This is fine.
We first caught wind of Dominant Legs by way of Stereogum a few weeks back. Any allusion to Belle and Sebastian will catch my eye! Still, this new tune isn’t quite the twee pop one expected, but it’s more summery, as if there is a lighter air to the crafty writing here. You decide.
Download: Dominant Legs – Clawing Out At The Walls [MP3]
Rating: 
A short while ago, there was discussion that the UK group, The Clientele, would be calling it quits, and perhaps this is still true. Regardless, I was taken aback, and a little saddened. I’ve been listening to the group, and their pop soundscapes for some time, so I was happy to know that if they were calling it quits that I would least get one more album; that record being Bonfires on the Heath.
Not surprisingly, the group brought out the same old same old on their latest release, which isn’t entirely a bad thing in my book. This is one group that’s never needed to change, no matter what they put out. One should note, however, that their musical etchings are as detailed as the cover art to the current album, layer upon layer of sounds molded together to create one entity.
As I listen to “I Wonder Who We Are,” the opening track, I can’t help but notice that they share some odd similarities to my faves, Belle and Sebastian. Jangling guitars, and a knack for making mono-syllabic lyrics fit so well into the song structure, but what I think is still holding the band back this time is Alisdair Maclean’s vocals. For some reason they just don’t always seem to fit the music; there’s no correlation at times.
Still, this is the perfect fall piece of music. As each night brings a variance in weather, so too, does this album. It’s as if you’re walking with the group through each of their songs. The title track slowly meanders, as one would on a simple walk through the neighborhood on one of those cool windy nights. You see, it’s hard to tie down the precise sound of this album, or any of its songs, as you’re clearly affected by the mood they successfully create.
If you had to pick out a standout track here, for me, it would be “Jennifer and Julia.” It is the one song that I think epitomizes the years of work this group has put into their songwriting. Subtle horn backing and Maclean’s vocals all seem to fall perfectly into alignment on this album. This song is what makes you fall in love with this band, and it’s great to see that despite the years, and possible break-up, that they still have the knack for writing something as sublime as this.
Sure, there are tracks one can dismiss, like “Sketch,” which is a track that seems like simple album filler, but when you come to something like “Never Saw Them Before” you can clearly see what people enjoyed about this band from the get go. If you’re looking for one of those records that changes as often as you do, but clearly keeps you grounded, then you’ll want to check out Bonfires on the Heath, a culmination of pristine, moody pop, years in the making by The Clientele.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/05-Jennifer-And-Julia.mp3]Download: The Clientele – Jennifer And Julia [MP3]
What? You still listen to THAT album? That record is so 2004! Well, that’s okay, because we really like that one too, which is why we decided to come up with a list of our favorite albums of the last decade (2000-2009). Sure, these might not be YOUR favorite records, or the most critically acclaimed, but we sat down and really thought out every record from the past ten years that we keep coming back to in our collections. You’re likely to disagree with some of these, and we won’t tell you we’re absolutely right we just know that these happen to be OUR favorites. If you think we totally blew it here, feel free to tell us so, but be nice, as our egos are kind of fragile. Follow the jump for more.
Rating:
God Help the Girl is the project of Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian. It’s a fourteen song story created by Murdoch meant to be accompanied by his musical craftwork. His devotion to the craft of pop writing has expanded greatly as evidenced by this album, which began during his writing for Dear Catastrophe Waitress.
Unlike most Murdoch penned songs, this entire album is fairly void of his soft-spoken voice, instead being replaced by Catherine Ireton on almost every song, aside from “Funny Little Frog” and the two instrumental tracks, “A United Theory” and “The Music Room Window.”
Here we find a remaking of The Life Pursuit’s “Act of the Apostle” opening the album, though it hardly seems recognizable, if any connection at all. This version comes with Ireton’s vocals accompanied by some appropriate string arrangements. For all intents and purposes you see this song as the introduction of the story’s narrator.
“God Help the Girl” quickly follows the opener, and it’s one of the most similar to the traditional Murdoch stylings. Piano backbone and Ireton’s delivery remind you of other Glaswegian band Camera Obscura, which is all the more appropriate seeing as that band, and this project, both travel back in time to 60s pop girl groups. You can just imagine this song coming across with a dance routine and sharply dressed females filling the void in sound.
“Pretty Eve in the Tub” is a track one can possibly dismiss, but it’s going to strike home with most listeners, including the author, for the full use of Murdoch’s voice during the song. It’s one of the few instances here when he steps in front of the microphone during this project. However, he also utilizes his voice to trade verses during “Hiding Neath My Umbrella.” Such a song seems fitting in the B&S catalog, though the string arrangements take it further into the musical spectrum. You’ll find that Murdoch’s arrangements allow for the presentation to go beyond their usual limits.
