A Festive Update

Just a quick one to inform you, my loyal readers, that I haven't forgotten about you but I've simply been busy over this Festive period.

Rest assured articles and reviews are being written and early next year (possibly before) I will unveil a series of exciting posts looking back at all of 2009's best musical offerings.

Until then, please enjoy the seasonal satire to your right. Thanks for checking in and have Merry Christmas, Winterval or other religious holiday.

Tom

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Guest Review: Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up

Those who heard Paolo Nutini’s 2006 debut breakthrough These Streets heard a 19 year old with a big future. Acoustic-based singer-songwriters aren’t hard to come by, but Paolo’s accent, rock band set-up, and good looks set him apart and gained him media coverage and plenty of adoring fans.

But its 2009, and he’s on the difficult second album. Still only 22, after success with singles such as Last Request and Jenny Don’t Be Hasty, the record company would certainly have been hungry for a good follow-up.

Sunny Side Up was released at the end of May just in time to be the soundtrack for the English summertime. And when the first single was released, listeners could have been excused for thinking it was going to be a familiar second album, despite Candy being a good track. Paolo singing to his lover over a delicate, acoustic 4-chord set-up seemed pretty in keeping with the majority of These Streets.

However, come the album’s release, you hit the play button and the first thing you hear is a brass section with some free playing organ in the background. With a ‘Hey!’ from Paolo, we’re suddenly in reggae mode and it is unbelievable. I found myself picking up the CD inner expecting to see the words ‘Producer: Mark Ronson’ but I was glad to see the name Ethan Johns instead.

This first track, 10/10 clocks in at under 3 minutes and is a perfectly fun, catchy song, but needless to say it’s a massive shock. Paolo’s band are barely audible for trumpet and keyboard.

But as we get past those 3 minutes, it seems he has struck a much nicer balance. Coming Up Easy, released as the album’s 2nd single, charted at only number 62 in the UK charts, his lowest charting single to date. However, for me, it is clearly the best song on the album. There is an almost motown-esque vibe to the song, but importantly the band is back in full glory. Brilliant Hammond organ riffs compliment, and with very small motifs the brass is completely welcome come the second chorus.

However, the golden moment of the song, in fact, the golden moment of the album comes in the final section of Coming Up Easy. The band drop down to just a simple snare-rim beat and the bass moving between two notes, echoed by the organ. The stage is set, and in a low swooning voice Paolo declares, “It was in love I was created, and in love is how I hope I die”. The drums signal for the band to rise back up together, and with Paolo singing higher the tension rises.

As Paolo lets out his rockier side, he hits his peak and it sounds simply brilliant. The band continues to jam for another minute, and it’s worth it. Each repeat sees the band playing harder and harder, and with Paolo improvising and wailing more on each line it’s a minute of magic which, despite there being 10 tracks left, is never quite matched on the album again.
The third single from the album was Pencil Full Of Lead and was undoubtedly the most popular. Banjo strums in the background along with playful drums, but oh my, the trumpets are most definitely back, along with everybody’s favourite – the harmonica solo. By the time Paolo is amongst it shouting incomprehensible words (and at the end murmuring), it just sounds like the equivalent of a 12-bar jam that 14-year-olds would consider blues. On the plus side, its only 2 minutes and 27 seconds long, and its meant in a much more fun manner than a bitter old man like me is willing to accept. But the brass intro really should make you cringe as well…

Growing Up Beside You, like Candy, sees the brass ditched, and more of a country influence comes in. Like he did so often in These Streets, Paolo is singing about his youth, and although the layered vocals grow tiresome quite quickly, the songs do work well and deserve their place on the album.

The second half of the album opens with another motown influenced number – No Other Way has more than a little in common with Coming Up Easy. A little more laid back, but still - the structure and the ideas are essentially the same, with another big note hitting ending from Paolo. It serves best as a reminder of Coming Up Easy and is in no way of the same quality.

Tricks Of The Trade is another high moment on the album. It’s just a man and his guitar, and it’s a welcome break. In the chorus Paolo sings ‘Lord, how our glory may fade, well at least we learned some tricks of the trade’, over effectively cheap sounding acoustics. It’s what was good about These Streets and it is definitely still worth hearing.

However, Chamber Music is an incomparably bad version in the same style. And when you’re hearing the harmonica blaring out of the speakers in what could conceivably be interpretations of Johnny Cash off-cuts such as Simple Things and High Hopes, it seems worth just pressing stop and starting the album again for a few tracks.

