Author Archives: Real Gone

THE DEAD EXS – Resurrection

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dxAlthough the garage-blues sub-genre maintained an underground presence throughout the late 80s and 90s thanks to Billy Childish and Jon Spencer’s mighty Blues Explosion, it really only reached a broader public consciousness once everyone’s favourite red and white candy striped duo, The White Stripes, broke into the mainstream.

Keeping with similar musical traditions, The Dead Ex’s debut ‘Resurrection’ pulls together the best elements of The Blues Explosion with a hint of Childish’s ramshackle attitude – and while it brings little that’s new to the musical style in question, it’s not without a few gems.

The Dead Exs’ vocalist and guitarist is David Pattillo, a New York producer of note, having worked with a number of bands including The Hold Steady, Beastie Boys, Jakob Dylan and Alanis Morissette. For his own project, however, the production values are less than shiny; this Dead Exs release was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs. The fuzz-driven vibes are similar to his project The Dirty Glamour (which has a similar feel to early Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Spanish duo Idealipsticks), but in direct comparison, The Dead Exs bring the listener fewer hooks and user-friendly qualities. However, what The Dead Exs lack in hooks, they make up for with power and grit.

The subtle ‘Shut Up and Love Me’ is based around a solid groove with dominant drums. Wylie Wirth’s style has presence, but maintains a very basic style. Patillo’s vocal is strong yet heavily filtered and a one-line chorus, intercut with rather uncharacteristic ‘whoo-hoos’, tops some great, yet fairly weighty slide guitar work. It’s with the boogie-blues of ‘Come Down Easy’ that The Dead Ex’s sound at their most assured, though. Wirth settles into a fabulous shuffle (which becomes heavily reliant on cymbals in places) over which, there’s a guitar groove recalling ‘Boom Boom’ by John Lee Hooker clashing with the youthfulness of the early white rhythm and blues of the 60s – albeit with a hugely increased volume.
It’s a recording which captures the bristling energy and sweat within the studio at the time of recording and in doing so, manages to encapsulate The Dead Exs’ pure musical style.

The slow, brooding ‘Gone’ offers the flip-side of the band’s sound and while it loses a sense of fun, in its place is a musical snapshot of a duo that have really hit their stride. While the lead guitar work rarely stretches beyond a bit of rudimentary string bending and a heavy reliance on distortion pedals, there’s something enjoyable about it’s almost primal qualities – in the same way there are thrills to be had by hearing The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion careening out of control, or experiencing J Mascis throwing in out of tune solos in unpredictable places during Dinosaur Jr numbers.

‘The Angel From New Orleans’ is driven by another great shuffle. It maintains listener interest for the duration and this in turn allows Pattillo to lay down a slide guitar line which – aside from a bluesy run in places – settles for being a sheet of unsubtle slide noise. It brings nothing you won’t have already heard from similar sounding garage blues, but even so, if you’re a fan of the genre, it’s got its share of hard-time, beer-soaked thrills. If you want to experience the band at full-pelt, then ‘Trouble In Kind’ more than delivers; throughout a heavily distorted blues workout, Patillio adopts a very thrashy, almost garage-punk approach to the slide guitar whilst Wirth smashes his kit in a relentless fashion. For what it offers, you’d be hard pushed to find better.

‘Whole Lotta Nothin’, however, couldn’t be more aptly named. Over rudimentary slide work, Pattillo wails and sobs like he’s being poked repeatedly with a stick for over two minutes. Naturally, it sounds like it’s building up to something, but by the time Wirth kicks in with a proper drum part, it’s a bit late in the day. This is a great shame, since his heavy drum sound has a great presence once again; and with that comes a change in tone from Pattillo’s guitar work, leaning farther towards a bottom end-fuzz. Bringing these elements in earlier really could have saved this number. Luckily, this is swiftly followed by one of the album’s best moments… ‘Nolita Strut’ is a cocky instrumental with Pattillo’s guitar taking on a heavily treated vibe – all pedals and overdrive, which combined with the swagger, creates an infectious ditty which sounds like a studio jam by The Dead Weather. Even when The Dead Exs briefly move away from the original riff, although Wirth’s drum fills seem a little disjointed from Pattillo’s heavy-handed approach to lead guitar, they manage to keep momentum. In all, although clocking in at a brief two and a half minutes, ‘Nolita Strut’ is superb; ‘Ressurection’ is worth seeking out just to hear this number.

