247 Magazine » Reviews: Albums

REVIEW: DRIVE BY TRUCKERS – GO-GO BOOTS

247 Magazine — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:40:14 +0000

Drive-By Truckers
Go-Go Boots
****
Album number eleven finds the Truckers in a climate of high creativity, with material that sounds as fresh as the product of any young whippersnapper starting out, on the road to alt-country and Americana. That ol’ country & soul never sounded more beautiful than it does on the luscious Dancin’ Ricky, with female vocals that tug at the heartstrings. For a newcomer to the Truckers (like your humble narrator), Go-Go Boots brings about the desire to own the entire back catalogue. And their use of at least three different singers keeps the album ticking over nicely. Everybody Needs Love sounds like an old classic you’ve loved for years. Used to be A Cop is yet another highlight, one of many on this fourteen-song musical triumph. Extremely addictive, and already my album of the year. Look out for the documentary on the band, The Secret to a Happy Ending, out this month. And they head out on tour in May, coming to Bristol Anson Rooms on May 6th. Long may they keep on trucking.

Words: Arash Torabi

REVIEW: WIVES OF FARMERS

247 Magazine — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:56:17 +0000

Unfortunately Wives of Farmers are not ruby cheeked lasses that have decided to fuck-off the farm duties to make an album – they’re not even women. Songs about breaking into houses to replace the freezer food with Roskilly’s ice cream and calling Uri Gellar a ‘spoon bender’, more than makes up for the initial disappointment. Their self-titled debut album meanders through resonating melodies to crazed speedy rants and then back again, it’s not a rollercoaster of an album, more like a faulty tea cup ride at a pikey fair, unnerving yet enjoyable. It kicks-off with the endearing sea creature story of ‘Grey Mother’, humorous yet made poignant by an unhurried, tuneful riff. ‘Seasonal B+E’ is a disturbingly funny song that expresses a pointlessly odd and weirdly troubling burglary. This saunters on to the sombre ‘Ties That Bind’; perhaps not the best the album has to offer but does possess a nice ambient feel. ‘Holly Moore’ on the other hand is a rendition presumably slating an ex girlfriend with vocals similar to Tom Waits. The track is brutally hilarious and builds to a fierce furore that makes you want to yell along: “Holly you’re a see-through bitch.” The ruthlessly energetic ‘Snake River’ jumps out of the track-list, bounding through heavy rhythm-laced instrumentals with ease and would adapt extremely well if it was released as a single. The application of PMA is told through the peppy melodies of ‘Hesitation’, where as ‘Glass Alley’ expresses the fear of somewhere “ending up like Newquay.” I guess the combination of stag dos and Cornish cyder is pretty terrifying. The upbeat and wild ‘Cutlery’ undresses Uri Gellar’s mysterious antics, executed in a mentalist style that’s typical of this debut. The hoarse mantra of ‘Get Down’ and fairy tale-esque ‘Fountain’, provides a leisurely air that develops to sign off with reassuring harmony making the album perplexingly listenable.

To get your mitts on a copy have a gander at their website: wivesoffarmers.bandcamp.com

Words: Ben Perks

REVIEW: MIRRORS – LIGHTS AND OFFERINGS

247 Magazine — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:43:55 +0000

Mirrors
Lights and Offerings
(Skint)
***
Powered by analogue synths and a good DIY ethic, Mirrors deliver an album packed with melody, deep lyrics, washes of sound and bubbling electro basslines. Reproducing the sounds of thirty years ago seems to be the golden rule these days, and the skeleton of Mirrors’ sound shows more than just a little influence from Depeche Mode (circa A Broken Frame) and OMD. The singer has even gone as far as perfecting the voice of Andy McCluskey, OMD’s vocalist. Of course, it’s a lot more “cool” to reference the likes of Public Image Ltd, XTC and Joy Division, but there’s no evidence of their influence on this album. Still, there’s no getting away from the fact that Ways to An End is perfect electronic pop, and you have to admire their punk rock ethic: “We are disappointed in society… everything has become boring, socially and politically.” Ultimately, Mirrors’ saving grace is that similar to Delphic (last year’s New Order clones), they can write songs. Choosing to emulate a previous sound or another singer’s voice works when the material itself is fresh.

