Album review: Tricky - Adrian Thaws

For better or worse Tricky has been an endearing figure of British music for a long time now. He's been an institute of the gritty, downbeat folk for over twenty years, a difficult wunderkind wallowing in a two decade-long funk. Adrian Thaws is the third album in reasonably quick succession; from Mixed Race (2010) through False Idols (2014), to present date. These releases all share an off-the-cuff, sketch oriented aesthetic. They are “throw anything at the wall and see what sticks” albums, a style which contributes greatly to both their highlights and their glaring flaws.

The chunky groove that runs for those tantalizing first few bars of 'Sundown' does a sterling job in raising your expectations for the album you are about to experience. And then … nothing. The energy gets drained out after that and the song just falls apart. Not a good start, but can it recover? Unfortunately not. Most of the album finds Tricky limping listlessly through tin pan funk, blaring synths, and rusty hip-hop abstractions. In Tricky's defense, even his widely enjoyed albums were patchy affairs. But at least they had revelatory moments, a 'Black Steel' or 'Hell is Around the Corner' to keep you holding on. That lucidity is particularly sparse on Adrian Thaws. The level of stoned detachment we've come to expect from Tricky is in full effect, if anything too much so. He's gone from being an enigma to just being absent.

Coming into Adrian Thaws we were told to expect a “clubbing” album and in a strange way we actually got one. This is what Tricky would play in a dance club. Were you really anticipating a bunch of top 40 busting singles? Where the cross-over hits at? Exactly. This is a typically gloomy affair dressed up as a dance record, but only when the man himself can be bothered. In fact much of the energetic veneer only serves to make the dreary bits seem even more desperate. When those dancey numbers arrive you are actually glad for the change in pace. The exact combinations of these parts might be novel but we've seen and heard all of these musical molecules from Tricky before.

I'm not usually one to comment too much about lyrical content of album's because it's an extremely subjective category within the completely subjective field of music critiquing. Obviously not everyone can be a sparkling wordsmith. That being said, if you find yourself getting caught up on some bad lines then it needs to be mentioned. The hook on the Prodigy-baiting 'Why Don't You' is just telling you, quite bluntly, to go get fucked. But when you compare that to asking people to 'friend' him on Facebook or lamenting that kids are going hungry because the mother “ain't got shit” (both found in the cringe-worthy 'Lonnie Listen'), this sounds almost intellectual.

In Adrian Thaws, Tricky has named an album after himself and decided not to show up to the party. He's always relied on other musicians to fill out his spartan compositions but he's less present than ever. Francesca Belmont (on her third album in a prominent vocalist role) does most of the heavy lifting and the supporting cast pretty much do the rest. Some of these contributors include Nigerian singer Nneka (who keeps 'Keep Me in Your Shake' alive and kicking) along with MCs Blue Daisy, Bella Gotti, and Mykki Blanco. All the while the real Adrian Thaws is flitting in and out of the tracks like a ghost, contented to be as much a spectator as he is a creator. This is one self-titled album that does nothing to help us get to know the man behind the nom de plume.

Rating: C

Recommended track: Keep Me in Your Shake

Album review: Interpol - El Pintor

Being a fan of Interpol hasn't been the easiest of rides in recent times. After two exceptional albums the dapper New York quartet seemed to lose momentum with two records that felt more like obligations than statements of intent. That easy charm and detached ferocity that defined their early work had started to dull and the mystery surrounding the band was unraveling fast. That's certainly not to say that Our Love To Admire and Interpol were bad albums, just that they could have been so much better than they ended up. Apparently actually being part of Interpol has been just as difficult. Shortly before the release of their eponymous fourth album, bass player Carlos D parted ways with the band. This left the remaining Paul Banks (vocals / guitar), Sam Fogarino (drums), and Dan Kessler (guitar) with an uphill battle to fight. With numbers beginning to dwindle and the tide of critical opinion starting to turn on them, the challenge for Interpol to pull things together was never going to be easy.

This challenge has birthed an album entitled El Pintor. The wordy among you might notice it's an anagram of Interpol as well as Spanish for “The Painter”. To follow one self-titled album with a nearly-self-titled album gives an insight into what was essentially a creative reboot for the band. Shifting to a trio (using a few supporting players for extra seasoning) has not appeared to harm them one iota. It only takes about thirty seconds of listening to El Pintor to witness this rebirth happening before you. After a chilly introduction to lead single 'All the Rage Back Home' you get thrown into the deep end of what this re-jigged line-up has to offer. Just as soon as the thick bass line cuts through the dreamlike haze it's all hands on deck, clinging on for dear life as the song flies into the red. Interpol haven't sounded this engaged (or this engaging) in nearly a decade. The repeated refrain of “I keep falling maybe half the time” might be the least likely lyric in 2014 to get stuck in your head for days on end. As a stand alone track 'All the Rage Back Home' is just fine and dandy, but the fact that it acts as a palette cleanser before the real action begins is vital.

