Adult Contemporary Essentials 28.03.10

Katey Brooks

Proof of Life

True Speaker

On this debut album, Bristol's Katey Brooks proves why comparisons to Tracy Chapman, Joan Armatrading and Toni Childs (and, in reference to her style, probably, John Martyn) have accompanied live reviews so far.

Having enjoyed a rapid rise to attention locally, and with guest appearances aplenty and a spot on the Children in Need single, she is clearly a singer on the rise. Here, 10 songs tell the story wonderfully, from the deeper and more reflective to the rockier (This Old Skin, Hunger). Where her star really shines, though, is on two of the more interesting sidebars - Lines is a remarkable song, self-expressive in the way Edie Brickell's Circles was. The album closes on Michael Row The Boat Ashore, where her voice - capable of raw, emotional power, is given its lovely head.

ACE rating 8/10

Sparklehorse

Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain

Parlophone

Sparklehorse main man Mark Linkous had a pretty traumatic ride until he took his own life this year. On Dreamt For Light Years, he returned to the mesmerising form of Vivadixesubmarinetransmissionplot, bolstered by the talents of guests like Tom Waits, Dangermouse and The Flaming Lips' Stephen Drodz. Here, Linkous' quiet voice and unusual choices of melody almost always come off, recalling bands like dEUS more than other spacey acts like The Flaming Lips. This is a proper muso album, almost firmly in the adult end of the spectrum, but altogether accessible for anyone who leans towards rock. Revisited after such a sad ending, it is easy to wonder why you didn't recognise its classic status immediately. It could have been made at any point from Sergeant Pepper or Dark Side Of The Moon onwards, so spacey and psych-y is it. It doesn't hit bullseyes throughout, but it never goes further than the 25.

ACE rating 9/10

Django Django

WOR/ Skies Over Cairo

Django Django

This is your chance to get in on the ground level. Still remaining independent, Scottish/ East London band Django Django follow up last year's remarkable EP Storm/ Love's Dart with this Beta Band-like piece of brilliance. Already vying for single of the year so far, WOR is a song that channels Peter Gunn guitar with 2010 rhythms and oh-so-clever harmonies - it has turnarounds, interplay and most of all it gets better the louder you turn it up. The UK has always had a knack for turning out bands that stimulate heart and head, and Django Django look like being one of those bands you should hook onto now.

ACE rating 8/10

Adult Contemporary Essentials 21.03.10

Fang Island

Fang Island

Sargent House

Do you know what ecstasy sounds like? Well, chances are it sounds something like this Brooklyn's band, whose blend of Built To Spill guitars, Go! Team infectious enthusiasm, Minus The Bear jags and Fleet Foxes harmonising is a treat if you're properly sugared up.

Many of the songs here aren't songs at all, but seemingly riotous celebrations of a theme. As such, it is the Battles of 2010 - a set of music that is likely to end up in places that didn't know they needed something exactly like this. The musicianship is very good, which given that there aren't many lyrics about (and few good lyrics anywhere) is a real blessing. It is easy to come away with the impression that a concert by this 5-piece would be a joyous hoot, if the exuberance on this second album can be channelled on stage. The album is only 30 minutes long, but it's unlikely that your first hit of porgy punk like this will need more than that to get you hooked.

ACE rating 8/10

The Whigs

In The Dark

Ato

Now this is a real shame, of the order of OK Go's recent new album shame. The Whigs seemed like Athens, Georgia's new awesomest band for the whole of their 2008 album Mission Control. Now, they release this tossed-off re-tread. Aping both themselves and Kings of Leon's breakthrough in the sub-stadium dirty rock space, there are two proper songs here - In The Dark and Kill Me Carolyne. And those two songs are genuinely excellent, especially the title track, handily released as the free mp3 single prior to the album's release for the usual reason - to convince you the record would be this good. Elsewhere, songs like I Don't Even Care About The One I Love sound like some horror 80s rock pastiche, and Naked exactly like someone ingested a Walkmen album on the way to the studio. It may be too early to add The Whigs to the 'oh no, what happened' pile, but they seem to have mistaken the interest in their straightahead rock for interest in their danceable variety.

