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viernes, 30 de diciembre de 2011

Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box (1979)



Este es el disco por el que debería ser recordado John Lydon, Johnny Rotten para los amigos.
Ambicioso,retorcido,oscuro y sobre todo grande, muy grande. Toda una declaración de principios para el que había sido cabeza pensante e icono del punk, muy a su pesar.Estoy si que fue decir: "¡Qué os jodan!".

Tras acabar con los Sex Pistols y tras un viaje a Jamaica invitado por Richard Branson,capo de Virgin, donde intentó que fuera el nuevo cantante de Devo,Lydon se empapó bien de reggae y sobre todo de dub.

Tras un First Issue, donde rompe a medias con el legado de los Pistols, se lanza de cabeza a lo que será su obra maestra y piedra fundacional del post-punk.

Se trata de un disco rompedor, ya desde su envoltorio, una caja redonda de metal donde se podían encontrar 3 maxis, ya sabemos que los discos a 45 suenan mejor, con mucha más calidez, en donde contrastan los bajos de Jah Wobble con el sonido metálico de la guitarra de Keith Levene, ex-The Clash.

Su influencia ha sido enorme y se puede escuchar en grupos como The Rapture o Primal Scream (Jah Wobble aportó su bajo en el penúltimo corte de Screamadelica, Higher Than The Sarts-A dub simphony in Three Parts).

Aunque no es un disco fácil , a cada escucha se le pueden descubrir más y más matices a los que uno se va agarrando hasta que al final te das cuenta del pedazo de disco que es.

Lástima que los sucesivos lanzamientos de P.I.L. fuesen decayendo en calidad y que, al final, John Lydon haya sido devorado por su personaje, Johnny Rotten.




Allmusic,dice:"PiL managed to avoid boundaries for the first four years of their existence, and Metal Box is undoubtedly the apex. It's a hallmark of uncompromising, challenging post-punk, hardly sounding like anything of the past, present, or future. Sure, there were touchstones that got their imaginations running -- the bizarreness of Captain Beefheart, the open and rhythmic spaces of Can, and the dense pulses of Lee Perry's productions fueled their creative fires -- but what they achieved with their second record is a completely unique hour of avant-garde noise. Originally packaged in a film canister as a trio of 12" records played at 45 rpm, the bass and treble are pegged at 11 throughout, with nary a tinge of midrange to be found. It's all scrapes and throbs (dubscrapes?), supplanted by John Lydon's caterwauling about such subjects as his dying mother, resentment, and murder. Guitarist Keith Levene splatters silvery, violent, percussive shards of metallic scrapes onto the canvas, much like a one-armed Jackson Pollock. Jah Wobble and Richard Dudanski lay down a molasses-thick rhythmic foundation throughout that's just as funky as Can's Czukay/Leibezeit and Chic's Edwards/Rodgers. It's alien dance music. Metal Box might not be recognized as a groundbreaking record with the same reverence as Never Mind the Bollocks, and you certainly can't trace numerous waves of bands who wouldn't have existed without it like the Sex Pistols record. But like a virus, its tones have sent miasmic reverberations through a much broader scope of artists and genres." by Andy Kellman

jueves, 29 de diciembre de 2011

Décima Víctima - Resumen (1994)



Es extraño cuando un grupo que en su momento no alcanzó el éxito merecido y años después es reivindicado por prensa y público. Sus discos de entonces alcanzan precios desorbitados y su antigua casa de discos se niega a reeditarlos en condiciones permitiendo sólo su publicación en vinilo.

Es cuando uno se plantea ciertas cosas: Si una casa de discos no considera rentable una reedición, que no se queje si estos discos aparecen en blogs para su descarga,exactamente como en este caso.

Es parte del mal de las multinacionales con derechos sobre muchos grupos como Décima Víctima.Es el no saber adaptarse a un mercado en el que ya no se venden grandes cantidades de discos pero que reediciones de discos descatalogados, hechas con cariño y con abundante material extra son bien recibidas.

Pero centrándonos en este imprescindible recopilatorio de una de esas bandas que deberían aparecer en lo más alto de la historia del pop español y que son ,sin embargo, una nota a pie de página, no para mí ni para cada vez más gente, la que tiene oportunidad de escuchar algo de este grupo, me permito reproducir las notas de Ibon Errazquin para Resumen:

" Décima Víctima fue un grupo de corta vida y una de las mejores cosas que dio el pop español de los primeros 80.No es que esta opinión fuera unánime: la verdad es que nunca se les prestó demasiada atención y ,tras su separación, fueron olvidados casi por completo.

Después de todo puede que no fueran un grupo fácil de querer.Eran muy propensos al anonimato (apenas recuerdo fotos suyas), y tenían detalles tan poco convencionales como un cantante que pasaba gran parte de sus actuaciones sentado en una silla.Por alguna razón, el público tiende a sentirse incómodo ante estas cosas y ellos conocieron mejor que nadie este rechazo.

Pero lo más importante son las canciones y Décima Víctima grabaron un buen montón de canciones clásicas, desde los tics "siniestros" de sus primeros singles hasta la increíble madurez alcanzada en Un Hombre Solo, su segundo Lp. Canciones que trataban temas como la soledad y la separación con una melancolía y una serenidad poco frecuentes.

Descubrirlos por primera vez debe ser tan agradable como lo es volver a escucharlos después de todos estos años.Nadie debería perderse esta ocasión". Amén

miércoles, 28 de diciembre de 2011

The Chameleons - Strange Times (1986)



Este es otro caso de esos en que un grupo lanza su mejor disco, en en gran sello, con todo de cara para triunfar y ,de repente se va todo al traste.

Parece ser que el motivo fue la muerte de su manager aunque quizás las tensiones internas que ya había saltaron por los aires y el resto ya es historia: separación, disco de reunión en 2001,que ni suma ni resta a la leyenda, y eternas giras de Mark Burgess interpretando los éxitos de Chameleons en solitario o como Chameleons Vox.

Por cierto,a esa gira asistí y la verdad es que nos encotramos con un Mark Burgess en plena forma.Y fue un auténtico conciertazo. Aunque a mí este tipo de conciertos me producen sensaciones encontradas.Por una parte puedes ver al fin, en directo, las canciones de uno de tus grupos preferidos, aunque por otra parte sabes que estas viendo una pequeña estafa.

La más reciente en este estilo fue la gira de Peter Hook, interpretando "Unknown Pleasures", o las giras de From the Jam. Exceptuando en casos en que algún miebro original esté muerto, da rabia no poder ver a la formación original.


Pero,volviendo al disco.Es una auténtica maravilla el tratamiento de las guitarras,creando atmósferas cercanas al dream-pop con toques psicodélicos y prácticamente no tiene ningún segundo de desperdicio a pesar de su duración.

Un único pero: Su horrorosa portada, como todas las de esta banda (que me perdonen los fans más hardcore)

Mis favoritas:In Answer, Childhood y Ever After, esta última incluida como bonus track sólo en algunas ediciones.

