Bright Eyes - The People's Key

Conor Oberst and co. return after various other projects to make what could be the last album under the Bright Eyes moniker, evidently departing from their usual Americana sound and exploring stones of music untouched in their previous pieces. The album begins with 7 minute long song ‘Firewall’, this opens with a religious monologue that sets precedence for the forthcoming tracks, the ramblings discuss reptiles and the Garden of Eden. As I said this sets the mood for the album, after the spoken word there is actually a very good song in Firewall, and that represents the new direction Bright Eyes’ have taken with The People’s Key a chance to break away from pigeon holes and stereotypes, from the upbeat and enthusiastic feel of ‘Jejune Stars’ to the dark and soothing tensions in ‘Approximate Sunlight’, this is probably the first Bright Eyes album to cover this many musical sounds and feelings, and that’s just the first 4 songs.

The phrase emotional rollercoaster has been tossed around too much, so Bright Eyes new sounds is more reflective of a stroll in the park on a cold winter day, although that probably doesn’t make sense unless you’ve done it. Track Five ‘Haile Selassie’ continues the darkening theme of ‘Approximate Sunlight’, the vocals maintain an echoing tension, the music remains deep and powerful, and the experience is amazingly different to that of Bright Eyes’ albums Cassadaga or I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. The People’s Key is very different to these albums, it shows the band in a much more mature light, albeit that light is very dimly lit in an alleyway of beautifully dark lyrics and the rolling tensions of the instruments.

‘A Machine Spiritual (In The People’s Key)’ and ‘Triple Spiral’ tear up the atmosphere of what was just created, whereas at the opening of The People’s Key the album mixed from song to song, there are atmospheres developing song by song later in the album. With these two aforementioned songs the mood has been uplifted, although it still has resonances of a haunting theme, coming through Oberst’s poetic lyrics ‘A Machine Spiritual..’ and ‘Triple Spiral’ create an awkward sensation in the listeners’ mind, well in mine at least.

Finally, The People’s Key ends on two very different yet equally memorable as they leave you wanting more, but will there be more? ‘Ladder Song’ and ‘One for You, One for Me’ will create a fire in many Bright Eyes fans’ belly’s, yearning for another Bright Eyes album in the future and if its as good as The People’s Key, the people won’t be disappointed. Track of the album, I’d have to say, is ‘Jejune Stars’ it oozes quality and pleasure from start to finish.

The Doors - The Doors (Self-Titled)

Upon the wave of 1967 came the release of one of the most celebrated psych-rock records ever, The Doors self-titled masterpiece, this record changed a lot in the ways of music and culture. The 11-track LP is a stunning mix of jauntily daunting organs, Morrisson's infamous vocals, rhythm drumbeats and tantalising guitar riffs, with this The Doors created a classic record that would go on and be hugely influential to following musicians.

Kicking off the album in sweet Californian style are tracks 'Break On Through (To The Other Side)' and 'Soul Kitchen', these two tracks have The Doors perfectly raw sound aching through. The late Jim Morrisson had this fantastic vocal style, that would sometimes see him howling the lyrics as if the microphone were the moon and he a wolf, but then he whispers many lyrics, giving an incredible intimacy with the listener. This style makes the groovy and sensual lyrics even more intense, like being stuck in a trance with Morrisson and the psychedelic group.

Each song on this extraordinary debut LP has become a classic over the years, tracks 'Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)' and 'Light My Fire' are place at the centre of the 11 tracks, with the latter being the most commercially successful track on the album and as the first single of The Doors' to gain critical recognition, and the former of the two songs being controversial on its stance on alcohol, and the lyrics "Show me the way to the next little girl", these lyrics could be seen as a positive attitude towards peadophilia, however I do believe this is the more comical side to Morrisson coming out, his lyrics are so heavily influenced by his drug-taking and his wicked side, showing his incredibly dark humour at moments in his life.

