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Serena-Maneesh (2005, 58.10) ** |
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| Drain Cosmetics Selina's Melodie Fountain Un-Deux Candlelighted Beehiver II Her Name is Suicide Sapphire Eyes High Don't Come Down Here |
Chorale Lick Simplicity Your Blood in Mine |
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#2: Abyss in B Minor (2010, 37.40) *½Ayisha AbyssI Just Want to See Your Face Reprobate! Melody for Jaana Blow Yr Brains in the Mourning Rain Honeyjinx D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D Magdalena (Symphony #8) |
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Serena-Maneesh are a Norwegian shoegaze outfit, whose eponymous 2005 debut is, sadly, as dull as they come, Sapphire Eyes High and lengthy closer Your Blood In Mine being the only points at which the band's influences come together properly. Emil Nikolaisen allegedly plays Mellotron, but unless I'm very much mistaken, the background strings and flutes on Selina's Melodie Fountain, cellos on Candlelighted and strings on Don't Come Down Here are samples and not especially good ones at that. (Cue anguished e-mail from someone to do with the band to tell me it's real).
They took five years to follow-up with #2: Abyss in B Minor, released on their obvious spiritual home: 4AD. Somehow or other, it actually manages to be not only duller, but also more irritating than its predecessor, Lina Wallinder's vocals on several tracks redefining the word 'boring'. Nikolaisen on 'Mellotron' again, with flutes on opener Ayisha Abyss, Honeyjinx and closer Magdalena (Symphony #8), but I'm not convinced they're any more genuine than last time.
One day, maybe someone can try to explain to me what they like about this stuff. I know I'm an old fart, but the sheer boredom of this stuff makes me want to beat my head against a wall so I know I'm still alive. Serena-Maneesh is bad, but Abyss in B Minor is awful.
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Ride Satan Ride (2007, 40.10) ***½Ride Satan RideWheels of Satan Veil of the Black Witch Cruicifer Blood Rites Chrome Wolf Back Stabbeth Satan Will Guide Us L.S.D. (Lawless Soldiers of the Devil) |
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The Battle of Old Crow (2009, 43.37) ***½ |
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| The Battle of Old Crow Speed Queen Rock Formation One Percenter Red Moon Harvest Snakecharmer Led By Vultures As the Serpent Descends |
White Buffalo Thirteen Mountains |
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After the untimely death of their singer, Randall "Snake Eyes" McDoogan (you couldn't make this stuff up, could you?), Philadelphia's Serpent Throne elected to carry on as an instrumental quartet, releasing a 'soundtrack', Ride Satan Ride, in 2007. As various online reviews have fairly needlessly pointed out, aside from the instrumental approach, this lot cut Black Sabbath so close that Tony Iommi could shave with them, although, given some of the pretenders to the Sabs' crown, I'd rather give it to Serpent Throne, myself. They've got the guitar tone (in duplicate) down pat, the percentile mix of grindingly slow and uptempo boogie (it's often forgotten that Sabbath were a killer boogie band when the fancy took them) and just the right amount of bottom string bending, not to mention a sense of humour: Back Stabbeth, anyone?. Co-guitarist Don Argott is credited with Mellotron, with strings on Veil Of The Black Witch and strings and solo flute on Blood Rites, although something about them tells me they're not real, so until/unless I'm told otherwise...
The band followed up two years later with The Battle of Old Crow, about which it would be fair to utilise the old maxim, 'if it ain't broke...' Stylistically identical to its predecessor, it's every bit as good, assuming instrumental stoner doom is your bag; I have to admit, in smallish doses, this stuff really isn't 'alf bad... It's sort of futile to try to isolate 'best tracks'; the album's strength lies in its overall effect, sensibly limited to 'vinyl length' (I believe both of these are also available on that format). Fakeotron again on closer Thirteen Mountains, with an excellent flute part opening the track plus strings later on.
Serpent Throne are, of course, a little bit silly, but isn't most music, or at least, most rock rather silly, when it comes down to it? This lot are searingly honest in their approach; there's absolutely no artifice here, they do exactly what it says on the tin. I'm pretty sure the 'Mellotron' isn't, but if anyone knows better... Recommended for Sabbath fans who think most 'doom' stuff is a load of old cock.
