The 1975 - Notes on a conditional form

Normally when a band releases an album less than 2 years apart from their previous album people would be like - that's perfectly acceptable; even a 3 year gap is fine.  But the 1975 had planned to have a 6 month gap between albums.  Due to various reasons it took another year on top of the 6 months to get this record out. Some people did actually become impatient over this but personally I think if you look at the big picture, 18 months between albums is more than acceptable. 

When this album first came out, the first thing that struck me was that it was 22 tracks and 1 hour and 20 minutes long.  This is not a deluxe version of the album or with bonus tracks added.  This is the album.  It made me wonder whether this was an ambitious album or a brave move by the band or both.  Originally. having listened to the album a number of times now I discounted this as being an ambitious album.  Although they are trying new things and sounds, there are no 10 minute tracks or anything totally out with their comfort zone.   But after thinking about it some more I changed my mind. Putting out a 22 track album and having all those tracks work together to create a cohesive album is indeed ambitious.

So is this a brave move for the band then?  Most bands release albums which are 10-13 tracks maybe stretching up to 15.  There are of course of exceptions but the number of tracks on most classic albums fall within this range.  But the number of tracks bands write for an album is often a lot more than this. Writing often 30 plus songs with no real ceiling.  Then they whittle it down to 10-13 tracks to fit on the album. They pick the songs based on how good they are and how they fit on the album.  The 1975 have 22 tracks on this album so I do wonder how many songs were discarded through these sessions. But on paper there will be some bands out there who wrote just over 22 songs for an album and discarded 12 of them.  So did quality control hold up letting so many songs on the new album?

Firstly lets go back to the original question on whether this was a brave move for the band?  Personally I think it was.  Every track you add on increases the likelihood of introducing a weaker track.  And when talking about classic albums you always talk about the albums that don't have a weak track on them.  If you have 22 tracks the risk really is massive.  They could have gone the direction of getting it down to 10 to 15 tracks then releasing the other tracks later as part of a deluxe edition. But they chose not to and made a longer album so in my opinion they were brave.

The first time I heard "The 1975" track when they released it I was annoyed it was a spoken word track and you couldn't even distinguish it as a 1975 track due to the faint music in the background.  They did have a spoken word track on "A breif inquiry into online relationships" called "The Man Who Married A Robot/Love Theme". I thought this was one of the weaker tracks on the album purely because it was spoken word and often skip it nowadays.  When I then first listened to "The 1975" off "Notes" and found it was the first track on the album I was even more annoyed.  For their first 3 albums they have done an instrumental on the first track called "The 1975". Each time it had the same tune to it but done in different ways. For me it became a staple of each album they did and really showed their identity.  It was a unique thing that not many bands do.  When they called it "The 1975" and didn't have this tune for the first track of the album that is the reason I was annoyed.  

Since then however my opinion has changed for a couple of reasons. 1. I found out who was speaking. 2. I listened to what she was speaking about.  The answer was Greta Thunberg who is probably one of the most famous teenagers on the planet right now and is a leading climate change activist. And obviously the speech was about climate crisis facing the world.  The world is focused so much about Corona Virus at the moment its easy to forget that there is a problem out there which could be argued is even bigger than Corona Virus and that is the Climate emergency.  So what better way to promote it than take the person who is driving things forward the most in the climate change battle and give her a platform to potentially millions more.

The reason why spoken word annoys me is because you hear a speech once - more often than not you don't have to hear it again and again. Albums on the other hand are meant to be listened to again and again. Which is why I don't think spoken word really works on albums.  But there are always exceptions and this is a major exception.  This message and especially the way Greta has delivered it here needs to be drilled into people so they hear it over and over again. So I think this is the perfect move from the band and is the right way to start the album. If you are going to break your staple of how you start your albums, you need to have a good reason. Greta Thunberg talking about the climate change crisis is a good reason.

The second track on the album "People" was the second single to be released following "The 1975" like it does on the album. This is one of the most refreshing and original tracks they have ever done. I'm not saying its original to the music world as a whole. There are plenty of punk/hard rock bands out there. But this is the first time for the 1975 to be doing this sort of track. It's heavy, it's explosive, it has a lot of passion running through it and it's a great track.  The riff in it actually reminds me of Queens of the stone age a bit.  This track to me does actually have genius placement on the album too. Coming after that intense speech by Greta. Matty starts this song by screaming "Wake up, wake up, wake up".  As almost a reaction to Greta's speech.  Saying to people look you have to sit up and pay attention to her.  At the time when the single was released I did wonder if this was the direction the band were going to take with release of the new album. Turns out this track is the only one like it on the album.