Words: Arash Torabi

COMEBACK EP FROM THE LEGENDARY DISTRACTIONS

247 Magazine — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:50:20 +0000

The Distractions were the great lost band of the new wave era. Factory single legends, one rated and feted album, a batch of classic songs and an awful lot of “Whatever happened to?”

And now they’re back with a 3-track 12” vinyl EP on Exeter label, Occultation Records. It’s been a while and there have been hints. Some unreleased songs from the 1990s, a definitive and definite first-time reissue of their back catalogue – but now this. The first all-new record from The Distractions since the back end of time. Three brand new songs, guitars by Steve Perrin, vocals by Mike Finney. There’s Lost, a Perrin classic. Steve describes it as “a real toe-tapper with a lyric in which a bloke contemplates the pointlessness of his existence.” There’s Nicole, a majestic song about a girl in the great Distractions tradition of majestic songs about girls. And there’s the only non-Perrin/Finney song here, Nick Halliwell’s Oil Painting, a song that nevertheless continues that old “Nobody’s Perfect” feel.

“When the planning started for the possible new single”, says Steve Perrin, “Mike and I had a discussion, the gist of which was that the Distractions in 2010 could sound any way that he and I wanted.” And that sound, brilliantly, is the sound of the 2010 Distractions – guitars and vocals from men who have worked the popface long and hard, but losing none of the soul and vitality that they brought to their earliest work.

With Liverpool production and California mixing by Nick Garside, Come Home is only the second Distractions 12” EP, but is very unlikely to be the last. With the Nothing compilation on the slipway and a new album being planned, The Distractions have not so much come home as been indoors, scrubbed up and got ready to go out again. The Distractions are here again, and Come Home is only the beginning.

More about Occultation Recordings

Exeter label, Occultation Recordings’ motto is: “One heavenly body may conceal another as they move through space”

The label launched in early 2009 with the simultaneous release of two limited edition 10” vinyl releases, The Wild Swans’ English Electric Lightning and The Granite Shore’s Tomorrow morning, 3 a.m. in April 2009, followed in November that year by a further Wild Swans single, Liquid Mercury, on 7″. The 2010 release schedule includes Jonathan Beckett’s She’s A Vampire digital EP and the second Granite Shore single, Flood of fortune, plus the Black Velvet digital EP and the Come Home 12″ EP by Manchester’s legendary Distractions. 2011 will finally see the unveiling of The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years, the first new Wild Swans album in more than 20 years along with a Distractions retrospective entitled Nothing.

Occultation releases are available online at www.occultation.co.uk and from good independent record shops.

REVIEW: SEDGE WARBLER

247 Magazine — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:45:33 +0000

Exclusive, we just got hold of this new track from Sedge Warbler – Paranormal Ox Man
Check out the video below, gonna be big. Born out of a shared love for heavy choppy beats, tearing bass and futuristic sounds, this track is all about Glitch Hop – yet another new sound that is emerging. Combining these sounds with the movement of Dubstep, hip hop and nu funk, this is a truly versatile beast – check it below…

REVIEW: NATIONAL PASTIME – BOOKMARKS

247 Magazine — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:24:36 +0000

National Pastime
Bookmarks
(Pastime Records)

Exeter’s lo-fi indie-pop regulars drop their second album proper, featuring twelve brand new songs recorded at Off the Rail Studio, Tipton St John, with producer Andy Fonda. As before, National Pastime’s sound is generally reminiscent of the first wave of British indie-pop (think Sarah Records or early Creation Records). This time around, the songs have more depth and colour, with the occasional use of Hammond organ and simplistic (but effective) guitar melodies, in a similar way to Felt. Check Lake Geneva or the wonderful single from the album, Paper Planes for evidence.
National Pastime launch Bookmarks at Exeter Phoenix Bar on Friday November 12th, 8.30pm-11pm. Entry is free and support comes from Simon Bish, former singer with John Peel darlings, Thrilled Skinny.
www.myspace.com/pastimerecords

