Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way (LP, Daptone)

I think I'm going to update this blog roughly once a quarter, because I am incapable of updating with any greater frequency. In my defence, the past few months have been a bit hectic, with me relocating to a new country. Most importantly, I haven't found any reliable record stores here, which I can foresee will be a problem.

2010 has been a bit of a ho-hum year for music, I feel. True, we have a stellar release from The National (High Violet), but anything they put out out has to be good quality. The Soft Pack went mainstream (reviewed them here when they were the Muslims), but I don't like them as much. The 'Best of 2010' lists are full of releases from The Dead Weather (Sea of Cowards), Bob Dylan (another installment in the Bootleg series), Arcade Fire (Suburbs) & Black Keys (Brother), but few stand out as exceptional records.

One album that all the lists missed, however, is I Learned the Hard Way by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. I first heard Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings on the Dark Was the Night compilation (reviewed here), and was blown away. However, thinking they were an obscure 60's soul band, I forgot about them until I found a copy of I Learned the Hard Way in a local record store. What surprised me more was that it wasn't a reissue, but a brand new release.

One can be forgiven for thinking that Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings are not contemporary; they can easily hold their own against any soul acts from back then. The album has a warm, full-rounded sound, probably contributed by the fact that it was recorded on an old Ampex eight-track machine.

The album works simply because of the relationship between the singer and the band. They complement each other perfectly. The horns & strings never overwhelm Jones's spirited delivery, instead providing that perfect accent.

I, for one, hope that Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings don't release an album in 2011. However, I will gladly welcome them in my 'Best of 2012' list.

Rory Gallagher - Rory Gallagher (LP, Polydor)

For an artist as prolific as Rory Gallagher, he remains largely unknown outside the circle of true blues fans. Ask anyone who the greatest guitar player is, and chances are that they will answer Jimi Hendrix. However, there is an old story about Jimi Hendrix being asked by an interviewer after Woodstock what it was like to be the greatest guitar player in the world; Hendrix replied "Go ask Rory Gallagher".

Born in Ireland, Gallagher began his recording career after moving to London and forming a trio called Taste. The group's self-titled debut album was released in 1969 in England. Between 1969 and 1971, Gallagher recorded three albums with Taste before they split up. Gallagher began performing under his own name in 1971.

Rory Gallagher's solo debut picks up where his previous band left off - it's a solid blues rock outing with ten original tunes. "Laundromat", "Hands Up", and "Sinner Boy"'s distinctive riffs were early concert favorites, but the album's ballads were some of Gallagher's strongest. "I Fall Apart", "Just the Smile" and the acoustic "I'm Not Surprised" mixes strains of Delta blues with strong melodic sensibilities into songs of rare poignancy. Gallagher seems rather restrained throughout his debut, holding back the fret-burning in favor of strong songs. He opens up on the album's jazzy, seven-minute finale "Can't Believe It's You" which even features an alto sax.

Gallagher passed away from complications owing to liver transplant surgery in 1995, at age 47. For a good introduction to his unparalleled prowess as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, there's no better place to start than this debut.

Rodriguez - Cold Fact (LP, Sussex)

The story of Sixto Rodriguez may seem like a mere footnote in the history of music, nonetheless it spans some four decades and multiple continents. Born in Detroit to Mexican immigrant parents his debut album, Cold Fact, was released in 1970 to a lukewarm response. His follow up, Coming From Reality, raised even less of a response and Rodriguez promptly disappeared. Well, not really - he went back to working in a factory.

Strangely enough this isn't the end of his story, but the beginning. Somehow, Cold Fact became a cult success in Australia, and more prominently in apartheid-era South Africa. So much so that for a period of time there were more copies of Cold Fact in South African record stores than in the USA.

For a record that's 40 years old, Cold Fact sounds surprisingly fresh and relevant. While not a lost masterpiece, one has to wonder how Rodriguez managed to escape wider recognition for so long. Rodriguez belongs to that category of artists that are not quite folk or folk-rock, but inspired by the genre. The only difference is that his lyrics are filtered through the prism of inner-city Detroit and not a coffee shop in the Village or London.

