Roland X attacks our growing 'to do' pile between watching Team GB clean up at the Olympics
White Heat
Smiles
Self Release
Ok, I know nothing of this band. Rhubarb Bomb was sent a
link to soundcloud with the two tracks from their single. No bio, nothing. I
could look it up, course, but on this occasion I kinda like the idea of having
no point of reference; purely on the music.
So, lead track Smiles
shows White Heat to be rather noisy outfit with a slightly under produced but
huge guitar sound. It’s driven, echo laden post-punk with reverb drenched
female vocals that sways between generic Indie riffing and very interesting
wall of noise harmonising. It’s works its way into your brain no doubt and
doesn’t mess about – three minutes and we are done. Flipside Hymm is more reflective, a lolloping
beat and rolling jangle mixing in with a pretty woozy vocal. It’s a simple
sound but well executed. A huge guitar crash seems to be taking the track into
a huge My Bloody Valentine type conclusion… but doesn’t and the songs rotates
round once more, saving the full on climax for the end. It’s pretty impressive
actually and I hope this in particular gives an indication as to where the rest
of the band’s material lies. A mix of Nu-Shrag and My Bloody Valentine isn’t a
million miles off and this is definitely worth checking out.
Too Many T’s
Hazard
Too Many T’s are a Hip-Hop duo from London and this is kind of a five track
limited edition taster EP. Clearly geared towards people who have just
witnessed their infectious live show it’s an upbeat record, heavy on beats and
breaks and PLENTY of bass. It certainly has an early ‘90s bloc party feeling to
it, especially on opening pair Hazard and
1992, with hints of Paul’s Boutique type smart partying
rhythms, though there’s no heavy sampling, just a bouncing vibe.
It Ain’t Right , which
is kinda the lead track on here, features a sweet looping dancehall backing;
the introduction of trumpets, jazz piano and vocals loops straight from yr
Gran’s 78s is very well executed.
In fact, if anything, this EP shows off the duo’s skills as
producers more than as rappers. As I’m well aware from their lives shows, the
boys defo have the skills to pay the bills and these are always placed at the
centre of the show. Here; the focus feels like the backings, purely because
they are so good. That said, the interaction which makes Too Many T’s so
special is here in spades, closing track Plum Jam! especially evocative of their obscenely good fun live show.
Steve Chapman Smith
Rise
Listen up, I was all set to hate this. I don’t know why.
It’s the cover of someone who I presume is Steve. He’s singing into a mic, eyes
all screwed up with is hair swished back like a terrible ‘80s rock star. The
only oddity in this scene of cheese is the fact he’s holding an acoustic
guitar.
And thus, six tracks of acoustic based songwriting (although
the last is a Stones cover, urgh). But once the CD gets whirring, it aint bad.
Opener and title track Rise is all
about standing up to the government and showcases Steve’s powerful and
passionate vocals, despite it being a bit too Americanised for my liking. It’s
all about pulling together, being pawns in a game, selling people down the
river, about thieves and liars. You know the score. What can I say? It’s well
done.
The EP proceeds with a full band, kicking out some looping Americana / country styled
musings. It really aint my bag. I can’t stand that country twiddle. But I can
tell that Steve Chapman Smith is the real deal. It’s also clear he’s not just
working through familiar genre tropes for the sake of it; there’s a proper
sense of authenticity here, using music to get a message across. He believes in
what he’s doing and has managed the difficult trick of transferring that to
record. I have nothing but respect for that.
If anything, the EP is a bit one paced, despite variations
for the backing band. It seems to plod at a similar tempo but as an intro into
what Steve is all about, I totally get it and would certainly recommend to
country music lovers, who like a bit more of a lyrical edge to their singers.
Tender Trap
Ten Songs About Girls
Opening track Train
From King’s Cross Station could not be more atypical of the Indie-Pop
revival, but in the best possible way. Within three seconds, I get the band and am transported to many
excited evening in the Indietracks Disco.
