Turbonegro - Party Animals

I remember reading some scathing reviews of Turbonegro's post-Apocalypse Dudes albums. When I got into the band, they'd already released Scandinavian Leather and Party Animals and I just accepted them as Turbonegro albums; I wasn't aware of all the break-ups and reunions and line-up changes. Moreover, City of Satan was one of my favourite Turbonegro songs. I wasn't sure why I knew it, but I remember hearing on someone's stereo at Roskilde, but being reasonably sure it was Turbonegro and thinking it was great. Drinking in the sun in Denmark is definitely improved by Turbonegro.

The rest of the album has some great Turbonegro moments too - All My Friends Are Dead is a great intro (I once saw The Arteries cover it, which worked very well) and Wasted Again, Babylon Forever and Final Warning are all really enjoyable. If You See Kaye is one of those annoying songs that makes you just want to skip it, but they can't all be winners - it's a classic mistake to have a joke as a chorus, but it wears very thin very quickly when you hear it 8 times in one song. There's definitely something different on these later albums to the earlier material that I can't quite put my finger on; the ideas seem simpler and less exciting, but the strings and arrangements and production makes them seem bigger. In fact, it's almost like they were trying to be taken more seriously by having the high-production values, but no one listens to Turbonegro to hear a serious band. I'd certainly agree it's not the finest example of the band's work, but it's still enjoyable.

I picked this LP up in HMV in Basingstoke along with the excellent I'll Sleep When You're Dead by El-P. Both were very pleasant surprises to find in a chain record shop in a large shopping centre (which, at the time, had just a few boxes of records). On top of that, it was only a tenner, which was already something of a bargain for a new LP. Included in the package is a "cut out and play party animals" kit, featuring the band members in ridiculous costumes, which is exactly the level of seriousness I want from a Turbonegro LP.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeve, insert
Tracks: 12
Cost: £10 new
Bought: HMV Basingstoke
When: 01/07/07
Colour: Clear
Etching: none
mp3s: no

El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead

Before April 2007 I'd never heard of El-P. I was in Cardiff visiting a friend and we spent the Saturday morning visiting the record shops in town. In Fopp he picked up a copy of El-P's new-at-the-time album I'll Sleep When You're Dead which got him into a conversation with the fairly attractive woman at the till. As first impressions of musicians go, "El-P makes woman impressed by your music taste" is a pretty good one. She was noticeably underwhelmed by my choices, which really reinforced that idea in my mind.

Anyway, later in the day we got back to my friends house and he played me a couple of songs from the album whilst he cooked and I thought it was great. He started with The Overly Dramatic Truth and Flyentology, knowing that the Glassjaw and Nine Inch Nails cameos would appeal to me. It certainly worked and a few months later I stumbled across this vinyl copy in the HMV in Basingstoke (which shouldn't be ignored as something that happens easily - I'd rarely even seen the cd about, let alone the LP. That HMV didn't have a particularly great selection of vinyl but did have this. I've never seen the vinyl in a shop since. Sadly I was served by a dude who barely even looked at what I was buying). As if finding this album on vinyl (for a mere £11.50) wasn't enough, when I got home I discovered it also contained a bonus red 7" with alternate mixes of Smithereens and The Overly Dramatic Truth on; a very pleasant surprise indeed.

In the seven years since I bought this album, it's been consistently on very regular rotation. The beats are brilliantly dark in places and compliment the rapping perfectly. Most of the songs subtlety build up, gradually adding instruments and beats, until there's so much going on it's hard to concentrate on anything else (the drums-and-vocals-only mix of The Overly Dramatic Truth on the 7" is perfect example - the drums start off quite peacefully but but end up riotous before dropping away completely just leaving El's rap). There are highlights throughout the album, but Tasmanian Pain Coaster, Up All Night, Poisenville Kids No Wins and the entirety of side C are all worth calling out.

There's not a great deal of hip-hop in my record collection, but the albums I do have generally have some relation to El-P. Not only is I'll Sleep When You're Dead a great record, it introduced me to a wealth of other great music too. What more can you ask for?

Format: Double 12", 7", insert
Tracks: 15
Cost: £11.50 new
Bought: HMV, Basingstoke
When: 01/07/07
Colour: Black, Red 7"
Etching: none
mp3s: no