Whilst I could talk about the magnificence of each track on this classic LP, there is one song that has huge importance to both The Doors and the album. This track is 'The End', a fantastic 12 minute long journey, it's almost an adventure into Jim Morrisson's psyche to a backdrop of fantastic rhythm and splitting organs. Beginning with a dark build up where it seems this is Morrisson revealing himself to the listener, exposing all emotion through his lyrics. The song builds and builds for a while, with the instruments giving a daunting sound and a looming breakdown, linked tightly with the lyrics sung in Morrisson's trademark style, the journey comes to a snap with the lyrics, "Father? 'Yes Son', I want to kill you, Mother, I want to...", this then sets a haunting mood for the next 4 minutes. Where it seems like a rambling mixture of Morrisson making strange noises as if he is having an attack whilst the music gains momentum until a crashing halt that almost signifies the LP's sound.

10/10
Download -
'Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)'
'Back Door Man'
'The End'

Thomas R Johnson

The Villagers (mercury nominated) - Becoming a Jackal.

Becoming A Jackal is the fantastic debut album from Conor O'Brien under the pseudonym Villagers, the album released on May 14th 2010 went immediately to top of the Irish and UK Indie charts, the tracks are a range of melodic dark tales and solemn sing-along's. The LP has been critically recognized and is a nominee for 2010s Mercury Music Award Prize, and deservedly so, the 11 tracks on Becoming A Jackal deserve their place in the running for the much sought after Mercury Award.
Title track and 2nd song on the album 'Becoming A Jackal' is a beautifully written indie-folk song, with a quirky chorus and a stomping beat, the song shows just how emotional the music is to O'Brien and how he can connect on an intimate level with the listener, something all great musicians can do.

Ship of Promises is the following track, the backing beat and fast-tempo contrast the struggling lyrics of identity, "You see a mask from your window at night, so you wake and you go outside, and you put it on, and they treat you in a different way", revealing the judgemental nature of society and how looks have become the bedrock of popularity show how Villagers view the world we live in.
Lay back, let the goosebumps appear, close your eyes and let the Villagers take you on a journey, listening to the album is an intimate experience, take the time out of your scheduled lives and connect with the music on an emotional level. To suit this experience comes songs, 'The Meaning of the Ritual', 'Home' & 'Twenty Seven Strange', songs depicting personal and social experiences that express a lot of feelings in our hearts, the null experiences and the idle life of being a stranger to one another rather than experiencing life, O'Brien's dark lyrics intend for you to step back and think.
Tracks 10 &11 are reflective of the album, 'Pieces' reminds the listener of how emotional and connected one can be to the music, it is an incredible feeling when you hear the vulnerability in the lyrics of a song but it is also a massively empowering sensation for both the artist and the listener when something is being sung that you can relate to. Track 11, entitled 'To Be Counted Among Men', is a terrific song to round off an incredible debut album, O'Brien's tone and subtle guitar playing make for one memorable finale.

The Villagers - Becoming A Jackal 9/10 - Listen to - 'Becoming A Jackal', 'The Meaning of the Ritual', 'To Be Counted Among Men'

Thomas R Johnson
Twitter - @TheJourno_Tom
Facebook - Thomas R Johnson

The Horrors go from the screeching underbelly of Southend-On-Sea to Mercury Prize nominated kings of alternative.

The Horrors went from black-clad garage rockers to a psychedelic and experimental quintet in just 5 short years, the band formed through a mutual love for rare and vintage vinyl originating from the 1960s mostly, during their first rehearsal they performed two garage classics, The Sonics' - 'Witch' and Screaming Lord Sutch's - 'Jack The Ripper', the latter was to be the opening track on debut album Strange House, during late 2005 and the year of 2006 they performed raucous sets to spread the name through the garage underworld of London, most notably their performance at The 100 Club, an historic event for all Horrors fans for those who attended or were unable to attend. 

In 2007 the debut album was to be released, 'Strange House' came out and the freaks and weirdo's came out in full to get their hands on the 12-track LP. The album was fairly unheard of apart from those who had taken an interest in the article published in July 2006's NME or gone to see the band live, critics ignored it and turned their noses up at The Horrors after glancing upon their outlandish hairstyles and love affair with black clothing, the music itself represented something different that was not being recognized in the musical market and has yet to be fully realised how dynamic their sound was in a derivative mainstream producing yet another manufactured pop act, the 5 members of The Horrors in an almost garage music spin-off of a band of brothers group were keeping musical integrity and standards of an audience who were willing to listen to the quintet's brash rock sounds. The song that first struck passion for The Horrors into my heart and many others is 'Sheena is a Parasite', the song is a rough depiction of a maddened woman being driven out of society, the video is a suitably raw to match the thrash style of the song, directed by Chris Cunningham you can begin to understand the video, which was banned from being played on MTV stations due to "strobe lighting" and not the gruesome depiction of a female with her guts hanging out. To send off 'Strange House' The Horrors played a gig supporting lifelong heroes and idols The Sonics, which was their last gig until a year later when they had finished recording their follow up album and premièred several songs at the Bethnal Green's Rich Mix on the 23 May 2009. 

