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

journolud said:
I think over the course of nearly four years we've all learnt (and forgotten) a lot about each other through the nominations and responses to them as well as the odd aside thrown in. The thread has evolved from that initial stated purpose as there were a lot of very personal stories attached to early initial nominations, seems inevitable really that would happen as it settled into a rhythm.

That said, it would be hard to beat Coatigan's story on this one and it isn't even his nomination!

Speaking of which, a[pologies to @Coatigan and @GornikDaze for the non engagement with the last two picks. I did actually manage two listens of the former before heading off to the Scottish Isles on honeymoon but the impressions were that there was little to raise it above a lot of generic "rock" records, not what I had expected from the introduction and reviews. GornickDaze's pick came while we were away and to be fair we weren't doing much driving if we could help it and I didn't have time otherwise to listen to music so there was a bit of a cursory initial listen before I allowed my good lady to overrule the music choices. I suspect though that my impressions of it would have been going the same way.

And to this week's pick. I dipped my toe in the water of the discussion a few weeks ago about listening to music where the singing is not in English. My son currently listens to a lot of Brazilian/ Portuguese music and I previously mentioned Natalie Clavier, Argentinian and with a very evocative voice so I had reasonable hopes for this. I allowed myself a bit of a listen while sneaking off to play a bit of golf but the drive wasn't long enough to really get into it and although we faced a six hour+ drive home yesterday we were still on democratically agreed musical choices.

I have had a listen this morning though and will give it proper attention. The voice so far is a bit of a barrier but I'll take what others have said about it becoming less obviously so on repeated listens.
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Congratulations. I can appreciate the desire for democracy at the commencement of marital bliss....but THIS IS ALBUM REVIEW CLUB!
Surely it's a case of driver selects music? Which is handy in my case as I am the only driver in the house, so I decide.

I agree though that at first I had an issue with the voice on this, but as others have said, this slowly changed and it did become part of the "whole". Whilst the main vocals started to blend, I found that I started to have an issue with the backing vocals. Not exactly "harmonising" IMO and they started to become a little annoying and harming the overall hypnotic groove.
 
RobMCFC said:
Might be a job going for you at Old Trafford in the future :)
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Two things:

(1) I'd rather forage for food in the woodlands to feed myself.

(2) Their problems are intractable, my only advice would be to close the operation down and attempt to reopen as something more suited. Suggestions welcome.
 
mrbelfry said:
Great reflections. I have a similar white whale with a song called "Nobody Ever Got Killed In The A-Team" - a ska pop banger which I got on a crazed napster download session. The CD I burned it on was subsequently lost and there is no trace of it on the internet. One day I hope to have a similar redemption arc
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I have enlisted a couple of friends who used to be in ska bands (decent ones too) to the cause. I haven't spoken to them in over a decade, so the 'hey mate, quick question, ever heard...' followed by 'how's the family btw' won't be high on the reply list.

So far, the only suggestion is a band called The Kubricks who had a song called (or about) The A-Team.

The song itself doesnt seem to be on Spotify or YouTube as far as I can see, but plenty EPs on there. Maybe, give the band a pop to see if they sound like you think you remember them sounding, and whether that opens up a route like then looking up old unreleased cds on Ebay, flea markets etc.

Edit. tried to follow up with a band+lyric search which thought might narrow it down and hit something. This is what I get! 'The lyrics you're looking for are from Ed Sheeran's "The A Team", not from a band called The Kubricks.'
Oh fuck off A.I.!
 
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Coatigan said:
I have enlisted a couple of friends who used to be in ska bands (decent ones too) to the cause. I haven't spoken to them in over a decade, so the 'hey mate, quick question, ever heard...' followedd by 'how's the family btw' won't be high on the reply list.

So far, the only suggestion is a band clled The Kubricks who has a song called (or about) The A-Team.

The song itself doesnt seem to be on Spotify or YouTube as far as I can see. But maybe, give the band a pop to see if they sound like you think you remember them, and whether that opens up a route.
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Ha thanks for taking it serious. My story was true but I hyped up the emotion to try and sound cool like your story when they are very very different - yours has actual significance.

Anyone it isn't the Kubrick's. You're about 15 years away
 
LGWIO said:
Congratulations. I can appreciate the desire for democracy at the commencement of marital bliss....but THIS IS ALBUM REVIEW CLUB!
Surely it's a case of driver selects music? Which is handy in my case as I am the only driver in the house, so I decide.

I agree though that at first I had an issue with the voice on this, but as others have said, this slowly changed and it did become part of the "whole". Whilst the main vocals started to blend, I found that I started to have an issue with the backing vocals. Not exactly "harmonising" IMO and they started to become a little annoying and harming the overall hypnotic groove.
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Whilst I understand the sentiment - Bit harsh I feel @LGWIO? Surely the reviews jeopardy of real life to them?

Roll of the dice - the thread's not about point scoring, it's about expanding minds................
 
Coatigan said:
This weather can fuck right off!
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I've no real passion for ice cream, but it keeps me busy while I wait for winter...

We're at 14 days straight above 32C, which seems a bit excessive for June, so AC is a must here. Felt downright cooler today after consistently hitting 36C last week.

It's the added humidity which reminds me we're not in the dessert while listening.
 
Aman Iman by Tinariwen is the second foray into desert rock in recent weeks so I am now an expert in the genre. With those two weeks of expertise I can confidently assert that this is the greatest desert rock album ever made. It's the Welcome of Sky Valley by Kyus of Desert Rock. Although it is quite different than the Greenleaf effort it does suffer from many of the same genre pitfalls. What some people call hypnotic other people call repetitive. What some call laid back groove others call boring. Whilst some are content with a shake of their bum others want a shake of the fist.

