We blogged about the release of Hot Chip’s new album ‘One Life Stand’, which we thought was pretty cool, and now they’ve been interviewed on London’s X-FM discussing their development of the album and how they work together as a band: you can stream the interviews here, and stream the album here.
Remember Irvine Welsh’s ‘Trainspotting’?
SICK BOY: Well, at one time, you’ve got it, and then you lose it, and it’s gone forever…
I don’t mean to be dismissive, but that quote pretty much sums up Muse’s latest offering from me. I understand that they’re one of the biggest bands in the country, if not the world, and that nothing I say here is going to have the slightest effect on their huge popularity, towering album sales, or the droves of fans who will be attending their next run of sell-out gigs. Their reputation is built mainly on the back of their big album, ‘Showbiz’ and a great live act, but I get the feeling that they’ve either lost heart, or something’s turned bitter in the emotional and creative cocktail that they used to get this far. The new album pulls in a load of odd and disparate influences, from the warbling strains of the Dr. Who theme tune heard in ‘Uprising’, or the strangely mangled Queen-like bursting operatic harmonies in ‘United States of Eurasia’ (A 1984 reference? In my anti-establishment band?).
The whole album feels forced, thrown together with a mish-mash of conflicting styles and rather samey material that doesn’t really take the band forward. I don’t know whether they’re trying to emulate bands like Radiohead and Portishead in trying for something avant-garde and different by sticking in these weird elements, but it doesn’t work for me. I now prepare to take flak for the rest of the week. As a small compensation, here’s a link to the Guardian’s rather white-washy piece with a We7 streaming widget where you can listen to the whole album.
A long, personal album from this folk-tinged singer song writer. Layered guitars and Bon Iver like vocal harmonies blend amongst each other in tracks like ‘Flesh and Bone’, lamenting fifths in ‘Matuit’ bring the Kinks and the Beatles to mind, in a feeling that is somewhat continued in simple, humour filled, more upbeat numbers like My Head Is A Balloon’. Gentle, interesting, and intimate.
<– Buy it on iTunes