The Hold Steady
Stay Positive

Stay Positive is the fourth album from The Hold Steady, a classic rock outfit. Unlike the shortlived Darkness, The Hold Steady has managed to survive in the 21st century by churning out exciting live performances and generate enough fanbase, part of the reason is due to the formulaic nature of their records. While not changing much, Stay Positive feels like a mellower and more experimental record for the band.

Lead vocals Craig Finn has the classic rock growl, though sometimes he almost sounds like he is talking instead of singing, but the guitar solos and keyboard flourishes make up for that. The themes haven't changed, there are still drugs, sex and religion as the down and out try to make it in the world. However, the band manages to inject humor and dry wit in every song.

The album starts off well, with both 'Constructive Summer' and 'Sequestered in Memphis' getting you into the fist pumping mood. While the rock staples are here and there are the usual sing along choruses, the experimental tracks do shine, like the harpsichord lead in 'One for the Cutters'. And you would have gone through the banjo and the talk tracks by the time 'Slapped Actress' brings you to the climatic end.

The Limited Edition also releases 3 other songs, but as a single track.

Listen to: "Lord, I'm Discouraged", "Sequestered in Memphis"

Hi all, this will be the start of an ongoing series in which I’ll introduce 3 essential albums of some of the best bands and artistes in the world, so it would be appropriate to start with one of THE greatest bands of all time (you all know them) - The Beatles.

Talking more about The Beatles would be akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, so if you have never heard of The Beatles (gasp!) or would like to learn more a good place to start is here

Now on to the good stuff.

(In chronological order)

1) Revolver

As any Rock Historian will tell you, The Beatles were famous not only because their songs were accessible to the mainstream but also because they experimented with new sounds and techniques that influenced practically all the other bands that came after them. 'Eleanor Rigby' was quirky and funny, backed by an instantly recognizable string melody. Sitars feature in 'Love You To', George Harrison's attempt at classical Indian music while under the tutelage of sitar master Ravi Shankar. 'Tommorrow Never Knows' was a one of the first pieces of psychedelic rock, an experimental track. The lyrics were inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, while the Beatles played around with studio effects such as processed vocals, reverse guitar and looped tape effects. This album was also a breakthrough for Harrison who contributed three fabulous songs to the album as a songwriter.

2) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Regarded by many as The Beatle's magnum opus, critics compared it to art and Rolling Stones named it "One of The Most Important Albums Ever Made". It was a time when the Lennon/McCartney team was at its best, both lyrically and musically. 'A Day In The Life' combines two separately written songs with orchestral dubs. There is brilliance under 'Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds', the song itself has a simple melody, the underlying arrangement though grows increasingly complex with each verse, musical keys and time shift in different sections and several instruments featured. Almost like watching the fictional Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the songs transition smoothly between each track, from strings to electric guitars to sitars, The Beatles showed the world what a real rock album could be.

3) Abbey Road

Abbey Road was the last recorded Beatles album; it came at a time when the relationships between the band members were strained, agreeing to set aside their differences to work together for one last time. Split into two parts, the album features a visit to all the familiar sounds that they had conquered as a band, from the rock heavy Lennon anthem 'Come Together' to the lightweight pop tunes in 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' and 'Octopus's Garden'.

The beauty of the lingering moment before the end comes in an eight track medley, with several fragmentary songs. The music is a flits from mood to mood, from the pensive 'Because' to the humorous 'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window' and to the melancholic 'Golden Slumbers' before ending it in rock and roll finality on 'The End'

Also Recommended: The White Album (The Beatles)

Known more commonly as the White Album for its cover as it was never really named, the album was recorded in a turbulent time for the Beatles, this was the beginning of the end. However, the atmosphere meant that the members were often alone and writing individually, turning out great work and foreshadowing of the solo careers of the Beatles.

Recommended Tracks: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Julia, Helter Skelter.

So that’s all for the first edition of Essentials, if all else fails and you have no idea which album to start your Beatles journey on, go with their Greatest Hits. The Beatles Anthology or No 1s will give you an idea of the music that spawned a new generation of rock and makes a great gift for your friends and family.

-Ed (With contributions by Alex)

Once in a while, a band like The Arcade Fire comes and destroys everyone's expectations of what it means to be a rock band.

Hailing from Montreal, The Arcade Fire is possibly one of the best acts to emerge in this decade. Both of their albums, Funeral and Neon Bible, are in the top 10 of Metacritic's yearly list based on ratings in both 2004 and 2007. The band is comprised of husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, who are accompanied by five other amazing musicians. Their unique sound comes from employing several instruments such as the piano, violin, viola, French horn, xylophones and harps among varied others to create an immensely layered 'wall of sound'. The songwriting is real. The emotions are epic and intimate at the same time. This is The Arcade Fire.

Funeral

Funeral introduces themes of death and rebirth into the songs, starting with a four-part act, Neighborhood, the tracks eventually go on to cover every aspect of the human condition. There is love, loss, disillusionment and finally hope. And that is the message this album brings, despite the deaths we face, there is also be joy and hope. The title comes from the fact that several of the band members lost their relatives during the making of the album. Funeral represents what the human experience is meant to be - the agony of losing your loved ones permanently intertwined with the ecstasy of being alive.

For an album with death prevalent in every song, the mood is always positive. In 'Neighborhood #3', Butler screams out for Man to take action now, to fight out against being repressed, being mediocre. The beats are frantic, the guitar unrelenting, "What’s the plan?" he asks. While 'Crown of Love' starts off as a ballad about the difficulty of letting go of a lost loves, the song perpetually crescendos until it implodes into a frantic rush of violins, dance beats and wailing.

A fan favorite and possibly the most epic of the songs here is 'Wake Up', it starts with a single guitar riff, joined individually by various instruments until the vocals kick in, all fifteen musicians chanting. Butler takes over here, his voice tired yet pleading, like his soul has been tortured by the crimes of humankind. "Children/Wake Up/Hold your mistake up/Before they turn the summer into dust". The music segues, each instrument representing a different emotion, the electric guitar, the violin, the piano and the xylophone. They interweave and disappear, Butler screams out a desperate warning at the end, almost like a threat "You better look out below!"

Neon Bible

While Funeral is about life and death, Neon Bible has themes on war, madness, spirituality and religion. Recorded in a refurbished church, a point is being made here. There are motifs of water, the color black and cars in the songs repeated for thematic value. The album is cleaner here and perhaps more mellow and the music takes its time to build up, but it never fails to reach epic proportions.

The first track 'Black Mirrors' almost leads you to believe that the old Arcade Fire is gone, replaced by a mainstream band, but then the lyrics tells you "No more lies!". The music instantly obliges and explodes into the sweeping soundscape you remember. It is a lament for the loss of truth in this world, "I know when the time is coming/All the words will lose their meaning".

In the titular track, the images of cheap yet charismatic evangelists are brought to mind. The track is stark and Butler whispers through the chorus as in despair. This though is nothing more than a preliminary though for the next track 'Intervention'. Set amid pipe organ and bells; there are metaphors of holy wars and world politics, though a careful listener would find subtle irony mixed with soaring music.

There are a couple of other good tracks here, like 'Black Waves/Bad Vibrations', which splits the layered sound into two thematically opposite tracks. 'No Cars Go' is preppy and effervescent and 'Ocean of Noise' describes the song itself best. The album ends with a chillingly wrought 'My Body is a Cage'. The pipe organ makes its triumphant return here, haunting and emotionally wrought with the poignant lyrics, "My body is a cage/that keeps me from dancing with the one I love.” The rest of the instruments rip open into a climax and Butler wails "Set my spirit free" over and over again until it ends in the softest of murmurs.

-Ed (with contributions from Alex)

Iron & Wine
The Shepherd's Dog



Iron & Wine aka Samuel Beams is an American folk rock singer songwriter, and The Shepherd's Dog is his third album.

While I do listen to folk rock on an irregular basis, Shepherd's Dog is one album that most people would easily be able to find enjoyable. The album is deeply layered in both music and lyrics, and Beams here delivers a poignant voice over the instruments, his voice is soft and gentle, becoming unclear sometimes, lost in the beautiful maze of strings and basslines.

The album starts off with 'Pagan Angel & a Broken Car' and it gives you a taste of things to come, the rhythmic drum beats are set against violins in the background, and yet as you decipher the lyrics you find that it is also politically charged, "When they caught the king beneath the borrowed car/Righteous, drunk, and fumbling for the royal keys" Halfway through, 'Innocent Bones' presents a harsh criticism against the organized religion of today with biblical motifs set upon the decadence of the 21st century, yet the acoustic guitar sounds cheerful and upbeat, hiding the chills you feel inside.

