POPSTRANGERS - Popstrangers EP (self released)
Step 1- get a small group of friends around (2 or 3) and eat a bag of pineapple lumps together in one sitting then, spin around and around with your arms out-stretched increasing speed at a steady pace. Take note of the giddy feeling of euphoria.
Step 2 - drink enough gin (alone) to that point where you start to remember some past love that ended with a transgression with a combined sense of melancholy and remorse. Continue to drink till you start uttering self-chastizations. Take note of the dizzy feeling of self-loathing.
Step 3 - Combine both the giddy and dizzy feelings obtained above and place them on an EP released by the very much up and coming Auckland three-piece Popstrangers. It's amazing. AT

ANDREW'S ALBUM OF THE WEEK

OPENSOULS - Standing in the Rain (From The Crate Records)
"They" are tricking us. I swear. "They've" unearthed some rare grooves; some lost Motown or Stax tapes and, instead of just coming clean and admitting it, for some reason totally unfathomable to me "they" are releasing it in the guise of NZ soul group Opensouls. It's truly the only reasonable explanation for this slice of absolutely jaw-dropingly good soul. Writing credits on the sleeve are trickily given as various combinations of J Toy, T Hammond, G Matthews, T Guy, H Davey and J Dyne - when clearly these songs are the craftwork of the Holland / Dozier / Holland - I suspect there's an anagram in play here.
Insane conspiracy theories used as a metaphor, aside - Opensouls hit the rhythms right; brass stabs are perfectly placed right into your heart; strings slide gracefully and gently sweep over you and guitars lick at your tapping and dancing heels. And, then as if that isn't enough the powerhouse of Tyra Hammond's voice knocks you out each and every time. I am finding it very difficult to stop listening to this album. AT

SLOW CLUB - Yeah, So (Popfrenzy)
If you start to get all charmed and country-loved by this Sheffield duo, with their deceptively sweet harmonies, then you best be a wee bit careful sir, madam... they're a lot more charming than you first imagine. In the same way that Lee and Nancy could sound lovey-dove while arguing through sing-song, Slow Club's Charles Watson (vocals and guitar) and Rebecca Taylor (vocals and stand-up drums / percussion) have a playful rapport that's as infectious as dog flu. And lyrics! My goodness, how long since I smiled like this listening to a song... Tracks like "It Doesn't Always Have To Be Beautiful, Unless It's Beautiful" remind us that sentimentality has its place, alongside fighting fucking and fun. Yeah, so... great record! MC
JONSI & ALEX - Riceboy Sleeps (Parlophone)
This is the side-project of Jón Þór Birgisson - vocalist / guitarist from Sigur Ros and his boyfriend Alex Somers. To be honest, there is little surprising to be found here - in that it delivers exactly what I expect from anything Jónsi touches - truly amazing beauty. Put this album on when you want to escape from anything; turn it up loud; lie back and close your eyes and you will be teleported to some far off wonderful land and nothing will seem to matter anymore anyway. They's enlisted the help of a string quartet, the Kópavogsdætur Choir, Amina and - apparently - the last known castrati singer recorded (on Boy 1904). Wonderful, wonderful stuff (apart from the castration bit). AT
LIAM FINN & ELIZA JANE - Champagne in Seashells EP (Liberation)
This is the first hint of what Liam Finn has been up to since releasing his debut two years ago, and my has he been around the block since... You'd be hard pressed to name a place Liam hasn't already played twice by now, and with international tours supporting Eddie Vedder and Black Keys also under his belt, there won't be many people who don't by now know his name. Champagne in Seashells also marks the recording debut of the on-stage duo that is completed by EJ Barnes, with the songs seemingly constructed in a similar way to their live shows: experimental, intense and fun. From the slow building explosion of opening track "Plane Crash" to radio-ready stomper "Long Way To Go", through balladry-goes-African via noise-laden personal tales of the road and relationships, to the closing track "On Your Side" (where Eliza Jane gets to demonstrate her wonderful voice to full effect), Liam and EJ have proved that while they can sing a pretty song and rock out better than most, they can also take tunes by the horns and ride them to weird and wonderful places you might not expect. More please! MC

THE XX - The xx (Young Turks)
The XX sound like a black hole in pop music. With each and every track on this stunning debut from the young South London four-piece, they create a new event horizon where their pop, hip hop and r'n'b influences are gently but steadily sucked into a chasm in space that, when you think about it for any considered amount of time will confuse you as much as it intrigues you. It's sparse, considered, paced... it's what music sounds like when nothing becomes everything and everything becomes nothing. It's beautiful. AT

MARMADUKE DUKE - Duke Pandemonium (14th Floor)
You know, there ain't nothing like a masked, bearded, top hatted duo sporting Scottish accents and a penchant for mysteriousness and dancefloor-ready tunes from the future. Nobody does it better it seems than the curious twosome of the Atmosphere and the Dragon (not their real names). This is their second record, of a promised trilogy, and apparently they're doing real well with it. Uh huh. I like it... you'll like it, let's all get along. Track name highlights include "Je Suis Un Funky Homme" and "Skin the Mofo", the latter of which repeats the mantra "Skin the motherfucker alive" over the top of some jaunty guitar licks. Someone get me a job at Time Magazine for being such a good writer. MC
 

