Intelligence Records Bureau - Part 2

Yes - we are back. The great minds of the IRB have reconvened and compiled our thoughts regarding the latest Madness album...

Madness - Oui, Oui, Si, Si, Ja, Ja, Da, Da

Rich C
During my initial listens to this, the 10^th album of new material by Madness in 33 years, I allowed myself to have some nasty, evil thoughts. They were along the lines of “hey Madness…been doing this forever…they can just knock a bunch of new songs out without really trying…just plug the main ingredients into the Madness computer…and off they go…”

Clearly I hadn’t taken into account one of the golden rules of pop that states “Madness are great. End of”.

And the fact is, they are still great and more importantly they are still developing. The last album, The Liberty Of Norton Folgate, was more than just another Madness album. It was, by some distance, the best album they have ever made. Because what we maybe need to remind ourselves is that back in their pop heyday from 1979 to 1984, whilst they became the biggest selling British singles act of the 1980’s, they were a pretty average albums band. One Step Beyond, Absolutely, The Rise And Fall etc, whilst all containing some non-single delights, all contained some distinctly “filler” material.

Folgate, however, was a complete piece of work, dare I say a concept album, about a uniquely individual time and place in their beloved East London.  It was a quite perfectly executed piece of London pop, up there with All Mod Cons and the best of Ray Davies’ work.

Oui, Oui,  Si, Si, Ja, Ja , Da, Da therefore has a lot to live up to, and in the main it handles the pressure very well. Starting with My Girl 2, Mike Barson’s sequel to his classic errr 1, it is the N Boys at their infectious best. A top 5 hit single if we had like proper charts and that.

The quality pop music follows with Never Knew Your Name, my favourite track, with nostalgia the prevalent feeling both lyrically (about a lost opportunity in a discotheque, but with the same pulling at the heartstrings sadness of One Better Day) and musically (pinching the stop/start technique of Embarrassment along with part of its chord sequence).

In fact for the first part of the album, nostalgia is pretty much where it's at. It provides both an easy way in to the album and a mild case of annoyance that we might have heard this all before. The Latinesque La Luna, the raunchy Kitchen Floor (sounding a tad like an Amy Winehouse arrangement), the pure ska of Misery are all good but offer no surprises, lyrically or musically. Added to that there is one below par song in How Can I Tell You? which really is Madness-by-numbers and has some very lazy lyrics.

Madness raise their game, however, in the 2^nd half and thus don’t fall into the football metaphor trap of La Luna – “So many clear cut chances/I put over the bar”.

Leon sees them at their storytelling best about someone stuck in a routine that they are bored rigid with (a teacher/a pupil?), and musically is as claustrophobic as Cardiac Arrest was back in the day. Small World is a classic, a paean for their beloved London, seemingly written in the wake of the London riots. Death Of A Rude Boy follows up on this theme, mourning the demise of someone who “stood up for their rights”. Whether this is about South London knife gangs or something more symbolic about the loss of innocence doesn’t really matter as the band produce their musical highlight, paraphrasing The Specials’ Ghost Town to quite stunning effect.

Finishing off with the delightful hangover ballad Powder Blue and the bouncing, infectious tale of a survivor that is Black And Blue, it gives great pleasure to report that after all these years Madness still have what it takes.

75/100

Dave C

“Madness, madness ,  it must be madness”

The words from the song by their hero Prince Buster that gave the band their name, and probably the thoughts of Danny Boyle when deciding that the Olympic ceremony required a band from the 70s/80s that are typically British (despite the roots of their music) and have not simply endured, but are approaching national treasure status.

Yet back in the late 70s and early 80s you wouldn’t really have picked them from their contemporaries as the band most likely to achieve such a position. A non-too serious ska band whose singer has a limited musical and emotional range? How did that happen?

Well, it happened by them knowing what they do, what their range is and doing it damn well with wit, charm and chutzpah.  By the singer having a voice that suggests openness and sincerity (hence the numerous adverts you’ll be hearing him on in the coming weeks) and who (in common with Neil Tennant) can present the necessary emotions (wistful nostalgia, humour, ruefulness rather than anything extreme) with small changes of tone and inflection.  By them having several songwriters in the band, and by them crafting immaculate song arrangements.

In fact, the arrangements are so good that you don’t really notice them, there’s no showing off and no instruments fighting for dominance (I couldn’t possibly think of a favourite guitar, drum or keyboard bit from a Madness song). The sum of the song is greater than its parts.

“Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da” finds them in confident form. With the down tempo reggae of “Kitchen Floor” and “Death Of A Rude Boy”; the straight ahead ska of “So Alive” and “Black & Blue”, and mad dancehall of ‘Misery’, bluebeat rhythms remain at the heart of what they do but we also get the soul of My Girl 2 (which brought Big Den Hegarty and Darts to my mind), disco guitar and bass in “Never Knew Your Name” , up tempo rock/pop in Leon and Circus Freaks and a gentle late night slowly in Powder Blue.

Irrespective of rhythm the tracks are generally overlaid with pop sensibilities, a rich sound, and (something I’d never appreciated about the band) some tracks feature really strong support vocals. You also get the typical Madness ‘things not quite as you expect’ mucking around. Chris Smyth wrote “So Alive” after having a marriage proposal turned down, but it’s a jaunty appreciation of his “intended” rather than a self-indulgent wallow. And, of course on a Madness album, a song entitled Misery will be the most upbeat which on first hearing can be dismissed as a bit Chas n Dave. But on further listening you realise that the tightly circling horns and vocal phrasing of the verses are true to the dancehall style. And, despite the clumsiest of vocal lead ins, the chorus is a soaringly daft, but splendidly performed suggestion of ways to divert misery. It’s the Madness way.

