Ok so new rules - In the event that any of the following occur: repeated vomiting from self or child, anniversaries, major birthdays or national holidays within a calendar week, I will use my discretion to decide whether or not to write. As it stood this week, two of the above – the vomiting and Little Dude’s first birthday – occurred, hence the lack of writing. But we’re back on form and away we go.
Gorilla Manor – Local Natives
The new album from Local Natives is good. They were the media darlings of this year’s SouthBySouthWest and with good reason. They have smooth harmonies and, as the Guardian put it, sound a lot like Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes and Arcade Fire all rolled into one. I think this sells the band a bit short simply because they have a nice cruisyness that is absent from the aforementioned list. It’s no surprise that Rough Trade picked them up as they are, well, good. Things I could do without though? The bonus DVD of drowning mannequins and moustachioed bandies doing a stripped back guitarfest.
Here’s the thing that jars for me – this is yet another album without a single. And I like my singles. I’m a pop princess at heart and I just don’t feel like they’ve got anything exciting on this album. “Camer Talk” is as close as it gets (which I will admit is a very good track). And I guess that is why the Guardian and others have basically given them a mention but haven’t heralded them as the second coming. Sure they’re good and worth some discussion, but they just fail to excite. This is the kind of band that I always feel I have to go along to see live and then when I get there I’m so bored out of my skull I can’t wait to leave.
The odd thing is that when I sat down to write this, I thought I was going to say, this is so great – go Fleet Foxes, I mean, Local Natives. But what I’m realising is that this album’s lack of identity annoys me. And if I’m being honest, so does Arcade Fire. There, I said it. kkk 1/2
ITunes free download – “Living the Life of a Dreamer (Mr Scruff remix)” by Alice Russell
This is very different from my usual free download fodder – hip-hoppy and r&b flavoured with a jazzy world music feel. Alice Russell is probably seriously liked in certain circles. She’s got pipes to be sure but I suspect that if she was playing a club where you were trying to have a cocktail with a friend, she would sound very shouty and you would leave out of frustration. On the other hand, if the 80’s movie formula of musical montages comes back around, this one would be good for the background of someone learning to race cars. kk 1/2
Recommendation from Bob – Tarot Sport by Fuck Buttons
I’m pretty sure that the only reason Bob started listening to this band was because of their name. For the which I cannot fault him as I fell prey to the same impulse. This album is not at all, however, what I had expected based on the band’s name. I thought it would be louty metalcore with angry lyrics and good use of the word putrid. But, as it turns out, it’s mainly edgy electronica, and actually, it is very well done. And though there are two songs on the album which top out at over 10 minutes, I don’t find it to be too self-indulgent. It has a clean feel and it’s nice music for the background. Saying that, I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it either. kkk
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