Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

At a time when you can't look at any music website without the inevitable 'Best of 2008' lists, I've refrained from doing my own, for the simple reason that I'm not decisive enough. My choices would vary wildly on a daily basis, and, such has been my rapid turnover of records recently, I'd probably omit something that I enjoyed in February in favour of a record from November.

Instead, what I've been doing on here in the last few weeks is post a smattering of my favourites from this year. This hasn't really been a conscious effort, it goes back to my original point, that this is the time of year when you start to look back. Therefore, perverse to the last, I'm ending 2008 not with fireworks, but with a gentle whisper in the form of For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver.

It's one of 2008's most blogged records, and a staple in the aforementioned best of lists, but I still felt I wanted to put my two penn'oth in. Jeremy Warmsley recently pointed out on Drowned in Sound that nobody seems to be capable of talking about this album without mentioning it being recorded in a log cabin, but in the unlikely event that J Wo is reading this, I'm going to irk him further. Perhaps it's psychological conditioning from reading it so many times, but on listening to the album, I immediately feel transported to a shack in the middle of nowhere. In my opinion, the surroundings are central to the atmosphere of the album, they are at the heart of every gentle strum, every note that Justin Vernon breathes.

In short, it's a beautiful album. Highlights for me include 'Skinny Love', and closing track 're:Stacks'. It's short (9 tracks, and less than 40 minutes), but brevity is a virtue in this case. No need to over-egg the pudding. I'm a great believer that there are good and bad times of the day to listen to a record, and in this case it's very much a 'wee small hours' job. Last night I listened to it at about 3AM, and it's the most I've enjoyed it.

Bon Iver has a new EP coming out in the new year, called 'Blood Bank' and it seems pretty good. This is just one of a number of new records due out in 2009 (both definite and just rumoured) which I'm looking forward to getting my hands on. After a few weeks of looking back at 2008, I'm now planning to spend some time looking forward to next year. There's no point thinking about album of the year 2009 contenders though. Not because it's too early, but because Animal Collective have clearly already claimed that with their mind-bogglingly good Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Download: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Merz - Moi et Mon Camion

Merz (or Conrad Lambert, to his nearest and dearest) released his first album all of 9 years ago. However, until about 6 months ago, he had completely passed me by. Which is strange, because from what I can gather, his eponymous debut arrived with a blaze of major label backing, critical acclaim, and the inevitable high expectations.

As is so often the case, the album didn't make a big enough splash to satisfy the money-men. Merz managed to wriggle free of Sony BMG, and didn't resurface for another 6 years until he released 'Loveheart' which, not surprisingly, was free of the millstone of press expectation after such a long quiet period. Shamefully, in spite of how much I love the album I've uploaded, Moi et Mon Camion, I haven't heard his first two, so I can't comment on them. They are, however, very high on my ludicrously long to-buy list!

The album is a beautifully constructed folky record about travelling, which takes its name (translation - Me and my van) from Conrad's regular removals company. Apparently he's done a lot more moving than the average man (well, who the hell has a regular removals company?!) and this has informed his work. It's delicate, often touching, and occasionally swerves in unexpected directions; 'Shun (Sad Eyed Days)', for example has a funky, almost sleazy edge to it.

Merz appears to be an unpredictable soul, a rare breath of fresh air to whom little matters more than his music. Dumping Sony was a bold move, but showed integrity. His album is a gorgeous gem, and deserves to be high in the 'Best of 08' lists, but probably won't be.

Download: Merz - Moi et Mon Camion

The Futureheads - News and Tributes

On Friday night I saw The Futureheads at The Sage in Gateshead. It was the first time I'd seen them in a couple of years, which is absolutely criminal, because it meant I had forgotten just how exciting a band they are.

The Futureheads got off to a flying start with their brilliant eponymous debut, a record which was one of the pick of 2004's deluge of jerky, post-punk bands and sold by the barrell. They came back in 2006 with News and Tributes which was billed as a more mature, less one-dimensional effort than the first record.

