Review: Collapse Under The Empire – Find A Place To Be Safe

It will be of little surprise that with a name like Collapse Under The Empire, this Hamburg duo are an instrumental post rock act. They even describe their album as “a soundtrack for the apocalypse without a happy end”. In truth, that’s a little deceptive as much of ‘Find A Place To Be Safe’ sounds triumphant and confident.

‘Captured Moments’ is a satisfying opener with guitar melodies meshed together loudly but without being over the top.  ‘Crawling’ finds even more space, at least intially, before exploding (possibly in the sky). Elsewhere, the title track treads the well-worn descriptions of sprawling and epic atmospheres and a couple of the later tracks have cinematic qualities but make the listener feel slightly empty afterwards. Their music is generally saved from cliché, though, thanks to some subtle ambient touches. To this end, complex electronica and time signatures are at the heart of album highlights ‘Angle Of Incidence’ and the relentless ‘Decay’.

It has to be said, Collapse Under The Empire notch up an almighty noise considering they are only a two-piece. Yet whilst they never come close to blazing a trail for a new generation of post rockers, they have produced an album which is consistently dramatic and stirring.

Web Sites:
Collapse Under The Empire Official Site
Collapse Under The Empire MySpace

Further Listening:
Explosions In The Sky, Sigur Ros

Review: The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead

It’s fair to say that musicians seek inspiration for songwriting from difficult times in their lives. The hardest part is to to make it palatable for the listeners. In the case of Scotland’s The Twilight Sad, their approach is unflinching and gritty; tackling child abuse, prostitution and bullying and setting the themes to thrilling arrangements, which are emotionally driven but not obvious enough to be described as anthemic.

In alignment with the troubling subject matter, ‘Forget The Night Ahead’ begins with some foreboding percussion and a squawl of feedback. Whereas their compatriots Glasvegas translate difficult childhoods to the masses, The Twilight Sad’s message is more mysterious and therefore more sinister. Key lines stick out such as “It’s a sorry affair, we’re on a hiding to nowhere” (from the stunning ‘Seven Years Of Letters’) or “You were seen in the cherry tree. Look what you have done” (from the equally brilliant and disturbing ‘The Room’). These words could mean any number of things and The Twilight Sad leave it to our imagination to interpret them however they wish.

Not everything works so well this time around. ‘That Birthday Present’, for instance, is buried under a post-rock storm and although each track packs plenty of drama, they’re not always accompanied by the driving hook which is the key element to the majority of their best material. Still, the desolate piano accompanying ‘At The Burnside’ is a reminder that they can deliver haunting subtlety. A pity that the message is diluted by a barrage of drums, though.

‘Forget The Night Ahead’, for me, falls a little short of the high standards set by their debut album but then their Mogwai vs Kitchens Of Distinction sound had the advantage of shock value first time around. This time it’s easier to be prepared for what’s in store but the results still pack equal shots of power and despair in to a form of musical euphoria.

Web Sites:
The Twilight Sad Official Site
The Twilight Sad MySpace

Further Listening:
Glasvegas, Kitchens Of Distinction, Mogwai

Review: OceanCats – OceanCats

Colombian-born Alejandra Pedraza and American Christopher Orcutt make an intriguing duo. Infusing their punk music with Latin influences, their self-titled debut is primitive yet involving and inventive too.

In Pedraza, OceanCats have a very strong focal point. Rather like similarly dominant frontwomen such as Karen O, enjoyment of their material will depend largely on your tolerance of Pedraza’s vocals. On ‘Closer To Me’ in particular, Pedraza sometimes echoes the excitable attitude of Clare Grogan on those early, punky Altered Images singles. Songs can verge towards the simplistic – witness the duo “ooh ah”-ing through ‘One Hour Late’ – with Orcutt’s crisp drumming and Pedraza’s sludgy bass the other constants across the album.

