Album Club 2019 : IDLES - JOY AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE

Liam wrote:The Ideal Crash

After a really promising start, I unfortunately ended up being dissatisfied by this album. I instantly loved the opening track 'put the freaks up front.' It's got punk sensibilities with some crunching guitars and moody vocals, but seems to employ a variety of different sounds and instruments to keep it edgy and fresh, I really dig this track. However, this is pretty much where my' love' for this album ends. I use the word 'love' because I still enjoy parts of this album, and certain things it tries. For example, the guitar solo in 'Sister Dew' is very experimental and not your generic crowd pleasing solo, and the song then builds to a satisfying cruschendo with some swelling synths. One Advice, Space, has a very spooky and catchy synth riff which I loved. However what surrounds these components are relatively dreary, Radiohead-lite songs that all seem to employ the same tempo and all far outstay their welcome, usually lasting about 5 and a half minutes - ultimately testing my patience. I could go on naming individual components I enjoyed, but the formula remains the same for me throughout - there's always some stuff I like but it's surrounded by things that bore me.

I want to highlight that I think this album has many positives and alot of merit. But I think ultimately, in the context of Album club, 1 week probably isn't long enough to really get to love this album, not for me anyways, as it's obviously trying to be more than just a group of catchy songs. But even if I had longer than one week, I don't think this album would ever be my personal cup of tea!

Harry wrote:Review: dEUS - The Ideal Crash.

The Ideal Crash's shining feature is its consistent use of creatively quirky instrumentation. From Instant Street's plucky banjo to Everybody's Weird's goofy synths, dEUS make every effort to bolster their sound with an assortment of interesting instruments. Unfortunately, this doesn't prevent The Ideal Crash from sinking into monotone mediocrity.

Put The Freaks Up Front is the standout cut of The Ideal Crash. With vocals that embody every possible definition of 'super strawberry floating cool', Tom Barman channels a moody grunge style to phenomenal effect. The second verse's funky background brass further cements the vibe, and what a vibe it is!

But alas, following its top notch opener, The Ideal Crash sinks into the pits of 'a bit bland'. As background music, it ticks the necessary boxes, but dEUS are evidently capable of much, much more.

A lack of spark lets down what (based on Put The Freaks Up Front) could have been a stupendous album. Still, a hefty helping of great instrumentation showcases dEUS's abundance of talent and creative potential.

Jonathan wrote:Album 2 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens

https://open.spotify.com/album/5R6n0UMJ ... bMDFdgU0Xw

I toyed with many different possible choices for this year, conscious of the fact I get attacked for always favouring female-fronted synth-pop. Unfortunately all the male-fronted bands I like tend to sit firmly within the synth camp, so I've opted to drop the synth instead and stick with the ladies.

Enter Baskery, a trio of effortlessly cool and talented sisters hailing from Sweden, playing their hard-to-pigeonhole Americana that they have coined as "Banjo-punk" or "Mud Country".

Initially starting out in a band with their father, called "The Slaptones", they've been touring as a three-piece now for over a decade, and have the kind of harmonies and flow that only comes from bands who have literally known each other since birth and been together ever since.

This is one of the single greatest live acts you will ever see, even if here in the UK the only place you'll find them is at festivals or in tiny little pubs and cafes up and down the country. Only recently has the energy and playfulness of their live performances managed to translate across into an LP, and Coyote & Sirens is therefore their "Joshua Tree" moment where a cohesive feel and sound has finally been captured.

Sunniva provides lead vocals, and guitar, and will be found frantically high-kicking the air and jumping on the drum kit.

Middle-child Stella plays the double-bass.

Eldest sister Greta steals the show however. You'll see her sat on a stool in the middle of the stage, with a harness around her neck that allows her to simultaneously play Banjo/Banjitar/Slide Guitar/Acoustic Guitar with her hands, drums with her feet, and harmonica with her mouth, while still finding time to harmonise vocally. It's quite an abundance of talent to witness, and never fails to impress.

Aware of their live performance skills, previous albums opted to record their songs "live" with all instruments in a single room - however, the end result was a sound that came across as somewhat amateur, and never quite matched up to their potential.

In 2014, the sisters moved to Nashville, and were briefly signed to Warner Brothers, where they recorded three singles that were vastly different in style to their ordinary work, but proved very popular and raised their profile. That same year saw them support Robbie Williams on tour, which came as a surprise to everyone - but to his credit, he was so impressed with them he actually worked them into his main set and had them come back out and play/sing on a number of his own songs during the tour.

They parted ways with WB shortly after (reasons unknown) and then recorded this album inspired by their time spent in the USA. Their influences list the likes of Neil Young and Janis Joplin, so if you like classic Americana with a dash of country/folk styling, and just generally like to stomp your feet to some good music, this band will get you moving.

They remain entirely independent and self-published on this record, but they clearly learned a few tricks from their time at WB, as it's their most cohesive and polished album to date, and is a great example of their capability.

Enjoy! Or don't. I'm not your Dad.

more heat than light wrote:OK, so randomly picked out of the few that reviewed - this week's pick is brought to you by Jonathan.

Jonathan wrote:Album 2 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens

https://open.spotify.com/album/5R6n0UMJ ... bMDFdgU0Xw

I toyed with many different possible choices for this year, conscious of the fact I get attacked for always favouring female-fronted synth-pop. Unfortunately all the male-fronted bands I like tend to sit firmly within the synth camp, so I've opted to drop the synth instead and stick with the ladies.

Enter Baskery, a trio of effortlessly cool and talented sisters hailing from Sweden, playing their hard-to-pigeonhole Americana that they have coined as "Banjo-punk" or "Mud Country".

Initially starting out in a band with their father, called "The Slaptones", they've been touring as a three-piece now for over a decade, and have the kind of harmonies and flow that only comes from bands who have literally known each other since birth and been together ever since.

This is one of the single greatest live acts you will ever see, even if here in the UK the only place you'll find them is at festivals or in tiny little pubs and cafes up and down the country. Only recently has the energy and playfulness of their live performances managed to translate across into an LP, and Coyote & Sirens is therefore their "Joshua Tree" moment where a cohesive feel and sound has finally been captured.

Sunniva provides lead vocals, and guitar, and will be found frantically high-kicking the air and jumping on the drum kit.

Middle-child Stella plays the double-bass.

Eldest sister Greta steals the show however. You'll see her sat on a stool in the middle of the stage, with a harness around her neck that allows her to simultaneously play Banjo/Banjitar/Slide Guitar/Acoustic Guitar with her hands, drums with her feet, and harmonica with her mouth, while still finding time to harmonise vocally. It's quite an abundance of talent to witness, and never fails to impress.

Aware of their live performance skills, previous albums opted to record their songs "live" with all instruments in a single room - however, the end result was a sound that came across as somewhat amateur, and never quite matched up to their potential.

In 2014, the sisters moved to Nashville, and were briefly signed to Warner Brothers, where they recorded three singles that were vastly different in style to their ordinary work, but proved very popular and raised their profile. That same year saw them support Robbie Williams on tour, which came as a surprise to everyone - but to his credit, he was so impressed with them he actually worked them into his main set and had them come back out and play/sing on a number of his own songs during the tour.

They parted ways with WB shortly after (reasons unknown) and then recorded this album inspired by their time spent in the USA. Their influences list the likes of Neil Young and Janis Joplin, so if you like classic Americana with a dash of country/folk styling, and just generally like to stomp your feet to some good music, this band will get you moving.

They remain entirely independent and self-published on this record, but they clearly learned a few tricks from their time at WB, as it's their most cohesive and polished album to date, and is a great example of their capability.

Enjoy! Or don't. I'm not your Dad.

Pedz wrote:I'm very bad at writing and articulating what I mean, so hopefully the above is OK.

Vince wrote:Sorry, I had the mother of all hangovers yesterday and could barely string 2 words together, let alone 200. So I'll make this brief as it's late...

My first listen of The Ideal Crash came whilst I was making a cheesecake, a blueberry and lemon cheesecake to be precise, and I think that cheesecake serves as the perfect analogy for this album. To look at it's constituent parts you would not think they would make something you would ever want to put anywhere near you mouth, but put in some time and effort and that mix of sweet, savory, sour and creamy turn into something delicate and beautiful. When listening to some of the songs in isolation they were often lost in the background, but the overall flow of the album is strong enough to overcome this on an extended listen, with each song complimenting the one that came before until you reach the end and you're left staring at an empty plate wanting just one more bite.

I think I've milked that cheesecake story for all it was worth there

It's not without it's flaws though, it get's a little bogged down towards the end and the vocals sometimes got lost in the mix, but for me the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. Great opening choice Steve and one I'll definitely be back to for more listening

Lowlight: The first half of Instant Street
Highlight: The second half of Instant Street

Ironhide wrote:Wait, MHTL is Steve!?

Mind strawberry floating blown.

So I almost had the review written for this one before I even listened to it. Jon's preamble had made me think this would be a fun but ultimately one-note banjo fest hoe-down. Which wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world, to be fair. I wasn't quite expecting the actual record to be this diverse, or dare I say... mature?

Of course things do kick off this way, with perhaps slightly more grit than I was anticipating (Wanna Tattoo in particular sounds like the inside of the worst bar in the US). These opening two tracks rattle along with plenty of energy and vibrancy and open the record in fine style. Then things drop in pace with the 60's Americana styled Cactus Baby, which wouldn't sound out of place on a Tarantino soundtrack. But from here we visit some very unexpected places.

The excellent Coup De Coeur Noir sounds a bit like something 90's Madonna might have made, especially in its breathy conclusion. And then we have the album highlight Hard On You, which is basically Coldplay at their most crowdpleasing and anthemic, but with all the pretention stripped out (in fact it has been replaced by some wonderfully sarcastic lyrics). It is absolutely joyous.

It's worth mentioning that despite some odd directions the record stands as a complete work, these influences are just that and the sound remains uniquely theirs. The banjo is ever present, the harmonies exceptional and everything fits together like the pieces of a jigsaw. Nothing every feels forced or crowbarred in.

I wanted to go looking for faults and I found two. The penultimate track 'Coins' is a bit B-Sidey, although this is wholly redeemed by the dreamy closer Confetti. And it really is annoying that Facebook keeps autocorrecting the band name to Basketry. That's it. That's all I've got.

9/10