Look Out For: July 2008

Well, the sun is out and music is in the air. Festivals and parties abound, and for a few days in a year we can all go about our business with a bit more cheer before the nights close in around us again. The musicians don’t stop either - here’s my pick for the month of July.

Opinion: Jay-Z at Glasto.

“You guys aren’t into hip hop. I got one question - where’s the love?”

- Jay-Z, before ‘Heart of the City‘

Ok, so as I start this article I’m currently watching Jay-Z answer all his critics on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury 2008. Sticking his middle finger up to Noel Gallagher by opening with the iconoclastic Wonderwall, throwing AC/DC riffs into his set, and a dose of the likes of Prodigy for good effect.

The idea of live hip-hop is one that I don’t really understand the appeal in. A single man doing karaoke to a mix tape? I do that enough in my bedroom thanks. But having settled down to watch Jay-Z headline the Pyramid stage I was bewildered by the combination of rapper, live band and CD mix.

They said it couldn’t be done. Glastonbury belongs to guitars and rock, none of this hip hop stuff they said. Maybe they were scared? A black man taking the main stage at the most prestigious music festival the UK has to offer the world is a bold statement, like it or not. I wouldn’t put it past the mainstream press to hold their reservations not only down to the music, but to the colour of a man’s skin.

But with all this pressure mounting on his back, Jay-Z has come blasting out of the stage and has, for the most part, put on an amazing show. It just goes to prove that despite the ‘haters’, hip hop can be just as fascinatingly exciting a live show to watch as Radiohead. At the start of his set the predominantly white, probably middle class crowd cheered Oasis‘ name as Jay-Z ripped into Wonderwall. But it was Jay-Z’s name being chanted at the end of his enthusiastic and high octane set, certainly a damn more exciting sight to behold than Coldplay.

I’m going to leave it at that - I think bringing hip-hop to Glastonbury was a great idea, and Jay-Z was just the right ambassador for the genre in it’s moment in the spotlight. Articulate, confident and most importantly, incredibly talented, his show should silence any critics. Except for Zane Lowe, who is impossible to shut up. One day Lowe, one day…

Album Review: Black Light Burns - Cruel Melody

[This review coincides with the re-release of ‘Cruel Melody’, which has an extra DVD tacked on it for your viewing, and their promotional, pleasure. It’s released on 23rd June.]

It must be difficult making the decision of going it alone in the music business. After spending years of his life with Limp Bizkit, selling over 30 million records and becoming generally known as that guy with the weird face, Wes Borland had to face a brave decision when he left the rapidly sinking ship that was Limp Bizkit. He turned his back on the easy money, he turned his back on being instantly recognisable, and he turned his back on the commercial success of nu-metal. Now, with a supporting cast that includes Josh Freese from A Perfect Circle and Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails, Borland is ready to start steering his own ship. But has anything really changed?

Opening track ‘Mesopotamia’ (I assume a word that scientists are set to use for a futuristic potato-related disease) gets things off to a good start, grinding along with a fair drive that sounds a fair bit like ‘Hotride’ by the Prodigy. It’s got a groove, and Borland’s vocals are surprisingly good, sounding a little bit like Josh Homme.

Unfortunately the quality of Borland’s voice never really remains consistent. At times he sounds great, taking strong cues from the likes of Trent Reznor, notably in ‘Animal’, but on some tracks his voice is just dire – ‘Coward’ is a pretty painful example, with some terribly drawn-out lyrics, sung in the kind of nasal tone you’d expect to hear from a school band. Perhaps he’s just trying different things out, experimenting with a whole new range of instrumentation, and he just needs to find that balance because there are moments on ‘Cruel Melody’ where his voice is genuinely impressive.

Borland still retains his love for the theatrical, with dark costumes cropping up in press photos.

Although Wes Borland is the name on the solo project, it is more than clear what the other members of the group have brought to the table. Some tracks, such as ‘Animal’ share more than a few resemblances to the industrial sound of Nine Inch Nails, thanks to Lohner’s influence, and Freese’s drumming remains borderline experimental. Unfortunately he does let the side down with some jarring drum fills and speed changes that either do not fit into the songs or just sound sloppy.

There is no doubt here that Borland has shunned his nu-metal roots. Although there are certain points where there are hints of the disposable Limp Bizkit sound coming through, such as the high pitched guitar tweaks on ‘The Mark’ and the detuned riff of ‘One of Yours’ that wouldn’t have been out of place on ‘Three Dollar Bill Y’all’. But for the most part Borland does explore new ideas and territory, and proves himself as a more talented guitar player than a lot of people give him credit for.

