Jenny Jones, lead vocalist of Carlisle band
Birds Vs Planes, is an emotional gal, and she and her band don’t half make you
feel it on their debut EP, Narrow Angles.
Things start off bright and breezy, with Jones’ allowing her seemingly
extravert personality to shine through on opener and lead single, Relative Worth, whilst the outfit sound
especially similar to very-LA based duo Best Coast, only less glum and sounding
as if they’re actually capable of raising a smile.
Matters turn for the worse
towards the end of the record, though by no means musically: the first half of Little Blue being not too dissimilar to
The xx illustrates an ultra-sensitive side most wouldn’t have expected the
five-piece to have in them, with the fact that Jones transformed this sorrow
into anger being especially evident on moody closer Shock Tactics. Both the band and listener dabbling in the entire
emotional spectrum, then.
What’s remarkable is that although they provoke such
feelings in so many dimensions, when it comes to producing the music BVP stick
to so few – there are no frills, they don’t try to be anything they’re not, and
the EP is enormously listenable as a result.
Mikhail Gorbachev. Not the way most would expect a review of Darwin Deez’s Songs For Imaginative People to start
but the former Soviet statesman is to play a surprisingly large part in this
piece. To start, he is given a mention in just the second song of the album, You Can’t Be My Girl. It is not so much
his inclusion in the lyric that is important (Deez merely uses a female’s
fascination with the ex-General Secretary for another reason as to why she
cannot ‘be his girl’), rather it is what his inclusion represents – the utterly haphazard, though wholly intended, nature
of this LP.
In Alice, for example, Deez
jumps between pre-chorus and chorus as much as he changes note on guitar (a lot),
whilst on No Love it is the vocals
that aren’t too sure whether they are coming or going. Similarly to Gorbachev’s
dissolution of the Soviet Union, the whole affair is bittersweet – just as
those in charge before Gorbachev’s time found that though the old Chairman of
the Supreme Soviet’s plans were at first difficult to listen to, they and the
country as a whole would soon go onto (quite literally) greener pastures, so too
will the listener initially struggle to muster Deez’s seemingly disorderly
approach, only to come to realise it is exactly this that gives it it’s
character. For example, just as it is easy to imagine the heartache felt by the
aforementioned law graduate of Moscow State University when he lost his childhood sweetheart to leukemia in 1999, so too can one feel the hurt of the multi-instrumental
New Yorker when he describes on Chelsea’s
Hotel how he never got the chance to lose the love of his crush as he never
attained it in the first place.
Just as you weren’t
expecting this review to be more history lesson than musical opinion, upon
first listen to Songs For Imaginative
People I hadn’t a clue which way the music was to turn (and I still don’t!)
– and yet both of us are far richer for it. It is here where today’s lesson is
concluded.