The album really is a genuine progression from the debut. They showed a lightness of touch which hadn't been evident previously. This was at it's peak on title track 'News and Tributes' and 'Burnt' (which, incidentally, remains my favourite Futureheads song).

The new-found maturity didn't cost the band any of the thrill factor and excitement that had made them so great in the first place. In fact, songs like 'Yes / No', and 'Favours for Favours' are more exhilarating than pretty much anything on the debut.

However, the wheels inexplicably came off for them at this point. The record went relatively un-noticed by the record-buying public, and there was eventually a parting of the ways between the band and their record company, 679. To this day, I still don't understand just why the album didn't push them further up the indie ladder, because I still think it's their best work.

With the release of their third record 'This is Not the World', I'm pleased to see that they've managed to regain some of the momentum lost with the second album. This is gratifying as The Futureheads are an exciting, innovative band, who also seem like a decent group of blokes, and it would be a loss to music if they were to call it a day.

Download: The Futureheads - News and Tributes

Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

I had a post Christmas party hangover the other day and needed something to soothe my head on the bus trip. I eventually opted for The Sophtware Slump by Grandaddy, a record I hadn't listened to for a fair few months. Even in my delicate state, I was immediately reminded of just how incredible an album it is.

It's a melancholic album, a bit low-fi, and is absolutely brimming with ideas. It's these ideas that make it such an attractive prospect. Jed the Humanoid is a great example of this. This is a song about a family who build a robot who subsequently drinks himself to death, but not before leaving behind some poetry (also included as a song on the album). It sounds like a ridiculous idea, and in any other hands it wouldn't work. But far from being cloying and ham-fisted, it's real lump in the throat stuff.

It's not all a sentiment fest though. The distorted guitars are turned right up on Chartsengrafs and Broken Household Appliance National Forest (my favourite). The whole album's a treat from start to finish. I don't quite understand why this is the only Grandaddy record I own. I think I might just be scared the others won't match up. Even if they didn't though, nothing can detract from the perfection of The Sophtware Slump

Download: Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

Frightened Rabbit are a band who have been around for a couple of years, but only came to my attention about 6 months ago with the gathering acclaim for their second album The Midnight Organ Fight.

Adding a spit and polish and smoothing off some of the edges from 2007's debut Sing the Greys, they've produced one of the albums of 2008, and rightly garnered a barrelload of positive press in indie circles.

The Midnight Organ Fight is a record of strong indie pop, like a likeable version of REM. Singer Scott Hutchinson's sheer Scottishness is only topped by the singers from The Twilight Sad and Glasvegas, which I think is another reason I like the band (I don't know why, but I've always been a sucker for a Scottish accent on record. Perhaps it's down to Idlewild being at the core of my formative musical years).

One of the strongest elements of the record is the sharpness of the lyrics, which are laced through with a slightly tongue-in-cheek maudlin feel. For example on Good Arms vs Bad Arms:

'I'm armed with the past, and the will, and a brick
I might not want you back, but i want to kill him'

FR are clearly flavour of the month among the indie kids at present, and with good cause, but they'll need to keep up the momentum they've worked to craft themselves. Album number 3 needs to be pretty special, but there's no reason why it shouldn't be.

Download: Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

Medium 21 - Killings From the Dial

Today's choice is a slightly obscure one, in the form of short-lived Northampton indie-ites Medium 21.

They knocked out a few EPs between 2002 and 2003, most notably Plans Aren't Enough on indie's cuddliest label, Fierce Panda, before releasing their only album, Killings From the Dial on FP's sister label Temptation. It's consistently been one of my favourite records in the five years that have passed.

It's an album of scuffed, wistful indie, with more than a nod to the likes of the Flaming Lips and Grandaddy (which is probably why I like it). Singer Jon Clough had an unusual voice, at times almost sounding like he's being choked, but he was strangely listenable, adding an extra dimension to the way the band sounded.

