Review
by owright
With its Brighten The Corners-era Pavement-style beauty, 'Eggbound Mutebone', the lead track on the new Plans and Apologies' EP, doesn't merely reward repeated listens, it simply demands them.»
Review
by owright
Most groups send out three track demos which intend to 'give a flavour' of their doubtless delightful and multi-faceted 'oeuvre'. Credit then to The Composers for sending out an entire album of unreleased tracks, but in fact, they'd have been far better off sticking to the usual demo protocol.»
Review
by owright
It was a logical step and it is good news for Manchester's music scene. High Voltage, a steadily growing live phenomenon over the last couple of years, has evolved into a label and HV10 001 sets the standard, featuring four of the highest profile young Manchester bands on one 10" disk.»
In Depth by owright
James Yorkston is attempting to drag folk music kicking and screaming into the 21st century and the next step in the process is to call in Kieran ‘Four Tet' Hebden, to add his special brand of organic futurism to the sound of James’ gifted band, The Athletes. DiS was able to grab a moment of James’ time to fire across a few queries about the resulting new album, Just Beyond The River, previous LP Moving Up Country, religion, Bob Dylan and his first celebrity crush. He didn’t answer the last one.»
News
by owright
The newly renovated Hackney Empire provides the setting for the Vapour Festival of Independent Music on Saturday October 9th.»
Review
by owright
One of these days, a killer Johnny Domino best of compliation will get released. That will be a joyous day. For on every Johnny Domino LP, there are four or five songs of such a high quality, that you're left wondering how they've remained Artists Against Success' most treasured secret. 'Solid Ground' is their most coherent and best produced record to date.»
Review
by owright
Violins slope by, icicles melt slowly, the water lands with a soft 'glop' in the left speaker. Whistles sound, morse code messages are transmitted, planting messages in your brain. The beat commences and suddenly, what's going on behind it is immeasurably dense and Kristin Anna's vocal appears from nowhere. Melodies continue to flicker by. Instruments enter, take a brief turn and vanish into the mist. I wonder if they'll ever return.»
Review
by owright
Okay, first things first: I have to tell you about The Dirtbombs through a hangover so urgent, so vital, so now, that I'll still be hungover tomorrow. Possibly perpetually.»
Review
by owright
I respect bands who love their music so much that it really shows in their on-stage personality. The Generalissimos look like a cool band, simply because they don't look like a cool band, but themselves. They sound like a cool band, because they're not looking to produce a 'marketable' facsimile of whatever fad it is that A&R are chasing for the moment, but a sound which satisfies their group appetite to explore.»
Review
by owright
This song is a brilliant study of alienation. The whole lyric is shot through with paranoia and loneliness. I love that somebody can sound this fcking cool, whilst still admitting, in a punk-hearted way, to moments of total self-doubt, of wondering where the fck your place is and who the hell these people are, all these people around you.»
News
by owright
The Night and Day Cafe is out of the woods. The Manchester music scene can rest assured that one of the city's most treasured venues no longer faces closure, after the local resident who complained to the Council about noise levels withdrew their complaint.»
Review
by owright
I never thought I'd actually see them, but here they are. The whispers that friends put into my mind - 'What if it's not the original line-up?' - are proved groundless. Arthur Lee, the singer, may have a fair claim to 'being' Love, but Love were not the ultimate proof of collaborative guitar band as art form.»
Review
by owright
I walk into a rammed Blowout! to find Nine Black Alps opening up with a terrace-style chant of ‘Everybody is a liar / Everybody has a price.’. I agree, am engaged and sneak as close I can get to the band, chopping my path through thickets of fashion mullets en route, noting the presence of many a skinny, smoking Manchester 'ace face' as I go. Before long, my interest has waned.»
Review
by owright
Sitting down to write this review of The Sonar Yen’s debut LP, I wondered if I could get through a without mentioning Sonic Youth. I thought it might be a challenge. But fuck it, Sonic Youth’s influence is all over the Sonar Yen sound. Two songs on this LP remind me of the sainted Youth’s ’Sunday’ and the coda to ‘Lacklustre' is a total submission to the influence. This doesn’t matter, because it still sounds mean.»
