Words: Ben Forrester (Photo credit: Netti Habel)
Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
(Domino)
One of the UK’s most treasured voices, Beth Gibbons finally gives us her debut solo album. Known best as one third of the incendiary Portishead, Gibbons has weaved in and out of the music world, her band climaxing in popularity in the late 90s, whilst a collaboration with Rustin Man got all the accolades in the early 00s.
Admittedly, hearing a solo record from Beth at all seemed unlikely at some points, but I sure am glad to have ‘Lives Outgrown’ in my ears. Written and recorded over the past decade, Beth self-produced the album alongside long-term Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford and Lee Harris from Talk Talk. This is quite the dream team I think you’d agree, but the results might not quite be what fans of Portishead might expect.
This is a dark, brooding folk record focussing mainly on acoustic guitar and of course Beth’s incredible voice. She has one of those voices that could sound great in any genre, but this atmospheric folk vibe suits her so well, like she’s been churning out records like this for years. Now in her late 50’s, this is an album from the mid course of life. Loss and grief lie at the forefront of these songs, but what you also get is someone who is reflecting on their life and feeling a sense of gratitude of getting through it. ‘Floating On A Moment’ might be of the most iconic moment on the record, an instant classic in my eyes, as a slinky bass line floats around brushed drums, delicate strings and choral backing vocals; Beth sounds elevated and it is completely stunning.
The rest of the album feels a lot starker in comparison, moving through this kind of gloomy old English sound reminiscent of later day PJ Harvey, with smatterings of Thom Yorke; ‘Burden Of Life’ sounds like it should be on ‘I Inside the Old Year Dying’ while ‘Reaching Out’ is very ‘Hail To The Thief‘-esque. But of course, it’s Gibbons‘ writing and performances that make this totally hers. ‘Lives Outgrown’ displays the journey of a life well lived, it’s an album Beth Gibbons could have only made at this point in her life and is a beautifully haunting and glacially engaging comeback. A late night, candle-lit listen if ever I heard one.
Ex-Easter Island Head – Norther
(Rocket Recordings)
Hailing from Liverpool, this ensemble of musicians have been pushing the boundaries of guitar music for well over a decade now. In fact, it’s been eight years since we last had an Ex-Easter Island Head record. What is so fascinating about this lot is how they come up with creative ways of playing guitar, using them percussively or even stripping them apart and repurposing them with keys.
On hearing the minimalist electronica of the title track, I was mesmerised by its gently building beauty. But when I saw a recent live version, my mind was blown seeing that the whole track was played live using guitars and drums, most members playing two things at a time. From that moment, this album brought on a whole new lease of life for me.
This is an incredibly detailed soundscape of experimental music that builds layers of sound, mostly messing around with guitars but also looking into voice and sampling. Now to be frank, ’Norther’ feels like the most, quote on quote, song on the album and to be honest it might be one of my favourite tracks of the year so far… But on repeated listens, the rest of the album sucks you in, steeped in beautiful textures and bewildering sonics that take you off to a new realm.
‘Weather’ is the 9 minute opener that sounds like you’re standing in a rain cloud, while ‘Lodestone’ sounds like you’re moving through a never ending cave of percussive guitars and chimes. This is deep focus music and I’ve found it quite the soundtrack – both in cleaning the house and stargazing. Deep, meditative and smart, ’Norther’ is an impressive effort.
Lip Critic – Hex Dealer
(Partisan)
Making waves in the New York underground, these young fired up troops are rapidly making it across the globe, getting headline slots in Europe and getting loads of airtime in the UK. Much like a lot of this current new school crew, Lip Critic are taking a heap of different ideas and mashing them into their own uniquely bonkers sounds.
Take earth shaking sub bass lines, put two drums on top of that and have a dude shouting, rapping and talking over the top of that and you get a pretty fun sound. ‘Hex Dealer’ is their debut album proper and is a cacophony of vibrant noises that bridge the gap between night club heft and punk snarl. In the same way that Show Me The Body came out swinging with a fresh take on rap-punk, there is a wild ambition and youthful abandon that makes ‘Hex Dealer’ a ripping debut.
This is full of groove, full of attitude and is ready to push you into a sweaty mosh pit. Nearly every tune here packs the same intensity, but ’In The WaWa (Convinced I Am God)’ and ’The Heart’ also show off solid musicianship and strong songwriting. I will say that this record can be a bit full on at times and some tunes hit harder than others. I feel like it’s gonna be one of those albums where I visit a heap of tunes from it, but maybe don’t dive into the whole thing. But as far as debut records go, these dudes have got something insanely cool going on.
The Lovely Eggs – Eggsistentialism
(Egg)
‘I am Moron’ seemed like a step up for Lancashire duo The Lovely Eggs. It just seemed to live in its own universe and sounded absolutely massive. It’s been four years since then and it’s lovely to see the rise of these two after nearly two decades doing it. ‘Eggsistentialism’ is their seventh record and again has US producer legend Dave Fridmann at the helm, so you know it’s gonna be another pysch-punk banger! That’s exactly what it is too!
Holly and David are a two piece rock band at their core, with a simplistic drums / guitar set up, but there’s a plethora of synths and drum machines too – we are back on Planet Egg for another alt-pop odyssey. This band are so good at delivering big hooks and I’d argue that this is maybe their most instant record to date; ‘My Mood Wave’ sounds like Teenage Fanclub in their chart bothering days, while ‘People TV’ has Flaming Lips flamboyancy all over it. But of course, scuzzy guitars and crashing drums give this album its punked up attitude, opening track ‘Death Grip Kids’ kicking us off with the incredible line “Shove your funding up your arse”.
‘Eggsistentialism‘ is the sound of a band at the peak of their powers. It’s just got everything. It can be really sincere and sweet, but also totally scathing and full of piss and vinegar. It ups the pysch-pop expansion (which I’m all for), whilst retaining the fuzz rock massiveness that made ‘I am Moron’ so great. This might well be their best record. A true wonder of the British underground.
Like what you see? Why not stick around and check out the other articles and interviews!
Don’t forget to follow Birthday Cake For Breakfast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Birthday Cake For Breakfast 