All Music, dice:"If there was a should-have-been year in the Chameleons' history, 1986 would clearly be it, and Strange Times demonstrates that on every track, practically in every note. Signed to a huge label, with production help from the Dave Allen/Mark Saunders team who worked on the Cure's brilliant series of late-'80s records (here providing a more balanced sound between guitar effects and direct punch than appeared on What), the Chameleons delivered an album that should have been the step to a more above-board existence on radio and beyond. Right from the start, a stunning upward spiral of a guitar riff begins the unnerving character study "Mad Jack," the bandmembers mix their skills, experience, and songwriting ability perfectly and take everything to an even higher level. The first half continues with three more stunners: "Caution," a semi-waltz that moves well, pulls back, and then slams home, "Tears," a crushingly sad, acoustic ode to personal loss, and "Soul in Isolation," combining a huge majestic wallop with Mark Burgess' anguished study of alienation. And just when you think it couldn't get any better -- "Swamp Thing," the definitive Chameleons song, complex, building, tense, epic, perfectly played (John Lever's drumming is simply jaw-dropping, the Reg Smithies/Dave Fielding guitar pairing totally spot on), and with one of Burgess' most poetic, personal lyrics. It just keeps going from there, the second half covering everything from more sweeping tunes ("Time," "In Answer") to bare-bones melancholy ("In Answer," "I'll Remember"). Bonus tracks: an alternate and equally striking "Tears," the driving "Paradiso" and "Inside Out," and two covers. The take on Bowie's "John, I'm Only Dancing" is a quick fun goof, but the version of "Tomorrow Never Knows" (Burgess especially has been and remains a massive John Lennon fanatic, quoting songs by him liberally throughout his career) surges and soars, beating out by a mile all the times others have covered it. From back to front, Strange Times could never have enough praise. "by Ned Ragget

jueves, 22 de diciembre de 2011

Rough Technique Vol. 1 (1998)




El breakbeat (y ,por extensión, el Big Beat) ha sido uno de los estilos dentro de la electrónica que más ha sido vilipendiados por la crítica.También ha sido uno de los géneros que más he disfrutado.

Es cierto que es un estilo que está muy pasado a estas alturas y que ahora pedimos algo un poco más elaborado que estos temas.Pero haced la prueba:Poned este recopilatorio al principio de una fiesta,cuando estéis limpiando la casa,o cuando os de la gana...Si no os supone un chute de energía es que tenéis un serio problema.

A veces se echa de menos el lado gamberro y divertido de la electrónica, ese que campaba a sus anchas a finales de la década de los 90 y principios de los 2000.

Que disfrutéis de este pedazo de sesión mezclada por los mismísimos Freestylers...






1 Mad Doctor X - Real Heavy Science
2 Bill & Ben - Fuck With My Money
3 Cut and Paste - Half Term Break
4 Freshly Breaked - Uncut Funk
5 Freestylers - B-Boy Stance
6 Mad Doctor X - Intergaltic Throwdown (Remix)
7 Dat Bratz - Monster
8 Bill, Ben & Baggio - Pusherman
9 Freestylers - Lower Level
10 Cut and Paste - Watch Me Rollin'
11 Bowser - Let Ya Body Funk
12 Hal 9000 - Time 2 Jam
13 2 Fat Buddhas vs Fat-Head - Cut the Music
14 Freska Allstars - We Come 2 Rock
15 Agent Sumo - Dirt Style
16 Clubfoot - Freak
17 Freska Allstars - Terrific
18 Soul Hooligan - Sweet Pea

viernes, 16 de diciembre de 2011

Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993)


El otro día tuve la suerte de asistir a un concierto de The Pop Group.Fue espectacular y tuvo su punto emotivo.No para mí,claro.

Entre el público se encontraba Mario Gil, teclista de La Mode, mítico grupo de los 80.Cuando The Pop Group finalizaron el primer tema, Mario Gil gritó:¡30 años esperando este momento!¡Ya me puedo morir tranquilo!, ante el asombro del grupo (que, obviamente, no entendió nada) y del público.

A mí me gustaría hacer lo mismo en los siguientes conciertos, y se puede tomar como una carta a los Reyes Magos ya que estamos en tan señaladas fechas:

Adorable
The Boo Radleys
Ride (otra vez)
Kitchens Of Disctinction

y... Slowdive.

¡Qué vuelvan ya ,joder!




All Music dice:"Though not as big and swirling as Just for a Day, there's more of an attempt to put advanced song structure and melody in place rather than just craft infinitely appealing, occasionally thunderous mood music.

Everything is simplified, as if Brian Eno's presence on two songs -- he contributes keyboards and treatments and co-wrote one tune after turning down the band's invitation to produce -- hammered home the better aspects of "ambient" music. This is no Music for Airports though. On the opening "Alison," the largely uplifting "When the Sun Hits," and the darkly blissful "Machine Gun," Slowdive are still capable of mouth-opening, spine-tingling flourishes.

They've found a way to be quiet, moving, and aggressive simultaneously, mixing trance-like beauty with the deepest delayed guitar sounds around, a sound at once relaxing, soothing, and exciting, and most of all harshly beautiful." by Jack Rabid

domingo, 30 de octubre de 2011

Girls Against Boys - Cruise Yourself (1995)


Girls Against Boys fue uno de los grupos más interesantes de los 90.La trilogía Venus Luxure,Cruise Yourself y House of GvsB es imprescindible para entender el indie de los 90.Pero también representa un tipo de música que ya ha pasado definitivamente de moda y ,la verdad, dudo que haya un revival de este tipo de música.

No es sólo por lo agresivo de su sonido,con la característica voz de Scott McCloud y la contundente sección rítmica encabezada por dos bajos, algo casi insólito ( con permiso de Ned´s Atomic Dustbin, que yo sepa), sino porque incluso en su época formaban parte de una escena muy reducida.

Ahora resulta bastante curioso que este tipo de música formase parte de los gustos musicales del indie de turno.Pero era lo realmente bueno de esa época: podías escuchar grupos como Tindersticks o Red House Painters y alternarlo con cosas más duras como este disco o directamente lanzarte de lleno a la electrónica.

En fin, creo que me estoy poniendo nostálgico.Pero de eso va este blog ¿No?.




Allmusic dice:"Having fully made their case with Venus Luxure, Girls Against Boys kept on course with the equally fine Cruise Yourself. The hints of lounge and Vegas were even more explicit here -- the cocktail artwork on the CD, the fact that one particularly bitter number is called "My Martini." Again, though, these weren't the gauche clichés of characters like Combustible Edison, but signposts of a vicious, cutting quality in lyrics and music. McCloud's purring rasp again serves as one of the band's chief qualities, perfectly suited to the sassy, snarling burn of songs like "Cruise Your New Baby Fly Self" and "The Royal Lowdown." Though backing vocals aren't specifically credited, it's Janney adding the high parts here and there, such as the effectively creepy chorus of "Explicitly Yours." Ted Niceley and Janney once again handle the production/engineering combination, and, unsurprisingly, the whole album is a tightly wound effort that sounds like it's going to explode every second. In an interesting switch, and a demonstration of the band's increasing reach, Temple took over the duties with the sampler, while Janney concentrated not only on his own bass work, but organ and vibes as well. "Kill the Sexplayer" was the arguable standout, and while again many critics saw McCloud's slurring sneer as being the new incarnation of Mark E. Smith, that's a lazy connection. McCloud's singing oozes its own attitude, while the band isn't reinventing art/rockabilly as much as finding its own fast, bass-led charge. Certainly, though, the German motorik touches both bands share have their place on Cruise Yourself -- half the time on "Psychic Know-How," Fleisig is laying down a smart Krautrock chug and both Temple and Janney are right there with him, especially with Janney's keyboard glaze. And at one point -- "From Now On" -- McCloud's distorted rasp does for once sound exactly like the Mancunian master." by Ned Ragget

domingo, 16 de octubre de 2011

The Dylans (1991)


Hay muchas veces que se siente nostalgia de algo que no se ha vivido.
Esto pasa muchas veces con la música.Se ha hablado mucho su poder evocador, para mí mucho más potente que el de los olores.
Es cierto que cuando hueles el forro de los libros te acuerdas de los primeros días del colegio, más o menos cuando tenías 8 o 10 años.Estoy pensando que es de los pocos olores que me traen recuerdos,salvo los de colonias, que generalmente se asocias a personas con las que tuviste algo que ver.

Sin embargo, con la música es diferente.En cualquiera de las experiencias más intensas que he tenido a lo largo de mi vida,siempre ha habido música y estas han estado más o menos relacionadas con una buena fiesta y todo lo que conlleva (amigos,chicas,copas,
etc).

Yo me inicié en esto del "indie" más o menos por los años 89-90,con toda la movida "Madchester" y "shoegazer".Discos como el Some Friendly de los Charlatans,el primero de Stone Roses, el Nowhere de Ride se conviertieron en discos de cabecera.
Pero entonces no había tanta información como ahora y muchos discos pasaron desapercibidos como este de los Dylans.

