Benoit Pioulard - "Triggering Back" (video)

"Triggering Back" is the first single from Benoit Pioulard's brilliant debut album "Precis", my favourite record of last year.

Classic Album: Jim O'Rourke - "Insignificance"

When discussing the most influential and relevant people in modern alternative music, the name of Jim O'Rourke can never be far from the lips of any serious music fan. In addition to his own solo records and his work with David Grubbs in Gastr Del Sol, one only has to look at the quality and breadth of his collaborators (Smog, Stereolab, John Fahey, Fennesz) to see why he is held in such high regard by his peers. A true musical maverick, his impressive career spans many genres and then some; from laptop ambient to improvised jazz to alternative rock, he has had considerable success at whatever he has tried his hand at. 2001's "Insignificance", the third in his trio of records named after Nicolas Roeg films (after Bad Timing and Eureka), was a pretty radical departure from his previous work, and followed on from the shift towards a more conventional sound hinted at on his earlier EP "Halfway to a Threeway". The addition of Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotchke from fellow Chicagoans Wilco as part of his backing band this time around obviously played a large part in this, as this is the first of O'Rourke's albums to feature his vocals on every track, and the addition of a full band resulted in rousing and immediate guitar rock of the highest order, with touches of his trademark production magic sprinkled throughout the lean seven tracks. O'Rourke also showed himself to have a surprisingly deft lyrical touch, with witty, sarcastic lines such as "If I seem to you just a little bit remote/you'd feel better if you call me a misanthrope/or whatever floats your boat/as for me, I'd rather sink my own" or "Memory Lame's" humorously nasty "Listening to you/ reminds me of a motors endless drone/and why the deaf are so damn lucky" examples of his wry, tongue-in-cheek style. O'Rourke has a fragile, distinctive voice which contributed to the record's reflective mood, and added a layer of poignancy to the crunching rock of tracks like "Therefore I Am" and "All Downhill From Here", resulting in an indie rock record of great warmth and subtlety. It's just a shame then, that since this album's release, O'Rourke has yet to release a follow up, instead preferring to work with the likes of Sonic Youth (revitalising the band in the process), Beth Orton and Joanna Newsom, before taking an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on his ambition to be a filmmaker. Let's hope it doesn't last.

http://www.mediamax.com/dirkmcsteel/Hosted/03%20Therefore,%20I%20Am.mp3- "Therefore I Am" (mp3)

The Shins - "Wincing the Night Away"

In the three long years since their last release, "Chutes Too Narrow", The Shins have undergone a considerable shift in status thanks to the scene in the otherwise awful "Garden State", where Natalie Portman's character declares The Shins to be the band that will "change your life". Before this movie's release, they were a delightfully clever though unassuming indie-pop quartet from Albequerque who had garnered a sizeable fanbase through James Mercer's literate, idiosyncratic lyrics and knack for a winning hook, though I doubt they were anyone's idea of the kind of band that could make a breakthrough beyond the hipster in-crowd and into the mainstream. This is partly due to the fact that they were (and are) incredibly dull in a live setting with nary a trace of charisma or stage presence among them, often relying on the supreme quality of their songs to see them through without having to engage the audience. Listening to their new album "Wincing the Night Away", it's clear that Mercer has attempted to beef up their sound and experiment a little more this time; opener "Sleeping Lessons" starts out typically gently with soft lulling keyboards before exploding into life half way through in a manner which is reminiscent of the Arcade Fire track "Un Annee Sans Lumiere", and gives you the brief impression that you're gonna hear a departure from their tried and trusted formula on "Wincing". This is not the case. Despite mildly successful dalliances with hip-hop beats on "Sea Legs" and "Split Needles", the best tracks on the record are when The Shins do what they best; writing effortlessly catchy and melancholic guitar pop which the likes of "Phantom Limb", "Red Rabbits" and "Turn on Me" deliver in spades. A writer for Village Voice recently remarked that The Shins are a "good band plagued by claims of greatness", which I think is pretty much on the money - These guys were never meant to be world-beaters, and it seems to me that the unreasonable expectations placed on the band probably accounted for the unusually long delay between this record and the last one. Indeed, many long-time fans cried foul when "Wincing" first arrived on the internet in November, a classic example of ridiculous hyperbole building up a head of steam which no record could live up to. In my opinion, this record, though excellent in patches, pales in comparison to "Oh, Inverted World" and especially high-water mark "Chutes Too Narrow", with a few too many tracks that don't really go anywhere, but if you give it time to grow on you and live with it for a while, then it's charms are hard to deny.... Just don't expect it to change your life :.)

