Rhythmic Thrust

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T20:59:00.003Z

I thought about making some sort of Christmas song playlist to post, but then I thought... nah. Instead, here's a much better, more useful, easier-to-post-on-a-blog present. A re-post of another blog, containing a link to download each and every single album on the 'Top 50 Albums of 2008' list made by Pitchfork, including the honorable mentions. So that's Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from me and the team at Rhythmic Thrust.

The link to a list of so many links.

And to all a good night!

RIP Davy Graham

2008-12-21T10:28:00.002Z

On Thursday evening I was on the phone to my guitar teacher, trying to book my lesson for another date this week so my parents would have time to finish their christmas shopping. Pretty soon after I answered he asked me; "Did you hear the bad news?". I replied "No, I haven't. At least I don't think I have. What bad news?". What he answered with really upset me, one of my all time heroes and contender for best guitarist of all time had died on Monday, of a seizure.

Davy Graham was a rebel, a visionary and a true genius. In the 50s when everybody else in London was playing beat music and starting rock and roll bands, Davy was in his room being influenced by indian ragas, american folk and in particular one Steve Benbow. Remember this was before the internet and televisions and he didn't have anyone to teach him these obscure styles, he had to work out just by ear. When he was just 19 he wrote arguably the most influential solo guitar piece ever, Anji, and in doing this influenced pretty much every major acoustic guitarist since. Without Davy there would be no Bert Jansch, no Jimmy Page, no Paul Simon, no John Renbourn. Davy was truly someone special.

Throughout the rest of his life he was mostly ignored, instead of becoming the star that he deserved to be he turned to a life of drink and drugs, wasting away his life in Camden town after many years. After being inspired to by his inclusion in Will Hodgkinson's fantastic book The Guitar Man he embarked on a tour of the UK which was described as being very hit and miss, he clearly wasn't the player he used to be. Earlier in the year he released his first album in over thirty years which was sadly unnoticed by a lot of the music press.

I'm going to leave you with two youtube links, his rendition of the classic standard Cry Me A River and a medley of his songs that I found

Cry Me A River by Davy Graham
Davy Graham Medley

So how was your weekend?

2008-12-17T22:46:00.004Z

I don't really care, I just needed a good in to show off how amazing mine was. Two amazing gigs in two nights, both at the same amazing venue, with equally amazing bands playing each night.

Saturday at the Twisted Wheel in Glasgow started off with Thomas Truax. A one-man-band DIY master. At one point in his set he moved away from his usual structure of singing into home-made hornicators and hitting cycling wheels off trumpets to run around the venue playing a song whilst strumming his unplugged electric guitar, only to exit out the back door (still playing) then to re-enter through the front 30 seconds later. The highlight was when he offered the crowd the option of him using the Stringaling or some other made up instrument, and in reply of the Stringaling, proceeded to pull out an extension of sewage pipe attached to a gun-like handle with a fishing reel attached to the top. It's good to see someone out there not taking the advice of any current media outlet and doing purely what they want to do, however pretentiously zany it may be.
Oldsolar followed Truax, a Sigur Ros/post rock Glasgow 6 piece strolling through their set with such ease even an LA hooker would feel intimidated. Despite the fact that they were entirely different from the support of Truax, their music was damn right beautiful, and that's that.

Sunday at the TW was opened by experimental one-man-band (again) Deadman Bed. This wasn't quite as zany as Truax, but it was impressive for one guy with a guitar.
Washington Irving were next on. They're the embodiment of what's great about Scottish folk music right now. Their meld of light flute playing, strong accented vocals, melodic guitar leads, and powerful post-rock-esque drums was just sublime. Taking influence from the Pogues, the 5 piece (their mandolin player was away that night) are striving hard to be as respected as their peers Frightened Rabbit, and boy do they deserve it.
Dutch Uncles (who I've written about just a few posts before now) closed off the weekend. Fast paced frantic loudness, extreme dancing and jumping around, Foals/Talking Heads-esque rhythms, and extremely warped timing proved to show the band for what they really are, a tremendous live act.

washingtonirvingmyspace
thomastruaxmyspace
dutchunclesmyspace
oldsolarmyspace
deadmanbedmyspace

The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In

2008-12-16T00:27:00.006Z

Thee Oh Sees are a garage-stomping quartet and one of John Dwyer's many bands, based in San Fransisco. As far as I can keep up, The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In, released on Tomlab (also home to fellow SF band Deerhoof) is the only studio album that he has released this year and it's a fine slice of lo-fi garage rock.

