Seen It>>ATP I'll Be Your Mirror at Alexandra Palace - 27.05.2012

Halfway through the final day of the I’ll Be Your Mirror weekend, was recently reunited indie punks Archers of Loaf. The North Carolina-based quartet reformed early last year after disbanding in 1998, and had played the ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas event last December, which was curated by Les Savy Fav. They were famous for their energetic shows and, even older and balder as they were, they still showed they could still rock as hard, with bassist Matt Gentling energetically leaping around the stage like an excited child on Christmas morning. Playing the first and, so far, only show of their “tour of Palaces”, they drew a small but passionate and vocal audience, who bellow out the words to “Audiowhore,” “Plumbline” and “You and Me,” as if they had never been away. The final two songs of the set, “Web in Front” and “Nostalgia”, draw frantic bouncing and moshing from the crowd, to signal an energetic show that was highly enjoyable.

The locally-based 90s revivalists, Yuck, were at home on a bill that include three reunited bands, whose heydays were all in that decade. On opener “Chew”, with its wall-of-sound guitars, you get a feel of their My Bloody Valentine influences, whilst the ensuing boisterous “Holing Out”, is more from the Dinosaur Jr textbook and it gets the crowd bopping along. They seem to feel very nervous on stage, showing a lack of stage presence, with frontman Daniel Blumberg shyly thanking ATP for having them on their bill. The distortion-powered “Get Away” draws the loudest cheers from the crowd, before they end on the 9-minute long “Rubber”, a long lo-fi stretch of reverb and distortion. Overall, it was a decent set, but nothing special.

The Make Up, having recently reformed for I’ll Be Your Mirror following a twelve year hiatus, were greeted by a large audience. Their sound was a mixture of post-punk atmosphere, with gospel keyboards and garage rock guitars, a complete contrast to the other day’s bands. The madcap frontman, Ian Svenonious, who was previously with the Nation of Ulysses, was almost as excitable as the audience, with his high-flying scissor kicks greeting his every highly-charged word. Think Mick Jagger fronting The Strokes and you’ll get a brief image of his on stage behaviour. He spent a significant amount of time in the audience, climbing on top of audience members, in order to get closer to the crowd and spread his word like the rock preacher he so naturally is. Before long, he returns to the stage, confidently serenading the audience with the funky “We‘re Having a Baby” and “Every Baby Cries the Same”. The most eclectic band on the bill, showed why there were in a league of their own, providing the perfect spiritual rejuvenation  for a tired audience, and granting the perfect warm up. Although they were the penultimate band of the weekend, they could have easily topped the bill, which would have still left the crowd going home happy.

With sweltering temperatures both outside and inside, The Afghan Whigs turned up the heat, with a blistering set that brought the house down and the event to a emotionally drained climax. After thirteen years away and a couple of prior shows, including Jimmy Fallon’s talk show, Hollywood and New York comeback shows and the Pinkpop festival, the Ohio band were back and were in scintillating form. Whilst not as big as most of their Sub Pop contemporaries in the early 90s, they made up for it in critical acclaim and cult status. Greg Dulli’s smouldering soulful rock chargers opened up with the noir-esque “Crime Scene Part I”, before launching into the highly-powered “I’m Her Slave.” But it wasn’t until the likes of “What Jail is Like” and “Gentlemen”, that the roof threatened to blow off and Dulli’s vocals were drowned out by the bellowing screams of the intoxicated, passionate audience, who seemingly had waited many years for the chance to sing these anthems again and even with the Whigs being the final band of the weekend, the energy inside wasn’t sapped. Dulli told the audience to keep dehydrated due to the baking conditions, before deciding on the draining “66” and “Debonair”, that had the entire audience bouncing for one last time. “Faded”, over 8 minutes long, gave the audience a chance to get their energy back in time for the encore. They returned to rapturous applause, delivering a four song encore. The final part, “Miles iz Ded”, proved to be the perfect parting gift, with a large congregation of singing along to ‘Don’t forget the alcohol…ooh baby’, to many a raised pint glass. Even after well over a decade away, The Afghan Whigs prove to be more in demand and as powerful as ever, leaving many middle-aged men dewy-eyed after a riveting and mesmerising show.

Overall it was a great day of music, but the show did certainly belong to The Afghan Whigs.

Features>>Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted: 20 Years Later

Friday marks the twentieth anniversary of Pavement’s debut album, Slanted & Enchanted. Considered one of the finest indie albums of all time, it’s not hard to see its influence in modern indie bands’ sound; everyone from Modest Mouse to Wavves, can claim an influence from the band’s lo-fi fuzz recordings. Their inspirational debut helped to shape 90s alternative America and the lo-fi slacker generation, paving the way for the likes of Beck, Weezer, Guided by Voices and Built to Spill later on in the decade. Even British bands such as Blur and Radiohead were indebted to Pavement in their early careers.

Recorded by a bunch of sarcastic stoners; security guard and vocalist/guitarist Stephen Malkmus (known under the pseudonym S.M) and guitarist Spiral Stairs (Scott Kannberg), with help from hippy drummer Gary Young, who owned the studio they recorded in. It was part recorded in Young’s studio in Stockton, California and part in Brooklyn, New York. It was a self-produced masterpiece. Fifteen noisy, yet melodic songs, which sounded sloppy and unfinished, yet still sounding genius and like a work of art. The catchy fuzz riffs and obtuse lyrics, which may sound abrasive at first, make for repeated listens and get suck in your head, even if you don’t have a clue what Malkmus is saying. Pavement give off that “Ramones” effect of wondering if a band couldn’t try any less or be anymore sloppy, yet still make kickass anthems.

