Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes - ★★★★★★★★☆☆
The current fad of unleashing albums at short notice continues with this new solo torrent album from Radiohead's tour-de-force, available for the price of a pint (in the UK) and worth every penny. Rather than force a potential audience to listen (cheers, U2) by crapping out through a digital u-bend, Yorke has utilised that most important facet of modern living - choice. And Bit Torrent. Oh, and a fair price for what is in effect a decent album. Whether you're from the stalwart Radiohead camp that believes the band haven't been any good since OK Computer or Kid A or if you think the sun, the moon and the Aurora Borealis gleams out of Yorke's bronze-eye, there's no doubting his talents here. The album's title is almost a comment on genre or pigeon-holing - Yorke's follow-up to Eraser is unclassifiable and to group him with the James Blakes, Aphex Twins and Burials of this world is churlish. None of Tomorrow's Modern Boxes is pop, none of it is unlistenable, none of it sounds like Radiohead, none of it deserves your immediate attention other than for the fact it's all compelling electronica that boasts some of Yorke's best moments. I'll pick A Brain In A Bottle and the calming Interference as highlights but really, any one of the eight pieces here is capable of sucking you in at some point. Let's face it - it's Thom Yorke, it's eight tracks of top-notch melancholic electronica and it costs the same as a pint of the worst lager in the world. There really is no choice.
The Fall - Creative Distortion - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
An 'institution', a 'National Treasure', an 'overrated rambler' - whatever people say about Mark E Smith, that's probably what he's not. One thing's for sure - The Fall have been unintentionally carrying the flag for the Northern branch of keeping it Peel since the '70s (along with Half Man Half Biscuit and The Nightingales) and are showing no signs of keeling over anytime soon. And thank crikey for that. As if to prove the point, this double CD and DVD is a lively document recorded at a gig in Blackburn and is their third for Cherry Red. It is exactly what it is - it's a live double-album document of one of the most important outfits the UK has unleashed in the last four decades and contains a wide range of tracks from throughout their career. The vibrancy and the energy are omnipresent, Smith's bilious vocal countenance as engaging as ever and many 'hits' are included such as Victoria, There's A Ghost In My House and Big New Prinz. The occasional microphone feedback and rare mistakes are kept in, making Creative Distortion an accurate representation of what to expect when Smith's charges roll into your town.
Alt-J - This Is All Yours - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
It's a cliche but that second-album syndrome has reared its ugly head once again, this time on Alt-j's new album. Crippled by a painful lack of direction, This Is All Yours is all rather dull to be honest. Over-emotive, melancholic self-indulgence seems all too common these days and after two run-throughs of this sad-face meandering, I'm already bored to the back-teeth with it. In fairness, there are some rather appealing moments - the bonus-track Lonely day is a choral and cyclical triumph while Bloodflood offers up some semblance of a tune. The rest is tailored made for those BBC drama idents that pop up occasionally. You know the ones - tortured married couple stare at each other for ages, get murdered by wolves, bodies found coated in glue and feathers, vicar is main suspect, tortured married couple come back from the dead as man-eating zombies. You should watch it, it's very good.
Lost Brothers - New Songs Of Dawn and Dust - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Nowadays, the lazy catch-all term Americana now appears to be solely for use by certain music-journos, regardless of the origins of the music concerned. Refreshingly, Lost Brothers have spurned the temptation to make just another doleful bearded wallow through the mid-West and conjured up a mixed-bag of all manner of styles instead, as well as more straight-forward American-style roots. There's a spot of Spanish on the opening piece, er, Spanish Interlude, then a lean towards Mariachi for Days Ahead, traditional country-roots for plaintive ballad Soldier's Song and piano-led folk balladry on the closing Stones Throw. Very little of New Songs breaks sweat - this all about kicking off those shoes and enjoying the moment when everything falls into place. If the Avett Brothers appealed to you, hook up with this new set of brothers for this hearty broth of song-stories from a bygone age.
Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Balcony - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
All too rarely these days, a band gets decent sales based on their tireless live performances as well as having a few decent songs in their arsenal. Take a bow Catfish and the Bottlemen, a seemingly unfashionable shouty indie-blues-rock outfit from Llandudno who have created something of a cult amongst its fan-base, mainly for being an explosive prospect in the flesh. On The Balcony, some of that raw magic has been trans-mutated into a more palatable blend of crossover, squeezed into 37 minutes of less glossy indie-rock for those bored shitless by Bombay Bicycle Club. It's fist-pumping and earnest enough, anthems a-plenty such as Fallout and the single Kathleen wade in with cocky assuredness that suggests Catfish might go the distance.
Perfume Genius - Too Bright - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Album number three for the quirky Seattle-based songwriter aka Mike Hadreas whose music sits somewhere between Antony Hegarty, Moby, Air, St Vincent and Suicide, converging on occasions and all glued together by Hadreas' choirboy-like vocals. As a listening experience, it's a mixture of unsettling (particularly on Grid and I'm a Mother) and imaginative (most of the album is definitely left of mainstream's centre) with only a few moments approaching anything like the restrained elements of previous albums - Too Bright isn't a million miles from a Talk Talk / Mark Hollis epiphany (the wavering vocals, the minimal piano, the atmospherics). Overall, Too Bright is perhaps just that in places but when Perfume Genius isn't overdoing the histrionics, most of this album is an accomplished effort.
Talib Kweli - Gravitas - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Some fifteen years ago, Kweli and sidekick Hi-Tek were creating some truly magical hip-hop history with the likes of the album Reflection Eternal / Train Of Thought as well as Kweli's collab with Mos Def aka Black Star. By the beginning of the last decade, Talib had been flirting with major-labels and issuing comparatively disappointing albums that remained lyrically exciting but were a little musically strapped for direction. But not in all cases - some of Eardrum and much of Beautiful Struggle contained some straight-up party-bangers with a message. Activism and rallying is Kweli's forte and on Gravitas, currently getting a Spotify promo, he's right back on form with both biting lyrics jettisoned from his mouth like unlocked straps and eerie, compelling imaginative music and samples as backdrops. Guest rappers are predictable enough in the wrong hands but for Gravitas, Kweli has bumped knuckles with the likes of Raekwon, Black Thought and the Under Achievers - the Raekwon number, Violations, is an absolute banger. With no over-padding or pointless filler, Gravitas is for the most-part 40 minutes well-spent from start to finish, with a J Dilla-inspired closer in the form of Colors Of You recalling the pretty melody of Reflection Eternal's Good Mourning, an apt comparable perhaps.
Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
There's a line in Slow which sums gravel-tonsilled Cohen rather nicely - "I'm slowing down a tune, I never like it fast...". Why would he pep things up at the age of 80 yrs old by recording a collaboration with Lady Gaga or Skrillex? It would be a total travesty. Thus on Popular Probems (naff title, Leo), he continues on his journey of putting maximum effort into making an album that sounds completely the opposite for all the right reasons. His 13th studio-album since 1967's Songs Of Leonard Cohen sounds musically like Yello (Almost Like The Blues), Tom Waits (Did I Ever Love You), Dr John (A Street) and, naturally, Cohen (the rest) without breaking sweat, suffice to surmise that Popular Problems won't tarnish his career anytime soon. One key song stands out - the Americana-tinged and simplistic brass-flavoured My Oh My sounds as wonderful as Ain't No Cure For Love, a single in the making and surely a set favourite in years to come - it reminds me of Mike Scott. Because surely, Leonard Cohen will go on forever - it certainly seems so.
The Drums - Encyclopedia - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
Having already baulked at the first single issued from The Drums' third album, I'm convinced that Magic Mountain isn't only a poor choice for a single, it's also a crap album-opener. Encyclopedia doesn't get off to a great start then. Things improve soon enough - I Can't Pretend is a pleasing slice of perky indie-funk and I Hope Doesn't Change Him sets the tone for an enjoyable enough four minutes - but then Encyclopedia has a tangible coronary. Kiss Me Again is passable enough but Let Me spirals out of melodic control rather like Everything Everything going at full pelt when a melody needs chasing. With the exception of Break My Heart and Face Of God, the remainder of Encyclopedia sounds frustratingly like a band losing its way and opting for kitchen-sink composition.