The thing is, Sunny Side Up sounds like two albums in one. One is a motown or soul album with reggae-esque beat influences, and the other is These Streets gone country. Or, These Fields.
For a second album, keeping the old fans happy whilst offering something to potential new fans seems a good way to go. And maybe making such a big change wasn’t such a strange move after all when we look at it like this. After all, there is no point in making the same album twice, as has been the downfall of many one hit wonders over the years.

However, the album still doesn’t quite feel right jumping from one to the other, and although Paolo still has a tremendous and unique voice, his broadened sound is one that is still developing. I’m looking forward to the next one.

Tom Stephens,
Visit Tom at http://youtune.tumblr.com


Buy Sunny Side Up on iTunes or Visit Paolo Nutini

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'Idiot Writes About Popular High-Street Clothes Shop' (Originally posted on Youtune)

A short while ago I was asked if I would contribute a short something to the excellent Youtune music blog, by the editor over there. Youtune isn't just about the music but is also concerned with the author's feelings and memories associated with a particular song.

The tagline sums it up nicely: "These are your tunes, and your meanings". Told you.

It's slightly departed from my usual avenue of writing but I enjoyed it as much as any other review and you can read the entry in it's entirety below or, better still, you can visit Youtune itself where you can peruse my entry and many others like it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Originally posted on http://youtune.tumblr.com on Dec 7th 2009
A short while ago, the editor was asked me to write an entry for this blog, concerning what a specific song means to me, and what memories it holds.

Taken at face value, this doesn’t seem like an especially taxing task. Everyone has songs they love, and everyone has reasons why they love those songs, right? Well yes they do, but as I found out, there’s a difference between songs you like and songs that you form a palpable, emotional attachment with. There’s no doubt that Rocket Man is one of Elton John’s finest moments, but do I feel genuine despair for the departing astronaut? No, not really. And as uplifting and enjoyable as it is, I’ve yet to rejoice in a loving celebration of life after listening to U2’s Beautiful Day.

As it turned out, it took good deal of thought to arrive at my chosen song and even now I’m not sure how it makes me feel. But I do know it forms the perfect soundtrack to the memories I’ve attached to it and that every time I hear it, something inside of me stirs and I can’t help but form a tiny smile. And I guess that’s what makes it great.

Champagne Supernova is not the most complex song you’ll ever hear (the majority is just 4 chords), but that’s not why I love it.
It’s lyrics are not the most inspirational or quick-witted and sometimes don’t even make sense, but that’s not why I love it.
And it’s not even very well arranged, clocking in at well over seven minutes. But that’s not why I love it.
What I love about it is all of those things.

Before I go on, a short disclaimer. Say ‘Oasis’ to someone and they’ll either begin to discuss a popular high street clothes shop or dismiss the band as arrogant has-beens as seems to be the trend now. Well I’d like to buck that trend and I’d even go as far to say that Oasis were the most important band of the 1990s, and that (What’s the Story) Morning Glory was the most important album.
I’m not embarrassed to say that and I’m not embarrassed to say that I think Oasis are dismissed too easily these days.

First of all, a bit of background. In 2003, I was budding ‘metalhead’ and listened to bands such as Metallica and System of a Down, and even played guitar in a metal band in my spare time. It was also about this juncture that, courtesy of my Dad’s record collection, I first heard Oasis’ second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, and Champagne Supernova. From the moment I’d started, I couldn’t stop. Every song seemed to grab me with its simplicity and no-nonsense attitude.
Fast-forward a year and the heavy rock had all but gone. Bands such as Manic Street Preachers, Coldplay and Oasis had replaced it. They all typified the straightforward and catchy rock that I had grown to love as I advanced through my early teenage years.

It just so happens that those few years were some of the best of my life and I have memories of hot summer days spent doing nothing, but doing nothing with friends. And memories of grand plans and ambitions made with no care in the world.

It’s probably fair to say that I could’ve chosen any song from (What’s the Story)… but I chose Champagne Supernova for a few reasons.
The first is it’s simplicity. Using just a handful of chords it manages build into a stadium-sized epic that never once becomes dull during it’s seven minute length, and it is this attitude that gives the song some of it’s emotional weight.
It’s clear that Noel Gallagher and Oasis are from the 60s school of songwriting that requires no musical knowledge, and by simply getting up there, having fun and playing what ‘sounds good’, they’ve created a feeling of being able to do anything.

And they don’t give a fuck.

