“Get your leather on”. Yeah Yeah Yeahs are playful chameleons. Its Blitz! is frankly commercial. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in a yeah-this-is-a-fun-listen-if-only-for-half-an-hour-before-I-go-and-make-myself-some-noodles kind of way. “Zero” is fashionable. “Soft Shock” hops delightfully “in your room, in my room, in your room, in my room”. It’s coloured sweetly and is not without its warm

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-26039044420693985962009-04-04T15:24:00.005+11:002009-04-04T23:22:05.876+11:00

Everyday it gets harder and harder to defend Nicholas Cage. We all know how good he was in films like Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation, even if we haven’t seen them. To kids these days, alas, he’s Ghost Rider, he’s National Treasure (or whatever the lead character in that franchise is named). He can be great when he has something to work with, but more and more often he seems to be actively

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-92031340682193841172009-04-04T13:17:00.007+11:002009-04-13T21:01:52.438+10:00

The Horrors have undertaken a new direction. Here, they’ve channeled My Bloody Valentine, Ride and The Cure. One might dismiss Primary Colours as being derivative. However, the execution is solid. 10 songs, not a single one filler. The record was skillfully produced by Geoff Barlow of Portishead. Kid-A ambience establishes the album before it does away with such a musical nicety. Drone-y guitars

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-29101615071294383852009-04-01T20:39:00.011+11:002009-04-13T14:20:23.100+10:00

If Merriweather Post Pavillion was the album that introduced the mainstream Indie throngs to the dissonance and streaming synths of 'noise-pop' then Dan Deacon's Bromst is the album that will test if those throngs are there to stay. The album is dirty, unpredictable, wildly eclectic and yet devastatingly beautiful.A friend of mine described Deacon's style as a mixture of Animal Collective, The

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07386326294743443137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-52106035770772926942009-04-01T18:18:00.009+11:002009-04-06T20:13:07.084+10:00

Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel by Atlas Sound is like falling asleep peacefully in a jumbo jet, only to wake up realising that it hasn’t left the tarmac. Hold that feeling for a moment, that feeling of frustration after a nice nap, hoping you’ll be transported somewhere else. Bradford Cox is a boy wonder. His dedication to his music, fans and blog is admirable. After

Sods Madmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11043959925168448080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-37349079544285805262009-03-31T22:39:00.007+11:002009-04-13T14:19:59.425+10:00

Here Comes the Indian is a hodgepodge. This record was crafted before Animal Collective realised how to expertly merge experimental sounds with a pop sensibility. The sole thing keeping this mishmash of noises together is the drum beat, otherwise it’s just a collection of textures.Avey’s and Panda’s vocal capabilities are wasted on this album. In the middle of “Hey Light” the band resorts to

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-72989782880477008132009-03-31T00:32:00.005+11:002009-03-31T10:10:03.940+11:00

Part 3 of the glam Bowie trilogy:After the full-bodied avant-garde flourishes of Aladdin Sane, the wispiness of the production here is a huge disappointment- it’s even more noticeable than on Ziggy. Bowie, handling production duties, gives himself little to work with. A lethargic, substance-ridden corpse vaguely resembling Ziggy Stardust (or the barely re-branded Halloween Jack) had sacked his

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-54369412670235349622009-03-30T19:27:00.011+11:002009-04-13T14:19:35.996+10:00

“Who? Where? When? What? Why? Questions that need answers. Answers that raise more questions. I pick myself up out of the cold, hard, gutter. I usually land on my feet.”Mercy Arms are as keen as mustard. Drawing from bands like The Smiths and Ride, they fashion sweeping songs for an era in which romance is waning. Thom Moore sings melodiously with a confident falsetto, Kirin J. Callinan wields

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-55396778833194596982009-03-30T01:52:00.007+11:002009-04-06T11:21:01.715+10:00

Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique: 20th Anniversary Edition LPPaul’s Boutique approaches its second decade with an anniversary edition LP, while proving to be an essential landmark stamp in hip hop history. This sophomore release is definitely one of the most important and criminally underrated albums (it tanked upon its release) in the ever growing hip hop genre. For this release the Dust Brothers

Sods Madmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11043959925168448080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-82267969725751504412009-03-30T00:40:00.007+11:002009-03-30T17:47:21.996+11:00

Part 1 of “Was that album really that bad?”Wild Mood Swings by The Cure is pretty universally abhorred. It is a pop album that actually managed to sell less than the preceding gothic dirge of Wish. While Robert Smith has verbally defended the album- actions speak louder than words, and only about two songs from this one seem to ever get played live (and rarely, at that).One of these songs that

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-87542291842491177882009-03-29T23:10:00.005+11:002009-03-29T23:20:47.728+11:00

