The Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart LP Review

The Go-Betweens seem to be cursed. They are a classic example of the Big Star music law. The law that states that no matter how much critical acclaim you receive, regardless of the majesty of your records you only ever attain cult status. A name to be dropped by the musically obsessed. Adored and worshipped by a small but fervent fan base but your sales eclipsed by novelty records and reality TV runners up enjoying their brief fling with fame.

The Go-Betweens where formed in Brisbane by friends Robert Forster and Grant McLennan in 1978. This is the band’s ninth LP and their third since reforming in 2000. These Aussie songsmiths are still mining a seam that is pure musical gold.

The songs on Oceans Apart are split 50:50, five songs written and sung by Forster and five by McLennan. The songs complement each other beautifully. The LP is stamped with the band’s trademark gift for plush intricate melodies and sophisticated wordplay. The sound is mainly autumnal and burnished, hushed and fragile, but infused with dark hues and subtle black humour.

The opening Here Comes A City, penned by Forster, is propelled along on a set of sparkling frenetic guitar chords. It’s the tale of a journey by rail across Germany. Images of other lives glimpsed briefly through the carriage windows, flicking past like frames in Wim Wenders’ films.

It’s followed by the warm and arresting, Finding You. The song begins with a crystalline melody, shimmering off the strings of McLennan’s acoustic guitar. His voice rich and tender, an aching cello adds a bittersweet undertow and a biting distorted guitar swoops in. It builds, gently unwinds, builds again and then evaporates into a blissful double tracked vocal. When McLennan sings “and then the lighting finds us” the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and my heart swoons.

Forster and McLennan manage to tackle the subject of aging with dignity and grace. Forster’s Darlinghurst Nights is a wistful and witty rumination on a misspent youth. A funky brass section buoys the song, the lyrics painting a picture of the hubris of the young. Too many nights spent drinking “gut rot cappuccino” and dreaming of writing film scripts and jetting off around the globe.

McLennan’s Boundary Rider is a subtle update of their classic Cattle and Cain. An organ drone gives way to another wonderful sparkling melody. The lyrics tell of a ranch hand that age has suddenly caught up with and who can only survive by surrendering himself to the prosaic nature of his work.

This Night’s For You sounds like Teenage Fan Club rewriting The Cure circa Head On The Door. Cooed backing vocals, strings and crunching smoldering guitars. The closing Mountains Near Delray is REM relocated to the chilled out streets of Brisbane. There are haunting country style guitars and a gentle lingering organ part that unfurls like a spring morning. The lyrics are cryptic, full of clipped images, a search for a rural hideaway maybe, a reflection on an idyllic childhood possibly. It’s a beguiling and striking way to end a wonderful record.

Tony Heywood (C)

First Published Here - http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/the-go-betweens-oceans-apart

St Etienne's Jukebox Wire September 2004 - Spotify playlist

I have been working my way through a pile of old Wire Magazines and reading the Invisible Jukebox features.

The idea behind the invisible jukebox is as follows:

"Every month we play a musician a series of records which they’re asked to identify and comment on with no prior knowledge of what they’re about to hear. This month it’s the turn of…"

I thought the one from the September 2004 edition featuring St Etienne was good fun and worth creating a playlist for.

Two tracks aren't on Spotify so I have added the videos below.

Say Kids - What Time is It? - Coldcut
Past, Present and Future - The Shangri-Las
No UFOs - Model 500
Orbit Around the Moon - Joe Meek
Blown Away - A Certain Ratio
Superfly Guy - S'Express
Final Day - Young Marble Giants
Strange Love - Mary Wells

Videos

Aretha Franklin - 96 Tears



Lori and The Chameleons - Touch



St Etienne's Wire Jukebox Spotify Playlist


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Kode 9 and Spaceape - Black Sun (Hyperdub)

Great news from Hyperdub that Kode9 and Spaceape are teaming up again to release a new LP titled Black Sun on the 18th April in the UK. It got a great review in this months Wire and I can't wait for the release.

Nice review here as well on Spoon Feed - Kode 9 and Space Ape Black Sun Review

This is the full track listing. The cover art is beautiful, its one of the things that Hyperdub always seem to get right.

Nice interview with them at Big Shot - Kode 9 and Spaceape Interview

In the interview Spaceape outlines the way he approached writing the material for the LP.