Años después lo conseguí y cada vez que lo escucho vuelvo a esos años en que empezaba a escuchar música,a salir y en que todo era más sencillo y sin ninguna preocupación.Es como si este disco lo hubiese escuchado en esa época.

En fin, que cuando quiero volver a los viejos y buenos tiempos sólo hace falta poner un disco como este: Un auténtico discazo.


 


All music dice: "The debut album by an underrated British psych-pop group, the Dylans, is one of the most enjoyable guitar pop albums of its era. Coming as it did during the first flowering of grunge, the defiantly '60s-inspired feel of the band (the name, the Rickenbacker jangle that colors all the songs, song titles like "Mary Quant in Blue") was simply not in step with the times. Singer and primary songwriter Colin Gregory doesn't have the best voice, but he wisely stays within his range, and his unfailingly catchy tunes and often witty lyrics are strong enough to stand up, despite the vocal flaws. Highlights include the sweeping single "She Drops Bombs" and the groovy "Planet Love," which has the psychedelic wiggle of a classic Stone Roses track; while not all the songs are up to that high level -- the closing "Indian Sun" doesn't justify its five-and-a-half minutes -The Dylans is sure to be of interest to anyone who loves the Dentists or the House of Love."  by Stewart Mason

jueves, 8 de septiembre de 2011

Aztec Camera - High Land Hard Rain (1983)




A veces una mala producción puede arruinar un disco.Es muy famoso el caso del "Raw Power" de Iggy and The Stooges,producido por David Bowie.Debe ser uno de los discos que más veces se ha remasterizado,aunque no vamos a negar que ,gracias a esto, se ha vendido mucho más.

Otras producciones son maquilladas para hacerlas más comerciales.No menos famoso es el caso del "In Utero" de Nirvana.Se contrató a Steve Albini para su grabación y cuando Kurt Cobain escuchó el resultado,decidió que ya era suficiente el suicidio comercial que iba a cometer (eso creía él) con los temas del disco como para ,además,envolverlos en la sucia producción de Albini.
Como ya sabréis Steve Albini no se considera productor sino ingeniero de sonido,con lo que lo único que hizo fue reproducir el sonido de directo de Nirvana,lo cual es irónico.Los grupos se suelen quejar justo por lo contrario, que nadie es capaz de reflejar en estudio su sonido de directo.

Al final "In Utero" fue remezclado para sonar más accesible y las mezclas originales de Steve Albini fueron durante tiempo uno de los "piratas" más vendidos.

El primer disco de Aztec Camera es uno de esos que merecería una buena remasterización y remezcla.Aún siendo uno de los mejores discos de la década de los 80, su producción es ,en mi opinión, espantosa.Suena blando,comercial y tiene casi todos los tópicos de las producciones ochenteras (faltan los teclados tipo disparo y el saxo, eso vendría uno o dos años después).

Sin embargo son tan grandes la mayoría de los temas que logran superar ese lastre."We Could send Letters" o "Walk Out to Winter" son una buena muestra de ello.Aunque,los coros de "Oblivious" me siguen produciendo urticaria.



Para mí, el resto de la carrera de la banda de Roddy Frame , queda muy por debajo de este disco.Aunque compuso temas muy interesantes,no consiguió llegar a la calidad y emoción de este "High Land Hard Rain".

Como propina incluyo los primeros singles que editó en Postcard Records,el mítico sello escocés.

Allmusic,dice:"Some performers never make a bigger splash than with their first record, a situation which the Ramones and De La Soul know all too well. If that's the case, though, said musicians had better make sure that debut is a doozy. Aztec Camera, or more specifically, Roddy Frame, falls squarely into this scenario, because while he has doggedly plugged away ever since with a series of what are, at times, not bad releases, High Land, Hard Rain remains the lovely touchstone of Frame's career. Very much the contemporaries of such well-scrubbed Scottish guitar-pop confectionaries as Orange Juice, but with the best gumption and star quality of them all, Aztec Camera led off the album with "Oblivious," a minimasterpiece of acoustic guitar hooks, lightly funky rhythms, and swooning backing vocals. If nothing tops that on High Land, Hard Rain, most of the remaining songs come very close, while they also carefully avoid coming across like a series of general soundalikes. Frame's wry way around words of love (as well as his slightly nasal singing) drew comparisons to Elvis Costello, but Frame sounds far less burdened by expectations and more freely fun. References from Keats to Joe Strummer crop up (not to mention an inspired steal from Iggy's "Lust for Life" on "Queen's Tattoos"), but never overwhelm Frame's ruminations on romance, which are both sweet and sour. Musically, his capable band backs him with gusto, from the solo-into-full-band showstopper "The Bugle Sounds Again" to the heartstopping guitar work on "Lost Outside the Tunnel." Whether listeners want to investigate further from here is up to them, but High Land, Hard Rain itself is a flat-out must-have." by Ned Ragget

martes, 6 de septiembre de 2011

Broadcast-Work And Non Work (1997)


A "Tato" (1974-2011).In Memoriam.

El 14 de Enero de 2011 nos dejó Trish Keenan, la cantante de Broadcast.
Para todos los que seguíamos su música fue un auténtico mazazo.Es muy difícil expresar los sentimientos que te produce la muerte de alguien tan joven sin caer en los tópicos de siempre.

Apenas sabemos nada de su vida personal,fue un misterio hasta casi su edad.Tanto como su música.
A medida que su carrera fue avanzando,se iban volviendo más experimentales.Incluso la voz de Trish casi sonaba como un instrumento más,fundiéndose en las capas de sonido que componían los temas.

Pero también eran capaces de regalarnos auténticas perlas pop.Y en este disco podemos encontrar unas cuantas.

Este fue su primer disco,un recopilatorio de sus primeros singles.En él ya dan muestras de todo el potencial que alcanzarían en sus dos siguientes discos "The Noise Made by People" y "Ha Ha Sound",sus dos obras maestras.

Para los que seguimos la carrera de Broadcast,es un buen momento para recuperar este disco.Por lo menos en mi caso ,llevaba mucho tiempo sin escucharlo.

Para los que no los conozcáis, es una oportunidad para descubrir a un grupo único, de verdad.






Allmusic,dice:"Warp's first rock/pop signing since Pulp (yup, Pulp) were Stereolab-soundalikes Broadcast, whose early singles for Wurlitzer Jukebox and the 'Lab's own Duophonic label attracted much attention for the their sing-songy fusions of Tortoise-y groovebox meandering and clean-room electronica. Work and Non Work, the group's Warp debut, is really nothing more than a compilation of those singles ("Accidentals," "Living Room," and The Book Lovers EP, to be exact). As a mini-LP for the new initiate, it serves as a handy one-stop updater, but since most of it appeared elsewhere within the previous six months and not a single second of previously unavailable material is included, it's not worth much to fans of any duration."by Sean Cooper

domingo, 31 de julio de 2011

Playgroup - Playgroup (2001)


Playgroup es ,realmente, Trevor Jackson,activo miembro de la escena hip-hop británica,conocido bajo el nombre de Underdog.

A principos de la década de los 2000 funda su propio sello discográfico,Output Records, en el que grabaría gente como Colder,Dead Combo y otros artistas ,además de licenciar las referencias de DFA para Europa.

Aparte de su faceta de remezclador inició su propio proyecto,Playgroup ,recogiendo sus influencias de Mutant-Disco,Post-Punk,Hip-Hop,etc,en lo que se podría considerar un repaso general de la música de baile de los últimos 30 años.

Desgraciadamente,tanto su sello como su proyecto musical no han tenido continuidad ,a pesar de lo interesante de su propuesta.

Este disco se puede considerar un poco como avanzadilla de lo que dos años después sería el debut de Lcd Soundsytem, en este caso corregido y aumentado.

Destacan aquí las colaboraciones de Edwyn Collins,Katheleen Hanna (Le Tigre) o Gonzales.

En definitiva, un disco que merecía haber tenido más repercusión.
Quizá se adelantó demasiado a la moda Post-punk que desarrollarían con mejor suerte y resultados Lcd Soundsystem o The Rapture.

