The Horrors Release New Single

The Horrors have released new music yesterday.  It's their first released since the album "V" from 2017.

The song is a bit different from their previous work. I do think I told that the last 2 albums by the band were too pop. Well, they turned completely the other way now. The new song "Lout" is a hard rock industrial song. Very noisy, very aggressive. The vocals are very distorted, which makes the lyrics almost incomprehensible, and it includes some loud screams. The main guitar riff is good.  

The song gives me mix feeling. Although I do prefer their rockier version, in this song they went too heavy. I'm curious about the album, I do hope they don't go too much on the metal direction but it's always great news to hear something new from the band. 

Brett Anderson Will Broadcast 9 Songs In March

Brett Anderson, lead singer and creative force of Suede, will be part of a live (online) collaboration with Charles Hazlewood,  The Paraorchestra, Adrian Utley, Seb Rochford and Nadine Shah.

The live performance will included 9 songs (3 of them Anderson & Suede related) and will be released through BBC Cymru Wales, within the digital festival GŴYL 2021.

The songs will have an acoustic and orchestral arrangements in a darker and more melancholic orientation.

I found out about this incredible new on the fantastic website of The Insatiable Ones, Suede's most loyal and best fan group, which I'm proudly part of. 

The set list will be: 

The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
Unsung - Brett Anderson
Nightporter – Japan
The End of the World - Skeeter Davis
He’s Dead – Suede
Wonderful Life - BLACK
The Next Life - Suede
Holes - Mercury Rev
My Death - Brel (David Bowie version)

For more information, please visit The Insatiable Ones Website

Travis "10 Songs" - Review

 

I'm a big fan os Travis. I've been following them, album by album and I really like the band. One of those bands that never disappoint you, and keep their soul and spirit intact. Also, they are, already an aged band, stabilised, with this, just like hundreds of other artists, you don't expect that they release something really new, something really different and original.

First, the album title is boring. "10 songs" for an album with 10 song is just too much lazy. The band already done this in the past, with "12 memories", which was a much better way to give the name to an album with 12 songs. I can't create sympathy with an album title like that."Untitled" would sound better.

The songs on the album lack a bit of energy. Too many acoustic guitars and strings. The first too songs are a bit slow, guided by piano riffs. Particularly, the "la-la-la" on "The Only Thing" are really annoying. The lyrics are simple, but the music sounds a bit like a pop songs from Coldplay. They lack sound and speed. A bit forgettable compared with Travis back catalogue. 

But, those 2 songs, comes the best song on the album, "Valentine" has everything that the previous two don't have. Dramatic lyrics, electric riffs, hard bass. It's a great moment of music, I wish the album would sound more like this. Then, the next 2 songs, sound again like the first two, slow, and a bit boring. "A Ghost" is, again a good moment, a danceable one. Actually, this song is a good example how the band did a great song, acoustically guided by a piano riff. It looks like a story-telling song, with e a bit a Western feeling. Wonderful. "All Fall Down" and "Kissing In The Wind" are, again, slow, but this time more emotional, better ones. Although they don't compare with Travis classic ballad songs (like Luv or Some Sad Song) they are OK. 

"Nina's Song" is my second favourite song. Although its"sugary" and Christmas sound, is a gerat one. The chorus are beautiful with all the backing vocals. Again, this kind of ballads are funny and beautiful and don't make Travis look like a pop piano sensation.

The last song is a piano ballad. Ok but a bit irrelevant.

I love the band, that's why I'm being a bit harsh on this review. The album is OK but it's not the band on their best shape. Their previous works were far better and if I saw them live soon, aside from 3 songs, I wouldn't like them to play too much from this album. 

6/10 

Bicep "Isles" - Review

 

Bicep, the Northern Irish electronic duo, came to me when I saw them at Primavera Sounds festival in Porto some years ago. Typically, they aren't my style of music, although I've been listening to more and more electronic instrumental music. 

I would say that Bicep are very different from the typical "raves music" or the acid techno. Their sound is very very clean, you can listen to every different timbre, they don't overlap each other (like some of their contemporaries sometimes do).The riffs are mysterious, with a lot of keyboard work and a lot of songwriting, lots of melodies. Again, however there are really a lot of different sounds at the same time, they don't mash in a bad way, they mix in a very good way. You can hear every melody, you don't just hear noise. And, their trademark, and probably my favourite thing about their music, they have really strong background bass (check their most famous song, "Just"). Some of their songs evolve around the hard bass, and although they have high riffs, it's the bass that you search for. 

They just released their second album "Isles", it reached #2 on the UK charts (which is an extraordinary result for this kind of music) and it is facing very positive critical acclaim. 

The album is very direct in their style. Everything that I wrote above, sums on the album. Beautiful keyboards, a lot of melodies, very clean, all sounds very separate from each other.

The best track is "X". I choose it because of the bass. They are amazing, very very aggressive and strong. It's the perfect background for its industrial riffs. The singer gives a soft feel to it, but, again, the bass does everything, gives soul and personality to the song. It's the perfect example way I like the duo.

Then, you have very chill ambient moments, like "Sundial" or "Lido" which are perfect for a gin tonic near the sea. Simples and spacious. "Rever" and "Fir" are for some harder long nights. "Saku" is a bit more poppy, but it is also one of the best moments of the album. Funny, I said that Rever and Fir are for long nights, "Saku" is for a long long afternoon on the beach. The first 3 songs of the album are also not so aggressive, a bit commercial too. Songs that make Bicep opened to a wider audience, and thank God for that. 

As an overall, this album is perfect to be played almost in any time of the day. It give you energy in the morning, it relax you in the afternoon, making it the perfect company for a drink and makes you dance at night.  Bicep are probably the most interesting and innovating scene on electronic music these days.

7/10