Flynndie Reviews: #38 Parlour Flames - Parlour Flames

Written 21st May 2013:

Parlour Flames – Parlour Flames

The Band: Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs (guitars, keyboards, organs, e-bow, backing vocals), Alan ‘Vinny Peculiar’ Wilkes (lead & backing vocals, guitars, piano), Ollie Collins (bass), Che Beresford (drums)

So today’s review sees the release of the eponymous debut album from the Manchester-based 2-piece Parlour Flames (@ParlourFlames if you wish to follow the band on Twitter).   Formed primarily of Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs (Yes him who used to play guitar in Oasis!) and singer, song-writer, poet Alan Wilkes, who performs under the alias Vinny Peculiar, the band this week release their 10-track debut on Cherry Red records.  So let’s cut to the chase and find out what the band and record are all about. 

Parlour Flames

1.     Manchester Rain
2.     Sunday Afternoon
3.     Get in the Van
4.     Never Heard of You
5.     I’m in a Band
6.     Lonely Girls & Horses
7.     Jump the Brook Ruth
8.     Pop Music, Football & Girls
9.     Broken Hearted Existentialist
10.  Too Soon the Darkness

‘Manchester Rain’ opens the record and sets the album’s tone well with a distinctly psychedelic guitar solo, which runs through the heart of the track before we first hear Vinny’s gentle, softly-sung vocals on the album, with poetic-style lyrics which are a main feature throughout the record, the chorus featuring the line “All the fields are brown/And the buildings are grey/In the North of England/On a winters days”.  The track coasts along nicely and features spoken-word vocals from Bonehead towards the second half it.  ‘Sunday Afternoon’ follows and is a gentle, charming laid-back song for the listener, with acoustic guitars cleverly interspersed with soothing brass sections.  The track is quite subtle overall, with a steady blend of instruments throughout including a nice piece on the flute, to add to the calm, carefree nature of the track that Vinny’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics depict.  

Third track ‘Get in the Van’ initially sees a percussion-driven track backed with swirling acoustic and electric guitars.  This is again quite another psychedelic track with a subtle baggy Manchester feel to it, before Vinny’s repeated, trippy lines of “Get in the Van/Get in the Van” midway through it.  ‘Never Heard of You’ is a slow, downbeat piano ballad the main focus of which are the lyrics depicting the song’s individual’s tale of reflecting on former glories of once being in a successful band “Hey did I tell you I was on Top of the Pops/I met Ruby Flipper and Sam Fox” being just one of a few poignant, cheeky lines featured in a slow yet captivating track, melodically closing with backing e-bow.  ‘I’m in a Band’ continues the piano lead tracks on the album at this point and is almost a ‘part-two’ to the previous track, opening initially with slow individual piano notes played between Vinny’s lyrics, before the track gathers a little more momentum, with a gentle acoustic folk melody helping to build up the track accompanied with gentle electric guitar solos and flute, it’s a very serene track.

‘Lonely Girls & Horses’ is a bit more of an uplifting track and much like earlier track ‘Sunday Afternoon’ shares a cheeky jolly melody again backed with brass trumpets which really adds depth to it, while playfully closing with tinkering piano notes.  ‘Jump the Brook Ruth’ has much more of a scuzzy guitar edge to it.  It’s another track on the record with quite a baggy feel about it, with Vinny occasionally backing with the track’s title “Jump the Brook Ruth” before the repeated psychedelic line midway through the song “What an evil little boy”. Also listen out very carefully for rare vocals from Bonehead on this track!  Next up we have ‘Pop Music, Football and Girls’, which was actually the first track I heard by the band.  What we have here is quite literally a delightful Indie-pop track, again with gentle flowing guitars, understated piano notes and whimsical lines “Pop music, football and girls/Nothing else matters in this world/Decent tunes and the beautiful game/A night on the town with Jenny and Jane”.  It’s another track on the record that captures this cheeky yet charming side of what the band are about.

Penultimate track ‘Broken Hearted Existentialist’ (try saying that after a few beers!), opens with a low-key, gentle electric guitar riff.  The track has a real spaced-out, distant vibe to it and is arguably the most trippy track on the record with even the surreal line “Existentialist, what does that mean?” subtly thrown in there; this track reminds me very much of the sound of The Beatles on Revolver.  The album closes with ‘Too Soon the Darkness’ another calm, tranquil, understated track, lyrically poignant and quite bleak, it appears a very personal track and comes across as such and is somewhat of a ballad to close the album with.

So in closing, this is a very nice debut album from Parlour Flames.  If you are expecting a rocky, early-Oasis sounding album because of the connection with Bonehead, you will be way off the mark!  What we have here are a collection, of gentle, understated melodies with some nice Indie-pop tracks throughout capturing a gentlemanly Englishness to the record as a whole, especially with the cheeky tongue-in-cheek lyrics featured throughout.  This is clearly an album with a lot of thought and care poured into it and as such takes a few listens to fully appreciate.  I’m going to award this one 7 Sunday Afternoon’s out of 10, for what is essentially an easy-listening, chilled-out record from the Manchester duo.

