[Video] Iron and Wine
January 5, 2012 in video
Iron and Wine have released a new video for ‘Godless Brother in Love’ from last year’s Kiss Each Other Clean:
[Video] Iron and Wine
Iron and Wine have released a new video for ‘Godless Brother in Love’ from last yearR
The Kinks in Mono Boxset
Following on from the remastered double CDs of classic Kinks albums that have been released recently
Artrocker Awards Live Show: The Computers, Gruff Rhys and Jim Jones Revue, XOYO, London, 02.12.12
Having had to be sensible and adhere to day job commitments, your humble scribe did not make the ina
The Kinks in Mono Boxset
December 11, 2011 in Competition, Competitions, Domino, download, downloads, downloiad, Features, Film, Interviews, Live, Live Dates, Music news, pictures, Podcast, Record reviews, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Uncategorized, video
Following on from the remastered double CDs of classic Kinks albums that have been released recently, Sanctuary Records have put out the first seven albums (Kinks, Kinda Kinks, The Kink Kontroversy, Face to Face, Something Else, The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society, and Arthur, or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) in a stunning boxset of individual digipaks in a “Dansette”, accompanied by a 32-page booklet in the style of a classic pop annual. As a plus, disc 8 features 4 EPs, while discs 9 and 10 contain rarities.
Having had a chance to listen to a selection of the remastered tracks, they don’t disappoint. Keeping the recordings mono allows a lot of the raw strength of the analogue recordings to shine through. The collection shows the Kinks as the pioneers they really were, from the R&B covers and raw power of Kinks to the satirical pop of Arthur…
The full track listing is
CD 1: Kinks (Pye NPL-18096, 1964)
- Beautiful Delilah
- So Mystifying
- Just Can’t Go To Sleep
- Long Tall Shorty
- I Took My Baby Home
- I’m A Lover Not A Fighter
- You Really Got Me
- Cadillac
- Bald Headed Woman
- Revenge
- Too Much Monkey Business
- I’ve Been Driving On Bald Mountain
- Stop Your Sobbing
- Got Love If You Want It
CD 2: Kinda Kinks (Pye NPL-18112, 1965)
- Look For Me Baby
- Got My Feet On The Ground
- Nothin’ In The World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl
- Naggin’ Woman
- I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight
- Tired Of Waiting For You
- Dancing In The Street
- Don’t Ever Change
- Come On Now
- So Long
- You Shouldn’t Be Sad
- Something Better Beginning
CD 3: The Kink Kontroversy (Pye NPL-18131, 1965)
- Milk Cow Blues
- Ring The Bells
- Gotta Get The First Plane Home
- When I See That Girl Of Mine
- I Am Free
- Till The End Of The Day
- The World Keeps Going Round
- I’m On An Island
- Where Have All The Good Times Gone
- It’s Too Late
- What’s In Store For Me
- You Can’t Win
CD 4: Face to Face (Pye NPL-18149, 1966)
- Party Line
- Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home
- Dandy
- Too Much On My Mind
- Session Man
- Rainy Day In June
- A House In The Country
- Holiday In Waikiki
- Most Exclusive Residence For Sale
- Fancy
- Little Miss Queen Of Darkness
- You’re Looking Fine
- Sunny Afternoon
- I’ll Remember
CD 5: Something Else by the Kinks (Pye NPL-18193, 1967)
- David Watts
- Death Of A Clown
- Two Sisters
- No Return
- Harry Rag
- Tin Soldier Man
- Situation Vacant
- Love Me Till The Sun Shines
- Lazy Old Sun
- Afternoon Tea
- Funny Face
- End Of The Season
- Waterloo Sunset
Disc 6: The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society (Pye NPL-18233, 1968)
- The Village Green Preservation Society
- Do You Remember Walter Mono
- Picture Book
- Johnny Thunder
- Last Of The Steam Powered Trains
- Big Sky
- Sitting By The Riverside
- Animal Farm
- Village Green
- Starstruck
- Phenomenal Cat
- All Of My Friends Were There
- Wicked Annabella
