White Rabbits - It's Frightening

(this is a spotify link, click it if you have spotify, if you don't, you can still click it but it won't work and you'll just get upset)

Most bands are Guitar-based
Some are Synth-based
If you're really lucky you might find a Vocal-based band*
White Rabbits are a Drum-based band, this is awesome.

They're not amazingly well known, they've been around a couple of years apparently but I only found out about them when they were the support for a Hockey (I think it was Hockey, I'm too lazy to check) gig. They're almost just another American Indie Band. Almost, but not quite. If you asked them, they'd say they were "Honkey Tonk Calypso" (or they used to, this album, not so much) which just adds to the list of amazing genres lately. But the kicker is that they have a drummer, a piano, two guitars, a bassist and A DRUMMER. Do not adjust your eyes, this is not a drill. They have 2 drummers.

Well, this is actually quite normal at the moment. When I went to ATP just over a year ago, I'd say 70% of the bands had 2 drummers, but they were all heavy, loud bands with more distortion than terrestrial TV and more amps than ... an amp shop.... or something....

Anyway, my point is that this is an indie band with 2 times more drum. This gives a whole new sound to things, it's mental. Or maybe it would be better to say it makes a whole plethora of new sounds available. When you've got them both going full throttle it sounds like rhythm is angry at you and is trying to destroy your mind because you stole its wife but when everything kicks back and the drums drop back and to one in each ear then its like rhythm's fine with the whole wife thing and suggests a threesome.

These 2 things make up White Rabbits' brand new album It's Frightening. 



That's the opening track and pretty obviously one of the first group, rhythm's wife must be really hot for him to be that angry.

Musically, they're really nicely balanced between the drums vocals and piano with the guitar mainly just coming in for the odd sentence here and there. When it all kicks off it really is like some sort of divine orgy inside your skull. For something so hard-edged it really is beautiful sometimes. Don't worry, I'm thinking the same: "If you love them so much, why don't you marry them", and you know what, I would happily make them my wife. Or, I would if that made any sense at all.

The album as a whole is actually pretty amazing. Sure, it could do with a few more tracks like that one there but overall it's a kind of kinky parade of mellow, sardonic joy. But maybe I just mean quirky. That's beside the point, the point is that it's great. There's a certain je ne sais quoi but I am here to sais quoi about this sort of thing so I guess it's a sort of musical wit. I suppose it actually sounds pretty English in a lot of ways. I've not gone through and listened to the lyrics properly but I guess they're pretty self-deprecating, there's nothing immodest going on here. There's flashes of introspective melancholy all through it. But I suppose you get that a lot in New York stuff don't you.

To some up that mess of a conscience stream, it's a bold, subtle, witty, introverted, clever, visceral album that's just what you need if you're feeling down, up or even sideways. So go on, go find rhythm's wife and see what he has to say about it.

I sound so sexually obsessed.

* There's quite I few nowerdays, I'd argue Mumford & Sons and people like that are.

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

I have a mate, he's called Murdoc Niccals.
He's in this band.
Lately, he wrote this album, it's called Plastic Beach.

He's imaginary and his band is called Gorillaz.

Most of the world know Gorillaz through Demon Days. The only problem is that everything else they've ever done bares little if any relation to this guitar based, mildly (strengthening to severely)* poppy album. They described the first album as ZOMBIE HIP-HOP which although not an actual genre (unlike Epic Rock or Classic Euro-pop) really suited it, dirty, dark and rap-based. Yeah, it had 2 singles on it but they made sense in the album and had the same integrity.

All of this has left Gorillaz in a bit of a pickle, Demon Days was about as popular as Buddhism (which, for an album, is impressive) and EMI would really like it if the next one would too please, but Gorillaz have let all their mainstreamablity out and are now more Zombie than ever. The result of this pickle is one hell of an advertising drive, Murdoc had his own radio show, took over several newspapers and made an adventure game. Then they released the first single, Stylo, and

it went down a storm, the general public have got love for a song that sounds like this:

(Sorry for the lack of video, we all known what EMI are like)

(Watch the video though, it's awesome)

(Bruce Willis is in it)

But anyway, this album I'm supposed to be talking about. It's sort of concept album, in as much as We Need Answers** is a quiz. I suppose you could say it was an album set in a post-climate-hell world in which the band have moved to an island made non-biodegradable rubbish. With me so far? Murdoc didn't make this album on his own though, he kidnapped various famous people to help as well as the rest of Gorillaz. You've probably lost me now so I'll switch to the real world.

