Past, Present and Future tense

Decided to give you all a bit of a history lesson through the use of a chronological listing of excellent tunes.

1492 - Counting Crows

• A leap year
• Christopher Columbus arrives in America
• Adam Duritz writes song that opens Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
  

1921 - The Who

• Warren G. Harding is inaugrated as the 29th president of the USA.
• The death penalty is abolished in Sweden
• The united states officially declares the end of World War I
• A composition from The Who's rock opera Tommy
  

1945 - Social Distortion

• The beginning of the 'information age'
• World War II ends but not before...
• The atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima
• Social Distortion song about the same event

1963 - New Order

• The Beatles release their debut album Please, Please Me
• The Roman Catholic church accepts cremation as a funeral practice
• JFK is assassinated
• A track in which Bernard Sumner warns 'Jonny' about various weapons

1969 - Iggy Pop & The Stooges

• Man lands on the moon
• Woodstock is held in upstate New York
  
• Monty Python's Flying Circus debuts on British television
• Iggy Pop gets all 'rood' sentimental with the stooges

1972 - Josh Rouse

• The Olympic Games are held in Munich, Germany
• Gough Whitlam becomes Prime Minister
• ATARI is established by Nolan Bushell
• Singer-songwriter Josh Rouse is born and dedicates an album (and song) to his birthdate

1979 - Smashing Pumpkins

• Jazz legend Charles Mingus dies
• China registers 1 billion people as its population
• The first British nudist beach opens
• Billy Corgan penned look at nostalgia and teenage freedom

1980 - Estelle

• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released
• Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame is born
• CNN is officially launched
• UK R&B starlet's song about her youth

1984 - David Bowie
Advanced Australia Fair becomes the new national anthem
Band Aid release the song Do They Know It's Christmas?
The year in which your humble writer was born
David Bowie's track inspired by the George Orwell book of the same name

1991 - Crystal Castles

• Nirvana release classic album Nevermind
• Start of the Gulf War
• Collapse of the Soviet Union
• fuzzy 8-bit electronica from hip duo Crystal Castles

1999 - Prince

• Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese Zodiac
• the debut of Napster
• The millenium dome opens in London
• The purple one's dizzying funk about the end of the world

2080 - Yeasayer

• Beginning of the fourth world war
  
• Google controls 70% of the Intergalactic Earth Colony's revenue
• Albert Einstein is cloned for the second time
• Yeasayer's whistful anthem about the vagaries of time

My we've come a long way haven't we?

Where For Art Thou?

Historically the first 'hidden track' on a record is commonly attributed to The Beatles' sound collage at the end of Sgt. Pepper's. It was unlisted on the album titles and the effect was that it would loop forever as the needle hit the groove in the record, an effect unfortunately lost in its CD replica. Still it marks an important point in recorded music culture - the secret track.

Some artists turn their nose up at the idea, why hide something from your audience? While others have transformed it into a curious art. Still other 'secret tracks' have become famous in their own right - it's a little known fact that The Clash's Train in Vain (Stand By Me) was only a 'hidden track' due to time constraints in the printing of the tracklist.

Whatever the reason for their hidden or secret status (musical diversions, excessive swearing, humourous turns), now is the time to turn the spotlight on these musical oddities.

(a quick note, a lot of these were hard to find links to - so you'll find a lot of bad YouTube visuals, i suggest you play the song and point your browser elsewhere. Otherwise, enjoy)


Nirvana - Nameless, Endless
Tucked away at the end of Nevermind was this squall of distortion and nonsense lyrics whose title fits wonderfully. In fact it was actually removed from some U.S. pressings of the CD, contesting it would harm the marketability of the album - whatever, nevermind.

The Eels - Mr E's Beautiful Blues
This was actually the lead single for the band's third studio album Daisies of The Galaxy and of course confused many fans when it wasn't printed on the tracklist, a situation rectified by later pressings. The song also has more than a passing resemblance to The Rolling Stones' Get Off Of My Cloud.

Everclear - Hating You For Christmas
Found at the end of So Much For The Afterglow, a poppy - if embittered - blast an ex over the holiday season. Cue tinkling with Jingle Bells and Art Alexakis' wry vocal "thanks for the christmas card"

The Beatles - Her Majesty
The pioneers of the hidden track offer a very short acoustic ditty tacked on to The End which in many cases is actually listed on the tracklist, but no matter it's John Lennon captured at a lovingly humorous moment.

