FACS - Wish Defense

 

Chicago trio FACS return with sixth studio album from Trouble In Mind on February 7th

FACS are unlike any band you would have heard of before. They remain an enigmatic threesome who have garnered a cult following since the release of Void Moments in March 2020, when the world took a turn.

That album was an insular one, and one whose lyrical content coupled with that throbbing basslines and persistent drums along with a vocal of insolence. Yet it is still able to connect due to the musicianship on display by Brian Case (vocals), Jonathan Van Herik (original returning member on bass) and Noah Leger on drums.

Case, the main writer, states that this album revolves around the idea of doppelgangers or doubles, in a sense FACS are holding a mirror up to themselves to make tackle yourself and what motivations lie ahead.

Second track 'Ordinary Voices' is one that is familiar in the FACS form; pulsating and unrelenting in its message, which is quickly followed by title track 'Wish Defense' which has this ear worm of a bass line at the outset, culminating in the shout 'I'm not here' on repeat as a chorus. It is not so much disillusionment they are trying to sell, they can see the listener and can relate.

 

Track four, 'A Room' is an archetypal wall of sound number, with Case's vocals merely being held up by the roaring sound being created.

While it may not reach the heights or lightning in the bottle of Void or the follow up Present Tense (2021), this nevertheless remains a supreme statement of art by a band who are firing on all cylinders. This sort of album gives you hope that when given a chance a band can still be heard.

At seven songs in length and thirty minutes in runtime, this is still a curated piece of production helmed by the late Steve Albini, in his last professional work.

Wish Defense is released from Trouble in Mind on February 7th

My thanks to them and OneBeat PR for the review opportunity.

Galaxians - Chemical Reaction

The second album from Leeds disco funk trio, Galaxians, out via Stargaze, on 26th June.

During the lockdown period and Covid-19 crisis, the music I have reviewed has been mostly works of internal reflection and contemplation, there has not been that music which has been reactionary in a sense of letting your hair down. We forget that the weather has been glorious throughout this period of personal isolation with temperatures soaring to nearly 30 degrees.

This new album release from Leeds' Galaxians is the album this period of prolonged sunshine has been asking for, a burst of potent sunshine that we need for these periods of barbecues and gardening.

Starting off with the title track not merely as a statement of intent, it is a statement of direct persuasiveness, Chemical Reaction is a jolt of five plus minutes of funk that does not give you the vocals of Emma Mason until two plus minutes into the track. The track is a burst of vibrant energy full of retrospective sounds but full of influence and the DIY scene.

Mason along with Matt Woodward (drums) and Jed Skinner (synths) are a band that they themselves refer to as fuelled by 'too much coffee and too many donuts'.  It is this carefree nature that feeds into the tracks ranging from 'Heartbreaker' about female empowerment to 'Not the Money' about working for the pride of working.

This harkens back to old-school summer vibes of Montell Jordan, Coolio yet with the influence of Roisin Murphy in the vocal delivery of Mason; there is the 80s post-disco funk of Evelyn King for example along with boogie, garage and basslines aplenty.

Tracks remind this listener of that other great disco album of the 21st Century, that of the Scissor Sisters debut album which had that infusion of pop and disco cred, this is more akin to that band's apex along with Moloko - a titanic female lead vocalist with cool production chops to match.

Chemical Reaction is out from June 26th and is available here.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Gum Country 'Somewhere'

The debut album from the duo of Courtney Gavin (The Courtneys) and multi-instrumentalist Connor Mayer, is released via Bandcamp on June 19th.

The album is a buzz of fuzz, feedback ricocheting off of walls and eardrums a plenty, Garvin’s open-tuned guitar has a warmness reminiscent of The Breeders and Mayer’s accompaniment is the perfect compliment of piercing percussion with gritty guitars.

There is a richness to the melodies being explored by the group, with a mixture of highs and lows in terms of expressions amidst the mundanity of normal life but touching upon love, loss, tennis and gardening.

All topics though are treated with sincerity and her dry delivery helps touch a nerve with the listener be it an instrumental portion of a song that concludes ‘There’s A Crumb’ or the vibrancy of ‘Talking To My Plants’.

