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Everyone has had THE dream as a child. You don’t wet the bed anymore, honest, but you’re still young and fragile….and you dream THAT dream where you just can’t find a toilet. You wake up in horror. Yes, you’ve wet the bed. What will they say? Now, what has this got to do with the Liam Finn album ‘I’ll be lightning’ I hear you cry? I had a sense of shock that can only be compared to the feelings evoked by this childhood nightmare; I awoke from a dream where I was part of a cult that requested I cut off my own arm in order to be ‘pure’. The aforementioned album is what I heard when roused from this dream and like waking up to discover a wet bed (don’t lie, it happened to all of us!) it made me fear that the dream was a reality. Why? Well, creepy vocals from a man with so much facial hair (and at 24!) there has got to be something he’s hiding, mellow beats with seriously dark undertones (subliminal messages anyone?) and ghostly melodies echoing through the darkness certainly realised the cult of my nightmare.
He claims that ‘absolutely anything can happen’ at live shows with his one man band (although he does have a female backing vocalist). However short of him becoming a modern version of Dick Van Dyke as Bert in Mary Poppins (now that’s a great one man band) and disappearing into a picture, I severely doubt he can live up to expectations.
A little harsh perhaps? Well, as the son of Neil Finn (Crowded House) I quite frankly expected more. There are no beautiful pop rock songs in sight. Some praise should be given for effective use of guitar loops and for the scope of emotions conveyed but due to the frustration caused by hearing the promise of something interesting that is never fulfilled I overlook these positive points.
It genuinely bored me enough to send me back into my nightmares. Maybe the cult would let me cut off my ears instead? At least then I wouldn’t have to endure this dull album.
I tried to buy a pen off the conductor at the train station because I had lost mine whilst running to catch my train. Thankfully he was nice enough to give me the pen which enabled me to write the following review. I do not know whether the conductor was into CSS but I can only imagine not.
There has been a fair amount of excitement regarding ‘Donkey’, the follow up to Cansei de Ser Sexy’s self titled debut which was first released in their native Brazil and then internationally through the legendary Sub Pop label. Their first record contained the dance floor favorite “Lets Make Love and Listen to Death From Above”, almost a manifesto for CSS’s brand of guitar driven electro sleaze.
‘Donkey’ keeps the ball rolling, shifting between scrappy Indie and clinical Electro Pop. From the first track it is apparent that these songs work both on and off the dance floor and CSS seem to steer clear of the affliction that bands like Simian and to some extent Hot Chip have suffered from, namely making good songs yet requiring a reworking by some third party in order to make great songs. In contrast ‘Donkey’ is a finished product, the hard synth is there and so are the bouncing bass lines, sparse guitar riffs and straight forward vocals. “I’m gonna jump up on the table and dance my ass off till I die”, “Rat, Is Dead”.
It is hardly Dylan Thomas, but then it has to be viewed in the context of the song. Here the words become more Pop Art statements than decisive social commentary and while they sometimes verge on almost playground simplicity things are always kept to the point and the flow is never broken .CSS have essentially produced a record of songs that you can dance to whilst being a bit more interesting than the standard Indie chart fodder. The Dance influence seems sincere, this is undoubtedly what CSS are about, not just some post production afterthought because the ‘eighties’ and Rave are cool right now (on a side note I seriously believe it will only be a matter of time until ‘Nu-Rave’ Margaret Thatcher T shirts start turning up in high street stores). From the Curesque “Beautiful Song”, “How I Became Paranoid” being reminiscent of New Order and “Move” which features textured guitar melodies similar to that of The Smiths there is an evident celebration of what went down twenty years ago.
While the record opens with the bold and the funky “Jager Yoga” and is followed by the straight forward single “Rat is Dead (Rage)” the album’s other single, “Left Behind”, is the straight out winner. Noisy electro buzzing mingles with relentless beats, a story about a jet setting booze hound whose life on the road is marred only by lost love culminating in soaring chorus, it is a sure fire winner.
Donkey is a mix of dance floor beats and hairspray/leg warmer Pop. Quite simply, if the movie ‘Tron’ had featured a night club scene I can only imagine it would have sounded something like CSS’s latest offering.
