18th September - Björk's Selmasongs

Artist – Album: Björk – Selmasongs

Released:  18^th September 2000

Sounds Like: My First Musical

Analbumaday… isn’t the first stupid boy project I’ve taken on over the last few years. I’ve taught myself to juggle and play harmonica (although not at the same time), hitchhiked to Morocco, and attempted to learn conversational Spanish and Italian on various occasions. I once drank (enjoyed is too strong a word) a pint of mild in 60 different pubs in the Nottingham area over the course of a month. I’ve watched/played/listened to practically every all time greatest films/television episodes/games/albums/songs list I’ve stumbled upon, and still have an insatiable appetite to watch/play/listen to more. One such list was Empire Magazine’s 500 5-star movies, which I progressed through last year in a bid to force myself to watch some classic oldies; those black and white flicks that you know are supposed to be good but somehow never get round to viewing.

One of the more surprising films registered in that countdown was Dancer in the Dark, a 2005 musical featuring Björk, about a factory worker called Selma who hides from her friends and family the fact that she is going blind. The film splits opinion – Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian said that “screen acting doesn't get much more dire than this”, whilst renowned reviewer Roger Ebert was effusive in his praise. The soundtrack to the film, by Björk, received more universal praise, averaging 76/100 on Metacritic.

Personally, I found it slightly disappointing. The film was colourful and endearing, but these qualities didn’t translate as well on the album. ‘Overture’ starts things excellently with a suitably dramatic orchestral piece, but far too many of the following songs dabble in clichéd musical conventions. ‘I’ve Seen It All’ holds immense promise as it is a duet with Thom Yorke, but even that suffers from disappointingly childish lyrics. Still, ‘107 Steps’, the piece that soundtracks Selma’s tense walk to the executioner (*SPOILER ALERT*), slightly redeems things, and the closer, ‘New World’, is emphatic and strong.

The film wasn’t bad in my book, but it’s certainly bettered by others featuring unlikely heroes that have an obsession with musicals (Wall-E for one). Similarly, the album, whilst not a failure, just doesn’t quite hit the heights of Björk’s other great works.

Albumaday... rating: 6/10

1.       Overture – 3:38

2.       Cvalda – 4:48

3.       I’ve Seen It All – 5:30

4.       Scatterheart – 6:40

5.       In the Musicals – 4:40

6.       107 Steps – 2:37

7.       New World – 4:25

Listen to ‘New World’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqnL6ie_FTw

26th June - Air France's No Way Down

Artist – Album: Air France – No Way Down

Released:  26^th June 2008

Sounds Like: kind of like a dream, isn’t it? No, better.

I may be going a bit mad, but today I’ve chosen to ignore Badly Drawn Boy’s scruffy indie folk masterpiece The Hour of the Bewilderbeast. Likewise, I’ve forsaken Sonic Youth’s major label debut, the visceral but cool noise rock of Goo. I’ve even skipped over a Bob Dylan album for God’s sake. What on earth has come over me?  

Well, dear reader, Air France have come all over me (eww, not like that). The Swedish duo (yep, they’re not even French) welded their first two EPs – 2007s On Trade Winds and No Way Down – together to produce their only full length in 2008, and it is gooood. Tropical beats, joyous harmonies and uplifting orchestration wash over you in ten beautiful blue waves, but whilst the music is upbeat and modern, the sampled snippets of conversation (I particularly love the sound of the affable French geezer about halfway in) and hazy sound affects bring a nostalgic air to proceedings. The cut-and-paste collage, uplifting electronic and classic feel of the album is reminiscent of The Avalanches’ Since I Left You if that’s a reference point you can work with. Amongst the  individual highlights you could list ‘Collapsing at Your Doorstep’, ‘No Excuses’, ‘No Way Down’ and ‘Beach Party’, but truly the record is so lush and fluid that it works best as one glorious whole.

It’s what I imagine beach parties in heaven sound like.

