Under The Influence

Don't Wait For Tom caught my interest straight away when it was played to me. It's so obviously a nod to Tom Waits. From the very first clatter everything about it is Tom Waits. Actually, I found that the rest of the album makes for better listening.

It's a bit novelty humour sounding in parts. I prefer the sweeter numbers myself - Karin Bergquist has a lovely voice. Nothing Is Innocent does it for me. Check out Trouble though, it's a catchy number.

Some bits of it reminded me of a later Morcheba sound. Jim White too. Hey, didn't they collaborate at some point? Hmmm, that's strange.

This one is pretty close to my heart. It happens to be full of tracks that I love - that's not surprising really... given that I was involved in making it. It's basically the perfect mix for me; country, electro, pop, house, dnb, metal, everything really. A friend and I spent almost a year twiddling with knobs and dials in our respective countries sculpting a mix that we could really enjoy. There's something in there for everyone and something in there to offend most everyone (63 tracks 38 minutes).

I was reminded of it the other day after I meet someone who had been enjoying it of late. It was nice to listen to it again. It's great having a taylor made mix. Head over to the axis of cool to check it out - go on, find that moment in there that you really hate...

Mmmmm... beautiful americana. Listening to the final track, I Dream A Highway, and even after 14 minutes I wish it wouldn't end.

It's always hard to tell with these mp3s but it sounds to me like this was originally recorded properly (to tape). The production was actually done by Dave Rawlings (her husband) who can be heard arguing with Ryan Adams about Morrissey singles at the start of Heartbreaker.

Just noticed that I already have a few Gillian Welch tracks in my collection. There are a couple of tracks on O Brother Where Art Thou (including one with Emmylou Harris) and Scala do a cover of New Favorite on It All Leads To This.

Not sure how I've never noticed her work before. It really is very nice.

First impressions scream Beck - his voice is really similar in parts and the production is quite different from your run of the mill work. Generally quite mellow, certainly the first half is anyway. The deeper you get into it the rockier it becomes - eg 850 Commando (I knew a guy that had one of those once, probably still does - hell of a bike).

The keys in The Dartmouth Soundsystem sound like a Check Your Head era Beastie Boys lick. I just noticed that there are lots of electronic beats in the production. The more I listen the more diverse I realise this is. I prefer the more downbeat stuff, there are lots of lovely layers in the production. Having said that I enjoyed You'll Never Come Back which verges more on black/sludge metal.

Of course, the style of the track doesn't really matter. What matters is that there are pop hooks, and he has those in abundance.

Truthfully, I'm not sure what to think of this. Maybe I'm missing something but it just felt a bit safe. Parts of I Will Wait For You sound like a rip of a old White Stripes track (from the Blood Cells days).

Kinda country-pop-rock - generally a bit too happy - though I guess it's fun. Interestingly the song I liked the most, Hemsworth Hallway, was actually the happiest sounding of the bunch. It's got the catchiest hook on the album... "You know, we don't know what goes though your little miiiiiiiiiiiiind"

If nothing else it definitely sounds like it's derived from a different era.

This is pretty off the wall. I downloaded a single track from a different album randomly the other day and was enthralled. Such an interesting sound.

Ryland Bouchard's vocal deliver reminds me of Sparklehorse - the music... well it's not like anything I've ever heard before. The whole thing has a WW2 era sound. I'm not sure if he's using old samples for it or if it's a whole new creation. Brilliant either way.

The lyrics are a extremely political commentary on the state of the world - but done in what feels like a tongue-in-cheek way. "Jesus and Hitler were in the back seat trying to make out, their tongues were twisted and tied around their mouths"

So an interesting work. Pure genius really.

The general sound is much like it's predecessor, Dog In the Sand. Great pop songs. Simple little hooks that you just can't help but like.

1826 is a stand out upbeat number. One of the more rocky tracks on the album - fitted with a great oscillating drum/guitar riff time signature combo.

Alright. I need to get some Pixies. Believe it or not I've managed to go all these years without ever getting around to listening to them. It was sealed today when someone who's opinion I trust very much said that given a single choice for a desert island disc it would be the Pixies.

These guys sound a lot like one of my favourite Wellington bands, Dana Eclair. Americanaish with more of a rock edge. Flaming Lips quality to the singing.

As I listen to this I'm watching a guy on the opposite train platform from me. He's very drunk, leaning against a pole, threatening to topple into the path of an oncoming train at any moment. The scene really suits the song (Held).

Healthy mix of downbeat and upbeat tracks. Lots of handclaps, I like handclaps. The final track, Left Only With Love, is absolutely beautiful though rather sad. Reminds me of Candy Says (VU). I have no idea why Smog aren't huge.

Random tip from a random site discovered whilst digging around for Kiki Bohemia related material. This is very much a Rodriguez moment for me - another under-promoted great. From what I can gather this has been a record collectors (notoriously hard to obtain) favourite for years, now made accessible to the masses via a recent reissue (though I'll be going out of my way to get hold of an original copy).

God, what a voice. Billie Holiday-esk I suppose, incredible texture. Something On Your Mind and In a Station are well up on my list of picks of the moment.

Katie Cruel blows me away - is this the original? I also have covers by White Magic and Bert Jansch collected along the way that I absolutely adore. Either way it's simply a beautiful song.

Apparently Bob Dylan and Nick Cave are both huge fans of her work. In the end she died destitute after drug addiction in the states (in Take Me I think she says "it would be like heroin to me")... hell of an injustice.

Opening your album with an argument concerning the details of Morrissey singles is a good thing - it shows a real appreciation of music.

Whenever I think of great song-writing Heartbreaker comes to mind. Every single track is an emotive masterpiece. Oh My Sweet Carolina makes me want to develop a southern accent (much like Lucinda Williams' drawl) something chronic. Before embarking on Call Me On Your Way Back Home Adams draws a breath in which you can feel the weight of the impending music bearing down. It's all so pure - unmarred by heavy production. This is the Ryan Adams I'd lose my little finger to see live in a tiny venue.

Second listen and I just can't bear to turn it off.

Might be wrong but it sounds like it's cut to tape too. mmmmm... juicy juicy tape.