Red Horses in the Snow- ‘Territories’

Bold, lofty marketing to say this album “explores themes of space in the age of technological acceleration” leading to explorations of contemporary alienation. This is what the press release for ‘Territories’ by Red Horses in the Snow says, but sadly the record itself doesn’t quite articulate itself so deftly.

The album starts in reasonable if plodding style with ‘Airborne’ which uses the initial stuttering guitar arpeggio as a springboard for broad, inoffensive waves of minor distortion.

‘Santa Irini’ starts promisingly- initially floating and cosmically shrouded in shimmering layers. Before long, however, it starts to get lost in some perma-stoned, quasi-psychedelic 90s shtick. The band is undoubtedly influenced by some seminal shoe gaze bands. Which is perfectly fine. Only they sound more like the residue of a weaker Sigur Ros or Cocteau Twins rather than a preferable, if unoriginal, duplicate of these band’s finer moments.

On ‘Rosemary’s Song’, the album takes a truly testing, grueling turn. Five minutes of suitably bored vocals and a guitar part which presumably is supposed to be an introspective arpeggio but in fact just sounds like someone sporadically hammering the final aimless nails into the coffin of this drab rehash of 90s haziness that was never that good in the first place. Wishful thinking? It really grates.

Perhaps this is a masterpiece in post-modernist meta-sonics by a band who understand art better than we. In wishing to express lament, depression and introverted alienation in contemporary times, perhaps RHITS are purposefully creating a record which is barren of all joy, a dark sponge of a record which eats up any traditional notion of enjoyment in order for us to truly grasp the record’s themes. Wishful thinking? It really grates.

Perhaps the temporal dislocation which the press release speaks of can in fact be connected with ‘Territories’. The album and band exist in an odd, untouched puddle of space and time. Strangely, no genre is truly theirs; yet they have a shadow of many. Occasionally they get it right and are placatory and willowing. But overall, the album is just a smorgasbord of different diluted, uninspiring genre conventions with no real flesh behind it.

Justice ‘Audio Video Disco’

A lot has changed since the French twosome Justice were in their pomp and considered the coolest thing since le pain en tranches. It is no longer 2007 (or 05/06 if we’re to truly going to get on our Nathan Barley shaped high horses here). We’ve now got bigger fish to fry than birds with flu, Zinedine Zindane’s monstrous and brilliant butt is a thing assigned to the recesses of youtube memory and Obama is now more debt plan than Batman. Importantly, the kids who were spearheading lovey-dovey mosh pits at Justice concerts- all neon-ed up and feeling invincible off their first and best taste of MDMA- are now older, wearier and probably unemployed in recession Britain/World.

The point being that it’s hard to see where Justice- whose music was always quite schlocky and emptily bombastic- fits in now. Whereas the irresistible hooks and jerks of ‘Cross’ made it easy to overlook their occasional tackiness, on ‘Audio Video Disco’ Justice sound to have run out of both steam and ideas.

There’s definitely a strong rock theme here, particularly in ‘Horsepower’ and ‘Canon’, for example. But unfortunately this doesn’t remind you of Daft Punk rocking the fuck out on ‘Robot Rock’, rather it makes you think of James Hetfield in the 90s, waking up and feeding himself with cocaine and booze for breakfast while wondering how he became such a pastiche of himself. Washed up is the phrase I think.

Strangely on ‘Audio Visual Disco’, everything is wrapped in layers of references and duplications, creating a strange context. Metallica? The Who? Queen? They’re all in here. But it’s not like Justice use notable samples or re-edit old songs, rather they create an odd, sticky layer of sound which pastiches old rock songs. Often they just sound like some West End rock musical which strains to suggest certain songs- imply a musical era or style- without ever infringing on copyright by doing full on cover versions.

‘Audio Video Disco’ does have some highlights to pick out of the rubble. ‘On ‘n’ On’ stands out with its cool, clipped funk and quasi-gangster bounce. ‘Parade’ is another semi-gem (even if it does sound a bit like Carlos Santana riffing over Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’) with its sinister build up and reasonably satisfying eventual beat drop.

Unfortunately these moments are too few and far between to make this album anything more than a strange mismatched collection of half arsed and meandering electro songs. Four years is a long time between first and second albums (particularly in the hyper-accelerated world of electronic music) and Justice would probably have been better off just attempting ‘Cross’ pt2 rather than the limp, crude ‘Audio Video Disco’.

