Castles - Fiction or Truth?

I've been putting off writing about this record for ages because each time I try I can't seem to find the words to describe it. Nothing I can write quite does it justice. Castles are an excellent band and I thoroughly recommend checking them out; huge song after huge song. Just listen to Palm Reader or Followed By a Hundred Rats to see what I'm talking about. In fact, you can probably skip everything below and just go straight to bandcamp; here's a link.

I was introduced to Castles by my friend Hugh - he posted me a cdr with the demos of his band's new songs followed by a copy of Castles' first album, You, the Organ Grinder. There was a note in with the cd that claimed something along the lines of "you'll love Castles, they sound like Taint" (for those who don't know, Taint were one of the finest bands in South Wales and we saw them regularly. It was a sad day when they broke up but their last-ever show was excellent and worth nearly crashing my car in snow for). Both things in that note were true - Castles did sound a bit like Taint and I did love them.

When Castles announced their second album, I pre-ordered immediately and waited eagerly. Some time earlier I'd got a proper copy of You, the Organ Grinder and played it a lot. I'm never quite sure what genre I'd call Castles, but imagine somewhere between metal and really heavy gruff-punk-rock would cover it. It makes for a pretty good style either way. Their second album didn't disappoint - somehow different but in small subtle ways. The song structures are more varied and the Taint comparison is less evident; it's an improvement on something I already thought was pretty excellent.

A few words need to be said about the artwork here: inside the gatefold are pictures of the band romancing their instruments in various way which are just hilarious. It's not the sort of imagery you'd associate with music like this. The half-orange, half-white vinyl looks great too.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve

Tracks: 10

Cost: £17.50 new

Bought: Band's website

When: 03/12/13

Colour: Half orange, half white

Etching: none

mp3s: no

Public Service Broadcasting - Inform-Educate-Entertain

Over the summer in 2013 I remember seeing the name Public Service Broadcasting getting a lot of hype - lot's of tweets about them and people getting very excited having seen their set at various festivals. I've developed a terrible habit of ignoring that sort of hype assuming the band won't be any good. It's not a good thing, but you generally know whether a band is actually any good by who is telling you they're good. In this case I had unfairly written off Public Service Broadcasting.

Luckily this was to be quickly rectified. In September the Manic Street Preachers were playing some shows in support of their excellent album Rewind the Film and I'd got a ticket to see them in Shepherd's Bush. PSB were supporting and I arrived just as they started. On first glimpse, I thought I'd correctly written them off based solely on their outfits (I am a terrible person) but then they started playing. The only thing I can think of to describe their set that night was that they sounded like early Therapy?, which should be noted is very high praise indeed. There was something industrial sounding to the guitar and drums and the sampling reminded of a few Therapy? songs from back in the day when they sampled a lot. After a song and a half (I needed the extra half to convince me it wasn't just a one-off) I was no longer a cynic but a huge fan.

Early in the next year I finally got round to picking up their debut album, Inform-Educate-Entertain. I had lowered my expectations slightly - that night they'd been my modern-day Therapy? but I knew they were basically an indie band and that the album would probably be toned down a little. I was right, but it's still an incredible record. The impression I had of industrial-sounding guitars was mostly stripped away (except for Signal 30) leaving a cross-over between indie and dance, but it still works (if you try hard, you can still hear those guitars at the end of the title-track too, but more faintly). That does mean that it's a much more crowd-pleasing record and most people I play it to seem to enjoy it. It's hard to not enjoy what they do and they're quirky enough to make them stand out.

The album is basically littered with potential singles (and nearly a third of the songs were). Side A comprises five excellent songs (and one bit of filler) and is pretty faultless. Side B isn't quite as strong (it would have struggled to be) but Everest is still a great song. All in all, a very enjoyable record that I'm very thankful to the Manics for introducing me to.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeve
Tracks: 11
Cost: £17 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 25/01/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Craig Finn - Clear Heart, Full Eyes

I'm not a fan of this record. I bought it because I like The Hold Steady and though that the singer's solo album might be alright; I was wrong. I can think of countless records in Banquet that I could have spent £13 on, but I chanced it on Craig Finn and it didn't pay off. The moral is probably to not spend money on albums I've not heard anything from, but I love doing that and one shit album isn't going to make me stop. They can't all be winners I suppose.

Where to start with my dislike of this album? A lot of the time it just sounds like he isn't trying; like he's singing the song but couldn't care less if he was or wasn't. At times you can tell he's trying to play that Springsteen card, but it doesn't work. Similarly there are moments that sound a bit like The Hold Steady, but also not quite. What you're left with is the half-hearted remnants of both - songs about people you don't quite believe in or care about.

