Liam Demamiel

Album of the Issue

Local releases often present a quandary for the reviewer. Impartiality and justifiability lie at the core of music criticism, but it is much easier to be virtuous when the artist whose work you may potentially take a baseball bat to doesn’t live one suburb over. Fortunately, in Waterford’s case, I will still be able to wander the streets of Canberra in (relative) safety.

The term ‘surprising’ is frequently employed in the assessment of hometown music. Its usual application is to express shock that the local Friday night pub band can utilise GarageBand to record something mildly coherent and in tune. Waterford are far from this league, and thus surprising must be used in a different context – Say Ok has caught me completely unawares, quickly making it to the top of my summer listening pile.

With Say Ok, Waterford have produced something inherently Canberran – from the round-about evoking cover art to lyrical flirtations with all too familiar suburbs. Yet, this is not just music for the be-suited public servant or sharehouse townie. There is a certain Smiths-like universality and depth to these tracks which allow them to effortlessly transcend their physical setting.

Cat Cat

HILL SONG

Stalwarts of the local music scene, Canberra’s own CAT CAT are on the verge of bringing us Uralba – the band’s debut long player and first release since relocating to Melbourne. Soon to embark on a national tour and having just released singles Keys and Locks Don’t Work and Hate Me, Cat Cat guitarist Warwick Smith says the band are looking forward to getting out and showcasing their growth since the Waking Space and Dig Mountains extended players.

“The initial writing process was fairly swift as we had some new and old songs on hand following our Waking Space EP,” Smith says when asked about the creation of the album. “We were determined to get at least nine, ten or even 11 songs out.” Smith also notes the anxiety at play when the band decided to step up to the full length format. “Most things are decided over a drink,” he laughs. “The challenge is overcoming the feeling that people might not like every song, but everyone has their favourites with albums.”

When it came down to choosing the album’s name, Smith says the choice was rather obvious. “We recorded the album at a property called Uralba, which in an Indigenous Australian translation means ‘home in the hills’, and it literally was. We were really inspired by the atmosphere of the place and at the time the way nature and life can turn against you rather quickly,” he says. “We recorded our last two EPs at Uralba and wanted to pay homage to it and its accommodating inhabitants, and it rolls nicely off the tongue.”

Despite Cat Cat’s strong links with Canberra and the solid reputation it gained within the local music community, the band decided to relocate to Melbourne. “Moving did have a real influence on how we play the songs live now,” says Smith. “We all moved within a six month period and I think that has also influenced our new songwriting and twisted some of the existing songs we had. We spent a long time moving to Melbourne and collecting ourselves so we only got the vocal tracks and engineering down during the last few weeks before sending it off to be pressed.”

Whilst Uralba will not see release until December, new single Keys and Locks Don’t Work gives an interesting insight into what can be expected. “The song came about just after the Waking Space EP was doing the rounds and it is fun for us to play; it has a flowing energy about it,” says Smith. “I think it has great lyrics thanks to Conor. We think it is the right bridge for people to cross from the Waking Space EP to Uralba. We thought it was a perfect first single.”

Cat Cat will be launching Uralba at Transit Bar on Thursday December 8, supported by TV Colours and Biscuits. Tickets are $5 on the door.

Lanie Lane

LANIE LANE has been billed as the “owner of a rich, warm and sweet voice that channels the spirit of the blues greats and the grit of Billie Holiday”. Having spent the greater part of the last year heavily touring in support of the likes of Justin Townes Earl and You Am I, Lane is preparing to take to the road on her first national headline tour. With her debut album To The Horses set for release in a matter of days, one feels that all the hard work is just about to pay off.

To The Horses captures the essence of Lane’s sound; a fusion of classic styles drawing on everything from blues to soul. The record was cut in only four days, with Lane and her band trying to capture the essence of the songs in a way that was as dynamic and true as possible. “I don’t like having to do multiple takes of songs over and over,” Lane says. “I am just lucky that my band are talented and have the skills to work that way.”

