Cougar Microbes

Conor Oberst returns to the familiar surroundings of Bright Eyes with the release of ‘The People’s Key‘ in what, if the frontman is to be believed ,may well be the band’s final chapter. having expressed his Americana compulsion first with the 2007 album ‘Cassadega‘ and subsequently with the likes of the Mystic Valley Band and Monsters Of Folk a change in direction was in the air.

As such this new album blend the distinct electro-pop and folk feeling that the twin 2005 releases ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning‘ and ‘Digital Ash in a Digital Urn‘ offered to produce what is, potentially, the bands most accessible release to date.

In the past it felt like certain tracks were deliberately twisted to hide their underlying pop appeal from immediate view whereas this time round ideas see their full potential explored and given time under the spotlight. It is quite a departure from the band’s earlier efforts and offers a more concise outcome framing the vague lyrical content with a necessary song structure.

I get the feeling that a young Conor Oberst from the early 00′s may have stuck up his nose at the direction his music has taken for this latest release. Truth be told we all mature, we all grow old, and we all develop a taste for the finer things in life.

Without taking anything away from past Bright Eyes work ‘The People’s Key‘ is a fine release

Somebody give Kanye West some valium please because the man is in over-over-over-drive. The amazing ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy‘ continues to be a hit machine and his latest video instalment is typically bombastic.

‘All Of The Lights‘ features Elton John for christ sake and even has a, believe it or not, decent Fergie lyric.

This is also the first video I can remember to come with an epilepsy warning.

TRACKS

We are a bit impartial to a bit of The Doors on this blog and someone must have spotted it when sending this in. The independent video  for this dubbish remix of ‘People Are Strange‘ is fantastically shot and very entertaining.

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Nine times out of ten when I ask my friends what video they would like to see on Weekend Videos they answer The Prodigy‘s ‘Smack My Bitch Up‘.

Over ten years from it’s was release the song and original video still has some controversy attached to it. When it was originally in the charts many UK radios refused to play the offensive sampled lyrcics Jonas Åkerlund epic brawl of a video still feels raw as fuck.

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I came across this soulful star a few months back, but it’s only now, jogged by this month’s press thrust upon me, that i can finally sit, write and pay respect to Benjamin Francis Leftwich. If you’re a heavy rocker, metal head or Math- rock -matician turn away.

This is acoustic guitar, gentle melodies and buttery soft vocals at their best. His vocal touch ensues lightness and warmth and even melts a cover of Arcade Fire‘s brash and robust classic, ‘Rebellion‘. His own debut single ‘Atlas Hands‘ is an absolute dream and seems set to have a Jose Gonzalez ‘Heartbeats‘ moment in 2011.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich heads out on a UK tour this week so check his myspace for the dates. We will be catching his London date, see you there!

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Post by the Big Apple eating Ruby.

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When fishing through videos to post I spotted occasional Cougar collaborator J. Lanyon Dollars had posted a video on a popular social network we are all signed up to. He said Beck‘s video for ‘Hell Yes‘ claiming it was the coolest video he’s seen in a while. When I asked him what made it so good to which he replied:

This video sums up what makes Beck so orginal as a musician, artist and collaborator. Pushing things one step further into his surreal mind for us to share. Every album is takes a different tack on his uncharted journey. You don’t know what you’ll get – but you know he’ll deliver ubergoodness.

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If you wanted to see Thom Yorke getting his groove on without a care in world then the video for ‘Lotus Flower‘ comes at the right time . Radiohead had already been featured on Weekend Videos in the past with their fantastic video for ‘Just‘ but with the internet going crazy over the release of ‘The Kings Of Limbs‘ here is a perfect track to kick off your weekend.

A new Radiohead album is an extremely loaded writing subject: few bands have the weight of expectation on them quite so heavily with each new release, a fact which the band have exploited amply this time by announcing a digital release date at the eleventh hour (with no press promos available) and then moving the release forward a day, unannounced, catching all those snoozing writers unawares, sending them running for their laptops to hastily publish their half formed opinions before their peers.

The record itself, available from the band’s website for £6, sounds, on first listen like standard Radiohead fare, if there is such a thing. The album is strong on atmosphere and dynamics, awash with echoey brass, strings and piano, and interspersed with a couple of propulsive, urgent tunes that pick up the pace just when you feel a little more movement might be needed. It feels as though it has a little more continuity, coherence and musical narrative than In Rainbows, but isn’t necessarily a return to the festival sing-along anthems that litter ‘The Bends‘ and ‘OK Computer’.

In short, the album, on first listen, sounds beautifully and thoughtfully crafted with an emphasis on dynamic shape rather, perhaps than anthems or brain-burrowing hooks. As ‘In Rainbows‘ proved though, nailing your colours to the mast on the first listen of a Radiohead album is a mug’s game: expect these tunes to insinuate themselves into your subconscious slowly and quietly with repeated listens.

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Guest post by the erudite Pete, check out his blog.
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TRACKS:

Radiohead – Lotus Flower