Pulled Apart By Horses - Pulled Apart By Horses (2010)

So a while back I went to see Grammatics live with a bro. Whilst they were certainly the stars of the show to us they were actually there supporting Rolo Tomassi along with some other band from Leeds that no one had heard of. However, withing seconds of them playing I was in love with their energetic, upbeat post-hardcore tunes. I bought their EP and a tshirt and left that night a happy man.

So two years (I think, probably less actually) later they finally have a full length out. And it is gooooooooooooood.

I know I usually post angsty, depressing emotional bullshit on this blog but fuck that, lay your troubles by the door and listen to this. This has to be one of the most invigorating albums I've ever heard, it just makes me want to get up and dance like an idiot. Catchy hooks and riifs along with some shout a long choruses, fuck it's Future Of The Left all over again.

HIGH FIVE! SWAN DIVE! NOSE DIVE!

If you get the chance to see these guys live you'd better go see them live. I know I'm going to sometime soon (if only to buy a new tshirt, the one I bought last time is too baggy, really)

Give it a listen

AWESOME, RADICAL, AWESOME, TOTALLY WORTH BUYING (Jesus, that was lame)

And I'm coining the term "shoutcore". Deal with it.

Note: I realise this review is shit and doesn't let the reader know if this album is up their street or not...but fuck you, I'll re-write it the same time I re-write those other reviews.

Another note: Fixed the link. So now you can actually listen to this album. lololol

Home - XIV (2000)

I've decided that regular updates are lame because I can honestly say I don't discover stuff worth posting that regularly. Instead I'm just going to post when I find an album I want to share. So just check up on this blog every few weeks or so and you'll find some new albums no doubt. Also, I'm getting really fed up of starting all of my posts with these sorts of things.

So recently I have been slowly working my way through every album Dave Fridmann has produced. So far it's been mostly underwhelming with only the Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips and Delgados releases (most of which I was already familiar with) sticking out as awesome. Okay, I lied, they aren't the only releases...

I had never heard of Home before a few weeks ago but after grabbing this album and loving it I've started to make my way through their other sixteen albums (including one which came out this year which you should totally look out for). But what is it about them that's so great? Well, let me just say this...

Mercury Rev + Guided By Voices = Home

FUCK YES, YOU HEARD ME. Even though this was their first album to actually be, y'know, produced and all (by Dave Fridmann no less, how they did that I'd like to know) they still retain some of the lo-fi sound that they had on their earlier albums. That combined with their often simple, 60s inspired pop songs gives them a definite Guided By Voices twang. But then there's some big bodacious Mercury Rev (a la Deserter's Songs) orchestration going on in there as well as those trippy lyrics and hooks that Mercury Rev love so much.

So, let me get this straight. Big sounding, yet lo-fi, psychedelic 60's pop that was recorded by some 90's american alternative rock band?

SIGN ME UP. RIGHT NOW.
(also the track "Aguirre (Exterior)" totally sounds like it belongs on Clouds Taste Metallic by The Flaming Lips, fuck yeah)


Give it a listen

The only albums I buy are Dave Fridmann aproved albums

Note: Fixed the link. So now you can actually listen to this album. lololol

Graham Parker - Squeezing Out Sparks (1979)

Starting now I am going to try and update this thing somewhat regularly again. So enjoy it whilst it lasts!

Todays album is an often overlooked new wave classic. Now when you bring up the term new wave people have to bring up artists like Elvis Costello and Talking Heads, and for good reason (no doubt) but very few people will be familiar with the name Graham Parker.

And that's bullshit.

Graham Parker was like Elvis Costello in terms of sound, appearence and attitude but certainly not consistancy. Y'see, Elvis Costello is great...as long as we're talking about anything he released before 1983. Graham Parker is different, sure he peaked '88 but he continues to release pretty good (see: not bad by any means 6/10) albums to this day.

Now I know you're eager to listen to this glorious man already, but with a back catalogue that stretched back around 30 years it's hard to know where to start. So here, start with his most mainstream, critically acclaimed and well known album. Why? Because it has the song Passion Is No Ordinary Word which is the jam of a fucking life time.

Dig it.

Give it a try

I don't mind giving my pocket change to a genius musician who continues to make great music to this day despite the fact that commercial success and money will always elude him


Note: Fixed the link. So now you can actually listen to this album. lololol

Grammatics - Grammatics (2009)

Yes, I didn't update for over a month. No I don't really care.

So, Grammatics are a band I got into ages ago (see: before they were cool) back in the long forgotten year that was known as 2008. I was lucky enough to stumble across an article in some trendy, indie magazine (see: not NME) that namedropped this band called "Grammatics" and seemed to imply that they were somewhat decent. So I gave them a quick search on spotify and was surprised to see that such an obscure hip-as-fuck band would have a few songs on something like spotify. BUT I DIGRESS!

Long story short, I listened to their singles (and b-sides) and fell in love with their amazingly fresh, clean, and downright amazing sound. How a band made up of 4 people could create such a sound blew my mind, it seemed impossible. The only thing that was more impossible was trying to describe their sound to friends, ugh, let's see how I did shall we?

