Day 0960 - Funeral

Arcade Fire “Funeral” (2004)

Arcade Fire seem to have had 'fiery' beginnings, with most of the band other than founder Win Butler and Régine Chassagne quitting and/or being replaced in the journey from formation to this, their debut album.

I remember seeing Aracde Fire on the televised footage of either Reading or Leeds fest when I was living in the UK.  A friend opined that they seemed like enthusiastic amateurs.  Playing pretty basic music, but with so much gusto and so many people on stage that it kind of carried things along.  Possibly a harsh assessment given that this album topped a lot of end of decade top ten lists (just behind Radiohead’s “Kid A”).

Myself, I don’t know that it’s worthy of those plaudits.  I feel as though it’s a competent enough indie-rock album with a few extra embellishments from strings, accordion and additional percussion touches; but it’s not necessarily better than a lot of the other albums on this list so far.

The gusto/bombast mentioned above is definitely on show with a song like “Wake Up” which seems to have been designed for a big audience sing-along.  Huge but simple group vocals that are pretty much a chant.

Songs like “Neighbourhood #4 (7 Kettles)” and “Crown of Love” offer up subtler moments, whereas a song like “In the backseat” starts small and builds.

I wasn’t really an Arcade Fire fan going into this, and that hasn’t really changed.  It’s not bad music, but it’s also not something I feel compelled to revisit or investigate further.

Day 0778 - Dog Man Star

Suede "Dog Man Star" (1994)

Things were not tickety boo in the Suede camp.  While they were riding high on the success of their self-titled album, a US tour was delayed due to the death of guitarist Bernard Butler's father.  When he returned to the fold, Butler distanced himself from his bandmates, and by the time they came to record their follow-up, the situation was becoming untenable.

Bernard either left or was fired partway through recording, finishing some of his parts after his departure due to contractual obligations.  The rest of his parts were completed by session musicians.

I have mixed feelings towards the album.  There's a lot more variety and theatricality than on their first album, which I enjoy.  On other hand it feels as though there are less memorable tracks here than on "Suede".  I do quite enjoy the mini-epic "The Asphalt World" though.

Day 0734 - Suede

Suede "Suede" (1993) - got it

Suede was started by couple Brett Anderson and Justine Frischmann.   They recruited other members, even having an audition with the drummer from the Smiths (an influence on the pair).  They eventually enlisted drummer Simon Gilbert via future 'Office' creator Ricky Gervais.

Anderson and Frischmann broke up and Frischmann started dating Blur's Damon Albarn.  The band didn't survive the break with Frischmann leaving to form Elastica  while Anderson moved forward with Suede.

Something about Anderson's voice reminds me of the Dunedin sound, made famous in the late 70s and 80s.  The music though has that more 90s sound of distortion and indie rock with touches of leftover washy shoegazey guitar flavouring things slightly.

I initially bought this album on the strength of catchy single "Animal Nitrate" though I honestly don't listen to the album much now, it does still have some great tracks like the equally catchy "The Drowners" and the beautiful album closer, piano-based "The Next Life".

Day 0488 - Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs "Talk Talk Talk" (1981)

An 80s band that managed to bridge the gap between the mainstream and underground pop scenes.  Melding melodic guitar lines and catchy saxophone, with a bit of punk directness showing up on some track.  The vocals seem to run somewhere between the ragged drawl of Shane McGowan and the snarl of Lou Reed.   The lyrics are anti-love and more focussed on sex for sex's sake, with penultimate track "I wanna sleep with you" feeling particularly aurally 'climactic'.

The track "Pretty in pink" had something of a resurgence in popularity after John Hughes used it in his film of the same name.