Nine Feet Underground

I’m always a little wary of bands that choose to name themselves after songs by bands with “cool” or “hip” critical credentials.  For that reason I’ve never taken the time to listen to bands like Death Cab for Cutie , Hunters and Collectors or Eric’s Trip to name but three: for the same reason I have ignored Spoon until now. Turns out this is a prejudice I must reconsider: Spoon ’s latest album ‘They Want My Soul’ is the sound of a band totally comfortable with their on song writing ability and willingness to experiment with their sound. The band, a five-piece, has a pretty traditional rock line-up - guitars, drums and keyboards – but on this album uses effects and treatments to get a more spacey sound that makes the fairly straightforward arrangements sound fresh. Highlights of the album include the title track ‘They Want Your Soul’, and ‘Do You’ and ‘Inside out’.   Take a listen to the title track on YouTube: Or alternatively the whole album o...

Music blog “The Quietus”   is rapidly establishing itself as the place to go for music writing with bite. These guys write with passion and don’t care who they upset but most of all they just love music. It doesn’t matter if the music in question is from last week, last year, the 60’s, the 70’s – whenever – if they like it, they say so and say why. You may not agree with what they write - prepare to have your preconceptions challenged - but in general it's a fun and bumpy ride. There have been articles praising Hawkwind’s towering live album  “Space Ritual” , the influence of the Motorik drumming style, 14 of the best independent label tracks   from 2014 and an interview with Ronika about her recent album “Selectadisc”   to name but four.   (I note with raised eyebrow an article today in praise of the re-released version of Jethro Tull’s “Passion Play” – who could have seen that coming? Never heard the album myself - must give it a listen) On...