Indiecision: Music Blog: Independent Music in India and Elsewhere

REVIEW: ALL OR NOTHING - THE SUBWAYS

This review is a mini.

The Subways created much ruckus with 2005’s Young For Eternity and it’s lead single ‘Rock & Roll Queen’. They were, um, young; fresh blood with a raw spirit that translated into a loud album and a world tour. The potential for a sophomore that didn’t live up to expectations was tremendous. And in that regard, The Subways do not disappoint.

All or Nothing suffers the same fate as hundreds of new bands with a promising debut and a youthful spirit. It flounders in the attempt to sound ‘harder’ and fails to do anything relevant to add to the band’s sound.

Picks: ‘Girls & Boys’

More minis.

REVIEW: PEACEFUL, THE WORLD LAYS ME DOWN - NOAH AND THE WHALE

Stick a glockenspiel, a ukulele and a few handclaps on a young folk-pop quartet and voila, the claim of new Neutral Milk Hotel is easy to throw around. Add a reference to a Wes Anderson movie and you’ve got yourself something that’s either very easy to dismiss as contrived or very easy to love. There’s no middle ground here.

So where do Noah And The Whale find themselves? Is their music strong enough to break the Jeff Mangum stereotype? Or are they just feeding off hipster delight at hearing a something that’s almost, but not quite?

The first indication that it’s the former is Charlie Fink. The vocalist’s gloomy, puppy dog delivery is almost Conor Oberst-esque in its melodrama. When he sings “If there’s any love in me, don’t let it show” (‘Shape Of My Heart’) the cheerfulness of the melody gets a poker-faced punch to the guts, only to burst into a chorus of horns. The effect in charming, brought together by a resounding string section.

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REVIEW: DIG OUT YOUR SOUL - OASIS

The promotional plan for the launch of Oasis’ new album included a short tour of the US in September. The gigs were cancelled however due to the injuries sustained by Noel Gallagher when he was attacked by an unidentified assailant while playing on stage in Canada. What’s significant about the album promotion in the US though is that the band made use of buskers in New York to play their new tunes. Over 30 buskers were employed to play new songs from the album at various locations across the city. Whether spurred by promoters or their record label (Creation/Sony BMG) this was a rare display of ‘accessibility’ by a band that’s always been out of reach. You won’t find the Gallaghers writing blogs or posting videos on YouTube. Oasis have always been bigger than that.

But they’ve changed.

For many, Oasis’ best material has been their first two albums. Definitely Maybe was raw and confident while (What’s The Story) Morning Glory was vast and ‘electric’. The success of these two albums is considered by many as the reason for Oasis’ continued popularity in the last decade. To some extent this is justified. The band didn’t do much with their sound. 2000’s Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants was loose and didn’t have the spunk of earlier releases. Heathen Chemistry was, apart from the singles, pretty nondescript. But within the unremarkability of those releases were instances where Oasis shone, albeit not as bright as we would’ve liked.

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REVIEW: WAY TO NORMAL - BEN FOLDS

Prior to the official release of Way To Normal, Ben Folds ‘leaked’ it. However, the songs on the leak weren’t the songs on the official album. It was reported that Folds and crew had a “night to kill in Dublin” and leaked a fake version of the album on fan sites so people had “something to listen to”. The leaked version was replete with foul-mouthed humour and Folds’ trademark melodies. It was a cheeky move and defined the man’s persona.

Ben Folds is cooler than hipster and geekier than nerd. He’s with the peeps. His accessibility as a songwriter, a performer and a prankster has seen him through two solo albums (after Ben Folds Five came to an end) that took his suburban pastiche and made it real. The formula is simple, and Folds’ genius with melody made Rockin’ The Suburbs and Songs For Silverman memorable listens.

But when does the method wear thin? And does it have to?

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