Secondly, however you look at them, the lyrics make no sense together. Aside from being totally contradictory, the line “Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball” suggests walking at a speed faster than gunpowder, down an imaginary hall that bears no relevance to any line before or after. And yet it’s brilliant, because nobody understands it. Nobody is meant to understand it and most importantly, nobody wants to understand it because they don’t care.

The line, “Where were you while we were getting high?” backs this up. It defines the song as something that isn’t political or philosophical but is about having fun and as before, not giving a fuck.
Even the title suggests celebration and excitement, and I can take a good guess that Noel Gallagher had no idea what a ‘Supernova’ was.

Maybe it’s the attitude and the enjoyment I like the most but this is all made easier by the fact that Champagne Supernova is a great song. A stadium-sized epic that has both heartfelt and soaring melodies, and is backed by huge guitars that weave between the vocals, and explode into the chorus.

I read somewhere once, an excellent description of (What’s the Story)… that works just as well to describe Champagne Supernova:

“It should be enjoyed at full volume, lager in hand, and in your mate’s back garden. All on the greatest English summer day imaginable.”

It sums up just what the song is about, how the song should be perceived, and most importantly, that you don’t really need to think about it at all. And that’s why I love it.


If you enjoyed this then please visit http://youtune.tumblr.com for more great entries.

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The Flaming Lips - Race For The Prize (Audio)

Taken from the aformentioned album, The Soft Bulletin.

Storming first track, which showcases the album's experimental yet accessible style and singer Wayne Coyne's higher lyrical themes.

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Review: The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin

1999 was a fairly boring year in the grand, musical scheme of things. Notable releases came from old hats Blur and The Red Hot Chili Peppers and it also was the year that broke Sigur Ros and Eminem. But unless you’re an Eiffel 65 fan, that’s about it.

Fortunately for us however, 1999 was also the year that The Flaming Lips chose to release The Soft Bulletin and, ten years on, it still sounds just as fresh and original as it did then.

From the moment the raw drums of Race For The Prize kick in, The Flaming Lips transport you to their own world of psychedelic rock and only allow you to return after being transported around subjects such as Nobel prizes and astrophysics, and while it’s quite clearly an album from an experimental band, they’ve managed strip away the inaccessibility often found in the genre. The longest song clocks in at a non-progressive five minutes and fifty five seconds and there’s no over-the-top arrangements and no unnecessary guitar solos.

What we’re left with is the unusual song titles and their offbeat lyrics from the ‘70s, coupled with a melodic sheen from the ‘90s. This easily avoids a rehashing of bands from past decades and creates a progressive rock sound for the MTV generation.

After rip-roaring opener Race For The Prize, we move onto second track and album highlight A Spoonful Weighs A Ton. Opening with a black and white movie string section, it drifts along as an optimistic and uplifting song before, without warning, dropping into a Led Zeppelin inspired breakdown and emerging the other end as the uplifting track that entered around thirty seconds previously. It shouldn’t work, but effortlessly does.

Third track The Spark That Bled has an almost ethereal opening and soon develops into a relaxed call to arms against an unspecified oppressor, as evidenced by the refrain of “I Stood Up and I Said Yeah” and the final few lines of the country inflected bridge:

“The outreached hands had resigned themselves,
To holding onto something that they never had…
…'Cause in reality there was no reaction”

Similarly to A Spoonful Weighs a Ton, the floating sound of the song and the themes of the lyrics shouldn’t match up but they do. They work together to reinforce the idea and perhaps make it more effective.

After the almost instrumental The Observer and excellent, universe-filling track What Is The Light?, we find ourselves at the album’s second single and another standout track.

Waitin’ For a Superman is musically, the most straightforward track on the album. A simple four or five chord pattern, backed with stomping drums that deviate very little. It’s this simplicity however, that gives the song it’s weight and allows frontman Wayne Coyne’s actually quite sombre lyrics to really come thorugh. As the title suggests, this is song about disillusionment and the lyric “Is It Getting Heavy?”, is a direct question to a non-existent ‘superman’ who cannot deal with the problems as he should be able to. The final verse brings the song hope that works well with the track’s major key and shows that Coyne hasn’t lost faith in all of humanity after all:

“Tell everybody waiting for Superman
That they should try to hold on best they can”

Although these lyrics might at first seem wasted on such a simple and, musically speaking, happy track, it’s for precisely these reasons that the song has a weight and sadness that is better than any ballad would manage.

