Field Music's Plumb

This incredibly inventive album plays like a 36 minute suite over fifteen short songs. The album flows so smoothly that at times it's almost impossible to tell where one songs ends and another begins - of course this is made more difficult by each song packing in more melodies and ideas into under three minutes than most bands manage in a lifetime.

I recently - and rather crudely - described Field Music to a friend as being the missing link between The Futureheads and Fleetwood Mac, a comparison that I'm sure many will dispute, but it served it's purpose and there is some truth in those reference points, I just omitted a hundred other bands that spring to mind when listening to this album, such as Supertramp and XTC and the Beach Boys and Calexico and Foals, and...err..Marillion circa Misplaced Childhood. Oh, and Field Music too, because, despite the eclecticism that is on display here, there's something incredibly unique in this music that makes 'sounds like Field Music' a valid reference point.

The album comes on lovely 'plum' (yes, yes, very funny) coloured vinyl and sounds fantastic - as the sleevenotes say 'in order to preserve sonic fidelity, this record has been mastered using significantly less compression and limiting than most contemporary records. For your maximum listening pleasure, please turn your stereo system UP!'. Not that this will be of concern to most fans of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers (if you want to know what I mean by this, read the chapter on 'The Story of the Band That Clipped Itself to Death' in Greg Milner's superb book "Perfecting Sound Forever").

Oh, and if you buy it from Piccadilly Records in Manchester now, it comes with a lovely exclusive free 'studio sessions' 7 track CD.

Me, Dave and "Heroes"

Because it's his birthday...

Widely acknowledged as Bowie's finest moment, "Heroes" makes a pretty strong case for being my favourite song of all time; romantic, modern, ironic, iconic - it's such a remarkable piece of music. But it wasn't the studio version that I first liked, it was the pretty awesome Live Aid version from 1985.

I liked Bowie when I was younger, you know, in the way that young kids "love" bands - I liked the stuff I heard on the radio but it never went any further than that. But then his Live Aid performance changed everything, no doubt helped by Thomas Dolby on keyboards trying his best to emulate Billy Currie's synth sounds. This was "charming" Dave Bowie - not the androgynous alien of the 70s - turning one of his minor hits into a stadium anthem.

So, a few months later, and unlike the rest of the world after Live Aid who seemed intent on re-buying Queen's Greatest Hits, I decided that I had to get the Bowie album that had "Heroes" on it, which was helpfully also called "Heroes". I told one of my brothers of this exciting news, but he advised me to get Ziggy Stardust instead, as that was “a classic” album. Ignoring his advice I bought "Heroes", not being quite prepared for what the album had in store for me....

Where were all the uplifting pop songs? What about the sing-a-long choruses? Most songs on side one seemed to be immersed in an atonal wall of noise, whilst side two was mostly electronic instrumentals – like a darker take on side 2 of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn...BUT, my what songs! And what a noise! I didn't have a clue what was going on, but I liked it. Twenty six years later I'm still trying to get my head round this album - each listen feels as though I'm hearing the album for the first time, with new sounds, melodies and words jumping out. It is arguably his finest and most influential achievement...well, one of them anyway.

And who was this Eno person that kept cropping up on in my record collection? First with Ultravox! Then on a couple of Talking Heads records and U2's The Unforgettable fire and now this? I really must find out more.

People often talk about "life changing" music, by which they usually mean "a record that I really really like", but then I wonder what my life would be like now if I hadn't heard this song in 1985, or what would have happened if I'd followed my brother's advice. I'd certainly have a very different record collection.

"Replica" by Oneohtrix Point Never

So here it is, making a late run for my album of the year, the new album by Oneohtrix Point Never.

Daniel Lopatin has already, as (I presume) the "Lopatin" half of Ford and Lopatin, produced a corker this year, with "Channel Pressure", their 21st Century ode to synth-etic 80s music.

However, under his OHP moniker, he has produced a sublime album of ambient drones, analogue synths and disconnected voices.

This beautiful and at times sinister drift music takes samples from TV adverts as the starting point. Not that this is obvious at any time - there's no "Um Bongo, Um Bongo, They drink it in the Congo" on this record - it's far more subtle than that (i.e. I can't place any of the samples)

I could list all the obvious and predictable reference points in the world of ambient/electronic music for this album, and at times those references would be spot on. However, those sort of reviews often comes across as trying to show how cool the reviewer is with their esoteric tastes. So, what the hell, I'll mention a few anyway.

At times the album touches on the darker edges of classic Global Communication or Aphex Twin's Ambient Works Volume II and, during "Power of Persuasion" (not, disappointingly, a cover of the ABC lost classic) threatens to merge into the Bladerunner Soundtrack via Philip Glass. Spooky, spellbinding and rich in melody and texture, with only the occasional track producing any noticeable rhythm to prevent you from floating away forever - this album is just too engaging to sit the background like some aural wallpaper, it's one of those "every time I listen to it I hear something new" sort of albums that people sometimes talk about.