Yet they can also be very distinctive. ‘Angel’ recalls the tribal rhythms of Siouxsie spin-off The Creatures and a couple of Spanish language songs add welcome colour and variety to proceedings. The six minutes of ‘Guns’ is arguably their crowning moment, though, with their intense post-punk concluded by some weird electronica.

OceanCats clearly pride themselves on their sound and take great pains to point out that the album was recorded on an analog tape machine. Yet it’s when they deviate from their chugging punk-rock formula that they really begin to stand out.

Web Sites:
OceanCats Official Site
OceanCats MySpace

Further Listening:
The Creatures, Altered Images

Review: Matt Bartram – Left To Memory

As one half of The Static Silence, Matt Bartram represents the lighter side of shoegazing with the emphasis on songs rather than effects. As a solo artist, though, Bartram reveals a very different side to the story with his music knee deep in layers of noise. Or is it really as different as he’d have us believe?

‘Keep Behind The Light’ recalls Jesus And Mary Chain on a budget and is one of the few songs that doesn’t require you to burrow your way through the multiple layers to find the core melody. ‘Visions Pt. 1′, on the other hand, drifts into hypnotic, ambient territory and neatly ushers in ‘Pylon’, the track which finds Bartram at his most compelling as his chilling vocal casts a haunting cloud over the insistent drone. ‘Twelve String Loop’ (featuring ex-Slowdive member Christian Savill) is equally involving as its steadily shifting soundscapes draw you in to the submerged tune and if you peeled back ‘Shadows’ to reveal its centre, you’d probably find a Brit-pop anthem fighting to get out.

Make no mistake, ‘Left To Memory’ requires time and patience to absorb all its noises. Yet it eventually yields rewards and ultimately you’re left with the essence of popular music. Not exactly original then but quite clever, really.

Web Sites:
Matt Bartram MySpace
Drifting Falling Label and Shop Site

Further Listening:
The Static Silence, Air Formation, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Flying Saucer Attack

Review: The Farmer’s Boys – Get Out & Walk

When a group of musicians turns up to EMI studios only to get mistaken for air conditioning engineers it’s not usually a terribly good sign. Unsurprisingly, Norfolk’s The Farmer’s Boys made just two albums and reached their peak in 1984 when ‘In The Country’ reached no. 44 in the UK chart. A shame, because although the recording techniques and checked shirts haven’t aged so well, this music would have provided good company for bands on the Postcard label at the time.

From the lilting romantic vocals to the jangly guitars, ‘Matter Of Fact’, ‘Woke Up This Morning’ and ‘Probably One Of The Best Investments I Ever Made’ are pure Orange Juice. Admittedly though, their music hasn’t dated quite so well thanks largely to a dated drum machine sound. There are few songs that sound quite so early 1980’s as ‘Soft Drink’, which manages to combine slap bass, synths and some frightening falsetto vocals; it’s hard to tell whether it’s a parody yet the band still made a decent song from such unpromising sources.

Surprisingly, many of The Farmer’s Boys’ most enduring songs lie towards the end of the record. ‘A Promise You Can’t Keep’ is a hand-wringing lament of no little power whilst ‘Torn In Two’ is as lovely and wistful as China Crisis. Top marks too for ‘Who Needs It’ where a yearning chorus snuggles up to some white funk. There’s nothing quite so charming amongst the extra tracks, however, which are likely to appeal to completists only.

By no means a classic, ‘Get Out & Walk’ is well worth investigating for anyone with an interest in English white soul and jangly indie romantics. The production might well have dated but their melodic gifts shine through most of the time.

Web Sites:
The Farmer’s Boys Official Unofficial Site
Cherry Red Label and Shop Site

Further Listening:
Orange Juice

Review: Puressence – Sharpen Up The Knives

Although not apparently marketed as such, (Townsend Records call it a “brand new album”) ‘Sharpen Up The Knives’ is effectively a “best of” compilation. From this evidence it has to be said Puressence were fond of conjuring up an almighty racket too. It’s testament to their USP, frontman James Mudriczki’s lungs, that he could even make himself heard above the huge noise from his bandmates.

