''A U R O R A'' Ben Frost - A Review

Australian composer and avant-garde musician Ben Frost has found underground success on Icelandic label Bedroom Community over the past decade while releasing film soundtracks on the side, but on A U R O R A Frost is leaving his strings and orchestral arrangements aside for a trippy electronic experiment that is never straightforward.

Things kick off with ''Flex'', an unsettling, rising beat that leads into the dangerously intense soundscape of ''Nolan'', a track of hypnotic ferocity that threatens to melt your brain before it thankfully cools into a somewhat smoother outro. From there comes the contrasting ''Teeth'', a hissed, near silent track that feels necessary after the burnout your mind will still be experience from the previous 7 minute storm of the second track, but Frost doesn't stay quiet for long as ''Secant'' reveals itself to be another acid inspired freak out which somehow blurs the line between bliss and terror in a manner that needs to be heard to be believed.

On the album's most relatively conventional note and best moment, ''Venter'' starts slowly before building on it's light percussion by carefully lacing church bells together with the kind of feedback sound that seems to permeate the entire record, before the track descends into what could only be described as music you would imagine a species from another planet may dance to. Taken as a whole, ''Venter'' demonstrates the greatest balance of all Frost's surreal instrumentation with standard conventions and showcases how effective the artist can be when meshing his style with traditional music rather than trying to make our eardrums bleed (see ''Nolan'' and ''Secant'', tracks so heavy that they share a greater relationship with thrash metal than any kind of dance form).

Further on the track list, ''No Sorrowing'' is another example of less is more with a single synth dominating the track, and while ''Sola Fide'' is similarly all consuming to earlier instances of heavy electronica, it's a more pleasant, somewhat lighter experience than the others. Continuing the mild outro, at least by Frost's standards, is closer ''A Single Point Of Blinding Light'' which comes off sounding like a laser show but in a warm, almost playful ending.

On your completion of A U R O R A you should be suitably exhausted by the mind altering nature of these 9 highly intense tracks, but whether the mind numbing quality of these 40 minutes is a positive or negative element depends entirely on your own interpretation. If you want an experience akin to a horror film or hallucinogenic drug then strap in and lose yourself to Ben Frost, but for the music fan more concerned with melody and emotion rather than effect, Frost's extremities can seem provocative rather than purposeful.

6.5

Snoop Dogg at The Academy (11/6/14) - A Review

Following a thankfully brief time where Calvin Broadus decided he wanted to create reggae music and began referring to himself as Snoop Lion, he's back to his old self as the gin and juice sippin' pimp we all came to know and love over the past two decades, and it was in his original persona that Snoop visited The Academy last night for what would best be described as a greatest hits tour.

After a lengthy warm up by the touring band and DJ who blared classics like ''California Love'' and ''Still D.R.E'', we're finally graced with the rapper's presence for a reggae opener taken from his most recent project before ''Tha Shiznit'' gets the house jumping to really set things off as Snoop delivered his sensationally laid back flow over a 90's Dre beat (in spite of it suffering from slightly poor sound quality, an issue throughout). There's a mix of tracks over the course of Snoop's introduction, showcasing a range of sides to the legendary figure, from the funky R&B of ''Up's & Down's'', 213 track ''I'm Fly'', a 50 Cent cover of ''P.I.M.P'' that goes that down predicatbly well with the crowd and new chart favourite collaboration with Jason Derulo ''Wiggle''. Snoop was made by his extraordinary flow and gangsta rap persona though, and it's these tracks that genuine fans will have come to see- ''Lodi Dodi'' is an excellent out take from 1991 debut (and best record by a mile) Doggystyle while ''Gin And Juice'' is an obvious highlight of the night, but it becomes increasingly clear over the course of the set that many of the fans in attendance aren't exactly hip hop connoisseurs, with a waning response to rap classics that deserve the biggest pop.

