New Setting Sun Interviews

Dear all;

Will talk about these more in the week, but here are three new Setting Sun Interviews (All come in almost at once)]

iLIKETRAINS

http://www.geocities.com/aen1mpo/iliketrains.htm

Same Actor / Hot Roddy

http://www.geocities.com/aen1mpo/sameactor.htm

Napoleon IIIrd

http://www.geocities.com/aen1mpo/nap.htm

All are excellent!

Regards

Andrew N

thrill racer new mp3

Song Review:

Thrill Racer – In Revenge I believe

(Available as a free mp3 download from free – http://home.simplyweb.net/thrill/index.html)

This has quite a while in coming, I must admit.

For those who know me would know I have known Jill aka. Thrill for a number of years, a young, honest singer songwriter from San Diego, California and she was specially one of the first people I wanted to interview when I launched “Setting Sun” back in 2003.

Back then, Thrill had produced a number of songs that I certainly were heading in the right direction by herself, and I must admit I expected her to carry on from there and produce something really special.

Expect it all went quiet (aside from a cheery Christmas Version at the end of last year of “We Three Kings” and a colleberation with me and my good buddies in D.I.H on “And the Rest is Silence” – which will be going live soon on “Setting Sun”) and I thought that was it for a short while (even though I still enjoyed a fruitful correspodence with her).

Expect it’s not as Thrill herself made me aware recently of a new mp3 she has recently posted on her website.

And it’s a cracker without doubt and almost certainly one of the best songs she has produced by herself with the Piano meshing together much more with the pre-programmed drums, when perhaps previously on some of her earlier songs, the drums were more in the forefront and threatened the rhythm of the song, here they are much more placed in the back-ground and carry the rhythm of the song more smoothly.

But perhaps the biggest shock was the singing Thrill adapted was itself sounded different. While Thrill still kept to the style she has successfully adapted for herself over the past few years (which from the top of my head has drew comparisons with Nico and Fiona Apple among others), I certainly found this song while still retaining the anger she has used in some of her previous songs, it seemed to be carried from a third person point of view more, perhaps in a way reminding me of the lyrical content of her earlier song “Class Conscious” (which is also available there again for download) in the sense of holding back more and then in the process hitting twice as hard, and that was before she started hitting some of the high notes, which had me thinking at least more than once during the song, wow!

Check it out on http://www.thrillracer.com and let us hope there is much more to come.

Soeza

Album Review:

Soeza

Why do you do?
(Gringo Records: http://www.gringorecords.com/)

Part of the beauty with “Setting Sun” is the discovery of new music.

Some times it has been accidents, through listening to tracks downloaded almost at random from the internet or other times picking up on acts or bands through the radio (even occasionally the telly) or through friends.

Most of the fun though has been on word of mouth through artists themselves telling me of other bands or other projects they are involved.

I first became of Matt Elliott (formely Third Eye Foundation) through his work in Flying Saucer Attack and Movietone, before he went solo with Third Eye Foundation and then music under his own name.

Through his solo music, I then met Chris Cole (who also is / was a member of Movietone) who has backed Matt on his last two albums “The Mess We Made” and “Drinking Songs” and ended up listening to his solo albums under the name of “Manyfingers” and was bowled by the different dimensions “Manyfingers” sometimes went into sometimes within the same song.

So to discover through Chris, he also played drums, percussion and cello in another band “Soeza” which he described perhaps close to Fugazi was certainly something that was going to be well worth listening even if it was a totally different musical ball-game than any of the other projects I have known him to be involved with.

And it is, believe me.

Although I couldn’t perhaps from a personal angle see Fugazi in the sounds, I certainly could see a Delgados sort of feel to things on several tracks expect more avant-garde on for example on one of the tracks which was described on a review on Ink 19 as “The most interesting musical moment on the album comes on "Make It," when the rock pauses for roughly ten seconds of the sound of rain gently falling against a windowpane. This sort of juxtaposition could be misconstrued as pretension, but Soeza keeps the whole album playful (check out the melodica and "bah bahs" on "They Glow at Night")”.

On a personal level, I think I probably enjoyed the first few tracks the most, in particular the brashness on the second track “Jack Jones”, which certainly does not sound like the 60’s singer, but has a swagger that certainly shows a band with their own identity.

