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Showing posts with label And So I Watch You From Afar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label And So I Watch You From Afar. Show all posts
Monday, August 19, 2024
Monday, October 23, 2017
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Monday, June 2, 2014
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Friday, December 21, 2012
Preview: Potentially decent albums of 2013
I’m not going
to get carried away for 2013. There are
some moderately decent sounding albums due for release:
Nick Cave
& The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away
Nick Cave
& The Bad Seeds release their first album in 4 years on February 18th. They have released the first track from it We
No Who U R, and apart from the appalling text speak in the title, it’s an
understated beauty of a track.
Sun Kil Moon
Mark Kozelek
has transformed into a highly prolific artist.
In the first four months of next year he is scheduled to release 2
albums: Like Rats is a collection of
covers, performed on his nylon acoustic, a bit of everything from Bad Brains to
Sonny and Cher, and it’s due out February 18th. Also due for release is a collaboration with
electronic artist The Album Leaf – Perils of the Sea, coming out on April 30th. It sounds very different from anything
Kozelek has done before.http://www.caldoverderecords.com/likerats/index1.html
Mogwai – Les
Revenants
Mogwai have
done the soundtrack for a French TV series believe it or not, and hopefully
it’s in the vein of all their other releases.
It’s due out on February 25th, and judging by the EP which
crept out just before Christmas, it’s a fairly muted affair.
Low – The
Invisible Way
Low’s 11th
studio album is due for release on March 18th and seemingly up to 5
out 11 tracks are sung by Mimi Parker, and many of them feature prominent
piano. It’s produced by Jeff Tweedy of
Wilco and will probably feature Waiting, a quieter track than of late which
they have been playing live.
And So I Watch
You From Afar – All Hail Bright Futures
ASIWYFA return
with, inevitably, a bang for album no 3, to be released on March 19th. First track released from it, Like A Mouse is
not like any mouse I’ve ever heard. The
track is a little on the poppy side but we’ll see what the rest of the album
brings.http://asiwyfa.bandcamp.com/track/like-a-mouse
Elsewhere,
Johnny Marr’s debut solo album The Messenger is due out on February 25th,
whereas Morrissey’s memoirs are due for release. Alice In Chains are to release the follow up
to Black Gives Way To Blue in the early part of next year, while Mark Eitzel
may self-release an acoustic collection I Am Not A Serious Person. A Pale Horse Named Death will release their
as-yet-untitled second album on May 27th, while Trent Reznor is
likely to have the How To Destroy Angels debut full length album ready for
release in the early part of 2013. There was also some mention of a Bill Callahan DVD but not sure where that's at.
Lloyd Cole has
generated funding from fans for his forthcoming album, due spring/summer. He’s recording with some of the players from
his 1990 self-titled debut. He is also
looking to release a collaboration with Hans Joachim Roedelius – Selected
Studies Volume 1, which will consist of electronic music. Queens of the Stone Age could have an album as
early as March which will feature both Nick Oliveri and Dave Grohl. Ryan Adams is reportedly producing and drumming on a Lemonheads album featuring Evan Dando plus Ben Deily and Juliana Hatfield. We may also hear albums from The National and
Pearl Jam, while seemingly Kevin Shields will put out a My Bloody Valentine
album but I won’t be holding my breath.
Or losing it.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
And So I Watch You From Afar – Instore at Tower Records, Dublin, April 30th 2011
There was a fair smattering of people to see And So I Watch You From Afar playing instore early on a Saturday afternoon. This band radiates excitement. They powered through mainly tracks from just released new album Gangs, tracks like BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION and Search:Party:Animal were powered through with some serious volume.
They played a couple of older tracks such as the joyous D is for Django the Bastard. Watching them play this song is quite a sight to behold. Simply, it’s 4 guys going absolutely nuts and tearing it up with this song. They didn’t forget their first album, playing A Little Bit of Solidarity Goes A Long Way.
Would have loved to have seen them play for real at the Button Factory later but life got in the way. Still ASIWYFA are becoming a seriously big deal, and seeing them for free on a Saturday afternoon was a real treat.
Monday, January 10, 2011
EP Review: And So I Watch For You From Afar – The Letters
2010 saw the release of this EP from my current obsession And So I Watch You From Afar, and this review is a little late but here goes:
S is for Salamander is a typically brutal ASIWYFA track, slaying all before them with heavy guitar riffs and impressive changes in tempo. There’s a neat line in machine-gun percussion in the midsection of the track.
D is for Django the Bastard is a real rabble-rouser. The pay-off comes early in this one as some melodic guitar leads into a sledgehammer mayhem-style riff. They go a little power metal in the midsection, with even a slight jazzy feel thrown in, till the powerful riff returns again, closing out the track with a wallop.
