Albums
Updated 21st September 2011
SWAGGERS IN TO ANNEX THE GOTHIC
RITA RO "RENAISSANCE" (RITAROMUSIC)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Class,
confidence and something
else that begins with 'c'.
Rita Ro is one of those
talented, clever, challenging
and oddly accessible acts
who are going to slip
through the reeking cracks
of popular culture. Rita Ro
comes to us fully formed
with a debut that swaggers
in like a stunning third
album. It is stunning, but it
isn't the third, as far as I
know. For those still
holding out for a 'sounds
like' pointer, I'm going for Garbage doing early eighties Fleetwood Mac. Which means, or is supposed to mean that Rita Ro has mastered the gothic and the pop and, in passing, has annexed every shock-pop platform that Bjork graced.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes, yes, yes and yes again. "Renaissance" is a triumph a challenge and a delight. Rita Ro is the rare beast, one who demonstrates talent, as opposed to proclaiming it. Please, ignore the review, just go hear the record.
WHERE IS IT? www.ritaromusic.com
RITA RO "RENAISSANCE" (RITAROMUSIC)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Class,
confidence and something
else that begins with 'c'.
Rita Ro is one of those
talented, clever, challenging
and oddly accessible acts
who are going to slip
through the reeking cracks
of popular culture. Rita Ro
comes to us fully formed
with a debut that swaggers
in like a stunning third
album. It is stunning, but it
isn't the third, as far as I
know. For those still
holding out for a 'sounds
like' pointer, I'm going for Garbage doing early eighties Fleetwood Mac. Which means, or is supposed to mean that Rita Ro has mastered the gothic and the pop and, in passing, has annexed every shock-pop platform that Bjork graced.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes, yes, yes and yes again. "Renaissance" is a triumph a challenge and a delight. Rita Ro is the rare beast, one who demonstrates talent, as opposed to proclaiming it. Please, ignore the review, just go hear the record.
WHERE IS IT? www.ritaromusic.com
AND THESE GUYS ARE FROM ITALY...
PIATCIONS "SENSELESS>SENSE" (I BLAME THE PARENTS RECORDS)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? A transatlantic sound. Everyone steals from everyone else and Piatcions steal from everybody.That seems fair and it makes sense that "Senseless>Sense" should veer crazily from the slumped, but stamped swamp of "Milk & Honey" to the shifting shoegaze side slips of "Feedback Loop"
IS IT ANY GOOD? Oh yes. Piatcions, they can't conceal it, are a 'proper' rock band, with muscle and melody in place.
WHERE IS IT? www.facebook.com/piatcions
PIATCIONS "SENSELESS>SENSE" (I BLAME THE PARENTS RECORDS)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? A transatlantic sound. Everyone steals from everyone else and Piatcions steal from everybody.That seems fair and it makes sense that "Senseless>Sense" should veer crazily from the slumped, but stamped swamp of "Milk & Honey" to the shifting shoegaze side slips of "Feedback Loop"
IS IT ANY GOOD? Oh yes. Piatcions, they can't conceal it, are a 'proper' rock band, with muscle and melody in place.
WHERE IS IT? www.facebook.com/piatcions
THIS IS NOT A FOLK ALBUM
SADIE JEMMETT "THE BLACKSMITH'S GIRL" (WILDFLOWER RECORDS)
RELEASED? 31st October.
SOUNDS LIKE? Let's be absolutely
clear about two things, at least. First,
the undeniably lovely Sadie Jemmett
has a beautifully clear and strong voice.
Second, she has a brought a finely
crafted pop album to bear on the 'folk
scene'. So, we have, stop going all
cynical at the back, a beautiful woman,
a gorgeous voice, pure pop melody all
round and, as a fall back position, folk
pretensions. Which makes the whole thing quite hateful. It's all, "We're pitching for pop, but claiming folk as a next best niche market". What makes the whole deal even worse is that there is no need to be so slippery, Sadie Jemmett has a top of the range voice. Ironically and ideally suited to Nashville, but, like all good pipes, able to cover all sorts.
