6 Days From Tomorrow

January 2012
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Dana Falconberry – Though I Didn’t Call It Came EP

January 26, 2012 Si 1 comment

Well, it’s my own fault for moaning earlier this month that I was bored. It’s certainly picked up release-wise in the last week or so, for as well as the things already covered in the last week or so, there’s this gem released just the other day, something odd on its way in the post from the States hopefully this week, something really nice out next week, something I’ve been waiting on for 8 years the week after, and another highly-anticipated one the week after that. And then it’s a brief jaunt around the country meeting friends old & new whilst avoiding others…

But enough about what’s to come, this is here now and it’s lovely. I’ve been a fan of Dana Falconberry for a couple of years now, since I got sent her Oh Skies Of Grey album by the lovely people of 00:02:59 records, followed by the wonderfully home-made Halletts follow-up EP at the beginning of 2010. The anticipation’s been building up a little bit here in advance of her new fan-pledged full LP (which should be out later this year), so it’s nice to have this little snippet of what we may expect.

Uncategorized Americana, Dana Falconberry, Folk

Joseph Arthur – Redemption City

January 19, 2012 Si 3 comments

I’m not sure if it was just me who was in the dark about this one, but the first I heard about a new album from Joseph Arthur was through his Twitter feed on Sunday evening, which stated simply and cryptically “Redemption City 011812″. The following day, a further tweet announced that this is a double album which will be released on a “pay what you want” basis, erm, the following day. This was sensitively put back when the SOPA/PIPA protests were taking place, but here it is now – an early contender for “biggest surprise of the year”.

Appearing on the heels of SOPA/PIPA, this is a very apt release. This is a piece of work designed to be experienced and shared, and the reward lies in the immediacy (Joseph’s word of choice) of the project. As has been ably demonstrated by Jeff Klein previously – whether on his own or as part of My Jerusalem – there must be something pretty exciting about having the freedom of being involved in something wholeheartedly and then being able to say “This is something for right now, so that’s when it’s going to be released”. Not something to be slotted into someone else’s schedule, not for others to determine where and how it can be heard to maximise profit, but because It Feels Right To Do So. This is the sort of model that the internet should be excelling at, but isn’t because presumably it makes marketing departments twitchy about their own future employment prospects.

From the Present Electronic, indie, Joseph Arthur

A Winged Victory For The Sullen – Manchester Academy 3, 14/01/2011

January 15, 2012 Si 3 comments

And to think that I nearly didn’t go to this show. For shame.

In fairness, I had a decent enough excuse in that I seem to have had a succession of bad colds from around just after Christmas that pretty much only completely cleared up last night. I had my fellow gig-goers’ best health in mind with this, as well as worrying about how what I thought an ambient, neo-classical show would sound with me unblocking my sinuses in the background. As it turned out, quietness was not something I needed to take into consideration. And my minor ailments paled into insignificance anyway, when it transpired that the headliners’ viola player almost wasn’t let into the country, so if they were going to go the extra mile to make the effort to show up, it would have been rude for me to have stayed at home…

From the Present, Gig Reviews A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Ambient, Dustin O'Halloran, Live, Neo Classical

Diagrams – Black Light

January 14, 2012 Si No comments

The first record of 2012 is here at last! Well, the first one I’ve got round to buying, anyway. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while after buying their (his?) debut EP on a whim at the end of last summer and really enjoying its baffling stylistic multi-direction, each song suggesting a different direction that this project could embark upon. Taking on board the spirits of Peter Gabriel, Elbow, Bon Iver and a healthy dose of traditional (and not-so-traditional) folk elements, the songs on that EP were elements that all fitted in with each other whilst managing to distance themselves musically. The title of this first full-lengther would suggest more of the same, Black Light suggesting a harmonious oxymoron.

So with that in mind, it’s actually rather nice (and somewhat rare) to be able to buy a record knowing that I’m almost certain to like it but without actually having much of a clue about what it is I’m actually going to be liking…

From the Present Diagrams, Folktronica, Hannah Peel, indie, Pop

The Twilight Singers – Live in New York

January 13, 2012 Si No comments

A bit of a slight revisit this one, as thanks to the joys of preordering I’d been enjoying the downloaded tracks for a short while beforehand (and enjoying to the extent that I’d included this among my favourites of 2011). Thanks to the arrival of the 2xCD package that arrived yesterday as well as the arrival of a posh new pair of headphones (which comes with a free bottle-opener for reasons I’m not party to, nicely combining two of my favourite hobbies in one go nonetheless), I can ditch the digitals and pipe through something a bit more expansive.

From the Present Greg Dulli, Live, rock, Twilight Singers

Eugenius – Oomalama

January 10, 2012 Si No comments

Will someone hurry up and release something already? The pre-Christmas deluge of awfulness followed by the post-New Year hangover means that it feels like ages since anything of any quality has come out. This should all pick up a bit soon enough though, as the first gig of the year comes this Saturday, and with any luck the first anticipated release should follow a couple of days afterwards. And then it all seems to get a bit mad.

