Anutha Zone - Dr John

Track list:

1. Zonata
2. Ki Ya Gris Gris
3. Voices In My Head
4. Hello God
5. John Gris
6. Party Hellfire
7. I Don't Wanna Know
8. Anutha Zone
9. I Like Ki Yoka
10. The Olive Tree
11. Soulful Warrior
12. The Stroke
13. Sweet Home New Orleans

Running time: 53 minutes
Released: 1998

I think this was the second or third Dr John album I bought - but the first one that was newly released after I knew about him. I can hear several of the tracks in my mind's ear even now, despite not listening to it a lot in the last decade. Should be a nice one.

There is a good cover of a John Martyn classic, a guest appearance from Paul Weller, guest percussion from Steve Mason and, less excitingly, the main face of Supergrass playing guitar somewhere too - all according to Discogs. The Weller appearances I remembered, the others not so much. To be fair, I did not know who Steve Mason was or why I should like him back in 1998, even if I might have been passingly familiar with The Beta Band by name (another alumnus also appears).

We start with an into, bluesy piano to set the scene, which dies away to yield to a funky, riffy, rhythm. Ki Ya Gris Gris plays on the image of the Night Tripper, the early incarnation of the Dr John persona, more than most of these tracks I think.  It has a soft, slightly muffled vocal, but the percussion, and the high-strung guitar hiding behind it, really take you into the Louisiana swamps, though given the supporting cast of UK musicians...

The ambiance continues into Voices In My Head, a fug hanging over the song; this is the Gaz Coombs number - thankfully he doesn't sing. We then go into two tracks that are much more spoken than sung, stories set to blues, albeit ones with choruses. I am listening now (the second today) because trying to nap this afternoon did not work. Into the second half of Sunday and I still do not feel recovered from the week before; that does not bode well. Tried to motivate myself to get outside and do some overdue garden clearance (dropped leaves and dead heads) but despite the day being unexpectedly bright, the perma-wetness of the ground at this time of year ultimately persuaded me out of it. Late autumn and winter are just so... demotivating.

There is actually more to John Gris than my memory would have said, and actually there is more of a sung lilt to the vocal than I recalled too. It is a dark and moody piece, not easy listening; it has lost a fair bit of the bluesy sounds, but has a swagger to it. I am a little relieved as it ends however, to a much more guitar-driven piece (the first Weller number). The harmonies on the chorus work here, but the one verse could do without mentioning rape (as something never done, but still). The track is not as strong as I remember it and I find myself wanting it to end to hear I Don't Wanna Know. Martyn's version - without the I and colloquial spelling -  is superior (of course!) but here Dr John and Weller combine nicely. It is pretty much a straight cover, with a slightly richer arrangement and less fragility. This was my introduction to the song though and I still like the work done here. The swampy influence comes back in with the title track, big band blues but flavoured by the southern states. There is a majesty to the track, a distance between the base (not bass) and the brass which lends the song a style that sits well with me.

Back in the day, the spiritual heart of this album was towards the end, with The Olive Tree and Soulful Warrior, I wonder how they stand up to modern scrutiny. If the first few bars are anything to go by, quite well in the former case. The percussion is infectious and the thrumming guitar to build the background offset the vocal nicely - again spoken more than sung, a story of the ages. The chorus builds, adds in some simple horns; it is a comfortable pattern that I feel I could relax into (or could, were I not folded over the laptop keyboard). Once established, the song plays out to the pattern, though the second chorus is arranged differently to the first and then annoyingly fades out in a fashion that I have always disliked. Learn to write endings (not always a fair criticism)! Soulful Warrior also stands up nicely. Similarly engaging percussion, and a riff to go with it build our platform again. The pattern only breaks for the choruses and bridges. In another context I might call it boring and repetitive, but here it is used to back up a rich vocal which takes on the task of interesting the listener instead. Comfort tunes indeed.

That applies equally to the final two tracks. It may just be my reawakened familiarity with these songs, or it might be the good doctor's fine penmanship but I get a strong feeling of being wrapped in a blanket and warmed against the closing darkness. I am happy I chose to listen to this now, even if the reasons for that choice were not positive. We close with Sweet Home New Orleans - a richly orchestrated track, keys horns and percussion woven around each other to build the intro, fading for the first verse, then picking up with a slightly different syncopated rhythm. The song just has a really good roll to it, building, fading, combining, swinging and smiling its way through 6 minutes.

Unfortunately it ends the album by fading into nothingness rather than building to the big ending that the tune deserved, but this disappointment does not outweigh the positive sense I got from the album as a whole. I recall this being a favourite after I picked it up, and I could well imagine it making it into the car for accompaniment to commutes to come as a disc worth revisiting.

Antarctica - Vangelis

Track list:

1. Theme From Antarctica
2. Antarctica Echoes
3. Kinematic
4. Song Of White
5. Life Of Antarctica
6. Memory Of Antarctica
7. Other Side Of Antarctica
8. Deliverance

Running time: 45 minutes
Released: 1983

Yet another soundtrack to a film I have not seen. I have predictions for what this will be like, based on the fact it is Vangelis (again), but no firm recollection of any of these themes.

The opening theme does not exactly conjure images of Antarctica to me; the notation is more  Blade Runner mixed with China - a blend of sci-fi-ish structure and oriental-sounding melody. The combination is interesting and actually quite effective despite sounding odd in description. It is properly thematic, in that it really does sound like a main theme (actually it reminds me a lot of the end credits to Blade Runner, which came the year before), something that belongs with moving images. Appropriate, then!

Antarctica Echoes reaches forward in time rather than back. As it opens I am immediately put in mind of Voices, an album Vangelis would not make for another 12 years. Future echoes, then... before Red Dwarf did them. This is a much more empty track, cavernous sounding, making me wonder if it was to accompany scenes in an ice cave. There is definitely a sense of loneliness about it, which is another expected element of life in a white waste. This was good lazy-Sunday listening until Kinematic throws a buzzsaw in the mix. Not literally, but it is much more agitated - as you might expect from the title. Its basis is a repeated flutter and momentary synth blast combination that I really do not get on with as a mood changer.

I am a little surprised by how many of the sounds here sound as if they could be accompanying a documentary on rural China; it is probably my unaccustomed ears picking up stereotyped similarities rather than a true reflection of incorrect influences being used, right? That is my suspicion, anyway. Song of White is in that vein and returns to the lazy lightness. Then I IMDB'd the film and realise that it is a Japanese film following Japanese protagonists; the oriental influence is less surprising in context.

Life of Antarctica is at odds with its title, or seems so. There is no real sense of life - instead it seems to carry threat, menace - darker tones in places. Memory... has what I think is call back to the main theme and is a lighter piece. I have been bad, and was distracting myself with G+ communities as I absorb these tunes - running against the intent of the project. I find purely instrumental pieces very easy to tune in and out of without realising, and to be honest I find it hard to write too much about this soundtrack that is not a retread of opinions on Vangelis stated previously. I like his composition, generally. I like everything I have heard on Antarctica except Kinematic. Its just that after a while of listening to similarly themed pieces if I am not 100% engaged then my mind switches off a little and I find it difficult to add anything interesting to discussion. The "other side" is definitely different; it is all tense and disconnected, brooding. It broke the spell a little, stopped me staring at the screen blankly and has coincided with (caused?) a chill that has entered my extremities. That is either really effective composition, or a coincidence with the air temperature dropping in here (without the heating on at midday). Or I have just been sat in one place too long and my feet are feeling the draft a bit more.

I have been waiting 40 minutes to make a bad banjo joke and now I cannot think of one. Deliverance as it is here, needless to say, does not involve that instrument. I am not sure whether it is just the fact I know it is the last track, or if the song itself is constructed to strongly give that impression, but it certainly feels like an ending rather than a beginning or a middle. There is a celebratory air, an uplift. It is a good close to the disc and to this rather sub-par post. I consider cutting Kinematic, and then do, because I found it intolerable. The rest, though, I liked - in that kind of disconnected way when you cannot fully follow something but find yourself feeling good about it anyway.