Disco 1:

1 Number One (feat. Luca Santucci)
2 Pressure (feat. Joi)
3 Front 2 Back (feat. KC Flightt)
4 Bring It On (feat. Kathleen Hanna)
5 Medicine Man (feat. Edwyn Collins)
6 Too Much
7 Make It Happen (feat. Kyra)
8 Surface To Air
9 Overflow
10 Fatal (feat. Sola)
11 Hideaway
12 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (feat. Shinehead)
13 Fourth Sex Baby (feat. Peaches & Gonzales)

Disco 2:Remix Disc

1 Number One (Black Strobe Remix) (feat. Luca Santucci)
2 Number One (Felix Da Housecatt Remix) (feat. Luca Santucci)
3 Number One (Chicken Lips Remix) (feat. Luca Santucci)
4 Number One (So Solid Crew Remix) (feat. Luca Santucci)
5 Front 2 Back (Todd Terry Remix) (feat. KC Flightt)
6 Front 2 Back (Fatboy Slim Remix) (feat. KC Flightt)
7 Bring It On (Par-T-One Remix) (feat. Kathleen Hanna)
8 Make It Happen (Soulwax Remix)
9 Make It Happen (Zongamin Remix)
10Make It Happen (Ewan Pearson Remix)
11Make It Happen (Midnight Mike Remix)
12 Overflow (Optimo Remix)





Allmusic,dice:"Most of the criticisms leveled at Trevor Jackson's rumpus-room collaborative unit called Playgroup have little to do with whether or not the record's achievement matches its intention. The gripes tend to direct rolling eyes and yawns at Jackson's well-documented connections and his "been there, read about that" cred sculpting, and they also take Jackson's misty-eyed view of a particular period in music -- one that just happened to be back in vogue around the time of their self-titled album -- to task for being dunked too deep in the River Nostalgia. Admittedly, Jackson's references and the imagery with which he dresses them can be a bit stifling. Without hearing note one of the album, the prime directive becomes obvious to those who know their history half as well as the man behind it. Just through scanning the credits and the artwork, it becomes abundantly clear that Jackson and his post-post-punk jackals are feasting upon the early '80s, a period when all sorts of crossbreeding was taking place between pop, disco, rap, reggae, R&B, and post-punk. A casting call of luminaries from this period contribute to the album (reggae producer Dennis Bovell, Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame, Orange Juice's Edwyn Collins), as well as a handful of likeminded artists whose careers started a little or a lot later (Le Tigre's Kathleen Hanna, the Happy Mondays' Rowetta, Luca Santucci). Playgroup's heart is in the post-disco clubs of New York City with the occasional trip to Jamaica -- or London's view of Jamaica, as the record's dub reggae dabblings recall similarly styled post-punks like the New Age Steppers. Most importantly, the teeming exuberance and freshness of most of these predominantly verse-chorus-verse pop songs means that -- without the albatross of the "what came first" mentality -- just about anyone who places a premium on rhythm and melody can enjoy the record for what it is. Did the artists and producers that inspired Playgroup do it better? Of course they did. Jackson would probably tell you the same thing. But despite its entrenchments in the past (and a couple bum moments), Playgroup is a fanciful, diverse, reverential, and well-executed romp. Don't fight it. Feel it. [Playgroup was originally issued in the U.K. in 2001." by Andy Kellman

domingo, 24 de julio de 2011

Campag Velocet - Bon Chic Bon Genre (1999)



Campag Velocet es uno de esos grupos que fueron portada del NME, single de la semana y demás parafernalia y que quedaron en el más absoluto de los olvidos.

Incluso se habló de una "escena" de nueva psicodelia ,junto con Death in Vegas,Regular Fries y otros grupillos que no recuerdo.
Luego aparecerían Kasabian,una de las bandas más insulsas de los últimos años,saqueando todos los logros de este album y se harían de oro.

Es la historia que se repite.Existen casos a patadas ,unos más o menos sangrantes: Nirvana-Pixies (Aunque para mí Nirvana,no descubro nada, es uno de los grandes grupos de la Historia),Curve-Garbage,Joy Division-Interpol-Editors-etc,etc.

Puede que a Campag Velocet la imagen no les ayudase.Tampoco les hacía mucho bien esa tontería de escribir letras en "Nadsat" (especialmente en"Drencrom Velocet Synthemesc"),el idioma inventado por Anthony Burgess para "La Naranja Mecánica".Incluso la variedad de palos que tocaban podía desconcertar a más de uno ,aunque para mí fue su gran baza: Hip-Hop dislocado ("Bon Chic Bon Genre","To Lose La Trek"),psicodelia mancuniana ("Vito Satan"),ortodoxia shoegazer ("Skin so Soft") o Krautrock macarra ("Pike in My Life").

Después de cinco años de silencio,editarían un segundo disco "It´s Beyond Our Control",excelente también, pero sin el impacto del primero.Luego,separación y olvido.
Otra banda con muy mala suerte.

En resumen, es el típico "clásico oculto" que merece la pena redescubrir.



Allmusic,dice: "Equally admired and despised, Campag Velocet's debut is a mess. It's not easy trying to recapture that loose fit of Madhester with the sonic grain of a band grinding glass with busted molars, but Campag succeed just as much as they disappoint. More often than not, the arrangements regularly sound like they are eviscerating the very music scenes they're celebrating: Pete Voss ignites like an off-key Ian Brown getting beaten with Johnny Rotten's stick and there's a ping of rage waiting behind every twisted, preposterous verse ("Spin the bottle play sardines"). Just wait, though. "Skin So Soft" is "Gravity Grave"-era Verve coming home after a heady night of serial killing; "Vito Satan" rumbles along with -- face it -- one of the most understated hooks of 1999, but points eliminated for a sound bordering on Space Monkeys demos and titling songs with Oxford-educated porn star aliases like "Cacophonous Bubblegum."
by Dean Carlson

jueves, 21 de julio de 2011

Biff Bang Pow! - The Acid House Album (1989)


Hay títulos engañosos.Aquí no vas a encontrar música electrónica y mucho menos "Acid".Lo que te vas a encontrar son melodías casi perfectas que destilan lo mejor de la música de los 60.

Pero es que el nombre del grupo no engaña: se trata de uno de los mejores temas de The Creation, grupo que da nombre al sello donde se editó este recopilatorio de singles y rarezas.

Se trata de la banda que formó su fundador, Alan MacGee.Precisamente por esto fue ninguneado por la crítica ,a pesar de que casi todas las referencias que editó su sello,Creation,tuvieron su reconocimiento y el del público,también.

Es hora de que se haga justicia a uno de las bandas más desconocidos de los 80 y que ,sin duda, alguna merecieron mejor suerte.



En The Acid House Album, aparecen los que son ,en mi opinión dos de los mejores singles de los 80:"There Must Be A Better Life y Love´s Going Out of Fashion" y otros a recuperar como "Fifty Years of Fun" y "Someone Stole my Wheels".

¡A disfrutarlo!

Almusic,dice: "Formed in 1981 by the leaders of the incredibly influential British pop label Creation, Alan McGee and Dick Green, Biff Bang Pow! crafted emotionally powerful songs and delivered them wrapped in a jangly, guitar-driven style that touched on folk-rock, British Invasion, and psychedelic pop sounds. Waterbomb is the definitive collection of highlights from their decade-long existence.

Produced and selected by the redoubtable Joe Foster, this disc illustrates just how wonderful the band was. There are at least three songs on here that should be considered classics of the era: "There Must Be a Better Life," which has one of the group's most dissatisfied and angry lyrics over a jangling, searching melody topped by one of McGee's finest vocals (which despite what many cloth-eared critics claimed are never anything less than good and are often quite moving), "Love's Going Out of Fashion," which rides ramshackle acoustic guitars and harmonica and careens like the Cure at their most pop (with McGee's vocals eerily similar to Robert Smith's), and the marvelous "She's Got Diamonds in Her Hair," a beautiful aching ballad that shifts from a low-key jazz-ish verse to a chorus that shines like, well, a diamond.

