Shuteye Unison - Shuteye Unison review

Originally posted at www.thesilentballet.com

Score: 6.5/10

Shuteye Unison rose out of the burnt embers of The Rum Diary. While this act remained relatively unknown, the tricking and somewhat soothing sounds of Shuteye Unison’s new record, a self titled affair which totals in at just over thirty minutes, will surely guarantee them at least a modicum of success. Bearing in mind these links, regular readers will soon note that this isn’t the first time we have covered these young fellows. The Rum Diary were succinctly described in our Tracking the Trends series as “one of California's more interesting bands” and having “a stunning work of art in its midst.” Kind words, but now it’s time to see whether Shuteye Unison can live up to the reputation of their previous incarnation.

Thankfully, they do not disappoint. Shuteye Unison offers similar genre swapping and splicing that was clearly favoured in The Rum Diary, but musically they have come on leaps and bounds. The compositions featured on this self-titled record are incandescent wonders. Flitting between spaced out and dreamy vocals that would make My Bloody Valentine proud, as well as darker pieces like “Fields Landing,” which features Bradford Cox vocal atmospherics over a dark American voiced sample and what can essentially be described as Texas Chainsaw Massacre noises, Shuteye Unison have clearly increased their musical repertoire.

For those who prefer their music wholly instrumental, Shuteye Unison is not for you. However, if you can stomach someone flexing their vocal chords, this record offers a real treat for your passive ears. Moving between tribal-come-dub murmurings much in the same vein as Pocahaunted as well as a pre-occupation with primordial mutterings such as the sun, shadows and water, you cannot deny that Shuteye Unison manage to compress an awful lot into this rather short offering. The only qualm I had with the lyricism is that it did border on dreaded trite territory, such as in the aforementioned “Fields Landing” where the singer’s interest with the “party tonight” sounds like the inane mutterings of the fellow on Weezer’s “Undone - The Sweater Song” as opposed to anything truly interesting or, dare I say it, “deep”.

While Shuteye Unison do move between any genre they sit fit, opener and the final composition, “CRF030608” and “Through Dunes” feature a bubbling ambient piece which, while it isn’t in fitting with the rest of the record, is a soothing addition that adds wonders to the overall effort. All in all, while it’s a relatively short affair, Shuteye Unison’s debut has a somewhat hypnotic affect on the listener and comes strongly recommended.

Olympus Mons - Nothing's Gonna Spoil My Day Today review

Originally posted at www.LoudandQuiet.com

Olympus Mons are evidently one very confused young band. Mistaking ‘energy’ with ‘talent’, these three young men, named Aaron, Norbert and Moran for those who are interested, thrash their guitars in an pseudo-angular manner and whack those skins like there is no tomorrow, but unfortunately for them (and the listener) the noises they create are not particularly interesting or noteworthy.

Opener, ‘Martial Law’ sounds like vocalist Aaron is having an argument with one of his many multiple personalities. First, he splutters on about standing and stopping, which sounds more like a description of a creaky old bus as opposed to the anecdotes of a sharp and witty indie raconteur, then, another dimension of Aaron enters into the piece and waxes lyrical about “spending money on tax and military” in a rather irritated manner. Sadly, these statements come across as more half-arsed “war is bad, yeah?” thoughts as opposed to having any real depth or substance.

Olympus Mons stumble on in this manner, discussing kitchen sink tales that are incredibly insular and almost impossible to relate to. The trio rattle through flat-sounding songs, with lyrics that barely go anywhere. On ‘Journey Chapter VII’ Aaron shrieks “learn to read between the lines”, the problem is that there are no lines to begin with. Olympus Mons rely on shouting unrelated words at the listener, which becomes terribly tedious after 16 songs, and while this could be considered a stab at projecting some sort of lyrical fluidity to match the frenetic instruments, Aaron’s rambles begin to sound more like a shopping list as opposed to insightful thoughts.

It isn’t until ‘Follow You Down’ that the listener really grasps the underlying ideas behind Aaron’s lyricism and in turn, Olympus Mons. Throughout this track, Aaron shrieks ‘let’s be A listers, we’re gonna have it all/ look at my face I’m in the News of the World/I’m in The Sun’. While ‘Follow you down’ seems to be referring to a certain character of rock and could even be viewed as an attack on the intricate relationship between British indie pin ups and the tabloids, Aaron seems to genuinely want to become an ‘A lister’. For all the snarling attitude of this piece, the listener cannot help but notice the fame (or should that be tabloid?) hungry nature of Olympus Mons.

