The Album Review Club - Week #141 - (page 1860) - JPEG Raw - Gary Clark Jr.

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Were Doves called Sub Sub before they became Doves?

Yes. Doves used to be Sub Sub back in the early 90’s playing dance/electronic music, before changing musical directions two years after their Manchester studio burned down in 1996.

 

[RobMCFC]

It’s a nice summary but to chuck ‘there goes the fear’ into a barely one line scrap heap is unacceptable!

Sorry, but it sounded a pretty average song to me. There was nothing that stood out in it.

 

[Coatigan]

The Last Broadcast - Doves

We’ve had this conversation recently that if you don’t like a genre, then you tend to think that most offerings in that genre sound the same, and it’s definitely that way for me and the UK indie music scene. In attempting to forge their own sound, it seems to me that too many of these bands forget all the lessons provided by countless great acts over the decades – they restrict their sound to basic guitar, drums and bass, don’t bother with any instrumental virtuosity, they’ll throw in some daft noises and stick a guy at the front who mumbles into the microphone.

For at least some of the songs, Doves are guilty of some of the above, but thankfully Jez Williams is more of a singer than a mumbler.

“Words” ticks along at a nice pace, the piano (keyboards?) tinkling along with the melody combining with the vocals to providing a stirring anthemic quality.

"There Goes the Fear" is all a bit dull indie, but the acoustic guitar introduced in “M62 Song” makes the band sound a little different and the subtle haunting sound effects work in this case.

"Where We're Calling From", a short and well-executed atmospheric piece leads us into “N.Y.” which, like one of the tracks on last week’s offering, stands out because of the changes of tone and pace as the song progresses.

I was frustrated by “Satellites” – it comes alive in the last 90 seconds or so with the appearance of a proper old-school organ and a nice vocal arrangement, but getting to that point was such a bland experience that it didn’t feel worth the effort! Conversely, the title track sounds like it’s going to be different but after an interesting intro, it’s back to indie 101.

I also enjoyed "Friday's Dust" for the orchestral parts and acoustics, and "Caught by the River", which is probably the best song here.

On those songs that I like, it sounds like Doves are trying to be themselves, standing out from the crowd. But quite a few of the rest have that pedestrian feeling. Whilst I’m generally happy to listen to anything by a band playing their instruments, this album doesn’t give me enough moments: places where a piece of guitar or other instrument makes me sit up and take notice. It’s the old “hooks” comment that we frequently return to on this thread. There are a lot of attempts to create atmosphere on this album – sometimes it lands, like in “M62 Song”, but a lot of the time it plays out as indistinct instruments lost in a mushy mix e.g. “Pounding”, where it sounds like Coldplay have come on as a late substitution.

Like a lot of albums, The Last Broadcast shines when the band throw something a little different into the mix, such as an acoustic guitar or orchestral instruments, or when there’s a change of tone or pace in the song. But at least half the songs plough that generic indie furrow that doesn’t do anything for me.

My reaction to this album is very similar to the Powderfinger album last week – except that the high points on that album were higher than those on offer here. So, it’s a respectable 6/10 from me.

You thinking all uk indie bands sounding the same, is well established. By your reviews of all uk indie bands sounding exactly the same.

The irony is, you try to get something 'different' out of what you describe as formula, by, erm, trying to apply your formula (acoustic guitar, change of pace, laboured singing etc) to it. Often completely missing the point, and mood of the album.

Your song by song analysis however doesn't imo get given the credit it deserves, for the time and attention you put into albums, even those that do little or nothing for you.

 

[GornikDaze]

You thinking all uk indie bands sounding the same, is well established. By your reviews of all uk indie bands sounding exactly the same.

The irony is, you try to get something 'different' out of what you describe as formula, by, erm, trying to apply your formula (acoustic guitar, change of pace, laboured singing etc) to it. Often completely missing the point, and mood of the album.

Your song by song analysis however doesn't imo get given the credit it deserves, for the time and attention you put into albums, even those that do little or nothing for you.