At several times throughout the night there are telling signs of the kind of songs that these fans want to hear, and Snoop obliges them with his features on the likes of Katy Perry's ''California Girls'' and David Guetta's ''Wet'' before even subjecting us to a ludicrous cover of Britney Spears' ''I Love Rock'n'Roll''. These chart hits go down a treat with the audience but they're certainly alienating to the hardcore rap fan who has actually followed Snoop's discography rather than a number of features that were by and large a cash in for Broadus. It's a credit to Snoop's persona though that he keeps both sides interested with his call and response techniques that bring the crowd into each tune, and there are plenty of compromises to be had song wise too, with ''The Next Episode'' bringing the house down in the moment of the night before the set is ended with a feel good element by ''Young, Wild & Free'' and Bob Marley's ''Jammin''.

Ultimately it was a strange kind of night in the Academy, and perhaps a telling one for the rap star who seems to be settling down into middle age and enjoying his fame with chart success and major exposure coming over the more substance filled rap of his 90's career. While it may have been a night more suited to the casual fan, there was enough rap highlights taken from Snoop's lengthy career to pull it through, and this showcase of the path of Calvin Broadus can be summarized best the same way his music career can; perhaps a little inconsistent, without a doubt entertaining, and always incredibly fun.

6

Rate The Albums: Arctic Monkeys

I'm bringing back an old feature of mine for summer 2014 as I take a look at some of my favourite artists and rank their discography from best to worst. My previous lists are still available to view on the site- they include Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith, Death Cab For Cutie and Bloc Party.

I'm kicking off things with one of the biggest bands in the world right now, who are set to hit Dublin in just over a weeks time, Sheffield's finest export Arctic Monkeys. Since arriving in style with the fastest selling debut album in British history back in 2006, the band have continually evolved throughout the course of their 5 studio releases with varying results. Last year's AM was celebrated as perhaps the peak of the group's powers as they topped various Best Of 2013 lists and walked away with numerous awards both at home and abroad for their work, but is it in fact the band's greatest moment? Here's my own countdown:

5. Suck It And See (2011)

The band's fourth album is perhaps their most overlooked- from the nearly blank cover and lack of major promotion to it's straightforward vintage rock style, Suck It And See seemed to be released with more of a whimper than a bang. Perhaps these reasons have led to the record earning dubious honour of being the Monkeys most underrated too, and unfairly so- standing at just 40 minutes short, Suck It is indeed a minimized, simpler rock release than the rest of the band's catalogue but it's also a wonderfully smooth, assured collection of classic rock'n'roll songs that hinted towards the style Alex Turner and the lads would embrace on AM last year with greater conviction and purpose.

Best Tracks: She's Thunderstorms/Black Treacle/The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala

4. Humbug (2009)

In contrast to Suck It, the release of Humbug in 2009 was met with strong interest for it's controversial departure from the signature sound that the Sheffield band utilized so effectively on their initial album duo. In truth though, this was the sound of a band maturing with a confident and fearless attitude, and while Humbug is far from the Arctics best work, it deserves huge praise for shifting the band's tone with skill, allowing them to progress on the records that followed and in their future output, making it a majorly significant moment in the band's discography.

Best Tracks: My Propeller/Crying Lightning/Cornerstone

3. Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Following one of the greatest British debuts of the 21st century is no easy feat, but the band assured doubters that they were the real deal with Favourite Worst Nightmare just a year after their groundbreaking first album. Nightmare showed a greater awareness for melody and developing themes of emotion that were key to its success, as Alex Turner in particular proved he was far more than just a one trick songwriter with tender moments such as ''Only Ones Who Know'' and ''505'' complimenting the usual banger's such as ''Do Me A Favour'' and ''Teddy Picker''. Most impressively, the band's sophomore release avoided any kind of negative comparison with their earlier work while retaining an unmistakably Arctic Monkeys niche that satisfied old fans and won plenty of new followers.

Best Track: Fluorescent Adolescent/Only Ones Who Know/505

2. AM (2013)

Released to the public in September of last year, AM immediately took it's rightful place atop many critics and music fans lists for one of the best albums of the year, and it's no wonder why- it seemed that for all the searching the band had done over the course of Humbug and Suck It they had found a perfected, definitive sound that blended old and new Arctic Monkeys with silky smoothness and undeniable flair. It's a stellar work of music that can be built on, and crucially, feels like it surely will. Perhaps the best thing you could say about AM is that inspires belief that Arctic Monkeys will improve from here, and considering the previous albums mentioned that's quite a statement to make, and a truly exciting prospect.

