Album Review: Richmond Fontaine – Post To Wire

Something of a critical, if not commercial breakthrough for Richmond Fontaine, 2004’s Post To Wire certainly made impact in the glossy music monthlies. And with good reason too – it’s probably the most melodic of their albums.

After The Longer You Wait which sets the tone, second track, Barely Losing has a gorgeous guitar and piano combination, topped off by the pleasing groans of Willy Vlautin (“we’re walking on the railroad tracks at 5 in the morning).

Montgomery Park takes a different approach, it’s a ragged, bat out of hell rocker, yet still melodic amid the raging guitars. The songs are punctuated by spoken-word interludes detailing the trials and tribulations of the protagonist Walter, a troublemaker by the sounds of this.

But the real strength of this album is the number of strong tunes contained within. Through and Two Broken Hearts are classic sounding midtempo country-rockers. However, the album is never allowed to get too comfortable before the darkness returns in the towering tale of a siege in Hallway.

Deborah Kelly provides a fine duet on the title track, another bright country-rock tune, and also on the more downbeat Polaroid of the girl looking for her dad who “don’t know where he lives anymore.”

Penultimate track Willamette sees the band unleash their full power as Vlautin rages at a missing brother, referencing their dreams by the aforementioned river. It’s a huge sounding cathartic track, all pounding drums, snarling guitars and an incongruous steel guitar, which miraculously fits into the mix.

The album is a perfect starting point for Richmond Fontaine.

Album Review: Screaming Trees – Last Words: The Final Recordings

Review for www.meg.ie

Album Review: Whipping Boy (self-titled)

One of Dublin’s great lost bands, Whipping Boy released their masterpiece Heartworm in 1995. When this album failed to make a breakthrough they recorded a follow-up which was finally released as this self-titled album in 2000, at which point this incarnation of the band was as good as over.

Undoubtedly none of these songs have the visceral impact of anything on Heartworm. The mood is different, more reflective right from opener So Much For Love. “All she wants is to be remembered,” croons Feargal McKee over Paul Page’s almost jangling guitar. The brooding Bad Books continues in a similar vein though McKee doesn’t quite manage the misogyny of Heartworm.

Pat the Almighty has a coruscating chorus like the stompers of their heyday, while later Ghost of Elvis recaptures the mood of Tripped (again from Heartworm) with added piano touches. The album is patchier than their previous work, That Was Then, This Is Now has little more character than its title while some of the slower tracks like Fly and Who Am I drift along without making a huge impression. More successful of these is One To Call My Own which recaptures the downbeat longing of The Honeymoon Is Over.

Unfortunately this album appears to be no longer available. This is a crying shame as while it’s by no means perfect the better songs here deserve to be heard. Some of the original members of the band have regrouped and are currently touring.

Album Review: Lloyd Cole – Plastic Wood

Brian Eno has a lot to answer for. Having created what is now known as ambient music in the 1970s, Lloyd Cole was inspired to try his hand at the genre in 2001 with Plastic Wood.

It’s far away from Rattlesnakes - there’s no place for Lloyd’s voice, wry observations or jangly guitars here, the music is all electronically-based instrumentals. It has a kind of late night, almost soporific feel to it. Tracks like 4 Train and Headlights have soaring melodies but are mainly static in terms of propulsion. The latter of these tracks reminds somewhat of The Blue Nile. All the tracks are very brief (bar final track Machinist), so are over before they really go anywhere.

Some of it (On Ice) sounds like the first few seconds of Mr Malcontent from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, stretched out over a whole album. Park West has a fuller, almost orchestral sound.

As an exercise, there’s nothing wrong with this but it’s hard not to think Lloyd Cole’s talents are better used in the guitar-oriented material he made his name with. Best listened to alone in the so-called small hours.

Album Review: Low – The Curtain Hits The Cast

1996’s The Curtain Hits The Cast is one of the more difficult Low albums. Few of the songs are particularly accessible. In addition, vocalist Alan Sparhawk sings in a higher register for many of the tracks, which doesn’t particularly suit him.

Opening track, Anon has the sound of somebody falling in pain but its followed by The Plan and Over the Ocean which are more soothing. Mimi Parker takes lead vocals on The Plan which has Low’s trademark gingerly picked clean electric guitars, while on the latter track Parker and Sparhawk’s voices intertwine.

The following tracks are funereally-paced and downbeat (Mom Says, Coattail). Standby has a stronger melody and features a fine build up in tempo and tone mid-song, while Laugh is one of Sparhawk’s earliest incursions into distorted guitars.

Penultimate track Do You Know How To Waltz? is 14 and a half minutes of guitar effects, drawn out shoegazing washes of guitar and precious little that resembles an actual song. Despite this, it’s one of the best tracks here, on what is one of Low’s more challenging albums.

Concert Review: Morrissey at Vicar Street - 30th July 2011

Review for www.meg.ie

Album Review: Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Greendale

After the lacklustre Are You Passionate, Neil Young regrouped with Crazy Horse for 2003’s Greendale, an album, DVD and book(!). This was billed as a ‘rock opera’. Good grief.

As it turns out there’s not a whole lot wrong with this album in theory. The guitar sound is as dirty as any Neil Young fan would desire. No, the problem is the cringey lyrics about Grandpa etc are accompanied by not particularly strong melodies, most of which go on FAR too long. There’s very little about opener Falling From Above’s growling riffs that couldn’t have been done in less than seven and a half minutes.

Leave The Driving is a more muted, midtempo, melancholic brand of Neil Young, again stretched to more than seven minutes. Carmichael has a nice growling riff though it is also too long (10 minutes!). The one acoustic track here, Bandit cleverly incorporates a buzzing string into the song with a very hushed vocal. It sounds very refreshing coming midway through this album, but unfortunately the album returns to the lengthy, characterless songs of before.

Special mention to Grandpa’s Interview for stretching a riff to almost 13 minutes. The pump-organ of Bringin’ Down Dinner isn’t bad either. However it’s an album that demands a lot of patience, even for the committed Neil Young fan.