Les Revenants; The Returned, and Thou Have Returneth

I've always had a constant, unconditional love for post-rock, yet somehow Mogwai have always been one of those groups that I've felt have teetered on this particular fence.
Call me old fashioned, and yeah I feel a little bit like an old dog that you can't teach new tricks to; but after being introduced to this genre by God is an Astronaut, Pelican and the likes; I've always felt that it was more about the emotion through instrumentation that resonated this style rather than vocal projection. This is maybe why I've never considered myself an avid Mogwai fan - only occasionally listening to the songs which I can put my own words and emotions to, rather than trying to associate with the lyrics that have been placed before me. Nonetheless, I have always felt this band play beautiful emotionally-driven music that I'll always be able to relate to on many different levels.

Now this is more of a dual-reflection update rather than putting the spotlight solely on Mogwai, as it comes hand-in-hand with a new television series I've recently started watching. Some of you might know it, some not. Shamefully to say, I've been watching it on Channel 4 but was recommended it through word-of-mouth as it was apparently "down your street". The Returned is a French television show that has reached the UK solely through being subtitled for British audiences (once again, I am shamed but unfortunately my lack of bilingualism has given me the disadvantage of not knowing any of these otherwise brilliant foreign television shows.) Originally titled for it's primary French Audience, Les Revenants is still pretty fresh with its 2013 air release, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't seen it - however if you're like me and can't speak a word of French further than "voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir", you're going to have to a hard time. Or you'll just have to follow my lead, and do what I've painstakingly had to, and grit your teeth in anticipation of every weekly episode (currently waiting on episode four right now.)

In a nutshell - and I won't leak any spoilers just in case, the series is set in a small Alpine village where tragedy has struck on more than a few occasions in its recent years. A coach carrying a major group of school children swerves off a high cliff; that sort of awful thing. Key themes to note here that don't give any fundamental plot lines away are that essentially the accidents that have happened - those which have resulted in lives ending far before they should have, are beginning to be reviewed. People who died before their prime with otherwise no knowledge to their short lives ending, are being resurrected from the dead without any knowing that they are no longer alive. Les Revenants, or The Returned as I know it, explores a bizarre consequence of the lives of people who have been affected by the loss of someone close, and how - as much as the mind longs for their return, everyday life is altered when the unaware dead try to continue to coexist with the living, oblivious of their own fatal circumstances.

As I watched the very first episode with an open-yet-sceptical mind, I couldn't help but notice how powerful the soundtrack was. It's hard to write about how it affected me without releasing any spoilers, but each song ran shivers down my spine and I made a mental reminder to look into the soundtrack afterwards. The music was intense, yet it felt fragile while in tune with its visual context. If anything, it was the music that emphasized the extremities of emotion in The Returned. Although I didn't know how to personally relate to most of  the themes that this series shadowed, somehow now I could suddenly understand them. The music fuelled my empathy for the characters in the show and how they grieved for the people they lost. The numbing shock they felt when those they had once hysterically mourned for, had returned to them.

Hit the break for the track, and a little more gushing.

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

When I first discovered this band back in late 2008 (yes I did spend the first 18 years of my life beneath a rock), the first thought that crossed my mind was whether Mogwai knew the derogative nature of their title. It's a pretty sweet original name for a band nonetheless, but being a British expatriot who grew up in Hong Kong, I've always been fully aware of the (desensitized) term Gweilo which some locals refer to Westerners by; roughly translating from Cantonese to mean "foreign devil" or "ghost man". HOWEVER, after doing a bit of homework it turns out that the term Mogwai comes from the fictional furry creature from the Gremlins films. So a slap on the wrists, and shame on me for making such ignorant assumptions.

Anyway, this Mogwai is far from being fictional or furry. The Glaswegian five-piece released their 7th studio album Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will in February earlier this year, which is filled with tunes of the same delicate chaos as ever before. This most recent album continues to commemorate Mogwai's dynamical beauty that contrasts loud, thrashing distortion and drums against softer, more pensive sections of ambience that are impeccably free to be explored through their long-length tracks. While there is a darkness to their sound, Mogwai continue to give a sense of predetermined improvisation to their melodies as if telling an instrumental story that, without fail, leads to an orgasmic musical climax of emotional power that feels joyous and elegiac at the same. 

Courtesy of TLOBF

The Heart is a Drum Machine (2010)

I'm a bit of a factual enthusiast. Throughout the course of university life, many (well-spent) hours were filled with knitting (yeah, I know) and exploring cyberspace for enlightenment through documentaries. I mean it when I say that I'm an encyclopaedia of useless information - useless in the sense that it will only come to benefit me if humanity faces a New World Order, or when (I stress when) aliens take over the world- THEN I can turn around and shout "TO THE BUNKERS", with a smug expression on my face and a complete advantage over the rest of you sceptics. 

