The CLUAS Archive: 1998 - 2011

20
Adrian Crowley
CLUAS fires some questions at Adrian Crowley, creator of the Choice Music Prize nominated Season of the Sparks. Tell us about the album - its conception, creation, response... Is there anythi...

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20
Laura Izibor
One of the nominees for the 2010 Choice Music Prize CLUAS fires some questions at Laura Izibor, creator of Choice Music Prize nominated album Let The Truth Be Told. Tell us about the...

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17

Last summer we brought you on-site reports and reviews from La Route du Rock, the brilliant alt-music festival that takes place in Saint Malo every mid-August.

La Route du Rock, winter/hiver 2010

There are actually two annual La Route du Rock festivals - the 'summer' festival in August is complemented by a 'winter' version in February. And so La Route du Rock Collection Hiver ('winter collection' - how fashionable and French) 2010 happens this weekend, 19-21 February. (In France, winter ends and spring begins on 21 March.) The main venue is L'Omnibus on the outskirts of Saint Malo.

Like its summer counterpart, the winter version of La Route du Rock has a line-up that's bursting with concentrated indie goodness. Here's Friday evening's bill of fare at L'Omnibus: Fiery Furnaces, Beach House, Jackie O Motherfucker and The Horrors.

But check out Saturday night's running order: Clues, Shearwater, The XX, Local Natives and Clara Clara. Same night, same venue, same bill, one after the other - isn't that a fantastic line-up?

Update: The XX have cancelled their appearance at La Route du Rock, following the death of singer Romy Madley Croft's father. Their place will be taken by These New Puritans, who supported The XX at their magnificent Paris show last Thursday.

Sunday afternoon is less busy but no less impressive - The Tallest Man On Earth will be playing in the atmospheric surroundings of the Chapelle Saint-Sauveur. (Yes, it's a gig in a church.)

Another interesting event during the festival weekend is a special Saturday afternoon screening of films from the Takeaway Shows, Vincent Moon's influential series of impromptu performances.

If you're thinking of a quick dash to Saint Malo this weekend, forget it - the festival is sold out. You'll just have to wait for the summer festival in August... keep an eye on this blog for the first confirmed details of this year's acts.

Here's one of the bands from that cracking show in Saint Malo this Saturday - Local Natives with 'Airplanes', from a recent BBC session:


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15

Last Saturday was another rough night at the Stade de France for Irish sport, as our rugby team lost badly to a French side that's good but hardly great. Your correspondent was there, shivering with cold and shuddering in despair beside the visiting CLUAS Album Review Air Traffic Controller (in Paris for an inspection of operations at Chateau French Letter).

As ever, though, national pride has been restored by Ireland's pop stars - always good for the Seine-side win that ever eludes our football and rugby heroes.

We mention regularly here Les Inrockuptibles, the weekly music and culture magazine with a quintessentially French taste for florid prose. Die-hard devotees of The Divine Comedy, in recent times Les Inrocks have given the rave to Duke Special, Carly Sings and Adrian Crowley.

French revolutions per minute: Magic RPM, February 2010

Another music publication carried at all times in our CLUAS Foreign Correspondent Diplomatic Pouch is Magic RPM (right). A monthly magazine devoted entirely to alternative music, its title acronym stands for 'Revue Pop Moderne'. Modern pop: yes, please!

Magic RPM is excellent. For one thing, their writers have some strange trick of writing French prose that's simple yet intelligent and witty. Also, the magazine's review section has ambitious scope - the February edition has a whopping 66 albums getting substantive and considered critiques.

Two of this month's sixty-six are Irish - Fionn Regan's 'The Shadow Of An Empire' and 'Tourist History' by Two Door Cinema Club. Each gets a fair and informed review that backs up the final rating (out of six, rather idiosyncratically).

First up, Fionn Regan. Reviewer Vincent Théval falls in with the general reaction to the Wicklow man's second album - a comparison to Dylan going electric. He isn't impressed by the opening songs, calling them "a set of knives without a blade".