When asked about the title pre-release, Alex Turner replied with a knowing smile, claiming he'd ripped it from the Velvet Underground's 1985 complilation VU: ''Did we cop out? Yeah, but something about it feels like this record is exactly where we should be right now. So it felt right just to initial it.'' It's an insightful comment, and while he might be laughing at the complacency of those initials himself, in reality, it couldn't have been named anything else.

That old rock'n'roll, eh?

Best Tracks: Do I Wanna Know?/R U Mine?/I Wanna Be Yours

1. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)

For all the highs and hijinks that have come since, it really would be a major achievement for Arctic Monkeys to ever top their debut album. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was hyped like no other album pre-release this decade and it delivered with style and then some on its arrival, landing with a splash that woke the rest of the country and sparked a rock revival similar to The Strokes in America.

The unconventional nature of the band's popularity through online sources such as MySpace was celebrated as a watershed moment in modern music and the significance of that statement is only truly setting in now as we see just how modern audiences have shifted in droves to the internet for their aural intake. But don't let that overshadow the raw brilliance of the music itself- Whatever was packed with the kind of intensity that can only be found in a hungry teenage band like the Monkeys were at the time, and their unsculpted passion resulted in a sound comparable to the Grunge and Britpop movements for its incomparable energy and force.

Buried within the guitars were the words of Alex Turner, bursting with wit, intelligence and an underlying apathy as he examined youth culture and society in Britain through the loose concept of a Saturday night and Sunday morning in Sheffield. The definitive track of the album, and the greatest moment of the band's career comes in ''A Certain Romance'', a tender reminiscence on the teenage years that Turner spent in the English suburbs long before he transformed into the greaser rock star we known him as today.

''There's only music so that there's new ringtones'' he laments about half way through the final track, and it's a painfully accurate description of the British rock music landscape at the time of his writing, before the likes of Arctic Monkeys came along and injected a sorely needed amount of soul into the industry with their brand of post-punk, garage rock on their stunning, and as yet unbeatable debut album.

Best Tracks: A View From The Afternoon/When The Sun Goes Down/A Certain Romance

Next Up: Kanye West

''In Conflict'' Owen Pallett - A Review

Owen Pallett is a name that tends to be overlooked when we talk about The Arcade Fire, but the quiet Montreal native's impressive solo output as well as his Oscar nomination alongside Win Butler for Best Score this year would suggest that Pallett is far more than a background character, and in fact a major player within one of greatest band's of this generation. The melodic, expressive string pieces that make up Pallett's first three albums seem to be derived from his criminally unrated orchestral work for the band, and so it follows that Pallett's solo work has so far been a quiet but undeniably quality affair, and one which has drawn critical approval if not commercial success.

Having dropped the Final Fantasy moniker for Heartland in 2010, Pallett is back under his own name for In Conflict, his fourth record and one which interestingly employs the talents of Brian Eno on synth and guitar, suggesting a possible stylistic change for the Canadian, who usually can;t be found without a violin by his side. ''I Am Not Afraid'' opens like standard Pallett but sure enough breaks off for a dreamy synth interlude before linking back up with the rest of the song in a strong intro, while the title track confirms Pallett will be substituting his strings for synths in major parts of the album as warm electronic textures wrap themselves around ''In Conflict'', creating a weird dancey vibe as the track develops with great results. Early highlights such as this are aplenty, with ''Song For Five & Six'' showcasing laser like synths that bury Pallett's vocal underneath a set of sci-fi sounds recalling a male Grimes more than just a little bit.

There are still plenty of string arrangements to go around on tracks like ''On A Path'' which are backed solely by a drum machine and Pallett's violin, while ''The Passions'' is a somber affair that slows the midsection down in quite a lovely manner, stuck between ''The Secret Seven'' and ''The Sky Behind The Flag'', two pieces which make a point of building themselves with purpose before resolving without the expected climax, although their respective journeys are satisfying enough anyway. Brief string intersection ''→, Part 1'' introduces us to the closing chapters of In Conflict which kick off with ''The Riverbed'', a drum heavy, louder side to the album that almost sounds like the answer to the aforementioned climax that ''Seven'' and ''Sky'' were searching for, before major highlight ''Infernal Fantasy'' interupts the tracklist with a glorious, chaotic electronic mess that threatens to implode on itself in an unexpected turn of events which has Eno written all over it. Following ''Fantasy'' we're brought to a gentle close by ''Soldier's Rock'' before ''→, Part 2'' ends In Conflict fittingly with another string arrangement shrouded in synth.

