Bull Black Nova

Moving On...

2011-04-15T12:31:00.004+01:00

This is a post to officially retire the Bull Black Nova blog.

The blog originally started as a medium to develop my writing and as time has gone on my enthusiasm for the blog has waned, the posting has become near non-existant.

I am currently working on the creation of a new blog, structured in a better manner and will result in a far more regular series of posting.

It is not clear yet when the new blog will be ready for its official launch - I'll post here when it is up and running. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later and I hope any regular readers will join me at my new home for a better standard of regular writing.

Thanks,

Kevin.

EDIT: You can find me over at http://thinkyoucanwait.wordpress.com/ from now on.

Electric Picnic & Oxegen 2011: Line-Up Announcement

2011-03-10T15:21:00.003Z

Not that I need to reprint them here - anyone who doesn't live under a rock has seen one or other of the line-ups for the big two of Ireland's festival circuit.

A few surprises, in particular on the Oxegen bill - Bright Eyes, Eels, Jenny & Johnny and (sickener here) the National are all typical Electric Picnic bands, the National and Eels both having played in Stradbally in 2010. However, Punchestown will play host to the duo this year - and expect the likes of WarPaint, James Blake and Avi Buffalo all to confirm for Oxegen before the event too. They should all take places alongside the likes of Coldplay, the Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and the Foo Fighters in what is, in fairness, the best Oxegen line-up in a while.

The Picnic has a great batch though: Pulp, Flying Lotus, the Chemical Brothers, DJ Shadow and, of course, Arcade Fire are fantastic acquisitions, while I'm more than a little excited about Beirut, PJ Harvey, Lykke Li and Midlake too. Plenty more to come.

Kudos to the Picnic too for keeping an Irish edge to the festival - while Oxegen musters up its usual Script slot (second on the bill for Friday night behind the Black Eyed Peas), the Picnic has snapped up the Cast of Cheers, Adebisi Shank (and their mind-blowing live show), CODES, RSAG (who was responsible for the best Irish album of last year in my opinion) and more for the event. Very impressive to say the least.

Tickets are available now at the usual vomit inducing prices from Ticketmaster (approx. €250)

New Music: Robin Pecknold Releases Three Tracks

2011-03-08T00:17:00.004Z

Not content with preparing the new Fleet Foxes LP, Robin Pecknold has released three new tracks including a fantastic collaboration with Grizzly Bear man Ed Droste.

Pecknold was clear in emphasising that these were not tracks from the upcoming Fleet Foxes LP, from which only one song has yet been released.

The duet, 'I'm Losing Myself' is a really beautiful track. As one would expect from two masters of harmony, the song is layered in the complementary vocals of the two. Very similar to the most mellow moments from Fleet Foxes' debut, the track is simple, stripped and haunting.

'Derwenwater Stones', in the words of Pecknold himself, is "just a new solo jam." It's a more jaunty track, the guitar twang adding some life to it. Pecknold's vocal sounds very similar to Jim James of My Morning Jacket on here - the two have borne similarities in the past, but much more so now. The track tears at a rapid pace until shortly before the three minute mark, when it stops and rebuilds slowly before suddenly ending once again.

The final track is a cover of 'Where Is My Wild Rose' by New Zealand troubadour Chris Thompson. Had Pecknold not spelt this out beforehand, it would have been very easy to mistake it for a Fleet Foxes, such as the references to "misty mountains" and different cities, notably Dublin and Londonderry.

Pecknold cited the Irish influence on the new Fleet Foxes album, landscape in particular forming a very real aspect of the work.

The band are also playing in Cork as part of Live at the Marquee 2011, as well as a slot in Belfast. These three tracks are available to download for free via http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MNB143XT, while I also recommend following Robin on Twitter. He's always good for a surprise here and there.

New Music: Broken Bells "Windows" [Review]

2011-03-08T00:11:00.004Z

Streaming over on NPR at the moment is the first inkling of a new offering from James Mercer and Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) - Broken Bells. Last year's debut offered a fantastic blend of indie pop with subtle hip-hop undertones, though it simply did not leave the comfort zones of either party.

This single, 'Windows', does not fall into the same category as such. Much more funky, much more upbeat - the song has a hurtling rhythm beneath Mercer's vocal, bringing in some Prince-esque beats and a fantastic guitar line. Electro-pop at its finest. A step forward to say the least!

The song makes up part of an EP due for release at the end of the month. The songs did not make the cut for the debut album, though according to the band it is because they didn't fit in with the vibe of the other songs. That's for sure...

Head over to http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/03/07/134330851/exclusive-premiere-new-broken-bells?sc=tw&cc=twmp to check it out.

New Music: Wild Beasts "Albatross" [Review]

2011-03-08T00:03:00.006Z

Following on from the fantastic Two Dancers, Wild Beasts have released the first track from the forthcoming Smother. The track, 'Albatross' is available free via http://www.facebook.com/wildbeasts.

How does it sound? Well check it out for yourself but it's safe to say that it's more of the same from the Mercury nominated act. Hayden Thorpe's fantastic vocal is at its very best here, encompassing the middle ground between his usual swing from falsetto to brooding baritone.

The backing track is a very simple, meandering piano tone - the band aren't exactly pushing the boundaries with this track. What they do, however, they do well.

New Arctic Monkeys Track: Brick by Brick [Review]

2011-03-07T16:52:00.003Z

We've had the weekend to digest it - the new Arctic Monkeys track dropped from nowhere Friday evening. A startled NME.com claimed to have "discovered" it by accident, though the FaceBook update from Arctic Monkeys' official page directing you toward the website couldn't have hurt at all...

What to make of it? The surprise of the track actually landing from nowhere was one thing, though the shock of how it sounds surpassed that no end.

At just 2:57, the track tears through a ferocious vocal, a real 60s vibe and a slow bridge, before ending in the now familiar "brick by brick" refrain at the end in no time at all.

Early on, the sound is startling: Turner's vocal is near unrecognisable - this sounds more akin to Josh Homme or perhaps Jesse Hughes. The desert feel is all over this: the time the band spent with Josh Homme has proven to pivotal in their sound.

From here, the song takes in a proper 1960s sound - if you checked out Turner's cohort Miles Kane's solo efforts then it might all sound quite familiar.

It is yet another brave sidestep from the band. Lauded with plaudits following their blistering debut, the band have been the subject of much split opinion on the back of albums two and three, though I must say I think each step has been a perfect one. Turner's vocal no longer sits in realm of cynical social commentator, but genuine poet, while the heavier sound that has accompanied each album has been nothing short of brilliant.

Brick by Brick does not initially grab with the same ferocity as I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor or Brianstorm, but neither did Crying Lightning and that led to a stunning album, dripping in sexual tension and maturity. Here's hoping...

Initially unclear whether or not the track would form part of any upcoming work, Matt Helders has since confirmed that it is a teaser of what is to come. We know that an album is on the horizon (produced by Simian Mobile Disco frontman James Ford), and the band are set for a number of summer dates including a headline slot at Oxegen 2011, so all the signs point to album number four from the Sheffield quartet dropping sooner rather than later.

Check out the single below and let me know what you think.

Live at the Marquee 2011: Dylan, Simon and more added

2011-03-07T16:44:00.003Z

Live at the Marquee 2011 is approaching and more big names were added to the bill today. Joining the likes of Elton John, Grinderman and the Frames are Tom Jones, Bob Dylan (who played in 2006), Paul Simon, Imelda May (for a second date), Westlife and "comedienne" Katherine Lynch - though humour is generally required for that title to work...

The full line-up (so far) is below. Expect hefty support bills to be announced for both Grinderman and Fleet Foxes to justify the inflated price tags (€50 and €40 respectively) - Harmonic are obviously ignoring part two of their ethos, i.e. bringing big names to Ireland at an affordable price...

The Frames - June 11th.

Erasure - June 15th.

Bob Dylan - June 16th.

Imelda May - June 17th.

Katherine Lynch - June 18th.

Tom Jones - June 19th.

Grinderman - June 20th.

Paul Simon - June 21st.

Bryan Adams - June 22nd.

Imelda May - June 23rd. (SOLD OUT)

Alexandra Burke - June 24th.

Christy Moore - June 25th.

Fleet Foxes - June 26th.

Elton John & Band - June 28th.

Bell X1 - July 1st.

Westlife - July 9th.

Tickets are available from the usual outlets.

Mark Linkous: One Year On

2011-03-06T15:51:00.002Z

Today marks the one year anniversary of the death of the alternative rock mastermind, Mark Linkous. Known largely for his work under the name of Sparklehorse, Linkous was a tortured soul who took his own life on this date last year and is sorely missed.

Prior to his death, I had very little exposure to his work, though in the year since I have spent many a day soaking up the wonderful body of work that he left behind.

The 1995 classic Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionsubplot, in particular, has become a standard play on my iPod. A sparse and terrifyingly open album, it charts Linkous battle with depression.

This is never more notable than on 'Sad & Beautiful World' - a painfully clear song that unfortunately became a reality when the sadness outweighed the beauty and forced Linkous to take his own life.

Last summer saw the release of an album that has become an epitaph not just for Linkous, but also for Vic Chesnutt who died a few months before. Dark Night of the Soul was a collaborative work produced with Danger Mouse and involving appearances from Julian Casablancas, Wayne Coyne, Frank Black, Jason Lytle, James Mercer, David Lynch and Vic Chesnutt.

A wonderfully varied work, the album has some moments of tremendous beauty and poise and is a fitting memory for Linkous, though I implore you to check out the earlier work with his name attached. Such beauty, such simplicity, such frailty - it is phenomenal.

The Choice Music Prize: A Reflection

2011-03-04T01:01:00.004Z

Well there you have it - Two Door Cinema Club. Hand on heart did not see that coming, but such is the joy of the Choice Music Prize (previous winners include Super Extra Bonus Party, Jape and Adrian Crowley)

On Tourist History, the Bangor trio laid out their cards plain for all to see: accessible, danceable, infectious indie pop. What they do, they do very well. It is simplistic pop music at its very best - and it would certainly sound a lot more fresh had the tracks not polluted television ads for the last ten months or so. Taking the album as simply that though, it is very strong. Every one of the songs has the potential to be a single, and each of the singles has been a hit thus far ('Something Good Can Work', for example, reached number 18 in the charts upon its re-release, while the album itself went gold)

As for the losers, each can feel as aggrieved as the rest. The final ten this year was exceptionally strong - Villagers, James Vincent McMorrow, Adebisi Shank, the Cast of Cheers, Halves, Imelda May, O Emperor, Cathy Davey and Fight Like Apes making up the remainder.

In reality, Imelda May's failure to attend (due to touring commitments) rendered her nomination null and void, while Fight Like Apes' pretty poor second album had no place on the final list. Halves have done well from the exposure, but it was always unlikely for them, while you could argue that Villagers struggled due to the excessive saturation of the debut record: the Mercury nomination led to mass press and a heavy favourite tag.

Cathy Davey has been robbed in the past, though the judges opted not to right a wrong on this occasion, while O Emperor justified the early hype in their career with a solid, yet unspectacular album.

That leaves the trio of Adebisi Shank, James Vincent McMorrow and the Cast of Cheers. They were among the finest performers on the night (JVM, in particular, can walk away knowing his ever-growing legion of fans is burgeoning even further) and each had their champions in the run-up. Personally, I would have loved to have seen McMorrow win, while both the Cast of Cheers and Adebisi Shank would have felt right with their name on the trophy too.

Congratulations, though, to Two Door Cinema Club. The trio opted to donate the €10,000 prize fund to a Bangor based charity involved in housing projects in Africa - another feather to add to their cap.

Spare a thought not for the losers on the night, however (they will all benefit from the exposure simply by making it to the final ten), but for those who didn't make the cut: Not Squares, RSAG, Solar Bears, Ham Sandwich, Somadrone, the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra... There are dozens more alike who would have walked away with the prize in previous years, yet failed to make the cut this time around. It is a true testament to the classic year in Irish music that was 2010 - and let that be the final word on it, on this blog at least.

Live at the Marquee 2011

2011-02-04T13:51:00.005Z

The flurry of acts playing in Cork as part of the 2011 Live at the Marquee festival is gathering pace. Two more were added this week, taking the number to 7. It is already looking like a much better mix than last year, in my opinion. While there's nothing to match the Harmonic (Grizzly Bear & Midlake) event just yet, it's still a good batch so far...

The Frames - June 11th.
Grinderman - June 20th.
Bryan Adams - June 22nd.
Imelda May - June 23rd.
Alexandra Burke - June 24th.
Christy Moore- June 25th.
Elton John & Band - June 28th.
Bell X1 - July 1st.

The double header of the Frames and Grinderman is what has grabbed my attention, though if MCD get there way, there won't be a single person at the latter. Tickets went on sale this morning at a staggering €49.20, excluding costs. When you add in Ticketmaster's cut, that's looking like €56.

Last year, the final line-up brought the likes of Snoop Dogg, Al Green, JLS, Blondie and Westlife to the city.

Digital Socket Awards: the Results

2011-02-04T13:30:00.004Z

Last night was the culmination of months of work by the likes of Peter (2UIBestow), Naomi (Harmless Noise), Aiden (Goldenplec) and Ronan (SwearImNotPaul) - credit to these guys in particular who worked tirelessly to get everything running to plan.

Disappointingly I couldn't make the trip to Dublin, but early reports are pretty favourable. Ham Sandwich (they being the oh-so secret special guests), Groom and Meljoann provided the entertainment, while the awards showered the cream of Irish music with the recognition they more than deserve.

Adebisi Shank cleaned up, taking away Best Design, Best Rock & Alternative and the coveted Album of the Year prize. The Cast of Cheers, too, walked away with prizes bulging - Best Indie and Best Newcomer, as well as the RTE Special Award of Outstanding Contribution to Music 2010.

Congrats to all the winners, all of whom are listed below.

1. Best Design (Website, Artwork, Posters) - Adebisi Shank
2. Best Independent Label - Richter Collective
3. Best Video - Ambience Affair
4. Best Music Photography - Loreana Rushe
5. Best Radio Show - Donal Dineen
6. Best Pop - Cathy Davey
7. Best Folk - Villagers
8. Best Rock and Alternative - Adebisi Shank
9. Best Electronic & Hip Hop - Solar Bears
10. Best Indie - The Cast of Cheers
11. Best EP - And So I Watch You From Afar
12. Best Newcomer - The Cast of Cheers
13. Song of the Year - Villagers - The Meaning of the Ritual
14. Album of the Year - Adebisi Shank

I'm particularly pleased with the recognition that Solar Bears got, having been overlooked for the Choice Music Prize, though all are more than worthy of their prizes.

Here's to 2011!

The White Stripes Announce Their Split

2011-02-03T13:06:00.002Z

As I'm sure you've already heard by now, the White Stripes have officially confirmed their split via a message on their website that read as follows:

The White Stripes would like to announce that today, February 2nd, 2011,
their band has officially ended and will make no further new recordings or perform live.

The reason is not due to artistic differences or lack of wanting to continue, nor any health issues as both Meg and Jack are feeling fine and in good health.

It is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve What is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way.

Meg and Jack want to thank every one of their fans and admirers for the incredible support they have given throughout the 13 plus years of the White Stripes’ intense and incredible career.

Third Man Records will continue to put out unreleased live and studio recordings from The White Stripes in their Vault Subscription record club, as well as through regular channels.

Both Meg and Jack hope this decision isn’t met with sorrow by their fans but that it is seen as a positive move done out of respect for the art and music that the band has created. It is also done with the utmost respect to those fans who’ve shared in those creations, with their feelings considered greatly.

With that in mind the band have this to say:

“The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore. The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful.”

Sincerely,
Meg and Jack White
The White Stripes

Now while they may have asked for this to not be met with sadness, I am utterly devastated. I can literally pinpoint the White Stripes as the band that began my interest in all things alternative and indie. Prior to that, as was the case with the majority of people at the time (I was twelve...), my interest was squared on the likes of *shudder* Linkin Park.

We all make mistakes though...

You can go to any major music site and read about the influence the band hand, the change in direction that modern music took following the Stripes' explosion on the scene, so I wont bore you with the same.

For me, however, it wasn't the widespread impact that enthralled me. I can vividly remember sitting up beyond midnight watching the band's headline slot at Glastonbury 2005, completely captivated. The raw energy, the visceral power, the unspoken - almost psychic - bond between Jack and Meg... Each one knew what the other was about to do. They always performed in this manner, in the absence of a setlist... Anyone lucky enough to have been treated to a White Stripes performance was witness to a completely unique event.

The mystique of the band was enchanting. There was none like them. But, above all, the music was phenomenal.

As is the case for many (c'mon - own up!), Seven Nation Army was my first introduction to the band. I bought Elephant as soon as I could get my hands on it, and followed this one by one with the back catalogue. The stunning White Blood Cells, De Stijl and the self-titled debut - each better than the one that preceded it.

White Blood Cells would prove to be a recorded high for the band, in my opinion. While better songs may have followed, no subsequent album matched up to it as a whole. The simplicity was beautiful: Jack and Meg took the most basic sound, stripped it off all its excess and made it sound fresh and exciting in a way that none had achieved before.

Simplicity was thrown out the window as Jack stepped into unknown territory with mariachis, horns, bagpipes and more on Icky Thump, the follow up to the largely piano driven Get Behind Me Satan. The ability to breathe life into other people's song was staggering too: Bob Dylan (dozens of times), Son House, Dolly Parton, Burt Bacharach - they all got the White Stripes treatment, the resulting tracks often surpassing the originals.

The mystique and the magic will live on forever, but above all, it is for the music that Jack and Meg will be remembered. Such cohesion, such charisma, such genius. There is no other word for it.

The opportunity to see the band live was something I had always wanted, yet no joy unfortunately. However, if nothing else, we have been left with a rich and varied back catalogue, unparalleled in consistensy and strength by any of their contemporaries.

Interview: Sean Kangataran

2011-02-01T22:05:00.002Z

This article originally appeared in the February 1st edition of the UCC Express.

Irish folk-musician Sean Kangataran has taken up an unlikely home in Los Angeles since the release of his debut album last year. Music Editor Kevin O’Neill checks out the man, and the album, that was missed by many.

Galway-born, Sean Kangataran is somewhat of a wanderer with regard to his musical home. He honed his craft at home and abroad, playing shows all across Europe. At the time of this interview, he finds himself in the airport of his new adopted home, Los Angeles. It is 5a.m. where he is.
“I came to Los Angeles because it's where everything happens musically and my favourite writers all lived here.”

His self-titled debut album was released last year but slipped through the cracks in comparison to the major Irish success stories (Villagers, James Vincent McMorrow, etc.) While the album is available in Ireland, it was never officially launched over here. Bloggers have slowly spread the word, while Sean himself has sent the album out to many lucky writers for free.

This lack of immediate success hasn’t hampered Sean’s push toward success, however, as he is keen to make clear. The move, the reviews, it is all building blocks of the bigger picture.

“Because Ireland is such a small country there has always been the requirement that you had to leave and prove yourself elsewhere before it'd accept you, and though the record has been received really well, the reviews have been bland. I've had a few of my heroes say the most complimentary things about it, 'cause musicians get it, audiences get it, people get it, reviewers don't. It's nothing personal, they're just hearing from a different place. I don't even read them anymore, and it'd be foolish to place stock in anything anyone ever writes about you, good or bad.”

These “heroes” than Sean mentions are none other than Glen Hansard of the Frames and Ryan Stively of Port O’Brien. Hansard has compared Kangataran to John Fante and Mic Christopher, while Stively has been rather colourful in his praise, likening the Irish troubadour to “a smooth shot of Jameson or Bushmills”, as well as putting him in the same company as the creators of the finest Americana of the modern era: Okkervil River and Sufjan Stevens.

The record lies somewhere within these boundaries. It is “familiar, yet very much unique” in the words of Stively: the passion, the anger and the nostalgia that pour through the album are something we can all identify with. The opening track in particular, ‘Burn It All’, is sang with a David Kitt-style honesty as Kangataran laments his wasted years.

“Welcome back to yourself, it’s been a while since you’ve been home… When I think about all the time that I spent figuring out how to live my life / It makes my head spin thinking about how I lived seven years afraid to live even one.”

The period that Kangataran is referring to is that which preceded his foray into music.

“I would still say that music is very new to me. There are a lot of things I haven't done. Before I came here (Los Angeles) I spent a year swimming. Just swimming. It seemed like the right thing to do. Before that I was dissecting bodies and teaching anatomy to medical students. That was ok but the smell of formaldehyde wasn't. I did that for four years after University. Before that I was spending all of my time training to be a pilot. My Dad was a pilot. I got as far as getting my Private Pilot's Licence. I had to work some tough jobs to do that. Dangerous ones. Handling plastic parts in factories with machines that were several hundred degrees Celsius.”

