Female Singers

Listening to the radio this afternoon and hearing some Beth Orton I was struck by how much of a soft spot I have for some female singer songwriters, if that isn't too pointless and generic a genre. This didn't exactly come as groundbreaking news to me (I do broadly know what I like already after all, or at least you would imagine I do) but it does sometimes take hearing something unexpectedly to remind me! Perhaps I shouldn't have been entirely surprised as Rose Melberg's frankly beautiful Homemade Ship has been sneaking its way in to the cd player with alarming regularity this week, which has meant a somewhat large amount of Ramones live albums being played all the way through as a sort of counterbalance, but then they certainly knew their way around a tune as well, so perhaps not that different after all...
Anyway, alongside Homemade Ship (and in no particular order) Pearl, Gonna take a Miracle, Smell the Mitten, The Big Black and Blue, anything by Sandy Denny, and (as always) any faintly acousticy Allo Darlin' all need to be listened to. Each one is perfectly different while maintaining something that I'll always be drawn to, but that I'd struggle quite dramatically to explain. Suffice to say a certain happiness emanates from them which I at least find uplifting in a strange way.

On a semi related note, somehow circumstances have contrived against me again causing the missing of the Lovely Eggs tonight (for the second time this year. Strangely, the same seems to happen whenever I try to see Jack White!!) but they are playing at Rough Trade on Saturday afternoon so I'll just have to catch them and hopefully the new album then.

Veronica Falls & The Lovely Eggs

Two startlingly fantastic and very much different but also in some ways (or at least sort of one way to me at least) similar singles are about to be released by Veronica Falls and the Lovely Eggs.

I Just Want Someone To Fall In Love With is the Eggs at close to if not in fact at (which it may well be) their finest. All spectacular chugging rhythm with the occasional blast of noise to stop the likes of me getting too melancholy and lovelorn. The video also happens to be perfect.

Teenage on the other hand is arguably the most beautifully pretty, jangly, poignant song that I've heard in quite some time. I was sort of expecting Bury Me Alive (I think) to be the next single having heard it a couple of times live and liking it a lot but Teenage might be even better!

To say that I'm looking forward to the new albums from both bands would be quite a massive understatement!! As far as I'm aware the releases are;

Waiting For Something To Happen by Veronica Falls on 4th February in the UK and 12th February for USA.

Wildlife from the Lovely Eggs released 26th November.

It would also appear that they are playing separate shows on the same night in London for those who might be interested, that night being 22nd November and one of the shows being 'secret'.

I'll leave the ways in which the two songs are either different or similar to your imaginations...

 

Bands & Songs of the year

Partly as a result of making playlists (and perhaps a little subconsciously from seeing regular reminders for the Dandelion Radio festive 50 which I still have to vote in!!) I've been considering what my favourite bands and songs have been this year, and am rapidly realising that the answer seems to vary quite dramatically from day to day. It also seems a little hasty to make any decisions quite yet as I have just received the new Ace Bushy Striptease album in the post and haven't had a proper chance to listen to it yet... It can safely be said however that Evans the Death, the School, the Spook School, Martha, Jeffrey Lewis, Horse Thief, the Lovely Eggs, the History of Apple Pie, Dirty Beaches, Methodist Centre, Standard Fare, One Happy Island, Allo Darlin' will be right up there somewhere, even if some of them haven't strictly released anything this year, and by that logic I might have to include Roky Erickson as well for having written my favourite song right now!! In fact, now that I think about it there are clearly far too many names on the list (which will continue to grow as I remember stuff that was released earlier in the year) so a complex system will have to be concocted to narrow down a top three or possibly five popular bands and songs...

Better get started.

Moody Electronica & Fortuna Pop! (again)

For anyone who enjoys a bit of moody electronica (and I'm quite sure that I can't be the only one) I can strongly recommend taking a look at an album called Ark by a guy called Halls. The word is that he's another young London based one man band fairly bass heavy producer who has no doubt been releasing all kinds of stuff that I haven't come across (perhaps unsurprisingly as I'm absolutely not an electro hipster and don't make a habit of frequenting underground east end warehouse parties) and now has this album out.

He most obviously appears to be in a similar vain to James Blake and to a lesser extent Burial so presumably is very much 'in' within certain circles, although that shouldn't put anyone off. The sound is relatively smooth with a broadly orchestral or perhaps chamber feel throughout, and as should maybe be expected, is very much on the minimal side of things. I could imagine that some people might dismiss it as somewhat background music straight away but I would urge anyone even slightly interested to give it a chance, and in particular to listen to the album in order the entire way through as it seems to make more sense as a whole.

If moody and brooding is even sometimes your scene then give it a go.

I have to admit that I temporarily forgot about the Fortuna Pop! Winter Sprinter taking place in early January while bemoaning the lack of all dayers to go to over winter in a post from a couple of weeks ago. As a result it came as an extremely pleasant surprise when the lineup began to be drip fed through twitter over the course of a week or so. Needless to say the lineup is exceptional and £30 for all four nights on the earlybird is almost unbelievable value!

Tuesday 8th January: Allo Darlin' + Tender Trap + The Spook School

Wednesday 9th January: Herman Düne + Withered Hand (solo) + Joanna Gruesome

Thursday 10th January: Darren Hayman And The Long Parliament + Shrag + Haiku Salut

Friday 11th January: Comet Gain + Milky Wimpshake + Evans The Death

http://www.

http://www.wegottickets.com/f/5197

I for one can hardly wait, particularly for the first night which I strongly suspect will set the bar spectacularly high for every other gig next year, but then it could be said that I'm a pretty big fan of all three bands.

Plenty of frankly awesome looking gigs still to happen this year though, so as ever, if you like a band and they play near you get out there and you won't be disappointed!!