New York impudence interweaved with warmth from California, it seems like a mad idea, but at the same time it’s interesting enough to be worth an experiment. Continue reading
Matthew E. White – Big Inner (2013)
Lately there has been a lot of fuss on the internet about Big Inner by Matthew E. White. In essence it is about this: ‘is it possible for a bespectacled white guy with long hair and a full beard to combine soul, funk, late fifties R&B, psychedelics and folk-gospel….?’ Indeed, there we are, left in a state of total confusion about what some already call ‘the first great album of 2013’. For the archives I have to adjust this last remark. Big Inner was formally released in the United States during the end of summer of 2012. The album was quite successful and appeared on various best of 2012 lists. Although borders don’t seem to matter in the highly interconnected society of today, a global release this January was still necessary for the rest of the world to get acquainted with White’s work. Now this semantic discussion is out of the way it’s time to talk about the man himself and his music. Continue reading
Yo La Tengo – Fade (2013)
First thing I did when Yo La Tengo announced their new album was to give the ‘murdering record’ another spin. I’m pretty sure that some purists will hate me at some level for doing so. But the fact remains, I did it. Carefully and humorously slaughtering about thirty classic pop and rock songs is just something I dig. Of course it goes without saying that Murdering the Classics (2006) is not representative for their impressive discography. For quite some time now Yo La Tengo are unanimously accepted to by leading in the indie rock scene. It was the couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley who formed the band in mid-ninety eighties naming it after a baseball related anecdote. Since then Yo La Tengo consequently released various highly acclaimed albums. I Can Hear the Heart Beating as one (1997), And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000) and Summer Sun (2003) are probably the best known records coming from Hoboken (USA). Their last record with the generic title, Popular Songs (2009) was met with mixed reactions by the critics. This January their new album, Fade was released. Continue reading
Rush – Clockwork Angels (2012)
This review has been a long time coming. Released almost a year ago, it had been the strongest contender for being my album of the year, just before Spanish folk rockers Mägo de Oz decided to release a new album just before 2012 came to a close (a write-up about that album and why exactly it became my favourite album of the year can be found here). In the end though, there isn’t much qualitative leeway between both Mägo’s new effort and the brand new studio album from Canadian prog legend Rush, as both albums deliver top notch music with the respective bands performing at the top of their game. Continue reading
Matt Elliott – The Broken Man (2012)
Don’t judge a book by its cover. When adapting the proverb a bit can one say, don’t judge the music by its album artwork? Maybe no straightforward answer can be given to this thought. However, when I first gazed at the cover of The Broken Man by Matt Elliott I began to wonder about this. Only in the bright daylight you can barely make out three black skeletal figures against a dark brown background. My feeling was confirmed after hearing the first track ‘Oh how we fell’. Starting off with some extensive guitar play and the gloomy sounds of church bells that is followed by a soft and tormented voice. During the lengthy opening Matt Elliott immediately takes you the depths of dreariness. After this first and relatively short introduction I can already conclude that this album isn’t for the masses. Indeed, the connoisseurs among us will enjoy this latest release of Elliott. As for me, The Broken Man significantly influenced my musical year in a positive way and is arguably the best album I heard in the past few years. Continue reading
soundsfromthedarkside 