Interpol at Sheppards Bush Empire, 23/03/2011

It’s not often, if ever, the case, but somehow this time around Interpol have managed to slip into the busy London gig milieu without many people seeming to notice and certainly without the general barking of hype from various different publications such a band would normally warrant. The band did a small tour of the UK earlier in the year, but this London date was added as a seemingly one off affair, aired live on XFM. This only makes tonight’s gig more special- the air of quiet exclusivity matched by the stature of a band that can simply walk in, barely announced, through the back door and still create such a buzz.

We’ll get this out of the way now; Right from the opening chords of ‘Success’ to the final and epic wig out of ‘Not Even Jail’, the gig is unbelievable. Interpol have perpetually seemed ‘The Elder Statesmen of Indie Rock’, but now that they have actually reached an age (sort of) where they may legitimately be tagged such a thing, the ‘Elder…’ label sits on them better than their impeccably fitted suits. This probably isn’t anything actually to do with age, but has more to do with the way they carry themselves. The band’s singer and undoubted leader, Paul Banks, is more assured than ever. Even when singing in his trademark baritone about being on the verge of existential meltdown, he is captivating and controls the crowd with ease.

The band play a perfect set; knowing that the fans will certainly allow for new (and, let’s face it, not quite as good) songs, but not at the expense of their true old favourites, Interpol balance new and old material perfectly. ‘NYC’ is as huge and shimmeringly out-of-body as it ever was, ‘Evil’ is typically amazing (not least for guitarist Daniel Kessler’s floppy limbed dance) and ‘Obstacle 1’ propels itself into more of a jittery, emotive slab of post-punk than the recorded version ever was. On the other hand, ‘Barricade’ and ‘Memory Serves’ are fantastic, while ‘Lights’ is genuinely brilliant in a shit yourself this is really haunting kind of way.

‘Rest My Chemistry’ is probably the set’s highlight. The song springs to life out of the spooky piano, developing outward from this into a monolithic, hypnotic beast of a song which sways the crowd around sinisterly. By now, Interpol are the masters of their live show. Often standing stock still, silhouetted powerfully by blinding lights, the participation and energy of the gig transfers from what songs they play and how they play them. Just the sheer epicness (for want of a better word) is enough to captivate the crowd throughout and even warrant a couple of mosh pits tonight.

‘Not Even Jail’ provides the curtains for the gig; the constant stomping beat, the characteristically poignant guitars and Banks’ soaring voice all provide the perfect climax. The song ascends and descends, climaxes and collapses into fits of atmospheric reverb, then builds itself up again. And, finally, with a prolonged drone of echoed feedback, the song, and the gig, finishes and the lights go up. A magnificent and apt end. The crowd filters out looking genuinely astonished and uplifted.  When it comes to post-punk of that shadowy but undeniably big ilk, Interpol are still the best.

Soulwaxmas- Brixton Academy 17/12/10

I think this happened.

Like the kaleidoscopic, catch-all nature of their music taste and DJ style, Soulwax, 2ManyDJs and their various other splinter groups of remixers seem to attract a nicely diverse cross section of the public.

Or at least the public the right side of 30. Let’s have a look: tonight, stomping through a bitterly cold Brixton we have indie kids, office Christmas parties, 18^th birthday parties, couples on dates, raving lunatics, casualties from a bygone era of dance, crackheads, celebrities…In other words, Soulwax and 2ManyDJs have, justifiably, gone from something of cult dance act on the margins to a bona-fide event in their own right and Soulwaxmas is the actual event’s event which has gone from strength to strength to become the larger-than-Christmas festival which runs for night upon night and attracts anyone up for a good time.

Soulwax do what nobody else really can; they manage to wear synchronising cream suits and not look like dicks; they play dutty electro on real instruments and it doesn’t suck; and they blur the borders between dance and rock, without sounding like a pastiche or cliché. Soulwax, after a long career still in momentum, are- even when playing songs five years old- perennially cutting edge.

