Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[parm]

Proving that not all British music is tedious garage-rock and MOR blandness, this album came out yesterday in Englandland, and you should all be listening to it. It's another project from the Field Music stable, and it's just as brilliant as everything else to come out of them. Lovely, quirky, spiky, odd clever pop, with more than a hint of Kate Bush and Prefab Sprout and maybe even a little bit of Peter Gabriel, filtered through the north-east of England and some lovely orchestral arrangements.

(and if you don't have them already, you should also buy all Field Music's albums, and School of Language, too)

[np96]

MOR? Man, this forum should come with a dictionary or glossary.

[Oli]

Middle of the Road.

[parm]

Yeah. See The Feeling, The Fratellis, The Hoosiers or worst of the lot, fucking cunting shitty Scouting "We once heard an E.L.O. song and now we're going to recreate it over and over and over again with different titles but without any other variation at all and it'll burrow into your skull and stay there and never leave and make you want to die" For Girls. Utterly awful bland personality free radio-friendly turds for people who don't really like music but feel they ought to buy a CD once or twice a year.

[Thrillho]

Proving that not all British music is tedious garage-rock and MOR blandness

What the blue fuck?

How come we've had a huge consignment of newbies saying retarded shit recently? Did we order it? I don't remember signing for it.

[schimmy]

As opposed to all other countries where mainstream bands are completely excellent at the moment and have always been so?

[Thrillho]

The mainstream has rarely been a haven for greatness.

Quite apart from which, the OP doesn't say the word 'mainstream' in his post. He refers to 'all British music.'

[parm]

If you believe what has historically been the fashionable/non-mainstream/indie music press in the UK, the only thing that exists are these shitty "nu rave" bands and Arctic Monkeys clones. If you believe the mainstream media, the only music that exists are sub-par 70s pop clones like The Feeling and their ilk, or stupid goddamned talky mockney vacuous talentless girl-pop acts like Lily Allen and Kate "Must die with burning leaves in her face" Nash. Finding actually decent music - and yes, it does exist - in Britain (and I'm not making comparisons to other countries, because I'm not aware of the mainstream or "indie" media, or whatever, there) is really hard at the moment. Gems like Field Music, Guillemots, Errors, and a bunch of others do exist, but sifting them out from the vast sea of tepid shit clogging up the charts at the moment is a tough, tough job.

I know, I know, I'm getting old, I'm nearly 30, all music sounds better when you're younger, I don't understand the kids anymore, whatever. Fuck it. Have you heard Scouting for Girls?

[Thrillho]

Yes, and they're shit. That doesn't mean I'd paint all of British music, or even all of British mainstream music, with one brush.

If you're suggesting that you had to look hard to find the Guillemots, you're insane. They're on Radio cunting 2. They're also my heroes for getting the lyric 'the prophets and their bombs had another success' onto radio without a single boycott or appearance on Newsnight.

Kate Nash I hate, but mostly becuase she's a spoken word artist with backing and I think the piano line on 'Foundations' could be something great with a reasonable vocalist. Lily Allen's not great, but I like how she has these dark bitchy lyrics behind this sunny ska-pop veneer. It's more subversive than most of the other shit in the charts, not that I'd listen to her voluntarily.

As for girl-pop being talentless? Sugababes and Girls Aloud have some amazing songs. The latter's 'Sound Of The Underground' is fucking amazing, and I'd consider buying a greatest hits once they retired. Sugababes, their singles collection is actually in my house and I do listen to it.

The point is, the best music has always been harder to find. This isn't anything new. And being poppy and mainstream doesn't necessarily mean it's shit.

[Thrillho]

Yeah, and what about the utter shite making up the rest of the top 200 while they were in the charts?

And I'd say that Arctic Monkeys - I'm not much of a fan myself, but you've got to admit this really - have a pretty fair amount of international success and critical acclaim.

[pwhodges]

As for girl-pop being talentless? Sugababes and Girls Aloud have some amazing songs.

My step-son has recorded a couple of Girls Aloud shows for radio, and cannot find a good word to say about them.  Apparently their 'talent' is entirely a veneer laid over them by others.

[Thrillho]

Well then they're just great songs, and since I have no intention of seeing them live, that's enough for me.

[michaelicious]

This thread needs less silly arguments and more talk about how excellent all the bands associated with Field Music are.

Really excellent.

That is how excellent.

[parm]

This thread needs less silly arguments and more talk about how excellent all the bands associated with Field Music are.

Really excellent.

That is how excellent.

I agree with this post.

And I will try and post if I find more excellent British bands, but I think I've found, like, 2 in the last 4 years. Which is kinda disappointing.

Oh! Errors. You should listen to them, they're on Mogwai's label and are sort of a post-rock-meets-lcd-soundsystem kind of thing. They're very good.

[nufan]

The mainstream has rarely been a haven for greatness.

What about the Stones, the Beatles, the Faces, the Kinks, the Who, the Yardbirds, Cream, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the Troggs, the Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex, the Slits, Wire, the Fall, Public Image Ltd, Gang of Four, Comsat Angels, the Smiths, Radiohead, Portishead etc?

I would argue that Britain has ceased to produce artists of this calibre which are capable of international success with a degree of artistic integrity.

