Separating the sweet, juicy flesh from the stone and skin of this week’s major label releases.
It’s important to start every day with a good breakfast. A fry-up has its place, but to have one every day would be foolish and lead inevitably to you becoming fat, wheezy and Scottish.
No. So how do we fuel ourselves on the bacon ‘n’ eggs off-days? With a lovely bowl of hot and steaming Ready Brek, of course. Stir in some fruit slices, and you’ve got a meal that’ll keep you full, satisfied and surrounded by a disconcerting orange glow for hours.
Our favourite Ready Brek topping? Mango.
Welcome again to the Monday Music Mango, wherein we review several new releases. And then represent each as a thought, quite naturally.
Firstly: Julian Plenti Is …Skyscraper, Julian Plenti. Julian is actually Paul Banks, singer and guitarist with New York indie band Interpol. His first solo album is no huge departure from the regular sound, being an album with some obvious influences, including The Stooges, Joy Division and, we swear, Jethro Tull (go ask your grandparents).
A wonderful album, with sleepyheaded yet uplifting vibes. Come back again please, Julian.
This album is represented by the thought:
“You know, a rainy British summer really isn’t that bad so long as it’s spent with cold beer, hot Ready Brek, and Mr Plenti’s lovely music.”
Secondly, No One’s First And You’re Next, Modest Mouse. An EP collating B-sides and some unreleased tracks from every American frat house’s favourite safely-quirky rockers.
The Mice found fame and platinum-coated fortune with 2004’s Good News For People Who Love Bad News (and then, retrospectively, 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica).
Since then, they’ve ploughed a fairly consistent musical furrow: take Jello Biafra‘s wobbly vocals, throw them over one of Morphine‘s discarded drumbeats, then get The Edge to add some choppy guitar riffs.
If that sounds like “the worst thing it is physically possible to imagine without thinking of the words Chris, submoob sweat and Moyles“, you’re right. Yet somehow, the Mice pull it off, and despite our cerebral cortex telling us not to, something in our primitive brainstem makes us like them.
This EP is represented by the thought:
“I am exhausted, but today I have to get to Abercrombie And Fitch to buy their latest stripy polo shirt, some cream Chinos and a brown leather belt for that party tonight. Damn, if only America had Ready Brek, that would give me the kickstart I need.”
So there you have it, fellow Mangons. We liked all of this week’s musics, which is something of a first.
Don’t worry, it won’t last long; we hear David Attenborough‘s got his latest isn’t-nature-amazing meisterwerk coming out soon: The Secret Microbial World Thriving On Chris Moyles’ Submoob Sweat (in HD).
The soundtrack to which is reported to be an endless loop of Janet Street-Porter being brought to orgasm by a dental drill.
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