Opener "Sugar Man", a psychedelic plea to a drug dealer to "bring back all those colors to my dreams", surrounds a hypnotic vocal with a complex arrangement complete with horns, strings, and xylophone. The rest of the album consists of tracks whose lyrics are evocative yet hard to get a handle on even after repeated listenings, with song titles like "Hate Street Dialogue," "Inner City Blues" (not the Marvin Gaye tune), and "Crucify Your Mind". Through it all, Rodriguez has a commanding voice that is at once wise and completely unpretentious.

Rodriguez continues to tour South Africa & Australia, selling out 5,000-seat venues. Unfortunately, he's unlikely to repeat that success at home. Rodriguez is clearly a writer with a singular vision. Although it's impossible to rewind the clock 40 years and award iconic status retrospectively, he certainly deserves the acclaim.

Note: It's probably next to impossible to get the original pressing of this album on the Sussex label (catalogue no. 7012 for those who are interested). However, Light in the Attic have reissued both albums on vinyl.

Blind Faith - Blind Faith (LP, Polydor)

Blind Faith was either one of the great successes of the late '60s, or it was a disaster of monumental proportions - I'm not too certain myself. In actual fact, Blind Faith was probably both. The band compiled an enviable record - they generated some great songs, still regarded as classics 30-plus years later; they sold hundreds of thousands of concert tickets and perhaps a million more albums at the time; and they were a powerful force in the music industry. And they did it all in under seven months together.

Blind Faith's beginnings dated from 1968, the initial spark for the band coming from Clapton and Steve Winwood amidst the break up of their respective bands (Cream in Clapton's case, and Traffic in Winwood's). The notion of forming a band took shape as an eventual goal during jams between the two that lasted for hours. These ideas took a sharp, more immediate turn when Ginger Baker turned up to sit in with them. The results were impressive to all concerned, and the drummer was eager to be let into the group they were planning. The final version of the band came together with the addition of Rick Grech on bass. The name Blind Faith is a cynical reference that reflected Clapton's outlook on the new group.

Their first (and last) album remains one of the best albums of the era, despite the crash-and-burn history of the band. The album merges the soulful blues of Traffic with the heavy riffs & sprawling jams of Cream for a very unique sound. Exceptional tracks include the electric blues of "Had to Cry Today", the acoustic-textured "Can't Find My Way Home" and the lifting "Presence of the Lord" and "Sea of Joy". The biggest disappointment would have to be Ginger Baker's "Do What You Like", which is quite frankly a waste of vinyl. Unfortunately, despite the band sounding cohesive, fate had other plans for them, leaving us with only these 42 minutes as their legacy.

John Martyn - Solid Air (LP, Island)

Solid Air was released in 1973, and regarded by many to be the seminal John Martyn album. The title track was written for close friend Nick Drake, who was under considerable mental strife at the time (Nick Drake took his own life the following year).

While the sound of the album is adventurous & dynamic, the breakthrough in Martyn's sound had really come with the previous album, Bless The Weather. Firstly he'd joined forces with a man with whom he'd be linked for decades to come - ex-Pentangle bass player, Danny Thompson. Danny's double bass is the perfect accompaniment to John's fine finger picking. Next was the adoption of the Echoplex tape delay machine that he used when it came to laying down the smoky, fuzzy vibe. The third was his voice. The slurry, laid back delivery matches perfectly with his finger picking.

Above all, this was folk filtered through jazz. The inclusion of Tony Coe on sax complements Martyn's slurred delivery throughout. This, combined with the finest in British folk rock (most of Fairport Convention, including Richard Thompson, make an appearance here), lifted Solid Air above previous efforts.

The album kicks off with Martyn's lament for close friend Nick Drake on the vibe and sax-assisted title track. Of course, the one track that most will remember is "May You Never" - his paean to brotherly love that was to be a staple of every performance he's given since.

