» Music Reviews: Dartz, Travis, Born Ruffians & more
Teeside three-piece Dartz took a temporary sabbatical from music while trying to finish their studies at university, but the lure of making and playing is too strong. Hence, new mini-album The Sad History of the Village of Albnerique, a collection of angular, almost discordant neopop numbers reminiscent of the post-punk era but also incessantly modern. Not so many A-grade winners as on their debut but this is a consistently driven and dynamic work.
Sometimes unfairly maligned, the hugely popular Travis are popular for good reason – they write great songs, full of strong melodies and often with a pleasing melancholic undertow (my aunt had ‘Flowers in the Window’ played at her funeral).
This time around the guitars are more urgent, and it’s plain that the band want to rock out more. It’s not necessarily a good thing though, making them sound only like a decent pubrock band.
Canada’s Born Ruffians are a three-piece dedicated to making gorgeous indie, alternating between the melodic lo-fi and somewhat offbeat indie, and a more experimental version often featuring many harmonies and acapellas. Their The Little Garcon Ep is out at the end of the month.
Signed to Brighton’s Skint Records, Little Man Tate unleash their second album, the frenzied indie pop Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy. Very catchy, almost 60s-esque in places.
There’s so much new music around at the moment with bands ladling on the psychedelia, it’s difficult to see how Elktooth, Colorado’s David Eugene Edwards, A.K.A Wovenhand, can stand out. On Ten Stones, recorded with various Danielson alumni, there’s a fair helping of anti-folk atmospherics amongst the balls-out rock haze. Though a highly accomplished release (and Edwards a talented performer) with some moments of otherworldly majesty, there’s little that’s original on offer here.
Inhabiting a slightly less intense musical realm are San Diego’s The Donkeys, on their debut album Living on the Other Side. Evoking all those great Californian sounds of old, Beach Boys-style deceptively chirpysounding melancholy combined with Eagles highway country guitar. Neil Young’s spirit meanders throughout, though weak vocals and a derivative sound let down this otherwise amiable release.
There’s a little space left for a quick single review, so along comes Sigur Ros’ latest effort, ‘Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur’, which translates as ‘Within Me a Lunatic Sings’. Like the Icelandic band’s slow-burn classicalinfluenced indie tunes, their career has quietly been building up to a big, glorious crescendo. Now a big name, this joyous track celebrates life with a pounding exuberance more energetic than Sigur Ros’ earlier sometimes pompous posturing.