Check out the artwork too - an 1936 illustration by Virgil Finlay of a vampire looking at his reflection in the mirror, seeing the skeleton of the person he once was. Apparently

Listen to it on Spotify: Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica

Wilco (The Gig)

Does the world really need another fawning review of a Wilco gig? Probably not, but here we go anyway.

Some higlights:

• The Radioheadesque (sorry) opener "Art of Almost" - where skittering beats and electronics collide with guitars.
• "Impossible Germany" - *puts on muso voice* for the mind blowing guitar truel
• Nels Clines collection of guitars - bonus points for the use of a double necked guitar on one song.
• "Via Chicago" - and for Jeff Tweedy's ability to sing/play in time while the rest of the band unleash hell in the background.
• The lampshades - nice homely addition to the spotlights
• Jeff Tweedy berating a fan (what a surprise) for complaining about the hiss made by the smoke machine.
• "One Sunday Morning" - a twelve minute song that goes nowhere and you never want it to leave.
• "Handshake Drugs" and the other 14 songs.

So, one of the greatest live acts I've ever seen - they have such a vast back catalogue of live favourites that I left the gig thinking "this was one of the best gigs ever" but at the same time wondering why they didn't play songs such as Spiders (Kidsmoke), Wilco (The Song) or Hate It Here. Maybe they just need to play for longer next time.

And to be contrary, here's a song they didn't play...

Post Script. I bought a t-shirt outside the venue (sorry guys). Photo of it added to this blog.

Amon Duul vs Four Tet

The other day I was in the car listening to Archangels Thunderbird by Amon Duul II - three and a half minutes of spacey Sabbath-esque krautrock, with Renate Knaup doing her best banshee wailing over the top. Ideal music for inner city driving during rush hour. I kept thinking "this is the greatest drum break ever - I must get home and sample it, I can't believe no one else has picked up on this".

Then it dawned on me that someone already has - Four Tet, on his istillcan'tfindwordstodescribehowgooditis Glasshead. Two songs I've got to know inside out over the last couple of decades and it was only last week that I spotted the link. I really should pay attention more.

Anyway, it's an excuse to put up a link for both tunes.

Amon Duul - the drums kick in after about 7 seconds...



Four Tet - the sample is about 3:13 into the song...

Mono - It's the New Black

"Ooh, but it's a lot of money..."

That's what I kept telling myself (and what everyone online keeps moaning about) when weighing up whether to get this. But finally, two
years down the line I've gone and treated myself to the Beatles In Mono box set.

And I have to say, it's a lovely item - If aural fidelity isn't your thing, and if you don't care much for the physical presentation (and presence) of music then you might as well stop reading now. (oh, and if you don't like the Beatles too).

So what do you get for your money? Well, all the Beatles' original mono recordings for starters - most of which do sound MUCH better (really!) than the stereo version that we've been force fed on vinyl, CD and on the radio for the last 40+ years. If their music blew you away in stereo, wait 'til you hear some of this. For example, She's Leaving Home and Don't Pass Me By played at the original speed (that's right - the versions we've known over the years were mixed in stereo at the wrong speed), the original/correct vocal takes on If I Fell and Help!, and even the version of Eleanor Rigby without the mistake in it!! ("it had a mistake in it?" I hear you say). Oh, and Tomorrow Never Knows now sounds like the scariest piece of music EVER! Just like it used to. God know why this stuff has been unavailable and unheard my so many of us for so long.

The packaging is lovely too - minaiture replicas of the original LP sleeves/inner sleeves/lyric sheets/postcards etc and a booklet with loads of geeky information about the mono versions. Badly taken photos never do these things justice do they?

I'm going to go and throw away one of my speakers now - looks like I won't be needing it again.

James Yorkston - Live at the Brudenell Social Club: 4 September 2011

"I have no plans for world domination...I have no plans for gig domination". And so begins a compelling solo set from James Yorkston at a sparsely attended Brudenell Social Club - more fool those who stayed away.

Spellbinding, shambolic (in a good way) and self depreciating - "I hope no one has come here to celebrate their 30th birthday" he said as he launched into another maudlin song - the set touched on various points of his career and included two "new" songs improvised on the spot: One was a tour diary summarising his day thus far, the other a dialogue between himself and his cat (his cat wants feeding, but James is too busy playing his new guitar and, "anyway" he says to the cat, "what about those cat biscuits strewn across the kitchen floor - you can't be THAT hungry"). It was a joy to be in the pleasure of such greatness.

I didn't take any footage of the gig so instead, here's my favourite James Yorkston album, produced by Kieran "Four Tet" Hebden:
Just Beyond The River

Support came from the Big Eyes Family Players - a bunch of multi instrumentalists previously seen collaborating with Mr Yorkston on the Folk Songs album of 2009 - played a set of folk covers and original compositions, their blend of traditional instruments reminding me of the mellower moments from Gorky Zygotic Mynci's Barafundle album.

Oh, and on an unrelated note, my friend Ron and I wore similar shoes that night - he suggested I took a photo so here it is...