BEST OF 2006

ALBUMS

BRAKES - 'THE BEATIFIC VISIONS' (Rough Trade)
Following up last years 'Give Blood' record, 'The Beatific Visions' proved to be a slightly more focused, yet none the less rocking affair - clocking in at just under 30 minutes of superbly chaotic country punk to keep everyone suitably entertained with shouts of 'SPIKEY SPIKEY' for a good while to come.
www.brakesbrakesbrakes.com

SPARKLEHORSE - 'DREAMT FOR LIGHT YEARS IN THE BELLY OF A MOUNTAIN' (Capitol)
The enigmatic Mark Linkous somehow managed to follow up the stunning 'Its a Wonderful Life' with this - an enchanting and mysterious collection of songs, that in perfect Sparklehorse fashion proved to be a heady mix of the beautiful and downright odd.
www.sparklehorse.com

EUROS CHILDS - 'CHOPS' (Witchita)
Debut solo effort from ex Gorkys main-man that doesn't stray too far from the playful path of the early Gorkys sound. Folk-pop combined with the odd psychedelic experiment and some wonderfully simple yet effective songs about seagulls, donkeys, pigmys and all manner of things in between.
www.euroschilds.com

TREECREEPER - 'GRAIN' (Ironweed Recordings)
The debut effort from London's Americana / Country influenced Treecreeper proved to be a reflective, and in parts rocking collection of songs, all rounded off with frontman Will Burns' world weary lyrical drawl, and sounding something like the middle ground between the Screaming Trees and Neil Young.
www.treecreepermusic.co.uk

JARVIS COCKER - 'JARVIS' (Rough Trade)
With a little help from Richard Hawley and ex Pulp man Steve Mackey, Jarvis returned with a first solo record packed full of simply brilliant pop music and trademark lyrical tales of middle England. Melody and craft coupled with energy and spirit - this record is right up there with Pulp at the peak of their powers. It was good to have him back.
www.myspace.com/jarvspace

THE LEMONHEADS - 'THE LEMONHEADS' (Vagrant)
Roping in ex Descendants Bill Stevenson and Karl Alvarez, Evan Dando's reformed Lemonheads were back doing what they do best - effortlessly catchy power pop. Incandescent harmonies, lazily immediate, catchy songs and crunching guitars, it was like they'd never been away.
www.thelemonheads.net

TOM WAITS - 'ORPHANS: BRAWLERS, BAWLERS AND BASTARDS'
A staggering 3 CD set, each disc sticking to a different musical style - yes, it can only have been Tom Waits. Comprising of 54 songs - song brand new, some rarities, there was plenty of gems to be found amongst the bar room haze of this record, made by a man who through his songs celebrates life, and somehow draws happiness from the gloom.
www.myspace.com/tomwaits

THIRTY POUNDS OF BONE - 'THE HOMESICK CHILDREN OF MIGRANT MOTHERS' (Drift)
Thirty Pounds Of Bone cleverly managed to combine the dreaminess of Sparklehorse, the intimacy of Will Oldham and the sentimentality of Shane MacGowan on their debut record - in the process creating dark and intimate modern folk songs. Yes, its essentially folk music but approached from a challenging and interesting dimension.
www.myspace.com/thirtypoundsofbone

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - 'WE SHALL OVERCOME: THE SEEGER SESSIONS' (Sony)
When Bruce when Bluegrass. Gathering together a mighty 11 piece bluegrass band, Springsteen hand picked his favourite American folk tales made famous by legendary folkie Pete Seeger, transforming them into something hugely joyous and uplifting. About as far removed from the E-Steet Band as it was possible to get and all the better for it.
www.brucespringsteen.net

MIDLAKE - 'TRIALS OF VAN OCCUPANTHER' (Bella Union)
Pastoral rock songs wrapped in subtle charm that perfectly envisages Midlake's vision of a beautifully natural and wild existence. Songs about hermits, chasing deer and bandits all combined to make an enchanting and refreshingly different album that progressed perfectly from their Grandaddy inspired 2002 debut.
www.midlake.net

SINGLES

MISTYS BIG ADVENTURE - 'FASHION PARADE' (Sunday Best)
A tongue in cheek ridicule of the current 'bland age' of music all wrapped up and cunningly disguised as an eccentrically bouncy and quite brilliant upbeat pop song. Extra top marks for featuring Noddy Holder and for surgically removing the piss out of the Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand. Listen and rejoice.
www.mistysbigadventure.co.uk

