Brighton Rocks

Hullo!

Bloody hell it's been a long time; a long, long time; a long, long, long, long time. A long, long, long, long ... ahem, enough of that! Thanks to the friendly folk who emailed to ask if I was dead. I'm not. So, aside from listening to too much Josh Ritter (you can never have too much, never), hating Aberystwyth with the fire of a thousand suns, collecting evesdropped beauts like "real zombies shuffle" and bemoaning being old, what do I have to offer you?

Well, to ease myself back into the swing of things, I'll start with a wee band called The Blue Hearts. Confusingly there happens to be two sets of Blue Hearts, one was Japanese punk outfit and the other is a Brighton purveyor of self proclaimed 'neon rock'. Unlike most irritatingly titled music sub-catagorisiations 'neon rock' comes with a handy little definition that one suspects was scribbled on a beermat; an "eclectic mix of brash rock n roll tones steeped in the sexuality of a down-town late night speakeasy". Yes, well.

The Blue Hearts have been around in one incarnation or another since the early 90s. The front man, Bob Powell sounds eerily like better adjusted Nick Cave, whilst the music rings with echoes upon echoes of nostalgia; solid rock 'n' roll hooks of simpler times, but with typical three piece rhythms enriched by Sue Bradley's violin.

The latest album title 'Jukebox of Maladies' may put you in mind of a pic'n'mix of venereal diseases, but it's a hearty listen of extreme reverence to mythologised rock and roll. Influences lie heavily but each song never quite tips into tribute or wholesale imitation. The whole record is undoubtedly loving made and it is a thing of quality - old fashioned but certainly not without style.

You can bop a bit to it too.

Snake Oil Sam - The Blue Hearts, Jukebox of Maladies

Jukebox of Maladies - The Blue Hearts, Jukebox of Maladies

The Blue Blue Bluegrass of London

I have a confession - I quite like country songs. Sorry. I like the melodrama, the unabashed heartache and alcoholism. Hell, I have a not very secret, and not at all ironic, love for Dolly Parton - great woman that she is. Admittedly most country music is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me though; there's only so much you can take of yearnin', cheatin', or dogs dyin'. Not to mention the pungent evocations of leather and spilt whisky that have proved a bit too corrosive for any lengthy musical exploration - but very now and again I have found someone who is a bit special , someone who holds my attention...

The Barker Band hail from London, which is a bit of a shock, not because all Londoners must play plinky-plonky pianos, sing about "Mother Brown" and do 'nuffick else, but rather because all that hokey Americana has managed to survive a transatlantic transplant with no ill effect. A cynic may get the impression that this six piece outfit is playing at being cowboys, but that's utter nonsense. These guys mean it with all their hearts, and they're not alone - British country is small but tenacious. The Barker Band is stronger than just a genre though.

The Barker Band is a a bluegrass outfit with everything you could wish for: fiddles, banjos, a sound full of wide skies, sad eyes and bags of soul. The band's fourth album 'Sorry For The Kissing' came out last year and gathered quite a bit of critical acclaim for its blend of upbeat tempo bluegrass knee slapping, wistfulness and longing. It's a bit different and well worth a listen. And since they've had support from 6Music and Steve Lamaqc in particular, I'll just crowbar in a reminder to 'Save 6Music'.

Anyway, here's a wee sample;

• Cheating Heart
• Make Him Stay
• Die Tonight

The Day of Daffodil Theft

Cate Le Bon - ready to be frisked for daffodils.

Break out the welshcakes,* it's St Davids Day! St David is the patron Saint of Wales, but rather than get plastered on erm... sheepdip, we Welsh celebrate by aquiring daffodils to wear patriotically, whilst we moan about the rugby team. In a similar vein, little girls have to dress up in itchy woollen blankets and those funky hats; boys must smell of leeks.

* Like a sort of flat scone, but with sugar on top and much nicer.

It's also a day when various Welsh people in their (gulp) late twenties all collectively muse "didn't we used to get a half-day off for this? Y'know when we were about 6, what happened to that?" The answer no doubt lies with the bloody Thatcher: shutting out mines, stealing our milk, personally kicking our Nans in the face, mutter, mutter, where's our half -day?