The album was not put together without a struggle, despite the effortless flow of the tracks.

“The "old" record that I made last summer was unusual in that I was at my happiest whilst making it, and the busy drums and brass reflect this, but the material itself was very sad. I wrote that album because I had to, and though it came from an unhappy place there really isn't all that much emotion in it. It's just a delivery of statements.”

Song-writing is a craft, and a difficult one. Take note of any number of Kangataran’s contemporaries, pouring out tracks about nothing at all. The album is tinged with a refreshing honesty, however. It feels real, it feels intimate.

“It's really hard to write something that means absolutely nothing but songwriters manage it every day. Try it yourself. If you were to even write down what you ate yesterday or whom you owe money to and why, assuming you managed to avoid rhyming 'high', 'sky', 'fly', or using words like 'unicorn' or 'sunset', or talking about someone's eyes or calling someone 'baby', then you've written something with more value than most of the shit out there.
The line that a lot of people have connected to in the record is about kissing your girlfriend's belly and how it'll one day be a home to your babies, but this coming from a place after you've broken up. That's just an intimate statement of fact. It could easily have been a line about how she liked watching lesbian porn when we had sex. Both are each other's equal and neither of them puts their hand on their heart or tilts their head emotively to get their point across.”

Such a commitment to his craft, and such honesty, has served Sean well in his time in Los Angeles, where he has put together an eight piece ensemble that includes Tom Waits’ bassist and Outkast’s drummer.

“I like telling people that I've had good luck, that I am lucky, or whatever, but there's no such thing as luck. Good nor bad. The people I'm playing with here are with me because I went out and found them. I've auditioned a lot of musicians. Every day here I am practicing and improving in some way. I can't make anyone else do that, I can't even make people care about what they do, and though I can feel dependent on them, I'm not.”

It is striking the difference between Kangataran the musician, and Sean the interviewee. While the record is whimsical and reflective, Sean is much more matter of fact about his scenario. He is not to be swept up in the LA notions of success, while is very measured and calculated about his every word.

“I don't really care about the common notions of success; I would simply like to have a band that can deliver the songs I write accurately. After that it'd be nice to earn enough to not starve but that's secondary.”

Sweeping between the downbeat ‘Burn it All’, the bluesy lead-single ‘Hairpin’, the Americana infused ‘Be The Dust’, Sean Kangataran can accurately be filed under the ‘missed opportunities’ category for many writers and music lovers. As good a collection of folk and indie music as you’ll hear anywhere, fans of the Shins, the Decemberists, Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens should find much to adore here.

It is an album that has struck a chord with many who are able to identify with the myriad of missteps, faltering relationships and wondrous notions of what might have been.

Sean is hoping to return to Ireland this year, though it largely depends on money. Until then, he tells me that he and his collective are playing a number of shows around Hollywood, meeting the industry heads (it’s “the nature of the town) and continuing to rehearse in a mansion that is now the setting for a reality TV show…

Just a normal day for this chanteur.

Just Another Manic Monday...

2011-01-31T22:03:00.003Z

A few points of business to address tonight...

Manic Monday

Andy Carroll is by no means worth £35million, but this is neither the time nor the place for such talk!

4FortyFour

I have been lucky enough to have been asked to begin contributing to the fantastic 4fortyfour blog (http://4fourtyfour.wordpress.com/) You can check out my first contribution - a late addition to the 'EarWorm#4' post, on which I talk about the song that's dominated my last seven days or so. I opted for the simply fantastic "L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N." by Noah & the Whale - pitch perfect. Check it out below.

Very like "Lola" by the Kinks. A much more upbeat track than they included on the second album, yet not as over the top as the debut. Excited about the album now.

New Music

And quite a bit of it too, thankfully! I haven't found much to love just yet this year (James Blake aside) but this could be all changing.

Today Fleet Foxes released the first track from their forthcoming second album. Helplessness Blues is as you'd expect from Fleet Foxes. It mixes their quirky, folky style with their fantastic harmonies and vivid lyrics. It isn't a radical step forward, but this is by no means a bad thing. It is available to download from the band's official website @ http://www.fleetfoxes.com/ Listen to it below and, while nobody likes those awful still videos, at least you can look at the stunning artwork that will accompany the album when it does hit shops in May.

Next, we come to REM who are strong contenders for the shock of the year with their new album Collapse Into Now. Four tracks have now been released, each better than the last. (Well, not literally. 'Discoverer' was first and is still the best...) Mine Smells Like Honey is the latest and it is continuing with the vintage REM vibe - very 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi'

Any version of the official video that I have tried to get my hands on has been met with that awful message telling me I'm not eligible for the material where I'm based, so I'm afraid we'll have to make do with another of these awful still videos.

We also have a new track from Cork-band John Blek & the Rats. 'No More Leaving' is a much more bluesy, country style track - bit of a departure from their previous work.

Also doing the rounds today is the new album from Bright Eyes ('The People's Key') - check it out via their official YouTube channel or NPR, while Cut Copy's new album is doing the rounds. I haven't gotten through all of Bright Eyes' just yet, though Cut Copy's is pretty good from what I've heard so far.

Also, according to the German amazon, U2's new album is due for release in May...

Watch this space.

Do Not Miss...

The Digital Socket Awards. This Thursday, the DSAs take place in the Grand Social in Dublin. Groom, Meljoann and a special guest (a fantastic one too, might I add!) will perform at the inaugural blogger choreographed event for just €10. Check it out, seriously.

That's all folks...

Market Force: "Becoming A Jackal" [Villagers Cover]

2011-01-24T11:24:00.002Z

I could probably have called this post "Quomp Love #2" having already posted about Cloud Castle Lake's fantastic Kanye West cover...

If you haven't heard, Quompilation is a collection of 13 tracks from 2010 covered by Irish acts. As mentioned, Cloud Castle Lake take on Kanye West, while we also get some great stuff from Patrick Kelleher, Ginola, Spies, We Are Losers and more. It all comes courtesy of the Quarter Inch Collective and will be launched on January 27th, available for €5 thereafter.

Today, my mind was left in some sort of numbed state by the wonder of Market Force's cover of the title track from Villagers' debut album. While the original is acoustic singer-songwriter by numbers (and I mean that in all the best ways - the track wears its heart on its sleeve and is all the better for it!), the cover is minimalistic, haunted and trippy.

Stunning. The disparity between this and the original is so vast that you'd swear it was a totally different track: think "Heartbeats". Jose Gonzales and the Knife - the versions are so different, and yet both so good.

Check out the full compilation below. Market Force is track 11.

Quompilation #1 by Quarter Inch Collective

Cloud Castle Lake: "Lost in the World" [Kanye West Cover]

2011-01-21T12:09:00.003Z

Currently doing the rounds is an absolutely fantastic compilation of Irish bands covering their favourite songs from 2010. Among the tracks available are not one, but two great covers of Squarehead's Fake Blood by Hipster Youth and the phenomenal Patrick Kelleher, covers of Caribou (by We Are Losers), Rihanna (by Ginola), the National (by Spies) and more.

One of the most interesting tracks tackled is Kanye West's incredible Lost in the World. Taken from last year's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the original features a sample of Bon Iver's Woods.

Here we see one of the hottest bands on the Irish scene at the moment, Cloud Castle Lake, take on the track with interesting results! The faux autotune start is great, as are the altered lyrics (Gil Scott Heron's "Who will survive in America?!" is swapped for "Who will survive in the Republic?"), though their is a bit of a wince moment just before the rapping begins.

All in all though, a pretty solid cover, unique in any respect!

Quompilation will be launched on January 27th in the Lower Deck, Portobello and will be available thereafter for €5 via Bandcamp.

Luckily for us, however, Nialler9 has a stream running on his site, embedded below. Check out his post at http://www.nialler9.com/2011/01/irish/listen-quompilation-1-irish-artists-covering-favourite-songs-2010/

Quompilation #1 by Quarter Inch Collective

Interview: Conor O'Brien of Villagers

2011-01-19T16:44:00.002Z

This article originally appeared in the January 19th issue of the UCC Express.

Just before their sold-out show at the Savoy in Cork before Christmas, Conor O’Brien of Villagers invited Music Editor Kevin O’Neill to the band’s dressing room to discuss the year just gone, flamenco dancing and chewing gum in Singapore.

Often uneasy on stage, O’Brien tends to let his music do the talking. He is clearly uncomfortable speaking in crowds and, as I rapidly discover, this shyness is prevalent in his daily routine too. As we sit in the small room just off the band’s dressing room in the Savoy Theatre, Cork, lights flickering, he takes a little while to warm to me, though gradually he seems to relax, in a manner not dissimilar to his stage performances. As the show goes on, Conor’s confidence grows and grows.

Exhausted from the year just gone, the full band scarcely moves when I enter the dressing room. Only a sprightly O’Brien jumps to his feet to greet me. He tells me that they rearranged their entire day to fit me in, having played in Kilkenny the night before and travelled to Dublin to record radio slots earlier in the day.

Conor tells me how tough they are finding it stuck in the back of a van all day. “The music in the van is more meditative than anything, when you are stuck there for six hours… I’ve been listening a lot to this music from Ghana… It’s called hi-life. It’s very chilled, very floaty. In particular this guy called Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe. We listen to a lot of the National too – we all enjoy ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’. And our tour manager is Argentinian so he’s introducing us to a lot of South American music.”

Despite being more at ease talking about other people’s music, I take Conor right back to the beginning, eager to find how they are coping with their success. 2010 was Villagers’ year: Mercury nominations, American tours and number one albums. However, they are very grounded about it all.
“I think we worked up to the success gradually. If it had happened any faster, I wouldn’t have been able to take it all in, but we’ve done three or four tours in Ireland and worked up to where we are now.”
Signing to Domino Records (the home of Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and Pavement) was the final push that Conor needed, it seems. Rather than creating a pressure, it brought it all home.
“It gave me an impetus to write more. I just went back to my house and wrote more songs. It gave me a deadline and spurred me on: I wrote ‘I Saw the Dead’ and ‘Set the Tigers Free’ after.”

It is interesting that ‘I Saw the Dead’ was formed after the signature: the song notably charts the difficulties of making a mark in the music industry, something that Conor, in particular, would have experience with having been a vital part of Dublin band the Immediate in the mid-00s.
On the cusp of a likely success, the Immediate simply collapsed.
“Two of the guys just didn’t want to do it anymore. Not much more we could do about it then.”

While coming so close to the big time and faltering at the last hurdle might have been a cause for concern for many, it didn’t haze Conor in the slightest. He simply picked up his guitar and embarked on two years of touring with Cathy Davey, an artist he has nothing but the highest admiration for. The two worked together again this year with Conor providing much of the instrumentation for Cathy’s number one album, The Nameless.

“Cathy is just amazing. She’s so talented – there’s no pressure on me when I’m playing with her. She’s doing all the work. You should hear the demos of the tracks she writes: they’re just as good as the finished product, she could do it all herself.”

The pressure, on the other hand, comes when fronting Villagers.

“It’s tough, you have to talk to people. I don’t like talking to people. I like singing to them. But I’m getting better, I think.”

Such self-doubt is surprising, given the competence of the performances. Conor’s stunning solo performance of ‘The Meaning of the Ritual’ on Later… With Jools Holland, for example, has almost 30,000 hits on YouTube in the nine months since the show aired. The quiver in his voice is telling, but he finds solace in his music.

“I never set out to put together an album. I just kept writing songs (when on tour with Cathy) and, eventually, realised that I had enough to put an album together. That’s the way I do it: I don’t write to put something in the marketplace, it’s very in the moment. I’m obsessed with what I’m doing at the precise moment of writing.”

What changed in 2010 for Villagers? For one, the live show. The dynamics are constantly changing: to date, Conor has done solo slots on Jools Holland and the Mercury Music show, as well as travelling throughout America on his own. In Ireland and Europe, on the other hand, the full-band has been present.

“It’s very much a band now. We’ve been on tour for so long and we’ve gone all around the world together, we’ve gotten tight. But it’s also gotten loose, which is a good thing.
I’d call it a band right now, but in January everyone’s going off to do their own thing – I’m gonna write. I can’t wait to get back to writing.
But I hope we get back together. I just want to make sure it stays loose and fun. Everyone is doing it because they want to, nobody is forced to. We are a band in the truest sense of the word.
The first show was just me and the drummer, and it grew then. But we’re going to Australia and Singapore in February as a two piece so that should be interesting. Better remember not to chew and chewing gum over there, they tell me it’s illegal!”

It is the solo shows that I want to focus on, however. When listening to the album, the frailties of Conor’s character are on show and, while these are evident in the full band shows, they are the very core of the solo shows. ‘The Meaning of the Ritual’ tingles with fear, while ‘That Day’, ‘Twenty-Seven Strangers’ and ‘The Pact’ all long for approval.

“The Mercurys and Jools were such exciting shows – they really set us up to do the UK shows. Since then we’ve had full crowds everywhere in the UK, we’re going back next year to do full shows.
The Mercurys was exciting. It reminded me of going to the circus as a child, lots of flashing lights everywhere. Lots of tigers, lots of jackals!”

The solo shows were not his idea, however.

“No, no, no. They wanted a band to fit a certain mould and asked us would we mind. I would have preferred the full-band, but it was okay. The solo shows we’ve done in the UK and the US were really great, really intimate. You can find parts of the songs that breathe a little more, but then with the band you find something much more exciting.
It’s simple mechanics – someone behind you beats a drum, you start to sing louder.”

Time is getting away from us, the rest of the band begin to check in on Conor. Soundcheck is in a few minutes and I’m eating into the rare free time they have before shows. I press Conor to talk a little about the writing process.

“I like Randy Newman. He likes to get inside people – especially people he doesn’t like. He writes some really hate filled songs. Neil Young then is very different. He writes such simple, almost child-like songs, but I like when people take the risk and just play with words.
That’s what I tried to do. Just spill the words onto the page.”

But what about now? The first album was driven by a mixture of subtle hate and childlike innocence, what of number two?

“I’m listening to a lot of Elvis Costello. He’s much more academic (than Neil Young) but it’s great to study if you like words. And our tour manager has introduced me to this Argentine singer named Mercedes Sosa. She’s got this really deep, passionate voice.”

Conor begins to sing this dark song, remarking that “the rage is pretty awesome” in it.

“In Seville recently I went to some really old school flamenco nights, the non-touristy ones. The kind where you have to just stand and watch if you are an outsider. I just stood and watched the interaction between the dancers and the music, I really got something from it – eventhough I couldn’t understand the words.
It was sung with such power and conviction. I’m going to try and put some of that into my music in the future.”

So can we expect this flamenco infused sophomore album to surface in 2011?

“I don’t like to second guess myself. I don’t know is my honest answer, but if I was to guess I’d say no.”

Not the resolution I was looking for, but Conor seems optimistic about the songs he has floating around at the moment. The “sunlit stage” that he sings about on an early EP is ready and waiting as I depart, with Conor eager to take to the stage, bathed in shyness and excitement. Watching him on stage, it is almost a different person, though the shy undercurrent is ever present, even if he masks it well.

Digital Socket Awards: the Shortlist

2011-01-14T11:10:00.002Z

Very exciting at this stage: the Digital Socket Awards is rapidly approaching. Today, we announced the live performers (Groom and Meljoann, and two VERY exciting special guests - I may be killed for even saying that much!!) and the shortlist for the Awards themselves. Check out the categories below and thank your lucky stars that you don't have to make these tough decisions! That's what we are here for...

1. Best Design (Website, Artwork, Posters)
Adebisi Shank – This is the Second Album
Cathy Davey – The Nameless
Halves – It Goes, It Goes (Forever and Ever)
O Emperor – Hither Thither
Villagers – Becoming a Jackal

2. Best Independent Label
Any Other City
Osaka Records
Out On A Limb
Popical Island
Richter Collective

3. Best Video
Ambience Affair – Devil in detail
BATS – Star Wormwood
Cathy Davey – Little Red
Patrick Kelleher & His Cold Dead Hands – Contact Sports
Rubberbandits – Horse Outside

4. Best Music Photography
Kieran Frost
kDamo
Ruth Medjber
Alessio Michelini
Loreana Rushe

5. Best Radio Show
Alison Curtis
Donal Dineen – The Small Hours
I-con Phanotm FM
Paul McLoone
Right Click 2XM

6. Best Pop
Cathy Davey – The Nameless
The Divine Comedy – Bang Goes the Knighthood
Fight Like Apes – The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner
So Cow – Meaningless Friendly
Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History

7. Best Folk
Simon Fagan – Outside Looking In
Halves – It Goes, It Goes (Forever and Ever)
James Vincent McMorrow – Early in the Morning
O Emperor – Hither Thither
Villagers – Becoming a Jackal

8. Best Rock and Alternative
Adebisi Shank – This Is The Second Album Of A Band Called…
Enemies – We’ve Been Talking
Jogging – Minutes
Redneck Manifesto – Friendship
Thread Pulls – New Thoughts

9. Best Electronic & Hip Hop
Meljoann – Squick
Not Squares – Yeah OK
R.S.A.G. – Be It Right or Wrong
Shit Robot – From The Cradle To The Rave
Solar Bears – She Was Coloured In

10. Best Indie
The Cast of Cheers – Chariot
Grand Pocket Orchestra – The Ice Cream
Groom – Marriage
Ham Sandwich – White Fox
Jogging – Minutes

11. Best EP
The Ambience Affair -Patterns
And So I Watch You From Afar – The Letters
Angkorwat- Early..
The Holy Roman Army – Desecrations
Sacred Animals – Welcome Home

12. Best Newcomer
The Cast Of Cheers
Jennifer Evans
Hipster Youth
James Vincent McMorrow
Solar Bears

13. Song of the Year
Adebisi Shank – ‘Genki Shank’
The Cast Of Cheers – ‘I Am Lion’
Cathy Davey – ‘Little Red’
Squarehead – ‘Fake Blood’
Villagers – ‘The Meaning of the Ritual’

14. Album of the Year
Adebisi Shank – This is the Second Album
The Cast Of Cheers – Chariot
Cathy Davey – The Nameless
James Vincent McMorrow – Early in the Morning
Villagers – Becoming a Jackal

Choice Music Prize Nominees: The Verdict

2011-01-12T17:08:00.002Z

Award season is in full flow: this week we have seen the Meteors cancelled, Friday will see the announcement of the live performers and the shortlist for the inaugural Digital Socket Awards, while today saw the announcement of the final ten for the 2011 Choice Music Prize.

The shortlist, if you've missed it, is as follows:

Adebesi Shank “This is the Second Album of a band called Adebisi Shank” (Richter Collective)
The Cast of Cheers “Chariot” (Self release)
Cathy Davey “The Nameless” (Hammer Toe Records)
Fight Like Apes “The Body of Christ & The Legs of Tina Turner” (Model Citizen)
Halves “It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever)” (Hate is The Enemy)
Imelda May “Mayhem” (Universal)
James Vincent McMorrow “Early in The Morning” (Universal)
O Emperor “Hither Thither” (Universal)
Two Door Cinema Club “Tourist History” (Kitsune)
Villagers “Becoming a Jackal” (Domino)

Certainly some great stuff on there but, as is ALWAYS the case with award ceremonies, some fantastic stuff omitted. Which, I suppose, is a true testament to the great state of the Irish music scene in the past twelve months. I can name a dozen acts that could merit a place on this list (Solar Bears, Ham Sandwich, Not Squares, Shit Robot, Somadrone, RSAG, Fionn Regan, Enemies, the Redneck Manifesto, Strands, Groom, Meljoann...), and yet I can't realistically say that any of the final ten don't deserve to be there.

I do feel for the likes of RSAG (my album of the year), Solar Bears and Somadrone, in particular, as I feel all could do with the publicity much more than Imelda May, Two Door Cinema Club or the soon-to-be-winners, Villagers. However, c'est la vie, non?

It seems that already Solar Bears are experiencing a bit of a Patrick Kelleher style boost - Kelleher's phenomenal You Look Cold was left out of last year's final ten despite having been crowned Album of the Year by Nialler9 readers. This led to countless questions, blogposts, etc. asking why... In effect, Kelleher got more exposure by not making the final cut than he would have if he had. Solar Bears, as far as I can see, are the most missed so far - it could be all for the better!

