April Round-Up

I really do not know why I still bother with these Ringo Starr albums. A few songs aside ("It Don't Come Easy", "Vertical Man"), none of his music has ever appealed to me. His latest, Long Long Road, is country pop with zero personality attached to it. A few high-profile guests (Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent) can't save it either. It's okay, I guess, as a background listen on a long car ride. 4/10

My New Band Believe (has to be the worst band name I've seen in a long time) is adventurous chamber folk music which is both charming and a little unfocused. The self-titled album is the brainchild of Cameron Picton from black midi, and you can certainly feel the melodic and instrumental complexity associated with that band. There is a lot of orchestration here, whimsical lyrics and vaguely pretty melodies running awry. Sadly, the meandering nature of Cameron's songwriting prevents me from truly enjoying this. 6/10

They Might Be Giants return with their latest, The World Is To Dig, and it is 18 outbursts of nerdish vocals, quirky lyrics and terminally catchy melodies ("Character Flaw" will probably eat at your brain). I have never been a huge fan, but it is impressive how effortlessly they keep doing this. 7/10

There's a part of me that thinks Foo Fighters have never been good. I know they probably have, two or three times, but mostly their brand of alternative rock mush is just a few steps above Nickelback. "Window" is passable, I guess, but overall Your Favorite Toy is terribly mediocre. No subtlety, no charisma, no tunes. 3/10

Mercifully, there is a great album from the end of March that I missed one month ago. It is by the British band Memorials who specialise in beautifully sung post-punk that is well-written and just endlessly inventive. The way the melodies in the opening "Life Could Be A Cloud" flow and ebb should give you a good idea of the album's sound. There are powerful Stereolab vibes here, but the vocals are even more elegant, almost folk-tinged. All Clouds Bring Not Rain is a fascinating album that keeps getting better with each listen. 8/10

Songs of the Month:

"Till Your Mind Is Shining" by Peter Gabriel

"Outside Brain" by They Might Be Giants 

"I Am This Thing" by Robyn Hitchcock

"Dropped Down The Well" by Memorials (from March)

Marlon Magnée in Warsaw, 21.04

You have to give it to them - Poles have a sense of humour. As a sweaty, exhausted Marlon Magnée finishes doing "Elle ne t'aime pas" (which is the song that once started my love for La Femme), he turns to the audience. "Guys, could you recommend the best bar in Warsaw? One I should go to while I'm in the city?"

"Rusałka!" is the loudest scream. 

"Okay", he says. "I will go there". 

Oh dear. I hope he googles the place before he does. But then he probably won't remember the name once the concert is over and he is done with the extended encore that includes a few classics like "Sur la planche 2013" and "Tatiana".

Incidentally, Rusałka (Polish for mermaid) is a good title for a new La Femme song. It is also a cult bar młeczny, an old-school cafeteria-like eatery with traditional food, low prices and the sort of decor that will transport you back into communism in no time at all. And the exterior? Let's just say if Marlon does remember the name of the place, he won't dare to go in. 

And yet it is hard to imagine the district of Praga without this place. Just as it is hard to imagine it without the cozy little yard off 11 Listopada St. that includes a mural titled "You Will Never Be Younger Than Now", a nostalgia vintage shop, an atmospheric bar with strong Twin Peaks vibes and the bizarrely named club called Hydrozagadka. The latter is the perfect venue for a Marlon Magnée concert. The demented, dilapidated streets of Praga-Północ with a Soviet-looking milk bar called Rusałka in close vicinity. The intriguing late-night thrill of the little yard. The weed-smelling little club with a small stage but a lot of attitude. Really, you wouldn't want to see Marlon Magnée in another setting.

The warm-up act is a pleasantly eccentric Polish band called BEMY with a singer who looks like a wild version of Bill Evans and a bunch of highly entertaining songs in French. The performance is full of brilliant energy and a brief setlist full of Zbigniew Wodecki's repertoire adapted for a small club in Warsaw.

After which comes Marlon Magnée, and we start with the single "Plus fort que toi" off his excellent solo album Dark Star (released earlier this year). After a few lethargic La Femme records, it is a real return to form, and the energy exuded by the visibly pumped Magnée proves that he, too, knows that. He then does "La fureur d'Annie" followed by the slower, classic-sounding "La première", and quite soon it becomes clear that he is doing Dark Star in its entirety. The songs feel as good as they are on the record, if not better. I would probably welcome some more variety (the club ambience is relentless and intense), but I'm still caught up in all this high-octane, motorik-imbued nonsense. 

The audience are into it, too, and alongside the beer-wielding, weed-smoking teenagers there are also people of older age and even a couple of random French people who are visibly happy to see their compatriot in this wild, dark heart of Varsovie (speaking of which, Marlon gets into the habit of saying dziękuję after each song he does). Not to jump or at least sway like a madman is nearly impossible, and I don't think I have experienced anything quite like this since the good old days of The Menzingers blowing the roof off a small club in Dublin ten or twelve years ago.

The beautiful respite comes by way of the self-penned timeless gospel tune "Cause There Is No Time" that brings the concert proper to its stylish end. Except there is also an extended encore, and Marlon is clearly thrilled to do more songs. "Are you ready for "Tatiana"?" he asks after a brief pause. And oh God yes we are. Then another song. And then, after the last goodbye, he does two more. He doesn't want to leave, and neither do we. And no - he won't be going to Rusałka tonight. Polish milk bars close at 5 pm.