EP Review : CYMBALS

Hmmm, how unfortunate.

Listen to this:

http://soundcloud.com/cymbals/jane

then listen to this:

http://soundcloud.com/tough-love/cymbals-no-bad-decisions-1

CYMBALS decided to make an album, then an EP, mostly in the style of the second track, and I think that was the wrong decision. Just my opinion, which I express in a bit more detail for The Line of Best Fit.

It's all just a bit....disappointing. I don't think they're a bad band at all, I guess I wanted a bunch of tracks that sounded a bit like 'Jane'. At least it's not Metronomy, eh? Anyway, read on after the jump!

Interview : Thieves Like Us

Surly sods.

That's how, if I was being vindictive, I'd describe Thieves Like Us following my interview with the band for The Line of Best Fit. But I won't do that, simply because the multi-national glam-pop collective make shiny, danceable music with excellent visuals, and I'm easily swayed by such things.

I caught up with them to chat about their new album Bleed Bleed Bleed, their new and glamorous band members, and Fassbinder. To read more, just follow the link.....

Album Review : Bear In Heaven

Bear In Heaven's 2009 album Beast Rest Forth Mouth was so good that I ended up including it in my albums of the year for 2010; a record that melded pop, electro, prog and art-rock together so brilliantly and seamlessly it seemed like a defining statement never to be topped. But the band has persevered, and this time I'm keeping up with what's going down by reviewing new album I Love You, It's Cool for The Line of Best Fit.

Not quite scaling the heights of the last record, it's still a great listen; a layered and textured piece that bears repeated listens and a little bit of patience. You can read a bit more, plus watch a mockumentary put together by the band, at this link right here.

Interview : Remember Remember

Despite living in Glasgow, I don't often write about music from the city so when the opportunity comes around I'd prefer it to be from the Mogwai end of the scale rather than plumbing the depths of Kassidy territory. So, it was a great pleasure recently to catch up with Graeme Ronald of Remember Remember in a local hostelry (I had a tea) to talk about his new remix record, The Mixening for, The Line of Best Fit.

As a fan of the band it was interesting to talk about the remixes, some of which have been done by Scotland's brightest names: The Twilight Sad, Errors and The Phantom Band to name but three. We also chatted about the Glasgow music scene, touring and minimalism, and you can read all about it by clicking this here link.

Album Review : AU

I've reviewed a few The Line of Best Fit recommended records in the past year or so, but very few would have a first track that's as explosive, euphoric and downright brilliant as the first track on AU's new album Both Lights.

Starring the elemental saxophone work of Colin Stetson, 'Epic' sets the tone for a wild ride across psych/folk/punk/metal/choral music in the space of the album's 11 tracks. I've always liked AU since I heard their Verbs record, but nothing prepared me for near-perfect construction of this album. It really is quite something.

You can read more by making the jump here, and I'd thoroughly encourage you to do just that.

Album Review : A-Sun Amissa

With a name that makes absolutely no sense to me, A-Sun Amissa probably belong in the realms of experimental music. And that, of course, is where they reside. New album Desperate In Her Heavy Sleep is an instrumental epic: bleak, forbidding and the sound of the end of the world. Lucky me to get to review it for The Line of Best Fit.

To be honest, Godspeed You! Black Emperor got there first and do the whole gloomy thing a lot better, and for the moments where you focus in on the strings, Rachel's do that with a lot more beauty, style and gravitas.

Still, there are some not bad moments to be found, and you can read more by lifting your skinny fists and clicking here.

EP Review : Young Liar

More? You want MOOOOORRRE?

Alright then, here's another review I've done for The Line of Best Fit in March, it's been a rather busy month all told, and I'm off to do an interview later today as well. The fun never stops round here....

So, EP2 is the latest release by a bunch of young Geordies by the name of Young Liar. It's a short instrumental EP, heavy on guitars and the post-rock vibe, but with some small surprises: you might be able to have a wee dance to a couple of the tracks. File alongside Explosions In The Sky, (Neu!), Mogwai et al in the quiet/loud section of your record collection, but it remains to be seen if Young Liar's career is a brief one - they could go on to release more fine records, or they could disappear like a slew of similar bands before them.

To read more, head on over to TLOBF.