Reviews – Albums
July 2007
Beatmag’s rundown of the best to throw your hard-earned money at.
Sound 10
Beatmag Album of the Issue
1. Pepe Deluxe
Spare Time Machine (Catskills)
Oh, Lordy, only Pepe Deluxe could come up with a mish-mash of diverse influences so neatly sewn together you cannot see the joins. ‘60s bubblegum pop, gruff-voiced outlaw country’n’western, JBs’style funk, Led Zep, and tons of progressive rock madness. Sure, Pepe’s Jari is part of the Beatmag team so you can take this review as you see fit. Truth is, though, that it would be folly to miss out on such showily produced jollity. Sure, it bleeds into pure indulgence a couple of times and loses its way but mostly ‘Spare Time Machine’ bounces along with such assured charm that the crazy Finns get away with flaunting their excesses.
2. Misha
Teardrop Sweetheart (Tomlab)
New York Asian-American duo Ashley Yao and John Chao have somehow combined whimsical ‘Salad Days’ sunny afternoon strummery of a light jazz nature with fizzing electro-pop. And it works a treat. Recorded in Hamburg with Meense Reents of Egoexpress, it’s the Germanic precision combined with their warmth that makes it so unique. Sometimes there’s a broken melancholy of the Junior Boys variety, although the voice is mostly old school indie, not that awful Thom Yorke/Chris Martin keening, and sometimes they let their hair down with loose bubbly melodies that are delightfully cheerful, as on ‘Crystal In Love’ or the spectacularly sweet ‘Anaconda’.
3. New Young Pony Club
Fantastic Playroom (Modular/Island)
Yes, we all know ‘Ice Cream’ but even if that song were not present, ‘Hiding On The Staircase’ alone would make this album worth the price of entry. It rolls along with a punk-funk insouciance that’s so perfectly estimated it sends tingles up the spine whilst leading the feet to the dancefloor. Fortunately the rest of the album is also sufficiently bouncy and sexy to let New Young Pony Club lay to rest their London media-fashionista associations. ‘Nu rave’ doesn’t cut it anymore as a term of description but whatever’s going on with NYPC, CSS, Klaxons, Shit Disco, etc, etc, it’s the best music explosion in aeons.
4. TV Personalities
Are We Nearly There Yet? (Overground)
The first thing Dan Treacy did when he was released from prison a couple of years back, before he settled down to recording his patchy ‘My Dark Places’ for Domino, was hook up with a couple of associates and cut the sessions that make up ‘Are We Nearly There Yet’, pre-paid for by money donated in New York for the purpose. As with ‘My Dark Places’ it’s hindered by Treacy’s tendency to sketch half a song and leave it at that, rather than finishing the job, but there’s still more than enough to appease this last great cult songwriter’s fans. As well as the bitterly sad ‘The Peter Gabriel Song’ and ‘You Are Loved’, there’s a beautifully heartfelt acoustic strum through Bruce Springsteen’s ‘If I Should Fall Behind’. Who knows where Treacy’s at right now? Much of this has the feel of notes from a life journal and he sounds at the end of his tether. One can only hope he’s still out there working his magic on a guitar somewhere. The man’s a treasure.
5. Ben Mono
Hit The Bit (Compost)
Munich DJ-producer Ben Mono presents a “sonic song tsunami” which he hopes will launch his own sub-genre, ‘bit hop’. He takes hip hop and spices it with danceable electro, seasoning with a smidgeon of Detroit ghetto-tech bass. It’s immediate likeable stuff with plenty of more-than-solid guest MCs including Jemeni, Killa Kela, Yo Majesty and Capitol A. Whether for the dancefloor or just headnod at home, Mono’s sound has an energy that pops, and should be as accessible to new generation indie kids as much as hip hop aficionados.
6. Von Sudenfed
Tromatic Reflxxions (Domino)
Mark E Smith has a new Fall album due shortly as well as a host of reissues and his stock grows continually higher. He is the last true ‘Prole Art Threat’ (to coin his own phrase) remaining from the punk years. He is a bewildering obtuse fellow and long may he remain so in this age of homogenous predictability. Von Sudenfed consists of him ranting and singing over a series of edgy electro-punk tracks by German electronicists Mouse On Mars. It’s writhingly thriving stuff ranging from Mr Oizu-style techno to ‘80s pop Fall blown stadium-size on the roaringly catchy ‘The Rhinohead’. Caustic compelling stuff.
7. El P
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead (Def Jux)
Sometimes I’m slower than a snail in a snowstorm when it comes to catching on to trends but thank heavens I’m persistent. I could so easily have made a massive arse of myself reviewing this album. I was gonna describe ‘I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead’ as a classic case of Emperor’s New Clothes, the album getting rave reviews from all because no-one wanted to be the first to bellow, “Noisy shite,” from a nearby rooftop. I was just clearing my throat to do so when after one final listen with the volume considerably cranked the penny dropped. ‘I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead’ is heavy listening for the speakers and the soul. The consistent thunderbolts of genius paint a compellingly bleak picture of today but once you’ve tuned in you can’t deny it’s hideous beauty. “I see you all regardless. I know what lies are like. I might have been born yesterday, sir, but I stayed up all night.” Absolutely essential heavy hip hop headnod biz from one of Brooklyn’s angriest sons. Invest, digest and expect to hate it for a good three or four listens. Then reap the rewards. (review by Blackbeltjonez)
8. Balkan Beat Box
Nu Med (Crammed Discs)
This looked to be a cheesey cash-in on the current boom in all things Balkan but, while it veers towards the Transglobal Sound System take on things rather than the Kolpakov Trio, there’s no doubting it’s a frolicking stew of Eastern gypsy sounds with electronic dancefloor muscle. Beat Box founders Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat grew up in Eastern European families who emigrated to Israel. Now based in New York, the hotch-potch of influences such a life engenders are all on display with MC Tomer Yosef providing a party focus. Bet they’d take the roof off at a festival….
