On the same night Camera Obscura perform their quite impressive new record at the Barrowlands I find myself up the West End for a quainter but equally as lovely experience. Tonight the former stables of Brel play host to the launch of Anna Meldrum’s band. Anna herself is by no means a stranger to the scene gracing many a Glasgow venue with her quirky pop and ‘jumbo fringe’ as a solo artist.
Anna is clearly excited about tonight’s events openly expressing thanks to everyone for attending on numerous occasions. Brel is packed to the brim tonight with people all of which Anna claims she knows. However, the audience are not here simply because they know her and Anna’s performance more than justifies their attendance. Her songs are eccentric yet lovely, telling tales of every day mishaps and childhood antics that could easily be related to anybody’s life. Her performance is absorbingly charming as she fidgets with her mini mouth organ while cheerily chatting away between tracks only stopping to tune her guitar, which she informs us is difficult to do while talking.
The new attraction which are the band are introduced early into the set and definitely add a new dimension to Anna’s live sound. Joe on double bass and Nick on drums do not draw the focus to much away from singer but do compliment her impeccably as she translates her acoustic songs into a full band environment.
I am informed that new recording are on there way and judging by her only previous quality-recorded track, and tonight’s closer ‘Marigolds’ this is something to look forward to. With the band seemingly a permanent feature now the future seems brighter than ever for this freckled songstress.
Monday 27 April 2009
Friday 24 April 2009
I Never Cared About Henry Rollins: A Brief History of Indie Pop
Indie pop may be loved by as many as it is loathed but its story is one of the most endearing and important in the evolution of a lot of the music we know today. It made heroes out of kids who didn’t occupy the rock star attitude, opposed the world of the major label embracing and encouraging the art of the handmade single, the fanzine and the mix-tape.
The musical scene would evolve into a full-blown culture with people taking on every aspect of what it stood for. Indie pop was not merely music that was both ‘indie’ and ‘pop’ it became much more than that. The scene became labelled many different names the most recognizable being ‘twee’, a British word derived from how a baby would pronounce ‘sweet’. ‘Twee’ was defensively rejected by the scenes British founders but was taken under the wing by the mid-’90s American kids who would adopt indie pop as a lifestyle.
Indie pop on whole represented innocence and everything cutesy and pretty but it did have its problems. The cultures excessive quaint prettiness was embraced by some just as an excuse to be cool at a time when the scene made heroes of the cripplingly un-cool. For now I shall reject these flaws and give a brief insight into why indie pop was loved and should be held in higher regard than it currently is in the bigger musical picture.
The roots of indie pop have been traced to many places but many accept it came out of the mire of the UK punk scene in the late ’70s to early ’80s. Punk embodied a snotty, sneery approach that came with a lot of hatred and anger directed at many different places, but punk did have that DIY attitude in which your favourite band did not have to be someone playing to thousands of people, it could just be the kids down the street. The latter part was adopted by the kids who would eventually go on to inspire what became indie pop, scrapping the harsher attitude of punk in favour of a nicer outlook on life.
Arguably the place that embodied the beginnings of this scene most was Glasgow the best example of this being the output of Postcard Records, with label leaders Orange Juice and Josef K often sited as the inspiration for the scene. Postcard certainly formed a foundation for the NME’s C81 compilation, the prequel to C86 which is often sited as the first to group together indie pop and is regarded a benchmark in founding indie pop as a scene. Another notable band that embodied this attitude were London’s Television Personalities who took on the DIY aspects of punk injecting this quaint, caring outlook which in some ways completely opposed punk. Television Personalities went on to become one of the scenes staple acts.
NME’s release of C86 in 1986 brought about a further following for the music and accelerated the foundation of the indie pop scene. Then around the same time something happened, British indie became popular with The Smiths at the forefront of the whole movement. The Smiths embodied a lot of things indie pop held dear they were signed to an independent label and Morrissey appeared the type of person these kids would make a hero of with his awkward personality and flower waving. But The Smiths popularity required the mass production of records and came with a huge public awareness of the indie scene.
