Over the course of his 27 year career, Mark Lanegan has played with everyone from Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley (Alice In Chains) to PJ Harvey and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age).
He cut his teeth in The Screaming Trees in the late 80s and 90s and then went on to start an on-again, off-again solo career as The Mark Lanegan Band.
Seven solo albums later, the self professed “shadow king†is back with Blues Funeral – a potent mix of 80s synth-laden robot rock and growling whisky-soaked blues laced with a funeral dirge sentiment that haunts and enthrals at every turn.
Sick Tracks:
Blues Funeral swings between rumbling, psychedelic anthems like the pile-driving opener “The Gravedigger’s Songâ€, the relentless, Zepplinesque “Riot In My House†(on which Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme shreds throughout) and my personal favourite, the stoner rock classic “Quiver Syndrome†to quieter, more introspective tracks like “Bleeding Muddy Water†and “Deep Black Vanishing Trainâ€.
The battle-weary resignation of a life spent plunging the shadows of the human experience only to emerge with a handful of shaky half-truths smoulders in the gravel-pit tone of Lanegan’s most powerful asset, his sand-paper baritone.
Without it, Blues Funeral is an interesting melting pot of a number of different influences and genres, but nothing that would warrant a second or third listen.
With it, and the bold synth-pop experimentation Lanegan indulges on tracks like “Gray Goes Black†and “Ode To Sad Discoâ€, there is more than enough to keep you coming back for more.
Should You Give A Shit:
Look, the album’s called Blues Funeral so don’t go anywhere near it expecting an easy-listening, foot-tapping, head-bopping album of accessible radio-friendly rock tunes.
But come with an open mind and a taste for the darker things and I can almost guarantee Blues Funeral will give you something to sink your fangs into.
Give “Quiver Syndrome†a listen and see how it grabs you:
Anyone who follows the music press and music blogs is probably sick to death of the three words “Lana Del Ray†at the moment and I have to apologise before I even start writing this for adding to the hype surrounding this “artistâ€.
But the thing is, at the moment Lana Del Ray is like that girl at high-school who magically got gorgeous overnight and in doing so, managed to get the entire school talking about her.
Murmurs about her started last year when her track “Video Games†hit the internet, but now that her debut album Born To Die has been released, those murmurs have evolved into people shouting indignantly from the rooftops that Lana Del Ray is full of shit.
I gave her album a spin yesterday so I could hear for myself what the fuss was all about and I emerged from that experience simultaneously entranced and disappointed.
The tracks that made her famous (“Video Games†and “Blue Jeansâ€) appear on the album in all their languid glory, brimming over with promise, tension and that unmistakeable melancholy that so articulates the theme of the broken American Dream, which is at the heart of this album.
“Diet Mountain Dew†and “Radio†also stand out as noteworthy tracks – I mean how could you not admire an artist who rhymes the cringe-worthy line “Now my life is sweet like cinnamon†with the undeniably bitter, “Like a fucking dream I’m living in†as Del Ray does in “Radio�
I think what the furore about her all boils down to can be summed up on one simple statement: no one wants to believe she’s real.
Everything about her, from her looks to her style to her music, has been accused of being manufactured like she’s just another plastic robot being churned out of the Fame Factory with no real substance to her whatsoever.
And, sad to say, if you listen to the final few tracks on Born To Die (ie. tracks like “This Is What Makes Us Girls†and “Lolitaâ€), which sound like outtakes from a Britney Spears album, you’d agree in an instant that she’s a pop shop mannequin and nothing more.
But somehow that just doesn’t sit right with me. Call me naive, but I think there’s more to Miss Lizzie Grant (her real name) than the haters out there are willing to acknowledge or accept.
Sure, her Saturday Night Live performance was a little ropey, but in one of the most telling interviews I’ve read about her over the last few months, she replied to Rolling Stone’s comment to her that the backlash from the SNL performance was pretty harsh saying:
There’s backlash about everything I do. It’s nothing new. When I walk outside, people have something to say about it. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was absolutely excellent. People don’t have anything nice to say about this project. I’m sure that’s why you’re writing about it.
Suffice to say, I haven’t made up my mind about Lana Del Ray just yet. Her debut album, for all it’s intrigue, is admittedly a bit of an incoherent mess stylistically (she swings from Amy Winehouse to Mickey Mouse Club so effortlessly it’s scary), but if she’s still around, I think album no. 2 is going to melt faces.
