Live in Edinburgh This Week – 31st May 2009
Well well well, Saturday was what I think can only be described as a truly epic party. It started at about two or three in the afternoon when Found came round to record their Toad Session, which sounded absolutely lovely, continued into the back garden for a barbecue, turned into the Honeytrap Toad Session, repaired once more to the garden for further gluttony, returned to the house once night had descended, then turned into some sort of deranged music/cavorting session until the early hours accompanied by some truly heroic feats of drinking.
Quite how the whole house didn’t end up smashed to pieces is beyond me. And quite what our neighbours made of a gaggle in inebriated imbeciles out in the back garden all evening bellowing salty anecdotes at one another in the most colourful of language is entirely beyond me. If we are not careful we may end up with something of a ‘reputation’ in the neighbourhood.
Apart from other things, today sees the release of Broken Records’ debut album, which I will review later on this week. I also have a special treat of some truly excellent live videos from their Bedlam Theatre set which will be published as soon as possible. I’ll review the album in as objective a manner as I can, but for now, on a personal note, I want to just mention the fact that the lads have become good friends since I first saw them play about two years ago, and I am incredibly proud of them and delighted to see this record out in the shops. Well done, boys, you deserve it.
Other things happening this week include the first night at the somewhat enigmatic Electric Circus. This is a new venue whose website, whilst pretty, is sufficiently unfinished as to fail to include an actual address. It is left to The Skinny to provide us with such trivial details, and a good thing they do, as the first gig to be held there takes place tomorrow, 2nd June, with St. Jude’s Infirmary and White Heath. Intriguing.
Monday 1st June 2009: Teitur & Emily Scott at Cabaret Voltaire.
Teitur is from the Faroe Islands and has managed a couple of fairly high-profile movie placements for his songs already which, although it brings very important funds to an artist, doesn’t seem quite as useful at increasing name-recognition, because I am still yet to hear all that much talk about the fellow on the digital telegraph wires. He makes lovely, acoustic pop songs, though, which should result in a state of serene bliss.
Teitur – We Still Drink the Same Water
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Monday 1st June 2009: Trachtenberg Family Sideshow Players at the Bowery.
This lot sound a bit mental. The clue is entirely in the name – imagine what kind of madness you might expect from a band called that, and that is exactly what you are going to get. Should be brilliant fun.
Trachtenberg Family Sideshow Players – Mountain Trip to Japan
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Thursday 4th June 2009: Punch & the Apostles & the Stormy Seas play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.
More Limbo excellence, with Glasgow band Punch & the Apostles and their raucous sound which veers from hyperactive swing to deranged carnival barking. Supported by the Stormy Seas’ folk rock and a mystery third guest, who will probably turn out to be someone like Paolo Nutini or someone like that. Or maybe not.
Punch & the Apostles – I’m a Hobo
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Friday 5th June 2009: My Latest Novel, Copy Haho & Mitchell Museum play the final Black Tape Club night at Sneaky Pete’s.
Black Tape take their final bow by introducing the new My Latest Novel album to the world. I am listening to their gorgeous debut as I type this, and am genuinely fascinated to hear what they have to say for themselves next. On record it’s all a bit more craftsmanlike, instrumental and lush, whereas the live sound is a lot more guitary and noisy. I haven’t actually seen them live for ages, so I’ll definitely be along to this one.
My Latest Novel – Pretty in a Panic
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Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th June 2009: The Meadows Festival.
What are the chances of the gorgeous weather holding up until this coming Saturday when the Meadows Festival swings into life? Pretty slim, from the looks of it, but we can hope. Apart from plenty of splendid hippy shit like crafts stalls and local artists and stuff like that there will also be a good number of local bands playing at various times during the day, including Meursault, Jesus H. Foxx, White Heath, The Byrons, and quite a few others. Have a look at their MySpace page for a more comprehensive list.
The Panics play the Cab Vol tomorrow night, prob a bit to mainstream and easy listening for you lot….i like em and they are worth a listen.
I think my problem with them is more total ignorance than any sort of issue of taste.
The Panics are being supported by Kid Canaveral too.
The Trachtenburg Family are brilliant. If you enjoy whimsical daftness. I’ve seen them a few times and I’m a bit disappointed I knew nothing about this gig till now. Oh well.
I actually don’t know how I’m going to make it to Friday. It seems a long way away and I am so excited!
