Having given my verdict here of Bon Iver’s album- the only tunes I liked where when Justin Vernon’s voice was subtle and hot damn does he come up trumps with the live versions for the Daytrotter sessions. Laid back with a subtle force that really brings out the best in his voice. So get clicking and download the four tracks that are there!

It still doesn’t change my mind about the way the tunes are done on the original album but I will definitely try to catch him when he is town again.

Indiecater is an idea by the excellent music blogger mp3hugger…10 tracks from relatively unknown groups that he thinks deserve more attention. Mp3hugger is one blogger whose opinion I would trust when it comes to music- how many other music bloggers have had a song written about them? Not many I would imagine!

This is certainly one compilation that hugs you back- from the very outset you are wrapped in a warm embrace that stays with you long after the last notes have faded. In fact I have always thought that a good compilation is like sex and by god this one proves that point- the foreplay, the action and the sated yet yearning for more feeling at the end. God give me a cigarette now!

Well worth the €4.50…this will last longer with you than a pint and cheaper at that. So click here and get it now! Now- if we could only get all of these groups to play in Dublin!

Just some quick thoughts on the tunes themselves…

It’s Alright- Burning Codes- damn good falsettos

Astronaut- Slushco- great beats and vibe- quite complex actually but sounds sweet

Rockfield Symphony- Storkboy Choons- dance, great ambient feel and gets the body moving…not one to play in work!

Cockroaches- The E.L.F. - excellent vibe- is that a Yothi Yindi sample?

Packed the Car- Foreign Slippers- damn nice female vocals

You Remind Me of Me- Beaten Awake- sublime voices

Untitled- Call To Mind- dreamy and ambient

We’ve Been Waiting For You- Empty Rooms- shiny vibe, great drums and vocals

Share- Cymbals Eats Guitar- slow, bit of lo-fi snarl with the feedback

Dumbshow (Directors Cut)- Michael Knight- great way to end compilation- simple ahhhhs but such delightful instrumentation and woven harmonies…oh dear god a cello all the way through but at the end with violins….ahhhh indeed! Probably the most played by me- reminds me of Loney, Dear with build up of instruments and Efterklang feel overall. Have their full cd now!

Came across Vanilla Swingers originally on Obscure Sound- really liked the three tracks that were up there so went to their MySpace and befriended them lo and behold they were in touch and sent me on a link for the whole album. Very decent of them I must say and a very good album it is. Then again I knew that if Obscure Sound, mp3hugger and Condemned To Rock N Roll blogs were saying good things about them then there must be something good going on there.

There are some excellent songs here…although I started with listening to the favourite of the ones I had heard- Danger In The Past- and there is a slightly different intro so I had thought there was a problem with the download! Although, considering that the lyrics ‘tell the story of two people who meet and run away together, travel back in time, lose each other, then are reunited in the year 2015′ then maybe its not the type of album that has to be listened to consecutively.

To start from the beginning anyway…The Town has a lovely harmony with the two singers Anne Gilpin and Miles Jackson and is followed by Like Straw Dogs which has a good vibe with some rhythm changes keeping it moving. I’ll Stay Next To You has some great subtle vocals with some memories of the Pet Shop Boys thrown in at the end and The Hive is nearly like an EP on its own right- long and with so many shifts that it feels like there are a few songs in there.

Danger In The Past is definitely a standout track for me- delicious harmony and an excellent vibe that you just don’t want to stop. Back To The Present and The Way She Walked Out The Door are nice and soft but are hampered by some tuning issues. Goodbye Lennon is another standout track though with some more sweet harmonies and it ends with a simple and soft number If You Fall.

All in all it is a very good album and you can see some of the influences they list like Blonde Redhead and Pet Shop Boys. I have to admit that when Anne is singing it is like she is whispering sweet nothings in your ear but there are a few issues of Miles being in tune on a couple of songs. Hopefully this was down to the length of time in the studio and they just didn’t have the time to re-record them.

You will be able to download their album for free from their official site from the 11^th of August. Not sure of their touring schedule but they have had a gig in the UK where there are some good YouTubes…sound not the best but it will give you a good flavour of what to expect when you get the album.

LP2

Danger In The Past- give it a few seconds before the song kicks in properly

I can’t quite remember where I first came across The Antlers- possibly in the blogosphere over at No Ordinary Fool but with looking at so many music sites I just cant remember exactly where!

Peter Silberman is the name behind the moniker and he has quite a sublime voice- sometimes slightly overpowered by the music but it always manages to shine through and is just captivating.  The album, In The Attic Of The Universe, is just excellent and seems more akin to a classical composition with the theme that is introduced in the first track In The Attic being reprised in other tracks.  As with any composition though, there are pieces which you find more exciting but you have to give it a full listen in order to have a full appreciation.

The album does kick off with an unusual intro for In The Attic but when it kicks in it is quite good and then Look! continues on the theme with a lovely crescendo.   The Universe Is Going To Catch You is a brilliant pick up after two slower tracks and really shows the strength of his voice.  A great ending as well with Stairs To The Attic which just leaves you with a satisfied feeling and a smile on your face.