The effects-fuelled 'Visit Colonel' is the stand-out track for me with yappy boy/girl vocals, similar to The Kills and a driving chord progression that could've easily been taken off a White Stripes album, it's impossible not to be drawn in to it's sneering simplicity and edginess. I often find sleazy, bluesy-influenced rock to be quite draining and repetitive over the course of an album but this has so far proved to be quite the opposite with it hooking me further after each listen.

Have a listen to the aforementioned 'Visit Colonel' here.

white fire on black fire on white fire on black fire on white fire

2008-12-14T19:05:00.004Z

A question that often comes up on my various travels through internet based music messageboards is "what is the most underrated band?" and my answer every time is Old Time Relijun. Their brand of noisy Tom Waits-esque racket sounds like nothing else around at the moment, and they've been carving their way through this world of indentikit indie for nearly 15 years now. Lead singer Arrington de Dionyso is an expert in ethnomusicology and a fully trained throat singer, whilst he's joined by Aaron Hartman and his brother Benjamin on saxophone and upright bass. The drummer is everchanging, and in the past has been one Phil Elverum. Having been signed to K Records since the mid-nineties they have released 8 studio albums up to now, most of which are available for streaming over on last.fm. The two tracks I've included here are Indestructible Life and Veleno Mortale, both of which are from their best record (in my opinion), 2006's Catharsis In Crisis. Indestructible Life is typical OTR, whilst Veleno Mortale is sung entirely Latin.

Indestructible Life
Veleno Mortale

"I sleep on my back because it's good for the spine"

2008-12-10T00:48:00.010Z

After the release of Why?'s third studio album, Alopecia, in March, I've been a good 9 months late in getting round to it and in the time it takes to produce a new being in to the world, i have listened to many an incomplete and unfulfilling album so it is only fitting that this is perhaps the most complete album that i've had the pleasure of listening to all year.

Similar to one of my favourite hip-hop records by Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory, Alopecia focuses around heavy basslines, allowing the vocals to flow around it seamlessly and this is where the hooks really play with your mind. Yoni Wolf, founding member of Why? and cLOUDEAD, has a unnaturally, natural flair for lyrics. As often inspiring as they are baffling, the words have been falling off my lips ever since I first heard the album 2 days ago and he reminds me of another of my favourite vocalists/lyricists, MF Doom, who also uses quite an unorthodox style and precise delivery when he is rapping. However, Wolf's talent is in his ability to pick and mix different styles at almost every turn and his singing is equally as satisfying on the likes of 'Fatalist Palmistry' and 'Simeon's Dilemma'.

Still, the best thing about this album is that it has been absolutely nothing like anything else I have heard this year and all I want to do is listen to it again and again and again.

These Few Presidents

Good Friday

Bon Iver- Blood Bank

2008-12-08T00:59:00.007Z

I'll keep this short and sweet. Anyone who likes "For Emma...", will love this.
It sounds like it could be the bonus tracks for the debut. You could argue it's just rejects from the album, but with Justin Vernon's more recent work, that's only a good thing. With this haunting yet bitter sweet folk music there's an essence only someone with Vernon's vocals and simple acoustics can capture. This heart-warming essence remains just as solid and refreshing in the new EP, released 20 January 2009.
In short, the new EP sounds alot like BI's previous work but, unlike some Mancunian brothers, they pull it off by keeping the essentials just as fresh and exciting as before.

I'll sum this up with a strangely accurate quote from the label, Jagjaguwar.

