Monday, April 22, 2013

Feel good hits of the 22nd April

1. 'George Square Thatcher Death Party' - Mogwai
Well it had to be, hadn't it? "Party time!", the band announced on Twitter after the news broke, though Stuart Braithwaite scarcely seemed able to believe that their vision was taking shape.

2. 'Morals' - Iceage
OK, OK, Iceage - consider yourselves forgiven for last year's 1-2-3-4 debacle. You're Nothing is a very good album indeed (hardcore punk meets The Cure), though perhaps not entirely appropriate for a 35-year-old father of one...

3. 'Alighted' - Chelsea Light Moving
In which Thurston Moore indulges all his heavy metal powerchord bedroom fantasies like a 14-year-old he isn't, not the 54-year-old he is. A prime reason why Chelsea Light Moving's self-titled debut is a frontrunner for my favourite album of the year so far.

4. 'We Real Cool' - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
The sinister subtlety of Push The Sky Away has now completely seduced me.

5. 'Loss For Words' - Tall Firs
If you prefer J Mascis' stuff when he steers clear of the soloing in favour of acoustic guitar, then Tall Firs (or their album Out Of It And Into It, at least) are for you.

6. 'Fjogur Piano' - Sigur Ros
As anticipated, Sigur Ros albums appear to have miraculous baby-soothing properties. I'm not convinced that Valtari matches up to some of their previous releases, mind.

7. 'Summertime' - Milk Maid
Slacker indie-grunge, taken from a very patchy debut album.

8. 'Burn Me Clean' - Thought Forms
A beast of a track from the Bristolians' Ghost Mountain, released on Portishead man Geoff Barrow's Invada label.

9. 'Plastic Cup' - Low
It gives me no pleasure to report that, at present, I only like rather than outright love the new Low album The Invisible Way. Perhaps that's because it feels like a weaker echo of C'mon, itself a bit of a safe retread of former glories (though nevertheless excellent).

10. 'Genki Shank' - Adebisi Shank
As recommended to me by a friend. Still not quite sure I like it, but it does sound a bit like Battles - albeit with some hair metal/Daft Punk guitar lobbed in to confuse and dazzle.

2 comments:

skif said...

Thought Forms worth getting. Enjoyed them when I saw them at I'll Be Your Mirror a couple of years ago, but been umming and ahhing about LP.

Ben said...

Presume that should have been a question mark after 'getting'? If so, then I'd say yes, it's worth the investment. I don't love it, and can't quite work out what it is they do (or what it is they do best), but that track is a fair guide.