1) Swans – To be
kind ; Young God Records Swans, la bête, est un projet qui
traîne dans les entrailles de son mentor Michaël Gira depuis le
début des années 80. Pour ce treizième album, il pousse encore
plus loin l'intimité viscérale qui nous colle à l'os depuis les
premiers souffles des K7, maintenant usées, du milieu de la décennie
quatre fois vingt. Plus de 120 minutes étourdissantes où les
mélodies frêles supportent avec détermination, les apogées
sonores.
2)The Healthy boy and the badass motherfuckers – Dolce
Furia ; Kythibong
On se souvient de l'impact provoqué par
The Enchanted wood avec Monster Parade. Ici aussi, nous sommes très
proches de l'auteur (Benjamin Nerot, ex Belone Quartet). Unis dans
une belle émotion, nourris d'inspiration, les 4 titres de cet ep,
hantent votre esprit pour longtemps.
On retrouve les lyonnais de
Zëro (Bästards, Deity Guns) en accompagnateurs de luxe.
3)
Cheveu – Bum ; Bad Born records
Coiffé de la plus moche
pochette de l'année, Bum raconte l'histoire de notre musique-mère
préférée, si elle est anglaise, plutôt située dans l'après
Punk.
Ce que The Fall, bon an mal an, rencontre des signes
d'essoufflements, quand ce n'est pas de la tachycardie pure.
La
relève est assurée.
4) Liars -Mess ; Mute
Si Cheveu a
sauvé le Rock cette année en lui donnant un grand coup de peigne
dentu dans les bigoudis, Liars aura dynamité la musique de danse et
globalement aura ajouté une nouvelle pierre dans le jardin des
musiques actuelles. Entre rudesse à l'allemande et sexualité
franche rencontrée chez Light Asylum, les new-yorkais se lâchent
pour de bon.
En plus, Mess est finement agencé.
5) Horse
Temple – Ghosts /tracks ; Zéro égal petit
intérieur Ghosts/Tracks est une bande originale d'un film dont
vos fantasmes sont probablement les héros. En détective habité par
des forces occultes, ou en flic déchu – dealer d'images
prohibées... Cet album sent la pluie, la nuit, la barbe de trois
jours et le costume-cravate sombre.
Ici, l'urgence est présente
et dépasse de loin, la simple intention.
6) Goat – Commune ;
Rocket recordings
L'exercice du deuxième album pour les suédois
aura été moins évident que ce que l'on pouvait attendre après le
magistral World Music. Le cru 2014, sans démérité, ne confirme pas
pleinement la musicalité du collectif. Titulaires d'un des meilleurs
shows vus sur ces vingt dernières années pour ma part.
7) Le
Butcherettes – Cry is for the flies ; Nadie sound
inc
Mesdames, Messieurs, LE rafraîchissement de l'année !
Teri
Gender Bender renvoie dos à dos les growleuses téstostéronées et
les divas pop. Son truc à elle, c'est l'énergie et une désarmante
sincérité. Small is beautiful.
8) Rorcal/Process
of guilt – split ; un conglomérat de signatures
Chronique
d'un somptueux malaise annoncé.
9) Berline 033 - The Abyss will gaze back ; Rejuvenation Records/Katatack/Tandori Records/Et mon cul c'est du tofu ?
Avec leur album un peu trop long et dur à digérer, les Berline auront donc tout dits avant de tirer leur révérence.
10) Unik Ubik – s/t ; Rockerill
Records
Certainement que l'on aime cet album avec ses multiples
références, on l'apprécie aussi parce qu'il s'y dégage quelque
chose d'unique.
Hi Colette, can you explain the history of the group and the inspiration behind your name please?
Hannah and I have been in the band for over two years now and we met Alex and Joel – our rhythm section – pretty early after we made ‘Creeping’.
The name “2:54” refers to 2 minutes 54 seconds into our favourite Melvins song, ‘The History of Bad Men’ on the album A Senile Animal. In the band, we find ourselves obsessed with particular moments in songs, going, “I like that bit, have you heard it?” So for us it was that particular moment in that Melvins track.
