‘Two’

Continuing to metaphorically tear up my mission statement of trying to feature a diverse range of bands on these pages, it’s time for ANOTHER Brooklyn-based group: The Antlers.

Lead singer/songwriter Peter Silberman initially started the project under his own name when he moved to Brooklyn four years ago. After recruiting Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci, the band recorded two EPs and, after their self-released debut full-length sold in insane numbers, they were snapped up by French Kiss records of Passion Pit and The Hold Steady fame.

Their remastered album, Hospice is a caliginous, brooding work. It recounts the tale of a man losing a loved one to cancer, narrating his first-hand dealings with death, and laced with photo-realistic imagery.

The music is no-more chirpy. The Antlers’ sound is underpinned by a churning mixture of what Silberman calls “found” noises: experiments and accidental happenings in atmospheric timbre. His exasperated delivery is at times not-unlike Wyn Butler of Arcade Fire, and the band have been compared to the Montreal group on more than one occasion.

Hospice is a great record. However, if you’re not really in the mood to listen to an articulate tale of death and loss, perhaps listen to The Antlers’ polar opposite, Slow Club, instead?

Ah, it’s that time of year again. Love it or hate it (and seemingly this year, mostly, it’s “hate it”) it is LIST TIME. I’m not going to even think about a 2000s list until the start of next year, as I have my usual top 50 of the year to get through first.

This is a personal list, my opinion only, which goes without saying really. There may be some ‘consensus’ choices in there, but they’ll only be in there if I love them. There’s very little objectivity gone into this list. Hopefully there are a few random selections that you might have missed me wittering about earlier in the year – check out some of those.

Click below for the first ten. Next batch will follow next week sometime. Hopefully it’ll be done before Christmas.

50. Tiga – Shoes

In brief: Deliberately hyper-mannered, blank pastiche 80s electro. She/He spoken vocals where the She is (or alternatively, isn’t) Madonna.
He say “I wrote it about my three favourite things in life: shoes, hair and gloves.”
Best bit: 1.11 – “She” says “It’s the sound of my shoes”. Trust me, it’s ace.
See also: Mr Oizo remix

49. Tahiti Boy & the Palmtree Family – 1973

In brief: Rather polite, but charming, head-in-the-clouds French tree-hugging silliness. There’s even talking trees in the video.
They say: “Remember this is no tribute band, no Devendra Banhart hippie shit, no I’m From Barcelona hippie shit either. We’re a regular band.” (Ahem.)
Best bit: 2.33 onwards: the unexpected rifftastic coda that takes a sly dig at what’s come before – “Well, that was 20 years ago…”
See also: Superior remix from Para One

48. The Hundred in the Hands – Dressed in Dresden

In brief: Choppy, buzzy little post-punk/pop gem. Sort of Emily Haines sings a Bangles melody over an old Strokes song type thing.
They say: Not much, yet.
Fact: Signed to Warp and working with Richard X. Exciting.
See also: Jacques Renault’s moodier/sexier reworking, Undressed in Dresden
Best bit: Around 2.04, for no real reason.

47. Air France – Gothenburg Belongs To Me

In brief: They love Saint Etienne, are from Sweden, and make electronic pop music. You can imagine the (exquisite) result for yourself. Or click the Youtube nonvid above.
They say: “I bought my first Saint Etienne record when I was 13. A bully in my class found it in my Walkman and played it to everyone in my class, and for months I was called names. But fuck them, Bob Stanley is one of the few people I really feel have made me a better person.”
Best bit: Too smooth and complete to choose a moment.
See also: Their pleasant take on Saint Etienne’s Spring

46. Crystal Stilts – Love is a Wave

In brief: Indiepop mumbling over a schlocky, rollicking 2 minutes of retro-pop.
They say: “I was asked to describe the sound by an interviewer the other day and said that I had read in a German write-up the phrase “jangle schrammelpop.” I have no idea what that means, but it sounds just about right.”
Best bit: The sound of a song coming to its conclusion dead on the 2 minute mark. Ahh.
See also: Departure.

