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Tag: Music
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📂 Journal
Long Way Home by Låpsley
One of the first thoughts that came to me when I listened to Låpsley’s first album, “Long Way Home”, was just how ahead of her years she sounds. She has the air of an artist who has been around for over twenty years or more, when in fact she herself is less than that at the time of writing. At the age of just nineteen, she has already laid the first stones of what will hopefully be a very long, and no-doubt will be a very successful, career.
My first taste of her music was from her 2015 E.P. Understudy and it was the opening song “Falling Short”, which was the only song from that E.P. to feature on “Long Way Home”, that immediately got me hooked on her minimalist arrangements and stunning voice.
I can honestly say that she is an artist who I could pick out of a thousand, identifying her with confidence based on her voice alone. She is one of those singers whose voice you simply can not forgot once you’ve heard it.
Room by room
The opening song “Heartless” serves as a welcoming, calm introduction to this interesting, boundary-pushing album, “Long Way Home”. “Heartless”, like many of this album’s songs, is centred around a calm piano harmony with Låpsley’s voice up front. This isn’t, however, a run-of-the-mill piano ballad as it contains, as does a lot of the album, some really effective uses of odd samples and interesting production techniques.
“Hurt Me”, the album’s next song, opens with a synthesized staccato melody, which really drove me into the album and introduced me to the kinds of sounds that I just wasn’t expecting until now. Even at the end of the song there are odd little samples that work perfectly in a really weird kind of way. By now I knew that Låpsley was an artist not only ahead of her own years, but that of many of her contemporaries too.
I’m not going to mention every song, as I’d like you to find out for yourself, but I do just want to say something about the third song “Falling Short”, the video for which I have included at the end. The lyrics in this song are some of the most cryptic for me. The lyrics seem extremely personal and the way that she delivers them serves to enhance that feeling. In all honesty it was only as I write this now that I have actually gone and looked at the actually songs lyrics as a whole. This song’s lyrics – along with the rest of the album’s – can be enjoyed through simply listening to them being sang, without any real thought into what they mean. Looking deeper into those meanings is like peeling back the onion layers of this complex, compelling artist.
One month till February
Keep on holdin’ on
And I know it’s short
And I know it’s shortAnd it’s times like these
And it’s days like these
And it’s times like these
And it’s days likeIt’s been a long time comin’
Falling Short from Long Way Home
But I’m falling short
It’s been a long time comin’
But I’m falling shortAs the album approaches its half -way point with the fifth song, “Operator (He doesn’t call me)”, the album’s sound took an up-tempo turn. This song’s story centres around a woman whose boyfriend doesn’t call her. Instead she finds herself in contact more with the phone operator, and so considers falling in love with the operator instead. It’s a fun song with it’s routes in one of the most boring aspects of life – being kept on hold. Låpsley seems to have the ability to find little nuggets of inspiration in unlikely places.
He doesn’t call me so put me through operator
Operator (He doesn’t call me) from Long Way Home
Maybe I’ll leave him and fall in love with you operator
My baby doesn’t call me so put me through operator
So tell me should I leave him and fall in love with you operatorOne of my favourite songs on “Long Way Home” is called “Station”. It is one of the most minimal as I remember that has everything that I love in her music – her voice sang with shifted pitches, layered to hamonize with each other; great sound effect samples used in refreshing ways – notable one which sounds like a pitch-shifted dog woof; minimal instruments that make her voice almost acapella. “Station” is beautifully haunting and would serve as a perfect introduction if one hadn’t ever heard Låpsley’s music before.
The last but one song, “Leap”, reminds me of something from Radiohead’s Amnesiac album, with beautiful echoing synth sounds with a basey, driving beat – not fast – just driving.
Lock the door behind you
Versatility and and a desire for experimentation – this is what Låpsley brings to her craft. I love as well how she doesn’t settle on a set of default samples across the album. Throughout it you will keep hearing new and unusual sounds that never feel disjointed or mish-mashed. I get the impression that she has toiled for hours and hours over the years, building up a unique sensibility for how to put these sounds together in really interesting ways.
Something I’ve also noticed, listening closely whilst writing this review, is how much more I’m hearing around the main songs that I don’t remember hearing before – the odd sample or harmonisations. This album really is a gift that keeps on giving.
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📂 Journal
Kicker by Zella Day
The bohemian style of artistic life has always seemed like a very romantic one to me. The idea of an artist just upping and heading to a remote place for some unknown amount of time with nothing but a journal and a guitar and just writing for themselves. In today’s world of rushing about and the constant flow of nauseating crap of social networks, it would be easy for you to assume that that way of life was all but gone from the world.
Well you’d be wrong. Zella Day is flying that flag for me.
She embodies many things that I love about great artists and song writing – interesting, sometimes cryptic, lyrics; a fashion sense from days of old but made very much her own; music that is greater than the sum of its parts – she is the kind of artist that the world needs.
All killer, no filler.
On first listening to “Kicker”, I was immediately hooked with the sound of the guitar in the opening of the song “Jerome”. Before I’d even heard her stunning voice, my first thoughts were that if the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks had a rock night, Zella Day and band would go down really well. This first song also demonstrates her vocal abilities – varying her style throughout the song from verse to chorus to coda. From whispery, almost Stevie Nicks-esque sounding, to the controlled screaming of the songs title in the chorus.
The next song, “High” brings more focus to the massive drums and chugging rhythm guitar and does, by all accounts, have the parts needed to qualify as a rock song. But to label it as just a rock song, or a rock album for that matter, I feel would cheapen the album. Zella is bringing so much more to the mix that I don’t think a simple label is possible. It would be like calling Kate Bush simply a pop singer.
“1965” changes the sound up by focussing more on piano from the start and then using more minimal drums and climbing strings throughout.
“Hypnotic” is one of my favourite songs on “Kicker”, with one of my favourite riffs, and at just 4 seconds shy of 3 minutes, this song is as catchy and full of a hit song as they come.
“Mustang Kids” changes things up again with half of the vocals provided by Baby E, telling the story of a small no-name town with nothing good to do in it.
Small town gang got nothing to do
We got guns, got drugs, got the sun and the moon
We got big city plans but it always rains
And the sheriff is a crook and knows me by nameI said momma was insane and daddy was a criminal
Mustang Kids, Kicker
I grew up in a trailer with a dream of fucking centerfolds
Now I’m making money experimenting with chemicals
The fact I’m still alive is why I still believe in miraclesWith “Jameson” we can hear a beautiful finger-picked guitar ballad that oozes country music sensibilities – with that slide guitar sound that is so engrained into country music. When you hear a song like “Mustang Kids” and then “Jameson”, you really get a sense of Zella’s versatility as an artist.
Easily my favourite song on “Kicker” is the album’s penultimate track, “Sweet Ophelia”, which is one of those songs that build up to a huge chorus with a slightly breakbeat drum beat that reminds me of Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” beat. The musical arrangement serves to complement Zella’s voice to the final big chorus of the album and leads perfectly into the final song, “Compass”.
“Compass” is the perfect final song for an album with this much energy. A piano ballad that brings Zella’s voice to the forefront as she leads us back to our daily lives that more enriched.
Songs with quality roots
All of Zella’s songs, whether they be huge anthemic belters or mellow acoustic ballads, are all rooted in quality song writing and a unique vision. I also learned through watching her video series, Day X Day, that she writes all of her songs on guitar first – with the idea that they could all be played acoustic with no accompaniment if she wanted.
When you hear a song like “Hypnotic”, it may be hard to imagine it stripped back to vocal and guitar, but when you listen to her play it like this, you realise that her songs could either fill a stadium or a coffee shop. She is the very definition of a versatile artist.
I hate to use the term “X-Factor”, as that phrase is now synonymous with crap TV, but Zella Day definitely has that unknown ingredient that makes her musical vision and style special.
She is an artist whose career I will be following closely, and I strongly suggest you do too.
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📂 Journal
Natural Born Losers by Nicole Dollanganger
This week’s episode of “The Walking Dead” was quite an emotional one. One of the more likeable, newer characters got a good amount of screen time for some interesting character development. That was just before that person was shot in the back of the head with an arrow. When carrying her body back to the home base, the remaining characters were backed musically, by one of my favourite artists at the moment – “Nicole Dollanganger” with her song “Chapel”.
Contrast
Art, whether it be film; tv; or music, is always more interesting when two or more contrasting ideas are brought together to form something that wouldn’t have been thought possible before.
Like when Quentin Tarantino had “Stuck In The Middle With You” by “Stealer’s Wheel” playing over the famous ear-cutting scene in “Reservoir Dogs”. Or when we see Hannibal preparing a beautiful meal only to know that it was made from human flesh.
Nicole Dollanganger’s music fits into this idea of stark contrast perfectly, and is one of – if not the – most beautiful joining of acoustic guitar and a female voice I’ve ever heard.
She is a siren
The opening to the album, “Natural Born Losers”, tells you straight away what Nicole is all about stylistically – although not what she is limited to. Poacher’s Pride opens with a sweet, innocent-sounding voice singing the follow words:
I shot an angel with my father’s rifle
Poacher’s Pride, Natural Born Losers
I should have set it free, but I let it bleed
Made it into taxidermy, hung it on my wall
On my wallStraight away you get the beautiful sound of Nicole’s haunting voice along with the dark lyrics – a siren enticing you in to experience this darkness with her. And you wont be able to deny her.
That song – and the rest of the album – conjured up imagery and feelings to me, of my watching the first series of the aforementioned TV series, “Hannibal”. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s that dark feeling of beauty in death, and innocence that can be found in the darkest places.
The Style of the Album
Her voice, when I first heard her, immediately made me think of a slightly-introverted, young girl sat in the corner of a pub on open-mike-night, performing to herself, with everyone else there as extras. Her lyrics however reveal anything but an introverted artist – she is telling stories about, and based on, some dark, hard subject matters.
The album’s instruments are often minimal and range from acoustic guitar, to thundering bass-heavy kick drums that you will feel more than hear, as in the song “Executioner”. Occasionally the guitars are used to give a drone, pedal-tone effect, but then out of that darkness a heavily-distorted, almost smothered, electric guitar will stalk towards you. You can hear this in the album’s mid-way song, “Alligator Blood” – one of the album’s heaviest-sounding songs, along with “Executioner”.
From out of the darkest places.
“In the Land” is one of my favourite songs on “Natural Born Losers”, and is a beautiful sounding song with the most horrifying inspiration for a song I’ve ever come across. As I read on a comment for the song, it was apparently partly inspired by an american serial torturer called David Parker Ray, whose story I wont repeat here.
Give it up for the milk carton angel
In the Land, Natural Born Losers
Soaked in vomit, tied up at the kitchen table
Choking on the chicken bones, a plate of mashed potatoes
Her momma screaming “come on, bitch, chew and swallow”
When she’s done she will give her to the earthIn fact a lot of the album seems to have dark inspirations, which is in stark contrast to the result that her songs have. These are some of the most beautiful, emotive songs I’ve heard in a long while and often have her music on repeat when at work.
In Closing
I have tried to give as honest as possible a review of this album and really hope that people reading this don’t see this album’s darkness as something to be avoided. As humans it is important that we experience a wide range of emotions from art and music – even if it sometimes makes us feel uncomfortable – for only when we experience those feelings can we truly grow.
It is artists like Nicole that deserve to be, and need to be, heard. She is one of the few people who dare to look into the darkest reaches of human experience, and sometimes depravity, and come out with some of the best music I’ve heard in a while.
And thank you to Grimes who put Nicole’s album “Natural Born Losers” out on her purposely-formed company in order to get more people to hear this unique artist. Nicole had already recorded many albums by herself at home before this album came out, which are just as good as this album. Its great that she has now been introduced to many more people who can themselves now investigate her amazing back catalogue.
What are your thoughts on “Natural Born Losers”, or on Nicole Dollanganger’s music in general? Leave your comments below and let’s talk.
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📂 Journal
All I Need by Foxes
I’ve never been much of a Doctor Who fan but I do sometimes find myself watching it with my girlfriend, who likes it. One of the better episodes I have seen was one called “Mummy on the Orient Express”. It was about a Mummy that was killing off passengers in a space version of the Orient Express. This was also the first time I’d heard the artist whose album I am now writing about – Foxes.
In the episode she performs a cover of Queen’s ” Don’t stop me now”. She has a knack for performing great covers, as I later discovered with her version of Pharrel’s happy, mixed with Massive Attack’s “Teardrops”.
“All I need” is the follow up to her debut album, “Glorious”. I didn’t hear the latter until it had been out for about a year and a half. But with “All I Need” I jumped straight in on the strength of that first album. And I wasn’t disappointed – I loved it immediately. There was no skipping through songs to hear the singles I was familiar with; I always listen to this album front to back.
The songs on this album sound huge. Many are unashamedly pop belters with big drums, strings and Louisa Rose Allen’s stunning vocals. Then there are some that take a step back with a slower and, dare I say, darker tone. In fact my favourite song on this album is “Devil Side” – A darker ballad about being in love with someone who has a darker, perhaps even violent, side. But that’s open to interpretation.
Run and hide, it’s gonna be bad tonight
Devils Side, track 7 from All I Need
Cause here comes your devil side
It’s gonna ruin me
It’s almost like, slow motion suicide
Watching your devil side, get between you and meCommon Themes
When you focus on the lyrics of this album, the theme comes through evidently – that of doomed love, and of loving someone that your heart says yes to, but your head is yelling no.
This is what I take from it anyway.
Burrowing a little deeper
Each song on All I Need is great, there’s no filler songs here. And the pacing across the album is just right. In one breath you’ll be hearing a catchy pop tune while in the next you’ll be hearing a stripped down piano ballad.
The opening of the album is an epic-sounding instrumental, which is later reprised on the album’s closing song.
Then we drop into “Better Love”, which starts with Louisa’s singing over simple piano, followed soon by a recurring sound from the album – a pulsing kick drum. This song, along with the following – the super-catchy single “Body Talk”, serve to give you a good idea of what to expect from Foxes – vast, layered, powerful songs.
Of course like any great artist there’s variety in this here album. As mentioned above, “Devils Side” slows things right down, as does “If You Leave Me Now” and “On My Way”.
With “On My Way” Louisa sings over piano backed with a light string arrangement and one of my favourite choruses on the album. The song is played light on the piano as she sings softly. Then the chorus drops deep and heavy as she sings:
Something I just need to learn
Every time I feel alone
I can’t keep running back to you againTurned my gold into dust
On My Way, track 12 from All I Need
Rain on me until I rust
All I do is run to you againIn Conclusion
This album has songs that would be great to get ready for a party to. Equally some others would be suited to lying in the dark, retrospectively.
If you’re looking for a modern pop album that isn’t afraid to dip into the darker side of love, then check this one out.
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📂 Journal
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
House on Fire — track 8
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” 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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📂 Journal
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📂 Journal
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.