Song: “Pirate Ship”

Artist: The Pirate Ship Quintet

Album: The Pirate Ship Quintet [EP] (2007)

… Bristol, United Kingdom …

Most bands these days labelled with the post-rock tag seem to meander along in the same old stale territory. They seem to mass produce the music instead of create it. The Pirate Ship Quintet (TPSQ) seem to do the latter. With a darker sound than most, they rely on tension and ambiance to create a lavish instrumental sound-scape.

“Pirate Ship”starts with a delicate, repetitive beginning. The layers of instruments, which are given there own space to roam slowly add in number as the track gain momentum.  It finally builds into a mighty composition that summons the spirit and tames the wild beast.

TPSQ are not ground-breaking in the music that they create, but what they create they do so well. I cant help to feel that there is something new to their sound which separates them from the post-rock herd.

Song: “Just As The Day Was Dawning”

Artist: Big Business

Album: Here Come The Waterworks (2007)

… Seattle, United States …

With there Melvins-esque sound Big Business are just two guys grinding out their own style of hard’n'heavy grooves.

Dominated by ambidextrous, ingenuous baselines and anarchy filled drumming, this track is surprisingly catchy and I know after every listen it will be with me for days.

Song: ” I “

Artist: Meshuggah

Album: I [EP] (2004)

… Umeå, Sweden …

This is probably my favourite EP at the moment, its like mechanical sledgehammer lobotomizing you. From the very start of the track you get those blast beats and that one cord repeated over and over again until it all stops for a second then explodes in one long, agonizing scream.

” I “ is composed of one, 21 minute long track. Once again Meshuggah’smathematical precision is astounding and they manage to create a track that is not only colossal in structure but also in sound. From the oddly timed progression to their amazing drumming and rapid fire guitar work, I just cant get enough at the moment.

The track itself was described by Meshuggah “about a self…a psyche trying to decide if he is put on this earth to be a human or the nemesis of mankind.” To me it outlines the fact that we all have the ability to create but more often its our ability to destroy that comes to the forefront.

Song: “The Bishop”

Artist: Battle Of Mice

Album: Jesu/Battle Of Mice Split EP ( 2008 )

…Knife, Fork, Bottle and a Cork; that’s the way you spell New York…

I would of thought the dark, heavy, agonizing sound from Battle Of Mice would of contrasted well against the electronic, post rock pieces put together by Jesu.  But in reality the two tracks submitted by BOM seem out of place when placed next to the material from Jesu.

“The Bishop”is probably not the heaviest song from BOM’s catalogue but it would have to be one of the most impressive. There are many layers to the track vocally and musically, with dynamic changes progressing from soft to loud and loud to soft.

Julie Christmas vocals are something that has grown on me over time. At times they can be almost soft spoken and are very similar to Bjork but unlike Bjork they can quickly move to an intense scream that literally bleeds emotion and rawness.

A great album to check out simply because of the two Battle Of Mice tracks.

Song: ” One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong”

Artist: Harvey Milk

Album: Courtesy And Good Will Toward Men (1997)

…Athens, United States…

This album is heavy, down tuned drone/sludge metal. With epic riffs throughout it comes together sounding sad and pain full but stand back and look at it from afar and you will see all those raw emotions combine and make a beautiful and poignant album.

“One Of Us Cannot be Wrong” is a Leonard Cohen cover, and how well this song fits into the overall structure of the album. Anger, jealousy and frustration this song is raw emotions at its best. The lyrics describe how this women makes a complete mess of a doctor, destroys a holy man’s spirit and freezes an Eskimo, yet Cohen still wanted to “come into the storm”….Wow.

Song: “One Armed Scissor”

Artist: At The Drive-In

Album: Relationship Of Command (2000)

…El Paso, Texas…

I remember the first time I listened to this album, it was like napalm being dropped on oxygen tanks.

“One Armed Scissor” is probably not the finest song on the album but it does have a reputation for being a classic.

For me this track always creates feelings of disillusionment, that the narrator has become detached from the rest of the world. Read somewhere that the song is partly about the heavy tour schedule that At The Drive-In underwent.

Either way this track (and album) is absolutly brilliant.

Artist: Billie Holiday (1939)

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop

This is one of the most remarkable song you may ever hear. Written as a poem by a school teacher and given to Billie, “Strange Fruit” was inspired by the photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abraham Smith.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Smith

It is filled with dark, powerful imagery and the YouTube clip is such a powerful performance by the end you can see it takes a lot out of her. I cant imagine the courage it must of taken for a black women in America in the late 30′s and 40′s to stand up and sing this song. It is a song that will definitely have a different meaning/feeling to everyone depending on your background, experiences etc…

Song: “Dollars and Cents”

Artist: Radiohead

Album: Amnesiac (2001)

… Oxford, United Kingdom …

Aaahhhh Amnesiac… Kid A’s younger sibling who lurks in the shadows. Peculiar, mystifying and at times perplexing; in the end Amnesiac has been nothing but another remarkable album from Radiohead.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em I personally think Radiohead should always be admired for their constant innovation, something which too many bands these days fail to find.

A track that gets into the issues of materialism, the soulless nature of capitalism and the swines that run it all.

Song: “Street Of Dreams (a.k.a. The Blues)”

Artist: Guns N’ Roses

Album: Chinese Democracy (2008)

… Los Angeles, United States …

Well Chinese Democracy has finally been released and it’s nothing special (but who actually thought it would be).

“Street Of Dreams” has been nagging me for weeks now, it reminded me of another song and for the life of me I couldn’t think what that song was. That’s until this morning when it all came flooding into the forefront of my cranium.

Its Peter’s Dracula song from the movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”.

Song: “Lake Of Fire”

Artist: Meat Puppets

Album Meat Puppets II (1984)

…Phoenix, United States…

COWPUNK…

Most people recognise this track from the cover version that Nirvana made many moons ago on the MTV Unplugged in New York album. But the original will always hold a special place in my cavernous heart.