Brilliant new album from Get the Blessing, out January 20th

Get the Blessing were one of my favourite finds of last year. Now they're back with a great new album. A review is forthcoming, but for now here's all the important information.

GET THE BLESSING                                               

‘Lope & Antilope’

Release Date: 20 January 2014

Label: Naim Jazz Records naimcd199

CD,  Digital + 180gm vinyl

UK tour in March 2014 

Bassist Jim Barr once remarked that Get The Blessing were “total outsiders” and  “the punk entry” when they won the 2008 BBC Jazz Award for Best Album with ‘All Is Yes’. Almost six years later and four albums down the line, the same could still be said to hold true, albeit with a little more age and wisdom at their disposal.  Lope & Antilope is the band’s fourth album (second for Naim Jazz) and whilst to some degree the thrashing rhythms of previous albums have advanced into more mellow territory, the irreverent and mischievous attitude is still very much in evidence: with a fixation for words that end in ‘ope’ Get The Blessing return with their most sophisticated album to date and UK tour to follow.

Formed in 2000 to share a fascination with the improvisation and monophonic nature of Ornette Coleman’s earlier works, the Bristol-based four-piece can now boast a truly international fan base and the last two years have seen them take their cellophane masks half way round the world and back (it was the rhythm of movement and travel experienced on the road that gave way to the new album and inspired the title). Throughout this time, the line-up has remained the same with Portishead rhythm masters Jim Barrand Clive Deamer on bass and drums respectively, Pete Judge on trumpet and Jake McMurchie on saxophone. And all this despite other commitments for everyone, not least Deamer’s recruitment as Radiohead’s second live drummer in 2012. The band’s old friend and collaborator – and Portishead guitarist - Adrian Utley also returns to make a guest appearance with Bat for Lashes guitarist Tim Allenbrought in to engineer the recording sessions.

Conceptually Lope & Antilope is different from previous albums as it makes use of sounds collected whilst on the road but crucially, is almost all improvised. With the urge to leave their comfort zone and break some of their recording habits, the album was recorded in an empty pottery in Pembrokeshire. With nothing written, everything on the album came out of four days of improvising. The starting point was often experimentation with sound effects, both acoustic and electric, to which a groove would be added, then a tune, or a solo and so forth. As the band put it, it’s  “the culmination of 4 days of recording, 3 years of gigging and 12 years of drinking tea and gin.”

The use of guitar effects pedals and other electronic gizmos had become a big part of what the band do live, but until now had never been fully integrated into the recording process.  As well as extensive use of delay by the horns, the rockiest track on the album,  ‘Little Ease’ also features the trumpet routed through a distortion pedal, bought for a song on the way to the first day of recording (it also features on ‘Trope’). The saxophone is treated in a similar way, producing the Theremin-like pitch bends that can be heard on ‘Quiet’. This could lead you to think that Lope & Antilopeis an effects heavy, raucous album, but in fact the opposite would be more accurate. Lope & Antilope is more textured than previous work, shifting from the atmospheric ambience of ‘Luposcope’ to the pulsing, almost Nordic menace of ’Viking Death Moped’ – but all the way through maintaining the trademark bass riffs that carry the album through giving it that quintessential Get The Blessing Sound.

Get The Blessing live dates 2014:

2 Mar    Capstone Theatre, LIVERPOOL

5 Mar    XOYO, LONDON

6 Mar    Hare & Hounds, BIRMINGHAM

9 Mar    Jazz Festival, BRISTOL

10 Mar  Arts Centre, WARWICK

27 Mar  Sheffield University SU, SHEFFIELD

29 Mar  Clitheroe Grand, CLITHEROE

Naim Jazz Records was founded in 2008 in order to provide a platform for deserving British jazz talent. In dedicating itself to artistic freedom and superb technical and creative quality, Naim Jazz has built a diverse and exciting roster including Neil Cowley Trio, Empirical, Kairos 4tet, Get The Blessing, trioVD, Stuart McCallum and Sons Of Kemet.

www.naimjazz.com

Naim Hi Definition:  Listen to this album as the artist intended, by downloading it in 24bit 48khz WAV, FLAC and Apple Lossless from the Naim Hi Def Download Store, one of the world’s first independent label websites to sell fully uncompressed music. www.naimlabel.com

Lotte Kestner - Bluebird of Happiness

There's a moment, a few short seconds into the first listen to, it seems, any release Anna-Lynne Williams is involved in, in which a comfortable sense of peace and calm descends. Yes, that voice, that voice is still intact. If anything, it is improving as time goes by. No, I didn't think it was possible either. More than this though, Bluebird of Happiness finds Lotte Kestner confidently hitting her stride, consistently knocking song after song out of the park, equal parts direct and fragile, stretching the bounds of her sound and showcasing a bravery in the mix which marks the album out as surely one of the best singer-songwriter releases of 2013.