ARCTIC MOKEYS- Humbug (Domino)
Sheffield's favorite sons return with their third album. Most (all but three) tracks are produced by QOTSA giant Josh Homme in LA and the Mojave Desert; the remainder, produced in New York by Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford (who produced their 2nd album also). But, that said, Humbug fits together - it's more than a patchwork of songs compiled onto the same disk; together they achieve a strong sense of actually being an album - something that's lost and missed all too often in these days of cherry-picking mp3 downloads. Humbug is heavy and it feels decidedly grown up (no, that doesn't mean boring - quite the contrary!). Humbug indicates a shift away from the sound that launched so many copycats to something more solid and something more indicative of a career with longevity. I'm digging this much more than their earlier work - and, now I think about it, that's what I said about their last album too - so the progression is boding well... AT

PATRICK WOLF - The Bachelor (Speak and Spell)
Patrick Wolf is a confounding young man. A master of more instruments than Prince - Wolf built his first theremin age 11 - and clearly in love with electronics and dancing, he is at once the ultimate romantic and dramatic storyteller. The Bachelor is a return to Patrick's darker past - delving into the emotions that came with with a painful break-up and the loneliness of rigorous touring. Having apparently fallen in new-love just prior to recording, Wolf revisited his plans for a double album, parted ways with Universal and set about releasing this record totally independently (fans were able to buy shares in the making and release of this album online) and a hopeful sequel - The Conqueror - in 2010. With celtic strings augmenting future-electronic backing, and the odd fierce dance track (first single "Hard Times" is a defiant storm, industrial icon Alec Eiffel helps out on "Vulture"), Patrick Wolf is back in wondrous effect. MC
LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS - My World (Trust & Soul via Shock)
Something happened to Soul, Funk and Rhythm & Blues. I can't quite pin-point the moment in time; but there seems to have been a moment when these forces became nothing but fallen shadows of their former selves. To the point, for the most-part; the only way to enjoy them was to return to their original releases and to pretend not to notice the plastic-surgery-coated air-brushed well-light shadows.
Thank you, then for Lee Fields & The Expressions who returns the elements of soul, funk, rhythm and blues to their rightful place. More than simply truthful emulation, My World captures the purity and humanity of those elements and manages to re-cast them in a modern time. Simply put - this is the real deal. AT
KING KHAN & THE SHRINES - The Supreme Genius of... (Vice Records)
Sixteen tracks of amazing. Just get this record, turn it up loud, be happy for the rest of your life. It's raw soul, led by frontman extraordinaire King Khan. Horns, organ, tight guitar, screeches and shouts that all conjure up the ghosts of the MakeUp (heard them? hear them!) and James Brown, not to mention the legions of soul masters who have gone before and are sadly no longer with us. Every track on here is a doggone winner, guaranteed to raise a smile and kick a heel, and fix a dying party. I feel sweaty just writing this. Thanks Vice Records! MC

THE MIDDLE EAST - The Recordings of... (Spunk)
I should have known by now that Queensland, Australia has a well hidden heart among the beaches and stereotypes... it's surprised me before. But when North Queensland's The Middle East arrived in my ears via this five-song EP I wasn't quite ready for the suckerpunch of insanely beautiful stuff and what-not that was to follow. Opener "The Darkest Side" is enough to hollow out any hard soul, while "Lonely" does the same before firework-ing into a guitarry night sky. If you've ever fantasised about Bon Iver fronting Explosions in the Sky's more minimal side project, with Broken Social Scene teaching them lessons on hardening up to sadness, then you've already dreamed this music up. Now you can hear it for real. MC
WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS - These Four Walls (Fatcat Records / Inertia)
Y'see, as my good friend Matthew pointed out the other day, Scots accents are actually perfect for angst-y and emotional outpourings via song. Maybe, actually, when, whoever was handing out accents was divvying them up - the Scots were assigned the lilt specifically to make that sort of music. And Adam Thompson is no exception - in fact, I'd go so far as exclaiming him as a perfect example. We Were Promised Jetpacks, even by name, capture that ever-so-pissed off, yet still able to have a bit of a laugh at yourself and at your current situation, perfectly. Sonically, this record is big, and it basically just screams "arrrghhh fuuuuuuuck" - in the most perfectly thoughtful and eloquent way. Buy this record and keep it handy near your stereo / ipod for times like when your boss is a total dickhead; when you're running for the bus but it pulls away just as you get to it - and then a car drives through that puddle splashing you; you get home and you realize you forgot to buy milk; your boyfriend leaves the toilet seat up again; or any manner of life's little annoyances... AT
EYEDEA AND ABILITIES - By The Throat (Rhymesayers / Shock)
This is actually the third release from this duo Eydea (Mike Averill) an accomplished rap-battlist and his DJ - Abilities (Gregory Keltgen) former DMC champ. Lyrically dark and forceful, Eyedea delivers some complex word-play and unexpected verbal arrangements, but when you boil it down - if you enjoy listening to what sounds like an angry smart-ass guy from Minnesota over UNKLE out-takes then this'll be your bag. I'll pass it on. Thanks. AT

