Album Review: W - Planningtorock

It's been a while since I've heard an album this good. Planningtorock, or Janine Rostron to her parents, seems to have become something of a sensation over the past few months with her sophomore album creating a bit of a storm. Rostron is the the kind of artist I overhear in a record store and then go to check out only to find I've already downloaded three songs from a selection of blogs. Which isn't to say I'm cool - just that she must have had particularly good write-ups for me to download something without hearing of her first.

Well it turns out that Planningtorock more than deserves those write-ups. W is as a complete an album as you could hope for, drawing the listener in gently and then refusing the let go. The opening tracks come are seductive, at first ballsy and brash ('Doorway', with a full-on, strutting bass line) before becoming isolated and nervy (’The One'). Over the course of the album Rostron gradually winds the screws and it becomes clear just how much she has to offer.

The thing is: W is what people try and pretend good pop music is. Take everything Beyoncé ever released and it wouldn't touch this, simply because Planningtorock actually has the ideas and passion that a multi-million-dollar marketing budget promise but can't deliver. Check 'Manifesto' - if Beyoncé had released it people would be falling at their feet. Built on slices of samba rhythm and boasting a melt-in-the-mouth break in the middle, it challenges and rewards in ways that a Major Lazer sampling hit single only has wet dreams about.

'I'm Yr Man' is a woman being more Mick Jagger than Mick himself, the persistent drum beat hammering into you skull like a nagging naughty thought you just can't put away. Is Janine dreaming of what she wants or what she wishes she was. Or, more likely, just exemplifying the contradictory needy arrogance at the heart of the male ego? Probably all three.

And if 'I'm Yr Man' is a modern twist on cock rock then 'Living It Out' is disco re-imagined - a thunderous statement of intent. As Planningtorock sings about "Living it up, living it down, living it in, living it out" she sounds unstoppable. "My head's on fire", she wails: that familiar feeling of the pursuit of hedonism at the expense of rationality.

W is an album of nooks and crannies, ideas and ideals, promises and revelations. Constantly leaving you guessing what is next, it rewards in a way I haven't experienced all year.

BP x

W is out now on DFA, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: Within and Without - Washed Out

In hindsight it is obvious that Ernest Greene's debut EP as Washed Out, Life of Leisure, was an important release. For me it marked the beginning of the crossover of chill wave - one of the early releases to encapsulate a new emerging sound. For Washed Out at least, full blown album Within and Without is probably even more important. This year we have already seen Toro y Moi's sound buckle and change under the pressure of increased ears, follow up Underneath the Pine responding to the challenge of staying fresh within a new genre by effectively abandoning it. The world is moving on, what will Washed Out do to avoid becoming washed up?

First things first: Washed Out isn't abandoning anything. Within and Without is faithful to the sound popularised on the first album. A progression of sorts maybe, but whereas Toro y Moi seemingly threw away everything, the kitchen sink and the plumbing, this feels very similar to the music of Life of Leisure.

Opening with single 'Eyes Be Closed' makes sense - it feels like a bridge to this album, fresh and sounding like the sea and sunshine. Where Within and Without pushes things though is towards larger, more memorable melodies and a greater emotional diversity. 'Eyes Be Closed' and 'Amor Fati' are examples of the larger tunes. The latter almost feels like one big chorus of layered vocals and big keys and for the first time it feels like Greene has made music that will stick in the mind and keep the listener coming back.

There also feels like there is more of an arc to the album - the first half all starry-eyed and overwhelmed before things begin to cool down at midway point 'Far Away', which soundtracks that moment when the feeling wears off and reality sets in. The comedown really peaks on the title track - the sunshine and good vibes seemingly run out with the holiday money, the beat plods on home knowing that the best has probably already passed.

Let us hope for Washed Out at least it hasn't. Within and Without is a welcome release and it feels more sophisticated than anything on Life of Leisure, but the cards are still being kept close to the chest. Whilst Toro y Moi throws too much away, perhaps Greene hasn't thrown away enough: I can't help but long to hear Washed Out take a few more risks.

BP x

Within and Without is out now on Weird World, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: Mirror! Mirror! - Sons & Daughters

Sons & Daughters' new album Mirror! Mirror! feels rotten to the core. Produced by Keith McIvor, also known as JD Twitch and one half of Glaswegian DJ duo Optimo, it feels significantly darker than anything the band have done before.

Drenched in black with stripped back production Mirror! Mirror! feels a bit like the post-punk revival of the past ten years never happened. Whilst the band cite inspiration as coming from Stevie Nicks, Siousxie, PJ Harvey and Fever Ray it's really more a fairly faithful interpretation of the sounds of Joy Division, Gang of Four et al. Not that this is a bad thing - Interpol and more recently the Horrors have both created great music by using little more than a collection of four or five records from 1978-1983 as inspiration.

In fact Sons & Daughters sound so raw on this record that there is very little not to love. The Optimo sound surrounds this record like creeping dense fog - it's claustrophobic and pretty much impossible to escape. Guitars crunch whilst feedback cuts from left channel to right like a knife on 'Orion', all of it underpinned by David Gow's tight percussion. And the rhythm is the real star of the show here - whether straight up, no-frills and uncompromising as on reverb heavy 'Don't Look Now' or the punchy bass of tribute to murdered actress Elisabeth Short 'Axed Actor'.