Review
by owright
Tonight’s headliners, Tsuji Giri, are touting their new Steve Albini-produced LP, but it’s the younger, more svelte and, dare I say it, more talented Longcut that everybody’s turned out for tonight.»
Review
by owright
They’re one of those bands that seem impossible to describe in terms that are hyperbolic enough. Tonight, I finally get the chance to watch and wonder just why The Shins have become so important to me. A sell-out crowd is here to applaud them and I wonder how many of those present have found The Shins soundtracking some of their finest, worst, most comical and banal moments - in short, their lives.»
Review
by owright
There are so many ideas on ‘It’s All Around You’ that it’s difficult to begin to describe it. A listen to the techy, but delightful ’Stretch (You Are All Right)’ would maybe encapsulate what is brilliant about this record – somehow, in one song, Tortoise accommodate outstanding lead melodies from at least four different sources; bass, guitars, xylophone and synths tangle together in a riot of tone. Everything adds to the whole, which becomes undefinable, yet totally beguiling.»
Review
by owright
“…(A) band who, at their absolute top-dollar best are blandly entertaining college rock." – Steve Albini.
It was Kurt Cobain and David Bowie’s favourite LP of the ‘80s, but the man who helmed ‘Surfer Rosa’ was just glad that he got to "rewrite the Pixies songs with a razor blade".»
Review
by owright
Warp Records have a knack for presenting us with sounds that we’ve never heard before and their latest attempt at genre cross-pollination is this tour of the country’s concert halls with modern classical orchestra the London Sinfonietta. The theory goes something like this – ‘If their ears prick up when they hear Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada or Squarepusher, then they shouldn’t have a problem with composers of the ilk of Steve Reich, John Cage, Edgard Varese or George Antheil. So let’s put them in the same programme.’ We should be glad they did it.»
Review
by owright
A hazy, tranquil LP, 'The Sand and the Stars' aims at pure escapism. It was conceived in a beach hut and several of its tracks have wave sounds lapping across them. The concept was live, atmospheric recordings which provide a getaway from the claustrophobic city.»
Review
by owright
Saloon’s second record, 'If We Meet In The Future', is a massive kick-on from their debut. They have a terrific singer in Amanda Gomez, whose voice has a purity that you won’t hear elsewhere.»
In Depth by owright
'How can the life of such a man / Be in the palm of some fool’s hand?' – Bob Dylan, “Hurricane”»
Review
by owright
Once upon a time, Norwich’s KaitO did a split 7” with Derby’s Cato. I was around Derby at the time and remember the excitement KaitO caused when they turned up to promote the record and were steadfastly excellent. They were a distillation of all the best things about Derby’s favourite pop-noiseniks Twinkie; a healthy dollop of the Pixies’ hookiness, a measure of Sonic Youth’s bloody-mindedness and a crucial element of English savvy. They also had Nikki, whose voice, we all agreed, was remarkable.»
Review
by owright
Playing music live is a giving. A gift to your audience of your guts, your insides – the stuff that is otherwise inexpressible. I need something to hold onto tonight, so Electrelane had better be good.»
Review
by owright
Hear the Conversation’s current demo, Firpo. It’s delicate, crisp, intelligent, at times stark, spare and economical. The songs often sound simple, because they are built around strong, direct hooks and gutsy, compelling rhythms, but they’re actually multi-layered, thoughtfully arranged pieces, with all manner of hidden depth. The superficial minimalism belies a flair for providing just the right melodic undertone at just the right moment. They have style, ability and brains in equal proportion. Their music is balanced and hypnotic.»
Review
by owright
The music stops and I hear girls talking outside on the street. A car pulls up, blaring MOR pop-house. The engine whirs and the tyres crunch gravel. I remember about going out tonight.»