ACTRESS HANDS - 'HALF AN HOUR' (Life Is Easy Records)
From Brighton, Actress Hands offered up a glorious Wedding Present inspired slab of scuzzy, fast paced guitar rock - complete with some effortlessly catchy chord progressions and breezy vocal harmonies. All in under two minutes.
www.actresshandsmusic.co.uk

CAMERA OBSCURA - 'LETS GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY' (Elefant Records)
Enchantingly twee, heartfelt Scottish pop - a countrified take on the sound of The Pastels et al with more than a nod to the current crop of breezy Swedish acts such as The Concretes.
www.camera-obscura.net

MONSTER BOBBY - 'HEAVEN HIDES NOTHING' (Remake / Remodel Records)
A short, nostalgic tale of longing, set to strummed acoustic guitar and scattered electronic effects - highlighting perfectly Bobby's wonderfully unconventional vision of pop music. Like a one man Magnetic Fields from the South of England.
www.myspace.com/monsterbobby

RESTLESSLIST - 'BUTLIN BREAKS' (Life Is Easy Records)
A mind-bending concoction of instrumental post rock and dancefloor electronica was the debut single from Restlesslist. Lavishly cinematic, yet rocking as hell at the same time, this was a great intro the weird and wonderful world of 'the 'list'.
www.restlesslist.co.uk

GIGS

SUBURBAN KIDS WITH BIBLICAL NAMES - Jamm, Brixton

MISTYS BIG ADVENTURE + RESTLESSLIST - Pressure Point, Brighton

MIDLAKE - Hanbury Ballroom, Brighton

SPARKLEHORSE - Old Market, Hove

EUROS CHILDS + THE POPPYCOCKS - Hanbury Ballroom, Brighton

BRAKES - Pavillion theatre, Brighton

THE LEMONHEADS - Concorde 2, Brighton

Ian Chambers, Dec '06

THE ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE - 'LIFE IN THE BACK SEAT'
ACTRESS HANDS - 'WHY THE SALE'

Here's the concept - a series of ten 7" singles, to be released periodically as a countdown to next years Truck Festival. Sounds like a well formed plan, and even more so considering the first release of the series is a Brighton double whammy of The Electric Soft Parade and Actress Hands. Splendid work - well played you people at Truck Records.

First up we have The Electric Soft Parades offering 'Life In The Back Seat' - and it proves to be everything you could have hoped for, highlighting perfectly their wonderfully bastardised vision of pop music that they've been busy honing on the live circuit. What we're treated to is a splendidly driving song - propelled along by quick-fire drumming, progressively choppy guitar chords, coupled with some clever complimentary keyboard melodies and electronic effects. Tom Whites voice is also becoming more and more self assured - in this instance he handles the verses while letting brother Alex takes centre stage for the harmony laded chorus.

Like a joyously upbeat clash between Guided By Voices and Magoo, it sounds nothing like anything the band have done or released so far, and is proof again if needed that by constantly evolving and exploring the musical landscape The Soft Parade aren't happy to simply plod along into musical mediocrity like so many others. Life in the back seat? Not for this lot anymore.

Flip things over and the fun continues thanks to 'Why The Sale' by the ever amazing Actress Hands. With a first record label backed album 'Show Madelaine' due for release early next year, it looks like 2007 is shaping up to be a big one in the world of the 'hands. While you wait in anticipation, enjoy 'Why The Sale' ? a lush slab of slightly jangly guitar pop, recalling a similar spirit to some of the C86 bands of the late 80's. Starting off as a mid tempo guitar strum, as the song progresses, so do the guitars ? getting louder and nicely distorted, before a Dinosaur Jr / My Bloody Valentine like rock-out-finale. Or perhaps the band put it better themselves? "Loud shoegazey pop coupled to jazzed out country rockisms". Whatever it may be, it's certainly impressive, and is what Actress Hands are all about.

8/10

Release Date: Out Now

Ian Chambers, Dec '06

THIRTY POUNDS OF BONE - 'THE HOMESICK CHILDREN OF MIGRANT MOTHERS'

Adrift at sea with only a banjo for company??

ohny Lamb is a busy man. Not content with simply playing bass in Brighton power pop types Actress Hands, these days he can also be found fronting lo-fi rockers The Small, as one half of the dark alt country duo Cotton Mouth, and playing bass and supplying backing vocals for Willis' band The Tandy Hard. Aside from all that, he's gone and hauled together a talented selection of musician friends to form the four piece Thirty Pounds Of Bone - drawing on his lifelong love of folk music to write and record an album full of elegantly crafted lo-fi folk roots. The album is 'The Homesick Children Of Migrant Mothers', the outcome of six months of recording and fine tuning in a friends basement by band member and Drift Records in-house producer Steve Grainger. And so our journey begins?..

