David Bowie

The Best Records of 2016 – Part 1

Posted on by edwardlayland

If there is one dead cert in the world of music writing, it’s the end of year list – the golden opportunity to wax lyrical about all the uber cool shit we’ve been listening to through the year that we totally believe every other fucker should also be listening to. I’m just as guilty as the next pensmith; I mean, I’ve already done two – one for Already Heard ( http://alreadyheard.com/post/154430616852/record-of-the-year-2016-staff-lists), another exclusively on thrash metal albums, although in fairness it was a retrospective article analyzing the genre with a top 5 attached (https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/thrashback-best-of-2016/)

But lets face it, here in the blogosphere it’s basically a totally subjective list and isn’t really worth shit, unlike the top ten we came up with at AH (http://alreadyheard.com/post/154422480446/already-heards-record-of-the-year-2016) which involves several contributors. So, the final list is a kind of representation of the site’s view of the world of alternative rock, and therefore a pretty useful piece of retrospection. Anyway, my top ten is there, along with the site’s top ten, but I have to say that probably wouldn’t be a definitive list, nor would another one that I might write tomorrow. So what’s the point?

However, there is surely some value in celebrating some of the seriously cool records that have had an impact on me this year. It doesn’t need to be a top ten. They don’t need ranking. It’s enough to say that this is cool as fuck and you could do a lot worse than give it a whirl, you might discover something you love – it’s what Spotify is for, for fuck’s sake. So, here come a bunch of records I’ve been listening to pretty solidly this year and intend to keep spinning well into the future.

David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’ I was deeply moved by the death of David Bowie and wrote about it at length here:https://hardpresseded.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/303/ Listening to Blackstar is inextricably linked to the loss of this musical giant and was always going to be an emotional experience, but having gone back to it again and again since its release, I have to say that it really is quality and holds up well. ‘Lazarus’ is undeniably superb and the artistic merit of the record as a whole is unquestionable. Great record – excellent way to punctuate such an incredible cultural footprint.

I only got round to listening to Michael Kiwanuka – ‘Love & Hate’ a couple of weeks ago, but have had it on very heavy rotation ever since. Damn, what a great, honest record this is. Michael lays bare his conflicting emotions on this sublime collection that neatly combines a kinda classic seventies soul groove with a more contemporary feel and some achingly good guitar work. The title track is unbeatable.

Lisa Hannigan – ‘At Swim’ Great songs, cool vibe, lovely voice, excellent record – I keep going back for more.

Lonely the Brave – Things Will Matter is a good solid sophomore record from the Cambridgeshire boys and continues their climb up industry ladders. There are some quite spectacular moments, like the massive ‘Black Mire’, the excellent ‘Diamond Days’ and ‘Jaws of Hell’ that hint at a very bright future for British alternative rock.

Slowcoaches – ‘Nothing Gives’ came out about a week ago and I had the immense pleasure of five outta fiving it for Already Heard. The most exciting garage punk record in years, it has an energy comparable with The Strokes debut and rocks from beginning to end as it tackles issues like loss and anxiety. Heather Perkins is punk rock personified, making their brand of angry optimism instantly relatable – this band deserve to be massive.

The Cult – ‘Hidden City’ There’s nothing like your favourite band hitting good form again. Ok, it’s not ‘Love’ or ‘Sonic Temple’, but it’s creatively vibrant, still pushing boundaries and features some killer tracks. Ian Astbury‘s raw vocal on ‘Birds of Paradise’ and the killer hook of ‘No Love Lost’ find The Cult at the top of their game.

Another return to form from an eighties icon came on The Mission – Another Fall From Grace. Wayne Hussey took a conscious decision to dust off his twelve string and write an album bridging the gap between Sisters of Mercy and The Mission. According to the front man it was a painfully cathartic experience, but the vocalist can be justifiably proud of his band’s finest record since their peak. Sure, it’s as overblown and pretentious as you might expect, but Mish fans wouldn’t have it any other way. The title track is prime example of Wayne’s songwriting prowess and ‘Tyranny of Secrets’ shows they can still deliver a good old Goth rock banger.

Black Foxxes – ‘I’m Not Well’ is quite simply one of the best records I’ve heard in years. It’s rawness imbues it with power, energy and emotion at a level few bands come close to. Stone cold killer from beginning to end – album of the year by far.

