Kiss Each Other Clean by Iron & Wine

This, the fourth studio release by American singer-songwriter Sam Beam A.K.A Iron & Wine, follows his 2007 musical reinvention that was the critically acclaimed album, The Shepherd’s Dog. That release saw Beam switch from the simple, raw acoustic sound that he had made his name with, to much broader and lusher music, with incredible results. Kiss Each Other Clean looks to build on this success and complete Iron & Wine’s transition from acoustic balladeer to indie hero, making it both a much more ambitious and much riskier album than its predecessor.

The album opens with “Walking Far From Home”, a comfortingly familiar ballad, with lyrics that roam as widely as the title, and echoing voids filled with electronic clicks and whirls of sound. It’s followed by “Me and Lazarus”, with Beam’s layered falsetto duelling with saxophone in a stripped down funk tune musing on the traditional Iron & Wine themes of religion and lost opportunities.

Back in October of last year, Beam announced that the new album would sound like “mid-70s FM radio-friendly” music, and both funk and jazz have had a clear impact on the sound of this album. Feathery jazz flute drifts over the African drums at the closing of centrepiece track “Rabbit Will Run”, and closer “Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me” brings in a horn section to create a brash, funky but pensive track that rounds off the album superbly.

Kiss Each Other Clean, however, transcends a mere pop-funk record through Beam’s amazing lyrical ability. Whether through allegory like the coupling of the lion and the lamb in “Big Burned Hand”, the powerful opposing couplets that close “Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me”, or simply an incredibly evocative line like “As far as I can tell, the night won't compensate the blind” on “Godless Brother In Love”, your attention in grabbed tightly by Beam right at the start of the album, given a good lyrical shake up, and not let go until right at the very end.

On this album then, Sam Beam has created something that combines the very best of his lyrical talent and musical skill from his first two albums, the musical expansion and experimentation of The Shepherd’s Dog, and excellent production techniques to create an album that truly establishes Iron & Wine as one of the best indie acts of the past decade.

Scores (out of 10)

Lyrics: 9
Vocals: 7
Instrumentals: 8
Album arrangement: 8
Overall: 8

Favourite track - Difficult choice, but probably 'Rabbit Will Run'

New Artists: Lucy Rose

Thanks to the runaway success of Laura Marling, a new generation of gifted female singer/songwriters are springing up on the indie/folk scene. Lucy Rose is one of this new breed, a 20-year old with an incredible singing voice, and a songwriting talent to match.

Lucy began writing her music in high school, but kept her passion a secret from friends and family until she left school. Then her career took off, being chosen by Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman to provide backing vocals on critically acclaimed second album, Flaws, thanks to some amazing Myspace demos and a series of well reviewed indie-night performances at pubs and clubs around London.

Lucy’s brilliant, slightly husky singing voice, emphasised by the self produced nature of the tracks she has released so far on Myspace, along with her age, looks and musical style are all likely to draw comparisons to Laura Marling, which is no small compliment for any aspiring folk singer/songwriter. However, the area which really makes her stand out is her lyrics. Rather than opting for the mysterious, metaphorical poetic style of Laura’s work, she speaks from the heart, with an emotional sincerity that is both personal and endearing, and infinitely listenable.

So far, Lucy has released 8 tracks via her Myspace page, all self written and produced. My favourites are the incredibly catchy acoustic number Middle of the Bed, and the emotional and heartfelt Bull to the Red. However, my favourite Lucy Rose appearance so far was on the popular YouTube music channel watchlistentell (if you haven’t heard of it yet, check it out, it’s awesome), performing a version of probably her best song yet, Night Bus. Its combination of excellent songwriting, layered melodic guitars and harmonious vocals make it a standout, and lead to it becoming one of watchlistentell’s most popular videos.

Lucy Rose is definitely one to watch. Her beautiful music, honest lyrics, songwriting talent and her excellent live performances make her one of the artists I’m most excited about in the coming year, and the current folk revival and success of the likes of Laura Marling, Emmy the Great and Alessi’s Ark means she is perfectly poised to break onto the music scene and make 2011 her year.

Nathan Murphy

The King Is Dead by The Decemberists

My first review of 2010 is going to be the latest album by The Decemberists, a band I only discovered recently but fell in love with. Check them out, if you haven't already!

2009’s The Hazards of Love, the last release by Portland’s indie folk quintet The Decemberists, was a towering rock opera full of shape shifting forest dwellers, jealous fairy queens and lascivious rakes. The album received mixed reviews, with some critics praising its scope and its heavier sound when compared to their earlier work, while others derided it for pretentiousness and having too much focus on the story as opposed to the music.

Following their divisive sojourn into the world of the concept album, the Decemberists go back to their roots with their latest offering, The King Is Dead. The album marks a return to the simpler, more minimalistic indie style of their earlier albums, while retaining the anachronistic language, witty wordplay and poetic beauty common to all their work.

