Experimental quick reviews of songs, at random(ish) from my i-tunes.

1. Laughing by R.E.M. taken from 'Murmur' (1983)

Androgynous bass. Post-punk? We've heard this... At 0.14 however a beautiful guitar line and weary voice crash into our periphery. I mean nothing new in one sense, but actually a surreal dark beauty is uncovered. It's not goth. It's not unlike the Postcard sound in Glasgow. In fact it's very similar to Orange Juice's 'Falling And Laughing'. But this is something brilliantly new for America. A unique beautiful indie artifact. If you know R.E.M. today, listening to this song is like looking at a baby photo of someone you love, but have only known as a grown up. From it's shaky, uneasy start the song continues around to 3:10 whereupon from here til the end it confidently shakes and shimmers, evoking 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division. Oh the beauty of it! All inside one's head it seems. Or just in a room... "Lock the doors, latch the room". You can hear Michael Stipe's young heart struggling to make sense of itself "emotion bound". It's the sound of being afraid to run outside, and hanging on the porch, breathing in the summer air, but dazzling itself by the sunlight. Remarkable! Not in the context of the world (the track is in debt to other 'pioneering' indie/post-punk recordings), but for R.E.M. Searching...for a place to laugh.

2. 'Leader Of The Pack' by The Shangri-Las taken from 'Leader Of The Pack' (1964). Also a US #1 Single.

Culturally somewhere in between 'Rebel Without A Cause' and 'Grease', lie the 60s girl groups singing about teenage heartbreak and youth alienation. 'Leader of The Pack' is the best song of it's kind. Sublime, engrossing, dramatic, sugary sweet voices, film like dialog. That's why I referenced films with regards to this single. It's all about that motorcycle sound and that spoken opening line "Is she really going out with him?". Musically simple, classic 60s sound which was adored by 80s indiekids. Truly heartbreaking death at 1.40. Motorcycle accident leads to death. End of relationship. Seemingly the end of the world to poor young Betty. More of a film than a song. And I love it for that reason.

3. 'Wishful Thinking' by Pulp taken from 'It' (1983)

Pulp are actually a lot like the aforementioned R.E.M. This song feels very similar. Except instead of the jerky bassline, there's flutes and keyboards. Also if this song IS about a room, it's about a bloody huge one. 'Laughing' is contained in a small box. This song is contained in a dark lake. Pulp in these early days were a super dark band. Again; not goth. But super dark. I just love Jarvis Cocker's old voice as he yodels out "I've got this love inside of me". The start is the eeriest bit. Not until the maracas and keyboard bloops (like a fruit machine) set in does it get any lighter. It could be seen as pathetic. But it's truly supposed to be all echoey and twee. The song might sound like a lake, but it isn't floating, it's barely existing. It's the opposite of snappy. But it's not wandering either. It can't seem to move at all. "I have this pain inside of me/Why can't you see?/...I'm stranded here with no way home/Please rescue me" Beautiful and odd. A dark night best forgotten, but one you cannot get out of your mind.

Björk - 'Volta'

(Written at a late hour when this writer should be in bed)
An oft written about personality. An oft admired artist. A brilliant musician and singer.

So here are ten new tracks that hang together to make an album that grows and expands like fire.

If you line up al six of Björk's major records, Debut, Post, Homogenic, Vespertine, and Medulla, there appears to be a definate geographical progression. Starting out in the small town for Debut, going to the city for Post, continuting back to nature for Homogenic (some of the beats were sounds of real geysers!), and then furthur up into the mountains for the icy Vespertine, and then down to the bottom of the sea for Medulla, you might wonder where she goes next? Well, deep into the bowels of the earth. Volta is the sound of squelching mud, firey furnaces, cracking rock and bulging magma. Then there are afew ships thrown in too. All together it's very complex. And that's even before you start on the menagerie of guest musicians...

Upon first listen it seems patchy. Yes. Yes it does. So do persevre with this one. But wow oh what sonic delights she gives to us here! I think, if it's possible, her voice has become even more amazing! Pictured on the sleeve as a multi coloured godess of fire. Or something. Her voice resonates around the room. But a new vitality is in her heart. Particularly on one of two duets with Anthony (no second name nessacery), of Anthony and the Johnsons, 'The Dull Flame Of Desire'. Thier voices glide back and forth from each other like mighty eagles. (As for the backing track it sounds like the fires of passion itself, claiming hearts, and slowly roasting them, turning them into dust. It's just brass and drums. But really really earthy.) As for more vocal performances, on the glitch-tronic 'Innocence' her voice shows a level of exuberance not heard since 'Debut'.

For those of you worring about Timbaland getting his mits on this reocrd. Don't. It's very much Björk through and through. And plus look back at the greats Timbaland has produced; Missy Elliot (Get yr freak on, Gossip Folks, Work it), Aaliyah (Try Again, More than a Woman), Justin Timberlake (Cry me a river and My Love). I needent say more to illustrate that this man's pressence is greatly welcome here.