The same is true of the 'Ink Free', which tackles singer Adele Bethel's writer's block, and it is a real highlight. Heavy and taught with the production applied with a subtle enough touch to give enough room for Bethel and (second vocalist and guitarist) Scott Paterson's frankly terrifying duet. The occasional burst of distorted white noise and the snare hits that punctuate the atmosphere feel like they actually leave a holes in the structure of the song.

Mirror! Mirror! is lean and focused and for that it should be applauded. Sons & Daughters have created, with the assistance of Keith McIvor, a dizzying and uncompromising album full of tiny details. As a whole body Mirror! Mirror!, the title surely a reference to self-absoption, talks more of the spiral of depression than anything else and that comes through in the palpable claustrophobia this record seeps out throughout its length.

BP x

Mirror! Mirror! is out now on Domino, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: Native To - Is Tropical

I've been following Is Tropical since before they were featured on Kitsuné Maison Ten and signed to the Kitsuné label - they feel a bit like a sun bleached, tie-dyed take on the nu rave sound of the Klaxons. It was single 'South Pacific' that really caught my attention however and as such it's a pretty appropriate album opener here, a contradictorily epic shoe-gazing anthem it recalls holidays, the seaside and hope.

The only problem with opening the album on 'South Pacific' is that it gives the rest of the set a lot to live up to. It's a task Is Tropical step up to with a relatively admiral aplomb but never fully address. Native To is short, at just 36 minutes, and therefore has no real problems with overstaying it's welcome but it also struggles to leave a lasting idea within that time. In comparison to 'South Pacific' the majority of the album is considerably more electronic and danceable. 'Land of the Nod' has a thick, warm baseline that splatters things with Is Tropical's trademark colourful sunshine whilst 'The Greeks' hums along, fuzzy and chunky.

But the music is best when rebellious and surrounded by space - 'What ???', with it's rapid fire vocals a soaring chorus ("Temptation to be good”, they sing) is the track that gets them closest to the wonderment of 'South Pacific' and 'Berlin' sounds suitably starry eyed and overwhelmed.

Native To definitely feels like a debut effort - it's a little rough around the edges and content to figure out what it is as it goes along. And sometimes I like that. Whilst Is Tropical are unlikely to top any album-of-the-year lists this certainly cements them as ones to watch. And maybe that is the point - final track 'Think We're Alone' pulls the plug seemingly abruptly, almost like the band are determined to head off before you hear too much of what might be coming next.

BP x

Native To is out now on Kitsuné, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: It's All True - Junior Boys

Junior Boys are one of those few acts where I am frankly just happy for them to stay the same. Their slick take on eighties influenced pop feels like an alternative future where Spandau Ballet ruled the world. Despite this the slight change in direction It's All True represents feel like a definite change for the better.

Sonically this album radiates sunshine. Their most overtly sensual and warm album yet and the result is that things get suspiciously close to Balearic. Married to Johnny Greenspan's as-ever gorgeous vocals this is a very good thing indeed - an irresistible hit of relaxed, dry heat. The songs here vary from being loved up and snappy, as on the punchy rhythms of 'A Truly Happy Ending' to relaxed to the point of apathy. 'Playtime' is a perfect example of the latter - a track that feels like it has been left out in the sun to the point of near-total evaporation. It's almost as though there is nothing left, the crawl to it's conclusion only just about manageable.

Lyrically and emotionally then It's All True is the aural equivalent of the cat Garfield, trapped within a sunbeam that suddenly imparts such a warm feeling of apathy that he can no longer manage the energy needed to move beyond it's grasp. Greenspan sounds overwhelmed by his affections. On opener 'Itch Fingers' he sounds completely aware that his emotions may be being toyed with, yet embraces his feelings anyway. Similarly on 'You'll Improve Me' Greenspan's persistent chorus of "That's the way you'll improve me" is simultaneously cloying and naïve - sounding both like an unwelcome admirer and a victim all at once.

Sunshine and lies run through this album like a seam. The title appears to relate to not just one song but all of them - several making explicit references to truth and lies and the others depicting someone in a state of lying to themselves. It's All True is best when this is combined with warmth and funk however - 'Second Chance' with its tight percussion and bubbling bass line.

Things close with 'Banana Ripple'. I've already mentioned this track in a previous post but it bears highlighting it again - it isn't just the best thing the Junior Boys have ever done, it's probably the best track I've heard all year. 'Banana Ripple' is pure summer sunshine exuberance and it feels like the manifestation of a change in the band - like the straight guy losing fear and taking the dance floor for his own: suddenly they can dance! Huge keyboards, organs and beautiful muted guitar combine with Greenspan's calls: "You'll never see me go...", like he finally wised up and left. And it has that feeling - it's empowered and striking and goosebump inducing.

Call it hyperbole, but in my head this is what the first summer of love sounds like.

BP x

It's All True is released on Domino on 4 July in the UK and 14 June elsewhere, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD and LP [affiliate links].