This years entertainment was curated by Animal Collective. Who despite being fun on stage, seemed to have a genuine hatred of music or any kind of tune. Two out of every three acts was the kind of experimental music that seemed to be more about making noises than a melody. If you listen to Radio 6 late at night you’ll be right at home I guess.

During the event I took notes on my phone. Here’s what I said of the acts I saw.

Highlife: Apart from several moments when he sounded like somebody was strangling a cat with a guitar he was good fun. He just played a mellow acoustic guitar act and it was quite relaxing until he opened his mouth and started screaming.

Black Dice: They made me feel like a grumpy old man. They sounded like a collection of random noises at ear splitting volume… but when I joked about it to my dad he turned and said “I know, it’s great isn’t it!”

They are a case of Marmite division in music. You’ll either love it or hate it. I hated it, but I’ve loved weirder and worse in the past. So make your own mind up and complain about it in the comments.

Dent May: They sounded like karaoke, but karaoke of something really good. I liked their tunes, but the setup wasn’t quite right. They were having problems with their drum machine and apologised to the audience that they hadn’t had any practice. So I’m giving them a thumbs up they could be really good on CD or anywhere with a proper sound test.

Lee Scratch Perry: My sister pointed out that he Looked exactly like Goldar from Power Rangers and I couldn’t think of anything else after that. You will really like him if you’re into Reggae.

Soldier of Fortune: They had the sound of metal about them, and I approved the hell out of that.

Actress: They sounded like your usual club and trance fare… Except whenever you felt he was leading up to some kind of big crescendo Adagio for strings style he would just dial it back and move on to another mix. He’s either a massive cocktease or a massive disappointment.

Big Boi: I have no idea how he ended up here, animal collective don’t seem like rap aficionados, but I’m glad they did. I only saw the last third of their performance and it was one of the weekends highlights. By the time I arrived they had all the girls in the front row up on the stage dancing along. They had damn good stage presence and despite the fact I’m white as the virgin snow, I would actually check them out again.

Brothers disconnected: they played a good mix of different styles, even having a couple of ‘comedy’ segments between songs with the kind of humour that would make Frankie Boyle shit himself. If you give them a try, give them a couple of chances because they run the gamut of good and unsettlingly weird with hints of genuine malice. One track was a Sergio Leone western style guitar riff, and the next was about lynching somebody.

Matt Baetz: He performed a stand-up gig that I enjoyed immensely. He catered his act around the fact a couple of ten-year-olds were sat in the front row, which must have been really difficult when you normally expect to use fuck-words as common punctuation. He was excellent and I will happily watch him again.

Mick Barr: He hammered away at his little guitar like nobody’s business. Normally I love that kind of thing; I listen to all of Dragonforce’s two songs after all. But he just sounded like me playing with my dad’s guitar.

Meat Puppets: They were far more conventional than anything else at the show. I enjoyed the crap out of them. And they had an excellent stage presence.

The Frogs: I was literally about to walk out when they finally decided to turn up. They were riddled with technical difficulties, including the vocalist turning up late.

They were also objectively the worst band I have ever listened to. I know music is a personal thing, but there is no excuse for the way they acted on stage, they would stop playing a song half way through, declare it wasn’t good enough and start again from the beginning, the drummer even started hurling abuse at somebody in the audience.

I can’t tell whether it’s supposed to have been part of the act or not, but if it was, their act was shit! Don’t listen to them, don’t watch them, don’t bother with these wastes of space.

The Entrance band: I only went to see them because the girl on base had great legs, but I’m glad I did because they were my second highlight of the weekend. They were massive fun to listen to and I highly recommend them!

Tony Conrad: Their whole thing was that their performance was surreal, and I suppose that was a brilliant success because I couldn’t tell if they were singing or having a seizure.

Mikachu and the Shades: They had a fun punk rock sound and they actually apologised for being late on stage. I give them thumbs up all the way for that!

Gang Gang Dance: They had a club dancey vibe and were my absolute favourite act of the weekend! They were incredible fun to see live, you could dance to it without having to be dosed to the eyeballs on pills and I’m listening to it in the other window right now.

TeenGirl Fantasy: They had a similar but more mellow sound than Gang Gang Dance but they were a great way to unwind immediately after the former.

Animal Collective: The headline band and curators behind this event. They were good on stage and it was fun to dance to them the first time they played, unfortunately the second time they played was identical note for note. My sister was seriously upset by this, I found them so tuneless I honestly wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t pointed it out. If you’re into this kind of music you will love them. If you’re not, for the love of god don’t go to anything curated by them!

So there you have it, all the acts I remembered from the weekend. Some good, some bad, some massively pretentious, but my Unbored Seals of Approval go to Big Boi, Gang Gang Dance and The Entrance Band. I highly recommend you check them out if you get the chance.