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The Last Summer (2002, 50.25) ***Different PlaccesThe Play of My Life Sparkles in the Dark Love Warchild of 64 Masks Two Days Left Dreaming in L.A. |
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Well, Shakary's second album, The Last Summer, is more concise than Alya, but carries on ploughing their 'modern'/neo-prog furrow, with what appears to be a concept album about a doomed holiday romance from some years earlier. Not typical prog fare, to be honest, but a brave move, making a welcome change from the 'I'm so miserable' brigade, or the prog-metal 'dwarves and hobbits' approach (see: the ludicrous Rhapsody et al.). My regular readers will know that I'm not especially a fan of this style, but it seems to be done well enough here, certainly far better than some I could name.
The playing's good all round, and is that a real piano I hear? The Hammond is quite clearly a synth approximation, and although I'm assured there are Mellotron sounds used, there's little in the string department that sounds anything other than generic samples, presumably from Giovanni Galfetti's Kurzweil. Maybe the 'Tron sounds are mixed with 'real' strings? The occasional lead synth sound is very obviously digital, too, although the band assure me they're going to track down some genuine vintage gear next time.
So; one for the neo-proggers out there, but don't buy this even hoping for sampled 'Tron.
See: Shakary
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Silver Sunshine (2004, 42.10) **** |
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| Velvet Skies I See the Silver Sunshine Trinkets Way Up in the Big Sky Nightmares If I Had the Time Greenfield Park Girl |
When She Wakes Tomorrow Miranda May Merry Go Round |
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A Small Pocket of Pure Spirit (2005, 26.59) ****144,000Waiting for the Sun She's the Reason Another Day Hiroshima Never Again [bonus track: Winter Witch (home demo)] |
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Silver Sunshine are a new psych outfit from San Diego, with a day-glo time machine set for 'back', although their retro textures occasionally sound more like previous '60s-influenced bands than the real thing. Who cares, though, when they make a noise as glorious as Silver Sunshine? Despite being Californians, they freely mix the US and UK wings, so the Strawberry Alarm Clock rub shoulders with Love, then Pink Floyd and the Kinks take a bath together. Backwards cymbals, backwards entire mixes, phasing, voice-through-Leslie, you name it, they do it. The lyrics are, of course, ridiculous, but isn't that the point? Conor Riley and Kayo Mitsuishi play the samplotron (confirmed by the band), with occasional strings and high-in-the-mix cello on opener (and best song?) Velvet Skies, a more obvious string part on their 'theme' song, I See The Silver Sunshine and major flutes and cellos on the balladic Nightmares, although I can't hear anything obvious on Miranda May.
The following year's A Small Pocket of Pure Spirit is a worthy successor to their album, although I'm not sure why they didn't wait until they had an album's-worth of material. While the songs are uniformly excellent, Another Day is an awful lot too White Album for its own good, although Hiroshima Never Again ups the ante with its instrumental intensity. Samplotron from Conor Riley and Richard Vaughan this time round, with flutes and strings on Waiting For The Sun and, surprisingly, flutes on the 'bonus track', a home demo of Winter Witch, alongside a real one.
So, a thoroughly derivative and bloody brilliant album, with an equally good and marginally less derivative EP. Not bad (fake) 'Tron, either. Buy. n.b. Silver Sunshine have now morphed into the vastly more rocking Astra, a truly essential listen.
See: Astra
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Discovering the Waterfront (2005, 39.08) **½ |
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| Your Sword vs. My Dagger Smile in Your Sleep The Ides of March Fist Wrapped in Blood Discovering the Waterfront Defend You My Heroine Always and Never |
Already Dead Three Hours Back Call it Karma |
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I've seen Silverstein (named for children's author Shel Silverstein) described as 'post-hardcore', but their second album, 2005's Discovering the Waterfront, sounds like a punk Queensrÿche to my ears, copping their trademark duelling riffs, then sticking shouty vocals on top. I'm afraid I can't name any 'best tracks'; the album's best moments are the occasional bursts of inventive riffing on several tracks, invariably spoiled by the vocals.
Although Curtis Mathewson is credited with Mellotron, the vague background strings on My Heroine could be almost anything, frankly and are most unlikely to emanate from anything involving tapes. So; punk/prog/metal, no real Mellotron. Your choice.
