Tunes!

The National have released another song Don't Swallow The Cap from their upcoming album. Employing the usual excitable anxiety we've come to expect from the band, this cut wouldn't have been out of place on their last record.

Counterpoint: Pusha T's new track, Numbers on the Boards is launched on Kayne West's website and via Soundcloud. A bare-bones track, which puts Pusha's vocal dexterity front and centre.




The Knife's second single A Tooth For An Eye from their just-released epic new album, Shaking the Habitual. A great new song from the innovative artists. Stream the song, or check out the video below.

The Chameleons

Why have I never come across The Chameleons before?

When people compare Interpol to Joy Division, they're making a superficial comparison. Comparing Interpol to The Chameleons would be far more appropriate superficial comparison. 

Releasing three albums in the early to mid 80s, this Manchester post-punk group disbanded after the death of their manager in 1987. They reunited in the early 2000s for three years and another three releases before once again dissolving. In their short time(s) together they released an extraordinarily underestimated catalogue of work (I'm still working through their first releases- and they're stunning). It surprises me that they're not better known than they are.

Indeed, if these albums were released by a new band today, the hype would be huge.

Have a listen to a few choice cuts below and see what you think.

 

Game of Thrones Season 3: Episode 2 Recap

Spoilers ahead!

Man, I shouldn't have wasted time worrying the story was spiralling out of control last week- this week gave us introductions to at least eight new characters! And once again, despite what many would accuse of being a leisurely pace, this episode barely took a breathe in its momentum forward.

We find out that Little Lord Bran's still making slow progress to the Wall, with Hodor, Rickon and Osha (how is it that I never knew this character's name?) providing support both literal and defensive. Bran's still having his animal dreams and we get an answer as to why. He's a warg, of course. Another supernatural element to annoy all those viewers who were suckered in by the politics, handsome production design and loads of sex and are gradually losing enthusiasm because of the appearance of  smoke demons, zombie armies and actual dragons. Ah, well.

A warg is a person with the gift of second sight, and who can view the world through the eyes of animals. Bran is a warg, this new kid Jojen Reed, (the freakish kid with the inky shark eyes from Love Actually) is a warg and Gareth from the original UK version of The Office is a warg. And Jon Snow got to see a warg. That's basically all he did this episode : look at a warg and act all unperturbed by the vision of 'dead crows' at the Fist of the First Men.

Theon's also back on the scene, and his fall has been as swift as his rise, with us finding him strapped to a cross undergoing his very own Spanish inquisition. Which he (like everyone else) would never expect! Especially since the last moment he was conscious he was giving a rousing speech to his not-so-loyal-as-it-turns-out troops in the courtyard of a besieged Winterfell. Then another ex-The Office actor knocked him out with a blow to the head. Now he's woken up to knives under the fingernails and screws through the feet. It's sure put my bad morning into prospective.

The Kingslayer Jamie and Brienne are still perfecting their very own version of a Crosby & Hope road movie, complete with clever word play, fisticuffs and pratfalls. Actually scratch that, it's more like a medieval Midnight Run (my spin-off pitch: Night's Watch Run), with the straight-talking, resourceful bounty hunter constantly being hamstrung by her wise-cracking, difficult prisoner. And now they're in all sorts of trouble because House Bolton's man-at-arms' Locke (played by Noah Taylo! Where'd he come from?!) got tipped off an 'innocent man' that Brienne let go earlier in the episode. Doing the honourable thing never pays off in Game of Thrones.

Margaery's schemes start taking root after she and her Grandmother Lady Olenna quiz Sansa about Joffrey's true nature while enjoying some lemon cake. This could prove to be the most dangerous afternoon tea ever! While there's no doubt about the Tyrell's motivations for bringing Sansa into their confidence, it's hard to imagine a situation where Sansa's life won't be extinguished out by a crossbow-wielding Margaery when Joffrey decides he needs a little... release.

Lady Stark got a nice confessional monologue on the way to her father's funeral where we really come to understand her reasons for letting the Kingslayer go. It appears as though poor ol' Catelyn blames herself for all the tragedies that have befallen her family ever since she wished death upon the baby Jon Snow. That's a heavy weight to carry around, and provides a nice solemn moment around which so much turmoil revolves.

Samwise is his usual mopey self, barely trudging along with his brothers back towards the Wall. (He's not really living up to his namesake Samwise Gamgee's reputation for long walks, is he?) The fact that he's not already dead suggests he's got a great heroic moment in him. We're into the third season now, I wonder how far off it is?

And the great Arya is finally back with us, getting lost in the forest with Gendry and Hot Pie and encountering the likable rogues that are the Brotherhood Without Banners. Plus another two great characters introduced, the smooth talking Thoros of Myr and his stunning archer Anguy who gets a memorable and, let's face it, hopefully prophetic scene where he fires an arrow into the sky that lands exactly where he wants it to: six feet away. When an archer stops talking: move.

Also:

• Tyrion seems to have been moved to a nicer room, this one gets some natural light.
• Lady Olenna's keen thoughts on Renly: "Gallant, yes, and charming, and very clean. He knew how to dress and smile and somehow this gave him the notion he was fit to be king." Which in the world of Monty Python and the Holy Grail is precisely what identifies a king: "He hasn't got shit all over him".
• Ha! Gendry gives Arya a hard time for not simply wishing her three deaths upon the people who really deserve it. 
• Nice to see the Hound back in action. Even if he may have just made life very difficult for Arya and the gang.
• Latest piece of beyond-the-wall trivia: "Everyone hates the Cave People".

The National: Demons single

The first single from the upcoming new album from The National, Trouble Will Find Me.

