Category: Reviews (Page 184 of 200)

THE KNIFE Shaking The Habitual

11 April 2013 /

While Alison Goldfrapp has been the most influential female figure in electronic pop over the last ten years, it’s been Karin Dreijer Andersson who has been the heroine for those seeking much darker, idiosyncratic values.

Other than the ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ soundtrack collaboration, THE KNIFE have been relatively silent since 2006’s ‘Silent Shout’, while Karin Dreijer Andersson’s solo vehicle FEVER RAY has gained critical acclaim and fulfilled her more atonal aspirations with drones and sonic witchcraft emanating from the coven.

During that time, a variety of acts such as AUSTRA, THE HORN THE HUNT, NIKI & THE DOVE, IAMAMIWHOAMI, KARIN PARK, GAZELLE TWIN and to a lesser extent, GRIMES and LA ROUX have all appeared in Dreijer Andersson’s wake, willing apprentices in the cause of hauntronica. ‘Shaking The Habitual’ sees Dreijer Andersson return to THE KNIFE in partnership with her brother Olof Dreijer and it has been quite evident following her FEVER RAY outing that further musicality experiments and aural challenges would beckon.

It throws caution to the wind with lengthier progressive numbers than the duo have attempted before like ‘Full Of Fire’ plus the almost near absence of any lines of acessibility that the siblings may have occasionally procured on tracks such as ‘Silent Shout’, ‘Marble House’, ‘Pass This On’, ‘Heartbeats’ and their ROBYN collaboration ‘Who’s That Girl?’. Neo-ambient interludes such as ‘A Cherry On Top’ and ‘Old Dreams Waiting To Be Realized’ also proliferate with the latter clocking in at around 20 minutes!

Pop music this most certainly isn’t and THE KNIFE’s loyal fanbase will adore the ritualistic development on ‘Shaking The Habitual’, ‘A Tooth For An Eye’ is a prime example of this more aggressive stance, percolating percussive textures and ethnic pipes accompanying Dreijer Andersson’s impressionistic shrills. The electro-tribal ‘Without You My Life Would Be Boring’ continues the theme but the drum heavy ‘Wrap Your Arms Around Me’ and the stoic noise terrorism of ‘Crake’ or ‘Oryx’ will not be necessarily be welcomed by all ears.

More percussive mantras linger on ‘Raging Lung’, the deep vocal and fretless bass runs recalling JAPAN reunion project RAIN TREE CROW while ‘Networking’ is a most abstract electronic collage with clattering drum machine driving synth pulses and all manner of voice manipulations. ‘Stay Out Here’ is from the same family, similarly off-kilter but quite gruelling at nearly 11 minutes in length.

As things draw to a conclusion with another 10 minutes of transcendent empiricism in ‘Fracking Fluid Injection’ and the comparatively conventional but primal ‘Ready To Lose’, what is apparent is this album is not an easy listen and requires patience.

‘Shaking The Habitual’ pushes boundaries but is it self-indulgent? One individual’s perception of self-indulgence is another’s artistic enlightenment. Unsettling to the Nth degree, THE KNIFE have made a bold step to possibly becoming electronic music’s RADIOHEAD.

‘Shaking The Habitual’ is out now via Brille Records as a CD, double CD 3×12 inch vinyl or download

THE KNIFE play two sell out concerts at London’s Roundhouse on 8th and 9th May 2013

http://theknife.net/

http://www.facebook.com/theknifemusic

Text by Chi Ming Lai
11th April 2013

KELLI ALI Band Of Angels

9 April 2013 /

Kelli Ali is probably best known as the voice of SNEAKER PIMPS’ hit singles ‘Spin Spin Sugar’ and ‘6 Underground’.

Their 1996 debut album ‘Becoming X’has been held up as a landmark recording of the Trip Hop genre. While the original line-up of Ali, Chris Corner and Liam Howe made only one album, each have been successful in their chosen paths since. Corner took the title of that SNEAKER PIMPS’ debut quite literally and is now IAMX while Howe has carved out a career as a successful producer, working with most notably MARINA & THE DIAMONDS.