There aren’t any YouTubes to tack on for a quick view but there are links on his official page so you can download the Cold War EP and the New York Hospitals EP’s for free.

Just as a note they had this on a MySpace bulletin….so another album to look forward to!

You’ll notice we’ve got nothing scheduled for the future as of now. We’ve got some restructuring to do for future shows as we’re going to start operating as a 3 piece, and many new songs to start learning. The new album is done but there’s much work left to do. There is a tour in the works. Many, many, many things in the near future, so hold tight.

-Peter

With all the new artists I have been listening to over the last week, Peter Murphy’s post with this Poe quote is very well timed…

“When music affects us to tears, seemingly causeless, we weep not from ‘excess of pleasure’; but through excess of an impatient, perpetual sorrow that, as mere mortals, we are as yet in no condition to banquet upon those supernal ecstasies of which the music affords us merely a suggestive and indefinite glimpse.”

Edgar Allan Poe

Just watch and listen…or even just listen- damn sublime!

Some more tunes over at his MySpace.

Came across this in Pitchfork and sent the link onto the boys to watch- Feist’s 1,2,3,4 done on Sesame Street for an episode to air in August. So having Feist running through the head for the last two days I of course went digging to show the boys the actual videos for her songs and came across an official blog site (updated by somebody other than Feist) and a very good piece on litigation in relation to the song. Funny read and just to bring out the child in you here is the clip from Sesame Street…although be warned you will be humming this for a while after!

Wow-what a great album from Noah and the Whale!

This album has been constantly going through my head since I downloaded it last week and there are some absolute crackers. There are about 5 standout tracks which for an album is quite good- it kicks off with 2 Atoms In A Molecule which is so boppy you foot just gets a mind of its own. Followed then by Jocasta which is another great upbeat number and then for the triumvirate Shape Of My Heart which has various instruments and definitely a mariachi feel (which can be seen in the YouTube below).

Then the tunes go a bit on the slow side and while good they just dont hit the mark for me. It’s only with 5 Years time that they seem to get their boppiness back and this ones getting a lot of airplay with it being their first single- have to admit it gets the foot moving everytime I hear it. Rocks and Daggers then is the last standout one for me- not quite as toe tapping as the other standouts but there is a lovely quality to it and some great beats which remind me quite a bit of Loney, Dear who I have had to break out again.

So the album is definitely worth listening to (especially with the free download which is still available from Vertigo -DRM and will time out after two weeks) and one to look out for when it is released on the 11th of August- you can preorder from their official site.

Only two official videos so far but hopefully more in the pipeline…

5 Years Time

Shape of My Heart

Happy-Go-Lucky

As with all of Mike Leigh’s films this is one that just has to be watched. The characterisations he displays in his writing and directing are tremendous and the casting as always is superb. While not all of his films are exactly pleasurable to watch- in fact they can sometimes be hard work with the emotional load that they carry, they are an excellent study of relationship dynamics that is really needed in cinema today.

Happy Go Lucky is a change of direction in that this is really a genuine happy character and is just so engaging that it is difficult not to be swept up in her deliriously happy life. Sometimes annoyingly happy and with her trying to make sure that everybody around her is looked after, she does lead herself into a few situations that are certainly dodgy so that you can see underneath it all she is a little troubled herself.

Of course this being Mike Leigh there does have to be some moments of tension and serious issues which are just brilliantly carried out by the cast. Obviously Poppy the main character but as well the driving instructor with his darkly comical theories and negative views, the sensible-ish friend Zoe, the fanatical Flamenco teacher, and the counsellor Tim (yes finally a Tim that isn’t characterised as gormless!)

While there are some truly intense scenes- the last car scene with the driving instructor being the best, there are some that are extraneous. The first scene with the bookshop/bike and later with the homeless man may be insights into the character but I think that the film could have stood in a better light without them.

For once after leaving the cinema from a Mike Leigh film I had a smile on my face. I wish that there were more people like her in this world- not afraid to approach life with a smile and share the joy around. Unfortunately with the social constructs of today’s world it is getting harder to converse with strangers and while I know it can be hard work sometimes having happy go lucky friends- they are worth their weight in gold.

Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden

An interesting film and concept- not quite sure about the whole premise of checking out the world to make sure that it’s safe for his newborn son but at least the approach to the attitudes of different people around the globe come across a tad more than his personal life in the end. At times though, it is rather mawkish with the calls to his wife and showing the progress of the pregnancy.

There are some rather serious moments in the film but they are unfortunately counterbalanced by some rather playful scenes that could have been left out. While the video games scenes add some humour, I think that showing him get a buzz from firing weapons is rather spurious to the message of the film. However showing the street scene in Israel and the situation with the US forces are dealt with very well and show what obstacles are out there for any sort of resolution.

What really makes this film though are his conversations with ordinary people in different countries. Some are just the expected stonewalling that you would expect from anybody connected with Osama but the interviews with the two boys in Saudi Arabia and the religious leader really show how things work on that side of the world.

So a mixed film really- Spurious Spurlock on one side and Serious Spurlock on the other. Ultimately his message does come through, but the people that need to hear it aren’t the ones that will watch this film.