Wednesday 29 May 2013
Music - Part 86 - An Interview With Phildel
The debut album from Phildel, The Disappearance Of The Girl, is about to be launched to the World. A fine example of alternative pop, with incisive lyrics and a beautiful voice.
Phildel took time out from her busy schedule to let me ask a few quesitons:
Do I
call you Phildel or Zara?
Definitely
Phildel
How’s
your day been?
So far -
short, I’ve just woken up as were out until 2am last night recording nighttime
sounds in a field.
The
Disappearance Of The Girl is a superb album, are you ready for the inevitable
attention that will come your way?
Thank you -
yes, I think so, I spent years working on the album so it’s lovely to be
bringing it to the surface now.
Will
fame affect you?
I doubt
it...I live in my own little world to such an extent that reality doesn’t tend
to have much impact.
What
inspires your lyrics?
It all
finds it root in how I’m feeling, but mainly the subconscious or the ‘dreaming
mind’ - a part of my brain that I’m not really consciously engaged with....I
just let the lyric fragments unfold without coming up with a formula or topic -
sometimes the words don’t make sense at first. But when I look at them after
some time’s past - they make perfect sense in terms of what I was going
through. I think our awareness as humans is funny like that. You don’t often
realise the full extent of what you’re going through until you back on it years
later. But the subconscious or dreaming part of your mind, is always more
connected to how you feel.
When
did you realise you had such a beautiful voice?
Do you hear it yourself?
I’ve never
really thought of it as beautiful, I suppose I just try to make sure it
expresses what I want to express. In fact, out of all the musical things I do -
composing, arranging, playing instruments -my voice is the one thing I’m most
insecure about. Because I couldn’t really use my voice for so many years living
in my mother and stepfather’s house - and when I first started to sing - I
could barely make a sound. It felt incredibly difficult and somehow, it still
feels like a challenge to make a sound - after all the years of being told to
be silent. I suppose it’s all quite psychological.
Who
were your musical influences, and, how much did you crave them when music was
banned from your household?
I was very
young before music was banned from my household - only 8 years old. So I hadn’t
really formed any musical influences. I loved the nursery rhymes I knew and I’d
teach myself to play them all on my toy piano. I remember it clearly - it was
one of my only real joys as a child. Learning to play the nursery rhymes by ear
felt like solving a brilliant puzzle of sound. I never understood why nobody
else in my family wanted to do it.
How big
a part was the musical silence when writing such haunting songs?
I think the
experiences and trauma of the ten years I spent in that household, not just
without music, but without any freedom at all - the sweeping changes to my
cultural identity, what felt like imprisonment for a decade - are absolutely
central to the songs on the album. In the safe haven of my album world - the
world of my own imagination - I was able to confront all of those issues and
say things I couldn’t ever say in reality.
Twitter
or Facebook?
Both...but
I think Facebook allows me to share art and music easier and allows others to
discuss things with me easier.
You’ve
made a video for every track on your album.
What’s the thought process behind that?
I wanted
the videos to show the album’s visual journey I have in my mind. One video
however, “Holes In Your Coffin” I’ve asked the public to contribute footage
for. I wanted to give my supporters the chance to get really involved. It’s
gone so well and the submissions have been excellent. My label didn’t give any
budget for the videos - so I shot and directed them myself using £300 I had to
spare. It took me about seven months to complete them all. I think with art and
music if you have a vision, you just need to get on with it and find a way. No
matter whether there’s outside help or not. Just bring it into existence, no
matter what it takes.
Do you
listen to your own music?
Yes, I have
to re-draft and spend a long time sculpting the arrangements when I work on
music so I listen to the tracks quite intensively for the few years that I
spend working on them. Once the album is finalised I stop listening for a few
years and move on to writing the next songs...
You’re
very complimentary of producer Ross Cullum, and, partner Chris on the album
notes. The perfect team?