What’s Hot In My House – February

Posted on by edwardlayland

With Carnaval and the accompanying break – damn the Brazilian government for making us have more time off work – I have had more family time and less music time than usual. Even so, I have managed to squeeze in some quality listening during the hours of endless relaxation and sun soaked ennui, albeit somewhat restricted to stuff I’m writing about for one reason or another. David Bowie has obviously continued to feature quite heavily, ‘Blackstar’ not being an album you can get to the bottom of in a couple of listens, but have also discovered some lovely new music besides revisiting some old favourites. I’m actually putting together a Hard Pressed mixtape/playlist of lesser known artists that I have featured here on the site, so the likes of Luna Sol, Haybaby and Blind Wives have all been getting a spin, along with a remix of Tairrie B. by Nina Mediatrix, who was gracious enough to grant me an interview a couple of weeks back that is well worth a read. Inescapably though, it is stuff I’ve been reviewing, or had thought about reviewing but just couldn’t find the words for, that has been most dominant; so here’s what’s been titillating my eardrums over the last month or so.

MONEY – Suicide Songs
I really wanted to review this stunning album by the British indie trio, but just couldn’t seem to do it justice. It is beautiful, hypnotic, uplifting and melancholic in equal measure and makes for an elegant, yet emotionally brutal record of poetically crafted songs worth languishing in for a while. Treat yourself to some catharsis, you know you need it.

Two songs which featured in stuff I reviewed last month, and were two of the first tracks that I earmarked for Mixtape Vol.1, are ‘Scars’ by Danish power trio Forever Still and the wonderfully titled ‘Placebo Button’ from the Italian grunge rockers Noam Bleen. The former is a powerful blast of fresh sounding heavy rock with an epic emotional chorus and a cracking vocal from front woman Maja Shining. Noam Bleen, meanwhile, offer up an intricate slice of 90s tinged alternative rock that shows off the band’s love of heavy tube distortion, but also finds them exploring their melodic side with a fine instrumental section; promising stuff from both bands.

The Cult – Hidden City
Isn’t it gratifying when your favourite band come back to top form and produce their most interesting record in over twenty years? What a pleasant surprise this album has turned out to be, there are a lot of really good moments and the quality is high throughout. The Cult maintain their signature sound, that tambourine is shaking away beneath the surface, but they also really explore creatively. Sure, Billy Duffy is on fire and there are riffs a plenty, but Ian Astbury also delivers some emotionally raw vocals and the songs are some of the most stylistically diverse of their career. Killer record.

Noam Bleen – Noam Bleen EP Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

Front Cover Formed in 2010, Noam Bleen is an Italian three piece with a love of heavy tube distortion. This self titled EP, dedicated to David Bowie, is a strong debut in the world of alternative rock and there is depth to its heavy nineties feel.

‘Underplay’ opens proceedings with some cool riffing and a strong hint of Foo Fighters, but it’s a well worked track and hits the spot. ‘Placebo Button’ is heavier, with a more alternative grungy feel, and is the standout track. It rocks pretty hard and there is a nice break for a downbeat solo, before exploring instrumental soundscapes on an epic finale. Great track.

The rest of the EP has a similarly heavy air, but the songs are well thought out and they seem to be trying to find their own niche. ‘Vent Your Spleen’ building in intensity and taking an instrumental twist, while ‘Specious Present’ is quite dark and disjointed. There are also a couple of short instrumental pieces in ‘Solivagant’, with its atmospheric synths, and the acoustic ‘At Dawn’ which is quite lovely; whether they might work better as intros within other tracks is a debatable point.

The only track which is maybe a bit superfluous is ‘Star’s End’, its down beat grunge by numbers not really going anywhere. I have the feeling that the band wanted to make an LP, but were a song or two short, so just put everything out as an EP, when maybe they could have held something back and kept it a little shorter; four or five tracks is normally enough to showcase a band’s strengths.

However, the EP has plenty to offer and Noam Bleen write interesting, highly enjoyable, songs that, despite giving away their influences, manage to walk their own path. With improved production they could get even more out of the adventurous side to their songwriting; I look forward to hearing what else they have up their sleeves.

7.5/10

Noam Bleen is a D.I.Y release available from January 20th.
https://noambleen.bandcamp.com/
https://m.facebook.com/noambleen?_rdr
https://twitter.com/noam_bleen

What’s Hot in My House – January 2016

Posted on by edwardlayland

It’s kind of weird at this time of year because I’m half on holiday following the Christmas period and as such have much more free time than usual – I have actually been reading books and even watching a little television! Paradoxically though, I am listening to less music than usual and have had the occasional headphone free day, which makes my ears itch uncontrollably. Nevertheless, I have been working a little with private classes and have been putting my bus time to valuable use; here are the aural delights that have been spinning on my wheels of steel.

