Malachai – Return to the Ugly Side

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Release Date : 28/02/2011 (Domino Records)
Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2011/02/07/malachai-return-to-the-ugly-side

Malachai Return to the Ugly Side

Malachai are a Bristol based duo, [allegedly] discovered by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, and this ‘Return to the Ugly Side’ is their second outing. A sequel, if you will, to 2010’s ‘Ugly Side of Love’, this record sounds more polished, more grown-up and it wants commercial success. Where ‘Ugly Side of Love’ was lo-fi, stripped down and feeling more experimental, Return to leans more towards cultivating their sound,  concentrating more on the music than the ideas.

 

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Way Yes – Herringbone & Walkability

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Herringbone : Release Date : 14/12/2010 (Lefse Records)
Walkability : Release Date : 25/01/2011 (Lefse Records)

Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2011/01/21/way-yes-herringbone-walkability

Way Yes are a duo from Ohio who operate in a number of musical genres, and often all at the same time. To say they’re experimental would probably be a disservice. Their music works in a very conventional way and could occupy anywhere between electro, calypso, pop, (dare I say) World Music or stoner ‘Jazz’. Way Yes have released two extended EPs in very quick succession, ‘Herringbone’ and ‘Walkability’.

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Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi

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Release Date : 17/01/2011 (Domino Records)
Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2011/01/15/anna-calvi-anna-calvi

Anna CalviThere is something of a buzz around Anna Calvi’s self titled début. BBC Music have hailed her as ‘one to watch’ for 2011 and she’s already opened for Nick Cave’s mighty Grinderman. Sounding somewhere between Natasha Khan’s kooky and PJ Harvey’s rawkus beauty, Calvi follows firmly in their footsteps. It’s not hard to see why she’s attracted so much attention.

Opener ‘Rider to the Sea’ is a beautiful mariachi guitar workout which forces you to wait. Undoubtedly, it’s foreplay for what’s to come. Cool and breezy, ‘No More Words’ starts the record with understated vocal building to guitar crescendo. From the second track Calvi has you in the palm of her hand. ‘Desire’ crashes in and shows vocally what she’s capable of. Gone are the sultry tones, giving way to a much bigger sound. Similarly with ‘Suzanne & I’, there is a powerful edge to her voice which borders on operatic proportions. Every song sounds epic. ‘First We Kiss’ is a beautiful insight into the beginning of a love affair; building and spinning into an orchestral finale, Calvi turns up the drama with every verse. ‘The Devil’ is the pivotal track of the album, recounting the opening mariachi-like guitars and sultry vocals, pushing angelic tones into a much darker place. Again, the guitar work is phenomenal and the operatics huge, without feeling overblown or out of grasp. ‘Blackout’ and ‘I’ll Be Your Man’ are probably the more commercial offerings here, combining all aspects heard thus far, while contained within a more traditional song structure – Calvi can do pop as well as drama, without dropping any of the act. ‘Morning Light’ reflects on the storm that’s gone before and brings the mood back to something less turbulent. ‘Love Won’t be Leaving’ closes the record and brims with Cave-esque murder ballad. Understated but demanding full attention.

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The Sunshine Factory – Sugar

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Release Date : 14/12/2010 (The Sugar Collective)

Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2011/03/28/the-sunshine-factory-sugar

The Sunshine Factory – SugarAlabama three piece, The Sunshine Factory posed me a bit of a problem whilst reviewing. In part, their album, Sugar, borrows so heavily from My Bloody Valentine it’s difficult to not call them a tribute act. Not to be unkind, as their borrowing is sometimes so faithful it’s a tribute to their musicianship. So, for the purposes of this review I’ll try not to mention it again.

Opener, ‘Down’ chimes in and gets down to business. Breathy melodic opening bars with wonky backing riffs plunge into chorus and brash guitar solos. Considering every frequency is used, it’s   surprisingly light. Tempo throughout is nonchalant plod, and the accent is very much bored-art-school-snarl. ‘Smile’ brings a more psychedelic edge. It’s a hard, rock n’ roll track with boy-girl vocals.  The chorus comes with a solid guitar riff even Primal Scream would be proud of. ‘Dont Fall Asleep’ has a more electric charm, with more wonky riffs on offer. It’s an engaging piece of dream-pop with great chord changes and vocals pitched just right. ‘Twisted and Clover’ is probably the stand out track. Sounding somewhere between The Boo Radleys and Chapterhouse, it’s right up my street. This is where The Sunshine Factory strike a good balance between their obvious love of their shoe-gaze heroes, and what emerges as their own sound. Wonky backing track is minimised to give way to clashing guitars. This is probably where they work best; mid-tempo and distorted, but with a greater sense of [good old fashioned] rock n’ roll. You get the impression if you stripped away the effects they would still have some solid tunes.

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Albums of the Year 2010

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Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2010/12/01/albums-of-the-year-2010

1.   The National – High Violet – (4AD) 10/05/2010

The National High VioletHigh Violet is the fifth album for The National, and has proven to be their biggest commercial success. Afters years of touring and TV appearances the world seems to have woken up to their genius. As with previous output, this is similarly sullen territory for The National. Matt Berninger’s characteristic stone faced warblings set the mood of the album perfectly, and musically we’re pushed around by bombastic percussion behind grinding guitars. It’s a heavy album, but one that’s surprising easy to engage with. Lyrical themes are of love lost, money owed and hard times – exactly the type of drama a soundtrack like this deserves. The whole album reeks of cool.

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