Hello, this is a music blog. If you like what you read, I have more reviews at www.toneandgroove.com.
Golden Silvers’
True Romance
XL Recordings
This band is at its best when they keep things light, bouncy and for the dance floor. When they try to make pronouncements about love and life, they preach, and the music falls flat. Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good here, and even though in the end this isn’t a bad album, it’s also not good enough to recommend. [http://www.myspace.com/thegoldensilvers]
Andrea Weiss
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
New Reviews
Hello,
This is a music blog. If you like what you read, I have more reviews at www.toneandgroove.com
The Cave Singers
Welcome Joy
Matador Records
Imagine the Sadies as a folk band, quieter musically, but like the Sadies, their lyrics deal with hard times and hard living. That’s The Cave Singers, a trio from Seattle, and this album is their debut. It is a very good album, with hushed vocals, gently strummed guitars, and drums that whisper, all meant for quiet times, and for a great late night nightcap. [www.myspace.com/thecavesingers]
Andrea Weiss
Watch Me Fall
Matador Records
Reatard follows up his acclamed 2006 singles compilation Blood Visions with his first proper full-length album Watch Me Fall. The sound of the album is the speedy punk of the Buzzcocks combined with the melodic roar of Husker Du in their prime.
Lyrically, the words are a blur, as they race along with the music. In general, they seem to be about panic, paranoia, and bad times. He also throws in a couple of songs about succeeding against the odds no matter what.
This album is a lot of fun to listen to. The energy of these songs is infectious. Reatard doesn’t take himself too seriously, and that’s good, otherwise this album could have been one long whine. It’s recommended for these reasons. Speed doesn’t kill here, it’s uplifting. [www.myspace.com/jayreatard]
Andrea Weiss
This is a music blog. If you like what you read, I have more reviews at www.toneandgroove.com
The Cave Singers
Welcome Joy
Matador Records
Imagine the Sadies as a folk band, quieter musically, but like the Sadies, their lyrics deal with hard times and hard living. That’s The Cave Singers, a trio from Seattle, and this album is their debut. It is a very good album, with hushed vocals, gently strummed guitars, and drums that whisper, all meant for quiet times, and for a great late night nightcap. [www.myspace.com/thecavesingers]
Andrea Weiss
Jack Pinate
Everything is New
XL Recordings
The laid back groove Pinate has on his new album is only marginally better than the jittery new wave singer/songwriter sound he had on his debut Matinee. At least with a smooth shimmy the fact that he has nothing to say or play goes down easy. When he wants to make a meaningful statement it's embarrassingly lightweight: the refrain of “out of the womb, and into the tomb, let’s all die.” Skip it and live.
[www.myspace.com/jackpenate]
AndreaWeiss
Watch Me Fall
Matador Records
Reatard follows up his acclamed 2006 singles compilation Blood Visions with his first proper full-length album Watch Me Fall. The sound of the album is the speedy punk of the Buzzcocks combined with the melodic roar of Husker Du in their prime.
Lyrically, the words are a blur, as they race along with the music. In general, they seem to be about panic, paranoia, and bad times. He also throws in a couple of songs about succeeding against the odds no matter what.
This album is a lot of fun to listen to. The energy of these songs is infectious. Reatard doesn’t take himself too seriously, and that’s good, otherwise this album could have been one long whine. It’s recommended for these reasons. Speed doesn’t kill here, it’s uplifting. [www.myspace.com/jayreatard]
Andrea Weiss
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Hello. This is a music blog. If you like what you read, I have more reviews at www.toneandgroove.com
Julian Plenti
Julian Plenti is…Skyscraper
Matador Records
Plenti, AKA Paul Banks, lead singer for Interpol, wrote and performed under this name starting in 1996 to 2001. Banks then put Plenti on the back burner until 2006, when he learned how to make music with the software Logic Pro. That program freed him up to compose songs more than any other program he had tried. In 2008 he entered the Seaside Lounge recording studio to finish the songs with engineer Charles Burst, and Skyscraper was the final result.
The music and lyrics sound Interpol like in terms of the melodies and song structure, and Plenti is still trying to make sense of confusing situations lyrically, much like he does in Interpol. There are some big differences though. The music is lighter, less sharp edged, and while there are electric guitars used throughout the album, the overall sound leans towards indie folk, in the sense that these songs were acoustic songs to begin with, then electrified for Skyscraper. Banks sings without a snarl and softer than with Interpol, and the lyrics, while not exactly cheery, have none of the doom and gloom or sardonic humor that are in Interpol’s songs. In the end, this is a really good album, an album to think to, and a good companion piece to any Interpol album. [www.myspace.com/julianplentinyc]
Andrea Weiss
Julian Plenti
Julian Plenti is…Skyscraper
Matador Records
Plenti, AKA Paul Banks, lead singer for Interpol, wrote and performed under this name starting in 1996 to 2001. Banks then put Plenti on the back burner until 2006, when he learned how to make music with the software Logic Pro. That program freed him up to compose songs more than any other program he had tried. In 2008 he entered the Seaside Lounge recording studio to finish the songs with engineer Charles Burst, and Skyscraper was the final result.