Did you and Hannah grow up in a musical household?
Our parents don’t play instruments but we’re from a music-loving family. There was always music on in the home, and hearing stuff like The Band, Rory Gallagher and The Pogues was definitely very influential. It ignited that first passion for music.
Who would you cite as your main influences, musically, and why?
Bands I love are people like Fleetwood Mac, Queens of the Stone Age, Yawning Man… The first album I saved up to buy was Pearl Jam Vs. but I was also massively into R&B. I really loved, and still love, artists like Aaliyah.
How long did it take to write and record your debut?
Over the last couple of years, Hannah and I were constantly writing – she’d send me the track and I’d do the melodies and the lyrics, and we’d restructure/finish the song together – and it reached a point where we’d arrived at the family of songs that we wanted to make up the album. We had two weeks to record it in Monnow Valley in Wales, which is this incredible isolated studio in the middle of the countryside. It was a really great, immersive experience.
Your debut was produced by Rob Ellis, who has a really impressive track record with female artists like PJ Harvey and Anna Calvi. Is that why you chose to work with him? And what do you think he brought to your sound?
Certainly. He has such an incredible musical heritage, and we’re inspired by the work he’s produced. We first met him when he worked on the B-side for the Scarlet EP and we got on really well, so it seemed a fitting choice to work with him again for the main body of the album.
We went to Rob with complete songs, so we weren’t going into the studio to explore anything or embellish anything; we were there just to learn what a professional recording experience is all about. Rob taught us loads about the science of sound: y’know, how to get sound out of a room and all these things we never knew about before. The whole experience was a privilege and we learned a lot.
What were your musical and thematic reference points for the record?
We don’t really have any pre-conceived ideas about the sound and we were just focused on making the songs for ourselves. I guess you write the songs because you’re compelled to, not for any other reason. Maybe it is cathartic but there wasn’t any influence other than we just wanted to create something.
I think lyrically I’m really inspired by the music – I respond instinctively to a track when I hear it. I never try to analyse it too much.
Is there a track you’re most proud of on the album?
I’m proud of all of them. They just feel like a unit so I’m reluctant to isolate one, sorry... (Laughs) We’re happy for people to listen to it however they want, but it feels like a cohesive body of work to us; it goes on a particular journey.
You’ve toured extensively with some incredible bands. If you had to invite one of them back to open for you, who would it be and why?
Oh god, I’d have all of them (laughs)… Er… Oh god, I don’t know! We’ve been fortunate enough to have been touring from day one and touring with incredibly supportive bands. I think we’ve learned something from every band we’ve played with.
They’ve all been quite different as well: touring with The Maccabees and touring with Wild Beasts, you get very different crowds. And being fans of the bands and being able to watch their show every night, it’s just all really educational and you find yourself aspiring to that level of confidence and prowess.
Are you going to be touring for most of the rest of 2012, then? And what can audiences expect from your live shows?
I believe so (laughs). Yeah, it kicks in. We’ve got a London show in June and then we head to America for three weeks. We went to New York before Christmas, and to SXSW recently where we did a few dates, but this is the first proper stint, so we can’t believe it – it’s really exciting.
Our live show? It’s big and loud and energetic, and I hope it’s got soul: it has for us.
Touring is a notoriously intense experience – do you think it makes it easier doing it with your sister?
It’s all I’ve known so I don’t know. We’ve always been close and we’ve always hung out but getting to play music together all the time… It’s the best, y’know? It definitely helps having your sister with you on the road.
Ok, aside from your record, what album should we be most looking forward to this year and why?
I’m really looking forward to The xx album. I’m really excited for their return and I can’t wait to see them play.
And finally, what are your ambitions ultimately for the band?
Being able to do this as a job is amazing. But we just hope to tour a lot more and be a great live band. And record more albums, hopefully!
