Elba Sessions

Everybody likes to get mail. Look at this haul I got today (factor’s bill omitted from picture!)!

Wilco and Chris T-T tickets as well as the latest Armellodie releases! I’m a happy lad tonight!

I bought two singles this morning. Not a phrase you hear often these days and something which sounds rather old fashioned. I mean, singles are so 1990′s??? The fact is, I love a good single. I can see that there is more value in an album and I’m not discounting albums but to get a good single, with a good b-side and maybe a nice acoustic version of a track, well for me there’s nothing better.

I think that at the moment, when everyone is online, downloading music and that it is in general just a lot easier to get your music heard, a single is a great promo tool for bands. At a low cost people can buy your music and at the same time you can recoup some of your costs. I know that personally if a band I’ve caught live, that I like, release a single I can quickly download for a couple of quid, then I’m all over it. With sites like bandcamp allowing bands to stream their tunes as well as giving the option to download for free or X amount of money there is a lot more talent getting heard.

The two singles in question that I bought this morning both cover the above. Firstly, Nintendo by Chris T-T. It’s a lovely piano ballad, a beautiful song and the package ticks all the boxes when it comes to good single extras as you get a great cover of the old Motown protest song ‘Abraham, Martin & John’ and if you buy on I-Tunes, a demo version of the single.

Secondly, Kill The Captains new single ‘Rummy’. These dudes are from Sheffield but have signed to Glasgow based label Armellodie, home to local favourites Cuddly Shark and Super Adventure Club. It’s a cracking single and definitely worth a look if you’re into either of the other two bands on the label. We’ll have more on Kill The Captains on Elba in the next wee while so keep your peepers open.

What does everyone else think about singles? Worthless these days or great for bands looking to get heard?

You can pick up said singles at the below links;

Chris T-T – Nintendo – HERE

Kill The Captains – Rummy – HERE

In last weeks gig round up Kim wasn’t backwards at going forward that we quite like Tom McRae around Elba way, therefore, as he was in Glasgow for a couple of rescheduled shows at the ‘birthday boy’ King Tuts, it would have been rude not to battle through the snow to see him.

I have tried to write this review/post for a couple of weeks now. I felt the day after that I was on such a ‘high’ from the gig that it would probably be a mess of oohs and ahs that I delayed it a couple of days but never quite got it right. Indeed, even during the gig I already wanted to come back and see the show all over again the night after, it was such a homely atmosphere, packed into King Tuts with a crowd not afraid to holler out and have banter with Tom. Two weeks on and if someone said to me, Tom McRae is playing Glasgow tonight, I’d be there in a shot. He has a certain charm about him which sucks you in and he performs in such a passionate way that 90 mins pass and you realise your mouth has been wide open catching flies for the most part.

So to the gig…

I’ve become a little slack at catching support acts over the last year but I managed to get in to see Brian Wright and I’m glad I did. I’m not sure how I’d describe his music other than saying it’s what I imagine the southern states of America to sound like. He had a lot of country and blues elements in his music and is well worth having a look at. I picked up his CD, ‘House on Fire, which is a little gem. Maria Sugarcane is a personal favourite track. It didn’t take Brian long to re-appear on stage after finishing his set but this time it was as part of Tom McRae’s band.

The set begun with some tracks from new album ‘The Alphabet of Hurricanes’ and exploded into life with End of The World News from his eponymous Mercury-nominated debut album. A song which drew a hefty sing along from the crowd. An addition to the band which was not unappreciated by McRae who had apologised because his voice sounded sexier than usual. Oral thrush will do that to you apparently. One thing I love about McRae, other than his songwriting, is his deadpan wit and humour. When called out for why he cancelled the last show a dry reply of ‘couldn’t be fucked’, was all that was needed. We all knew he was lying though! The setlist spanned all eras of McRae and other set highlights were the upbeat One Mississippi, Walking To Hawaii (played on just guitar and cello) and Silent Boulevard. Although for me it was ‘Still Love You’ which stole the show. It is a lovely little song which opens the new album played on a ukelele. You could also buy a tea towel with the lyrics on it (see pic above). In fact, full marks on the merch stall. You could arm yourself for the Glasgow weather with a Tom-brella.

McRae is certainly an artist who has been around for a long time and whilst I wouldn’t say his time had gone, I don’t ever see him being as well known as he deserves. However, if he can continue touring and selling out venues with audiences showing as much adoration as they did at King Tuts, it will surely put a smile on even Tom McRae’s face.

Setlist (I think…):

Alphabet of Hurricanes
Me and Stetson
The Summer of John Wayne
The End of the World News
American Spirit
A+B song
Please
One Mississippi
Walking to Hawaii
I Still Love You
Silent Boulevard

Bloodless
Vampire Heart

The Boy with the Bubblegun

It is hump day again. We take it upon ourselves to be as moody as we wish until the end of the working day when we officially reach the latter part of the week. Then and only then shall we be in a place where we might communicate without a slight snarl. It is in this spirit that Phil and I address some of the goings on in music land this week. Please enjoy and feel free to join in.

6 Music
Phil: I have mixed feelings on this, well not mixed really, it seems sad for them to get rid of it. Not a George Lamb fan and although I don’t generally listen to the radio, it would probably be the first place I would turn the dial to. They certainly seem to be a high profile supporter of less well-known music.
Kim: I am also quite adamant that George Lamb is the devil. That aside, there is a whole host of programming and content here, not to mention the support for emerging and left-field talent that it would really be sad to lose.

Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks
P: I’ll give it a go soon I’m sure but I’ve never got round to their first album. Controversial?
K: Well yes and I’m taking your delay on this one quite personally. Frightened Rabbit are the working band that got far thanks to some clever US TV drama syncs. I really got attached to The Midnight Organ Fight. I’m really liking the sound of the new album. Swim Until You Can’t See Land is sorta like a folkier version of Pete Townshend’s Let My Love Open the Door.
P: I’ll take your word on this. Come back to me in a couple of weeks.