The music and lyrics sound Interpol like in terms of the melodies and song structure, and Plenti is still trying to make sense of confusing situations lyrically, much like he does in Interpol. There are some big differences though. The music is lighter, less sharp edged, and while there are electric guitars used throughout the album, the overall sound leans towards indie folk, in the sense that these songs were acoustic songs to begin with, then electrified for Skyscraper. Banks sings without a snarl and softer than with Interpol, and the lyrics, while not exactly cheery, have none of the doom and gloom or sardonic humor that are in Interpol’s songs. In the end, this is a really good album, an album to think to, and a good companion piece to any Interpol album. [www.myspace.com/julianplentinyc]
Andrea Weiss
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Welcome to All Around Records, a music blog. If you like what you read, I have more reviews at www.toneandgroove.com.
Blue Roses
Blue Roses
XL Recordings
Laura Groves has fashioned a sound that recalls Stevie Nicks, the softer, quieter side of Nicks. Think “Landslide”, with a little bit of early Kate Bush thrown in for lyrical and musical color. It is a good sound, light, airy, mysterious, yet grounded in earthiness. Groves’ singing has a trace of wide-eyed wonder to it, as if she can barely believe what she’s hearing, feeling, and seeing, and is also delighted by it. This delight is reflected in her lyrics, which are filled with fascination for what the world has to offer. In short, a very good, and sweet debut, by a very likeable folksinger. [www.myspace.com/musicofblueroses]
Andrea Weiss
Blue Roses
Blue Roses
XL Recordings
Laura Groves has fashioned a sound that recalls Stevie Nicks, the softer, quieter side of Nicks. Think “Landslide”, with a little bit of early Kate Bush thrown in for lyrical and musical color. It is a good sound, light, airy, mysterious, yet grounded in earthiness. Groves’ singing has a trace of wide-eyed wonder to it, as if she can barely believe what she’s hearing, feeling, and seeing, and is also delighted by it. This delight is reflected in her lyrics, which are filled with fascination for what the world has to offer. In short, a very good, and sweet debut, by a very likeable folksinger. [www.myspace.com/musicofblueroses]
Andrea Weiss
Jarvis Cocker
New, and good remix of You're In My Eyes (Discosong) from his curent album Further Complcations
http://jarviscocker.net/audio/discosong_pilooskimix.zip
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http://jarviscocker.net/audio/discosong_pilooskimix.zip
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Thursday, July 9, 2009
Welcome. This is a music blog. If you want to read more of my reviews, go to www.toneandgroove.com.
Broken Records
Until the Earth Begins to part
4AD Records
Broken Records formed in Edinburgh in 2006. They put out a debut EP in 2006, and three singles in the UK in 2008 that caught fire with the British press.
On the best tracks on the album, the band fulfills their intent to be an indie rock orchestra. The band wants instruments like a trumpet or glockenspiel to be as loud as an electric guitar, and that does happen on tracks like “Nearly Home” and “Ghosts.” The overall sound is smoothly symphonic, but with the grit of a rock band. Lyrically these songs are relationship songs, except for “If the News Makes You Sad, Don’t Watch it,” which is political and social commentary.
The concept goes awry on songs like “Wolves” where the orchestra sounds out of tune and out of step, Jamie Sutherland over emotes with his singing. Nevertheless, the good tracks make up for the bad ones, and the concept as a whole is interesting. This is an album to try, to hear thoughtful words set to thoughtful music and to hear a different take on a rock orchestra. [www.myspace.com/brokenrecordsedinburgh]
Andrea Weiss
Discovery
LP
XL Recordings
Discovery is a super duo. Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot, and Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend have created an album of shimmering, summery, light toned, danceable synth pop. There are no snare drums. Handclaps processed to sound like snare drums take their place. Rostam sings one half of the songs, Wes the other. Both are good singers, modest and likeable. Ezra Noening of Vampire Weekend, and Angel Deradoorian from the Dirty Projectors do some guest vocals,
Lyrically, their concept was to embrace and commentary of the past decade, but the concept comes across much too subtly, making all the songs sound like troubled love songs. That’s not a bad thing. Their take on troubled love is smart, especially on the one cover on the album, the Jackson 5’s “I want You back.” This song was recorded before Michael Jackson died, making the song something of a tribute. However, the song is played for irony, so it’s hard to know how much the band takes the song seriously, and whether it was meant as a comment on Jackson, or a compliment. The processed vocals do add a good wrinkle, as the singing is almost inseparable from the music. It’s one more fun song, on a fun album of very good, intelligent synth pop. [www.myspace.com/discoverdiscovery]
Andrea Weiss
Broken Records
Until the Earth Begins to part
4AD Records
Broken Records formed in Edinburgh in 2006. They put out a debut EP in 2006, and three singles in the UK in 2008 that caught fire with the British press.
