Saturday 26 March 2011

What I've been listening to this week...

Yes, I know it’s Saturday and this is supposed to be a Sunday thing, but, hey, it’s a ‘blog’ so the rules I make up, I can just as easily break up, right? Anyway, it’s been a busy ol’ week and the start of next week is equally as hectic with gigs and work, so it’s probably best to get this out of the way today rather than completely forget about it tomorrow.

Last night I thought my eardrums were about to implode, so brutal was the rumbling bass at the Lucky Me soiree. It was a good night; really interesting to see how club culture has progressed (and volumised) since I was a young 'un. Today, I’m just happy to be able to hear music never mind write about it. Still, I’ll give it my best shot in the hour or so I have spare this morning before we go off to shoot a child (with a camera, not a gun).

Explosions in the Sky (EITS)

The new EITS record, as anyone who’s read my swooning tweets will affirm, is an album I’m basking in at the present. I’m a little surprised by how much I’m enjoying these instrumental blowings; previously I’ve been non-plussed by EITS’s slow-building endeavours. But Take Care, Take Care, Take Care seems to hone their sound into a tightly knitted 46 minutes of growling post-rock. Album swansong, Let Me Back In, is a particular pleasure.



Deerhunter

This Monday I finally get round to seeing Bradford Cox in live action. I'm a bit excited. Annoyingly, Su has already had the pleasure; although this was back in Atlanta where he letched over her every move while she was shooting . It’s a bit weird thinking of Cox as a sexually charged man, really. Kinda creepy. Anyway, in preparation for Monday night's Glasgow jaunt, I’ve been re-listening to Deerhunter's most recent release, the excellent Halcyon Digest. This cut, He Would Have Laughed – a song written in tribute to Jay Retread – is the zenith on a record of mountainous highs. Monday can’t come soon enough.



Deerhoof

In my bid to keep fit and deter the mood altering effects of a highly stressful day job, I’ve been running the 2.5 mile journey home (almost) every working day. Bizarrely, the maniacal sound of Deerhoof is a perfect soundtrack for this new found penchant for pavement pounding. I’m fairly certain it’s something to do with their dedication to ebb-flow rhythms. The band’s acerbic lunges are harmonised by slow-creeping woozes, meaning my lungs are given some much needed respite while negotiating the ridiculous amounts of hills found in inner-city Edinburgh. Seriously, someone needs to flatten this place out.



Over the Wall

Nick [Mitchell – Raith supporting Radar Editor] made a very good point during last night's Over the Wall (OTW) show: they’re a band that’s impossible to dislike. I’ve always been intrigued by the working of OTW, there’s definitely more of an artsy edge to the duo’s work than their cabaret-styled on-stage demeanours suggest. Also, they’ve produced a zippy little track called ‘Thurso’, which as well as being their most recognisable number, is also the name of my hometown. I’ve never really fathomed the connection, but I’m sure the ‘look how far we’ve come’ musing resonates with many an ex-pat northerner.



J Masics

I never could get into the new Kurt Vile LP that everyone’s licking their lips over. But, in an odd throw up of the books (or records, I suppose), I’m all over J Masics’s Several Shades Of Why. It’s very simple stuff, built around an acoustic guitar and Masics’ rich baritone, but these tortured reveries hit me harder than any of the stops Vile pulls out. Definitely more a Sunday morning soundrack than a pre-club curtain-raiser, though.

2 comments:

Milo said...

Good stuff Bilbo - see you on Monday for some Deerhunter action, just don't punch him for perving over your wife!

Billy said...

Nice one Milo. See you there, bevvy in hand! To be honest, judging by the size of Mr Cox all I'd need to do is blow in his general vicinity and he'd be swept away!