The band’s earlier releases were often heavily influenced by British folk music, but with The King Is Dead, lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy has chosen to draw much more upon the Americana and country scene. Especially noticeable is the impact R.E.M has had on the album. Unsurprisingly you might say, given that guitarist Peter Buck is featured on three of the 10 tracks on offer, and “Calamity Song” in particular could easily have been lifted from Murmur or Reckoning.

Other tracks on the album include the Neil Young-esque harmonica and mandolin of “Don’t Carry It All”, riotous square dance “Rox In The Box” and uptempo folk stomper “Down By The Water”, with backing vocals from bluegrass luminary Gillian Welch. All these are hushed and perfectly complemented by a pair of beautiful acoustic ballads, and my two favourite tracks on the album, “January Hymn” and “June Hymn”. “January Hymn” in particular, with its nostalgic lyrics and fluttering guitar evoking falling snow, is a standout.#

Overall, The King Is Dead provides an excellent return to the indie scene for The Decemberists. By reining in his ambitions for grandiosity and theatre and sticking to a simpler, more stripped back and acoustic sound, Colin Meloy and the band have created an album that by leaving out a lot gives so much more

Scores (out of 10)

 

Lyrics - 7

Vocals - 8

Instrumentals -7

Album arrangement - 6

Overall - 7

 

Favourite Track - January Hymn

By Nathan Murphy

Review of 2010

Review of 2010
Here's what I thought of 2010, and what I'm looking forward to in 2011. Enjoy!

Top 5 Albums
1. Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
2. Warpaint – The Fool
3. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
4. The National – High Violet
5. The Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt

Top 5 Songs
1. The Tallest Man On Earth - King of Spain
2. Laura Marling – Alpha Shallows
3. Cee Lo Green – Fuck You
4. Best Coast – Boyfriend
5. Johnny Flynn – The Water

What I’m looking forward to in 2011
I’m definitely looking forward to new albums by Coldplay, Laura Marling, Radiohead and The Strokes, Mumford and Sons hitting the studio to record new stuff, The Stranglers and The Decemberists coming to Birmingham and the original line up of Pulp reuniting, amongst many other things.

Top 5 disappointments of 2010
1. MGMT’s second album
2. Not getting Glastonbury tickets
3. The new Interpol album
4. Laura Marling pushing back her 3rd album release to next year
5. Missing out on tickets for Paul Weller in Birmingham

Top 5 Live Shows of 2010

1. Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and The Dharohar Project at St George’s Hall, Bradford
2. Muse, Wembley
3. Johnny Flynn, Manchester Academy
4. Glastonbury (I didn’t manage to get tickets, but I watched it on BBC, if that counts?)
5. Acoustic Ladyland, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

The Promise by Bruce Springsteen

Back in 1975, Bruce Springsteen, the man described by critic (and later manager) Jon Landau as “rock and roll’s future”, was almost down and out. His debut album, Greetings from Ashbury Park, N.J., had become a critical success but a commercial flop, selling only 25,000 copies in its first year. Springsteen had one last shot at the stars, and he took it. He released the epic Born to Run and catapulted himself straight into rock and roll legend.

However, following the release and success of Born to Run, he was kept out of the studio for three years due to a bitter legal battle with his former manager Mike Appel. When he returned, gone was the drama and optimism that characterised Born to Run, replaced by the feelings of uncertainty and the need to press on through doubt that made his next album, Darkness on the Edge of Town, feel so different from its predecessor.

Three decades later, Springsteen releases The Promise, a compilation of music he wrote and recorded during the Darkness sessions. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is just a record made of music that didn’t make the cut, though. They just simply didn’t fit in with the feel that Springsteen wanted for Darkness.

The album opens with an early cut of 'Racing in the Street', the epic street racing ballad from Darkness. While maybe not as brilliant as the finished product, its bittersweet piano building into a truly magnificent rock elegy and the lyrics lamenting the very same Americana he celebrated in Born to Run, reminds you just what the man was capable of at his best, and how he could turn ordinary American life into something so glorious.

Other songs on the album stand out. 'Because the Night' and 'Fire', tracks that became hits for Patti Smith and the Pointer Sisters respectively, show Springsteen at his pop writing best. 'Outside Looking In' showcases the effect that the likes of Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly had on Springsteen’s musical career, and the title ballad 'The Promise', mixing sombre piano and a driving drumbeat, reveals The Boss’s troubles after his legal disputes , and his doubt in the American Dream he had loved so much.

This collection of music from a rock superstar at the top of his game, while maybe not one of the classics like Born to Run or Darkness, definitely should not be simply written off as the off cuts from his early days, but instead it is a compilation revealing the wealth of music we never got to hear from what was probably his best song writing period. A great album from a rock legend at his peak.

