Music: June Playlist

The first of a series, I hope, of lists of the bands, tracks, albums and so on that have lit up my month. As long as I go on discovering new music through the various channels available, I should be able to keep this bit pretty fresh. Fun times.

So, with all the faith in the world, here I go...

1) HORSE FEATHERS - Curs Of Weeds (from the album "House With No Name")



Not a great video (amateurs, eh?), but some rather beautiful songwriting and a haunting, ethereal sound that will tickle the tastebuds of fans of Bon Iver or J. Tillman. The album is fantastic, a very sadly over-looked gem that is up there with "For Emma, Forever Ago", so go give it a listen if you like your music melancholic and your singers bearded.

2) VILLAGERS - Becoming A Jackal (from the album of the same name)



A much better vid, nice and dark, that does justice to the lyrical majesty of this new songwriter from Dublin called Conor J. O'Brien. He's been supporting the glorious Wild Beasts on their recent tours and you can see why, as his music bathes you in poetry and thick, elaborate imagery. Though he's not the finished article just yet, and I can't quite find a way into his debut album, this track has had me gripped for weeks, and I tend to sing it on the way home from the pub in the dark when I can really belt it out. Very good indeed.

3) SURFER BLOOD - Swim (from the album "Astro Coast")



The indie scene's awash with surfer/hipster/beach rock right now, what with groups like The Drums, Real Estate and the like summoning up the glorious, sun-kissed sound of LA afternoons, boardwalk boarders and the Beach Boys to great effect. In amongst all this is a cracking little group called Surfer Blood how add a little punch, a little yell, to the lighter notes, and make it that little bit more thrilling. This is an anthem and a half by them, and a funny little vid to boot. Hope you enjoy.

4) SUFF DADDY - 5 O'Clock Suff (feat. Miles Bonny) (from the album "The Gin Diaries")



Recently I've been revisiting the great soul sounds of Al Green, Donny Hathaway and the like, whilst simultaneously bemoaning the fact that there is a lull in the contemporary soul and funk market. This guy, from Germany, isn't going change that fact particularly, but this track he's done with the John Legend-sounding Miles Bonny is a lovely slice of lazy, romantic soul that stands out on his mixed debut album. It's not going to break boundaries, but I think it soundtracks a relaxed evening with friends rather well. Better than fucking Jack Johnson anyway.

5) SHARON VAN ETTEN - For You (from the album "Because I Was In Love")



This Brooklyn girl's got a voice and talent to make you sit up, and her debut album, though often a bit sparse and subtle, really is worth the work if you want to discover a very precious and delicate talent. She's toured with the likes of Great Lake Swimmers and soon Megafaun, and has a sound that fits nicely into that American Wilderness-Folk scene that is producing so many quality bands and artists right now.

6) THE BLACK KEYS - Tighten Up (from the album "Brothers")



Don't get me started on The Black Keys. I bloody love 'em. I'm a stickler for Americana anyway; the denim, the cars, the wilderness, the blues, I love it all, and I was over the bleedin' moon when this album came out and was a triumph. To me anyway. Others might get board of the duo's lo-fi riff rock but I can't get enough of it and this single, accompanied by a great, GREAT video, has made my month, hell my YEAR. Ruddy brilliant.

7) BAND OF SKULLS - I Know What I Am (from the album "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey")



Another strutty, American-sounding rock band, covered in hair and ripped up t-shirts, but this time from good old blighty, and the cultural washing machine that is Larndarn. They've done things in Southampton and Moscow though, so don't think of them as narrow-minded. God no. They've got a nice sound to them, big and ballsy and with the added White Stripes effect of bolshy bassist Emma Richardson, whose vocals on this track make it more than just your average gain-fest.

8) THE SOFT PACK - More Or Less (from the album "The Soft Pack")



I've really enjoyed this album every time I've put it on. It's a feast of rawkus guitars and energetic vocals influenced, as the San Diegan group have said themselves, by bands like Oasis and The Kinks. This is my favourite song on it too; a sarcastic snipe at those certain persons you meet whom have the most, but give the least. It's young and brash, but groovy as well (and the video has the name Copolla attached to it somehow...hmmm).

