ARCTIC MONKEYS - Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Like a hyper kinetic kid that always has problems with his teachers and mathematics, Alex Turner sings in a vertiginous way with all the words that his tongue and his lungs let him modulate, without taking care of the timing and the rhyme. But it’s infectious; you never get bored with his style, which gives more energy to the music than the riff guitars, although all the instruments are played in a strong way. In fact the opening track “Brianstorm” has a demolition intro with drums and bass, an excellent choice to introduce Favourite Worst Nightmare.

Although the Arctic Monkeys are talked about as being really new band, being new in rock and roll is quite a hard thing to do. I could say that they have a ‘new’ style, or at least when you listen to the Arctic Monkeys you don’t try to link their music with other bands. For this reason all people talk about them like ‘the new saviour of rock and roll’, but for me rock and roll is saving itself everyday in thousands of bands that never reach the mainstream and play without earning a pound or a dollar. By the way, putting on the shoulders of four young men the heavy burden of being the ‘saviour of rock and roll’, is too much, and The Beatles were The Beatles.

Favourite Worst Nightmare is an amazing LP, an improvement from their debut, the acclaimed Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. It is an improvement because its songs have more personality, more careful arrangements and more demanding vocal work. Although the sound of the guitars, bass and drums are similar on each song, the LP doesn’t sound like a long track of thirty-seven minutes with a dozen of little mute pauses.

A sarcastic and conceited smile flows from the first to last track, “the confidence is the balaclava” they say while they hit their darts on the third millennium yuppies (“Brianstorm”) or the second millennium old neighbours friends (“Fluorescent Adolescent”), although a couple of quiet tracks with more mature lyrics appear on the LP (“Only Ones Who Know”, “Do Me A Favour”, “505”), “Do the bad thing” is the concept (“Take off your wedding ring, But it wont make it that much easier, it might make it worse”).

Favourite Worst Nightmare is not an LP where you would easily find songs that could be promotional singles, the commercial success seemed to be an aim far from their music, but it is precisely what gives them success. You have other bands and singer that have recorded the choruses that you can download as ring tones to your cellular phone.

Finally I can’t resist to compare Arctic Monkeys with The Ramones, a band that only have one musical idea and development that through 30 years without a smash hit (the only way to recognise the songs from the 70’s to the songs of the 80’s or the 90’s is the technical quality of the recording), but influenced thousand of bands all over the world.

Published on Blogcritics on 30-07-2007

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ARCADE FIRE - Neon Bible (2007)

So “Not much chance for survival / If the Neon Bible is right”. Damned! What can we do now?

The last album, Neon Bible from the Canadian band Arcade Fire talks about the hypocrisies, the lies, the ambition, and the cynicism of a society that searches for shelter in religion but always finds more pain, more lies, and more ambition without noticing what is happening in front of their eyes.

With a large dose of ironic criticism towards the media establishments (“Neon Bible” and “Windowsill) they have a couple of songs with real explicit lyrics, like “Intervention” (“Working for the Church while your family dies”) and “Antichrist Television Blues” (a song that talks about a father that exploits commercially the talents of his pre adolescent daughter. Does it sounds familiar?). When I say 'real explicit lyrics', I'm not talking about bad words (this is just a dirty commercial trick).

Arcade Fire sounds like the alternative bands of the nineties, but with the typical sound of the new bands that seem to all have the same producers. Sometimes, when I listen to a new song on the radio I can hardly tell if it's from Bloc Party, Interpol, The Rakes, or The Killers. Well, I suppose that people say the same at times of British invasions, glam rock, or grunge groups.

Although they recorded a couple of rock songs, the urge to dance doesn't hit you when you listen to the LP. The quiet songs have precise arrangements, broadcasting the feelings of the lyrics, especially the last track “My Body is Cage”.

The little details make this special, like the voice of the artist and sentimental couple Win Butler and Régine Chassagne as well as violins, accordion arrangements, and some lyrics in French.

Well, if darkness is the feeling of your soul and you were recently born when The Cure recorded Pornography or Disintegration, this could be your new favorite band, side by side with Bloc Party.

Finally, I want to recommend the song “No Cars Go”, the only one with a positive message, at least that is how I felt. The best song of the LP, It has a solid arrangement, a beautiful duet with Butler-Chassagne, and the timing is almost perfect. It is the song that Arcade Fire should never forget to play live.

I know a place where no cars go too.

Published on Blogcritics on 26-07-2007

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THE RACONTEURS - Broken Boy Soldiers (2006)

The first thing you think of when you're listening to the debut album of The Racounters is 'what is that? White Stripes trying to sound like Deep Purple?'.

Take it easy. Jack White himself plays on this album; this is his new project. In his own words, it's "A new band made up of old friends." Specifically, it is Brendan Benson and Jack White; they co-write the ten songs as other legendary partners did (Lennon-McCartney, Jagger-Richards) and sing almost all the tracks in duet. Their sound is completed by drummer Patrick Keeler and bassist Jack Lawrence.

Broken Boy Soldiers is a big album, with all the power of rock and roll and blues. The sound appears to be influenced by The Pixies (intros of “Steady, As She Goes” and “Broken Boy Soldier”), Deep Purple (the keyboards on “Store Bought Bones”), Janis Joplin ("Blue Veins"), The Kinks ("Yellow Sun") and the psychedelic songs of The Beatles (the reverse effects on “Blue Veins”).

The Racounters recorded an album that is so natural, spontaneous, and powerful that it makes you say: "Where is my guitar! I can write songs like that." They makes it look easy when it’s so hard; That's talent.

