fatandconfused

Future of the Left – Curses (Too Pure)

It’s fair to say that heavy music rarely does it for me, and when I say heavy I don’t mean heavy in the sense of Let Airplanes Circle Overhead, Russian Circles, Pelican and the like, I adore them, no I mean heavy as in with screaming and intenseness, it’s the combination that I’m not that fussed about. However there will always be exceptions, in the past the main exception happened to be the highly underrated Mclusky and so its no surprise that my new favourite band (for 15 minutes as ever for me) are Future of the Left the new project of former Mclusky front man Andy Falkous and drummer Jimmy Egglestone. This is no nonsense full on aggressive in your face rock, yet for all its no nonsenseness it full on nonsensical lyrics, and melodies that will having you nodding your head and banging your steering wheel as you wait at the lights.

In the tradition of Mclusky amazing song titles are ever present (My Gymnastic Past, Suddenly It's A Folk Song, Adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood) and perhaps less familiar will be the excellent keyboards lines now present used to amazing effect on the fantastic Manchasm, I’ll let you discover this years best outro yourself, needless to say that like Mclusky, Future of the Left are a very special band.

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Future of the Left - The Lord Hates a Coward MP3

Go! Team - Proof of Youth (Memphis Industries)

I’m not ashamed to admit that I really never intended to hear this, planning to avoid it at all costs. I really enjoyed their debut album but was let down with the live performance, it was all very “put yr hands in the air, like you just don’t care” and didn’t do it for me at all and then a series of events, the plan b interview, to quote “I wanna be a cartoon! I wanna be a comic! I wanna be a watch!” why? why would you ever say that? And then the press shot in the latest Plan B, grotesque and utterly repulsive, again why would you let people print such bad pictures of yourself, and yet I eat each and every one of my words, I take back all my misconceptions, my past experience of bands never quite matching the exuberance and quality of their debut, my everything, Proof of Youth is one of the best albums you will hear this year, full to the brim and overflowing with feel good tunes, songs to pick you up, to make you dance, to let you forget about all the crap you have to deal with, I love this album, only a week ago I could never imagine saying such a thing. Its sends a shiver down my spine how good this album is. Taking the best of hip hop and mixing it in with a serious helping of motown, tracks like Doing it Right have no need to beg you to dance for by the time the first bar has kicked in you’re already there on the dance floor, and a series of chants likely to be echoed on a million dance floors “do it do it alright” “extra extra read all about it”.

If you thought Annie’s Chewing Gum was the song to get you in the mood then now you have a whole album, soo good that you’ll be tempted to stay in, it really is that good. I’m having trouble describing just how good, Fake ID is smothered in such northern soul magic where it not for the hip hop twist you’d swear you were down Wigan Casino on a Saturday night.

Don’t let your musical snobbery put you off, Proof of Youth is awesome.

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Go! Team - Grip Like A Vice (Black Affair Remix) MP3

Back when I was a lad, or at least when I when I was first beginning to “properly” get into music, whereby I mean that my record collection no longer consisted of taped music recorded from and occasionally by friends too cautious to “lend” in fear of never seeing their beloved disc again. Instead my hard earned cash gave me the opportunity to fill every possible place I could ram a CD within my (shared) box room…and so I did…and so my findings led me to a pentateuch, so to speak, of bands that I both swore by and adored, bands who could do no wrong in my eyes…a list of which follows

1) Belle & Sebastian

2) Hefner

3) Godspeed You! Black Emperor

4) The Delgados

5) Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci

It is from the final and perhaps weirdest and unpredictable of the bunch that arises my latest obsession, that being the solo project of former front man Euros Childs, going by the alias of…erm, Euros Childs. Gorky’s a their finest where able to produce both noise and melody, hush and chaos and ultimately a song for each occasion, whether that be the loud and chaotic Sweet Johnny, the literally barking mad Poodle Rocking, the sunshine pop of Spanish Dance Troupe, Diamond Dew and Patio Song or the heart melting four tracks that closed 1999 album, Spanish Dance Troupe, who could forget the “Jodie brown eyes” line, one that to do this day I find myself randomly singing.

And so out of nowhere Euros has given us three albums in the space of sixteen months, Chops (13/2/06) Bore Da (05/03/07) and now The Miracle Inn (25/06/07), a treasure trove of Gorky-like pop. The piano led pop remains, songs like Horse Riding & Ali Day are instant classics, whereas the more ambitious 15 minutes of The Miracle Inn show the ideas and experiments are not running short yet. Costa Rita is a lovely love song told in the normal Euros way, quirky and normally from a distance, the way we all fall in love with that girl that we see on the bus each day, the one who walks past our window at work, the one who works in the florist down the road and yet we’ll probably never ever pluck the courage up to talk to her let alone tell her how we feel. Country Girl shows his fondness for country as previously expressed in the much loved yet little heard Johnny Cash Lawsuit Song.