I realise I could go into every track on the album here. But I thought it would be better to group the tracks into the types of songs on the album to give people more of an idea into how the albums is made up, then  discuss the different groups of tracks.  So below shows; the type of track, before this shows how many of those type of tracks appear on the album, then after the type of track it shows the track numbers which are that type of track:

1  Spoken Word - Track 1

1. Punk Rock/hard rock - Track 2

9 Pop - Tracks - 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 22

3 Instrumental - Tracks - 3, 5, 18

5 Electronic synth type Tracks - 7, 12, 15, 19, 20

3 Acoustic/piano ballads -  Tracks 9, 17, 21

As I previously mentioned the first 2 tracks on this album, really compliment each other well. But that is just one example on this album which shows just how well thought out the track placing is on this album and just how well it all comes together.  If you look at the different groups of track you can see there are only two instances where similar types of tracks are placed together (13, 14 and 19,20).  They have mixed everything in here to create peaks and trough, happy points and reflective points, guitar tracks and synth tracks, with vocals and without vocals. It's all in here and it all flows really well.  A good example of this is "Jesus Christ..." then  "Roadkill" then "Me and You...". It is like a trajectory. It goes from soft ballad, to slightly more upbeat pop track in Roadkill, then full on upbeat track In "Me and you...".  Another example is the instrumental "Streaming" which actually seamlessly goes into the next track "Birthday party".

The 1975 do call themselves a pop band. For a while I did have a problem with this as when you think of pop music you generally think of acts who have come out of reality TV shows or people who have songs written for them. Not that there is anything wrong with this but The 1975 don't really fit this mould. But by the same account The 1975 aren't a rock band either. "People" is the only track you could really put into this category and you can't pigeon hole a band based on one track.  The 9 tracks I have identified as Pop though are accessible, easy to listen to tracks with guitars. And they are songs you can crank up the volume in your car and sing along to.  None more so than singles "You and Me together song" which is the happiest, most joyful and uplifting song on the album.  And also "If you're too shy (let me know), another uplifting track which peaks with a fantastic saxophone solo.

The second biggest group in terms of type of track on the album is the electronic synth type tracks.  This is something The 1975 haven't really got into as much on previous albums as they have done as this one. And is another reason why this album is more ambitious than its predecessors.  In the likes of "Yeah I know" and "What should I say", Matt Healy is using distorted vocals here which adds a further dimension to the tracks and the album.

There are 3 instrumental type tracks on the albums which almost act like interludes.  The first one coming in at track 3 entitled "The End (Music for cars)".  There is a nice orchestral arrangement around this track and comes fittingly right after "People" and you feel due to the intensity of that track, a nice relaxing track is what you need to calm down.  But my favourite instrumental on the album comes at track 18 named "Having No Head".  This track takes a while to get going but is amazing once it does.  It just has this hypnotic beat and is so captivating.

The last group of tracks and by no means least is the piano/acoustic ballad style tracks which are; "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America", "Playing on my mind" and "Don't worry".  "Jesus Christ 2005..." is my favourite track of the whole album.  It is just stunning. It has a simple guitar loop throughout the song with horns coming in at the start, then the bridge which also has horns between Matty and Phoebe Bridgers vocals. There was no bridge back between Phoebe Bridgers vocals and Mattys vocals to finish which is the only slight flaw with this song.  But the structure is so different and yet so simple to your typical song.  No big choruses. No verse chorus, verse chorus, bridge chorus etc. Just Matty singing then bridge, Phoebe singing, then Matty singing with the most delicate guitar loop. And I have to say when Phoebe vocals come in I get actual goosebumps. 

"Playing on my mind" has the same kind of feel to it in terms of Matty's tone when he sings - its just so gentle and relaxing with an acoustic guitar again. "Don't worry" is the second last track and is the piano ballad.  Personally I think this would have been a better album closer than "Guys".  While "Don't Worry" would still not be up to how they finished their previous album ("I always want to die sometimes"), I just think this piano ballad is a more fitting ending to an album than a popier track. I just think its better to go out on a gentler track.  But obviously they didn't think so. Just a minor opinion difference there though.