Whenever I pick up a copy of an album, I try to keep an open mind while listening, which can prove extremely difficult if you have any familiarity with that particular artist’s back catalogue. Even harder is when you review the bloody thing, comparisons keep popping up which is, admittedly, a handy reference point. Still, at least I try to keep an open mind, damn it. And there’s no better surprise than to have your expectations shattered into a million tiny, tiny fragments.

One of the nicest memories I have of the music of Sweden’s Jeniferever is escaping the blazing heat of the Tuscan sun. Cycling through the narrow streets and side-lanes of the old town in Lucca, different pathways extending like spindly veins from the central ampifeatro. Navigating this part of town took some practice; often enough I found myself ending up at the same spot two or three times. What struck me most about the pace of life in that part of the world – there was always that something that makes you want to slow down, just take in the day. Perhaps the same impulse that forces excessive consumption of olive oil – I’m not sure. In any case, something caused me to slow down and open my ears. Returning to the house in the valley later that evening, I sat down in the coolness of the terrazzo and let music wash over me. It was Choose a Bright Morning, Jeniferever’s 2006 debut album.

Okay, so they were incredible – original (if that even means anything anymore) and gentle, for some of it, and magnificent – for most of it. Something about their new album, Silesia, is simply majestic. The band has pared down their sound considerably, straying a little from their comfort zone of atmospheric and relatively slow post-rock drenched indie, focusing instead on crafting what could almost be considered pop, in some circles. One of the main features on this album seems to be the use of keyboards as a central instrument – almost as an orchestral tool in some instances. Even the drum sound in the mix is dry, much less reverb-heavy and somewhat reminiscent of Ester Drang’s later work. Kristofer Jönson’s vocals, quiet, melodic and sweet are given centre stage here – whereas on the debut and even on the organic Spring Tides his voice lacked a certain definition, carved into a hollow in the song. This time around his voice is back-lit by the band; it is right at the top of the mix and it is illuminated by stunning performances all round, instrumentally. On ‘Dover’ he sings “We hold tight to the ghosts in the stories/we do everything that we can to keep them alive.” The song is about not letting go, or rather, treasuring those memories held dear, the chorus line “We hold tight to bits of the past/they keep the days from ageing that fast.”

There’s something sentimental about Jönson’s lyrics, a recurring theme ever-present that displays certain vulnerability that is wholly endearing.

Most impressive of all on the record is the exquisite ‘The Beat of Our Own Blood’, an absolute gem that should by all rights be a single, and a respectable one at that. Huge melodic guitar and keyboard lines weave around intricate drum lines, all lifted by the overdriven, muscular bass line that was instantly, like, ‘Wow, Adam Clayton gets around a bit.’ Jönson speaks of emptiness in familiar ways, “The clothes and accessories form a faint pattern of guilt on the floor.”

It’s nice to see that the Scandinavian talent spell hasn’t worn off. Jeniferever really pack a punch in this release, and much like the sun creeping slowly up the buildings, off of the paving tiles of that Lucchesi day – the illumination may only be for a short while, but the warmth remains.

Silesia was out in the UK on April 11^th, 2011 on Monotreme Records.
‘Waifs & Strays’ is up for free download on http://www.jeniferever.com/.

Charles the Osprey, a two-man outfit from Michigan, has produced precisely what I would deem to be an album that is just too batshit to even imagine vocals on top of. Having said that, for a band as tight as this, who cares?
Consider is their first full-length effort, and one that doesn’t shy away from the ethos that sticking to a single formula within a single song is a bad idea. From the powerful and lithe drumming of Derek Lancioni, providing a solid backbone cocooned by the flowing guitar lines radiating from the nimble fingers of Rafael Ohli, they produce a rollicking racket that is hard to believe comes from two men alone. Citing their major influences as Don Caballero, Psyopus, Lamb of God and Bjork, just to name a few, it seems the duo comes from a strong pedigree upbringing of variety, that is, they wear their influences well without being obvious; it, at least in part, explains the eclectic, daring attitude put across on the twelve tracks offered here.

