Visual Aspects - M. Ward & Holly Throsby - Enmore Theatre - 20 February l 2011

YOURZ

Essence is defined simply as the fundamental nature of a thing.  In music, this is often mistaken as a derivation of influences, which leads lazy reviewers to comparing new with old, often ignoring the essence of the individual artist.  But while modern pop charts continue to descend into the auto-tuned pits of hell (for the most part), there are thankfully new artists making their mark, songwriters who don't subscribe to the moors of modern music, who divorce themselves from the musician-as-a-brand ideology and who actively seek to remain outside the superficial glare of  the celebrity spotlight.

One such artist is M. Ward, whose indisputable talent is of the sort reviewers will be using as a reference point in years to come.  And it his essence - the broke-down fragility of his voice, the passion and depth of his songwriting and his confident brilliance as a musician - will like ensure this is the case.

If such lofty praise makes me sound like a wanker, then so be it. But there are a few times in a music-lover's life when they come an artist who truly touches them and of whom they never tire of hearing.  Mine is a mixed bag: Elvis Costello, Paul Kelly, The Clash, Queens Of The Stoneage, Gorillaz, Deftones and Gomez, to name a few.  M. Ward is now also on that list, particularly after seeing him live recently.

I was really pleased we made it in time to see his support, local singer/songwriter Holly Throsby. Accompanied by her band, The Hello Tigers, made up of two incredibly talented multi-instrumentalists, her set of lush indie pop and folk was truly a delight. Featuring tracks from her latest album Team, her set was an almost perfect accompaniment to what was to follow. YourZenMine highly recommend her - here is a taste.

With a stripped bare stage, featuring a microphone, a piano and a guitar on a stand, there was no doubting what M. Ward's performance was going to be about - the songs.  When you take away all the normal frippery associated with a modern band, I don't think there would be more than a handful of artists who could perform with as much confidence and consummate ability.

Opening with the instrumental Duet For Guitars #3 before jumping into Lullaby & Exile and Poison Cup before saying a single word to the audience, something I was particularly pleased about.  Far too many musicians these days forget that most of us want to hear the songs, not them prattle on about some anecdote or another.  My respect levels for Ward went up a couple of more notches.

Moving from the guitar to the piano and back, he enthralled the packed house with tracks like Hold Time, Chinese Translations, Never Had Nobody Like You and a personal favourite, Fuel For Fire, as well as a cover of the David Bowie track, Let's Dance, retold as an alt-country gem.  Sung with Ward's gravel-laced voice, it gave the track a dark menace not apparent in the original.  He truly is a modern legend in the making and if you get the chance to see him live, I have no doubt you will agree.  This is an early contender for gig of the year.

VERDICT: VITAL

Turin Brakes - The Optimist LP

MINE

Sometimes my husband and I differ on things.  No, really!  And one of these things is kind of good for me, but it also annoys me.  You see, while to most people my music collection (before YourZ) seemed wide and varied, his was and is truly huge.  A large part of that is because... how do I put this nicely... he sometimes has a bit of a short attention span.

Which means sometimes he doesn't want to play the old faithful numbers.  There's this new band or artist he's bought, and he knows I'll really love it, and the annoying thing is he's usually right, but then sometimes I think he just doesn't get the fact that some days I want to listen to the album I know I'm going to love.

Which is The Optimist.  Top to tail, beginning to end, beautiful, layered, brilliantly produced, those edgy yet sweet voices, this album is one our collection will never be without.  It's the album I want to play on this first night we move into our new home, up on a hill in a tropical town in Queensland, looking out over the dark and lush vegetation with the lights twinkling in the distance.  It's yet another album I have to thank YourZ for... and for that reason I can never be too annoyed with him when he wants me to listen to something new.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

This is one of Mine's choices but if she hadn't chosen it, I would have (in fact, I deliberately left it from my five because I knew she would end up picking it).  (Mine says: well aren't you the clever clogs then!)  I don't have any fancy story about how I came to hear Turin Brakes.  But every so often, a piece of music comes into your life that is so clearly meant for you, it is a wonder it isn't simply gift-wrapped with your name on it.  Turin Brakes, for me, is one such band.

Some years ago now, musical friends and I would regularly gather in the back room of a house I shared with an ex-girlfriend (hi Maz).  This room was off the kitchen, so close to all the things a bunch of musicians would need: a kettle, coffee and tea fixings and a fridge for alcohol.  We'd start with rounds of coffee and cigarettes, warming up our fingers on tunes we all knew.  I'd set up a few microphones and maybe get the recording equipment ready to make a rough of the proceedings.  We'd move on to beer or vodka as the day wore one, getting looser and louder and having a ball.   

