Cougar Microbes

As the end of the year approaches, it’s time for us to look back at the past twelve months and decide what have been our favourite albums of the year. This time it hasn’t been an easy task because let’s face it, 2011 has definitely not been a great year for music, and personally, I will forever remember 2011 as the year my all-time favourite artist released an album I was ashamed of.

However, in defence of 2011, we could say that it was put in a particularly delicate position by 2010, which generated excellent albums such as LCD Soundsystem‘s ‘This is Happening‘, Arcade Fire‘s ‘The Suburbs‘ or Beach House‘s ‘Teen Dream‘ amongst many others… and ended majestically with Kanye West‘s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy‘ …

Overall, 2011 seems to be more a year of nostalgia and remembrance than a year of creation, with the release of The Beach Boys‘ Smile Sessions, the remastering of Pink Floyd‘s ‘Dark Side of the Moon‘, the 10 year anniversary of Nirvana‘s ‘Nevermind‘, the end of R.E.M or LCD Soundsystem… and finally the deaths of Miss Amy Winehouse, DJ Mehdi and pioneer Gil Scott-Heron , we seem to have embraced the past rather than the present ( this said there wasn’t much to embrace really)…

So yes.. I am disappointed by 2011, but I have to acknowledge that good albums were also released, whilst promising new artists broke through. Let’s hope in 2012 there will be a focus on quality over quantity.

Without further ado check out the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 as we unveil the albums we loved over the past year.

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Forward by Olivia

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Camden artist Leelou is bringing us a powerful slice of post- punk pop with her debut EP ‘Kiss. Death. Love. Come’. After working and touring with French legendary cover band Nouvelle Vague she’s made a welcome return to her solo roots and has meet her musical match in production partner Paul Simm’s.

Her first Single ‘Burn Your Houses Down’ (written about the MP housing scandal) is a catchy piece of unpretentious socio-political pop, believe it or not. With the pop accessibility of her tracks and her rich tremulous voice you could be fooled into likening Leelou to modern day artists such as Marina and the Diamonds but with her dark and charismatic sound comparisons to iconic artists such as Siouxsie would be far more fitting.

Of all the tracks ‘Gasoline‘ is less punchy than ‘Burn Your Houses Down’ and is probably the most indie of the EPs outputs but still manages to maintain some punkette percussion and edge. In contrast, ‘Kill For Your Love‘ and ‘Kiss Like Carnivores’ are stripped back, slower in pace and overlaid by a soft vocal drawl and that sees her move towards a more grunge inspired sound reminiscent of her cited influence Nirvana.

There’s is something very powerful about Leelou’s voice and indeed her song writing skills and in a market where post punk female artists are not common place I hope her offerings will go someway to filling the vacant void.

LeeLou’s debut EP ‘Kiss. Death. Love. Come’ is released on Enso Records on the 8th of November

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Post by the Clark Kent-esque Ruby

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TRACKS:

Cougar Microbes favourite LehtMoJoe took a break from his frequent bastardization of some of my favourite rock tracks, most notably Nirvana‘s ‘Territorial Pissing‘, to release his brilliant Spaghetti Western album.

Fortunately the sample bandito has not forgotten how to make a beautiful mess with his take on The White Stripes‘  ’Blue Orchid‘.

TRACK:

White Stripes – Blue Orchid (LehtMoJoe Remix)

A few months ago I featured DJ/Producer LehtMoJoe‘s take on Nirvana‘s ‘Territorial Pissing‘. It takes balls to remix any track from ‘Nevermind‘ but the Texas native pulled it off with gusto by stripping it down and leaving just Cobain‘s tortured vocals barely floating over a backdrop of synths and beats. I have played it at our Hands Up Who Cares club night many times and it always gets a wicked response.

On his full length album ‘Spaghetti Western’ the Dallas man proves that he is far from a one trick pony. Instead he chops and blends sounds ranging form hip hop, electro, video game noises and the aforementioned apocalyptic synth to set up an album that is both fresh and engaging.

In a genre that is saturated with copycats it is reassuring to see somebody is trying to push boundaries and expand their audience beyond the typical clubbing crowd. There is enough variety on this album to please even the most demanding dancefloor.

Saddle up, load your guns and get ready for this Spaghetti Western adventure.

TRACKS:

Lehtmojoe – Tom Petty

Lehtmojoe – Johnny Jazz

Many (many, many, many) years ago a family friend offloaded her unwanted copy of the Pixies ‘Bossanova‘ album on my pre-teenage ears. Having read Kurt Cobain rave about the Boston outfit in multiple interviews I was happy with the unexpected addition to my collection. I don’t think she realised the impact this gift would have on me but in this pre-internet era I was soon buying the rest of the bands back catalogue and analysing every word and note.