Thankfully the embarrassing "Cool Cymru" tag has also been consigned to the dark days of the past, allowing Welsh music lovers to quietly disown the Stereophonics and appreciate new bands without a cup of nationalism on the side. So who's worth a listen?

Cate Le Bon, that's who.

She's folky and melancholic, often described as haunting; so translate that as a shawl wearing fey woman, possibly prone to introspection whilst standing in the rain. In keeping with the internecine spirit of Welsh music, she had her big break after charming Gruff of Super Furries fame.

Cate's songs sound very traditional and homely; there's no overt quirkiness or trilling lyrics that quickly fall to the floor and flower, nor is there a grand sweeping scale rich with wild themes. The music is simple, stripped down, slow, and sad. Oh my are those songs sad - even on the one that sounds quite happy. They're also pretty, deceivingly so in their simplicity, as they linger for a long time.

Her first album is a solid starting point, though admittedly one that twirls immaturity on its fingers as if it's hair about to be chewed. Nonetheless, you certainly get the impression that there is more to come - it's experience rather than ability that's lacking.

Judge for yourself though: here she is at Glastonbury 2007;




And here's something to take home and enjoy. In a gloomy way.

• Hollow Tree Hounds - Cate Le Bon. 

The Boat that Rocked - Fanfarlo on the Thekla

Another picture of an unhappy indie band.

Ventured out to Brizzle last night to see Fanfarlo, with a quick stop off in the trendy Apple cider barge. In retrospect, that was a slight mistake: I'm fairly sure the mulled (not to mention amaretto spiked) cider (delicious) ate through my stomach lining, leaving me rather squiffy, slightly larcenous, and now the not-so proud owner of a liberated lemon.

How were Fanfarlo? Pretty bloody good. I think...

As I'm sure you know, Fanfarlo are a London based indie outfit, producing a panoramic sound that's heavy on trumpets, violins, clarinets, lions and tigers and bears - oh my. It's a little bit Arcade Fire, with crescendos ahoy, but that's not a bad thing. Their debut album 'Reservoir' took a while to grow on me, but I'm now of the opinion that it's pretty jim-swish with every tune hitting the right pace for pint swinging, or, er-hem, drunken swaying. Though if there's any criticism to be made it's that the songs can blur into each other at times, that and I can't understand a word that Simon Balthazar sings: it's all slurred, but after a few listens that becomes incidental.

The actual gig was beset with technical problems, but these didn't dampen any spirits. I enjoyed Fanfarlo -self conciously indie though they may be. I can't give a fuller review as I enjoyed the pre and post concert cider too. A wee bit too much. I highly recommend the Apple on Welsh Back.

• Fanfarlo - The Walls Are Coming Down

Pollocks, what a cheap pun!

If you google Emma Pollock you'll find a lot of pictures of a slightly (but artfully) grumpy looking woman -eyes downcast, mouth down turned and obviously deep in though. You'll also find that she was a founding member of The Delgados, but has been a solo artist since the band split.

She's not going to smile.

Emma's 'I Could be a Saint' is getting a fair bit of airplay at the moment courtesy of Six Music's rebel playlist vote, and I'm jolly glad is it is too. I was so smitten with the song that I went out and got hold of Miss Pollock's first album, 'Watch the Fireworks', which is really rather good too.

Emma Pollock is a little Polly Jean-esque, by which I mean she's not an insipid warbler, churning out run of the mill 'angry woman with piano/guitar' nonsense. Whist she's not quite as heavy as PJ, Emma's songs cleverly combine fermenting intensity and lowfi values with distracting melodies. She's a little bit of the exception to the norm and the highlights on her first album are very high indeed.

Here's one of my favourites-

• If Silence Means So Much To You: Emma Pollock

Fyfe Dangerfield

I'm rather looking forward to 'Fly a Yellow Moon', the upcoming album from Guillemots front man Fyfe Dangerfield; he of the slightly crazy whooping noises, bags of envied talent, and heart on sleeve. If the first two singles are anything to go by it should be a joyous affair.

