Filed under: news, trouser shorts | Tags: alan pedder, feist, grace jones, MIA, sesame street, she and him, zooey deschanel
Grace Jones gets even more scary…
(Watch it in HQ for the full effect.)
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Feist gets even more adorable…
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She & Him get murderous…
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M.I.A. gets even more technicolour…
click here to watch the strange new promo for her webshop
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Alan Pedder
Filed under: album, review, video | Tags: 2008, cansei de ser sexy, css, music, richard steele
CSS
Donkey ••
WEA
CSS seem to have had a tough time of it since their Brazilian art punk debut got the party started in 2006. Allegedly being forced to commit to a gruelling touring schedule with little in the way of hard cash to show for their efforts, the band parted ways with its manager and “seventh member” Eduardo in a less than amicable split. Shortly after, bassist Ira Trevisan decided she’d had enough, choosing to pursue a career in fashion design (or unable to cope with the guilt of her carbon footprint, depending on who’s story you believe).
Filed under: album, review | Tags: 2008, amanda palmer, music, sophia rawlinson, the dresden dolls
The Dresden Dolls
No, Virginia •••
Roadrunner
Once the sole province of those-in-the-know and firmly plugged into the US indie underground, Brechtian punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls have seen their popularity edge further and further upwards with each new album and prestigious support slot (Nine Inch Nails / Panic! At The Disco). No longer the secret of a select group of adoring fans, it’s fair to say that a great deal of expectation surrounds the quirky twosome. Given the title of third release (2003’s live album A Is For Accident makes four if you’re picky), No, Virginia, one would be forgiven for anticipating a coherent follow-up, if not a response, to 2006’s Yes, Virginia. Instead, what is offered here comprises rarities, B-sides and assorted oddities culled from the band’s relatively youthful career. Such treasures may be like old friends to the Dolls’ ardent fanbase but still serve as a worthy addition to any casual listener’s record collection.
Filed under: EP, review, video | Tags: 2008, helen lawson, music, richard steele
Helen Lawson
Crossing The Bridge EP ••••
Lye Green
Singer-songwriter Helen Lawson has been a regular on the London live circuit for some time, whetting our appetites with quietly confident gigs that introduced her as an emerging artist worth watching. Following a guest appearance on last year’s AntiAtlas album, Between Voices, her keenly awaited debut EP, Crossing The Bridge, is finally here…and it doesn’t disappoint.
Filed under: album, review | Tags: 2008, laetitia sadier, monade, music, seb law, stereolab
Monade
Monstre Cosmic •••
Too Pure
Right from the dreamy opener ‘Noir Noir’ with its franglais lyrics and soft, inviting soundswirl, it’s evident that Monstre Cosmic is yet another slice of delicious reverie from Stereolab vocalist Laetitia Sadier, here in the guise of her side-project Monade. With a handful of strings, generous spoonfuls of prettily programmed synths and Krautrock-esque beats, and a pinch of wistful melancholy, Sadier’s tried and tested recipe is, like a good Delia Smith, classic, tasty and civilised.
Filed under: news, trouser press | Tags: rosie thomas, the organ, alan pedder, leigh nash, sarah mclachlan, dar williams, nikka costa, sixpence none the richer, jolie holland, manda rin, bis, pinkie maclure, pumajaw, music, news
- more Sarah McLachlan reissues on the way
- new Jolie Holland album coming in October
- The Organ come out of retirement, temporarily
- two more Christmas albums previewed
- Dar Williams takes us down to the Promised Land
- new Nikka Costa coming out on Stax
- rummage through Pumajaw’s Curiosity Box
- Manda Rin (ex-Bis) announces debut solo album
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With a reissues and repackaging programme that rivals even Björk’s for its sheer audacity, Sarah McLachlan is set to release not one but two more stopgap releases this year. Hot on the heels of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff Vol. 2 comes an as-yet-untitled greatest hits package and a Legacy edition of her multi million-selling album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. The latter staples together the original album and its live-in-the-studio counterpart The Freedom Sessions with a DVD transfer of McLachlan’s 1994 VHS Fumbling Towards Ecstasy – The Home Video.
Released on August 11th, the press release says that it includes “bonus material on each disc that makes it a must-have for true McLachlan fans”. Except it doesn’t; well, not as far as we can tell from the Play.com listing. Yes, there’s a piano version of ‘Possession’ tacked onto the original album and an alternative version of ‘Hold On’ closing out The Freedom Sessions, but both of those have long been available on these releases in the UK. In fact, this reissue seems to be down a bonus track, omitting the version of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue’ originally packaged with the original album. Not that it matters, you can get that on at least two other releases.
The greatest hits (due in October) sounds more inviting on paper with the promise of two brand new songs. McLachlan’s manager Terry McBride certainly seems to be very excited about them, writing on his blog: “It is amazing to hear Sarah McLachlan’s voice again. There is a purity to her magic as it’s from a heart that is wide open and bare in its naked emotion. The melodies are addictive, the lyrics personal to each and everyone, and the delivery is both spine chilling and uplifting. The airwaves sincerely need her energy. There will be many tears shed, many in happiness, when these songs get released.”
Presumably the other tears will be shed by those who have been forced to buy a zillionth version of ‘Adia’ just to hear something fresh! Fans can expect to hear the first of the two new songs next month.
