As I write, The Middle East are fresh off the back of a handful of January shows in native Australia opening for indie-folk heroes GrizzlyBear. A fellow Cougar scribe recounts an awkward performance from the Townsville outfit in support of OkkervilRiver last year in which the three-piece stumbled their way uncomfortably through a short set.
However, on the evidence of 2009 EP ‘The Middle East’, a reworking of 2007 album ‘The Recordings of The Middle East’, these Antipodeans are growing comfortable in the company of more acclaimed piers such as the aforementioned GrizzlyBear, Iron & Wine and Fleet Foxes. Complimenting the spacious song-writing this release is crafted with tasteful, minimalist production. The glockenspiels and sparse pianos on standout track ‘Blood’ in particular refresh the palette and leave the listener thirsty for more.
Let’s hope The Middle East are growing more at ease in front of audiences as the stages seem set to only grow larger.
This weekend I sat down to plan my gig calendar for the next few months. I can’t believe its already February and already there are some classic events coming up. Before we even notice it will be festival season again.
Still, this year will have to deliver very highly considering the quality of shows I witnessed in 2009. My highlights were as follows:
There is something primordial about watching a crowd of 19′000 go mental watching The Prodigy on the outskirts of Paris. The fact that the festival also offered up classic performances from Birdy Nam Nam, MGMT, Metric, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was an added bonus.
As far as rock legends go you could do much worse than seeing either Shakey and The Boss live. The fact that I saw them play back to back at Hyde Park this summer was Epic. Both lived up to their legendary status and my I concluded my weekend as a very happy man.
I have already said several times on these pages that Tim Kusher is a songwriting hero of mine. Back in July I finally saw him live fronting Cursive at the intimate Camden venue. The fact that they picked and mixed discography and the relative closeness to the stage made this a night to remember and led Kenny to drunkenly label it “a religious experience for the atheist“.
Good luck with living up to that 2010
TRACKS:
The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die ? Liam H Re-amped Version
I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from the new OK Go album. They are a group who offer the occasional moments of brilliance, for example their phenomenal videos for ‘A Million Ways’ and ‘Hear It Goes Again’ (for which we offered an impassioned defence back in April) or their red hot debut single ‘Get Over It’. Then again they are also a group who tend to pad out releases with some filler material.
Firstly, and most importantly, let us note that ‘Of the Blue Colour of The Sky’ is an album title that boasts an impressive four conjunctions in a seven-word sentence. It is also an album which sees OK Go veer away from their squeaky-clean pop structures and express themselves with a creative freedom that moderate commercial success often affords artists. It is a risk which pays off in places; the soulful vocals on ‘Skyscrapers’ are reminiscent of John Lennon’s latter work and shameless 80s throwback ‘End Love’ is a more than listenable offering.
However, despite an abundance of ideas the album is severely lacking in any sense of cohesion and often sounds like nothing more than a mix tape. Nowhere is this more evident than on ‘Last Leaf’, an ill-advised acoustic number which harks back to the obligatory 90s secret track, yet sits right in the middle of the track listing.
Understandably, trying to pull off 90s acoustic, 80s synth and 60’s psychedelic (‘Back from Kathmandu’) all in one release is a tall order. Laying to one side the likability of the band members and the individual merits of the tracks in question, OK Go’s effort sadly has the effect of leaving the listener more than a little disoriented.
‘Of the Blue Colour of the Sky’ is an album which starts off with real promise but seems to run out of steam halfway through and is glaringly lacking in instant ‘hits’. OK Go’s knack for memorable music videos means they will probably be remembered for a long time to come, however the group who are running out of time to deliver on their exciting early promise.
The band are offering a live mp3 of ‘This Too Shall Pass’ through their website now.
In 2008 Columbia graduates Vampire Weekend set the world alight with their self-titled debut album. The release, boasting a joyful blend of African beats, infectious pop hooks and youthful enthusiasm, eased its way into the US and UK Top 20 aided by a wave of blogosphere hysteria.
The New Yorkers’ 2010 sophomore effort ‘Contra’ sees a maturing from enthusiasm to subtlety and is typified by more contemplative lyrics while maintaining a playful sense of humour. Trademark off-beat guitars are still an uplifting quirk of their work but these are layered over a backbone of understated synthesised pulses rather than carnival-esque percussion. There is the occasional exception such as first single ‘Cousins’; a polka boogie complete with crude acoustic drums.
