White Lies - As I Try Not To Fall Apart

 

"As I Try Not To Fall Apart" is the 6th album by UK indie alternative act White Lies.  I have been into this band right from when their debut album "To Lose My life" dropped in 2009.  I have always compared them to the likes of Interpol and Editors.  But I feel although those bands may have peaked slightly higher. In terms of consistency of output White Lies have outdone them both.  Another thing which sets them apart from these bands is their use of keyboards as well as guitars.  Put that on top of Harry McVeigh's unique vocals it does put them in a place in today's music scene which differentiates them.

The band released 4 singles prior to album release and while they are all brilliant.  I really feel they have delivered quite thought provoking and timely titles in the world we live in at the moment.  Let's look at them.  First the title track "As I Try Not To Fall Apart".   Now to me this song was born out of lockdowns during the pandemic and possibly an insight into the band's mental state either during the pandemic and/or recording this album.  I think everyone can relate to the struggles at some point.  But the lyrics are met with such a warm, uplifting melody it's like they have overcome these struggles and lifting themselves out of a hole.

Next track "Am I really going to die" is another quite impactful title again delivered with a warm melody.  Undoubtably something everyone thinks about at some point too.  For me though their best thoughts brought through by lyrics are on "I don't want to go to Mars".  Straight off the bat you know exactly what the song is about and it's pretty opinionated which is what I like about it.  Many bands express their views on politics and love etc through lyrics. But you don't often get opinions about random topics like going to mars that often. So, it is quite refreshing.  The chorus although serious is quite funny.  "I don't want to go to Mars, what kind of brainwashed idiot does?"  Don't hold back there Harry. lol.  And it's like that the whole song.  On Twitter every time they mention the song, they tag Elon Musk too who wants to send people to Mars which is the bands way of telling him it's a waste of time and money.

Plenty of other stuff going on in this album too. The highlight for me is "Roll December" which comes in around 7 minutes.  They did do a track on their last album called "Time to give" which was around 7 minutes too, but I think that's the only time they have done this.  "Roll December" is a great track.  While being long I wouldn't call it an epic or prog rock track.  It feels like they have taken a 5-minute track, then went, right, let's plug in the electric guitar and have a jam.  And because they don't do that often it feels special, and they pull it off magnificently.

Now, I normally get annoyed with bands who have penultimate tracks which sound like they are meant to close an album.  So, when I saw a track called "The End" being the second last track that did annoy me.  Then, however I went to Tim's Twitter listening party where they did a playback of the album and tweeted during it. It turns out they did this just for a laugh.  And suddenly, I saw the funny side too! Absolute genius.  "There is no cure for it" is the track that finishes off the album.  This is a great, edgier track which finishes the album well.  At the end it does finish very abruptly which leaves you thinking "That's that then!".

And overall, what a ride this album is.  It has grown on me each time I listen to it and keeps up that great consistency they have of delivering great albums time after time.  I haven't even mentioned the likes of "Blue drift", "Breathe", "Ragworm" and "Step outside".  But this is a complete album with no bad tracks.  One which you should be checking out.

Muse - The 2nd Law

 

"The 2nd Law" is the 6th album by UK rock group Muse.  This album was released in 2012 and a follow up to 2009's "The Resistance".  When the album dropped, I was aware of this album when it came out and was more than familiar with the main single off this album; "Madness".  But I never owned the album and never gave it a fair go at the time.  I think at the time I thought it wasn't worth listening to and I don't think it really got much praise from critics.

Having listened to this album quite a lot for the past few weeks I can see why this album may have not done as well as what came before.  While it still feels like a Muse album. They did go off in all sorts of directions in this album and although there are electric guitars present throughout the album, I would go as far as saying it doesn't really feel like a rock album they have made previously.  In "The Resistance" they went in a slightly more prog direction.  This album doesn't do that but does have experimental elements.  Even when you take the single "Madness”, it is a class track has a nice beat to it and good wee guitar solo. Slightly slower feel to it than normal.  Certainly not a heavy rock track.  The thing I remember the most about this track is the bass Chris uses as it is unique. It has this digital display above the strings on the main part of the bass where you pluck.  He then taps the digital display to create the sound.  And it is a dominant feature of the track which makes it stand out.

Next track "Panic Station" is totally opposite, it has a thumping bass line and is like a dance rock track. It's upbeat and has a great groove to it.  That's the thing about this album, it never stays in the one place and there are so many twists and turns throughout the album. It's clear that at this stage in their career, Muse still wanted to progress their sound and not sit on what had come before.  "Prelude" sees Matt back on the piano accompanied by a string section.  Another bow to Muse's string which enables them to make such eclectic albums.  