In the meantime, don’t write her off completely. Give Born To Die a listen and, if nothing else, you’ll at least, you’ll at least be able to formulate your own opinion and wield it with authority the next time a hipster starts hating on Lana like he’s some nerd she refused to go to the prom with.
I tell ya, I’ve been putting this fucking post off for a good two weeks now while everyone else’s top 50, 20, 10 and 5 lists have been flooding the Twittersphere.
And no, it’s not because I wanted to suss their lists first to make sure mine’s not crap, it’s because there were so many great albums that landed this year I don’t know where the fuck to start.
In the end, I followed the tried and tested method of sorting my iTunes library by year and scrolling down whilst mentally jogging through all the albums I listened to this year, yielding the following scientifically accurate results…
NUMBER 10 – Deerhoof (Deerhoof Vs Evil)
What quickly becomes apparent when listening to Deerhoof’s 11th album is that for all its chaotic bursts of noise and bizarre musical twists and turns, this band has the kind of musical talent that borders on genius.
This album will confuse the shit out of you the first time you hear it. However, Japanese frontlady Satomi Matsuzaki’s bubblegum-pop perfect vocal delivery and guitarist John Dieterich’s ability to write effortlessly catchy guitar riffs will have you coming back for more.
If you like your music irreverent, unpredictable, catchy as hell and severely tripped out you won’t be able to put this album down. Here’s “Secret Mobilisation†to give you a taste:
NUMBER 9 – Foster The People (Torches)
Yes, yes, I know. How could anyone who considers himself a serious music critic endorse a band that produces such blatantly unapologetic indie pop?
I’ll admit that Foster The People is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine, but y’know what?
Sometimes I just want to listen to catchy singalong tunes that don’t send me spiralling into a vortex of existential angst and introspection, is that a crime?!
Torches is packed full of great hooks, clap-your-hands-and-dance-around carefree summer melodies and chorouses that bounce inside your head for days.
Here’s the video for “Don’t Stop (Colour On The Walls)†– you HAVE to watch this, it’s brilliant!
NUMBER 8 – Cults
Continuing in the indie pop vein (don’t worry, this list grows some big hairy balls later) the Cults’ debut self-titled album also impressed.
This band borrows sounds from traditional 50s teen prom-pop, doo-wop and surf rock, laces them with a heavy dose of reverb and samples of cult leaders speaking to their followers and then wraps it all up in frontlady Madeline Follin’s high-pitched cantopop style vocals.
Which is a very convoluted way of saying this band writes simple melodies, sick hooks and killer songs that are seriously easy to get into and carry just enough weight to not be completely dismissed as indie pop fluff.
Here’s the video for “Abductedâ€, the opening track on Cults. Oddly enough, it also features a lot of driving. Starting to pick up a trend here…
NUMBER 7 – Taxi Violence (Long Way From Home)
The only SA band to make it on the Tiger’s list! Yeah, I need to sink my teeth into more local music…
Long Way From Home features re-written, acoustic versions of old favourites like “The Messâ€, “Devil ‘n Pistol†and “The Turn†which sound like they’ve been taken apart and completely rebuilt from scratch. And of course, Taxi Violence threw in one or two new tracks written specifically for the album.
It’s a refreshing change from your stereotypical acoustic album where most bands just swap electric guitars for acoustic ones and serve up warmed up leftovers thinly disguised as an album actually worth listening to.
Their acoustic rendition of “Heads and Tails†is particularly noteworthy, as is “Long Way From Home†with its upbeat, bluesy / rock flavour played with bright, jangling guitars and tambourines that reminded me of some of the earlier Supergrass albums.
To give you a taste of what I’m banging on about, here’s the SICK video they shot for “Heads Or Tailsâ€, which recently won the Best Video Award at the 2011 Wirral International Film Festival.
NUMBER 6 – Seasick Steve (You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks)
I met my buddy Seasick Steve when I was down in the dumps earlier this year and we became great buddies.
See, ol’ Seasick knows how bad things can get, before he made it he used to busk in the Paris Metro, only finding fame in his late fifties.
This guy is the real deal, from his frazzled grey soup-catcher to his beaten up John Deere cap and dungarees, he is everything that is badass about old-school blues.
He has a voice like an old grizzly bear and can change it up from the low, lonely, slit-your-wrists ballad I’m about to play you to foot-stompin, redneck country and western tracks that bring words like “yeee-haw!†and “hootenanny!†to mind.