Pop Music, Football and Reviews

Flynny

Track 1 ‘Manchester Rain’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE-z00w-v7M   

Track 8 ‘Pop Music, Football and Girls’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdEkXqIsS3c

Band website:

http://www.parlourflames.com/

 

Flynndie Reviews: #37 The Bedroom Hour - X Marks the Spot

Written 15th April 2013:

The Bedroom Hour – X Marks the Spot

The Band: Stu Drummond (lead vocals), Rob Payne (guitar), Dan Rider (bass), Mark Dudley (keyboards), Lewis Cosham (drums)

Right ok, so today’s review comes from an up-and-coming London-based band I’ve been following on Twitter for some time now @thebedroomhour and with the band soon to release their debut EP, I’ve decided now would be a good time to review some of the tracks made available on their website (www.thebedroomhour.com), as the band captures a nice, haunting, guitar sound of which I’m sure regular readers may well enjoy.  So today’s review covers ‘X Marks the Spot’ and a few other tracks from the website of The Bedroom Hour.

X Marks the Spot

1.     X Marks the Spot
2.     Nocturnal
3.     Submarine
4.     Shadow Boxer

Opening with a nice, gentle guitar riff and up-beat percussion ‘X Marks the Spot’ see the band open with the haunting guitar sound hinted at earlier, before we first catch lead-singer Stu Drummonds softly-sung but immediately distinct vocals for the first time.  The track is clearly loving crafted as it gently burns into the soul of the listener with an ever-building guitar melody and a strong chorus “Cross my heart and hope to die/I promise to love you more than my life/If X marks the spot/Then let’s cross the heart”, as Stu shows a real depth to his vocal range throughout the track.  It’s a nice debut track, featuring a nice rocky guitar solo midway through the track and overall this reminds me a bit in sound of U2 from their ‘Joshua Tree’ era and to a lesser extent the sound captured by The Editors on their debut album ‘The Back Room’. 

Up next we have ‘Nocturnal’, which also features a gentle yet distinct guitar-riff from Rob playfully accompanied by keys from Mark, forming the main basis of the rhythm for the track.  Again backed with up-beat percussion and Stu’s softly sung vocals, the track features a nice chorus “See the satellites/Lie awake at night/Now I’ve become nocturnal/Sleep through the day/Just to get away/From the thought of you with someone” and despite what seems a downbeat chorus, the track overall has much more of an upbeat tempo and melody to it as a whole and as such is quite an uplifting track.  ‘Submarine’ is a beautifully, slow ballad by the band.  With heart-felt, haunting keyboards at the heart of the track, it really creates a deep, captivated melancholy atmosphere of its own and really reminded me of the type of classic sound captured from early Coldplay album ‘Parachutes’.  It’s a beautiful track and really caught my attention upon first listen.

Closing track ‘Shadow Boxer’ opens with modest percussion and a moody, tingling guitar rhythm as the first part of the track is virtually an instrumental with the guitar rhythm building as a whole.  As the track picks up full pace we hear Stu’s powerful vocals again with the repeated line midway through “Tell me what you see/Tell me what you see/Tell me what you see when you look at yourself and see the enemy”.  It’s another track by the band that slowly builds and creates an atmosphere before building to a powerful crescendo, there is plenty here to like.

So in closing, I’ve been impressed with these four tracks made available on the band’s website.  At present I think early, fair comparisons to the sound of The Bedroom Hour could be made to early-era Coldplay and Elbow in particular but there is no mistake the band have their own, very defined unique sound, Stu’s voice needs to be heard to be believed, he has a very powerful range.  The band have a got a few upcoming gigs at 229 The Venue in London soon, the next of which is 17th May to support their forthcoming debut EP, so feel free to get along and check them out as I think this band have a lot of potential and have them marked down as one to watch out for in the future!

Shadow Boxer

Flynny

X Marks the Spot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf2D5JC-GmE   

Band website:

http://www.thebedroomhour.com   

Flynndie Reviews: #36 The Strokes - Comedown Machine

Written 21st March 2013:

The Strokes – Comedown Machine

The Band: Julian Casablancas (lead vocals), Albert Hammond Jr. (guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass), Fabrizio Moretti (drums), Nick Valensi (guitar)

So today’s review sees the return of The Strokes and following a 5-year break between their third and fourth albums, ‘First Impressions of Earth’ and ‘Angles’ respectively, this month sees the band release their latest album ‘Comedown Machine’ just a mere two years after ‘Angles’ release (previously reviewed here including a more in-depth profile of the band).  So much like the band’s latest quick and efficient return, let’s dive straight into this review of the new record from one of New York City’s finest.