The second single 'She Needs Me' is getting a fair amount of radio play at the moment, rightly so; it's a throbbing, sweet little melody, and incidentally mixed by Bernard Butler. 'She Needs Me' is a pretty pop song, and one that isn't shy of adding the odd flourish of strings, brass or synths into the mix, though nothing is wasted, or (shudder) deliberately kooky.

Dangerfield pulls off the same trick as crazy, grin coaxing, uncles everywhere - "is that a smile I see? I think it is, isn't it? It's a smile."

Go on, have a listen...

Kathryn Williams - The Quickening

I’ve only wonderful things to write about Kathryn Williams’ new record ‘The Quickening’. Whilst it’s easy to have a soft spot for dainty folk- the audible equivalent of wistfully gazing into candle flames- this album is all the more marvellous for being filled with unpretentious, devilishly pretty music.

Each song possesses an airy grace, and a pace as slow as the closing of heavy eyelids: consequently the whole record seems to twine into a wonderland of slow yearning. There’s humour there too though, the light hearted merriment of ‘Wanting and Waiting’, mixes against songs that sound like sighs of self-reflection.

Kathryn’s voice beguiles through simplicity, her songs are personal without being navel gazing, and the music grows to envelope the space you're in; one minute it’s a nice song in the background, next you’ve been charmed into paying attention to it alone. Great stuff; out in February, and she's touring too.

Here she is on a previous outing with Neill MacColl...

You Can Do It With A Sailor from Peru to Venezuela

What's not to like about Alma Cogan's 1954 hit - 'You Must Never Do a Tango With An Eskimo'? It's festive, but not overplayed; there's cheesy horn section blowing whilst party girl Alma trips around witty lyrics, sounding as merry as gran tippling a Snowball, and what's more you can swing about to it under the mistletoe.

As for taking a turn with the Eskimo, who could resist?

• Alma Cogan - You Must Never Do a Tango With an Eskimo

And she sang upside down from a rope ladder...

At some point a Noisettes gig will be replete with all kinds of sparkly jim-swishery, but at the moment they're making do with one rope ladder, lots of 'bugger-me, I'm famous!' attitude, large hair, and some flashing lights. The current Wild Young Hearts tour looks acrobatic, and sounds absolutely ebullient, not to mention rather good.

Do they need the props to get things going? No, not at all - this band is 7 parts swagger to 3 parts fizz, not to mention being renowned for raucous gigs. They kicked off with car and crowd pleasing 'Don't Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go Baby Go)', and sounded far too big for the shanty stage of Cardiff Student Union - though singer Shingai Shoniwa repeatedly abused her rich voice to make bat-like squeals for purposes unknown. No bats chose to make an appearance.

Despite the odd shriek, the music had our little gang swinging like salsafied snakes sizzling on hot grills: highlights of the night included the cover of T-Rex's 'Children of the Revolution' and 'Saturday Night'. Plus Shoniwa barged past my friend and I as we listened to supporting act Mpho. We felt rather special, and a just a bit cool; even if this conviction was based on a far more glamorous elbow being judiciously applied in our direction. I can safely say that all who attended got to bask in shamelessly upbeat, soulful distinctive pop.

This Song Will Make You Happy

The Voluntary Butler Scheme is one jingly jangly man named Rob (look, he's got balloons!). Rob has written a joyful collection of low-fi indie noise that you should just adore: they make you feel young, sunny and... happy. Yes, these tunes will make you happy. 'Breakfast, Dinner, Tea' will be speeding me on my way to London today, and because of it I'll be bobbing in my seat, daydreaming out of the window and crucially all thought of what junction and where will be forgotten.

Never mind. Everything is lovely. Incidentally isn't The Voluntary Butler Scheme a great name; it's one of those concepts, like Saki's occassional garden, that you just wish existed.

• Voluntary Bulter Scheme The Eiffel Tower & The BT Tower

Finally Something New!

Well a new post about an old song. Sorry.

