There’s perhaps no finer sound of Englishness than the Kinks who, between Ray Davies pen and the music hall rhythms, have inspired today’s breed of social-commentators with an independent voice and an ear for melody.  It’s undoubtedly my favourite Kinks record (just pipping Village Green Preservation Society) and is one of the best of the 1960s, skewering the English class system through the voices of Ray’s many characters.  Every song is a classic but it contains its share of their finest in Sunny Afternoon, Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home, House In The Country among others.

This post was supposed to cap English Week but due to some Tumbleasts it’s been ‘saved’ for today.  

Not only did they launch this album with a fancy SoundCloud-powered stream premiere and a great Spotify playlist of their influences, this entire album was developed by the band working collaboratively online. It’s fair to say Gomez have gone digital. And with most of the band also acting as songwriters, it makes sense that they can create ideas in isolation with the polishing touches added over email and in the studio at the final moment. It’s a concept that doesn’t really weaken the quality of the sound - ever since their Mercury award winning debut they’ve been pretty solid across 7 studio albums. Whatever’s On Your Mind is a good addition to their cataologue with optimistic opener Options ranking as one of their best tracks in a while. However, the back half of the album struggles to maintain the quality somewhat. It’s easy to imagine that Gomez would’ve faded away over the years but here they are still making enjoyable records, 15 years later. Bring It On…

This review is part of English week on HotSpotMusic. See ‘em all ‘ere.

While the first few bars of Smoking In Heaven may sound a little like the theme tune for Flight Of The Conchords, the ska beats that swiftly kick in without a hint of irony show a band with the ethos of New Zealand’s fourth most popular parody folk band but a heck of a lot more talent.  It sounds like it was made in the 50s because essentially it was - the production techniques, the instruments, the inspiration is all from back in the day.  Everything except the band that is, the ridiculously young and inventive Durham family.  This is their second album and while it doesn’t quite have as many catchy tracks as their debut (Messing With My Life is, nevertheless, a standout) it’s still full of toe-tappers.  It’s an English band recreating an old American sound and in doing so breathing a bit of life and something different into the scene.  Fun stuff.

This review is part of English week on HotSpotMusic. See ‘em all ‘ere.

Brilliant! Tragic! Art! Brut! Say that as Eddie Argos would sing it and you’ll begin to believe it.  Moving to Berlin has clearly done nothing to inhibit Eddie’s sharp tongue as the band continue to riff on English pop culture and general neuroses. But it has, at Black Francis’ request, encouraged him to try actually singing on a couple of tracks (which invariably works less well, as he freely admits in the sarcastic laden “Sexy Sometimes”, than his usual punchy style).  The band themselves sound better than ever with slick background work providing him the platform to get things off his chest about being replaced by Bad Comedians, worshipping Axel Rose and jazz bands freestyling their way to success.  Which might sound familiar. 

This review is part of English week on HotSpotMusic. See ‘em all ‘ere.

Tom Vek disappeared for a long time. Maybe there’s something symbolic about the solitary glasses behind the simple artwork on his return, Leisure Seizure.  While the intervening period between We Have Sound and this has seen his peers move on and move away, Vek’s second album is remarkably similar to his first and still as relevant.  Off kilter beats and powerful bass lines thunder in the background as he sings in his semi-disillusioned, semi-outraged style over the top.  It might’ve taken six years to arrive, but lo-fi anthems of cynicsim like A Chore or You Need To Work Your Heart Out are well worth it.

This review is part of English week on HotSpotMusic. See ‘em all ‘ere.