Album Review: Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi

BlackPlastic recently saw one of those 'hot new music tips for 2011' type things that you often get in earlier January. The publication itself escapes us now and isn't really important but in a slightly back-handed compliment type fashion they mentioned Anna Calvi's 'so hot right now' status whilst simultaneously pointing out the ubiquity of female singer-songwriter's in these lists every year these days.

Which feels like an odd thing to do. It sounds a bit like men can be considered musically important all year round but because a few ladies get a look in for a month something mental must be going on. It can't just be because women might actually be good at making music.

Digression aside, how does Anna Calvi actually stack-up? Pretty well in places actually. Let's dispense with the obvious - Anna Calvi sounds a good deal like PJ Harvey. And BlackPlastic aren't the first people to say so. But more importantly at times Anna Calvi also sounds excellent.

Starting with an instrumental in 'Rider To The Sea' it feels as though Anna Calvi is deliberately challenging the listener so only the patient get rewarded. Stick around and it pays off - 'No More Words' is cloying and desperate like being lost inside a dream with someone you can't get out of your head. It's swagger and bravado yet vulnerable at the same time.

'Desire' is exactly the opposite. It reeks of self-assurance - the chorus a triumphant cry of the song's title that sounds like Calvi telling you to take her or leave her. The result is rallying and triumphant. 'I'll Be Your Man' somewhere between the two - at times warped and strung-out yet bound together with a chorus that refuses to be quiet.

BlackPlastic can't help but find the quieter Anna Calvi more intriguing. On 'Morning Light' there are times when Calvi's vocals barely break through the surface tension and the whole thing is very reminiscent of David Lynch's Twin Peaks, sparse and taught and dreamlike. Which is a good thing.

Drenched in bluesy folk vibes and doused in praise Anna Calvi may be but this debut album feels, unsurprisingly, like just that - a debut. There are some great moments here but on the whole it feels like a rather brilliant tribute to other people's ideas rather than an achievement in itself. It just might be the follow-up that really pays off.

BP x

Anna Calvi is out now on Domino, available at Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: Future Disco Volume 4: Neon Nights - Various

The Future Disco albums always look as if they are a little too cynical to be any good. The concept just feels too well worn, too obvious.

Yet every time BlackPlastic hears a new one there is always enough to impress, and the same definitely goes for Future Disco Volume Four, subtitled Neon Nights. In fact, we'd go so far as to say that volume four is probably the best yet.

Things start well, with Greg Wilson's mix of a cover of Dillinger's 'Cocaine' by Escort - a wobbly heavy-based take on a classic. But it is Stefano e Bene's 'Why Your Love' that really kicks things off, starting off a series of absolute gems... The transition into the Classixx Acapulco mix of Holy Ghost's 'I Will Come Back' is beautiful. And what's more this is easily Holy Ghost's best track since 'Hold On' - exactly the kind of classic house with attitude we had been yearning for.

Ray Mang's mix of 'Ocean' by 2020 Soundsystem is equally epic - subtle and cool but with lush muted vocals running through the song - and then the listener is treated to Bad Rabbits' 'She's Bad', which we have already declared our affection for. Next up is 'Zombie Tropicana' by Hannulerauri, a track which sounds like something New Order would have made if they never came back from Ibiza after making Technique and had instead just kept on the E and given up wearing clothes. In other words, expect lush basslines, warm synths and a pervading sense of loved up apathy.

Elsewhere Tape To Tape's 'Pure & Easy' shines for it's sprinkling of starlight and peaking basslines and the double dose of Kaine feat. Kathy Diamond's 'Love Saves The Day' really pays off when it hits the original mix but in all honesty it is the middle third that really makes this album special.

In the age of MP3 blogs and Soundcloud mixes proper mix albums are feeling increasingly rare - each good one feels like it my be the last. You could worse than make Future Disco Four the last one you buy.

BP x

Future Disco Volume 4: Neon Nights out on Need Want on 7 February, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD or MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: Life Index - Maceo Plex

Maceo Plex's Life Index at times threatens greatness.

The start is a stark invitation - 'I'm A Metaphor' feels like a statement of intent. It's twisted spoken vocal taking the listener on a journey before any rhythms have even really begun. As the clunking industrialism of 'Gravy Train' rides in Life Index begins to feel like a modern update on the classic techno formula. It sounds like the future was supposed to sound.

Single 'Vibe Your Love' is a Minimal Techno Soul Ballad that really hits the mark. The spaced out, clinical swooshes in the background providing a wrapping of loneliness to the vocal. 'You & Me' feels like it actually dates back to eighties Detroit - synths stab through the rhythm and the melody is driven and focused. 'Love Your Style' is at once sensual yet tough and uncompromising. This is music for proper warehouses, not nightclubs.

Best of all is 'Arise', a track which manages to feel like the pressure valve on your brain giving in as everything leaks out. The distorted preacher's vocal, calling on the listener to "arise", lays atop a sinister bassline and the track gives you just enough to leave you wanting more. The whole thing smacks of class - less is more and Maceo Plex knows it.

The problem is that he doesn't know that less can also be less. For every track here that serves as a revelation there is another that suffers from being dull and turgid. It is difficult to pinpoint the problem - 'Silo' for example boasts the same stripped back approach as all of the above tracks, plus a touch of brass, but it just feels flaccid in comparison to the best tracks here.

Life Index is a good album, but at 79 minutes there just needs to be less of it. Listening to it in one go just emphasises the highlights and leaves parts of the album feeling cold.

BP x

Life Index is released through Crosstown Rebels on 31 January, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3.

News: Glastonbury announce Emerging Talent Competition 2011

Glastonbury Festival have just announced their Emerging Talent Competition for 2011's festival, giving new unsigned bands across the UK and Ireland the opportunity to win a slot on the main stage. The winner will be in esteemed company - previous winners include Stornoway, We Have Band, the Golden Silvers, the Subways, Ellen and the Escapades and, erm, Scouting For Girls.

At BlackPlastic we are always getting contacted by new unsigned acts - Glastonbury's competition represents a fantastic opportunity to get some exposure so if you are a music maker then we strongly recommend you enter. All styles and genres are eligible and entrance is free and surprisingly hassle free - you simply need to enter a link to where your music can be heard.  It's worth noting you only have a week to enter - the closing date is 5pm Monday 17 January 2011.

BlackPlastic has been selected along with 39 other bloggers to help judge this year's competition and you will have to excuse our blushes as we gush a bit and confess how chuffed we are to have been invited to be associated with such a prize.

You can find details on how to enter along with the full list of blogs that are judging over at the Glastonbury Festivals site... Good luck!

BP x

Video: A Train Wreck - Bearsuit

This starts intriguing and escalates to boisterous and amazing.  There's a slight folky math-rock thing going on in here and it reminds BlackPlastic of under-rated favs of ours, Hot Club De Paris.

This is Bearsuit's second single and proceeds their new album The Phantom Forest, due in February.  The single is available as a free download from the band directly.

BP x