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Day: 6 April 2015

Live: Ariel Pink

28th February

Royal Northern College of Music

6/10

It was never going to be straightforward. The scene was quaint and deliberate, as we have come to expect from FutureEverything events. Cue Ariel Pink to introduce a little confusion to the proceedings. Presenting the “king of pop-perversion”, an alleged maverick performer looking to reformulate the boundaries of pop music, to a sit-down audience was the perfect chance to test whether Ariel really is the new Bowie or another weary pretender. On this showing, the latter seems the more realistic interpretation.

Pink’s performance was littered with typically off-key witticisms, such as his opening gambit “these seats are made for walking”, but in truth he never seemed utterly comfortable with the format. The energetic squeals that punctuate his live shows seemed lost on the largely stationary audience, who were instead left to ponder the disparity between the meticulous production on Ariel’s productions and his sloppy live delivery. The lack of a competent drummer, instead using drum tracks in conjunction with a glam-rock throwback occasionally hitting cymbals was an especially peculiar (not in a good way) touch.

Not that a high-energy, occasionally clumsy gig is a bad thing. In a smaller, dingier venue this would have been a lot of fun. It’s just that Ariel’s sarcastic lo-fi take on pop culture didn’t seem to fit with the relatively grandiose setting, despite every effort made to make the stage look like an alcoholic’s living room. That said, there were moments which threatened to provide the Zappa-esque alternative take on pop melodies that have become so intimately associated with Ariel Pink. A few songs from his newest solo album pom-pom, ‘Dazed-Inn Daydreams’ and particularly ‘Black Ballerina’ stood out.

Ariel’s performance was funny, entertaining and enjoyable. It just wasn’t meant to be appreciated sitting down.

Album: The Veronicas – The Veronicas

Released March 16th

RCA Records

6/10

The Veronicas are perhaps best known for their international hit ‘Untouched’ from 2007, however since then they have largely stayed out of the spotlight. Their sudden success was followed by label drama, culminating with their departure from Warner Bros. Records, which explains this album’s massive delay after work was first begun on it in 2010. The album’s eponymous title certainly seems to suggest an attempt by the band to assert who they really are as a group after such a long time away – unfortunately it’s an attempt which becomes scrambled, and the album feels at times like it sacrifices cohesion for an attempt to pull in a variety of different directions.

It doesn’t help that the album gets off to a bit of a shaky start – the country-tinged opening track, ‘Sanctified’, drags on repetitively and fails to grab the listener’s attention, whilst track 2, ‘I’m a Veronica (Did You Miss Me?)’, features a toe-curlingly cringey rap set against a backdrop of synths that wouldn’t sound out of place at Eurovision – take this as you will. However just before you think all hope for this album is lost, you get ‘Cruel’, which, with its catchy opening hook, ushers in a string of fun, feel-good pop songs. It’s this kind of song which forms the backbone of the album, and the ability to consistently write decent songs is commendable, but with a 14 item tracklisting, after a while the album begins to feel a bit aimless, and you do wonder whether all of these tracks were really necessary. This certainly isn’t an album you have to struggle to get through due to lack of engaging material, but when roughly half the album all blurs into a swamp of shiny pop, and starts feeling a bit samey and nondescript, it detracts from the overall experience.

That said, there are some tracks that undeniably stand out – last year’s fist pumping single ‘If You Love Someone’, with its well-intentioned inspirational lyrics, is a highlight, as is the Katy Perry-esque ‘Teenage Millionaire’ and ‘Always’, a track co-written by Emeli Sandé, which is unique in its soulful, gospel influenced style.

Overall, if you’re after an album with some light hearted pop to soundtrack the fun times in life, you can do far worse than to give this one a spin – although beware of tracks 2, 8 and 12 for dodgy rapping.

Album: The Staves – If I Was

Released 23rd March

Atlantic Records

8/10

Is folky guitar music still relevant? It is an interesting question. Hip-hop, r’n’b, experimental music, electronic music, really all the other ‘musics’ mutate over the years (through experiment or necessity), into fresh forms of themselves that always seem current. The guitar and singer formula, on the other hand often seems tired, exhausted even. But every now and then an artist comes along who does something so authentic and beautiful with this simple formula that it makes you forget the question; The Stave sisters are three such artists.

Their beautiful second album, If I Was, is apparently the impromptu product of a visit to Wisconsin; to stay in the home/studio of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, whom they befriended while supporting on tour a few years back. If I Was is the natural progression of Dead and Born and Grown; time-matured to a richer and subtler sound which retains the same vocal dynamic between the band. The remote Wisconsin forest where they made the album may explain the interesting wintry sound of the album and the themes of isolation that feature.

The lack of second album weirdness is probably due to this spontaneous album conception. Sitting down with no planning, reportedly not even telling their label, cuts out the tense period of time pressured studio bickering, although as sisters, The Staves have probably already had a lifetime to bicker out creative differences anyway. If I Was is measured and carefully judged and no track seems rushed or slap dash.

The vast majority of the album is a hit, personal highlights are recent single ‘Blood I Bled’, ‘No me, No You, No More’ and closing tracks ‘Teeth White’ and ‘Sadness Don’t Own Me Anymore’ are interesting and memorable. Infact the only miss on the album is ‘Black and White’, a karaoke sounding number that jars with the rest of the album, but the less said about that the better and it is followed by the brilliant ‘Damn It All’, so easily forgotten.

I suppose the answer to the initial question is yes, if done well, or in the wiser words of Bert Lance, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

Live: Modestep

9th March

Gorilla

7/10

Modestep, well known for their intense, electronic influences, mixed with hard rock, and strong vocals entered 2015 under a new guise. They unveiled their new logo on NYE, along with a glimpse of their new album, in the form of the free track ‘Snake’. It sees Modestep appearing to move more toward their rock influences, playing down the electronic aspects of their production, the opposite of what many similar artists in their field have done.

Their Monday night performance at Gorilla, one of the first in a series of intimate shows before festival season, sought to clarify this new direction after a year and a half of hiatus for the group. Their return saw them introduce themselves as ‘Modestep 2.0’ with two enthusiastic new members on drums and guitar, both of whom played excellently on the night, especially the drummer, who absolutely justified his place in a group who could very easily turn to technology to replace him. A good balance of new and old material was played, the distinction between the two hammered home by the level of the subs, which gave Modestep’s sound impact, to put it lightly. This showed their movement away from the older, almost weaponised sounding dubstep that uses short stabbing tones, and into a new style using low frequency synth and distorted guitar to deliver energy in their tracks. Incidentally, energy is a term that is almost redundant at a Modestep gig, trying to rank their tracks in terms of energy is near impossible as every one is, in a word, huge. This, coupled with the command that the group hold over their fans, mean that it’s difficult to be unmoved by their performance.

One fairly large criticism was the fact that a large portion of the electronic part of their songs was pre-recorded, and merely mixed, rather than performed live. There were some elements of live electronic components, including the brief use of synths, but the show would have definitely benefitted from more live demonstration of the impressive level of production of their material. Overall though, the show was a welcome return for Modestep who have stepped comfortably back into their genre bridging role.