Last year, Clinic cleared house with rarities collection, Funf. As underwhelming as it is, it could prove to be the band's most significant statement, as their fifth studio album, Do It! sees Clinic make their first steps forward since their classic debut, Internal Wrangler.
Do It! eschews the scratchy D.I.Y. aesthetic that has atrophied Clinic's career over the last three albums and goes for a pin-sharp production style, but most importantly, the Liverpudlians have knuckled down on the songwriting front, making Do It! their most immediately likeable album in eight years.
Clinic haven't lost any of the idiosyncrasies that have formed their sound since inception, but their quirks no longer overpower the songs. This is clear from the outset with the fractured psych-punk-stomp, 'Memories', which alternates between Nuggets fuzz and eerie prog-pop melodic interludes, but the transition never jars, serving the overall feel of playful schizophrenia. Elsewhere, 'Emotions' is a woozy dreamboat sway that Johnny Ray would have been proud of, 'The Witch' is the closest they've come to the spirit of The Monks without aping them outright, while the overdriven sax and violence whirlwind of 'Shopping Bag' is thrillingly bracing.
Ade Blackburn's tortured sneer is as simultaneously malevolent and vulnerable as it's ever been and on 'Free Not Free' channels an eloquent grace not tapped since 'Distortions'. All of which makes Do It! Clinic's best full-length since their first and quite possibly their best full stop. What a pleasant surprise.
http://highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3533&band=161
Tuesday 8 April 2008
Album: Andrew Weatherall - Watch The Ride (Harmless)
Nowadays you can download excellent mixes for free on an almost daily basis. Free from licensing constraints, DJs are free to put whatever the hell they like on an online mix, leading to net mixes more closely resembling what it's like to catch those DJs in their natural settings; a sweaty club.
This means then, that to persuade the average electronic music fan to part with upwards of ten quid for a mix CD, labels and DJs are having to pull out the stops a little more. Mixes are inherently more transient than artist albums anyway, with only a handful of mixes resonating past their meagre shelf-life. The Watch The Ride series has thus far been more throwaway than most, seeing the likes of Tom Findlay and Zinc turn in 'will this do?' snoreathons. That they've snagged Andrew Weatherall, one of the best DJs around, is head-turning enough in this crowded marketplace and the trademark Weatherall magpie spirit is definitely in evidence here.
It's a typically dark, dubby, danceable affair, with the curveballs coming thick and fast, but as with most mixes, come the end, you can't help but feel that the thrills are merely vicarious in nature. Maybe this mix might open people up to the Afro-jazz-disco delights of Mock & Toof or the emotive melodic techno of Danton Eeprom, but in an age where you can get better mixes than this for free, it just serves as a reminder that your money will be better spent going to see Weatherall in a dingy basement somewhere.
http://highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3596&band=492
This means then, that to persuade the average electronic music fan to part with upwards of ten quid for a mix CD, labels and DJs are having to pull out the stops a little more. Mixes are inherently more transient than artist albums anyway, with only a handful of mixes resonating past their meagre shelf-life. The Watch The Ride series has thus far been more throwaway than most, seeing the likes of Tom Findlay and Zinc turn in 'will this do?' snoreathons. That they've snagged Andrew Weatherall, one of the best DJs around, is head-turning enough in this crowded marketplace and the trademark Weatherall magpie spirit is definitely in evidence here.
It's a typically dark, dubby, danceable affair, with the curveballs coming thick and fast, but as with most mixes, come the end, you can't help but feel that the thrills are merely vicarious in nature. Maybe this mix might open people up to the Afro-jazz-disco delights of Mock & Toof or the emotive melodic techno of Danton Eeprom, but in an age where you can get better mixes than this for free, it just serves as a reminder that your money will be better spent going to see Weatherall in a dingy basement somewhere.
http://highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3596&band=492
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Album: Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986 (Strut)
About damn time someone put together a Compass Point compilation. It's not just reckless hyperbole to say that some of the best music of the 1980s – all time, even - came out of that Bahaman studio. A combination of location, the right engineers, producers and musicians and a common goal to make it funky, above all else led to Compass Point gaining notoriety amongst right-thinking musicians at the time, making it THE place to record.
Strut's compilation gathers together some of the studio's lesser-known highlights and some you should know and love already, but it's by no means exhaustive. I guess the 'Funky' in the title should have been a signifier, but a more comprehensive look at CP's history wouldn't have gone amiss. So we get 'Genius Of Love', 'Spasticus Autisticus' and 'My Jamaican Guy', alongside obscurities such as laid-back, sun-kissed disco masterclass, 'Obsession' by Guy Cuevas, the dubby new wave of Cristina's 'You Rented A Space' and cosmic classic, 'Adventures In Success (Dub Copy)' by Will Powers.
