Category Archives: Blog

Thoughts etc

TOTW: Public Service Broadcasting_The Other Side

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This week I got to see Public Service Broadcasting live at the Ritz in Manchester and have been listening to their most recent album ‘the race for space’ over the past two weeks so thought it was only right to add a track from it to my TOTW.

PSB accompany documentary audio and footage with music and their most recent album focuses on the space race. This Is their first full length to focus on one topic and it works really well, allowing several key points of the space program to play out with their music.

Both the tragedy and success stories are accompanied by evocative music to match. The most successful of which is The Other Side which manages to present the first human orbit of the moon. The matter of fact nature of the speech sample contradicts the impressiveness of this momentus event which PSB Convey with a crescendo of synth guitar and drums:

TOTW: The Books_Smells Like Content

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The Books music is made up mostly of a blend of traditional instrumentation and field recordings sampled and used in interesting ways.
I recently heard a breakdown of the track smells like content on the excellent podcast Song Exploder and was intrigued to find out how certain elements were made in the track especially the percussive pattern which was made by carving groves into the inside of a vinyl record which when looping creates the interesting rhythmic pattern.

TOTW: The National_City Middle

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Alligator the third studio album by The National is ten years old this week. To celebrate I thought I would make a track from it my TOTW.

Often considered the first “great” National album Alligator certainly shows an evolution of their sound and almost provides a bridge form the earlier work of a more traditional rock band to the sparse arrangements and cryptic poetic lyrics that has made them the success they are today.

City Middle is a perfect example of this development. The sound design found in this track feels like a precursor to their albums up to trouble will find me. Alligator is a fantastic work that shows the development of The National to who they are today and tracks like City Middle still stand out as great pieces ten years on:

TOTW: Matt Berry_Take My Hand

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Matt berry may be most well-known for his quirky eccentric comedy but he also makes quirky eccentric music.

The album Witchazel is heavily influenced by 70s prog rock and folk music with a sound that doesn’t take itself to seriously. What does standout is his skill as a song writer. Take my hand may be known most for it being the title music for Toast of London but its melody’s and chord structure have made it into my playlist outside the series.

TOTW: The National_Start A War

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It’s taken me a little while to go to The Nationals back catalogue since giving their most recent release Trouble Will Find Me the 2013 album of the year.

I really don’t know why its taken me over a year to go back and listen to their earlier works and now I have I feel guilty for not doing it sooner.

The National manage on every album to create these brooding works that are the epitome of what we talk about when we call tracks growers. The subtleties in most of their music allow Matt Berningers Baritone lyrics to drift into weird and poetic places that take several listens to decipher. But once those lyrics mixed with carefull instrumentation resonate with you they can latch on for good.

Some do it quicker than others and Start A War had me within the first thirty seconds. I would highly recommend all of their work especially The albums Boxer and Trouble will Find me as they have the strongest effect on me:

TOTW: The War On Drugs_ Red Eyes

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I have been listening Lost in the Dream by The War On Drugs allot this week. The album is a nostalgic take on the greater moments of 80s american rock with Bruce Springsteen and later Bob Dylan as clear influences.

The album starts strong, with a joyous energy found in the first two tracks Under Pressure Red Eyes which manage to be lively and demonstrate the sound design we hear throughout the whole work. large synth and organ pad sounds are punctuated by mellow guitars and vocals drenched in reverb.

A real joy to listen to Lost in the Dream continues to grow on me and is worth your attention.

TOTW: Datassette_ Fever Dream (2010)

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I have been going to Bandcamp allot recently for music and was exited to see Datassette had released a new album last month.

The album entitled OFFAL is a collection of offcuts and raritys from the past 15 years but don’t let this dissuade you because there is some real gold in there.

The second track entitled Fever Dream (2010) is a perfect example of this. The track doesn’t overcomplicate things keeping the main melody to a single rhythmic bass line but what a bass line it is. Powerful, gritty and driving as it gets filtered through the sound spectrum it packs one hell of a punch and is backed up with brilliant percussion and pad sounds to make something brooding and exiting:

TOTW: Furry Hands- Not Soon Enough

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I’ve been a fan of Furry Hands for a while now and should have put his latest release up sooner as a TOTW. His use of Teenage Engineerings OP1 synth really excites me. As a user of the synth myself its nice to hear the work of someone else who has experimented and developed their own sound on this interesting little machine.

Because of the use of the OP-1, Furry Hands work manages to always sound connected and I have always found it enchanting. On this EP he has added some new instrumentation and even vocals to a track developing his sound further whilst keeping to the routes that I enjoy so much:

TOTW: Kate Tempest_ The Truth

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I managed to watch Kate Tempest live last week at the kazimier in liverpool and was blown away by her gig. She manages to have a humble stage presence that’s also filled with joy and excitement for live performance and a showmanship that was enthralling. Between great tracks she would strip away the music and recite some of her poems which were greeted with respect and awe by the crowd.

This unique and exiting show made me to go back to her album and listen to it several times throughout the week and it has continued to grow on me. The album works as an entire story so it’s well worth listening to the whole thing but The Truth is one of my favourite tracks and a good place to start:

TOTW: Loney Dear_Carrying a stone

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Loney Dear’s music is truly enchanting for me. All his work manages to carry a naivety that can be both sweet and heartbreaking.

Carrying a Stone slowly develops in instrumentation as it rattles along in a lively fashion. This is contrasted with the vocal melody which manages to pepper the track with a contemplative sadness. It’s a sound that is unique to this artist and makes me come back to his work and look froward for new stuff from him in the future.