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Alpacas Orgling (2006, 35.54/38.37) *** |
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| Overture Goodbye Innocence Ya Had Me Goin' Distracted Make Me The Ol' College Try Nothin' Will Ever Change Don't Let it Go |
Private Line Sukaz Are Born Every Minute Don't Bring Me Down [iTunes version adds: Money and Music] |
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L.E.O. are probably best described as powerpop, although the usual influences are largely missing. Alpacas Orgling (er, huh?) contains a mixture of styles, with the funkyish Ya Had Me Goin' (spot the clavinet) and the slightly rocking Make Me contrasting sharply with the near-psych of Goodbye Innocence and Distracted, which sound like a superior E.L.O. as much as anything. Er, L.E.O.? E.L.O.? Is there something we should be told? Of course, Jellyfish established the E.L.O./powerpop connection in the early '90s, but it's rarely as overt as here, in my experience; I mean, just listen to those backing vox and (real) strings on Don't Let It Go... The album features several nice production touches, not least the reverbed baritone guitar on Private Line, although the overall effect is a little on the sweet side, as you'd expect from faithful followers of Jeff Lynne. Turns out it's all quite deliberate and they're a pick-up band featuring Bleu and Jellyfish's Andy Sturmer, amongst others, not to mention their 'hidden' version of Don't Bring Me Down...
Maclaine Diemer plays 'Mellotron', but going by the obvious Chamberlin samples on Make Me, it's probably fake throughout, which shouldn't really come as that much of a surprise. Anyway, strings and cellos on brief opener Overture, with a little more of the same on Goodbye Innocence and that Chamby solo male voice on Make Me, plus upfront strings (too smooth! Too smooth!) on Nothin' Will Ever Change and Sukaz Are Born Every Minute (is that the MkII 'moving strings' I hear on the latter?). So; a decent-enough record in its chosen genre with some reasonable 'Tron/Chamby samples. All a bit too 'decent' and 'reasonable' enough for me, though. More dirt next time round, please, although I'm fully aware that that's entirely beside the point. Whatever.
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Different Days (2005, 42.47) *½ |
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| Sleepless Night It Follows Me Around Better Than Bleeding Bring on Happiness So Surprise Mail Bomb There is No Different Days |
Morning Disaster A Day Between |
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Chicago's L'Altra have been described as indie, electronica and even chamber pop, but to my ears, their third album, 2005's Different Days, is a straight post-rock/pop crossover. And yes, that's as bad as it sounds, to the point where I am entirely unable to pick out anything even remotely resembling a 'best track'.
Joshua Eustis is credited with Mellotron, amongst many other instruments, but I seriously doubt whether a real one came anywhere near their recording studio. In fact, I'm not even convinced they used samples: are those background choirs on It Follows Me Around? Flutes and/or strings here and there? This dismal record really is to be avoided at all costs, unless dreary, long-winded modern pop sounds like your bag.
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Echos (2003, 61.21) **½Kyrie (Overture)Durch Nacht und Flut (Suche - part 1) Sacrifice (Hingabe - part 1) Apart (Bittruf - part 1) Ein Hauch Von Menschlichkeit (Suche - part 2) Eine Nacht in Ewigkeit (Hingabe - part 2) Malina (Bittruf - part 2) Die Schreie Sind Verstummt (Requiem für Drei Gamben und Klavier) |
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Lacrimosa are the Swiss-based darkwave duo of German Tilo Wolff and Finn Anne Nurmi, formed as far back as 1990. They have apparently shifted through several variants on the goth template over the course of their career, passing through a metal phase in the late '90s and moving on to a more symphonic style a few years later. 2003's Echos bestrides those two approaches, although some of it, lamentably, sounds more like Andrew Lloyd Webber goes metal, I'm afraid to say. In German. I'll admit there are some beautiful key changes on the two lengthy pieces that bookend the album, Kyrie (Overture) and Malina (Bittruf - Part 2), Middle-Eastern scales being used with reasonable subtlety, but far too much of the hour-long disc meanders through various goth and symphonic metal clichés, saying little new in the process.
A bassist known as Jay P (also, strangely, credited as Janet P) is credited with Mellotron, although the strings on Apart (Bittruf - Part 1) are fairly obviously sampled (he said, with the usual frisson of fear that he may've got it wrong. Again). Overall, one for that special person in your life who wears black nail varnish, eyeliner and too much purple. Good at what it does, but too overblown for the rest of us, I suspect.
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Argyle Heir (2001, 46.14) *** |
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| Fires on the Ocean Echoes Perfect for Shattering Going Up North (Icicles) Wooden Bars Catherine Elizabeth Nico Norte Words Hang in the Air |
Fjords of Winter In a Certain Place Brighton Bound The Reclusive Hero The Glass Pane Caton Gardens |
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The Ladybug Transistor are yet another Elephant 6 Collective outfit (Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Marbles, Apples in Stereo) and, I have to say, one of their more twee examples. Their '60s-pop-just-about-crossing-into-psych schtick works for a few tracks, but quickly becomes tiresome, although Going Up North (Icicles) and Catherine Elizabeth work well enough.
