Latest Music Purchases.

Chat about stuff other than Transformers.
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inflatable dalek
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

Post by inflatable dalek »

Picked up some record store day stuff last week! Inlcuding:

Spellbound soundtrack. Not a "Everyone can hum it" Hitchcock score, but still a nice olde full orchestra effort.

Star Trek 09 soundtrack: Fucking rocks dudes. Such great fun big music.

Transformers 1-3 soundtracks: Sadly not the scores (maybe next year, along with the Bumblebee one I said should hve happened by now in the other thread), but the "Songs inspired by" ones. Now, despite being more an 86 soundtrack kind of guy, the line up of talent they got was impressive and as far as full late noughties rock goes, great fun.

Not music, but picked up the Galaxy 4 narrated soundtrack as well. But sadly passed on the fully annotated (!) Knight Rider score.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

Post by Prowl1984 »

I haven't purchased anything for a good long while as I just use spotify these days BUT as a result of their "Discover Weekly" playlist I have happened upon a band that's made it to my top 10, maybe even 5. They're called HAKEN, if you love your prog rock/metal like me then they push all the right buttons. Brilliant compositions with some great chuggy riffs, harmonius vocals and a splash of outright insanity thrown in for good measure.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

Post by Skyquake87 »

Some bits and bobs I picked up lately from the bins at Poundland*...

Blur 'The Great Escape' (1995)
Silightly underwhelming fourth effort from Blur. It's not a bad album, but 'Parklife' was so good at capturing that 'Britishness' Blur had been going for since 'Modern Life...' that this feels a little flat by comparison. Still, it's got 'The Universal' on, which is ace.

Terrorvision 'Regular Urban Survivors' (1996)
Career high point for the Bradford rockers and a fun, solid album packed with top tunes from start to finish. The singles ('Perseverance', 'Easy', 'Bad Actress' and 'Celebrity Hit List') are all great and there's a nice sense of ambition to album. And it's good fun too.

Supergrass 'I Should Coco' (1995)
Bright and brash debut from Supergrass. Full of beans and bounce, this has aged better than I thought. A lot of '90s music sounds quite polished, but this has a grit which keeps it fresh.

Deftones 'Adrenaline' (1995)
Slightly boxed-in and claustrophobic sounding on the debut, which I kind of like. Even at this stage, there are signs that Deftones are a cut above the nu-metal landscape they'll quickly leave behind. '7 words' still reminds me of jumping around like a loon in clubs!

The Presidents Of The United States Of America 'The Presidents Of The United States Of America' (1995)
'Lump' and 'Peaches' are streets ahead of the general larking about found on PUSA's debut, but there's some neat humourous alt-rock going on outside of those monstrous singles. The cover of 'Kick Out The Jams' is pointless, though.

*did you know, you can easily annoy the staff by leaving cds on their shelf display with the spine showing, so you can see what they've got. "That's not the point.", apparently...
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Chemical Brothers - 'No Geography' (2019)
The Chemicals have really found their groove in recent years. I love that they sound so fresh on this. It pumps and squelches along with flair, Most of all, I like how current it sounds, y'know? Good stuff.

Whitechapel - 'The Valley' (2019)
Spooky murder-metal 'based on true events'. I like how brooding and ominous this sounds. Which is funny, given how thunderous and barked the whole album is.

Girli - 'Odd One Out' (2019)
Punchy pop music along the lines of early Lily Allen. Colourful, brash and a little bit sweary, like all the best pop music.

Fontaines D.C. - 'Dogrel' (2019)
A bit folk, a bit punk and a lot of rock is how I can best describe Fontaines D.C. I like new wave, so these guys were an easy sell to me.
Last edited by Skyquake87 on Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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I have done this post by accident. Yay me.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

Post by Skyquake87 »

A selection of old timey sounds...

Deacon Blue 'When The Whole World Knows Your Name' (1989)
Glorious mainstream guitar pop, less bluesy than their debut two years earlier, this outing by Deacon Blue throws its lot in with the loud FM rock of the time. It's a good, joyful pop record and the one full of their best known stuff ('Real Gone Kid', 'Queen Of The New Year', 'Wages Day', 'Fergus Sings The Blues' etc etc).