Yes - along
with the engineers, programmers and musicians who also worked on the album. I
was so lucky to have had such an excellent team for “The Disappearance of the
Girl”. Ross Cullum is such an intuitive and supportive producer - he completely
supported my vision and the process was entirely free and without any creative
restriction. Ross said he felt that for him, the role of a producer is to
support a great artist and the strongest album emerges from an undiluted
artist’s vision. Many producers I’ve worked with have imposed their own vision
and ideas. For me - that approach never worked out, as I have a detailed vision
for what I need an album I create to sound like. Chris Young - my long-standing
(long-suffering!) partner supports me in everything I do musically. He’s
amazing, I don’t think I’d have the confidence I have without him. In the years
gone by, I’d come home and say...”Oh, this person thinks I should do this...and
I don’t know, maybe they’re right...” And he’d just sit me down and say -
“Yesterday, you told me that for this track you saw choirs of ethereal spirits
and ruins in a countryside valley” - you know exactly what you think this
should be - and everytime you work with someone who thinks they know better -
it never works out. You need to believe in yourself”. He was always right and
I’m so glad I held out for a producer like Ross Cullum and programmers like
Sean McGhee and Marky Bates who really got into the mindset and built on my
album vision to create an album that surpassed my own expectations and that I
am so proud of.
Have
you ever wanted to scream halfway through a performance?
Haha! No.
I don’t
watch many TV adverts, but I believe several of your songs have been
‘borrowed’. Would you turn down any
offers if you didn’t like their product?
Yes, I’d
turn things down if I just didn’t like the way the advert looked or if it
advertised a product I didn’t personally think much of. I’ve always been a
customer of the things my music’s been used on. As a musician of my particular
kind of music, I have a positive perspective on advertising - because in the
music industry today, radio stations don’t often give airplay to music that’s
not genre-specific or hard to categorise...it’s actually advertising people who
are most likely to give that kind of sound a major platform. I think they’re
more creative and courageous in the way they work with music.
I’m
coming over for a meal, what are we having?
My darker
side immediately gets a bit Silence of the Lambs and says ‘you’. But my more
balanced conscious mind suggests salmon teryaki, pak choi and rice noodles - my
favourite dish at the moment.
Beneath
the calm of your music are some quite incisive lyrics, how intentional is that?
The
contrast isn’t intentional at all...we just tried to find the best sounds to
serve the spirit of the song. And the cards fell as they fell.
What
are your plans for the rest of the year?
Maybe a holiday?
No chance
of a holiday as such...I’m playing live dates around the UK later this month,
including the Bristol and Manchester legs of Dot-to-Dot Festival, followed by
Hay-on-the-Wye “How The Light Gets In” Festival. Then I’ll be off
to the USA in July for a month of collaborations with a brilliant US artist
called SLEEPTHIEF. Followed by a trip to Vancouver to work with the wonderful Bill
Leeb of Delirium, then a performance at Vancouver Folk Festival. And straight
back to the UK in time to play the Secret Garden Party, which I’m so looking
forward to. I’ll also be playing Edinburgh Fringe Festival on 5th August, which
will be fun!
I would like to issue a huge thank you to Chris Stone of Stone Immaculate for arranging the interview, and, to Phildel for her time and generosity.
I would like to issue a huge thank you to Chris Stone of Stone Immaculate for arranging the interview, and, to Phildel for her time and generosity.
Music - Part 85 - Phildel
Phildel –
The Disappearance Of The Girl (Decca)
CD/DL
3 June 2013
Comparisons
will be made – Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Grimes.
The plain and simple truth is that Phildel has a voice like no
other. Not only that but she writes and
plays songs of quite startling quality.
You should know the story by now – her songs were picked up by several
companies for their TV ads before she had even officially recorded a track,
then her world exploded. From Marks
& Spencer to fashion shows, her songs are being played and you may not even
know it.
At the age
of 8 she was to be deprived of music, radio and TV by her extremist Father for
the next ten years, and, only progressed her love for music in secret lunchtime
sessions at School. Her remarkable
talent flourished, and, at the age of 28 she produces, writes and arranges her
debut album which Decca have had on ‘slow release’ for a few months. The twelve songs here are nothing short of
immaculate and should see the artist propelled into the spotlight within a very
short space of time, or, there is no justice.
Opening
with the title track the album confirms that this is indeed a star in the
making. Swaying violins, and the voice
of an angel. She sings of her enforced
restrictions as a child and how the child inside her was barely allowed to
exist. If this song doesn’t melt your
heart then you have no soul.
You’ll
probably recognise Storm Song. Starting
eerily and gently enough, it soon rises into a catchy pop song racing along
like the steam train it mentions, Phildel’s voice extraordinarily belies her
age, belonging instead to a more mature artist.
The arrangement is faultless and the voice cannot be
underestimated. Incredibly catchy and
likeable, and, early proof that Phildel isn’t just tied to slow songs. Beneath the soft tones of the music are
lyrics that really can bite, we’re not talking sugar-sweet pop here, we’re
talking alternative pop is sheeps clothing.
We have true pop stomp on The Wolf, a track that begins slowly with lone
voice, “And you once said, I wish you dead”, that sends shivers down your spine
before moving into livelier territory.
Synth basslines pump out with echoed voices and effects, moving along
with walls of sounds and an infectious dark chorus.
It would be
easy to describe every one of the tracks on the album, but, the easiest thing
to do is just listen to it. It is an
album of quite remarkable quality and displays a talent which surely cannot
stay hidden for much longer. Holes In
Your Coffin is more black hypnotic pop moving along in an exciting and eerie
fashion. There is nothing that can
describe Beside You other than ‘beautiful’ – a song written in classic style in
so much as to say it is a classic song that you will hear time and time
again. Album closer, Funeral Bell, has
lyrics of pure poetry, “Mother I’m
scared to die....Father I’m scared to live”, it’s slightly disturbing and
gorgeous at the same time. A track that
leaves you aghast at its end.
Not only
should you own this album, you should buy it and you should love it. You should then give it pride of place in
your cd cabinet and gaze upon it adoringly.
9.5/10
Published on Louder Than War 28/05/13 - here
Tuesday 28 May 2013
Music - Part 84 - The Orb Featuring Lee 'Scratch' Perry
The
Orb Featuring Lee ‘Scratch’Perry – Ball Of Fire (Cooking Vinyl)
Vinyl/DL
Out
Now
When
asked, Steve Barker from Radio Lancashire’s legendary alternative music
programme, On The Wire, told me that the sky in the world of Lee ‘Scratch’
Perry was probably “transparent with pink and green lustres”. He might have a point, the man is clearly
bonkers. And so, with a group who
themselves who have also been known to be slightly ‘different’, there would
appear to be a collaboration in the making.
Last years album, The Orbserver In The Starhouse, was proof of the
theory, in fact, so well went the sessions and recording, that a second album
has been borne from the partnership.
Ball Of Fire contains six versions of the song and precedes the release
of the June album More Tales From The Orbservatory.
The
regular mix of Ball Of Fire is a dub house bounce. Changes in key are marvellous and Perrys
voice sounds just like, well, Perry.
Whether he improvised the lyrics on the spot is open to debate, but
anyone that can get away with singing “Shooby dooby doooo, I love you” can’t be
all bad. Yes, he’s as mad as a box of
frogs, but we love him too. It’s a
killer track and there’s no reason at all why it couldn’t cross over into the
mainstream. It’s pack jammed with
musical tricks and effects and is completely spellbinding.
Following
on are two mixes from Deadbeat – a Version and a Dub. Both give the track a whole new feel. The Version is slow and easy with Perry’s
voice easy to distinguish with the music of Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann
given a backseat but with the essence of The Orb still shining through. The Dub mix is an aural delight. A lesson in how to make dub mixes, the lazy
feel of the instrumentation is put through a superb dub treatment and the
result is an absolute joy.
The
Dabrye Remix brings in sounds that either aren’t on the original mix, or, were
less easy to distinguish in the overall scheme of things. Sounding like a traditional reggae track in
parts and also containing dub elements, it sounds like a completely different
track.
There
are then two versions from Mad Professor – the I Need Balls Version and another
Dub Version. Again, continuing the lazy,
summer feel and both with some brilliant dubbing carrying the instrumental hook
throughout. You’ll be humming the melody
for quite some time after the near thirty minute collection has finished.
Genius.
