The T Is For Texas

London Fields # 99
First published Inpress (Issue # 1204), Melbourne on 14 December 2011, and in Drum Media (Issue # 1090), Sydney on 13 December 2011
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here

I’m not sure if it’s just people I know, but at this time of year the interest in Top Ten lists feels like something that’s escaped from the pages of High Fidelity. These tend to make me reflect on the fact that music was a big factor in abandoning my native Melbourne for the comparative anonymity of London, and further realise that I haven’t really written much about it since returning from Primavera Sound back in May. This year it did feel that the festival was beginning to be a victim of its own success, but PJ Harvey still provided a captivating 75 minutes making the large expanses feel intimate, while the first public performance of the return of Pulp met and exceeded all reasonable expectations. Here also The National finally achieved what they’ve been on the verge of on so many occasions I’ve seen them over the years – finally capturing that heartbreaking melancholy and delivering a powerful and sustained emotional punch throughout their early evening set. A secret highlight was eschewing both The Walkmen and Grinderman to see Smoke Fairies deliver what could have been the performance of the festival to a small but gripped crowd.

The most enjoyable performances of this year’s Camden Crawl could be found in the front lounge of the Spread Eagle, where Andy Ross curated a wonderful two days of performances. The larger shows there were more of a mixed bag with S.C.U.M (supporting Killing Joke) a particular lowlight (strange as they’ve gone on to produce one of the best albums of the year), but my overall highlight was Mat Motte’s deranged take on pop. I caught the new expanded line-up of Spotlight Kid on various occasions, as the year progressed they became an ever-more cohesive live outfit. Seeing Veronica Falls play their upbeat pop on a Dalston rooftop made the August riots seem very far away while Still Corners only seemed to gain by losing a member as they became a more striking live proposition as a four piece. Elsewhere Esben & The Witch were remarkable for refusing to pander to the conventions of live performance. However my pub gig of the year would have to be The Horrors at The 100 Club; their star has now risen so high that shows of this small a scale are virtually unknown, and this night was allowed the rare pleasure of a close-up insight into how Skying was created. 2011 was a certainly a year for veterans, especially from Manchester. James toured the country with an orchestra, their set mostly kept away from the hits and concentrated on rarer album tracks and early numbers. Thankfully WU LYF showed that not everything in Manchester was about the past, which was just as well as The Stone Roses announced their reformation and most of New Order reassembled for live dates. Their contemporaries The Cure certainly had all made friends again as Lol Tolhurst joined them as they played their first three albums in their entirety at the Royal Albert Hall. I even saw Blancmange and Modern English this year, so it certainly sometimes felt like another decade. That said, Scritti Politti’s Christmas shows in Dalston proved that some sounds are indeed timeless.

But there’s been one artist who both live and on record has been the key player of 2011 and his name is Josh T Pearson. It saw him begin the year in the tiny environs of The Slaughtered Lamb and end at the prestigious Barbican Hall in November. His album Last Of The Country Gentlemen brought about this remarkable change in his fortunes, but its success was also a bind, as it saw him having to relive the disintegration of his marriage on stage night after night. Sometimes the shows felt like an elaborate game, as he challenged his audiences to be quiet enough to hear his near-whisper on stage, while the terrible jokes he told between songs served as some respite from the soul-baring examinations of his compositions. My hope for 2012 is that he will be able to put this elongated catharsis to rest and bring his new-found audience with him. Finally any discussion of live music in London this year must also mention the loss of its best live venue when The Luminaire closed its doors forever in March. Vale – you are still very much missed and I fear we shall not see your like again.

© James McGalliard 2011

Inpress: Published on page 54
Drum: Published on page 52

Life's A Riot

London Fields # 95
First published Inpress (Issue # 1188), Melbourne on 24 August 2011, and in Drum Media (Issue # 1074), Sydney on 23 August 2011
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here

Last week I found myself on a rooftop in Dalston, a literal stone’s throw away from where a myriad of Turkish shopkeepers successfully defended their livelihoods from the approaching horde during the recent riots. On stage were Veronica Falls, and their C86-styled Dunedin-ish surf pop was an uplifting and welcome respite from the troubles of the inner city over the past few weeks. I’ve nearly always lived in the (better parts of the) poorer areas of London. When I had a visit from my brother some years ago, he said that it reminded him of an old psychology experiment. He explained that when you confined too many rats in too small a space their established rules of order broke down. Talking to the family this week, the conversation moved onto causes and responses. While I conceded the very valid point that the last government hadn’t really done too much to address the issues, I considered that it was one thing keeping a beast in terrible conditions, and quite another to poke it with a stick through the bars of the cage.

Part of me is wary of discussing the troubles that hit nearby streets, then the media, then areas across England over the past few weeks but feel I can’t really ignore the events for which the London of 2011 is likely to be remembered. In the online world, some were romanticising the violence, finding joy in the titles of songs by The Clash. Let’s be clear about one thing: being in the centre of a riot is NOT fun; it is terrifying. Perhaps the most shocking aspect of this whole thing was how quickly this city changed into a place that felt unsafe, as helicopters hung in the sky indicating places where it was best not to go. As soon as the working day ended, there was an impetus to rush home; fearing that dallying to visit the supermarket on the way might lead to you being caught up in new trouble. Watching the rolling news from the relative safety of the home, it seemed that the media were fanning the flames and a mixture of the bored, the disenfranchised and sheer thugs were leading the charge that spread to other urban areas.

