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Album Review - Foxlight by Iarla O Lionaird
Born in West Cork Iarla Ó Lionáird has been the main vocalist, and one of four founding members, with world fusion exponents Afro Celt Sound System for over 15 years, whilst at the same time managing to run a solo career. Although not quite as prolific as ACSS (this is just his 4th release since 1997) his distinctive voice also graced Peter Gabriel’s Big Blue Ball project in 2008 and it’s the voice which dominates these dozen tracks.
Singing mostly in his native Gaelic Ó Lionáird’s sound is pure, almost spiritual, without sounding devoid of emotion (this is no coffee table Irish Tourist Board Enya-esq release) and producer Leo Abrahams showcases the vocals, bringing them to the fore in the mix with the instrumentation playing second fiddle (every pun intended).
That’s not to say that Foxlight is without tunes; the beguiling Glistening Fields, jaunty The Goat Song and For The Heavens, which is underpinned by wonderful African guitar and rhythms, stay long in the memory, but for the main the music is what could best be described as ethereal background (typified by album closer Stay which is almost done at a whisper).
Impeccably played, as you would expect with the session musicians on hand, and beautifully packaged, that’s Real World’s art department for you, it’s a pleasing listen that won’t drag you onto the dance floor, but will help you pass nearly an hours listening time in satisfying company.
Album Review - The Face of Mount Molehill by Neil Cowley Trio
I gave a bit of a critical kickin' to the last jazz album I reviewed for this site (no names) so it was with a slight air of trepidation that I slipped this into my laptop. I needn't have worried, because this award-winning threesome have delivered a smart, polished and pretension-free set of a dozen tracks that keep Nu-jazz well away from the mortuary slab.
My main problem with the genre has always been the lack of tunes, but with this material they are there with knobs on. From the gentle piano refrain and mournful strings of 'Lament' (never has a title been more apt) through to the tender 'Sirens Last Look Back', that rises and falls like a summer tide, we are awash with music that would sit happily in many a jazz-cynic's collection.
They don many coats during the 45mins and nobody could accuse them of not ringing the tempo and gusto changes. 'Rooster Was A Witness' has a taught funk groove running through it, 'Meyer' is a gorgeous, piano-driven piece that could easily have an Adele lyric over it, 'Mini Ha Ha' goes from utterly bonkers (a latter day 'Laughing Gnome') to ice chilled (with some wonderful bass playing) and the frantic title track sounds like Thomas Dolby's 'She Blinded Me With Science' - wonderfully anarchic stuff.
The two things that strike you most about the album is its sheer sense of fun and the fact that none of the pieces outstay their welcome (even the 6 minute plus 'Hope Machine') - a couple of points some other contemporary jazz outfits might like to take on board.
Album Review - Idealistic Animals by Dear Reader
For those of you decrying the dearth of ‘serious’ music in the face of bland X-factor fodder then here’s a New Year tip…get your lug holes round the VERY serious Idealistic Animals by Dear Reader (or Cheri MacNeil as she’s known to friends and family).
There have been plenty of break-up records charting the collapse of a relationship (Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks and Grace & Danger by John Martyn to name 2) but never one, to my knowledge, that deals with a person’s emotional split with religion (queue a phalanx of emails correcting me and disparaging my use of the word phalanx 13 words ago). MacNeil would be the first to admit that in her formative years her devotion to her faith boarded on the fanatical, but at the start of her twenties doubts started to creep in and what we have here are eleven tracks that lay bare, with a heavy air of cynicism and candour, somebody questioning their very reason for existing.
Each song is given and animal to identify it along with a more conventional title, hence the rhythmic Monkey (You Can Go Home) and the haunting Camel (Not Black or White but Camel).
But don’t be fooled into thinking this is 39 minutes of humourless soul searching, the music is varied, inventive and delightful and the lyrics smart, witty and touching - especially on Man (Idealistic Animals).
