Daniel Johnston – Beam Me Up! (Hazelwood Vinyl Plastics)
“As always, his lyrics are childlike in
composition but dark, empty and sad.”
ll the great people are crazy. All the great artists, great inventors, great philosophers. It’s like, to be really great, you have to accept the padded room that comes with it. Established as a cult figure in the art scene, Daniel Johnston is up there with the greatest and yes, the craziest. Singer/ songwriter/ artist, Johnston lives with manic depression and bi polar disorder and seemingly struggles with life, which is mirrored by his music. Featuring the Dutch, eleven-piece jazz ensemble, BEAM, “Beam Me Up!” sees some of Johnston’s greatest hits reworked, offering a sharper collection than previously available. Although the sound quality is stronger, Johnston’s voice feels more broken than usual which is demonstrated in the heartfelt opening of “Sarah Drove Around In Her Car”, one of three new songs included on the album. As always, his lyrics are childlike in composition but dark, empty and sad. His damaged voice adds to the heartbreaking sincerity of “Syrup Of Tears” where Johnston bleeds for a lost love, with the sentiment continuing in the following track “Must”. With his cracked old voice and uncomplicated honesty, in order to understand Johnston’s music you need to understand the man himself. Saying that, upon pressing play, this album makes me smile. Daniel Johnston makes me smile. Daniel Johnston is my hero. Miss Lightyear
A School of Seven Bells – Disconnect from Desire (Full Time Hobby) S
hoegaze is a term often afforded to this trio of ethereal and (in the case of the Deheza twins at least) beautiful musicians. With one album, ‘Alpinisms’ under their belt, that had been enough to shoehorn them into shoegaze, but it implies an introversion that belies the energy the band have
and their relationship with the listener. On ‘Disconnect from Desire’, it seems hard to believe that SVIIB are a band who place their emphasis on starting from the lyrics up; such is the driving electronic swoop of the individual tracks that you can easily form an opinion of the song before hearing a word and digesting it. The music – it’s a notch up. ‘Alpinisms’ was a concept album, centred around its subject, reliant on understanding, but the composition of ‘Disconnect from Desire’ is immediate – an electronic storm: at times Ladytron, at times Bat for Lashes, perhaps paying tribute to their time spent on tour with the imaginative Natasha Khan. If you’re looking for your post festival-madness album of the summer, this blissful dreamy escape will not fall short of the mark. It’s fruity, esoteric and just a little bit intoxicating. Emu Robot
The Coral – Butterfly House (Deltasonic)
“between them they’ve managed to craft their best album yet.”
was a huge fan of The Coral when they first came out almost 10 years ago. Their quirky, individual style helped their second album top the charts but a limited edition mini album of less commercial material followed and my interest in them waned. Declining sales of their subsequent releases and the departure of Bill Ryder Jones in early 2008 seemed to indicate they may be coming to the end of the road. A singles collection followed, but thankfully what is often the sign of a record company screwing a bit of extra cash out of the fans turned out to be a creative rebirth for the Merseyside boys. As soon as I heard their current single ‘1000 Years’ I knew I had to get my hands on this album. I could pick out individual tracks for you but ‘Butterfly House’ deserves to be listened to from start to finish. Having previously worked with Ian Broudie and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley, they chose legendary Stone Roses producer John Leckie to help them explore their concept of the death of mystery and between them they’ve managed to craft their best album yet. If you’re ever had even a passing interest in The Coral I’d urge you to give this a listen and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Jimmy James
I 36 / JULY 2010 /
outlineonline.co.uk
“It’s fruity, esoteric
and just a little bit intoxicating”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64