Music

“I needed this.”

Good news that is. A poopy 6 months, and a terrible daytime on Friday 22nd March 2013, meant my evening was most likely going to be balls. It was, but with the announcement of the new Queens album (and snippets in tow), meant the edge was fortunately taken off.

Since the last Queens album (Era Vulgaris), numerous bands have taken to the magical flow under my musical bridge. Balthazar, Ane Brun, Olafur Arnalds, Big Boy Bloater, Gabby Young and Other Animals, Black River Wild, Mackley Drive, The Ends, have all tickled my whistle. The key question was could Queens regain my full love and attention?

It wasn’t really a question, my love for Queens still grows strong and will continue to grow based around their 3 amazing albums, 2 good albums, numerous great b-sides, bombastic live performances and my man crush on Josh Homme.

So what about the new album, 5 years since the last? I’m certain it will be an amazing release. And here’s proof why the album will be great:

1. You see that logo on the right hand side? It uses the Borntohula blue, which completely means that they’ve seen MY SITE, taken MY FEEDBACK and produced an album solely BASED AROUND ME. Perfection.
2. Elton John, Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl, Mark Lanegan, Nick Oliveri and Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters) appear on the album playing instruments that they don’t know how to play.
3. It’s by Queens of the Frikkin Stone Age

Now you may think those arguments are weak. Well, they are ill thought out and have very little weight BUT I’m pretty certain that blue colour makes everything true.

Back to the album snippets plonked onto the official website, I’ve managed to get some inside information about the titles.

1. Snippet 1: Space Books
   Sounds Like: Ooooooooouuuuhhhhhh!
2. Snippet 2: Bear Grinder
   Sounds Like: Era Vulgaris with more booze
3. Snippet 3: Twisted Glow
   Sounds Like: The D
4. Snippet 4: Cobblestoned
   Sounds Like: Spiders and Vinegaroons
5. Snippet 5: A Stitch In Time, Makes Dave Grohls Pants
   Sounds Like: A new wave of Headaches
6. Snippet 6: Rickshaw
   Sounds Like: Rickshaw
7. Snippet 7: Robot Sexx
   Sounds Like: Your Kitchen When You’re Not There

I hope you’ve found this QOTSA information completely useless, and use it to its maximum potential. Good night!

Pre-gig Thoughts

Since the release of Night On My Side, I’ve had a major crush on Gemma Hayes (GH). A combination of her elfen looks (non LOTR-related), pure clean voice with a wicked tongue, may have just stolen my heart. #endcreepiness

If you remove my undulated love for GH, her back catalogue is a bit of an acquired taste. It follows a set folk/pop structure, that you’ll either tire of, or happily add into your collection. Strangely, I really enjoy a couple of her covers (and as you know covers ain’t my style and ting), especially Cloudbusting. A good starting point for everyone will be Back of My Hand (from Night On My Side), and her latest single Keep Running.

My expectations before the gig? High. I’d never seen Gemma Hayes live. Yes, you’d think by now I’d be stalking, and living in her house wall insulation, but she’s been Hanging Around in Los Angeles and Ireland for the last few years. Let the glorious stalking commence!

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Pre-gig Thoughts

Michael Kiwanuka is a firm favourite on the ‘Sound of 2012′ lists, including mine and some other people called the BBC (though their list is a bit s**t, I may add). My reason being a performance on Jools Holland that managed to spike my interest, and the hope of him opening the door for more soul acts. A good vocal, with some breezy/summery songs, was a welcome sound from a prospective mainstream act. Though the EPs hadn’t blown me away, there was enough in the tank to warrant seeing him live.

The tickets were a ‘joint’ purchase at Christmas time. A ‘joint’ purchase in my book means buying one ticket as a gift, and the other for myself (along with a ticket for Lianne La Havas at the Scala – review coming (at this rate) in early 2013).

My expectations before the gig? Low/Neutral. With there being a lot of hype from mainstream sources, I always set my expectation phaser to low to avoid disappointment. A lot of hyped stuff ends up being paper thin guff, but I’d be surprised if this was the case with MK. …continue reading »