This album announces its intent fairly clearly in the opening moments: you will be seduced, then confused, then alienated, then hugged by the womb-like production. Wonky is the word. It’s incredible that this album represents the far end of the dubstep spectrum from Katy B and Tinie Tempah.
It’s 1991! Well, certainly that’s what On A Mission’s dubstep sounds like to me. Pop, yet again, is eating itself. The music is well produced if not particularly ground-breaking, and she has a great voice that brings a soulful tinge to the bouncy rave backing.
The word “bombast” is definitely somewhere in Mr Tempah’s mission statement. In heavy black marker pen and underlined. Might be the entire mission statement. Fantastically energetic noise.
Messing with my head in a baaaaad way, this album announces itself with a massive left-right pan. I love the lunched-out vibe that is in evidence here. Vocal delivery seems to owe something to Roots Manuva on helium (or a cooler Maxi Jazz from Faithless), but this is much less bombastic and more intimate than either.
My initial reaction is that Man Alive is a similar album to The English Riviera, but with a much richer sound and with significantly more interesting songwriting. I particularly liked Final Form and Suffragette Suffragette.
I’d heard great things about this album, but found it to be a bit “ho-hum”. It wasn’t really until The Look that it really got going (such as it ever did). Even then, not an extreme reaction: I was nodding, not leaping around the room.
It’s that time of year again: the announcement of the 2011 shortlist for the Mercury Prize. The list (with links to online streamable versions where I could find them) is:
The list already includes four of my favourite albums of the year: Anna Calvi, Elbow, James Blake and PJ Harvey’s efforts. I’m looking forward to giving the others a listen over the next couple of days.
Why, it’s (finally) Lee Scratch Perry
Sam Carter is another artist worth a listen. Bit of a Robert Wyatt vibe going on. Excellent fingerpicking.
Recommend you search out some of Aidan Smith’s material. Seeing him live as I type this. Really excellent tunes in the style of Tom Lehrer filtered through Badly Drawn Boy.
…and finishing the set with the Cheers theme tune. Inspired.