http://www.mediamax.com/dirkmcsteel/Hosted/PhantomLimb.mp3 - The Shins - "Phantom Limb" (mp3)

http://www.mediamax.com/dirkmcsteel/Hosted/TheShins-TurnOnMe.mp3 - The Shins - "Turn on Me" (mp3)

The Arcade Fire - "Neon Bible" (mp3's)

Despite my seething resentment and bitterness at failing to secure tickets to see this group play Dublin in March, my disappointment was eased by my landing a copy of the new record "Neon Bible", which has finally leaked onto the internet, and in my opinion, the new record is at the very least the equal of their classic debut. "No Cars Go" is the standout for me, a reworked version of an earlier track featured on their Arcade Fire EP.

http://www.mediamax.com/dirkmcsteel/Hosted/02%20Keep%20The%20Car%20Running.mp3 - "Keep The Car Running" (mp3)

http://www.mediamax.com/dirkmcsteel/Hosted/10%20No%20Cars%20Go.mp3 - "No Cars Go" (mp3)

http://www.mediamax.com/dirkmcsteel/Hosted/04%20Intervention.mp3 - "Intervention" (mp3)

New High Llamas! "Can Cladders"

For the poor unfortunate souls who are unaware of The High Llamas, they were formed in London in 1991 by Sean O'Hagan, originally from Luton but based in County Cork during his late teens and early twenties when he was a member of the group Microdisney with Cathal Coughlan. O'Hagan, along with Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway and Ron Allum, have now released seven albums of Beach Boys/Burt Bacharach inspired psychedelic pop. Indeed, it's very hard to write about the Llamas without mentioning the clear debt owed to Brian Wilson, something which has clearly rankled O'Hagan in the past, with his understandably not wanting to be seen as derivative of someone else's work, and in fairness to him, there is a lot more to this band than mere hero-worship, with a strong emphasis on electronic experimentation clearly brought on by their frequent collaborations with Stereolab. The quality of O'Hagan's songwriting, while never producing a breakthrough hit, has gained the group a small but devoted following, with the likes of "Green Coaster" and "Literature Is Fluff" timeless tracks that transcend imitation, and on their new release, "Can Cladders", they eschew the proggy folk of their last record "Beet, Maize & Corn" for a return to the sunshine pop of earlier albums "Gideon Gaye" and "Hawaii". In fact, I would say "Can Cladders" contains some of their strongest material yet, with the likes of "The Old Spring Town" and "Bacaroo" featuring beautiful backing vocals and are good examples of O'Hagan's genius gift for arrangement. These guys will most likely never get the acclaim they deserve, but along with the aforementioned Stereolab, they have a vibrancy and colour which makes them one of the more interesting bands in an otherwise mostly dire English music scene.

The High Llamas - "Bacaroo" (mp3) - http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/63443/llamas-bac-mp3.html

2007 Preview!

This isn't what I would call a comprehensive list, but instead of running through the many records that I am looking forward to in 2007, which would take a lifetime, I thought it would be a better idea to pick a few of the most eagerly anticipated releases, some of which I have heard already.