The only time the album gets close to losing itself in a psychedelic cloud is on ninth track The Gash. Despite having a chorus that is worthy of the album, it is lost somewhat in the mass of voices that form the basis of the track. A choir sings the majority of the melody and but for the booming drums and actually very good vocal melody, consumes the track in it’s unnecessary feeling of heaviness. I should point out this is a very minor and is probably more of a gripe with the mixing rather than the actual song

Dreamy but not pretentious, The Soft Bulletin sees the band move away from previous, more experimental sounds and embrace an almost childlike pop style. It has a pop sheen that is coupled with a fantastic sense of experiment that compliments the albums higher lyrical themes whilst remaining firmly on the ground. A concept album without a concept, it was the album that propelled The Flaming Lips out of the underground and firmly established them as one of the best and most popular bands to come out of the 90s.

On second thoughts, I don’t think I’ll bother with that Eiffel 65 review.

Buy the CD here Download the MP3s here Visit The Flaming Lips here

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Moving Home

Just a short message to keep you guys in the loop, and let you know that this blog has moved to it's new home on Wordpress. Nothing against Blogger, I just feel like Wordpress is my spiritual home!

This site will of course continue to be updated, but the focus will be elsewhere and the posts on here will likely consist of simple re-posts of the content which can be found at http://mainlygenius.wordpress.com. Don't hesitate to change your bookmarks for maximum enjoyment.

On another note, there will be a new review coming along very soon, and it's a really great album so look out for that.

Until then,

Tom Cornish (editor)

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(Audio) Editors - In This Light and On This Evening

Title track from the aforementioned Editors album.

Standout track from the transitional, third album that has the agression and passion to become an instant Editors classic.

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Review: Editors - In This Light and On This Evening

Ok, try to picture the scene. You’d burst onto the music scene with your critically acclaimed debut album, you’d then followed that up with a shiny, well-produced second album and now you need to release a third one push up to the next level. What do you do?

Well if you’re in Editors, you break out the synths and release In This Light and On This Evening.

Unfortunately, the 80s revival doesn’t come together quite as well as planned and often lacks the power and melody of previous efforts. Lead guitars are mixed lower, drums are less intense and despite lead singer Tom Smith’s best efforts, the songs are ultimately suffocated by the need for retro sounds.

However, it’s by no stretch a bad album and it’s clear that this a band who aren’t happy to produce the same material over and over. Title track and opener In This Light and On This Evening has an aggressive, almost dirty bass that drives the song and results in what is arguably one of the finest Editors track to date and first single Papillon features an uplifting chorus that could have happily featured on more mainstream second album An End Has A Start.

Other highlights include the industrial darkness of Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool and album high point Bricks and Mortar, one of the rarer times when the lo-fi sound really gels with the band’s passionate style.

All too often however, In This Light and On This Evening sounds incomplete and feels more like a collection of experimental demos rather than a new direction for the band.
Beneath the layers of retro noise, ballad The Boxer has a real fragility about it that is suffocated by the need for a synth at every opportunity and a lo-fi drum sound that has all the musicality of somebody sneezing.
Similarly, Walk The Fleet Road is overpowered by the use of electronics and although it doesn’t feel as forced as The Boxer, it still sounds muddy and again suffocates Tom Smith’s vocal melody.


Overall In This Light… is an album from a band in transition and is bold step, but ultimately one that doesn’t do the band the justice they perhaps deserve. It has some chilling moments of darkness and Editors should be applauded for pushing themselves and their sound in new places and nearly making it work.
Deep down inside is an impassioned beast waiting to emerge with what this album could have been, had the balance been struck.
Editors will be more successful, that’s for sure, but with In This Light and On This Evening as the necessary stepping stone, true success won’t come until next time around.

Visit them - http://www.editorsofficial.com

Or buy on iTunes

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NPR: Live Concerts From All Songs Considered Podcast

This second link is called the NPR: Live Concerts From All Songs Considered Podcast and contains live performances from it's sister podcast All Songs Considered. As with the previous link, it has a huge selection of artists all of which are available for free.

NPR is short for National Public Radio and as you would expect, they also offer a variety of other podcasts, all of which are available on iTunes.

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KEXP Live Performances Podcast

No review this time round I'm afraid, that'll come along over the coming week. Instead I offer a couple of excellent podcasts that I recently discovered. Both feature high quality live sets and interviews from some great bands and to top it all off, are available for free on iTunes.


This first link is the KEXP Live Performances Podcast and is pretty self-explanatory. It's released by Seattle based radio station KEXP and contains well over 200 featured artists. It's updated every week and is available for the princely sum of nothing.

I should also mention that KEXP do a few other podcasts that are worth checking out, all of which are available on iTunes.

