Monthly Archives: August 2020

BBC – Music – Review of Regina Spektor

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The cliché about Regina Spektor is that she’s quirky, kind of a kook – the indie Phoebe from Friends. Like most clichés, it’s not completely unwarranted: she used her last album to imitate dolphin noises and once wrote a song called Reading Time with Pickle. It features the memorable line: “Ingredients: water, salt, cucumber, garlic and pickling spices.”

There’s fresh eccentricity on Spektor’s sixth album, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. The Russian-born New Yorker sings much of Oh Marcello in a cod-Italian accent best suited to a pasta sauce advert. On a song called The Party, she compares her paramour to “a big parade through town”… and then imitates a trumpet. Elsewhere, she does her “impression” of the drums. To British ears, the result doesn’t sound like beat-boxing; it sounds like EastEnders ending on a cliffhanger.

At times, Spektor can be too cutesy – does she need to refer to New York City’s northernmost borough as “the Bronxy Bronx”? More often though, her little idiosyncrasies are charming. Of course, it helps that they nestle with some nifty melodies: Spektor likes a pop chorus almost as much as a vocal tic.

Besides, the quirkiness is really a corollary of Spektor’s lack of inhibition – as a performer, yes, but also as a songwriter. On the surface, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats is an album of piano-based pop songs, but thematically, it’s more varied. Cryptic confessionals knock shoulders with character sketches, the odd sort-of-love song and even some social commentary.

All the Rowboats takes aim at museums filled with masterpieces, calling them “public mausoleums”, while Ballad of a Politician is a crisp vignette about a networker. Thankfully, neither of these tracks contains that reference to “the Bronxy Bronx”.

Spektor is also capable of being very affecting. The album’s centrepiece is a break-up ballad called How that already sounds like a classic. At the song’s climax, Spektor needs just six words to capture all the stinging sadness of losing a lover’s intimacy: “You are a guest here now.”

Really, the truth about Regina Spektor is that quirky isn’t the half of it.



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Spice Girls: We have ‘no beef’ with Liam Gallagher – Music News

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The first time the ‘Wannabe’ hitmakers performed at the BRITs in 1997 – when Ginger Spice (Geri Horner) rocked her world famous Union Jack dress – Melanie C (Sporty Spice) offered to fight then-Oasis frontman Liam after he had “bad mouthed” the girl group.

Whilst collecting one of their awards, Sporty, 46, told Liam, 47, in her speech: “Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.”

The ‘Wonderwall’ hitmaker had said he didn’t want to attend the ceremony because he didn’t want to bump into Melanie.

However, more than two decades later, Melanie and her bandmate Geri, 48, have insisted they are huge fans of the ‘Bold’ hitmaker and his solo music, and are very “civilised” whenever they bump into the outspoken star now.

Geri brought up telling the former head of Sony at the same ceremony in 1997 that the label made a “big mistake” not signing the ‘Viva Forever’ hitmakers during an interview with Melanie on ‘Sounds of the 90s with Fearne Cotton’.

She recalled: “When we saw Mark Morrison backstage in 1997 at the Brits and he was in this like big white fur coat … and we were like, ‘Hello!’, and then there was this moment and we saw the head of Sony Records and it was our ‘Pretty Woman’ moment.

Do you remember when Julia Roberts is in that shop in ‘Pretty Woman’ and she goes ‘big mistake!’ … and I think when you’re in a pack you feel a little more confident …you were standing next to me with the other girls and we went up to him … and went, “You turned us down, big mistake.’

We were so so sassy with it … and Mark Morrison was sort of standing to the left of us as we did it.”

Melanie – who stepped in for Fearne for the episode – said: “But you know what’s so fantastic about having that opportunity to say that, was the Brits in 1997 was almost like our homecoming wasn’t it? It was from 96, with ‘Wannabe’, we’d been around the world, we had all of this success, we were so celebrated … it really felt like that was the night the UK celebrated the Spice Girls wasn’t it?

In reference to Liam, Geri said: “And you put those boys in their place I remember…”

Melanie picked up: “Yeah so Liam Gallagher had been bad mouthing us and I told him to come and have a go if he thinks he’s hard enough. I’d actually never met him and I got to meet him a few months later and he was like “C’mon then, scouse” kind of offering me out … he’s gone on to make some great records as well, so yeah, no beef.”
Geri replied: “He has, really good! No beef … actually sometimes I see him in the park and it’s like, “Morning, Morning”. Its all so nice and civilised now.