Next Zombie Nation’s set is masterfully constructed and expertly paced. His jittery, helium powered synth lines provide a great juxtaposition to the lumpy, ballsy bassline while the percussion and beats work themselves into strange frenzies of dementia before some almighty drops. It’s all quite perverse; near panicky, quite claustrophobic and definitely disorientating- but basically fantastic when abandonment grants those beer ‘n’ beats disciples the dance floor. He might seem ever so slightly out of place in such a large auditorium but this dark tourettes-electro sure has legs. Believe.

With a linear smoothness that just oozes professionalism, there’s barely a pause for breath, a quick spec wipe or a hefty, beery shuffle to the busy bar if you’re that way inclined before Zombie’s off and 2ManyDJs are on for the main event.

From the get go, 2ManyDJs are mesmerising. It is, without much doubt, surely a form of brainwashing; The absolute sensory overload of bright flashing lights, the quick blinking images of pop culture references with machine gun velocity, the whiplash way in which the DJs throw us from one song to the next- and perhaps back again, the snippets of popular songs that trigger a feeling of recollection down your synapses before you can even figure out what it actually is…it’s all so disorientating, enveloping and goddamn fun. Add beer to the mix and the effect is like a teenaged ADHD sufferer shaking your brain really fucking hard whilst playing on his DS, surfing the internet and turning the knob of an FM radio through all the stations at the same time. Long live Soulwaxmas.

Although not raising it’s ugly head for a considerable length of time, Spotted Dick has been dormant, not dead. Now it’s back in fully fledged action, attempting to warm the cockles of your heart which November has already began to erode. Spotted Dick November 2010

Enjoy.

1. Teebs- ‘You’ve Changed’.

The words, ‘you’ve changed’ have such a negative connotation that it’s hard not to think of them without picturing some brutally betrayed, perpetually miserable poor sap talking to his ex-best pal in the rain. However, if anyone I knew changed into anything akin to this song by Tweebs, I’d probably propose marriage, buy a house and settle down for a life of dreamy, beautifully whacked out synth pop.

2. Gold Panda- ‘India Lately’

In a year- or a good couple of years actually- in which IDM artists have seduced the entire blogosphere and music press into smitten fan boys and girls, it’s great to see Gold Panda surpass all the high expectations we had of him and create what could very easily be the album of the year.

3, Caribou- ‘Sun’ (Patten remix)

Oop, talking of intelligent dance music (I’m a fan of continuity), Caribou has a new remixed version of his brilliant album ‘Swim’ out. Although as an entire album it’s hard not to be a bit sceptical, this remix by the excellent Patten is exactly the kind of loose, zonked out experimentation which Caribou’s more concise synth-pop lends itself so well to.

4. Gauntlet Hair- ‘Out, Don’t’

Denver is, for some reason, proving to be something of a hotbed for really interesting variations on scuzzy noise bands at the moment and, sounding a bit like Battles with a real human soul- not just binary code- inside them, Gauntlet Hair are leading the pack.

5. Spectrals- ‘Peppermint’

Leeds’ Spectrals has a new e.p out now (imaginatively entitled ‘A Spectrals Extended Play’) and, ignoring the vague apparition of The Libertines which is slightly too easily conjured, this is a rather charming little song.

6. Bathcrones- ‘Damselfly’

Bathcrones is absolutely incredible; transcending freely between otherworldly sounds of the deep sea and the outer space, this is music of a truly autonomous and inspiring nature. The album, ‘Psychorama’, is out now. Check it out for more electronica Enya style audio meanderings.

7. Jay-Z – ‘December 4th’

As 4OD (other internet video on demand technologies are available) keeps telling me, Jay-Z has a best of coming out soon. Let us ignore this lame attempt by a record company to milk their most productive cash cow dry and celebrate the fact that Jay-Z is, if you remember, a great rapper and pop star.

8. DJ Nate- ‘Make ‘Em Run’

Possibly the most tacky thing I’ve heard all year. There’s just some undistinguishable, intangible feel to this overly brash and classless song which makes it an absolutely bassy, stuttery club banger.

9. Lil Wayne- ‘A Milli’

He’s free! Now take 3 and a half minutes out of your time to allow Weezy to explain exactly why he’s so ill. Motherfucker.

10. Aphex Twin- ‘Analogue Bubblebath’

Well apparently, after lying dormant for several years, Aphex Twin is set to erupt soon with lots of new material. Volcano metaphors….Anyway, the man has claimed he has six albums worth of stuff written and recorded, so the sooner this sees daylight, the sooner the world becomes a slightly better place.