Following her own path of independence as a solo artist, Kelli Ali has released four acclaimed albums ‘Tigermouth’ (2003), ‘Psychic Cat’ (2004), ‘Rocking Horse’ (2008) and ‘Butterfly’ (2009) as well as a joint album ‘A Paradise Inhabited By Devils’ with Swiss pianist OZYMANDIS. Her stylish, neo-gothic demeanour has also attracted the attention of willing collaborators as diverse as Paul Oakenfold(with whom she penned the song ‘Faster Kill Pussycat’ for the late actress Brittany Murphy), Bryan Ferry, Marilyn Manson, Marc Almond and Bootsy Collins.

Like her former colleague IAMX, Kelli Ali’s new album ‘Band Of Angels’ has been crowd funded via Pledge Music, thus providing artistic freedom and connection with the audience in one fell swoop. The result is a beautiful hybrid of electronic and classical music with Ali’s distinctive voice as its emotional centre, expression that is reflectively Kate Bush, Alison Goldfrapp, Natasha Khan and Julee Cruise in various measures. ‘Band Of Angels’ is an adventurous album too with MOTOR and occasional CLIENT collaborator KINDLE as co-conspirators in realising Ali’s daydream vision of dark angels and vampire bikers, “a journey into the dark heart of a fallen angel” as she eloquently puts it.

A neo-industrial drama accompanying Ali’s wispy layered vocals intros ‘The Art Of Love’ before orchestrations and mechanical rhythms kick in for a lush mini-opera. ‘The Hunter’ is sweet and mysterious in that Kate Bush fashion, Kelli Ali’s voice hitting angelic qualities as willowing piano joins in to add another resonant dimension.

KINDLE provides the first of his electro-metallic contributions to ‘Silent Requiem’ over a lovely building soundscape before the album suddenly blisters into a bit of techno! Here, MOTOR provide the electro stomp on ‘Kiss Me Cleopatra’ that was evident on their recent ‘Man Made Machine’ album which also saw Martin Gore and Gary Numan make guest appearances. It’s a delightful lift that is still coherent with the earlier overtures, thanks to that consistent factor of Ali’s spirited larynx which recalls ‘Spin Spin Sugar’ in all its frisky and passionate glory.

The laid-back mood returns on ‘Falling’ and while not a cover of Julee Cruise’s ‘Twin Peaks’ hit, it does possess shades of those Lynch-ian snow capped atmospheres. But piano and string ballad ‘Fear My Shepherd’ has even more of a Twin Peaks vibe, Angelo Baladamenti’s influence is all over it although closer scrutiny reveals it to be the work of the album’s central producer Luke Battery around a hymn-like solo composition by the girl from Birmingham.

‘In the House Of Love’ ups the pace again and takes on a more aggressive stance as octave shifts, virtual Goth choirs and tinkling ivories join a positively feline delivery from Ali which gets filtered ‘Felt Mountain’ style to add a touch of extra eeriness. ‘When Darkness Falls’ is similarly feisty, swathed in synths and drones while driven by digital drum machine. Despite the melancholy, her falsetto vibrato is almost euphoric.

At ten tracks, ‘Band Of Angels’ doesn’t outstay its welcome and the variation in sonic textures and tempos makes for an ambitious but cohesive listening experience. Full of depth and quality, it is worthy of time and investigation.

‘Band Of Angels’ is available as a download or CD

http://www.kelliali.com

http://www.facebook.com/kellialimusic

https://twitter.com/kelliali

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th April 2013

SUDDEN CREATION Shouldn’t I Be A Girl?

8 April 2013 /

SUDDEN CREATION is the one-man synth vehicle for long time electronic music enthusiast Chris Mines.

Possibly the UK’s answer to MAISON VAGUE, Mines has described his sound as “Love, Death and middle-aged angst in three and a half minutes of synthpop…”; Certainly song titles such as ‘I’ve Never Met Vince Clarke’ and ‘Machine Man’ indicate a wry tongue-in-cheek demeanour gleefully gained by observing the electronic music scene from its fledgling Synth Britannia stages.