Manic Street Preachers - Working Class Hero
Rounding out the Mancs' latest comeback album Send Away The Tigers was this earnest cover of the Lennon classic. All the requisite vitriol are in place and it perfectly suits the Welsh group's firebrand of class heroics and guitar rebellion.

Placebo

• HK Farewell
• Evil Dildo
• Black Market Blood

These British gloom-mongers got a lot of mileage out of the whole secret track shtick, maintaining the trend across their first three albums (represented here). It was a slight disappointment to some (this writer included), when they did not continue the tradition with their later studio work.

Travis

• Blue Flashing Light
• Some Sad Song

Scottish act Travis first hidden track was on their blockbuster The Man Who... album and the rockier Blue Flashing Light became a live favourite while Some Sad Song rounds out the twelfth memory of the album 12 Memories considering there are only 11 songs listed.

Lauryn Hill

• Can't Take My Eyes Off You
• Tell Him

The ex-Fugee first lady of hip-hop offered greedily secreted two hidden tracks on her 1998 debut. Tell Him is serviceable but the real treat is the cover of Frankie Valli's classic ode, demonstrating Hill's excellent layered vocals and emotive voice to full effect.

Coldplay

• Life Is For Living
• Til Kingdom Come

The last of our prolific hidden trackers, considering the band's world dominating popularity, these songs probably aren't that secret. The first a short coda to Everything's Not Lost from 2000's Parachutes. The latter cut 'Til Kingdom Come off of 2005's X&Y, was actually written for American legend Johnny Cash who unfortunately passed away before he was offered the piece. Interesting to note that for the band's latest album, there are hidden tracks all over the place, not just at the end of the album.

The Superjesus - Everybody Calls Me Lonely
Here represents the case for track for why tracks should not be hidden, its puzzling why such a great rock cut would be sequestered at the end of Jet Age, when it clearly should be pushed higher up the track listing before people lost interest. Particularly when said track is not a departure lyrically or musically from the rest of the record.

Tool - Maynard's Dick
Ah, the joke song, an ode to frontman Maynard James Keenan's appendage and a very silly song that appears at the end of box set Salival.

Bloc Party - Every Time Is The Last Time
It's as lovely as it is short, an almost needless instrumental at the end of the Japanese print of Silent Alarm. Perhaps it was to fulfill the obligation that Japanese CDs require a bonus track that ensures their nation is lured away from buying Western pressings, in which case it's only a little extra incentive.

and now some tracks i just couldn't find clips of, consider these the 'secret tracks' of this post...

Damien Rice - Prague/Silent Night
Taking a leaf from Lauryn Hill, Rice's debut O had two secret tracks, one of them a cover.

Cold War Kids - Sermon Vs. The Gospel
A dusty demo at the end of debut album Robbers & Cowards.

The Cat Empire - 1001
An epic jam that may or may not be about the demise of a tram inspector

They Might Be Giants - Planet of the Apes, Return to the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, This Ape's for You
Yes, you read that right, at the conclusion of the live album Severe Tire Damage, the two Johns perform a song in ode to every 'Apes' film conceived in chaotic live improvisation fashion. It's to be heard to be believed, and in some cases - best left hidden.

...by any other name, would smell just as sweet

I've been known to make people mixtapes for their birthday, and today's post is no exception, it's just that since it's such a tidily themed playlist that i should share it with everyone. Regardless, to its original intendee, a very Happy Birthday Ms. Girdwood.

Rose - A Musical Playlist

Seal - Kiss From A Rose
Edith Piaf - La Vie En Rose
Outkast - Roses
Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorns
Bon Jovi - Bed of Roses
Matmos - Roses & Teeth
A Perfect Circle - Rose
Kanye West - Roses
St. Germain - Rose Rouge
Ben Harper - Roses From My Friends
Bette Midler - The Rose

Instead of doing my usual track-by-track breakdown, i thought i'd just talk about them all in retrospect. Firstly i couldn't pass up the immediacy of Seal's Kiss From A Rose, it's one of those hits (funnily enough from Batman Forever) that everyone of my generation seems to know the words to regardless, it was was that all-pervasive.

