Alexander Tucker

Kentish acoustic balladeer Alexander Tucker has been gradually making his name as a purveyor of what could be described as folktronica or perhaps even - in a pathetically transparent effort to maintain ever more spurious genres - countrytronica. With two albums released through ATP/Recordings, Old Fog (2005, from which Hag Stones is taken) and Furrowed Brow (2006).

Hag Stones is typical of Tucker's looped open-string and detuned acoustic style. Layered over this country-tinged finger picking and strumming are distant droning vocals and occasional bursts of blissed noise. On record, this is comparatively polite, but live, one man and his army of effects combine to create an ear-splitting, often highly improvised wall of noise. I recommend witnessing one of his sets very highly (and for anyone living in southwest England, he is playing at the ATP festival, 18th May in Minehead).

Tucker is also a visual artist, creating artwork for all of his album covers and side projects, including ongoing drawings and comic artwork for 'Sturgeon White Moss' (White Moss Press) and the new cover for Nordic doom-master Wolfmangler (Aurora Borealis).

Alexander Tucker - Hag Stones MP3 off of Old Fog (ATP/Recordings, 2005)

Alexander Tucker on myspace

Grails

Following soon after the Black Tar Prophecies collection on Important Records, Portland, Oregon's Grails return with their first proper studio album since 2004 release of Redlight.

Starting like some throwback psychadelic Appalachian guitar workout and ending more as a Krautrock-inspired jam, Dead Vine Blues is an example of Grails' ambition to provide some connection between instrumental post rock and more archaic song structures and formats. Rather like The Six Parts Seven, Grails make use of traditional American instrumentation (bango, picked guitar, mouth harp and lap steel) alongside the more usual electric guitars and looper pedals of their post rock peers.

Dead Vine Blues is a modern interpretation of what perhaps might have happened had Led Zeppelin jammed with the Grateful Dead high in an Appalachian homestead. Taken off the suitably moonshine titled Burning Off Impurities - their debut for Temporary Residence Ltd. - this is a rare album that not only pushes the group forward but also significantly raises expectation in where the instrumental rock genre will go next. With psychedelic, ambient and world music all playing a part in the current Grails sound, it will be interesting to note where they and bands such as The Six Parts Seven and Grail's TRL labelmates Explosions in the Sky will go next. The band themselves cite Ash Ra Tempel, Erkin Koray, Popol Vuh, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin as influences and not only are these clearly seen in their output but also potentially incendiary points for their musical exploration. Post World Kraut Psychrock anyone?

Grails - Dead Vine Blues MP3 from Burning Off Impurities (Temporary Residence 2007)
Grails - Stray Dog MP3 off of Black Tar Prophecies Vol's 1, 2, & 3 (Important Records 2006)

Grails on myspace
Grails webspace

Surfbeat Behind The Iron Curtain

There are times when, having hours to spare, you just wander into your local vinyl stockists and just browse through everything in the racks. Then suddenly, something so unusual, unexpected and surprising pops out, and you JUST HAVE TO HAVE IT!

Such was the case with the record above. Let me take you back to the days of the Cold War - the Berlin War, the Eastern Bloc, mutually assured destruction, some fantastic spy novels and films etc. Behind the Iron Curtain the Soviet authorities controlled everything. In this case, this includes which bands could form, what music they could play, and what instruments they could play. That so many surf-beat bands could have been permitted seems incredible, that they made such far-out music is unbelievable.

Lucifer In Coelis by The Slava Kunst Orchestra is the stand out track from this album. A bizarre twist number, featuring many of the contemporary acts from the local scene, including what sounds like an astounding enormous, steam powered distortion fuelled Hammond organ (seemingly called a "Thermus"!)

Alter Ego & Ghost Writers Feat. Lil Keke

I came across this the other day on a blog. I can't remember now whether it was headphone sex or hometapin' or one of those more dancey based blogs, but I remember thinking on the first listen that this was a crackin' tune.