The record kicks off with ‘Scimitar Children and their Rugs’, innocent enough, the relatively melodious tapped guitar backed with drums only slightly off-kilter. The band doesn’t stray too far beyond these constraints, and this could be considered one of their more straightforward songs. It is enjoyable to the last. It is not until the second track on the album, where the band start to loosen up and start introducing the spices of variety to the mix, turning up the heat in the process. From there, they don’t cease – throughout ‘Hornets Don’t Have to Feint’ things are most definitely notched way past eleven – not just in the volume sense, mind. The band leaps from math-rock in one moment, to metal the next, making a passing glance at indie rock on the way back to math. They continue in this manner before hitting an unusual moment in ‘Conversations with the Deacon, Vol. 1’, an acoustic track that offers some relief before the next, presumably heavy wave breaks. Other standout tracks on the album are ‘Alia Pompeii; The Temptress’, an approachable track that is laden with pleasant moments throughout, and ‘Lovecraft! Smile!’ – the guitar at the beginning of which is reminiscent of the arpeggios employed by Muse, strangely.
Looking at other two-piece instrumental acts, Hella, for example, or perhaps even El Ten Eleven, I haven’t really seen this level of variety before, at least in terms of crossing genres. Normally I would be wary of a mishmash of styles such as this, but musical ability seems to allow the band to reign it in and make it work, sounding  impressive in their capable hands.

CTO are a band that seem comfortable enough, not only as musicians but as music lovers to give a pat on the back and a nod to some of their favourite bands and genres, and somehow, it works. Consider is equal parts angular, cathartic and noisy, and by all accounts a decent album. So, when you’re looking for something energetic and instrumental to try, take Charles the Osprey into consideration.

My rating? 8 out of 10.

Consider is out now on Friction Records.
Mp3: Scimitar Children and their Rugs

Anyway, here’s my round up of what I think is some of the best artwork to have graced the covers of albums over the past twenty years. Enjoy!

15. Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity
As well as being an absolutely cracking album, the simplicity of the cover of the band’s 2004 album is reminiscent of the work of Jean-Michael Basquiat; rough, sloppily painted characters adorn the front in brave and bold colours – tasteful, if a little unsettling.

14. Drummer – Feel Good Together

There’s always something nice about an album that reminds you, both through its music and its cover, of something positive. To me, there’s nothing more positive than seeing a delicious ice cream dessert. Being a greedy man, this is why this album made the list.

13. Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die
One of the greatest instrumental post-rock albums ever conceived, Tortoise’s sophomore release from 1996 also has a pretty awesome cover. Nice understated blues and greys, minimal text, and fish. Could you ask for more?

12. Primal Scream – Screamadelica
Primal Scream changed the landscape of British indie in the early nineties, fusing guitar rock with acid house and rave in an unforgettable clash of styles. The cover of this, their third album, has become iconic and was even made into a stamp by the Royal Mail earlier this year. Not that people are willing to admit it, but that my friends, is rock and roll.

11. A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
In my opinion the greatest hip-hop group of all time, followed closely by Public Enemy and NWA, A.T.C.Q. created some of the most interesting and intelligent jazz rap out there. The cover for this album, especially in its colours, relates to African, almost tribal imagery that reflects the raw, dry sounds the group used. Interesting to note is the appearance of Ron Carter, the legendary jazz bassist, as a performer.

10. Slint – Spiderland
Sometimes but not always, simplicity is King. In the case of Slint’s landmark 1991 album Spiderland, this is very much the case, with its stark black and white photograph of the band neck-deep in water, taken interestingly enough by Will ‘Bonnie “Prince” Billy’ Oldham.

9. Phosphorescent – Aw Come Aw Wry
I love the use of medieval imagery, perhaps due to my deep interest in the history of that period of time, but maybe because quite frankly, the stylistic possibilities of such simple imagery are many. I could’ve easily made this Fleet Foxes’ debut instead for that reason, but I as much as I love that record, this one is, to me, even better.

8. Foxhole – Push/Pull EP
The Kentucky-based mostly instrumental band Foxhole produced this EP for Burnt Toast Vinyl in 2006. The music within is interesting, multi-textural and the band are extremely proficient, but one of the things that stood out for me was their cover, an extremely simple balloon-shaped bubble rising upward, an interesting cover that reflects their music rather well – uplifting.

7. Papercuts – You Can Have What You Want
The delicate and hazy sound of the songs of Papercuts is one which is not timeless – it belongs rooted firmly in the late 60s, but exists in the present. The cover of You Can Have What You Want certainly looks like it belongs on a poster for a low-budget b-movie from that era; naked, featureless bodies floating, suggesting a kind of tranquillity. Interesting, very interesting. And creepy.

6.  Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come
Although the whole Blue Note Records-esque cover has been done and redone many times over, none work nearly as well as Refused’s effort, not only because it looks great but because of what the album stands for. Blue Note released some of the best, most influential artists ever to work in music, and with The Shape… Refused created something truly pioneering, original and revolutionary.

5. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – I See A Darkness
Will Oldham is, in a word, eclectic. How is it that he can follow up on a bright, folky and breathy album like Joya with something as dark, brooding and shadowy record as I See A Darkness. He’s an artist talented enough to make it work, and he does so with gusto – it turned out, and still is regarded to be his most defining work to date, a wonderful black cloud majesty looms over gorgeous songs throughout. And the cover couldn’t have been more appropriate.

4. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Déjà Vu (1994 CD Edition)
Their first, and arguably greatest album, Déjà Vu marked a turning point in American folk rock music (not least because only half of them were American) but also because of the meticulous attention to detail in the production that was rarely seen in the genre until then. For the hours put into recording it, however, the result is superb. It is a landmark classic album, and its artwork simple and instantly recognisable.

3. The Meters – Fire on the Bayou (2000 CD Edition)
The New Orleans scene has always piqued my interest, but it was The Meters who truly turned me on to the scene, especially with their later work with Allen Toussaint. From beginning to end, Fire on the Bayou represents the cream of Louisiana funk; melodic and grooving, the band firing on all cylinders at all times. The cover is simple, and doesn’t detract from the music in the slightest.

2. Sugarman Three & Co. – Pure Cane Sugar
With an album title and artwork like this, Pure Cane Sugar looks like something that should really only be from the mid-seventies. Gimmicky, to say the least. But it’s just so fun, damn it. The band presents an album full of bombastic, raw and dirty R&B-tinged funk. I was torn between this and Soul Donkey, the bands’ previous release, which is simply ridiculous.

1. Larry Young – Unity (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition)
You’ve got to hand it to Reid Miles; he made a name for himself creating some of the most well-regarded jazz album covers of the last sixty years, despite not actually liking jazz all that much. It seems amazing how well he was able to tap into the moods of the artists so well as to be able to create incredibly simple, Bauhaus-esque covers that conveyed so well the music that lay within. In this case, Larry Young’s innovative and experimental organ-led jazz, breaking into fascinating new territories within the post-bop genre. A true classic, both musically and visually.

Well, that just about rounds up the list. Feel cheated that some of the classics weren’t listed? Comment! And no, I wasn’t even tempted to put Dark Side of the Moon on this.

James Blackshaw

Hunched over his guitar like it was a dying child, he played with the beauty of an angel and the charisma of a very uncharismatic thing. His songs were good and he played well, but the live performance didn’t really add anything you’d get from playing one of his CDs really loud.

Broadcast

When you say ‘Avant Garde’ you tend to think of something incomprehensible and borderline offensive to your ears. And that’s pretty much what you get with broadcast, except I listened to the whole set when I could have gone and done something else. It was almost hypnotic. The sounds in the speakers and the lightshow on the projector they had on stage reminded me of the music of the future they have in museums, or whenever they talked about atoms. If you like your music weird, give these guys a go.

Cold Cave

These guys combined a lilting, dreamlike feel with the energy of club music. I quite like clubby music, so I really liked these guys.

Iggy and the Stooges

This is what most people came here for. And I now see why. I didn’t really know much about Iggy Pop apart from those adverts with the puppet. But Iggy is a force of nature on stage, no wonder he’s still going at over sixty. He strikes me as one of those rock-stars that should have died of an overdose or a crowd-surfing accident when he was about thirty but instead decided he couldn’t be motherfucking bothered with dying.

Iggy not only played well, he played the crowd and when one of their drums broke he called a random person from the crowd out on to the stage and talked to them for a bit while they taped it back up. In between songs he’d start handing the microphone around to the audience and he played like he was just happy to be there on stage. There’s a reason he’s still going!

Jill Sobule

I knew nothing about Jill apart from the fact she did one of the songs on the clueless soundtrack. Don’t ask how I know about that. What I found was not just a great musician, but a performer on a par with Iggy himself despite working in a dinky little room compared to Iggy’s massive stage.

She had us singing along, asked us which songs we’d like next and acted like she was onstage rather than just playing her CD out to us. And you know what, if I wasn’t playing Scandinavian Metal at full volume on my computer while I type this, I’d probably still be humming one of her happy, upbeat tunes about things like the apocalypse, jetpacks or waiting for the rapture.

Shonen Knife

A Japanese Punk band you say? I am so there! And I was not disappointed. If you enjoy the energy of punk music but sometimes wish the bastards would just cheer the hell up sometimes then these girls are right up your alley! They played punk songs about things like Sushi, banana crisps and how awesome barbecues are and I loved every second of it.

Amadou and Mariam

These guys were bloody brilliant, mixing traditional Mali sound with Rock and the sheer force of their performance. Their set had an enormous amount of energy to it and I enjoyed it immensely!

Daniel Johnston

Daniel Johnston is a brilliant songwriter, but he’s really not a performer. It was almost painful to watch this mentally ill man stumble through his set.

Viv Albertine

Her opening song was about the fact her dad never loved her. I left ten minutes later having to stifle the urge to tell her to stop moping and cheer the hell up. Only look into her if you like your music depressing and dull.

Juana Molina

Her sound test managed to be better than her actual performance. Her music is bad and she should feel bad!

Panda Bear

You know when people try to parody pretentious music? It usually sounds like this. The ‘songs’ pretty much consisted of one note droning for about ten seconds before the guy played another note. He held a guitar in his hands, and didn’t use it. This was fucking abysmal and it was almost an insult to ATP itself that he had even been allowed on the premises!

Overall, it’s still a great weekend and a great way to find new music you like and everybody should try it at least once. Even if it’s so you can say you saw something as awful as Panda Bear or Juana Molina and lived to tell the tale!

It is this choice of path that has created a clear divide between critics. Some are full of praise for the calm beauty that is laced throughout his work, and others have been harshly critical for the same reason, citing repetition in his signature melodious sound that they claim is rehashed and repackaged for each successive record he releases.
Although his solo work somewhat betrays his roots in Tristeza, he also displays a penchant for a more brooding, atmosphere, strengthened by his musical prowess on many instruments, including drums, bass, keyboards, guitar, and of course, his vocal ability. His 2004 album, In a Safe Place, a title that suggests peace and stability, was largely recorded with members of the Icelandic quartet Sigur Rós in their own Iceland studio, Álafoss. The result was a meditative, gentle and expressive album, as was his 2006 effort, Into the Blue Again. Both albums display LaValle’s modus operandi, although the latter was more of a leap towards a pop-sensible sound.

This year saw the release of his fifth album, A Chorus of Storytellers, continuing very much in the same vein as his earlier work. For the first time, LaValle used a live band to track the record, an approach that lends a more natural feel. The album itself is, in a word, grand. It kicks off with ‘Perro’ – a slow-building, sample heavy track that serves as an introduction, nothing more. It doesn’t lack substance, but in typical Album Leaf fashion is a good lead-in to the stronger tracks that lie beyond. One of these stronger pieces emerges in the form of ‘There Is a Wind’ – the first track that appears that opens with signature Rhodes piano, but blooms rather wonderfully into the full band at work. This is where LaValle’s pop instinct kicks in with its hook-laden chorus ‘There’s a wind behind everyone/Takes us through our lives/I wish we could have stayed/But this wind takes us away,” and the dynamics of subtle, creative drumming and understated instrumentation keeps the track from possibly blowing into ostentatious territory.
Other standout tracks include the lovely ‘Within Dreams’, a song  with a slight fragility. It is a strangely organic affair, despite the spluttering electronic beats, and is somewhat reminiscent of Sigur Rós with an IDM backbone. The rich string section coursing throughout gives a nice melodic counterpart to the keyboard flourishes and sweeps. ‘Until The Last’ is another that employs the strings technique to some success, achieving an almost epic, deeply rich sound carried on the shoulders of the basic track itself.

It can be equally risky to be a jack-of-all-trades or a master of one, and The Album Leaf is in the latter camp. Yes, Jimmy LaValle may have a formula; he may not stray far from that formula, but what compounds he delivers make for extremely enjoyable listening.

My rating? 7 out of 10.

A Chorus of Storytellers is out now on Sub Pop Records.

Efterklang are one of the more interesting acts to have gained a foothold in today’s wide musical world. They do well to defy easy classification, and this remains one of the band’s strengths; genre-bending techniques and offbeat songwriting add to this ambiguity. Despite this, the most accurate possible label for their early work would be post-rock. Their debut album, Tripper, was bursting at the seams with stuttering electronic drum patterns, synth vibraphone and rich, dulcet string arrangements – all of this complemented by harmonious male/female vocals. It is an overpoweringly abounding sound that is almost too much. They drew back somewhat on their second effort, Parades, in which they retained some similar elements to their first. It is a wholly more rewarding and simple experience, though – playing with the idea of more acoustic arrangements. It is reminiscent of something you might hear as the soundtrack to a world of fairy-tales; innocent and pure, almost childlike.

Seemingly never comfortable in one sound, the band have changed tack again for their latest release, Magic Chairs.

They have left behind many of the hallmarks of their early work, and instead have developed a keen sense of negative space since their debut. Rather than an album packed full of textures, they never really give much away. Their new sound brings to mind what Califone might be if they were ever given a glossy, 4AD production and a more positive outlook. The lead track and first single, ‘Modern Drift’, is a cornucopia of soft, unbroken piano lines, clean guitars, strings and sparse, pounding drums – ‘I can keep my head inside/When the modern drift is all I have’, and the song could be considered as the group at the most pop-sounding they’ve ever been. However, although it is a lovely song, it doesn’t leave much of a mark. Ultimately, this is where the album itself falters. In its entirety, it is a very slow-moving, uni-textural work, and although some artists can pull this off very well, Efterklang are yet to reach that stage. There are moments when the album takes some interesting turns, however –  tracks such as ‘I Was Playing Drums’, where the overtly Califone-esque moments emerge, and ‘Raincoats’, which has something of a world music feel coursing through it: dry percussion, handclaps and African pipes. The quality of songwriting throughout is consistent, and there are no obviously weak moments to speak of, but when you’re expecting an album that should grip you from beginning to end, the experience is more like a soft hand on your shoulder, gentle and somewhat ineffectual.