Bearing this in mind, Olympus Mons’, or specifically, Aaron’s phrasing begins to make more sense. This is in no way an attack on the lead singer, it is just that his voice is phenomenally high in the mix when compared with the rest of the band, but his mimicking of the vocal tricks of Kele Okereke and Luke Pritchard weaken the album significantly. Bloc Party dominate the first half of the album, with the groups signature mirroring of Kele’s vocals constantly appearing as a cheap party trick on Olympus Mons’ debut, then on ‘Sell me to the Wind’ Aaron tries a different tactic and goes for Pritchard’s strange method of singing certain words; time becomes “toooime”, line becomes “loooine” and so on. Frankly, you would be forgiven for thinking that this disjointed album is some sort of Frankenstein creation made up of half ‘Silent Alarm’, half ‘Inside In/Inside Out’.

While it always disheartening to knock a relatively new and fresh band, Olympus Mons seriously need to note the difference between being influenced by a band and mimicking them. For now though, Olympus Mons will remain a mystified and needy young group and ‘Nothing’s Gonna Spoil My Day Today’ is, in turn, an energetic but somewhat disappointing record.

4/10

Bingo Times Smoking Loopholes Press Release

Originally posted on www.MarketWire.com. Consequently featured in Canada's National Post newspaper.

Bingo Site Finds Smoking Loopholes

LONDON, ENGLAND--(Marketwire - Sept. 12, 2008) - BingoTimes.com (www.BingoTimes.com) the independent online bingo comparison site, have entered into the smoking ban debate to help bingo halls losing business because of the ban.

Research carried out by BingoTimes.com found that if bingo halls doubled as prisons, hospices, parks or theatres, players would be free to smoke.

The research was prompted by a survey of its site visitors whereby a staggering 75% noted that their local halls were quieter since the ban. Holly Emblem, editor of BingoTimes.com, observed; "we were shocked by our survey results, so much so we researched the ban and sought out loopholes to help players and bingo halls." BingoTimes.com have outlined their ban loophole hit list, which players can use if they wish to 'dodge' the ban in their bingo halls. The hit list is as follows:

1. Residential Bingo

Players can smoke in their local bingo hall; provided it also acts as a prison or hospice. If halls squeezed in a prison cell, or even provided health care, then players could legally smoke.

2. Performance Bingo

The ban states that performers can smoke if it affects "artistic integrity" and is integral to the performance, so, players should convince their local bingo halls to put on all singing, all smoking productions of Oliver.

3. Green Bingo

While the UK hasn't seen much sun this year, the ban only applies to "premises which have a ceiling or a roof", why not play bingo in the park? BingoTimes.com reckon there is definitely a future for this eco-friendly game, so watch out for bingo in your local park.

4. Smoke Bingo

The ban states that tobacconists can by-pass the ban if customers are sampling their tobacco. If bingo halls started selling tobacco, then players could 'sample' their wares while they play.

5. Bingo Mad

Finally, BingoTimes.com recommend players should turn their bingo halls into mental health units, as if enough players were diagnosed as needing care then the hall would stay open and players could smoke! When asked how they're feeling, players should definitely reply; "bingo mad".

About BingoTimes.com

BingoTimes.com is a UK based independent online bingo comparison site featuring reviews of the UK's top online bingo sites, as well as bingo bonuses, free bingo and tips on how to get the most out of your online bingo experience.

Glasvegas - Glasvegas review

Originally posted at www.loudandquiet.com

A band that accompanies a 7” release with a cover of a Nirvana song can be accurately described with one of the following two words; ‘geniuses’ or, to be honest, ‘fools’. Admittedly, I’m not a particularly big grunge fan, but Glasvegas’ boldness (or some would argue cheek) to accompany their new single ‘Daddy’s Gone’ with a cover of ‘Come As You Are’ was a particularly brave move. Thankfully, their debut album, ‘Glasvegas’ follows in this bold and brash vein.

Glasvegas tend to wear their hearts and influences on their sleeves. When the listener isn’t treading on egg shells as front man James Allan recalls less than sunny memories of childhood, they are able to pick out meta-songs, that is, songs which reference other works by musicians. On ‘It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry’ Allan growls “What’s the Story Morning Glory? I feel so low I’m Loveless”. Album titles hidden in that lyric have been duly capitalised, but Glasvegas certainly swing towards the My Bloody Valentine wall-of-noise side of things as opposed to the shouty anthems of Oasis. ‘Flowers & Football Tops’, which, despite the title sounding like Danny Dyer’s attempt at lyricism, is actually a sweltering proto-shoegaze-come-rock affair and never before has the childhood lullaby ‘You Are My Sunshine’ sounded so poignant and haunted.

