Micachu & The Shapes - Good Sad Happy Bad - Album Review

Mica Levi and her Shapes follow up 2012’s Never with a record that finds subtle detail in mope and sadness. The mixing is deceptively simple, but one-off touches, and unusual dynamic placement of certain instrumentation gives these pop songs a cosy setting.

Like M&TS’ previous output, tracks are given distinction with bespoke sounds: Oh Baby’s stubborn misery is realised with minor riffs from a kettle drum and 2-bit timpani interjecting. Unity sports guttural screaming. LA Poison is a doped acoustic grunge skank whilst Sea Air’s disorientated melody evokes Robert Wyatt.

May the recognition for Levi’s soundtrack for Under The Skin bring more attention to her other work. Her invention is uncompromised by whichever pool she’s swimming in.

[2015.06.15] for NARC Magazine.

Teen Men - Teen Men - Album Review

In a new project, a breath away from The Spinto Band, Nick Krill and Joey Hobson join forces with visual artists to bring their new Teen Men self-titled debut album to life. Though the songs carve relief-deep definition for themselves, the mix of forms used in the various videos accompanying the tunes really help to convey the fuller sculptures. A mild melancholic vocal sometimes pulls the listener closer, but the songs are often delivered with a certain level of detachment, allowing their life to be observed, but from a window far away. This precise dreamy pop record has been perfectly realised and feels unworried by its unfaltering passivity. If you feel unworried by that too, there is a sweet record to be enjoyed here.

[2015.06.15] for NARC Magazine.

Beauty Pageant / Commiserations / Dead Friends / Kilo Grandma / Waskerley Way - Live at The Old Police Station, Gateshead

Whilst playing a game of chess a couple of weeks ago, a good friend delivered news of the best surprise: Beauty Pageant were back! and to be playing a gig at The Old Police Station in Gateshead at the end of May. After over a year away from performing live together, the imagination and graft of events organisers Even Clean Hands Cause Damage have brought them back to the area where they formed, to once again twist and punch ears. Further delights were to colour the evening too.

   

Opening the nights proceedings was Michael Bridgewater, performing as Waskerley Way. Taking off his jacket, and kissing his football shirt with a wink in his eye, he embarked upon three contrasting instrumentals built with sounds from his laptop and keyboard. The set evolved from slippery bass moans, through hip-hop influenced beats, to a final tune blossoming with a melodic prettiness.

Next we were treated to one face of Kilo Grandma; an improvisation group, this time utilising the talents of Beauty Pageant’s drummer, Dan Dixon, modular synth meddler John Bowers, clarinetist Rebecca Jennings and Charlie Bramley on pocket operator synths. Across two jams they filled the room with as much volume as it could handle, sourcing new musical patterns from one another, with phase progressing phase.

A man known as Dead Friends then brought an inspired bout of humour, playing prerecorded compositions from his tablet whilst casually drinking from a can and indicating choice moments in each track with a point of an index finger, or a raise of a brow. This setlist of short crude extracts and melted classics supported by deadpan expressions was a perfect aperitif.

Commiserations, a raucous trio from Leeds, realigned the airwaves with noisy short songs driven by loosely tuned guitar riffs and thrusting drums, whilst the two members with microphones vocalised their aggression. A goblin decided to play tricks from within one of the guitar amps halfway through, bringing the set to a holt. The band tried to correct the issue whilst the room of people watched with hopeful anticipation. Thankfully the amp returned to its full force and the riot could play out.

Crowning the evening, Beauty Pageant start with their Torso EP opener Superplasticizer and the mood is instantly theirs. After a few tracks uniting headbangers and the hypnotised alike, a humble thanking of all involved is given and met with audience agreement (displayed as silence.) Marie Thompson makes fun with this awkwardness before encouraging BP to quickly premiere a new song, returning to the comfort of playing their musical storms. When Helen Papaioannou’s opening saxophone riff for Cheerleaders starts up, final inhibitions are cut loose, and the room rides out unbridled excitement to the finish.

