OceanStorm

I think you capture the spirit of the album really well. I properly love Fables. I love the stifling Southern Gothic atmosphere it builds, and how it sounds on hot humid summer afternoons. And the first four songs are as good an opening four as you'll find on any album, really.

I'm holding out on listening to Daisy too, it's been a while since an album came out that I saw as a proper 'event', so I hope it's awesome. I'm glad they're pushing themselves, anyway.

Undecided about seeing them in January, given the venue (Wembley...really?) and having seen them 3 times in 3 years now. But then, it is Brand New.

it's a beautiful album, no question. Wonderful mix of their early obliqueness and their more strident, straightforward songwriting, and it's so watery and atmospheric. I'm going to go listen to it now actually.

of course, you're all right. What on earth are they trying to sound like?

I really regret only getting into this band just as they were starting to descend into mediocrity.

it's definitely more unsubtly SP-aping than the first album, and lacking a lot of the big hooks, but I'd still give it at least a 6. It does feel at times like they're shouting "LOOK AT THIS FUCKING RIFF" at you though.

I've wanted this to happen for ages and it's happening when I'll be out of the country :(

especially having watched I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. RIP.

and can't wait to hear this (and see the DVD). And thank fuck someone on the DiS staff can still write.

8 Deerhunter - Microcastles
7 R.E.M. - Accelerate
6 Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
5 The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
4 Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
3 The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
2 Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up Til It Was Light
1 Why? - Alopecia

but christ, Will Sheff's not in the New Pornographers, he's the lead singer of Okkervil River! Not the hardest thing to research...

has everyone in this thread actually lost their minds? We're not exactly talking about The Shins here. Waited Up Til It Was Light is basically noisy, aggressive and complex, and you couldn't play it in front of your parents without them turning it off. The fact that it has melodies hardly makes it 'conservative'.

touring during the one month when I'm away, and no one's touring now when I'm bored at home?

Anyway this should be good - The End Moving On was streaming on their myspace a while ago and it sounded awesome.

on my birthday! Awesome.

they were quite good and I really enjoyed seeing them live, but they're young and will no doubt have other, better projects in the future. Pink Squares still stands out as an incredible song, though.

we could rename the Maccabees board Gash Hits?

OOOOH.

Chris Martin is a horrible lyricist.

it reminded me how great they are, and basically got better and better as it went on. Fantastic setlist too. New stuff - promisingish.

it comes off as both interesting and refreshingly genuine.

I should probably listen to Hey Mercedes. Those Braid and Get Up Kids albums you mention are a pair of absolute classics. Never really listened to Rival Schools, actually...

this. OMG.

was that meant to be ironic? How embarassing :(

"part of the borough's famed avant-garde noise scene"

Have you ever heard the Hold Steady?!

is starting to look so, so good. I just need to find people who want to go now.

although actually Houston and Accelerate are two of my favourites on the album. Not keen on Sing For The Submarine but that's the only weak one really.

PS it's "inexperienced, sweet, delirious" not "an experience so delirious" :)

was AWESOME. Half an hour of brilliant power-pop, almost up there with the first two.

Maladroit - some great moments, but patchy. Nice contrast with Green, much darker and dirtier and loads of great guitars.

I'm not going to attempt to defend Make Beleive though. No way.

good work.

Also, YAY for new Weezer. I hope it's good.

why must you play crap venues and charge £45? Still, at least it's not indoor arenas. I'll definitely be at the London gig.

but I saw a video on fabchannel of them wrecking Upward Over The Mountain (one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard on record) with some sort of jam band. Do they always do this?

exactly. I'm a bit excited about REM for the first time in a while.

yeah, I'm definitely OceanStorm.

makes me want to actually cry

live versions of some of the tracks sound pretty promising. That single has an AWFUL title though.

oh god that would be funny.

I heard it's going to be Venus Williams.

how a site can claim any sort of credibility when they review an album without having heard the whole thing.

Anyway, I like this album. Not as great as the last three, but it's still really good. Here It Goes is the pop song of the year.

have to be at Brookes? That would be lame.

how one goes about applying for the Battle Of The Bands type thing?!

early EPs were really promising but this album is bland, overproduced and just so boring.

to go to that London gig. Weakerthans = amazing.

but Barricade is rubbish, and The Night Starts Here is CLEARLY the best thing on it, and one of the songs of the year.

It's amazing how Craig David turned from being supposedly cool into a national laughing stock within about a year.

to come round to this whole Oxford Academy business.

Newcastle gig when I'm in Oxford, London gig when I'm probably gonna be back in Newcastle. Argh.

I'll make it to one of the gigs, one way or another.

but I like the review.

Make Believe was pretty dire although Maladroit was pretty good and Green was awesome, so I've not given up hope. And I'd love to see them live sometime.

what Belle and Sebastian used to do with their EPs, doesn't it?

To be honest, I'm not bothered how they release their songs so long they're better than the singles off this new album.

Numbskull, possibly Candy, and certainly the singles off the new album, I'd argue they never released a single that WASN'T great.

Underrated Ash songs which haven't been mentioned above:

Sometimes
Wildsurf
A Life Less Ordinary
Oh Yeah

Hell, I even like Starcrossed.

does sound a bit crap. But this is still sad because they're one of the first bands I ever loved. I hope I get to see them live before they split.

I think the first half of the song is really good and sets the Arcade Fire half of it up perfectly. The bit where it all kicks in is one of the best musical moments I've heard this year.

I hope this is as good as it sounds.

perhaps not quite as transcendent as the Koko gig last May when they played most of Alligator and it was just absolutely ecstatic, but still a really solid gig and the new stuff sounded good I thought. I'd give it an 8.