Another Language - This Will Destroy You

Track List:

1. New Topia
2. Dustism
3. Serpent Mound
4. War Prayer
5. The Puritan
6. Mother Opiate
7. Invitation
8. Memory Loss
9. God's Teeth

Running time: 46 minutes
Released: 2014

Its been a long time since the last update; some busy days, evenings and also Dragon Age: Inquisition have got in the way. It's not a wobble in commitment yet, just a question of finding time and energy.

To end the drought, another album from the current year - see I do still buy music! TWDY (too much effort to type out their name every time) are one of two post-rock groups from whom I have picked up albums in the last couple of months - Jakob's Sines being the other one.
 

I am not (I almost typed was not, but in truth I have not listened to this enough yet to put it into the past tense) really sure what I expect from this album. Probably something solid but unspectacular. I have, in fact, deliberately avoided listening to it in the car because it was coming up fairly soon on here... which means it has basically been sat here for a couple of months with no attention. Deliberately not listening so that I could listen, but then not listening. Confused? I am. Despite being a little on the tired side, it is over a week now, so I am going to press on with this.

New Topia opens very differently to what I was expecting. It is sparse and spacey for a good minute before the more anticipated guitar melodies arrive. It retains that more open aspect even thereafter, even after it all kicks off there is a vastness about the sound, lent by long sustained notes behind the frenetic core. I do not like that core much though, and I am glad when the track closes. Dustism (odd title) is much more what I would have expected in terms of structure. It is more open, again, but melodic in a way that reminds me of tracks from their self-titled album. This is very pleasant but ultimately no particularly engaging. A nice accompaniment to some other activity - but not music I really want to just sit here and listen to. Just as I type that, the flux of the song brings it more body, and with it more interest, without fundamentally changing the overall effect of the track and as that swell takes us to the end of the music I feel it won me around.

I am starting to get the feeling that this album will be what I expected. It is far too early to say that for sure, but the third song has now started with a similar sort of opening, though as it proceeds it remains too empty to really conform to the template. Something of a nothing track, until it "breaks up" and suddenly gains a body. I am not a fan of the "break up" effect; it makes me wonder if my disc was scratched or something. I am not much of a fan of this track either as the emptiness was replaced with cacophony rather than a sound I can appreciate.

The fourth track is called "War Prayer" - that is a fairly big (and maybe ill-advised) statement in the modern world. It does not live up to that from the outset, but with 7 minutes to run it has plenty of chance to find its feet and start belting out devotionals. There is a moodiness about this track that is fitting and it is building steadily; probably the most compelling tune so far. About half way through the rumbling building comes crashing down, leaving an eeriness. Unfortunate, because it seems to have killed the interest in doing so. The change up was not unwelcome, but the lack of anything substantial to follow in the next couple of minutes was. It comes alive again for the final minute, but the spark has gone and this is a hollow husk of what could have been. The longest track on the disc gives way to the shortest, which is making me think of someone I cannot quite drag a name out for. Frustrating! It is all open, empty, but warmly so. Surprisingly this is the best track so far, perhaps because it does not outstay its welcome.

My impressions thus far are not favourable. This album feels too wishy-washy, no one thing. There is a lot of sparse "big sky" craft but it lacks the invention to make that work, the subtleties in the space. I would say the album is about 90% background with a paltry 10% of the effort in the foreground demanding your time. It is imbalanced and thus not grabbing me. Maybe this move to ambient sounds over a stronger melody is what they reference with the title, but I doubt it.

Invitation has a bit more weight to it, which is good, but a lot of that weight is comprised of a drum loop that is a bit too prominent for my ear, which is not - like someone burst firing a machine pistol with a silencer in a tank full of water. OK, my simile is a bit of a stretch. I liked the rest of the craft on that track though, and whilst is recedes into the sleepy waters that made up the opening three quarters of the disc, Memory Loss has a little more depth, making it quite enjoyable. It is emphasizing the tiredness I am feeling, though... the consistency of the sound, the slow pace - I feel my eyelids drooping.

Only one track to go. If nothing else, this has kept me up until a point I can reasonably crash out and stamped on any desire to make ill-advised purchases or get sucked in to anything else at this time of night. At this point that is pretty much the best thing I have to say for listening to TWDY's latest work, but it does not represent a fair reading. Overall I have been disappointed in Another Language but not enough for me to cull it yet. Having bought it, I should give it a few listens at least so it can bed in. Maybe on Monday's commute. As I said earlier, I think it might be better as background to other activity and driving offers that. Quite apart from the fact that it does often take a few listens to really appreciate something.

Edit 2 Dec 2014: after keeping this album playing out and back the last two days (3 full plays) whilst commuting it has not grown on me any. I like The Puritan, still, but the other tracks leave me with... nothing, suggesting that as a whole it singularly failed to engage me. Which is a shame.

Another Happy Day - Ólafur Arnalds

Track list:

1. The Land of Nod
2. Through the Screen
3. Before the Calm
4. Lynn's Theme
5. Alice Enters
6. The Wait
7. A Family Stroll
8. Poland
9. Out to Sea
10. Autumn Day
11. Everything Must Change

Running time: 33 minutes
Released: 2012

Another soundtrack to a film I have not seen. A theme emerging strongly in the discs covered to date. We are back in Iceland again, though this time just for the music. Depending on how this is, I might buy some more of Arnalds' soundtracks but probably not. I expect to quite like this, but not be blown away - how right or wrong shall I be?

As I hit play, I am immediately struck by the tone. Much more sombre and downbeat than I would have expected given the title. The first track is named The Land of Nod, so I was not expecting anything bombastic and big but I was, perhaps naively, expecting a little more positivity. It is instead a dark track that devolves to static. The next tune clears the decks, a moving piano piece - slow and sad. And short. The majority of these tracks are short, and there are not a lot of them. Perhaps it is a very short movie. It is pretty much Arnalds doing what Arnalds does - and if you like his themes as I do there is a fair bit to like. The constant sad edge to things does run the risk of grating after a while, of wearing one down, but the tracks are beautiful in isolation.

Together they blur into much of a muchness, at least for my sleeplessness-addled brain after a late night yesterday and a long day today. I toyed with doing a post for the gig I was at, but shot it down as it would (sadly) ram home just how few I go to recently.

The Wait is the first track over 3 minutes. It is heavily string themed, mournful as ever with lots of pauses between the sighs of bow on hair. The theme is picked up by keys as the track rolls into the next one, a link that I quite like as I notice it for the first time. One thing I will say is that I love the way Arnalds uses those pauses - either brief silences or longer notes that hold pause-like before being let up and something else played instead. Those spaces, hesitations, are constructs that I have come to really appreciate as I have grown older, as I have learned to listen to what is not there, as well as what is and accept silences or inactivity as part of compositions.

Poland has a happier air, not actually happy, but not immediately sad either. Simple piano tune, warmer sounds, wrapped in the familiar strings like a blanket to ward off the cold and dark... until the keys stop and we are back to a very similar sound to those we have been hearing before. There is less bite to the notes though.

Drive. There is finally some drive injected. Out to Sea builds up in an urgent manner, building, threatening, delighting before receding. I was drifting away mentally when I suddenly cottoned on to what was happening and snapped back. Easily my favourite track so far, the change of pace being very welcome even if it is not sustained. The sounds have filled in a bit in the latter half of the disc, more depth, less stark, lonely strings and more melodic harmony. The pauses and the space given to each refrain are diminished or gone and the tracks, whilst longer, go by quicker as a result. I am glad, for as much as the pauses were delightful, the increase in depth and notation means there is more going on to listen in to and out for. It also means that the soundtrack manages to change tone at the right time to retain interest and avoid becoming too much of a one-tone affair as looked possible early on. I do not think I have consciously heard as much staccato playing of strings as on Everything Must Change, where they provide the core structure around which other movements wander. Of course, at the point I type that, they subside and the track melts away until only a haunting theme harking back to the first few tracks emerges, bringing the album to a close on a note similar to how it began.

Another Empty Galaxy - Deepspace

Track list:

1. Another Empty Galaxy

Running time: 59 minutes
Released: 2008

So this is one long ambient track. I do not have a clue what got me to look at Deepspace and then grab all the freely available tunes on LastFM and I suspect that by the end of this project I may regret having picked them up. Pick them up I did, though, so now I have to find an hour to listen to this. If you are curious, the track can be found and downloaded here.

