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')