Looks like the blog's back then!

And to celebrate, here are my latest favourite albums:

Why? - Alopecia

The lyrics (or "words" seeing as there isn't a lot of singing as such) on this album aren't the kind of thing you'd normally expect of a rap record, although I'm not entirely sure if I should be calling this rap... Actually, I definitely shouldn't. Either way, it's a solid effort with some brilliantly memorable tracks - well worth a listen! I've been assured that "Alopecia" has nothing on Why?'s previous offering, "Elephant Eyelash", so I guess that's worth checking out too.

www.myspace.com/whyanticon
See also: cLOUDDEAD

You Slut! - Critical Meat
This lot are from Nottingham, but until recently their album was only available in Japan so clearly Japanese labels/fans have superior taste to those in the UK. I'm not really sure how to describe it... Post-rock on speed? Anti-post-rock? EITS with a short attention span? Whatever... it's instrumental, pretty full-on, full of great riffs and thoroughly enjoyable.

www.myspace.com/youslut1
Watch the video for "MyBloodyJesusExplorerOnFire" below, but be aware that those pretty girls in the video are not actually the band members:

Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing

This is probably the first noise record I've ever really loved, and I'm hoping it will help me get into more in this genre. "Street Horrrsing" really is brilliant stuff - it completely fills your ears without losing any sense of melody... Stick on your headphones and turn up the volume!
www.myspace.com/fuckbuttons
See the video for "Bright Tomorrow" below:

Gossamer Albatross

Gossamer Albatross is Lewis with band from Hereford. They come with a cello, two violins and a singer.

They're a really good band like many others but also especially nice as cooking background music.

a.

http://www.myspace.com/gossameralbatross

Gossamer Albatross - Raging Bulls

Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound is the new project of Bradford James Cox aka 'that one from Deerhunter'.

The song i picked is from the new album “Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel“ and does not really represent the album as the song is a lot easier to listen to than the other tracks.

Oh, and Atlas Sound aren't one of those projects where the solo work sounds exactly like the band, so fans of “Deerhunter“ should be warned

a.

Quarantined - Atlas Sound


http://www.myspace.com/bradfordcox

Held by hands

So yes, no posts in a while but thats because the world lacks new music i'm interested in (fuck you world)

Held by hands are folkey soft and delightful. Imagine Bright Eyes, but the band member(s) arent cunts, and they dont singlikethisinsongsbecausetheythinkitscoolandstuff. If you like Joanna Newsom/Grizzly Bear/folk, these are ubergood! Theirs is a sound of a delicate subtelty and finely tuned melodies. You kind of have to turn your speakers up to appreciate Held By Hands, but that doesnt matter, because its an amazing ep. 'Found It Hard To Find Your Feet' is woefuly short and could easily be the best track on the record if it werent for its abruptness. Howeber, thankfully this isnt true of Held By Hands, who lack neither Depth or charm, and if i were you i'd download the song below and then go and see them post haste before the split up (as is procedure for bands i love)

t.

Held By Hands - Trading On Past Treasures

www.myspace.com/heldbyhands.

Montag - Going Places

There must be something in the water in Canada which brings about a near universal fondness for communal activity, what with the plethora of collaborative records recently by her more musically inclined natives. Seemingly one of those most enthralled by this prospect is producer Antoine Bédard, the creative force behind Francophone electro-pop outfit Montag.

Bédard's parfumée landscapes of acoustic and electric sound heavily reference forerunners like Air as well as peers like M83, so it is appropriate that at least the latter appears in the form of Anthony Gonzales on the first track, I Have Sound. Combining blooming keyboards with acoustic guitars in an airy soufflé garnished with vocals from both Bédard and Gonzales, it is easily one of the finest tracks on the album. Mechanical Kids, featuring Amy Millan of Stars and Broken Social Scene fame, is another exemplary song. With its sugary lilts and the cooing backing vocals of Millan, it again demonstrates just why Bédard feels he can justify getting so many friends to help out.