Biff Bang Pow! always created a very adult brand of teen pop and always did it very well, as this collection shows. So if you were a fan of the band back in the day or are just finding out about the group from one of the bands like Comet Gain, the Tyde, or Lovejoy, who can be found trumpeting the virtues of Biff Bang Pow! to all who will listen, this is an essential collection that will knock you out."by Tim Sendra

martes, 19 de julio de 2011

Disco Inferno - In Debt (1995)




Un tema te puede arruinar tu percepción de un grupo.Puede hacer que lo rechaces y no lo disfrutes hasta años después.A mí me sucedió con Disco Inferno.

Con el número 2 de la revista Factory, "regalaban" un recopilatorio en el que venía el tema "Starbound" de Disco Inferno.Ese tema ,sacado de su contexto (su obra maestra,"D.I. Go Pop"), puede parecer un horror,así que era el típico que pasabas en el Cd y ,con el tiempo, lo cogí mucha manía.Hasta tal punto llegó la cosa, que me negaba a escuchar nada de esta banda.Y creo que no fui el único.

Gracias a los muchachos de Rock de Lux me perdí a uno de los grupos imprescindibles de los noventa y el que mejor ha sabido recoger el legado de Joy Division.

Pero,también, gracias a un amigo que me pasó este disco pude recuperarlos.
Nunca os fiéis de un sólo tema,( ni de Rock de Lux,of course) y ,sobre todo,cuando todo el mundo se pone de acuerdo en poner bien a un grupo, es que algo debe tener.

Como el título de este pedazo de disco,estoy en deuda con ese amigo.



Allmusic, dice:"In debt" is right -- as bandleader Crause freely admitted in interviews in later years, Disco Inferno's beginnings were so clearly inspired by such post-punk luminaries as the Durutti Column, early Wire and above all else Joy Division, that on first blush it seemed unlikely the band would go further than fine nostalgia. 

The surprising touch on this compilation of the trio's first single, album and EP turns out to be how quickly the band started to evolve its own distinct identity. 
The first two tracks, "Entertainment" and "Arc in Round," made up the debut single; from the crisp slam of the drums to the intricate, delicate guitar work and non-melodic singing, Disco Inferno's Joy Division fascination hangs so heavy it's almost the work of a tribute band. "Emigre," the original opening track for the first album, is buoyed by a powerful, immediate combination of sparse drumming, digitally echoed riffs and loops and hints of synth use; the inspirations remain clear but the song itself is much more their own, brought home with a killer guitar solo and drum break at the end. 

Similarly fine, soaring numbers such as "Freethought" and more ominous tracks like "Bleed Clean" ("...or does your blood flow in a mess?") mesh with intriguing side efforts like the primarily acoustic "Hope to God." The final four tracks, from the post-album EP, really sees the band take off; "Waking Up" is Disco Inferno's first total masterpiece, opening with an echoed bass note, astoundingly subtle percussion samples, then the deadly calm lyric "A sky without a god is a clear blue sky." "Fallen Down the Wire" rips along to a sudden, unexpected end after an increasingly fierce build-up. All in all, a striking starting point for what was to come next."by Ned Raggett

jueves, 14 de julio de 2011

Flowered Up - A Life With Brian (1991)




Me encanta ir a tiendas de segunda mano.Es lo que denomino el "top ácaro".No hay mayor satisfacción que la de encontrar un disco que no te esperas y que estabas buscando desde hacía tiempo, en la tienda más absurda.
Justo cuando tienes las yemas de los dedos negras, salta la sorpresa.Y si ,además esta a buen precio y en buen estado, la satisfacción es doble.

Siempre que voy a algún sitio nuevo,trato de localizar las tiendas de discos.Esto ya cada vez es más difícil debido a la consabida crisis de la industria.Pero siempre hay alguna donde seguir buscando.

Este disco lo encontré en una de esas tiendas.No es que sea muy difícil de encontrar pero si vieseis al lado de que discos se encontraba, era uno de esos que no te esperabas y esa tontería me alegró el día.

Respecto al grupo, en su momento se dijo de ellos que eran la respuesta londinense a Happy Mondays.También representaban a esa clase obrera que el fin de semana iba a los bares y clubes a dejarse la pasta y el cerebro a base de alcohol ,pastillas y cocaina.

También tenían su "Bez", un tal Barry Mooncult, que salía al escenario disfrazado de flor gigante.
Pero en el momento de la verdad, el disco supuso un fracaso de crítica y de ventas.El motivo fue una producción demasiado floja que no reflejaba para nada la energía de sus directos.

Tras editar uno de los Maxis más importantes de la escena ,"Weekender" fueron despedidos de su compañía y se separaron.
A finales de los 2000 hubo un intento de reunión pero se vio truncado por la muerte por sobredosis de su carismático cantante, Liam Maher.

De todas formas y a pesar de su producción creo que este disco capta perfectamente el espíritu festivo y hedonista de la época.Y como propina ,en el archivo para descargar, he incluido la versión larga de "Weekender".
¡A disfrutarlo!

miércoles, 13 de julio de 2011

Modern English - After The Snow (1982)


Dedicado a mi hermano,sin rencores.

Hay veces que uno no se entera de nada.Descubres un grupo por casualidad y luego resulta que uno de sus discos contiene uno de los singles más vendidos de los 80.Todo gracias a un anuncio de Burger King.

Ahora podemos comenzar el debate de cuántos anuncios han destrozado la credibilidad ,para cierto sector del público, de unas cuantas bandas.

Se me ocurren: Dandy Warhols, Moby (Bueno, este tío era ya bastante sinvergüenza),The Clash,Peter Björn and John...
La cara que se te queda cuando tu grupo preferido es el politono de la choni de tu vecina del primero es de abrigo.

Ya sé que algunos anuncios tienen que llevar música.Y propongo una idea:¿Por qué no poner música de grupos un poco más odiosos y ya comerciales de por sí?.
Se me ocurren: Muse,Tokio Hotel,Jonas Brothers...

Lo importante de este disco es que aparte del tema en cuestión ,"I Melt with You" hay una pila de temazos indiscutibles,como "Life In The Gladhouse","The Choicest View" o "Tables Turning" y que pese a que han pasado casi 30 años,suena como si hubiese sido grabado hace nada.






Allmusic,dice: ""I'll Melt With You" will forever be the one specific moment that's Modern English's place in pop history, but the album it came from, After the Snow, isn't anything to sneeze at. Indeed, in transforming from the quite fine but dour young miserabilists on Mesh & Lace to a brighter incarnation who still had a melancholy side, the quintet found exactly the right combination best-suited for their abilities. Like contemporaries B-Movie and the Sound, Modern English used punk and post-punk roots as a chance to introduce a haunting, beautiful take on romance and emotion, while the contributions of Stephen Walker on keyboard helped make the album both of its time and timeless. That said, the secret weapon on the album is the rhythm section of Michael Conroy and Richard Brown, able to shift from the polite but relentless tribal beat clatter on the excellent "Life in the Gladhouse" to the ever more intense punch of the title track, the album's unheralded masterpiece. None of this is to denigrate the contributions of singer Robbie Grey and guitarist Gary McDowell. The former's seemingly mannered singing actually shows a remarkable fluidity at points -- "After the Snow" again is a good reference point, as is the fraught, slow-burn epic "Dawn Chorus" -- while McDowell works around the band's various arrangements instead of trying to dominate them. Some songs, like "Face of Wood," even find Modern English -- often dogged with Joy Division comparisons early on -- predicting where New Order would go before that band got there itself. Still, "I Melt With You" is the main reason most will want to investigate further. A perfect pop moment that didn't have to strain for it, its balance of giddy sentiment and heartfelt passion matched with a rush of acoustic and electric guitar overdubs just can't be beat." by Ned Ragget

martes, 12 de julio de 2011

Gene - Rising For Sunset (2000)



Durante muchos años no me han gustado los discos en directo.
Siempre me han parecido falsos: suelen estar sobreproducidos,los aplausos del público apenas se deberían escuchar...