Considering the theme, Ms. Piaf's warbling was the first thing that came to mind as did some 80's power ballads which come in the form of Poison and Bon Jovi. Hip Hop seems to have a floral mindset too, as evidenced by the appearance of Outkast and Kanye West. While A Perfect Circle and Matmos lend the compilation some edge with some atmospheric rock and avant-garde experimentalism respectively. Finally a bit of acid jazz to lead into Ben Harper's soulful acoustic guitar before the soppy ending we all know we love to hate and hate to love, The Rose.


Ahhh a quickie but a goodie, i've noticed that the hits have gone up considerably since i bothered to add a counter - so i thank you for taking the time to join me here at The Rant and i hope you continue to do so in the future.

Foxes and Feems

The keen-eyed amongst you may have noticed that there's been a distinct lack of album reviews round these parts for some time, including those on The Scene, well unfortunately dear readers, that's because they're shutting down. So until i find some new sources to inundate with my reviews, they'll have to temporarily find placement here....

Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (SubPop, 2008, Alt-Country/Folk)

With only a single EP to their name, Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut certainly made quite the splash with the American music press. Garnering the kind of critical praise that hasn’t been seen since, well, The Arcade Fire comes to mind; but even in an industry that’s quick to hype ‘the next big thing,’ it’s not often that a debut album is called “a landmark in American music” with such unanimous praise (as The Guardian did).

The quintet’s sound, with its warm acoustic textures and precise vocal harmonies, is easy to like, but just because a record is easy to listen doesn’t guarantee its greatness. Only startling musicianship or innovation will do that, and Fleet Foxes aren’t bankrupt in either.

Hailing from Seattle, the quintet’s sound is as far flung from that town’s main musical export of grunge, as one can get. It’s sunny harmonies evoking classic artists such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young or The Beach Boys, while the dusty Americana is reminiscent of recent revivalists such as Band of Horses. Frontman Robin Peckold’s croon recalls another national staple, that of Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Fleet Foxes don’t necessarily trump all of the above, but offer a seamless cohesion of these influences while evoking some sort of renaissance fair with its almost baroque instrumentation and old-world production.

The folky round of White Winter Hymnal and Blue Ridge Mountains makes it sound easy, while the forlorn Tiger Mountain Peasant Song highlights the enduring power of a voice and guitar to create the sound of loneliness and haunting timelessness that underpin the record. It’s the aural equivalent of dusting off a grimy stain glass window to let cracks of sunlight shine through and illuminate the colours therein.

In just forty minutes we have a musical landscape that stretches beyond the boundaries of its simple musical setting, the music can either wash over the listener in swathing brushstrokes such as on He Doesn’t Know Why, which follows with Heard Them Stirring which, like much of the album, rewards intimate listening with rich musical grain.

Whether the group survive past the hyperbole and transcend their obvious references remains to be seen, but for the time-being it’s as good a record as any to deserve the weighty mantle of American album of the year. Even if that year isn’t necessarily 2008, perhaps ‘best re-issue of an imagined lost album from 1972’ would be more fitting. Either way it’s a gratifying form of nostalgia in today’s cutting edge music industry.

4 out of 5

And it's Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal that leads us to another themed playlist, forget Vivaldi, it's Al's Music Rant's own seasonal playlist:

The Seasons' Cycle

Winter

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

Kickstarting our is the aforementioned 'folky round' as warming as winter can be chilly, and sometimes a good old song is the best defense against the frost and snow.

Manic Street Preachers - Winterlovers

From the Manic's recent return-to-form Send Away The Tigers another sort of rebellion, this time the shouty, anthemic guitar with arena-sized guitars. 'NA NA NA!'

Dragonforce - Inside The Winterstorm

You might think i'm joking, but while the lyrics are nonsense, the ballady breakdown between the videogame guitar solos actually features pianos and great melodies. Otherwise it's Guitar Hero-baiting histrionics as usual

Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter

Such a brilliant build-up; it starts all chilly and echoey like a man resigned to being frozen alive until a shift halfway which is like seeing the brightest neon christmas lights just over the hill - complete with carol singers

Spring

Of Montreal - Our Spring Is Sweet Not Fleeting

Ironic in this short instrumental ends up being as fleeting as it is sweet - all sixty seconds of it

Augie March - Men Who Follow Spring The Planet 'Round

You can always rely on Glenn Richards for some old-world poetry about unrequited love and accompanying music that's suitably rustic

The Bravery - Rites of Spring

Named after Stravinsky's brilliant ballet, and to be honest i'd have preffered that than some Killers lite rock, but its a whole 40 minutes long - so this slice of emo-disco will have to suffice.

