Blistering.
White Rabbits, whose recent album It's Frightening was produced by Spoon's Britt Daniel, were an unexpected treat. The album is something of a grower, but there was a brutal immediacy to this live performance. The key was the percussive power of the band. Oscillating between two and three drummers/percussionists, the sheer force of the White Rabbits live experience won over a lot of new fans on Valentine's Night.
Clearly accomplished players, evidenced by the amount of instrument swapping that went on, the vocal yelps and harmonies of Stephen Patterson and Gregory Roberts work well together, and it's always a good sign if a band looks like they're having fun. There's magic in songs like the aptly-named Percussion Gun and gig highlight The Salesman(Tramp Life).
All that left Spoon with some work to do. But they pulled it off brilliantly. I know I go on about Spoon a lot on this site, but they're bloody fantastic. If The Beatles were around today they'd be making music like this - all White Album style rawness combined with studio trickery.
With quite a back catalogue to choose from, the band managed to balance old and new pretty well. There were fantastically electric versions of Jonathan Fisk, The Way We Get By and My Mathematical Mind (one of the stand-outs of the night), plus the hiighlights of new album Transference - Written in Reverse, Got Nuffin and a first ever live outing for the heart-meltingly gorgeous Out Go the Lights.
Ending on You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb made everyone happy, and it was off into the night for all the lovers.
Saturday 20 February 2010
Gig Review - Beach House @ King Tuts, Glasgow 10/02/2010
A stage ensconced in white fur (not velvet, George Costanza fans) was actually the perfect setting for Beach House's reverb-drenched fuzz-pop. After a nervy start (although stage banter was at a premium anyway), Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand's guitar and organ duo, augmented by a drummer, hit their stride with a set heavy on tunes from new album Teen Dream.
Thankfully, the immediacy of the album wasn't lost in the live arena. The songs floated out of the speakers, like a cool breeze breaking the oppresive summerish heat of the venue, the glacial presence of the band - though at times seemingly disconnected from the audience - soothed the senses. Victoria Legrand's voice is a startlingly low register sound, but it's a lovely counterpoint to some of the sharper organ and guitar parts in the mix.
Although it was a touch early for Valentine's Day, some of the songs would be well suited for an initmate couples waltz around a room. A small part of Glasgow was left swooning on a Wednesday night.
Thankfully, the immediacy of the album wasn't lost in the live arena. The songs floated out of the speakers, like a cool breeze breaking the oppresive summerish heat of the venue, the glacial presence of the band - though at times seemingly disconnected from the audience - soothed the senses. Victoria Legrand's voice is a startlingly low register sound, but it's a lovely counterpoint to some of the sharper organ and guitar parts in the mix.
Although it was a touch early for Valentine's Day, some of the songs would be well suited for an initmate couples waltz around a room. A small part of Glasgow was left swooning on a Wednesday night.
Friday 12 February 2010
Have One on Joanna
It's been a while since Joanna Newsom gave us the epic, otherworldy Ys, but she's back this year with new album Have One on Me.
She's not gone electro or grime, but thankfully still inhabits some medieval parallel world where the harp is cooler than the guitar. I don't know what to expect from the album, but I'll take a guess a songs about animals, family members and constellations.
Business as usual then.
You can hear new song 'Kingfisher' at the Drag City website:
Broken Bells
I'm worried about James Mercer. Well, maybe that should read...I'm worried about The Shins. It's clear to me that James has had a bit of trouble working with the rest of his band - two fired, no music in a while - and needs another creative outlet. Maybe he doesn't trust the ability of the rest of his band?
So, leaving the traditional guitar pop scene behind, he's teamed up with all round genius Danger Mouse to form Broken Bells. Basically, it still sounds a lot like The Shins, but DM has added a groove missing from James's recent output.
So far, we've had 'The High Road', and now 'Vaporize', both of which have melodies to die for. At this rate, Mercer might not need to return to his day job.
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Pretty Living
You don't get much pretty living in some parts of Glasgow, but Peter Parker, residents of that fair city, are the glamorous exception.
Wiping herself clean of the ashes of 90s indie heroines LungLeg, Jane McKeown recruited two more femmes and one token chap to form Peter Parker (guess where they got the name? That's right, he was the first Protestant medical missionary to visit China).
They're armed with whip-smart pop tunes, angular punky riffs, and mighty Janet Weiss-style drumming - and plenty of humour and attitude to boot.
