Thursday, June 27, 2013

Four Short Record Reviews

Josephine Foster Blood Rushing (2012)
Laurel Halo Quarantine (2012)
The Raincoats Odyshape (1981)
Dirty Three Horse Stories (1996)

What do we have hear? Why it is four albums that a friend whose name I cannot reveal gave to my beloved and me as CD-Rs for Christmas. The Laurel Halo record was the Wire's number one album for last year. It features electronic stuff and vocals. I have given it a few listens but I do not really understand what it is about it that some people like so much - to me it seems pretty non-descript and unengaging. The Raincoats album has not captured my imagination either, though I seem to recall that it does not sound like the godawful shite I feared hearing after their uninspiring ATP set. The Dirty Three record has not made too much of an impact on me either - I am sure it is pretty good but I do have a lot of other records to listen to and seem also to have picked up a load of Dirty Three records (er, three) recently, so they all blur into each other. Also, for all that I love the Dirty Three, for me they are primarily a live band.

So that leaves Josephine Foster. As you know, I saw her at Hunters Moon last year… or would know if I had reviewed that awesome festival. She is an American woman who sings in something approximating to a neo-folkie style. Her voice is very expressive but also somewhat mannered. One thing that really strike me about her is that she comes across as like a weird combination of an outsider weirdo artist and an insider artist making very carefully fashioned music. By which I mean that there is a clear craft to what she does, but there is also a slight oddness to it too. That might come from the effect of seeing her live. Anyway, this one is a hit to me and I look forward to spending actual money on Josephine Foster product.

As noted above, I have let the side down by failing to review the 2012 Hunters Moon festival, but they have revealed on Facebook that they are putting on another one this year. You should go.
Four Pandas

An inuit panda production

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