But the highlight of my dislike comes in the form of New Friend Jesus, quite possibly the worst song I own (I wouldn't like to make a list of my least favourite records or songs, but this one would be up there). On The King of Carrot Flowers, Jeff Mangum proclaims his love of Jesus and it's intentionally jarring and excellent and sincere all at the same time. When Craig Finn sings that he has a new best friend and his name is Jesus, I think he's a dick. I often wonder if he was trying to mirror that excellent moment on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (so much so the intro here might as well be Holland, 1945). If that was his inspiration, then I think I dislike the song even more. There's a certain irony in the line "it's hard to suck with Jesus in your band" being on the album's worst song.

Despite thinking so little of this album, I ended up seeing Craig live a while later when he toured with Patterson Hood and Will Johnson. For me, and the friends I was there with, Craig was the least interesting of the three (Will and Patterson were both excellent). A while later I was sat in a hot tub on top of a hotel in Tampa with a bunch of punks from Austria and Canada (that reads like a shameless boast, but these situations arise quite regularly at Fest) talking about that tour. They were all saying how they thought Craig carried that tour and how excellent his album was whilst I was sat there wondering how they could enjoy it so much and I could think so little of it. People have different tastes I guess, but this record certainly isn't to mine.

Format: 12", picture sleeve, insert
Tracks: 11
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 09/07/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints

I've kinda written about this record before, but in the context of another record. The short version is that I heard The Grey Ship and California played over the hifi in a record shop, thought they were cool, Googled the lyrics and read up about EMA and her old band Gowns. I stumbled across a Gowns record in the next shop I went into and figured it was too much of a coincidence to not buy it. For a couple of years afterwards I kept thinking that I should pick up the EMA record and last year I finally did. I bought this copy at the Independent Label Market in Spitalfields after a fairly sweaty and unexciting trip - in 2013 I bought so many great records there, but I was underwhelmed by the 2014 event. Of my few purchases, Past Life Martyred Saints was quite the highlight.

The Grey Ship is one of those excellent album openers that stands out and sets the listener up for what's about to happen; it's slow and brooding but explodes into one of the highlights. In length and power it could easily dwarf the rest of the album but there are plenty of other songs that meet its standards. California, one of the albums most well-known tracks, follows on in great style and grabs your attention from the get-go. My other favourite is Marked, a song that also made it onto Gowns' Latitudes session EP. The live version has a certain rawness that is missing here but both versions are excellent and almost tell different stories in their styles - Erika's voice is so smooth here that it sounds like a love song even though it most definitely is not. Butterfly Knife and Red Star are great too, although close the album too soon for my liking - I never feel like I've been listening to it for long enough before it's over.

It's hard to describe EMA's music (so I'll try not to), but there are so many influences from starkly different musical styles that all come together so well. You wouldn't think that an album that can draw comparisons to folk, noise and industrial could sound so great. Maybe it's because I quite enjoy all those genres that I enjoy this album so much. It ended up in pretty heavy rotation in the second half of 2014 and I suspect that'll continue into 2015.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 9
Cost: £12 new
Bought: Independent Label Market
When: 12/07/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Palms - Palms

Palms is a collaboration between Chino from Deftones and some of guys from Isis; it was pretty clear from the outset that I was going to enjoy this record. I vaguely remember seeing a news article on Pitchfork about the band and a short while later my friend Hugh tweeted a picture of the LP. In October 2013, I stumbled across this copy in Banquet and would have snapped it up had it not been a rather pricey £22. I text Hugh to ask him if the album was actually any good and, moreover, if it was £22 good. His reply: "£16 good". By that point I was already out of the shop so thought little more about it. Six months later, the record reappeared in Banquet on a day when I had a £10 voucher from my loyalty card ready to spend, so I split it over two albums and got this one for a much more reasonable £17.

Nearly a year later, I'd go so far as to say that this LP is definitely £22 good. It ended up on pretty heavy rotation in 2014, particularly so on my iPod whilst at work - every time I'd scroll past it I'd think "Yeah, I could go for some Palms". It strikes that rare balance of music I can work well too - heavy enough that it drowns out the background noise but not so overwhelming that it distracts me. The moments that do do really grab your attention, like the chorus on Mission Sunset or Shortwave Radio, are so incredible that it's nice to take a moment away from the computer screen to enjoy them.

