Filed under: stuff 'n nonsense | Tags: beautiful star, the songs of odetta
Filed under: news, trouser press | Tags: alan pedder, lou rhodes, one good thing
Lou Rhodes
One Good Thing
[March 15; Motion Audio]
The first release to come from Jason Swinscoe of The Cinematic Orchestra’s new imprint Motion Audio, a partnership with distributors Ninja Tune, One Good Thing is the third solo album from Lamb frontwoman Lou Rhodes, and the successor to the Mercury Prize nominated Beloved One. In the intervening years, Rhodes has endured some perspective-altering hardships that manifest themselves in these songs, most notably the grief following the death of her sister which pours into ‘Janey’, but the album has moments of levity too; the title track is about looking for the incidental happenings that can raise a smile even when things look unremittingly bleak.
Filed under: album, review | Tags: close-up, love songs, matt barton, suzanne vega
Suzanne Vega
Close-Up Vol 1, Love Songs •••½
Amanuensis Productions
For her first project after 2007’s critically lauded but commercially unsuccessful Beauty & Crime, Suzanne Vega revisits her back catalogue to give fresh spins on some classic material. The first in a planned four-part series of themed albums “to be released over the next two years”, Close-Up Vol 1, Love Songs does just what it says on the tin – offering up some of Vega’s finest “love” songs in a stripped-down style. Of course, some might argue that an acoustic rendering of Vega’s material, which so often was acoustic and stripped-down anyway, is redundant, but you can’t fault the sublime grace and quiet power of the writing. Fortunately, Vega does include some surprise song choices that are obviously more revelatory than those that stay closer to their studio originals. The subtitle Love Songs is not quite as simple as it may seem where Vega is concerned; a writer of literary sophistication, she is of the Leonard Cohen school of evocative imagery and poetic inventiveness. There is rarely a word out of place, and each song is delivered with a cool poise. Here, she explores, among other topics, erotic sensuality (‘Caramel’, ‘Stockings’), romantic anxiety and anguish (‘Song In Red & Gray’, ‘Bound’), and existential musings (‘Small Blue Thing’) with a keen eye for detail, and anyone who has followed her 25-year career will know that there has never been a dip in quality.
Filed under: album, review | Tags: charlotte richardson andrews, go grey, megan remy, u.s. girls
U.S. Girls
Go Grey ••••
Siltbreeze
On first listen, the patriotic, sorority evoking moniker of Philadelphia-based DIY ingénue Megan Remy seems rather discrepant. Go Grey is nine songs long, full of hissing feedback, lashings of reverb and stripped back, high impact, psychedelic noise. But this second album, from an artist who allegedly carries all the equipment she needs in one suitcase, actually harbours many a thread of Stateside originated genres. With hallucinogenic sounds evoking the futuristic space-age pop that rose out of the ’60s and ’70s, fused with the kind of ’50s-inspired lo-fi experimental punk styles that are currently raging, Go Grey glitters with veins of discernable influences but manages to sound avant-garde and decidedly original all the same.
Filed under: feature, voice on the verge | Tags: alan pedder, interview, queen bee, the langley sisters
voice on the verge #45: the langley sisters
visit The Langley Sisters on Myspace
With The Ditty Bops, The Puppini Sisters, The Good Lovelies and now The Langley Sisters, there’s no shortage of ladies breathing new life into the nostalgia-driven league of close-harmony vocal groups with a hip-swaying surety. What’s more, behind the bright costumes and hairpinned coiffures, these women are all accomplished musicians and songwriters. London trio The Langley Sisters may not have the striking androgynous visuals or eco-warrior aspect of The Ditty Bops, or the unbridled wink-wink cheek of The Puppini Sisters, but they have a modish appeal of their own. Unlike the Puppinis, they are actually related, and their music is characterised by a mingling of classic-era Hollywood romance and fantasy with rootsy Americana production (applied so expertly by Ed Harcourt) and a very British vocal sensibility.
Gita, Rose and Edie recently released their first physical release through Velvet Blue Music, a limited edition white-vinyl 7″ fronted by the brilliant, feisty ‘Queen Bee’ and backed with the sensitive ‘Someday In The Past’. To mark the occasion, we sent them our trusty questionnaire. In return, we found out the recipe for ‘Trampagne’, which Langley thinks R Kelly is “a modern-day Mozart”, and for whom their songs might be musical Viagra.
Filed under: album, review | Tags: east is east, katy knight, pepi ginsberg
Pepi Ginsberg
East Is East ••••
Park The Van
Good news for fans of perennial Wears The Trousers favourite Pepi Ginsberg: she’s back, and her musical evolution continues apace. Following 2008’s art-pop release Red comes her new long-player East Is East, again produced by Dr Dog’s Scott McMicken, this time featuring a superband of hand-picked musicians, each of whom has added their own whimsical layer to the Ginsberg sound (from guitar effects produced only with the hands to cookie sheets used in with the drums). Conceived during a drive along the Montauk highway while listening to Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde, the album was intended to sound like the experimental lovechild of Dylan and Deerhoof, and both sides of the genepool run deep here; a ‘hoofian jittery, spluttery percussion style perfectly complements the bold and visionary lyrical approach that has unmistakably been formed from years of exposure to Dylan, the way fine wine is imbued with the scent of the oak barrels in which it is matured.
Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: maxie gedge, the chantels, vivian girls
Vivian Girls
‘He’s Gone’ (The Chantels cover)
Like thick strawberry milkshakes, palm trees and old, worn-in denim, Vivian Girls make us feel good. Their sunny dazes send us into reverie, erroneously reminiscing on the best times of our lives. ‘He’s Gone’, the B-side of forthcoming single ‘My Love Will Follow Me’, is an a cappella cover of The Chantels’ 1957 hit, appropriately recalling the softer side of a style that Vivian Girls are giving a modern-adolescent update, shoving some retro classic down the throats of every teenager who’s cool enough to listen. And it’s very feminine. And we love it. Locking together, the three girls’ voices walk as one, drifting precariously into American suburban chic, each one rebelling and swaying but eventually getting drawn back into the wave of sweet, sweet noise. The song itself is a good choice too. The lyrics and minor-sounding harmonies echo the darker elements of the band when armed with their instruments, dripped in gloomy nihilism and surf-punk garage rock. Live, this song is even more of a dream, as if summer has come very, very early. MP3 after the jump.
Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: cardiac malformations, maxie gedge, thus:owls
Thus:Owls
‘Climbing The Fjelds Of Norway’
They may not live there but with this twinkling beast of a song, Sweden’s Thus:Owls effortlessly transport us to the landscapes of their geographic neighbour. An immediate accolade is the syncopated rhythm section, which is almost experimental in its minimalism and movement, considering the pop intentions of the song. The result is pretty epic and, along with the vocals, evokes the likes of The Joy Formidable or, if we’re being crude, Björk. Chief songwriter and frontwoman Erika Alexandersson (formerly of solo project eRika) has a stunning voice that manages to be both flailing and piercingly resonant, endearing us with an accented melody that moves and morphs without glitch. ‘Climbing The Fjelds Of Norway’ is a beautiful, beautiful song. Thus:Owls’ debut album, Cardiac Malformations is out on March 1; if this song is anything to go by, look forward to a whole forest full of enchanted treats. MP3 after the jump.
Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: harriet ohlsson, hellsongs, oh harry, susie mcconnell
Oh Harry
‘Now That We Found Love’
Anyone familiar with the unconventional stylings of Swedish heavy metal covers band Hellsongs will no doubt be excited by the arrival of solo material from recently departed frontwoman Harriet Ohlsson. Going by the name Oh Harry, Ohlsson has produced a delicate cover of the O’Jays’ 1973 classic ‘Now That We Found Love’. Like a Scandinavian Regina Spektor, Ohlsson leaves plenty of space for contemplation in her sparse, gentle arrangement. Despite the anticipated gimmickry (Hellsongs take rock classics and turned them into lounge music), the origins of the song are soon forgotten once the melancholy strings and piano notes demand your undivided attention. Every note sung in Ohlsson’s sweet, caramel voice is enough to make you wish you had a broken heart to accompany it. ‘Now That We Found Love’ is the perfect soundtrack to a quirky indie romance flick. Handclaps, harmonies and a little bit of broken heartedness; what more could you want? Ohlsson’s debut album Arena Rock (named after an effect she used in GarageBand whilst recording) is due later this Spring. MP3 after the jump.
Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: smoosh, terry mulcahy, widdershins
Smoosh
‘We Are Our Own Lies’
By drawing out an unexpectedly saccharine centre from their music for 2006’s Free To Stay, sisters Asya and Chloe took a step toward a brave new world of polished electro-pop. By sanding down the rougher edges of their debut, their notably smoother second offering was a bold statement that they gave not two hoots for speculation that their age would dictate the level of polish they were capable of. Yet whereas on that album the pair never strayed too far from their comfort zone, on comeback single ‘We Are Our Own Lies’ Smoosh have taken one giant leap into strange territory. And an epic landscape it is too. Exploring a mass of new tricks on her keyboard, Asya has created an emotionally complex mix of sweeping, tragic, synthesised strings and ticklish piano while Chloe reigns in her formerly chaotic drumming to set a defiant, militant beat that perfectly offsets her elder sister’s spine-tingling arrangement. The piece is rounded out by an unexpected development of Asya’s vocals, which now swoon from the poetry of Bjork to the effeminate theatrics of Silverchair’s Daniel Johns. It’s a delight to see the band shatter all expectations so elegantly, and bodes well for the soon-to-be-released new album, Widdershins.
Scanners
Submarine •••
Downtown
We all have a sell-by date. It might not be marked on a plastic wrapper that encases us but there is no mistaking our disposability. Scanners frontwoman Sarah Daly reminds us of this fact on ’Jesus Saves’, the opening track of their second album Submarine. Reminding people of their inevitable end is an uncompromising way to begin, but it’s fairly typical of much of what follows. Scanners don’t live in a hearts and flowers kind of world it would seem. Formed in 2004 by Daly and guitarist Matt Mole, the quartet have been rumbling around on the indie scene for a number of years without a significant breakthrough into the mainstream. Sometimes it’s hard to understand why; in Daly they have a charismatic lead and the music they produce, while peculiarly angular and rarely cheerful, has both credibility and accessibility running right through it.
