My entry for STV’s Write Factor competition thing.
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Am I the Scottish Richard Littlejohn – Nick Griffin’s favourite columnist and the man who described the deaths of “disgusting, drug-addled street whores,” or those five women with names, families and their own personal stories of trauma and addiction that saw them compelled into working as prostitutes in Ipswich before being murdered by Steve Wright in 2006, as “no great loss?” (more…)
I Am Kloot – B Album
Ten years since they first formed, Manchester’s most underappreciated band (now that Elbow have hit the big time) mark their anniversary with this collection of B-sides, rarities and unreleased songs. Spread over two CDs, these 28 tracks not previously seen fit for a proper release may be an intimidating prospect for anyone other than a die-hard Kloot fan.
Fortunately, the quality of what’s on offer seems more suited to a ‘best of’ than some collection of cast-offs only desired by Kloot completists. Keeping mainly on the acousitc side of indie, tracks like ’Junk Culture’ and ’Fat Kids In Photographs’ are warm and welcoming takes on the little things in life that can mean so much. Things do get dark though, with ’This House Is Haunted’ a fitting release for Halloween – discordant and vengeful, and another side the band are just as comfortable in. (more…)
Broken Records
Out On The Water EP
As ‘Out On The Water’ just flows past unassumingly, you might begin to wonder what happened to that wonderful melodrama and penchant for orchestral triumph that made Broken Records one of the most exciting bands in the country?
For these five tracks of demos and rarities it just seems to have been traded in for a softer touch, more traditional and relaxed, but still just as romantic and wonderful as anything on the brilliant Until The Earth Begins To Part.
With the electric guitars locked up, it‘s nice to hear the cello and violin so intimately, blending with Jamie Sutherland‘s vocals as though it was always meant to be. Perhaps not quite so exciting a prospect for a live show, but something to savour on record.
7.4/10
Frightened Rabbit
Swim Until You Can‘t See Land
Just back from a co-headlining tour of the US with fellow Fat Cat’s, Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks, Frightened Rabbit return to our radios with a song touched by the sun of their travels. S
cott Hutchison holds back his often powering vocals, letting an almost Beach Boys guitar style mix with their more typical tumpping percussion and an interesting string arrangements that hints of where this mighty act can go. And that would be ’very far indeed’.
Their most understated work yet, but it just makes the pay-off so much more worth it.
7.9/10
We Were Promised Jetpacks
It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning/Ships With Holes Will Sink
Seen somewhat as successors to the Biffy crown of Scottish champions of loud, passionate, indie post-rock, We Were Promised Jetpacks are only getting bigger every day.
Fortunately for us, WWPJ are sticking firmly to old-school Biffy as an influence, rather than the dreadful neo-prog pretension they are now, keeping with the always fulfilling clean intricacy to awesome distortion approach, and letting forceful vocals that marry rage and wonder evoke a vital passion.
As pleasing as it all is though, it’s a work lacking in ingenuity somewhat, with both sides in this AA side difficult to distinguish, and some new ideas must be forthcoming for their rise to continue.
For now though, the boredom is a long way off, and it’s still fun to get a little prima, even if it‘s hard to tell exactly what song‘s making you do so.
7.5/10
So we’ve done singles, and we’re all perfectly happy and in agreement that ‘Hey Ya’ is the best song released this decade? Aren’t we now? Aren’t we? Good. Now for the even more exciting count down! In my head anyway. For in a decade where downloads and torrents and online radio stations such as Last FM, Pandora and Spotify devalued the art of collecting a few songs together, and making them mean something as a whole, we’ve had more than our share of classic records. Honest.
And never have we had such a varied, diverse bunch to pick from, due mainly to the internet and its ability to make music from all over the world as easy to access as clicking on a few buttons and ignoring porn for 15 minutes. Magic! Though this particular list has a wee bit of a focus on North American alt-rock, but that’s just me. And it is my list. So make your own if you don’t agree. Or do something worthwhile. Like start a family or storm a KFC.
And so we conclude. With ten songs in impeccable brilliance. No, really. This was worth it, wasn’t it? Yes? Good. Albums next.
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