Also, on Saturday evening Rob St John, Withered Hand, Little Pebble, My Kappa Roots, Found and proabbly some others are playing at this:
http://bassar.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/tickets-on-sale-now/
And it’s for a good cause.
yes i was just going to say about saturday. definately the gig of the week.
Fucking hell. I’d been warned about this review, but I was never expecting that. Christ almighty.
Yikes. And yet:
http://www.musicomh.com/albums/broken-records_0509.htm
Yikes. Well now I’m confused because I’ve read several reviews today (at Boomkat, Sonic Dice, MusicOMH, the List, etc.) which call the album one of the best of the year.
yeah this kind of seems a wee bit like someone is just trying to provoke and be sensational. i do think the formula comment might have a point but the genreral negative tone of the review seems a bit bitter to me. how dare a band from edinburgh actually get some national success ah what if they run away to london and abandon us!
but who really gives a fuck what reviews say anyway – sorry matthew.
And I fucking love This Is The Sea, so…
Well the biggest problem for me it that it is too personal an issue. Jamie is a good friend, and I am just fucking furious because someone has been so insulting towards one of my mates, so I am not just reacting to it as an actual review, I have to confess.
That said, if it’s supposed to be a personal and more bloggy article, then it should show some fucking senstivity and have been given to someone to write who was going to be a little more appreciative; and if it’s supposed to be journalistic and hard-hitting, then it has no place being so gleefully unpleasant.
Either way, it leaves a really, really sour taste in the mouth.
indeed.
And as for slagging the boss…
dick.
I understand you’re angry Matthew, but I stand by every single line of my review. And it absolutely is not personal, I barely know any of them.
I think the reason you believe it’s harsh is because I’ve used specific examples to justify general observations. That’s not knife-twisting, it’s clarification, and that’s why it’s a very long piece, because I wanted to take the space to clarify all my criticisms. You may also notice that I took the space to say, for example, that the EP was superb, my third paragraph contains lots of praise (that the album’s songs are “consistently strong”), that there are gorgeous moments, “genuinely touching” ones, that there are “obvious strengths in the songwriting”. If I’d just written a short review, these compliments might’ve been crowded out.
I feel like I could write a book about this album actually Matthew, but I don’t have the time or energy to do so in your comments section right now. My only priority was to be honest about my reaction to the music — not the musicians — and that’s the extent of it. I hope we can talk further once you’ve calmed down.
Campfires & Battlefields, FWIW, I did suggest that people who like This Is The Sea might also like this. I don’t, so…
“insert smiley face here?”
Hi Ally. Nothing personal, but I’m still a bit confused.
Fair enough, although your take on Jamie’s voice was harsh, and frankly sounds odd to me because it’s never struck me as being overwrought in the least. I confess, however, that I have not yet heard the album because I’m in the States. But the review does give the record two out of five stars does it not? Two out of five naturally conveys the reviewer’s opinion that roughly 60% of the music out there today is better than this album. Is that your opinion? If so, how does one reconcile that opinion with your statements that the record has “consistently strong” songwriting and “gorgeous,” “genuinely touching” moments? Does 60% of the music released today have those attributes?
Hi C&B,
well that 60% thing isn’t a way I’ve ever thought about it before, tbh, and it’s not really how I would think of a 5-star rating system. The truth is there’s thousands of albums released every year which are worth 1-star, but which don’t even get reviews because bloggers & magazines’ promo piles are just too big to get through. That stuff never rises to any prominence at all, but it exists (this is also why, with publications who use /10 ratings, the vast majority of reviews are above 5, and most land at 7 or 8. It’s not proportional at all). In comparison, there are very few albums which deserve 5-stars, and particularly at The Skinny we try to give out 5-star ratings sparingly (certainly not 20% of all our reviews – probably… 10 albums in a whole year!). So, for us, 5 means “really brilliant”, 4 means “really good”, 3 means “good”, and 2 means “kinda average”. Or that’s my rough interpretation anyway.
But I don’t think that a 5-star rating system is really appropriate for an album like this – and I said something along these lines at the end of my review – because some people will LOVE it, and others will really be unable to listen to it. Few will think it’s “kinda average”, it’ll be more polarising than that. I feel very conflicted about it myself, because there are brief moments that I do love.
I don’t want to bang on about This Is The Sea, but… that album currently comes with a bonus disc of demos and studio outtakes, and I prefer the bonus disc because you can hear on it that the songs are essentially well constructed. The album itself is then where everything’s been plumped up, the production is bigger, the drums are louder, the vocals are more overwrought… and it’s those studio embellishments which annoy me about that album. At its core, the songs are good (especially the title track).