If you dig any of what these guys do (or, in fact, have ever done) you will find it impossible to go more than two songs without finding something that hooks you. Maybe the saccharine nostalgia of 'My Blue Supreme' is up your alley, or will the unexpected proggy aftertaste of 'Breaker 1' do it for you? Perhaps 'Tidal Wave' is more your speed, complete with the sweet tang of moshpit sweat for authenticity. No matter which sort of Interpol fan you turn out to be, this album will sweep you away with its almighty sense of human drama. These pieces might not grab you on the first listen but, mark my words, they will get you. The best comparison for this new material would be their haunted debut, Turn On the Bright Lights. This is no small compliment given the instant acclaim that Interpol won right from the word 'go' back in 2002. Both albums share an unshakable, icy confidence that is downright infectious.

Just as the album starts out strong so does it end. For a group not known for their glaring humanity they sure know how to pluck at the emotional strings when called upon. After 'Tidal Wave' has receded back into the ocean, the hypnotic strains of closing track 'Twice As Hard' swarm in. It was purpose built to get a room (or even a stadium) full of people swaying in unison and singing at the top of their lungs. The song is also a fantastic showcase for what the addition of subtle keyboards can do to enhance Interpol's formidable sound. And at that, after ten strong tracks, the record bids you adieu. It knows perfectly well that there is no greater sin in music than overstaying your welcome. There is no doubt that in 2014 the Big Apple's favourite indie rockers are back on track in a big way. El Pintor is some of Interpol's most striking work to date and can proudly stand beside their very best. The gauntlet has been laid down to all of those other cool-in-2004 bands who have fallen by the wayside in recent years – this is how you do a comeback in style.

Rating: A

Recommended tracks: My Blue Supreme, All the Rage Back Home, Tidal Wave

Album Review: Robert Plant and the Sensational Space-Shifters - Lullaby and ... The Ceaseless Roar

Can you think of any legendary front-man who has worked as hard to reinvent himself as Robert Plant has? The former Zep wailer has been crafting a powerful and diverse discography to pin his name to ever since the classic rock titans disbanded under tragic circumstances in 1980. In the 21^st century he has been a remarkably hard artist to pin down. It started out with revision on his greatest-hits-but-not-really release Dreamland. This was followed by a pattern of re-invention after re-invention. Plant has since tried his hand at everything from worldly, hard-hitting blues (Mighty Rearranger) to adult contemporary (the multi-Grammy winning Raising Sand with Alison Krauss). His is indeed a full palette. Old Robert is back once again, sounding newer than ever, with a new band of like-minded fellows on hand to present his latest opus, Lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar.

The free-wheeling, anything goes attitude that he brought with him on 2010’s Band of Joy is present and accounted for. Malian blues and nebulous Americana collide with the pulsating electronic heartbeat on album opener 'Little Maggie'. It's an audaciously bold track that opens your eyes to the world that Plant and friends are trying to create here. Anyone who has paid close attention to Plant, even in his Zeppelin days, will have noticed penchant for non-Western music. But here he has taken his opportunity to go all in and push those boundaries as far as they will go.

Much of the credit for this astonishing diversity goes to the latest incarnation of Plant's backing band, The Sensational Space-Shifters. Some of these esteemed gents have been tagging along for some time under different versions of the band while some are totally new to the ensemble. A particular standout is Justin Adams, who plays an array of unusual instruments on the record including bendirs, djembe, and tehardant . He brings an amazing eclectic bent to the record and shines brightly whenever given the opportunity. But that is not at all to downplay what the rest of the band brings to the table. The Sensational Space-Shifters are the most engaging and powerful group that Plant has worked with in nearly forty years.

Unlike many of his contemporaries Robert Plant has never shied away from modernity. 'Pocketful of Golden' harkens back to the moody, bass-driven days of trip-hop – all clattering snares and synthesized strings. The same goes for the Industrial-tinged 'Turn It Up' which takes the prize for heaviest song on the record. None of this should come as a surprise given his current entourage and their previous positions within the greater realms of music. The best songs are where all of these disparate elements come together in unison. ‘Embrace Another Fall’ dazzles with its dizzying combination of jungle beat, violins, guitar solos, and the stunningly feminine vocals that come in at the end. If you were to pick out one song from Robert Plant’s solo work to show to the uninitiated I think that ‘Embrace Another Fall’ would be a valid contender.