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Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring (2007, 55.15) **½ |
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| The Celtic Ring (Alan Parsons) Lugh (John Wetton) Tuatha de Danann (Flook) Circle of Life (Jon Anderson) The Girl & the Demon (Karan Casey) Dragon Breath (Fairport Convention) Secret Garden (Maddy Prior) Pilgrims (Fairport Convention) |
Brennan Mac Finn (Flook) Sacrifice (Andreas Vollenweider, Jacqui McShee's Pentangle) Earth & Sky (Justin Hayward) Shadow and Light (Carlos Núñez, Dan Ar Braz) Call (Les Holroyd's Barclay James Harvest) Anwynn (Didier Squiban) Celtic Heart (Kelc'h Unan & Daou) (Justin Hayward) Celtic Heart (Kelc'h Tri) (Le Bagad de St-Nazaire) |
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I might have approached Alan Simon's Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring with a slightly more open mind had I not been subjected to the bulk of the album at Fairport Convention's annual Cropredy bash in 2010. Fairport invariably bring on a handful of special guests during their headlining set, but to be given such a large, indigestible lump of new music in one go was, at the very least, rather unwise.
Listening to the album in full in the comfort of my own home has confirmed my view that it's essentially your typical faux-Celtic stuff, a million miles away from Alan Stivell or Dan Ar Bras' work in the '70s (although Ar Bras guests here), while any number of guest artists aren't going to polish this particular turd. OK, I'm being slightly unfair; any single track taken in isolation is passable enough, but nearly an hour of it in one fell swoop is enough to make you want to track down Michael Flatley and kill him. Slowly. No, America, we're not all 'a little bit Irish', even when we actually are. The names in parentheses after the track titles above refer to the relevant special guests; as you can see, aside from Fairport and Ar Bras, the highly distinctive Jon Anderson, John Wetton, Justin Hayward, Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior and Jacqui McShee's current version of Pentangle are all involved, for better or (mostly) worse.
Marco Canepa is credited with Mellotron, but the only obvious part on the whole album is the strings on Call, special guests, Les Holroyd's Barclay James Harvest. Cut and dried, you might be thinking. But... Les' version of the band (the AOR one, tragically) have never used a Mellotron, that being the province of Woolly Wolstenholme, whose departure triggered the band's change of direction originally (or, more likely, vice versa). It doesn't sound especially authentic, either, so unless I get an outraged e-mail from someone involved with the project to tell me otherwise, this stays in samples for the indefinite future.
So; do you want to hear this? Well, how to you feel about cheesy 'Celtic' folk-rock with loads of powerchording guitar? That's the question you need to ask yourself before shelling out your hard-earned on this overblown load of old nonsense. He said, provocatively.
See: John Wetton | Jon Anderson | Justin Hayward | Dan Ar Bras | Barclay James Harvest
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Paradise Square (2002, 63.28) ***½And By the WaterParadise Square Striking Out a Single Note for Love Fly in a Bottle Darkfall White Glove Aftermath |
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Tardigrade (2008, 74.04) *** |
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| Suddenly the Rain Tardigrade The Chosen One Moon Mountain As the River Runs Your Future Strawberry Jam Circles End |
Brother Where You Bound Beautiful New Day |
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After their 1995 debut, Ceinwen, Simon Says effectively disappeared for seven years. After working on an electronic project, bassist/keyboard player Stefan Renström realised he'd written enough Simon Says-style material for a new album, and after tracking vocalist Daniel Fäldt down, reformed the band, releasing Paradise Square in 2002. It falls into the 'reasonably good' category, probably as good as its predecessor, in fact, although like that album it's never going to match Änglagård/Anekdoten et al. I've had it confirmed that they use Mellotron samples here, provided by Johan Wallén from Paatos, possibly from Änglagård's machine. It carries on (fake Mellotronically, at least) in a similar vein to Ceinwen, with some very full-on strings in places, although nothing you can't live without, really.
Another six years and the exceedingly overlong Tardigrade (named for a form of microscopic life) appears, constantly shifting gear between a Genesis-style symphonic sound (spot the Entangled rip on Circles End) and a rather less interesting neo- approach, with hints of fusion, notably on Strawberry Jam. I'm not sure what persuaded the band that they could write a coherent 26-minute epic, but here it is anyway, in the shape of Brother Where You Bound. Fakeotron all over the place, from the rapidly-becoming-tedious M-Tron, with the usual string, flute and choir parts, but nothing you haven't heard before. So; two decent enough albums, OK sampled Mellotron, that's about it.