Primary Colours is the second, and latest, album by The Horrors, taking a surprise twist and completely reinventing their sound, with Rhys Webb, previously on organ, now on Bass guitar, and Tom Cowan providing the switch from bass to keyboard. The sound they released received critical acclaim and had many a journalist going back on their original statements about the band, with their change in sound there came a change in live performance, having been to see The Horrors four times, one just after the release of 'Strange House' and three times after 'Primary Colours' had hit the shelves, I saw the development of change in the antics being changed for intimate atmosphere, previously there had been rubix cubes and Faris' infamous painted hand trick nowadays there was stares into the audience to create a tension to their gigs that surrounded the music and created an intense atmosphere. The album was voted #1 in NME's top 50 albums of 2009 poll, and nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, the stand out track for me being 'Who Can Say' Faris' breaking into an emotional connection with the listener effectively summarises the progression of the band's sound, a true psychedelic summer track in fitting with the rest of the album.

My rating for 'Strange House' - 8/10 - 3 tracks to listen to - Sheena is a Parasite, She is the New Thing, Gloves.

My rating for 'Primary Colours' - 7/10 - 3 tracks - Who Can Say, Scarlet Fields, I Only Think Of You.

Thomas R Johnson.

twitter- @TheJourno_Tom

Sleeping in a field? Must be that time of year again. Yes, it's festival season cats.

24 hours after returning to my humble abode from The Hop Farm Festival I went through the motions, being able to eat more than bread and sliced faux cheese, drink other liquids than beer and warm water, sleep on that oh-so comfortable mattress, go to an actual bathroom, and then the eventual desire to return to that place, the centre of the universe, the place where all people come together for the sake of music and happiness.

Friday; with only a Camping ticket and a Saturday Arena ticket, I spent the Friday in the camp site, drinking lager and watching the world go by, the mix of cultures, backgrounds and future's passing by in their various levels of intoxication. Hop Farm is a festival that grabs a wide range of audience, from families with small children to the ol' codgers there to see Bob Dylan or Van Morrison, the teenagers and young adults to witness the bursting folk-bluegrass scene. My friends and I encountered a French lady at midnight who had seemingly lost her tent amidst the sea of tents, so she spent the night with us, talking Bob Dylan and romance, she ended up staying in my friend's, who for secrecy shall be dubbed The Instrumentalist, tent and asking him if he had "ever made love in a tent", to the hilarity of myself and my friend, who shall be named The Artist. The Instrumentalist summed the musical weekend up, "This is the true blues and folk festival still in popularity", I agree with this as it has stuck to festivals true roots with the message organiser Vince Power sticking to the motto of no branding, no sponsorship, they could have gone the way of Glastonbury or Reading and Leeds, and with this line-up you'd understand if they did. But that is why Hop Farm is so special to us festival-goers it continues to impress in its third year, progressing from a one day festival with headline act Neil Young, to a 2-day festival in 2009 and in 2010.

Saturday; awoken at 7am by what seemed the snoring of what only a lion would be capable, instead was The Artist, whom I was sharing a pillow with. I stumbled out of my tent to feel the frazzle of the burning summers day, emptying the bottle of now warm water I made my way over the guy ropes and around the various tents to the taps where I refreshed myself for another day of anecdotes and anticipation. Refreshed from this I returned to my tent to talk events of the day before and what the immediate future held for us and our Hop Farm Festival counterparts, gossip ran through the camp site about the impending set from a musical idol of mine and many others, Bob Dylan. The arena doors opened around midday and we decided to roam around before the acts we were keen to see began playing, The Instrumentalist bought some liquorice and I purchased some mint green and many other coloured hippy trousers, as my black skin tight jeans were feeling the burn of that sunny ol' day and they're now my favourite purchase of the summer so far.