Architecture In Helsinki - Spring 2008

Seeing out Spring is another short but sweet instrumental, from the childlike strains of Australia's indie darlings.

Summer

Bryan Adams - Summer of '69

Ahhh, Summer, my favourite season. In fact i have a whole four disc series of compilations called Summer Driving - and i needed a song that captured that euphoric feeling - and what better way than nostalgia and fist-pumping sing-a-long all in one?

Queens Of The Stone Age - Feel Good Hit Of The Summer

An anthem of another kind, quite the juxtaposition, no? Cue primitive chant of "Nicotine, Valium, Vaccadin, Marijuana, Ecstacy & Alcohol." Repeat till blacking out.

Death Cab For Cutie - Summer Skin

Good ol' DCFC seem to have a mood for every occasion, but do none better than yearning melancholy. Plus not many songs capture their subjects so quickly and beautifully as this does, "Squeaky swings and tall grass"

Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns

This song always reminds me of heat haze, that effect you get when the heat is so intense on the road. Regardless, it's actually a song about the trappings and isolation of L.A. - trust Joni to give it some genius

Autumn

Brian Eno - Dunwich Beach, Autumn 1960

A highlight of Eno's extended Ambient period. A drawn-out instrumental that seems to epitomise the term 'autumnal.'

The Vines - Autumn Shade

When The Vines weren't channeling Nirvana via The Beatles, they made some lovely psychedelic-tinged balladry and this is a great example from their never-bettered debut, Highly Evolved.

The Flaming Lips - My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion

Speaking of psychedlia... Complete with bird chirping and treated guitar and synth, this is a rumination on the seasons' passing, death and "the one bird that didn't leave you." Churlish elements that combined make for quite a touching song.

Pelican - Autumn into Summer

A sprawling ten and a half minute instrumental from the progressive rock come post-metal come post-rock four-piece. Whatever your genre-bending fancy, this is an epic piece that rises from atmospheric opening to an explosive finale

And Finally...

XTC - Season's Cycle

The song that gave this compilation it's title and the parent album Skylarking is easily the best concept album about the four seasons ever written. If this compilation didn't do it for you, it definitely will.

stay tuned for more music goodness.

Of The Planets' Alignment

It's time for some productivity, so as promised I'm gonna give y'all some more themed playlist goodness.

The Solar System In Song - A Planets Playlist

They Might Be Giants - Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas)
Let's start with the big fella to which this system is named after, and what better way to honour him than with the best educational song to ever grace these ears. It's no real surprise that 'the two Johns' (Flansburgh and Linnell of TMBG) would go on to make albums for kids considering they covered this cute tune. They make tongue-twisting science fun, and that's a rare talent indeed.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - On Mercury
Originally titled 'Lemon Trees On Mercury' which is quite a psychedelic title considering the lyrics are Antony Kiedes' usual brand of brilliant nonsense. Really like the horns punctuating the mix also, kinda like ska - but less brash and more funky. Chili Peppers, Funky? Well i never.


Air - Venus
French electronic duo make reference to the old chestnut "men are form mars, women are from venus." In a sound that's one part sci-fi, one part warm instrumentation and all parts effortless cool. Which is strange considering how close to the sun Venus is.

Eskimo Joe - Planet Earth
Quite an easy pick really and not to be confused with the Duran Duran and Prince versions. Despite the lovely shuffling pop, i've always struggled to make sense of Eskimo Joe's lyrics. "Out in the stars, up in the sky/There's a thing that they all talk about/It's called the opposite, and how it works" is a case in point.

David Bowie - Life On Mars?
Bowie's re-write of Sinatra's My Way is a no-brainer. Mike Garson's piano leads the charge on a musical extravaganza that demonstrates a thrilling artist at the peak of his powers, the thought of life on the red giant might be a mere rumination in a sea of drama, but when the music's this good - you need no other justification to include it.

Cave-In - Jupiter
Train's Drops of Jupiter certainly springs to mind, but while this act is perhaps the least known on this list - i can think of no better song that captures the immense size of this giant than this slice of drone-rock complete with widescreen guitars and barrelling drums.




R.E.M. - Saturn Return
From their underrated album of 2001, Reveal, this hints at the loneliness and solitude of the planets, floating up there in the vast expanse of space. A melancholy and mysterious song.