It's quite a lengthy and brooding album, and it's six songs are spread out over 45 minutes. Those slow beginnings pretty much always build to huge choruses though and Chino's voice sounds incredible as ever. It makes for a pretty lovely package, with both records on orange vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve. I'm not sure I would have ever chanced £22 on it without hearing it first, but I'm glad I did buy it.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 6
Cost: £17 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 22/03/14
Colour: Transparent orange
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime

It's hard to explain quite how much I enjoy Drive Like Jehu. I don't actually listen to them all that often, but when I do I can't think why I don't play them more. Yank Crime is a huge album, filled with moments that fill me with pure joy when I hear them. I certainly consider this to be a classic post-hardcore album, possibly under-rated (at least as far as I can tell, perhaps everyone else loves it too).

I think if I had to list my favourite songs on this album, they'd be Here Come the Rome Plows, Do You Compute and Luau which (on the vinyl version) are the first three songs - it makes for a pretty epic side A. One of the things that sets Drive Like Jehu apart from so many other post-hardcore bands of that era is that they have no qualms about letting a song run on for 7 or 8 minutes, which turns out to be an excellent thing - the intro to Do You Compute is so perfectly stretched out that it's almost taunting you - you know what's going to happen but the song wants you to wait. It's such a pleasing moment on the album. Similarly with Luau - there's no rush to get to that huge chorus, you have to wait. But it's all worth it.

I first heard Yank Crime in 2006 when I got the cd as a Christmas present from my sister. I'd heard about the band and told her I'd quite like one of their albums. Thinking back now, I don't remember what it was I'd read or heard about the band (it was possibly just the Rocket From the Crypt / Hot Snakes connection) but I'm glad I decided to check them out. That was 8 years ago and I still find this album exciting and interesting now.

I'd been meaning to get Yank Crime on vinyl for a while and found this copy in All Ages in Camden last October. I wasn't aware that the order of the songs differed so much between the cd and the LP; not sure why. What it does mean, like I mentioned before, is that the first side of the 12" is pure gold. The last three songs are on a separate 7" and both records are coloured, which is a nice touch.

Format: 12", 7"
Tracks: 9
Cost: £16 new
Bought: All Ages
When: 04/10/14
Colour: Transparent green, transparent blue
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood

For years when I thought about the Manics discography I didn't really think about Lifeblood. It came out three years after the perfectly-fine-but-not-a-classic Know Your Enemy and three years before the attempt-at-a-return-to-form Send Away the Tigers; it makes for a fairly forgettable period in their past. Every band has to have a "worst" album and, for me, Lifeblood is that for the Manics. I suspect I'm not the only one - the cd version came with a flyer about the ten year anniversary release of The Holy Bible and here we are, ten years later again with a 20 year anniversary release of The Holy Bible due out soon and no mention of Lifeblood. The ten years have not been as favourable to it as they had to The Holy Bible.

But recently I have been thinking about Lifeblood more - the reason being that Futurology, the Manics' latest album and the one hailed as one of their recent finest, came out this year and it reminds me of Lifeblood in many ways. When I first heard Futurology my initial thought was that they'd finally done Lifeblood right - those Euro-pop moments were back ten years after they last tried but this time it worked. They proved that they could be different (in a Manics way) but not sound watered down. They sound more comfortable in doing what they want to do and less over-produced than they did on Lifeblood, and it works wonders. Personally, I still think Rewind the Film is by far their greatest recent album and Futurology doesn't quite compare, but I wonder how I'll feel in another ten years.

But back to Lifeblood. It's not a terrible album (despite all I've said) but is just too smooth and bland to be memorable or to be the sort of album the Manics should have made. On the other hand, it has some incredible pop moments and 1985, Empty Souls, and A Song for Departure are all very enjoyable songs. I'd love to hear those songs as 2014 Manics songs rather than 2004 Manics songs. But the lows are pretty low - I remember during the "Singles" show at the O2 Arena James commenting after The Love of Richard Nixon "You still don't like that one then?" (or something to that extent). The other highlight was always the closer, Cardiff Afterlife, which I guess is the only Lifeblood song I ever really thought much about afterwards, mostly because I ended up moving to Cardiff and getting to know the city well.

As with every Manics album since This is My Truth..., I bought Lifeblood the day it came out. A month later I was in Bristol visiting a friend and found this vinyl copy in the HMV there. I think I already knew it wasn't going to be a classic Manics album, but the collector of me was still interested. It's quite a nice little package, especially since new LPs weren't that common at the time. I'm glad I bought it back then because, sadly, I'm not so sure I'd bother these days.

Format: 12", picture sleeve, 12x12" booklet
Tracks: 12
Cost: £12 new
Bought: HMV Bristol
When: 10/12/04
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no