The band are a combo of various IndiePop legends and this is
the band’s third album. Immediately, with that first song, it is clear to see
that this is their best album yet. Many a-time I have stood watching yet another
Indie-Pop band and thought, yes, I like this but by god, I could write these
songs. Two chords, twee melody – done. This record immediately catches me out
with my arrogant boasts, because it shows you need something a little more than
that. This has the simplicity of all great pop but opens Pandora’s toy box full
of clever tricks and feels like a whole lot of fun, much more than my cynical
ponderings (Though Step One is
humorously so, in its checklisting to fame).
The combo of the female vocals, in their many forms, is a
recurring great touch. Like the massed vocals, the work of the whole band
swamps into a magnificent whole. Behind it all is a strong sense of purpose,
individuality and tru-feminist positioning. There’s a wave of emotions across
it all, but even when they are being wry or melancholic, the sheer sunshine of
the record shines through. It’s fantastic, and effortless too. Though the
obvious touchstones of Shrag and Evans The Death are almost too blatant to
mention, the similarities are there and for fans of those bands, this is a dead
cert. But the appeal spreads a lot further. I reckon if we all bought this and
played it at full blast the summer would have no choice but to return.
This literally fell through my letterbox in the middle of
this review writing session and I really don’t feel like listening to anything
else now. This is tricky, but I am thrilled to have discovered a proper gem of
a record amongst this to do pile. Cheers Tender Trap!
Wot Gorilla?
This record is awesome. Math / Prog type rock doesn’t strike
me as something that will immediately engage. So, I got myself a nice big cup
of tea and some biscuits and settled in for the long haul. But – bugger me –
it’s got some massive pop elements amongst the crazy time signatures et al. And
I’m straight in to it.
The band are from Halifax
and mix the expected oddness with some kind of post hardcore. So it’s weird
jazziness and proper bouncing punkiness. I don’t know how the hell they pull
this off but they completely do. The vocals recall the non shouting elements of
bands like Touche Amore. SB features
an intro like a much better Biffy Clyro – you know the thing they tried to do
on Infinity Land? I think it is the singing that
ties this crazy patchwork together. Many of these freewheeling prog bands make
the mistake of producing music entertaining only to themselves, but here the
more accessible vocal lines draw the listener in.
I’ve not had chance to digest all this yet. Wot Gorilla
combine their influences in a way I’ve never heard before and I can’t remember
the last time I thought that. It’s fucking crazy. The sound is new and
innovative, but even within the realms of melodic mathrock they bring something
of their own to the table; a more accessible charm without tuning down their idiosyncrasies
one iota; what an accomplishment. After this initial listen, I can’t really do
the band justice with my words – my apologies. But this is one of the most
interesting things I’ve heard in a long time and I strongly recommend a look /
listen
Evans The Death
S/T
Aw man, how slack is Rhubarb Bomb? This has been out months
and it’s only just been passed to me. Well, we are within the orbit of planet
Indie-Pop once more but a little scuzzier, a little more positively shambolic;
cacophonous. The five piece make a breath-taking racket, immediately smashed
into your face with opener Bo Diddley.
What surprises is the range across the record. Morning Voice is a gorgeous piece of
music, epic and grand and life affirming. The voices in Indie-Pop can tend to
be drenched in reverb but here the pure power of Katherine Whittaker‘s voice is
brought to the fore. It’s incredibly adventurous and confident.
I like how the album appears to have been designed with the
old side A and side B in mind. Morning
Voice is followed by the second side’s (and single) Threads. It’s an horrific wall of growling noise tamed by the
bizarre refrain of “Why did I watch that documentary?” This kind of punky, run
away train type three minute smash-up seems to be their calling card, but each
example on the record has something different about it and the album flies by.
The band made a great impression at Rhubarb Bomb’s Long Division for the
ferocity and energy. This record shows a broader range and does what any debut
should do; excites, energises and head-spins with its power, yet creates many
possible signposts for the future.