45. Slow Club – It Doesn’t Have to Be Beautiful

In brief: Joyful, happy-clappy twee skiffle-pop. But also: a song that builds and grows, and with it puts the Sheffield duo a cut above the indiepop swamp.
They say: [On using a chair as a musical instrument] “I just don’t think it’s that weird. It’s just a piece of wood that sounds quite cool.”
Best bit: 1.51, melody turned up to 11
See also: The rather amusing video to Trophy Room

44. Modernaire – Faites Vos Jeux

In brief: Hypnotic mix of chanting and half-rapping over some prehistoric electro noises.
Fact: Singer allegedly called Chesty La Rue. Isn’t that one taken?
Best bit: “Apparently murder is out of fashion/ so I got put away for a crime of passion”
See also: This remix here which adds some rather nice house-y piano chords near the end.

43. Manic Street Preachers – Jackie Collins Existential Question Time

In brief: Holy Bible b-side, but somewhat sillier. Even sillier than ‘Revol’.
They say: “It is a good title, isn’t it? The weirdest thing is, I think, lyrics aside, a lot of it is very sweet and very pop. If we’d done it in a different lifetime with different words, who knows, it could have been a gigantic hit single.”
Best bit: “Oh mummy, what’s a Sex Pistol?”, obviously.
See also: OMG there’s a Saint Etienne remix which is basically a cover version: LOOK!

42. Tinchy Stryder ft. Amelle – Never Leave You

In brief: Pseudo-Sugababe (Serial No. 005) joins Tinchy in an endearingly British (tinpot, cheap, but cute) take on an Usher-esque R’n'B power ballad.
He say: Rather a lot of PR-friendly fluff, and nothing very interesting, as far as I can see.
Best bit: 0.01: The preposterous introduction.
See also: All of his other hits. Turn your radio on.

41. Miike Snow – Animal

In brief: “Toxic”-hitmakers done gone formed a band. And made some pretty cool tunes, like this one.
They say: “Animal is a very simple song. Its very simply made. Directing your attention to mans underlying nature and how sometimes things in society just don’t work out to meet your needs.”
Best bit: 2.12, the plinky plonky bit
See also: Fred Falke remix (emphasises the plinky plonky bit); album highlight Song For No-one

Tune in next week for rather a lot of dancefloor-friendly tuneage, with a few morsels of indiepop scattered inbetween. Tasty.

It’s ok to have scars – they will make you who you are

The rough things that I’ve gone through has only shaped me to be a better person – and we all know the saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” but I think people forget that we’re allowed the scars as well. They hurt more some days then other and we can choose to show them or keep them hidden. But they are still there.

I’ve got a pocket full of problems and a pocket full of seed

But what I find that a lot people do is let there scar wear them instead of wearing the scars. They let it chew them, eat them, and then spit them out where they end up miserable in a pile of spit. You are in control of your life. You can choose to grab a hand full of problems or take the handful of seeds and bring it to the surface – you decide what you want to put you energy on what’s important for your happiness?

My happiest friend are the once that has been through the most trouble – and the once I know that complains over the smallest issues and let it bring them down has never had a real crisis in there life.

Can you never enjoy the good days unless you’ve seen the bad?

(Quotes are from Slow Clubs song ‘Christmas Tv’)

Tittade på Chuck och hörde en låt jag genast blev väldigt förtjust i. Letade en stund på nätet vad den kunde tänkas heta och kom fram till att det var Christmas TV med Slow Club, deras album fanns som tur var på Spotify!
Christmas TV är dock inte den enda bra låten på deras album, snarare tvärtom vilket betyder att resten är riktigt, riktigt bra. Favoriten hittills torde vara When I Go;

If we’re both not married by twenty-four
Will you pass me those knee pads and I’ll get on the floor
If we’re both not married by twenty-five
I hope that there’s some childish spark still alive

Lyssna och njut.

In last month’s Q magazine, I read with some surprise and not a little disappointment, their (rather early) list of the top 50 albums of 2009. Although these lists are by their very nature incredibly subjective, I found myself taking issue with the vast majority of their choices. Florence and the Machine at number 2? Kasabian at number 1? The Decemberists skulking around just outside the 50? All quite laughable.