As I’ve tried to say in this review, Broken Records have got a lot of things right. Hey, I’ve been a fan for 2 years, seen them live six or seven times, given them two positive reviews in the past… I clearly think they’ve got talent! It’s pretty much just these recordings of the songs which I have problems with, and that’s what I have to review – not any imaginary demos or unplugged disc.
Ally,
I find this a tricky conversation to have because we get on well and I consider you a friend. I also have taken a lot of personal offence at this review because the band are friends, and because Jamie is a friend – a really good friend. I haven’t read a lot of reviews quite so unrelenting in their direct personal targetting of criticism, so try and imagine how you would respond if this were directed at a close friend or family member.
There are few other bands you would review where you would blame things like song titles and arrangements on the lead singer alone, but pretty much everything in that seems aimed directly at Jamie himself.
Taking so much time to talk about why his voice was wrong in so many circumstances smacks pretty considerably of personal malice. Vocals are a matter of taste and need no more justifying than ‘I don’t like it’, so maybe you were so keen to show that you were being rational that you’ve laboured the point too much and made it seem personal.
As I’ve said, these guys are my friends, so it is impossible to for me to be objective about this. Also, as a reviewer I am not sure what you can write other than what you think, but I go back to the point I tried to make on the Skinny website itself:
If this is a chatty review written in a casual voice, it should have been written by someone else, someone who might have been a little more congenial because, honestly, what is the point of pulling apart a local band who have worked so hard to get to this point, and who have made a massive contribution to the music scene here as a whole. If it was personal and chatty, it shouldn’t have been mean.
Alternatively, if it was supposed to based on objective journalistic rigour, pretty much every criticism was aimed squarely a Jamie himself, and this fact hammered home again and again and again, so it came across, as I said, as a personal hatchet job.
Not liking an album is one thing, speaking your mind is another, but this really came across as personal, and that coming from someone who was warned that it might be a little rough.
I know that I was warned, but it comes across like he shagged your missus and you will never forgive him for it, and I am honestly completely taken aback by what is one of the most bilious reviews I’ve read in ages.
We are unamused.
If the gentleman doesn’t like the specific recordings of a band that he has otherwise admired, one suggests he takes his lament up with their producer instead of impugning the chaps in a manner liable to get one fucked one in the puss.
Editorial schizophrenia by The Skinny and the rabid inky scratchings of the peanut gallery.
Put your review up toad and lets stop talking about this….and focus on the good news out there!!!!
I’ve never heard such a load of bollocks in my life than him trying to defend giving one of Edinburgh’s best bands a two star review! What a twat. Bring on a proper review!
Well the very great irony of it is that the accusations of grandstanding and repetition are made in a way that reads as, erm… well, somewhat grandstanding and repetitive.
But I guess Ally knew that this would be a contentious review and has gone out of his way to try and explain himself. That’s fair enough of course, but I think it’s ended up making things worse rather than better. I’m just guessing, here, of course.
You can’t change your opinion, so how do you write a review of an album you have such issues with? My instinct is of course that you don’t – you pass it on to someone else. If a review is going to be that nasty then it would have been better for someone else to write it.
On another note…Nice to hear Meursault get a play and Song by Toad Records get a mention on the radio again last night.
Last night? Was that the splendid Mr. Galloway again? The man’s a legend!
Matthew, please leave this alone for a couple days or weeks, then come back to it. I understand you’re upset that your mate’s been slagged off, but that’s causing you to read it selectively.
Bilious? There’s no words in that review which are angry or hateful. Instead I use phrases like “Unfortunately”, “my heart sinks”, “so very frustrating”, “that’s a pity” – because I’m disappointed, not angry!
As for being too personal, I’ll firstly say that, as the band’s frontman, Jamie is always going to get more attention – good AND bad – from critics, bloggers and fans. It’s the same for Thom Yorke, Chris Martin, Jim Morrison, Adam Stafford… when you put yourself out there as the singer, that’s the risk you take. There will be positive reviews that lavish praise on Jamie without even mentioning the other bandmembers – I guarantee it. Can you name all the members of Coldplay, or The Doors, or YIFI? But you definitely know the name of the singer. That’s the way it is.
