CD Reviews
‘Acolyte’
Delphic
(Modular/ Chimeric)
Shimmering with intelligent, barely-restrained emotion, laden with pop hooks and possessing a clear and obvious focus rarely seen in albums in these breathy days of internet single releases, Mancunians Delphic promised a lot in 2009 and have delivered with a damn fine early release for 2010. Variously chanelling Bloc Party, Animal Collective, Klaxons, New Order and a pile of other seemingly disparate influences, they’ve managed to create something that matters. Ephemeral, danceable music spills from the speakers - a beautifully constructed combination of festival-ready beats, stabbing guitars and tinkling, atmospheric synths. From the cover art through to the ten carefully-chosen tracks (quality over quantity anyone?), ‘Acolyte’ is the complete package, as are Delphic quickly becoming. Pocket-protector dance music? Indie tweek/ geek rave? There are going to be so many bands making this type of crossover music in coming years that us hacks are going to need to coin some sort of term so we can continue to lamely pigeonhole music, annoy musicians and churn out bullshit that will be next week’s landfill. ‘Counterpoint’ is my vote for one of the best singles of last year.
‘Fabriclive 50’
dBridge & Instra:Mental Present Autonomic
(Fabric Records)
According to dBridge, DnB is in a bit of a tight spot. While liquid sounds started making a healthy resurgence a year or so ago, the wider scene had become a slave to dancefloor bangers throughout the noughties. This is his justification for the extremely laidback style of mix happening on the latest Fabriclive instalment, and herein lies something to think about. This shit is soooooooo laidback that, honestly, they’d have to set up beds throughout the club and legalise marijuana for the night for me to properly appreciate. Nothing wrong with that, but I think DnB might be slightly too wide an umbrella term. Glitchy, downbeat electronic music with splashes of dubstep and jungle works better for me - these guys are labelling it ‘Autonomic’. Is it any good? Certainly for a cruisy car ride/ come down after a festival, for long, drug-fuelled sex sessions with someone you quite like, or for drifting off to sleep if the neighbour’s telly is too loud. Possibly even at an outdoor rave tent as the sun rises. Probably not before a big night out or powering a banging pool party - some might label it boring. Which makes this a good release - if you love David Guetta, then suck on this well-mixed, subterranean underground lollipop.
‘Good Times Australia’
Norman Jay
(Central Station)
You’ve simply got to admire Norman’s ability to consistently select tracks that you’ve never/ rarely heard, but should have. MBE or not, the man’s got some serious taste in the party funk/ soul/ hip hop/ house realms, and his ability to spin up a cohesive set of these very diverse genres and tempos is unquestioned. He places spanking neo-soul right next to 70’s classics and makes the whole thing work, WELL! Jazzanova into Tina Turner into David Bowie - not a problem! All you 130BPM house kids should give this a crack - takes some serious skills and selection. That said, some of the tracks here sit on the saccharine side of the fence, and can grow tiresome; Tammy Payne’s ‘Take Me Now’ being an obvious example. And soul is not everyone’s cup of chai - case in point the hip, young thing in the office who asked “is this music from the nineties?” This double disc set would be ideally served in summer as a mid-afternoon aperitif, preferably as the drugs/ drinks kick in and the people head for public nudity - if he would just mix a little quicker sometimes, things might not get so stale.
Burnt Toast
'Crazy Rhythms'
The Feelies
(Bar None Records)
Sometimes, people get self-righteous about things which they have created. The Feelies re-releasing their 1980, almost-cult hit 'Crazy Rhythms' is a testament to this fact. It has to suck seeing Weezer rip off guitar riffs which you wrote 20 years ago. It must suck even more when they sell out stadiums with them. While this is a fantastic album, (thanks in large part to drummer/ producer Anton Fier) one can't help but feel as though the 'you have me to thank for what's on the radio today' approach is far less charming than the album itself. A little humility, please.
Esther
'All My Friends Are Funeral Singers'
Califone
(Dead Oceans)
It's over ten years now since the remnants of Chicago-based blues-rockers Red Red Meat picked themselves up off the floor and created Califone. In that time the band has all but outgrown the legend of its predecessor, releasing a slew of well-received records. Califone have always been experimental, but this latest LP is a step left even for them, being the companion piece to a film directed by the band's frontman, Tim Rutili. Alarm bells may be ringing, but never fear: the writing on this folk-blues mash-up is good enough and indeed distinctive enough to stand on its own. Califone enjoy charting new spaces with their performances, but they always come back to their musical theme and it's this trait that shines brightest on 'Funeral Singers', making the album an endlessly interesting journey through the band's peculiar take on trad-minded folk-blues.
'Climb Up'
Apse
(ATP Recordings / Inertia)
On 'Climb Up', Apse have produced an album that's seemingly at odds with its own production. There's plenty of incendiary post-rock playing here, best evidenced on '3.1' and album closer, 'Closure', but it's all packaged in a sound-space that leaves their music frustratingly untouchable. The best moments, then, tend to be those that slow the band down enough for their work to clarify in front of the listener: 'All Mine' marches to an insistent, graveyard beat, for instance, and 'Lie' comes off as a demented hymn to a busted god. Throughout, Bobby Toher's lyrics are strong, but they're often sent to the listener as if down an air-conditioning duct, cruelly blunting their impact. It all means 'Cimb Up' is a disappointing sophomore record and that's a shame, because its better moments shine bright enough to suggest there's something truly special in these Massachusetts natives.
