Zer0

Aw that's a pity. They're a band not everyone gets but I enjoy both Bon Iver albums a lot, For Emma, Forever Ago more so than Bon Iver. I certainly don't cream over them but I certainly find them enjoyable.

I'll check out Joseph Arthur on your recommendation though, can't say no to a free album either

__________________

starrynight

I did find Arms and Sleepers quite interesting last year, so I can agree with you on them.

__________________
non-cliquey member of every music forum I participate on

Zer0

Belle and Sebastian were a very prolific band in their early days indeed. Not only did they manage to release not one but two, TWO, damn good albums in 1996 (Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister), but they also managed to follow these up the following year with three rather fine EPs Dog On Wheels, Lazy Painter Jane and last but not least the magnificent 3..6..9 Seconds Of Light. Why I chose this EP over the other two is simply because these four tracks seem to encapsulate everything I love about early Belle and Sebastian into just under twenty minutes. That timeless, warm and bittersweet sound that they could pull off so effortlessly and those highly literate lyrics that could rival any great poet.

The bittersweet melodies of ‘A Century of Fakers’ reminds you of the coming of Autumn and the fading memories of the Summer gone by. You will also notice that this song has the exact same backing track as ‘A Century Of Elvis’ from Lazy Painter Jane. But compare that with the up-tempo and teeth-rattling ‘Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie’ which shows that Belle and Sebastian can rock out if they want to. ‘Beautiful’ is a downbeat and touching acoustic-based song which some nicely effective touches of trumpet and strings. Stuart Murdoch’s knack for writing about downtrodden characters always fascinates me and he does this brilliantly with this song. The upbeat swagger of ‘Put the Book Back on the Shelf’ ties this four-track EP together very nicely. And just when you think it’s over there’s a hidden song at the very end called ‘Songs for Children’, which seems to hark back to the faded outro of ‘Beautiful’. It’s a very well put together collection of songs and they exist together as a powerful entity.

If you wanted to you could get all their EPs and non-album singles collected together on the compilation Push Barman to Open Old Wounds, but I prefer to have them individually. The songs just seem to stand out more when you listen to them the way they were originally meant to be listened, plus the associated artwork gives the songs that extra bit of character and group identity. Some could even argue that their EPs are better than their albums but then again they could be right.

__________________

Zer0

While Let It Be is my favourite Replacements album and one of my all-time favourite albums, Tim skips in at a close second. One of the first things you notice about Tim after listening to their previous albums is the slightly more commercial 80’s production, mostly due this album being their first major label release for Sire records. While Let It Be charted a band moving away from their punk roots and embracing the idea of the pop song, here The ‘Mats go into full power-pop mode with great conviction. The result is a thrilling and memorable album.
The album is to say the least packed with power-pop classics as well as some beautiful and introspective songs. The opening track ‘Hold My Life’ has a chorus to die for and contains lyrics that reveal songwriter Paul Westerberg’s own vulnerability. One of the most interesting things about Paul Westerberg is his ability to switch between brash and energetic frontman to a sensitive and introspective songwriter with his heart on his sleave. This is something we see a lot of on Let It Be and even more so on Tim. The real standout songs of the album however are ‘Bastards of Young’ and ‘Left Of The Dial’. ‘Bastards Of Young’ is an 80’s alternative rock anthem with its shout-along chorus of “We are the sons of no one. Bastards of young”. It’s a song that shows that the band still had some punk spirit inside them yet they were still intent on creating memorable pop songs like this. Watch the promo video for this song which features a camera focused on a speaker for its entire duration, they were still intent on doing things their own way even if it meant pissing people off. ‘Left Of The Dial’ is The Replacements doing what they did best, bittersweet power-pop laced with hooks and memorable guitar lines courtesy of Bob Stinson.