"Explorors" is track which is worth a mention.  I remember my dad used to go on about this track at the time as he thought it was absolutely brilliant. And it really is.  It's got a different song structure to normal. Kind of a build-up track to an extent without fully exploding to make a nice listening experience.  Another major twist on this album is "Save Me" and "Liquid State" which sit side by side where bassist Chris sings on both for as main vocalist. As far as I'm aware this was the first time up until this point in time, he has done this.  And it's great, he doesn't have the theatrical range in vocals like Matt, but he has this certain calmness and control which adds so much to the album.  I'm surprised the band never utilised him as a vocalist earlier.

In their 5th album "The Resistance" I labelled the finally to the album one of the best they have ever done to finish an album bar Knights of Cydonia. It was a 3-part prog classic.  On this album they went for more of the same but this time in two parts.  The first part "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" starts quite dramatically and again utilises a string section.  Then it takes a turn and has all these cool effects and a women's voice as a voiceover.  The second part "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" has strong post rock vibes about it is a piano driven track. It's funny that a ton of bands do music purely like this second part and in some places do it better than Muse. But because Muse have those punchy rock, mainstream friendly tracks. Muse are the ones that get the recognition.  If you like this sort of track, you should really check out bands like Nordic Giants, it's what they do and they do it very well.

Overall, I think this is a really underrated album and I am so glad I went back to it and gave it the proper attention it deserves. This is Muse really experimenting with their sound and pushing their boundaries further than ever imaginable.  

Muse - The Resistance

 "The Resistance" is the 5th studio album by UK rock trio Muse.  The album was released in 2009 and at that time I wasn't really into music as much and this album passed me by.  This was the first album by Muse I don't think anyone in my family owned.  It wasn't like we heard bad reviews or anything like that, we just lost touch with new releases.  Fast forward to 2022 and now I am going through Muse's back catalogue, I have been listening to this album every day for the last week.

And the result?  I think this is an album full of surprises as it twists and turns.  I think the most standout thing for me on the first few listens, is just how perfectly structured the album is.  It starts off with the standout single from the album "Uprising" which peaked inside the top 10 of the UK charts.  The bass from the off has such a great groove to it and having Matt sing the chorus with lyrics like "We will be victorious" it's like they already knew they were onto a winner.  They set out a statement with the first track, luring the listener in and making them intrigued with what was to come.  

The way the track listing works, it bounces about between songs of 4 minutes of length with songs of 6ish minutes of length.  Having this structure makes for a much more enjoyable listening experience.  I used to go on about how "Origin of Symmetry" was Muse's most ambitious album.  And at the time of release, it certainly was.  But I feel with "The Resistance", the have pushed those boundaries further.  They have used piano's more but not really in a rock way in some circumstances.  I almost feel a classical influence coming through in the way the piano parts are delivered.  Look no further than "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral damage)" as an example of this. Doing this gives Muse's music a fresh vibe. There is also a hint of influences from the likes of Queen, especially in some of Matt Bellamy's vocal delivery.

Other points of note are that "I Belong to You" Matt sings some of the song in French.  While the last 3 tracks act as one longer track split into 3 parts called "Exogenesis".  They finished the last album "Black Holes.." with "Knights of Cydonia", while it's hard to argue that, that is the best finish they have done to an album. "Exogenesis" has to be their most imagnative and creative way to finish an album.  I think though "Unnatural selection" is my favourite track off this album as I just love the guitar work in it.

Overall, I think this album is for album purists rather than single song hunters. And I think that shines through with the fact that only one single had any form of success from this album.  But judging by the success of the album, it did the trick to pull the punters in and those who did get pulled in were almightily rewarded with Muse's most progressive album up until that point.  I've still to listen to "2nd Law" and "Drones" fully again so I am stopping as far as to say it's Muse's most progressive album ever.  But I have to say this is great album and so glad I discovered it even at this stage.

13/02/22 – Boston Manor @ The Garage, Glasgow

 I think this gig was meant to go ahead following the release of Boston’s 3^rd album Glue in late 2020.  It has been rescheduled at least twice since but finally it was good to go here in 2022.  Due to the early curfew in The Garage the doors opened at 6.30pm and first band Jools took to the stage at 7pm for a half an hour set.  Jools are a 7-piece rock act from Leciester who formed in 2019. They are signed to These bloody Thieves record label and have released four singles.  I thought the music was pretty solid and the band was pretty tight.  But the vocals for me were delivered in talking style fashion rather than actually singing.  This is something that does seem to be “in” at the moment but it's not really for me.  In saying that the lead singer had everything else, the rock looks, the confidence and the charisma. 