The Mission 'Children' (1988)
Liked the cheap tape I bought a year or so ago, so thought I'd 'upgrade' to CD. Great album, shame about the artwork. Which looks like the sun from Tellytubbies, if it were designed by a goth.

The Pretenders 'The Singles' (1987)
Compilation of The Pretenders singles, funnily enough. A good collection of their motown influenced New Wave strummings. Also includes that grating cover of 'I Got You Babe' Chrissie Hynde did with UB40, which is the only bum note.

All About Eve 'All About Eve' (1988)
Swoonsome goth-pop from the band best remembered for their toe-curling Top Of The Pops appearance.

Siouxsie And The Banshees 'Tinderbox' (1986)
A slight change in tempo and sound for The Banshees, largely due to the departure of John McGeoch. A much more mellow (by their standards) record, and one that hints of the huge goth-pop sound that informs their next few albums.

Prefab Sprout 'From Langley Park To Memphis' (1988)
Accomplished pop by a band who look young, but sound strangely grown up. A ubiquitous album at the time, thanks to the irritatingly catchy lead single 'The King Of Rock 'N' Roll'. Altogether now "Hot Dog/ Jumping Frog/ Albequerque"...

The Primitives 'Lovely' (1988)
Light as feather indie rock which jangles and pounds away in a jolly fashion. At 35 minutes long, it doesn't outstay it's welcome and is pretty much the pop equivalent of having an ice cream.

The Cure 'Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
Brittle sounding New Wave clatter that's full of melody and mournfulness. It's interesting hearing this and the marked departure of their next 3 albums which pretty much set the template for what would come to be termed 'Goth'.

Young Marble Giants 'Colossal Youth' (1980) (Domino Records 2004 Box Set reissue)
I was listening to 6 Music the other day, because I'm pretentious, and an old John Peel Session from these popped up and I was curious enough to hunt out their one and only album. Holy crap, this is good stuff. It sounds like it was made yesterday!One of the few '80s made records that doesn't sound kind of flat and boxed in. By today's standards, it doesn't sound particularly remarkable given the legion of indie bands that came in their wake, but even so there's enough charm and character here in this document of their short career than some bands manage in a life time. This Domino reissue throws in all their singles and the aforementioned John Peel Session to round up their recorded output. A gem.

The Libertines 'Up The Bracket' (2002)
Funny the impact a band has. At the height of Britpop, I was much more interested in the Punk and New Wave bands of the late '70s/ early '80s, which my friends scoffed at. A few years later and a whole heap of bands around the early 2000s mined those same genres to great effect. The Libertines were perhaps the greatest exponent of this sound. Their debut is full of chaos, spit and unfocused energy. So its a bit all over the place, but does the job. Don't think that they're quite as brilliant as everyone makes out.

Bullet For My Valentine 'The Poison' (2004)
I jumped on board for 'Scream Aim Fire', so had no idea of the long shadow this album has cast over BFMVs career. Now I understand why. This is sharp, brutal and imaginative. Easily one of the best metal albums of the 2000s.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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The Wildhearts 'Renaissance Men' (2019)

Late to the party again, an unexpected album and even more unexpectedly on top form. Without going on and on it I'd hold this up more with the 90s albums than the others since, even if apart from the belting Let 'Em Go it did take a bit of settling in. Can't fault this review (as a description, 'angry/funny' cuts to the heart of the Wildies) or most of the other positive ones I've seen and has been on repeat in the car for a while. Video is NSFW.

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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

Post by inflatable dalek »

Kylie's new greatest hits on LP!

Though amusingly for something promoted as the definitive collection, there's an extra 22 songs (or just over twice as many) on the download that comes with it.

Lots of great, fun cheery pop and, as much as I like the more sophisticated stuff, you can't beat a bit of I Should Be So Lucky.

Confide In Me Rocks as well of course.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

Post by inflatable dalek »

What's the Story Morning Glory on vinyl. Which apparently has one more song on it than the original CD, and in turn came with a download with 30 bonus tracks as well.