Though each and every one of their releases holds a special place in my heart the one album that left the biggest impression was 1989′s Doolittle. For some reason I immediately connected with its tracks and could draw parallels with Nirvana‘s quiet/loud dynamics. I even remember that a few years later when my band were preparing to record our first album we had the album, and in particular ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven‘ and ‘Hey‘, on constant repeat.

Having spurned the opportunity to see them on their 2004 reunion tour there was no way I was going to miss the 20th anniversary Doolittle tour, after all this one was one of my desert island albums.  Fortunately the band played 4 consecutive London dates allowing me to make up for lost time.

Starting these shows with a few b-sides to a back lit settings add a degree of mystique to proceedings and Kim Deal‘s claim that these songs have only been played “like 5 times including tonight” definitely raises the anticipation levels. With the crowd suitably galvanized the band are ready to wheel out the hits and the familiar bass intro to ‘Debaser‘ sees the venue erupt.

I’m delighted to see the band follow the album’s tracklisting almost to the letter and it is evident Frank Black has been looking after his voice as his part howl part croon is as impressive as it is on record. It probably helps to have 5000 rabid fans chanting every word back at you.

‘Monkey Gone To Heaven‘ and ‘Here Comes Your Man‘ represent some of the highlights in the bands repertoire and undoubtedly receive added attention when they get aired but its the David Lovering fronted ‘La La Love You‘ that receives the biggest cheer and has almost every in the audience wolf whistling the familiar refrain.

Kim Deal treats this as if she is personally spinning the vinyl live for us announcing “we are getting into the deeper cuts now” and her buoyant stage presence puts her as the clear mouth piece for the band. Having seen her in the past with The Breeders I have to reiterate that there is no one cooler than Kim Deal in this world. Fact.

It has to be said that Joey Santiago come pretty close on the cool-metre, his slick demeanour and laid back attitude are a beauty to watch. The striking guitar leads come alive on stage spitting out familiar melodies and its impossible not to observe how easy he makes it seem. Album closer ‘Gouge Away‘, a personal favourite of mine, is a perfect bookend to the album and is delivered like an adrenaline rush to the heart.

The decision to have a custom video for each song projected on the backdrop was spectacular and a  lot of care went into matching the videos and images with the songs and really enhanced the entire audio visual experience. As the band take their bows on stage (and on screen) Brixton Academy becomes a swelling mass of hands.

With the house lights turned on the crowd are left begging for more, obviously the band hit the stage again first for a planned and again for a not so planned encore. Pixies classics ‘Gigantic’ and ‘Where Is My Mind‘ are rolled out to the delight of everyone in attendance including the barstaff, the merchandising guys and security who are all dancing with gusto.

Having loved Doolittle for so long this was always going to be a special experience for me. Hearing the 15 tracks played back to back was an amazing experience and my only regret is that I had not seen them earlier. This was a reminder to exactly why I love them.

TRACKS:

Pixies – Gouge Away (live)

Several bottles of hospitality champagne and a confiscated all-access pass… and it is already our final day at Rock En Seine. I can’t quite believe how quickly the previous days have gone by nor can I believe that Metric are on so early on the bill. I would have thought that their sound would be ideally suited for this à la mode French audience.

Kicking off  with ‘Help I’m Alive‘, the opening track from their excellent ‘Fantasies‘ album, the band are in emphatic form putting on an assured performance seemingly unconcerned with the early time slot. Frontwoman  Emily Haines’ looks gorgeous dancing and jumping away while her exquisite voice floats over the dreamy backdrop of guitars, keyboards and drum loops laid down by her bandmates.

With the sun shining bright and the band pulling out all the stops these tracks demand to be shouted back. ‘Stadium Love‘ is particularly well received by the dedicated audience and there is even room for “older” tracks ‘Monster Hospital‘ and ‘Grow Up And Blow Away‘. The Toronto 4 piece leave the stage knowing a few more fans have been won.

Next up I catch the Eagles Of Death Metal put in a raunchy set that seems partially designed to distract from the special guest rumours circulating around the festival site. You see Mr Josh Homme has been spotted on site and if he is not here to be on stage at the moment then maybe he is bringing one of his other many projects into town (who am I kidding, I know exactly what he is here for).

Still EODM don’t need the help of their most illustrious member when they have Jesse Hughes upping the ante to put on a great rock ‘n’ roll show at every chance. I am never quite sure if this is a big joke or if he is deadly serious but as he marches up and down the stage gesturing to the audience it I simply resolve to enjoy it.

Beyond the the sex, drugs and rock n roll parody this music designed to be heard and played live and the audience loves it.

I was already suspicious of the unusually crammed press pit when the weekends worst kept secret was revealed with an illustrious drummer doing an extensive stretching routine near the stage.  The band billed as Les Petits Pois is actually the latest supergroup Them Crooked Vultures featuring Josh Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl and I was about to recieve a front row seat for their performance.

