Firstly, some background info for people who don’t know who these guys are Fujiya & Miyagi are a Brighton band (not the first location to spring to mind when you hear their band name) who themselves describe their music as very much influenced by the Krautrock movement, led by bands such as Can and Neu! This is their third album and it follows Transparent Things, released a couple of years back, which finally got the band some press and some favourable reviews from the like of NME and Pitchfork.

I decided to give this album a go after hearing Knickerbocker a couple of weeks ago. I found the song had a very slick and irresistible groove and the lyrics, which albeit being very silly and all, got stuck in my head easily. Whilst I don’t think their sound is arguably earth-shattering different on Lightbulbs, it makes no difference as most of the tracks on here do their purpose - make you move your body. The grooves on this are incredibly tight yet, in some ways, very minimalist sounding. One review I read described this incidentally as “coffee table-friendly electro-rock” - something which I think is quite unfair.

A lot has also been made of the vocals and the lyrics. I think whether or not you find them an issue, a nuisance or something that you’re able to ignore easily is down to your own musical preferences and listening habits I guess. For me personally? I don’t really find it an issue. Sometimes the lyrics are so silly that you do end up singing them up your head, no matter how non-sensical it sounds.

It’s not a perfect dance album, but it’s well worth a listen.

RATING 3/5

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by Max
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I was pretty impressed by this Brighton band’s support slot for Amanda Palmer last Thursday and having now had the chance to hear their studio recordings, they’re definitely a new band to watch. Le Band Extraordinaire consist of Jez on (bass, vocals), Chris (guitar), Esther (flute), Alex (saxophone, guitar) and Rob (drums). Their style consists of a good mix of jazzy blues and punk cabaret, with vocals that are at times theatrical and lyrics that tell a story. The band are playing a couple of gigs in the capital next month as well as two shows in Brighton this Autumn. If you like what you hear on their MySpace, support them by buying the EP or by going to one of their shows.

Posted on August 25th, 2008 by Max
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If there has been one trend to emerge out of 2008, it has been that bands are following the Radiohead route of rush-releasing albums as soon as they’re announced to dodge the media hype. So far this year The Raconteurs and Sigur Rós have both released new albums through this method with varying degrees of success. Now, Bloc Party have decided to join the bandwagon. They put out their third album Intimacy as a download last Thursday, with a physical release to follow in October with additional songs.

Intimacy definitely follows the official statement of the album’s release, combining elements of both their previous albums (the brilliant Silent Alarm and the boring A Weekend In The City). Combine that with elements of electronic music, which they experimented with on stand alone single Flux, and big beat music, as heard on lead single Mercury, you can conjure up what Intimacy sounds like. There is certainly more variation on this album than any other Bloc Party LP.

It starts off brilliantly. Ares follows the tradition that Bloc Party seems to have - to write brilliant album openers. Clearly influenced by the Chemical Brothers, and showcasing the drumming talent of Matt Tong, it sets a high benchmark early on. There are tracks that end up on a par like Trojan Horse and Halo but when you listen to the rest of the album, it feels like it slips away slightly in quality slightly.

However, the variation on this album, as I said earlier, is enormous. There are so many musical touches that I could list but then it would make for pretty dull reading. Such touches include the Radiohead-esque drumming, the backing vocals, which at points, sound not only highly dramatic but also sinister, and soft strings. You certainly can’t say that this is a boring listen, as each track is different.

Intimacy is an LP that confirms to everyone that Bloc Party are not a band to be pigeonholed. Kele has said he views this as a break up album, and some of his lyrics make this point pretty obvious. These tales of heartache and pain have been with Bloc Party throughout their entire career. It is to be argued that we’ve heard it all before and that it is just a repetition of previous songs, clouded by an explosion of sound that the band creates. It also doesn’t help that the last song is essentially I Still Remember, except with a different title and different lyrics and a longer duration.

But maybe this needs time, so I’m gonna give it a couple more listens. You can’t fault Bloc Party for their bravery in trying new ideas and one thing is for sure - it kicks the arse out of A Weekend In The City.

RATING - 3/5

Posted on August 25th, 2008 by Max
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I, just like many others across the country, will be taking a break this weekend. Whilst lots of people will be at Reading or Leeds, I’m taking time out in Paris. So now seems like a good idea to see what’s in store for the rest of the year.

Whilst I will still be using Musical Chairs, you can also expect me to write on a various few other avenues. I’ve already agreed to do some work for Entertainment Newsline and I’m currently considering other things too. I also might see if I can blag my way back onto Ears To The Skies once I’ve realised how to speak into a microphone properly.