Jimi Hendrix - Uranus Rock
There are many artists who went the cheap and easy option of the "Your Anus" joke, to which i reply "No Thanks." Instead we have the guitar virtuoso's rare bootleg jam. Cue usual guitar wizadry, albeit poorly recorded.

Nicole Atkins - Neptune City
Ms. Atkins is an excellent up and coming singer-songwriter, and if her album of the same name is anything to go by - she's a talent to watch. With lush orchestration that Rufus Wainwright would be proud of and a voice that's the right side of yearning, another song to do the planets proud, even if it is devoid of watery references.

Clare & The Reasons - Pluto
I know officially speaking that Pluto isn't a planet anymore, but that's exactly what this song is about - "Pluto i have some frightful news dear/In The New York Times/ They've just reported you've been overthrown/from your solar throne for good." Don't know about you but i always pictured Mickey Mouse's cartoon dog anyway.
Be sure to check out nobody move! for all your music news and nicities. Till next time...

For Those About To Laugh...

So yeah... the Law Revue, yeah it was a good time had by all and a selfish, egotistical chance for me to flex my soundtrack skills - and it seemed i did ok, cause some people have been asking what it was playing. Pretty surprising really as the majority of these songs only got 9-10 seconds airtime between sketches.

Sure i took the time to edit them so we got straight to the best bits, but still, i'm glad people noticed them as it achieved the task of distracting them from the transitions on stage. Plus i'm not sure if a lot of people picked up on it, but the music definitely contained references to the sketches they followed, or preceded. Most of these are probably impossible to pick up without the sketch running order - so i've cheekily mentioned it where appropriate.

So below is as comprehensive a list of all the music from Animal Emissions: The 2008 Melbourne University Comedy Law Revue as i could achieve. Basically the only stuff that's missing is the interval and post/pre-show music as it was random every night. Oh, and finally, as usual i've added links where available and a big thanks to the providing servers/blogs/artists. Usual rules apply.

ACT I
Opening Video - The Torch Relay
Doves - Pounding
Robert Tepper - No Easy Way Out
The Bangles - Eternal Flame
Tetris - Korobeinki (Dance Remix)
Anamanaguchi - Power Supply
(i pushed from pretty early on to have this as the opening music - and i got my wish - ain't being a director grand?)

Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi
(came after the Hotmail sketch which originally obliquely referenced Avril, till it was cut down to just the BOI gag - plus i liked the idea of a shitty song to throw people off the scent of the good music to come)

weezer - Pork & Beans

Brad Fiedel - T2: Judgement Day Theme
(preceded the Pterrorism sketch - and what better way to set an army meeting than the industrial drumming of Arnie's finest hour)

Henry Mancini - Baby Elephant Walk

The Cribs - Men's Needs
(coming after the Gollum sketch and Gandalf coming out of the closet, what better way to soundtrack a homosexual reading of Lord of the Rings?)

The Features - Blow It Out

Akon - Smack Dat (Instrumental)
(aka Graph Dat)

Bobby Womack - Across 110th St

Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up To Boston
(the same catchy music that soundtracked the Departed trailer)

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out To Dry

Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead (Instrumental)
(Toby's Dead, Toby's Dead, hi you've reached the Browns...)

Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook
(at one point this was a contender to open the show, but instead it was better suited to come after Zork the Fruiterer - whose alien gibberish links to the title)

Kate Nash - Dickhead
(after Flex Guy, because violence against women does indeed make one a dickhead)

Meat Loaf - I Would Do Anything For Love (But I won't Do That)

The Galvatrons - When We Were Kids

The Heavy - That Kind Of Man
(after the first creepy dad sketch, because that kind of man would def. be anal enough about margarine and such matters)

Cameo - Word Up

Savage Garden - Truly, Madly, Deeply (Instrumental)
(the backing track for The Dad Joke Medley "is that C# ?")

ACT II
Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

M.I.A. - Paper Planes
(setting the scene for the Chasing Cars party, firstly because it's such a contrast, and secondly because its quite ridiculous that the person DJ'ing would follow such a cool song with...)

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
(It warms my heart to think there may be a few people who will not think of Gray's Anatomy after hearing this anymore, but instead of a girl breaking down at a party)

Bloc Party - Hunting For Witches
(after the infamous Mangina sketch, i don't think anyone was paying attention to this reference, but basically Sketch Hunting - Hunting, geddit, geddit?)