There has been a literal deluge of information, and it’s been near impossible to keep up with it all. No-one seems to be able to agree on what led to this, but asides from the original outbreak of trouble in Tottenham, what followed has seemed to have had very little to do with the shooting of Mark Duggan. Neither was it a direct response to the austerity measures and cuts that are hitting the poorest of this country hard(est); targeting sports shops and electrical goods retailers seems to have much more in common with criminality than civil disobedience, and as small stores suffered alongside the large chains there was no political agenda in play. It may well have been an expression of discontent, much like the office worker who pisses on the floor of the company toilet to express displeasure at how he feels he is treated.

Then there are the politicians. We’re told that this is not the impression we want to give of the city less than a year away from the opening of the 2012 Olympics. I wonder if London Mayor Boris Johnson would have cut his holidays short earlier if it was the Olympics site rather than people's homes and livelihoods that were burning to the ground? Then came arguments over the causes, how the police handled the disturbances, and the sentencing of those convicted in court. On the eve of the last general election addressing a final rally in Bristol, the then opposition leader David Cameron beseeched “don’t let fear triumph over hope”. There have been stories of hope, from the brigades who came out with brooms to tidy their communities, to the community who raised £20,000 to help Hackney shopkeeper Siva Kandiah to reopen his shop mere days after it was completely cleared by looters. Over at the Royal Albert Hall, the annual BBC Proms are continuing apace. The key moment on The Last Night Of The Proms comes with the performance of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 - a raucous flag-waving and patriotic moment. But instead of uniting the kingdom, our leaders seem intent on spreading messages of fear, making the days of Land Of Hope And Glory seem very distant indeed.

© James McGalliard 2011

Inpress: Published on page 55
Drum: Published on page 50

Heard It Through The Grapevine

London Fields # 90
First published Inpress (Issue # 1164), Melbourne on 9 March 2011, and in Drum Media (Issue # 1050), Sydney on 8 March 2011
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here

Trying to get other people to listen to music you recommend can be fraught, particularly in a live setting. Get it right, and all is sweet; but friendships can strain if you get things wrong too often. So, having talked them up to a mate, I was a little trepidatious when Chips For The Poor began their set in the Brixton Windmill. Frontman Scott doesn’t really believe in microphones, or stages for that matter, as he walks in circles through the audience, hollering over the band’s assembled racket, in a slightly disturbing, unhinged yet wonderful way. Songs run continuously, the changes indicated only by a tempo shift in the drum machine until we’re all swept into the maelstrom, culminating in the monster groove that is I Am A Warrior. Returning the favour, I finally catch Blindness at the Buffalo Bar in Islington, and based on this performance, I shouldn’t have procrastinated so long. Strong basslines are key here as well, particularly on the showstopping track Broken, where the hypnotic tattoo spirals over and over while vocalist Beth Rettig writhes on the floor. Over at The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell, Josh T Pearson is playing his first London headline show in ages, featuring songs from his brilliant forthcoming album Last of the Country Gentlemen. This material is much more delicate than some of his older songs, and a quiet environment is needed to fully appreciate them. The more rapt the audience become, the quieter he sings, till it’s barely a whisper, and the loudest sound in the room is the intrusive click of an SLR lens.

None of these acts appeared on any of those ‘Sound of 2011’ lists; as sadly these are often more indicative of a marketing department budget than what they should be - a list of acts that should succeed and so deserve recognition and support. This year’s longlist did have Anna Calvi, whose self-titled debut album was not without some distinctively impressive tracks, while Brighton’s Esben And The Witch were remarkable in sounding nothing like anything else on the list. Regrettably for them in the eighteen months between their self-released EP and debut album Violet Cries, other artists have come along with similar ideas. Seeing EATW play recently in Nottingham, I was struck at how all embracing their sound is. Songs tend to blend into each other a little, but the whole effect is mesmerising. But there’s so much more going on at the moment than these lists indicate.

While Brighton’s Mirrors may be this year’s Hurts (or another OMD), on the harder side of electronica there’s Factory Floor, who sound like they could have appeared in Dogs In Space. Talking old school, next month sees a pioneer go back to analogue equipment with Interplay by John Foxx and the Maths, while Credo is the first album of original material from The Human League in a decade, while Blanc Burn marks 25 years since the last studio album from Blancmange (and there’s a UK tour as well). When some acts will never reform, it is a problem if Still Corners evoke the spirit of Slowdive, or if the genuinely uplifting Veronica Falls sound like a lost release from 20 years ago? Texans Ringo Deathstarr were barely old enough to be aware of music when the music that now inspires them was being released, but Colour Trip fairly rattles along in a way few contemporary albums do. Through the vagaries of international releases, you may also have missed Through Low Light And Trees by Smoke Fairies, a nu-folk duo whose haunting melodies fulfil the promised they displayed when I first saw play in a small Hackney bar some years back. Meanwhile Life! Death! Prizes!, the second album from Shrag (an acronym of Sussex Heights Roving Artists Group) has a much stronger song structure than their debut, as illustrated by the moving duet Coda and Rabbit Kids, one of the catchiest singles of the past 12 months.

I suppose my point is that there’s much more going on that you can get from any one source. I’ve discovered most of the above acts almost by chance - hearing a live session on the radio, seeing them as a support act, or from friends’ recommendations. So even though we’re told that blogs have supposedly replaced printed music papers and the internet makes us all critics now, I think that word-of-mouth is still a powerful tool, and that there’s still a validity in reading about music that may inspire you to seek out the sounds afterwards.

© James McGalliard 2011

Inpress: Published on page 56
Drum: Published on page 54