China Mountain and Stolen, the albums to precede this one, have both spent considerable amounts of time being kind to my ears, and Bluebird of Happiness is a welcome addition to that wonderful canon of work. I know I often say this when writing about an album, but really, to pick out individual songs for praise or comment is to miss the point somewhat. This collection of 12 songs, which includes an interesting cover of Halo, works best when listened to in one sitting, as a whole piece of work. That way the journey through Wrestler, via Turn the Wolves' deliciously eery minor progression, via When It's Time and Sweetheart, all the way to closers Cliff and Little Things can take its fullest effect. It's all very well having a great voice, but you can't live on that alone, and each of the songs listed here bring something. Williams has always been a strong writer, with a great ear for a melody and a poetic lyric, but this is her strongest, most cohesive collection of songs to date. The atmosphere which is established with opener String is largely maintained throughout the album, as Anna-Lynne transports the listener in to songs of lost and broken love, sorrow, as well as physical and emotional suffering. I really don't think there's anyone who is putting out better music of this type than Lotte Kestner at this point, nor has there been for quite some time. The ability she has to wear her heart on her sleeve whilst simultaneously remaining cryptic and artistic in her exploration of the good and bad of life marks her out as one of the 21st century's great artists. If only more people would sit up and pay attention....

Elle Macho - Import

"Elle Macho is the most powerful band of noise in the world today. Combining elements of the melody, aggression and sexiness, they triumphs each time and gains the multiple contests throughout the world."

Beginning your press release with the above quote, citing your genres as:
Indie/French Pop/Very Rock and including Serge Gainsbourg and Gilgamesh in your list of influences are all very brave (some would say bizarre) moves to make. The great thing about Import, though, is that Elle Macho somehow manages to deliver on each and every of their lofty claims and promises about their own greatness. The band consists of Butterfly Boucher, David Mead and Lindsay Jamieson. Butterfly's previous solo record was something of a hit with me. Here, the melodic nous of that album is augmented with a solid slab of attitude and aggression. Boucher is joined by the creative guitar of David Mead, and by Ben Folds alumni Lindsay Jamieson on drums. Jamieson also twirled the sticks for the much-feted (by me at least) Astronaut Pushers back in the day, so this is a Nashvillian supergroup of sorts.

What we have here is a collection of 10 flat-out great songs. Allez La Danse and This Is Not a Love Song stick out on first listen, but over time, each and every song has sunk into my psyche and forced its way out in the form of humming, air drumming, jiving (I do jive, but only privately) to the stops, starts and twitches, and generally marvelling at the balance between intelligent, pop songwriting, and creativity in structuring and progression. There isn't a song here you won't tap your feet to. Fact. There isn't a song here which is lacking a nifty twist in the rhythm section (Glow in the Dark), or a tag section which goes somewhere unexpected (Conquistador). At the same time, however, these are the kind of pop songs that should be invading your radio, interrupting your restaurant dinner because you have to work out the drum pattern with spoons, and leading you to make it your life's ambition to see the band in a small, sweaty room. 

If we lived in a fair world, Elle Macho would be huge. Make it happen

Portico Quartet Live/Remix Album out March 25th

Portico Quartet are one of the most beguiling, engaging bands in the UK. Their recent, self-titled album saw something of a rebirth, as the previously groovesome jazz of their former incarnation was aided and abetted by intricately-infused electronics, to mark a fresh twist on an already uncommon and captivating sound. "Portico Quartet" was one of my albums of last year, so when I heard of a forthcoming double album (one half live album, the other daring remix escapade) I was excited. Now having lived with the album for a while, I can report that it is far from disappointing. 