Asia - Heat Of The Moment
(conjoined twins making out - oh the sexual tension! cue 80's power ballad)

The Hoosiers - Worst Case Scenario
("there's some uh... there's some shit in the butter" - see title)

Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
(came after the Monkey Subject selection sketch - the reference should be obvious)

Captain Planet Rap/Chopin's Funeral March
(setting the scene for Mati's funeral with the memorable TV theme being cut off by the highly recognisable Funeral March)

Ennio Morricone - Vita Nostre
(i (half) seriously want to have this playing at my own funeral, Morricone's score to The Mission always seems to hit the right nerves - plus there's the whole South American setting)

Go West - King Of Wishful Thinking

Muse - Starlight
(I think it was in last year's show and pretty much every playlist anyone's ever made since its release. In a word, ubiquitous.)

The Flaming Lips - The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
(For me, it just sounded a bit like the "ows" that punctuated the preceding Whack-An-Alligator sketch)

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake excerpt
(Half of the success of the Helmetface video can be boiled down to this excellent soundtrack choice, all credit to Al Harkness, beautiful, tragic, and really, really silly)

Heavy Metal Poetry
(The juxtaposition of classical music and Dream Theater's This Dying Soul created the visual punchline that was Heavy Metal Poetry)

The Beach Boys - I Get Around (Instrumental)
(aka I Get Aroused, this was EXTREMELY difficult to get a hold of... that is all)

Girl Talk - Still Here

MGMT - Kids
(this song will forever be associated with the show, and that my friends... is a very, very good thing)

I've got a ton of ideas for posts and playlists in the future so i thought i'd just give you a little teaser of coming attractions
Coming soon to Al's Music Rant:
Songs about Jesus
Around The World In 80 Songs
The Planet/Rainbow Playlist
and i'll start winding towards my picks for the best albums and tunes of '08

Stay tuned, cause in the words of D:Ream, things can only get better.

This is not the time to sign a lease

Well, it's been nearly 3 months to the day before there was any action on this space, and for good reason, i was putting on the funniest show in Melbourne! (www.thelawrevue.com) and it was a resounding success raising over $11,000 with all the proceeds going to the Starlight Foundation! Hooray!

Which means that pretty much everything else in my life took a back seat - including my fave blog, but what better way to get back on it than with a first impressions account of a new album from one of my favourite bands...


If this is all news to you, i wouldn't be surprised. Basically Bloc Party held a webcast on August 19th in which they, 'did a Radiohead,' spilling the beans on a finished and fresh to be released album - Intimacy. And no sooner than the 21st of August!

So basically it's available for order now from blocparty.com so if you've got any sense you'll go buy the download and pre-order CD for AU$21, with the CD to ship by Oct 27th - which is presumably when the physical copy will be available in stores. So what are you waiting for, go get it

So now that you've secured your copy or perhaps still waiting to decide - whatev - let me press on, my download finished mere minutes ago and i'm listening to the ten brand new Bloc Party tracks as i write this to you now. So without further ado...

1. Ares
Named after the Greek God of War and surprise, suprise the opening salvo is a whinging shout of "war, war, war" as a crowd of Keles give a wry state of the nation address over some buzz-saw guitars and a drum break highly reminiscent of Chemical Brothers' 'Let Forever Be.'
At around the 2 minute mark it breaks down into a quiet breathing section where Kele hums angelically, but it doesn't last for long before what sounds like a looped manic scream kicks the main riff back into the end.

2. Mercury
You've probably heard the lead single by now, and it's as big a leap from Flux as that single was to the A Weekend In The City material, and since this is still my first listen through - i can't 100% guarantee that it's indicative of the album as a whole - but it's still a ripping dance track - particularly when those malicious horns kick in. Kele's really enjoying the manipulation of his voice too. Love it or Hate it - this is the new Bloc Party sound.

3. Halo
Aha the first taste of what the press release was hinting at when it
said "some songs are Bloc Party at their most wildly experimental,
while other tracks are simply classic Bloc Party, fitting in seamlessly amongst fan-favorites "Helicopter," "Banquet" and "So Here We Are"
And so it seems here - duelling guitar lines over a rolling drum beat. It sounds very Helicopter on initial listen - and more lyrics of yearning from Okereke - talk of lips and fingertips over Silent Alarm style riffage. Nice.