MATTHEW'S ALBUM OF THE WEEK

JAMES DUNCAN - Hello-Fi (Round Trip Mars)
Hello-Fi could have just as easily been a victory lap release for local boy-wonder James Duncan, who has already proved how awesome he is through his tinkering and radical sounds in bands like Punches, Dimmer and SJD. Instead, Mr James has released a world class solo debut that sounds like... like him? Opening with the super-d-duper Bachelorette duet "My New Flumes", and rolling into a hushed-pop tune "The Cupboard's Bare", it's all exciting noise from start til finish. With lush-lovely ambience and instrumentally mind-popping goodness giving way to dark guitar wielding robotocism, each track on Hello-Fi defies its last, like a night full of cool-ass dreams. Headphones on, eyes closed, walk around a bit, eyes open, pretending to take photos of the buildings, walls of sound, ah yes! MC

JAY REATARD - Watch Me Fall (Matador)
How the fuck does he do it? Reatard manages to make self-loathing, paranoia and the darkest recesses of your innermost thoughts sound more infectious as a pig with a sniffle and, frankly, shit-loads more fun. Watch Me Fall is his first full-length proper with Matador, and he's risen to the challenge by delivering a perfect meld of Chris Knox, The Byrds and The Buzzcocks - replete with catchy hooks, cheery jangles and shout/sing-a-long moments built for bed jumping, bedroom mirrors and hair-brush microphones the world over. Every teenager and, probably more to the point, every adult who refuses to stop being a teenager, is channelled through this record. Amp yourself up by turning up the amp on this record. AT

TORTOISE - Beacons of Ancestorship (Spunk / Thrill Jockey)
Having been a band for the most part of two decades, and a pretty deservedly hip band at that, Tortoise could just as well release an album of pig-burps and be lauded as some kind of maestros. But the beauty of a Tortoise record has always been it doesn't sound like anything else, and so, arriving five years after their last studio album, Beacons of Ancestorship deserves some listening to. For the first half of the record, dance music sounds tough, rock is fucked with, and the scientists at Tortoise HQ create an awesome and hard to define beast. Then suddenly, on "The Fall Of Seven Diamonds Plus One", chains fall to the floor as slow percussion, and there's an air of 1960s spy tension as everything slows right down. Tortoise do jazz, rock, post-rock (hell, they invented that one), techno, dub, indie guitar, and just about any genre better than the others, and the muscles flexed here are just as taut as ever. MC
HANNAH CURWOOD - The Blind Love EP (Luggate Records)
Hannah returned to Dunedin to record this EP with friends and collaborators at Dale Cotton's studio. There are melodies contained within that swim like schools of fishes, solidly together, purposefully and in directions that you as an observer may not necessarily expect. But like a school of fish, they flow so perfectly naturally, that even the surprises make perfect sense when they unfold. The beauty here-in lies in the seemingly effortlessness of it; it feels natural, organic and unforced - yet, at the same time, clearly there's something very deliberate at play here. AT
LISA MITCHELL - Wonder (Warner Music)
Australia seems to have been uncovering a wave of young female songwriters of late that are actually rather good. Despite still having the word "teen" in her age, Lisa Mitchell has travelled the world with her music - most recently to the UK where the bulk of this debut was written. It's nice to see that record labels have finally begun to realise that musicians who break out of the standard conventions are actually more interesting than pop starlets. Co-written with fine folks like Ben Lee and Ed Harcourt, Wonder is a mature debut with a youthful heart, and Mitchell seems bound for commercial success without having to compromise on being who she is. MC
DYLAN STOREY - Out of the Soup (Self-released)
A unique voice in New Zealand music, Dylan Storey makes music that's as traditional in its 70's-esque, blues drenched rock as it is clearly now, and clearly from our fair land. While there's no doubt here that Storey is a competent musician (he's travelled the world with music as his breadwinner) it seems that lyrics are equally important to his songs. Challenging religion, philosophies, social norms and WWII stories told to him by his grandfather, and evolution (the inspiration for the album name) are all part of what makes Out of the Soup set apart from other records in the genre. MC
MALCOLM MIDDLETON - Waxing Gibbous (Full Time Hobby)
This being his fifth solo record, I've been wondering why for so many years, as one half of Scottish sadsack duo Arab Strap, Malcolm Middleton never really opened his mouth and left the "singing" to Aidan Moffat. The question seems answered on Waxing Gibbous: Malcolm Middleton can actually sing and is not a fucking miserable pervert. Now, there are definite arguments for and against being that way, and not being able to sing properly, but Middleton trudges down the middle of the road in the best kind of way: damn funny, real depressing, true hopeful and heart-smart. Here, Middleton yet again proves his worth as a pop writer, rocker, balladeer and... on the bonus track... a Ladyhawke tribute act! MC

Reviews by Andrew Tidball (AT) & Matthew Crawley (MC)
courtesy of The Eavesdrop

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