With much anticipation surrounding the long awaited release of her debut long player, Lane remains confident in her work. “I am very happy with To The Horses, it worked out so well,” she says. “It’s my first album, I suppose you could say that I’ve been writing the songs for it for a very long time,” she laughs. “Nobody sat me down and taught me how to write a song – I think that’s an impossible thing for anyone to do – all you can do is listen to as many great songs as you can and hope it rubs off!”

Lane, whose tour will include a number of club dates as well as festivals (sadly her performance at Stonefest was cancelled), says she is looking forward to the opportunity to play festival sets. “I find that festivals are so different to normal concerts,” she says. “The sets are shorter, sometimes as little as 40 minutes, and there is a real challenge in keeping the energy and excitement there for the crowd. I really enjoy it.” Lane’s full band will be joining her on the tour, guaranteeing upbeat performances bound to get the crowd dancing.

Adding to the successes of her breakout year, Lane had the enviable experience of working with musical polymath and general man about town Jack White. Recording the songs Ain’t Hungry and My Man for the Third Man Records Blue Series, Lane said she thoroughly enjoyed working with White. “Jack produced both of the tracks and played bass on one of them too. I really liked the way he works. He just comes into the studio and does it. It is the way I have always tried to work. It was a great opportunity and something I’m really happy that I did.”
 
To The Horses is released on Friday October 14.

Rockwiz

A ROCKIN’ YULETIDE

A staple of Saturday night viewing since 2005, ROCKWIZ has come to occupy a special and unique place in Australian music culture. The show, helmed by the sharp and sassy Julia Zemiro and created by super music nerd Brian Nankervis, quickly became the most enjoyable show on SBS since Des Mangan’s Cult Movies (read borderline pornography). Not content to rest on their laurels, the RocKwiz family is hitting the road for the second time in their short history with The RocKwiz Christmas Tour.

“Last year we did a huge 35 date tour around the country; people said that they loved the show but asked how we were going to do it on stage,” Zemiro says when asked about the practicalities of transforming the television format into a live show. “Brian Nankervis, the band and myself are used to being on stages. We don’t have to worry about camera shots, swearing and we have a much better time. We can run around more as the set is bigger and there are just more people. We have 2,000 people there instead of the usual 300. The atmosphere is electric!”

Zemiro believes that there is much to look forward to with the tour’s Christmas theme. “It gets harder and harder every year to find songs that are new and are about Christmas and we don’t want to do a Mariah Carey Christmas,” she says. “But there will be heaps of songs about peace, love and understanding. One Christmas show we had Tim Rogers singing Christmas from the Tommy musical by The Who, the whole place just went berserk.”

The highlight of RocKwiz is its live performances, and there is a clear Australian flavour when it comes to Zemiro’s favourites of the past few years. “We have had 120 shows, so that means we have had at least 240 guests!” she laughs. “For raw energy, I think Tim Rogers is a standout. He just gives every time he is on the show. He is so extraordinary, and we just love the kind of energy he brings. A personal favourite of mine is Chrissy Amphlet of Divinyls. I just thought she was wild and absolutely amazing. They are the kind of performances you remember and will always love.”

As for working with Nankervis, Zemiro says that she is “the luckiest girl in the world. Brian is like a big brother to me now. In fact, everyone who works on RocKwiz is like a family now. But Brian is one of the most patient and funny people I have ever met. Whenever I am feeling a bit down I think, ‘what would Brian do?’. He would find that little extra bit of patience that he has got left somewhere so that he can just get through that moment and connect with the people and connect with what you have got to do.”

The RocKwiz Christmas Tour will be landing in Canberra on Thursday December 1, at The National Convention Centre, Royal Theatre. Tickets are through Ticketek for $79.90.

Album of the Issue

For a band who have had rather mixed experiences with record labels, it seems a logical move to start their own. Wilco, arguably one of the most creative of rock bands at the moment, have done just that. Leaving a productive contract with label Nonesuch (one that saw a string of enjoyable and well received records), the band have struck out on their own, forming the dBpm label. The first release on this new label, and Wilco’s first in over two years, is The Whole Love.