Comedown Machine

1.     Tap Out

2.     All the Time
3.     One Way Trigger
4.     Welcome to Japan
5.     80’s Comedown Machine
6.     50/50
7.     Slow Animals
8.     Partners in Crime
9.     Chances
10.   Happy Endings
11.   Call It Fate, Call It Karma

So officially released next Monday, I recently discovered the band had made ‘Comedown Machine’ available to listen early via stream on Pitch Forks website this week http://pitchfork.com/advance/48-comedown-machine/ and have now given it a few listens myself, so feel free to check it out online before the album’s release next week. 

Launching with an initially rocky-squeal of guitar, before settling into a more calm but funky rhythm opening track ‘Tap Out’ gets the album underway.  As like with many tracks by The Strokes, the guitars on the track have quite a light synth-feel to them, very much with an 80’s vibe here, while Julian’s vocals find him more high-pitched and falsetto-like as opposed to his raw and gravelly-style vocals found on the earlier Strokes records.  The track features a funky, maverick guitar solo two-thirds of the way through it and overall it’s a fair opening track for the album and I think the rhythm of the track holds it together quite well. 

Next up we have the first official Single of the album ‘All the Time’ and this is much more traditional Strokes territory, with Julian’s familiar crooning vocals in full swing, backed by electric-guitar strums before an altogether more rocky, fast-paced chorus “You’re livin’ it up, you’re livin’ it up, you’re livin’ too fast, you gotta pray for the best” that sees the band build to their full-on Indie-rock sound.  I can basically see why the band chose to return with this as their first Single as it’s easy-listening and familiar to the fans.  However, it was third track ‘One Way Trigger’ that was previously the first glimpse fans got of ‘Comedown Machine’ as the track was previously made available to download online from the band’s website before the Single ‘All the Time’.  At the time this was made available I initially really liked the up-tempo, carefree, jangly rhythm the track carries while Julian’s vocals were also initially a bit of a shock to the system, again disguising his voice here in a high-pitched falsetto particularly for the lines over the chorus “Find a job, Find a friend; Find a Home, Find a dog”.  The track features a really nice guitar-solo from Nick midway through it and a lovely bridge, “You asked me to stay”, before returning back to its own unique jangly rhythm and Julian’s vocals.  While I noticed this track seemed to divide fans opinion of it (particularly as this was the first track we had heard from the record), I personally really liked it and still think it stands up well on the record at this point.

Next we have ‘Welcome to Japan’, a bit more of a slowed-down affair for the record so far but with another funky melody at the heart of it, re-creating all the glam of an 80’s disco.  Yes!  Julian’s vocals are back in much more familiar territory here and this track sees somewhat of a duel of guitars between Albert and Nick throughout.  It’s a carefully structured, well-built track with another really nice guitar solo midway through it and the catchy chorus “Come on and go get with me, I wanna see you Wednesday, Come on, come on, come over, Take it off your shoulder”, while Albert’s guitar really picks away and adds layers to the track through the verses.  It’s a good catchy, disco track and one I’d imagine that sounds even better while on roller-skates!  ‘80’s Comedown Machine’, almost the title-track of the album, is a surprising ballad for the band here.  Initially opening with slow percussion from Fab and featuring a guitar effect almost sounding like an accordion running through it, it’s a slow burner of a track, featuring really softly-spoken vocals this time around.  A very surreal type of track, it’s almost like listening to an old-school Strokes track in slow-motion, particularly midway through it.  Again this is another type of modern Strokes track that I think will really polarise opinion among listeners.

‘50/50’ sees the band back in proper ‘let’s hit the road at 100mph’ mode, with dirty, jaggered guitar-riffs demanding the listeners attention, with Julian really snarling through an echo effect and Nick and Albert’s earlier guitar duel taken on to another level here.   The track is a short, sharp burst of guitar angst and really all the better for it in my opinion, with a great punk-rock drum solo from Fab in closing.  ‘Slow Animals’ is up next and is another track that uses the cunning trick of slowly-building itself up using a damn funky rhythm and bass-line from Nikolai, with understated guitars cleverly backing and layering the track before another full-on rocking chorus.  The track pauses slightly in its second-half, with synths used to create a spaced-out feeling on the track, as if we’re being invaded by UFOs, before we resume our earlier funky rhythm but the kicker is how the track as whole builds throughout that really makes it.

‘Partners in Crime’ is another, up-lifting, upbeat track, this time with guitars working hand-in-hand to create a quirky yet charming and delightful rhythm, as each guitar riff ends with the note being held, and bent, before possibly the most instant and catchy chorus of the album so far, again featuring a fantastic rhythm diced with quirky guitar notes.  This is a very instant type of track and immediately put a smile on my face the first time I heard it.  I really hope this ends up as a potential future single from the band!  Up next we have ‘Chances’ and this is probably the most ‘stripped-down’ track on the record so far, with shimmering guitars, understated synths, distant vocals and chip-tune percussion.  This is a very experimental track by The Strokes and creates a sound that I would probably expect from a closing-track on a Muse album in my opinion, a comparison I never thought I would ever make to be honest!

