In order to keep on top of things, here is the new "musical routine" that I have planned for myself: Each day I will listen to as much music as I can from my "new songs to listen to" list, as well as listen to either an album or a playlist of favourite songs from whatever band/artist is due to feature in the '1 To Z' selections that feature on the RW/FF website. Not only will I spend every day of each week listening to my picks of the week's new albums, but also a selection of albums that were released 20 years ago that week (if there are any that take my fancy of course). Plus, once a week I will look at the UK singles chart from 20 years ago and listen to all the new entries before picking out the good, the bad and my favourite. Therefore, the new albums I've been enjoying include The Lucid Dream's self titled second album, The Prodigy's new 'The Day Is My Enemy', the eponymous debut from 8:58 (Paul Hartnoll, formerly of Orbital), 'For All My Sisters' by The Cribs, and best of all the glorious 'Lease Of Life' by Scottish electronic trio Errors. A review can be found HERE on God Is In The TV. In terms of the 1995 albums, I've been listening to Gene's sublime 'Olympian', The Orb's 'Orbus Terrarum' and seminal drum n bass LP 'Secret Black Technology' by A Guy Called Gerald. My round-up of the new entries making the singles chart in '95 will come later. First, another new album that's been keeping me busy...
Describing your own album as "an undiscovered gem" may seem a bit egotistical in some people's eyes, but at least Stephen Jones isn't lying. The brains behind Babybird is known for his prolific workrate, but hadn't released an album of "words and music" in over three years. Now, three come along within the same month.Following on from the magnificent 'Meloncholy' (which is reviewed HERE) and last week's 'Outsider', 'No Message' is the final installment of the trilogy, written, recorded and released in the space of a week. After spells with Echo Records in the 90s and American label Unison Music, Jones now finds himself working as a 100% DIY artist and can see that the fast pace of the internet age means that a lot of music has a "short lifespan".
The opening 'Now Is So Yesterday' is like a more spacious relative of the glorious 2000 single 'Out Of Sight', while the pretty 'That Love' showcases a major strength for heartbreakingly sweet piano ballads and 'First Boyfriend' pairs ominous sadness with sharp spells of humour and charms as Jones's voice cracks vulnerably on the chorus. While the excellent 'Anchor' is a sinister, unsettling thing built on seedy hip hop beats and bleak piano, the glorious 'To Live It Again' plays at the other end of the extreme, providing a moment of sensual melancholic bliss. It's hard not to be touched when Jones sings the words "life, i don't wanna live it again, I'm fine with the way that it is". Humble, sincere musical majesty from the man who rejected pop stardom in favour of creativity and musical invention. Like much of 'No Message', it effortlessly demonstrates that gift for coining melodies that ring with such clarity, that you're sure you've heard them somewhere before.
The haunting title track makes you wonder whether Jones is playing with us or not when he sings that "there is no message in the words", while the infectious 'Zombie Song' brings up more twisted, dark humour and delivers another highlight. The gorgeous 'Wrong Place' wraps the listener in the soft glow of elegantly crafted melodies, enchanting with its soaring chorus and lovely, downplayed arrangement. Another one of his finest moments. The shadowy, foreboding 'I Forgot To Enjoy My Life' evokes memories of Babybird's finest album, the underrated 1998 masterpiece 'There's Something Going On', and is the product of similarly high quality songwriting, while the ghostly ambience of the closing 'Too Late' evokes a cinematic feel that brings to mind a full-bodied relative of the atmospheric instrumental music Jones has released under his Black Reindeer alias.
Built largely on piano and subtle loops, it's an album that in terms of instrumentation, lets the songs breathe and allows the vocal melodies to fully captivate. Being completely in control of your artistic output is certainly a blessing, but it also means that exposure and promotion are limited mainly to Jones' social media accounts. Perhaps he should hold back from releasing any more music for a little while, in order to give this album (and its two predecessors) time to grow. Because it certainly deserves to be heard far and wide. 8.3/10
Considering the way these new songs were recorded, I had doubts about the new album and was worried that it wouldn't live up to my massively high expectations. You can read my thoughts on that HERE. But now, having the band playing the album in full at a secret gig on Friday night (March 20) I can already tell that 'The Magic Whip' is going to be a very special treat indeed. Bringing familiar elements from their past into the 21st century and often utilizing a greater sense of space, this may very well be the greatest comeback record of all time, and that is not an exaggeration. What can be more exciting that your favourite band returning with their first proper album in 16 years?
