Album Review: Hamfatter - What Part Of Hamfatter Do You Not Understand?

“As Seen On TV” shouts the graphic on the front of Hamfatter’s debut album - and indeed, the ex-Cambridge University music graduates are fresh from extracting £75,000 from one of the moneybags on Dragon’s Den. The initial furore over the event appears to have died down but Hamfatter are keen to wring all the extra exposure they can out of it… and why the Hell not?

‘The Girl I Love’, the lead single from their new album ‘What Part Of Hamfatter Do You Not Understand?”, serves as a gentle introduction to their reflective indie pop. Eoin O’Mahony softly sings of resisting sexual temptation to a backdrop of chugging guitars and digitised backing harmonies. It offers very little in the way of effective hooks or variety, seemingly happy to simmer along without ever threatening to boil over.

‘Karma’, by contrast, is a multi-faceted rock out with it’s unaccompanied half-sang, half-spoken introduction leading into fizzing guitars and hammered piano. O’Mahony’s vocal explores a range that flits from simple two-note sneering to glorious lilting highs. With a mighty mid-song dropout, a catchy repeated riff and funky, pummelled bass all contained within the complex song structure there is an endless backdrop of intertwining threads to fascinate.

There is certainly an element of frustration at their inability to lock-down a style that they are both comfortable with and which isn’t formulaic. There’s ’21st Century Sex’ sounding, as it does, like Badly Drawn Boy covering one of Divine Comedy’s scattier songs - the problem here is O’Mahony’s vocal just doesn’t stand up to such comparisons. Then there‘s ‘How Sweet It Is’, seemingly a play on the Marvin Gaye classic. It’s replete with strings and piano (nicely arranged as it happens) but with the vocal disintegrating into a Morrissey-styled whine the whole thing becomes too much and begins to parody itself.

As it stands, Hamfatter appear to need one hefty dose of Ritalin. The unsettled nature of this album improves with repeated plays with a few of the songs sticking out above the rest (’Karma’, ’I Want To Be You’ and, to some extent, ‘Down Tonight‘) but there is far too much that merely mimics for their instant hit of fame to allow them to reap the full benefits. A hamfatter is, apparently, a third-rate minstrel - enough said.

www.myspace.com/hamfatter

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=544

Album Review: Pope Joan - Hot Water, Lines & Rickety Machines

With this debut album, Brighton’s Pope Joan have confidently thrown down the gauntlet to the listener to keep up with their deliberately obnoxious in-your-face avant-pop and not feel overwhelmed. Like a particularly vicious alcoholic shot, it’s short, invariably sugary-sweet but it kicks like a mule.

Opener ‘No TV’ trades in feedback and crunched guitar. The dense, stabbing vocals are breathlessly delivered, becoming almost constrictive. It’s followed by the double-time drums and curiously juvenile 8-bit synth of ‘49 Years Time‘ which descends into a childlike tantrum of bum notes. With the processed, strained and scratched guitar of ‘A Length Of String’ leaving the low-end fully open for the bass to step in, it is the climax of the assault that the band had been threatening.

These three songs introduce the Pope Joan blueprint perfectly well enough. Repetitious stop-start structures, ham-fisted, detuned instrumentation and shouted, stereotyped tales on love and modern life; think Wombats but with a touch of Maximo Park vigour. Then, just when you think you’ve got them pinned down the band throw in two songs that change everything. Quirky complexity becomes composed simplicity as ‘It’s The Same As When You Asked Me The Last Time’ finally grabs hold of an idea and runs with it, allowing a dark motif to dominate. Insistent strings and a raw emotive vocal pound out a hook which is infinitely easier to immerse yourself in. ‘An Alternate Route To The End’ is similar in that it lets one instrument dominate giving room for the vocal to breathe and explore, allowing it’s natural strength to shine.

A mixed bag this one. There’s plenty of bands out there who’ll provide more in the way of inventive wit and instantly gratifying hooks, but not as many who can offer quite the range of tempos that Pope Joan have displayed here. Yes, they’re oddball. Yes, they’re colourful. But when they forget all that and inject a bit of heart into their music they really can shine.

www.myspace.com/popejoan

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=561

Album Review: Milosh - iii

Toronto-based Michael Milosh is a classically-trained cellist, jazz aficionado and devotee of left-field electronica. His first two albums, ‘You Make Me Feel’ and ‘Meme’ earned warm reviews that likened his music to artists such as Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Brian Eno and even R&B crooner D’Angelo. This album, again, curiously brings elements of many different genres to the table. With it’s interesting combination of soft, sweeping vocal over steady beats and samples it has an almost elemental quality. It was largely written and recorded during a year-long stay amid the sunshine and birdsong of the tropical island of Koh Samui - something that clearly affected Milosh judging from the themes and titles of the tracks.

Opener ‘Awful Game’ is a mere two-chord simplicity of gently rising and falling keyboard over synthetic beats, pops and claps that cast a series of sonic ripples behind them. The reverberating sweep of vocal that surfs above it all is what defines Milosh’s sound. Haunting and effective. ‘Another Day’ is like listening to a lonely serenade of harp and violin whilst all around insects chirrup and click out the rhythm.

‘Gentle Samui’ proves that this delicate approach to making music can be undone very quickly if the mix isn‘t perfect. The beat here is reduced to the sound of a dripping tap on taut clingfilm and quickly becomes Chinese water torture. It’s way too loud in comparison to the twinkling piano and whispered soliloquy. Unfortunately, this pattern continues throughout with the subtlety of the softer tracks getting smothered by the crunch, crack or slap of a dirty great spot of electronica standing out like a square peg in a round hole.