I just think he’s fucking cool. I’ve got a soft spot for old veterans like my pal Seasick. He attributes his recent success to his cheap and weather-beaten guitar “The Trance Wonder†which he bought off a friend of his in Mississippi who later revealed to Seasick that it was haunted.
Check out this video of the ol’ grizzly bear playing “Burnin’ Up†at SXSW earlier this year and dig his outburst at 2:18. What a badass.
NUMBER 5 – Yuck
My favourite debut album of the year and irrefutable proof that, like a gigantic, spindly cockroach surviving a nuclear apocalypse, the 90s will never die.
This band packs all the distorted, wailing guitar fury of bands like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr and the playful, foot-tapping basslines of the Pixies topped off with a fuzzy vocal tone Pavement would be proud of.
But that’s not what made this album shine for me.
What made it shine lies in this band’s seemingly effortless ability to write melodies that soar with breath-taking dexterity above the tracks that make up this self-titled debut.
One part fuzzy, wah-pedal driven slacker indie rock and one part slow-burning, melody-driven alt rock worthy of old school Smashing Pumpkins / REM, Yuck carries a powerful emotional gravitas that blazes a trail through lesser bands’ attempts at redefining one of the defining decades in rock music history.
Simply put, this album is everything that was great about 90’s garage / grunge low-fi reimagined in the 21st century.
Here’s “Get Away†so you can hear for yourself what makes this band great:
NUMBER 4 – Arctic Monkeys (Suck It And See)
Arctic Monkeys made a name for themselves by perfecting the art of writing gigantic, energetic hooks and hammering them home effortlessly a talent that the band exploited extensively in their first two albums.
Then came Humbug, one of the first albums I ever reviewed on this site and with it, a complete departure from the sound they had carved out for themselves in Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare.
They enlisted Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stone Age to produce Humbug and with his help their sound changed almost completely from infectious indie to dark, moody desert rock in a move that showed there was so much more to this band than any of us could have guessed.
Suck It And See continues in the desert rock vein this band carved out with Homme, but this time around, the band has moulded that sound instead of copy / pasted it and as a result, sound a lot more comfortable than they did on Humbug, as phenomenal as that album was.
Killer tracks like “All My Own Stunts†with its cowboy twang and insidious bassline and “Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chairâ€, the most powerful desert rock anthem on the album, are balanced out by the caustic wit and beautiful melodies of tracks like “Reckless Serenade†and ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalalaâ€.
It has a lot of meat to it, plenty to sink your teeth into and it gets better with every listen.
Here’s “Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chairâ€, one of the most tripped out videos I’ve seen this year.
NUMBER 3 – Foo Fighters (Wasting Light)
The album that’s been KILLING everyone’s top album lists this year finds a comfortable spot at number three on the Tiger’s list because Dave Grohl is a total fucking badass and Wasting Light has to be one of the best albums the Foos have put out since my personal favourite One By One.
This time around the band threw all the modern new-fandangled methods of recording out the window and went 100% old school.
The band literally set up a studio in Dave Grohl’s garage and did Wasting Light on brown analogue tape that they then cut together by hand using fucking razorblades for god’s sake!
The result is an album of raw, aggressive, skull-fuckingly powerful rock music that pulls no punches and takes no prisoners.
“Bridge Burning†will make you thrash around the room like an idiot savant who just hit a bong and downed a pint of rubbing alcohol, “Rope†has the catchiest, most badass Foos chorous riff since “Low†and “White Limo†is sheer, hedonistic rock music at it’s most awesome.
Just watch this fucking video. It stars Lemmy from Motörhead for god’s sake! How fucking badasss is that?!
NUMBER 2 – The Black Keys (El Camino)
Narrowly missing the top spot on this year’s list are the current reigning champions of the American 70’s blues / rock revivalist movement, The Black Keys with their 7th studio album El Camino.
Unlike it’s predecessor Brothers, El Camino moves at a blistering pace – no slow-burners on this foot-stompingly infectious, monster hook-laden album, no sir. This time around the Keys have dialled things up to a whole other level and the results are nothing short of sublime.
From the rusty guitar riffs and insanely catchy chorous of “Lonely Boy†to the righteous, sleazy grooves of “Sister†and the almost Zepplinesque prog rock ballad that is “Little Black Submarinesâ€, the Keys pull no punches in this noteworthy follow up to Brothers.