John Martyn may not be the finest folk artist, but with his characteristic backslap acoustic guitar playing, his effects-driven experimental journeys, his catalog of excellent songs, as well as his jazz-inflected singing style, John Martyn will remain an important and influential figure in both British folk and rock.

Through the Past, Darkly

I suddenly realised that the main focus of this blog (on the rare occasion when I update) has been on contemporary artists. I guess I've been trying to cover albums that are easily available and don't have to be hunted down. However, digging is probably the best part of collecting vinyl, so in the next few posts I will cover some of those dusty old gems we all might have forgotten about.

The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love (LP, 4AD)

I have been AWOL again, unfortunately other commitments and an elevated state of repose set in. However, if there's any band out there who can help shake off a state of self-imposed somnolence, it would have to be the The Big Pink.

A Brief History of Love? That's a mighty big undertaking. Despite being named after The Band's seminal Music From Big Pink, there's no folk-rock here. The Big Pink's own musical palette of influences is mainly drawn from shoegaze's more cryptic qualities. Comparisons have been drawn far and wide with The Jesus And Mary Chain, but to my mind the duo of Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell sound a lot like The XX (almost eerily similar on the title track).

However, on repeated listens the broad strokes of shoegaze peel away to reveal muscular subtleties. There may be shades of lad-rock in Furze’s inebriated croon, but it’s Milo Cordell’s progressive electronic leanings at play that come to the surface. This is an album created from a sensual palette of sound, with the emotional resonances deriving from the method of its construction. The album's glorious opener "Crystal Visions" closes with a climactic tirade of distortion detonations and points to a hefty, guitar-laden album; that is until it's met by "Too Young To Love"'s improbable breakbeat funkiness, and then by the album's soon-to-be terrace anthem, "Dominos" (trust me, you'll be humming the line "These girls fall like dominoes..." for days to come). "A Brief History Of Love" - a gorgeous duet between Furze and backing singer Jo Apps - would be the highpoint of many an album were it not for some of the exceptional highs that have passed here beforehand.

To be fair, the album is not perfect. There's a dispiriting drop in standards towards the end of the album, with pedestrian fillers. However, the high points of the album are definitely worth it. Yes, there are weaker tracks towards the end, but this album's best moments are the music equivalents of a beating heart.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (LP, Jagjaguwar)

For Emma, Forever Ago is one of those albums that is so complete in it's perfection that any description belies its true beauty. I will, however, try my best.

If the album exudes a strong sense of loneliness & remoteness, that's probably because Justin Vernon sequestered himself in a remote cabin in Wisconsin for almost four months, writing and recording. The result? An album possessing Elliot Smith’s folk-tinged starkness and the analog-tape warmth of Samuel Beam. The album favours acoustic arrangements, skeletal recordings on analog equipment that are close-recorded. Vernon, however, knows the power of crescendo, both in timbre and volume. And now and then, when he lets his voice shed the hushed/floating affectation, he has a raw abandon that’s quite compelling. While a few parts (horns, drums, and backing vocals) were added in a studio, for the majority of the time it's just Vernon, his voice, and his songs.

It's impossible to pick the best track in an album full of them, but "Skinny Love" shows off his range as he climbs down from the heights of falsetto and shouts out the angry and heartachey words quite convincingly. Framing his voice are suitably subdued arrangements built around acoustic guitars and filled out with subtle electric guitars, the occasional light drums, and slide guitar. Vernon has a steady grasp of dynamics too - the ebb and flow of "Creature Fear" is powerfully dramatic and when the chorus hits it's hard not to be swept away by the flood of tattered emotion. Almost every song has a moment where the emotion peaks and hearts begin to weaken and bend: the beauty of that voice is what pulls you through every time. For Emma captures the sound of broken and quiet isolation, wraps it in a beautiful package, and delivers it to your door with a beating, bruised heart. However, inspite of it's morose undertones, the album never turns into a pity party.

I have no idea who Emma is nor what happened forever ago (Vernon doesn't offer any hints), but it must have been mighty powerful to produce such a meaningful album.