The live arena is where Portico really come alive, and this set brings tracks from last year's album to full realisation as well as offering new arrangements of old favourites Clipper and Dawn Patrol. It offers fans and new listeners a chance to hear the band in all their live glory as Portico Quartet take the listener on an epic journey into the heart of their inimitable electro-acoustic-ambient music. Delivered with a powerful punch the album adds that extra drive and energy honed over years of live performance and many pieces appear in dynamic new arrangements developed on tour. East London based Swedish singer Cornelia joins for a truly epic version of their track Steepless. 

Remix offers a further insight into the band’s music. Curated by Portico Quartet it features mixes of their music by some of the band’s favourite producers and DJs. With mixes from Will Ward,SBTRKT, Luke Abbott, Scratcha DVA, LV, Capac, Konx-om-Pax and Luca Lozano. 


As a taster for the album, here's a live video of Laker Boo, live at The Roundhouse in London:

Trichotomy - Fact Finding Mission

Sometimes a band, an album, can take you by surprise. Trichotomy, who must be Australia's best jazz band, have made such an album with the captivating Fact Finding Mission.

I must admit, I'm not as "up" on my jazz trios as I should be. I first stumbled in to the genre with the brilliant, and often written about here, Neil Cowley Trio, sometime in early 2009, and ever since have been trying to find anything comparable, in terms of scope, compositional nous and downright energy. Finally, with Trichotomy, I may have got somewhere close. Certainly, with their new album, the band have crafted something which should aid them, should they seek to "crossover" in the kind of way that Neil Cowley's increasingly popular trio seem to be able to.

The album is full of twists and turns, sprightly rhythmic flourishes, from the muscular opening of "Strom" and the rock solid groove of the title track on the one hand (featuring some cleverly and liberally sprinkled samples from some of the political "heroes" of recent times) on the one hand, to gentler pieces such as "Song for Ev" on the other. The synergy between the core trio of Sean Foran's flowing and enigmatic piano, John Parker's otherworldly drumming, and Patrick Marchisella's driving bass tones is startling throughout. Where on previous releases Trichotomy seemed to lack focus slightly, here everything seems to fit, to matter, to draw the listener in to a world where these pieces of music are the only ones you dare to listen to in this moment. No small achievement.

Witnessed live, at the nicely appointed Lakeside Arts centre in Nottingham last week, my thoughts on the album were only crystallised and strengthened. Here is a trio in perfect synergy with one another musically, as an evening of perfectly fused grooves and improvisational sections flew by in a heartbeat. The use of technology in sound manipulation and backing tracks was a particularly intelligent touch for me, adding to the already not inconsiderable quality on show to produce a special evening. Seeing that the band so clearly loved what they were doing (even with the telling of somewhat dodgy Aussie jokes and other "banter") makes it all the more special. This is serious music, played by men who have mastered their crafts, without losing the joy of playing live and working off one another. A real privilege to witness and to enjoy.

The Good The Bad "034"

The Good The Bad were one of my favourite musical discoveries of last year. I was pleasantly surprised earlier on today to receive news from their PR that they have returned with a new album. It doesn't seem five minutes since the last one to be honest, but who am I to quibble. This is one of the "funnest" bands in Europe. No doubt. If you want the evidence of the continued growth and greatness of these instrumental genii, watch the video for new single "034" below.

'034' (The Film) by The Good The Bad from The Good The Bad on Vimeo.

Billy Vincent - Dead Man's Shoes Video showcase

Billy Vincent to showcase their new video for ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ tonight

Billy Vincent release the second single from their debut album ‘She’ on August 20^th through Something Nothing Records.

Highlighted in Paul Moody’s excellent review in Q Magazine as “conjuring up visions of a debauched Mumfords”, ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ embodies the heady mix of influences that makes their debut album ‘She’ such an intriguing delight.

Centered around the fabulously playful lyrics of Billy Barratt - “If I was a preacher, I’d get Jesus to meet ‘cha……” - and an irresistible chorus, Dead Man’s Shoes initially embraces a country flavour, embellished beautifully by the guest appearance of pedal steel legend B J Cole, before heading into territory inhabited byThe Kinks or The Faces.

The video for ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ was directed by Brendan Cleaves and can be seen just above this.

Billy Vincent will be breaking into their festival schedule (placed at No1 in The Evening Standard’s “must see this summer” list), to headline Club NME at London’s Koko on July 27^th to celebrate ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ release.