I guess Oasis aren't cool any more, there was much "Really?" when I said I'd gotten it on Twitter, but, speaking as someone who didn't know anything but the singles (well, and a few other songs I guess, apparently She's Electric *wasn't* a single?) and brought it mainly on a whim as I had some vouchers and fond memories from a wedding that ended with Champagne Supernova... I actually quite enjoyed that. And I was more a Blur guy.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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It's the sound of an era. To put it into context, I'd recommend this compilation from the time --

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untitled-2-Var ... 0000075RZ/
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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I've preferred Oasis with 20 years distance from their Brtipop hey-day.

Wow. 'Untitled'; I'd forgotten about those. Them and those 'Shine' and 'The Best Album In The World...Ever!' were the ones I most remember.

There's some good recent ones too, if anyone's looking to dip their toes in. First up:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britpop-At-BBC ... 778&sr=8-7

Has all the big 'anthems' (hate that term, but it'll do) of the era, plus a third disc of excellent session tracks.

Or, for something a little more interesting (and with an excellent booklet designed to homage the long-gone Select Magazine) : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Common-People- ... 160&sr=8-1

It lacks some of the big names but finds time for some of the also-rans like Rialto, Geneva, Powder and Marion.

Back in the twenty-first century, let's have a look at what other pop confections I've been trying out. I've been turning into a bit of a 6music wanker lately, and greatly enjoy Marc Riley's show. Which has lead me to:

Flat Worms - 'Flat Worms' (2019)
Neat American alt-rock, not a million miles from the likes of Pavement and Sebadoh.

Snappled Ankles - 'Stunning Luxury' (2019)
Fantastic spiky, clattery indie music. I'm sure their style of music has a 'post' pre-fix, but I don't write for the Grauniad, so wouldn't know. I just like how immediate and fun this is.

Fat White Family - 'Serf's Up!' (2019)
This has easily got to be one of the best albums of this year. It's cheeky, funny and very sharp and it just rocks.

And in 'that looks interesting, I'll have a go with that' :

Bokassa - 'Crimson Riders' (2019)
This to me sounds like heavy punk rock. Apparently its 'Stoner-Punk', which is a new one on me. It's brilliant, whatever it is. Don't let the recommendation by Lars Ulrich put you off.

Things I picked up because they sounded good in hmv:

Black Mountain - ' Destroyer' (2019)
I'm going to call this analogue rock, as this lot are one of those bands whose sound is very traditional, but experimental within the techniques they use. If I were to describe this band in colours, I'd say they're rust coloured yellows, oranges and reds.

Pixies - 'Beneath The Eyrie' (2019)
Actually surprised by this one, as its really cool. Kind of mellow, but still with that sort of New Wave jerk the Pixies always had. It probably surprises me more because growing up I was never that bothered by the Pixies. Good work.

Because Metal:

New Years Day - 'Unbreakable' (2019)
I love this record. It's just big loud crunchy American pop-metal and I love it. Ash Costello does have some fair pipes on her and sounds great.

Venom Prison - 'Samsara' (2019)
More terryifying sounds about how wrong the world is and how wrong you are. Unapologetically brutal.

Hands Off Gretel - 'I Want The World' (2019)
Decent Punk-pop (not pop-punk, there is a difference, oh yes!) that's perky and jerky. Fun to bounce around to at a sweaty gig, or anywhere else, for that matter.

3 Teeth - 'Metawar' (2019)
Pretty solid Industrial racket, sounds a little too like Marilyn Manson in places, but has enough of its own design to not be too derivative. Just.

Black Futures - 'Never Not Nothing' (2019)
Probably my favourite album I've bought this year. It's industrial (apparently), but doesn't fall into the usual trouble a lot of these bands have of sounding like yet another NIN/Ministry (see above). More electro and synth-pop, this has that sort of British sharpness the likes of Rico and Sulpher bring to the genre. And its bloody brilliant from start to finish.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Skyquake87 wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:11 am There's some good recent ones too, if anyone's looking to dip their toes in. First up:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britpop-At-BBC ... 778&sr=8-7

Has all the big 'anthems' (hate that term, but it'll do) of the era, plus a third disc of excellent session tracks.

