Monday, November 27, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club - November 2017 Pack

Core album Ojala + Bonus cd - 8/10 The other two: The Barr Brothers - Queens of the Breakers + Bonus disc 8/10 Daniele Luppi and Parquet Courts - 9/10 Upcoming: December - Jim James January - Shame February - ????

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club - October 2017 Pack

A strong one! The core album is Kelela - Take me apart + Bonus cd. 8/10 (however Maltapost is acting weird so I received this last week, despite the fact that it was dispatched on the first of the month) The other albums: Moses Sumney - Aromanticism. 8/10 Wolf Alice - Visions of a Life - 7.5/10 Coming up November - Ojala December - Jim James January - ????

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club - September 2017 Pack

So this month the core album has not arrived. If it doesn't show up soon. I'll buy a copy so watch this space. Other albums Jen cloher - Self-titled. 7.5/10. Jen Cloher is the founder of Mil records and is Courtney Barnett's partner. This is her fifth album and it sounds like Courtney Barnett except a bit proggy. Kurt Vile makes an appearance. Queens of the Stone Age - Villains. 8/10. Pretty good. A lot of fun. Upcoming October - Kelela November - Ojala December... oh the magazine is no more... but subscription is now cheaper. *update* I received another copy after emailing RT. They sent me a vinyl version, which is beautiful but it has a download code so my rating for the album is 8/10.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club; August 2017 Pack

A great month Girl Ray - Earl Grey + Bonus disc + Moshi Moshi sampler. At first I thought this album was dreary but then it all clicked. Great proggy jangle pop. 8/10 Late Night Tales: BADBADBNOTGOOD. A first class compilation 8.5/10 Childhood - Universal High. Another top album. 8/10 September: Hercules and Love Affair October: Kelela November: Ojala

Monday, July 31, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club - July 2017 Pack

Well The thing is I only received the core cd. I did order Little Barrie and Sheer Mag but the Sheer Mag album is delayed, which in turn means my remaining two albums have been delayed as well. This is the Kit - Moonshine Freeze + Bonus Cd. This is an excellent album. Homemade melodies and great choruses. Well worth investing in. 8.5/10 UPDATE Everything's been received Sheer Mag - Need to feel your love. Excellent .Southern rock with a disco element. Catchy all around. 9/10 Little Barrie - Death Express. it's ok but at 20 tracks it's a bit tiring. 7/10 August - Girl Ray September - no idea October - no idea November - Ojala????

Monday, June 26, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club June 2017 Pack

An excellent month. The core album was compilation, actually a double cd mix curated by Max Richter and it is amazing! beautifully mixed and the track selection ranges from classical, modern compositions and post rock and it comes with a bonus cd with the post rocks bands tracks in full, so it's definitely value for money. However this is mood music so I did not play the compilation as much as I wanted to. It is great though 8.5/10 The other cd was Aldous Harding's Party. I guess you could describe her as a female Perfume Genius. All the songs are slow burners but they are excellent. 8.5/10 the last cd was Pumarosa's The Witch. A first class selection of modern psychedelia. The songs are slightly catchier in the second half of the album but i'm definitely not complaining. 8/10 forthcoming.... July - This is the Kit August - Girl Ray September ????

Monday, May 29, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club May 2017 Pack

A Satisfactory month. April's core cd was Mac DeMarco's This Old Dog + a bonus cd of instrumentals. On the whole This Old Dog is a very strong album. I am a fan of Mac so I'm glad to receive this. The album is not as good as his previous ones but I still enjoyed it. 8/10 The rest: Thurston Moore - Rock n Roll Consciousness. Basically if you are fan of Sonic Youth's more catchy side then get this album. I am and I'm glad I got it. 8/10. There's 5 track but they are good. Alice Coltrane - Ecstatic Music. A cd of chants by Alice Coltrane. When I receive compilations like this, I usually listen to them when I'm in the mood. So although I gave it a couple of spins, I will definitely be returning to this compilation when I'm doing something taxing. 7/10. June - London Grammar???? July - This is the Kit?? August - Earl Grey???

