26th October - R.E.M's Up

Artist – Album: R.E.M - Up

Released: 26^th October 1998

Sounds Like: Rarefied electronic music

R.E.M. didn’t find things easy after the massive success of their career defining album Automatic for the People. In fact, after more than a decade of carving out a niche sound all of their own, they began to suffer from an identity crisis. Automatic was followed by the glam grunge of Monster; still a special album in my book, but one with enough flaws and a hard enough edge to alienate sections of their fans. Next up was New Adventures in Hi-Fi, a pretty lost record which couldn’t really make its mind up on what it wanted to be. And so we come to Up, an excursion into electronic music that baffled half of its audience upon release. Uh-oh.

On first listen, there’s only two shining lights that pierce the otherwise all consuming electronic fug: the Brian Wilson tribute ‘At My Most Beautiful’ and the typically beautiful, old-school R.E.M. ‘Daysleeper’. However, further listens reveal a stash of hidden gems: the ominous opener ‘Airportman’, the Casiotone for the Painfully Alone-esque ‘Hope’, the sarcastic ‘The Apologist’ and the folktronica of ‘You’re in the Air’. It is a hesitant, unsure album, but once it opens itself up to you, it is incredibly well-crafted and ahead of its time. Well done again boys. 

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Airportman – 4:12

2.       Lotus – 4:30

3.       Suspicion – 5:36

4.       Hope – 5:02

5.       At My Most Beautiful – 3:35

6.       The Apologist – 4:30

7.       Sad Professor – 4:01

8.       You’re in the Air – 5:22

9.       Walk Unafraid – 4:31

10.   Why Not Smile – 4:03

11.   Daysleeper – 3:40

12.   Diminished – 6:01

13.   Parakeet – 4:09

14.   Falls to Climb – 5:06

Listen to ‘Daysleeper’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUcKeKt8C1k 

18th October - Real Estate's Days

Artist – Album: Real Estate - Days

Released: 18^th October 2011

Sounds Like: Good to my right ear

Disaster! On my walk into work yesterday morning I lost the rubber bits that go around earphones, the bits that prevent them from piercing my eardrums and making me really very sore. As the majority of my Albumaday… sampling is made on the 40-minute walk to and from work, this has seriously hindered my blogability. For today I dusted off my ancient pair, family heirlooms that were crafted around the time of the French revolution, but even these are only half working and everything I listen to them is in mono. Until I buy a new pair in the next few days, therefore, everything will be reviewed by my right ear only. First world problems eh?

One band that strikes me as untroubled by first world problems, third world problems, or indeed anything at all, are Real Estate. For them everything seems so easy: in their melodic, jangly indie-pop, in Martin Courtney’s drifting vocals and in their calming lyrics. Even love, that most tricky of subjects, is given the nonchalant Real Estate treatment on the excellent ‘It’s Real’ – Courtney doesn’t need bombast or melodrama, he only needs to simply state “believe me when I say, it’s real” and your heart melts.

‘Younger Than Yesterday’ seems to be unrelated to the Byrds album of the same name, but it’s quite a fitting reference. Comparisons with R.E.M and The Feelies are also bang on the mark, but The Byrds are the spiritual forefathers of all three, masters of the gorgeous guitar work and sweetly worn turn of phrase. Their sound is so lovely that it has barely needed updating since the Sixties, and so the main difference between them and these is that, where The Byrds were spitting feathers over ‘fake’ bands like The Monkees, Real Estate have no worries at all.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Easy – 3:53

2.       Green Aisles – 5:01

3.       It’s Real – 2:48

4.       Kinder Blumen – 3:55

5.       Out of Tune – 4:51

6.       Municipality – 3:36

7.       Wonder Years – 2:34

8.       Three Blocks – 3:18

9.       Younger Than Yesterday – 4:08

10.   All the Same – 7:21

Listen to ‘It’s Real’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HWcViTXdYc

Also released on 18^th October:

2005: Animal Collective - Feels

Also released on 18^th October:

2011: M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

29th May - Teenage Fanclub's Grand Prix

Artist – Album: Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix

Released:  29^th May 1995

Sounds Like: Sun soaked genius

When the Fannies (yep, that's their unfortunate nickname...) are on top form there really is no one better. No, not even Oasis, despite Liam Gallagher’s infamous backdoor brag that Teenage Fanclub were “the second best band in the world”. In truth, the only problem for those who want to delve into their back catalogue is trying to sort the glorious from the WTF-able. Well, I’ll make it clear – Bandwagonesque, Thirteen, Songs from Northern Britain and today’s album Grand Prix are bloody good, and you may as well avoid the rest.

Their music is a sparkling synthesis of the west coast harmonies of the Beach Boys, the jangly pop of The Byrds, the power melodies of Big Star and the alternative indie mentality of the best nineties bands. But better. Probably.

Whereas Bandwagonesque is generally perceived to be the high water mark of their almost 25 year career, Grand Prix lags not far behind, and, whilst it slightly lacks the former album’s giddy energy, it’s certainly the more consistent of the two.

The sunny power pop of the likes of ‘About You’, ‘Sparky’s Dream’, ‘I’ll Make It Clear’, ‘Discolite’ and set highlight ‘Don’t Look Back’ are counterpointed fantastically by the gorgeous slow acoustic songs of ‘Mellow Doubt’, ‘Going Places’ and ‘I Gotta Know’. The only dud note is the loud/soft-dynamics-gone-mad of ‘Hardcore/Ballad’ and, by the time you’ve got to that final track, it’s already too late – you’re hooked.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       About You – 2:41

2.       Sparky’s Dream – 3:17

3.       Mellow Doubt – 2:42

4.       Don’t Look Back – 3:43

5.       Verisimilitude – 3:31

6.       Neil Jung – 4:48

7.       Tears – 2:43

8.       Discolite – 3:07

9.       Say No – 3:12

10.   Going Places – 4:28

11.   I’ll Make It Clear – 2:33

12.   I Gotta Know – 3:27

13.   Hardcore/Ballad – 1:48

Listen to ‘Discolite’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4GDA9WdBXg

Also released on the 29^th May:

2000: Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump

Also released on the 29^th May:

2009: Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up