9/10
Links
Published on Louder Than War 28/05/13 - http://louderthanwar.com/the-orb-featuring-lee-scratch-perry-ball-of-fire-single-review/
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Music - Part 83 - Laurel Halo
Laurel Halo – Behind The Green Door EP (Hyperdub)
Vinyl/DL
20 May 2013
On the face of it this is quite a stark change of style from
the last Laurel Halo EP release, ‘Sunlight On The Faded’ which was a very accessible
and catchy number. The ‘Behind The Green
Door’ (great title, by the way) is slightly more experimental and less
immediate.
Opener ‘Throw’ has a piano riff constant throughout the
track, a house track but without the percussion. Occasionally, slipping up a key, on first
listen it can sound out of tune and almost improvised, in fact, all the tracks
on this EP could have the same comment made.
Listening to them as standalone tracks could be difficult, but, when
played in sequence the tracks work and begin to achieve some cohesion. It’s a grower, and, you if you have any
musical intelligence then you’ll give this three or four listens before making
up your mind.
‘Uhffo’ is quite a different affair with a pumping drumbeat
from the off and obligatory random sounds, whilst ‘Noyfb’ gives a far more
urban dance feel spinning off at tangents and introducing new effects
constantly.
The highlight of the EP is closer, ‘Sexmission’, starting
with a looped soundbyte before turning into a more conventional dance
sound. A more involved track but
breaking off time and time again to display more experimentation.
The stripped back ambient feel is interesting. Just enough to keep you with it, but,
sufficient space to be able to recognise different sounds and scales. It’s also ambitious enough to be given
well-rewarded praise.
Laurel is never
one to stand still and whilst we have artists like her continuing to push the
boundaries, our appreciation of an often dying UK dancefloor scene can be given
a timely injection. A grower.
7.5/10
Links
Published on Louder Than War 21/05/13 - http://louderthanwar.com/laurel-halo-behind-the-green-door-ep-review/
Music - Part 82 - Princess Chelsea and Pikachunes Live Review
Princess Chelsea and Pikachunes: The Deaf Institute,
Manchester 20/05/13 – live review
The Deaf Institute in Manchester is my new favourite
venue.
Situated on Grosvenor Street just off Oxford Road in the
heart of the University complex the building was officially opened in
1878. From the outside, it’s an almost
gothic looking building which contains a chapel arranged in an amphitheatre
form. Inside, it has clearly lost none
of its character and is separated into three floors, the highest of which is
the venue for performances.
The small audience is here to see Princess Chelsea, on our
shores from New Zealand as support act on the UK tour of Mercury Prize Winners
Alt-J, and, seizing the opportunity to conduct her own five date mini tour of
the UK.
First on stage though is Miles Loveless (aka Pikachunes)
also from New Zealand. He was to play a
part in later proceedings, but, first gave his own performance. In front of surely one of the biggest
glitterballs in existence, his lone figure punching the air and wriggling
around like a lizard in a tin to his very unique brand of alternative synth
pop. Playing most of his eponymously
titled debut album, and probably too young to know he sounds like a cross
between They Might Be Giants and Pet Shop Boys, he is confident and performs
well-crafted songs in a very entertaining manner. Tracks like ‘Nervous’ and ‘Just A Boy’ are
infectious and well-received. After a
handful of songs, he trots off stage for a well-earned cigarette break.
Part of the audience for Pikachunes is none other than
Princess Chelsea herself. Stood with
boyfriend and fellow band member, Jonathan Bree of The Brunettes, she clearly
enjoys the performance and chats to members of the audience before disappearing
backstage to prepare for her own set.
Re-appearing with band members which include the
aforementioned Messrs Bree and Loveless (drums and guitar respectively, though
to swap places after two tracks!) and a wine glass filled with either a nice
Shiraz or the Manchester delicacy of Hot Vimto, she introduces herself as
Chelsea “or, my stage name, Princess Chelsea”.
She obviously enjoys playing live, smiling and laughing with the
audience and band alike whilst trying to overcome feeling a little under the
weather, she immediately gets into her stride with tracks from last years excellent
‘Lil’ Golden Book’ album.
The fairy-tale/merry-go-round/music box feel of the album is
beefed up somewhat and tracks like the end of the world lament, ‘Frack’ take on
new life. ‘Ice Reign’ is preceded by the
humorous recorded sound of rain and the sound quality is spot-on. Chelsea stands behinds keyboard and laptop
and wears a Triangle around her neck which she occasionally plays. She even attempts a slurp of ‘that’ wine
glass but fails miserably, dripping down the side of her face.