The one complaint I had when looking at the list is that it is as safe a selection as possible in Irish music at the moment. There is no really leftfield candidate like there has been in years gone, a shame really. Davey, May and Villagers all topped the Irish charts last year, FLApes, Two Door Cinema Club and O Emperor were near inescapable in 2010... The most obscure candidates are Adebisi Shank (hardly obscure), the Cast of Cheers (find an Irish blog who didnt champion these guys last year!) and Halves!

As for an eventual winner, well it surely has to be Villagers doesn't it? Paddy Power installed Fight Like Apes as the early favourite, with Villagers at a staggering 6-1. Cue: a flurry of betting, and Villagers' odds slashed instantly.

Who do I hope? Well, seeing as my two favourite albums from last year didn't make the cut, I'm going to plump for James Vincent McMorrow and his mesmerising debut. James built a pretty solid foundation last year on the back of the album and is looking to spread his wings in Europe and America this year, this victory could do wonders for him.

What the hell happened to... Tom Vek?

2011-01-07T23:39:00.005Z

Come one, come all to the first posting of the grand ole year that is 2011. I have been slow off the marks but that's the joys of being a student...

This is going to be the first of what I'm hoping will become a rather regular feature where I track the progress of an act that seemed to have it all going right, only to slide out of view. The regularity will depend upon how many of these acts I can find so if there's anyone you're interested in, please comment below and we can hopefully get around to it all!!

First up, the London-born multi-instrumentalist Thomas Timothy Vernon-Kell: that's Tom Vek to you and I.

In 2005, Vek burst onto the scene with a furious release, We Have Sound. The album incorporated the best of the Rapture (the staccato guitars), LCD Soundsystem (hints of electronica) and even a nod towards Beck. Hailed as one of the best new sounds of the time, support for the album has since abated from even the most hardened Vek fan.

However, the dedicated core fan base has not given up hope. Cryptic messages in April last year suggested that Vek was contemplating retirement from music altogether, only to change tone altogether and indicate that a new album was due for release in June of last year.

Obviously, no such album arrived. In fact, the last remnants of Vek's work that we have are an appearance on the OC and the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto IV, though the track on the latter was an older b-side, not a new track as is often misperceived.

So - what the hell happened to Tom Vek? And, perhaps even more importantly, why should we care?

Well, unfortunately, I cannot answer the former. We are led to believe that Vek is labouring away under the pressures of following up an immense debut. His life performances often fell flat and his style evolved so much during the period of recording and the immediate term thereafter (as well as numerous shifts between his signing to Tummy Touch in 2001 and his first major single release in 2004) that consistency was a noted difficulty. Writer's block was allegedly behind the bogus claim of retirement, and we have nothing to indicate that this has been resolved.

All major indications are that Vek is a true perfectionist, a genuine artist as such. He worked tirelessly on the debut, rarely settling on a pattern or a sound - it had to be perfect. Is this the problem now? After the highs of C-C (You Set The Fire In Me), I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes and Nothing But Green Lights, is Vek dismissing the demos he is putting together now for the long-awaited sequel?

Who knows? Vek is notoriously difficult to get hold of, while Island Records have all but kept shtum. He is working on a follow up, we have been told over and over. Lord only knows when it may see the light though.

Until then, all we have are the remains of the phenomenal, and often forgotten, debut. In the 5, now nearly 6, years since its release, We Have Sound caused quite a stir, only to be left to fall by the wayside. Contemporaries continued the work ethic and have been remembered more fondly because of it. Yet, the tracks now sound as fresh and vibrant as ever.

In the years since Vek's debut, the dance-indie genre has swarmed. Hot Chip kicked the door in, LCD Soundsystem showed that it could be conducted with artist guile and craft and the pretenders (Metronomy, Cut Copy and damn close to every second band who puts an album out these days!) managed to dent the credibility of the work done by the likes of Vek and the aforementioned duo. Should the genre be examined in depth in the future, We Have Sound is sure to show up as an early peak.

With any luck, though, the fabled second release may drop sooner rather than later. At the moment, we're in Stone Roses territory. Five years between albums? Not ideal, but not the worst... Vek could well delve into Avalanches and Dr. Dre territory (Ten plus years...) before long.

2011: What To Look Forward To... The New Sound

2010-12-30T16:53:00.003Z

Or should that be "new" sound. Depending on how close to the ground you keep your ear that is.

If you hadn't noticed, 2010 is well and truly over (musically) at this stage. We are currently sitting in that awful limbo period before the new releases begin again and the tours start rolling into town.

A few weeks back, the BBC published the longlist for their annual Sound of... poll, previous alumni include 50 Cent, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Bloc Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Plan B, Mika, Klaxons, Adele, Duffy, Little Boots, Lady Gaga, Florence & the Machine and Ellie Goulding, amongst others. Not exactly the cutting edge of talent discovery they like to think of themselves as, the Sound of... poll still remains an interesting view of who just might flood the airwaves in the next twelve months.

The order tends to be off though. Gaga finished behind Florence, Little Boots Empire of the Sun, La Roux and eh... White Lies...

As to be expected, the list for 2011 contains acts from all genres, some of whom can already be considered to have "made it", as such. The full list is:
Anna Calvi, Clare Maguire, Daley, Esben and the Witch, Jai Paul, James Blake, Jamie Woon, Jessie J, Mona, Nero, The Naked and Famous, The Vaccines, Warpaint, Wretch 32 and Yuck.

I'm not going to dissect each act as it isn't exactly fair: I'm simply unfamiliar with some, and overly familiar with others...

However it goes without saying that the BBC has certainly pinpointed some of the emerging talents for the next twelve months or so. Granted, I can't see them all taking equal airtime, though there are certainly going to be some success stories here.

Warpaint is a curious inclusion for me - they have already garnered a huge following and released a debut album, critically lauded and commercially successful... The sound of 2011? Sounds like latter half 2010 to me.

Of the list, (Warpaint excluded...), Anna Calvi, Clare Maguire, James Blake, Mona and the Vaccines should qualify as successful by this time next year.

I feel as though Esben and the Witch have simply missed the boat: a quirky, female fronted goth band? Dime a dozen my friend. The others... Well my crystal ball is less than clear at the moment.

If you have missed any of the soon-to-be-success-stories, plenty of info is flooding around the place.

Anna Calvi rocked Other Voices (or so I'm told...), and has toured with Arctic Monkeys and Grinderman. A classic looking lady, she falls deep into PJ Harvey territory.

Clare Maguire has her pretty staunch following already: yet another strong female vocalist (see Florence, Marina...), she became noticed for some quirky covers, including Antony & the Johnsons (again... see Florence and her Beirut and Lightspeed Champion covers).

James Blake... Don't make me tell you who James Blake is. You know already. Good Lord the whole world knows. His (apparently leaked...) debut album is set to drop in January and is going to be something very special if his EPs are anything to go by. Dubstep (of course) features strong, though Pitchfork (thanks for not switching off at the mention...) likened his style to classic jazz composers, as you can hear below. A genuine talent.

For Mona, let's simply sub in Kings of Leon. Nashville born, pastor father and regular in-fighting, they have a similar big sound to the third Kings of Leon album, as well as acts such as Glasvegas. They have the swagger, they talk the talk and they should attract legions of Followill fans pretty quickly.

The Vaccines are the second coming of the Strokes, or so the NME would have you believe. A garage guitar band that are set give the genre another badly needed jolt, following the emergence of folk and dubstep in the last few years, they have the energy and style of the Strokes, while the songs aren't wholly dissimilar to the Ramones. The second coming? Not quite, but not bad. Luckily, they are more Strokes than Razorlight and, let's face it, guitar music has taken a beating in recent years.

Moving on from the BBC, the consensus in general seems to be that the above will be the biggest names in town next year. Q throw in Brothers, Zola Jesus (another Warpaint-style faux pas), Transfer, Cults and Egyptian Hip Hop... One thing is clear: band names in 2011 are awful.

In Q's defence, however, (now it's not often I'll say that...) they pinpoint the rise of Katy B (also noted on state.ie recently) and the emergence of hip-hop's fresh new hope, J. Cole. Snapped up by Jay-Z pretty quickly, the German born North Carolina man (now there's an odd mix for a rapper) claims to rap about real issues such as relationships, rather than worrying about "keeping it real" like the majority of his contemporaries. It amazes me how many major publications have all but ignored the inevitable rise of Mr. Cole, whose debut album will be available early 2011.

The list goes on. Tennis, Yuck, Braids, Smith Westerns, Cloud Nothings, Young Magic, Lia Ices, La Sera, MNDR, Male Bonding... The groundwork was done in 2010, 2011 should be theirs. Briefly at least.

Personally, I can't wait for the debut full-length release from Memoryhouse. The Sleep Patterns EP released this year was among the best short releases I heard in 2011 and rumours of a full-length LP are gathering pace. Fingers crossed.

Florrie, too, should be pretty unavoidable in 2011. Already a well-known act, she has the following to make a splash and the sound is right for her.

Closer to home, there are two acts I'm keeping a close eye on right now. One is Sean Kangataran, a folk singer whose debut album (launched but not yet released, in his own words) made the top 10 of 2UIBestow's "Best of 2010" countdown and has his fans in Glen Hansard. Based in the US, Sean has put together an exceptionally talented band (members have worked with Outkast and Tom Waits) and could be yet another great addition to the Irish scene, should he get the exposure.

The second is Toby Kaar, a Cork based dubstep merchant. I caught Kaar before the trio of And So I Watch You From Afar, Jape and Fionn Regan, and he looked just as at ease on stage as any of the rest. A sound in a similar vein to Caribou, Kaar is one to watch out for.

Roll on 2011.

My Favourite Irish Abums of 2010 (Part 2, 20-1)

2010-12-24T12:48:00.003Z

Let's get this going... Check back on yesterday's post for numbers 40-21. Below is my top 20 favourite albums of 2010, easily the best year in Irish musical history. The diversity and consistency of these records is staggering and, it is worthwhile to note, that all of the top 10 would have warranted a place atop any list of the last ten years. The top few have been chopping and changing rapidly in my head over the last few days so ask me next week and it'll all be different!

20. Imelda May Mayhem (Decca)
19. Jogging Minutes (Richter Collective)
18. The Redneck Manifesto Friendship (Richter Collective)
17. Shit Robot From the Cradle to the Rave (DFA)
16. Windings It's Never Night (Out on a Limb Records)
15. Fight Like Apes The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner (Model Citizen)
14. Not Squares Yeak OK (Richter Collective)
13. Enemies We've Been Talking (Richter Collective)
12. O Emperor Hither Thither (Universal Ireland)
11. Groom Marriage (Popical Island)

And now the top ten...

10. Somadrone Depth of Field (Skinny Wolves)
This was my first encounter with Somadrone, and what an encounter it was. A magnificently crafted mix of electronic, rock and more, this album makes a lot of noise and stands head and shoulders above the crowd.

9. Hipster Youth Teenage Elders (Long Lost)
Quirky and experimental, Hipster Youth has grabbed the attention of many for his innovative use of synths, computers and even Nintendo sounds. Think Crystal Castles, HEALTH or even a little of Anamanaguchi.

8. Villagers Becoming A Jackal (Domino)
The biggest hit of the year for Irish music, Conor O'Brien carefully crafted a powerful work in Becoming A Jackal. Owing to traditional singer-songwriters, as well as more alternative sounds, Conor confirmed his status as one of the most important figures in Irish music with this Mercury nominated debut. Note the haunting performance below on Jools Holland back at the start of the year.

7. Cathy Davey The Nameless (Hammer Toe Records)
With her most accomplished work to date, Davey put together a beautiful collection. Her voice is still the central figure, but it adorns a layered and textured sound of incredible instrumentation. Davey's talent is on show for the world here.

6. Solar Bears She Was Coloured In (Planet Mu)
Like a bolt from the blue, Solar Bears created one of the most exciting collections in Irish music. Floaty, experimental and varied, Solar Bears takes in a number of styles in the fifteen tracks on show here. Reviewers have paid much attention to the cinematic scope of the album and it is clear to hear why. Described by Harmless Noise as "perfect", Solar Bears put together an exhilarating and unmissable album in She Was Coloured In.

5. Fionn Regan The Shadow of an Empire (Heavenly)
Despite the huge success of his debut, Regan's second album seemed to slip through the cracks a bit. Overshadowed by previous work and by the success of contemporaries (Villagers in particular), the sophomore release from Ireland's most talented lyricist put together a subtle, yet powerful, collection of blues infused tracks. It doesn't possess the intimate acoustic nature of his debut and is all the better for it. Ireland's answer to Dylan? Maybe not, but as close as we've seen. The talent is here in droves.

4. The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra Lowering the Tone (Silly Goose Records)
One of Ireland's most endearing acts, the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra put together a stunning mesh of tracks. They have a remarkable ability to hop between styles - swing, smooth lounge music, electronica, Americana... 'The Last of Me' even sounds like it jumped right out a musical. Absolutely sublime, the smooth flow of styles is something that the most accomplished of career musicians would struggle to comprehend, yet the BPLO manage it effortlessly. Do not miss this one.

3. James Vincent McMorrow Early in the Morning (Universal Ireland)
A collection of subtle beauty, the back story of McMorrow's folk masterclass has been told to death so I wont bore you with it again. To truly understand the wonder of what the Dublin native has created, you simply just have to let it take you over. Press play and absorb the sheer genius of James' debut. He touche on the finest in blues and folk musicians: Sam Beam, Justin Vernon, Jeff Buckley, Neil Young... A frightening talent and an instant classic.

2. Ham Sandwich White Fox (Route 109 Recordings)
Absolutely enchanting, Ham Sandwich's second album utilises the band's clearest talents: Niamh's gorgeous voice and a unique, almost American writing style. Catchy pop hooks ensure an irresistible opening, though as the album flows rapidly through its thirty odd minutes, the treasures to be found are incredible. More intimate, more open and even better than the fantastic debut they released a few years ago, Ham Sandwich wear their hearts on their sleeve in this album. The latter tracks almost sound as though they stepped off albums 2, 3 or 4 from the National, and in 'Ants' and 'White Fox' they have created two of the tracks of the year.

1. RSAG Be it Right or Wrong (A Rare Production)
Jeremy Hickey sits alongside Patrick Kelleher as one of Ireland's greatest living musicians. Innovative and creative, he shirks the constraints of style and blows the doors wide open. This record references David Byrne, Joy Division, and nearly everyone in between in what is a slow burning and unmissable work. A more traditional rock & roll work than his debut, Hickey's passion for the rhythm section is unmistakable on the record. Driven by the drum and bass sound that he is noted for, the album reveals itself more and more upon repeated listening. A rare talent and, surely, a guarantee for the Choice Music Prize next year.

My Favourite Irish Abums of 2010 (Part 1, 40-21)

2010-12-23T11:41:00.006Z

And so we finally reach the end of the road. Unfortunately, this blog post wont be quite as detailed as I had desired but my laptop has done the decent thing and decided to die every time I go near YouTube so you'll have to use your imaginations and pretend you can hear the bands that I'm talking about...

Anyways, it goes without saying that Ireland experienced a bumper year in 2010. Take yourself over to the ever fantastic Swear I'm Not Paul and check out his feature on every single Irish release this year (he means it - Nadine Coyle, Boyzone and Jedward get the same amount of space as Adebisi Shank, Somadrone, Villagers et al) and try get to grips with the sheer scale of the amount of releases. I had originally planned this post for about two weeks ago and have spent the period since listening to more and more music. I think it's for the best that I post now. It's either that or sometime next June I'll be posting my top 200 Irish releases of 2010. For now, the list is limited to forty or so.

*Actually, I've decided to be a bit of a tease... Here's numbers 40-21. The rest will make its way here later in the week!*

(Here's the link to Ronan's feature: http://www.swearimnotpaul.com/release-date-calendar/2010-irish-album-release-list I'd recommend using Chrome if possible, because the browser crashes are unimaginable when its all on the one page!)

Let's begin...

40. The Cast of Cheers Chariot (Self Release)

39. Sounds of System Breakdown Sounds of System Breakdown (Self Release)

38. Our Little Secrets Our Little Secrets (Self Release)

37. Peter Doran Sleepless Street (Self Release)

36. Nouveaunoise Paraphrase Accolade (Self Release)

35. Sweet Jane Sugar For My Soul (Reekus Records)

34. The Mighty Stef The Mighty Stef and the Baptists (Own Label)

33. Meljoann Squick (Own Label)

32. The Dinah Band I Can Walk Through (Transduction Records)

31. Butterfly Explosion Lost Trails (Revive Records)

30. Boa Morte The Dial Waltz (Kicking a Can Records)

29. At Last An Atlas From Which You Were Raised (Slow Loris)

28. Adebisi Shank This Is The Second Album From A Band Called Adebisi Shank (Richter Collective)

27. Two Door Cinema Club Tourist History (Kitsune)

26. Halves It Goes, It Goes (Forever and Ever) (Hate is the Enemy)

25. Tiger Cooke Fingertips of the Silversmith (Self Released)

24. Evil Uncle Two Lights, Not Broken (Self Released)

23. Oliver Cole We Albatri (EMI)

22. Cap Pas Cap Haunted Light (Skinny Wolves)

21. Bill Coleman You Can't Buy Back Your Life (BCMR)

Check back for part 2 pretty soon and, hopefully, I'll be able to put together a nice Playlist for all y'all!

Some Very Good Songs From Some Not So Good Albums. Of 2010.

2010-12-16T22:41:00.006Z

In no real order at all, this is a collection of some very good songs that cropped up on some albums that were either:

a) Not so good...
b) Not actually checked out by me...
c) Not yet released

Sound fair?

Tanlines Real Life

The drum rhythm alone makes this song unforgettable. This comes from an album I never got round to checking out. I caught the song early in the year before the album was released and, well... Just forgot. Whoops. Either way, Real Life remains one of the better tracks I've heard this year.

Coco Rosie Lemonade

This is a track that is as enchanting and quirky as they come, much like girls themselves actually. The rest of the album is a tad tiresome and overblown. You shouldn't have to try to like music. This track is a really gorgeous one though.

Women Eyesore

This one comes from an album that (not for lack of trying!) I simply couldn't find anywhere. I'm still very excited to check it out though on the back of this - a post-punky edge gives way to an almost Beach Boys style verse and chorus. Jesus & Mary Chain, Radiohead, the Pixies... It's ALL here. Sorry about the video though. Couldn't find an official one or a decent live performance.

The New Pornographers Crash Years

These guys never really did it for me, but this song is absolute genius. It's the perfect blend for an indie-pop classic - uplifting chorus, simple guitar/drums/lyrics and whistling... What more could you ask for? Oh, maybe a wonderful female vocal - check.

Jonsi Go Do

Another that I simply could not find for lack of trying (then I did find it, and it €30 - why HMV!?) but this song, in particular, is simply spellbinding. To quote one of the many YouTube comments that adorn the clip "this song is like hope." Jonsi has an incredible talent for create the most inspirational and cinematic music imaginable, yet it is so intimate and accessible. Stunning.

Gayngs The Gaudy Side of Town

Yet another album that HMV don't want me to have it seems, Gayngs emerged this year as the unlikely Prince infused collaboration from the American Mid-West that has spent the last few years forcing the folk revival on us. This track features none other than Justin Vernon (who really branched out this year...) and epitomises exactly what Gayngs set out to do this year: create alternative, soulful, funky sounds, that feature heavily on the sex and drugs side of thing.

Efterklang Modern Drift

This track is another one like Jonsi, inspirational, hopeful and beautiful... The piano makes may from drum beats and leads into an orchestral driven number, fronted with a perfectly unspectacular vocal. It allows the backing music to weave its magic. A really gorgeous track from the Danish outfit, it has me convinced I need to check out more.

Digital Socket Awards

2010-12-13T18:38:00.004Z

It's par-tay time - or at least it will be on February 3rd.

Launched this morning, the brainchild of Ronan Hunt-Murphy (Swear I'm Not Paul) and Peter Nagle (2 U I Bestow), the Digital Socket Awards celebrate the best in Irish Music in 2010.

Public nominations for the longlist for the awards are currently open in the following categories:

1. Best Design (Website, Artwork, Posters)
2. Best Independent Label
3. Best Video
4. Best Music Photography
5. Best Radio Show
6. Best Pop
7. Best Folk
8. Best Rock and Alternative
9. Best Electronic & Hip Hop
10. Best Indie
11. Best EP
12. Best Newcomer.
13. Best Album
14. Song of the Year

Nominations will close on December 22nd.

The initiative is a collaboration between between 26 Irish bloggers, and the awards themselves will be held on February 3rd in the Grand Social.

More information is available at: http://www.digitalsocketawards.com/

Get voting and make sure your favourites from 2010 don't miss out!