Anyway, I have a couple of recent ones still here, but as I’m still dragging myself into this year with all the enthusiasm of a teenager being asked to do anything, I thought I’d have a delve back into the archives. This (as has been the case for a while here) usually starts off with me trying to think of something, then failing miserably. And then I go and do something else and forget all about it. Then, there are times like today when I’m really under a dark cloud and something pops up on the old shuffle that just triggers memory after memory and reminds me why I started doing this bloody thing in the first place. Oomalama is a prime example of this – probably not heard it in years, put it on my iPod on a whim, and up it popped. And it’s 1991 all over again…

From the Past, Music Reminiscings Eugenius, indie

Luke Haines – 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s and Early ’80s

January 2, 2012 Si No comments

Well. After seeing that title, there was no way that this was not going to be bought. And, before I carry on with this: if you are not of a certain vintage, if you are not from the UK, or if you were both of the former but went playing outside after TISWAS finished, none of the following will make much sense…

Saturday afternoons on the three-channel smorgasbord that was UK TV in the above time period was dominated by sport, to the extent that I actually have zero recollection of what BBC2 showed as an alternative. BBC1′s Grandstand had all the “proper” sports, but the Dickie Davies-fronted World of Sport over on ITV was a lot more escapist and exciting for our formative minds, not least for the incredibly bizarre and low-budget (in hindsight) thrills of the Wrestling, broadcast from a host of unglamorous locations around Great Britain and providing much-needed colour and fun to an era that contained little of either. This record takes the spirit of that time and those people, and makes something genuinely heartwarming from it all.

From the Present, Music Reminiscings, Oddness Luke Haines, Psych

That “Best of 2011″ top 50 list in full.

January 1, 2012 Si No comments

Happy New Year all!

Well, 2012 is a mere 16 hours old, and already I’m sick of people on the TV banging on about the Olympics, in between adverts encouraging people to borrow more money at calculator-worrying levels of interest in order to spend it on stuff they don’t need in the first place.

Then again, records, CDs, gig tickets, petrol and other associated nonsense also fall into that “stuff I don’t need” category, but that’s never stopped me in the past and probably won’t abate any in the future. So, speaking as part of the Problem and one that lacks any sort of sensible Solution, here’s hoping that we’re all here this time next year arguing about what was in whatever passes for a “Best of 2012″ list, what wasn’t in it, and what was in the wrong order. And so, for no reason other than I’m weaning myself back into this after a short break and am vaguely interested in how many words I wasted in the process, here it all is again in one overlong blah. Back with something sensible shortly, just as soon as I work out a way of ensuring that the “upcoming things of note” page becomes easier to update (comments on that page welcome for releases/shows that I’ve missed or forgotten to update) or meets with some sort of accidental deletion.

From the Present, Music Reminiscings, Other none

Josh T Pearson’s Rough Trade Christmas Bonus

December 18, 2011 Si 3 comments

So, what to do now? I finished my top 50 a week sooner that I thought I would, and now there’s a bit of a gap. May as well carry on as I finished then, and what better way of doing so than commenting on an EP from one of the very people who topped the list, to celebrate coming top of a list that was far more professionally put-together and infinitely more important than the one in the posts below?

It’s a release that isn’t without a slight grump though. Coming as it does as a bonus disc of an album I (and many others who will be wanting this) already own, a standalone issue would have been preferable. In any case, I bought it anyway, and so as it’s Christmas, the first person to message me on the 6dft Facebook Page will get my spare copy of Last of the Country Gentlemen album posted to them. Of course, if whoever receives that giveaway then wants this EP, they’ll have to buy the album again in order to get it… Ah well, c’est la vie.

From the Present, Music Reminiscings Josh T. Pearson

Best of 2011, No.1s: Josh T Pearson – Last of the Country Gentlemen & Richard Warren – The Wayfarer

December 13, 2011 Si 4 comments

I’m not entirely sure if this means that I can’t make my mind up, or that I can’t count, as this technically makes the whole malarkey a Top 51. Then again, even before I started to compile this list I knew that these would be top of the pile, and as I was further listening to all of the records in this list and beyond to try to find some sort of pathway through it all, it became harder and harder to separate them. So, in the end, I didn’t bother. Because not only was it ultimately pointless to try to convince myself that one was better than the other, the two records could almost be brothers – not twins, as the differences are just as great between them as the similarities that bind them, but each fits with the other so well that it’s now difficult for me to listen to one without the other. So, it’s far from an annoyance for me that I can’t pick between them, it’s more of a joy.

From the Present, Music Reminiscings, Other Best Of 2011, Josh T. Pearson, Richard Warren

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Dana Falconberry – Though I Didn’t Call It Came EP

Joseph Arthur – Redemption City

A Winged Victory For The Sullen – Manchester Academy 3, 14/01/2011

Diagrams – Black Light

The Twilight Singers – Live in New York

Eugenius – Oomalama

Luke Haines – 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s and Early ’80s

That “Best of 2011″ top 50 list in full.

Josh T Pearson’s Rough Trade Christmas Bonus

Best of 2011, No.1s: Josh T Pearson – Last of the Country Gentlemen & Richard Warren – The Wayfarer

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