RIDE artwork of the week

Nevermind the fact that Ride's Nowhere is one of the finest albums of the 1990s (Nevermind that it's way better than Nevermind). Nevermind that it contains some of the best psychedelic music from any decade. The cover is a piece of gorgeous artwork all by itself.

LITTLE RED & SPARKADIA coming soon...

Friday nights are made for bands like Little Red and Sparkadia. So I'm off to see them both at the Metro tonight.

A live review will be posted here in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

THE CHARLATANS who we touch

Hot off the press, into this week's edition of The Brag, and onto the page of today's blog...

This is not the finest album The Charlatans have produced in their 21 year career. It’s not even in the top five. But it does tick many of the same boxes as their best work.

The Madchester survivors still use a hammond organ better than anyone (just as they did in 1990 on Some Friendly). They’ve still got that languid stoner groove (as they did on 1994’s Up To Our Hips).  And they’re still one of the few white boy indie groups who ooze funk out of every pore (as on 2001’s Wonderland).

But two things let them down on Who We Touch. The first is the finely polished production from Youth. The band asked him to make the record sound like a European winter. What they had in mind was “fresh and crisp” but, on many tracks, what they got was “cold and wet”. The worst example of this is ‘My Foolish Pride’ - the most sterile track the band has ever committed to tape.

The second area that lets the record down is the lyrics from Tim Burgess. At times you wonder if he’s just swallowed a rhyming dictionary. ‘Sincerity’ is a prime example: “I find atrocity in your monotony” (Really Tim? Seriously?) and in the tautological chorus: “The honesty of your sincerity”.

This patchy album does include some cracking tunes (the chest thumping anthem ‘Trust in Desire’, the six minute psychedelic opus ‘Oh’ and the tender, dreamlike ‘You Can Swim’) but we’ve come to expect more from The Charlatans over the years.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, October 2010.

Who We Touch is available through Shock Records.

CARLY SIMON lyrics of the week

Simply classic lyrics this week from 1972. To this day, Carly Simon has never revealed who the song is written about. It's become part of rock n' roll folklore and still the mystery endures. Was it Warren Beatty? David Geffen? Or even Mick Jagger? (The latter actually sings backing vocals on the song).

You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won
Then you flew your lear jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not you're with
Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you

THE LOVETONES live review

This is a live review of a recent Lovetones show in Sydney. As published in this week's edition of The Brag...

“Oh damn you Rock N Roll Stardom - you are a fickle mistress! Again and again you have dashed the careers of talented bands onto the rocks of anonymity. And why? Simply because these musicians weren’t in the right place at the right time! It’s just not fair I tell you! Curse you Rock N Roll Stardom! You are a heartless beast!” This was my reaction after a night of marvellous music played by magical musicians who, I fear, have arrived in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Instead of Australia in 2010, The Prayer Circle should be in London in 1990. Back then, bands concocting ethereal drone rock were packing out places far bigger than the Oxford Art Factory. Groups like Slowdive, Lush and Chapterhouse used exactly the same formula as The Prayer Circle: delicate vocal harmonies drowning in a miasma of guitar feedback and buzzsaw guitars. It sounded glorious back then and The Prayer Circle prove that it still does today.

As for The Laurels, their natural place in time is really New York in 1993. This was when Bob Mould and his band Sugar were unleashing a fierce album called Beaster; while Sonic Youth had just released Dirty into the wild. These albums tore a punk-shaped hole through the shoegaze sound, adding fiery aggression and attitude into the art-rock aesthetic. The Laurels have gone out and bought the same guitar pedals as Sugar and Sonic Youth, and tonight they engulf the Oxford Art Factory in a blizzard of white noise.

It doesn’t take a mad scientist to work out when and where The Lovetones would have prospered most. Kids in late-1960s California pretty much lived on a diet of psychedelic pop. The Lovetones would have had San Franciscan hippy chicks eating out of their hands. Still, even in 2010, the music they serve up is delicious. ‘Navigator’ is the perfect appetiser and ‘Journeyman’ is equally mouth-watering. ‘This Great Romance’ and ‘A New Low in Getting High’ are sweet and bittersweet respectively. Meanwhile, during ‘Stars’ and ‘Chinatown Busride’, you can practically taste the hash cakes.

Sadly, Rock N Roll Stardom will probably never wine and dine any of these bands on this bill. But each and every musician played a part in seducing the Oxford Art Factory crowd tonight.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2010.

THE CURE the cure

A lesson here for any bands who have been around for years and need to find new inspiration...

When a group has been around for 25 years the toughest challenge is keeping things fresh. The Cure's Robert Smith tackled this by bringing in an outside producer for the first time. Ross Robinson really shook things up in the studio, forcing bandmates to spill their guts to one another (often putting long-time friendships under strain).

The upheaval was worth it though because the result is this brilliantly terrifying collection of songs. Album opener 'Lost' draws you in with a murmur that gradually becomes a frenzied scream. Next up is ‘Labyrinth’, the sound of a bad trip where familiar faces turn sinister ("It's not the same you" Smith wails).

Most of what follows throws you about like a raft in a raging ocean so that when the mood lightens into poppier moments ('The End of the World', 'Taking Off') you want to cling to them for dear life.

The album closes magnificently too with scrawling wah-wah guitar tearing a bloody wound across 'The Promise' before the gentler 'Going Nowhere' bids a wistful farewell. There are echoes of former glories here (1982's Pornography especially) but The Cure still sounds vibrant, scary and most importantly fresh.

Midway through Smith states "I want this to be the last thing we do”. If it is, it's a hell of a way to go.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

The Cure is available through Geffen Records.

DAGGY MUSIC OF THE WEEK kirsty maccoll

This week, Dave digs into his closet and pulls out his daggy music confession...

"When I was a teenager I joined a mail order music club called Britannia Music. The selling point of this club was that you got to pick five albums for free, before then committing to buying one full price record per month for the next 12 months.

"I'd picked four reasonably respectable albums when my pen hovered over Otis Redding. A man respected the world over for his amazing musical talents.

"It was at that moment that I spotted, out of the corner of my eye, the flame haired Irish songstress Kirsty MacColl. I have no idea why, but I chose Kirsty's Galore over the great Otis.

"It's a pretty throwaway record of feelgood, sugary Irish diddley-dee music. It's basically quite rubbish. But I've still got a soft spot for it.

"One of my mates in patricular has never let me live this down. On the day when poor Kirsty met her demise in a speedboating accident, I received a text message from my mate asking me whether I was alright."

Dave, you shouldn't feel too bad about your Kirsty MacColl fandom. She does have a bit of street cred. She performed with The Pogues on classic Christmas single 'Fairytale of New York' and even appeared on stage with The Happy Mondays on Top of the Pops once. Still, Galore is a pretty dire album. Well done for getting this off your chest mate. Hope you feel better now.