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(Audio) Long Dead Signal - Red Lines

Taken from the self-titled debut EP.

Standout track that shows maturity and fragility, while also maintaining an element of gritiness that should please most Indie fans.

Listen on Tumblr: http://bit.ly/3bBM68

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Review: Long Dead Signal – Long Dead Signal

Sometimes it’s fate that brings people together and I’d like to thing that I was introduced to Long Dead Signal by a similar method. At a guess, I’d say that most of you are not familiar with their self-titled debut EP and, were it not for a chance encounter only two months ago, neither would I be.

Whilst I was attending a function in Nottingham, these guys played an excellent set and, fortunately for me, were handing out free copies of their debut EP.

So, is it any good?

Well, yes it is rather. Despite only being three songs long, and clocking in at a poptastic eleven minutes, it has an twisted feel that is dark in sound and shows that indie needn’t be so boring (or happy).

Opening track Again introduces us to the band’s signature, almost dissonant guitar sounds, and the passionate and confident voice that the lead singer possesses.
However, on reflection it’s probably the weakest of the three tracks and never quite develops into the finished article, despite the chorus sounding much bigger than it has any right to.

Second track Red Lines is, how Long Dead Signal should be represented, and features an opening sequence that showcases a mature and confident vocal performance not to dissimilar to a lamenting Thom Yorke, and soon develops into a something more familiar and powerful. Despite the band’s best efforts, Red Lines never loses its unsettling and slightly fragile edge, showing courage from the band that they could easily have shied away from.

Final track, Twizzle, is how album opener Again probably should’ve sounded and feels more complete than it’s predecessor. It’s familiar chiming guitar feels much more liberated and complements the grittier vocals better, and although it’s nothing new, Twizzle is a strong track that has a definite sprinkling of Muse about it.

Overall then, an interesting and slightly left-of-centre indie record that, despite the below-par production values that blight it, shows potential that might yet see a bigger audience. Long Dead Signal is a courageous debut, which is becoming all to rare in the current indie climate.

If Indie is your kind of thing, then you could do a lot worse than to check out with these guys.

Now if they can just raise the money for Abbey Road…

Visit them: http://www.myspace.com/longdeadsignal

Or add them: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Dead-Signal/65637908242

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(Audio) The Boxer Rebellion - Soviets

Taken from the aforementioned album, Union.

An excellent track that not only showcases a great melody, but also a lyrical maturity that matches up with the enchanting falsettos and spacious guitar sounds.

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Review: Boxer Rebellion – Union

Before we begin, a heartwarming tale:

In 2003, The Boxer Rebellion looked set for big things. They played ahead of Keane at Glastonbury, signed with Britpop supremo Alan McGee and won themselves a support slot with The Killers.

But just as things were taking off, lead singer Nathan Nicholson became very ill and the band was forced to suspend all activities, including touring.

Fast-forward two years and the band finally released debut album Exits to a very favourable critical reception and, as before, they looked destined for success.
Just two weeks later, their record label imploded leaving the band with no label, no backing and no money.

Now here comes the heartwarming bit.

In January of this year, after lead single Evacuate was made available for free on iTunes, self-financed second album Union, became an overnight success. It shot up the download charts and just five days after release, it was number one in the US and number four in the UK. In it’s first week it outsold Kings of Leon, Coldplay and MGMT. It didn’t just match them, it outsold them.

Union got it’s long-awaited physical release on this side of the pond in September and to commemorate this (and the fact that it’s really very good) I thought I’d check it out.

Let me be straight with you, Union is excellent. And I’m so pleased. Reaching the top of any chart requires some kind of quality control, but it would’ve been very easy for the all the hype to get a little out of hand. Thankfully, it justifies itself with room to spare.

Union sets it’s stall out from the very beginning, making clear from the moment the galloping drums of opening track Flashing Red Light Means Go enter, we’re set for lush, arena-sized rock that recalls both Sigur Rós and Radiohead in their prime.

Acoustic layers eventually give way to a enchanting falsetto of “Tell us why you’re leaving” before all too soon we’re onto second track Move On. Signature galloping drums signify more of the same, which is really no bad thing. Lead singer Nicholson sings an aggressive refrain of “move on”, cleverly positioned in contrast to the previous track’s sentiment but proving no less effective.

Lead single Evacuate is quite easily the stand out track, and features more than one killer hook. After an unsure and lamenting verse, the chorus heralds a realisation. Jumping up a gear, Nicholson sings:

“Wait. When there’s nothing left to waste.
On a promise I can make.
You don’t want no one this way. Wait”

No longer unsteady, the singer knows what is required. The music straightens and fills out to form an excellent backdrop for the strained melodies.