While the limits of their chosen genre may mean there’s not much room for variation and David Pattillo does not always summon the energy bought by early Jon Spencer performances,‘Ressurection’ manages to be a fairly consistent release. There are more than enough garage rock thrills here for listeners who have a soft spot for the Blues Explosion’s pre-‘Extra Width’ grooves and other similar sounds to to get a fairly big kick out of The Dead Exs.

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March 2011

READYMADE BREAKUP – Readymade Breakup

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readymadebreakupWith a solid fusion of alternative rock riffs and power pop harmonies, Readymade Breakup’s sound will undoubtedly bring to mind several bands you’ve heard before. Their first two albums (2007’s ‘Isn’t That What It’s For?’ and 2008’s ‘Alive On The Vine’) have their moments, but the third album by this New Jersey band – now down to a four piece following the departure of keyboardist Matt Jaworski – demonstrates a stronger gift for great songcraft and musicianship.

The album opens with a simple drum pattern and fairly angry rhythm guitar work. This kind of relative simplicity could have appeared lumpy, but bassist Gay Elvis plays a fairly busy bassline to flesh things out. When then the chorus kicks in. It’s not as hooky as you’d expect, but even so, Paul Rosevar’s lead vocal is very strong. By the time the harder alternative edges hit the chorus for the second time (via a bridge full of Beatle-esque harmonies), it’s obvious they may be on to something. A similar mid-pace drives ‘Just’, where the band embrace lots of great 90s sounds, but it’s the more aggressive styles of The Posies (circa ‘Amazing Disgrace’) and Ty Tabor’s short-lived Jughead project from 2002 which are among the most obvious, thanks to the collision of chunky riffs with a wall of power pop harmony vocals.

‘Waiting For You’ is the first of a few real standouts, dominated by a busy drum pattern intercut with huge guitar chords. It’s at this point Readymade Breakup really start to hit their stride; their brand of alt-rock showing hints of the lighter Foo Fighters material. ‘Unzip My Face (I Miss You)’ follows swiftly and its faster pace is very welcome. While a simple chorus brings with it a great hook, musically, it’s Gay Elvis’s rumbling bass and Spicy O’Neil’s crashy drumming style which provide the best moments. While some solid backing harmonies and an occasional piano hint at the noisy end of power pop, it’s another slice of 90s retro, alternative rock = the kind which Readymade Breakup seem to deliver so well.

After an acoustic opening, ‘Good Things’ is another upbeat number – and one which features all of Readymade Breakup’s best elements in just over three minutes. A solid electric riff compliments the acoustic rhythm, and although the full-on riffs all but dominate afterwards, the acoustic work can still be heard rounding out the sound of the quieter moments. As before, Gay Elvis’s bass playing is superbly busy throughout and O’Neil’s drumming features a couple of quirky moments. With a fantastic mix of riffs and harmonies (and a rather raucous guitar solo from Jim Fitzgerald), this is the sound of Readymade Breakup at their best. The more discerning listeners among you may hear something reminiscent of oft overlooked 90s alternative band Mother May I during the noisier sections. The album is worth checking out for this track alone.

The closing number finds Readymade Breakup leaving one of their best for last. ‘Erased’ is a mid-paced workout, full of lush harmony vocals, punctuated by occasional ringing guitar. There’s not so much of a chorus here as on some of the previous numbers, but those harmonies and a slightly more adventurous arrangement make up for that – particularly on a funky bridge section featuring Rosevar laying down some funky electric piano. The band eventually delivers some louder, more typical rock riffs before the fadeout.