It's a shame they never made it past album one, because the newer songs they were playing while touring the first album suggested they were going to go on to bigger and better things. I presume they just got swallowed up when Temptation disappeared after just a couple of releases.

This is an ideal wintry record, recommended listening for when the rain's hammering your window and you're all toasty warm indoors.

Download: Medium 21 - Killings From the Dial

Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted

This weekend, with my schedule cleared, and time on my hands to indulge my whims, I decided to carry out an experiment. That is, I chose to listen to nothing but Pavement. No real reason, really, it's just that though I've always liked Pavement, I don't feel like I 've listened to them enough to fully appreciate them.

I suppose there was a danger that forcing myself to listen to one band solidly for two days would make me sick of them, and that might be the case with a duller band, but not Pavement.

One thing I love about Pavement is the quality of their deluxe reissues. 3 (soon to be 4) of their 5 studio albums have been re-released with a ridiculous load of extra b-sides / session tracks and live recordings. Each release has 40+ songs on.

After this weekend, I think Slanted and Enchanted is my favourite Pavement album. It's the perfect distillation of their scuzzy slacker pop. Though they kept the quality high throughout their run as a band, I don't think they ever managed to top this. The 'Luxe and Reduxe' package has some amazing extra off-cuts too, including a fantastic alternate version of 'Here' and a great live recording from Brixton.

Limiting myself to one band this weekend turned out pretty great, so I'm going to have a go at it again at some point. Suggestions are welcome as to who. They'll need to have enough material to sustain me for a whole weekend, mind...!

Download:

Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted (Luxe and Reduxe) Disc 1

Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted (Luxe and Reduxe) Disc 2

Deerhunter - Cryptograms

At the minute, you can't move in the music press for people raving about Deerhunter, largely as a result of their mind-bogglingly good newie Microcastle.

However, what first brought Bradford Cox and his mates to my attention was their second record, Cryptograms. This is a two-headed beast of an album, equal parts dreamy ambience and murky guitar pop. In a nutshell, it's a fantastic piece of work, the classic example of a real grower.

Bradford is the hardest working musician I'm aware of. He knocks out Deerhunter albums for fun (Microcastle came with a free surprise bonus album), releasing solo material under his solo moniker Atlas Sound, as well as giving away all manner of free songs on his blog. More amazingly, the quality rarely dips.

If you haven't yet discovered this man's work, you have a rich seam to mine. And I'm a bit jealous to be honest. So why not start at the same place I did, by downloading Cryptograms?

Download: Deerhunter - Cryptograms

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

When we talk about American bands, indie seems to represent a different thing than it does in the UK. American indie bands tend to consist of geeky blokes with bad clothes and a sharp sense of a pop hook. Over here, indie has become something of a dirty word. It seems to be more about painfully fashionable kids in too-tight jeans with absolutely dreadful hair chugging out bland, lazy and forgettable dirges. I think the Americans have got it right on this one.

Look no further than The Shins for an example. I would suggest that they are the archetypal American Indie band. Their second album, Chutes Too Narrow is, in my opinion, their defining record. (Others would disagree, and say their debut O, Inverted World is their best. This is a good sign - No one album wonders, this lot).

At the risk of peddling an over-used phrase, this record really is PERFECT POP. James Mercer and co drift their way through half an hour of quirky melodic songs whose sunniness masks some occasionally dark lyrics ('And secretly I want to bury in the yard, the grey remains of a friendship scarred')

There are odd whispers (and occasional full-throated screams) of the Beach Boys in the harmonies, and Turn a Square is not far short of a full-scale hoe-down. Quite frankly, if you only ever download one album from me, then this must be it. Do it now!

Download: The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

Parenthetical Girls - Safe as Houses

Parenthetical Girls are a screwy bunch of popsters from Portland, Oregon. They first came to my attention when I saw Gareth from Los Campesinos! (Currently my favourite band in the world), mention them as being one of his favourites. Singer Zac Pennington also contributed a piece to the fanzine Los Camps gave away with their recent album, We are Beautiful, We are Doomed.

