Call It What You Want

Before we get back to the important matter of writing about specific records, let's pause for a moment and consider the multitude of labels that we apply to our music nowadays. While discussing my last blog post in a local hostelry, a friend commented that my top 10 of 2014 and indeed my record collection are rather lacking in classical music. I responded that I also have no soul (insert your own joke here) and there are probably a few other genres missing. This led to a debate about what exactly is in my collection; my friend wanted to categorise it all as post-punk but I don't think that really does it justice, as anyone who has set foot in my frankly terrifying music room will testify.

There are many artists whose sound I would struggle to sum up in one or two words. With modern musicians often mixing elements from a variety of styles, are music genres now obsolete? I find it particularly vexatious when record shops and especially record fairs split their stock into very specialised genres. Their categories are arbitrary and at a record fair they will vary from stall to stall. If I'm looking for a particular record then I have no idea which crate I'm likely to find it in. My own collection is ordered alphabetically by artist and I don't feel the need to impose any other kind of segregation. Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and Johnny Cash, for example, play very different styles but happily sit side by side without any risk of Carter trying to rugby-tackle Johnny or Johnny shooting Carter just to watch them die.

OK, I know what you're thinking. Just last week, you witnessed me using terms such as prog and drone metal on these very pages. It can be useful to have a few categories that will give a very rough idea of what to expect from an artist. If I'm talking to a fellow muso and describe a new band as shoegaze, they will immediately know what I mean. The problem comes when a work colleague, knowing I go to a lot of gigs, asks what kind of music I listen to. I don't want to respond with a condescending "stuff you won't have heard of" but would I just get blank looks if I said psychobilly or no wave or gloom-pop or krautrock?

So, over to you, my three loyal readers. Do you classify your music by genre and how do you describe your favourite bands to anyone foolish enough to ask?

Ten Songs For Another World

Best of 2014

If I'm planning to do more writing in 2015 then a good place to start would be a review of last year. I wasn't sure whether to compile my favourite albums, as I often do, or my favourite songs. I've gone for the latter, as many of these are stand-alone songs rather than being on an album. They are probably, although I'm not quite so obsessive that I've counted, the songs that I've played the most.

If I'd gone for albums instead then are of course many from artists who don't feature here - Swans, Einstellung, War On Drugs... I could go on, but you would rapidly lose interest. Due to the sheer amount of music consumed this year, those who made it into the top ten - and I hope some of you are reading - should feel very proud.

10. KNIFEWORLD - The Skulls We Buried Have Regrown Their Eyes
So, a song with the word "skulls" in the title and the opening line "When I awoke this morning it was raining, just like the previous 2000 days." Hands up if you weren't expecting this to feature in my top ten? The man behind Knifeworld, Kavus Torabi, was in the most recent line-up of one of my favourite bands, Cardiacs. Their sound was described as "pronk" - a combination of prog and punk - but with Knifeworld most of the punk element has been cast aside to leave something resembling the bands from the original Canterbury scene.
Tying in with this, Kavus has also been playing with the latest incarnation of Gong. I'm ashamed to say I only have one of their albums - the obvious one - so perhaps my first New Year's resolution should be to give a bit more attention to Gong and their contemporaries.

9. HOOKWORMS - The Impasse
These Leeds psych-rockers are rather mysterious. There is minimal information on the record sleeve and the band are only credited by the initials MB, MJ, JN, SS and JW. I believe MJ is the singer but I'm not even 100% certain about that. The music features repetitive riffs, reminiscent of my old favourites Spacemen 3, combined with hints of Krautrock but it's the Robert Plant-inspired vocals that really make this work. This is very welcome as I had already been giving my old Led Zep LPs a serious re-visit when this came out.
It's certainly been a year of music that draws from the past but this doesn't mean that artists are running out of ideas. Mixing elements from existing genres can often create something fresh and if records such as this inspire younger listeners to check out bands from before they were born then this can only be a good thing.