It’s not all jolly mind, drummer Daniel Woodgate contributes the downbeat nostalgia of “Small World” and the honest assessment of his standing in a mismatched relationship in “Kitchen Floor”, both of which are slightly plodding but build subtly. He also wrote Leon detailing a teacher’s frustration at feeling boxed in which is much more up tempo and one of the strongest songs on the album. My actual favourite and most powerful song is the Lee Thompson/Mike Barson composition “Circus Freaks” which addresses the double edged nature of fame. It is nicely counterpointed by the gently tender and sentimental “Powder Blue” in which Suggs shares his feelings for his wife in the afterglow of a pop star party.

So overall, not an album to change your life our particularly gain them a whole new audience. But a bunch of well-conceived and constructed songs with sufficient shades of light and dark, and variety of styles to be worth a place in most people’s collection.

Music for pleasure.  

78/100

Ian F

Madness are the peoples band.  Britain loves Suggs and the boys.  They are a veritable Treasure: good boys with a slight edge; they wear nice suits, they don’t cause offence, and aren’t the kind of pop industry characters who embarrass us in tabloid scandals.    More importantly they have always… and that is ALWAYS … made good records.
 

The original Nutty Boys moon-stomped out of the late 70’s Ska revival but always kept to the poppier, happier, side  of what contemporaries like The Specials, the Selecter and others were doing.  They were a great pop band.  Beginning with ‘The Prince’ can anyone think of a band that has had a better, or longer run, of credible chart singles?  However, their long players didn’t always grab people’s attention in the same way.
  

That changed with their last album.  I hadn’t taken much notice of Madness since their reformation, through the Madstock Festivals, and their Our House musical but I investigated ‘The Liberty Of Norton Folgate’ after hearing a couple of tracks on Radio 2.  I have an aversion to groups reforming and the whole old guys trying to recapture their success and status but that album proved to be much, much, better than I expected.  From a personal point of view it by far the best Madness album. 
  

I tell you this because ‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ has definitely influenced the way I approached this release.  ‘Norton Folgate’ took nearly 4 years to put together.  It was released in 2009.  Therefore, presumably, ‘Oui  Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da’  took approximately the same period of time to put together.  In comparison it is a disappointment. 

‘Norton Folgate’ was a brilliant collection of songs that worked as either stand alone, stand out, tracks or as an inter-related flowing whole.  It contained genuine classics tracks  such as ‘Forever Young’, ‘Out On The Town’ and the 10 minute title track.  The latest Madness record only works as a collection of separate pop tunes and it offers up, arguably only one classic.
 

I am perhaps being a little harsh.  It is certainly almost impossible not to enjoy the catchy, sing-along, tracks on ‘Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da’ but none of them hold your attention, or make you want to put the album on repeat.  These tracks are for the moment.  They work as an excellent party disc or as a happy intermission.
 

The nearest the latest Madness long player gets to the sort of kitchen sink pathos they’ve always been capable of, and achieved admirably on ‘TLONF’ with ‘On The Town’ and others, is with ‘Never knew Your Name’ which is a well-crafted songs which tells its melancholy story as the soundtrack builds from a piano, sax, and vocal start into a full on disco beat with orchestra and 80’s scratch funk guitar.  It’s a bit like Barry White covering Ian Dury and is the best four minutes on the album.
 

If only the other tracks were as good.  Unfortunately, whereas the previous record sounded like a new, mature Madness, this album sounds like the group trying to regain the vigour and happy exuberance of their former youthful selves while all the time filching bits from their favourite pop-stock masters most notably Motown (My Girl2), La Luna (Kirsty McColl), Squeeze  (Kitchen Floor) and… er… Chas and Dave (Misery).  This is no bad thing but when put together with easy, cheesy, rhymes instead of the usual Madness ability to deliver clever story telling lyrics leaves this as a good but ephemeral album.
   

Again, trying to be fair, I would have to say it would be difficult to dismiss any album that has Suggs singing on it.  His charismatic vocals are surely only behind Sinatra in terms of phrasing and certainly up their with Dean Martin and Mark E Smith for clever and distinctive cadence.  The former Graham McPherson can even make trite list lyrics such as ‘one chocolate in the box, a pair of mittens and some cotton socks’ sound interesting.
 

There are, obviously, therefore, many reasons to like this album not least that it is enjoyable to listen to and it will have many people tapping a foot, or singing-a-long, to many of its’ tracks.  I actually do think that none of these songs would be out of place, or fail to ignite, the crowd, if performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace next time Boris Town holds a national event but, personally, I’m still left disappointed.  I know I’m being harsh because I’m criticising this album on the basis that it doesn’t come close to their last exceptional effort.  I also know that a lot of people will love this album.  
However, this has been my review.

71/100

Tony D

It's a mouthful is the title, and it only means" yes" albeit in French, Spanish, German, and Russian. May be an assault on the European market for our very quintessentially English nutty boys.

I was looking forward to this album as I thoroughly enjoyed the last offering "The Liberty of Norton Folgate".

It's an album that reminds me of classic madness that we have all come to love. I'd be pretty surprised to find anyone that doesn't like at least one madness song. Anyway on to the album itself.

On first listening this sounds like a lovely jolly album, but after several plays and a better grasp of the lyrics there are some dark goings on in some of these songs. Maybe it's just my twisted mind, but let me explain.......

I have indeed had this album constantly on my iPod over the last few weeks and I have to say, it's good. From the opener "my girl 2" to the closer "my girl 2" (which is a slightly slower version of the opener) it keeps you gripped. There are some real quality lines too that make you go ahh yes and produce a wry smile and also provoke thought.

My Girl 2 gets the album rolling. It's an upbeat start that has more than a hint of Motown and a bit of Fine Young Cannibals (Good Thing) mixed into it. A fairly happy song about ones admiration for your lady.

