What with The Do down below (sounds weird, sorry) and now Norway's Casiokids it's fast becoming a veritable Eurovision Song Contest round here. A quality one, mind.
Casiokids have lots of hair and look like the kind of guys that smoke weed and share each others girlfriends, to 'keep warm'. They also have huge love for keyboards, something that Musick appreciates greatly at the moment (the title of this blog is honour of a keyboard we've just purchased. It sounds like the end of the world, in a good way).
The band have been receiving a lot of press recently, with this single, 'Fot I Hose' being named 'Pick of the week' in The Guardian. Not bad for a song with no words, just ludicrous synth noises and some bass. Feast your ears on this:
OK, clearly it's more then JUST a synth noise and some bass, but what do we know?
The Do (the 'do' should have a diagonal line through it, but I'm buggered if I know how to do that) are an eccentric-looking duo who are bona fide superstars in their native France. Both their single 'On My Shoulders' and album, A Mouthful, reached number one and that's despite the fact they both look like they've only recently escaped a mental facility...perhaps it's because of that, we don't know.
What we do know, however, is that 'On My Shoulders' is a gorgeous slice of strummed indie pop, as delicious as two-scoop strawberry ice-cream on a summers day.
We're not sure about the rest of the album, but 'On My Shoulders' is surely enough for now?
When Tinted Windows (featuring ex-members of Smashing Pumpkins, Cheap Trick, Fountains Of Wayne and Hanson!) were first written about a few weeks ago, many websites and blogs checked their calenders to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day. 'That's a bit harsh' we thought. Well, not anymore dear reader, not anymore.
We ask you kindly to watch the video that's on the website. Please try and ignore the urge to stick your fist in your mouth.
This is their debut single, 'Kind Of A Girl':
We're upset not because the guy from the Smashing Pumpkins who's not Billy Corgan has clearly lost his mind, but because Taylor Hanson has clearly deserted little Zac and Hank (or whatever the others were called).
Doesn't he remember this???
As one poor listener stated; "TAYLOR HANSON, go back to your BROTHERS!!!!"
Youtube is a wonderful thing, and having lost our Sky subscription in the post and what with freeview only giving us 4Music (LOTS of Lily Allen) and TMF (LOTS of Hogan Knows Best), it's the only way Musick can keep abreast of all the best (and worst) music videos. Plus, you can also watch Friends bloopers, old Oscar acceptance speeches, a man eat some scorpions and an alligator rip a deer to pieces! Like, woah!
Here's a really brilliant video for Royksopp's new single, 'Happy Up Here':
It let's you imagine what it would be like if Space Invaders came true. Very messy. Musick watched this after having seen an hour long, silent film about the war in Yugoslavia so the whole thing was oddly moving.
This next video, directed by the reliably brilliant Patrick Daughters, is for Depeche Mode's new single 'Wrong'.
How creepy is that? The bit with the death mask and when the car runs over that man!?! Cars driving themselves is oddly unsettling. The song is a real grower and has one of those repetitive lyrics that mean you'll be singing "I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, la la la, wrong cheese, with the wrong fleece, la la la".
And who can forget Daz Simpson's haunting, fin de siecle masterpiece, 'Teenage Life'.
Well, now we have young upstart Chipmunk with his soon to be HUGE 'Chip Diddy Chip':
Plus, 'Liar' by Madcon:
So, what have we learnt? It's really quite simple: IF YOU'RE TOO OLD TO BE AT SCHOOL IN REAL LIFE, DON'T MAKE A VIDEO OF YOU DRESSED IN SCHOOL UNIFORM! You just look creepy.
You know when you go on myspace to listen to a band there's that bit that describes what kind of music they make. It will say something like 'pop' or 'indie', or if the band have an overtly obvious sense of fun it will say 'gabba' or 'polka' when actually they sound like The Kooks.
Well, Music Go Music have hit the nail on the head with theirs. It reads "Melodramatic Pop Song" and should be underlined twice in red marker pen. 'I Walk Alone' is pure ABBA Gold, whilst the near ten minutes of 'Warm In The Shadows' is deliciously funky. 'Light Of Love' is reminiscent of Belle & Sebastian if they'd OD'd on amyl nitrate (well, not OD'd obviously, but certainly overdone things).
Unfortunately, Music Go Music don't have anything on youtube, but you can listen to four songs on their myspace and purchase them (and more besides) on iTunes.
What do you mean, who? Jeez. Phoenix are French, make deceptively catchy pop ditties, one of them is going out with Sofia Coppola, they're friends with uber-chic fashion designer Hedi Slimane and no-one really liked their last album, 2006's It's Never Been Like This. But a lot of cool people enjoyed their debut, United, which birthed the perfect pop of 'Too Young'.
But fear not mes amis (GCSE French is flooding back), because the four-piece are back with '1901', which you can currently download for FREE (without even having to hand over an email address for pity's sake) from here.
The song is a synth-heavy (or made to sound synth-heavy, it might just be guitars), almost glam reading of some lost Strokes single, with singer Thoams Mars even doing his best to sound utterly disinterested in a way good ol' Julian Casablancas would be proud of. '1901' is taken from the forthcoming album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, which was co-produced by one of Cassius.
For anyone that had the misfortune of watching last weeks Brit Awards, first let me offer my sincere condolences. I can only hope that you have since recovered. During what seemed like 2 days worth of Duffy-loving, there were two performances that rose above mediocre and sidled up next to 'very good indeed'. The first was Girls Aloud, who at least had the audacity to bring some fun and sense of drama to the proceedings, and the Pet Shop Boys, who fully deserved their Lifetime Achievement Award, or whatever it was officially called.
Not sure if you know, but the latter are back with a new single, entitled 'Love Etc.', the first single to be taken from the Xenomania-produced album, Yes. This here is the official video, which is kind of like a camp Pacman meets Sonic The Hedgehog at an early nineties rave. Lots of colour, which is always nice on a Monday.
A friend of mine - who shall remain nameless for his own sake - said that he hated the Pet Shop Boys more then he hated M People. Now, I don't know about you dear reader, but I think there should be laws against that kind of nonsense.
2009 has been billed by those in the know as the year of the female synth-pop explosion. (That's a pretty good name for a band right there; "Ladies and gentleman, let me welcome to the stage...Female Synth-pop Explosion!"). What with La Roux, Little Boots, thecocknbullkid and VV Brown all appearing in lists and broadsheet features proclaiming them to be the future of pop music, it would be easy to dismiss the fellas.
Well, here at Musick we like to be gender neutral at all times. You could say we're asexual, musically speaking. We've featured the brilliant Dan Black a few times and we've now heard enough from FrankMusik to believe he too may be 'very talented indeed'. This is his new single, 'Better Off As Two':
Nice. Check this video too for more hi-nrg pop perfection.
Another person with a willy goes by the name of Esser. Like FrankMusik he sports an interesting hair style and a penchant for electronic squiggles and belches (official terms).
Here's 'Work It Out':
Maybe, just maybe, we can start appreciating music without gender barriers. Fingers crossed dear reader, fingers crossed.
We haven't featured Kanye West on this blog for, oh, about a month, so with that in mind we decided to do a little feature on his new video. Say what you want about Kanye (and let's be honest, it won't matter what you say, the guy's got an ego the size of Katy Brand), the man's got talent and is probably the only interesting superstar in musicville right now.
Last year's 808s & Heartbreak album didn't exactly set the charts alight in this country, but it's steadily cemented itself in the US Top 10 and has succeeded in ruffling some bling (can you ruffle bling? Er, no) in the hip hop fraternity.
'Welcome To Heartbreak' features up and coming young rapper Kid Cudi and has a rather interesting video. You know when you're young and you're trying to watch an old VHS tape - perhaps it's got some vintage porn on it, perhaps an old episode of Eastenders - and the whole thing crackles and scenes seem to run over the top of other scenes and the whole thing bleeds across the screen? Yeah? That's the look Kanye's gone for. It's liable to give older viewers a brain tumour.
Now then, bloggers have been 'up in arms' or 'mildly irate' or 'a bit bored' about the fact that Kanye's video bares a slight similarity to that of 'Evident Utensil' by Chairlift (they had a song on an iTunes advert). What do you think?
However, Musick can EXCLUSIVELY reveal that this video here started the phenomenon in August 2007! The song, however, is an appalling abomination.
TV On The Radio's last album, Dear Science, was a joy to behold, a perfect blend of the experimental and the listenable. Our personal favourite was the keening, funky 'Golden Age', a song that featured more then a passing nod to a certain man called Prince.
The Invisible have taken 'Golden Age' as the sonic template for an entire album (not literally, if TVOTR's lawyers are reading this) and created a joyful, expansive debut album that flits from the mesmeric single 'London Girl' to the cacophony of beats that is 'Climate Revelation'. 'Monsters Waltz' could well be the song to break them, all wobbly bass, cooing backing vocals and some delicious wah-wah guitars.
The three-piece, hailing from London, are signed to the increasingly excellent Accidental label and describe their music as "experimental genre-spanning space-pop" (i.e. it's all over the bloody shop, but in a good way).
Whilst rummaging around in a box marked 'CD's at work, Musick swiped a five track album sampler by Blue Roses, aka Laura Groves, simply because it had the XL Recordings logo on it. Expecting either some electronic noodling or a bunch of Americans destroying some guitars, we were pleasantly surprised to find five delicate, beautifully strummed folk songs, anchored by a voice as unique as it is strangely familiar. NOTE: The CD didn't have a photo on it. I didn't see a picture of a woman and STILL expect to hear some guys, obv.
'Does Anyone Love Me Now?' is the highlight, a swirling, fragile opener that features Groves voice multi-tracked to create a choir. Elsewhere, 'I Wish I...' is over six minutes of violin-assisted beauty and 'Doubtful Comforts' ends things with what sounds like a music box disintegrating.
Ages ago (well, last September), Bjork was making beautiful noises about a deluxe version of her last album Volta. It was due to include all kinds of extras such as videos, remixes and a live album. So, not one to rush these things, it has FINALLY been announced that Voltaic (it's an actual word!) will come out at some point in March and will include the following:
- Disc One: Audio: Songs From The Volta Tour Performed Live At Olympic Studios - Disc Two: DVD: The Volta Tour Live In Paris, Live in Reykjavik - Disc Three: DVD: The Volta Videos and the video competition - Disc Four: Audio: The Volta Mixes
Now, given the fact the studio album hasn't really aged too well and that every song sounded better live, this is going to be a real treat. It will also give people a chance to see the videos and hear the remixes, which were only previously available on iTunes or as ridiculously expensive collector's only A3 box-sets.
Voltaic comes in Standard, Deluxe and Deluxe Vinyl editions and can be pre-ordered here.
Jazmine Sullivan was recently nominated for 5 Grammy awards, including Best New Artist. Like Craig David, Lily Allen and Leona Lewis, she too felt the pain that goes with leaving an award ceremony empty-handed. But, she's not sulking into her Coco Pops, no, she's getting ready to attack the UK with her blend of mid-paced R&B and a voice you could wrap yourself in.
Her debut UK release will be 'Dream Big', which samples Daft Punk's 'Veridis Quo' and is produced by Missy Elliott*:
Five things you need to know:
1. Her debut album is called Fearless and is only £6.99 in HMV. 2. She seems a little angry. 3. Her morals when it comes to sex are a little confused. One minute she's scared of sex, the next she's bragging about one night stands. 4. Utters this piece of lyrical genius: "You broke my heart / So I broke your car" 5. Half the album is produced by Salaam Remi, who did this and this, as well as some stuff for Ms. Dynamite (the good stuff), Fugees and Mutya Buena.
* 'Fans' of Musick may be wondering what's happened to the 'hilarious' running 'joke' about how Missy is one of our friends and we've been holiday with each other and eaten pasta together. It's literally not that funny. Well, Missy and I had a falling out and we don't talk anymore. She wanted to spend more time with her glamorous singer friends and I was happy eating cookies and watching Shipwrecked. It's a shame.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back with a new album, It's Blitz!, due out on 13 April (artwork to your left). We're pretty excited about this, in fact we'd go so far as to say we're feeling pretty stoked. I know 'stoked' is a fairly loaded adjective, but hey, this band brings out the small-town American teen in all of us.
The album will be preceded by the single 'Zero' and if it's anywhere near as awesome as Show Your Bones then we'll drink a can of Bud and shoot the empty can with a small rifle.
Here's the tracklisting:
1. Zero 2. Heads Will Roll 3. Soft Shock 4. Skeletons 5. Dull Life 6. Shame and Fortune 7. Runaway 8. Dragon Queen 9. Hysteric 10.Little Shadow
The album features members of TV On The Radio, Antibalas, Greg Kurstin (of The Bird & The Bee) and is produced by Dave Sitek and Nick Launey.
Music and charity are of course long-term bedfellows. There's Comic Relief, Children In Need and X Factor, all raising money and awareness for the marginalised. War Child is another worthy cause that fuses the enjoyment of music with the raising of cash and what makes it even more rewarding is that the music is usually of a very high standard.
Heroes: Vol. 1 is out on Monday and features fifteen acts covering songs made famous by some of music's 'heroes'. The twist is that the heroes in question personally picked the acts they wanted to cover their song, so you get Beck covering a Bob Dylan track, Hot Chip doing Joy Division and Lily Allen molesting The Clash (musically speaking). The Kooks also feature, but you can't have everything, plus it's for charity remember.
As a little taster, here's TV On The Radio's amazing version of Bowie's "Heroes":
This video you're about to see is already the sixth most blogged about video on the web, meaning that, oh yeah, once again Musick is right there at the forefront of music, helping to break new artists, helping cause a stir. Yep, people were writing about this video about two weeks ago, right when it was fresh, at the point where it was new and exciting, now it's just staid and musty, relatively speaking. That's what Musick's talking about.
Luckily, it's rather brilliant. Lovers and haters, it's Dan Blackwith 'Alone':
Please note the point at around 15 seconds in when Dan has some black and white face paint* on and resembles a fancy dress skeleton. This bit reminded us of another great video that came out OVER A MONTH AGO by The Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson, aka Fever Ray. The song is called 'If I Had a Heart' and in the video she too wears some monochromatic make-up but the whole vibe is decidedly more haunting. Enjoy.
* Musick once went to a party with pirate face paint on and had an allergic reaction meaning the next day we looked like we'd been the victim of a good beating. Musick was 6 years old at the time.
Peter, Bjorn & John are mainly known for 'Young Folks', a single so infectious it was re-released on three occasions and still managed to sound as fresh as Craig David's Reeboks. Well, they thought they'd record some new stuff in the vague hope it will stop people coming up to them in the street and whistling in their faces.
'Nothing To Worry About' is the first single from Living Thing, their third album (or is it their fourth? Wikipedia will know, but I can't be bothered to check right now. I can't do all the work for you, it's a collaboration). It's obviously not as instant as 'Young Folks' but it has a breezy, laid-back charm and the kids choir is oddly uplifting in a non-paedophilic way.
The video is perfection:
We know Kanye blogged on this weeks ago, but he has far more time on his hands then we do.
Many music critics believe Radiohead to be the best band in the world. These critics pick up on their unflinching focus on progressing their sound, on constantly pushing the boundaries when it comes to what can be achieved in music. There have been a few bands that have come close to stealing their crown - TV On The Radio, Muse, Coldplay - but none have run them so close as this next band.
Ladies and gentlemen, The Lonely Island and their debut, INCREDIBAD.
Most of you would have heard this seminal piece of music:
Maybe you've heard this complex, almost dadaist ditty:
Well, The Lonely Island have pulled out all the stops on this next track, calling in a favour from The Strokes frontman, Julian Casablancas, who clearly understands the level these guys are working on. He lends his vocals to the chorus of INCREDIBAD's highlight, 'Boombox', and simultaneously adds another layer of kudos to the proceedings. Other notable guests on the album include Natalie Portman, T-Pain and Norah Jones.
Seriously though, it's funny now, but how many times could you actually listen to it without wanting to gnaw off your own ears?