There have been a quite a few good hiphop / electro crossover tracks over the last four or five years. Felix da Housecat's collaboration with P Diddy back in 2003 springs to mind. And of course the marriage of these two styles goes right back to the beginnings of Hip Hop in the mid 1980's. Grand Master Flash, Ultramagnetic MCs, early Drexiya. But as a White European it's been tough for me to really get into Hip Hop as dance genre. For me it's always been cerebral music on a par with folk music - interesting, often challenging, foottapping - yes, but rarely dance-able.

I don't really feel like being an apologist for being white, middleclass and lame. But I am sorry I wish I was black I wish I was cool I wish I could dance to hiphop tracks. but I can't, not with out looking stupid.

What am I getting at? Well this track is an exception. Right from the off it's lurching groove dirty gets the party started - or something.

I can dance to this one - although I still look stupid.

Alter Ego & Ghost Writers Feat. Lil Keke - "Ghost Musick" (Baltimoroder Remix)

Eduardo Bort

Spanish Progressive Psychedelia never really got better than this piece from Eduardo Bort. The album this track was taken from is a fantastically intimate affair, with some superb musicianship from his band and some killer guitar and vocals from Eduardo himself.

Everything sounds loose without falling apart, the instrumentation is very free-flowing and the overall sound is one of a band at the top of it's game.
The track I've chosen here contains a little bit of everything and is totally representative of the whole album.

The album is available on CD, so try and find a copy. It's worth it.

Eduardo Bort - Thoughts Part 2

El Senor Ciuf Ciuf

El Senor Ciuf Ciuf (Italian for a child's name for a steam train - chuff chuff) presents an intriguing proposition. The music is equal parts house music and Beach Boys style harmonies, all mixed up into a intriguing brew that brings Jamie Liddell, early Aphex Twin and the Flaming Lips in minds.

I Think I Saw A Dead Person Walking Yesterday is the best track from his debut EP, and much like Good Vibrations, it creates a series of mood-scenes, loosely connected with a common theme. It's stupendous.

You can download the entire EP, As Seen From Above released free over the intertubes by those pleasant people at 12rec.

I thought the EP was spoiled by the interminably long track The Unspeakable Chant Of A Collapsing Universe, which is nine-minutes of monotonous industrial techno-noise that sits at odds with the rest of the album. But that may be the entire point.

Michael J Sheehy

Michael J Sheehy - Ghost On The Motorway (2007 - Red Eye Music)

Sheehy started his music life as the front man to criminally underlooked sleaze rock band Dream City Film Club (named by an Soho adult movie house which burned down, killing the assumedly engorged patrons inside). The ending of that band was a bitter affair; I know this because I was (un)fortunate enough to see him play live on the exact day the band broke up, being greeted by the words "The band broke up today so it's just me. I'm not bitter or anything."

Since their departure from this aural coil, Sheehy has struggled against unfame and the less than forthcoming generosity of various record labels to make a number of solo albums that are consistently great.

His music would not sound out of place at The Roadhouse in David Lynch's 'Twin Peaks' or any number of backwater saloon bars where men rest their Stetsons on the jukebox to quaff copious amounts of whiskey and ogle at the grainy animal porn playing on the faux-wood-finished TV in the corner, which is odd considering his Anglo origins. But don't let a lack of authenticity dissuade you, his façade is good enough to get a song played on 'Deadwood'.

His latest release has lost some urgency and replaced it with a greater focus of americana style, withdrawing wholeheartedly from his post-punk leanings in previous albums and drawing even more influence from bluegrass and country, running alongside his ever eloquent tales of depravity, melancholy and religious betrayal, reminiscent of 'boatman'-era Nick Cave in both lyrical content and competency of arrangement, albeit with a smoother, more seductive aesthetic, particularly in Sheehy's breathy, almost slutty vocals. But despite a slightly more happy-go-lucky approach here, here's also a few touches of an angrier The The influence in a few songs, like this scuzzy little number:

Michael J Sheehy - Crawling Back To Church (mp3)