- Monica
- People Take Pictures Of Each Other
CD 7: Arthur, or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire (Pye NPL-18317, 1969)
- Victoria
- Yes Sir, No Sir
- Some Mother’s Son
- Drivin’
- Brainwashed
- Australia
- Shangri-La
- Mr. Churchill Says
- She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
- Young And Innocent Days
- Nothing To Say
- Arthur
CD 8: The EPs (Kinksize Session – Pye NEP 24200, 1964, Kinksize Hits- Pye NEP 24203, 1964, Kwyet Kinks – Pye NEP 24221, 1965, Dedicated Kinks – Pye NEP 24258, 1966)
- Louie Louie
- I Gotta Go Now
- Things Are Getting Better
- I’ve Got That Feeling
- You Really Got Me
- It’s Alright
- All Day And All Of The Night
- I Gotta Move
- Wait Till The Summer Comes Along
- Such A Shame
- A Well Respected Man
- Don’t You Fret
- Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
- Till The End Of The Day
- See My Friends
- Set Me Free
CD 9: Mono Kollectables, Disc One
- Long Tall Sally
- You Still Want Me
- You Do Something To Me
- Beautiful Delilah (Alternate Mono Mix)
- I’m A Lover Not A Fighter (Alternate Mono Mix)
- Bald Headed Woman (US Mono Mix)
- Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy
- Who’ll Be The Next In Line
- I Need You
- Never Met A Girl Like You Before
- Sittin’ On My Sofa
- I’m Not Like Everybody Else
- Dead End Street
- Big Black Smoke
- Act Nice And Gentle
- Autumn Almanac
CD 10: Mono Kollectables, Disc Two
- Afternoon Tea (Canadian Mono Mix)
- Susannah’s Still Alive
- Wonderboy
- Polly
- Lincoln County
- There’s No Life Without Love
- Days
- She’s Got Everything
- Hold My Hand
- Creeping Jean
- Plastic Man
- King Kong
- Mindless Child Of Motherhood
- This Man He Weeps Tonight
- Australia (Australian Single Version)
- Lola
- Berkeley Mews
- Apeman
- Rats
- Apeman (European Single Version)
Artrocker Awards Live Show: The Computers, Gruff Rhys and Jim Jones Revue, XOYO, London, 02.12.12
December 7, 2011 in Live
Having had to be sensible and adhere to day job commitments, your humble scribe did not make the inaugural awards show but by all reports it was a fun and raucous affair, but there’s plenty of atmosphere left to soak up as we arrive at XOYO for the live show. Gary Numan was awarded a ‘Legend’ gong and has been DJing upstairs and in the live room three of tonight’s winners are gearing up to play.
First up are winners of the best ‘heavy’ category and they certainly bring the noise. Don’t be mislead by the name though, their sound is much more guitar based than electronic. Swaggering on in matching white outfits replete with skinny ties; the Exeter band play scuzzy garage punk. Think a thrashier Hives - It’s not wildly original, and there is alot of posturing and bratty song titles like ‘Music is Dead’ and ’Teenage Tourettes Camp’. It is however, a highly entertaining and energetic performance with the lead singer spending part of the gig crowd side and playing guitar while sitting atop his friend’s shoulders and throwing his shoes into the crowd. After the gig, we high five said excitable frontman. “Thanks that was fun, I needed that” I tell him, he nods and goes in search of beer and shoes.
Next up, a firm KV favourite Mr Gruff Rhys brings his conceptual (and now Artrocker award winning) album Hotel Shampoo to the basement stage. Gruff Rhys walks on, looking very dapper and stands in front of a table full of interesting gadgets and gizmos which make an array of joyous sounds underneath his guitar playing and singing. He delivers a set of beautiful, off beat pop from said album album including ‘Shark Ridden Waters’ and the latin-tinged ‘Sensations in the Dark’ as well as older tunes including his sweetest one, ‘Candy Lion’. While his solo stuff is quite a separate entity to Super Furries; it’s nice to see some of their props like the “Applause”,“Woah” and Thank You” signs being used in his set.
