Something Old, Something New, Something To Look Forward To (May)

The second of my regular installments to this blog: in turn, a golden oldie, a recent release and a forthcoming work worth getting your teeth into.

Something Old: Wire-Pink Flag

Released in 1977, and like last month’s recommendation, Guided By Voices’ Alien Lanes, Wire’s debut is an example of how the saying “less is more” doesn’t always ring true, at least in terms of the number of songs: Pink Flag packs 21 into 36 minutes. Unlike the gleeful mess of Alien Lanes however, Pink Flag is a lesson in economy: songs are short, sharp and very much to the point, never stretching an idea beyond its worth, and every bit as minimalist as its cover art might suggest. A post-punk monument (and the first of a stunning trio of albums which would include Chairs Missing and 154 within just two years), this was/is a massive influence to so many artists, with Elastica being the most famously indebted band to Wire’s work (listen to Connection next to Pink Flag’s Three Girl Rhumba. Hmmmm, similar, non?).

If you like this try: Mission Of Burma: Signals, Calls, and Marches EP (1981), Elastica: Elastica (1995)

Something New: {{{ SUNSET }}}-Bright Blue Dream

I’m not quite sure where this band has arisen from, and bar their myspace, there seems to be precious little information available on them. What I do know is that with Bright Blue Dream, they’ve put together what will remain one of the most beautiful, albeit unsettling, albums of the year. The collection of sounds is wide-ranging, from the funereal drones of Moebius, the melancholy piano of Golden Reverie, the krautrock influences of Diamond Studded Caskets, to the oddly affecting country of Old Sandy Bull Lee: every track throws up something different, and yet the album works best as a near-seamless whole. The centrepiece is the stately 14-minute title track, which evokes the comparison of Pink Floyd at their most human. Perhaps not to be listened to if you’re down in the dumps, but listen to this sombre masterpiece late at night (or at sunset perhaps?) with headphones, and it will really get underneath your skin.

If you like this try: Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (1975), Deerhunter: Cryptograms (2007)

Something To Look Forward To: My Morning Jacket-Evil Urges

The Arcade Fire’s Funeral aside, Z, My Morning Jacket’s masterpiece-to-date was my favourite album of 2005 (Funeral really came out in 2004 in any case). Z expanded their reverb-drenched (the stock phrase for describing MMJ) alt-country rock and folk and took it successfully in a wide range of directions. Evil Urges, scheduled for release in early June, should see the band expand their sound further, with several new tracks played at their recent SXSW performance taking a more R’n’B and soul slant, allowing Jim James’ already wonderful voice to hit new heights. The band are playing a number of UK dates in the summer, including a performance at Glasto: I hope to catch them in July at the London Forum. You’d be mad to miss them: one check of their performances from their Okonokos set should confirm MMJ as one of the finest live acts around, and up to now they’ve certainly delivered on CD too.

If you like their earlier work, try: Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP (2008)