For those bemoaning expended festive joy, Xmas 2010 seems to have arrived 11 months early. You could say that, if 2008’s ‘Vampire Weekend’ is a soundtrack for summer, then ‘Contra’ is an equally apt soundtrack for winter.
We wouldn’t want to make any bold statements but ‘Contra’ is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year so far.
Shepherd’s Bush Empire’s boiler seems to have packed in on this mid-December evening as support act Frightened Rabbit amble onto a cluttered stage, tasked with quite literally warming the crowd up for headliners Modest Mouse.
As punters trickle in the five-piece set about their assignment with an impressive degree of aplomb. Their melodic merging of pop sensibilities with rock attitude is reminiscent of a Scottish Jimmy Eat World in their underexposed Capitol Records days. The captivating dynamics of Scott Hutchinson’s vocals, showcased on the brilliant ‘Keep Yourself Warm’, and the inventive, understated rhythms of brother and drummer Grant are tied together by multi-instrumentalist shoe gazers Billy, Andy and Gordon. Closer ‘Square 9’ sees Grant finally off the leash as the rest of the band leave him on stage to end the set and throw his sticks in the air with a victorious roar. The near-full venue roars back with approval and the gauntlet lies at the feet of their more experienced peers from across the Atlantic.
Modest Mouse open with ‘King Rat‘, the B-side for 2007’s Dashboard recently reborn as a video directed by the late Heath Ledger. The upbeat banjo groove has the younger audience members bopping away beneath our comfy level-1 seats. Singer Isaac Brock apologises early on for throat troubles that sadly limit his vocal range tonight. Though this is an unfortunate feature of this evening’s Modest Mouse performance it undoubtedly improves the further they delve into an impressive back catalogue of material spanning 15 years.
More liable for an apology is the sound engineer for disappointing unbalanced sound throughout the majority of the Issaquah outfit’s set. It is habitual for headliners to be louder than supporting acts; however, certain frequencies approach deafening levels at times tonight. It is a real shame because Modest Mouse carry out their work admirably, projecting real enthusiasm for what they do. On the hyper-speedy ‘We’ve Got Everything’, the enthusiasm borders on over-exuberance, however, most other favourites from ‘Dashboard’ to ‘Bukowski’ are performed almost flawlessly. Dual drummers Plummer and Green locking in and bouncing off each other are a must see. Thankfully, by the time the boys return for their encore the sound has finally been balanced out allowing a smoother transfer of energy from the band to their audience leaving the fans thirsty for more including the surprisingly omitted ‘Float On’.
Ultimately Modest Mouse’s collective character shines through admirably on what evidently turns out to be a harder than desired evening of work. I look forward to seeing them the next time they are in town by which time hopefully Isaac will have had a few cups of lemon tea.
Yo ‘Why?’ I’m real happy for ya and I’ma let you finish….. BUT Tubelord’s ‘Our First American Friends’ is the best late contender for album of the year 2009.
Released on 12th October the Kingston (London) quartet’s offering showcases angular guitar hooks, vocals which meander effortlessly from harmony to cacophony, and a determination to keep song structures interesting and varied. Add a couple of recurring themes to the mix and you’ve got yourself a group who understand the craft of writing an album as opposed to a collection of songs.
Tubelord bravely draw on less fashionable post hardcore acts from the turn of the millennium. Think Piebald crossed with And None of Them Knew They Were Robots, with big The Get Up Kids style harmonies.
One slight criticism that I have is with the placement of tracks. The first half of the album flies past while the second half comes across as more contemplative in tone. While this in itself is a nice idea the effect is that the album does lose a little momentum on first listen. However, as the songs become more familiar this undoubtedly becomes less and less of a negative feature.
While ‘Our New American Friends’ may not quite make enough of a late surge to claim my highly coveted ‘album of the year’ gong it wins ‘top debut album of 2009’, hands down.
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As I write, The Middle East are fresh off the back of a handful of January shows in native Australia opening for indie-folk heroes Grizzly Bear. A fellow Cougar scribe recounts an awkward performance from the Townsville outfit in support of Okkervil River last year in which the three-piece stumbled their way uncomfortably through a short set.
