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: CONFECT - SCRIBE

When Scribe announced that their new album Confect would be released as a free download, the news came as a surprise. For one, Scribe is at the forefront of the much maligned Indian metal scene. Their live act is frenetic and belies a tightness that’s meant for bigger things. So for the album to be released free of cost puts a lot of pressure on the band.

Indian bands are used to putting pressure on themselves. The result, quite often, is music that is ‘forced’ and impersonal; the opportunity to connect with the audience coming only through heavy choruses and generic references to issues that we’re not really facing. ‘Big’ acts like Pentagram and Shaa’ir + Func have fallen prey to this and very few acts manage to jump the shark to deeper ground. And then there’s the other train of thought that believes Indian rock/metal needs to represent Indian culture via regional language or regional instrument. Eventually, though there is much Indian independent music on offer, very little of it is in any way unique. One listens to Indian music in this form with a different ear than one listens to an international release.

Which is why Confect is more important than just the full length studio debut of a top Indian metal act.

Read the complete review + Indiecision after the break.

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