No big bang to start, but its a galaxy not a universe. This post could go a number of ways. I could get really into the spacey ambiance and go wild with descriptors. I could detest it and write a diatribe about the hour I am committing. I could simply zone out and make a really short entry. Its that latter I am betting on; not certain of my staying power for this. That said, I am in the right kind of mood for ambient relaxation - just come off the back of a Bloodbowl game where I won but lost 2 players to death, had to pay £160 to get some connectors replaced and repaired in my car, and had a busy day catching up on 7 days worth of missed email - and found that my tomorrow afternoon is a wall-to-wall teleconference. And to top it off, I missed (or rather could not pay adequate attention to) Only Connect. Bah, intellectual nourishment denied!

So I am in need of something soothing, and on that score at least I think I am on to a winner with this piece. Five minutes in, and the track is wide open. There is nothing really musical here a lot of the time, background hums, waves and sounds; layered to provide a sense of space and wonder. I am feeling the space, less so the wonder. There is certainly something to this composition as, now at 12 minutes, I am not bored yet. I am also not really paying full attention - I think that is virtually impossible without the shut down of other senses. I am half tempted to turn out the lights and lie back on the couch - how I imagine this track is best enjoyed - but if I did that I would likely fall asleep, wake up in the middle of the night with a crook neck and fail to have an entry (so need to listen again).

The sounds are generally soothing. There is no drone - the longer notes are a more pleasant tone, and the resonance from them softens their impact rather than amplifying it, though on occasion it sounds like the note is about to lose tune. The waves and pulses of other sounds are generally soft, too and there are refreshingly few sparkles (you know, those electronic "star drop" sounds that one associates with the ambient cliché. There is no harmonic metals of the Vangelis kind, but flatter, emptier sounds that suit the vastness of space better. Deepspace gets the distance right - even when there are some bolder sounds, the tone of the background lends volume and everything feels further away, as if it is constantly receding (which it is, of course).

The track is approaching half way; my head is going slightly. Tiredness creeping in, eyes drooping. The track is having a positively reinforcing effect on that natural reaction to the end of a busy day. I have to admit to a little boredom, but I am resenting the time a lot less than I thought I might, and I can certainly see how listening to this in a more appropriate (and less live-logged) format could be mind blowing. There have been a few more falling stars, but they remain rare. The oscillating bass is the most consistent feature, a thrum to underlay all else, but around it things are in flux, the sounds that make for a tune, to provide the part that a melody might in more traditional music, are many and varied and I find it hard to describe any of them sufficiently. Bold one minute, soft the next. Clear now, then muted, or echoey or both. More stereotypical space creeps in more over the length of the tune - you would expect it to in a 60 minute marathon just to keep the change ups coming - but this is easily forgiveable as it is not overdone.

20 minutes to go now. It continues to provide a soothing aural skyscape, the bassy hum has lightened, ad there are more optimistic top end sounds arising. Ah, now that is interesting. There is a notable tonal shift at or about the 45 minute mark which makes me wonder if the piece is, consciously or subconsciously, divided up into movements even if it is presented as a single megalithic track. I cannot say I noticed the others (if they are there) but I happened to be checking how long was left as the clock went 45 and then the sounds shifted on me. Probably just coincidence, but who knows, eh? More chimes and musical stars in this latest segment - it almost sounds like a fruit machine in places (but for the bass).

I have mostly enjoyed it, though I would admit my concentration has been all over the place. I feel that grabbing it was a good decision, and keeping it is worthwhile, even if the chances that I will ever make the time to listen whilst shutting down my eyes are slim. I could well see it being used as background music for a sci-fi game at some point (playing in a Trek game at the moment so it could happen). Switch between this for exploration, and Ben Prunty's FTL Soundtrack for moments of conflict. Could work really well. That said, I am not a great believer in the use of music for roleplaying sessions - I find having to talk (or more accurately listen) over the music more of a burden to my enjoyment than any sense of atmosphere generated by a soundtrack. This could work though, because it is empty enough. I am into the final stretch, and I wonder if it is because I know that, or whether I can genuinely hear denouement in the soundscape, as if it is drawing in, contracting to a close. It is a tough call, but there is definitely a darkness creeping in, a bit more of an edge than there has been throughout. I find myself wondering how it will actually end - that must be a big decision in a composition like this. The answer seems to be by devolving into the hum, having that become all, then adding an echo before fading out. It is quite an anti-climactic end in truth.

Another Empty Galaxy is awe-inspiring in some ways, and definitely worth investigating if you like spacey or ambient tracks. If you have a good pair of headphones, a large couch and blackout curtains then building yourself a makeshift sensory deprivation chamber and indulging is a worthwhile thing to try, I would reckon. I am certainly amazed by how little I got bored by it, even as my mind started wandering and refused to pay full attention. In a piece this long, that speaks to a good variety; I have got bored a lot quicker to shorter tracks with more going on. So I end with two thumbs up for this, even if I am unlikely to ever give it this much attention again.

An Announcement to Answer - Quantic

Track list:

1. Absence Heard, Presence Felt
2. An Announcement to Answer
3. Blow Your Horn
4. Bomb in a Trumpet Factory
5. Politick Society
6. Meet Me at the Pomegranate Tree
7. Sabor
8. Ticket to Know Where
9. Tell it Like You Mean it

Running time: 38 minutes
Released: 2006

Oh dear, after I savaged The 5th Exotic (I should really go back and make that a casualty; there is stuff I liked more that got cut) I am not expecting much from this. I have this disc as a freebie from an ex-colleague who left to return to her native Italy. I remember on the day I picked it up I was asked why (by someone else) and I did not have a strong answer then, nor do I now. Hopefully, a few more years peddling the shuffle will have the result improving. Time will tell; at least it is short at sub 40 minutes.

It opens with a whimsical sort of tune, which is actually not unpleasant but is rather... nothing. The sort of thing you might expect to play over a 30 second black and white clip on TV then never hear again. It has a backdated charm, but no substance to make that charm really appealing, and then it is gone. The title track is perhaps more of what I was expecting. The relative volume of the percussion and the shuffle over it are reversed from expectation (drums too loud) but otherwise it is pretty much on message. Instrumental loops and beats with no real direction. Shuffle at its core. The title of the album and the track is really at odds with the impression it gives. An Announcement to Answer is statement-like, demanding a response; pity the stridency and purpose of the phrase is missing from the tune it titles.

Blow Your Horn introduces a rapper - this seems to be an evolution of downtempo artists, to introduce vocals to their "chillout" music; I am pretty sure Bonobo has done the same post Animal Magic (another memory to be examined later on) and I have heard it with Kinobe too. Personally I am not a fan because the result falls between two stools: it is neither good hip-hop, nor relaxing enough to play up the main positives of downtempo material. And when the basis on to which the vocalist is grafted is shakily average anyway - as it is here - the effect is pretty poor. Thankfully it is not on every track, but still, the half way house may work for some, but in this case it is not somewhere I want to stay.

When the track started, I was feeling more positive about Bomb in a Trumpet Factory but the incessant nature of it ground me down and left me not keen. When a similarly over-strong and repetitive rhythm is also used as the backbone of the following track it pretty much rules that out too, even before the vocal starts - a song, truly - but well... there is a Latin theme here, and in that case I could be listening to something with more charm like Buena Vista Social Club. This is not that. The melodies are there but they are wholly suborned to a percussion that by now feels like it is trying to bore into my brain with a jackhammer; I do not appreciate that. Generally there is nothing to complain about with Latin rhythms and tunes - they are almost by definition unobjectionable - but somehow Quantic manage to make it so through the imbalance of the various component parts.

I do feel that the tunes here have more distinct character - both as a theme to the album and differences between the tracks - than those on The 5th Exotic, so that I guess is a mark in its favour. However thus far they have all had the exact same problem with the percussion being too loud relative to the rest of the music. Were the tracks rebalanced I could imagine myself keeping a couple of them, but as presented on this disc there is no interest in that at all. Sabor is the first track where the balance is even vaguely OK to my ear, but it is also 7 minutes long and far too repetitive for a large chunk of that time. The final two numbers (another rap-over-Latin and a rambling mishmash of dull electronica) do absolutely nothing to sway my mind, so the entirety of this disc is for the chop. Whilst I am at it I shall go back and do the same to the majority of the other album to put the lingering injustices to other cut records to bed.

