Album Reviews

EP Review: Paint The Sand – Embers

Paint the Sand Embers EP Cover
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I’m writing this up on a Friday evening after a long week and I can’t think of anything right now that I’d prefer to listen to.

It has been two years since Ben Maurice released his début Where I’ve Been EP under the moniker of Paint The Sand. This third EP, entitled Embers, showcases just how much he has improved over that period.

Paint the Sand stands for all things surfing, summer, beaches and barbecues. I would have been surprised if the album art didn’t relate to a beach or road trip in some way. Sure enough, the cover is a shot of ripples on the sea. It reminds me of Signs of Life, from the church Edge Kingsland

Embers evokes the feeling of huddling round the fire on a cold night. Opener “Flicker” offers the sounds of a match being struck and flames crackling, followed by a sparse reverberating intro.

“Flicker” is in itself an indicator of how far Ben has come. I listened to “Flicker”, and then to “Intro” from his 2012 release. Both are similar: instrumental interludes played on guitar. But the new recording is crisper and Ben has advanced from relying on his prized Baby Taylor acoustic guitar to using an electric guitar with effects that offer new possibilities.

“Embers” is a slow burning track that slowly ebbs and swells. The drumming is basic but does enough to add plenty of depth to the song.

“Stop, Wait, Feel” is the highlight of the EP. It sounds like it has had the most effort put into it. There is some great layering, with backing vocals and guitar harmonizing and piano. Ben has become more confident with his guitar playing and singing to the extent that he even includes a guitar solo

The untitled final track sounds raw and grungy at first, but it pulls back to leave a cappella vocals lingering in the air.

The production sounds good. The extra instruments have added new elements to the music. Using electric guitar has allowed Ben to play with his sound and inject new dynamics into his songwriting. It’s nice to see how far he has progressed over the past two years.

Embers is short , as one would expect from an EP. The three songs and an intro only take 11 minutes to listen to. But after a long week those 11 minutes have done wonders to help me unwind.

Joseph James

EP Review: Moors

Moors EP cover
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At the start of the year I went to see a film called Short Term 12 about a foster home for troubled teens. One of the standout scenes of the film was when a young man named Marcus raps how he is feeling to one of the carers. Marcus is just shy of turning 18, meaning that he will soon need to leave the home and find his own way in the world.

The scene is transfixing. The lyrics are raw and painfully honest. The camera slowly zooms in on Marcus to focus on the emotion in his face. The bongo beat sets a metronome that cuts out at the song’s climax, making those last a capella lines all the more stark.

Short Term 12 is a great film. Make sure to see it if you haven’t. It’s not Hollywood-happy, but it’s a rewarding watch.

I was thinking about it for days afterward. I decided to look up the actor who played Marcus. He was a talented actor, but surely he was a rapper, too?

Sure enough, the actor’s name was Keith Stanfield, and he had a music project called Moors with a song on vimeo called “Asphyxiated“.

“Asphyxiated” is in the same vein as the Short Term 12 rap. Daunting and unsettling, with minimal instrumentation that builds intensity. The lyrics are turbulent and tortured.

I followed Moors on Soundcloud and Facebook and waited to hear for more.

And now Stanfield has released a debut EP of four songs, plus two remixes. With song titles like “Asphyxiated”, “Gas”, “Fire” and “Smoke” there seems to be a theme of struggling to breathe.

The EP opens with the aforementioned “Asphyxiated”. Second track “Gas” is more upbeat, with sampled female humming and more underlying turmoil.

“Fire” is the most radio friendly track. It’s catchy, quick and repetitive. Like “Gas”, the beat could make it dance track, but I doubt you’ll be hearing this in a club any time soon.

The slow and somber “Smoke” brings the EP down in pace and mood. Although he has done with the other songs, this is when Stanfield really fights his demons. Family, alcohol and racism all feature. The softly sung chorus starts with the line “every silver lining has a black cloud”. Wow. This glass is definitely half empty.

Lyrically, Moors is clever and poetic, but at the same time so dark and depressing it makes me wonder if Stanfield has had a similar life to his orphaned character from Short Term 12. I don’t know if he’s putting on a persona or not, but you can tell there is some hurt that he’s working through

Moors isn’t going to put you in a cheerful mood, it’s pretty emotionally charged. But there’s something that draws you in and keeps you listening. It’s modern rap that focuses on internal issues instead of ego inflation.

Keep an eye out for the name Keith Stanfield. I’ve read that he has been cast to play Snoop Dogg in an upcoming NWA biopic. He is also currently touring with James Vincent McMorrow. With this much talent as both an actor and a rapper, Stanfield is sure to blow up soon.