Various Artists - Dark was the Night (LP, 4AD)

Charity albums are much like Christmas albums (don't get me started on the charity Christmas albums) - they start off with good intentions but end up as a collection of uninspired ideas. However noble the cause, it's unlikely that you will ever spin the album a second time.

Dark was the Night, however, is an album that you will keep coming back to. Featuring the who's who of artists on the alternative/folk-rock scene, the album is released by the Red Hot Organisation, to raise funds and awareness in the fight against AIDS. The album is curated by the National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner, and produced by Red Hot's John Carlin. Though the Carlin and the Dessners did not specify a particular theme, the album is surprisingly cohesive.

The triple LP of (mostly) original compositions opens with the whacky and upbeat "Knotty Pine", a collaborative effort from David Byrne and Dirty Projectors. Feist adeptly teams with Death Cab's Ben Gibbard on a cover of Vashti Bunyan's "Train Song" and later slow burns through the outstanding Grizzly Bear collaboration "Service Bell". Spoon provide a badly needed injection of rhythm on "Well Alright". We also get quality contributions from Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, New Pornographers, Yo La Tengo, Riceboy Sleeps, Iron & Wine, and Conor Oberst with Gillian Welch.

Standing out, however, are My Morning Jacket's laid-back "El Caporal" and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings' Shuggie Otis cover "Inspiration Information". Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch adds lyrics to an old Scottish folk song, and the resulting "Another Saturday" is one more quiet triumph for him. Dave Sitek's version of the Troggs' "With a Girl Like You" also gets an honourable mention, as does the Books and José González doing a cover of Nick Drake's "Cello Song". Not to be outdone by their invitees, the National shout-out Pavement on the languid "So Far Around the Bend", recalling Pavement doing the same to one of their favorite bands (R.E.M.) on No Alternative.

Overall, the tracks combine to produce a collection which is eclectic and entertaining, without any of the throwaway b-sides that usually clutter compilation albums. The artists have clearly delivered their best work, and the fact that it's for a good cause doesn't hurt.

Eilen Jewell - Sea of Tears (LP, Signature Sounds)

Although singer/songwriter Eilen Jewell has drawn comparisons with artists like Lucinda Williams & Jolie Holland, her strongest influences appear to be Bessie Smith & Billie Holiday. Having earned a reputation as a folkie with her earlier albums, Jewell moves towards a more guitar-heavy, 60's-flavoured roots rock with her third release, Sea of Tears.

The album is mainly Jewell's own compositions, but there are a few great covers thrown into the mix. Jewell's vocals are subtle, understated, and relaxed, but that doesn't make her any less expressive on moody, melancholy originals such as "Codeine Arms", "Rain Roll In", and "Fading Memory". She's as melancholy on her own material as she is on memorable performances of "I'm Gonna Dress in Black" (a gem that Van Morrison performed when he a member of Them in the '60s) and Loretta Lynn's "The Darkest Day". She also does a great cover of Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over".

Eilen Jewell is a distinctive artist with a voice that sinks into your head and just won't leave. The album will defintely be on your year-end "Best Of" list - it's that good.

Taken By Trees - East of Eden (LP, Rough Trade)

Taken by Trees is the name adopted by Victoria Bergsman, former vocalist of the Concretes and guest vocalist on "Young Folks" from Peter, Bjorn and John's third album, Writer's Block.

Her new recordings found Bergsman abandoning the Concretes' sprightly sound in lieu of a more sombre, stripped-down style that put her in league with Camera Obscura. Taken by Trees' first full-length, Open Field, was released in 2007.

For the next Taken by Trees' album, Bergsman wanted to try something different so she and recording engineer, Andreas Söderström, traveled to Pakistan to record with local musicians. This, apparently, was quite an eventful journey, with Bergsman literally being carried off by some locals shortly after the duo arrived in Pakistan; the fact that she was an unmarried woman evidently made her common property. Söderström saved her by posing as her husband, and thus disguised, Söderström and Bergsman went on to team up with a Pakistani musician named Malik to record this album.

