Boards of Canada - 'Tomorrow's Harvest'

Ok let's get things straight. They're not from Canada and have not much to do with boards (other than The National Film Board of Canada from which they take their name).

Formed in 1986, the Scottish duo of Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin create music in its purest form. Largely instrumental like their fellow countrymen Mogwai they create epic soundscapes. Enormous, gaping, resounding, sneering, jagged soundscapes. This continues in Tomorrow's Harvest. As I listen through headphones at home I am I a film. As I listen in my car, I am in a film.

THE ARTWORK

A series of overlaid images with a silhouetted San Fran skyline traversing left to right.

Look beneath the city. Is that a glaring sun with mountains and a plain? One thing's for sure the cover art matches the music. It draws you in with its bright blue before sending you lurching in the shadows and darkness. This cover gives me a sense of optimism but also of apocalypse. Does the glare come from a sun or is it the light of a nuclear explosion. The sparse landscape and grey city alluding to despair and emptiness. I prefer to consider it, like I do the music, as hopeful and looking to the future whilst accepting the past.

You can watch the video to the AMAZING 'Reach For The Dead' below:

Jonquil - 'Point Of Go' (Blessing Force)

When I last saw Jonquil in May 2010, they were on just before Foals at Bristol's Anson Rooms and they were incredible. Loads of energy on stage and, it's all a bit hazy, but i'm sure they have a kind of tropical sound going on. Then I think one of them came out and hit drums during Foals' set. Great night.

Oxford has such a good pedigree for music, from band like Radiohead (technically nearby Abingdon), Ride and Supergrass in the 90's to the slightly less well known but equally impressive Youthmovies, Foals, Young Knives, Stornaway, Trophy Wife and Chad Valley and Pet Moon. The recent surge is thanks in part to the oraganisation/community calling itself 'Blessing Force' (such an awesome name) and it's Blessing Force who put out this album from Jonquil - see an explanation for what BF is on the BBC website Couple these amazing bands with Oxford based festivals OX4 and Truck as well as labels such as Big Scary Monsters and the now 99% defunct Vacuous Pop and you'll see that this is a town with a prolific musical output.

Enough with the geo-musico lesson...

Jonquil - 'Point Of Go'

THE ARTWORK

I only ever select artists to feature here that have put thought in to their artwork. After all, this is meant to be a celebration of the blood sweat and tears behind making that all important cover art...

It's people, in water next to a cliff. Look closer and you'll see that it's a mixture races all carefully represented - one can only guess at the link between the album title and this image.But that's the fun part! Trying to work out what the artist had in mind and what he'd aiming to portray through this artwork. Given that Blessing Force is an art collective as well as a musical one, you expect it to be good.So what does it mean? We're all drowning slowly in this modern, multi-cultural British society? Birds of a feather swim together? It certainly gives a sense of oppression and containment. The contrasting blue of the sea and the pink of the cliffs then gives it a dream like quality. Most of the people seem to be heading towards the shore. This is one of those ones where I hope someone at Blessing Force or Jonquil reads this and tells me what it stands for. I'm intrigued!

**UPDATE**
This artwork was created by the very talented Sebastian Thomas and you can see more of his amazing work and paper collages at http://sebastianthomas.tumblr.com/

THE MUSIC

We're very lucky on this occasion as they kindly have it streaming for free on Soundcloud!

In summary it's vibrant and upbeat and brilliant. It speaks of summer and being alive - far removed from early mentions of music made in the basement of The House Of Supreme Mathematics AKA Foals HQ. soulful yet with enough staccato oomph to make your feet twitch while your heart soars.

For a full review of the music, visit the excellent BBC Reviews page for this album.

Flats - 'Country / Moonwalk' (One Little Indian)

Flats - Country / Moonwalk

First of all I'm definitely not going to mention the fact that Dan Devine of Flats is currently in Pentonville Prison on a drug rehab programme. And the fact that he's the son of Creation Record's founder, Alan McGee. Because it's all about the music and the artwork. OH SHUT UP! Everyone loves a good rock and roll story; how else would Pete Doherty have been able to elongate his post-Libertines career with the shite that Babyshambles produced - it's all about the back story.

THE ARTWORK

It's a viscous, snarling, threatening dog framed in black. Which is pretty much a mirror image of the music. Black and white for added starkness and hinting at an age where the voice of the suppressed clamoured to be heard by the privileged, ruling few - through the medium of guitars and guttural vocals, infused with pain and pride.

THE MUSIC

Wendy Roby manages to capture the essence of Flats in one phrase, which i'll steal quote here, "look at the waveform on that!" Indeed. No peaks and troughs here, just an all-out 4minutes 5seconds of rage (unfortunately I can't show you this as it's not letting me embed at the moment!) Following two EP releases in 2010, Country (backed by Moonwalk) is the London band's third single and continues their punkish outlook. Actually, the word outlook suggests that their is a strategy or contrived side to their music. Music with this much rawness can only be the product of pure, unadulterated heart-to-fingers/throat playing. This band has a chip on their shoulders and they don't just want you to know about it, they want you to take that fucking chip, shove it down your throat (or in your ears) until you get the fucking message that they are really, REALLY pissed off about stuff.