And don’t even get me started on “Gold On The Ceilingâ€, which emerges like a mutated Thin Lizzy track bursting at the seams with hand-clap percussion, skuzzy organs and a pre-chorous that sounds like it was written specifically for strip club scenes in Robert Rodriguez films.
So why not list this as my top album of 2011? As I stated in my original review, El Camino’s only downfall is the fat that, at 38 mins, it’s a little on the lean side in comparison to Brothers, which is basically the only thing I can fault on this album.
There just isn’t enough of it.
Still though, it’s a sick, sick, sick record – here’s “Lonely Boy†to prove that fact.
NUMBER 1 – The Kills (Blood Pressures)
Again, I refer to my original review of this, my favourite fucking album of 2011, because it perfectly captures what I think of this album:
When I stumbled on The Kills latest album Blood Pressures, I got one minute into the first track and started grinning from ear to ear.
Some of this had to do with the dark and dangerous sound of guitarist Jamie Hince’s Hofner played in all it’s bone-rattling glory. This man has perfected a grimey, thick-as-tar tone that had me hooked from the get go.
But what really mind-fucked me was how sinister and cool frontwoman Alison Mosshart’s vocals sounded – like butter wouldn’t melt on her tongue, like she was everything sexy and dangerous in this world, like she could kill you with a look or break you with a smile.
The Kills is her band, her little broody-beautiful world that she shares with guitarist Jamie Hince and there’s something about the fuzz and the mud and the malevolence and the majesty of it all that haunted me and continues to haunt me with every listen.
“You Don’t Own The Road†saunters like a drunk cowboy waving his six shooter with the safety off, “DNA†stalks purposefully through the woods at dusk, picking its way through an undergrowth of drumsticks clattering against drumsticks whilst wading through a quagmire of swampy basslines.
“Baby Says†has the melancholy of a Cowboy Junkies track, a lilting melody to keep you company in the hollow hours before sunrise, a song that echoes back to better times.
But “Future Starts Slow†is still my favourite. Stark, defiant, sexy, it has a drum track that plays like a striptease and one of the simplest, most powerful riffs I’ve heard in a good long while.
I got a dark streak a mile wide that this album really speaks to but that doesn’t mean you’ll love it anywhere near as much as I do.
If nothing else, it’s a great example of how simple, stylised riffs (played with truckloads of badass fuzzy effects) layered with amazingly complex drums and sultry, provocative vocals can seduce you to the point of infatuation.
If you want to know what the music playing in the jungles of my Tiger-mind sounds like, get your hands on this album and if you’re anything like me, pretty soon it’ll be playing through the jungles of your mind too.
Here’s “Satellite†to sink your fangs into.
That about wraps it up for my top 10 albums of 2011, a post that’s been THREE DAYS in the making, can you fucking believe it!?
So yeah, any comments would be appreciated – what albums rocked your guys’ world in 2011?
Two years ago you had no idea who they were, then Brothers dropped and their muddy, garage-blues slowly started creeping into your life.
So you got your mitts on the album and before you knew it, you were telling everyone that would listen about how much you love The Black Keys (you still haven’t heard anything earlier than Attack & Release though).
And now you find yourself reading this to find out what your Tiger pal thinks of their new album, El Camino, even though you probably already own it.
Well, I fucking love it, and here’s why.
Sick Tracks:
Instead of folding under the pressure to produce a worthy follow up to Brothers, Pat (Carney) and Dan (Auerbach) stepped up to the challenge, got into studio with Danger Mouse (the producer behind Gorillaz’ Demon Days, Gnarles Barkley’s St Elsewhere and the Black Keys album Attack & Release to name a few) and proceeded to record one of the best albums I’ve heard this year.
From the rusty guitar riffs and insanely catchy chorous of “Lonely Boy†to the righteous, foot-stompin’ grooves of “Sister†and the almost Zepplinesque prog rock ballad that is “Little Black Submarinesâ€, the Keys keep the monster hooks coming and pull no punches in this noteworthy follow up to Brothers.
And don’t even get me started on “Gold On The Ceilingâ€, which emerges like a mutated Thin Lizzy track bursting at the seams with hand-clap percussion, skuzzy organs and a pre-chorous that sounds like it was written specifically for strip club scenes in Robert Rodriguez films.
Should You Give A Shit?
Damn straight you should give a shit! In fact, stop fucking around reading this, go out there and buy this album if you haven’t already.
Does it live up to Brothers? At 11 tracks and 38 minutes, unfortunately it will never be able to top the 15 track masterpiece that was Brothers simply because there’s less of it.
HOWEVER, El Camino is sheer filthy, raucous, soulful, ballsy, unrepentant rock ‘n roll the way God himself intended it, so by all means give it a spin or two and you’ll quickly see why I fucking love this album.
Here’s a teaser in the meantime. It’s called “Sister†and it goes a little something…
The Kooks new album Junk Of The Heart sure as hell isn’t going to deliver any earth-shattering curveballs in terms of the musical direction they’ve chosen, nor is it going to top the previous success they’ve enjoyed with Inside In/Inside Out and Konk but I’ll tell you what it IS going to do – make you wish you’d never bought it.
Despite what the band would have you believe Junk Of The Heart is hardly a departure from their signature sound unless you factor in the lack of spontaneity and energy that made their previous albums great.
Sure, it will charm you with its happy-go-lucky vibes on the first few listens, but it’s unfortunately one of those albums you can play on repeat for an afternoon (on Saturday I did just that) and come out the other side not really remembering one single track.
Sick Tracks
The gentle, dreamy acoustic ditty “Petulia†stood out for me because of its clean, stripped-down production and rich acoustic tone. The kind of song summers are made of, whistful and nostalgic. Even has birds chirping in the background. Lovely.
“Junk Of The Heart†is also a winner. Boasting one of the only hooks that actually finds its mark on the album and a sneaky psychedelic guitar solo / bridge, it’s a great opener to an otherwise pretty mediocre album.
With its fuzzy basslines, “Mr Nice Guy†is a notable departure from the other material on the album but comes to an abrupt end before it feels like it’s actually gotten anywhere.
The rest all smack of “mehâ€. There isn’t one track on this album that could hold a flame to “Naive†or “Ooh La†or “Always Where I Need To Be†or even “Seasideâ€.
Should You Give A Shit?
Nope. You really shouldn’t. At it’s best all this album really adds up to is playlist filler. The next time you have some friends over to enjoy a nice cuppa Chamomile tea, this album will be right at home playing quietly in the background.
Here’s “Petulia†for you to listen to while you drift off to a faraway land to feed the ducks.
You probably haven’t heard of them, but The Features latest album Wilderness is pretty fucking cool.
They’re a four-piece indie rock / neo psychedelic band that hails from Tennessee and borrows a bit from a multitude of bands ranging from Kings Of Leon to Kasabian to Franz Ferdinand.
They keep it all glued together with a sound steeped in carnivalesque organs, skuzzy basslines, shimmering tambourines and frontman Matt Pelham’s vocals, which sound, weirdly enough, like a mixture of Phil Collins and Caleb Followill.
Sick Tracks:
“Another One†is the most easily accessible track on Wilderness. It’s a perfect yin-yang of floaty 80s synth and guitar melodies punctuated with some sick cow bells and darker, heavier organ parts that play in the chorous while Pelham gives his vocal chords a solid workout.
“Kids†is a wild, dirty, unrepentant two-and-a-half-minute ruckus about fathering children that are “born screaming with fire in their eyes / Like wild demons that came as no surpriseâ€. It somehow makes fatherhood sound simultaneously fun and terrifying, which is exactly what I imagine it is.
“Rambo†also stands out as a great example of this band’s grasp of truly epic songwriting. It sounds like an old Spaghetti Western track, only better. It’s like “Ghost Riders In The Sky†on steroids, and Pelham’s gritty vocal cries at the end of the track are a great touch.
And lets not overlook “Golden Combâ€, which descends into a swirling vortex of flaring, nightmarish organs, frantic drums and robot rock basslines, brought to life by Pelham’s anguished screams. And then, one track later, he crosses into full on Neil Diamond territory in the lovelorn track “Fats Dominoâ€.
It takes a special kind of talent to write with that kind of range.
Should You Give A Shit?
I think so. I think this band has everything it takes to eat into Kings Of Leon’s fan base once the world has grown tired of them.
But I’m not here to dictate what you should or shouldn’t like, I’m just here to give you my opinion, which happens to always be right.
So give “Another One†a listen so we can both agree on this and then let’s go huff some glue, I’m buying .
After a FIVE YEAR hiatus, alternative rock / funk metal / nu metal band Incubus are BACK! That’s right! Incubus! Y’know, the guys who wrote “Drive†back when we were all in highschool and then released a slew of critically and commercially successful albums?
