Machine Translations - Happy

YOURZ

Oh, it has been so long since I listened to this album.  For that reason alone, it has to be a Forgotten Gem, but it is so much more, believe me.

I don’t know how to describe J Walker, the man behind and responsible for the wondrous world of Machine Translations.  For all you international readers (hi there, friends), the best way I can put this is that J is the Australian version of Eel’s main man, Mark Everett, or E, as he is known.  The only difference is that J doesn’t seem to be as bogged down in bleakness as E often admits to being.

Happy, Walker’s fifth full length outing, continues his mostly-alone forays into the spaces between pop and folk.  He enlists various key players along the way to help paint his sound-scapes, but more so, it is his abilities as a multi-instrumentalist and the often unusual instruments that carry the songs.

I know this might sound obvious but while listening to Happy, I can’t help but smile.  Its not because the music is overly upbeat (some of its anything but) or is filled with great hooks (which it is) but it is the overall ambience.  This is pure pop magnificence.  Why we only have this album, though, is something we need to address, Mine.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I can't call it a Forgotten Gem, but I can call it a "Why haven't we got more of him?"  When we first got Happy it was barely off the CD player.  And it makes its way back there semi-regularly, but now my brief foray into research shows there are more albums!  New albums!  Begging to be bought!

Now, how can I explain my enthusiasm.  I guess MT falls into the realm of stripped-back artists we love like M Ward... but also of experimental soundscapers like Sigur Ros.  There are pure pop moments and other where the man behind the band - J Walker - has definitely gone mad with the buttons and loops.  But even so, it's all good.  Really.  All of it!  Especially She Wears A Mask which is so damn hummable it's been chasing me around all day.

Don't take my word for it, watch Amnesia.  Then buy the album.  And all his others, because that's what I intend we should do ASAP.  If we did it for M Ward, we should do it for J Walker.  (YourZ sez: great minds think alike, my love)

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.machinetranslations.org/

Sigur Ros - Takk

MINE

If ever an album deserved to be a soundrack to a film, this is it.  And not just any old film, either - it deserves one with sweeping landscapes, wide expanses of sky, glorious sunsets - nature at its best.

I have to remember to put Takk on when we get in the car to drive through the Daintree soon.  Even on my little commute through the Sydney suburbs, this music made the blue sky bluer, the clouds fluffier, and seemed to point out the flock of birds, the trees waving in the wind and the interesting architecture I hadn't really looked at before.  It also calmed me down - not a bad thing to do in big-city driving.

In fact the only negative thing I can say about the album is it might distract the driver a little too much.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP but keep your eyes on the road

YOURZ

Can a band sound like the country they're from?  If the band is Sigur Ros, then the answer, I think, is yes.  There is something ethereal and wonderful about the music they create (I was going to say 'make' but there is much more to it than simply 'making' music).  They've created a soundscape to match their Icelandic home.  And it is made even more so by the fact these songs are not sung in English.  In fact, given some of the translated titles, a lot of these songs would probably sound a little ridiculous in any other language.

We came to buy Takk basically because we were sick of all the hype and wanted to see what the fuss was about.  The fuss, let me say, is absolutely worthy although the album itself has languished in our collection.  But this is not so much the fault of the band or ourselves.  And here is my only complaint about this record.  The packaging sucks!  While it's beautifully done to look like a children's book, it is oversized and doesn't fit in our collection.  Therefore, it's sat at the back of the drawers, behind everything else, where it's remained since we put it away.

So, please bands, take note of this - you have to remember most of us are organised pack-rats who buy storage systems designed for regular-sized CDs.  While I don't want to squash your creative ideas, if you put something out that is oversized or shaped, it is fucking annoying (yes, I'm looking at you too, Radiohead).  This means that despite your good intentions, you actually end up at the back of a drawer, forgotten and gathering dust.  And often times, you don't deserve this.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/