Then track 2- Never knew your name.

Well, the story changes and a slightly down beat tune enters the fray. The story of a night of lost chances, regrets and what could have beens. We have all been there I think, wishing we had asked THAT question (phone number and can we meet again?). The line "stupid pride and idiot shame" probably sums it up well.

On the face of it "La Luna" Is a jolly little tune that breezes in and then out again. It captures the thoughts and memories of our narrator. There are things in his life that could have been achieved but weren't. The immortal 'if only' if ever I heard it.

Next, to my personal favourite.    "How can I tell you?". When I eventually figured out what the song was about (after 6 or so plays) I had a lump in my throat. The song still has that effect on me and takes me away to another place, bringing back so many memories.

At first I thought it was a love song about man and woman before realising in was about a child and dad. There are so many classic lines in this one you can relate to as a dad. A masterpiece lyrically and the upbeat tempo compliments such great one liners as....."you're gunna have to swim with the molecules" and "the time I stuck an ice cream in your face". A feel good song if ever I heard one.

"Kitchen floor"  seems to be about another failed relationship or at least one that isn't quite right. Typically quirky madness.

"misery" , mmm what a happy jolly sounding song about being miserable. Genius. It trundles along , maybe even skips  along. Good advice though from the nutty ones "don't keep misery as your company or you might as well be dead".

"Leon " a chap who obviously is an outcast who dare not come out and mingle with everyone. Things going on inside his head. Could he have been a paedophile? Or am I reading too much into this, maybe he was just a down trodden school caretaker.

Circus freaks is a jolly ditty which covers the living in public  life and the hiding away from the papers and public. The fact that everything has to be done in secret.

"So alive" kicks in with that jolly madness sound a breath of fresh air, happy words and positive outlook with an everlasting love. You want to sing and hum along.

"Small world"-A great bass back beat starts this grim tale. knock  me down with a left hook if this song is not about the London riots of last year.  "I've soon lost count of all the cars, that burn so bright outside the bars, deserted streets, and burning shells, familiar shops I know so well".  Our narrator is separated from his loved one.  Could be miles apart forever...... This really does conjure up visions of those August nights of riots.

"Death of a rude boy".  Love this song. The mood is a massive compliment to the lyrics. Obviously a big hard mate of the boys but can relate it to some of the old boys that follow hull city. I tell you what, though it has a feel of "ghost town" by the specials. Love the  cha cha cha cha bit too.

" powder blue"  I think tells of the story of madness and their demise and how they were in limbo for so many years a strange sound too.

"black and blue" a story of a relationship breakup where you get battered in the process of the split up.

Then back to "my girl 2" again.

Look, I know I've dissected every song on this album but I felt I could not review the album without doing this. Every song is a story in itself so could not be all bunched together. This is a classic madness album. Upbeat , jolly and sad. Musically it's great, it keeps you captivated all the way through. It's a foot tapper, a hummer and sing a long.

I love it.

90 out of 100

Andy D

Here’s a test for you: try to think about Madness without smiling.

You can’t, can you? No-one can.

That makes reviewing a Madness album somewhat tricky. Being pre-disposed towards liking someone makes judging them impartially close to impossible. So let’s not even bother trying. Everyone likes Madness, so why fight it?

Everyone should like this album, too. Mostly. My Girl 2 not only starts the album off effectively, you sense it’d be a great song to begin a live show with. That jaunty, catchy opening is pleasingly contrasted by the second song, and personal favourite on the album, Never Knew Your Name, a deceptively effective lament on the anxieties of teenaged coupling up – and especially memorable for the use of the archaic word “discotheque”, which very cleverly takes you back 25 years in an instant, the obvious point of a song designed to recall long-past embarrassments.

It goes downhill a little from there. How Can I Tell You has a simply awful opening line – “communication is a skill you must acquire”? Dear me. And “swimming with the molecules”…? Hm. A pretty lousy track.

 It improves from there, with a run of middling album tracks – though the lyrics continued to annoy. There’s a double negative in Kitchen Floor (grr), and why was it “THE wise man” in Misery? Who was the wise man? I wanted to know.

All is not lost. Circus Freaks was a much more convincing song just when you fear it’s going to be all filler. Death of a Rude Boy was the most interesting song on the album. I hated it at first but couldn’t explain why; after a few listens I liked it, but still couldn’t see why. There’s not much after that, though Black and Blue is a very Madnessy way to end.

And that feels about right. It’s obviously, recognisably the same Madness whose 1980s exploits we all adore. Is it a bad thing that they still sound similar to three decades ago? Not if you liked how that sounded, I guess. It sounded good, even great in patches. Just a pity about some of the lyrics.

72/100

Kev B

In a nostalgic way I was keen for the new album to be a hit because in the early eighties as a favourite band of mine, this was the ska band who knocked out hits for fun and I was fortunate to see them twice live at the Spa when they were at their peak. 

When they returned last year to the ice arena an ageing Suggs appeared to lack energy and in my opinion the concert was a bit of a let down

So would this be an album too far for Madness ?

I enjoyed track 1 (My Girl 2) more than  I enjoyed the first version and bounced  along in the car with the volume at a high setting.

Moving along to track 3 the sax and lyrics stood out in a well put together track. 

For their individuality Kitchen Floor, Misery and Leon described vocal  life telling situations as life is now for the middle aged band and these tracks gave me a wry smile.

The only track I did not enjoy was Death Of A Rude boy which in my opinion appeared to be stating that Ska is dead. 

Not quite true as this album to me proves that there is some life left from this infamous era. 

In my summing up I was pleasantly surprised by the variation of the tracks and although Madness tracks will always in general sound the same I thought there was a twist in each track that  kept me aroused and wanting to listen to the album over and over again.