No less than seven tracks are lifted from second album ‘Only Forever’ including the first six songs from the album. There’s a distinct over-reliance of strings on some of these radio-friendly offerings but it’s hard not to be moved by the emotive key change on ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’, the superb dynamics to ‘Never Be The Same Again’ and evergreen single ‘This Feeling’.

With album number three ‘Planet Helpless’ represented by just three tracks and zero contributions from their last album, there’s a sense that their popularity has waned over the years. However, ‘Walking Dead’ and ‘How Does It Feel?’ demonstrate a progression from Brit-rock in to slicker electronic production and mariachi trumpets respectively. There is also clearly life in the band yet as emphatically proved by the unusually sparse intro for newnumber ‘Raise Me To The Ground’; the perfect showcase for Mudriczki’s vibrato and a beautiful song to boot.

Yet the main criticism to be directed at this compilation is that it doesn’t really reveal the band’s subtler side. Excellent early songs such as ‘Understanding’, ‘Near Distance’ or even ‘Casting Lazy Shadows’ would have added different shades to the punchier fare that is largely prevalent here. All things considered though, ‘Sharpen Up The Knives’ serves as a reasonable introduction to the band, if it’s the anthems and live favourites you’re after.

Web Sites:
Puressence Official Site
Puressence MySpace
Townsend Records Label and Shop Site

Further Listening:
Geneva, The Open

Review: Editors – In This Light And On This Evening

After their thrilling debut, Editors seemed to take two steps back with the laboured and over-earnest follow-up ‘An End Has A Start’. A rethink was obviously necessary and Editors have made the radical move of ditching the guitars and bringing in the synths. The result is an artistic triumph and time may tell that it could be more rewarding than their debut.

Any accusations of “selling out” can swiftly be countered by the album’s opening track. Against a backdrop of shimmering electronic noise, Tom Smith’s intones bleak phrases. It’s less a song then a mood piece which only picks up the urgency for a final keyboard flourish. Krautrock is at the heart of ‘Bricks And Mortar’ and here Smith gives his best Ian Curtis impersonation. In fact the synths seem so in tune with the early 80’s period that it’s feasible Joy Division could have made this track if Curtis had lived for a couple more years. That is until the two and a half minute mark when the arrangements get busier and the chorus kicks in. Still, it’s a great track however you compare it. Equally impressive is the next offering, ‘Papillon’, which makes use of vintage synth pop tricks but still sounds anthemic; certainly helped by the hookline “It kicks like a sweep twitch”.

‘You Don’t Know Love’, ‘The Big Exit’ and ‘The Boxer’ are sombre but deeply satisfying songs which prove they are becoming increasingly more adept at producing strong and emotional album tracks. The excitement returns, though, for ‘Like Treasure’, a magnificently brooding tune but with a modern, edgy backing and a stunning chorus starring Smith’s uplifting baritone and supported by some haunting backing vocal effects. The performance concludes with ‘Walk The Fleet Road’; an elegant closer which is – if you’ll pardon the Joy Division reference again – their ‘Atmosphere’.

‘In This Light And On This Evening’ is a brave album for Editors to make. Though standards slipped on their second record, they still retained a very healthy fanbase.  With its drastic attempt to change the style and its subsequent lack of commercial appeal, their third album could alienate some of those old fans but ultimately they have become a better band for it.

Web Sites:
Editors Official Site
Editors MySpace

Further Listening:
Joy Division

Review: Lee & Willbee – North Carolina

Lee Chameleon and Markus Willbee were once the rhythm section for the Chicago psychedelic rock/electronic outfit La Makita Soma. Thank goodness they stepped out of the shadows for ‘North Carolina’ is a real summer breeze of a record which makes you wonder why they hid their talents away for so long.

