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Review: The Twilight Sad, XOYO London

The Twilight Sad and Errors are worlds apart. One is exploring post-indie, wall-of-noise melancholy, while the other creates jaunty, kraftwerk-indie electro. They are, however, geographic clansmen, hailing from Glasgow (or, in The Twilight Sad’s case, from nearby Kilsyth, which is basically ‘oot in the sticks’). Their joint headline tour (they take it in turns to headline) ended in Edinburgh on Tuesday, and Spotisfaction were lucky enough to catch them in London’s new XOYO venue on 7 October.

XOYO is a very new venue in Old Street. You know, that part of East London with the tube station, within walking distance of Shoreditch, or Hoxton, or wherever it is the dickheads are hanging out this week. Personally, I don’t subscribe to this completely. Dickheads are everywhere, you don’t need to be in East London, or London at all, to qualify as a dickhead, but they have to go somewhere, and, traditionally, this area is where they tend to congregate. But there are lots of honest people here too, the people who just like music, like art, without all the pretense and pomp and ceremony. Scottishness dictates that the two bands on show tonight are the latter.

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Review: Baba Brinkman – Rap Guide to Human Nature

Baba Brinkman is a former tree planter from Vancouver who managed, personally, to sow over 1 million seedlings by the age of 24. He also has a Masters in Medieval and Renaissance English Literature. And he”™s recently released his Rap Guide to Human Nature; a guide to many of the current theories of evolutionary psychology. This brief description wouldn”™t necessarily make you think that this should be an album worth a listen, but it is. I should point out that this is his seventh solo album and that he started in hip-hop after writing his thesis comparing Chaucer”™s storytelling with modern day rap freestyling. After the success of his theatre show, “The Rap Canterbury Tales”, Baba was approached by a microbiologist from the University of Birmingham and asked to “do for Darwin what he did for Chaucer”. This led to the Rap Guide to Evolution and it seems that he has wanted to stick with science.

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Review: The Spinto Band – Moonwink

Autumn has an image. The season is in full swing as the darkened leafs and conkers litter the ground, the nights creep in, and everyone starts wearing scarfs again. But rarely does Autumn have a signature sound. For me, the Delaware-based outfit The Spinto Band will always feature on my Autumn soundtrack. There’s something about their uniquely jerky yet enchantingly melodic character that fits perfectly with the withering scene outside.

Quality exudes out of the band’s 2006 debut album, Nice And Nicely Done; an album that flittered between styles and themes with a quaint elegance. With the release of Moonwink in 2008, it is clear that the group have tried to go further into solidifying their signature sound, but it seems as though they somehow fall short of the charm of their first effort.

Moonwink isn’t bad by any means. With upbeat tracks like ‘Vivian, Don’t’, ‘Pumpkins And Paisley’ and ‘The Carnival’, this sound bursts into life in a flurry of energy. There are also some slight nods back to the more soul-filled moments on their debut, as seen on the sullen ‘They All Laughed’ and the jaunty yet oddly delicate ‘Summer Grof’. One stand out gem, the anthemic ‘Needlepoint’, crystallises exactly what The Spinto Band do best, and that’s exciting the ears of the listener. However, despite these high points, the direction that the band have taken appears to have corrupted their former, rich character. It’s as if Moonwink is the band’s attempt at being younthful and exciting, as opposed to Nice And Nicely Done which now acts as the soulful maturing album. Whether or not this was intentional, Moonwink fails to deliver the same chills and goosebumps that were present in the debut, for example on tracks like ‘Oh Mandy’ and ‘Direct To Helmet’.

Having said all that, Moonwink still manages to impress and delight, and in turn leaves you longing for more material from the band – the hallmark of an engaging album. So, one question remains: what else would feature on the perfect Autumn soundtrack? Any suggestions?

