37??

Two posts in one day? Has the world gone mad? Has hell frozen over? Well, I guess it has. Although, more importantly, the new Weezer single is up online. And it’s pretty ruddy good, which is good, since 2005’s Make Believe was slightly mediocre and…well, boring.

It appears on this, the band’s third self-titled album, Rivers and co are returning to that heavy rock/pop sound of, er, their first self-titled album. And, it seems, Mr Cuomo is starting to grow up a bit, which is nice - that air of teenage naivety/whining still hung around the aformentioned Make Believe. Here, rather than emo musings on love, he sings about going to the gym so he can “fit his underwear”. Although he does make some worrying references to Timbaland, which is a massive step-down to name checking Buddy Holly. Oh well.

The new self-titled album, which is prospectivley being called the Red album, is out June 24th, and is produced by Weezer, Jacknife Lee and Rick Rubin.

Download “Pork and Beans (Radio Rip) (right click, save target as)

Also, did you know Rivers Cuomo was 37? I just read it on his wiki. Jesus, 37. It really is about time he grew up.

Per un pugno di Indie

Remember that Last Shadow Puppets album I talked about a while ago? Well, er, it’s still not out. However, the group’s debut album,The Age Of The Understatement, will be out in almost a week! So that’s good.

Anyway, in the meantime, as a little taster, I have for you (courtesy of Domino Records US) a couple of “stripped down” (that is, with less instruments; the videos on the band’s website show the pair fully clothed) tracks Arctic Monkey Alex Turner and Rascal Miles Kane recorded at the Avatar Studios in New York, around the same time as their impromptu live shows in the city.

We’ve already heard debut eponynmous single “The Age Of The Understatement”, which amplifies the air of spaghetti western when played on acoustic guitar. Meanwhile, previously unheard track “My Mistakes Were Made For You” (the name of which sounds like something that a Phil Spector-produced 60s girl group would put out) is a lot less immediate, though seems like it may be a “grower” - and no doubt sounds a heck of a lot more impressive when, as I’m reliably informed, Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford is drumming/producing and Owen Pallet, aka Final Fantasy, is conducting a 22-piece (!) orchestra, on the finished record.

(FYI, I’ve tagged the song as unplugged, which isn’t entirley true, since Miles Kane is playing his twangy electric guitar; but it’s more unplugged than that Nirvana Unplugged, so what the hey?)

Download “The Age Of The Understatement” (Unplugged…sort of)
Download “My Mistakes Were Made For You” (Unplugged)

Pre-order the album The Age Of The Understatement
Order the single “The Age Of The Understatement”

Me Am Special Agent Cookie

Sesame Street spoof Twin Peaks with an episode of “Monsterpiece Theater”. God I miss that show (Sesame Street, that is. Twin Peaks was okay too.)

Take A Break

You may have noticed (though it’s more likely you haven’t; in fact, you’re probably not even reading this) that there haven’t been Weekend Mixes for the last couple of…weekends. I’m a little burnt out on mixes at the minute, so I’m gonna start putting them out the first weekend of every month, rather than every weekend.

Also, posts may be few and far between in the coming weeks due to upcoming exams (which means a lorra lorra revisin’). I’ll keep you posted.

Album Review: The Long Blondes - “Couples”

It seems for their second album, Couples, The Long Blondes have decided to follow the disco-ish route they took on the song “Giddy Stratospheres” from their debut, Weekend Without Makeup, and gone from charming indie to full-blown 80s pop. The immediate effect of this change is that lead singer Kate Jackson has somehow become even more sexy.

The Long Blondes - “Couples”
Rough Trade Records

Lead-off track and rightful single “Century” is pure 80’s new-wave - all Duran Duran underwater-sounding bass, with Jackson’s sultry vocals over the top proving to be preferrable to Simo LeBon’s bellowing. “Guilt” goes down a more funky disco route, although it also leans to the vocal stylings and choppy guitar of the first album. Which is no bad thing.

“The Couples” leans even further to the band’s style circa Someone To Drive You Home, although there’s no threat of falling over; it’s also got an edge of 60’s girl-band pop, mixed with a bit of bubblegum punk, although it doesn’t really go anywhere.

Befitting of a song that’s 1:58 long, “I Liked The Boys” is a good old fashioned New York punk song, with a bit of Talking Heads added for good measure. Having run out of good 80s styles, “Here Comes The Serious Bit” nicks the opening synths of the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” and plops it into the Blondes’ previous single “Seperated By Motorways”. Slightly underwhelming.

Things pick up with the slow and sinister “Round The Hairpin”, which also has a bit of the Talking Heads about it, although it’s more reminiscnet of the repetitive, ominous beats of David Byrne and Brian Eno’s collaboration, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts. This is a very good thing indeed, though the song does drag on for a bit.

“Too Clever By Half” repeats the slow, funky stylings with some breathy, falsetto vocals, while “Erin O’Connor” is another relapse into Someone To Drive You Home propulsive punk (with added bells and whistles). “Nostalgia”…is also a bit like Talking Heads. Methinks Byrne and co were being played a lot in the studio, especially Stop Making Sense, considering the similarity of this song’s simplistic drum loop to that heard in the stripped-down live version of “Psycho Killer” on the aformentioned Heads album.

“I’m Going To Hell”, much as was the case with the closer on We Are Scientists’ Brain Thrust Mastery, is, aruguably, one of the best tracks on the album; a cacophony of clashing pianos, drums, guitar and the like, reminiscnet of the Flaming Lips’ cover of “What A Wondeful World”, only a lot more upbeat (in terms of music, anyway).

The lyrics on this album, clearly a lot less inspired by Jarvis Cocker than the last time, are a lot less girly posturing, and much more grown-up relationship talk; if the first album was a 19-year-old girl’s diary, “Couples”‘s lyrics are more like a column in a glossy Sunday paper supplement. Which makes it sound crap, so that is a crap comparsion. But I’m sure after you’ve heard the album you’ll agree with me. Or at least think I’m an idiot.

So it looks like The Long Blondes are this year’s first sophomore album success story; not by trying to grow up and sound darker and more serious, but by growing up, feeling more confident in themeslves, and having fun.

Download “The Couples”