She And Him - Volume 2

Sweet music. Even sweeter Zooey. Ahhh.

As actors-turned-singers albums go this is pretty sharp. It's not trying to be something so new and cutting edge that it faces ridicule or failure in any great way. She & Him - the aforementioned Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward hook up again to give indie pop-folk another airing following their successful first collab back in 2007.

What Volume 2 brings is a sense of comfortableness (not boring) and tradition, some of the cover choices for instance, that give the listener a ward fuzzy glow. You can pick out some tunes here and they'd happily sit on the soundtrack of a Zooey film with just the correct amount of twee-irony-wonky humour whatever...but the truth is these simple ditties are a breath of fresh air in otherwise cynical world.

www.sheandhim.com/
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

The National - High Violet

As a fellow beard wearer I can empathize with Matt Berninger's ponderous, whisker-stroking take on life, love and all likely absurdities in between. And whilst it's also true that I was a bit late to worship at the The National alter (previous album The Boxer being my personal introduction!) I've since immersed myself fully in the bands back catalogue and can rightfully claim that High Violet is where cult following and critical acclaim will take a back seat to TV fame, radio airplay and bigger touring venues.

Not that this 'material' stuff might mean too much, but they are the deserved rewards of producing an album like 'High Violet' that touches on familiar beguiling, atmospheric folk moments but that also bites back in places with a fervour and glee that sets the band up for all the accolades due to come their way.

And while Berninger's doleful vocals chime at the forefront it's still the skittering drumming of Bryan Devendorf which gels the whole thing together - perhaps the most compelling drummer around right now (I'd say). In isololation The National's parts may not possess the drama and vigour of the whole but it's on High Violet that this whole excells itself finally.

Lead single 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' is possessed of a simmering energy which seemingly doesn't know whether to fuck or fight whereas 'Terrible Love' and 'Conversation 16' probably deal with weightier themes but feel less likely to pull you under as the band wallow in their collective despair.

If this sounds a bit dreary and portentous and not at all uplifting then you should maybe take some time to listen to the album yourself as at some point during High Violet's 50 minutes it is all of these things and much more, including wry humour and sarcastic asides aplenty. Trust me they now hold the spot as album of the year contenders - without doubt!

www.americanmary.com
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

PLANK! - EP

PLANK! are a three piece who play (mostly) instrumental music. Repetitive, hypnotic music which flirts with Krautrock and in particular stalwarts of that 'genre' Neu! and Amon Duul II. They've even nicked Neu!'s punctuation.

It's within this context of heavily patterned drumming and bass melodies, of trance-like grooves and repeating loops, that each song finds its own heartbeat and forms a structure out of seemingly nothing. There's a buoyant but melancholic arc to the (bad)punningly entitled 'Arse Nick' whereas '1001 Nacht' toys with 'kosmische' avant-gardist psychedelia by throwing a bit of experimentalism the listeners way.

Once 'Phlaa' gets going the song's similarities to Neu!'s seminal 'Hallogallo' are too obvious to be coincidental. They clearly have an affection and appreciation of the musical legacy to which they are adding their own stamp.

Personally I could do with more, a lot more, the songs on the EP are way too short and at an average of four minutes that's a rare thing indeed. The impetus just about begins before the music levels off and ends with an often abrupt flourish. Sadly. I'd happily take a full length album of this music if they're willing to spend time putting one together. EP closer 'La Luna' is a beautiful example of spaced ambiance that is treated with the throwaway frivolity of a band easily bored with the rhythms they've discovered. Pity.

The musical interplay throughout comes from the synchronous drumming and bass although the occasional guitar riff gets a look in particularly on 'Arse Nick' which creates musical spirals which reach into each other and draw out some interesting results.

It's arguable where PLANK!'s music sits within the current musical context, it's certainly not populist and deliberately so but it's also drawn aside from the plethora of post-rock, psyche-rock bands of the last ten years or so. PLANK! could be viewed as custodians to this marginal sound and one which is much deserving of rediscovery. Bloody good ones too.

www.myspace.com/plankuk
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

GY!BE - play, tour, curate, exist

www.1119732.net
www.atpfestival.com

Dum Dum Girls

Okay forget everything you've been fed over the last year or so about the return of electro and synths and girls with their machines and disco voices clogging up the pop charts because Dum Dum Girls are leading the migration well away from that kind of thing. Completely.

They're the bad influence your momma done told you about and if you ain't careful they're gonna land you in a whole heap o'trouble.

Kicking back the years to revel in 60's soaked fuzz beats and menacing bubblegum pop Dum Dum Girls lift off where girl groups like The Shangri-Las gave up the ghost.

Soundtracking their own Beyond the Valley of the Dolls-style movie with a rip roaring Runaways vibe they blister through a host of luridly familiar sounding and maddening catchy songs 'Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burnout', 'Jail La La', 'I Will Be' and 'Everybody's Out' and despite the retro feel this is definitely going to be the music of the very near future.

