Sleeping Dog is the recording name of Belgium’s Chantal Acda, whose second album ‘Polar Life’ is released through Leeds-based Gizeh Records. Opening song ‘Prophets’ sets the scene for those which follow; its breathtakingly delicate vocals almost whispered over a sparse piano accompaniment with hints of xylophone. ‘Your Eyes’, shows a similar approach, with its evocative piano throughout. Lyrically, Acda is inspired by nature: “We walked through fields of wild flowers”. And according to her press notes, the climate and landscape of Iceland have been a starting point for her work, and with her template of crystal-clear vocals overlaid onto a shimmering backdrop, this inspiration really comes across; you can genuinely imagine this album as the soundtrack to a road trip through some volcanic landscape.

The title track ‘Polar Life’ has a distinctive, dreamy melody; however, the highlight of the album is unquestionably ‘The Sun Sinks in the Sea’. With its melancholic piano chords, it’s a truly affecting track, and it comes as no surprise to learn that it was inspired by Icelandic poetry. ‘Sunshine Delight’ is a track so delicate it makes you feel almost protective towards it, and ‘When it Lies is all breezy gorgeousness.

The closing song is a cover of ‘If Only’ by Sophia, a song which Acda claims as her own. And this really is the key to the album’s success: it feels as if Acda is an artist with a clear vision of what she wants to achieve. However, she is also unafraid to collaborate, and the album also features Adam Wiltzie from Stars of the Lid and Rickard Knox of Gizeh labelmates Glissando. There are some similarities with the latter, for example, in the way both bands have an intensity at their core, achieved more through simplification than elaboration. It is only towards the end of ‘Polar Life’, for instance, that you realise there has been almost no percussion throughout. 

Overall, this is an album of rare beauty that offers a real balm for the soul.

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Dir en grey have probably garnered a larger international audience than any of their fellow country men of the so-called j-rock revolution, much due to the very western edge their more recent efforts have been graced with. While their visuals have always incorporated grotesque and often vile imagery it wasn’t really until 2003’s “Vulgar” when their really extreme persona came to light in the music, in which the band painted their sound with plenty of screaming and distorted guitars rather than the poppier efforts of their past. The band also changed their look accordingly, shying away from the flamboyancy into a clearly more western-influenced style.

This all culminated in last year’s ‘The Marrow Of A Bone’ which was without a doubt the band’s heaviest album to date. Focusing almost entirely on their most extreme side the album was almost physically straining to listen to in anything but short bursts and suffered from a noticable lack of depth and diversity.

With this in mind it was forgivable to have low expectations for the band’s latest release ‘Uroboros’, but it turns out the name is strikingly accurate (Ouroboros being the mythological snake which eats itself, signifying endlessness and ending up where you began) in that this could be the band’s most accomplished effort to date.

I think I can safely call this album truly eclectic, without coming across as too much of a music journalist twat. If there is one thing that has always been Grey’s primary sign it’s their ability to leap between sounds and genres almost without pausing. One second you’ll listen to what sounds like an upbeat pop-track and the next it will plunge itself into an unrelenting darkness with devilish shouting and blasting, hellish riffs before turning into a soaring ballad. While they haven’t always managed to pull this off without coming across as needlessly schizophrenic, many songs on ‘Uroboros’ are textbook examples of when it’s done right.

Before the album’s release a japanese reviewer commented on the sound as “if Thom Yorke made metal” and it’s hard not to see his point. ‘Vinushka” is a nearly ten minute long beasts which transfigures endlessly during it’s course and sets the mood for the remainder of the album. The band constantly throws you off once you feel you have a firm hold of the music and will throw you, without warning, into a new atmosphere and soundscape. In short; it never bores you.

Luckily the songwriting itself hasn’t suffered. I am inclined to say this is the most solid collection of songs the band has yet to produce. While there is a clear lack of potential superhits, we’re given excellent numbers like the soaring ‘Glass Skin’ to the bonebreaking ‘Red Soil’. A personal favourite is the slighty stoner-sounding ‘Toguro’ and the absolutely phenomenal ‘Vinushka’ which is a great example not just of the band’s diversity but also of singer Kyo’s massive range. More often than not he will use up to four or five different voices per song, making him come across as a demonic entity simontaneously possessing half a dozen different singers at once.

It’s always great when old favourite rise to the occasion and surprise you just when you began counting them out. ‘Uroboros’ is not only a stark reminder that Dir en grey are one of the most interesting metal bands in the world now, but also the band’s best work so far. It is absolutely essential listening for anybody with even the slightest shard of metal in them.

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Reacting to the instantly critical world of the internet, the band did insert a few hits into their second set the following night, but not enough to stop members of the crowd shouting abuse. Frontman Billy Corgan chose the strange option of inviting an audience member on stage to discuss his criticisms. Once on stage, the fan shouted at Corgan: “Last night’s show sucked!” The frontman replied: “Would you like your money back?” before the pair moved away from the microphone to discuss the matter more privately.

Seemingly placated, the fan left the stage, at which point Corgan returned to the mic and, adopting a mocking tone, said: “By the way, I liked that song you wrote. What was it called? ‘Take Your Dick Out of My Ass And Stick It In My Mouth?’ That was a big hit in Europe”.