80/100

Well…after entering that somewhat broad range of scores into the TTID compewter – we get an average score of 78 (in a rounded up sort of way).

Next month’s album selected by Dave C is…Tracey Thorn’s Tinsel And Lights. Reviews will be posted in the Christmas edition then. Have a great December.

Intelligence Records Bureau - Part 1

What the freakin' hell's this? I hear you ask. Well things have been a bit quiet on the old blogging front recently. Hence a burst of creative energy was required, which has manifested itself in the Intelligence Records Bureau. The IRB is a hand picked team of musical experts who have formed with the specific intention of listening to and reviewing one album per month (roughly). The reviews will be published on TTID along with scores on the doors and all manner of analysis (well actually I'll probably just average the totals or something). The IRB is governed by a very strict set of rules. We are just not sharing them with anyone else right now. Cliquey? You bet!

So here we go...

The xx - Coexist (2012)

Kev B

My first journey through the IRB has been a somewhat of a traumatic one for me. 

I tried to download the album but when I inputted xx into the search engine well I tell you

I've never seen so many pages of porn.

Anyway, after a week of trawling through the filth trying to find the goddam xx my computer crashed!

So Ian to the rescue and no, he did not remove the tit and fanny, but did provide the CD of Coexist.

  

So Monday morning driving to my workplace in Hessle, I played the CD however by the time I had

listened to 7 tracks  my want and wish was to drive straight past work and off the Humber Bridge.

Such was the dour and repetitive beat /drone /dross that I was listening to.

However, I have now listened to the album several times and been turned completely around and thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the tracks, in particular Angels, Reunion and Fiction.

I cannot decide the origin of the tune/beat however can imagine the steel drums been beaten

on the Caribbean islands.

70/100

Ian F

I used to hate the dominance of verse / chorus / verse songs.  Despite Dylan and the modernising minstrels of the mid sixties the archaic format was still almost obligatory up until only a couple of decades ago.  If you were a band who hoped to be heard on popular radio or even if your pretension was pitched leftfield of pure pop of it was still almost de-rigeur.  Dance culture and electronica changed much of that. 

I presume the electronic pop band The xx aspire to be a chart act.  They have the hooks.  They will appeal to the young, and the middle aged alike.  They will especially appeal to the couples in each of those groupings and even more so to the monied middling classes of each age stratum.  They should therefore be big in the same way that the EBTG audience grew large from behind Laura Ashley curtains.  

Unfortunately, although my better half seems to like Coexist I have a problem in that I miss any kind of song structure.  I hate to admit but I miss proper choruses.  The hooks heard here are memorable but merely refrains: “Being In Love With you as I am”; “My heart is beating in a different way” and “we used to be closer than this” are powerful, and poignant, and remain in the brain after just two or three plays but are lacking, as if unfinished.  Meanwhile the backing although it fits perfectly seems more like soundtrack music.  A soundtrack for a love affair?  Maybe.  I think that is what The xx hope but it is too manufactured.    I kept being drawn in but never captured.  I don’t know whether the vocalising protagonists are in a relationship or merely in a band together.  This album, despite lyrically exploring the traumas and travails of love doesn’t offer any clues.  They act out their songs well but are they electronica’s Burton and Taylor or merely Terry and June.

I imagine the three parts of The xx got together to make a certain kind of record.  An album of songs based on the traumas and travails of romance.  Yet, instead of getting together to express themselves musically and lyrically they made an album they thought would impress and sell and then went home to listen to Metallica. 

Still, I don’t dislike this album.  It infuriates as much by what it doesn’t do as much as it animates me by what it does.  During the records best bits there is something special going on.  Half way through ‘Re-Union’ there’s a most affecting moment.  A sudden change in tempo.  The last minute and a half has a the sort of muted, muffled, bass thud, your ears try to damp down to protect your mind after you stumble into a club after a long night of excess. The female vocals “Did I see you, see me, in a new light,” complete the murky, seedy, abstracted scene.  The end of that track syncs perfectly into ‘Sunset’. The mood stays the same. The throbbing, out of it, sound competes but then compliments the words “I saw you again it was like we’d never met”.  And “when I look into your eyes I see no surprise.”  These five minutes are certainly a highlights of this album.  The rest is good but by no means essential and I’m not totally convinced.  Perhaps, by the time of their third album when xx have learned a few more tricks, maybe have a little more time and encouragement to work further on their tracks, and write a couple of choruses – just to prove they can - , then I might believe.

67/100

Dave C

Please keep in mind that all reviews are essentially about the reviewer and how the item being reviewed chimes with their world view. So if anything written here makes you want to kill me, don’t worry, it just means you’ve got soul but, to clumsily extend the killer motif, you’re not a soldier. (Unless of course you are a member of her majesty’s armed forces, in which case, in addition to the desire, you probably possess the necessary skills and equipment to kill, and can therefore leave the worrying to me)

Anyway,  Co-exist by The xx

I wish I could like this album more than I do. The eschewing of extraneous instrumentation; linear sketch-like guitar lines subtly, sharply picked but guitars seldom strummed; little respect for conventional song structure; interesting use of sound textures and space; deep, deep bass and changes of rhythm; the gentle enveloping of velveteen voices. There is much to admire about their methods and the production skill, but its flaws are big ones. The old line about “What you don’t play being as important as what you do” is wrong. The space simply gives focus to what you do play and sing and the less you play and sing the better it needs to be. Whilst much of what is here is interesting, ultimately it lacks a real soul. Indeed I’ve never experienced a sound more lacking in soul than the echoy beat on Swept Away and would have gladly sacrificed a kidney for it to be replaced by someone hitting two bits of wood together or kicking a roller shutter door (anything that somehow related to the human condition would do). The (mostly) single word titles suggest that the lyrics will offer small snapshots and outline sketches about the changing status of the relationships, but  the words are disappointingly wan and uninspired, an example of speaking of emotions rather than truly expressing them. A bit like the trained actor from the animated series “Monkey Dust” Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim rely on the sound of their voices, but actually fail to imbue them with real emotional depth or sincerity. Their voices are the antithesis of those like Bill Callahan, Lou Reed and Tom Waites. Perhaps they just haven’t lived enough yet or perhaps I’m too old, but it to me it remains an attractive, unusual bud unbloomed.