Penultimate track ‘Happy Endings’ is another track on the album, with a very retro-sounding guitar feel to, it’s another instant, catchy type of track as Julian croons “Baby, show me where to go, Somethings I don’t want to know, Baby, tell me if you’re sure, Out all the time” through the tracks chorus.  Closing track ‘Call It Fate, Call It Karma’ is the most subtle track on the album, with a gentle guitar riff and piano playfully nudging it along, and those now familiar, softly-sung, dulcet tones from Julian on this record, this is probably the most surprising track on the album overall but there just seemed to be something underlying in the track itself that kept my attention to it throughout, I certainly never heard the band record such a track like this but it’s a hauntingly, beautiful way to close the album, almost a ‘Comedown’ as such.

So overall I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard from ‘Comedown Machine’ so far.  I won’t pull no punches in this conclusion of the review; if you were hoping for a record by The Strokes that really recaptures their edgy, raw, rock sound from early albums, the brilliant ‘Is This It’ or ‘Room on Fire’, then I feel you may come away a little disappointed here, as while there are patches of that traditional Strokes sound on here, as a whole I feel this record goes much down the same path as ‘Angles’, another record that sees the band experimenting much more with different guitar sounds and rhythms than that of earlier Strokes records.  I would probably have to say this is arguably the most experimental Strokes album to-date and the band will always risk splitting opinions with this approach but as I have said in the past that has always been a fascination about the band for me; I really like the fact that the record challenges and dares the listener into more listens before some of the tracks actually ‘click’ and fall into place on repeated listens.  The album as whole doesn’t blow me away but I certainly have enjoyed listening to it so therefore I’m going award the album 7 ‘One Way Triggers’ out of 10, as there is plenty going on with this album for the listener to get into and definitely feels like more of ‘a grower’ than the previously more instant ‘Is This It’.  I’m just now keeping my fingers crossed that the band will hopefully do a much long-awaited UK headline tour, as it’s been a long time coming!

On a Comedown

Flynny

Track 2 ‘All the Time’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJC8zeu3MHk  

Track 3 ‘One Way Trigger’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itY62ToB5SE 

Band website:

http://www.thestrokes.com/  

Flynndie Reviews: #35 - Top 10 Albums of 2012 - Part 2

Written 7th December 2012:

Top 10 Albums of 2012 – Part 2

Ok, so following on from my last Blog here is the second part of my favourite 10 albums from 2012.  If you missed Part 1, fear not dear reader as you can still find the Blog here or by simply scrolling down the page to after this post.  However, if you did read Part 1, well firstly many thanks for the support and secondly I hope you enjoy reading Part 2 which, with air-guitars still at the ready, we shall jump straight into with a great up-and-coming young band hailing from The US-of-A, Minneapolis.

#5. Howler – America Give Up (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #22 – 8/10)

Arriving on the scene in early January this year, young up-starts Howler released their debut album ‘America Give Up’.  Now long time readers may know I’m quite a fan of this bright, young band’s slasher, surfer-rock Indie style and this debut album certainly didn’t disappoint when it arrived.  With a collection of fast, catchy garage-rock tracks the band very much remind me of a lite version of The Strokes from the beach-party styled opener ‘Beach Sluts’ to ‘This One’s Different’ reminding me very much of the juke box from the old TV series ‘Happy Days’ (ask your parents kids!).  ‘Told You Once’ continues the classic 60’s Diner theme, while uniquely titled ‘Pythagorean Fearem’ reminds me a lot of the dark, sinister sound the band ‘80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster’ were famed for.  Throw in more fast, paced garage-rock with incredibly catchy tracks ‘Wailing (Making Out) and excellent closer ‘Black Lagoon’ and what we have here are a fun, exciting young band, which if you’re a fan on band’s like The Strokes, The Vaccines and to an extend The Libertines and missed this early album from 2012, then I would highly recommend it!

Recommended Tracks: ‘Beach Sluts’, ‘Wailing (Making Out)’, ‘Told You Once, ‘Black Lagoon’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘This One’s Different’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bWBdBMffoU

Howler brought their Surfer, Garage-Rock sound to The Garage back in January

 

#4. Maximo Park – The National Health (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #26 – 9/10)

Our next stop on this journey through 2012 see’s us arrive in the North-East; Newcastle to be exact with the long-awaited return of Maximo Park and their 4th studio album ‘The National Health’.  And in my opinion it was well worth the wait as ‘The National Health’ saw the band on real top-form this year, really pushing at the boundaries of the fast, paced guitar sound the band are famed for.  From opening piano ballad ‘When I was Wild’, a surprising start to the record but sets it up nicely, we then had the more ‘traditional’ Maximo Park guitar sound on title-track ‘The National Health’ and the sound continued to be found on tracks ‘Until the Earth would Open’ and ‘Wolf Among Men’, which I always find I can’t help but dance to every time I hear it.  Also featuring more, ‘darker’ electro-pop on previous single ‘Hips and Lips’ and ‘Banlieue’; we also then had the sweeter, more romantic side of Maximo Park on tracks ‘The Undercurrents’, ‘Reluctant Love’ and ‘Unfamiliar Places’.  It’s fair to say the band really challenged themselves and packed quite an impressive range of tracks into a 40-minute record and again this has been another record I’ve found myself listening to a lot this year.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Hips and Lips’, ‘The Undercurrents’, ‘Reluctant Love’, ‘Wolf Among Men’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘The National Health’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiVxX3r5GhI