Overall this is one hell of a rollercoaster of an album.  Brave, ambitious and compelling are just a few words I would choose to describe.  I have to say I have never had so much to say about any album ever and I have done over 100 album reviews.  This album requires patience and an open mind.  They are trying new things here which take a bit of time to get into. But there is also the pop side of this album where there are many tracks which are and have been sure fire hits.  This album really does have it all and most importantly because there is so much to it, it has longevity as its an album where every listen you will discover something new.  Whether this will go down as a classic album by the masses remains to be seen.  But I would be shocked if this wasn't high up in my top 10 albums of the year list for 2020.

My history with..........At the drive in, Mars Volta and anything else guitar guru Omar was involved in!

My history with the bands Omar Rodriguez-Lopez was in, definitely does not start from day 1.  In fact At the drive-in released their first album "Acrobatic Tenement" in 1996.  I didn't discover them till 2000 and by that time they already had 5 records out.  I think the main reason why was because they are from El Paso, Texas and had not really reached British Shores yet.  But when "Relationship of Command came out that changed everything.  They appeared on the front cover of NME which was where I discovered them.  The cover showed the band where two of them sported afros and I thought to myself - I wonder what kind of music they make.

I hadn't actually heard them on the radio or TV by this point but decided to pick up "Relationship of command" from the record shop anyway.  And it was fantastic - so high energy - mature punk rock at its finest.  I say mature as they weren't in the same category as Blink 182 or anything like that.   But it was strange to see a band like this in NME rather than Kerrang given how heavy and explosive they were.  I remember they played a gig at the Arches in Glasgow. I was too young at the time to go but one of the guys at school, James M liked them too and was so tall he could get into gigs when he was underage easily.  He said the gig was amazing.

I did go back and buy a few of At the drive-in's earlier albums but didn't really like them that much and nothing really stood out for me unlike "Relationship of Command".  Some of the albums were actually really hard to get hold of as they took a while to make a name for themselves therefore not readily available.  And the irony is when they did finally make a name for themselves they went on a "indefinite hiatus".

It was quite a few years later where I heard what the various members had been upto since the split.  Singer Cedric and Omar formed The Mars Volta while other members went onto form Sparta.  I never bought any Sparta albums but they are still going.  But the true talent of At the drive-in came from Omar and Cedric.  Those were the days before Twitter and Facebook so I was actually unaware the released an EP and then their first album "De-Loused in the Commatorium".  They actually supported the Red hot chili peppers on an arena tour round the UK with that album too. Something I was gutted I missed when I eventually discovered their existence.

But when I did discover them and bought "De-Loused" what I found was a terrific album.  At the Drive-in were so ferocious and straight to the point. The Mars Volta still had this intensity but they let their ideas flourish without boundaries.  Leading to longer and even better tracks.  "Cicatriz Esp" especially was like 12 minutes long and has such a great build up and then climax.  "Televators" was another favourite as it was more of a dreamy chilled out track.

In 2005, The Mars Volta released their second album "Frances the Mute" with lead single "The Widow".  This was the only single to come off the album since it was the only track on the album that was less than 10 minutes long!  This was actually one of the first album reviews I ever did and I actually said at the beginning of it on first listen it just sounds like a complete mess.  They actually had to split up a few of the longer tracks in order to call it an album rather than a five track EP.  I am glad I stuck with this album though as I still think its one of the best records in my CD collection. I mean the last track "Cassandra Gemmni" is 32 minutes long and they totally pull it off. But there really is so much to discover and unearth on this album. Its just the album that keeps on giving.

I actually went to see The Mars Volta when they toured this album at the Barrowlands.  I was with my brother and I'm pretty sure one of the guys I used to work with, Ronnie and his mate were there too. As we had quite a crossover in tastes of music.  This was the first and last time I'll get to see "Cassandra Gemmini" played live I think given its length and the amount of material they have now.  One thing I also loved though was the extended jams and the energy they put into their performance.

After releasing Frances the Mute though where on earth do you go with your next album?!  The answer was "Amputechture".  This wasn't an album I really got into that much.  "Viscera Eyes" was a great song and had this amazing riff. I did get into some other tracks later on down the road but in general I skipped over this record and they didn't actually tour Scotland with this record either.

