London Fields # 22
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 22 January 2006
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
"If 2005 was the year of the wolf, what will 2006 be?" asked the Inpress Annual Writers’ Poll last month. From where I sit, it will definitely be the Year of the Monkey! Or, to be more precise, Arctic Monkeys…
When The Sun Goes Down has rocketed straight to the top of the UK singles chart, and their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is on its way to becoming the fastest ever selling indie album in UK recording history (the current holder is Oasis with Definitely Maybe). What makes this so important is that it runs contrary to everything that the music industry has been telling us for years. The repeated mantra of "Home Taping Is Killing Music" may have been rewritten to include downloading, but the basic message remains. Yet Arctic Monkeys took the opposite route. They achieved this fantastic position by making their demo material readily and freely available; it allowed them to build up a worldwide following before they had even been signed. And now they’re going to break sales records when the album itself was leaked weeks ago!
Various A&R people are reported to be frantically searching for the next Arctic Monkeys, and Sheffield in particular is under siege. Good luck to ‘em! But you have to feel a little sorry for bands like Bromhead’s Jacket (described by Sheffield’s Sandman as "a cross between The Jam and the bastard northern brother of Blur") and The Harrisons, both whom are going to overcome the stigma of being described as the next AM.
A recurrent theme of the past 18 months has been record companies continuing to re-release singles that failed to make it huge the first time around. Their persistence has finally paid off big time. After successes with this policy with The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs, this week’s UK album chart is topped by Hard-Fi (on the back of the third release of Cash Machine), and Editors (with the re-release of Munich) - The Back Room has finally made the Top 5 a full six months after was first released. Editors easily outshone Franz Ferdinand on their arena tour at the end of 2005. While Franz were still a good live proposition, they were missing the chemistry, that frission, the spark that made their 2004 shows so memorable.
Remarkable in the last year have been acts who may be great live, but failed to capture this in the studio. This is why I’m really excited about some second albums due to be released in 2006. Both The Duke Spirit with Cuts Across The Land and Archie Bronson Outfit with Fur fell into this hole; although superb live performers, their debut releases were somewhat flat and disappointing. I spent twenty minutes the other night bending the ear of Toby from TDS about how they MUST tour Australia, so that people can see how just how good they are. Time will tell if I made any impression.
Sometimes of course, the opposite is true. Which is why the man of the moment for 2005 was Paul Epworth, who dazzled with a Midas touch, both as producer and remixer (often under the moniker ‘Phones’). His special talent was by taking bands who could be less than impressive live (Bloc Party, Rakes) and producing great recordings and singles from them. If he was attached, you knew that they’d be something of merit about the project. He recently worked with Sheffield’s The Long Blondes. Although they are currently unsigned, but expect big things for them once they’ve recorded their debut. Bethnal Green’s Apartment find themselves in a similar position.
Other acts with second albums to look forward to in 2006 are Hope Of The States and The Veils. HotS have been in the studio for ages – the three songs I’ve heard so far are cause for excitement. With The Veils, singer/songwriter Finn Andrews is the only familiar face from The Runaway Found; expect a slower-paced, more melodic outing from a new five-piece line-up.