ACE rating 6/10

Sarah Jaffe

Even Born Again

Summer Break

This is an older record, all of 2008, but well worth a revisit. Sarah Jaffe contributed some vocals to the Molina and Johnson album, and her amazing voice has, as a result, been somewhat more in demand. This lovely little album is all the proof that you need that this bluesy, folky indie singer songwriter is something special - her voice is not traditionally beautiful, but goes right to the core, like a more in tune Janis Joplin. Even Born Again manages to be perfectly romantic and soft, while hard and hurt at the same time - the voice expresses such vulnerability. Like Rachel Yamagata, she mixes in electricity perfectly when needed (as on Under), or takes it back to simply picked guitar to illustrate the wonder of simple beauty. This is a gem of a record, and shouldn't pass unnoticed.

ACE rating 9/10

Adult Contemporary Essentials 14.03.10

Titus Andronicus

The Monitor

Merok

Both cerebral and not at all cerebral, this second album from New Jersey band Titus Andronicus tells a story based around the American Civil War as metaphor, and does it in the most exuberant of punk.

To get a proper sense for the music on offer, you'd need to run The Hold Steady through a Sex Pistols filter, with a good load of Dropkick Murphys for drunken balance. The Monitor (named after an 1850s battleship) is full of swearing, erudition and spit and fire, and a huge thrashy spirit that builds on the eponymous debut album's slackness with some real songs and direction. This band may be proving to be one of the more interesting counterpoints in American music, now that Green Day's politics are getting more stadium-level. The Monitor is a riot, almost literally, from start to finish, with rules turned over like cars in the streets. It is also a proper hoot.

ACE rating 9/10

The White Stripes

Under Great White Northern Lights

XL

Most people now know of The White Stripes, almost as a phenomenon as much as a band. With Jack White spending so much time in side projects like The Raconteurs, the essence of the band has not been well captured in a long while. Fortunately, there is the occasionally great live performance to draw from, as a reminder of why some of us would prefer he stick to his day job. This is one of those shows, recorded in Nova Scotia, and he was clearly having a good day, one filled with audience interaction and energy. Highlights include a slowed-down (and full of sexual tension) Fell In Love With A Girl, and songs drawn liberally from the earlier albums (including covers like Jolene and I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself). The real highlight, however, is the level of bluesy edgy melody that a man with a guitar and a female drummer can put into a room. Unlike many live albums, this would be a great place to dive into The White Stripes' canon.

ACE rating 8/10

Drive By Truckers

The Big To Do

PIAS

The Big To Do is Drive By Truckers tenth album, and follows Brighter Than Creation's Dark, which seemed like something of a misstep in their career - lots of songs thrown together with no overarching 'album' feel. Fortunately, this album drags the band best to what they do best - the rock of their own Southern Rock Opera. Like Neil Young on a fiery day, DBT are capable of dragging steel from rust - and here the rock flows from a country-ish folk-ish underlay. Since Jason Isbell departed, the band have taken a little while to get comfortable to continue playing the kind of music they did when he was there, but there is no doubt here that rock prevails - from the first bars, the electricity only tails off on the last quarter of the record. Joint lead singer-songwriters Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley keep their respective roles, but with renewed emphasis on great songs and great riffs, rather than just great lyrics. Fantastic to see one of America's best rock bands back on track.

Adult Contemporary Essentials 07.03.10

Clem Snide
The Meat of Life
429
Clem Snide have it all - in Eef Barzelay a songwriter capable of the most poignant, witty sharp lyrics out there, delivering them with a voice that's not beautiful in any way other than its vulnerability. Clem Snide also have a roster of albums that move close to perfection, if you like your indie rock thoughtful rather than grungey. So, after last year's lovely Hungry Bird, The Meat of Life comes as a somewhat unfortunate surprise. The songs mostly drift around on similar melodies, and a similar mood, forcing the attention onto the lyrics. They're still remarkable lyrics, dripping with irony and humorous bitterness, but the album comes across as dry and underdone, as if more music needed to be thrown around first on top of the lazy country jazzy texture. We should be thankful for more Clem Snide - until 2009, it seemed the band might be no more - but here it seems more time between albums could have been a good thing.