One of the more developed songs is “Musician, Please Take Heed.” Slowly, for the first minute, it builds with the focus playing upon the vocals, but then the chugging jangly guitars Stuart typically utilizes come into play. From here the song takes off with a galloping pace as strings are added atop the entire track. Stuart then returns in the following track with “Perfection as a Helper.” Backing vocals are so noticeable in this song, which is due to their immediate throwback quality. At this point, it’s clear just how far he’s really pushed himself in the production of the album.
Every song makes a powerful statement on the album, and there isn’t one that really goes awry when put into the perspective of the album as a story. Murdoch is at his best with his songwriting, and even the closing moments are spectacular, such as “I’ll Have to Dance with Cassie.” Lovers of his pop song writing will see he’s gone beyond his concise tunes and into a whole other world; this album is the better for it.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/02-god-help-the-girl.mp3]Download: God Help the Girl [MP3]
Rating:
Occasionally, you come across a group that is reminiscent of everything you truly love. Clever lyrics, jangly guitars, smooth vocals; all joining in unison in order to craft that perfect pop song. Cats on Fire have constructed 10 such songs with their second album Our Temperance Movement. Consider us lucky that Matinee Recordings was able to put out this album by the Finnish quartet.
Immediately upon pressing play, you will more than likely realize that the band shares a certain affinity for bands such as Felt or the Smiths, sharing those classic vocal similarities, but not in such a fashion where you feel as if they’re merely playing the role of imitators. Singer Mattias Bjorkas can hold the sway in his voice just like Lawrence or Morrissey. But, you’ll find that in listening to his voice, it stands alone an a different entirely.
Now, the band probably has a lot of influential waters that they could soak up with a sponge, all of which are visible in their songs, but a different comparison comes to mind when listening to the album. Our Temperance Movement recalls early Belle and Sebastian records, or just your favorite pop album, where every single song is so good that it would be hard to decipher which song on the album was meant as the single. You won’t be able to find a throwaway track here, which is an oddity in this year’s music output.
“Lay Down Your Arms” has that familiar jangly guitar you’ll recall from all those classic recordings, creating a mood of stomping about your local pub dancefloor. As the vocals sway back across the song, you can’t help but feel moved by the meldious tune. “Letters from a Voyage to Sweden” follows shortly after, with tales of watching a cruiseliner filled with adulterers and sodomites. Even with such a taboo topic, the song rolls along; it’s the perfect song for quiet headphone moments lying in your bed in thought.
With songs like “Tears in Your Cup,” Garden Light” and “Fabric” neatly tucked into the latter half of the album, you’ll find that your listening experience is never lacking in above average tunes. Especially when you encounter the bookend to the album “Farbic” with its backing female vocals and bouncy strum.
As the album wraps up completely you’ll be rushing to record your favorite tracks for that next great mixtape you are preparing for your friends. You only want the best tracks, and every song on this album will suffice to prove to your friends just how great your tastes are; so go on and introduce them to Cats on Fire.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/02-lay-down-your-arms.mp3]Download: Cats on Fire – Lay Down Your Arms [MP3]
Rating:
Something seems to exist in the Glaswegian waters these days, as more and more substantial music sets sail for America via Scotland. The newest album, My Maudlin Career, from Camera Obscura is just another example of a country that is pushing out superb tune after superb tune.
Long has the band been haunted by their kinship to Belle and Sebastian, but here we see them completing the step away from such association, much as they did on their last album, Let’s Get Out of This Country. They’ve stepped away from the modest pop stylings of their earlier days, immersing themselves instead in a history of 60s soul and R&B. This time around, the band has gradually drifted into the perfect dance halls from historic days long gone.
Tracyanne Campbell is the focal point of this entire album, as it should be. Her delivery, especially in songs such as “French Navy” is nearly perfect, spinning masterful webs of melody at every turn. She finally seems comfortable in the limelight, and that confidence shows through and through. But, she’s not the only vocal presence here, as there are some carefully placed “oohs” and “ahhs” visiting the landscape of this album (see The Sweetest Thing).
Musically, the album is quite close to its predecessor. It’s as if the music was crafted carefully in the Motown studios; all the arrangements are done with such precision that you’d be hard pressed to find a point in this record when anything seems off-kilter. One thing that might be lacking for some listeners, however, is that the music doesn’t have the pace, or some of the urgency, that went with the last album. Sure, songs like “Swans” and “My Maudlin Career” have a sligth pace, and a certain vibrance, but there is no “Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken.” But, this serves the album sufficiently well, as the album comes across with a lot more balance than the previous effort. Its nostalgia is fitting, and the album is the most even output in the band’s history.
Through and through, the album comes across with moments of meandering melody and a whispering sense of longing, which, afterall, seems to be the lyrical focus of the album. The very mention of “maudlin” recalls a certain sense of emotional sentimentality, as if you’re looking back with a sense of longing. It’s no mistake that the lyrics match this focus; the music seems to further the intent as well. And of course, the ever present ideal of love, and loves past, present and future.
