A review of 'Fight Like Apes & The Mystery of the Golden Medallion'

Review Snapshot:  Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion is, to borrow a phrase from the funniest man on television, Jon Stewart, an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, nestled in a sesame seed bun of mystery. I hated it, I liked it, I loved it, I hated it again and then, when I thought I was falling in love one more time, something struck me and everything changed. Fight Like Apes have made a solid debut record. Indeed it will probably be one of the best records of the year and for that they should be commended.  It’s just that I was expecting more than solid.  I was expecting greatness.

The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10

Full Review:

Steven O'Rourke

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Far be it from us in Paris to tell you in Ireland what you should be doing next weekend, but we see that the DEAF electronic music festival will be on in Dublin on 23-26 October. No doubt our colleague Key Notes will be keeping an eye on this and reporting on the best of the action, dispatching his crack team of gig reviewers out into the electronic city like futuristic cyborgs of the night.

Keeping strictly to our remit lest the CLUAS trade union rep objects, we'll just highlight two French acts who'll be appearing at DEAF.

Starting at the finish, Laurent Garnier is one of the featured acts at the DEAF closing party that takes place at the Village, Whelans and Whelans Upstairs simultaneously on Sunday 26 October. You've no work the next day, so you can stay out late with a clear conscience.

Earlier in the festival, on Friday 23 October at Vicar Street, there's the return of M83 (left). You'll recall that Anthony Gonzales and co. played at the ALT back in April.

M83's album 'Saturdays = Youth' is one of the best French albums of this year, which is probably damning it with faint praise given that it hasn't been a great year for French albums. But it's good stuff nonetheless - dreamy synth-fuelled shoegazing that's perfect for late night listening. We're not sure how well that'll come across live; no doubt you'll let us know.

The standout track on 'Saturdays = Youth' is the gorgeous 'Kim And Jessie'. Between this single and the album as a whole, M83 is bound to feature strongly in our Best French Music of 2008 poll. (The Christmas lights are already going up outside the Paris department stores, which has got us thinking of our end-of-year list. Be sure to drop us a line to tell us your favourites of the year in pop française.)

Here's the video for 'Kim And Jessie', which features what we presume is called synchronised ballroom rollerskating. And if that isn't an Olympic event by now, downhill ballroom rollerskate road racing (2 mins 30 secs) certainly deserves to be:

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You might remember our recent night out at the Parc des Princes, when we defied the PSG ultras and took the home terrace with a small band of Grenoble fans. (If not, then we'll be reminding everyone of this ad infinitum.)

For a modest team of journeymen pros, Grenoble are doing quite well this season. Turning to music (because we've been told there's 'too much football' on this blog), there's a Grenoble pair turning out some Champions League-quality choons at the moment.

Apple Jelly (right) are Benn and Viktor. Live, they include a sound engineer called Deaf and a lighting technician called Blindy. You'll have guessed that we're not featuring Apple Jelly for their Wildean wit, then.

The twosome have just released an album called 'Nanana Club'. The record is fairly decent '80s-flavoured electro-pop all the way through, but the standout track is a funky thing called 'Radio'.

Its disco bassline and four-on-the-floor beat owe a little to Boney M's 'Daddy Cool'; surprisingly, this is a good thing. There's a catchy chorus too. Ah go on, you'll like it.

The video (below) for 'Radio' was made by Hugo Barbier as an entry to a competition. It features some people making faces and shapes, but isn't half as irritating as that suggests.

Benn and Viktor aren't really putting their back into promoting Apple Jelly, we feel. Their upcoming shows are all near where they live, in the foothills of the Alps. Only three tracks on their MySpace page too. That said, one of them is the smashing 'Radio'; here's the video: 

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'Real L**e' by Lucinda Williams

'Pride (In the name of L**e' by U2

'Don't call this L**e' by Leon Jackson

'L**e you anyway' by Boyzone

'L**e is noise' by The Verve

'L**e song' by Sara Bareilles

'L**e Lockdown' by Kayne West

to name but a few.

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There's a recession on you say?  Really? You wouldn't have known it with the calibre of international acts visiting Ireland in Rocktober 2008.  Everything from 80's synth pop to hill-billy rock is catered for and it all gets underway with potentially the greatest single gig Ireland will experience this year.

