Strand of Oak - Pope Killdragon - Number 1 2010

Pope Killdragon is a record that has wormed its way into my life. It has gotten under my skin and into my mind like no other release this year. Timothy Showalter has produced a collection that melds the loner folk of Bon Iver with some distinctly prog rock sounding keyboard fills. This odd mixture of sources and the stream of conscious lyrics are addictive.

Timothy Showalter for he is Stand of Oaks spent time before the records release living rough after his home had burnt down. However this isn’t a selection of songs full of misery and self-pity. The songs are crammed full of odd images, being Jesus’s Dad, drinking whiskey with JKF, children’s books about celibacy, 12 foot giants and resting actors murdering New York drug dealers. Not your standard singer songwriter fair then!

Bonfire sounds like a beautiful gentle reflective post apcoysle love ballad, Giants Despair is a blast of angry noise., the title track……

A record to get lost in side for weeks.

Stand of Oaks - Myspace Page http://www.myspace.com/strandofoaks

Pitchfork Review of Pope Killdragon

Strands of Oak - Sterling Video

Strand Of Oaks - Sterling - House Show from Erik Ljung on Vimeo.

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The National - High Violet Number 2 2010

The increasing momentum The National have been building since the release of Alligator and that further climbed with Boxer reached a tipping point with High Violet. They have perfected their strain of melancholy literate alt rock into something beautiful, blistering and full of ache. They appear to be one hit single away from leaping from a cult band into the league of Arcade Fire stadium fillers. That they have achieved this without compromising their wine soaked lonely outlook is testament to the high quality of the material and the soul they invest in each release. I think they are far too honest and unblinking to ever cross over. They offer no easy escape routes from the darkness, questions and doubt that informs their muse. Long may they keep on keeping on.

The National Home Page - http://www.americanmary.com/

The National - Anyone's Ghost (Live Uncut)

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PJ Harvey - Written on the Forehead

Another track from the LP. Not sure of the history of the video looks more like a fan video but the song is beautiful. A haunting mix of the Blood and Fire sample and Polly's soft vocal tones and those synth string washes. I really can't wait for the LP! Roll on February.

Audio File from Soundclound

Written On The Forehead by pjharvey

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PJ Harvey Let England Shake Andrew Marr Show

This is PJ Harvey performing Let England Shake live on the Andrew Marr show in the UK back in April 2010. The show is a politics round up on a Sunday morning and I am sure it must have come as a shock to the shows standard middle aged, middle class watches!

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PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

Wonderful news PJ Harvey is back! Polly is releasing a new LP in 2011 titled Let England Shake and the reviews I have seen so far make me keen to hear it.

This is lifted from the Polly's website:

“We are very pleased to confirm that PJ Harvey’s eighth studio album Let England Shake is set to be released on the 14.02.2011 through Island Records.

Recorded in a 19th Century church in Dorset with long time collaborator Flood who co-produced the album with PJ Harvey, John Parish and Mick Harvey. Let England Shake was also mixed by Flood.

The album will be supported by a run of sold out live shows early next year, with dates in Brussels, Berlin, Paris, and Londons Troxy on February 27th and 28th. 2011 will also see Harvey return to the festival-stage, with more details to be announced.

PJ Harvey will perform with a live band which includes Mick Harvey, John Parish and Jean-Marc Butty.“

The LP is released on 14^th February. Looks like it will be a very bloody Valentine!

The track listing is as follows:

1. Let England Shake

2. The Last Living Rose

3. The Glorious Land

4. The Words That Maketh Murder

5. All & Everyone

6. On Battleship Hill

7. England

8. In The Dark Places

9. Bitter Branches

10. Hanging On The Wire

11. Written On The Forehead

12. The Colour Of The Earth

There is a great interview her with her on The Quietus

PJ Harvey - The Quietus Interview

You can listen to Written on The Forehead via The Guardian Website.

PJ Harvey – Written on the Forehead Stream

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Ikonika - Contact Love Want Have – Number 3 2010

Sara Abdel-Hamid debut as Ikonika is a real beauty of a release. Fully of tight dubstep snap, soring synth lines and killer of kilter riffs. It is rhythmic, focussed, melodic, melancholy, elegiac, euphoric and alive. It is post garage come down mixed with funky beats and a graceful grasp of dynamics that elevates into a different place. The odd twist and turns in the productions make it a disconcerting but beautiful listen.

http://www.myspace.com/ikonika

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Twin Shadow - Forget Number 4 2010

Twin Shadow is the alias of George Lewis Jr and his debut LP as Twin Shadow is a joy. A lo-fi mix of 80’s indie and synth pop filtered through the psyche of a lonely New Yorker. Imagine Prince if he had issues getting laid and listened to The Smiths, A Certain Ratio and Echo and The Bunnymen rather than 70’s funk and soul. The strength of the song writing results in an LP which rewards repeated listens. I can’t wait to hear what he does next.

http://twinshadow.net/

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Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Number 5 2010

I seemed to be the only Arcade Fire fan that preferred the Neon Bible to Funeral. I was never that enthralled by the Canadians debut but loved the wide screen pulse of its follow up. The Suburbs sets somewhere between those two records. It is a beautiful blend of the home grown and the epic. The personal is crossed with a historical narrative that digs down into the mythology of 1970’s suburban angst.

That they might be about to become the biggest band in the world is testament to the strength of the song writing and their weave of weaving melodic gold from disparate strains. The bold and the beautiful.

http://www.arcadefire.com

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Band of Holy Joy - Paramour

The Band of Holy Joy have been away from more than eight years. Johnny Brown and crew have always dealt in a heady brew of Tom Waits string drenched melancholy allied to a bruised and battered urban realism. A cross between Ken Loach and Marc Almond, Scott Walker and Walter Sickett. Moments of beauty hewn from the mundane, the night set aflame. The prosaic turned to poetry, coal into diamonds.

Paramour is as vital, sweeping, majestic and magical as ever. A real beauty has just passed through.

Band of Holy Joy

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Darkstar - North

Darkstar – North

In a year that retro synth acts have been tipped for success in the UK charts Darkstar seem to have somehow slipped under the mainstream radar. Whilst the hollow fasclime synth pop of Hurts and Delphic has hovered up the press and airplay the more futurist sounds of Darkstar have gpne unheard. The band scraped the first version of the LP as it hadn’t capture the sound in their souls.

Maybe it’s because the band have mined the icy blast of pre Dare Human League. The sounds, beats and glitches in production mark the band out as one that is looking forward rather than backwards. The glistening melodies and Dusseldorf beats married to James Buttery papier-mâché soul vocals are a delight. The dark heart of the North laid bare.

Darkstar on hyberdub blog

Darkstar Mix on FACT

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