"As much as Emma is about the cold, the Blood Bank collection is about the warmth that gets you through it. You can feel the air move. Like a fire you've been stoking for hours and finally got to sustain itself, the heat blisters your face while your back is frozen solid."

Similar to: Phosphorescent, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Fionn Regan

bloodbank-song
bloodbank-ep
foremma,foreverago-album

silent night, holy night

2008-12-01T08:19:00.003Z

December is here, and christmas cheer surrounds us! Every day children round the country are rapidly ripping open their advent calendars like there's no tomorrow and mothers, determined to get the best gifts for their children queue up outside toy shops in the early hours of the morning. This is what God was hoping for when he *allegedly* put Jesus on the planet, right?

In one word, no. Christmas is a time for love, for family and for friends, for sharing good times and merriment whatever your presents may be. No recording artist sums up the spirit of the yuletide season quite like Sufjan Stevens. In his time he's recorded 5 different Christmas EPs to distribute to family and friends and in 2006 he released them all in one 5-cd boxset. After downloading "That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!" from the Asthmatic Kitty website yesterday, I've listened to the song about a million times, and hurriedly ordered the album from amazon.uk last night.

Sufjan Stevens - That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!

Dutch Uncles

2008-11-28T00:54:00.014Z

I'm not going to write a full blown review on Dutch Uncles, because there's not much for me to say. They're down-to-earth, jumpy, post-Libertines indie rock in its purest, finest form. And surprisingly for a band with the "post-Libertines" nametag, they actuallyhave some originality. They sound sort of like your classic stadium rock band, in lo-fi form, blending together elements of new wave, funk and just plain rock. The new self-titled album is great fun, lo-fi greatness.

They're the next big thing, that's my prediction for next year, or the year after that. Sometime soon anyway, Dutch Uncles will be big. And I never strap that title to a band, never. It's not that they're the best band I've heard in years, they just have the right sound to go places methinks.

Similar to: Airborne Toxic Event, The Cribs, Volcano!, Belle & Sebastian, The Talking Heads

facein-song
doppelganger-song
myspace
buythealbum

"C'est la vie, c'est la vie"

2008-11-26T00:17:00.009Z

Of all the genres in musical history, I cannot think of one that can fit every mood as well as chanson française (essentially french pop from the 60's) does. Yes, it may look very prentious and strike an image of sitting in a Paris cafe, with a beret on, reading french literature but it's one hell of a fine genre.

One of my particular favourite artists is Jacques Dutronc, married to iconic songstress Françoise Hardy, who adopts a lot more accessible and less orchestral offering of lyrical pop than the likes of Jacques Brel. The fact that I cannot understand the vast majority of what Dutronc is singing matters very little and I find this to be the beauty of listening to his music. You can feel the sexual, swaggering power of the lyrics in 'Les Playboys' storming through his voice, before having to understand a word of it. Unlike Brel, whose interpretations have been arguably more popular than the orginals, Dutronc comes across with a lot more universal appeal, taking musical pickings from the likes of The Kinks with dumb, driving riffs working splendidly (see 'Et Moi, et Moi, et Moi').

It's getting late and I shall leave you with a couple of my favourites.

Firstly, and most famously: Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi

Secondly: Fais Pas Ci, Fais Pas Ca

Au revoir,

My Algebra Teacher (sold heroin)

2008-11-25T22:37:00.003Z

I have a very band to share with you all. It is the whimsical, the wonderful MATH THE BAND. They are ADD put to music. Combining the synth melodies of slagmalsklubben with some Bubblegum Octopus and Of Montreal thrown in. Yes, they are for all you hyper people out there. I would even venture to say... more hyper than best fwends?Blue Skies and Blue Jeans

My Algebra Teacher (Sold Heroin)

Deep peace, of the flowing air to you...

