The double EP - A sea of split peas (2). Courtney Barnett

Several months back it was Erwin Zijleman who brought Courtney Barnett to this blog. It's about time that I start to sing my praises of this double EP album, by Australian singer Courtney Barnett.

What an intriguing cover this cd has. It looks like a wave, but could be the beak of a giant dragon or a hollowed out hill; death defying challenging gravity. With flowers growing out of a wave? And a snowed mountain top in the background? Or all just waves and bubbles? The music of Courtney Barnett is just as intriguing as the sleeve. The album, which is a compilation of two previously EPs, kicks off with 'Out of the woodwork'. This rolling song just continues and continues with its piano played in a lazy boogie style, the fine guitar work and over this all the slightly whining, but beautiful voice of Courtney Barnett. The tone is set for an Australian singer-songwriter who announces herself on the international stage. Although the album was released over a year ago in her home country, it has finally reached Dutch shores as well.

Listening to Courtney Barnett it is not difficult to call Angel Olson to mind, the artist who featured twice on this blog a few months back. Like Olson Barnett can sound quite undercooled, while at the same time she can conjure up sheer beauty with a minimum of effects. Barnett is more open though. In that she is not unlike the young Dylan, the one who just went electric in 1965. 'Avant gardener' is a new Dylan song 49 years after the fact. A bit muddy, slightly blues based, loosely played with stunningly beautiful effects. That 'ooh-ooh-ooh' is one well, not to die for, but certainly worth meeting the ambulance paramedic Courtney Barnett sings about in 'Avant gardener'. And with that conclusion I've also realised for the first time how punk Dylan was in 1965. It may not be for nothing that she sings a song called 'History eraser'. What does it matter what people think of something at the time it happens, it is about how we look at something or the impact it has now.

Courtney does not make 2014 music. Everything that is on the first EP, originally called 'How to carve a carrot into a rose', is 1960s and to be more precise the second half of that decade. The rocker 'David' may have some Status Quo and 'The jean genie' in its rhythm, the atmosphere is 60s. It is with the slow and lingering 'Anonymous club' that Barnett allows her voice to go up and lets more emotions into her voice and creates another highlight on The double EP. That makes six in a row.

The second EP is 'A sea of split peas'. It's here that another influence shows itself, Nirvana and to be more specific the Nirvana "ballads", like 'Polly' or 'Hate me', that sort of Nirvana. The lyrics to 'Lance Jr.' are just as revealing as the influence. Still, it's good to know that she only does it to fall asleep. That can't make one deaf. Besides, that's the last thing a musician needs, deafness.

'A split sea of peas' is somewhat more elementary than the first six songs. A guitar, bass and drums. Gone is the fun piano and the layers upon layers of guitars. This makes the songs harder to instantly like. Courtney Barnett makes me work harder to like her. 'Are you looking after yourself' is almost 8 minutes long. It just goes on and on, bringing me on the brink of a trance or deep irritation, depending on my mood of the day. Why not a little Creedence?, Courtney also must have thought and wrote 'Scotty says'. The guitar notes and rhythm are so John Fogerty, while the vocal melody is so, well, Courtney Barnett.

To me its clear that I like the first half of The double EP better than the second half (and then she comes up with the deliciously beautiful 'Porcelain'!). That conclusion does not take anything away from the fact that Courtney Barnett is a talent that released her full sized album just exploding with confidence and alternative rock music in many different guises. Barnett may dip her guitar in alt.americana, punk, Dylan blues, 60s psychedelia or whatever, in the end it is rock non the same. From The Stranglers like punk eruptions to a punky Dylan, all is there. All songs sung with this undercooled voice, like nothing matters, while each and every song shows otherwise. Courtney Barnett is a singer-songwriter to follow. The double EP - A sea of split peas is Courtney Barnett, nothing more but certainly nothing less.

Wo.

You can listen to and buy 'How to carve a carrot into a rose' here http://store.milkrecords.com.au/album/ep2-how-to-carve-a-carrot-into-a-rose.