See: Simon Says
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Confine (1995, 54.38) **** |
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| Albi di Spagna Sinergie Interattive Piccolo Vele Pentole Sullo Scaffale Porto d'Inghilterra ...un Altro Momento... Piancaldoli La Cella |
Ultimo a Stare in Porta Il Segnale Alla Corte del Gran Khan Confine |
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Sithonia are a relative rarity: an Italian progressive band from the '90s who don't worship at the altar of Marillion et al., which has to be a bonus. Confine, their third release, is actually a pretty adventurous Italian symphonic prog album, combining the best of the genre's past and (then) present, making for a cohesive and inventive whole. As with so many progressive albums, praising individual tracks is almost pointless; it's more about the overall effect, which is up there with, say, Montefeltro or Consorzio Acqua Potabile. We could probably have done without the sub-90125-isms of Ultimo A Stare In Porta, mind, but nothing's perfect.
Oriano Dasasso and Paolo Nannetti both play keys, but there's no way of knowing which of them contribute the Mellotron-sounding strings on Porto D'Inghilterra. 1995 was fairly early for 'Tron samples, but these (along with most of the album's older sounds) are more than likely from eMu's Classic Keys module, I'd guess. Anyway, a decent modern(-ish) prog album, despite some dodgy keyboard sounds. Worth hearing.
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Farther in This Fairy Tale (2010, 46.00) ****Hide & SeekWhite Plane Marker 25, 27 Seven Universal Mind Decoder Abbie's Bike Ride Going Mad in Cambridge Farther in This Fairy Tale White Plane (Reprise) |
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CDS (2010, 10.32) ***½ Lost is Found Strange Things Are Afoot |
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Sky Picnic are a new, NYC-based psych outfit, dedicated to taking the British model (particularly Syd's Floyd) and giving it a good seeing-to, to the point where if you didn't know they weren't Brits, you, er, wouldn't know. I won't pretend the album's perfect; some of its more psychedelic moments (notably Universal Mind Decoder) drag slightly and the drum solo (also Universal Mind Decoder) is a little unnecessary, but I suppose if you want to run the full gamut of psych styles, you gotta take the trippy with the tuneful... The rest of the album falls into the latter category, thankfully, with top tracks including killer opener Hide & Seek, the acoustic Seven and bass-led closer White Plane (Reprise). Guitarist/vocalist Chris Sherman has owned up to using the M-Tron, with some great string pitchbends in Hide & Seek, flutes, choirs and strings on Marker 25, 27 and strings on about half the remainder. Before his admission, I wasn't convinced by the sounds' veracity, anyway; too murky and too smooth, which is an odd, but accurate combination.
The band followed up later in the year with the Lost Is Found single, a surprisingly 'normal' sounding track, only going all weird on us towards the end, although the flip, the six-minute Strange Things Are Afoot, lives up to its title rather well. 'Mellotronically' speaking, we get discordant stings towards the end of the 'A' and muted choirs throughout the flip, but they're hardly central to its sound.
All in all, then, two damn' good psych releases, both of their and entirely out of time, in the kind of way only psych releases can be. Recommended.
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Slow Electric (2011, 41.51) ***Towards the Shore/Towards an EndingCriminal Caught in the Crime Days Turn Into Years Slow Electric Hum/Also Out of Air Another Winter Between the Silent Worlds |
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Slow Electric consist of Brits Tim Bowness and Peter Chilvers and Estonians Robert Jurjendal and Aleksei Saks, with the inimitable Tony Levin (Crimson, Gabriel) cropping up on a couple of tracks. Given Bowness' involvement, it'll come as no surprise to you to hear that their eponymous 2001 debut is best described as 'atmospheric', be it in the form of almost rhythmless opener Towards The Shore/Towards An Ending or the subtly rhythmic Criminal Caught In The Crime.
Although Bowness is credited with Mellotron on closer Between The Silent Worlds, not only is it certain to be sampled, but it's also inaudible, making this a double-whammy in the 'no Mellotron' stakes. If you like Bowness' other works, chances are you'll like this. Conversely...
See: Tim Bowness
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Slychosis (2006, 53.32) **½ |
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| Samuel Innerspace Dreamscapes Galactic Wormhole Wild Night in Calcutta Cyber-Evil Frosted Mini Suite Glass ½ Full |
Meltdown Space Bass Until Then EVP |
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Slychosis metamorphosed out of Karma-Kannix, releasing their eponymous debut in late 2006. The band's website details their various travails; Slychosis's recording was not so much low- as no-budget, the end result sounding surprisingly professional, all things considered. Style-wise, the band sit firmly in the 'modern neo-prog' bracket, mixing vaguely symphonic sections with elements of various eras of hard rock, albeit not in an especially original manner (note the very Yes feel on Innerspace, amongst others, not to mention the straight Floyd copy/tribute on Until Then). Better tracks include Galactic Wormhole, with its early '70s-inspired guitar work, the ethnic influences on Wild Night In Calcutta and the acoustic instrumental Glass ½ Full, but the deletion of several others might have actually improved the album's overall feel.
