Tag: indie

WOLF ALICE – I LOVE YOU

Oh the times I have longed to belong to another era, taste the explosions of bass and echoing guitar solos in overcrowded venues, feel the excitement in every step, every encouraging scream… Witness the artists that gave music a meaning: Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Queen, The Beatles, David Bowie, The Smiths…

And that was before I heard Wolf Alice.

The eerie, deep lyrics bouncing off the complementary way all instruments are woven together in a fresh, fun and perky manner. Eye catching titles (“Fluffy”, “Blush”, “Bros”…), contrastful harmonies, full of youth and optimism… If I could pick a band to represent 2015 Alternative Rock, I would definitely pick Wolf Alice.

I just can’t get enough of the way they keep you hanging onto a moment in time, in total suspension between the constant movement and buzz of life and the calm and depth of one’s inner thoughts.

All in all, great band musically speaking and, cherry on top, I don’t think it needs an explanation as to how cool they look:

HOZIER – OLYMPIA 2TH JULY 2015

Thursday 2th July 2015, Olympia Theâtre, Paris

Well, I can’t say he’s the arrogant type. Actually, out of all the words of the whole of the English language, arrogant would be the least appropriate to describe him. I would say he’s more of a… warm person. Yes, that whole experience was overall warm. (that sounded much less weird in my head)

The whole warm thing was on multiple different levels:

1) His personality. Imagine a cupcake, strawberry and vanilla, with more cream icing than it would be safe to put on there, extra sprinkles and a glass of fresh milk: that’s Hozier. Wait, no, sorry; make that cupcake irish.

He is just the sweetest person ever. I can’t count how many times he thanked the audience, his band, his friends, his managers… He even managed to personally thank, out loud, every single person that was on his tour.

2) His music and his band. It all was totally put together and seamless in a really rough way – I’m not sure that makes sense – but it was so natural and just… out there. I couldn’t have enjoyed anything more than those few songs he and his great band (Keyboard, two backing singers, bass, drummer).

3) The atmosphere the crowd and the venue. Half of the audience was a bunch of old prunes sucking the extremely hot air out of the place with their profoundly annoying disapproving glances and grimaces. The second half, on the other hand, was a gang of enthusiastic music lovers, most of them probably irish or english (a series of boisterous cheers at every moment Hozier mentioned where he comes from can vouch for that).

4) The heat (approximatively 45 degrees in that room).  Attending a Hozier concert in a boiler would probably have been less hot. Oh well, it was a very, very nice alternative to a heating appliance.

All in all (and on a more serious note) it was a wonderful and intimate experience, where an artist honestly exposed his pure and soulful music to an audience, proudly flaunting his emotions and thoughts to the world. Isn’t that what music is about after all?

*Insert Song Title That Is Far Too Rude For Me To Write* by Martha Wainwright – “BLOODY” GENIUS

There are some songs that come at you, all guns blazing, beating your fears to pulp; nudging you right into the epicentre of all emotions, right into the core of  all the complications of life.

Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole, by Martha Wainwright, is one of those.

I am writing about this piece of music having discovered it no less than 5 minutes ago, after having savoured it’s wonderfulness a dozen times. I feel like I have just ingested everything I have ever felt in my life in one gulp. One infinitely deep spoonful of existence.

I can’t quite tell what this song is about… Disappointement? Regrets? Courage? Love? Hatred? Disgust? Or maybe a clenched fist struck proudly in front of life?

Her voice is raw and noble, so fierce but still so innocent. And that chorus, that spicy, rude, delightful chorus that stings your ears and makes you wipe off the tears you just shed from those incredibly true words.

“I will not pretend, I will not put on a smile, I will not say I’m alright for you when all I wanted was to be good to do everything in true.

You bloody mother fucking asshole”

JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW – EARLY IN THE MORNING – WELL IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY FOR SUCH A TRULY TALENTED IRISH SINGER SONGWRITER

These days, young Irish indie musicians gorged with talent seem to be popping up from every corner. Hozier, Villagers and now James Vincent McMorrow with his debut album Early in the Morning. The industry seems to be falling for his pitch-perfect voice and powerful vocal range, as well as his great performing abilities.

Mr McMorrow seems to have started an addiction to falsettos at some point in his life and still hasn’t had to chance to get to rehab. Falsettos, falsettos and more falsettos: that’s what hits me the most in his songs. He has an incredible diversity in his voice, and even though he sometimes overuses these high pitched sounds, it proves his acute aptitude to mould his voice into many different tones.

My personal favorite on this album, If I Had A Boat, throws you into the heart of the song with once again his characteristic harmonies – which are pretty seemless, nice job, kiddo – and a catchy folk resonance with a light tambourine rythm in the background. I can’t quite understand what he’s on about, but the lyrics seem vaguely familiar due to the recuring theme of water. The chorus comes up and seems to me like a slap in the face quickly followed by a soothing stroke with it’s background ooh’s: that’s what James Vincent McMorrow does to you.

An embrace you don’t want to let go of.

HOZIER – WORK SONG – LEAVES ME SPEECHLESS

hozier

A steady rythm, a simple melody, some subtle humming in the background: that’s all Hozier needs to orchestrate an utterly powerful anthem of passion.

I strongly believe that love is the only thing that death cannot break, something higher than human understanding that cannot be explained with any form of science or rational thinking. This upcoming irish singer-songwriter apparently thinks the same. In “Work Song”, he explores the links between the two extremes of life: love and death, which are empowered by his brilliant art of suggesting things without naming them.

“No grave can hold my body down, I’ll crawl home to her”

Another important aspect of this song to me, is the connection between the title “Work Song” and actual work songs, sung to get through the terribly hard days of work in the era of Afro-American slavery. He sounds like he is laboring for his love, as it is the only thing he looks forward to, thanks to the very simple rythm, which adds depth to the whole thing.

In a nutshell, Hozier describes the power of love with such a transcending edge: deeply moving and sincere.

THE TWO GALANTS // WE ARE UNDONE – WELL YOU SEEM PRETTY TOGETHER TO ME

Two Gallants - 2- Gallants

These 34 year old besties are a crazy fusion between rock and folk, critics comparing them to “Dylan covering The White Stripes”; and after The Throes (2004), What The Toll Tells (2006), The Scenery Of Farewell (2007), The Bloom And The Blight (2012), here comes their fabulous, dazzling new album We Are Undone.

Sounds burst out from all over the place, this anthology of incohesion is a roar into the boundless void of Rock and Roll. The Two Galants, Tyson Vogel and Adam Stephenson, who sound anything but gentleman-like, seem to be screaming farewell to their punk/blues past.

One of my personal favorites here, which plunges you straight into a boiling hot tub of a mesmerizing confusion, The Age Nocturne. It starts with some reverb/ overdrive lead, but that slight softness is slowly driven away by a heavy and crunchy strum, which is the perfect background to Adam Stephenson’s powerful choleric voice. A subtle crescendo that leaves you totally bewildered.

I’m actually getting high on these guys, on their art of fusing different genres and making it sound completely natural.