Words: Arash Torabi

REVIEW: LES SAVY FAV – ROOT FOR RUIN

247 Magazine — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:55:34 +0000

Les Savy Fav
Root For Ruin
(Wichita)

They may have enjoyed a brief love affair with the mainstream indie press a few years back (around the release of ‘Let’s Stay Friends’) but these Brooklyn art-punks were never ones to let it go to their heads. Album number five finds them in splendid fettle, opting for a curvaceous sound that honours their leftfield past but embraces a lateral sense of reflection. Reverbed guitars herald ‘Appetites’ as various mantras are repeated to giddy effect (and did Tim Harrington really just chant, “Show us your teeth and show us your tits”?); but it’s the beautiful despair-disco of ‘Sleepless In Silverlake’, with its Dismemberment Plan cadence, that betrays LSF’s inherent genius. Welcome back you beautiful bastards.

Words: Backbone

SCHNAUSER TO PLAY INSTORE GIG AT RISE IN BRISTOL

247 Magazine — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:25:07 +0000

Schnauser are playing at Rise on Queens Street in Bristol on Saturday. It comes just weeks after they did an album launch gig there.
The Rise late night opening is part of a Queen Street wise event, in which all the shops on that stretch are opening late for one day to help promote independent shops in Bristol.
The music starts at 3pm, and Schnauser are on at 6pm. It’s free to get in and there’s going to be a bar in the shop!
If you can’t catch the band, who are from Bristol, at this special gig then check them out at The Croft on October 19. Tickets £5.

See below for a review of their new album.

Schnauser
The Sound of Meat
(Pink Hedgehog)

If you hate it when musicians take themselves too seriously, pouting like fish through their side swept fringes and writing songs about their tortured souls then you may just love these Bristol guys. They take the comical lyrics of the Divine Comedy/Monty Python/Spinal Tap, add some 60s Britpop melodies and 70s psychadelica and come out the other side sounding like a kind of witty Boo Radleys – the perfect soundtrack to an indie kid acid trip. With hints of Mike Flowers Pop, singer Alan croons: “I don’t have any trouble wooing the ladies, in fact they just throw themselves in my general direction and who can blame them?” – poetry which Half Man Half Biscuit would be proud of.

Words: Laura Williams

REVIEW: PRINCE FATTY – SUPER SIZE

247 Magazine — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:47:52 +0000

Prince Fatty
Super Size
(Mr Bongo)
****

Producer, Mike “Prince Fatty” Pelanconi has been big in the British reggae game since the ‘90s, having previously worked with Lily Allen and Blur’s Graham Coxon. This album finds him on good form, with eleven strong tracks capturing a traditional sound: reggae & soul favourites are recreated via roots, dub, lover’s rock and a bit of dancehall. His regular singer, Little Roy shines on the moving Need Some Lovin’. The album also boasts a colourful roster of guest singers & MCs, including Alcapone, Natty and Winston Francis. The dancehall take of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Shimmy Shimmy Ya is both amusing and effective. A well-rounded album recorded on vintage equipment, which gives it an overall warm sound.

Words: Arash Torabi

REVIEW: SIMON BISH – YOU GET TO LIVE A FEW GOOD DAYS

247 Magazine — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:58:49 +0000

Simon Bish
You Get To Live A Few Good Days
(Pop Noise Records)

Fine gentle indie-pop from Simon Bish, who previously sang in Thrilled Skinny, the John Peel-favoured indie-punk-poppers from the early ‘90s. More recently, Mr Bish has been fronting the Exeter-based four-piece, Noise Annoys Simon, as well as running his own label, Pop Noise Records. On this, his solo debut, he keeps up his melodic vocal style, but with a more laidback sound, which is mainly acoustic with drums, cello, acoustic guitar and melodica. In his own words, it’s “pop-soaked melancholic acoustic lo-fi indie rock with delicate vocals and gently strummed guitar.” Amen to that. What’s there not to like?
Get some Pop Noise into you life: www.popnoiserecords.co.uk

Arash Torabi