If you need more than my seal of approval, 6Music's Marc Riley had them down in Manchester's palace of glittering delights for a lovely wee session recently.
Songs, blogs and gigs after the jump:
http://www.myspace.com/peterparkerglasgow
Wiping herself clean of the ashes of 90s indie heroines LungLeg, Jane McKeown recruited two more femmes and one token chap to form Peter Parker (guess where they got the name? That's right, he was the first Protestant medical missionary to visit China).
They're armed with whip-smart pop tunes, angular punky riffs, and mighty Janet Weiss-style drumming - and plenty of humour and attitude to boot.
If you need more than my seal of approval, 6Music's Marc Riley had them down in Manchester's palace of glittering delights for a lovely wee session recently.
Songs, blogs and gigs after the jump:
http://www.myspace.com/peterparkerglasgow
Monday 8 February 2010
The Middle East
Yeah! Getting political on yo' asses! Big goings on between Israel and the Palestinians!
But wait, there's also a really quite talented bunch of Aussies called The Middle East, and they play rather lovely folk-pop with echoes of Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear and Arcade Fire (if they calmed down and weren't so right-on about everything).
Check them out here:
http://www.themiddleeastmusic.com/home
and here:
http://www.myspace.com/visitthemiddleeast
Floating, beguiling harmonies. Much less intense than the West Bank.
P.S. I do like Arcade Fire, but there's nothing wrong with chilling out now and again.
But wait, there's also a really quite talented bunch of Aussies called The Middle East, and they play rather lovely folk-pop with echoes of Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear and Arcade Fire (if they calmed down and weren't so right-on about everything).
Check them out here:
http://www.themiddleeastmusic.com/home
and here:
http://www.myspace.com/visitthemiddleeast
Floating, beguiling harmonies. Much less intense than the West Bank.
P.S. I do like Arcade Fire, but there's nothing wrong with chilling out now and again.
Sunday 7 February 2010
Album review - Spoon
This one's good.
No, that's not the whole review but it's a good place to start. Transference comes across like a cross between Spoon's more recent output, and the more stripped and spacey sounds of Girls Can Tell. There's all sorts going on in here, it's a real headphones record - noise drops in and out of songs, a couple of tracks change direction entirely then abruptly stop, and there's even the use of the classic fade-out......
Britt Daniel's band normally trade on grooves, but there's a lack of balance on Transference which makes for a destabilizing record. This, however, is a good thing. It's art with an emotional hit - Daniel's cryptic lyrics require continued listening until you hear the beat of his heart, and then the record hits you with its force.
There's a subdued nature to the opening tracks, and then Spoon hit their stride from 'Written in Reverse' onwards, reaching an apex with the brilliant 'Goodnight Laura' (one to play over the closing credits of the next Nick Hornby adaptation?) and standout track 'Out Go the Lights'.
Transference benefits immensely from sounding like a record that's not changed much from the demo versions, and the fact that the guys sound like they're loving being in each other's company.
It's a terrific achievement, deserving of critical and commercial acclaim. The former is guaranteed, the latter is likely to prove elusive once again. I'm not sure the band will care about that, and neither should we.
No, that's not the whole review but it's a good place to start. Transference comes across like a cross between Spoon's more recent output, and the more stripped and spacey sounds of Girls Can Tell. There's all sorts going on in here, it's a real headphones record - noise drops in and out of songs, a couple of tracks change direction entirely then abruptly stop, and there's even the use of the classic fade-out......
Britt Daniel's band normally trade on grooves, but there's a lack of balance on Transference which makes for a destabilizing record. This, however, is a good thing. It's art with an emotional hit - Daniel's cryptic lyrics require continued listening until you hear the beat of his heart, and then the record hits you with its force.
There's a subdued nature to the opening tracks, and then Spoon hit their stride from 'Written in Reverse' onwards, reaching an apex with the brilliant 'Goodnight Laura' (one to play over the closing credits of the next Nick Hornby adaptation?) and standout track 'Out Go the Lights'.
Transference benefits immensely from sounding like a record that's not changed much from the demo versions, and the fact that the guys sound like they're loving being in each other's company.
It's a terrific achievement, deserving of critical and commercial acclaim. The former is guaranteed, the latter is likely to prove elusive once again. I'm not sure the band will care about that, and neither should we.
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