Safe as Houses is their second album. On first listen, it's an interesting piece of xylophone-laden experimental pop, distinguished by Zac's none-less-masculine vocals. Delve further into the record, and the songs embed themselves into your consciousness. It's not long before it becomes apparent that the record has a number of central themes at its core throughout; Sex, gender and reproduction.

From here, what sounds on the face of it to be a pretty piece of work has a slightly grubbier feel to it. And it's all the better for it. This gives it more depth, and means I will be far likelier to continue to come back to it in the future. Download it and let me know what you think.

Download: Parenthetical Girls - Safe as Houses

Mew - ...and the Glass-Handed Kites

Mentioning Mew in the Kissaway Trail post last week got me all nostalgic for them. It feels like a long time since they released their last album, Mew and the Glass-Handed Kites, the second to be released over here (after Frengers, which was a kind of mini best-of, pulling together the highlights from their first two albums).

The album is, quite simply, nuts. It's the sort of record that not many people try to pull off any more, segueing seamlessly from track to track so it's almost like one long piece of music right through. I love the ambition of it, in that respect it's like one of my favourite records, Mansun's Six.

In spite of it's proggy leanings, it's extremely listenable. There are even some fairly poppy sections on the album (Special for example). It's peppered with gorgeous, spine tingling moments as well, where Jonas Bjerre's voice, which has to be heard to be believed can soar to incredible heights.

To fully appreciate how special Mew are, you need to see them live. They always make the show a feast for eyes as well as ears with their film projections. Hopefully when they get their next album out, they'll make it back over to Blighty, but in the meantime download this album and let the gorgeous insanity wash over you.

Download: Mew - Mew and the Glass-Handed Kites

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

When I was on my Uni placement year in France, I was pretty starved of new music, so I started a habit that would go on to serve me well over the years to come, buying an album by a band I had heard of but never actually heard.

The first of what now amounts to dozens of this type of purchase was Logic Will Break Your Heart by The Stills. On first listen, it seemed like a pretty bleak piece of work (pretty ideal for someone who was hundreds of miles from home, actually!)

After a while though, something else starts to come through in the album. It's not exactly humour per se, but there's a sense that the dark mood around the record (largely wrought by a combination of Tim's brooding vocals and the Interpol-esque basslines) is masking a band who don't take themselves too seriously, in spite of all their talk of 'Massive suicide dreams'. Don't get me wrong, they're not We Are Scientists or anything like that, but I get the impression they aren't quite the miserabilists they might appear.

That The Stills' subsequent releases haven't yet quite managed to re-attain the heights of this record isn't really a surprise, because they set themselves a pretty high watermark here. In fact, they set a lot of people a high watermark, because Logic Will Break Your Heart is the benchmark for jangly guitar bands with menacing undertones.

Download: The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

Brakes - Give Blood

Brakes were originally a knockabout side project for various Brighton musicians (most notably Tom and Alex White of The Electric Soft Parade and Eamon Hamilton of British Sea Power, though technically the band formed before Eamon joined BSP).

However, on the back of their first singles and the album Give Blood, the momentum of the band gathered fairly swiftly, eventually forcing Eamon to leave his day job, and Tom and Alex to put ESP a little to one side for a while.

The record is a short sharp blast of quirky pop. Some songs don't even make it past the 10 second mark. It is often silly, sometimes even nonsensical, but always a lot of fun. The pivotal track is All Nite Disco Party which fits all the above criteria and lobs in a hypnotic bass riff for good measure.

Brakes' slight country leanings are hinted at with their cover of Jackson (most famously recorded by Johnny Cash and June Carter). This is an avenue which would be explored further on If I Should Die Tonight on their second long-player The Beatific Visions.

Give Blood is such an enjoyable album, and remains so on repeat listens because they keep it nice and short. Brakes slap you round the head with their daftness and make their escape before you have time to get sick of them.