In conclusion, this is an album that is ripe for listening and offers plenty of joys amidst the twelve track album. Gum Country are a band to keep an eye on and leaves you salivating at the thought of what they could become in years to come.

From the ferocity of ‘It Lives It Breeds It Feeds’ to the rightly so pomp and circumstance of ‘The Queen Rules’, this album serves as an entry point for punk and indie rock in this most uncertain of years.

The album is available on the band’s bandcamp page here.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

This review first appeared on Backseat Mafia on 18th June 2020.

Katie Malco 'Failures'

The debut album by UK based singer-songwriter Katie Malco.

The much anticipated debut by Katie Malco, is released by 6131 records, and is both a personal soul-bearing record and an album about the power of connecting with relationships; marking this out as a record of this time and by this time.

The ten song album touches on subjects ranging from body image to anxiety to figuring out life, and during the prolonged period of self-isolation due to the ongoing global pandemic, Malco's work is more expressive of the individual in this changing world. For good or better, the world has changed but what about the lonely soul within it.

Take the track 'Fractures' a song where Malco comes to terms with becoming who she is supposed to be, in contrast to the world's expected view of her. She admits that she struggles with how people perceive her and embracing her true self as this introvert but gifted individual.

Starting with the fiery opening track 'Animal' Malco provides a bolt of bracing rock and roll showing her knack for a good riff and winning vocals while telling a story about being looked at and being unnerved.  Malco is writing as much about personal experience as well as universal themes for all women.

This is another remarkable album by a female singer-songwriter following in the footsteps this year of Margaret Glaspy and Jane Herships, seemingly the most appealing works of this year about identity and belonging are coming from women with a guitar. There is a power to this individual standing proud and saying look at me, this is me, take it or leave it.

The next track is the sumptuous 'Brooklyn', a gorgeous track about friendship and this place that will come between people with ambitions and those who are happy to settle where they are. Sometimes people have to spread their wings and leave the bosom of home, for others it is scary to leave that comfort of home.

On her bandcamp page it mentions she has toured with luminaries such as Bob Mould and I was struck at how her playing and sound is reminiscent of Mould in that the songs start of contemplative before becoming this roar of emotion and determination. If you have never heard of Bob Mould, check out his album 'District Line' which is a great forgotten album - raw emotion embues through that record.

One of the more unsung tracks of the album could well be 'September' a song that has a stand alone sound of defiance 'I don't care about you, you sure don't care about me' ringing out as the song reaches the crescendo.

In conclusion, this is an album of great intent, passion and fearlessness by a songwriter willing to bear their soul on a record.

Fractures is out from 6131 records on 5th June.

My thanks to OneBeatPR for the opportunity.

Doomshakalaka

The debut album from former Hot Club De Paris frontman Paul Rafferty via Moshi Moshi records

Rafferty has constructed a collection of ten songs that work as both a great piece of work but also a piece of archive material as he looks back on his life in and around music starting with the album opener 'One Last Saturday Night' a song he originally wrote in 2011 about the feeling of possibility and invincibility that would come with a weekend night out as he refers to.

 

‘James Asleep’ is one of those driving melodies reminiscent of other Liverpudlian bands with a jingle jangle guitar with a bassline to match. The bass may be a bit sombre but the prevailing mood is one of hope and happiness by the end.

Befittingly, the album is of this era, with tracks such as 'This Is War (And I'm So Bored)' about negative thought and having to cope with them in this difficult time for everyone and this is backed up by the final track of the album 'Black Balloons'.

As Rafferty states in an exclusive interview, the process of the album was to describe a tough time, an album that is as much for himself than for others, but the universal appeal of this work speaks large.

All in all this album is one of genuine passion, of recalling past glories not for yearning but for embracing those memories as a moment of expression and how it expresses you.

Doomshakalaka is out from Moshi Moshi Records on 5th June

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

Doomshakalaka/Paul Rafferty interview

The debut album by Doomshakalaka is out next Friday 5th June.

Here is an exclusive interview with Paul Rafferty

• Following the break-up of Hot Club de Paris, what have you been up to?
  

I've been touring with other people, did a punk band for a while (called Bad Meds), have been composing music for film and TV, tinkering with the Doomshakalaka record in between bouts of existential dread brought on by the onslaught of late capitalism.