Almost every track on the album is a collaboration with someone, it could be Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, De La Soul, half of The Clash or even LOU BLOODY REED! LOU REED, can you believe it? All this toing and froing makes the album slightly disjointed but it's worth it.

After this brief interlude I may even talk about how the album sounds.

So, reviewing... It's a well good album yeah know.

Starting off with an orchestral intro it skids and skips though Snoop Dogg's formal introduction, and gets straight down to the trippy stuff. We are then treated by De La Soul to a piping-hot bowl of Superfast Jellyfish which just so happens to be the catchiest thing not made illegal. There's just the right mix of gritty simple stuff and some far out "Choons" to keep you happy. And then you reach Some Kind of Nature and your life is vastly improved. It's the Lou Reed track and I simply cannot describe how amazing it is. And then there's Melancholy Hill and then there's Sweepstakes and Plastic Beach and To Binge and Private Jet and... you know what. Just listen to it, literally, no matter why you haven't done so already, ignore that reason. Listen to it.

NOW.

*Is it not cool to make Shipping Forecast references any more?

**If you don't know what We Need Answers is, you can substitute Shooting Stars and the analogy still works, however We Need Answers is better so I'd prefer it is you didn't.

Aural Fixation

So I have forgotten about you guys (girl) and I feel deeply sorry about it. I want to make it up to you so I made you a present. I happen to know that the one follower I have won't be able to use it so it is of dubious worth. That being said I'm going to give it to you anyway. It's a spotify playlist. One hour of music, both that mentioned in my blog and otherwise. It's called Aural Fixation and I'll do another hour when I get round to it.

Comparison of Albums

Oh Dear, I seem to have entirely forgotten about this blog, well, I've remembered now, and I've set a reminder every Monday so I won't forget again... I probably will though, you know me.

But anyway, people (person) reading this blog, I found this post sitting in my little folder of posts so I thought I'd give it to you. It's not finished (I don't think) and I haven't read it since I wrote it and I can't be bothered to do it now. It's not even slightly relevant to music at the moment but, you know, it's all relative or something...

Here it is, forgive me for it's shoddy, unfinished ways.

I got bored of talking about things I like so I came up with the idea of reviewing 2 albums in a comparative fashion. I picked 2 albums which although they may not seem particularly similar but really are. So here we go with Day and Age and The Resistance.

Day and Age is the latest offering by the Killers, a band that I've never really had an amazing lot of time for, they're alright, they're a bit bland and they resorted to "I've got Soul but I'm not a Soldier" which is just nonsense and rubbish (see Bill Bailey for more on that).

The Resistance is the new (well, I am a bit late, I had the idea for this post in the summer) one from Muse, a band that I am actually a fan of. No one else even does Epic Rock (I made it up, live with it) do they?

So, "Why compare them!" I hear you scream. Well, the reasons are numerous.

Number One: They're both albums from established bands that are pretty far removed from their previous form.

Number Two: They're actually quite similar, the two bands have merged towards the middle. Imagine a sort of Labour/Tory relationship, two separate entities have fused into some sort of middle ground that doesn't bear much resemblance to either of the originals. Obviously Resistance is darker and Day & Age is poppier, but the point still stands.

Number Three: They were released at similar times to similar critical acclaim, their old fans saying they'd got old and sold out and proper reviewers wondering who this band were.

Number Four: They have similar covers.

So, let's get down to business, starting with the Killers. The first most of us heard of this album is when Human starting being played on the radio. At first I couldn't believe it wasn't from the 80's. Seeing as I love everything 80's at the moment I was instantly smitten. It was synthy, it was poppy but it was actually clever. Good composition, lyrics that almost made sense and introspective, I was very impressed. Starman came out and was also very good, a bit closer to their older stuff and slightly darker-sounding. I was, once again, impressed. I intended to get the album but I just sort of forgot. Months passed until I looked it up on spotify, only to find that the whole album impressed me equally. It's not very serious, it's definitely pop-based but it's lack of pretension gave it a kind of optimistic joy. If I had to criticise I'd say it's all a bit the same, but why should that be an issue if it's good?

Despite the similarities I talked about earlier The Resistance is actually the opposite of Day & Age. Muse were never a pretentious band, they were simple, solid and excellent at what they do. I heard a couple of the singles and liked them. They had different influences, they went places. I was, and it was a feeling I was getting used to, impressed. When I heard tell that the album contained classical based things, I reached new levels of impression. However, on listening to it, I found it bland. The singles I liked were still good and the 3 part syphonette on the end wasn't half bad but there was no spark and it wasn't nearly as inventive as it should have been.

And that's where it ends I'm afraid. I can't be bothered to finish it so there.

Goodbye.