Ostensibly it still sounds like The National (that Berningertone™is of course, unmistakeable) but the production suggests something new for the band. Things are mixed with a warm reverb that envelopes everything, most immediately recalling the sound of Bon Iver's Bon Iver, Bon Iver record from 2011.

Have a listen/watch:

Only God Forgives: Red band trailer

Something worth looking forward to.

Two years on from the resonant Drive, the red band trailer for Nicholas Winding Refn's new film with Ryan Gosling, Only God Forgives has just been released, and it looks suitably stunning:

It's somewhat more picturesque, but just as striking as the teaser poster from a few months back. Ouch:

Wilco at Sydney Opera House 02.04.13

One of the finest bands in the world performed in the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House last night, when Wilco played a brilliant set of tracks from their back catalogue (I think the only albums that didn't get a look in were A.M. and Wilco (The Album)).

On stage promptly at 9:30pm - a late start for an Opera House performance - a feeling seemingly felt by the band as they poured onto stage, picked up their instruments and went straight into a perfect-from-note-one rendition of One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley), (my personal pick for best song of 2012). It's a rare thing these days that sets should begin with a perfectly modulated mix (my review for Wild Nothing also noted this occurrence) but the mixing desk pulled it off - a 12 minute song that slowly builds in volume and instrumental layers in a repeating musical cycle - and it all sounded crystal clear. No mean feat for a band of six players and multiple instruments. This pristine sound went a long to make up for the only thing wrong with the show- an absurdly short 90 minute allotted set time. Who in their right mind booked Wilco, a band with eight albums, and famed for their two hour-plus shows to play a precisely ninety minute set? Major misstep, Opera House!

But despite the short set time, the band, as always, proved themselves an exemplary live act. With commanding virtuosity out front with Nels Cline's intricate guitar heroics, Jeff Tweedy's candid vocals, his and Patrick Sansone's complementary guitars and Mikael Jorgensen's piano and effects, there was  something new to discover in every arrangement. But it's the unsung genius of the rhythm section - Glenn Kotche's astounding, innovative drumming and percussion, combined with John Stirrat's unyielding bass playing - that produces the fuel that powers the whole engine. They have a stunning alchemy that is really something to behold.

It was clear the band were wanting to play as much as possible, only chatting to the audience for a few brief minutes throughout the show (because they didn't 'have enough fucking time'), mostly about the cost of the Opera House, how it looked better on the outside than the inside and the 'abominable' condition of the stage floor. Plenty of people enjoyed the jokey patter, but you could tell some of the punters became a little uneasy that an international guest would dare make a joke about our Opera House: We can make fun of it, not these foreigners! They should feel honoured to be here! Tweedy picked up on this vibe and obviously felt he had to back track a little. I apologise on behalf of everyone Jeff, you shouldn't have to put up with those people.

It was a killer setlist, featuring a good mixture of their experimental tracks like Poor Places, Art of Almost and At Least That's What You Said along with more traditional material such as I Might and Whole Love and their great Woody Guthrie composition One by One.

When we approached the end of their allotted time, Tweedy asked if the audience preferred another song immediately or wanted to engage in the charade of the band leaving the stage and coming back for an encore. We opted for a Shot in the Arm. But an extra half hour wouldn't have gone astray.


You can live stream Wilco's second Opera House performance tonight from 9:30pm via the Sydney Opera House Youtube channel.

Game of Thrones Season 3: Episode 1 Recap

Spoilers ahead.

And it's back!

Now featuring: Eunuch soldiers! Giants! Flying dragons! The King beyond the wall! And a little bloody gratitude.

Plus the realisation that this show could really spiral out of control with storylines. Half of the original lead characters didn't even get a look in during this first episode!

Clearly an effort to set up plot lines and character arcs for the new season, this first episode may seem to run a little slow, but I admire the decision to take things at a pace at the beginning. So much is already happening in the big scheme of things that such a drifting approach to the new developments is a keen way to go. You can see the opening stitches for threads that will run through the rest of the season/s. Aside from a frightening moment with a zombie in the opening moments and a sudden attempt on Daenerys' life by a warlock (you may be done with with the warlocks, but the warlocks aren't done with you), the episode unfolds with a steady, intriguing casualness. So many things unfold so simply:

• Sam didn't release the ravens. Uh oh.
• The dragons are getting big. The Dothraki don't sail so good.
• Slave soldiers with no balls can take a nipple slicing in their stride and are available for hire!
• The Red woman is burning men alive.
• Stathis looks like he's being led down the garden path to employing some seriously black magic the next time he enters battle.
• The King beyond the wall is just hanging out with some bros in a tent. It's hard to spot him in a group of three, but it turns out it's the awesome Ciarin Hinds! This show's actor pedigree just got even better.
• Joffrey is as swarmy as ever and still squeals to mummy any chance he gets.
• Margaery is smart enough to start rallying support from the swarms of citizens who might constitute a loyal army for when she decides to take the Iron Throne for herself.
• Tyrion makes an honest attempt to get out of this whole running-the-world business by appealing to his father for a little gratitude. But getting rebuked yet again may set him on a path to some long term family betrayal.
• And oh yeah, there are giants. There's one, wandering by with a pylon.
• No sign of Jamie, Brienne, Theon, Bran or Arya yet. 

The downside to this breeziness and all of the plotlines is that the context gets its face sliced in half and left in a dank cell that no one wants to visit. Too bad if you don't remember what Baelish's current scheme is, where Harrenhaal is located and why everybody's dead, or who Barristan Selmy, one of the greatest soldiers in Westeros is when he's not stabbing fluorescent scorpions. Game of Thrones has got a lot of story to tell- it's not going to slow down just so you can refresh your memory - that's what the internet is for. Thank the new gods!