My love for Willis is huge. It is going to spiral out of control, and I refuse to feel bad about it. I don’t know anyone personally who loves this guy. I guess I’ll cling onto that and keep it as sacred listening. The album (Acousmatic Sorcery) is the year’s best debut record. Forget what you’ve heard, this is THE ONE. It is pure, frail, raw and truthful. Everything about it is just so deep and powerful.
Personally, my favourite track off the record is Monotony. The lyrics just really mean a lot to me. Listen to the song, its pretty easy to understand why. The video is as moving as the song. The bouts of vulnerabilty and openess in this track is just utterly comforting- and much needed in music right now. Willis is the saviour.
I woke up feeling delicate and hungover. I decided I wasn’t hungover, I was still appreciating the night before. I rid myself of this feeling by standing in the shower playing Explode by Uh Huh Her a few times until I felt like I was human again. I had two cups of tea in the space of 10 minutes. Did it work? Pretty much, yes. However I can add something else to my cure. The new video by my beloved, my lifeline- Garbage.
Shot in black and white, yeah I guess it reminds you of their video to Queer. The video is beautiful. Each member is stunning, and I could feel myself just falling in love over and over with the band. Times have been tough and shit for me recently, but I’ve been clinging onto the new Garbage stuff (and old) to get me through. By get me through, I mean dragging me up from this rut and into something better. You’ve got to believe that there is something better and it will pick up otherwise, you’re as good as dead. Not that I feel alive (I guess you can call this an emotional hangover kicking in now.) It’s just, Garbage are not just a band to me. They saved my life during my teenage years. Since I was 8 years old my heart has firmly been theirs. I’ve given a part of myself to them that I don’t think I could give a person. Not because I’m a cold person (far from it) but because the love you give to a band is like the love you get from a pet. A pet adores you and expects nothing from you. Just shelter and love. Garbage are my protection. Garbage are my one true love. You know, when Shirl read my article on Bleed Like Me and told me it made her cry- that was the only time I felt like I’d done something right. I felt like all my years of struggling as a writer were suddenly worth it. My hero has seen my work- does it get better than that? No. No amount of money in the world can top that. I am not moved by material things. I’m not sure if I’m going to get a chance to see them on their tour this Summer. If I do, I’ll probably have to go it alone. I don’t think anyone I know needs to see me be an emotional mess. I NEED to see them because I am in need of that feeling you get when you see the band that saved your life live.
Anyway, I guess I just used this as a way to express my love and devotion for a band that have always been there for me when I felt like a hopeless mess. Garbage have given me hope and strength. They gave me the guts to speak up and to stand by everything I believe in. Follow your heart, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. That’s what they’ve taught me. Forever in debt. Forever theirs.
If its good for you, you’ll probably shy away from it. If there’s a chance it’ll be bad for you, you’ll probably be attracted to it. I guess that’s why I love the band name, The Lovely Bad Things. Its pretty true. Most things that are bad for you, can sometimes be lovely. It’s a different conversation altogether, so I’ll ignore it.
Yeah, another band from L.A. Another band that just make me wish I was there. It’s not that I hate England, I’m just entirely bored of it. How I’ve lasted this long doing the same thing day in, day out without losing whatever I have left of my mind is starting to baffle me. It’s not that I want to live in L.A, I just NEED to be there. We do confuse our wants and needs. Much like we confuse our ideas of love, and if we actually love something/someone. The mind will always cloud your judgement. So, I listen to bands like The Lovely Bad Things to make me feel like I’m already in L.A. I’m there in mind and spirit. I’m just working on the body part. Things take time.
I adore The Lovely Bad Things because they have a slight angsty feel mixed with this remarkable lo-fi sound. They take parts of all the aspects of music that I love, and just create their own sound that makes me feel like I’m in some sweaty, dingy basement watching them rehearse. This is the kind of thing I want to feel. These are the images I want a band to conjure up in my mind. Reckless, ruthless riots. Why settle for something calm when you can have a chaotic whirlwind erupt in the depths of your mind.
Abandon everything you know and start all over again. Abandon it all, and keep The Lovely Bad Things playing in your mind. It’ll probably steer you towards something solid in your head/heart (it depends which you favour/follow.)
I’m just torturing myself by listening to this, because I’m going to be missing out on their tour. I’ve been waiting so long to see my ultimate heroes live..but I guess I’m going to have to wait this one out-again. Obviously I’d welcome someone saying, “Hey, here’s a ticket go see the band that saved your life.” It won’t happen. There’s more chance of me marrying Alison Mosshart really..actually, there’s more chance of…fuck it, it’s not going to happen. I can’t think of anything.
