Jonny Greenwood/Can - Norwegian Wood
OST (Nonesuch )
THE RADIOHEAD guitarist has branched out considerably here, composing music for string quartet and orchestra, for this Japanese film.
Greenwood’s compositions are performed by The Emperor Quartet and The BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Robert Ziegler. Three tracks from seventies’ German avant-garde rock band Can are also included.
Soundtracks often do not work in isolation of the images they were composed to complement, but Norwegian Wood can stand as a separate work in its own right.
This is an inspired and captivating album. Greenwood’s compositions are by turns haunting and atmospheric, with those performed by The Emperor Quartet the most affecting.
The Can tracks are sequenced brilliantly so that they sound comfortable among the orchestral pieces (they are also a good introduction to this most important of bands ).
Greenwood makes small nods to his Radiohead style with some pieces for guitar, one of which would not have sounded out of place on Amnesiac.
Peter Bjorn and John - Gimmie Some
(Cooking Vinyl/PB and J Recordings )
SWEDEN’S PETER Bjorn and John never exactly do the same thing twice. Remember how they followed up breakthrough album Writers Block with the avant-garde Seaside Rock?
That brilliant curveball was followed by the more stripped down indie pop of Living Thing, but that was a laregely uninspired album.Gimmie Some, although recognisably PB&J, finds them souding altogether fresher and a lot tougher.
It begins with a repeated guitar note, thumping drums, call and response vocals, and faux-Japanese melodies on ‘Tomorrow Has To Wait’. It’s a terrific opener, and one of the trio’s best songs.
It closes with the brilliant Krautrock of ‘I Know You Don’t Love Me’ and strongly hints that NEU ‘75 has been a big influence. In-between there are some cracking pop tunes, such as the Afrobeat shuffle of ‘Dig A Little Deeper’, the pop-punk of ‘(Don’t Let Them ) Cool Off’, and the brilliant ‘Down Like Me’ held together by a simple, but massive, guitar riff fit for stadiums.
Being PB&J, there is always filler, but Gimmie Some is arguably their finest album to date, with plenty of catchy, quirky, and clever pop to enjoy.
Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High EP (Sub Pop )
DUM DUM Girls’ debut album I Will Be was a brilliant mix of punk, indie, and sixties girl group, but all that buzz and echo made it sound as if it was recorded inside a tin can.
The four-track He Gets Me High has benefited from a much higher standard of recording and production, giving it a brighter and clearer sound.
The title track opens with brilliantly squelchly guitar noises, and takes things in a more indie/alternative direction rather then the punk sound of the debut. It also benefits from a great vocal performance by band leader Dee Dee, which sweeps the listener along.
‘Take Care Of My Baby’ harkens back to I Will Be’s girl-group styled ballads, depicting a woman who still cares deeply, if obsessively, for the man who has left her: “Take care of my baby/I don’t think he can do it himself.”
Closing with a version of The Smiths’ ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ is brave considering how sacrosanct this song is. Purists will (as always ) get in a snot about it, but as a Smiths fan of 20 years standing, I have no complaints and find Dee Dee’s post-punk take on the song sensitively done.