#3. The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #24 – 9/10)

We next head further North still to Kilsyth, Scotland as The Twilight Sad released their 3rd album in February this year with ‘No One Can Ever Know’, the follow-up to their fantastic second album ‘Forget the Night Ahead’.  The distinctly Scottish band returned with another collection of dark, intense and cryptic songs with a generous dose of synths, electronics and even accordions applied to tracks throughout the record.  Each track acts very much as a ‘chapter’ through the record, ranging from opener ‘Alphabet’ setting the more synth-based direction of this album, to the more traditional guitar tracks by the band in the momentum building and fast paced guitar track ‘Dead City’ and then the excellently told tale by third track ‘Sick’.  More synth-heavy tracks appear on the album in the form of ‘Don’t Move’ and ‘Don’t Look at Me’, while we have two excellent Indie-dance tracks closing the album with Joy Division-esque track ‘Another Bed’ and the excellent, building closing track ‘Kill It in the Morning’.  The Twilight Sad seem to remain another very underground Indie band but their style of dark, cryptic and intense guitar and synth-based tracks have a real charm about them and ‘No One Can Ever Know’ is yet another brillant album by a band I would highly recommend to check out and especially go see live.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Alphabet’, ‘Sick’, ‘Don’t Move’, ‘Don’t Look at Me’

Personal Favourite Track(s):
‘Dead City’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wi5iyxGsIQ
‘Kill It in the Morning’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn8jcPXYc1g (Live)

The Twilight Sad stormed through an intense set at The Borderline earlier this year

#2. Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #30 – 9/10)

From Kilsyth, Scotland, we next travel to Bangor, Northern Ireland as September saw Two Door Cinema Club release their much anticipated second album ‘Beacon’ the follow-up to their successful debut album ‘Tourist History’.  ‘Beacon’ was released the same week as The Vaccines album ‘Come of Age’ and while the latter may have won that particular chart battle that week, I’ve found myself listening to this album slightly more of the two over the course of the year.  A record laced with the band’s now more familiar fast-paced, guitar and synth pop tracks this album really builds on the band’s debut record for me.  Each track tends to unfold a tale through lead singer Alex Tremble’s falsetto voice and lyrics; this is particularly evident on tracks such as opener ‘Next Year’ and previous single ‘He Sleeps Alone’.  Some of the tracks on the album are just brilliantly put together and build slowly then explode lavishly bold in their style of music and vocals see ‘Sun’, ‘Settle’ and particularly ‘The World is watching (with Valentina)’ for examples of this and overall this has been a highly enjoyable album.

Recommended Songs: ‘Sun’, ‘Sleep Alone’, The World is watching (with Valentina)

Personal Favourite Track(s):
‘Someday’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y08Y15ik5pg (Live at Reading Festival 2012)
‘Settle’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seQX4m2gYNE (Live at Brixton Academy)

#1. Bloc Party - Four (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #29 – 8/10)

So the final date on our tour of 2012 sees us arrive in London as Bloc Party returned with their cunningly named fourth album ‘Four’ also ironically released four years after their previous album ‘Intimacy’.  There was a lot of speculation as to what direction the band would take with this album, after their very rocky, Indie-based debut ‘Silent Alarm, to the more ‘chilled-out’ ‘A Weekend in the City’ and the previously mentioned ‘Initmacy’ which showed more of a nod to the Indie Dance scene.  I think what we got with ‘Four’ from Bloc Party was actually a blend of all three of their previous albums to date, making for a unique, eclectic range of tracks from intense, guitar-heavy Indie rock on tracks ‘3x3’, recent single ‘Kettling’ and ‘V.A.L.I.S.’, to the more serene, softer tracks such as the banjo-featuring ‘Real Talk’ and the beautifully sublime ‘Day Four’, to the post-punk sound found on closing track ‘We’re Not Good People’.  Throw in some dance-vibes on comeback single ‘Octopus’ and the excellent and urgent ‘Team A’, plus a couple of old-school sounding Bloc Party bonus tracks in ‘Mean’ and ‘Leaf Skeleton’ on the deluxe version of the album and basically this album formed a great return from the band.  I said at the time I reviewed this, the album felt like ‘a grower’ and this has certainly proved to be the case for me during 2012.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Octopus’, ‘Day Four’, ‘Real Talk’, ‘We’re Not Good People’

Personal Favourite Track(s):
‘Kettling’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk-J1zT7TfQ   
‘Team-A’’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tRK1iAIMT8 (Live at Koko)

So that concludes my Top 10 albums of 2012, I hope you’ve enjoyed my selections and if you have any good recommendations of albums I may have missed this year and are not on my list, feel free to send me some recommendations across on Twitter or leave them in the comments section below.  Many thanks for taking the time to read the Blog and here’s looking forward to some great Indie and alternative music in 2013!
 
