Spindrift - Classic Soundtracks

Dust down your ponchos! Time for some spoof spaghetti western soundtracks with a dose of heavy west coast psych.

Somehow the music you hear in your childhood stays with you all your life, so if you spent your early years glued to the TV showing Sergio Leone spaghetti western re-runs, those wonderful soundtracks by the likes of Ennio Morricone are going to have an effect on the music you make as an adult. And so it is with Kirpatrick Thomas, front man with Los Angeles band Spindrift, self-proclaimed leaders of the neo-cosmic cowboy revolution.

So what we have here is a concept album of sorts, songs and instrumental pieces taken from movie soundtracks that don't (though possibly should) exist. The song titles are evocative in themselves; “Japexico (Flute Theme From Treasure Of The Black Jaguar)”, “Legend Of The Widower Colby Wallace”, “Showdown (From The Legend Of God's Gun)” and so on. 

Click over the jump for more on Classic Soundtracks.

Nat Baldwin - People Changes

Unique and awesome 4th solo album from Dirty Projectors bassist. Spiritually yearning mix of strings & woodwind with a hint of free-jazz.

Let's be honest, if you're a singer-songwriter it's difficult to get noticed in the crowd, such is the saturated market. Originality helps, as does taste, honesty, believability, and genuine warmth. All those qualities are present on this release. And then some!

Although the songs were composed in 2007, Baldwin wisely allowed them room to breathe, letting them evolve naturally, letting the arrangements settle in over time before finally recording them in 2010. Using a deceptively simple palette of vocals, bowed double bass, violin, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet and one track added drums and guitar, Baldwin hand picked a small, trusted group of musicians, including some childhood friends to record with.

Click over the jump for more on People Changes.

Hanni El Khatib - Will The Guns Come Out

Best get tooled up, here comes some raw and dangerous garage punk-soul.

For folks that needed to phone a helpline when The White Stripes confirmed they'd split, a new gunslinger's in town. LA musician Hanni El Khatib takes his inspiration from the greasy underbelly of the great American songbook, those lesser celebrated R&B, soul, blues and doo-wop songs from the 50's and 60's whose sinister sentiments marked a time when rock and roll was truly dangerous. When gang fights, hot rods and cheap kicks were all the kids needed for a good night out.

You may be familiar with his cover of Funkadelic's “I Got A Thing” from a recent Nike commercial, featured on the album as a bonus track. The song is stripped down to a raw and ready garage rocker, all fuzz guitar, snapping drums and throat stripping vocals. 

Click over the jump for more on Will The Guns Come Out.

Phantom Buffalo - Cement Postcard With Owl Colours

 

Daydream guitar pop? Indie-psych? College rock? Art-rock? Who cares, it's bloody ace!

I had no expectations before I listened to this album, having not heard of the group before, but wow, what a treat! It reminded me of why I love guitar based indie music before it became synonymous with the dreaded landfill tag. What it represents is a truly alternative and enlightening listening experience. A real ragbag of styles and moods, melodically inventive with cryptic lyrics and more twists and turns than a mountain road. Instrumentally it's a lo-fi guitar, bass and drums affair but it's what you do with that template that counts.

Hailing from Portland, Maine, USA, the band were originally called The Ponys until a similarly named band from Chicago were booked to play SXSW the same year. Hence a name change and Phantom Buffalo was born.

Lead vocalist Jonathan Balzano-Brookes possesses a pure tone, not rock in the slightest but extremely likeable and perfect for carrying the band's brand of dazzling and beguiling pop tunes. (I've found myself waking up a couple of times this week unable to get their song “Atleesta” out of my head. Kylie would no doubt approve!)

The problem may be that it will prove too esoteric for a lot of people's tastes; the band's previous two albums have all been released to large critical acclaim offset by the public's indifference, which is a shame as there's some stunning stuff on here. Investing a little time with this album reaps huge rewards. A real gem.

Click here for Phantom Buffalo's website.

Sara Lowes - Back To Creation

In-demand Mancunian pianist finally gets round to making her own record.

The album title possibly referencing the fact that she's finally got around to making a solo LP, Manchester's Sara Lowes has long been in demand as a musician for hire, having toured and recorded with several name acts including King Creosote, Jim Noir and Micah P. Hinson, along with a long standing association with UK/US folk-psych outfit The Earlies.

Recorded at The Earlies studio, with Christian and Nicky Madden from the band on production duties, the album has a lovely analogue warmth which is sustained over the whole album despite all the changes of mood and style.

Having been schooled in classical music from an early age, and coming from a family of accomplished classical musicians, Lowes' skill as a pianist is apparent from the off; title track “Back To Creation” opening with searching piano chords and a vocal harmony wash before getting into it's Ben Folds style pop stride. It later offers a stylistic nod to Geno-era Dexy's Midnight Runners (always a good thing in this reviewer's book). 

Click over the jump for more on Back To Creation.