Albumaday... rating:  8/10

1.       Maundy Thursday – 2:50

2.       June Evenings – 4:02

3.       Collapsing at Your Doorstep – 4:34

4.       No Excuses – 4:03

5.       No Way Down – 4:05

6.       Windmill Wedding – 3:13

7.       Introduction – 1:37

8.       Karibien – 3:15

9.       Beach Party – 3:15

10.   Never Content – 5:20

Listen to ‘Beach Party’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMLaPsx2SU

Also released on the 26^th June:

1975: Bob Dylan & the Band – The Basement Tapes

Also released on the 26^th June:

1990: Sonic Youth – Goo

Also released on the 26^th June:

2000: Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour of the Bewilderbeast 

13th June - Björk's Post

Artist – Album: Björk - Post

Released:  13^th June 1995

Sounds Like: Iceland’s Post-er girl

Why is it that certain parts of the world are so much better at this music thing than others? I mean, for example: Coventry and Leicester are pretty much the same rubbish-y grey cities in the UK, but one gave us splendid ska of The Specials and was the epicentre of the Two Tone movement, whereas the other’s legacy probably ends with Showaddywaddy. Likewise, despite having a population less than that of Luxembourg, Malta or the Bahamas (or even those aforementioned Midlands conurbations), Iceland has had a disproportionate measure of success in making exceptional and original music.

Following hot on the heels of yesterday’s hypnotic and elegant Sigur Rós, today we have their fellow compatriot Björk who happens to be dealing in an entirely different but equally compelling musical realm. Things kick off with the dark electronica of ‘Army of Me’ and it’s abrasive chorus of “if you complain once more, you’ll meet an army of me”, but the real strength of the album is how it flits between styles effortlessly and with little negative impact on the album’s overall quality. Following the menacing, industrial rock of that opener is the delicate electro-pop of ‘Hyperballad’, a gorgeous alternative to the throwaway love song. Just two songs later is the cartoon theatricality of ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ (annoying and overplayed back in the mid-nineties, energetic and appealing today).

Björk has been one of the most unpredictable and innovative artists in world music for the last 25 years, and each of her eight solo albums have received critical adoration. Other records contain moments of brilliance that surpass anything here (although I do bloody love ‘Hyperballad’) but as a set of songs this is by far her best.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Army of Me – 3:54

2.       Hyperballad – 5:21

3.       The Modern Things – 4:10

4.       It’s Oh So Quiet – 3:38

5.       Enjoy – 3:57

6.       You’ve Been Flirting Again – 2:29

7.       Isobel – 5:47

8.       Possibly Maybe – 5:06

9.       I Miss You – 4:03

10.   Cover Me – 2:06

11.   Headphones – 5:40

Listen to ‘Isobel’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGjGh74n_9U

Also released on the 13^th June:

1995: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill

Also released on the 13^th June:

2000: Modest Mouse – The Moon & Antarctica

9th May - Wild Beasts' Smother

Artist – Album: Wild Beasts - Smother

Released:  9^th May 2011

Sounds Like: Sexy time

Kendal based indie rock group Wild Beasts are currently producing some of the most original and intriguing sounds in modern music. Hayden Thorpe sings in a realm that lies somewhere between the epic theatricality of Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright and the campy falsetto of Mika. Their dream pop, looped jangly guitars and bombastic drumming has carved out for them their own separate niche within the alternative rock arena.

To an extent, the group drop the bombast of the percussion here and draw out the music to atmospheric mini-epics. They’ve also become somewhat (read completely and utterly) obsessed with sex. Case in point, opener ‘Lion’s Share’, which contains the following perverse lyrics: “I wait until you're woozy, I won't know until your limp, I take you in the mouth, Like a lion takes his game”. Or try this verse on from ‘Bed of Nails’: “Our love, Frankenstein in nature and design, Like the Shelleys on their very first time, When our bodies become electrified, Together we bring this creature to life”. There’s always a place for lovemaking in rock (rock and roll itself derived its name from such fooling around), but rarely has an album been so singularly focused on the subject.  

