Review: Slow Focus - Fuck Buttons

[REPRODUCED FROM MY REVIEW FOR HOOTING AND HOWLING MAGAZINE]

Championed for their use of drone techniques with electronics and experimentalism, most agreed that Fuck Buttons seemed only to be going from strength to strength after two exceptionally satisfying albums, especially on their last outing, ‘Tarot Sport‘. ‘Slow Focus‘ serves as the third, and it is a mixed affair.

Review: Either/Or - Elliot Smith

1997. Either/Or is an album by the late Elliott Smith. Generally considered to be his crowning achievement, the 12 cuts range from intimate, lo-fi arrangements to jaunty alt-pop (though the latter type is less prevalent than the former.) The album is perhaps united by Elliott’s observational technique and anger, confusion or disdain that usually follows.

Review: Swordfishtrombones - Tom Waits

1983. Second to only Rain Dogs in Tom Waits legend, Swordfishtrombones is usually considered the first in Waits’ departure from the more typical, classical piano-ballads of his earlier works (though this change had been implied on 1980′s Heartattack and Vine.) Swordfishtrombones is effectively a masterpiece – Waits curates a range of styles; jazz, blues, hard rock – lots of horns and cymbals – and harnesses these styles to create an album of 15 songs that is as much an ‘experience’ as many other experimental classics.

Review: Goodbye and Hello - Tim Buckley

1967. Goodbye and Hello seems to be the most well-known release of Tim Buckley’s canon, the point where his folk and rock reached it zenith and he began to incorporate jazz and psychedelic grooves. The result is one of the most emphatic albums in memory, equally audacious and spectacular.

Review: Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan

1966. Bob Dylan is the musical enigma that rightfully heralds the attention of anyone and everyone who considers themselves a serious music listener. It is almost unavoidable to miss the acclaim of Highway 61 Revisited or escape the allure of Bringing It All Back Home. Blonde on Blonde is perhaps the album that unites most of the styles Dylan that had shown over his earlier albums. The contents of Blonde on Blonde are grand but range from heart-on-sleeve tales to blues rockers and slightly bashful numbers. Visions Of Johanna, I Want You and Stuck Inside a Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again are particular early highlights while the longing Absolutely Sweet Marie and the sincere balladry of Temporary Like Achilles make up the best of the later sections. I Want You and Most Likely You Go Your Way also mark Dylan’s newer ability to create just as much with a song in a shorter runtime. It isn’t Dylan’s best album in that all 14 tracks are by no means all classics; Obviously 5 Believers is a kind of throwaway blues number and Pledging My Time is a little too harmonica-heavy and of B-side quality to make much real effect. Mostly, though, the album maintains the classic status it associates. Must-have.

8.7/10

Tracklist (picks in bold, duds in italics)
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Pledging My Time
Visions Of Johanna
One Of Must Know (Sooner or Later)
I Want You
Stuck Inside a Mobile with The Memphis Blues Again
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Just Like A Woman
Most Likely You’ll Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
Temporary Like Achilles
Absolutely Sweet Marie
4th Time Around
Obviously 5 Believers
Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands

Review: London Calling - The Clash

The Clash's canon is peculiar in the fact that it doesn't particularly represent, critically, what you'd expect from 'one of the best bands of all time.' Conventionally, when that title is fitted to a band, you tend to see a relatively flawless catalogue, bequeathed with titles and accolades from critics and fans alike. What makes The Clash still so interesting is that much of their work is still contested to this day - the band produced six records - the material ranging from punk to reggae to even white rap and forays into dub. And while it is generally considered that the band's first effort The Clash is up their with the great punk efforts (and works of the 70s), it is the band's 1979 offering of London Calling that chronicles the most attention and praise.