The Tracks
Strangeways
Ambition / Pretension. Such a hard line to straddle. Here,
we have the second album from The Tracks and I have to admit the first passed
me by. Obviously it was a success, hence the second. First impressions are
mixed; the artwork / packaging are professional and seem to suggest a rather
doomy, post punk outfit. The album credits show that the members don’t ‘play’
their instruments, they ‘perform’ them. The book doesn’t have page numbers; it
has Roman Numerals. The album opens and closes with tracks called Prologue and Epilogue, there is a song called A Friend Called Silence and every page of the booklet had a black
and white shot of at least one band member looking into the middle distance, or
straight through you, like they are so tortured etc etc.
But, y’know, someone’s obviously told ‘em they need an image
and a pose to hold, so they’ve gone for it. And if the music works, that falls
into place. But the image and style always come second. If the tunes don’t back
up the PR, you are gonna end up looking a bit silly.
So after perusing the sleeve for a while, I’m quite
surprised by what emerges from my speakers. In contrast to the design, the
album is a rag tag collection on unconnected ideas masquerading as an album. First
track proper The Mood opens with an
Editors type piano riff spiralling which offers early promise of something
quite accomplished and moody. However, once the full band enters it quickly
falls apart amongst 101 guitar moves and an atmosphere free production. This is
the difference between writing a nice riff and actual songwriting. A promising
opening wasted.
But then it gets weirder. The gloomy post punk cover is long
forgotten by track 3 which is a simplistic, punky smash and grab that sounds
like it was written by a bunch of sixteen year olds a month after getting
guitars for Christmas. Lyrically, it is awfully empty and unsophisticated and
this track starts a routine of incredibly obvious chord progressions and
signposted ideas. The production doesn’t help; certain interesting elements
that point towards the seeming post-punk influences, the wandering, exploratory
bass and distant synths are hopelessly implemented and the feeling is of grand
ambition left wanting in a rather embarrassing manner.
A positive is the variation of styles across the 11 tracks,
but none are especially impressive or interesting. Quiet number A Little While Longer - so insipid it
could be sung by Ronan Keeting - is at least an approach that is accomplished
with accuracy and a certain degree of modesty and sweetness. Elsewhere, some
moments come together, the central musical segements of I Need You show where this album was intended to sit sonically and
other tracks display and early Killers-esqe attempts at danceable anthemism,
but as an album, it doesn’t hang together.
This record feels typical of an age where it is so easy to
release music. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. If I’d come across
this as a set of demos, I may well have been more sympathetic. But if you are
selling this to people as an album, your SECOND, I expect something little more
accomplished than this. Just look at the debut albums I’ve reviewed today.
The songwriting and lyrics are especially poor (it always
confuses me when money is spent on making a booklet full of average lyrics that
say nothing). Having seen The Tracks live halfway through compiling this
review, I was astounded that a) the music sounds a lot bigger live, stronger
than the weak production here and b) they carry such an offensive arrogance
that I was literally left speechless. Jeez, I don’t mind people being a bit
rubbish, but working hard to get better, and to learn from mistakes. But to be this
bad and think you are so good, so much that you openly offend your audience.
Shocked, completely shocked.
So, aside of my opinions on the music within, it is hard to
see the point of this album. It is simply too much of a step too soon. Ambition
is great, and I don’t want to squander people’s enthusiasm, but it’s back to
the drawing board here. More, better ideas – PLEASE. If by some miracle the
band were signed, then I am sure that they would be asked to change their name
(poor for Google) and their first album on a major would be marketed as their
debut. This would most certainly be swept under the carpet. The best they can
hope is that The Tracks will be what Wrinkle are to The Cribs, but on the
evidence of their second album the only conclusion would be a series of self
released albums, beloved by their parents and friends and ignored by everyone
else, much like the running joke of that other Wakefield loser, Clive Smith. Time
for a rethink.
Roland X
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