The singer did say he had a dodgy voice but when I heard the songs on Spotify in the car on the way home it didn’t sound much different.  The set did take an unexpected turn though before the start of the penultimate track. Where the singer introduced Kate Price who is the bands lyricist. She then did a speech on how women should be allowed to walk home after a night out and feel safe. It was very powerful and captivated the audience.  She was absolutely right what she was staying. Whether you loved or hated this band, they made an impact and for a support band where you want people to remember you, that is exactly what they did so good on them and I wish them all the best.  She then stayed on the stage for the last 2 songs and shared vocal duty.

The next band, Movements got a slightly longer set, sitting at 40 minutes. These guys are American, and I did wonder whether they would be ok to come over with quite a few bands cancelling gigs over here. But they came over and I am glad they did. I have been a fan of theirs since their debut album “Feel Something” came out in 2017.  Now they have 2 full length studio albums out with “No good left to give” coming out in 2020.  As the Boston Manor and Movements mentioned, these guys are actually good friends and when over in the states where Movements are bigger, Movements headline and Boston Manor support.  If you look on Spotify Movements top streamed track has 28 million streams whereas Boston Manor’s most streamed track “Halo” has 15 million.  So, for fans of both it was basically a joint headliner such was the quality of the music.  And Movements were awesome and I reckon won a lot of new fans tonight.

Ever since 3^rd album “Glue” came out, Boston Manor have been one of my favourite bands during the course of the pandemic and it was so great to see them live.  The set list was almost evenly spread across their three full length albums and their latest EP, “Desperate times, Desperate Pleasures”.  As good as the EP is it would have been great to hear more off “Glue” where they played 5 tracks.  I say it was my favourite album in 2020. I think when you leave a gig and you start saying which songs they didn’t play; this is a sign that the band has built up a really good discography. 

The choice of songs from “Glue” was interesting playing “Everything is Ordinary” which started the set, “Class war”, “Plasticine Dreams”, “Liquid” and “On a high ledge”. Its almost the approach they took was to choose different types of song. Rather than going for one particular type.  This meant songs like “Rat king”, “Brand new kids”, “0s & 1s” and “Only1” were excluded.  Maybe one day they’ll do this album in full in tour as that’s how good an album it is and what it deserves.

I was delighted they played “Bad Machine” and “England’s Dreaming” off “Welcome to the neighbourhood”. Those songs are great live. They also dipped into their first album a bit too.  The crowd was really up for it and the boys were really excited to be back playing.  There were a few technical glitches. The end of “On a high ledge” it felt something was a bit off and then they had a delay starting “Let them in” due to guitar problems.  It was a surprise not to hear “Algorithm” off the new EP but again shows the depth of their catalogue.

Overall, this was an absolutely fantastic gig. So glad I got to see Boston Manor and Movements under the one roof. I wouldn’t go and see Jools as a headline act but would be quite happy if they were supporting an act I liked as they have such an important message to share and I hope other up and coming bands take note.

Photos by Campbell Hunter

Big Big train - Welcome to the Planet

 

Firstly, deepest condolences to the band and their friends and families following the tragic passing of Big Big Train's lead vocalist David Longdon on 20th November 2021.  "Welcome to the planet" was already complete before the passing and it must have been a difficult decision whether to go ahead and release this album which came out on the 28th of January 2022.  I am very new to this band.  In fact, I only heard of them when I saw a You Tuber called "Notes reviews" had reviewed this album.  I haven't watched the video yet, but I decided just to see what I thought of it first.  And my first impressions were that I was quite taken aback by its magnificence.  It was after a few listens I looked them up on Facebook and found out about the sad news.  To be honest I wouldn't have reviewed this album if I didn't like it given the circumstances.  However I do have a very minor critique which I will go into on what in general is sensational.

First of all, let's give a bit of background to the band.  They formed in Bournemouth in 1990, releasing their debut album "Goodbye to the age of Steam" in 1994.  There has been a lot of people involved with the band over the years with many line-up changes as well as members who just join them for touring.  For this, their 14th album, the line-up was David Longdon on lead vocals, flute, keyboards and guitar. Greg Spawton on bass guitar, guitar, keyboards and backing vocals. Nick D'Virgilio on drums, percussion, guitars and keyboards. Rikard Sjöblom on guitars, keyboards and backing vocals.  As you can see with all the members chipping in playing different instruments you can see why they need those extra members when touring.