63/100

Rich C

Well I will start by saying I feel like I have lived and breathed this album over the last few weeks. I have played it lots, both as background listening while working, driving, doing other stuff etc and also a couple of serious "sit down and really concentrate" sessions.

This is kinda unusual for me as I always have a backlog of music to get through and hence tend to play things once and then move on, but this little album has really got under my skin, and deflected me from the pile of vinyl, CDs, downloads etc that are looking at me pleadingly.

When I first heard of the xx I was somewhat put off by the comparisons with some of the quiet post punk era stuff that lots of the reviews mentioned, in particular the Young Marble Giants references, a band I was a huge fan of back in the early 80s. I have mentioned before on this blog the problem I sometimes have with modern bands who seem to really "feel the weight" of the history of popular music that has gone before, and can't shake off their oh too obvious influences. I expected the xx to follow that trend and thus I ignored their first album completely.

I did, however, hear a track or 2 from this their latest release, while listening to Jo Wiley in the car about a month ago. And found myself intrigued. Hence why I chose it for the IRB album.

What I have found over the last few weeks is that it is an album that really needs to be played loud, and listened to with complete concentration. In doing that, I found I got immersed in the atmospherics, the pulse of the bass and drum machine, the haunting vocals, and those lyrics that implant themselves in your head. The occasions when I played it more as background listening, I found the album was over before I had barely noticed it, with the songs all blurring into a mush of sameness. 

"My heart is beating in a different way", " do you still believe in you and me?" - these are lyrics with a depth of emotion that can have a deep effect on the listener if you allow it to. But you do need to give it that time and effort or it can seem somewhat ephemeral and not a little annoying in its sameness of atmosphere throughout. In short, play it twice over the course of a weekend with the volume up and the head thinking of nothing else. And it will get to you.

So...I have just written a review explaining how to listen to Coexist without mentioning much about the music at all. I guess the other reviews may well do more of that. What I will say is it is clearly written and performed by some musicians who have a lot of original ideas about creating modern music about relationships, and have the technical capability to put it across. In that sense they are doing what the Young Marble Giants did, but in their own way. Well done to them.

70/100

Tony D

I've listened to the album 6 or 7 times now. Twice at the gym, once whilst on a bike ride,  once whilst out walking and at least 2 or 3 times other than that.

Well the one thing I can say is,  it's not a foot tapper!

From the opener "Angels" through to "our song" that closed this dreamy assault on my eardrums, songs seemed to want to get going at times (and god I was willing them to!) but never did. The start of "Fiction" reminded me of the siouxie and the banshees song "happy house". I had to play the start over and over to finally get what it was that it reminded me of. Then low and behold on track 4,  ("Try")  I was transported back to Adam and the Ants! 

"Ants invasion"  was the song in question from "kings of the wild frontier" album. A couple more pretty  nondescript songs followed. Track 7 "missing" probably does exactly that! It does remind me however of the Frankie goes to Hollywood song "power of love" in places.  The album finished in a whimper with "our song".

For me this was very hard work. I wanted to enjoy but found that I wasn't moved. It's an album that I probably won't listen to again unless under duress.

30/100

Andy D

The first time I realised I liked this album is when I was listening to something else. Walking home from licenced premises, I put my ipod on shuffle and trudged onwards. Halfway through the journey, Fiction came on, and I smiled to myself with the oddly happy sensation you hear the beginning of a song you know you’re going to enjoy listening to.

I wasn’t so sure at first. It was obviously clever. Its meticulous minimalism and discordancy were skilful, and the echoey way the duets sounded as they were sung by two people urgently seeking one another at opposite ends of a large, dark room were compelling. But does that make it any good?

Eventually yes, when I peered through the soundscape towards the lyrics: “the end comes to soon; like dreams of angels” in the lovelorn lamenting of Angels, and “it felt like you really knew me; now it feels like you see through me” in Sunset’s slightly embittered finale. My favourite was Chained’s “Did I hold you too tight? Did I not let enough light in?”

It wasn’t perfect. The steel drum sound of Reunion jarred, and just occasionally you felt it was being a little too clever for its own good. I particularly didn’t like Our Song, which ended the album disappointingly. However it stuck to its guns. Halfway through I was wondering when a change of speed or direction may appear – in fact, I probably hoped for one, to break it up a little. That it didn’t yield to that temptation was typical of an album that always seemed to know exactly what it wanted to do.

75/100

Well - all that gives The xx Coexist an average score of 62.5. 

Next month's album, chosen by Kev B, is the new Madness album Oui, Oui, Si, Si, Ja, Ja, Da, Da. Which is released on 29th October. Looking forward to it.

    

Not Appropriate

The perfect album for a sunny bank holiday Monday.

Blueboy/The Bank Of England

Their 3^rd and final album, on Shinkansen Recordings after Sarah Records had shut up shop. It is unusual for me to go back and find a band that I had either dismissed or not known about, discover their music and be so utterly bowled over by its brilliance. Certainly in the pop world this is unusual (jazz is a whole different story in that respect, and many a future feature on this blog should start to elaborate on that…). Most bands back then, (and “then” could be any time over the last 35 years), were dismissed for bloody good reasons; reasons which have generally speaking stood up to this day, although my recent Pet Shop Boys U-turn does give me cause for concern. And for me to miss them completely if they might possibly be “my thang” would be strange as I have always had friends, both real and virtual, pointing me at suitable stuff.