"they're like arcade fire if arcade fire only had 4 of its members"
"if alphabeat were more english...and not as poppy"
"mogwai-esque guitars from time to time, choir boy singing, killer drums...but it's all good. I SWEAR"

I don't think I ever really gave them credit, to be honest. Let's see if I can do a better job now.

So, each track they do is different and as a result it's hard to describe their overall sound since I guess there isn't one. Still, their lead singer has this angelic voice...but he plays guitar as well, and he used to be in a hard rock band (and it shows). But they've got this deeper, lusher, orchestrated sound. They always sound a bit eerie and weird. In fact, this album is interspersed with lots of random sound clips of people talking and such (sort of Smiths-esque).

Again, I'm not doing them credit. But it's hard to, since they're such an important band to me. Everything about them reminds me of a very important but odd time in my life, and I vividly remember listening to them every monday morning (another long story) and I certainly remember the day their debut album finally came out and I went out to get it (except I didn't, I got it the day after but shut it). It's an album that I sort of tossed away, I didn't listen to it too much. It was filled with different cuts of the songs I had listened to so much, and all of the new tracks weren't too great. Having listened to it again recently I can tell you that it's an amazing album with nothing but strong tracks. Especially "Broken Wing" which has always been my favorite track of theirs.

Give it a listen. You know you want to.

(also, I had a lot of brackets in this post, sorry about that)

(OH, and hopefully I'll start updating this blog thing again)

Give it a try

I bought it, so why don't you?

>Implying Surf Week

In case you couldn't figure this out yourself I'll just tell you.

Surf Week isn't this week, and it might not even be next week.

Too much stuff to do, but goddamn, I will post ALL the albums sometime soon.
Enjoy my oddly drawn Sonic for now.

Surf Week: Dick Dale and his Del-Tones - Surfers' Choice (1962)

Look outside the window. Now, sure, you're looking out of a different window to me but as far as I'm concerned we're probably looking out at the same thing. Shit. It's at that point right now that isn't quite winter but isn't quite summer, it's still cold as fuck and it even rains more but there's no festivity or anything to make up for it. Goddamn, I hate spring. So, in order to hurry summer along and to have a wonderful time on the way there I have decided that it is SURF WEEK!

Surf Rock is a strange genre of music, it's something everybody knows (trust me, you know surf rock classics like Misirlou and Wipeout) and yet very few people listen to. It's been lost to time, and it's a shame because it's a wonderful style of music that fuses everything from blues to traditional greek music. So, see if you can't borrow your dads car this weekend, because me and the rest of the gang are grabbing our favorite gals and headin' out to the beach to catch some gnarly waves and my car is in the shop, total bummer, huh? So come on dude, hang eight and come on over.

So, in order to start this Surf Week off I figured we should start with THE surf rock album. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the genre (read as: all of you) this will make a great starting point, after all it is the debut album of one of surf rocks greatest practioners: Dirk Dale.

Dirk Dale is a guitar god. His name might not pop up as often as Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page but he is just as talented, and his sound is just as well known. Making full use of his Fender amps "wet" spring reverb (people thought that this setting on the amp made guitars sound like the waves, I don't know why, but don't argue k?) Dale played fast paced instrumental rock that took inspiration from just about everything. After hearing this album a load of kids picked up the guitar and formed their own surf rock bands and so the genre was born.

So come on, listen to the original surf rock album. You'll recognise a bunch of the tracks like Dales' rendition of Sloop John B (a song that would be made famous by The Beach Boys a few years later) and I'm sure a lot of it will be brand new to you.

Give it a listen

Look like a cool cat who listens to everything. Buy a surf rock record to put in your collection, today!

Come - Gently Down The Stream (1998)

Every city has a bunch of skinny white kids, clad in jeans and tshirts, playing noisy, slightly angsty, guitar driven alternative rock.

Now you could argue that Boston had Pixies, or The Breeders, heck you could even argue that The Lemonheads wer-the point is that the hilariously named Come may very well be a better answer.

Sounding like a mix between Seam and Archers of Loaf (and probably a bunch of other 90s american alternative rock bands that you've never heard of) Come recorded four incredible albums in the seven years the were together, no small feat I'm sure you'll agree.

Gently Down The Stream is, in my humble opinion, their finest release. It was the last album they put out and as a result shows the band pulling out all the stops, creating an album that's pretty different to their more slowcore inspired debut (which is also worth a listen if you can find a copy). At times it sounds almost blues rockish, sounding like something The White Stripes could have recorded way back when but at other times this sounds like the angst ridden, soundscapes that Seam threw together.

I don't know what else to write (I feel like I've written these exact same paragraphs for every other 90s indie band I've covered on this blog) but trust me when I say that this is an overlooked classic. There isn't a single bad track, instead each song is memorable and interesting. Sometimes they're unpredicatble, noisy and angry like in Stomp but sometimes they're incredly well thought, almost sorrowful and just plain incredible on tracks like Former Model.

If you're a fan of 90s alternative rock or a fan of good music you need to check this out (you owe it to yourself).

Give it a listen

Maybe if I buy this they'll reform? Hell, it worked for Pavement (anything is possible)