For those of you who are familiar with Music Fan’s Mic, you might know that we have a consistent likelihood, maybe even a huge reputation for great things.If you’re not quite an acquaitance of the blog yet, we have just moved from blogger to wordpress, hence the NEW MANIFESTO.
So yeah, we’ve made the move. Take a look at our old face, that’s right, one good look, and…it’s gone. We decided to go under the knife, get some new friends, lose some in the process and start afresh. Wordpress gives us more freedom and gives me less hassle with the DMCA unable to delete our posts without actually asking.
But starting afresh means getting some new ideas. And here they are:
- No more stacking – we did it for a while, it was fun while it lasted but we came out of it feeling grubby and seedy. From now on, only single track reviews with nice judgemental percentage ratings. That’s much nicer…
- RANKINGS – We want this to turn into something big. Usually come December there’s this huge fuss, sole devotion to one single task: end of year lists. But we didn’t particularly like deciding everything at the last minute. So see that sidebar to your right? There’s the MFM rankings where we put every album we’ve reviewed and any other big, notable releases in order of just how good they are. Each week the ranking will change, with (+1) or (-1) indicating how far up or down each album has gone since last week. Come the end of the year we’ll give a final assessment as to which album is best and the victor will get hugs and kisses for being so great. If there’s any releases that are already out and need ranking, just click on the email link which is also there in that nifty little sidebar.
- THE LOOK – at the moment things aren’t completely in place. The logo at the top might get changed and a couple of things just look WRONG. If you’d like to contribute to making things a little glossier, email us or comment here and we’ll work from there on!
- THE WRITING – MFM is always and I mean, always looking for new writers with new opinions to give. All we require is some basic English skills and a genuine passion. So don’t be scared, get on board.
- YOU – From now on before you sample the tracks (that’s the stage before you go out and buy the stuff you love), if you could preview them over at hypemachine, we’d love you long time.
Most of all we’d love you to add your opinion, so comment below each post when appropriate. Praise us, insult us, threaten us, we don’t mind, that’s all part of sharing an opinion.
That was more of an instructions/guide than a manifesto but never mind, things all fall into place, like Stalin’s five-year-plan. This is sort of ours. And if you read that all then here’s a reward.
TRACK REVIEW: The Maccabees – No Kind Words
words: Jamie Milton
London/Brighton born/bred, the return of Orlando Weeks and his fellow, equally well-named companions should cause quite the fuss.
Whilst ‘Colour It In’, the act’s ferocious, intent-showing debut wowed masses, members of the band themselves played it down, hinting that more could have been done. More’s being done with ‘No Kind Words’. More minimal and less radio-friendly, this delicate yet frenzied number refuses to stop building and building. “Carry no weight, let the weight carry you,” instructs Weeks, sounding pleasantly unfussed and somehow on the verge of exploding.
Kept short and succint, there’s a more industrial feel to it than any of the work on the debut. Far from the chirpy, cheerful tones of something like ‘Latchmere’, the band sound almost damaged from whatever experiences occured between 2007 and now. But essentially it hits the spot because 1. It might just lure in the cynics and 2. It’ll keep the kids dancing.
Brooklyn has been at the centre of a garage-pop revival of late, born of stripped-back diy-rock that finds its feet somewhere between the dreampop of C86 cohorts The Shop Assistants and lo-fi post-punk outfit Young Marble Giants. Key players on the scene include Cause Co-motion, Vivian Girls, and tonight’s Windmill headliners, Crystal Stilts.
First up from Italy, A Classic Education are a sextet with an unpretentious yet unoriginal take on tambourine-bashing indie-pop of late, a la Arcade Fire (the band once opened for Win Butler and co. last year). Despite hailing from Bologna, their lyrics curl with a thick American accent that reminds of Deathcab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard. Two guitars give the band sound depth, while a violinist lends an orchestral element that veers towards the grandiose, but is limited by lyrics that tend to lack guile. They finish with ‘Stay Son’, a track from the ‘First EP’, and depart the tiny corner stage to disperse among the tight-packed crowd.
First impressions of Crystal Stilts confirm them a frosty bunch. The sporadic elements of their sound, shot with lo-fi romance, seem in constant conflict, which lends itself to a stuffy tension. Vocalist Brad Hargett towers at the front, but his voice is barely audible beneath rattling tambourines, the tinny chimes of a sixties organ, reverberating surfer guitars and what can only be described as ferocious drumming on the part of ex-Vivian Girls’ percussionist, Frankie Rose. It’s at once gloomy and infectious.
