Ah where to begin with Rolo Tomassi, the Sheffield 5 piece formed back in 2005, they were very young, but toured furiously and released not one but  a staggering 8 records, a mixture of EP’s, split EP’s and demos mostly on James Spence’s (keyboardist/vocalist) independent label, Mayday! until a split EP with Mirror! Mirror! Saw them signed to Holy Roar records.

The quintet went from strength to strength playing their brand of energetic, experimental, synth driven mathcore at small venues to fervently enthusiastic crowds. Their live shows are incredible, I originally got in to this band just from watching them live, and have been blown away with each subsequent performance I have seen.

The new album Cosmology was produced by superstar DJ and MIA collaborator Diplo, an incongruous pairing if ever I saw one, but it has worked marvellously on this record. It came about when James Spence noticed that Diplo had mentioned liking Rolo Tomassi in an interview, and approached him about remixing a track for the band. Diplo replied by flying them out to LA to produce the album, that Diplo, what a guy.

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This sweeping epic of an album was released last week, but its taken me a week to get my head around it in it’s beautifully melancholic entirety.  Being the ardent fan that I am of The National, they could probably record the sound of each band member defecating and I would still find some artistic merit there, and marvel at the skill with which they did so.

So when I finally calmed down and listened to the whole album (and then again, and then again) I realised this is a slightly different album to the last. It is much grander, featuring more of the slow building tension characteristic of their slower songs from Boxer. Making use of majestic string arrangements in Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks sometimes errs on the side of a little too much drama, but use of imposing piano chords in other tracks like Bloodbuzz Ohio, are perfect at building up the momentum in to a cathartic crescendo that mimics their older material. The appeal remains the same for me though, the juxtaposition of lyrics about the day to day lives of ordinary people with the dramatic baritone of Berninger and the powerful, building, music is  a heady concoction.

Most bands use new releases to experiment with new sounds, especially bands as established as The National, however this album is merely an improvement on their past music, the band are simply doing what they do best, but better. Detractors have pointed to a lack of punchy songs like Mr. November and Apartment Story, but I think the album stands on its own merits without these kind of more accessible tracks. Furthermore Surfjan Stevens features on the album as  a backing vocalist on Afraid of Anyone, which is just one more reason to go and buy this record! If you are still unconvinced the band preformed the whole album live on YouTube on May the 15th, so you can see how it stands up in front of a crowd.  Basically that’s an 11 pack of awesome right there.

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“Bloodbuzz Ohio” by The National

“Burn bridges/ Make yourself an island/ Just forgive ‘em/ And forget ‘em” goes the refrain sung by Dom (who refuses to disclose his second name for fear of debt colelctors finding him) of Dom in the song ‘Burn Bridges from their debut EP Sun Bronzed Greek Gods, this cynical refrain is wrapped in layer of synth poppy goodness with an intro reminiscent of Siouxsie and The Banshees ‘Hong Kong Garden’.  It bubbles along the length of the song, making it the perfect summer anthem, creating an interesting juxtaposition with the bitter, cautionary message of the lyrics.   The synth pop trio hail from Worcester, Mass and their debut EP comes out on May 1 on 10” courtesy of Burning Mill Records.

The other track off the same EP, ‘Living in America’ takes a different tone, a sassy and sarcastic commentary on America, punctuated with gorgeous crystal synth sounds and a pop strewn melody which just about screams ‘SUMMER’ in big ass bright pink font.  This track has the same flashes of  brilliance contained in MGMT’s last album, before the new one came out, and they became a bit shit.  Soundtrack of the summer, prepare to be heard.

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“Burning Bridges” by Dom

After four uncomfortably silent years ‘Clinging to a Scheme’, the new record by The Radio Dept, is out for general release today, the full length album has been long in the making.  However The Radio Dept don’t exactly have a record for prolific record releasing, having only released 2 full length records in 15 years.  This album is being released courtesy of twee Swedish indie label Labrador, and the album bears its trademark sound.

Their 2003 debut Lesser Matters received good reviews and most notably, got them three tracks on soundtrack Sofia Coppola’s film, Marie Antionette, the subsequent album Pet Grief got a lukewarm reception, dubbed as ‘sterile’ and ‘static’ by Pitchfork.

Thankfully this album has shown real progression through great production, the echoey, ethereal vocals of lead singer Johan Duncanson really stand out on tracks such as “Heaven’s on Fire” and their use of layers and textures in their music create interesting contrasts. Contrary to the trademark twee sounds of other acts on Labrador, I think this album shows real scope, to give an example, is it just me or does  “Never Follow Suit” really remind you of that Swedish pop band from the 90’s Ace of Base? Although, I am not sure The Radio Dept. would thank me for this comparison.

Time was obviously well spent  creating their third album and perfecting their own slant on shoe-gaze Indie music. The Radio Dept. have paid attention to the finer details, making good use of soft snare backbeats, drum machines, synthesizers and vocal samples to keep the album interesting and varied.  I get bored very easily, particularly with bands of this ilk, but found this album engaging throughout, just the right mix of melancholic reflection and jangly Swedish soft pop.

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“David” by The Radio Dept.

Its official making things yourself has become fashionable again. How do I know?  From the 20^th of March to the 4^th of July London’s going all out to pay homage to the art of quilting.  The V&A have opened their first ever quilting exhibition, displaying quilts dating from the 1700’s to present day.   The interest and popularity of this exhibition is not surprising considering the recession  has been breathing down our necks for the past 18 months and people are looking for ways to live more frugally which has driven a revival of handi-craft, but I think there is more to it than that.