Jonathan Swift remarked that a fool saying nothing could pass as a philosopher; but if a blogger says nowt it's usually because they're caught up in having a real life. It's less pithy, but it's true. I'm living through the sort of interesting times that are not interesting or funny enough to warrent commentary. I don't have a west wing to seclude myself in whilst I'm quiet, but I do have some music rich with dramatic flare to offer up...

I was going to go with Arcade Fire's 'Black Wave-Bad Vibrations'; a tune built from sawing vocals that cut across the slightly jarring fairground backdrop, to all of a sudden be nicely countered by a switch to stoically paced hand wringing and imploring. However, I think that 'My Body is a Cage' is a better standalone track for anyone who may have been living on Mars and doesn't know the band. Much the song is soaked through with simple pleading, that when coupled with the Hammond organ, the marching drum beat, and everything else (bar the kitchen sink) that gets throw at it, creates a soaring, hopeful, transcendental piece of music.

I came late to admiring Arcade Fire; Amazon.co.uk's incessant recommendation triggered a perverse rejection, and I grumpily sat in the corner shaking my head whilst everyone else, and all the critics raved. I was wrong, Amazon was right. Arcade Fire are exactly my sort of thing; complicated, slightly pretentious ( see above "hopeful, transcendental" comment) and oh so achingly well crafted.

On that note I'll enigmatically flounce off into my own fretting.

• Arcade Fire - My Body is a Cage

Music Review - Swooning over Josh Ritter

Today I'm in a sentimental mood. I've also been checking the play-count of my iPod where one artist consistently out performs everyone else - so in his honour I'm going to wax lyrical about Josh Ritter; the throaty, achingly talented, smiley, wry and utterly charming singer-songwriter from Moscow, Idaho.

Not just smiley but sharp suited too!

Reasons to adore Josh; songs constructed like fine tapestries filigreed with gold, compassionate lyrics that flit between a simple love-song one minute and a grand theme the next. And he probably sweats poetry. The only time I saw him live (Fiddler's in Bristol) he held the door open for my clueless date, but what's more he's so well mannered that his own website allows you to stream all of his albums and download a plenty of tracks. I'm waiting for his next UK tour so I can work out how to meet and marry him.

There are five studio albums to his name; a self titled debut, recently re-released Golden Age of Radio, utterly charming Snow is Gone, The Animal Years and the rather different Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. Each goes from strength to strength; there's a melodious cascade of sound surrounding this humble balladeer who troups the plains not only with guitar, but flamboyant schemes and wry smile.

The step to grander orchestrations does not detract from the sincerity of the songs, which I think is the most pretentious thing I've ever written, but if Mr Ritter is to be described in a nutshell then it has to be sincere - it's why his charm is so compelling. The latest album flaunts Josh's brazen ability to make large bands and diverse influences a comfortable part of his traditionally folky repertoire, so much so you'll be wondering why more artists don't have horn sections. Well, maybe not, but it is pulled off admirably in the Historical Conquests.

Josh's songs have gained a fair bit of critical applause for their wordsmithery, from the 9 minute epic and revelatory 'Thin Blue Flame' to the slightly cynical prom-night sentimentality of 'Kathleen', a truly beautiful song that cannily disguises teenage hormones and the desire for a night with an untouchable girl, especially when a perfect night is all it is ever intended to be.... Excuse me, I'm just sighing to myself.

Here's a selection anyway, including the humorous 'Stuck on You', which just about broke my heart when my iPod shuffled it into play as I sat on a train station bench, dumped, drizzled on and in Doncaster - damn all heart-wrecking physics teacher ex boyfriends.

• Kathleen, Snow is Gone
• Rumours, Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
• Thin Blue Flame, The Animal Years
• Stuck on You, Josh Ritter

Music Review - The Blims (aka Fun Things to do in Bridgend)

Every town has a pub band that's been doing the rounds for a while. In Bridgend it's the unfortunately titled 'The Blims', proof that the naming of bands is a dying art. Many a new year, summers day or random weekend will have been soundtracked by the boys own brand of mellow harmonising pop.

Unlike Bridgend the Blims are sunny, irreverent and likable - they're the South Wales version of The Monkees. Performances are always packed as they're friendly folk who encourage an entourage. The latest gig at the snug Star pub was was no exception.

