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THE EARLIES
'The Enemy Chorus' 8.5/10
Its always the same, you wait ages for one amazing new band to come along and then two breeze along at the same time. At least that's what happened in 2005. Their first offering, 2005's 'These Were The Earlies' was critically acclaimed and reached many peoples 'best of' lists by Christmas, and deservedly so. The Earlies are a transatlantic collaboration between Texan based John Mark Lapham and Brandon Carr and Manchester's Giles Hatton and Christian Madden who tour with an 11 piece ensemble band. However, The music press seemed intent on hanging off of the Technicolor Dream-coat-tails of Canada's (fucking amazing) top mob act, The Arcade Fire. This seems to have worked to their advantage however, as The Earlies have not had to confront the sort of overwhelming pressure that comes with such incredible hype, that often crushes the achievements of a band's second album.
'The Enemy Chorus' adds a new set of upbeat tracks to add to its arsenal for the live shows, most notably, 'When The Wind Blows', an incredibly self-assured song from the point of view of a hurricane bizarrely, which can read as the statement of intent of a band prepared to blow the whole world's minds. However the slower dreamy elements that made their debut so special are still represented here in full effect on tracks like 'Little Trooper'. Nothing on the album is overblown or outstays its welcome, most songs are 4 minutes with nothing breaking the six minute mark, probably using the logic that you should always leave your listeners wanting more. The laid back Texan attitude blends with the Mancunian aspirations of grandeur on 'The Enemy Chorus'. 'No Love In Your Heart', seems to blossom from your stereo like one of those time lapse photos of plant life so loved by the BBC, and the first two tracks really kick along, a thrilling open. 'The Enemy Chorus' brings things back down to earth and is reminiscent of their previous album in pace. 'The Ground We Walk On', seems fairly morose to start with, but by two thirds of the way through, when the female vocals drift in, your heart will be have turned to that jelly you get in pork pies. 'Foundation and Earth' reaches heights of excitement that are reminiscent of The Beatles on 'Magical Mystery Tour' and is probably the best song they've written to date.
I unashamedly LOVE this album, its simultaneously a beautiful homage to all things good about British and American experimental dream pop, as well as an example of a band gracefully upping their game. In summary, if you like the idea of Brian Wilson and Neil Young jamming with the Flaming Lips and Spiritualized at Abbey Road, then you can't go wrong with this album. Its my recommendation of the month. Buy it. Go on!
PHIL RUST
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JOHN CALE
'Circus Live' 5/10
For those that don't know, John Cale is highly influential and eccentric welsh artist/nutter and founding member of the Velvet Underground who pushed their experimental sound until his creative bust up with Lou Reed after three albums. His habit of performing in a hockey mask made it cool way before the Friday The 13th movies (Check out the album cover for Guts, its fucking awesome!) Since then he has amassed something close to 30 albums across his forty year career. He's a dab hand behind the mixing desk as well, and has been responsible for producing some incredible debut punk records by Patti Smith and The Modern Lovers and the Stooges.
'Circus' is a live album recorded in Amsterdam last year. Highlights of the gig include 'The Ballad Of Cable Hogue', which has some amazing live fret wankery and a deadly scream. The snarly heavy rock of The Modern Lover's 'Pablo Picasso' (although not a touch on the original) contrasts with the gorgeous lush floaty electronica of 'Zen'. Cale's morbid yet beautiful cover of Heartbreak Hotel is also to be heard to be believed. For those who like it really weird, the woozy wobbly guitars and drunken ramblings on the 'Gun' is a highlight, including lines like “Where did the world go? Oink Oink”... seriously, and Cale impersonating a trumpet.
However like other live albums this suffers from the fact that it all sounds a little thin, and in all fairness is pretty dull for the most part. It didn't make me hard to be fair, in fact Cales vocals themselves are the epitome of dad rock sounding a little like a pissed off Chris Rea. However musos and fans of Cale will no doubt lap up this double-CD promotional recording in anticipation of his upcoming UK tour. To be honest if you are interested in discovering his work, go back to the original recordings, in the meanwhile this will be strictly for collectors and fans that either cant make the gigs or want to help pay Cale's heating bill this winter.
PHIL RUST
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