And so In Conflict showcases its songwriter modestly progressing in an intriguing new direction with precision and confidence. In typical style this is a humble offering from Pallett but throughout In Conflict are glimses that hint at a more ambitious artist, one who is capable of expanding on an already solid catalogue. It would be fair to say that In Conflict marks the best solo work of Owen Pallett's career (perhaps challenged by debut Has A Good Home under the FF moniker), but you get the feeling that the always reliable and eternally reserved Pallett potentially has his best work ahead of him yet, a suspicion confirmed by this collection of electro tinged tracks which showcase a skillful development in sound.

8.1

''I Never Learn'' Lykke Li - A Review

Since she debuted on the music scene in 2008, Lykke Li has won a fair amount of praise for her electro tinged indie tunes, most notably for standout single ''I Follow Rivers'' which charted highly around Europe throughout 2011 and 2012. Her most successful release to date was a club friendly offering for sure, but mid way through 2014 Li has left behind the synths and drum machines in favour of her acoustic guitar for I Never Learn, her third record and one which she describes as dealing with "the biggest breakup of her life". Furthermore, Li claims that I Never Learn is the album which she feels will define her artistry and truly establish her place in the industry, a claim which proves to be prophetic throughout these 9 sorrowful ballads.

It's clear from the very beginning that this is very much the product of a badly broken heart as Li opens proceedings with the glooming, atmospheric title track, introducing us to the dark, brooding nature of the album before a wave of strings bring the opener to a skillful finish and ''No Rest For The Wicked'' showcases some single material with its anthemic chorus, albeit it for its same bleak nature which is exposed in cold piano twitches and the powerful vocal of Li, who almost sighs her painfully honest lyrics through the speaker with admissions like ''I let my true love die'' burning the listener's ear. Similiarly, ''Gunshot'' sounds chart friendly through its pounding, relatively up tempo style but it still manages to carry the all consuming, inescapable despair of the album with ease. ''Just Like A Dream'' makes for another first half highlight, reflecting its title with a distant, echoed vocal that reverberates deep within and lends a deep resonance to Li's lyrics due to her tired singing throughout.

Speaking of Li's vocal, it would be impossible not to mention ''Love Me Like I'm Not Made Of Stone'', an intriguing solo ballad that marks the songwriter's best performance of the album without doubt as she supports herself with stunning lyrical accompaniment to a single, tuneless acoustic guitar. Following the album's darkest moment comes its closest brush with a traditional pop song, although ''Never Gonna Love Again'' proves to be an ugly version of a 90's style ballad with its typically black lyrics standing in stark contrast to the uplifting chords it utilizes, coming off like some kind of twisted relative to Savage Garden's ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' and making it one of the most memorable pieces of the album by creating a weirdly beautiful contradiction through its misleading sound.

Once again, penultimate track ''Heart Of Steel'' would have been another contender for chart success if it weren't for the self depreciating tongue Li uses on herself in an almost celebratory, sinister manner. There's nothing sinister about the final moments of I Never Learn with ''Sleeping Alone'' however, a stunningly insight into Li's struggle to live by herself following her lost lover. ''Alone'' is a perfect end, painfully tugging at heartstrings with its painfully stabbed piano chords and emotional honesty, defining the message that Li communicates so wonderfully throughout the entirety of her 3rd release.

On conclusion, I Never Learn is a beautiful ode to the lonely, fractured, weak personality that can overtake anyone in a post relationship state. With its immersive, mesmerizing mood and acoustic tenderness, I Never Learn invites comparison to another break up masterpiece in Beck's Sea Change, coming off like a younger sister to one of Hansen's magnum opus', high praise indeed for an artist who has yet to reach their thirties. If Lykke Li was looking to establish herself in the industry with I Never Learn, she can consider this album an unbridled success- within a whirlwind 32 mins, Li presents herself as a developing songwriter with maturity beyond her years, creating music with depth, integrity, raw power and emotional impact.

8.8

''Indie Cindy'' Pixies - A Review

In many ways, this was doomed from the start. Pixies released some of the greatest alternative rock known to man throughout the late 80's and early 90's, and the magic captured inside those 4 LP's has seen the band rise to God-like status in the music industry, credited by countless bands (among them such small names as Nirvana, Radiohead and Pavement) as their reason for existence. Outside their massive impact upon the music scene itself, the Pixies fan base has steadily grown since their parting of ways in 1993, and so too has the unanimous acclaim that the band now commands upon their very mention in critics circles.

And so the question really has to be why- specifically why now, 23 years after the band bowed out with Trompe Le Monde, did Pixies feel the need to give us Indie Cindy? A gap of two decades between albums for any band is going to be problematic, but Pixies seem to have only raised more questions and eyebrows in the process of releasing their fifth effort than actually settling any stomachs about the impending arrival of new material, much less get us excited about it all. First and foremost there's the fact that this is not unheard work- the tracks that make up Cindy consist largely of 3 EP's that were released over the past year to mainly lukewarm reception, making the full album format seem almost totally unnecessary. On top of that there's the absence of co-founder Kim Deal and a frankly dodgy title thrown into the already lame mix, adding to the suspicion that this will not be a classic Pixies comeback, or even a very good album at all.

Cindy kicks off pretty well though with ''What Goes Boom'', an opener that briefly inspires hope
by bringing the heavy/soft dynamics of ''Gouge Away'' and more classics back into play, but this optimistic outlook doesn't last long. In fact, it comes crashing down with ''Greens And Blues'', an indie pop style ballad that has no rightful place in the band's catalogue. Alongside the title track, this kind of indistinct mush comes off more like a parody or cover band more than the original thing. ''Bagboy'', the first track released post reunion, isn't terribly bad but average at best, and really should have acted as an initial warning to Frank Black not to follow up on this ill advised venture.

When the band stop pussy footing around and go back to heavier roots as with ''What Goes Boom'' things improve, like with ''Magdalena 318'', another rocker the like of which the band would have done well to fill Cindy out with, rather than the slower, plod along tunes that make up the majority of the track list (I'm looking at you, ''Silver Snail'' and ''Andro Queen''). The softer side of Cindy isn't completely unbearable in small doses- ''Ring The Bell'' is a gentle surf rock tune that's pleasant on the ears, but it's impossible to escape the thought throughout this 3 minute pleaser that it could have benefited hugely from Deal's presence. But surrounding ''Bell'' on the tracklist is evidence that rocking out doesn't always work for Black and co. here either- ''Another Toe In The Ocean'' and ''Blue Eyed Hexe'' again sound like the attempt of a band to cover their former, more inspired selves with diminishing results.

As we thankfully approach the end of the album, Pixies gift us with their worst track yet in ''Snakes'', a simply amateur attempt at pop/rock that's about as forgettable as Sum 41 filler, which is a fitting description considering that it sounds the kind of material which should have ended up stuck in the middle of a lowly pop-punk album in the early 2000's. ''Jaime Bravo'' closes shop with an inoffensive wave of guitars that neither adds to nor takes away from the numbness any Pixies faithful should be feeling right about the moment Indie Cindy concludes and the band, exhausted from trying to catch up with their younger selves, gratefully bow out and exit stage.

What more is there to say about Indie Cindy? Not a whole lot that can't be heard by pressing play and exposing yourself to the shadows of Frank Black, Joey Santiago and Dave Lovering on this tired, draining return for the legendary group. Certainly there were many signs that Cindy would be a let down, and unfortunately they've proven to be so very sad but true, as the band cap their wonderful career with an unmistakable black mark. Perhaps the most depressing thing about it all is that it just didn't have to be this way- in 23 years the Pixies had done nothing but age gracefully and win generation after generation of new fans with a near flawless output. But in 2014, for reasons that will remain a mystery, Pixies have scarred themselves with an album that's many things (weak, confused, careless, miscalculated) but most of, totally and utterly pointless.

