https://www.cluas.com/indie-music RSS feeds for CLUAS Irish Indie Music 60 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3750/The-Rubberbandits--Ingenious-Limerick-Satirists#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3750 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3750&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3750/The-Rubberbandits--Ingenious-Limerick-Satirists This is an irregular post, a thing I don't do without reason - not a review as such, but rather an exhortation to buy the Rubberbandits' single between now and the 23rd. "Horse Outside" is its name, and you can buy it in record stores or on iTunes. You may remember that last year, there was a campaign to usurp Simon Cowell's flavour of the month with "Killing in the Name Of" by Rage Against the Machine. This was successful in the UK, but in Ireland the hordes of tween girls overcame the more alternative among us to put that wholly forgettable X-factor winner, Joe McElderry, in first place. Sadly for those girls, their investment came to nothing, as whatever-his-name-was announced that he was gay sometime during the year.  This year, we have an equally forgettable X-factor winner, Matt Cardle, singing an equally forgettable cover, with the interesting addition of a guitar every so often. Thankfully, it seems that we have this time steeled ourselves against this invasion of the lowest sort of English culture, and global commercialism. The Rubberbandits, a Limerick hip-hop duo, are on the way to the number one spot. I need not tell you about the Rubberbandits, whose video "Horse Outside" has topped 2.5 million views on Youtube. I may, however, tell you why you should go immediately to iTunes and buy their single. This band are capable of the most cutting, intelligent satire that I have come across in recent popular music. They have held a startlingly clear mirror up to many facets modern Irish culture, and the reflection is not always attractive. At first, I imagined that they were unaware of the extent of their social criticism, but hearing them regularly in the national media, I think they are genuinely clever people, quite aware of what they are creating. Another reason to respect them is the number of feathers they've ruffled among the mindless, caipín-wearing traditionalists of this country. The criticisms leveled against them on Joe Duffy's radio programme, and their own elegant rebuttals, are absolutely hilarious. It seems that singing about sex, drugs and criminal activities is still rebellious in this country, but the Rubberbandits do it in such an original, way - intelligent and profane at once - that they deserve the notice even of music snobs. And, most importantly, they deserve the Christmas number one single.    More ... Philip McDonnell Sat, 18 Dec 2010 14:52:10 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3750 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3751/Lucy-Foley--Offbeat-Alternative-from-Clare#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3751 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3751&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3751/Lucy-Foley--Offbeat-Alternative-from-Clare Artist: Lucy Foley Release: Copenhagen (Album) County of Origin:  Clare Genre:  Offbeat Electro-acoustic Folk The Freshly Squeezed Rating: 8.5 drops out of 10   Lucy Foley's first album, recorded in New York and Co Clare and inspired by the time she spent in Denmark, is a good record to return with, after my long absence. Lucy Foley is offbeat, edgy and refreshing.   There's a lot to like about Lucy Foley. She doesn't seem to fit neatly into any genre, the whole album seems interwoven into a tapestry, and she manages to maintain her rhotic Irish accent. Her laid-back style reminds me of Susie Wilkins, a London-based artist whose music I lived on for a few weeks after I saw her supporting Joe Jackson.   It seems to me that this is one album that is best enjoyed as a whole, but especially notable within it are “It's a Tangle”, a catchy and surprisingly frank opening, and “Mister Bogeyman”, the sixth of seven tracks, a dark but urgent jazz-folk cross.   Copenhagen was released on October 1st - it can be previewed and bought here. Check out Lucy's website for more information, including information about gigs. More ... Philip McDonnell Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:40:44 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3751 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3757/A-Lazarus-Soul-With-A-Penthouse-View#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3757 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3757&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3757/A-Lazarus-Soul-With-A-Penthouse-View Allow me to introduce you to A Lazarus Soul if you’re unfamiliar with them. They’re perhaps one of the best bands in Ireland right now, and their music channels the likes of Joy Division and The Smiths but with a Dublin twist. Their excellent second album Graveyard Of Burnt Out Cars makes frequent references to the rougher sides of the capital, bringing realism to the forefront but still having heart, albeit among some strong lyrics. For their single ‘The Day I Disappeared’ an image of infamous criminal Martin Cahill was used as the sleeve cover, the song features the somewhat fitting lyrics “And the Liffey filled with tears/Of relief the day I disappeared.” On one occasion I was walking through Dublin City in the evening and one of their songs came on my mp3, and it just seems an incredibly apt representation of the city. If I’m out of the country and one of their songs comes on I’m instantly reminded of Dublin, it’s very authentic and, joyously, very distant from the likes of U2. So why exactly am I mentioning A Lazarus Soul? Excitingly, they’re releasing a new album in October, entitled ‘Through A Window In The Sunshine Room’ and their first single ‘A Penthouse View’ is available for free download here. It certainly doesn’t sound that similar to any of their songs from 'Graveyard Of Burnt Out Cars', or their debut 'A Lazarus Soul Record', but I’m interested to see where this goes and to hear more tracks from their forthcoming album. I’ll leave you with their video for ‘Icon’, perhaps one of their most popular tracks, from their 'Graveyard Of Burnt Out Cars' album. Enjoy! More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:18:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3757 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3752/Lisa-Cuthbert--Engaging-Dublin-Pianist#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3752 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3752&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3752/Lisa-Cuthbert--Engaging-Dublin-Pianist Artist: Lisa Cuthbert Release: Obstacles (Album) County of Origin:  Dublin Genre:  Melodramatic Piano Pop-Rock The Freshly Squeezed Rating: 7.5 drops out of 10     Lisa Cuthbert obviously owes something to Dolores O’Riordan and company, but her music definitely stands on its own as both novel and emotionally engaging. From the anger of “My Material Girl” to the desperation of “Second Leaving”, this highly impressive debut album will catch you between its crystal highs and throaty lows. The artist was born and bred in Dublin, and initially earned a reputation for her diverse repertoire, including a number of Metallica covers. Last year she recorded her first EP, Ready to Unfold, and with it she began to explore a more pensive style, which retains the occasional vein of aggression: in my opinion, adding immeasurably to it. Lisa Cuthbert’s combination of piano and vocals is incisive, and at times derails the listener with walls of unexpectably sincere lyrics. I can see people dismissing this music without a second thought, but it commands my respect. Especially look out for “Obstacles”, “My Material Girl” and “Storm Coming On”.  Lisa Cuthbert released "Obstacles" this March. She performs in Tower Records and in the Bewleys Cafe Theatre this Friday the 6th: more details can be found on her Myspace here. More ... Philip McDonnell Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:42:36 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3752 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3924/Serge-Gainsbourg-film-Irish-release#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3924 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3924&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3924/Serge-Gainsbourg-film-Irish-release 'Gainsbourg', Joann Sfar's disappointing biopic of France's greatest ever pop star, opens in Irish cinemas on 30 July. You'll remember that we reviewed it in detail here when it first came out in France back in January. Just to recap: the first half-hour featuring the boy Lucien Ginsburg is energetic and promising, but the rest of the movie (focusing on the adult Serge Gainsbourg) is merely a series of clumsy caricatures with no character development or motivation. Ever wondered how the worldwide scandal and fame of 'Je T'aime (Moi Non Plus)', still pop's most notorious single, affected Serge and Jane Birkin? Well, you won't find out from this film. That said, if you're a Francophile you'll probably find it interesting enough. The initial concept - personifying Gainsbourg's self-doubt as a cartoonish alter-ego - is quite clever, even if Sfar makes it carry too much of the film's dramatic weight. Eric Elmosnino, an astounding dead-ringer for Gainsbourg, is watchable throughout. Still, the whole film survives on the good-will created by its entertaining first act. Music-lovers will get little insight on the creative processes of a genuine pop genius: Serge is just shown serving up ready-prepared classics like 'Comic Strip'. Non-francophiles will quickly tire of seeing French stars impersonated for the amusement of a French cinema audience. However, if this film and its publicity help introduce Irish audiences to Serge's 1967-71 golden period, some of the most thrilling and influential pop music ever made, then it will have done some good.  Looking very cool indeed, here's Serge Gainsbourg smoking along to his magnificent 'Initials B.B.': More ... Aidan Curran Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3924 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3753/Kowalski--Unimaginative-Ulster-Songsters#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3753 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3753&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3753/Kowalski--Unimaginative-Ulster-Songsters Artist: Kowalski Release: Take Care, Take Flight (EP) County of Origin:  Down Genre:  Indie-Disco The Freshly Squeezed Rating: 3.5  drops out of 10 Kowalski are the epitome of well-polished - although 'Get Back' seems slightly discordant to me - but entirely uninteresting music. Their music is occasionally good, sometimes original - but never both at the same time.  This particular brand of Indie, entirely lacking personality or bravery, especially irritates me. The very essence of Indie music is the struggle for independence and individuality, and this band is the type of timorous conformity and of seeking the centre. Kowalski offends me by its excessive desire not to offend anyone at all. The death of Indie lies in this sort of pathetic appeasement of the musically ignorant. I think that my distaste for this music is heightened by my aversion to moany vocals of any genre. I only grudgingly accept the necessity for Michael Stipe's whinging as a necessary component of R.E.M.'s sound. Here, I see no such necessity. Kowalski seem to be simply afraid of playing out loud. This band, who hail from Bangor, have saved themselves from a lower rating with their general togetherness, and their relatively acceptable lyrics. Perhaps someday Kowalski will throw off their shackles and begin to create for themselves, rather than for other people. Until that day, though, £3 for a digital copy of one of their EPs is a very high price. Kowalski's Myspace can be found here, and you can download and listen to their new EP here.  More ... Philip McDonnell Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:18:17 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3753 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3925/Video-Villagers-busking-in-Montmartre#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3925 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3925&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3925/Video-Villagers-busking-in-Montmartre Your Paris correspondent finds it the most over-hyped and over-rated Irish album of recent years, but what do we know? Everyone else in Ireland can only rave about Villagers and 'Becoming A Jackal'. This party line has also been adopted by our UK neighbours: Conor O'Brien's recent appearance on 'Later... with Jools Holland' was this week followed up by him popping up on the Mercury Music Prize shortlist for 2010. (Only a begrudger and player hater would dare suggest that he's the token Irish act on the list.) And like one of those animated map graphics showing the Nazis' advance through Europe, Villagers-love has spread to France. On the radio, O'Brien joined Laura Leishman for an interview and acoustic session on her high-profile show on alt-music station Le Mouv'. Villagers tunes have also popped up in the playlist of C'est Lenoir, France Inter's long-running and much-loved indie hour. In the press, 'Becoming A Jackal' has got the serious rave. Les Inrockuptibles devoted a typically flowery feature to the "little genius" O'Brien and "his gothic folk, haunted by black lights and bruised words" comparable to Nick Cave, Scott Walker, Prefab Sprout and Van Dyke Parks. The more readable Magic RPM, in their 5-out-of-6 review of what they consider "a masterpiece", spot a different set of reference points: Paul Simon, Belle And Sebastian and Leonard Cohen.  On the web, O'Brien features in a set of 'Takeaway Show'-style performance videos by French site Le Hiboo. ('Hiboo' is the French for 'owl'.) Filmed in Abbesses, a less-touristy part of Montmartre, the videos have O'Brien strumming and singing and strolling all at the same time. Sharp-eyed French movie fans will recognise the shop in the picture above: the greengrocer's in 'Amelie'. (No wonder that grocer was always in such a foul mood.) Anyway, for the countless millions of you who like Villagers, check out Conor O'Brien on the streets of Montmartre singing 'Set The Tigers Free' and, below, 'Home': More ... Aidan Curran Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3925 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3754/Boa-Morte-A-Contemplative-Corkonian-Quartet#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3754 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3754&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3754/Boa-Morte-A-Contemplative-Corkonian-Quartet Artist: Boa Morte Release: The Dial Waltz (album) County of Origin:  Cork Genre:  Downbeat Alt Folk The Freshly Squeezed Rating: 8.5  drops out of 10 When I began to listen to this release, my first thought was that the music was too modest, that the band only needed to expand a little, to muster a little courage and to come out with a really powerful album. Having listened to it a number of times, however (and it definitely needs time) I've decided this band is perfectly mature: their style isn't assuming, but it's still very powerful, in its own slow but momentous way. Citing Neil Young and Leonard Cohen as their influences, they remind me of a melancholic Yusuf Islam. Boa Morte formed in Cork in 1998, but haven't released anything for a number of years. It seems that they were planning to release this current album five years ago; why they've been delayed until now is a mystery. Judging by their music, though, this band isn't one inclined to rush things. 