Download: Brakes - Give Blood

The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail

The Kissaway Trail appeared in my world about a year back when someone put Smother + Evil = Hurt on a mix CD for me. I snapped up their debut album pretty much straight after, and I've had a mega soft spot for it ever since.

It would be unfair to really compare them with their countrymen Mew because they aren't really doing the same things, but what the two Danish bands do have in common is a wide-eyed, dream-like quality to their music.

There's a sense of Arcade Fire at times on their album (particularly on the more upbeat songs like La La Song) - all handclaps and group choruses. There are some pretty lovely moments on the record, made all the more tender by the vocals.

The Kissaway Trail is an album to warm you up on these cold winter mornings.

Download: The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail

The Besnard Lakes - ...Are the Dark Horse

Today's post is one of my favourite albums of last year. The Besnard Lakes are another fantastic band from Canada, and The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse is their second record.

It's an incredible piece of work. Like so many bands, they are often cited as being influenced by the Beach Boys. This is mainly because they make use of the harmonies and falsetto vocals Brian Wilson employed. Let's make it clear, sun-drenched pop this ain't. One look at the song titles tells you that (Disaster, Devastation etc).

The album is at it's best when the layers of sound pile up, particularly on the aforementioned Devastation. It's probably not an album you're likely to listen to every single day, but it's a rewarding listen which should definitely be in any serious music fan's collection.

Download: The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse

The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site

Okay then, I've decided to go for a different approach on here. From here on in, I intend to update more often, and rather than being such a tease by posting one song or so, I'm going to upload a full album at a time. However, the principle remains the same: These albums will be here to provide you with a taster of an artist. I'm sure you realise that buying a CD is so much more satisfying than just having some cold MP3s on your hard drive. You can't hug a download. If any artists / labels take exception to an upload, drop me a line at easyworldpaul at hotmail dot com and I'll happily take it down.

So I don't really have a grand plan for what to upload, I'm just going to be sticking up whatever takes my fancy. I'll more than likely be uploading something that's new to me, be it a lost classic or a hot newie. And in that spirit, my first offering is Reconstruction Site by The Weakerthans.

Coming onto the scene at the arse-end of slacker-pop, they're more Death Cab than Pavement. This is a record of smart, sunny American (well, Canadian to be accurate) Indie. Songs

like Benediction show warmth and bring to mind Colin Meloy in his less bombastic moments, while at other times they recall Weezer in their better days.

You can't escape the fact that The Weakerthans' marketplace is an overcrowded one, but there's more than enough playfulness and experimentation here to keep your interest and ensure you'll keep coming back to the record long after you're bored with Plans.

Download: The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site

Doesn't Matter Much

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I think there's a perverse pleasure to be had when you're enjoying a support act at a gig and the stranger next to you goes 'They're rubbish, this lot'. Immediately your inner superiority complex is building up a caricature of them as luddite swamp-dwellers who only know one band, while you are, of course, the oracle of indie knowledge and open-mindedness. (It's definitely just me, isn't it?)

This kind of happened last night watching Rolo Tomassi supporting Blood Red Shoes. The misguided souls next to me were definitely not enjoying them, and I'm almost certain it was largely because of the fearsome roarings of singer Eva, who, on stage, sounds more like a hairy, leather-clad biker than a tiny, softly-spoken girl from Sheffield.

Me, I loved them though. I've had the album a few weeks now, (one of my classic 'buy before you try' punts which almost always work out for the best), and it's grown on me after some initial trepidation.

If you can get past the voice (which, actually, I quite like now), there's some fantastic, crazy stuff going on underneath. It kind of seemed like they'd written about 50 30-second snippets of songs and played them back-to-back in a completely random order. Really fast, energetic, mad synthy bits and absolutely deafening guitars. They were definitely not one of the dreaded 'blend into the wallpaper' support bands who are inflicted on you far too often.