Battle In Me, in my very biased opinion is incredible. Garbage are one of the few bands I love that have NEVER done a song that I think “Oh this is weak.” I love everything they have done, and everything they do.
That raw sound they had on their debut record and on Version 2.0 is alive on Battle In Me. I’ve heard some say “Oh they’ve gone back to that sound.” Garbage do have a sound, but you cannot define it with any of their records. It goes beyond being a sound. It is an attitude, a way of thinking and a way of living.
I’m not ashamed to say that I probably would be here if it wasn’t for Garbage. They’re not just a band to me, they’re a lifeline. And those that have loved them from the start know exactly what I mean.
Battle In Me is powerful, raw and passionate. Everything I love about them and more.
I cannot remember the first time I heard The Doors, but I know I was very young. I’ll pass responsibility onto my mum for my love for this band. She used to play them around the house a bit. I’m pretty sure she’d play their songs to get me to sleep too. Except, I wouldn’t sleep. I’d just listen to the music and want to hear it. So in my head I thought, “If I pretend I can’t sleep, I’ll get to listen to music.” It worked. And I guess it was why, when I got older I used to only be able to fall asleep after I’d listened to John Peel on the radio before bed. I’d sacrifice sleep just to hear something that would blow my young mind.
Music should always, I feel, take you to a place that you’d never go yourself. It should carry you off to a magical and warped place. When a piece of music can fuck with your mind, body and soul- you know you’ve found something worth gripping onto as firmly as you can. With a band like The Doors, they have the grip on YOU. They’re a band that when you first hear, you never look back. They become a sanctuary. They are the blood in your veins. They cover you in goose bumps. 40 years plus, and they are STILL one of the best bands to have ever existed. No other band has ever had what they had. They had something no other band possessed, but you can tell they try to. Try all you want though, how could you not be influenced by such a band.
For me, I hold their debut record so very dear to my heart. If I could find the right word to describe it, I would. But no word seems to be good enough. No word can actually capture a description of this record. No word can actually fully state what this record means to me, and so many more. There is something entirely magical and lucid about this record. You do not feel like you are on this planet when you listen to it. It’s a straight up fact that Jim was a poet. He wasn’t just one of the best frontmen EVER. He wasn’t just a singer. He was just a perfect poet. His words set your soul off. His words made your heart flutter. They still do. I listen to his words, and I feel as if I’m falling in love. And I’m not even sure if I know what love truly is you know? But I really really feel it when I listen to The Doors, especially their first record. Break On Through (To The Other Side) is just from start to finish so very very hypnotising. Jim’s words can be taken as poetry, take away the music and just read the words- and you have some delicate, vulnerable and astounding poetry. One of my favourite things Jim ever wrote is found in this song :
“I found an island in your arms, Country in your eyes. Arms that chain. Eyes that lie. Break on through to the other side.”
This is just..man, if I had the words to sum up that verse I would. But I just can’t. All I know is that it still blows my mind.
Their debut record is enough to arouse a Nun. Seriously, it is THAT sexually charged. I mean, Robby is for serious, THE most underrated guitarist I’ve ever heard. He creates such magic. The whole record gives you that, “Come and get it” vibe. I just don’t know if any record since this has ever created such a feeling in me, or anyone. Was it ahead of its time? Yes. Will a record ever be this vital again? No. How can you even try to replicate something as eerie and sensual as this? The Doors were the band you wish you were in. Or, they are the band you wish you could play like. Hell..if I was musically talented I’d want to be like them. I’d want to give people this feeling. That feeling of, “I want this..but what is happening to me as I’m listening to it?! WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE OF ME RIGHT NOW?!”
End Of The Night is a song that gives me something so powerful. So powerful that all I can do is just shut my eyes and go some place I don’t want to be bothered. It makes me want to sit on a beach in L.A. in the pitch black staring at the sky and the stars hitting the water. I’ll ignore the sounds of people and cars passing me by. I’m just sitting on the beach falling into my own sense of freedom, euphoria and a general state of bliss.
The loner, the outsider, the reckless fool, the one that people dismiss-if this is how you feel then The Doors will send you in the right direction. Jim’s lyrics provide a sense of comfort and the music just makes you glad you’re alive. That’s what you want. It is what you need. Their debut record was the soundtrack for so many when it was released, and 45 years on- I can safely say it is the soundtrack to mine. There is something about this record that just makes you feel something so soulful, deep and spiritual that you know you’ve been waiting so long to feel.