'The Magic Whip' is released on April 27.
"I think it's one of the best things I've done. And it's been a pleasure doing it. There's been no headaches," Weller said. "I can't compare it to any of my other albums. I think it's different not just for me, but different from what else is around. It's been pretty quick, really. We did a bit of work before the summer, then I took a break because I was out on the road. We started back in October. It's taken us a couple of months, maybe." Weller has said that the album is "certainly progressive in the literal sense of the word. It's defiantly 21st Century music."
The 'Illusion' EP can be heard at his Soundcloud page HERE, and features this superb acid house version of the track as well as three other remixes and the original version.
This new track from Carlisle-based four piece The Lucid Dream is taken from their rather diverse eponymous second album 'The Lucid Dream', which was released last week on 30th March 2015 via Holy Are You Recordings, and as a limited coloured vinyl edition via The Great Pop Supplement.
Formed in Carlisle, Cumbria, in 2008, their debut long player ‘Songs Of Lies and Deceit’ was released in August 2013 to critical acclaim. ‘The Lucid Dream’ demonstrates the band covering new areas, as always is the ethos of band. ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘Cold Killer’ channel the influence of German geniuses Can and Neu!, through to the free-form jazz/noise freak-out that is ‘Darkest Day’/’Head Musik’. The success of ‘Moonstruck’ and ‘Unchained’ has already shown the ability to have appeal across the board, whilst ‘Unchained Dub’ (already a live favourite) expresses the love of King Tubby/Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, already noted by fans and critics alike that The Lucid Dream are the only band of their ilk touching across so many areas. ‘Morning Breeze’, throughout its 7 minutes displays feedback experiments in the vein of Sonic Youth, through to the spaced-out bliss demonstrated by Verve. The album closes with ‘You + I’, a nod to early 60s pop, meets Mazzy Star, meets Spiritualized circa ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’.
Formed in Carlisle, Cumbria, in 2008, their debut long player ‘Songs Of Lies and Deceit’ was released in August 2013 to critical acclaim. ‘The Lucid Dream’ demonstrates the band covering new areas, as always is the ethos of band. ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘Cold Killer’ channel the influence of German geniuses Can and Neu!, through to the free-form jazz/noise freak-out that is ‘Darkest Day’/’Head Musik’. The success of ‘Moonstruck’ and ‘Unchained’ has already shown the ability to have appeal across the board, whilst ‘Unchained Dub’ (already a live favourite) expresses the love of King Tubby/Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, already noted by fans and critics alike that The Lucid Dream are the only band of their ilk touching across so many areas. ‘Morning Breeze’, throughout its 7 minutes displays feedback experiments in the vein of Sonic Youth, through to the spaced-out bliss demonstrated by Verve. The album closes with ‘You + I’, a nod to early 60s pop, meets Mazzy Star, meets Spiritualized circa ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’.
Genre blending Scottish four piece Django Django produced one of the finest debut albums of the modern age back in 2012, and in May they are releasing the long awaited follow-up. Titled 'Born Under Saturn' and released on May 4, the album was recorded at Netil House in east London and Angelic Studios in Banbury and was produced by drummer Dave Maclean. "When we were writing the lyrics there were lots of references to rebirth, turning a new page and starting something again," Maclean said of the record. "I guess that’s something we all felt." After treating us to the album's fantastic first single 'First Light', a second taste has been granted to us in the form of the excellent 'Reflections'. You can read a review of their superb self titled album from 2012 HERE, and you can read a review of their set from the NME Awards Tour in 2013 at the Bristol Academy HERE. Go HERE to see a selection of photos taken from that show.
Following on from the storming 'Psycho', Muse have unveiled another track from their upcoming new album 'Drones'.
Matt Bellamy explains the new song 'Dead Inside', where alongside the guitars, something of a Visage-meets-Bowie feel creates a creeping sense of unease: "This is where the story of the album begins, where the protagonist loses hope and becomes 'Dead Inside', therefore vulnerable to the dark forces introduced in 'Psycho' and which ensue over the next few songs on the album, before eventually defecting, revolting and overcoming these dark forces later in the story." 'Drones' will be released on June 8 and is co-produced by Muse and Robert John 'Mutt' Lange.