No, me and Blueboy not catching up with each other until around 20 years after they started out is a bit of a weird one. It probably has something to do with me being a bit sniffy about the whole C86/Indie (and thus eventually Sarah) thing, due to my belief that it was mostly a rip off of the Postcard Records bands but with only a fraction of the talent. At the latest count I was approximately 73.66% correct in that assumption. Which still leaves a helluva lot of good stuff (you do the math).

And Blueboy, if I haven’t made it obvious enough yet, were bloody brilliant. In fact after gradually purchasing and allowing myself to slowly enjoy their 3 albums over the last couple of years, I am of a mind that 1 or more of the 3 is really “up there”, amongst the best. Yes, the best.

I wrote a bit about the first album If Wishes Were Horses earlier this year, and while it would make sense to cover the 2^nd album Unisex next, I have gone for The Bank Of England as it is my latest favourite thing of all time despite only dropping through the letter box last week.

The reissue available via El/Cherry Red includes sleeve notes by Michael White (who is in the process of writing the Sarah Records book) which help enormously in catching up on the history of all this stuff. Essentially this album was released after a hiatus in the band’s career when the core song writing team of Keith Girdler (vocals) and Paul Stewart (guitar) changed line ups, briefly worked under the name Arabesque and then gradually became Blueboy again for one final album.

In short it captures for me everything that is great about the band. The gorgeous melodies, ethereal guitar playing and provocative lyrics of their earlier work still remain but are complemented by a harder edge to some songs that removes any potential for criticism along the lines of “too wimpy by half”. It is Paul Stewart’s guitar playing that makes the difference in this respect. On By Appointment, Jennifer Yeah! and Ask The Family, he actually rocks out to the extent of having yours truly air guitaring round the room like a right twat!

The “to-die-for” melodies are still there, don’t worry about that. The single Marco Polo (“climb the stairs, unwrap the moon”) is a pop classic that makes The Lotus Eaters sound like Motorhead (stick with me on this); Chadwick is an acoustic ballad that reminds one of The Beautiful South’s Rotterdam at first but is actually miles better; Disco Bunny, with Cath Close singing lead , and the delightfully named Bradford, Texas, again hit the mark as ballads of some distinction.

I haven’t even touched on Keith Girdler’s lyrics, as to go into them in detail would take longer than the time I have right now, plus I don’t feel I have listened enough to critique them adequately yet.  Suffice to say there really is so much quality and depth here. See this from Ask The Family:-

“jamie sits in khaki clothes all buckles and bows romantique/ and he writes prose but no one knows 'cause they're locked in a secret tin/ he just wants to be needed to be understood maybe fake some enjoyment”

I really can’t understand why Blueboy’s work was not more widely feted back then. But then I guess I ignored them, so can’t really complain about most everybody else doing the same. The fact is, good people, we missed something special. Really, really fucking special. Do what I have done, and rectify this huge omission in your musical life.

You can catch up with this classic work here - Blueboy – The Bank Of England or here Amazon link

PS If you come across an artist called The Blue Boy - please don't be confused. They/it are nothing to do with these wonderful people (as Michael White's sleeve notes humorously refer!)

Where Am I?

You know that great idea I had at the beginning of the year? To be really sensible and structured in my music listening? 5 albums a week, blah, blah, blah...well I can't be bothered anymore to be honest. Mainly because I have decided I rather enjoy drowning in a sea of 12", 10", 7" vinyl, CDs, cassettes, mp3s and streaming. (I guess only the latter fits with the "drowning" metaphor, but anyway...).

So for the latter two thirds of the year The Truth Is Discovered will be a more laidback and kinda random affair, posting up stuff about whatever music tickles ones fancy and photos of lovely things. Like these, a couple of one's recent vinyl purchases.

TTID might even be arsed to write a bit about them as well at some point. But right now a bag of mini-eggs is all that one really cares about. Toodle pip.

Let's Off-Road - Part 4.

There was a point yesterday when I thought to myself "things don't get much better than this". It was a combination of:-
Seeing my favourite footballer scoring a goal.
Catching my favourite band playing in a church.
Meeting up with friends new and old.
And eating toast.

The Daintees arrived in Brighton after a reportedly very well attended London gig the night before. The "buzz" around this tour has been something very special and surely must have exceeded everyones expectations. It does leave one wondering "what next?" More of the same with this band gelling so well must happen at some point, but would we be hugely surprised if Martin threw in a career spannering alt.country/death metal crossover album? Errr no.

In St Georges church, Helen kicked off with her regular set, and it was apparent that Helen's voice has changed during the week. She was reaching the higher notes with complete ease and no sign of strain whatsoever. Afterwards, admitting that she was really tired, made me wonder if the body reacts in some way in such situations so as to concentrate itself on the bits it really needs to i.e. for a singer, her "voice". I wonder if this is usual in some kind of "road hardening" way. In short, her set was effortless and went down a storm. Helen's daughter in the audience, I'm sure, must have been very proud.

And then, Martin Stephenson And The Daintees. In summary, for me, the best performance of the three I have seen this week. Boat To Bolivia was played in its entirety, and played pretty straight in the main. The remainder of the set list was very similar to the earlier gigs plus we got to hear Left Us To Burn and Neon Skies. The latter, an absolute stormer. Oh and a cheeky little run through of the Maverick Waltz that seemed to take everyone except Martin by surprise. Martin's banter was very sharp, very focussed, and frequently very moving.