Por otra parte la mitad de los conciertos a los que vamos tienen la calidad de un "pirata"-voces ocultas por un bajo,que es lo único que se oye-lo cual amplifica la sensación de estafa de un disco en directo.Jamás vas a escuchar a tu grupo preferido con esa calidad.

Yo creo que es también un trauma infantil: Mi primer contacto con los discos en directo fue el "Alchemy" de Dire Straits.Quien haya escuchado este disco sabe a lo que me refiero.Y no sólo es que el grupo de Mark Knopfler ya de grima de por sí, si no que ,además, alarga los temas hasta la extenuación,provocando que la tortura sea doble.

Vamos, que era escuchar unos aplausos al principio de un disco para que los sudores fríos y las convulsiones comenzaran.
Esta sensación se fue mitigando con el paso de los años.Ahora puedo disfrutar de ellos pero tiene que haber una condición: que haya visto al grupo en directo.

A Gene los vi en la primera edición del Festival de Bencássim y lo recuerdo como un pedazo de concierto: exactamente igual que este.




Allmusic, dice:"What better time for Gene to release their first proper live LP? Having temporarily suffered a profile hit in the U.S., after A&M put the kibosh on the band's third LP, Revelations, why not head for Los Angeles and sell out three nights at the legendary Troubadour? And, with Gene's confidence in their on-stage proficiency obvious, why not pump the shows out via live webcast for the rest of the wired planet to hear, and release it as Rising for Sunset? Capital idea! They exhibit muscle some might be surprised by. Most of that is still down to guitarist Steve Mason's dexterity and aggression on his six strings, like the ghosts of young Weller, Marr, Townshend, and Marriott all in one player. But there can be no denying the band as a whole just "rises" to performing like it is their home-field advantage. Through it all, singer Martin Rossiter shines with the unusual conviction of such ultra-seriousness in such a natural ham. Bolstered so well by Kevin Miles' strident basslines and Mason's swelling chords on the chorus of "London Can You Wait," he not only manages the delicate balance of distress and distaste, but towers over his poignant words (the death of a loved one). The crowd shrieks as one incredibly well-developed melody meets another sparkling arrangement over such an array of styles, as demonstrated by the twinkling new tune, "Rising for Sunset." Overall, this feels more like a greatest-hits than a 14-song document of a typical live set. By the time the fifth song, "Mayday," closes, it's easy to conclude that this band should be hailed as the finest pop stylist in the world. The second half is surely no letup; that's when all the epics come right after another. It's almost too much to take, climbing three mountains in a row, going from "Speak to Me Someone" into "Olympian" into "You'll Never Walk Again." So how smart are they to tone it down for the final movement, the brand new "Somewhere in the World"? Yet even here, they can't help but leave you with one of the most heartbreaking ballads of torture, of horrible romantic loss, one could imagine. Even in their quietest moments, Gene can uproot your nervous system and draw you helplessly into their severe human dramas. Oh, the humanity!" by Jack Rabid

lunes, 11 de julio de 2011

Monaco - Music For Pleasure (1997)



El Tiempo pone a cada uno en su sitio. Nuestro querido Alberto de Mónaco ha pasado de ser el "mariposón" número uno de las monarquías y cortes europeas (recordemos que hubo un momento que se le relacionó con "Pipe"), a ser un marido fiel con boda por todo lo alto en la capital monegasca.Y es que la gente con sus comentarios no sabe el daño que puede hacer...

Lo mismo pasa con este disco.Me acuerdo que cuando fue editado:le cayeron palos por todas partes.
La antaño influyente revista Rock de Lux lo despedazó sin piedad.Y ¿por qué? Por ser continuista con el legado New Order.Vale, es cierto que podrías hacer un disco con los diferentes proyectos de los miembros de New Order ( Electronic,Bad Lieutenant,The Other Two,Revenge..) y apenas sabrías diferenciar qué tema es de quién.

Pero nos daba igual porque cuando no había New Order ,queríamos más temas.Y si el sucedáneo venía del proyecto madre pues mucho mejor.

Para mi siempre ha sido el argumento para defender bandas como Gene,Interpol y un largo etc.
Y me refiero a grupos que han empezado con unas influencias claras pero han desarrollado un sonido propio posteriormente.Nuevamente el sambenito de "los nuevos Smiths" o "los nuevos Joy Division" puede hacer mucho daño...

Lo importante es que este disco tiene dos temazos como "What do you want from me?" y "Sweet Lips" y que el resto mantiene el tipo muy dignamente.

Para mí un pequeño clásico. Digan lo que digan...los demás.




Allmusic, dice:" Monaco is quite different than Revenge, Peter Hook's previous side project from New Order. Where Revenge was a heavy, occasionally industrial, reworking of New Order, Monaco is a more pop-oriented affair. Hook and his collaborator David Potts still give the music a cool dance underpinning, but the intention of the duo is to marry the tuneful craftmanship of Britpop with modern sonics. Surprisingly, most of their debut, Music for Pleasure, works. Although Potts' contributions tread too close to Oasis territory for comfort, Hook's songs are melodic, concise and catchy -- he hasn't sounded quite so fresh since the late '80s. There are still a few dull moments scattered across the record, yet Music for Pleasure remains a thoroughly enjoyable listen." by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

miércoles, 6 de julio de 2011

Magazine - Rays and Hail: 1978-1981 (1987)

Recopilatorio de una de las mejores bandas de post-punk.

Nacidos como una escisión de Buzzcocks,Howard Devoto fue su primer cantante, pronto abandonarían el punk más clásico de temas como "Shot By Both Sides" a composiciones más complejas como "Permafrost" o" You Never Knew Me".

La guitarra de John McGeoch daría el toque definitivo a unos temas ya redondos de por sí.
Como curiosidad cabe destacar que Los Nikis harían una versión de "A Song Under de Floorboards" ,titulada "La Canción de la Suciedad",en su impactante "Marines a Pleno Sol".



AllMusic ,dice:"The definitive single-disc collection of Magazine, a perfect starting point for the neophyte, Rays and Hail covers the three years of the band's existence with highlight after highlight on display. Devoto's mastery of a lyrical and musical approach that wedded chilly paranoia with explosive punk and post-punk energy -- as suspicious of emotion as Wire or the Gang of Four, yet at the same time more accepting and obsessed with emotion than most others at the time -- resulted in a series of jawdroppingly grand songs. Such compositions as "Feed the Enemy" and "Because You're Frightened" showcased the balance well, not to mention the excellent performances of such bandmembers as John McGeoch on guitar and Barry Adamson on bass. The only real rarity per se is the original single take on "Shot By Both Sides," one of the many landmark tracks Devoto and Pete Shelleywrote in early days together, and which, in Magazine's hands, become a fierce statement of intent. The incorporation of keyboards, in particular, helped give Magazine its smart edge, Devoto sounding both commanding and distanced on such tracks as "Back to Nature" and "A Song From Under the Floorboards" as guitars and queasy synth tones meshed to create weird, alien atmospheres. "The Light Pours out of Me" may well go down as Magazine's most epic, evocative song among the well-known numbers, McGeoch's guitar hitting truly dramatic heights as the relentless rhythm pounds forward. However, the inclusion of "Permafrost" on this collection makes for what could arguably be the band's most stunning moment. With Devoto's at once blunt yet evocative image of a relationship of some sort stretched beyond a breaking point captured in the lyrics, all that the music needed to do was capture the same disturbed vision. That it did, featuring a slow trudge rhythm treated to sound flat and unnatural, Adamson's fretless bass sounding warning notes as it goes." by Ned Ragget

martes, 5 de julio de 2011

The House of Love - A Spy In The House Of Love (1990)




Recopilatorio de Caras B de una de mis bandas favoritas.
The House of Love se formaron en 1986, firmando por Creation Records.Allí lanzaron alguno de los singles más importantes del indie de esa epoca.Así mismo editaron un primer Lp homónimo que es ,por derecho propio, un clásico.
Aunque yo siempre he preferido el segundo, el de "la mariposa" que es donde el genio compositivo de Guy Chadwick, líder de la banda,explota en temas como "I don´t Know Why I Love You" o "Shake And Crawl".
Aquí no llega a ese nivel,ya que se trata de descartes pero junto con temas más de relleno, brillan otros como "Love IV" o "Baby Teen".
Imprescindible para completistas de esta banda.