However, the man from Magic RPM much prefers the record's home stretch, in particular "a trio of sublime ballads": 'Little Nancy', 'Lord Help My Poor Soul' and the title track.

A 'non' to the first half and 'oui' to the second - that makes a final score of three out of six for Fionn Regan, with the consolation of high praise for a handful of tracks. If you read French, check out the full review here.

Two Door Cinema Club also receive an obvious comparison from their reviewer, Thomas Schwoerer, who reckons the "excellent" single 'Something Good Can Work' "sounds like Phoenix south of the equator". (That'll be an allusion to Vampire Weekend's world-pop, then.) The review praises the Down lads for their "sense of catchy melody and killer chorus" that delivers an album "to bring a smile to the lips". Overall, Schwoerer remarks on the band's "naive and juvenile" sound but ultimately finds in favour of "these three boys that we'll surely hear a lot this year".

And the scores? Four out of six for Two Door Cinema Club, continuing their successful experience in France. Unfortunately, the full review isn't online.

So, plenty of much-merited positive comments for the two Irish acts in Magic RPM this month. G'wan Oirland! Here's Fionn Regan with the unquestionably Dylan-goes-electric 'Protection Racket':


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15

A review of the album 'Two Suns' by Bat for Lashes

Bat for Lashes - Two SunsReview Snapshot: ‘Two Suns’, released by Bat for Lashes in April 2009, was recently nominated for a Brit award. From the first song a haunting sound, almost hymnal at times, is created. It's not an initial jaw dropper of an album however it will grow on you. Soon enough you’ll find yourself wandering around humming the songs off this album unknowingly. Lyrically beautiful and musically underrated, it is deserving of much more praise than it has received. An album that rightly propels this songstress into the limelight. 

The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10

Full Review: Bat for Lashes is a one woman show; Natasha Khan is the singer/ songwriter and multi instrumentalist behind the name and she recently received a much deserved nomination for Best British Female Solo Act at the 2010 Brit awards. ‘Two Suns’ - her second album - was released back in April 2009 and slowly, but surely, has been rising in popularity. I’ve grown to love it over the last nine months and the recent Brit nomination is my excuse to review it now.  

Inspired by her travels and composed across the globe - from the Joshua Tree desert in California to the hills of the Welsh Country side to the hustle and bustle of New York and London - ‘Two Suns’ invites us to join the protagonist on her travels from a cityscape to a countryscape which is particularly evident from ‘Two Planets’ and ‘Travelling Woman’. The album begins softly with ‘Glass’ as she immediately draws us into the haunting atmosphere that envelops it and doesn’t stray far from this temperament throughout. Voice is Khan's primary instrument, it inviting us into her world from the get-go with a soft vulnerability that enthrals the listener. The opener begins acapella, draws us in hook line and sinker (“I will rise now / And go about the city”).
 
‘Daniel’ is relatively up tempo in comparison to the rest of the album. My favourite song, I even found myself singing the chorus over and over again not just to myself but to strangers with that name. The first single release, it is about her childhood crush, Daniel LaRusso from the Karate Kid.  
 
She talks a lot throughout of Pearl, her alter ego. She distances herself from this character while at the same time acknowledging that Pearl is one side of her personality. Again this mirrors her city/ country scape juxtaposition. ‘Siren Song’ and ‘Pearl’s Dream’ - both of which have Pearl as their protagonist - are lyrically beautiful, portraying the sense of loneliness, longing and bewilderment that oftentimes accompanies one on their travels.  
 
The final song on the album, ‘The Big Sleep’, features Scott Walker and the only instrument is a piano. It has a hymnal quality to it (as does much of the album) and leaves the listener back to where they started.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this album however it’s a grower. Upon first listen it is quite forgettable but once it has been through the CD player a few times it will be very difficult to take out.  The haunting sound of Natasha Khan's voice, consistent throughout the album, has what it takes to give the willing listener a healthy bit of escapism. 
 
