Royksopp – The Girl And The Robot
Royksopp
For a short while there, it was looking as though Röyksopp may fall into that “band from that car/phone advert” category.
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Jason Lytle – Yours Truly, The Commuter
Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, The Commuter
When a former (or indeed current) member of any band you like releases a solo record, I always think it’s best to try wherever possible to treat it as a completely separate entity to the band’s output. However, in the case of Jason Lytle, it’s difficult to view his debut effort Yours Truly, the Commuter outside the context of Grandaddy.
The album has all the ingredients you would expect from a Jason Lytle album. It’s bursting with melodies, often masked with fuzziness and occasionally backed up with nice electro touches. His delivery is as woozy and forlorn as ever, which makes it increasingly affecting as he enters his 40s.
On the record’s title track, Lytle leaves us in no doubt about his feelings regarding the recent past, and his hopes for the future: “Last thing I heard I was left for dead… I may be limping/But I’m coming home”. This is a bold statement of defiance, tellingly placed as the album opener. It encapsulates the bruised sense of hope which few people can generate as well as Jason Lytle. … Continue Reading
Classic album: You Am I – Hourly, Daily
You Am I - Hourly, Daily
Quite possibly the best kept secret in Australian music since The Saints had to leave down under and break London to get noticed, this album should by rights be part of the collection of anyone who has even a passing interest in guitar-based electric music – following on from the proto-grunge of debut Sound As Ever and the poppier Hi-Fi Way this is pure mod-pop heaven.
Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care
Junior Boys
2009 welcomes the return of Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus, more commonly known as Canadian dance act Junior Boys. Three years have passed since their last release, the critically acclaimed So This Is Goodbye. But can Junior Boys replicate their past success on their latest album?
Passion Pit – The Reeling
Passion Pit
This time a year ago, Passion Pit were on very few people’s radars. That altered with the Chunk of Change EP, half an hour of cute, vibrant electro-pop. They even came ready-packaged with their own convenient little piece of indie mythology, that the EP was originally recorded by the band’s mainstay Michael Angelakos as a Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend.
Tiga – Shoes
Tiga
Madonna is about as vocally accomplished as a dying dog; she continues to abuse audiences at her faux-spectacular live shows, and her acting career has been about as successful as my last effort to win the lottery (I didn’t understand the damn thing and gave up).
A Scholar & A Physician – She’s A Witch
A Scholar & A Physician
Coming on like a combination of Young Knives and Klaxons, A Scholar & A Physician’s title track is a high octane love ode to the Wicked Witch of The West it seems, with tongues firmly planted in electro-boy cheeks of course. A great single to usher in British Summer Time with from the Abingdon/London duo, who are also the production team behind a lot of the upcoming Chicks On Speed album.
Filthy Dukes – Nonsense In The Dark
Filthy Dukes
This reviewer prescribes to the school of thought that music criticism should never rely too heavily on namechecking other bands when describing the sounds of a new album.
Metronomy – Radio Ladio
Metronomy - Radio Ladio
No amount of volume will ever be enough for this little beauty. At first coming across as a simple, fairly repetitive number, Joseph Mount’s bug-eyed “what’s your name?” cry has the effect of reducing your brain to a mesh. A mesh of hungover nonchalance. Or a mess, depending on your inclinations.
It’s like the specificities of life have been flung out of the window in a rampage and replaced with an airport walkway taking you to the morning after. And no, I haven’t lost the plot. The Radioclit Swedish Remix (er, what?!) is mostly perfunctory but for the strange inverted effect of the piped whatever mcthingy at about the 2.05 mark. Makes you feel like your living your life on a one-second time delay. Add some tribal inclinations and you’re practically braindead.
Fair enough they’re milking it because there’s no new B-sides and this track has been hanging around for what seems like my life, but the Radioclit FRENCH Remix (yes, globe-spanning) is yet more feral than the original. Featuring Marina’s vocals on the “R-A/D-I/OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH/L-A/D-I/OHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” bit, it almost makes me want to engulf my own senses. Not quite though. … Continue Reading
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