Billy Vincent are: Billy Barratt & David Vincent – vocals, guitars; Joseph Kinsey – bass, harmonica, vocals; Matt Woodward – fiddle, vocals; Jack Blenkinsop – drums, vocals.

Ormonde - Machine

Ormonde - the new band from Anna-Lynne Williams (Trespassers William, Lotte Kestner) and Robert Gomez - release their brilliant debut album, Machine, on August 7th. This record has been a long time coming. Released on Hometapes, this is a beautiful record.

Anyone who has followed my writing for a while will know that I have made a point of keeping up with what Anna-Lynne has been up for a number of years now, ever since I discovered the wondrous Trespassers William album Different Stars. I have to report that this, by far and away, is the best release I've ever heard from her. As I've said before, she has one of those voices. The kind that you could die happy listening to, the kind that you'd thank for telling you you needed a tooth extraction because the news would be delivered so lyrically. Here, with Robert Gomez, she has struck the perfect collaborative note. Indie yet immediate, pop. yet dark enough to appear dangerous, retro and vintage, yet incredibly insistent and vital, as the press release attests, every track here could be the opening track, or the first single. This album will deservedly sit atop many end of year best of lists, so completely does it tower over any "opposition" which it may face.

Beginning with the Midlake-like Can't Imagine (hear it below) the album proceeds serenely through ten perfectly formed paeans of poeticism and indie beauty. The temptation to describe the magisterial magnificence of each and every song is immense, but just writing words upon words would not be enough. There are inflections of creativity in the mixing and arrangements here which bely the fact that this was a collaboration between two artists who barely knew each other when they began. Both have their chance to shine, vocally, with Williams' best moment on the organ-infused title track, while Gomez features prominently on Cherry Blossom. Best, though, is where the two magical voices intertwine together, as heard most clearly on Sudden Bright, with it's lilting acoustic riffs and persistent synth flourishes, and the slow build of Hold the Water's woodwind and percussion.

Throughout the interplay between the acoustic and bass guitars is wonderful, as arpeggiating figures of acoustic underpin most songs, weaving in and out of the mix, carried along on beds of probing bass. The attention to detail here is staggering. Every note, every flourish, feels just right, like it had to be just where it is, at just that moment

Previously I cited Midlake as a potential influence influence, and it does seem to me as if the shadow of that brilliant band is cast long over this album. Rhythm section sounds are pleasingly similar, and the almost playful musicality which is at the record's core as a counterpoint to the minor key chord progressions which pulse throughout seems to take the pastoral folk template of an album like The Trials of Van Occupanther, and improve on it ten-fold. Machine is a clearly distilled alt-folk masterpiece, a combining of powerful creative forces and visions which has resulted in the best thing released by either artist in any of their previous incarnations and iterations. A clear must buy and album of the year shoe-in.

Zammuto - Zammuto

Finding new music is one of my passions and greatest joys. Recently, the rather splendid Mr Steve Cowley, aka Camp America, in the midst of remodelling a track for my own band Ghostree, turned me on to the music of Zammuto. One listen through to YAY, the opening track on the project's self-titled debut album, and I was sold.

This is a special album. Nick Zammuto is a genius. Riff and hook-heavy "pop" music for grown ups is the order of the day here. Whereas much of the press from bastions of indie-ness such as Pitchfork have  commented on similarities and differences with Zammuto's former work I, being in the perhaps unfortunate position of unfamiliarity with his former band, Books, was able to approach Zammuto with fresh ears and an uncluttered mind.

I love this record. Layer upon layer of just great creativity seeps out of every pore. Nothing is wasted, nothing is over-done, everything feels just right. Take for instance the jazz-infused Idiom Wind, the first track to feature truly discernible vocals, led by a wandering bass line and off-kilter percussion, this track  follows the pattern of much of the album of being something of a mini pop-symphony. Often, when listening to new bands, I can be churlish and think "I understand that, that's easy to do" or some such. Not so here. The compositional mind at work here is a wonder, a thing of beauty. To not only come up with the ideas here, but also to bring them to fruition on such a beautifully formed record is a sign of greatness. The wonderfully named FU C3PO is another highlight, the most un-single sounding single you're likely to hear all year, but at the same time, a perfect single for a band like Zammuto, it distills all that is brilliant about the band in three and a half minutes and leaves you begging for more. Of particular interest here is the fusion of electronica and processed vocals, which give an unsettling sense, but at the same time feel just right.