*WARNING - CONTAINS STROBE LIGHTING*

8. GOAT - Talk To God
I took far too long getting round to checking out Goat. Their first album completely passed me by and I finally bought "Commune" when I saw a lovely splatter vinyl copy in a local record shop. That might seem a rather shallow reason for a purchase but in this case the blurred patterns spinning around perfectly complement the glorious racket contained within the grooves. The real beauty of this is that I haven't a bloody clue what's going on. I have no idea if the chanting is in English, Swedish or some made-up mystical tongue. I have no idea which instruments are being played; there are some words, which I believe to be Swedish, on the sleeve but I've not yet consulted Google Translate to determine whether these are the musician credits or a witch doctor's incantation. I'm not even sure if the back story is true - allegedly the band have existed in some form or another for over 30 years, living in a small voodoo community where their music is part of the local tradition. If you know the answers then please don't tell me and spoil the mystery.

7. BEN CALVERT & THE SWIFTS - The Sea, The Sea
Ben is a good friend and is highly respected in Birmingham and beyond, so I was pleased to see him return - even if he did only play one gig and write one new song. Although it does feature his backing band, this ghostly number bears the hallmarks of his early, stripped-down solo work. The song is inspired by an Iris Murdoch novel, which I have admittedly never read but it seems to be the tale of a playwright who becomes withdrawn from the real world after quitting the theatre. This is fitting as Ben's day job is as an actor.
My only complaint is the availability. In the past Ben has sold music through Bandcamp where the download comes with a physical object such as a set of juggling balls or a condom. This time he has committed the heinous crime of releasing the song through iTunes. I will have to nag him about putting it somewhere without the risk of infestation from the deadly U2 virus.

6. SHE MAKES WAR - Drown Me Out
I might be cheating by including this song as it hasn't actually been released yet, but I could hardly leave out She Makes War, could I? Laura Kidd describes her sound as gloom-pop, so I was obviously drawn in from the start. I discovered her by chance at a gig put on by a friend of a friend, and it's no secret that I've since become just a tiny bit smitten with her - something that even the lady herself can't have failed to notice.
Her Pledge-funded third album is being recorded as we speak and the songs previewed live have shown a move from her previous fragile sound into PJ Harvey territory. Whether the recorded versions will maintain this level of fury remains to be seen, but it's certain that "Direction Of Travel" will get a mention when I compile my list of albums this time next year.

5. MISHKIN FITZGERALD - Stitches
Again, I could be bending the rules here. There was certainly an album from Birdeatsbaby this year but I have a sneaking suspicion that this solo effort from their orange-haired-vegan-piano-warrior (her description) might have come out in 2013. I discovered the band through Last.fm or some other automated recommendation site - "You listened to the Dresden Dolls so you might like this..." They were right in saying I would like it, but it's a rather lazy comparison. Sure, they use pianos and have something of a cabaret feel but Birdeatsbaby (and Mishkin) have a more expansive, orchestral sound and the lyrics deal with more personal issues compared with the Dolls' tales of fictional characters.
At first I wasn't aware of the connection with my other new favourite artist - Laura appears on this album and Mishkin has just recorded her contribution to "Direction Of Travel". Each of them has their own distinct sound so any crossover is bound to be fascinating.

4. SCOTT WALKER AND SUNN O))) - Bull
The buzz around this collaboration between the drone metallers and the world's most reclusive songwriter was so intense that some were bound to be left disappointed. There were certainly comments from a few listeners that it was not what they were expecting, but Scott being Scott, I had no idea what to expect.
The contribution from Sunn O))) is very different from the sound of their own records but the vocals are so dominant that it takes a few plays before you notice what's going on beneath. As always with Scott's lyrics, you will spend the duration of the album wondering what it could all possibly mean but this song does contain two of my favourite lines of the year: "Woke nailed to cross, could not give toss" and "Leaping like a Riverdancer's nuts".
I don't often do this but I made a special trip to buy this on the day of release, rather than waiting until the weekend or ordering online. The first time I played it, I turned out all the lights. Perhaps not the best idea, given the dreams I had afterwards.

