The Album Review Club - Week #194 (page 1303) - Ants From Up There - Black Country, New Road

threespires said:
Bloody hell, don't mention Dave Matthews he's nearly as persona non gratis in the bay area as Voldemort Yorke is.
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Thankfully it wasn't that sack of pestilent puss - i clarified later. I personally like Radiohead but I can understand why people wouldn't and why they'd find them annoying.
 
mrbelfry said:
It belonged to the venue. The SQ6 isn't that posh. I mean it's no x32 but it's a well priced option and the production expectations on a lot of churches these days require serious pieces of kit.

The family were pretty open about their past when questioned about it and yes on the estate they grew up on everyone knew everyone's business
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You definitely knock around in fancier churches than I do :-)
 
Mancitydoogle said:
BEN FOLDS SONGS FOR SILVERMAN



Ironically as well as loving my melancholic lyrics I also have penchant for amusing and quirky ones , hence my love for WZ and FOW amongst others.
I also like piano led songs , which brings me to BF I’ve liked most of his output with TBF5 and a lot of his solo stuff ,with the exception of the William Shatner collaboration.Ben is known mostly as a exceptional pianist but he’s actually a
multi instrumentalist, the previous album to this was totally solo.His style is described as classical meets pop.
On this album his mostly uses a bassist and drummer.a few songs are augmented by Bucky Baxster’s pedal ( i knew I could squeeze a bit of country in!)and Weird Al Yankovich which will impress Rob.
His songs are mostly about relationships, love songs break up songs( he’s been married 5 times) and commentary about the US .

A few bits of trivia his mate Glen Phillips of TTWS wrote the song ‘Drive By’
about one of Bens childhood incidents not his own.
He was the Artistic Adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra for 6 years resigning this year when Trump was re-elected.
He plays piano on Whiskeytown’s unreleased album ‘Forever Valentine’

Onto the songs ‘Bastard’ isn’t about his father but about getting old.
‘Jesusland ‘ is an imaginary tale if Jesus visited the Red southern States and was used in the Bill Maher documentary’ Religious ’
‘Just to thank you’ about getting married too quickly.
‘Late’ as I mentioned in the ‘Elliot Smith ‘ nomination was written about him.
‘Time ‘ one of my favourite tracks has a Pink Floyd feel to it
The album closes on a high with ‘Prison Food’

For me theres a consistency in the tracks, the weakest probably being the
Lullaby ‘Gracie’ but I’d probably think differently if I had a daughter.

This was an album I constantly played when I first started seeing my current wife so it does have a personal connection and is an album I get listen to on a regular basis.
His voice may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it fits the songs and there’s very little guitar on this album.
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Did you give my "Welcome Interstate Managers" pick any love being a FOW guy? Was so long ago I can't recall!

I have always really, really liked "Whatever and Ever Amen" but haven't spent a lot of time with BF's music since then.

Which of his 293 wives was he married to when he recorded this? :)
 
FogBlueInSanFran said:
Did you give my "Welcome Interstate Managers" pick any love being a FOW guy? Was so long ago I can't recall!

I have always really, really liked "Whatever and Ever Amen" but haven't spent a lot of time with BF's music since then.

Which of his 293 wives was he married to when he recorded this? :)
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I certainly did, it’s an album I’ve owned since it was released and my favourite of theirs.

I’m guessing his 4th , I’m only on my 3rd so a bit of catching up to do:)
 
FogBlueInSanFran said:
Which of his 293 wives was he married to when he recorded this? :)
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Mancitydoogle said:
I’m guessing his 4th , I’m only on my 3rd so a bit of catching up to do:)
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Ben was also with his 3rd wife when he recorded this. He said goodbye to #5 in 2024, so that's perhaps not a bit of catching up you'll be wanting at this stage in life, huh? ;-)

Also, how does the "starter" pic of the deck of the Enterprise original series figure in with this week's selection? And thank you for not having this be Imagine Dragons too. Very much relieved when that came to pass.
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
Ben was also with his 3rd wife when he recorded this. He said goodbye to #5 in 2024, so that's perhaps not a bit of catching up you'll be wanting at this stage in life, huh? ;-)