2010: Best International Releases

2010-12-09T17:07:00.004Z

And so we reach that time of year again...

This is a short(ish) list of my favourite releases from international acts since January last. Check back in a few days for my 'Best of Irish' post too.

20. Broken Bells Broken Bells [Columbia]
19. Darwin Deez Darwin Deez [Lucky Number]
18. Hot Chip One Life Stand [EMI]
17. Peter Wolf Crier Inter Be [Jagjaguwar]
16. Warpaint The Fool [Rough Trade]
15. Caribou Swim [City Slang]
14. Arcade Fire The Suburbs [Merge]
13. Beach House Teen Dream [Sub Pop]
12. Perfume Genius Learning [Matador]
11. Avi Buffalo Avi Buffalo [Sub Pop]

10. Yeasayer Odd Blood [Secretly Candian]
Fantastic sophomore release from the Brooklyn natives that saw them blend the psychedelic tendencies of the debut with more accessible pop hooks. Danceable, infectious and irresistable.

9. The Black Keys Brothers [Nonesuch]
The Akron, Ohio duo shook off the shackles of the "other blues duo" on this record. Touching on the best of the blues rock that epitomised their sound thus far, they also pushed into new territory with motown and hip-hop notions featuring strongly. A fantastic work.

8. Foals Total Life Forever [Transgressive]
Foals took a huge step forward on their second album. Gone was the staccato guitar and the stop-start vocal of the debut and in its place was a fluid, rhythmic sound. Emotionally sound, the album won me over having never particularly liked the debut.

7. Laura Marling I Speak Because I Can [Virgin]
Britain's most talented songwriter continues her incredible rise. Composed with the craft and guile of a veteran, the fact that Marling is scarcely into her twenties is startling: this is a folk album that screams experience. Robbed at the Mercury Awards this year, Marling is easily the most talented musician of her generation.

6. LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening [DFA/Virgin]
A stunning epitaph if Murphy sticks to his word, LCD Soundsystem's third album takes the best of its predecessors and melts it with the best of the 1970s and 1980s - think of this as an encylcopaedia of musical happenings gone by: Bowie, Talking Heads, the Pixies... It goes on. If it is the end of an era, at least it ended well.

5. The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt [Dead Oceans]
Swedish folk musician, Kristian Matsson, has always drawn comparisons with Bob Dylan throughout his short career to date. This album confirmed that the two share more than just a vocal similarity. A stunning mesh of blues and folk offerings, Matsson allowed the picturesque Swedish countryside to flow through this lyrics to create this beautiful work. Intimate and delicate, The Wild Hunt is not to be missed.

4. Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [Roc-A-Fella Records]
On his highly anticipated fifth album, West finally reached those incredible heights that he always claimed to be capable of. A rich and enchanting tapestry, ...Fantasy features more guest appearances than the Never Mind the Buzzcocks presenter's chair and is all the better for it. Bon Iver, Gil Scott Heron, Chris Rock, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z among the best, though none take away from the man at the centre of it all. Free from petty ranting (almost), the album explores the emotional catastrophe that the death of West's mother was and is a deeply personal and blatantly honest work - all the better for it. Kanye's finest hour, and one of the best hip-hop albums ever released.

3. Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) [Bad Boy Records]
One of the year's most endearing break-out stars, Janelle Monae put out her first full-length release. Alledgedly it "Incorporates conceptual elements of Afrofuturism and science fiction, The ArchAndroid continues the series' fictional tale of a messianic android and features lyrical themes of love, identity, and self-realization"... Yeah... The record combines the best of modern and older hip-hop, soul and funk to produce an absolutely fantastic sound. Engaging, poppy and damn catchy - Monae is easily the most original debut artist to grace the scene this year.

2. The National High Violet [4AD]
Yet again, the Brooklyn based quintet struck gold on this, their fifth album. High Violet shows all the reasons why the current ideal of dropping a new act at the first stumble is all wrong - the National have perfected their craft in their ten years of plugging away. The first two albums made little or no impact, numbers three and four changed the tide and number five has been accompanied by swirling hyperbole and comparisons to Automatic for the People era REM. This album has announced the National on a wider scale than ever imagined. It retains the subtle beauty of its predecessors, while developing a broad, widescreen sound. A triumph.

1. John Grant Queen of Denmark [Bella Union]
Joined by all members of Midlake for this ethereal and haunting debut. Dealing with Grant's tortured upbringing, his difficulty confronting his sexuality, the role of religion and his father in his life and drug abuse, the album took so much from Grant that he spiralled into depression and admitted himself to rehab following it's completion. A deeply personal record, it touches on traditional folk styles, bridges a little of the Beatles in parts and, ultimately, results in a unique and diverse album. Quite simply, one of the most beautiful and powerful albums you will ever hear.

Live Review: The National @ The Olympia, Sat December 4th

2010-12-06T15:10:00.009Z

Brooklyn quintet the National played the third of three dates at Dublin's Olympia last Saturday. Aside from a set in Dingle for Other Voices (that should be a treat when it hits the air!), the show was the last of a long tour until December 30th when they begin leg two in Australia and New Zealand.

Support came from New Yorkers Phospherescent. Typically the solo project of Matthew Houck, he is joined on stage by four others providing guitars, keyboards and drums.

I was largely unfamiliar with Houck's work and, following the performance, can confirm that this will remain the case!! Uninspired - the sound was that of a watered down Band of Horses or J. Tilman. The highlight was a cover of Radiohead's 'House of Cards' and even then - the track was lacking the life that made it such a strong contender on In Rainbows!

In stark contrast, Berninger and co. were in scintillating form, joined on stage for a handful of tracks by regular contributor and Arcade Fire member Richard Reed Parry, the Canadian offering backing vocals and extra guitar and tambourine to tracks from High Violet.

Playing a set not completely dissimilar to that of the Electric Picnic performance (with a handful of added oldies), the band themselves were in a jubilant, jokey mood. It seemed to me that the brothers Dessner were a little jaded on the back of the three night spell at the Olympia and were less up for Matt Berninger's antics than normal, though they did not miss so much as a note.

Berninger has become the star of the show. A band initially driven by the brooding guitars and rhythm section of the Dessners and Davendorffs has morphed into an Automatic for the People era REM.
Confidence is oozing from the performance as the lead singer laps up the adoring attention of the crowd, engaging in banter with the audience, his bandmates and even backing crew members ("This is Adonis! He catches me when I fall down there!")

A near flawless set from the band, they moved intricately in and out of High Violet, Alligator and Boxer, dipping just once into Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers - the performance had a real dark energy about it. The strings and trumpets littered rays of hope across a brooding and bold showing.

The ending left the majority of the crowd in sheer bliss. Matt, having completed a re-routed crowd walk (he came into the crowd on the left of the stage, around the back of the pit of the Olympia, into the middle of the crowd and climbed aloft their shoulders to serenade the balcony above before returning to the stage through the middle of the crowd...), invited all members of the band, crew and support on stage for an impromptu, intimate, acoustic rendition of 'Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.'

The band stood at the very front of the stage, Matt singing sans-microphone, as the crowd belted out every note - a really special moment for all in the arena, both in the audience and on stage.

Breathtaking.

Single Review: The Decemberists "Down By the Water"

2010-11-08T12:29:00.002Z

The Decemberists are back with Down By The Water.

The Portland five piece are set to release their latest album, The King is Dead, on January 11th. This is the first track to drop from it.

A great track, it is much more country that I expected from the Decemberists. The vocal is as strong as ever, but the harmonica infused chorus and the additional female backing vocals in parts really give it a great new vibe, as loathed as I am to use that word!!

Has a real REM feel to it. Great stuff - hopefully the album will live up to this standard too.

Check it out below.

Quick Reviews...

2010-11-08T12:02:00.003Z

Okay - I used to pride myself a little on my reviewing skills but, unforuntately, that stuff takes time. And time is not something I have much of right now. So... I'm gonna summarise my reviews on a number of albums that I got my hands on recently below.

1. O Emperor Hither Thither. The Waterford-Cork lads finally put out their long awaited record. Recalling Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes and more, the album joins the long list of great Irish records released this year. Enjoyable and accessible, the album does wane a little toward the end. Best tracks: Po, Heisenberg.

2. Warpaint: The Fool. If ever there was an over-saturated debut, this was it. NME.com and others seem to be calling it the best debut of all time - it's good, it's VERY good. But it's not the best debut I've even heard this month, let alone this year. Refreshingly, Warpaint take a different angle to the girly-indie-pop (Best Coast?) that is flooding the airwaves at the moment. Dark and brooding, these girls belong in the company of Nirvana rather than Alphabeat... Best tracks: Undertow, Shadows.

3. Darwin Deez Darwin Deez. I'm late to the Darwin party, but what a party it is. This album is fantastic. Light and airy, it is indie pop at it's very finest. It has the energy and excitement of the Strokes at their best, the catchy hooks of debut album MGMT... Darwin has taken the best aspects of the New York music soon and melted them into a wonderful, catchy, fun album. I'll fill you in on the live show after I catch him tonight! Best tracks: Constillations, Deep Sea Diver.

4. S. Carey All We Grow. Sean Carey will forever be followed by the term "the percussionist from Bon Iver", though somewhat unfairly. This is the best album to come from anyone in the Bon Iver camp since For Emma... dropped. Better than Volcano Choir, better than Gayngs. It is a soulful, intimate record in the vein of Bon Iver, but it doesn't feel like a copy. Carey's voice and lyrics are strong - not one to dismiss. Best tracks: In the Stream, All We Grow.

5. Marina & the Diamonds The Family Jewels. Now, again, VERY late to this one. I always liked Marina's singles, but assumed the album wasn't up to much. I was wrong, though not too wide of the mark. There is a lot to enjoy here, but in reality the finest moments have already flooded radios for months. Potential though - despite having next to know musical knowledge or background, Marina has crafted a very solid work here. Best tracks: Mowgli's Road, Obsessions.

Cover Me Monday: Cee-Lo Green "Radioactive"

2010-11-08T11:54:00.002Z

Yet another gem from the Live Lounge series on BBC - this is Cee-Lo Green taking on Kings of Leon's Radioactive. Unlike the rest of the new album from KOL, I actually quite liked the single. It's not too adventurous for them, but at least it doesn't sound like Aerosmith or Garth Brooks...

Cee-Lo, on the other hand, is flying at the moment. His new album The Lady Killer is due for release next week (is it next week?) and is absolutely fantastic. Check out his spellbinding cover of Band of Horses' No One's Gonna Love You if you get the chance. One of the best covers I have ever heard. And a perfect video too.

Anyway, below is Cee-Lo taking on Radioactive. I like it, even if it is a little flat in parts. Now if only we could get them to reshoot the original video to have him in place of Caleb...

Cold War Kids: "Royal Blue"

2010-10-25T13:13:00.003+01:00

Rejoice - Cold War Kids are back!

One of the most underrated bands on the circuit at the moment I think, Cold War Kids are set to return with their third album, Mine Is Yours, next January.

To date, the band have released two albums (the absolutely fantastic Robbers & Cowards and the ultimately forgettable Loyalty to Loyalty) as well as a handful of EPs, most recently the fantastic Behave Yourself, that included Audience.

They have released the first track from the forthcoming record. Entitled Royal Blue, the track comes from the Jacqui King (Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse, Tom Waits) produced album and retains that garage-bluesy feel the band have always had, though with a sun-soaked fun undercurrent. A more mature sound than we've had before, but seems like a return to the quality of the debut. Fingers crossed for a surprise hit album.

Cover Me Monday: Mark Ronson & the Business Intl: "We Used To Wait"

2010-10-25T13:07:00.003+01:00

I hate Mark Ronson. Passionately. I don't understand why he is in the limelight so often - he's a producer so stick to it you arrogant fu-.... I'll stop....

He took to BBC's Live Lounge to perform a cover of Arcade Fire's We Used To Wait with his latest project, the Business Intl.

It sounds pretty solid, though they don't attempt to anything different or innovative with the song. Make your own mind up:

The National: "Terrible Love (Alternate Version)"

2010-10-25T12:56:00.002+01:00

Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're back in the room...

Apologies again for my long break from blogging. Juggling quite a few projects at the moment (my stint over at Pop Culture Monster is still going strong, while I've been promoted to the Music Editor for the UCC Express so it's all rather time consuming when thrown alongside a degree and work!!)

But, yes, anyway... The National are set to release an extended version of the fantastic High Violet at the end of November. Among the tracks on the bonus disc are You Were A Kindness, Sin Eater and live versions of a few tracks from the original record, as well as an "alternate" version of the album's original lead single, Terrible Love.

It's not too different to the original version really but it is still bloody good. Check out the video that the band shot for it below.

HWCH Preview: The Best on Show

2010-10-07T15:13:00.003+01:00

As Professor Farnsworth is so fond of saying... Good news everyone!

Finally sorted out my Internet connection and should be back to regular blogging after a prolonged absence. I have contributed a little to Pop Culture Monster over the last few weeks if you want to check out my review of the fantastic White Fox by Ham Sandwich, as well as my look at Kid A ten years after its release.

Anyway, I had hoped to give a run down of the best acts playing HWCH this year but as the whole event kicks off tonight, I won't be able to give a full post to each act but rather compress it all in here. So here are my recommendations as to who should not be missed!!

Autumn Owls. (The Button Factory, Thurs @ 8.30) A hotly tipped Irish act who are set to release their debut next year. The few tracks I've heard from them are not wholly dissimilar to Eels. Could be a real breakout band in the next year to eighteen months if the album stands up to the standard of lead single Raindrops in the River.

Nouveaunoise (The Grand Social, Thurs @ 11.30) One of the countries best electronic acts at the moment. Think that all we put out is quality singer-songwriters? Guess again!

At Last An Atlas (Mercentile, Thurs @ 10.30) Postal Service-esque in approach, At Last An Atlas have supported MGMT and create a really sweet indie-pop/electronic fusion. Well worth checking out.

Brad Pitt Light Orchestra (the Button Factory, Friday @ 8.00) Wonderfully expansive alternative sounds. These guys are fantastic, and even better live so do not miss at any cost! actually just stick with the Button Factory for the night because it also has the fantastic Valerie Francis @ 9.30, Sweet Jane @ 10.15 and RSAG @ 11.00. That's a fantastic run.

BPLO song Grace Jones

Valerie Francis "Slow Dynamo"

RSAG "Stick to Your Line"

Friday also sees Cloud Castle Lake (Twisted Pepper @ 9.00), Windings (Sweeney's 10.55), John Shelly And the Creatures (The Grand Social @9.30), Our Little Secrets (Mercantile @ 8.15) and Deaf Joe (Mercantile @ 9.45) all taking to the stage around the capital.

Our Little Secrets doing "Naturesway" from a kitchen.

Saturday, finally, has less that appeals to me that Friday, though you can still catch the following: The Cast of Cheers (Workman's @ 11.45), The Holy Roman Army (Twisted Pepper @ 8.45), while the Grand Social plays host to Eleventy Four, Funzo, The Gorgeous Colours, Sounds of System Breakdown and Bitchs with Wolves from 8.50 onwards.

The Gorgeous Colours "The Rails"

A mind-blowing collection of music around the city, some venues certainly coming out on top above others. I'd be sticking to the Button Factory Friday and the Grand Social Saturday myself.

Aside from all the above, however, I urge you to check out my number one selection of the weekend (just edging out RSAG, the BPLO and the Holy Roman Army): The Lost Brothers. They bring their gorgeous, aloof folk sounds to Twisted Pepper on Friday at 10.30 and should not be missed.

Have a good weekend if you make it!

Sufjan Stevens: "The Age Of Adz" Full Album Stream

2010-09-28T10:40:00.002+01:00

Since 2005's breakthrough Illinois, Sufjan Stevens has spent considerable time working on less functional projects (including last year's ode to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway). This year, however, he returned with the All Delighted People EP (which actually clocks in at over an hour) and is set to release his newest LP The Age of Adz shortly.

The record is streaming in full at NPR, though why waste a trip over there when I've been so kind to bring it here to you?

Enjoy. It's a little more experimental as the early releases from the album suggested. Electronic, hip-hop beats... Gonna take a few listens to make my mind up fully on this one. I will, however, post a full review either here or on PopCultureMonster (where you can presently find my review of the new Ham Sandwich record).

So check back for that in the next few days!

Cover Me Monday: Solange Knowles "Stillness Is the Move"

2010-09-26T17:32:00.003+01:00

Er... Yes I know it's Sunday...

BUT! I missed last week's Cover Me Monday, and am likely to miss tomorrow's too. I am currently relocating to college accommodation and haven't got my broadband functioning just yet so bare with me. Soon enough I'll be back to my blogging best!

Solange Knowles: Stillness Is The Move (Dirty Projectors' Cover)
This is one that should work in absolutely no way. We're talking Beyonce's sister here... Though if experience has taught me anything, it is that tracks involving the Knowles' tend to work exceptionally well in cover versions (see last week when Jamie T knocked If I Were A Boy outta the park...)

Anyway, on this track Solange does very little to alter the Dirty Projectors original. Her voice adds a little more of an r 'n' b vibe to what was a very unique sounding track, though I'm including it here purely on the basis that I can't believe just how good it is... Refreshing to see the girl go a different direction to her sister, when following Beyonce down the pop/r'n'b route would have practically guaranteed success.

Solange Knowles: Stillness Is The Move (Dirty Projectors' Cover)

Dirty Projectors: Stillness Is The Move

HWCH Preview: The Lost Brothers

2010-09-26T17:09:00.002+01:00

I know I'm a little ahead of myself here, but it's hard to ignore the fantastic Hard Working Class Heroes event that takes place in Dublin year after year. Not in the know? Then take yourself over here: http://www.hwch.net/index.html

HWCH (as the die-hard fans like to call it) essentially boils down to a showcase for Irish bands. With 100 bands playing in seven venues across Dublin over the course of October 7th to 9th. It's an unmissable opportunity to get up close and personal with many of the best in Irish music at the moment, while the potential undiscovered wonders that lie in wait... Well...

And it is those wonders that I aim to plug a little over the next few weeks. Granted, there are dozens of bands playing that I have missed that you would be mad to miss, though the best I can do is push you toward some that I have found and rather enjoy. The first of these is Omagh/Navan duo the Lost Brothers.

Their bio on HWCH reads as follows:

Some say the lost brothers sound like a ragged everly brothers.
Others say they sound like the lost brothers.
It is said that the lost brothers formed two years ago in the summer heat of liverpool.
It is also said that the lost brothers wrote a book of songs that autumn, and in the dead of winter they recorded the songs in an attic in Portland, Oregon.
We know that the lost brothers released these songs on their debut album (trails of the lonely) to a heap of praise from the likes of NME, Word magazine, Hot Press, and their fans (losties).
Through the following year, the lost brothers have been spotted in person, performing at Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Texas (SXSW), New York, Portland, Toronto, Paris, and a hop, skip and jump across the land of the UK and the their beloved Ireland. In their journeys they have toured and played along with many, including Richard Hawley, M Ward, Jolie Holland, The Handsome Family, The Swell Season,Micah P Hinson, Richmond Fontaine, among others.
It is whispered that the lost brothers are currently hiding in sheffield, recording a number of songs under watchful eyes and a new album will be upon us soon..

And it is pretty accurate. Think along the lines of a subtle, subdued folk vibe. Less rock than Midlake, less harmonic than Fleet Foxes, yet so intimate and encapsulating that you won't want to miss a beat.

Inspired in equal parts by musicians such as Blind Willie McTell and literary figures such as Steinbeck and Patrick Kavanagh, their sound is a rich and enthralling tapestry.

Do what you can to catch them soon. The current climate for emerging folk acts is ripe to pluck them from us and send them off touring bigger venues to bigger crowds... Take the chance now to see them with a tiny crowd in a setting so intimate that you can demand requests from the bathroom.

http://www.myspace.com/thelostbrothersmusic

Live Review: Imelda May @ The Old Oak, Cork

2010-09-24T12:20:00.004+01:00

As part of the frantic celebrations for Arthur's Day, Ireland's queen of rockabilly stopped by Cork's Old Oak for an impromptu (and free!) set.

The bar was packed with an array of college students, bemused regulars and the fans who had figured out Cyprus Avenue's less than cryptic clue ("It's going to be Mayhem!") to the point where movement was quite difficult.

May played a short set, a little over half an hour only. It included all the hits - Johnny Got A Boom Boom, Big Bad Handsome Man, Mayhem, as well as a cover of Soft Cell's Tainted Love.

She was in flying form, toasting "to Arthur" and enjoying banter with the crowd who erupted the second she arrived on stage, scarcely missing a note. May's backing band deserve some credit too - completely in sync with one another.

