Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire De Melody Nelson - 40th Anniversary

One for the hipsters. In depth re-issue of Serge's greatest LP.

You have to hand it to the French. As a nation they know how to “do cool”. And Serge Gainsbourg did it better than most. With a genre-straddling career over 4 decades, his status as a national treasure was assured via his genuinely controversial and provocative lyrics and music. It's difficult to imagine a UK artist generating a similar amount of admiration and love were they to release records dealing with incest, under-age sex, nazis, along with dub-reggae versions of the national anthem. His funeral in 1991 brought a shocked Paris to a standstill. It's a shame then that the world's most famous Gauloises smoker is almost as well known over here for what he said to Whitney Houston on a French chat show. Doubtless though the quality of his music which will win out over time, and where better to start than what's often cited as his greatest album, Histoire de Melody Nelson, now being re-issued with added bonus material 40 years after it's initial release.

Click over the jump for more on Histoire De Melody Nelson.

Various - The Spar Records Story - Nashville's Great Unsung Indie Label

3 x CD treasure trove of under-the-radar 60's pop, soul, country, doo-wop, R&B, ballads and all points between.

Just when you think you have the sixties sussed, and feel that there's no musical stone left unturned, that every release has been pored over a million times, a compilation appears that shows just how rich the pickings of that decade are.

Spar Records was set up in Nashville in 1961 and became most famous for being a “sound-alike” label, releasing cut-price cover version records of the hits of the day on their Giant Records imprint, and distributing them through outlets that didn't normally stock records. The irony was that many of those recordings were as strong as the original versions, in some cases better. In fact if the original version was recorded in Nashville, it was highly likely that the same session musicians would end up playing on the sound-alike version. Musicians playing on this compilation also played on big hit records by the likes of Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Monkees, George Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young and Johnny Cash among others.

Click over the jump for more on Spar Records

Grey Reverend - Of The Days

 

Alternate tunings ahoy! Beautiful, timeless, exploratory folk from sometime member of The Cinematic Orchestra.

Brooklyn based musician L.D. Brown (Aka Grey Reverend) was born and raised in Philadelphia and grew up on a musical diet of jazz, blues and late 80's indie bands such as Dinosaur Jr. and My Bloody Valentine. After first taking up the saxophone Brown later switched to the guitar, and learnt his craft in a succession of Philadelphia bands as well as immersing himself in music theory and jazz improvisation.

Brown relocated to New York in 2006 and began playing solo gigs at various venues around the city. One of the venues in which he plied his trade was a coffee shop run by his sister. Fortunately for Brown the shop was frequented by Jason Swincombe, leader of British electronic jazz outfit The Cinematic Orchestra. After being suitably impressed by Brown's sparse, low-key folkish songs, Swincombe commissioned a cover of his band's song “To Build A Home”. This in turn led to Brown singing with the group on tour as well support slots performing his own material.

Four years on from that first meeting Brown is ready to release his first album on Swincombe's Motion Audio label. Predominately solo performed with just an acoustic guitar, though a plaintive harmonica appears on “Forsake”. 

Click over the jump for more on Grey Reverend's Of The Days.

Nitin Sawhney - Last Days Of Meaning

Ninth studio album from award winning composer, DJ, social commentator and national treasure.

It seems there's not much Nitin Sawhney can't do. And what he does do, he does very well. Never one to shy away from big themes, for his latest studio album he subtly explores the prejudice and embittered viewpoint of fictional character Donald Meaning via 11 songs interspersed with spoken word passages from Meaning, expertly played by Sawhney's friend, the actor John Hurt. (The pair met as a result of Hurt narrating for Human Planet, the BBC series scored by Sawhney).

The music ranges from the bluesy soul of “The Devil And Midnight”, complete with vocal from Yolanda Quartey to the sadly reflective “I'm Done” featuring Hannah Peel. It's the raga influenced music featuring Indian instrumentation where the album truly shines, as on the virtuoso sitar and groove of “Kite” and the mournful flute of “Daydream”.

Meaning is presented as a fully rounded person, embittered though not without likeability and redeeming characteristics. It's a timely and much needed reminder that understanding and common human ground is an area we need to explore rather than blaming scapegoats. A fine and thoughtful album, sadly in danger in being drowned out by rhetoric from all points on the political spectrum. 

Click here for Nitin Sawhney's official website.

Buffalo Killers - Dig. Sow. Love. Grow.

It's less than a year ago since I reviewed Buffalo Killers' previous album 3 for Subba Cultcha, (I'll put a link here soon when the relaunched site is back up and running), it's great to see that the band's creativity shows no signs of letting up. Their recently released fourth album Dig. Sow. Love. Grow. is an extension of where the band were at on their last album – earthy country rock, dripping with Zachary and Andrew Gabbard's vocal harmonies. This time round there are some heavier moments creeping in, as on album opener Get It with its 70s guitar riffage and one-note Stooges style piano. While not quite into metallic zones it does represent the heavier end of the blues rock spectrum.

