I was just telling my musical protégé (at the "field office" in Whackoff NJ) that THE New UK Band is
Bloc Party. They are everywhere THIS week, outta the blue, in London.
I will not fall into this tender trap! I could be fooled by the wispy, Echo-y single “So Here We Are” but actually much of
their music is loud and crunchy a la Green Day.
Last week I succumbed and bought the first (and last?)
album by
Thirteen Senses. This was my second Coldplay rip off in one week, following the arrival of the new Athlete CD. TS have a few lovely songs ("Into The Fire” and "The Salt Wound Routine") but is slight and derivative. The whole charade reminds me a bit of Geneva, if anyone remembers them. Nice band, but not nice enough to sustain for more than a CD or 2. I am already selling it on Amazon!
As for the aforementioned
Athlete, believe the shitty reviews. This band has been hobbled! Castrated! "Wires" is beautiful - a major single, but the rest of
the record is similarly downtempo, with nothing seems to come close to that track. What happened to all the joy of a song like
"You’ve Got The Style" (about the "Bridish weather"!) - was that the one where they yelled "Chorus!" just before the…chorus? Now it’s all stolen Coldplay piano filigrees and moody lyrics.
Embrace already did this (well) a few months ago. It's positively sad. It’s not up for sale yet, but it is in the ICU.
All this and I have not even touched Maximo Park, another hot band in the UK right now. Nevermind any of it, I'll wait until mid May for the new
Turin Brakes single
"Fishing For A Dream." I find them to be more of a singles band – I have owned and sold all their records (I’m ruthless that way), but
"Painkiller" is one of the finest songs of the 00’s.
Remember this week’s best release is
Josh Rouse’s “Nashville.” Also this week is
Tori Amos (with a fucking seed packet included) and
Patrick Wolf’s new “Wind In The Wires.” Reviews of Rouse and Wolf coming shortly.