Michael

Beach House – Bloom (2012)

Posted on July 4, 2012July 20, 2014 by Michael

Several months ago when publications were creating short lists of hotly anticipated albums for 2012, Beach House were one of the heavily mentioned bands. Their third album, 2010’s Teen Dream, was a massive critical success and gained the Baltimore duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally many new fans in the process. Set to do an Animal Collective and become the “it” cool band, Beach House released Bloom back in May and have been on the road ever since.

The chiming guitars of first single, “Myth”, gently welcome listeners into Beach House’s orbit, while the rolling drums pull you in deeper. Similar to many tracks on Bloom, the lyrics are like reading a book that’s missing every third page. “Wild”, tells of drunken parental concern before it loses you in a swirl of ambiguity. Both “Other People” and “The Hours” swing a bit harder in the choruses while “Lazuli”s hushed background vocals and twinkling keys recall the 80s more ethereal moments. The duo’s ability to make even the most simple moments sound majestic is one of Bloom’s most charming traits.

All the songs mentioned appear on the first half of the album and while the second half merely feels like excellent b-sides to the first half’s extraordinary singles, final track “Irene” is another Bloom highlight. Once the final chords disappear, the only thing left to do is go back to the beginning and lose yourself all over again.

9/10

Songs Going Steady

Golden Fable – Sugarloaf

Posted on July 2, 2012February 8, 2024 by Michael

Found on the excellent blog, Breaking More Waves, we discovered this lovely single from Golden Fable. Having met in Manchester and now settled in North Wales, Golden Fable’s debut self released ablum will be out in September. Until then we have a few singles to check out including “Sugarloaf”. The track is like a cross between the music of The Sundays and the vocals of Cocteau Twins. Is it as good as that sounds? Listen below. Also do follow the link to their website for info on the album release.

http://www.goldenfable.com

Songs Going Steady

Chromatics – Kill For Love

Posted on July 2, 2012February 8, 2024 by Michael

With the youtube video for the bands’s contribution to the Drive soundtrack hitting over a million views, Chromatics have followed that up with a new single and album both entitled “Kill For Love” on the record label Italians Do It Better (though apparently not as well as the Spanish!). Holding true to our ethos of getting to bands several weeks later, this is definitely one to seek out. Haunting female vocals, indie guitar with a slight dancebeat – this is the kind of single that has made us swoon for years.

Album Reviews

Billy Joel – Piano Man (1973)

Posted on July 1, 2012July 20, 2014 by Michael

In the late 70s/early 80s Billy Joel’s music was everywhere. Hit singles, huge selling albums, and massive tours all meant that the once struggling artist was a major success. Early in his career, Joel played in various groups around New York City that went nowhere and saw a debut solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, mastered at the wrong speed causing his voice to sound a semitone than it should have. After a failed suicide attempt, Joel moved out to California with his then girlfriend, Elizabeth. While in LA, he got a job playing piano at The Executive Room piano bar. During this time, Joel wrote the songs that would form his second solo album, Piano Man.

It would be easy to look back and say that it is obvious that Joel would be a star based on hearing Piano Man but well, there is some truth to that. The melodies, music, and musicianship are all impeccable. The rumbling bass and banjo picking of “Travelin’ Prayer” (later covered by Dolly Parton) are ridiculously catchy. “You’re My Home” is a pleasant attempt at a Paul Simon like look at America while “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” has the story telling of Marty Robbins. It’s curious that “Stop in Nevada” was not released as a single as it has all the bombast of later Meatloaf productions with a few country touches to hit all the right demographics. This of course leaves the ubiquitous title track. Like many great songs from the past it has been slightly diminished over time having been heard a million times, but listening with fresh ears there is no doubt why the track has been played/covered so much over the last 35+ years.

While Billy Joel lacks the grit of Bruce Springsteen and the expert lyricism of Paul Simon, Piano Man hits a nice stride right into MOR radio. It has all the classic sounds of AM Radio from the 70s and while he would go on to better perfect his sound, there are a few gems here to listen to that would surely be overlooked on most “Best Of” collections.

7/10

Album Reviews

Santigold – Master Of My Make Believe (2012)

Posted on June 18, 2012July 20, 2014 by Michael

After a successful career writing songs for others, Santi White, then going as Santogold, burst onto the scene in 2008 with the “L.E.S Artistes” single as well as the S/T debut. Buzzing with highlights such as “Lights Out”, “Unstoppable” and “I’m a Lady”, the debut went a long way in establishing Santi as a prime contender in the sophisticated dance pop ring. Four years later, with one name change under her belt as well as a Chuck Taylor advert and numerous commercial audio pop ups, she appears with her sophomore release Master Of My Make Believe.

Make Believe gets off to a rousing start with one of her strongest tracks in “Go!” Featuring Karen O, the menacing opening leads into Marylyn Manson like military drumming before it suddenly veers to 80s pop punk… and that’s just the first 45 seconds. First single, “Disparate Youth” continues the winning trick and is another standout. The track has moves similar to “L.E.S Artiste” as it seems just a bit too slow for the dance floor but one sure to get heads nodding. After this, the album gets a bit murky as tracks such as “Fame” and “Freak Like Me” are more curiosities and the pace really slows down with several mid tempo numbers (though “The Riot’s Gone” is one of the strongest tracks on the album). “The Keepers” gets things back on track and sounds like an updated version of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” with an equally infectious chorus.

There’s a lot of good on Masters Of My Make Believe as it boasts possibly three of the best tracks of the year. However pacing becomes an issue and like the debut, there’s a few songs that are easily skipped over. Still, Santigold continues to produce intelligent dance music and this album is a welcome return by one of the coolest girls around.

7/10