3. MAZZY STAR - I'm Less Here
Mazzy Star could hardly be called prolific; they've released just four albums since 1990. This song has featured in their live set under several different names but the 7", released for Record Store Day, is the first recorded version to be made available. The minimal nature, with Hope Sandoval's vocals backed by David Roback's gentle strumming, does suggest that the song dates to the same period as their classic "So Tonight That I Might See" album.
Hope's voice can reduce me to tears, even though her delivery often makes the words hard to discern. The lyrics that can be made out here suggest a longing for a time gone by. But then her words become indistinct and we're made to feel that perhaps even our memories of that time have become blurred. The saddest song of the year.

2. PSYCHIC TV - After You're Dead, She Said
You never know what you're going to get with a PTV album, and that exciting unpredictability is one of the reasons I've stuck with them through the ups and downs. They've spanned an impressive range of genres and if I'm honest their series of live albums, including the ones reissued for Record Store Day this year, can be unlistenable at times even by my standards.
The latest album, "Snakes", features a combination of psychedelia and melodies, something you might not expect from the founder of Throbbing Gristle. This song contains echoes of their best-known hit, "Godstar", and despite the morbid title it's an uplifting piece. You might be surprised that I listen to uplifting songs but this one never fails to raise my spirits.

1. DESPERATE JOURNALIST - Happening
Far and away the best song I've heard all year. It has pretty much everything you could ask for: short and to the point, a guitar sound harking back to the golden age of indie, striking verse/chorus contrast and lyrics that are precise while at the same time being open to interpretation for your personal circumstances. Plus how magnificent does Simon look in this video? It almost, but not quite, makes me want to try eyeliner. I bet he even goes out to buy a pint of milk looking like that.
Their debut album will be with us any second now and my only concern is whether the new songs will be able to match the splendour of this one. Somehow I doubt that I have anything to worry about.

Welcome back, my friends...

If you're reading this then you've probably noticed that this blog has been neglected for a shocking amount of time. In fact many people, myself included, had assumed it had been written off for good. The lack of activity is partly due to lack of time. In the past, I would go to a gig or buy a record and then spend Sunday afternoon writing about it. But lately I've been seeing two or more bands a week and buying several records at once, which makes it difficult to focus on just one of them and come up with something interesting to say.

But the main cause is simply that Facebook and Twitter lead you into laziness. Why spend several hours writing a review that you can't be certain anyone will read when you can just come home from a gig, upload a photo of a setlist and write two sentences telling your friends very little apart from the name of the band you saw?

I've decided that I need to start writing more just to stop my brain from stagnating. I can't promise that I'll be posting articles as frequently as before but if you're kind enough to check back from time to time then you should be rewarded with something to read. I'm going to start by listing my favourite releases from the past year, which will hopefully be here for your enjoyment within the next day or two...

The Man Whose Head Expanded

THE MONOCHROME SET - Birmingham Hare & Hounds

I have been waiting to see The Monochrome Set for some time, four years to be precise. I had always regarded their three albums from the early 1980s to be lost classics and in 2008 I had just begun checking out their later work when I heard that they were back together for a one-off show to mark the 30th anniversary of their label, Cherry Red. At the time I was attending gigs around the country with someone who was possibly the world's biggest Monochrome Set fan. Keen to impress her, I went to desperate lengths in my effort to acquire tickets. I contacted the venue and the label, and promised to review the show, perhaps slightly overstating the audience of this blog. However, I was told that it was a private party for label staff and there were no tickets.

All of that now seems an eternity away as four years on, a lot has changed. The lady in question is no longer part of my life and my health in particular has given cause for concern. However, my problems seem insignificant when compared to those of frontman Ganesh "Bid" Seshadri. In 2010 he suffered a near-fatal aneurysm, putting the future of the band in doubt. With another of my musical heroes, Tim Smith, in a similar position and unlikely to play again, I'm relieved that Bid is back stronger than ever.

Tonight Bid is joined by original members Lester Square and Andy Warren, plus a new drummer and violinist. The set opens in the only way imaginable, with their eponymous theme tune, its pounding tribal drums more prominent than ever - perhaps a nod towards their shared ancestry with Adam and the Ants?


