David Peach

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  • This Is Acting by Sia

    This Is Acting by Sia

    As soon as the opening song’s first chorus hit my eardrum, it just blew me away. The song felt familiar and yet still fresh. As I continued through the rest of the album I kept getting that same thought. It didn’t take many listens before this album quickly became one of my go-to albums when I’m quickly thinking of an album to switch to when the traffic lights are on red.

    Prologue

    With “1000 forms of fear”, Sia’s previous album, it was the videos for the album’s singles that got me interested in her music. Even when I hear those songs now I can’t help but think of those great videos. With this album the first time I heard the songs was from the album alone. In fact, at the time of writing, I still haven’t seen the videos for this album.

    The first thing that is apparent on this album is Sia’s idiosyncratic singing style. Her often-powerful, sometimes-breaking voice pulls you through some of the most air-drum-inducing songs I’ve heard for a while.

    Some Key Plot Points

    “Bird Set Free”, as already mentioned, is the album’s opening song and it feels huge. And it’s her voice that’s doing the line’s share of the work in creating that vast audible sound scape. Of course, there are still instruments you would expect from her music – strings; piano; drums; but it’s her soaring voice that lifts the song into the stratosphere and – if you’re not expecting it – will give you a swift kick up the arse when the chorus hits.

    “Move your body” is a lot more dancier than I am now used to hearing from Sia, and even though I’m not much of a dance fan, here it works. I’ve not been to many dance clubs but I can picture this playing with torch beams and glow sticks going mental in the chorus. Hell, when this comes on when I’m on the train I wanna just go mental myself if only just to shake of the lethargy of commuting.

    One of my favourite songs on “This Is Acting” is “House of fire” – a song with a simple backing, and my favourite chord progression on the album. I realise how that may sound, but it really is. I have marked the point in which it happens in the lyrics excerpt beneath with an asterisk (*).

    Babe I want to drink you in
    Like oxygen, like oxygen
    Baby I’m a house on fire
    And I want to keep burning
    I’m going on up in flames
    And you’re to blame
    Yeah, you’re to blame
    Baby I’m a house on fire
    And I want to keep burning
    I want to keep burning*
    I want to keep burning
    I want to keep burning
    Baby I’m a house on fire

    House on Fire — track 8

    “House on fire” is also the first song on the album whose lyrics stuck out to me as being particular poetic, hence why I’ve included them above. That’s not to say her other lyrics aren’t – I just remember these ones being particularly memorable on the first listen.

    “Sweet design” took a complete left turn from the style set up by the preceeding two songs. Here she is singing samples from other well known pop songs and mashing them together into some kind of mad, fun frankenpopsong. I really like this one and it really makes me want to try body popping when I hear it.

    “Broken Glass” brings us back to those huge-sounding choruses with a voice that just keeps building and building, seemingly more powerful with each verse. This woman sure has got a good set of lungs on her.

    The final song, “Space Between”, is a minimal slow bass groove that gives Sia’s voice complete space to really shine – but a lot more void of other instruments than the previous 11 songs. I think this song would be equally as effective if sang completely a cappella. Saying that, the backing does give the song some extra depth – as though floating through the blackness of space itself.

    Curtain Call

    Overall the album does well in showcasing Sia’s talents as both a songwriter and an amazing vocalist.

    So many feelings are invoked by this album. From the powerful, fist-pumping chrous anthems, “Unstoppable”; “Bird Set Free”; to the slow poetic love letter of “House on Fire”, to the frantic get-up-and-jives of “Cheap Thrills” and “Sweet Design”.

    This album is varied enough whilst still being anchored to a commanding control over one of the greatest female voices of our time.

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  • Art Angels by Grimes

    Art Angels by Grimes

    This is the album that made me want to start trying to write about my favourite albums – both old and new.

    Grimes is an artist in the truest sense of the word. She reminds me of people like David Bowie, Peter Gabriel and Jack White – she uses whatever instruments or sounds fit the song she happens to be writing.

    She’s not tied down by any pre-defined musical conventions either: she makes great music, plain and simple.

    Complete creative control

    Grimes, alias of Canadian-born Claire Boucher, produces all of her own music. After watching a recent interview with her it’s obvious that her passion for music as a whole – as well as her own – runs deep.

    Her previous album, ‘Visions’, was produced – solely by herself – on a minimal budget in Garage Band. ‘Art Angels’ feels like it has stemmed out of that creative freedom and control, learned from the making of ‘Visions’, and taken one step further.

    She holds the reigns tightly on her own stuff – anyone who wants to meddle can f**k off.

    Eclectic and Focussed

    Grimes’ music probably isn’t like anything you’d have heard before.

    Each song on this album is unique. In one moment she’s punching out some of the best foot-stomping, head nodding pop beats you can imagine – see the song ‘Flesh Without Blood’, the next she’s literally screaming a chorus between Taiwanese rapper, Aristophanes singing on the aptly-named song, ‘SCREAM’.

    Despite the eclectic nature of the album, Art Angels feels completely focussed, and not just being eclectic for the sake of it.

    A versatile voice

    As mentioned before, the songs on this album are eclectic, and so to is her voice.

    Sometimes she’ll be screaming, while at other times she’ll be singing softly accompanied by hand-picked guitar – see the album’s penultimate song ‘Life in the vivid dream’.

    You can hear her eclectic range of styles well on my favourite song from the album – Kill V Maim. In this one she’ll jump into screaming the end of a verse, followed by a verse sang cheerleader-style, which then drops into a party-anthem-esque thumping chorus.

    God knows she’s good

    At the end of it all, Grimes is simply a great artist.

    From writing, producing and performing live all of her own original material; to drawing all of her own album artwork; to showing a genuine love – and depth of influences – of a large range of musical styles.

    When we look back, in the future, at artists who have had a positive impact on the path that popular music has taken – in both style and production – I strongly believe that Grimes will be up there.

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  • Priest by Priest

    Priest by Priest

    I’ve been on a bit of an Electronica / Synth-Pop binge recently, and Priest’s debut L.P, eponymously-titled, fits that habit like a glove.

    Priest, formally X priest X, is a pseudonym of singer Madeline Priest and producer David Kazyk. Their songs feel like glorious walls of electronic sound.

    I think I’m right in saying that this could be categorized as Dream-Pop – it creates a certain mood and atmosphere with walls of layered synthesizers and other such instruments throughout the album. When I say Dream-Pop, you may start imagining ethereal soundscapes with no real punch. Well get that thought out of your head right now – just get it out.

    The beats here are solid. There’s nothing mad going on with the beats – no surprise, off-beat time signatures – but this album is all about the atmosphere it’s creating. These beats give a solid drive for travellingthrough that atmosphere.

    Electronic Upbeat Melancholy*

    *Term Coined.

    The lyrics and singing style feel melancholic, but the layered background and driving beat give the overall sound an upbeat and positive feeling. I’m not of the belief that all music needs to be happy happy joy joy – in fact I love a bit of sad music now and again – this is simply the impression I get when listening to Priest’s album.

    Madeline sings kind of softly over the deep electro-geography of the opening song, “The Game”. Not soft as in weak. It’s soft as in using her voice as another layer within the song. With other songs, like “Heartbeats” and “Waiting For The End To Come”, her voice belts out with gusto. It’s nice to hear an artist who can give it some whelly, but only when it’s needed.

    Even though I’ve only been listening to this album for about a month or so, it already feels like an old friend. It’s one of my current go-to albums to listen to while I’m coding (building websites).

    At home in the 80s

    This album feels like it would be at home equally in the 80s as it is now.

    In fact one of my favourite songs from the album – “Waiting For The End To Come” – always brings up an image in my mind of two 80s kids dancing at some nondescript disco as the closing credits start on some John Hughes film. Think Molly Ringwald and Jon Cryer from Pretty in Pink.

    The end of our sermon

    You should now head off and take 40 minutes or so to listen to this modern 80s electro classic. You wont be disappointed. I myself am already looking forward to Priest’s next album. I’m really interested in seeing how the sound will progress with future releases.

    Thanks for taking the time to read this review.

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  • Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey

    Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey

    From the moment I first heard her previous album, “Ultraviolence”, I was hooked. Honeymoon then became my most anticipated album of 2015.

    And I was not disappointed.

    From the moment the first strings on the title song began, I could feel that this was going to be another unforgettable dive into the cinematic, haunting world of Lana Del Rey’s music. In fact I recommend listening to this album for the first time in total darkness on your own if you can.

    This isn’t required, but it really helped me to absorb the music as much as possible.

    Melancholy

    The melancholy of her previous album is still present but feels more upbeat this time around. You can hear this notably on the album’s first single, “High by the beach”.

    Not that melancholy is a bad thing at all – some of my favourite music is just that – what I’m trying to get at is that her unique sound is still there, but she’s taking it into new places.

    She’s an artist who isn’t afraid to push her voice to the front and centre – often making her sound vulnerable and alone.

    This is demonstrated perfectly in “Terrance Loves You”. This is minimally backed through the opening verses, and builds to a soaring chorus, still managing to stay somehow minimal – just herself, piano and strings.

    Well I lost myself when I lost you
    But I still got jazz when I’ve got the blues
    I lost myself and I lost you too
    And I still get trashed, honey, when I hear your tunes

    From “Terrance Loves You”, Track 3.

    The sound of the album

    She often harmonizes with herself backed by minimal, reverbed instruments – pianos and light strings. This helps create that unique world I mentioned earlier: haunting; cinematic. Saying that however there are plenty of uses of light drum beats in this album – often when building to the climax of a song, never just for the sake of having a drum beat.

    The melodies throughout this album are gorgeous too. The pan pipe sounding intro to Salvatore is a great, hypnotic example of this, which she replicates vocally for the chorus.

    Ah-ah-ah-ah, Ah-ah-ah-ah, Cacciatore.
    Ah-ah-ah-ah, Ah-ah-ah-ah, Limousines.
    Ah-ah-ah-ah, Ah-ah-ah-ah, Ciao Amore.
    Ah-ah-ah-ah, Ah-ah-ah-ah, Soft ice cream.

    From “Salvatore”, Track 10.

    My favourite song on the album would probably have to be 24. It’s a crowning achievement on a great album, which show’s off something that I’ve been saying for a while – if she wanted to, she could write one hell of a bond song.

    In fact Spectre has recently been released – the 24th bond film. Coincidence? Or is this a cheeky wink from Miss Grant? I’d like to think the latter.

    In Conclusion

    If you’ve never listened to a Lana Del Rey album before, this is as good as any to start with. My personal favourite of hers overall is probably still “Ultraviolence”, but this album also has a couple of my favourite songs of hers.

    If you have heard her previous albums and are yet to listen to this one, wait no longer. You wont be disappointed.

    What are your favourite songs of Lana’s? Let me know in the comments below.

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  • Kacey Musgraves at the Birmingham Institute

    One of the best concerts I’ve been to.

    Although the wait in the queue outside lasted about half an hour, we were soon inside the small-modest sized venue, heating up with the ever-growing crowd and singing along to Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).

    The opening band, Sugar & The High Lows, were pretty good. They soon got the crowd revved up and ready for Kacey and band for their opener: Pageant Material.

    Kacey and her band were spot on – one of the tightest performances I’ve heard live. And her voice was just as perfect as it sounds on her albums. The songs weren’t precisely the same as on the albums – and that’s a good thing. The band’s improvisations – and indeed the covers they did – were performed with style.

    As a note to self I must rememeber to take plently of water and not wear my coat inside again – by the end of the night I was dripping. I look forward to seeing them again on the next tour.

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  • 100 Albums #2 – The Wall: Live in Berlin by Roger Waters (and various artists)

    A couple of weeks ago I went to see the one-night-only showing of Roger Waters’ The Wall at my local cinema. That performance rekindled my love for that album – indeed Pink Floyd in general.

    Yesterday I revisted an older performance of the album, which was given at the Berlin wall at the time when it was being torn down.

    Very apt.

    This performance of The Wall is unique, in that many of the songs are performed by guest artists. My personal favorites of these perfomances are Bryan Adam’s “Young Lust”, Paul Carrack’s “Hey You” and Van Morrison’s “Comfortably Numb”.

    For any fans of The Wall, this album is a milestone performance and must be experienced.

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  • 100 Albums #1 – Kiddo by Tove Styrke

    My very first album write up goes to Tove Styrke’s Kiddo. I had never heard of her before tonight – she was a recommendation by Google Play Music, based on my interest in ‘Say Lou Lou’.

    As soon as the first song started, I was hooked. Hooked enough to take advantage of my Android 6.0 update’s new context awareness by demanding – “Google! Play me her first album”* – that one is also great.

    The first song sounded to be very Prince-esque – purple rain Prince – which can only be a good thing. Then there were other songs that had the sort of catchy hooks and beats you can’t help but move your body to. I had been getting nowhere with what I was building tonight, which was annoying, but this album soon got me feeling on top of the world.

    Stand out songs: Borderline, Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You, Walking a Line.

    *I am since trying to rid my life of Google Inc. as much as I can.

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  • All in all – thoughts of Roger Waters The Wall

    A slow, winding blade of green weaves across the ever-growing familiar white brickwork from the left side of the stage. Then another from the right. They wind slowly across the length of the wall – both to the centre and up – until they blend seamlessly into one of the most iconic animations from The Wall – the flower scene over Empty Spaces.There are a few albums that have moved me in ways I can still feel: Radiohead’s The Bends, Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence. But the one that has had the greatest effect on me – and still continues to do so – is Pink Floyd’s The Wall.Tonight I went to see the one-off showing of the new film by Waters which was about 80% concert show and 20% pilgrimage by Waters to visit the resting places of his father and grandfather. The thing as a whole went together beautifully.One of the songs that continues to get me each time I hear it is Vera – and this time was no exception. I was suprised to hear, in the discussion that followed, that this was Waters’ favourite song off the album.The songs I were looking forward to the most were Comfortably Numb, The Trial and Empty Spaces. I love how the full version of Empty Spaces gets used when performed live.The usage of some of the animations from the 1980s film of the wall were a nice touch too.All in all it was a great performance of The Wall.

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  • Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

    Today I rediscovered one of my all-time favourite albums — Roger Waters’ The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking.

    Although known mostly for his work with British Rock band Pink Floyd, some of Roger’s best work — in my opinion — was in his solo albums. Though to be fair his Pink Floyd work is incredible.

    The concept, as envisioned by Waters in 1977, rotated around a man’s scattered thoughts during a road trip through somewhere in Central Europe, focusing on his midlife crisis, and how he dreams of committing adultery with a hitchhiker he picks up along the way.

    Along the way he also faces other fears and paranoia, with all of these things taking place in real time in the early morning hours of 4:30am to 5:12am on an unspecified day.

    The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking — This concept album was offered to the rest of Pink Floyd along with the early concept for The Wall. The band went on to do The Wall and Roger completed Pros and Cons in 1983 as a solo piece.

    From Wikipedia.

    It features great guitar work from none other than Eric Clapton as well as featuring Jack Palance, who takes on the role of the Hell’s Angel in the story.

    To be honest you could do yourself a favour and listen to anything that Roger Waters has created.

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  • Chrysta Bell At Oslo Hackney

    On Friday 11th April my Girlfriend and I drove down to London for the weekend. It was a great weekend, with the nucleus of this trip was to see Chrysta Bell on her tour.

    Who is Chrysta Bell?

    Chrysta Bell is an artist in the truest sense of the word. Her voice is one of those that can both charm and haunt you. She commands the performance with such force that it is difficult to explain in mere words. You really need to experience it first hand.

    She was touring on the back of an album produced and co-written by David Lynch. David Lynch is definitely present in both the album and on the night itself, but this isn’t just a case of “David Lynch produced it, therefore it’s awesome”. The album is awesome, believe me, but it is due to the equal talents of both David and Chrysta combined. Each on their own are unique and hugely talented, but together they produce something even more special.

    I first heard Chrysta Bell in a song from David Lynch’s film Inland Empire. The song Polish Poem was used in the film to such a haunting effect. As soon as I found out about the Album they did together This Train, which Polish Poemfeatures on, I was immediately hooked on the music they were making together.

    The Gig Itself

    The gig itself was out of this world. Anyone who has seen Twin Peaks would be hard-pressed not to imagine themselves stood in the Road House, watching Chrysta in front of that red curtain. At least that’s how it was for me.

    Her vocals were both soothing and haunting, with the melodies weaving throughout the crowd. Her band were great also. Chrysta, of course, was centre stage, but the band weren’t just a faceless few who played the music. The four of them as a whole played the songs with a firm understanding of each other’s rhythms and timing.

    The performances that stood out for me were Swing with Me and a new song they played, the name of which I can’t remember. The only song that wasn’t performed that I would have loved to have heard live was Polish Poem. I can only imagine what that would have felt like. The venue did have a 10pm curfew, so maybe Polish Poem would have been performed without the time restriction.

    After The Show

    When the show was finished I was both happy and sad. Sad because a great show had come to an end, but happy because my Girlfriend and I got to meet Chrysta face to face. I had previously spoken to Chrysta over twitter and I arranged to buy her earlier album, Bitter Pills and Delicacies, directly from her. after the show.

    From my own conversations with Chrysta, it is obvious that she cares deeply for her fans. I wasn’t surprised to see her mingling with the fans both before and after the show.

    Thanks, Chrysta.

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  • Cherlene’s New Album

    Any fans of the TV series Archer will know that — while the rest of the ex-ISIS agents are figuring out what to do with a literal tonne of cocaine — Cheryl/Carol has renamed herself to Cherlene and is on her way to becoming the star of outlaw country music.

    Archer is one of my favourite shows on TV at the moment. As well as this I have been getting into listening to more country music thanks to this post by Andrew Clarke. So imagine my surprise when I found out that a full album of both original and cover songs sung by Cherlene herself had been recently released for digital purchase. Woooohoooo!

    But this isn’t just a novelty TV series album filled with parody songs. This is actually a genuinely good country album. The songs are actually sang by country artist Jessy Lynn Martens, who is also classically trained on violin, mandolin and guitar.

    The album also features a duet with none other than Kenny Loggins on a country version of Danger Zone — yes, it’s that good.

    Cherlene Track Listing

    1. Danger Zone feat. Kenny Loggins
    2. Swing Shift
    3. Midnight Blues
    4. 40 Miles of Mountain Road
    5. Baby Please Don’t Go
    6. Cherlene’s Broken Hearts and Auto Parts
    7. I’ll Burn It Down
    8. It’s All About Me
    9. Eastbound and Down
    10. Chattahoochee Coochie Man
    11. Gypsy Woman
    12. Straight To Hell

    If you only listen to one song from this album, listen to Danger Zone. But I promise if you do, you’ll probably end up listening to the whole album.

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