No-one's actually credited with Mellotron, which is probably a good thing, as it sounds heavily like it was sampled. We get strings and cellos on Going Up North (Icicles) plus flutes on Catherine Elizabeth, Fjords Of Winter and closer Caton Gardens, but something about the timbres (not to mention the speed at which they're sometimes played) gives the game away. So; good at what it does, if you happen to like that kind of thing, I suppose. I'd stick with some of the other Elephant bands myself.
See: Apples in Stereo | Beulah | Marbles | Of Montreal | Sunshine Fix | Thee American Revolution
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Light & Magic (2002, 59.28) *** |
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| True Mathematics Seventeen Flicking Your Switch Fire Turn it on Blue Jeans Cracked LCD Black Plastic |
Evil Start Up Chime Nu Horizons Cease2exist Re:agents Light & Magic The Reason Why |
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Ladytron (from the Roxy Music classic, of course), formed by a pair of Liverpudlian producer/DJ types in the late '90s, play a female-fronted updated take on that Depeche Mode/early New Order electro sound, at least on their second album, 2002's Light & Magic. They're keen on analogue gear, using a range of old Korgs and the like (and a new Moog), using them to produce a series of 1981-style robotic pop songs of surprising quality, highlights including Human League-alike opener True Mathematics, the early Ultravox! of Cracked LCD, the beautifully clunky string synth part that closes Re:agents and the title track itself.
Someone plays Mellotron choir samples on Fire and flutes, cellos and strings on Blue Jeans, or at least, I'm pretty sure they have little to do with anything using magnetic tape. To my considerable surprise, this is a very listenable album of its type, a world away from the landfill indie I'd been expecting, even if the Mellotron's sampled.
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Scary World Theory (2001, 37.26) **½ |
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| Nin-com-pop Middle Curse Bi-pet Contratempo Scary World Theory 50 Faces of Lowdown Don't Think |
Come on Home Satur-nine |
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Lali Puna's second album, Scary World Theory, is a record of entirely average electronica, German-style, with lacklustre female vocals from Valerie Trebeljahr, who may be enjoying herself although it's rather hard to tell. In all honesty, I'm finding it difficult to think of anything constructive to say about this album at all; it's sort-of electronic, sort-of gothy, and definitely dull.
Sampled 'Tron on a few tracks, notably the flutes on Don't Think, where you can actually hear the loop point; extra low marks for using such a low-rate sample - the loop seems to be under a second long. So; Continental electronica freaks may go for this, but I can't imagine anyone much else will.
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An Older Land (1996, 73.45) **½ |
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| Ashes Wind Across the Water Wake to Find Me Dead Jazz Magic Potion K Dross Love Forever |
The Last Word i) Original Version ii) Composite iii) Live |
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Natural Selection (1997, 74.00) ***Strictly Speaking in Geographical TermsFrom the Ruins of a Fallen Empire Love Through the Winter and Blood in the Spring An Emptiness That's Never Filled... My Home Natural Selection Unraveling the Threads of a Waning Moon Meridians of Time The Theory And Practice Of Hell: Practice/Theory/Hell Awaiting Extinction |
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The Lower Depths (2005, 136.06) ** |
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| At the Scene of an Accident Waiting to Happen Digital Signatures Behind the Iron Gates Why Should I? Hope Springs Eternal A New World Order Believe in What Eyes of Venus |
Indoctrinated The Philosophy of Containers II This Addiction Acquiesce to the Martinets Precept |
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Cyclops: The Second Sampler (1995, 8.46) ***[Lands End contribute]Eyes of Venus |
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The Third Cyclops Sampler (1996, 9.43) ***[Lands End contribute]Breathing Deep |
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Lands End's second album, '95's Terra Serranum, apparently features a real Mellotron, though not one that's sounding particularly well, which probably prompted the band not to use it again. The following year's An Older Land is, frankly, a bit of a mess, starting off badly (after the brief Ashes) with the entirely tedious Wind Across The Water and Wake To Find Me Dead, although the, er, jazzy Jazz Magic Potion's jamming and the laid-back K are rather better. Unfortunately, the grotesquely overlong (and impeccably-titled) Dross and The Last Word (presented in no fewer than three versions) drag the album back down, to the point where it barely scrapes that extra half star. We get excruciating samplotron choirs on Wind Across The Water and Wake To Find Me Dead and marginally better strings about ten minutes into Dross, but recommending this on any grounds is difficult.
'97's Natural Selection features faux-'Tron on most tracks, with a string part towards the end of its closing 30-minute epic title track which exposes its fakeness for all the world to hear. The album itself is reasonable US neo-prog, better than the dullsville North Star, but not a patch on Echolyn or Spock's Beard, not that either band actually counts as 'neo-' at all, begging the question, "What exactly do you call something that's newer than new?"
By all accounts, the members of this multinational outfit haven't all been in the same place at the same time since the late '90s, which hasn't stopped mainman Fred Hunter from writing, recording and releasing 2005's The Lower Depths. As far as I can work out, its second disc, ...Plundering the Depths, contains reworked outtakes from across the band's career (plus a leftover from disc one, ...The Lower Depths), but with the disappearance of their website, I can't tell you what with any precision. Basically, it's more of the usual and when I say more, I mean more, to the tune of over two hours'-worth, the worst offender being the fucking interminable Acquiesce To The Martinets Precept (I believe this was the 'source material' for An Older Land's Dross. No comment), while lowpoints include the crummy pseudo-analogue neo-prog synth solo on Digital Signatures, most of the vocal parts and an overall paucity of imagination. Hunter brings in three guests (all Brits): Cathy Alexander from The Morrigan, Bruce Soord from Pineapple Thief and Steve Anderson from Sphere³/Grey Lady Down, although only the latter's guitar work particularly impresses. Samplotron-wise, we get pretty full-on (and slightly more convincing) strings on most of disc one and Eyes Of Venus, for what it's worth, which isn't a lot.
Anyway, Natural Selection's a passable enough effort, a statement which belies the enormous amounts of work I'm sure the band put into it; sorry, guys. Unfortunately, I can't even be that kind about either An Older Land or The Lower Depths, both of which bored me rigid. Rather dodgy 'Tron samples, too, though fans of modern US prog may well like these. Incidentally, the band provided exclusive tracks for the second and third Cyclops Samplers, the neo-orientated British Cyclops label probably being their spiritual home. Both Eyes Of Venus and Breathing Deep are pretty typical Lands End fare; not bad, not that good, quite neo-. I'm sure the 'Tron strings on both tracks are sampled; they're far too smooth to be the broken-down relic they used on Terra Serranum.
See: Lands End | Transience
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3001 (2000, 49.54) *** |
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| 3001 2001 Voce Vem Erva Venenosa Mentira Rebeldade Pagu O Amor em Pedacos |
Cobra Entre sem Bater Aviso Aos Meliantes Historia Sem Fim |
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Aqui, Ali, em Qualquer Lugar [a.k.a. Bossa'n Beatles] (2001, 39.58) *** |
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| A Hard Day's Night With a Little Help From My Friends Pra Você eu Digo Sim All My Loving Minha Vida She Loves You Michelle Aqui, el, Em Qualquer Lugar |
I Want to Hold Your Hand Tudo por Amor Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds Here, There and Everywhere In My Life If I Fell |
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Rita Lee (ex-Os Mutantes) used a Mellotron on her 1974 release, Atras do Porto Tem Uma Cidade, but by the time, 26 years later, Lee finally uses the sound again, it seems to be only in sampled form. 2000's 3001 is a passable modern Latin pop album, but nothing to get too excited about, frankly. 'Mellotron' flutes on Cobra, one of the album's better tracks, but nothing to really write home about.
2001's Aqui, Ali, em Qualquer Lugar [a.k.a. Bossa'n Beatles] is Lee's Beatles covers project, tackling their songs in both English and Portuguese, mostly in a vaguely Latin style. Whether or not you like what she's done to them, the quality of the material is, of course, impeccable, and the whole thing's done to perfection. The samples here are a bit more obvious, with flutes on With A Little Help From My Friends, All My Loving, Minha Vida and In My Life, all used well. Shame she couldn't have found a real one, really. (Or is it??!).
I'd say, stick to her '70s work, or in fact, stick to Mutantes. Two so-so albums, but nothing you're going to miss if you never hear them.
See: Rita Lee | Os Mutantes
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Turkmenialainen Tyttöystävä (1993, 38.48) **½ |
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| Turkmenialainen Tyttöystävä Toteemipaalu Mieletön Melinda Yön Tuoksut Kuin Jäisellä Peltikatolla Pohjoisen Taivaan Alla Lumettoman Talven Tarinoita Muurahaisen Munat |
Miesten Kesken Kuudentoista Vuoden Yhtäjaksoinen Sade Kyyhkynen Ja Kyykäärme |
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Leevi & the Leavings began their twenty-five year career way back in 1978, 1993's Turkmenialainen Tyttöystävä (Girlfriend From Turkmenistan) being their tenth release. I'm not sure what I expected, but this is relatively harmless yet weak-as-water folk-influenced pop/rock, the Finnish-language lyrics clearly taking precedence over the music. If there's a 'best track', it's the brief, instrumental Muurahaisen Munat, but the bulk of the album is most unlikely to appeal to listeners outside the band's home audience.
Although the band sometimes credited not just 'Mellotron', but 'Mellotron M400' on their releases (there are at least two other relevant), I'm reliably informed (thanks, Juho) that they always used samples. Well, listening to this, you aren't kidding... The nearest this gets to anything even vaguely Mellotronic is some vague string and choir sounds that really could come from almost anything. '93 was extremely early in the day for Mellotron samples (eMu's Vintage Keys module was the only commercial sample set available at the time), so I doubt if they're even using those. What can I say? Don't bother.
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Two Way Monologue (2004, 47.35) ** |
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| Love You Track You Down On the Tower Two Way Monologue Days That Are Over Wet Ground Counter Spark It's Over |
Stupid Memory It's Too Late It's Our Job Maybe You're Gone |
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I've no idea whether or not the Mellotron on Sondre Lerche's debut, 2001's Faces Down, is real, although I've got it in the regular reviews until/if I should find it isn't. It took him three years to follow up with Two Way Monologue, a similarly dull effort in an indie/singer-songwriter vein; in fact, the longer it goes on, the worse it gets, losing half a star 'twixt beginning and end.