Then they pulled me back in when they released "The Bedlam in Goliath".  This was a slightly less prog record than the first 3 outings.  But it still had that Mars Volta stamp on it.  I really got into this album though and during the 3-4 months after it came out I was listening to nothing else.  The track "Goliath" in particular was epic.  I went to see them on this tour too with a guy called Phil and his mates who I had met through friends from school.  It was at the then Carling Academy in Glasgow.  It was clear then they were getting even better live as the jams got longer as well as the random improv bits between songs.  They had no support either and played for 3 hours.   This was the last time I saw them on tour.

It wasn't long till their next album got released. Bedlam was 2008 and the next album "Octahedron" was out the very next year.  I actually always thought of this album as an EP since it was only 8 tracks. But looking back on it, its actually still more of an album that most out there.  50 minutes run time says it all.  "Since we've been wrong" was such a great song that really stood out for me on this one.  I wouldn't say the album was De-loused, frances the mute or Bedlam level but it wasn't far behind.

There was a 3 year gap to their 6th studio album "Noctourniquet" which was to be Mars Volta's final album as they split after this.  This was an album I thought was a real let down.  Mars Volta have a reputation for being exciting, imaginative and really trying to stand out from the crowd.  This album really had none of those things and felt like the passion had just been sucked out of each member.  It was almost like they knew that so just called it a day.

In terms of Omar's solo stuff, his first album "A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1" was released 2004.  While he was in the The Mars Volta he released a number of albums.  In fact through to when Mars Volta had split in 2012 he had released 25 albums.   So maybe "released a number of albums" maybe a bit of an understatement. I reviewed 5 of these albums.  Normally with another artist reviewing that many albums would cover over a decades worth of music from that artists career. With Omar reviewing this number of albums feels like I'm just scratching the surface.  And remember he was the lead writer in one of the biggest progressive rock bands during the 2000s while producing and writing these 25 other records.  The albums I did listen to, and I did listen to more than I reviewed.  I found that the albums were very diverse and also some suited my tastes and some didn't while others languished somewhere in between.  One of my favourites was The Apocolypse Inside Of an Orange.  One of the tracks on here in particular used the riff from Viscera eyes as the kind of backbone to the track.  But this lasted 20 minutes and was absolutely mesmerising.

But after these 25 albums Omar was far from done. In fact between 2013-2017 he released another 27 solo albums. In fact at the end of 2016, start of 2017 he released an album every week. It was almost impossible for anyone to keep up even if they could afford to give that much to one artist.  And to my knowledge only a handful of these albums are actually on Spotify.  There is some good stuff in there though from what I have listened to.

Omar also formed a band called Bosnian Rainbows and later with Cedric a band called Amtemasque after the demise of Mars Volta.  Both bands were short lived and released an album with each of them.  They were ok albums but I knew they were capable of so much more.  Then At the drive-in reformed and released int er a li a.  It wasn't quite as good as Relationship of command but it wasn't far off. It was enough to put them back on the map and start playing to bigger crowds again which still hadn't forgotten them from their glory days in the Mars Volta.  I went to see them as part of this tour with Campbell.  They were still going as crazy as ever on stage.  Most of the performance was mainly sticking to how the songs were played on record rather than going off on tangents like they did in the Mars Volta shows. But it was still an amazing gig.

The real question with Omar is just how many albums has he got left in him.  He has been involved in so many you just wonder at what stage do you run out of ideas.

My history with..........The Music

I realise some may not have heard of The Music so I will do a bit of an introduction.  They were a 4 piece indie/rock group from Leeds who were propelled to medium sized fame during the 2000s.  While they were never big enough to play in arenas. They did headline second stages at big festivals at the likes of Reading and leeds and T in the Park.  While touring venues around the UK and beyond with capacity's around the 2000 mark.

Really I got into the Music at the earliest opportunity I could of without knowing a band personally or coming from Leeds.  It was actually their first play on National radio where BBC Radio 1 presenter Steve Lamaq played "Take the long road and walk it" during his evening show which was around 2001.  I listened to his show a lot during my teens and he played a lot of good music. But this track really stood out for me.  In fact I didn't actually catch the bands name. So I emailed the show to ask.  I never got a reply but Steve did play the song again the very next night and I was hooked and then I found out the name.

The first release they had was a double A side single "Take the long road and walk it" and "Walls get smaller". But they only released it on 7 inch vinyl and it was limited to 1000 copies.  I remember going into Virgin and Avalanche in Glasgow on day of release and it was sold out by the time I got there at both shops. I did however manage to get a CD single later of this though on Amazon which was specific to the European market.  