Wilco’s previous two releases, specifically 2009’s Wilco (The Album), were criticised as showcasing a complacent band content to rest on their laurels and draw on past sounds instead of forging new ones. Yet from the seven-minute noise infused opener Art of Almost, it is clear that The Whole Love is a very different creature to these. What follows can only be described as enjoyable. A simpler version of this great band, but still thoroughly enjoyable.

What can be said of The Whole Love? The melodies are more basic and the songs less layered and dense. The album as a whole seems less deconstructed yet still roves and lulls into the more experimental. Jeff Tweedy’s vocals really make the album and have perhaps never sounded better. The Whole Love can only be characterised as a continuation of the fine music Wilco have been making for years (or a return to form, for those that way inclined).

Tinariwen

In an age of ‘talent’ shows, where talent-poor contestants complain of the rigours and injustices of fighting for an inevitably surplus recording contract, it is easy to forget that music is art, and that the creation of that art can sometimes require severe obstacles and the real vicissitudes of life to be overcome.

The oft-reported story of Tinariwen is one of refugee camps, rebellion and war. The loose collective of Tuareg musicians from the Saharan Desert of Mali formed in 1979, not gaining ‘international’ recognition until early in the last decade. Tassili, the group’s fifth album, once again sees them astound with their dynamic combination of traditional music and self-styled ‘African blues’.

Tassili sees Tinariwen shy away from electric guitars and return to acoustic instrumentation, and was recorded in a tent in the Algerian desert. The album features guest appearances from a number of musicians, including Wilco’s Nels Cline, members of TV On the Radio and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Whilst the collaborative songs are enjoyable (notably Tenere Taqqim Tossam, featuring Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of the aforementioned TVOTR), the album is at its best when the band are by themselves.

Tameyawt features almost strained vocals and a droning acoustic guitar. Imidiwan Win Sahara is more buoyant, driven by traditional percussion and simple arrangements. All in all, it is hard to fault Tassili. The album showcases a band who thoroughly deserve the successes they have (and will continue) to attain.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

What a ‘Jick’ is I am not exactly sure, but Stephen Malkmus, indie king and member of lauded ‘90s alt-rock band Pavement, has yet again teamed up with a group of them to produce Mirror Traffic. The fifth effort from Mr Malkmus and his Jicks features what can be described as an album’s worth of casual and relaxed tunes that generally mosey without breaking a sweat.

What largely enables the album is its restrained production. Having already worked with Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore to bestow upon listeners the brilliant Demolished Thoughts earlier in the year, Beck delivers yet again on Mirror Traffic. Whilst Demolished Thoughts was criticised (unjustifiably in this reviewer’s opinion) for what were perceived as intrusive attempts to recast Moore’s sound in a Beckian light, the same cannot be said here. Malkmus et al. seem to have been left to their own devices and allowed to follow some of the delightful whims that define the album.

Mirror Traffic sees Malkmus shine as a songwriter and performer to the point where it is unnecessary to dwell on the contributions of the Jicks. Senator is the highlight of the album, blasting away the more subdued songs prefacing it. Here Malkmus cranks the energy and brings his talent for droll lyricism to the fore, exclaiming “I know what the senator wants/ What the senator wants is a blow job!” Truer words have never been sung.

SPARKADIA

SPARKS ARE FLYING

It becomes evident fairly quickly that Alexander Burnett both loves what he does and takes it very seriously. As he is speaking to me on the phone from London, it is easy to detect the resolve in the Sparkadia frontman’s voice. Despite the success of their debut album Postcards, Burnett found himself as a one-man band when Sparkadia’s other members decided to go their separate ways. “The others were frustrated about the endless touring and the lack of sleep and things like that, but eventually you get to a level where you have to step beyond those things and just go for it.”

