JANUARY 15'

Welcome back for 2015! And here’s to a good year of music….

Lot’s of releases I’ve got high hopes for this year, here are a few – Of Monsters & Men, Florence & The Machine, Tame Impala, The Wombats, Pond (just released!), Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Laura Marling just to name a few.

I thought I might be ready to review the new LP from Belle & Sebastian but you’ll have to wait another month, but for the time being, get onto opening track Nobody’s Empire!!! Absolutely incredible stuff….

This month’s Spotify playlist is a big one at 15 tracks and has heaps of different stuff floating through out – put it on shuffle and see how you go. I’ve also reviewed a couple of singles below that you can find in the Spotify playlist….

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Christmas & New Year period and got to listen to some good music!

Cheers

LF

January Spotify Playlist -  Melodious Haze Jan 15'

Singles

Artist: Broken Records
Single: I Won’t Leave You In The Dark

Year: 2014

From the Album: Weights And Pulleys

Cousin Ash absolutely nailed it with this track, calling it the best anthem of 2014. It is a song that is ready to be played loud in a big stadium setting to a huge adoring crowd.

A slow start with some acoustic guitar, followed by some massive builds, a great guitar riff, a simple but poignant drum beat and all topped off by a crescendo of horns. I don’t think there would be many people out there who wouldn’t enjoy this track; it basically hits the spot in every sense.

And as a side note, the album isn’t bad, but this track is a massive winner!!

Artist: Conor Oberst

Single: Hundreds Of Ways

Year: 2014

From the Album: Upside Down Mountain

For what in most parts is a pretty disappointing album, there are a couple of catchy little tracks from the bloke known to most in his early days as Bright Eyes. ‘Hundreds Of Ways’ has a bit of a country twang to it and it also feels like it is a story being told to a bunch of revelling adolescents.

I’d love to know how many instruments were used in recording this song as there seems to be a heap going on for a very simplistic track. We also have some gorgeous harmonies ebbing and flowing throughout with both male and female vocals – excellent stuff!

And what the hell, while I’m hear I will introduce another track ‘Zigzagging Toward The Light.’ Another well composed track that has heaps of instruments/harmonies but what sets this track apart I think is the overlaying guitar. Oberst seems at his best when he is writing this kind of stuff; it appears natural and far more free flowing than a lot of the other tracks found on the record.

Both of these tracks are most certainly worth a listen…

Artist: Lucius

Single: Two Of Us On The Run

Year: 2013 (2014 in Aus)

From The Album: Wildewoman

Now before you criticise the fact that I am reviewing a track from 2013, keep in mind that I grabbed this album late last year and have been slowly putting time into it and the Australian release was in 2014…so it’s not all that bad is it!!

Anyway, this is a pretty slow, acousticy type ballad that I think really focuses on the incredible voices of lead ladies Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. There is something quite haunting as this song creeps through 4 ½ minutes of chilling yet beautiful instrumentation. Not something normally I would go for but thanks to my better half, I have definitely been able to enjoy this song on its merits.

And just like I did above, I’m going to throw in a second track worthy of listening to: ‘Don’t Just Sit There’ also features on the same album and whilst somewhat more upbeat/full in its sounds, there is similarly some beauty in this track. Probably something you’d listen having a drink with friends in the late arvo sun….

Albums

Artist: Sloan

Album: Commonwealth

Year: 2014
Similar Artists: The New Pornographers, Hey Rosetta!

Funnily enough, Sloan formed in 1991, the year I was born and Commonwealth marks their 11^th full length release coupled with a few EP’s, greatest hits and plethora of singles along the way. So as you can imagine the band has a rich history; none more interesting than this readers poll in 1996 for CHART! Music Magazine which compiled a list of the 100 greatest Canadian Albums of all time with Sloan’s second LP from 1994 coming in at No.1 just 2 years after it was released….crazy stuff!! Have a read for yourself here... 

Anyway Commonwealth marked a different format for the band whereby it was decided that each band member would have complete control of one side of the record (being a double LP). It is now quite clear who has had influence over most of there material to this point….

Things open up very well with ‘We’ve Come This Far’; a short sharp 1 ½ minute burst of poppy jamming that really sets the tone for things to come. This immediately leads into ‘You’ve Got A Lot On Your Mind’ which just about takes the cake for best track on the record – it seems as close to classic Sloan as much as I would know what classic Sloan entails!! Powerful, boppy and euphoric composition that makes 3 ½ minutes seem like about 30 seconds. ‘Three Sisters’ takes the foot off the gas momentarily before ‘Cleopatra’ continues immediately along this merry little journey for which Sloan have created and is a close second for song of the album.

‘Carried Away’ is another beaut track; with the opening and continued use of violin, another layer is therein added to what we’ve heard already. ‘So far So Good’ reminds me of the opening of a Paul McCartney ballad with the piano used, but again it quickly turns into a trademark Sloan number as we hear some different sounding guitar march on strongly as the song comes to a close. This draws us straight into ‘Get Out’ – something far more upbeat again without over doing things.

‘Misty’s Beside Herself’ marks a point in the album where things take a bit of a turn for the worse. This song is a reasonable one but things fall apart somewhat from here. The final track ‘Forty Eight Portraits’ is unfortunately about 18 minutes of self indulgent junk that starts with a dog barking – how on Earth can Sloan be serious with this one? It is such as shame as the album tracks very well early but unfortunately just fades away into an almost oblivion.

There is some material here that is definitely worth listening to but unfortunately it doesn’t have as much depth as what early signs would suggest.

My Rating: 6/10