4/5 Released by Lucky Number Music on 11th February 2013
“Don’t bite off more than you can chew.” “Beauty
is in the eye of the beholder.” “Don’t be silly, Mr. Savile didn’t touch you there!” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s what all our parents used to
say, isn’t it? And they were always right, weren’t they? Wrong. Although the
first two remain fairly sound to this day, it’s a different story when it comes
to the last two. I’ll let the BBC attempt to explain their way out of the
second to last one, and I’ll take issue with the last one. I believe, after
all, that SATELLITES.01 can be
massively judged, quite literally, by its cover. The cover is a combination ofmatte and metallic silver, the artwork printed onto the actual CD looks like asatellite – it all points towards the idea that Satellites is inspired by
everything otherworldly. So why does this lead to my doubting that a book
should never be judged by its cover? Because SATELLITES.01 sounds exactly how it looks. It produces bleeps and
bloops, just as a satellite would – the beats on Railway Line are not so dissimilar to those which used to be
favoured by The Postal Service and Best
Days Of Our Lives could well fit in on Paul Banks’ recent LP, both of which
are connoisseurs of music verging on the ‘techy’ side of things. It’s
complicated, just as (I imagine) a satellite is – throughout the album there is
much going on, with the multiple layers of Sale
Of The Century and the curious combination of acoustic guitar and
electronica on Mindreading. Although
it is easy to admire the complex nature of Satellites’ style, the appreciation
becomes that much higher when it considered that Satellites is comprised of
only one man – Englishman living in Copenhagen, Johnny Vic. Come to think of
it, maybe Johnny’s getting more help from outer space than we first thought? 4/5 Released by Vesterbrother/Pias UK on 21st January 2013
Brighton, Brighton, Brighton. Bristol, Bristol, Bristol. Two pretty cool cities, right? Sure the former has itsweird pavilion and its little pier, and the latter the claim that it gave birth to comedy duo Simon Pegg andNick Frost and a (literally) little known ‘artist’ called Banksy, but it cannot be denied that the exceptionally strong music scene in each has something to do with their ‘cool’ status. It made sense, then, for us to have a little look-see ourselves; the largest centre of culture of South West England played host to the likes of Indigo Earth, Laws of Motion, Forestears and Iko for us in November of last year, whilst all the fun we had in the city by the sea can be read about here. It made even more sense to find out which 5 acts would make up the dream Sofar of a music blog based in both cities. That’s where Stamp The Waxcomes in. A very Merry christmas and an even happier new year, we had struck lucky – Stamp The Waxis the music blog of Brighton and Bristol, and that’s saying something (you can see why we think Brighton’s so great here).
Stamp The Wax claims it is ‘student-run’, though you wouldn’t know it. Students are meant to be lazy, misinformed and out of date. With its ‘regular gig guides, unsigned exposure and features on important musical institutions’, as well as its TV section working ‘tirelessly to create original and sonically-satisfying interviews and sessions’, it seems that those running the Stamp The Wax operation don’t quite ‘get’ the typical student stereotype. Lucky for us.
‘Studying music at Goldsmiths, University of London (home to other notable musicians James Blake, Damian Albarn and Katy B), singer-songwriter Annie Eve does not show her young age one bit with painfully candid words and intimately infectious melodies, crafted to perfection. A real talent, Annie's music would be perfect in a Sofar setting.’
‘The unbelievable flair and creativity of North London lyricist George the Poet is quickly starting to take root worldwide. The Cambridge University student has already nabbed face-time on the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky Sports, as well as featuring in a video with Emeli Sande, Tinie Tempah and Professor Green, plus collab’ing with The Herbaliser. It would be good to see Sofar representing this incredible urban talent.’
‘Fronted by 23-year-old songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Nai Palm, Hiatus Kaiyote are a Melbourne-based 4-piece sitting snugly between the sounds of Zero 7 and Jamiroquai – fusing elements of Jazz, Experimental Soul and Ambience. They're known for using rocks, sticks and deer antlers when playing acoustic sessions, what more could you ask for?’
‘This French-Malian singer is such a unique talent, spearheading the West African movement of Folk Wassoulou. Her songs are so colourful and vibrant, and always contain a strong message within them. Even more, she brings with her an unmatchable vibe live that would be amazing for Sofar to capture on camera.’
‘Unfortunately passing away before ever being fully recognised during his time, Nick Drake is now heralded as the most influential artist in British folk history. The dark themes of melancholy, failed romance, mortality, and depression that haunt every one of his songs would have been breathtaking to witness within a small room of people. It's such a shame Sofar wasn't around in the 70s!’
