Despite what I said here, I think The Download (or Oxford Introducing, as it has been renamed in some horrific national rebranding) is quite good nowadays. The real irony is that in criticising it I've turned in a very dull review. Cliche-ridden guff, isn't it? Sorry about that.
V/A - THE DOWNLOAD SESSIONS (BBC)
It can be tough to know how to judge things sometimes, if they're good ideas. No one could possible deny that it's wonderful that the BBC have foudn an hour a week in their schedules to devote to local music, but aren't a lot of people quietly wondering if The Download couldn't be a tiny bit better? Well, whatever the consensus, with this showcase album Bearder & Co. have hit absolute gold, turning in a varied and impressive collection of acoutis cmusic that touches many bases.
It also pleasingly tinkers with all the emotions. The problem with so much acoustica is that it tends to get mired in one particular zone, whose slogan might be "I'm pretty upset and sorry for myself, but not enought o actually look like I might get of my arse and do anyt bloody thing about it". No chance here, as we're swept from the dark suspicion of Rebecca Mosely's 'cello-spiked "Power In Paper" to the tuneful apology of The Epstein's jewel-like "Leave Yr Light On", floating on neat mandolin lines and breezy backing vocals. Other highpoints are "Games" by Charlotte James, who has managed to extricate herself from the session muso sludge of her live outings, and Ally Craig's charged "Lower Standard" - it may not be his best song, but anyone who can perform with this intensity can aome round and sing the 'phone book to us any time, frankly. Also worthy of mention are "Bluebird" by KTB, which reminds us how lovely a folk vocalist she is for the first time in eons, and Belarus, who turn in a tuneful Keanesque effort which wraps us up lik a blanket...OK, the pattern may not be very interesting, but it makes us fele safe and warm. In fact there are no real failures on this CD, whcih is unusual enough for any compilation, let alone a simple "live lounge" collection like this. Emily Rolt's wispy meanderings still sound pretty vapid nto these ears, but we don't have any urge to smash the furniture this time, so she must be doijng something right, whereas Los Diablos reveal their vocal limitations when shorn of the visuals, which is a pity as "Joan Of Arc" is a strong song, with dense Catholic imagery that recalls Scott Walker in his Seventh Seal mood.
We finish with a track by Richard Walters, one of the city's best singers and a Beard Museum founding follicle to boot. Richard's voice is strange and awkward, like a tiny cowering lizardine creature, but somehoe it manages to scrape past ugliness and achieve real beauty. If there's anyone who epitomises the variety and individuality of Oxford's acoustic scene it's this man, and as the last notes die away we raise a glass to The Download...and to the fact that the song isn't immediately followed by one of Tim's jokes.
Showing posts with label Diablos Los. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diablos Los. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Gurus Joshed
This was the first time we'd ever seen Stornoway, now comfortably Oxford's best band. My, how they've grown. The venue and the other two acts are long gone, by the way, just in case you were getting excited about things growing to fruition and bursting forth with dribbly creative juices all around Oxford...
THE SWAMIS/ LOS DIABLOS/ STORNOWAY, The X, 4/06
If "unassuming" to you means "tedious and forgettable", skip a paragraph now. Go on, there's plenty for you later. The rest of us can discuss Stornoway, who are quiet, likable, and unabloodyssuming enough to make Belle & Sebastian look like Count Grishnackh, proffering AOR melodicism and Snow Patrol-style vocals that just skirt nasally whining to arrive at disarmingly lovely. Unsurprisingly they're sometimes overly polite, especially in nods towards castrated reggae rhythms, but high points delight, such as a tune allegedly written in a boulangerie that sounds like a fascinating cross between 10cc and The Proclaimers. They could do with letting go a bit, and dropping the worst jazz break ever, but Stornoway are exploring some interesting corners of the overstuffed acoustic rock foyer.
With Mark "Evenings" Wilden on drums and brother James on guitar, Los Diablos' sound is straightforward, but the material's certainly unpredictable. Mixing irreverent covers with originals and a hefty dash of VIth form revue silliness mreans they'll be anathema to many, but if you like a bit of harmless cabaret, this duo delivers the goods. Highlights bookend the set, with a helium thrash through "Wuthering Heights" and Jacques Brel's "The Girls & The Dogs". The ambience may be more Roy Walker than Scott Walker, but the playing is neat, showing sides to Mark's vocals hidden in The Evenings' maelstrom. Perhaps they're selling their songs short with this jocular presentation, but considering one of those songs is a Barenaked Ladies romp about a Chevy Chase lookalike, they probably don't care.
Clever billing for rock trio The Swamis, who sound absolutely enormous after these acoustic prologues. And fair play, too, because they're as tight and powerful as you could wish, powering down a mid-80s rock furrow with much dexterity. If you liked it you could " buy a CD from the man in the Led Zep T-shirt", whihc pretty much sums up The Swamis. They clearly inhabit a cosy world where nothing changes much, where mates dance like drunken uncles at a wedding, heads are nodded at provincial bars and "rock" is spelt with an A and a W. Good word for Scrabble.
THE SWAMIS/ LOS DIABLOS/ STORNOWAY, The X, 4/06
If "unassuming" to you means "tedious and forgettable", skip a paragraph now. Go on, there's plenty for you later. The rest of us can discuss Stornoway, who are quiet, likable, and unabloodyssuming enough to make Belle & Sebastian look like Count Grishnackh, proffering AOR melodicism and Snow Patrol-style vocals that just skirt nasally whining to arrive at disarmingly lovely. Unsurprisingly they're sometimes overly polite, especially in nods towards castrated reggae rhythms, but high points delight, such as a tune allegedly written in a boulangerie that sounds like a fascinating cross between 10cc and The Proclaimers. They could do with letting go a bit, and dropping the worst jazz break ever, but Stornoway are exploring some interesting corners of the overstuffed acoustic rock foyer.
With Mark "Evenings" Wilden on drums and brother James on guitar, Los Diablos' sound is straightforward, but the material's certainly unpredictable. Mixing irreverent covers with originals and a hefty dash of VIth form revue silliness mreans they'll be anathema to many, but if you like a bit of harmless cabaret, this duo delivers the goods. Highlights bookend the set, with a helium thrash through "Wuthering Heights" and Jacques Brel's "The Girls & The Dogs". The ambience may be more Roy Walker than Scott Walker, but the playing is neat, showing sides to Mark's vocals hidden in The Evenings' maelstrom. Perhaps they're selling their songs short with this jocular presentation, but considering one of those songs is a Barenaked Ladies romp about a Chevy Chase lookalike, they probably don't care.
Clever billing for rock trio The Swamis, who sound absolutely enormous after these acoustic prologues. And fair play, too, because they're as tight and powerful as you could wish, powering down a mid-80s rock furrow with much dexterity. If you liked it you could " buy a CD from the man in the Led Zep T-shirt", whihc pretty much sums up The Swamis. They clearly inhabit a cosy world where nothing changes much, where mates dance like drunken uncles at a wedding, heads are nodded at provincial bars and "rock" is spelt with an A and a W. Good word for Scrabble.
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