"...During the recording of the album I had some serious health problems and this is reflected in some of the tracks. As a writer you take inspiration from many places with your own life being one of the main sources. But I wanted to turn my experiences into something less personal and more oblique, more open. We decided to write a fictional story about life under a black sun using elements of my experience to create this imagined world, a place that breathed a different atmosphere; had different rules; politics; desires; religions; a different light to our own. This was a way of linking all the tracks and shows how the many different characters and stories could inhabit the same space...."

This is the full track listing. The cover art is beautiful, its one of the things that Hyperdub always seem to get right.

1. "Black Smoke" [ft. Cha Cha]
2. "Promises"
3. "Bullet Against Bone"
4. "Green Sun"
5. "The Cure" [ft. Cha Cha]
6. "Hole in the Sky"
7. "Otherman"
8. "Love Is the Drug" [ft. Cha Cha]
9. "Black Sun (Partial Eclipse Mix)"
10. "Neon Red Sign" [ft. Cha Cha]
11. "Am I"
12. "Kryon" [ft. Flying Lotus]

You can here the single version of Black Sun via Spotify - Kode9 – Black Sun/2 Far Gone

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Mercury Music Prize 2010 - Spotify Links

Spotify Links for the Mercury Music Prize.

The Mercury Music Club shortlist for 2010 was announced in London today. I have done a quick search of Spotify and placed links to all the Mercury Music Prize 2010 LPs below.

Sad to see no King Midas Sound, Errors, Ikonkia or The Twilight Sad on the list.

My money would be on The XX but I seem to have lost my touch over the last two years and not got close to picking the winner since the Klaxons won in 2007.

The links below should open the LP in Spotify. The only missing one is Kit Downes and the link should go to their myspace page.

Biffy Clyro 'Only Revolutions' - Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
Villagers 'Becoming A Jackal - Villagers – Becoming A Jackal
'Corinne Bailey Rae 'The Sea' - Corinne Bailey Rae – The Sea
...Mumford & Sons ‘Sigh No More’ - Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
Paul Weller 'Wake Up The Nation - Paul Weller – Wake Up The Nation
'Wild Beasts 'Two Dancers -Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
'Kit Downes Trio ‘Golden - http://www.myspace.com/kitsmusic
’Laura Marling 'I Speak Because I Can -Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
'Dizzee Rascal 'Tongue N’ Cheek - Dizzee Rascal – Tongue N' Cheek
'Foals 'Total Life Forever Foals – Total Life Forever
'I Am Kloot 'Sky At Night' - I Am Kloot – Sky At Night
The xx 'xx' - The xx – xx

Who would get your vote? Who do you think should be on the list? Plan B is the one that stands out as a glaring omission.

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Great new Spotify Review site

Found this great new spotify review site called Pitchify. It links up recent good reviews of release with the LP on Spotify.The tag line is "Spotify links based on the best album reviews". Just click on the link and it opens the LP in Spotify well smart! I can see myself using this loads in the future. I found it via a back link of my review of romance is boring at music omh.


http://www.pitchify.com/

Romance is Boring on Spotify

88 Albums - If You Think Radiohead’s Kid A is Weird, Then You Should Really Hunt This Music Down

This list is from the Paul Morley's Book - Words and Music

It is a list of albums he recomends you find if you start a conversion about what makes music weird "...and then after the weirdness - what happens, what changes, whats goes on, whats the point.."

I have created a Spotify Playlist from the selections though not all the LP are listed on spotify and not all the artist are available either, I have just dropped in tracks and not completely LPS but its a great starting point.

There is a second list which I will try and do this week.

If You Think Kid A Is Weird - One

This is the list below.

Thanks to Rocklists for saving me the time typing this our

88 Albums - If You Think Radiohead’s Kid A is Weird, Then You Should Really Hunt This Music Down

“After you have listened to at least twenty-two of the following, then perhaps you can begin a discussion, with Kylie or her ghostwriter, about just what makes music weird, and then – after the weirdness – what happens, what changes, what goes on, what’s the point – is it just a pleasure listening to weirdness that is just straightforward pleasure, or is the weirdness making the world, you mind, your mind in the world, a better place thing space capsule container mind room, etc… ?”

