TEXT013: Nova by Four Tet + Burial

Visions by Grimes

‘Visions’ is the first release from Grimes (Claire Boucher) for UK indie label 4AD. Grimes has been responsible for some of the most exciting new releases over the last couple of years. She has managed to carve a unique and recognisable sound layering and looping her distinct voice against constructed drum patterns and synthesisers. Her 2010 releases ‘Geidi Primes’ and ‘Halfaxa’ showed great promise but felt a little rough around the edges. In 2011 Grimes release the 12” split ‘Darkbloom’ with D’eon giving us the superb track ‘Vanessa’ and immediately her craft seemed more honed and considered, resulting in one of 2011's  finest pop records.  

After this Grimes signed to 4AD and during the writing and recording of her new album, announced that she considered it to be her first ‘real’ album. Listening to ‘Visions’ you can hear why. Immediately it feels a league ahead of her earlier releases. A step further than ‘Vanessa’ too with an exciting blend of well crafted songs and experimental interludes. These qualities provide vibrancy and texture that now seem absent from here early albums.

The two pre-release singles ‘Genesis’ and ‘Oblivion’ pick up right where she left off, jumping back into to catchy world of pop vocal loops and double tracking. This time though it’s better! Far less blatant with it’s melodies but just as infectious. The constant holding these songs together lies in the vocals. Her ethereal voice drenched in reverb pushes the Dreampop feel of the record, reminiscent of ‘Cocteau Twins’ but with added bounce, often building and looping into a swirling musical mess. In ‘Vowels = Space and Time’ they stray into delay finishes giving the sound a glitch feel whilst placing emphasis on the rhythmic qualities of the music. There is a far fuller sound to ‘Visions’ with a greater approach to control in terms of the types of samples used. The two collaborative contributions ‘Colour of Moonlight’ and ‘Nightmusic’ offer further sounds and textures with the latter delivering a more built up dance beat. This is followed up by ‘Skin’, a step down in tempo and my personal favourite moment of the album. A simplistic synth pattern works with an all together gentler and more delicate vocal to serve up a real shining moment.

The final track acts as a coda, tying off all the interlude moments across ‘Visions’ as a suite. Opening with an isolated recording of a stream, the musical qualities carry you into a gentle slow pulsating end to the record. For me, all these moments hold this together as a complete record in ways I felt Grimes’ music had lacked up until now. Her work to date has either sat deeply in pop or remained exclusively experimental, and these two worlds seem to have finally found a way to sit comfortably together. The shorter tracks offer the opportunity to try out ideas without diluting them into a four minute single.

Although the year is still young, this album is a current frontrunner along with John Talabot’s ‘ƒin’. I can find little bad to say about this record. Obviously there are moments that could be tighter and ideas that could be explored further, but I have every faith that will come on Grimes' next release. 2012 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the world of electronic music and this record plays a major part.  

Blues Funeral by Mark Lanegan

Eight years have past since The Mark Lanegan Band released ‘Bubblegum’ (2004), a record full of rootsy blues tracks with added PJ Harvey touches. It was a fantastic album that in my mind topped anything he had done before. But can he go one further? It’s too early to tell, but ‘Blues Funeral’ is instantly recognisable as a solid successor. It possibly lacks the diversity in sound that ‘Bubblegum’ gave us, but more importantly it’s a return to the fuller ‘band’ sound. I’m a big fan of Lanegan’s work with Isobel Campbell, but three cello based albums in and I’m desperate for some grungy fuzz-drenched guitar blues. Thankfully that’s what the Mark Lanegan Band does best.

'Blues Funeral’ could easily be seen as a concept album but I think it’s fair to say that none of the themes are a great departure for Lanegan as it hits most of his usual notes. It’s all very safe and seems more like an ‘if it ain’t broke…’ approach.

When you first pick up the album you immediately get a feel for the kind of record it’s going to be. The wonderfully archaic artwork is reminiscent of funeral parlour wallpaper, with an intricate floral pattern that echoes the storyteller nature of Lanegan’s lyrics. The record itself is pressed on a greyish green vinyl that again sits comfortable with the macabre tone. 