Joseph James

Album Review: FVNERALS – The Light

FVNERALS, The Light - Album Cover
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FVNERALS is a band hailing from Brighton, UK, who have asked me to give my thoughts on their debut album, The Light, before its release on December 1st. I probably live as far as physically possible from Brighton, so how they discovered my blog, and why they would want an amateur like myself to review their work is a mystery. But I feel quite chuffed that someone would seek me out to ask for my opinion, so I’ll honour their request.

Their Bandcamp profile offers the genre tags such as “dark ambient”, “drone”, “post-rock”, “shoegaze” and one I’ve never heard of: “slowcore”.

According to FVNERALS guitarist Syd, his band has drawn comparisons to the likes of Earth, Shannon Wright, Chelsea Wolfe, Beach House, Monarch etc… This would possibly give me an idea of what FVNERALS sound like, if I had actually heard of any of those artists. I think I recognise elements of Isis and My Bloody Valentine, but I feel that may be misleading. I’ll offer some other comparisons as I go.

FVENERALS are dark. If the band name wasn’t gothic enough for you, check out at the names of their labels: Throne Records and Eerie Echoes Records. Have a look at that album cover and tell me it’s not spooky. And of course, the music itself is haunting and unsettling. To be honest I’m surprised that they’re releasing the album at the beginning of December, rather than end of October, because it would make a perfect horror Halloween soundtrack.

Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes comes to mind when I picture the music being performed live. I saw her front a Mars Volta side project called Bosnian Rainbows early last year and I swear she was possessed. Her voice may be pretty, but I got the chills watching the way she staggered and contorted her body in such an unnatural manner as she sang.

The Light is eerie and sparse. It reminds me of playing a 45rpm record at 33rpm.  This makes the sounds drawn out, warped and sluggish, because the audio becomes down and distorted. Don’t get me wrong, the music is still recorded clearly, but it is soooo slooooow and stripped down.

The music is dark, distorted and droning. It is the sound of paranoia and nightmares. Much of it reminds me of that Godspeed You Black Emperor inspired track that was used so effectively in Danny Boyle’s game-changing zombie film, 28 Days Later.

If you want a taste of FVNERALS you can check out http://fvnerals.bandcamp.com/, where The Hours EP is available for free download. Two tracks from forthcoming album, The Light, will be made available for streaming on November 3rd.

Joseph James

Album Review: Maybeshewill – Fair Youth

Maybeshewill Fair Youth vinyl record album cover
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My first introduction to Maybeshewill was via a sampler that came attached to a Rock Sound magazine. I had ripped the CD to my family’s computer before quickly renaming the song, originally titled “The Paris Hilton Sex Tape”. The song had nothing to do with a hotel heiress or any publicity stunt of hers (as far as I’m aware), but I certainly wasn’t going to risk my parents discovering a file with a name like that on our computer.

Despite the songs naughty name, I loved everything about it. A perfect blend of live instrumentation and electronica with dynamics that made the track stand above bland offerings of similar bands like Explosions in the Sky. This was not a song intended to be background noise that adds to the atmosphere, this song demanded your attention.

That song was from the band’s debut, Not for Want of Trying. Six years later I find myself excitedly ripping open the bands fourth studio release, Fair Youth and dropping a needle onto the record to see how it compares.

Uplifting is the word that jumps to mind when I try to describe Fair Youth. The reason for this could be that the guitars have taken a back seat to the keys. Don’t worry, the guitars aren’t absent – riffing and rocking remains present- but the crunching distortion has been surpassed by soaring swells and harmonies.

It leaves me feeling slightly uneasy when a band I adore begins to “mature”, but in this case I’m able to cope with change. All things mellow with age, but this is offset by the fact that the band’s collective talent has grown. Maybeshewill have managed to go bigger without losing their indie credentials (the record was shipped to me from the guitarists’ spare room in Leicester).

Everything sounds more professional. Electronic elements are more prominent now, but the sampling that stood out on previous albums is missing. I wouldn’t say this is a bad thing, because the sampling sometimes detracted from old songs. The production has noticeably improved and the record sounds grander with the addition of brass and strings section. It’s the subtle touches that make the difference, like an angelic choir adding harmony to the final track.

Fair Youth is a brighter, happier sounding record from Maybeshewill. The album sounds like hope and aspirations and kittens. It balances well on the instrumental spectrum, melodic enough to sit in the background, but still engaging enough to be a satisfying listen. This is one of the times I’m happy to say growth and change of direction for a band can be a good thing.

It is hard to keep abreast of what is worth listening to in the rapidly growing genre of instrumental music. Maybeshewill is one of the bands worth listening to.

 

Joseph James