It was over almost as soon as it began but certainly marks an interesting way to spend your lunch hour...

New Music: Cee-Lo Green "I Want You"

2010-09-17T13:23:00.002+01:00

Currently tearing up the airwaves with the (censored) version of the sublime Fuck You from the forthcoming The Lady Killer (released December 7th in the US), Cee-Lo Green has his sights set on dominating the end of year charts.

Another track from the record has made its way onto the airwaves. I Want You is a much slower, more soulful effort than the current single, yet no less attention grabbing. The vocal does wonders, backed by female harmonies and strings.

The man can't seem to put a foot wrong lately. Check out this radio rip below. Apologies about the DJ at the beginning.

Track Review: Owen Pallett "A Man With No Ankles"

2010-09-15T00:46:00.003+01:00

Taken from his forthcoming A Swedish Love Story EP, the man formerly known as Final Fantasy was kind enough to drop this jaunty little number on us on his birthday just over a week ago. Pallett recorded the four tracks for the EP in just a week - he suggests that it was a simplistic experiment to "cut himself a break"...

Luckily, the record is as layered and whimsical as we've come to expect from Pallett. It is a little more accessible, a little more pop, than anything else of his that I've encountered. The EP was recorded using "not much more than [his] violin, my Moog, a bass and a drum kit" and is a return to the sound that dominated his first record, Has A Good Home, according to the man himself.

It is a little bit closer to the sound of the two albums by Pallett's regular contributor Beirut. At just over four minutes, the song is quirky and upbeat from start to finish. It is buoyed by the glorious violins, exploding in a rather lively fashion intermittently between Pallett's vocal.

A wonderful little track - has me thinking that maybe I missed out on Pallett the first time. I'll be off to give him another listen shortly. Enjoy the video below...

Owen Pallett: A Man With No Ankles [A Swedish Love Story EP, 2010]

Owen Pallett: A Man With No Ankles 8.5/10.

New Band: Cellar Door

2010-09-13T21:12:00.005+01:00

One from my home town here - proud to plug these guys.

Cellar Door are (currently) a three piece post-punk/alternative band from Cobh, Co. Cork. Formed by four school friends, the band are currently on the hunt for a new bassist as they strive to get back to work. After a prolonged hiatus, they returned to gigging in August and sounded as good as ever.

The trio draw their influences from Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead and "a host of other stuff", according to their MySpace, while they also mention a far more obvious influence in New York's premier gloom merchants, Interpol. Cellar Door retain that gloomy, expansive, post-punk sound accompanied exceptionally by frontman Dave Barrett's baritone vox.

Openly cycnical and sarcastic in their lyrics, the band deal with feelings of darkness, pressure and a loss of control, though the songs disguise this anxiety well beneath powerful bass lines and guitar hooks.

Their debut EP is currently available directly from the band who can be contacted via their MySpace [http://www.myspace.com/cellardoorcobh] or Facebook [http://bit.ly/b6ItI6]

The standout track is certainly the sublime Pepper Pots. Buoyed by a really spectacular vocal and a roaring guitar solo, the track wouldn't sound out of place on a Snow Patrol, Editors or Doves record.

Well worth a look. Below are the aforementioned Pepper Pots and a cover of Beatles classic Come Together.

Cellar Door: Pepper Pots [Live, Date Unknown]

Cellar Door: Come Together (Beatles Cover) [Live, Date Unknown]

Cover Me Monday: Jamie T "If I Were A Boy"

2010-09-13T16:04:00.002+01:00

Today is the beginning of another new feature on BullBlackNova: my celebration of cover songs. The weird and the wonderful, the pretty basic, the obvious... Anything that really works could find itself on here. Granted the vast majority of these covers won't exactly be new, but many will have been lost among the hoards of obscure covers pelted out daily by websites and blogs whose sole purpose is to promote such songs...

Anyway. Today's cover is English indie-punk poet Jamie T taking on the heartfelt pop ballad If I Were A Boy, originally performed by Beyoncé Knowles.

Jamie T's version is a surprisingly intimate and heartfelt version of the track, complete with his own reworking of the lyrics. Initially a powerful feminist anthem, Jamie switches the focus a little to put himself in the position of the victim.

It works and wonderfully so. Jamie's version is below. It was performed for the ever excellent Live Lounge series on BBC Radio.

Jamie T: If I Were A Boy [Beyonce Cover] Live Lounge 2010.

A Week In Music [Mon 6th - Fri 10th Sept]

2010-09-10T17:55:00.004+01:00

This is the first in what I'm hoping can become a new series on BullBlackNova. I have redesigned the site once more (I promise I'll try and stop...) and hope to begin a new era of enthusiastic, informative and enjoyable posting with that. Check back regularly for continued work and updates on the blog...

This post (and hopefully the resulting series) is a simple concept - I'll talk about the major happenings in the world of music that occurred over the week including gigs I caught, bands I discovered, etc. as well as music news and events. If nothing else, this one is attempting to rectify my rather poor posting record of late.

My week began in a haze. Waking at about 6:30a.m. in a drenched field in Stradbally having gotten roughly an hours sleep or so, I was quickly rushed away from the whimsy and wonder of the Electric Picnic back into the harsh realities of the real world. Never easy...

However, with the post-EP hangover comes the inevitable: a host of gig announcements. As is the case with any festival, a considerable number of major acts announced gigs for the coming months. Among them were a trilogy of shows in the Olympia for the National (all sold out this morning. Get your tickets?), one for the Frames, two for Imelda May, one for Two Door Cinema Club, a countrywide tour for Villagers and eh... Kylie Minogue. Something tells me that wasn't Picnic related though. Either way, there's a huge amount to please even the most ardent music fan over the next few months.

The National: Bloodbuzz Ohio (High Violet, 2010)

Coming back to Villagers, Irish eyes were firmly fixed on Conor and co. for the Mercury Music Prize. The eventual winners were the xx, though Conor did himself no end of favours with a spellbinding performance of Becoming A Jackal. For me, it was always a tough call. The Irishman in me was yearning for a homegrown victory, though since both Wild Beasts and Laura Marling were released I've been championing the two. In all honesty, though, let me just say I'm delighted that Paul Weller and Dizzee Rascal left empty handed, while I do hope that the xx don't suffer the same fate as say Gomez, but rather go the Arctic Monkeys route.

Villagers: Becoming A Jackal (Live on Later With Jools Holland, 2010)

The xx: Islands (xx, 2009)

In other big musical news this week, we had the premiering of the first track from the forthcoming fifth album from everyone's favourite U2 tribute band: Kings of Leon. Now, for one, I didn't realise that alternative rock bands felt the need to "premier" their new songs, Earth Song-inspired video and all. Check it out and see what you think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IAxoqoqJ44.

Unfortunately, the option to "embed" the track has been disabled so you'll have to follow the link. For me, Radioactive, is a pretty bland song. Several days of listening to it have left me thinking "meh". They've done better, they've done worse. In reality, it doesn't have the urgency of say Red Morning Light, while it also doesn't have the stadium filling capabilities of Use Somebody. Here's hoping for a little bit more from Come Around Sun Down when it is released this October.

Sticking with new releases, the best I came across all week was the new EP from Swede folk-maestro the Tallest Man on Earth. On the back of the simply sublime The Wild Hunt from the start of this year, Kristian Matsson dropped this 5-track EP (Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird) with no warning and it really is a treat. It retains the stripped back raw beauty of Matsson's earlier work and, while it doesn't exactly push the boundaries of the genre, it is a real gem. A sign of what this man is capable of when he sticks to his mantra of "simple is better". There's no sampling, no reversed guitars, hip-hop beats, autotune... And it's all the better for it.

The Tallest Man on Earth: Little River (Sometimes the Blues is Just A Passing Bird, 2010)

Finally, we come to the best of the new acts that I discovered this week: Evil Uncle and Blackbird Blackbird.

Evil Uncle is an Irish musician who only came to my attention this morning via the excellent http://sweetoblivionloves.com/. The man himself has sprung to the attention of many bloggers due to his guerrilla EP distribution plan - basically he is just leaving the 7000 or so copies of the EP in various locations around the country for people to discover. This included 5000 under the wipers of car windows at Electric Picnic.

It would be a lovely present to find anywhere and I'm hoping anyone who is lucky enough to come across one takes the time to enjoy what is a very self-assured debut work. It comes across with the swagger and sting of Nick Cave, the Mighty Stef, etc., while he namechecks Grandaddy, Wilco and Pulp as influences himself. You can hear each on show on the EP. As he's such a nice guy, the whole thing is available for free download from his website (http://www.eviluncle.eu/fr_hi.cfm) but only for a limited time so don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity. There is also details of a handful of live shows around the country in November. The best thing I've found in weeks...

Evil Uncle: Timmy (The Siloette Sessions, 2010)

Secondly we come to the Californian lo-fi/dream-pop outfit Blackbird Blackbird. Yeah this type of act is a dime a dozen this year (Where to start? Memoryhouse, Toro Y Moi, Teen Daze, Neon Indian, etc, etc) but these guys stand out a little from the recent ones I'm coming across. It has that lovely quality of both being ambient and upbeat, rather than a simple nonchalant dreamy texture. Well worth a listen. http://blackbirdblackbird.bandcamp.com/

Blackbird Blackbird: Summer Heart (Summer Heart LP, 2010)

There we have it. The mammoth post is out of the way. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Feedback always gladly welcomed and if the post is a success then I shall hopefully continue with more of this ilk in the future.

Live Review: Electric Picnic (Sunday)

2010-09-07T20:26:00.004+01:00

Amazed at how quickly the weekend flew by - it was Sunday morning before I knew. The sign of a good time though right?

James Vincent McMorrow put to rest any fears about his live shows early in the day. A 12:30 beginning didn't reduce the size of the crowd - absolutely packed. This man is getting bigger and bigger as the days go on, and this live performance was as good as his sublime album. Playing with his full band for the first time ever, McMorrow was at ease and enjoyed back-and-forths with the crowd, his recently married backing vocalist and the rather shy keyboard player. It was a joy to watch, while the songs sounded fantastic. Full and engaging, here's hoping of more to come of this sort from James.

Again, I'll hopefully have a video or two of his up on the blog over the week though the sound quality isn't the best - ah the perils of being in the front row!

Unfortunately, the next man on my planner (The Tallest Man on Earth) had cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances and was replaced by the abysmal Heathers, so Bonobo (Live) was next for me. A hugely enjoyable experience, I lay in the grass and simply let the instrumentation take me away. A really special moment.

Next up was Sunderland's Field Music who put on a very enjoyable show as day became evening. It was a mix of their new album and many older songs, while the band have an almost Grizzly Bear-style quality to their sound live. Their vocals in particular, while I rather enjoyed the drummer and vocalist swapping places on a number of songs.

This was followed by a rather jaunty affair at the Main Stage as Mumford & Sons played almost their entire debut album to a huge crowd. The hits (Little Lion Man in particular) inspired a huge singalong, though the show just lacked a little something for me. They are certainly better live than on record, but they just don't have the attraction that would draw me to another showing.

Perhaps, though, it was just that my mind was preoccupied with what was coming - the highlight of the weekend and the factor that sealed my ticket purchase...

The National.

And wow. Speechless. My expectations were high and the performance blew them totally out of the water. A full review of the show (as well as reviews of Janelle Monae, Villagers, Hot Chip and a few others) will be posted over the course of the week but it's safe to say I could not have been happier leaving. Matt Berninger has such incredible (and natural) stage presence that you can't help but notice. The grandeur of the show was sublime, while the intimacy of the slower numbers was spell-blinding. The band played with the excitement of an act onstage for the first time, but also the seasoned experience of veterans. Quite literally the best show I have ever seen live - though I may be a little biased from having been literally front and centre. Matt Berninger started his second crowd interaction in front of me, while I also happened to be the one to drag him in... Whoops.

Hopefully I'll get a few videos over the week, but at the moment all I can find is dodgy fan videos that actually drown out Matt Berninger.

The perfect live band with the perfect live performance. It was wonderful.

My weekend finished in the pouring rain. As the hurricane (well it bloody felt like one...) set in, Wolf Parade wound down the weekend with their off-beat indie-punk. A great showing that kept me sheltered from the storm outside. I bade farewell to Body & Soul on my way back from the tent and scarcely made it back alive...

A spectacular weekend. I've never come back from a festival feeling refreshed, revitalised... Roll on Electric Picnic 2011.

Weekend Highlight: The National, if you hadn't guessed it from my overuse of the word "perfect"... It's difficult to describe how good they were.

Weekend Lowlight: Aside from the hurricane that decimated the campsite on Sunday night (turns out my tent WAS water-proof! Huzzah!), I'm gonna point out the headline acts. Perfect for plenty of people, I had no real interest in any of the 3 and hope that POD take a different tact next year.

Live Review: Electric Picnic (Saturday)

2010-09-07T19:22:00.006+01:00

Thank the Lord for Twitter. I woke up Saturday morning (to the sounds of rain! Luckily it didn't last.) to the rapidly spreading news that Body & Soul was going to play host to a solo set from Conor J. O'Brien of Villagers. Wonderful...

Conor played a handful of tracks to a silent crowd who sat knees crossed in front of him. The set included new track In A New Found Land You Are Free - I should have a video of this and one other song from the set on the blog at some stage of the week. Below is most of the track Home and it gives a pretty solid indication.

The contract between this set and the full set that Conor did later in the day was clear to anyone who was at both. The two were special and enjoyable in their own ways, but a number of the tracks simply work better with a full band, backing vocalists, etc. The camaraderie between Conor and the other Villagers is a clear strength for the band - they fall into that category of "better live than on record" for me. The songs have an identity when live, the singalong comes out in full force. The full-band set was a raucous affair that included the majority of the Mercury nominated debut, as well as the pick of the band's original EP - Down, Under The Sea. They look so comfortable and relaxed onstage - a real gem. The gig was referred to as their "favourite in Ireland to date" by Conor too.

Sandwiched between Villagers was a surprisingly enjoyable few tracks from Somali hip-hop star K'Naan including the official 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem Wave Your Flag.

The evening was all about contrast for me. First up was the sublime blues stylings of Seasick Steve - a man renowned for his live performances. This was up there with the best I saw all weekend. This was followed by the intriguing prospect of the Antlers. The Brooklyn band put on a fantastic show, though it was very obvious that they cut out a huge portion of last year's haunting debut due to the fact that they simply wouldn't come across well in the live setting. It has a much more lively feel than the intimacy of the record. Intriguing, I will say again. Enjoyable, certainly.

And it was finally time to break out the dance moves. It was off to the Electric Arena for the double-bill of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. Sublime is all I can say. Hot Chip, in particular, were exceptional. They are oft overlooked at festivals due to the regularity of their appearances, though on this showing that is a mistake. They were down one member due to the birth of a child, though the set was still full of hits and the crowd loved every second. This was followed by LCD Soundsystem strutting their stuff under a magnificent mirror-ball. Fans had waited a long time to see James Murphy an co. in action and were not disappointed in the slightest.

The duo were the talk of the night on the campsite and around the arena. One man I ran into told me how he had stood at the back of a crowd of at the least 25 rows OUTSIDE the Electric Arena to enjoy the duo. He had been able to overhear the infectious hits of Hot Chip waft over to the Crawdaddy tent where Cathy Davey was performing at the time and wandered over to see it. A better showing than at Oxegen for the Londoners, while LCD Soundsystem kept me gripped for the entirety of a lively performance.

Two bands I certainly want to see over and over and over and over....

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

I managed to catch several underwhelming minutes of the Frames, as well as the beginning of Gil Scott Heron - I left Crawdaddy as the man himself simply wasn't audible in the tent. Something that needs to be worked on next year. I couldn't understand a word that was being said in there. The night finished with the glorious mesh of Caribou in Body & Soul. It was even better than it sounds. So relaxed, so beautiful... A wonderful show.

Live Review: Electric Picnic (Friday)

2010-09-07T18:37:00.003+01:00

Last Friday marked day one of my Electric Picnic experience and, I'm glad to say that, it lived entirely up to my lofty expectations. The atmosphere, the ease of access, the sublime and ridiculous artwork adorning the trees... Body & Soul... The list goes on and on. Everything you've heard that makes the Picnic wonderful really does - it needs to be experienced.

Musically, my Friday began with the stunning Janelle Monae. The Kansas-born soul merchant was one of my picks to watch prior to the Picnic and luckily she lived up expectations. She got the crowd going with a hit filled set, the highlights of which were Cold War and the dance moves practiced by Janelle and her backing dancers. And, of course, the fantastic man in the top-hat who introduced the entire set. Unfortunately I missed her on Body & Soul (I tried my best to get through the crowd but it wasn't happening...) but the video below gives an indication of what she did there. I heard it was even better than the fantastic set on the Main Stage.

Next, for me, was Laura Marling. I am a huge fan of Marling's latest work (the Mercury nominated I Speak Because I Can) and was really looking forward to this show. Unfortunately, rather than a fit and flying Marling, we encountered a rather jaded and ill incarnation. She apologised for not being able to sing any louder and asked the crowd to keep it down - they simply ignored her. Later reflection led me to conclude that a huge portion of the crowd were probably Foals fans who had gotten there early and weren't interested. The songs that Marling did perform were pretty good - despite her voice being a little weaker, she still sounded great. It hasn't put me off catching her again. Hopefully in a better physical state next time.

After Ms. Marling, I managed to catch part of the Holy Roman Army on the rather lovely Love Letter Stage. A small and picturesque location that suited the band perfectly, the highlight of the set was a cover of Bon Iver's Skinny Love.

Having thoroughly checked out the food on offer around the arena, I found myself at the Main Stage in time for one of the most anticipated acts of the weekend: Modest Mouse. Unfortunately Isaac Brock and co. simply didn't cut it for me. They began very well, including crowd pleaser Float On just three tracks in. The upbeat, fast-paced songs sounded fantastic, though several numbers in the middle of the set were simply a little dull. Luckily, the set picked up rapidly as it hurtled toward it's conclusion with the likes of Dashboard, before ending very abruptly. I wasn't the only bemused person in the crowd left asking "Was that it?"

The crowd headed for an already packed tent being rocked by Foals while I went to catch the end of Jonsí. To say that I was impressed is an understatement. I only caught the last song of his set but the combination of his soaring vocals and the gorgeous visuals on the back-drop (it depicted rain falling on a lake, gradually increasing with the speed of the song) was spellbinding. Certainly an act I want to see again.

Finally, I tried to force my way into a horrendously packed tent containing Eels. I managed to last for five tracks and decided enough was enough and headed off to Body & Soul for the night, the highlight of which was the simply brilliant Lucent Dossier Experience.

Below is Jonsí performing Go Do at Electric Picnic on Friday. This wasn't the track I caught but it still sounds great. You don't get as good an appreciation of the back-drop or the sheer scale of the performance as you would have if you were there but hey - this is about as good as you'll get unless you want to follow his trek across the globe.

Electric Picnic Preview: Sunday

2010-08-31T19:06:00.004+01:00

And here we are at part three already...

Check out part 1 (Friday) @ http://bullblacknova.blogspot.com/2010/08/electric-picnic-preview-friday.html , and part 2 (Saturday) @ http://bit.ly/cBXGvZ.

Okay then...

Do Not Miss:

The National. In my opinion, the finest working band on the planet (but that's a whole other argument...) The National are on the back of three stunning albums and look to be going from strength to strength. They were picked out by Zane Lowe as the best band to play Glastonbury this year, while their anthems are perfect for a festival closer. It's gonna be very special. Worth the €240 alone if you listen to me...

Mumford & Sons. A curious one this, I'm not actually a big fan of Mumford & Sons. I like what they do, but it all seems a little too polished for my liking. Londoners attempting to sound like they're from Cornwall I think... But that said, they have a great live reputation. Attracted a massive crowd at Oxegen (Eminem, Julian Casablancas and the Prodigy all performed at the same time) and, according to many there, they were the best band to hit the festival. The atmosphere when they take to the stage is going to be electric. Finish with a bang!

Bonobo. And another curious one here. Not an act I have listened to a lot, Bonobo is a bit of a mystery. My brother swears that he's a genius and anywhere I look on the net, the feeling seems to be the same. The ambient, experimental sounds that epitomise his sound (as far as my exploration has shown anyway!) seem like the perfect backdrop for the Picnic.

Also Worth A Look:

The Low Anthem. Yet another band to breakout last year, their debut is a fabulous myriad of Bon Iver-style folk songs and rip-roaring blues. It's hard to believe that they only have one vocalist... Another act whose live reputation precedes them.