11. Deerhunter- ‘Coronado’

The way Deerhunter so nimbly navigate the tightrope separating full on pop and the way off centre avant-garde is nothing short of spectacular and beautiful. This song, off what could well turn out to be the band’s best album, is as uplifting and playful as anything you could imagine. It’s so audaciously vivacious that it becomes hard not to smile like a moron when listening to this song. A fucking saxophone. Not just popping up at the end for a quick tooty solo, but weaving it’s way through the whole song structure with aplomb and raw, tender optimism.

Spotted Dick November 2010

Let’s not concern ourselves with how’s the weather, nice see you. No formalities and preambling. Here’s a playlist:

Spotted Dick 18 July 2010

Sleigh Bells- ‘Crown on the Ground’

I’m not sure who crashed who’s party on this. It was either the divas in high heels and nice dresses shaking their hips and drinking white wine before going out on the town, or it was the metal heads getting all pungent and hairy with their slabs of distorted guitar. It’s a really tough one to call. The results, though, are fucking fantastic.

The Drums- ‘Let’s Go Surfing’

This song is quite possibly the only tune which The Drums possess, but with it’s breathy vocals, whistling interludes and carefree chorus, it’s quite a tune.

M.I.A- ‘Bucky Done Gun’

M.I.A’s new album, MAYA, is a beauty to behold with it’s flitting between WOBWOBWOB chainsaw sound effect dubstep and Lady Gaga style unfiltered pop moments. Unfortunately, it can’t be tasted on Spotify as of yet. So here’s an oldy.

Gayngs- ‘Cry’

Rarely have late night smoking sessions turned into such fruitful endeavours. You can practically feel the seismic shifts inside of your whole being, you get the sense of a huge, game changing realisation even if you haven’t actually had one.

Holy Fuck- ‘Stilettos’

Holy Fuck’s new album is, once again, a masterclass in experiemental post-rock and this song is a perfect example of life affirming such instumental, semi-noise albums can be.  The band at times reign in the concentration for very controlled interludes, but then at other points really let rip and seemingly let the music carry them with little freewill.

Lady Chann- ‘Sticky Situation’

Amazingly dirty dancehall dub which I bet will turn into a massive crossover hit. What’s that? Loads of white people with flat peaked caps and trigger fingers in the air, singing along in Jamaican accents. Why not?

Mount Kimbie- ‘Serged’

Their debut album, ‘Crooks and Lovers’, will be ‘dropped’ any minute and can be streamed various places online. It promises to be something very special. With atmospherics to give Burial the shivers (ok, perhaps not quite) all mixed up with spooky cut ‘n’ paste vocal samples and the odd bleep to propell in forward motion, this a duo which is intruiging as it is exciting.

Local Natives- ‘Airplane’

Despite the occasionally clunky lyrics, this is a very nice song indeed isn’t it?

Snoop Dogg- ‘What’s My Name?’

Glastonbury, Wireless, Manchester and various other places: Snoop’s invasion of the UK is a much welcomed one, hands thrown in the air, spliffs sparked left, right and centre and good times all around. Thank fuck they gave him back his visa.

LCD Sound System- ‘Get Innocuous! (Soulwax remix)’

James Murphy has said he’s to put a lid on all things LCD related. This news is a painful pill to swallow. On the flip side, however, Murphy Murph has also said that in doing so he hopes he will be able to work on certain collaborations such as with Soulwax. Now, if this here song is just the result of Soulwax merely remixing LCD, imagine the results if they worked together on a fully blown co-lab. The mind races and the mouth waters. Just get the fuck on with it.

Wet your pants, it’s Glastonbury soon

It’s nearly that time again when a healthy portion of the British population decamps to a big farm in Pilton for a few days and everyone who doesn’t crosses their fingers for rain. When the BBC and the Guardian tend to forget anything else is going on in the world. When bona fide dreams are made, chemical excesses reached and body clocks pulverized.

It’s Glastonbury soon, logic suggests it is likely to be very, very good and so here’s a playlist of stuff what is going on at the festival.

