flackcaptain

Please stop.

A solid record and a massive relief that they've dispensed with the woeful experimentation to sound less like Suede. Elephant Man remains their career low point as far as I'm concerned.

It does seem like they tried very hard to make an album that covered middle ground Suede. Less poppy than Coming Up and less 'epic' than Suede or Dog Man Star. And fortunately less shit than Head Music and A New Morning.

6/10 seems a fair assessment to me.

I find his solo work just as engaging as the CT stuff and admire his stance on looking forward rather than back. His set at the MBV ATP was spellbinding. Just wish I was in the country so could see him on this tour.

didn't even know they were releasing another record. Good news.

From reading their promo interviews it seems that their songwriting process was much more relaxed this time around so I suppose the straight-up nature of this record isn't really a surprise.

The guitar/vocal interplay of Lisbon is still here I'm not sure that this one has the depth or longevity of that record. Only time will tell, I guess.

Still not gonna listen to the album though.

I'm more than slightly dubious about hearing this.

Their 'bite-size' material is totally lost on me up to now.

but not enough to get off my arse and do anything about it.

Another utterly brilliant W&C record.

I get the impression from the interview that Pearson tries to unearth all online opinions of his music which surprised me a little bit. I suppose I imagined him, probably naively, not giving a shit what was out there.

Time to blast 123Forever out extremely loud to remedy the situation...

he should be totally and utterly ashamed of himself.

a pop song "legitimately great" and an album "legitimately good indie-pop"?

Odd choice of language.

music in 1997.

No-one cares any more.

I am surprised yet massively relieved that DiV have reverted back to this kind of sound.

I can not wait to hear this.

I adored it and played it to death whilst trying desperately (and failing) to work out the lyrics to each song.

Then I started at the beginning and slowly worked through in chronological order realising that they were very different band to what I first thought.

True, the newer records lost the way a fair bit but what a back catalogue and legacy they leave behind. They still remain one of my most regularly played artists (according to last.fm) and one that helped me uncover alot of other great music.

Only caught them live once - Glasto '03. That was enough for me.

RIP REM.

But I disagree with comments re EITS. As much as I love them on record and in intimate venues, I thought they were a poor headlinder that ultimately failed to capture the attention of the majority of the crowd.

Iron and Wine were also unimaginably dull headliners. I could only stomach them for 20 minutes before I had to find something else to entertain me.

I missed Fleet Foxes cos they clashed with Squarepusher.

All in all a very good festival with a brilliant atmosphere but one that once again managed to book inadequate headliners.

An utter joy on the ears from start to finish and a record that I still return to frequently.

10/10 is a deserved score for a piece of work so ambitious yet so skilled in its execution.

The most incredible thing is that it's not their finest work either.

I hope they've abandoned all previous working methods and really gone for something new on this. Really looking forward to hearing it.

Nice artwork too.

great memories of an incredible set.

and one that I am still quite fond of.

I cannot understand the talk of leaving The Chemistry Between Us off though. I would go for the cowpat that is Starcrazy or the abomination of Filmstar if track switching was required.

This Time is a good tune and should've made the cut regardless.

I agree with the detereoration of the b-sides post Butler. I played Sco Fi Lullabies earlier and Duchess is one of the worst things they ever put their name to. Along with Money.

beautiful record.

might even better Choral.

but only just.

I think they've honed and compressed their sound really well and made their best record to date.

At times it can feel quite abrasive, slow moving and maybe even lacking in melodies. But that is missing the whole point. It is a collection of recordings that creates a harrowing feeling with a unique identity.

Comparing TWDY to 65dos is totally unjust. They are 2 entirely different bands with opposing musical objectives.

how it took them 5 years to come up with this.

Texturally it is pretty similar to TEINACDP (no bad thing) and instantly recognisable as EITS' sound but the guitar interplay is several notches below that album and generally leaves an unsatisfying feeling to the listener. Infact, there are hardly any moments so good they demand an immediate re-listen.

The album plods along similar pathways they have trodden before without bringing any new ideas on board. They even steal some guitar motifs from earlier records which is a bit odd.

I'm glad they've binned off the piano bits they tried on All of a Sudden... cos they didn't work at all.

My overiding feeling is that EITS have had their time and are incapable of coming up with anything as groudnbreaking as their 3rd album. It's bands like This Will Destroy You with their new mammoth album Tunnel Blanket to push the genre further and provide the real excitement for instumental music fans.

Shame.

and a record which sounded truly incredible on the first listen. I didn't think that albums did that to me any more.

Boom Pip?

that closing sentiment did make me chuckle.

I remember a scrolling text bar on Mogwai's (old old old) website 7 or 8 years ago bigging up The Diamond Sea and that made me check out Washing Machine. I'm glad too. Eggs.

massive fuck up of Thatcher at Bournemouth on Thursday night.

Stuart again???

Hardcore is a massive improvement from Mr Beast and The Hawk is Howling which covered old musical ground yet failed to work as a whole satisfying long player.

This record isn't faultless. It still lacks a MASSIVE tune that Young Team (Like Herod, Fear Satan), Cody (Cody, Xmas Steps, Ex-Cowboy), Rock Action (2 Rights) and Happy Songs (Kids Will be Skeletons) had but it's great to see a return to form and above all the quality control being very strict.

Mogwai are incapable of hitting the creative and live career peak that they hit in 2001 but it's great to have my confidence in them restored.

8/10 is a spot on score.

but I find myself liking each new Rhys solo record less than the previous.

Shame.

and in view of it being his final lp I was really hoping to read positive things.

Alas, this review tells me exactly what I was expecting to hear.

Some things just aren't meant to last for very long. Still, at least we are left with A Grand Don't Come For Free which always gets an airing every few months.

but I had no idea that Lipstate had left. She added an extra dimension to their live show which was very impressive.

If it's even half as good as Receivers then it will still be a success.

My 2nd most anticipated record for next year now (after Mogwais new effort).

but I am interested in hearing it.

with the exception of E-bow The Letter (which is magestic) I can't think of a single guest vocalist who enhanced one of their songs.

after so many disappointments this year I'm sure Bird will deliver the goods.

really look forward to hearing this.

didn't even know they had a new record in production.

Bonus.

but Lisbon grabbed hold of me on the very first listen.

Subsequent spins have just reinforced the quality of the songwriting and the tenderness of the vocals, particularly towards the end of the record.

This album is quite simply a masterpiece and without doubt my favourite record of 2010 so far.

A fine record too.

Their albums seem to be getting steadily worse with less hooks, less driving bass lines and less energy. Basically - less of everything that made them so good.

But the real turkey on this album is the echo effect that has been applied to Banks' voice on every track removing the rawness and tenderness of his truly remarkable voice.

It's had 7 or 8 spins and I'll certainly stick with it but this one has to go down as one of the biggest disappointments so far this year.

but it would be nice to see a few more full band shots rather than individuals in their respective groups to give a greater sense of what they actually looked like on stage.

they look old.

is at first disappointing I think it suits his voice. The songs do slot into place after a while but there aren't any touching moments like 'My Dove, My Lamb' from the previous record.