With the recent Brit nomination received by Bat for Lashes it seems that Khan's efforts as a composer, vocalist and instrumentalist haven’t gone unnoticed. With any luck she will gather some attention and praise, much deserved.

Teresa Loftus


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15
Midlake (live in Dublin)
Midlake (live in Vicar Street, Dublin) Review Snapshot: Everything from the way the instruments sounded to the almost perfect set list, it was a night to remember.  Vicar Street was the ...

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13
Jenny Huston
2FM DJ and broadcaster Jenny Huston wrote a book profiling Irish bands and artists on the up. The book is filled with interviews on how they got there, got dropped, got signed again and split - before...

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13
The Duckworth Lewis Method
On their Choice Music Prize nominated album The Duckworth Lewis Method CLUAS fires some questions at The Duckworth Lewis Method, creators of Choice Music Prize nominated album The Duckwo...

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13
And So I Watch You From Afar
One of the nominees for the 2010 Choice Music Prize CLUAS fires a few questions at And So I Watch You From Afar, creators of the Choice Music Prize nominated album "And So I Watch You Fr...

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12

It’s no secret that a lot of bands find making their second album more nerve-wracking than their first, for a multitude of reasons. After the initial high of actually releasing their debut, and depending on how successful it was, there’s the fear that it will never match the acclaim of their debut. Arctic Monkeys are a prime example of this, ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ was the UK’s fastest selling debut album, reached number 1 in both Ireland and the UK and cemented their place in music history. Their second album ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ was never going to be able to live up to its predecessor. But the Arctic Monkeys still released it almost a year after their hugely successful debut instead of mulling over it for too long.

Other bands, namely Klaxons, seem intent on delaying their second album for as long as is humanly possible. Why? Probably because they know it’s unlikely they’ll release another ‘Golden Skans.’ Or, alternatively, some bands could be hoping their second album will launch them into the mainstream, like My Chemical Romance’s ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ or Paolo Nutini’s ‘Sunny Side Up.’ Also to be considered is the fear that your band will be dropped from their label if your second album isn’t up to par.

So, who has to worry? Well, do you remember Kate Nash? She’ll be finally releasing her follow-up to ‘Made of Bricks’ this year. It’s very likely that she’s expecting for it to be scrutinised and compared to her debut (I think everyone knows it will be). And there’s no doubt that Florence and the Machine will have a hard time matching the success of their debut ‘Lungs’, same goes for White Lies.

The correct formula for a second album, if any, is hard to grasp. Most bands want to change their sound, be more “grown up” but also don’t want to alienate their original fans. It’s a hard game to play. Jack Penate made a brave move after his unremarkable first album ‘Matinee’. While his debut did garner him some fans, myself included, it was only ever okay. He re-evaluated his sound and in 2009 returned with ’Everything is New’, consisting of more genre flirting as opposed to his previous “indie kid with a guitar” style. And, of course, his second album definitely gained much more positive attention than his debut.

And lastly are the musicians who couldn’t care less about second album syndrome. Dev Hynes, formerly of Test Icicles, seems to eat, breathe and sleep songs. Better known as Lightspeed Champion, he’s currently gearing up to release his second LP ‘Life is Sweet, Nice to Meet You’ and has also written songs for various other musicians. Interestingly, in the past he’s hinted that he released other material under a pseudonym. Perhaps a perfect example of someone who appears to have music flowing through his veins, the release of his second album doesn’t seem to phase him at all.

Possibly my favourite second album of the noughties is Elbow’s ‘Cast of Thousands.’ It’s a tricky thing, making a second album. The first album is  for you to prove yourself as a musician, by the third one you’ll probably have been pigeonholed. It used to be all about the debuts, maybe this will be the decade of album numéro deux?


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Nuggets from our archive

2002 - Interview with Rodrigo y Gabriela, by Cormac Looney. As with Damien Rice's profile, this interview was published before Rodrigo y Gabriela's career took off overseas. It too continues to attract considerable visits every month to the article from Wikipedia.