Animal Magic - Bonobo

Track list:

1. Intro
2. Sleepy Seven
3. Dinosaurs
4. Kota
5. Terrapin
6. The Plug
7. Shadowtricks
8. Gypsy
9. Sugar Rhyme
10. Silver

Running time: 44 minutes
Released: 2000

A firm favourite now, going back to when I first picked it up. This album was one of the reasons I started buying up electronica for a while. I am interested to see how it stands up to the passage of time and to a listen through in full. I know I still love these tracks when they show up in rotation (as Terrapin did on 1 November) - and the fact I remember that 2 weeks on says something.

The intro can be disregarded in shuffle, but in long form, it... no, it does not set things up well - there's too much dead space on the end before track 2 starts. With Sleepy Seven starts the love. The chimes and the beat already hit that laid back tone before the main themes kick in and then: relaxation. I get excited about this album because it is so immensely unexcitable, a paragon of chill-out. Yes, it is a style that deservedly takes a lot of flak for not really doing anything, but I do not feel that is a fair criticism of early Bonobo (I like his later work less, I have to say). There is a lot going on in this track, voice samples, chimes, beats, the theme, pattern breaks; there is always something to actually listen to whilst disengaging from your daily stresses and strains.

I am less fond of Dinosaurs; the rhythm grabs me less, and the drone-like quality to the theme is so-so, but the sampled muted trumpets I like. The track builds though, and improves as it goes a little before fizzling out. Kota always felt like token ethnicity as a title, not sure why, but as the layers build up over the looped string sample it does work to relax me - or maybe that's the booze. Finally got some long-awaited shelves up today; celebrating a much more spacious and clearer kitchen and hall. I think I like the melodic breaks in this track more than its staple pattern.

Terrapin is the tune that makes the album for me. As much as I adore Sleepy Seven, it is this track that will forever define Bonobo for me. Something about the structure of the main loops, call and answer, and then the up-and-down of the backing just really clicks for me. The vocal samples do not fit so well with the general ambiance but otherwise this is pretty much the perfect bliss out track for me. Things going on, really melodic, slow pace and just brought together perfectly with a light touch. The mood is maintained nicely by The Plug, where the clarinet (?) line is a particular joy but it is more fleeting and less prominent than I remember. The vocal sample is much better integrated though and the whole track simply carries on the wonderful mood that has been established already.

Shadowtricks changes that mood, but slooooows everything down, maintaining the relaxation that way. The titter of high notes occasionally sounds like something is about to fall over and need catching, but the introduction of a jazz trumpet sample quashes that or rather translates it to your eyelids. Unfortunately Gypsy is a little too repetitive and dull to maintain the nice detachment from reality, it breaks the spell a little, snapping me out of the trance. It has a darker theme, continued in the next track and whilst this is still pretty good at sloughing away the stresses and strains of the day, it does not give me the same emotional response that the first half of the album does.

Thankfully Silver is more in tune with that melodic approach seen earlier. It is lighter, using strings and more trumpets to create interest over a bustling bass. It is a nice closer, reaffirming my faith in the album. One thing this project seems to be teaching me is that I ascribe favourites based on emotional memories, but very often the albums that I give that tag do not stand up well, rather one or two really strong tracks stand out and inform my overall opinion. I often feel that if an album has 3 great tracks on it that it has been a good buy, which when you stop and think about it is often a terrible hit rate. I am also coming to the conclusion that my ability to enjoy the album as a long-form work has been undermined by so many years of shuffling everything. Yes, the car always gave me room for disc-based appreciation, but fundamentally when driving I am always concentrating on something else, so I can miss whole swathes without realising it.

I guess I am just frustrated that so many of these listens generate negative copy, even on the ones I really like. I would not be being honest if I held back the less positive thoughts when listening but I think I need a more affirmative way of phrasing things when there is good to communicate.

Animal Magic remains a favourite for its ability to create and maintain overall mood. There are only a couple of stand out tracks, but the others serve purpose in keeping you attuned to the downtempo, chilled ambiance. I think it is Bonobo's best record.

Anglicana - Eliza Carthy

Track list:

1. Worcester City
2. Just As the Tide was Flowing
3. Limbo
4. Little Gypsy Girl
5. No Man’s Jig / Hanoverian Dance / Three Jolly Sheepskins
6. Pretty Ploughboy
7. Bold Privateer
8. Dr McMBE
9. In London So Fair
10. Willow Tree

Running time: 54 minutes
Released: 2002

Perhaps this will blow away a cobweb or two. I have a love/indifferent relationship with Eliza Carthy's music; when she is good she's very good indeed, but when she is not I struggle to maintain an interest. She is, of course, well rooted, Britain's "First Family of Folk" and all that. This record also features my two favourite folk musicians - John Spiers and Jon Boden - in the backing band, before they made it on their own (and later with Bellowhead).

Worcester City (I keep forgetting Worcester is a city) is a more vibrant tune than I remember. There is something life affirming about the fiddle/melodeon combination that makes it very easy for me to see how it survived into the thriving modern folk scene. The tune is a little more raucous than I would like (too many musicians, I think) but it is enjoyable enough. The vibrancy ebbs away though, in favour of a slow, low song without enough depth of arrangement or lyrical interest to hold full attention in a good example of how Carthy's music can go from captivating to just there in the background. The song itself is sung nicely, played proficiently but just... lacking - and at 8 minutes long, the tide was flowing for far longer than it should have.

Limbo is an enjoyable track, but I think I prefer Ruth Notman's version which has a bit more tempo and accompaniment. Then we dip into more stereotypical folk - a staccato accordion piece with a gypsy theme. It is a little twee for my taste, though it is accomplished in delivery. I am coming to the conclusion that this album, as acclaimed as it was, is not really for me... or is it?

The dance tune set could have come off a Spiers and Boden album and so moves closer to my taste in folk. This is partly because both are playing (the backing musicians on the disc are different from track to track), as they are on Pretty Ploughboy which shares a style with some of their songs. It is these intersections where I find Carthy most pleasant on this disc - trusted hands and all that. It makes me wonder a little about how the arrangements were set up, and whether the similarities are because John and Jon had influence here, or because Eliza was a major influence on them. At the point this was released, Spiers and Boden had released one album as a duo already, but the sound here is more reminiscent of their later material and the credits point to Carthy so I guess the latter is more true.

I like her voice, and admire her drive, diversity and talent, but sometimes I find Eliza Carthy very flat indeed. Bold Privateer is just... not quite there in the same way that her version of Limbo was too dead to be a favourite; the exaggerated length (7 minutes) just emphasises the lack of arrangement, and whilst the fiddle/guitar combo works there is just not quite enough life to the tune. Dr McMBE is her one original tune on this disc, played with her father Martin on guitar. Again the composition of the track is missing something. It tends to lament, and there is a lack of energy as a result. Personally I find folk music much stronger when it plays up the celebratory roots of tradition or has a touch more life. There is a place for sadder material, for sure, but on this listen, I think Anglicana overdoes it. In London So Fair continues that theme, but is far more interesting for me because it is a live delivery and the backing is a simple but melodic piano piece. Still too long though.

The album closes with Willow Tree, which is actually the tune I most associate with this album; its the one that I can hear in my head when I see the cover image. The rest of the material here never created a strong association with the album when heard on shuffle, but this tune did. Amusingly the tune itself is different enough from my recollection of it to make me smile wryly. It's a more upbeat tune though and a welcome change of tone to end on.

Overall? I am not a huge fan of this album. All of it is decent, but it struggles for pacing and too many laments make it hard to listen through in full. The three longer tracks pump up the running time and all in all I think it is better enjoyed piecemeal where Carthy's talents can shine then be replaced by something that picks up the mood or otherwise counterbalances. I am not cutting any tracks here - I can see enough in each individual track for the right circumstance to make it welcome - but I can also say with some certainty that I will never sit down to listen to Anglicana right through again.