Still riding the success of sophomore album The Great Impression and with a new band in tow, Burnett is taking Sparkadia on the road yet again this year for the 13 date Mary tour. “I love touring,” Burnett says with much enthusiasm. “The show keeps getting better as we go on. When you are playing overseas you just don’t get an understanding of what a record has become. I am excited to be coming back with the songs to see how people react to them now.”

Despite having visited Canberra twice in the past year, Burnett promises to keep things interesting. “The first time we came to Canberra we only played China and Talking Like I’m Falling Down Stairs. It was definitely one of the best shows of the tour; we really got our shit together that night. The second time we came the album had only just come out. This time people have had much more time with the album and will hopefully have picked out the songs they like and will be able to sing along. We are also going to play a couple of older songs,” he says. “Things will be wild and bombastic!”

The tour sees the band heading out into regional Australia in addition to the usual big city stops. “People in regional places often have more of a sense of occasion and are more willing to let go,” Burnett tells me. “People are much more appreciative when you go to their town and make an effort and it’s different to the cities or overseas. Going to gigs and playing gigs in Australia is amazing, there is a real appreciation for live music. People overseas are spoiled for choice; I sometimes find that crowds don’t know what to do and don’t really react.”

Accompanying Sparkadia on the Mary tour is Canadian indie pop duo, Imaginary Cities. A seemingly odd choice as special guests for a regional Australian tour, Burnett “saw a show of theirs and thought they were stunning. I thought it would be great to do a tour with them. But often you say that and it never really happens. I am really excited about playing with them.”

Sparkadia, with special guests Imaginary Cities play Zierholz at the University of Canberra on Friday September 9. Tickets are available through Ticketek for a mean $39.35. Doors open 8pm.

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI

DOING THE DANCE THING

Half an hour before I am due to interview Cameron Bird, frontman of indie-pop darlings Architecture in Helsinki, I receive a rather bemusing call. “Cameron is unable to give interviews today, he lost his phone in a park last night and can’t find it.” However, the deep and mysterious voice on the other end informs me, “I have just spoken to Kellie Sutherland and she is more than happy to fill in.”

One lost phone excepted, things are looking good for Architecture in Helsinki at the moment. New release Moment Bends, their first in four years, has been well received and the band have been travelling across the world in support. Life is pretty good for Sutherland too. “Cameron was kicking the footy and forgot about his phone,” she giggles, “I’ll set him straight. He can buy me lunch.”

Soon to embark on a number of Australian dates, Sutherland is reflective when it comes to the tour so far. “We have been at it for the last four months. It’s tiring but really satisfying. It is a really strange world to be in,” she tells me. “Going through Europe this time was amazing because we played in Russia. In Russia the reception was amazing. We played a club in Moscow that was packed and people were singing every single song. That was kind of the next level for us and we had no idea it was going to happen. Everybody knew us. It was weird and awesome.”

Having just played Splendour in the Grass, Sutherland says the band are excited to have the opportunity to play to more Australian audiences. “When we played Splendour we had one of the best shows we have ever played.” With Architecture in Helsinki being announced on the line-up for Canberra’s own Foreshore Festival in November, Sutherland and the band are also looking forward to paying a visit to the nation’s capital and playing alongside the dance-heavy line-up. “We have played a couple of dance music festivals before but it is going to be interesting. Most people dance at our shows anyway so we will just have to make sure the kick drum is really high in the mix!”

Topping off the band’s already stellar year is the nomination of Moment Bends for the 2011 triple j Australian Album of the Year. “All of us are really happy with how the album panned out,” says Sutherland. “We made our own studio. We figured if we spent time making our own space then it would be the right space to make the music in, and that’s what happened. The nomination makes you think about what you have achieved so far and it is really good to take stock and think about that every once in a while. It is great that something we have spent a lot of time and energy making has been really well received.”

Architecture in Helsinki hit Canberra for Foreshore Festival on Friday November 26. Third release tickets are available for $119.00 + BF, through Moshtix.

