Released 31 Aug 09

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I would love to get my hands on the Blue Flowers time machine… those guys seemed right on the money, and to be honest I’m a little suspicious. For those who don’t know, the George pub in Chiswick, West London once played host to a one-a-month-hungover-sunday type event where for a few quid you could sip your hair of the dog and watch a few bands play… the early stomping ground of such luminaries as Jamie T, Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Noah & the Whale and countless others. 

So, it’s great to see how far Noah have come since those early rough shows featuring Laura Marling as humble backing vocalist, dreaming her little dreams and plotting her future. In my opinion Noah’s first album was a hit and miss affair, some radio-friendly folk pop unconvincingly sat among wandering ballads. Since then it’s been turmoil in the nu-folk world… Charlie (Noah front man) and Laura Marling are no longer together. Laura and Marcus (Mumford) are. 

The First Days Of Spring charts the emotional turmoil of the relationship, from those first heady days of young love (First Days Of Spring) through the agony of separation, sadness (I Have Nothing), desperation (My Broken Heart), and eventually acceptance (My Door Is Always Open). Charlie’s lyrics are sometimes cliched and simplistic but always heartfelt, you don’t need to be a poet to write meaning. Musically, the album is leaps and bounds past the debut… full, lush orchestra, acoustic sparkling through timeless chord changes providing a sweet backdrop to a cracked and broken voice. More akin to Sigur Ros & Fanfarlo in places. Having seen the band battle through a set at Koko recently on borrowed equipment (their trailer was stolen days before) and against a disrespectful and noisy crowd, I am excited to see the developments… more electric, more edge but still that sweetness which few bands are able to pull off. All in all this album has some beautiful and tender moments, a journey which will help mend a troubled heart.

Get the album from Amazon and iTunes

Download: TheFirstDaysOfSpring.mp3

(aka. Neil Hannon from the Divine Comedy & Thomas Walsh from Pugwash)

Released : 6 July 2009.

In all honesty when I heard that Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon had embarked on a new album all about cricket my heart sank. I’m not a cricket fan,in fact I can’t think of many things more boring than spending a day watching a bunch of men stroll around a park occasionally hurling a hard wooden ball at a nervous looking batsman in the hope of breaking his kneecaps (or something, I lost interest) However, take away the actual playing sport part of the sport and I love the image of this very English game, gentlemen, tea and scones, sleepy summer Sunday afternoons etc and that’s what I feel this album evokes best. Working with Thomas Walsh from Pugwash (who I confess to knowing very little about other than that they have a rather silly name) Neil Hannon has strung together a grand collection of songs, evoking a timeless sense of Britishness that few songwriters are capable of these days.

I always preferred Neil in more serious, Scott Walker-esque mode, (The Summerhouse, Sunrise) rather some of the more popular twee, comedic songs (Generation Sex, The Frog Princess) although there is something to be said for his light and playful side. This album contains both, ranging from the Shane Warne poking ‘Jiggery Pokery’ to the beautiful epic ballad ‘The Nightwatchman’ and some great moments in between, including a couple which I swear could have been Beatles songs (listen to ‘The Coin Toss’ and tell me that’s not McCartney singing!)

Formats-wise it looks like iTunes are offering the best deal with 16 tracks instead of the standard 12, although the extras are mainly fairly dull demo versions of tracks already on the album, so if like me you prefer the smell of the CD then I’d go for that, it’s about £7 on Amazon.

So, in conclusion ladies and jellyspoons, this is far more than an album about cricket, it’s a beautifully sculpted tour of the English countryside, complete with tea and sandwiches in the sun. 

01: thecointoss.mp3

09: thenightwatchman.mp3

Here’s a vid for the single ‘Mr Miandad’ – real shades of Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam animations here, no?

Released: 22nd June 09 (UK) 10th Nov 09 (US)

I came across Simone White a few years back whilst working with the Honest Jons label (Damon Albarn owned, cool & trendy record label in Portobello Rd, London… a great selection of world and eclectic music, check it www.honestjons.com) (Was that info in brackets a bit long by the way? Oh well)

Anyway, born shoeless in Hawaii, always on the move (California, London, New York, Seattle, Europe and once round again) Simone has taken her beautiful & haunting brand of folk-americana around the world a few times over, touring year upon year. She’s like a fashion, you sit long enough in one place and sooner or later she’ll come wandering by, with her tiny guitar case ready for a gig. Her last album ‘I Am The Man’ received a bit of recognition, not only for it’s beautiful sentimental songwriting but also ‘The Beep Beep Song’ which was used on the Audi R8 car advert. 

Since then Simone’s been touring and recording for a couple of years, returning to the Nashville studio with producer Mark Nevers (Lampchop, Bonnie Price Billy etc) to put together this second album ‘Yakimo’. The album makes no strides from the first but that’s not the point with this sort of sound and classic songwriting I reckon… if it works it works, it’ll last. Simone’s birdlike voice delivers thoughtful and intelligent lyrics over a subdued and respectful backing… all acoustic guitars, brush drums, folk violin, double bass, light piano and not a lot else. As an album it hangs together well, but my personal taste takes me away from a few of the more ‘jazzy’ tracks, but this is more than made up by the beauty of some of the others like ‘A Girl You Never Met’ and ‘Without A Sound’.