Guitarist Kato Ådland is credited with Mellotron, but not only is it apparently sampled, but there's precious little of it to be heard anyway, with naught but possible flutes on It's Our Job. So; not only dull, not only sampled Mellotron, but next to none of it anyway. A waste of space.
See: Sondre Lerche
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Homeland (2003, 50.13) **The Crossing CloudBack to Earth Homeland Last Day of the Butterfly Flood The Days Remaining Live Forever |
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Like Wendy apparently coalesced from a drinking club; the only thing I have to say is: you can tell. A duo for most of their career, by 2003's Homeland, they'd contracted to effectively Bert Heinen's solo project, playing typical neo-prog with the occasional Genesis influence. The album doesn't start too badly, but second track in, Back To Earth, is pure neo-prog nonsense, from where it never really recovers, the lengthy title track being possibly the worst thing here, mainly due to taking longer to finish.
The 'Mellotron' on most tracks is quite clearly sampled, with murky choirs opening the album, repeating intermittently throughout The Crossing Cloud, with flutes and choir on Back To Earth and various combination of flutes, choir and strings on just about every other track. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but Homeland is exactly the kind of album that gives modern progressive rock a bad name, combining pretentiousness with an inability to write anything interesting or at all unusual in fairly equal measures. The grotty 'Tron samples don't hep this album's cause, but it was never going to get a particularly high rating.
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Italian Playboys (2004, 49.01) *** |
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| Move Move Move Italian Playboys Deliquesced By Devonshire The Monster of Milwaukee Rubber Monkey Greased on Delta Street Janine Portofino Vespa Rider |
Lady Shave Glass Onion Briar Patch After and Once Again Spider Baby Take Four |
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Link Quartet are Italy's answer to the mainly British 'acid jazz' thing; think 'James Taylor Quartet' and you won't be a million miles off. Despite forming in 1991, Italian Playboys is only their third album, but it should keep Hammond/'60s film theme/mod types happy with its unashamed homage to the era. Almost entirely instrumental, it's hard to fault on a musical level, although fourteen tracks is possibly a little too much of a good thing, as it all starts sounding a little samey to the untrained ear after a while.
Frankly, organist Paolo "Apollo" Negri's Mellotron use on the album is disappointing, with naught but a background string part towards the end of Glass Onion; in fact, given his sample use on a couple of Wicked Minds LPs, I think it's probably safe to assume that the same applies here, ditto on his solo album, 2007's A Bigger Tomorrow. As far as Italian Playboys goes, it's good at what it does, as long as you like what it does, but next to no 'Mellotron', so don't bother on that front.
See: Paolo "Apollo" Negri
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Minutes to Midnight (2007, 43.50) ** |
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| Wake Given Up Leave Out All the Rest Bleed it Out Shadow of the Day What I've Done Hands Held High No More Sorrow |
Valentine's Day In Between In Pieces The Little Things Give You Away |
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Of the several nu-metal (aargh!) bands to actually break through to some sort of commercial success, Linkin Park have always had the least credibility (strange, in a world where Limp Bizkit exist), even being accused of pseudo-'boyband' status. This seems to be an unfair allegation - the band seem to have formed in a genuine enough manner - but they're certainly at the lighter end of the mini-genre, sounding rather 'plastic', to use a particularly cutting term of which an old school friend of mine was fond. Minutes to Midnight (how many? Two?) is their third album in seven years and is generally regarded to be their most diverse yet, heading even further into the rap/rock mainstream. Personal opinion? Absolute tosh. What is the point in this nonsense? Call me an old fart, but this is bloody rubbish; giving it two stars is doing it a favour. As far as I'm concerned, nobody since Faith No More has successfully combined the two genres, and it seems unlikely that anyone's going to now.
I've read all over the place that there's 'Mellotron' on the album; upon actually listening to it, most of the string parts are either real or sound like samples, leaving the cellos on In Between sounding like a Mellotron, but sampled. Rick Rubin may've produced some fine albums, but he doesn't appear to've found a real 'Tron for these boys to play. If you're lucky enough not to have this drivel forced upon you by your teenage children, avoid like the plague. Completely pointless.
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Liquid Scarlet (2004, 52.46) ****GreyroomHesitating in the Foyer Città Nuova Molok Talking in Ashes Comes Near, Lingers Far The Red Stairs One Last Masquerade |
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Liquid Scarlet II (2005, 56.16) **** |
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| Lines Are Drawn Again The Carafe (part II) The Marriage of Maria Braun Rhododendron Everywhere Just Like You Killer Couple Strikes Again There's Got to Be a Way to Leave |
The Thorn in Your Flesh Lines |
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There's been a bit of a fuss over Liquid Scarlet recently, though less so than for, say, Wobbler. Unjustly, it seems, as they're actually really good, with plenty of 'that Scandinavian sound' about them, without actually sounding like they're trying to rip Änglagård. Thinking about it, they're more like Anekdoten, actually, though with enough of themselves in there to deflect any major criticism.
Liquid Scarlet is a fine album, not too long, nice and varied (within the genre, obviously) and with good playing and writing throughout. It's going to take rather longer than I've got right now to extract its highlights for general consumption, but suffice to say, there's nothing here that's going to upset anyone into complex, symphonic progressive, with zero neo-prog influence, thankfully. On the fake 'Tron front (from Frida Lundström), Greyroom opens with strings blasting away over a jerky rhythm, and most tracks feature at least a little of the instrument, mostly strings and flutes, though the vibes on The Red Stairs could be 'Tron samples, too. Most accomplished, although it's a pity (of course) that they couldn't have sourced a real 'Tron, at least for the recording.
