Weekly Last FM Chart
I’ve been on a serious Talking Heads binge this week after finally watching what is often described as the finest Concert-Film ever produced, in the shape of 1984’s ‘Stop Making Sense’ (Can’t wait for a UK Blu-Ray release!). I’ve also found another ten wonderful tunes for your ears to enjoy:
Andrew W.K.’s High-Energy/Metal ‘I Get Wet’ album is possibly one of my all time top 10 LPs. Since then he’s done Power-Ballads, Eighties-Rock, produced Lee “Scratch” Perry and even released an instrumental Piano music album. His new compilation of unreleased recordings called ‘Mother Of Mankind’ features many different sounds. My favourite is the very daft Funky Reggae of ‘We Got A Groove’.
Again, Chris T-T’s ‘9 Red Songs’ LP is a personal favourite featuring some of the best political songs ever written like ‘A Plague On Both Your Houses’ and ‘The Huntsman Comes A-Marchin” (Go buy a copy right now!). His new album ‘Love Is Not Rescue’ is sounding magnificent and opener ‘Nintendo’ is a ballad of shimmering beauty.
Dominique Young Unique’s ‘Show My Ass’ is abrasive Pop-Hop for all M.I.A. fans (Or even old-skool fans of Salt ‘n’ Pepa). Try not shaking your booty when the Drums hit at 0.44 or dancing round the room when the dance beats comes in at 1.18.
I’ve been waiting for Guillemots front-man Fyfe Dangerfield to release a solo record since hearing his unspeakably gorgeous solo cover of Larrikin Love’s ‘Well, Love Does Furnish A Life’ back in 2007. ‘Fly Yellow Moon’ has many fine songs to reccomend it but my pick has to be the haunting Piano ballad ‘Barricades’.
Gypsy-Punk rascals Gogol Bordello have just made their new song ‘Pala Tute’ available to download free as a taster of new LP ‘Trans-Continental Hustle’. It’s the usual exhilarating mix of Acordian and Funky dance rhythms that we all love.
I just watched Hugh Cornwell’s (Of The Stranglers fame) critique of the Government’s anti-downloading-music bill on the Beeb’s Daily Politics show. He revealed that his latest album ‘Hoover Dam’ is available to download for free and the Lo-Fi lyrical twister ‘Within You Or Without You’ is my pick.
Laura Marling’s performance of ‘New Romantic’ on Later With Jools Holland back in 2007 is probably my favourite bit of televised live music ever (Screw that.. it’s the best bit of Television ever, full-stop!). Now aged just twenty she’s on to her 2nd LP ‘I Speak Because I Can’ and the Joni Mitchell channeling ‘Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)’ is my favourite cut.
I adore the bonkers Indie music of Los Campesinos! and new album ‘Romance Is Boring’ is no exception. The Pixies-esqe thrill of ‘We’ve Got Your Back’ is my pick but it was a hard choice.
I’ve loved every new Ty LP twice as much as the last, so considering 2006’s (Has it really been that long!) ‘Closer’ was the best Hip-Hop album of that year I was very excited by the prospect of his new set ‘Special Kind Of Fool’. My favourite so far is ‘Phantom Of The Opera (Feat. Anthony Mills)‘ and to quote the lyric, “The elephant man is back, also known as the intelligent strand of Rap”… hell yes!
I just got sent a promo of We Are Standard’s self-titled LP. Upon hitting play, I was instantly excited by the crunching Punk-Funk of ‘Bye Bye Bye’. I love that Bass-line!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A ZIP CONTAINING ALL TEN MP3s
Andrew W.K. MySpace / Purchase
Chris T-T MySpace / Purchase
Dominique Young Unique MySpace
Fyfe Dangerfield MySpace / Purchase
Gogol Bordello MySpace / Purchase
Hugh Cornwell MySpace / Purchase
Laura Marling MySpace / Purchase
Los Campesinos! MySpace / Purchase
Ty MySpace / Purchase
We Are Standard MySpace / Purchase
Broadcast 2000’s ‘That Sinking Feeling’ is wonderfully melodic Folk with some quirky production flourishes. The string section is at once powerfully punchy and also sweetly graceful.
The thought of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim working together on a double concept album is almost too good to be true. The first track I’ve heard is the Disco delight ‘Here Lies Love’ featuring a great guest vocal from Florence Welch. I don’t mean it as insult when I say I could see it working in an Andrew Lloyd-Webber show.
A new Eels album is always something to treasure. Opening song, ‘The Beginning’ is one of the best things that Leonard Cohen never wrote. It’s essentially a celebratory love song which E gives a biting twist by adding the line “…in the beginning” to the end of every verse like an emotional gun shot.
