Cougar Microbes are marching in like army ants…

Papa Cougar was undecided when he first listened to The Roseville Band, and I could see why. His initial thumbs down turned into indecision on the second try, and perhaps even a guilty trace of enjoyment thereafter. Seeking an expert opinion, or maybe with better things to do, he asked me what I thought.

The album ‘Little Eyes in the Universe’ is the product of 6 talented musicians from Northern Wales, spearheaded by brothers Andy and Steve Jones, and centered on Andy’s very distinctive voice. Like a Welsh Axl Rose on a trip to Nashville, his whiny soulful vocals are choked and twisted, to mixed effect. I suppose you’ll embrace it or feel repulsed. It certainly has grown on me, but to what extent I cannot quantify.  However, before passing judgment I ask you, dear Cougar reader, to abandon your habitual musical pretences and listen with virginal ears…

Dubbed “the Welsh Kings of Leon” by NME, their bluesy Britpop leans towards folk, but is solidly propped against a rock backbone. ‘The Less I Want’ is a brilliant crescendo that starts with tame Mandolin and ends in raucous bliss; the cruising ‘Bring Down the Empire’; or the rocking and catchy “Boxer”; even “Tatters” has an appeal, despite occasionally sounding like the singer is regurgitating a hair from his throat.

In any case, with a debut album out very soon and averaging 100 gigs a year, you might be hearing from The Roseville Band again, so don’t be too quick to dismiss them.

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Post written by the D in Dorian

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TRACKS:

The Roseville Band – Boxer

Now that the New Year hangover is definitely over the accepted thing for any self-respecting blog is to have a best of the year post around this time and so for the past few weeks I have been contemplating my version. It has to be said that the band Included did not necessarily released anything new in the past 12 months but you don’t have a new “product” out to be relevant. Here we go:

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Sometime last Christmas, between roast dinners,  numerous presents and copious amounts of alcohol, I decided to watch every Flight Of The Conchords episode during a 3 day marathon. Needless to say, I loved Bret and Jermaine‘s awkward adventures and crazy humour. After a bit of research I uncovered the original BBC radio series that launched the “4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo” on a global scale .  I adored the original British twist the boys gave to their instantly quotable gags. I think its safe to say season 2 is eagerly awaited.

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There is no arguing that 2008 was the year Kings Of Leon came out swinging. I was  spinning the brilliant Because Of The Times night and day when the band dropped Only By The Night and added a string of shows that established them as live favourites. It has already been discussed on these pages how the new release was slightly disappointing given the expectations set. Despite all that tracks like ‘Closer‘, ‘Manhattan‘ and ‘Sex Is On Fire’ (-by the way Caleb, i’m pretty sure there is a cream for that-) still packed enough punch to appeal to the masses and musos alike. If all else fails I can still spin ‘My Party’ on repeat to remind me of how great the band can be when they hit top form.

“I am flying high over Tupelo, Mississippi, with America’s hottest band, and we are all about to die”

Actually, I’m on a train packed full of sweaty commuters pulling out of London Bridge Station and the fellow next to me obviously had no time for a post-corporate-workout shower. So, nausea more than death, really.

There’s only one way to combat the painful rush-hour crawl home. I have, jammed into my battered up Discman (that’s right, a Discman), a copy of the most hyped release since the 11^th of February 1990 when Nelson Mandela walked a free man; Kings of Leon’s Only by the Night.

I’m expecting to be blown away by a group who have never been afraid to challenge themselves, or their fans, with something new. Armed with ever-maturing, ever-evolving, well crafted song writing and technical prowess, Kings of Leon have earned themselves the tag of ‘Hottest Property in Rock and Roll.’ I’m very, very excited.

The most striking first impressions of the Followill’s 2008 collection are Caleb’s vocals, which effortlessly range from slow lazy crawl to full-steam charge. For an example of this just press play and, as that disc starts whirring, check out ‘Closer’. The cocky front-man shows an ever-maturing understanding of the need for space within melody, which allows for the other three cars of this rock and roll locomotive to roll into platform one.

It’s an offer the others don’t shy away from. The ever-green chemistry between bass player Jared and drummer Nathan just keeps on blossoming. There’s so much to indulge in here for the groove lovers; ‘Crawl’, ‘Sex on Fire’, ‘Manhattan’ and ‘Notion’, to name the most blatant examples. There seems to be an attention to detail with these boys that other folks just don’t get, and it rocks.

However, let us not get carried away with ourselves. Where is the freight of raw guitars and cojones we’re used to hearing from these Tennessee bad-boys? For some reason Matt’s beautifully toned guitar is irritatingly low in the mix on just about every track. With the exception of the aformentioned ‘Crawl’ and ‘Notion’ Caleb’s dirty distortion appears to have been replaced by copied and pasted U2 guitar settings, ‘delay’ being the last word I want to hear right now. As for cojones, they appear to have been replaced by, well, ‘17′ and ‘I Want You’.

Step forward and explain yourselves, producers Jacquire King and Angelo Pietraglia. Both should know better having worked on previous albums. All we can really do is reassess the wisdom of disposing of Ethan Johns who seemed to mature with every Kings of Leon album he worked on.

There are other negatives to be taken from this hotly anticipated album. You find yourself craving the inventive song structures discovered with such delight on ‘Because of the Times‘. The age old ‘verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle eight-chorus-chorus’ formula, also attributed to the likes of Pete Waterman, is not what I signed up for! Let’s just not get into ‘Cold Desert’ which is a disappointing mudslide to end this journey.

The suspicion that there has been an unprecedented compromise made at some point over the last two years between band and label is a hard one to shake. It wouldn’t be the first time we have seen a huge marketing budget offered in exchange for corporate-rock cleansing of the soul. It is a pop-culture tragedy as this is what won over more than just fashionistas from 2003’s explosive ‘Youth and Young Manhood‘ onwards.

On the whole the album induces a nostalgic longing for the masterful back to back ‘Aha Shake…’(2004) and ‘Because of the Times‘ (2007). These are the releases that should be celebrated more with every polished rock album that hits the shelves of a Tesco superstore. The Kings need to dedicate every last piece of their Southern souls to stun the cynics with something much more legendary. That is, if they wish to live up to their name.

As I step off the train and breathe in the comparatively fresh London air, I slip ‘Because of the Times‘ into my Discman, press play and before I know it I am home, safe and sound.

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This is the first guest post on Cougar Microbes written by Kenny. Hopefully there will be more from him

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