And none more so than with a track which Mines says was inspired by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK! Entitled ‘Shouldn’t I Be A Girl?’, it gives an ironic commentary of the synthpop renaissance over the last five years… on paper, it seems perfect for many aspiring electronic musicians until the realisation dawns that most of the press coverage has been centred on female acts…

Using a 2009 quote that was made by this writer following the publication of Caroline Sullivan’s now prophetic article in The Guardian entitled ‘Slaves To Synth’, while ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK can neither confirm or deny any gender bias, the self-produced promo video ‘Shouldn’t I Be A Girl?’ amusingly captures that moment in time when synth girls ruled the world! However, with new albums by LITTLE BOOTS and LA ROUX seemingly rumoured to be less than synthy, maybe it’s now time for the boys to extract their revenge?

‘The Video EP’ is available as a CD now from www.suddencreation.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/SuddenCreationOfficial

https://twitter.com/SuddenCreation

https://www.instagram.com/suddencreation/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th April 2013

MARSHEAUX Inhale

6 April 2013 /

Athens based synth maidens MARSHEAUX’s 2004 debut album ‘E-Bay Queen’ showed flashes of promise but it wasn’t until 2009 that the potential was fully realised; that year’s ‘Lumineux Noir’ was a wondrous body of work where Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou’s wispy synthpop went up several notches.

Haloed by their many admirers from the music scene including Tom Robinson, Stuart Maconie, Andy McCluskey, Rusty Egan, David Beevers and even LA rocker Jared Leto from 30 Seconds To Mars, magnificent songs like ‘Exit’, ‘So Far’and ‘Sorrow’ led some observers to cite MARSHEAUX as the female DEPECHE MODE.

This was hardly surprising as Marianthi and Sophie met at a DM fan event. Indeed, released at the same time as the Basildon Boys’ lame ‘Sounds Of The Universe’, ‘Lumineux Noir’ was far superior too. Meanwhile the album’s other key moments ‘Breakthrough’ and ‘Radial Emotion’ put them up there with LADYTRON and LITTLE BOOTS respectively.

With only the inevitable rarities collection amusingly titled ‘E-Bay Queen Is Dead’ in 2012 to fill in the void, new album ‘Inhale’ has been a long time coming. And it would appear that the Greek financial crisis has loomed heavy over its making with moodier, midtempo numbers taking centre stage.

If 2007’s ‘Peek-A-Boo’ saw the ‘E-Bay Queen’ reach adulthood and ‘Lumineux Noir’ was the carefree but intense period studying for a BA, then ‘Inhale’ is the reality of having to pay off the university loan! ‘Over & Over’ starts ‘Inhale’ in a bubbly champagne manner, if slightly apprehensive at facing the future after graduation. But ‘Alone’ exposes the gloomier shades, punctuated by heavily oscillating bass with the lead theme Numan-esque in its Polymoog flourishes.

Also on the deeply melancholy side is the steadfast ‘To The End’; “I lost my way” sings Marianthi, seemingly unsure which way to turn as a vocodered presence takes hold. ‘August Day’ though is a dreamy grower, developing on the maturer outlook now apparent as the album’s heart while the closer ‘Can You Stop Me?’ takes on FEVER RAY’s dour, atonal ideas but puts them to a tune; its ambient extension is a delight and provides some relaxing optimism to the journey’s conclusion. And that’s the thing… despite the air of pessimism within ‘Inhale’, there are inviting electropop numbers. This can only be expected when living on the sunny South Balkan Peninsula surrounded by beaches with Ouzo on tap, no matter how difficult the times are.

So ‘Self Control’ is enjoyably snarling and ‘A Secret Place’ strangely exuberant while ‘Come On Now’ is a fully realised cousin of BLONDIE’s ‘Call Me’… Giorgio Moroder would be proud! And to shed more light into the valley, ‘End Is A New Start’ is filled with the synthetic zuckerzeit that makes listeners either love or hate MARSHEAUX.