I had ended up pretty far from home. I was drunk, limping and plagued by a hacking cough induced by too many Lucky Strike cigarettes for some one who claims not to smoke. More than anything I fond myself in a place I did not want to be, a club specifically, surrounded by predictable music and people I did not particularly want to be around. Rather than concede defeat and nod along to jokes that I did not find funny and make the appropriate responses to conversations that I find near intolerable for the simple fact that life really is to short, I decided to take control. I walked off without a word, went outside, found a cab and asked what direction home was. “That way.” said the cab driver, gesturing with a chubby index finger. Then he added,“But it’s about thirty miles…” “That’s fine by me.”, I replied. After all, I had a head full of savage ideas that I needed to work out, a load of alcohol pumping round my system I needed to walk off and nothing better to do for the next seven hours.
So I walked off into the night, first down the side of the motorway, then through fields where I was chased by horses or else fell down hills into bramble bushes. I tried walked along the side of the road for a time but found the ground suddenly fell away into a ravine, so I had to clutch to the barrier and edge my way along. I climbed over wire fences and through trees, watching the eighteen wheelers scream past, up concrete banks under overpasses and then through corn fields as the sun slowly rose behind me painting the clouded sky from violet to peach. I ate apples off the trees I passed to quench my thirst and found myself back on the side of the motorway just in time for the police to pull and ask me what I was doing , but I did not care. I had hit the road rather than play somebody else’s game I had no interest in playing; there was a bizarre sense of victory there. More importantly I also had my MP3 player with Micah P Hinson on repeat the whole way and I am sure that is what kept me going.
Though a fellow Texan and label mate of White Denim, Micah P Hinson inhabits a musical plane that is very much his own. According to the press release he has had one hell of rollercoaster ride to get to where he is now; drug addiction, prison, back injuries, telemarketing, Hinson has seen the worst of and this latest record shows these battle scars.
“Micah P Hinson and the Red Empire Orchestra” was like finding a log cabin out in a field somewhere, a dim glow coming through the windows and beckoning for me to come in from the cold. I knock at the door and someone lets me into a shadowy room lit only by kerosene lamps. I can tell there are people in the shadows round the room but I cannot see them properly, instead only being able to make out vague shapes. Yet I can see the Hinson clearly, he is sitting in the centre of the room and begins reciting the lyrics to “Come Home Quickly, Darling” in his Texan drawl, joined by a simple acoustic guitar line and a sparse piano riff emanating from the darkness .He sounds world weary until the piano and guitar lifts when Hinson’s voice suddenly shows hope and enthusiasm. As the record progresses Hinson stands and walks around the room, turning up the burners on the lamps dotted around, thus revealing the musicians in the shadows one by one. Guitar, banjo, piano, organ, drums, fiddle, and other voices join Hinson to create powerful musical background. I am in the company of Country musicians of sorts, but these are no ‘rhinestone cowboys’ and you would not dream of interrupting Hinson as he paces around this room to ask if he is for real.
“Tell Me It Ain’t So”, “The Fire Came up To My Knees”, “Dyin’ Alone”, each track is like a page from a diary describing woe and misfortune. Single passages are repeated over and in those few lines everything that needs to be said and could be said is laid down, naked, exposed and sincere. The record seems to go on forever, yet in a short space of time, until it finally ends, after which the kerosene lamps finally go out and I have to leave and carry on with my journey into the night, yet somehow lifted by these experience.
I eventually stumbled into a village not too far from home, cut and bruised, sneakers soaked through, completely drained. I made it to a service station, bought some soft drinks and collapsed o the grass outside. Laying there I felt the warmth of the sun at the start of another day, closed my eyes and drifted off. Hinson’s voice still rattled around my head, the final words before the lamps went out staying with me all the way.
What would we find? What would we say? And what would we mean?
From the opening track ‘Fingers and Tongues’ you know automatically that you are onto a good thing when you listen to the new release ‘Mountain Meadows’ as a follow-up to the Juno-nominated (Canadian Grammy) ‘Ambassador’ by Elliott Brood. The UK’s The Sun newspaper who recently reviewed the new CD claimed, “ It’s bleak. It’s black. It’s brilliant.” And for the first time ever I actually agreed with something that The Sun newspaper had to say.