Amongst old favourites such as "He's Frank", "The Jet Set Junta" and their almost-hit, "Jacob's Ladder", they showcase half of the songs from new album "Platinum Coils". This is their first release for 17 years and not surprisingly, the main focus of the lyrics is Bid's recent spell in hospital. In some respects the subject matter is similar to the last Spiritualized album. But while Jason Pierce appeared to be re-evaluating his life, Bid's songwriting is as quirky as ever and takes a much more light-hearted look at life and death. Album opener "Hip Kitten Spinning Chrome" is one of the catchiest tunes the band have written and could easily have come from their 1980 debut. In the lyrics Bid appears to be using the kitten to represent his illness; perhaps by thinking of it as something cute and friendly it will seem less frightening.


Although it seems morbid, maybe the aneurysm should be viewed in a positive light as it certainly appears to have strengthened Bid as a songwriter and frontman. This is best represented by the album cover, which features Bid's head with a collage of people, insects and vintage paraphernalia spilling out of it. The chaotic contents of his mind suggest that his imagination is limitless when compared with those fortunate individuals who have not had a brush with death. Bid has clearly accepted his illness as part of what he is and it's possible that without it, these new songs would be far less interesting or may not have been written at all. This makes me reflect on my own health. Although my neurological problems have been disturbing at times, perhaps if I hadn't had that serious illness as a child then I would have grown up to be a "normal" person with average tastes and I wouldn't be writing this now.

Alongside Bid, the rest of the band put in a flawless performance throughout. The strings add a nice touch to many of the old classics, and (ignoring the fact that he appears to be using some kind of sex toy as a guitar pick) Lester Square reminds us, not that we should have forgotten, what an amazing player he has always been. I have long considered him to be one of the finest guitarists of his generation and it's a great travesty that he is not mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Marr and Squire. Just listen to 1979 single "He's Frank" and tell me that this didn't inspire The Smiths.


With such a wealth of material in their back catalogue I would have been happy for them to play all night, but things finally draw to a close with another early single, "Eine Symphonie Des Grauens". I'm left feeling invigorated, more so than I have been by a live gig for a long time. Some of their songs had come to represent a particular period of my life and the bad memories associated with it. Those memories have now been erased as I realise that Bid's songs are so wide-ranging they can be applied to just about anything I care to think of. With any band, I usually recommend their earliest releases, but if you are not familiar with The Monochrome Set then you could do a lot worse than starting with "Platinum Coils", available now through the band's website.

A change of speed, a change of style

FAME - JON SAVAGE'S SECRET HISTORY OF POST-PUNK 78-81

It's been over a year since I last posted anything here. This is not because I've stopped listening to music, in fact just the opposite. I've been so busy buying records and going to gigs that I've not got around to writing about any of them. This excellent compilation has finally given me the incentive to get writing again.

"Fame" is released by Caroline True Records, a Shrewsbury-based label who specialise in digging up Peel-approved obscurities while also releasing new material by bands such as Birmingham stalwarts The Nightingales. I first came across CTR a couple of years ago when I was contacted by label founder John Kertland, who had noticed the music I had been listening to on Last.fm and suggested I might like the compilation he had put together of long-lost Manchester act Manicured Noise. I usually ignore unsolicited emails but in this case I made an exception as I had always been curious to hear this band, who had until that point been just a name on the FAC1 poster. Needless to say, I bought the album; I was not disappointed and John is now a good friend.

Despite the huge amount of music in my collection, ranging from the mid-1950s to the present day, the era that most interests me is probably the late '70s/early '80s. If someone asks me which bands are most important to me I would mainly list acts from this period, such as Joy Division. But when asked what kind of music this is, I find it hard to give an accurate description, particularly when asked by work colleagues who are not big music listeners. I would typically use the term "post-punk", but then struggle to define it to someone not familiar with the bands. This could really mean any record from 1978 onwards. Although punk had a recognisable sound, post-punk had a more diverse style and seems to be a catch-all term for a wide variety of bands who had taken the DIY spirit of punk but dragged its sound, which many would admit was starting to become stale, into more experimental territories.

In an attempt to bring together some of the music that best represents post-punk, CTR have enlisted Jon Savage, one of the country's best journalists and the author of what is possibly the definitive text on the punk years. Savage has selected 23 acts (some well-known but most of them relatively obscure) and also written a compelling set of sleeve notes, clearly putting post-punk in a historical context.