A whole year later, Liquid Scarlet II is a revelation, showing how dramatically a band can change in a short period of time. Far more 'progressive' than its predecessor, the album takes influences from a much broader palette, using a string section on several tracks, alongside the 'Tron samples. The nine-minute Rhododendron is one of the album's highlights, although the combination of Markus Fagervall's intimate vocal style and the band's original approach towards songwriting make pretty much every track a winner. In fact, I think it's fair to say that Liquid Scarlet II doesn't really sound like anybody much else, and it's not too often you can say that these days. Those 'Tron samples crop up on probably half the tracks, with new keyboard player Olle Sjögren clearly preferring to use Fender Rhodes or organ in preference.
So; two worthwhile albums, with the former being more for the symphonic fans, and the latter for those who actually want to hear something new. If you favour both approaches, you're laughing. Buy.
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Exploring the Psychedelic (1996, 46.05) ***½A Splash of ColorMesmerizing Eye Ride the Coaster Pyramid Let the Incense Drift Golden Gate '67 Swallow Sadhana Siddhi |
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Liquid Sound Company are a Texas-based psych outfit (no surprise there; let's face it, the state has some serious psychedelic history), led by guitarist/vocalist John Perez, better-known for playing doom with Solitude Aeturnus and the like. Their debut album, 1996's Exploring the Psychedelic, covers several different psychedelic styles, going from the shortish A Splash Of Color or Ride The Coaster Pyramid to the lengthy, jammed-out likes of Mesmerizing Eye and Sadhana Siddhi. The vaguely Neil Young-ish Golden Gate '67, with its blatant Rush lift is a bit of a surprise, as is the psych/doom crossover Swallow, just going to prove that the band have more strings to their bow than you might at first expect.
Perez is credited with Mellotron, but when it finally appears, with a floaty strings part on closer Sadhana Siddhi, a combination of its 'too smooth' tone and 'too bloody long' notes gives the sample game away. Guys, PLEASE don't credit 'Mellotron' when it ain't, OK? Like that'll make any difference. Good album, anyway, but no actual 'Tron.
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Hypnotized (2002, 49.29/59.40) ***½State of MindWaste Butterflight Be Lie've Morning Rain Paralyzed [bonus tracks: Ibiza Bar Moonspell] |
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Make no mistake, Liquid Visions are psych with a capital 'PS' (PSych?). Active since the late '90s, it's difficult to work out exactly what they've released and when, as their discography's littered with singles, compilation appearances and all the usual ephemera that surrounds such bands, although it seems that 2002's Hypnotized (shame about the US spelling, guys) is their third full-length release. It covers a gamut of psych styles over its length, from the two (relatively) fast'n'furious tracks that open the album to the slightly longer-form ones in the middle to the epics that close the disc. Morning Rain has a Wish You Were Here vibe about it; fitting, as Liquid Visions have semi-covered the Floyd on their Overstellar Interdrive single (ho ho), not to mention their cover of More's Ibiza Bar that finds its way onto the end of this album as a bonus track, leaving Paralyzed as the album's classic. Fifteen minutes long, with seven minutes of Leslie vocalled build-up before the freak-out leading into a dip in the sonic intensity, another crescendo and a slow wind-down. Classic.
Dave Schmidt plays Rhodes and 'Mellotron' on top of his bass duties, but I'll be buggered if I can hear either of them. Still, looks good in the credits, dunnit? I'm such a cynic; I'm sure the samples are there somewhere, I just wish I could work out where. Anyway, a cool album, doubtless best appreciated while, er, 'relaxing'. Worth the effort.
See: Zone Six | Sula Bassana
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Morning Tide (2008, 41.31) ** |
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| Morning Tide Ordinary Song Boracay All Your Modern Boxes Tangerine Visions Gregory's Chant Everybody's Up to Something Waltz |
Rise and Shine Like a Spoke on a Wheel Farm Song |
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The Little Ones, as you might expect from their name, epitomise dweeby indie pop on their sole album to date, 2008's Morning Tide, their manic cheerfulness giving the impression that they always thought that The Beach Boys were genuinely carefree and happy-go-lucky. Most reviews pinpoint Everybody's Up To Something as its best track, principally due to its being the only place where any melancholy seeps through, although as mindless positivism antidotes go, it's pretty low-key.
Brian William Reyes and Lee LaDouceur are credited with Mellotron, but I'm heavily unconvinced by the full-on mixed strings on the opening title track, strings on Ordinary Song and Farm Song, high cellos (?) on All Your Modern Boxes and flutes on Like A Spoke On A Wheel, plus possible choir parts here and there. Sorry, dull and (real) Mellotron-free.