Wet your pants, it’s Glastonbury soon

Dot to Dot Festival 2010, Nottingham

You know the score: lots of bands, lots of venues, one city, one wristband, chaos ensues and so on. Let me tell you this though: Nottingham was one of the first to initiate the now very popular phenomenon of the one day city festival. Just think about that when you’re queueing for you Gaymers in Camden next year next to some fucking trilby wearing div with a Libertines fetish so hard he’s forgotten it’s not 2004. Yeah…

On to the infinitely more important and interesting matter of music then. One of the first band’s of the day is South London’s Fiction in the Bodega Social. The room is packed but that’s not to say it’s gonna be easy. At first, the sharp, contorting pop of Fiction raised a few middle aged eyebrows accompanied by little exasperated mutterings of  “Fucking Lundon…innit?”. However, before long the crowd really began to warm to the band. With the Eno meets Byrne vocals, the stomping and simplistic drum patterns and the jagged guitar parts, Fiction somehow make you twitch nervously yet manage to smear a silly grin across your face. Excellent way to start the day and if you were to have a flutter on which of this year’s Dot to Dot bands will do the old ‘Played small venue at the festival. Got massive by the time of next years festival. Used by the organisers to promote/show off’ (ala Klaxons, The XX, Wild Beasts), you could do worse than choosing Fiction.

Next the hunt for good music and not-actually-that-cheap-booze-considering-it’s-a-student-union-in-Nottingham leads us to see Small Black upstairs at Trent Uni. The place is awash with pretty happy people and Small Black accompany the good vibes with aplomb. The New Yorkers fill a space somehow between Beach House and Washed Out (both of whom are relative heavy weights on the day’s bill) and they might have been expected to provide us with some fashionable shoe-gaze pop whilst averting their trendy stares blankly towards the floor. Do they oblige in this? Do they bollocks. Good natured Dad dancing, uplifting beats and something far more substantial than of-the-moment-dream-pop is what Small Black give the good folk of Nottingham, resulting in one of the surprise successes of the day.

After a ridiculous wait for a burger at Spanky Van Dykes causes me to fucking miss Washed Out (the burger is alright, it’s a bit dry and a few more chips wouldn’t hurt anyone) , Rock City and Wild Beasts beckon. Last time they played Dot to Dot, Wild Beasts had just released their debut album and entered Rescue Rooms barely noticed. Back in 2008 they slightly embarrassed themselves by getting all falsetto in the faces of about five people. Not to mention embarrassing myself since I dragged a number of people there with talk of it “being a big one”. Great things come to those who wait though, and tonight Wild Beasts are the greatest band of the festival. Utterly enchanting and mesmerising at times as much as they are lighthearted and fun at others, this is a band riding triumphantly to the peak of their game and showing little signs of stopping.

After some serious patio raving, a missed Beach House set and palms beaten almost raw from pounding out the rythms of ‘Idioteque’ on the tables of Rescue Rooms, it’s time for Los Campesinos! in the main Trent Uni room. There’s quite a turn out here for the band but, unfortunately, it’s not something they can capitalise on. This can’t quite be described as a lacklustre performance, but more one implying exhaustion and possible burnout. They try to rouse themselves and the crowd, bless em, but aside from the perpetually fun ‘You! Me! Dancing!’, there seems little sustenance to the frameworks of their songs.

Down in the Rock City Basement now are the newest and brightest of Nottingham’s sons, Dog is Dead. This youthful five piece have recieved much fostering by the organisers of Dot to Dot, but the large and enthusiastic crowd is testament that their 9.30pm slot is far from unjustified. Their spikey but uplifting melodies are perfect for a festival and you can practically see a thousand teen hearts swelling and breaking around the room. Dog is Dead soar together and contort individually, displaying a musical understanding of one another which is genuinely amazing. There’s no question about it: This is a great band going places.

From here it gets a little hazy. JakWob in Rock City did a hell of a lot of basic, thudding dubstep and Zane Lowe after him probably provided a good mix of things. Not really sure about that one. Casiokidsended the festivities in apt fashion with their set in the early hours at Stealth providing a greatly unfocused, wobbly knees up.

Once again, Dot to Dot is a success and the great folk of Nottingham show little sign of tiring of the bank holiday staple. Long may it continue.

