It’s been a few years since The Kills were mentioned on Cool Noise (2003 if I remember correctly). They haven’t been exceptionally busy since then but they do have a new album out now called Midnight Boom. I read an interview with Jamie Hince where he claimed that this latest work was a departure from their previous in that it s designed to be danced to. Of course he is just teasing and although more rhythmically-based and using more keyboards rather than guitars, the familiar elements of crude rock noise and the studied ‘cool’ female vocals are still there.

The Kills do have an alarming tendency to descend into playground chants occasionally but this is kept to just parts of a couple of tracks like Sour Cherry. I do detect a more pop/melodic approach than before. Songs like Black Balloon and What New York Used To Be are simple pop tunes with a bit of a twist but pop songs nevertheless. I have to admit I do like them a lot in this more commercially acceptable approach where they strip everything down to simple catchy melodies and add the interesting noises to keep me feeling that this is a band that are not taking the obvious approach..

What New York Used To Be (clip) by The Kills

The Kills are never going to make a completely satisfying album - they play around too much. But what they do on this album is mix things up a bit - things like sex, art, pop and noise. Whether it is rabble rousing, ear hurting, or a sweet voice that you want, the Kills can do it all.

Last Day Of Magic (clip) by The Kills

Years Around The Sun are a band from San Diego. I reviewed their first album a couple of years ago (on BlogCritics) and was very complimentary.

Their sound is fresh and startling - anthemic melodic vocals, keyboards, punchy bass and drums. If you put this on in the car then you will be asked “who is this?” during the first track. Again I am going to make the comparison with The Go-Betweens and Grant McClellan’s songs because of the evocation of open space and melody. Listen to this excerpt to see what I mean:

Roundabout (clip) by Years Around The Sun

If I had to voice a reservation then it is that Years Around The Sun do sometimes get a bit “samey” with the consistency of their sound. And then they come up with a wonderful track like Heart Delay where the vocals are shared and the interplay produces a glorious sound of intricacy and passion.

Heart Delay (clip) by Years Around The Sun

Years Around The Sun

I was watching My Name Is Earl on the TV last night and suddenly there was a song I recognised used as backing to a scene where Earl shoots an arrow into the air (and it then skewers him on its way down). The song was Me and My Arrow by Harry Nilsson which is covered by The Simple Carnival on the EP of the same name that I have been listening to for a few weeks.

Me And My Arrow (clip) by The Simple Carnival

This is an EP of Pop so, well, Poppy that it almost defies belief. But this isn’t the cheesy attempt at humour of Mike Flowers, but seems to be a serious love of the sweet melody and gentle dance rhythm. It is the product of one man: Jeff Boller, who clearly has an ear for a good tune and a wry sense of humour as well.

When I was growing up there was a clear conflict between Pop music and Rock music. Pop meant shallow while Rock was ‘heavy’ and ‘deep’. And even now melodic beat combos still stick to their Indie credentials and try to fool people that they are a pretty smile and a sweet rhyming couplet. That leads me to a problem - I still feel that way. I say ‘feel’ because I get a physical reaction to too much saccharine tunefulness. I understand that to openly present pure Pop is really the more radical option but I am old and reactionary now.

The video to Really Really Weird

So, I am not saying I like this record. But there are enough melodic hooks here in amongst what my ears hear as ‘cheese’ to convince me that Jeff has considerable talent. If you like a bit of Beach Boys harmonies then you really should get acquainted with The Simple Carnival.

No doubt about it – the venue’s the star tonight. St Philips with St Stevens is situated in what remains of old Salford, and is a gorgeous 1820’s building that is still in good condition. Contemporary Salford intrudes, however, in the form of warnings to keep Satnavs hidden (and the inevitable post-gig smashed windows). Still, good luck to the forward-thinking vicar, and the little bar serving local real ale was another nice touch.

I’ll try to avoid “waif-like” and “vulnerable” clichés, but she’s a slight, short-haired young lass, and her introductory ‘Rebecca’ was performed solo, unmiked and unamped, with the audience giving total respect. Her clear vibrato-tinged tones were enhanced by the church acoustics, and she continued with just her and an acoustic guitar, until the rest of the band gradually joined her on the altar. Sparse, sensitive backing gives a stripped-down feel, allowing the underlying melancholy (if not morbidity) of her lyrics to come through, with ‘Night Terror’ sending a shiver down my particular spine, before the evening ends with a jaunty ‘Alas I cannot swim’, done as an advance encore.