Line Up :
Colette Thurlow Hannah Thurlow Joel Porter Alex Robins
Label:
Bella Union
Tracklist :
01 – Orion 02 – Blindfold 03 – In The Mirror 04 – No Better Prize 05 – Sleepwalker 06 – Tender Shoots 07 – The Monaco 08 – Crest 09 – Pyro 10 – South 11 – Glory Days 12 – Raptor
Interview de The Amazing Snakeheads, par Julian Marszalek de the Quietus
How and why did The Amazing Snakeheads form?
Dale Barclay: Myself and William [Coombe, bass] have been friends since we were young and I met Jordon [Hutchinson, drums] about seven or eight years ago when I moved into my old flat and he was my neighbour and we became fast friends; we all did. We just decided to go to a practice room and have a bit of fun and make a racket. That was the extent of it at the beginning; we just wanted to have a bit of fun and play some music loud.
Did you always intend for the sound you arrived at or did it evolve?
DB: It certainly evolved. I can't say there was much intention in terms of the sound of the band. We learned how to put music together. It wasn't a case of 'let's do this' or 'let's do that' because we weren't really that capable of it, to be honest. We just sort of blundered on and we just made a racket. I think it's really important to try and let whatever influences you have come through in a way that's natural and not contrived. If you spent too long thinking about what kind of sound you want then you're sort of missing the point. We were keen to let things come out the way they come out. Don't get me wrong, there was no other way to do it when we started because we really couldn't play that much together. I'd never been in a band before, but Jordan had a little bit.
The music you make is a glorious and unholy collision of blues and punk. Was this music that you'd grown up with?
DB: There are certainly those elements in there, but there's a lot of other stuff that goes in there. We listen to a whole load of music; it doesn't matter if it's punk or it's blues or it's soul or funk. It could be anything, really. We like what we like regardless of what it is. Again, I think you've got to let things come through naturally; that's how you arrive at a sound. Or, arrive at a sound that's honest and that's us. We play music out of love and that's all that we can ask of ourselves, really. We're digging what we do. What people get out of it and what people want to reference it to is really up to them.
Songs like 'Flatlining' and 'Every Guy Wants To Be Her Baby' are like film noir set to music. Have those kinds of films or books influenced you in any way?
DB: If you're really into being creative then films and literature should all be in there somewhere. You've got to be open to whatever it is and that's what we are. We just try to let things through in a natural way in terms of, 'ok, is this feeling right?' We really go on instinct. But you're right; there's a whole load of influences there that do include films and literature. I don't want to explain this too much because rather than starting to give things context and referencing things you give people a heads up and we want them to make up their own minds; if people get different things from it then that's fine.
Some of the songs on the album are quite minimal and mantra-like and it seems as if you're trying to induce a trance-like state in the listener. Is that the intention?
DB: We don't really put a lot of thought into who's going to be listening to the music; we never have. We never thought anyone would be listening to the band but the wonderful thing about music is how awe-inspiring it is in the way that it connects with people. But minimal? Yeah, that's the one thing that we've always touched on – that and space and giving things room to breathe. We've always taken that approach from the start; we don't need to fill every space up. Minimal is good for us, especially for our music. And if that induces a certain feeling then all the better.
Rock and roll always seems to be written off but it always manages to return, phoenix-like. What do you think is its enduring appeal and why is the music of The Amazing Snakeheads connecting with people now?
DB: I don't know how our music is connecting with people; that's where the wonder and awe comes in! It really is awe-inspiring that for some reason the music that we make and will continue to make has connected with people in a certain way; that's fucking awe inspiring, and if you can't see the wonder in that then you shouldn't fucking do it. For me, rock and roll saved my life and it makes me feel alive. When things click into place, whether it's onstage or recording or writing then it works and I feel like I have a purpose in life. For me, that's where I'm at with rock and roll and I'll die for that feeling. If you're fortunate in life to have something that makes you happy then you should treat it accordingly. It's about excitement and it's about energy and it's about feeling alive.
You've toured with Glasvegas and The Jim Jones Revue. Did you learn from them?
