Starsailor, Kubb & The Weight…

Its easy to see the attraction of not going into London to see live music…less than 45 minutes from my front door to the car-park of Oxford Brookes University, to see a band that will play Brixton tonight – perfect. We arrived as ‘The Weight’ were about halfway through their set…good stuff, reminding me of Toploader and maybe Hothouse Flowers…but tight and punchy enough. Second act were ‘Kubb’ , already on heavy rotation on my listening – they played 5 or 6 songs which seemed to sweep everyone along…including a brilliant ‘Somebody Else’ and ‘Chemical’…they left enough of an impression that we privately wondered how Starsailor would follow. At about 9.30 the lights dimmed, and a vicious analogue bassline unfolded…and Starsailor quietly walked on the stage – and subsequently delivered an EXCELLENT set. A great mixture of the old and the new – Alcoholic and Silence is Easy were vintage highlights, coupled with huge tunes from the biting (thanks Nick) new album. The sound was polished, tight and controlled and the smaller venue meant that James Walsh interaction with the crowd was not wasted…superb gig – one of the best this year. Some pictures over here.

Ringleader of the Tormentors

Morrissey is releasing a new album – sometime in March 2006, ‘Ringleader of the Tormentors’ will hit our shelves…anyone who has read my blog for long will know about my love hate relationship with Morrissey. I used to hate his music, and then he released ‘You are the Quarry’ and now I love his music. Simple really – a change of heart! Anyway – reports are that the album is superb, with the producer Tony Visconti singing its praises highly. The tracklisting has been published – as follows:

‘I Will See You In Far-off Places’
‘Dear God Please Help Me’
‘You Have Killed Me’
‘The Youngest Was The Most Loved’
‘In The Future When All’s Well’
‘The Father Who Must Be Killed
‘Life Is A Pigsty’
‘I’ll Never Be Anybody’s Hero Now’
‘On The Streets I Ran’
‘To Me You Are A Work Of Art’
‘I Just Want To See The Boy Happy’
‘At Last I Am Born’

Whichever way you look at it – a new Morrissey album is an event – I cannot wait for this one…

In the evidence of its brilliance

Madonna – Confessions on a Dancefloor : Theres no doubt about it, a new Madonna album certainly creates a stir, perfectly timed for the holiday season, perfectly timed for a ‘keynote’ appearance on the MTV Europe Awards (where she was pretty damn good) and perfectly timed for an all out assault on the media. Its obviously planned -and it works every time, so its no surprise that she ends up at number one. All of that is no good, unless you have some decent product to back it all up – and once again Madonna delivers the goods – drafting in Stuart Price to give the whole thing a smooth, cutting edge feel. Its a full on dancefloor attack – sequenced like a dance mix and moving through styles of disco (and house) seamlessly…from the opening track ‘Hung Up’ with its clever Abba sample – and ‘Get Together’ which apes the compressed string sounds of much of the French Disco of the last 5 years – not surprising as Mirwais is still involved in some of the writing. The stand-out track for me is ‘Future Lovers’ – with a Moroder styled bassline which reminds me of Donna Summer from the 1980′s. Overall, its a good Madonna album – not a standout in the market, but as the title of my post suggests a cleverly calculated return to form for one of pop musics most enduring females.

What kind of language is this?

Kate Bush – Aerial : almost every review I’ve read about this album concentrates on the 12 year absence, or the slightly odd Rolf Harris vocals and collaboration, although its a whole lot more than that. Aerial is a truly magnificent piece of work – spanning two discs, it breathes fresh life into the semi-iconic status that Kate Bush has, and her role as an inspiration to so many (Tori Amos? Bjork?). Highlights on this album for me are Nocturne and Aerial – which are up there with some of the best work she’s ever done. Its definately an album to listen to again and again and again – it’ll grow on you.

Babylon de pon me case!

Mattafix – Signs of a Struggle : I caught this group on Jools Holland last Friday, and rushed out to get a copy of this debut release – from the opening bars of the bluesy, lovers rock style Gangster Blues, with bass from Sly of Sly and Robbie fame – it is clear they have respect and pedigree. The single is the second track on the album ‘Big City Life’ with a wicked catchy chorus…’Babylon de pon me case…’. Other standout tracks include ‘Passerby’, ‘Clear and Present Danger’ and ‘Cool Down the Place’. Mattafix appear to be a duo – and on the TV it seemed to be all about the lead singer, and a dude on a laptop, although the rest of the band were tight and involved in the vibe of the tunes. As for the CD…from the moment I pressed play on this – it was clear I was listening to something really special – in some places reminding me of The Streets in Mike Skinners more circumspect laid back moments, and in some places recalling the Specials, and Special AKA along with Lovers Rock, Reggae and some Trip-Hop influences (circa Massive Attack) – theres a multitude of influences and styles in here, but it hangs together as potentially one of MY top albums of 2005 into 2006. Get this – now.

The Lyrics to Big City Life are here – loads of people have ended up here whilst googling for ‘Babylon de pon mi case’

When is Ilya, not Ilya?

Ilya – Dreaming Loud : I picked up this album, thinking it was the same Ilya that made They Died for Beauty in 2004 (which I absolutely loved) – but there was no ethereal chillout music on this one…just 14 amazing tracks that prove that trance is nowhere near as dead as people keep saying. For those who know me, you’ll remember how embedded in the UK trance scene I was – 5 years DJ’ing in London saw me playing melodic, anthemic trance to the unwashed masses…but really in a couple of years now I’ve not heard anything I like that much (save a few tracks along the way), my DJ’ing has become much more about house music again, funky, techy and breaky – but this album from american producer Ilya has restored my faith. There are no stand-out tracks – they are all excellent – progressive, melodic and really well produced. I highly recommend this to any jaded trance fans.

Starsailor & Kubb

I just recieved my tickets for Starsailor at Oxford Brookes Students Uniion on the 17th November – and thought I’d check the website to see who was playing support – Kubb – bloody excellent, their album is one of my current favourites.

I’m the weirdo in your bedroom…

Kubb – Mother : I suspect theres some early U2 in Harry Colliers collection, and maybe some Coldplay or Keane…but the influences don’t overpower this album. From the opening track ‘Remain’, there are some strong songwriting skills in evidence. With ‘I don’t mind’ recalling The Chemical Brothers collaboration Noel Gallagher, and ‘Somebody Else’ putting me in mind of a Muse track, with passionate vocals, and great piano and guitar sounds. My standout track is “Wicked Soul’ – with bad-ass rhythm and funky pianos, set against some dark lyrics. One of my favourite producers Youth was involved in this, and I understand that Rollo from Faithless spotted this guy singing – what a find! I love this album – sits perfectly in my playlist right now. Oh yes, Kubb have a website (who doesn’t?) - it’s here.

John Peels special singles…

John Peel kept a special box of singles, seperate from te massive record collection that threatened to overrun his Suffolk farmhouse – here’s a list of those 133 singles, an insight into the favourite music of a legendary DJ. I still miss him.

This life, right now, is snoring…

Martha Wainwright – Martha Wainwright : A while ago, I listened a lot to Rufus Wainwrights album which I really enjoyed, and found an EP by his sister called ‘Bloody Mother F***ing Asshole’, which is featured on this solo album…it was a great listen, so I was keen to pick up this full album by the daughter of Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright (what a musical family). Its a great collection of songs, from the superb opening track ‘Far Away’, and the aforementioned ‘Bloody Mother F***ing Asshole’ which is far less aggressive than its title suggests…and the amazing ‘Whither I must Wander’. The whole album is full of passion and edge – lined up against some beautiful ballads. Excellent Stuff – 8/10.