Demob Happy

Dawn choruses 8.5/10 The first thing you notice when listening to ‘At Dawn‘ if, like me, you’ve approached their back catalogue, er, backwards, is how faithful it is to a kind of alt-country orthodoxy when compared to the more magpie-like tendencies of ‘It Still Moves‘ and ‘Z‘. Arguably it is more a consistency of mood [...]

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Good karma 9/10 ‘Spring Snow‘ is a 1966 novel by Yukio Mishima, the first in his Sea of Fertility tetralogy that concerns itself principally with themes of love, death and reincarnation. It’s an evocative and at times philisophical novel, rendered into English with the apparently painstaking care and meticulous spirit in which it was written. [...]

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Rustin’ Men 8.5/10 Apparently recorded in old barns in remote parts of Canada, post-rockers Do Make Say Think’s ‘You You’re A History In Rust‘ should be considered as one of the Great Albums Recorded in a Wooden Outhouse (TM), along with My Morning Jacket’s ‘It Still Moves‘ (Grain Silo) and Bon Iver’s ‘For Emma, Forever [...]

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More Icelandic fairytale prog from the band that specialises in Icelandic fairytale prog 6/10 Sigur Ros are fast becoming a Popular Experimental Band That I Don’t Like, a moniker I have only knowingly bestowed before on Spiritualised. On paper, Sigur Ros are a band that I should love, but it just doesn’t really engage me. [...]

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Letters from Iwo Jima 7.5/10 The main obstacle to engaging with Clint Eastwood’s admirable ‘Letters From Iwo Jima‘ is the saturation of battle imagery in modern cinema. This is a front-line war film which, while dealing with notions of memory, compassion, cowardice and honour, takes place largely on the battlefield. From the misguidedly mawkish ‘Saving [...]

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Too long but It Still Moves me 8.5/10 The Louisville, Kentucky band’s third full-length is a whopping 75-minute set recorded in a grain silo and positively swimming in reverb. By eschewing modern recording techniques altogether they were taking a big risk on ‘It Still Moves‘, their first for a major label, but is with the [...]

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Ghost in the machine 8/10 All the acrimony surrounding the release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, in which Wilco left Warner/Reprise to resist attempts to make the record more commericially viable, seems bizarre now. For despite its moments of sonic chaos, YHF is a great, Beatles-esque, countryfied pop masterpiece with great hooks and immediately indentifiable melodies. [...]

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“Can you hear me? Stay calm. Everything will be all right.” 9/10 Bar a few exceptions (Bladerunner being the obvious one) I find the notion of the director’s cut a highly suspicious enterprise, especially from a director whose post-70s output has been so poor. I also hate the extraneous use of CGI effects, which I [...]

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Shaken, not stirred 6/10 Most of the debate surrounding Ken Loach’s 2006 Palme D’Or winner seems to be concerning the historical accuracy of the plot. Whereas I wouldn’t suggest that these arguments are unimportant, it seems most critics forgot to evaluate the actual film craft: the style, acting, use of music and camerawork etc. I’m [...]

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Stereolab – a novice’s view 8/10 Stereolab are a long-time leftfield favourite that seem to have drifted in and out of critical favour during their prolific recording life. Somewhat derisively referred to as an “art-school” band at stages in their career, they mine a similar, but less abrasive, territory to Broadcast: psychedelic retro pop flavoured [...]

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