Angels With Dirty Faces - Tricky

Track List:

1. Money Greedy
2. Mellow
3. Singing the Blues
4. Broken Homes
5. 6 Minutes
6. Analyze Me
7. The Moment I Feared
8. Talk to Me (Angels with Dirty Faces)
9. Carriage for Two
10. Demise
11. Tear out My Eyes
12. Record Companies
13. Peyote Sings
14. Taxi

Running time: 59 minutes
Released: 1998

Massive Attack have already appeared in this project; this album is from an alumnus of the same scene in Bristol. My first exposure to Tricky was unknowingly through Massive Attack; the first exposure I actually recall was not much liking the video for Makes Me Wanna Die... That said the video I can find online for that song doesn't match the one in my memory, so it is probably another track I am thinking of, even if none of the titles seem right for the memory. 

I somehow missed his earlier solo work, but picked it up later after moving to Bristol for uni. None of the track titles here jump out at me with recognition, and before googling to grab the track list (you don't think I type them all out each time do you?) I had no idea that PJ Harvey appeared on any of his material. So despite owning this, I am pretty ignorant of it. Time to change that.

OK, the first thing I notice is a lot of disruption of the sound. Not sure whether this is a deliberate decision in the creation of the track or an artefact of preparation and presentation. It is most audible in Tricky's voice on Money Greedy; the song itself I find lacking, a dull riff/rhythm combo and not much else of note going on for a whole 5 minutes. The same problem affects Mellow - the music on the track just does nothing to excite me. The whispered, husky vocal is interesting (if indistinct), and provides a USP for the tune, but it is not enough in and of itself to sustain interest.

Singing the Blues is the third track in a row that gives me the same problem. The groove, the hook, the beats - that is pretty much all there is to these tracks, no melody at all. That is not a problem if those things are stellar, but what I am hearing falls short. Repetitive, too consistent, ultimately boring rather than unpleasant. I hope for an upturn as the album moves along but a strong pattern would need to be broken for that to happen. Even PJ Harvey's tones cannot snap me out of the drudgery - her vocal on Broken Homes is within the range of what you might expect but it is saddled with the same uninspired backing, only lightened in places by a harmonic backing vocal. I could simply not be in the mood for dirt and grime, but more pertinently I think what I am hearing is more a child of its time and has not aged well.

Aha, a more interesting track? Maybe. Tricky brings his familiar vocal style to a party with a faster beat. Unfortunately the track is still lacking anything else for these to play off against and so 6 minutes also falls flat for me: the rhythmic pattern can only sustain interest so far. I doubt at this point that I will be keeping any track from the album. Half way through and not even green shoots of change, of any extra depth to the tracks. It just hit me that this is drum'n'bass-like, but with the bass recorded low enough to be barely audible over the drums, and both parts relying far too heavily on a single loop. I am sure there is a lot more depth here than I am giving it credit for, but I just cannot hear it, and the patterns are too dull to draw me in.

I have zoned out; droned out my brain by attending to other things. There is little here of interest to the modern me. The last two tracks are listed as "bonus" numbers, but they feel like penalties. In truth, I doubt I ever listened to these tunes much even when I picked the album up and I will not miss them. I feel like what is here... well, it sounds like the top half of every song was simply forgotten, not recorded, not mixed. Some of the percussion/bass interplay is reasonably good and if there was almost anything else going on over it the songs could be transformed to my ear. Alas, that was not there and my last hour has been pretty much an aural endurance trial as a result.

I acknowledge that I am not the target audience, that my need for a bit more going on over the base provided is my issue, not the artist's, but whilst I am no longer completely ignorant of this album, it was so much not to my taste that in some ways (like having the last hour back) I wish I was.

Angels of the Universe - Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson & Sigur Rós

Track list:

1. Approach/Dream
2. Memory
3. The Black Dog and the Scottish Play
4. Degradation
5. Over the Bend
6. Colours
7. Journey to the Underworld
8. Shave
9. On the Road
10. Another Memory
11. Relapse
12. Coma
13. Schillar in China
14. Helpless
15. Te Morituri
16. Bíum Bíum Bambaló
17. Death Announcements and Funerals

Running time: 41 minutes
Released: 2001

I have the UK version of this, with English track listing. The album is 15 compositions by Hilmarsson and 2 numbers from Sigur Rós on the end. It is a soundtrack to a film I have not seen bought, predictably, because Sigur Rós are mentioned.

That said, I do have music by other Icelandic composers (Ólafur Arnalds has already come up in this project) so whilst I cannot claim familiarity with Hilmarsson there is a good chance I may be interested in his material too. The total time is very short for the number of tracks, with only a few going above 2 minutes... I wonder what magic can be woven in these short pieces.

The opening is fairly dark, not angelic at all, but it opens up after about a minute into a gentle guitar melody and supporting strings which between them craft a nice light space, if a sad one, the guitar sounding mournful and lonely. It closes by drawing in the dark again. Memory... it is as if we have lost ours. New track, very very similar guitar theme, same sort of effect and arrangement. The overall tones here are sombre, moody but touched with a light brush. The guitar of early tracks recedes in later ones in favour of string leads. There are hints of electronic or synth tones too, becoming major features in places; Over the Bend features clicks and percussive electronics quite strongly, meshing this with the string lament. I am not quite sure the combination really works as executed but it is a nice idea before the whole track melts away into weirdness.

This is a soundtrack album, which explains the number of tracks and their breakpoints which, as with Approach/Dream and Memory, do not always make sense or lead to strong similarities between different tracks. It also strengthens the thematic connection, the loneliness and the sombreness, but along with them the sense of a big wide sky and a whole lot of nothingness. I guess that is Iceland for you.

At times the strings get piercingly sharp (I dislike the end of Journey to the Underworld, for instance) but mostly they are rich and deep, enveloping and warm. None of these positive traits manages to oust that singular feeling of being alone in the middle of nowhere though. The visuals I imagine for each track are probably a million miles away from what they actually accompany in the film and I am sure if I had the context of the pictures they partner then the inferences and themes that I took away from listening would be different. How far removed though, I wonder?

Another Memory, a call back to the same theme we heard earlier. Generally I like call back as a technique - particularly in stand up comedy. Musically it is something that can only work when listening to a work in its intended order, so I suspect it will become rarer and rarer going forwards. Concept albums, discs designed to be listened to through and through in order, these things have less place in the modern "download what I like, shuffle everything" world. That is a bit of a pity, though I hold my hand up as being as guilty as anyone of shifting to the new model with regards to home listening. Every so often I will get a hankering for something specific, or endeavour to build a playlist for a certain themed use, but shuffle is far simpler and quicker to get to, even taking all the skipping into account.

I have reached Schillar in China now - through the middle section there have been a couple of tonic shifts, a little more percussion here and there, but it has largely kept the same themes and patterns. I expect a shift for the last two tracks (since Sigur Rós apparently handed over completed tracks for the soundtrack rather than composing songs anew), but the Hilmarsson material has been very consistent on the whole. I like it - though I cannot say I would listen to much of it by choice unless I was specifically in the mood. It does scratch an itch I have though: film scores are great for exposure to more classical composition, something I have never managed in satisfactory manner through other means, much to my own limitation.

According to Eighteen Seconds Before Sunrise Bíum Bíum Bambaló is a take on a traditional Icelandic lullaby. I am a little surprised at how well it fits into Hilmarsson's theme. I should not have been, really - it is pretty classic for the Sigur Rós of 2001 and could easily have come from Ágætis Byrjun. The final track is more of a departure, a rockier piece, their interpretation of a theme played to announce deaths and funerals on Icelandic radio. Quite a dark, brooding track this, more menacing than sombre. It is a harsh way to end a disc that really was not harsh at all.

Overall a pleasing album, better as a whole and approached when in the right spirit for it, but interesting to examine from time to time, too.

And Then We Saw Land - Tunng

Track list:

1. Hustle
2. It Breaks
3. Don't Look Down Or Back
4. The Roadside
5. October
6. Sashimi
7. With Whiskey
8. By Dusk They Were In The City
9. These Winds
10. Santiago
11. Weekend Away

Running time: 46 minutes
Released: 2010

I have listened to this disc a lot. Tunng became a firm favourite of mine with Good Arrows, which I picked up after hearing Sam Genders in a radio discussion and liking the cut of his jib. And Then We Saw Land was the first Tunng album after Genders left (going on to The Accidental and later Diagrams) and signalled a little bit of a change in direction but largely retained the likeable parts.