Wolf Parade. The Canadians are on form - Expo 86 is a fantastic record. They shot to fame alongside Stars, Arcade Fire and a number of other Canadians, and while they may not have reached the dazzling heights of Arcade Fire, the work has remained consistently brilliant - something that cannot be said for Stars, who are also playing over the weekend.

The Tallest Man on Earth. Accompanied by a magnificent Dylan-esque rasp, the Swede folk troubadour released one of my favourite records of the early part of the year. I have a feeling that this could be one of the sleeper hits of the weekend. The one that everyone will be saying "ah you should've been there..."

The Irish Act(s) You Shouldn't Miss:

Fight Like Apes. I have yet to hear their second album in it's entirety, though I bought the first one entirely on the back of a live show I caught a few years back. These guys are constantly referred to as one of Ireland's best live acts.

James Vincent McMorrow. James released one of the year's best records and is surely set to explode at some point. I caught him at Oxegen and thought the performance was great - a shaky start evolved into a really strong showing. He's on early on Sunday (12:30 or 1 he thinks) - give me a better way to solve that hangover you got from raving all night in the woods after LCD Soundsystem?

Well there you have it. My tips for the weekend.

I hope you enjoy it. I'm set for my first ever Picnic so it should be an interesting one at the very least! Hopefully I'll see you there. I've a busy few days ahead of me so check back next Monday & Tuesday for my reviews, thoughts, etc. or follow me on twitter (@bbnovablog) as I'm hoping to post a little from the site over the weekend - battery permitting of course!!

Electric Picnic Preview: Saturday

2010-08-31T18:51:00.003+01:00

Getting closer... Check part 1 of this feature @ http://bullblacknova.blogspot.com/2010/08/electric-picnic-preview-friday.html

Do Not Miss:

LCD Soundsystem. James Murphy and co. are among the most vibrant and exciting bands in the world right now and this is evident in their live shows too. A special one for Irish LCD Soundsystem fans as the group were forced to cancel a scheduled gig in the Tripod due to that Icelandic volcano earlier this year. Take into account the fact that Murphy is heavily considering retiring the band (though recent statements suggest otherwise), you may never get another chance. This Is Happening is a fantastic follow up to two great albums - a band on killer form. If they retire now, expect legendary status. Do. Not. Miss.

Villagers. It's tough for me to concisely describe just how big a fan I am of Villagers. Conor O'Brien is one of the nicest people I have ever met in the music industry and I could not be happier that he has found success with this fantastic project. A major gig at Oxegen wasn't a complete success (Clashes with Arcade Fire & Fat Boy Slim didn't help...) so this could be the biggest show of Villagers' career to date. They are the best live band I've seen this year (Move over Midlake, Yeasayer, Hot Chip, Arcade Fire, etc.) and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The Frames. Another one of the Irish contingent, Glen and co. are touring in celebration of their 20th anniversary. Known for their killer live shows, the band should be buzzing for this one.

Also Worth A Look:

The Antlers. These buys released one of last year's best albums, I think. A haunting concept album revolving around the relationship between a terminally ill cancer patient and the singer, it really captured my imagination. The band are worth a look purely to see how they carry this into the live setting, plus their great performance on Other Voices earlier this year suggests that they can really handle themselves.

Seasick Steve. The blues man is much better live than on record, plus he's playing on a pirate ship at some point in the weekend...

Hot Chip. These guys killed it at Oxegen and should be set to do so again here. I think the Picnic is a much better setting for them - here's hoping the party atmosphere carries into their performance.

The (Other) Irish Act You Shouldn't Miss:

Imelda May. The voice... Sublime. Imelda May is one of the greatest performers produced by this country in a very long time. Showcasing her forthcoming new album, this show should be awesome.

Sunday coming up next...

Electric Picnic Preview: Friday

2010-08-31T15:00:00.003+01:00

Three posts today on Electric Picnic - one designated for the acts not to be missed on each day. Also sorry for the lack of posting recently. I am moving out tomorrow and had quite a bit to sort out for college and that, plus preparing for what will be my first ever Picnic. I'm damn excited it must be said! Okay onwards and upwards...

Do Not Miss:

Modest Mouse. The American alternative rockers are touring the tenth anniversary of their seminal album, The Moon & Antarctica. In the years since they have released one very good record, one pretty decent one and several EPs and standalone singles. They were among the biggest draws for several US and Canadian festivals this summer and now is a great time to see them. Alledgedly preparing a new album as we speak, we may even get a sneak preview of what is to come.

Janelle Monae. Hip-hop/funk/soul sensation Janelle Monae is one of the most hotly tipped acts in the world right now, and she is not to be missed this coming Friday. Heavily influenced by classic motown as well as contemporary music such as Outkast (she worked with Big Boi on this record), her spectacular album is inspired by classic science-fiction amongst other things. She is not the type of act I tend to listen to but The ArchAndroid is full of infectious, irresistible sounds. Her live reputation precedes her - I have heard her performances mentioned in the same breath as David Bowie.... Let's see if she's worthy of such a title.

Laura Marling. Arguably the best musician to emerge in this current folk-revival wave, Marling comes to Stradbally on the back of two Mercury nominated albums (a potential winner next week) and an ever improving reputation. While I missed the hullabaloo the first time round, this second album (I Speak Because I Can) has captured my imagination - a gorgeous, intimate feeling record. One that has me very excited for Friday: here's hoping it can cross over into the live setting.

Also Worth A Look:

Eels. I've always been a fan of E. and co. and think the prospect of seeing Mr. E's Beautiful Blues in the glorious sunshine is too much to ignore! The recent trilogy of album releases is pretty solid too.

Jonsi. Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi has gone solo, though he has retained that soaring intimacy that made SR shows so very special. His vocal is jaw-dropping and the emotion that pours into his songs is some really admirable. Could be a very special performance indeed.

The Irish Act You Shouldn't Miss:

Rubberbandits & Crystal Swing. Seriously. This could be awesome.

Those are my tips for Friday anyway. Check back soon for Saturday and Sunday.

All Things Sufjan: EP Review & New Album News

2010-08-26T14:28:00.004+01:00

Sufjan Stevens was never the most straightforward of artists was he? A quick look through his discography lists a Christmas album, an album inspired by the Brooklyn-Queens expressway, his infamous fifty-states project (now just a publicity stunt - he said so himself!) and almost anything else you can wrap your head around. He also has that rare ability to be aesthetically broad and equally minimalistic at the same time... Euphoric and immediate. It's stunning.

Despite becoming used to getting exactly what you didn't expect from Sufjan, the indie/folk/alternative world still stopped dead in it's tracks when the he released a new EP - All Delighted People, out of nowhere last week. Just $5 and available via Sufjan's bandcamp page (http://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/), the EP itself is, in reality, the first real release we've had from Sufjan since 2005's Illinois.

It's good to see that the five years working on symphonic odes to motorways, Christmas songs, etc. haven't dampened Sufjan's enthusiasm for what drew us in in the first place. The title track (one of two versions - the original is better than the classic rock I think...) would fit right in with Stevens' fifty-states records - a roaring symphony is belittled by Sufjan's very familiar voice.

It's like an old friend has finally come home after a long trip away. And man did we miss them...

Aside from the opener (the aforementioned titular number: an eleven and a half minute track that finishes with a kids choir and strings galore), Heirloom stands out as a special number. More lo-fi, more immediate... These tracks are chalk and cheese. And they both display Sufjan's strengths so well.

Alas, Sufjan's work has often fallen into the track of being too ambitious and this makes that mistake too. It is nice to see Stevens' experimenting a little with beats and skips - these could certainly be used well in future projects. However, I feel that the track Arnika in particular is weak and just sees the EP finishing on a slight downer.

All Delighted People EP: 8.0/10. Some great numbers, though it peters out a little.

And following on from this release comes the news that Sufjan is to release his latest album this coming October. Entitled The Age of Adz (Adz being pronounced "odds" apparently), it'll be released on Asthmatic Kitty and the tracklisting is as follows:

01 Futile Devices
02 Too Much
03 Age of Adz
04 I Walked
05 Now That I'm Older
06 Get Real Get Right
07 Bad Communication
08 Vesuvius
09 All for Myself
10 I Want To Be Well
11 Impossible Soul

On the back of All Delighted People, this could be a very special record indeed. We all know what he's capable of when he puts his mind to it...

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #8

2010-08-25T15:11:00.003+01:00

Reason #8: The Frames 20th Anniversary Tour

I've always found that while they may not always be the biggest band on the bill, Irish acts tend to react best to an Irish festival crowd - Villagers at Harmonic, Wallis Bird at Oxegen this year, the Blizzards in the past... It may not always be the best act on show but they do tend to look like they're having fun.

I'm not really sure if the Frames are one to go out and "have fun" as such, but having poured over live footage of the band it seems that Glen does seem to enjoy his back and forth banter with the crowd - this, for me, is crucial to the enjoyment of any live show. Ever seen the Kings of Leon? Sure it sounds great (well the twice I saw them anyway!) but people tend to leave feeling a little cold. Where was the interaction?

It is here that the Frames are king. And if they can't muster up a little excitement for their 20th anniversary show well... Something would have to be drastically wrong!

The fact that it is a 20th Anniversary Tour rather than one to promote an album makes me think that we could be in for something very special. We can expect a broad spectrum of tracks taken from everything the band has put out since 1991's Another Love Song. In Fitzcarraldo the band have arguably the finest Irish album ever recorded, while the four studio recordings since have all been worthy of high praise.

These guys could be one of the most talked about shows at the Picnic - if they're on form that is.

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #7

2010-08-24T22:44:00.003+01:00

Reason #7: Villagers.

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a hard-working, humble and genuinely nice guy make it - except of course seeing a hard-working, humble and genuinely nice IRISH guy hit the top. 2010 has been a whirlwind for Conor O'Brien. The former Immediate frontman moved onto new project Villagers and had quite a year: topping the album chart, sharing the first ever Harmonic bill in Cork with Grizzly Bear and Midlake (and totally stealing the show - but more on that in a bit), headlining a stage at Oxegen and being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

It's incredible, but man does he deserve it?

I was lucky enough to catch Villagers in Cork last June with Grizzly Bear, Midlake and Camera Obscura. It was just a few weeks after debut record Becoming A Jackal had topped the chart and Conor was still riding this crest of success, though he still seemed genuinely surprised by the packed tent that awaited him in the Cork Docklands. Instead of buckling under this weighted pressure, Conor and co. went from strength to strength - they didn't so much as miss a note. Their harmonies outshone those of Grizzly Bear, their instrumental work topped Midlake...

Astounding.

Unfortunately, I missed Villagers at Oxegen. I misread my timetable and thought they were clashing with Arcade Fire... They were actually finished just a few minutes before the Canadians.

Since catching them live, the LP has actually taken on a new lease of life for me. The songs feel more personal, more immediate. I was initially a little cold and dismissive of it, but the songs feel real to me now - wholly deserving of Mercury nomination, if not victory.

I'm struggling to think of a live act that I have ever enjoyed more than Villagers - certainly there are none this year so far.

Is it any wonder I can't wait? Aside from the National, Villagers are my top tip to NOT miss at Electric Picnic, regardless of clashes.

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #6

2010-08-24T22:29:00.002+01:00

Reason #6: Modest Mouse touring the 10th Anniversary of the seminal The Moon & Antarctica.

Now I'm about to hold my hands up and say something that'll have me crucified around certain parts... I prefer Good News For People Who Love Bad News.

There. I said it. Now let's move on...

Ten years ago Isaac Brock and co. got together to release their third LP. Brock had broken his jaw in the period preceding the album and, as a result, chose to make this one a more instrumental and experimental affair - and it shot the band to eternal indie glory. 9/8/10 from Pitchfork, universal acclaim and positions atop many "best of the '00s" lists recently.

Luckily for us the band have opted to tour on the back of the anniversary of this record. They are among the biggest acts playing the Picnic on the Friday night, bringing their off-beat alternative-REM sound to the stage. The set is infused with work that the band have put out since (Good News..., We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank and a number of EPs), though it is largely formed around the basis of the Moon & Antarctica.

At this stage, Modest Mouse have become indie rock legends. They could have collapsed under the weight of the "new Pixies" tag that many bestowed on them but they have actually revelled in this. They aren't the Pixies. Nor are they REM, Sonic Youth or anyone else but themselves. A unique anomaly that are essential for any alternative rock fan.

New Music: Perfume Genius

2010-08-24T13:49:00.008+01:00

Again, an artist who is not exactly new to me. Mike Hadreas a.k.a Perfume Genius was actually brought to my attention by James Vincent McMorrow - a genuinely reliable source for new bands I might add! In the last few days, Hadreas announced a live tour of Europe that unfortunately does not include a stop off in Ireland. But let me tell you, he'd be worth the flights...

A tortured folk act - he bares resemblances to Sufjan Stevens (who will be the subject of a post later!) in terms in the subtlety and tender sounds of his work, most notably on Learning. A piano driven affair, his voice cracks and creaks above the meandering keys for barely two and a half minutes.

He has apparently lived a very difficult live so far and is pouring these demons into his music. Addiction, abuse, suicide... These all form the core of his song-writing and it's clear that there are many stories to be told here. A genuinely haunting sound...

New Music: Lissie

2010-08-24T13:42:00.005+01:00

This young lady is by no means new to me - in fact I even tipped her as one of the acts not to be missed at Oxegen. Unfortunately I managed to miss her myself but sure...

Lissie is a folk-rock artist from the deep-south of the United States. Her debut album was recorded in Nashville with Jacqui King (Kings of Leon) and has been described as an artist who finds the "sepia toned sweet spot between Neko Case, Laura Marling and the Shangri-Las"

That's pretty accurate. Lissie's strength lies in her vocal capabilities. The video below is a live version of the track Bully that I only got my hands on in the last few days and have hardly stopped playing since. The comparisons to Laura Marling in particular are not too far wide of the mark - imagine if Ms. Marling had been born in the southern US of A rather than London. And had a thing for a guitar solo that Mr. Jack White may be proud of...

New Music: Small Black

2010-08-24T13:33:00.003+01:00

Resurrecting a feature that has been missing for a while on the blog today - the new music post. These are acts that have only recently come to my attention and who I feel are worthy of being broadcast to a wider audience. The first of three today (the others will follow: neither are immediately new to me, but with new music from them only reaching me yesterday I feel the time is right...) is Brooklyn (where else..?) bases chill-wave act Small Black.

These guys are getting a lot of buzz lately as a result of the new song they have released, Photojournalist. The track is not included on the 7 track self-titled EP that dropped earlier this year but is most likely coming from the band's forthcoming debut LP, set for an October release.

It falls nicely into the chillwave genre - not entirely pushing the boundaries, though it is still among the better releases we've heard this year. Not quite of the standard of Toro Y Moi or Memoryhouse, though it outshines the over hyped Neon Indian for me any day.

Essentially, it does exactly what it says on the tin - relaxed, synth driven, wavey pop music. Subtle vocals, dreamy sounds... We know the formula. It may not be original, but Small Black make it work.

Track Review: Cee-Lo Green "Fuck You"

2010-08-23T17:20:00.003+01:00

Let's keep this one short anyway.

Cee-Lo Green releases his latest solo album The Lady Killer this coming October. To date, the only track I had heard from it was a haunting and unique cover of Band of Horses' No One's Gonna Love You - it shouldn't work, but man does it? Sublime. Today I listened to the latest release from the album: Fuck You.

Despite it's expletive title (and chorus), the track is actually rather sweet. It has the same soulful energy that we've come to expect from Cee-Lo due to his work with Gnarls Barkley, while his vocal is firmly in control here too. And that is where the strength of this track lies - his vocal is simply superb. One of the greatest voices in modern pop music.

I can't say much more about the track really - check it out below. Apologies for the dodgy video. Youtube wouldn't let me watch the proper version for some reason so I had to steal the embed from another fan-made version.... Sound is still great though. Could be a late contender for album of the year if he continues like this!

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #5

2010-08-23T13:21:00.003+01:00

Reason #5: Wolf Parade.

Canadian alt-rockers Wolf Parade shot to fame in 2005 with Apologies to the Queen Mary. They were one of a number of acts to really benefit from the success of Arcade Fire - the whole world was watching the Canadian music scene, and dozens of acts got a little bit more attention than their talents genuinely warranted.

However, whereas the likes of Stars (who you can also catch at Electric Picnic this September) have never really moved onwards and upwards from this original boom, Wolf Parade have taken a huge step up - most notably with their newest record Expo 86.

The band have really played to their strengths on this latest record. It was written together in a converted church owned by Arcade Fire (now there's a story in itself), whereas previous work had often been written separately by the twin creative forces in the band (Spencer Krug of Sunset Rubdowns and Dan Boeckner of Handsome Furs) - hence the often overly fragmented sound of the project. Expo 86 has a rhythm and flow that did not exist on previous work, and the band have received widespread attention for this.

Personally, I think the album has a real old school feel. A number of tracks have the energy and power that was found on U2's Boy, the early work of Echo & the Bunnymen, etc. and even the Doors to an extent. The likes of What Did My Lover Say?, Little Golden Age and Cloud Shadow on the Mountain are among the best tracks ever written by these guys, and they will put on a great show in Stradbally I'm betting.

Potentially one of the sleeper hits of the weekend.

Similar Acts at EP: Stars, the New Pornographers, Modest Mouse

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #4

2010-08-23T13:16:00.003+01:00

Reason #4: Salty Dog Saloon.

I posted about this recently @ http://bullblacknova.blogspot.com/2010/08/electric-picnic-salty-dog-saloon.html so I won't be going into too much detail here.

In short, it's a weather beaten shipwreck. In the middle of the woods. (Think the Black Rock from Lost...)

Performing on the ship (Oh yes - that's right! It's a stage!) include the likes of Seasick Steve, the Mighty Stef and Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club.

Seasick Steve is well known for his sublime live shows (and damn near everyone has seen him somewhere - he crops up eeeeverywhere!) - they lend a new lease of life the his form of folk and blues.... I think the combination of the blues and a pirate ship might just be too perfect...

I, for one, cannot wait.

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #3

2010-08-21T01:47:00.003+01:00

Reason #3: Caribou @ Body & Soul

I was pretty excited anyway about seeing the improvised electronic live-show of the one man electronica act that is Caribou (Daniel Victor Snaith to his friends...), but when it was confirmed that it would be in the spectacular surroundings that I have been assured the Body & Soul Area is... Well...

Trippy, psychedelic electric sounds - this seems to be the ideal mesh of location and sound and is shaping up to be one of the highlights of the festival.

Accompanied by a complex visual show, Snaith pours himself into the music and the performance - the ambient beats complimented by samples and rhythms that swing them to life.

Not to be missed...

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited - Reason #2

2010-08-20T12:59:00.002+01:00

Reason #2: Janelle Monae

Anyone who frequents this blog regularly might be surprised to learn of my Monae love. This is an alternative music blog - Ms. Monae fits much more comfortably into an r 'n' b bracket surely?

Despite this, there is something so incredibly infectious about the rhythms and the beats that adorn Janelle's sound. How she is slipping under the radar of the masses is beyond me - her debut full-length release in Ireland, The ArchAndroid, peaked at number 24 in the charts.

There is so much to take from the work of Janelle Monae: her sound is clearly more indebted to older styles - think motown and classic hip-hop rather than Rihanna. As well as this, she has worked heavily with the creative genius that is Big Boi (Outkast) - the record clearly benefits from this intrusion. It takes all the best points of the work of Outkast and Big Boi's solo work. The single Tightrope features the man himself as is possibly the most accessible and infectious track since Outkast's Hey Ya!

And there's that word again - infectious. It is simply unavoidable. You listen any of the tracks from The ArchAndroid and they'll still be rattling about your head hours later.

Perhaps one of the more intriguing aspects of Monae is her alter-ego Cindi Mayweather. In essence, The ArchAndroid is the culmination of the on-running story of Ms. Mayweather. The album is heavily inspired by the classic Metropolis (1927) - everything from cover art to the basis of the songs. How often do you hear of Beyonce basing her albums around classic science-fiction?

Monae is that very rare thing nowadays - an r'n'b singer noted for her talents, rather than her appearance. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the attraction to the likes of Beyonce, etc. but it is so refreshing to come across a female singer achieving her success through the most basic of things - her ability to perform her music.

She is noted for her live performances, referred to a "magnetising" by Niall Byrne of http://www.nialler9.com/.

