Elfin Saddle

Ringing for the Begin Again - (LP, CD, download)

Wurld - (10" vinyl, DVD, download)

Sometimes you need to hear something odd. Times when the current heavy-rotation stuff that planted its claws in your eardrums on first listen (step forward, currently, The Decemberists and Iron and Wine) doesn't quite do the trick. Times when only the deliberately jarring, self-consciously arty, very possibly pretentious will do. May I introduce you to Elfin Saddle...?

They comprise a core duo of vocalists and multi-instrumentalists, Jordan McKenzie and Emi Honda, helped out by various supporting musicians. Originally from Vancouver Island, they've relocated to Montreal and found a congenial home at Constellation Records, alongside God Speed You! Black Emperor and their various associates.

Wurld is the best and most accessible way in. A beautiful package of 10" vinyl, plus DVD, postcards and various other inserts - and a numbered edition of 500, if collectors' salivary glands need any further stimulation...

At the heart of it all is a fifteen minute film featuring time-lapse footage of the growth and development of a model microcosm Emi and Jordan built in a Montreal backyard. You can watch it all on the DVD or listen to the instrumental soundtrack separately - and, for me, it works very well on its own. (I made a comparison earlier to the Incredible String Band, but on reflection the whimsical old hippies they most remind me of are the Third Ear Band. And that's a good thing, for those who didn't have the pleasure of their company back at the Clitheroe Pop Festival in 1972, or haven't heard their soundtrack to Roman Polanski's Macbeth.) But the film is definitely worth a look too - it looks like a version of Koyaanisqatsi commissioned by Watch with Mother. (And, yes, that is also a good thing.)

Your entrance fee also gets you a live concert video, and watching them in action - swapping around accordian, saw, ukelele, etc - is a good preparation for the apparently more conventional LP Ringing for the Begin Again.

There's more singing and straighter song structures here. Emi writes and sings in Japanese (with translations on the lyric sheet) and I prefer her high, breathy voice to Jordan's - though he gets his songs across effectively too. There's a good range of sounds with double bass/tuba, violin and trumpet joining the duo. It doesn't all work perfectly, but it's never less than interesting. Well worth a go, to cleanse your aural palate.

Cry Tomorrow / Don't Tell

Cry Tomorrow - Stephanie Finch & The Company Men (CD, download)

Don't Tell - Kathleen Haskard (CD, download)

Let's get 2011's reviewing underway with a bit of catching up…

Two albums that were released in 2009 (Stephanie) and 2007 (Kathleen) but which I've only just got my hands on, following the fine Balcony TV session by Stephanie and husband Chuck Prophet at the end of last year, with Kathleen in attendance.

Chuck picks up production credits for both albums, as well as smearing some of his familiar Telecaster magic over a number of songs, amongst other instrumental and vocal contributions. But he's definitely in support mode here and both headliners have the clout and talent to stand on their own feet.

I guess Americana is the catch-all label for this music - real songs and real instruments, strongly sung and played. But without either any marked country inflection or the plonking earnestness Americana can sometimes imply.

Stephanie's voice is the higher and lighter, the overall tone of her record rockier and more playful. Kelley Stoltz and and Rusty Miller form a reliably chunky rhythm section which drives things along nicely. There are some well-selected covers mixed in with the varying co-written 'Finch +…' credits: Randy Newman's 'She's The One' (and it's probably a worthwhile compliment to say I'd like to hear the Company Men have a crack at the E Street Band workout of the same name…), a reimagined Charlie and Inez Foxx number, and the great Alejandro Escovedo's 'Sensitive Boys'. The last of these bothered me for a while, because I like the original so much and Stephanie's take on the song is so different. Give it time, though: it doesn't cut as deep and lacks the distorted lead guitar Alejandro deployed to such effect, but it's a valid and worthwhile interpretation.

And if anyone has read this far and is still thinking 'who's Chuck Prophet?', try his wonderfully succinct 15 second guitar break on 'In My Book Of Love' (from 2:10). That should spur some rewarding research in his extensive solo and Green On Red back catalogue...

On to Kathleen Haskard. An interesting mix of different styles here, with a lot to enjoy and admire. 'Play Me' is irresistible, airy, Hammond-driven pop. 'Don't Tell' ups the energy level with a crunchy rock attack. 'Losers Weep' pitches open, folky voices against a simple finger-picked guitar pattern. The concluding 'Leave To Remain' is a floatier, experimental, mood piece, which works less well for me. Kathleen's warm voice holds the show together, reminding me in places of Patti Smith in her gentler moods - perhaps most obviously on 'Like A Pearl Necklace', an intense anti-war song.