9. Dr Syntax
Self-Taught (Beer & Rap)
UK hip hop from Beatmag’s manor, Brighton on the south coast of the UK. This dude can work the mic with the best, and all in a gawky English tone that adequately reflects his own appearance. The music’s sufficient rather than spectacular but his way with words more than makes up for it. He’s dead funny, happy to camp it up (so rare in the dully macho hip hop universe) and has a literary twist to his lyrics too. ‘Subcultures’, about different scenes, is as bitingly snappy as anything in recent months, including Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip’s extremely funny but over-hyped ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’.
10. Twink
Ice Cream Truckin’ (Mulatta)
Following his peculiar and often very funny ‘The Broken Record’ from 2005, which took all manner of childrens’ records and sampled them into a surreal cut’n’paste mash, ‘Ice Cream Truckin’’ is made on Mike Langlie’s collection of toy pianos. Once again, the electronic element joins the dots and the results range from the delightfully rounded as on ‘Slush Bunny’, which is akin to Japanese electronic quirkers Toy, to a number of tracks that sound like Rephlex Records most perverse nervous breakdowns.
OLDIES/REISSUES
OMD
Architecture & Morality (Virgin)
The biggest album of Liverpool duo Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey’s career. In 1981 they crossed over with the hits ‘Souvenir’, ‘Maid Of Orleans’ and ‘Joan Of Arc’ and matched it with an album that took electro-pop’s template and smoothed off the corners. The results, while rather grandiose in places, have an undoubted lushness and musicality that influenced the likes of Moby and many more during the 1990s. It sold millions and remains a solid example of innovative use of technology matched by commercial ambition.
Lucky Jim
Our Troubles End Tonight (Skint)
When this album first appeared in 2004, it didn’t appeal at all, not round here in any case, but listening to its soaring Byrds/Cohen/Dylan stylings it’s impossible to recall what the problem was. Due to the song ‘You’re Lovely To Me’ being used on a bread advert here in the UK, it now receives a re-release which is pleasing as those of us too blinkered to ‘get’ Lucky Jim the first time now have a chance to play catch-up three years later. A straightforward album of big-hearted guitar songwriting.
COMPILATIONS
Sunkissed
(Smalltown Supersound)
Norwegian mix album that stays far away from the usual genre-predictability. Based around the Oslo club Sunkissed, the DJ-promoters G-Ha and Olanskii drag in all kinds of Scandinavian sounds, ranging from a Krautrockin’ Serena-Maneesh remix to the likes of Bjorn Torske and Linstrom, but it’s not about the names, it’s about a rolling percussive stew that’s both psychedelic and hypnotic, throbbing along, not exactly house music, but kind of, a primal bubbling tribal stew. Totally original, in fact.
Ya Basta! 10 Years After
(Ya Basta!)
Gotan Project’s debut album was a massive seller but, apart from in the live arena, they have failed to create much of a stir since. This is rather unfair as their last album, ‘Lunatico’, was fine if not as memorable as its predecessor and their mix album ‘Inspiracion Espiracion’ was a cracker. ‘Ya Basta’ is a celebration of ten years of Gotan leader Phillipe Cohen Solal’s label, featuring the likes of Gotan themselves alongside Solal, The Boys From Brazil, Stereo Action Unlimited and David Walters. It is as varied and juicily Latin, spiced with nightclub wiggle, as one could hope for.
Mute Audio Documents Box Set
(Mute)
A monster five CD box set from one of the late twentieth century’s great independent labels. It contains six years of singles and b-sides, beginning with owner Daniel Miller’s ‘TVOD/Warm Leatherette’ opening shot from 1978 right through to 1984, with another CD of rarities and live performances. Naturally Depeche Mode fans will be paying special attention but there is much else here, including some wonderful forgotten gems by Fad Gadget and jokey synth rock’n’roll from The Silicon Teens, plus a host of avant-noisiness from DAF, Einsturzende Neubauten and Boyd Rice. The title may be a little pretentious but it really does feel like an historical audio document.
THREE Albums You Should Buy Because They’re Ace But We Missed The Review Date Because We’re Slackers
1. Shit Disco ‘Kingdom Of Fear’ (Fierce Panda)
2. Shining ‘Grindstone’ (Rune Grammafon)
3. ‘La Musique Du Moment – The French Sound Of Now’ (EMI)
Albums for review should be sent to…
Thomas H Green, Beatmag, PO Box 4653, Worthing BN11 9FG