Smother isn’t Wild Beasts at their most exhilarating – a lot of the songs here come and go subtly, gathering their discarded clothes and sneaking out quietly while you sleep. But the album pulsates with rhythmic endurance and is quite captivating with its sleazy and dangerous undertones. A band to watch and an album to listen to.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Lion’s Share – 4:14

2.       Bed of Nails – 4:18

3.       Deeper – 3:01

4.       Loop the Loop – 4:06

5.       Plaything – 4:21

6.       Invisible – 2:58

7.       Albatross – 3:12

8.       Reach a Bit Further – 3:36

9.       Burning – 4:44

10.   End Come Too Soon – 7:32

Listen to ‘Bed of Nails ’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZaevasFRUg

Also released on the 9^th April:

2006: Beirut – Gulag Orkestar

5th May - Blur's Think Tank

Artist – Album: Blur – Think Tank

Released:  5^th May 2003

Sounds Like: The ‘Girls & Boys’ boys become men

Of the two bands most readily associated with Britpop – Oasis and Blur – one spent the decade after its death continuing to create the same laddish boozy anthems, with arguably diminishing returns, and the other was Blur. Following their huge success with Parklife and the Great Escape, the band decided to take something of an abrupt turn into lo-fi influenced alternative rock on their sixth studio album Blur, presaging the end of the mid nineties Britpop era.

On their seventh album the group took another u-turn, moving away from the Pavement sphere of influence onto more of a Radiohead orientated sound. For the first time they introduced electronic beats and elements of trip hop to the alternative rock mix, and the result is, for the most part, a pleasantly interesting and rewarding album. A selection of the opening cuts, ‘Ambulance’, ‘Out of Time’ (worth the admission price alone) and ‘Good Song’ stand up next to anything in the extensive back catalogue – lush, gorgeous and poignant songs that are further enhanced by Damon Albarn’s world-weary vocals.

Unfortunately, the song in between – ‘Crazy Beat’ – is a bit of a stinker. It introduces a vocoder style chorus in the style of Daft Punk, with none of that collective’s warmth and charm. This track is indicitive of the (rare and relative) failures that prevent this album from becoming on a par with the best early indie forays into electronica such as Kid A and Music Has the Right to Children. Being a step or two behind those two though really isn’t so bad and it’s quite an achievement for the group that not long before were releasing Cool Britannia fluff like ‘Country House’.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Ambulance – 5:09

2.       Out of Time – 3:52

3.       Crazy Beat – 3:15

4.       Good Song – 3:09

5.       On the Way to the Club – 3:48

6.       Brothers and Sisters – 3:47

7.       Caravan – 4:36

8.       We’ve Got a File on You – 1:03

9.       Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club -3:03

10.   Sweet Song – 4:01

11.   Jets – 6:25

12.   Gene by Gene – 3:49

13.   Battery in Your Leg – 3:20

Listen to ‘Out of Time’:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkX1Up1vnc

 

Also released on the 5^th May:

1973: Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

8th Feb - Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here

Artist – Album: Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here

Released:  8^th February 2010      

Sounds Like: Awesomeness. Just awesome.

Ok, so i’ve just been out for a few drinks and I’m hoping to go out for a few more so, honestly, I can’t be bothered writing a comprehensive review...

This was a refreshingly brilliant album though. The bookending tracks ‘On Coming from a Broken Home’ are two parts of the same fabulous, spoken word poem about his upbringing, set around a soothing Kanye West sample (‘Flashing Lights’, for those that are interested).

Elsewhere: ‘Me and the Devil’ – good; ‘Your Soul and Mine’ – good; ‘I’m New Here’ – gooooooood.

In conclusion (haha, yes I’m done already!), this is an extraordinary album that takes in trip hop and electronica influences and uses them to update blues sounds. It’s a great album from the erstwhile jazz poet and the last before he died, and certainly one that deserves more effort than I’m giving it...

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 1) – 2:20

2.       Me and the Devil – 3:33

3.       I’m New Here – 3:33

4.       Your Soul and Mine – 2:02

5.       Parents (Interlude) – 0:18

6.       I’ll Take Care of You – 2:58

7.       Being Blessed (Interlude) – 0:12

8.       Where Did the Night Go – 1:14

9.       I Was Guided (Interlude) – 0:14

10.   New York Is Killing Me – 4:29

11.   Certain Things (Interlude) – 0:08

12.   Running – 2:00

13.   The Crutch – 2:44

14.   I’ve Been Me (Interlude) – 0:16

15.   On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 2) – 2:15

Listen to ‘I’m New Here’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV_astp3BjM

Also released on the 8^th February:

1977: Television – Marquee Moon

Also released on the 8^th February:

2000: Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele

Also released on the 8^th February:

2005: Andrew Bird – Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs