I was greatly saddened to discover that legendary Beastie Boy and all round nice guy Adam Yauch, aka MCA, lost his fight to cancer yesterday.
As a youngster I experienced a musical eureka moment when, on the back of that legendary ‘Sabotage‘ video, I spent all my saved pocket money to buy not just on the recently released ‘Ill Communication‘ album but also the three albums that preceded it.
For the first few listens I had to double-check that this was the same band performing these differing songs but soon enough I began to cherish the trio and all their genius idiosyncrasies. Ultimately those albums earned pride of place in my collection.
In 2007 I fulfilled a lifelong dream when I caught the Brooklyn legends perform a lengthy set at Brixton Academy in London. It was everything I expected and then some. MCA struck a fine pose both with his underrated bass playing and his gravely delivery.
The line from ‘Sure Shot‘ “I’ve Got More Rhymes Than I’ve Got Grey Hairs, And That’s A Lot Because I’ve Got My Share” was particularly inspired now that he boasted a full head of greys.
When news of MCA‘s illness first broke out I was charmed by how positively he seemed to be handling the situation and I was convinced he’d pull through. Sadly I was wrong and the music world lost one of its greats.
Looking back through the Beastie Boys‘ considerable discography there are so many stellar moments and not a single dud album. Though I didn’t know at the time that ‘Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2‘ would represent his last recorded output I’m glad we chose it in amongst our best albums of 2011 because it proved yet again that the Beastie Boys were lightyears ahead of the competition.
my sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends and most of al to Ad-Rock and Mike D who lost someone they shared everything with for over 30 years.
Where I am right now is giving off serious hints of summer; considering PR’s have already started filtering through the first info about this years upcoming festivals it got me thinking of streams of cider, sporadic rain fall, custom wristbands, mexican waves, new friendships and… holograms.
This year the likes of Reading, Bestival, Field Day, Flow & Benicassim have caught our eye. Bring on the summer! TRACKS:
San Cisco have been plugging away in their native Australia releasing a debut release and catching the eye of famed radio station Triple J along the way.
The band recently released their sophomore EP ‘Awkward‘ offering up a lo-fi, quirky and upbeat mix of tracks that have stamped a smile on my face for the past few hours.
While their musical style has more in common with the likes of Camera Obscura and Los Campesinos! there is no reason why they shouldn’t make a global break for it soon like a certain other Aussie sensation we loved last year.
‘Awkward‘ is out now on the band’s own Island City Records
I had the pleasure of seeing The Robbie Boyd Band play at Beach Break Festival last year, and their upbeat and energetic folk pop really made the trip worthwhile. Boyd’s ear for a melody, chipper demeanour and wide range of energetic stringed instrumentation and vocal arrangement was charmingly captivating.
The new single ‘I Won’t Let You Go’ has embodied everything that The Robbie Boyd do best: Delivering irresistible vocal melodies to twinkling ukulele and mandolin style guitars, shuffling snares and flawless harmonies. They really do have a knack for writing perfectly concise pop songs that sound as timeless as if they could have been written a hundred years ago in front of campfire.
This is adjoined to a video of the same sweet nature with a female love interest that you really would step over your own mother to get near.
I am in love with this new Beach House track ‘Myth’, which is the first single from their 4th and upcoming album entitled ‘Bloom’ .
Alongside Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Victoria Legrand is possibly one of my biggest girl crushes at the moment. I consider her as one of the great female voices, a hybrid between Cat Power, Marianne Faithfull and Nico. if you haven’t had the chance to see Beach House live yet, I greatly recommend it : her charisma is breathtaking and her voice so sublime that it is near indescribable.
After the success and critical acclaim of their previous album ‘ Teen Dream‘ ( which was definitely in my top 5 albums of 2010 ), I am sure that Brooklyn-based duo Legrand and Alex Scally are aware that this album is much anticipated by fans such as myself.
Legrand describes the record as being about “death, loss of innocence…as we’ve got older and evolved, it’s normal that there would be darker themes. But there’s lightness. It’s not all dark.”
Indeed, ‘Myth‘ is definitely a continuation of ‘Teen Dream‘ with an added darker twist. Whereas ‘Zebra‘, ‘Norway‘ or ‘Walk in the park‘ were particularly eery ( and embodied perfectly their dream-pop musical philosophy), ”Myth‘ has a much deeper, mature dimension to it.
The rumoured release date for ‘Bloom‘ is May 15 on Sub Pop, and just to warn you…Scally stated that this record will be their “own ‘Pet Sounds‘ or ‘Disintegration‘, not in sound, but as something which feels like a definitive statement.”
Katzenjammer’s reputation of a raucous bohemian folk band has spread like wildfire.
With the album ‘A Kiss Before You Go’ on the way in May, the song ‘I Will Dance (When I Walk Away)’ finding its way into every nook and cranny of the industry, this very stylish and upbeat girl group may very well find themselves at the top of their game just around the corner.
The new single ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’ is as catchy as it is raw energy, coupled with a video that only emphasizes these traits further. It has the melodies and reflectiveness of a poetic folk ballad with a certain sass and punk edge that lends itself fantastically to these bold, organic pop songs.
‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’ has the rowdiness of Gogol Bordello with the introspection of Joni Mitchell, if she had kicked the stool away and gave it some.
Anne Marit, Marianne, Solveig and Turid turn banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, and drums into something captivatingly pop, gypsy and free spirited.
David J Roch is an undertaker. He has the voice of a banshee and the sounds of a great John Carpenter movie.
‘Dew‘ was the first single from Skin & Bones as well as the first song I heard from him; it’s reverb is as haunting as the harsh wails from Rochs throat, boiling nails full of regret.
“She Don’t know what I’ve seen“, he dreads.
Despite the grim nature of the lyrics, it’s actually pretty sexy. It has groove and a swing, jazz club quality about it. I can picture a Tom Wait‘s-like figure sillhoetted in a dirty jazz club smoking a cigarette, accompanied by an upright bass player and a fella knocking a floor tom.
It’s open space lyrics style is slightly Bowie, it’s dark, beautifully mournfulness is slightly Danzig, it’s sexier than Bowie and more grim than Danzig.
‘Skin & Bones‘ is relentless, but beautifully so. This will make for an engrossing album I’m sure.
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