Allan’s, and of course, his merry bunch of men and women that make up Glasvegas have a knack for twisting nostalgic, “sunshine” memories and turning them into something much darker. Flick through the album and you are treated to ‘Stabbed’, which can be aptly summarised as gang warfare versus a classical piano piece, versus Arab Strap.

Even ice cream is traumatic to Allan, as he recalls in ‘Ice Cream Van’ – “there’s a storm on the horizon/I can’t see the sun/I’ll keep waiting on the pavement/for the ice cream van t’ come”. However, Allan’s broken down murmurs do come with an explanation. In ‘Geraldine’ he reveals a protagonist tight-rope-walking between life and death, who is only saved by Geraldine, a social worker who howls “When you’re standing there/on the window ledge/I’ll talk you back from the edge”.

The polarity expressed throughout Glasvegas’ debut is perhaps one of their most interesting aspects and adds new dimensions to the record throughout subsequent listens. Switching between moments of bliss ambience like the aforementioned ‘Ice Cream Van’ and swirling, moon lit songs such as the Echo and the Bunnymen-influenced ‘Polmont on my Mind’, Glasvegas move between stark, contrasting emotions like musical shape shifters, which all add up to one key fact about Glasvegas’ debut…It is a revelatory listen.

9/10

Calexico - Carried to Dust review

Originally posted at www.loudandquiet.com

Ten years on from Calexico’s second (although you could argue, first “proper”) record, ‘The Black Light’, the multi-talented duo that is Joey Burns and John Convertino, alongside a rag-tag bunch of musicians whose names are only uncovered by those brave explorers of the CD sleeve, have returned to their roots with their sixth “proper” album ‘Carried to Dust’.

One aspect of Calexico you can never escape from is their fixation with travelling. Always in a state of flux, they’re constantly on the road, trekking to a destination, but leaving the listener never sure if they actually reached it. However, rather than settling down and playing I-Spy the group have sound-tracked their travels and brought us lucky listeners some very special albums over the last 12 years.

‘Carried to Dust’’s album art work presents a young woman, eyes fixed on the road, heading towards a highway that you can’t quite make out. The car is clear as day, but that ever stretching road just escapes us somehow. Fragmented and mystical, it’s not there. Bear this in mind when listening to album closer ‘Contention City’ and notice that dark feeling in your stomach enveloping you. That’s what Calexico must feel every time they hit the long road and press record, and they are inviting you to feel it too. However, let’s hold that record button for now and instead opt for rewind, so we can find out the inner-workings of ‘Carried to Dust’ and more about this infinite trip. Rather than starting the journey with the band, the listener is simply a hitch-hiker; picked up from one point on the map and dropped at another with the title track marking the entry into the hot, stuffy desert. While a geographical description may seem odd for music, this seems to be exactly what Calexico are aiming for - with all of their previous bodies of work we have been picked up and dropped off. Sure, we joined in with some of the conversations along the way and even felt emotionally linked, but we were always missing parts of the puzzle…We were never always in their car, heading towards the horizon, we simply travelled from point A to B and were then left to our own devices on the roadside as the band sped away into the ever-reaching distance.

So, if this album has one specific motif, it’s of dangerous journeys into the heart of the sandstorm. Vocalist, Joey Burns, has a very distinct whiff of Leonard Cohen about him and if it can be pin-pointed to a particular Cohen-moment, it’s ‘Waiting for a Miracle’, which as it turns out, is one of the first pieces of music we hear in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, which, in tern, focuses on never ending journeys. I’m not for a moment suggesting Joey and John are about to go Mickey and Mallory, but the desperate and emotional nature exhibited in Stone’s creations is played upon heavily in this record.

Just like the listener, various musicians hitch-hike their way into Calexico’s vehicle and guest here. Sam Beam makes an appearance on ‘House Of Valparaiso’, then presumably, is dropped off and left to continue his own journey with Iron & Wine. Perhaps the most prominent “hitch-hiker” is Amparo Sanchez whose track on the record, ‘Inspiración’, completely rejuvenates the album’s landscape and turns it from a desperate desert into swinging Spain. Sanchez soon bids Calexico farewell though, treading back onto the quiet roads, and the horizon shifts once again, with ‘Slowness’ marking Calexico’s return to the miles of highway.