Monday, April 24, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club - April 2017 Pack

April's album was a bit of a surprise. After two growers we received the Big Moon debut, Love int he 4th Dimension, which is a no nonsense indie rock album. Is it good? very! out of the eleven tracks (there are four bonus tunes tacked on to the end but they ruin the record's pace) ten of them can be singles. Not one dull moment and it's a lot of fun. The cd came with a bonus disc and has a terrific cover of Madonna's Beautiful Stranger. 8.5/10 I also got Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales' collaboration, Room 29, A concept album about events which have taken place in hotel Chateau Marmont's room 29., which is famous for it's grand piano. in fact the album itself was recorded there as well. Jarvis Cocker's lyrics on this album are funny and Chilly's playing is excellent. It is a perfect collaboration and so are the end results. 9.5/10 Last was Here Lies Man's self-titled debut. Apparently it's an Antibalas side project and there are elements. Maybe it's a bit rougher but I like it and there's a lot of musical twists and turns. 8/10 Upcoming: May: Mac DeMarco June: London Grammar

Monday, March 27, 2017

Rough Trade Album Club: March 2017 Pack

So this is my second pack from the new Rough Trade Club. As I said before subscribers receive one album and it's up to us to choose the rest. I am stick with the three cd format as it is perfect for my budget. I am noticing that the main cds chosen are growers and March's was no exception. This time it was Holly Macve's Golden Eagle,, Macve is a country musician in a the grand old tradition of Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn.She has the minimalist approach with the yowly voice. Personally it took a while for me to get used to the record but once it clicked, it was on constant rotation. Personally what I liked were the deft touches - despite the minimal approach, there is orchestration but used sparingly and it works well. A solid album 8/10. The bonus disc of covers was a nice accompaniment. The other album was Sleaford Mods, English Tapas. This is totally in my comfort zone as I'm a big fan of the band and the move to Rough Trade Records suited them. I like the way they mix beats with spoken word, although frontman Jason Williams does sing on a couple of tracks. Although they have not compromised their sound, you do feel that there are ambitions to push the sound further. The music is more energetic and clubby. I feel that English tapas may be a turning point for the band. It's also a great introduction to Sleaford Mods if you've never heard them before. 8.5/10. The last album is Grandaddy's Last Place. Again I was in my comfort zone. I'm a huge fan of that sort of orchestral pop in That sort of Sparklehorse/Flaming Lips/Mercury Rev vein and Grandaddy forms part f that clique. This new album is not a return to form, rather a very good, strong album that Grandaddy fans will like a lot. Lyrically the band were always strong but the lyrics in last place are superb. Musically ti is good but the band have done better. 7.5/10. Upcoming: April - Big Moon??? May - Mac DeMarco?? June - Goldie?? London Grammer???

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Rough Trade Club: February 2017 Pack

So as stated last month, I will not be receiving three cds chosen by the club. I will just receive one core cd and then I can choose as many as I like. As it takes me forever to soak in an album, I will stick to buying an extra two as that was good for me and is still within my budget. The core album was a reissue - Lift to Experience's The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads. At first I was a bit wary as it is a double album with seven minute songs but after a bit I grew from ambivalence to playing it every day! The album came with an ep of LTE songs done acoustically by lead sing Josh T. Pearson. It is indeed a classic and, although not an easy listen it is very satisfying and something outside of my comfort zone. 9/10 The other two cds I bought were: Horse Thief - Trials and Truths 8/10. This is totally within my comfort zone. A short snappy collection of catchy, slightly country-ish indie. A pleasant listen and it's a good way to pass a bus trip. 8/10 Sampha - Process. I had high hopes for this one as I kept reading great reviews, however the current pair of headphones I have distort electronic beats so I have to turn off the bass on my discman, which makes everything sound flat. I haven't heard this on a good stereo yet so I'm not sold, I just need better listening gear and the lushness will overtake me. I like the melodies though. 7/10, but could be an 8 later on. One thing I do like about this new system as that it is now difficult to predict the next month's batch. Here's my guess March - The Big Moon April - Here Lies Man May - Mac DeMarco

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Rough Trade Album of the Month Club January 2017 Pack

Ah so it's the last 3 cd pack i'll get from the club. From now on we'll receive one cd. A bit sad and this month' selection was a bit weak. Core album: Elinor Rose Dougall - Stellular + Bonus cd. 7/10. It's a solid pop record. Nadine Khouri - The Slated Air. 7/10. It's ok. Singer/songwriter Big Fresh - Life Dollars. 7.5/10. Pleasant west coast style pop. Next up: February: Lift to Experience March: The Big Moon

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Rough Trade Album of the Month Club December 2016

So there are big changes for the club. As form February I will not be receiving 3 cds, rather 1 cd and the magazine. I am a bit bummed but it also means that I get a bit more freedom when choosing some more albums from the 10 monthly cds. So I admit I did not have enough time to absorb this month's pack due to my busy schedule and being sick did not help either. Core album Thee Oh Sees - An Odd Entrances + bonus cd. 7/10 Proggy garage. It's ok but this years A Weird Exits was better. Slowcoaches - Nothing Gives 7/10 - fuzzed up indie pop - yay!! Angelina - Vagabond Saint - 8/10. My fave of the month. Groovy country.