For the most part though the clue is in the album's title – earthy, organic, hippy love vibes are in the area. The album sounds like Harvest would have had Neil Young decided to record said record with an electric band. It's electric, and rock 'n' roll, but shot through with some down home warmth. While it lacks a killer track on a par with 3's Huma Bird, there's still rich pickings here. Their take on southern rock ticks all the right boxes – grooves, songs and great harmony singing all present and correct. And man, as for those guitar tones and solos! Dig it indeed!

 Click over the jump for a video for Buffalo Killers' track Get It.

Elefant Records - Latest 7" singles

Elefant Records of Madrid have long been purveyors of fine indie-pop, one of a sadly dying breed of labels that still holds dear to its heart the notion of independence, bespoke vinyl releases and a love of music over commerce. As well as releasing great albums by the likes of Helen Love, Juniper Moon, The School, and the recently reformed Primitives, the label are also responsible for putting out desirable slices of 7" vinyl. Maybe not so good for the environment we're told, but when they're lovely coloured vinyl they sure as hell look nice rotating on your Dansette! 

With that in mind let's cast our eyes and ears over the label's latest three 7" EPs. Click over the jump to read about singles by YouDoMeToo, Wild Balbina and El Palacio De Linares. There's also videos from all three bands so go on, hit the jump!

The Velvet Underground And Nico - 45th Anniversary deluxe box set

All the Velvets' albums are truly superb, but there is something special about their debut. It contains some of their best songs - Sunday Morning, Heroin, All Tomorrow's Parties, Femme Fatale et al (always wanted to say that!) Factor in the iconic Warhol banana cover, the literary, classical and experimental influences and you have an album that's simply years ahead of its time. The band were such an unlikely grouping, a truly disparate set of characters coming to make so much more than the sum of their parts.

It's becoming de rigueur for classic albums to be reissued in these deluxe box sets and this LP is an album that warrants such attention. To celebrate 45 years since its release Universal Music/Polydor are putting out a bumper 6 disc collection featuring the original studio album in stereo and mono, rehearsal tapes, acetates and live material, as well as Nico's Chelsea Girl LP. It also contains an 88-page booklet with photos and an essay by none other than Richie Unterberger. (Click here for an interview I did with Richie earlier this year)

NB. Any of my friends or family reading this may want to snap one of these up as my Christmas pressie. Just a thought.

Syd Arthur - Dorothy (Released 12th November 2012)

Despite the best efforts of Mumford And Sons it would appear that folk is no longer a four letter word. With acid-folk having become a widely recognised and much loved genre over the last few years. Original vinyl albums from the late 1960s and early 1970s by the likes of COMUS, Mr. Fox and Forest fetch large sums from collectors, while an increasing number of contemporary groups and artists look to the past for their sonic inspiration.

Though not quite acid-folk, Canterbury's Syd Arthur released one of 2012's better albums over the summer. On And On was released on the band's own Dawn Chorus label, picking up up praise from all the monthlies as well as the blogosphere. Their sound owes much to the Canterbury scene of the early 1970s, though there's more to them than just aping the past. Their music is a melting pot of folk, jazz, world music and progressive rock, put together in such an energetic way that somehow makes them very now. An what a great name they have, effortlessly evoking English psych with a deeper, olde England, that of Camelot and the round table.

If the album passed you by over the summer it's worth sticking it on your Christmas list, though if you can't wait that long the band are releasing a single from the album on November 12th. A stand out track from their album, Dorothy will be released digitally along with a live version. available from all the usual digital outlets and also the band's own Bandcamp page. The band will also be taking to the road in the UK throughout November should you want to catch them live.

Temples - The Golden Throne/Shelter Song

 

One of my favourite new bands of the year is Temples. I was fortunate to be at the Green Man Festival in August and witnessed their set in the Far-Out tent on the Thursday night. They describe themselves as a neo-psych duo (though the addition of a drummer for their live set indicates they may now be a three piece). 

Their sound is a modern, guitar-led take on '60s west-coast psych. Tastefully retro, and done extremely well. If that's not enough, factor in the fact that they look cool as liquid nitrogen onstage, the lead singer/guitarist has that classic skinny white-boy with afro look going on, while the bassist nonchalantly stands to the side, holding it all all together with McCartney-esque bass runs.

I'm not sure if they've secured a record deal as yet but judging by the two tracks on their Soundcloud page it can't be long before some ink is drying. Do yourself a favour and check them out on Facebook or Twitter before the rest of the world catches on. I've "widgeted" their two online songs here too for your listening convenience.

Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou - free 4 song download

Husband and wife duo Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou are giving away a free 4song EP as a taster for the forthcoming album La Ferme De Fontenaille. The album was recorded on an old Tascam 4-track cassette portastudio in the Loire, France earlier in the year and is due for release on November 5th 2012 on their own label  - The Anglophone Recording Company. If you're a fan of well crafted, intelligent and heartfelt songs, close harmony singing, and homespun acoustic charm I'd recommend you check it out.

For full details of the LP, tour dates and the free download EP head over to the duo's website.(www.trevormossandhannahlou.com)

Click over the jump to see the video for A Proud Surrender