And to finish, we reache a revelation: ‘Carried to Dust’ is all about the ride, never the destination, and as soon as ‘Contention City’ ends, we are presumably booted out of the car (for now), bags in our hands and the sun in our eyes as we watch Calexico continue towards the horizon. Sure, we might feel cheated for a moment, but the memories of our time on the trek are enough to keep us warm and, thankfully, there is always another record and another chance for us hitch-hike with Joey and John. So for now, we place our thumbs out and hope for the best in the warm desert sun…

8/10 in stores Sept 8

Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line review

Originally posted at www.loudandquiet.com

Ra Ra Riot are, if the internet is to be believed (and obviously, it never lies) a six piece “amorphous blob” that have wormed their way into the collective-consciousness of indie fans everywhere. Perhaps “intelligent indie” fans should be the correct phrase, but let’s face it, IDM already occupies the top spot for “worst genre name ever” and I really don’t want to coin another equally terrible saying. Anyway, back to ‘The Rhumb Line’; this “amorphous blob” has only released one other record (aside from an initial demo EP), a self-titled EP that features a few early recordings of songs that are now neatly re-worked and fitted onto ‘The Rhumb Line’. As with any album that features reassessments of earlier recordings, there tends to be derision between newcomers to the band and hardened aficionados who cling to the fragmented recordings of their heroes and downright refuse to let the re-evaluations seep into their ears. Well, surprisingly, ‘The Rhumb Line’ far surpasses Ra Ra Riot’s earlier EP.

Ra Ra Riot have a recognisable air to them, but rather than relying on a tired formulae to create verses that will appeal to the masses, the group instead borrow carefully created sounds that tread the dangerous line between familiarity and uniqueness. Thankfully, Ra Ra Riot have made it over the border, they are new refugees in the land of “uniqueness” and it seems certain that they will have their visas granted and become permanent residents in this sparse, barely populated, but magical space.

The group employ the call and response vocals of Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan of Stars fame and lyrically, the waltzy and intimate relationship perspectives offered up by lead singer Wesley Miles, screams of ‘Heart’-era Stars. However, rather than following suit with this obvious knowing nod to those chirpy Canadian troopers and in turn sounding a lot like Morrissey, Miles instead prefers the breathy style of Andrew Bird. The results of this ‘melting pot’ are remarkable, and I haven’t even mentioned the frantic choir-esque chorus reminiscent of good-old Arcade Fire in songs like ‘Ghost Under Rocks’.

Whereas the EP preferred minimal instruments, this full-length debut comes complete with a sweeping, whooping orchestra of noise that simply won’t be soothed. Some may argue that Ra Ra Riot lost their “intensity” with this new album, but these new recordings are throbbing masterpieces. Crammed with charmed guitars, a pulsing violin that competes with vocals for attention and a desperate lead singer who manages to find leeway above everything else to tell us of his loves lost suggests a “blob” that hasn’t lost a smidgen of its original fire, in fact, it seems to be turning into quite the inferno.

7/10

The Field Interview

Originally posted at www.thesilentballet.com

How do you go about composing your music, do you get just an idea that you work with, or do you get it all at once and build from there?

It’s probably more a feeling, usually when I hear a particular song I rearrange it in my head. It can be any song, from Lionel Richie to Fleetwood Mac...but I don’t know if I should say that in case I get sued!

I’m sure Lionel Richie won’t be reading this! But it can be any track then?

Yes, every time it’s a track that I have some kind of special connection to, or means something to me.

Has there been anything recently that’s caught your attention?

No, not really, I’ve been really dried out. I’ve just been playing so much, I haven’t really had time. We’ve been touring since last summer, more or less every weekend, but I just play weekends then go back home. Especially when you’re playing in Europe it’s so easy to get home, so I’m always back home on Monday.

That must be hard though.

Yeah, it is, but I’ve had a couple of breaks now where I haven’t really played at all.

Do you have to plan out time then for when you want to compose new songs?

Yeah, I try to, but I think we’re still going to do the rest of summer, perhaps a bit in the autumn, then I’m going to take a break for a bit from playing live at all, and just try to focus on making new music.

So will you be touring just across Europe, or will you be moving across to America?