Things take a distinctly rockabilly turn next: glamorous raven-haired girls emerge from the shadows in fabulous 50s attire and the Jim Jones Revue explode on to the stage. I chose my words deliberately as these dudes are leather clad, lacquered and loud. I could also see them sharing a fuzz box ridden stage with my beloved Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Jim Jones is equally fond of howling and hip shaking and everyone is dancing. As with The Computers, their music is fairly rooted in days gone by but JJR obviously love their rock and roll and it’s not all posturing, they certainly deliver. Former single ‘Shoot First, Ask Questions Later’ sounds massive and threatens to bring the industrial piping that lines the ceiling crashing down – it’s a really fun way to start the weekend. The bar has been set pretty high for the first Artrocker Awards Show, long may it continue.
Ólöf Arnalds @ St Pancras Old Church, London, 24.11.11
December 4, 2011 in Live
It’s very cold out, and an eerie blanket of mist envelopes the Somers Town Church. It looks quite spooky and isolated as we approach, like the opening scene to a Hammer Horror film. Fortunately inside is candle-lit and parochial and full of people in knitwear: the Vicar of Dibley for indie folksters.
I arrive just in time to hear the end of Snorri Helgason’s set. He is soft-voiced, and liltingly lyrical. When Ms Arnalds arrives for her set she thanks him profusely then dedicates a song to him “I hope his wife won’t think this is inappropriate” she says with a smile before singing a sweet song to thank him for his tour support. That sets the tone for the evening, charming stories and beautiful songs from start to finish.
Occasionally singing acapella; what stands out in this venue particularly is her haunting child like vocals that veer from smouldering, old school chanteuse to ‘Milk-Eyed Mender’ era Joanna Newsom. She is flanked only by some acoustic guitars and her beloved Charango (An Andean stringed instrument made with the shell of the back of an Armadillo and sounds like a Uke).
This tour is largely in support of her Ólöf Sings covers e.p. and she talks about the old wedding tradition of “Something new, something old something borrowed and something blue” which pretty much sums up the set. She plays Caetano Veloso’s ‘Maria Bethania’ an old Irish folk song (during which she stops mid way through to act out bits of the story include building an imaginary wall) songs in her native Icelandic and also English from her back catalogue. The show stopper for me is her rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m on fire’, it sounds particularly moving in this intimate setting. Considering the delicate performance and close proximity of the 100 capacity venue; she is remarkably at home playing songs and telling tales. Even when church bells loudly toll their ten o’clock chant, she remains unfazed, even pausing between chimes and incorporating them into her song.
A charming performance and a rare treat, I hope the arctic wind carries her to us again soon.
[Live Review] St. Vincent, The Fleece, Bristol November 11th 2011
November 13, 2011 in Live
St Vincent at the Fleece.
The Fleece is packed tonight, condensation running down the walls. It’s fair to say St. Vincent, previously often described in relation to the Polyphonic Spree or Sufjan Stevens, is a star in her own right. On her third album, Strange Mercy, Annie Clark’s aggressive, choppy guitar playing comes to the fore, with wig out a-plenty. Tonight, she’s backed by two vocalists (one of them is support act Cate Le Bon), a drummer and keyboardist. She seems excited that the crowd are packed in and standing – the night before the rarefied atmosphere of London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall had been completely odds with the energy of her performance.