Patti Smith – Horses
This is one of those albums that basically left me on the island, (to be honest I always found Patti a little scary, can’t think why), so I just never listened to it – it was just one of those records people talked about as being classic – so yeah, ok, whatever. Anyway, whilst reading the fabulous Viv Albertine book, ‘Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys.’, in which the ex The Slits guitarist gives her perspective on punk etc, she waxes lyrical about ‘Horses’ and gives me the push I needed to give it a go. Have to say that I’m pleased I did. A few weak tracks aside, like ‘Redondo Beach’, it pretty much lives up to the hype, considering the context in which it was made, ‘Gloria’ and the monumental ‘Land’ being particularly impressive. I now look forward to reading Patti’s own book ‘Just Kids’, reflecting on her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe – a kindle snip at 99p!

Megadeth
In anticipation of the release of the new Megadeth album, I was the first to shoot my hand up when my editor at Already Heard offered up assignments on upcoming releases. I then had the (un) enviable task of wading my way through their entire back catalogue, so as to be able to produce a bio and comments on three albums; finding someone that cites them as an influence has proved far more difficult however! There were days when I listened exclusively to balls to the wall speed metal ballistics, and although some of the newer material was a little hard to digest, especially ‘Super Collider’, it was a pleasure to dissect earlier work like ‘Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying’ and ‘Rust in Peace’. I wandered down memory lane and was transported back to longer haired days when fast was synonymous with good and was pleased to find that, in thrash metal terms, these albums were labelled classics with good reason. The new album has also proved to be a surprisingly good listen, but nothing they could do today will ever reach the dizzying heights of ‘Holy Wars..The Punishment Due’. Classic.

Conrad Keely – Original Machines
My first review of the new year for AH, (link here:http://alreadyheard.com/post/137154188770/album-review-conrad-keely-original-machines#_=_) was such a pleasant surprise that I can’t stop playing the damn thing. IMHO this will go on to be one of the albums of 2016, I may well be totally wrong but I can always put this down to a series of stupendously good releases to come later in the year that I have no idea about right now. But if I am right, I will appear sage and all knowing with gifted insight into what makes a record good, besides one’s own opinion. Either way, check it out, Conrad is enormously talented with fingers in many musical pies and he has made a wonderfully imperfect record that may well encourage a little pause for thought.

David Bowie – Blackstar
What an achingly tragic week it has been with the loss of such an icon, quickly followed by the death of another much loved Brit, actor Alan Rickman, under frighteningly similar circumstances. The only good thing is that David was gracious enough to release the sublime ‘Blackstar’ as a parting gift to us mere mortals; donating another slice of his remarkable talent, which, along with his enviable back catalogue, we must content ourselves with to fill the Bowie shaped hole in the fabric of modern culture. Had it on repeat most of the week.

David Bowie – Blackstar

Posted on by edwardlayland

David-Bowie-Blackstar-640x640Finally got round to listening to ‘Blackstar’, which in the context of the death of David Bowie proved to be a cathartic yet delightful experience. In the current musical climate Bowie’s final (?) work stands out as profoundly daring, easily eclipsing much of what passes for popular culture nowadays. It is befitting that such an artist has been so experimental, creatively speaking, right to the end; producing a work that surely rates among his best.

“Ain’t that just like me?” (Lazarus)

There’s a great deal of musical history wrapped up among these songs, as if reflecting upon the five decades Bowie’s career has spanned. You can hear the echoes of time in the jazz riffing, the vocal melodies, the varied guitar parts and the electronic elements, further listens revealing ever deeper textures to the music.

The single, ‘Blackstar’, opens the show in dramatic fashion with pulsating break beats and repetitive vocals, the sweeping orchestration and piercing saxophone adding depth to the challenging opening section. The mid-section provides sharp contrast however, the familiar melody reminding me of the Space Oddity era, with its tempo changes and storytelling vibe as the insistent refrain worms its way into the subconscious.

‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore’ follows with uptempo drumming and off kilter riffing of the horns, a very jazzy prelude to the laid back vibe of the intro to ‘Lazarus’. Hauntingly beautiful saxophone then soothes the discordant crashes as Bowie’s poignantly familiar voice subtly building the emotional intensity alongside skittering sax breaks that pull at the heartstrings. Under the circumstances the first person lyrics are emotive to say the least, adding greater dimension to this already sublime song, the atmospheric guitar lines reminiscent of The Cure. Superb.

‘Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)’ is not as easy to get to grips with, but it works in the context of the album; the dark jazz vibe and staccato guitars that ricochet off the irregular rhythms make it a challenging listen. The bright simple vocal melody of ‘Girl Loves Me’ soon takes an equally dark turn as the cello riff pounds along to elements of electronica and break beats pulsating beneath the surface.

The final two tracks make for more comfortable, yet deeply moving listening. Easy piano and smoky saxophone tease an introduction to ‘Dollar Days’ and the seventies tinged folky melancholia of this hauntingly autobiographical track. The saxophone swells like a bursting heart as David sings “I’m dying too” – it’s emotional stuff, the piano picking away slowly in the background before searing guitars segue into the rolling beats of ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’, whose vocal melody is classic Bowie. The orchestration is beautiful as we get all the textures of David’s voice; the saxophone runs and Gilmour-esque guitar lines bringing the record to an optimistic close.

On Blackstar Bowie appears to have tossed the shackles that had contained him and allowed his artistic expression to flow in profoundly moving fashion. It is a challenging yet disconcertingly wonderful record, but somehow a fitting finale to the life of one of the most important entertainers of our time. Oh my.

10/10

David Bowie

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David Bowie

Posted on by edwardlayland

“Don’t believe in yourself
Don’t deceive with belief
Knowledge comes
with death’s release”

January 10th 2016 will forever be remembered as the day the world lost David Bowie. He innovated and created to the very end, having just released his (now) final album, barring the retrospectives, re-issues and studio outtakes that are sure to appear in the future. Thankfully, his inimitable work will resound in the collective conscience for generations to come. Few artists have left such an indelible mark on the world of entertainment and even fewer have been as unique or half as influential.

Bowie was always innovative, constantly updating and renewing, never afraid to move on without looking back; though the temptation to resurrect Ziggy Stardust and other such heroes may have been great during more difficult times. Instead he continued to create, up to his dying days, not only influencing his peers but allowing himself to be influenced by the world around him.

“I still don’t know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
And every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I’m much too fast to take that test.”

John Peel once said:
“Pop is a car-boot sale, a parade of trinkets, junk and handicrafts, most worthless, some capable of giving a few moments of pleasure with a few glorious items made more glorious by their unexpected appearance in this market. Then in an unpredictable double-bluff, the worthless can, within a few years, take on great worth and the glorious become merely laughable.”
Bowie’s appearance in said market was always unexpected and mostly glorious, with any apparently worthless work standing the test of time and taking on great worth.

“Written in pain, written in awe
By a puzzled man who questioned
What we were here for.”

It’s incredible that one man has had such a profound effect on the human race and left such a massive cultural footprint behind. To say that I am saddened by his passing is not really the best way to put it. I didn’t have the privilege of knowing him, we were not friends, like most people my relationship with David Bowie is one of fan – artist.

Nevertheless, for me, as I’m sure it is for many, it goes much deeper than that; he has been a part of my life for longer than I can remember, his work has always been there, his influence has spread to other artists whose music I also love. It’s kind of strange because that familiar figure, with all his guises, is not there anymore, they’ll be no more interviews with those mismatched eyes and that broad smile on his face and his self deprecating laughter, no more groundbreaking albums and no more parts being played.

His music will live forever though, and the memories we have all created that are intertwined with his incomparable body of work cannot be taken away from us. My earliest are of hearing ‘Ashes to Ashes’ on the radio, Major Tom already known to all. Then there’s my Mum’s copies of ‘Aladdin Sane’ and ‘Pin Ups’ with their striking cover art. Then came all those hits from the 80s, ‘Lets Dance’, ‘Absolute Beginners’ and ‘China Girl’ – someone had a copy, I no longer remember who. And of course the collaborations on ‘Dancing in the Street’ with Mick Jagger for Band/Live Aid and the unforgettable ‘Under Pressure’ with Queen. Which also reminds me of the stunning performance of ‘Heroes’ at Live Aid.

But it was as a young adult that I really discovered Bowie, my best friend introducing me to ‘Hunky Dory’, which along with ‘Space Oddity’ (a.k.a ‘David Bowie’) got played to death in the first home I ever owned. I once tried to get tickets for a “secret” gig at a small London venue but it was such an exclusive (comeback) show that not even the touts could get hold of them; I had to resign myself to never seeing him play live and to being content with ‘Live from Santa Monica’ and ‘At the Beeb’.

