album review: tom vek. leisure seizure. 6 june 2011. island records
(buy here)

i should probably wait to review this. after all i’ve been waiting for six years to hear it. in that time i’ve changed jobs a couple of times and moved from rural essex to london. i’ve gone through numerous favourite new bands. a fair few of them i now hate. i’ve started sockformation in that time. it’s even died once and i’ve brought it back. i’ve moved from myspace to facebook to twitter. a lot has happened, and that’s only in my little insignificant life.

what’s tom vek done in that time? surely spending six years away will mean new influences. a new sound. a new look. apart from a much tidier head of hair, the answer to those questions would appear to be no. leisure seizure treads a very similar path to 2005.

that’s not fair actually. there is more to this record than we have sound. considering how much i love that album, this is really saying something. there are lots of similarities. the voice. that’s the slow, distant and unmistakable vocal familiar to anybody who has ever even just grazed past ‘nothing but green lights’ while skipping through some late night music channels. the synths (i can’t remember the last time i wrote a review that didn’t mention synths) are also present. it’s here that the album takes a step forward though.

whether vek is keeping a simple flow like on ‘world of doubt’, or throwing endless variables at the beat, as on opener ‘hold your hand’, there is more here than before. what is “more” exactly? i don’t really know but it seems like a very good way to describe it.

hopefully this album, and the hype that has led up to it, will bring tom vek to a wider audience. to me he’s a bit of a genius. i can probably be accused of using that word too freely at times (although luca modric is a genius. this is a fact.), but the fact remains that to me, and many others, he is. i know plenty of people who have been somewhat ambivalent to his work when i’ve introduced them in the past though. they thinks he’s okay, but nothing special. hopefully this album will show them just how special he is.

you know what? fuck it. this is getting top marks. i don’t give a shit if i’m a fanboy or not. i’ve waited six years for this and it has been worth it.

10

live review: perfume genius. bush hall. 16 may 2011.

bush hall. what a venue. i hadn’t been there before, but the small, seated main room was is perfect for your more intimate acts. perfume genius, or mike to his mum, is one such act.

first up though were anr. the duo were fast, interesting and very, very synthy. even as michael john hancock spoke to the small crowd, you could tell that the reverb from the mic was set at 11. they’re a bit mgmt ish, but without the superiority complex. most of all though, they did what all support should aim to do. they made me want to know more about them.

when perfume genius came onto the stage he was nervous. his voice quiet and faltering as he said hello. he isn’t about crowd interaction or putting on a show though. he wants to get straight to the music and that’s exactly what he did. accompanied by a man who i missed the name of, he flowed through seven or eight songs in quick time. his voice was beautiful, and the piano accompanied him sounding like something from twin peaks (as did the look of the red drape adorned stage). despite the rapturous reception to each and every song, he still seemed nervous when he returned for the two song encore.

i’m sure he’ll grow in confidence as he plays more and more shows, but for now the nervous charm works a treat.

album review: cocknbullkid. adulthood. 23 may 2011. moshi moshi records
(buy here)

after three years of build up, cocknbullkid is finally set to release her debut album adulthood through the always fantastic moshi moshi.

the album is the mixture of pop, r&b and synth that you’d expect. and just because she’s finally put all of her talent together into an album it doesn’t mean that she’s lost any of that slightly eccentric personality coming through in both the lyrics and her voice. it is this that raises her above everyday pop, but is also perhaps what has held her back.

it is where she takes things back to basics that i like her the best. standout track by far is ‘cocknbullkid’. a very simple and very good follow on from the excellent opener and title track.

it is the off-pop tracks that let the album down. ‘hold on to your misery’ and ‘yellow’ could just as easily come from a girl band drop out. the drop out with the most talent admittedly, but not exactly an exciting new artist with all the potential shown on other album tracks. a real shame because these lows take away from the highs that would otherwise force me to rate this album a good couple of marks higher.

6 (although 8 at times)

album review: tyler, the creator. goblin. 9 may 2011. xl recordings
(buy here)

goblin’s eponymous opener is somewhat of a disclaimer for pretty much anything tyler has ever done. he opens up to his “therapist” (a pitched down version of himself, yes his voice can be even deeper!) about how he’s dealt with his relative success so far, then goes on to counter his critics. this track also contains probably the most actually disturbing lyric of the entire album “i’m just a teenager, who admits he’s suicide prone/my life is doing pretty good, so that day is postponed…for now”. the two current hits, ‘yonkers’ and ‘sandwitches’, are of course present – along with next single ‘she’ (featuring one of of’s biggest talents – frank ocean) and the disclaimer-prefixed ‘radicals’ which is fast becoming an odd future live favourite no doubt thanks to it’s “kill people, burn shit, fuck school” chorus.