Like a stripped-down Bjork, and pretention-free Florence and the Machine, Dear Reader have produced a piece of work that challenges, excites and demands to be listened to and as a ‘non-believer’ I applaud the fact that MacNeil has had the creative bravery to expose her uncertainties in such a stunningly sounding way.
Our Top 10 Albums of 2011
It's always a thankless task and I'll probably change my mind tomorrow, but there you go. I can't be arsed to provide you with links to them all, but you can be assured that they are all belters and I would recommend that you check 'em out.
My Name's Bond...Daisy Bond
Forgive the display of parental pride but this is Daisy playing all the parts of the James Bond theme. Nice to know that her guitar lessons are not a waste of time. Now all she needs to do is to write something that's as popular as this and then I can retire :-)
Jim Stapley Album Review
It’s a shrewd move releasing this material in its raw state as it demonstrates that he can cut the mustard in front of a crowd and it also helps mask a lack of originality. We’re firmly in Free territory here with Stapley belting it out like a young Paul Rogers backed by a tight sounding 3-piece.
The songs, as I’ve said, are hardly ground breaking, Drivin’ Me Away is a VERY close relation of Run To Me By Bryan Adams, but there is much fun to be had with the bullish Without You, Small Faces-esq It’s All Over and frantic closer Gimme What You Got Tonight.
On this evidence I’m not sure he has enough to set him apart from the pack of the up and coming blues/rockers out there and it will be interesting to see if he can produce really stand out songs in future, but for now this gutsy effort is far from being the worst way of spending 41mins.
Album Review - The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society gained huge critical acclaim when they released their debut album back in 2009, so expectation was bound to be high for the follow up Into The Murky Water. Thankfully Nick Hemming and his cohorts don’t disappoint.
The hallmarks that made The Sleeper such a treasure; deft lyrical wordplay, fine ensemble playing and effortless arrangements are all here, but there is now more of an aural muscularity, exemplified by the joyous bounce of You Could Keep Me Talking and the sunshine-drenched This Phantom Life and though titles like Our Hearts Burn Like Damp Matches and I Shall Forever Remain An Amateur might make the listener think this is a ‘downer’ album (recurring themes of inadequacy and past hurt are certainly present) the music is so upliftingly beautiful it acts as a Prozac-laced counterpoint.
There is an adventurous scope to the material that weaves itself through the musical fabric from start to finish from the ethereal sounding title track, the pop of Dust On The Dancefloor, the country-laced Better Written Off (Than Written Down) and the beguiling optimism of The Hungry Years.
Hemming’s biggest strength are his lyrics (you don’t get 2 Ivor Novello nominations for nothing) and lines like ‘if we only knew the answers we could print them onto t-shirts’ put him up there with Elbow’s Guy Garvey and Squeeze veteran Chris Difford.
The whole piece has a very English, folk-like quality (Bellowhead if they were sipping Earl Grey instead of pints of Crème De Menthe) and if there is any justice in the world this album should sell by the truck load like Mumford and Sons did last year. At very least the NHS should have it on prescription - it would save a fortune in anti-depressants.
Being Moody
Mental illness has many forms and shatters the lives of many more people than will ever admit it or be aware of it. I've suffered since 1997.
This is something I wrote yesterday with tears streaming down my face. If it comes across as self indulgent and pitying then so be it, but that's the way I felt and no doubt will do again.
The sock in a drawer
The leaf on a tree
The spit in your mouth
A mite or a flea
A stone on the beach
Flotsam in the sea
Dust on a shelf
Anything but me
If you know somebody with depression, anxiety or any other related illness they don't want your pity, but do try to understand that they are not 'faking' it and that to them it is very real and a terrible, terrible thing.
If you are not sleeping, have lost the desire/ability to undertake normal activities, can't concentrate, worry all the time about things then you could well be suffering from some form of mental illness. Contact your GP NOW and get help. If they are no use (and many are not) get in touch with your local branch of MIND or MENCAP.
