LYRICS: April’s Almighty
words: Jamie Milton
My appetite is well and truly wet for May’s releases already. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t marvel at some of the lyrical content from the pretty average April that we just waved goodbye to. We’ve already gone head-over-heels in love for Tom Clarke of the Enemy’s latest blasting of modern day Great Britain, but his lack of inclusion won’t leave many of you guys miffed, I doubt.
Anyway, here’s some good’uns:
——————————————————-
“When I run in the dark
To a place that’s vast
Under a sheet of rain in my heart
I dream of home”
BAT FOR LASHES – DANIEL
——————————————————-
“ Like a moth to the flame
I will turn back again”
DOVES – 10:03 (mp3)[alt]
——————————————————-
” All along, not so strong without these open arms
Hold on tight
All along, not that strong without these open arms
Lie beside
All along, not so strong without these open arms
Ride beside”
YEAH YEAH YEAHS – RUNAWAY (mp3) [alt]
——————————————————-
APRIL: A Short, Swine-Flu Free Summary
words: Jamie Milton
Thank heavens we were preoccupied with ordering batches of masks and tinned food this month. Had it not been for the global pandemic which WE DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT START GETTING COMPLACENT ABOUT, we’d have been bored shitless. Music was pretty rubbish and it’s got me thinking that 2009 is going to be an even worse music-year than 2008. At least last year by this time we had the pleasure of Cut Copy, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and No Age, all single-handedly saving the year from a dreadful collapse. This year, the big guns have delivered and The Horrors have got brilliant. But there’s not much else to say apart from Mica Levi can’t cut it live with an acoustic guitar, but she sure can on record.
April was devoid of triumph and stand-out moments. Instead we were treated to a solid batch of follow-up records and a couple of stinkers. Super Furry Animals officially put out their excellent ninth record, Welsh accents included, with ‘Dark Days/Light Years’. And fellow veterans Doves made the four-year-wait worth it by revisiting their epic, uplifting rock sound. Bat For Lashes went a thousand steps forward with her second record ‘Two Suns’, with Yeasayer adding a crafty edge to the songs. Song-wise, nothing will top ‘Daniel’ this year. It’s quite simply, flawless.
The Veils’ third record was unsurprisingly sophisticated and expert in songwriting, with unsurprisingly impressive results. Camera Obscura might just have made their best record yet with the dreamy ‘My Maudlin Career’ and Bill Callahan (pictured) surprised us a little with his twisted lullabies in ‘Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle’. The only disappointment came in the form of Metric, which to MFM’s annoyance, everybody else seems to think is pretty good. But for fuck’s sake, it’s really not. The Enemy didn’t disappoint, instead they wowed us with their laugh-out-loud lyrical content (“You know there’s no such thing as a free meal // There ain’t no future in British steel“). Well Tom Clarke, there ain’t no future in Mexican tourism for the time being but you don’t hear THEM complaining. They probably are though, they’re just a bit far away.
APRIL’S RELEASES, IN SCORE ORDER:
Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years — 8.3
Doves – Kingdom of Rust — 8.2
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns — 7.9
(mp3: Sleep Alone) [alt]
The Veils – Sun Gangs — 7.9
Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle – 7.7
Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career — 7.6
Brakes – Touchdown — 7.2
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! — 6.5
(mp3: Hysteric) [alt]
Metric – Fantasies — 3.9
The Enemy – Music For The People — 3.8
OPINION: “The problem with some of the bands we love is their ability to spawn some of the worst musical creations of our generation”
words: Jamie Milton
If you tell me that your favourite band is The Libertines or Oasis, I’ll have no problem with that. They’re both bands who changed music in some way or another, for good or for bad, they made their mark on music’s hall of fame and will remain there forever. But I’ve got one problem with this troublesome twosome, the offspring they produced. See, this morning, on George Lamb’s riotous, rubbish radio show on 6 Music, I heard the Metros for the first time. I’ll start this passage of insults by declaring that I am no snob. But let me back up my newly-found hate by presenting you with these lyrics;
“I had a mate called paul, he was never too cool. Got himself chucked out of too, too many schools. Didn’t know what to do to, so he went and robbed a bank, With a sawn-off shotgun and his two-bint mate called frank.“
All of this ill-informed, un-intelligent tripe is led by some worn, spiky, no-atmosphere-allowed, guitar rhythms, similar to one of the best bands of the indie generation. Could it be that The Libertines are in some part, responsible for the mess that the indie scene has turned itself into now? It seems the kids are a sucker for a D-bar chord with some edge tapped into the amplifier. At Underage Festival this year I heard aforementioned chord and there was a stampede from all sides. Flocks of giddy, brainwashed (?) teenagers all wondering who could be producing these recognisable sounds. They remained to discover it was Cheeky Cheeky & The Nosebleeds, one of the many acts on the bill who carried a pathetic, point-and-puke bandname. They weren’t terrible, not like The Metros, but they’re not in the slightest bit original. And they’ll sell. How long will this situation remain where once you form a band, all you need is a four-chord chunky indie song to make it big in the charts?
My problem with Oasis however, spawns from the other festival I ventured off to this summer. Reading ‘08 was known by many as the “twat-fest” of the summer, consisting of gas cannister fires, theft, chants of The Enemy and just a non-stop departure from general courtesy. There were quad bikes being ridden by police guards through our tent site. And when I return, I read that it was never like this before. People are blaming the “have-a-laugh-have-a-fight” behaviour on Oasis simply because Liam Gallagher sometimes comes on stage in full-on wanker gear,
provoking the band’s fans to take crack and steal handbags. Well, not quite. But certainly, a “mad for it” approach has entered the music festivals and music in general. Bands like the Pigeon Detectives and The Enemy, heavily influenced by Oasis, are keeping the laddy scene upright. Thank heavens nobody fell for The Twang’s get-fucked-up-get-banged-up take on music. Violence-with-music isn’t a regular cited phrase thus far but it’s becoming a worrying time for those who might have to flock to the family camp site of their favourite festival in order of taking refuge. These bands can remain for as long as they want, so long as their fans don’t take it into their own hands to leave a sour taste to every single festival they choose to visit.
And so although these bands created (mostly) entertaining music for the times, maybe we should just leave them be for reminiscing. You can spot a Libertines-influenced indie quartet from a mile off and you can smell an Oasis-influenced rock act simply from the scent of their b.o. God help us when the new generation of music fans begin to base their newly-found act on The Klaxons’ “new-rave” sound, it’ll be a mess. Some of the better bands just need to be left alone.
Agree/Disagree? Leave a comment below.
MFM @ HYPEM
