Hindustan Times
A Continental Shift
The first Sigur Rós album I heard was Ágætis byrjun, which means ‘an all right start’ in Icelandic. Sigur Rós are an Icelandic band that plays a genre of music that is classified (by those who love to classify such things) as post-rock, minimalist, ethereal music. I found Sigur Rós’s music mainly downtempo and soothing but also sad at times. I heard several of their albums, including the curiously named () (released in 2002), Takk (in 2005) and Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (2008). That last title translates into ‘with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly’. Nice, isn’t it? I don’t know why, but the band’s music sometimes reminded me of a huge, widescreen film where the camera is static and the visual is of a wide open landscape.
NOT GRUNGY: Jónsi Birgisson is frontman for Icelandic band Sigur Rós, and has a falsetto voice (PHOTO: NME)
Sigur Rós’s frontman, Jónsi Birgisson has a falsetto voice, which is sometimes reminiscent of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke but not as grungy. In fact, Sigur Rós are not grungy at all. Their music has influences of modern classical music and the songs—with very, very minimalist lyrics—are all in Icelandic. That means if you, like me, don’t know that language, you can’t understand a thing. Which is why last week when I heard that Jónsi was readying a solo album called Go, I was excited.
I read that Jónsi’s delicious falsetto voice would be singing on Go in English, probably for the first time. If that was not enough, I also found on the Internet a single from the album (which comes out only in March), called Boy Lilikoi. Unlike many of Sigur Ros’s albums, Boy Lilikoi is an uptempo song—and if it’s a preview of Go, we can look forward to a great album. Here’s a sample of the lyrics: I want to be a lilikoi boy lilikoi/ You grind your claws, you howl growl/ Unafraid of all colour/ You run, you’re free, you climb and dress trees/ You reignite/ You growl, you howl, you show your teeth/ You bite, it’s alright.
From Iceland to California’s Long Beach, home of the indie-rockers, Cold War Kids. Formed in 2004, the quartet that makes up Cold War Kids has just one full-length album to its credit (Loyalty to Loyalty) but to really taste their music, you need to sample their EPs and singles, of which they have several. I first heard Hospital Beds, a four-song album with three of the songs recorded live, and got hooked. Their soulful lyrics and blues-influenced style of singing are catchy and great pick-me-ups. But that was a couple of years ago. I hadn’t heard anything much from the band for a while, till earlier this month when they released another EP, called Behave Yourself. The first track on the album is called Audience of One and it does the trick, ensuring that you fall for the band instantly. The EP itself has four songs and a total duration of just 14 minutes but, trust me, you’ll be inclined to put it on repeat and let it stay that way! I don’t know whether Cold War Kids are planning another full-length but as long as they keep rolling out EPs and singles, I’m happy.
The other American band that has been hogging my playlist for the past couple of weeks is, of course, Spoon. Based in Austin, Texas, Spoon has, at its core, singer and guitarist, Britt Daniel, and drummer, Jim Eno.
Based in Texas, American band Spoon has, at its core, singer and guitarist Britt Daniel (PHOTO: NME)
The rest of the band members keep getting changed and I’m not even sure what they’re current line-up is. If you like the punk sound of Sonic Youth (but with a bit less adventurousness—no screwdrivers rubbing against guitar frets and so on…), you’ll like Spoon. I first heard Spoon, in 2005, nearly nine years after their debut but both the albums I heard, Gimme Fiction and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga turned me into a fan. Pitchfork, the online music magazine (known for its esoteric views) gave Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga a generous 8.5 points and I thought that was greatly deserved.
So, when Spoon released Transference this month, I was looking forward to it. It didn’t disappoint. Transference has a rougher feel than the neat and shiny sound of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but that makes it all the more attractive, because it brings out the gritty, punk feel that Spoon was known for in its early years. After a few listens to Transference, I heard an interview with Daniel and Eno at NPR’s All Songs Considered, where they played some of the new songs and discussed the making of the record. It’s on the NPR website. Not to be missed.
THREE TO TANGO
- Street People: By Bobby Charles. This ethnic Cajun singer-songwriter from Louisiana died this month at 71. In 1976, he was invited to play with The Band on Martin Scorcese’s rockumentary, The Last Waltz.
- Roamin’ and Ramblin Blues’: By David “Honeyboy” Edwards, a veteran bluesman who was born in 1915 and still performs 60 or more times a year. Check him out.
- White Sky: By Vampire Weekend from their new album, Contra. Need I say more?