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Review: This Town Needs Guns – Animals

Animals

This Town Needs Guns are an Oxford based outfit formed by Stuart Smith and Tim Collis in 2004. Several band members and a few moderately successful E.P.s later they are still touring the world over and in 2008 released their debut full album, Animals. This album brings you 13 (well 12½) tracks of their unashamedly experimental math rock. Not always an easy genre to listen to but interesting none the less. The album’s tracks are all named after different animals but this has very little bearing on the content of the lyrics. While they were writing the album they named all their tracks after animals as temporary placeholders with every intention of giving them real names before release but in the end they just did not bother. Anyway on to the album itself…

One of the first things you notice about this album is that the band appears to have mislaid their distortion pedals. This leaves the music very stripped back – you might even say pure – which is astonishing when you realise how much is actually going on with the guitars and the huge amount of notes that they cram into each track. The meandering guitar parts dance around the fretboards throughout the whole album, which is fine until it begins to feel that you have been just listening to one long track rather than 13 different ones.  The only let up in this never ending barrage is the final track, Zebra, which replaces the now tiresome guitar with what sounds like a Glockenspiel and some discordant strings. The string parts feel like they have been carried on from the previous track, Rabbit, as the guitar fades away towards the end of this track and leaves the strings alone – it has a definite reminiscence of Damien Rice. This is by no means a bad thing but is all unfortunately too little to late to rescue the album from becoming awfully samey.

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Review: Interpol – Interpol

Subconsciously, the first listening of a new album by one of your favourite bands might instill a feeling of anxiety, leaving you longing for a rehash of earlier material to satisfy your original love for the band. Fans of the New York based indie rock outfit Interpol may do just this, having 2007’s critically disappointing Our Love To Admire fresh in their ears. Thankfully, as is often the case with Interpol, this new offering continues to surprise, impress and mesmerise the more you listen to it.

Ok, so in terms of sound, Interpol isn’t far removed from it’s predecessors; a heavy consistent rhythm section coupled with shimmering guitars, and covered with smirking vocals. But, despite giving the band an identity, this signature sound has been updated in places. For example, in ‘Always Malaise (The Man I Am)’, the conventional Interpol set-up is challenged by the shifting mood and rhythm carried over by the layering of harmonies. The band appear to have also branched out and dabbled with piano effects and electronics to achieve a fresh sound. These new effects give the track, and indeed the album as a whole, a lighter tone, albeit with heavier lyrics.

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Review: Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin

Les Savy Fav, then. It’s been 15 years since this hugely influential yet often overlooked art-rock/post-hardcore band formed, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that they may now, like other similarly-aged bands, be phoning in their records. I had the same initial concern, especially since 2007’s Let’s Stay Friends saw the band’s greatest work to date, embellishing their hardcore roots with a growing maturity they had discovered in the 6 year hiatus since Go Forth in 2001. Surely things must have gone down-hill since then?

The band get straight to work in dismissing these claims, with frontman Tim Harrington screaming “we’ve still got our appetite” on album opener, Appetites. I’m unsure as to whether this track is a statement of intent or a wakeup call to themselves, but it’s hugely exciting, driving and vicious and really sets the tone for the rest of the album. The guitar work by Seth Jabour and Andrew Reuland on this track is simply mesmerising. The intelligence in writing such complimentary yet challenging guitar hooks is evident, and it seems as though their apparent one-upmanship is the driving force behind the band, each colourful layer adding hugely to the overall asthetic of the track. This continues into the jackhammer punch that is Dirty Knails, a track that reminds me of Future of the Left – fitting, really, since that band count Les Savy Fav as one of their prime influences.

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Review: Muse, Wembley Stadium

Following the commercial success of The Resistance late last year, Muse recently returned to the stadium circuit. Their two closing sets on the UK leg of this tour hit England”™s capital, with a packed out Wembley Stadium.