The Leisure Society - Into The Murky Water

Joyously kaleidoscopic 2^nd album from the UK's top indie-folk collective.

The Leisure Society return with their follow up to 2009's The Sleeper. It sees them build on the sound of the first album, and the demos and B-sides collection A Product Of The Ego Drain.

The album opens with the title track “Into The Murky Water”. A few bars of portentous drum fills and marimba riffs give way to a sound which can only be described as Vaughan Williams challenging Jethro Tull to a musical version of the game Twister. Like many of the nine songs that follow it contains a chorus that will get under your skin like a tattoo. If we still had milkmen in this country no doubt they'd be whistling it.

It's a very English sounding record, with plenty of strings and folksy arrangements but there's also an American West Coast thing going on with some of the backing, most similar to Arthur Lee's Love. (Love's track “Alone Again Or” actually gets a mention at one point.) And “You Could Keep Me Talking” sounds like Jethro Tull's “Living In The Past” (them again!) covered by the Beach Boys.

Click over the jump for more on Into The Murky Water.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Soul Time!

Taut funk grooves, and soulful social commentary from the world's greatest contemporary soul band.

The soul powerhouse that is Daptone Records is the closest thing we have to a modern day Motown or Stax Records. Continuously putting out great singles and albums that hark back to the classic soul and funk era of the 60's and 70's while satisfying a thoroughly modern desire for something authentic, human and emotional. They stand as a beacon of hope in the avalanche of plasticity that is modern day conveyor belt pop. Soul time indeed.

The Dap-Kings of course are well known for having been Amy Winehouse's backing band of choice. So if you're not familiar with the records they've made with Sharon Jones, chances are you'll have heard them on Back To Black or Rehab. It's backing Sharon Jones however where it all slots into place. Like Aretha Franklin she possesses a voice that commands and demands respect, along with the ability and emotional range to sing dance-floor shakers, vulnerable ballads, and social protest anthems. All of which take their place on their latest platter.

Click over the jump for more on Soul Time!

Butch Walker And The Black Widows - The Spade

Life's a blast! Top US producer step out of the control room for latest album of scorching rock-pop.

Producer of choice for Weezer, Pink, Fall Out Boy and Avril Lavigne among others, Butch Walker proves with his latest record that his songwriting skills are also up there with best of them. The Spade is a ten-song blast of feelgood rock, full of good humoured observations about being middle aged but still rocking. There's also some telling recollections from his (partly misspent) youth, with references to Bryan Adams, Duran Duran, Iron Maiden, and bizarrely Frank Poncherello. The songs are interspersed with snippets of studio banter, and contain lyrics which show Walker as being as good with words as he is with melodies. A good story teller like Walker is not the only raconteur on the album, his friend Patrick Keeler (Yes he of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes) is on kick-ass form on drums throughout.

There's no pushing of musical boundaries, the songs all being in the mould of classic American guitar rock but they're catchy as hell and literally jump out the speakers at you. Listening to the album is like meeting up with a valued and jovial friend down your local pub, it's familiar but at the same time fun and you know there'll be new stories, laughs aplenty, and you need its rejuvenating effects.

Click here for Butch Walker's website.

Click over the jump for a video of the track "Synthesizers".

Richmond Fontaine - The High Country

A novel idea. Portland, Oregon four-piece release dramatic song-cycle for their tenth studio album.

We're constantly hearing about the death of the album as an art form, or about how people's attention spans are somehow shorter due to the prevalence of shuffle culture. Reassuring then to be presented with an album that demands to be listened to from start to finish. For their tenth studio album Richmond Fontaine have opted to make a song-novel. Part love story, part mystery, part thriller, the tale is set among a remote rural logging community in Oregon. The main characters are a young woman trapped in a loveless marriage and dead-end job at an auto-parts store, and a mechanic who returns to the area to look after his ailing father. The pair fall in love and conspire to leave and find a better lives for themselves. Nothing is ever going to be so simple though as other characters enter the tale, including speed addicted ex-army psychotic and a drug dealing bar owner. 

Click over the jump for more on The High Country.

J Mascis - Several Shades Of Why

Debut solo album from Dinosaur Jr. noisenik.

J. Mascis is that rarest of creatures, a prolific slacker. Best known for his sonic assaults in bands Deep Wound, J. Mascis & The Fog, Witch, the criminally overlooked Sweetapple, and of course Dinosaur Jr. The perennially long haired Mascis has finally got round to releasing his solo debut album.

Back in the late 80's before grunge went overground, indie guitar music was subject to hollow bodied guitar snobbery, I'm thinking of Orange Juice, The Smiths, Everything But The Girl et al. Until the likes of Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur Jr broke through with their Jazzmasters and Jaguars and dragged indie out of the sixth form common rooms and back onto the streets. (OK, that may be slightly revisionist but you get my drift).

Click over the jump for more on Several Shades Of Why plus the video for Is It Done.