Then the lady of the day stepped onto the sunny stage, Miss Laura Marling, indie-folk queen was one of the best acts I have ever seen, her smooth and stormy singing and tentative acoustic guitar gave me a chill through my spine, aged only 20 this is the sign of a huge future for the lovely caring goddess of modern folk. Playing songs from both of her stunning albums and a couple of new songs she converted those who were unaware to fully fledged Laura lovers within a 45 minute set, I can confirm I will certainly be following her for a couple of dates on her next tour, and I suggest you check her out.

Whilst Pete(r) Doherty played a teenage-pleasing set of Libs, Shambles and solo songs I decided to listen from a distance and head to the camp site where I was greeted by our neighbours cooking burgers and talking to Irish women, joining them, we shared banter about The Artists snoring and their discovering of his beaming unique personality.

We then all made our way down to the arena to catch Seasick Steve, smuggling beers into the strict arena we hugely enjoyed the enigmatic performer, several songs in he plucked one lucky lady from the audience and serenaded her with his song 'Walking Man'. He was the unexpected performer of the day, I did not expect a man of his age to impress me so much but I am now willing to travel the country to see this man in action again, his banter with the crowd and his unique talent to make a crowd dance to a one string Diddley Bow or a guitar made from parts of a Morris Minor, this is a man that struggled through life and has come out of the tunnel smiling and with "a whole lotta spare change now", pleasing the crowd ranging from boys and girls to the elderly, this act certainly caught the attention of the majority of Hop Farm.

Next to appear were Mumford & Sons the latest band to penetrate the mainstream with the folk-bluegrass sound of banjos, double basses, Marcus Mumford's ability to belt out a song whilst smashing she drums or playing the guitar and an excellent keyboard/backing vocalist, these boys only have 1 LP so far yet were the band of the weekend to attract more and more of a crowd with every song, mixing hits such as 'The Cave' with unknown 'only found on 'Youtube' songs such as 'Lover of the Light' the crowd responded in high fashion and sang the surprising anthems of the weekend (along with a couple of Ray Davies/ Kinks tracks, but we'll get to that). The nu-folk kings are beginning to establish themselves as a beacon of hope in the dreary nature of artificial pop acts. The audience gave Mumford & Sons their hearts and they received the same back, as there was a mutual bond between strangers due to the love and soul in the music, and I believe this is what music festivals are all about, they are the essence of bringing people from every aspect of life together through the beauty of music, a place where people forget prejudiced thoughts and come together for a big explosion of love, music and a fantastic time.

Now we arrive at the joint headline acts, firstly Ray Davies took to the stage beaming with a smile at the crowd he had gathered to hear his classics from The Kinks and solo, and by gosh did he perform. He had the anthem of the weekend in 'Lola', a controversial song at the time, turned crowd-chanting tune, the song 'Sunny Afternoon' had strangers in arms, children dancing and couples jiving around, then a climax of the set was The Kinks' 'All of the Day and All of the Night', this was another song that Ray Davies truly summed up his appearance as this was a song that every single soul in that audience belted out along with the singer, he made everyone get up and dance with strangers, share drinks and meet new friends, this created an atmosphere that will never be forgotten in my heart, it just created every reason to return to this or other festivals even when they become inexplicably expensive.


Finally, the last act of the day had arrived, the anticipation was over, Sir Bob Dylan graced us with his presence. The musical God split opinions with his set as he lost crowd members, however I believe even the disappointed members of that crowd are still feeling the luck of having seen Dylan on what could seemingly be one of his last dates, only time will tell, but I can tell you he shocked me with his now Tom Wait's croak and a superb backing band, he delivered classics such as 'Like a Rolling Stone', 'Just Like a Woman' and 'Stuck Inside Of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again' and stuck to his classic stubborn self by trying to get his new album out there, rather than tirelessly play the same songs over and over again, and I feel within all the disappointment everyone in that crowd understood and were still amazingly grateful to have been a part of Dylan's only UK performance of 2010 and will be able to say "I have seen Bob Dylan live" words only spoken by those who can care for music and let music care for themselves.