The album kicks off with the haunting flute of "To Lose Someone" before Bergsman's melancholy vocals start. The rhythmic percussion and flute continue to dominate the song and the backing vocals are Pakistani, a theme that continues throughout the album. A version of Animal Collective's "My Girls" - changed to "My Boys" – is set to a stately, dipping rhythm of xylophone and percussion. Noah Lennox repays the favour by adding backing vocals to "Anna".

East of Eden is an ambitious project, and Bergsman manages to pull it off admirably, although some parts of the album are a trifle self-indulgent ("Wapas Karna", "Bekännelse"). Even though she's borrowed a lot here - from Animal Collective, Pakistani music - Bergsman manages to make it her own.

Initial vinyl pressings come with the album on CD and an accompanying documentary.

Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session (LP, Classic)

Apologies, once again, for my tardiness. Will attempt to be somewhat regular with updates in future. But don't hold your breath.

A gem I recently picked up is the Classic Records 200 gram vinyl reissue of the seminal Cowboy Junkies album, The Trinity Session. The Cowboy Junkies consists of three siblings – Margo Timmins on vocals, Michael Timmins on guitar and Peter Timmins on drums – and their longtime friend Alan Anton on bass

Recorded in the Holy Trinity Church in Toronto, Canada, the album was made in one night using one microphone and a DAT recorder. Who says great albums can't be made in a day?

The Trinity Session is a mix of blues and country covers and originals, but all the tracks on the album are given airy, slow-tempo treatments that allow them to slowly and deliberately unfold. This treatment is accentuated by Margo Timmins's extraordinary voice. Ethereal and cool, her voice fills an almost unimaginable space, especially on "Blue Moon Revisted (Song for Elvis)".

The other tracks that stand out on the album are the original "Misguided Angel" and the cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" (which includes the lost verse). "Sweet Jane" is definitely the linchpin that holds this album together, and as the band states - "The last piece to this very abstract puzzle was Sweet Jane. The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed embody what we feel rock music should be about - slightly out of step, intelligent, groove orientated and original. They have to be listed as one of the great rock bands ever and Sweet Jane, for better or worse, is one of their most recognized songs. It was and still is the backbone of cover bands all across America. It has been pitilessly slaughtered countless times on countless nights on countless stages around the world. We thought, 'lets take it and see if we can breathe new life into this tired old work horse'. We got our inspiration from The Velvets live album entitled 1969. To be honest it is one of our straighter covers, we didn't change it a whole lot. Originally we had tried to record it for the Whites album, but we never got the right feel. For this collection of songs we chose Sweet Jane as being 'our song - this is what we listened to growing up, this is where our musical tastes come from'".

The Cowboy Junkies recorded Trinity Revisited in 2007, joined by artists who were shaped by the original - Natalie Merchant, Ryan Adams and Vic Chestnut. I haven't torn the shrink wrap off that one yet, but it's probably nowhere near being as good as the original.

Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band (LP, Sub Pop)

After a hiatus of four years during which he became a member of the Shins and Vetiver, Eric D. Johnson returns to the Fruit Bats to give us another offering of Americana and sun-soaked folk. This time, it appears that he's going to stay for good, as he says in his blog: "After three years or so, Fruit Bats are back in the saddle. I spent the last couple of years playing in The Shins (a fine day job if there ever was one), but I’m back in full force with the first love of my musical life. Songs have been written. Recording dates have been written in permanent ink. To prove that I’m serious about this, Fruit Bats will be touring the west coast of the United States of America. How ‘bout it? Other parts of the country, as well as other nations, will be visited later in the year."

Since the initial inception of the Fruit Bats in 1999, they've seen a rotation of nearly 25 members, believe it or not. In keeping with that theme, The Ruminant Band features yet another cast of characters, of whom few have worked with the Fruit Bats before. Nonetheless, this is a thoroughly collaborative release.

The Fruits Bats stay close to their 70's-inspired roots. It's hard not to hear Neil Young in the guitar on "Primitive Man" and "Feather Bed", or Fleetwood Mac in the opening riff on the title track. Heck, they even reference Three Dog Night in the plaintive "Singing Joy to the World". Not to forget the Rolling Stones-inspired chorus on "Tegucigalpa". A bit of the Allman Brothers Band sprinkled all over completes the package.

