Adam Franklin – Bolts of Melody

Adam Franklin – Bolts of Melody

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

 

You’ve led a moderately successful, highly influential band for eight years. You put out records on Creation and partied with Alan McGee. And then you break up that band, sell your studio, and go into the wilderness for a few years. 

You start cutting albums which blend your signature voice with your growing interest in samples and loops. They are not well-received.

Fast forward to 2007, and things are looking up for you again. You’ve secretly reformed your old band with the classic lineup, and plan to tour later in the year. You’ve got your own record label and have several small releases in the pipeline. But best of all, you’ve just released your first “rock” album in nine years.

So goes the story of Adam Franklin, lead singer and guitarist for Oxford quartet Swervedriver. And how does this album stack up against his past work? Pretty damn well, it turns out. Sure, there will be those that gripe about a “step backwards” whenever an artist does a return to an old sound. But it’s hard to complain when the material here is so uniformly excellent. 

“Seize The Day” is a triumphant return to the alt rock of Swervedriver’s 99^th Dream, but with swaggering wah-wah guitars and a stop-start rhythm. “Morning Rain” is a haunting slow burner with delayed slide guitars and languid yet ethereal vocals.

But the most interesting pair of tracks is the two versions of “Birdsong.” The first version subtitled “moonshiner version,” is a haunting finger picked solo guitar and vocal recording. The second is a full-band rendition with power pop guitars and a laid-back groove.

Consistency may lead to middling work in some artists, but Adam Franklin is not one of them. With Bolts of Melody, Adam Franklin may be charting familiar territory, but he is also evoking the spirit of classic Swervedriver.

Hi-Speed Soul/2007

 

 

 

The Cure - 40 Live

What a great collection this is. It reminds me of when The Cure released Show and Paris as live albums back in 1993 - One set of greatest hits, the other of deeper cuts and darker gothic material.

The Cure split the difference fairly evenly on 40 Live's two films, except here they go the extra mile of including both in a nice hardbound book style case complete with artfully grainy film photographs from both shows, and liner notes from Edward Scissorhands himself, Mr. Robert Smith.

Curaetion 25, directed by Nick Wickham, is the stronger of the two films for hardcore fans as it eschews the songs we've heard on alternative radio for the past 30 years in favor of deeper album tracks such as "Want" "Other Voices" "Jupiter Crash" and new songs "It Can Never Be The Same" and "Step Into The Light."

It is also the more artfully filmed of the two, and features several hand held cameras ala Show which alternate between a grainy 35MM film style and a sharp 1080i look. Truly a cinematic masterpiece. 10/10

Anniversary - directed by The Cure In Orange director Tim Pope - leans heavily on poppier material such as "High," "Just Like Heaven," "Push," "In Between Days," and "Close To Me." While the set list is a bit more predictable than Curaetion, the band's performance is sure to win over old and new fans alike.

Longtime bassist Simon Gallup plays with a melodic ferocity, making him the perfect anchor to Jason Cooper's tight drum fills. Roger O'Donnell's dreamy keyboards gently wash over the mix with lucidity. And newest member guitarist Reeves Gabrels (who should be noted played with the band as far back as 1997) gamely replaces the departed Pearl Thompson and plays off of Robert Smith in dueling leads. 9/10

All in all an excellent collection for Cure fans of any degree.

Ben Watt – Hendra/Fever Dream

Ben Watt – Hendra/Fever Dream

By

Jesse E. Mullen

Both Fever Dream and Hendra are excellent, mature albums by an artist who I was not previously familiar with - I discovered Ben Watt byway of his association with Bernard Butler, a perennial favorite of mine. But I am so glad that I did. The rich tones of his voice, combined with Butler's tastefully tight, jazz rock-inspired guitar work make for a compelling listen. But it's also the content of his lyrics that make both albums such compelling listens. While I have not yet lived into my 50s - I'm just barely 23 - the wry observations of life at that age, along with chilling acknowledgements of mortality, keep the deep listener on their toes. While I prefer Fever Dream by a hair, Hendra is also wonderful. (And worth the price for "Young Man's Game" and "Golden Ratio" alone, I might add.)

Caroline/2014/2016

Chuck Prophet – No Other Love

Chuck Prophet – No Other Love

By

Jesse E. Mullen

One of the greatest of the early 2000s. Like Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it finds the artist in question pushing the boundaries of their usual Americana/Folk/Alt. Country/Rock sound with field recordings, found sounds, tape loops, electronic beats, and various keyboard instruments. But all of this would be window dressing if Chuck didn't come up with the excellent set of songs that he did. The performances by the studio band are uniformly excellent, and Prophet’s guitar playing is as awe-inspiring as ever. Highly recommended.

New West/2002