But at least it prompted me to start thinking about my own choices, and encouraged me to compile my list. At the outset, I will explain that it contains several albums that were not released this year – in fact, in at least one case, not even this century. However, they are all albums that are new to me this year, that I had not previously heard until 2009. In the interests of fairness I did try to keep the older ones out of the top 20, and in fact only one managed to sneak in.

I will present the list in full, without comment, and maybe revisit that decision and add a brief note to each one when I have more time.

I’d be more than happy to receive your thoughts on my choices, and your suggestions of glaring omissions.

In the interests of suspense, I will present them in ascending order of merit, from 50 to 1.

50)  Staff Benda Bililli – Tres, Tres Fort

A group of paraplegic street musicians who live in the grounds of Kinshasa Zoo in Kenya, including a 17 year-old performing incredible guitar-like solos on a one-string electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can. What’s not to love?

49)  Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

My introduction to the wonders of Wilco – the American Radiohead, according to some.

48)  Vetiver – Tight Knit

One of many new bands I discovered this year, and a pleasant record, but probably not their best. Enjoyed their set in the Big Top at the End of The Road Festival in September.

47)  The Low Anthem – Oh My God Charlie Darwin

If more of the songs were as good as the title track, this could have been a top 20 contender. An odd mix of lo-fi nu-folk (a la Fleet Foxes) and growly mad stomping blues (like Tom Waits let loose in a potting shed).

46)  The Broken Family Band – Welcome Home, Loser

One of three of theirs in the 50, and full of very fine songs with the trademark BFB witty lyrics and a fab cover photo and title to boot.

45)  The View – Which Bitch?

Lots of tracks, most of them very good and a step up from their quite listenable debut.

44)  Taylor Swift – Fearless

Stands out from the rest in this list as rather poppy and young, but Ms Swift does write a fine tune and lyric. Although this was purchased for Mrs Cook’s birthday the sheer catchy-ness of these songs has infected me too.

43)  Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

Undoubtedly the best album title in the list, and packed with some fantastic songs. As ever with Yo La Tengo, they manage to sound like at least five different bands over the course of the same record. Never a dull moment.

42)  Cat Power – The Greatest

Spurred on by her great version of ‘Amazing Grace’ on the ‘Dark Was The Night’ compilation, I got this for a half price itunes bargain and was not in the least disappointed. Great voice, great piano, and a number of fine songs.

41)  Great Lake Swimmers – Great Lake Swimmers

Haven’t had time to listen to this one as much as the other two in the list by this fine Canadian band, but their debut showed signs of the huge promise that has been fulfilled on the subsequent records. Folky acoustic songs of the highest order.

40)  Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara

This one had me from the opening seconds of the opening song ‘Your Rocky Spine’, discovered on Spotify on my birthday using my new laptop speakers. Was enthralled by this album for most of that afternoon. Sounded even better with the backdrop of the Canadian Rockies that inspired it on our trip in June.

39)  Woodpigeon – Songbook

Another Canadian band, and one of my first Spotify discoveries. ‘Death by Ninja (a Love Story)’, ‘A Sad Country Ballad For A Tired Superhero’ and ‘A Hymn For 2 Walks In Different Cities’ are all quite brilliant songs, in very different ways. Fast becoming a favourite band of mine.

38)  The Broken Family Band – Please And Thank You

Their most recent, and sadly their last album as they split up in October. The usual reliably great tunes, combined with the occasional barbed lyric, this would have been higher but for the fact I haven’t listened to it as much as my favourite of theirs, ‘Balls’, that appears further up the list.

37)  Band Of Horses – Cease To Begin

So much fuss is made of the Fleet Foxes, but I actually much prefer their Sub Pop label-mates BOH: there is more to the music, the instrumentation is better and the songs are a bit more interesting than the Foxes pastoral by numbers. For me, not as immediately satisfying as their debut, which appears higher up, but definitely worth a listen or several.

36)  John Martyn – Solid Air (Remastered)

Sadly I’d never heard any of John Martyn’s music until after he died earlier this year – this remastered version of one of his most popular records was a great starting point. ‘May You Never’, ‘Over The Hill’ and ‘I’d Rather Be The Devil’ are all stand-out tracks and I love his distinctive guitar playing style.