But even with all of these stylistic diversions the heart of all of these songs is still recognizably Plant. ‘Rainbow’, the lead single from the album, is not far divorced from the muted country sway that won him all those awards (and a legion of new fans, no doubt) in Raising Sand. Sure, the soft brushed drums and tender fiddles have been replaced with tribal percussion and mournful washes of guitar but the principle is exactly the same. This is just a small part of the scintillating fusion of modern and ancient styles of music we are treated to on Lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar. It is a canvas on which Leadbelly's blues can co-exist with the type of futuristic shamanism that Plant effortlessly commands.

Robert Plant lives in the rarefied company of the likes of David Bowie and Neil Young. These men are survivors of another era who have refused to fade into memories of yesteryear. They all feel as though they still have something to contribute to the world, even if those contributions come with mixed results. Lullaby And … The Ceaseless Roar is a bold and timely statement that Robert Plant does not want to be relegated to the past tense just yet. He still has something left to say and if he keeps saying it as emphatically as he has in 2014 we would all do well to heed such statements.

Rating: A-
Recommended tracks: Embrace Another Fall, Little Maggie, Turn It Up

Album Review: Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden

Even in the dogmatic world of heavy metal, doom as a sub-genre is notoriously traditional. Sure, there are some bands out there trying to adapt and evolve their chosen medium but the most striking works in that field tend to adhere firmly to the blueprint laid out by the greats. That is where young Arkansas quartet Pallbearer come in to the picture. Their wicked debut album, Sorrow & Extinction, put them on the map and on the lips of clued-in metalheads the world over. They went from being a much-hyped young band with a tonne of potential to one who actually lived up to that potential, a rarity in this day and age. Curiously though, their acclaim spread much wider than that with many “non-metal” sources touting the album as one of 2012's best. So how do you follow up a stunning debut record? Will they succeed or collapse under the weight of the burden of expectations? Pallbearer answer these questions (and more) in their own unique way with Foundations of Burden.

From the very first notes of 'Worlds Apart' it becomes apparent that you are in for a treat. It all starts with a riff so crunchy and powerful it has the capacity to physically tear the roof off. Brett Campbell's high, wavering vocals gel perfectly with the grinding of concrete riffs and the residue of incense that clings to everything (at least I'm pretty sure that's incense residue). Foundations of Burden is not an album to take lightly. Every single element is ratcheted up to maximum intensity and dripping with an elemental heaviness. From there they transition effortlessly into 'Foundations', a swampy morass of down-tuned guitars tempered by the perverse pomp of funeral doom. With just two songs down it's hard not to be impressed with just how much this band has grown in the two short years since their debut. The songs (while still very long) are far more economical and cleverly arranged. And this says nothing of the performances themselves which are infinitely more confident and striking this time around.

As you might well expect the atmosphere that is being cultivated is almost uniformly thick and foreboding throughout. In fact, there is only one real moment of levity amidst the dread and it surfaces right near the end. 'Ashes' is an interlude of sorts that introduces a gentle piano melody, quite at odds to the churning hellfire you will have endured to this point. For a few shining minutes those imposing guitars get dialed back to let a sweeter style of singing push its way to the front of the crowd. This might well be Pallbearer's 'Planet Caravan' – a gorgeous palette cleanser gleaming out from the darkness. But it does not last, and really how could it in such threatening company? That thin glimmer of light is swallowed whole by the arrival of the vast album closer, 'Vanished'.

One of the reasons that Pallbearer have made so many fans in their brief time together is their demonstrative knowledge of music history in a way that's more meaningful than simply aping their heroes. Take for example the fact that they recruited the well-regarded Billy Anderson for production duties. Anderson has had his hand in some of heavy metal's best loved modern classics (having worked withSleep, Neurosis, and Fantomas just to name a few). Under his aegis Foundations of Burden is impossibly dense when heavy is needed but can also be sparse and tense when it suits. Music this powerful and ornery needs a steady hand at the controls to keep it all together and moving forward and Anderson appears to be the very man for the job.

In the tradition of the doom greats, Pallbearer are certainly in no hurry to tell their tale. These were the sort of kid who were raised on early Black Sabbath, Warning, Cathedral, and possibly some Type O Negative on the side. All but one of the six songs on the album approach or break the ten-minute mark, making Foundations of Burden stretch for nearly an hour. Nobody should be under any illusion that there might be a sneaky pop number buried in here - such ideas just don't factor in to the Pallbearer ethos. While the rest of the world keeps on moving Pallbearer have proven that they are happy living in their own private late-70s metal bubble. The glacial pace of this record is absolutely definitely not going to suit everybody, but if you've gone in expecting a healthy dose of earth-shaking doom metal then there is a lot to like here.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Worlds Apart, Ashes