The ‘Inhale’ title track does slightly retread over some rocky ground and is reminiscent of ‘Breakthrough’ but ‘Never Stop’ points to an exciting new direction, rhythmically feisty with the girls showing a turn of chanted aggression. Credit must be give to MARSHEAUX’s production team FOTONOVELA who cannot be faulted with their sonic contribution to ‘Inhale’. Fresh from working with OMD on ‘Helen of Troy’ on ‘English Electric’ and soon to unveil the stupendous ‘Sorrow’ (not a cover of the MARSHEAUX song) recorded with MIRRORS’ singer James New, they are well on the ascendancy.

All in all, ‘Inhale’ is a good album but perhaps isn’t the great bleep forward that ‘Lumineux Noir’ was and lacks its epic quality. Less immediate due to the inherent downbeat spectre forced on it by concerns closer to home, ‘Inhale’ is still a worthwhile listen that captures a challenging moment in time. But it requires investment… a bit like the Greek economy itself!

‘Inhale’ is released by Undo Records on 22nd April 2013 as a CD. It can also be downloaded via Amazon and iTunes

http://www.marsheaux.com

http://www.facebook.com/marsheaux

https://twitter.com/marsheaux

http://marsheaux.wordpress.com/

http://www.undorecords.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
6th April 2013

OMD English Electric

4 April 2013 /

OMD-English-Electric

When a band has been established as long as OMD, there is often a creative dilemma faced when deciding how to approach new studio material.

For such occasions, Brian Eno produced a pack of cards called ‘Oblique Strategies’ designed to get producers and musicians out of sticky situations when lacking inspiration in the studio. Helpful suggestions include: “What would your closest friend do?”, “Try Faking It!” and my favourite “Be Dirty!”

So, with such a rich back catalogue of albums to reference and a sizeable amount of hits under their belt, what would OMD’s strategy be on their 12th long player? “Be experimental!” and revisit the ‘Dazzle Ships’ era.

“Be melodic!” and follow a more tuneful path as evidenced by ‘So In Love’ and ‘If You Leave’. “Wear your influences on your sleeve!” and reference elements of bands that have shaped your sound and finally the risky one: “Get down with the kids!” and try to incorporate more contemporary sonic elements to show you’ve moved with the times.

So with this, their follow-up to the successful ‘History Of Modern’ comeback album, what have OMD done? To be honest, rather than following a single path, they’ve gone down the eclectic route and tried incorporating bits of the above, cherry-picking sounds and styles from a few of their periods and in a move which is bound to please a lot of hardcore fans, even revisiting the ‘Dazzle Ships’ era which although proved a mid-period career-suicide move, spawned the epic ‘Telegraph’ and ‘Genetic Engineering’.

With this album more than any previous OMD one, there is an elephant in the room and it’s a big, KRAFTWERK-shaped one… lead-off single ‘Metroland’ re-imagines ‘Europe Endless’ but with a stomping kick drum, ‘Kissing The Machine’ has its roots in ‘Neon Lights’ (more about this track and its Germanic links later) and throughout the album, there are riffs and sounds which remain in debt to the German meisters. In interviews, it has become apparent that Paul Humphreys has taken the reins with much of ‘English Electric’ and gone for a classic, monophonic sequencer-driven approach, yet still retaining enough elements to brand each of the tracks as OMD.

The album opens with ‘Please Remain Seated’, one of the three shorter speech synthesized tracks. In the context of the album, both ‘Decimal’ and ‘Atomic Ranch’ now reveal themselves as musical red herrings, as when the snippets of the album first started to appear, gave the false impression that the band were about to return wholesale to the days of ‘Dazzle Ships’. Instead, they simply provide short links between the more conventional songs.

First impressions of third track ‘Night Café’ is that of a saccharine-sounding electro ballad with a vocal melody strangely reminiscent of John Denver’s ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’.