"So your a liar / now your on fire / my matches wouldn't let me down again" ? is our welcome note, as we're greeted with a cautionary tale of boat arson - the snare drum march of album opener 'When She Goes Up'. The lonely drone of a harmonium and distant thud of a bass drum form the basis of the haunting ballad 'Uyeasound', a slow lament celebrating love and living; while one of the albums more upbeat moments - the instrumental 'Trawler Trash' is a breezy and light hearted affair, with a wonderfully hypnotic bouzouki riff. And its not everyday you can say that.

Title track 'The Homesick Children Of Migrant Mothers' glistens with atmospheric ambience - gently picked acoustic guitar coupled with Johnys hushed delicate vocals that deliver a homesick and world weary message - bearing comparisons to the lyrical themes of Shane MacGowan. The Pogues influence rears its drunken head for an oh-so-brief minute or so, as we're treated to a brilliantly upbeat drunkards jig - complete with tin whistle, banjo - the full works. Its called 'Drinking With McGee - and its quite simply superb. No doubt Shane himself would approve.

Its worth saying at this point that praise could quite easily be singled out for any of the ten tracks on this record, but a man knows his limits - so finally a mention must go to the closing track, the sprawling six minute 'Waves For Ketches'. Things begin with nothing but a simple vocal and guitar strum ? but changes are afoot. When the chorus arrives so it brings a tide of upbeat choral-like backing vocals, and with that the song glides along on a wave of euphoria. A flourish of elegantly controlled distortion and electronic harmonies rise and fall, before fading solemnly into a beautifully haunting sole harmonium melody line. Cloaked in floating upbeat harmonies from beginning to end - a fitting way to end a very special album.

Yes, what we have here is essentially folk music, but approached from a challenging and interesting dimension - equal parts the dreaminess of Sparklehorse and intimacy of Will Oldham as the sentimentality of Nick Cave or Shane MacGowan - condensed and added to a melting pot of traditional folk influences.

This is a dark and intimate record, inspired throughout by some visionary arrangements that elevate the songs to another level, whilst not allowing them to stray from their fragile and atmospheric path. The album flows gracefully from theme to theme in an effortless manner - allowing these reflective and personal songs to bathe in their own reflective glory. Magical.

Ian Chambers, Nov '06

9/10

Release Date: Available Now

www.driftrecords.co.uk

www.myspace.com/thirtypoundsofbone

THE BLACK KEYS - 'MAGIC POTION'

"I liked them so much that I invited them to stay at my house". So uttered John Peel upon first stumbling across Ohio blues rock duo The Black Keys. That was back in the late 90's - fast forward to 2006, and save for the great Mr Peel sadly no longer being with us, not a lot else has changed in the world of The Black Keys as we're presented with their fourth studio album 'Magic Potion'.

Sticking to the basics they know best, and returning to their hometown basement recording studio, 'Magic Potion' is the sound of The Black Keys honing and perfecting their signature blues rock sound, whilst not losing any of their raw and powerfully stripped down energy for which they've become known.

Imagine if you will, rifling through your parents collection of old blues vinyl, immersing yourself totally in the music, before roping in a friend with a Hendrix and Led Zeppelin fixation and forming a band - a duo comprising of just guitars and drums. That is essentially the kind of thing The Black Keys are about. Its one hell of a low down, dusty, dirty sound, with blues soaked riffs and foot stompers round every corner.

Album opener 'Just Got To Be' sets out their stall early on - all fuzzy guitar chords and plodding drums, before making way for the albums first single, the sweaty attitude and gritty strut of 'Your Touch'. Quite some opening salvo. Throughout the course of the album, singer / guitarist Dan Auerbachs trademark liquor soaked blues howl is evident - sounding like a slightly demented version of Jon Spencer of the Blues Explosion. Its not all fast paced action though - they kindly allow us to catch our breath and slow things down to a steadier pace with the hypnotic ballad 'You're The One' and the slow burning groove of 'The Flame'.

As a record as a whole, this is a solid collection of songs - arguably the best of their career so far. The only downside being a few tracks towards the end of the album tend to lack focus - trailing off into forgettable territory. Cut the tracklisting by two or three tracks and you have here one fine album.

There are definite moments when comparisons to early White Stripes records can be made in abundance - although unlike the Stripes, its fair to say that the music of The Black Keys lacks the pop and mainstream sensibilities to crossover to a wider audience. But that's not what their music is all about - by sticking to their love of blues and rock they're paying their respects to their heroes, and wonderful musicians who went before them. I think Mr Peel would have approved.

7/10

Release Date: Out Now

Ian Chambers, Nov '06