I’m not often one for providing exclusives – indeed, with my current record on posting I can’t even claim to be remotely current, let alone cutting-edge – but it seems that on occasion I can actually offer you music before anybody else. One of the joys of being a music blogger is the ratio of Work-Put-In versus Free-Stuff-Received-In-The-Hope-That-I’ll-Review-It, and every so often that free stuff takes the form of extremely hot-off-the-press demos. The latest addition to that pile on my desk(top) came from Labour & Love, a band so new they haven’t even had a full rehearsal yet. How’s that for an exclusive?
This kind of demo – post-songwriting but pre-arranging – is quite often scrappy and rough-as-a-bear’s-arse*, and Labour & Love’s CD is certainly no exception. However, what it lacks in polish and focus it makes up for in spades with the quality of the songs held within. There’s an air of maturity and sophistication here that speaks volumes about where this band are headed. In fact I’m in danger of sounding like an effusive fanboy; this set of songs, even in this rough setting, really stand out as something special.
Since receiving this demo I’ve heard that the band have started rehearsing and are gearing up for a summer season of gigs, armed with a sound that is somewhat akin to “The Replacements doing Johnny Cash covers in the style of The Grateful Dead”. I can easily see these guys riding the “Nu-Folk” wave popularised lately by Mumford & Sons and their ilk, but there’s quite a bit more to Labour & Love than simple bandwaggoning**. There’s a deeper current running here, one that speaks of a richer heritage and wider artistic base than can be claimed by the current crop of folkie scenesters. There’s the bite of a vintage Fender that, coupled with a classic American country vibe, gives these songs more menace and presence than even the Mumford’s can muster. Quite frankly I can’t wait to hear these songs fleshed out with the full band sound that Labour & Love are promising to deliver.
Long story short: It’s a risky business, sending out your music before it’s completely finished, but it’s certainly paid off for Labour & Love. I’ll pin my colours to the mast and say without fear of being proven wrong that this is a band guaranteed to cause a stir this summer, and when they get around to fleshing this set of songs out into a proper album it’s going to be a real triumph. A genuine diamond in the rough.
Labour & Love – Armchair Philosophy
Labour & Love – Love is Art***
*A technical term used a lot by sound engineers.
**Another technical expression, prevalent in critical theory. Barthes and Adorno could hardly write a sentence without using it…
***At the band’s request, these tracks are stream-only. I’m reliably informed there’ll be a proper EP out soon, so keep your ears to the ground. I know I will be.
I never did get around to writing a “Top 10 Albums of 2009” post, partly through design, partly through laziness. I may still yet, owing to the fact that there are several great records from 2009 that never got so much as a passing mention on these pages, but with every passing month the chances of my actually getting around to it become ever more slender. But just because I didn’t write a post about it doesn’t mean I didn’t make the list (how could I not? The assigning of an arbitrary meritocracy to the world of music is pretty much my main method of appreciating said music) and sitting unassailably on that list is These Four Walls, an album by scottish outfit We Were Promised Jetpacks.
This band first came to my attention via a FatCat Records sampler CD that came free with some now-long-forgotten music magazine* back in 2008. It was a great CD featuring, amongst many others, act such as fey folk legend Vashti Bunyan, contemporary classicist Max Richter and EbM favourites Frightened Rabbit; a fine exemplar of the great roster of acts that FatCat have assembled. Hidden in the depths of this compilation was a track by We Were Promised Jetpacks called, according to the sleeve notes, Tiny Little Voices. This scratchy, furious little song later surfaced as Quiet Little Voices on the band’s 2009 debut LP, as well as getting a release as a single, and it’s quite frankly marvelous. The rest of These Four Walls was also excellent and fast became a regular feature on my stereo.
But this is not a review of that LP.
Released on the 12th of April this year, The Last Place You’ll Look is a new limited-run EP by the band. It features two songs from the LP, Short Bursts and This Is My House, This Is My Home, alongside three new tracks. The whole of this EP has a markedly different tone to the album; where the LP was furious and thundering this release is more measured and contemplative. That’s not to say for one minute that this EP pulls it’s punches – it can slog it out with the best of them – but it’s certainly softer than it’s big brother, and I’m still undecided as the whether or not this is a good thing… These Four Walls felt like a spontaneous outpouring of emotion; the sheer momentum of the record was palpable, as if the band were channeling some demonic vision. And it was that forcefulness, that clarity of vision that made the album such a favourite of mine. While this new EP seems more willing to dwell on the softer side of things (it has piano and strings, for heaven’s sake) it doesn’t sound like the band have added a new dynamic to their sound, it sounds like they’ve shifted down a gear. It’s hard not to compare the album and EP versions of This Is My House…, for instance, and not feel that the EP is just a bit too slow, just a bit too soft. The euphoric highs of the LP are not as evident on this new record.
It’s not all bad news, however. This is a very good EP, and a thoroughly engrossing twenty minutes of music. Whilst on one hand it’s less emphatic and energetic than the album, on the other it’s a considerably more mature sounding record. As well as being simply a rewarding listen, the change in textures also bodes well for the band’s future efforts; they’re clearly not just a one trick pony, and I await their next release with much anticipation.
Long story short: The Last Place You’ll Look is an excellent EP, and a must-listen for any fans of We Were Promised Jetpacks. However, it doesn’t reach the lofty pinnacles of their album, so if you’re new to the band I’d suggest you make this EP the second place you look; hunt down the album first, then view this EP as a stirling companion piece.
We Were Promised Jetpacks – This Is My House, This Is My Home**
*A team of enslaved researchers working night and day for a week in sub-sweatshop conditions have since revealed it to be from the now sadly defunct Plan B magazine.
Okay, okay; I know I’ve not been a very good blogger lately, but I can change. I promise, darling, this will “never” happen again. Basically the combination of a new job and a busted hard-drive conspired to keep me from you, but I’ve been sitting on some pretty peachy music lately, so expect a glut of great reviews and suchlike in the immediate future.
For now though, dear readers, sate your thirst for exciting new music with the news that on the 10th of May* 4AD will release High Violet, the latest LP from EbM favourites The National. I’ve not heard the whole thing yet, but I have managed to get my grubby little paws on two of the tracks which I have kindly included for your delectation below…
I’m not often one for providing exclusives – indeed, with my current record on posting I can’t even claim to be remotely current, let alone cutting-edge – but it seems that on occasion I can actually offer you music before anybody else. One of the joys of being a music blogger is the ratio of Work-Put-In versus Free-Stuff-Received-In-The-Hope-That-I’ll-Review-It, and every so often that free stuff takes the form of extremely hot-off-the-press demos. The latest addition to that pile on my desk(top) came from Labour & Love, a band so new they haven’t even had a full rehearsal yet. How’s that for an exclusive?
Eaten by Monsters 