This is one of my favourite records of the year so far. A triumph, and a dizzying call to creativity and challenging pop music for the rest of us.

It seems that others agree with me. Zammuto is busy on the road in the USA right now, including forthcoming dates with Gotye. I can only dream of how these songs would transmit live, but I urge you, if you are fortunate enough to live on that side of the pond, to take the opportunity to find out when they roll through your town.

Listen to this wonderful album below.

Butterfly Boucher - Self-Titled

A few weeks ago, I posted the video for the brilliant single, 5,6,7,8 from Butterfly Boucher. As a calling card to her new, self-titled record, it was perfect. Memorable, catchy as all get-out, inventive, small, but perfectly formed. All of these comments can, I think, be readily applied to the new record.

Butterfly Boucher is a precocious talent. Falling somewhere between electro-pop and the more creative end of the singer-songwriter pantheon, this ten track album showcases Butterfly's emotive and expressive vocal to the fullest extent of any of her output so far. What's more, every song here could follow 5,6,7,8 as a single. For instance, Fooling Around is propelled along by a strong beat, some ethereal synths, and the kind of chorus that you can fall instantly in love with, and yet find yourself growing to appreciate more and more as time passes by.

The fact that this song is followed immediately by the more restrained, but no-less radio-ready Warning Bell is indicative of the quality at play here. The writing and production here is first rate. We live in an era of *the song*, rather than *the album* these days, and Butterfly and her co-producer Jamie Kenney have worked wonderfully here to craft a collection of songs which both vindicate A&M's decision to sign her in 2003, and call in to question why she has yet to taste the kind of national and international acclaim her prodigious talent deserves.

Coming across as a labour of love, meticulously pieced together, yet playful enough to be enjoyed as a "pop" record, this is a rare kind of album. It is the kind that works on multiple levels, suits many different moods yet, at it's core, maintains an artistic integrity which is pleasing on the ear and heart. My favourite track here is probably the jangling "Unashamed Desire" with it's winning combination of kitchen sink production and a confrontational lyric. I'd be shocked if this song doesn't do the business for Butterfly at radio in the months to come, but either way, this is a cracking track which fully showcases all that is best about an exciting new discovery.

Get this record and devour it. You won't be disappointed.

Lotte Kestner: Stolen (Album Review)

Lotte Kestner, or Anna-Lynne Williams, as she was named by her mother, has one of those voices. You know the sort. It's the kind of voice that stops you in your tracks. The kind of voice that can re-affirm your belief in the existence of a benevolent deity or higher power, one whose sole interest appears to be generously bestowing music of great power and beauty upon His (or her) thankful people. It's one of those voices that could sing the phone book, or a Chinese Takeaway menu, and it would have you swooning. Even the guys. Especially the guys.

After a long period of time providing ever-more haunting vocals for her band Trespassers William, and her exquisite debut solo record, China Mountain from a couple of years back, and while we wait for the debut record of her new project with Robert Gomez, Oromonde, which follows later this year, Anna-Lynne has released Stolen.

Stolen is a covers record. This is a brave move at the best of times. The majority of covers albums don't really work. Here is one, however, which does.

The songs here come from a variety of sources. Beginning with a haunting cover of Damien Jurado's "The Falling Snow" and taking in songs by artists as diverse as Bon Iver, Hayden, The National and Interpol among others, the sense emerges, of a unified, cohesive album, full of songs which sound like they were written for Lotte Kestner to sing them. This is not a disparate collection of random covers, this is a journey into the heartbeat of an artist and poet, who wrests every ounce of fragile emotion possible form each song she touches.

Building on the successful blueprint of China Mountain, this record is awash with delicate acoustic flourishes, delectable vocal harmonies, and occasional interjections from keys and synths which take Lotte Kestner's sound in a slightly fuller direction, without ever distracting from the central instrument: that once-in-a-lifetime voice.

Self-released on her own Saint-Loop Records, this is one album not to miss. Lotte Kestner is an artist worthy of our ears, our hearts, and our support.

Pick up this incredible record now from: http://www.saintlouprecords.com/merchandise