The Fruit Bats exemplify a band that is content to create easygoing songs with unashamed nods to the past, allowing you to get lost in eerily soothing indie-folk tunes that will leave you wondering what decade it is.

The Fruit Bats are around to stay for a while, but it's nice to know that Eric Johnson has Other Career Options , just in case this doesn't work out. Somehow, I don't see him as a Swashbuckling Ichthyologist, so lets hope it doesn't come to that.

The Eels - Hombre Lobo: Twelve Songs of Desire (LP, Cobraside)

Eels albums generally tend to be built around a thematic concept, and their new record Hombre Lobo is no different. It tells the story of a misunderstood outsider, who is the grownup version of Dog Faced Boy from 2001's Souljacker.

Longtime Eels fans will notice many similarities between the character of Hombre Lobo and E (the front man and only permanent member of the band). They’re both peculiar individuals who enjoy being a step removed from conventional society, although they still want to find their place in the wider world.

Musically, Hombre Lobo draws from the styles of several previous Eels albums. However, it’s E’s lyrics that are the true, bitter joy of this record, sacrificing nothing of their wit in pursuit of heartbreaking, heartbroken directness: "Every day I wake up and wonder why", he sings, opening "All the Beautiful Things", "I’m alone when I know I’m a lovely guy."

While many of the album’s songs are impeccably crafted, only a few of them break new ground. That makes Hombre Lobo more of a satisfying addition to the Eels catalogue, rather than a bold step forward. The album will satisfy Eels fans because of its trademark empathetic vocals and overall wistful tone, but is unlikely to win a lot of new converts.

Ben Sollee - Learning to Bend (LP, Sonablast!)

I picked up this album based on the recommendation of my friendly record store guy, and was instantly pleased. I've never heard him before, although the 24-year old has been around awhile - touring with bluesman Otis Taylor and later a part of The Sparrow Quartet. Learning to Bend is his first solo effort.

Ben Sollee is another in a long line of wandering folksingers. However, instead of a guitar slung over his shoulder, he has a cello. The liner notes for the album state, "It was the cat-poles around the lake at his grandfather's farm that inspired Ben Sollee's debut album Learning To Bend. The frailty of those awkward looking plants standing stoutly against winds that challenged even the strongest of nearby trees is an affecting metaphor for human struggle and perseverance." Ben plays heavyweight as he pens songs about the current political climate, as well as delving into more personal stories along the way. Learning To Bend is filled with songs weighed down with one overwhelming theme - that bending under the heavy weight of something is harder to do at first, but it is the only way to survive.

Despite the heavy theme, the tracks on this album are all personal and friendly. Ben Sollee effortlessly flits from style to style, from retro R&B to folk and old-time fiddle music. The highlight of the album has to be Sollee's rewrite of the Sam Cooke classic, "A Change is Gonna Come".

Sollee was classically trained on the cello, but its apparent that he's interested in taking the instrument in new directions. His first solo effort is a giant step towards that. The album is available on 180 gram white vinyl.

Gomez - Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline (LP, Virgin)

The question that begs to be asked about Gomez is how can five blokes from Manchester sound like a bunch of old geezers from the Deep South? Whatever the answer, their sunny, lo-fi take on American country rock has won them much adoration. Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline is a collection of their B-sides, live outtakes & radio sessions.

Interestingly, this collection allows Gomez to better define themselves as a band by allowing them to indulge in some of their more experimental tendencies. "Bring Your Lovin' Back Here" gets back to that "classic Gomez" sound, as does the eight-plus minute "Buena Vista". A cover version of The Beatles' "Getting Better" is also included, and has to be one of the best tracks on the album (and a pretty decent cover too).

Despite the fact that this is a collection of odds and ends, Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline holds together remarkably well as an album, due to good track selection and intelligent segueing. In fact, some of the songs actually run together quite smoothly, with no break between songs.

