It’s Been A While…

You may (or may not, which is probably more likely) noticed that this here blog’s been a a touch quiet recently. I have my excuses, which I’ll list in chronological order.

1) I worked a week of night shifts at the hospital. During these gruelling 13-hour shifts of death and misery, writing about music just didn’t seem like an agenda item.

2) I visited my parents in sunny old Cumbria. I’ve scanned a copy of the local newspaper from when I was back. In Sheffield we have drug murders and various other scandals; in West Cumbria the headlines are dominated by troublesome burger vans. It truly is a different world.

3) I went to Sweden for a week. I didn’t see any great Swedish indie-pop musicians but I did get to relax and spend some quality time with my girlfriend and her family. I didn’t write about any music there because I felt it might have seemed anti-social. Besides, my Swedish sucks and I felt I needed all the practice I could get. I did get to listen to some cool stuff during the journey there and back – White Hinterland’s Phylactery Factory, Gilberto Gil’s Expresso 2222, and that Vampire Weekend (yes, that Oxford comma was intentional) record stand out in my memory.

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Anyway I’m back now and I’m feeling pretty optimistic about music, writing and the future in general. The new No Ripcord website design is progressing very nicely and with a bit of luck the site will be going live at some point in April. I can’t weight to start throwing some energy into that project again. Believe it or not, No Ripcord is nine years old on April 26th. Frightening stuff indeed.

In other news I’m going to my first gig in far too long tomorrow night – Efterklang at Sheffield Corporation. The Corporation usually hosts rock/metal/punk shows so it seems like a strange choice of venue for an Efterklang show but I’m not going to complain – it’s just great to see an innovative and fairly low-key European band touring the UK and especially calling in at Sheffield. Watch out for a review fairly soon.

Rock’n'Reel Reviews: Vol 2 No 8 (March/April)

The latest issue of Rock’n'Reel is now available at all good newsagents (and W H Smith’s stores nationwide). If you’re bored of the same old rehashed features in the same old tired UK monthlies, why not go out and get yourself a copy? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. My three contributions are copied below.

THE WARLOCKS: Heavy Deavy Skull Lover ****

It’s been well reported that Warlocks’ leader Bobby Hecksher was close to walking away from music altogether after his band’s disappointing third album Surgery closed the book on a relatively uneventful major label career. Instead, he retreated to the shadows of the indie music scene where Warlocks made their name and set to work creating the band’s most cohesive recording to date. Heavy Deavy Skull Lover is not only a triumphant comeback; it’s the awesome sound of a songwriter rediscovering his passion for rock ‘n’ roll.

With song titles like ‘The Valley of Death’, ‘Zombie Like Lovers’ and ‘Death, I Hear You Walking’ it’s immediately obvious that jangly guitar-driven pop isn’t on Warlocks’ agenda. Heavy, hypnotic dirges are the order of the day here and the band knows just how to stretch them out for maximum effect – the early highlight ‘Moving Mountains’ runs for eleven glorious minutes (and not a second too long).

Listeners looking a less intimidating introduction to Heavy Deavy Skull Lover should check out the more ambient ‘Dreamless Days’, which is far closer to dream-pop than drone and perhaps the album’s most likely candidate for a single. All in all, this is a welcome return to form.

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THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: Heretic Pride *****

The challenge facing any reviewer – especially those with a strict word limit – assigned the task of critiquing a Mountain Goats record is to avoid the temptation to over-quote John Darnielle’s lyrics. The word ‘genius’ is banded around far too frequently by music writers but this man has a gift for incisive couplets that is hard to deny.

Heretic Pride is the Mountain Goats’ fourth album for 4AD (according to the band’s website its eleventh overall) and while not as immediate or as autobiographical as 2005’s breakthrough-of-sorts The Sunset Tree, it’s unlikely to disappoint Darnielle’s growing fanbase.

Musically, at least, it’s a relatively straightforward affair. Most of the songs – notable exceptions are the urgent ‘Craters on the Moon’ and the almost rocking ‘Lovecraft in Brooklyn’ – consist of gentle, unobtrusive indie-pop backdrops that allow Darnielle’s everyman vocals ample room to effectively communicate his intricate lyrics. ‘Autoclave’ is one of many highlights, in which Darnielle gloomily compares his heart to the industrial sterilising device of the song’s title: “I am this great unstable mass of blood and foam and no emotion that’s worth having could call my heart its home”. See, I told you he was good.

I could carry on ad nauseam citing further choice excerpts from the lyric sheet but to do so would only compromise the awesome thrill of discovery that awaits those who are willing to fully immerse themselves in this remarkable record. Is it too early to speculate about the album of the year?

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JENS LEKMAN: Night Falls Over Kortedala *****

There’s a lot of great indie-pop music coming out of Sweden at the moment but nothing else in 2007 could touch Night Falls Over Kortedala, the second full-length from acclaimed singer-songwriter Jens Lekman.

Even if you’re not familiar with Lekman’s work you might recognise parts of Night Falls; the record is essentially a giant collage of samples taken from a wide variety of sources. For example, my girlfriend reliably informs me that the melody for ‘It Was a Strange Time in My Life’ is borrowed from a children’s TV show theme. According to a Pitchfork Media interview Jens had even hoped to sample that infamous architect of 80s power-ballads, Mr Jim Steinman.