 

• What is genesis of Doomshakalaka as a band/moniker and a concept?
  

When Hot Club de Paris ceased to be I just wanted to make a record where I was in control of all the aspects of being in a band. I didn't want to write to please a label, I didn't want to have to compromise on ideas, I wanted full control over the production aesthetic and so on. It wasn't necessarily a response to being in HCdP as being in that band was a total blast for a long time, I just wanted to make music for the sake of doing something fun and good. I soon realised however that the best thing about being in a band is the fact that you get to share all of those aspects and that compromise is a very valuable asset in the writing process, especially in terms of getting stuff done quickly. I also realised that it's quite hard to have fun on your own, so was kind of instantly burdened with this responsibility towards a record that only I cared about. The name Doomshakalaka probably describes this process quite well; a fun word changed to describe a tough time.

 

 

• Was there a reluctance to branch out on your own?
  

Not really. It becomes quite difficult to do bands with your friends when you hit your 30s because everyone's responsibilities change quite suddenly. Being in a band (at least in my experience) is to enthusiastically pour all of your money down the drain and convince yourself that doing so is worthwhile. That outlook isn't particularly compatible with real life. You could say I'm branching out on my own because my friends are less stupid than I am.

 

• You have gone back to a lot of old material, and this album focuses on memory – is there a tinge of regret in not releasing this music sooner or is the time right now?
  

No regrets. The album was ready when it was ready so there's no point wishing it was any different. I learned a lot making it and feel like I've developed a good stamina for all the processes involved in making a record. I've nearly written a new record already, so perhaps I'm catching up on all that time I spent on procrastination. 

 

• You are from Liverpool? Was it either football or music for you? 
  

I've lived in Liverpool for 20 years but I grew up in a small town in Cheshire. I stopped liking football in about 1992 when I discovered Guns n' Roses so I guess it was a kind of binary choice for me. A lot of my music friends love football too, though.

 

• What have you learnt about yourself in producing this record?
  

That I hate the sound of my own voice and that Instagram is the enemy of all progress.

 

• What expectations do you have for the album?
  

I'm not sure I have any! I'd be happy if some people liked it but it's not a requirement. The important thing for me was to make it as good as I could at the time so everything here on in is just sort of admin. 

 

• How have you coped with the Covid-19 crisis? And where do you see the music industry going?
  

I still have access to my studio so I've just continued to make music alone, which is what I do in my life day to day anyway. I'm not too sure where the industry is going other than continuing to shave off more percentage points for the actual people who make the product, but that was happening anyway. I'm probably not helping by self-financing my own record and happily proceeding in the knowledge that I'll make no money, but that's the reality of the indie labels and bands. 

 

• What is next for you?
  

Breakfast.

Doomshakalaka is out from Moshi Moshi Records on 5th June on all formats.

Spice 'All My Best Shit'

The new single release from Californian band, Spice, this is a rip-roaring piece of grungy, fast adrenaline rock.

This is a song as much about anger and how to express it compared to sitting upon your emotions. In this day and age of mental awareness and being expressive about feelings, this is a guitar-driven indie rock song seeking to be heard amidst this pandemic of epic proportions.

The single 'All My Best Shit' is released ahead of the self-titled album out on July 21st from DAIS records.

The album is a nine track 30-minute cut of sonic infusion sparking discussion about co-existing with spikes of loud and soft, short and long but yet full of sparky punch and authority in this world of unrest.

The group comprise of Ross Farrar (vocals) and Jake Casarotti (drums) from the band Ceremony, along with Cody Sullivan (bass), Ian Simpson (guitar) and Victoria Skudlarek (violin) the band have honed a sound from the Bay Area pedigree full of modernity and anthemic yearning.

Spice is out from DAIS records on July 21st

Tasseomancy : Do Easy

The Canadian duo Tasseomancy made up of twins Sari and Romy Lightman release their new album on the Bella Union label on Friday 18th November.

The new album combines the folk foundations of the pair along with the psychedelic influences of with experimental pop art.