Or, for something a little more interesting (and with an excellent booklet designed to homage the long-gone Select Magazine) : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Common-People- ... 160&sr=8-1

It lacks some of the big names but finds time for some of the also-rans like Rialto, Geneva, Powder and Marion.
Nice. One band that tend not to get a massive amount attention (that I've noticed) are the Bluetones, and would definitely recommend the 2002 singles collection for anyone who's looking back. Cheap copies available --

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Singles-Plus-B ... 0000666AN/

Speaking of Beeb radio they have some comics writers introducing favourite/formative music at the moment; Moore and Gaiman are already up (available for about 20 days at time of writing; if later, message if really interested) and Ellis to follow;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008yp0

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00093q6

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009jx5

edit: BTW, Cradle of Filth are finally releasing the 're-mistressed' version of Cruelty and the Beast -- can't find any advance reviews yet;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cruelty-Beast- ... B07WPX4G2M
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Been meaning to listen to those Beeb things. I just can't find the time. Stupid life.

Hmm heard Cradle were tinkering with that after they fiddled about with erm, that other one of theirs (forget the name - was it Duck And Her Embrace..?). I saw them a few years ago at HammerFest, and they were ace!
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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You'll probably be familiar with a lot of the picks on the first two shows, if even I was.

The 2016 Dusk and Her Embrace is earlier recordings... not really familiar enough with the one that got released in 1996 to compare them objectively, but they do sound completely different. Both are clearly early material, and eg the "be quick or be dead" version of Funeral In Carpathia that's on the old best of and From The Cradle To Enslave sounds more polished than either.

They've always seemed fun-loving and dedicated to live performances, but it's the studio production and concept album storytelling that generally attracts me (Cruelty, Nymphetamine, etc). Shame the Cruelty re-release gig was a one-off, would probably have been up for that without too much travelling.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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The Cybertronic Spree Kickstarter album: Transformers 1986.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Babymetal - 'Metal Galaxy' (2019)
This is a proper jolly album, still with the heaviness, but there's a lot more experimentation and variation on this compared to their last one. It's really good fun and I especially like the one they've done with the fella from Sabaton that sounds like an intergalactic space shanty. Brilliant!

Lacuna Coil - 'Black Anima' (2019)
I loved 2016's 'Delirium'aaand this isn't quite as good. Or at least not as immediate. I think I need to give it a few more listens. Good-ish, is my verdict.

Talking Heads - 'More Songs About Buildings And Food' (1978)
It's funny going backwards through a band's back catalogue. Some albums you get straight away (the excellent 'Remain In Light') and others you kind of get, but don't feel fully formed. This is how this sounds to me. The jerks and yelps and 'sound' are there, but there's something missing I can't quite put my finger on.

The Teardrop Explodes - 'Kilamanjaro' (1980)
Excellent post-punk/ new wave (doing them a disservice with these labels, I reckon. Sorry...) jangle. This reissue tacks on an EP thingy which adds value! Has the single 'Reward' on. Which sounds like the blueprint New Model Army and Spear Of Destiny worked from.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Sleater - Kinney - ' The Center Won't Hold' (2019)
It's been a long, long time since I listened to Sleater - Kinney. I've no idea why, as they're bloody brilliant. This is a fairly heavy and dark record, I found, compared to when I last listened to them and they were a bit more ...upbeat. It's a cracking record, and updates their lo-fi indie stylings, making them feel fresh and sharp. Love it.

Amyl And The Sniffers - 'Amyl And The Sniffers' (2019)
Scratchy, dumb Australian punk/ new-wave racket that is apparently all a terrific wheeze. Sounds good, but whatever gets you through...

Hu - 'The Gereg' (2019)
I like that in the last few years, Heavy Metal has finally started looking outward, finding room for more interesting sounds from around the world. This is a neat fusion of Mongolian folk to the trappings of hard rock and metal and it sounds amazing.