The YouTube mega-hit, ‘The Cigarette Song’, a duet with
Jonathan is marvellous, and, every four-year-olds favourite, ‘Monkey Eats
Bananas’, is faultless.
There are new tracks too, the new single ‘We’re So Lost’
which is described as “a very sad song”, and, the catchy ‘No Church On Sunday’,
both of which should hopefully be on the next album provisionally entitled ‘The
Great Cybernetic Depression’ scheduled for release early 2014.
If you have the chance, go along and catch the Princess at
one of her remaining dates. You won’t
regret it, and, one day you’ll be able to brag that you were ‘there’.
Published on Louder Than War 21/05/13 - http://louderthanwar.com/princess-chelsea-the-deaf-institute-manchester-live-review/
Monday 20 May 2013
Music - Part 81 - Calling All Astronauts
Calling All Astronauts – Post Modern Conspiracy
(Supersonic Media)
DL
19 May 2013
How does a relatively
unknown group manage to get almost fifty thousand Twitter followers to vote for
their singles and propel them to uber chart status? Well, actually following almost of those
people themselves probably helps, but, somehow they have had to engage along
the way. Calling All Astronauts seem to
have created a compelling album of varied styles which simply should not work
when thrown together, but, in short, they do.
Two years in the
making, ‘Post Modern Conspiracy’ contains fourteen highly charged tracks, which
thunder along though songs of politics, human rights and society, and, manage
to engage the listener along the way.
Based in London and self produced they have then called on the post
production skills of Harvey Birrell (Crass, Therapy?, Buzzcocks) to create
something rather good.
Debut single, ‘Someone
Like You’ opens the album with a start.
Vocalist, David Bury, has more than a passing resemblance to Wayne
Hussey and the song could almost be a 21st Century version of
Sisters Of Mercy. Thumping drumbeats,
screeching guitars and heavy bass, it’s a cracking beginning and sets the tone
for the rest of the album.
CAA take no prisoners
with their no-nonsense approach, biting lyrics and sheer pumping power. Take single ‘What’s So Good About’ and it’s
comment on reality TV, or, (song title of the year?) ‘Politicized – Ignorance
Is Not An Excuse’.
Soundbytes are added
on tracks like ‘Justice’ or ‘The Demise Of Society’ which at times bear a
resemblance to the mighty Tackhead (maybe not surprising at Birrell mixed the
groups ‘Videohead’ single). There are
even nods towards dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass on ‘Eye Of God’ and hints of
hip-hop too. Their uncompromising
approach to ‘not giving a shit’ should be applauded, and, their confidence to
mix opposing genres was a risk well worth taking.
An album to be played
loud and savoured. Rock ‘n’ Roll isn’t
dead – it just keeps evolving, and, Calling All Astronauts could well be your
favourite new Gothic/Punk/ElectroPop group.
8/10
Links
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Music - Part 80 - Brother JT
Brother
JT - The Svelteness of Boogietude (Thrill
Jockey)
LP/CD/DL
13
May 2013
John Terlesky, founder of the Original Sins, could
well be our 21st Century Boy.
Not only does the album title hint at a Bolan influence, but the tracks
could almost be modern day replies to the master song-writer. Gongs are banged and guitars are boogie-fied
on thirteen memorable tracks which could quite easily, for the uninitiated, be
Bolan covers.
You won’t find many a better album opener than the
stomp of ‘Celebrate Your Face’ which also has more than a casual nod in the
direction of Bowie circa Spiders From Mars.
It’s immediate, it’s brash and bold, and it’s the perfect progression to
the 70s glam sound. There could even be
the riff from ‘The Slider’ hidden at the bottom of the ‘Glider’ but surely I’m
reading too much into this? If I was,
them I have no defence for ‘T.Rex Blues’ where the tribute can’t get any more
obvious.
The Brother pieces together Zinc Alloy and boogies
like the best of them. He is a master
craftsman, making the music I was a toddler to, classic again. Journeying into roll-along pop rock with ‘Be
A’ in a way that brings to mind Donovan’s ‘Season Of The Witch’ and even
references the late great Ravi Shankar.