2008-11-25T21:22:00.014Z

Simon de Voil is a songwriting genius. Pure and simple. His multi-layering of different sounds flowing together make his folk songs that much more unique. Some guys just strum a guitar and whine over the top, but Simon's debut album has so much more to it, and it still stays as simple, down-to-earth folk, none of this anti-nu-folk nonsense (whatever anti-folk or nu-folk is). Simon's harmonising voals, light female vocals slowly integrating itself in the background, sprinkling acoustic guitar melodies, and an overall feeling of niceness. 'Sacred Earth' is his first album, and a stunner at that. Just to encapsulate the mood of it all, he closes it with a simple, yet brilliant, piano medley more similar to that of Max Alper than Nick Drake (as opposed to the rest of the album).

Lyrically, he's just as talented. Singing about his life on a small island called Iona in west Scotland, anyone who's lived there before (or any small rural island, not many people have lived on Iona tbf) can relate to this. The vocals of both singers hold perfectly in tune with the music, they couldn't be more suited to it.

Basically, 'Sacred Earth' is arguably this year's finest folk album, third only to Horse Feathers and Frightened Rabbit.

Similar to: Iron & Wine, Fionn Regan, Laura Marling, Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel

sacredearth-song
lovers-song
buythealbum
myspace

in the tropical, tropical, tropical iceland!

2008-11-25T18:52:00.003Z

thanks to bands such as abe vigoda and health, tropical influenced noise rock is fast become one of my favourite genres in the entire world. the calypso rythyms, guitars that sound like steel drums and danceability of the tunes are captivating and a band that sum all of this up perfectly are ZunZunEgui. Based in Bristol, they have members that hail from all over the world including Mauritius and Japan.

On the six tracks that exist on their myspace page (two of which are live recordings and two that are just samples) the band show off african chanting, mathy guitar lines, dischordant breakdowns, screaming and funky riffs, often all within a minute of each other. They recently played London's debut Hokaben Festival which I was not fortunate enough to attend, and have two dates lined up in the coming weeks - Bristol's Cube Cinema on the 5th December and Stockholm's Strand Club on the 13th. Czech them out!

ZunZunEgui - http://www.myspace.com/zunzunegui

label of the week 1: rack and ruin

2008-11-24T17:57:00.002Z

Rack and Ruin is a netlabel unlike any other. Set up by Dean Birkett, a Danish Aerial Pink fanboy, they have released some of the most exciting and interesting releases of the year. Whilst the artists published on the site are wide and varied, they all have a shared aesthetic of making music just for the love of it. From the Unicorns-esque melodies of Dublin Duck Dispensary to Gnomefoam's electronic noise, the constantly-changing sounds never get old but everytime you know you are gonna get a quality product.

Best of all, everything released on the label can be downloaded for free off their brilliant website here. Just click on the "Releases" button at the top to get access to 93 (count them!) albums and EPs, from Alimqui's Mozambique via Angola (rrr-001) to the recently released Ten Chances by Minor Constellation (rrr-093). My personal favourites come in the form of Violet Hour's Castro Arms EP and Dublin Duck Dispensary's debut long-player A Cup Of Tea and A Slice Of Cake, but there really is something for everyone. Check them out.

I Walk The Line

2008-11-24T16:15:00.004Z

The title may suggest that Johnny Cash post is following but how wrong would you be. After having a good, long browse to pick out what goodies I wish to be opening on the ever-looming Christmas day, I was disappointed to find that I would not be able to settle down to Man On Wire until Boxing Day (when it comes out).

Yes, the film may have been in cinemas a good 3 months ago but I felt compelled to share my love for a piece of documentary that affected me like no other film this year and i urge you all to put this on your 'future purchases' list!

Admittedly, previous to Man On Wire, the only documentaries that could compel me for a long amount of time were ones about UFO's and crazy conspiracy theories, so naturally I was a tad skeptical whether it was worth splashing out a whopping student rate of £5.50 on a documentary about a tightrope walker. Needless to say, it was worth the money. The 90 minutes simply flew by and it was impossible not to be drawn to Phillipe Petit's exuberant enthusiasm and charm. I'll also add a caution to those who are squirmish about heights because the shots of the incredible walk over the Twin Towers had about half the cinema turn away in anguish! It's split between real footage, commentary and re-created events, which works to tremendous effect in building tension, along with getting a real sense of the passion shown by all those involved and the emotion is captured perfectly through those re-telling the story.