The album’s more playful songs have a fun rock and roll edge to them. ‘I’ll Buy’ and ‘Lay It Down Clown’ with a few twists of the studio knobs could have been beamed out of the 60’s. ‘Kiss Me On The Bus’ is a sweet and witty tale of hopeless love and a good exercise in simple yet effective songwriting. On the flipside to all of this is Paul Westerberg’s more sensitive, introspective and somewhat depressing side. The ballad ‘Swingin Party’ captures a somewhat lonely and very downbeat mood in a way similar to The Smiths at their darkest and most introspective, with Paul Westerberg’s aching voice telling us that “If being afraid is a crime we hang side by side”. It’s a song that completely bellies the more bouncy and upbeat numbers such as ‘Kiss Me On The Bus’ but this is what gives the album its character. The closing song ‘Here Comes a Regular’ is a beautiful and fragile moment that seems to capture the feeling of drunken, depressed sincerity as well as the time of year where autumn becomes winter. Paul’s voice is strained at times but he still manages to carry the song beautifully over the acoustic guitar and gentle strings. It’s a downbeat and melancholic ending to this marvellous album.

Let It Be and Tim showcased The Replacements at their creative peak. Tim would be their last album with the original line-up as lead guitarist Bob Stinson would leave in late 1986. The follow-up album Pleased To Meet Me was a very strong effort, but you can’t help feel that the magic formula that made Let It Be and Tim so special had been broken without his presence in the band (he would die of organ failure in 1995). Tim was also the very first Replacements album listened to and my introduction to the band so it sticks with me in that way and was the perfect primer for my introduction to Let It Be. It was a special moment hearing this band properly for the first time and they are a band that I know will stick with me for years to come.

__________________

Zer0

Twee pop is a marmite musical style if there ever was one. I myself have a love/hate affair with it. Perfect twee pop (who the fuck came up with that anyway?) exists on a very, very thin line; those on the wrong side of it sound a tad cringe-worthy, some bands even giving me the impression that they are fronted by Rita from Arrested Development. But those just on the right side of it have the potential to make some great music that can be part joyous and part heart-breaking to listen to. Thankfully on this EP The Wake are on the right side, in fact they pretty much nailed it and created a template for a lot of bands to try and replicate. Released two years after their second album for Factory Records, Here Comes Everybody, they somehow managed to streamline everything that was great about that album into one fifteen minute record while also giving something a little different. In a way it's a transition from the synth-heavy sound of their earlier releases to a more guitar-based sound, with some synth of course, but still retaining the haziness of Here Comes Everybody.

One thing that strikes you when you pay attention to the lyrics is how odd yet brilliant they are, in fact some of the lyrics are just downright bizarre! Make what you want out of “Why did I sleep with that filthy old man, why did I shake his hand” from ‘Furious Sea. It’s all done in a tongue-in-cheek way and the band don’t seem to take themselves as seriously as they did on Here Comes Everybody. ‘Gruesome Castle’, ‘Plastic Flowers’ and in particular the light and upbeat Carolyn Allen-fronted ‘Pale Spectre’ are downright infectious, with all the bittersweet boy-girl melodies and guitar jangle you could ever need. Yes a lot of bands have done this but The Wake did it before most of them and they did it better. ‘Furious Sea’ on the other hand sounds darker and somewhat disturbing compared to the rest of the record, but still sounds glorious.

You know what, here's the whole EP, enjoy.

__________________

Zer0

__________________

Zer0

It’s been roughly ten years now since I first got my hands on this album as a fifteen year-old. I was already familiar with Metallica, Megadeth and Iron Maiden at that point but this felt different. Reign In Blood was the first album to actually intimidate and maybe even scare me. I felt like I had crossed a line but it seemed exciting all the same. Just looking at the album cover alone with its pseudo-satanic imagery and impaled bodies felt badass to me but the music was something else. I felt like I had crossed into a new and exciting world, how my parents rejoiced.

At first I was probably dismayed at the length of the songs and the album’s short length, but this ended up being one of the album’s strengths. It’s brief and to the point, it leaves you flabbergasted and excited, it leaves you wanting more. From the opening riff of ‘Angel Of Death’ to the thunder and rain in the outro of ‘Raining Blood’ feels like a rush of adrenaline and an assault on the listener, rarely letting up or giving you a moment to catch your breath. ‘Angel of Death’ is undoubtedly one of the finest thrash metal songs ever recorded and still sounds amazing after countless plays. Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King’s guitar solos sound like they are taking turns to strangle and mutilate someone, like they are trying to squeeze the most evil sounds possible from their guitars. Dave Lombardo’s drumming drags you along for the ride, giving you that sensation that you are going faster than you actually are while the rest of the band do their best to keep up. The warp-speed ‘Necrophobic’ was unlike anything I had heard before, I had never heard a band play this fast or even knew it was possible to play this fast without sounding like a mess. Eat that Metallica.

Even at fifteen I thought that religion was a load of bollocks, so the likes of ‘Altar of Sacrifice’ and ‘Jesus Saves’ rang a bell with me, but I never took it too seriously. Slayer actually sounded like they wanted to go to hell and get a kick out of it but I certainly wouldn’t go that far. ‘Raining Blood’ is the perfect way the end this album, mainly because it’s a song that can’t be followed. The impact of the song’s chaotic and then unexpected ending leaves you feeling stunned as to what just unfolded over the past twenty-eight minutes as the rain, thunder and darkness surrounds you and leaves you feeling alone. Oh and those guitar refrains, yum.

It was Reign In Blood more so than Master Of Puppets that prompted me to explore metal more but I owe it to both albums really. Coincidently the album was also released the same year I was born and still sounds like it could have been released today. It still gives me a buzz of excitement, maybe not as much as it did ten years ago as I’ve heard more extreme, evil-sounding and better metal albums since then, but it still hits that sweet spot nicely.

__________________

Trollheart

Plus, as Cartman will tell you, it's great for clearing hippies out of your town!

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Zer0

__________________

Zer0

Some of the best nights I've ever had we're spent sat around an outdoor fire with some old friends in someone's back garden on a mild summer night. We would tell stories about some unforgettable or hilarious moments and reminisce about other times. All the while beers were drunk, spliffs were passed and the fire always managed to keep going. Our taste in music varied, we were a mixture of open-minded rock fans and electro-loving art students tied together by a love for creativity, debate and occasional soft drugs. One band that seemed to be the default, go-to band for us was The Chemical Brothers. Nothing seemed to unite us more than them and Dig Your Own Hole was quite often the soundtrack.

The Chemical Brothers have had a long, up and down career. While they seemed to have run out of ideas over the past decade or so, the Holy Trinity of their first three albums, Exit Planet Dust, Dig Your Own Hole and Surrender are tough to beat and are a staple of dance music. For me the classic Dig Your Own Hole is their crowning glory. The whole album plays almost like a DJ set which makes it perfect for parties as each song flows seamlessly into the next. There's something for everyone here; pop and hip-hop fans might be drawn to the funky undertones and unforgettable vocal samples while rock fans could be drawn to the harder-edged nature of some of the tracks, such as 'Block Rockin' Beats' and the Noel Gallagher-fronted 'Setting Sun'. Bass-heads might love the sub-woofer molesting basslines of the magnificent 'Elektrobank' and 'It Doesn't Matter'.

It's an album for the head as well as the body. Beth Orton's laid-back and soothing vocals make an appearance on the comedown track 'Where Do I Begin'. Coming after the volley of dancefloor dirtying tracks that precede it, 'Where Do I Begin' gives the listener a relapse, a chance for them to catch their breath and reflect. They will need to before the epic final track. 'The Private Psychedelic Reel' is a masterclass in transportation. Just when you thought you were coming back down to earth you are whisked back off the ground again to somewhere you've never been before. What follows is peak after peak of emotional highs, colourful and psychedelic eastern-tinged samples and samples of Formula One cars whizzing by you. It's The Chemical Brothers' finest moment, a classic example of what dance music can achieve and one of my favourite album-enders of all time.

The album artwork is also a favourite of mine. I have tendency to love simple black and white album covers and this ticks the box nicely. Despite being a relatively simple cover there's an air of mystery to it. The girl on the cover appears to have her eyes closed and is deep in thought. I wonder what she's thinking. Dig Your Hole is a relatively accessible album for those wishing to get into electronic and dance music yet is packed with detail and stands the test of time remarkably well. It's the perfect gateway album.

__________________