Listeners be sure to make it all the way until the end of the album, as “Honey in the Sun” is one of the most rewarding songs on the album. It’s the bookend that sums up the thematic elements of the lyrics, and adds further detail to the growth of this very talented group of musicians from Glasgow. Nicely done Camera Obscura.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/11-honey-in-the-sun.mp3]Download: Camera Obscura – Honey in the Sun [MP3]
A few years back, I stumbled into the record store and came across this band, My Latest Novel. They met my requirements for something worthy of checking out: they were from Glasgow and someone references Belle and Sebastian in their review; those days are long gone. The first single from the bands upcoming album, Death and Entrances, is full of complexities and an organic quality that most enjoy these days. Sit back and listen.
Download: My Latest Novel – All in All in All is All [MP3]
The 80s saw the birth of the best music from the better half of the century. The problem is that like many similar great works of art, these songs weren’t always immediately recognized for their brilliance. So when Van Halen’s sexually-rowdy “Hot For Teacher” blares in the strip club scene in Varsity Blues, you can’t help but give it a “ten” (a f-ing ten!). It’s from there that the song earns it’s immortality and lives in film fame for years to come. The only rules to this list: the song couldn’t have been written for the movie or debuted in the movie (sayonara Top Gun, Breakfast Club, and Kenny Loggins). So here’s a list of the most memorable 80s songs from the movies…
Read more
Rating:
Leeds band The Lodger released this album in May of this year, but Life Is Sweet has been taking its time to get completely acquainted with those of us on American soil. Surely you will find tragedy in that, for this record is precisely the type of album that made British music a mainstay in U.S. college radio throughout the 90s.
This album opens up with “My Finest Hour,” which is a piano-laden song, gently sweeping along. It floats somewhere in the world of Belle and Sebastian until the chorus brings in pounding piano and a quickened pace with the vocals.
Moments later you’re treated to the best song on the album, not that the rest aren’t here for your enjoyment. It’s a foot-stomper of a song, with guitar work similar to that of Franz Ferdinand, but with a more pop-driven vocal. “The Good Old Days” is sure to get you moving, no matter what your into. It’s the perfect blend of upbeat indie rock and modern pop music.
The more you listen to the album, the more the infectious melodies lodge themselves inside your brain. It’s similar to the first time you threw on a Smiths LP or even Orange Juice. It isn’t anything that will go down as the most creative music of all time, but it’s the fact that the band has honed their skills to perfection; they get the most potential out of every single song on the album.
You could drop the name of pretty much every seminal Brit-pop band from the early eighties on when describing this band, but despite their shared commonalities with their influences, The Lodger is able to go beyond those same sounds; they create a sound entirely their own. Surely this deserves our notice over here in the United States, as we can only hope that we get more guitar-pop from our distant cousins rather than the same re-hashed dance music time and time again.
Rating:
Despite it’s abilities to work, this still remains one of the strangest duos that has come to light. You could see Jagger and Bowie, but Lanegan and Campbell? Still, two albums in, they are perfecting their devilish-folk musings on Sunday at Devil Dirt.
As per usual, Mark Lanegan, former Screaming Trees singer, takes the lead vocals on this entire album, coating every single song in his whiskey-drenched Southern drawl, coming off like a less-carnivalesque Tom Waits. His voice is fitting for David Lynch screenplays, and yet he matches it with the sweetness of Isobel Campbell.
Most of the musical arrangements on the album come from Campbell, who continues to contrast her traditional role as queen of twee by creating brooding folks songs; each song is carefully constructed with equal part haunting orchestration and guitar picking. It’s this match of sounds that provides for a demonically sultry soundscape throughout.
Most of the time, Isobel doesn’t really make an appearance on the album, at least not as the focal point, which is disappointing, as her voice was one of the most memorable of the late 90s. Still, she does have some stand out moments, which make the tracks stand out from the rest. Her vocal bombast during the chorus of “The Raven” provides the perfect counter-balance to Lanegan. Similarly, the duo trade vocals on “Who Built the Road,” which demonstrates the unique harmony shared between these two juxtaposed musical characters.
One of the more endearing tracks, meaning one of the most upbeat–spiritually speaking, is “Keep Me in Mind Sweethear.” It’s a short number, but even Lanegan makes the longing sound natural, and not nearly as dark has his typical outing on this album. Oddly, at this point in the album, you can feel the lighter side of things shining through, which is ironic since it all comes at the end of the album, but it encourages you to look forward, and move on.
Overall, this is just another example of the dynamic shared between two great voices in independent music. It comes just in time for the cold weather to encourage whiskey drinking and story telling among friends; may your holidays come off something like this album.