CSS

Few bands get the party started like CSS. Their blend of cheeky high-energy guitar-infused synth-pop has been filling dance floors everywhere since the release of debut Cansei De Ser Sexy in 2006. New release La Liberación sees the band return with new material for the first time in three years. CSS is largely the vision of two people; ball of energy lead singer Lovefoxxx and multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Adriano Cintra. Second release Donkey was met with a lukewarm reception, criticised for lacking the energy and hooks that oozed out so effortlessly on their debut. Whilst most in this situation would have caved under pressure and sought an external producer, CSS took a risk and kept things self-produced. That risk has payed off.

La Liberación is a welcome return to form. Opening track I Love You is classic naughty CSS; dramatic and dirty synths, an epic hook and a chorus that is both dangerously catchy and effortlessly simple. Whereas Donkey fell away quickly, La Liberación keeps the energy up. Hits Me Like a Rock (featuring Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie) is more upbeat reggae than all out dance-pop, but just works. Title track La Liberación draws on Argentinean punk and provides a brief pause between more dance-oriented tracks.

What is displayed on La Liberación is a truly masterful understanding of pop music, and a seemingly effortless ability to walk the fine line between tackiness and sarcastic homage.

Kanye West & Jay Z

The hype surrounding Watch the Throne was understandable; two of rap, nay pop music’s biggest names conspiring to produce an LP. With Kanye West and Jay Z almost representing the gold standard of contemporary music, the possibilities were both tantalising and endless. Recorded in hotel rooms and studios all around the world with a roster of heavy weight producers and featuring appearances from the likes of Beyonce and Frank Ocean, Watch the Throne had everything going for it.

The more I listen the more I find myself wishing it was something different. What has been proffered by Messrs. West and Z is not really that exciting. Sure the production is class, but what else should you expect? By and large the album sounds confused and like two utterly talented artists struggling for control and ownership.

Where Watch the Throne really falls down is with its lyrics. The themes dealt with feel bloated, derivative and distant. At times the album seems more like a platform for the pair to sing their own praises and boast about the fact that they are who they are (notably in single Otis). The two obviously are not the most humble of superstars and don’t mind sharing this fact with paying customers.

When push comes, give me Graduation or The Black Album any day. It really is nice knowing how rich you are, but it’s also nice knowing how talented you are.

Jeff Bridges

Starring on the silver screen has its perks; money, fame and a guaranteed audience for that seemingly inevitable music project. 60-something year old Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, best known for his roles in films such as The Big Lebowski and True Grit, continues the Hollywood tradition of artistic colonisation with self-titled release Jeff Bridges.

For every She and Him volume that gets released there seems to be at least a dozen mediocre ‘movie star’ albums that appear. I wanted so much for this album to be an exception. But Jeff Bridges is no She and Him. There is not much that is interesting or endearing about it either.

What is good about this album is that Bridges can sing. His voice is even somewhat enjoyable to listen to and there is a welcome lack of auto-tune. The music accompanying Mr Bridges is well played too. But why is Jeff Bridges so underwhelming?

A partial answer can be found in the lyrics of track Everything But Love. Mr Bridges pours his heart out, finishing with the poignant words “you can have everything but it just won’t be enough if you have everything but love”. The album is cliché beyond belief. Cheesy lyrics, imitation Petty-esque guitars and mournful pedal-steel are used to the point where it becomes a chore to listen. After enduring all ten tracks, it is painfully obvious that Bridges’ talent lies elsewhere.

The Horrors

One of my favourite things about being a kid was the lucky dip. Every year I would roll up to my school fete, hand over 20 cents and take sheer delight in tearing off the newspaper-cum-packaging to see what was inside. One year I got a half-broken helicopter. I played with it for weeks and had never been happier. The next year I got a bottle of hair conditioner. The lady running the stand laughed at me and I learnt an important life lesson. Years on I still love the lucky dip, and that’s why I called into my friendly neighbourhood record store and picked up a copy of Skying.