We’ll be going to the States hopefully, and we’re working on visas and stuff, but they are really, really strict. We’ve had some problems with them before, but it’s really urgent as the tour is supposed to be happening at the end of May, as we’re going to Mutek in Canada and that’s no problem. But then we’re supposed to go on an East Coast tour, but it’s just the embassy interviews left now.

A live set featuring you and !!! !!! !!! recently made an appearance on Pitchfork TV, how did this collaboration come about? Do you hope to collaborate again with any other artists?

Well, it’s like that now, I’m not playing by myself anymore, I now have a band, but with the Pitchfork thing we were talking about it on the bus and then they asked if we’d like to do it. I was really satisfied with it, I was kind of dreaming of playing with musicians again and not playing by myself, because it’s much more fun for me and the audience and everyone. So we started playing with live instrumentation and no computer, trying to be more like a band than a DJ.

Yes, it must be hard to keep the listener interested in you’re just running off a laptop.

Absolutely, especially when you’re playing in the States where they haven’t really had it taken to them; they still very much like watching, and to watch a guy with a laptop is really, really boring. Europe is so ahead of the U.S.A really, like they’re ten years afterwards, so here you’re used to a guy with a laptop...but they’re still like “why isn’t he sweating on stage? He should have that laptop between his legs” [Axel imitates air guitar, but with laptop].

So what instruments do you now use live?

Synthesisers and bass and acoustic and electronic drums. And it’s now a sampler instead of a laptop, there’s no computer in it. It’s really nice.

How did you translate it from a record to a live show? How did you know which parts to play?

The last record is somewhat in between both the living room and the dancefloor, and since I’ve been playing a lot by myself I’ve been figuring out which parts work on the dancefloor, so it was already taken care of in a way. We’re basically doing the same tracks I used to play, but rearranged them and added stuff.

Do you ever get a vibe off the audience, sort of like “we want to dance” or “we want to stand around”?

Yeah, but I don’t know, I think I just keep on playing, regardless of what expressions they may have in their face, it’s like take it or leave it. We’re really much more free now, I guess, before I was more like a slave under my laptop, now we can do whatever and we can just improvise and jam.

Do you think you’ll include a band in your next record?

I don’t know, I think it’s probably going to be me making the music, perhaps inviting the band to play on some tracks; we haven’t really recorded stuff. I think we could do something but I don’t know if it would be under The Field’s name or something else, we’ll see.

I’m interested in the Sound of Light EP you composed for The Nordic Light Hotel, can you tell me more about that and were you ever worried you would be making lift music?

It’s really strange, the hotel contacted me and asked if I could do music for the hotel environment, and you have these thoughts “is it going to be lift music”, but they had it in every room, you could stream it directly by just pressing a button. Then they had this...like, a postcard with a CD, that you could buy after a visit, but then they started selling it on Kompakt and other stores, so I don’t know what happened, but I don’t think it exists anymore.

It is odd though that a hotel would be like “oh, make some music for us”?

It’s really strange, I was there for two nights and on the first night I got sick, I had a fever and started puking, and that kind of set the standard for the thing, because I couldn’t really work with it and I didn’t know what to do. For me it was really chaotic and I don’t really like it, there’s only one track that I’m happy with. It was more like a job, you know, kind of a commercial thing, “this is what we ordered from you”. It’s not a follow-up, some people think it’s like a follow-up EP, but it’s not, it was just for the hotel and I don’t even know why it got out, but people tend to forget why I did it.
This is quite a cheeky question, but do you think of members of an audience use drugs they’re more open to your music?

Yes! There’s a total difference, you can see with what towns you’re playing in and there’s a lot of drugs, the audience is totally different.

So are you expecting that from Minehead?

No, I think everyone’s going to be drunk on beer, but that works as well, intoxicated either way. But there’s a big difference between Barcelona and Stockholm, or Berlin and Stockholm; Barcelona’s pretty liberal but Stockholm is quite conservative.

Where has been the place where you’ve thought “these people really get it” then?

I think Berlin is always Berlin, it’s a really nice place and the people are very friendly. Everyone in this kind of scene more or less moved there a few years ago from all over, from the states, Sweden, everywhere. Berlin gets to be the capital of techno. It’s so cheap to live there compared to other capitals.

Is there anyone you’ll be checking out at ATP?

I want to see Dinosaur Jr, Battles and we’ve just been watching A Hawk and a Hacksaw, De La Soul as well maybe, we saw Explosions in the Sky last night and Four Tet as well. Oh, and Stars of the Lid. I think Adam, the guy with Stars of the Lid, is living in Brussells.

