Clipe Sexo Amador – New Noise
CLIPE SEXO AMADOR is something a bit left of centre, a bit quirky, curious and intriguing. Under the pseudonym of CLIPE, Jamie Dodd; a sound technology graduate creates his electro music with vintage Casio keyboards and modified children’s toys, but he is not like Bristol’s infamous Kid Carpet, he is, well, I’ll let the man himself tell you what you need to know:
“CLIPE SEXO AMADOR is the creative outcome of a pound keyboard and too much time that could have been spent on doing something productive.
Lyrically deep and grammatically incorrect, CLIPE SEXO AMADOR is for anyone who has ever been to Poundland and seen the potential of what just one pound can get you.”
The self confessed ‘Rick Wakeman of the Casio generation’ originally started CLIPE as a hobby, but after constant pestering from a whole gallimaufry of different sources and a conversation with his flatmate after too much ‘buy one get one free beer’ he decided to show the world that there is such a genre as ‘Poundland funk’.
Introducing the Grammatics 13/11/2006
When I was told by the lovely editors of High Voltage that I’d be ‘Introducing the Grammatics’ in this months issue the concept initially appeared difficult to grasp. How do you introduce a band that are so fucking different to the rest of the generic indie melange out there at the moment that at first hearing you could be excused for not ‘getting it’.
I very foolishly fell into this trap myself as a few months ago a good friend of mine told me about the Leeds quartet and after a fleeting visit to their myspace site I left thinking “…” and never thought to return. Then, but a few months later, the same friend asked, nay, pleaded with me to go back there to listen to their new song (and current latest single) ‘Shadow Committee’ stating “it’s simply beautiful”. So I went, I listened, and I hated myself for not realising what I had discarded so nonchalantly the first time around. How can I, a self confessed music lover, not realise that I was listening to something so refreshingly leftfield?
And then I witnessed them live and really realised what these lot are capable of. Easily one of, if not the, highlight of my In The City weekend they glided through their set simply, but not meretriciously, demanding attention from the crowd. You could dissect their sound into many various sections and you’d struggle to find a fault in any of it: The flawless drumming acting as a catalyst to various in-song time signature changes, the bass lines that so carelessly alter from pop to disco to rock and so forth, the cello ‘riffs’ (if you will) that if played on a guitar would sound downright metal but are seamlessly transferred into gorgeous melodic lines that add a depth to each song and then there is him.
Owen Brinley: the future poster boy for girls and sexually confused boys everywhere. He is the dictionary definition of androgynous and he is the proud owner of a simply staggering voice which, when coupled with his exceptional guitar playing, brings the whole sound of the Grammatics together perfectly. I apologise if it appears I’ve used too many superlatives here but in all fairness you shouldn’t even be reading this now, you should be on iTunes downloading ‘Shadow Committee’ and either agreeing, or ferociously disagreeing with my humble words.
Pigeon Detectives @ Carling Academy Liverpool 31/10/2007
There is a saying back home where I come from which is used when you are so certain of somethings outcome that you are willing to show the person you are trying to prove correct ‘your pigeons’ if it turns out you are incorrect. For example: “You think The Pigeon Detectives don’t know how to work a crowd?! If you’re right then I’ll show you my pigeons”. God forbid you ever say this and indeed if it does turn out that you are incorrect (like I did to my good friend in GCSE German once), as you may never be able to show your face in my home village again. My point here is that the Pigeon Detectives really fucking do know how to work a crowd so don’t bet an aesthetic showing of your own personal pigeons against it. As I wandered down to the Carling Academy, I contemplated skipping the gig to bar hop around Liverpool city centre in order to gaze at the scouse women who seem to misunderstand the concept of dressing ‘scarily’ on Halloween for simply dressing like prostitutes. Ever the panglossian of which I am though, I decided against it and I can honestly say I made the right decision.The PD’s are simply brilliant at what they do. They know their audience, they know what they want to hear and they know how they want it delivered. The crowd was going simply ballistic at every song from ‘Wait For Me’ and were also equally enthusiastic for the rarer B-sides they performed, mainly due to the fantastic front man performance from Matt Bowman. The only criticism I can muster is that I believe they are destined to be a 4 star act and never a 5 star one due to their lack of creativity. But do you think they care that I think that? I’ll show you my pigeons if they do…
Land Of Talk – 8/10/07
In the Land OF Talk’s press release they inform me that the lead singer, Elizabeth Powell, matured from playing the violin and “acquired” an acoustic guitar from her aunt. What intrigues me about this information in the use of the quotation marks with the word “acquired”. Did she steal the thing? From her own flesh and blood? Because the need to express herself in the musical format was just too strong?! If so her brief fling with crime was well worth it as the Land Of Talk have produced a strong ‘mini album’ (a concept that still doesn’t sit right with me – either pick the best four or write four more?) in the form of Applause Cheer Boo Hiss. Utilising the marketing tool the majors can never get their hands on, they’ve made themselves known by getting the good old thumbs up from tastemakers everywhere. MP3 Bloggers were singing their praises left right and centre resulting in a demand for a stateside tour.With a lazy yet melodic vocal style that reminds the listener of Nina Persson, Miss Powell’s voice compliments her guitar playing to create a sound that although isn’t inaccessible, still requires me to attentively listen to get the most out of the music.
