Little Lion Man: Mumford and Sons

This band has been scooting round the periphery of my musical awareness for quite a while now.  With good reviews from all sorts of blogs that I respect I should really have made an effort to get into them sooner.  Alas, it actually took a chance encounter at Radio One to alert me to the fact that this band are actually very good.  Radio One, of all places! Christ alive, I never thought I’d see the day.  Anyway, Mumford and Sons had recorded on of R1’s Live Lounge sessions, and the track that hooked me in was Little Lion Man – despite the fact that a substantial part of the chorus had been muted due to excess profanity.

The day after this accidental R1 experience I listened to a session/interview that the band had recorded for The Waiting Room online radio show.  Again, it was excellent, and again it was Little Lion Man that stood out.  It turns out that I actually already had the band’s  EP Love Your Ground – featuring Little Lion Man – in my iTunes library, but hadn’t taken the time to listen to it.  A shocking oversight, I’m sure you’ll agree.

So, Mumford and Sons first full-length, Sigh No More, comes out on the 5th – when I will most certainly buying it.

(amendment: uh oh, looks like I’m getting some “copyright violation” action, so there’ll be no mp3s for a bit… if you’re desperate to hear Mumford and Sons I highly recommend checking out the session they did for The Waiting Room – see link above)

 

EP: The Touques

As I listened to this eponymous EP from US outfit The Touques I am ashamed to say my first thought was that they sounded pretty amateurish.  The guitars sounded too loud, there were tuning issues all over the place and the whole thing sounded like one big mess.  But then about halfway through the record something happened; I “got” what The Touques were doing.

Quite frankly, this record is just mad enough to work.  Since coming to this realisation I’ve had the EP on repeat constantly and it gets more and more enjoyable with every listen.  The guitars aren’t too loud, the tuning’s deliberately obtuse, and when viewed simply as a sonic entity what at first sounded like mess is actually a very astute creation indeed.

The music of The Touques is perhaps a touch too arch for most listeners, but I get the impression that those who do understand what’s going on will absolutely love it.

The Touques – 4

The Touques – Roy Stampler

 

A Brief History of Love: The Big Pink

The Big Pink’s debut LP A Brief History of Love comes out on the 14th, courtesy of the ever-popular 4AD records, but today sees the release of their single Dominos.  To be honest, when I first heard the record I wasn’t all that impressed.  It wasn’t bad, but the only thing I remember thinking was that it wasn’t really my kind of thing.  Somehow, however, Dominos ended up on my mp3 player and I have yet to skip past it.  Not the most glowing praise you might be thinking, but hear me out…

My mp3 player is one of those little ones that only hold a gigabyte or so’s worth of music.  I’ve yet to see the appeal of having all my music with me all of the time – it leads to lazy listening habits – so I update the playlist on my mp3 player every couple of days and have quite a strict system for choosing what goes on and what comes off.  My music listening falls into three categories: if I want to listen to something “properly” I’ll play the CD on my decent hi-fi and make time to sit down and give the record the time it deserves.  Most of the time, however, my music listening takes a more passive approach; I’ll play music in the background whilst “working” using the joys of iTunes, a rather excessive mp3 collection on a hard-drive, and the magical “shuffle” setting.  The third method of listening is when the mp3 player comes in.  I spend a lot of time on public transport, and traveling with headphones on is a remarkably effective way of focusing the mind.  This is what I’d call “academic” listening; every note, every instrument and every technique is analysed in great detail.  As such, I reserve space on my mp3 player for new music; records I have yet to properly absorb and assimilate.

A long train journey, a small selection of songs, and a skip button is a great way to sort the wheat from the chaff.  When space is at such a premium songs that get skipped more than once are replaced at the first opportunity.  So when I say that Dominos has been on there for well over a week now, it’s more a measure of it’s quality than you might first have thought.  The success of Dominos has lead me to give A Brief History of Love a second chance, and while it’s still not exactly my kind of thing, it does stand up to repeat listening.

It’s an album with a definite “sound”; The Big Pink appear to be paying close attention to their image, and whilst it might be overly studied and affected at least it’s focused and concise.  In the current pop-music climate who can blame them for dealing in broad strokes? Who has time for subtlety anymore?  Niggles aside, this is a sparse, atmospheric record (read: it has lots of reverb) with that kind of deliberately dirty edge to it that always appeals to me.  It’s nothing you haven’t heard before, but is well worth a listen despite everything.

 

Bearfaced Podcast 08: The Mammoth ‘Cast

Lock up your daughters, it’s that time again; we’ve released another episode of everyone’s favourite podcast.  This, the latest installment, is rather on the long side.  The reason for the length is due to our somewhat ambitious choice of topic; no less a theme than our top five songs of all time.