It really is performance too, Clark is very obviously a professional, frequently making subtle gestures to her sound man for monitor adjustments. Her voice is always note perfect, and on first encore ‘The Party’ is frankly incredible. She pauses between songs to recount tales of her tour to date, promising to visit any haunted places we recommend, and shooting the amazing videos for ‘Cruel’ (below) and ‘Strange Mercy’. On ‘Your Lips Are Red’ she appears to be embracing a 1990s dream, climbing off the stage and thrusting her guitar at the crowd in an extended noise solo. It was fun – but it was choreographed fun. That quibble shouldn’t detract from the fact that St Vincent live is a formidable show, and Clark’s enjoyment at least appears genuine (‘I wouldn’t lie to you’, she tells us. ‘Well I might, but not in this context’). A wondrous show.
[Live Review] Django Django, Thekla, Bristol November 3rd 2011
November 13, 2011 in Live
Django Django
London-based Scots Dave McLean and Vincent Neff’s bedroom project has blossomed into one of KV’s favourite live shows, and the chance to see them on a boat for free was too good to pass up. The band play rhythms like no other, part Arabic, part spaghetti western, part stabby guitar twang, embellished with retro synth sounds and what might well be Early Learning Centre percussion. They soon captivate the passing indie club night kids who I’m not sure were expecting to see a band playing by the bar door. Next year’s debut album, preceded over the past two years by singles ‘Storm’/ ‘Love’s Dart’, ‘WOR’ and most recently ‘Waveforms’ promises to be essential listening.
Django Django l Waveforms from DJANGO TV on Vimeo.
Veronica Falls, Barfly, Camden 27.10.11
November 1, 2011 in Live
Image courtesy of Tom Bedwell
It’s a Thursday night and there is an autumnal chill in the air; so I head out, cardigan-clad into the Camden night to see Veronica Falls. The London via Glasgow four piece deliver a set of their spirit of C86 sound to a bustling room. The much-discussed nods to 80s and 90s indie like The Pastels and Vaselines are apparent in their jangling riffs and lyrical tales of coy love of which ‘Come on Over’ is a prime example.
They’re a tight unit, and the vocal interplay between James and Roxanne sounds great but they look a little at odds with playing live. They rarely look up from beneath their fringes and chatter is limited to song introductions and the odd ‘thank you’.
Shyness aside, the songs translate really well live. There is an immediacy about ‘Bad Feeling’ and the sparse rattle of ‘Beachy Head’. Most of the set comes from the eponymous debut album which mixes catchy indie-pop with gothy garage rock. ‘The Fountain’ and former single ‘ Found Love in a Graveyard’ showcase their darker side.
They shuffle on for an encore of ‘Starry Eyed’ which brings back the light side and with that they take their leave in the unassuming way they arrived.
“Indie’s not dead”, remarks my friend. It certainly isn’t, but I don’t think they will be playing scene-stables like this for much longer.
Great Sheiks presents: a night of multi-instrumental music!
October 20, 2011 in Film, Live Dates, Music news
Melody-loving label Great Sheiks are putting on a special gig at North London’s Lauderdale House. Advance tickets are available for this event where acts from their roster The Rosemary Works, Whelligan and The A Train, will be joined by strings, woodwind, harmoniums, toy pianos, glockenspiels, theorbos (no us either, until we googled it!)….any way, you get the idea.
Tickets are priced £12.00 and punters will be a part of album recordings and a documentary on the artists. All drinks are included within the ticket price and you won’t even have to queue at a bar as waiting staff will bring them to you: sweet deal!
http://www.seetickets.com/Tour/GREATSHEIKS-COM-PRESENTS
For any further info, please contact FAO Alison Jennings -
info@greatsheiks.com
For a musical morsel, have a peek here:
Brian Wilson @ Southbank Centre, London, 16.09.11
September 21, 2011 in Live
In 2007, Brian Wilson and his band came to do a special show at the then newly-reopened Southbank Centre. I was fortunate enough to go along to review it, I danced in the aisles then pondered how it could be that I can be reviewing a legend. Over-used a term as it is, it definitely applies here. Well, it seems I got that lucky twice. So here I go again, writing the review of the fan-girl.
