The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement

I’ve heard the phrase “Arctic Monkeys with strings” banded about with reference to this band over the past couple of weeks, and it’s exactly the narrow-minded phrase I’ve come to expect from music fans and journalists alike nowadays.  While it is easy to write off ‘The Age of the Understatement’ as something Alex Turner is doing to pass the time between albums, it’s completely unfair.

I can see where this has come from and there are a couple of songs on the album which I’d just about forgive it for; but The Last Shadow Puppets are so much more than that.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

There’s a definite formula to Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago. Justin Vernon’s dulcet layered tones sweep across his beautiful lo-fi nu-soul acoustica, in torn, raw, emotive fashion somewhere between Scott Matthews and Brett Dennen. The vocals really carry For Emma, Forever Ago as it was in serious danger of being just another singer-songwriter hitching a ride on the massive wave.

The Last of The Protesters?

‘I’m Not There’, the Bob Dylan biopic, could teach the bands of today a good lesson or two about song writing. When a young Bob Dylan, portrayed as young hobo kid going by the name of Woody Guthrie, talks of his songs about previous hardships, he receives the most valuable information ever uttered; Live your own time, child. Sing about your own time. What happened to the people singing about the tribulations of our own time in the form of contemporary protest music? Hip-Hop has taken over as the form of protest music but Hip-Hop seems to have a knack of stirring up more controversy than bringing about change, Rock Against Bush, rocks contribution, was actually inspired by Rock Against Reagan in the 80’s and the Woodstock of ’69. So not exactly original then.

The 60 Second Review

This is the first of what I hope will be a regular feature:  the 60 second music review.  The idea is a basic enough one; hit play, hit the stopwatch and get writing.  This is an experiment more than anything, as I’ll tinker with the time limit, the format and the subject to find a system that works.

I’ll be using the 60 seconds to compose my review, and then a few odd seconds afterwards to correct any misspelt words/punctuation that I may have overlooked my haste.  With these, I don’t really intend to give the usual ‘XXXX are a 4 piece acid funk band from Hartlepool,’ as I’ll be dwelling on the feeling and opinions I get based on the music.

Mumm-Ra Shock Split

Mumm-Ra, the energetic and at times beautifully atmospheric indie band has decided their ‘journey as a band has come to an end.’ The band had been an underground success, playing on tour with The Killers, The Kooks and the Kaiser Chiefs winning fans with their youthful exuberance and mature pop. Mumm-Ra’s 2007 debut ‘These Things Move In Threes’ was met with critical acclaim, with three singles released including the infectious ‘She’s Got You High’ but only merely touching the top 50. Mumm-Ra are just one of a number of bands that seem to be getting hit by the Myspace generation and are another indication that we are heading for a disposable music industry.

Wonky Pop Tour

The Wonky Pop Tour danced its way to Stoke’s Sugarmill with Alphabeat, currently sitting at number seven in the single chart, Leon Jean-Marie and Frankmusik. Leon Jean-Marie opened the night in spectacular style and had the whole, albeit very young, crowd moving to his soul, funk, reggae rock with a voice that was somewhere between John Legend and Bill Withers. L.J.M looked the part too, him and his band parading and controlling the stage looking just as smooth as they sounded. He’s certainly no one trick pony either, at times you hear the Specials, then Lenny Kravitz jagged soulful rock and then some Anthony Hamilton funk. If as you’d expect, the bands are to get better as the bill gets near the top, there’s definitely a hell of a night in store.

Summer In The City

The music scene around Norwich has always been thriving but this year looks especially exciting. Having managed to tempt Stereophonics to perform a warm-up show for their end of year world tour in September, this year certainly has something to live up to.

The Supergrass and the-Britpop-gods-that-are James gigs in April go a long way to give this year a boost in the right direction. NME favourites and supposed saviours of Mancunian music, The Courteeners also hit Norwich in April on the night that the band of 2007, The Wombats, play a sell out gig in the very same city. Air Traffic round off April playing songs from last years criminally understated album, Fractured Life, making it a month to remember in a summer that will only get better.

Latitude Festival

Whilst remaining coy about the music line-up, Latitude Festival looks to be verging on another promising season as one of the best emerging festivals. Sigur Rós, Franz Ferdinand and Interpol are headlining this years Latitude, the third year of the festival, following in the footsteps of the likes of Arcade Fire, Snow Patrol and Damien Rice in previous years. As Melvin Benn and the festival’s organisers have been so keen on telling us since 2006, this is ‘more than a just a music festival’ with names such as Bill Bailey and Phill Jupitus returning for a second year along with their ‘Buzzcocks’ resident Simon Amstell, Ross Noble, Rich Hall and Omid Djalili and many more on the comedy stage. It does not stop there, with stages such as the Literary Arena showcasing Dave Gorman, Stuart Marconi and Simon Armitage among many others; poetry comes most notably in the form of Carol Ann Duffy and with a total of twelve stages, it is clear that the festival is continuing to grow.