The album opens with a sonic warp, picked up by keys, then dropped (or rather faded back) in favour of a hooky guitar riff, to which rhythm is added. Hustle is a summer song, so light, bright and fun, foot tappingly so. It is pretty repetitive now I listen again and somewhere near the end gets a rattle that overpowers, but otherwise it is a strong little number that sets a tone nicely.

Catchy little tunes are what this era of Tunng is about. Gone/reduced are some of the more eccentric samples of Genders' era, in their place a structured framework to catch you and then keep you smiling. There are breaks in the pattern (there would have to be for it to work) but they really just emphasise the format.

Guitars are the main hook, but the patterning applies to the background sounds, percussion and so on too, as well as the vocal. There is some good use of harmony and contrast. Personally I think it is a really tough call between this and Good Arrows as to which is better (I still lean to the earlier one). Incidentally, Don't Look Down or Back is available as a free download here; it is pretty representative, but not my favourite: that is to come. The Roadside opens with staccato picking that just gets me tapping along so quickly that I am immersed before the other layers join in. I am noticing the echo effect on the vocal for the first time (consciously at least) now though, which just goes to show you can generally find something new even in favourites if you actually pay attention.

I used to think that the album went downhill from this point - shot its bolt too soon then faded out. There is an element of that, but it is premature yet. October is a neat tune; the harmony between the male and female voices is great, the way they blend in together whilst maintaining very distinct tones. It is a mellow track, too - nothing brash, nothing too catchy; a nice interlude before the much hookier Sashimi. Electrics make more of an obvious show in this one; no bad thing, but it makes it sound a lot more stark, cleansing the aural palate by sweeping away any lingering expectation of muted tones.

Whiskey not whisky, eh? I had not noticed the preference for Irish over Scotch previously; no idea whether it was intentional or the most natural way of spelling it for them. There is an odd moment in With Whiskey where it goes all A-Ha on us, lyrically - invoking Take On Me in the chorus, before finishing up and getting to the awesome instrumental that is By Dusk They Were In the City. This tune I adore... tuneful, loopy base with pauses and interjections before a build to a self-gratifying guitar solo - the sort of thing I am not generally a fan of - which is so well worked in to the overall progression of the track that it does not feel so... abusive. I think it is the continuation of the main structure around it that gives it that freedom as it sparks off the loops then drops out to allow the song to close. To be honest I did not really feel this time through as much as I have others - and particularly when I saw it live, but it remains my favourite track on the album.

These Winds strips everything back, largely a cappela but with a little percussion it is a complete tone change and feels longer than its sub-2 minute length. This is the point that I lose a little of my interest in the album with the track having less to hook me. Santiago continues this trend not because it lacks the hooks, but because I find the ones it has less sonically aesthetic. Hand claps and electronics predominate and these are just less compelling than the layered keys, guitars and percussion of earlier tracks. Weekend Away is not a great closer either. I love the way the chorus works but the verses and bridges are less compelling. Harmonies again are great, but the musicality of the arrangement is lacking for a large part of the track.  When it swells up and you get more of the traditional elements, the track is stronger (they are natural crescendos in the piece too); pity they had to fall away again in the way they do. There is a secret track on the end of it, but thankfully it's only a few seconds after Weekend Away comes to a close so dead air is not an issue. There is not a lot to the hidden song and really I think we would have been better without it.

So the last quarter of the disc is a little weak, there is a definite drop off in interest driven by a move away from the instrumentation used throughout the first 8 tracks to a more minimalist style that relies more heavily on electronica. Those songs are not bad, but they do let the side down a little. Happily there is much more good than bad and the album has reaffirmed its place time and again on my commute and on longer journeys too, and now here. I am sure it will again, because life is always better when you get a bit of Tunng.

And She Closed Her Eyes - Stina Nordenstam

Track list:

1. When Debbie's Back From Texas
2. Viewed From The Spire
3. Crime
4. Fireworks
5. Proposal
6. Little Star
7. Hopefully Yours
8. Murder In The Mairyland Park
9. I See You Again
10. So This Is Goodbye
11. Something Nice
12. And She Closed Her Eyes

Running time: 49 minutes
Released: 1994

A quick change in direction now, to Scandinavia and to quiet female vocals and a very different sonic landscape. I have no idea what made me decide to buy this album, but Amazon tells me I bought it in 2007, some 13 years after its release. I do not have anything else by this artist, nor recall any other factoids which suggest why I might have thought the purchase was a good idea. From that point of view this is one of the most random things I own. When in doubt, blame LastFM. I do, however, have memories of at least three of the tracks, and remember really liking at least one, so I am looking forward to revisiting it now.

The start is an odd one, light strums of a guitar and a strangled, muted and razor thin vocal that is almost childlike in delivery. The song only gets musical at the chorus; it is a very odd way to open an album - not unpleasant, just a little... offbeat. The soft vocal is definitely a feature and it gives the impression of innocence and shyness as it continues into the next song. Viewed From the Spire is the song I remember loving, a light jazzy number that makes good evening background - you could see it playing over a panning cityscape, night lights on, waterfront view. Cliché-tastic, but a nice, simple song. I do not find it leaving much of an impression this time though.

There is a really strong tone imparted by the vocal style here - it is such that it needs a fairly slow, sparse accompaniment to not be overwhelmed and that shapes the types of song that can be crafted. In practice, what that means is that this is a very chilled album. Everything happens in slow motion and without wishing to crash into your day. I find it does not make good listening but I like what I hear - if that makes any sense at all. Yes, I am only 3 songs in, but the pattern is firmly established and if/when it gets broken it will be interesting. Fireworks begins with a much stronger guitar line - solo, and still slow, but recorded louder - until the vocal comes in and the music is dialled down on volume again, the use of sampled seabirds (or so it sounds like to me!) lend a lazy summer holiday vibe. I think I used this phrase before somewhere, but the lack of any real confidence in the singing (maybe because second language?) and the simple, repetitive patterns of the music invoke the "friend tooling around with a guitar in the corner" image. There are flashes of greater arrangement from time to time, but most of it to date has been simple acoustics front and centre.

Oh, that was unexpected; Little Star goes all, erm... something on us. Sudden harmony in the chorus that actually makes for quite a nice little sound but out of place with what has gone before. I am struggling to keep going though - two nights of poor sleep, waiting for a coat of paint to dry before I can apply another, slow sleepy music is not what the doctor ordered to keep me awake and raring to go. None of what I am hearing is bad, not much of it is particularly good. There is nothing objectionable about any of these songs, they are too simple in their construction for that; it does make them not particularly good at promoting active engagement though. I sit here considering whether to cut the whole lot. I do not have much like this, and it definitely has its place, but if all it makes me think is "nice background to tune out" then why keep it?

I like it, but I do not want to listen to it. That is an odd sentence to type, but it is true.

There is some interest in the construction of the tracks, but mostly the appeal is in the overall ambience it projects and shares with its audience. At different points I have had thoughts of Leonard Cohen and of Enya in the design of the tracks (the delivery has nothing close to either) and I think if I could bend my ear to pay attention to the almost whispered lyrics there might be some more to dissect there. There is a sense of melancholy that hangs over one or two tracks (the trumpet on I See You Again is a prime example) but it still manages to be too... nice. Pleasant. Damned with faint praise again.

Ultimately the paucity of my output here, the fact I have been staring at the screen for 2 songs without typing anything is pretty damning. I cannot see a justification for keeping this if it cannot incite a response. Unlike after noting other casualties of this process, I do not feel entirely comfortable with this decision for reasons I cannot quite articulate, but the decision is made. I cannot picture myself listening to this album again, so there is no point keeping it. Whilst it fills its niche and I do not have anything to put there alongside it, I think that the points where I was most engaged moved the theme towards an area where I do have stronger material in the bank.

And None Of Them Knew They Were Robots - And None Of Them Knew They Were Robots

Track list:

1. Falling Figures
2. Idle Vessels
3. Division Formed Thus
4. Instrument
5. Playsets With Lights
6. An Equation
7. Twenty Six O'One

Running time: 27 minutes
Released: 2001

So this disc was my first exposure to hardcore. A blind gift, I found myself loving it completely unexpectedly, not that I went out and bought myself a load, but I did acquire the rest of the Robots available material - I think it was all free on LastFM at one point (some demos still are).

