The Decemberists - 'The Crane Wife', 2006, Download, 10 tracks, Capitol
I first heard this band on an indie album chart show on 6music back in 2005. The name kind of stuck in my head, and coupled with consistently good reviews across the board, the band stayed on my radar. I'm glad they did as '
The Crane Wife' is pretty good. I love the way that seemingly humble instruments are massed to sound epic, in a kind of '
New Adventures In Hi-Fi'-era R.E.M. did. There's also hints of Placebo in here, along with persistent name-droppers Belle & Sebastian. I've only heard this a few times, so the track names are not sticking out at me yet, but certainly the epic three-parter '
The Island' is a belter. This is a consistently good album, and yet another band to add to the 'further investigation' pile. Best track: '
The Island', overall 7/10.
Saint Etienne - 'Good Humour' 1998, CD, 11 tracks, Creation, £2.00, MVE Notting Hill
A definite piece of back-catalogue collecting here, putting in the last remaining articles in the Et's collection. Really, this is more of the same from Cracknell, Stanley and Wiggs. There's nothing on here as good as '
He's On The Phone' or the classic '
Only Love Can Break Your Heart', but instead is filled with more fluffy synth-pop numbers seemingly designed to lift you from everyday city life. But Saint Etienne do this so well, and the album works, as do most of the rest. You have to be in the mood for such sugary treats, and with summer coming that mood will take hold more and more often. Best track: '
Sylvie', overall 7/10.
Black Box Recorder - 'Facts Of Life', 2000, CD, 13 tracks, Jetset, £2.00, Soul & Dance Exchange, Notting Hill
I have always wanted this album, but have never found it cheap. Far better than it's successor '
Passionoia' this album contains the solid gold pop gems '
The Art of Driving' and the title track. The rest of the album deals with typical BBR subject matter, sheer Englishness (before the binge-drinking Burberry madness that constitutes national identity in 2007) in the form of our wet summers, useless motorway systems and bad sex education all delivered with Sarah Nixey's inimitable bored tone. Genius. Best track '
The Facts of Life', overall 8/10.
Album Leaf - 'Into The Blue Again', 2006, CD, 10 tracks, Sub Pop, 50p, MVE Notting Hill
Bit of a strange one this. I bought this after hearing it playing downstairs in the main music exchange. The opener is a real haunting, cinematic piece hugely reminiscent of Craig Armstrong. The rest of the album is less dramatic and certainly more wistful...like an acoustic Air. Upon doing a bit of research it looks like this artist is akin to Sigur Ros, and that the back catalogue is more worthy than this, his most recent album. I'll have to check the rest of it out methinks. Best track: '
The Light', overall 7/10.
Rolling Stones - 'Let It Bleed', 1969, Download, 9 tracks, London
A bona-fide classic, and so far the favourite of the Stones albums I own. Every track on this has really stood the test of time, from the deep-burn of opener 'Gimme Shelter', blues shamble of 'Country Honk' through to the epic closer 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. For me, the desire for this album came out of my love for the opener. 'Gimme Shelter' resides comfortably in my top 10 cuts of all time due to it's winding melody, impending sense of social collapse, fraught lyrics and emotive wails of guest vocalist Merry Clayton. Most of the rest of the album sees Jagger and co returning to rock's blues roots to great effect, although for me the album is overshadowed slightly by the sublime opener. Best track 'Gimme Shelter' (surprised?!), overall 9/10.
Manic Street Preachers - 'Send Away The Tigers', 2007, Download, 10 tracks, Columbia
A return to form from the Manics? No. This album whilst not quite continuing the downward trend experienced since the classic 'Everything Must Go' sees the band scrabbling for a return to the sonic bluster of that era. Lead-off single 'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough' is poor, even with the lyrical talents of moonlighting Cardigans warbler Nina Persson. Other tracks, whilst hunting for the classic buzzsaw Manics sound, come off more like stadium rockers Aerosmith, or U2, see 'Autumnsong' and 'The Second Great Depression'. There are some good tracks on here, opener and title track 'Send Away The Tigers' punches it's own weight, and 'Imperial Bodybags' is classic proto-political Nicky Wire. To put the album as a whole into some sort of perspective, it is far better than 2004's disastrous 'Lifeblood', although that shouldn't be that hard. Hopefully this will have some longevity to it, for example 'Know Your Enemy' has aged well and I still enjoy it now...whereas I'll probably never listen to 'Lifeblood' ever again. The album's artwork is also a bit dodgy...I mean Severn Bridge...Richie Edwards...tchhhh. Best track 'Send In The Tigers', overall 6/10.
Secondly, a brand new album out today (25/6/07) in the UK, it is New Young Pony Club, a band that made the end of year Top 20 in singles last year. I think the album is fantastic and that absolutely everyone should go and buy it...This track is the most recent single: The Bomb
Finally we have Client. Three exceptional ladies, including Dubstar's old singer (yay, Dubstar!) making electro-minimalist tunes. Heartland, their third LP came out earlier this year and I reckon this is the standout: Monkey On My Back
With no support act to stand through, the lights went down at approximately 8:30 and a flourescent cube lit up from centre-stage. Two dancers emerged, followed by two backing singers eventually followed by the PSBs, who charmingly met in the middle, shook hands and took up their positions. Starting up with 'We're The Pet Shop Boys' the first touch of perfection came from 'Left To My Own Devices'. Equal parts epic and poptastic this for me, surprisingly early on in the set, was the definite highlight.