35)  The Acorn – Glory Hope Mountain

Checked this out after a very good set they played at the End Of The Road Festival: intriguing acoustic rock – a bit of a grower.

34)  Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant

Brash, noisy, full of energy and highly enjoyable.

33)  Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

Love the cover, love the title, love his voice, adore ‘Rococo Zephyr’ and this would have been higher except one or two tracks are a bit too weird for my taste.

32)  Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

Think I need to give this more time, especially as many people have raved about it, but it is a step up from her debut and contains some great moments.

31)  She Keeps Bees – Nests

Another itunes bargain following a sterling closing set at the EOTR Festival, this is well worth checking out. A band to watch out for.

30)  The Decemberists – The Crane Wife

My ultimate discovery of the past year, as regular readers will know, Portland, Oregon’s finest are very much my favourite band these days. This was the first album of theirs I heard and there are a number of outstanding tracks here, such as ‘Crane Wife 3′, ‘The Shankhill Butchers’, ‘O Valencia’ and ‘Yankee Bayonet’. A good starting point for new listeners, but not my favourite, as will become apparent.

29)  The Decemberists – Picaresque

28)  The Broken family Band – Balls

27)  Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

26)  Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band – Outer South

25)  First Aid Kit – Drunken Trees

24)  Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

23)  Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time

22)  The Duke & The King – Nothing Gold Can Stay

21)  The Airborne Toxic Event – The Airborne Toxic Event

20)  Loney Dear – Loney, Noir

19)  Regina Spektor – Far

18)  Joyce, Nana Vasoncelos & Mauricio Maestro – Visions Of Dawn

17)  Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels

16)  Woodpigeon – Treasury Library Canada

15)  Muse – The Resistance

14)  Slow Club – Yeah So

13)  Monsters Of Folk – Monsters Of Folk

12)  Wilco – Wilco The Album

11)  The Leisure Society – Sleeper

10)  Emmy The Great – First Love

9)  Joe Gideon & The Shark – Harum Scarum

8)  Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

7)  Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs

6)  Various Artists – Dark Was The Night

5)  Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

4)  The Cave Singers – Welcome Joy

3)  Loney Dear – Dear John

2)  Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

1)  The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love

Slow Club
Christmas, Thanks For Nothing EP •••
Moshi Moshi

A Slow Club Christmas is starting to become something of a tradition. Last year, Charles and Rebecca treated us to a rather lovely festive single in the shape of ‘Christmas TV’ and a knees-up at London’s Union Chapel. This year they’re repeating the event at the same venue, but with a Santa’s sack of five additional Christmas delights in their repertoire. Or should that be lumps of coal? As implied by the title, Christmas, Thanks For Nothing sees the band continuing to temper their characteristic humour with heavy doses of heartbreak that some might find a little hard to swallow.

Opening with two Christmas classics served so well by ’60s icon Darlene Love, Charles and Rebecca take turns at the mic. While Charles’s rendition of ‘All Alone On Christmas’ is far from office party material with its melancholy lyric and a delivery to break even the strongest of hearts, Rebecca steps in with an arresting version of ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ just in time to stop anyone sobbing into their figgy pudding. The perennial Phil Spector number is given the full-on Wall of Sound treatment and Rebecca belts out her vocal like she’s just won ‘X Factor’, but just when we might be in some danger of thinking that Christmas is a time to rejoice and be merry, Slow Club show us the error of our ways with two new tunes that could put any optimists among us off the festive season forever.

Downright Yuletide misery reigns over the one-two gut-punch of ‘It’s Christmas & You’re Boring Me’ and the title track. So while Rebecca gets a little catty on the former (“You’ve made me happy but you don’t excite me / I’ll wait till New Year to tell you we’re through” – ouch!), not even the sound of sleigh bells can cheer up Charles as he moans, “Christmas, thanks for nothing / you made a doubter out of me.” An overdriven instrumental version of ‘Silent Night’ later and ‘Christmas TV’ makes a welcome reappearance to prevent us from comfort eating an entire tin of Quality Street or smothering ourselves with our stockings. A year-round highlight of Slow Club’s live shows, it’s a great way to end the EP, balancing the sense of longing with a hopefulness that’s sadly lacking elsewhere on the record.

