Back on the chain gang,..

I recently saw someone write on Twitter that they hated bands doing anniversary tours as it means they've sold out and have no new material. Not sure I agree with that one to be honest. An artists back catalogue is not necessarily something they should be ashamed of, but I do take on board that some bands seem to use it as their weapon of choice.

The Rolling Stones for example are nearly as old as time itself. They are still out there playing live though and pulling in the crowds. Nice work if you can get it. I like the Stones, they are one of the building blocks of music, but I can't see myself ever going to see them live. I'd probably need to re-mortgage my house for a start off.  Anyway.

Looking good lads...

I was both overjoyed and ecstatic in equal measure when I heard last month that my beloved Bluetones were doing an anniversary tour later this year to celebrate 20 years together. Bearing in mind I had written not long beforehand that I didn't think they would ever reunite, I was left gobsmacked and a wee bit shamefaced when I heard the news. Let's just say there might have been some tears. Literally a few days before I had published an article on their final album 'A New Athens' and was droning on about it being their swan song and then blam. Reunion tour. Clearly my writing had made all of this happen. Ahem....

So, does this mean they have sold out? I would say no. The fans want it so doesn't that show that the need is there? I for one am over the moon that this is happening. Those of you who have read some of my other posts will know why, but let's just say it's been a long time in the making. I have friends online who have seen the band somewhere in the region of 20 times now, and yet they have bought their tickets and are as excited as I am about seeing them again. I think this tells us that regardless of how long a band has been performing, if they give a good show then the fans will want to see them play live.

Course it was all down to you Nic...

There is the question of new material though. I was fortunate enough to interview Adam Devlin from the 'Tones and I asked him whether there would be any new stuff. He said not at the moment, but who knows what will happen. This tells me that this perhaps dependant on how this tour goes we may well see something new come out of it. They are nothing if not creative chaps, so watch this space and keep your fingers crossed.

At the other end of this are the bands who do nothing but tour with the same old dirge year in and year out. They may have had a few hits in the 1970's or something and have been trying their luck with it ever since. Classic bands such as 'The Hollies' I can forgive, mainly because I think they are fab, but I'm sure you can think of some others that always seem to be on the gig listings and you have no idea why. Who actually goes to see them? Quite possibly the same people each and every time and I would guess they probably know the set list better than the artist.

Coming soon to a theatre near you. Again.

I was interested to see that Badly Drawn Boy is touring in a few months as it's been 15 years since the release of 'The Hour Of Bewilderbeast'. How time flies huh? I am hoping to make it to a show as I've never seen him play before and would enjoy hearing him perform the album live. Last year I saw two bands perform 20th anniversary tours in celebration of their landmark albums. Therapy? toured with the epic 'Troublegum' which left me with hearing loss for 2 days afterwards (true story) and Linkin Park played their album 'Hybrid Theory' from start to finish at the Download Festival. Both were awesome and the fans loved it.

Unbelievably this is 15 years old

I think this goes to prove that if an artist has a great back catalogue then touring could be considered something of a necessity. I do take on board though that if someone has been singing the same song for the last 20 years it could be a rather painful experience for them to have to keep doing it. I've seen this at shows before where someone in the audience demands a song that the artist simply doesn't want to sing. I think in these circumstances we have to appreciate that it's up to the artist themselves as to what they want to perform. As fans, we can ask, but be prepared to hear no. As an artist, don't be such a bloody good songwriter then :0)

Thank you for sharing...

I don’t tend to write reviews about music as it’s not really my area of expertise. I mean, it’s really about opinion and I'm never too sure that my opinion is something that people are actually interested in to be honest. I have, however, picked up a few new albums lately so I thought I would write about the new music I've bought and also what I've been listening to over the last few weeks.

First up, I bought the new album by Irish rockers Therapy? entitled ‘Disquiet’. It’s their fourteenth (yes fourteenth) studio album their last being released in 2012. My relationship with the band is mainly due to my sister in law who has always been a massive fan of theirs. We went to see them last year performing a twentieth anniversary tour of their 1994 album ‘Troublegum’ and saw them again a few weeks ago. This album has been compared to ‘Troublegum’ by some people who are classing it as kind of a follow up album and it seems that this is what some fans have been waiting for. The album opens with the song ‘Still Hurts’ which belts out a catchy chorus and the usual heavy, pounding guitars and drums. Other stand out tracks are ‘Tides’, ‘Good News Is No News’ and ‘Torment Sorrow Misery Strife’.