'The Dial Waltz' is more poetry than mere music. The lyrics take centre stage, and although the music is enjoyable, it's really more of a vehicle for the lyrics than an end in itself, and especially the drums seem to be replicated in a few songs. Nonetheless, this band is definitely one I'll keep on my iPod. Look out for 'Luminous Plankton' and 'Tears on a Full Moon', my favourites on the album. Boa Morte released 'The Dial Waltz' in May of this year. Their Myspace can be found here. We presume that they'll be gigging over the summer: watch this space for up-to-date information. More ... Philip McDonnell Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:12:48 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3754 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3758/The-Closure-of-Road-Records#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3758 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3758&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3758/The-Closure-of-Road-Records Recently news flooded into my e-mail inbox about the imminent closure of Road Records, the independent music shop based in Fade Street in Dublin City. The following e-mail has been sent out to all subscribers to their mailing list:   "How do I begin a piece like this, without repeating everything I wrote nearly two years ago now. I suppose I would have to say its with great sadness to inform you we are finally closing the doors of Road Records. Its been a difficult two years since we first faced the prospects of closure and we have literally worked night and day to try and see if we could save the shop and make it a viable business again. The current economic situation in this country added to the many problems we faced in the past have finally caught up with us and we can no longer sustain this little shop. This time, I am sad to say, there is no alternative for us, we have literally tried everything in our powers to keep this place operating and nothing has worked for us. It hasn’t been an easy decision to make, if anything its even more difficult than two years ago, we have had amazing support from people but nothing we do seems to work anymore. With debts beginning to build again Julie and myself have finally decided that we cannot take any more risks personally and before things get any worse we will have to finally walk away from the shop for the last time. I have to say I still have no regrets about the last 13 years, its been a real blast and a pleasure to be here over the years. We have met some amazing people and have become friends with some truly amazing bands. The level of support we have received since last year has been truly mindblowing but so much has changed economically since then that its just not possible to sustain such a small record shop like this anymore. I am not going to give out about the music business this time around, its just one of those things and we have finally come to a stage where I think the days of the small indie store are numbered. It’s sad to have to admit that but this time I think its true, we can’t blame digital sales, illegal downloading etc, the world is a changing place and I can’t see any room in it for kooky little indie stores like ourselves. We will be starting our closing down sale this Saturday 17th of July and everything will be on sale at a 25% reduction. We will be open for just one more week after that with the final day being Saturday 24th of July. Literally everything will be going on sale so if you want to pick up a cheap stereo, cash register or stapler, then do drop in. We would both like to thank each and everyone of you for your support over the years, maybe we will catch up at some point in the future. We would also like to thank all our wonderful staff from the last 14 years, in person they are – Dylan, Jonny, Jimmy, Gib, Colm, John, Chip and Aengus. As for what we will do next, the honest answer is we really don’t know, hopefully we can pay off any debts we have and then at least we have a beautiful little baby boy to try and put a smile back on our faces. Thanks & Adios Dave and Julie" Only last year Road Records announced they’d be closing, and discussed this difficult decision with former CLUAS blogger Steven O’Rourke in this informative interview. A large portion of bands within the Irish music scene grouped together to host a benefit night at Andrew's Lane Theatre. It seemed this saved the shop, but evidently it was only temporary. Illegal downloads and internet shopping have in a way ravaged the independent music industry. There are both pros and cons to the aforementioned issues, but it’s always the man on the ground i.e. the independent music shops who suffer. Road Records have for many years been an integral part of the Dublin music scene, both supporting and stocking releases from Irish bands. Perhaps the most disheartening thing is my wondering “which shop will be next?” Road Records is my favourite music store in Dublin, a point which I made in my blog post about Record Store Day noting the enthusiasm with which Road Records embraced Record Store Day. It’s a shame to think that at next year’s Record Store Day there will be no Road Records participating, and it'll be very hard to find another independent music shop in Dublin to match Road Records. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:36:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3758 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3755/Milan-Jay--Dynamic-Galwegian-Electronica#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3755 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3755&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3755/Milan-Jay--Dynamic-Galwegian-Electronica Album: Mellow Funk County of Origin: Galway Genre: Mellowtronic The Freshly Squeezed Rating: 6 drops out of 10 Milan Jay (is it really his name? Doubtful, but you never know) supposedly spent 18 months putting this, his debut album, together. I can't vouch for its originality - although in an interesting twist the artist proclaims that he isn't really into Electronic music, 'it's just what he came out with'.  The album isn't bad, and in fact it's great background music, it has energy, and the artist himself has it spot on when he describes it as "music for 10 hours at 30,000 feet with nowhere to go and nothing to see but an endless blue sky". It's poppy, energetic and it'll put you in a good mood. Perfect for your jogging playlist.  I think MJ has a lot of potential. The would-be hit on this album, A.I.H.I.D., is a genuinely strong track, and Farewell Hiroko, my own favourite, is ethereal and calmly euphoric.  Mellow Funk can be listened to and downloaded for free here. Since you aren't paying a cent for it, I'd download it and have a listen - in the unlikely case that you don't like it, you've lost nothing. Milan Jay has promised us he'll be touring live and releasing a new single over the summer, so watch this space. More ... Philip McDonnell Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:21:27 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3755 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3756/Sweet-Jane-Thoughtful-Indie-Rock-n-Roll#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3756 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3756&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3756/Sweet-Jane-Thoughtful-Indie-Rock-n-Roll   Welcome to Freshly Squeezed Irish, the new CLUAS blog penned by Philip McDonald! The focus here will be on bringing you the best new Irish music you've never heard. Bands who would like to featured on this blog should drop Philip a line via this dedicated page. Be sure as well to sign up for the Freshly Squeezed Irish RSS feed!   Band: Sweet Jane County of Origin: Dublin Genre: Dreampop Rock 'n Roll Album: Sugar For My Soul The Freshly Squeezed rating? 8 drops out of 10 "Sugar for my Soul" is a crisp, melodic album from a promising group. Sweet Jane, presumably named after the Velvet Underground song, have been getting rave reviews across the board - and this is no exception. With echoes of REM's vocals and The Edge's guitar, their airy, bright sound is infused with country and rock 'n' roll. In fact, their self-descriptor, "dreampop rock 'n' roll", despite sounding contrived, is surprisingly accurate. The almost-title track, "Something For My Soul", is extremely catchy. Sweet Jane have been around for around two years, releasing an EP in 2008, touring throughout 2009. They have just released this, their first LP, a surprisingly mature piece of work for such a recent band.   Look out especially for "Save a Little Place", which seems to be a subtle tribute to "All I Have to Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers. With quirks like this, and a hidden track (better not give the game away by saying where it is), it's obvious that this album is deeply thought-out, as well as being plain good.  More ... Philip McDonnell Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:10:10 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3756 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/4391/Is-this-the-worst-album-of-the-last-5-years#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=4391 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=4391&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/4391/Is-this-the-worst-album-of-the-last-5-years A few days I pulled together the list of the highest rated albums of those reviewed on CLUAS in the last 5 years. Now it's the turn of those albums that in the same period got the lowest ratings from CLUAS reviewers. The albums listed below are those that, since 2005, have been awarded less than 4 out of 10 by a CLUAS writer. Among them you will find albums by Placebo, Van Morrison, Smashing Pumpkins, Mercury Rev and James Blunt.  So what album was considered to be the worst of those reviewed on CLUAS? Well the honour falls into the lap of Björk whose 2007album Volta was awarded a grand total of zero out of 10 by CLUAS writer Rev Jules. It was a divisive assessment if the comments below the review are anything to go by. Here comes the full list... Topping the list with a rating of zero out of 10... Björk 'Volta' (2007 release) 1 out of 10 James Blunt 'All The Lost Souls' (2007 release) Musiq Soulchild 'Luvanmusiq' (2007 release) The Doors 'The Very Best of The Doors' (2007 release) Correcto 'Correcto' (2008 release) 2 out of 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers 'Stadium Arcadium' (2006 release) Placebo 'Meds' (2006 release) Van Morrison 'Pay the Devil' (2006 release) Mercury Rev 'Snowflake Midnight' (2008 release) Dan Black 'Un' (2009 release) Alabama 3 'M.O.R.' (2007 release) 2.5 out of 10 Cute Is What We Aim For 'The Same Old Blood Rush...' (2006 release) 3 out of 10 Smashing Pumpkins 'Zeitgeist' (2007 release) The Enemy 'We'll live and die in these towns' (2007 release) Linkin Park 'Minutes To Midnight' (2007 release) 'Spiderman 3' (soundtrack) (2007 release) Cornelius 'Sensuous' (2007 release) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 'Original Soundtrack' (2007 release) Taking Back Sunday 'New Again' (2009 release) Michael Knight (I'm Not Entirely Clear...) (2008 release) Panic At The Disco 'Pretty Odd' (2008 release) Bill Coleman 'I'll Tear My Own Walls Down' (2008 release) Jet 'Shine on' (2006 release) Josh Ritter 'The Animal Years' (2006 release) The Tyde  'Three's Co.' (2006 release) Drowsy 'Snow on Moss on Stone' (2006 release) Wonderstuff 'Suspended By Stars' (2006 release) Devendra Banhart 'Cripple Crow' (2005 release) 3.5 out of 10 Great White (2006 release) Laura Izibor 'Let The Truth Be Told' (2009 release) The Corrs 'Dreams - the Ultimate Collection' (2007 release) ...and scraping in with a score just below 4 out of 10... Cansei De Ser Sexy (3.8 out of 10, 2006 release) More ... eoghan Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:4391 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/4392/The-absolute-best-albums-of-the-last-5-years#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=4392 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=4392&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/4392/The-absolute-best-albums-of-the-last-5-years There are over 500 album reviews in the CLUAS archives. While they've always been accessible via our archive pages, the way the reviews have been presented (one big long unordered list of reviews for each year) is not very user friendly. Which is a pity as there are some terrific reviews in there, as well as reviews of great albums that may have slipped under one's radar. Thankfully the chances of missing out on some such gems over the years has now decreased dramatically. Read on for the fabulous details... The CLUAS album archive pages have now been reorganised to ensure that our album reviews are listed, for each year, in order of the rating that the reviewer gave the album out of 10. Is that a collective 'Wow' I hear? Anyways. What's interesting to see is the albums that came out on the top of the pile each year. Most of the top ranking albums are solid but some are, ehhm, let's just say "curious". Below are listed the very top ranking albums (i.e. albums that scored 8.5 or more out of 10) as reviewed by CLUAS writers from 2005 to 2009. Are these the best albums of that period? Certainly not, although many are gems that will stand the test of time. One thing for sure is that the list of albums and their accompanying reviews make for interesting reading. So what was the top rated album released between 2005 and 2009, according to the CLUAS writers? The answer is, of course, obvious. It has to be the, ehh, all time classic 'Holiday Mix 2005' released by DFA Records.... Read on for even more mind-bending insights revealed in the list (including releases by 10 Irish acts). 