Never Ever Whisper When It’s Time To Shout
November 10th, 2009
When I reviewed the last Seasick Steve album, I said it worked best ‘when Seasick Steve is left to his own devices’.
It appears I might not have been the only one who felt that way.
On his fourth record Steve has gone back to basics. Where ‘I Started Out With Nothing’ suffered from an overloaded cast of, well, several, his latest takes quite the opposite tack. ‘Man From Another Time’ strips away the extra personnel, reducing his music back to the bare bones of his voice, guitars and ever trusty drummer Dan. Read more
Filed Under Album Reviews | No Comments Add a Comment
It’s Starting To All Make Sense
November 5th, 2009
Nostalgia has always played a part in the music of Luke Haines.
Scattershot references to the people, places and events that informed his childhood litter his work.
From Auteurs lyrics that detail the minutiae of British ‘culture’, through the explicit use of the Baader Meinhof name, on to the subtle use of imagery such as Lord Lucan in his band’s artwork, the 1970s are nearly always present in one form or another. Although not necessarily in a positive way. Where Ray Davies detailed the quirky aspects of British life and Morrissey glamorises an imagined England that probably never really existed, Luke Haines is far more cynical, barbed and realistic. Maybe an altogether truer embodiment of what it is to be British. Read more
Filed Under Music | No Comments Add a Comment
All Things Have Memories
November 2nd, 2009
If I had to choose one word to describe the new Idlewild album, I’d go with reliable.
Or maybe dependable.
Two words which, if I was talking about a new car could be deemed as positive. But in the context of an album review? Well that’s a different matter. Or at least, I guess it depends on what you want from music. In this case it also depends a little on how you feel about Idlewild. ‘Post Electric Blues’ is the sound of a band being comfortable in their own skin. Read more
Filed Under Album Reviews | No Comments Add a Comment