Day 0985 - XX

The XX "XX" (2010)

The band was formed by school friends Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft as a duo but later fleshed out by a couple of extra members.   Oliver and Romy would message each other lyric ideas and the band would work out their song ideas at night, trying not to wake the other people in the household.  Perhaps this approach led to the gentle, stripped down approach.

The band stated they were influenced by some American RnB including the production of Neptunes.  Their sound to me is almost more like stripped-down new-wave.  Some electronic beats, clean guitar and subtle synth parts.  The band have a male and female vocalist which helps provide some variety to their sound, with one or the other taking on lead vocals, or both trading lines back and forth.

The first time I listened to this album was back in 2017; I enjoyed it then and have enjoyed it on this re-listen.  Back then (and it hasn't changed) my favourite track was "Infinity" with its sultry groove and tremolo guitar, bearing some resemblance to Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game".  

Day 0909 - Figure 8

Elliott Smith "Figure 8" (2000)

 
The inclusion of some of Smith's songs in the soundtrack for "Good Will Hunting" (which garnered an Oscar nomination for best original song) raised his profile.  He was signed to Dreamworks records, which meant his days of recording his albums at his and other people's houses was numbered.

This album was recorded at professional studios including Abbey Road... which seems apt as Smith's increased budget and big label direction allowed him to make a Beatles-esque baroque pop album.

The stripped down sound of "Either/Or" gives way to a lush layered approach.  Opener "Son of Sam" features some backing vocals that wouldn't be out of place on a mid-60s era Beatles album.   "Pretty Mary Kay" has a certain Lennon (via Pink Floyd) vibe to it.

Strings, layered vocals and bouncy Ringo-styled drums abound.  But while the Beatles' songs were generally uplifting, hopeful, love-focussed; Elliott had struggled with addiction and heartbreak and his songs funnelled that pop sound through a more nihilistic filter.   Not a million miles from the lovely, yet oddly sinister sound of the band Mini Mansions nearly a decade later.

Probably a track or so too long, but with a sound this lush and interesting, I'll let him away with it.

Day 0898 - Californication

Red Hot Chili Peppers “Californication” (1999) – got it

Another album that I don’t necessarily have to listen to specifically for the list because it’s burned into my memory… but for completism’s sake I gave it another spin.

Following the departure of guitar prodigy John Frusciante, the Chili Peppers tried a couple of different guitarists and carried on with Arik Marshall for their Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour, but when they came to record music, Marshall wasn’t clicking.   They enlisted Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and together made the album “One Hot Minute” which had a much heavier and more layered sound than BSSM.  Personally I love OHM, but fans, some critics, and even the band themselves were less enamoured.  It constantly gets held up as a commercial failure… which is odd as it sold at least a couple of million copies, but I guess that’s not BSSM numbers.

Anyhoo, the partnership with Navarro ended too and the band reunited with Frusciante who had, in the interim released a couple of interesting-to-difficult solo albums and almost destroyed himself with heroin (he had no usable teeth left and his arms were heavily scarred from improper heroin injection).  He managed to clean himself up and switched his obsessive focus from junk back to music.

Which brings us to Californication.  The band reconvened in bass player Flea’s garage and in a really low-key way just started jamming together and coming up with music.

From the opening track “Around the World” it might almost seem like the band were picking up where they left off with a tornado of funk giving way to percussive single-note guitar lines and bouncy bass, but then the melodic chorus with Frusciante’s backing vocals kicks in.   Of course the game had already been given away with lead single “Scar Tissue” that seemed to nicely sum up the band’s journey since BSSM and was a much more melodic direction for the band.  More harmony/backing vocal arrangements from Frusciante and his technique of breaking chords down to 2 or 3 separately plucked clean notes with a bass and treble thing so it's almost mimicking a kick-and-snare rhythm pattern on drums.

I like the album for its simplicity.  The band aren't really looking to play a million miles a minute like they did on Mother's Milk, and Frusciante had not played for a couple of years so was just finding his way back around his instrument.  They explore their new mature melodic side on tracks like "Porcelain", the title track and the lovely acoustic album-closer "Road Trippin" (and singer Anthony Kiedis acquits himself well despite the many criticisms of his singing ability through the years), but they still dip into their funk sound with "Get on top" "I like dirt" and the fun "Purple Stain".  

In subsequent albums Frusciante would become a force to be reckoned with, and would arguably become too controlling in his vision, but here he's back to finding his feet and the four feel like equal partners.

The album isn't perfection.  The band starts to be guilty of "chorus overuse syndrome" repeating hooks on certain songs ad nauseum.   The 'hits' here suffered from radio saturation.  I can't listen to the title track or "Otherside" in isolation any more, though as part of the album as a whole they are still tolerable.