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Little Me Will Start a Storm (2011, 34.01) **½ |
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| Blue Lead Fences Elephants and Little Girls I Love Me Blood Bank Water Bells Earth Has Moved Again Water in Astoria |
Egg Song Alice Left With Stockings and Earrings |
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Going by their second album, 2011's Little Me Will Start a Storm, Loch Lomond are an indie/chamber/folk outfit; in practice, this means that the album has little real content, but plenty of arrangement, with massed male/female choral voices, woodwinds and solo strings battling rather anodyne material. Better tracks include opener Blue Lead Fences, despite the irritating vocals and Earth Has Moved Again, principally due to its lovely guitar part, but the album's overall tweeness works against it, unless, of course, you like their fey approach.
Dave Depper is credited with Mellotron, but the strings on opener Blue Lead Fences and flutes on Water In Astoria simply aren't. Sorry. So; more twee indie folksy stuff. Not my bag, might be yours, no Mellotron.
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A Winter Tale (2011, 49.36) **½ |
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| A Winter Tale Who Have You Been Loving The Bounty of Mary Jane In the Frost Sick Man Blues Penance Fire Blues A Passing Tale Dead and Done |
Being a Mockingbird Two Years Old A Stranger Song |
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Bobby Long is one of those current artists who've used the Internet as a springboard, in his case, iTunes 'Unsigned' chart, apparently. 2011's A Winter Tale (his fifth album, but second on an actual label) has its moments, but its acoustic singer-songwriter/folk stylings fall rather flat due to a dearth of really good material. A handful of songs are fine, but fifty minutes'-worth had me gritting my teeth with boredom, not to mention an unpleasant Oasis influence detectable in his vocal style (particularly bad example: Who Have You Been Loving). Never a good thing.
Now, although the album was recorded at London's analogue temple, Toe Rag Studios, who often hire my own M400, Joe Glossop's 'Mellotron' flutes on The Bounty Of Mary Jane don't sound a lot like a real machine, let alone mine. Or is it somewhere else? Is it mine? (Wonders whether he hired it out around that time). I'll check with the studio, but it's looking rather like a 'no' at this point.
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Red Dissolving Rays of Light (2010, 41.06) ***½ |
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| Between Grey Slates I Wanna Get You La Mesa Boulevard Orphan Wing Summer's End Red Dissolving Rays of Light A Last Goodbye Stowaway |
Diamonds, Garbage & Gold Heyday The Losers Win |
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The Loons are a Californian psych/freakbeat crossover outfit, perfectly capturing the period when mods began wearing paisley shirts and grew their hair, touchstones including the '66 Stones and US practitioners like The Chocolate Watchband; fittingly, the latter reformed at an event organised by Loons mainman Mike Stax (surely his real name?). Their third album (the Loons, not the Watchband), 2010's preposterously-yet-wonderfully-titled Red Dissolving Rays of Light, is stuffed with tracks that could so easily have been written in late '66, but weren't. Highlights include opener Between Grey Slates, which kicks off with a cheeky rip from Elvis Costello's Watching The Detectives, the driving I Wanna Get You and the marvellous Diamonds, Garbage & Gold, featuring a perfect marriage of lyrics and music.
Conor Riley (Silver Sunshine, Astra) is credited with the major Mellotron string part on Orphan Wing, but given those bands' sample use, the same can safely be assumed here. Overall, then, while not actually a classic, Red Dissolving Rays of Light is a most worthy effort that should appeal to lovers of their particular brand of genre crossover.
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Tychozorente (2010, 31.45) ***Los Siete Sermones a Los MuertosPolaridad La Paradoja Divina Contra Suspiros El Todo Piedras y Ansiedad El Ritual Como Fin en Si Mismo Conscuencias |
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Omar Rodríguez López is, of course, one half of The Mars Volta, running a solo career alongside the band, not to mention artistic projects in various other media, including film. Unbelievably, 2010's Tychozorente is his seventeenth solo release in six years, ignoring the five Mars Volta albums that appeared in the same period. It's one of several avant-garde albums he's put out over this time, actually quite difficult to pin down; suffice to say, if the weirder end of his main band's sound appeals to you, you may just possibly go for this.
Lopez' brother Marcel is credited with Mellotron, but the vague 'Tronnish strings on Piedras Y Ansiedad seem quite unlikely to have emanated from anything other than a piece of software to my ears. Overall, a pretty weird effort that probably reaps the 'multiple plays' dividend, assuming you can put up with hearing it that many times. Anyway, no obvious real Mellotron, so definitely not worth it on those grounds.
See: The Mars Volta
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Weapon of Truth (2002, 62.46) *** |
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| Weapon of Truth Willing Son Blues on Mars Dead in Orbit Earthling Amplics Erectus Listener Too High for a Fool |
No More Identity Songs of Sinking Ships Black to Comm |
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New Jersey's Lord Sterling are in utter thrall to the MC5, conclusively proving their devotion on 2002's Weapon of Truth. Although overlong, it's not a bad effort, a little like a low-budget Motorpsycho (also MC5 fans), better tracks including the opening title track, the trippy Dead In Orbit and Earthling, all contenders in the 'punky hard rock' stakes, although their cover of the Motor City boys' Black To Comm is unlikely to beat the original.
Mike Schweigert supposedly plays Mellotron and almost gets away with it re. the repeating flute part on the title track, but the strings on Dead In Orbit and Listener sound little like a real Mellotron to my ears. Overall, then, good at what it does with a handful of really good tracks, but no Mellotron.