Either way, despite the fact the music was certainly not what I was expecting, I found the album particularly well played and produced, which is particularly cool considering there are if my memory is correct there are 6 or 7 people in the band, I could certainly hear Chris’s input frequently during the album, but then in the next heart-beat I could hear another two or three person’s contributions, which is pretty rare for a band, but just as enjoyable and covers the full spectrum of why I love “Setting Sun” so much.

Thanks Chris.

Superqueens – John Peel Radio Session 2004

This should have been reviewed ages ago, but truth be told – it has taken me ages to work out how to navitage my way around flash sites and download off them, but anyway…

Superqueens have been reviewed previously on my blogspot (http://swampheartland.blogspot.com/2005/02/superqueens-review.html) where I saw them live in concert and live, they are a bewilding sight to watch – a often brilliant and touching mix of dance and rock music mixed with poetry, or as at least one review has commented “a frightening mixture of Bill Hicks and The Aphex Twin”, which I don’t agree with but can see the point behind.

Anyway, I have no idea when this session was first broadcast for the now late John Peel, but I am guessing it was one of the last sessions broadcasted before his sad demise last year.

The Session itself is a mixture of songs debuted on the album and on several cases added a major re-working, “Security and Peace” and “Cut” – Despite being among of my two favourite tracks on the album seem to carry an added menace here, with the Piano / Keyboards perhaps less in the mix on the album, here pushed more to the forefront and really send a shiver down my back. Excellent.

“Cut” in contrast almost has a complete different tune altogether, with howling feedback and noise replacing the more whisper of the orginal backing tune on the album, but works out brilliantly too, in particular at the end of the song when the vocalist, Micheal (or Mick) and the multi instrumentist Bruce, finish off the music and the words at exactly the same point where the song feels like it has cut off almost suddently which is just the life sometimes feels.

In addition, there are two new tracks “Mr, You’re a Lap Dancer” (Which is a great title – AN) is the louder, more rawer out of the two and for a few seconds when I first heard almost caught me out with it’s pace, but whether it was me or the track itself, it seemed to settle down and portraited some very unusual images of life indeed.

I must admit I preferred the other new track “The Ghost of Billy Whizz”, which seems to be about drug dealers with it’s ambient keyboards and the way the poetry seems to float in and out of the tune and carries a heck of a punch.

I am not sure if it is for everybody, although I do like it a lot (as I could certainly some of the imagery on several of the tracks making a few day time radio presenters blush) but I do recommend everybody at least gives a listen as it is available for download free at the official Superqueens website - www.thisissuperqueens.net

epic 45 reviews

Single Reviews:

Epic 45 - England Fallen Over EP (Make Mine Music - Catalogue mmm014)
Epic 45- Long Walks EP (No Catalogue details)


There is only one thing I don't like about either of these EPs.

It certainly isn't the swiralling, spiralling guitars that exist in a fragile,
heartbreaking instrumental sense on the Long Walks EP, which is perhaps akin to Mogwai but certainly also carries an nod or two in the direction of Godspeed You Black Emperor where in a few short minutes, their tribute to for example Virgina Astley says a lot more than countless amounts of press space previously.

It certainly isn't the finale track on the EP which is even better "Nearly Home", where the guitars in a gentle wash of guitars, you feel compelled to actually listen to the track on a loop to let it talk to you like a loved one or a best friend.

An lovely EP.

Less obvious is their other EP, England Fallen Over which surprisingly for them contains vocals on nearly all of the tracks, (but as a plus also features my mate, Anthony from July Skies playing additional clarinet) which is / was a major surprise considering their last two albums "Slides" and "Against the Pull of Autumn", were mostly instrumental led affairs.

Mostly, however in particular on the first two tracks , the title “England Fallen Over” and “Walk Led to Happiness”, it works beautifully well with the vocals really working quite well.

Nice stuff.

After reading the reviews, you may well be wondering what it is I don’t like about these.

It’s certainly not the music or the art work or anything to do with the band or the people involved with.

The only thing I don’t like about the EPs is the avability of the “Long Walks” EP. I picked that up at a recent concert of theirs, where it was a limited edition of 30!!

This sort of music should be shooting up the charts. Not half of the usual crap I see and have to suffer.

For further details (including pestering the guys to give the “Long Walks” EP a full release – please e mail them through their website – http://www.epic45.com)