Rocking into 2013

‘Flynny’

Flynndie Reviews #34: Top 10 Albums of 2012 - Part 1

Written 4th December 2012:

Top 10 Albums of 2012 – Part 1

So following on from last year, I’ve decided to compile my favourite Indie/alternative albums from the past 12 months and list my personal favourite selections here again. I personally think 2012 has been quite a good year in general for fans of Indie and alternative music, with the main theme seemingly to be all about ‘the comeback album’ with quite a few bands returning with either their eagerly anticipated follow-up to a decent debut record but also in some cases the long-awaited return from popular, fan-favourite bands with the big question being: “Have they still got it?”

I’ve again decided to split this Blog into two parts with 5 albums each and of course these choices are just my personal preferences. I have no special criteria in picking which album I’ve rated higher than another, after all this list is purely for fun, other than which albums I’ve genuinely enjoyed listening to the most through the year. Yet even putting this list together it has really taken me quite some considerable time to pick an order for the ‘top ten’ so basically if an album appears on this list then at the end of the day it’s an album I would recommend checking out. You may also notice that I’ve rated some albums I previously reviewed with a lower mark higher than others but this is purely because of what mark I gave the albums when I reviewed them at their time of release while this list focuses more on what I’ve eventually found myself listening to more during the course of 2012.

Anyway, that’s enough of the introductory waffle for now, let’s pack our air guitars and head out on tour, starting in Llandudno, Wales…

#10. Catfish and the Bottlemen – Beautiful Decay EP (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #25 – 8/10)

Right, so I’m ‘breaking the rules’ slightly on the list straight away by sneakily sneaking in an EP at #10 here but having listened to this band a lot in 2012 I felt it would be a shame for them to not feature in an end of year review. So the EP in question is the ‘Beautiful Decay EP’ from Llandudno’s very own Catfish and the Bottlemen. What we have here is an excellent, tight, Indie-Rock 6-track EP, kicking off with two excellent tracks ‘Sidewinder’ and ‘Bodies’ both of which would make great debut singles for most bands. The EP is packed full of the band’s distinctly, incredibly catchy guitar melodies and solos, not too far off capturing the type of sound of some of the early Arctic Monkey’s material in my opinion, while lead-singer Van’s crisp, clear vocals depict tales of the fast-paced, hustle and bustle of life and every day relationships, a tried and tested formula but one that everyone can relate to and really done to great effect here on the record. The most impressive thing about this EP for me though, is how tight and spot on the band are with their timing but this is surely down to the fact that these lads tour relentlessly! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen many other bands put in a commitment to a live schedule in 2012 as much as these lads and I genuinely believe they are one to watch for 2013 which will hopefully see the release of a full debut album by them.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Sidewinder’, ‘Harlot’, ‘Tyrants’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Bodies’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVi-oaZ6Xm0

Catfish and the Bottlemen played Queen of Hoxton earlier this year

#9. The Vaccines – Come of Age (Previously un-reviewed)

Early September saw the return of garage-rock favourites The Vaccines with the follow-up to their 2011 debut ‘What did you expect from The Vaccines?’ with this year’s release ‘Come of Age’. And for me this is an appropriately fitting album title for the band, with this year’s follow-up really seeing the band progress and mature musically from their previously successful debut record. ‘Come of Age’ saw the band cleverly put together a record featuring tracks of nicely written Indie-Guitar-Pop on tracks like opener ‘No Hope’ and ‘Teenage Icon’ to the desperate, urgency on ‘Bad Mood’ to charming tracks ‘Aftershave Ocean’ and ‘I Wish I was a Girl, while yet, and here’s the clever bit, blending them with very much 60’s Blues sounding tracks such as ‘I Always Knew’, ‘All in Vain’ and ‘Weirdo’ and while the mention of Blues may set off alarm bells ringing for some, I genuinely think the band capture the style very well here on this record, giving them a much more distinct identity and really see the band ‘Come of Age’. (Boooooo, terrible pun!)

Recommended Tracks: ‘No Hope’, ‘Aftershave Ocean’, ‘Bad Mood’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Teenage Icon’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFUKrsDDChE 

#8. Muse – The Second Law (Previously un-reviewed)

Moving swiftly on, 2012 saw the long-awaited return of Muse with their 6th studio album ‘The Second Law’. Arguably one of the biggest band’s in the World these days, there is always extremely high-anticipation when a new Muse album is released and I think that while not quite on par with their first four albums, ‘The Second Law’ mostly delivers another great Muse record to the fans with a few ‘marmite’ tracks on it that you’ll either like instantly or take time to get into. Packed with some great tracks throughout from the very James Bond-esque opener ‘Supremacy’, to the epic building ‘Follow Me’ and then the low-fi piano and bass driven, old-school sounding Muse on ‘Animals’ there are a great range of tracks throughout the record as well as debut lead vocals from bassist Chris Wolstenholme on tracks ‘Save Me’ and ‘Liquid State’. While I initially struggled with previous singles ‘Madness’ and ‘Survival’ they have grown on me with more listens and overall I felt this was another great, ambitious album in Muse’s repertoire, with a hint of Queen thrown in throughout the album as well.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Supremacy’, ‘Madness’, ‘Follow Me’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Animals’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDmCC0X25QE

