Pianos Become The Teeth – Old Pride (2009)

(Top Shelf 2009)
Screamo/Post-Rock/Indie

RIYL: The Saddest Landscape, I Would Set Myself On Fire For You, Loma Prieta, Envy, City Of Caterpillar

I have to admit, I don’t listen to Pianos Become The Teeth often but when I do, they have the tools to blow me away, but I’m not sure if they have all the songs in their arsenal to keep me constantly on the edge of my seat.

At times this record is an ambient, uncompromising and very emotional assault on the ears, a style that hasn’t been championed as intensely in a while (or from my memory). It pushes boundaries; it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand. I love the post-rock-esque guitars on this so much; it even makes me wish that some instrumental post-rock bands would throw in some coarse/shouting/screaming vocals into the mix for good measure.

"Pensive” is possibly my favourites from this record, "I'm ready to let my hair down, I'm ready to move to the woods until the floor boards get raspy, I'm ready, I'm ready" is the frenziedly screaming vocal that fly out of my headphones, oh man, this is the height of everything good about this record.

I wish I could write more about this record and the fact that it has so much testosterone but I don’t care though as I have no idea where I am right now.

P.S. The Album artwork is seriously great, top notch. I hope it’s the same artwork when it’s released over here next year…otherwise I’m going to have to spend more money than I would want to on a poster.

8/10 Recommended



www.last.fm/music/Pianos+Become+The+Teeth
www.myspace.com/pianosbecometheteeth
www.topshelf-records.com

My Heart To Joy - Seasons In Verse (2009)

(Top Shelf 2009)
Emo/Post-Hardcore/Indie

When I saw this record and started to listen to it, it didn't even dawn on me that this was the same band as My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone, for some reason I just thought they were name ripping. It wasn't until I did a little reading up (checking their last.fm counts as reading, right?) that they were indeed the same and decided on a name change to suit their newer sound. Apparently they used to sound a lot like Hot Water Music before, coarse vocals but a little bit more emo (sounds like a million other bands in the history of music?) but they were able to hold their own and bring something new to the table. Anyway; onto the review!

The opener, Time Spent Breathing, is an instrumental, something that really builds up into a record. I like when indie emo bands do this, I'm always ready, half expecting scream that's going to make me jump before it skips right into the second track. That doesn't happen, which makes me glad, it actually gave me more of a Fugazi style start to a record.

Much like a lot of the other indie emo that's hit our years in the last couple of years, there's loads of coarse vocals, quirky guitar noodling, down tempo middle section, but with feeling like you're still in Hot Water Music and Braid territory here. There's also a new element, some added post-rock-esque moments that seem to be popping up in (almost) every record this year...but hey, if it feels and sounds right, then do it.

All the basses have been covered on this record, that said there's even a cover thrown in there for good measure (again, kudos to my reading skills) in the shape of Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory, which the original credits go to Guided By Voices. This is quite a surprise, if you're not much of a GBV fan like I, then you might like this, I've never heard the original though so don't pass any judgement on band until you have a listen yourself.

I don't think this is one of the stand out records of the year but it has some really solid moments and a couple of moments where they don't sound much like anyone else out there. It's still well worth a listen if you haven't already over indulged on Castevet, Snowing, Boy Problems, Title Fight...

7/10

www.last.fm/music/My+Heart+To+Joy
www.myhearttojoy.com
www.myspace.com/myhearttojoy

www.topshelf-records.com

Records That Shaped The 2000s - Sun Kil Moon "Ghosts Of The Great Highway" (2003)

Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts Of The Great Highway (Jetset 2003)
Folk Rock/Slowcore

Sun Kil Moon, otherwise known as Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters, is somewhat of a musical genius. I've never met the guy before but he seems to know everything about me (and you for that matter) and it's all here, in the shape of these songs. Ghosts Of The Great Highway is not just a record I think every music fan just own from the decade, it's an album that I wish I could have written, even if it's just so I could sit with acoustic guitar in hand in the corner of a small cafe on an open mic night and pour my heart out.

"Sun Kil Moon is the current project of singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, best known for his previous band, Red House Painters. Sun Kil Moon sees Kozelek undertake all the writing, composing, singing and guitar playing accompanied by Tim Mooney and Anthony Koutsos (also an ex-member of RHP) on drums, and Geoff Stanfield on bass. The band is named after korean bantamweight boxer Sung-Kil Moon.

Their debut album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, was written entirely by Kozelek, and released by Jetset Records in 2003. It is an album centered around the theme of memory, connecting Kozelek’s haunting memories with the true-life stories of deceased boxers, such as featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez and flyweight Pancho Villa."

GOTGH is as intimate as it gets, I don't think you can listen to this record without actually feeling like you were in the room when it was recorded. It's also warm, if you read the back story to the album; tragedy and heartbreak, yet Mark Kozelek serves it all up on a plate that makes you feel ok, like he's reaching out to give you a hug when you're down.