It’s loud, dark a bit f**ked up and totally to the point. There’s no hiding here, just straight to it with tortured vocals and direct lyrics. I think Therapy? are something of an acquired taste for some people as they are situated somewhere in alternative metal and heavy rock, but this album will hopefully make them a bit more accessible to new listeners.

Next up is ‘Short Movie’ by Laura Marling. Now, I'm someone who takes on board recommendations on bands and singers and this was an album that was being touted as one to look out for by various sources. I’d not heard that much of her previous work, but what I had, I liked, so I decided to give it a go. I'm very into folk music and love acoustic guitar so I guessed this would probably float my boat and I wasn't wrong. It’s a very impressive piece of work, a personal and moving journey. I'm guessing that the questions that are thrown out there throughout the album are rhetorical in nature and that Laura is looking to reconcile herself in some way. 

It’s beautifully written and very pleasing to listen to throughout with tracks such as ‘Warrior’ and ‘I Feel Your Love’ being just a couple of standouts. She’s only 25 years old, but sings like someone who has been around for a considerable amount of time. Well worth a listen.

I also recently purchased ‘If I Was’ by The Staves. Another recommended album that I had seen various murmurings about so was intrigued to have a listen to. In fact, when I was in Fopp buying the 2 albums mentioned above, The Staves were playing in the background. I was unaware of this at the time, but I remember thinking that whoever it was sounded pretty damn good. And I was right. 

The Staves are an acoustic folk trio of sisters who have totally built on the familial harmonies to amazing effect. There is a real element of sadness in some of the songs with the feeling of lost love being apparent in the lyrics. I was listening to it one day and it really got under my skin which shows the power of great songwriting. The track ‘Let Me Down’ is a favourite alongside the heart-breaking ‘No Me, No You, No More’. It’s not all tears though, and in fact hearing someone sing about watching ‘The Shining’ with just the kitchen light on did make me smile. Highly recommended.

Peer pressure got the best of me again as I decided to take a punt on an album which was being mentioned as possibly ‘the best of 2015 so far’. With references to Nick Drake (who I adore) I was intrigued to know what ‘Carrie & Lowell’ by Sufjan Stevens was all about. I have not heard any of his previous 6 albums so he has well and truly slipped under my radar.

This album is descried as indie folk and is apparently a return to his roots as it’s sparsely instrumental. It’s a very simple sounding, yet personal album that was inspired by the death of his mother, Carrie. It’s a difficult listen at times, but there is a real intimacy in these songs and it’s very raw. Tracks like ‘Eugene’ and ‘Fourth of July’ are stark and beautifully written. Tough going, but worth a listen.

I also did a bit of catching up recently and finally got round to buying ‘Chaos and The Calm’ by James Bay. I first heard James, probably as many people did, with the release of ‘Hold Back The River’. As soon as I heard that song I wanted to hear more as it sat perfectly in my folk, acoustic leanings. My partner described it as boring, but I disagreed and wanted to hear the album before I could make an informed decision.

So, here’s the thing. I have read a few reviews of the album and all of them are basically saying that this album IS boring. It’s a bit too safe and nothing about it stands out. It seems James has gone with the tried and tested method of songwriting and with comparisons (many of them) to in particular Tom Odell (who also struggles to stand out) it clearly hasn't gone down very well. As a debut I'm pretty sure it will fare well in some quarters as obviously we all have different tastes, but if the so called music experts are struggling to find something positive to say about it then it’s slightly worrying.

I like the album, but mostly because it’s something you can put on and just let it play. The stand out tracks for me include ‘Hold Back The River’ and ‘Craving’. It’s not that bad, far from it, but I can understand why out of all the similar styled musicians out there the fact that James is being held in a higher esteem is somewhat puzzling. Good effort nonetheless.

I still have a pile of other albums to get through and am looking forward to listening to ‘Matador’ by Gaz Coombes and ‘The Race For Space’ by Public Service Broadcasting. I was also very pleased to hear that Badly Drawn Boy will be touring very soon as ‘The Hour Of Bewilderbeast’ is amazingly 15 years old. This has meant that I've pulled the album out so I can reacquaint myself with it. It’s certainly going to be a fun few weeks.