The fact that Charles and Rebecca only share lead vocal duties on one of the six songs is a real shame; the interplay between them was the magic ingredient that made them such a lively and lovable experience. While their knack for a melody clearly hasn’t diminished, their youthful exuberance seems to have taken a bashing. Perhaps a little too eager to leave the naivety of their early material behind, Slow Club may be in real danger of losing their unique charm.

Richard Steele
UK release date: 06/12/09; www.myspace.com/slowclub

Some of the UK’s finest indie acts, including Sky Larkin, Slow Club, Los Campesinos!, James Yuill and Dananananaykroyd have joined together to release a Christmas single in aid of the RSPCA. Penned by Bright Light Bright Light’s Rod Thomas and BBC Radio 1 Wales producer Jen Long – collectively known as HUNKS – the single also features members of Copy Haho, Sound Of Arrows, Airborne Toxic Event and The Venus Stare, not to mention Bright Light Bright Light himself. Out December 14 through Thomas’s own label Self Raising Records, HUNKS & Friends’ ‘The Magic Of Christmas’ is a tongue in cheek pop number that’s not afraid to assert that “Everything’s awesome at Christmas” with blithe cynicism. Buy it for the animal lover in your life.

Meanwhile, ever-reliable DIY label Cherryade Records have done it again with their latest compilation, A Very Cherry Christmas 5, and by ‘it’ we mean stuffed the disc full of enough wry humour and offbeat lyricism to keep us laughing right through to Whitsunday and beyond. Released last week, this fifth instalment of the label’s annual favourite has a whopping 25 songs, including brand new recordings from the likes of Allo Darlin’, Das Wanderlust, Shrag, The Bobby McGee’s and Sparky’s Magic Piano, plus a chance to revisit previous successes from the preceding four albums, like The Lovely Eggs’ ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex For Christmas’ and Tiger MCs’ ‘The Way That You Arrived’. A Very Cherry Christmas 5 is priced at £6, and there’s a limited offer on over at the Cherryade website where you can get volumes 1–5 all for a tidy sum of £18 + £2 P&P. It’s the perfect present for anyone who likes their stocking stuffed with fun.

Alan Pedder

1. Paul Simon – Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
2. Slow Club – Come on Youth
3. Andrew Bird – Nomenclature
4. The 1900s – When I Say Go
5. Sleater-Kinney – Good Things

 Yeah So by Slow Club

2009 (12 tracks, 47:47)

alternative/indie

Y en cosa de … nada, solo 3 o 4 semanas nos veremos envueltos en esa parafernalia que se acerca todos los años, bien callando. La navidad llega y no a todos gusta , la sociedad consumista nos obliga a gastar y celebrarla lo más parecida posible como a esas películas americanas que echan los domingos por la tarde en algún canal de televisión nacional.

Muchos hacen esta denuncia un pelin satírica y intentan subrayar el sentimiento, que por una vez al año, si que todos deberíamos compartir. Slow Club, que ya lo hizo el año pasado, repite Single navideño, esta vez titulado “Christmas, Thanks For Nothing”. Slow Club que despegó por completo cosa de hace 4 meses, con su “So,What” ocupo los primeros puestos de ventas del reino unido durante 4 semanas, se han mantenido en frenético movimiento por los escaparates indie-pendientes más cotizados. Ahora tras sus giras, se centran en grabar un segundo disco, aprovechando el tirón que han llega con el disco debut, Slow Club promete su segundo disco para el primer trimestre de 2010. Pronto la critica de “So,What?” de Slow Club.

Mayer Hawthorne – Maybe So, Maybe No

As well as the other exciting Stones Throw projects that I’ve previously blogged about, the label are also busy promoting Mayer Hawthorne. Not exactly your average Stones Throw signee, though, Hawthorne is being touted as the new voice of soul music. But this isn’t your typical “nu-soul” artist that has more in common with modern R&B, his debut album, A Strange Arrangement, is an authentic homage to the classic 60’s sound; described by the label as simultaneously Smokey Robinson and J Dilla. Plus, Skateboarding videos are always great.