But most of my work will remain here. Expect some gig reviews in the traditionally busy months of October, November and December from the big game players like Hot Chip, Feeder and Amanda Palmer but also with some smaller acts that I can hope to introduce to you. Album reviews should also be a bit more regularly. I can only apologise for the lack of them this summer - it’s just that not a lot this summer has been worth a review. All the other features will stay the same. I’m also toying with some new ideas like adding a Twitter feed and so forth, but they’re still just ideas at the moment. You can also expect a more detailed Album/Track of the year countdown this December.

Have a fun weekend and thanks for reading!

Posted on August 22nd, 2008 by Max
Filed under: Musical Chairs News, News | No Comments »

Firstly, I’m gonna very quickly rattle through the support bands. Le Band Extraordinaire were quite cool. Lots of variation in their sound and, despite a bass breakdown in the middle of the third song, did enough to impress me. I even managed to shake hands and congratulate them afterwards! The Puppini Sisters came on as well and did a couple of songs, and definitely made a good impression. I will be in need to check some more stuff out.

When Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls do a show, you know that it’s going to be fun from start to finish. Tonight was no exception. She opened by miming to a song by Ben Folds (who produced her forthcoming solo album) and mimicking the famous Bob Dylan message cards thing. After that she launched straight into Ampersand. The setlist was mightily impressive and mixed a heap of songs from the new record and some old Dresden Dolls classics like Coin Operated Boy and Half Jack. She also threw in a cover or two - Apres Moi by Regina Spektor and Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.

But what makes Amanda Palmer shows different from any other concert are two reasons…

The first is what else is added into the show. Amanda Palmer brings a certain sense of theatre and dramatics to the set. The best examples I can state are the surprise brass band that emerged from the crowd to the stage when she performed Leeds United, and also a girl from the crowd who allowed to be used on stage for the compere to cut her hair (with her consent obviously) during Hallelujah. There was also a touching moment when during Strength Through Music, a song influenced by the Virginia Tech shootings, a list of names of those who died were read out.

The second is the stage banter. I’ve never been to any concert where the interaction between crowd and performer has been so funny. The best line I can remember was when Amanda finished the set with a cover of Creep on the ukelele and someone in the audience stated that they hated Radiohead. Amanda stopped in comedic disbelief and talked about it with the guy. I could list so many more examples but it would get overly long. What I will say is that if they pop on YouTube you should watch it.

Palmer is playing another gig at KOKO in October. Go to it - a fun night is guaranteed.

Setlist:

Ampersand
Icarus
Blake Says
Runs In The Family
Coin Operated Boy
I Google You
Leeds United
Mrs O
Strength Through Music
Guitar Hero
Look Mummy, No Hands
Apres Moi
Half Jack
Astronaut
Hallelujah
Creep

Above photo is by tanswale.

Posted on August 22nd, 2008 by Max
Filed under: Gig Reviews, Gigs | 2 Comments »

This has been coming for a long time. It was around this time last year that The Verve decided to reunite for the second time in their career. Since then they’ve toured all over the place and slayed every festival they have appeared at this summer. But now is the ultimate test of their reunion credentials - a new album. Sit & Wonder is a nervy opening, sounding like a band trying to proclaim, “We’re back!” but can’t seem to find a way to structure it. The good news is that after that is Love Is Noise. Despite the annoying and endless vocal loop, this is by far and away the best song on the album.

And herein lies the problem with Forth. It has tracks bundled into two categories. You have the actual songs like Love Is Noise and Judas, and you have the songs that just sound like half-baked ideas, like Sit & Wonder and Restless. What the album needs more of are a few more hooks and also perhaps a bit more creativity. It could also do with a few more epic Nick McCabe guitar lines.

If you’re a massive Verve fan who has been waiting since 1999 for another classic then it might be best to keep your expectations deeply low. The album isn’t one of those albums and it’s not even a decent album. Just slightly better than average. If you’re a newbie to The Verve then it is probably best to pick up any of their prior three albums or to just go and see them play live, because in that department they really do hit top gear.

RATING 3/5

Posted on August 21st, 2008 by Max
Filed under: Album Reviews, Albums | 1 Comment »

Babyshambles have been banned from performing at a festival this month, due to ‘crowd control issues’. Their appearance at the Moonlight Festival (amazing name) in Wiltshire, according to the police, could cause riots amongst fans. Divisional commander of Wiltshire Police Chief Superintendent Julian Kirby has said:

We carried out an analysis (WTF?) of what Pete Doherty and his band does. What he does as part of his routine is to excite the crowd. They speed up and then slow down the music and create a whirlpool effect in the crowd. The crowd all get worked up and then they start fighting.