This is show of two halves, a proper grown up concert with programmes, and an interval replete with delicious honey and ginger ice cream. The first part of the show is a set comprised of his Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin album, where the spirit of old broadway meets the sunbeams of the west coast. The harmony soaked renditions of ‘Summertime’ and ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ bring some old-time magic to the Southbank today and the audience is hushed throughout.
The Gershwin is set is rather beautiful, but for me it’s all about the hits. For the most part, Brian Wilson sits at his electric piano singing and playing – occasionally passing the lead vocal baton onto his cohort Jeff Foskett. People are up and out of their seats and the audience, comprised of old-school Beach Boys fans, flop-haired indie kids and incongruous groupie types yelling “We love yoooooou Bri-aaaaaaaaan” are all dancing and flailing in a wedding reception style. Wilson introduces ‘God Only Knows’ by saying he wrote it in 45 minutes, and it’s pure pop perfection. I hate to use a cliché like ‘they don’t make them like that anymore’ but they rarely do. It’s magical.
The close harmonies and musical dexterity of Wilson’s band of the past 14 years comes into there own during ‘Heroes and Villains’ as melodies soar bounce around this grand hall. When he isn’t taking the lead, there are times when Wilson stares off into the middle distance and at one point he spins his chair around to watch his band at work. But the overall mood is a celebratory one, the band are clearly getting kicks from hearing people singing along to ‘Do You Wanna Dance’, ‘Help Me Rhonda’ and ‘Surfin USA’. The band are also joined by the Stockholm Strings and during the encore the female contingent who are fantastically-attired in 60s girl group style outfits set down their violins and cellos and join in with the dancing. It’s a joyful sight to behold, people (including me and my pal Sarah) are beaming on both sides of the stage. Once again, Brian Wilson brought the summer magic back to an autumnal evening.
tUnE-yArDs @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London, 15.09.11
September 20, 2011 in Live
tUnE-yArDs aka Merrill Garbus likened playing live to going into battle in a recent interview, and there’s definitely something of the tribal in her face paint and musical arrangements. This intimate club gig is no battle ground though: in fact I defy you to find a warmer, less affected live performer at the moment. Garbus and her super-tight band are preparing for their support slot with Beirut at the much larger Shepherd’s Bush Empire tomorrow with a show that was only recently announced and sold out before you could say ‘hey, did you hear about the…?’.
Considering our hipsterville location, the audience are very much ‘with’ her and the band from the first song ‘My Country’. People are singing along and dancing (as far as the packed-in-like-sardines state will allow) and the tUnE-yArDs gang feed off the energy. The sound is an explosion of loop pedals, tribal rhythms, forays into hip hop and crazy sax solos. It’s so intricate but at the same time feels effortless as the two sax players interchange their noodling with gleefully bashing at baking trays. Meanwhile on the other side of the stage, the bassist funks out then occasionally hits up the percussion table which is laden with beer bottles. Everything’s an instrument at a tUnE-yArDs show, even the rider! All the while Merrill & co have wide smiles about their mugs, which is just as it should be.
Vocally, Garbus is a force to be reckoned with, at times she is fierce and rocky like on ‘Bizness’ and the sublime ‘Gangsta’ and then in others sultry and soulful – like the very sexy ‘Powa’ as she purrs “Baby bring me home to bed” then goes all Prince on us with high-pitched ‘oohs’ filling the room. Mad skills.
Her encore includes some solo material from her first record, Bird- Brains, with Merril playing Ukulele which is more fragile, whimsical, yet politicised lo-fi.
She thanks us for coming to a ‘semi secret’ show and given how much interest is surrounding tUnE-yArDs since the second album Who Kill came out do not expect to see Garbus & the gang performing somewhere as small as this on the next tour. There is something very special about tUnE-yArDs , she plans to return to the UK in February, get yourself along.