Gregg Johns is credited with Mellotron, but the muted choir and string parts heard on most tracks (notably the strings on Cyber-Evil and flutes on Glass ½ Full) clearly have zilch to do with a real machine (see: no-budget, above), which at least makes them easy to identify and quarantine. I'm sorry to be so harsh on this album, as the band have clearly put a huge amount of effort into it, but it's only really going to appeal to fans of contemporary prog who haven't delved too far into the genre's history, I suspect. And that album sleeve? The band freely admit it was an 'ill-advised' attempt at humour: the butterfly is comprised of manipulated photos of the band members' heads, which works about as well as you might expect.
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The Cricket's Orchestra (2009, 37.24) *** |
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| Heartbroken I Know If You Asked Me A Little Love Poor Drifted Apart Take Me Dancing A Piece for You |
Soft Touch You Got Out 5 More Minutes |
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Meaghan Smith is a young Canadian singer-songwriter, whose 2009 debut, The Cricket's Orchestra, is an adventurous effort, combining a huge pre-war jazz influence with modern touches, not least the turntablism on A Little Love. The album's default position, though, is swing-era brushed drums, accordions, upright bass and muted brass, all overlaid with Smith's vocals, which somehow manage to portray a combination of freshness and world-weariness, usually at the same time. No, I don't know how, either.
According to Smith's website, I Know 'is made almost entirely from a Mellotron sample': MkII rhythms, for what it's worth, with 'moving strings' later on, more left-hand manual flute phrases in A Little Love and a flute part on A Piece For You. It's fairly obviously sampled, chiefly due to there being so few unmodified MkIIs still in existence, let alone easily available, but it's good to hear those lesser-known sounds crop up on a modern album. So; a very listenable record, a (thankful) world away from your typical manufactured 'modern singer-songwriter' guff. More, please.
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Take a Minute (2010, 42.30) **½ |
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| Take a Minute Sally's Song (the Legacy Goes on) If I Can't Love You Let's Do it Again (the Hangover Song) Nothing Hurts (Like a Broken Heart) Celtic Days Friends Will Be Friends The Biggest Lie |
I Don't Want to Lose You Can't Change the Past This is Wot I Did 'Til the Grass Grows Over Me |
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Most Brits of a certain age will remember Smokie; mid-'70s chart regulars, their long(ish) hair and denim-shirted image promised something considerably more 'rock' than they actually delivered, which was, er, mainstream pop of the era. Unbelievably, the band have never really gone away, although iconically throaty-voiced frontman Chris Norman has long gone (don't worry; replacement Mike Craft is a vocal dead ringer), 2010's Take a Minute being something like their twenty-first studio release. It's a country/pop/rock album of the type guaranteed to appeal to a certain kind of middle-aged record buyer, vaguely akin to Rod Stewart's early '70s work; professional to a fault, 'rootsy' enough to avoid accusations of (complete) blandness, most of its material being catchy enough to stick after a few listens, while never challenging their heyday in any meaningful way.
Keys man Martin Bullard allegedly plays Mellotron, but I'd love to know where, as it's utterly inaudible, all violin parts being real, unless they're referring to the clearly sampled strings on Nothing Hurts (Like A Broken Heart)? If so, I can barely even call them 'Mellotron samples', as they sound entirely generic. The band's website modestly states, "great music, great band", but all I hear is something that can only aspire to be middle-aged dadrock. Harmless, yet ultimately unsatisfying.
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Doing the Distance (2004, 44.23) *** |
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| Theme Music Loaded Gun Comforted Ms. June Baby Master of Forgotten Works Aimless Sailor Calculating Fades |
Changes Regime Rock Song Big Machine Sickness Medium The Boso (the Kickdown) 33 1/3 |
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Snowglobe's second album, 2004's Doing the Distance, contains an intriguing mix of powerpop, mainstream '70s rock and Americana, plus elements of mariachi, of all things (it's all in the brass), their eclecticism actually recalling the experimental mindset of the mid-'60s Beatles. I imagine they'd be quite pleased by the comparison... Highlights? Ms. June, the brief, gentle Calculating Fades and the is it?/isn't it? joyous Rock Song, although the six-minute Medium goes on a bit. Actually, although it isn't that long, as albums go, they could've lost a few tracks and improved the overall feel, albeit possibly at the expense of the aforementioned eclecticism.