Album tracks Misplaced, Semi Automatic and album closer Silent Movie, show a darker side to the band, allowing the exceptional lyrics to realise their true potential before almost always drawing to a thumping and, there’s that word again, arena-sized close.

It must be said that by the time we reach seventh track, Forces, the galloping drums begin to get tiresome and, despite the track’s killer chorus, make the song sound more predictable and laboured than perhaps it should.

Similarly, the guitars are superb for the most part, but as we move towards the album’s conclusion, there is a growing feeling of déjà vu that places tracks such as Semi Automatic in the bracket labeled ‘Album Tracks’. If the song were stripped to it’s bare bones, this would seem a wholly unfair assessment but, as before, there is a slight underlying sense of autopilot.

However, these are small and insignificant points. The soaring melodies and enchanting falsettos more than make up for any shortcomings and lyrically, the band are at a stage that many bands twice their age have yet to reach.

Frantic, dark and heart-wrenching all at the same time, it’s not difficult to see why Union propelled The Boxer Rebellion into the musical limelight and up the charts. Here is proof that maybe hard graft and top quality music can win through in the end.

Feeling heartwarmed yet? I certainly am.

Please visit them at: www.theboxerrebellion.com

Or buy on iTunes

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Rural Life - 'Yours, Eli' - Free Download Now Available

Further to my earlier review, I am delighted to say I can now offer a free download of Rural Life’s excellent track Yours, Eli.

It’s the third track taken from their debut EP, It Was Me, It Was You, It Was About Saying Goodbye, and is a great example of their simple arrangement and uncomplicated production allowing the song to shine through.

Make sure you check them out at myspace.com/clickclickbuzzbuzz - you won’t regret it.

Visit mainlygenius.tumblr.com to get it.

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(Audio) Simple Minds - Stars Will Lead The Way

Third track taken from the aforementioned LP, Graffiti Soul.

An example of a great melody that is complimented by sparkling guitar lines and excellent arrangment.

Listen on Tumblr - http://bit.ly/1jW9JQ

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Review: Simple Minds - Graffiti Soul

So Simple Minds are back with a new album, their first in twenty years. The first since they stopping making music after releasing decade defining hit, Don’t You (Forget About Me), in 1984. Right?

Well no, actually. Don’t You (Forget About Me) was released in 1984 but, after a cursory glance at one of the internet’s most reliable encyclopedias, it transpires that Simple Minds never split up or really ever stopped making albums.

Graffiti Soul is the latest offering from the Glaswegian band, their first since 2005’s Black & White 050505, and their 16th overall. That’s right, 16th.

From the moment album opener Moscow Underground swings into view, it’s clear this is group who are feeling re-invigorated and, while they may not have hit top gear yet, they’re enjoying it all the same.

What we get is a natural sounding album. It doesn’t overpower and is comfortable, clear and most of all exciting.
While some of the songs may lack the killer melodies, the guitars sparkle throughout and Jim Kerr’s familiar vocals sound as strong and engaging as they did all those years ago.

Lead single Rockets and follow up Stars Will Lead the Way are the standout tracks, and recall a sound that perhaps the band should be more recognized for.
Opening with an U2 type guitar riff, Rockets shows the band’s ability for a good pop arrangement, but also manages to keep an edge that maintains it’s rock credibility, whilst Stars Will Lead the Way has the hook that probably deserved a much higher chart placing than that which it obtained (#88 in Germany).
Light Travels is a bold song that takes us back to the mid 80s with subtle lyrics and confident drums, and is followed by Kiss and Fly, which has some of the cleverest guitar playing to be found on the album.

However, to say that this album is without fault would perhaps be rash. Tracks such as Blood Type O and This Is It are relegated towards the end of the record and despite good intentions, lack the grace and melody of other tracks. There’s a nagging feeling of incompletion that surrounds these tracks, the feeling that maybe the band were happy to make a decent album, rather than risk creating a bad one.

Nonetheless, Graffiti Soul is an excellent return and should be treated as such. It has more than enough quality to keep the older fans happy but contains the melody and grace that has Simple Minds sounding like they mean it again and deserves respect from a new generation of fans.
Despite there being over 30 years since we first heard from them, the band are showing no signs of letting up. With a newfound enthusiasm and an excellent return to form, I’m very much looking forward to next 30.