Carry Me, Ohio is my personal favourite off the album and it's also a highlight in the world of music in the '00s, this is perfection. It's so strong that it usually makes me want to cry, it's haunting without really giving you that kick of depression. I can't sit here and write a load of lines describing what the reason was behind the song or who it's really about, all I can do is sit here and think about what Mark (or someone he knows) must have been going through to write such a delicate song. It also makes me want to reflect on my own life, the choices, friends lost and road not yet taken. To me, this is what hearing a song for the hundredth time should be all about and that is what makes this whole record timeless.



The way this record seems to be able to convey every emotion in the human body is beyond me, this is more than music, this is a reflection of modern day living without the subject being relevant to anything in today's society. Mark Kozelek doesn't have the best tone, the music isn't catchy enough to be sitting at the top of the mainstream record charts, this isn't about that, it's about an album that has been written with a labour of love, loss and new beginnings that every listener can connect to.


To find out more:
www.last.fm/music/Sun+Kil+Moon
www.sunkilmoon.com

Tubelord - Our American Friends (Hassle Records 2009)

WERE BIGGER THAN MEMPHIS

Everyone's favourite Kingston trio release their debut album this week on Hassle Records, everyone who has had the pleasure to witness these guys live will agree that they are one of the most exciting British bands around today. With a string of singles released in the last couple of years (I Am Azerrad and Feed Me A Box Of Worms, both on Big Scary Monsters). The blood thirsty youth have been shouting from the rooftops for an album to call their own, a collection as jangly and vibrant as their live act. Well the people got their wish this week.

On first look of the tracklisting it's easy to notice that there are a few tracks which have been released, in one shape or another, in one way or another almost like it's shaping the past of the band...you're on the Tubelord journey and it really shows how the band has progressed and grown up...without forgetting what it is to be young.
To the seasoned Tubelord fan though, this could become a distraction, those songs would stick in your mind so much that unless the new material blows your mind, it will be easy to forget about them. I for one, don't want that to happen, not when it comes to Tubelord.

To the new fan though, this is genius, you'll get the record on your best friend's recommendation (who's caught Tubelord live about twenty times by now) and they will point out which songs they love, sound better live or just better than The Beatles. You'll listen to Tubelord for the first time, everything will sound fresh, you won't just focus the previously released material, your foot will tapping the whole way through, you'll want to go and see them live, it's like your mind is being blown for the first time. This is how we all want to feel when we listen to this album, right?

If you haven't already got a beaming smile on your face from the first two tracks, Night Of The Pencils will definitely change that. It showcases that Tubelord are not just a one dimensional band (honestly I think a kid with ADHD writes the bands songs sometimes) changing direction faster than a shark, just as you think you've got Tubelord all summed up, something else hits you smack in the face. Every time I hear the beginning of this song live I knew everyone's in for a treat, it has everything you want from the band, jangly guitars, the little 'spazz out' and then finishing with an epic sing along of "We're bigger than Memphis" that everyone can get involved in.

Propeller is possibly my favourite Tubelord song, it's the first one I heard on the bands myspace a few years ago, I think we all knew that the band were offering something just a little different, special. I'm really glad this song found it's way onto the album as it sums up the band for me. Synthesize is one of those songs that's new but also one that the band have been playing live for a while now, it's much in the vein of what the Tubelord ethos is all about "Playing pop music to indie kids" and that's exactly what it is...I think.

The last song on the record and also the titled of the album, Our American Friends, is more about showing off that Tubelord have the more secure sound that could fill a room, not just your head. Giving us that side of Tubelord that we've never really seen much of before, there's a strings section, a soaring chorus, almost like how Biffy Clyro have found that chart topping anthem sound they've been carrying around with them for some time now. It's actually a great album finisher, it gives you time to get your breathe back and relax...giving you just about enough to time to get over what you've heard and to press that play button for another round.

I once had to describe what Tubelord sounded like to a friend (as his band were due to support Tubelord) I found it hard without just using the word "Amazing". To be honest to this day I still do, I think I said something like "Oh it's like indie music, jangly, but it's like having three songs in one, it's just crazy" without trying to sound like an idiot. After listening to this record a few times and really trying not to overthink it, I think the best way to describe Tubelord is; Pandora's Box, once opened you're never too sure what's going to come out...but it's going to be one hell of a ride.

If Gandhi himself were sitting next to me right, he would be doing so with a grinning smile on his face and sticking two thumbs up. This album has everything you wanted to hear, the ups, the downs, the party flavour, it just sounds like three friends doing what they do best, having too much fun...and every listener can join in. If find an album this year that is more fun to listen to, you have my permission to feed me a box of worms.


www.asktubelord.com
www.last.fm/music/Tubelord
www.myspace.com/tubelord

Buy from Hassle: http://hasslerecords.sandbag.uk.com/Store/DII-552-1-tubelord++our+first+american+friends.html