APRIL14;

 April 14’

Monthly Spotify Playlist - Melodious Haze - April 14'

Albums

Artist: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Album: Days Of Abandon
Year: 2014

Similar Artists: Yuck, Veronica Falls, Dum Dum Girls
My Rating: keep reading…..

Days Of Abandon is the third full length from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart; but the first from the ‘new’ band. Yes that’s right, a full line up change has swept through and here we see an entirely different bunch of musicians, except for front man Kip Berman. Initially, like most fans would have, my thoughts were of disappointment; often a change of members signals discontent within a band, a lack of chemistry or disinterest, a rift or something less sinister such as boredom. Thus, expectations were low, particularly at the thought of watching The Pains. play without Peggy (their beautiful keyboard and synth player) and the idea that their sound would likely change as a result combined to further add to the disinterest in hearing the new record.

Well, can I assure you one thing, I was so so wrong!!! Days Of Abandon is every bit as good as their previous two LP’s and possibly even better – shit, I can’t believe I am even saying that. The sound, albeit more upbeat and sunny, is just as magical and catchy as ever.

‘Art Smock’ is a subtle introduction; two minutes of a simple tune, nothing new, nothing ground-breaking here, just a measured track. Then bang ‘Simple And Sure’ hits you square in the face – a melodic pop song that will not only induce finger tapping, it will more likely create even the most solemn individual to find themselves condemn to get up out of a chair and bop. Yes bop! Hell, after only a mere 4 listens I was preaching to those close to me that this will take some beating for song of the year. Those close to me will also tell you that I easily get carried away, but the immediate impact of this song could not be ignored.

Following on from this we hear new member Jen Goma sing through the entirety of ‘Kelly’. Now forget what I just said about ‘Simple and Sure’ because seriously this song could turn out to be better!! I’ll understand if you stop reading now thinking that I’ve gone crazy and lost the plot. But this song starts out with this amazing 80’s vibe, an incredible bass riff and some heavenly keys. Goma’s voice is magical and could easily hypnotise; she fits the bill perfectly and thank the lucky stars that we have such a wonderful new member filling the shoes left by Peggy.

‘Beautiful You’ a six minute epic (if there is such thing for a Pains. song) follows up next and we now start hearing some trademark Pains. guitar as those six minutes of your life flash by before you have even realised what just happened. My thoughts are that this will be a wonderful live song purely based on the mentioned guitar but also the great mix of all elements here. Things swim along nicely for ‘Coral and Gold’ with some chanting-esque lyrics toward the end of the song, something like “Turn on the lights” (sorry, not good with lyrics), then along comes ‘Eurydice.’ Right about this point you must surely say to yourself, how good is Kip – he is clearly the mastermind behind The Pains. and has just created again something brilliant. Hats off to you my friend.

Anyway ‘Eurydice’ is boppy, bouncy and fast classic indie-pop. Every component fits together perfectly, the guitar is like lightning but instead of being ice cold, is incredibly heart warming. Another one that when played live would just absolutely bring the house down. Can I just say that ‘Masokissed’ and ‘Until The Sun Explodes’ are equally as brilliant tracks. This is almost getting a bit much don’t you think? How can something be this good?

Well, the good news is that it doesn’t stop here. Jen Goma sings here second full track in ‘Life After Life’ and I think you get the point, it is again wonderful. But here, we have horns. Yes, god-damn horns – just when things couldn’t get any better, they hit us with some horns. And for the final track ‘The Asp In My Chest’ the horns continue, this time with more of an emphasis. This track is slightly more subtle for the most parts but has some strong builds and calms you down just in time for the finish of the album. Here we see a softer, more delicate side to The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

There is not much more I can say apart from the fact that this album is a very deserving of a 10/10 rating – definitely the first 10 I have ever given, and who knows, possibly the last. The Pains. have now cemented themselves in very high company in my books and I think the world will be saying similar things when this fantastic album is officially released on May 5^th. Congratulations Pains. and I look forward to seeing this album played live in Australia hopefully in the not too distant future.

Artist: Real Estate

Album: Atlas

Year: 2014

Similar Artists: The War On Drugs, Beach Fossils, Deerhunter

My Rating 6.5/10

Shit, sorry to the Real Estate boys for reviewing their album immediately following the wrap up I have given above. Anyway, Atlas is the third LP from Real Estate and is a pleasant guitar heavy indie journey. This LP follows a very trademark formula heard by Real Estate on their previous LP’s but I think might possess some more confidence in their songs than what we have come to know previously.

This is the type of stuff that could easily get put on repeat on a rainy day lying in bed next to someone special. It is soothing and comforting.

‘Had To Hear’ is a great opener with plenty of trademark guitar riffs whilst ‘Past Lives’ back things up nicely but in a more subdued fashion. ‘Talking Backwards’ is the pick of the ten tracks that makes up this album with its ultra-smooth guitar riff that layers throughout. As I have mentioned in the past, I don’t know what makes a hit song, but if I could pick one, this song would be as close to a hit as anything I have heard for a while.

‘April’s Song’ is an instrumental number which suprises me, but I think does have its place on this record – pity for the lead vocalist! ‘Crime’ and ‘Horizon’ continue the positive trend of tracks, and allow you to slip back into that rainy day daze just a little bit longer. And ‘Navigator’ closes things nicely even if it is somewhat abrupt right at the finish.

A worthy listen as we head into the cold ugly Melbourne winter that now confronts us……

Artist: Kodaline

Album: In A Perfect World
Year: 2013
Similar Artists: Coldplay, Ben Howard, Buchanan
My Rating: 6.5/10

On the whole, Kodaline’s debut  In A Perfect World is far from perfect, yet it provides us with some special musical moments that make for great singles in isolation.

Credit here to my better half for sharing this album with me – something that is right in her listening spectrum. Plenty of acoustic singer/songwriter vibes with a bit of coldplay-esque vocals thrown in there.

Let’s focus on those great tracks: ‘Love Like This’ is a gem, played on a ukele, with some harmonica and possibly some banjo thrown in. It is the type of song that fills you with joy instantly and takes you to a dreamy place – probably a beautiful sunny beach with perfect waves rolling in. ‘High Hopes’ follows immediately afterwards and is just as good, but definitely more downbeat. It still has an effect on you as you listen intently to the key part of this song which is lead man Steve Garrigans immensely powerful vocals – who ever knew an Irishman could sound so good. Further to this, we are treated to a pretty handy guitar solo in the middle of the song that cranks things up a little bit.

‘Brand New Day’ is a decent track, as is ‘After The Fall’ even if the album flow does appear a bit disjointed at this point things arnt all that bad! ‘Big Bad World’ and ‘All Comes Down’ are worth listening too  even if there is a bit of a church mass singalong vibe and finally ‘Talk’ is another one worth breiefly mentioning. After taking about 2 minutes to get into the swing of things, it finally heats up and has some power to it.

I think some people will really get a lot out of this record, even if it does have some of the most horrific reviews you will ever see. I know for one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed some of the tracks on here and will definitely keep them on rotation for a while yet