So that's what I was doing last night; part of the crowd at the bar, trying to work out what hadn't been sold out (hard drinking fans went through all the soft drinks). Cider retrieved, cider spilled through jostling and elbowing the Bridgend version of the beautiful people - (coke-addled gentry princesses; sort of orange, chunky expensive necklaces and very blow-dried hair, usually paired with surfy, likewise blow-dried, check-shirted chaps). I ended up sitting in a fireplace, grateful for the space (geddit), marvelling at how much the band has developed over the years.

Live you can't beat 'em; it's always a good show with a bit of a knees up as befits a veteran pub band. There's also two self produced albums to their name (available on iTunes) and though these sadly don't sound quite as polished there's some gleaming potential on the latest 'Working Class Poetry', particularly 'She Said', 'What I Really Want' and the standout 'Four Letter Word'. Lyrical sources of inspiration are far from profound - friends, family and bumming around in a band when maybe you might be a bit too old for it, sing-a-long potential is high nonetheless.

'Working Class Poetry', although riddled with local references and cheeky asides to friends, is worth a go; easy summer pop that perfectly compliments beers on the beach and laughing with your mates.

Oh and they still don't like Gavin Henson much.....

Music Review: Emmy the Great - First Love

My heart has been utterly charmed by Emmy the Great. I'm smitten, beguiled and completely disarmed. The debut 'First Love' is beautiful, clear, quirky, poignant and a treat in every way imaginable. I'd go further and say the album is just exactly how romantic indie-folky, funky twiddly-dee stuff should sound. It has all the joy of flying kites high into the blue sky and you can get lost listening to each song soar.

Emmy herself has been doing the rounds for a while touring with folks like Martha Wainwright and Tilly and the Wall, not to mention singing away in various festivals and gigs around the indie underground. This album has, by all accounts, had a long gestation period, it's none the worst for it.

Emmy's voice trips along witty lyrics sounding for all the world like a happy version of Laura Marlin - she has the same clarity and the same instantly beautiful voice that makes tuneless people like me green with envy. Then again if you're going to bestow upon yourself the epithet of 'Great' obviously you need some serious gifts, not including modesty - modesty won't pay gas bills. Every band member compliments Emmy, bringing forth songs that crackle with talent. The album affects a carefree air yet there is undeniable depth and skill behind the arrangements; unsurprisingly all band members are involved in their own projects.

As far as the songs go 'We Almost Had a Baby' (acoustic version available to download free via myspace), '24' and 'First Love' stand out as fresh and deft, but the album is a complete whole and a joy to listen to from beginning to end.

As far as pretty pop music for a spring day, you could do far, far worse.... and I venture that Emmy will be around for a lot longer.

Give yourself a Good Talking to and Cheer up! - Fun Thing #15

After spending a day being slightly melancholy in a head-tilted-at-an-angle/soulful-crease-between-the-eyes/sniffing-occasionally (into a tissue though; I was brought up proper, thank you very much) sort of way, I got slightly bored. Being sad will do that to you: worse it will make you bore other people too... at length! And then you get wine because you think it'll be the answer.

After drinking it all, oops, you remember that sorrows float; so you end up drunk, slumped in a chair with more sniffing and head tilting. Then you get a crick in your neck, and whilst being still drunk, boring, aching, sniffing and sad, you start issuing the occasional plea for understanding about "what I really mean to say is....", or worse "oh god, you really are my bestest mate in all the world" punctuated by the odd reference to "bloody religion/damn those fat girlfriends, and their squints!" or whatever other topic has recently ranckled. On top of this twaddle you force your friends (who are all by this point reconsidering their allegiance) to eat so many home-made chocolate fairy cakes that they start worrying about their weight and become as sad and boring as you.

All that wine, chocolate and wallowing left me seeking some sort of antidote and this is it: 'Trains to Brazil' by the good ol' Guillemots; a band versatile enough to knock out a good life affirming tune one minute and then depress the hell out of you the next. 'Trains to Brazil' happens to be one of my most favouritest songs in the whole wide world and never ceases to make me smile. I particularly like the line which mentions 'erroneous fools', though obviously if it had mentioned foolish atheists I'd have been rather peeved.

