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Efterklang
– Parades (Leaf
Records)
Words:
Steve Weston
Parades
finds the intriguing Danish collective making considerable strides towards
achieving a record that fully displays the ideas that were periodically
evident on previous releases Tripper and Springer.
Whereas those records suffered slightly from a certain one-dimensionality
and a feeling that the group's ambition was being restricted by recording
budgets and the like, Parades is the full-blown, kaleidoscopic real
deal.
This
translates to a sound that hovers serenely between celebration and melancholy,
where bursts of orchestration and choral vocals are tempered by the
subtle electronic rhythms of old and a cohesive whole is fashioned from
a list of instruments and influences as long as your arm.
As
with their previous work, melody is king and the likes of Caravan's
harmonious rhythms and closer Cutting Ice To Snow's union of rippling
acoustic guitar and spectral piano assert the idea that this is a band
getting to grips with what they are capable of. Diverse and rewarding.
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(Still)
Staring at the Rude Boys
Constellation
in Conversation
OIB
top 40 of '06
2006
Festival Round-up
When
OIB met Metric
Exc
Kranky Interview
Low
- Drums and Guns
SJ
Esau - Wrong Faced Cat Food Collapse
Jesu
- Conqueror
The
Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
Isis
– In The Absence of Truth
Anaal
Nathrakh – Escharton
Joanna
Newsom – Y’s
The
Berzerker – Animosity
Tom
Waits – Orphans
Kaada
- Moviebikers
Deftones
- Saturday Night Wrist
Subtle
- For Hero For Fool
Nelly
Furtado - Loose
Oneida
- Happy New Year
Mogwai
- Zidane OST
Boduf
Songs - Lion Devours
Dosh
- Lost Take
Lil'
Jon - Act a Fool
Sunno)))/Boris
- Altar
My
Device - Nervous System
Lamb
of God - Sacrament
Tim
Hecker - Harmonies in UV
Christina
Aguilera - Back to Basics
Boris
- Pink
Jel
- Soft Money
Subtle
- Wishbone
Tool
- 10,000 days
Be
Your Own Pet
Men
Women and Children CD
The
Knife CD
Nightmares
on Wax LIVE
Jackson
and his Computer Band CD
Daniel
Johnston MOVIE
Mogwai
LIVE
Kanye
West LIVE
Regina
Spektor LIVE
Ariel
Pink/Belong LIVE
65
DOS LIVE
Mono
LIVE
Enslaved
LIVE
Lair
of the Minotaur LIVE
Sunn
o))) LIVE
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Sole
and the Skyrider Band – Sole and the Skyrider Band
(Anticon)
A
few months ago I bought the ‘Mansbestfriend’ record, a mixture
of beats, breaks and skits that left me a little cold. For the first
time I thought Tim Holland had missed the target and it was with certain
trepidation that I slipped ‘Sole & the Skyrider Band’
into my cd player, pressed play and cranked the volume...more
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Iron
and Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
(Warner)
Right,
lets get the grand statements out of the way first shall we? Number
one: Sam Beam is a genius. Number two: this album is a disappointment.
The
reasons why its a disappointment are not immediately apparent; initially
the warm, lulling vocals and rolling guitar conjure the same mysterious,
Southern-Gothic aura prevalent in his earlier work. However, repeated
listening reveals a hindrance to the expression of Beam's talent.. more
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Gowns
– Red State
(Upset The Rhythm)
Recalling
late 90’s Sonic Youth, when they went off on one and started waxing
poetic over the sounds of overheating amplifier tubes, Red State is
the sound of a band dramatising their thoughts in the most hypnotic
manner possible.
Barely
audible vocals shimmer in and out of dense soundscapes, threatening
to get so epic your heart may explode. Thankfully things settle back
down before anyone gets hurt. more...
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Dead
Meadow - Live at Brighton Audio (August
‘07)
I
remember the first time I ever got drunk. I ended up passing out in
a field between two cars. When I came too I staggered back into the
party and it felt as if someone had strapped two speakers to my head
playing Sunn O))) at full volume as I was forced to carry a boulder
chained to my neck in penance for my heinous crime of underage drinking.
My mother always warned me of the dangers of alcohol. Oh how I failed
thy. more...
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High
on Fire w/ Russian Circles - Birmingham Barfly
(October ‘07)
Ahh,
good old live rock 'n' roll. Outside the Barfly the city is dark, wet
and oppressive but inside Matt Pike and his band are testifying with
an intensity and volume that grips your depression by the balls and
slaps a silly grin onto its face. more...
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Rilo
Kiley - Shepherd’s Bush Empire
(19th November 2007)
It’s
taken Rilo Kiley nearly ten years to get here, to a stage this broad
and performing to a crowd this expansive. Of course this isn’t
so long, but most bands seem to enjoy it when it comes their way. Rilo
Kiley look, if not uncomfortable, but as if they’d like the audience
to be a bit closer and perhaps to have a little less room. The Empire,
while a perfectly pleasant theatre space, is an atmospheric vacuum.
more...
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Future
of the Left – Curses
(Too Pure Records)
Why
put the body where the body don’t want to go? Thing is, it’s
hard to resist throwing yourself around to Future of the Left’s
debut album, Curses.
Mclusky’s
Andy Falkous, Jarcrew’s Kelson Mathias and drummer Jack Egglestone
aren’t afraid to make noise. A lot of noise. The album kicks off
with The Lord Hates A Coward and 13 more sharp, loud and often comic
songs spit themselves out one after the other. more...
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Okkervil
River – The Stage Names
(Jagjaguwar)
Album
number four finds Will Sheff's ramshackle band of rock 'n' rollers continuing
the graceful flowering of talent showcased on 2005's wonderful Black
Sheep Boy. Sheff's lyrics again provide the focal point as he skilfully
combines themes of love and memory with working-man's blood sweat and
tears to create songs that come across like movie scenes in minature.
Indeed the lyrics, artwork and the album's title itself create the idea
that he could just as easily have turned these songs into a play more...
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