I saw Musée Mécanique perform a gorgeous set at Puregroove last week. They were lacking their Drummer (And Bass player) so cleverly split the drum set up between the three of them! Their sound reminds me of shades of Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys and Sufjan Stevens. ‘Sleeping In Our Clothes’ is my favourite and if the opening lines of “Three cheers for romance, standing in her robes, out on the highway side tonight” doesn’t melt your heart, there is clearly something wrong.
Oh No Ono’s have the left-field Orchestral Pop sound of The Hidden Cameras. ‘Icicles’ combines lush Strings, falsetto vocals, and dreamy Pop melodies into one dazzling confection.
I saw Scary Mansion do a great little set the other week with Leah Hayes’ handmade Guitar being very impressive. One standout track was the haunting ‘Look Through Your Eyes’. It’s a gorgeous piece of moody Electronica.
The spine tingling highlight of She Keeps Bees’ set at The Old Blue Last was when Jessica Larrabee performed the semi-acapella song ‘Ribbon’. Her vocals bring to mind PJ Harvey and the fact that they’re a stripped down Blues duo inevitably makes me think of The White Stripes.
The B-side to The Black Belles’ Jack White Produced single ‘What Can I Do?” is one of the best songs so far on his label. It’s a cover of The Knickerbockers’ classic ‘Lies’ given a girl group twist and a roaring primitive Garage sound.
I so almost had The Morning Benders inspired cover of ‘Lovefool’ on TEN4SE7EN last year. Now they’re back with a new album with ‘Promises’ being just one highlight. It’s exhilarating Indie with a big chunky Guitar sound and Pop vocals.
I got sent this awesome Joe Goddard Remix of YACHT’s ‘Psychic City’ a while back. Joe Goddard’s enhanced repetitive chorus of “Where ya been darlin’, darlin’?” is so, so addictive.
On a trip to HMV I found they were selling last year’s über-deluxe Chris Rea triple-cd/double-vinyl/book ‘The Return Of The Fabulous Hofner Bluenotes’ for the insane price of £8 English pounds. I’m never really listened to the guy before but at that price it was worth a punt. It’s chock full of classy Blues numbers and clever Shadows tributes. The smouldering Blues of ‘Talk To God, Act like The Devil’ is just one highlight.
I just got a copy of Archie Bronson Outfit’s new LP ‘Coconut’. As before, the new songs are ear destroyingly ferocious swamp-Blues cuts, like album opener ‘Magnetic Warrior’. The album comes with a bonus DVD with videos specially made for every song… bargain!
Aussie Bertie Blackman’s last LP is a brilliant delight for Florence Welch/Natasha Khan fans everywhere. The Glacial beauty of ‘Valentine’ is truly haunting.
It’s been a long wait since I was blown away by David E. Sugar live (When I saw him supporting Example), but his debut album is finally on the way. I just got it on promo and the unashamedly Kraftwerk cribbing ‘Also Moved’ is pure Robo-tastic majesty.
New album’s by the legendary Gil Scott-Heron don’t come along very often. So I was pretty damned excited by his new set which is packed by the kind of Socially conscious songs he’s famous for. It’s also got delightful love-songs like ‘I’ll Take Care Of You’, complete with gorgeous croaky voiced Soul vocals.
Last year I saw the mind-blowing Soul/Beatbox/Poetry/Rap/Comedy of Reggie Watts (Sell your Mother for tickets when he comes to town). Finally I found a live mp3 of my favourite song of the night, the Gangsta-Rap parody ‘Fuck Shit Stack’. Take note, every sound you hear comes from Reggie’s mouth, backing vocals, raps, beats and all!
Having enjoyed Keb Darge’s (And Cut Chemist’s) last ‘Lost & Found’ Rockabilly compilation I had to get the next entry in the series. This time he teams up with Paul Weller to bring us 28 rare Soul nuggets. The Tempos’ ‘(Countdown) Here I Come’ is just one magnificent example of what’s on the record.
Featuring the voice of Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner, ‘Gangs Of Rome’ was always going to be good. It’s taken from Ashley Beedle’s ‘Mavis’ project that also employees the talents of luminaries like Candi Staton, Cerys Matthews and Ed Harcourt.
I just watched the brilliant documentary ‘Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy’ on BBC4 (It’s on iPlayer for a few more days). I then finally went out and got the deluxe re-issue of Dennis Wilson’s ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’. Bonus track ‘Holy Man’ was a sublime unfinished Instrumental until Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins stepped up to the mike to create something very lovely indeed. Taylor’s vocals and Dennis’ dreamy production bring to mind early Mark Everett at his best.
I recently saw Robert Glasper’s Jazz trio at Gilles Peterson’s superb Worldwide Awards show. Every bit of his set was exhilarating but the moment when I realised he had just gone into Radiohead’s ‘Everything In It’s Right Place’ was magical. This studio recording of the cover can be found on his first LP.
Stop Me If You Think You\'ve Heard This One Before 