Elliott Brood is another Canadian hard alt-country import, whose music is infused with the hard stomping beats and strong guitar riffs that portray another side of the Canadian Diaspora and its gift for lyrical storytelling. The lead singer’s voice takes us on a Wild West journey up through the mountains and down through the valley and closer to the mountain meadows than we have ever been before.
Here we experience Garden River, The Valley, Chuckwagon and Miss You Now, which are just some of the standout tracks on the new album (although W.I.A.D.F.Y is most definitely my favorite track). Each song has its own distinctive and unforgettable story and theme, and each, in my opinion, is worthy of its own individual praise. For me, to list the entire track order would just be ridiculous – you’ll just have to listen to the CD yourselves to catch strong mountain breeze that you feel when you listen to their music.
Elliott Brood are Mark Sasso (lead vocals, guitar, banjo, ukulele), Stephen Pitkin (suitcases, percussion, vocals) and Casey Laforet (guitar, vocals, bass pedals).
‘Mountain Meadows’, by far, is musically and lyrically one of the best Indie albums that I have heard this year.
"Over the past year and a bit in our travels we've found ourselves in some interesting places… We chose to record in cabins, old town halls, front rooms and back rooms of houses and in good old recording studios, waiting and allowing those special moments to happen." - Elliott Brood
While the opening track (Walking) of their debut UK album, Visiter, sounds like authentic slab of American folk, complete with contrasting guitar and banjo, it quickly becomes clear that The Dodos are much more than a couple of hicks from the sticks. Hailing from the West Coast of America, The Dodos offer up a unique blend of acoustic folk rock and traditional West African drum rhythms with just a hint of electronica. While the drum rhythms tend to dominant (almost like a dance remix in a way) on songs the overall acoustic sound and the melody of the gentle vocals of Meric Long are never entirely lost. This album has a great raw feel to it with not too much in the way of post-production. It certainly captures the energy and spontaneity of their sound, which is exactly the way folk music should be heard. Despite the experimental and almost, at times, chaotic nature of their sound, the Dodos never seem to forget how to craft a catchy tune out of the constantly shifting rhythms and melodies of their songs. Their songs have enough of a hook for to still be humming the tune to tracks like Red and Purple and Fools for the rest of the day.
If nothing else The Dodos are certainly innovative, having taken the basic elements of two completely different traditional genres and successfully blending them together into what sounds like a faithful, and at the same time, completely modern take on traditional folk music. And if The Dodos recorded output is anything to go by, they should certainly prove to be an exciting prospect to see in a live setting when they visit these shores for a full tour in September (see their Myspace page for details). Until then I thoroughly recommend picking up Visiter when it comes out for some fresh sounding ‘Frisco folk-rock to enrich you summer.
Music is confusing sometimes. Manta Ray are an obscure Spanish prog outfit. Manta Raya are a kooky Argentinian electro three-piece. Both make songs in Spanish and English. Yep, it’s enough to make your brain ache. Here we speak of Mecha, George and Quique, a.k.a Manta Raya, whose debut album Yeah! fuses electro, punk, and new wave along with the more contemporary sounds flaunted by Hot Chip, CSS and Simian Mobile Disco. The final ingredient? Muchas alcohol. With the foundations for every song on ‘Yeah!’ lying in synth heavy melodies and mechanical drumbeats it could soon get tedious. Fortunately things are kept interesting by frontlady Mecha who’s dirty mouth picks up where Lovefoxx left off, at times her voice dripping with so much energy it sounds more like a crazy rant.
‘Show me love before the night is over’ she squeals, talking of drunken hook-ups on ‘Cool Plans’, backed by a barrage of bleeps. Next it’s off to the downright filthy ‘Couche Moi’, which for those not up on dirty French roughly translates as ‘Sleep With Me’. Opener ‘Chula’ is a surreal journey through the life of a dog who ‘only cares for fucking’ whilst ‘Naranjas’ hints at what The Knife’s ‘We Share Our Mothers Health’ would have sounded like had they grown up in Argentine sunshine rather than cruel Scandinavian winters. Weird, filthy and a whole lot of fun.