The Horrors are perhaps the freshest, most unpredictable band recording music today. Second effort Primary Colours represented a quantum leap from the goth-tinged garage rock homage of debut Strange House. That The Horrors could drop such an album was a justifiable shock to those who had written them off as one trick ponies, and they established themselves as a must watch creative team capable of genre-shifting and reinvention.

The Horrors have once again come out of nowhere with something completely unexpected. Latest release Skying is near flawless. As a collection of songs it is amazingly coherent and fresh; perfectly structured to overwhelm and awe. No part is extraneous or unnecessary. Single Still Life is the song of the year so far. Skying is so new and beautiful and… graceful.

The Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See - [Domino]

The tricky thing about being an ‘it’ band is sustaining ‘it’ over the long-term. In 2006, The Arctic Monkeys came out of nowhere with Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not; an album that was brilliant and fresh and worthy of the attention it received. It established The Arctic Monkeys as one of ‘those’ bands, anchored by their simple guitar sound and the ingenious lyricism of frontman Alex Turner. Suck It and See comes five years (and a few solid albums) down the track. What it reveals is a band that is almost indistinguishable from all of the other four-piece rock outfits out there today.

Opening track She’s Thunderstorms sees the album starting flat, with Turner’s trademark witticisms shelved for lyrics that border on cliché and boring. Black Treacle propels the album further down this direction, and it is not until Brick by Brick that the album starts to go anywhere.

Despite occasional flashes of brilliance, most notably All My Own Stunts and the aforementioned Brick by Brick, Suck It and See can best be described as underwhelming. The Arctic Monkeys have strayed too far and into territory that they do not need to be in. What differentiated them as a band was their almost cheeky attitude and an ability to translate this into their music. Suck It and See is too serious, devoid of almost all the things that made The Arctic Monkeys so good.

Belles Will Ring - Crystal Theatre - [Remote Control]

Crystal Theatre is the eagerly anticipated second full length album from vintage psychedelic-folk troupe Belles Will Ring. The title is the name of an old cinema in the village of Portland, near Lithgow, where much of the album was recorded, and it is within this frame that a timeless celluloid style rises out of the weary hours of the night to dance.

The album’s two stand out tracks, Come to the Village and Come North With me Baby, Wow were both released last year and are the initial orientation points of this album, but the shuffle of scene setting mood pieces in between will soon disarm and disorient the unwary listener. This is thanks to band member Liam Judson’s intimate recording techniques, which lifted Cloud Control’s Bliss Release to the heights of analogue perfection.

Trouble in Deepwater, referencing another remote NSW town, sets the scene of fragile isolation, escape, yearning, and toasting marshmallows over smoky fires. It also sets the sonic stage - the reverb drenched interplay of vocals and guitar, washed out and tender, threatening to come apart. A touch of Nick Drake and Quentin Tarantino. Not all these tracks are pulling in the same direction, but it is the thematic link, the ghostly hand on the wheel of this album, that brings them back together. Belles Will Ring will be looking for a screenplay to stage to this authentic tromp through the haunted edges of the outback.

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo - [Matador]

The decline of the singer/songwriter in modern music has received little attention. A rich tradition, stretching back far beyond the era of popular music and advanced by generations of troubadours and raconteurs, has seemingly been cast away in favour of electric instrumentation and the four-piece. Yet every so often, an artist will appear that refocuses attention, an artist that reminds us of the beauty of simplicity. Kurt Vile is such a man.
A fresh faced 30-something resident of Philadelphia, Vile (his real birth name) has become somewhat of a musician’s musician. Smoke Ring For My Halo is his fourth full length release, and his second on the cult Matador label. What Vile delivers is his most coherent effort to date; an album that unhurriedly rambles through a landscape of dreamy bedroom pop that is both effortless and intricate.
Featuring occasional appearances by backing band The Violators, Smoke Ring For My Halo is at its strongest when a solo Vile is left to his own devices. Peeping Tomboy is a perfect blend of stripped down guitar and narrative lyricism, and a welcome pause from the album’s more layered textures. Society Is My Friend sees Vile’s dreamy acoustic sound at its best: coloured by The Violators’ harshness and underpinned by straightforward vocals.
A string of well constructed pop songs, Smoke Ring For My Halo is a pleasure to get lost in. Vile’s smooth vocals and songwriting ability provide hope that all is not lost.