The ballad of Willie Robbins. Vikesh Kapoor

Vikesh Kapoor groeide op als zoon van Indiase immigranten in de Amerikaanse staat Pennsylvania. Vanuit het hippe Portland, Oregon, timmert hij inmiddels al enige tijd aan de weg als singer-songwriter, maar met zijn debuut The Ballad Of Willy Robbins is Vikesh Kapoor klaar voor de verovering van de rest van de wereld. De jonge singer-songwriter doet dit met een plaat die je niet verwacht van iemand van zijn leeftijd en al helemaal niet van iemand van zijn afkomst. The Ballad Of Willy Robbins herinnert in meerdere opzichten aan de folky protestplaten zoals deze in de jaren 60 werden gemaakt. Vikesh Kapoor keert op The Ballad Of Willy Robbins terug naar de hoogtijdagen van Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Dave Van Ronk en een jonge Bob Dylan. Terug naar de tijd waarin de Amerikaanse folk floreerde in de wijk Greenwich Village in New York. Terug naar een periode waarin folk sober, akoestisch en vooral politiek geëngageerd was. The Ballad Of Willy Robbins is een conceptplaat over het leven van ene Willy Robbins. Robbins is een eenvoudige arbeider die hard wordt geraakt door alles wat er momenteel mis gaat in de Verenigde Staten. Willy Robbins strijdt tegen al het onrecht, maar verliest uiteindelijk alles wat hem lief is. Vikesh Kapoor vertelt niet alleen mooie en indringende verhalen, maar stelt ook zaken aan de kaak. The Ballad Of Willy Robbins hekelt de manier waarop in de Verenigde Staten met mensen met lage inkomens wordt omgegaan; net zoals zijn voorgangers in de jaren 60 schopten tegen alles wat fout zat en schreeuwden om rechtvaardigheid. In muzikaal en vocaal opzicht lijkt The Ballad Of Willy Robbins een plaat uit vervlogen tijden. Akoestische gitaar en aan Dylan herinnerende zang bepalen voor een belangrijk deel het geluid op de plaat. Slechts hier en daar zorgen piano, orgel, viool, mondharmonica en een pedal steel voor wat extra versiering, die de muziek van Vikesh Kapoor toch nog voorzichtig naar het heden haalt. In vocaal en muzikaal opzicht is het allemaal niet eens opzienbarend wat Vikesh Kapoor doet, maar in combinatie met de indringende verhalen en de passie waarmee Kapoor strijdt voor een betere wereld, wordt The Ballad Of Willy Robbins een plaat die je niet kunt of mag negeren. In eerste instantie heb ik erg moeten wennen aan deze plaat. Bij eerste beluistering vond ik het allemaal wel erg ouderwets klinken en, mede omdat ik me niet in de teksten had verdiept, ontging me de urgentie. Wanneer je je eenmaal onderdompelt in de wereld van Willy Robbins is het debuut van Vikesh Kapoor een plaat met een enorme impact en dringt de vergelijking met Springsteen’s prachtige Nebraska zich op. Inmiddels koester ik de plaat van Vikesh Kapoor, ook wanneer ik de teksten even negeer. Het is iets dat absoluut navolging verdient. Prachtplaat. Punt.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier naar 'I dreamt blues' luisteren.

48:13. Kasabian

Was there ever a greater contrast between the cover and the content on offer? If you think there is, please let us know by responding as we are certainly curious to learn. Kasabian produced one of the most uninspiring and plain ugly covers ever, while the music is the best they have offered to date. Singer Tom Meighan said so himself and I back him up on this. 48:13 is a fantastic album!

48:13 starts with total silence. The first seconds can be subtracted from the mentioned 13. Then drones fill my ears, slowly transforming into a Pink Floyd prolonged intro. It doesn't take 10 minutes before something happens though. After an extremely short eastern motive the party starts. '(Shiva)' moves over for 'Bumblebee', which just pounds away in a by now well known combination of dance beats and rock guitars. Kasabian is at ease with 'Bumblebee'. The way the song is allowed to explode and relax is not just sheer effect. Yes, it's easy to picture a field filled with exploding fans each time the band releases this jolt of energy. It is not just effect. The song is extremely well balanced as well.

The sound is a mix of Oasis attitude, Happy Mondays jumpiness and Primal Scream effects. Next to that Kasabian is also able to write a memorable melody. 'Stevie' is a good example of this combination. When the song is flashed out more and more, the more impressive it becomes. A little The Beatles come in as well. A string section, double melody lines, it just gets bigger and bigger, but the chorus melody is one that crept into my head and refuses to go away. And that hasn't happened to me with Kasabian since 'Processed beats' from its 2004 debut album. 48:13 is, well almost, as adventurous and fun as A Brand's 'Judas'.