4. Biko
The first sign of a slower number as a looped guitar appergio fills the air, and Okereke's falsetto soon follows. I think i just heard a reference to "the river Styx" - the river to the underworld, along with Ares and later track titles it seems Mr. Okereke has been reading up on his Greek mythology. After a few verses a heavy bass opens the gate to a programmed drum track. It's clear that
Jacknife Lee's influence (one of the producers along with Paul Epworth who did the band's debut) is all over this - a slow-building number with electronic leanings.

5. Trojan Horse
For the really impatient - this is available on the band's MySpace (and contains yet another reference to Greek Mythology). It sorta feels like a sequel to Hunting For Witches, a rabid guitar line against a drum and bass part. Great opening lyric too, "you used to take your watch off before we made love/you didn't want to share our time with anyone." Later Russel Lissack offers a ripping guitar solo which pushes Matt Tong into overdrive- a trick repeated towards the song's climactic finish. The album's title, Intimacy, seems to become it's theme too. Lyrics so far (from what i can catch) are about unrequited love, yearning or lust for others, and the resulting frustration.

6. Signs
Now this is interesting. A clutter of what sounds like xylophones, wind chimes and glockenspiels in interesting textures before some subtle synths form the harmony underneath. In a word: twinkly. Like Biko a few tracks before it's a nice respite from the heavier and more energetic sound of the album so far. Kele offers a delightful melody that soars lovingly over the musical backdrop. Much like Mercury B-Side, Idea For A Story, this reminds me of mid-90's Bjork. A soft bed of strings adds to the texture before it winds towards its close.

7. One Month Off
Kicking straight back into a powerful drum line and some industrial sound fx before a choppy riff cuts in over the top. Stop-start guitars make up the chorus - slightly reminiscent of Banquet and the breakdown of Uniform, a cool little synth embellishes the second verse. The chorus offers a challenge "I can be as cruel as you/i can fight fire with firewood," before descending into some tricksy time signatures and electronic ornamentation- think Hunting For Witches' cut-up intro. The breakdown at the end gets all Silent Alarm before getting really Weekend In The City. A nice balance.

8. Zephyrus
Named after the Greek god of Wind (see a pattern yet?). A cooing loop and some faint yelling take the stage before a thumping bass track take over as Kele's familiar yelp swings in again - so far so Radiohead. The rhythm track builds with clicks and snaps. The chorus brings in some washes of synths and keyboards sounding a bit Where Is Home? followed by a choral/mellotron breakdown who then punctuate the second verse. This is sounding very cool and slightly grand. Particularly because the choir aren't going away. Feels like we're building to somthing HUGE. It doesn't quite hit its peak but very haunting none the less

9. Better Than Heaven
An airy vocal wafts over a distinctive dub feel in the bass and drum part - sounding a lil' like an update of Price of Gasoline. Soon enough some buzzing synths, extremely bassy piano and twinkling guitar fill out the sound. Some chanting like lyrics too that swap between speaking and singing, "Much too, much too typical/much too much too." We're about a minute and a half from the end and the full band kick in - very cool as they race against a competing electronic part, but that dark, brooding texture remains.

10. Ion Square
The longest track on the album by a good minute or so, and intially it sounds a bit like I Still Remember, but with insistent and repeated guitar/piano chords. Some straight 4/4 drums build a chugging pattern, but the overall feel is a glossy ballad - with all the trimmings - the length ensuring a steady momentum.

Well there you have it.

Firstly, I think this is going to a bit of a grower, and while much of the heavier sound and faster tempos create an immediate energy - there's some subtler textures and tweaks here and there - not least Kele's voice being manipulated into strange configurations on a couple of tracks.

As a progression from A Weekend In The City - it's probably not as radical a departure as Mercury suggested - but it's a departure none-the-less, there seems to be an attempt to fuse the Silent Alarm dance-rock textures with AWITC's electronica and experimentation, though i have to confess it sounds more like the latter on the first spin. Using both Paul Epworth and Jacknife Lee on production duties cements this idea, though without full credits it's unclear as to who's doing what.

Still in context it's amazing that this four-piece were unheard of five years ago, and are now really attempting to do something special with their musical direction and career as a whole, while the distribution technique is becoming a little unsurprising (NIN, Sigur Ros, Girl Talk etc.), it's still a big risk and a brave advancement from any band. And such a productive rate - their third album in under four years - including those between album singles (Two More Years, Flux, Mercury).

Overall this is still one of the most interesting records I've heard yet this year. But then again, there have been more than a few...

...i'm of course hinting to higher productivity on Al's Music Rant from now on.

Watch This Space.