Matt Shea
‘Extinct Hearts’
Jona Byron
(Popboomerang)
After reviewing so many local indie musicians, I can honestly say Australia has a lot to be proud of. One of the most promising talents is Jona Byron, a Melbourne-based singer-songwriter whose recent mini-album is impressive. The seven tracks are delivered in deep, poignant vocals that complement the emotive lyrics. ‘Extinct Hearts’ is highly personalised and even the cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are a Changing’ seems to belong to Byron. He will release a full length album later this year and if it’s anything like this mini-album, then it’ll be another great win for the Australian indie music scene.
‘Suddenly Last Summer’
Jimmy Somerville
(Amphead Music)
Jimmy Somerville has been around for a while now, though he’s probably best known as the lead singer of 80s bands Bronski Beat (‘Small Town Boy’) and The Communards (‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’). His latest work, available only as a digital download, is a strange sort of cover album. Somerville chose songs he liked out of his iPod and recorded his own acoustic interpretations of them. Songs by Deep Purple, Nina Simone, Jill Scott, Cole Porter and others are covered in ‘Suddenly Last Summer’. The result is an album as unique and strangely fascinating as Somerville’s eternally falsetto vocals.
‘Lovebites’
Super700
(Inertia)
‘The number 700 is a sacred number’ boasts the band’s media release. It goes on to point out obscure facts about it including, ‘The hidden temple has 700 entries’. As I braced myself for some pretentious German electropop, the music that played was surprisingly good. ‘Lovebites’ is the band’s second album with a clever, catchy and eclectic array of songs. A couple of tracks didn’t feel as defined as the rest, but the production is excellent. The haunting vocals, skillful guitar riffs and pleasant harmonies add complexity and a sense of mystery to the danceable tracks. Sehr gut, Super700. Sehr gut.
Alberto V.S.
‘In The Club!’
Mixed by Denzal Park & Raye Antonelli
(Ministry of Sound)
Personally, I’m not what you would call a house/ dance music fan, but I just had to check out what all the fuss was about with these Ministry of Sound guys. And I have to say, I was quite impressed by this double CD, with Denzal Park mixing Disc One and Raye Antonelli in charge of Disc Two. Both CDs live up to their reputation, packing plenty funky remixes of all the hot club and dance tracks; for example Dizzy Rascal’s ‘Bonkers’ featuring Armand Van Helden, Empire of Sun’s ‘Standing On The Shore’ Hey Today! remix, as well as adding a few golden oldies such as Olive’s ‘You’re Not Alone’. Overall a great mix of dance and house that should definitely find a home on all dance/ house music fans’ playlists.
‘Evacuate The Dancefloor’
Cascada
(Universal Music)
No doubt everybody has heard of Eurodance trio Cascada before; if not for their phenomenal rise up the dance charts with ‘Everytime We Touch’ back in 2007, then most certainly for their latest smash hit ‘Evacuate The Dancefloor’, which has also found itself listed number one on numerous top 40 countdowns across the globe. Now with their follow-up album, also named ‘Evacuate The Dancefloor’, the trio - DJ Manian, Yanou and singer Natalie Horler - have produced an array of different dance tracks, which range from gentle ballads to hard dance to house. It’s this variation that keeps the trio on top of the dance charts and hopefully we will be hearing a lot more from them soon.
‘Didgeridoo Drum Dance’
Music Mosaic
(Music a la Carte)
It’s not often you see a CD of just straight didgeridoo playing, unless of course it’s one of those you pick up from a National Geographic or an ABC store. But this mix by Music Mosaic offers something different by intertwining different musicians’ interpretations of the didgeridoo by coming up with their own style and rhythm. As described on the CD’s blurb, ‘Percussive instruments pulse in the didgeridoo’s rhythmic breath of fire and scorched earth … primal growls, ululations, voice calls and animal sounds manifest the dream dance mystery’. This pretty much sums up the bulk of this CD, which is a pleasure to listen to and a tribute to one of this country’s most beloved instruments.
‘Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel’
Mariah Carey
(Island Records)
Love her or loath her, you’ve got to take your hat off to this diva of pop. Since her beginnings back in 1990, Mariah has come a long way through different trials and tribulations and this new album, ‘Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel’ is a tribute to her journey. The album explores imperfection and how it is a common thread shared by all humans. Her biggest hit off the album, ‘Obsessed’ is one of many catchy tunes, which talks about the weakness of being obsessed with someone when in the throngs of love and the way in which we humans are quick to assume things that never were. All in all a good collection of work, not to mention the separate mini Elle Magazine booklet, which gives a sneak peek into the life of Mariah and her many appearances in the magazine.
Myjanne Jensen