I'm not sure that either record lands a knockout blow or breaks into the 'you must hear this' category. But both have real charms and have worked their gradual way into my brain over a few weeks' listening. I am sure it will help to see them live: Kathleen is a Californian now based in London, so gigs here should be more frequent; but Stephanie and Chuck are regular visitors from the States.

Give them both a go - and be reminded just how much good music there is out there that you haven't heard yet.

Bliss Release

Bliss Release - Cloud Control (CD)

So, some weeks after being introduced to this young Australian band by a fine Balcony TV session, the postman brings a CD from the estimable Red Eye Records of Sydney...and, 'why do you keep playing that?" says Poll. Because it's definitely getting under my skin.

My first impressions of the band - from BTV and an earlier EP I downloaded - were of 60s California-style harmonies (think Mamas & Papas and Jefferson Airplane Takes Off) coupled with a distinctive bounce to the sound and an attractive quirkiness in the lyrics. All of that is confirmed by the album, but with the added dimension of some crunchy psychedelic guitar and a beefiness that balances their fey side. ('Make my head a pool of water' wouldn't be everyone's choice for an opening line for their debut album, but they carry it off, and I think I can see what they're getting at...)

What else to tell you? Four piece - guitar, bass, drums, keyboards - with intertwining voices which fit together very comfortably, without anyone individually being particularly extraordinary. Always interesting  arrangements. I assume a brother/sister combination in Heidi and Ulrich Leuffer, given a definite facial similarity in the pictures. Meditation Song 2 is just out here in the UK as a single, with the album apparently due to follow in the spring. But it's nice to get ahead of the game.

A final bit of serendipity for trivia fans - my last purchase from Red Eye, on holiday in Sydney 4 or 5 years ago, was an original Australian release of the Airplane's Crown of Creation, with an odd ridge around the edge and an irresistible warning on the back to 'BEWARE THE BLUNTED STYLUS!'...

Mt Chimaera

Mt Chimaera - Brasstronaut (LP, CD, download)

A few weeks after being introduced to Brasstronaut through a striking performance on Balcony TV, I'm really enjoying getting to know the debut album from this Vancouver-based sextet. Their publicity material makes comparisons with Grizzly Bear and Radiohead, but I find them more interesting and appealing than either...

As their name suggests, brass makes an important contribution to the sound, with sinuous flugelhorn and stabbing trumpet often taking tracks to another level. But that's only part of the story. With clarinet, glockenspiel and synthesiser in the mix alongside guitars and keyboards, it is the care and complexity of the overall arrangements which draws you in - and raises frequent smiles.

The album's title points to a consciousness of pulling disparate parts together - in mythology a chimaera was a fire-breathing combination of snake, lion and goat. The myth-makers managed to make it work, and so do Brasstronaut.

Is there a downside? The vocals are pleasant and effective rather than leaping out as amazing in their own right; and the lyrics feature some arresting individual lines ('...a crucified man can't be attached to anything else...') without really cohering into strong wholes.

But those are quibbles. They've got a fresh, interesting sound and the album works. Give it a go.

It's worth tracking down a vinyl copy for an arresting sleeve with an intricate design (I got mine from the States via eBay). It comes with a free download coupon, as, of course, all new vinyl albums should...

Robert Plant

Robert Plant & co were on extraordinary form at the Roundhouse last night, mixing reinventions of old Zeppelin songs with the new classics from the current album.

You can currently listen to the show on the Radio 2 website (here) and it will be on TV next weekend. Not to be missed.

It was a great band performance with Plant taking obvious pleasure in the vocal and instrumental contributions of his colleagues.  He, meanwhile, can wield a mic stand - and of course a vocal cord - like few others...The songs I expected to hear - the killers from the Band of Joy record like 'Harm's Swift Way' (yes!) and 'House of Cards' and the more familiar oldies like 'Gallows Pole' - were all present and more than correct.  But I was knocked out also to hear 'Tangerine' from Led Zep III and 'Rock and Roll' from IV.  

The last song of a 2 hour set, featuring the Oriana Choir, was the old gospel song 'I Bid You Goodnight'.  Lovely - but a safe, traditional choice you might say.  I, on the other hand, feel fairly sure that Robert Plant was revisiting its central role in the Incredible String Band's 'A Very Cellular Song' and really appreciated that resonance.  It's an apposite one, too:  Plant, like the Incredibles, and remarkably for a rock god in his position, remains ready to take risks and go where the music takes him. He uses the voice like the driver of a very powerful car, choosing to cruise and take in the view, but every so often pressing his foot on the pedal and reminding us of what's lurking beneath the bonnet...

I don't think I'll be pursuing a career in photography, but this shot of RP and the excellent Patty Griffin is reasonably atmospheric...