Anyway, had I known of this documentary before I wrote my dissertation (which happened to be on alternative representations of gender in music), I would have probably written it in celebration of this spectacular film. It's incredibly fascinating, and I recommend it to anyone who feels as passionately as I do about the power of music and the emotional grasp it has on so many of us. 

Released in 2010 and directed by Christopher Pomerenke, The Heart is a Drum Machine asks the supposedly straight-forward question "What is music?", evidently establishing how complicated in fact, a direct answer to this really is. Why is it that music has such a profound effect on people? It is easy to break down music as an organized choreography of sounds and vibrations, but there's a fundamental enigma in the extent of the emotional complexity music demonstrates on all groups of individuals - ranging from all cultures and backgrounds, to artists, performers, listeners and those who can't hear anything at all. 

A Different Kind of Fix - Bombay Bicycle Club

There's a definite sound to the current climate that is British indie music. It's a very distinct mix of indie meets pop meets rock, which subsequently meets contemporary-influenced folk, and ultimately leading to very bouncy musical composition of upbeat rhythms and twiddly guitar riffs, peppered with underlays of electronic effects. Bombay Bicycle Club have conquered that sound, and with the release of their third album A Different Kind of Fix, I can't help but feel a little disheartened by the overt similarities between this and their previous releases. However, what can be said is that the musical arrangement of this album has been clearly composed with love and an undeniable amount of effort. As recognizable with Bombay Bicycle Club, there's a brilliant fusion between folk-influenced guitar parts with a modest use of synthesizers that slide subtly behind their melodies and thicken the atmosphere that surrounds each track. 

Bombay Bicycle Club as seen on their Last.fm page

The first impressions I had for this album were particularly positive. The opening song, How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep cements the folkiness of this album, while the shaky vocals remind me of a more upbeat, rather happier Conor Oberst who's given in to the contemporary trend of electronic influences. The great thing is that this opening track is so different to their previous sound that when followed by Bad Timing, there's an admirable sense of change and distinction - particularly how this second track has more of a dreampop feel to it, drawing upon musical similarities to ethereal bands such as The Daysleepers and the likes.

Austra: An Overview

It's a marvellous feeling to stumble across an artist that you fall instantly in love with. It's exactly what happened to me this morning, when the wonderful music cataloguer Last.fm, provided me with my daily dose of artist recommendations of potential musical companionships. Thank you, Last.fm, for enlightening me with Austra.

For the avid listeners who enjoy expanding their musical horizons, this band deserves the opportunity to fill ear cavities with a taste of new wave electronica that feels heavy and light at the same time. The sound of Toronto-formed Austra, bears positive familiarity with artists such as Zola Jesus, Esben and the Witch, and The Knife through a contrast of intense melodies against powerful female vocals that although delicate, hold underlying energies that persistently threaten to break through. While this association may sound generalizing; the reality of this is that Austra sets itself apart from neighbouring artists with a uniquely tailored tone, as lead-vocalist Katie Stelmanis' classically-trained voice feels beautifully strained beneath the pressure of emotional retention.

Austra's Katie Stelmanis

The Newcomers: Man Without Country

Had I been already writing a blog in June, I'd have jumped straight from the gig in Cardiff to my laptop for immediate gushing and admiration for this band. Unfortunately I didn't, and with the terrible memory that I have, it has taken me a good summer to get round to writing so. But fear not, my little chickadees, as it has all come flooding back to me and boy - am I happy about it!

This band here is Man Without Country, who, alongside Crystal Stilts, were the supporters for headlining band Warpaint (hands down one of the best all-girl bands around at the moment by the waaay), and although I acknowledged their name on the posters, I was far from understanding the sheer power of the duo behind the band. Not only did the Warpaint gig introduce me to Man Without Country, but it also gave me the special privilege of experiencing the magic that this band evoke through their sound - and the surreal atmosphere they create when performing live.

Taken from their Official Site.
But it's pretty much how I remember the band looking too.

SONOIO Review on Red

It's obvious what my musical niche is. Hadn't I known of SONOIO prior to listening to Red, I would have thought the mastermind behind the solo project was a woman. Not because I'm a strong feminist or anything like that (although you can quiz me on my suffragette knowledge), but because of the incredible vocal range that Alessandro Cortini presents in his tunes. 

Bells might ring with Cortini's name, having toured and recorded with industrial-rockers Nine Inch Nails in earlier years, as well as contributing to another two bands; Modwheelmood and Blindoldfreak. However, SONOIO (the name comes from the Italian phrase "Sono io" meaning "it's me") is Cortini's most recent project and - as the name suggests, he's been producing it solo.

SONOIO - Red

Ladytron's Back!