Influences abound throughout the album from Kate Bush to PJ Harvey to other ambient electronic sounds that are awash on many tracks. Personally I found a lot of the tracks to be hard to listen to and not capable of crossing to the mainstream apart from the lead single and title track 'Do Easy':

https://soundcloud.com/bella-union/tasseomancy-do-easy

This track is the one that grabs your attention due to the unique combination of the dual vocals by the twins along with a quite hypnotic bassline. The only other tracks that comes close to matching the level of 'Do Easy' is third track on the album 'Jimi Infiniti' for possible cross-over appeal and 2nd single, 29 Palms

All in all, an album that on paper looked good but unfortunately did not totally convince once committed to the studio and a chance missed to perhaps do something special.

'Do Easy' is released by Bella Union on Friday 18th November.

www.facebook.com/tasseomancy
www.twitter.com/tasseomusic

My thanks to OneBeatPR for the preview listen

Sound of Fear: The Musical Universe of Horror

Sound of Fear: The Musical Universe of Horror

at Vision Sound Music

Date: Saturday 3 September 2011

Venue: Purcell Room and Front Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Tickets: Part I - £10, Part II - £12.50, or Parts I & II £17.50

Website: www.visionsoundmusic.com

Produced by Sound and Music, the UK’s leading organisation for contemporary music and sound art, Sound of Fear brings together an international cast of artists, critics and composers to celebrate the music and sound design of the horror film. Part of Vision Sound Music, a three day festival celebrating the unique relationship between audio and visual cultures, the two-part event takes place on Saturday 3 September at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Through live performance and discussion, Sound of Fear explores the musical universe of horror, from its supernatural soundscapes to shrieking string arrangements. It pays tribute to the masters of musical menace, such as Bernard Hermann and John Carpenter, who have made the horror movie soundtrack such an iconic narrative device.

Two of the most famous virtuosos of the genre, composer Harry Manfredini and sound designer and composer Alan Howarth, will appear alongside a younger generation of critics, sound artists and musicians using new technologies to remix and deconstruct some of the most memorable scary movie moments. The event will be prefaced by an online interview with legendary director and composer John Carpenter, especially for Sound of Fear.

Saturday 3 September, 6.15pm

Sound of Fear: The Musical Universe of Horror Part I

Three performances celebrating the menacing effect of sound and music in horror movies.

Vicki Bennett (aka. People Like Us) presents an audio collage from over 100 features to illustrating common concepts and themes, Korean artist Lee Hangjun creates an immersive deconstruction of Hitchcock’s legendary Psycho shower scene in After Psycho Shower and John Carpenter’s closest collaborator Alan Howarth performs live selections from classic soundtracks to Halloween, Escape From New York, Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing.

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall,

£10 (or £17.50 combined for ticket to Parts I & II)

Saturday 3 September, 8.30pm

Sound of Fear: The Musical Universe of Horror Part II

A discussion panel comprising Friday 13^th composer Harry Manfredini, musician and author Stephen Thrower and film critic Kim Newman take the audience on an audio journey through iconic moments in the history of horror.As well as celebrating the familiar sounds of iconic blockbusters such as The Omen, Hellraiser and Friday the 13th, their presentation will pay homage to the lesser known soundtracks of movies like The Beyond, Cannibal Holocaust and The Return of The Living Dead.

This will be followed by A Musical Compendium of Horror – a new arrangement created

exclusively for Sound of Fear by the acclaimed international ensemble of soloists zeitkratzer. The 12‐strong group will draw on the entire musical gamut of traditional horror film‐score techniques, combining carefully crafted theatrical lighting and sound design, to plunge the audience into a chilling sound-world of tension, fear and unease.

Queen Elizabeth Hall

£12.50 (or £17.50 for combined ticket to Parts I&II

BUG: Moby Special - review

Wednesday 1st June, first day of a new month, my first time at BUG! a bi-monthly showcase for new music videos of both mainstream and indie acts and shown on a big screen at the BFI Southbank.  Tonight in a special edition, hosted by Adam Buxton (of Adam & Joe fame and 6Music DJ), is a retrospective of one of the most iconic and noticeable music video artists over the last 20 years.

Moby, who rose to prominence with his second single, Go (Ondrej Rudavsky) in 1991 with a video that was hypnotic and a hallucinatory fit set to three minutes.  Moby was marked as an artist who knew what he wanted to do with his videos, and how they were an important outlet for his artistic and polemical outlet.