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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Shiva_17 Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 2:38 am
Hey Karan , great write up bro…
I am a Metallica ,Sabbath n Zeppelin fan too…they are the reason I got into music,their musical exploits is the stuff made of dreams…and started listening to Opeth too…but only recently…they are amazing as well…
Keep Rocking n headbanging…!!!
Sorry Sanjoy…using a bit of your space…we discussed Spoon last week,and here you are as you said…
N as Karan mentioned, you have given a whole new musical dimension to our Sundays,which used to be boring… usually.
Looking forward to Cold War Kids and Sigur Rós.
[Reply]
Karan Sethi Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Hey Shiva , Thanks man … Nice to know you liked what I posted and yeah man their musical exploits are the stuff that dreams are made of .. If you like Opeth I suggest you get your hands on their live dvd ‘The Groundhouse Tapes’ , totally capturing their unmatched sound and musical dexterity . Also you should try out bands like Enslaved , Pelican and Russian Circles (the latter two are instrumental prog/rock bands) .
I don’t know how much you’re into thrash metal dude , but if you liked Metallica’s ‘Kill ‘Em All’ and ‘Master of Puppets’ you shoud check out ‘Bonded By Blood’ by ‘Exodus’ , ‘The Legacy’ by Testament and ‘Spreading The Disease’ by ‘Anthrax’ . These albums are also considered gems of the Thrash Era . I think you would really love headbanging to this stuff in case you have’nt made life difficult for your neighbors already …I also adore Pantera and Ozzy’’s earlier solo albums .
I hope you read this post and reply … Also It would be great if you could suggest some stuff for me ,… And let’s keep in touch through this blog man … Long Live Rock N’ Roll ..
[Reply]
Shiva_17 Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:02 am
Hey Karan again you have opened a whole gamut of legendary metal bands which is admirable.I’ll surely try n grab ‘The Groundhouse Tapes’.
And let me tell you brother,I spent the whole last year just listening Thrash,really liked Anthrax,their whole discography and whatever controversial lyrics they sang,growled n spat.
Slayer was another one which caught my fancy.Also liked distorted bass of Motorhead and the speed metal prowess of Megadeath.Pantera is also a gem of a band.I know Ozzy more as the lead vocalist for Black Sabbath but haven’t heard any of his solo stuff.
As far suggesting is concerned , you seem a much more avid,devouring and huge music lover as compared to my little know-how of music,for which I developed a liking only 2-3 years back.Anyhow,I wonder you have not mentioned,the Brazilian behemoth SEPULTURA,if you have heard them its fine,but if you haven’t ,then you are missing something brother(they sing in English and Portuguese both).Another non-english band would be Rammstein,the German pioneers.
Coming out of the Metal genre,I recently got interested in early British Punk scene,the defying ,daring lyrics against the authority and really liked The Clash,The Sex Pistols.
In “The Clash”,you will find everything reggae,punk,rock but the lyrics are the most interesting part.Their notable tracks are ‘The Magnificent Seven’,Death or Glory,Guns Of Brixton,London Calling….LONDON CALLING remains their most well-performed album till date.For Sex Pistols,get the album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols”
Another British band I like ,The Smiths,the vocals of Morrissey,and the great guitar of Johnny Marr.are stuff to die for.Again suggesting a British band named Joy Division,the lead vocalist died at the age of 23,only two studio albums,but their influence stills remains huge on a large number of modern bands.
I will suggest some American bands later,got to go,have an exam today.
Keep In Touch..
Enjoy your music…!!!
Karan Sethi Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Hey Shiva , great to hear from you again . Yeah , I am a huge Slayer fan . Their earlier works ‘Haunting The Chapel’ and ‘Reign In Blood’ are amongst the most sinister , darkest albums you will ever subject your ears to . Sepultura’s ‘Arise’ and ‘Beneath The Remains’ are classics for me , basically the Max Cavalera era . And London Calling , and Never Mind The Bullocks , Here’s the Sex Pistols are definitely albums which have shaped the world of music , particularly Punk . Since you like punk , I strongly recommend ‘Agony & Irony’ by Alkaline Trio and ‘ The Sufferer and The Witness’ by Rise Against .
Lemmy is just GOD . I mean the guy can still totally lay an arena to waste !!! Well , I think you’re really into the bit of a punk kinda hard-edged stuff . You should try the early Maiden Records and also stuff by Raven and Grim Reaper , in case you have’nt already . Both were a part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal .
And I am a huge Smiths fan . Dude you should totally check out Pavement , also formerly suggested by Mr. Narayan . And although I’m not a huge Joy Division fan , I do like some of their stuff . Also there was a movie , ‘Control’ made on the life and tragic death of Ian Curtis . A must watch for you …
Great to hear from you man . Keep In touch and hope you aced that paper .