Mentioning A Brand implies that a shot of disco (or soul as it was called pre 1977) is infused into loud rock music. 'Treat' has this quality, multi vocal layers, loud guitars and a melody to loudly sing along to live. And danceable like crazy. The pulsing synth just finishes it all off. Kasabian crosses not only over time and space in convincing ways, but over genres as well. Certainly when some psychedelia is let in in 'Glass'. At that moment the influence of the band that influenced nearly everyone, The Beatles, is bared most. In the beat driven songs the influence hovers just below the surface, in 'Glass' it surfaced. But, together with the interlude '(Leviathan)' 'Glass' is not the strongest part of 48:13 though.

The fun starts again when the tempo goes up. 'Clouds' again has this mix of The Stone Roses and Oasis, with some Traffic psychedelia right on top of the beat, "Rise above the clouds" as Meighan sings. The first single, 'Eez-eh', lays it on the thickest of all. Totally electronic, purely aimed at dancing, although there is a hint of angst in there as "we're all being watched by Google". But the rest is nothing but fat, fast beats and electronic pulses and melodies.

To compensate Kasabian strikes back with a sort of ballad, 'Bow'. Something it gets away with quite easily, to finally wind it all down with the even slower and acoustic 'S.P.S.' There's even a lap steel in there or at least that whining effect. A small beautiful ballad without any electronic effects to mention.

Kasabian unleashed an album on world that at first seems business as usual, but becomes just a little better each time I played it, to finally reveal some other sides to the band as well. Kasabian does so in a convincing way. Like I said, 48:13 may have a dip or two, as a whole it's Kasabian's most consistent album to date. If that is because Kasabian appraoched the album without fear, just like its debut album, I'd say this is the way ahead, gentlemen.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Eez-eh' here.

The take off and landing of everything (2). Elbow

De uit het Britse Manchester afkomstige band Elbow heeft de afgelopen 13 jaar een ontstellend mooi oeuvre opgebouwd. Wat ooit voorzichtig begon met veelbelovende maar nog niet direct opzienbarende platen als Asleep In The Back (2001) en Cast Of Thousands (2004), kreeg met Leaders Of The Free World (2005), The Seldom Seen Kid (2008) en Build A Rocket Boys! (2011) een dermate fraai gevolg dat Elbow momenteel wordt gerekend tot één van de meest interessante bands van het moment. En terecht. Sinds de release van Build A Rocket Boys! in het voorjaar van 2011 moesten we het doen met een verassend sterke verzameling restjes (Dead In The Boot) en een prima live-plaat (Live at Jodrell Bank), maar er gaat uiteindelijk toch niets boven nieuw studiowerk van Guy Garvey en zijn muzikale medestanders. The Take Off And Landing Of Everything heb ik inmiddels een week in huis en heeft me tot dusver zeker niet teleurgesteld. Het is in veel opzichten een typische Elbow plaat. De songs zijn in veel gevallen lang, kiezen vrijwel nooit voor de makkelijkste weg, maar vervallen ook nooit in bloedeloos experimenteren. Het is een inmiddels bekend recept, maar vervelen doet het mij nog steeds niet, al is het maar omdat Elbow op iedere nieuwe plaat toch net weer wat anders klinkt. Wat dit keer opvalt is dat de toppen in de muziek van Elbow wat minder hoog zijn en de dalen wat minder diep. Het maakt de muziek van Elbow net wat minder bombastisch c.q. episch, overigens zonder dat dit ten koste gaat van het inmiddels unieke geluid van de band. Elbow kleurt dit keer wat vaker binnen de lijntjes, maar het kleurenpalet dat de band hiervoor gebruikt is nog altijd verre van alledaags. Ook de dynamiek die we van de band gewend zijn is niet in de vertrouwde mate aanwezig. Waar Elbow in het verleden altijd toewerkte naar grootse climaxen, blijven de meeste songs op The Take Off And Landing Of Everything relatief ingetogen. The Take Off And Landing Of Everything heeft echter nog volop raakvlakken met de vorige platen van Elbow. Het unieke stemgeluid van Guy Garvey herken je uit duizenden, de fantastische eerste vier soloplaten van Peter Gabriel en het oude werk van Genesis verschaffen nog altijd houvast (al blijft Elbow ver van verwijderd van slaapverwekkende progrock) en Elbow is ook op haar nieuwe plaat weer in staat om niet alledaagse muziek te maken die in staat is om een breed publiek te veroveren. Op het Internet wordt er flink gemopperd over het weinig experimentele karakter van de nieuwe plaat van Elbow. Ik vind dat persoonlijk wat overdreven. Elbow is op The Take Off And Landing Of Everything immers niet opeens een mainstream band geworden. De band pakt in muzikaal opzicht misschien wat minder uit dan we de laatste jaren gewend zijn, maar er valt nog altijd heel veel te genieten. Na een paar keer horen merk je bovendien dat veel songs die op het eerste gehoor voor Elbow begrippen misschien wat vlak en ingetogen lijken toch weer meerdere kanten op gaan schieten en aan toverkracht winnen. Het feit dat de pieken dit keer minder hoog zijn en de dalen minder diep heeft ook voordelen. The Take Off And Landing Of Everything is een stuk evenwichtiger en meer een eenheid dan zijn voorgangers, waardoor de details opeens meer aandacht trekken. Deze details zitten dit keer in subtiele accenten van extra instrumenten (waaronder blazers en strijkers, maar ook elektronica), tekstuele spitsvondigheden en kleine muzikale verschuivingen. Het maakt ook The Take Off And Landing Of Everything weer een unieke plaat in het prachtige oeuvre van Elbow. Ik ben er persoonlijk zeer blij mee en vind The Take Off And Landing Of Everything net wat beter dan zijn zo bejubelde voorganger, die mijn jaarlijstje haalde in 2011. Ik bedoel maar.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt hier naar 'New York morning' luisteren.