the most serious song on the album is by far ‘her’, which is to all intents and purposes a love song, and much more relatable than most of the lyrical content of the album. production wise, tyler’s much talked about neptunes influences are very much apparent with his somewhat sparse beats and chord progressions brilliantly complementing his lyrics – which in the wrong hands could’ve led to too much going on in the songs. however, left brain’s raucous production contribution on ‘transylvania’ is a welcome change of pace, although could’ve possibly done with being a little later in the album. the main themes of dealing with his success and feeling unfairly judged (though ultimately not caring what people outside of his circle’s opinions of him are anyway) clearly run through the whole album – it’s bookended by another dark, semi-breakdown track in ‘golden’, bringing everything to a very disturbing but very tyler climax.

the sheer length of the album is astounding, with only five (bonus cd excluded) of the tracks under four minutes. this could be considered a major error on his commercial debut, but i think the lengthiest of the tracks definitely need the room to breathe that he’s given them. the album isn’t entirely perfect of course, jasper and taco’s verses seem fairly redundant (which could of course be the reasoning behind the ending of the song, although probably not) and ‘window’ could’ve done with getting to the point a little faster, but other than that it’s difficult to find fault in the way he’s put this album together. goblin is very much bastard’s older brother, there are a lot of similarities to be drawn between the two however i think he’s made enough progress in such a short time both musically and lyrically that it justifies a new release, and i hope the same thing happens with wolf next year.

once all the hype has died down around this release, i think people will still come back to it as an uneasy but enjoyable listen. what eminem was 11 years ago, tyler is now. even if you don’t agree, he doesn’t care anyway.

9.5

words by richard coatsworth (twitter)

album review: beastie boys. hot sauce committee part two. 2 may 2011. capitol records
(buy here)

i’m sure you know the background to this album. originally set to be released as hot sauce committee part one a couple of years ago, it was delayed after mca was diagnosed with cancer. beastie boys wanted to stick to the release schedule so transferred all the tracks earmarked for part one to part two, which was always intended for release about now. make sense? good.

the first thing that you notice when opener ‘make some noise’ hits the vocal is that this is definitely a beastie boys record. the warped electronics may throw you off, but those voices are unmistakable. there isn’t any voice-coder or attempt to sing here. they aren’t trying to compete with the new generation. they’re old school and proud. this is gruff. this is fun. this is beastie boys.

by the time you’ve reached ‘say it’ at track five you have been transported right back to the party in ‘fight for your right’ that the album’s accompanying 30-minute short film pays tribute to. then suddenly, after a quick intermission, the boys through in a curveball. suddenly we have santigold popping up in the reggae tinged ‘don’t play no game that i can’t win’. maybe this is there to show that they can still surprise and that we shouldn’t assume we know what a beastie boys’ album is all about. for me, much as i like sanitgold, it doesn’t fit. stick it in as a bonus track or something maybe, but it disrupts the flow of the album and i could do without it.

the rest of the album continues the nods to the 80s and 90s with samples interlacing the lyrics. by the time we reach ‘tadlock’s glasses’ we’re in hello nasty territory and that’s how we continue to the end of what is a great comeback from beastie boys during what must have been a difficult period.

8

i originally wrote this for the lovely people at the 405.

live review: i dream i colour. madame jo jo’s, soho. 4 april 2011.

we all want to discover ‘that band’; the band who sell a million records, release hit singles, make the news at 10 and who shape a generation. ok, wishful thinking, it’s 2011, not 1993 so maybe we’re simply looking for the band who provide an alternative to the chart filling x factor tosh today’s youth believe to be talent. or the band who can re-use a retro sound while treading new water, top the download chart or fill a muddy glastonbury field.

many bands can tick said modern musical triumphs but lack the longevity to keep us coming back for more. but there’s one band constantly catching my ear who may have such consistency. i dream in colour are a four piece from essex, soon to be relocating to london where things may just take off for them. i saw them recently at madame jo jo’s in soho and their songs are still ringing in my head, surely a good sign – try it for yourself, check out ‘ready to go’. having first witnessed these skinny-jeaned essex boys last summer in 93 feet east, i’ve regularly checked their progress, keen to hear the promise of their self-believing new and improved songs, songs that can shape the band’s fresh confidence acquired from sell out gigs at the barfly and praise earned from rolling stones producer chris kimsey.