Day 0857 - Either/Or

Elliott Smith "Either/Or" (1997)

Well I'm an idiot.  I had Elliott Smith totally confused with pop singer Sam Smith (I mean Smith isn't really a common name, right?).   I'd seen this CD in my wife's music collection and I was like "kind of surprised she's into that Sam Smith guy".   When this came up on the list and I actually listened to the album I realised that it was awesome and nothing like Sam Smith.

Smith's (Elliott's) sound here is a really stripped-down singer-songwriter vibe.  His voice is light and gentle over tracks that are often just acoustic guitar, with drums and bass only occasionally coming into the picture.

"Angeles" is largely just acoustic guitar and voice with some subtle keyboard in places.  "No Name No.5" with its droney sitar-esque acoustic guitar and big thumping bass drums in places remind me of a mellower take on the classic Soundgarden sound.   "Cupid's Trick" adds a little more texture and even some rock to it.

The music seems somehow really familiar to me but I can't really place it.  Like I feel that maybe it has hints of Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley and Eleven (it does have that descending melodic patterns and contrasting descending/ascending vocal/guitar thing going on in places) but it's much quieter and more intimate than that.  Maybe I'm just picking up on that '60s sounds through a cynical 90s filter' thing that some of those other artists also employed.   The songs also bring to mind Ween's folkier moments and Liam Finn's solo material.

A few songs from the album were featured in the film "Good Will Hunting" which brought Smith a bit more recognition.   Sadly, he died 5 or 6 years later after being stabbed twice in the chest.  The coroner could not confirm if it was suicide or homicide

Day 0830 - Second Toughest in the Infants

Underworld "Second Toughest in the Infants" (1996)

Another electronic album... though I guess the genre was going through something of a renaissance at this point.    

The members of Underworld had started off playing electro pop in a couple of different bands.  Even the early incarnation of Underworld itself had been more in an electro-rock, electro-pop direction.  The band enlisted DJ Darren Emerson and moved more fully into techno/electronica, working with pulsing beats and repetitive looped musical ideas.

This approach creates the musical bed for the minimalist and again often repeated vocals.   There was a time when I didn't really dig this style of music, I preferred a constant influx of new ideas or at least some regular evolution of the main idea.   I think now I'm less able to absorb that unless I'm focussing solely on the music.   I used to be able to listen to quite complex all-over-the-show music while reading a book or writing etc, but now I find I need to give a lot more attention to my listening.   Having something that loops and repeats that I can wander in and out of has an ever increasing appeal.

Day 0748 - The Infotainment Scan

The Fall "The Infotainment Scan" (1993)

The Fall embrace electronic elements on top of the rock, noise, spoken word sound of their previous two entries in this list.

The Infotainment Scan did reasonably well, hitting no.9 in the UK charts, and it has some interesting sounds throughout, but for some reason it just didn't tickle my music-bone the way other two entries (Live at the Witch Trials and This Nation's Saving Grace) did.

Day 0743 - Emergency on Planet Earth

 Jamiroquai “Emergency on Planet Earth” (1993) – got it

 

Kind of like a combination of Herbie Hancock’s fusion material, and Steve Wonder… in fact, if I were to be uncharitable, I’d say that that’s pretty much all their sound is.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Jamiroquai’s tight funk grooves, danceable beats and Wonder-esque vocals, and I have a few of their releases; but I have to admit that their sound doesn’t change hugely between albums.  They might chuck in a ballad here or more of a disco influence there but generally they stick with what they know.

That aside, I could definitely understand this record and band making a splash when they first appeared.  Their music is lively, their musicians skilled, and lead-singer Jay Kay (who people forever assume is a solo artist called Jamiroquai) was a ball of big-hat-wearing energetic stage presence.

Day 0693 - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

This is a lengthy one because... as I say below, this is a favourite. 


Red Hot Chili Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" (1991) - got it

I’m a big Chili Pepper’s fan, so here’s some band history.   The Chili Peppers formed, and recorded 3 albums of punky, speedy rap-funk characterised by busy slap-pop bass, minimalist guitar and sex-inspired rhymes, but also exploring elements such as RnB, psychedelic rock and metal.

Original guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose and drummer Jack Irons decided to leave music (though he’d later join Pearl Jam for – arguably – their best albums).

Mainstays Anthony Kiedis and Flea recruited drumming behemoth Chad Smith and teen guitar prodigy John Frusciante and together they released the much heavier “Mother’s Milk” album with wall-to-wall distorted guitar on some tracks, and with each of the players showing off their musical chops.   The band parted company with EMI, and signed to a new label.  They joined forces with young producer Rick Rubin, who had co-founded Def Jam records and was making a name producing rap and metal albums (LL Cool J, Run DMC, Slayer etc.).  He suggested that they rent a house to live and record in, and in that laid-back setting, this collection of tracks was created.