Where it does differ to the Greenleaf effort is how evocative it is of the actual desert. Perhaps it's just that the vocals are in some heathen language called "not English" but you can almost feel the heat sapping the energy out of the music. Assouf sounds exactly like Voodoo Child would through a haze of heat on guitar strings rusted by the sweat of its player. It's the second best song on the album.

Top billing goes to Ahimana with an almost spoken word opening. No idea what is said but i do enjoy the buzz and stuttering glitch in his voice as it opens - he sounds right on top of the mic and it is a startling break in the normal flow of the album. It then settles into the groove with some effective call and response.

Aman Iman is the kind of album you could put on repeat on a Monday morning and then leave the room. Occasionally pop back into the room at random and the snippets you hear will be largely indistinct from all the other snippets. I criticised Greenleaf for this but it works differently on this album - partly because I just enjoy the sound more. Every snippet is enjoyable in the moment I'm listening. It's definitely more laid back and the guitar tone is brighter giving the tracks more space - which they don't do much with ultimately. Unlike some I did enjoy the vocal performance of the main guy plus the crew on backing duty. It feels like a very organic album captured in the moment - if it had been recorded a month or two later it might feel a little different. It feels like real people as opposed to the record company shills on the Greenleaf album making music for adverts for tech companies attempting to appear edgy.

But the question I'm left asking is why? When I read threespires nomination I had set in my mind that it was the right thing to do to enjoy this. It's music made by marginalised people in a language and modality that is not European. To dislike it might reveal that I'm a secret racist so I've come in looking for merit. In recent weeks I've criticised albums for being repetitive and for having now sense of progression in them. I've said Embrace wrote lyrics with a messy internal logic that results in them making no sense yet this album has not a single lyric i can understand. I feel there is an inconsistency in my response. Is that response just me virtual signalling that I am somehow superior to the Farage fanboys that will dislike this or am I guilty of a greater crime?

If this album had been made by Greenleaf or even song in English I'd be quick to offer a lower score. I've spent my time this week considering if I'm guilty of the noble savages trope. Am I guilty of a lowered expectation resulting in an over liking of the album? Do i like this album or do I like the impression that me liking it will give? That I'm so cultured and diverse that I can like music like this and show off to my friends and neighbours how amazing progressive I am. Fortunately I can count the number of friends I have on the humps of a dromedary so I will settle for a non controversial 6 . It doesn't quite give me the "i'm not racist I like the Tinariwen album" vibe that I'd like but i'm also not applauding someone just for using a fork.
 
Rules of engagement must inevitably change when listening to an album where I can't understand the lyrics. I'm not one that says all lyrics have to be meaningful although I do like music with a message. The lyrics on this album are by all accounts meaningful and so due respect should be given.

Only, well it's possible that our minds, consciously or otherwise will attribute our own meanings. I've mentioned listening to Natalie Clavier and my name dropping a foreign singer might make me sound more sophisticated musically than I really am. It's a fluke that I've listened to her, via the Eccentrics who came to me from who knows where. But the point I'm getting to is that Natalie has a beautiful voice, not to say sultry and sexy. Or is it just my imaginings that she is singing sexy sultry songs to me...

Likewise the Brazilian/Portugese music my son was in the habit of playing while getting ready for work (until he met with his new very English girlfriend and now seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth save for the odd pop in for a change of clothes and a shower), the vibe of this was chilled and sunny.

But this? Well I know it's serious and after several listens I can't ascribe any of my own meanings to it. Which is probably right. So it comes down to whether I can dig it. And unfortunately generally I can't. There are certainly moments where I can get what people say about it "seeping in", probably the highlights are Matadjem Yinmixan and Ahimana once past the spoken word intro, it's helped along by the children's backing.

There's no escaping the vocals though and the language. I can't get the soul of it. And there are the bits where someone comes in with some sort of wailing or yodelling or whatever it is which probably makes sense if you know what it means but reminds me of when Ranking Roger used to spoil all the Beat's songs with an unnecessary rap interlude.

This was an uncomfortable listen at times and rarely comfortable, plenty of middle ground. But out of its time and place did nothing for me. I can only give it a 6 for the undoubted merit and meaning but it's not for me.
 
Aman Iman by Tinariwen.
Could not get past the voice which i struggled big time with.
Started off well with Cler Achel the only track the voice did not bother me.
After that Matadjem Yinmixam. Imidiwan Winakalin Awa Didjen Tamatant Tilay. really enjoyed the music.
The voice the only thing that i did not like.
Not knowing what the lyrics mean not an issue
5.
 
Sand. A small story.

Whilst in Morocco in the late 80's/ early 90's I went out into the desert on a camel train experience. A few days, sleeping under the stars (no such luck as it's fucking freezing at night) and bobbling along during the day. There was an oasis. There was also lovely weird food. Plus lots and lots of sand. As far as the eye could see. And beyond that. Vast. Your mind couldn't comprehend the vastness. Or the sandiness of it all. It got everywhere. The other tourists, mainly Americans, complained nearly all the time. Too hot. Too cold. Too bumpy. Food wasn't very good. Food was too hot. Food was too cold. Or looking at them funny.

This album has reminded me of that trip. A trip I loved. But do I love the music?

Difficult one. I couldn't give two hoots about the lyrics, I'm sure they are deep and meaningful, but I've never really bothered about what someone has written. It's personal to them. Not me. Just like that Jagged Pill nonsense. Sorry about your experiences but there's no need to tell the world.

I'm also not adverse to foreign music being squeezed into perceived western tunes. Blancmange, one of my favourite early 80's bands, did it to great effect a few times.

The trouble with this album is that it's all 'foreign' music and as such doesn't quite hold my attention after a few songs.

But I still enjoyed it, so it continues my run of recent high, for me, scores with a 6.
 
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