ACE rating 7/10


Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Beat The Devil's Tattoo
V2
Success came early to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, as the group were instantly propelled into the limelight on the back of their debut album. Beat The Devil's Tattoo sees them complete a full circle, having gone a bit country gospel, and a bit experimental, along the way. As nicely Jesus and Mary Chain as is reasonable, BRMC mix in some Black Crowes for good effect, maybe some T-Rex and even some Cage The Elephant, and end up recalling their own debut wonderfully. When good, they kick the behind of pretenders like Kings of Leon. It's not the most modern-sounding record, a point almost confirmed by the artwork, but they do have the benefit of a strong set of songs, played really well (even if you fear for the pounding that the drums take throughout - dished out by Raveonettes drummer, Leah Shapiro here). It is a frowny miserablist view of the Goth's favourite rock band, but it is also a whole lot of bluesy good times.

ACE rating 8/10


Joe Walsh
The Definitive Collection
Universal
'Definitive' in this case means 'the best 15 songs you'll need from Joe Walsh's solo career and James Gang time (the group he was in before the Eagles)' as you'll not find any Eagles material here, and the double disc 'Look At What I Did' is way too much for any introductory dip into the work of an unassuming and under-recognised guitar genius. The famous songs like Life's Been Good and Rocky Mountain Way are here, along with wonderful pieces like Funk No 49 - showcasing his wonderful feel with a slide, and ability to funk up some rock nicely. The subtitle of the album - Greatest Hits: Little Did He Know - suggests a man whose career took more surprising turns than even he could have guessed, but there is little doubt that listeners who know and love the hits will also enjoy every other track here. As a way to discover Joe Walsh's music, it is hard to imagine a better solution.

ACE rating 7/10


Adult Contemporary Essentials rating
9-10 Essential purchase
7-8 Good, definite buy if you've liked this artist in the past
5-6 OK only, don't say I didn't warn you
3-4 Poor, even for this artist
1-2 Awful

Frightened Rabbit

The Winter of Mixed Drinks

Fat Cat

The best band in Scotland by some distance now, Frightened Rabbit have built a huge reputation among indie fans, but with The Winter Of Mixed Drinks look set to break through into mainstream attention.

It is deserved, and for those of us who care it will be glorious to see a band with this kind of quality begin to appeal to mainstream listeners. The Winter Of Mixed Drinks builds on its predecessor Midnight Organ Fight with another great title and a wonderful set of blustery intelligent acoustic electric rock. With lead single Swim Until You Can't See Land (and its wonderful refrain 'Swim until you can't see land, are you a man or are you a bag of sand?') already out there worming its way into public consciousness, the sound of stubborn rebellion, Celtic folk, and fierce wit brings to mind a 2010 Big Country. There may be no single song that tops The Modern Leper (Nothing Like You comes close), but each song builds so well that you start to see things only one way. If there is a criticism, it is that there is a feeling of padding in the inclusion of part songs and ideas, which loses a great album one point.

ACE rating 8/10

Turin Brakes

Outbursts

Cooking Vinyl

Turin Brakes had a golden period around the beginning of the 2000s, when their album Ether Song seemed to make the soundtrack to every TV programme, and provide the background music to every middle class dinner party. A kinder, gentler Elbow, the duo make nice, acoustic music for nice people. Unfortunately for them, they have moved on not one jot in the 7 years since Ether Song; Outbursts may be their 5th studio album, but is a plain and simple retread of everything that's gone before. Despite claiming that every record sees them move on, there is a strong sense that they have found that journey away from their initial success frustrating, so have aimed at Ether Songs II. Outbursts starts nicely enough, with the only song worthy of attention (Sea Change), but even that is several notches lower than say a Jacob Golden song. If Turin Brakes are your thing, this is 45 minutes of more of the same. If they are new to you, do seek out Ether Song - it is still a great listen. Outbursts would provide inoffensive dinner party music still, but it seems to have no other purpose.

ACE rating 6/10

Deadstring Brothers

Sao Paulo

Bloodshot

The Deadstring Brothers have not changed their formula over the years - aping late 60s/ early 70s Rolling Stones. If, like most, you agree that that was the best Stones period, this is a cause for celebration, as the Stones stopped making great music some 25 years ago. Sao Paulo can't touch the heights of that band's best, but with its blend of country, blues and rock, there is some sense that this is a comforting place to spend some time - Sao Paulo's most obvious comparison is with Exile On Main Street, which is a rather high benchmark. An album that works better when consumed as a whole, to allow time for the mood to emerge and sink in, rather than sampled one song at a time, this is good time rock and roll. The Deadstring Brothers give the lie to those who claim that they don't make music the way they used to, because this Detroit band only seem to know one way to make them.

ACE rating 7/10