It's clear that post-punk grew from the initial punk explosion. The bands most commonly classed as post-punk, such as Wire and Joy Division (both included here) had originally been punks. If I had to choose one album that could be called post-punk then it would be "Metal Box", a record made by the country's best-known punk. It's interesting that Savage has chosen not to include PiL on this compilation, but as he states on the sleeve, he has tried to avoid being too obvious.

While punk rejected everything that had come before, post-punk takes in a wide range of influences. Elements of psychedelia are evident on many of the tracks here, particularly on Chrome's contribution, "Chromosome Damage". This would have been rejected as "hippy music" by the early punks. Some of the bands included here seem to rebel against punk's insular approach in the same way. One of the more bizarre tracks is by Nigel Simpkins. This has to be the most un-rock 'n' roll name ever, but anyone who has read Julian Cope's autobiography will know that it is actually a pseudonym used by Cope's sometime manager, Cally Callomon. I suspect he chose this name as a reaction against those calling themselves Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious etc. His track "Times Encounter", consisting of a drum loop with treated guitars and chanting fading in and out, sounds like something from an early Faust album.

As well as embracing the past, bands began to look to the future and incorporate electronic elements. While punk was about youthful rebellion, post-punk generally had a bleaker outlook as the bands began to accept that the country was screwed and no amount of pogoing or safety pins would change that.

Two Sheffield bands, The Human League and Cabaret Voltaire, contribute instrumental tracks where they use technology that was groundbreaking at the time to paint a desolate picture of the future. With the Tories having recently come into power and the economy in decline, both bands create a foreboding atmosphere that suggests crumbling grey buildings, perhaps a depiction of the ruin of their hometown, a once-successful hub of industry. The Human League's "Dignity Of Labour", through both its title and 12" cover art, suggests a Soviet work ethic, possibly a statement on the unemployment that was starting to take hold of the nation. The League and CV went on to become successful in the fields of synthpop and techno respectively but even in their more commercial later works, their experimental roots are noticeable.

Many people say that punk was invented in England, and by the Pistols in particular, which is obviously incorrect. Similarly, post-punk is often thought of as a UK phenomenon. However, there are several US bands here, including Mars and DNA, who were both part of New York's No Wave movement and featured on Brian Eno's 1978 compilation. While the English post-punk acts were becoming more atmospheric, their US counterparts sound, on the whole, more abrasive. With scratchy guitars and lyrics that are sometimes surreal, sometimes indiscernible, it's apparent how this short-lived scene gave birth to longstanding bands such as Sonic Youth.

I am always searching for more music from this era and "Fame" has introduced me to several acts that I had not heard before. My favourite track is "Herpes Simplex" by Rosa Yemen, a project of NY-based French musician Lizzy Mercier Descloux. With its minimal yet at the same time melodic backing and plaintive female vocals, it brings to mind late-1980s bands such as A.C. Temple. Judy Nylon, another NY artist, treads similar ground but gives an altogether more relaxed delivery, thanks to the involvement of legendary dub producer Adrian Sherwood.

Another US band of note is Cleveland-based X_X, whose rant against unnecessary things in general, "No Nonsense", is reminiscent of their neighbours Pere Ubu. It seems that they only released two singles, which I imagine are hard to get hold of now. This is probably for the best as it would only cause confusion if I added them to a collection that already includes X, The xx and The Ex.

The most surprising song comes from Athens, Georgia's Method Actors, simply because it is catchy and has been stuck in my head since the album finished playing. "Do the Method" shows how post-punk can be more than minimal rhythm sections and cryptic lyrics. They released two albums and a number of EPs, brought together on the compilation "This Is Still It" in 2010, so I'm not sure why I haven't encountered them before.