On the best tracks on the album, the band fulfills their intent to be an indie rock orchestra. The band wants instruments like a trumpet or glockenspiel to be as loud as an electric guitar, and that does happen on tracks like “Nearly Home” and “Ghosts.” The overall sound is smoothly symphonic, but with the grit of a rock band. Lyrically these songs are relationship songs, except for “If the News Makes You Sad, Don’t Watch it,” which is political and social commentary.
The concept goes awry on songs like “Wolves” where the orchestra sounds out of tune and out of step, Jamie Sutherland over emotes with his singing. Nevertheless, the good tracks make up for the bad ones, and the concept as a whole is interesting. This is an album to try, to hear thoughtful words set to thoughtful music and to hear a different take on a rock orchestra. [www.myspace.com/brokenrecordsedinburgh]
Andrea Weiss
Discovery
LP
XL Recordings
Discovery is a super duo. Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot, and Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend have created an album of shimmering, summery, light toned, danceable synth pop. There are no snare drums. Handclaps processed to sound like snare drums take their place. Rostam sings one half of the songs, Wes the other. Both are good singers, modest and likeable. Ezra Noening of Vampire Weekend, and Angel Deradoorian from the Dirty Projectors do some guest vocals,
Lyrically, their concept was to embrace and commentary of the past decade, but the concept comes across much too subtly, making all the songs sound like troubled love songs. That’s not a bad thing. Their take on troubled love is smart, especially on the one cover on the album, the Jackson 5’s “I want You back.” This song was recorded before Michael Jackson died, making the song something of a tribute. However, the song is played for irony, so it’s hard to know how much the band takes the song seriously, and whether it was meant as a comment on Jackson, or a compliment. The processed vocals do add a good wrinkle, as the singing is almost inseparable from the music. It’s one more fun song, on a fun album of very good, intelligent synth pop. [www.myspace.com/discoverdiscovery]
Andrea Weiss
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Welcome to All Around Records
Hello,
This is a music blog. All kinds of music are reviewed here. If you like what you read, I have more reviews here http://www.toneandgroove.com/. These are my first two reviews:
Stuart Murdoch
God Help The Girl
Matador Records
Murdoch started this project in 2004, but did not finish it until 2009, since he was working with his main band, Belle and Sebastian, and trying to find singers suitable for God Help The Girl. He envisioned the songs on God, sung mostly by women, about the lives of these female characters.
The plot is a little fuzzy. It’s not a straightforward narrative, so the songs don’t quite hang together as a whole. It’s the details that make the songs work: the thoughts, feelings and the lives women are leading, and how they find their places in the larger world. Murdock articulates the thoughts and feelings of his characters so well that a woman could have written these songs with no difference in tone, voice, or content.
“Funny Little Frog” is note perfect about a woman’s crush on a guy who doesn’t know her. Likewise “Perfection of a Hipster” is a half comic, half tragic story about a woman who wants to impress a trendy guy, and she passes out on his couch, wakes up and demands to know what happened while she was unconscious.
Catherine Ireton sings lead on most of the songs. She was featured on the cover of B&S’s single White Collar Boy, and already knew the band. Two of the other voices, Brittney Stallings and Dina Bankole, were chosen after a competition on iMeem. The contest was two demos posted on iMeem that people could add vocals to. Stallings and Bankole had the best voices. Murdoch himself is on two of the songs, Neil Hannon from the Devine Comedy plays the hipster. Asya from the band Smoosh sings lead on “I Just Want His Jeans”. Stallings takes the lead on “Frog.” Anna Miles and Celia Garcia who sing harmonies, round out the singers. Everyone is wonderful; they embody their characters with heart, soul, and intelligence.