As for Blood Red Shoes, they were as good as they always are. The last time I saw them was in Academy 2 a few weeks before the album came out. This marked the start of an obsession that developed pretty rapidly and meant I was looking forward to last night's gig at the Academy 2 more than usual.

The thing that's always struck me about Blood Red Shoes is how fucking noisy they are for a two-piece. Last night was no exception. Steven's drumming in particular is just brilliant. I don't think I'd noticed until last night just how good he actually is.

The band still have the same vigour and aggression that was there when I first saw them supporting Metric at Newcastle Uni about 18 months ago. They blasted through most of the album, and in spite of the fact they've been playing most of these songs for three years or more now, they don't really sound like they're tired of them. Having said that, the three new songs were a welcome addition, and don't suggest that they've decided to reinvent the wheel any time soon (No point changing a winning formula for the sake of it).

The highlight of the set for me was Say Something, Say Anything. I don't really know how Steven can sing a song about losing his Dad at such a young age every night, and still keep it together. It generates a few goosebumps, that one.

Weirdly, the Academy seemed to get emptier as the night went on. Perhaps it was something to do with that horrible smell of sweaty peardrops that filled the air (FAO Academy Management: For God's sake, clean your air-con, or carpets or whatever the fuck makes that stench. Even in these testing economic times, I'm sure you can stretch to that). In spite of the dwindling crowd, the turn-out was pretty good considering Monday's staunch competition for people's ever-diminishing entertainment buck which came in the form of Elbow, Newcastle v Man City and, ahem, Lee Evans.

There have been reports that Laura and Steven have been known to have the odd falling-out, but their onstage chemistry was great last night (and it always has been whenever I've seen them play). They're relaxed with each other, and not dwarved by the extra space that would normally be occupied by the rest of a band. Their banter was lively and included Steven spectacularly losing a £100 bet that he could talk in some ridiculous shrill Cockney bootblack accent all night. He barely lasted three songs, much to Laura's obvious delight.

I'm guessing this tour pretty much marks the end of them promoting the album, and I expect them to hole up to record the follow-up pretty soon, but I hope it doesn't take them as long as it did to get the first one out. If it does, here's hoping they break up the recording sessions with regular gigging.

I've uploaded a sample of Rolo Tomassi and two of my favourite songs from the Blood Red Shoes album.

Rolo Tomassi - Nine

Blood Red Shoes - It's Getting Boring by the Sea

Blood Red Shoes - Say Something, Say Anything

My Weakness

This week, The Times are giving away free copies of what they deem to be seminal albums. Me being me, I've let Monday and Tuesday pass me by. As it turns out, that's been no great loss, as all I've missed has been Love and Joy Division. Both fantastic bands, but also bands I already know pretty well.

Today's freebie, however, has been Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain. JAMC were a band I've been meaning to explore for a while, but I just never got round to it. On first listen, Psychocandy sounds like a great album of feedback-laden guitar freakery. It seems quite ahead of it's time in a lot of ways, and it's easy to see why so many bands cite it as an influence. But enough words have been written about that record in the 23 years since it was released, so I'm not going to dwell on it.

One of the major effects Psychocandy has had on me is to make me want to listen to A Place to Bury Strangers' eponymous debut. APtBS are clearly one of the dozens of bands who have taken JAMC as their musical blueprint. But what is fantastic about them is that they've taken this scuzzy, feedback-drenched sound, which to be honest has been done countless times before, and infused it with a real nasty, menacing feel.

Listening to their album, you have no choice but to listen to it loud. Really loud. Every listen reveals more layers of fuzzy guitar which burrow their way into your skull. The drum machine which is present on a lot of the songs is an inspired addition to the overall feel. Hearing quite crisp, clean drumming underneath such manky-sounding guitars adds to the complete headfuck of the album.