#7. Reverend and the Makers – @Reverend_Makers (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #28 – 8/10)

Our next album on the list sees us arrive in Sheffield with the return of ‘Reverend and the Makers’. After their excellent debut album ‘The State of Things’ and it’s follow-up ‘A French Kiss in the Chaos’, 2012 finally saw the band return after a long hiatus with their latest effort '@Reverend_Makers'. Going back much more to their roots of the first album, this latest record from the band sees them effortlessly blend a great range of Indie tracks with very much a dance vibe at the heart of them, with tracks like ‘Bassline’ and ‘Depth Charge’ restoring memories of the Hedonistic sounds of the Ibiza Clubbing scene back at the end of the 90’s. However, the real credit to the album has been its success despite very little mainstream airplay and this is because the tracks on the album really stand out on its own and has built a good following via word of mouth. Throw in a bonus CD with remixes and a further few extra tracks and this year’s return from Reverend and the Makers was certainly worth the long wait and a real return to form.

Recommended Songs: ‘Bassline’, ‘Warts ‘n’ All’, ‘The Wrestler’
Personal Favourite Track: ‘Out of the Shadows’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjq2kiuSikw

#6. Nine Black Alps – Sirens (Reviewed in Flynndie Reviews Blog #32 – 7/10)

From Sheffield we next head to Manchester and the return of Indie, grunge rockers Nine Black Alps with this their latest fourth album ‘Sirens’. This album goes much more back to the band’s roots of the grunge rock which featured heavily on their debut album ‘Everything Is’. Featuring, instant, catchy rock tracks throughout from opening tracks ‘Be My Girl’, ‘Don’t’ Forget to Breath’ and ‘My One and Only’ the album has a real feel of a personal note from the band back to the fans with tracks having a traditional Nine Black Alps feel to them. The album also features cleverly layered Indie tracks that build throughout, for example on the brilliantly titled ‘Phospherence’ and ‘What You Wanted’, but for me one of the stand-out tracks on the album is the brilliant acoustic ballad ‘Waiting Room’, showing the real-depths of song writing the band are capable off. Nine Black Alps still remain quite an underground Indie-Rock band but this album sums up the sound of the band very well and is a good starting-point if you have not heard any material from them before.
 

Nine Black Alps rocking the Borderline back in October

Recommended Tracks: ‘Be My Girl’, ‘Don’t forget to Breath’, ‘Phospherence’, ‘Penny Cinderella’
Personal Favourite Track(s):
‘My One and Only’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAJUdh47tcQ
‘Waiting Room’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFxIzdgZ55Y

So that covers my first five selections in my ‘Top 10 albums of 2012’ list. Needless to say in the 2nd part of this Blog, which I plan to post up within the next week, I shall reveal my top 5 albums of the year!

Still Rocking in 2012
‘Flynny’

Flynndie Reviews: #33 The Birthday Suit - A Conversation Well Rehearsed

Written 10th November 2012:

The Birthday Suit – A Conversation Well Rehearsed

The Band: Rod Jones (vocals/guitar), Jacqueline Irvine (keys/vocals), Steve Morrison (Drums), David Jack (bass), Sean McLaughin (guitar), Catrin Pryce Jones (Violin)

So today’s review comes from a Scottish Indie band I’ve been getting into a lot recently, The Birthday Suit. Hailing from Edinburgh the band are fronted by Rod Jones (also known well as the lead guitarist of Scottish Indie Rock band Idlewild) and are returning with this their follow-up to their 2011 debut album, ‘The Eleventh Hour’ and today’s review subject ‘A Conversation Well Rehearsed’. So let’s get straight into this review and see what type of sound the band captures on this record here.

Track-listing

1. Uh-Huh Uh-Huh
2. You Hear the Drums
3. Out of this World
4. You Deserve so Much Better
5. A Can of Worms
6. Wait for the River
7. Less Worthless Years
8. Ten Years Past
9. Bad Dreams
10. My Gang
11. Talk to Yourself

Starting with a series of Holy-sounding ‘Ahhh-Ahhh’s’, opening track, the unusual but delightfully titled ‘Uh-Huh, Uh-Huh’ sets of an early, rocky pace for the record with a fast, menacing guitar riff backed with urgent bass and drums. The rollercoaster nature of the main riff is interspersed with the boldly stated line “I Don’t Think So”, before a quick silent pause then followed by the chorus still maintaining the fast early pace set by the song with the ‘Uh-Huh, Uh-Huh’ of the track’s title thrown in its middle. Overall the track sets up the album nicely. ‘You Hear the Drums’ still has a brisk pace about but here we have a much more serene, melodic track by the band with backing keyboards and violin in full effect accompanying the track throughout. It’s also the first time on the album we hear Jacqueline’s backing vocals complement Rod’s voice and lyrics, which in my opinion creates a sound that really helps create a nice distinct identity for the band. It’s certainly a charming track, after the raucous paced opener. The charm continues with ‘Out of this World’, another delightful guitar track, again laced with the beautiful fiddle of Catrin’s violin throughout, while the chorus builds-up in tempo slightly more as Rod’s poginient lyrics suggest of moving on from a troubled relationship “All that you wasted on stating the obvious/Left us with everything we ever wanted/And all that time you spent on calling the same names/Gave us directions to find our way out of this World”.