Melanie quipped: “Yeah not so rock and roll anymore, are you now, Liam?”

‘Sounds of the 90s with Fearne Cotton’ is available to listen to on BBC Sounds every Saturday, and is broadcast on BBC Radio 2 every Friday from 10pm-12am.



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BBC – Music – Review of 2:54

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It would be easy to dismiss 2:54 solely on their hype. The east London-based sisters dress in dark leather, refrain from smiling in photos, and often find themselves mentioned in the same breath as The xx. But look past the image to concentrate on the music and you’ll find a record of endearing and warmly intimate songs.

Originally from Ireland but growing up in Bristol, sisters Hannah and Colette Thurlow spent their youth travelling back across the channel for family holidays. It’s the stark imagery of the Irish coast and countryside that informs and shapes the music on this self-titled debut, dark and expansive with a serene beauty.

Album opener Revolving crashes waves of sultry guitar across a steady and glistening beat, Colette’s vocal weaving the tapestry together. It leads straight into previous single You’re Early, a track which builds and falls with elegance and yearning. At times it feels a little like eavesdropping on a whispered diary entry.

Later, A Salute is all Tears for Fears atmospherics with a hint of Garbage; while the spotlight-stealing Scarlet is PJ Harvey at her most destructive, complete with a Belly-blessed chorus.

The only criticism of this record is its overall pace. The songs grow and swell within themselves, but across these 10 tracks there is little variation from the chosen mould. That’s not to say there isn’t aggression or energy on show, it’s just displayed subtly and in the sisters’ own awkwardly inimitable way.

But this isn’t a record for the dance floor; it’s for two sisters, both writing from separate bedrooms, an honest and personal album that deserves time and attention. There’s no way the Thurlows could have predicted the reaction they’d receive to putting a demo of Creeping online just a couple of years ago – and its placement here as the closer feels symbolic, a bookmark at the end of their first chapter as a band.

2:54 have delivered a collection of deeply mature and addictive tracks. In avoiding their own hype they have created something almost naively unaffected, and purely affecting.



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Kanye West accused of mocking Islam with new sneakers – Music News

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Kanye West has upset the Muslim community after naming his new Yeezy Boost sneakers after the faith’s archangels of music and death.

The rapper has been accused of “disrespecting Islam” by unveiling his new line – the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Israfil and Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Asriel.

“Very disrespectful,” one Twitter user wrote. “Adidas is disrespecting Islam. Israfil is one of the four angels in Islam. Shame on @adidasoriginals and @kanyewest,” while another added: “Dear @Adidas I am gonna STOP buying and using your products if those Kanye West’s newest shoes’ names aren’t changed because it IT DOES NOT RESPECT Islam (sic).”

Another critic accused West and Adidas of “making mockery of Islam (sic)”.

A petition has been launched calling for Adidas bosses to change the name of the shoes.

“Until further notice, we request all Muslims to boycott adidas products, cease all sale of adidas products by any Muslim owned 3rd party retail shops until adidas ceases the production of this commodity,” the petition reads.

The sneaker launch comes amid the rap star’s unlikely run for the White House – Kanye plans to challenge current U.S. leader Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden for America’s top office in November.



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BBC – Music – Review of The Bamboos

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During the last decade, Melbourne-based musical conglomerate The Bamboos have been making an impact with a hybrid sound tastefully referencing the great soul and funk of the 1960s and 70s, without ever falling into the retro trap.

That their material has been handled by Tru Thoughts, the Brighton-based independent that has brought forth musical delights by Quantic and Bonobo, already gives it a certain legitimacy – but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and Medicine Man, the group’s fifth album, goes down like a mango and lemon syllabub. It’s tastefully done, and possesses many hidden textures and contours; the more you get of it, the more you like it.

Perhaps the best thing The Bamboos have going for them is their superb musicianship. Bandleader Lance Ferguson is obviously a brilliant guitarist but he is never overly flashy with his lead licks; his solos help convey emotion in suitably brief bright blasts of treble, instead of overburdening a tune with unnecessary pyrotechnics.

Bass duties are shared between Ferguson and his creative foil, producer John Castle, who also plays piano and a spot of drums, and the bass lines on this album are suitably cavernous, helping to ground the material between melodic hooks and danceable grooves.