I wrote previously that 2005 was the year of The Oldie, with star turns from Gang of Four and The Psychedelic Furs, and a rise in the public fortunes of The Fall. 2006 sees the 20th anniversary of NME’s groundbreaking cassette compilation C86. It featured Age of Chance, The Bodines, Close Lobsters, Half Man Half Biscuit, McCarthy, The Pastels, Primal Scream, The Soup Dragons and Fuzzbox to name a few… This was really the birth of indie, and led to life after The Smiths, twee pop, shambling, and shoegaze. It’s rumoured that a series of concerts along the lines of ATP’s Don’t Look Back season is in the process of being arranged, so watch out for blasts from the past. The Wedding Present and Half Man Half Biscuit both had strong new releases in 2005, so expect them to lead the field. It could even help newer bands like Lions and Tigers get a leg up. Watch this space…
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 22 January 2006
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here
"If 2005 was the year of the wolf, what will 2006 be?" asked the Inpress Annual Writers’ Poll last month. From where I sit, it will definitely be the Year of the Monkey! Or, to be more precise, Arctic Monkeys…
When The Sun Goes Down has rocketed straight to the top of the UK singles chart, and their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is on its way to becoming the fastest ever selling indie album in UK recording history (the current holder is Oasis with Definitely Maybe). What makes this so important is that it runs contrary to everything that the music industry has been telling us for years. The repeated mantra of "Home Taping Is Killing Music" may have been rewritten to include downloading, but the basic message remains. Yet Arctic Monkeys took the opposite route. They achieved this fantastic position by making their demo material readily and freely available; it allowed them to build up a worldwide following before they had even been signed. And now they’re going to break sales records when the album itself was leaked weeks ago!
Various A&R people are reported to be frantically searching for the next Arctic Monkeys, and Sheffield in particular is under siege. Good luck to ‘em! But you have to feel a little sorry for bands like Bromhead’s Jacket (described by Sheffield’s Sandman as "a cross between The Jam and the bastard northern brother of Blur") and The Harrisons, both whom are going to overcome the stigma of being described as the next AM.
A recurrent theme of the past 18 months has been record companies continuing to re-release singles that failed to make it huge the first time around. Their persistence has finally paid off big time. After successes with this policy with The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs, this week’s UK album chart is topped by Hard-Fi (on the back of the third release of Cash Machine), and Editors (with the re-release of Munich) - The Back Room has finally made the Top 5 a full six months after was first released. Editors easily outshone Franz Ferdinand on their arena tour at the end of 2005. While Franz were still a good live proposition, they were missing the chemistry, that frission, the spark that made their 2004 shows so memorable.
Remarkable in the last year have been acts who may be great live, but failed to capture this in the studio. This is why I’m really excited about some second albums due to be released in 2006. Both The Duke Spirit with Cuts Across The Land and Archie Bronson Outfit with Fur fell into this hole; although superb live performers, their debut releases were somewhat flat and disappointing. I spent twenty minutes the other night bending the ear of Toby from TDS about how they MUST tour Australia, so that people can see how just how good they are. Time will tell if I made any impression.
Sometimes of course, the opposite is true. Which is why the man of the moment for 2005 was Paul Epworth, who dazzled with a Midas touch, both as producer and remixer (often under the moniker ‘Phones’). His special talent was by taking bands who could be less than impressive live (Bloc Party, Rakes) and producing great recordings and singles from them. If he was attached, you knew that they’d be something of merit about the project. He recently worked with Sheffield’s The Long Blondes. Although they are currently unsigned, but expect big things for them once they’ve recorded their debut. Bethnal Green’s Apartment find themselves in a similar position.
Other acts with second albums to look forward to in 2006 are Hope Of The States and The Veils. HotS have been in the studio for ages – the three songs I’ve heard so far are cause for excitement. With The Veils, singer/songwriter Finn Andrews is the only familiar face from The Runaway Found; expect a slower-paced, more melodic outing from a new five-piece line-up.
I wrote previously that 2005 was the year of The Oldie, with star turns from Gang of Four and The Psychedelic Furs, and a rise in the public fortunes of The Fall. 2006 sees the 20th anniversary of NME’s groundbreaking cassette compilation C86. It featured Age of Chance, The Bodines, Close Lobsters, Half Man Half Biscuit, McCarthy, The Pastels, Primal Scream, The Soup Dragons and Fuzzbox to name a few… This was really the birth of indie, and led to life after The Smiths, twee pop, shambling, and shoegaze. It’s rumoured that a series of concerts along the lines of ATP’s Don’t Look Back season is in the process of being arranged, so watch out for blasts from the past. The Wedding Present and Half Man Half Biscuit both had strong new releases in 2005, so expect them to lead the field. It could even help newer bands like Lions and Tigers get a leg up. Watch this space…
© James McGalliard 2006