Agree with your sentiment about @RobMCFC ’s in depth musings about all the albums selected - he’s not alone btw there are many fantastic critics in this thread.
I am very instinctive with the music I like and not much grows on me after many listens. My reviews are often quite short and may seem dismissive, so if I offend I do apologise!
I know what I like and I like what I know, seems an appropriate summation :)
A good mate of mine since school has been one of my biggest musical ‘influencers’ (along with my brother and my kids). His favourite band is Swans. I have persevered over recent years and now find them interesting but still a slog to listen to, so I do have exceptions to my own rules!
To those that write excellent reviews please keep them coming as they make great reading.
Musical taste is personal and we are all entitled to our opinions. I love Rush and Biffy Clyro - sorry @bennyboy ;)

 

[manimanc]

Love this band, have seen them live countless times, their music is just different to anyone else's.
Really looking forward to them being back in the mainstream again.

Words and There Goes The Fear always remind me of them playing at Maine Road for our last time there.

Great review.

 

[BimboBob]

First listen yesterday. To me it sounds of it's time. By this I mean the 90's. It's the long drawn out notes when singing. There's very little imagination. Probably not my thing but I shall persevere.

 

[threespires]

It’s a nice summary but to chuck ‘there goes the fear’ into a barely one line scrap heap is unacceptable!

and the b-side of the single is a reworking of a song much beloved in these parts.

 

[threespires]

Agree with your sentiment about @RobMCFC ’s in depth musings about all the albums selected - he’s not alone btw there are many fantastic critics in this thread.
I am very instinctive with the music I like and not much grows on me after many listens. My reviews are often quite short and may seem dismissive, so if I offend I do apologise!
I know what I like and I like what I know, seems an appropriate summation :)
A good mate of mine since school has been one of my biggest musical ‘influencers’ (along with my brother and my kids). His favourite band is Swans. I have persevered over recent years and now find them interesting but still a slog to listen to, so I do have exceptions to my own rules!
To those that write excellent reviews please keep them coming as they make great reading.
Musical taste is personal and we are all entitled to our opinions. I love Rush and Biffy Clyro - sorry @bennyboy ;)

What has a lifetime of listening to Swans lyrics done for your mates view of humanity? I hope you're going to say he's a really chilled chipper bloke cause it always makes me smile when well adjusted people are fans of completely barking music. Their later stuff sounds very different to the early stuff, has he stuck with them over the years.

 

[RobMCFC]

You thinking all uk indie bands sounding the same, is well established. By your reviews of all uk indie bands sounding exactly the same.

The irony is, you try to get something 'different' out of what you describe as formula, by, erm, trying to apply your formula (acoustic guitar, change of pace, laboured singing etc) to it. Often completely missing the point, and mood of the album.

Your song by song analysis however doesn't imo get given the credit it deserves, for the time and attention you put into albums, even those that do little or nothing for you.

The Tindersticks are a UK indie band, aren’t they? I enjoyed their album because it was different and gave it an 8.

What is the point of this album? Whilst there are some good songs on here, there are a lot of songs and long sections where the sound is monotonous or lost in a murky mix. My opinion is that a lot of bands make music where you struggle to pick out the individual instruments - it doesn’t matter whether it is indie, country, rock or disco - I will always call out an album for not trying hard enough to bring this separation to the listener.

Pink Floyd Never had this trouble. They could have come across as boring with their epic-length moody songs, but there is generally something going on with the guitar or keyboard that is interesting. Apart from the few songs I picked out for this album, I didn’t hear this effort here. The vocalist and some of the vocal arrangements was better than average for this type of music, which is why I highlighted that fact.

It’s all personal opinion, of course, and I look forward to reading the reviews of people who do like this album and explaining what I am missing :)

 

[GornikDaze]

What has a lifetime of listening to Swans lyrics done for your mates view of humanity? I hope you're going to say he's a really chilled chipper bloke cause it always makes me smile when well adjusted people are fans of completely barking music. Their later stuff sounds very different to the early stuff, has he stuck with them over the years.

He is definitely a well adjusted chap - apart from being a West Brom fan. He’s a long termer but I’ve never really quite clicked but I like the edgy side of it and I do keep coming back for more