Allmusic,dice: "Chapter one: Label spends enough money on record to make a third-world country queasy. Chapter two: Record flops financially, despite its artistic triumphs. Chapter three: Label realizes financial failure of record and panics. Chapter four: Label raids band's vault and puts out hodgepodge collection cheap to help recuperate from newly incurred monetary woes. A Spy in the House of Love compiles a decent but scrapped single circa '88 ("Safe"), a handful of dolled-up tracks from the scrapped follow-up to their debut, and scraps from various ditched sessions. See a pattern? Though it sounds like a recipe for rotten cranapple pie, HOL despot Guy Chadwick was quick to toss off anything that wasn't top-rate, and occasionally his BS detector was a little off. In fact, "Marble," which comes from the initial sessions for the band's second album, was quality enough to find a spot on the band's best-of that came out eight years later. There are scattered bright spots ("Scratched Inside," "Ray") and moments where the band sounds like they're just plain bored ("Cut the Fool Down" and the appropriately titled "No Fire"). The "Love" songs (Parts II-V) peak through every other track on the second half. They veer from bluesy, stream-of-consciousness shreds to half-finished howlings and decent instrumentals. Certainly one of the least/last links in the House of Love chain, your time and money might be better spent hunting down one of their many wallet-sinking singles (like the one with a cover of the Chills' "Pink Frost" or another with a take on Cream's "Strange Brew"). A second volume of Spy is definitely called for, as the average House of Love fan's wallet sank deeper than Guy Chadwick's cheeks while scurrying for their three-part(!) singles. [The U.S. version of A Spy in the House of Love bizarrely plugs the second album's version of "Shine On" betwixt "Cut the Fool Down" and "Ray."]by Andy Kellman

domingo, 3 de julio de 2011

V/A-Wap100 We Are Reasonable People (1998)


Este recopilatorio fue editado como conmemoración de las 100 referencias del mítico sello de Sheffield.
En él participaban algunos de los artistas y bandas más reconocidos del sello en aquel momento.Destacan las colaboraciones de Broadcast,Nightmares on Wax o Two lone Swordsmen.
Rarezas,demos y algun tema exclusivo componen este interesantísimo recopilatorio.

1 Squarepusher / AFX - Freeman Hardy & Willis Acid
2 Boards of Canada - Orange Romeda
3 Broadcast - Hammer Without a Master
4 Plaid - Ilasas
5 Autechre - Stop Look Listen
6 Nighmares on Wax - Fishtail Parker
7 Jimi Tenor - Wear My Bikini
8 Plone - Plaything
9 Red Snapper - 4 Dead Monks (Original Demo)
10 Mira Calix - Umchunga Locks
11 Two Lone Swordsmen - Circulation
12 Mark Bell - A Salute to Those People Who Say Fuck You


Allmusic dice:"We Are Reasonable People is a select handful of the European upper crust furnishing electronic rarities to the label that made them famous. Warp Records has the cream of the crop to choose from, even if some of that cream has clotted from oversight. All of these selections are previously unreleased, and considering the wide variety of styles on the disc, there truly is "something for everyone." "Freeman Hardy & Willis Acid" is such a memorable high point, it's a wonder this track wasn't saved for the finale. Two of the most accomplished trendsetters, Tom Jenkinson and Richard D. James, combine their abilities for the first time as Squarepusher and AFX, respectively. Pools of mercurial ambience float above rocky landscapes of blistering rhythm tracks, sputtering toward an acid refrain and such spatial disorientation that it pulls the chair right out from under you. An act this tough to follow is rightfully handed to Boards of Canada, whose "Orange Rhomeda" is a magical pinwheel of found digital beats and naïve bytes, an early taste of a duo who would be Warp's next big thing. From here the terrain gets uneven. Although high points are aplenty, listeners might be checking the clock once or twice along the way. Broadcast's "Hammer Without a Master" drones along in burnt electro-waltz/rock waves, and Plaid contributes a sound sculpture that pulses with cascading icicles of synth and a syncopated, chugging drumbox. The indifference intensifies as glitch music superstars Autechre strain to deliver even a shred of the human element for "Stop Look Listen," typing out trigonometric beats and a stray melody. Next, an upbeat Nightmares on Wax grooves conservatively with "Fishtail Parker," a mid-budget tapestry of keyboard funk. From here, the ball passes nicely to Jimi Tenor, who digs into his zoot suit jacket pocket for a slick set of licks on "Wear My Bikini," a jazzy arrangement of downtown-cruising horn/synth riffs and head-bobbing beats. Another abrupt shift in mood comes from Plone's "Plaything" -- disturbingly innocent. It's like easy listening for stuffed animals, featuring bubblegum keyboard leads and a swishing, carefree beatbox. Following this, Red Snapper (black belt of the live groove) unearths the moody "4 Dead Monks (Original Demo)." The upright bass snarls and paces back and forth in a cage, the snares slither and pop, and a lone trumpet adds a fog of crime noir. Two Lone Swordsmen deliver "Circulation," which gurgles menacingly along the floorboards like restless plasma with a curfew. Weatherall and Tenniswood keep a half-dozen elements under close surveillance, letting them breathe slightly before locking them up again. Rounding out the CD, Mira Calix and Mark Bell both deliver pounding, up-tempo industrial showcases; the latter closes out the disc with extra crunch and a keyboard lead that shifts mathematically to the left with each repetition. The energy almost compensates for its structural simplicity. With such a plush assembly of music at its fingertips, Warp pats itself on the back with this release. Rightfully so, for not only staying afloat in the ever-expanding sea of electronic music, but for riding the crest of it." by Glenn Swan

sábado, 2 de julio de 2011

Moose-Sonny and Sam (1991)



Imprescindible recopilatorio de los tres primeros Ep´s de esta banda inglesa.Inicialmente enmarcados dentro del movimiento "shoegazer" pronto lo abandonarían,convirtiéndose en una excelente banda de pop.
Cabe destacar temas como "Suzanne" o "Jack" que se erigen por derecho propio en clásicos del indie de principio de los 90,aunque otros como "This river will never run dry" se asemejan más al estilo con el que continuarían su carrera en discos como "Honey Bee" o "Live a Little ,love a Lot".¡A disfrutarlo!




Sobre Moose,Allmusic dice:"Not so much underrated as unheard, Moose grew up in Britain's distortion-heavy shoegazing movement of the early '90s but soon shed the fuzzy wash of their compatriots to embrace a clean, acoustic-based style -- inspired by '60s icons Burt Bacharach and Tim Buckley as well as jangle merchants like the Byrds and R.E.M. -- that still relied on the intense guitar effects which characterized the band's early works. Moose was formed in early 1990 by the songwriting team of Kevin (K.J.) McKillop and Russell Yates (Yates had appeared in an early incarnation of Stereolab), plus drummer Damien Warburton and bassist Jeremy Tishler. The group signed to Hut Records (also the British home of Smashing Pumpkins and the Verve) in 1990, and began recording with producer Guy Fixsen (later of Laika).