B is for B-Side is not quite as strong as the opening 2, rendering its title somewhat appropriate but K is for Killing Spree, which follows is another matter. Quite apart from being the archetypal ASIWYFA song title, the boys throw the kitchen sink at this one. It’s like a mixture of every one of their riffs inside 6 minutes, though it has the overall effect of sounding less post-rock, more metal, and thus less distinctive as a track from this band. It still rips along nicely, and the midsong collapse has me thinking of Sonic Youth.
Perhaps ASIWYFA actually work better on an EP as it’s hard to maintain the thrill levels over the course of a whole album, you have to reduce the intensity at some point. But no need to over 4 tracks.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
Preview: most anticipated albums of 2011
2011 is already shaping up to be a good year for albums. The following is just what I know about, doubtless there are things I’ve missed, or some of this may not materialize:
Dakota Suite & Emanuele Errante – North Green Down
This is scheduled for release on January 14th, so first out of the blocks for this one. It’s another album of classical pieces. I have heard the title track (which also featured on live album Vallisa) which is a filmic, piano-led piece perfect for January contemplation. Would be nice to get a ‘singer-songwriter’ album with Chris Hooson playing some guitar. As far as I know there is one in the works, You Can Leave But You’ll Never Make It Home Again, due next autumn. Also in progress are The Hearts of Empty, an ambient/late night counterpoint to 2008’s The End of Trying, recorded with David Buxton, and The Side of Her Inexhaustible Heart, four pieces to be recorded with composer Quentin Sirjacq featuring string quartet, clarinet and celeste. Looks to me that Chris’ heart is really in the classical side of his work at the moment.
Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Due out February 14th (how romantic) the next Mogwai has a typically uncompromising title. They have released Rano Pano for fans like myself to have a listen. This one is rather upbeat, in the mould of The Sun Smells Too Loud from their last album, The Hawk Is Howling, though there’s some healthy distortion going on. Hopefully the whole album won’t be in the same vein, as I do like to use Mogwai to soundtrack a good brooding session.
Low – C’mon (?)
It’s been a while since Drums and Guns, Low’s last album, released in 2007. This one was a major departure for the band, with percussion and sampling a lot more prominent. What’s good about this band is that, having looked a few years ago like they were in danger of painting themselves into a corner, they now have torn up the formula with 2 very different albums, The Great Destroyer and the aforementioned Drums and Guns. Alan Sparhawk has also been indulging his classic rock side on his work with Retribution Gospel Choir.
Twilight Sad
High expectations of these Scottish guys after 2009’s storming second album, the MBV-influenced Forget the Night Ahead. Personally I’d be very happy with more of the same, but it looks like they have moved on a bit with 2010’s epic Eastern influenced The Wrong Car single. They have also done some interesting remixes of older material with fellow Scots Errors and Mogwai. I just hope they don’t stray too far into the epic, stadium-oriented territory that The Wrong Car dips its toe into.
And So I Watch You From Afar
Next year is shaping up to be a big year for Derry’s finest, capitalizing on the excellent Letters EP and some chaotic live shows. Recent single Straight Through The Sun downplays their heavy distorted side, leaving them sounding like A Little Solidarity Goes A Long Way off their first album or a proggy Queens of the Stone Age. I expect more brain-crushing riffs on their second album.
Peter Broderick
Next year should see the delayed (through injury) follow up to 2008’s Home. Broderick can turn his hand to piano pieces, acoustic folk, classical and experimental music. Previously these elements were kept apart on separate albums and side-projects, but hoping to see them all coalesce on his next.
Others of note: Mark Eitzel will be doing a ‘strictly acoustic album’, the Horrors are recording their third album. Thurston Moore is recording a solo album Benediction with doppelganger Beck. Hopefully it’ll be in the vein of excellent previous solo album Trees Outside the Academy, which had an acoustic feel but still allowed for some electrics.
Lloyd Cole will be recording an instrumental album with Joachim Roedelius of Cluster, probably in the vein of 2001’s Plastic Wood and Queens of the Stone Age are going into studio to record a hopefully much improved follow up to Era Vulgaris, though Josh Homme may be distracted with his non-involvement in the Kyuss reunion.
On the reissue front, Neil Young is planning to release Archives 2, which hopefully will contain some of his unreleased albums from his prolific mid-seventies period. Rumoured are Homegrown, a somewhat downbeat album which was shelved in favour of Tonight’s the Night; Oceanside-Countryside, an acoustic version of 1978’s Comes A Time; and Chrome Dreams, some of which surfaced on the second side of American Stars n Bars. Hopefully they will be available on a reasonably priced CD set rather than some expensive box format.
And I haven’t mentioned Radiohead!
Dakota Suite & Emanuele Errante – North Green Down
This is scheduled for release on January 14th, so first out of the blocks for this one. It’s another album of classical pieces. I have heard the title track (which also featured on live album Vallisa) which is a filmic, piano-led piece perfect for January contemplation. Would be nice to get a ‘singer-songwriter’ album with Chris Hooson playing some guitar. As far as I know there is one in the works, You Can Leave But You’ll Never Make It Home Again, due next autumn. Also in progress are The Hearts of Empty, an ambient/late night counterpoint to 2008’s The End of Trying, recorded with David Buxton, and The Side of Her Inexhaustible Heart, four pieces to be recorded with composer Quentin Sirjacq featuring string quartet, clarinet and celeste. Looks to me that Chris’ heart is really in the classical side of his work at the moment.
Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Due out February 14th (how romantic) the next Mogwai has a typically uncompromising title. They have released Rano Pano for fans like myself to have a listen. This one is rather upbeat, in the mould of The Sun Smells Too Loud from their last album, The Hawk Is Howling, though there’s some healthy distortion going on. Hopefully the whole album won’t be in the same vein, as I do like to use Mogwai to soundtrack a good brooding session.
Low – C’mon (?)
It’s been a while since Drums and Guns, Low’s last album, released in 2007. This one was a major departure for the band, with percussion and sampling a lot more prominent. What’s good about this band is that, having looked a few years ago like they were in danger of painting themselves into a corner, they now have torn up the formula with 2 very different albums, The Great Destroyer and the aforementioned Drums and Guns. Alan Sparhawk has also been indulging his classic rock side on his work with Retribution Gospel Choir.
Twilight Sad
High expectations of these Scottish guys after 2009’s storming second album, the MBV-influenced Forget the Night Ahead. Personally I’d be very happy with more of the same, but it looks like they have moved on a bit with 2010’s epic Eastern influenced The Wrong Car single. They have also done some interesting remixes of older material with fellow Scots Errors and Mogwai. I just hope they don’t stray too far into the epic, stadium-oriented territory that The Wrong Car dips its toe into.
And So I Watch You From Afar
Next year is shaping up to be a big year for Derry’s finest, capitalizing on the excellent Letters EP and some chaotic live shows. Recent single Straight Through The Sun downplays their heavy distorted side, leaving them sounding like A Little Solidarity Goes A Long Way off their first album or a proggy Queens of the Stone Age. I expect more brain-crushing riffs on their second album.
Peter Broderick
Next year should see the delayed (through injury) follow up to 2008’s Home. Broderick can turn his hand to piano pieces, acoustic folk, classical and experimental music. Previously these elements were kept apart on separate albums and side-projects, but hoping to see them all coalesce on his next.
Others of note: Mark Eitzel will be doing a ‘strictly acoustic album’, the Horrors are recording their third album. Thurston Moore is recording a solo album Benediction with doppelganger Beck. Hopefully it’ll be in the vein of excellent previous solo album Trees Outside the Academy, which had an acoustic feel but still allowed for some electrics.
Lloyd Cole will be recording an instrumental album with Joachim Roedelius of Cluster, probably in the vein of 2001’s Plastic Wood and Queens of the Stone Age are going into studio to record a hopefully much improved follow up to Era Vulgaris, though Josh Homme may be distracted with his non-involvement in the Kyuss reunion.
On the reissue front, Neil Young is planning to release Archives 2, which hopefully will contain some of his unreleased albums from his prolific mid-seventies period. Rumoured are Homegrown, a somewhat downbeat album which was shelved in favour of Tonight’s the Night; Oceanside-Countryside, an acoustic version of 1978’s Comes A Time; and Chrome Dreams, some of which surfaced on the second side of American Stars n Bars. Hopefully they will be available on a reasonably priced CD set rather than some expensive box format.
And I haven’t mentioned Radiohead!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Album Review: And So I Watch You From Afar
I’m a bit late picking up on this band from the North’s debut album, released last year. Primarily an instrumental band, the title of the opening track, Set Guitars To Kill should tell you everything you need to know about it. It stomps all over the place with sledgehammer guitars pounding through the song. Absolutely awesome.
The album doesn’t let up from there, offering visceral thrills not heard on an Irish album for some time. A Little Bit of Solidarity Goes A Long Way barrels along for all of 3 minutes.
They remind me of Mogwai with the metal turned up and a little Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age and a bit of the doomier side of The Cure added in for good measure. A good example of this is Clench Fists, Grit Teeth… GO!, six minutes of pure metal carnage. They do take the occasional breather, allowing some tracks such as I Capture Castles to build up gradually, and even take something of mid-song siesta in Start A Band, which itself is almost like 3 songs in one.
Later on the album Tip of the Hat, Punch in the Face reminds me of forgotten Irish band Coldspoon Conspiracy. There’s a lovely Sonic Youth style mid-song break with lots of ringing trebly guitars in Don’t Waste Time Doing Things You Hate, before some “na na na” vocals, one of the few vocals on the album. Final track Eat the City, Eat it Whole perfects the art of the slow build.
It’s the kind of music that influences behaviour, you’ll definitely want to be hell-raising after getting THIS into your ears. Or breaking something. I think you can still get tickets to see them in Whelans this Saturday with Jape and Fionn Regan. So… stop what you’re doing, go and buy this album immediately and get down to Whelans this Saturday. Though by the sounds of things they’ll smash the place to bits.
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