We then returned to our tent where we crashed immediately after a tiring day of having a good old boogie to some of the best contemporary and classic musical acts. Then came the price to pay in the morning, the lug back to the meeting point, still reeling off how amazing the weekend been we watched the crowds go by once more and simply understood that if you want to head to the centre of love and music, you head to a festival, and why not The Hop Farm, it certainly provided us with an excellent time, and I'm sure it will provide the same for yourself, so I may see you at The Hop Farm Festival 2011 or another music festival this summer or in the future.

It's easy to stop breathing, when you're not looking for air.

Indie and folk have produced a princess to take over the mantle of Laura Marling! The new folk-indie movement has brought you Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale, next? Lucy Holliday, this girl mixes her beautiful lyrics with sweet noises from her acoustic guitar.

A stylish girl from Maidstone, Kent and an acoustic guitar have a power more impressive and controlling than that of a hung parliament. Lucy Holliday's songs can affect the individual with their well-written true nature, it connects with the listener on a personal base. It is an outrage that the media and pop charts are full of Lady Gaga's and Kanye West's when real talent such as Lucy's is subject to Myspace. This girl has the potential to infiltrate a major audience, and cause heartbreak to all the angst-filled teenagers out there, she is a representative of how creative a teenage audience can be, which can sometimes be overlooked by superficial American teens such as Beiber. 

Her song Music Man is one of the most amazing contemporary songs to have been written, it shows the innocence in Lucy's voice and the tender nature that links to the intimate relationship between her songs and the listener. Music Man gave me goose bumps, her voice is so raw yet amazingly sweet, the juxtaposition of these two styles really reflects creative she is as a singer/songwriter. Her accent is very thick during this song and is not, as many female singer/songwriters have been doing in recent years, putting on a mockney tone, she is staying true to her roots, and I think that is really important in a musical culture that puts that latest reality TV show winner on a pedestal, the listener gets the emotion put into writing and recording the song, that emotion doesn't seem to be captured in many contemporary musicians.

Several other songs of hers are featured on her Myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/lucyhmusic, that all carry the same Holliday magic, the sense of emotion in her voice is so strong it seems unreal she hasn't got a record contract. As Lucy progresses in her music I doubt there will not be a record contract on the table soon. So please please please visit her Myspace page and tell your friends about an upcoming musical artist, Lucy Holliday http://www.myspace.com/lucyhmusic 

The Black Keys - 'Brothers'

On May 18th 2010, The Black Keys released their 8th album, 'Brothers', the blues-rock band are duo Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. I have been listening to BBC Radio 6 a lot these past few days, and one song on the play list that has impressed me the most is The Black Keys 'Tighten Up' off of this new album. The music stood out from the crowd and Auerbach's vocals simply uplifted me, this song comes as track 3 on the new LP. The album has 15 tracks on it, all of which keep to a similar style, but The Black Keys manage to keep their signature style but can change the atmosphere from song to song, track 7, The Only One, is the first song that showed me, drummer and producer Patrick Carney's skills of placing a song in the right place, using this song halfway through the LP leaves the listener in awe to reflect on the past dozen songs to some peaceful blues-rock. The last two songs, 'Never Give You Up' and 'These Days', give the same feeling but due to their order they give an atmosphere of an aftermath, these are the come down songs, the reflection of the journey, these are the songs you will play on the morning after a good party where you think about the events that had transpired. To pick 3 songs to check out, 'Tighten Up', 'She's Long Gone' and 'Ten Cent Pistol'. These 3 aforementioned songs have been picked for different reasons, 'Tighten Up' because of all the songs on the album this is the best taster you will get, another clever trick by the duo choosing it as their new single. 'She's Long Gone' is a song that represents heartache to me, so I have developed a personal connection to this, however you may perceive it differently, it is still a blinder of a song that you should check out. Also 'Ten Cent Pistol' because it has a slightly different feel to the rest of the album, I detect a  Ska influence when creating this song, so it blends three great genre's of ska blues and rock, what more could you want. Finally, a little note on the simplistic yet stylish cover art, 'This is an album by The Black Keys. The name of this album is Brothers' this unique cover reflects The Black Keys album because it gives off a vibe, as does their music, of we're going to make the music we want whether you buy it or not.