But by dissecting the lyrics it becomes clear that the major-scale melodies are counterpointing a song about a jilted lover drowning their sorrows at the song-title’s location…

One of the more surprising tracks is ‘The Future Will Be Silent’ which welds contemporary, enveloped dubstep bass and chordal sounds to the more familiar Mellotron-style choir textures that seem to be an OMD staple now, the track climaxing with a rising ‘Numbers’ style synth riff which takes the track to it’s conclusion.

The song itself could be seen as being a thinly-veiled critique on what modern electronic music has now become, with the wub wub synth bass sounds becoming accompanied by a female vocal intoning “the future was not supposed to be like this!” …the song’s inspiration is cited by Andy McCluskey as “audio pollution”, whether that is musical or otherwise is left up to the listener to decide!

‘Kissing The Machine’ will be familiar to those that followed the career path of former Kraftwerker Karl Bartos – the song originally featured with McCluskey’s vocals on the ELEKTRIC MUSIC album ‘Esperanto’. Although similar in sound to that version, the Humphreys’ update / re-work’s synth programming is even more reminiscent of ‘The Man Machine’-era than its predecessor with an added vocoder-led intro and middle eight being spoken in German by Claudia Brücken.

With further nods to their past, the trademark McCluskey live bass makes a welcome re-appearance on ‘Dresden’ and on the aforementioned ‘Night Café’, as do Paul Humphreys’ vocals on ‘Stay With Me’. ‘Our System’ sonically revisits the ‘Architecture & Morality’-era with a live drum-led climax and thematically ‘Helen Of Troy’ also harks back to ‘Joan Of Arc’, albeit with a far more synthetic backbone.

Probably the most out there and experimental track is the closing and fittingly titled ‘Final Song’ which combines a CR78-style drum pattern, upright bass, female semi-gospel vocal sample and almost Steve Reich-esque serial music vocal loops. This track shows that the band is still not afraid to take risks and will probably be the standout track for many on this album.

Criticisms? The synth lead sound that Ralf Hütter wheeled out on the ‘Minimum – Maximum’ tour is maybe over-used on a couple of songs and the overall sonic palette is a little limited in places, but these quibbles aside, ‘English Electric’ is a fine album and one which will undoubtedly delight their hardcore fans, put the band back on the radar for casual listeners and might even pick up a few new ones along the way.

‘English Electric’ uses the following instrumentation…

Paul Humphreys: Synth-Werk, ARP 2600, M Tron Pro, Trillion, Omnisphere, Oberheim SEM V, Morphoder, Jupiter 8V2, Minimoog V, Prophet Pro 53, Massive, Vacuum, Boom

Andy McCluskey: Vacuum, Indigo Virus, M Tron Pro, Jupiter 8, Vox Machina

‘English Electric’ is released by BMG on 8th April 2013 in CD, deluxe CD+DVD, download, vinyl and tin boxset formats. The tin boxset includes a bonus 7 inch vinyl single of ‘Our System’ featuring an exclusive track ‘Frontline’ on the B-side.

OMD’s 2013 UK tour with special guests JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS includes:

Margate Winter Gardens (28th April), Birmingham Symphony Hall (29th April), Nottingham Royal Centre (1st May), Ipswich Regent Theatre (2nd May), London Roundhouse (3rd May), Bristol Colston Hall (5th May), Oxford New Theatre (6th May), Sheffield City Hall (8th May), Leeds Academy (9th May), Manchester Academy (10th May), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (12th May), Gateshead Sage (13th May), Liverpool Empire (14th May)

The Benelux shows featuring special guests METROLAND include:

Utrecht Tivoli (17th May) and Brussels Ancienne Belgique (20th May)

The German tour with special guests VILE ELECTRODES includes:

Hamburg Docks (21st May), Bielefeld Ringlokschuppen (22nd May), Berlin Tempodrom (24th May), Leipzig Haus Auensee (25th May), Köln E-Werk (27th May)

http://www.omd.uk.com/

https://www.facebook.com/omdofficial/

Text by Paul Boddy
Photo by Tom Oxley
4th April 2013

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