Kidda, on first glance, may be easily confused with the notorious, girl electro-fit “Kid A”, alas these two similarly named artistes are more different than pie and...bad music? Album opener “Strong Together” sounds as though it was made to advertise Muller Yoghurt or Nappies; the xylophone (which carries the main tune) is an instrument which, unless used in irony, can damage the credibility of an otherwise good track. Despite this track being mediocre at best, the xylophone really does stir up a rather odd emotion, which at this moment can only really be described as hatred for Kidda. Second track “Under The Sun” continues the theme of confused genre and over use of a million different instruments (such as 80’s echo vocals, loop trumpets and a beat master drum effects machine), despite this, Bacardi have somehow chosen this track to feature in their upcoming TV ad?!
Imagine Notorious B.I.G in full clown getup accompanied by the brass section of the philharmonic orchestra’s rejectees (add in some children singing for good measure of course) and there you have it, perhaps by trying to appeal to too wide an audience, Kidda instead creates confused infusions of genres never meant to mix, a musical equivalent of a heroin overdose if you will.
Their influences are said to be blood, sweat and tears. No not the band, but according to The Sugars, the reality. The Sugars are a three-piece originally from Leeds and there is something essentially refreshing about their musical style. With band member, Anna’s almost June Carter esque vocals conveying lyrics of effective simplicity like ‘you stabbed my little heart in two and now I don’t know what to do’ and a theatrical use of music that is on par with The Hush Sound and Panic at the Disco; The Sugars exude blues to rival the 1940s. Yet they manage to maintain an air of modernity that accompanies this with tracks like ‘Black Monday’ and ‘Unnamed Duet’ sounding more like something from a Yeah Yeah Yeah’s album.
It is this diversity that works in The Sugars’ favour as if the album had swayed entirely in one of the two ways detailed, particularly to the latter, it is unlikely to have been very memorable...more like headache inducing.
However, overall the album’s bursts of 1940’s style and jazz instruments that would inspire the likes of Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy, teamed with all the folky eclecticism of Karen O, The Sugars’ debut album, The Curse of The Sugars, is worth a listen.
Two years after first making waves in the UK alternative scene, Dorset’s very own Secondsmile now return to make an even bigger splash with the follow-up to 2006’s ‘Walk Into The Light And Reach For The Sky’, aptly titled ‘Years’. Despite being the time elapsed between the two releases, the title could also allude to the musical progression, real or perceived, that the band has made in that time as well as the effort put into this album. ‘Years’ certainly sounds huge, a feat accomplished partly with the help of veteran producer Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Two Gallants) and the mastering skills of equally renowned Greg Calbi (Ramones, Sonic Youth, Mogwai…) during the band’s stay in New York. But credit also has to go to the band members themselves, raking the cash together for the trip and making the most out of their stay. The opening track ‘Smokestacks’ for example, is a wide-screen but low-key crawler of a song, building up beautifully from the kick drum beats in the intro to a tornado of spotlessly clean guitars and poignant vocals courtesy of an in-form Ross Smithwick. By contrast, ‘Stars Away’, with its dodgy beat and harp-like guitars is very reminiscent of BSM-labelmates This Town Needs Guns, whose Dan Adams in fact provided trumpets for the song.
Having moved on from the slightly messy post-rock of their debut album, Secondsmile have audibly put a lot of thought into how to streamline their songs while keeping that intricate, edgy feel. Judging from the fascinatingly dense but frail, thickly layered but permeable sound of the record, they have succeeded. The only detrimental point that could be made about ‘Years’ is that it atmospheric but not necessarily melodic, and at 50 minutes can be a bit testing. However, repeated and attentive listening will bring out the best in this album, a release that everyone involved with can and should be proud of.
Everyone involved in this release have pulled out all the stops to create something that surpasses Secondsmile’s pre-established musical boundaries. There is a new pop dynamic added to the mix, although the band’s previous vigour remains intact. The result is a tight collection of masterfully written melodies and instrumental hooks, both bold and beautiful. The lavish, elegant strings of ‘Good Night Sleep Tight’ and the trumpet of the maudlin ‘Stars Away’ are juxtaposed seamlessly with the abrasive edge of opener ’Smoke Stacks’, with its feedback-laden arpeggios, major chord strums, rumbling bass and pounding drums; and the propulsive power chords of ‘Long Road Home’ with its soaring vocals, and an intro that brings to mind the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Maps’. The production has also gone up several notches in quality, sounding both meaner and crisper than before. There are echoes of Elbow, At The Drive-In and ‘Bends’-era Radiohead in the compelling, nuanced songwriting on display here.
