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The Organ – Grab That Gun (Too Pure)
This is a beautiful album, one that is slowly beginning to hog my stereo. Comparisons have been made to The Smiths, I can’t confirm such claims as I’m not familiar with the aforementioned, however to me this album is closest in sound to the wonderful “On Parade” album by Electrelane, nothing special yet somehow more special than you could ever hope for, in that the songs are not as original as say Bearsuit or maybe Deerhoof instead they are just incredibly well written, beautiful clean guitars, notes picked out rather than chords strummed, songs that make you want to get up and dance like a big indie wuss, yes the bass drives, but it sticks to the speed limit, songs that evoke powerful feelings, a lone flower in a forest fire, the realisation of just how lucky you are to be alive when you see all the suffering and injustice around.
Each song refuses to out stay its welcome yet politely refuses to leave without making its point crystal clear, an album of exquisite beauty and deep feelings.
www.myspace.com/toopurerecords
www.myspace.com/theorgan
www.myspace.com/toopurerecords
www.myspace.com/theorgan
The Chalets – Check In (Setanta)
I bought this on the strength of the single “Feel the Machine” only to find out that just about every other song on the album is about ten times better especially the first three (unlike Boycrazy’s famous faux pas on their Foreign Words album (an album with three startlingly good tracks to open followed by much almost average-ness) the standard remains high throughout maybe only with the exception of Feel the Machine) Theme From Chalets, a great two boy two girl assault on one another, No Style, duel vocals and a tune a catchy as the flu and twice as contagious “everybody says yr looking pretty cool and the summers looking good for the gang who rule but you’ve got no style/ working every day your waiting to get paid and your counting every cheque until you can get away but you’ve got no time” Red High Heels, more lovely bass heavy verses exploding into summery pop killer bubblegum choruses.
Elsewhere we get more of the same, call and response vocals, fuzzy guitars and catchy choruses, especially so on the two minute blast of Two Chord Song, five kids who aren’t not ashamed to keep it simple and ridiculously good. File alongside essential.
Backlash – Serial Cleaner (Surprise)
It’s a fact that its unlikely that you’ll ever hear a “tech-house” (I may have made this genre up completely, its certainly not one that I would ever search out for as first port of call upon a visit to a record store, (is it wrong to pigeonhole? Many would say yes, but is it really? I know when I read reviews one of the main things that sells it to me is the bands that the band are compared to…maybe that’s just me)) quite so good as Vitalic's Ok Cowboy, a genuine touch of class, pure genius and out and out dancefloor filling perfection, the kind of songs made for when yr just beginning to think that maybe yr ready to leave when the pounding drums kick in, the filthy bass heavy synths all fuzzed up and rotating, the bleeps and video game noises all getting whirled together into one euphoric moment of pure joy. Vitalic do it perfectly, Backlash have a very good go at it, Fast Forward and Dance or Die will probably be the most obvious but all in all most tracks should do more than satisfy those with an appetite for electro sounds, photocopiers malfunctioning and threatening to blow (2.15 into Shave our Souls) and robotic voices…the party starts now.