As for my review, yes I use a whole paragraph to criticise his oversinging, but it is a serious fault of the album. It’s no more personally directed than if I criticised Eminem’s new staccato style or Paul Potts’ inability to hit his crucial High C. These are musical criticisms, not personal ones. And to say it’s a matter of taste worthy of no more than “I don’t like it”… well, of course, music generally is about subjective taste. Would you have preferred, having given it 2/5, that I justified that simply with “I don’t like it”? Of course not. I remember an interview with BR on this very site where Jamie says something like “people on the internet say so much without justifying it”. Well, I’ve said a lot, and I’ve justified it, and you’ve taken offence that I’ve justified it.
The previous three paragraphs have introduced Jamie, nothing more, and the next one briefly mentions his vocals while criticising the arrangements and structures. Who’s responsible for these? I said ‘Broken Records’, not Jamie, though you might be inferring Jamie if you know that to be the case. I’m not privy, so I didn’t assume – I said ‘Broken Records’. Do you object to “a sense of self-importance that’s difficult to bear”? You yourself said that Jamie was “developing a bit of a Jesus complex” in a recent live review of the band, so you know what I’m getting at. Is it OK for you to say it, but not for me to say it?
The only time I’ve criticised Jamie for anything other than his vocals, is about “If Eilert Loevberg wrote a song…”. If he didn’t name it, I’ll adjust that line to pin it on the band as a whole, or whoever. I’ve assumed he did, because he’s the singer and lyricist, but someone can tell me if I’m wrong.
As for my tone – I’m not a blogger, so yes, it’s an attempt at an objective, analytical piece. Of course I could’ve gone the easy route of writing an uncritical coronation, a pre-written puff piece, like every publication is guilty of from time-to-time (Rolling Stone with U2, Mick Jagger, Dylan… Pitchfork with Lil Wayne… NME with Joe Lean etc and countless others… The Skinny with Glasvegas (sorry Paul)). But as soon as I listened to it I knew I would have to be critical, and indeed that you and others I know wouldn’t be happy. That’s why I mentioned it before. But at that point, honesty becomes my only priority, not kid gloves or favours for friends-of-friends… as you agreed!
It’s not billious, it’s just critical of a band you don’t want to read criticism of. Well, don’t visit the NME or Guardian websites either, because their reviews say the same things as mine.
OK, just seen your new post this morning Matthew (cos that last reply was an epic one!)…
“But I guess Ally knew that this would be a contentious review and has gone out of his way to try and explain himself.”
Yeah, this is accurate. But as I said above, i’ve seen a video interview with BR on this site where Jamie complains that people don’t feel the need to justify things which they write about the band on the internet. I’ve gone to pains to justify it, but you clearly don’t want to read any justification, because you don’t want to agree. Well, stay away if they get reviews on Pitchfork, DiS, The Quietus, Popmatters… cos these will be long reviews too which will make the same criticisms as I’ve made.
“how do you write a review of an album you have such issues with? My instinct is of course that you don’t – you pass it on to someone else.”
What, until you find someone who likes it? What if nobody does? Matthew, the inner blogger in you is shining through. If you don’t like an album, you can just ignore it, but we don’t have the same luxury for a band like BR. And I don’t believe it’s ethical to keep passing an album around until you find someone who likes it. Then every review is positive and the reader learns nothing.
Well as you say, I am pissed off because they are friends of mine. I’m sure that if someone wrote such a painstaking and negative critique of your mate’s band, or indeed your own writing, then you and your mates would get pretty pissed off too, irrespective of the merits or otherwise of the argument. That’s kind of what mates are for, so as you say, best I just drop it.
This is all very interesting.
A lot of things are at play here, not least the just because I/you don’t like it doesn’t mean my point of view is wrong school of contradiction.
On the basis of your response, Toad, are you implying there’s an underlying motive to the review (i.e. Ally has some kind of grudge against Jamie/the band for whatever reason)? Or…?
I really don’t think it carries any more of a personal attack than many other long, thoroughly analytical reviews of albums & the likes. & just because it’s the Skinny & not the Guardian doesn’t mean it’s any less a valid perspective worthy of public consumption, or more of an opportunity to launch a localized/personal attack on a recognized/able brand.
Regardless of Toad leaping to Jamie’s defense, you have to remember, whether Jamie likes it or not, he will be the main media focus now. He is, after all, songwriter in chief & whether or not all the decisions ultimately fall to his casting vote (lyrics, song titles, song structures, production values, singing technique, album title, etc.) the media will always point in his direction, for better or worse, while that impression (false or otherwise) remains.
The truth of the matter is people I know who do not like the music/record (or them in general after seeing them live) have more or less said the very same things as Ally has in the review re: the music, the titles, the production, & Jamie’s singing voice.