For a time this was my favourite album (in general, not just for the Chili Peppers), until I realised that ‘favourites’ with music are somewhat transitory.  There's over an hour of music across 17 tracks, yet to my tastes, it does not sag at any point.  One of those albums where every other song has been my 'favourite' at some point.

The studio polish that defines the Chili Peppers now was barely starting to show then, which is a good thing.   Where their records now feature tight, compressed polished production; the drums on "give it away" sound like they were recorded in someone's bathroom, and it's fantastic.

Whereas they are now serial offenders for COS (Chorus Overuse Syndrome), on BSSM they would play around a lot more with structures and parts, with lengthy jam sections being injected into songs.   There's something like "Power of Equality" which just keeps going with multiple verses before breaking into a slappy bass outro that eventually winds down to scattered applause.  Even a 'hit' song like "Under the Bridge" has that beautiful opening guitar part... that never pops up again in the rest of the song!

Frusciante would later become somewhat overbearing creatively, but here he is balanced by still finding his place, so provides brilliant playing and ideas but more as a facilitator than as a leader.

The album is diverse, yet has a certain internal logic, helped by the band's MO at that point of having the tracks segue into each other, creating the feeling of an "album" as opposed to just a collection of songs.  The sound is mostly slow, minimalist funk with interplaying parts that don't necessarily ape each other.  There is rock in tracks like "Suck my kiss" and "My lovely man".   There's melodic balladry with songs like "Breaking the girl" and "I could have lied", there's the leisurely psychedelic outro of "Sir Psycho Sexy" and the fun coda of Robert Johnson cover "They're Red Hot", recorded outside at night (you can hear cars driving past in places).

This was lightning in a bottle, and even the Peppers themselves while promoting other albums have often acknowledged that it was special album for them.

Day 0653 - What’s That Noise?

Coldcut "What's That Noise?" (1989)

"What do you get when you combine an art teacher and a computer programmer?"  Sounds like the setup to a bad joke, but the answer is actually 'Coldcut'.   The two had started off DJing individually and eventually made contact and started working together.

Much like the previous entry from 808 State, this is an interesting electronic album, built mainly from samples.  Unlike the 808 State album though, this one does have a few featured vocal turns including Mark E Smith from the Fall (“I’m in deep”), and Lisa Stansfield (“People hold on”).

Day 0651 - Disintegration

The Cure "Disintegration" (1989) 

Robert Smith plumbed the depths again, facing the realisation that he was growing old because he was turning 30...  my near-40-year-old heart bleeds for him.

Smith felt pressured to follow up on the Cure's prior successes.  They had initially had a Gothic vibe to them, but once people came to expect that, he switched to a more accessible pop vein, but disliked the increased popularity so returned again to the goth fold.

This album certainly doesn't appear to court MTV or commercial radio, with the songs being lengthy morose grooves that take their time creating an atmosphere (though still with a keen sense of melody on display).  Whatever Smith's intentions, the album did reasonably well commercially.

Day 0552 - Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout "Steve McQueen" (1985)

 
Another of the literate/intellectual indie-pop sect of the 80s.  There are occasional hints of bands such as the Smiths and even Pet Shop Boys here, but musically, Prefab are pleasingly all over the map.

The album kicks off with dose of rockabilly, it veers from delicate pop to hot blooded soul-rock (not a million miles from the sound of Crowded House).  There are hints of Elvis Costello here and there, some dreamy pop, even a taste of bossa nova.

If anything, the album's weakness is that it doesn't have much of an identity.  It showcases a variety of sounds, and the songs are enjoyable, but there's nothing here that if I heard it on the radio I'd think "that definitely sounds like Prefab Sprout" like I would with other diverse bands like Ween or even 10CC.

With the album's title, legal action was taken against the band by McQueen's estate, forcing them to release the album under the title "Two Wheels Good" (maybe an Animal Farm reference?) in the US.

Day 0550 - Songs From the Big Chair

Tears For Fears "Songs From the Big Chair" (1985)

This is something of an 80s pop power-house.  It's an album that featured the hits "Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Head over Heels" and which would go on to help TfF find success in the US as well as continuing their success in their native England.

There is the bombastic power of pop anthems like "Shout", but also the moody, noirish jazz vibe of a track like "I believe" and the low-key, vaguely world-music outro "Listen".  That variety makes for an enjoyable listening experience and stops the album from being anywhere near one dimensional.

The album title came from a film called 'Sybil' about a woman with multiple-personality disorder, who only felt safe while recounting her problems to her therapist while sat in the 'big chair' in his office.