LCD Soundsystem - "Sound of Silver"

James Murphy is on a roll at the moment, after his quite brilliant concept album "45:33", commissioned by Nike, wowed critics and fans in late 2006. So anticipation for his sophomore record "Sound of Silver", due in March, is unsurprisingly huge. Even less surprisingly, the album leaked in it's entirety onto the net last month, most likely meaning his entire fanbase has heard the record four months before it's designated release date. Being one of the unscrupulous evil pirate scum who downloaded it, my opinion of it is thus: I have to admit I was a teensy bit disappointed the first time I heard the record, maybe due to the fact that there isn't an equivalent to the first record's "Yeah" or "Tribulations" on this one. However, after a few listens I began to appreciate the subtle new direction Murphy has taken, with more than one of the tracks informed by krautrock groups like Can and Neu!, suggesting he is keen to prove he is capable of more than gimmicky party tracks like "Losing my Edge" and "Daft Punk is Playing at my House". Opener "Get Innocuous" may be his best track yet, a motorik-driven track with an insistent rhythm and vocals by regular Juan Maclean cohort Nancy Whang. Murphy then delivers obligatory single "North American Scum", which will be the most familiar to fans of his earlier music. Murphy's love of The Fall is well documented and there is a real Fall feel to this track, the song actually bearing a strong resemblance to "Theme From Sparta F.C." by the legendary Manchester group. Further standouts include the unconventional love song "Someone Great", which incorporates elements of "45:33", the anthemic "All My Friends", and the title track, with a strong level of consistency throughout the tight 9 tracks. Overall, an impressive second album, which manages to be a departure of sorts but not at the expense of their by now signature style.

LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum"(mp3) -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58464/03-North-American-Scum-mp3.html


Air - "Pocket Symphony"

Okay, any fans of Air who love both debut "Moon Safari" and last record "Talkie Walkie" but who were left cold by second album "10,000hz Legend" should probably not await this one with baited breath. "10,000hz Legend" was a difficult, challenging record, prompted by the duo's eagerness not to replicate their debut, and their unwillingness to compromise left them with an album which they have since disowned themselves. I personally liked "Legend", but was still relieved when they reprised the Serge Gainsbourg inspired dream pop of their debut for 2005's "Talkie Walkie", where beautiful songs like "Cherry Blossom Girl" and "Surfing on a Rocket" were given an extra dimension by Nigel Godrich's production. For some reason, when I heard both Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon were to be making guest appearances on "Pocket Symphony", I predicted that this would be a return to a more sombre, low-key reflective Air and I was right: There are very few moments of typical Air pop on this record, very little that warrants repeated listens in my opinion. In fact, I have to say, having heard the album quite a few times by now, that the record is one of the most tedious things these ears have heard in a while. "Symphony" starts off well enough with "Space Maker", a lovely instrumental, before the Air by-numbers "Once Upon a Time", which tries to replicate the formula of their classic material without success. This is followed by the Cocker collaboration "One Hell of a Party", which for me is the obvious standout and one of the few fully-fleshed out tracks on the album. After fourth track "Napalm Love", you come to the realisation that Air have seemingly completely run out of fresh ideas and the whole thing becomes incredibly boring and tiresome by the end.

Air - "Space Maker" (mp3) -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58566/01-Space-Maker-mp3.html



Explosions In The Sky - "Suddenly I Miss Everyone"

With the release of this and Do Make Say Think's "You, You're a History in Rust", it seems the much maligned genre of "post-rock", is in line for a resurgence. Texans Explosions In The Sky have wisely decided to ignore ever-changing trends and stuck to what they do best on "Suddenly I Miss Everyone", their fourth album. For people who don't know, EITS sound like U2, but unlike U2, they don't use a vocalist, meaning they have all the epic beauty of the famed Irish band's music, but none of the annoying and overbearing distraction of a Bono to mar it. This time round, they conjure the grandeur of first album "Those Who Tell The Truth Will Die" on great tracks like "Welcome, Ghosts" and "It's Natural To Be Afraid", meaning long-time fans will be delighted by the "if it ain't broke" approach, and non-fans will be unimpressed by the band's unwillingness to experiment with their tried and trusted formula.