With song titles like ‘Sweatpants’ and ‘I Still Like Cassettes’, can you
take an artist like this seriuously? On
the face of it, probably not, particularly when you hear the teddy bear squeaks
and faux blaxploitation accent on the former, oozing hilarious funky sex like
you’ve never heard, but you can’t help but love it and begin to think that Mr
Terlesky is actually a modern day musical genius.
Things even take a quite lovely turn with the slow,
acid induced, love feeling of ‘Green Curtain’ before cranking up again to the
military stomp of ‘Things I Like’ with the razor edge vocals holding together
yet another addictive tune. ‘Many Man
Smoke’ takes you on a trip you’re grateful you didn’t experience firsthand with
echoes and swirls and fumes merry-going around your brain like a Wurlitzer
possessed. You’ve never tried
drugs? You’ll feel like you have after
this!
The huge anthemic tracks on this album blend perfectly
with the more placid numbers like ‘Mourning Dove’ and when the album ends on
the Ozric Tentacles infused ‘Flotsam And Jetsam’ you’re left longing for more.
This album deserves to be recognised in 2013. It’s original, it’s brave, and it has more
Metal Guru than you can shake a dusty Les Paul at. Marvellous.
9/10
Links
Published on Louder Than War 13/05/13 - http://louderthanwar.com/brother-jt-the-svelteness-of-boogietude-album-review/
Music - Part 79 - Glenn John
Glenn Jones – My Garden State (Thril Jockey)
LP/CD/DL
13 May 2013
Glenn Jones is known for his original storytelling
through his songs, an good guitarist undoubtedly, but there’s something missing
on ‘My Garden State’. The ten
instrumentals here are pleasant enough but that’s probably as far as it
goes. The tracks are crafted well and
with the exception of ‘Going Back To East Montgomery’ and ‘Like A Sick Eagle
Looking At The Sky’ are of reasonable length to be easy on the ear without
being ‘too much’. These two tracks at
around eight minutes each, and to be frank, they could quite easily have been
halved.
It’s true, the tracks exude a certain amount of
emotion, the listener could well induce their own story to the music and find
themselves drifting away into their own self-contained nirvana, and if that is
the purpose of them then Glenn is a very talented musician indeed. If not, then there is clearly something amiss
and could be in need of being addressed.
Both opener and closer to the album, ‘Chimes’ and
‘Chimes II’ are pointless. Quite
literally the sound of chimes over a evening breeze with background crickets,
they are almost identical, and are neither interesting nor cohesive to the rest
of the album. They may well have some
personal reference to the musician, but to the listener, could have been
deleted from the track listing.
Let’s be clear, this isn’t a bad album, in fact track
two, ‘Across The Tappan Zee’, is a great piece, and to be fair, then holds
great promise for the remainder of the album, but therein lies the
problem. Every track of ‘My Garden
State’ bestows this promise, and it becomes a ‘nearly’ album. Glenn tries to bring a bit of alternative to
his playing by using alternate tunings and this is to be applauded. Similarly, he has a skill for projecting many
emotions through wordless tracks which is to be acknowledged and recognised.
At times, he drifts into improvisation with the likes
of ‘The Vernal Pool’, but, on the title track, he again comes good with a
well-constructed and enjoyable track
An album of promise, with a few dulled diamonds which
are ideal as background music, but, lack a little something to bring it to the
fore.
6/10
Listen to tracks from the album here
Links
Thrill Jockey Records
Glenn Jones On MySpace
Glenn Jones on Thrill Jockey
Listen to tracks from the album here
Links
Thrill Jockey Records
Glenn Jones On MySpace
Glenn Jones on Thrill Jockey
Published on Louder Than War 12/05/13 - http://louderthanwar.com/glenn-jones-my-garden-state-album-review/
Music - Part 78 - Peals
Peals
– Waking Field (Thrill Jockey)
LP/CD/DL
13
May 2013
Formed
in 2012, Baltimore duo Peals is William Cashion of Future Islands and Bruce
Willen from Double Dagger. Their punk
roots have been firmly shelved in an album containing eight tracks of the
highest quality.