Very few pieces of film have had me strolling out of the cinema wanting to do something extra-ordinary and (before I realised that i was actually a bit of a softy) Man On Wire was possibly the most inspirational thing so be prepared to be inspired, awed and put this on pre-order because this documentary is simply stunning.

I wanna be flown to the moon and I wanna be there presumably soon.

2008-11-23T23:36:00.008Z

After little contemplation, I found it fitting to start with a band that were close to myself and this promptly led me to The Mavericks Of Love. Not only are they beloved friends of mine (reason enough to love them of course) but they're also a bunch of fantastic musicians, especially notable in striking lead singer, Geo Robertson, whose distinct vocals and lyrical flair is the driving force behind the band. Their musical styling is based around a collective passion for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, with their ability for writing infectious indie pop songs, along with a pinch of Modest Mouse.

Live favourite comes in the form of 'Flies In A Jar', one of their first songs and after numerous successful shows at gig nights hosted by The Junction, Cambridge's 2nd largest venue, they're arguably one of the best live indie acts in these environs and i shall love and leave you with a couple of my favourite Mavericks tracks.

Back To The Hollow
Flies In A Jar

After much deliberation over who my first post should be about...

2008-11-23T18:02:00.001Z

I thought, fuck all this 'deciding on a band', I'm just going to post links to whoever I'm listening to at this moment in time. Right now, I've got Alphabetically Arranged by Best Fwends on. It's a first listen, and I d/l it out of pure boredom and curiosity, but I really fucking love this if I'm being honest.

If you love your music fast, jumpy, excitable and just great fun, you absolutely have to try this. Just imagine Polysics, Los Campesinos! and Crystal Castles all formed a supergroup when they were 8 years old, and you're close. There's absolutely no deep thought required, just a thirst for fun, and lets face it, that's every pop fan's fantasy.

If I had to nametag BF, I'd probably go for electro-indie-noise-pop, but even that's a dodgy caption.

best fwends- aaww-some
best fwends- diet coke head

like rats in a cybernetic sewer

2008-11-23T16:39:00.000Z

hi, and welcome into our small corner of the strange universe known as the blogosphere, a place where bands are catapulted into the sky, where you can follow a man searching for the girl of his dreams and, erm, look at picturs of brokers with hands on their faces. Maybe one day we will all exist solely in the confines of this virtual galaxy, the real world destroyed by economic crisis, nuclear war and famine. Maybe not.

In this humble abode of ours you can read of our adventures through the complex world of music, from african funk to icelandic noise and all that jazz. Watch this space for some more better posts coming up, but for now I leave you with this, one of my favourite covers of the past few months.

MP3: Balloons by Holy Fuck (a cover of a song by Foals)

Hey everyone.

2008-11-23T03:12:00.002Z

Well, I suppose since my comrade has put up the awesome turtleman picture, I should introduce myself and upload some music!

So. Hello. I am female, and I am writing from Canada. I am a major music nerd, and I suppose as I make more posts you will find out more about me!

Right. So I am really loving 2 albums at the moment.

#1- Apes and Androids- Blood Moon.

A totally delicious mix of tracks. They describe themselves as Of Montreal meets Tron meet David Bowie. Good right? They have some similarities to Midnight Juggernauts and Ghostland Observatory. Give it a chance. I didn't think I'd like it. But I just do.

APES AND ANDROIDS- BLOOD MOON

The next album is..... Songs About Fucking- Big Black.

Now, I'm really not usually into this kind of thing. But Big Black have won my heart. Sorry to my fellow writers if they do not approve. But The Model is such a tune. Anyhow guys, a link then I'm off to sleep.

BIG BLACK- SONGS ABOUT FUCKING

Peace out, homies.