Having played the likes of London, New York and Los Angeles a number of times for us already, Will Knox is somewhat of a Sofar veteran. This is unsurprising, though, for he could not be more ‘Sofar’. Whilst it is obvious, for example, that his honest acoustic musings could not be better suited to our typically intimate settings, it is also his mindset that makes us such a perfect match. He, too, likes to do things a little differently – curry is listed as the sole ‘band interest’ on his Facebook Page (and rightly so), and his video for Cog in the Machine, involving scissors which grow your hair and singing lyrics back to front, can only be described as near-on creative and technical genius. The resulting nomination for an Independent Music Award in the ‘Short Video’ category being justified, then. More importantly, so too does Will Knox believe that, despite all its flaws, the music industry still has much to give, and that it’s simply a matter of having a root around in the right places to find the diamonds in the rough. Like he kindly said at a London Sofar he recently played (if you haven’t already, take a look at the above video), “It’s funny that people say the music industry’s in trouble but then you have nights like this, so it’s obviously not.”
As if doing his bit to help the music industry grow to better times wasn’t enough, Knox has also recently turned his efforts to doing the same for the Horn of Africa; he penned the lyrics for Sami Yusuf’s singleForgotten Promises, a collaboration with the World Food Programme, created and sold in the hope that they can scale-up their operations in that part of the world.
Somehow in between helping to save all sorts of worlds, Knox has had the time to figure out how he can go about releasing his material in a new novel way. Whilst he wisely stuck with tradition for his debut, The Matador & The Acrobat (Shred News voted it to be one of the ‘Top Ten Albums of 2009’), he presented his follow-up EP, Lexicon, in a way that was novel in more ways than one – as a comic book (with a download code inside), which is now available as a free iPad and iPhone app.
‘Just started getting in to Serge Gainsbourg. Fortunately there's loads of great videos of him on YouTube, but seeing him live must have been fascinating.’
A man hardly famed for his friendly, bubbly personality, even by his standards Calvin Harris was not a happy chap approximately one month ago. It all started when a video which appeared to show one-third of DJ supergroup Swedish House Mafia, Steve Angello, doing nothing more than pressing play on a pre-mixed segment of a festival set cropped up online. Even despite Mr. Harris selling unthinkable amounts of records himself, you wouldn’t have thought he would particularly object to being compared (albeit inadvertently) to such a global superstar and legend in the game as Steve Angello. Wrong, and unfortunately BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat had to find out the hard way and very, very publicly. See, the mentioning of merely ‘pressing play’ and CDJs (the equipment Angello is alleged to be using in the aforementioned video) is considered near-on blasphemy in the EDM world. And what did Greg Cochrane of Newsbeat go and do? Cut his interview with the Scot DJ in such a way that suggests theWe Found Love man not only is okay with the use of CDJs and the like, but actively endorses it! Cue Calvin talking himself into such a rage in full view of his almost 2 million Followers he ends up Tweeting ‘Looking into taking action on @BBCNewsbeat for that libellous broadcast’. Amazingly, you can still see the naughty Newsbeat article online.
So on one side you’ve got the likes of Steven Angello taking the art out of ‘artist’ in the EDM scene, and then on the other you’ve got William Yates, aka Memotone, who promises he’s never even used a laptop on stage and vows to keep it that way.
When I play live I try and make it so every sound you hear you can see me create or trigger (when samples are involved.) I never use a laptop on stage and want to keep it that way. I think it’s much more interesting for the crowd and as a performer.
Impressive. Even more so when it is considered just how many sounds Yates puts to good use. Of course there’s the expected piano, keyboard, bass and drums. Not so expected are the clarinet, trumpet, zither, glockenspiel, organ, conversation and toy instruments (to name a few). Consequently, it was always expected that Memotone would come up with an interesting #DreamSofar and he certainly doesn’t disappoint (see below).
Curious as to how one can mesh together so many diverse sounds and do so successfully? There’s plenty to be found on Memotone’s website, including links which take you to places where you can buy his various records, as well as a whole host of free downloads.
'This fellow not only plays instruments beautifully and sings, he is also a genius when it comes to audio manipulation using computers and customisedhardware. He writes his own programmes to make sounds do as he pleases and can do it all in a live environment. I have never actually seen him live, only videos, but I imagine it would be totally engrossing. Also - having worked with him myself, I can confidently say he is also a really nice chap!'
