Music Purchases September - October

Dave Matthews Band – Away From The World As some of you might know I’m a huge fan of DMB so that fact he has released his second study album in 3 years makes me smile a lot. Not to every bodies taste, it doesn’t really follow the tried and tested formula of verse - chorus – verse, but this will be on heavy rotation for me over the next couple of weeks.

The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten Next instalment from the New Jersey foursome. Brian Fallon has a knack of writing hook laden songs and there is plenty to admire here. Nothing different from previous Gaslight Anthem releases but if it isn’t broke don’t fix it!

Sigur Ros – Valtari Latest from the Icelandic music makers, picked up cheaply in HMV. Expect most of these tunes to be used to soundtrack wildlife programmes over the next 12 months!

Matchbox Twenty – North Savaged by the critics I expect this album to be riddled with soft rock anthem and touching ballads about love lost, love found and love lost again. Perfect just how I like it!

Bear’s Den – EP caught these guys supporting The Smoke Fairies and was that impressed I bought their EP. They sound a bit like the Fleet Foxes which is no bad thing in my opinion.  

Mogwai – Come On Die Young & Happy Songs For Happy People catch up back purchases from the Scottish band that make an very big noise that seems so perfect and intimate.

Lambchop – Damaged picking up albums that I don’t have by an artist especially when they are £3 in HMV.

Wild Beasts – Limbo Panto Same as above this was Wild Beasts debut album and they are turning into a rather fine band, both on CD and live. 

Squeeze – Greatest Hits  A BBC4 documentary lead me to confess that I did not own any of Squeezes music and as I can sing word for word at least 12 of these songs though I best put that right. In truth this compilation has 20 tracks of which 7 I suspect never worried the charts, but the first 11 tracks are as near to pop perfection as you will get.

 

Yeasayer – All Hour Cymbals  More scratching about in HMV brought the next few purchases all for £3 each. I like Yeasayer and couldn’t resist their debut album

White Denim – Workout Holiday White Denim play music hard to define other than saying it’s great and never fails to impress. This is their debut and adds to Fits and D which are also fantastic.

WU LYF – Go Tell Fire The Mountain pronounced Woo Life bought on the strength of the cover sticker and on first listen very interesting. Vocals rawer than Tom Waits with a saw throat driven along with an intense guitar sound. 

Various Artists – Best Of Kokua Festival I haven’t listened to Jack Johnson since seeing him in 2010 and being bored witless so buying a live album with Jack playing on every track didn’t seem like a wise choice even to me! In truth with collaborators as good as Dave Matthews, Ben Harper, g Love, Eddie Vedder and Willie Nelson this was never going to be a risk. Chilled, yes, laidback, yes, boring NO!  

  

Five For Life

Last night I went out for a few drinks with a mate in Newcastle my journey home using public transport takes about an hour so to avoid eye contact with the zombies and the walking dead, (I know it was Halloween but this is just the usual cross section of passengers heading towards Byker and Percy Main) I decided to ask Twitter a question.....

My question was “ If you could only listen to 5 artists for the rest of your life who would they be” By the time I had finishing typing my 5 the choices my timeline was beginning to light up, and 12 hours later I have had 40+ people naming over 150 different bands/artists and a request to list them!

A quick scan of the list shows it to be predominately white, male and guitar based which may be a reflection of the me and my Twitter followers but also there are some new artists to me (and therefore hopefully for you) and if they important enough to be in someones five I think they might be worth a listen.

So here we go in no particular order, (brackets denote multiple nominations)

Dave Matthews Band (2)

The Blue Nile (2)

Talk Talk (3)

Bruce Springsteen (5)

Danny &The Champions of The World/Grand Drive

Foo Fighters (4)

John Martyn (3)

Muse (3)

Kirsty McColl

Billy Bragg (2)

The Rolling Stones (4)

Sufjan Stevens

Counting Crows

Ryan Adams (2)

Primal Scream

Dangermouse

Pixies

Elgar (the only classical music choice)

Neil Young (3)

Teenage Fanclub

Wilco

Bob Dylan (2)

The Go Betweens

XTC

Jan Wobble

Big Youth

Joanna Newson (2)

Tori Amos

Ana Silvera

Roger Waters/Pink Floyd (5)

Elbow  (7)

Craig Armstrong

Regina Spektor

Nina Simone

Crowded House (2)

Underworld

Radiohead   (4)

Orbital

Josh Homme

Le Sac v Pip (2)

Damon Albarn/Blur (2)

Primus

Thelonious Monk

LCD Soundsystem

Battles

King Crimson

Led Zeppelin

Joni Mitchell

Amy Bezuarlea

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Andrew Bird

Leisure Society

Freddie Mercury/Queen

David Gray (2)

Eliza Carthy

U2

Hot Chip

Kate Rusby

Cardiacs

Joy Division

I Am Kloot (3)

The National  (4)

REM

Stevie Wonder

Kylie

The Smiths

Leonard Cohen

The Jam

David Bowie (3)

Frank Turner

Sigur Ros

Ben Folds

Richard Hawley

Dream Theater

Low

James

David Ford

Sparklehorse

Opeth   (2)

Pearl Jam (2)

Frank Zappa

Marillion

Depeche Mode  (5)

Nick Drake (2)

Prince

Super Furry Animals

Jamie T

Fuck Buttons

Rufus Wainwright

Johnny Cash  (2)

Beastie Boys (2)