Our parents generation knew how to do so much for themselves, from making to mending to cooking, whereas now we rely so much on things being done for us (enter the Iphone). I think this year has illustrated how far removed we have become from the simple things in our everyday lives that we could do or make for ourselves and we are losing some of the skills that our parents generation had (arguably we are developing new ones I suppose), skills which we should retain and pass down to future generations, which, I believe is another reason for the resurgence in craft.

More Information on the V&A’s ‘Quilts 1700-2010′ Exhibition

The Urban Dictionary defines ‘A Chickenhawk’ as the homosexual male equivalent of a Cougar. Wikipedia defines it as is a political epithet used in America to criticize a politician, bureaucrat, or commentator who strongly supports a war or military action, yet who actively avoided military service when of age. The former of these definitions bears no relation to the band that I went to see two Saturdays ago at the Unicorn on Camden Road, the latter is where they got their name from.

Having watched Chickenhawk several times when I moved to Leeds and since moving to London, you might think it would get a bit repetitive, but each time I watch these four sweaty boys play they seem to get better and better, sound more unified and slick, whilst resembling a giant perspiring shambles…

The show at the Unicorn was one of my favourite shows so far, for the same reason that I always end up really enjoying their shows, their enthusiasm and enjoyment of what they do is down right infectious. They endear themselves to their audiences because, while being super badass at playing their instruments, they don’t take themselves too seriously. The show was energetic, and fast paced, highlights for me were ‘I hate this, Do you like it?’ and ‘Bottle Rocket’. The band are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve so check out their Myspace, and then check out their awesome zombie video for ‘I hate this, do you like it?’.  Thus ends my glowing review of Turkeysparrow, or Chickenfox or whatever.

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“Bottle Rocket” by Chickenhawk

Not knowing a great deal about Black Metal, actually referring to it as ‘Swedish Death Metal’ for most of my life, which is neither geographically nor nominally correct, I did what any internet savvy lady would do… I googled the crap out of it. What ensued was a Wikipedia journey which led me from Varg Vikernes to Michael Moynihan, to Charles Manson, my morbid fascination dragging me onwards.

I think this trail of links goes someway to explaining the common public perception of the movement, and thus the purpose of this movie. It is a cultural phenomenon from the 90’s shrouded in darkness, arson and murder, for someone who was not in to Black Metal in the mid -90’s (I was te) this film was created to provide an intimate look at the people behind this enigmatic scene. Striving to reverse the reductive effects that the actions of a few (Varg Vikernes being the most notorious of these) had on people’s understanding of Black Metal. The directors moved to Norway and lived amongst the key players of this scene for several years, giving them a unique insight in to Black Metal, allowing them to paint a larger picture using the stories of a few. Directors Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell have tired to provide a more three dimensional picture of the Black Metal scene, its roots, principles and beliefs and its impact on the heavy Metal scene today.

After an extensive tour around the states the film returns to London on 27 March 2010 at the Rio Cinema (107 Kingsland Road, E8). The showing starts at 11.15pm. As with most things now, there is a facebook page for the event and tickets are being sold in advance at the Rio .

Watch the ‘Until The Light Takes Us’ Trailer

In conversation with one of my friends, the topic of blogs came up, one in particular piqued both of our interests and that was ‘kiss and tell’ blogs.  They are a guilty pleasure, like a McDonalds on a hangover.  Secretly delighting in the sexual misfortune of others, plus it makes us lol, rofl, rofl-copter, you get what I am saying. Here are four of the most notable, in no particular order, ranging from pornographic detail to relationship based woes, I present them for your delectation. (Photo by Matt Irwin)

imboycrazy.com /  sorry-mom.com /  slutever.blogspot.com /  boyslifenyc.com

Mt St. Helen’s Vietnam Band is quite the mouthful of a band name. Long winded moniker aside, this Seattle five piece released their first album in March of last year to mixed reviews and this is a beautiful and slightly haunting video to go with one of the tracks from that album, Albatross, Albatross, Albatross. We all remember what happened in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner right? No? Well, these sailors are on a voyage and they shoot an albatross, and everything goes horribly, horribly wrong. This video basically follows that premise, a young couple are on an island, the guy tries to shoot a bird, and seems to shoot and man by mistake, in booth these cases I feel the lesson is to never ever shoot birds, it always ends badly.

P is for Parlovr (silent v) who have just been killing it at M for Montreal. This troupe of Indie song seamstresses hail from Montreal.  Perhaps not surprising, given the musical pedigree of acts coming out if there in the last decade.  In terms of sound, they are comparable to fellow Montrealers (insert actual collective noun for people of Montreal) Wolf Parade but more light hearted, the kind of act you couldn’t watch without dancing a little bit.

They feature the similar distorted guitars and off kilter, banshee like vocals characteristic of  Indie pop from that region, but have a much more frivolous and fun feel.  Boasting ‘a cheap Kmart guitar with its guts ripped out, a two-piece drum kit and a keyboard with a mind of its own’ as part of their stripped down, raw pop repertoire this band combines shoegaze 90’s Indie with fun pop melodies.  Much has been made of the fact that there are three of them, compared to the larger bands which seem to be de rigueur coming out of Canada, however these three act as separate elements of one band, making music out of their individual differences.  For the multi-instrumentalists Alex Cooper and Louis Jackson their friendship actually started with a fist fight, and the drummer Jeremy MacCuish was poached from another band by shouting him from across the street.  Unfortunately it doesn’t look like the have any plans to tour the UK yet, and their first self titled album is only available from Canada, but they do international shipping, or there’s always Myspace…

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“Pen To The Paper” by Parlovr