10 out of 10 DFA Records 'Holiday Mix 2005' 9.5 out of 10 Ray LaMontagne 'Trouble' (2005 release) C O D E S 'Trees Dream in Algebra' (2009 release) Placebo 'Battle For The Sun' (2009 release) 9 out of 10 Biffy Clyro 'Only Revolutions' (2009 release) Pearl Jam 'Backspacer' (2009 release) Fnessnej 'Stay Fresh, Ey' (2009 release) Pearse McGloughlin 'Busy Whisper' (2009 release) Alela Diane 'To Be Still' (2009 release) Graham Coxon 'The Spinning Top' (2009 release) Julie Feeney 'Pages' (2009 release) Dark Room Notes 'We Love You Dark Matter' (2009 release) Antony and the Johnsons 'I am bird now' (2005 release) The Black Keys 'Rubber Factory' (2005 release) Go! Team 'Thunder, Lightning Strike' (2005 release) Joanna Newsom 'Milk-Eyed Mender' (2005 release) Modest Mouse 'Good News For People Who Love Bad News' (2005 release) Rufus Wainwright 'Want Two' (2005 release) David Byrne & Brian Eno 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' (2006 release) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2006 release) Artic Monkeys 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' (2006 release) Future Kings of Spain 'Nervousystem' (2007 release) Alessandra Celletti 'Esoterik Satie' (2007 release) Electrelane 'No Shouts, No Calls' (2008 release) Between 8.5 and 9 out of 10 Rilo Kiley 'More Adventurous' (8.9 out of 10, 2005 release) Arcade Fire 'Funeral' (8.75 out of 10, 2005 release) 8.5 out of 10 Ryan Adams & the Cardinals 'Jacksonville City Lights' (2005 release) Bell X1 'Flock' (2005 release) Bloc Party 'Silent Alarm' (2005 release) Martin Finke 'Crown Time' (2005 release) M83 'Before The Dawn Heals Us' (2005 release) The Frank and Walters 'A Renewed Interest in Happiness' (2006 release) Luxembourg 'Front' (2006 release) Hope of the States 'Left' (2006 release) Islands  'Return To The Sea' (2006 release) OK GO 'Oh No' (2006 release) Goodtime John 'I'll Sing Till The Sun Turns Cold' (2006 release) Neil Young 'Live At Massey Hall' (2007 release) 'Death Proof' (soundtrack) (2007 release) Jape 'Ritual' (2008 release) Elbow 'Seldom Seen Kid' (2008 release) Ham Sandwich 'Carry The Meek' (2008 release) Mumford & Sons 'Sigh No More' (2009 release) AFI 'Crash Love' (2009 release) Tommy Reilly 'Words On the Floor' (2009 release)  More ... eoghan Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:4392 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3759/The-Edge-of-Glastonbury#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3759 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3759&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3759/The-Edge-of-Glastonbury Today is the end of the 40th Glastonbury festival, and as the tour buses trundle out of the otherwise sleepy village of Pilton in Somerset and the massive clean-up gets underway in Worthy Farm I return to my yearly Glastonbury routine which I’m sure I share with many. This routine consists of me watching Glastonbury footage and becoming increasingly green-eyed with every guitar chord emanating from the Pyramid Stage and cursing myself for not being there. So in an effort of consolation I resolve to go the next year and religiously follow the Glastonbury updates throughout the year. But then the year passes and I miss the festival yet again. This routine is repeated yearly, and I will eventually get to Glastonbury even if it means riding a tractor through Pilton and accosting Michael Eavis himself. Having previously housed such iconic acts as T. Rex, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Blur and Oasis it’s become a British musical institution. And this year while the cows were grazing in fields at a safe distance from drunken revellers and overly confident rockstars the Pyramid stage was graced by Gorillaz, Muse and Stevie Wonder respectively. As per usual the festival was very successful, and I’m sure there are Glastonbury survivors all around England nursing the mother of all hangovers to choruses of “It was worth it, completely worth it” and questioning if anything they saw throughout the weekend really happened. The general consensus is that the more outlandish and surreal the memory, the more likely it is it that it really did happen. I’m sure Damon Albarn is very pleased to have headlined Glastonbury two years in a row, albeit in different bands. So, as the beginning of summer has been marked with the always eclectic Glastonbury festival I’m going to sign up for every Glastonbury festival mailing list possible.  Because I’ll be there next year, I swear. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:43:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3759 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3760/Lennon-Naked-Only-Skin-Deep#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3760 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3760&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3760/Lennon-Naked-Only-Skin-Deep John Lennon had a tormented childhood. At the age of 5 his parents made him decide who he wanted to live with - his father Alf who was moving to New Zealand, or his mother Julia who was to remain in Liverpool. John chose Alf, but as his mother was leaving he ran after her and ultimately chose her. His Aunt Mimi then reported his mother to Social Services, so he remained with Mimi instead. Aged 17 his mother was hit by a car and died near her home. It’s often been said that the absence of his father and the death of his mother at a young age contributed to Lennon’s seeming inability to deal with confrontation and responsibility in his personal life and caused him to undergo therapy in his later years. The BBC 4 film ‘Lennon Naked’ explores this side of Lennon. It begins with Lennon in his adulthood, continuing where Sam Taylor-Wood’s ‘Nowhere Boy’ left off. Some footage of when Beatlemania began to take hold was interspersed throughout the opening scenes, black and white film of girls screaming wildly and declaring their love while the suitably pleased 20-something musicians are lapping up the attention. Before long the film delves into the world of Lennon while with his first wife Cynthia. She’s portrayed as a nagging, emotional woman who has doe-eyed look across her face every time she tries to reason with him. Meanwhile Lennon is shown to be moody towards his wife and unhappy with her boxing him in and limiting his creativity. A barrel of laughs this certainly isn’t. As the film progresses the constant carelessness of the character of Lennon grows tiresome, and the film is awash with some less-than-convincing actors. Paul McCartney, played by Andrew Scott, sounded like he had a comedy voice throughout, his deep nasally tones sounding more Little Britain than Liverpudlian. The slight appearances made by the actors playing George Harrison (Jack Morgan) and Ringo Starr (Craig Cheetham) were blighted by their comedic moustaches and, particularly in the case of Paul, drawn on eyebrows. The film is exactly as it was described, it was a drama. A drama that gives little insight or enjoyment to your average Beatles fan, the characters seem to have derived some acting advice from the cast of Eastenders. It’s a shame because the lead actor, Christopher Eccleston, who played John Lennon, gave an excellent performance, but the lack of any progression in the character of Lennon and the dreary and constantly unhappy portrayal of him offered no insight or development in his character. Ultimately all this film taught me, from the soundtrack, is that The Beatles had a song for every occasion.  And right now after watching the film I feel like I Should Have Known Better. If you'd like to make your own verdict on the film it will be aired again tonight on BBC4 at 10pm. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:46:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3760 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3761/Terrible-Things-The-Return-Of-Fred-Mascherino#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3761 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3761&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3761/Terrible-Things-The-Return-Of-Fred-Mascherino Ever wondered what happened to Fred Mascherino formerly of Taking Back Sunday? Well, if so, wonder no more! The last I heard of him was when he left the band and was focusing on his solo project The Colour Fred, but recently I found out about the current band he’s in called Terrible Things. While their track ‘Revolution’ sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place on Taking Back Sunday album it’s still an impressive track. ‘The Hills of Birmingham’ is an engaging track which begins acoustically but swiftly descends into electric guitars and a stronger sound. To have a listen yourself, which I highly recommend, their MySpace is here and is only a click away! Two weeks ago former Stereophonics drummer Stuart Cable passed away in his home in Wales. I’m not going to start professing to being their biggest fan, but it must be said they did release some brilliant songs. My favourite Stereophonics song, in which Stuart Cable played, is ‘Vegas Two Times’. Whatever anyone says, it can’t be denied that he was an excellent drummer, and I'm certain this this song shows it. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:17:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3761 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3762/Teeth-and-Pearls#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3762 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3762&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3762/Teeth-and-Pearls Since my last blog post I’ve been acquainting myself with the music of Pearl and the Puppets. Her latest single ‘Because I Do’ is catchy but not too dissimilar to the sound of Feist. Still some quality songs to be heard on her MySpace here, and I'm in no doubt that she's definitely one to watch. And, as I’m sure you’ll be interested to know the most mundane (but in my case terrifying) eventuality of getting a tooth taken out caused me to ponder about what would be a good play list for while you’re in the dentist’s chair. Well, that and minimising my sugar intake. And, as your ever intrepid blogger, I compiled this list: Nick Drake - Sunday (A nice instrumental song to almost relax you before your teeth begin being drilled in to) Blur - Trimm Trabb (A mellow but somewhat euphoric track is always a necessity in such a situation) The Courteeners - Will It Be This Way Forever? (Nothing like listening to a song about naivety and adolescence  to distract you for a bit) Elbow - Not A Job (Depending on how loud the drilling/pliers are, can be quite effective for making your mind wander) The Cure - Forest (Vivid imagery, Robert Smith’s eerie voice - need I say more?) The Beatles - Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite (Instantly effective, sing along if you’d like to show off your vocal skills/snap a tooth) Arcade Fire - Windowsill (Can make you feel more depressed than scared, you’ll be like Tommy Tiernan when Radiohead started playing on the bus from Craggy Island. So when your teeth are being hacked at, you won’t notice a thing!)                   No, you don’t have to thank me, thank your teeth the next time they decide to start warring each other. And while we’re on the subject of tooth extractions here’s Green Day’s video for 'Geek Stink Breath'. (Best not to look at this video if you’re of a nervous disposition/are about to have a tooth taken out!)   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Sun, 30 May 2010 18:14:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3762 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3926/Onra-soup-erstar-DJ#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3926 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3926&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3926/Onra-soup-erstar-DJ Your correspondent predicts that from next week French electronica will have yet another global star. His name will be Arnaud Bernard, his first name reversed to give the nom de pop of Onra. How do we know this? Well, because next Monday (24 May) Onra will release his new album, 'Long Distance'. It's brilliant, and it should make him very popular indeed. Truth be told, Onra (right) isn't a complete unknown. He became something of a cult hero on the blogosphere with his 2007 album 'Chinoiseries'. The title is a French-ism that suggests 'Chinese stuff' but actually means 'bureaucratic red tape', and the music was inspired by old Oriental pop records he picked up while visiting Vietnam, his father's homeland. Now back in Paris, Onra's attention has turned from east to west. 'Long Distance' is drenched in the old-school dancefloor sounds of Detroit and New York. One track, 'WeeOut', starts with a burst of good old-fashioned scratching before laying down some très '80s beats and synths. Other tracks are more soulful, like 'Oper8tor', 'High Hopes' and the title track. And the whole thing fizzes with electronica. To say it's certain to be the best French album of 2010 feels like we're damning Onra with faint praise. As it happens, the record is coming out on Dublin label All City Records, so we can make an adopted Irish artist of him. He's even launching the album in Dublin, with a show at Twisted Pepper on Abbey Street next Friday (28 May). G'wan Oirland! On a related note, the Irish-speakers among you will have noticed that 'Onra' sounds exactly like 'anraith', the word as Gaeilge for 'soup' (hence the title pun). Wouldn't it be gas, right, if he was doing a show in the Gaeltacht and he went for dinner beforehand, and for his starter he asks for the soup, because he's Onra and the soup is anraith and that's him and... Oh wait: this presupposes that he'd be ordering in Irish. And what if he decides to have the salad instead? Well, maybe because he doesn't speak Irish he thinks the server is asking his name instead of his order and he says 'Onra' and instead he gets soup! Wouldn't it be wild? Or what if- CLUAS gaffer: Just post the link and the tune, you eejit! Um, right. To prepare for the album launch in Dublin next Friday you can hear some of 'Long Distance' on Onra's MySpace page. Here's 'High Hopes'. Twenty-five seconds in, what does that keyboard riff remind you of? More ... Aidan Curran Thu, 20 May 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3926 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3763/Advert-Music-Fantastic-Or-Faltering#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3763 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3763&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3763/Advert-Music-Fantastic-Or-Faltering I think we’ve probably all seen the Discover Ireland ads with the catchy Tegan and Sara-esque song with the lyrics “I need to go/I need to get away from everything.” This song is of course ‘Remember When’ by Heathers. It seems that adverts are the perfect launch pad for indie artists, let’s not forget Feist’s adoration after her track ‘1234’ was used on the iPod ad. This method causes the song to beam into both peoples homes and hopefully their consciousness. When Gossip’s ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ was used as the main song for the first series of teen drama Skins it shot up into the charts. And of course The Fray and Cold War Kids owe a lot of their popularity and success to Scrubs for frequently using their songs. The Fray’s ‘How To Save A Life’ and Cold War Kids’ ‘Hospital Beds’ were used to regularly in both the show and the accompanying promo ads for the programme. Florence and the Machine’s ‘Cosmic Love’ has recently been renamed as ‘that song from the O2 ad’. A song which people who are only familiar with it from the ads only know a portion of, and we all know how dreary it is to listen to the whole song when you know five words absolutely perfectly and the rest may as well be yodelling. This does cause me to wonder if this gives some bands a restricted shelf life, if they’re destined to be ‘that band from that [insert company name here] ad’ and that all of their future work could pale in comparison. After the major success of Gossip’s ‘Standing In The Way of Control’ their following singles and album can be described as mediocre as best. But who knows, maybe had I not heard ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ so many times that my ears began to bleed I might appreciate their music more. Or, alternatively, they didn’t let their song be used on Skins and I would never have even been aware of their existence. The use of relatively unknown artists’ songs being used in the media is no new phenomenon. Now many companies are trying to appeal to a younger, more bohemian demographic. And being inhabitants of the information age means all of this is more accessible, and more predominant than ever. Is it really much of a dilemma though? Yes, using a song of yours on an advert (assuming it gets chosen) could mean that you’re only remembered for one song and the rest of your music could be ignored, or you could forever play music and write songs while getting almost no recognition and make no living from it. Who came blame a band for having ambition, and getting an enviable amount of money in the process? As long as Bonnie Tyler stops appearing on screen advertising credit cards while looking like a ghost from the netherworld then I generally find advert music to be pretty good. Certainly the less songs by Johnny Logan afflicting my ears and more by relatively unknown bands the better.   