Gotta say, it bugs me when people say stuff like this. You list all these great bands from completely different years and complain about how no-one produces anything good anymore, and I swear the only way to satisfy you would be to have EVERY SINGLE BAND YOU JUST LISTED playing right now in this time period. That's 20 or so bands you've listed, but the time-span is 40 years. One good band every 2 years, and pretty much no matter what your taste in music is there's going to be one good band that had some degree of success in the last 2 years.

[Thrillho]

Alrighty, good new British bands?

I'd say Gallows but I suspect everyone on here hates them. I love 'em though.

British bands and artists I've come across in my reviewing travels and elsewhere over the last four years or so include:
Cayto - Utterly insane. Mix piano balladry with punk and jazz and metal. They're bonkers. I think you guys would love them.
Duels - Britpop revival vs. electro. Not really genre-defining, but they have good tunes and they're a great live act. I saw them supporting Graham Coxon, a man I idolise, and yet I still considered them the better live band.
Guile - Admittedly I've only heard a couple of their songs, but what I have heard was terrific - a kind of country-tinged, expansive rock thing.
Jacob's Stories - Now this is somebody I think everyone on this forum should investigate. It's slightly tricky to describe, he basically did Thom Yorke's solo album before Thom Yorke did it, and for my money, he did it better as well. A stunning voice, and has two amazing records.
Jamie T - Skinnyman meets folk. What's not to love? Well, I guess his voice is an acquired taste.
Polymath - Nottingham band (yay) who open-source all their music so you remix it and send it to them. Their shows are art extravaganzas rather than just shows, their music covers eastern-tinged cinematics, epic industrial rock and creepy balladry. Great stuff.
Skinnyman - The best thing to come out of British rap that I've heard, at least. Socially conscious and politically aware.
Smoke Fairies - Blues/folk torch singers. Enthralling, enchanting stuff. I said in my review of their demo that their music is so absorbing that once you go in, it's hard to come out of it again.
Young Knives - Post-punk band who sound like if Mark from Peep Show made music. Nerdy, geeky, and great.

[parm]

Smoke Fairies - Blues/folk torch singers. Enthralling, enchanting stuff. I said in my review of their demo that their music is so absorbing that once you go in, it's hard to come out of it again.

Fucking hell they're a bit good. I'm all shivery now.

[Thrillho]

I don't know if it's on their myspace, but their song 'We Had Lost Our Minds' is the best damn thing I've heard all year.

[np96]

Looking at this years Mercury Music Proze shortlist, I'd say that British music is quite strong. Elbow, Radiohead and Robert Plant showing that established acts are doign well, with bands like The Last Shadow Puppets ( a brilliant side projects from Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner), Larua Marling and Adele showing that we have promising talent coming through.

[parm]

Looking at this years Mercury Music Proze shortlist, I'd say that British music is quite strong. Elbow, Radiohead and Robert Plant showing that established acts are doign well, with bands like The Last Shadow Puppets ( a brilliant side projects from Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner), Larua Marling and Adele showing that we have promising talent coming through.

I'll concede this year's Mercury's is far less depressing than it has been of late (The Klaxons? Fuck off) but it still pretty average. I can't get excited by the Last Shadow Puppets, I'm afraid, and Adele and Estelle are Yet More Amy Winehouse Clones. Elbow's album is decent enough but one of the best of the year? Hm. Burial are interesting, but I'm not sure if I'd choose to listen to it; there's definitely something about that album though. Radiohead were pretty much guaranteed an entry with In Rainbows; thankfully, it's deserved. I can't help but feel the Plant album is stretching the rules slightly. There's not a hope in hell the token folk or jazz albums will win, and British Sea Power just feel like filler to me. It's okay, but it's a mix between stuff that will never win and stuff that's faux-edgy mainstream. And Radiohead.

[Thrillho]

Estelle's an Amy Winehouse clone? What songs are you listening to? Ah well, she certainly wasn't four years ago. '1980' was a hell of a tune.

I'd like In Rainbows to win. But isn't the Mercury Prize meant to be for innovation or some shit? Or is it just for a good album? Cause if it's for innovation, then In Rainbows is nothing we haven't heard before. But if it's just for being a good album, I think it's as flawless a piece of work as Radiohead have produced, song-by-song.

[parm]

Estelle's an Amy Winehouse clone? What songs are you listening to? Ah well, she certainly wasn't four years ago. '1980' was a hell of a tune.

It's certainly what she's being marketed as now.

I'd like In Rainbows to win. But isn't the Mercury Prize meant to be for innovation or some shit? Or is it just for a good album? Cause if it's for innovation, then In Rainbows is nothing we haven't heard before. But if it's just for being a good album, I think it's as flawless a piece of work as Radiohead have produced, song-by-song.

It's just for Best UK or Irish Album. So, yeah, I'd go for In Rainbows.

[Thrillho]

Estelle's an Amy Winehouse clone? What songs are you listening to? Ah well, she certainly wasn't four years ago. '1980' was a hell of a tune.

It's certainly what she's being marketed as now.

That sucks ass, because the stuff I heard from her first album - I only remember '1980' by name - was individual. A female rapper that was actually good? Holy shit.

[Kill.kenada]

They are also a lamentably terrible band.

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you loathe about the Arctic Monkeys?

[Kill.kenada]

No, no.
I'm not an AM fan by any stretch of the imagination.

I completely agree, the name is absolutely...Infact I can't think of an adjective to describe it. It's bad anyway.

But. I wouldn't say their music is bad.
I'd just like to know why you hate it so.

[np96]

I think AM's first album was a good effort, but thier follow up was pretty poor.