The video's director AG Rojas said: "We had to exploit the lyrics and aggression and emotion of the track, and translate that into a film that would ignite a valuable and productive conversation about racially motivated violence in this country. It's provocative, and we all knew this, so we were tasked with making something that expressed the intensity of senseless violence without eclipsing our humanity."
"Our goal was to highlight the futility of the violence, not celebrate it..."
Vocalist Aaron Starkie wrote the song about depression. He explains "It's about appearing to have a normal happy life but carrying something with you that can descend at any moment and make everything appear bleak." The band's previous four singles have enjoyed extensive airplay on BBC 6 Music and the band have played support slots for the likes of Catfish And The Bottlemen, The Struts, Reverend and the Makers and The Sunshine Underground. The band will be touring 'Cavalcade' throughout April 2015.
'Out Of Sight' and it's equally brilliant flipside 'Receiver' are available from Horse Party's Bandcamp page HERE, as a 7" that is strictly limited to 300 copies. This single will not be available via iTunes/Spotify etc. Each copy comes with a lyric insert, badge and fanzine. Plus unlimited streaming of Out Of Sight/Receiver - 7" single via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
The Fall is noted for its prolific output: in addition to the studio albums they have released more than triple that, counting live albums and other compilations.
Founded by its only constant member, Mark E. Smith, The Fall formed in Manchester in 1976 and has existed ever since. Musically, there may have been several stylistic changes over the years, but it is often characterised by an abrasive guitar-driven sound and frequent use of repetition, always underpinned by Smith's distinctive vocals and often cryptic lyrics. The current Fall line-up is as follows: Peter Greenway, Keiron Melling, Elena Poulou, Mark E. Smith, Daren Garratt (the band's recently recruited second drummer) and David Spurr.
Tracklisting:
Venice With The Girls
Black Root
Dedication Not Medication
First One Today
Junger Cloth
Stout Man
Auto Chip 2014-2016
Pledge
Snazzy
Fibre Book Troll
Quit iPhone
The brother and sister duo, known for their highly energetic noise pop, joined up with producer Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor) who brought a cosmic touch to recording the new EP. Like 'Dead Wolf Situation', it was recorded in Bristol at JandJ studios, assisted by Oliver Baldwin and studio owner Jim Barr (Portishead, Get the Blessing). Hysterical Injury have been circling the music scene like the rings of Saturn since 2007. Previous releases include The Hysterical Injury EP (2008), and Our Lives Are A Futuristic Nightmare EP (2009). Since the release of 2012 album Dead Wolf Situation, the band embarked on a headline tour of UK and Ireland and have continued to play all over the UK with the likes of Mike Watt, The Primitives and others.
Taken from new album 'Damogen Furies', ‘Stor Eiglass’ explores the harsher, more diverse realisation of Squarepusher’s work. The album is a fusion of his ability to meld and mold his unique breed of pioneering electronic composition and boundary-warping drum n’ bass which has become synonymous with his cult legacy. 'Damogen Furies', released on 20th April, is a record that has the brutal energy and vivaciousness of a debut. It sees the peak and confluence of the preoccupations that have emerged throughout Squarepusher’s career, approached with the antagonism and audacity of an artist who still believes in the power of intervention. “Through this record I aim to explore as forcefully as possible the hallucinatory, the nightmarish and the brutally visceral capacities of electronic music" says Squarepusher (aka Tom Jemkinson) of his upcoming LP.
Described as sounding like "Oasis if they had listened to The Doors instead of The Beatles", to my ears 'Wasting Time' is more like a refreshing hybrid of The Cribs and New Order, with an added twist of Britpop. Melodic with an edge, this definite grower is available now as a digital single.
Rewind
Which means that every week I am faced with bad music and good music. This week's bad stuff: Prince's 'Purple Medley' is nothing more than a reductive splicing of hits, yet it still makes the number 33, while Janet Jackson's carefree yet annoying 'Whoops Now' comes in at number 10. American "hip house" duo The Outhere Brothers are possibly partly to blame for a future trend in dance/hip hop combinations with lyrics about "booties", and for that reason alone, hearing it will always irritate me.
