Spoon - Transference

YOURZ

Spoon are one of those bands whose name I saw recurring in both movie and television soundtracks.  I kind of had an idea what they were like due to the labels they'd been signed to over the years, Matador and Merge to name a couple.

There were also various recommendations and appearances on bucket lists from those whose opinions I admire.  To be honest, I thought Spoon were akin to bands like Fuel or Train.  How wrong could I be?

Transference, their seventh and latest album, is full of quirky dark pop.  While Mine suggests their sound to be crowded (see below), I actually think the opposite.  To my (dodgy at best) ears, this sounds almost as though it is recorded live, albeit in a studio.  I really dig the sound of it.  There is something essentially pure about this, something I think a lot of over-produced, shined-up bands of today could learn from.

If anything, this is an album full of great ideas.  It's like a notepad full of doodles by a really good artist.  Most of it captures something truly worthwhile and works brilliantly but some of it was most probably done after he'd been out really late with the lads and he can barely remember what he was trying to do and, well, is shit.

Having said this, I really took to Got Nuffin', Nobody Gets Me But You and Writing In Reverse, even if it contains the bloody awful couplet "I'm writing this to you in reverse, someone better call a hearse".  But the centre piece, for me, is the drama and menace of the dark disco that is I Saw The Light.  A great idea, well executed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

While kicking around for a little background on this band, I read that this was the first album they'd done without the help of an outside producer.  I have a message for Spoon: BIG MISTAKE.

Seriously, I liked the songs, the guy can sing a bit, although he did occasionally descend into indie-whine, but the production?  My eight-year-old nephew could have done it.  In fact he might have: there's a LOT of stuff on there, so much so it sounds like someone with ADD just ran around the studio pushing buttons.

The rockier numbers are better, and I liked I Saw the Light enough to listen to it all the way through.  But if I'd been listening to this in a record shop, I would have given up after the first three songs,  Gah.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information go to http://www.spoontheband.com/

Gotye - Like Drawing Blood

MINE

OK, must write a critical review.  Be critical.  Ummmm.... his name's a bit hard to pronounce (GO-ti-yay is as near an approximation as I can manage).  Seven Hours With A Backseat Driver is a bit soporific (YourZ sez: it kinda reminds me of a Gorillaz out-take).

No, I can't do it.  I love Wally and OH MY GOD the world should too.  Stunning videos, beautiful music, and a voice I can only describe as chocolate-coated.  What are you waiting for?  I want this on as high a rotation as possible on everyone's iPod.  Now.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Wally De Backer aka Gotye, is a very talented chap and an all round beautiful human being (and I don't mean this is a shallow, physical sense either).  He put everything together for this very fine album by cobbling scratchy old samples and his own instrumentation (he's a very good drummer, among other things) in various bedrooms around Melbourne (take that, you overly expensive, time-consuming studios). 

What he came up with is a set of songs that range from wonderful chilled pop songs to divine soul-influenced tracks to percussion-laden electro-pop gems, with sidetracks into dub land and beyond.  And the production is superb.

But the strength of this album doesn't lie in the music or the production - it's Wally's voice.  Mine describes it as 'chocolate-coated', and it is.  But it's so much more.  There is a fragile strength in it that can only be appreciated by listening to it.  And, as Mine says, what are you waiting for?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.gotye.com/

In our collection we also have Mixed Blood and Boardface

Sarah Blasko - The Overture & The Underscore

YOURZ

The first time I really heard Sarah Blasko was with her work with a great local indie super-group called Nations By The River, whose live show was one of the best local acts I'd seen in a long time. 

I think we went and brought this album on the strength of her performance and because of her wonderfully natuaral voice.  The girl was born to sing to the masses.  But she can also pen a wonderful tune and has a flair for developing intriguing pop gems.  The Overture & The Underscore not only served as a wonderful debut but acted as a benchmark for the indie-pop-folk-tronica (yeah, I know, another bloody category). 

While the more 'mainstream' singles such as Always Worth It and Counting Sheep did well and showed her ability to write a cracking pop song, it was album tracks such as Perfect Now and marvellous opener, All Coming Back, that pointed at a deeper, more considered ability, one that, with hindsight, has become plainly obvious.   

The biggest question to come out of listening to The Overture & The Underscore is why we don't own anything else by her.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

It's so funny looking at the picture of Sarah Blasko on the front of this album, because every time I see her I'm reminded how much she resembles a friend of YourZ's.  But as far as I'm aware, Alex still lives in London and isn't leading a double life as a Sydney singer-songwriter. (YourZ sez: I can confirm this is indeed the case although the resemblance is quite striking).

This is Sarah's debut album and admirably showcases her highly individual voice, which has a slightly raw, breathy fragility while still possessing the strength to draw the listener in.  But despite the gorgeousness of this album, which I have to include in my "removing cranky pants" playlist, it doesn't include my favourite song of hers - a cover.

For those of you who aren't Australian, you may not understand the place legendary pub-rock band Cold Chisel has in our psyche.  Flame Trees is, in my opinion, the best song they ever released, and one night when I was driving home I heard Sarah's version, which was part of the soundtrack for Little Fish, a spectacular Australian film starring Cate Blanchett.  While both versions have their merits, I have to admit I love Sarah's just that little bit more.

Anyway, while this album doesn't have that song on it, it's still a beautiful piece of pop music.  Highly recommended.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://sarahblasko.com/