Tim Regan is credited with Mellotron, but the dodgy strings on Ms. June and upfront choirs on Changes are fooling no-one. (Cue outraged e-mail from band etc.) Can I recommend this to powerpop fans? Cautiously, yes, but don't expect to immediately like the whole record. One to dip into, perhaps.
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A Year at the Movies (2004, 35.42) *½ |
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| Beautiful Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly) Gone Away Cats and Dogs Miss You Perfect Grave Everything's Fine As Good as it Gets |
Flurry I Was Wrong Waiting No One to Save |
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Social Code's first album under that name (they released their debut while still known as Fifth Season), 2004's A Year at the Movies, is a painfully mainstream 'alternative' (to what?) effort, post-punk without being, y'know, post-punk. The nearest the album comes to 'good' is Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly), because... it is, of course, a cover of Ian McNabb's Icicle Works' classic, while particular horrors include the awful Miss You and I Was Wrong, although, if truth be told, there's little (read: nothing) about this album that makes me want to revisit it at any time in the near (or even distant) future.
If Greg Collins' 'Mellotron' consists of the vague, background strings on Everything's Fine, all I can say is: don't take the piss; that's nothing like a Mellotron. This album's one saving grace is its brevity, but that's not saying much.
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Macbethia (1989, 47.20) ***½Go on My WayBolero Inner Vision Wish for the Time Macbethia Overture On the Lake Side Macbethia |
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Social Tension were an ELP-ish Japanese progressive trio, operational in the late '80s, towards the end of that country's strangely decade-late prog period. They only made two albums, the first being 1989's Macbethia, a mostly instrumental effort with a couple of unfortunate vocal tracks; is it an accident that no-one's credited with vocals? Better tracks include opener Go On My Way (subtitled 'Dedicated to Mr. K's Picture', presumably referring to Kazuhiko Kishi's vibrant fantasy cover art), Bolero and the lengthy title track, but there's nothing really horrible here, while the playing's as excellent as you'd expect.
Nobuo "Kodomo" Endoh's full equipment list (thankfully in English) on the sleeve tells me that his Hammond was a later, solid state version, although there's some analogue gear dotted amongst the digital stuff. No Mellotron, though, meaning that the strings on Inner Vision are possibly the earliest example of someone sampling a Mellotron, in this case, presumably onto a Roland S-550 sampler. Surprisingly good samples, all things considered, to the point where they'd almost fool the ear, although I'd imagine a good deal of care was taken over getting them right. Neither of Social Tension's albums (the second being 1990's It Remainds [sic] Me of Those Days) were released outside Japan, although Musea released a compilation in 2000, It Reminds Me of Macbethia, that includes the entire album plus two tracks from the follow-up, giving you the chance to hear a worthy yet almost-forgotten outfit.
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Frail (2004, 36.37) *** |
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| Too Many Days The Snow Has Killed Kissing Me Take My Heart Away Mr Iceman Pain Natural Silence |
Restless Girl Will You Say Because I'm Dead |
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As a Norwegian singer-songwriter, it's no great surprise that Maria Solheim's chief audience is Scandinavian, although her English-language material would easily translate to a wider market. Her third album, 2004's Frail, is a decent enough effort, if lacking any particular individuality, at its best when she drops the alt.rock stylings of the likes of Mr Iceman and Restless Girl and concentrates on more acoustic material (Kissing Me, closer Because I'm Dead), allowing her fragile (frail?) voice to sit more naturally in the mix.
David Wallumrød is credited with Mellotron, but the flutes on The Snow Has Killed and Restless Girl and strings on Mr Iceman sound little like a real machine, particularly the strings. Solheim's material is aimed at a fairly specific market, one that probably has little overlap with the average Planet Mellotron reader, but her music is essentially inoffensive and perfectly good within its self-imposed boundaries.