The sound was also the best of the gigs this week. Which, I guess, shouldn't be a surprise on the one hand given the natural acoustic properties of churches, but at the same time they are not used to rock bands making the sounds, so much kudos to the sound engineer. It did enable the audience to hear John Steel's guitar more clearly than the earlier gigs, and it was a delight to hear the subtleties of this great musician's playing. And Lou Short on bass. What a star. He absolutely nailed the job and his smile was Dainteely infectious.

But when I say the word star, clearly I am misleading you, dear blog reader. That accolade goes without doubt to The Daintees new 10 year old rhythm guitarist Alex. He was handed a guitar by Martin for Wholly Humble Heart and boy did he have the looks, the action, the whole geetar thing going on. Alex was to return to the stage again, triumphantly, to take part in the closing song Salutation Road, complete with longest, most elaborate audience walkabout of the tour.

Just look at drummer Kate's face on that photo. Sums up the whole week for me.

In conclusion. Daintees. "We want more".

Earlier in the day we had seen Hull City draw 1-1 at Watford. A frustrating performance, but we did see the mighty fine James Chester score a goal. From a corner. This, I have to tell you, is as rare as a Chefs single.

So TTID completes its tour of the b-roads and c-roads of music, with a very subtle and, I'm sure you will agree, totally unforced comparison with the finest football team the world has ever seen. We are officially knackered and if anyone is expecting a detailed review of the music listed a couple of weeks back - tough! Back in a week.

Oh sorry, final score? City stay in the Championship; Daintees go through to meet Barcelona in the Champions League final. Iniesta or Steel - whaddya reckon?

Let's Off-Road - Part 3.

And so to the Salford Lowry. Crikey - where to begin?

Compared to Gateshead, the set list had a good game, in that the whole of the Boat To Bolivia album was actually played this time (according to John Steel, Martin had simply "forgotten" to play Running Water and Look Down, Look Down on Saturday night). Not in the original running order of course, that would be almost normal. In addition we heard Nancy, Slaughterman, Tremelo Men, Wholly Humble Heart, Me & Mathew, Home and Salutation Road (more on most of these later).

The social networking sites were on fire in the build up to this one, mostly due to the impending attendance at the gig of several of my family members and a number of hard core Martin Stephenson e-groupers. There was also a rumour that this lovely lady was a fan and might turn up...

...and as you can see, she did. She being actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, famous for her role as Coronation Street character Hayley Cropper.

The evening started (once pizza and beers had been consumed), with a brief set from singer-songwriter Eliza P, and a slightly longer one from Helen McCookerybook, setting the tone perfectly for the gig ahead.

Commencing with one of the great album openers Crocodile Cryer, (the attention to detail re the running order only starting to go pear-shaped later on), something seemed slightly amiss with the sound compared to Gateshead. Each instrument and Martin's voice were all crystal clear but somehow they didn't mix together properly, hence the result was a little clinical for the first three songs (through Coleen and Little Red Bottle). Also Martin seemed a little less than comfortable on the stage, unusually for him. This fan having seen him adapt to a wide variety of live environments over the years. However after a brief walkabout interlude to Tribute To The Late Rev Gary Davis, an absolutely belting version of A Piece Of The Cake, dedicated to Roddy Frame, seemed to coincide with Martin and the band relaxing and the various disparate elements of the sound clicking into place, and from here on in it was upwards and onwards.

Caroline, preceded by a story setting the context for this highly emotional song, and Slow Lovin', were the standouts from the remainder of the album, and the initial intensity reached a peak with Running Water and Look Down, Look Down, played back to back.

A word at this point for drummer Kate Stephenson. Now, it shouldn't be, but somehow it is, really difficult not to sound like a right sexist twat when talking about a female drummer. You know, "the lass can actually keep time and hit those big horrible animal skins as well as a bloke" blah, blah, blah. So hopefully with that out of the way I can make myself clear...the energy levels Kate drives the band to throughout the fast paced numbers is phenomenal, but equally wonderful is her sensitivity during the slower, quieter songs and, most importantly, she has her eyes fixed to Martin's body language to pick up on the slightest changes to tempo, volume, stops/starts etc. I really hope Kate and partner John continue their roles in the Daintees for many years to come. Their contributions to California Star have already been alluded to on this blog, but no harm in repeating that one. An excellent album by any measure.

So after a lovely story about his maternal Grandad, Mathew Carlton, Martin and the band pressed on with Me & Mathew, a vibrant Wholly Humble Heart, and a solo version of Home dedicated to Martin's late Mum, Frances. That album review (actually for the 2nd album Gladsome, Humour And Blue) by Len Brown of the NME all those years ago, really did nail it - "he...builds bridges between love and hate, between cradle and grave, between folk and pop, between the past and the present". At a time when writing about one's family history wasn't deemed to be particularly cool, Martin did just that, and thankfully he still is, putting a lot of things into perspective for an audience of 40 and 50-somethings, many of whom are rediscovering this wonderful music for the first time in nigh on a quarter of a century.

That is one thing that is making this Daintees tour more special than ever; the higher profile brought about by linking in with a major promoter for the first time in 20 years doesn't so far appear to have any down-side to it. The bigger venues are pulling in the forgotten fans as well as the die-hards, and hopefully this means Martin and the band will get something close to their fair share of the attention and plaudits "we" all know they deserve, without any of the horrible business elements in this most horrible of industries, ruining things.

Before we knew it the best part of two hours had passed and Martin and the band, supplemented by the Girl Power of Helen and Eliza, took off on the customary walkabout to Salutation Road, finishing up in the bar and very naturally just slipping into relaxed conversations, photos and such-like with the fans. That complete lack of "we are the stars, you are the audience" is a truly great and unique thing about these people. They love the playing and they love the people they play to.

Oh and that daft Daintees v Hull City thing? 2-1 to the behatted one and his gang.

We roll on to Watford and Brighton on Saturday. If everything goes according to plan then expect a rather emotional Part 4, sometime very late on Sunday.