Also, how does the "starter" pic of the deck of the Enterprise original series figure in with this week's selection? And thank you for not having this be Imagine Dragons too. Very much relieved when that came to pass.
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I always like to introduce my wife as the latest Mrs MCD :)

William Shatner collaborated with BF
 
shackattack said:
I loved the whole postcard records thing and still do. The Go Betweens though on their only briefly are another big favourite. Josef K, Aztec Camera ( Roddy a massive hero of mine) and the non Postcard stuff such as The Scars, The Associates, Goodbye Mister Mackenzie etc
Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee even must have been great places. My choice was always going to be from that era. I remember hearing Oblivious for the first time !!
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Different era but echoes of that in it now, while it is topical worth giving Hamish Hawk a spin on the back of this. Laziest River probably my favourite of his albums, but last year's A Firmer Hand very good too. The best of both would make a hell of an album.
 
Coatigan said:
Different era but echoes of that in it now, while it is topical worth giving Hamish Hawk a spin on the back of this. Laziest River probably my favourite of his albums, but last year's A Firmer Hand very good too. The best of both would make a hell of an album.
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It's why I always like music threads, people give some great recommendations on music. I'm a bit stuck in the 80s and rarely listen to newer stuff. I went through a phase where I'd read a music biography and listen to that artists music until I finished. Travelling through Berlin while listening to Bowie on the S-bahn kind of made sense
 
shackattack said:
It's why I always like music threads, people give some great recommendations on music. I'm a bit stuck in the 80s and rarely listen to newer stuff. I went through a phase where I'd read a music biography and listen to that artists music until I finished. Travelling through Berlin while listening to Bowie on the S-bahn kind of made sense
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Great stuff. Did you go on the TEE listening to Kraftwerk, meet Iggy Pop and David Boowee. I once alighted at the wrong station on the Berlin U-bahn at night and was full-on Low/Heroes/Christiane F feelings. Gropiusstadt - went back in the daylight and it was completely different.

Are you going to see Shack?
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
Ben was also with his 3rd wife when he recorded this. He said goodbye to #5 in 2024, so that's perhaps not a bit of catching up you'll be wanting at this stage in life, huh? ;-)

Also, how does the "starter" pic of the deck of the Enterprise original series figure in with this week's selection? And thank you for not having this be Imagine Dragons too. Very much relieved when that came to pass.
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Though obviously a bit odd and at times silly, 'Has Been' the Shatner collaboration, is a genuinely interesting listen. It's got Aimee Mann, Henry Rollins and Adrian Belew amongst others!
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
Ah yes, now I remember... unless I don't.

I suppose if you were out on a ladder and had work to do, that was a good clue to offer up to the masses to pick apart while you were going to be busy for a while! ;-)

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Exactly, I thought the other clues were too easy and I know people on here like a bit of a challenge:)
 
C90 said:
I was just a bit too young for OJ/Scars/Josef K/Associates etc but I saw Paul Haig & Billy McKenzie do an interesting concert in Glasgow in 1986, and Paul live quite a bit with Alan Rankine, but he wasn't the most natural performer. Saw Paul from Scars doing a gig with a young arty girl singer in Edinburgh about 5 years ago, not so good. Saw Aztec Roddy about 1987/88 at the peak of his pop phase, not bad but really for me. And I saw Win in The Venue 1988? when I'm sure half the audience were Hibs Casuals and Davey was indulging them.
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Aye The Venue was their gang hut for a while.
Both Pauls sporadically release solo and collective stuff with varying quality.
But definitely give Scorpio Leisure a listen and maybe Filthy Tongues
 
Initial impressions:

A well crafted and engineered album.
Feels very "2D" in content. Not much depth or scope to the music which in itself feels like an inconvenience to the words.
Reminds me of a show where the character would communicate to the world via his piano (High school musical?)
It's not so much a traditional album of music than a overcoat of poetic moanings atop a skeleton of piano scales with the odd drum/bass thing chucked in for the shits and the giggles.
Also suffers from the same problem of the last album in that it all sounds the same.
It's a monotone outburst against the injustices of being an adult which is ironic because after 5 marriages, it's clear in the tracks that the singer has a problem with growing up and responsibility.

Hmm.
 
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