But while the backdrops are great fun, the real draw is Lekman’s wordplay. Night Falls Over Kortedala isn’t composed of mere songs; far better than that, it features twelve vivid coming-of-age tales. Lekman is certainly not afraid to share his memories or to bask in the nostalgia of his youth; over the course of fifty minutes we hear all about his first kiss (the Scott Walker-esque ‘And I Remember That Kiss’), a disastrous trip to visit a lesbian friend in Berlin (the brilliant ‘A Postcard To Nina’) and even his favourite hairdresser (really, ‘Shirin’).

One of the standout tracks, however, is the über-twee ‘Sipping on the Sweet Nectar’, which addresses the record’s key theme of reminiscence with Lekman musing “I think back on that kiss, I gotta stop sipping on the sweet nectar [of my memories]”. Let’s hope he ignores his own advice; with Night Falls Over Kortedala Lekman has tapped into those very memories to create one of the landmark recordings of the decade.

Rock’n'Reel Reviews: Vol 2 No 7 (January/February)

Late last year I started contributing to a bi-monthly print publication called Rock’n'Reel. The magazine is edited by a fellow West Cumbrian called Sean McGhee and it boasts the tagline “roots, rock, blues and beyond”. I think this sums up its modus operandi fairly accurately. I’m enjoying my involvement so far and I’ve had the chance to review some great albums already. Out of courtesy to Sean I won’t be posting my critiques on this blog until they’ve been published in R’n'R. These reprints come from January/February 2008 issue, which featured a rather contemplative looking Jools Holland on its cover.

IRON & WINE: The Shepherd’s Dog ****

On the first two Iron & Wine records, singer-songwriter Sam Beam used sparse instrumentation and lo-fidelity production values to create a warm and intimate brand of folky Americana. Since 2004’s superb Our Endless Numbered Days he’s worked with Calexico and built up a solid band of musicians around him, so it comes as no real surprise that The Shepherd’s Dog finds Iron & Wine embracing a bigger, brighter sound. I had feared that these meatier arrangements might overshadow Beam’s gentle brand of songwriting but in fact they do the exact opposite, actually serving to increase the impact of his compositions.

The swaggering ‘White Tooth’ is an early highlight but the bar is raised further still by the stunningly beautiful ‘Carousel’. Its finger-picked guitars glisten against a background of shimmering cymbals and subtle keys, while Beam’s gently delayed vocal is as soothing and melancholic as ever.

I could pick seven or eight clear standouts but ultimately this album’s defining moment can be found a mere 14 seconds into its opening track. ‘Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car’ begins with a tinny riff that repeats for a few cycles before bursting into life as a bright and playful full band groove. As a metaphor for Iron & Wine’s transition, from cherished lo-fi songwriter project to Technicolor star of Americana, this is pretty much perfect.

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THE GOOD LIFE: Help Wanted Nights ***

As the frontman and principal songwriter of two bands, Saddle Creek stalwarts Cursive and The Good Life, Tim Kasher is one of those rare musicians capable of delivering quantity without compromising quality. Help Wanted Nights is his eighth album since 2000 – that’s one album for every year – and it’s another solid effort.

Inspired by a screenplay of the same name that Kasher has reportedly completed (and taken to L.A.) Help Wanted Nights is comprised of ten vignettes of life and love, as seen through the eyes of a bystander in a local bar. The narrative is loose – presumably this is tied together in the film script – and rather than fully fleshed out stories, the lyrics offer fleeting glimpses at feelings and ideas. Common themes include relationships in varying stages of decay (the country-tinged rock of ‘A Little Bit More’), the potential benefits of adultery (‘Your Share of Men’) and the impact of small town rumours (‘Keely Aimee’).

While the premise behind Help Wanted Nights is ambitious, the music itself is not. With a few notable exceptions, Kasher’s superb lyrics have to make do with backing tracks that are steady rather than thrilling. A shame, but there’s always next year…

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SONGS OF GREEN PHEASANT: Gyllyng Street ****

Songs of Green Pheasant is the nom de plume of Sheffield-based schoolteacher Duncan Sumpner, a somewhat mysterious songwriter – and a virtual unknown in his own hometown – who has built up a small cult following since his understated eponymous debut wowed the likes of Devendra Banhart back in 2005.

Gyllyng Street is Sumpner’s third full-length offering and it marks a significant change in direction for the artist. The quiet, lo-fidelity folk-orientated numbers of old have been traded in for swirling guitar symphonies and ethereal dreamscapes, which clearly bask in the nostalgia of classic late 80s/early 90s indie. Very much in this vein, the eight minute plus epic ‘West Coast Profiling’ is an undoubted highlight, recalling the glorious haze of dream-pop pioneers Galaxie 500. ‘Boats’ is equally brilliant, a druggy combination of breathy vocals, sparse percussion and otherworldly guitars that will appeal to those who remember the halycon days of the 4AD label.

The Fat Cat label may have lost two of its premier artists (Sigur Ros and Animal Collective) but in Duncan Sumpner it has unearthed a home grown talent bright enough to continue its proud tradition. Gyllyng Street is one of 2007’s hidden gems.