All I knew before I heard it for the first time was that it was derived from punk, so I was expecting tunelessness and anger. Cliched view, I know. When it opened with a great melodic riff I dropped my jaw and was sucked in. There is definitely anger here... Falling Figures builds to an explosive release, screamed vocals faded down behind twanging guitars and punchy drums. The edgier playing is evident in places too but mostly it has tune that engages. To be honest, after the first bout, I could leave the shouting behind quite happily, but the emotion driving it is part of what makes the track one I love. The rest of this mini-album does not quite reach the same standard for me, but then Falling Figures would be a longshot for a place in my top 10 tunes ever so that does not condemn the rest.

To be honest, I could take or leave Idle Vessels, and I am leaning towards leave. There is less melody and the vocal is far messier, general shouting rather than targeted rage, but then the melodies come back in for Division Formed Thus. The tune has drive, pace and space for a more melodic vocal to shine over that engine that keeps it loud but controlled throughout. That is something else I was expecting but did not receive on first listening to these songs: to be blown out of my seat by exceptional volume. No - the levels are sensible, well controlled and set so that the noisier parts of its constructions do not overshadow the more musical. I came in with so many incorrect preconceptions and poor expectations, and - as with Fig 4.0 - had them peeled away one by one. That was a good few years ago now, and I am still enjoying this a lot. Division Formed Thus runs to 6 minutes, which is a little excessive, and I think the song loses its way a bit in the middle but that is about the only real criticism I would chuck at it.

There is a nice, noisy rumble to Instrument - it is more typical of what I was expecting, in my former ignorance, but far better performed and much more palatable than that former position would have held. I would never want to listen to this particular track more than once in a blue moon, but as the midpoint of the album it fits nicely, guitars humming into my skull, but all at a volume that is suitable. It, like Idle Vessels is noisier and less melodic but sandwiched between 2 songs that play up the melodies more. It is a nice little artefact of the construction. Smooth, rough, smooth. Loud, quiet, loud etc. These have been used by other bands in other areas before and they work here too. OK, so the "smooth" has rough edges, but that is a feature not a bug. Playsets With Lights has a nice rhythm and swell to it but the main line that always sticks in my mind is the top end, the guitar melody, and how it closes.

The last two tracks have not memory association to play on, so what is there? An Equation (free download here) splits the loud/quiet dynamic up with elements of both but errs on the loud side, it is also very short and sweet, before giving in to the hooky guitar intro to Twenty Six O'One. This is an intro melody that gives way to the now familiar spiky chorus of a wall of guitars and screamed lyrics which is over like a flash leaving a very sparse tune to bridge to the next hit of rage and fire. Pretty intense stuff, because you are constantly switching between modes, on edge knowing that it could all kick off any second, and yet 4 of these songs give you the opportunity to settle back and enjoy too.

I love the dichotomy of it, the execution is accomplished and so the whole disc works. Was I thinking of ditching something? Not anymore. I think the album would be weaker without any of these tracks. The energy from the loud tracks sustains whilst the melodies of the more musical ones builds an interest that lasts. I do not believe robots could make music this good.

Analogue Catalogue Sessions - James Yorkston and the Big Eyes Family Players

Track list:

1. Old Maid
2. I Know My Love
3. Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk
4. Cornfield
5. Mary Connaught & James O'Donnell
6. Thorneymoor Woods
7. Just As the Tide Was Flowing
8. I Went to Visit the Roses
9. The Snow it Melts The Soonest
10. Lowlands Away
11. Martinmas Time

Running time: 38 minutes
Released: 2009

This was, I believe, a bonus disc in the purchase of Folk Songs, a James Yorkston project that I picked up because, well... James Yorkston is one of my enduring favourite artists. Even if I think his best work is a decade or more old, he has built up enough good will for me to follow all his projects with interest. That explains the image here, which will get reused again later.

A few of the songs here are those from Folk Songs but others are JY staples or additional material. To be honest I do not know how similar these renditions are to the others I have elsewhere and this listen will probably not clarify enough there to decide whether to cut on grounds of duplication. Still, it starts with a unique track that I have nowhere else.

I love the chorus of Old Maid, a duet between Yorskton and Nancy Elizabeth, who sings the verses. It is a sad song, and horribly reflective of gender roles and expectations but the performance is really good. It finishes then drops into I Know My Love - a very different version from the one that closes Moving Up Country (a favourite if ever there was one). The timbre of the vocal is similar, as is the tempo, but the arrangement here is very staccato, very repetitive. I do not think it a particularly strong version and I am toying with the idea of getting rid.

Third up is another Yorkston staple about an unhappy wife drinking herself through a horrible violent marriage; it is really quite uncomfortable listening - tale told from the wife's perspective; Elizabeth again provides a co-pilot and the harmonies, whilst not perfect, are interesting. We then get Cornfield, a Lal Waterson song that Elizabeth did for the tribute album Migrating Bird. I guess JY is playing the guitar here, but this song possibly should not be giving "James Yorkston and the Big Eyes Family Players" as the artist, and given I have Migrating Bird, I am not certain I need this too. Keep for now though.

These are session tracks, and the backing harmony on Mary Connaught & James O'Donnell is awesome, goosebumps awesome. This album (well, Folk Songs) is one I managed to pre-order two copies of, getting myself listed twice in the liner notes in the "thank yous" in the process; internet shopping whilst tipsy folks: don't do it! I regretted the mistake for about 5 minutes; the second copy became a present for my dad, and I remember watching the included DVD on their couch in Greece.

Thorneymoor Woods is an a cappella duet on this disc. It is not a style I am particularly fond of as I do not feel most vocalists are good enough to electrify the air alone - sparks need to fly somewhere to catch. However I am continuing to enjoy the intertwining of voices between our two lead singers: him gruff, rough around the edges, her light and soft, distant, floaty. The two synergise; greater than the sum of the parts. As much as I love Yorkston's music and enjoy his delivery I would never call him a great singer - he does not need to be, his songs do the heavy lifting so his voice does not have to carry the listener: you are already engaged in other ways.

There are some really nice strings used on I Went to Visit Roses, and a couple of moments where they are on the edge of falling over. It makes for a topsy-turvy listen, then we get a rendition of The Snow it Melts the Soonest - almost another a cappella number. This is my favourite traditional song, entirely down to Yorkston's version on Just Beyond the River which has a higher tempo and a nice arrangement. This is a slow, dark telling, almost steeped in sorrow, with a backing hum from the assembled and very sparse instrumentation. It is a sombre take. Lowlands Away is a very JY song in style and delivery and it slides by before I even realise it was playing, and then we are on Martinmas Time to close. I am not a great fan of this one, the main refrains having harmonics that just disagree with my ears. I am tempted to cut this, especially since it is also on the main disc of Folk Songs but I find myself unwilling to commit for the same sentimental reasons that left Amnesiac intact. It is one of only 3 longer tracks on the album, which I think makes the fact it is not a favourite stand out more. Most of the songs breeze past at a rate of knots and I am coming to really appreciate that when listening for the purposes of this project: plentiful song changes keep me more engaged with the listen and less inclined to drift off to do other things whilst they play. It is not always good for generating output though as songs are gone before I can crystalise my thoughts on them. Typical of my lot: I am never happy.

Amok - Atoms for Peace

Track List:

1. Before Your Very Eyes...
2. Default
3. Ingenue
4. Dropped
5. Unless
6. Stuck Together Pieces
7. Judge, Jury and Executioner
8. Reverse Running
9. Amok

Running time: 44 minutes
Released: 2013

So after revisiting Radiohead, it is one of the things that Thom Yorke went on to do thereafter that follows. I do not recall really listening to this, picked up because it was Thom Yorke, at all. I have its genre recorded as "Odd" which suggests it was ripped without a straight face.

I have a feeling that Atoms for Peace includes some other famous musicians, but I cannot be bothered to look up whom they may be as their names did not stick once and they were not the cause of my purchase. Like Amnesiac this record is in the classic 40-45 minute range but the songs here are sightly longer since there are fewer of them. That could be a good thing or a bad thing... lets find out!