As I said, the shows don’t seem to have gone very well. And you wonder why I’m always saying that bands shouldn’t reform.

UnLimited/CMU / www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk

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As previously, endlessly, tiresomely reported, the aforementioned Page, Jones and Bonham are all up for a big tour with a replacement for Robert Plant - though it’s not 100% clear if they’d use the Led Zepp name. But Plant’s spokesperson says this: “Whatever this is, it is not Led Zeppelin. Not without the involvement of Robert Plant”.

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He added that he thinks those “haters” are just following a great British tradition of slagging people off when they become successful. He continued: “I’ve spoken to superstars in many different fields - art, music, film - and what they’ve all said to me is: ‘Hello, this is the famous English backlash’. All I want to do is give the fans a great album. What we’ve recorded is an honest album with no preconceptions. I believe it will resonate in time”.

That said, he did once write the lyric, “I met a girl, she asked me my name, I told her what it was”, so he probably should take some of the blame for the band’s previous bad reviews, even if he’s made up for it on this new album.

But whether or not it’s people’s dislike for his lyrics, his success or his personality, if it’s him that’s holding the band back from further success, shouldn’t he just quit the band and go solo? Apparently he doesn’t agree, though. Asked if rumours that he is going to go it alone are true, he said: “It’s total rubbish. I’ve never said I want to release a solo album. But it doesn’t matter if I say a hundred times ‘I’m in a band’, nobody wants to listen. Noel Gallagher writes the songs for Oasis but he doesn’t get the amount of flak I get. It’s like when somebody asks to photograph Razorlight for a magazine we’ll say: ‘Yes put the band on the front’, but then they go and use a picture of just me and then people have a pop at me for it. People prefer to think I’m always throwing a strop but I’m committed to this band”.

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De Rosnay told MTV: “Say we use the ‘In Da Club’ hand clap - not even 50 Cent would notice. If you listen to ‘Genesis,’ the first track [on the album], there are samples of Slipknot, Queen and 50 Cent, but they are such short samples no one can recognise them. The ones from Slipknot, for example, are just tiny bits of the voice”.

He added that they did get proper approval for samples that were recognisable, though: “On the album, we used three big samples that we had to clear, and all the rest are just impossible to recognise. We’re using the very short samples to improve the sound, because we are just writing melodies on piano and then we are listing each note taken from other records, so we make a trade between those notes and the proper loops”.

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The US band’s frontman Robin Pecknold said: “It’s awesome. It’s crazy, I never expected to be in contention for this kind of thing. It makes us want to step up our game. I see it as you throwing down the gauntlet - now we have to live up to it. Obviously prizes are not something you should think about or hope for when you’re making music. I hope our next album isn’t like an awards grab, like the equivalent of a Clint Eastwood movie, y’know, Oscar bait. If we set out to try and win album of the year, we’ll end up sounding like Coldplay or something”.

One of the judges, Mark Radcliffe said this: “I think it’s an extraordinary piece of work, and a worthy first winner of the prize. It’s a beautiful vocal creation, a record that seems to have echoes of all kinds of indigenous American music, but also African music and even medieval strains. All the songs on the album are absolutely brilliant, and it just has a magical, ethereal quality”.

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Originally from Cambridge, but currently finding residence in rural Herefordshire, Nicholas Stevenson has cast aside his hazy past amongst the world of guitar rock in favour of a new, acoustic singer-songwriter approach; releasing his debut demo into an audience that couldn’t be more ready for the change.

The first track, “Tip Toes”, highlights just how worthwhile the shift has been. Lusciously smooth acoustic guitar lines and subtly reverberant piano stand as the only accompaniment to Nick’s melancholically moving melodic vocal performance. Taking the listener on a journey through hope, loves and losses, this Lo-Fi garageband recording carries with it a certain raw intensity songwriters three times as experienced would sell their guitars to gain.

Second Track, “New year Waterloo Station”, brings something entirely different to the table. Still here are the desperately emotive vocals, but here too are programmed drums and distorted guitars, giving an entirely new dynamic to Nick’s songwriting. Crashing influences of Death Cab for Cutie, Sonic Youth and Elliott Smith become increasingly evident as this track’s rich instrumentation parades itself upon the listener

This debut solo demo shows great promise from a real songwriting talent who, with full band on the cards, is certainly worth looking into.

http://www.myspace.com/sirnicholasstevenson

Rating:

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We live in a world where the words ‘geek’ and ‘chic’ put together have come to represent an acceptable fashion statement. It’s all big glasses, ironic t-shirts and kitsch these days and it seems like the coolest thing you can possibly strive to be is to be completely uncool. But while the dossers who litter our streets are merely doing it as a result of hive mind mentality gone actually wrong, there are people that are genuine in their quest for uncoolness. One of them has a very difficult name to pronounce if you’re not scandinavian and can be seen in winged silhouette an inch or two above these words.