There's no room, however, for any B-52s, Black Uhuru (a missed opportunity if ever there was one) or anything from Bjork's Post (the timeframe did for that). Hell, they could have squeezed 'Back In Black' on there for shits and giggles, surely. That's for another collection though and you can't argue with the riches here. Any compilation that features Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club and Gwen Guthrie and also acts as a primer for some of the most luxuriously spacious dance music ever created gets my vote.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3526&band=492
Strut's compilation gathers together some of the studio's lesser-known highlights and some you should know and love already, but it's by no means exhaustive. I guess the 'Funky' in the title should have been a signifier, but a more comprehensive look at CP's history wouldn't have gone amiss. So we get 'Genius Of Love', 'Spasticus Autisticus' and 'My Jamaican Guy', alongside obscurities such as laid-back, sun-kissed disco masterclass, 'Obsession' by Guy Cuevas, the dubby new wave of Cristina's 'You Rented A Space' and cosmic classic, 'Adventures In Success (Dub Copy)' by Will Powers.
There's no room, however, for any B-52s, Black Uhuru (a missed opportunity if ever there was one) or anything from Bjork's Post (the timeframe did for that). Hell, they could have squeezed 'Back In Black' on there for shits and giggles, surely. That's for another collection though and you can't argue with the riches here. Any compilation that features Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club and Gwen Guthrie and also acts as a primer for some of the most luxuriously spacious dance music ever created gets my vote.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3526&band=492
Album: Neon Neon - Stainless Style (Lex)
What seems like nothing more than a zany idea – a concept record about bad-boy automobile engineer, John DeLorean – actually makes perfect sense. DeLorean's colourful life makes for an intriguing jumping-off point, filled as it was with starfucking endeavours, drug deals gone wrong and muscle cars. What could go wrong?
Well, very little, on the face of it. Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip's Stainless Style blinds you with its surface sheen and multifarious hooks and it has to be said that, weak Yo Majesty! guest spot, 'Sweat Shop' aside, every track here could be a megahit. In 1985, at least. There are some genuinely great pop songs here – the paranoia-wracked electro-funk of 'Michael Douglas', 'Luxury Pool', on which Fat Lip paints DeLorean as a kind of Frank Lucas of the car industry and, best of all, 'I Told Her On Alderaan' which acts as the best argument for John Hughes resurrecting his career, if only to have this soundtrack the prom night sequence – but Stainless Style never fully gels.
Why? Well, the musical styles are so disparate and the sequencing so off-whack that the conceptual ruse proves to be counter-intuitive. Sometimes, it's almost as if there are two albums playing simultaneously. I appreciate Rhys' and Bip's devotion to 80s nostalgia while having one foot firmly planted in the here-and-now, but the power pop and electro never totally coalesce. So while Stainless Style features some of the finest pop moments in recent years, it ultimately serves as proof that a great album always has to be more than just the sum of its parts.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3525&band=2177
Well, very little, on the face of it. Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip's Stainless Style blinds you with its surface sheen and multifarious hooks and it has to be said that, weak Yo Majesty! guest spot, 'Sweat Shop' aside, every track here could be a megahit. In 1985, at least. There are some genuinely great pop songs here – the paranoia-wracked electro-funk of 'Michael Douglas', 'Luxury Pool', on which Fat Lip paints DeLorean as a kind of Frank Lucas of the car industry and, best of all, 'I Told Her On Alderaan' which acts as the best argument for John Hughes resurrecting his career, if only to have this soundtrack the prom night sequence – but Stainless Style never fully gels.
Why? Well, the musical styles are so disparate and the sequencing so off-whack that the conceptual ruse proves to be counter-intuitive. Sometimes, it's almost as if there are two albums playing simultaneously. I appreciate Rhys' and Bip's devotion to 80s nostalgia while having one foot firmly planted in the here-and-now, but the power pop and electro never totally coalesce. So while Stainless Style features some of the finest pop moments in recent years, it ultimately serves as proof that a great album always has to be more than just the sum of its parts.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3525&band=2177
Album: Hercules And Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair (DFA/EMI)
Blending high-minded arty concepts with that most purely functional form of music, disco, can be thorny ground. If you over-intellectualise something that purposely lacks depth of intelligence then the whole enterprise tends to crumble under the weight of all that thinking.
This reasoning makes Hercules & Love Affair's debut seem all the more heroic. Fusing art and disco is very much a New York pursuit and H&LA fit right into the canon alongside Arthur Russell, Grace Jones and ZE Records. New York DJ, Andy Butler has assembled a bunch of like-minded aesthetes and freaks to ensure that the balance between highbrow and lowbrow is struck precisely.
While it helps to know your touchstones going into this record, it's not essential. Some of the tracks nod vigorously at the past, like 'This Is My Love', which steals the guitar from Chaz Jankel's 'Glad To Know You', the Frankie Knuckles-referencing opener, 'Time Will' or the jackin' 'You Belong', but it never wanders into shameless nostalgia.
What it most definitely is, at its core, is a modern pop record with some of the best vocal performances in recent years from the rotating cast, most notably Antony Hegarty ('Blind') and Kim-Ann Foxman ('Athene'). Also, take a bow, Tim Goldsworthy. The other half of DFA steps right out of James Murphy's shadow with this crisp, clean production.