3.7

''Definitely Maybe: Remastered'' Oasis - A Review

''Never be afraid of the obvious, it's all been done before.''

That Noel Gallagher quote right there is what Oasis built themselves around since day one. The unashamedly working class, in your face rock music that they emerged with 20 years ago to this day has been paraded around the world on stadium tours to the masses ever since, and two decades after Definitely Maybe hit record stores we're left in a temporarily Oasis-less world, making this a better time than ever to capitalize on the success of the feuding brothers in the first place.

The story of Liam and Noel's confrontational relationship only added to the traditional rock'n'roll band persona that they pushed since the start, and whenever critics felt like taking a pop they only had to point to the brothers Beatlemania obsession and its domineering impact on their discography to accuse them of plagiarizing their way to their iconic status, but that was always nonsense. The truth is that someone has to be that big band, and for the last twenty years Oasis have played the part with aplomb. They were aware of it from the start too (the first song on the album is called ''Rock'N'Roll Star'', come on), and when you revise it on this remastered version, from the sound of Definitely Maybe, they were ready to become legends from the very beginning.

We're introduced to Oasis with a defiant statement on their desire for success, delivered by the snarled drawl that would become so synonymous with Liam backed by Noel's simple yet strong lyrics and a heavy mix of guitar and drums. ''Rock'N'Roll Star'' and ''Shakermaker'' are effective intro's and both made for great singles, but listening to the opening sounds of ''Live Forever'' on track three will transport you back inside the world of the band so quickly that you'll remember in an instant why they're so celebrated if you were ever in doubt. The standout single, which reached as far as No 2 on the US Billboard even back in 1995, is still without doubt among the band's finest, and alongside ''Supersonic'', one of the greatest songs of the 1990's. Noel stated at the time that he wrote it as a counter act to the Grunge explosion and it's downer attitude taking place within rock music at the time, and both tracks were vital in delivering the UK and eventually the rest of the world with a new scene, and something to believe in following Kurt Cobain's passing and the eventual death of the Seattle born genre soon afterward.

Speaking of Grunge though, it's somewhat ironic that the band fought against and eventually succeeded their American counterparts when you consider tracks like ''Up In The Sky'' and ''Bring It On Down'' that most certainly took a leaf or two from the aforementioned style of the 90's with a sped up pace and distorted guitar showcasing that Noel was never afraid to mix and match something he liked to his own music, even if he'd typically end up trashing it in the press afterward. Other major highlights are the ones that show the softer side to the band- ''Slide Away'' and ''Married With Children'', the album's closing tracks, suggest the kind of maturity that would eventually manifest itself in the group's magnum opus ''Champagne Supernova'' a couple of years later, but as Definitely Maybe comes to a smooth, almost humbling end, it's obvious that the band were destined for glory all the way back in '94.

The best, and simplest, way to summarize Definitely Maybe is with another Noel Gallagher quote, one in which he claimed  "I've pretty much summed up everything I wanted to say in "Rock 'n' Roll Star", "Live Forever" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol'', after that I'm repeating myself, but in a different way". Maybe that's a dismissive way to put it, but maybe he's right too- what came afterwards got better, worse and leveled out to some extent but the message, the attitude and the style of it all remained the same, and that's why at its heart Definitely Maybe, while not Oasis' best album, is probably their most definitive. It's one that celebrates the band, their fans and its culture like no other while capturing British rock in the 90's like lightening in a bottle, and that's enough for it to qualify as one of many seminal recordings in a landmark decade of music.

This reissue is certainly going to give fans a reminder why they still want Noel, Liam and Oasis to exist in peace, and the fact is that there's more reason to hope than ever since they called it a day in 2009 if you're to believe Liam's cryptic Twitter account. You might never hear the results of the band stepping into a studio again (and maybe that's a not a total loss) but twenty years on it's hard to believe we won't be hearing the band launch into ''Rock'n'Roll Star'', ''Live Forever'' and ''Supersonic'' again sometime in the near future, and that will be a very welcome sound to the legion of fans that Oasis originally won in 1994 with this brash, instinctive debut record.


8.9