Walking into the stadium early to embrace the day and catch the warm-up acts, one could be forgiven for questioning what might be in store later on. The almost overstated stage dominated the temporary pitch – its strange angular design stood tall, proud and suggestive, generating a warm sense of intrigue. The sun began to set, and the lights came up. The rapturous roar of the crowd bellowed and echoed around the arena, and Muse kicked-off their 2 hour set with the explosive ”˜Uprising”™. With the volume turned up waaaay past eleven and approaching obnoxiously loud, the instant energy generated from the excitable crowd felt as if it would blow the roof off. Though the volume was overwhelming, the sound of every single note, drum kick, guitar pluck or vocal line was lovingly tweaked to create a sound as pristine and perfect as a fully mastered studio release. Moving effortlessly into ”˜Super Massive Black Hole”™, It was clear from the off that this was a set to be remembered.

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Review: GetDarker Presents This Is Dubstep Vol. 3

The first This Is Dubstep compilation was released just under a year ago, in the Autumn of 2009.  A tentative, burgeoning, digital-only release, its success was marked: helped by the mainstream successes of the genre (following that remix of La Roux) during the summer of 2009, the compilation presented both the biggest tracks on the scene and the darker aspects at the fringes of the genre, serving to answer (with varying degrees of literality) the question they knew the mainstream were now asking: What is Dubstep?

This Is Dubstep Vol 1 had proven so popular that they released an expanded version on CD in July of this year, whilst Vol 2, which had been released earlier in March, went straight to CD (along with a digital release and an appearance on our much-beloved Spotify).  Although not necessarily well received in all quarters due to its slightly more mainstream track choice (does Benga really need to appear four times?), Vol 2 still became the first ever Dubstep release to hit the UK Top 20.

Vol 3 continues the success of the series, entering at number 10 in the UK Chart, a phenomenal achievement for Dubstep given a chart that has been dominated by Now That’s What I Call Music for more than a quarter of a century. But Vol 3 confidently backs up its commercial success with the most inspired tracklist the series has put together to date.  It still has the drops from the more popular tunes – as it always has done – but pays greater, more balanced attention to the varying influences and growing maturity of the genre; the first 5 tracks on the first side showing exactly what to expect.

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Review: Philip Selway – Familial

Back in 2001, Neil Finn got a group of friends together for a series of charity concerts. The assembled included Eddie Vedder, Johnny Marr, Tim Finn, Ed O”™Brien and Phil Selway, and from this series of concerts the album 7 Worlds Collide was spawned. Last year Neil Finn once again assembled his friends for another musical collaboration, using 7 Worlds Collide as the name for the project. Many of the same musicians from the first album returned for the second outing, and this time the result was the album The Sun Came Out. One of the things this album was notable for was the singing debut of Radiohead drummer Phil Selway on the tracks The Ties That Bind Us and Witching Hour.

Obviously encouraged by these recordings, Philip Selway has become the latest Radiohead member to embark on a solo project and has released his debut solo album Familial. Differing from the style of Radiohead and the solo projects of fellow band mates Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, Familial is a more modest, acoustic, sometimes even folky, album.

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Review: Losers – Beautiful Losers

Eddy Temple-Morris is, it’s fair to say, prolific. He has been responsible for giving first airplay to Kasabian, Simian Mobile Disco, Plan B and Justice (among others), on his XFM show The Remix, carrying the crossover tagline “Where dance rocks” – so a purist he ain’t.  He was also responsible for encouraging the inchoate remixing talents of Tom Bellamy, picking up a remix Bellamy did for his own band, The Cooper Temple Clause, of 2006 single Homo Sapiens. Since then, the two have collaborated on a number of projects, eventually forming under the moniker Losers, who now, after many years of writing, recording, tweaking, djing, touring, reworking, and remixing, release their debut Beautiful Losers.

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Review: Royksopp – Senior

Naturally, as we travel through this life, our emotions and attitudes change and the blissful, naive days of our youth slide further and further away. As these innocent times fade, so do the memories, up to the point where our perception of experiences becomes unclear and hazy. One is ultimately left with the haunting urge to recapture said youth whilst dealing with the hard times ahead.

Too bleak?

Well, somehow Norwegian electronic wizards Röyksopp have managed to capture this feeling of dread within a glorious spectrum of sound and colour, making the whole idea of depression fade like a distant memory.