Softness, I Forgot Your Name is a somewhat more mediocre example of the collaboration in action, yet the mere involvement of Owen Pallett lends the right degree of whimsy to rescue it. Further collaborations ensue, few reaching the same heights as these stand-out tracks, yet all solidly maintaining an atmosphere laden with French retro goodness. The final project, Going Places itself, is of the same mould - yet apparently features about 70 participants from over 15 different countries. It is perhaps a testament to Bédard's skills as a producer that even with involvement on this scale he keeps up the picture he has constructed over the previous eleven tracks, and in many ways enhances its clarity for that ever-important finale.

Overall Score: 8/10

Biffy Clyro @ Glasgow Barrowlands 8th Nov

Support tonight is provided by Californian pop-punkers The Matches and Manchester's own Nine Black Alps. The Matches, it would seem, worked their way onto the bill by being nice to the Biff during a recent US tour. Their generic music, combined with a seriously muddy sound setup, endears them to very few in the audience, least of all the bearded middle-aged man next to me at the bar. "I can't believe Biffy actually approved this" he mutters, looking a lot like Santa in a Saxon t-shirt. Nine Black Alps, on the other hand, seem to have the whole support-band thing down to a fine art. The Mancunians spend little time interacting with the crowd, opting instead to provide one top quality grunge tune after another, perfect for appreciative head bobbing.

After what seems like an age, Ayshire's finest take to the stage. Wasting no time, they plow straight into "Saturday Superhouse", causing a near riot in the audience. After a few songs, the crowd apears to collectively agree that pushing and shoving at this extreme level, as fun as it may be, will not allow for the undivided attention deserved by Biffy, and things begin to simmer down.
A good mix of Biffy's material is played tonight, with fairly even distribution between the band's 4 albums (slightly more songs from Puzzle are played, but then it is the Puzzle tour). Every song provokes a manic reaction and devoted singalong the crowd. The only point Simon & Co come close to slipping is during 9/15ths, mainly because the song simply doesn't work without the choral backing it enjoys on Puzzle. The highlight of the night is, without a doubt, the closing song, 57. Many of the band's oldest and most dedicated fans were most likely in attendance, and the roof is truly raised in appreciation a classic Biffy tune.
Playing the Barras is usually as close as Biffy get to a hometown show these days, and despite the fact that tonight was their 3rd visit to the venue in less than a year, the hall is packed and the fans are as ecstatic and devoted as always.

The Matches: 6/10
Nine Black Alps: 8/10
Biffy Clyro: 9/10

London Calling Festival

Day 1:

With the thought of letting the bands now for once surprise me I entered Paradiso after all those weeks of waiting and waiting. Of course I had to my buy a ticket quite early because the festival is always sold out after only a few weeks. I hadn’t listened to the bands before and didn’t know them so I was quite curious.

After we left our coats we entered the main hall. We got a drink and sat down. Then we went to the small stage upstairs. At 19.30 the first band started playing. They were called, The Strange Death Of Liberal England. It got a bit warmer and a lot of people came so after the second song we left. They were alright I suppose but they weren’t a band we came for.
So we walked around for a bit on the second floor and then we saw some seats above the stage. The next band that were up were Clocks. They kind of reminded me of The View only they made nicer songs.
After the gig was over a big screen came down. They showed the band Scouting For Girls. The band was playing upstairs. Upstairs also means the small hall. They were good as well and surprised me.
Then finally it was time for a more known band The Maccabees. The guitarist came up and screamed to the audience. I already knew people were really gonna get a bit looser. So after a few minutes the first crowd-surfer popped up. And then through out the gig more people (mainly girls) got on stage, jumped up and down a bit and when they saw a security man they quickly jumped in the audience. It was a real pleasure to watch it.
After the nice half hour it was time to see Look See Proof on the big screen. It's just too small upstairs to get a good view. I already knew one really nice song by them, Casualty, and was looking forward to hear them play it. They made songs that were really nice to listen to but that's about it. They do have potential.