With indie becoming popular the culture of exchanging mix-tapes and fanzines about indie music became elite. The bands that featured on the tapes were now thrust into the public eye defeating the purpose of their efforts made in making them. Cue Sarah Records the Bristol based label specialising in releasing indie pop records. Sarah took on the whole cutesy attitude and again encouraged the adoration of the kids who would not typically be considered so. The Field Mice were the epitome of what indie pop stood for and became the first heroes of Sarah Records. The next major product of Sarah were Heavenly, coming out of the ashes of Talulah Gosh Amelia Fletcher and co. become the poster stars of a generation of indie pop kids and are vastly regarded as the best indie pop band ever.
However by 1995 the demise of indie pop was underway, Sarah’s bands had begun to experiment with new sounds and complexify their music and the ‘anyone could make this music’ attitude just was not there anymore. The emergence of My Bloody Valentine and the obsession with shoegaze caught the imagination of the scene and the take-off of Britpop somewhat spelled the end of indie pop as a movement in the UK, the closure of Sarah during that year only went further to confirm this.
The death of Sarah did not mean the end of indie pop it was still alive and well across the sea in America. In America indie pop had taken a bit longer to emerge and it did so in quite similar fashion to the way it had done in Britain. In a way it followed an almost parallel path but something happened that keeps indie pop alive today.
In America punk had lasted way into the mid ’80's as a popular scene, still running through this DIY ethic that the UK punks had in the late ’70's. It was out of this scene that the American indie pop emerged. Olympia, Washington was at the centre of this event with Calvin Johnson, his band Beat Happening and label K Records becoming the rock that everything was built on. K became essentially what the likes of Postcard were in the UK and inspired a following of hero-worshiping kids for this generation of indie pop stars. K’s much acclaimed International Pop Underground festival is responsible for the emergence Modest Mouse among others, while indie pop’s feminine roots which K championed led a path to the popularity of riot grrrl in the early ’90's. Then, just like in the UK American indie became popular; bands that would have typically been labelled twee were entering the mainstream and indie pop found itself in the same scenario as it had been in the UK a few years earlier.
This is the point that the American story takes a different path from the British one because the American indie pop scene did not die, instead it flourished. People took the scene to heart; indie pop mix-tapes and fanzines came back into the lifestyles of thousands of Americans. Twee as a culture had begun. This generation of twee kids were different from those of the past, while the indie pop scene the UK had created rejected the label of ‘twee’ and ‘cutie’ as insults, this new wave adopted them as their own. T shirts sporting the terms like ‘Twee as Fuck’ were aplenty and bands like Tullycraft actively poked fun at the very scene they occupied. The once insults became in-jokes. Topping this one of their own was to be seen at the very centre of public attention sporting a K records tattoo for everyone to see. Yes, Kurt Cobain had once been an indie pop kid in fact his favourite band were Glasgow indie pop act The Vaselines and he had once been part of Calvin Johnson’s project the Go Team.
Twee lived its height in America through the mid-1990’s and after that faded back to a small niche that kept the scene alive. But with today’s indie guitar music beginning to tire there must be an avenue for something fresh that could possible thrust twee back to its height. New York recently has seen a minor breakthrough with the Pains of Being Pure at Heart leading the way to see twee pushed to the attention again of musical underground again. Whether indie pop will relive the heights of the mid-’90's is questionable but the scene is certainly not dead. As long as there are kids making music and appreciating the nicer things in life it will continue, and with such a rich back catalogue of records it certainly should be held with more esteem in the wider musical world than it is.
The musical scene would evolve into a full-blown culture with people taking on every aspect of what it stood for. Indie pop was not merely music that was both ‘indie’ and ‘pop’ it became much more than that. The scene became labelled many different names the most recognizable being ‘twee’, a British word derived from how a baby would pronounce ‘sweet’. ‘Twee’ was defensively rejected by the scenes British founders but was taken under the wing by the mid-’90s American kids who would adopt indie pop as a lifestyle.
Indie pop on whole represented innocence and everything cutesy and pretty but it did have its problems. The cultures excessive quaint prettiness was embraced by some just as an excuse to be cool at a time when the scene made heroes of the cripplingly un-cool. For now I shall reject these flaws and give a brief insight into why indie pop was loved and should be held in higher regard than it currently is in the bigger musical picture.
The roots of indie pop have been traced to many places but many accept it came out of the mire of the UK punk scene in the late ’70s to early ’80s. Punk embodied a snotty, sneery approach that came with a lot of hatred and anger directed at many different places, but punk did have that DIY attitude in which your favourite band did not have to be someone playing to thousands of people, it could just be the kids down the street. The latter part was adopted by the kids who would eventually go on to inspire what became indie pop, scrapping the harsher attitude of punk in favour of a nicer outlook on life.
Arguably the place that embodied the beginnings of this scene most was Glasgow the best example of this being the output of Postcard Records, with label leaders Orange Juice and Josef K often sited as the inspiration for the scene. Postcard certainly formed a foundation for the NME’s C81 compilation, the prequel to C86 which is often sited as the first to group together indie pop and is regarded a benchmark in founding indie pop as a scene. Another notable band that embodied this attitude were London’s Television Personalities who took on the DIY aspects of punk injecting this quaint, caring outlook which in some ways completely opposed punk. Television Personalities went on to become one of the scenes staple acts.
NME’s release of C86 in 1986 brought about a further following for the music and accelerated the foundation of the indie pop scene. Then around the same time something happened, British indie became popular with The Smiths at the forefront of the whole movement. The Smiths embodied a lot of things indie pop held dear they were signed to an independent label and Morrissey appeared the type of person these kids would make a hero of with his awkward personality and flower waving. But The Smiths popularity required the mass production of records and came with a huge public awareness of the indie scene.
With indie becoming popular the culture of exchanging mix-tapes and fanzines about indie music became elite. The bands that featured on the tapes were now thrust into the public eye defeating the purpose of their efforts made in making them. Cue Sarah Records the Bristol based label specialising in releasing indie pop records. Sarah took on the whole cutesy attitude and again encouraged the adoration of the kids who would not typically be considered so. The Field Mice were the epitome of what indie pop stood for and became the first heroes of Sarah Records. The next major product of Sarah were Heavenly, coming out of the ashes of Talulah Gosh Amelia Fletcher and co. become the poster stars of a generation of indie pop kids and are vastly regarded as the best indie pop band ever.
However by 1995 the demise of indie pop was underway, Sarah’s bands had begun to experiment with new sounds and complexify their music and the ‘anyone could make this music’ attitude just was not there anymore. The emergence of My Bloody Valentine and the obsession with shoegaze caught the imagination of the scene and the take-off of Britpop somewhat spelled the end of indie pop as a movement in the UK, the closure of Sarah during that year only went further to confirm this.
The death of Sarah did not mean the end of indie pop it was still alive and well across the sea in America. In America indie pop had taken a bit longer to emerge and it did so in quite similar fashion to the way it had done in Britain. In a way it followed an almost parallel path but something happened that keeps indie pop alive today.
In America punk had lasted way into the mid ’80's as a popular scene, still running through this DIY ethic that the UK punks had in the late ’70's. It was out of this scene that the American indie pop emerged. Olympia, Washington was at the centre of this event with Calvin Johnson, his band Beat Happening and label K Records becoming the rock that everything was built on. K became essentially what the likes of Postcard were in the UK and inspired a following of hero-worshiping kids for this generation of indie pop stars. K’s much acclaimed International Pop Underground festival is responsible for the emergence Modest Mouse among others, while indie pop’s feminine roots which K championed led a path to the popularity of riot grrrl in the early ’90's. Then, just like in the UK American indie became popular; bands that would have typically been labelled twee were entering the mainstream and indie pop found itself in the same scenario as it had been in the UK a few years earlier.
This is the point that the American story takes a different path from the British one because the American indie pop scene did not die, instead it flourished. People took the scene to heart; indie pop mix-tapes and fanzines came back into the lifestyles of thousands of Americans. Twee as a culture had begun. This generation of twee kids were different from those of the past, while the indie pop scene the UK had created rejected the label of ‘twee’ and ‘cutie’ as insults, this new wave adopted them as their own. T shirts sporting the terms like ‘Twee as Fuck’ were aplenty and bands like Tullycraft actively poked fun at the very scene they occupied. The once insults became in-jokes. Topping this one of their own was to be seen at the very centre of public attention sporting a K records tattoo for everyone to see. Yes, Kurt Cobain had once been an indie pop kid in fact his favourite band were Glasgow indie pop act The Vaselines and he had once been part of Calvin Johnson’s project the Go Team.
Twee lived its height in America through the mid-1990’s and after that faded back to a small niche that kept the scene alive. But with today’s indie guitar music beginning to tire there must be an avenue for something fresh that could possible thrust twee back to its height. New York recently has seen a minor breakthrough with the Pains of Being Pure at Heart leading the way to see twee pushed to the attention again of musical underground again. Whether indie pop will relive the heights of the mid-’90's is questionable but the scene is certainly not dead. As long as there are kids making music and appreciating the nicer things in life it will continue, and with such a rich back catalogue of records it certainly should be held with more esteem in the wider musical world than it is.
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Record Reviews: Jan-Mar '09
Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion
In some circles it seemed before 2009 had begun the years best album had already been decided, the strength of four leaked tracks and a constantly improving back catalogue the only ground for this at the time absurd claim. Some justification of these claims is received upon hearing the album in its complete form.
Merriweather Post Pavilion sees Animal Collective reach new accessibility levels, their material has been refined and perfected carving a new chapter into a quite unique musical output. Working through the bands back catalogue you experience the steady progressions that have been made, the evolution of a sound that most great bands have to craft before reaching that hefty status.
Animal Collective’s technically ninth album draws from many era of the bands lifespan all blended seamlessly leaving all influences meaningless, creating a sound that can only be described as their own. Flowing soundscapes and reverb drenched vocals are a plenty, but placed side by side with songs of a classic pop structure and some blissful harmonies it all maps out wonderfully.
Yet labeling this album Animal Collective’s ‘pop’ album still seems silly, although some of the tracks share many similarities with classic pop these tracks will never draw a mainstream audience. Merriweather Post Pavilion may be more accessible than previous work but it still does take a few listens to sink in. There are no standout vocal hooks to be left reeling around your head for days, instead the band has created stunning record in which every track holds its own appeal.
Genrefying this record is surpassed with it crossing so many musical boundaries just no classification would suffice. The heavy hype which surrounded this record has been justified in splendid fashion, it is a special album that may end up record of ’09 it even holds the qualities that will see it go down in some groups as timeless. Still there is time left so jumping the gun will not suffice, just do not be surprised to hear this record talked about for years to come.
Bat for Lashes
Two Suns
There was always something quite lovely about Natasha Khan’s music, 2006’s Fur and Gold carried so much promise, precious songs with an array of sounds from cultural backgrounds quite foreign to her Brighton home. Despite it winning her high profile support slots with Radiohead it did lack something in depth, it did not manage to raise Bat For Lashes above the rest of her contemporaries. Two Suns her second LP sees her find this depth and it should see her lifted high into the consciousness of every music fan.
Two Suns sees Khan explore a more complex path as she gives a much fuller more confident sound. Much of this confidence is focused through her destructive fantasy creation Pearl, whose repeated mentions bring a minor theme to the record helping draw it all together as a complete product.
Khan admits her travels have inspired a lot of the sound on this record and this is certainly evident in the transatlantic electronic feel a lot of the tracks possess. Still a lot of the quaint touches that brought people to adore her debut remain, this enthused with her new found confidence all come together producing what is bound to be one of the best British albums you will hear this year.
Crystal Antlers
Tentacles
‘Crystal’ is the latest word you must use in the name of your new hip underground band, no less than three acts succeeded in drawing a name for themselves last year with its inclusion. Crystal Antlers were possibly the least publicised of these bands at the time but this year sees them make up for it with major tours and the release of their debut LP.
The Long Beach act has strong punk footings, some members having shared bands with former Bad Brains frontman H.R.. Tentacles takes on those footings and attempts to expand on them with a series of varied influences which were showcased through last years self released EP which caught the attention of many critics.
Tentacles although a very interesting and at times enjoyable experience does not seem to have taken too many steps away from potential of their EP. There is too much unrefined noise here for it to be considered great, but it is far from unlistenable there is more than enough promise on here to keep ears pricked for any progressions this band may make in the future.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have taken the forefront of the current New York indie pop revival scene and are helping pave the way for success further afield. The bands influences are not difficult to point out, yes the band may drop names of some ultra twee acts but this sound just screams ‘The Smiths’. Being influenced by The Smiths is by no means terrible as they would be listed as one of the most influential bands ever, in fact the Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s take on their influence is quite refreshing if it is not all round unique.
This is a melancholy indie pop album that will no doubt be labeled as twee, but could quite easily be so much more. Tracks like ‘Stay Alive’ come with a dreamy caress that could see it taken to heart of many, Smiths fans or not. ‘A Teenager in Love’ takes more conventional indie pop subject matter and its chirpy keyboard flickers are certain to satisfy many an ear. Throw this in with a few minor shoegazing glimpses and you have a record of charming gems that feels as much in the now as it does reminisce of the past.
Röyksopp
Junior
Röyksopp are one of those acts that everyone has unknowingly heard at some point in their life, there was a time when every second television advert contained one of their tracks. Despite this the Norwegian duos name has gone pretty much unheard of in many quarters. Their haunting and generally quite ambient electronica has seemingly flowed through the mainstream without too much notice.
Junior comes after a four-year gap and sees them return with a more upbeat excitable sound that could possibly see them thrust back into the mainstream again whether anonymously or not. Lead single ‘Happy up Here’ translates perfectly as their ‘Eple’ of 2009 and could easily stick in the head of multitudes of people but thus far has had not enough airplay to blast them into the wider public eye. It is second single ‘The Girl and the Robot’ that holds the most promise of a hit, acquiring the services of Swedish pop heroine Robyn for vocal duties can only aid in this process. The song stretches Röyksopp further towards the pop world than ever before as their gloomy synths are overlapped by one of the catchiest choruses the year will see, as Robyn treats us to her robot romance tale.
The remainder of the album does not lift off any further than the first two tracks, which is a shame as the rest of the material is solid stuff the album just peaks too early. A couple of tracks featuring electropop singer Lykke Li do provide highs on the second half of the record but still there are a lot that will fall off after such a lofty start. Röyksopp promise a partner to this record later in the year, a more ambient effort titled Senior that could provide a well deserved chill out after Junior hits the dance floor.
Merriweather Post Pavilion
In some circles it seemed before 2009 had begun the years best album had already been decided, the strength of four leaked tracks and a constantly improving back catalogue the only ground for this at the time absurd claim. Some justification of these claims is received upon hearing the album in its complete form.
Merriweather Post Pavilion sees Animal Collective reach new accessibility levels, their material has been refined and perfected carving a new chapter into a quite unique musical output. Working through the bands back catalogue you experience the steady progressions that have been made, the evolution of a sound that most great bands have to craft before reaching that hefty status.
Animal Collective’s technically ninth album draws from many era of the bands lifespan all blended seamlessly leaving all influences meaningless, creating a sound that can only be described as their own. Flowing soundscapes and reverb drenched vocals are a plenty, but placed side by side with songs of a classic pop structure and some blissful harmonies it all maps out wonderfully.
Yet labeling this album Animal Collective’s ‘pop’ album still seems silly, although some of the tracks share many similarities with classic pop these tracks will never draw a mainstream audience. Merriweather Post Pavilion may be more accessible than previous work but it still does take a few listens to sink in. There are no standout vocal hooks to be left reeling around your head for days, instead the band has created stunning record in which every track holds its own appeal.
Genrefying this record is surpassed with it crossing so many musical boundaries just no classification would suffice. The heavy hype which surrounded this record has been justified in splendid fashion, it is a special album that may end up record of ’09 it even holds the qualities that will see it go down in some groups as timeless. Still there is time left so jumping the gun will not suffice, just do not be surprised to hear this record talked about for years to come.
Bat for Lashes
Two Suns
There was always something quite lovely about Natasha Khan’s music, 2006’s Fur and Gold carried so much promise, precious songs with an array of sounds from cultural backgrounds quite foreign to her Brighton home. Despite it winning her high profile support slots with Radiohead it did lack something in depth, it did not manage to raise Bat For Lashes above the rest of her contemporaries. Two Suns her second LP sees her find this depth and it should see her lifted high into the consciousness of every music fan.
Two Suns sees Khan explore a more complex path as she gives a much fuller more confident sound. Much of this confidence is focused through her destructive fantasy creation Pearl, whose repeated mentions bring a minor theme to the record helping draw it all together as a complete product.
Khan admits her travels have inspired a lot of the sound on this record and this is certainly evident in the transatlantic electronic feel a lot of the tracks possess. Still a lot of the quaint touches that brought people to adore her debut remain, this enthused with her new found confidence all come together producing what is bound to be one of the best British albums you will hear this year.
Crystal Antlers
Tentacles
‘Crystal’ is the latest word you must use in the name of your new hip underground band, no less than three acts succeeded in drawing a name for themselves last year with its inclusion. Crystal Antlers were possibly the least publicised of these bands at the time but this year sees them make up for it with major tours and the release of their debut LP.
The Long Beach act has strong punk footings, some members having shared bands with former Bad Brains frontman H.R.. Tentacles takes on those footings and attempts to expand on them with a series of varied influences which were showcased through last years self released EP which caught the attention of many critics.
Tentacles although a very interesting and at times enjoyable experience does not seem to have taken too many steps away from potential of their EP. There is too much unrefined noise here for it to be considered great, but it is far from unlistenable there is more than enough promise on here to keep ears pricked for any progressions this band may make in the future.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have taken the forefront of the current New York indie pop revival scene and are helping pave the way for success further afield. The bands influences are not difficult to point out, yes the band may drop names of some ultra twee acts but this sound just screams ‘The Smiths’. Being influenced by The Smiths is by no means terrible as they would be listed as one of the most influential bands ever, in fact the Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s take on their influence is quite refreshing if it is not all round unique.
This is a melancholy indie pop album that will no doubt be labeled as twee, but could quite easily be so much more. Tracks like ‘Stay Alive’ come with a dreamy caress that could see it taken to heart of many, Smiths fans or not. ‘A Teenager in Love’ takes more conventional indie pop subject matter and its chirpy keyboard flickers are certain to satisfy many an ear. Throw this in with a few minor shoegazing glimpses and you have a record of charming gems that feels as much in the now as it does reminisce of the past.
Röyksopp
Junior
Röyksopp are one of those acts that everyone has unknowingly heard at some point in their life, there was a time when every second television advert contained one of their tracks. Despite this the Norwegian duos name has gone pretty much unheard of in many quarters. Their haunting and generally quite ambient electronica has seemingly flowed through the mainstream without too much notice.
Junior comes after a four-year gap and sees them return with a more upbeat excitable sound that could possibly see them thrust back into the mainstream again whether anonymously or not. Lead single ‘Happy up Here’ translates perfectly as their ‘Eple’ of 2009 and could easily stick in the head of multitudes of people but thus far has had not enough airplay to blast them into the wider public eye. It is second single ‘The Girl and the Robot’ that holds the most promise of a hit, acquiring the services of Swedish pop heroine Robyn for vocal duties can only aid in this process. The song stretches Röyksopp further towards the pop world than ever before as their gloomy synths are overlapped by one of the catchiest choruses the year will see, as Robyn treats us to her robot romance tale.
The remainder of the album does not lift off any further than the first two tracks, which is a shame as the rest of the material is solid stuff the album just peaks too early. A couple of tracks featuring electropop singer Lykke Li do provide highs on the second half of the record but still there are a lot that will fall off after such a lofty start. Röyksopp promise a partner to this record later in the year, a more ambient effort titled Senior that could provide a well deserved chill out after Junior hits the dance floor.
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