Back in the day I had tickets but didn’t got what turned out to be Nirvana’s penultimate live show in Milan and I was beginning to think I would never witness Dave Grohl drumming. Foo Fighters are a fun live band but I have wanted to see a whole set of him pounding on the drums and here I was witnessing 2 other legends at the same time.

Though watching these masters do their thing on stage is great I’m actually quite disappointed to report the music isn’t particularly exciting. It could be that it is just not my thing but most of the tracks sound like Queens Of The Stone Age b-sides. This is monster stoner riffs played loud and proud, just don’t give your day jobs lads.

MGMT seem to be the band every Parisien kid has been waiting to see judging by the size of the massive audience that is flowing under the main stage. Bohemian clothes and fluorescent face paint are very much a must for the next performance.

In the build up to this festival I was thinking their album has such a distinctive studio sound to it that it could potentially sound hollow played live. I shouldn’t have worried, the band let loose on extended jams and instrumental jams and show they can pull all the moves for what is very much a rock n roll show.  With the familiar choruses of ‘Kids‘, ‘Time To Pretend‘ and ‘Electric Feel‘ played loud and proud everything goes a little mental and there isnt a single person in the crowd not singing and clapping.

To be honest I’m a little supirsed by the level of adulation reserved for MGMT. It is not that I dislike them, indeed the album ‘Oracular Spectacular‘ earned a spot on my best of 2008 list, it is just that with very little material under their belts they still have a lot to prove in my eyes.

With their sound is so closely associated with the summer of 2008 that it will be interesting to see where the band go next. This crowd doesn’t seem too concerned with my dilemma opting simply to enjoy the bands psychedelic set.

Which leaves just one band to finish the festival off, or should I say MURDER the night! The Prodigy can be considered veterans having been around since the early 90s but their stage performance is still as fresh as it was when they first exploded on the scene.

With my photo pass permitting me to stand as close to the action as possible explode is an appropriate word to use as I can literally feel my inner organs shake with the opening bass boom that is used in every song.  What follows is close to organised anarchy with Liam Howlett hidden behind his monitors laying down the foundations for their barbaric sonic onslaught whilst Maxim Reality and Keith Flint stalk the stage like 2 rabid tigers.

A fellow blogger turns around incredulous and whispers “they just don’t give a fuck” and almost on cue Keith jumps to his knees and yells “I JUST DONT GIVE A FUCK!!” You could watch a million videos of the band live but nothing recreates the brutal force experienced in the trenches with them. Someone sets off a flair in the middle of the audience and people start dancing around it like some demonic initiation ceremony. There is a fierce quality to this performance that proves to be an excellent and haunting conclusion to Rock En Seine.

TRACKS:

Metric – Help I’m Alive

Eagles Of Death Metal – Wannabe In L.A.

A big thank you to Sarah, Camille and Sandrine from We Are Social for picking the bloggers and making sure we were well fed, suitably intoxicated, out of trouble and still alive by the end of it all.

Thanks to all the other bloggers that came along and made it a memorable weekend, make sure you check out their stuff:

Mark and Paul from Fried My Little Brain

Nikki and Terry from Buzzinmedia

Marcus from Stereokill.net

Joe and Sam from Hush House

Stuart from My Chemical Toilet

Niall from Nialler9

Gareth and Paul from Vice

When I was 10 years old I was given Nirvana‘s seminal 1991 album ‘Nevermind‘ on cassette but due to a design fault in my old school brick-like Sony Walkman it was easier to rewind than switch the tape over. So for the first few weeks I listened to Side A methodically rewinding the tape literally as the last notes of ‘Polly‘ were ringing. With a tracklisting consisting of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit‘, ‘In Bloom‘ ‘Come As You Are‘, ‘Breed”, ‘Lithium‘ and the aforementioned ‘Polly‘ I didn’t think I was suffering too much.

Then one day I discovered a whole new side (pun intended) to Nirvana. Though most of the singles had already come and gone Side B showcased other aspects to Cobain‘s songwriting yet was every bit as ferocious. Side opener ‘Territorial Pissing‘ was a fitting start to proceedings as a deranged sounding Krist Novoselic invited the listener/listeners to “love one another“. What followed were machine gun drum rolls, filthy power chords, shouted choruses and sarcastic lyricism. An authentic punk rock rawkus.

Understandably I am a bit precious about this track so when I heard LehtMohJoe had given it the remix treatment I expected the worst. Fortunately his stripped down version took away some of the arrangements but doesn’t lose the immediacy of the original. There is something quite eery about hearing Cobain‘s voice float above hip-hop drum beats and synth patterns.

LehtMoJoe is definitely one to keep an eye on. The Dallas producer/artist is pushing genre boundaries with his remixes and is an artist in his own right. His latest solo release “Spaghetti Western” is scheduled to come out July 28 and I am curious to hear where he has gone with it.

TRACKS:

Nirvana – Territorial Pissing (LehtMoJoe Remix)