Explosions In The Sky - "Welcome, Ghosts" (mp3) -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58512/02-Welcome--Ghosts-mp3.html





Modest Mouse - "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank"

One of the albums I'm personally looking forward to the most. I always eagerly await a new Modest Mouse record, having being a fan for quite a few years now, and my anticipation for this one has been increased dramatically by the remarkable addition of the legendary Johnny Marr on guitar, which even Marr admits has raised eyebrows in some circles. Their last album "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" was very disappointing to me, a classic example of a band on their major-label debut who lost track of the things that made their music so great, and aside from the breakthrough hit "Float On" and "The World at Large", there was little on the record that could compare to their unquestioned masterpiece, 2000's "The Moon and Antarctica". I heard new single "Dashboard" recently and I have to say, I was pretty disappointed with it, and I hope it's not indicative of the rest of the album, but bearing that in mind, I'm still hopeful that they'll deliver the goods with "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank", a "carnival romp" according to frontman Isacc Brock.

Modest Mouse - "Dashboard" (mp3) -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58505/Modest-Mouse---Dashboard-mp3.html



El-P - "I'll Sleep When You're Dead"

El-P's last record "Fantastic Damage" was a dense, chilling, impenetratable vision of a hellish society on the brink of apocalypse and therefore pretty hard going at times. Just like El-P's (real name Jaime Meline) former band, the seminal underground rap group Company Flow, there were few concessions made to the listener in terms of accessibility, but those who showed patience were rewarded with one of the best true hip-hop releases of recent years. It's been five years now since "Damage", so it will be interesting to see if the notorious perfectionist can repeat or better his success last time around. I've been fortunate enough to have heard two tracks from the new album, "Smithereens" and "Everything Must Go", and from the sound of those two, it's clear that El-P hasn't softened or compromised his sound. Guests on the album include Yo La Tengo's James McNew, Cat Power, Trent Reznor and The Mars Volta. "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" is due in March.

El-P - "Everything Must Go" (mp3) -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58492/El-P---Everything-Must-Go-mp3.html


The Arcade Fire - "Neon Bible"

Recently I came across a review on the influential webzine Pitchfork Media of a track from the new Arcade Fire LP called "Intervention". The response to the song was decidedly lukewarm, with the reviewer in question remarking on the band's perceived lack of sincerity compared to their first record, feeling that the band had gone for the grandstanding emoting of a Bruce Springsteen to hawk their new LP through the airwaves with a radio-friendly single. Well, I personally love Springsteen, I love "Intervention" and I think it's a great taster for the forthcoming big second album "Neon Bible", and having heard two other new tracks from the album recently, "Black Mirror", and "Black Waves/Bad Vibrations", my initial fears about the likelihood of the band recreating the magic of "Funeral" have been allayed.

The Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror" (mp3) -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58471/arcade-fire-black-mirror-mp3.html


Sondre Lerche - "Phantom Punch"

Having heard this album in advance of it's February release, I can honestly say it's one of my favourite records in a while. Lerche has honed his lounge-pop style to perfection this time around, with his better grasp of English making for sharper lyricism than on his previous records, 2002's "Faces Down" and 2004's "Two-Way Monologue". The norwegian wunderkind has always worn his Prefab Sprout influence on his sleeve, even going so far as to namecheck the McAloon brothers on the sleeve of his last album, and "Phantom Punch" is full of brilliant examples of the kind of clever songcraft and arrangement that Paddy McAloon was famous for at his peak. From the infectious opener "Airport Taxi Reception" to the classic pop of the title track, Lerche has really come into his own and developed a singular, distinctive style which sets him apart from his peers. Great stuff.

Sondre Lerche - "Phantom Punch" (mp3) -
http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/58483/04-Phantom-Punch-mp3.html

New Bright Eyes Track "Endless Entertainment"

"Endless Entertainment" from Conor Oberst's forthcoming album "Cassadaga", due in April and featuring guests such as M. Ward, Gillian Welch and greatest living drummer, Janet Weiss, formerly of Sleater Kinney. I've been a semi-fan of Bright Eyes since "Fevers and Mirrors", and though I've always found his voice to be a little grating, there's no doubting his talent. This track, though nothing mind-blowing, is an unbeat, jaunty number and hints at a possible slight change of direction on the new record.

Bright Eyes - "Endless Entertainment" (mp3) - http://upload2.net/page/download/X1OBg7cRHNt3z0r/Bright+Eyes+-+Endless+Entertainment.mp3.html