There is nothing new in the guitars, keyboards, bass, and drums. The arrangements are good and are mixed well. All the songs smell like seventies rock anthems. The influences are so obvious, but all the songs are very good. Please don’t ask me for highlights! When all the new bands are trying to sound like something really new (is this possible in rock and roll?), we have The Racounters that give us ten solid songs. That is what the listener wants; good songs. If you insist on the highlights, my favourite is “Together” but the singles are “Steady, As She Goes”, “Hands” and “Broken Boy Soldier”.

Benson and White sing almost all the songs as a duet. They make very interesting vocal arrangements, which build up the 'Racounters sound'. The vocal timing on “Blue Veins” is amazing, Janis would cry in her grave. But, I need to say that the arrangements on “Call It A Day” remind me of Alice in Chains. I don’t know if the band had the soul of Stanley in mind when they recorded it.

There is nothing special about the lyrics, but with all of those emo bands buzzing your ears, you really appreciate a band with a mature way of seeing life: “Your friends have shown a kink in the single life / You've had to much to think, now you need a wife” (“Steady, As She Goes”). As they sing on “Together”: “You've gotta learn to live and live and learn”.

I would like to mention the design of their web page. It simulates the old 80s computers.

Finally a blasphemy, Jack White does it better with The Racounters than the White Stripes. Sorry Meg, maybe rock and roll is a game for boys.

Published on Blogcritics on 07-07-2007

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THE RAKES - Ten New Messages (2007)

The Rakes new album sounds like it was recorded with the same instruments and amplification as Bloc Party, but happier, like Franz Ferdinand. At least, you feel this in the mood of the songs and in their lyrics.

The Rakes plays listen-able, dance-able rock. It's a great addition to your MP3 player. But it's rock with enough energy guitar too, with an important amount of the new 'classical riff guitar' that plays only quavers (were The Strokes the first?).

Another characteristic of their music is a singer with a mature voice that sometimes sings tired and some sound effects that appears in a couple of songs. The female voice in “Suspicious Eyes” gives more texture to the short disc of forty minutes long. The conversations over the melodies are a good trick, better than the typical voice-over.

Ten New Messages has entertainment as its vocation. This is very different in comparison with other new British bands with similar sounds who cannot liberate themselves from the melancholic and their dark vision of life. Maybe The Rakes have the same view (in fact “Down with Moonlight” sound like a Placebo song) but you can see that they had fun recording this LP. The Beatlesque melodies are a case in point.

The opening track raises your expectations. “The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect” is a funny song that reminds you of Tony Blair's cynical smile as he said everything is OK in Iraq, but it's really talking about the simpler things in your life, like how many times you accept your bad fate (“sometimes troubles finds you no matter what you are”) just hold on waiting quietly for your lucky day.

The expectation is met with the single “We dance together” and other highlights like “Trouble” and “When Tom Cruise Cries” that talks about cynical friends too, quoting the film Magnolia (a honorable mention to the sample of an interference produced by a cellular phone being too near to a radio).

The quietest song “Leave the City and Come Home” was the best option to close the LP, which makes you to play the album again.

Published on Blogcritics 29-06-2007

PAUL MCCARTNEY - Memory Almost Full (2007)

At the symbolic age of 64, Sir Paul McCartney has released his new solo album Memory Almost Full, recorded in the way that he likes most: alone, or almost alone. He plays all the instruments by himself (except for the strings) and does all the voices by himself too.

There are many interpretations of the title Memory Almost Full which you can find in a sea of reviews about the album, but for me it’s just the evidence of a man in his third age thinking seriously about his death (“The End of the End”), looking over his shoulder at the long and winding road that he had taking (“Ever Present Past”, “You Tell Me”, “Vintage Clothes” and “That Was Me”).

But also the title Memory Almost Full is about the feeling of his soul after his painful divorce, so tired after that old deal because he really loves that woman (“Gratitude”).

Before listening I was thinking about this album like the last part of a third millennium trilogy with Driving Rain and Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, but I was surprised by the album that reminds me of the best moments from Wings, with some musical déjà vu of the Flaming Pie.

Can we expect something really new from Paul? Hard question, looking back in retrospect. Press to Play sounds new compared with his first eighties albums, although for me the lowest point on his solo career was Press to Play. On the other hand, the amazing Run Devil Run was really something new compared with the albums released in the last 20 years; furthermore it was a vindication of the rock and roll after the decaffeinated CHOBA B CCCP album.

Asking again, Can we expect something really new from Paul? Yes, Memory Almost Full is a bit different, more fresh, more rock, more raw, and more emotive than the last albums, but of course it has the typical Macca clichés and it has the same musical tips which we love in his music. This is what we want: his charming voice in the emotive song (“You Tell Me”), his powerful and hoarse voice in the rock tune (“Nod Your Head”), his unbeatable arrangements and his infinite talent to play bass, guitar (great solo on “House of Wax”!), piano, and drums.

Let me quote: Paul collaborated with Ringo on Vertical Man, and while they were mixing the album, Ringo said to Paul with a little disappointment, “hum, it sounds like The Beatles” and Paul answered, “hey man, you’re a Beatle!”. Paul didn’t have a problem sounding like his old records, because what he is, is what he is (“Vintage Clothes”, “That Was Me”).

Now it’s time to disagree a little with Sir McCartney, I don’t like “Dance Tonight” as the opening of the album, even more, I don’t like this track on the album. After the kicking rock tunes that opened the last albums (“Lonely Road” and “A Fine Line”) I was waiting for a stronger tune, specially after he announced that he would work with David Khane as producer. “Only Mamma Knows” would have been a better option than this monotone track that could give you a lazy preview of the album.

This is not an album to introduce a new audience to Paul, but the most successful songwriter alive hardly needs that. This is just the album that fans were waiting for, thousands of fans all over the world.

Published on Blogcritics on 18-06-2007

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