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

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : dEUS - The Ideal Crash
by Jenuall » Sun Sep 22, 2019 7:16 pm

I've listened to it once but was going to try and give it a second crack tonight before posting my thoughts!

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : dEUS - The Ideal Crash
by more heat than light » Sun Sep 22, 2019 10:22 pm

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!

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : dEUS - The Ideal Crash
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 7:09 am

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.


I'll be back with the next pick shortly, I think we ended up with about five reviews which isn't the best, but I'll plod on for now.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : dEUS - The Ideal Crash
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 9:15 am

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.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Jenuall » Mon Sep 23, 2019 11:02 am

Bit late, but here's my views on the first album: dEUS- The Ideal Crash

I wanted to like this more than I did in the end, I will definitely echo the sentiments from others that I suspect I would have been much more into this if I had first heard it at the time. It's got a very 90's indie/grunge type sound to it that was very common and popular at the time but with hindsight it now feels like only a few examples of the style have really stood the test of time. There's clearly a lot of influence from Radiohead here, but it can't match up to the inspiration.

The opener Put The Freaks Up Front is not the strongest track to lead with, as I said in my early comments - it's too slow and doesn't really go anywhere, which can be fine if where it is sat is compelling and saying something interesting but in this case it just isn't connecting to me in any way. There's a lack of impetus and dynamic which sadly makes its way through most of the album - it's quite monotone and, without wanting to sounding too negative, a bit of a dirge at times.

Some tracks have a bit more pep to them, Sister Dew and The Magic Hour pick up a bit and have quite a nice light trippy sound to them which keeps things moving along nicely, Instant Street too has a brighter feel which works well and is probably my highlight from the album overall. The back half of the album seems to be trying harder to be "interesting" but that doesn't necessarily equate with good! Let's See Who Goes Down First is probably the highlight here, this has got a nice dark groove to it.

Oftentimes an album which may not have the most impressive sound can redeem itself with the lyrical content, having a decent message or simply some smart wordplay. But again this is an area where I just can't think of any occasions where the album really stood out, there's quite a lot of moaning going on and the writer is clearly expressing some frustrations around relationships and the place they find themselves in right now, but it doesn't really do anything special with that. It's neither hitting you with the stark honesty of the lyrics or producing any interesting imagery or allusions - it's just there - using their own term from One Advice, Space there is a lot of "inarticulate prose" here.

All of the above has sounded a bit damning which I think is probably unfair - it's a decent album but sadly I'm listening to it out of time and this genre and style no longer grips me in the way it may have done in the past, and if I do want to listen to something of this ilk there are sadly just much better options out there.

6/10

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:06 pm

Cheers Jenuall. Honestly the 'datedness' wasn't really a factor I had considered, I listened to it on release and probably am more accepting because of that. I think 90's music does probably suffer a bit more than other decades simply because of the style of music, whereas older stuff seems to age a bit better perhaps.

Thanks for the review anyway. :-)

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Jenuall » Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:19 pm

No worries, I've certainly heard worse albums and it was nice to listen to something in a style that I tend not to reach for that often any more!

Also I'm as guilty as any of having some of my favourite albums from the 90s which if listened to objectively today don't stand up nearly as well as I think they do. I still go to the Britpop shelf far more often than is healthy! :slol:

Last edited by Jenuall on Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Victor Mildew » Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:31 pm

My music collection is pretty much:

The 90s.
70s and earlier.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : dEUS - The Ideal Crash
by Ironhide » Mon Sep 23, 2019 3:22 pm

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.


I think it's safe to say Ii won't like that at all.

In the spirit of Album Club I will however give it a listen.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 3:25 pm

I've had it on this morning and was really impressed.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Ironhide » Mon Sep 23, 2019 3:52 pm

Halfway through my first listen and althouugh it certainly isn't my my kind of music, I don't actually hate it.

Some of it sounds a bit like 80s Fleetwood Mac (the vocals especially).

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Green Gecko » Mon Sep 23, 2019 4:39 pm

Shitposting and personal bickering has been deleted so this topic doesn't die a fiery death.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 4:53 pm

Ta GG.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Pedz » Mon Sep 23, 2019 6:29 pm

dEUS- The Ideal Crash

Put The Freaks Up Front - I think this is pretty a pretty decent song actually, it kind of reminds me of a cross between Radiohead and Placebo and while I'm not a Radiohead fan there are the odd songs I like by them. I dub this Song Placebohead.

Sister Dew - This I really liked, but as the song went on and more instruments were added I liked it less. I think it's better when there are fewer instruments playing, it just has that kind of vibe.

One Advice, Space - I know this will sound like a joke, but I thought the music right at the beginning of the track was Bond-esue :lol: I think it's sounding more like radiohead now and I'm liking it less.

The Magic Hour - Not really into this song in general, but around the 4:30 mark to about 5:00 the music is lovely.

The Ideal Crash - The first half of the is, to me, monotonous and dull. The second half picks up a bit, but while it loses the monotony it's still, for me, dull.

Instant Street - I think this is kind of a more catchy tune than what I've heard so far, I just don't think it's for me. The music only section doesn't really add to the song, and I'm sure I've heard the riffs in other various songs. I could, of course, be very wrong there though.

Magdelena - I think I've hit a point where I've lost interest in the album. I think the mix of music being mostly chilled slow and aimless feeling isn't keeping me engaged.

Everybody's Weird - After the last song I was almost checked out, and while this again isn't for me, it's just more interesting to listen to. I'm not a fan of the vocal distortion thing going on with most of the songs.

Let's See Who Goes Down First - I don't like this at all.

Dream Sequence #1 - It's alright and at least leaves the album for me on a higher note than a lot of the other tracks.


The music reminds me of Radiohead in general, from what I've heard of Radiohead anyway. It's a similar sound. I'm not a big Radiohead fan, and by the 3rd track, I started liking the Album less. Personally, I just think it was mostly monotonous and mundane, it was quite bland. The strange this is while in general, I didn't like it, there were sections of songs that I did really like, the music just seemed to be more interesting and it's a shame that it wasn't more that caught my attention throughout.

I'm not a massive fan of the vocals, I will admit the lyrics don't mean much to me. I mean this in a general sense, 90% of the songs I love I don't properly know the lyrics because I just don't pay attention to them like most do, for me the thing I like is the voice and the melody of the vocals itself. I know that this will be odd to most, but it's just the way I am and I do listen to a hell of a lot of instrumental music because it's how everything sounds that affects me and then the meaning of a song can completely pass me by :lol:

I think I'll give it 5/10. It really doesn't do anything for me, but I can see why it would for some. I get it, but it's not my thing.

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

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 6:38 pm

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


I don't think this is true at all, think your points were all really well made and concise. Thanks for your contribution! :-)

A little gutted that no-one has really got into the record, it's been a slew of 5's and 6's so far. One of my less successful picks.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 9:38 pm

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

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Ironhide » Mon Sep 23, 2019 9:51 pm

Wait, MHTL is Steve!?

Mind strawberry floating blown.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by more heat than light » Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:00 pm

Ironhide wrote:Wait, MHTL is Steve!?

Mind strawberry floating blown.


Not that Steve! :lol:

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by Jenuall » Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:30 pm

:lol:

Glad we got a more positive review for it eventually!

Having a first listen of Baskery now... this is really clicking with me, first two tracks are very strong.

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PostRe: Album Club 2019 : Baskery - Coyote & Sirens
by more heat than light » Thu Sep 26, 2019 10:32 am

My Baskery review.

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

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