21st November - The New Pornographers' Mass Romantic

Artist – Album: The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic

Released: 21^st November 2000

Sounds Like: A lot of cooks make a lovely broth

Music is a medium where the phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth” tends to hold true. I’ve seen The Great British Menu on the telly, and so I know that literally having a lot of chefs in the same kitchen does not necessarily mean rubbish food. Although they rarely make broth. And broth seems like the sort of food where you would hardly notice that it had spoiled – it’s not exactly fine dining is it?? Anyway… bringing in a load of top musicians has more often than not spelt disaster for a project, leading to bloated, directionless, overworked mulch. Supergroups are invariably disappointments (The Travelling Wilbury’s not withstanding), and regular groups with a surfeit of members have a tendency to implode before too long. The New Pornographers, however, stars Neko Case and Dan Bejar (of Destroyer) – both of whom have already had albumaday… blogs – as well as members of Vancouver based indie collective Zampano, and they have somehow managed to reign in all that talent to regularly produce gleaming records of brilliant indie-rock.

Having said that, at the time of Mass Romantic Case and Bejar were still just young hopefuls with silly names and so this album catches them as fresh and vital as they ever were. The record fizzes from one cut of sparkling souped-up pop-rock to another, only taking the odd, beautiful breather occasionally. The impossibly catchy ‘Letter from an Occupant’ was quite rightly picked out for special mention (making #88 on Pitchfork’s top 500 tracks of the decade), but it’s well supported by the likes of ‘The Body Says No’ and ‘Breakin’ the Law’.

Laden with more hooks than a fisherman’s boat, in an alternate universe this would have been a smash hit record and the parent to a plethora of top ten singles. As it is, it stands merely as a gripping album to a select few outside of its native Canada, and a testament to the fact that – sometimes – more is more.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Mass Romantic – 4:11

2.       The Fake Headlines – 2:45

3.       The Slow Descent into Alcoholism – 3:56

4.       Mystery Hours – 3:11

5.       Jackie – 2:46

6.       Letter from an Occupant – 3:46

7.       To Wild Homes – 3:33

8.       The Body Says No – 3:56

9.       Execution Day – 2:59

10.   Centre for Holy Wars – 3:06

11.   The Mary Martin Show – 3:19

12.   Breakin’ the Law – 3:27

Listen to ‘The Body Says No’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C4P-mACPAI

Also released on the 21^st November:

2006: Swan Lake – Beast Moans

4th August - Snow Patrol's Final Straw

Artist – Album: Snow Patrol – Final Straw

Released:  4^th August 2003

Sounds Like:  The abominable Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol first found mainstream success with their third album Final Straw and, in particular, the Coldplay-esque single ‘Run’ (covered in typically overwrought fashion by The X Factor winner Leona Lewis in 2008). Given that the record was followed by the earnest Eyes Open and its own anthems ‘Chasing Cars’ and ‘Set the Fire to the Third Bar’, it’s hard not to lump the group with Coldplay and other such purveyors of bland adult-orientated rock/tosh. However, once you’ve passed the gentle (but interesting) lovers’ quarrel of ‘How to Be Dead’, the band reveal a spikiness and penchant for distortion on ‘Wow’ and ‘Spitting Games’ that signifies the additional influence from the alternative likes of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr.

‘Chocolate’ was the third single released from the album, and probably settles the argument on what Snow Patrol are trying to achieve from their music. Theirs is commercially accessible indie rock, designed to please both poppy audiences with their sincere love songs, and placate fans of heavier stuff with edgy guitars and driving percussion (very similar to Doves’ ‘Pounding’ on this particular track). They are masters are what they do, and whilst it’s easy for critics to dismiss it as derivative or humdrum, it’s unquestionably hard to dislike.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       How to Be Dead – 3:21

2.       Wow – 4:02

3.       Gleaming Auction – 2:04

4.       Whatever’s Left – 2:39

5.       Spitting Games – 3:46

6.       Chocolate – 3:02

7.       Run – 5:54

8.       Grazed Knees – 2:55

9.       Ways & Means – 4:47

10.   Tiny Little Fractures – 2:28

11.   Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking – 4:32

12.   Same – 3:54

Listen to ‘Same’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHUhLy2obSw

22nd July - Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True

Artist – Album: Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True

Released:  22^nd July 1977

Sounds Like: Elvis is king

With my debit card in the ticket machine at Oxford Road on Saturday afternoon, approximately five minutes before my train was due to leave for Liverpool, I drew an inopportune but unshakeable blank. I hadn’t the foggiest what my pin number was, and after three clueless attempts at guessing it, my card was securely locked. Ironically, a large portion of the blame for my monumental brain freeze can be ascribed to the scorching heat, but, without a doubt, another contributing factor was Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True – a record I had playing through my headphones at the time and had crooned its way to my full and undivided attention. 

The album, Costello’s first, is a masterclass in pub rockery. It’s no exaggeration to say that Costello is one of the finest singer-songwriters this country has ever produced, and his idiosyncratic penmanship and cynical quippery is well evident even at this early stage. ‘Welcome to the Working Week’ gets us started perfectly: in less than a minute and a half, Elvis hammers through an insanely catchy punk rock melody, memorable chorus and sneeringly brilliant lyrics. From the exquisite ballad ‘Alison’ to the jilted pop of ‘(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes’ (featuring the immortal line “I said ‘I’m so happy I could die’, she said ‘drop dead’ and ran off with another guy”), the album is peppered with literate punk and new wave highlights.

‘Less Than Zero’ stands as the best track on the album, but it could have been even better – the US version also included the dark, reggae-tinged ‘Watching the Detectives’. Had that have been included, this would have been a nail on ten out of ten. As it is, it’s still a well-earned nine.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       Welcome to the Working Week – 1:22

2.       Miracle Man – 3:31

3.       No Dancing – 2:39

4.       Blame It on Cain – 2:49

5.       Alison – 2:54

6.       Sneaky Feelings – 2:09

7.       (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes – 2:47

8.       Less Than Zero – 3:15

9.       Mystery Dance – 1:38

10.   Pay It Back – 2:33

11.   I’m Not Angry – 2:57

12.   Waiting for the End of the World – 3:22

Listen to ‘Less Than Zero’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHQK3yo9CBA

Also released on the 22^nd July:

1974: Stevie Wonder – Fulfillingness’ First Finale

Also released on the 22^nd July:

2008: Dr. Dog - Fate

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

20th May - Super Furry Animals' Fuzzy Logic

Artist – Album: Super Furry Animals – Fuzzy Logic

Released:  20^th May 1996

Sounds Like:  The band don’t give a f**k about anybody else

The importance of grammar cannot be understated. For example, there are Supergroups, such as Derek and the Dominos, Humble Pie and Them Crooked Vultures; there are super groups, such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Spoon; and there are Super- Groups – Supergrass and Super Furry Animals. That’s not to say you can’t fall into more than one of these categories: Broken Social Scene and Cream are both collections of already established stars that just so happen to also be super. Likewise, whether they’re actually furry, or indeed animals, is up for debate, but SFA fully deserve at least the first of their third word label.

Performing guitar based rock and demonstrating a love for the sixties, the band quickly assimilated itself with the Britpop movement. However, being from Cardiff, they were far removed from their London/North West focused contemporaries, and the band quickly developed their experimental rock and psychedelic tendencies into much more interesting places. Next to the straightforward, catchy punk pop of ‘God! Show Me Magic’, there’s the indie anthem ‘Something for the Weekend’ and the beautiful psychedelia of ‘Hometown Unicorn’ and ‘If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You’.

With a song about Howard Marks and the self same infamous drug smuggling Mr Nice making up the album cover collage, as well as lyrics such as “first time, I did it for the hell of it, stuck it on my tongue and then swallowed it”, prolific drug use is never from the menu. At times the songs are hallucinogenic and the album can be patchy – fuzzy if you will – but it remains one of the best debut albums of the nineties.

Albumaday... rating:  8/10

1.       God! Show Me Magic – 1:50

2.       Fuzzy Birds – 2:27

3.       Something for the Weekend – 2:34

4.       Frisbee – 2:21

5.       Hometown Unicorn – 3:33

6.       Gathering Moss – 3:22

7.       If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You – 3:17

8.       Bad Bahaviour – 4:26

9.       Mario Man – 4:07

10.   Hangin’ with Howard Marks – 4:20

11.   Long Gone – 5:20

12.   For Now and Ever – 3:32              

Listen to ‘Hometown Unicorn’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zxXF0B_SyM

Also released on the 20^th May:

1997: Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape

10th May - Weezer's Weezer

Artist – Album: Weezer - Weezer

Released: 10^th May 1994

Sounds Like: Speccy Power Pop

See how gawky Rivers Cuomo and pals look there on the cover to their debut album. It’s hard to picture four more awkward poses; they’re hardly the Ramones are they? Of course, since finding fame Weezer have fully embraced their geek rock image, sporting thick rimmed glasses and rocking out with the Muppets, but back in 1994 they were just uncomfortable, nerdy young men.

However ill at ease they may have appeared on the artwork, they certainly didn’t sound it on the album’s 10 tracks. With a fantastic recipe of Pixies style loud-soft dynamics and Raspberries, Big Star and Cheap Trick tinged 70’s power pop, the group rocked out and enjoyed it in a way that not many in the grunge era were capable of. They brought back blistering solos and sunny harmonies and they did it proudly and confidently. The lyrics hinted at their geekdom – references to Dungeons and Dragons, Buddy Holly and confessions like “In the garage, I feel safe, no one cares about my ways” – but throughout Rivers Cuomo exudes self-assurance, as if he knows that they sound awesome. And they do. ‘My Name is Jonas’, ‘No One Else’ and ‘The World Has Turned and Left Me Here’ is a phenomenal opening trio, and the fourth song, the classic ‘Buddy Holly’, betters even them. ‘Say It Ain’t So’ was one of my all time favourites when I was younger, whilst ‘In the Garage’, ‘Holiday’ and ‘Only in Dreams’ lend the tail end of the album a perfect, wistful edge.

What’s perhaps surprising is that such an incredible, rightly lauded mid 90s album, one which is really quite simplistic in its use of big dumb power chords and which follows basic verse chorus verse structures, hasn’t been  matched, or even come close to, by many albums since it’s release. It appears the boys are as clever (and dorky) as they look.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       My Name is Jonas – 3:24

2.       No One Else – 3:04

3.       The World Has Turned and Left Me Here – 4:19

4.       Buddy Holly – 2:39

5.       Undone – The Sweater Song – 5:05

6.       Surf Wax America – 3:06

7.       Say It Ain’t So – 4:18

8.       In the Garage – 3:55

9.       Holiday – 3:24

10.   Only in Dreams – 7:59

Listen to ‘My Name is Jonas’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbwI2-nJ0Tw

Also released on the 10^th May:

1993: Blur – Modern Life is Rubbish

Also released on the 10^th May:

2004: Keane – Hopes and Fears

Also released on the 10^th May:

2010: The National – High Violet