Any female folk(-ish) singer-songwriter gets the usual comparisons; Beth Orton, even Sandy Denny. My own points of reference were the Decemberist’s quieter moments, and maybe a nod to Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh. It’s pleasing (to me, at any rate) to see the decreasing influence of the alt.country/Americana scene (although she cites Will Oldham as a major influence) in favour of yet another native folk-based revival. She’s only 18 – watch this space….

See a video of the song Night Terror

Review by Big Dave

It would be very easy to dismiss this album as “just another Nick Cave album”. He has returned from the astonishing Grinderman to his normal method of music making. Most of the songs fit the pattern of a relaxed bass/drum groove while Nick intones his tales of America over the top using Blues vocal phrasing.

The thing is a half-decent Nick Cave album is probably as good as anything that will be released this year. If this was an album by a new singer/band then it would be lauded as brilliant but expectations are always high for Old Nick. So the critic in me wants to tell you that there are very few tracks that would make it onto a best of Nick Cave retrospective while the music fan in me just enjoys listening to more new Nick Cave songs. I really like the relaxed sensuality of Hold On To Yourself with it’s twangy guitar and Nick’s voice seems to be touched with sadness like he’d been crying earlier. Today’s Lesson is like the old stager’s reply to Iggy’s Real Good Time - not from the first person point of view but a lecherous observer.

Midnight Man(clip) by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

There’s nothing to change the world here (that has already been done) but there’s a haunting voice, brilliant musicians, and tales of debauchery to keep you warm at night.

Nick Cave on Myspace

I got Consolers Of The Lonely by The Raconteurs on the strength of the reviews and the fact I like Jack White. It has led me to question whether I should trust reviews again. In fact the only ‘good’ review was in The Times and that said “the presiding maxim … is, when in doubt, turn it up and shout”. Now, that tells me the opposite - there will be some good tracks here. In truth there are only four tracks I like and those are pure Jack White/White Stripes sound alikes. Some of the other songs have me hitting the skip control because they sound like out-takes from a Dennis Waterman album. I’m probably being cruel but some of the lyrics and rhymes are just embarrassing.

The saving grace is the song Carolina Drama. It is a tale worthy of Nick Cave, mixing poverty, violence, and the American way of Life and Death. The mother’s boyfriend is no good and one day is seen beating up the Preacher (”that must be my daddy”) and Billy grabs the nearest thing, a milk bottle and uses it so “the boyfriend fell down dead for good”. The family is reunited and Billy proposes heading off to Tennessee. Then, the moment that will have audiences jumping and singing along, the 10 year old walks in holding the milkman’s hat and a bottle singing “La la la la, la la la la, yeah”. Bloody genius.

Carolina Drama(clip) byThe Raconteurs

This is the second release I have been sent by Jezus Factory Records featuring Paul Hawkins & Thee Awkward Silences. It’s now sinking in that there is a maverick talent on the loose and if he’s coming to a town near you then look out - most people will want to run away but a select few will revel in this chaotic ranting (me included).

I Believe In Karma (clip) by Paul Hawkins & Thee Awkward Silences

For me it’s that moment when Paul Hawkins sings “I can’t even remember how the next line goes, La La LaLa La La La” that makes this song (like that wonderful moment in School’s Out when Alice sings “I can’t even think of a word that rhymes”). The other track on the promo is the slower, more considered My Darling Frankenstein. It’s a tale of a man who has built a perfect woman (or monster as others call her) to reproduce the best of previous girlfriends such as ‘I see Serena in your movements, I see Sophie in your eyes, you’ve the same expression Claire once had when I used to tell her lies’. A twisted, funny, and perverted solution to the pain of lost love.

I won’t be lazy and just pick on the influences mentioned on MySpace - comparisons with a current figure like Nick Cave just don’t explain much. At times I think it sounds like an angry John Otway, but really the vehemence in the vocal and musical delivery is more like the sort of thing I could imagine the late, great Alex Harvey doing if he had grown up listening to Punk.

Paul Hawkins & Thee Awkward Silences