Prattle

Stephen Malkmus - JoJo’s Jacket
Saw him playing on Monday night, and enjoyed. Only played one song from his first solo album, and filled the rest of the set with his widdly and longer later stuff. Made me long for this.

Islands - J’aime Vous Voir Quitter
Booked to see Islands in a local club some time this year. It was an impulse, really, as I was just surprised to see them coming here. Turns out they’re in town on the same night as the Spinto Band. How annoying. Still, I thought I’d do some revision and listen to their 2008 album “Arm’s Way”. Bit of a surprise, as it turns out to be bloody brilliant. Some complicated, meandering songs on there, but it’s rather uplifting and multi-layered. Pitchfork reckon it’s a step back from their debut, as it’s more commercial. However, for most of us, this is good news. The first album was a bit too messy and light on memorable tunes. This one isn’t.

Jim Noir - Happy Day Today
I sang a Jim Noir song in the Karaoke palace in Tokyo, and bought his second album in the record shop round the corner the next day. It’s not as good as his first, but it does contain this anthem. SFA/Beach Boys harmonies and washy vocals. Summer. Where was that?

Phantom Planet - Leader
Another one I bought in Japan, not knowing that it was out. Since getting back, I’ve listened to the album a lot, and found it to be very enjoyable. His voice can get a bit tiring eventually, as he seems to be shouting everything, but I do like the riff in this.

Shortwave Set - Now til ‘69
This was on 6Music quite a lot when I last spent any time listening to it. Pleasantly New Pornographersesque, perhaps?

Bloc Party - Mercury
What? Never fully convinced by Bloc Party, but the new album at least shows a willingness to do something different. Maybe not different from everyone else (half of it sounds like the Chemical Brothers, or the Prodigy), but certainly different from the music that made Bloc Party a success. I like this a lot. Entertaining brass.

Manchester Orchestra - I’d Rather Have
Didn’t make it onto their debut album, a couple of years ago, but it’s just as well. The album was worse than the preceding demos/EPs, and they seemed to increase the Jesus presence when they recorded it. So I’ll still listen to the relatively Jesusless stuff from this time, but the later stuff makes me a little uncomfortable. He’s not in this one, so you don’t have to put on your special clothing.

Johnny Flynn - Tickle Me Pink
Look, I know. He’s smug and annoying. The couplets (indeed, the lyrics) in this are embarrassing. But I do get caught up in the tune. Oh, it looks like we’re going to see him as well. Whose idea was that? I’m not sure I’ll be able to stand the smugness.

David Byrne and Brian Eno - Strange Overtones
How did this happen? It should be awful, but it’s great. I find it quite calming.

The Peth - Let’s Go Fucking Mental
Rhys Ifans and Dafydd Ieuan (SFA drummer) plus a number of other shitfaced coke-heads. Again, I expected this to be unlistenable crap, and you may still think it is. You’ll be wrong, though. Mark it in your Wrong column, so we can tot things up at the end of the year.

Click here to download the file directly. I’d rather you subscribed, though, so I can see what platforms people are using, etc. Feedburner seem to have changed their service, so you might just have to copy the URL (http://feeds.feedburner.com/Prattle) into your chosen RSS reader or Podcast software e.g. iTunes.

And breathe. No gigs for a number of days, now. Time to enjoy the sunshine, if I can find a tall enough ladder.