With his passing it is this evoking of bittersweet memories of how and when his work touched us that forces us to reexamine our own lives and contemplate our own existences. And therein lies the sadness – I’m not sad that David Bowie has died; he led a full and rich life and was one of the most significant artists in the history of humanity, I’m sad for what his death means to me, to everyone he touched and to our society. It moves me deeply to think that where once there was a constant that could be relied upon to challenge and inspire in equal measure, whilst sound tracking our very existence, now there is an empty space.

“I’m stuck with a valuable friend
“I’m happy. Hope you’re happy, too.”
One flash of light
But no smoking pistol…”

Rest in Peace David Robert Jones, you will be sorely missed.

Eight Killer Placebo Moments

Posted on by edwardlayland

Placebo were formed in 1994 after a chance meeting on a London tube platform between Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, who had both previously attended the American International School in Luxembourg. Their first album was released in 1996 and in celebration of its twentieth anniversary the boys are doing a number of retrospective projects including the recent MTV Unplugged set of primarily early material. As such, it seems like as good a time as any to celebrate the work of one of my favourite alternative rock bands.

Born in the midst of Britpop and inaccurately labelled as such, Placebo have always trodden their own path, often in the face of senseless criticism, and have succeeded in amassing a consistently high quality body of work. Placebo albums are a bit like Denzil Washington‘s films, never bad.

Although ostensibly a British band, Brian was born in Belgium to an itinerant Scottish Mother and American Father, while Stefan, despite being born to Swedish parents in Sweden, also moved around a fair bit before settling in London. For me, this is one of the principal reasons for Placebo never quite fitting in, they have a multi-cultural background and a kind of rootlessness that enables them to play by their own rules.

Their sound is very much their own, not only down to Brian’s distinctive vocal, but also instrumentally; their hard edged alt rock sound, owing as much to Wedding Present as to Marc Bolan, never plays it safe and they are also not afraid to explore more atmospheric airs, regularly incorporating piano and strings. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them live just the once, at Reading in 2000, and although they put in a great performance, I had the distinct impression that headliners, the Stereophonics, were worried and made sure their volume was turned down.

Anyway, here’s a handful of songs celebrating the awesomeness of this criminally underrated band of outsiders who despite bucking trends and media hostility have managed to sell in excess of eleven million records – count em!

‘Nancy Boy’ was the first Placebo song I ever heard and in the post grunge comfort zone of overblown Britpop it was refreshingly loud and crunchy, yet had just enough pop sensibility to nag its way into my unconscious. Love the guitar sound on this version from Later with Jools.

Placebo were unaffected by “difficult second album” syndrome; following up the top 5 success of their debut with a dark brooding slab of hard edged intensity. The title track of ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ (see below), ‘Pure Morning’ and ‘Every You, Every Me’ are the obvious killer cuts from the album, but ‘Brick Shithouse’ is as hard as it’s title and ‘Scared of Girls’ has a groove vaguely reminiscent of early Cult. Check out this badass version of ‘Scared of Girls’ from their debut headline show at Brixton Academy back in 98. The action starts at about 3’50.

‘Without You I’m Nothing’ is an epically dark ballad that is superbly intense in it’s own right, but as a duet with David Bowie could not have had a better compliment paid to it.

‘Plasticine’ – love it. Rocks hard from start to finish. “Don’t forget to be the way you are.”

‘Protect me/Protege Moi’ finds Brian at his wonderfully pretentious best.

‘Battle for the Sun’ is one of the more unusual Placebo tracks, but the building intensity and insistent vocal give it a defiant urgency.

Back in December of 2008 Placebo played a unique semi acoustic set at the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia at the beginning of the ‘Battle for the Sun’ tour. The 40m showcase is really something special with its atmospheric vibe; check out this mesmerizing version of Meds with a superb performance from the new boy on drums at the time, Steve Forrest.

Placebo has never shied away from doing a cover and ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’ saw them bring an album’s worth of B-sides and one offs together for a bonus disc that included songs by artists as diverse as Kate Bush and Darts. Their version of Where Is My Mind by the Pixies is so damn good that even Black Francis (A.K.A Frank Black) came out at the legendary Paris show to play on it. I actually get goosebumps from head to toe when I watch this.

Check out the trailer for the MTV Unplugged show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVGrqoOxT4o