The title is a referance to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, which doesn't bode well, but the catchy tune, sweet sentiments and chirpy beat all serve to sweep you up into a jig filled happiness. Lego Izzard and a few Adam and Joe song wars tracks helped me too, but over all if you need a bit of cheering and something to sing along to then you can't go wrong. Just avoid another of Guillemots effort "Blue will still be Blue" like the plague- at least until you feel better!

Music Review: Dan Arborise - Around in Circles

Very deep down almost everyone has one song by a romantic folksy type that they love; everyone has at least one album by someone who may live in the woods. Though admittedly the briefest whisper of the suggestion of sitting through a cascade of Nick Drake songs saps my will to live.

Dan Arborise, according to one reviewer mentioned on his website, 'lives in a barn and grows his own vegetables'. It's not quite the woods, but the whole album is a beautiful, beautiful creation that you can just drift away with. As a musician he's relaxed and melodic with a beguiling guitar; his voice is as pure as organic water bottled in leaves and his songs flow like smoke from a summer beach barbecue. This album has a flavour of summer and warm measure of comfort but enough variation from the usual folk norm to keep it interesting and enough heartfelt honesty to make it accessible than more that just the usual audience of jumper wearing hippies.

What more can I say: I am absolutely in love with Around in Circles and I'm looking forward to it standing me in good stead for a long while to come... I;m also revising to it too, for the information of those who may be concerned.

Around in Circles came out in 2006, and he's a new album out sometime this year. He makes some of the most perfect music I have heard for ages; winsome, romantic and ....oh, just go get it, really! 9/10

Music Review: Franz Ferdinand - Tonight

I'll start this off with a confession: I play an awful lot of Tetris, it helps me relax. In fact any computer game where you have to stack up blocks or balls or rings. I adore them all. So what's all this got to do with Franz Ferdinand? Not much really; one of their songs follows the pattern of the Guillemots and the Sister Sisters by including some fiddly computer game music buried in the background; I listen and suddenly I see blocks falling down. I may have a problem.

'Fiddly'; that's the first half of this album alright. Fiddly and trying too hard just like Lincoln Cathedral. The tracks are top heavy with flourishing touches, some which work, some unfortunately don't. The ones that don't tend to take off on beat-morphing tangents; you just have to sit there wishing the song ended back when you were enjoying it . That said the majority of songs on the new album possess the killer rhythms you'd expect: 'Ulysses' and 'What She Came For' are cases in point there. Almost every track feels like it could stand alone as a single.

Franz Ferdinand have pushed themselves, yet sometimes there are just too many layers and songs take so many unexpected twists (especially at the start of the album) that they become tedious, leaving Kapranos's strained voice to quaver over repetitive lyrics. The songs which work best tend to be true to form. Happily there's a cluster of them later on so fans won't be disappointed (in particular I rather like the gentle 'Katherine Kiss Me' it's a nice counterpart to the dance floor ready 'No You Girls').

Generally the band strives for originality and innovation, trying to stay one step ahead, but the culmination of this push results in electronic blundering, acid stylings, the odd Latin beat and strange musical pairings that at times fail to provide a fulfilling listening experience. There's so much crammed into some tracks, like 'Send Him Away' or 'Live Alone' (including computer game sounding music) yet you're left with a hollow construction - songs which are in fact chocolate bunnies. It's a shame; you get the impression that the album might have been a bit of diamond in the rough, as it is you'll get the best out of it when it's played on a night out.

You could do worse: you'll hear and enjoy some things on the radio and down the discos, but this doesn't flow together as an album. As for the band - must try harder to do less: 7/10

Music Review - The Killers, Day & Age

'Are we human or are we dancer?'

This may be one of the most irritating lyrics of the year; dancers! Dancers! If the plural was good enough for Hunter S. Thompson, then it should be good enough for walking ego and Killers front man Brendon Flowers.

After Hot Fuss there was admittedly rather allot to swagger about - what a tremendous album! Then followed Sam's Town, which left something to be desired. All in all the second album was a disappointment; lacking drive, the sweeping 80s fulled musicality and layers of synths; although I was rather fond of 'Read My Mind' and 'For Reasons Unknown'. Likewise the 'b' sides album 'Sawdust' has a few bits and pieces to recommend it, but again is nowt special. Aside from the stellar first album haven't the Killers been a tad overrated?

The next question has 'Human' already been overplayed? Every time I go into a shop or pub it seems to crop up between the Christmas carols, and being that the band have 'beaten' Guns N' Roses to the number one spot (as if that is really the event it's been made out to be) they are featured on almost every station playlist. I can't really decide if I like it or not because the lyric about 'dancer' annoys me so much I just can't let it go.

Day & Age is not really flipping my switches; it's okay and makes funky background music particularly 'The World We Live In' and 'I Can't Say' (although some of that sounds a bit like Lion King theme song 'Circle of Life', no really and there's even a timpani) but that's pretty damning really considering Flowers' hype that it is the "best Killers disk ever!". It's been a long time since I've heard sax solos, and I rather liked Roxy Music and Duran Duran so its nice to hear them being referenced, but Day & Age fails to be stunningly original. Its not as punchy or heartfelt as Hot Fuss. It's inoffensive, and Stuart Price's production has enriched the structure of the songs - maybe its a grower, but I'm afraid to say it doesn't do anything special to me.

6.5/10

Music Review - The Shortwave Set

The Shortwave Set proved to be a class act last night. Playing to a criminally underpopulated Clwb Ifor Bach, in the first date of their 'Glitches and Bugs' tour, they shone out as being something a little bit special. Their avant-garde electronica proved to be both smart and engaging; there is a lot to love about this UK-Swedish three-piece.

The set itself was rather short, and little experimental; somewhat dissappointingly it didn't include some of their strongest tunes from their latest album 'Replica Sun Machine', but new stuff was thrown into the frey and it's reassuring to know there is more to come. The sound they produced, even in that tiny little club, had a polished quality that came straight from their album; 'No Social' went down well and Ulrika Bjorsne's voice was, in particular, utterly entrancing.

All in all the music had a powerful mesmeric quality that washed over the ten people who constituted the audience. I can't recommend this band enough; if you want a night of very fine chilled out indie music you could do no better. The Shortwave Set are a crowd with huge appeal.

Support was from Cosmo Jarvis - the name says it all, but they were a happy lot, with some interesting harmonising.

Music Review: Benjy Davis Project - Dust

It's an inauspicious band name, sounds like a re-homing mission for roving but helpful dogs, and I can't remember whether it was Benjy or the Littlest Hobo who had the bandanna....

Bandannas not the head gear of choice

Instead of watching Sean Bean as Sharpe (thanks everyone for letting me know exactly when he was taking his shirt off, and please remember some of us are apt to explode with frustration because we don't have TVs) I spent the night listening to the preview of 'Dust'. It's released tomorrow, and in this country I think iTunes is the only instant buying option. 'Dust' is the fourth studio album from the Louisiana-based six piece BDP, who according to their bio are 'poised to take on [a national] presence'. I imagine they are all standing on a diving board somewhere, possibly in anachronistic Victorian woolen swimming costumes, ready to leap. All in all they're a rather jolly group of lads with a blues-rock bayou sound.

What can I say; their bio needs a bit of work, but by gum their tunes don't. Benjy himself has a soulful appeal with a voice that rings with passion and occasionally frustration (much like my non-Sharpe experience last night). The music is truly joyful ('Same Damn Book'), except the sad songs - they do what they should by being heart rending, wistful and yearning. Lyrics are uncomplicated but tap straight into all sorts of emotional excesses. Above all they seem like a group of guys who all really click (try 'Do It With the Lights On' from 'The Angie House', and stop yourself from dancing), and who have taken their regional influences to a polished and gutsy level. A band who you'd have love to have discovered in a bar or party before they became that serious. Maybe you'd have stood the chance of having a melodic, Louisiana, bluesy, sort of song written about you...

Find their album streamed online here : http://www.bdpmusic.com/