There is an order to the following – the order that it comes in, which I thought about short and hard. I was delighted with the order. It worked perfectly…

o Lindsay, Arto – Subtle Body
o Bailey, Derek – Guitar, Drums ‘n’ Bass
o Frith, Fred Guitar Quartet – Ayaya Moses
o Niblock, Phill – Four Full Flutes
o Scott, Raymond – Manhattan Research Inc
o Branca, Glenn – Symphony No 3 (Gloria)
o Palestine, Charlemagne – Strumming Music
o Satoh, Somei – Incarnation II
o Yellow Magic Orchestra – Technodelic
o Fullman, Ellen – Body Music
o Oliveros, Pauline – Suspended Music
o Partch, Harry - Collection Vol 1
o Cowell, Henry – Piano Music
o Zorn, John – Spillane
o Faust – So Far
o Fripp, Robert – That Which Passes
o Pan Sonic – A
o Budd, Harold – Lovely Thunder
o Incredibly Strange Music Vol 1 (Various Artists)
o Cage, John – Indeterminacy
o Rich & Lustmord – Stalker
o Borden, David – Continuing Story of Counterpoint Parts 1-4
o Nikolais, Alwin – Electronic Dance Music
o Johnston, Ben – Music for Piano
o Butler, Ken – Voices of Anxious Objects
o Harrison, Lou – Rhymes with Silver
o Vangelis – L’Apocalypse des Animaux
o Cyberchump – Dreams Groove
o Reed, Lou – Metal Machine Music
o Kruth, John – Cherry Electric
o Subotnick, Milton – Silver Apples of the Moon
o Lustmord – Place Where the Black Stars Hang
o Labradford – E Luxo So
o Hassell, Jon – Surgeon of the Nightsky Restores Dead Things by the Power of Sound
o Young, La Monte – Trio for Strings
o Supersilent – Supersilent 4
o Nyman, Michael – Decay Music
o Swswthrght – Essence or Residue
o Ashely, Robert – In Sara Mencken Christ & Beethoven There Were Men & Women
o Carlos, Wendy – Sonic Seasonings
o Residents – Duck Stab
o Sonic Youth – Goodbye 20th Century
o Fennesz – Endless
o Stockhausen, Karlheinz – Kontakte
o Mad Professor – Psychedelic Dub: Dub Me Crazy Part 10
o Varese, Edgard – Arcana/Ameriques/Ionisation
o Parker, Evan – Breaths & Heartbeats
o Fila Brazillia – Maim That Tune
o King Crimson – Larks Tongues in Aspic
o Magma – Live
o Arvo Pärt – Tabula Rasa
o Holland, Dave Quartet – Conference of the Birds
o Can – Tago Mago
o Art Ensemble of Chicago – Bop Tizum
o Hendrix, Jimi – Are You Experienced?
o Ligeti, Gyorgy – Lux Aetena
o Pablo, Augustus – King Tubby Meets Roots Rockers Uptown
o Sun Ra – Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow
o Björk – Selmasongs
o Peach Orchard – In Order to Survive
o Conrad, Tony/La Monte Young/John Cale – Inside the Dream Syndicate Vol 1
o Ribot, Marc – Saints
o Towner, Ralph – Sounds & Shadows
o Sylvian, David/Holgar Czukay – Plight & Premonition
o Cabaret Voltaire – Conversation
o Grateful Dead – Dark Star
o Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
o Throbbing Gristle – In the Shadow of the Sun
o Nurse with Wound – Spiral Insana
o Hassell, Jon/Brian Eno – Fourth World Vol 1: Possible Musics
o Henry Cow – Concerts
o Moss, David – Dense Band
o Eno, Brian – Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
o Pere Ubu – Dub Housing
o Palestine, Charlemagne – Schlingen Blangen
o Scriabin, Alexander – Preparation for the Final Mystery
o Takemitsu, Toru – Quotation of a Dream
o Mouse on Mars – Autoditacker
o Feldman, Morton – Crippled Symphony
o Frith, Fred – Clearing
o Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace
o Russell, George – Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved
o Mitchell, Roscoe Sextet – Sound
o Coltrane, John – Meditations
o Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece – 1970-73
o Walker, Scott – Tilt
o Momus – 20 Vodka Jellies
o Mantler, Michael – Beckett/No Answer

John Peel Festive 50 1988 - Spotify Playlist

Are you using Spotify? If not you really need to beg an invite. I think I have two left if anyone really needs one.The playlist function is cool as mud and I have been playing about with it. Thought I should create something we could all could share. So I created one for the John Peel 1988 Festive 50.

I picked 1988 as it was one of the years that I remember listing to loads of Peel as I left work and went back to college to do my "A" Levels. Lots of The House of Love, The Fall and The Pixies. Its not completely as they where missing The Wedding Present tracks from that period and a few of the more obscure tracks (No Spit - Road Pizza or Shalawambe - Samora Machel)which is a real shame. For a full list of the John Peel Festive 50 from 1988 visit Rock Music List.

For my playlist – John Peel Festive 50 1988 Spotify