Opening track, ‘Floating Leaf’, begins in an Oriental
style of layered strings before closing with a couple of minutes of drone. It’s a quite fascinating beginning to an
album which completely caught me out in its simplicity and beauty. ‘Blue Elvis’ slurs into being with a dubbed
back beat and sumptuous guitar work, again slightly eastern in its roots, very
medative and easy on the ear. It’s
interesting to note that there are no drums or bass guitars on this album which
is maybe a conscious attempt to leave behind their ‘day job’.
The chime effects of ‘Belle Air’ are gorgeous. Played over an artificial breeze and several
sonic sounds. Shimmering and echoing and
constantly endearing, it’s intellectual calm for the drone purest. A repeated chime loop whispering and creeping
around your head.
Moving into
‘Pendelles’ and Cellist Kate Barutha enters the frame and adds something rather
beautiful to the track. Again, very
moving.
‘Tiptoes In The Parlor’ is slightly more upbeat, with
high pitched guitars which almost sing, and, comes in at less than two minutes
long before the gentler feel of ‘Lonestar’.
Moving along slowly with a great hook which stays with you well after
the track has gone (think Twin Peaks with style), and the layers and textures
of the track, although minimal, are cohesive and well placed.
Tracks on the album flow, and the order of their
appearance is a master stroke.
‘Believers’ is near monotone slowly rising towards the end, superbly
avoiding the urge to crash and scream out aloud, instead peaking and then
fading out again. Album closer, ‘Koan 1’
is probably the most complex of the tracks.
Again, a slightly oriental feel, chiming guitars and the return of
Barutha, albeit short-lived.
‘Walking Field’ is a great album, full of surprises
and full of good solid tunes. You could
do a lot worse than give it a listen.
Sunday 5 May 2013
Music - Part 77 - Public Service Broadcasting
Public Service Broadcasting – Inform
– Educate – Entertain (Test Card Recordings)
LP/CD/DL
6 May 2013
I’ll admit
it, I was late catching on to Public Service Broadcasting, but, by the time I
blogged about them in November of last year (read the article here), I was hooked.
It’s pretty
common knowledge now how PSB make their music, and, many initially viewed them
as a bit of a novelty act, so is a full album of instrumentally accompanied
public information films actually any good?
Well, quite simply, yes it is.
From the
opening, title track, PSB’s intentions are clear, to do exactly what the title
says – ‘Inform, Educate, Entertain’. Polished
tracks which stand up by themselves, but, with the addition of interesting sound
bytes, the tracks are lifted to something incredibly wonderful. There are obvious comparisons to OMD’s 1983 release, ‘Genetic Engineering’ from the
wonderful ‘Dazzle Ships’ album, but as sound quality has improved over the
years, so has the end result on this album.
The guitar
hooks on the superb ‘Spitfire’ (here, the lone track from last years ‘The War
Room EP’), and, the album highlight, ‘Signal 30’, are simply superb. Don’t be fooled by thinking PSB are purely an
electronic band, the later of these two tracks has real balls and sounds
absolutely incredible cranked up loud.
The success
of J. Willgoose Esq and Wrigglesworth is down to their ability to produce a
great corduroy-dressed tune, whether it be ‘Theme from PSB’ with its banjolele,
or, ‘Lit Up’ with its Kraftwerk nods.
They are endearing and often amusing
but at the same time exciting and powerful. Royal Mail, American Road Safety, WW2,
mountain exploration, it’s all here, present and very correct. ‘The Now Generation’ with its Prince/electro
funk/rock is particularly good fun.
There’s a
moment of calm in the sombre ‘Qomolangma’ which barren of any words at all ,
album finale ‘Late Night Final’ is a haunting, moving close.
After
succeeding so well with their first album, it’s maybe difficult to see where
Public Service Broadcasting will go next for their ‘difficult second
album’. More of the same or a change of
direction? For the time being, let us
wallow in a glorious album of stark originality and potential mass appeal. One of the finest debut’s for quite some
time, and, one to which you really must take the time to enjoy.
Oh, and
they have the same initials as me.
Published on Louder Than War 4/05/13 - http://louderthanwar.com/public-service-broadcasting-inform-educate-entertain-album-review/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)