Lots of music inspired us then.  Some of the names you'd recognise (David Bowie, Beck, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin) and some were new to most of us.  Turin Brakes, and The Optimist LP particularly, were one such band.  Their acoustic-driven, harmony-laden tracks had us singing along at the tops of our voices, long after we'd put down our instruments and started on the second case of beer.  And while we never went much further than that room, we were the best band in the world for a little while there.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For further information go to http://www.turinbrakes.com/

Iggy Pop - A Million In Prizes: The Anthology

YOURZ

This review is late.  This is the first review of the entire year that wasn't ready to go on the dot at 12:01 AM.  But I have a good excuse and I have to tell you all.  Mine and YourZ truly went to see the Gorillaz last night.  It was, in short, the best large venue live show I've ever seen.  But enough of that, lets get to Mr Osterberg.

He is made of a better cut of the same material Keith Richards is made from.  If the world went pear-shaped tomorrow, he would emerge from the rubble relatively unscathed and ready to rock.  The word 'iconic' really doesn't cut it when it comes to Iggy.  He is so much more.  What he did on Countdown live on national television inspired a generation of punks.  Mine has linked it so check it out.

As you would expect, this collection contains all the hits, including his turn at Cole Porter with Debbie Harry, Well Did You Evah.  But the big surprise for me are some of the tracks I'd not heard before.  Skull Rings, for instance, is an awesome rock song and Iggy sounds as fresh and full on as ever.  About the only complaint I have about this selection is that it doesn't included Loco Mosquito or Dog Food, personal favourites.  And his version of China Girl is different but better, no offence to Bowie, of course.  Iggy Pop for Emperor of the World!

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Legend.  I remember going to see Henry Rollins in his spoken word tour one year, and he told a story about trying to outlast Iggy at some music festival in Scandinavia sometime.  He said even after months of training, weightlifting, hard cardio, a strict diet, Iggy wiped the floor with him.  "Nobody out-Iggs the Igg."

I've sen him live once, and he really is an amazing performer.  I also remember him performing I'm Bored to a bemused teenage audience on Countdown - when was that? Late 70s, early 80s sometime.  His version of Real Wild Child has been the theme song for the Aussie TV music show rage that's been on - forever.  He's influenced so many people, so many bands - the man is, as I said, a legend.  Rock Royalty.  All hail Iggy.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

Pulp - Different Class

MINE

I love this album - but I don't often listen to all of it.  That's because I love, love, love Common People, Disco 2000 and Sorted for E's and Wizz.  Now I will admit, Jarvis occasionally does that beat-poetry type singing - but not all the time, not all the way through the song, and he really can sing.  Like anything.

Pulp do that lovely electronica-guitar-dance-rock crossover stuff and were firm favourites when this came out, in 1995.  As I recall, I didn't actually buy this until a couple of years later.  It spent a lot of time in the CD player - but I will admit it's those three songs that get the most traffic.

I love the sardonic tones Jarvis gives to Common People, and the almost-fragility he imparts to lines in Sorted ('Cause I seem to have left an important part of my brain/ somewhere, somewhere in a field in Hampshire).  But Disco 2000 is my favourite.  I really, really wanted the DJ to play it for my 20th high school reunion 10 years ago, but the guy hadn't even heard of it.  Funny thing, next month is my 30th reunion.  But even though this time I have the job of putting together the music (I'm currently awash in bad late 70s-early80s pop) I don't think Disco 2000 has any relevance there any more.  Shame, because it's a damn good song.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I’ve never been much of a fan of Pulp.  They were kind of on the radar back in the early 90s due more to the people I was sharing a house with than anything else.  They were big fans of just about everything British.  To be honest, lead vocalist Jarvis Cocker’s mannerisms annoyed me. 

But Mine reintroduced them to me.  While I still couldn’t exactly call myself a fan, I do now have a bit more respect for them.  They were kind of lumped into the Brit Pop category, along with a whole swag of bands and maybe this was why I never had much interest.  I’ve always been a big Blur fan but not many other bands in that list cut it for me.

There are some good tracks on Different Class, no doubt.  I think Mine has probably mentioned these already.  And there are a few album tracks that remind me of the Bowie during his Aladdin Sane period, which is cool.  But am I the only one who thinks Cocker is a bit of a wanker?