It was something of a surprise to see Radiohead (well, two of them at least) turn up at The Grammys to perform a unique interpretation of In Rainbows highlight, '15 Step'. First of all, In Rainbows came out over a year ago and has long since given up the ghost in terms of 'shifting units'. Secondly, award shows are hardly in Radiohead's comfort zone and The Grammys is a particularly glitzy* and stuffy affair (despite the attempts to connect with the yoof by nominating M.I.A, Lil' Wayne and the, er, Jonas Brothers, etc, the act collecting the most awards was Robert Plant and Alison Krauss).
Anyway, perhaps Radiohead just wanted to mess around with a song they've probably performed thousands of times on tour. With just Thom on vocals and 'dancing', Jonny on guitar, and the USC Marching Band taking care of the beat, '15 Step' became a gloriously messy affair, complete with blaring horns, guitar feedback and Thom's 'studio' hair.
Much like the boyband phenomena of the nineties (see below), there is of course a danger that all these female pop stars currently emerging will be labelled merely as a genre in and of themselves. You can see it happening already, with Little Boots and La Roux taking care of the 'synth pop' angle, and Emmy The Great and Laura Marling filling the folk pop quota. Another sub genre that seems to be emerging is 'kooky pop minstrel', with Florence & The Machine being joined by Marina & The Diamonds. It's not necessarily a case of these acts marketing themselves as these things, but more the way in which they're written about in the press or pushed by the major labels (which most of them are signed to now).
As with the boyband phenomena, and perhaps Britpop too, record labels are quick to pounce on the whiff of a new musical sea change and fill the gap until it bursts at the seams. Identikit artists soon start emerging, often as pared down facsimiles of who they're trying to be like, and this usually leads to the scene imploding ('landfill indie' is another example).
Confusingly, Marina & The Diamonds aren't a band, it's just Marina Diamond (real name) and a bucket load of ambition. But for all the talk and a brilliant myspace page, the songs aren't really there yet. Debut single 'Obsessions' is alright in a Regina Spektor, Florence & The Machine way but you can't help wondering if it forecasts a scene already eating itself when a new female artist already apes another new female artist who herself is yet to release a debut album.
Back in the old days, before TV, before intellectual clarity, many would slope off to church to speak to God and have a general chit chat with friends. The day was filled with duty and dressing smartly, none of this sleeping in until midday and nursing a hangover malarkey. One can chart the rise of the latter, and the death of the former, squarely at the feet of MTV (and their numerous copyists).
Musick, for example, has spent the majority of the day watching - I say watching, it was more staring blankly at the screen looking at the colours and shapes move and merge - 4Music's rundown of the top 50 biggest selling boyband singles of the nineties. I know, I know, pretty much the worse musical prospect since The Cheeky Girls, but it had a certain nostalgic charm (unlike the robotic Transylvanian twins). Way too much Boyzone though.
Best bit? 19 seconds in, when they first unleash the 'in and out knees' dance, whilst wearing their joggers. Image be damned, let's just throw on a Reebok jumper and some cargo pants and pretend we're Take That. Not that those five (as it was then, obviously) lads got through the nineties disaster free. There was that ill-advised dalliance with naked jelly wrestling, a rumoured dalliance with Lulu, and this, their attempt at street cred, 'Sure':
Full on string jumpers? Nice look Barlow, nice look. Of course, it's easy to look at these with our hindsight glasses on, but really, the whole boyband phenomenon must surely go down as a nadir of our lifetime. Pop may be a better place for the return of Take That, but them apart, it's possibly better with the girls in charge.
My biggest regret is that I didn't find out who was number 1...
Let's have a little look at what's been playing in the Musick office* this week shall we? * By office I mean small studio flat, but it sounds less prosaic.
David Bowie 'Breaking Glass'
You might have heard of this guy. He's pretty good. We've been listening to this song and its parent album, Low, a lot recently. One of the best albums of all time, artfully melding melody and genuine experimentation. Plus, the synths sound phat.
Emmy The Great 'First Love'
We've mentioned her before a couple of times and the intrigue isn't diminishing. This song may reference 'Hallelujah' but don't expect an Alexandra Burke style emotional void, but instead a beautiful little ditty about, er, first loves.
Jens Lekman 'Opposite of Hallelujah'
It's not a new song, but it's a happy song and on these depressing winter mornings (snow aside) it can make you feel like skipping. Please don't try it at the moment, the paths are terribly icy.