The Watson Twins are genuine twin sisters from the Deep South of America, who have since relocated to the City of Angels to share their talents with the world. Despite having upped sticks and left home a decade ago, these two southern belles still manage evoke the genuine sound of traditional American country music. Their debut album ‘Fire Songs’ is a nice blend of American country/folk rock with modern pop counterbalancing the haunting melody of the twins’ voices. Unfortunately it seems in their quest to achieve a perfect sounding record the Twins’ have lost all sense of identity and originality. If I’m being charitable, then I can’t fault the Twin’s overall sound, because it cannot be denied that Fire Songs is great sounding record. It’s just I really can’t help feeling that I’ve heard it all before. The opening line of the song Old Ways, for instance, “You’ve got angel eyes/ But you’ve got devil’s blood” sounds so predictably “country” it’s painful. The cover of The Cure’s Just Like Heaven is another case in point. Again it’s a predictable affair (like all the other songs on the album if I’m honest) that’s been slowed down into a turgid ballad and I’m sure that if you weren’t aware the song was a cover you be forgiven for thinking it was just another original, it’s that similar.
While the Watson Twin’s safe and sanitised brand of country pop makes for suitably gentle, and laid back, late night and early morning listening it’s really little more than background music. I strongly suspect even if you like this sort of style of music you will struggle to listen to this album in any sort of meaningful way. The Twins’ are (another) one of those bands who sound great at what they do, but yet stubbornly refuse to put their obvious talents to better use by creating something with a hint of originality.
My review copy of this album came covered in stickers warning that if I dared to copy it, they knew where to find me (Presumably, so I could be hunted down and killed by angry record execs). And who can blame them? Partie Traumatic is one of this year’s most anticipated releases, after the Florida five-piece’s recent chart success with ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You’. The first track on the album, ‘Hit The Heartbrakes’ (which also featured in demo form on last year’s Wizard Of Aahhs E.P) sees singer Reggie Youngblood explaining to a girl that “It’s not me, it’s you” over a synth-pop backing.
Even better is the title track, which reminds me vaguely of Mark Ronson. As bad as that sounds, don’t let it put you off, as you’d be missing out on a superb slice of Bowie-esque pop.
The band’s Cure influence is obvious – especially so on ‘I’m Making Eyes At You’, which sounds suspiciously like a funkier version of ‘Close To Me’, complete with Robert Smith mewl.
‘I’m Not Gonna Teach…’ sees Youngblood play around with gender, like a Morrisey for the 21st century. Couple this with a killer chorus and Bernard Butler’s excellent production and you have the album’s standout track, which is sure to destroy at your local indie disco, forcing even the most cynical scenesters on to the floor.
Final track ‘Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo) is more of the same, but the album shows signs of flagging by this point, and, disappointingly, the best tracks already feature on Wizard Of Aahhs. However, Black Kids show definite promise, and are great fun, if nothing else.
There’s no need to worry about me stealing this album – I’m keeping it to myself…
izzie Voodoo is a one woman dynamo from Barnsley who creates a dirty, dark electronica sound on her debut album 'The Push'. The first adjective that comes to mind when hearing this album is 'home-made'. That will probably sound like a criticism, but in this age of DIY music being spread to the masses through the internet, 'home-made' no longer means 'bad'. The home made feel comes from the approach of using simple, repetitive beats on the majority of the tracks and then layering the vocals and bass over the top. This is not complicated music, but the best music shouldn't have to be complicated to be interesting. The best and most memorable music often is very simple and this is memorable music. It's also nicely varied. If this was one of those albums where all the tracks sounded the same it would be a dire listening experience, but the variety works very well.