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.pulppeople.plus.com/

Turin Brakes - Ether Song

MINE

When the pointy stick landed on Ether Song rather than The Optimist LP, the Brakes' debut, YourZ and I both experienced a twinge of regret.  Not that Ether Song is a bad CD - it's gorgeous - but just that The Optimist LP is one of those albums that's entered into our consciousness and won't ever be expelled.  It's as beautiful today as the day I first heard it.  And I last listened to it last weekend.

Given all that, I guess the thing I most want to say is - why haven't Turin Brakes achieved massive world domination?  Their deceptively simple melodies, note-perfect close harmonies, their swing from acoustic to electric and back - these guys are just as good as Crowded House ever were with possibly a touch more sophistication.

Pain Killer is the standout track on the CD but it's all just good.  If you haven't heard of this band, take a look here.  How good is that?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I can't believe it's been nearly 10 years since the release of Turin Brakes first album, The Optimist LP.  That particular album has spent more time on our CD player than a lot of other albums combined.  It's such a wonderful early morning after a rowdy late night record and there hasn't really been anything else that has come along to replace it.

Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as familiar with Ether Song as I am with the above.  The songwriting is every bit as good, as are those wonderful Bowie-esque harmonies.  This album is a little more electric than its predecessor but still sounds like Olly and Gale are sitting in the corner of my loungeroom, singing these songs live.  It also has their biggest single to date in Pain Killer, a great modern folk-rock song and very reminiscent of their sound.

What this doesn't have, unfortunately, is the same connection to a time and place as The Optimist LP does.  I'm sure this could be remedied, if it weren't for the fact I have so much music already.  But I'll give it my best shot.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

In our collection we also have The Optimist LP and Jackinabox

Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream

MINE

The magic of Luke Steele once again, this time paired with Nick Littlemore from P'Nau.  I can't be objective about this album, as it's been on my gymPod since we first got it - days after it came out, I think.  The only problem with Walking on a Dream is that I don't really know the names of any of the songs, so I've had to do a quick run-through with the Amazon sampler to identify my favourites.  And I don't have any.  Song follows song, and each is as individually beautiful and fantastically produced as the next.

I can say that Country sounds like the theme from Twin Peaks - Swordfish Hotkiss Theme is just cool bouncy dance - and Without You always makes me close my eyes.  Dangerous while driving.  Which is strange because the opening two songs, Standing on the Shore and Walking on a Dream are possibly two of the best-ever driving songs I've heard.  Makes me want to take to the country on a warm summer's day with the windows down and not another car in sight.

But for anyone who loves really well-put-together pop music, BUY THIS ALBUM.  There you go, Luke, did I do well?  Well enough that you'll come and play music at our place some time?  Ah, go on....

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I like Luke Steele.  I like that he consistently remains unpredictable and interesting.  When I first heard he was joining up with Nick Littlemore, of dance duo P'nau, it really made me wonder what the results might be.  Thankfully, they're suprisingly good.

Walking On A Dream straddles the past and the future beautifully, without giving in to either.  There are tracks on here that could easily have sat at the top of the charts in the mid-80s and tracks that sound so now, you can almost taste their freshness.  There are overtones of Steele's other band, The Sleepy Jackson, as well as Littlemore influences as well.  Given the disparate sounds both employ, this set is surprisingly coherent and cohesive.

I can't help but think of Bowie when I listen to this, such is its inventivness, from the pop beauty of We Are The People, the surreal repetitiousness of Swordfish Hotkiss Night and the bouncing energy of Half Mast.  Only time will tell if Steele's output has the same influence as Bowie's has done, but so far, it's looking very good.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

David Bowie - The Best Of David Bowie 1969 - 1974

MINE

Mr Bowie.  The Thin White Duke.  All hail... to the man who's been a part of my musical life for almost as long as I've been buying music.  So what's this blog entry going to be about?  The first song of his I ever heard?  Hang your head in shame, Mr Jones, because I clearly remember hearing The Laughing Gnome on the BBC World Service as a child.

How about my favourite album?  Although I spent a large part of my teenage years with Ziggy on the turntable, it's gotta be Diamond Dogs.  Love the cover, love Rebel Rebel and 1984, love the whole concept/not a concept album mystique.

My favourite Bowie song?  Oh, that's too hard.   I love Heroes and China Girl and Fame and Blue Jean and Young Americans and.... gotta stop now.  Oh no, wait!  My all-time favourite Bowie song is... a cover.  I love his version of Sorrow.