What Crystal Stilts lack in variation they make up for in sonic consistency, adopting a contrived unbalance that makes their sound lysergic and dour. Hargett reminds of Ian Curtis as he sways, arms swinging, steely gaze fixed and voice deep and droning. When the band address the audience, the words come from Frankie on drums, drenched in sweat and grinning, or muffled and vacant from Hargett. There’s something irrepressibly revivalist about the spectral guitars and faux-romanticism of the doom-pop Crystal Stilts purport. But they carry the flag unapologetically ahead of their Brooklyn-based peers and if art reflects life, Crystal Stilts are the perfect soundtrack to empty purses in the half-light of this wintry city.
ENTER THE NEW: The Second Hand Marching Band words: Jamie Milton Glasvegas have many faults. I don’t actually mind Glasvegas as much as others but their problem is that they paint a black, murky picture of just one city in Scotland. Problem being, many people might just associate all the stabbings, all the leavings of Daddy’s with Scotland as a whole. The Second Hand Marching Band however, a 22-piece chirpy triumph, from a variety of locations in the country but from Scotland as a whole, bring to light a different side to the country.
Not only that but TSHMB will also find themselves amongst a whole host of Scottish bands who’ll be abolishing the nasty reputation Scotland has musically at the moment; with every Belle & Sebastian there’s ten of The Fratellis, with every Franz Ferdinand comes a dozen The Views. But with Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Broken Records and now these guys, there’s a bit of a musical renaissance happening up there.
You might not have guessed it but the big bunch consist of members of as well as others, Dananananaykroyd and Q Without U, two bands who sound like a complete sonic contrast to the friendly, light-hearted smooth hymns TSHMB create.
Despite their size, they might avoid all the Arcade Fire comparisons poor Broken Records consistently receive, but the similarity to Beirut that many other bloggers cite must be getting on their nerves a tad. But it’s true. Instrumentally at least, and especially on their debut EP’s title track, ‘A Dance to Half Death’, it’s difficult to draw a line between the two. But essentially all that means is this lot can muster up something as beautiful as Zach Condon’s creations. And to add to all of that, there is a variety, particularly in the dark, minimal (considering the band’s size) effort ‘Not Yet’. Every track can vary in overall sound but each and every one of them will get to the very core of your heart and warm you inside, from start to finish.
WEEKEND STACKING OF TRACKING words: Jamie Milton So, like you probably, I’ve just seen that Rihanna photo. I haven’t quite been on the pulse with this whole domestic abuse story but I think I get it now…This week I cleaned up LOTS, went to see Late of the Pier, met Micachu in the process, bought a Micachu t-shirt and got a nasty man-flu (not from the t-shirt). I had a very busy blog-posting day yesterday but don’t go thinking there’s nothing more MFM can feed you. Here comes the tracks, this week has a ‘big band’ theme: —————————————————————————-
Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown Note: this is just a demo. Note: GD people, if you want the track taken down, email or comment below!
‘American Idiot’ was stacked in anthemic, stadium-ready glory. In between a smart, political swipe came a steady, building song for the masses. It seems they’ve latched onto that and look keen to replicate it in an album that could build an already huge reputation. Predictable in its structure and sound but ready for the bucks to pour in. The album’s title-track steadily builds into something more edgy and ambitious. One for the teenagers surely, but it’ll draw in a similar audience that adored the last album. 62% mp3:Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (demo)(zshare) —————————————————————————-
U2 – Get On Your Boots
Since it splurtered out all over the internet, the general consensus of ‘No Line On The Horizon’ is that this first single is the worst track on the whole record. Maybe it was a record industry tactic to presume that sales would be high for any first single, so why not send out the worst one? Either way, it is pretty poor. What dominates U2’s new album is a sense of exploration and a seeking of new ideas, whereas this sounds like a poor man’s ‘Vertigo’. “Get on your boots/sexy boots” will almost definitely become one of the most annoying pair of lyrics for 2009. Ignore it while you can… 40% mp3:U2 – Get On Your Boots (zshare)
watch: ‘Get On Your Boots’ at Brits 2009
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero
Being a little underwhelmed from the two tracks above, this is more like it. You wouldn’t have put it past Yeah Yeah Yeahs to incorporate a whole lot more synth into the sound of their third album. You can almost picture Dave Sitek behind the wheel, with Karen O joyfully upping the anti as each second passes. This is an up-tempo, uplifting number, hopefully the perfect indication of ‘It’s Blitz!’. I’m now under the complete impression that it could end up making YYY’s one of the world’s biggest bands. Not in the territory of the two above, but remember when Arcade Fire suddenly went huge? Similar stuff could happen… 90%
Realpeople always had its electronic roots. But it’s also remained strikingly childish. When Zach Condon left school at 16 to pursue this cliché European dream of his, the first musical note he made was on his keyboard.
