By
Mary Chang on Friday, 3rd September 2010 at 6:00 pm
In anticipation of Villagers‘s next single ‘That Day’, Domino Records has released a new promo video for the song. It’s Conor O’Brien, his baby guitar Lola, and several ghost!Conors providing backing vocals. Beauty in simplicity, clearly. Watch it below.
‘That Day’, the forthcoming single from Villagers, will be released on 04 October on Domino. The band will be on tour in the UK during the last 3 months of this year. Villagers’s debut album ‘Becoming a Jackal’ is one of the 12 nominated acts for this year’s Mercury Prize. The winner will be announced next Tuesday (07 September).
A couple of weeks back I introduced TGTF readers to the North Yorkshire band One Night Only, and now I have the great pleasure of reviewing their self-titled new album. Released 23rd August, it is the perfect soundtrack for the end of the summer. At first I didn’t think there was a song as good as the single ‘Say You Don’t Want It’ or another album that was single material, but the more I listened the more I realized I was wrong. In fact, there are very few songs on this album that couldn’t be singles!
All of the tracks on One Night Only’s second album follow pretty much the same formula: pounding drums, thrashing guitars, synths and keyboards, with lead singer (and occasional Burberry model) George Craig’s vocals shifting between smooth and rough and tying it all together to create a slightly retro sound that is somehow also very current. But this isn’t to say the songs all sound the same. Far from it, the band’s infectious energy and the interesting melodies and rhythms keep the album exciting the entire way through.
Many of the tracks deal with the fame that the band has already acquired and are sure to have more of now that ‘One Night Only’ has hit the shelves. As their press release says, “it’s the story of chasing the end of the rainbow, what happens along the way and when you get there” and it conveys “…a feeling of being catapulted into something tremendously exciting and perhaps a little troubling”. Singing about fame and fortune can often come off as bragging (I’m looking at you, hip hop) but One Night Only approaches it from more of a “holy shit, look what’s happening!” point of view that is incredibly refreshing.
In the album opener and lead single, they sing “the big screens, the plastic-made dreams / say you don’t want it.” The subject of fame comes up again in the incredible ‘Forget My Name,’ which has an exuberant, barely-contained quality to it. They sing “caught up in all of the action / We’re in the middle of streets all painted gold / Have you seen the reaction lately / Of all the people we left back home?” They let go completely in the chorus, practically shouting it out: “On and on we keep on dreaming, / in the end you won’t forget my name.” This larger-than-life, anthem-y sound is present in of a lot of their songs, particularly ‘Chemistry,’ ‘Got It All Wrong’ and the incredible ‘Anything’.
If it was up to me to pick the second single from this album, I’d probably go for ‘All I Want,’ which finds itself at the halfway point in the album. It’s very synthy and retro, and pairs tinkly keyboards with a rough guitar riff and echoing vocals for a sound that’s just too much fun. The fantastic line “speak how you feel so the words sound real” from the second verse later becomes the refrain and will be incredible to sing along to live.
‘One Night Only’ is both playful and mature, and its energetic highs and sensuous lows are like a roller coaster ride you’ll want to take again and again.
9/10
‘One Night Only’ was released on 23rd August 2010 and can be purchased via iTunes, Amazon.co.uk, Play.com and HMV.com.
By
Mary Chang on Friday, 3rd September 2010 at 10:00 am
The Postelles are an American band based in New York City who be right at home alongside what Sunderland’s Frankie and the Heartstrings and Sheffield’s Crookes are doing these days: a return to simplicity and what made everyone love rock ‘n’ roll in the first place back in the ’50s and ’60s, yet updating it for 21st century ears. Clear yet catchy vocals, gorgeous harmonies, and great guitars and drumming. I saw the Postelles open for Portland’s Hockey in March and I thought they were stunning. Apparently, the Futureheads agreed with me, taking the NYC quartet along with them on a tour of the UK in the spring. They even played a headlining gig at London’s Koko in May.