No Age – Losing Feeling

This is a great little video for the title track from No Age’s recently released No Feeling EP. The song itself is pretty decent, sounding like an extension of the sound the band had been developing on last year’s Nouns. It’s a pretty simple idea, but nicely executed.

Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Hearts

By comparison, this effort from Dead Man’s Bones is a bit of an epic. For those unaware, Dead Man’s Bones is the brainchild of actor Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, The Notebook) and Zach Shields, whose debut LP is a ghostly mixture of gospel choirs and spooky indie pop. This video, direcred by the band, features Moving With Wishbone, a moving sculpture from Artist Arthur Ganson. It’s perhaps a bit long, but it looks beautiful and accompanies the song perfectly.

Slow Club – Trophy Room

This quirky effort from Slow Club might not ever launch the band to the viral success it proclaims to crave, but it proves to be both funny and poignant. I struggle to get into this band in any substantial way, but they’re very likable and this video effort certainly won’t do them any harm.

Zola Jesus – Clay Bodies

As I mentioned before in my Former Ghosts post, Nika Roza Danilova of Zola Jesus is definitely one of my favorite vocalists at the moment. This song, taken from her debut full length LP The Spoils, is a good example of why. The video is a bit strange, not really sure what’s going on here, but it looks nice and it’s a great song.

Following on from the success of last year’s free download single ‘Christmas TV’, the ever-likable Sheffield duo Slow Club have announced a shiny new, ribbon-wrapped Yuletide offering. The five-track EP, Christmas, Thanks For Nothing, out December 14 through Moshi Moshi, includes two new originals, two Darlene Love covers and, of course, the brilliant ‘Christmas TV’, which has quite deservedly gone on to be a year-round favourite at gigs. Charles and Rebecca take turns to have fun with the covers; Rebecca sings the Phil Spector-penned ‘Christmas (Please Come Home)’ from the mighty perennial A Christmas Gift For You, while Charles heads up a stripped down version of ‘All Alone On Christmas’, as featured on the soundtrack to ‘Home Alone 2′. The two new songs are the title track and ‘It’s Christmas & You Are Boring Me’.

To celebrate the release of the EP, Slow Club  will a headline show at Union Chapel on 17th December, echoing the sold-out success of last year’s festivities at the Islington church. Tickets are priced at £11.50 and on sale now over here.

Charlotte Richardson Andrews

Started off  Friday at Dempseys for Elephant and Solider. The went over to Clwb for Jonny Foreigner. Had thought that they were over rated when I saw them at Reading Festival as few years back but I stand corrected they were awesome.

Then went downstairs and saw Pulled Apart by Horses, again, for the fourth time I think. Ah they’re so crazily good live!

Had to queue in the rain to get into to see Girls and then had to put up with too many people talking loudly, Such a disappointment! Hope I get to see them under better circumstances in the future.

Then went back to club to hear Big Scary Monsters and Fear Records dj’ing. Loved the mix between Blink 182 and Will Smith. You should definitely check out the Big Scary Monster blog. It’s really insightful if you want to run your own label and also highly amusing.

Spent most of Saturday trying to decided whether to go to Chapter or not. Perhaps one problem with Swn is that some of the bigger venues in Cardiff are a bit of a trek to get to. A taxi is kind of expensive when you’ve already paid £40 for a ticket and the buses are just plan confusing, especially when they change it all on a match day.

Before all this I caught Tubelord at The Model Inn. Later in the day headed to The Gate to see Dananananakyrod who I first saw at Swn last year and are again awesome live. Wall of hugs anyone?

Finished the evening with Slow Club at Dempseys. I’ve seen them twice before and never really got it, but this time I got it and I loved it. Hung around to listen to the Moshi Moshi guys dj and then head to the silent disco. Which was bittersweet as I’d broken my own big headphones that weekend.

You get a full length mixtape this week because Halloween rules and I’m awesome.  That, and I had nothing to do after Mad Men.