The current fad of unleashing albums at short notice continues with this new solo torrent album from Radiohead's tour-de-force, available for the price of a pint (in the UK) and worth every penny. Rather than force a potential audience to listen (cheers, U2) by crapping out through a digital u-bend, Yorke has utilised that most important facet of modern living - choice. And Bit Torrent. Oh, and a fair price for what is in effect a decent album. Whether you're from the stalwart Radiohead camp that believes the band haven't been any good since OK Computer or Kid A or if you think the sun, the moon and the Aurora Borealis gleams out of Yorke's bronze-eye, there's no doubting his talents here. The album's title is almost a comment on genre or pigeon-holing - Yorke's follow-up to Eraser is unclassifiable and to group him with the James Blakes, Aphex Twins and Burials of this world is churlish. None of Tomorrow's Modern Boxes is pop, none of it is unlistenable, none of it sounds like Radiohead, none of it deserves your immediate attention other than for the fact it's all compelling electronica that boasts some of Yorke's best moments. I'll pick A Brain In A Bottle and the calming Interference as highlights but really, any one of the eight pieces here is capable of sucking you in at some point. Let's face it - it's Thom Yorke, it's eight tracks of top-notch melancholic electronica and it costs the same as a pint of the worst lager in the world. There really is no choice.
The Fall - Creative Distortion - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
An 'institution', a 'National Treasure', an 'overrated rambler' - whatever people say about Mark E Smith, that's probably what he's not. One thing's for sure - The Fall have been unintentionally carrying the flag for the Northern branch of keeping it Peel since the '70s (along with Half Man Half Biscuit and The Nightingales) and are showing no signs of keeling over anytime soon. And thank crikey for that. As if to prove the point, this double CD and DVD is a lively document recorded at a gig in Blackburn and is their third for Cherry Red. It is exactly what it is - it's a live double-album document of one of the most important outfits the UK has unleashed in the last four decades and contains a wide range of tracks from throughout their career. The vibrancy and the energy are omnipresent, Smith's bilious vocal countenance as engaging as ever and many 'hits' are included such as Victoria, There's A Ghost In My House and Big New Prinz. The occasional microphone feedback and rare mistakes are kept in, making Creative Distortion an accurate representation of what to expect when Smith's charges roll into your town.
Alt-J - This Is All Yours - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
It's a cliche but that second-album syndrome has reared its ugly head once again, this time on Alt-j's new album. Crippled by a painful lack of direction, This Is All Yours is all rather dull to be honest. Over-emotive, melancholic self-indulgence seems all too common these days and after two run-throughs of this sad-face meandering, I'm already bored to the back-teeth with it. In fairness, there are some rather appealing moments - the bonus-track Lonely day is a choral and cyclical triumph while Bloodflood offers up some semblance of a tune. The rest is tailored made for those BBC drama idents that pop up occasionally. You know the ones - tortured married couple stare at each other for ages, get murdered by wolves, bodies found coated in glue and feathers, vicar is main suspect, tortured married couple come back from the dead as man-eating zombies. You should watch it, it's very good.
Lost Brothers - New Songs Of Dawn and Dust - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Nowadays, the lazy catch-all term Americana now appears to be solely for use by certain music-journos, regardless of the origins of the music concerned. Refreshingly, Lost Brothers have spurned the temptation to make just another doleful bearded wallow through the mid-West and conjured up a mixed-bag of all manner of styles instead, as well as more straight-forward American-style roots. There's a spot of Spanish on the opening piece, er, Spanish Interlude, then a lean towards Mariachi for Days Ahead, traditional country-roots for plaintive ballad Soldier's Song and piano-led folk balladry on the closing Stones Throw. Very little of New Songs breaks sweat - this all about kicking off those shoes and enjoying the moment when everything falls into place. If the Avett Brothers appealed to you, hook up with this new set of brothers for this hearty broth of song-stories from a bygone age.
Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Balcony - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
All too rarely these days, a band gets decent sales based on their tireless live performances as well as having a few decent songs in their arsenal. Take a bow Catfish and the Bottlemen, a seemingly unfashionable shouty indie-blues-rock outfit from Llandudno who have created something of a cult amongst its fan-base, mainly for being an explosive prospect in the flesh. On The Balcony, some of that raw magic has been trans-mutated into a more palatable blend of crossover, squeezed into 37 minutes of less glossy indie-rock for those bored shitless by Bombay Bicycle Club. It's fist-pumping and earnest enough, anthems a-plenty such as Fallout and the single Kathleen wade in with cocky assuredness that suggests Catfish might go the distance.
Perfume Genius - Too Bright - ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Album number three for the quirky Seattle-based songwriter aka Mike Hadreas whose music sits somewhere between Antony Hegarty, Moby, Air, St Vincent and Suicide, converging on occasions and all glued together by Hadreas' choirboy-like vocals. As a listening experience, it's a mixture of unsettling (particularly on Grid and I'm a Mother) and imaginative (most of the album is definitely left of mainstream's centre) with only a few moments approaching anything like the restrained elements of previous albums - Too Bright isn't a million miles from a Talk Talk / Mark Hollis epiphany (the wavering vocals, the minimal piano, the atmospherics). Overall, Too Bright is perhaps just that in places but when Perfume Genius isn't overdoing the histrionics, most of this album is an accomplished effort.
Talib Kweli - Gravitas - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Some fifteen years ago, Kweli and sidekick Hi-Tek were creating some truly magical hip-hop history with the likes of the album Reflection Eternal / Train Of Thought as well as Kweli's collab with Mos Def aka Black Star. By the beginning of the last decade, Talib had been flirting with major-labels and issuing comparatively disappointing albums that remained lyrically exciting but were a little musically strapped for direction. But not in all cases - some of Eardrum and much of Beautiful Struggle contained some straight-up party-bangers with a message. Activism and rallying is Kweli's forte and on Gravitas, currently getting a Spotify promo, he's right back on form with both biting lyrics jettisoned from his mouth like unlocked straps and eerie, compelling imaginative music and samples as backdrops. Guest rappers are predictable enough in the wrong hands but for Gravitas, Kweli has bumped knuckles with the likes of Raekwon, Black Thought and the Under Achievers - the Raekwon number, Violations, is an absolute banger. With no over-padding or pointless filler, Gravitas is for the most-part 40 minutes well-spent from start to finish, with a J Dilla-inspired closer in the form of Colors Of You recalling the pretty melody of Reflection Eternal's Good Mourning, an apt comparable perhaps.
Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
There's a line in Slow which sums gravel-tonsilled Cohen rather nicely - "I'm slowing down a tune, I never like it fast...". Why would he pep things up at the age of 80 yrs old by recording a collaboration with Lady Gaga or Skrillex? It would be a total travesty. Thus on Popular Probems (naff title, Leo), he continues on his journey of putting maximum effort into making an album that sounds completely the opposite for all the right reasons. His 13th studio-album since 1967's Songs Of Leonard Cohen sounds musically like Yello (Almost Like The Blues), Tom Waits (Did I Ever Love You), Dr John (A Street) and, naturally, Cohen (the rest) without breaking sweat, suffice to surmise that Popular Problems won't tarnish his career anytime soon. One key song stands out - the Americana-tinged and simplistic brass-flavoured My Oh My sounds as wonderful as Ain't No Cure For Love, a single in the making and surely a set favourite in years to come - it reminds me of Mike Scott. Because surely, Leonard Cohen will go on forever - it certainly seems so.
The Drums - Encyclopedia - ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
Having already baulked at the first single issued from The Drums' third album, I'm convinced that Magic Mountain isn't only a poor choice for a single, it's also a crap album-opener. Encyclopedia doesn't get off to a great start then. Things improve soon enough - I Can't Pretend is a pleasing slice of perky indie-funk and I Hope Doesn't Change Him sets the tone for an enjoyable enough four minutes - but then Encyclopedia has a tangible coronary. Kiss Me Again is passable enough but Let Me spirals out of melodic control rather like Everything Everything going at full pelt when a melody needs chasing. With the exception of Break My Heart and Face Of God, the remainder of Encyclopedia sounds frustratingly like a band losing its way and opting for kitchen-sink composition.