After the release of three EPs during 1991, both Warburton and Tishler left the band; Moose then added drummer Richard Thomas and the brothers Fong, Lincoln on bass and Russell on guitar and sometime production. Hut Records had just formed an alliance with the major label Virgin, which condensed Moose's past material onto a seven-track EP, Sonny and Sam. (It served as an American primer for the band, but proved to be their only major-label stateside release.) Hut financed a full-length album, ...XYZ, in 1992 and recruited Mitch Easter for production and Dolores O'Riordon of the Cranberries for harmony vocals on one track. The album sold poorly, however, and Hut dropped the band by early 1993. Not fazed in the least, Moose came back with the Liquid Make Up EP for their own Cool Badge label. Its leadoff track, "I Wanted to See You to See if I Wanted You," was a charming piece of pop, their best single yet. Signed to Belgium's Play It Again Sam Records, the band released their second album, Honey Bee, in early 1994. It wisely included a different version of "I Wanted to See You to See if I Wanted You," but Moose appeared to be verging on overkill with yet another carbon-copy version included on the Bang Bang EP several months later. Perhaps signalling a stall in creativity, third album Live a Little, Love a Lot was released with no attaching single, though the Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser did lend her vocals to one track. Four years later, Moose reappeared with an album (High Ball Me!) released on the English Nickel and Dimes as well as on the American Le Grand Magistery."

Bowery Electric-Beat (1996)


El seguno disco del duo neoyorkino se caracteriza por un acercamiento a los ritmos electrónicos a los que se lanzarían totalmente en su siguiente disco.En un principio puede resultar algo monocorde pero una vez que te introduces en él es totalmente adictivo.
No es un trabajo inmediato pero el esfuerzo merece la pena.

Allmusic dice:"Somewhat bizarrely, Beat received a large amount of critical buzz over its supposedly groundbreaking fusion of hip-hop/techno rhythms and the band's older dream pop stylings. Anyone who had heard Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine or a fair amount of Chapterhouse's material probably had some things to say about that judgment, while in turn many dance mavens saw the band's efforts as already terribly outdated in terms of general sonic approach. Set all this aside and concentrate on enjoying Beat in and of itself, though, and the fine qualities of both group and album come through quite clearly. Bowery Electric may not be on the cutting edge, but Schwendener and Chandler aren't pretending to dwell there. The title track sets the album's tone from the start, an open-ended guitar drone from Chandler later accompanied by Schwendener's low-key bass and distanced singing matched with a crisp drum loop. Variations on this basic formula throughout Beat: slight rhythms are sometimes more prominent, sometimes buried, guitar lines are clearer here or more heavily produced there -- but taken as a whole the release is quietly intoxicating. Standouts include "Fear of Flying," with a strong guitar scream/wash from Chandler and a more upfront bass/drum combination, and the thoroughly but beautifully zoned out "Black Light," which features a rare Chandler vocal and an enveloping delay-pedal-produced atmosphere. Notably, the drumming on the latter track is more in line with, say, early Pink Floyd or Slowdive rather than the loops used elsewhere. Both performers are incredibly undemonstrative throughout the album -- Beat works best as something either totally concentrated on or left running as ambient music; a party record this isn't. At times Bowery Electric eschew percussion entirely, to lovely effect: "Under the Sun" is a brief but dark piece, a low bassline providing the only forward motion." by Ned Ragget

jueves, 30 de junio de 2011

The Best of The Beta Band Music (Live Album) (2005)


The Beta Band fue un grupo que lo tenía todo para triunfar pero al final acabaron como muchos grupos: en el olvido.
Este album ,que es el disco extra de su recopilatorio,capta toda la energía de un directo de The Beta Band y todo su potencial como banda.Esto nunca lo lograron en sus discos de estudio, lo que en parte explica su mala suerte.
No soy muy amigo de los discos en directo porque suelen estar demasiado producidos y no reflejan la realidad.Pero los que hemos tenido suerte de ver un directo de este grupo podemos asegurar que incluso se queda corto.



Allmusic.com:"A somewhat peculiar way to send off a very peculiar band, The Best of the Beta Band is a two-disc compilation (priced as a single) intended for newcomers and collectors alike, with disc one a best-of and disc two a recording of one of the last gigs. Any Betas fan is bound to have at least one problem with the selection of tracks on the first disc. That's to be expected. One notion that nearly every fan will agree on, however, is that each of the band's albums has its own identity and would be better off left, and therefore experienced, intact. (The real nuts griped when the first three EPs were simply bound together.) You do want the albums, from front to back, with all the exposed seams and strokes of genius tied together, as they were intended to be heard. But this is a fine point of entry, containing the five proper singles and most of the other best-known moments, including a lumbering anthem that crosses Primal Scream's "Loaded" with Harvest folk rocker Michael Chapman's "It Didn't Work Out" ("Dry the Rain"), a bewildering epic (that tries not to be an epic) with incidental orchestral sweeps ("It's Not Too Beautiful"), and a gorgeously spare ballad that might or might not be about an alien who lost his memory and fell in love after wrecking his spacecraft ("Gone"). After a jovial "Good evening, London -- how the f*ck are you?" the live disc rolls through nine of the 16 songs heard on the best-of, in addition to "Dr. Baker," "Quiet," "Dog's Got a Bone," and a riotous "House Song." Since the crowd knows about the planned breakup, it's very appreciative, and the Betas make a convincing case for being considered a live band as much as a studio band. The booklet is a gas, containing a series of graphic jokes where you would normally see a career summary involving phrases like "criminally underrated," "wildly influential," and "critically acclaimed but commercially underappreciated." by Andy Kellman

miércoles, 29 de junio de 2011

808 State - Ex:El (1991)


Para mi ,el mejor disco de estos pioneros de la música electrónica mancuniana.En este trabajo se produjo la primera colaboración entre Björk y Graham Massey,el líder de la banda, que posteriormente produciría el "Debut" de la islandesa.
En archivo para la descarga contiene la edición americana,en la que se encuentra una brutal remezcla de "Cubik",en lugar de la original.



Según Allmusic.com: "Capturing 808 State at their absolute best, none of their subsequent albums quite matched Ex:El's perfect blend of art, mass appeal, and zeitgeist (one of the most common vocal samples in techno, Willy Wonka's "We are the music makers," made its first major appearance here). A major change here from past releases is the increasing variety and power of the State's percussion: beats are heavier and more staggered, embracing earlier flirtations with hip-hop and industrial music with even greater success, as heard on heavy duty groovers like "Leo, Leo." A sign of how influential Ex:El ended up being can be seen in how one of the commonest clichés of U.K. techno albums -- the guest appearance of a noted indie/alternative rocker on a track or two -- got its start from the cameo vocals here. Fellow Mancunian dance pioneer Bernard Sumner of New Order sings one of his patented gentle ruminations over "Spanish Heart," a nice piano-led number with a solid backbeat. Meanwhile, even more notably, the Sugarcubes' Björk lends her swooping singing to the lower-key but still active "Qmart" and the dramatic, flamenco-tinged "Ooops," establishing a partnership with the State's Graham Massey that would result in his working on many of her solo projects. Add to all this two of the best techno singles from the early '90s -- "In Yer Face," a subtly politicized anti-American slammer, and the almighty "Cubik" (in America replaced by an astonishing remix of the same song, the original having appeared on Utd. State 90) -- and Ex:El stands out all the more strongly. A true masterpiece". By Ned Raggett

martes, 28 de junio de 2011

The Soup Dragons - Hotwired (1992)


Después de Lovegod (1990),The Soup Dagons se lanzaron a la conquista del mercado americano(la portada les delata).Hotwired no está tan conseguido como el album anterior pero tiene un puñado de buenos temas como "Divine Thing" o el genial "Getting Down". Así inauguro este blog ...



Según Allmusic.com:
<< Hotwired is where the Soup Dragons reached equilibrium -- the happy medium between the slick breakbeats and guitar-based rock & roll. Throughout most of the album, the songs are among the strongest of the band's career and sonically the album is near perfect; fans of dance alternative will love singles like "Pleasure" and "Divine Thing" (both moderate hits in the U.S.) and rock fans will appreciate the crisp but not sterile instrumentation. There are many great production flourishes -- like the "gospel choir"-like background vocals and fun sound effects -- sprinkled throughout the disc. In fact, "Hotwired" is worth listening to for the chugging guitars on the fabulous "Getting Down" alone. For fans of this genre or fans of Brit-pop or even power pop in general, this is the place to start.>> by Jason Damas