Sunbathing animal. Parquet Courts

Last year Parquet Courts featured on this blog with it's debut album 'Liquid gold'. The album was quite okay, but did not totally convince me. A year later here's Sunbathing animal. Where does this album put Parquet Courts with me in 2014?

Quite well, actually. Sunbathing animal links Parquet Courts to a long line of New York City bands. From The Strokes all the way back to The Velvet Underground. The influences are quite apparent, without hurting the sound of Parquet Courts in any way. To the contrary. A piece of balled energy called 'Black and white' is the best the band has produced to date. Not that the whole album is that good (listen to the monotonous 'Vienna II' and you know what I mean), but Sunbathing animal is consistent and exiting.

This consistency starts with the sleeve. The sleeves of 'Liquid gold' and Sunbathing animal couldn't be more apart, but this one again is a show off of artiness and a thought about grabbing attention with, well, ugliness. There's not really another word for it. Both covers are not exactly bathing in beauty. The same goes for the music. Beauty is not the effect Parquet Courts is striving for. The music is, well, ugly. Sticky, prickly, at times almost irritating. Like a New York summer's day. The effect that Talking Heads had on its first albums, The Velvet Underground had in almost all songs, a band like Television became well known because off. Parquet Courts can show this same form of detachment in its songs. Like they're here and not. The emotionless drone of Andrew Savage's voice, like the desolate punkers of 1980. When the heyday of the movement was gone and but despondency was everywhere. Not to mention the feeling that the end of the world as we knew it was widely felt. On top of that are The Strokes, but Parquet Courts is so much more dirty. Underwear is worn for at least a week by these men, just like when that was still common practice not that many decades ago.

Let's suffice here to conclude that it is quite clear in which pond Parquet Courts has been fishing. The effect that all this has on Sunbathing animal is that the album sounds terrifically inspired. Bass and drums can pound relentlessly. The title song is sheer madness. A relentless pace. Going forward 'cause they can't find reverse. It is also sheer excitement. Sunbathing animal is like an itch one can't not scratch. Not all is this fast, luckily. 'Up all night' compensates instrumentally and lays a bridge to the ballad Parquet Courts style. 'Instant disassembly' calls up memories of The Clash. Andy Savage manages a nice Joe Strummer here.

That last remark brings to mind Belgian band I Drove a Tank, that released it self-titled album in April and also does a nice The Clash or two. The difference is again that Parquet Courts sounds like it means it. From opening song 'Bodies' the guitars clash with stiff rhythms, harsh riffs and strong lead melodies and some feedback to top things off. Again I come back to 'Black and white' in which all this comes together in the most perfect way (including some dirty handclaps). The band goes totally over the top in the solo part of 'Black and white', killing the madness all of a sudden, returning to the strong, hard rhythm. Things do not get much better on Sunbathing animal. While the contrast with the just as nice ballad 'Dear Ramona' is a giant one and just that is what makes Sunbathing animal not just a good album but a great one.

Parquet Courts surprised me with Sunbathing animal. 'Liquid gold' was nice, but not much more than that. Sunbathing animal is a giant step forward, showing tremendous growth in depth and pace. In other words, this is an album that deserves a large rock audience, from punk, to (garage) rock and the darker crevices of alternative rock with a dash of psychedelia. It's all here and in great form.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Black and white' here.