What we have for you today is a triple dose of the Postelles: first, their cover of the Buddy Holly track ‘Everyday’, a more streamlined, less geeky version than the original; second, a video of the band backstage at their sold out gig at New York’s Bowery Ballroom in July; and third, their promo for ‘White Night’. Their EP ‘White Night’ is available now from EMI/Astralwerks. Happy Friday!
MP3: The Postelles – Everyday (Buddy Holly cover)
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By
Mary Chang on Thursday, 2nd September 2010 at 6:00 pm
The Static Jacks are a young rock band from New Jersey. And when I say young, I mean young – they opened for the Futureheads during their brief tour of America’s East Coast this past June. This was when I experienced the Jacks live for the first time and noticed that most of them (if not all) had Xs on their hands indicating they weren’t allowed to drink at the Black Cat.
Despite their age and relative lack of experience compared to their Futureheads elders, I could see why the blokes from Sunderland had chosen them for the tour. The Static Jacks have a lot of energy, just like they do. Check out their new video for ‘My Parents Lied’ below. It’s pretty bare bones but it captures what they’re all about. The band will be playing with Biffy Clyro in America later this month.
By
Johnny Owen on Thursday, 2nd September 2010 at 12:00 pm
Not so long back it seemed as though Robert Plant was a spent force creatively. While his reunion with Jimmy Page threw up some decent material, you got the impression that both artists were doing little more than treading water.
Then Plant decided to embark on his own personal, study of the history of American music, inviting collaborators Alison Krauss and T-Bone Burnett to join him on the ‘Raising Sand’ album. That collection proved to be a revelation, with the team selecting and re-working songs from a surprising array of artists, from the The Everly Brothers to Tom Waits, and being awarded the Grammy for Album of the Year. When the time came to record the follow up though, they found that the chemistry was no longer there. Rather than make do and try to force out an album for the sake of it, the decision was made to call it a day and quit while they were ahead. This left Robert with the task of trying to assemble a new line up to continue his project. Drafting in Nashville stalwart Buddy Miller to produce and add guitar, and Patti Griffin as a vocal foil, he set about crafting a somewhat darker, more muscular sequel to ‘Raising Sand’.
One of the more striking things about Plant’s voice these days is the way he exercises restraint when he might previously have let rip. There are times here where he lowers his voice to a whisper and the album is all the more compelling for it. Opening with an upbeat cover of Los Lobos’ ‘Angel Dance’ (video below), the album jumps between styles, tempos and moods, taking in bluegrass, doo-wop, honky tonk and the haunting gothic Americana of ‘Silver Rider’ and ‘Monkey’, two Low covers and two of the standout songs in this collection. It’s interesting to note that Plant named the album after the pre-Zeppelin band he played in with John Bonham, whether he sees this as a rebirth of sorts is unclear but he certainly sounds rejuvenated here and it’s not surprising that he turned down the offer of a (potentially very lucrative) Led Zeppelin reunion tour in order to continue mining the rich vein of form that he’s found.
While not every song here hits the spot, ‘You Can’t Buy My Love’ and ‘Falling In Love Again’ in particular, sound out of place, the high points, such as the previously mentioned Low covers and ‘Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down’, a traditional song previously performed by Willie Nelson and Uncle Tupelo, make up for these dips. Plant’s voice throughout is engaging and he’s backed here by some strong performances from his band, not least multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, who have come together to make an album that both builds on what went before and creates anticipation over what might come next. You can watch the man speak about the ‘Band of Joy’ album in the interview video below.
7/10
‘Band of Joy’ will be released 13 September 2010 on Decca.
By
Emmy Droege on Thursday, 2nd September 2010 at 10:00 am
The smooth-as-silk voice of British crooner Paul Heaton has returned. Yet, in a way, the former front man for indie pop band the Housemartins and alternative group the Beautiful South never really left. As such, Heaton’s 15th (!) studio album, dubbed ‘Acid Country’, is set to be released next month.
Heaton’s upcoming LP is sure to go down a treat for the veteran fans of his pop sensibilities and clever lyricism. New listeners will also no doubt be impressed with the ample array of hook-laden folk rock tunes. To whet your appetite and in anticipation of Heaton’s future release due out on 13 September, here’s a download for ‘Even a Palm Tree.’
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