Employed To Serve - 'Eternal Forward Motion' (2019)
Loud growly hardcore type stuff that sounds like a punch in the neck. Brilliant!
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Heilung - 'Futha' (2019)
Marvelous frightening sounding runes-based metal. Spooky, bleak and a great record. I feel like I'm at some interesting ritual somewhere in a frozen woodland.

Bring Me The Horizon - 'Amo' (2019)
Oli Sykes bid for the mainstream and why not? An excellent pop record that fuses grime, hip-hop and modern pop to their arena-filling metal. It sounds fantastic. Love it.

The Pop Group - 'Y' (1978)
Reissue of one of the key post-punk albums. It's a right old din, all clattery sparsh sounds and dub-bass drop outs. Critics think it's brilliant, of course. I just like it because it noisy.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Wooo some late entries for 2019...!

Charli XCX - 'Charli' (2019)
I bloody LOVE Charli XCX. I think she's one of these bestest at doing pop music right now. Yet to put out a duff album. As with a lot of pop, its heavy on the collaborations, but I'm thinking now this is a mutual support kind of thing, now no one makes any bloody money doing music because no one wants to pay properly for it these days. Anyway, they all bring something to Charli's sassy pop.

Warmduscher - 'Tainted Lunch' (2019)
I don't think Marc Riley stopped playing these all last year, so they've kind of embedded themselves as some kind of throbbing, sexy disco perverts in my ears. Which sounds wrong, but is probably as good a description as what's going on here as any. It's good, by the way. Kool Keith's on it! Mind you, he was on Regular Fries song once and no-one remembers them.

Poppy - 'I Disagree' (2019)
Gah. Lead track 'Concrete' is so much like a translation of Babymetal it makes me view Poppy's latest with suspicion. Like an old man pouring over his bills to work out how much the bastards have put them up this time. It's a shame, because the rest of the album is mega, all squawks from squealing synths and huge great juddery bass drops and that. I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about. It's just hard not to be a bit cynical that this pure pop star has staggered into metal purely as a means to an end. I hope not, because if she can keep this up, she'll be MASSIVE. Like a giant Frankenstein of pop.

Misery Loves Company - 'Zero' (2019)
Cor, I'd forgotten this lot even existed. Turns out they had too, as this is their first album in a while. It's pretty cool, an FM take on Industrial metal which is all brilliant until a really unnecessary cover of 'Only Happy When It Rains'. Whyyyyyy? I wouldn't mind, but New Years Day covered it better.

It's 2020!!! Soon Death's Head will be dead - oh no!!!

Wire - 'Mind Hive' (2020)
Wire are ace. That's all you need to know. Still as bleak and experimental as ever, with that ever-present rumbling menace. It's no wonder Elastica stole so much from them, because they sound flipping great.

Delain - 'Apocalypse & Chill' (2020)
Because I'm a bit of an old Goth (I went to see Skeletal Family / Ghost Dance in Leeds the other week, the Goth capital of the world) I need some dramatic and pompous music in my life. Delain are one of a number of metal bands that have jammed an orchestra onto their overblown metal to create something very loud and ever so slightly ridiculous. So, naturally, I love this. It's brilliant and big and noisy and blows away all the cobwebs. But not too many. I need them for the gothic ambience.
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Re: Latest Music Purchases.

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Metallica ‘The Black Album’ (1991)

Apart from the hits like Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters this did nothing for me, and I was really surprised because it was everywhere and is a classic album, but it feels so schoolboyish. Lots of ranting about things that don’t need to be ranted about. I like metal, but I skipped this at the time and moved to Nirvana and Alice in Chains which I know is grunge, but I guess I just ain’t a metal enough dude. I prefer Megadeth.

The B-52’s ‘The B-52’s’ (1979)

******g awesome! I first head Rock Lobster in 2009 and it had an effect on me similar to Radiohead’s Paranoid Android; mind-bogglingly nuts. Its weird and quirky and most of all its a fun sounding album. I wish I had this in the 80’s. I’d have played it as an antidote to other bands.
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