February Finale
Clearly I'm going to have to admit defeat - at least on one front: the format of this blog must change, at least for the foreseeable future.
I had high hopes for Rumer's debut, 'Seasons of my Soul', even though for some time I'd consciously ignored the album mainly due to solo female singer overload: too many too similar. Then out of the blue I heard 'Slow' and was bewitched. Sadly the rest of the album is a disappointment: don't get me wrong, her voice is beautiful and given the right material this could have been a great album, but the songs drift by like lift music, barely registering. The songs and her voice rarely combine to convey emotion - not a problem if glacial cool / ice queen is the aim (Sarah Nixey where are you now?), not so good if soul is the goal.
'Spooky Two', the imaginitively titled second album from Spooky Tooth, includes the obligatory - for 1970's rock albums at least - track about an "evil" woman, here titled 'Evil Woman'. It's an OK track, and that pretty much sums up the whole album, it's OK - but nothing that special given how much some rave about ST. The band sound is good: bluesy soul inflected vocals (a bit like Free at times?), exciting interplay of keyboards and guitar with a refreshing (for the era) appreciation of space in the mix. Overall I think sometime I'll dig out a compilation of their best material and see whether that's more persuasive. No rush though.
White Noise Sound are next up - choosing to put their effort into the songwriting rather than the album title - a decision that almost pays off. I like their sound, though it's a lot like bands past and present, including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Loop and early Clinic. I like the droney, hypnotic sound and I can easily imagine listening to this but in the spirit of the album of the month concept, it's only enough to get it onto the wish list. Standout tracks include 'There is no Tomorrow' and 'Blood'.
Fujiya and Miyagi have interested me ever since their debut, 'Transparent Things', which tried to update the krautrock motorik groove for the 2000's. Their latest, 'Ventriloquizzing', is more of the same though maybe a bit more playful and with a broader sonic palette. It's another album that's not bad, but really not good enough. I wanted to like it. I wanted to be inspired. I wasn't. Move on.
Last, though not necessarily least, The Go! Team's 'Rolling Thunder', a last minute replacement for Forest Sword's album 'Dagger Paths'. 'Rolling Thunder' can be summed up in a single phrase - relentlessly upbeat. A really enjoyable album to listen to and - in a positive way - totally disposable. It's hard to imagine coming back to it though, its immediacy only serves to make it totally forgettable. Great fun though!
So, no album of the month for February and no more album of the month: I will try and stick to getting an album a month - that much hasn't changed - but the format has to change. I no longer have the time to work this way, instead I'm going to try and do a lot of shorter posts about whatever catches my attention. Hopefully with links to the music. Watch this space!
So let's finish off the February album of the month and then on to a new, crisper approach to the blog.
Feb's fab five did get a full work out and here's what I made of them...
I had high hopes for Rumer's debut, 'Seasons of my Soul', even though for some time I'd consciously ignored the album mainly due to solo female singer overload: too many too similar. Then out of the blue I heard 'Slow' and was bewitched. Sadly the rest of the album is a disappointment: don't get me wrong, her voice is beautiful and given the right material this could have been a great album, but the songs drift by like lift music, barely registering. The songs and her voice rarely combine to convey emotion - not a problem if glacial cool / ice queen is the aim (Sarah Nixey where are you now?), not so good if soul is the goal.
'Spooky Two', the imaginitively titled second album from Spooky Tooth, includes the obligatory - for 1970's rock albums at least - track about an "evil" woman, here titled 'Evil Woman'. It's an OK track, and that pretty much sums up the whole album, it's OK - but nothing that special given how much some rave about ST. The band sound is good: bluesy soul inflected vocals (a bit like Free at times?), exciting interplay of keyboards and guitar with a refreshing (for the era) appreciation of space in the mix. Overall I think sometime I'll dig out a compilation of their best material and see whether that's more persuasive. No rush though.
White Noise Sound are next up - choosing to put their effort into the songwriting rather than the album title - a decision that almost pays off. I like their sound, though it's a lot like bands past and present, including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Loop and early Clinic. I like the droney, hypnotic sound and I can easily imagine listening to this but in the spirit of the album of the month concept, it's only enough to get it onto the wish list. Standout tracks include 'There is no Tomorrow' and 'Blood'.
Fujiya and Miyagi have interested me ever since their debut, 'Transparent Things', which tried to update the krautrock motorik groove for the 2000's. Their latest, 'Ventriloquizzing', is more of the same though maybe a bit more playful and with a broader sonic palette. It's another album that's not bad, but really not good enough. I wanted to like it. I wanted to be inspired. I wasn't. Move on.
Last, though not necessarily least, The Go! Team's 'Rolling Thunder', a last minute replacement for Forest Sword's album 'Dagger Paths'. 'Rolling Thunder' can be summed up in a single phrase - relentlessly upbeat. A really enjoyable album to listen to and - in a positive way - totally disposable. It's hard to imagine coming back to it though, its immediacy only serves to make it totally forgettable. Great fun though!
So, no album of the month for February and no more album of the month: I will try and stick to getting an album a month - that much hasn't changed - but the format has to change. I no longer have the time to work this way, instead I'm going to try and do a lot of shorter posts about whatever catches my attention. Hopefully with links to the music. Watch this space!
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