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Review: The Depreciation Guild, Jericho Tavern

The Depreciation Guild are a four piece electronic, chip-tune, ambient, dream pop, shoegaze, indie rock outfit from Brooklyn, New York embarking on their second tour of the UK. They are a bit of a favourite here at Spotisfaction Towers and having unfortunately missed them on the first tour due to unforeseen circumstances I was glad to have the opportunity to catch them this time around.

Support came in the form of local band Vixens. This up and coming band from Oxford Brookes University play an alternative indie post-rock blend that is at times reminiscent of Joy Division and at others more like Editors. The audience was small and not many seemed interested in the support act, but Vixens performed their set proficiently. The sound wasn”™t particularly original but it was good display of dark atmospheric rock. Perhaps, though, the performance was a little uninspired due to the small crowd.

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Review: Klaxons – Surfing The Void

I”™ll admit to being a big fan of the Klaxons debut release Myths Of The Near Future for two reasons: 1) I”™m a sad old lighting tech and I know what they are singing about on the track Golden Skans and 2) it’s an awesome driving album. Many a journey has been shortened by me putting my foot down with the album blaring at full volume.

2007’s Myths Of The Near Future won the band critical acclaim, including a Mercury Prize, with Klaxons touted as the pioneers of New-Rave (or should that be Nu-Rave?). However, the intervening three years has been marred with tales of their record company rejecting entire album submissions, leading people to wonder what the follow up album would sound like. Introduction of producer Ross Robinson to the process has created an album that the record company have agreed to release and has, perhaps, resulted in a slightly different sound to the band itself.

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Review: TRV$DJAM – Fix Your Face Mixtape

Travis Barker, Drummer for Blink-182, The Transplants and Angels and Airwaves, the man who made a Soulja Boy track moderately listenable to and that guy off that MTV reality type show “Meet the Barkers”. He has teamed up with now unfortunately deceased DJ-AM* (who was mainly famous for being in a plane crash with Travis Barker) and made a couple of mixtapes. With DJ-AM on the decks and Barker playing live next to him, they create an audio and visual treat for their audience and both mixtapes are available to download free from their website, www.trvsdjam.com.

First up is Fix Your Face. The first track, after Fat Man Scoop has finished shouting, has some brief but accomplished scratching (in my opinion, I”™m no expert) before going into one of the stranger additions to the mix, Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire. They then proceed through some assorted hip hop and The Chemical Brothers before arriving at a highly electronic version of Rage Against The Machine’s Killing in the Name Of. I found this a little odd but enjoyable all the same. Another highlight is the end of track 4 mix into the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In contrast, the mix in the middle of Track 6 between Rock With You and American Boy is somewhat jarring, as the beat matches but the pitch of the music does not. This is a small blot on an otherwise good listen. Other musical highlights include The Police, the theme from Rocky and I Love Rock and Roll. All round a damn entertaining listen increased in quality due to a real drum kit being used.

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Review: Everything Everything – Man Alive

Following our news post last week, informing you that Everything Everything were streaming their new album Man Alive (Geffen 2010) on Myspace, I requested that it make an appearance on Spotify soon. Seems like they were listening to me, because I’m pleased to inform you all that it is now on Spotify too!

Everything Everything don’t need me to wax lyrical for them. In December last year, they were shortlisted for the BBC’s Sound of 2010. MY KZ, UR BF was featured on Zane Lowe’s Hottest Records blog, and they can count Take That amongst their biggest fans. In other words, they’ve got previous.

Its reach is understandable.  From the synth stabs of the Lowe-endorsed MY KZ, UR BF, you could be forgiven for thinking you were listening to 1986’s Please.  The falsetto melodies could be from the Beegees (though there’s a distinctly Futureheads vibe about Jonathan Higgs’ vocal when he’s not grabbing his balls).  The rhythm section bounces along like something straight out of disco-era funk.  It’s distinctly accessible.  And yet, not…  The chops are severe, the amalgamation of styles so abruptly put together – they want you to dance, but they don’t want you to draw breath.  Everything Everything are an enigma.