Matthew Levinson

Listening and reading

Published on 24/06/05
by matt

It’s been a while since I last posted, so here’s to another roundup of music and other things taking my fancy. The European sampler from Cyclic Defrost is unsurprisingly great. If you want to read more, check my review at Stylus. But the short version is: the track from Pivot is amazing and I’m dying to hear their new album, Francis Plagne, Inchtime and Saddleback are brilliant too. The rest is great, but those were the ones that surprised and thrilled me.
Everyone’s been waiting for Bugz to drop the first big broken beat crossover, but maybe Royskopp have beaten them to it. 49%, on their new album, The Understanding, pastes a huge garage vocal ala Robert Owens onto a Maddslinky-style rocking chair beat. Those Norwegians also worked on their countryperson Annie’s debut album. She’s been around for a while, releasing singles that everyone from electroclash and househeads through to indie kids get hyped about. Her new album reminds me of that moment, 1am, drunk, at some dodgy bar, and dancing to Madonna, when you start to think that the conically breasted New Yorker is alright. It’s kinda like St. Etienne and Madonna with a touch of Robbie Williams, doesn’t sound like my usual thing, but there you go. By the way, the new St. Etienne album’s quite listenable too. It’s no So Tough, but it’s not that forgettable last one either. Did Brett Anderson get back together with Bernard Butler? The first song on the Tear’s new album sounds like vintage Suede.
The new records from The Chap, Nudge, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Legends, 2400W and I’m Not A Gun (AKA John Tejada) are great too. I’ve been hunting for the new album, the first real one, from UK grime crew Roll Deep, but after turning Shibuya upside down, I’ve given up for the moment. Actually I’ve been making do with Radioclit‘s screwed down and chopped up version, thanks to Jace/Rupture.
I’ve been flying through books lately… Yukio Mishima’s oddly existential Patriotism had me up all night last night, thinking that is, after finishing the short 53 pager in no time. Insomnia isn’t cool. Another short one, Murakami’s Hear The Wind Sing. And I’m now reading The Elephant Vanishes, a collection of Murakami’s short stories, which seem to owe a debt to Raymond Carver.

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