Let's Off-Road - Part 2.

Hull City 2 Middlesbrough 1. A storming 2nd half come back from the Tigers saw them snatch victory from the jaws of a 6th successive defeat. A truly classic goal from Josh King and an 88th minute winner from Matty Fryatt sent us home soaking wet in the rain, but singing.

Daintees 1 Tigers 1. Roll on Wednesday and the Salford Lowry.

Let's Off-Road - Part 1.

The Truth Is Discovered is allowing itself to veer off its original agenda somewhat for a week, as it focuses on a short tour by one of our favourite bands, Martin Stephenson And The Daintees.

For a deeper understanding of our obsession  errm I mean love in this regard please check this out. 

And please humour us as we also take some time out to discuss in parallel, in a rather forced pretence that it is some sort of a contest between Daintees and Tigers, the recent fortunes of TTID's other love - Hull City. I think it is fair to say that the week will feature some "mixed" results.

So...we headed off up to the North East - specifically Gateshead as The Daintees readied themselves to play the 2nd gig of the tour (after a reported stormer at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow the previous night) at the very nicely appointed Sage.

After an afternoon spent nervously mooching around the Metro Centre with furtive glances to phone to check the Tigers' starting line-up away at Millwall, and progress throughout the 90 mins (more of which later); pre-gig drinks and meet ups with old friends were the order of the evening. A final glance at the merchandise stall and we were in our seats to listen to support act Helen McCookerybook (yes, she of The Chefs and Helen And The Horns fame).

Helen played a lovely 30 minute set of songs from her solo albums and a new one, Mr & Mrs Songsmith, from her recent collaboration with Martin, Cafe Of Tiny Kindnesses.

And then Martin and The Daintees hit the stage, in a riot of denim, cowboy shirts and Geordie jocularity, diving straight into a luscious version of Crocodile Cryer. You see the tour is in theory meant to involve them playing classic 1986 debut album Boat To Bolivia in its entirety for the first half, and then songs from later albums including the latest California Star etc. However TTID has a theory that it is impossible for Martin to play the same set twice, no matter what, as his need to go with his creative flow always overrides such petty pre-planned directives. TTID was right.

But, before we get into the gig in detail let's take a step back and look at this 2012 Daintees line-up. Firstly, John Steel on guitar, pedal steel and harmonica, and in many ways the star of the Boat To Bolivia album back in the day. John left The Daintees in 1986 and "went missing" for around two decades before re-connecting with Martin again after some amazing chance encounters. John is a great musician and is the driving force behind California Star. And he wore the best shirt ever. On drums, is John's partner Kate Stephenson (no relation, err to Martin). And on bass Lou Short, a collaborator with Martin since the late 90's. As anyone knows, the greatness of a Daintees line-up can be measured by how much they smile at each other during the gig. Daintees 2012 are like Cheshire cats.

So on they went as Coleen followed Crocodile Cryer, with Martin on top story telling form. A quite ridiculously storming Little Red Bottle led into the first off-stage action of the evening as the band followed Martin through an audience walkabout to the picking of Tribute To The Late Rev. Gary Davis, which was reprised on the instructions of a young boy in the audience who shouted "again!". Indie-pop classic A Piece Of The Cake was next, then Candle In The Middle with John on a pedal steel specially brought in for this song, through Slow Lovin', Caroline, Rain (played solo with every light in the room switched off) and the title track; the latter featuring a rap exulting the brilliance of fellow Kitchenware band Hurrah!

There was no break as Martin led the band away from the planned list (no Running Water or Look Down) and into Me & Mathew, Nancy, Slaughterman, Wholly Humble Heart, the very early instrumental Tremelo Men, a solo Charlie Poole song Hungry Hash House and Cab Attack (for Andy Semple). The audience loved every bit of it, the stories were being told in an increasingly strong North East accent (that's what being on home turf does to you I guess), and we finished up with Martin's old friend Shippy on stage playing along to Salutation Road and then he and Helen joining in with...another audience walkabout that eventually saw them disappear out of the venue and...despite several minutes worth of loud applause and calls for more...the house lights came up and the gig was, rather suddenly, over. One can only assume the venue jobsworths either weren't keen on this off stage malarkey and/or time was, pretty much, up.

In conclusion, a fantastic, joyous gig, to a sell out audience, many of whom seemed not to have caught up with Martin for many years. One of the benefits of this tour being a high profile promotion, for once.

The band and crew moved on to Leeds (last night) and then it's Liverpool on Tuesday. TTID will be catching up with them again at the Salford Lowry on Wednesday. We expect some of Boat To Bolivia will feature, but who knows in what order and what else? We wouldn't want it any other way.

Oh and Hull City? Got beat 0-2, in an insipid performance at the New Den. They are at home to Middlebrough later today, bidding to stop an end of season decline that has seen them lose the last five games on the trot.

As we type, Daintees 1, Tigers 0.

Week 14/15

Ok so the latest 5 albums will take a couple of weeks to be inwardly digested. Mainly because I can't see me getting much time to to do the writing. Not much work, much travelling, much Hull City watching, and lots of gig attendance will mean plenty of listening opportunities, but getting the chance to turn it all into some allegedly sensible wordage will take longer than usual...

Martin Stephenson & The Daintees/California Star (last12mths)
Kevin Coyne/Millionaires And Teddy Bears
The Portico Quartet/The Portico Quartet (new2me)
King Creosote & John Hopkins/Diamond Mine (last12mths)
Happy Mondays/...their 12" singles...

The latest album from an all time favourite; a 1978 album from an underappreciated legend; a new weirdy jazz thing; one of the "best of 2011" listers; and a bit of a diversion as I dig into the Mondays' singles. Lotsa fun to be had.

Back in a fortnight...