'Surely one of my favourite bands. A three piece from Norway packingenough punch to shake a standard living room to pieces. I think it wouldbe an utterly invigorating and uplifting experience to see this band live. On Half Nelson Courtship (released by Rune Grammofon) each track holds it's own majesty and driving power, rising up from sometimes unfathomable depths to finally crescendo high above the atmosphere, notes falling from the sky and creating pools of multicoloured liquid where they land. Imagine that!?'
'There is some music which seems to have been designed for the living roomenvironment. Even though Joanna Newsom transcends any livingroom, I think her live performance would be perfect for a Sofar event. Her music is intimate, peaceful, poetic and tangible. If you found a place large enough to get her harp through the door and wheel a grand piano in after it, I think you would have the set up for an incredibly moving and memorable evening.'
'Max Richter has the capability to transform any environment into one ofbeauty. So I could imagine seeing him perform live from the comfort of aliving room would be almost ultimate bliss. I have seen him live once before and it was one of the best live musical experiences I have ever had. So reliving that if possible would be a chance I could not pass up. Truly a great composer and musician.'
'Laughing Stock by Talk Talk is one of my favourite albums of all time.One of the reasons I like it so much is because it sounds and feels as ifit's being performed live right in front of you. If it were actually being performed live right in front of me I would probably be overwhelmed. It's the perfect balance of quiet, thoughtful composition and profound elation. It's patient refrain keeps the ear hanging to every note. Beautiful.'
Described as 'Sky-scraping folk' by The Fly and producers of 'Dark lyrical musings matched by epic musical sensibilities' by Mojo, following last week's triumphant launch of our new #DreamSofar initiative, it is the turn of To Kill A King to tell us who would make up their #DreamSofar, and why. Although they've not been around for long (debut single Fictional State was released only last year), the heights to which TKAK have already soared are huge. The follow-up to the aforementioned Fictional State, Bloody Shirt(off their free-to-downloadMy Crooked Saint EP) was particularly embraced by music critics and fans alike; it was iTunes' Single of the Week and received regular airplay from Radio 1, Radio 2 and XFM. It is not only to the recording studio that To Kill A King's talent is constrained, though - they have quite the affection for live material. After releasing their Word Of Mouth EP, a collection of live recordings from their Fortress Studios and from which the single Howling was spawned, they not only embarked on their 'guerilla gigs' program, performing acoustic sets in unusual and secret locations throughout the nation, they also performed at over sixty living rooms shows (a couple of which were Sofars!). And yet, despite the amount of time and effort that's required to take the band such places, the outfit (in particular frontman Ralph) somehow still finds the time to give back. Not only has Ralph been recording the musical sessions that have taken place on his balcony this past year or so, accompanied by the likes of Bastille, Youth Imperial and We Were Evergreen to name a few, for all you guys to see (at To Kill A King's official YouTube channel), he's also recently made the audio of said recordings available to download. What's more, all profits are to go to Great Ormond Street Hospital. And if that wasn't enough, To Kill A King have an album produced by Jim Abbiss (Adele, Bombay Bicycle Club), Charlie Hugall (Florence And The Machine, The Maccabees) and Andy Green (Keane, Paolo Nutini) set to be released in 2013.
'I'd also recommend Two Gallants. We're currently on tour with them in Germany and they are fantastic. Great lyrics. I'd love to hear them in a more intimate setting.'
'One of my top albums is The Singer by Teitur. He'd be bloody great for a Sofar Sounds. The album is led by him on acoustic guitar and keys but has some incredibly beautiful string and brass arrangements; it's dramatic, exciting and he tells some great stories which the Sofar crowd would lap up like thirsty cats.'
'They are pals of ours but I forget about that when I watch them, which is a good sign. Johnny has a great voice, the music is uplifting and melancholy, and there's brass and harmonies in there too.'
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