Where Does The Time Go?, sung by Aloe Blacc, is the kind of song that anyone of a certain age can relate to; as Ferguson, Castle and team propel the music forward, Blacc laments the passing of his youth. Co-conspirator Kylie Auldist features on a quarter of the disc, and even if her style is rooted in early 1970s funk, the band pull in enough original elements to make sure the work is always their own.

For instance, Window counterbalances Auldist’s blues-funk growl with light strings and a gently bouncing beat. Similarly, Hello Stranger has a great sitar accompaniment that hearkens to 1960s psychedelia, but never in a way that is constrained by the reference. Other guests include Tim Rogers of You Am I, soul crooners Bobby Flynn and Daniel Merriweather, and Megan Washington, whose appealing vocals grace a horns-heavy version of The Wilhelm Scream.

The music here would sound dynamite live, so look out for appearances. And even if you can’t make it to a show, this album is definitely worth investigating. Get your hands on a copy and dig in.



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Jojo had sex ‘on [her] mind’ while making her comeback album – Music News

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The 29-year-old singer previously revealed she was celibate for 10 months whilst recording ‘Good To Know’ but that didn’t stop the idea of love and intimacy from having a heavy influence on what she was writing about.

She told Maxim US: “I wasn’t having sex. But it was very much on my mind. I was just really interested in sensuality and sexuality around this project. I just realised I had been a serial dater since I was 14 and that I haven’t really spent time on my own. And I just wanted to see how it was. I always had somebody I could call and have a little make out, a little intimacy.

“So I was single and I had made some decisions in my previous relationship that I ended up writing about on the album and feeling guilt and shame.”

The album’s lead single, ‘Man’, features a voice message from Jojo’s mom and she admitted the note came from her “venting” to her mother about her personal life. She said: “We had just had a conversation and I was beating myself up and venting to her about how guilty I felt about what had gone down in my previous relationship.”

The ‘Leave (Get Out)’ hitmaker was just 13 when she released her self-titled debut album and she admitted she felt frustrated at being a “little kid” and unable to do the same things her pop peers were.

She said: “I felt really silly because I couldn’t go to any of the after parties. I just couldn’t do anything that I saw my peers doing, my peers that were on the Billboard charts and touring at the same time.

“I was like, ‘This sucks! I feel like such a little kid.’ And I was a little kid and I didn’t want to be.”



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BBC – Music – Review of Dexys

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A quarter-century on from the last Dexys Midnight Runners album Don’t Stand Me Down (mocked upon release, now recognised as a work of genius), Dexys (so named because, says Kevin Rowland, “It’s the same, but also not the same”) return. Recent live shows induced collective rapture in audiences. Can the ‘comeback’ album possibly live up to expectations? It can. It certainly can.

Mention the unlikely 80s chart-toppers and some may recall the soul stylings of Geno, many more the violins and dungarees of Come On Eileen. True believers know it went a lot deeper, further, darker and brighter than that. Rowland sought a level of purity and intensity in the music that, while a triumph to those who embraced it, scared the herd mentality of the music press. He lost his path and confidence for a while. Now, more relaxed, showing the sense of humour that was always there but was oft-misunderstood, he’s created an album that’s equal parts confessional soul and theatrical music hall, and wholly sincere and spectacular.

There’s a narrative, autobiographical thread throughout the songs which traces a man’s maturing from doubt and over-analysis (Now, Lost) through relationship traumas (Incapable of Love) to epiphanies of individuality and self-acceptance (Free; the beautiful monologue It’s OK, John Joe). Along the varied, verve-fuelled ride, there are moments of wry, poignant insight (Rowland’s he-said-she-said dialogue with Madeleine Hyland is both candid and comedic), rousing refrains (“attack, attack!” chant the band) and romantic uplift. Elsewhere, She Got a Wiggle is as sexy and yearning as the Al Green shuffles it emulates.

The musicians, from Mick Talbot to on-off Dexys lifers like Pete Williams and trombonist Big Jim Paterson make every switch resonate, from airy Roxy swoons to earthy folksy stomps, while Rowland’s voice is more dauntingly expressive and piercingly heartfelt than ever. Nobody since Chairmen of the Board’s General Johnson has made interjections like “Huh! Huh!” sting so. 

There is so much personality, poetry, vulnerability and resilience here that most other records sound like dry runs by comparison. Dexys are back with wisdom and wings. Some of us never doubted.



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Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Jack Sherman dies – Music News

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The guitarist, who worked with the band on their debut album and first US tour, was just 64 and his cause of death has not yet been revealed.