Day 0547 - This Nation's Saving Grace

The Fall "This Nation's Saving Grace" (1985)

The band had had a bit of a reshuffle prior to making this album.  One of their two drummers having left, and their stand-in bass-player moving onto keys and guitars once their original bassist returned from parental leave.

According to the book, the Fall teamed up with producer John Leckie who gave the band's new songs a glossy, professional sheen... which singer Mark E Smith hated.  He insisted that the producer instead work with the shabby audio cassette version of the recordings that he had.  One song even ended up with some sounds inadvertently recorded over the music by Smith when he was at home, leading to an impromptu sound collage that... actually kind of works.

The album is somehow noisy, uncompromising, yet quite accessible and catchy.  I guess that must be 'the way of the Fall'.

Day 0513 - The Number of the Beast

Iron Maiden "The Number of the Beast" (1982)

As I said with the last Iron Maiden album on this list; I quite liked the band with singer Paul Di'Anno.  He offset their virtuosic music with his more limited, and at times punky vocals.  Here Dickinson earns his nickname 'the air raid siren' (originally given by a disgruntled fan who preferred Di'Anno), wailing operatically through much of the album. 

I'm sure that the band were happy to have a singer whose control of his instrument equalled their own, and this album has gone on to be one of the most successful in their canon, and I do enjoy it well enough, but it's just not my favourite.  "Run to the hills" though... pretty damned solid track!

Day 0500 - Pornography

The Cure "Pornography" (1982)

 
It's almost like one of those cheesy billboards "Pornography!  Now that I've got your attention..."

The last of the 'early' Cure albums as the band was torn apart by in-fighting, drug use, and Smith working to cope with his depression.  From this point on, the band would move away from their gothy droney alt-rock sound for more of a gothy pop influence.

This album is all bass and drum grooves with synth and minimal guitars layered over the top, creating music-beds for Smith's desolate lyrics.

The final (title) track is an interesting sound collage.

Day 0461 - Seventeen Seconds

The Cure "Seventeen Seconds"

The Cure are another band that I was primarily familiar with through a few singles... that I wasn't overly keen on; but this is a pretty fantastic album. Aside from the odd wailing, dramatic vocal this is a pretty low-key affair with jangling but mostly unobtrusive guitar. There are odd spots of keyboards but they're used sparingly and in such a way that they add to the music without drawing attention to themselves. In fact everyone here seems to be just doing good work to serve the songs.

I can definitely hear the influence of this band on artists like early REM, a lot of 00s indie rockers, and even the early demos of the Smashing Pumpkins bear a startling resemblance to this collection of songs.

Day 0434 - Live at the Witch Trials

The Fall "Live at the Witch Trials" (1979)

A British band championed by the late great DJ John Peel.

There's a definite punk feel to the album, but with a broader range of sounds such as spoken word sections, moments of musique concrete and theatricality. I can see why a musical omnivore like Peel would enjoy it.

The rhythm section is tight and pounding with guitars that are sometimes abrasive, sometimes washy and insubstantial, playing over and against the off-kilter organ and with Mark E Smith's frantic Mancunian voice over the top.
 

0414 - Another Music in a Different Kitchen

The Buzzcocks "Another Music in a Different Kitchen" (1978)

Viewed as one of the poppier bands of the initial punk movement, yet they definitely embraced the punk attitude.  The band refused to include the bulk of their 'hits' on the album... unlike the sex pistols who were happy enough to oblige with this.

The album largely consists of short, tight, energetic but melodically and emotionally open tracks, that would pave the way for 'feeling' pop-rock artists such as Morrisey and Damon Albarn.

The tracks are so full-on and brief that at one point I thought I'd reached the halfway mark on the album... when I checked, I realised that I was only 8 minutes into it! The tracks rarely make it too much past 2 minutes, but then just to be contrarian, the band finishes the album with a pounding 7 minute rocker "Moving away from the pulsing beat".

Day 0389 - Marque Moon

Television "Marque Moon" (1977)

Another dose of punk (but not totally punk) rock. Television were one of the founders of the CBGBs punk scene but had a little less success in their USA homeland than some of their peers (they fared much better in the UK).  As with many albums on this list, it has since been commercially/critically reassessed.

It could be that they were overlooked at the time due to their interesting sound that avoided the straight ahead mix of speed and caveman-like musicianship of some of their punk peers; opting instead for a jazz inflected take on the genre. They played around with (*gasp) counterpoint, polyrhythms, harmonic interplay and melodies.

I'm kind of starting to get a little punk-fatigue already (better brace myself for the upcoming run of the Sex Pistols etc.) but this is an interesting and engaging album that still manages to wear its attitude tattooed on its face.