"Welcome to the Planet" is a nine-track album sitting at 47 minutes and 16 seconds.  The album opens with the glorious sun ray of a track that is "Made from Sunshine" and you can feel the warmth coming out from your speakers when listening to this song.   The guitars, the vocals, the keyboards and the brass section combine to make such a wonderful, uplifting opening to the album.  And the guitar solo at the end of the track has the perfect tone to match.

The thing I love about this album is that every track feels so different.  It's like they put the emphasis on different people’s abilities and vary the prominent instrument on each track.  The second track "The Connection Plan" for instance, the violin is really prominent, particularly early on in the track.  The short, sharp, snappy playing makes the intro so inviting.  The third track "Lanterna" is currently my favourite track on the album. The song starts gently with David's vocals along with one of the backing vocalists intertwining to make a blissfully magic track which builds so perfectly.  David's vocals are noticeably excellent throughout the album.  You can really feel the emotion he puts into the delivery. "Laterna" is just a fantastic progressive rock song sitting at 6 minutes 30 seconds long and again finishes with a fine solo.

"Proper Jack Froster" is another classic progressive track which also features a female vocalist which again mixes things up for the album.  The way the album keeps moving in different directions and still maintaining the feel that they all belong together is one of the reasons which makes it so good and keeps me listening to this album over and over again.  This again happens on the penultimate "Bats in the Belfry" which has this great electronic vibe and finishes with a drum solo which in 2022 feels special as it feels quite rare for bands to do this these days, particularly on a studio album.  It is still commonplace I think on the live circuit for drummers to get their moment in the limelight with an extra drum fill in a song.  But to do it on an album makes it not only stand out on this album but also when comparing to other albums out at the moment.  

The album finishes with the title track "Welcome to the Planet" and it starts off amazingly and in a kind of big brass band kind of feel making a big entrance.  The song then calms down for the majority, with the vocals being delivered in a kind of freestyle type form which sounds refreshing before going into a nice climax to finish.  It is slightly strange to me closing an album with title and lyrics saying "Welcome" a lot.  It feels like a way to start the album rather than finish one. But at the same time the climax at the end does end up closing it nicely.  But that's really my only minor critique bit of the album.

Overall, this album is ridiculously good, and I mean every track is great. I hope the warmth, positivity and outstanding musicianship on this album give comfort to the people affected by the loss of David Longdon.  I have seen a statement by the band recently saying that David wished the band to continue if this event was to occur and now the band have come out and said they wish to fulfil David's wishes and continue as a band.  I wish them all the best.  And I do hope I can start working my way through Big Big train's back catalogue as if the other albums are up to "Welcome to the planet" standard. They'll be worth a listen.

Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

 

"Black Holes and Revelations" is the 4th album buy UK Devon rockers Muse.  Although I bought the first 3 albums when each of them was released.  I don't actually own this album.  The reason for this was that, at the time I was living with my parents and brother and was at uni.  In our household we didn't see the point of owning multiple copies of the same album.  And in this case my brother beat me to it.  This meant that although I was aware of the singles, I never really gave this album a listen properly as I listened to stuff from my own CD collection. But now as I attempt to review all of the Muse albums, I have been listening to this album quite a bit.

This album was released in 2006 and at this point Muse had already established themselves as a major force in rock music, not just in the UK but all over.  But I think this is the album that really propelled them and secured their status as rock kings and really their legacy was confirmed regardless of what was to come next.   "Absolution" saw them delve into topics such as the apocalypse whereas this album has much more of a feel-good vibe to it.  Also, it is noted while "Absolution" was a decent album, there were tracks which weren't quite up to scratch by Muse's standards.  With "Black Holes..." this is not the case at all.  Quality control is well and truly resumed.  Not every track is a singalong anthem, it is more of balanced album with big hits mixed with solid album tracks.

The big hits from this album though for me were the key for me for them stepping up to headline festivals and playing stadiums.  The likes of "Starlight" with the amazing piano intro and I love how it uses the "Black holes and revelations" in the lyrics and that it’s not the title of the song but is the title of the album.  It is an absolute classic song and rightly a staple of their back catalogue.  "Super Massive Black Hole" is another monster of a track and is currently their most streamed track on Spotify, sitting at 318 million streams.  I think if Matt Bellamy sang every song like he does in this track he would lose his voice pretty quickly but doing it the odd time is what makes this song so special.  The other big track is "Knights of Cydonia".  An epic 6-minute track, and the opening does actually feel like knights on horses galloping along before weaving its way into a mesmerising rock classic.  I would say where Muse let themselves down a bit on their first 3 albums was the lack of a proper album closer but they more than made up for it with "Knights of Cydonia".