North Wiltshire Magistrates then imposed the ban based on the findings of the “analysis” (again, WTF?) and on the police’s insistence that the 10 stewards in place would not control a potential riot. Another superintendent, Paul Williams, says:

Experts (once more, WTF?) are telling us that the profile of fans that follow Pete Doherty and Babyshambles is volatile and they can easily be whipped up into a frenzy, whereas the profile of someone that would follow around Cliff Richard or Bucks Fizz, for example, is completely different.

What a comparison! As if Cliff Richards or Bucks Fizz would even appear at a RAWK festival in the first place!

Drummer Adam Ficek in response states:

The whole thing is a farce, it’s almost comical. The organiser of the festival is now on the verge of bankruptcy. Why? Because we intentionally speed up and slow down the tempo of our songs. We’re now in the process of trying to make it happen in a different venue. Watch this space.

It’s not often I side with a band like Babyshambles but the ruling, all jokery aside, is a teeny bit ridiculous. The police need to do some research into live Rage Against The Machine crowds and realise that Doherty worshippers are nothing of the sort. Besides, how rock ‘n’ roll can a man who writes poetry be?

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by Max
Filed under: Beef, News | No Comments »

For the record, I’m not a fan of Lostprophets but this really narked me yesterday.

Yesterday I travelled up to Birmingham for the day to meet up with some peeps and it was a fun day. Whilst we was there we noticed that there was a really huge queue outside the Birmingham Academy. Incidentally, this was for a Lostprophets concert, and the queue was full of the typical group of kids. Just before I went to bed last night, one of the people who I met in Birmingham yesterday said that on a train back home with some Lostprophet fans who were making pretty offensive racist remarks.

Now, I’m not suggesting that all Lostprophets fans are racist, but it really does sicken me that part of their fanbase are like this. If you’re a fan who happens to be one of those who made the racist remarks, then please feel free to come forward and explain your reasoning. Otherwise, you’re just going to keep giving your favourite band a bad name. It also sparks a debate about the level of racism that there potentially is in the fanbases of these ‘Kerrang bands’ (it sounds like a really crass generalisation but there’s no other way of describing them without having to resort to the word ‘emo’).

I hope that other fans of Lostprophets who aren’t as brain dead are behind me when I say that these fools are idiots.

Posted on August 19th, 2008 by Max
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Thursday will see the release of a new Bloc Party. In an attempt to beat the leaks, and therefore ‘pulling a Radiohead/Nine Inch Nails’, the band will put out Intimacy (which features recent single Mercury) this week, with a CD release on October 27th. The press release tells us to expect “…a mix of the ‘wildly experimental’ and ‘classic’…” - possibly hinting at an album that falls in between the energy of Silent Alarm and atmosphere of A Weekend In The City. The band have also said the physical copy (which can be pre-ordered through the band’s website) will have a few extra tracks, so that is worth waiting for.

A track off the album, Trojan Horse, is being made available to download from NME’s website as a taster. All this information was revealed last night during a live webchat with the band.

The tracklisting:

1. Ares
2. Mercury
3. Halo
4. Biko
5. Trojan Horse
6. Signs
7. One Month Off
8. Zephyrus
9. Better Than Heaven
10. Ion Square

The band are also set to play the following dates this week:

Other dates of note including an appearance at Connect in Scotland and a co-headlining appearance at the Canadian V Festival on the 6th September.

Posted on August 19th, 2008 by Max
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Reverend And The Makers, the pointless Sheffield band led by the pointless Jon McClure, are quitting the music industry! YES! McClure, who says that the industry “absolutely stinks” is set to release a new album in January 2009 called French Kiss In The Chaos. But, after admitting he had already sacked his management, he went on to say to BBC 6music:

I’m going to retire from the music industry in January because I’m disgusted by it. I don’t want nothing to do with it no more. I’m going to retire from the music industry because it’s run by rich white men who are very conservative and have been around too long. They don’t wanna hear anybody with anything truly rebellious to say and that’s why British indie music has stalled for the last ten years. I feel like a sore thumb in a piranha pool in this industry. In reality, you only get two albums anyway before the industry replaces you, so on this album I might as well do what I want to do and go out telling the truth.

Best known for the average single Heavyweight Champion Of The World, the band were part of a wave of indie acts from the Sheffield area in the wake of the Arctic Monkeys that were boring and bland. McClure himself was a mentor to Alex Turner (I bet Turner is wishing to disown him very swiftly).

The only other thing about I will say about his statement regarding ‘rebellious’ music. It’s to be argued easily that all the rebellious music is very much underground, but that’s another discussion point altogether. I could dissect his rant even further but it might end up being the longest post in Musical Chairs history, so I’ll save you the reading time.

Just consider today a fantastic day for music.

Posted on August 19th, 2008 by Max
Filed under: Beef, News | No Comments »