Scores (out of 10)

Lyrics - 8
Vocals - 7
Instrumentals - 8
Album arrangement - 8
Overall - 8

Favourite track - 'Racing in the Street ('78)'

Interpol by Interpol

Hello again all, sorry for the delay. Uni is a cruel and demanding mistress. However, I am now reviewing albums for the Warwick student newspaper, the Boar, and when the reviews are published I will post them here a few days later. Should make the reviews a bit more regular. Anyways, enjoy.

Since first coming to attention with their 2002 debut album Turn on the Bright Lights, Interpol have won a reputation as one of the more interesting imports from the New York indie scene. Their layered guitars, icily detached vocals and dark, brooding feel have led to comparisons to the likes of Joy Division and Radiohead, and they have slowly but surely racked up record sales as well as fans both here and across the pond.

That said, the feeling you get from this eponymous album, the band’s fourth and last with bassist and founding member Carlos Dengler, is that the party could well be over. The band has found success, for sure, but they question it and what sort of people it has turned them into. The first track, 'Success', sees frontman Paul Banks crying out over and over “I am a good man”, an effort to justify himself in the world he is now a part of, the world of fame and accomplishment.

The rest of the album feels just as aimless as the band themselves. 'Lights' tries to inject the album with some much needed drama and atmosphere, but ends up fading away and disappointing. 'Always Malaise (The Man I Am)' trudges along wearily, full of those two most unattractive of qualities, self doubt and self pity. And the album closes with 'The Undoing', the utterly forgettable ending to what should have been a magnificent last hurrah for Carlos D and this incarnation of Interpol.

There are some exceptions. 'Barricades' sees the band abandoning its newfound pretentions at grandiose atmospherics and returning to the tight guitar hooks, throbbing basslines and tense, edgy sound their fans will both recognise and appreciate. The tingling piano of 'Try It On', melting seamlessly into the swelling 'All of the Ways', is another highlight.

However, the overall feel of the album is bleak, listless and badly directed; this, coupled with the fact that Paul Banks vocals often fall into the category of the downright boring, leads to an album that verges on the soporific. The band attempts to stretch out into sweeping soundscapes and expansive arrangements, but ends up losing the tight, distinctive sound that made them so popular with the post-punk revival crowd. Maybe, when the band has regrouped after Carlos D’s departure, they’ll make a magnificent return to the form of Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics. This album, though, sadly isn’t it

Scores (out of 10)

Lyrics - 5
Vocals - 3
Instrumentals - 5
Album arrangement - 4
Overall - 4

Favourite track - 'Barricades'

The India EP by Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and The Dharohar Project

Sorry for the delay in posting a new review. Its been all go at our end, but we should be back and posting a little more regularly now. To kick off, here's the review of the new EP by Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and The Dharohar Project I promised a while ago.

As I wrote of late, Mumford and Sons, together with Laura Marling, recently went on a tour of India, where they teamed up with Rajasthani folk group The Dharohar Project. There they performed several live gigs, as well as collaboration to produce a new 4-track EP, entitled The India EP. After seeing all three perform live in Bradford, and loving it (see my post from a few weeks ago), I thought I’d check it out.

The EP is intended to bring Indian folk music to a wider audience than it might otherwise enjoy, as well as to create new music and experiences by blending it with its English counterpart. This fusion of musical styles and cultures, through the use of both familiar and exotic instruments, vocal styles and even languages creates interesting and striking music with a sound and style all its own.

The EP opens with ‘Devil Spoke/Sneh Ko Marg’, a combination of a song from Laura Marling’s last album ‘I Speak Because I Can’ and one from the Dharohar Project’s repertoire. The music starts off almost identical to the English original, but soon the tempo picks up, weird and wonderful Indian instruments come in, and the strange but highly enjoyable Indian vocals begin. The rest of the song then carries on in the same vein, the familiar English mixing with the alien Rajasthani to create an up tempo folk track with a twist.

One of the other titles on the EP, ‘To Darkness/Kripa’, is very similar, reworking a more familiar Mumford and Sons song in an Indian style. The other two songs, ‘Anmol Rishtay’ and ‘Mehendi Rachi’, are more Indian in style, but they are still very enjoyable, even for those (like me) who have never listened to Indian folk music before, or even have a clue what the song is about.

This is a very enjoyable EP that creates an extremely interesting sound by blending familiar English folk music with very, very unfamiliar Indian folk. It introduces listeners to a different and exciting musical culture, but mixes it with the recognisable to make the experience much less daunting. Overall then, a highly recommended and entertaining experience for fans of folk music.

Scores (out of 10)

Lyrics - N/A
Vocals - 7
Instrumentals - 7
Album Arrangement - 6
Overall - 7


Favourite Track - ‘Devil Spoke/Sneh Ko Marg’