The band wrote on Twitter: “We of the RHCP family would like to wish Jack Sherman smooth sailing into the worlds beyond, for he has passed. Jack played on our debut album as well as our first tour of the USA.

“He was a unique dude and we thank him for all times good, bad and in between. Peace on the boogie platform.”
Bassist Flea commented “Love to Sherm” on the post.

Sherman replaced guitarist Hillel Slovak on group’s self-titled debut album and was a cowriter on its follow-up, 1985’s ‘Freaky Styley.

However, he was replaced by Slovak before the album was released.

He went on to contribute to ‘Mother’s Milk’ and ‘The Abbey Road EP’ but was left out when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame eight years ago.

Sherman told Billboard at the time: “I’m being dishonoured, and it sucks. It’s really painful to see all this celebrating going on and be excluded. I’m not claiming that I’ve brought anything other to the band… but to have soldiered on under arduous conditions to try to make the thing work, and I think that’s what you do in a job, looking back. And that’s been dishonoured.”

He has also worked on Tonio K.’s ‘Notes from the Lost Civilization’, Bob Dylan’s ‘Knocked Out Loaded’, and records by George Clinton and Feargal Sharkey.



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BBC – Music – Review of Public Image Ltd

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Fittingly, it begins with a long, unrepentant burp. A dubby rumble of bass and icy chimes of guitar follow closely behind, and already we’re back inside a sonic blueprint that helped define the post-punk era.

“This is PiL,” is the prowling war cry of this opening title-track, “And we’re quite a-PiL-ing!”

Hardly vintage repartee, but that’s not because Mr Lydon is short of things to say. “I am John!” he shouts to introduce One Drop, “And I was born in London!” Whether he might like some spare change for his tube fare home is slightly less clear, but he’s got our attention. “We are the focus, not of the hopeless,” he insists as a loose-limbed guitar skanks idly around the beat, and by the time he claims “We are the ageless, we are teenagers,” the sheer charisma of that wailing, hectoring delivery has managed to convince you of sentiments that logic tells you are highly questionable.

So far so Rotten then, and the urgent, uptight melancholia of Deeper Water also preserves that sense of waving and drowning. But it’s Human that really grabs your attention most as he informs us, “Your leaders are not good enough for you,” as a pleasingly moreish guitar motif recycles itself. But hang on, what’s this?

“I miss the… English roses, Salad beer and summer gear… cotton dresses skipping across the lawn…”

Steady on there, granddad.

By the time he sings, “All the days were long…when football was not a yawn” (I take it you missed Match of the Day on the last day of the season then, John?), you can’t help wondering if the last of the eternal radicals has finally embraced conservatism.

Not a chance, on the evidence of stomping rat-a-tat oddity Lollipop Opera, which degenerates into freestyling gibberish rhymes about rooms, shrooms and brooms. Admittedly, spoken-word number The Room I Am In does throw up unedifying images of Compo from Last of the Summer Wine branching out into prog-rock poetry, but he’s back on form on the jabbering chatter of Reggie Song: “I am from Finsbury Park,” he squawks, “and I am having a lark.”

Good to have you back, you silly old fool.



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Chrissie Hynde: ‘I’d stay on lockdown permanently if it was best for the planet’ – Music News

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Chrissie Hynde has been in no rush to see lockdown guidelines lifted because the planet has benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As strict stay-at-home orders are relaxed in parts of the world where coronavirus infections are on the wane, The Pretenders star said she’d happily make permanent lifestyle changes to help the environment.

“If I knew there would be no more flights, if we can get rid of all cars, I would be the first to sign up,” she bluntly told Rolling Stone, admitting she’s ‘pretty lazy’ anyway.

And the 2000 Miles hitmaker has found it hard to get excited about the prospect of performing in ‘socially distanced’ shows, quipping: “Where are you going to do it, in an airplane hangar?”

She proclaimed she’s also not a fan of the big names who have released ‘pompous’ come-together anthems during the global health crisis.

“Why do artists think that they’re going to heal everybody and their music is so important?” she asked.

Chrissie has her own ideas for ‘alternative’ future concerts, musing she’d like to ‘pull out any obscure Pretenders thing’ on stage and say: “‘Here’s something you’ve never heard,’ and they’re (fans) like, ‘Oh, OK. Cool’.

“But who knows,” she added: “if we’re locked down like this for another five years, I might be doing a striptease on Zoom (video conferencing app). I don’t know how desperate people can get.”



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