Hello? (Is this thing on…?)
Sick Tracks
They’re all pretty sick if you’re talking about the traditional interpretation of the word, like that pale kid at school with the dark circles under his eyes who looked like he might ralph at any given moment. Oh wait, I think I’m confusing my life with the Simpsons…
Where was I? Oh yeah, new Incubus album review (*sigh).
Look, it’s not a bad album, it’s just a little limp noodley and lacking the oompf that made their previous albums great.
“Promises, Promises†is a really likeable song, totally non-threatening, radio-friendly and reminiscent of “Southern Girl†from A Crow Left Of The Murder. The dominant instrument on the track is the piano played by DJ Kilmore (the dude who used to rock the decks in previous incarnations of this band).
“Isadore†is also a solid track, carefully written and arranged it’s hard to fault it except it’s basically the same chord progression from “Talk Shows On Mute†(also from A Crow Left Of The Murder), only picked instead of strummed and frontman Brandon Boyd’s vocal melody is also strikingly similar.
The album changes pace abruptly near the end, like the band has suddenly woken up from a nice afternoon nap and remembered they’re fuckingIncubusdude!
Halfway through “In The Company Of Wolves†things take an awesome turn for the darker and the mood of the album changes from happy-go-lucky summer picnic to, quick get the kids in the car! An asylum escapee is coming at us with a weird grin and a threatening erection.
“Switchblade†follows soon after, a throw-back to the powerful album that was Light Grenades and right after that, “Adolescents†(the first single off the album) kicks in to remind us that there was a time when this band used to rock out, unashamedly, and they were great at it.
Should You Give A Shit?
I guess so, I’m not sure. It could be that this album is a “growerâ€, it’s certainly gotten better with every listen that I’ve given it, but like I said at the beginning, it’s very tame for Incubus which I found disappointing.
Just take it for what it is, a collection of mostly easy-breezy, mature and thoughtful songs and you’ll probably enjoy it. I just don’t feel like I’m ready to get this old yet, but maybe once I have children of my own and I’m looking for something to put them to sleep to, I’ll revaluate my opinion of If Not Now, When?
Here’s “Patience, Patience†in the meantime.
Think of Foster The People as the happier, more carefree younger brother of MGMT. Both bands blend guitar and drum parts with thick, syrupy synth melodies and dreamy, echoey vocals, but where MGMT has a tendency to wade out into deeper, darker waters, Foster The People stays with both feet firmly planted on the bubble gum pink shores of indie pop.
Torches is as safe as a hug from your mom and is exactly the kind of album you’d expect from someone who, prior to starting the band, wrote jingles for TV ads.
Expect these songs to creep into at least a dozen of your favourite TV shows and be used to sell everything from Apple products to trendy sneakers because despite what you probably think I’m about to say, this album is pretty damn good.
Sick Tracks
By the time they’ve hit the second chorous on “Pumped Up Kicks†you’re already singing it whilst tapping your foot to the wonky bassline as it floats out the speakers and directly into your brain. Frontman Mark Foster’s vocals couldn’t be more chilled as he mumble/sings his way through this indie pop anthem with a voice that sounds like the more stoned version of Maroon 5’s Adam Levine.
“Call It What You Want†is a melting pot of funky synth sounds with a piano melody that could be stolen straight from the Four Seasons track “December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)â€. It’s a carefree, dancefloor filler that’s about as edgy as a spoon and as badass as the time you went to bed without brushing your teeth.
“Don’t Stop (Colour On The Walls)†comes on like an early Beck song – tinny guitar strumming, redneck yodelling and more kooky synth blips and bleeps that sound like the mothership could land at any minute. Then the chorous hits and the song hooks you hard and fast and reminds you that despite all appearances, these guys know exactly what they’re doing and they’re doing it well.
Should You Give A Shit?
This album is what it is: a surprisingly well-written and catchy collection of indie pop tunes that won’t offend, shock or challenge anyone.
It’s packed full of great hooks, clap-your-hands-and-dance-around carefree summer melodies and chorouses that bounce inside your head for days.
This album could very well become the soundtrack to many, many a great party and for that reason, and the fact that I can appreciate good pop music for what it is, I give Torches the Tiger Stamp Of Approval.
Here’s “Don’t Stop (Colour On The Walls)†so you can judge for yourself.