The summery ‘Day Of Sunshine’ and ‘Love’s Not Worth It’ are deceptively light and insouciant but in truth they only tell half the story. ‘Snowtrain’ is a spine-tingling  journey through the worlds of ambient and folk; its beautifully strummed guitars and sighed harmonies slowly growing in urgency. The verses to ‘Little Palomino’ are The Sea And Cake at their most gentle but then the duo unleash a nagging chorus that is part grunge, part 70’s AOR but wholly addictive. Equally ace is ‘Throwing Stones At Manhattan’, where the quietly seductive verses give way to a brilliant but acerbic pay-off, eventually eclipsed by a gorgeous swell of guitar effects.

By modernising their folk harmonies with subtle electronica, Lee & Willbee have perfected a sound which has its roots in traditonal songwriting but always has one eye on the future. Half of the songs here are amongst the best I’ve heard this year, the rest is merely good.

Web Sites:
Lee And Willbee
Lee And Willbee MySpace

Further Listening:
The Sea And Cake, Royce

Review: The Big Pink – A Brief History Of Love

Even the the most resilient defenders of the shoegazing scene would have to admit that it’s a genre where the music sometimes gets lost in a haze of effects. Yet in the case of London’s The Big Pink, this time the haze is empowered by a Brit-rock swagger. Their own band name and album title indicate a level of ambition high above an underground fanbase and ‘A Brief History Of Love’ is a brash, confident debut on any musical terms.

‘Too Young To Love’ features robust dance beats to create a weird kind of hippy/rave hybrid. ‘Dominos’, easily the most commercial offering from the album, is danceable, anthemic and uses an “in your face” chorus. It’s probably worth pointing out at this stage that one half of the duo, Milo Cordell, established the Merok label which unearthed Klaxons and Crystal Castles releases amongst others and everything about The Big Pink sounds equally “now”.

Second single ‘Velvet’ is another strident song; its looped female backing vocals adding an ethereal counterpoint to the industrial size beats and ‘Frisk’ is just as memorable and possibly even more laden with hooks. ‘Love In Vain’ turns the volume and speed dials down a few notches and here Robbie Furze’s vocal is as soulful and confident as Richard Ashcroft whilst the title track is a virtual ballad with distortion adding an eeriness to this gracefully brooding number.

Although by no means perfect this is an album which reaffirms the belief that 4AD (a label which has somewhat lost its identity over the last decade) are still capable of producing great new artists. The Big Pink also have the potential to crossover into more popular circles whilst still retaining their edge and credibility.

Web Sites:
The Big Pink Official Site
The Big Pink MySpace

Further Listening:
The Verve, Klaxons

Review: Red Painted Red – Colours EP

The brainchild of Yvonne Neve and Simon Carroll, Red Painted Red are – it’s safe to say – not a typical Manchester band. In fact, one feels they would be more at home five hundred years ago, around the time Shakespeare was writing Macbeth. ‘Colours’ is the final part of a trilogy of an EPs and from its childlike cover art of witchcraft to the dark songs within, this is uniquely disturbing material.

Time has done little to crush the ghostly malevolence at the heart of Neve and Carroll’s music. ‘Colours’ demands immediate attention with tribal drums and Neve’s demonic brooding. ‘Room’ witnesses Neve’s vocals shifting between Kate Bush-style squealing and a threatening rumble, uttering lines such as “You hope my eyes and my mind and my soul don’t work no more”. ‘Goldmine’ and ‘We Are Here’ seem fairly sedate by comparison although the former’s minimalist electronica backing maintains the underlying tension whilst the latter recalls the etherealism of Dead Can Dance.

Now it is possible to buy the three EPs as part of a limited edition boxed set although just one EP is enough to give nightmares. ‘Colours’ may be easier to admire than to enjoy but Red Painted Red have concocted these sinister spells so that once you hear them, you feel compelled not to interrupt for fear of some kind of spiritual retributiion.

Web Sites:
Red Painted Red MySpace
Red Painted Red Shop Site

Further Listening:
Kate Bush, Portishead, Dead Can Dance