Musically, this album draws on several different sources. Broadway musicals show up in the orchestral arrangements written by Mike Cooke, and recorded by a 45 piece orchestra conducted by Rick Wentworth, the composer of Withnail and I. The orchestrations are lush, a firm foundation to build the singing and lyrics on. Another source the orchestra uses is the Brill Building when the songs call for more rock, particularly 80s indie music. The orchestra steps lively on songs like “I’ll Have To Dance With Cassie” and the title song. The other members of B&S also participated, giving the album an early Belle and Sebastian feel as well.
God Help The Girl is wonderful from start to finish. Even though the plot is somewhat confusing, listening to these women is delightful. [www.godhelpthegirl.com]
Andrea Weiss
Future of the Left
Travels with Myself and Another
4AD Records
Future of the Left is a Cardiff, Wales based trio, and this is their second album. Their first album Curses won them much acclaim. They also played well-received shows at SXSW earlier this year. The band consists of singer/guitarist Andy Falkous, Jack Egglestone on drums, formally with McLusky, and bass player Kelson Matthias, formally with Jarcrew.
The band plays solid, well-crafted, hard-edged punk rock. Falkous is, in general, a good singer, although at times he screams a little too much, which is annoying. The biggest problem, though, is that their lyrics are incomprehensible, rendering what is on the surface provocative and thought provoking a headachy bore by the end of the album. Even the best punk rock can’t work around that. In the end, no matter how good the music is, the lyrics make this album one to be skipped. [www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft]
Andrea Weiss
This is a music blog. All kinds of music are reviewed here. If you like what you read, I have more reviews here http://www.toneandgroove.com/. These are my first two reviews:
Stuart Murdoch
God Help The Girl
Matador Records
Murdoch started this project in 2004, but did not finish it until 2009, since he was working with his main band, Belle and Sebastian, and trying to find singers suitable for God Help The Girl. He envisioned the songs on God, sung mostly by women, about the lives of these female characters.
The plot is a little fuzzy. It’s not a straightforward narrative, so the songs don’t quite hang together as a whole. It’s the details that make the songs work: the thoughts, feelings and the lives women are leading, and how they find their places in the larger world. Murdock articulates the thoughts and feelings of his characters so well that a woman could have written these songs with no difference in tone, voice, or content.
“Funny Little Frog” is note perfect about a woman’s crush on a guy who doesn’t know her. Likewise “Perfection of a Hipster” is a half comic, half tragic story about a woman who wants to impress a trendy guy, and she passes out on his couch, wakes up and demands to know what happened while she was unconscious.
Catherine Ireton sings lead on most of the songs. She was featured on the cover of B&S’s single White Collar Boy, and already knew the band. Two of the other voices, Brittney Stallings and Dina Bankole, were chosen after a competition on iMeem. The contest was two demos posted on iMeem that people could add vocals to. Stallings and Bankole had the best voices. Murdoch himself is on two of the songs, Neil Hannon from the Devine Comedy plays the hipster. Asya from the band Smoosh sings lead on “I Just Want His Jeans”. Stallings takes the lead on “Frog.” Anna Miles and Celia Garcia who sing harmonies, round out the singers. Everyone is wonderful; they embody their characters with heart, soul, and intelligence.
Musically, this album draws on several different sources. Broadway musicals show up in the orchestral arrangements written by Mike Cooke, and recorded by a 45 piece orchestra conducted by Rick Wentworth, the composer of Withnail and I. The orchestrations are lush, a firm foundation to build the singing and lyrics on. Another source the orchestra uses is the Brill Building when the songs call for more rock, particularly 80s indie music. The orchestra steps lively on songs like “I’ll Have To Dance With Cassie” and the title song. The other members of B&S also participated, giving the album an early Belle and Sebastian feel as well.
God Help The Girl is wonderful from start to finish. Even though the plot is somewhat confusing, listening to these women is delightful. [www.godhelpthegirl.com]
Andrea Weiss
Future of the Left
Travels with Myself and Another
4AD Records
Future of the Left is a Cardiff, Wales based trio, and this is their second album. Their first album Curses won them much acclaim. They also played well-received shows at SXSW earlier this year. The band consists of singer/guitarist Andy Falkous, Jack Egglestone on drums, formally with McLusky, and bass player Kelson Matthias, formally with Jarcrew.
The band plays solid, well-crafted, hard-edged punk rock. Falkous is, in general, a good singer, although at times he screams a little too much, which is annoying. The biggest problem, though, is that their lyrics are incomprehensible, rendering what is on the surface provocative and thought provoking a headachy bore by the end of the album. Even the best punk rock can’t work around that. In the end, no matter how good the music is, the lyrics make this album one to be skipped. [www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft]
Andrea Weiss
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