1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Satan Said Dance
2. Le Tigre – After Dark
3. Los Campesinos – We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives
4. Slow Club – Because We Are Dead
5. Of Montreal – Chrissy Kiss The Corpse
6. The White Stripes – Little Ghost
7. Franz Ferdinand – Shopping For Blood
8. Outkast – Dracula’s Wedding
9. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – I Put A Spell On You
10. Antsy Pants – Vampire
11. Beck – Satan Gave Me A Taco

So Sheffield’s SLOW CLUB are part of the burgeoning ‘nu-twee’ movement that I’ve created in my head. Their latest single ‘Trophy Room’ is out now on Moshi Moshi (which is Japanese for “we’re rather cool, aren’t we?”) as a limited edition 7″ and digital download. The song is, I’m reliably informed, ’rockabilly’ on account of its shuffling drums. It’s like Richard Hawley’s kids rebelling against him by not being miserable bastards.

SLOW CLUB – Trophy Room

SLOW CLUB AT MOSHI MOSHI

RICHARD HAWLEY – Born Under a Bad Sign [mp3]

I suppose at the start of a review I should probably explain who the bands are and why I went to the gig, this being a personable blog and all, not your budget music review in the Metro. Thing is, I’m not sure if I can, or should. You see at this gig, for the first time in years, I actually took notes so I’d know what to write about afterwards, so I think instead I’ll open with this:

It was a cold, wet, horrible Tuesday, the second wet day in a row and after a few September weeks of sunshine it really felt like winter, or at the very least, autumn, was finally upon us. Sitting in the office all day looking out the window to dark skies and pouring rain my thoughts drifted to heading home and getting comfortable in front of the TV, which sadly seemed rather inviting. This was until I got the email I had been waiting for, a ticket to the gig. Keith shall go to the ball. A little ray of sunshine came through a crack in the sky (metaphorically of course, my life is not that poetic) and things looked a little bit brighter. I was off to see two new bands who I think will be rather successful next year, and who I was very excited to see. Very excited indeed.

First up were First Aid Kit, hailing from Sweden. The teenage sisters (Klara and Johanna) have had a fantastic year, releasing their debut EP, ‘Drunken Tree’s’ and then re-releasing it after the internet success of their cover of Fleet Foxes ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’. I couldn’t even get in the tent at End of the Road Festival last month to see them and after they’d pulled out of their support slot for Slow Club a few weeks ago (to arrange American Visa’s), it was third time lucky for me. Their harmonies were hauntingly beautiful and songs like ‘You’re not coming home tonight’ and ‘Tangerine’ showed wisdom and heart beyond their young years. ‘Tangerine’ was reminiscent of Bright Eye’s ‘Lua’, achingly painful and raw live, whilst hiding a subtle tenderness; it was certainly the highlight of the set for me. They started to play ‘Ragged Mountain’ but gave up a few lines into the first verse in favour of ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ for their Fleet Foxes cover, which, after the disappointment of seeing Fleet Foxes at EOTR and finding them hollow, empty and distant, was uplifting and special. It was incredible to see First Aid Kit breath some life and some joy into it. They carried this on through the rest of their set. They were lovely, funny and engaging with the audience which was the icing on the cake of a great set. Third time lucky? You bet.

Then after a quick interval and buying First Aid Kit’s single ‘Hard Believer’ thanks to the impressive sales pitch on stage of being shouted at to “GO BUY IT!!!”, helped by the fact the sisters were signing everything and anything at their tiny merchandise table, it was onto the headline act, the main event, Fanfarlo.

I blogged a few weeks ago about Fanfarlo’s single ‘The Walls are Coming Down’ which got me hooked, and after checking out their debut album ‘Reservoir’ in the days leading up to the gig I was very excited. Only a few band members made it onto the stage for the opener ‘I’m a Pilot’, just the guitars with the remaining band members arriving throughout the song to crowd the tiny Bush Hall stage. It looked rather cosy up there.