Moby will forever be remembered for the 1999 album Play, one of the biggest selling albums of that decade and a seminal work, which thanks to every track being available for licensed use in advertising, TV or films made the album ubiquitous and landed Moby some notierity for his wish to make as much money as possible.  In the interview with Buxton, Moby quoted that the reason he did that was because the album was initially not a success and landed him some awful reviews, his only regret was he wish he did not allow the licensing in the UK and left it only to non-English speaking territories like Japan and Portugal, for example.

Watching the music videos there is a recurring theme of morose mortality, death is a common thread in certain videos; the allure of celebrity and the use of famous actresses (Christina Ricci in Natural Blues (David La Chappelle, 2000) and Heather Graham in The Day (Evan Bernard, 2011) are most memorable, and now even Moby himself or thelittleidiot character of his is itself a character.

In the interview with the ever entertaining Buxton, who bought a lightness and touch to proceedings making an audience laugh when commentating on the comments left on YouTube for three videos, Moby touched upon his collaborations with David Lynch, his input into the videos - stating that he leaves the creative process to the creative minds, except for In This World, which was his idea initially and the work of mobygratis.com; a new venture that allows non-profit organisations and independent filmmakers to use his exclusive work and tracks for use in their films.  Another capitalist venture? Moby stated that if profit was made, a portion of profits must be paid to the Humane Society, so he cannot make money even if he tried.

The other excellent venture of the evening was the opportunity to focus on new videos for new Moby material from the new album Destroyed; sanctioned by Moby, BUG, Saatchi & Saatchi and Vimeo to search for new directorial talent - the 'Hello, Future' Music Video Challenge showed three videos selected for the final. The winner to be selected at the New Director Showcase at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity on June 23rd. 

Two videos for Be The One were shown, the better being the animated version by Roland Wittl of Germany, incorporating the littleidiot character in an animation video that was indicative of past work and recurring themes.  However, the best one in my opinion, was After directed by Alberto Gomez of Mexico; an intoxicating and mysterious and at times terrifying video that was spellbinding in its editing and getting great performances from a young cast.  Again, this showed the global reach of Moby as an artist whose work can reach all corners of the globe without pandering to different nationalities; the work can speak for itself.

For more on BUG at the BFI go to http://www.bugmusicvideos.com/ for details the next night is on July 13th/14th at the BFISouthbank. Or follow on twitter @BUGmusicvideos or on Facebook; bugvideos.
For more on Moby go to http://www.moby.com/ and http://www.mobygratis.com/

Moby - Free Download

Hey all, follow the link to get a free download of Moby's new single, 'The Day'

http://www.moby.com/journal/2011-05-25/free-download-day-orchestral.html

available from his new album DESTOYED.

Also, Moby is on stage at the BFI Southbank tomorrow evening as part of a BUG:Video Retrospective, he will be conducting a Q&A with Adam Buxton ('Adam and Joe', 6Music) after the video and I will be reviewing the event for my blog readers.

Contact the BFI (02079283232) for any last minute ticket availabilty and follow @thelittleidiot on twitter for my updates and my own feed @SwitchBarLondon for the review and other movie/culture links.

AXIS OF AWESOME

Next Thursday 4th November at the Bush Hall, a global YouTube phenomenon will be appearing on stage in London. Axis of Awesome; Australia's biggest comedy band will be giving a full performance of their stagecraft. Having garnered 15million hits of their song '4 Chord Song' where they riff saying that every great song uses the same chord sequence - featuring Natalie Imbruglia, to Enrique Iglesias to Tim Minchin.

It is telling that they riff Minchin in the five minute marathon through pop history; as Minchin along with Axis' fellow antipodean's 'Flight of the Conchords' have brought back comedy rock to the mainstream and to the big theatres - the Conchords sold out Wembley Arena.  Now the history is endebted to Spinal Tap, but comedians always aspire to be rock stars and vice versa, you need not look any further than 'The Blues Brothers' for more evidence.

Following on from three sold out seasons at the Edinburgh fringe and performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs comedy gala at Montreal; they intend to conquer England and this is their first live show in London. It is something not to be missed.

To book tickets call 08432 210 100 or visit www.hmvtickets.com/performances/5385/book. Tickets cost £15, show starts at 7.30pm with support from Marcel Lucont