There’s so much new music around at the moment that is can be difficult trying sort the awesome from the crap… so to speak.
There’s so much new music around at the moment that is can be difficult trying sort the awesome from the crap… so to speak. Kettle’s David Newton sat down with four recently released albums and decided to write a few words about each one – just to save you time when next updating your music collection.
Pablo Nouvelle
Fabio Friedli, the thought behind Pablo Nouvelle really has brought his artistic side out of his former architect studies and into the music scene. Mixing live vocals, old samples and modern production technique, Fabio has been able to create a quite astounding, textured sound to washes over you.
Reminiscent of many tracks from the Ibiza chill genre, the first thing to pop into my head when I switched on ‘You do me wrong’ was to liken it to one of Faithless’ slower tracks, with that crunchy static you get from a vinyl, a feature to many of Pablo Nouvelle’s tracks.
For the three minutes twenty one that I played ‘In your arms’ the autumnal season lifted, the sun came out and I felt like I should be chilling out on a beach somewhere. Could Pablo Nouvelle spark of a renaissance of the sounds of Morcheeba and Sia or are they a 90’s band in a 2012 market?
Music very rarely comes with serving suggestions, but this soulful and chilled out band, are definitely one to go and slam on in the bath or chillin’ with a nice Mojito.
Howl Griff, Fragile Diamond
Yawn…With a few exceptions, Wales isn’t really known for creating the greatest of music, and I will be sticking to my Super Furry Animals and Manic Street Preachers as I wasn’t taken back by Howl Griff. I found their song ‘Bluebirds’ far too clean and lacking in any kind of grit or substance, but I thought I should persevere and cracked on with the track ‘Surreal’, another flop.
Sure the band has a happy-go-lucky feel to it, with chime and panpipe accompaniments, but as they plough through 4/4 track after 4/4 track I feel a complete lack of invention and their paint by numbers approach is if anything a backwards step for music.
If you want something to cheer you up, I recommend you avoid this band and go get yourself the ‘That’s why God made the radio’ album from the beach boys.
Flume
I lasted little into a minute before I had a headache, maybe smashing my drum kit moments before had contributed, but I am putting it down to the melee of sounds that Flume have got going on; a piercing loop, enchanted twinkles, scathing organ on the back beat, fades in and out every two seconds, there is far too much going on for my liking.
I think these guys need to work out what they are. Mashing the spaced out styling’s of Mogwai, Florence style twinkles and a harsh loops simply isn’t doing it for me.
Yeasayer
I’m off out for my birthday on Friday and I will be requesting ‘Reagans Skeleton’, a bad man of a tune that just makes me want to bust a move! Yeasayer’s fourth album, ‘Fragrant World’ is the kind of progressive thing I like to hear, with a nod back to eighties bands such as Tears for Fears, they are grounded, but have put together such a rounded sound. If you like LCD Soundsystem, you will love this band.
With computerised melodies taking you through to squidgy guitar sounds, ‘Henrietta’ sounds like the theme to Echo the Dolphin if it were to be turned into an awesome track (might have to hit the decks and try that one). The title track, Henrietta is a nod to Henrietta Lacks, who’s immortal cancer cells have helped with many important discoveries in the field of cancer research and the Brooklyn band do her justice with heartfelt lyrics “oh Henrietta, we can live on forever”.
Do you agree with David’s critiques? Should he win a prize for his literary genius or should be taken outside and shot for crimes against music?