From the publicity photos available izzie seems to be trying for the electronica/goth/industrial crossover market and the track where this flavour comes most to the fore, 'Chaos', is ironically the weakest on the album. The musicianship is excellent and the vocal delivery exhilarating, but the lyrics have an ill judged sci-fi overtone that just seems to be trying too hard. I love sci-fi and I love Industrial Electronica, but these are two things that should not be mixed. However the other styles are approached very well. 'Least Resistance' is pure Trip-Hop and if I'd been told it was by Massive Attack or Portishead I would not have been at all surprised, 'Neat 17' is classic down-tempo electronica that is eerily effective and 'Xylene' comes across as an electronica remix of The White Stripes.
The true stand-out tracks on the album however are 'Sound', 'Play Bomb' and 'The White Line'. 'Sound' was a finalist in a VH1 sponsored song writing contest last year and it fully deserved to be. It's a pulsing, exciting electro thrill ride of a track. 'Play Bomb' is a self-confessed poppy and tongue-in-cheek track that has a truly hypnotic beat layered with fun lyrics that you will be singing to yourself for days and 'The White Line' has a dark, disturbing sound and a virtually spoken-word lyric dealing with cocaine. It's an unexpected pleasure to have at the end of the album and feels like a cross between Grandmaster Flash's 'White Lines' and PF Project's 'Choose Life'. For these three tracks alone the album is worth spending the very reasonable price of £6.95.
I'm torn about the future of izzie Voodoo. If she got snapped up by a major label, which her excellent music deserves, she would undoubtedly be encouraged to make the music more complex and deeper. Part of me would like to hear that, but another part of me knows that this simplistic, exciting approach skips straight past your critical faculties and buries itself in the pleasure centres of the brain. Whatever the future, for right now this is a great album that everyone with an interest in dark electronica should own.
'The Push' is currently available on iTunes, 'Sound' is being released as a physical single on 7th July and the physical release of 'The Push' is July 21st.
Ever since I was forced into listening to late night country radio shows on Radio 2 as a small child, I’ve remained permanently sceptical about the greatness of country and ‘Americana’ music. Upon reading in the press release just how much praise this album had received from DJ’s of said station, I was worried. Certainly, there are points on the album that are so crudely Americana that the finger lurches towards the skip button. However, much of the album is driven by cheerful melodies and intricate musicianship that should soundtrack a sun soaked summer in a nostalgic sort of way. In parts, the end of track three for example, lyrical repetition spoils a suitably upbeat track, “You’re telling me/you’re telling me/you’re telling me” the offending phrase.
Track 5 is set to a cheeky little tune, brimful of acoustic guitar and mandolin creating a quirky Spanish edge. Musically, I can gleam tastes of country pop maestros the Cosmic Rough Riders, guitar intros that wouldn’t sound amiss on a Jeffrey Lewis number and suitably average paced but canorous choruses.
This album is extremely well made. Vocally however, there are far too many harmonies and Americana yodelling for it to successfully change my irrational opinions of modern country music. If you like this sort of thing, I’m sure you’d love it.
Rascalize is the debut album from the indie rockers The Rascals, it initially sounds similar to The Last Shadow Puppets of which lead singer and guitarist Miles Kane is also a member of, however as you give the album more time to wash over you hear darker undertones mixed in with the northern style of modern day musical poetry. The album has an urgent pace to it that will not fail to delight the listener with it’s funky, dark, indie sound that combines clever, well articulated lyrics with catchy instrumentals. That album as a whole is a marvel to listen to, every track screams of the blood, sweat and tears that must have been used in it's creation.
Tracks that really stand out for me are 'Does Your Husband Know That Your On The Run?', a dark sounding track with some sublime and earie guitar playing that just makes you stop and pay attention. Another track that stands out from the rest is 'Freakbeat Phantom'; an amazingly energised song that won’t let your feet standstill to, this is a song that infects you with the need to tap along. Finally I would say that 'People Watching' would be my other standout track on the album with its fast paced music splice mixed between the lyrics.
The album, in my mind, is an astounding achievement for them and really brings to the forefront of people's minds the sublime quality of music that is currently coming out of the UK. It’s an album that enlightens the listener and it’s definitely an album that you need to have in your collection!