Visit them on - www.simpleminds.com

Or iTunes - http://bit.ly/3xYUmO

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(Audio) Rural Life - Yours, Eli

Third track taken from the aforementioned debut EP, It Was Me, It Was You, It Was About Saying Goodbye.

An example of simple arrangement and uncomplicated production, allowing the song to shine through


Listen on Tumblr - http://bit.ly/4rIvsC

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Review: Rural Life - It Was Me, It Was You, It Was About Saying Goodbye

Rural Life is a group who have been with me for a while but about whom I’ve never succeeded in writing. I’m ashamed to say that despite being on my iTunes for a little under five months, I never really allowed them a fair portion of listening time until recent weeks.
For those of you who’ve never had the pleasure it’s about time you bucked up your ideas.

It Was Me, It Was You, It Was About Saying Goodbye is the debut EP from the duo Rural Life (chief songwriter Andrew Chu and producer Alex Beitzke), and although it doesn’t immediately grab the listener as one might hope, it soon becomes difficult to turn off.
Opening track Mid-Autumn suggests a pop edge that lines the collection and doesn’t tie it up in complex guitar sounds or chord sequences. Although perhaps one of the weaker tracks, this and subsequent track Mountain Air allow the listener to adjust themselves to the lower octave vocals and appreciate the clever arrangements, that come into their own as the EP progresses.

However, it is not until track three, Yours, Eli that It Was Me… really comes into it’s own. A devastatingly simple chord sequence underpins the first verse before the track subtly builds into a short tale of love and loss, making full use of the album’s careful and smooth production.
From here, we move through the more upbeat numbers Oh! There It Is Right There with its nod to Jack Johnson and Life On Film, giving the ukulele another run out, before we are once again drawn into the sixth track, Firstborn.

Although initially not overly different from earlier tracks, it is soon clear that Firstborn has a melody that requires the listener to…well…listen.
Following the EP’s loose themes of departure, jealously and love, it talks of a Mother with her family (and firstborn child) and the jealously of not being a part of that. At it’s core it contains no more than five or six chords but it takes more than just a cursory glance to realize that this is all there is to it.

With the dial firmly set to ‘stripped back’ we move past shortest track, Sometimes and reach the EP’s closer Saying Goodbye.
Recalling the smooth electric guitar sounds of earlier track Yours, Eli, it sums the EP up nicely. Simple and clever production compliments the feeling of resolve and relief the track evokes. Not trying to end with flurry does the album no harm and succeeds in having the memorable effect that a barrage of guitars or vocals might have done.

Needing no showy vocals, no extra guitars or no over-the-top production techniques, It Was Me… shows a maturity and simplicity that is seldom seen in the age of the Arctic Monkeys, and tips it’s hat to releases by Bon Iver and Johnny Cash, while retaining it’s own sense of identity.

It’s by no means perfect, but shows enough potential that suggests that somewhere down the line, we might get something that will be approaching just that.
While some might argue it’s nothing you’ve not heard before, I would happily bet it’s something you’d like to hear again and again.


Visit them on MySpace: http://myspace.com/clickclickbuzzbuzz

Or iTunes:
http://bit.ly/Ag8J4

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(Audio) Kate Bush - And Dream of Sheep

Taken’ from the aforementioned album, Hounds of Love.

An example of a Kate Bush song that strips away the drum machines and samples, just leaving Bush singing at her best with only a piano for accompaniment.

Listen on Tumblr - http://bit.ly/1mSMz3

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Review: Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

After my initial (and frankly, boastful) declaration of authoring a blog ‘mainly about music’, comes the very first post regarding that subject. Let’s try to forget the fact that we are five posts in.

Although it might say ‘review’ at the summit of this post, in true Kate Bush style I would feel more inclined to refer to it as a collection of thoughts or an anthology of musings. If it’s star ratings you’re looking for then there could some disappointment in store. (What I’m doing is covering my own back, in case what I produce over the next few hundred words, is horseshit).

Thankfully, Hounds of Love is not horseshit and is in fact not any kind of excrement. The scene is clearly set from the moment the drums of Running Up That Hill tumble into view. You immediately know what decade you’re in, you immediately know that almost all of the instruments were probably programmed into a drum machine or a synth of some description, and you immediately love it for those reasons.