Ultimately, Efterklang have matured their sound a great deal since their formative years, but although Magic Chairs is decent, it isn’t outstanding. But that, of course, is the nature of growth – given time, and the nurturing of their sound, they will be capable of great things.

My rating? 6 out of 10.

Magic Chairs is out now on 4AD Records.

Despite a band with a name that brings up imagery of shading your face from the sun, brushing off sand and tearing off clothes to leap into the crashing surf, Beach House sound exactly like winter; undeniably chilled, crystalline melodies refracting like dull light through ice. When they released their eponymous debut album in 2006, they had plenty of room to grow – although the lo-fi sounds of their early work was, in a word, gorgeous, they hadn’t reached their zenith by a long shot. Through this and their second album, Devotion, they explored a sound akin to walking through a degraded and empty old home, unable to locate the stereo from which the sounds are sourced. Granted, Devotion was more imminent in its production, but it still kept the listener at a certain distance.

With Teen Dream, their third and latest release, the duo of Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand (interestingly enough, the niece of acclaimed film composer Michael Legrand) deliver a much more forthcoming effect. The band chose to record their first album for Sub Pop in a converted church, and the obvious atmosphere that permeates their sound brings it to a different level altogether. From the get-go the album is soaked in a dreamy resonance that might be in danger of being sterile, if it wasn’t for the masterful strokes of inspiration that make up these songs. ‘Zebra’, with its understated beats and fluid guitar line, escalates into a wash of cymbals. The result is a staggering introduction to the album that somehow remains minimalist, at least compared to some of the later tracks such as the lead single, ‘Norway’. The synthesiser that rides the verses of ‘Norway’ is unsettling, with its shifting pitch and Legrand’s vocals bubbling above it, just barely – and the song’s one-word chorus introduces a strange catchiness.
Although Teen Dream is unquestionably beautiful, and its moments of grandeur are hardly few and far-between, there is a tendency to lose focus on the songs – not through a lack of immediacy but rather because the waves of sound wash over rather than break – there’s no crash, only gentle lapping at the shore. This is, in the big picture, a minor flaw; when songs like ‘Walk in the Park’ peak, luscious vocals pushing forth with ‘In a matter of time/it would slip from my mind/in a matter of time/in and out of my life’, this is where the true beauty of this album lies – simplicity.

This work of heart-aching splendour isn’t a mere collection of songs; it’s a living, breathing organism of pure, dreamlike sound. If Beach House haven’t hit their summit yet, they haven’t got far to climb.

My rating? 9 out of 10.

Teen Dream is out now on Sub Pop Records.

As one-third of the musical collective Menomena, Knopf is no stranger to an experimental approach to his music. This is an album on which he doesn’t betray his roots. Recording under the name Ramona Falls, he enlisted the help of thirty-five of his closest musical friends to assist in the creation of Intuit, and although only his sonic fingerprint is immediately visible, the pure breadth of the musical scope seems a little impossible to credit to a single person. That’s not to deny the abilities of the man himself – he is a multi-instrumentalist in the best sense – not only can he play the instruments, he excels himself on them. Tracks such as “I Say Fever” and “Clover” have a skewed and dark but undeniably danceable feel, especially the former. Its infectious, dirty rhythm, delicate piano and jagged guitar lines compliment Knopf’s thick vocal delivery in the choruses, and with this it’s hard not to notice how profound his contributions are in Menomena’s work. There seems a guarded feel to his music, undoubtedly sung out from the heart but hidden cleverly behind articulate structures that form the tracks. That’s not to say that in any terms that this music is impersonal; quite the contrary, but it can seem rather indirect at times.
This initial obliqueness soon disappears when the album hits “Going Once, Going Twice”, a slightly fragile, acoustic-driven number in which the vocals quiver ‘I’m desperate just to find/A rest bed, for my mind’. It is moments such as this, and equally so in “Salt Sack”, where the album really opens up. As the last note rings out in “Diamond Shovel”, it becomes clear that Brent Knopf’s strengths truly lie in these subtle, ephemeral moments, opening a window to where the heart lies in his music and allowing us, for a fleeting moment, to enjoy the view.

If this elusive heartfelt honesty is an invisible attribute to some, Knopf has the formula to reveal it. Intuit is a brave effort, and ultimately, a rewarding one.