Brainwash Compilation Review

Originally posted at www.thesilentballet.com

Score: 4/10

This first Brainwash compilation marks the beginning of an era, a move into territory that Brainwash have barely begun to tread, the emergence of a cultural peak in the land of Leeds, and so on, so why is it that I have given this compilation a measly 4? Well, a variety of reasons, the most subjective being “I didn’t like it” and the most objective statement coming in the form of, oh wait, I can’t be objective. Well, damn.

Joking aside, the criticism I am about to embark on is not intended as a blow to Brainwash as promoters, as I am assured they do a fantastic job bring a host of bands “up North” (it’s grim, don’t you know) as well as starting their own festival in October, which has attracted the likes of Ólafur Arnalds, Maybeshewill and Forward Russia. It seems Brainwash can’t really put a foot wrong, but well (and this is genuinely unwelcome news), their compilation is pretty poor.

All of the ingredients for it to be a success are there, it’s just that it has been so badly put together, that when playing it for the first time this compilation becomes a patchwork catastrophe, with split seams, dodgy craftsmanship and well, if it were a jacket, it would be a straight jacket.

Opening with a nice little “hello, welcome to the first Brainwash compilation, enjoy”, the listener is easily sucked into believing that their journey through this CD will be a smooth one and the use of Jonquil as compilation opener only adds more weight to this idea. For those who are not familiar with Jonquil (shame on you), they are a wonderful, Youthmovies-related outfit who have released one moderately successful album to date, entitled Lions. The title track of this record features on the Brainwash compilation and is an ever favourable sea shanty, about, erm, building houses in a certain way so lions can escape easier. Nonetheless, it’s a wonderful song and my only qualm with it is that it’s been condensed to a one minute edit, which seems rather pointless as the song only totals in at 1:57 on the album anyway. Looking back, this maltreatment of Jonquil should have rung alarm bells instantly, but on first listens I was far too naïve and well, hoping that this record might offer up something half-decent.

On we move though, at a blistering rate may I add, to Red Stars Parade, who I originally thought were quite pants, but this was before hearing Pulled Apart by Horses. Returning to Red Stars Parade, they are basically an unassuming bunch, who you know, give songs super-cool names like “Jack O’ Knives” and sound a bit like 30 Seconds to Mars. It’s hardly anything to get excited over, but Kerrang gave it four of their Kicking-ass Kings in a recent review, so if you dig Kerrang, chances are you will like this too.

So, we have had one good band, one not so good, then on swing Jetplane Landing with one of the most ridiculous songs, EVER. At least that’s what they want you to think, because, you know, it references Les Savy Fav and they are totally hip, and it has a load of stuff going on in it, and, and, and… is what you would be saying if you were some sort of brainwashed (get it?) monkey. Jetplane Landing’s “Why do they never play Les Savy Fav on the radio?” is a real waste of effort. Yes, it’s kooky, if that’s what you’re into, but if it were asking the genuine question “why do they never play Les Savy Fav on the radio?” surely there would be some mention of the fact that major radio stations are far too scared of change and Les Savy Fav do have a reputation for being a bit weird. No, there is no mention of that here, instead, this is, what I feel, a rough translation of the thought processes of Jetplane Landing:

1) Sound totally American
2) Fill the song with crazy breakdowns to show we can take a joke
3) Make sure it sounds ironic!!!

Well, ironic songs = ironic eye rolling. Please don’t bother with Jetplane Landing, it’s like giving in to a child that’s purposely attention seeking; the parent looks weakened in the eyes of the child and the kid knows it can try it again and probably get away with it. Super Nanny would agree. Oh, and did I mention that certain “vocals” in the song sound like Thurston Moore’s piss-take attempt at rapping on The Whitey Album? Exactly. Stand well clear and block your ears.

Wintermute offer some of the usual At The Drive-In styled sounds that you can hear on most “band nights” at your local pub, so it’s up to These Monsters to pull me out of the aural dirge that is this compilation so far; thankfully they do, and offer up 10 minutes of relaxing jazzy post-rock keeping thoughts of “change the cd, change the cd, change the cd” at bay.

At this point, things look like they are picking up; I have just experienced the soothing sounds of These Monsters and the next few artists on this record are pretty decent too. Paul Marshall offers up a sweet folk ballad in the style of Simon & Garfunkel and Random Number’s “Crosets” is a nice slice of electronica that is easy on the ears. Vessels show up next, and as they simply can’t put a foot wrong, their track “Clear and Calm” easily transports us onto Youthmovies’ excellent “Shh! You’ll Wake It”.

Then it all goes a bit wrong again. Pulled Apart by Horses turn up, with teen angst baggage and all and offer up the song “I Punched a Lion in the Throat”. Now this is a bad song, some might even say a musical travesty. It contains the lyrics “ultimate power/maximum life” which sounds like the slogan for Homer Simpson’s “Power Sauce”. Just like this apple based energy bar, the listener soon discovers that this song doesn’t really have any energy behind it, and rather than being made out of apple cores and old newspapers (like in The Simpsons episode), “I Punched a Lion in the Throat” is formed out of tired riffs and an uninspired band.

In short, some more songs happen, and then the compilation closes on a seventeen minute effort from Human Fly which features spoken-word artist Rose Kemp. While this song isn’t at all disagreeable, in fact it’s rather good, slapping it on right at the end is the final nail in the coffin for this album.

I haven’t really explained my overall disliking for Brainwash’s first compilation yet, so please allow me to do so now, just to justify myself to both fans of the compilation and Brainwash themselves. The promoters have obviously decided to cram everything in at once and alternate between genres just to show how much they have to offer. Honestly, they do have a plenty of great bands under their belt, but splicing them together in this order just spells catastrophe. Compilations like this were necessary when not everyone had easy access to the internet, or music, but with the Myspace phenomena, now anyone can listen to any band they like and form an opinion of them through the 4 to 5 songs available on their music page.

Similarly, if someone was interested in what Brainwash has to offer, they would no doubt sift through their top friends (who are mainly made up of the bands that are on this comp), give each band a listen and if they like what they hear, maybe buy a record or two. Fitting every single artist Brainwash has been involved with onto one compilation no longer works because music listeners expect things to be catered to them. If you can download an entire album by one great band, why should you have to listen to a compilation that hasn’t bothered to tailor itself to you?

While listening to an entire compilation and making notes on the bands you enjoyed and the ones you didn’t used to be merriment to us all, a certain new-breed listeners seem to no longer have the patience for this. Instead of shoving everything under one “compilation”, the artists on this record should have been split up onto different EP’s. Perhaps one for bands like Red Stars Parade, Pulled Apart by Horses and even Deus Volt, another EP for folks like Jonquil, Paul Marshall, We vs. Death, and so on. Yes, this would have required a lot more effort and I am certain some will see flaws in my thinking, but frankly, I don’t see why anyone should be forced to listen to bands they don’t enjoy just so a promoter can say “we have a full-length album out with so much stuff on it, it’s insane.” I agree, if Brainwash had of released separate EPs with rough genre guides, it wouldn’t open up other bands to listeners and may even come across as a bit closed minded, but it’s a sign of the times if scatty compilations are being released and consequently ignored by music fans who simply don’t have the time to sift through garbage to find the gems.

Apologies if the previous paragraphs come across as half-baked nonsense from a rambling music reviewer who doesn’t know what they are talking about, but I simply had to discuss (in my own little way) the redundant “qualities” of compilations like this. Now, Brainwash, please accept my apology and continue to put on fine gigs on up North.

Casino loyalty schemes

For Casinoonline.co.uk

Many online casinos offer excellent loyalty programs as a way of rewarding their regular players. These can be incredibly enticing, and are certainly an important consideration when chosing a casino, especially if you think you will be playing their regularly. To help you decide which casino is best for you, and clear up any confusion over the differences between the various schemes, we have compiled a table comparing a number of programs on offer. If you wish to learn more about any of the casinos' reward programs, just click on the casino name in question...

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128-bit SSL security

For Casinoonline.co.uk

Practically all online casinos list that they have “128-Bit SSL security”, but you will very rarely see an explanation for what exactly this means. Is it safe to assume that because a number of companies use it that it automatically guarantees its authenticity and safety? Well, we have compiled all the information you need, meaning you can make an informed decision about your security options.

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, which is a protocol (a set list of procedures) that systematically encrypts sensitive data being sent over the internet from a client to a server; in this case, you (and your banking details) to the online casino housed in the server. You may wonder why it is only the server that’s protected by SSL security; after all, your details are just as important as the casinos right? Well, the casino server protects both your end and their’s through a section of keys...

Full article available here.