Officially released on April 20, 1992 on Matador Records, it had been surfacing around the underground on cassette tapes a year previously. Though Pavement never received the mass attention that many of their 90s alt rock contemporaries did, they still received mass critical praise. Slanted & Enchanted received perfect tens, that Nadia Comaneci would be proud of, from the NME, Spin and Pitchfork. Rolling Stone listed it at 134th on their 500 Greatest Albums of all Time list. Blender called it the “greatest indie album of all time”. However, not everyone was a big fan. The Fall’s Mark E. Smith said Pavement were a “rip off” of his band, and they “didn’t have an original idea in their heads.” Ouch. The other members of The Fall were far more complimentary, however.

Pavement would later become a full band, hiring bassist Mark Ibold, percussionist Bob Nastanovich and replacing Young with Steve West on drums, and go onto record other masterpieces, such as Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and Wowee Zowee. Unlike the vast majority of their colleagues, Pavement never signed to a major label and stayed independent throughout their career.

Considering Pavement were never more than a cult underground band, it’s amazing, how 20 years later, they now sound like the radio regulars they never were. It’s a testament to their sound and their influence. Slanted & Enchanted was one of the earliest bursts of creativity from within the American 90s underground, yet as a tribute to its standing, is still sounding as fresh and original 20 years later.

Incoming>>Yuck - Chew

London-based 90s revivalists Yuck, return with a new song entitled “Chew”. Sounding as ever, as if it were produced by Alan Moulder, who has worked with the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins,Nine Inch Nails and the Jesus and Mary Chain, Yuck continue to pay homage to their heroes in a big way.

The guitar sounds, particularly the opening riff, are certainly reminiscent of previous Moulder-work, sounding somewhat similar to Smashing Pumpkins’ “Plume,” whilst the floaty-shoegaze atmosphere is complementary to the likes of MBV and Ride.

Seen It>>Smashing Pumpkins at Brixton Academy - 16.11.2011

Billy Corgan and the new Smashing Pumpkins ensemble - consisting of guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Nicole Fiorentino and drummer Mike Byrne - descended onto London for the second night at Brixton Academy, for an intimate UK tour of new material and old favourites. The majority of the crowd seemed to be young adults and teenagers getting their first taste of the Pumpkins and the line up didn’t seem to bother anyone. For the first time since the original line up, it seems that the Smashing Pumpkins have a sound that gels incredibly well together and the craftsmanship they process is one of a band who have been together for years, not just a matter of months.

The one complaint seemed to stem from the lack of big singles -”Today”, “Disarm”, “1979” and others were missing - which was exactly why this was a show for the most ardent of Pumpkins fans. B-sides from the album Pisces Iscariot, “Starla” and “Frail and Bedazzled”, made the setlist along with Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness tracks, “Muzzle” and “Thru the Eyes of Ruby”, and Siamese Dream’s “Geek U.S.A”, “Soma” and “Silverfuck.” Even at 44, the older and still balder Corgan showed he could still handle the long and pounding solos, shredding the shit out of the guitar at every opportunity. New songs from upcoming album Oceania and online album Teargarden By Kaleidyscope, included “Quasar”, “Panopticon”, “Lightning Strikes”, “Oceania”, “Pinwheels” and “Pale Horse.” The songs’ blend between heavy guitars riffs and long solos, prog rock and shoegaze, dream pop was the typical mixture of genres that the Smashing Pumpkins became known for.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest cheers of the night came for the singles, “Siva,” “Cherub Rock”, “Zero” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” However, undoubtedly the highlight of the night was the surprise inclusion of “Tonight, Tonight” into the setlist, the only time on this current tour that it was performed. It drew the biggest singalong of the night, drawing some passionate screaming with arms aloft and, played even without the orchestra, remained as beautiful and poignant as always. The transition from “Thru the Eyes of Ruby” (which included an extract of “I Am One”) to “Cherub Rock”, into “Tonight, Tonight” and “For Martha”, was an excellent showcase of the band’s altering back catalogue, from head banging and air guitar grunge to moving and delicate singalongs. It was the prefect way to send the audience home happy.

They returned after the encore, covering “Stephen” by Gene Loves Jezebel along with two of the band members, before the audience got what they were waiting for; the angry, fist pumping anthems “Zero” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, which were full of sweaty mosh pits and teenage angst.

A beaming and grinning Billy Corgan even had time at the end for a bit of US v UK banter with the crowd. Much like Corgan and the rest of the band, the crowd left with grins across their faces. A fine welcome back to the UK for the Pumpkins and a great send off at the same time.

Setlist:
Quasar
Panopticon
Starla
Geek U.S.A
Muzzle
Window Paine
Lightning Strikes
Soma
Siva
Oceania
Frail and Bedazzled
Silverfuck
Pinwheels
Pale Horse
Thru the Eyes of Ruby (plus I am One)
Cherub Rock
Tonight, Tonight
For Martha

Encore:
Stephen (Gene Loves Jezebel cover)
Zero
Bullet With Butterfly Wings