Reviews

Wilderness Heart is the third full length album from Canadian quintet Black Mountain. Recorded partly at Seattle’s London Bridge Studios, the same place where many seminal grunge albums by the likes of Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Temple of the Dog and Pearl Jam were recorded, the album packs a classic Pacific Northwest vibe reminiscent of the aforementioned 90s mega acts. Big guitars, throaty vocals and classic rock grooves are all in abundance, but the band departs from formula not only by including some cool retro keyboard and synth sounds but by featuring two vocalists, Stephen McBean, who also fills out the guitarist role, and Amber Webber. There’s a bit of a Dead Weather vibe happening with the complementary male and female vocals, and while both bands are obviously operating from a similar reference point, the two headed vocal attack seems to work a bit better in the Dead Weather, the twin screaming banshee wail of Alison Mossheart and Jack White, whose voices are eerily similar, sounding more consonant than the gravelly roar of McBean and the sweetness that Webber brings to the table. From that standpoint, then, the vocal dynamic in Black Mountain is more reminiscent of the interplay between Black Francis and Kim Deal in the Pixies, even though the musical styles of the two bands are somewhat different. If anything, Webber’s vocals might be a little too sweet in the context of Black Mountain’s music. Nevertheless it works, and the shared vocals make for a nice change of pace from the typical heavy rock fare.

Belsonic 2010 plays host to a plethora of bands over a two week stint of gigs. The festival moves towards its conclusion on Sunday night but on Saturday last (08/28//10) the square at Customs House was the venue for alternative rockers Biffy Clyro, Lost Prophets, Fight With Wire and Twin Atlantic – who I am here to see.

It can be difficult keeping up with the events of Carl Barat’s life, with more twists and turns than a soap opera, you only have to blink and you’ve missed another memorable episode. Band breakups, public spats, health scares and reformations all feature on this roller coaster ride of a decade for the Libertine. Yet life is now looking pretty sweet for Carl, having recently regrouped with his first love, the Libertines, and played historic gigs that were met with critical acclaim. He’s also just completed work on his first solo album and written a book of memoirs, demonstrating a work rate that could rival Damon Albarn’s.

- (Friday 8/27/10) -

It didn’t take long after arriving through the gates on Friday to guess where most people’s thoughts for the day ahead were focused. There’s countless Libertines t-shirts proudly on display amongst those soaking up the sun on the first day, and the anticipation for the gig which some thought, even after the news of their reunion, would never happen is obvious. There’s been mumblings of an underwhelming line-up at the Reading/Leeds festivals this year, but in isolation, the Friday billing at Leeds is as strong as any of the UK festivals can boast this summer.

An Ending Fitting For The Start

- (London, 08/25/10) John and Paul, Ray and Dave, Liam and Noel - history is littered with great bands that suffered from relationship strains, Pete and Carl being no exception. Six years ago when Pete was forced out of the Libertines, a full scale reunion looked about as likely as an Oasis reggae album. Pete’s well documented drug problem became more of a talking point than the music as the arcadian dream came to a messy end after just two albums. Whether or not Pete is completely clean now is anyone’s guess, but Carl agreeing to play these gigs alludes to the assumption that Pete is in at least a better place than he was back then, whatever ‘better’ is in his chaotic world. There has been much to enjoy of the band’s individual output since they went their separate ways. Babyshambles put out two solid efforts and Dirty Pretty Things had their moments, as did John’s Hassall’s band, Yeti, who were criminally ignored. Yet nothing could recreate that magic which we’ve missed so dearly this side of the 00’s, a void that absolutely nobody could fill, no, not even the Arctic Monkeys.

(08/17/2010)

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Hey Hipsters …There’s a fucking Rock n Roll Show Going On!

I’m not going to whine about the sorry state of rock n’ roll or anything like that. Record sales are down, concert ticket sales are down. radio sucks, MTV hasn’t aired a video in God knows how long… Yeah, yeah, yeah. Boo fucking hoo. I actually don’t think any of that necessarily reflects the quality of music being produced right now. Sure, the signal to noise ratio has obviously taken a hit. According to Nielsen Soundscan 98,000 albums were released in 2009 – 98,000, that’s a staggeringly large number (only 2.1% sold over 5,000 copies, though, and that 2.1% accounted for 90% of all record sales in 2009). If I’m doing my math right, and the average running time of those 98,000 records is an hour, it would take you just about… oh, 11 fucking years to listen to them all! 11 years. Now the majority of those 98,000 albums are probably dogs, and there’s no reason to listen to them even if you had the time, but if even only one percent of them are in some way worthwhile, that would amount to almost 1,000 quality records released in 2009. Who the hell has time to listen to even that many? In any case there’s probably just as much “good” music, however you want to define that term, being produced today as there ever has been… and going by the numbers probably more than ever. There’s just a lot more for this good music to compete with these days both in terms of consumer’s entertainment dollar and time, and unfortunately a lot of the good stuff is drowned in the vast sea of mediocrity and dogshit that is endemic to post-whatever 21st century pop culture. My point is there’s good stuff out there, if you’re willing to look hard enough. And if you’re not, the fine folks at Live4Ever World Headquarters are here to help! (Like how I threw that in there, Mr. editor? And I managed not to mention any of our competitors’ sites like Pitchfo@#%$^&#%!!!…. Ouch. That hurt.) All of that’s just my way of saying that I’m not here to lament the decaying fortunes of rock n roll. Cause they ain’t decaying.

Frenchkiss Kicks Ass

- After a series of big name shows by the likes of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Caribou, She & Him and the train-wreck that is M.I.A., Saturday’s ( 8/7/10) lineup on Governors Island seemed pretty low-key. Local Natives was the night’s main act, supported by Young Man and We Barbarians. Yet, the show was a sell out. That should’ve been an indicator.

(8/3) Too often these days when you go see a band play live, what you wind up getting is pretty much a note for note rendering of the band’s recorded material. In and of itself there’s nothing necessarily wrong with this, but sometimes I feel like I might as well be seeing the band members doing nothing more than striking rockstar poses and miming along as their cds play in the background. Hey Weezer, I’m looking at you. So it’s rather refreshing when you get to see a band lay caution aside and tap into that almost dangerous level of excitement that tends to characterize the best live rock performances. I’m not even talking about hackneyed theatrics that have been a staple of rock performances since before Elvis Presley’s hips were censored on the Ed Sullivan Show (After all, we mustn’t allow our virginal teenage daughters to see such obscenity! Heaven forbid!), but a danger that comes from a band letting it all hang out musically and teetering on the edge of collapse. The whole affair is permeated with a sense of foreboding that at any minute the whole thing could fall apart into a shit show of epic proportions. Rarely does it do so, however, and that’s where the magic of a live performance lies.

Central Park Summerstage doesn’t attract the rowdiest crowd. It’s usually hipsters in tight pants with meticulously groomed moustaches. The Black Keys, however, drew quite a different (and diverse) crowd. Let’s just call it “bro-centric.” There was a bevy of suits, NY Yankees hats, and old dudes in Harley gear. The ground was littered with half-crushed Coors Light cans and a marijuana haze floated over the crowd. Fist pumping was soon to follow.

We are less than two months away from Manic Street Preachers’ next album – what will be their 10th full-length studio release. Postcards From a Young Man will hit the shelves on September 20, and the first taster, It’s Not War – Just the End of Love (due for release a week earlier), has already got the tails of devoted fans wagging in anticipation.