There are many moments like that in this record, where the songs are intimate yet encompassing at the same time. ' Resurrection Fern' is one of the best examples in this case, with just an acoustic guitar, a shaker and a gentle bassline, the song gets his message across within perfect southern imagery. "In our days we will live/Like our ghosts will live/Pitching glass at the cornfield crows/And folding clothes." Interpretations aside, this unassuming tune is incredibly moving and my favorite track on this album.

The songs vary widely from track to track in terms of the soundscape, West African influenced drumbeats are joined by steel stringed guitars and pianos to introduce the bluesy sound in 'The House by the Sea', while 'Flightless Bird, American Mouth' goes back to the roots with a simple and beautiful melody.

These are love letters written, musings on a summer lived and after you finish the album, you will feel like have you just woken up from a dream.

Until you press play again.
-Ed

The Long Blondes
Someone To Drive You Home


The Long Blondes are a quintet consisting of two dudes and three gals from out of Sheffield, England, home to acts like the Arctic Monkeys and Pulp, it must be something they put in the water there.

SDYH is one of those albums that feel like a breath of fresh air, after a long trudge in the murky wasteland of 'Today's Music' and I must say it is abso-freakin-lutley fun with a capital F.

First of all lead singer Kate Jackson has that type of voice and attitude that is likely to catapult her into the Pantheons of Rock somewhere in the future. One of the more exciting female rock vocalists to appear since Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Jackson's voice is sultry, sexy and sweet at the same time.

SYDH is full of catchy guitar riffs, rapid drum beats and snappy lyrics. Jackson sings about love/lust, desire, sex and the movies all with a imperturbable yet adventurous attitude towards it all. On 'Once and Never Again' she berates a young female with an abusive other half, You're only nineteen/You're only nineteen for God's sake/Oh,You don't need a boyfriend and in the next verse exclaims how she'd love to feel 'a girl your age'. Wicked.

She absconds with another lonely girl in a viciously fun track and gets 'Separated by Motorways', the A14 and the A1 to be precise. Jackson also shows her range with a languid ballad 'Heaven Help the New Girl' evincing pity and whimsical longing in the same line. An odd addition, though no less witty is the vocal track duet claimed to have been inspired by listening to Saint Scott Walker. On Headphones. On The Bus.

Here The Long Blondes seem to have been influenced by the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Smiths, Debbie Harry and Pulp. A couple of tracks will feel like fillers in the 12 track album, but catchy tunes and clever lyrics make this album this definitely worth a listen. An explosive Debut.

Now I gotta get me some of that Sheffield Water.

-Ed

Recommended Tracks: Weekend without Makeup, Giddy Stratospheres, Once and Never Again, Heaven Help the New Girl

The Raconteurs
Broken Boy Soldiers



Hey why not start with a Superband, kinda... Broken Boy Soldiers was one of my favorite albums of 2007, (it was released in 06, but I'm slow)

The Raconteurs are otherwise known as Jack White's Other Band, consisting of Brendan Benson and a couple of other dudes from the Greenhornes (heard of them? me neither)

Apparently,it all started when Jack and Brendan were jamming in a basement somewhere and decided, well, their sound rocked. So they formed a band and wrote even more songs, voila! Broken Boy Soldiers was created.

Now, the album runs at a short 33 mins, but that isn't a handicap by any means. There is a good mix of songs here, from the self indulgent to hummable rock pop tunes. Anyone who has listened to the White Stripes can have an idea of the genius/madness of Jack White's guitar shredding and unrestrained use of distortion.
Here however, the brilliance shines through much more subtly, such as the weaving of complex guitar threads through 'Steady As She Goes'. Jack and Brendan manage to harmonize rather well here, on both vocals and instruments.

Another track I like is 'Yellow Sun', an cheery acoustic type of song that obviously has influences from the Beatles. Heck half the album sounds like it had some sort of influence from Revolver or Abbey Road. From rock-lite 'Hands' to the bluesy Lennonesque 'Blue Veins' and 'Together'

However, the only thing I have an issue with in this album is that the track listing is a bit iffy, the flow from one track to another doesn't feel as smooth as it could be, perhaps that has something to do with the new band getting used to itself and its sound.

Other than that, this album is a fun listen all the way through, give it a try if you like the White Stripes, or maybe even if you don't.

Cool Tracks - Steady as She Goes, Level, Intimate Secretary, Yellow Sun

The Raconteurs also has a second album Consolers of The Lonely (2008), which I will review as soon as possible.

Cheerios

- Ed