After these unfamiliar artists, there is perhaps only one band worthy of bringing this album to a close; This Heat. One of the most perplexing acts in my collection, having owned the boxset of their complete works for many years I still have no idea how to categorise them. Although often described as post-punk, I hear more evidence of jazz, prog and... god knows what else. I enjoy them simply because I don't understand them, in much the same way that I read the writings of the Situationist International without being certain what they are talking about. This Heat's contribution, "A New Kind Of Water", voices environmental concerns that are common today but practically unheard of in songs of 30 years ago. They predict that consumer culture will ultimately be our downfall, just as Guy Debord had done in "The Society of the Spectacle" when he criticised our materialistic nature and craving for glossy objects. There is an obvious irony here, given my desire to own the physical copy of this album with its coloured vinyl and painstakingly designed gatefold sleeve.

After listening to "Fame" several times, I'm still not sure if I could accurately define post-punk. But now if someone asks about my favourite style of music, rather than trying to describe it I would simply point them towards this record.

The Noise Made By People

TRISH KEENAN 1968-2011

I was deeply shocked when I returned to work after lunch on Friday to discover that Trish Keenan, singer with Birmingham's electronic aces Broadcast, had died in hospital a few hours earlier. For me, and many of my friends, Trish will always be the one who best personifies the more imaginative side of our local music scene.

Broadcast arrived at just the right time for me. When they released their first few singles in the mid-1990s, the Britpop era was just coming to an end but Birmingham's live music scene was still mainly populated by Oasis wannabes. I had just quit my regular DJ slot due to the rubbish I was expected to play. Although there were people in Birmingham with more varied tastes, they rarely seemed to come together in the same place. When Broadcast started to play live, it was just the boost we needed and a small scene soon developed. I have fond memories of the next five or six years and what became known as the "We Brought Our Friends" scene. There were a handful of local bands (Magnetophone, Avrocar, Novak etc.) regularly playing at the Jug of Ale and the Flapper & Firkin, and I seemed to be in one or the other of these venues at least twice a week. As well as the music, there was a great social atmosphere and I got to know many of the bands. Despite having no musical skills of my own, I felt like I was part of something important.

Although most of these bands were not widely known outside of the small venues where they played and have since disappeared, Broadcast went on to greater success. After early releases on labels such as Wurlitzer Jukebox, they signed to Warp and became one of the best-known Birmingham acts. But despite the attention they received from the music press, they did not abandon their experimental leanings, and their releases over the last 15 years have never been anything less than fascinating. Their use of vintage synths combined with Trish's haunting vocals brings to mind the soundtrack of a 1930s film while at the same time hinting at '60s psychedelia and the works of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

I'm guessing that most people reading this won't need me to describe Broadcast's sound, and certainly won't require any encouragement to listen to their records. But in case there is anyone out there who has not heard Broadcast before, the best place to start is probably with "Work and Non Work", which compiles the early singles. This showcases the band's most relaxing pieces, and could almost be described as "lounge music". This is the best way to ease yourself into the mysterious world of Broadcast. In particular, it includes the beautiful "Message From Home". Like many other songs that I've reviewed here, this piece has a personal meaning to me and seems to describe a specific moment from my past.



After that, there was a gap of three years before their first full-length album finally appeared, but they had spent the time painstakingly developing their sound, which they seemed to do to a certain extent with each subsequent release. The lyrics in particular get more surreal as their career progresses, and for many songs I believe they employed André Breton's technique of "automatic writing".

I strongly feel that everyone should listen to all of Broadcast's releases, but if I had to choose one album then it would be 2005's "Tender Buttons". I personally consider this to be one of the finest psychedelic records ever made. However, it may come as something of a shock after the lush textures of "Work and Non Work", so if you have time it may be better to build up to it by working through the intervening albums in sequence. By this stage, the band had been reduced to a duo of Trish and James Cargill so in many ways the sound was stripped down, whilst at the same time taking in some new influences. The real beauty of this record is the way it manages to combine sounds from a number of different eras into a cohesive whole and still not sound like anything that came before it. If I didn't know Broadcast and listened to this album blind, I doubt I would be able to make an accurate guess at the decade in which it was made.