The Doors

Marcus Foster

The Milk

The Shins

Soundgarden

Nitzer Ebb

The Beatles (3)

Band of Skulls

The Black Keys

Laura Marling

Bahamas

Doomtree

Faith No More

EL- P

Killing Joke

Felice Brothers

The Waterboys

Frightened Rabbits

Public Enemy

The Stone Roses

Jimi Hendrix

OMD

Metallica

New Order

Doves

The Cure

Pet Shop Boys
Artic Monkeys
Friendly Fires
Kayne West
Little Comets
Two Door Cinema Club
Al Green 
Beth Hart
Free
Kanye West
Jay Z
Nas
Fall Out Boy
Action Bronson 
Abba (3)
George Michael
Oasis
Bell & Sebastian
The Fall
Fiona Apple
Masters At Work
Dire Straits
Stiff Little Fingers 
Gomez
Supergrass
Gov't Mule
Frankie Miller
The Faces
Grandaddy/Jason Lytle
Massive Attack
Beth Orton
Tom McRae
Tricky 
Tim Minchin
Polka Dot Dot Dot
The Kinks 
Beach Boys
Biggie Smalls
2Pac
Fleetwood Mac
Beyonce
 
 

New Music Purchases July - August

Having caught up on my new music listening I have started to buy some new music again. So here goes;

Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Crown and Treaty I love SBP and this is by far their best album loved by the critics I hope this album gives them the recognition (and sales) they deserve.

 

The Civil Wars – Barton Hallow I have been after this album for while and eventually got round to getting it. This version comes with an extra 6 tracks which include an interesting version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean.

Train – California 37 I have all of Train’s music on first listen I can safely say that this isn’t their best nothing to match Drops of Jupiter or Hey Soul Sister on this album.

Johnny Cash – The Ultimate Johnny Cash Collection 88 tracks over 3 CD’s its actually 6 original albums and a few extra tracks. I have a few of Cash’s later Rick Rubin produced albums but suspect that this collection may cost me a lot of money! (This collection cost me £3 in Sainsbury’s)

Elvis Costello – The Best of.....The First 10 Years I would say I wasn’t a fan of Elvis but 22 tracks most of which I could sings most of the words to tells me something different. All the classics are here, Oliver’s Army, I can Stand Up For Falling Down, Shipbuilding and many, many more. (Again this cost me the princely sum of £3)

Neutral Milk Hotel – “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” Last year Q had one of their poles listing The Top 100 Albums of whenever and there was one album I didn’t recognise THIS ONE. The band is a bit of a mystery having disappeared after this album. The album comes with endorsements from Franz Ferdinand and The Arcade Fire but struggling on first listen to see what all the fuss is about. 

Neil Young – Americana & Sugar Mountain Live At Canterbury House 1968 Neil’s latest release (covers of traditional songs) and a live outing from 1968. Not listened to them yet but suspect I’ll enjoy.

Vintage Trouble – The Bomb Shelter Sessions Bought on the back of a great live gig as part of The Sage Gateshead’s Americana Festival, a great rock/soul CD that reflects their electrifying live performance. Comes with an extra CD of live and demo tracks.

Glen Hansard – Rhythm and Repose This has quickly become one of my albums of the year, I love it. If you don’t know Glen check out The Swell Season the band formed on the back of the film Once or The Frames his rockier band. This is full of gorgeous love songs and if I said I pulled the car over to listen Bird of Sorrow on repeat for half an hour you will understand how this album has affected me.

Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In The World I’m a big Womack fan this is his first album of new material in a long time and on first listen I struggled a bit. Produced by Damon Albarn it is covered in modern break beats a loops which sometimes detracts from what should be the star of the show, Bobby’s voice.

Ben Howard – Every Kingdom I was lucky to see Ben a couple of years ago open a festival stage, (I think there was 12 of us there) unsigned at the time he enthralled us all. Constant touring has led to a huge following and a successful debut release. Good stuff even if it does sound a lot like John Butler at times.

Efterklang – Parades Bought in anticipation of seeing them perform with Northern Sinfonia I have enjoyed the first listen to this album looking forward to see them with a full orchestra.

 

North Atlantic Oscillation – Fog Electric Blind purchase on the back of good reviews. It’s on the Kscope label so I know it’s going to be good.

The Horrible Crowes – Elsie Side project from Brian Fallon from The Gaslight Anthem a bit lighter than Gaslight but quality song writing from Fallon.

Various Artists – Delta Swamp Rock Nobody makes compilations like Soul Jazz and this is no exception. The music is brilliant and includes some artists you would expect. Lynryd Skynryd, Duane and Gregg Allman and some you wouldn’t Cher covering Dr John’s I Walked on Guilded Splinters it comes with a 65 page booklet which is packed with information and pictures.

Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones  A bit like Ben Howard Frank continues build a ever expanding fan base. I met Frank in Seattle in 2009 when he was supporting The Gaslight Anthem and a nicer guy it would be harder to meet. Great album.

Elbow – Dead In The Boot B-sides and rarities that put some bands full albums to shame. Nice little collect. All we need now boys is an career spanning live album now please.

Various – The State of Music Volume 4. 4^th release of a series of 5 and this is in my opinion the best yet. Great discoveries in Shane Maland, kinisi and New Sweden. If you don’t know anything about the label Choose My Music get over there now. Great music and all proceeds to charity.

Don't think this is the Shane Maland track but you get the idea. Anyway go by the album it's great!