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Dear Companion (2010, 36.42) *** |
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| Something, Somewhere, Sometime My Wealth Comes to Me Needn't Say a Thing Wilson Creek Only a Song Dear Companion Flyrock Blues Try |
Flyrock #2 Sweet Marie It Won't Be Long |
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Ben Sollee is that most unusual of rock instrumentalists, a vocalist/cellist, whose second album, 2010's Dear Companion, is a collaboration with fellow Kentuckian Daniel Martin Moore, produced by a third, My Morning Jacket/Monsters of Folk mainman Jim "Yim Yames" James. Essentially a rather mournful singer-songwriter effort, the duo are at their best when keeping the tempos lethargic, as on My Wealth Comes To Me and Flyrock Blues, although there's nothing here that would've been better off left on the cutting-room floor.
'Yames' is credited with Mellotron, but the strings on closer It Won't Be Long are far too clean for their own good, in my humble opinion, so 'samples' it is until/unless I'm informed otherwise. A good, trad American folk album, then, with the addition of cello to keep things interesting, but almost certainly no real Mellotron.
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Ports of Lima (2008, 58.30) **½ |
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| Bogor Biru Senyum Dari Selatan Merintih Perih Essensimo 400 Elegi Layu Setengah Lima |
Ernestito Vrijeman Come By Sanjurou In 1997 the Bullet Was Shy Apatis Ria Karolina |
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I have no idea how Indonesian outfit Sore actually pronounce their name, although strongly suspect it doesn't rhyme with 'more'. Their second release, 2008's Ports of Lima, sounds, more than anything, like an early '60s pre-psych album, incorporating elements of doo-wop, Phil Spector's legendary productions and even The Beach Boys (notably on Ernestito, one of its better tracks). To be honest, this isn't one of the more interesting albums I've heard lately, but it's as difficult to fault as it is for me to like it.
Ramondo Gascaro is credited with a wide range of instrumentation, including, of course, Mellotron, but are those really supposed to be Mellotron strings on Merintih Perih, Essensimo, closer Karolina and (particularly) Vrijeman? They're at their most convincing on the last-named, until we get to hear them duetting with the vocalist, at which point their fakeness becomes apparent. Am I/are you surprised? The chances of there being a real Mellotron in Indonesia (there's a first for this site) is somewhere in the region of zero, although it might've been recorded abroad, I suppose. Anyway, south-east Asian pseudo-early '60s pop, anyone?
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Een Nieuw Begin (2003, 47.47) ** |
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| Voor Altijd Allemaal Onderweg Ik Hoor Bij Jou Volle Maan Centrum Van Mijn Hart Nodig Vogelvrij |
Verlangen Wat Zou Je Doen Magie Een Nieuw Begin Afscheid |
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After finding a small level of fame with Bodhi, Wim Soutaer went solo in 2000, entering the Belgian version of Pop Idol (American Idol if you're from that side of the pond) in 2003, coming third and gaining a contract as a result. His first album, Een Nieuw Begin (you guessed it: A New Start/Beginning) mostly comprises breezy, Flemish-language pop/rock, with the occasional obligatory ballad thrown in for good (?) measure. As you might expect, it's exactly the kind of bland, mainstream fare that most people 'like' because they've never heard anything more interesting. No, that isn't a plea for more prog on the radio; just something - anything - less faceless than the usual tripe that appears to be served up in any country you care to name.
Alain Van Zeveren plays Mellotron samples on the vaguely Beatles-esque Wat Zou Je Doen, with really obvious fake flutes, barely sounding like a Mellotron at all, frankly. Even (especially?) if you're a Flemish speaker, you're most unlikely to get anything out of this album, unless your taste is so bland that you'd be most unlikely to read this site in the first place.
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Way Better Now (2008, 37.21) **½ |
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| Sirens Accident Way Better Now Don't Fall in Love Tell Me No The State of Harmony Enlightened & Left-Wing Indeed Less Than OK |
No Drama Final Wall |
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Speedmarket Avenue are a six-piece Swedish indie outfit with joint male/female vocals, which, sadly, doesn't really give them much of an edge over their monosex-vocalled brethren. Way Better Now is their second album, and despite starting vaguely promisingly with lengthyish opener Sirens, quickly peters out into a welter of second-hand indie clichés with a vague mid-'60s pre-psych feel to them.
Sirens is chock-full of 'Mellotron' strings which finally give themselves away as the mystery musician plays a note a good two tones above the 'Tron's top key. Less of the same on closer Final Wall, with a couple of vaguely possible parts elsewhere, but it's all fake, anyway. Do you like half-arsed indie? Then you may well like this. Do you hate half-arsed indie? Me too.