This record reminds me of different aspects of Birmingham, but mainly in a psychogeographic way. As some of you may know, I have a nostalgic fascination with the old architecture of Birmingham, particularly from the late-1980s/early-1990s when I first lived here, and centred around the old Bull Ring, of which I have recently built up a large collection of photographs. "Tender Buttons" is the perfect soundtrack when browsing through these pictures. The harsh rhythms of the title track and "I Found The F" remind me of the maze of subways and the bleak grey stone landscape, the way many people who have never actually been here imagine the entire city to look.









The album also includes the moving "Tears In The Typing Pool", which acts as a wonderful contrast to the abrasiveness of the previous tracks.



"Tender Buttons" requires many plays before it reveals all of its hidden depths, but ultimately it's the Broadcast album that I keep returning to.

As I have already said in a separate online discussion this weekend with one of my regular readers, at times like this I am reminded that I am lucky to live in a city with so much innovative musical talent. The last month or so has been particularly tragic, as we have already lost Mick Karn, Captain Beefheart and Peter Christopherson. Let's hope that 2011 does not continue in the same way.

Expressway To Yr Skull

SONIC YOUTH / THE POP GROUP – Manchester Academy

And so for my final gig of the year, I’ve decided to head north and catch one of just two UK shows that Sonic Youth are playing. I’m starting to get concerned that the recent snow will prevent the New York noise merchants and their vast collection of guitars from getting here, but I needn’t have worried as they are clearly made of stronger stuff than us Brits. Even with NYC suffering its worst blizzard in 60 years, they manage to turn up on time with seemingly more equipment than ever. Certain UK public transport providers could learn a thing or two from these guys.

The show opens with recently reformed Bristol post-punks The Pop Group. 30 years ago, their abrasive punk with jazz tinges left them as true outsiders and I suspect this is the largest venue they’ve ever played. They have always been one of the least accessible bands in my collection, one that I’m always wary of lending to friends for fear of what it will do to their eardrums. Tonight, with their greying hair and smart white shirts, they look more like respectable middle-aged men or possibly professional jazz musicians than anarchist punks. A couple of the songs definitely feature virtuoso flourishes that might not have gone down too well in the seedy bars where they originally played. However, Mark Stewart is still a compelling frontman and behind the well-dressed exterior, they have retained all of the anger that made the band famous in their short-lived first incarnation.

When I first discovered The Pop Group, in my student days, I thought I was being rebellious just by listening to something so obviously unconventional. It was really just the sound that attracted me; I paid little attention to the lyrics or the philosophy behind them. It’s easy to say now that the band were very much of their time. They formed in an era when a Conservative government had just been elected and race riots were common in many of our big cities… so, not much different from today, really. With stories of corruption in government and big business never out of the news, songs such as “Forces of Oppression” and “We Are All Prostitutes” seem more relevant now than ever.

I can imagine how The Pop Group might have been an influence on Sonic Youth, who clearly have a lot of respect for them. They’ve been given an hour to play (quite a long time for a support act) but perhaps more surprisingly, they get an encore. They return to play “She Is Beyond Good And Evil”, possibly the one song that everyone has been waiting for. I’m not certain how long this reunion is intended to continue or if they have any plans for a new album, but I for one would be interested in some new songs as it would be good to hear their thoughts on the current state of the world.



I’ve seen Sonic Youth countless times over the last 20 years and, if I’m honest, I might not have headed all this way tonight if I hadn’t been curious to see The Pop Group. I know a few people who have said they can no longer be bothered with Sonic Youth shows, because they’ve seen them enough times already, and it can sometimes be a self-indulgent mess.

Tonight, I’m worried that this could turn into another of those shambolic nights, as it takes them a couple of songs to get into the swing. But by the time they get to “Tom Violence” (the third or fourth song, I’ve lost count by now) they are fully focussed and deliver one of the best sets I’ve seen them do in years. They play for almost two hours, completely ignoring the venue’s 11pm curfew, and never seem to slow down. This intensity, sometimes lacking in their live shows, is due in part to the presence of Pavement’s Mark Ibold, who has been added for the last couple of tours as a second bassist. This frees up Kim Gordon to handle vocals on more of the songs and also gives the band a fuller sound as Kim occasionally plays an extra guitar.

