‘Summertime Clothes‘ is one of the best tracks on one of the best records of the year, Merriweather Post Pavilion. If you don’t own the album, stop reading now and go and buy it. The real challenge for Animal Collective now is to make the single worth getting as well.
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Album: Parliament of Owls – Crow
As the achingly beautiful strings of the intro to Parliament of Owls’ debut Crow swelled beneath the singing of birds and a David Attenborough-like voice began to speak, I was stunned into awed silence. Any looming dread about having to review a two-disc album disappeared in one magnificent surge of music and, as commanded by the voiceover, all I could do was “wait and listen for the first songs to begin”.
Album: Caroline Weeks – Songs for Edna
Caroline Weeks (multi-instrumentalist from Bat for Lashes) presents her solo debut in tribute to poet Edna St. Vincent. Which for starters may I just say- feels incredibly refreshing. Not to have a ‘self titled’ album with narcissistic tales of a tortured band member previously in the shadows. Caroline has put nine of Edna’s poems to music with a simple backdrop of finger picked guitar loveliness. Simplicity is the running theme here, with only the odd flute and bell making a cameo with her voice and guitar double act. She eases you into her world gently with ‘See where capella with her golden kids’ and takes you on a slow boat ride through Edna’s works.
Album: Mascott – Art Project
Art Project is the third time lucky album for Detroit based group Mascott, with indie veteran Kendal Mead running the show. While she may have been going a while, to date this is her first UK release — and what a cute one it is. The first song, ‘Live Again’ is bringing back the “la la la’s” in a way the Kooks wish they’d thought of. Incredibly upbeat and sunny, it offers a decent sampling of what’s to come.
Album: Matt & Kim – Grand [sampler]
There’s something in the water in Brooklyn that makes it churn out the coolest of cool bands- Grizzly Bear, Vivian Girls, Bear Hands to name but three, with Matt and Kim’s superbly simple and imperfect DIY indie somewhere amongst all those. And this sampler of Matt and Kim’s second album, Grand, is as bare-boned and rough around the edges as you could wish for, or very Brooklyn.
Album: Iron & Wine — Around The Well
The long awaited Around The Well is split into two halves, the first a soft collection of home recordings, the second a spruced up smattering of studio work. Disc one is reminiscent of 2002’s “The Creek Drank The Cradle” in that it is restrained of detail and relies solely on a minimal amount of musical instruments. This gives it a wholesome, stripped down atmosphere, and seeing as all 11 tracks on the first part are unedited and raw, there is nothing to distract from Iron & Wine’s (Sam Beam’s) genius.
Album: Grant Campbell – Expecting Great Things
Ah, be still my beating heart! If ever someone was to capture the gentle-giant ethos through music, this is it. The third album by husky baritone troubadour Grant Campbell offers a delicacy which manages to penetrate the most heavy hearted amongst us, and leave a mass of quivering wrecks in its wake.
Single: King Charles – Time of Eternity
Heavy strumming of guitars in loops, dark bass lines, stubborn scale loops on synths and factory-like beats on drums define ‘Time of Eternity’. If it wasn’t for the introduction of strings and the slogan-type lyrics being shouted in-between, this could pass for a simple attempt to release an insipid demo, but it is not.
Single: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Young Adult Friction
Much like the band’s name, the single Young Adult Friction hits you head on. It immediately leaps into frantic catchy chords and vocals, before being briefly interrupted by the soft, sultry tones of Peggy Wang. This repeats until a welcome time signature change, where the song deconstructs itself, re-emerging primarily with rigorous bass and drums, followed by the remaining instruments.
Single Review: Haroula Rose – Someday
Someday is a single from singer/songwriter Haroula Roses’ debut EP. It fuses delicate vocals, a beautiful piano and a gentle guitar echoing in the background. It’s about dreaming of a time when things will be perfect – this moment you might in the wrong place in your life, but someday, somewhere else, everything will be wonderful and you will be with that someone you belong with.