I’d really encourage you to check this album out, you can grab it fromAmazon, iTunes or better still direct from Honest Jons

Don’t make the mistake I did and buy the CD. The download is cheaper and you get 3 extra tracks, including the rather good ‘You Are Loved’ (I hate it when a release has different tracks in different formats… sucks!) Anyway, chew on this for now… 

 A Girl You Never Met.mp3

www.myspace.com/simonewhite

Released 7 Sept 09

Hey, so I just got the new Jamie T album ‘Kings & Queens’. Having been living in Argentina for the last few months I’ve missed the usual radio bombardment / industry hype / overinflated previews… which has been really quite refreshing.  So this album, bought on the strength of the last, came like a welcome lightning strike out of the blue, smacking my right between the eyes, bringing a smile to my face and a swagger to my step, something no album has done recently (it’s hard to swagger down the street to 1950’s tango, believe me). I was lucky enough to catch Jamie & the Pacemakers down at the tiny Peel Pub in Kingston earlier this year… drunkenly bouncing around the stage (him, not me), downing too many pints and singing badly (me, not him) and generally testing out his new material. Things sounded promising back then so I was interested to see how they took shape on the album.

From the raw and ragged roots of first album ‘Panic Prevention’ Jamie has made great strides in his songwriting, delivering a compact album of concise tracks, every bar essential and packed with punch, no fillers here, just thrillers. But the best part, and the skill which lifts him head and shoulders above the rest, his lyrical ability remains intact.  Cutting words, spat into the night, tales of stumbling home drunk, heckles in the street, violent men, English cowards and English pride, mistakes and addicts of love, broken dreams and broken hearts and another million and one ideas. 

“I got money in the jukebox, rots all night, same shit bands, too much hype”

It’s hard to pick favourites here, but early contenders are ‘Spider’s Web’ (wait for the outro, the payoff), ‘Sticks ‘n’ Stones’ and ‘Emily’s Heart’. ’Emily’s Heart’, the soft underbelly of the album, demonstrates a new side to Jamie’s songwriting, a beautiful song of abject apology, all acoustic guitars and keyboard strings sat behind murmured lyrics. Slow, and slap bang in the middle of the album this song leaps from the speakers more because of it’s sudden change of pace, every word is understandable on first listen, and every projected thought believable. Thankfully though, this isn’t a new direction (as previously threatened) but merely an interval before the excitable, electrically charged album resumes launching us onwards into the night for one final pint before bed.

I love it when a difficult second album lives up to the total lack of hype.

Buy the album from iTunes, Amazon, or wherever you like really.

Spider’s Web.mp3

www.jamie-t.com

Hi, hello and howareya? 

Right, artist number one… Paul Davies. Thought you might be interested. Paul is an old friend of mine, we used to kick the crap out of each other on the football field under the Westway, then retire for a few post-game pints with the lads to discuss football & music, the twin pillars of English civilisation. Following the demise of his last band in 2007, Paul decided he’d paid his dues on London’s gig circuit, and took his musical aspirations into his own hands. He took on every day/night/weekend job he could find until he could afford a bowler hat, an 8 track, and a microphone. Then, from the comfort of his front room in Balham, South London, he wrote, played, and produced his debut album.

He is a true English gentleman in every sense, and his songs are charm-filled odes to great British past-times that also keep a firm eye on the present – references to pubs, bowler hats, and seaside away days are commonplace. This attitude is reflected in his influences, drawing inspiration from the raw, stripped back sounds of The La’s, The Kinks, and Brian Jones-era Stones. In an age where reality pop stars are the norm, Paul Davies’s ragged DIY approach makes him a true British anti-hero.

Paul’s working on his second album ‘Tradition In Modern Times’ right now, and the early demos are sounding really promising. Where the first established him as a bowler-hat-wearing man about town, this second offering showcases more about what he has to say.

FREE MP3 : A Lovelourn Week

Written as an ode to that most British pastime of ours – the pub. A Lovelourn Week was originally released on Paul’s debut album Man About Town last year, and has since become a firm live favourite. Based on a growing disillusion at the rate they were disappearing in his hometown of Richmond-upon-Thames, the pubs are listed in order starting at the top of the hill and finishing off behind the station at the local green, which makes for another great pastime – the pub crawl.

www.myspace.com/man_about_town

You can get the first album here for £5.50 : bigsong.co.uk

I am a little late to this game. In fact, I’m a little late to most games. I usually arrive a bit disheveled and out of breath with mumbled apologies and excuses. But at least I’m here, that seems to be the most important thing these days, it’s not the time you take to get somewhere but the fact that you get there eventually. And sometimes the most interesting things happen on the journey. So a bit of background about my lengthening and unravelling life…

Jake Bailey, born December 1981. The coldest winter in a long time, kicking and screaming into this world. I grew up and still reside in a leafy suburb of London, England. I have vague and vivid memories of childhood holidays sat patiently in the car, chugging through UK and France, embraced by the car stereo playing fluttering and crackling tapes my folks put together from their vinyl collect, my musical world at that time. Dad was a Hendrix nut but also made time for a bit of Led Zep, Stones, Beatles, Clapton, Doors & Neil Young. Mum was more of a folk girl, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, Dylan and so, so many more. 

So now, after many years existing within and without the music industry the chase continues. The chase to keep my ears full of things that move me. It’s a never ending search and I love it. I find it difficult to put myself in the box, and why should I do that anyway? One thing I cannot abide is bad or cliched lyrics, they actually make me angry. On the other hand, a new thought, a beautiful phrase, a selection of carefully sculpted words can bring joy or sadness in a second.

I hope that some of you out there may wish to share some of my music journeys. I have other journeys too but these will become apparent over time. 

All the best. 

jake