A rather ill fitting combination of Neneh Cherry, Chrissie Hynde and Cher teamed up with Eric Clapton for the the overbaked emotion of 'Love Can Build A Bridge', which landed a number 5 position. It's not a terrible song, and the sentiment is nice, but the harder it tries to be an anthem, the flatter it falls. Even though hearing it so often annoyed me a lot at the time, Freak Power's 'Turn On Tune In Cop Out brings back great memories and lays on a pretty lazed groove. On the other hand I've never rated it as a song. The project was formed by trombonist Ashley Slater and Norman Cook, who contributed a house-flavoured remix of the track under his Pizzaman alias. The single gained a lot of exposure after being featured on a Levi's advert, and is this week's highest new entry at number 3.
The songs that did strike a positive chord with me begin with BT's wonderfully euphoric progressive house masterpiece 'Embrace The Sunshine' at 34, which comes with a magnificent 13 minute mix from Sasha. A version of the track can be found on BT's album 'Ima'. 49ers Feat Ann Marie Smith's number 31 club hit 'Rockin' My Body' was led by a very of-its-time mix by Capella, while on an American punk tip, Green Day's mischievious wanking anthem 'Longview' enters at 30. 10cc scored a number 29 entry with an acoustic rerecording of their classic 'I'm Not In Love', while Terrorvision's number 22 entry 'Some People Say' was one of the band's more reflective moments, and was lifted from the previous year's album 'How To Make Friends And Influence People'. I can actually remember buying a cassette copy of The Human League's sweet electro ballad 'One Man In My Heart', which comes in at number 18.
But the prize for new entry of the week goes to The Prodigy's vicious number 15 entry 'Poison', which has lost none of its brutal power two decades later. It was the fourth single from their awesome second album, 1994's 'Music for the Jilted Generation'. The drums on this track are samples from "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps, "Amen Brother" by The Winstons, "Heavy Soul Slinger" by Bernard Purdie, and "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught" by Incredible Bongo Band. Fast forward to the present day, and The Prodigy's long awaited new album 'The Day Is My Enemy' comes out in just over a week's time on March 30...
Among the songs that made up the worst of the bunch included Alysha Warren's forgettable RnB effort 'I Thought I Meant The World To You' which entered at 40, and despite the fact that I loved most of Apollo 440's work, their number 35 cover of Blue Oyster Cult's '(Don't Fear) The Reaper' is something that I've never been keen on. Meanwhile, rapper Warren G is someone who I've also never been keen on, and tracks such as the number 29 entry 'Do You See' have never struck a chord with me. Despite a couple of wonderful hits in the early 90s, Duran Duran continued a bad run of form with their slightly altered 90s line up and a weak cover of Lou Reed's untouchable 'Perfect Day', which the British public liked enough to take it to number 28. Award for the week's most dreadful entry goes to EastEnders actor Sean Maguire and his woeful 'Suddenly', which goes in at number 20. One of the most diabolical singles I ever owned entered the charts at number 11, and I purchased it to play at the DJ sets I did on the weekends at the club my Dad managed in Corsham... It was hillbilly dance act Rednex with the follow-up to 'Cotton Eye Joe', which had only been in the charts the previous week, and deleted to make way for the release of the equally ridiculous and almost identical 'Old Pop In An Oak'. The week's highest new entry comes from serial chart botherers Wet Wet Wet, whose dull Beatles pastiche 'Julia Says' lands at number 6.
Compared to some of the previous weeks in 1995, it's not the strongest set of new entries this week, but there was still a generous helping of of good stuff though: dutch Euro-house vocalist CB Milton's 'It's A Loving Thing' is a rather catchy thing that goes in at number 34, while Ned's Atomic Dustbin win a number 33 position with the pounding 'All I Ask Of Myself Is That I Hold Together', and Amos scores a number 31 entry with 'Let Love Shine'. The leading Clubzone Mix of the latter song takes on a slightly faster and more Euro-styled flavour than the brilliantly housey Cleveland City mixes that also featured on the 12". At number 22, the infectious 'Here I Go' provides Dutch dance duo 2 Unlimited with one of the ir finest moments, and even though I'm not fond of their subsequent singles, Tin Tin Out's update of 'Always Something There To Remind Me' brings back nostalgic memories and has a sound that is very of its time. With a sound that's like a bargain basement version of The Shamen in places, East 17's number 11 entry 'Let It Rain' was pretty hardcore for a boyband and is possibly one of their best songs. I probably thought it was shite at the time, but it's rather pleasing now.
