Kveikur XL Recordings
Wow. Kveikur is Sigur Ros’ 7th studio album, and marks a massive change to the band following the departure of multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson at the end of last year. Tis exit, however, to my ear has had a positive impact on the direction of the band. Te downright filthy, distorted sounds contained in opener, Brennisteinn, and the wonderfully clangy percussion in track 2, Hrafntinna, are a fantastic display of their ability to change, develop and innovate. Kveikur is, overall, a darker outing than the majority of the band’s previous work, containing hints of Penderecki’s Trenody to the Victims of Hiroshima in the instrumentation (a work which I would recommend to anyone unfamiliar with it), amongst other things, but still retains that specific beauty that you associate with Sigur Ros. Kveikur also provides an amount of layers that, sadly, are often lacking in ‘pop’ or ‘rock’ and, having listened to it about a dozen times before finally sitting down to write this, I’ve found it still delivering something new on each occasion. I’ve read in various fan forums of concern for this album due to Kjartan’s leaving the band, but those concerns are completely unfounded and Sigur Ros have delivered an incredible record that will go down as one of their best. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. BBV
Sigur Ros
Goo Goo Dolls Magnetic Warner Music
Goo Goo Dolls return this June with their new album ‘Magnetic’. Fresh, upbeat and still catchy as hell, I made a bet with myself I could write a review on ‘Magnetic’ without mentioning THE song. You know, THE song. But just like the majestic beauty of ‘Iris’ (there, I said it. Bet lost), every track is as always-on- the-tip-of-your-tongue-catchy and full of music magic. Over 10 years later, the Goo Goo Dolls are STILL creating music where every track could become the nation’s anthem in seconds. Track 1, ‘Rebel Beat’ is an instant hit, which despite being true to the Goo Goo Dolls sound, is so 2013. I can imagine it going very far in the Top 40; it even has a hint of Taylor Swift’s ‘We are never getting back together’ vibe to it - trust me, it works! Track ‘Last Hot Night’ is 3 and half minutes of lead singer John Rzeznik’s purrs and growls into the mic, accompanied by classic rock drums, which make you, no FORCE YOU to put the top down on your car and drive to the beach in the summer sun. You know when you hear a song and you go “Oh my god, that album WAS my summer ‘06” or along those lines. A few years down the line, everybody will hear ‘Come to Me’ or ‘Slow it Down’ and say that ‘Magnetic’ was the summer album of 2013. Guaranteed. Freja Hoskins
Settle DMR Records
Listening to the Radio 1 Big Weekend coverage this weekend, I caught the apex of Disclosure’s set and all at once, the duo made themselves known to me. Sure I’d already heard ‘White Noise’ and ‘Latch’ on regular rotation across all airwaves, but that’s sometimes not enough. You can’t just exist; you have to be relevant in some arena. Friendly Fires did it in 2008 when they tore up festival stages, and extended their debut album tracks into carnivalesque sambathons and this weekend, people went from listening, to standing up and paying attention. Tey have the tracks to back it up; aside from the already released singles, they introduce the album with homage to Chicago House, with ‘When a Fire Starts to Burn’. And I name-checked them earlier without realising that Friendly Fires’ Ed Macfarlane takes vocal duties on the guiltily reminiscent garage swell of ‘Defeated No More’. Ed isn’t the only guest vocalist, and the Disclosure boys use different songsters to great effect, adding to their colour palette with Jessie Ware, Eliza Dolittle, Jamie Woon and more. Tey have relevance now – to the context of UK garage history, to 2013, to this summer. Man, these boys make me want to buy a Citroen Saxo and drive it endlessly round the inner sanctum of the City Walls. And believe it or not, that’s a good thing. Emma R. Garwood
Disclosure
38 / June 2013/
outlineonline.co.uk
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