A really unique quantity in the modern musical scene, she is an artist who benefits who benefits from being equal parts progressive and retro. A performer in the truest sense, she seems to be the heiress to the crown of funk, soul and all things hip-hop. Prince, Stevie Wonder, Bowie... The list goes on. Monae is set to be an unstoppable juggernaut.

Catch her the Friday of Electric Picnic and I dare you to not fall in love...

Similar Artists at EP'10: Brian Deady, Messiah J & The Expert, Cymande II, Fat Freddy's Drop.

Electric Picnic: Why I'm So Excited

2010-08-20T12:53:00.004+01:00

This post is simply going to serve as a prelude to this series of reasons as to why I'm so excited about the upcoming festivities in Stradbally. It is just two weeks away today and is looking to be absolutely spectacular...

Well first off the entries in this series are going to be a mix of bands I'm particularly looking forward too, as well as other attractions that have drawn me in. I hope you enjoy what I have to say about it. Hopefully I'll get two or three entries a day, though I am moving out on September 1st so that could disrupt the proceedings slightly... Better get a good run at it now so!

Reason #1: It's my very first Picnic.
I have been to Oxegen twice - loved the first, hated the second. Atmosphere, acts, etc. just simply aren't to my taste. Speaking to people who have been to both, EP seems to be much more of a fit for me, while the line-up certainly indicates that too.

Anyway keep checking back. The rest of the reasons will be far more in depth than number 1 there - it was simply to get the ball rolling. Please comment and let me know why you're excited, or perhaps why you aren't! Always love the discussion.

Electric Picnic: Daily Breakdown

2010-08-19T15:38:00.002+01:00

Unfortunately we haven't been treated to times and stages just yet, but below is a full daily breakdown of this year's Electric Picnic. Saturday looks fantastic, can't help worrying that there'll be some killer clashes though mind you. Ah fingers crossed... The acts in bold print are the ones I'm most eager to see!

Anyway get out your highlighter and start planning!

Two weeks from tomorrow...

Friday
Roxy Music
Public Image Limited
Modest Mouse
The Waterboys
Jonsi (Sigur Ros)
Marc Almond
Janelle Monae
Eels
Foals
Booka Shade
Duke Special
Laura Marling
Kormac’s Big Band
Stars
Sebastien Leger
Black Mountain
The Rubberbandits feat Crystal Swing
Sneaky Soundsystem DJ set
MNDR
Here We Go Magic
Chew Lips
Hurts
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Joe Echo
Freelances Whales
Delta Maid
James O’Connor
Nova Static
Donal Dineen, Niwel Tsumbu & Friends
Vengeance & the Panther Queen
The Subs
LRB
Phil Ryan

Saturday
Leftfield
The Frames
LCD Soundsystem
Imelda May
Hot Chip
Seasick Steve
Gil Scott Heron
Tiga
Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77
AfroCelt Soundsystem
Steve Earle
Bad Lieutenant
Villagers
Paul Brady
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Cathy Davey
Crystal Castles
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Redneck Manifesto
K’Naan
The Antlers
Robyn
Brendan Perry
And So I Watch You From Afar
Steve Mason
Heathers
Ryan Sheridan
The Japanese Popstars
Stacey Pullen
Edan the MC
Adrian Crowley
Joker & Nomad
Mountain Man
Monotonix
Philip Selway
Arveene & Misk
These New Puritans
Spilly Walker
Fang Island
Daniel Wang
Brian Deady
The Mighty Stef
Crystal Fighters
Mikki Dee & Mystro
Trojan Soundsystem
Goodtime John
Channel One

Sunday
Massive Attack
The National
Mumford & Sons
Fever Ray
Friendly Fires
Fat Freddys Drop
Two Door Cinema Club
UNKLE
Fight Like Apes
Laurent Garnier (live)
Wolf Parade
The Horrors
The Fall
Dennis Alcapone & the Dubcats
New Pornographers
Bonobo (live)
Landlovers
The Big Pink
Low Anthem
Jerry Fish & the Mudbug Club
Liquid Liquid
808 State
Archie Bronson Outfit
Mr Scruff
Field Music
Cymande II
The Tallest Man on Earth
Beardyman
The Alarm
Juan Atkins
Stornoway
Dam Funk
James Vincent McMorrow
Mixhell
Neon Indian
Dublin Gospel Choir
Messiah J & the Expert
Dandelion
O Emperor
Jackbeats
The Riptide Movement

The National: "You Were A Kindness"

2010-08-18T13:27:00.003+01:00

The National popped into The Current on Minnesota Public Radio for a short interview and a few tracks. The band played England, Terrible Love and Bloodbuzz Ohio from this year's phenomenal High Violet, as well as the previously unreleased You Were A Kindness.

The latter is a dark, brooding and morose piano driven affair, and has cropped up in a number of live shows lately. The band have even performed it with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and it may be one to look out for at this year's Electric Picnic.

The full set and interview is below. The new track is the 3rd of the 4 songs played.

Electric Picnic: Body & Soul Stage Announcement

2010-08-18T12:54:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Mr. Jim Carroll for these...

Omar Souleyman was confirmed earlier as the top of the bill for the Body & Soul Stage at EP this year. The remaining (unannounced) names that were today confirmed are:

John Cooper Clarke
Timber Timbre
John Smith
Peverelist
Thread Pulls
The Low Sea
Jennifer Evans
Daithi O Dronai
Jimmy Penguin
Martin Hayes & Denis Cahill
Iarla O Lionaird
Spook of the Thirteenth Lock
Holy Roman Army
Johnny Flynn
I Draw Slow
Tucan
Lisa O’Neill
Nouveaunoise
Ultan Conlon
Ambulance
Kill Krinkle Club
Twin Kranes
Hunter Gatherer
Natural History Museum
Patrick Kelleher
Butterfly Explosion
Deaf Joe
Maud in Cahoots

Those in bold are the one's I'm most excited about...

Electric Picnic: Omar Souleyman Added To The Bill

2010-08-18T11:47:00.004+01:00

According to Jim Carroll over at On The Record, Omar Souleyman has been added to the bill for Electric Picnic 2010. He is set to top the bill for the Body & Soul Stage.

Last night the Picnic forum was alive and buzzing with rumours that a final big announcement would be coming today, while Jim himself said that "more names are to come".

With a fantastic bill already consisting of the likes of Massive Attack, the National, the Frames, Mumford & Sons and many, many more, the Picnic is shaping up to be an absolutely stunning weekend. I for one can't wait and, as a result, I am going to begin posting my "Reasons You Can't Miss The Picnic" series today - it is only two and a half weeks away!

Check back later today when I begin my countdown. Full details will be disclosed in the first post. With any luck I'll also be able to confirm any number of rumoured acts have been added to the bill too.

Picnic: T-minus 16 days and counting... It's safe to say this blog will be overrun with Picnic associations for the next few weeks, though they may become rather irregular around September the 1st as I'm moving out that day...

Electric Picnic: The Salty Dog Saloon

2010-08-16T23:08:00.003+01:00

With just a little over two weeks to go before it all kicks off in Stradbally, the finer details are gradually coming to light. Today it was the turn of the legendary Salty Dog Saloon, a sea-beaten shipwreck landed deep in the woods of Stradbally.

The following is the description of the Saloon from the EP website:

The Salty Dog, a sea-beaten shipwreck marooned in the woods at Stradbally Hall, casts an idle eye in the direction of anyone interested in a late-night after-gig party at the Picnic.

Loyal to the last, lowering the tone and welcoming the infirm, the insomniacs, those to whom a compass is no use… aye, The Salty Dog is the crude, regretted, smudged tattoo on the cufflinked-shirted arm of the Picnic… And ready for an arm wrestle with the leggiest girl in the woods.

Rum-fuelled sea shanty collectives, rasping folksters and big-top emcees, caribbean wastrels, and gravelly maritime pranksters find their home here… the infamous Salty Dog Saloon stage emerges out of the fallen masts and rigging when the sun dips below the yard arm.
For those who sleep in hammocks with one eye open, come home my sons and daughters, come to the mothership.

The acts confirmed to play include the likes of Seasick Steve, the Mighty Stef, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Funzo, Tupelo and Los Langeros.

I'm sure I'm not the only that is salivating at the prospect of the Mighty Stef or Seasick Steve singing sea shanties from a wrecked pirate ship in the midst of the Stradbally woods...

Tickets are still on sale - hurry up!!

Unlikely Collaboration Ahoy!

2010-08-14T16:23:00.003+01:00

Each year, a number of collaborations always seem to come totally out of left-field. Ones that nobody saw coming... Think about it - before Chris Martin hooked up with Kanye West, did it make sense? Not to me anyway.

In an interview with Pitchfork, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, Volcano Choir, Gayngs, DeYarmond Edison - ultimately the uber folk man doing the rounds lately) has confirmed that he has worked on "at least ten songs" with none other than...

*drum roll please*

Kanye West.

Yeah... Hands up who saw that coming?

Vernon claims that he recorded vocals on at least ten tracks for Kanye, one of which samples the song Woods from Bon Iver's Blood Bank EP - a track West has earmarked as "the festival closer" The track is called Lost In The Woods and is just one of a number that the two recorded with producer Rick Ross in the Hawaiian studio over a three week period.

Kanye's new album will be out on November 15th (Probably 12th in Ireland) and is set to include a collaboration with Beyonce, as well as this track. It is not entitled Good Ass Job anymore.

As for Justin, he's been a very busy boy - as well as an upcoming tour with Gayngs, he has holed himself up in Wisconsin in an attempt to complete the next Bon Iver album which will be released next year, while he's also been working with A-Trak, John Legend, Nicki Minaj and Rick Ross in Hawaii. He also plans to begin a new imprint project with label Jagjaguwar to encourage musicians to promote the unsigned and lost albums that inspired him, including a band called Amateur Love from Vernon's home town Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The full interview is available here: http://pitchfork.com/news/39752-justin-vernon-talks-kanye-collaboration-gayngs/

Arcade Fire Update

2010-08-13T13:49:00.001+01:00

The official announcement for Arcade Fire's gig at the O2 in Dublin was released this morning. Dates and all that are as expected yesterday, though luckily tickets are cheaper. €55.80 for standing and €61 for seated tickets. Excluding the extras ticketmaster always throw in at the counter of course.

The bill is completed by Vampire Weekend and Devandra Banhart, as was reported yesterday, and the show will begin at 19:00 on December 5th we are told.

Arcade Fire At The O2

2010-08-12T19:40:00.007+01:00

Oxegen headliners and now chart-toppers Arcade Fire are set to return to these shores in December for one, if not two dates at Dublin's O2.

According to Jim Carroll at the ever reliable On The Record, the band will play the O2 on December 5th, with the 6th provisionally reserved for a second gig. Jim says that his "sources" have suggested tickets are priced at a ridiculous €73 and that support will be in the form of Vampire Weekend.

As expected, a fierce debate erupted on the page @ http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2010/08/10/arcade-fire-dublin-december-2/ with regard to the prices of the tickets, how fair and unfair it all was, etc. Arcade Fire manager Scott Rodger stepped in to voice his own opinion on the matter. He had this to say:

Part of the issue is the expense in moving the band, crew and production over to Ireland for only one or two shows. you could argue the same for moving from Europe to the UK or from the UK to Europe. However, those markets generally have more than one or two shows to help absorb the costs. on the current Arcade Fire tour, one third of what we earn goes straight out on equipment – sound, lighting, projection and trucking. from the rest, we have to pay tax (Canadian band – not European), salaries to crew, flights, buses, agent fees, accountants, legal etc etc.

Arcade Fire have always charged a fair ticket price. in most cases less than they could have. It’s almost impossible to find venues anywhere on the planet that are not locked into ticketing arrangements with ticketmaster or similar firms. we try and negotiate their fees and limit them to no more than 10% but we’re not always successful. we make no money from Ticketmaster or the service fees. we absolutely control the cover price of the ticket. We get to sell 10% of the total inventory via our website so that we can attempt to sell the tickets for the lowest possible price.

We are aiming to give every fan value for money with the bill we present. Vampire Weekend who happen to be touring at the same time as us were scheduled to play in Dublin at the same time. we thought we could bring them on board, pay them a real fee and absorb what we can within the ticket price. we also have another act that we are about to confirm on the bill too.

I’d be happy to talk with anyone about this as the band are not in any way attempting to rip off their fans. they never have done. This is a band that last month donated 100% of their fees from several shows ($1m) to give to charity. Every show they do they give £1/€1/$1 to charity. ($800,000 on the last tour).
email me directly on scott.rodger@gmail.com and i’ll respond to everyone personally.

Thanks

Further exploration on the matter has led me to other sources that have suggested that the second support act is not, in fact, the National as had been suggested by Mr. Carroll and others, but Devandra Banhart. Tickets are also rumoured to be €61 for standing and €73 for seating, excluding ticketmaster's share of course. Expect that to be around €5 or €6 extra.

While I love Arcade Fire, and Vampire Weekend at that, these prices are insane. My brother is off to see them in Lisbon a few weeks beforehand and his ticket cost about half that. The same for the tickets in France and Germany. I understand that the cost of transport, etc. is a difficulty for the band; while it is a known fact that insurance for the O2 is higher than the average cost for a venue of it's size in Europe, but there has to be something done. AF are in danger of simply pricing themselves out of the market here. A half empty O2 would not do them justice - the performance would suffer and the whole experienced would be soured.

And as for Mr. Rodger - nobody is doubting the band's generosity and dedication to their fans, in particular the Irish. This is a band who have returned to this country time and time again to showcase their talents for us and have remained faithful to the causes they commit too - see their work in Haiti for evidence of this.

The simple fact remains that the country is broke and people have to be very careful as to where they shell out their excess income. €73 for concert tickets is not an option for the vast majority of people. Let's hope that by the time an official announcement comes from MCD the situation has been rectified a little.

Music News: Brendan Benson on the Future of the Raconteurs

2010-08-11T16:03:00.003+01:00

According to a report on nme.com (Yeah sometimes they actually do get something right!), folk troubadour and part-time Raconteur Brendan Benson has claimed that the band will release more music together. The four-piece, consisting of Benson, Jack White (The White Stripes, The Dead Weather) and the rhythm section of Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence have released two fine albums to date - Broken Boy Soldier and Consolers of the Lonely.

However, with White investing more and more time to the Alison Mosshart assisted project of the Dead Weather, the future of the Raconteurs was becoming as unclear as the future of the White Stripes. It has since emerged that Keeler and Lawrence have reformed their simply sublime and abhorrently overlooked original project, the Greenhornes, and that the Raconteurs will be back in the studio after the Greenhornes put out a new record.

"We're all busy," explained Benson. "Patrick and LJ are starting The Greenhornes again, putting that back together and I think they're touring, which is great news because that's been a long time coming.

"They had a record that they sat on forever during The Raconteurs, so that's finally coming out and, of course, Jack [White] has The Dead Weather and all that."

On the future of the Raconteurs, Benson had this to say:

"We haven't talked about it, but [doing more]'s not out of the question. The Raconteurs is a band that was founded on this impulsive basis. It was always spontaneous for us and we want to keep it that way. So when the time is right and everyone converges we'll do it."

To those who have missed the Greenhornes during the first incarnation, they are a trio consisting of the aforementioned Jack Lawrence on bass, Patrick Keeler on drums and frontman Craig Fox. A heavy blues and rock influence shaped their sound into something rather special and it is a shame that the band were lost amidst the brief emergence of the Detroit blues scene (Detroit Cobras, the Von Bondies) in the early '00s.

As for Benson, catch him touring in Ireland this coming September. He is playing a flurry of dates around the country including slots in Cavan Town, Mullingar, Clonmel and Offaly, as well as Cyprus Avenue in Cork.

Below is a stream of the White Stripes covering the Greenhornes' classic Shelter of Your Arms. The original is even more wild. Check it out.

The White Stripes - Shelter of Your Arms

New Music: Brian Deady

2010-08-07T00:28:00.002+01:00

With the release of his debut album last October, Brian Deady firmly put down a marker that confirmed him as one of the most endearing and unique artists to come out of this country in a very long time. A nation known more for traditional rock (U2, Thin Lizzy), singer-songwriters (Villagers, Damien Rice), by the numbers indie acts (Bell X1) and pop acts (Westlife, Boyzone), it's rare that Ireland produces an act so heavily influenced by soul, hip-hop and even disco.

Deady's sound is heavily in debted to a starting range of musicians: everyone from the legends such as Marvin Gaye, Steely Dan, Al Green to contemporary musicians such as Erykah Badu and Outkast. A genuinely unique sound - an authentic blend of hip-hop beats, soul rhythms and sharp, clever vocals. Deady stands out from the crowd in a manner similar to Janelle Monae and the aforementioned Badu and Outkast.

Colourful and soulful, this album has a classic soul feel to it and is one I would highly recommend getting your hands on if you haven't already.

Check out Brian on MySpace @ http://www.myspace.com/briandeadyfutureretro

He is one of the many fantastic acts confirmed for the Electric Picnic festival in Stradbally, Co. Laois this coming September. Miss him at your peril...

New Music: Lower Dens

2010-08-07T00:10:00.003+01:00

Here's one I stumbled across by accident in all honesty. I was downloading from a huge list of "what I love this week" on some blog and clicked this instead of the song I actually wanted. Some mistakes do work out though don't they?

Lower Dens are from Baltimore (as are Animal Collective let's not forget, just that AC went to the centre of cool that is Brooklyn) and are centred around the nucleus that is Jana Hunter. Hunter's vocal hops from soaring to spoken word to minimalistic in split seconds.

The few tracks I have heard from the band all sound pretty different, sampling post-punk, the current dream-pop phase and lo-fi, experimental folk sounds. It's all very enjoyable to say the least.

The band's Last.fm biography does a pretty solid job of selling the band, despite it's faults. (the whole thing uses the word "swarming" more than once....) I have pasted it below for your reading pleasure. For your audio pleasure, check out the link printed at the bottom of the page. Fans of the likes of Toro Y Moi, Beach House, Lykke Li and even the Jesus & Mary Chain could find something to like about this.

Bio:

The swarming wave-throb, coupled with Hunter’s lyrics and redolent, charred voice, wrecks.
The band’s upcoming record, Twin-Hand Movement, is eleven perfect songs long. From opener “Blue & Silver” (anxiety mounts at a quick clip until the final climactic release) to “Plastic & Powder” (a churning, narcotic slow-burner) to “Hospice Gates” (penultimate album cut, proud weirdo anthem, possible creative zenith), not one is a space-taker. They’re rife with the survivalist paranoia you’d expect from residents of a post-urban port hole (and this particular songwriter), crafted methodically and beautifully, and carry you enthusiastically out into the rolling breaks of industrial filth-water.

http://http://bit.ly/ba8hpr [Unofficial Video for "Hospice Gates"]

Track Review: Grinderman "Heathen Child"

2010-08-06T23:52:00.002+01:00

I am of the opinion that Nick Cave can do no wrong. A huge portion of my record collection consists of work that he has created himself, or graced with an appearance. As a result, new work from Grinderman was always going to catch my eye.

To anyone who missed the Australian garage-rock band's eponymous debut in 2007, it is a band propelled by the majesty of Nick finally taking to the guitar and working in tandem with the genius that is Warren Ellis. The two, supported by a handful of Bad Seeds, created such a raucous, raw noise that even the most ardent critic couldn't ignore it. More akin to Cave's earlier work with The Birthday Party than his tenure with the Bad Seeds, the pure power of the act left many astounded. Check out No Pussy Blues for an idea of what it's all about.

In recent weeks, the first track from the band's sophomore album (creatively entitled Grinderman II) hit the net. Heathen Child, as it is so called, continues the enthralling and simply sexy energy that captivated the masses the first time round. Roaring guitars, an almost preachy chorus... This is the blues at it's very finest.

Die-hard Bad Seeds fans have been left a little disappointed by the whole project. I have come across many claiming that it simply sounds like a "Bad Seeds parody" or "a joke". If Nick is willing to embrace the fun side of his creativity, then why can't you?

Grinderman II is out worldwide on September 13th on Mute, so expect it in Ireland on Friday 10th. It's unavoidable really.

You think your government will protect you? You were wrong!

Information available at http://www.grinderman.com/, accompanied by eerie, cryptic video. Of course.

New Music: Avi Buffalo

2010-08-05T19:01:00.006+01:00

This wont be new to a lot of people (myself included in fact. I've been listening to AB since May...), though this group of adolescent Californian skater punks have managed to slip under the radar for a lot of people somehow.

Don't let that description put you off, by the way. While it may conjure up images of Blink-182 tribute acts, it couldn't be further from the reality. The quartet compose floating melodies in the same vein as the Shins (and James Mercer's subsequent work), while they also have a heavy debt to Wilco. Compared to other emerging acts such as Male Bonding, Wild Nothing and Here We Go Magic, Avi Buffalo released their self-titled debut in April of this year.