Now for me, this is the long awaited good news that I've been dreaming to hear. Ladytron's new single, 'White Elephants' has been made available for online listening. God bless, free music streaming! Along with three other tunes; 'Mirage', 'Ambulances' and 'Ace of Hz', these single releases are the teaser tasters fuelling the hype to Ladytron's fifth studio album, 'Gravity the Seducer' that will be released in September this year.

Ladytron's fifth album, 'Gravity the Seducer' will be released on September 12th 2011

Them Little Dragons

I've had a hankering for new music recently. When I can't remember the last time I updated my iPod or whether or not it even has battery left in it (damn the generation that requires USB cables to charge, DAMN THEM), that's when I know it's time to tune back in to the wonderfully diverse realm of contemporary music.

Vocalist Yukimi Nagano and her dragons.

 Little Dragon, have given birth to something beautiful 'Ritual Union', that's so new and fresh from release that it's still piping hot. The electronic music group from Sweden (I sometimes wonder if this country is my true calling - once again luring me into a pleasurable Swedish vortex of dark electronica) compile their tracks with the best of synthetic beats, electronic sounds and vocals that fit soundly within the realms of trip-hop. 

Now Little Dragon are fairly new to me, having only discovered them about two months ago with their previous 2009 album, Machine Dreams so to receive news of Ritual Union's release I was a rather happy bunny. To my delightful surprise, Ritual Union greatly differs in style and influence to their previous albums, feeling more toned down on the experimental side with greater focus on syncopated melodies. Don't get me wrong, experimentation with sound is never a bad thing, but it seriously requires far more concentration to appreciate the beauties that hide within layers of sometimes unnecessary sound.

Iamamiwhoami - whoarethey?

I happen to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with travelling and transport. Flying scares the bejesus out of me, while I could bob about on a ferry quite happily (that is, if I manage to walk across the gangway without falling in - LONG story). Trains are my favourite form of transport though, I mean after the havoc of sweating your way to an empty seat, then having to give it up for the little old lady who doesn't even say thank you. Gosh. Despite this, train rides give me the time to appreciation albums from start to finish.

Now this band, Iamamiwhoami, may take a few times round to say the name right - I think I know? But I could be wrong. Anyway, they're a Swedish project of sweet, sweet electro beats headlined by Jonna Lee. They originally started off anonymously on Youtube releasing enigmatic viral clips and causing great stir as well as a copyright infringement, woops. WHO ARE THEY, we all asked.

Musically, over the course of the last two years, Iamamiwhoami have shone with a number of singular releases, all mysteriously named as alphabetical numbers, often - as I have stumbled upon, in conjunction with artistic remixes.

Breaking Bad is Back

Friday morning. I'm doing what any lazy, unemployed, recently graduated 20 year old person would be doing - Sitting in bed with a coffee, catching up with newly released series. Yesterday was True Blood - which, for the record, is smokin' hot and a show that will always have a place situated comfortably and warm in the centre of my heart. Yeah, you heard me Eric Northman.

Good ol' Hal

I'm taking a break from True Blood today however - too much vampire and fairy chemistry is making me feel somewhat sexually deprived which is really not that fair. So I thought I'd give the first episode of the freshly released and well awaited season 4 of Breaking Bad a watch. For all those living under a rock out there, Vince Giligan's award-winning series stars Bryan Cranston, whom many of you might remember playing Hal in the legendary sitcom 'Malcolm in the Middle'. However Cranston seems to have left his comedic role (along with his hair) back in the 90's, impressively morphing into the perceivably nonchalant Walter White, who has exceeded from his lack of street credibility by creating a highly radioactive looking blue crystal methamphetamine that is essentially the bomb in his neighbourhood. Of course however, we see that any usage of these substances is portrayed without glamour, referring predominantly to the business, art and talent of Walt's chemistry while casting light on the severity and dangers of being part of New Mexico's drug trade. Not to mention throughout this entire series, the crux of Walt's illegal doings is to support his wife and children as he juggles a double life of meth-making with being a modest chemistry teacher living with a sense of impending doom due to his lung cancer diagnosis.

The last thing that we see in season 3's finale is a teasing cliffhanger of frustrating enigmas provoking many thoughts. In a state of hysteria, Jesse turns up on Gale's doorstep pointing a gun to his face. Then, like all cinematic cliches, we hear the gunshot after the camera cuts to a landscape scene leaving us with six trillion questions that were only to be answered in the following season.

Without disappointment, season 4 directly picks up from the previous gripping action (remember Mike's unexpected orders to dispose of Walt?) and there's a definite sense of imminent tension throughout the entire episode, throwing us directly into the deep end before we've even touched the water.

All in all, this is a pretty great episode. It's hard to please a starving audience and Vince Giligan has certainly put just the right amount of cake on our empty plates to keep us begging for more.