Timo’s take on Sugababes’ spectacularily uncool ‘About You Now’ does what most good cover versions do, which is keep the original’s main framework intact and add a sliver of new influence in order to make it sound fresh again. Thus the original’s infectious beat is still present but this time it’s garnished with more guitars and less pouting in godawful dresses. The result is a slice of easy-to-swallow guitar rock that will once again force a ludacrisly catchy chorus into your cerebral cortex until you’ve hummed it so much your lips have been filed down to bloody stumps. And that’s the sign of a bloody good pop song.

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With a punishingly early slot, Bird Pen have to work hard to grab the attention of those wandering into the Cabaret Voltaire and lingering at the bar. And work they do, managing to fill the space around them with their huge, atmospheric slabs of sound, which draw in the curious. They have hints of Radiohead, allied occasionally to a dancier vibe reminiscent of bands such as Death in Vegas. However, the unique sound they generate is very much their own, making them the most original of the bands on offer this evening.

Forming a complete musical contrast is VV Brown. With a larger-than-life stage persona that belies her slender frame, she’s that rare thing, a soul diva who can effortlessly switch styles. And she’s clearly having a ball, telling us that she’d bought her troos especially for the Scottish leg of the tour (closer inspection does indeed reveal them to be from one of those tartan tat shops which clutter up the Royal Mile). And it’s this refreshing lack of pretension which really marks Brown out. That, and her ability to turn herself to any genre, for example, her cover of the rolling Stones’ ‘Miss You’ feels as if it was written for her. She’s generous to acknowledge her band, but it’s clear that the performance is all about Brown. The stand out track is ‘Crying Blood’, which she acknowledges was a key factor in propelling her to attention when she performed it on Jules Holland’s show.

By the time the main act, Ida Maria, comes on, the Saturday night crowd are clearly hyped up and raring to go. And Maria obviously feeds off the adulation, saluting fans and seeming to soak up their energy. On stage, she’s dynamic and vital, whirring around the space and attacking her guitar. And the audience give as good as they get, singing along to every word of ‘Stella’, by the end of which Maria is practically on her knees, begging “hold me tonight”. It’s this intensity which makes Maria so captivating to watch; she clearly puts absolutely everything into her live performances. Musically, however, tonight feels a bit like a fan’s set, with little to convince those not already converted. Encore ‘I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked’ sums up the situation perfectly: Maria is powering around the stage, the crowd are going nuts, but the song itself is ultimately as derivative as those preceding it.

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Conor McNicholas, editor of NME says this: “This is a cracking line-up of deeply talented artists who produce music of real quality. All four acts boast the strongest and most distinctive new songwriters in Britain at the moment and the sheer quality of artists on the tour has meant it is being hailed as the strongest for years. Music fans are in for an absolute treat!”

Tickets for the tour went on sale this morning, and the dates are as follows:

29 Jan: Liverpool University
30 Jan: Glasgow Academy
1 Feb: Newcastle Academy
3 Feb: Sheffield Academy
4 Feb: Birmingham Academy
6 Feb: Manchester Academy
8 Feb: Leeds Academy
10 Feb: Lincolnshire Engine Shed
11 Feb: Nottingham Rock City
12 Feb: Norwich UEA
14 Feb: Cardiff University
15 Feb: Bristol Academy
16 Feb: Brighton Dome
17 Feb: Oxford Academy
19 Feb: Portsmouth Pyramid
20 Feb: Cambridge Corn Exchange
21 Feb: Brixton Academy

UnLimited/CMU / www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk

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Of course, the band release their new single, ‘Use Somebody’ on 8 Dec, and are in the UK for a twelve date arena tour around the same time. Sadly for KOL fans, it’s now sold out, but just for your information, here are the dates:

1 Dec: Brighton Centre, Brighton
2 Dec: Trent FM Arena, Nottingham
4 Dec: Metro Arena, Newcastle
5 Dec: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield
7 Dec: SECC, Glasgow
8 Dec: Echo Arena, Liverpool
10 Dec: NIA, Birmingham
11 Dec: The O2 Arena, London

14 Dec: BIC, Bournemouth
16 Dec: Evenings News Arena, Manchester
17 Dec: International Arena, Cardiff
22 Dec: Wembley Arena, London

UnLimited/CMU / www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk

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Jones explained that there are no longer any hard feelings, saying: “Parting ways with Stuart was a really horrible time for everybody involved. Thankfully, all that water’s under the bridge now, we speak to each other again. We even played at a wedding again the other day pissed up together on stage. He knew the songs better than us! We were brought up in the same street just seven doors apart, so we always said it was just a band. We were friends a lot longer than we were ever in a band together”.

The band’s greatest hits compo ‘Decade In The Sun’ is out on 17 Nov, of course.

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Here it is. The tracklisting, that is:

Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground
Epilepsy Is Dancing
One Dove
Kiss My Name
he Crying Light
Another World
Daylight and the Sun
Aeon
Dust and Water
Everglade

UnLimited/CMU / www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk

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The singer said of The Killers’ third festive themed single: “The track is called ‘Joseph’ and I wrote it with Brandon [Flowers], and they’ve been recording it all throughout different places in the world. I think Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys has been writing a verse, so it’s quite a collaboration”.

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