* * * * * Wow! Is this good? No, it's truly breathtaking! Tracking down a copy of "Incarnate" wasn't easy but it was certainly worth the effort. Packed with catchy tunes, this album surely has to raise the band's profile. There are even potential hit singles here - "Into Temptation" in particular is radio-friendly and would be enormously popular if it got some exposure. What a shame that the BBC ignores our finest bands while plugging dull formulaic pap.
"Incarnate" is a ten track album presented in a cardboard gatefold sleeve with a lyric booklet. As usual, the artwork is pretty stunning. It's the band's first album with new guitarist Adam O'Sullivan who adds a more conventional rocky feel to some of the tracks here. For example, opener "Velocity" opens with a riff that soon develops into a tight, catchy song similar in feel to "Screens" from previous album "Skin". The magical trilogy of "Waterfall", "Into Temptation" and "All That We Are" forms the heart of the album although in truth there isn't a weak song here. In Anne-Marie Helder, the band have a formidable leader and singer.
You can buy the CD from your local record dealer, the band's website or if all else fails that well-known online book retailer... MP3 downloads are also available, but you really need the higher quality CD to appreciate the band's consummate musicianship fully. Buy it now!
Panic Room are on tour until the end of June. Don't miss out. The shows are fantastic, and the entry prices are more than reasonable. I hope to do Gloucester and London. See you there?
Further to my recent review ofNádúr, I was lucky enough to catch one of Clannad's English shows last week. The show was stunning, with the band augmented by two guest musicians, and encores featuring co-headliner Mary Black and her band. Many favourites were played, but I did miss "Newgrange", possibly my favourite Clannad song. Browsing YouTube for video footage of the gig didn't turn up anything, although I found a couple of promo videos I hadn't seen before:
The band are promising a return visit, so I recommend that you catch them if you get the chance.
Black Submarine is a new band risen from the ashes of The Verve. Their first album is called "New Shores" and it's out now. Nick McCabe (guitar, violin) and Si Jones (bass) from The Verve have teamed up with long-term
Coldplay collaborator Davide Rossi, Portishead drummer Mig
Schillace, and Amelia Tucker on vocals. I like them a lot.
You can listen to the band's work at https://soundcloud.com/blacksubmarine-2/black-submarineand at their website http://blacksubmarine.co.uk/ . I'd been tempted to buy the CD, but I see that current version has three tracks fewer than the initial "limited" version. I'm afraid that's a deal breaker for me, so my money will be going elsewhere.
It's great to see Clannad back together after a 15-year gap. During that time, singer Moya Brennan has released some terrific solo albums. This new album, Nádúr, is really good without being their best work. It features the single "Brave Enough" and the band are on tour with Mary Black. I have tickets for one of the shows, so bought this album in great anticipation. The tracks penned here by Moya are among the best. All the tracks are unmistakably Clannad, with all five members of the hit line-up present.
The packaging of the CD is dismal, just a three panel digipak with no booklet. There are some ridiculous sleevenotes which are worth reading for their unintentional hilarity. Here are concert and official videos for "Brave Enough", which features someone called Duke Special on vocals. I don't know who he is, but to me he is more Duke Ordinary than Special! A daft attention-seeking haircut seems to be his main claim to fame, judging by the concert video. Perhaps he's big in Ireland?
This one's an essential purchase if you're a committed fan, but otherwise there are better Clannad albums around including a tasty bargain 3-CD set featuring "Magical Ring", "Macalla" and "Sirius". The band's website is athttp://www.clannad.ie/
Panic Room's new album "Incarnate" was released this week. The official sampler video is above, but it's only based on the album artwork. There is a slightly different feel to this new material, no doubt due to the presence of new guitarist Adam O'Sullivan. I haven't been able to find a copy of the CD in the shops, even in a major city like Oxford. I shall have to order a copy, which is a drag in itself. The album's been available a little longer through the band's website and at an expensive launch party. Despite their talent, I really can't see Panic Room achieving much unless they up their game. They must spend a fortune on recording and production, whereas they should spend some of that budget on a proper song video. As it is, there is no official video product to buy which features the visually captivating vocalist Anne-Marie Helder and the outstanding band. I'll report more if I can lay my hands on a copy of the CD...in the meantime check out the tour details and latest news on the band's website http://www.panicroom.org.uk/home.html
Halo Blind (previously known as Parade) feature singer-songwriter and renowned Bob Dylan fan Chris Johnson. Their previous album, The Fabric, was a big favourite here at Trisectorman Towers. That album featured Anne-Marie and Gavin from Panic Room. You can read my review here. Gavin's here again but Anne-Marie isn't, which is a shame if not a big surprise as she has so many other commitments including playing in Mostly Humdrum Autumn.
The new Halo Blind album is "Occupying Forces" and you can sample two full-length songs at http://haloblind.com/occupying-forces . Thankfully the album is available as a proper CD in a jewel case rather than one of those cheapo digipaks. You can also buy it as a download, of course. As a member of the mailing list, I can get my hands on an early release copy of the CD and it seems a bit daft not to. So expect a review soon!
I've long had a soft spot for Australian psychedelic band The Church. Despite this, it's been obvious for some time that something wasn't quite right. A series of unexciting releases, side projects, supplementary releases and reissues couldn't hide the fact that a killer album was overdue. Now news has filtered through that one of the band's two outstanding guitarists, Marty Willson-Piper, is no longer a member. More shockingly, lead singer Steve Kilbey is now referring to The Church as "his band"! Marty's replacement is Ian Haug from Powderfinger. I'm keeping an open mind on this one although it seems like a new band to me...Back to happier times, I've never shared the video for the band's big 80s US hit "Under The Milky Way" (Marty plays the first guitar parts on this one), anyway so here it is:
Simple Minds aren't the band they used to be, but do still have flashes of brilliance. "Broken Glass Park" is one such, and it is weird to see much-missed ex-members Brian McGee, Derek Forbes and Mick MacNeil featured as flashbacks in first of the videos above. This nostalgic song is set around Glasgow's Toryglen estate, and the feel is very much of Arista/Zoom-era Minds. This track is featured on a compilation CD set "Celebrate - The Greatest Hits +" (2 or 3 discs depending on the version you purchase). It's also available as one of those squashed mp3 downloads. I love this song and saw the Minds open with it at their recent Camden Koko gig.
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