Though they have been away for a while, tonights display confirms their united character is still strong and loved. This performance has recharged our batteries until next time.

[2015.05.25] for NARC Magazine.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Christopher Sergel

Many will remember holding copies of To Kill A Mockingbird in class many moons ago. Outside the Theatre Royal this evening, a large crowd of teenagers were being assembled by teachers; a new generation exposed, getting ready to see what they have been reading in class reimagined in Christopher Sergel’s now-touring stage adaptation.
   
    As all are finding their seats, the stage is bare, except for a sturdy tree with a rubber-tire swing hanging from one of the branches, and some chairs and a bed tucked to the right hand side. The conversation is lively and loud on this well-attended opening night but a firm whistle from one of the actors raises the attention to the full cast now at the front of the stage, each holding a copy of Harper Lee’s novel, and the play begins.

    Each taking turns to read an opening passage of Scout’s account from the original text, the play outlays a device it will use throughout, helping to move each scene to flow into the next, and to narrate this tale of courage, prejudice and hope for justice with the eyes and innocence of a young girl’s perspective.

    This production benefits from being seen from a balcony, as the cast quickly build the town in a two-dimensional map on the floor in chalk and set the locations that various characters will visit throughout the story, including Mrs Dubose’s and Boo Radley’s homes, and the jail where Tom Robinson awaits his fate. The first half of the play runs quickly from scene-to-scene, introducing various tensions and relationships, each being presented like a miniature fable within this larger essay on humanity. Luke Potter adds a further depth to the spirits in this town with light accompanying music from a tenor ukulele or steel-string guitar, and singing too.

    In the second half, the story is played out in an extended courtroom scene where Atticus Finch (whose enduring strength throughout is portrayed excellently by Daniel Betts,) unravels the lies and prejudices of the prosecuting witnesses, including the drunk and abusive Bob Ewell, whose villainy is instantly palpable the minute Ryan Pope swaggers the character on stage. By the time the wrongly-accused Tom Robinson relays his perspective on the events, the whole theatre was hanging on to Zachary Momoh’s understated and powerful delivery.

    As the original story is given heart and strength from its strong youthful characters, the future of theatre is given light for the acting quality of its cast’s younger members. It’s hard to believe that this is Jemima Bennett’s debut role acting in professional theatre as she confidently moves within Scout’s skin, showing us all of the character’s cockiness and confusion. The chemistry between the actors playing the three childhood companions is wonderfully natural, with each also making individual moments memorable too; Harry Bennett as Jem tearing up the flowers, and Leo Heller as Dill telling his exaggerated stories.

    Though rich in moments and detail, the show flew by and as the lights faded on Atticus and Scout, the audience pounced into applause before the blackout. As the clapping went long and beyond any social formality, each member of the cast humbly raised their copy of the book to show their debt to this brilliant story. 

[2015.04.21] for NARC Magazine.

Martin Gore - MG - Album Review

MG is an assertive set of sixteen short instrumentals from Depeche Modes’ Martin Gore; a follow-up record to the techno-inspired album Ssss, which he made with fellow Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke. Here, Gore takes full control and produces a setlist just short of an hour, portraying many unique spirits and painting lots of contrasting moods. You will be exhausted by the end, but in the best possible way; like when the house-lights come up after a wild, late-night thriller. 

This electronic odyssey pings into action with the plinky syncopated broken-chords of Pinking. Around the clockwork progression rough scrapes build and intensify. As quickly as this sense of urgency has blossomed, Swanning follows, like a darkness below the drains, a beast lurking in the sewer. Gore has created an album of moments, often just two-to-three minutes in length, with a rounded central character, each memorable and intense. I could elaborate on all of them, but that would take away the fun for the first-time listener.

A few distinguished mentions: The swaggering limbs of Stealth, with its EQ constantly stretching in the unrest, Europa Hymn, using pulled pitching to bend sorrowful melodies, and the confident Crowly, bold and shining with various colours as its croaking pulse ceases to relent. 