There are still moments where things click pleasantly into place. ‘Warm Waters’ becomes the perfect muscle soak for the mind, with a dreamy voice listing his musings on island life in what feels like an attempt to hypnotise the listener into some kind of Zen state. Occasionally a big chunk of 80s beats appear to bring a glowing vibe to proceedings - the Thompson Twins funk of ‘Hold My Breath’ or the Depeche Mode backline of ‘Leaving Samui’ stand proudly out as memorable for the right reasons.

In places this feels less like electro-folk, as his press release suggests, and more like epic, deconstructed, modern R'n'B. Milosh’s sumptuous, soulful vocals do end up jarring with his awkward take on the metronome in places and it’s a shame because when the blend is right the ethereal music that results is pleasantly mesmeric.

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=549

Album Review: Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires have had their 15 minutes of fame, appearing as the first unsigned band on Channel 4’s Transmission, and they seem to have gotten a taste for it. With the release of this, their eponymous debut album, they have put together a dual attack of sun-drenched pop and mind-expanding atmospherics, which promises to have you shaking your tailfeather and shoegazing in equal measures.

Opener ‘Jump in The Pool’ is awash with sweeping vocals dropping out to leave a fiesta of staggered drums, chintzy guitars and deadened bass twang. Ed Macfarlane’s vocal on the chorus rises to a falsetto to nail the hook with a nod to the breathless class of The Jesus And Mary Chain. With ’In The Hospital’ we get a big streak of 80s pop and a funky groove, complete with “doo-doo” backing, handclaps, cowbells and maracas. This is party music for those with the hardiest of constitutions.

The combination of this twisted in-your-face pop is so far from the sudden heady, flights of fancy the band takes with their lapping waves of backfill that it seems impossible that the two could ever meet in the middle. At times, they pull things off with such subtlety and panache that it feels so normal, like they’ve perfected the art already (‘Strobe’ or ‘Ex Lover’); then there are other times when the dreaded clash occurs and the track disassembles itself into confetti (‘Paris’ or ’White Diamonds’). Deciding what’s good or bad isn’t as clear-cut as this though. Yes, the music occasionally clashes but that’s not to say that what there is inside is completely devoid of merit - maybe the band have shown a little naivety in construction. That’s all.

One place they appear to need no help is in production. The remarkable thing here is that the promo flyer reveals that the band find it difficult working with established producers and prefer to do things themselves - the recording sessions took place in Macfarlane’s parent’s house using DIY techniques. The only background they seem to have here is with the post-hardcore music that they used to play around with at school. “I think we took things too seriously back then”, says Macfarlane. “Obviously things have changed a lot since then. Writing a pop song wasn’t very high on our agenda, but now we definitely want to write songs with a pop edge.”

The words “pop” and “edge” are very much suitable descriptors of what this debut album is all about. It’s a stunning opening salvo full of razor-sharp wit and inventiveness. This is one fire that refuses to be extinguished.

www.myspace.com/friendlyfires

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=553

EP Review: The Leaves - The Sunshine

The Leaves, based in London and the South East, play gentle blues-tinged melodic rock music. Lead singer, Dannieuelle, has an assured vocal that sweeps effortlessly through the songs. Guitarist Aidan’s subtle acoustic melodies and drummer Dan’s understated, steady rhythms provide the backing to four tracks that show off their songwriting abilities.

The star of the show is clearly Danniuelle’s vocal which combines Dusty Springfield’s soft delivery with the lilting, more dramatic style of Chrissie Hynde’s. ‘First And Last’ is probably the best track here with a rhythm guitar setting the pace which the vocal lifts before pitching elegantly into the chorus hook. With songs that are so simply structured there aren’t any surprises or pitfalls - its music without gimmicks. Yes, I suppose it is rather formulaic, but then it’s perfect music for a lazy sunny afternoon and there’s always room for more of that, right?

www.myspace.com/theleaves4u

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=494

Gig Review: Asobi Seksu @ The Portland, Cambridge

Green Mind Promotions’ final show is back where it all began, here at The Portland, and it’s a full house. Sounding like a cheap rail company, Econoline kick proceedings off energetically with their geeky brand of upbeat pop-rock. They revel in the packed crowd and set the tone for the excellent Scanners who delight with their angelic harmonising and thudding rhythms. They play us their debut UK single “Raw” and plug their album which is finally due in January, having already been released stateside many months ago. From the sound of it, we’ll be hearing a lot more of their sweet indie pop in the near future.

Asobi Seksu roughly translates as “playful sex”. Tonight they’re a four-piece from Brooklyn, N.Y., and are all leather and jumpers; tall and tiny. They peddle a strange brand of trance-inducing shoegaze indie. The diminutive Yuki has a fascinating vocal which is indecipherable live but remains beautifully clean and resonant. It’s a fearsome fifth instrument over frenetic guitar and drums, high-fretted Cure-like bass and ebbing keyboards, and features a hefty dose of echoing sustain. Perhaps to emphasise the dreamlike nature of the music, the stage lighting is kept low with the occasional strobe effect. New single, “Stay Awake” is the star of their set and is a sprawling deeply-layered number which gets the crowd nodding along; most finding themselves lost within the sound. Despite this peak, most of their set tonight lacks variation and isn’t quite as inspiring or memorable. It’s a shame because they obviously have much to offer and shouldn’t be simply dismissed.

www.asobiseksu.com

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=365