The album has plenty of texture and the record is interspersed with quieter tracks. I’m not sure if it’s the eight year starvation period talking here, but it’s the heavier, noisier tracks that really shine. His work with Greg Dulli as The Gutter Twins and Twilight Singers should be applauded, but for me always sounded more like Dulli despite Lanegan’s distinct ‘Waitsian’ Growl. This is pure Lanegan through and through. His groans and moans drawn out across several notes on tracks like ‘Bleeding Muddy Water’ feel almost like the rise and fall of tides. Unlike Tom Waits, he avoids the coughs and splutters instead adopting a purity to his voice. On tracks such as ‘Gray Goes Black’ and ‘Riot In My House’ (a stand out track) the vocals are embedded in the production in a way that allows them to become another instrument carrying the tune, and you have the chance to realise this is an album from a ‘Band’ and not one man.

For me, I felt some of these songs could have been taken a step further in their arrangements. Some gospel-like backing vocals may have given a more lively sound to some of the tracks and embraced the southern blues flavour much like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds ‘Abattoir Blues / Lyre of Orpheus’ (2004).

A rather oddly placed track, ‘Ode to Sad Disco’ sits smack bang in the middle of the record with a very different feel to the rest. With it’s digital disco bass and drum combo pounding throughout and little synth licks crawling around the vocal moments, it provides a break in tone, but one I ultimately think will divide listeners. It still holds plenty of bluesy sensibility, but is a new sound from Lanegan that I’m not entirely sold on. Later tracks such as ‘Deep Black Vanishing Train’ owe debt to Johnny Cash and seem to take a more simplistic approach than the first half of the record. This is not to the detriment of the album, and I find their little flourishes of reversed reverbs and noodling keyboards keep me entertained.

I doubt ‘Blues Funeral’ will achieve classic status as it doesn’t really seem to offer anything we haven’t heard before, but it still hasn’t left my turntable for several days and is certainly isn’t a release to be ignored.

14th February by Marry Waterson & Oliver Knight

The daughter and son of the late Lal Waterson have released a special Valentines Day recording which can be downloaded for free from their blog or streamed below.

Marry Waterson appeared at James Yorkston's Union Chapel Christmas show last December to cover some of her mother's songs with him. The event was filmed and i'm hoping the footage will emerge in the near future. Until then, here is Yorkston's superb cover of Lal Waterson and Oliver Knight's 'Midnight Feast'.

John Taylor's Month Away by King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

What a shame! When I heard the B-side to 'John Taylor's Month Away' was to be a reworking of my favourite King Creosote track, I was beside (no pun intended) myself with excitement. What a disappointment to discover that the new recording is completely 'uninspiring and missionary' in comparison to the pacy original on 'Kenny & Beth's Musakal Boat Rides' (2003). I am a huge fan of the folky drones Jon Hopkins adds to Kenny Anderson's music and hold up 'Diamond Mine' (2011) as one of last years finest releases, but with 'Missionary' the trick doesn't work for me. It strips the original of everything I love about it and seems a step too far in much the same way as George Martin's reworking of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (without any guitars?) for the Beatles 'Love' (2006) album. That's right... I just compared them to the Beatles! 


Thankfully the A-side is one of their finest and still warrants the purchase. A brilliant two-chord song about Kenny Anderson's fisherman neighbour, all of which is explained in their 'How I wrote...' session for the Guardian.




The 7" is limited to 500 copies and is available from Piccadilly Records


Below is a guitar rendition of 'Missionary' filmed at the Pittenweem Festival in 2006.

Kindred EP by Burial

Finally the long awaited Burial EP is here. Kindred is his first release since 'Street Halo' and his 'Ego/Mirror' collaboration with Thom Yorke and Four Tet.

It can be downloaded and streamed at the Hyperdub website and will be available on vinyl in the near future (once some test pressing issues have been resolved).

The EP consists of three tracks

 1. Kindred

 2. Loner

 3. Ashtray Wasp

Top 5 Nautical Numbers

I played pretty fast and loose with this theme and never more than the number one entry, a track that compares love to 'moving through water' (and that really is all i'm going on).

1. Heavy Water / I'd Rather Be Sleeping - Grouper
2. Shipwreckers - James Yorkston
3. Vessel - Jon Hopkins
4. I'm Sailing - Mazzy Star
5. Admiral - King Creosote

Honourable Mention: Robert Wyatt's brilliant cover of Shipbuilding