After a slow start, ‘Readymade Breakup’ proves to be a very strong release indeed, tougher in places than some of Readymade Breakup’s previous outings. The fusion of alternative rock and power pop might not always be of interest to the more pop-oriented listeners among you…but for those who like alternative rock with a focus on strong song-writing and big harmonies, this is an album which could be a cult classic.

May 2011

ELIZA CARTHY – Angels & Cigarettes

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carthyBeing the daughter of English folk legends Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson (and the niece of Lal and Mike Waterson), you could say that music was very much in Eliza Carthy’s blood. It would also seem natural for her career to explore avenues of traditional (and traditional sounding) English folk music. She gained great praise for her double release ‘Red:Rice’ in 1998 – the first part fusing her folk songwriting with modern drum loops and the second being stripped back, venturing down a more traditional folk route.

Her fourth album (and US debut) ‘Angels & Cigarettes’ presents Carthy at her most commercial; the songs are more in the adult singer-songwriter pop mould than usual, although her folk influences are occasionally present.

The opening number ‘Whispers of Summer’ is largely representative of this album’s shift away from folk music. Eliza’s voice is still very much in the heavily accented folk vein and her gently played fiddle may put in an appearance, but this is tempered by an unobtrusive drum loop and backing vocals whose ‘oohs’ aren’t particulary folky. A far cry from the likes of ‘The Snow It Melts The Soonest’ or the jigs and reels present on ‘Rice’, it feels like one of the album’s folkiest numbers, but it’s barely folk. It’s one of the only times Eliza gets anywhere near her trademark fiddle style and then that’s only a flourish rather than its main feature.

‘Perfect’ is lightweight pop which manages to remain charming due to Eliza’s lilting folky vocal; ‘Fuse’ makes excellent use of strings and Eliza’s voice carries much sadness. ‘Breathe’ is fantastic with its use of piano and Massive Attack style drum loop. The real star here is Barnaby Stradling whose bass playing is superb and adds much needed warmth. ‘Train Song’ is dark and brooding, where the vocals are used to create beautiful harmonies over the strings, in turn used sparingly to create atmosphere. Similarly, the bass-led ‘Whole’ works well due to being very musically understated. The end result is brilliant, but (as with a lot of ‘Angels & Cigarettes’) it’s not necessarily what some Eliza Carthy fans are looking for; it could just as easily have been a Beth Orton number. A cover of Paul Weller’s ‘Wildwood’ suits Carthy’s vocal style very well and is further proof that ‘Angels & Cigarettes’ seemed largely pre-occupied with the idea of being a cross-over album, introducing Carthy to an adult pop audience and hopefully breaking the US in the process.

If you’re not much of a fan of English folk in its purest forms but don’t mind a little creeping in, ‘Angels & Cigarettes’ offers your best entry point into Carthy’s work – and especially so, if you have a passing fancy for Kirsty MacColl or Beth Orton, for example. Eliza’s rendition of ‘Wildwood’ is worth your time alone.

February 2010

My Lovely Horse: Real Gone’s Eurovision Gold

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It’s Eurovision time again! With the 56th contest and Graham Norton’s enthusiastic commentary looming on the horizon, it seemed like a good time to celebrate Eurovision’s “unique brilliance” with a few clips. Here are Real Gone’s favourite ever moments.

In reverse order:

Odd Børre – Stress (Norway 1968)

With a brilliantly orchestrated arrangement, occasionally lapsing into sub-par Burt Bacharach-isms, this could have been superb. It’s still kind of enjoyable, though we’re not sure why…

Guildo Horn – Guildo Hat Euch Lieb (Germany 1998)

An ageing rocker treating Eurovision with the tongue-in-cheek approach it really deserves: singing a song about himself, served up with ridiculously brilliant theatrics. Of particular note are his attempts at embarrassing male members of the audience, some cowbells and an impressive leap on to a high platform in huge platform shoes. Fabulous.