This collection shows Gomez to be an extremely self-indulgent band, but their instincts are so good they pull it off without a hitch. Initial pressings include the five-song Machismo EP as a bonus disc.

The Muslims - The Muslims (LP, 1928 Recordings)

My solemn apologies to all the dedicated readers of this blog (by "all", I mean "both"). The last 6 months or so have been a whirlwind of activity and I have been unable to update this blog due to a lack of time (not a lack of good vinyl, I might add). Consider me duly chastised, I will try to be more regular henceforth.

The Muslims, despite a politically incorrect name, will appeal to fans of the Strokes, Modern Lovers, the Stooges and Velvet Underground. They play a catchy, upbeat rock and roll with a simple instrumental line and effortlessly catchy vocals.

These guys are not just another derivative garage rock schtick, they clearly are here for a purpose. As they state in "Future Rock", "Everybody's talkin' 'bout rock and roll...don't let it go to your head, that's all".

Recently renamed The Soft Pack, their debut 7-track LP comes in a silk screened sleeve that were shot with a .22 calibre. The inserts are hand typed, and they have included a CD version of the album with 3 bonus tracks. Frankly, they should have shot the CD with a .22 calibre, that would have been way cooler.

Unfortunately, "Extinction" (one of their best tracks), is available only on the bonus CD. Fear not, the remastered version of the debut comes with all 10 tracks on vinyl. And yes, they're still shooting the covers with that .22.

Jack Johnson - If I Had Eyes (7", Island)

"If I Had Eyes" is the first single to be taken from Jack Johnsons latest album, Sleep Through The Static. On the whole, the album and this track are a dissapointment. Jack Johnson gives us the same laid-back songs, sung so easily they maneuver straight into the background. True, he's gone electric on this track, but he strums his guitar like it's acoustic, so that doesn't really count as change. The self-conscious "oohs" dont help either.

However, the gem on this single is the B-side, "Let It Be Sung". The track was originally on the soundtrack to the film A Brokedown Melody (unfortunately that's not yet been released on vinyl). The track features friend & fellow musician Matt Costa.

The track is a totally endearing blend of acoustic guitar riffs that are perfectly accompanied by Johnson’s soft, shimmering vocal delivery and the nice layering from Costa. It's the perfect track to kick back with and wait for the next Jack Johnson album.

Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill (7", Elefant)

"If Looks Could Kill" is the third single from the band's third album, Let's Get Out of This Country.

Scottish indie-pop band Camera Obscura have been around since 1996, but are one of those bands that is on the cusp of rising popularity. It's a shame that success has eluded them for a career spanning over a decade, but I guess it's better late than never.

"If Looks Could Kill" has a Shangri-Las style of bounciness, with its opening line of "Tell me where it all went wrong" as lead singer Tracyanne Campbell tries to explain to a clueless chap exactly why he's upset his girlfriend. The upbeat melody, however, overshadows the excruciatingly heart-breaking lyrics, "If it's true looks could kill and you will be the first to make me mad / Then you'll have to go".

"If Looks Could Kill" is a simply joyous Motown-style indie-soul stunner. The limited 7" version comes with exclusive B-side, "I Know How I Love You", a cover of the Phil Spector-produced Paris Sisters classic.

Paperplain - 11:30 (7", Too Pure)

Paperplain is the alias for analogue-loving 18-year old, Helen Louise Page. She records songs on an old 8-track in her bedroom (everyone seems to be doing that these days), two of which were released by Too Pure as a single.

"11:30" is an incredibly intimate & gentle track. Helen has one of those voices that feels like she's singing to you personally, and she employs the eight-track to great effect. Her hushed tones and raw talent, hidden behind the hiss and clicks, results in endearingly honest music.

"Spin Wheel" on the B-side is more of the fragile vocals accompanied by simple acoustic guitar. Helen may only be starting out, but this is quite the debut. The single was mastered at Abbey Road, and has the following etched into the runout grooves:
Side A: "IT WILL BE OKAY"
Side B: "SPIN WHEEL; YOU'RE LIT!"