Basically, it's a filthy bastard of a record. It's the sound of freaking out. I'd go so far as to say that I think it was my favourite album of last year. There's so much to explore with it, that it stands up to any number of repeat listens. Download these songs, but don't expect tuneage. Expect horrible, psychedelic, trippy NOISE!

Missing You

To Fix the Gash in Your Head

Always the Storm

It's a prety handy thing at times, this internet, isn't it? All this power at your fingertips. One day you can be sitting there in your comfy leather armchair smugly thinking to yourself 'I know ALL the good bands, nothing gets past me'. Then, one quick surf later, and you realise that there are literally THOUSANDS of bands out there making noises you didn't think were possible. Credit for my most recent little epiphany is due to http://www.myinlandempire.co.uk/ upon which I stumbled via Drowned in Sound, and from which I've shamelessly pilfered dozens of albums (which has consequently resulted in hundreds of pounds of extra expenditure on CDs)

Among countless other discoveries, I've been lucky enough to be introduced to Glissando, a band from Leeds who are responsible for some of the most gorgeous noises I've ever heard in my life.

Their sound is unhurried, often melodic, and at times experimental and the album drifts over you like sleep. It's undoubtedly a record to listen to on headphones in the small hours. The lazy among us might lump them in with the Post-Rock crowd, but in reality their album 'With Our Arms Wide Open, We March Towards the Burning Sea' is a much more other-worldly proposition altogether . A lot of the eerie feel to the album is to do with their singer Ellie May Irving who has this incredible, haunting voice that can make you completely flimsy in the knee-joints.

Glissando are part of a really exciting group of bands which is emerging, mainly from Leeds. (Well, something good had to come out of there, eh?!) Along with bands like Vessels, I Concur, Her Name is Calla and, to an extent, iLiKETRAiNS, they are making immersive, ambitious noise with influences extending way beyond the usual clowns like The Libertines and The Jam.

They make a great case in favour of buying music rather than just downloading it too. Their artwork is as gorgeous as their music, particularly a Limited Edition live CD they've released recently. Each of the 100 copies comes in some lovely hand-made packaging. So as well as downloading the two songs I've posted, why not get over to http://gizehrecords.bigcartel.com/products and spend a few pounds?

Grekken

White Silence and the Fragile Reality

NB For the attention of any Leodensians. I was only joking. Your city is perfectly alright. You just have a horrible football club.

About Time

It's seven years since I started uni and began with my musical education (bollocks to International Business Management, who really cared about that?!) Flush with the newfound wealth of a student loan and what I assumed was a bottomless overdraft, I decided to go to as many gigs as I could, and take chances on albums I'd never heard. Consequently, some time towards the end of 2001, I read a few positive reviews of 'Asleep in the Back' by Elbow, and took a punt on it. Not long after, they blew me away in the Basement of Newcastle Uni (my first proper gig, notwithstanding those headlined by chart-topping bands at that giant cowshed by the Redheugh).

Since then, they've been the model of a 'critically acclaimed' band (Sorry, I hate that term. It's just lazy). They're now on their fourth album, each of which has been reliably brilliant. None of them have quite got me like Asleep in the Back did, but nothing this good ever has the same impact as it does the first time round.

You can almost set your watch by what you'll get from each new Elbow album. Killer lines you can steal on Valentines day? Yep. Mordant wit? Definitely. Surprising groove underpinning a couple of songs? Of course. Killer first single? Almost always. Knee-weakening bellowing from Guy? You knows it.

That's not to say that this is a boring band. Far from it. Knowing what to expect from a band doesn't make them dull. The fact of the matter is that Elbow are one of our warmest, most rewarding bands, especially in the live arena where Guy's voice can really get under your skin.

In a just world, they would be treasured by the record-buying public. But we all know that it isn't quality which dictates what sells, just as we know that the record-buying public (or what remains of them) are, for the most part, idiots.

