I am Plastic Fuzz. I am a musician from Leeds, UK. I have a 100 song album and I often make pasta. I also gig regularly.
I am still here. I promise.
Today saw the release of album #8 from Radiohead. Whilst it’s too early for a review, a simple track-by-track walkthrough should suffice for now….
1. Bloom [5.14]
A sampled piano, back to the beeps and onto a place where Yorke’s solo efforts creep in. A clumsy jazz snare-in-a-basement lumbers throughout and the ondes Martenot makes a welcome return as it sings in unison with Yorke’s wails. The mood, like the start of most Radiohead albums, is of rebirth.
Thom sings: “Open your mouth wide. You know what’s inside”
2. Morning Mr Magpie [4.40]
A title that has been floating around for some time. If there’s a moment on this record when bassist Colin Greenwood shouts for attention, then this is it. At precisely 2 minutes 16 seconds he effortlessly transcends a cold, cloudy weekend in February.
Thom sings: “Good Morning Mr Magpie, how are we today?”
3. Little By Little [4.27]
Is that a guitar I hear? It could be Go To Sleep with someone playing an arcade game in the background. Thus far Yorke’s voice is taking a backseat, sitting alongside other instruments as opposed to riding above.
Thom sings: “I am such a tease and you’re such a flirt”
4. Feral [3.12]
Those dry, tight, snares that plague In Rainbows and Kid A now return, polyrhythmically skittering and bouncing alongside evident Yorke electro-pulse efforts. On a cassette this, almost lyricless, interlude would make an obvious end to side A.
Thom sings: *mmm hfff mmm*
5. Lotus Flower [5.00]
Drums of 15 Step, beeps of Backdrifts, this belongs comfortably In Rainbows. 3-note bass drone carries through 5 minutes of an ideal first single to draw Radiohead 2.0 fans into the fray.
Thom sings: “There’s an empty space inside my heart….”
6. Codex [4.46]
A soft piano, the tempo drops and we’re reminded of Sail To The Moon sitting on top of a gentle electronic pulse. Brass notes sing alongside Yorke’s wails and unnerving strings shiver in the distance.
Thom sings: “No-one gets hurt. You’ve done nothing wrong”
7. Give Up The Ghost [4.50]
An acoustic guitar proudly reclaims its place, struck gently over an ongoing gentle thud. This one for the Radiohead veterans. A muffled voice declares “Don’t haunt me, don’t hurt me” throughout.
Thom sings: “I think I should give up the ghost in your arms”
8. Seperator [5.20]
Halfway through what some will consider the only throwaway comes a moment unlike any other Radiohead moment as sugary chriping guitars lift to an almost-Revolver ending.
Thom sings: “I wanna slip over and get back under. “
I guess I’ll try the FTSE.
2010 passed way to quickly for words. Musically speaking, we saw another drop in love, and sales, of the album format and a rise in the popularity of singles. The song as a format is back and something tells me 2011’s album round up will prove even tricker as I find myself drawn towards the new age way of consuming music. So here’s a toast. A toast to the beloved album!
1. Massive Attack – Heligoland [EMI/Virgin]
Two decades of music and only a handful of albums. It must be a good sign right? Massive Attack’s eagerly anticipated effort, Heligoland, is the first we’ve seen in 7 years and worth the wait. A return to songwriting as well as production, a return to a less politics, more apocalypse. Featuring a handful of gifted vocalists, we are treated to some haunting moments all gracefully delivered to us in perfect time for the cold winter nights. Standouts: Pray for Rain, Paradise Circus
2. M.I.A – /\/\/\Y/\ [XL Recordings]
Yes you can pronounce it, but you can’t type it without a few attempts. Perhaps the title is what she intended, perhaps it was a joke on her part, but either way it fits perfectly. Whilst not by any means her best offering, pint-sized M.I.A towers above others though not through competition but through being the only one doing what she does. Being M.I.A is easy: Get repeatedly banned from twitter; hook up with controversial video directors; strive for philanthropy – anyone can do it, right? Standouts: The Message, Born Free.
![](http://www.scenepointblank.com/assets/img/covers/mia-maya-cover-300x300.jpg "M.I.A - /\/\/\Y/\")
3. Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can [EMI/Virgin]
Somehow born in the 90’s, ex-Noah And The Whale, Laura Marling voice can melt ice and warm cockles. Her attempts at being a less threatening Joni Mitchell works wonders on those cold winter nights. No it’s not a sign of age, it’s just the anthithesis of M.I.A, it’s the sound of nothing, But a really good nothing. Standouts: Devil’s Spoke, Goodbye England(Covered In Snow).
Excuse me.
I have been “away on a project” for most of the year. However now I return and there will be new music, websites and pointless merchandise in 2011.
Meanwhile here’s a gentle cover of MGMT’s ‘Time to Pretend’ by Jonsi (Sigur Ros). It’s perfect for this time of the morning.
http://stereogum.com/309621/jonsi-time-to-pretend-mgmt-cover/mp3s/
I have seen Broohaha live on a few occasions and have observed some noticeable line-up changes, sometimes featuring a shouty-shouty-man sometimes not featuring a shouty-shouty-man and sometimes with more brass than other times. Their first EP thankfully keeps it all at a constant as it flows seemlessly between experimental grunge-jazz through to something which should have “new wave” in the title. Broohaha in a live setting is a different experience altogether and you have to see the chemistry, and indeed, maths for yourself. The way in which they interact with one other by dipping in and out of passages and phrases whilst smiling at one another in that “oh-yes-that’s-what-we-were-supposed-to-do” kinda way.
As for their EP [simply titled "EP"], samples from films (i think) repeat pointless over sections thoughout the CD, but somehow without distracting you from the tactful ventures with rhythm and dynamics, ebbing and flowing almost like each song is a few different ones crunched together. They effortlessly swoon from funk bass to grunge chords then to smooth sultry-sax and then off to some moody ”nng-nng-nng” ugly-sax.
It’s not the perfect record, they need to spend more time on tuning, intonation and production but as demo it shows just how talented they are as musicians and as a collective. So mission accomplished, I guess. Broohana really are a great existence and minus a shouty-shouty-man here and there, they’re a relief and a joy to have in Leeds. Please go see them live. Please.
Every year a new spangley product is launched which makes brains and hearts around the music tech community burst with a geek-like excitement. Here is a contender for 2010; the Rhizome. In a nutshell this a portable [ha!] VST groovebox that marries the appearance of an intergalactic mixing desk and the functionality of a drum machine/hardware sequencer. From the outset it appears to be just another expansion of the recently raved Tenori-On byYamaha which proved to be more expensive than most people expected and shows no signs of a price drop.
Other than the ‘unique intergration’ with VSTs, the mutli-output back panel and the embedded synthesizers, there’s not much to say about the Rhizone before it is released in Q3 2010. It looks heavy and expensive but will probably be favoured by solo electro-pop musicians across the land who are sick of the 1456 wires and cables that brave each gig for the mere 20 minute set before being shifted off to another town to do it all again. Maybe the Rhizone is the way forward…..