It’s at this point that any true music fans amongst you will be be shaking your heads and saying things like “surely not” and “heavens, that’s not a task within the reach of any mere mortal man” and other variations on that theme.  But it’s true; Steve, Lloyd and myself (whom one could call the guiding lights behind the ‘cast) have each attempted to pin down their five favourite songs of all time.  Though it goes without saying that there will be just a few caveats to that claim, not least of which would be the fact that the lists are only a representation of our top five songs at the time the podcast was recorded.  And of course we didn’t need to include any songs which would be considered “classics” because it’s obvious that we’d like them.  And so on and so forth…

The basic objective of this ambitious scheme is fairly straightforward.  We’ve been waxing lyrical about music in these ‘casts for coming on for a year now, handing down our opinions from on high with scant regard for objectivity or anything approaching journalistic rigour.  So this podcast is an attempt to lay down a base-line from which to judge our opinions; we’re nailing our colours to the mast in order that you, the beloved and cherished listener, can gauge exactly how much salt to take with our ramblings.

As always, you can find the ‘cast in iTunes or can download each episode directly from the Podcast page of the Bearfaced Records website.  Enjoy…

 

Bearfaced Podcast 07: Roll On Summer

Huzzah, summer’s here! After a lovely walk along the Cornish cliffs – and suffering terribly from sunstroke – I took it upon myself to record another podcast for Bearfaced Records, the ersatz record label I run with a few of my friends.  Normally these podcasts are brought on by an exclusive band session or exciting guest, but this time there’s no purpose other than to give a warm and friendly welcome to the warm and friendly weather that (touch wood) heralds the onset of summer.

As such, all the songs featured are of a somewhat summery nature, but mostly they were included merely because I happen to like them.  The summer months will see some quite spectacular Bearfaced Podcasts, with sessions and guests aplenty, but for now you can sate your appetite for great music with this subtle, graceful darling of a ‘cast…

You can download the ‘cast directly from its page on the Bearfaced website, or if you’d rather subscribe (as I do) you can easily find it in iTunes by searching for “Bearfaced Podcast”.

 

frankencottage: Dark Mean

This short EP (only four tracks long) was a surprising treat.  I say surprising, but having heard nothing about Canadian band Dark Mean I was approaching this record with no preconceptions at all.  As such, the quality of this EP was only surprising in that I first listened to it whilst trawling through a batch of less-than-average-quality records I’d been sent for review.  You’d think that hearing music with no expectations or biases would mean you’d be more susceptible to a records merits, but I often find that I am actually more critical than usual.  An unknown band has everything to prove and making a good first impression is essential; the slightest hiccup or miss-step in the opening minute or so can throw a bad light on an otherwise first-rate record.

Dark Mean, by contrast, made no such mistakes on their debut EP frankencottage.  I made it all the way through the record without even thinking about skipping any of the tracks – a notable feat despite the short length of the EP.  It’s not reinventing the wheel or pushing any boundaries, but as far as inoffensive Canadian indie-pop goes these guys tick all the boxes.  And they do so with enough panache that you can forgive them their dreadful name (one of their band members is called Mark Dean…) and the hyperbole on their myspace (“extending beyond the traditional boundaries of pop music” they certainly aren’t…).

In short this is a competent debut.  They say it’s the first part of a 3-EP cycle, so I look forward to their next effort (due later in the summer) with great interest.  If you fancy hearing frankencottage all the way through, they’re offering it as a free download if you sign up to their mailing list via their website.

Dark Mean – frankencottage

Dark Mean – Happy Banjo

 

Scavengers: Matthew and the Atlas

I caught Matt Hegarty, who trades under the moniker Matthew and the Atlas, live at the Zenith Bar in Islington a week or so ago.  I was thoroughly impressed with what I saw and managed to wheedle an EP out of the guy, and I’m pleased to report that, much like his performance that night, it’s excellent.

I’m not normally a fan of husky, honeyed vocals but in this instance I feel I must make an exception.  His delivery is probably best described as “soulful”, but that term’s been so over-used by music hacks that it merely sounds trite and meaningless here.  Suffice it to say there’s enough gravel in his voice to impart plenty of bluesy imagery, but with enough genuine personality to prevent it coming across as too mannered.  And while all this was very impressive in a solo acoustic performance, the record itself takes things to another level entirely.

Normally the addition of banjo/slide-guitar/etc is merely par-for-the-course for solo singer/songwriters, but in this case they are handled with such subtlety and grace that the end result far exceeds the sum of its parts – a depressingly uncommon occurrence in my experience.  The scope of this record is vast, especially as it’s merely a self-released EP.  I’ll cut this review short here, as I’m in danger of dissapearing in a whirl of hyperbole and over-enthusiasm.  Just have a listen to the tracks bellow; they’ll tell you far more than I ever could (surely a prime example of the benefits of mp3 blogging over print-media).

It looks like Matthew’s being a busy bee vis-a-vis gigs this summer, so if you get the chance I heartily recommend checking him out.

Matthew and the Atlas – Scavengers

Matthew and the Atlas – Hide Under the Sun*

*there’s only one download with this post, as this is only an EP.