Jahn Teigen – Mil Etter Mil (Norway 1978)

This is the gold standard of how not to do it. So bad, in fact, Norway scored the famous nul points for Teigen’s performance. It was the cause of their being associated with nul points for several years afterwards. Bizarrely though, Teigen was invited back to represent Norway in 1982, where he finished in 9th position.
The golden moment here is the huge wail at 1:30, which appears to be followed by similar over-the-top wailing and a cockney knees-up. Allegedly Jahn Teigen hated ‘Mil Etter Mil’ and sabotaged his own performance in protest. We’re not sure we believe him, since a clip of him singing the song during the pre-contest heats is only slightly more restrained at the end.

May 2011

THE WINDUPDEADS – Army Of Invisible Men

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windupdeadsAlready having had tunes featured on popular US TV shows ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘One Tree Hill’, Stockholm based band The Windupdeads have already been given a fair amount of exposure in media terms. They’ve also been favourably compared to Radiohead and Muse, though listening to their second full-length ‘Army of Invisible Men’ (released on OK!Good Records), this comparison would appear to be lazy journalism forced by the unnecessary need to pigeonhole the band.

Granted, Richard Olsen may have an early Thom Yorke strain to his vocal style occasionally – and thankfully, he’s not possessed by the hideous untrained wailing practiced by Muse’s Matt Bellamy – but in honesty, that’s about as far as any comparisons go. The Windupdeads lack any of the experimentalism practiced by latter-day Radiohead too (and that’s potentially a good thing) and the bulk of their music settles for a fairly safe brand of rock/pop.

The Snow Patrol/Fray-esque ‘Used Cars’ shows The Windupdeads in a good light, working a memorable chorus around a breezy drum part with lots of understated cymbal work. The verses are tuneful in a radio friendly way, all building to a mid section which features some sharp guitar work which (under layers of studio trickery) never really breaks into a full solo. ’59:1’ begins with multi-tracked vocals and new wave keyboards, and in doing so, promises a great deal. Those vocals eventually make up the bulk of a decent chorus, but the verses themselves aren’t so strong. The drums do little more than mark time and Marcus Von Boisman’s guitars are limited to rhythm work, fleshed out with swirly keyboards (interesting that keyboards would have such presence when nobody is credited for them), over which Olsen delivers a lightweight vocal. It’s a track saved by its chorus; it’s a shame they couldn’t beef up the rest of the arrangement just a little.

Undoubtedly the album’s strongest track, ‘Quiet Down’ has a great intro with multi-tracked guitars and a moody verse with Jonas Westholm’s bass upfront. Olson’s vocals are stylised at first sounding like he’s singing down a telephone, but by the time his full voice is heard, it’s easy to hear where the knee-jerk Radiohead comparisons are coming from. Olsen channels his inner Thom Yorke for a ‘Bends’-era style vocal over a subtle waltz time signature. The Windupdeads certainly sound more assured here – and it’s a style which suits them very well. ‘Blood On Her Hands’ opens with a very mechanical feel which runs through the rest of the track, with Olsen’s heavily filtered vocals taking on a very staccato quality for the verses. Things pick up for the chorus, which utilises a fairly simple hook, but overall, the end result feels somewhat empty.

‘Don’t Let Go’ features another of the album’s best choruses. The musical simplicity – effectively a stomp – gives Westholm’s bass another moment in the spotlight and although the featured guitar solo isn’t brilliant, it’s nice to actually hear one, since most of The Windupdeads’ material doesn’t really offer much in the way of instrumental breaks. The mid-paced ‘Perfection’ makes great use of keyboards in lieu of affording a full string section, before falling away to allow Olsen’s vocal to take a dominant role. By the time the chorus rolls around, he’s augmented by soft backing vocals and chiming guitars all of which have a pleasant quality.

And that’s the word which best sums up The Windupdeads: they’re pleasant. There’s nothing objectionable in what they do, but despite any comparisons to Radiohead and Muse, there’s very little that’s edgy or alternative on show. ‘Army of Invisible Men’ is the work of solid musicians delivering material that sounds like it was made for American television dramas; a band making music for an audience looking for something that gives them more of a challenge than Keane…just.

May 2011

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