So, whether or not I disagree, I can’t take any offense at Ally’s review on this one because I have experienced similar reactions from people I trust.
Well, for example, read it and count how many accusations of self-indulgence/pomposity there are. I ran out of fingers after the first couple of paragraphs. Comments like that are difficult because inasmuch as they might be made about the music, they inevitably cross over to the personal. You couldn’t accuse this blog of being pompous without implying at the same time that I myself am pompous. Now, that’s fine, anyone with such a big sound is going to get that reaction from some people, but it appears in every other line of that review, and I can’t help thinking ‘okay, point made, can we move on ple… no, can we move o.. no, no really, I get it, can we not just..’ all the way through.
That’s the kind of thing that makes it sound personal to me. I am not suggesting that Ally has a particular agenda or an axe to grind, but that he has taken a pretty personal dislike to Jamie as a performer, and that too much of that shows through in the article, making it read to me like a personal hatchet-job.
Of course the other reason is because I am being over-protective and circling the wagons, but I know that and can’t help it.
Fuck, I said I was going to drop it, didn’t I. Alright I am going to drop it. This is me dropping it, right now…
toad, you should drop it. write your review, stop being broken records body guard and go for a pint with ally where you can get him in a headlock and call him a cock all night long.
*dropped*
(Honest)
I’m leaving that particular can of worms well alone, arguing on the internet is no fun…
Pity to only find out now that Trachtenberg Family Sideshow Players were playing last night, I saw them once before and it was a very enjoyable show – would have liked to have gone along last night.
Looks like a quiet week for me ’till Friday, really looking forward to seeing My Latest Novel and of course the excellent Copy Haho.
Oh, and Saturday looks like being a very enjoyable day too.
“Last night? Was that the splendid Mr. Galloway again? The man’s a legend!”
No, not Vic Galloway. Giddeon Coe I think? Six Music. He said he really liked Nothing Broke, as he should ‘cos it’s brilliant!
Since its getting back to a normal nice thread….
“and a mystery third guest, who will probably turn out to be someone like Paolo Nutini or someone like that. Or maybe not”
The mystery guest playing at Limbo on the 4th is …………….. The Banana Sessions.
Oh, I guess Tom will be there Ricky? I really should see the Banana Sessions at some point…
Paolo Nutini is actually playing here this week sometime, I think. I might have been tempted to give him a slagging, actually, because I really don’t like his music, but his fall from grace has been so fast and so complete that it would feel a bit mean.
his new album sounds like it could be good one tho
Paolo Nutini?
Erm, Chutters, have you been out in the sun?
I saw him (Terry Nutkin’s son, Paulo) on Jools Holland a month or so back. I can’t remember if he was any good as I was absolutely nutted (on my own on a Friday night, yes) but I do remember thinking that he’s taken to singing in a really affected accent for this album. It was just fucking weird. Like an old tramp who has only muttered and grumbled for three decades, and then one day decided to sing his lungs out. Those are my recollections anyway.
Unfortunately, Paolo Nutini’s not really on a fall from grace… his new album is absurdly on its way to being number 1 this week, which is bad news for ears everywhere.
And getting back to this weeks line-up – HOW good is the weekend shaping up with that Meadows thingy and the other thing at St Pauls all in the same day – might have to pace myself..
i saw him on Jools and really liked it…..come on give the boy a chance…..not saying that it’ll re-write the rock n roll guidebook….but it wasn’t bad
TOM?!?!?!?!!!!!…you used to be cool man!
“Insert smiley face here”
Oh.
You did.
…’I'm a Hobo’ = Everybody wants to be a cat.
I love it. And I shall absolutely be investigating further.
…Whoa, epic arguing in the form of essays…Is it always so debate-ish around here?
A case of TL;DR – but this:
‘It’s no more personally directed than if I criticised Eminem’s new staccato style…’
caught my eye. I’m puzzled, and now have to find some Eminem and work out if this is a joke.
Not usually, Voldermania, but the people involved – from the band to the reviewer to the editor of the paper and everyone else – all know each other, so it’s a bit more personal than usual.
Usually we descend into munting jokes within about three or four comments.
I suppose that’s what you get for being so well connected. I wish the same thing would happen to Neil Gaiman’s clique.
Innocent soul that I am, I had to look up ‘munting’ on urban dictionary. Those Germans! Whatever will they come up with next?
Oh dear lord please for the love of god don’t look it up.