mijbear has written the following articles:
In October Spiritualized returned to their high water mark, and performed Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space in full for four nights with the help of a string section, horn players, and backing vocals from the London Community Gospel Choir. These Don't Look Back shows are normally the sign of a desperate band. Spiritualized are not a desperate band.»
Whilst our top 50 albums of the year list offers somes glimpse into what our staff have been listening to these past twelve months, the annual mixtapes give a real insight as to what has been pleasing the ears, minds and heart strings of those wot write for DiS. »
Tis the season to make lists. Here's one – every review of Christmas records should contain references to Christmas institutions, be it turkey, Santa, grandma falling asleep, the Queen's Speech, Top of the Pops, whatever. Here's another – Christmas music that has to be mentioned in reviews of other Christmas music – 'Fairytale Of New York', 'Stop The Cavalry', Phil Spector's Christmas album, and from now on, Bob Dylan's seasonal cream crackers effort.»
Bradford Cox may get all the plaudits, and the attention, but The Floodlight Collective showed the dazzling talent of Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt. It's hewn from roughly the same cloth (the first ten seconds of 'Redoakway' sounds just like 'River Card'), wreathed in dreams and a certain hallucinatory timbre, but something here creates a stronger power. »
Super keyboard and drums power couple Matt & Kim, producers of one of the finest albums of the year, have only gone and won an award for Best Video at the mtvU Woodies (no, us neither).»
Every year we ask our staff to submit their records of the year and every year, writers put records in their lists that seem to have been somewhat overlooked both within the realm of DiS and/or across the board. Rather than leave these records as forgotten footnotes, last year we launched our imaginatively titled Lost 8 of '08 (see the 8 highlighted records here) and this year it returns, one year older 'n' wiser, as the Lost 9 of '09. Once again this little list intends to do much the same neck-out-sticking for some of our staff's personal favourites. »
Matthew Friedberger's (him out of the Fiery Furnaces) solo double album has brilliant moments of genius but they just get lost, buried, and forgotten amidst the rest. »
It seems that barely a week goes by without Los Campesinos! creating a news story for DiS. We owe them for keeping us in crisps and arcade money. And so we honour them, with a slot in our 'Records That We Are Quite Excited To Hear In 2010' preview week.»
Last week DiS was kindly invited down to the Rough Trade office/bunker to have an exclusive listen to the first five tracks from the new Mystery Jets record. Due in mid-April, the boys are still not letting the daddy tour with them, but that's the way it goes some times. »
When new bands form out of the grey ashes of old bands, it is very difficult to escape comparisons with what came before. New Order just about managed it. Test Icicles are mentioned in every other Lightspeed Champion review.»
The difficulty of whittling the 20 or 30 songs you've demoed for your record down to the requisite number (unless you're Devendra Banhart), and then listing them into the perfect flowing order cannot be overstated.»
The history of the concept album is one littered with follies and successes. There’s the mundane storytelling of A Grand Don’t Come For Free, and the cryptic lyrics of Sunset Rubdown. Then there’s I am... Sasha Fierce and everything Rick Wakeman’s ever been involved in. »
Cymbals Eat Guitars' name comes from a Lou Reed quote. This we shall get out of the way early on. Verbatim, he described the Velvet Underground sound as “cymbals eat out guitars”, an all together less pleasant image.»
Eskimo Snow may have been slightly disappointing (read Luke Slater's review here) but here's something that proves Yoni Wolf ain't out of ideas yet.»
Oh, Eleanor. The double denim. Beloved of Bewitched and Bon Jovi. Is this a club you wish to be a member of? What does Mr Kapranos»
Synthesisers are ever present in the modern age. You would have though the eighties would have killed them off. Now they dominate, in this pretend wave of female popstars, and in the synthpop indiestars, pretending this didn't get boring twenty years back. frYars, one London man named Ben Garrett plus friends, clearly recognises the mysterious power of the synthesiser.»
The Shitgaze Manifesto- “Musically, ...the Beach Boys... I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. I'm really high right now.” »
Brummer ne'er-do-wells, gin lovers, and DiS Pluto Prize winners Johnny Foreigner have already set out on a 16 date jaunt around the country. DiS missed that boat. Poosticks.»
Jeffrey Lewis has become known as one of the world's foremost exponents of that indefinable genre (as much as any genre is definable. What is pop? Don't even start...) known as antifolk.»
Jeffrey Lewis might have taken a while to climb the mountain, but he's getting near the peak now. Think of it more as a gentle amble than the hype helicopter giving you a lift to the top. Fans seem to have spread by word of mouth, a growing cult of fey individuals in love with Jeff's deprecating lyrics and antifolk leanings.»
This band were not focus grouped. On some levels it might have been a good idea.»
Best album of the month, you ask? Hard to choose between a stack of 8s, with ambient beauty from Fever Ray and jittery pop from Micachu all making knees tremble. However, sole 9 went to the delectable Marissa Nadler, a score you may dimly recall as being bestowed some two months before its actual release. WE ARE NOTHING IF NOT ENTHUSIASTIC. »
DiS rounds up all the best videos so you don't have to.»
DiS trawls through all the recent music news so you don't have to.»
Rock's most famous widow Courtney Love has got herself in another legal pickle, this time via the medium of Twitter.»
Here's a selection of videos that have bought light into our dull March days, and hopefully will do the same for you.»
Steve Terebecki, bassist with White Denim has blogged for DiS on his SXSW experiences. »
Dananananaykroyd sent us this photo diary of their time at SXSW.»
The Camden Crawl has added another batch of whipper-snappers and elder statesmen to its expansive line-up.»
The ever prolific Los Campesinos! are stuck in Stamford, Connecticut recording their second album (or third if you want to ignore their protestations about We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed being just a "record").»