I’m the first to admit that musically, the 80s were not a particularly groundbreaking decade. Hip-Hop aside, all I really obtained was Gold by Spandau Ballet and a dislike for those horribly 80s, programmed sounds (see Phil Collins).
And yet it is these sounds that grace Hounds of Love. And rather than making me want to vomit, they have the opposite effect.
The same is heard on the album’s title track. Despite some questionable drums, it is again Bush’s clear, melodic vocals and clever arrangements that make that 80s sound become her own. Listening Cloudbusting and The Big Sky¬, shows Bush finding a heavy yet wistful sound, utilising her 4 octave vocal range to create another part of the Kate Bush, dream-pop sound.

For me, however, it is the ballads where Kate Bush’s talents can really be appreciated. Strip away the dated drums and unnecessary synth strings, and you are left with the piano and voice of songs like And Dream of Sheep and to some extent, Hello Earth (This Woman’s Work from the The Sensual World album is another excellent example of this, and for the record, my favourite Kate Bush song). Clocking in at 2 minutes and 46 seconds, And Dream of Sheep is one of the shortest songs on the album, proving that when it comes down to it, when Bush writes with just a piano to back her, she needs nothing more. While tracks like The Morning Fog have their place, it is apparent that no amount if tarting-up can surpass the 2 and-a-half minutes of enjoyment from some simply brilliant songwriting.

As you might be able to fathom, I like this album. But of course nothing’s perfect and despite the excellence found throughout, I will admit to some filler. Despite a promising start, Waking the Witch fails to reach the heights set by the preceding tracks, succumbing to a barrage of samples and suffering an uncharacteristic lack of real melody.

Despite this small blot, Hounds of Love is a musician and songwriter at the top of their game, not only capable of some marvelous moments of pop, but also able to engage all but the most iron of hearts. If you’re not a Kate Bush fan, then this is the showcase album and the one to buy.
If you are a fan then congratulations, you should buy it again.



mainly genius: http://bit.ly/rLseN

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Thriller

Call him what you like, but Pop music is forever poorer without Jacko.

mainly genius: http://bit.ly/EJW17




Real update to follow soon.

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Breaking News: Phil Spector Wears a Wig

I never would've guessed...

mainly genius: http://twitpic.com/748m4

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The difficult Second Post

Just some fun to banish the second post curse.

I really hope this is real:
mainly genius: http://bit.ly/jOjkY

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A New Blog

So it's finally here. My Blog. We could do with another one.

I've always loved the idea of blogging. The freedom, the social interaction, the kind of anonymity and new identity that is portrayed over the web. The problem has always been that I've never had had anything to say. Still don't, in fact.

"Why have you started a blog then?!"

Good question. Firstly it has nothing to do with the fact that I am required to possess one as part of my upcoming studies. That is a pure coincidence. Probably.

Secondly, I've never had an outlet of this type. Never had a diary or journal. Don't write poetry and even when writing music I rarely engage in lyrics. So after all this time, I hope it will be somewhere for me to write many thoughts, share ample musings and offer the occasional amble.

"Who are you?!"

Another excellent question. How rude of me not to have introduced myself. I am only known as Mainly Genius, (That's not actually true, for I only decided on Mainly Genius around 40 minutes ago. So, in fact, no one refers to me in that way) or Tom Cornish if you would prefer an actual, non made-up name. I am currently studying at one of London's premier academic institutions and have grand ambitions of greatness, working in the Music Industry. I am an accomplished guitar player, competent bass player and I own a piano. It has also been known that I have attempted singing on a few, unremarkable occasions.

"What are you going to write about?!"

To put it simply, probably music. Maybe. To me, a blog should be about anything that the author feels is interesting, exciting or any number of (unrestricted) adjectives. It shouldn't be about any one thing.
Music is one of my passions and that is what will take up a majority of the blog space. However, rather than rave about the latest 16 year olds to play guitars, I will try to engage in music that is new to me, music that I have recently discovered, music that maybe will be new to a handful of people and will hopefully be enjoyed by a small portion of these folks. It may be old or new, and could hugely popular already.

As well as music, I hope to supply the odd joke and maybe some side-splittingly witty, satirical sarcasm from time to time. Sarcasm is really what I'm good at.

Right, well there we are. I believe I have finished the first post. As I was writing it, I felt good. I feel like I have made the first step towards becoming an established blogger.

If you have any questions, problems, thoughts, jokes, limericks or confusing feelings, feel free to contact me in the usual ways and any unusual ways that may take your fancy (you don't see enough telegrams these days..). The links are helpfully positioned on the sidebar.

As a final note, I thought I would spice things up a tad by adding a small picture, comment or link at the end of each post, under the moniker of Mainly Genius. Not wanting to break tradition, the first if these follows.

Enjoy


Mainly Genius: http://tinyurl.com/n3jdnh

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