Ok, so I’m a little late with this one (the album officially launched in April) and for awhile I wasn’t going to write a review because once an album is older than a month it’s old news to cool kids like us, but I’m making an exception this time around.
Which is the long way around of saying this album is fucking awesome.
The Down Lizzo:
Alison Mosshart pissed me off when I heard her sing in the Jack White-lead supergroup The Dead Weather because it felt like she was faking it. Her vocal style and stage persona seemed contrived, something between Marla Singer and PJ Harvey, and it never sat right with me.
Then I stumbled on The Kills latest album Blood Pressures and literally one minute into the first track I found myself grinning from ear because of how dark and cool Mosshart sounded. Like butter wouldn’t melt on her tongue, like she was everything sexy and dangerous in this world, like she could kill you with a look or break you with a smile.
The Kills is her band, her little broody-beautiful world that she shares with guitarist Jamie Hince and there’s something about the fuzz and the mud and the malevolence and the majesty of it all that haunted me and continues to haunt me with every listen.
Sick Tracks:
Pick one. Go ahead. Close your eyes, wave your finger around and literally let it fall where it may and whatever plays will be awesome.
“You Don’t Own The Road†saunters like a drunk cowboy waving his six shooter with the safety off, “DNA†stalks purposefully through the woods at dusk, picking its way through an undergrowth of drumsticks clattering against drumsticks whilst wading through a quagmire of swampy basslines.
“Baby Says†has the melancholy of a Cowboy Junkies track, a lilting melody to keep you company in the hollow hours before sunrise, a song that echoes back to better times.
But “Future Starts Slow†is still my favourite. Stark, defiant, sexy, it has a drum track that plays like a striptease and one of the simplest, most powerful riffs I’ve heard in a good long while.
Should You Give A Shit:
I loved this album, but what the hell do I know? I got a dark streak a mile wide that this album really speaks to but that doesn’t mean you’ll love it anywhere near as much as I do.
If nothing else, it’s a great example of how simple, stylised riffs (played with truckloads of badass fuzzy effects) layered with amazingly complex drums and sultry, provocative vocals can seduce you to the point of infatuation.
If you want to know what the music playing in the jungles of my Tiger-mind sounds like, get your hands on this album and if you’re anything like me, pretty soon it’ll be playing through the jungles of your mind too.
Is this going to be an unbiased, objective review based on irrefutable, well-researched facts? Fuck, no! I love the goddamn Arctic Monkeys!
But if it’s any consolation, I know every album this band has ever recorded like the village drunk knows the sidewalk outside his favourite tavern so I can at least assess their latest offering having done my homework
The Down Lizzo:
Arctic Monkeys made a name for themselves by perfecting the art of writing gigantic, energetic hooks and hammering them home effortlessly.
They enlisted Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stone Age to produce Humbug and with his help their sound changed almost completely from infectious indie to dark, moody desert rock and God knows! I fucking love desert rock
Did they like the direction Homme guided them in? As dark and compelling as it was, were they happy with Humbug?
Give Suck It And See a listen and it’s pretty damn obvious that the answer to those questions is undoubtedly “yesâ€.
Sick Tracks
The first time around “Brick By Brick†with its simple chord structure, dirty guitar licks and harmonious chorous is a winner, but after repeated listens the lyrics and Turner’s vocal lines get a little weak.
“I wanna steal your soul / Brick by brick / I wanna rock and roll / Brick by brick / I wanna rock and roll / Brick by brick / I wanna rock and roll†are definitely not his best lines which is a pity because it’s a great song otherwise.
“All My Own Stunts†on the other hand, though it’s strikingly similar to “Potion Approaching†off Humbug is a great track. It has a cowboy twang to its chorous and a bassline that moves insidiously beneath the surface lending the song a powerful menace that Turner’s vocals compliment perfectly.
“Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair†is the most powerful desert rock anthem on the album, a great and wasted track that comes on like a bad peyote trip and peaks like the cleanest MDMA you ever tasted.
There is more, much more. This album has a lot of meat to it, plenty to sink your teeth into and it gets better with every listen.
Should You Give A Shit?
Give a shit my friends, give more than a shit. Give two shits because while I have yet to decide if this is their best album to date (Humbug will always have a soft spot for me) it’s a spectacular effort from a band that I have the utmost respect for.
Here’s “All My Own Stunts†to play us out. Take it away boys.
The Down Lizzo:
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