IS IT ANY GOOD? It isn't what it claims to be.
WHERE IS IT? http://sadiejemmett.com
SADIE JEMMETT "THE BLACKSMITH'S GIRL" (WILDFLOWER RECORDS)
RELEASED? 31st October.
SOUNDS LIKE? Let's be absolutely
clear about two things, at least. First,
the undeniably lovely Sadie Jemmett
has a beautifully clear and strong voice.
Second, she has a brought a finely
crafted pop album to bear on the 'folk
scene'. So, we have, stop going all
cynical at the back, a beautiful woman,
a gorgeous voice, pure pop melody all
round and, as a fall back position, folk
pretensions. Which makes the whole thing quite hateful. It's all, "We're pitching for pop, but claiming folk as a next best niche market". What makes the whole deal even worse is that there is no need to be so slippery, Sadie Jemmett has a top of the range voice. Ironically and ideally suited to Nashville, but, like all good pipes, able to cover all sorts.
IS IT ANY GOOD? It isn't what it claims to be.
WHERE IS IT? http://sadiejemmett.com
THIS IS NOT A POST-ROCK ALBUM
COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE "SHOULDERS & GIANTS" (SISTER JACK)
RELEASED? 7th November.
SOUNDS LIKE? I could listen to this forever, for.. fucking... ever. You can and you possibly will, you look the type, read any number of reviews that zero in, quite correctly, on the huge,
cinematic is a word, soundscapes that Collapse Under Empire roam around in, but the big and real truth about this band is that they make compelling music. The kind of music that makes you want to know what comes next, stops you skipping tracks and pressing 'pause' and that's why you do get caressed, bulldozed and slipped into hugging your headphones for the whole album, and while we're here, what kind of album is it? People, "Shoulders & Giants" is simply a superior, modern rock album.There are no vocals, but there's no pomp either. "Shoulders & Giants" is not post this or pre that,"Shoulders & Giants", is simply, truly and very definitely a rock album that is content to be. That it's excellent within it's own own frame of reference is just our good luck. Unhelpfully, it doesn't sound much like anything else that we've got knocking around here, but ramming Yes into The Skids might give you exactly the wrong idea.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes. I went on to write all sorts of nonsense, but the plain fact is that Collapse Under Empire just spark, storm and flit through their own, innocent, but sumptuous imagination. Roll with them, stumble with them, machine gun with them, sigh and scream with them, be with them.
WHERE IS IT? www.collapseunderempire.com
COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE "SHOULDERS & GIANTS" (SISTER JACK)
RELEASED? 7th November.
SOUNDS LIKE? I could listen to this forever, for.. fucking... ever. You can and you possibly will, you look the type, read any number of reviews that zero in, quite correctly, on the huge,
cinematic is a word, soundscapes that Collapse Under Empire roam around in, but the big and real truth about this band is that they make compelling music. The kind of music that makes you want to know what comes next, stops you skipping tracks and pressing 'pause' and that's why you do get caressed, bulldozed and slipped into hugging your headphones for the whole album, and while we're here, what kind of album is it? People, "Shoulders & Giants" is simply a superior, modern rock album.There are no vocals, but there's no pomp either. "Shoulders & Giants" is not post this or pre that,"Shoulders & Giants", is simply, truly and very definitely a rock album that is content to be. That it's excellent within it's own own frame of reference is just our good luck. Unhelpfully, it doesn't sound much like anything else that we've got knocking around here, but ramming Yes into The Skids might give you exactly the wrong idea.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes. I went on to write all sorts of nonsense, but the plain fact is that Collapse Under Empire just spark, storm and flit through their own, innocent, but sumptuous imagination. Roll with them, stumble with them, machine gun with them, sigh and scream with them, be with them.