since i last saw idic, small but significant changes are notable in their live set. the new songs sound bigger and better once in full flow compared to the softer strums of before, they own the stage with a more dominating presence as a band, while singer richard judge could give sir mick a run for his money as he sexually swings and gyrates with his guitar, as if pleasing 1000 screaming girls – it’s quite a sight! the heavier songs flirt with led zeppelin while hints of mod tip-toe their way through songs like ‘fourteen’ – surely paul weller wrote this?! on paper, none of this may be ground breaking but idic have something that certainly sets them apart… in singer richard judge they have a charming front-man with the vocal range to rival anyone out there – no, seriously.

i couldn’t help but be blown away by the vocal delivery during the delicate intro to ‘if you’ and even more so once in full swing. set closer ‘finding the courage’ is classic indie pop, perfect for judge’s mirage of 1000 screaming girls. even with a relatively sparse crowd, idic stole the show drawing a bigger and warmer applause than headliners trophy wife, showing they’re now ready to make the step up and be ‘that band’.

i dream in colour played:
wide awake
ready to go
if you
lessons
hold on to your heart
fourteen
finding the courage

i dream in colour’s new ep ‘these folded arms’ is out end of may.

words by jamie day (twitter, blog)

album review: tv on the radio. nine types of light. 11 april 2011. polydor records
(buy here)

above is the film the accompanies the album. each track has a music video and there is all sort of stuff happening. got a spare hour? good. watch it and see what you think. if you liked dear science you’ll probably like this. if you lost a bit of love after the first two albums, you might still like this but not as much as those two. luckily i liked dear science.

these reviews are getting really short aren’t they? i’m buying a flat and really busy at work so using that as an excuse this time. proper posts will be back soon. unless you like the short sharp stuff of course.

7

album review: young knives. ornaments from the silver arcade. 4 april 2011. gadzook
(buy here)

i’ve got to be quick. young knives (they’ve dropped the “the”) have always been the sort of band that look and sound like they would appeal to mark from peep show. i’ve always had a soft spot for them as well, and enjoyed all four previous albums. this new effort ornaments from the silver arcade keeps up their 100% album enjoyment record for me. i’d put it down as being their most accessible yet. die hards and mark from peep show may prefer the earlier stuff, but this should find a bigger audience. i can’t really imagine many people not enjoying it. told you i’d be quick.

8

album review: battles. gloss drop. 6 june 2011. warp
(buy here)

i know that this is a very early review, with gloss drop not officially released for almost two months, but it has also been one of my most eagerly anticipated albums in a long time. battles, where have you been for the past four years?

the term “experimental” is not always a welcome one when it comes to describing a band. sometimes it means that they can’t be pigeon-holed, sometimes it is simply because the album doesn’t really work but nobody wants to admit it. debut album mirrored was different in that it really was an experimental album that worked. clashing chords, drums popping up when not expected and unfathomable lyrics. summed up perfectly by lead single ‘atlas’. the album couldn’t be mistaken as coming from just any band, but at the same time if you heard a track independently, there was nothing necessarily linking it back to battles. gloss drop is similar, but slightly more disjointed.

it starts in stunning form with ‘africastle’ and the brilliant ‘ice cream’, but elsewhere the experiments don’t work as well. it is harder to listen to than before, and not the sort of album that works as both a proper sit down and concentrate record and a record that you can listen to without thinking about. the outcome is a disappointment. from anybody else perhaps this wouldn’t be the case and this is still a good album, but when you’ve set the bar so high it is a shame when you fall a little short.

this review is early. very early. i was keen to get my thoughts down. don’t be surprised if you see a follow up article closer to release date with my updated feelings down. i’m going to give it plenty more listens.

7

i was sure this qualified for the lost album tag. having seen the number of reviews about the place, and even more than that, the praise it has received in these reviews, i might be wrong. still, i know plenty of people who haven’t heard what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest hip hop concept albums of all time.

the people behind deltron 3030 and album of the same name are dan the automator, del tha funkee homosapien and kid koala – the producer, mc and dj respectively that “everybody wants to be” as rapped in ‘madness’. all coming from with impressive pedigrees, this was always going to be an interesting album. interesting it is. the album guides us through a fantasy future landscape in which del fights against evil using his lyrical skills.

del has long been one of my favourite rappers, and automator was already high on my love list thanks to being one half of handsome boy modeling school (the other half being prince paul, who also features on this album). kid koala wasn’t so familiar to me back then, but has since maintained an impressive cv. then there are the guests stars. this is the album that introduced damon albarn to automator and del, therefore putting the wheels in motion for the debut album from gorillaz. sean lennon. an early appearance from hafdis huld. even brad roberts of the crash test dummies.

if you haven’t heard it, rectify that right now and buy it. not only was it almost directly responsible for making the first gorillaz album what it was, but it has had a clear influence on a number of today’s more interesting rappers like lupe fiasco and kid cudi. a great album and fully deserving of being heard by a wider audience.