This second EP feels like it’s been a work in progress for some time. ‘Venice’ at least, has been available to listen to for some time and even in this final mastered version, you still hear noticable differences between that and say, the more up-tempo, modern sounding closer to the EP, ‘No Dice’. What’s been suggested by this double-EP release is that the release in itself has little to be serious about. The first half took much more effort, organisation and commitment but ironically the second half produces the goods.
It’s the sound of a man on his travels, for Condon has been on his travels since 16. Whilst his associated sonic contrastingly lies comfortably next to horns and brass instruments, this smooth, silky pseudonym is a get-away from all the serious business. The instrumental ‘No Dice’ is evidence exactly for that. It’s not a sign that Zach Condon is some troubled genius, it’s just a bit of fun. The only track that clearly sets itself out as something with more intent is ‘The Concubine’, a less electronic, more evolving work that commences with the trademark accordion but closes with a synth. It still sounds like a home recording, something done in privacy and without interruption. But it can be closely knitted together with more quintessential Beirut works, therefore making it the least unusual but most likeable track on the whole EP.
It’s almost as if these works, previously for the man’s own satisfaction, have been thrown in by Condon to throw in a separate sphere to his musical-personality, with the purpose of shifting focus and gaining a bit of space from the dramatic, full-band efforts he’s become so renowned for.
EP: Beirut – March Of The Zapotec words: Jamie Milton Just for the record, in case you went straight to reading this thinking we’d be reviewing both EP’s at once, that’s not the case. Here we’re solely looking at the first half of the double EP release. —————————————–
An instant comparison: with ‘The Flying Club Cup’ we were slowly drawn in with ‘A Call To Arms’, an easeful, perhaps purposeless 20-second opener. ‘El Zócalo’ sort of performs the same job only this time we’re welcomed by a fade in, which suggests that we’re interrupting things. Furthermore, it suggests that Zach Condon and his latest recruits had been getting carried away with themselves and someone finally decided to press record. Of course that’s probably not what happened but it’s an authentic enough half a minute to lure you into the cultured world of Beirut.
“So long, my fate has changed” declares Condon during ‘The Akara’, speaking on behalf of an unidentified ‘mistress’. But ultimately these words could be coming from the deep waters in the head of the man himself. Being to some extent presumptious, ‘Beirut’ as a project has been much more vulnerable since the release of the act’s second album. Condon, frustratingly revealed the difficulties in managing a huge band and taking them on tour with him. But hang on, here he returns with 19 brass-equipped men from Mexico, all swimmingly following Condon’s lead. Somewhere along this seemingly tricky journey, Condon found the situation of recording music on such a large scale, addictive.
‘March of the Zapotec’ feels more like a warming up than anything. ‘La Llorona’ can suddenly kick off into a bold frenzy all it wants, ‘The Shrew’ can sound as dainty and as jolly as it pleases, the eventual feeling you get is that surely, there’s more the man can give. What can you expect but more from a man so young, so committed to creating fine music with such consistently impressive final results?
All mp3s posted on Music Fan's Mic are posted after gaining the relevant permission.
Jamie Milton began Music Fan's Mic in 2006 as a means of publishing and collecting his reviews for other publications. Since then both Milton and Gareth O'Malley are co-running the blog and posting the best new music on a regular basis.
Boom-box-in':
Yeasayer - Odd Blood LP
Final Fantasy Heartland LP
Beach House - Teen Dream LP
These New Puritans - We Want War
Gigi - The Old Graveyard
jj - The xx Intro
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This LP
Liars - Sisterworld LP
Vampire Weekend - White Sky
Los Campesinos! - In Medias Res
MFM @ HYPEM