Gary Numan is a laser. Gary Numan is TRON. Gary Numan is the villain in Terminator 2 who can liquefy, all metallic and silver. The Pleasure Principle suggests that the future was in 1979, so where are we now? This record set the standard for the 80s, when synthesizers were the new plague.“Airplane” menaces with erratic synths. “Complex” is tender like a lonely robot, each sung syllable succinctly

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-56360475169317202372009-03-29T19:58:00.008+11:002009-04-06T20:12:45.694+10:00

Kings of Leon have always been a band I’ve enjoyed, as they never seemed to take themselves seriously. Sure they had serious songs but they remembered to make ‘fun’ records. Because of the Times was a change of pace as they deconstructed the ‘southern strokes’ tag and created a larger, more pristine sound. While this was a different pace for them, they certainly didn’t ignore their old direction.

Sods Madmenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11043959925168448080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-69324961438116920122009-03-29T12:43:00.004+11:002009-04-04T16:37:10.108+11:00

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-61395184783342751442009-03-29T11:47:00.016+11:002009-04-13T22:26:16.605+10:00

CONTEXT: Peter, Bjorn And John sit down with their record label. Living Thing has been mixed and just needs the label’s stamp of disapproval. Exec: “Hey guys, um, great effort. Listen, just one minor quarrel I have with the new record, though I love the artwork by the way. None of the songs, how should I say, um, go anywhere? What I mean is that Living Thing is actually Inconsequential Thing. It’

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-43504507414696590492009-03-29T11:33:00.011+11:002009-04-04T16:36:59.684+11:00

Unwittingly, Don Hertzfeldt has become something of a viral internet sensation- there are probably five times as many people who could quote the “My spoon is too big/I am a banana!” gag from Rejected than there are people who actually know who this man is. The fact that Don Hertzfeldt is adamant that computers not be used to create or screen his works is lost in the quick-fire comedy potential of

Damiennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-70827263064215970042009-03-29T00:01:00.013+11:002009-04-13T22:25:51.360+10:00

In preparation for their new record in June, I felt it appropriate to look at Sonic Youth’s last offering- 2006’s Rather Ripped.As soon as “Reena” opens this album, there’s something different. While I would never accuse Sonic Youth of using traditional tunings, you could almost swear that either Lee or Thurston is playing a guitar set to EADGBE. What’s more, it opens with a chorus- a melodic one

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-13908735606120351032009-03-28T16:34:00.015+11:002009-04-06T20:12:39.947+10:00

Part 2 of the Bowie glam reviews:When we last saw Ziggy, he was contemplating suicide in front of a stage full of admirers. It’s clear now that what he really needed, more than anything, was a trip to the States.Aladdin Sane or ‘Ziggy Discovers America’ is undeniably weird. Opener “Watch that Man” should be an instant glam classic- but Bowie’s voice is so far down in the mix that, on public

Damiennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-64433830153829717422009-03-28T13:19:00.011+11:002009-03-29T13:43:41.795+11:00

Grizzly Bear conjure up folk songs to envelop. Think blankets, canopies and slivers of light. The tracks swathe listeners and reproduce the sensory equivalent of a midnight walk through a dense forest. Veckatimest wants to soundtrack your autumn. Named after a remote island, Veckatimest expertly crafts the sound of solitude. There’s less variation in the songs than on 2006’s Yellow House, though

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-45548654527786381302009-03-27T23:49:00.019+11:002009-04-13T14:16:57.119+10:00

Paradise is full of many contradictions, the most obvious one being that as a listening experience, it’s a great deal closer to hell. The album artwork is befitting of the noise. These songs are desolate, sparse and unforgiving. The desert is uninterrupted and repetitive in its terrain, so too are the 10 beatings which populate Paradise, where chord changes cease to exist. The album was produced

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-27217890808065668372009-03-27T19:30:00.023+11:002009-04-13T14:16:39.163+10:00

Crystal Castles are a Hugh Grant movie, enjoyable sure, but about as enduring as yo-yos.“Untrust Us” sounds as lethargic as its creators. It unsuccessfully attempts to lift a vocal sample, also seen on Death From Above 1979’s Heads Up EP, over an unfitting tempo, Not-iN*SYNC.“Alice Practice” bleeps and bubbles with synthesizers haphazardly. Alice Glass yells emotively about something not entirely

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124628464422283085.post-55838487931705655322009-03-27T17:51:00.023+11:002009-04-13T14:15:28.405+10:00

Boredoms conceive music in a blender. Ingredients are thrown in by a blind chef, who has the fortune of often producing something digestible, but only for the courageous consumer.If listening to a cauldron of interrupted tempos and cut-and-paste melodies sounds like an excusable way to spend an hour, then Super æ is the record for you.Opener, “Super You” is restlessness. Actually, Super æ is

Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11517739456949843045noreply@blogger.com1