Sonic Youth - Simon Werner a Disparu - [Sonic Youth Recordings]

After an almost three decade career that has delivered a string of critically acclaimed albums, Sonic Youth could be forgiven for taking things down a gear. Busily pursuing solo projects and still riding the success of their outstanding 2009 album The Eternal, the band somehow found time to score French film director Fabrice Gobert’s new thriller Simon Werner a Disparu.

Simon Werner a Disparu represents the ninth release in the bands Sonic Youth Recordings series. Started in 1996 as an outlet to release less ‘traditional’ album oriented material, the Sonic Youth Recording Series has flourished into a pleasing series of noise experiments and improvised collaborations. Each release in the series brings something new and exciting and is a welcome supplement to the commercial studio albums put out by the band.

Clocking in just short of an hour, Simon Werner a Disparu is more suited to those with an interest in experimental music as opposed to the casual listener. The compositions often sound stark and somewhat haunting, marked by feedback and piercing guitars. Tracks such as Jean-Baptiste et Laetitia serve to break up the hum, employing soft piano that heightens the suspense and atmosphere. Au Café is the standout, where trademark effects-laden Sonic Youth guitar is allowed to run free on top of a restrained and gentle beat. Whilst an enjoyable listen, the album is best heard in full and slips down on a track by track basis.

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will - [Rock Action Records/Sub Pop]

There comes a time in most bands’ careers when the listener knows what to expect from a new release. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and it is a pleasant surprise when a band takes a different route or introduces new elements into a well-worn sound. Conversely, it can also be disappointing when a band does not move on and sticks with the same old formula. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will generally falls into this latter category.

The album is Mogwai’s seventh, and comes three years after the brilliant The Hawk is Howling. The record generally delivers what is expected – meandering post-rock soundscapes with lush and layered production. However, its failing is that it does not push Mogwai’s sound any further than it has already been before. Instead, what is offered is somewhat of a purposeless self-pastiche that can be confusing to listen to. This is most evident earlier on, where songs build and build yet ultimately fail to take off.

Whilst this does have some redeeming features (Too Raging to Cheers and You’re Lionel Richie explode out of their sedate beginnings into controlled sonic frenzy), it often feels like an exercise in treading water. The few glimpses of what could have been are tantalising, but ultimately not enough to carry the entire record. Mogwai still have so much potential, it is just a shame that it was not explored here.

Liam Demamiel

Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I - [Southern Lord Records]

Dylan Carlson steps through the opening chord, letting it ring. What follows is Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I, a one hour-long drone that slowly and delightfully builds and decays over five parts. The follow up to the Seattle based band’s equally long-titled and critically acclaimed The Bees Made Honey in Lion’s Skull, Angels of Darkness sees the Carlson led Earth subtly develop their sound and move away from the strict minimalism seen on previous albums. The introduction of cello arrangements adds another layer to Earth’s usually stark compositions, yet sometimes clutters the mix and stifles the slow riffing. Perhaps most rewarding about this record is its more unstructured approach and the willingness to meander without a consistent reliance on hooks. This is most notable in the title track, which gently unfolds itself, punctuated by Carlson’s trademark spooky guitar and carried by the measured drumming of Adrienne Davies.

For those who have not listened to Earth before, Angels of Darkness is perhaps the perfect place to start. Those elements familiar to previous Earth releases are still there: the often glacial place, variations on a theme, riffs that sound sinister yet redeeming at the same time. Earth albums reward the persistence of listeners, slowly revealing their beauty over the course of time. This effort is no different.

Liam Demamiel