Though there is nothing in the labelling of the tracks or artwork to indicate a narrative or concept to the record, the mind cannot help but recall or invent images to marry with what the ears are hearing. It would be a mixed blessing to have to create a video with this music; a luxury because these sounds would amplify a scene, being so vivid and exciting, but also a curse, for it would be a huge responsibility to compliment these tracks with images that further expand their already multidimensional world.

By titling this record with his initials, this experienced musician outlays a considered confidence by presenting this new phase of musical direction, for all intents and purposes, in his name - as he did, compounding it with his collaborator’s for the previous outing - VGMG. This confidence is demonstrated in the material, which balances continual enthusiasm with tasteful clarity. The album cover image of a hand-drawn potentiometer gives a hugely understated hint of the apparatus that will be supplying the sounds manipulated within, however, it also fairly communicates the focus and love that Gore has for these electronic instruments.

What makes the tracks on MG so striking is the efficiency of their design; each is orchestrated with only the necessary timbres. Often snippets of melodies and motifs highlight negative space in the linear parts. This kind of melodic construction invites your mind to imagine motion beyond what is being told to your ear, in the same way an author might offer clues to a characters path, leaving you to imagine what might have happened. This unpatronising style of composition welcomes the listener inside, creating the opportunity for a much stronger emotional connection and investment. It is clear from this cornucopia that Gore’s goat’s horn is far from drought, and I, for one, would relish in a further instalment from this sonic-cinematic direction.

[2015.04.12] for NE:MM Magazine.

Richard Dawson / Vibracathedral Orchestra / Phil Tyler - Live at The Star & Shadow, Newcastle

Having launched his incredible album, Nothing Important, at the Star & Shadow in the winter of last year, Richard Dawson returns tonight to play the first gig of his UK Tour once again on this homely stage.

The two supporting acts shine through the evening’s sky like the sun and moon crossing Dawson’s soul. First on, Phil Tyler stands steady and loyal as he retells melodies from both sides of the Atlantic using his banjo for divination. As the opening instrumental ‘No Wealth But Life’ draws focus from the spirited audience, many new eyes and ears fill into the room until it is packed full. Tyler’s performances are always modest, with his presence on stage almost bashful. This allows the instrumentals and songs to be witnessed and understood apart from the person playing them. By seeing such devotion, it is important to recognise Tyler as not just an excellent and skilled musician, but as someone committed to his passions for their own virtue.

As a styrofoam head presented at the front of the stage is adorned with headphones, and an A4 photocopy picture of Lou Reed is casually taped to the back curtain, the signs are set that Vibracathedral Orchestra’s performance will be abrasive, but boy, few were prepared! From a stage littered with instruments, The Leeds quartet took few moments to arrive at a torrent of sound which they then joyously improvised around and within for close to an hour. Phil Tyler’s considered approach is now balanced by this uncertainty and wilderness. Childhood curiosity was ever present in their eyes as each band-mate explored different instruments; from guitars, to synths, to percussion, to recorders. A fake severed hand lay on the floor throughout but was not utilised. Though their faces were lined with a million stories, these men were growing younger as they played. Though some members of the audience were defeated by the power of the sound, this unapologetic tirade was a strangely fitting purifier for the ears about to listen to tonight's headliner.   

With ale gleaming in his cheeks, Richard Dawson takes merriment in being a few minutes early onto the stage and enjoys joking with many characters in the crowd. Though clearly excited by this christening date in his calendar, friendly support in the audience is palpable and Dawson rides the waves with grace. As the opening motif to Man Has Been Struck Down By Hands Unseen is recognised, excitement curls in the faces watching and whatever has lead up to this moment has passed - the night now belongs to this music. 

Perhaps because of the heat in the room, or exhaustion, our singer’s voice is more strained than usual, with some of the falsetto notes falling into breath. This huskier and angular quality in his vocals however helped make tonight’s version of The Vile Stuff as violent a march as it has ever been. The fire in this performance was lapped up as one of the evening’s highlights, with the crowd singing favourite lines loudly, and laughing with its humour.

The setlist was a rich tribute to his album The Magic Bridge, filled predominantly with songs from that record with a few inclusions from the two following albums. 

