WE'RE S H O P P I N G.......
After a few months where spare time for vinyl hunting (second hand or otherwise) has been scarce, i've finally had a day to myself - the missus is away for the weekend, i've got a long weekend off, and a few quid to spare. So i took myself off into town (Nottingham), and had a good look around. Autumn and Winter are my favourite seasons, especially the Yuletide season, and it was relaxing to stroll around the Christmas market and sample a few culinary delights in between visiting record shops. First off was Rough Trade in the Hockley area. This is the place i usually go to for new releases and re-pressings, and although it's not cheap (most new vinyl isn't) and has a slight whiff of the hipster about it, i still like the place. After a long browse through the racks, i picked up The National's Sleep Well Beast and the Courtney Barnett/Kurt Vile collaboration Lotta Sea Lice, and a second hand copy of the 1971 compilation by The Who, Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, as a Christmas present for my Dad. I like The Who, and although i have Quadrophenia i've yet to buy any more of their records for myself. I'll get around to it one day! I wrote about The National in an earlier post, about my discovery of them and a slow-burning love of their music. Sleep Well Beast topped the UK album chart when it was released in September, and it represents a leap forward for the band musically. A far more fractured, cut and paste electronic affair than their previous albums, it is still recognisably them, but with the tension ratcheted up a few notches. There are still chaotic guitar-heavy tracks in "Turtleneck" - a savage attack on Trump and his ilk - and "Day I Die", which probably represents the closest link to their other albums. In amongst the electronic touches, cut and paste rhythms and loops sit electric shock guitar lines and solos, strings, mournful pianos, and the doleful, brooding baritone vocals of Matt Berninger. The lyrics speak of doubt, paranoia, the dark side of relationships, and oblique comments on the political landscape. I've played it twice now (on glorious white vinyl) and i suspect that it will reveal more of itself over time. I'll write a more detailed review of it (and the rest of my favourite music of 2017) at the years close.
One of the many reasons i started buying and collecting Vinyl again was the artwork and packaging, and since the revival of the format a lot of artists have paid much attention to those things, knowing that fans will cherish things like gatefold sleeves, lyric sheets, and - joy of joys - coloured Vinyl.
The other new album i picked up was Lotta Sea Lice, the collaboration by two like-minded slacker/indie artists - Kurt Vile from the USA, and Australian Courtney Barnett. I'm not really familiar with Viles' work, but i've been following Barnett for a couple of years now, and her debut album from 2015 - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit - has become one of my favourites. Her stream of consciousness writing style, cut through with a dry, observant wit and self-deprecating humour, endeared her to me very quickly, and that is a rarity in new music these days. I listen with interest for anything she puts out, and after hearing a couple of songs from the album it was added to my want list! The combination of their respective laconic drawled vocals and melodic slacker rock sensibilities is a winning one, having come about after the two of them started jamming together which resulted in a tour, having put together a backing band (The Sea Lice). They haven't actually written any songs together - of the 9 tracks 4 are Vile compositions, 3 by Barnett, 1 by CB's singer-songwriter girlfriend Jen Cloher, with the closing track a cover of "Untogether" by 90's indie rockers Belly. Although a couple of numbers raise the tempo, it's generally a very laidback affair, the sort of thing you might chill out to on a humid Summer evening. The fact that it evokes that feeling in me on a bitter late November afternoon speaks volumes about how great it is. Another thing that i'm loving about this LP (a term you don't hear very often!) is the packaging: the front of the album cover opens out in the middle, almost like a pair of doors inviting you in to the most chilled out bar in the world. The artwork consists of scattered polaroids of the musicians in the studio, interspersed with handwritten song titles and other info. The vinyl itself is clear, a special edition for Rough Trade. Nice.
One of the many reasons i started buying and collecting Vinyl again was the artwork and packaging, and since the revival of the format a lot of artists have paid much attention to those things, knowing that fans will cherish things like gatefold sleeves, lyric sheets, and - joy of joys - coloured Vinyl.
The other new album i picked up was Lotta Sea Lice, the collaboration by two like-minded slacker/indie artists - Kurt Vile from the USA, and Australian Courtney Barnett. I'm not really familiar with Viles' work, but i've been following Barnett for a couple of years now, and her debut album from 2015 - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit - has become one of my favourites. Her stream of consciousness writing style, cut through with a dry, observant wit and self-deprecating humour, endeared her to me very quickly, and that is a rarity in new music these days. I listen with interest for anything she puts out, and after hearing a couple of songs from the album it was added to my want list! The combination of their respective laconic drawled vocals and melodic slacker rock sensibilities is a winning one, having come about after the two of them started jamming together which resulted in a tour, having put together a backing band (The Sea Lice). They haven't actually written any songs together - of the 9 tracks 4 are Vile compositions, 3 by Barnett, 1 by CB's singer-songwriter girlfriend Jen Cloher, with the closing track a cover of "Untogether" by 90's indie rockers Belly. Although a couple of numbers raise the tempo, it's generally a very laidback affair, the sort of thing you might chill out to on a humid Summer evening. The fact that it evokes that feeling in me on a bitter late November afternoon speaks volumes about how great it is. Another thing that i'm loving about this LP (a term you don't hear very often!) is the packaging: the front of the album cover opens out in the middle, almost like a pair of doors inviting you in to the most chilled out bar in the world. The artwork consists of scattered polaroids of the musicians in the studio, interspersed with handwritten song titles and other info. The vinyl itself is clear, a special edition for Rough Trade. Nice.
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