Author: misterstory

Posted in Album of the Month, New Tunes

Tuung – Songs You Make at Night

Posted on by misterstory

I offer a belated welcome to November my dear Brothers and a further welcome to ‘Songs You Make at Night’ by Tuung.

I know Brother David has a soft spot for a bit of Tuung, I don’t think Guy is familiar and I am not sure of Nolan’s history with the band but it was his post of ABOP on this blog that alerted me to the fact that this new album existed. I knew it was coming as they released Flatland earlier in the year and my wife and son loved it.  I was looking forward to it as I do with all Tuung albums but I will be totally honest, they usually fit into the ‘nice to listen to’ rather than ‘have to / love to listen to’. They are ‘nice’ albums, they go well with a Sunday roast with company that you’re unsure of (musically speaking). Almost nobody would actively dislike it. However, I think this album takes them across that ‘nice to listen to’ threshold into something else. I think this is my favourite Tuung album (heart) and I think it may be their best (head) too.

So what do you get? Folktronica. A term that makes my skin crawl so best to get it out the way early. Over successive albums they have become slowly more ‘tronica’ but only in their instrumentation. The tunes are still folksy but in an unmistakably Tuung way. There aren’t many (any?) bands that sound like Tuung. I have found a couple but they turned out to be Tuung side projects.

I find this album enchanting. Its a slice of calm and prettiness that I always find welcoming. It’s got all the lyrical quirkiness that I love (‘Crow’ is a lovely example). It’s got the bleeps and squelches accompanying the acoustic guitars and occasional woodwind that still sit so comfortably together. It’s more upbeat moments like Dark Heart that manage to feel part of the whole and not jarring.

The thing that made me choose this is that it is 11 strong tracks. The stand out tracks change each time you listen to it. I would like to think that this make it accessible  and enjoyable for all.  It won’t end up on may best of lists as i don’t think its breaking new ground but for me, its one of the albums that will come with me into 2019 and beyond.

Posted in Album of the Month, New Tunes

August – The Internet ‘Hive Mind’

Posted on by misterstory

Welcome brothers. Happy August, happy Summer. Please may I introduce ‘The Internet’

Why have I only just come across these guys?  I had not heard of ‘The Internet’ until Wednesday. I reviewed my Spotify ‘listened to in 2018’ folder where I keep all of the new music I am listening to and from which I then chose to buy the best of. Each album that I loved and considered for AOTM I then qualified-out for one reason or the other.

I considered Tove Stryke ‘Sway’, pure unadulterated Scandi-Pop. I decided no as it is only really a mini-album of 8 tracks, one of which is a demo-cover so 7 tracks really. They’re all perfect 3 minute pop songs but I talked myself out of it when I realised the main reason I love it is that my son can’t not dance when it’s on so it’s getting a lot of air-time in Casa Story. My other thought was the new Yo Lo Tengo, which I love, but good god is it a ‘me’ album which I am also sure means it’s not a brothers album. It’s a bit dense, noodly and by a million miles not their best so it seemed an odd choice. I also considered the new Twin Shadow and a few others but my heart was not in them and I could not 100% ‘stand behind’ them.

So I started looking for new music reviews that excited me and found ‘Hive Mind’ by the Internet. There are lots of facts and figures that I could copy and paste about these guys … but I won’t as it means nothing to me. What does mean something is that I put this on to road-test it and feel immediately in-love with it. Where has music like this been? It’s probably there but just not been in my world. Between Weds evening and now (Friday lunch time) I think I’ve listened to this at least 12 times, start to finish. I love it.

This ticks so many boxes for me. The groove, the beat, lovely vocals, strong lyrics, humour and a ‘proper’ 13 track-album. You’ll hear lots of things in this album. David, lots of lovely nods to much of what we spent much time playing back in the day of 90’s R&B/Pop. They seem to have distilled all the best, most credible elements of mainstream R&B and blended them into something that feels referential as well as fresh.

I’ve been waiting a long time for something to grab me like Lucy Pearl did and while this doesn’t have the obvious bangers like ‘Dance Tonite’ or ‘Don’t Mess With My Man’ the beautiful, luscious soundscape is there.

Some albums are summer albums, some winter albums. Some music is morning music, some night music. Background music vs. headphone tracks. This feels universal to me. So far, I find it to be a stunner and hope you enjoy living with it to.

Have a look at their vids on YouTube as it reveals more about them and made me fall even deeper for them.

Happy Hive Mind.

Posted in Album of the Month

U.S. Girls – ‘In a Poem Unlimited’

Posted on by misterstory

The only thing that I do not like about this album is it’s title. Please don’t let this put you off. So, who or what is U.S. Girls. ? Meg Remy is an American living in Canadia-land, hence the joke-come-band name U.S. Girls. She is to U.S. Girls what James Murphy is to LCD Soundsystem. The beating heart. The reason for it’s existence. Basically, an artist with a backing band. I’ve been ‘aware’ of her for some time and new I was supposed to like what she did. I nearly chose the 2015 album Half Free as AOTM but didn’t feel that I’d loved it enough to justify the choice. Each time I listened to it I really like it but I was not drawn to it enough to recommend. Apparently Half Free was a watershed recording for Meg in that she allowed others to have some input. ‘In a Poem Unlimited’ she has worked much more deeply with others. The result is amazing. It’s opened up what she has always done and injected more influences, excitement and fun into the output.

This is an album of unashamed pop music. With teeth. And power. And politics. And a very 2018 ‘vibe’ to much of the lyrical content. But pop music is the first thing you’ll hear. The most negative review I could find criticised the album because the music was so good that you didn’t notice the importance of the lyrics. That seems to be the worst thing that the critics could find.

There are so many hooks for you to hang on to and drag you into a second listen. There’s no point in me listing my favourite tracks as they all qualify and my favourites rotate depending on mood and context. So who does she sound like? At times she channels PJ Harvey, St. Vincent,  Gwen Stefani and even Kylie Minogue and I know I’ve missed a load of references that I’ve heard on my many listens.

I am intrigued to know how you guys feel about this album. I usually love the singularity of output from a solo artist but this album feels like proof that often injecting others influence results in a well rounded and undeniable triumph. Enjoy.