9) THE MORNING BENDERS - Promises (from the album "Big Echo")



Another band whose summery sound and sunny disposition could force them into the surfer category, though I think they are harder to pin. The Morning Benders make swelling, delicately harmonic songs that really wash over you, and bring to mind a lazy day in the park or a sunday morning in bed. They are soothing and luscious, and there is much more on the album like this, all of it worthy of a listen.

10) EFTERKLANG - Modern Drift (from the album "Magic Chairs")



Off of Danish band Efterklang's third album, though I'd never heard of them before, this is a lovely tune I think. Nice piano that builds and builds with the vocals into the big old euphoric chorus. I get to see them this year at Green Man festival, and am very excited to do so. Hopefully I won't have slipped into a folk-induced coma by then. Though I wouldn't mind too much either way, all sounds fun.

11) GILLIAN WELCH AND DAVID RAWLINGS - Caleb Meyer (from the album "Hell Among The Yearlings")



The often over-looked "legs" eleven in this roundup is going to go, each month, to a non-contemporary artist, one whom I have re-discovered (or maybe just discovered late). At the moment that artist is Gillian Welch, whom I just CANNOT take off my hifi, such is the swift recent growth of my love for bluegrass and country music from the American South and the fact that she's a stupendously talented woman, and a brilliant songwriter with a dark and emotional heart. I listen to one of her albums almost every day and happily lap up her terribly sad but beautifully crafted songs. David Rawlings is a legend as well, so it's two for the price of one. Appreciate and enjoy.

Love you all x

Film: Misery

The first time I've ever seen this film, and what have been doing all my life? It's superb. It's another one of Stephen King's ingeniously simple stories that exposes a basic human fear and twists on it like a raw nerve until we can't stand it any more. It's about vulnerability and helplessness and obsession, and is over-whelmingly chilling, with a performance from Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes that could, in the wrong hands, have spoiled the whole show, but that is played to perfection, the perfect balance of lovable grin and boiling rage that makes her unpredictable and terrifying.


James Caan as Wilkes' prisoner is a picture of panic and vulnerability, and I will be haunted by the look on his face as Annie readies herself to hobble him by smashing his feet to pieces with a sledgehammer. The script is as tight as a drum, as you would expect from William Goldman, and Rob Reiner's direction is slick, keeping the film ticking over at a good pace and ratcheting up the tension when necessary. It's all made to look easy, which is a sure fire sign that it's been done well.

The jems in the cap though are Silver Creek Sheriff, Buster, and his wife/deputy Virginia, whose relationship provides an amazing love and humour to the otherwise dark story. A brilliant cinematic couple, truly adorable and witty, but also a vital part of the plot.

Music: Al Green, Live at the O2

Al Green proved to me last night that you can hang all the bells and whistles, all the tinsel, all the costume changes and pyrotechnic explosions you want onto a live show but nothing can beat the energy, the professionalism, or the sheer charm of a great performer doing what he does best and enjoying the show...


I have always been a huge fan of soul, funk and motown music, and The Reverend Al Green is a true soul man whose voice, along with stars like Donny Hathaway, Wilson Pickett and Betty Wright, will always make my spine tingle, and this gig was no exception. His presence was magnetic, and every second of the show a true celebration of the love and joy in music, and every single person in the crowd rose to their feet for hits like Let's Stay Together and Tired of Being Alone, as well as being treated to some lesser known hits like Let's Get Married and the heart-breaking How Can You Mend A Broken Heart.

The entire two hour set was magnificent, from start to finish, and proved to me how disappointing it is that soul music, old and new, is not given the public credit or exposure of other far lesser and derogatory genres like R&B or house music. Whether this is because good contemporary soul performers are harder to come across than in the glory days of the sixties and seventies I don't know, but what is clear is that there is no ignoring the heritage of such great showmen and entertainers, true lovers of music and its power such as the reverend himself, that have gone before.