A few songs in and I thought they were superb, Simon Balthazar’s delicate voice (which I was unsure of whether it would carry in a live open space) reaching out to the very back of the hall, powerful yet slight. He thought that the gig was “going pretty well” as he announced to the crowd before they launched into ‘The Walls are Coming Down’ with a group harmony of the chorus before building up the drums and trumpet to properly kick the song off, leaving goosebumps on my arms.

They were good, very good, maybe too good! The Bush Hall seems like a stepping stone to larger venues, massive albums sales and national adoration. Whether they ascend to Arcade Fire levels of fame and adulation is yet to be seen, but on this display, they deserve it.

Fanfarlo’s encore included an invitation to First Aid Kit to joint them on stage for their last song, a cover of the Devendra Banhart song, “This is the way” which, I think we all have to thank Holly at Radar Maker for. Both act’s played at Field Day earlier in the year and Holly suggested that as they’re touring later on in the year, maybe they should do a collaboration, which was what I witnessed on a cold wet Tuesday night in West London, leaving me with a lovely warm feeling inside that carried me all the way home.

First Aid Kit - You’re Not Coming Home Tonight

Fanfarlo - I’m a Pilot

AK47

Sheffield boy-girl duo Slow Club release their new single “Trophy Room” today on limited edition 7″ and download. The track is taken from their charming début album Yeah So and is released on the fantastic Moshi Moshi label.

I saw these guys play at the Roundhouse way back in June and they were great so be sure to catch them the next time they play a town near you. You can watch the wonderfully self-aware video here.

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Listen to this episode (to download, ctrl click and ’save target as’)
What Time is Love – Williams Fairey Brass Band and Jeremy Deller
I Remember Yesterday – Donna Summer
I Saw Daddy Today – Yann Tiersen
It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow – Jack Payne and his Orchestra
A Week From Tuesday – The Pastel Six
Summer is Over – Dusty Springfield
Teenage Winter – St Etienne
When the Springtime Comes Again – The Carter Family
No Time for Sorrows – Fabienne Delsol
Toot Toot – The Prints of Whales
The Fairest of the Seasons – Nico
Only Time Will Tell – Etta James
Time – The Rumble Strips
When I Go – Slow Club
Who Knows where the Time Goes – Fairport Convention
Last Orders – Richard Hawley

http://bit.ly/Cwfkb

Loads of stuff getting published today, here’s a review of Slow Club’s gig at MoHo live from Tuesday. It was absolutely amazing – bookended with true landmark moments. A very special band and a very special gig.

Slow Club – Christmas TV mediafire

I’m not sure if it’s been reported elsewhere, but Slow Club announced last night at Manchester’s Moho Live that they’re releasing a Christmas album later this year. Judging by last year’s Christmas TV, which featured as their encore (in the venue’s carpark, no less), it’s set to be the soundtrack to 2009’s unwrapping. No tracklist or anything that I can find as of yet, but here’s some pictures taken by the lovely Miriam Baynes from last night’s gig. Hopefully there should be a review up on the internet later, too:

and here’s Slow Club’s awesome Christmas TV for you, as a little teaser:

Slow Club – Christmas TV mediafire

You thought about me and you said go
I thought about that and I said no
You couldn’t understand why a girl like me thinks the way I do
But I can’t stand a boy who thinks things through like you
Lets go back to the beginning of the nights that I’ve been regretting
Lets go back to the beginning of the nights I’ve been regretting

And you say baby a lot in your song
It takes all my courage not to sing along
And now my beating heart belongs to my drum
—

Boys On Their Birthdays is a hidden track, behind Our Most Brilliant Friends on Slow Club’s new album, Yeah So? Suzy’s text at 630am made my day, and I ended the week exchanging music over the speakers in class again.

If dreams come true then you and I would make a two

Portrait Projecting Ring by designer/sculptor Luke Jerram, created for his wedding to Shelina Nanji.

In a darkened room, light from a candle or LED passes through the ring to project a series of portraits. A selection of miniature slides were made of different family portraits and inserted into the edge of the ring for projection. The ring was inspired by 19th Century Standhopes.
—

WANT. THIS. SO. BAD.

Lets go back to the beginning
of the nights that I’ve been regretting