Musicbox
P: http://elbasessions.co.uk/2010/02/musicbox-march-2010/ – Antimatter and our big brother Elba Studios showcase a unique night of music and photography at Universal this Thursday (4th March).
K: Any multi-art based event always intrigues me. I’m sad I’m not free to head along to this on Thursday.
P: Favourite multi arts event? Ballads of The Book at The Tramway in (07??) was pretty good! I miss Triptych.
K: It was 2007. I missed quite a bit of this due to all the effort and exhaustion of putting the festival together. It was a perfect pulling together of all of the elements from the album. Plus Jenny Soep was there doing some art in action. Me likey.

King James – Elba Podcast
P: King James podcast continues to sound beautiful. Listen/Download ‘here’.
K: Simple Folk Radio are also (and quite rightly) keen on this.
P: Indeed, Johny in retrospect finds the interview slightly Spinal Tap. Personally a walking tour of Devon and Cornwall sounds spectacular!

Macca at Hampden
P: I really feel like I should go and see him? I mean he’s a little questionable, if you believe what you read but he was a Beatle and it’s only a 20 minute walk. I’d imagine it won’t be cheap though. In fact, this could turn into a summer of geriatric shows, I’m planning Crosby, Stills and Nash too but tempted to pay the extra £40 on tickets for that one to see them when I’m in Paris rather than at the cow shed (sorry, SECC).
K: Ugh the price tag alone would put me off both of these. The problem is, once great performers still draw huge crowds and a lot of the time it just isn’t worth it. I’m definitely one who is against this revival spirit floating around right now. I get that the ‘I SAW THEM IN THE FLESH’ brag/closure is something that people strive for. However, the ‘I saw the wrinklier, 30 years after their heyday, not really all that talented anymore version’ is the less impressive reality.
P: Yeah, that’s the other half of my brain speaking. Although only with Macca. Crosby, Stills and Nash are fantastic. Stephen Stills probably never was always there anyway!

Other interesting gigs
P: Burnt Island (who I am quite digging at the moment) host their single launch on Sunday at Mono along with The Second Hand Marching Band, Benni Hemm Hemm and everyones favourite miserable storyteller Aidan Moffat.
K: Burnt Island are the sort of band that make me breath a little slower and steadier. Their music is that teetering on the edge of heartbreaking. Sorrowful and beautiful. This is a nice little line up for Mono. My heart as ever belongs to Arab Strap and all the bearded glory of Mr Moffat.

Another week begins and if you get paid at the end of the month you may have a small stack of notes or coins burning a hole in your pocket this week. Luckily there are a couple of places that your pennies could be spent wisely and there is one in particular I would like to point your attention to. Anyone who follows me on Twitter will be aware of my delight and anticipation regarding Joanna Newsom’s new album Have One On Me; released today.

The truth is the one thing I can never get enough of is Joanna Newsom. This triple CD release is really something that will satisfy the itch that has built for anyone else following the over-listening to previous bar setting album Ys. The descriptor nu-folk was coined for the roots movement around the beginning of Miss Newsom’s step up into the wider musical consciousness. Whilst this unfortunate terminology should fill us all with loathing, if it will persuade potential listeners to let go of the dusty connotations and negative perceptions people have of the ‘genre’ to just give an artist of this quality attention, it is most certainly welcomed. The album was available to stream on a local US radio station’s website prior to its release and I can confirm that after a complete and attentive listen is that I will not be content until I have this album grasped in my hands today.

Album opener Easy is a good measure of the album. Here the piano dominates and we are greeted with a familiar rich orchestral arrangement. Newsom’s voice leaps as frequently and lightly as the woodwind on the track. Particularly affecting is the point in each little song-trail where the percussion bounds in and, much like that of previous LP Ys, by this point you will have given yourself entirely to this journey. One of the beauties of Have One On Me is the range of the work. It easily flows due to the distinctive style of the artist but through every possible route that can be taken. It shows range and a maturity that is just getting more and more honed with time. Less are the wild fantasies spun in some of the more whimsical moments of Newsom’s catalogue. This definitely allows for a greater accessibility to her music.

Moments like Baby Birch are astonishing. In this case the melodic beginnings are pure and gospel tinged whilst Joanna Newsom’s voice is clear and perfect. Over the course of the song more traditional folk based arrangement and bold celtic tones grow . I think this is the first time I’ve found this style executed so well, without resorting to hyper cliché. On A Good Day serves as a perfect coda to Baby Birch. A short and sad completion to the tale that was just weaved. Putting an end to the sorrow and sentimental conclusion to the previous track.

In California is succinct and simpler in manner, leaning more towards a recognisable love song. It is the clever peppering of accompaniment that will win you over here. Double bass scratchings and drums providing a rumble of thunder amongst the delicate lyricism, the strings and finally the much loved harp. You will be filled with warmth, longing and passion by the end of the nigh on nine minutes.

Songs like Good Intentions Paving Company and ’81, which were been leaked prior to the album, fit perfectly in this huge offering. Despite their brilliance they in no way overshadow the work as so often happens. Instead it is pleasant to discover that these tracks were merely another little stop on this vast map of work.

It’s very difficult not to use travelling or literally description to any of Joanna Newsom’s work. The sheer length, depth and richness of the music and lyrics is nothing short of epic. It is pure escapism. It is classic. It is rare that an album like this comes along. In an age where instant access and carelessness towards the sanctity of an entire work are rarely seen I encourage to you to pay respect to the work that this artist has presented and pick up a copy of Have One On Me. It’ll be putting it back down that will be the greater challenge.