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 19 May 2010 22:12:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3763 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3927/Gush-diamond-geysers#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3927 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3927&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3927/Gush-diamond-geysers At first glance, Parisian four-piece Gush seem like a French equivalent to Kings Of Leon. The band members are all related - brothers Xavier and Vincent Polycarpe plus their cousins Mathieu Parnaud and Yan Gorodetzky. Also, their fashion sense is more back-woods than Left Bank: shaggy hair, vintage leather and the sort of long-sleeve, round-neck, three-button T-shirt that Grizzly Adams would wear as an undergarment. But soundwise Gush (right) don't follow the Followills down the road of southern-fried blues-rock. The four French lads are certainly retro, but their thing is post-Beatles pop and folk-rock - say, the very early Lennon or McCartney solo stuff, later Beach Boys or a bit of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The storming semi-acoustic rocker 'No Way', reinforced with steely harmonies, shows the strength of those influences to best effect. Still, don't discount the novelty of Frenchmen who actually sing and write melodies. Gush are starting to make a stir in France. Recently they released their first album, 'Everybody's God' (Irish music fans may remember a Donegal band called Georgia who had a record of the same name in the early '90s) and an upcoming Paris show at the sizeable Cigale has already sold out. Now they're picking up airplay with a strange and distinctive single that's a little different to the rest of their tracks. On paper, 'Let's Burn Again' promises to be vastly uncool - it has the upper-register backing harmonies and staccato keyboards of mid-Atlantic, middle-of-the-road '70s pop. Fortunately, music isn't made on paper: 'Let's Burn Again' sounds so odd and unhip that it's almost fascinating, especially when you try to match the sound to the look of the band. You can hear more on the Gush MySpace page. Make sure you listen to both tracks we mentioned, 'Let's Burn Again' and 'No Way' - quite different but each charming in its way. Which one will we choose for our video? The strange, unhip one with keyboards, of course! Here's 'Let's Burn Again': More ... Aidan Curran Sun, 16 May 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3927 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3928/Eurockeennes-2010#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3928 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3928&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3928/Eurockeennes-2010 French summer music festivals tend to be smaller than their international counterparts. There's certainly no Gallic event that compares in size to Roskilde, Sziget, Werchter or Glastonbury. La Route du Rock, for instance, only ever has around two dozen acts. Perhaps the biggest summer music festival in France is Eurockéennes, which takes place on the first weekend of July near the eastern city of Belfort. This year's four-day event will have around 80 acts - plenty of whom are top-quality marquee names. And the festival's spectacular lakeside setting guarantees a memorable experience. The first day, Thursday 1 July, is a starter ahead of the main course. To serenade punters as they arrive from all round Europe, those enjoyable Icelandic electropoppers FM Belfast will play in one of the festival campsites. Real business begins on Friday 2 July. Jay-Z and Missy Elliot bring the bling-bling of genuine rap/R n'B superstars, while Charlotte Gainsbourg supplies some home-grown glamour. Also on the bill that day and night: Hot Chip, Foals, Kasabian, Patrick Watson, The Black Keys and our own Two Door Cinema Club in what seems to be their now-fortnightly French gig. Saturday's notional headliners are The Hives but the real draw that night will surely be The Specials, The XX and Broken Social Scene. A strong French side for that day's line-up features Vitalic, Emilie Simon and General Elektriks. Further down the running order are Memory Tapes, also worth catching. A quaint Eurockeennes tradition is to make the last night's headliner a real stinker, to cater for those who need to skip out early for the last bus or train. Last year it was Slipknot; this year it's Mika. But the rest of Sunday's line-up is stuffed with quality. Massive Attack and Martina Topley-Bird are on trip-hop duty; LCD Soundsystem and Empire Of The Sun serve up electro-pop, an Ethiopiques show should sound blissful on a summer afternoon, and there are some indie gems like Health, Fuck Buttons and The Middle East to be found here and there. A weekend pass costs only €95 and a single day's ticket costs just €39. Camping on the festival site is free for ticket-holders to a limit of 12,000 people. If you book early enough to get a cheap Queasyjet flight to nearby Mulhouse, you could be lucky enough to secure your entire festival weekend in sunny France, travel included, for less than the price of an Irish festival ticket. (In addition, there are special bus + ticket packages to bring punters from most major French cities.) Full details in English are available on the Eurockeennes 2010 website. Here's 'The Songs That We Sing' by this year's biggest French name, Charlotte Gainsbourg. Neighbour of ours, don't you know: More ... Aidan Curran Fri, 14 May 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3928 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3764/PJ-Harvey-Lets-England-Shake#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3764 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3764&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3764/PJ-Harvey-Lets-England-Shake In the ever impressive line-up of bands coming over to perform in Dublin the most recent additions are Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s Gorillaz who’ll be playing their first ever Irish show (finally!) in the 02 on the 22nd of September, and hotly-tipped Mancunian electro duo Hurts will be playing in Whelan’s on the 20th of May. While I’m sure they’ll get the obligatory comparisons between themselves and Joy Division, chiefly due to the fact that they are from Manchester and are musicians with a fondness for synthesisers, their music isn’t quite that easy to read which makes it all the more interesting. Lately I’ve been search through my CD collection to find some hidden treasures that I’d forgotten about in the intervening years since I bought them, and started listening to PJ Harvey’s ‘Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea’ again. Very rarely can anyone make what appears to be quite vicious and intimidating singing sound equally as endearing as it is confusing. After listening to the album and reminiscing I decided to look up what she’s doing now, and found a recent video of her performing her new song on The Andrew Marr Show. While I’m not too sure about the song, I was oddly pleased about the fact that Gordon Brown was watching from one of the monitors. I wonder what he thought? The song is called ‘Let England Shake’. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 10 May 2010 22:29:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3764 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3929/Tender-Forever-un-chanson-de-Valera#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3929 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3929&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3929/Tender-Forever-un-chanson-de-Valera Back in 2007 we introduced you to Tender Forever, a Bordeaux electro act based in Oregon, USA. As you might recall, Tender Forever is not a group but the nom de pop of Mélanie Valéra (right) - yes, a mere 'de' short of sharing her name with the dominant public figure of 20th century Ireland. (Our non-Irish readers will know Éamon de Valera as the baddie in the film 'Michael Collins'.) The PR opportunities in Ireland would have been wonderful - an electronica version of 'Amhrán na bhFiann' to close the next Fianna Fáil Árd-Fheis; a residency at Áras an Uachtaráin; a photo op where she symbolically defends a packet of Boland's cream crackers against an English stag party. (As she's now domicile in the States, her American connection would grant her immunity.) And she's tall, skinny and dark-haired - are we sure they're not related? Alas, Mélanie Valéra will have to rely on her music to make an impact in Ireland. Fortunately, her music is good. 'No Snare' is the third Tender Forever album: another likeable collection of idiosyncratic alt-folk-flavoured electronica. The title may suggest an animal trap but is actually inspired by an absent drum sound, according to the Tender Forever MySpace page: NO SNARE is less a rejection of things that have been, as it a reconfiguration. Take away the snare and there isn't a loss, just a new song. As we pass through the flood of moments that is our lives we make a constant stream of decisions as to what to hold on to and what to let go of.  But it is always our life, even as it changes radically. Valéra's lyrics tend to be as heartfelt, contemplative and personal as that teenage-poetry blurb suggests. And her pick n' mix of pounding rhythms creates a sense of emotional urgency, which gives her songs a human warmth not always evident in electronic music. Check out les chansons de Valéra at her MySpace page. Here's our favourite of her new songs, what has all the comely maidens dancing at the crossroads -  the excellent 'Like The Snare That's Gone': More ... Aidan Curran Sun, 09 May 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3929 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3930/Francoise-Hardy#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3930 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3930&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3930/Francoise-Hardy One of France's bona fide pop legends has just released a new album. 'La Pluie Sans Parapluie' (in English, "the rain without an umbrella") is the twenty-sixth studio album by Françoise Hardy. You might recognise the name from her 1994 collaboration with Blur on 'La Comédie', a reworking of 'To The End'. However, like with Serge Gainsbourg (of whom more later), there's a lot more to Hardy than a sole Franco-English duet known in the U.K. (For one thing, she had a UK Top 20 hit in 1965 with 'All Over The World'.) First, though, some vital Françoise Hardy trivia for your next pub quiz: Her husband is Jacques Dutronc, a fellow '60s French icon featured in our preview of Les Vieilles Charrues - and their son is Thomas Dutronc, whose pleasant mix of jazz manouche and chanson française was tipped/jinxed by this blog in the race for the 2008 Prix Constantin. Despite being Parisian, she represented Monaco in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest and finished fifth. Irish drizzle-pop dandy Perry Blake has collaborated with her. She has published books on astrology. Factoids aside, we reckon Hardy was one of the first female singers to become successful with her own compositions - her 1962 debut single 'Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles' sold half a million copies. Her early style was somewhere between US folk and French chanson, often played simply on an acoustic guitar or piano. Rare for a pre-electronica French act, Hardy made a concerted effort at success in the UK - she released three albums of songs in English, mostly containing translations of her original French songs. The third of these albums, 'If You Listen' from 1971, captures the late-'60s-early-'70s pastoral-folk-pop vibe: it's quite good. (You can picture students of that time listening to it in their bedsits.) As for her best ever song, you might know it as a cover version. 'Comment Te Dire Adieu' was a 1990 hi-NRG disco hit for Jimmy Somerville and June Miles Kingston. Hardy's version was a French chart success in 1969 - and was itself a cover version. Before 'Comment Te Dire Adieu' there was 'It Hurts To Say Goodbye' - a typically maudlin and manipulative slushfest by Vera Lynn. Apparently, Hardy heard an instrumental version, liked the melody and asked for some French lyrics from none other than Serge Gainsbourg. Words done en français, Serge then decided to sort out the music. Even by the dizzyingly high standards of Gainsbourg's work at that time, 'Comment Te Dire Adieu' is magnificent. Like all great pop songs, its apparent simplicity hides a satisfying depth and complexity. The original's slushy melodrama is replaced by clipped arrangements that have an edgy sang-froid; listen just before the first verse for the pedal cymbal that hisses like a cobra. Serge's trademark symphonic strings infuse the song with glamour and a slight hint of feeling - but only a slight hint. Hardy remains impeccably poised and aloof throughout - even her spoken-word middle section is delivered matter-of-factly, like a dispassionate voiceover. (Compare it to the except of dialogue from Charlotte Gainsbourg used as the intro to Madonna's 'What It Feels Like For A Girl'.) Just as remarkable as Gainsbourg's arrangements were his new lyrics. Already known as a provocateur, and with pop's most notorious single soon to follow, Serge had the ingenious idea of making nearly all the lines rhyme with '-ex'. As the '-ex' rhymes become more imaginative, the song progresses towards a seemingly inevitable encounter with the most taboo '-ex' word of all. (Even today, how many mainstream English-language pop songs feature the word 'sex'? Not the meaningless 'sexy' but the blunt 'sex'?) What's more, in French 'sexe' is the word for the reproductive organ. One can imagine the listener (and the censor) of the time wondering where this song would go. (Had this song been released in the UK, it would have been banned by the BBC for an unacceptable '-ex' word: a piece of product placement in the third and final verse.) 'Adieu' is something of a definitive 'goodbye forever', where 'au revoir' means 'until we see each other again'. In English, of course, we can use 'goodbye' to mean both 'adieu' and 'au revoir'. Here in glorious colour is the ultra-cool Françoise Hardy of 1969 with 'Comment Te Dire Adieu'. Goodbye: More ... Aidan Curran Mon, 03 May 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3930 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3931/Boogers-play-that-funky-mucus#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3931 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3931&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3931/Boogers-play-that-funky-mucus Nasal mucus - British and Irish people know it as 'snot', while our north American friends speak of 'boogers'. Note how the European term is a collective noun while the US/Canadian word is countable; this suggests that- CLUAS gaffer: What are you on about, you eejit? Your correspondent: Why, it's the intro for a post about a French singer and his cracking new tune. Our readers will want to know the cultural and linguistic backgrou- CLUAS gaffer: Just post the bloody tune, alright? And keep it respectable - I'm staying at Silvio Berlusconi's villa this weekend and I don't need you embarrassing the site! Right. Umm... Stéphane Charasse is from Tours in the picturesque Loire region of central France. A former DJ on local indie radio station Radio Béton ('béton' is the French word for 'concrete'), Charasse makes idiosyncratic indie music under the nom de pop of Boogers. His second album, 'As Clean As Possible', is out now. The lead-off track from 'As Clean As Possible' is a real charmer. It's called 'I Lost My Lungs'. The happy-go-lucky vocalising at the start might remind you of 'Widths and Heights' by Manchester electro-folkie Magic Arm. Charasse's monotonous spoken-word verses - so typical of French male singer-songers - are outweighed by the snappy, melodic arrangement around him. In particular, the guitar parts - funky clipped chords in the verses and a fizzy rising scale in the middle section - are positively joyous. Charasse has found a novel way to promote his new album - concerts on the train. Boogers will perform on the TGV from Paris to Nîmes on the afternoon of 27 May and on the Paris-Lyon service on 2 June. Both appearances will be followed by a showcase at the local FNAC record store, depending on the timely arrival of his train. You can find more info and tracks on Boogers' MySpace page. Here's the video for 'I Lost My Lungs', set on a train station platform: More ... Aidan Curran Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3931 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3765/Record-Store-Day-Dublin#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3765 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3765&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3765/Record-Store-Day-Dublin Saturday the 17th of April was Record Store Day, an initiative which is now in its fourth year that encourages people to support their local independent record shop. This was of course a day marked in the calendar of indie music shop owners everywhere and it was also an ample opportunity for me to wander around Dublin City having a look in some of my favourite record shops, and discovering some new ones.  Most impressive was Road Records, a favourite of mine. The staff donned suits for the occasion and chalked the logo for Record Store Day outside the shop. And besides the great atmosphere there was another reason to get excited about Record Store Day - limited edition vinyl releases. There was interesting array of releases this year; a Factory Records compilation featuring the likes of Joy Division and Happy Mondays, The Beatles 'Paperback Writer / Rain' 7” and Blur’s first single since 2003 (and this time including Graham Coxon!) ‘Fool’s Day’ were among some of the must-haves. Luckily for those of us who couldn’t get the Blur vinyl in time the song is now available as a free download here. And last but not least are the in-stores, the one which I was most excited about was Villagers, but he was unable to be there as he was stranded in Belgium because of the unforgiving volcanic ash. I did get to see Heathers' in-store in Tower Records, it was the day after their Late Late Show performance, and their music was as striking as ever. Here's a video of their most popular song so far, which I'm sure everyone's heard on the Discover Ireland ads, 'Remember When.' More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3765 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3932/Quantum-physics-and-electro-pop#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3932 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3932&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3932/Quantum-physics-and-electro-pop Our regular readers know by now this blog's taste in pop. Catchy and swaggering, please - and if it's dark and electro-fied too, so much the better. We find that in France it's the boy-girl duos who do this best - Pravda and John & Jehn, for instance. Joining that esteemed company are Pink Noise Party (right), a Paris pair comprising Joy Buckley and Syd Rey. (Pink noise is a sound frequency just lower than white noise, and is a feature of analogue keyboards.) What do we know about them? Well, perusing their MySpace page the following facts present themselves: They're both quantum physicists, meeting in university at a class that Syd was teaching and Joy taking. They build their own keyboards, using parts from old synthesisers. They give underwater performances. They have a gig this August at a festival in Balaclava near the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, scene of the (in)famous Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. Even if none of that is true (though quantum physicists are quite welcome to become pop stars), Pink Noise Party are already far more interesting, imaginative and creative than most bands. So far, so good! But what about the tunes? Well, they're synth-y and slinky - those home-made analogue keyboards have the retro vibe of Roxy Music and the disco-tronic glamour of The Human League. Taut guitar riffs put the swagger into tracks like 'X Buddy' and 'Golden Blond Pulsar Trance' (quantum physicists, remember), while 'Pesky Girl' has an industrial harshness. And the songs have melodies and choruses, stuff most French bands seem to consider contemptible. Which is not to say that Pink Noise Party haven't been thinking about their art. Back to their MySpace blurb to see how they see themselves: "They describe their music as l’art consomme de melody pop [...] Their lyrics are in turn introspective or committed, pondering in particular on the frantic tempo of post-modern western lifestyle."  Oh dear. But anyway, you only have to listen to their tunes, not make dinner-table conversation with them. Check out the Pink Noise Party MySpace page to hear some of their fine tracks. Here's the only video we've found of them - from a show earlier this month at L'International in Paris (a regular haunt of your correspondent), it's 'By Numbers': More ... Aidan Curran Sun, 25 Apr 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3932 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3933/Rock-en-Seine-2010-looking-good#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3933 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3933&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3933/Rock-en-Seine-2010-looking-good Rock en Seine might be familiar to you, by name at least. Last year the annual Paris summer festival earned its place in rock history/pub quiz trivia when Oasis split up mere minutes before they were due to go on stage. Indeed, Rock en Seine has had recurring problems with its choice of headliners. Two years in a row, Amy Winehouse cancelled at the last minute. Such are the perils of booking tabloid-friendly big-name rock stars. It seems that the festival organisers have learned their lesson: this year Rock en Seine goes for weekend-wide credibility rather than putting all their eggs in one basket-case. And they've done well - Rock en Seine 2010, on 27-29 August  in the Parc de Saint-Cloud on the edge of Paris, looks much more impressive than recent editions. Mainstream and alternative music fans alike will find much to enjoy. That said, the first day doesn't appeal greatly to your indie-kid correspondent. Blink 182, of all people, top a bill of '90s nostalgia acts - Cypress Hill, Skunk Anansie and Underworld. Foals, The Kooks and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club fill out the field. Day two makes up for it. True, the headliners are another '90s heritage act - Massive Attack - and a safe-hands rock band - Queens of The Stone Age. But LCD Soundsystem, Two Door Cinema Club (for their monthly French concert), Kele Okereke (of Bloc Party) and Jonsi (of Sigur Ros) bring a breeze of cool freshness that should clear the flatulent stink of Paolo Nutini. On the third day: Arcade Fire, Roxy Music, Beirut, Eels and Wave Machines. Oh yes. More acts will be revealed in June. At the time of writing, there are no French artists booked for Rock en Seine. None at all. No doubt a token 'new bands stage' will be cooked up for appearance's sake at least. A weekend pass for the très tasty Rock en Seine 2010 costs a trifling €99, and can be booked online from FNAC and other French ticket-pushers. The festival site is at the end of a Paris metro line and even has the LUAS passing by. On-site camping is available for three-day passholders and must be booked online: €45 for a two-person tent-space and €90 for the four of you. Full details, including online ticket and campsite reservations, are available in English and French at the Rock en Seine website. No French acts yet, so for the moment this is as French as Rock en Seine gets - LCD Soundsystem's 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House': More ... Aidan Curran Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3933 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3934/Villagers-disappointing-solo-show-in-Paris#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3934 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3934&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3934/Villagers-disappointing-solo-show-in-Paris Conor O'Brien popped over to Paris last week, playing a solo set as support to Wild Beasts at the Maroquinerie. (As it happens, it was three years ago this week that his former band, The Immediate, played one of their last concerts at the same Paris venue.) A packed house saw and heard the Villagers man (right) run through tracks from his forthcoming album, 'Becoming A Jackal'. O'Brien was armed with a three-quarter sized acoustic guitar that had the soundhole taped over, giving a dull yet warm effect. However, the stripped-down show shone an unflattering light on O'Brien's material. With no backing or arrangements, his songs sound like typical Irish male singer-songer fare - hook-free tunes and laboured lyrics. In particular, O'Brien's words stood out for unforgiving attention. He seems too fond of the rhyming dictionary - for example, there's a "shackles/jackals" groaner and one of his female characters is called Laurie only because the next line's rhyme is "life story". Elsewhere it's all tired emotional shorthand like 'truth' and 'love' and 'light', delivered by O'Brien with grimaces, closed eyes and a Hansard-esque quiet-to-loud delivery. There's no room for an emotional response from the listener - O'Brien's facial contortions and facile lyrics tell us what we should be feeling. Villagers are being hailed by some as the next big Irish thing. However, on the evidence of this acoustic set and the full-band recordings O'Brien is more like Whelan's lock-in version 2.0. Earlier in the week, O'Brien was in London to appear on 'Later...' with Jools Holland. From that show, here's Villagers with 'Becoming A Jackal': More ... Aidan Curran Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3934 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3935/And-So-I-Watch-You-From-Afar-rock-Paris#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3935 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3935&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3935/And-So-I-Watch-You-From-Afar-rock-Paris Two Door Cinema Club aren't the only Ulster band making a big impression in France this season. Choice-nominated Belfast post-rock foursome And So I Watch You From Afar (right) have done their Gallic chances no harm at all after a storming show at the Flèche d'Or in Paris last Wednesday. The previous title-holder in rocking the Flèche was Ted Leo, whose shuddering 2007 juggernaut of a show can still be heard echoing in the toilets. ASIWYFA smacked down the gauntlet with a set that was loud, swaggering and uproarious fun. Fun is the key. Post-rock can be cold and cerebral; hard rock is often crass and cheap. But ASIWYFA-rock is built for jumping and roaring and headbanging and air-punching. The sizeable crowd, mostly French as far as we could hear, went mad. It helps, of course, that ASIWYFA come across as committed and likeable. Rory Friers flung himself around the stage and even down the front of the crowd. And the impish Tony Wright seemed genuinely chuffed at the ecstatic reaction of the Paris crowd. Two songs in and he thanked the crowd for coming: "Merci pour l'arrivée!" - which actually means "Thanks for the finishing line!" Fortunately, there was a whole night of rocking out ahead - and ASIWYFA will certainly go a long way further in France. No footage from the Flèche online yet, so here are And So I Watch You From Afar at the Damnation Festival in Leeds last year with 'If It Ain't Broke, Break It'. Rock! More ... Aidan Curran Sat, 17 Apr 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3935 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/4393/Why-so-few-Irish-acts-at-Glastonbury-2010#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=4393 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=4393&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/4393/Why-so-few-Irish-acts-at-Glastonbury-2010 The lineup for Glastonbury 2010 was announced yesterday and it's a whopper (as you'd expect for  the 40th anniversary of the festival). Over the 3 days of the festival there are 285 different musical acts scheduled to perform (and that's not even counting the acts earmarked for the "Poetry and Words" stage). Playing are Muse, U2, Vampire Weekend, Flaming Lips, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Pet Shop Boys, Orbital, MGMT, Midlake, The xx, The National, Editors, Grizzly Bear and Broken Social Scene. And the list goes on... [Aside: Having managed last Sunday morning to secure one of the last tickets to Glasto 2010, I do be terribly exicited].  However what's disappointing is the Irish delegation at the festival. Yes, U2 are headlining on the Pyramid stage on the Friday night (and could well deliver a highlight of the festival, it being their first time in over 20 years to deliver a full set without any visual gimmickery in front an outdoor crowd) but otherwise you have to dig very deep to find Irish acts. As far as I can see there are, in addition to U2, only 8 other Irish acts in the entire lineup (or 9 if your definition of Irish stretches to including Rodrigo y Gabriela). And half of those (The Saw Doctors, Christy Moore, Brian Kennedy and Ash) could not credibly be held up as representative examples of where the Irish music scene is today.  So what's the reason behind this? Well I have no clue. Is it that the more recent waves of Irish acts are not selling themselves hard enough to the Glasto promoters? Or are they doing so, but the promoters are not interested? Or does the best of Irish scene not cut the mustard for such a prestigious festival? Or some mix of the above? Any insights out there? Here are the Irish acts confirmed so far for Glasto 2010: U2 Two Door Cinema Club Brian Kennedy Julie Feeney Ash Christy Moore Imelda May (who is actually playing two gigs at Glasto 2010) The Saw Doctors Fionn Regan More ... eoghan Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:4393 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3936/The-pop-tastic-Paris-Marathon#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3936 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3936&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3936/The-pop-tastic-Paris-Marathon You might remember our former blogging colleague Key Notes and his epic Dublin Marathon run last year. (Sample sentence: "It was now all about ignoring the pain in my right knee (akin to replacing your knee joint with a testicle and running on it for 12 or so miles), and just finishing the race.") This year, all the CLUAS long-distance running responsibility fell on the shoulders of your Seine-side correspondent. And so this morning your blogger ran in the Paris Marathon for the second time. (You'll remember that Joe Strummer once ran the Paris Marathon, as well as the London equivalent twice.) The course is quite impressive - starting on the Champs-Elysées, out the rue de Rivoli past Bastille, a tour of the Bois de Vincennes, back into town along the river past the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, then through the Bois de Boulogne and home on the Avenue Foch, just behind the Arc de Triomphe. The route is relatively flat - there's no long uphill drag to compare with the notorious Milltown-Clonskeagh stretch of the Dublin Marathon. And the weather - sunny but not too warm - was great. Your correspondent, mindful of being your representative in Paris, ran hard and well. For many Parisian women watching the race, it was their first time seeing a real man - medical services performed many corset-loosening procedures along the route. There was a musical aspect to the marathon - every mile or so a live band or DJ provided motivational tunes. Things began badly: the race started to the inane shouting of Black Eyed Peas. Fortunately, the very first live act was a brass band playing Blondie's 'Atomic' - this set the scene for a pop-tastic marathon. Most of the live music came from samba groups or brass bands, both great for the spirits. Just before halfway, one brass band was playing 'Thriller', which sounded fun. A French rock band was murdering 'One' by U2, inspiring us to dash out of earshot. But our abiding musical memory of the 2010 Paris Marathon is an unlikely yet inspired tune. Two miles from home, along a seemingly-endless stretch through the Bois de Boulogne, we passed a loudspeaker blaring out a disco-pop song you wouldn't associate with long-distance running - 'In Private' by Dusty Springfield. Now, both of Dusty's parents were from Tralee, your blogger's home town, and even at the height of her popularity she performed there. As well as that, it's a cracking song - one of several classy singles she made with the Pet Shop Boys. So, for all you marathon runners out there, here's the erstwhile Mary O'Brien, first-generation Kerrywoman, with the excellent 'In Private': More ... Aidan Curran Sun, 11 Apr 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3936 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3766/Would-You-Like-An-Album-With-That#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3766 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3766&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3766/Would-You-Like-An-Album-With-That Recently Pink Floyd were successful in their bid to sue EMI because their tracks were being sold unbundled. After they argued that their record contract with EMI “expressly prohibited” the unbundling of album tracks, and had expected there to be a lock on their songs so they could only be purchased as full albums. When it came to light that their songs were made available as single tracks, this of course was a bone of contention for them. There are two different arguments about this, one of which is if the consumer downloaded one track it may entice them to buy the whole album eventually. However, it’s equally as likely that one track will be downloaded, and even if it’s considered to be a fantastic track, that will be the end of that. What’s the point of buying the album when you already have the one song you definitely like and want? One musician strongly in support of songs being locked so they’re only available as album purchases is Elbow’s Guy Garvey who believes the album is a dying art form, stating that, “You spend a large chunk of your life making [an album] and you think about every note, squeak and crackle. When you put your heart and soul into something you want people to hear it as it was intended.” It would be very easy to accuse the musicians of being greedy, and that this is just some veiled attempt at trying to get as much money from the consumer as possible, but in truth I’m inclined to agree with Guy Garvey. I tend to look at albums as being like books, a series of chapters containing different scenes and insights. Purchasing a track, that isn’t at the time being released as a single, I see as being like buying one chapter of a book because you know it’s the one chapter you’ll definitely like. But what about the rest? Albums are meant to be played as a whole piece, and I think in some instances people will be missing out. What if the majority of people had only bought ‘She Bangs The Drums’ from The Stone Roses’ debut album, or ‘Grounds For Divorce’ from Elbow’s ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’? Those albums, full of cohesive and defining tracks, could easily have disappeared into oblivion if this was the case. Naturally this is all subjective, but I personally am in support of locking some bands back catalogues so their music can only be purchased as full albums. Otherwise, bands may see albums as being a waste of effort and time and will only release singles. Could this be the future of music? More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3766 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3767/Taking-Back-Glasvegas#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3767 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3767&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3767/Taking-Back-Glasvegas This week, it seems, is a week for a change in band line-ups. First there was the frankly surprising news that Caroline McKay, the drummer for Glasvegas, has decided to leave James Allen & Co. This was followed by the announcement of Matt Rubano and Matthew Fazzi’s departure from Taking Back Sunday. And I was just getting over seeing Taking Back Sunday without Fred Mascherino! Meanwhile, while temporarily taking a break from mourning the demise of Copeland (they had so much left to give!) I went out and bought Laura Marling’s latest album ‘I Speak Because I Can.’ Simply put, it’s one of the best music purchases I’ve ever made. Here’s a brilliant video of her perfroming the first single from the album, ‘Devil’s Spoke.’   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:32:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3767 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3937/Charlotte-Gainsbourg-new-duet--with-Serge#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3937 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3937&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3937/Charlotte-Gainsbourg-new-duet--with-Serge After her successful L.A. double-act with Beck, Charlotte Gainsbourg is duetting again. But this time she's not straying so far from home. The award-winning actress, now established as an indie pop star, will release a version of 'Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)', the notorious 1969-70 single by her parents, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. From 2 April, Serge's birthday, the track will be streamed on Charlotte's website and downloadable from online music-sellers; all profits will go to charity. Charlotte's version is based on a 1967 demo version of the song from the recording session by Serge and Brigitte Bardot, for whom the song was originally written. Due mainly to protests by Bardot's husband, this version went unreleased at the time. Two years later, Serge met Jane Birkin and the two brought the song into everlasting infamy. The new 'Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)' features the late Serge in his original role - his voice mixed into a ghostly, eerie echo that suggests the great man is singing from the nether world (as opposed to the nether regions). Charlotte sounds as refined and demure as ever. Despite a rather treacly remix of the trademark Gainsbourg symphonic strings, the duet works well. Will this version cause as much controversy as the original? Well, it can hardly be as controversial as the last Serge/Charlotte duet - 'Lemon Incest' from 1986, where papa and 14-year-old daughter extolled the virtues of 'a love that will never be'. Charlotte Gainsbourg is touring Europe and North America this summer, though she has no Irish concert scheduled yet. It remains to be heard if 'Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)' will feature in her setlist.  The amateur videomakers are already on the job - here's Charlotte and Serge with 'Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)' version 2010: More ... Aidan Curran Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3937 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3768/The-Greatest-Hits#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3768 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3768&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3768/The-Greatest-Hits The ‘Greatest Hits’ album. We’re all familiar with it in some capacity, usually the ploy of the record label. It used to be that greatest hits albums signalled the end of a band, as though they were saying, “Right, this is as good as we’ll ever get.” Now, they seem to occur intermittently. Remember the odd Biffy Clyro singles release a few months ago? I’m just cautiously waiting for there to be a ‘Best Of’ album for Elbow. There are very few ‘Best Of’ or ‘Greatest Hits’ albums that I like, and I’m certain this is the same for almost every other music fan.  I thought The Cure’s Greatest Hits was pretty good. While naturally it was filled with their most commercially successful songs you could tell the songs weren’t just thrown together, that some thought was put into the track listing and it worked out perfectly. I mean, of course I’ll bemoan them for not including ‘Fascination Street’, ‘Catch’ or ‘Prayers for Rain’, but whatever song selection is picked for these albums I always have some sort of issue with the tracks that either are, or aren’t, on it. While in some instances the Greatest Hits album is merely an introduction to the band for some people, sometimes a band has so much excellent material that it’s incredibly hard to narrow it down into one album. The Smiths’ Very Best Of is a prime example of this, with no less than 23 songs on the album. And prior to that album release there were two volumes of ‘The Best Of The Smiths’. Some bands, it seems, should just remain untouched. If you were to go out and pick up any one of The Smiths’ albums it would be filled with consistently enthralling material. There was never really any need for a ‘Very Best Of’. On several occasions some bands are unaware that their label is compiling a ‘Best Of’ album, let alone going to release one. Free from any consultation from the band, it proves an irritating and sometimes embarrassing addition to their discography.  This happened to AFI in 2004, when they left their then-label Nitro, the label released a collection of songs from their previous albums that they saw as being the best. It’s still something the band rarely talk about, but when they do the disdain is always evident. So, are greatest hits album really so heinous? The Best of R.E.M captures the band at various different stages in their career, and no doubt provides an excellent introduction to the band. Similarly, the Best of Depeche Mode is a stunning collection of their songs. Maybe without those albums, very few bands would be appreciated as much as they are now. In some instances, it can shine a light on a band that had previously been only vaguely known by people. Here’s hoping that Doves’ Best Of garners them all of the attention they’ve so long deserved. The verdict? The Greatest Hits album: a necessary evil. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:24:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3768 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3938/Natural-Snow-Buildings#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3938 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3938&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3938/Natural-Snow-Buildings The story so far: Two French musicians toil away in semi-obscurity, resigned to life under the radar. Little do they suspect that someone is watching them. Now read on: Some musicians are happy to be local heroes, cult artists avoiding the harsh media glare and 'Hello'-wedding of celebrity. But no profile is low enough, no cult act obscure enough, no home-made CD-R indie enough to hide you from the CLUAS gaffer. He sees you when you're sleeping; he knows when you're awake. And so your Paris correspondent received orders: find Natural Snow Buildings! So, Natural Snow Buildings (right) are a duo: he's Mehdi and she's Solange. They come from Bourgogne, the eastern region of France we know in English as Burgundy - home of fine wine, delicious beef stew and a shade of red that never looks good on trousers. By any definition, Natural Snow Buildings are a cult act. They've been making records since 1997, often home-made and with careful artwork. Each of them also puts out solo work - Mehdi as TwinSisterMoon and Solange as Isengrind. Their product is usually released in very limited quantities - 500 copies is a typical pressing run. And most of those copies get snapped up by eager devotees. What do they sound like? Well, what we've heard so far is lo-fi alt-folk with a touch of experimental post-rock. And is it good, this lo-fi alt-f. with the touch of exp. p-r? Yes, it is. We recommend their most recent album, 'Shadow Kingdom', and an earlier double-album called 'The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun'. The music is beguiling and thoughtful, the vocals warm and careworn. You can hear some tracks on the Natural Snow Buildings MySpace page. From 'Shadow Kingdom', here's what they probably think of all this paparazzi-esque CLUAS celebrity spotlight - 'Go Away, Disappear': More ... Aidan Curran Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3938 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3769/Sparking-the-Shadows#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3769 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3769&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3769/Sparking-the-Shadows Congratulations are in order after Adrian Crowley won the Choice Music Prize with the brilliant ‘Season of the Sparks’ album. He had some tough competition in the form of Valerie Francis’ ‘Slow Dynamo’ and Bell X1‘s  ‘Blue Lights on the Runway’ among many others. A CLUAS interview with him can be read here. I recently got Fionn Regan’s ‘Shadow of an Empire’, which has a lot more electric instrumentation than his debut ‘The End of History.’ While it doesn’t entirely veer away from the folk style he’s known for it does display his immense musical talent, sometimes experimenting with some more traditional sounds. He has the lyrical sensibilities of Bob Dylan with the sometimes melodious and engaging vocal style of Johnny Cash. Judging by this album, Regan can only ever get more interesting and creative with his music. The album covers a lot of different ground, starting from the raucous and hooky ‘Protection Racket’ to the personal and intimate in ‘Lines Written in Winter’. Throughout the album it seems as though not a word was wasted in the lyrics, everything has some sort of significance. Here’s an interesting snippet of the song ‘Protection Racket’, the first single from ‘The Shadow of an Empire’. More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3769 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3939/Muse-Phoenix-for-Brittany-summer-festival#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3939 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3939&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3939/Muse-Phoenix-for-Brittany-summer-festival The first of France's major summer music festivals to announce its 2010 bill is Les Vieilles Charrues. The annual trip to Carhaix in Brittany takes place on 15-18 July. You might remember that last year's event featured Bruce Springsteen in his only French show of 2009. This year's stars are not as legendary but still attractive enough to ensure a healthy turnout. Top of the bill are Muse. Now, the English trio are playing two huge concerts at the Stade de France in Paris this June, so it might seem strange that they play another large French show only weeks later. However, Les Vieilles Charrues attracts fans for the unique experience of a festival in the remote west of Brittany - which is also relatively accessible for English fans. Also, Brittany in July is full of young holidaymakers from around Europe, so Les Vieilles Charrues has a greater potential audience than its isolated location suggests. Back to the line-up - the other name that interests us is Phoenix. However, the Grammy winners are surprisingly far down the bill - tugging the forelock to Mika but also to four other French acts. Who are these artists that the home fans seem to prefer over Phoenix? We featured Indochine early last year - '80s post-punk veterans who will also be filling the Stade de France this summer. Diam's is a tomboyish rapper who raised some eyebrows when she converted to Islam recently. Alain Souchon is one of these old chanson française guys that you non-Frenchies don't need to know about. The other French headliner is Jacques Dutronc (left, in his youth). If that name sounds familiar, it's because you may have heard it in the original version of 'Brimful Of Asha' by Cornershop - at the end, when Tjindar Singh is listing his old records, he mentions "Jacques Dutronc and the Bolan boogie". So who is Jacques Dutronc? Well, as a young man in the 1960s he was a pop star, and by the '90s he had become a respected actor. He is the partner of Françoise Hardy, perhaps France's coolest female pop singer ever - and their son Thomas Dutronc is now a star himself, making a likeable kind of jazz manouche-influenced acoustic chanson-pop. And what does Jacques Dutronc sound like? From looking at his picture (left), you'd imagine such a suave and dapper man to croon like Bryan Ferry. In fact, Dutronc père has a rasping, hectoring voice, like a hoarse Mick Jagger. Indeed, his '60s hits bring a touch of Stones raucousness to the chanson française genre - lots of words and little melody, but with enough attitude to compensate. As for other acts at Les Vieilles Charrues, dance music fans will recognise Vitalic and Etienne de Crécy. Revolver make a rather nice skiffle-pop sound. But you don't need to bother with Gojira or Gaetan Roussel. And if you're travelling all the way to deepest Brittany to see one-hit-wonder Mr Oizo, him of the Flat Eric fad in 1998, then you've got issues. On which point, how does one get to deepest Brittany and Les Vieilles Charrues? First you go to a major west Breton town like Lorient or Brest (by air), Roscoff (by ferry) or Guingamp (by train). From there, the regional authority has organised coaches to Carhaix for only €3 return. Full practical details are available here in English. Tickets for Les Vieilles Charrues went on sale last week and already all 35,000 four-day tickets have been sold - unless you choose a four-day package including transport to and from faraway French cities like Dijon or Toulouse. Never mind - you can still get a three-day pass for €88 or a one-day ticket from €37.50 to €51.20, depending on which day you choose. Muse are playing on Thursday 15 July and Phoenix on Saturday 17 July (with Indochine headlining that night). You can find full ticket details on French online ticket agents like FNAC. For more information on the festival, check out Les Vieilles Charrues' website (in French apart from the practical info page in the link above). Here's a pleasantly bizarre song from Jacques Dutronc that Neil Hannon has been known to perform live - 'Les Playboys': More ... Aidan Curran Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3939 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3940/Declan-de-Barra-French-tour#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3940 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3940&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3940/Declan-de-Barra-French-tour The most prominent Irish act in France this month is Declan de Barra. The Waterford man is here for a series of shows around the country between now and May. We've featured de Barra (right) on this blog before - he performs frequently in France, most notably a recent Paris show on the same bill as alt-country legend Josh T. Pearson. He's also been picking up good reviews from the native press. Fans of acoustic singer-songering will certainly be impressed by de Barra's intensity and poeticism. So far he's made two albums - a 2005 release called 'Song Of A Thousand Birds' and its 2008 follow-up 'A Fire To Scare The Sun' - and alt-folk aficionados should check them out. On his current spin around la hexagone, de Barra visits places such as Saint Brieuc, Lens and Saint Etienne. This Friday, 12 March, he has a show in the Paris region, at Les Mains d'Oeuvres in Saint-Ouen (not far from the Stade de France). Full details of his tour, his life and his works are available on Declan de Barra's MySpace page. No news yet of any upcoming gigs back in the E.I.R.E. Here's a striking video of Declan de Barra from a previous Paris visit. French music website Le Hiboo ('the owl') filmed him singing a capella at the Madeleine, a famous church just off the Place de la Concorde. He's singing 'Throw Your Arms Around Me', a favourite among his fans - and he's in his bare feet on the marble floor. We feel the cold just looking at him: More ... Aidan Curran Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3940 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3941/London-and-Paris#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3941 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3941&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3941/London-and-Paris Dateline: crack of dawn last Saturday morning. While you were snuggled up all warm in bed, your Seine-side correspondent staggered sleepily across town, up to the Gare du Nord and onto a train. Two hours later, we arrived at St Pancras station. That's how easy it is to go from Paris to London. It was actually your blogger's first time there. The immediate reason for our long-overdue London debut was a match of rugby at Twickenham, so it was certainly a successful trip. But London made a big impression. Paris is probably the most beautiful city in the world - and Paris knows it. The French capital can feel quite uptight and self-conscious, as if every Parisian believes he or she lives in the cold-blooded glamour of a fashion show. The sheer beauty of the place can be intimidating, like when you visit someone's new home and fear leaving mud on their carpet. Waiters and customer service staff demand respect for their authority, and the omnipresent French flags suggest an irritation with anything different or foreign. It's hard work to relax in Paris. By contrast, London was warm and human. Its streets feel practical and lived in, like a comfortable pair of shoes. Compared to the hassle of Paris cafés, London pubs are blissful and kind. And even its monuments are idiosyncratic - despite their functionality and familiarity, Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament still seem so odd. Pop music gives us proof of London's warmth and Paris's cold. There are hardly any French pop songs about Paris - certainly nothing contemporary or cool. Rap acts may rap about Paris - but only as political commentary, not as praise. By contrast, London has been apotheosised in countless songs by its natives and residents. Waterloo Station and the nearby bridge are quite unremarkable, yet Ray Davies featured them in one of pop's most poetic songs. The Clash, The Jam, Madness and Blur have added their own layers to London's pop mythology by singing of ordinary places like Camden Town, the Tube, Hammersmith and Primrose Hill. (Of course, Paris has no pop/rock anthem to match 'London Calling'.) Paris has inspired great painting, literature and classical music - but it has no great pop music. North American songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Stephin Merritt use Paris as shorthand for artistic freedom and old-fashioned romance respectively, but those are outsider images with little relevance to daily life Seine-side. The city's only native pop genius, Serge Gainsbourg, recorded his classic late-'60s records - including 'Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)' - in London and filled his lyrics with American pop culture references. There's very little of Paris in Serge's masterworks. And as we've pointed out before, the entire 'French Touch' wave of mid-'90s indietronic culture - Daft Punk, Air, Michel Gondry, Phoenix - come from Versailles.  Why is Paris so poor for pop? Well, it might be due to that intimidating air of cold-blooded glamour we mentioned earlier. Pop music is democratic and open-minded and human and un-self-conscious and fun - and Paris is none of these things. But London seems to have these qualities in abundance, hence it's the pop capital of the world. So, is your correspondent in the wrong city? Well, that's a question for another time... Anyway, thinking of London and the future leads us nicely to four lads from Colchester who made a classic London single and video - here's Blur with 'For Tomorrow': More ... Aidan Curran Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3941 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3770/Falcon-and-the-NME-Awards#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3770 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3770&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3770/Falcon-and-the-NME-Awards The Courteeners have stormed back into the consciousness of indie fans with their impeccable second album ‘Falcon’. They’ve created a distance between the Oasis style lad-rock that was so prevalent on their debut ‘St. Jude’, which has the potential to get them a much larger audience. Like almost every indie band in the land they’ve got strings on this album, but only as a subtle addition to the foot-stomping and energetic guitars and drums which blaze throughout. If you thought ‘St. Jude’ was good, then you’ll be blown away by ‘Falcon’. Besides the fascinating photography the CD booklet is adorned with, there’s an album of consistently interesting and attention-grabbing tracks. The aptly titled opening track ‘The Opener’ details front man Liam Fray’s love for his hometown of Manchester, while their latest single ‘You Over Did It Doll’ makes a cross over into a previously unseen side of The Courteeners, primarily due to the dance style of the song. It’s something which could easily be considered quite bizarre, but they’ve got it right on point. The whole album is collection of thoughtful and heartfelt tracks, but mainly with an upbeat tempo. ‘Falcon’ easily has the potential to be one of the best albums of 2010. In other news the NME Awards took place in London’s Brixton Academy last week hosted by the ever affable Jarvis Cocker. As per usual there was a shortage of Irish acts getting a look-in. However, Villagers’ recent signing to the legendary Domino label may just change that. Paul Weller was awarded the ‘Godlike Genius’ award and people with mullets everywhere rejoiced at the possibility that he just might make them fashionable again. On the live performances front there was a staggering collaboration between Biffy Clyro and Marina & the Diamonds on ‘Many of Horror’.  Have a look at the surprisingly suited collaboration below:   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:10:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3770 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3942/John-Jehn-new-single-and-album#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3942 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3942&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3942/John-Jehn-new-single-and-album One of our favourite French acts are John & Jehn (right). We've told you about them before - a French couple living in London and making dark, swaggering electro-rock. John plays Velvet Underground-style scuzzed-down '50s riffs on his guitar, while Jehn looks after the cool Roxy Music-esque analogue synths. We found their first album charming and simple. But then at the Solidays festival last summer we saw them live for the first time - they were sexy and sensational. Their second album is due out at the end of March. It's called 'Time For The Devil' and is preceded by a single of the same name. Well, it's clear that your correspondent is not the only fan of John & Jehn - their new label Naive has clearly been spending money on them. Compared to the home-made feel of their debut, 'Time For The Devil' (the song) has top-of-the-range studio production values. However, the song is rather slight - all atmosphere, little in the way of a memorable tune. Only Jehn's Siouxsie-esque chorus vocal hook lifts this track out of the relegation places and into mid-table safety. (For his part, John sounds like Ian McCulloch and the track has that rich and doom-laden Echo and the Bunnymen vibe.) 