New Reviews Jonsi, Magentic Fields, Los Campesions

New Reviews online of Jonsi, Magnetic Fields and Los Campesions!

I have a some new reviews up online. Go and have a read if you have time.

Jonsi - Go @ Kev Chino

"You can hear the ghosts of The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev’s fractured take on the cosmic American music flittered through Beck’s faulty laptop all over the songs, the spliced edits and soaring string sections all too commonplace. The songs aim for epic grandeur, but more often than not come off sounding bombastic......"

Magnetic Fields - Realism @ Music OMH

"Realism is his conscious, folky retort to Distortion's blistered speaker excess. The records were conceived as a pair, companion pieces, sharing artwork and Merritt's arch wit and elan. And Realism is no limp watercolour acoustic guitar record. The rules that governed the recording sessions where simple; nothing that need to be plugged in was allowed."

Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring @ Music OMH

"The record is crammed full of their trademark bleakly humorous lyrics; lyrics that pick at love like it's a scab that needs a trip to the clinic to sort out. The lyrical obsessions are imparted over a template that has expanded on their trademark indie rumble...."

Weird Electronca Mix (Simon Reynold)

Over on the ever wonderful Bliss Blog Simon Reynolds has pasted up a link to his great mix of Eldritchtronica and Wyrd Bliss Mixtape on Ponetone. Well worth a visit for a listen.

The track listing includes:

Belbury Poly
Mordant Music
Moon Wiring Club
Ariel Pink

The National Live in Poland

The National Live in Poland off Festival 2009

Myslowice, Poland (8 Aug 2009)

This is a cool live set from last summer with a great cover of Pretty in Pink and a wonderful take on Abel.

Track Listing

• Start A War
• Brainy
• Secret Meeting
• Baby, We’ll Be Fine
• Slow Show
• Squalor Victoria
• Abel
• All the Wine
• Racing Like a Pro
• Pretty in Pink
• Apartment Story
• Available
• Fake Empire
• Encore
• Blood Buzz Ohio

The National Live Myslowice August 2009 Download

Terrible Love Live - The National

The National performing Terrible Love on the Jimmy Fallon show. The band are looking lean and focussed and the guitars are wired and I love the brass.

The National New LP - High Violet

More details have been released about the new National LP High Violet which is released in the UK on the 11th May via 4AD records. I can't wait!

I have heard live versions of Bloodbuzz Ohio and Terrible Love and they both sound like classic brooding National masterpieces.

The track listing below:

High Violet

1. Terrible Love
2. Sorrow
3. Anyone’s Ghost
4. Little Faith
5. Afraid of Everyone
6. Bloodbuzz Ohio
7. Lemonworld
8. Runaway
9. Conversation 16
10. England
11. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

Alex Chilton RIP

Alex Chilton’s death was the third musical hero of mine to pass away this year. His death following far too quickly on from those of Sparklehorses Mark Linkous and the pure song writing genius of Vic Chesnutt. I have spent the time since reading about Alex Chilton’s death loading up on the Boxtops, Big Star and solo material. I first hear Chilton via the song “No Sex” which was released on a tape by a short lived UK music paper Underground in 1988 titled strum + Drum. I was totally unaware of who he was at this point and had never heard of Big Star as a callow 17 year old indie kid. However I liked the song it made me smile and hum along.

It was later that I started to pick up on the references to Chilton and Big Star in the English music press. The legend of the band and glorious way in which the music was described had me really interested but the records where impossible for me to find. At this point I found out about the covers of Big Star on the debut This Mortal Coil LP and on first listen fell head over heels in love with “Kangaroo” and “Holocaust”. The simplicity of the songs, the direct nature of the lyrics, the naive melodies, the way in which the songs ached. Beautiful and haunting.

I was truly hooked from this point on. I tracked down copies of the Big Star records oddly working backwards from Third/Sister Lover, to Radio City and finally #1 Record. The records have stayed with me when much of my heavy listening from the time now seems so gauche and juvenile. Third helped me through a number of tough times and although it seems a stupid thing to say I have a fair amount of emotion tied into that record.We are bound together my memories and those songs.


The Boxtops records where bewitching in a completely different way. Alex Chilton’s voice so different it was hard to believe it was the same guy pouring out his soul.
Big Star are one of those musical touchstones. When I meet other Big Star fans I know I am in the company that I like. So thank you Alex and rest in peace.

My musical Journey through Alex’s Chiltons Career on Spotify.


Alex Chilton/Big Star Spotify Playlist

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

Delphic - Doubt Live

I am sure I am going to love the Delphic album Acolyte when I get my hands on a copy. I have loved Doubt and Counterpoint. The blend of New Order, Underworld and the great lost synth pop of Orlando in one of the LPs of the year I am sure.



Nice review of it here - Delphic - Acolyte

New Reviews - Beak>, Boo Hewerdine, Damon and Naomi.

A few new review I have done of late include Boo Hewerdine - God Bless The Pretty Things, Geoff Barrows new band Beak> live in Bristol and Damon and Naomi – The Sub Pop Years.

Hope you enjoy.

Top 10 Albums 2009

1. Martyn – Great Lengths
2. Ethan Rose – Oaks
3. Fennesz – Black Sea
4. The XX - XX
5. Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country
6. Mark Eitzel – Klamath
7. Moritz Von Oswald Trio – Vertical Ascent
8. Richmond Fontaine – We Used to Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River
9. Antony and The Johnsons – The Crying Light
10. Gary War – Horribles Parade

The Martyn Myspace Page - http://www.myspace.com/martyndnb