Aside from those earthy drums and brass, (Vertebrae by Vertabrae is its erriest use - I've been listening to The Planets Suite recently, and it's like that) witness Konono N. 1 on 'Earth Intruders' and something called a 'pipa' on the glacial 'I See Who You Are', which itself sounds like an off cut from Vespertine. But a very good off cut. Sweet and cute. And aparently about her daughter. 'Pneumonia' is like a winter's morning. Reminding one again of more classical climes. That's the thing, people are raving about this record like it's a return to Björk's 'pop roots'. But it's not! It's a continuation of her style, her sound, her experimentation, her search for sound. And anyway Björk's always considerd everything she does as pop music anyway. The way people percive 'pop', and 'rock', or indeed any genres,, like 'country', 'rock and roll', whatever. They're all much more diverse that one thinks/ We can't just lump everything into a catergory of other when they're a bit more far out that the usual garbage. Music has patterns and styles that remain constant.

'Hope' is an ode to a female suicide bommer. How can an artist not comment on what is going on the world around them? It is at this point I am reminded of Björk's kinship with Robert Wyatt, and the similarities to some of the sounds on this record and his 2003 masterpeice 'Cuckooland'. 'Hope' reminds me of Wyatt's keeness to deal with issues of the middle east. And the songs on Volta sound like that. Some like dances in red sands, like sounds you might hear whilst travelling the world. Björk's sound is growing to be more diverse and more experimental. With facinating results.

I should mention pop maverick Mike Bell. LFO, Depache Mode, also worked on Homogenic. His production duties and 'flithy' beats (filthier than any post-electroclash nu rave nonsense in the charts ever, thats for sure) make this album more than an engulfing fire. It's also at time a monsterous tour of the human psychee. Björk is screaming screaming screaming on 'Declare Independance' which is Pluto part two (indeed Bell produced Pluto on Homogenic).

Like the end of Homogenic, the electro mounts and suddenly drops off into finale My Juvenile. Another duet with Anthony. A beautiful minimal peice (simply a clavichord acompanies thier again deuling voices), it's a perfect closer.

So what to make of all this? Björk's alive and kicking. This record is more than adequate in meeting our desire to see Björk stretch her wings, and fly..

9/10

Radiohead - 'OK Computer'

(I've decided to tackle an old classic. A record that seems to hang around the top 5 of every GREATEST ALBUM EVER list there is. But, as I shal argue, for a reason.)

The buzz of a razor blade, sleigh bells, with an epic landscape. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this was the sound of some nightmareish Father Christmas, whizzing across the landscape. Nay, it is the intro to the epic sounds of Airbag, the grand opener on OK Computer.

Man! How is it that Radiohead constantly tread such astonishing ground?? How is it that an album that's inspired equal parts mediocrity and excitement, continues to be elevated. THAT my friend is the power of ROCK. If all rock sounded like OK Computer, I'd die happy. I truly would. Now seems to be the best time to consider this masterpeice, (yes it really is! underneath all the hype lies the beating heart of timelessness) as Radiohead look towards the future, playing songs like that sound like greats left off the 1997 career high point (and afew of them are). A world where back to basics rock and roll has been pushed and pushed and pushed until it megred with dance (see last entry). Why not consider the most aclaimed band to merge rock and electronics, in the days JUST before they did that...

I used to think OK Computer was a personal experience. And in many ways it still is. Sitting alone in my bedroom, gazing at the melodies, sounds, chord structures that take my breath away, paranoia that I could relate to. O majestic ode to fear of technology! How apt you are now! Yet how many times have I heard you! It is not freshness that stalks yr corridors (airport departure lounges? Yes! Who else LOVES to listen to this record in airports or on planes! PERFECT!) ! Nay! It is familiarity! Rememberance of when you had barely 10 CDs. And you played this one to death cos it was one of the best. Let's be honest. Kid A is actualy my favourite Radiohead album. Oh yes. But THIS came first. The first one I brought. The first Radiohead I heard (the midnight cricket chirps of majectic Lucky, the bracketed (Warchild)). I suppose what struck me in those days were the tunes. It IS actualy an album full of sing-a-long classics! YES! Kar-ma Po-lice. ar-est this man. He talks in maths he buzzes like a fridge.... No alarms and no surprises ple-ease. kickin screamin gucci little piggeeeeee... I always forget how sinsiter it all sounds. Yes Thom Yorke IS really flippin paranoid no? But aren't you NOW!? Look at those cameras on yr street! Look at yr DNA on that coin you just gave in at the bank.. Look at yr Oyster card tracking yr every journey! 300 times a day on camera! ID cards! Body searches! They've got every text message and phone call you've ever made, every email you've sent! Every! GASP! Blog you've commented on. The truth is, Radiohead are spokespeoples for the modernity paranoia. Which is something we all think about now and then. Summed up in FITTER HAPPIER, which is beautiful 21st century techno-poetry. I can STILL relate to it! All those things are me! If I put my trust in the world! Which I do daily without fail!