Instead of releasing a few singles then releasing an album. The Music then released 2 EPs.  The first one was named "You might as well try and fuck me" EP.  If I remember right they actually put a swear word in the title as they didn't want to get too big, too soon so by having a swear word in the title radio stations wouldn't be able to mention them.  I thought the title track was one of the weaker tracks they released. But the other 3 tracks on the EP were good including "Too high" which would later appear on their debut album as the album closer.

The Music started playing venues up and down the country but I never saw them at this point. I remember they played the 13th Note club in Glasgow which was an over 18s venue and I wasn't quite 18 yet.  I actually emailed the 13th Note club saying if it was ok I could go even though I wasn't 18 and pointing out the lead singer of The Music wasn't 18 either. I never got a reply to that :-P

The next EP they released in 2002 was "The People" EP.  This EP was even better than the last one. "The People" track also appeared on their debut album and remains my favourite track by them.  "Let love be the healer" was another track which appeared on here. It was such a fast and fun tune.  The Music weren't your typical indie/rock band.  They really wanted to make music to get you moving.

After this is was time for the self titled debut album which also was released in 2002.  To coincide with this they re-released "Take the long road and walk it" with a couple of new b-sides in the shape of "Raindance" and the acoustic "Alone".  The Music really couldn't do that much wrong for me. Even their B-sides were amazing.  But their debut album was unreal.   10 tracks of such high quality.  I remember going to see them at the Barrowlands on this tour with my brother.  It was such a high energy gig and people were just going nuts.  

The next album was released in 2004 and was called "Welcome to the North".  This didn't do quite as well as the first album reaching number 8 in the UK charts whereas their first album reached number 4. But this was still a very good album.  From the epic drum piece on "Bleedin from within" which would  become a real highlight of their live show, to the ferocious "Cessation" to the more gentler "Guide" and "Into the night".  I loved this album and couldn't wait to see it on tour.  

When they annouced the first round of gigs I was gutted they weren't playing Glasgow. But they were playing Edinburgh.  One of my friends from school, Adrian was at uni in Edinburgh and had a flat there.  He had never really heard of the Music but in the end we worked out a deal that we (My brother and I) would pay for his ticket and drinks for the night if he put us up.  It worked out really well.  They played at the Corn exchange which was a bit of hike from the city centre but well worth it. I remember also going to see them at the Garage in Glasgow too which I'm certain was the second part of this tour.

It would be four years in 2008 when The Music would release their next album "Strength in Numbers".  One of the reasons it took longer between albums this time was because of lead singer Rob Harvery's struggles with his mental health.  The irony was when this album came out I was having my own mental battles.  This album and lyrics in particular were all so real to me at the time and I could really relate.  But as well as documenting the struggles he went through there were also very positive "light at the end of the tunnel" type songs on this album.  For example "No weapon sharper than a will".  To me this was such a pivotal album and helped me through a hard time. I went to see them once on this tour at the QMU. Unfortunately this album only reached 19 in the charts and they would split up after playing 2 final gigs in Leeds and London known as the Last Dance.

Overall though from when I first heard them in 2001 to when they split up in 2008 there was no doubting they were my favourite band.  I think I am actually missing a gig to here but set list FM dont seem to go back that far. Plus the band name makes it extremely hard to google. I need to hunt out my old gig tickets!  I think for me though one of the things I loved the most about the Music gigs was just peoples carefree attitudes.  The people going weren't just head nodders or static.  They would be really going all out and immersing themselves in the Music.

My history with..........Coldplay

Coldplay are one of the few bands I have liked from my teenage years right through to present day.  Many bands have split up. Many bands album quality have seriously deteriorated. But Coldplay have remained one of my favourites throughout.

It all started with Coldplay really since their debut album Parachutes.  I think it was by watching Gonzo which was presented by Zane Lowe when I saw a video for "Yellow".  Such a basic video with Chris Martin walking up the beach in the rain. But such an epic song.  I bought Parachutes but I wasn't instantly blown away.  I remember they were part of the NME tour as opening band.  My brother actually went to that gig but he was there to see Lostprophets.