Cruel Melody is a fairly good album. It’s never going to be taxing on the brain, and the lyrical content is for the most part, laughable, but Borland has taken this opportunity to spread his wings somewhat and shrug off the reliance on big, catchy riffs. But the name of Limp Bizkit and those of its members are, unsurprisingly, dirt in the majority of music circles, and I think Borland is going to have a hard time reaching out to an audience that can overlook his past, a problem that is exacerbated by putting the name Limp Bizkit on the front cover.

The video for ‘Lie’.

It’s not a bad album, and actually has some intriguing ideas, but there is a lot here that can either be expanded upon or improved drastically. Quality control is just one thing, as towards the end of the album things really begin to drag out. To those who are intrigued, but are put off by Borland’s past I strongly suggest giving it a try as it does showcase a new side to the guitarist, and brings out some of his, and his fellow member’s, worthy talent.

This review is also published over at Sonic Dice.

Opinion: How Good is the Internet for Music? [Part 2]

Given the vast expanse of time I now have being on my summer holidays from university, I’ve found myself spending more time than usual in front of a computer screen, and I started to wonder as I browsed the web and listened to album upon album - is the Internet revolution a good or bad thing for the music industry? In the next few Opinion articles I want to talk about the Internet’s effect on the music world, and try to come to some sort of conclusion as to whether we should welcome the change with open arms or if I’m being a cynical bastard. I’d really welcome any opinions readers might have on the whole thing, so leave a comment.

One of the biggest changes that the Internet has effectively brought about is a new era of relationship between the artist and the fan. It is now a necessity to have a band Myspace account, where fans can congregate and often leave many well wishing messages. But these days even that is beginning to look like it isn’t enough. Gone are the days where a permanent divide exists between the band and the listener. We are now facing an age where the band need the fan to survive even more, and not just to buy the music and attend the gigs.

One such example of musicians refreshed attitude to their listeners came in 2007, when Mudvayne announced they wanted their fans to compile a new album, picking out the songs, and determining whether they would be live versions, or old demos. It was certainly a fresh idea, given the majority of record labels reliance on the staid release of B-side best of’s that usually comes after a band’s explosion in popularity, in the search of a cheap buck (I’m looking at you, EMI). The album was appropriately titled ‘By the People, For the People’ and sold pretty well, which came as a surprise given how awful their previous release ‘Lost and Found’ was.

The great thing with this idea is that it inevitably creates a much happier fanbase. Imagine being given the power to have your input in your favourite band’s next release. What if Rage Against the Machine were to announce a similar idea, just think of all the great stuff you could fight to get in that release. Or if U2 jumped on the bandwagon - with U2 fans in charge, it’s possible you could create the worst album known to man.

But joking aside, if an artist wanted to put together a true best of, what better people to ask than the people who probably know the musician’s discography better than themselves? What could possibly go wrong with that? Well, there are a few issues with this idea. For a start anyone who takes a passing glance at a band’s forum will immediately know that it is impossible to satisfy everyone, especially on the Internet where there is always one wanker who wants to go against everyone and disagree. Furthermore, Mudvayne are a band on the wane, struggling to find any relevance to today’s audiences who have moved far away from the tainted genre that is nu-metal. Such a stunt acts as a great cover up for a lack of ideas, whilst still appeasing those who still consider themselves fans, an easy to exploit market.

One other example, and perhaps one of the greatest perpetrators of the side by side evolution of music and Internet is Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails. Not only did he embark on a massive viral campaign for 2007’s ‘Year Zero’, creating a storyline throughout the web and hiding memory sticks in toilets, he also invited listener’s to remix songs from the album, giving them complete access to all the individual tracks, essentially meaning anyone could create a whole new song out of the files. Not only did this provide some fantastic free advertising, but passionate fans embroiled themselves into the murky, futuristic dystopia of Year Zero, further elevating Reznor’s status as an Internet innovator.

But once again, some doubts begin to come into my mind as to the strength of such an idea. It demands a great deal of effort and knowledge from fans to put together a half decent remix (although to counter this, Nine Inch Nails does have some extremely passionate fans) but most importantly it once again makes me question the motives behind a concept. Is Reznor doing it for fun? Or is he also struggling to stay relevant in today’s music world, relying upon his fans to create new ideas out of his old ones.

At the moment, fan participation remains fairly one way. We go to the gigs, we buy the albums, essentially we show our appreciation by keeping them alive financially. But I think there is a possibility that as the music industry struggles to reinvent itself, these ideas will become more mainstream and could change destroy artist/listener separation forever. But do we really want to be in cahoots with the musicians? Isn’t it there job to entertain us? These questions can only be answered by the mainstream, whose participation will determine the overall success of these bold ideas.