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Fear No Pain (2009, 64.24) ***Down the NailsPillars Under Water Born of a Jackal The Last of the Templars The Spartan A Man Called Horse The Funeral Pyre |
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2009's Fear No Pain is Finnish doomsters Lord Vicar's debut long-player; seven tracks in slightly over an hour, eh? None more doom! It's a decent enough, if largely generic effort, material like eight-minute opener Down The Nails and Born Of Jackal doing all the usual stuff, albeit with rather more panache than many of their contemporaries. Best track? Fourteen-minute closer The Funeral Pyre, opening with several minutes of acoustic-and-vocal work before the riffery kicks in.
Kimi "Peter Inverted" Kärki is credited with Mellotron, but I'll be amazed if the brief, distant choir part on The Last Of The Templars is genuine. So; a surprisingly good album, although trimming twenty minutes of deadish wood would possibly improve matters. No Mellotron, though.
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In Meiner Mitte (2011, 46.58) *** |
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| In Meiner Mitte Verschwinde Würdest Du Allein und Beisammen Pärchenallergie Wenn Zwei Zueinander Passen Auf der Jagd Nach Mr. Big Schlaf (Morgen Früh Bist du Zurück) |
Kleiner Augenblick Zweite Chance Schöner Starker Tag Von der Liebe Vorsicht! Zerbrechlich |
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Annett "Louisan" Päge is an anomaly: a German singer who sings in German, but sounds French. Huh? Well, going by her fifth album, 2011's In Meiner Mitte, her material resides more in the jazz/chanson tradition than anything more contemporary, although Louisan is only in her early thirties, making the record vastly more palatable than the pseudo-American singer-songwriter guff I'd expected. Best tracks? The opening title track, with its non-standard piano chords, the near-Americana of Würdest Du, pre-war café rave-up Pärchenallergie and sparse closer Vorsicht! Zerbrechlich, all enhanced by Louisan's pleasantly breathy voice.
Friedrich Paravicini is credited with Mellotron, but the skronky strings on Schlaf (Morgen Früh Bist du Zurück) whine in all the wrong places, although the flutes sound fine; then again, it's the easiest sound to sample well. So; no actual Mellotron, but an album that, at its very least, is pleasant and inoffensive, although the highest accolade I can give it (and her) is that Annett Louisan almost succeeds in making German sound sexy.
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The Curtain Hits the Cast (1996, 65.08) **** |
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| Anon The Plan Over the Ocean Mom Says Coattails Standby Laugh Lust |
Stars Gone Out Same Do You Know How to Waltz? Dark |
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The rather wonderful Low's 1996 effort, The Curtain Hits the Cast, was produced by Steve Fisk, a man with many Mellotron credits to his name, although I'm told everything prior to 2005 is of the fake persuasion. It's a good album, if not quite up to 2001's beauteous Things We Lost in the Fire, chief highlight being the 14-minute Do You Know How To Waltz?, one of those tracks that builds slowly to a sustained crescendo without sounding anything like post-rock.
Fisk adds strings to Coattails, to reasonable effect, despite the fakery. A good album all round, then, although I'd go for their 2001 release if you're new to the band.
See: Low
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In Anadi's Bower (2000, 52.15) ***½ |
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| Behind Black Rider Darkness Blunderd in Homes Ship on the Ocean Windows of Time In Anadi's Bower Kill the Rats Legends (Waiting to Appear) |
Little Child Clocks Lighthouse and Train Spinning Around the Sun Order Now My Mind Said Stop |
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Blues From Hellah (2004, recorded 1983-2002, 42.10) *** |
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| Blues From Hellah Come Drug Me Babe Mire Armworth Old in Eden Za Za Banshee Lucilla's Gone When the Crossword's Done |
Leave and Let Leave Sleeping House |
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The Crown of Creation (2010, 46.18) *** |
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| Wonder Three Hammers Unformed and Void By a White Lace Beggar's Bowl Rising Sun Try Me The Crown of Creation |
Moments Bethaniam Theme Burning Beautiful Flowers Cabris Sans Cornes When the Phoenix Flies Away Into the Blue Three Hammers Plus |
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Shockingly, Lucifer Was formed in 1970, despite not releasing their debut album until 1997, citing no especial reason for the delay. They're heavily influenced by '70s hard rock/prog; think a Scandinavian take on Black Sabbath or Budgie being given a kicking by Jethro Tull (complete with flute) and you won't be too far off the mark. After said debut, Underground and Beyond, consisting of old material, the band released In Anadi's Bower three years later. It's a decent enough album of its type, if rather unoriginal, but, aside from the production, it sounds like it's beamed straight in from 1975; a good thing, in case you were wondering. Best track? Probably the four-part, eleven-minute Little Child, although the entirely bonkers Kill The Rats is both amusing and memorable. The 'Mellotron' work on the album, from Knut Johannessen and Jon-Willy Rydningen, appears to be fake, despite the band's website's frequent mention of the instrument; Windows Of Time is the final giveaway on the sample front, as a string chord is held for a ridiculously long time, but little of the work sounds that authentic. Strings on several tracks, plus flutes on the title track, with the best work probably kept for the aforementioned Little Child.