How about, have I seen him perform?  Yes I have.  Only on one tour, Serious Moonlight, but I did go on two consecutive nights.  When he came here on the Glass Spider tour I was oh-so-broke and couldn't afford a ticket.  Should have tried harder.

This CD is one of two best of Bowie collections we own.  But our albums are only on vinyl and I'm voting we look at this for a box-set purchase, pretty please?  (YourZ sez: I'll go one futher - my vote is we get Bowie's box-set before we get any other).

VERDICT: TURN IT UP and hear the savage roar...

YOURZ

I've made a number of false starts trying to write this blog and have found it increasingly difficult.  Bowie should need no introduction to any of you reading this.  He is, without a doubt, one of the greats.  Personally, I would put him in the number one spot on my list.  His influence on music, fashion, art and culture is indelible and undeniable.  Bowie didn't follow trends, he invented and set them.  He might just be the most relevant solo artist to have ever come out of the UK (big call, I know) but given his career spans over 40 years, I don't think it is unreasonable to say this.

When I was 17, I left home to travel Australia.  One of the few things I bought along the way was a cassette copy of an Australia/New Zealand only release of Bowie's greatest hits to date called Chameleon.  It was the only cassette I had (apart from Adam & The Ants that I'd bought it as a gift for someone).  This cassette was played many times.  Consequently, whenever I hear a lot of the tracks from this album, I'm reminded of the wonderful sense of freedom but also the slight sense of fear I felt having finally completed school and taking on the mantle of 'adult' responsibility.  Changes was the key song but was also supplemented by Golden Years, Aladdin Sane and a few other tracks. 

Fast forward a few years to when I saw Bowie live during his Serious Moonlight tour.  Unlike Mine, I only saw him the once but what a show!  I've never seen anything like it since.  It was a greatest hits set list and covered just about every album he'd released up until then.  Hearing him sing Heroes, Ashes To Ashes, Soul Love and, particularly, Golden Years, blew me away.  I'm not ashamed to say I teared up a number of times throughout the long performance (according to sources, he played 32 songs - a huge set by any standards).

I've not been as profoundly affected by his later work but this is more due to my being distracted by so much other music.  But the 70s and early 80s Bowie has always remained a defining influence and consistent favourite.  As Mine proved, to choose a single favourite track is just too hard so I'm not even going to try.  I'm just gonna quote the following:

Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

In our collection we also have David Bowie: The Singles Collection and Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars Live

Beck - Midnite Vultures

MINE

I must admit I was never much of a Beck fan before YourZ came along, and I'm still not really, although I do admire his musicianship. It's mostly because I don't really like his voice.

YourZ calls this "Beck's disco album" and I kind of agree, but I think I'd call it "Beck's annoying album" because it's just a bit too clever for me. Not that the tunes are bad or anything, but there's so MUCH in there! So many instruments, multi-tracking, sound effects, bells and whistles, you can't really get to grips with the music. In fact, it's like he snorted a whole bunch of coke in the studio and didn't know where to stop.

It's no Mellow Gold or Odelay - so I'd mark it as the album only for completists.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

Bek David Campbell, aka Beck, is a musical pixie who sprinkles weird-ass instrumentation, samples and stream-of-consciousness lyrics throughout his releases like nose-candy for a drug-free generation. Personally, he's been a source of inspiration ever since I heard his first major release, Mellow Gold, 15 years ago. After this, there was the Grammy-winning Odelay, which saw him become one of the biggest artists in the world at the time.

Three years on from that, he released Midnite Vultures, his 7th studio album, where he channelled disco grooves by way of Bowie and Prince, tossed these with his eclectic instrumentations, assembled a massive crew of musicians, including Johnny Marr, Beth Orton and his producers of choice, the Dust Brothers, and came up with an indefinable musical melding as only he is capable of doing. A typical example of his eclecticism happens at the end of the first song, Sexx Laws, where he drops a banjo line into what's otherwise been a horn-laden piece of white soul.

I saw him live a few years after this album was released and he included a number of tracks in his set. He played up the disco elements of these tracks with some hokey b-boy dance moves and a lot of cheek. It still has to be one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.

Not one of his best albums, but certainly not one of his worst, Midnite Vultures is still a great example of the eccentric world of the artist called Beck.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (and boogie down, y’all)

Click here for more info: http://www.beck.com/

In our collection, we also have Mellow Gold, Stereopathic Soul Manure, One Foot In The Grave, Odelay, Sea Change, Guero, Guerolito, The Information and Modern Guilt.