I am guilty in all my writing of overusing two things: ellipses and parentheses. The ellipsis on the end of the title of the opener feels similarly gratuitous. The song itself has a decent shuffle to it, and as Default starts I sense that a shuffling kind of rhythm is going to be a feature. I quite like that, not being averse to electronica... providing there is enough with it to provide structure and musical accompaniment. From the early numbers here there is probably just enough to keep things interesting. The beeps and clicks and whirring are offset by Yorke's ethereal vocal. All in all it evokes memories of Kid A and Yorke's solo album The Eraser but with a slightly more chilled edge - less urgent, more considered. Ingenue begins like it should be a Boards of Canada number, and continues much in that vein. This would make for a good sci-fi soundtrack, or maybe just the background music for a scene played out in a hipster hangout in a dystopian future. "This is how we get through the day."

Random imagery aside, I would not want to listen to this everyday, or in sequence. The effect will, I think, get too much by the end of Amok, which is not to say that I do not like it in small doses. I find the tracks to be well constructed, with just enough going on to maintain interest and a good contrast (though Dropped has too much of a hint of a Windows error message about it in places). However I worry that it all becomes a) much of a muchness, and b) overpowering after a while. There is definitely a groove here though, one to be enjoyed, but I am definitely erring on the side wishing each track was a touch shorter.

Unless seems to darken the tone, the drone seems to have taken on a sinister side, amplified by the vocal signalling disinterest - it commands to me an image of a violent crime just happened, ignored by all passers by; hopefully not the intention! I overcame the error chime thought to really like Dropped, but the tonal shift has me feeling really off about this track. I think there is more to it than a sudden click in of the prophesied boredom with the format, and it is unsettling enough a thought that I want to revisit the song later to check.  The darkness does not appear to pervade though, the overtone of threat is gone from the next track, but it is replaced with a distant uncaring air... a boredom. Me projecting, certainly; this is the prophesy kicking in, right?

I certainly feel there is now a disconnect between the music and me that goes beyond the coffee hit wearing off. I am not sure, but there seems to be less to later tracks - more space, less arrangement, more excuse for the mind to wander. It is really hard to tell whether that is my expectation of distance self-fulfilling or whether I am picking up on a genuine change in the construction of the tunes. Reverse Running reverses the slide a bit though, so I think there may be something to the thought. Incidentally, this is why this project is not about reviews; I am not putting it on my own head to listen again and again to be fair and accurate to what is there; it is going to take me long enough to listen to everything once just to capture the impressions it creates.

God, that sounded self-important given this a purely self-driven, self-rewarding activity. I am such an arse.

Oh, I liked that the last two tracks seemed to mix together. I am not sold by the opening of Amok, but the merge from the end of the previous tune was unexpected. It just needs to gain another layer or two to really get going but I am not convinced another layer is forthcoming. It hovers just under the threshold for full attention, which is really frustrating; as if there is a great tune there trying to come through but a layer of invisible blandness is actively stopping it from realising its potential.

That would be a really harsh note to end on, so here is another. Amok is a pretty good album, if a little indistinct to plough through in full. There was nothing unpleasant here but it only really hit high notes once. Nothing to be cut though, and not for sentimental reasons this time.

Amnesiac - Radiohead

Track List:

1. Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
2. Pyramid Song
3. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
4. You and Whose Army?
5. I Might Be Wrong
6. Knives Out
7. Morning Bell/Amnesiac
8. Dollars and Cents
9. Hunting Bears
10. Like Spinning Plates
11. Life in a Glasshouse

Running time: 43 minutes
Released: 2001

I thought I had 2 copies of this album - a regular and limited edition. Turns out I am either mistaken or I gave away the regular version at some point, but I still have the limited edition that I received as a 21st birthday present, as I recall.

It has been an age since I listened intently to any of these songs and whilst I can still hear a number of them if I bring them to mind, others are complete blanks. Had you asked me whether I thought I would forget any of these songs in the year after it was released, I would have thought you were mad. Oh the foolishness of youth, and the sad realities of life, growing up and the passage of time. I really liked Kid A despite the change of direction that had lots of people doing a collective WTF? after OK Computer. This album, recorded at the same time as the former, is in a similar mould.

Packt... is all beeps clicks and thumps but unlike say, Animal Collective, the use of them here dovetails with a less cacophonous vocal and a considered backing. It makes it more listenable, but I am not a big fan of this opening. I remember loving Pyramid Song, though. Rich and full whilst being spaced and haunting.  There goes that dodgy memory again: haunting yes, but rich... not so much. The song does build a depth of sound over the course of its run though, structured around the vocal and keys which hold everything together. OK, rich maybe does fit, but not for the whole length of the song. The strings, when they arrive, lend a fullness to the piece and I think they could have been used to bring about a much more fitting ending. It's a fine song that has aged, but gracefully. Which is more than I can say for Pulk/Pull. The only thing that saves this tune from the cut is, well, that it is on this album. I am not averse to deleting tracks from albums, but I am reticent to do so for albums that I have had so long or that I might realistically listen to as albums again. OK, the chance is low, but it is there. Sometimes less palatable tracks are part of the milieu, part of the whole that needs to be considered together. Lets not fudge this: the fact it is on a treasured album from my (relative) youth saves it, even if I would no longer list this disc as a favourite.

You and Whose Army? is a sentiment that I would venture that most young people have rolled around their heads at some point, and I was certainly no different. I think Yorke's vocal really works on this track, and the backing is far better than you might think in passing. I do not recall the variety and the lines other than the sombre piano from 15 years back, but on this listen they stand out nicely. The twang of I Might Be Wrong is a welcome one though. There is something faintly dirty about it, grubby sounds for a grubby future (now past). I could fault it for repetition but the hook is so catchy and the rhythm is interesting enough that it just about manages to swerve me pinning it for that. It swells nicely - or is that me simply imagining the swell? I think it might be the latter. I have to say that where I have been harsh on denouements before now, I quite like the one here, if only for the lonesome sound in the lull before it kicks in. 

Ah, now that mournful refrain was always a favourite. Knives Out is darkly melodic and resonates with me now as it ever has. The echo effect amplifying the lonely air and the creepy lyric. Listening properly there is a bit of a sonic mess here and there in the backing which is interesting because it never overshadows the clear melody. The album has now peaked, I suspect. 

I was never a fan of this version of Morning Bell, a worse rendition of one of the weaker Kid A tracks, I felt. This impression sticks on revisiting it here, and again the song is saved from the cut simply by being on this album rather than another and on we go.

Dollars and Cents sounds virtually nothing like what I remember. The same sounds are there, but the relative levels and the structure are different than in my recollection; my memory had the bassline more prominent and the title more front and centre lyrically. I have to say I prefer the flawed memory version to the real thing, but the song does contain enough interest, bite and drive to still be enjoyable. The rest of the album really is downhill, right brain? Hunting Bears I could not place at all by title, but its lamentations are familiar when they kick in. It makes for an interesting interlude, but nothing more than that.

Wow, the intro to Like Spinning Plates is the first 1 minute 46 seconds, that had not registered at all previously. I recognised the low key pulsing but expected the vocal to kick in much sooner. I do not recall this track fondly, and frankly I find this dull now so thus far, 2 of 3, the memory has the downward slide right. I think I would like Life in a Glasshouse more if it was Tom Waits and not Thom Yorke singing it. The wandering vaudeville style arrangement is more a Waits trait and it would suit a gruff retelling. Humphrey Littleton's trumpet sings out over what otherwise is a tangled old composition. It is actually a much stronger end than I remember it being, and for that I am glad.

The limited edition book

Having listened to the album in full for what must be the first time in a decade at least, Amnesiac stands up reasonably well. Two songs are pretty bad, and two more are simply alright. However there are 11 tracks here, all over fairly quickly, which is another feature that surprises me in hindsight - the 2 minute interlude track aside, everything else is in the 3-5 minute range of the radio-friendly pop song - and most of it is perfectly accessible, even if it does contain elements that may not have been so in 2001. The other 7 range from good to great, sharing a mostly dark in tone which suits a November night.

It is not their best album, nor my favourite, but it is still a fine collection of tunes. I am not surprised to still approve.