And let me tell you this much: it is an absolute wonder. A really gorgeous record, it blends the soft-rock tendencies of the Shins, the Stills, the Avett Brothers and more with the alt-country melodies perfected by Jeff Tweedy, Nels Cline, etc. Impeccably produced, the album is out now on Sub-Pop and is gradually cropping up in Irish record stores and I'd recommend getting your hands on it.

It is fuelled with an unmissable sexual energy - a refreshing open attitude. This filters throughout the ten tracks, the highlights of which include One Last (with it's stunning dual vocals), Remember Last Time (with a guitar solo that I genuinely thought was Wilco the first time I heard it on the radio), Truth Sets In and Summer Cum.

Check out the band at http://www.avibuffalomusic.com/ and download the track What's In It For? free and legally while you're there. I tried copying the embed and putting it up here but it doesn't seem to be working...

Album Review: Arcade Fire "The Suburbs"

2010-07-30T18:54:00.004+01:00

At last. It's been a long time coming but The Suburbs has finally landed...

It runs at over an hour - far and away the longest album by Arcade Fire, and has some rather large shoes to fill. Funeral has become a footnote in musical history, and despite some lukewarm feelings (Personally I like it, but I can get why some don't) toward Neon Bible the Canadians are still regarded by many to be floating around the pinnacle of modern alternative music.

We were treated to four tracks already: the fantastic trio of Ready to Wait, We Used To Start and The Suburbs, and the frankly poor Queens of the Stone Age/punk attempt Month of May. Lyrically and sonically, the latter falls flat and even in the context of the album it doesn't improve. Those lucky enough to catch the band at Oxegen were also given a preview of two of the highlights of the album: Rococo and Modern Man. The former is a subdued, slow burning song that bursts to life half way through, while the latter is as close to the expansive sound we got so used to on the band's debut.

Empty Room shares the feelings of Modern Man: it would slide in effortlessly alongside anything from Funeral, while it is also the first time we encounter the magnificent Mrs. Regine Chassagne. Wife of frontman Win Butler, Regine is unfortunately only let lose on two tracks - a genuine failing on the album. Anyone familiar with the band's back catalogue can pinpoint a number of classics where Chassagne is in total control. As the album meanders on, particularly in the second half, some female input is urgently required. When she finally does return, it is on the penultimate track: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) which is the real standout number from the album.

With 16 tracks, it was always going to be difficult to have 100% success. I don't want to dwell too long on the negative as this is a really wonderful album, but certain tracks just feel a little unnecessary. Month of May, as I mentioned earlier, City With No Children, Half Light I, the reprise of the Suburbs at the end of the album... One or two others could be added in here. Cut them from the record and they wont be missed. In fact, they would improve the album as a whole - it could easily have come in at 45-50 minutes and been better off. Brevity over longevity...

However, as I said, there is a lot to enjoy here. I suspect that the album may grow on me in the same manner as Neon Bible in 2007. The album feels to me to be a blend of the first two. We find a number of rapid, expansive tracks that sound like Funeral (Ready to Start, We Used To Wait, Empty Room, the Suburbs), while there are also a number of the subdued, lo-fi tracks that worked so well on the follow up (Wasted Hours, Rococo)

Ultimately the Suburbs is not the glittering spectacle it could have been. It is not of the standard of Funeral (though if they ever manage to top that I'll be stunned), though it is what many would call a "return to form" after Neon Bible. It is, certainly, more accessible than the sophomore record which was rather morose in parts, though an overall rewarding work. Aside from a meandering mid section, the album is strong overall. There are some spectacular tracks here and, in reality, it is simply a joy to hear the first new work from the Canadians since Lenin appeared on the Dark Was The Night compilation last year.

Ambitious and largely successful. I'm already excited to see what they do next.

Arcade Fire The Suburbs: 8.0/10. Some wonderful tracks, though a little slow in the middle. At 16 tracks, it is too long, though a number of songs here are as good as anything they've ever put out. Better than Neon Bible.

Unmissable Tracks: Rococo, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), Modern Man, We Used To Wait, Ready To Start.

Villagers' Conor O'Brien on the Mercury Nomination

2010-07-28T14:23:00.003+01:00

Irish band Villagers were a surprise inclusion on the final list of nominees for this year's Mercury Music Prize. Their debut, Becoming A Jackal, is up against the likes of the xx, Wild Beasts, I Am Kloot and Laura Marling.

In an interview with the NME, frontman Conor O'Brien discussed his feelings on the nomination.

"It's a real honour and a definite surprise to be nominated. I wasn't even expecting it, there wasn't even a sense of 'maybe we'll get this', I'm super-surprised, it's something I never would have thought about."

He added: "The thing about prizes, it's a real honour to be included but I want to maintain a little bit of distance from it because I want to keep creative, I want keep writing and I think if you get obsessed too much with stuff like this then it's not too good for your song-writing."

Conor also picked out his favourite acts from the other contenders for the prize.

"I really like the Wild Beasts album [Two Dancers]," he explained. "I think there is a lot of space to it and I really dig it - its kinda groovy too. It's one album I've come back to consistently since it has was released. I also dig The XX album [xx], I've only just started listening to it and again I get that kind of spatial vibe to it."

O'brien added: "I'm also looking forward to hearing the I Am Kloot record [Sky At Night]. I Listened to them a lot when I was learning to write songs. I remember a friend of mine at school would give me compilation tapes all the time and it always had 4-5 I Am Kloot tracks on - there is a kind of rawness to there music which I really like."

In terms of winning, the frontman revealed what scooping the £20,000 prize money would mean to him and the band.

"I didn't even know there was prize money involved," he explained. "Winning would mean I could take the band with me [on tour] a lot more. At the moment, the reason we're not doing that is money, we're getting up to that position anyway, but the prize money would go towards that or probably into recording the next album. Either way it would gradually make its way back into the band. I don't think I would go out and buy a boat or something."

The winner of the 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize will be announced at a ceremony in London on September 7. Earlier this week Villagers announced a series of gigs in the UK in support of their nomination.

The above information was taken from http://www.nme.com/news/villagers/52251

Best of luck to Conor, and to all the nominees. I think Villagers are in with a strong shout, though this year there are a number of exceptionally good albums nominated this time round. If you haven't already, I would recommend checking out Wild Beasts, the xx, Laura Marling and, of course, Villagers.

Mercury Music Prize 2010: My Verdict

2010-07-21T18:41:00.003+01:00

Yesterday saw the announcement of the nominees for the 2010 Mercury Music Prize. It's an interesting list, though there's a notable lack of small artists. While last year had Sweet Billy Pilgrim and the eventual winner Speech Debelle, this year is a collection of well established acts including Biffy Clyro, Dizzee Rascal, Wild Beasts, the xx, Mumford & Sons and Paul Weller.

Biffy Clyro: Only Revolutions. Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro receive their first Mercury nomination for arguably their worst album. Since they moved from the Nirvana-esque sound of their first few albums, their popularity has soared. This album includes the singles That Golden Rule, The Captain, Many of Horror, Mountains, Bubbles and God & Satan.

Corinne Bailey Rae: The Sea. Corinne's second album was inspired by tragic circumstances and sees a soulful collection of songs.

Dizzee Rascal: Tongue n' Cheek. This is Dizzee's third nomination (of his four albums) and is a more pop affair than any of his previous work. The singles Holiday, Dance Wiv Me, Bonkers and Dirtee Disco were all taken from this album.

Kit Downes Trio: Golden. Kit Downes is a jazz musician. I'm not familiar with this album.

Foals: Total Life Forever. The follow up to Antidotes sees Foals get their first Mercury nomination. A pretty good album, it is more of the same really.

I Am Kloot: Sky At Night. Produced by Guy Garvey from Elbow, I Am Kloot reach new heights with this album that has received almost universally positive reviews, including a glowing one from Garvey himself. He claimed it to be better than anything ever put out by Elbow, including their own Mercury winning The Seldom Seen Kid.

Laura Marling: I Speak Because I Can. The fantastic sophomore album from Laura Marling sees her receive her second nomination. Stripped back, rustic and folk driven, this one could be set for glory I think.

Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More. The bluegrass, folk and indie styling of Marcus Mumford and co. have swarmed the airwaves and the festivals this summer and it is no surprise that they wound up on this list. The album peters out by the last few tracks, though singles like Little Lion Man, The Cave and Roll Away Your Stone are fantastic.

Paul Weller: Wake Up The Nation. I'm not a fan of Weller's solo work - it simply doesn't reach the standards of his work with the Jam or the Style Council. Saying that, this album is probably the best work he has released under his own name.

Villagers: Becoming A Jackal. A shock contender, Conor O'Brien's album has wowed critics and music fans in this country already and this is likely to increase his popularity in the UK. A gorgeous album, I would love to see Conor win this but will be surprised if it happens. Some real gems on the album and it's well worth checking out if you haven't, though I will repeat what I've said in the past - the live setting is where Villagers really come into their own.

Wild Beasts: Two Dancers. The stunning album from Leeds band Wild Beasts sees them pick up a deserved nomination. Hayden Thorpe is known for his voice - it ranges from falsetto highs to baritone lows in the same track. Wild Beasts really stand out from the crowd and will be among the contenders at the end of this I believe.

The xx: xx. The debut from Londoners the xx caught the attentions of many the world over and is a genuine contender.

For me it's between the xx, Laura Marling and Wild Beasts. The winner will be announced on September 7th.

Electric Picnic: Additions to the Bill

2010-07-21T18:21:00.004+01:00

Just over a month left until Ireland's second major music festival kicks off and there has been eleven additions to a fantastic bill that already includes the National, LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack, the Frames, Roxy Music, Leftfield and many more.

The following were confirmed today: Two Door Cinema Club; Robyn; Laura Marling; The Antlers; The Tallest Man on Earth; Cymbals Eat Guitars; Chew Lips; Fang Island; The Riptide Movement; Donal Dineen & Friends; Brian Deady.

A great selection there. Two Door Cinema Club are one of the hottest indie bands to come out of this country, while Laura Marling, the Tallest Man on Earth and the Antlers have all released absolutely fantastic albums in the last year or so.

Tickets for the Picnic are still available and with one of the best line-ups I have seen for a festival in a very long time, I'd pick one up sharpish if I was you!

Live Review: Muse & Calvin Harris @ Oxegen 2010

2010-07-13T13:14:00.003+01:00

These two are crammed into simply because I didn't catch full sets from either. And in case anyone's worrying for my musical taste, I only watched Muse from afar as the rain had stopped and I then ran to Calvin with a handful of my friends when it started to pour again as it was closer than my tent. And the other option was the Black Eyes Peas... It was not a great selection!

Muse
When & Where: Main Stage on Saturday July 10th @ 23:00.

The Best Live Band In The World took to the Main Stage on Saturday night to a much smaller crowd than I had expected. I stood at the back, about half way up the food stalls behind the sound stage and screen and there was very few in front of me. The crowd was pretty dense in the pit and between the sound stage and the barrier to be fair, but I had assumed Muse would attract the same sort of crowd as Jay-Z and Florence & the Machine but this didn't seem to be the case. That said, those who were there seemed to be largely excited. The amount of times I heard "this is why I came to Oxegen this year!" was a bit scary really. Did these people not know there were actually some good bands playing too?

Anyway, let's try get through the rest of this without my hatred for self-indulgent Queen wannabes disrupting it....

Dull. That's how I would describe the set largely. The band opened with the rip-roaring Plug In Baby but the set just went downhill from there. Their headline slot at Glastonbury was littered with intros and riffs from other songs (Black Sabbath's Ironman, the classic House of the Rising Sun and Nirvana to name but three), something that seemed rather interesting at the time. However, when the band continued to include the exact same tracks in the exact same points in the set it became clear that this was not an act of spontaneity, but yet another over choreographed and practiced tool. The entire set just seemed so forced.

Now I can guarantee I will be butchered for the above comments, but I don't want to lie. Muse fans would have loved every second of it, but for someone who has found the band rather irritating since the release of Absolution (aside from the odd song really), this was not going to win me back. There was very little communication with the crowd, and when Matt did utter any words it was barely audible. The lack of atmosphere was really evident too - two of my friends left the pit claiming that they'd have been better off sitting at home playing the CD. Best Live Band In The World? If that is the case then there must not be much else out there...

Calvin Harris.
When & Where: Heineken Green Spheres on Saturday July 10th @ 23:00.

Scottish "dj" (I say "dj" because he doesn't actually venture toward the decks much himself, but instead stands at the front of the stage singing) Calvin Harris was headlining the Green Spheres tent at the same time. He seemed to be benefiting from the heavy rain outside as there was a pretty regular stream of people leaving Muse and the Black Eyed Peas to take shelter in this tent. Now I'm not much of a fan of Mr. Harris but the least I can say about him is that he got the crowd going as well as anyone I saw at the festival.

He churned out hit after hit, highlights including Acceptable in the 80s, Girls and I'm Not There. I couldn't help but notice, however, the inability of his backing singer to actually hit a note. The word "flashback" seemed to be coming out as "flesh-beck" and was a little out of time with the man himself. He did, however, say via twitter that Oxegen was "the gig of his life"...

Enjoyable. Forgettable. It was a better option than standing in the rain really. He got the crowd jumping and singing, energetic and fun really. How he manages to find himself in a headlining slot is beyond me, however.

Live Review: Hot Chip @ Oxegen 2010

2010-07-13T12:53:00.003+01:00

When & Where: Heineken Green Spheres on Saturday 10th July @ 22:00.

Another act I was eager to see following the release of a great album earlier this year. Hot Chip are festival favourites of many but, as was evident at Glastonbury, as they are around so often they can be regularly pushed into worse time slots, venues and sometimes practically ignored by the crowds. Luckily, there was no fear of that here - the Green Spheres tent was the perfect location for the dance pop sounds of the London quintet. And I clearly wasn't the only who thought this as the entire tent was packed from top to bottom by an enthusiastic crowd who didn't miss so much as a beat from start to finish.

Much of the set was dominated by the band's bigger hits, rather than the new album. A handful of tracks from One Life Stand were included, but two of these were singles (One Life Stand, I Feel Better) and the other two are already live show regulars (Take It In, We Have Love) There was, unfortunately, no room for the likes of Thieves in the Night, while Slush and Brothers were obviously left out due to the brevity of the set. The band opted to keep it upbeat, rather than slow things down.

All of the band's other major singles were included: Over and Over, Boy From School, Shake A Fist, One Pure Thought, Ready For the Floor. Each greeted with different levels of excitement and reaction, but all equally enjoyable. The show closed with Ready for the Floor - a longer, heavier and more dance version of the track that has become all so familiar in the two years it has been out. The highlight for me was One Pure Thought, while the crowd went nuts for Over and Over.

The band sounded fantastic and enjoyed a bit of banter with the crowd too, their parting words taking the form of "You've been great! You don't smell very nice, but neither do we!" Typical of the light-hearted nature of everything these guys do. They have an inexplicable effortless cool surrounding them and this seeped into the crowd. Thoroughly enjoyable, a nice contrast to some of the acts who take themselves a little too seriously. Judging by this, Hot Chip are a band I could see myself going to see over and over and over and over....

Live Review: Yeasayer @ Oxegen 2010

2010-07-13T12:34:00.002+01:00

When & Where: 2FM/Hot Press Academy Stage on Saturday July 10th @ 21:00.

Following the release of the fantastic Odd Blood in January, Yeasayer were one of the bands I was most looking forward to at Oxegen 2010, and luckily they did not disappoint. The band themselves were in flying form, while the crowd was among the most enthusiastic and excitable I was part of the entire weekend.

Opening with Wait For The Summer, the band tore through the majority of songs from both their debut and their aforementioned sophomore release. The sound was impeccable, except for the overflow from Kasabian on the Main Stage in between tracks, a problem frontman Chris Keating drew attention to. He claimed last time that Amy Winehouse had drowned them out and now it was "some other fucking shit" and that he "loved hearing other music over (their) own fucking sound" The colourful language came directly from the man himself.

This is, however, a problem that MCD may want to address. Yeasayer played in 2008 and 2010 and from the way they were acting I'd be surprised to see them back again. The crowd laughed and joined in the mock booing of the festival, but I can vouch for many there when I say that people were not happy with the set up. We went to see Yeasayer, not Kasabian. I could actually pick out which tracks Serge Pizzorno and co. were performing on the Main Stage when Yeasayer paused in between songs.

However, despite this obvious drawback, the Brooklyn boys ploughed on with what was the most enjoyable set I caught on either Friday or Saturday. To pick out highlights is actually rather difficult as it was all so good. Sunrise, 2080, Rome, Madder Red and O.N.E. were fantastic, while the closer Ambling Alp was stunning. The entire tent erupted in an orgy of dancing and chanting, while the dual drumming and synths of the band sounded better than they ever have in my experience. Even Odd Blood's weaker tracks (in particular Grizelda) took on a new lease of life in the live setting.

The performance was helped by the raw energy of Chris, Ira and Anand. These guys were on flying form, despite their disgust at hearing Kasabian flowing over. Chris launched into an impromptu rendition of Amy Winehouse's rehab before cutting short and letting us know that he "fucking hates that shit. I'm not even joking!" He was also kind enough to instruct the crowd to head back to Dirty Projectors on the Red Bull Stage, catch A-Trak djing in the Dance Arena and to watch "the best fucking act at this damn festival" Hot Chip in the Heineken Green Spheres when they finished.

The only notable omission was Tightrope though I did expect this as it is not on either of the band's albums. A minor complaint in what was otherwise a flawless display of energy and musical brilliance.

Live Review: Wild Beasts & Dirty Projectors @ Oxegen 2010

2010-07-12T23:14:00.003+01:00

I caught about half of each of these sets so they will be put together in one review here.

Wild Beasts.
When & Where? Red Bull Academy Stage on Saturday July 10th @ 19:05.

Leeds band Wild Beasts were playing to a mid-sized crowd (in comparison to the other acts I caught on this tiny stage tucked away in the far corner of Oxegen) in the Red Bull Academy Stage. Fantastic sound quality and an enthusiastic crowd blended well for a sublime performance. Clapping, cheering and singing along with the two vocalists, the crowd clearly enjoyed every second of the show which was dominated by the band's most recent album, Two Dancers. Highlights included All The King's Men, We've Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues and the closing number Hooting & Howling. Certainly a band I would be eager to catch again if they were in town.

Dirty Projectors.
When & Where? Red Bull Academy Stage on Saturday July 10th @ 20:15.

One of the many fantastic acts coming out of Brooklyn at the moment, Dirty Projectors played to a crowd that could not have topped three hundred. A shame really, they were one of the most unique and talented acts on display at the festival - though those in attendance didn't care about the lack of numbers. We were lucky enough to be treated to a set fuelled largely by last year's Bitte Orca. Unfortunately the band clashed with Yeasayer and I missed the latter half of the set, but the highlight of the first half hour or so was Temecula Sunrise. Longstreth sounded fantastic, while the backing vocals were sublime. A real treat for anyone who stuck around.

Live Review: Florence & the Machine @ Oxegen 2010

2010-07-12T22:58:00.003+01:00

When & Where: Main Stage on Saturday July 10th @ 18:05.

One the most (over) hyped acts of the weekend took the Main Stage at dinner time on Saturday with a huge crowd in attendance. Thousands braved the heaviest rain of the entire weekend to witness Ms. Welch and her crew churn out their pop hits.

It is a little sad that such a tremendously huge crowd appeared to watch Florence given the other acts on show over the weekend (she easily attracted more than Arcade Fire, as well as a number of supremely talented smaller acts) and her performance certainly did not warrant the numbers.

Sounding a little flat in parts, a number of the songs simply didn't achieve the heights that they do on the album, Lungs. As the set wore on, huge portions of the crowd became agitated too. It was clear that they were here for the hits - aside from You've Got The Love and Dog Days there was next to no singalong from those outside the pit, clapping and dancing was just too much for most. I found myself very frustrated with those around me, many drowning out the sound with vuvuzelas and scores actually booing when Florence told the crowd that "this next one is a new song. We've never played it in Ireland before." Fans? Really?

The weather most certainly did not help. Thundering rain and howling wind made the sound barely audible in parts, while it was quite difficult to actually keep focused on the performance. Though it must also be noted that while the elements were doing their best to distract the crowd, the performer herself was doing very little to win them back. Scheduled for a full hour, Florence quickly exited the stage just 48 minutes after starting having rushed through her set and looking a little overawed throughout.