Hey, that sulky chick from the Twilight flicks is playing Joan Jett (you know from The Runaways) in a movie real soon and that kind of thing is just gonna make girls step away from their keyboards, strap on a geetar and rock like lady-bastards, whilst singing about boys, booze and bad behaviour!

Mark my words.

www.www.myspace.com/dumdumgirls
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

Jonsi - Go

Most people will know Jónsi Birgisson either as the singer/songwriter with Icelandic dream pop purveyors Sigur Rós or by his most recent collaboration in Jónsi & Alex. What I'm saying is that most people will know what to expect with this debut solo record (and by solo I mean chocful of guest collaborations and cameos).

Well forget what you're expecting because Go is not the album you think it might be. The languid, elongated pace of Sigur Ros songs, drawn out over time and stately in tone are eschewed in favour of more up tempo, even poppy, songs with opening track 'Go Do' a foot stomping rallying cry for the album being a fine example.

What Go delivers is nothing short of stunning. Aside from the great singable songs - the aforementioned 'Go Do', 'Boy Lilokoi' and 'Tornado' to name but three - at it's heart though Go isn't really such a radical departure, the delicate glockenspiel, bowed guitar, flutes and ethereal vocals balance atop the quicker bleeps and more rugged beats that's all. By the time we reach album closer 'Hengilas' we are very much in Sigur Ros territory but that's besides the point. To feel that sense of wonder and experience rushes of joy few other artists can stir in the listener is magical.

The fairytale feeling of mythical stories being re-told is obviously set fast in Jónsi's genetic make up for no matter what changes he makes this remains at the core and it's certainly something for which we should all be very thankful.

www.jonsi.com
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

The White Stripes - Under Great White Northern Lights

About ten years ago I somehow stumbled across The White Stripes music. On the radio or in a club or reading about them somewhere, I'm not sure exactly how. But they had a a fascinating enough look and story for me to check out the music further and I bought an imported copy of their eponymous debut album and the ramshackle mix of punk and blues had me hooked.

It's fair to say that I became pretty obsessive. Tracking down rare 7" singles on tiny labels (even going so far as to buy pre-White Stripes Jack White oddities), reading everything about them I could and telling friends how great this band were, usually to very deaf ears! By the time the wider public had latched on in the UK around 2001 with third album 'White Blood Cells' my interest was beginning to peak and following fourth release 'Elephant' in 2003 with phenomenal 'breakout' single 'Seven Nation Army' I'd had my fill. Fickle as I was.

So coming to this film of the duo's 2009 tour of every Canadian territory was an opportunity to fill in the missing years for me. Covering their career to date including a wonderfully observed tenth anniversary gig and featuring some great live footage - hey I'm a sucker for rock-umentaries anyway - this brought back to me the thrill of hearing the band in their early days. The rawness and the power that Jack and Meg generate. Plus there are some really candid pieces caught on camera, perhaps none more so than when the pair are sat at the piano at the film's close with Jack playing and singing and the (obviously silent/quiet) Meg brought to tears by his rendition of 'White Moon'. It's a touching moment indeed.

It's a joy to see bands who genuinely find pleasure in playing and making music and I suppose, despite whatever else Jack White has done in his extra curricular musical endeavours, The White Stripes will always be the most deeply felt and meaningful of these - both for them and for me.

www.whitestripes.com
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

Liars - Sisterworld

I've long held a fascination with Liars. One which is continually difficult to pinpoint as they do perversely keep doing a volte-face with each successive album release. I think what I like is the utter lack of genre and seemingly 'outsider' feel the trio bring to their music. And whilst occasionally there are notes to draw some reference from more often than not they conjure up something bewilderingly out of step with the musical times that simultaneously manages to remind you of all sorts of great bits from bands and artists you should listen too more.

So it is with Sisterworld their fifth album except the things I find myself referencing most is Liars own wide reaching discography. Not that they're repeating themselves God forbid! Sisterworld most definitely occupies its own space - a sullen, mysterious place evoked from the very first haunting wails of opening song Scissor. A disturbed tale of attempted suicide or murder where the victim is still barely alive. And it just gets creepier, laden with portent and puckered in the seedier side of life (ie better) from here on in.

They've ditched the regained joy of guitars from Liars and returned to something akin to the experimentation of They Were Wrong So We Drowned whilst holding onto melody and a recognisable song format (without being predictable). Just to get everything in the mix they still contain the odd thrill which made Drum's Not Dead such a fantastic record and the sparse rhythms which peppered They Threw Us All In A Trench...

You see. Self reference has never been such a rewarding experience. I'd argue til I'm blue in the face that Sisterworld is their best album to date but then tomorrow that would change and I'd be forced to choose another of their albums for this honour.

How great it must be to have raised the bar so high and still manage to hurdle it each time. Sister they're on fire, sister!

www.liarsliarsliars.com
www.thesisterworld.com
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