The band’s name seems more appropriate tonight than ever. It’s hard to believe we’re watching a group of people in their fifties. Kim in particular still looks amazing and displays a ridiculous amount of energy for someone who is 57. I will be grateful if I can jump around half as much when I am her age.

Steve Shelley is the youngest member, only by a couple of years, and his intense drumming for the whole of the set should be held up as an example to anyone wanting to learn the drums today. Lee Ranaldo is perhaps the only one who looks his age, coming across as quite dignified with his grey hair. But he is probably the least conventional in terms of music, providing many short bursts of improvised noise throughout the set.

I’m not really sure what I can say about Thurston Moore. I know I have often been accused of looking (and dressing) much younger than I am, but here we have a 52-year-old who could still pass as a 20-year-old student. He does not seem to have aged (or bought any new clothes!) since I first saw him live when I was a student. I would like to know what his secret is, as I am now determined to continue looking youthful until I’m at least as old as he is now. I guess that most people regard Thurston as the band’s figurehead, and he also offers a fair amount of improvised guitar abuse tonight, but from where I’m standing at least, it seems to be Lee who takes the lead in this.

The set, as is often the case with Sonic Youth shows, is centred around the latest album - by the end of the night, we’ve had ten of the twelve songs from “The Eternal”. I bought the vinyl version of this, with its bonus MP3s for early purchasers, but that was months ago and I’ve forgotten half of the tracks already. I needn’t have worried, as it all comes back to me as soon as each song starts up and I notice, for the first time in many cases, that there are actually a few potential SY classics on this album. “What We Know” sounds amazing, and could easily have been a dancefloor favourite if this record had been out when I was still DJing regularly. Dedicating “Antenna” (with its refrain of “radios play nothing when she's far away…”) to Ari Up is particularly touching, and will forever change what this song means to me.

Although this is largely about my re-acquaintance with “The Eternal”, it’s also satisfying to hear a few older songs. As well as the aforementioned “Tom Violence”, the main set features two songs (“Catholic Block” and “Stereo Sanctity”) from 1987’s “Sister”. This was the album that brought the band to my attention, and is still probably my favourite SY album today. It came out at a time when I couldn’t afford to buy records at the rate I do now and I mainly discovered new music via illicit tapes passed to me by a friend at school. “Sister”, along with JAMC’s “Psychocandy”, introduced me to the idea that noise and melody could be combined in the same song, and my tastes have never been the same since.

I imagine that many of the crowd (which mainly seems to consist of 30-something males) would probably choose “Daydream Nation” rather than “Sister” as their favourite album, if the constant shouts for “Teen Age Riot” and “Silver Rocket” are anything to go on. The band would perhaps not play anything that obvious, but they do meet us halfway by giving us “The Sprawl” and “’Cross The Breeze” for the first encore. This is the only time I’ve seen the audience erupt into anything resembling the front few rows of a traditional rock concert. Until this point, the band have been far more energetic than the crowd.

For the second encore, there is another “Sister” track (“White Cross”) before the thrilling chaos of “Death Valley ‘69” reminds us of their No Wave roots. This climaxes in a tremendous wall of noise, with Lee attacking his guitar strings using god-knows-what. By the end, his instrument is almost certainly in an unusable state so I don’t think anybody will be expecting another encore.

This was actually one of my favourite types of set, although I may not have admitted it before the show, where rather than playing the songs I want, they play a set I never would have chosen (such as the whole of the latest record) but it leads me to discover hidden joys in those songs. Often the best way to appreciate or rediscover a neglected album is to hear it played live. I had “The Eternal” on my iPod all the way back from Manchester and wondered why I didn’t listen to it more when it came out. OK, I expect you all know the answer to that – probably because of the huge number of other records I would have bought in the same week.

The main thing I have realised from this show is just how important Sonic Youth are but also how much I take them for granted. They have always been there, never really changing, and many of their albums were soundtracks to important moments in my life, bringing back memories if I play them now. Yet they would probably not be one of the first bands that spring to mind if asked to compile a list of my favourite acts. If I make one new year’s resolution, it should perhaps be that even while I continue to investigate new music, I should not neglect the old friends who helped to develop my tastes. I hope I can watch Sonic Youth play another set like this in another ten or twenty years.