MV & EE’s Psychedelic Supernova (Battlemouth)

With a musical collaboration as prolific as MV & EE, it’s somewhat strange not to have heard of them before now. This Vermont pair have worked with a number of artists to accumulate over 30 releases over the past decade, and now bring us their fourth major release Barn Nova under Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label. Combining Indian raga-style composition with Appalachian folk and post-psychedelic electrical experimentalism, Matt Valentine and Erika Elder take the listener on a journey through an extraordinary and haunting soundscape. [...]

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This Is No Substandard Fare (Battlemouth)

Standard Fare may be named after a sign spotted on a bus, but their effect is anything but pedestrian. Sounding like the perky younger siblings of the Arctic Monkeys, the power trio’s uncomplicated lyrics of life and infectious beats make for a rollicking good time, and now Emma Kupa, Danny How, and Andy Beswick are set to release their debut album. Recorded in six days with an indie aesthetic that would have made John Peel proud, the album is named for a formative period in the band’s development when they travelled across the channel to play at a festival in Noyelles Sous Lens, France. “It was where we felt our sound came together,” says How, and the collection of songs they were playing became The Noyelle Beat. [...]

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Symphonic Serj Tankian (Battlemouth)

In mid-March 2009, a one-off special concert was performed at New Zealand’s majestic Auckland Town Hall. At this concert, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian performed songs from his critically-acclaimed solo debut album Elect the Dead, along with some previously unreleased songs, accompanied by the well-regarded Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Thankfully for those unable to be part of the audience, this unique concert was recorded, and is being released as Elect the Dead Symphony. [...]

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Not a Consolation Prize (Battlemouth)

Every now and then, one comes across an artist that truly reminds you how good simple music can be, and Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten is one of these artists. I came across her music in an odd moment of serendipity, and was immediately taken by the wonderfulness of her work. Recorded under the artist-centric Language of Stone label, Because I Was In Love is her first studio album, and is a clear demonstration that she is a talent to be watched. [...]

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Journey to The Golden Archipelago (Battlemouth)

Shearwater make beautiful music, it cannot be denied. Their albums are critically acclaimed and invoke great passion in their fanbase. Their new album continues this fine tradition with the band’s most absorbing and accomplished work to date. The Golden Archipelago is the third panel of a triptych (preceded by Shearwater’s Palo Santo and Rook albums) linked by themes of environmental and personal decay, and humans’ impact on nature. [...]

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Five Live Albums to Check Out (Battlemouth)

What is it that defines a good live album? It may the intensity of a stadium concert, or the intimacy of a ballroom acoustic set. Perhaps it’s the artists interacting with the audience and obviously having fun. It could even be a reminder of concerts that a person has gone to in the past, or wanted to. For this article, in place of the usual album review, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and present one of those ubiquitous lists you see on the Internet - this list being five great live albums. These isn’t a list of the top five live albums as I haven’t heard a number of the “great” albums and wouldn’t presume to rank things outside of my ken. Instead, these are five albums that I recommend as being worthy of checking out. [...]

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Possible Transference Issues for Spoon (Battlemouth)

Spoon for me has always been one of those bands that you often see mentioned in various places and mean to check out, but never actually get around to doing it. When Mike asked me to have a listen to Spoon’s new album, Transference, I was certainly keen to check them out. What I discovered was that this album is a bit of a mixed bag. [...]

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The Flaming Lips vs Pink Floyd: The Kiss of Death or a Breath of Life? (Battlemouth)

Pink Floyd’s album The Dark Side of the Moon is generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest albums of all time, and a key influence on a number of modern musical artists. It is one of the albums I grew up listening to and have carried through into my adulthood as one of my favourites. The album’s notable use of musique concrète and conceptual, philosophical lyrics resonate strongly with myself and its other listeners, and is truly something that needs to be explored in its entirety, rather than its parts. [...]

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Music Preview (Battlemouth): Heligoland from Massive Attack

Seven years after the release of Massive Attack’s last studio album, 100th Window, DJs 3D and Daddy G have returned to bring us their new offering, Heligoland.  A pioneering and highly influential institution of the Bristol scene, the UK duo follow their usual model of collaborating with guest artists to bring their listeners on a new journey into the surreal trip-hop genre. […]

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5 Minute Review: The Resistance

Reviewing: The Resistance by Muse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a fairly big Muse fan and I've eagerly awaited the release of this album ever since I heard it was in development. When I finally got my hands on it, I was pleased to discover that the band have continued to experiment with their music without any detriment to the quality of their songs.

This, their fifth studio album, is somewhat of a concept album. Inspired by the love story between Winston and Julia in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, this album echoes the themes of love against the odds. The lyrics are surrounded by the strains of the familiar Muse "space rock" sound (notably reminiscent of Queen and Electric Light Orchestra), combined with the evidence of the band's continued evolution and experimentation with new sounds. Other reviewers have referred to this album as "predictable" and accuse the band of not stretching themselves. I disagree - this album combines the familiar and the new, and is a clear attempt at consolidating the lessons this band has learnt over the years.

For me, it is a thoroughly enjoyable album, although I do admit it's not their best. However, this band does release high quality music through all of their albums, and this album is no exception. I recommend this album to existing Muse fans, and as an entry album to new listeners.

See what else I'm listening to >>

5 Minute Review: Animals in the Dark

Reviewing: Animals in the Dark by William Elliott Whitmore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

William Elliott Whitmore is a recent, accidental discovery for me.  This remarkable 30 year-old singer-songwriter comes from a horse farm in a small Iowa town along the banks of the Mississippi River, and has often been referred to as the "Hillbilly Ray Charles".  His music, accompanied by the most basic of instruments and his incredible voice, are simple melodies with well-written stories on a par with Johnny Cash or Neil Young.  Whitmore's primary influences (The Louvin Brothers, Minor Threat, Ralph Stanley, and Captain Beefheart) are illuminating in that they show his heartland and blues roots as well as a hard edge, and his albums reflect this.

Animals in the Dark, his latest album, is a departure from his previous albums in that he moves away from telling tales of life, loss, and the heartland.  This album looks at the greater United States and its government, but does not become a political record.  Instead, it uses emotion and metaphor to paint a stark picture of the state of the country and its people at a grassroots level.

From the first track ("Mutiny") to the closing track ("A Good Day to Die"), this album intersperses stories of bleakness with moments of hope and encouragement.  The hauntingly beautiful second track ("Who Stole The Soul") mourns the loss of the country's soul and feelings of patriotism, perhaps like the shame many Americans said they felt in their country in the past few years.  A few tracks later, we have the track "There's Hope for You" which preaches a message of hope and responsibility. This mixture of highs and lows creates an impression that, although the country has been through trials and hardship, the people will persevere and become stronger for it.

Whitmore's gravelly voice and style of singing could easily be transplanted into Depression-era American folk music (like that found in the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and his early albums represent this.  Animals in the Dark grows from his earlier style, taking a full band arrangement for the first time and evolving into an impressive, refined sound, but does not lose any of the heart and soul that is a part of Whitmore.  The result is an album which shows an artist maturing into something quite special.  I for one will be tracking down his back-catalogue and looking out for future releases.

The Otherside

"The Otherside" is the first single from Breaks Co-Op's second album, The Sound Inside, released in 2005.

Last.fm Visual Stats

This is a visual graph displaying my last.fm listening habits since I first signed up in August 2007. This was done using the last.fm Extra Stats desktop application.

Last.fm Wave Stats, originally uploaded by Nightwyrm X.