Mulvey seemed to think Angela was quite good, or at least interesting, in his "sampler" review.
"Here, Angela is a glam opener, but its an austere, menacing, fuzzy kind of glam, as if The Glitter Band had recorded Angel Eyes for the Amphetamine Reptile label.Theres a notionally crude immediacy to a song like this, but it actually takes a while to make sense... "
I can't say I know much about The Glitter Band, Angel Eyes or Amphetamine Reptile, but I think I know what he means by "crude immediacy", and I can maybe see where the song could work with the right tweaking.
I'm starting to wonder why Mulvey is the only guy to emerge so far with a review of the sampler. Surely he can't be the only writer who's received a copy. Jarv's press release implies that the record is already floating around.
My concern is that, if the sampler is any good, you'd start to see a lot of sites carrying reviews of it by now. I mean, what else are they going to review? Music news is fairly dead at the moment, and a Jarvis sampler review might actually drive up the web traffic.
The silence suggests that people aren't sure what to make of it, or can't be bothered with it, or that they are waiting to hear more before they pass judgement on it. Even Mulvey mentioned having a hard time getting into the record, despite his general praise.
-- Edited by Fuss Free on Tuesday 31st of March 2009 02:53:54 PM
Perhaps they were holding out til they had the entire album before reviewing it - do many rock journos like Mulvey keep a regular blog reviewing whatever new things are thrown their way pretty much as soon as they get them?
What I am surprised about is that a track-listing has stil not leaked. Or confirmation of the sleeve. Or if there's a single...I know Rough Trade champion the DIY ethos but this is like painting the walls while wearing your Sunday best (and piss-poor analogy of the year goes to...) It's a real pisser he doesn't have a proper website/forum (or maybe it's a blessing in disguise looking at my post-count on here). Damn you Fuss Free, if you hadn't quit for a few months I'd be in the less-geekier looking second place for most posts. Oh and as a matter of interest FF, have you listened to any of the live versions of the new stuff on youtube as I get the impression you haven't?
Eamonn wrote:(or maybe it's a blessing in disguise looking at my post-count on here).
Damn you Fuss Free, if you hadn't quit for a few months I'd be in the less-geekier looking second place for most posts. Oh and as a matter of interest FF, have you listened to any of the live versions of the new stuff on youtube as I get the impression you haven't?
Nah... I only had a high post count because I went through an extended period of under-employment, which meant I had nothing better to do than troll around on messageboards all day long.
I started back to school last summer, and haven't been nearly as bored since. My post count when I deleted my old account was around 250... so I'd only be at 300 today if I had kept it going. You'd still be the king, Eamonn.
Have I listened to the new stuff..? Not much. I have listened to the stuff from Pitchfork a few times, and I have listened to a few of the songs he performed on tour in the winter, but I haven't taken the time to decipher the lyrics or pass judgement on them yet.
I am cautiously optimistic about the new album. I think it could turn out to be Jarv's best record since HnH... provided he doesn't muck it up with a bunch of half-songs and retreads.
Since the first solo album, Jarvis seems to have finally accepted that his calling in life is to be a songwriter, and I think it's been good for him. I've felt that every album he's produced since DC has been a bit of a chore... like Jarvis wasn't committed to the songs nor even sure why he was bothering to write music anymore. But it seems as if he's over those hang-ups now, and he just wants to write interesting songs again. Like, for the first time in 15 years, it looks like Jarvis is actually enjoying himself. That's a good sign in my opinion.
-- Edited by Fuss Free on Tuesday 7th of April 2009 01:19:05 AM
Fuss Free wrote:Jarvis seems to have finally accepted that his calling in life is to be a songwriter, and I think it's been good for him. I've felt that every album he's produced since DC has been a bit of a chore... like Jarvis wasn't committed to the songs nor even sure why he was bothering to write music anymore. But it seems as if he's over those hang-ups now
I think that's an excellent observation.
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
Well, saying he was struggling for direction and motivation isn't quite the same thing as saying everything he was writing at that time was crap. It's got to help if you're actually enjoying the process though (exception that proves the rule: Relaxed Muscle)
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
The funny thing about the words of ''The Professional'' is that he is writing a song about the things people expect him to write about and it's one of his best lyrics.