It wasn't until Rush of Blood to the head came out that I really got into Coldplay.  This maybe in contention for one of the albums I have listened the most to ever. The only weak track for me on this album is "In my place" which ironically was lead single so I may be in the minority of people that didn't like it. "Amsterdam" the last track on the album was my favourite track by anyone at the time. I used to listen to that all the time. From here I went back to listen to Parachutes and got a lot more into that album.  They toured that album at the SECC, Glasgow.  Its one of the few gigs I wanted to go to but didn't as at the time I had no one to go with.  Another factor of wanting to go was because Idlewild were supporting who had released 3 amazing albums by that time.

But I did buy the live DVD from that tour and have watched it so many times.  One thing which stands out with this DVD is that they play 2 songs which never got put onto a studio album - "One I love" and "Moses". To me these are two of the best songs they have written.  But such is the quality of Rush of Blood to the Head maybe they felt it didn't fit onto the album.

The third album X and Y actually got a mention in one of my uni classes at the time as the single "Speed of sound" was one of the first singles to be released in mp3 format.  I also remember listening to "Fix you" for the first time Radio 1. Where Edith Bowman built it up as an absolute classic.  This song has stood the test of time and I think really is the only song from this album that still appears in their live sets.  This was another belter of an album. With this album I did manage to recruit people to go see them live and I think those people were Gillian, Steven and Ken where they played at Bellahouston park.  Supergrass were the support and it was a great gig. I remember Gillian laughing at me because I literally knew every single word.

The fourth album "Viva la Vida" was another corker and the title track itself was probably their most famous joyous song ever.  I went to see them twice on this tour.  The first time at the SECC with Lianne, Liz and Kenny P. It was a bit weird because it was all seated but I seem to remember just standing in front of the seats for the whole gig.  This is where the "oh oh oh, oh oh oh" chants started from the crowd and would echo through the red tunnel as we made our way home.  The "Prospekt March" EP also came out of this era which also had some cracking tracks on it.  On the album it starts with "Life in Technicolour" which is a great wee instrumental. The EP has the second version of the track but this time with lyrics.  The title track and "Rainy days" were other highlights from this EP.   The second time I went to see them on tour was the year after at Hampden park with Lianne.  The support for this gig was Jay Z who then came on later with Coldplay to collaborate with them on "Lost" off Viva la vida.   I didn't really think much of Jay Z live but I think that's because I'm not that into rap.  The opening act for this gig was White lies, a band I would later really get into.  The one thing though which really frustrated me about this gig was that it was an identical set list to the SECC gig. I mean they could have at least done a few different songs!

Fifth album was "Mylo Xyloto".  Another album with absolute classics on it - "Charlie Brown", "Paradise" and "Every Teardrop is a waterfall".  I went to see them at T in the park with Lianne, this time where they headlined the Saturday night.  On the whole it was a great day but one thing which will stick out during Coldplay. And that was that this random women decided to talk in my ear for about half of Coldplay before she eventually got the message and disappeared.  Wish I just told her to go away to begin with!  I did enjoy the rest of the show though.

The sixth album "Ghost stories" was an interesting one. Generally apart from "Sky full of stars" it was quite a down beat album.  But I thought it was an absolutely wonderful album and at the time I was gutted that they didn't tour it more. In fact worldwide they only did 5 shows for this album.  "Magic" actually ended up being Radio 1's single of the year that year and "Sky full of stars" was a total tune.  But the rest of the album was such a refreshing change for them.

Seventh album "A head full of dreams" saw them return to more upbeat songs with the likes of the title track, "Hymm or the weekend" and "Adventure of a lifetime". But they also proved once again that they are kings of the album closer with "Up and up".  I didn't actually go and see them on this tour. And after buying the "Live at Sao Paulo" DVD I do regret it a bit.  They seemed to have really upped their game even more live with some songs being totally transformed live which is something not many bands do these days.

The eighth and most recent album released last year was "Everyday life". Probably their most ambitious album to date with a whole host of different instruments and singers appearing.  This is a double album with part 1 being sunrise and part 2 being sunset. They actually did two live sets outdoors in Jordan which they broadcasted on You tube on day of release. With Sunrise being played at sunrise and Sunset part being played at Sunset.  I think this is an album I don't fully appreciate yet. My first impressions was that maybe they could have been a great single album out of these songs but the double album reduced the quality of output a bit.  One track which stood out for me though was "Arabesque" which is right now my favourite Coldplay song of all time.  Such a different feel to the song compared to normal Coldplay tracks and such a great feeling about the track.