Album Review: Russian Circles - Station

Perhaps one of the most exciting bands out there at the moment, Russian Circles‘ sophomore effort represents a valiant overcoming of many trials and tribulations. ‘Enter’, their debut was a fantastic slice of instrumental music, and one that said no to the majority of instrumental stuff out there by being hard rocking, damn catchy, and without any namby-pamby instruments, more akin to Don Cabellero than Red Sparowes. But with the departure of one of the founding members, bassist Colin DeKuiper, and the arrival of his subsequent replacement, Brian Cook (from the great These Arms Are Snakes, as well as a few other genre defining bands) it was always going to be interesting how things were set to change.

Rest assured, Russian Circles have not rested upon their laurels, and in Station have created a completely different album compared to their last effort. First track Campaign is a slow, melodic build up that acts as a calm introduction before the storm of Harper Lewis. It doesn’t really go anywhere, patiently building up to a climax that never comes, but floats along before subsiding to a key change, with Mike Sullivan’s calm, muted fret wanderings creating a beautifully soft effect that entrances you.

Things then fade out into Harper Lewis which immediately stands out after the slow pace of the intro, Dave Turncrantz pounding his drums with a resolute power as Brian Cook makes his first standout moment with a deliciously evil bassline that rattles the speakers. Layered over this is Sullivan’s drawn out high notes, that pierce the whole song. It is a myriad of ideas that all combine together, going from soft to heavy, intricate to simple but never once losing its power. Just as they know how to do so well, it all builds up and up before overflowing into a brilliant burst of furious fills and guitar meanderings.

Title track Station moves along at a terrifically bouncy pace, almost rivalling Battles‘ Atlas for sheer fun, which is odd given the dark bassline, but Turncrantz’s drum rolls just fill the song with an irresistible groove. Things pause for a brief respite midway through before letting out another burst of energy and power that could force a nation to stamp its feet on the ground, just wishing they could sound as good as Turncrantz. It’s a wonderful track that goes from a drunken dance to sober serious, with some guitar picking that sounds very reminiscent of Efrim Menuch’s technique in Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but is invariably Sullivan’s own.

Verses however showcases a much more patient opening, with drawn out notes layered over a deep, unsettling bass that nearly caused my subwoofer to break. Then out of nowhere comes this beautiful guitar tone that sounds gorgeously sweet to the ears. Despite the risk of boredom with this kind of angle, the drumming injects the necessary pace to keep the song alive, and there is a vast variety in Sullivan’s picked notes that keep it all fresh and interesting. Things do not say so understated for long, with another epic climax brought about, the guitar loud and clear, acting almost like a call to arms to whomever might be listening.

As Verses rattles to a close, Youngblood instantly picks things up again with familiar high pitched guitar picking, and once again the drums prove themselves to be the shot of heroin in the song, as they punctuate the crisp guitar work of both Cook and Sullivan. It’s a haunting track, that speeds along with a dangerous motive, dark and evocative. Chainsaw-like riffs make this the heaviest track on the album, as Sullivan moves things along at a pace that barely gives you time to take in what has happened, before the song has changed tactics again. It is right here that the trio really come together, and you start to feel that Cook was just the right man for the job as the climax of the song builds up, layer over layer, one part never superseding another until things can go nowhere else and the song slowly eases itself into Stations‘ swan song.

The closer Xaavi is also the shortest track on the album, at a modest four and a half minutes long. There’s a strange element of the Wild West infused into the music, a lonely riff that embodies the image of one lone ranger walking off into the sunset. Despite the addition of keyboards in this track, nothing really takes away the focus on Sullivan’s isolated guitar work, with even Turncrantz’s drumming taking a step back from the limelight. And then for one final time, the threesome all come together again, drums growing louder, bass rumbling below and the guitars beckoning you to fall into their world one more time, and as it builds and builds your anticipation is shot when things just end, almost as if Russian Circles have offered you the meaning of life, and then taken it away with a knowing wink.

Station is a different album from Enter, make no bones about it. It showcases a more patient side to the band, and whether this is a natural development or down to Cook’s introduction is a topic up for debate. But although Station doesn’t immediately come across as a ‘better’ album than Enter, it is certainly a much more slickly crafted one, rich with layers that you’ll keep on discovering upon every listen. It’s deeper, not as shallow as to give into cheap temptations, and it’s all the better for it. A definite grower, and if this is just a station on Russian Circles‘ journey then I cannot wait for where the train is set to take us next.