My rating? 7 out of 10.

Intuit is out now on Barsuk Records.

The Clientele, despite their transatlantic, softer sound, are English. The sound of indie rock and pop in Britain has seemed to have taken a turn towards the angular in recent years, no less sophisticated but much more brash than what this London quartet offers. It is no surprise that they are signed to Merge Records, a large US-based label that has housed acts such as Arcade Fire and Neutral Milk Hotel – their popularity throws only a few embers across the Atlantic, barely reaching their home islands but burning bright in the states, making them unintentional expatriates. Their past work, always critically lauded but never breaking into the mainstream, seemed to be something of a build-up to Bonfires, and though the content is leaps and bounds away from the densely textured, strings laden God Save The Clientele, it still retains the indie pop sensibilities that were established in their previous work. “I Wonder Who We Are”, the album opener, injects chiming and gentle guitar lines accompanied by soft brass and precise drums. The title track that follows is lovely, evoking an evening spent inside a warm house to escape the cold – the skies darkening outside. Alasdair MacLean’s reverb drenched vocals give an almost ethereal quality to the sound, soaring above the instruments and making it easy to imagine how perfect the album title really is – the slow burn below, and the smoke disappearing into the still air. Other standout tracks include the gorgeous “Jennifer & Julia” and the latin-flavoured “I Know I’ll See Your Face”.

With Bonfires on the Heath, The Clientele have created an ideal autumn soundscape. Stand close, feel the warmth that radiates from this indie pop gem, and hope the sparks catch alight in the UK.

My rating? 8 out of 10.

Bonfires on the Heath is out now on Merge Records in the US, Pointy Records in the UK.

The entire venue is reserved and dedicated to the festival, no kiddies or tourists, just music lovers and people that are there for the copious amounts of alcohol being dispensed from the corners of literally every room… yes. Room. The whole thing is also situated indoors inside a massive permanent tent-like structure that keeps everybody dry and warm even in the middle of winter. You can spend the whole day inside the sprawling complex watching the different acts from the crowd, or sit back in the nearby cafe or pub and listen from the comfort of your chair with a pint in your hand.

Let’s take a look at some of the acts on display that warrant my attention:

Mûm

The unbelievably pretentious program described them as ‘An Icelandic pop band who push the boundaries of sound with their idiosyncratic style…’ or some such empty arse-water. What I saw was a beautifully atmospheric band that held the audience captivated throughout their set. They were almost hypnotic in their delivery… or maybe that’s because the front women are unbelievably hot.

Afrirampo

A pair of bouncy, energetic Japanese girls playing music that only Japan can seem to get right. Their performance was upbeat, wacky and downright hilarious. I’m not sure how well the music will translate to the CD, but the skill of their music shone through on stage, and considering there were only two of them, that’s saying something.

Modest Mouse

Despite the fact that the lead singer had some kind of Lurgy, he managed to give a good enough performance, they played their music and they cracked the odd joke here and there in between songs. But they didn’t play ‘float on’… so that means they suck!

Explosions in the sky

I watched the Sky’splosions from a distance, drinking a San Miguel. And to be honest, it didn’t make that much difference. The band’s instrumental nature makes me automatically list them as part of the background soundtrack and I inadvertently phase it out. This is not necessarily a bad thing, their music was atmospheric and moving. But I didn’t really pay attention.

The Mars Volta

Now these guys were good. But that’s to be expected of a headlining act. The music was loud and fun to listen to… Not much else to say really.

Crispin Glover’s big slide show.

Now this was a pleasant surprise. The dad from Back to the Future performed a slide show of old books he’d re-cut into insane little acts. It was mental, it was disturbing, and it was funny as hell! If you get the chance, check it out…

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

They came onstage three quarters of an hour late, had the stage presence of a drugged up Chav in a sack of weasels and they sounded like utter shite. Only look into them if you’re already a fan.

All in all, I’d say that All Tomorrow’s Parties was an awesome place to spend your weekend. The acts alone are worth the price of admission considering you can pick and choose which ones you watch at your leisure. But if you remember that you’re also sleeping in a Butlins Chalet, you can sit back from the act and listen in from an adjacent cafe, and if it rains, you don’t notice because you’re too busy rocking out.

And most importantly, you will be in the company of the nicest large crowd of people you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. The closest thing to belligerent behaviour I experienced in the three days was when a girl at the bar took exception to me saying that I secretly hoped Charlie Brooker was me after an accident with a time machine and proceeded to explain to me that ‘he was already doing it’ and therefore I should drop any such notion… she seemed to think journalism ran on the same rules as Highlander… But considering that we were at a music festival, she was probably tripping so many balls they had started to wonder how the concept worked when they didn’t even have any legs, you can’t ask for better than that.