Top 5 Coldplay albums
1. Rush of Blood to the Head
2. Ghost Stories
3. Viva la Vida
4. Parachutes
5. X and Y

Top 5 Coldplay songs
1. Arabesque
2. Moses
3. One I love
4. Amsterdam
5. Charlie Brown

My history with.........Red hot chili peppers

I first got into the Chili's pretty randomly.  It must have been around 1999 (So I would have been 15) and I was on a family holiday in the states.  We used to go to a lot of CD shops on these holidays.  This was around the time Californication was out and I came across the album a lot.  I hadn't actually heard anything by them at this stage but bought the album purely on the basis that it had a cool cover. I really liked the album and got my friend Stephen into them too.  We use to listen to it while gaming all the time.  It was funny though as we would mainly listen to the first half of the album up to track 7 "Easily" then put it back to the start again.  There are so many good tracks and moments throughout this album though. Kicking off with the thunderous "All around the world", the guitar work on "Scar tissue", the epicness of the title track "Californication"; Right through to the kick back track of the year "Road trippin" to close off the album.

I think I did investigate their back catalogue a bit at this time and I think I bought "Blood, Sex sugar magic" which had great tracks "Under the bridge" and "Give it away" which both still get airings in their live sets today.  But other albums I either never bought or never got into.  "Californication" was a new era for the band after years of battling their demons and drug use.  Their next album was "By the way" I felt was even better and a more complete album than "Californication".  Ready made anthems such as "Can't stop", "By the way" and "Zephyr song".  The Chilis were a well known band before these 2 albums but I feel these albums really propelled them further and made them natural festival headliners.  I'm not sure why but I never went to see them live over these 2 albums.

That all changed when "Stadium arcadium came out. This was a double album ram packed with amazing songs.  "Wet Sand", "She's only 18" and "Especially in Michigan" amongst my favourite songs on that album and probably remains my favourite album by the Chilis. For this album I went to see them twice on tour.  First at T in the park in 2006 then at Hampden park in 2007. I have done write ups of both gigs which are in this blog.  The Hampden park gig still remains one of my favourite gigs of all time. 

That was the last album the Chilis did with John Frusciante.  To me he was one of the most talented gutarists on the planet and I did wonder about the future of the Chilis.  Then they brought in Josh Klinghoffer.  I was already aware of Josh as he appeared on a number of John Frusciante's solo albums.  But I was unsure how he would fit into the Chilis. Flea and John particular had such great on stage chemistry that it would be impossible to replicate.   I thought their first album with Josh, "I'm with you" was pretty average.  I did however go to see them on this tour with my brother at the SECC.  It was a gig I didn't enjoy as much.  Josh basically avoided doing all the guitar solos. Now I'm not a guitarist and I have no idea how hard these solos are but that was my lasting memory of the night.

Then there was their most recent album "The Getaway" which was out in 2016.  This was a huge step up from "I'm with you".  It's almost like the last album was a transition album and now Josh had gelled into the band properly and has a true connection with the other band members.  I didn't go to see them live during this tour but I have seen a number of live gigs on you tube and you can see how Josh flourished and connected with Flea the same way John did.  It's unfortunate Josh left the band but equally I'm excited to see John back in the band again and hopefully creating something magical once again.

My history with......Stereophonics

This is a new series of blogs going over how I got into bands and my thoughts of them over the years.

First up - Stereophonics

I was into Sterophonics pretty early on in the career.  I think my Dad bought the "Local boy in the photograph" single.  Which really brought them to my attention.  This single was off their debut album "Word gets around". That album came out in 1997 so I would have been 13.  At that point I was too young really to go to gigs.  I do remember quite a few folk in school were into them. One of my best friends at the time - Chris L - use to sing the lyrics to "Same size feet" which was off that album. An absolute class song. But the whole album was amazing.  I did have a conversation with another guy about the album called James M.  He used to go on about how great "Traffic" was.  I was taken a back with his choice as I never really could comprehend that a slow acoustic song could be your favourite track off an album as I always tended to like the more rockier stuff.  That did open my mind a bit though talking to him about it.

The next album "Performance and cocktails" I thought was a really solid album.  In fact I didn't think there was a bad song off either of the first 2 albums.  "Just looking" and "Stop to fill my car up" were particular favourites.  As previously mentioned Chris was really into them too and so was my other friend Graeme . We were about 15 then when this album came out and decided to go and see them at the SECC in 1999.   This would be my first standing gig.  It wasn't my first gig overall, I think it would be one of the gigs we went to as a family would have been my first.  This gig though was amazing.  Our Lady peace were the support.  I wasn't completely blown away with them to be honest but liked them enough to investigate them further when I got home.  I bought many albums by them following that and really got into them. To me they are the Canadian version of the Stereophonics.