Standout Tracks: Does Your Husband Know That Your On The Run?, Freakbeat Phantom & People Watching
Its been a long three year wait since The Subways Young For Eternity graced stereos across the world and it was with eager anticipation that I put the new album 'All or Nothing' into mine and cranked the volume right up. The first word that springs to mind is... amazing. The Subways sound has changed in the three year gap since hearing their first release. It’s matured with a healthy dose of some west coast rock into the mix which could be attributed to the album having been recorded in Los Angeles with legendary Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins producer Butch Vig, giving a really rich and diverse sound to their new album. The new album treats the listener to fourteen sublimely amazing tracks that leave the senses charged and ready to go!
It really does live up to its title of 'All or Nothing', as you can tell that the band have put there all into the album, there’s no listening to this album just the once you’ll have it on repeat from the moment that It hits your music of choice.
The Opening Track 'Girls & Boys' is reminiscent of their original sound that certainly drew me in when I first heard them! The album progresses with varying sounds and tempos that I can best associate to a night out, hitting it hard to start, slowing the pace down and then going for it again.
'Alright', the third track on the album is a more laid back sounding track combining the vocal talents of Billy Lunn and Charlotte Cooper in a fabulous manner with the uncompromising musical style of then band. 'Shake! Shake!' follows this, it's a perfect way of bumping up the tempo and giving you something really special, a song that energises the listener and has the potential to rejuvenate the night when you get to that point where everyone starts to tire.
This album is, in short, fantastic and I have to say a favourite of mine over some of the releases of recent months. It’s a release that shows music how it needs to be appealing to both new listeners and fans alike. Its an album with magical healing powers that really impresses! If it does nothing else for you this summer it will give your summer a guaranteed boost.
Hey Rosetta! A six-piece Canadian indie rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland already known for their energized live shows and unique stage presence.
The band creates a massive, layered big-band sound that incorporates the sometimes more emotional and evocative elements of music combined with stirring band chants. This all interplays against the traditional elements of piano, violin, cello, folk and pop-rock in an un-conventional and audibly workable musical base. Having garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base following the release of Plan Your Escape, Hey Rosetta! joined forces with well-known Canadian singer/songwriter Hawksley Workman who produced this musical potpourri gem, Into Your Lungs.
This release is sure to catapult Hey Rosetta! into international superstardom adding another notch to the Canada’s musical bedpost and another gold star for Mr. Workman.
Not since the Arcade Fire has music been so liberally and emotionally explored as it has on this album. Lead singer Tim Baker connects very hard vocally with the audience and when he sings, ‘I’ve been asleep for a long, long time,’ on the self-named track, you believe it. There is nothing that would convince you otherwise as you are taken on a musical exploration of a rather sensual, yet dark side of Hey Rosetta! across a vivid and musically abstract landscape.
From ‘New Goodbye’, to I’ve Been Asleep For A Long, Long Time’, to ‘There’s An Arc’ and ‘Handshake The Gangster’ and throughout the entire album, the music interplays between folk, rock and pop seamlessly. There are delicious moments provided courtesy of Kinley Dowling on violins, loud saxophones, a funked-out cello, harmonious yet hard guitar riffs combined with a thumping drum-rock crescendo that hits hard and fast on quite literally almost every, single track on the album.
Into Your Lungs shows that Canada still has a lot more to offer the world and that our musical journey is just beginning and far from over. With young, upcoming new Indie talent like Hey Rosetta! coming to the forefront of new Canadian music, we are shown once again that there really are no limits to what you can achieve and the great musical heights that can be reached.
Hey Rosetta!, by the time you read this, will be probably playing in a LARGE concert venue near you soon.
Everyone has had THE dream as a child. You don’t wet the bed anymore, honest, but you’re still young and fragile….and you dream THAT dream where you just can’t find a toilet. You wake up in horror. Yes, you’ve wet the bed. What will they say? Now, what has this got to do with the Liam Finn album ‘I’ll be lightning’ I hear you cry? I had a sense of shock that can only be compared to the feelings evoked by this childhood nightmare; I awoke from a dream where I was part of a cult that requested I cut off my own arm in order to be ‘pure’. The aforementioned album is what I heard when roused from this dream and like waking up to discover a wet bed (don’t lie, it happened to all of us!) it made me fear that the dream was a reality.