Euros Childs is a madcap genius who deserves your attention, let him put a little sunshine and romance in your life.

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Euros Childs - First Time I Saw You (Acoustic Version) MP3

Euros Childs - Billy and the Sugarloaf Mountain MP3

Euros Childs - Dawnsio Dros Y Môr MP3

Euros Childs - Amsermaemaiyndod MP3

Euros Childs - Y Mwnci Drwg MP3

Euros Childs - Teen Angel MP3

The Finches – Human Like A House (Dulcitone)

“New front door/ same address/ same front step/ same back porch/ geraniums to the terrace/sold my shoe to pay the rent/ I won’t be needing them/ I won’t be leaving too soon” The opening lines of the title track from the Finches excellent Human Like a House sum up in my mind exactly how I view the excellently named Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs. A country type, but not the redneck violin playing country type you may instantly think of, instead the type that lives in a little cottage in the woods with gingham table cloths, a stream running buy and neatly arranged flower beds outside the front door. One that is contended, happy in their own environment and instantly enviable.

Much like Bosque Brown and to some extent Joanna Newsom and perhaps Carolyn has a distinctive voice that stands out and as I’ve said before it’s the kind of voice you’d expect Cat Power to have the way people go on about her, captivating and pure, spanning the scales so eloquently, pauses in all the right places, notes held for just the right amount of time “but these days it takes more/ than two feet it takes four” delivered so perfectly and conjuring up a number of comparisons along the way (you’ll hear the odd glint of Vashti or Isobel, Bosque Brown, maybe Mirah) yet individual enough to stand out in her own rights, perhaps Laura Veirs being the closest comparison, yet at times, especially half way through Lay she sounds exactly like Gorkys Euros Childs. The occasional duets with the deep and slightly flat Aaron Morgan fit together so beautifully, the contrast works equally as well as Isobel and Mark, Joanna and Bill, Lee and Nancy, I think you see where I’m coming from. Track two June Carter Cash “June Carter Cashes voice was in my dream/ I was listening to a tape that you made for me/ when my heart got so tight/ I thought I might die” is already working its way up the last fm charts as my favourite song, a lovely mix of folk and country for sunny days and contented afternoons spent reflecting on just how wonderful things are if you would only take the time to appreciate them.

www.yakamashirecords.net

www.midheaven.com
www.myspace.com/thefinches
http://www.finchesmusic.com/

Various Artists – Let’s Dream it, Dream it for Free (Various Labels)

A seven label 29 track free CD and a very good one too. Where Its At Is Where You Are continue to merge into the indie pop background yet release nugget after nugget of pop joy, particularly impressive of the three tracks on offer here is DJ Downfalls synth pop gem Rediscover Fire. Rose Melberg isn’t a million miles from The Finches (and looks ver cute on a google image search) and should be instantly checked out.

Victory Gardens and Vacuous Pop Recordings do very little for me sadly, Static Caravan on the other hand will always impress though perhaps a little further away again from the electronica/post rock 7 inches they used to release when I were a lad. Here Men-An-Tol’s Orange Juice and Vodka is a spectacular piece of Mediaeval folk, like the Espers had they not been so clever and learned to play all those instruments so well.

If this compilation has taught me one thing its that I really should pay more attention to Leicester’s Pickled Egg records, Fulborn Tevershams Beachtune is a glorious piece of skronky jazz, delightful from start to finish, Dragon Or Emperor show Vacuous Pop Recording how there records should sound, all fuzzy guitars against circling mesmerising bass lines and urgent vocals, I like this a lot. aPAtT is another bizarre little creature “I’m going to find out right just where you live my dear” he sings in the most sinister Germanic stalker voice you’ll hear outside of the Vanishing film before a barber shop trio give the poppiest set of doo-wops you’ll hear this side of Motown, exceptionally good whilst equally disturbing.

Fortuna Pop! are a class act as always showcasing new signings The Mountain Movers (an offshoot of the Butterflies of Love) and My Sad Captains who both impressive as does the surf instrumental of Airport Girls Black Rock Sounds.

Bearos also seem to have strayed from my youth and their post rock reputation, Richard Burke’s singer songwriter style is similar to James Yorkston, The Baker Boys are proper Bluegrass, reminiscent of the Radio Sweethearts and a number of others bands on the excellent Shoeshine Records label. Lazarus Clamp give us a lovely slice of Jack White like blues rock, suitably angry and all the better for it.

Perhaps the standout track though is Clair Hortons Puppet, like Belle and Sebastian’s Boy With The Arab Strap soaked in harpsichord and country ideals with a hint of Women’s Realm thrown in for good measure.

All this and not a penny spent yet a shopping list of albums to go discover.

** this was handed out free at ATP, i'm sure if you get in touch with one of the labels they can arrange for you to get your hands on a copy