WHERE IS IT? www.collapseunderempire.com
FILTHY GOODNESS AND
TOP SHOP
SABATTA "SABATTA" (I BLAME THE
PARENTS RECORDS)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? If you don't make it through
the fucking horrible first track you'll miss the
blinding filthy goodness of "Living The Life"
and that's a chunking, clunking, menacing
bit of off kilter funk rawk that staggers and
swirls from theft to invention. And there we go,
the album wanders between the sharp and the
lazy, "Why Don't You Call?" being a funked up
update on a Bad Company single and "Blow"
being Elvis Costello on Top Shop vouchers.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes and no. Sabatta are a
classic example for those who advocate the
three album deal, one to be new and interesting,
two to fuck up a bit while moving forward and
three to go "Thanks very much, we've made it".
Sabatta are on two.
WHERE IS IT? www.facebook.com/sabatt
TOP SHOP
SABATTA "SABATTA" (I BLAME THE
PARENTS RECORDS)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? If you don't make it through
the fucking horrible first track you'll miss the
blinding filthy goodness of "Living The Life"
and that's a chunking, clunking, menacing
bit of off kilter funk rawk that staggers and
swirls from theft to invention. And there we go,
the album wanders between the sharp and the
lazy, "Why Don't You Call?" being a funked up
update on a Bad Company single and "Blow"
being Elvis Costello on Top Shop vouchers.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes and no. Sabatta are a
classic example for those who advocate the
three album deal, one to be new and interesting,
two to fuck up a bit while moving forward and
three to go "Thanks very much, we've made it".
Sabatta are on two.
WHERE IS IT? www.facebook.com/sabatt
ARCHIVE
3rd Sept 2011
3rd Sept 2011
IT'S GRIM DOWN
SOUTH?
MISTER WHO "GET ON IT"
(DUAL AMP MUSIC)
RELEASED? 31st October.
SOUNDS LIKE? How do you
measure something? I know that I
am supposed to find
meaning, relevance and
importance in this
package. It's a difficult
search. I want to touch
the gold, I want to
understand, I want to
be 'in', but there are
difficulties. The
soundtrack is perfectly
fine, a neatly slashed
path through urban
guffola to Gary Numan, all the fat synth generated clavinets smashed into vocal crash barriers by synthetic bass that's being aggressive enough to give this retro a cutting edge, and, left there, all is well and we can leave, all friends, recommending some euro-styled, stamp a dance, electronica, sleekly cool attack vehicle, but that's not the car that Mister Who believe they're driving.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes, because the music is cool. No, because it's soundtracking the only never ending and most tediously documented story in the whole world, ever. It's been too long since I lived on Croydon's finest, the Roundshaw Estate, and took a supporting role in the kind of movie that Mister Who are showing. I'm happy to get the music, the words, the impressions and the tensions, but I'm depressed that so little has changed since I was sat in a stairwell waiting for violence to kick start my life.
WHERE IS IT? www.misterwho.co.uk
SOUTH?
MISTER WHO "GET ON IT"
(DUAL AMP MUSIC)
RELEASED? 31st October.
SOUNDS LIKE? How do you
measure something? I know that I
am supposed to find
meaning, relevance and
importance in this
package. It's a difficult
search. I want to touch
the gold, I want to
understand, I want to
be 'in', but there are
difficulties. The
soundtrack is perfectly
fine, a neatly slashed
path through urban
guffola to Gary Numan, all the fat synth generated clavinets smashed into vocal crash barriers by synthetic bass that's being aggressive enough to give this retro a cutting edge, and, left there, all is well and we can leave, all friends, recommending some euro-styled, stamp a dance, electronica, sleekly cool attack vehicle, but that's not the car that Mister Who believe they're driving.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes, because the music is cool. No, because it's soundtracking the only never ending and most tediously documented story in the whole world, ever. It's been too long since I lived on Croydon's finest, the Roundshaw Estate, and took a supporting role in the kind of movie that Mister Who are showing. I'm happy to get the music, the words, the impressions and the tensions, but I'm depressed that so little has changed since I was sat in a stairwell waiting for violence to kick start my life.
WHERE IS IT? www.misterwho.co.uk