But the week's most dazzling new entry is the powerfully mysterious 'Original' by Leftfield, featuring vocals from Curve singer Toni Halliday. The song was taken from their seminal debut album 'Leftism' and entered the charts at number 18. It would take them four years to release its follow-up 'Rhythm And Stealth', before the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley went their separate ways in 2002. A few years later Barnes decided to revive Leftfield without the involvement of Daley, and has just announced the release of a brand new album which will be called 'Alternative Light Source'...
Landing in the number 40 slot are American rockers Queensryche with the sub-Bon Jovi dirge 'Bridge'... I can remember my Mum being particularly fond of one Queensryche song and buying it on CD single, but I cannot recall if it was 'Bridge' or not. The song certainly doesn't ring a bell. After only scoring a chart entry about 8 weeks previously with 'Do You Wanna Party', DJ Scott featuring Lorna B score a second Top 40 hit with 'Sweet Dreams', which goes in at 37 and sounds a lot more dated than the Eurythmics original. Van Halen pile on the soft rock cheese with the lukewarm number 33 entry 'Can't Stop Lovin' You', while awful RnB kiddy boyband Ultimate Kaos were no doubt aiming for a higher chart placing than number 24 for their hideous 'Show A Little Love'. Having just this second done an internet search to find out more info about them, I'm further sickened by the fact that they were put together by future murderer of popular music Simon Cowell. Even during the golden mid 90s, the Grim Reaper was lurking in wait... I can actually remember having a cassette copy of the 'Get Wild' by The NPG, which I found in the Woolworths bargain bin for 29p and took a chance on. The NPG were in fact Prince (then in his 'Symbol' phase) and his backing group the New Power Generation, who indulged in a harder, funkier sound that that of Prince's solo work. 'Get Wild' went in at number 19, but it's pretty generic stuff. The week's highest new entry is technically a re-entry, and goes to the annoying Bobby Brown and a remix of his grating 'Two Can Play That Game', which comes in at number 5.
Anticapella's hyped-up Euro dance number 'Express Your Freedom' is a dated but fun number 31 entry, while Reel 2 Real's number 27 entry 'Conway' is a fine bit of ragga-infused house that has less instant commercial appeal than some of their other Top 40 hits during the decade. Fusing hip hop, house and hardcore, the London duo Shut Up And Dance found their way to number 25 with the impressive Duran Duran-sampling 'Save It Till The Mourning After'. The slick RnB that came out of the USA during the 90s was usually repulsive, but Brownstone's funky number 21 entry 'If You Love Me' was a definite exception, and rang a rather positive bell with me after hearing it again many years after its release. Dance act Snap! made a return to the charts with the number 20 'The First The Last Eternity', which was their final UK Top 40 hit, aside from future re-releases and remixes of their previous hits. UK producer/DJ Jake Williams scored five UK Top 40 hits as JX, and the second was the excellent floorfiller 'You Belong To Me' which featured vocalist Shèna and went to number 17. 1995 was the year that I became obsessed with The Beatles, although the BBC session version of the early track 'Baby It's You' didn't exactly rock my world too much at the time, and went into the charts at number 7. It didn't wow me, but quietly charmed me instead. I remember being given a 7" jukebox copy by my dad, who ran a club/bar in Corsham, and who had to take the least popular records out of the jukebox to make room for new ones. In a week of fine dance tracks, one of my favourite 90s club hits enters the charts at number 6, but since Strike's 'U Sure Do' is technically a re-entry, I can't vote for it as my favourite new entry of the week. But what a tune, and a fine example of how great songwriting in 90s dance music was often overlooked.
My chosen track of the week is 'Karmacoma' from Bristol trip hop legends Massive Attack, which entered at number 29, three places below Ultimate fucking Kaos yet a song that has truly stood the test of time. It was taken from their second album 'Protection', released the previous year in 1994. I first got into this track in the late 90s after buying a copy of the 'Help' charity compilation, which featured an alternative version of the track. After that, it wasn't long until I picked up a copy of the 'Protection' album as well...Back in a week or two with more essential music new and old. Bye for now.
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