To me the three tracks I have mentioned are the big hitters of the album.  But there is so much more to the album to delve into and appreciate than that.  "Soldier's poem" is a nice slow track which is much improved over the slower tracks on "Absolution".  It does feel like it's going to go off an "Everybody hurts" by REM direction from the opening notes before veering away into its own wee world.  "Map of the problematique" has a great groove to it.  "Invincible" another very strong track.  Probably the most interesting and different track on the album is "Hoodoo".  It starts of at a lower tempo, then about midway through, a really cool piano part comes in.  I like the way they played about with the song structure here.  "City of Delusion" is another great track with great strumming, giving the acoustic vibe, before plugging in for the chorus.  Mix this with some strings and you've got a really fine track.

Overall, this is fantastic album, and I would place it as one of the best albums in their discography.  In Spotify it comes out on top in the band’s popular releases section.  But is it better than "Origin of Symmetry"? For me no.  While this album has more larger than life songs, "Origin.." remains their most ambitious album.  I think "Black Holes..." while still having some tracks which are little different, are still Muse to the core, it does feel like they took the option to become big rather than go more experimental and risk their fan base.  But if you were to ask me which the better album is based on all out anthems and the strength of the album tracks, I would probably say "Black Holes...".

Muse - Absolution

 

Released in 2003 "Absolution" is rock trio Muse's third album.  This is a decent album but will also always be remembered for me as an inside joke within my family for years.  I bought the CD when it came out but pretty soon after lost it.  It wasn't until a few years ago when my dad was sorting through my CDs he found it in another CD wallet.  As I say you probably had to be there :-P.  Anyway, this album had it all to do following debut album "Showbiz" and second album "Origin of Symmetry".  Particularly "Origin of Symmetry" which was so full of ambition and potential.  They set the standard very high, and it was intriguing which direction they would take next.

Well although there are not many bands out there like Muse, I do feel they took the safer option with "Absolution".  Going for the big sounding rock songs, in general shorter tracks, mixed in with some slower ballad type songs which were missing from "Origin of Symmetry" but it wasn't to the detriment of the album. Far from it.  To be honest I don't think "Absolution" is their best album but it's not their worse either.  And I think in terms of a steppingstone to make them bigger it worked.  "Time is running out" was their first top ten single at this point and three other singles went inside the top 20 in the UK charts.

Now you have to remember that this was 2003 and streaming services weren't about.  So, singles in the run up to the album really defined the success of the album.  And 3 of the singles in particular - "Time is running out", "Hysteria" and "Stockholm Syndrome" all sound absolutely massive and are huge rock anthems and are still some of Muse's best songs.  So having released these songs as well as having 2 solid albums preceding this; They had more than enough material for a top class set list for touring.  And the "Absolution" tour was the first time I saw Muse.  To be honest I don't remember much from the gig. But I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it.

So, we know the singles really made a difference for Muse but what about the rest of "Absolution". Well, the first track is just named "Intro" and is very short sitting at 20 seconds as it acts like a step ladder into the album with the sound of soldiers marching getting louder and louder until track 2 "Apocalypse Please" comes in with the snappy, dramatic piano playing.  I think the best deep cut of this album is "Small print".  On some of their other albums this could have been released as a single but other diamonds just shone brighter in this album.

But I think the difference with this album compared to their first two albums is that there are tracks on here which I don't look forward to listening to.  Particularly "Blackout" and "Endlessly" which are just so slow and laboured.  On "Showbiz" they had tracks like "Unintended" which showed they can nail these types of tracks, but it feels the two tracks on "Absolution" take the album down a notch.  Another song which may surprise people that disappoints me slightly is "Butterflies and Hurricanes".  This is for me the most ambitious track on the album.  And when you first listen to it and the first few minutes it is great.  Good riff, good vocals etc.  But the piano bridge doesn't work for me at all. The song stops at a point during this too and just sounds a bit of a mess. It’s like it had the potential to be an amazing song but they didn’t quite pull it off.

But I think overall, there is enough on here that it is a good, passable album.  The monster singles carry the album and really secured their place as an arena sized band at this point in their career.  They were always going to reach a point where quality control was going to be tested and I feel some of the tracks on here wouldn't even have made b-sides to singles off their first album. But there you go.  Let's look at the positives though. However, you look at it, this was a key step in Muse's rise to the top.