The Stereophonics themselves that night were absolutely brilliant. We had positioned ourselves right in the middle of standing.  It was literally jumping.  And I had to jump in order to see anything so it was like being on a Pogo stick.  About half way through though I was starting to feel dizzy so we went to the refreshment stand to get some water.  After that we just stood up the back so we didn't have to jump up and down to see.  I loved that gig - they must have played every track from the 2 albums they had at the time.

Their third album "Just enough education to perform" or JEEP is where I started to drift away from them. Their were some good songs like "Mr Writer" and "Have a nice day" but it was an album I never really got into and from that point I was never really that bothered about seeing them live again.  I just felt the gig I went to see them at was them at their peak.

Next album "You gotta go their to come back" I didn't even buy at the time. It would be many years later I would buy it and even then its hardly been listened to. There 5th album "Language.Sex.Violence.Other?" was a marked improvement on the previous two albums. Songs like "Dakota" and "Rewind" in particular were some of the best they have done.

From there though I have dipped in and out. From going from being a massive fan. I wouldn't say I'm really a fan anymore. But I would like to rediscover their early work at some point.

Boston Manor - Glue

"Glue" is the third studio album by English rockers from Blackpool "Boston Manor". I only found this band last month as I was listening to new releases playlist on Spotify and came across "Plasticine Dream". I then found out this track was on a 5 track EP which was released in early April 2020.  I then found out that "Glue" was due to be out the very next month. I did wonder if it was going to be all different tracks on the album to the EP. But as it happens all the tracks on the EP are on the album and very much form the backbone of the album. But is the EP a good indicator of what the album is like?  In two words "HELL NO".  And this has turned out to be a very, very good thing.

Boston Manor's first album "Be Nothing" was very much a punk record.  I haven't had a full chance to really go in depth with this album yet. Second album "Welcome to the neighbourhood" however I have investigated further and is a great record. All the songs have the same kind of tone and its a very powerful rock record. With "Glue" though it really feels like they have taken another step up and evolved even more.  It is undoubtedly their most ambitious album to date and probably the most diverse album I have listened to since Bring me the Horizon brought out "Amo" last year. Boston Manor have said this was a difficult album to make and to me I am not surprised. They really have challenged themselves and that in turn is very refreshing.

The album kicks off with "Everything is ordinary" and it starts off like you are getting strapped into a rollercoaster with a gentle intro. Then bang! Its zero to 60 in seconds. It just takes off and to me the rollercoaster is a perfect analogy for the album. It has so much energy an passion running through it.  I think one thing which stands out is the variation of vocals on this album. Henry Cox shows off in a way the previous 2 albums don't, just how good a singer he really is and how he has such a great vocal range. I would say his finest point is in "Stuck in the mud" where his vocals really do soar in a fine power ballad type track.  Then in complete contrast you've got the youthful aggression on tracks like "1's & 0's" and "You, Me & the class war".  These types of vocal performances are so far removed from the first 2 albums and again shows how they are trying to do things differently and progress as a band. But take nothing away from the first 2 albums as they are solid records.

I would say there are 3 tracks on the album that are more mainstream rock. In the form of "Plasticine Dream", "Brand New Kids" and "Rat King".  These are anthems in every possible way. But even then they are making these tracks "Boston Manor tracks" rather than imitations.  Yes its clear the band have musical influences and in interviews they have even mentioned bands they are influenced by such as Nine inch nails and Radiohead.  But what band doesn't have influences. There is nothing wrong with it.  Even a straight up track like "Plasticine Dream" they are trying to do things differently as Cox puts more vocal emphasis on the versus than the choruses. And it works brilliantly. "Only1" which at the time of writing is my favourite track on the album. Does this trick to an even greater extreme.

Overall this is an absolutely fantastic album. Each track is like delving into a different world.  They have pushed themselves further than ever before.  On paper it seems like a very risky project and could have quite easily become a mishmash of songs. But these 13 tracks work well together and like a roller coaster there are so many twists and turns, ups and downs on the album.  And by the end you are thinking. What a ride...…..Now can we go again. Hell yes.