 

Nothing Broke: Meursault

As regular readers will be well aware, I’m a big fan of Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, the debut album from the Scotch roustabouts Meursault.  I’m a little late in reviewing this new EP of theirs, Nothing Broke, primarily because I wanted to give myself ample time to absorb it.

The packaging for this EP is superb; a (presumably) cheap cardboard sleeve with a hand painted/drawn design, hand-stamped and hand-numbered.  It feels like a lot of thought and a lot of love went into making this EP – it’s a real boutique product.  There’s only 300 of them, too, so if you’re a fan I suggest you get your order in before they sell out.

Texturally it’s a markedly different beast to the album.  The digital elements have all been replaced by a much sparser, acoustic atmosphere.  Mainly because, one assumes, the line-up of the band has changed somewhat since the first record was recorded.  I gather PoB/KWT was a studio-based venture, where frontman Neil Pennycook played most of the stuff, but since then Meursault have become a band proper (as you can see from their Toad Session).

I certainly like this EP a lot, but I’m not sure I’ll ever come to love it.  Without the more jagged elements (the programed beeps, drums and sine waves from the album) this record seems to be treading water.  The forward momentum that gave PoB/KWT it’s sparkle is not as evident here, and quite frankly this is due to the songs.  The more introspective feel and tone are evident in the structure of the songs as much as in the instrumentation used.  There’s plenty of space in this EP – which I would say is ultimately a good thing – but it does rob the music of the drive (and perhaps the passion?) that so attracted me to the album.

In conclusion, this is certainly a very good EP in all senses; it’s keeping fan’s appetites keen, and makes for a jolly good listen.  I would say, however, that it doesn’t hold a candle to Meursault’s album.  This release is more for the fans; if you’re new to the band then I’d recommend you explore the album thoroughly first.

Meursault – Nothing Broke

Meursault – Red Candle Bulb* (as the release is an EP this one’s for streaming only)

*This is my favourite track from the EP, and it’s a cover.  The track was originally written by Withered Hand

 

Eaten by Monsters Live Tonight

Yes indeed folks, it’s official; Eaten by Monsters are not zombies! But anyway, poor puns aside, it’s time for some self-promotion.  If you’re in the London area and at a loss for something exciting to do this evening, then pop down the the Zenith Bar in Islington.  Eaten by Monsters (a.k.a. yours truly) will be performing a little acoustic set for Musicborn tonight.

Don’t let the word “acoustic” give you the wrong idea though.  Just because Andy (the drummer) is off gallivanting with the India SoundPad tour doesn’t mean the show’ll be any less rowdy.  The whole thing’s somewhat of a last-minute affair, but it’d be good to see some of you dear readers there.

The Zenith’s quite a new bar, I believe, so for those of you who don’t know where it is you can find it here (the nearest tube stop is Angel).

To whet your appetites, here’s a stream of the lead track from our new EP Scaring the Pets:

 

Quietly Now!: Frightened Rabbit

I have to say I bought this record out of guilt.  When I first caught on to the FR buzz late last year I did so off the back of a rather sneaky download.  I’ve since attempted to atone for this unforgivable sin by purchasing Midnight Organ Fight (I could hardly write such a glowing review of the thing and not have actually bought it for myself) and it appears that sense of guilt has lingered on, resulting in the purchase of Quietly Now! (also referred to in some circles as Liver! Lung! FR!) despite hearing quite a bit of negative press about it (crucially a rather indifferent review over at TheSteinbergPrinciple, who’s already proved himself to be quite the FR devotee).

In short, this is Midnight Organ Fight live, with all the songs played in the same order as the original record.  It’s billed as “acoustic” but all that means is there isn’t a full drum kit; there’s still plenty of electric guitar, synth and some brushed drums, so it’s not acoustic in the strictest sense.  Despite the really nice cardboard packaging, it was with not inconsiderable trepidation that I approached this record; partly owing to the poor reviews, and partly because I’m not a huge fan of live albums.  Well, some are great, but most aren’t – even more so than with regular records.

Thankfully, however, it’s a darned super record.  The original album has started to sound a little cheesy to my ears, so it was a relief to hear the songs with some more of the rough edges left in… The long the short and the tall of it is that I simply love the songs.  They’ve got a set that I can listen to over and over and over again, which is surprisingly rare with albums these days.  I’m not sure they’re even close to being my favourite band, and neither of these albums, studio or live, are anywhere near being “all time favourites” but if you look at my Last FM stats for the past few months the sheer number of plays these two albums have racked up far outstrips everything else.

If you don’t like Frightened Rabbit then a live album certainly isn’t going to convince you otherwise, but if your a fan then I’d strongly recommend checking Quietly Now! out.  It seems to have polarized opinion amongst fans, but I for one think it’s great.

Frightened Rabbit – Backwards Walk (live)

Frightened Rabbit – Poke (live)