More highly recommended new and underground music from The Popscener.
Today's hotshots: Mixtapes and Cellmates
Actually formed back in 2005, this Swedish quintet are now starting to make a bit of a splash. Their unfathomable name might make them sound like a bedroom-emo band, but fear not - they actually mix a driving alt-rock sound with equal parts noisey guitar squeaking and pop hooks. One Little Indian have picked them up, so based on the law of record label averages they must be at least OK.
*** Digestible run-downs of this week’s new releases, including track recommendations from THE POPSCENER***
Laura Veirs - July Flame
At first glance, this record appeared to be more of the kind of twiddly folk music tailor made for Waitrose adverts. At second glance, it still is, but in contrast to the perpetually disappointing ‘nu-folk’ from this side of the Atlantic, Veirs’ Portland residence gives this a more satisfying slant – dryer, less faux-authentic, and far less sorry for itself. Two dazzling tracks (‘Where are you driving’ and ‘Life is Good Blues’) help, whilst the others lope along in a soothingly pleasant, if unremarkable, manner.
Choice Cuts: ‘Where Are You Driving’, ‘Life Is Good Blues’
7/10
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
Sacre bleu! The brain haemorrhage debacle around which this concept-ish effort is based not only makes IRM a remarkable achievement in itself, but also provides a complimentary sub-plot to the songs, without ever becoming intrusive. Musically, writer/producer/arranger extraordinaire Beck leaves his indelible mark – notably dry beats and squirming sound effects – across tracks such as ‘IRM’, whilst Gainsbourg does her Francoise Hardy bit on couple tracks (‘Le Chat du Cafes des Artistes’), and the slightly unlikely collaborators even manage to enliven honky blues run throughs such as ‘Dandelion’. Bon.
Choice Cuts: ‘Master’s Hands’, ‘Le Chat Du Cafe Des Artistes’, ‘Time of the Assassins’
7.5/10
Beach House – Teen Dream
Objective as ever I am, seeing the ‘dream-pop’ label on Wikipedia made me feel I should like this more, but unfortunately I don’t. Minor problems thus: Legrand’s vocals approach Nico-esque baritone but are drowned in the mix; ‘Zebra’ could have been great but has one wrong chord choice in the chorus. Major problems thus: too pedestrian to convey emotion through energy but also lacks the sonic histrionics to do it via bursts of sound – in short, the whole thing strolls with such sloth that it ends up as the musical equivalent of the tortoise who doesn’t end up winning the race. An unmitigated disappointment.
Choice Cuts: ‘Norway’
3.5/10
Magnetic Fields - Realism
Whilst a healthy portion of the music on offer here makes me yawn with indifference and yearn for creative thrust Stephin Merritt to plug in as with previous efforts, thankfully enough quality exists elsewhere to redeem Realism. For instance, rib-tickling lyrics such as “seduced and abandoned and what can I do, I think I might drink a few” recall Neil Hannon at his most childishly subversive, and Merritt’s voice remains the measure of dry indifference. Sufficient for now.
Choice Cuts: ‘You Must Be Out’, ‘Seduced and Abandoned’
*** Short Cuts Special - as there are a ridiculous amount of new records warranting review, this week's short cuts have been split into two parts. Apart from that, it's business as usual. Enjoy!
Fools Gold – Fools Gold
As unconcerned with geographical legitimacy as Vampire Weekend, but far more faithful to source material, Fools Gold’s energised debut traverses Kingston, Istanbul and Rio before settling somewhere between Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 and the house band on a week’s cruise down the Nile. Despite the scattered approach, the musical voyage seldom hits rocky waters, and the surf-tastic guitar tones provide breezily welcome reminders of home at regular intervals – sublime.
Choice Cuts: ‘Surprise Hotel’, ‘The World Is All There Is’, ‘Nadine’
8/10
Good Shoes - No Hope No Future
Where Think Before You Speak was a study in laissez-faire arrogance and relationship insouciance, No Hope No Future’s humbler themes of longing and relative heartache necessarily require a darker tone. Nonetheless, the hooks, whilst fewer and farther between, still can’t help but jostle their way to the forefront. And so, whilst clumsily politicised rumblers like ‘I Know’ are missteps, tracks like ‘The Way My Heart Beats’ and ‘City by the Sea’ are up there with the best from their excellent debut. Meanwhile, ‘Do You Remember’ shows off hitherto unseen guitar-smarts, with licks wound tight enough to befit obvious musical forebears XTC.
Choice Cuts: ‘The Way My Heart Beats’, ‘City by the Sea’, ‘Do You Remember’
7.5/10
Hadouken - For the Masses
Not as smart as These New Puritans, and not as authentic as ‘proper’ grime acts Wylie and Mr Rascal, this lot are destined to languish in chart and critical purgatory unless they up their game substantially. Nonetheless, the realignment from nu-rave to more overt ‘grindie’ at least shows they’re thinking – now think about writing more than a splattering of listenable songs.
Choice Cuts: ‘Turn the Lights Out’
4/10
Tindersticks - Falling Down A Mountain
If love is a drug, Stuart Staples doesn’t half make it sound like heroin – and I’m not just talking about ‘Black Smoke’. Unfortunately, his seemingly impending descent into comatose arrest is the only thing which threatens to enliven the instantly forgettable lounge-jazz-cum-elevator-music which backs his mumbling inertia for the first half of this record. Having said that, I’m genuinely enthralled by the vocal-less ‘Hubbard Hill’, part of a better second half that goes some way to explaining why these nouvelle vag(ue)abonds still seem to retain the rub of the critical green.
Choice Cuts: ‘Harmony Around My Table’, ‘Hubbard Hill’
5.5/10
Spoon – Transference
Whilst by no means fully conversant with these highly acclaimed indie-rockers’ back catalogue, I’d nonetheless hazard a guess that this effort lies strictly in the middle of their creative road. Whilst Britt Daniel’s vocals are as pleasing whether he’s quietly composed (‘Who Makes You’re Money’) or carefully straining (‘Trouble Comes Running’), only the attendant clatter of the latter song type threatens to raise the excitement bar beyond a solid ‘B’. In short – half a dozen spoonfuls of sugar where one or two would have sufficed.
Choice Cuts: ‘Got Nuffin’, ‘Trouble Comes Running’
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