So Elbow have been perpetually just below the radar. Big by the standards of picky buggers like me, small by the standards of Arena bands like Keaneplay and Embrace Patrol. Whether winning the Mercury Music Prize is their 'big push' remains to be seen, and it's pretty irrelevant anyway. What is good about their victory is the simple matter of public recognition. People talk about awards and chart positions and the like meaning nothing, and that's true when the winner is somebody shit. However, when it's a band like Elbow who've been quietly and effectively punching us in the chests for over a decade, it's heartwarming to hear an acceptance speech that goes,

"This is quite literally the best thing that's ever happened to us. I know I'm supposed to say something cool, but it's literally the best thing that has happened."

It's been argued that the Mercury can be the kiss of death for bands, but no band is less likely to have their heads turned by something like this than Elbow. It's also been argued that their victory is unjustified as the Mercury is meant to reward innovation, but that's pretty churlish. Far better Elbow win it than some tuneless fuckers with a rave fixation.

I've uploaded two of my favourite Elbow songs for your enjoyment:

Grounds for Divorce (from The Seldom Seen Kid)

Any Day Now (from Asleep in the Back)

You! Me! Dancing!

So Los Campesinos! appear to have done a Hear'Say (I never thought I'd say that!) and announced that their second album ('We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed') will follow their first by a mere matter of months. It's come as a bit of a surprise to me that they've got a new record ready so fast, but it's welcome news. (Especially given that my copy of their debut 'Hold on Now, Youngster' is going to wear out before too long.)

I was super-excited about this but also a touch nervous. How the fuck could they better the first one? Of all the albums I've bought in the last year, I come back to HON,Y far more than any other. I've always been a sucker for well-executed pop music, but when the lyrics are as sharp as this, then I'm clearly going to be totally snared. I mean, come on, how can anyone top,

'I'm not Bonnie Tyler, I'm not Toni Braxton, and this song is not gonna save your relationship. Oh no...Shit!'

I love that they pay little heed to the frankly trivial matter of making words fit within the boundaries of the music (thanks, Mr Malkmus!) On top of that, their titles are catchier than some bands' songs (thanks, Mr Morrissey!). Case in point: 'This is How You Spell, Hahaha, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics'.

There've been one or two grumblings in the past about the vocals (Gareth's voice might grate on a less friendly ear than mine, and Aleksandra's voice, while pretty, isn't strong). The lo-fi production has been accused of making the guitars sound a little anaemic, but these are positives to me. It's a messy record, which you might expect from a band who namecheck Pavement, but it suits. I love the Blood Red Shoes album, but that's perhaps a bit more polished than it should be, and it suffers slightly for it. Hold On Now, Youngster is nice reminder that brilliant pop can still sound slack.

It's difficult to know whether we'll be looking back on this in years to come as their best piece of work, or whether Los Campesinos! can go on to bigger and better things, but I'm pretty hopeful for the new one.

I've listened to it twice now, and the early signs are that they haven't simply taken the easy way out by trying to rehash their first album. Going back to Gareth's voice, it sounds a bit less snotty, and there's one or two welcome bits of experimentation on the album (see 'Heartswells / Pacific Daylight Time', which reminds me a bit of Broken Social Scene).

The positive elements of the first record are, thankfully, all still there. Given the short space of time since HON,Y, it's not surprising, but it still sounds reassuringly like Los Campesinos! particularly with the lovely use of violins.

The lyrics are still their major strength, and I think my favourite so far comes from 'It's Never That Easy, Though, is it? (Song For the Other Kurt)',

'I walked into the room to see my ex-girlfriend - who by the way I'm still in love with - sucking the face of some pretty boy, with my favourite band's most popular song in the background. Is it wrong that I can't decide which bothers me most?'

Ultimately, I think the main reason I love Los Campesinos! as much as I do is that they are a band who are obsessed with bands. The indie snob in me likes nothing better than to play spot-the-reference. Mix that with the headrush of guitars and it's a total winner.

Anyway, here's a sample of LC! old and new:

Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks (From 'Hold On Now, Youngster')

Miserabilia (Opening track to 'We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed')