In the past, the expected pattern, at least for any significant band, was either to make a classic debut album (Television; The Strokes; Violent Femmes; Jesus & Mary Chain; Stone Roses), then spend the rest of their career attempting to recapture that lightning-in-a-bottle moment. Or put out a couple of decent albums, get it right on the 3rd one, following which the law of diminishing returns kicks in.
Perhaps jazz, blues, folk and country artists could continue to maintain the standard, and occasionally surprise, well past state pension age, but rock'n'roll was the music of youth, energy and rebellion, made by young dudes who 'don't wanna stay alive, when you're 25'.
But now we have Nick Cave, recently turned 60, who put out one of the greatest albums of his career ('Skeleton Tree') last year, and is currently on tour, playing to larger audiences than ever to massive acclaim from all sides. (We were at the Glasgow gig. Cave and the Bad Seeds on magnificent form.) We have artists like Sun Kil Moon, Bill Callahan, King Creosote, Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields and more), who have been working for 20 or 30 years, and show no sign of their muse deserting them.
It used to be common for critics to declare that 'rock is dead'. Nobody says that any more, probably because it's universally recognised that the time when pop and rock was the soundtrack to teen rebellion has long gone. Anyone still trying to do that is just pretending, playing to an audience equally keen to recapture a glorious past.
It's just all music now, the cultural significance diminished. Some people are really good at it, and can sustain a lifelong career. Others continue to produce their best work propelled by youthful energy and passion, and whatever magic can still happen in the relatively short term amongst a group of friends who form a band.
The remaining legacy, after the Exploding Plastic Inevitable shock waves of pop music have receded, is the perception amongst serious critical commentators and arts industry decision makers (obviously a very small proportion of the music listening public) that all pop and rock is just trashy, disposable, and ultimately worthless art for kids. All of it, from The Cheeky Girls to Aphex Twin, to be judged by the same criteria. It's the kind of thinking which results in only a microscopic percentage of arts funding for music going towards supporting 'popular' music, even though, the likes of Ed Sheeran and Adele aside, the industry remains in crisis, with small live venues and record shops continuing to close down, and grassroots musicians struggling to function.
Just after this year's Edinburgh Festival, in a column written by the Glasgow Herald Arts Editor, he mentioned that figures within the Festival community had queried whether P J Harvey, Jarvis Cocker, and the Magnetic Fields - who all performed during this year's festival - merited a place in the festival programme. Aside from the fact that these are 3 artists who have long ago moved beyond any status as mere pop stars, this in the year after a pop singer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Attitudes and perceptions need to change.
What would Nick Cave have to say if someone told him his music wasn't fit to stand alongside other forms of entertainment at an arts festival? He would be right.
Here's some music I've been listening to recently:-
ALBUMS
Arcade Fire - Everything Now. Arcade Fire are responsible for one of my favourite family memories. It was 2005 and Arcade Fire were on Top of the Pops, with one of those rare music tv performances where the passion and energy of the band seared from the studio, across the airwaves, and blasted into your living room. It was totally arresting. Daughter, then age 3, spontaneously danced madly around the room throughout. Son, then age 9, yelled along with the chorus.
If you need reminding why Arcade Fire had such an impact from the start, check the TOTP performance here.
But this is 12 years later, and 'Everything Now' is Arcade Fire's 5th album. Marketing for the band's albums positions them as an event, and a grand statement, every time. If it then turns out to be just another Arcade Fire album it will inevitably be seen as an anticlimax, and any fevered anticipation amongst fans and critics will diminish for each subsequent release.
On reviews aggregator website Metacritic, 'Everything Now' has an average Metascore of 66, barely scraping into the 'generally favourable reviews' category. In comparison, the 4 previous albums all scored 80 and above ('Funeral' scored 90). Opinions range from 'a triumph' to 'a disaster'. Here are excerpts from some sample reviews:-
- The Independent: "Departures in sound are often unwelcome when we're already so happy with where a beloved band are, but, in this case, their experiments are a complete success."
- NME: "The Canadian art-rockers are bigger, bolder and more fearful of the future than ever on their colossal fifth album." "Thankfully, after the ambitious-but-uneven ‘Reflektor’ (2013), ‘Everything Now’ marks an emphatic return to those lofty standards."
- The 405: "Everything Now isn’t so much a misstep as a faceplant, hitting every wrong note with the same precision they hit every right one on Funeral. It’s a compositional mess, somehow both gratuitously moralising and morally repugnant, duller than watching already-dry paint."
Personally I've been drawn to play the album a lot less than others during recent months, and am almost surprised to find that I enjoy it each time I do. Perhaps my excitement about the band would return if I went to a live show, since I have no doubt they still deliver. Certainly the stronger tracks here ('Everything Now', 'Signs Of Life', 'Creature Comfort') will only add to the peaks in an Arcade Fire performance.
'Chemistry', with some uncharacteristic ska rhythms, seems fairly throwaway to me, though The Independent describes it as 'one of the albums finest gems'. The fast, thrashy, repetitive 'Infinite Content' (immediately followed by a leisurely country cover of the same song, under the title 'Infinite_Content') also seem, at present, like minor works in Arcade Fire's repertoire. Ditto 'Good God Damn', before a partial recovery with 'Put Your Money On Me'.
So, a few highs, and some more insipid moments. But, given the wide range of conflicting opinions, the only approach is to disregard what everyone says and decide for yourself whether you like it or not.
Declan McKenna - What Do You Think About The Car? So how good do you have to be to grab attention as a teen pop prodigy? As good as Jake Bugg's 1st album? As good as Lorde, Roddy Frame, Little Stevie Wonder?
Declan McKenna, still only 18 time at time of writing (his birthday is 24th December), won the Glastonbury Festival's Emerging Talent Competition in 2015. Since then he's put out some singles, all of which have been good, and a couple ('Brazil' and 'Isombard') very good, and now followed with an album - which includes all of the singles.
In the wake of Ed Sheeran, there has been a flood of British singer/ songwriters, whether folk, pop, indie or r&b, whether influenced most by Ed himself, Laura Marling, Charlie XCX or anyone else. I've been indifferent to most of them, but Declan McKenna grabbed my attention with 2 great singles - which have remained favourites since I first heard them. It's a good album, even the track which includes 'The Kids' in the title, and I'm still paying attention.
HAIM - Something To Tell You. Slight backlash against HAIM from certain quarters for basically doing the same things they were praised for first time round. What did everyone like most about them first time round? That they were a lot of fun to have around, played everywhere relentlessly, made friends with everyone, and gave good Twitter? Or because they were great musicians who could turn out a faultless, updated recreation of '70's Fleetwood Mac-style soft rock? (they've apparently had enough of the standard Fleetwood Mac comparisons, and insist they have more modern influences, including R&B, despite growing up with their parents' record collection, and extensive apprenticeship playing in their parents' band)
Whoever decides these things must have declared a few years ago that Fleetwood Mac were cool again, perhaps for the first time since Peter Green was the singer. Same thing happened with ELO (maybe after The Delgados covered 'Mr. Blue Sky'?). Some critics may have reconsidered, and decided they actually still prefer Hüsker Dü to Fleetwood Mac after all, and thus a minor HAIM backlash.
It's still a good album, immaculately played and produced, perhaps a little glossier than the first one, but with enough strong tracks to be worth your attention if you liked the first one, or just liked that sort of music first time round. But otherwise, get used to it. It seems certain that HAIM will still be doing this for decades to come.
Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life. Though 'Video Games' was immediately obvious as a classic track, and I basically like the sound, I realise that I have avoided repeated plays of Lana Del Rey's previous albums. They're all very long (an hour plus), have a lot of tracks, and drift by in a narcotic haze which isn't suited to every mood. When the time of night matches the languid mood, we're probably either watching the next episode of the current box set, or asleep because it's a school night.
Although the longest to date (72 minutes), and at least as lush and soporific as ever, this has been played quite regularly. Not as often as the new Waxahatchee, but a lot more than previous LDR albums. Individual tracks are standing out more than before (this may be my fault for not giving the other albums the attention they're due), tunes more appealing, arrangements luxuriously engulfing. Guest artists appear on some tracks, which adds to the variation, especially those with rappers A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti. (A$AP Rocky is on 2 tracks. Stevie Nicks and Sean Lennon also guest.)
There's no shortage of slow and dreamy pop or r&b for anyone seeking that mood, but LDR remains a one off, and this is one of her best works.
Peter Perrett - How The West Was Won. In February 2014, the NME published a list of 'The 500 greatest songs of all time', compiled from nominations by as many past and current NME writers as they were able to contact. 'Another Girl, Another Planet', by The Only Ones, was number 414. The usual complaints about overlooked songs inevitably dominated the letters page in subsequent weeks, though the only one I remember (which was actually published) challenging the choice of No. 1 track (Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit') was someone saying the honour should have gone to The Only Ones. The answer was something to the effect that The Only Ones didn't have the same cultural impact as Nirvana. There were no musical reasons cited for Nirvana's dominant position above The Only Ones.
Proclaiming 'Another Girl, Another Planet' as the greatest record ever made is not an absurd assertion. I have encountered other people who think exactly that, and it's certainly in the running. I still have a vivid memory of walking into Bruce's Records in Union Street, Glasgow, presumably in 1978, to hear it blasting out and it sounding absolutely thrilling. Played loud, the impact hasn't diminished.
The track has remained Only Ones' singer/ guitarist/ songwriter Peter Perrett's most widely recognised song ever since, and has presumably sustained him through the decades of drug abuse, ill health and obscurity into which he lapsed a few years later.
The band reformed in 2007, which got some attention, though it seemed largely fuelled by The Libertines' publicly declared admiration (Perrett guested with the band). They appeared on Later...with Jools Holland in April 2008, but, although the band sounded fine, Perret looked frail, hidden beneath dark glasses and what was presumably a wig.
Watch the performance here.
That Perrett has re-emerged with a new solo album, in terms of being unexpected, seems on a par with Syd Barrett, after decades as a near mythical creature, having returned to an active musical career prior to his death. That it's one of the best albums of the year, with Perrett's talents seemingly undiminished, seems miraculous.
Although 'Another Girl, Another Planet' has been a staple of any definitive punk/ new wave compilation, like other bands who were accepted into the gang just because they happened to start producing non-prog pop/ rock music at the right time (The Police, Squeeze, XTC, and, arguably, The Stranglers; bands which would still have formed and been essentially the same even if the Ramones and Sex Pistols had never existed), The Only Ones weren't remotely punk rock. Perrett was older than most of the punk bands (a few months older than Joe Strummer even; he's now 65). They made no attempt to look like punks and, though capable of being energetic, the sound was more sophisticated than the average 2-chord stampede. Drummer Mike Kellie had been a member of prog-blues band Spooky Tooth, who had initially formed in 1967. Bass player Alan Mair had been a founding member of The Beatstalkers ('the Scottish Beatles'), who had formed in 1962. I expect they were amused to find themselves viewed as punk rockers.
Although it's unclear whether The Only Ones have officially broken up again or not, Perrett worked with his sons (who have their own band, Strangefruit) to record the album, and play on the current tour.
For decades, Perrett should have been a warning to us all. That he should now be an inspiration seems like one of the best things to happen all year.
Rat Boy - SCUM. Now 21, Rat Boy (Jordan Cardy) has been writing, recording and performing for a few years, so started out as another teen prodigy aspiring pop star. Obvious comparisons are to Jamie T, The Clash and The Streets, though perhaps that's just how it comes out when young English white boys try to be rappers.
Like many rap albums, this is way too long (25 tracks on the deluxe edition, and almost an hour long), and includes 'skits', which never seems like a good idea. But it's brash, fun, full of energy, ideas and great tunes. Exactly what pop music should be like. That it so often isn't any more must surely be a result of someone allowing business people to take charge again.
My 15 year old daughter's friends are fans. Rat Boy makes it look like fun to be a pop star again, and that is the best kind of inspiration for the next generation, just a few years younger than he is.
Waxahatchee - Out In The Storm. 4th solo album from Katie Crutchfield, working under the name of Waxahatchee. From the home recorded debut 'American Weekend', each album has seemed like a leap forward in confidence and maturing talent, and album 4 only seems like a smaller leap because of the speed at which her capabilities asserted themselves - though it was evident from the start that she was something special.
Immediately one of my albums of the year.
Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins. Initially a solo project for songwriter Ed Droste, Grizzly Bear have existed since 2002, and this is the 5th album, following after the longest break between albums so far (previous album 'Shields' was 2012). After the critical peaks of 'Veckatimest' and 'Shields', taking more time over the next steps almost seems like the traditional pattern. Solo projects and moving house; two of the band remain in New York, the other two have moved to L.A..
Having never attended a Grizzly Bear live show, I find it hard to envision who their fan base is. What sort of music is this? Prog folk? For fans of complicated song structures and vocal arrangements? People who like Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, Joanna Newsom, alt-j, Wild Beasts? Serious music for serious people? Music to view modern art by?
I have been returning to this album more than some of the previous ones though. It's not exactly their pop album, but 'Mourning Sound' may be the closest they've come to an indie disco floor filler, and the rest of it does a lot more than waft prettily by. In the past they may have been easy to admire but hard to love, but I am starting to warm to them.
Alvvays - Antisocialites. Although 'Archie, Marry Me' from their 2014 debut album remains a favourite, the prospect of a new album didn't seem like cause for great excitement. Did I want to be listening to '80's bands like The Primitives or Shop Assistants, from the era of twee, in 2017? But this is a great pop album, which makes that basic template sound contemporary, and reminds that The Primitives and Shop Assistants were great pop bands too.
Angelo De Augustine - Swim Inside The Moon. Another theme this quarter: American singer/songwriters who would have been right at home in the early '70's.
2nd album from the 24 year old L.A. resident, allegedly recorded in his home bathroom, because he liked the 'eccentricities' of the sound he got there, and released on Sufjan Stevens' Asthmatic Kitty label. There is a demo quality to the sound: unhurried melodies with delicately picked acoustic guitar and whispered, barely-there vocals. It is reminiscent of Stevens' folkier work at times (it was recorded before they met), but in terms of melodic structures and vocal sound, Elliott Smith is more often a closer comparison. The album is a quiet gem, and is far from being a weak imitation of anyone it's been compared to. At 9 tracks, and 28 minutes, it's over all too soon. If the delicate charm isn't overwhelmed in a proper studio, great things can be expected.
Iron & Wine - Beast Epic. 8th album - not counting live albums and EPs - from Sam Beam, since debut 'The Creek Drank the Cradle' in 2002, and following 2 collaboration albums with other people: 2015's 'Sing Into My Mouth', a covers album with Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell, and 2016's 'Love Letter for Fire' with Jesca Hoop.
'Beast Epic' has been hailed as something of a return to form, which revisits the sound which first brought him attention with his perfectly formed debut. In truth though, the quality has barely dipped throughout his career, and this stands alongside anything he has recorded.
LCD Soundsystem - American Dream. If LCD Soundsystem going on to make great records and have a successful career rather than just quietly fading after startling, still hilarious, debut single 'Losing My Edge' in 2002 wasn't impressive enough, after 10 years and a series of critically acclaimed albums, they were a rare example of a band who went out on a high, with a final performance at Madison Square Gardens in April 2011 - as preserved in the documentary film 'Shut Up and Play the Hits'.
Their reformation in 2015 initially seemed a little disappointing in light of the good taste and integrity shown during the first part of their career. How many bands reform and make records as good as those which made their name? It took Pixies 10 years after reforming before they issued another album. The Stone Roses reformed in 2011, but have only released 2 singles since then. The Libertines are more prolific, and released an album in 2015, the year after reforming. Although a decent effort, it's not a match for their earlier work. No doubt they're all making more money than they ever did though.
Band leader James Murphy is now 47, and had a lengthy career in music even before forming the band. He actually seems to have learned something during that time. Paunchy, grey-haired and unshaven, he's far from the archetypal rock star, but perhaps archetypal rock stars - Jagger, Steven Tyler, Rod Stewart; all skinny legs, satin and scarves - seem like relics now, and it's perfectly fine to have front men who look like Guy Garvey from Elbow or Matt Berninger from The National. If the elegantly wasted, Keith Richard archetype finally belongs to another era, that's a good thing.
First impressions of the album:-
Track one, 'Oh Baby', is reminiscent of early Suicide, quieter songs like 'Dream Baby Dream', or 'Cheree', with access to an expensive studio.
The rest of the album initially seemed too glossy, and some of the wit may have been sacrificed, but closer acquaintance reveals it to be the work of an artist in even more complete control of his material than ever before. However calculated it may be, it's going to sound awesome blasting out of the best sound systems in the world's finest stadium venues. Flying in the face of historical precedent, LCD Soundsystem return and somehow move up to a new level.
The National - Sleep Well Beast. Formed in 1999, The National have had just about the most dignified, slow-burn career of any band ever, culminating in their previous album, 2013's 'Trouble Will Find Me', being nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the Grammy Awards. Average scores on Metacritic have been consistent since 2005's 'Alligator', ranging from 82 to 86. 'Sleep Well Beast' scores 85.)
Matt Berninger and Scott Devendorf met at university in 1991, and soon formed a band with other friends, which lasted for 5 years. Scott's brother Bryan, and the Dessner brothers, Aaron and Bryce, had been childhood friends who also played together in several bands over the years. Since joining together as The National, the lineup has remained unchanged, seemingly a model of maturity and stability, no egos to cater to, no tantrums. Extracurricular musical activities by all members never seem to threaten the main band.
The National have established an identifiable sound, so the only criticisms of the new album, other than some songs being weaker than others, have been that it just sounds like The National. Supporters of the band, including most critics, have identified many developments, albeit subtle, not least in the lyrics, now co-written by Berninger's wife, Carin Besser, a former fiction editor at The New Yorker.
As Kitty Empire wrote in her Guardian review, The National have become "one of the most nuanced 21st-century iterations of what used to be known as “college rock”". It's probably not for fans of Skrillex or Bring Me The Horizon, or any young people who might view them as old and boring (though my son, recently turned 21 and as musically inquisitive as could be hoped for, has been a fan for years), but for the rest of us, this is another great National album, and I'm not going to spend time trying to identify and highlight any minor faults or variation in quality.
Superfood - Bambino. Superfood are one of those bands which seemed to appear in the wake of the likes of Palma Violets, Peace and WU LYF, who emerged late-noughties or early this decade in what was then portrayed as one of the last, valiant, coordinated attempts to make British indie rock cool again for the first time since Britpop (see also Splashh, Swim Deep, Spector, Temples).
Occasional breakthrough acts aside, such as The Vaccines or Wolf Alice, it seems that something like Britpop may never happen again, and it's down to the strength of character and creative drive of the also-rans how long they're willing to battle to break beyond mid-level recognition.
Superfood, now a two-piece, are having a fair stab at doing that. Bambino has received much better reviews than 2014 debut Don't Say That, which was viewed as being a reasonable recreation of Britpop. Hearty congrats to them for not going psych, though they have gone funk, which has long been another desperate resort for scoundrel musicians seeking success. There's a lot more to it than that though, since the album also includes touches of ska, dub, trip hop, and psych too. Proper post-modernist pop then, with a lazy, summery feel. Think maybe 'Groovin', by The Young Rascals https://youtu.be/OA4N5BNMjew
Except British, and in 2017 not 1967.
Unfortunately they didn't get the timing right for summer, since it wasn't released until September. Next year's festivals then?
Rostam - Half-Light. Rostam Batmanglij announced in January 2016 that he was leaving Vampire Weekend, and since then, in his solo recordings, production work, and collaborative projects, it has become increasingly evident what a vital role he played in his original band. As they appeared on Spotify, his singles, starting with 'Wood' (originally released as an mp3 in 2011, but re-recorded and commercially released in 2016), and collaborations with other people, including Ra Ra Riot, Hamilton Leithauser and RAC, have been highlights of the past 18 months or so, and I've been keenly anticipating the album throughout much of this year. It doesn't disappoint.
Reviews have mostly been extremely positive, acknowledging his critical role in Vampire Weekend, and recognising his potential, though NME an UNCUT, while noting these points, tended towards fainter praise for the actual album. UNCUT described it as a 'curiously underwhelming proposition', and complained about 'his unfeasibly Christmassy production'. This last comment initially seemed odd, but it's a fair assertion, since there are choral moments which would fit right into Songs of Praise, and flourishes in the arrangements suited to old b&w Christmas films like Miracle on 34th Street. Though, blended amongst a huge array of musical styles and references, the Christmassy and hymnal moments just add to the often joyous mood. They're equally as welcome as the nods to ska, highlife, and other world musics.
My wife commented that the album often reminds her of Paul Simon's Graceland, and, once that notion is implanted, I begin to hear echoes of that album throughout. 'Don't Let It Get To You' could be a recently uncovered track from the Graceland recording sessions (the percussion sound especially), and the integration of ska/ bluebeat into 'Rudy' also seems like the same sort of musically inquisitive trick Paul Simon would once have tried. I'm sure Ladysmith Black Mambazo would be open to an approach to contribute to the next album.
I have few complaints about the album. Maybe the heavily synthesised vocal on 'Hold You' (feat. Angel Deradoorian), since it's an effect which has already been overused by Lambchop and Dirty Projectors during the last year. Still a lovely melody though, on an album stuffed with great tunes. It does sound very much like a studio construction, but from someone so thoroughly in control of their materials, that's not something to object to.
Having now watched a live performance of several songs, and interview, recorded for Seattle radio station KEXP, Rostam comes over as too modest and self-effacing to be a full scale pop star, which is likely to restrict the level of his success, but with his gift for melody and ingenious arrangements he's going to remain a vital part of modern music for years to come.
Here's a wonderful live version of 'Wood', with a string quartet, recorded for KEXP:-
https://youtu.be/ioYYLkurgSQ
Hiss Golden Messenger - Hallelujah Anyhow. Arriving slightly less than a year after the previous album, 'Heart Like a Levee', M C Taylor, who basically is Hiss Golden Messenger, continues a prolific streak, with no dip in quality. The sound remains a distinctive blend of country blues, r&b, gospel, swamp rock and more, positioned between Van Morrison and J.J. Cale. Taylor is no copyist though, that's just the company he deserves to be ranked alongside.
Like many of the more interesting solo artists, his musical career began in a hardcore punk band, before moving through indie rock and developing into the fully realised sound he has today. I do find it odd that, in 2017, I'm listening to the sort of mellow music which would have fitted right into the early '70's, of the sort which inspired Eric Clapton's solo career, but it's of such a high standard you just have to accept it (is it cool? don't know, don't care). Like Will Oldham, Bill Callahan, and Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon, you get the impression he can sustain this forever.
TRACKS
Lucy Rose - Floral Dresses (feat. The Staves). Heard this on Spotify long before Something's Changing, 2nd solo album from the former Bombay Bicycle Club backing singer, was released, and was immediately taken by the ghostly melody and spare performance. It could be from the '60's, or even earlier, harking back to the sort of music which influenced Joan Baez or Judy Collins. The first review of the album I read, in UNCUT, was moderately dismissive, describing it as "another collection of lilting, lulling Joni Mitchell pastiches pitched largely between winsome and the twee", so I never got around to checking the whole album, but this is still something to make you stop and enjoy a quiet moment.
Bee Gees - I Started A Joke; Massachesetts. After years of indifference, decided that I quite like some pre-Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees after all. These are from 1968 and 1967 respectively, and do sound dated, but they are basically good songs, and the unfashionable string arrangements are part of the appeal.
Though indisputably one of the longest surviving and biggest selling music acts of all time (active since 1958, according to Wikipedia), with their harmonies and classic songwriting styles, the Bee Gees could never compete with their '60's peers in terms of innovation and experimentation. The Beatles, Beach Boys and Byrds were moving at light speed, inventing new genres several times per album, and with an appetite and curiosity to seek inspiration from every source. You're probably not going to hear the influence of John Cage, Timothy Leary or William Burroughs on any Bee Gees album.
I'm still not going to check any albums, but I'm a little more open to listening to individual songs. Possibly 'First Of May' next. They're not remotely cool, and more likely to be a choice as theme of the evening on The X Factor than the subject of a tribute album by the current indie elite, but they did know how to write a decent tune.
TV performance of 'I Started A Joke' from 1968 or so, with even more OTT coiffured hair than usual: https://youtu.be/fkG4oIPT7tU
The Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom. Originally a hit in 1980. Heard this on the car radio and it sounded better than I remembered. Been playing it ever since and it still sounds great.
