LCD Soundsystem

Week 8: IDLES- Tangk

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I don’t know how the title is pronounced (Tansk?), but you will be surprised. As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I dubbed the band “Energetic Rebellion”; however, this time, the band have kept some of that but has resorted to talking about parenthood, love, relationships, and political matters. Yes, there were smatterings of romance on the previous records, but this one steps it up to a level I wasn’t expecting. The volume has also dropped to a chilled vibe, matched by Joe Talbot’s relaxed vocals.

‘Roy’, for example, is more akin to soul. The opener, ‘IDEA 01, ‘ sounds ethereal and reminds me of Lana Del Rey’s style of music. ‘Dancer’ is one of the singles that features LCD Soundsystem, and you can hear that on the track. It isn’t of the iDLES ilk.

Of course, let’s not forget the band returns to their routes on tracks such as ‘Hall & Oates’, which is my standout from the record. I felt chilled out until that track came on, and I was shocked back into the room. Joe also aims for the royal family on ‘Gift Horse’, declaring his daughter is more important than someone in a bejewelled crown.

I know this album will have many mixed reviews because we expect the band to be full-on energetic rebellion, but this one takes it easy, and some people will hate that they have. For all that, the band have shown they can escape their comfort zone and show versatility. As I said, it is a record that is full of surprises. I certainly didn’t expect it. I would describe it as the band rolling a joint and taking it easy as they enjoy the weed. You could also say the band is on a comedown after experiencing an energetic high. One good thing from this is that the band will no longer be pigeonholed into just one category.

Song recommendations: ‘Hall & Oates’, ‘Gift Horse’, ‘Dancer’

7/10

Week 42: the 1975- Being Funny in a Foreign Language

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Fuck’s sake. It has unfortunately come to this—another review on an overhyped band with the young crowd. I do not get the appeal of these little rich boys. They are simply awful. I’d rather listen to Tim Healy than his son.

For their fifth album (How the fuck did such a poor band make it to five?!), they employ the services of Jack Antonoff, who has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift on re-working her original records that were being held to ransom by Scooter Braun. You would think with; what he did with Taylor’s re-works, we would finally have a decent album by the 1975. Their leading single ‘Part of the Band’ showed promise (I think, I am going to be sick.)as it didn’t sound like their usual pop-rock dirge. I mean, the song has jazz influences over Matt’s conscious lyrics. Matt’s stream-of-conscious lyrics are probably the only thing going for them.

I find it insulting they dare acknowledge the likes of Crowded House, Michael McDonald, Paul McCartney or LCD Soundsystem. Their music is nowhere near any of their level. I zoned out on most of the record and went on my phone. A bloody awful album yet again. My instinct after listening to one of their songs on FIFA 14 was enough to tell me how crap they are. I stand by that, and I felt for all those at Reading and Leeds who had to endure them headlining when Zack was unfortunately injured while on tour with Rage Against the Machine. Hardly an apt replacement, is it?

Song recommendations: ‘Part of the Band’

1/10

Week 10: Stereophonics- Oochya!

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I have been a fan of the Phonics since their first appearance on CD: UK(Countdown United Kingdom) in 1998 (I think.)Performing ‘the Bartender and the Thief’. The first thing that struck me was the guitar of the frontman and chief songwriter, Kelly Jones. A red Gibson SG. The only other person around the latter end of this Indie mad era I can recall using one was Paul Weller. That was the only reason I watched the performance on that early Saturday afternoon in the first place. At that time, plenty were in circulation due to Oasis making it ‘cool’ again. However, Kelly’s raspy vocals stood out; I found them different from the bands around then. Most of the newer bands tried to be Oasis, but the Phonics with Kelly’s vocals were pathing their own way to notoriety. 




Amazingly, they have amassed twelve albums from their debut, “Performances and Cocktails”. Their debut produced hits such as ‘Just Looking’., ‘Hurry up and Wait’, ‘the Bartender and the Thief’, ‘Pick a Part that’s New'(My favourite.), and ‘I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio’. Anyway, that’s off track. Let’s talk about their current record, “Oochya!”. The cover is the first thing that caught my attention, and it resembles Green Day’s 1994 album “Dookie”. The opener is ‘Hanging on Your Hinges’, which sounds like it was recorded live in the studio. What do I mean by this? Well, bands like the Phonics back in the 90s and years before used to record a performance rather than the method used today of stopping and starting to edit out mistakes. Everything was recorded in analogue back then, which would be a pain in the arse to edit because you would have to cut segments of the tape. This is why bands and musicians from the analogue decades are masters. They mastered the ability to record performances with minimal mistakes. Indeed, it made them sharper and tighter when performing on tour. 


Apart from that, I noticed that the band didn’t resemble their usual sound. Almost immediately, I noticed a rather LCD Soundsystem song. I enjoyed it, but it left me intrigued about where the album would go next. I was expecting a grand Phonics-esque entrance.




However, over the remaining 14 tracks, the record trends common ground. So far, it is one of the longest albums I have heard this year, clocking in at 64 minutes and 12 seconds. The band are back to what you heard on “Performances and Cocktails”. Some have said it is a bit long, but I enjoyed that the Phonics returned to their electric guitar-laden roots. The records of late have been full of ballads and have been on a more reflective side. Although most of Kelly’s songs are quite cynical, the bombastic instrumentation gives it an upbeat feeling. 


Kelly’s good friend Noel Gallagher is also a master of pulling that off. Something they both would have learned from Johnny Marr.




Of course, the album has some slower-paced tracks like ‘Right Place Right Time’ and ‘When You See it’. The latter is better for its resemblance to ‘Have a Nice Day’ with Kelly’s raspy vocals, the carefree yet melodic strumming of the acoustic guitar, and the steady drums to give the song flesh around the bones. 




Like every band trying to capture past glories, “Oochya!” doesn’t quite get there. We associate Kelly’s vocals with raspy and rough, but on this, he does change tact, like on ‘Running Round My Brain’, where he changes up to Blues. It almost sounds like a song associated with the likes of Cody Johnson (A country star for those unfamiliar.)After all, it is challenging to find that winning formula you started with.




Again, even though recorded live, ‘Don’t Know What Ya Got’ stays on that Country path, remaining chilled out and with a Stereophonics originality, which lies solely with Kelly’s vocals. 


The band probably sounded like any band then, but Kelly’s vocals stood out. 




Apart from that LCD Soundsystem moment, the band are trying to re-capture what they had on their debut rather than moving forward. Now, this is good and bad because the good is there are no shit songs or songs that much out of place, and the bad. After all, they have yet to try to flirt with new concepts. I love the Phonics, so this is fine with me. I know they have experimented before, so as the Embrace song title says, “Come Back to What You Know”. 




Song recommendations: ‘Close Enough to Drive Home’, ‘When You See it’, ‘Hanging on Your Hinges’




7/10