This is some of the music I’ve been grabbing at like a chubby fingered kid at the pic ‘n’ mix stand:

I’m late to the Fool’s Gold party, but fuck it; being late, being fashionable- it still means something in this mixed up world right? Anyway, this is a great collective who are really quite impressive purveyors of the sacred art of having slightly intellectualised, but  no less pleasurable, fun.

Fool’s Gold are part of the increasingly popular school of bands who do not create music drawn exclusively from a vacuum of the western world and (for all the success of Vampire Weekend, El Guincho, Beirut et el) they actually manage to make something rather original of their tropical, worldly influences. Fool’s Gold create uplifting, interesting music to stimulate the mind as much as ardent dancing feet, and when Luke Top’s rich, phlegmy Hebrew vocals enters each song, there’s really something worth getting excited about.

Fool’s Gold- ‘Nadine’

http://www.myspace.com/foolsgold

Coming over all light headed and summery at the start, George Fitzgerald’s ‘Don’t You’ builds until it is, eventually overcome with the dark, dull thud of the bassline and the shrouding, reverberating waves of synth. Keeping himself in the good company of Joy Orbison and his label Doldrums, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Fitzgerald is already showing signs of mastering the ways of finely tuned, subtle, loving and soulful dance music which echoes a sort of nostalgia whilst very much pushing things forward.

George Fitzgerald- ‘Don’t You’

http://www.myspace.com/georgefitzgeraldmusic

Being caught in two minds isn’t often a good thing. Missing opportunities, looking like an idiot, breaking down: these things can happen to you when you dilly dally, undecided on the perimeter of some fast approaching important decision. However, when, on ‘Bang Bang Cherry’, Hook and The Twin don’t seem to be able to decide whether to internally implode in a fit of crippling anxiety or just dance like Ian Curtis being tasered, it ends in some unusually fantastic results.

Hook and the Twin- ‘Bang Bang Cherry’

http://www.myspace.com/hookandthetwin

There’s something immensely interesting and magnetic about ‘Fire Dream’ by Patten, especially in the way the song is constructed. The minimal beat is surrounded by hazy streams of fuzz while the blurred, indecipherable vocals wrap themselves perfectly around the wobbly, forlorn bass. The pumping dread of isolation in this song is both produced and defused by its encompassing nature- like being in a room full of hedonistic pleasure seekers and feeling alone yet an integral part of the masses.

Patten- ‘Fire Dream’ (c90 Demo)

http://www.myspace.com/pattensongs

Xiu Xiu/The Luminaire/26.02.10

Although The Luminaire is probably too small to meet the demands for tonight’s show, which sold out months in advance, its aesthetics reflect the ethos of both the band and tonight’s promoter, Upset The Rhythm, they’re both here for your entertainment but they take what they do very seriously. This is epitomized in the sign saying ‘Please be quiet. If you talk during the bands we will tell you to shut up.’ Anyone who thinks this is a little harsh should probably not bother with Xiu Xiu. Both on record and on stage this band are an intense experience where every tiny sound that makes up their songs is worthy of your attention. A perfect example of this tonight is during one song when the backing beat is so loud that not only can you feel it in your chest but it delicately shakes the various symbols stood around Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo which, deliberate or not, just sounds incredible.

While up to now I might be making this pair sound too serious for their own good and its worth noting that this wondrously avant guard project does have its ‘hits’ and several of the songs tonight do get some dancing out of the crowd and even though the debut of the title track from their new album Dear God, I Hate Myself it sounded like it had the potential to be once it becomes better known.

Xiu Xiu have the respect of peers and critics alike and while they can sell out a room this size while barely lifting a finger they will never be one of those bands that really ‘breaks through’ and its probably them who least of all want that. The venues will get slightly bigger but it will always be an enlightened minority who find it fascinating to watch this seemingly shy and unassuming pair smash their fist into keyboards while palying music through a DS.

You can and should buy their new record Dear God, I Hate Myself now. Also, here is their website which is kept up to date with their various musings. Below is a song that will be up for a week for your sampling pleasure.

Xiu Xiu-Boy Soprano

Also, to the girl behind me who had clearly taken about twenty seven pills and smelt worse than my housemate who doesn’t wash it was nice that you insisted on apologising to me every single time you barged into me but if it is absolutely necessary to be that fucked could you just go to Fabric or some other soulless pit next time?