David Peach

Category: Journal

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    Who You Selling For by The Pretty Reckless

    “Who You Selling For” by The Pretty Reckless sounds to me to be their most ambitious album to date. Their third full album release sees them stepping up their game, incorporating fresh sounding elements while still holding on to that signature “Reckless” sound. Each Pretty Reckless album has been longer than the last, with this one maintaining that tradition, clocking in at just over 50 minutes.

    Who You Selling For

    This album didn’t quite open like I expected it too. In place of a thumping rock jaunt, there was a calm, soothing piano piece accompanied by Taylor Momsen’s softly-sang words. This soon gave way for the fading in of a, dare i say it, Tool-esque riff. This opening song on the whole felt like they were experimenting with their sound; pushing their boundaries stylistically. On this song alone, I felt the next 11 songs were going to be a new experience; different from what I was used to hearing from them.

    Taylor Momsen
    Taylor Momsen

    The following 2 songs, “Oh My God” and “Take Me Down” take me back to that recognisable ‘Reckless sound’. The latter of the two was the album’s first single, and a great choice it was too. The drums are accompanied by an almost tribal-like bongo sound with a cool guitar rhythm lick. “Take Me Down” got me back on the familiar ground with their signature sound that I’ve come to love.

    Momsen’s voice is just as great as it always was too – if anything she sounds stronger vocally. Listening to the song “Already Dead” reminded me why Taylor’s vocals put her up in the top end of her league.

    Upping their game

    The rest of “Who You Selling For” continues to peak my interest throughout. They could have released another “Light Me Up” and I’d have been happy, but this release shows that they aren’t afraid to try new things and aren’t using their great sound in a cookie-cutter fashion. From the blues-infused “Prisoner”; to the heavy belters “Wild City” and my favourite off the album “Living In The Storm”; to the 3 minutes of breathing space that comes with the titular song. This album has much variety and forces me to pay closer attention to each song – pulling me further into the music.

    As surprising as the opening to this album was, the closing was more so. Again, based on previous albums, I was expecting a certain style in the closing song – instead they gave me the super-funky finishing song “Mad Love”, whose opening could have easily have lead into an awesome cover of The Beegees’ “Stayin’ Alive”.

    “Who You Selling For” demonstrates The Pretty Reckless at their strongest. A band not content with remaining in known safety, they are stepping up their game whilst still holding on to that signature ‘Reckless aesthetic’.

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    5 of my favourite debut albums

    Buckingham Nicks by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

    Buckingham Nicks by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

    Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974 to make its ninth, and most well-known, line up. But just the year before, the two had recorded an album together called “Buckingham Nicks”. As a guitar player I was hugely inspired by Lindsey Buckingham, so when I found out about this album it felt like I’d struck gold.

    Some of my favourite songs from them both appear on this album. “Frozen Love” has one of my favourite guitar moments from Lindsey; and Stevie’s Voice sounds so great on “Races are Run” and “Long Distance Winner”.

    The harmonies that these two manage to produce together are simply phenomenal. 

    Light Me Up by The Pretty Reckless

    Light Me Up by The Pretty Reckless

    In a time when I was a little bored with the contemporary rock music coming out, and was just discovering Lorde; Lana Del Rey et al, I heard a song on the radio called “Heaven Knows”. The big sound of the band and heavy vocals of Taylor Momsen had me instantly hooked. From that song I immediately sought out the album, “Going To Hell”, which naturally led me to their previous – and debut – album “Light Me Up”.

    “Light Me Up” is such a great rock album. It has everything from super-catchy heavy romps to the stripped-back and beautiful closing “You”. This is album would definitely be a desert island disc for me. 

    Pure Heroine by Lorde

    Pure Heroine by Lorde

    Lorde – the lady who absolutely blew everyone away with her powerful tribute to David Bowie following his passing. She is definitely one of the few truly unique artists of recent times. She has a style that is so uniquely her own and her stunning debut “Pure Heroine” is a testiment to that.

    The biggest hit off the album is undoubtedly “Royals”, which is where I had my first taste. Well, to be more precise it was Weird Al Yankovic’s parody cover “Foil” which led to my looking for the origin of the song.

    As soon as I pressed play and heard the absolutely stunner “Tennis Court” I was an immediate fan boy; I was obssessed with the album – to some degree I still am. 

    Same Trailer Different Park by Kacey Musgraves

    Same Trailer Different Park by Kacey Musgraves

    When it comes to country music I am mostly in the dark. Except for my being a big fan of Kris Kristofferson, and of course Johnny Cash, I never really sought out any new country music. That was until I was introduced to Kacey Musgraves by web designer Andy Clarke in his album review.

    Since first hearing it I played it every morning on my drive into work. I would even intentionally drive slower so that I could hear the whole album before arriving. The opening, “Silver Lining”, is one of the most welcoming songs I’ve heard on an album.

    Every corner of “Same Trailer Different Park” is as genuine a country album we could ever hope to hear.

    Atlas by FM-84

    Atlas by FM-84

    Over the past 12 months I have been diving into a few new genres than what I was used to. There’s been grime; pop; and there’s been synth wave. Synth wave is as cool as it sounds. It’s a style of music with the intentional sound and aesthetics of 80s film / game soundtracks. Think John Carpenter; Tron et al.

    The first artist of Synth wave I heard was an artist called ‘FM-84’, real name Colin Bennett. His song “Running In The Night”, co-written with Ollie Wride, absolute blew me away and made me wish I had become self-aware in the 80s. The whole album feels like it was both made in the 80s and is an ultimate tribute to the 80s. Every song on “Atlas” is a complete joy to listen to. 

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    I really don’t like Longbridge

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    No Hard Feelings by Hante

    Listening to No Hard Feelings by Hante makes me feel a lot more cultured than I am.

    Hante is a hugely talented Electronic / Synthwave / Darkwave artist hailing from Paris, France. Her music is darkly melancholic that completely envelopes you when you listen.

    I always imagine myself sat in some smokey underground Parisian nightclub when I hear it.

    The E.P. has five songs and each one is golden. The first one I heard was actually the second song, “À Contrecoeur”, which Google tells me is French for “Unwillingly”. Everything about this song oozes cool. The opening twangy lick on what I think is an electric guitar; The main awesome synth attack melody that comes in at about the thirty one second mark; Hante’s haunting vocals mixed with the awesome wall of sound that she has created. The song, and indeed the entire E.P., is an amazingly powerful, dark electronic experience.

    Nothing’s gonna happen
    I’m sinking in a fantasy
    If we love each other
    Why can’t we be dreaming together?

    Living in a French Movie by Hante

    “Une Nuit Avec Mon Ennemi”, the third song, has yet more catchy, dark heavy synth melodies arranged with her ghostly delivery. This is how dark synth should be – dark but not depressing.

    In “Quiet Violence” Hante seems to push herself further with her vocals. She sounds bigger; more commanding in the delivery and the song is one of the E.P.’s biggest-sounding as a result.

    On the whole this music is some of the most interesting I’ve heard in a long while. While I love all the music I write about, “No Hard Feelings” by Hante is in a small collection of exceptional recordings that are completely fresh to my ears.

    Anybody looking to broaden their own musical tastes and need a tip on where to look – look no further than Hante.

    Please head over to Hante’s Bandcamp page and buy her music.

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    HANA E.P. by HANA

    Hana Pestle, stage name HANA, is from the same musical camp as artists like Grimes, in that she writes, records, produces and performs all her own music. This makes her music undeniably her own, with its own distinct sound.

    Her E.P., eponymously-titled, stands as a testament to her abilities as a complete recording artist and a bloody good one.

    The songs on this E.P. are ethereal in sound and feeling, but her powerful, commanding voice gives the songs some real weight. There are lots of cool audio sample effects and loops throughout the twenty two minutes of the HANA e.p. too. I don’t think she’d had much production experience under her belt when making this E.P. but her experimentation and persistence really paid off to give us one of the best E.P.s of the year.

    Like my father and my mother
    I will love you for forever
    Hold my hand and dive now sister
    Breathe with me underwater

    Underwater by HANA

    HANA is someone that truly has that “special something” that you can’t quite put your finger on. I mean, yes she knows the ins and outs of her craft; and yes, she has a tremendous vocal and songwriting talent, but there’s also something that is greater than the sum of the parts.

    As an aside, if you ever get a chance to see her perform live you should. I saw her earlier this year both supporting Grimes as well as performing in her band with her. From that performance alone, it’s obvious that she isn’t just a performer of this great music – she is it’s creator and its master. She weaves the music to her will for a truly captivating show that you just have to experience.

    For me, HANA is on the same footing as artists like Lorde, Lana Del Rey and Tove Lo. It’s no surprise that many of her contemporaries too are big fans. Take one listen and you will be too.

    You can buy HANA e.p. from iTunes.

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    Lady Wood by Tove Lo

    Tove Lo is an artist unafraid to use sexuality in her work. Whether that be in her lyrics; album title; or the album’s accompanying short film, “Fairy Dust”. That sexuality isn’t used for shock or as an empty attempt to gain followers, but is instead part of the deep rooted feelings behind her music.

    “Lady Wood” came across to me as Tove Lo’s most consistent piece of work to date. Don’t get me wrong – I love “Queen of the Clouds” – but something about her latest release seemed more consistent; more conceptual. These songs are tied together really well, with every single one of them being an absolute killer that grow with every listen.

    A confident, more focused, second album

    With the lighting of a single candle, experimental effects and a beautiful-sounding synth, “Fairy Dust (Chapter 1)” ushers us into the world of Tove Lo’s “Lady Wood”. It’s definitely one of my favourite intros to an album this year, and leads really well into the first full-length song, “Influence”.

    “Influence” is an infectious steady build for the album and peaks brilliantly at it’s chorus’ awesome deep bass line. I remember the synthesizer’s sound in particular stood out to me, and fit in perfectly with my recent obsession with synthwave music.

    Following “Influence” comes the album’s titular song “Lady Wood”, which is also a favourite of mine. Another steady build up with soft, minimal percussion lead to one of my favourite lyrics from the whole album:

    I know what people say about you
    They say the same about me
    I don’t care if it’s all true
    I want you hanging with me

    Lady Wood by Tove Lo

    “Lady Wood”, the song, also comes across as a slightly reined-in club dance hit, which is a nice breather before the absolute belter that comes next, in the shape of “True Disaster”.

    As I mentioned earlier there is an accompanying short film to this album called “Fairy Dust”. One of the stand out parts of that film was in the performance of “True Disaster” – all in one continuous take by the look of it. It was seeing that performance that made this song in particular stand out the more as being one of my favourites. Like many of the songs here, it builds up really well and peaks with an absolutely banging chorus.

    Featured Artists

    “Lady Wood” includes some interesting featured artists across a couple of the songs, none of which I’d heard of before. In particular the album’s mid-way song, “Vibes”, features a chap called Joe Janiak and has one of the most interesting chorus deliveries of the album. “Vibes” almost comes out of left field, in that its opening is performed on an acoustic finger-picked guitar. It gives the album a stylistic change to the music contained up till this point.

    No, let’s not put a label on it
    Let’s keep it fun
    We don’t put a label on it
    So we can run free, yeah
    I wanna be free like you

    Cool Girl by Tove Lo

    The rest of the album’s second half follows suit by blasting out great song after great song. There is a great use of electronic samples and synthesizers throughout this album that just serve to increase my addiction to it.

    Not one of the songs made me want to skip forward – if you’re going to listen to this album, then you will listen to it. Just listen through the first minute of “Keep it Simple” and tell me the synth drop doesn’t kick ass.

    A Sprinkling of Fairy Dust

    As well as listening to “Lady Wood”, I also strongly urge you to take half an hour to watch Tove’s film “Fairy Dust” – and probably not at work either. Watching this film really gave me an extra depth when listening to the album after. I’m not going to pretend I understood the story 100% or that I got all the metaphors etc, but as a piece of art and an album accompaniment, it’s first class. Just watch Tove Lo’s performance in the opening scene and you’re sure to be pulled in immediately.

    You can buy Tove Lo’s “Lady Wood” on Amazon today.

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    Border Lord by Kris Kristofferson

    Border Lord by Kris Kristofferson was my first taste of country music. In fact I think when I bought this album it was the first time I had stepped out of my musical bubble of that time. It has a slightly darker flavour than what I thought country was till then.

    As I remember it I was on my way home from my early shift in a local warehouse when I passed by a charity shop in the town. In the window I saw a bunch of albums and Border Lord was one of them. I think it was the cover that initially drew me to it and at only about £1.50, how could I say no?

    When I first listened to this album I was immediately drawn in – I hadn’t heard anything like it before. I had been brought up on a healthy diet of Fleetwood Mac, Meat Loaf and Supertramp; so it was a refreshing addition to my music range. In retrospect I think this was the album that made me start actively searching out different types of music.

    Border Lord

    The album opens with the song “Josie” which, as best as I can work out from the lyrics, is a song about a man finding himself experiencing his first love with a woman of the night. When I say “as best as I can work out”, I just mean that most of the album’s lyrics are open to interpretation. I tend to see the literal meanings first, as opposed to any metaphor attached. I think it speaks volumes for the album that I can hear it ten years later and still find new things within it.

    The next song, “Burden of Freedom”, is a song directed to God by the singer, about either adjusting to life outside of a prison and what it has done to him, or about him taking his own life. This, along with the third song, “Stagger Mountain Tragedy”, are brilliant examples of the fully formed worlds within Kris’ songs that are expertly crafted with these sometimes-cryptic lyrics.

    I was born on Stagger Mountain in the sunshine and the snow.
    And leavin’ was the first mistake I made;
    But I hungered for the shadows in the valley down below.
    And the girl that danced the tune the devil played.
    Her smile was like the blindin’ light of sunshine on the snow
    And the flashin’ of her hair was black as sin.
    And her body set the smokes of hell a-boilin’ in my skull.
    When the fiddle of the devil made her spin.

    opening lyrics from “Stagger Mountain Tragedy”

    The rest of the song takes a dark turn that I will let you discover for yourself.

    The stand-out song on “Border Lord” for me, is the start of the album’s second half, “Little Girl Lost”. This, like some previous songs, comes across as being from a darker side of love. The song also has one of my favourite tempo changes I’ve ever heard.

    “Smokey put the sweat on me” is a great driving song and gives “Border Lord” greater variety. Not that the album gets boring at all, it just gives it a breeze of cool air. It sounds like it would be a great live concert closer too. If you can listen to this song through without either bobbing your head or your feet, or both, then you’re in much more control of your body than I am.

    I have shook Kris Kristofferson’s hand

    Every album of Kris Kristofferson’s I’ve heard since “Border Lord” I’ve loved. I think my favourite is actually his eponymous debut, but this will always have a special place on my shelf.

    Also, on the strength of this album, I travelled up to Edinburgh, from Birmingham, to see him live. He still knows how to command a stage, twang them strings and I even got to shake his hand.

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    You Know What It’s Like by Carla dal Forno

    Since I first heard the song “Fast Moving Cars“, the album “You Know What It’s Like” by Carla Dal Forno has been on my radar ever since. When the album was released on October 15th, it both was and wasn’t what I was expecting.

    It was, insofar as it being rooted in a consistent feeling of ambience that I came to expect from “Fast Moving Cars”, and the second single “What You Gonna Do Now”.

    It wasn’t, in that I had half-expected the album to be samey throughout. However I am happy to say that the album had enough variety within, without becoming disjointed.

    One thing is certain; with “You Know What It’s Like” you will be taken on a journey around some of the darker reaches of music.

    You can buy “You Know What It’s Like” from Bandcamp.

    Carla walks us into the void

    Carla brings an eeriness to music that for me, has many distant echos back to albums like “The Marble Index” by Nico.

    The opening song, an instrumental called “Italian Cinema” is possibly the strangest album intro I’ve heard in a long time. The title “Italian Cinema” is apt, being that it made me conjure up images of old Italian Giallo films. It starts with a strange warbling effect and merges into what I could only imagine as a demonic playground melody.

    Four flies on grey velvet

    Following “Italian Cinema” was the now-familiar crack of thunder, ushering in one of my favourite songs of the year, “Fast Moving Cars”. The song doesn’t seem to really go anywhere as such. It’s almost like a Wican chant set to a repeated base tone and minimal synthesizer. But that is precisely what I love about Carla Dal Forno’s music – her ethereal, often haunting, aesthetics.

    “DB Rip” steps in as the third song on the album and brings a slightly more aggressive edge. With its punchier beat and sharper synths, it will either shake you free from the album’s trace-inducing charm, or take you deeper. I was taken deeper, so it was only fitting that the next song’s lyrics opened with the following:

    What you gonna do now,
    that the night’s come and it surrounds you?
    What you gonna do now,
    that the night’s come and it surrounds you?
    You could wait for the day,
    Though I don’t think it’ll make a difference

    What you gonna do now by Carla Dal Forno

    Seduced by the darkness

    This album has a darkness to it that is inviting, not off-putting. I can only liken it to the feelings I got during the end of this years film “The Witch”. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, but let me just say it involves an inevitable pull into the comforting arms of darkness.

    Out of the album’s eight songs, the division of instrumental and vocal-led songs is evenly spilt. At first seeing that the album clocked in at only 29 minutes, I can’t pretend that I wasn’t disappointed. However, now that I have listened to “You Know What It’s Like” a few times, this now actually seems like a perfect length. And the fact that half of the album is instrumental – and experimentally so – gives the album a diversity that stops you getting bored from it’s surreal soundscapes.

    This is an album I will be listening to either in bed or on the train when I want to zone out for my morning commute.

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    Halloween Theme Rework by Perturbator

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    Made a pumpkin pinhead

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