So for the first time this year the Fighting Boredom singles reviews from the pub are back. We get sent and discover for ourselves an inordinate amount of music and what better way to listen to it than over a couple of pints of beer in the local brewery. Pull up a chair and join in, have a listen and read what we thought and then start an argument. Is the Photographer right? Am I wrong? Should we invite guest reviewers back again? What do you think? Anyway, here’s the songs and feelings of Fighting Boredom this time around.
sunn o))) – Glory Black
This all depends on volume, it’s relaxing and calming when it is quiet and massively blanking out everything else when played at the correct volume. I use it to treat anxiety. Although a whole gig triggered PTSD for a week. The piano bit is new.. Feels like someone’s sneaked into the studio and had a laugh while they were drinking tea in the booth. The Photographer says is standard Sun (((O))) fare except for the piano in the middle which was unnecessary.
Converge – We Were Never The Same
Very nice chunky guitars and bass, very crashy drums and shouty higher pitched vocal, pretty metal and alright for what it is. The photographer says that it’s alright actually, standard shouty noisy stuff and above average, never going to be great as its not my bag and I’ve heard a lot worse in the pub with you.
dälek – Better Than
Very nice, very dark dense hip hop, excellent. The Photographer says that it’s really dark, sample heavy, well produced and to be honest I would highly recommend going through their back catalogue.
Apparat – Hum Of Maybe
I have no idea what’s going on, shuffling, sparking music and a weird vocal, given that I think it’s great stuff. The Photographer agrees, it’s odd and I didn’t really work out what was going on, it gets better towards the end and would have been ever better without a vocal.
Powerplant – Bridge of Sacrifice
Imagine for a moment that The Darkness and Captain Jack Sparrow had an illegitimate kid who likes bombast, Metal, thundering sounds and lots more bombast, then this is what you’d get. Although, just when you think it’s over they cut in some ace punk guitar, vocals and drums.. still, too little too late. The Photographer says it’s another growly shouter, it’s like drunken death heads but more drunk than musical.
Endlec – Portal One
This is fucking great. Clears the sinuses nicely and there’s no need to think while it’s playing. The Photographer says that it’s circular ringing techno that goes on and on and on.
Odezenne, Yann Tierson – Harmony
Well, this one has beautifully sounding French spoken word over and around weird electronics, I mean it could be a shopping list for all I know but the overriding feeling is of cool electronic grooviness, then you get beats synths and singing, also in French, the whole thing is really laid back and cool, one to wear sunglasses too. Then it goes all lovely and shimmery for a bit too with almost robot voice, static then shifts again. I like this a lot. The Photographer says it’s French, I don’t understand it which makes it a bit pointless for quite a while and when it does get going its a sea of noise and synths.
RY-GUY – Dunja
An off centre indie groove with a lazy spoken stream of consciousness, it’s okay but not really my thing. And it’s too long. The Photographer says it’s just like an off kilter guitar based thing that’s not very interesting with a jarring voice.
The Volcanics – Charlie Horse
Here you go, twangy trebley surfing guitar goodness, you probably get your daily dose of vitamin d just by listening to this grooviness, Hi-Tide strike again! The Photographer says it’s oookkkaaaayyy surf music not great surf music.
Middleman – Carry The Lie
A nice fuzzy grungy groove with a nasty feel. Dense and cool, and a strained vocal that fits well. The Photographer says it sounds like an eighties indie Elastica type band, it’s alright.. not too shabby.
James Adrian Brown – Generator
Lots of scratchy skittering electronics and sounds, it’s quite interesting and would fit nicely into Supersonic Festival’s lineup, intellectual and probably too clever for its own good but I do like it, it goes on a bit though. The Photographer says I like the start, then about half way through it runs out of ideas and throws everything at the wall and I lose interest.
Scattered Purgatory, Dotzio – Moonquake
Not what I expected from the band name, this is grown up structured electronics and a gentle voice telling a story with talk and singing, sparkly and bright, a good track although again, it’s too long. The Photographer says it’s got broken jagged beats with a nice ethereal beat although it just went on a bit, I think it should have been three minutes long at the most.
Signal 72 – Phase Shift
This is nice decent groovy squelchy electro, feels like being knee deep in swamp water dancing. The Photographer says it’s slow rolling electro and then a break where it kicks in, It’s alright.
Barry Adamson – Scala Cats
Far cooler than anything else on this playlist. A short jazz soundtrack snippet that is bloody ace. The Photographer says that it’s movie interlude music, it’s great it, just does what it says on the tin.
Love Ghost – Vengeance
A slice of Industrial metal that has been produced to a shining chromium finish, not for me. The Photographer says that it’s fantastically over produced for people that think they like metal… but don’t.
Dog Chocolate – Green Stuff
Dog Chocolate give us a quirky, beepy and guitary track, then turn thrashy with a straightforward Northern vocal, it’s decent lo-fi punk, short and the end is suitably odd. The Photographer says that it’s got that Half Man Half Biscuit vibe and a great name for a band.
SVK – Subsonic
This one’s electro, music for robots, imagine for a moment that Daft Punk made music you’d want to listen to and then you find this! Ace, and it doesn’t change much for five minutes. The Photographer says it’s got a great beat and it’s electro. What more do you want? I might play this one on one of our Fighting Boredom nights
Blackwater Holylight – Bodies
A suitably heavy, fuzzed out and dragged into the mud guitar based groove then soft beautiful female vocal over it. It’s not shoegaze, it’s far better than that. The Photographer says I like the bits in the middle, but they lose the heaviness when she sings, I don’t like it, bit dreary.
Joanna, Ddwy Remix – Gardeners World
It starts with swirly whirly synths then a beat and a very high vocal, it’s very Happy Monday, I like this a lot, am I allowed to say ‘indie dance’ anymore?? The Photographer says it’s like a Martin Hannett mix of some Manchester band from the nineties, its okay if you like that sort of thing, Cap wouldn’t have played it.
Benales – Viscous
Techno, minimal, repetitive and it’s just ace. On and on and on and on. The Photographer says it starts off like this and finishes like this and it’s one of the ones that keeps them on the dancefloor.
Myrkur – Touch My Love And Die
Viking folk/pop? Lovely voice and enough atmosphere to sustain life on Mars. Epic and great, I like it. The Photographer says Do you?????? I don’t get it.
Sugar – Long Live Love
I don’t know why Bob’s brought back Sugar, I don’t care why he’s brought back Sugar, it’s Bob Fucking Mould dude. We like Bob, this is Bob and we like it. The Photographer says it’s Bob, it would get single of the week but…
We both agree that everybody loves Bob
Gyda Valtysdottir – Checking In
The second bonkers Viking track of the evening, breathy and lost to start, skittering liquid beats and to be honest not much more but I bet the album’s worth a listen. The Photographer looks puzzled. He says I dunno, can’t decide.
Umwelt – Echoes Of A Broken Future
Electro again, 2 minutes of off centre beeps and static and beats then drones, synths and suffocating waves that drown it all out and then it alternates between the two for the rest of the song – I like it. The Photographer says dark electro beats, I chose this one deal with it.
Mandy, Indiana – Cursive
You get drums then african tinged beats and percussion, synths and a whisper. This is brilliant. Then singing over an electro groove, French vocals out on the edge. What an ace track. The Photographer says single of the week, mad as a box of frogs.
So that’s it this time. Single of the week goes to the brilliant Mandy, Indiana closely followed by the return of Sugar. So have a listen, tell us what you liked and what you didn’t, tell us what we were wrong about and for a bonus point see if you can guess the tracks the Photographer chose…
Here’s the full playlist
Words by Martin Ward and Adrian Bloxham, beer from the Twisted Barrell Taphouse Coventry.
If you would like to be part of a drunken musical free for all you know what to do…