‘You Deserve so Much Better’ initially opens as the most low-fi track on the album so far, with a nice, gentle repeated guitar riff steadily steering the track before we see the energy and tempo of the band explode in unison with the cryptic, fast paced chorus “You Deserve so much better/But you’re not the only one/You always want what you can’t have/You’re a Twentieth Century son”, the track is drawn to a lone piano peacefully closing it. ‘A Can of Worms’ is anything but peaceful; with another deliciously dark, menacing guitar riff at the heart of the track while Jack’s bass and Steve’s percussion provide the up-tempo pulse to it. Featuring another rocky chorus “You’ve opened up a can of worms/It’s no longer on your terms”, a guitar solo and even a violin solo, this an urgent but cleverly built, complex track and all the better for it in my view. ‘Wait for the River’ is a piano-driven ballad mid-way through the record, soft and delicate it again highlights the charm the band seem to have a great knack for capturing on this record. It’s certainly a beautiful track and one that feels right as the long winter nights draw in at this time of the year.

• The Birthday Suit live at The Camden Barfly this past October

Previously available as a download ‘Less Worthless Year’s’ is one of the more jolly, upbeat tracks on the album. A fast paced romp of a track, the verses see vocals from both Rod and Jacqueline sung at quick pace before a series of “Der-Dum-Dum’s” through the track, it’s a catchy track and you can judge for yourself from the YouTube link below. ‘Ten Years Past’ is another more up-tempo guitar track, steadily building initially before a short guitar solo, the track then finds full gear after this with its “Leaving me calling\Leaving me calling\Just leave me alone” providing an urgency while guitars from Rod and Sean duel it out in style here. It’s another decent track and although while I’ve been trying to avoid any comparisons in this review, this track really does have a feel of the style of an Idlewild track from their more recent albums, which is always a good thing in my opinion. Backed with a somewhat military percussion rhythm ‘Bad Dreams’ follows and is a short, sharp, punchy song with a repeated high-pitched riff layered through it “I don’t need your eyes looking down on me\The bad dreams satisfied of a memory” before the second half of the track features a nice keyboard solo with backing guitar, it’s another instant track but with an underlying intensity to it.

Penultimate track ‘My Gang’ lightens the sound of the record with another instant catchy guitar hook and melody as the lyrics through the track unfold a tale of an individual being caught up in ‘gang’s’ as such initially portraying an antagonists feeling down on their luck, while reflecting during the chorus “My gang is better than your gang/An argument of your design”, while the second half on the track unfolds the individual comes to the conclusion that they are better off with their own company “My gang is better than your gang/An argument of my design”. Closing track ‘Talk to Yourself’ opens initially with low-fi jangly guitar and an opening lyric featuring the album title “Talk to yourself/It’s a conversation well-rehearsed/A better way for you to say”, before the track finds it’s full backing from the band and then returning back to the initial jangly guitar, while the second half of the track sees gentle violin and keys backing. It’s another charming, pleasant song to close the album with and these last two tracks on the album for me have a little touch of The Smiths in their style and sound which is high praise indeed.

I’ve been very much enjoying this record in the recent few weeks I’ve been listening to it. It has a good blend of some fun, fast-paced Indie rock tracks ‘Uh-Huh Uh-Huh’ and ‘Can of Worms’, to the more serene, melodic ‘You Hear the Drums’, ‘Out of this World’ and ‘Wait for the River’, but also with some Indie Pop in ‘Less Worthless Years’. The album captures a great range of tracks all in under 35 minutes which is a fair reflection on the talented musicians that form the band. I found that while listening to this record that a lot of the tracks were easily accessible and very instant while Rod’s poignant lyrics really give them some much added depth; for me there is a little more going on than first meets the eye with this record. It’s been on repeat plenty for me recently and I’m going to give the record 8 Cans of Worms out of 10 as it’s an album I can still see me listening to plenty still in the future. The album receives a general release on the 3rd December (see the band’s website below for details) and I would personally recommend to check The Birthday Suit out sometime as they craft some excellent, catchy yet thoughtful Indie tracks.

Still Rehearsing Conversations
Flynny

Track 7 ‘Less Worthless Years’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioNpq0OG_7o

Band website:
http://www.thebirthdaysuit.co.uk/main/