Listen here

All the best to Dan and here's to their postponed tour going ahead in the near future.

Pins - 'Eleventh Hour'

Pins are a rather trendy outfit from that hotbed of awesomeness that is Manchester.  Home of current favourites of mine Dutch Uncles, Everything Everything and..er...The Ting Tings (OK GUILTY PLEASURE ALRIGHT!)

THE ARTWORK

Not many words at all are needed to convey the artistic greatness of this double AA. side single from the band. The simplistic and subtle concept of a cut-out logo on the case, contrasting perfectly with the colours of the tape carries a lot of impact. The clean lines and almost futuristic metallic colours, give the impression that this was designed by someone at Apple perhaps...however this isn't corporate. This is DIY and damn good.

The Tape:
ITS A FUCKING GOLD TAPE. In a black case. Enough said. Amazing.

Or alternatively...

...a black tape in a white/goldish looking case

Obviously the gold tape has sold out as why on earth wouldn't you want this? How do they make the tapes gold I wonder? Is it an old TDK cassette spray painted? Or a specially commissioned masterpiece created by a flavour of the month artiste? Who cares, it's awesome.

THE MUSIC

As good, if not better than you would expect from music being played from a gold tape (or Vimeo in my case as I was too late in ordering the limited edition tape). Reverb but not too much to use that oh-so-repeated phrase 'drenched in reverb'. Hooks? Yes. Eleventh Hour would be the perfect soundtrack to standing in a storm; thunder building and booming, lighting threatening and guitars raining all around, whilst wolves crouch in bushes, light reflecting from their eyes with each flash, causing a beating of the heart and a moment caught between fight or flight.

Tracklisting:
A. Eleventh Hour
AA. Shoot You
BONUS TRACK "La Petite Mort"

Download MP3's here

You can catch them live at Liverpool Sound City or The Great Escape festivals or various other dates in May & June - i'm definitely going to try and catch them.

THE VIDEO

Pulled Apart By Horses 'Wolf Hand' (Tough Love)

THE  MUSIC

Pulled Apart By Horses (hence forth known as PABH) are the great success story of the British underground music scene. Before they were friends with Fern, attending Huw Stephen's stag-do, opening for Muse and generally being deservedly successful, they were touring the country relentlessly, playing shitty little venues for a pittance. I saw them in Bournemouth at the shittiest of shitty venues, 'iBar' and they were incredible. In terms of music their energy when live is like electric shock therapy. On record I'm a stickler for their more sing-along-moments as opposed to the raw-throated vocal turns. Yeah Buddy's probably my favourite.

Anyhoos...Wolf Hand. Full of energy AND melody. That perfect copulation of tuneful ingredients that make you listen, move and SMASH YOUR FACE in to things for fun. Here's an idea in fact. Perhaps if the scum that orchestrated and took part in last years UK riots had been marched in to an empty aerodrome and had PABH tunes pumped in to their ears at high volume, they would have released all that deviant energy, en-masse. Just a thought. Therapists! Put down your Enya CD's! Replace them with Wolf Hand, after people have listened and then uncontrollably punkballed round the room they'll be feeling a lot better...

THE COVER ART

Follows a similar style to a previous single, 'V.E.N.O.M.' and is pretty good. It's not stand-out good but it suits the song and you know what you're gonna get. In the bands own words "a drawing on the cover of a man who has gone all wolf messed up and proper cool."

THE JACKASS LIKE VIDEO

Tall Ships 'T=0' (Big Scary Monsters)

T=0 is the first single from the Falmouth three piece's upcoming and long awaited album.

Every one of the 500 limited edition 7" vinyl singles will be packaged in these handmade, marbled ink sleeves AND (you don't see this very often) handwritten tracklistings. Bet the boys had sore wrists...*cough*.

THE MUSIC

The song itself is a monster. A good monster not the horrible kind. Not the sort that kills you with a single death glare but more one that pulsates and grows until all that's in your mind is the thought of where this song is leading you, You're gripped by it, nodding your head, drumming your steering wheel - whatever. The thing that does kill you is when it's over. Like when you finish a great book and you wonder if you'll ever be that engrossed in a story again, so it is with T=0. When it ends you're left with the nervous question, 'will I ever hear anything that good again?' I guess you just then hit play again, and again...and again.


Also, the 65 Days Of Static remix is very, very good.

THE COVER ART

Love this as it's simple yet effective and is a visual description of the music it represents. The song, like this artwork is a swirling conglomerate of parts at once both random and yet considered - all combining beatifully to leave a imprint on the mind.

Order here