a recent email from the bella union label was originally met with some concern.
of their current rosta i had absolutely no idea on how any of it sounds. so when the bumper pack dropped on the mat with a mother of resounding thuds, i was somewhat aghast and concerned as to whether i would be able to give any time to the sounds contained within and even more if any of it would be something that ireallylovemusic would feel any love for (i hate cash strapped record label folks wasting time/money by sending crap that i don’t really want to hear).
well, for any of the negativity that i may have towards some of the other records, this one album alone makes all the effort worthwhile. this has easily been elevated to the esteemed position in the regular playlist pile, and will quite possibly be amongst my end-of-year top 10 should anyone care about such things.
i know little of the band other than what the website provides (debut album involving coldplay studio people, 4 of them in the band – you know in depth stuff!). but after a few listens such need for facts becomes superfluous to the thrills that the attitude and rock-n-roll swagger that is provided by lead singer juanita and her crew create across this rather special album.
yes, every review and rundown of the band will drop reference to pj harvey all over the place, and indeed that may be the case, but damn, these songs are addictive little bastards. from the lurching swampy groove behind the chill up the spine yet pristine melodies of the night is young, to the late night pink floyd ambient melodrama of setting sun, and even a joy zipper styled girl-boy twinned up layered harmony classic, in the woods (trust me when the dirty guitar comes in @ 2 minutes you will be glad you paid money for this album).
the combination of superbly produced guitar noise, which in the 80s would have had journos reaching for the classic ‘shimmering’ cliché in droves, the old school alt.rock love for delicate sonic layers, and some genuinely wonderful attention to the craft of the song make the album a deep rich listen. while there has been another album released this year that sits alongside this, the well connected trio the like have also revisited the glory years of the sounds that were released from fort apache studios but have yet to produce an album as sublime, i don’t think there has been a guitar-centric album that has had so many spine tingling moments as this.
well, for any of the negativity that i may have towards some of the other records, this one album alone makes all the effort worthwhile. this has easily been elevated to the esteemed position in the regular playlist pile, and will quite possibly be amongst my end-of-year top 10 should anyone care about such things.
i know little of the band other than what the website provides (debut album involving coldplay studio people, 4 of them in the band – you know in depth stuff!). but after a few listens such need for facts becomes superfluous to the thrills that the attitude and rock-n-roll swagger that is provided by lead singer juanita and her crew create across this rather special album.
yes, every review and rundown of the band will drop reference to pj harvey all over the place, and indeed that may be the case, but damn, these songs are addictive little bastards. from the lurching swampy groove behind the chill up the spine yet pristine melodies of the night is young, to the late night pink floyd ambient melodrama of setting sun, and even a joy zipper styled girl-boy twinned up layered harmony classic, in the woods (trust me when the dirty guitar comes in @ 2 minutes you will be glad you paid money for this album).
the combination of superbly produced guitar noise, which in the 80s would have had journos reaching for the classic ‘shimmering’ cliché in droves, the old school alt.rock love for delicate sonic layers, and some genuinely wonderful attention to the craft of the song make the album a deep rich listen. while there has been another album released this year that sits alongside this, the well connected trio the like have also revisited the glory years of the sounds that were released from fort apache studios but have yet to produce an album as sublime, i don’t think there has been a guitar-centric album that has had so many spine tingling moments as this.
more detail : here