'Time For The Devil' (the album) will be launched with a special show at La Maroquinerie in Paris on 29 March - your correspondent hopes to be there. As we said above, this pair are great live so we'll have a better impression of their new material then. You can get a taster of John & Jehn's new album by watching this trailer for it. As for the single, here's the video for 'Time For The Devil': More ... Aidan Curran Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3942 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3943/The-fandom-of-the-Opera#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3943 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3943&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3943/The-fandom-of-the-Opera Despite the impression we give in this blog, the most celebrated music venue in Paris is not La Flèche d'Or or La Maroquinerie. Though it may seem strange to us, those busloads of tourists much prefer to visit the Opéra. The Opéra (right) is not the only opera house in Paris. Nearby is the Opéra Comique, a charming little roundhouse. Over at Bastille, a modern venue of that name is equally large but ugly like a financial services centre. The Opéra we're talking about is actually called the Opéra Garnier, named after its architect. When you say "the Opéra" in Paris, everyone assumes you mean this one. In a city whose architectural landmarks know no restraint, the Opéra is particularly over-the-top - a Venn diagram where 'architecture' overlaps with 'wedding-cake'. (In fact, there's a small chocolate cake called an Opéra.) Seen when you're coming up from the metro station of the same name, it looms like an airship. As with many famous Paris buildings, only by walking around it can you appreciate how enormous it is. Commissioned in the mid-19th century, it symbolises the ostentatious wealth of Paris under the restored Empire. The surrounding streets, with their lines of black balcony railings, were designed by Baron Haussmann, architect of the quintessential Paris avenues and boulevards. Paris in the time of Charles Garnier and Haussman was turbulent, to say the least. (The Avenue de l'Opéra - long, wide and slashed by narrow, angled streets - was specifically designed so that the army could outflank any barricade in the area.) By the time the Opéra was finally completed, in 1875, the Second Empire of Louis Napoléon had been ousted by the Commune, the Prussians and the Third Republic. To attend performances in the Opéra he built, Garnier had to buy a ticket. Invited by a friend with a spare ticket to sell, your correspondent went to the Opéra recently. It may be hard to believe, but the inside is even more extravagant than the outside. Marble, gold leaf, hardwood, chandeliers - we found it far more impressive than the chateau of Versailles. The concert hall features Chagall's famous painted ceiling - renowned composers and their works represented in daubs of bright, childlike colour. Most exciting of all is the breathtaking view from the front balcony down the avenue, which makes you feel like a lord or lady looking down on the poor people below. No wonder the people revolted. These days, ordinary citizens can come to the Opéra too - there are some tickets available for 10 euros. However, you actually don't see the show from those seats. Of the Opéra's 2,500 or so seats, many of them only have partial views from behind pillars or balcony edges. Those ten euro seats are at the back of a box - but the people who buy them mostly come just for the music or for the experience of being inside the Opéra. Our seats were at the front of a box, but we still only saw about 70% of the stage. We saw 'La Dame Aux Camélias', a recent ballet made from an Alexandre Dumas short story and compositions by Chopin. (France's other favourite adopted Pole besides Marie Curie, Chopin was born exactly two hundred years ago. He's buried in Père Lachaise - except for his heart, which is in a church in Warsaw.) Those ten euro punters got lucky - the orchestra's pianist gave a marvellous show. For the rest of us, the on-stage show was extravagantly beautiful. Only by seeing live ballet do you realise how the apparent grace of the dancers hides the incredible physical demands on them. Walk on your tiptoes for five minutes and see how you feel; now imagine dancing, spinning and landing on them for an hour. Your marathon-running blogger marvels (and winces) at the strain a top ballerina puts on every tendon and ligament in her legs. Our trip to the Opéra was very educational indeed. The Opéra in Paris is most famous because of a musical from London. Yes, a lot of those tourists are actually fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Phantom Of The Opera', based on Gaston Leroux's classic French novel about a disfigured man lurking in and under this same venue. (Your correspondent didn't see any phantoms at the Opéra that night. West End musicals - don't trust 'em!) So, here are Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley with its appallingly naff theme song - just for the hilariously awful video. Look out, mullety man! More ... Aidan Curran Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3943 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3771/Gaggle-Valerie-Francis-and-Lightspeed-Champion#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3771 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3771&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3771/Gaggle-Valerie-Francis-and-Lightspeed-Champion So, first on the agenda is the sassy, strong and stunning all female choir Gaggle. I interviewed the front woman of Gaggle a few months ago and since then Gaggle have signed to the Transgressive label (home to a certain Graham Coxon) and are releasing a single entitled ‘I Hear Flies’, the mesmerising video for which can be found here. They’ve received glowing reviews for their live performances, their live show has yet to hit Irish shores but considering how much their profile is raising it’s probably only a matter of time. Meanwhile Dev Hynes, AKA Lightspeed Champion, has recently released his second solo album ‘Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You.’, and it’s available to stream for a limited time here. It’s a strange yet appealing concoction of various different genres - he jumps from dance to soulful in the space of a few minutes. It all is, of course, well worth a listen. And it certainly doesn’t hurt when it’s being streamed for free. Back on Irish shores Valerie Francis' astounding debut ‘Slow Dynamo’ has been nominated for the Choice Music Awards, and she was nominated in the Best Irish Female category at the Meteor’s this year, and deservedly so. To get a taster of what perfectly crafted and beautifully expressive acoustic music should sound like then mosey on over to her MySpace here. Lastly, Welsh songstress Marina Diamandis, better known as the front woman of Marina and the Diamonds, has recently released her debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ and it’s already been certified Silver in the UK. Packed full of catchy tunes, including her most recent single off the album, ‘Hollywood’, and the infectious ‘I Am Not A Robot’ it’s a must for any shameless pop fan. In order to introduce you to the world of Marina and the Diamonds, for the uninitiated here’s the video for ‘I Am Not A Robot.’   More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:08:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3771 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3944/La-Route-du-Rocks-winter-collection#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3944 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3944&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3944/La-Route-du-Rocks-winter-collection 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. 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: More ... Aidan Curran Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3944 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3945/Magic-reviews-for-Fionn-Regan-Two-Door-Cinema-Club#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3945 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3945&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3945/Magic-reviews-for-Fionn-Regan-Two-Door-Cinema-Club 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. 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': More ... Aidan Curran Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3945 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3772/Second-Album-Syndrome#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3772 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3772&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3772/Second-Album-Syndrome 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? More ... Aideen O'Flaherty Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:19:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3772 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3946/Pascal-Bizet#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3946 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3946&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3946/Pascal-Bizet On several occasions we've bemoaned the lack of good French-language pop. By 'good pop' we mean a tune you can whistle and hum and sing in the shower - and songs en français these days tend to be monotonous recitals of precious lyrics. So, allow us to rave about a rare bit of catchy and melodic French music. Pascal Bizet (right) is from Nîmes, the south-eastern city whose lasting contribution to world culture is the derivation of the word 'denim' - "de Nîmes". (The word 'jeans' is also French in origin - the earliest pairs of denim trousers were made in Genoa, which in French is called "Gênes.) Metallica fans will know of a 2006 concert DVD called 'Français Pour Un Nuit' that was filmed in the city's Roman amphitheatre. We don't know yet if Pascal is a descendant of Georges Bizet, the Parisian who wrote 'Carmen', but he certainly has musical talent. Your correspondent has just discovered a track called 'Sans Doute' thanks to Canadian DJ Laura Leishman's excellent radio show on French indie station Le Mouv'; perhaps it takes us Johnny Foreigners to appreciate what's best in France. 'Sans Doute', with its pounding piano chords, has a touch of John Lennon's better solo songs. Changing from verse to chorus, Bizet's voice takes on some of Elvis Costello's vitriol and Joe Jackson's angst. The melody rolls along agreeably from start to finish, drawing in the listener without over-reaching for a killer hook or climax. Good work. There we go: the first decent French-language song of the year and decade. You can hear 'Sans Doute' on Pascal Bizet's MySpace page, which also features some rather dense prose to describe the song's symbol-laden video, directed by Bizet: More ... Aidan Curran Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3946 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3947/Polanskis-dubious-duet#Comments 0 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=36&ModuleID=728&ArticleID=3947 https://www.cluas.com:443/indie-music/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3947&PortalID=0&TabID=36 https://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Home/ID/3947/Polanskis-dubious-duet We've mentioned Emmanuelle Seigner on this blog before. The French actress released her first album in 2007 with the group Ultra Orange, and subsequently recorded a duet with Brett Anderson. Now her second album has just come out - and it includes a duet far more controversial than that with the Suede singer. The album (right) is called 'Dingue', pronounced 'dang', which is French for 'crazy'. While her first album was heavily influenced by Lou Reed, this new record harks back to the classic '60s French pop of France Gall and Sylvie Vartan. Not being blessed with a great singing voice, Seigner never strays far from a low monotone - which is quite alright in France, because many singers do this. The album was due to be released last November but was held back due to a dramatic development in Seigner's personal life - the arrest of her husband, Roman Polanski. The acclaimed film director was taken into custody on a visit to Switzerland last September, as the Swiss authorities sought to extradite him to the USA to face charges of unlawful sex with a minor. Polanski is currently under house arrest in Switzerland. Here's where Seigner's album gets controversial: one of the tracks, 'Qui Etes Vous?' ('Who Are You?') is a Bardot/Gainsbourg-style duet with Polanski - and the lyrics have an unfortunate resonance with the charges he faces. The lyrics start with Seigner addressing an unknown man in her bed: "Qui êtes-vous, monsieur? Qu'est-ce que vous faites dans mon lit?" ("Who are you, sir? What are you doing in my bed?") Polanski's reply is "Je suis l'amour en personne" ("I am love in person"). The second verse is even more embarrassing. Seigner sings "Mais vous n'êtes pas mon type/Allez-vous-en/Vous allez avoir des problèmes" ("But you're not my kind/Go away/You'll have problems"). It continues: Him: Tu m'as déjà dit 'je t'aime' (You already said 'I love you') Her: Moi? (Me?) Him: Tu as de peau douce et lisse (You have soft, smooth skin) Her: J'appelle la police! (I'm calling the police!) The third verse: Him: Je ne veux que ton bonheur (I only want your happiness) Her: Tu es un sâle voleur (You're a dirty thief) Him: Je ne veux que ton bien (I only want you to be well) Her: Mais je ne suis pas un chien! (But I'm not a dog!) And the fourth verse, where Polanski's character becomes creepier: Him: Mais enfin nous sommes fiancés (But finally we're engaged) Her: Vous avez fumé? (Have you been smoking?) Him: Tu m'as couru après, c'était en été (You chased me, it was in the summer) Her: Je ne suis jamais engagée! Allez dégagé! (I've never been engaged! Go on, get lost!) This, remember, performed by a man who fled charges of unlawful sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl. What on earth were Seigner and Polanski thinking? The track hasn't yet been posted on Seigner's MySpace site - your correspondent downloaded it from a French online music shop. The album has just been released in France; at the time of writing, we haven't seen or heard any reaction from the French music press. More ... Aidan Curran Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3947