DB: Absolutely. Glasvegas were the first band to take us on tour, and it was really good, because if you're in band then you really want to be on tour. Certainly we do, and that was our first experience of being on the road. It was only six days but it was a good taste, and we're very grateful to Glasvegas for doing that. The Jim Jones Revue are a fucking rock and roll band who go onstage every night and lay it on the line, and that's what it's all about. Forget the music - it's about what you do onstage. Rock and roll, jazz, whatever it is, your sole purpose is to be on that stage and that's what they do. It was really good being on tour with The Jim Jones Revue so we could see them actually do that. That's the way it's meant to be, because a lot of the stuff that we've talked about as a band has been really theoretical, but it was really good to be on the road with them and see what they do every night. They really do give everything, every night, onstage.
When you're onstage, do you find that you're no longer you, but a new character altogether?
DB: Speaking personally, it can either be hell on earth or it can be transcendental. It's one or the other for me. There's no middle ground; it either works or it doesn't. I'm either feeling it and achieving that feeling that I want to achieve every night that we play, or else it's just not there. That's not where you want to be, so every night we take the approach that this is the last gig we're ever going to play. We don't think about what's coming after it, because it has to be that way for us. When it does work, it's fucking powerful, man, and it makes me feel good.
You've already garnered a reputation as a fearsome and intense live band. How easy or difficult is it to capture that in a studio environment?
DB: To be honest, it wasn't particularly difficult. We took the approach that we didn't have much to lose. But playing live and making a record is not a chore. We were really looking forward to getting in the studio and we were really confident. We knew we were going to do it with Emily McLaren and Stuart Evens at Green Door studios so we were really excited about getting in there and just seeing it. In saying that, you never know how it's going to be, however confident you are. When we started, there was never a moment when we said, 'This is working', I could just tell and we were feeling it. The five of us in the studio were really getting to it and we were really being creative and ideas were coming. Some ideas worked and some didn't, but it was a really beautiful experience to be in a studio. It has exceeded expectations. We were confident, but we knew we wanted a lot in terms of textures and the sonic things we wanted to do, and we love the album. We're really pleased with it.
There's a high degree of dramatic menace in your music. Is that a reflection of your environment?
DB: I don't know. It's come up a few times. People can take our music how they take it, and I have no problem with it, but there's a lot more to it than just being angry. I mean, you say 'menace', but there's a lot of joy in it as well. Most of the time, when I'm writing the lyrics, I'll be fucking laughing. 'Where's My Knife?' was cracking me up when I was writing it.
I'm hoping that Glasgow is on the record. It's a tough city but it's a great city. It's got a bit of a bad rep; certainly in the 60s and the 70s, it was a rough fucking city, man, but now it's a beautiful city and a really creative city. I hope it's made it to the record, but it certainly wasn't a conscious thing. We believe that who you record with and where you record with will all make it on to the record. You just don't think about it – you let it seep in.
The dramatic menace thing, I can see where you're coming from with the horror movie and film noir stuff, rather than real menace. 'Every Guy Wants To be Her Baby' is just a story, and if you're going to tell a story in song, then you've got to go there. If you're going to tell a story, man, you've actually got to be there when you're telling it. You've got to put yourself in that position and you've got to visualise it and you've got to be able to smell it. If it comes across as dramatic then all the better, and it's down to how you tell it, and how far you're going to go with it.
What music would you play to get a party started?
DB: I'd put on some Sam Cooke and James Brown. Soul music is good to dance to. I could throw a lot of things in there but I'd say James Brown – that's when the party gets going. When he goes on, everybody's on it! You'd better believe it.
Line Up :
Dale Barclay
William Coombe
Jordon Hutchiso
Label :
Domino Records
Tracklist :
01 – I’m A Vampire 02 – Nighttime 03 – Swamp Song 04 – Here It Comes Again 05 – Flatlining 06 – Where Is My Knife 07 – Every Guy Wants To Be Her Baby 08 – Memories 09 – Heading For Heartbreak 10 – Tiger By The Tail
