Somehow, this new single by Fontaines DC is all wrong. "Starburster" is a busy, well-realised song, with strong hooks and clever production, and yet each time that I listen to it I start thinking of fucking Kasabian. Merged with Massive Attack. With an ending lifted off some 90s ballad by Blur. Or Broadcast. I don't know. NME called it their most experimental song to date, but if that is so, then why does it sound like a heavier version of Gorillaz? I guess they crammed so much into one song, they ended up sounding like everyone else. Also, the rapped chorus comes off as ugly as that new album cover.
Slightly disappointed with the new album by House Of All, too. Second time around they bring the style but not the tunes. And while I like the style, I can't find much to be excited about on Continuum beyond the upbeat "Aim Higher" and the murky, dreamy "Murmuration". The lyrics are mostly good but those genius bass lines by Steve Hanley are in very short supply.
Thank God for Einstürzende Neubauten. Their new album Rampen (apm: alien pop music) is as weird and stimulating as you would hope. Listen to them do the minimalist, experimental "Planet Umbra" and engage you into its primitive groove with Blixa Bargeld's smooth, silky vocal delivery. Even when they are disjointed they remain oddly appealing. As ever, with their clanks and clatters they take you to a dark and damp place that offers glimpses of somewhat uncomfortable beauty.
On a completely different end of the spectrum, there was a new album by Mark Knopfler. With song titles like "Watch Me Gone", "Before My Train Comes" and "This One's Not Going To End Well", it all feels a little grim. Sonically, One Deep River is your usual well-behaved latterday Mark Knofler album with a tired voice you have long learned to love. The hook in "Two Pairs Of Hands" is as familiar as it is irresistible.
Connla's Wall is a new EP from the Manchester band Maruja that occupy a post-punk world inhabited by other British contemporaries like Squid and Black Country, New Road. With their adventurous instrumentation (lots of alto saxophone) and charismatic sound, they may end up as big as those two I have mentioned above. The intense, swirling "The Invisible Man" towers above everything else here and I can sense some production issues, but this is excellent stuff. The last instrumental is just beautiful.
Finally, I still do not understand what it is about Vampire Weekend that does not quite sit well with me. The easy answer would be Ezra Koenig's fey vocal mannerisms but there is more to it. That "Classical" riff, for instance, just gives me headache. That said, I see no problem with Only God Was Above Us being one of the most celebrated albums of the year (many already call it the best album of 2024). It is inventive, diverse and well-written, and I can get behind the pretty "Hope" that closes the album, but otherwise I'm left slightly annoyed and mildly amused.
Songs of the month:
"The Invisible Man" - Maruja
"I Have a Friend" - The Libertines
"Reaching Out" - Beth Gibbons
"Aim Higher" - House of All
"Le Silence" - Juniore
"Hope" - Vampire Weekend