I had an awesome time at ATP, and when the next one in May starts to roll up I’ll be asking around for anyone who wants to come with me.

World Painted Blood, Slayer’s grammatically infuriating eleventh LP is exactly what you’d expect from a thrash band in their forties, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Opening with the title track’s extended intro, the suspense and pace of the album are brought into the fray – all the hallmarks of the genre the band helped to create are present and correct. The pace is fairly varied between tracks, and the first half of “Beauty Through Order” gives you some respite from the pummelling the previous three songs dish out. Especially brutal is the powerful “Psychopathy Red”, or the mid-tempo, heavy “Americon”, Tom Araya yelling “It’s all about the mother fucking oil”, a line which, unfortunately, is as trite as it is uninteresting.
Despite that Slayer differ somewhat from most of their peers simply because they could be considered parodists to a degree, they still fall out of perspective by today’s standards. The musicianship is as tight as it has ever been, and I have to hand it to them – even the dry and sharp production techniques of Greg Fidelman imbue a certain sense of the sensibilities of yesteryear, and the unusual technique of pushing the drums to the top of the mix works in its own strange way. Although World Painted Blood is a marked improvement over 2006’s Christ Illusion, the latter wallowing in the limbo of fresh and stale ideas, there still lingers a sense that their ideas are tame, offering little that is new.

My rating? 5 out of 10.

World Painted Blood is out now on American Recordings.

A lot can change in two years. The latest offering from Bemis and friends, Say Anything, is still an angular and twisting journey through his mind– this time trading in contempt for hope, as the man himself admits on “Mara and Me” – “I can’t define myself through irony and self-deprecation”. The positivity that shines through on each of the thirteen tracks is almost palpable; and you can’t help but smile at the not-so-subtle nods to his influences, undeniably pop-punk at heart but a myriad of other styles, such as the soul horn section and sampled drums on “Less Cute” or the pizzicato strings and processed beats on “Do Better”. Max Bemis, as usual, plays all of the guitar, keyboard and vocal parts while leaving the bass to Alex Kent and the drums to the solid and impressive player Coby Linder, the only other remaining founding member.
Highlights on this album are not difficult to pick out, whether it is the driving “Eloise” or the short and sweet opener “Fed to Death”, and it shows the rate at which both Bemis and the band’s maturity is growing. This is, for lack of a better term, a curious and interesting pop record, and if Say Anything continues to produce records of this quality, they will emerge at the top in their musical circles, always thinking ahead of the pack.

My rating? 7 out of 10.

Say Anything is out now on RCA Records.

I was aware that the Early Day Miners could sound indie rock, but I wasn’t prepared to hear them producing that much of an indie rock sound. The Treatment, their latest full-length, sees the band emerging as capable of tackling a straight-ahead sound. As usual, the revolving door of cast members on each album has taken another turn, and kitted out with a new group of musicians sees the core trio of Daniel Burton, Rory Leitch and Joseph Brumley transform into a totally different beast altogether. Using post-punk guitar lines and prominent keyboards makes tracks like “So Slowly” and “Becloud” a real treat to listen to, and a particular standout is the fantastically dark and compact “The Zip”. It could be said that their older material was hard to swallow in larger doses and also somewhat taciturn at times; it is advisable to spend a week or more listening to each of them. The Treatment, however, is a different species altogether. It’s the sort of album that could sate the casual listener, unusual textures in the most unexpected places but a fulfilling and altogether wonderful addition to their respectable discography.

My rating? 9 out of 10.

The Treatment is out now on Secretly Canadian Records.

Geneva is a logical and, at often times, beautiful addition to their sound. Taking the fundamentals that Station displayed and building around it a wash of ethereal textures was a great idea; the unnecessary musical wankery that instrumental bands are in danger of belting out without justifying isn’t present, and gone is the fear that it could be around the corner. Brian Cook’s bass is a clear stand-out on this, and he steals the show on several occasions, cutting through with his fuzzed-out tones. Dave Turncrantz’s propensity to perform complex fills to accent his beats is what he is well-known for, and he shows remarkable restraint compared to their earlier work, preferring to add to the density of the composition rather than cloud it completely. There was an indication on the last album of the softer touch the band possesses, and this is evident in spades from the moment the discordant strings carry the tribal beats and guitar line on ‘Fathom’ and the gentle, almost orchestral movements in ‘Hexed All’.

This album doesn’t sound like Russian Circles. Or, at least the band we knew before. This is the sound of a band maturing and a band renewed, and although ‘epic’ is a throwaway word these days, I mean it – this is a truly epic record.

My rating? 8 out of 10.

Geneva is out now on Suicide Squeeze Records.