Lil Wayne 'A Milli'
Ah, Lil Wayne with your teeth so bright. This highlight from last years Tha Carter III is what me and my crew call 'pretty bangin'. The lyrics are amazing, almost stream of consciousness, and contain some vivid imagery, "yeah I ate a shy bitch". Oh Lil...
It's always nice to hear from old friends. It's less nice when they're only getting in contact to pimp out a new band and their email reads more like a press release then a genuine attempt to catch-up (I jest Nina, I jest). But still, beggars can't be choosers, and luckily the band in question are really rather good (that can be the quote for the poster!).
Babel have been knocking about for a few years now and released a warmly received mini-album (EP?) in 2007 called Pearl Street Raga, and are about to release their full debut, Crooked Timber, this month. According to the press release/email, it's been getting the kind of reviews poor old Morrissey can only dream of (without a nude photo shoot in sight no less...brrr!). Musically, the wood reference in the album title is apt, their sound is very 'woody' and 'earthy', like a forest or something. Yep, their songs sound like the forest...another one for the poster, surely?
Here's a taster for the new album. It's called 'Make Your Bed' and is what Arcade Fire should sound like:
The Whitest Boy Alive are one part Norwegian, based in Berlin and absolutely, 100%, off the chart brilliant. They look like the coolest Librarians, wear huge glasses and play a perfect concoction of laid-back funk mixed with some battered organs and have a lead vocalist whose voice could make even the most self-aware hipster lose their cool. Speaking of the lead vocalist, you might recognise that lilting croon seeing as it belongs to Erlend Oye, one half of Kings Of Convenience. Or you might not, they aren't exactly what you'd call a household name. They were at the forefront of some awful NME-sponsored nu-folk revolution, which may explain why Erlend decided to venture away from folk.
The Whitest Boy Alive (great band name by the way) are about to release their second album, entitled Rules. It's been nearly three years since their debut, Dreams, and I for one have missed them. Well, not consciously missed them every day since 2006, that would be ridiculous, but they're a band that you like, then you forget, then they announce a new album and you fall in love all over again. I have been listening to Dreams a lot recently in anticipation, and what do you know, a couple of new songs have appeared on youtube.
This is called 'Courage':
Next up is 'Island', which closes the album and runs to nearly seven minutes:
They're like a more relaxed The Rapture, but with better songs. Less is more people, less is more.
It's difficult to know what the make of The Prodigy in 2009. Everything about them smacks of the nineties, from their bullish, constantly aggressive persona to their Toni & Guy haircuts. Musically, very little has changed since their late nineties heyday, it's all frantic, blood-pumping (and cheap-sounding) keyboard riffs with shouty vocals. At least when they did it ten years ago we could hide behind the sofa and pretend to be scared of Keith and his devil's haircut.
Their one modicum of relevance is born off the back of the equally anachronistic Pendulum, who have single-handedly resurrected the 'keytar' and utilise some kind of dance version of slap bass. The first taster from The Prodigy's forthcoming album, Invaders Must Die, is basically a Pendulum track with extra Dalek:
But this isn't the lead off single. Oh no, this is merely a taster. The real gem is 'Omen', which couldn't scream 1990 more if it appeared on an episode of The Word wearing a florescent Smiley Face T-shirt.
Really poor. I can imagine some old ravers really getting into it. But then they remember they've got work in the morning and a mortgage to pay.
Peter Doherty (not Pete, but Peter. It's more grown-up, he's a serious artist, OK) is set to release his debut solo album in March, and has decided to release a single beforehand, in order to promote it. The album is called Grace / Wastelands, and this here single is called 'Last Of The English Roses'.
Here at Musick we seem to think this lad Doherty might make something of himself, just as long as he stays off the drugs, avoids supermodels and steers clear of amateur musicians in tin-pot bands. This is a relatively low-key shuffle, not exactly immediate, but the melodica's nice and it has a sweetly skewed charm.
The album was produced by Stephen Street and features guitar from Graham Coxon and backing vocals from Dot Allison. Unfortunately, the members of Babyshambles were allowed in to record some of the backing tracks, but we're hoping they were 'deleted'.