Good Stuff.
4/5
Augie March – One Crowded Hour – 1st October 2007
“Hello? Is that Radio 2? It is? Fantastic, I’m currently listening to what would most definitely be your single of the week if Steve Wright’s ears were to fall upon it…” is the beginning of the conversation I would have if indeed I were to ring Radio 2 in my new found radio-plugger job pushing this record from Aussies Audie March. ‘One Crowded Hour’ is that kind of song that is played in American Teen sitcoms when one beautiful person breaks up with another or on a hospital based sitcom in one of the more somber moments when someone has died and it’s not supposed to be funny. A very good song that has a poetic flow to it which is delivered fantastically by the lead singer, ‘One Crowded Hour’ is a song well worth checking out.
4/5
Cherry Ghost – 4AM – 1st October
This song is bloody lovely. I genuinely can’t wait for an excuse to get on a train back home to Sheffield just so I can listen to this whilst the carriage gently rolls through the green hills of the Penines, the setting sun turning the sky a fierce orange as I ponder my current status as a bachelor. “There ain’t no hiding place on earth, that lonliness ain’t been there first” sings Simon Aldred, A wistful lyric that stands out in very well structured song. This is a song that will have you, your mother and your grandmother all tapping your toes in a communal unison of melodic niceness. I repeat, this song is bloody lovely.
4/5
mewithoutYou – Nice and Blue (pt. Two) – 1st October 2007
Yanks mewithoutYou are strumming their tunes around the UK this October, including a date at Manchester’s very own Night and Day and as a band known for their live performances it could be worth going to check them out after hearing this track. With a Bloc Party-esq arrangement and Editors style production mixed together with a is-he-speaking-or-is-he-shouting vocal style this track succeeded in intriguing me to discover more about the band. They appear to be popular enough in their home country and with the comparisons I’ve made above there is no reason why they couldn’t get a following over here in the UK. The only criticism on my part is the un-radio friendly outro which results in the song ending on a bit of a limp but apart from that it’s worth a listen. Right, I’m off now to go and find Nice and Blue (pt. One)…
3/5
Dirty Projectors – Rise Above – 15th October 2007
Music. It’s all been done hasn’t it? All genres covered? All styles exploited? All concepts concepted? Evidently not as David Longstreth, the man behind Dirty Projectors, gives us ‘Rise Above’; an album that all encompasses every definition of the word niche there has ever been. See, what David has done is made a cover album… from memory. He’s taken the ‘seminal’ (according to the press release that is) Black Flag album ‘Damaged’ from 1981 and re done it as he remembers it. Baring in mind he hasn’t heard this album since his adolescence the result is weirdly brilliant. It goes from being pleasant, to rather good, to horrifically abrasive; sometimes all in the same track, but it does leave you wanting to listen on just to find out where the hell the record is going next. I suppose you could call this ‘musical art’ if there is such a thing. He’s basically made a selfish album that is only going to be bought by those who either knew the original or by those who appreciate things a bit left of centre now and again. So there you go, if you fall into one of those two categories then go try it out! If you like Radio One and Hard-Fi however then please avoid it like the plague. It’ll just confuse you.
3/5
Kid Acne – Romance Ain’t Dead – 17th September
Kid Acne’s press release describes him as a ‘modern renaissance man’. I also know several French words yet when I use them I like to use them correctly and I can say with confidence that this record is merde. Proper merde. Why would anyone other then a cretin buy this?! Too stupid to be clever yet at the same time not stupid enough to be ironic; Kid Acne falls into musical purgatory and hovers there forever rapping about things that noone cares about. ‘Worst Luck’s’ repetitive chorus of “I got 2 phones like a drug dealer” leaves the listener hoping it’s a comedy record whilst at the same time praying it isn’t so they can tell their friends they’ve finally just heard something that is worse then Prinzhorn Dance School. The single ‘Sliding Doors’ could pass as semi decent dance record until he ruins it by inexplicably rapping about utter bollocks including the soon to be infamous line; “I like beans, I like sauce, I like sexual intercourse”. The fact that he is from Sheffield upsets me further as I myself also hail from the greenest city in England. It is a place of inherent beauty which does have its darker side (as beautifully captured by Alex Turner and Co) and this Acne fellow makes it sound like the third world would be a better place to frequent ones lazy Sunday afternoons. If there are genuinely people like this walking the street in Sheffield then I don’t think I want to go home again.
1/5
Ash – Is The End Of The World – 10th September
I believe it was Albert Einstein that said “Space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows”. Within the context of this review Space = Ash and Time = Good Singles and if I were to produce some kind of visual graph to represent when these two met at a cross junction of ‘time’ the Y axis would read ‘now’. This is dull. In my youth I was a fan of Ash, I genuinely was, and even past my youth into my manhood I still bought there records. I believe there are some great tracks on 1994’s ‘Meltdown’ album; the uncharacteristically heavy ‘Clones’ and the summer anthem that was ‘Orpheus’ being 2 personal highlights but ever since they lost Charlotte Hatherly Ash have simply been weak. I hate to use such an obvious statement but regardless: End of the world? More like end of a once great band.
2/5