When Dawson removed his jumper for the final portion of his set to reveal a Thelonious Monk T-shirt, there was something wonderfully childlike about how blushing he was of this item of clothing. Though depicting one of his heroes, he indicated it was an arbitrary clothing decision. Maybe so… 

A plethora of surprises made the denouement anything but formal. From an improvised verse of song playfully mocking his idiosyncrasies, to performing lines of dialogue from the Pacino/De Niro movie Heat, to putting the guitar into standard tuning! and then fumbling his way through Roy Orbison’s In Dreams. To finish he resurrected I Will Make It Up To You from his 2007 album, Sings Songs and Plays Guitar and the song’s bold romance capped the night perfectly.

As goodbyes are said, Dawson gives thanks to The Star and Shadow. Though the rooms now full of life and history are sadly soon to be relinquished, the community that built such a vibrant place, as our troubadour correctly identifies, will start a new lease of life in their next settlement. Long may they live! 

[2015.02.07] for NE:MM Online Magazine.

Group Of The Atlos - R U Person Or Not - Album Review

Group Of The Atlos is the name of a society of musicians that has grown around its five original members that formed in 2006. As a whole, they display traits common to post-rock practices, operating as a flexible set of players servicing the songs they compose with individual egos not rising above the resonating character of the work. Various vocalists and instrumentalists may be given a moment of focus in a track, but such displays do not provide the listener with evidence of what a future composition might be constructed from.

    Following a project scoring a film in 2013, the Wisconsin collective returned to recording this eight-track LP, R U Person Or Not. Throughout this new album, much of the music is weighty and sombre. Learning To Share opens with a slow waltz of guitar octaves. From this introduction, the texture crescendos as many guitar and brass counterparts are added. This building passage instantly supports their instrumental-rock influences. We hear similar building sections later, too - (the endings of News From Wino and On Wreck for example.)

    to: Saviour follows up, incorporating a soulful and wailing lead rock-vocal, roaming around the pentatonic scale, as the other instrumentation effectively peddles the route note. Such a style of singing is unusual within an album of more progressive arrangements like this one, for often such ornamentation and flamboyance in technique is considered immodest and individualistic amongst the post-rock purists. That kind of attitude is a lazy stereotype, and it is to Group Of The Atlos’ credit to include this vocal sound: a welcome additional timbre, giving a rich colour to this record’s rainbow.

   

    Fucks With Us presents one of the album’s most surprising sonic inclusions: a Jamaican-accent-inflected sung rap, leading a slow minor-skank. Out of delirious repetitions of ‘forgive me, forgive me,’ a manic stream of lyrical confession breaks out, resilient through to the song’s conclusion.

    Coplight uses it penultimate position to patiently wind together the roads of the record, carefully unfolding a melancholic duet. A true moment of intimacy is carved out (away from the earlier storms) by blending a solo male and a solo female’s vocal over soft instrumentation.

    The album concludes in a wonderfully farcical fashion with the spooky flash-groove of Forgiveness Rules. The paralleling vocals with guitar wails, and the celebratory energy perfectly off-setting the ernest resonances of the penultimate track.

    With the deliberately naive title of the record, and altered-skull artwork, we are given clues that, as listeners, we might experience an album focussed on some aspects of humanity (existentialism perhaps?,) and though each track is quite unique sonically, it is for this philosophical focus that the set forms as a coherent collection.

    R U Person Or Not certainly contains unique sounds, thoughtfully chosen and performed. The use of overlapping various voices throughout cleverly supports an idea of unity as an antidote against existential isolation considered in the lyrics: From the various vocalists occupying different frequencies within the crowd-chanting of Gun, and On Wreck, to the lyrical phrases completed from the gendered voices, hand-in-hand on Coplight. The variety of colour and influence throughout stimulates imagination in the listener’s mind. Such a display of so many styles, from track-to-track, makes it an enigmatic record as a whole, with certain portions resonating at different sittings.

   

[2015.02.01] for NE:MM Magazine.