There might be no teaching an old dog new tricks, but why would you want to when the old tricks are JUST SO DAMN GOOD?

Photography: Simon Roberts

In burrowing away for pictures to help me today I came across this beautiful photograph by Simon Roberts, whose book 'We English' was published last year (and can be enjoyed at as a slideshow at http://we-english.co.uk/gallery.html).

What struck me was the amazing purple colour that permeates from the heather in the foreground and up into the sky, as if it were in the air itself. It's nice that such a traditionally effeminate shade brings a touch of girliness to a shot of men doing what they best: hunting.

Anyway, Roberts' book has been out ages, and has some great shots in it, so give it a look.

Music: Hot Hot Heat - Future Breeds (Album)

2003 single 'Bandages' was the soundtrack to many a wiggly, jiggly, rum-spilling dancefloor jig for this music fan, and the exciting album 'Make Up The Breakdown' got me addicted to Canadian punk(ish) outfit Hot Hot Heat, but for years these guys have been rolling around in their own filth, seemingly lost and making dull pop-flop-rock for almost a decade. So how does this new album fair? Is it another fart in the career bath, or a return to the promising land? Here's a cool video to give you a taster...


Going on this first single '21@12', which opens the album with some other similarly messy tunes, it's another let down, as the band waste a good chorus on an uninspiring verse and ruin EVERYTHING by stumbling into that most infuriating obvious of musical traps...the synth addition. There is a horrible fashion reared its ugly head in recent years for bands who are under pressure to be cool again to add second hand electronic instruments and circa 96 Sega sound effects to their songs in an effect to embrace the new market for 80s electronica and re-invented disco. Apart from sticking out like a sore thumb, it makes you want to print a dart board on your temples and head for the nearest boozer. What it also does is give away the band's lack of faith in their own ability and creativity as they resort to cheap gimmicks to try and reel in the trendies. But the trendies are too smart guys. They might not look it but they are, and they'll eat you alive.

After the inauspicious start there's a return to more reliably average guitar "punk" fodder of old, as presumably somebody went to town on the keyboards with an axe. There's a hint of The Strokes in 'Godess On The Prairie', and a nice dark, relaxed swagger to 'Zero Results', but it's all just very lacklustre and too little too late. The songwriting is poor, the sound is cliched, and Steve Bays sings like he's bored. Not very good.

Alas Hot Hot Heat just don't seem to possess the imagination, nor the musicianship to write good albums, and are therefore banished to the singles table, where they can enjoy the inebriated whining of Good Shoes and post-debut Futureheads.

Design: Bonsajo

I've never been one to pretend that I know anything about graphic design, as I've lived with designers and know better than to try and blag my way through the subject. But damn it I knows what I likes, and this little piece of work from a Japanese "visual performance unit" called Bonsajo really had me drooling, both physically and mentally, even a little emotionally (know what I mean lads? No?).

Anyway, take a look at it. I reckon its gorgeous, but also very clever, as it blends to great effect the use of 3D space and 2D image...

Vanishing Point from Bonsajo on Vimeo.

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Music: Future Islands

On a recent downloading binge I was lucky enough to stumble across the enthralling sound of Future Islands, who hail (and then wail) from Baltimore, and who have nurtured a sparse and deconstructed synth-pop sound that packs with it a wonderfully dark and forbidden punch. If you don't believe me, just enjoy this single, called Tin Man, and the beautiful, romantic, lyrical video that has been made for it by Jay Buim:

Future Islands - Tin Man from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Probably my favourite song from the band's album (entitled In Evening Air) is this slow-burner, a haunting track called As I Fall that swells and undulates and takes you over with every repeated bassline and lyric:

Future Islands - As I Fall from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

There's a real strength, texture and resonance to these guys, and especially to enigmatic frontman Samuel T Herring, whose aching vocals bring a real heartbreak to the already refreshingly mature sound. Raw, energetic and pulsating, and instantly captivating. I love it. Give them a listen and see them when you can.

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