2004's Blues From Hellah started life in the early '80s as band leader Thore Engen's solo project and is indeed quite blues-heavy, although some of the material sidesteps that particular musical ghetto. More than anything else, it reminds me of Tull's pre-Aqualung work, but without the songs. It's rather less arresting then its predecessor, lacking much of its epic hard rock approach, while adding some dodgy keyboards in places. Speaking of which, more fake 'Tron, this time just from Rydningen, though rather less than before, with just a few flute parts scattered about, alongside real strings and brass.
Two albums on and 2010's The Crown of Creation (Jefferson Airplane, anyone?) is one of a handful of reasonably successful collaborations between a band and a full orchestra (please don't mention Deep Purple's lamentable Concerto for Group & Orchestra), albeit in song-based form. Actually, I'll tell you what this reminds me of: a cross between a 'rock opera' (a deservedly maligned genre) and a long-lost cousin to Lucifer's Friend's entirely bonkers Banquet, albeit without the longer tracks. The Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra do a good job of working alongside the band without attempting to 'rock out', or anything else that appalling, best track probably being Cabris Sans Cornes, probably because it's orchestra-free. Arne Martinussen is credited with 'Mellotron', amongst other things, although the only obvious samplotron use is the strings on Into The Blue, distinct against the real ones used elsewhere.
Of these three, I'd definitely recommend In Anadi's Bower over the other two, at least from a non-blues/orchestral hard rock perspective. It's also better on the fakeotron front and would probably pick up TTT½ were it real.
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My Hands Are on Fire & Other Love Songs (2010, 37.59) *** |
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| Lass Vicious Rear Guard My Love Comes Stepping Up the Stairs Woe Betide the Doer of the Deed Mountain Plain Foreign Tongue Palace is Golden Machu Picchu |
Caney Fork River Down the Road Inchworm |
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Nova Scotian Chris "Old Man" Luedecke's fourth album, 2010's My Hands Are on Fire & Other Love Songs, is an admirably 'old tyme' folk/Americana effort, led by Luedecke's fiery banjo playing. Best track? Difficult to pinpoint, frankly, as they're all pretty much of a muchness, although sprightly opener Lass Vicious stands out, if only because it's the listener's introduction to Luedecke's sound.
Steve Dawson supposedly plays Mellotron, but I'd love to know where. The vaguely vibes-ish sound on Down The Road? Assuming it's even an actual Mellotron sound, the chances of its emanating from a genuine instrument seem remote. So; Americana fans who tend towards the 'folk' as against the 'country' will almost certainly froth at the mouth over this, but don't bother for the alleged Mellotron.
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Back on Track (2004, 44.57) **½ |
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| Keep Talkin'... I'm Listening Yeah, Now You Love Me Slow Motion Could I Be More Blue? All the Love in the World Supernatural Roll the Dice I Love You Goodbye |
Time to Fall Sentimental Heart (If You Wanna) Kiss and Tell Where the Poor Boys Dance |
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Although Marie "Lulu" Lawrie's chief burst of fame was during her teens in the '60s, her career has never really faltered, so it shouldn't come as any great surprise that she released a perfectly acceptable pop/rock album, Back on Track, in 2004. A good proportion of its contents are, at worst, harmless (opener Keep Talkin'... I'm Listening, the Stonesy Yeah, Now You Love Me), Lulu's raucous tones intact, although drippy AOR balladry (All The Love In The World, Sentimental Heart) and the cod-soul of Supernatural rather let the side down.
Phil Thornalley is credited with Mellotron, but the vague flutes on Could I Be More Blue? don't sound particularly authentic and please don't tell me that the woozy strings on I Love You Goodbye are supposed to be a Mellotron... I suppose this may well appeal to, er, the more mature consumer who's happy to listen to something completely mainstream, yet not 'modern' enough to offend. As I said, mostly harmless.
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Det Vilde Kor (2007, 39.27) **** |
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| Diset Kvæld Om Hundrede Aar er Alting Glemt Høstnat Paa Hvælvet Lad Spille Med Vaar Over Jorden Duttens Vise |
Svend Herlufsens Ord Min Kærest er Som Den Og Du Vil Vide Jeg Har Det Se, Natten er Livet Godnat Herinde Skærgaardsø |
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Lumsk are generally described as 'folk metal' and while they display both of these styles, at one level or another, on their third album, 2007's Det Vilde Kor, the listener is as likely to pull 'progressive', or even 'pop' out of the hat. The album kicks off with Diset Kvæld, which could actually be described as folk metal, until it suddenly goes all prog on us with a rousing finale, while non-standard scales importune their way into Høstnat and the band display their true colours on the whole of the epic Svend Herlufsens Ord.
Espen W(arankov) Godø is credited with Mellotron throughout, although I have such doubts as to its veracity that, mere weeks after putting it in the 'regular' section, I've quarantined it here. The gallery section on their website features several pics from the recording sessions, none of them featuring one; of course, that means nothing, as no keyboards of any description, Mellotron or otherwise, are pictured. Anyway, we get strings on Diset Kvæld, strings and flutes on Høstnat and a brass/strings mix (?) and regular strings on Se, Natten Er Livet, part four of Svend Herlufsens Ord. All in all, a definite grower, I'd have said; I look forward to having the time to play this album a few times. Well worth hearing.