When I feel like I need something to remind me about how it may just get better, I play The Doors. Mainly the first record. Jim’s words give me reassurance and hope. That’s what one needs to get through this life, and to possibly carry it on into the next one.
Love, hope, vulnerability and desire; this is what this record fills me with. There’s much more but you can only feel it when you listen to this record. When I first heard this record I felt like I was having some weird, outer-body experience. It is almost like an epiphany. I was so young when I first heard this record, but I remember feeling this. As I listen to it now, it is just like the first time I heard it.
This record still causes my heart to skip,leap and flutter. It causes my mind to trip. It wakes up my soul. It goes beyond being just a record.
This is not a record for anyone who feels content and complete with life. This is a record for those that feel like they have lost everything, but are searching for something. This is a record for those who fight even though they are so tired, and sick of everything. And everything. I’m taking back my comment about Lana putting out the best debut record of the year. That’s just a distant memory. I’m not being fickle with this, I just didn’t know Willis was putting out a record this year. So, as he is it is only right that Acousmatic Sorcery is labelled as THE best debut record of the year. By an American artist. You see, 2:54 are set to put out their debut record this year and when that drops I will call it THE best debut record by a UK band. I just love music a hell of a lot, and to call out something as my favourite always gives me a headache and eternal clashing in my heart.
You want the Blues? You want a voice that is so pure and gnarly at times? You’ll find it all in Willis’ debut record. I listen to it, and no part of me can actually believe that this is a debut record. It sounds like something you would find in those town halls that have record stalls up every month. Its one of those records you’d find there, and think “I wish I was around when this came out…how did I live so long without it?!” Then you see it was released in 2012, and you cannot get your heart around it.
He has the pain of Townes Van Zandt and the storytelling and vocals that remind you of a young Tom Waits. It is one of the most vulnerable and spiritual records I’ve heard, and probably will ever hear. You listen to it, and you feel every single word Willis is singing. You feel a bit troubled, you feel a bit weary, you just FEEL. As someone who adores music that conveys raw emotion and takes you to a place that most would run from, I find Acousmatic Sorcery to be so utterly perfect. I never listen to anything to find fault in it. I’m not that kind if person. I listen to music to find certain parts to fall in love with. Whether it be a specific note or the way something is sung- I just look for that one part that makes me glad to still be breathing. I cannot find that in one song here, I find it in every single song.
Every insecurity and trouble you are carrying on your back is being projected in this record for you. You don’t need to hide and cry no more because Willis Earl Beal is singing about it in a way that you wish you could. It’s ONLY his first record, and he’s already got the ability to make you feel like you have heard this before. That you’ve felt this connection before. It is timeless and is just a beautiful work of art.
Sambo Joe From The Rainbow is so stripped back. It is basic and innocent. Some may take this as a diss, but for Willis is a compliment. When something is so stripped back and just sends you off into another world, you know you have found the singer that has captured your heart for the rest of time.
Ghost Robot feels like a ritualistic chant that makes you want to sing along. Make your own drum out of something and beat it until your hands bleed. Sing along until your lungs ache and your mouth is bone dry. The whole record feels like some kind of spiritual experience. You feel like you are being healed from something, anything, everything as you listen to this. You listen to it and you can feel so much. You’ll feel hurt, you’ll feel happy, you’ll feel pissed off (Ghost Robot will make you want to start a protest.) You’ll just get a huge clarification with all your feelings from this record.
The outsiders of the world will fall in love with this, if they know what’s good for them. You want Gaga to preach about how its okay to be a “freak”? Alright then. You trust in the words of a woman who wears a meat dress, and I’ll go with this pure, rugged, delicate, honest young man who is coming from his heart and hitting right into mine.
Acousmatic Sorcery goes beyond being the truth. It is a record that wonderfully falls into NO genre. If you want to go label it, then that’s your call. I refuse to call it anything but wonderful. It ignites your soul and makes you feel so bloody alive. Swing On Low just moves you like someone experiencing something religious would. I know that seeing him live would probably be such a magical moment. You’d leave with your jaw on the ground and tears falling heavily from your eyes because you cannot believe what you have seen.
I’m pretty much heading that way right now listening to this. I feel I have been searching a hell of a long time to find something like this. For the most part it is just Willis and a guitar tugging at your heartstrings and making you feel okay with how you feel. He echoes your fears and frustrations. He sees the world in a way I wish more of us did. Because if we did, the world would feel much more gentle and welcoming. It is okay to be vulnerable and delicate. Id’ rather be how I am than act like a rock to keep people away. No one is always strong. Fall apart kid, but fix yourself by listening to Willis Earl Beal.
Acousmatic Sorcery proves that music is at its best when it is bare and open. The best songs created are like this. My personal favourite track off the record has to be Monotony. I feel every single lyric more than I wish to, but I’m glad I do. Things are tough and crap right now, but this record has given me some much-needed hope. I’ve never felt like I’ve had a home or ever belonged anywhere, I find peace and comfort in music; just like I do in this record. And for these reasons alone, I am calling it out as my favourite debut record of the year.
ANOTHER mind-blowing, eerie and euphoric track from my favourite duo right now, 2:54. I fell in love with them when I first heard Creeping back in 2010. I just think they’re one of the best bands around. They have that haunting feel that you will find in The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds. Like you are being chased through an abandoned forest, with no hope of getting out. Do you even want to?
You’re Early is bloody brilliant. 2:54 are on tour next week :
4/02 – Norwich, UK – Waterfront Studio 4/04 – Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institue 4/05 – Glasgow, UK – Captain’s Rest Glasgow 4/10 – Bristol, UK – Thekla 4/11 – Brighton, UK – The Green Door Store 4/12 Tumbridge Wells, UK – Forum 4/13 Liverpool, UK The Shipping Forecast 4/14 Leeds, UK – Cockpit 6/07 London, UK – Scala
Go see them. It’ll be like an outer body experience. Much like when you listen to them really.
Only In Dreams was one of the best things to have happened last year. An underrated album that holds more value in my heart than I can put into words.
I’ve written about the song Coming Down a few times, mainly because I just feel so much towards it. A lot of love. A hell of a lot of love for that song. The lyrics hit me right in the gut when I first heard it. I felt like part of what I was feeling/thinking was being sung by Dee Dee and I just cried. Watching the video just made me bawl a little bit. Maybe it’s because I’m stupidly tired and its caused me to cry. I have no idea. Or maybe, the song and the sheer beauty of this video, shot in black and white, just really struck a chord. I don’t need to write anymore about this song, it’s obvious how I feel about it. However, I must say that Dee Dee Penny is probably my dream girl.
This morning, in my emails I found a lovely email from my chums Royal Chant. They’re the kind of lads you’d spend an afternoon in a pub quoting NWA lyrics with and discussing who had the best solo career from NWA (Ice Cube, yeah?) As they are based in Australia and I’m in England these discussions occur over social networking sites and emails. When they come to England, I’ll probably stalk them and they’ll forget to play their shows as we’ll get too involved in our NWA discussions. Not sorry.
So, they’ve got a new single out. It is called Hesitation Kills and quite frankly, I love it. Even if we weren’t pals I would still love this track. It is loud and will probably cause your ears to bleed if you play it as loudly as I’ve been doing. I think I’ve gone a bit deaf. My only solution to this is to keep playing it loudly and enjoy it. I will risk my health and safety for the music I love.
You can get a free download of the track from their bandcamp page. But give it a few hours, they’re working out some technical stuff/sorting it out etc.
Wait it out, and it’ll be worth it. Until then, listen to some of the other tracks on the page. Oh and if anyone of authority (I mean very rich people who want to make a few poor folks like myself happy) wants to get these guys to England I’d appreciate that!
Sheryl Crow once sang, “A change would do you good.”True isn’t it? Change is a good thing. Why stay stuck in your ways when you can become something better. Why settle for less when you will find something better. Its always the case, and yeah it causes us good ones to be left behind- but whatever. Right now, it isn’t about that.
Best Coast are BACK. Remember how their debut record ruled your summer when it came out? How Boyfriend is the story of your life? How the lo-fi sounds sparked up your insides? I understand, I really do. I’ve played that record to death. I play it most days. I had Crazy For You as my ringtone for a while, but then I had to change it because I wouldn’t answer my phone. I changed it to something by Warpaint, and didn’t answer my phone. So I keep it on silent….and never answer my phone. I hate having a phone, as you can tell.
Back to the subject of change. Many will probably say that Best Coast have sold out and hate the new sound. Then again, some may actually realise a band cannot keep making the same record, with the same sound over and over again. Personally, I love the song. They could make a death metal record and I’d probably still love that.
I just love Best Coast, and their new track The Only Place is everything I love about them. A song about the beach and creating a wonderful summer vibe. You can’t hate on that.
Beat In My Bones. 