The big screen was going upwards at about 22.45 hours. It was time for New Young Pony Club to do their ‘thing’. Finally it was time for some dancing. They made music a bit like CSS but personally I like CSS much more. I didn’t think they were brilliant but it was nice to see a difference in music. The female singer was a really nice girl and tried to get the audience with her and was dancing because musically they aren't a very great band. We headed off early to see Xerox Teens playing. they started at about 23.00 After about ten minutes or so there were so many people and it was so hot that we decided to go to the main stage. We did stand next to the Clocks-drummer.
Xerox Teens also didn’t leave much of an impression on me. Maybe it's just because I don't remember how they sounded like. We didn’t really like them so we went downstairs to look at some cd’s. After a few minutes we went upstairs to our seats in the main hall, got something to drink and before we knew it, it was time for Foals to play. I can't clearly remember how they sounded but what I can remember is that i didn't think they were brillaint. So after three songs we got our coats and walked out Paradiso. High on energy and excitement.


Day 2:

We got there early in Amsterdam to get something to eat. After eating and after watching some street musicians we headed off to Paradiso. We got there quite early so we sat on the stairs waiting for the doors to open. The doors weren’t open yet and we had enough of waiting so we went upstairs. Finally the doors down us were opened and people walked up to the main stage. It was quite early so not many people were there. At 19.30 hours it was time for Dragons to play upstairs/small stage. We watched it again on screen. They reminded me a bit of Depeche Mode. Really nice to see a bit more serious (and older) band perform. At around 20.00 it was time for The Wombats. Three guys making mad music. I really liked them. Typical indie music though. The lights were flashing and people were crowd surfing. From above it was a experience I’d never forget. After smiling and all that it was time for them to leave the stage. Before they stopped the bass player quickly jumped into the audience to crowd surf. At 20.45 it was time for Prinzehorn Dance School to perform. Can’t quite remember what music they made. At 21.15 it was time for Jack Penate. We got downstairs quite early to get to the main stage. I didn’t know what to expect from him. He played his first chord and I really didn’t know what to expect. I was stunned. But after the first half minute I was really into him. He was a really nice guy and he was up for it. All of the sudden two girls got on stage. They started making out and then jumped in the audience again. Every one was a bit shocked and were laughing as well. Jack Penate said it perfectly: “This can only happen in Holland.” He played some acoustic sweet songs too.

At 22.00 it was time for Assembly Now. They weren’t that great. Maybe also because I was caught up in the fact three English blokes wanted to make a picture of me and my sister. So after that incident we got some beer to calm down our nerves.

We got back to our place to wait for Reverend And The Makers. They got on stage and when the singer came up screaming: “Come The Fuck On” we and all the others were really in the mood for it. They were really good and they had a sound I never heared before. The girl was really great as well. Her song “He Said He Loved Me” was well received.
After half an hour of playing and getting the crowd with him he puts on his scarf and coat and got his acoustic guitar. I thought it was some kind of an act but in fact, it wasn’t anywhere near that. He jumped off the stage and walked to the side. He had free cd’s in his hand and was giving them away. He got through the fire exit outside and stopped near a tree and sat down on a bike. Of course he was followed by a group of twenty kids. Including me and my sister.
He asked for his guitar and after a while they brought a borrowed guitar and he started playing. It was brilliant to be a part of this. I can only remember he played the songs Paris At Night, We’re Jamming and also an Oasis song, I didn’t know the other songs. The whole thing was filmed by 3 Voor 12, an underground television station.
Afterwards he signed a bit and we got inside.

We didn’t want to see The Rakes anymore because there were so many people watching them already. We completely missed Blood Red Shoes as well. We were so tired of the whole thing that we decided to go home at about 1.00 in the morning. A lot of people thought about it the same we did and left too. There was no interesting band playing anymore.

To watch the performances of the bands on London Calling you can visit this link:
http://www.3voor12.nl/