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

southamptonblue said:
Actually a bit earlier ;) as on way back home from work, and not driving the van!!

The Band.......a shithole, imo, but many like it, and 'part' of a Facebook/forum Law enforcement.

The album.....what could often get shouted at kids...and a few in the 'transfer forum' .
...
Click to expand...

Sleaford Mods ? If so cue massive punch up over whether their slagging off of Idles is fair.
 
Cold War Kids - Behave Yourself

Jocks Galore - I'll take you to Carlisle where smacking is legal
 
Local Natives- Gorilla Manor

I must admit I felt a little bit of pressure to like this given that @Coatigan and @Black&White&BlueMoon Town both name checked me and reckoned it would be right up my street. And by rights a lot of the ingredients are there but I would have to say that after several listens this may be on my street but it is a few doors down and not showing too much inclination to come to my house.

I likened it initially to Fleet Foxes and Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire I've never really got, Fleet Foxes can be added to a list that includes Hiss Golden Messenger, Father John Misty and maybe Bon Iver (past the first two albums) of artists that are hanging around down the road not sure whether to come up and party or just skulk off to the pub.

That is, all those bands I've listened to following a review or article I read somewhere, discarded them and then listened again when I saw another review or comment just in case I really was missing something. And none of them have ever sat that comfortably with me.

Coatigan mentioned Woods as a band I like in thinking that I would also like Local Natives. It seemed a reasonable shout but the first time I heard Woods, on a sampler CD that came with Uncut they literally came banging on my door and demanded to be let in. I've not enjoyed all their back catalogue as the sound was pretty rudimental early days but over the course of a few recent albums they had something I couldn't get enough of.

So what of Local Natives. Kind of nearly men. I've listened several times and have been waiting for something to really click. I think I've got similar thoughts about them as I did about English Teacher in that there were moments that I thought they really had something but that was rarely sustained. Local Natives are nowhere near as irritating as ET though and by the times of todays final listen this was becoming more palatable and those bits of songs that might have irked a bit were doing less so. Camera Talk is a good example of this, started well, nice vocals, good melody but then came over a bit Supertramp for a few seconds (a few too many).

Best tracks Sun Hands, Shapeshifter and Warning Sign but this latter also afflicted with a mid song interlude of unnecessarilyness.

To be fair given another week and a few more listens I think this, if not sitting comfortably on my sofa would at least be milling around in the kitchen. I did give Hummingbird one listen, not enough to form an impression but although this didn't grab me as much as I hoped and others thought it would I'm not going to turn them out on the streets. I will probably listen again and I often find that discarding something and then coming to it a few weeks later can for some reason lead to a new appreciation. Obviously didn't apply to those I listed above and if Local Natives ultimately join that gang they'll be in good company but unlike last weeks 6.5 for Gerry Rafferty which I'm unlikely to revisit this could still have a chance.
 
Anyway I think you cracked it spires. Sealford Mods, all theat glue (probably).

Can see it being Southampton's thing too.
 
Coatigan said:
There is in fairness a bit of an underlying point. But it is a much broader, and deeper, discussion.
Click to expand...

Yes, but that felt more like a cheap shot than a meaningful exemplar of the broader issue of which voices get heard and what constitutes 'authentic' etc.

Coatigan said:
Anyway I think you cracked it spires. Sealford Mods, all theat glue (probably).

Can see it being Southampton's thing too.
Click to expand...

Not sure. Agree it might be SB's thing but can't see a clear album link to the clue. If it is All That Glue, won't some form of Star Chamber be convened for the sacrilegious nomination of a (part) compilation? The bigger issue though will be the language - yikes!
 
Out on blue 6 said:
London - Don't Cry Wolf
Click to expand...

I'd prefer Sleaford Mods but I reckon you're right.

As someone who thinks that if you'd have simply put Nikki Sixx into a different type of band, then there would literally be no reason for Glam Metal to exist at all I may be asking one of our existing submariners to point me in the direction of tube numbers 3 and 4.

I get the idea that Glam Metal is supposed to be a bit of harmless fun but then I seem to remember seeing Antoine de Caunes interview someone on Eurotrash who claimed the same thing about paying someone to nail your foreskin to a piece of wood.
 
threespires said:
I'd prefer Sleaford Mods but I reckon you're right.

As someone who thinks that if you'd have simply put Nikki Sixx into a different type of band, then there would literally be no reason for Glam Metal to exist at all I may be asking one of our existing submariners to point me in the direction of tube numbers 3 and 4.
Click to expand...
As one of the other members who would be likely to put Sleaford Mods forward this may not be my cup of tea either but I shall enter with an open mind
 
Out on blue 6 said:
As one of the other members who would be likely to put Sleaford Mods forward this may not be my cup of tea either but I shall enter with an open mind
Click to expand...

You'll see from the edit to my post that that ship has probably already sailed with me :-) It's about the only genre I harbour deep irrational prejudice towards.
 
RobMCFC said:
It seems that most people weren't too keen on Gorilla Manor by Local Natives, but don't worry, @Black&White&BlueMoon Town. Given that you referenced @Coatigan saying that he didn't want to offer up one of his albums given the shellacking that my own Aimee Mann nomination got, it's ironic that this week's nomination ends up with an identical score to Aimee Mann's I'm With Stupid. That's 12 votes for an average of 5.79.
Click to expand...
I see some later votes has moved this closer to The Maccabees, so it's still getting there.

No Foggy check-in while on holiday might have helped. Not sure. At least Bimbo didn't drive off a cliff into the North Sea, so there's that too.
Coatigan said:
@Black&White&BlueMoon Town , welcome to my pain, of the Given to the Wild week!
Click to expand...
It's getting there. My only remaining question is if Hummingbird was the album you weren't going to let this lot ruin for you, or was it something else? If so, I'm happy to have taken on the buckshot.
 
Ah I thought spires nailed it so kinda switched off. To quote Wayne's world 'game ooon'
 
southamptonblue said:
No correct answers yet.....but someone has mentioned a correct word!

.....Sleaford mods....never heard of them or it??
Click to expand...

Bugger. In anticipation I've just listened to London - Don't Cry Wolf. For the record, the production is apocalyptically bad and that's not even the biggest issue.

Time to disarm the tubes and wait patiently.

Is the correct word either London or Mods?
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
I see some later votes has moved this closer to The Maccabees, so it's still getting there.

No Foggy check-in while on holiday might have helped. Not sure. At least Bimbo didn't drive off a cliff into the North Sea, so there's that too.

It's getting there. My only remaining question is if Hummingbird was the album you weren't going to let this lot ruin for you, or was it something else? If so, I'm happy to have taken on the buckshot.
Click to expand...
It was something else, that means more to me than Hummingbird. Might still nominate at some point in the future.

'the album thread, where you put forward albums that mean something to you, but don't mean that much to you that you are willing to risk it being ruined' is maybe becoming a more appropriate intro ;).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top