Hercules & Love Affair may well pay dutiful respect to NY's past on their magnificent debut, but they also offer us a glimpse into its future. A feast for mind, body and soul, Hercules & Love Affair is nothing short of miraculous.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3497&band=2174
This reasoning makes Hercules & Love Affair's debut seem all the more heroic. Fusing art and disco is very much a New York pursuit and H&LA fit right into the canon alongside Arthur Russell, Grace Jones and ZE Records. New York DJ, Andy Butler has assembled a bunch of like-minded aesthetes and freaks to ensure that the balance between highbrow and lowbrow is struck precisely.
While it helps to know your touchstones going into this record, it's not essential. Some of the tracks nod vigorously at the past, like 'This Is My Love', which steals the guitar from Chaz Jankel's 'Glad To Know You', the Frankie Knuckles-referencing opener, 'Time Will' or the jackin' 'You Belong', but it never wanders into shameless nostalgia.
What it most definitely is, at its core, is a modern pop record with some of the best vocal performances in recent years from the rotating cast, most notably Antony Hegarty ('Blind') and Kim-Ann Foxman ('Athene'). Also, take a bow, Tim Goldsworthy. The other half of DFA steps right out of James Murphy's shadow with this crisp, clean production.
Hercules & Love Affair may well pay dutiful respect to NY's past on their magnificent debut, but they also offer us a glimpse into its future. A feast for mind, body and soul, Hercules & Love Affair is nothing short of miraculous.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3497&band=2174
Album: The Glimmers - The Glimmers Are Gee Gee Fazzi (www.theglimmertwins.com)
It seems the Radiohead bug is catching. The Glimmers have gone one better by giving away CD copies of their debut album at DJ gigs. They could well have made a bit of coin out of this long-player, but keeping it out of the system (not entirely, or I wouldn't be reviewing it) makes them look like they're flicking the vs at the money-grubbing majors and also acts as a neat brickbat-dodge.
Fans would have sniffed at having to fork out for this one, as most of the tracks here have been released before, so making it a freebie is a move both canny and hip. What of the music though? The Glimmers have always been more appealing in theory than practice. Their touchstones (classic Italo, Eurotrash-y rock, Middle Eastern percussion) and their mixes are impeccable, but their own productions have most often been less interesting than their genetic make-up. While this is occasionally the case here, …Gee Gee Fazzi is still an entertaining, fun listen.
Despite the occasional misstep (Princess Superstar's guest spot on 'Wanna Make Out' being the most obnoxious thing the duo have committed to tape), The Glimmers approach the album like a mix, never allowing a song to outstay its welcome. The super-fun take on 'Let's Get Physical', Linn drum workout, 'Kobe's In Columbia' and Lindstrom & Prins Thomas collaboration, 'Music For Dreams' all have massive replay value, but there's an aftertaste of missed opportunity. Thankfully though, while the record's spinning, you'll be enjoying yourself too much to even notice.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3508&band=2178
Fans would have sniffed at having to fork out for this one, as most of the tracks here have been released before, so making it a freebie is a move both canny and hip. What of the music though? The Glimmers have always been more appealing in theory than practice. Their touchstones (classic Italo, Eurotrash-y rock, Middle Eastern percussion) and their mixes are impeccable, but their own productions have most often been less interesting than their genetic make-up. While this is occasionally the case here, …Gee Gee Fazzi is still an entertaining, fun listen.
Despite the occasional misstep (Princess Superstar's guest spot on 'Wanna Make Out' being the most obnoxious thing the duo have committed to tape), The Glimmers approach the album like a mix, never allowing a song to outstay its welcome. The super-fun take on 'Let's Get Physical', Linn drum workout, 'Kobe's In Columbia' and Lindstrom & Prins Thomas collaboration, 'Music For Dreams' all have massive replay value, but there's an aftertaste of missed opportunity. Thankfully though, while the record's spinning, you'll be enjoying yourself too much to even notice.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3508&band=2178
Single: Neon Neon - I Lust U (Lex)
'I Lust U' is the third single from Neon Neon's (Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip) forthcoming John DeLorean concept album, Stainless Style and it's one of the strongest examples of the pairing's retro-futurist schtick. Synths fart and an 808 vamps about and it's all very 1983. In fact, it recalls C-Bank's seminal 'One More Shot' at times, only not as good (Bip, as good as he is, is no John Robie).
What almost propels 'I Lust U' to full-on greatness is the warm tones of Rhys' muse of late, Cate Le Bon. It's no coincidence that her verse now opens the track (in the early version, Gruff's did), given how ubiquitous the Super Furry Animal has been of late. It's a smart move as music this knowingly mechanical needs a touch of humanism. 'I Lust U' is fun and quite addictive, no more no less and sometimes that's no more than you can ask for. That and a kicking drum machine break anyway.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3505&band=2177
What almost propels 'I Lust U' to full-on greatness is the warm tones of Rhys' muse of late, Cate Le Bon. It's no coincidence that her verse now opens the track (in the early version, Gruff's did), given how ubiquitous the Super Furry Animal has been of late. It's a smart move as music this knowingly mechanical needs a touch of humanism. 'I Lust U' is fun and quite addictive, no more no less and sometimes that's no more than you can ask for. That and a kicking drum machine break anyway.
http://www.highvoltage.org.uk/displaydemoreview.asp?num=3505&band=2177
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