It's darker moments are actualy chilling. REALLY chilling, like there's someone in yr house chilling. Climbing Up The Walls and Exit Music do hit that spot. Which makes Radiohead somehow scary themselves! HOW can they tap into that feeling simply using sound?! Yorke can't explain it himself. It's spiritualy inspired. Definatly. Proof that God exists. If we ever needed any extra.

Where do we now place this peice of work in this world of Lates and PIN numbers (that was a deliberate 'numbers' btw)? Where it rightfuly belongs. In our museums. We send into space to show aliens what life's like on earth nowdays. It summs it up better than any great painting ever could. Oh! Look what we can do! Well how about look what we can't do. We can't cope with the world we've created. Also the aliens would like Subteranan Homesick Alien, altho I doubt they'd get the Bob Dylan refrence. I didn't when I brought it. Don't worry aliens. You're not alone...

'Prehaps it is a good idea to start a new day with the right frame of mind'.

When I used to tell my teachers I was listening to Radiohead, they said, isn't that a bit depressing? And I was like hell no! There aren't many other peices of music that make as happy as 'Lucky' does. (I heard it discussed by afew fans once that it was the weakest track on the record! Rubbish.) 'It's going to be a glorious day, I feel my luck could change'. Possitive or what! Time for change. Yes. We are standing on the edge....
Thoms final plea for sanity: IDIOT! SLOW DOWN! On the tourist, ends it perfectly.

I truly believe this is just one of those albums everyone should have. it's just THAT sort of a record. It's been praised by so many people for a reason! So dig out yr copy, put it on. And let sonic beauty commence.

10/10

Liars - 'They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top'

A record I first reviewed in 2003 for my Sixth Form newspaper 'Sixth Sense'. I can't find the review anywhere but I remember comparing the closer 'The Dust That Makes The Mud' to actual mud, dragging you in with the rain pouring down... Which was mildly clever, as the track chugs along and clocks in at over 30 minutes. And it's all those filthy basslines and sinsiter guitars.

I first heard Liars in 2002 on the 2nd Sonic Mook Experiment compilation ('Future Rock And Roll' - most certainly still avalible and highly recomended). I was reeeeally into the new rock and roll thing NME made up. And Liars were one of those bands. They were from the healthy New York scene (which also included The Strokes, The Rapture and Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and very much embodied the New York spirit. Low dow dirrrty guitars, arty rythms, and streetwise vocals. However what makes Liars stand out to me now is where they have taken that sound. So even on thier debut it is clear they were a little more musicaly insane than most of thier contemporaries.

To draw a comparison of a band you may know. Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Heavily linked with them(in more ways than just musicaly - the lead singers of each band dated for a long time), they even surpased that noise intense outfit for art rock madness. Thier music sounds like it's more than the alienating skyscrapers and urban sprawl of New York City. It seems to be suggesting the organic. That the buildings and tarmac are part of a long standing relationship between man and the earth. These themes are built on in thier 'wican-tastic' second record 'They Were Wrong So We Drowned', but they were set up here. Forgotten history, over grown gardens, ruined buildings - all these images are conjoured up.

The artwork, a white blank art gallery wall, with thin black lines, and the odd blob (of congelaed blood?) I remember another phrase from my orginal review 'The Strokes this aint'. Yes a much darker, more noisy option Liars were. The rythms are hypnotic, especialy on 'Nothing Is Ever Lost Or Can Be Lost My Science Friend'. That bass (punk funk anyone?), those sampled drum pedals. The cascade of the guitar. Repetition. Monotonus, even... In these multi-coloured days of 'New Rave', this mariage of punk and dance is that one of the cousin you never really liked, so who cares if no-one goes to the wedding. What you mean is that you were secretly afraid of this cousin and they scared you because of the way they wore thier make up.

Flitting between paraonid recolections of New Yorks clubs the night before and imaginary spaces of emotion, the record delivers to anyone who wishes thier music to be arty not melodious. I wish the rise of The Gossip and the like WOULD point towards bands like Liars. Who deserve the attention New Rave is getting. Surely this was a forerunner of that. But in New York's dark 2002 garage-esc, new no-wave scene, how could they possibly have seen this. And I suppose New Rave would've happened anyway. And I suppose Liars couldn't care less if Klaxons liked them. Liars were seperating the "boys from the men" as singer Angus sinisterly suggests on 'Nothing Is Ever Lost..'

That they did.

But no-one really noticed.

9/10