Minstrels Foraying with Charm,
I’m glad that I padded over 2007’s ignored albums. Playing music is great. Being a DJ, receiving free records, playing them, choosing the best ones, playing them again and again – it must be the best job in the world. This is the reason I cannot stand BBC 6th Music’s George Lamb, this man is a waster. If I was in his position, it wouldn’t take me so long to finally attain and enjoy some amazing music.
I heard the Opposite of Hallelujah by Jens Lekman on KEXP and went straight to its source; the album, Night Falls Over Kortedala. I guess this is what Belle & Sebastian would sound like if the
y were to let Stevie Jackson write and sing all the words. Of course, I can’t rank a Jens Lekman album alongside anything by the mighty Belle & Sebastian but it would be unfair to penalise Jens for that or any other melodical likenesses to the Sundays or Saint Etienne. At first, I wasn’t sure about the lyrics, I don’t find Jens particularly funny and if that is what he is aiming for, he’s irked me in the way Adam Green does. It’s straightforward pop, with string and brass section bonuses.
Another Swedish artist who can be compared to another of Scotland’s best, is Camera Obscura sound-alike, Taken by Trees or Victoria Bergsman, formerly of Concretes. Of course, the similarities are not unsurprising given that Bellyaches Music Prize 2006 nominees, Camera Obscura used Concretes’ producer for Let’s Get Out of this Country. The album starts as it goes on; minimalist strumming, light drumming centre attention on the fragile-voiced one in Tell Me, she says nothing really, it washes over in a manner that is far from inane. Julia, pronounced in the Swedish way, is more upbeat and quite typical of one of those songs about a character that Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura would spit out, it’s most charming. Lost and Found is a highlight; it’s a lovesick lament with a sense of movement that could easily be the soundtrack to a cinematographic amble through a forest with the quest of picking, non-endangered wild flowers – the kind of activity usually carried out by refined and beautiful girls in the woodlands of Fife. The title track, Open Field, is a quality instrumental that can tell the story of whatever, wherever the listener chooses, the flute and the euphonium are star players in this tale of nothing and everything. Open Field is lovely, Victoria Bergsman hasn’t done this all on her own but it’s hardly surprising that she would be at the heart of something so nice.
Usually, I write about stuff and it ends up being a memory of how I felt about a record at the time; although I listen to quality, I may well end up putting that record in the pile and not listen to it for a year (The Heartlight Set by Joy Zipper, anyone?). I actively try to grab a pile of random CDs to take to work everyday to give me good reason not to give them all away on EvilBay. In contrast, I can truly say that Bill Callahan’s Woke on a Whaleheart is one of my favourite albums ever. I had never heard or appreciated anything of Smog before, I must now start. It just hits me like Trials of Van Occupanter by Midlake, it has that earthy, lo-fi beauty that’s perfect for duffers like me. From the Rivers to the Ocean is the wistful opener that doesn’t make me switch off, it’s well orchestrated, it dispenses with the traditional verse-chorus-verse and is quite a journey. This album can be playful too, Footprints is just that with analysis of the ‘walkin’ dove’ on the sand. Sycamore is probably my favourite, it’s the one about teaching the kid to fight and stand tall like the sycamore (not the best tree, obviously). Day is perhaps the most politically driven, is it a statement about some people of today or of the past being ‘a sickness on this land’? Although the song feels aged, the sentiment could apply to today’s culture. Of course, Bill is right, ‘To family, is all you can do’; each family should be self-policing, and then we wouldn’t be in this mess. There are all sorts of great stuff on this album - the orchestration, the backing vocals, the gospel choir and more - it’s been a privilege.
I heard the Opposite of Hallelujah by Jens Lekman on KEXP and went straight to its source; the album, Night Falls Over Kortedala. I guess this is what Belle & Sebastian would sound like if the
y were to let Stevie Jackson write and sing all the words. Of course, I can’t rank a Jens Lekman album alongside anything by the mighty Belle & Sebastian but it would be unfair to penalise Jens for that or any other melodical likenesses to the Sundays or Saint Etienne. At first, I wasn’t sure about the lyrics, I don’t find Jens particularly funny and if that is what he is aiming for, he’s irked me in the way Adam Green does. It’s straightforward pop, with string and brass section bonuses.Another Swedish artist who can be compared to another of Scotland’s best, is Camera Obscura sound-alike, Taken by Trees or Victoria Bergsman, formerly of Concretes. Of course, the similarities are not unsurprising given that Bellyaches Music Prize 2006 nominees, Camera Obscura used Concretes’ producer for Let’s Get Out of this Country. The album starts as it goes on; minimalist strumming, light drumming centre attention on the fragile-voiced one in Tell Me, she says nothing really, it washes over in a manner that is far from inane. Julia, pronounced in the Swedish way, is more upbeat and quite typical of one of those songs about a character that Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura would spit out, it’s most charming. Lost and Found is a highlight; it’s a lovesick lament with a sense of movement that could easily be the soundtrack to a cinematographic amble through a forest with the quest of picking, non-endangered wild flowers – the kind of activity usually carried out by refined and beautiful girls in the woodlands of Fife. The title track, Open Field, is a quality instrumental that can tell the story of whatever, wherever the listener chooses, the flute and the euphonium are star players in this tale of nothing and everything. Open Field is lovely, Victoria Bergsman hasn’t done this all on her own but it’s hardly surprising that she would be at the heart of something so nice.
Usually, I write about stuff and it ends up being a memory of how I felt about a record at the time; although I listen to quality, I may well end up putting that record in the pile and not listen to it for a year (The Heartlight Set by Joy Zipper, anyone?). I actively try to grab a pile of random CDs to take to work everyday to give me good reason not to give them all away on EvilBay. In contrast, I can truly say that Bill Callahan’s Woke on a Whaleheart is one of my favourite albums ever. I had never heard or appreciated anything of Smog before, I must now start. It just hits me like Trials of Van Occupanter by Midlake, it has that earthy, lo-fi beauty that’s perfect for duffers like me. From the Rivers to the Ocean is the wistful opener that doesn’t make me switch off, it’s well orchestrated, it dispenses with the traditional verse-chorus-verse and is quite a journey. This album can be playful too, Footprints is just that with analysis of the ‘walkin’ dove’ on the sand. Sycamore is probably my favourite, it’s the one about teaching the kid to fight and stand tall like the sycamore (not the best tree, obviously). Day is perhaps the most politically driven, is it a statement about some people of today or of the past being ‘a sickness on this land’? Although the song feels aged, the sentiment could apply to today’s culture. Of course, Bill is right, ‘To family, is all you can do’; each family should be self-policing, and then we wouldn’t be in this mess. There are all sorts of great stuff on this album - the orchestration, the backing vocals, the gospel choir and more - it’s been a privilege.
posted by Leif at 3:28 PM
1 Comments:
Great to see other Music Lovers pointing out how useless and inappropriate George Lame is for Radio 6! Feel free to pop over to a page about the Worst DJ Ever to see more of his skills, and witness how useless he is as TV interviewer too!
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