The headliners might be Los Campesinos! but you can bet your last recession euro that a significant portion of the crowd will be equally attracted by 'lo-fi Ohio fuzzmisters' (to quote GOTF) Times New Viking and LA's finest punk two piece, No Age.  Los Campesinos! are, of course, the Welsh seven-piece who formed in Cardiff University in 2006 and released Hold on now, Youngster... to great acclaim in February of this year.  Not a band for resting on their laurels, this tour is timed to coincide with the release of their sophomore effort, We are Beautiful, We are Doomed, on October 27.  Yes, that's two albums in 33 weeks!  The gig, which is part of the Drowned in Sound Shred Yr Face Tour takes place in Whelan's on Friday October 17.

Los Campesinos!:  You! Me! Dancing!

One of the greatest peformances Key Notes has witnessed this year was from Holy Fuck at Oxegen.  Canada's finest export play The Academy on Monday October 20.  For those of you who don't know anything about Holy Fuck, they've been described as 'creating the equivalent of modern electronic music without actually using the techniques—looping, splicing, programming and the like—of that music.'  It's jaw-dropping stuff to see them live and Key Notes cannot recommend a better way to spend a wet Monday evening in October.  In fact, Key Notes can't think of better way to spend any evening in any month than watching a band at the very top of their game and whose talents can only spark one reaction: Holy Fuck!

Holy Fuck:  Milkshake

Described as one man blues phenomenon, Seasick Steve will now play The National Stadium on Wednesday October 29.  This gig was originally to take place in the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art but the indoor venue will better suit the California native's unique blend of bluesy hill-billy rock.  The one-stringed guitar hero is in town to support his appropriately titled new album, I Started Out With Nothin And I Still Got Most Of It Left.  Tickets remain available for this gig for €10 less than they were orginally priced.  However, it should be noted that Amy Lavere has replaced My Morning Jacket as support for this gig.  My Morning Jacket will instead play a headline show in Tripod on the same night.

Seasick Steve:  Dog House Boogie

Also visiting these shores this month are Cyndi Lauper (Savoy Cork, 17 October), Human League (Tripod, 26 October) and Noah & The Whale (Whelan's, 28 October).

If there's anyone Key Notes has missed, and there's bound to be, please feel free to plug them in the comments below. 

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I'm sick of having to walk out into the traffic on any traffic-clogged Beijing street. That's because the city's footpaths are now for cars. Yes, the country's middle class, rushing out to buy four wheels (bicycles are for losers) without thinking about where to park them. Hence walking home recently I had a couple park their new silver saloon right in front of me, on the footpath I was using. When I'm cycling they take the bike lane (not enough lanes in the typical four-lane Beijing artery). It's all down to marketing and a stupid middle class vulnerability to consumption/marketing, while those of us who don't drive choke in their smoke. Few people have put it better than those market analysts at Access Asia, who email out a pithy weekly review of what's topical and what's hot and what's not in China's consumer and media markets.

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The shortlist of ten albums has just been revealed for the 2008 Prix Constantin, France's equivalent of the Mercury and Choice prizes. The prize will be awarded at a concert/ceremony in Paris on 17 November.

As we explained in our coverage of the 2006 and 2007 editions, the Prix Constantin differs slightly from its international counterparts. The award is meant to recognise a 'breakthrough' act, and so any singer or band who has ever attained gold record status in France (sales of 75,000 units) is ineligible. Also, the nominated act doesn't need to be French - their record just has to have been made in France and released on a French label. (This is an industry prize, after all.)

This year's shortlist doesn't feature any R n'B, rap, pop or electronica, even though these are by far the most popular genres in French music. But the Prix Constantin is quite conservative. Even last year, when iconoclastic rai-rocker Rachid Taha chaired the judging panel, the winner was the insipid balladry of Daphné.

So, ten runners go to post. Notable non-runners include Camille, Sebastien Tellier and The Teenagers. Who do we fancy? Who can we write off? And who may be the dark horse? Let's inspect the field.

[Two important tips for the wary punter: (1) the Prix Constantin tends to favour solo artists, and (2) despite there being many English-language nominees in the past, no English-language act has ever won.]

One nominee, familiar to our regular readers, jumps out at us immediately. Cocoon, the boy-girl acoustic duo from Clermont-Ferrand, have deservedly made the shortlist. Their charming debut album is called 'My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash' and it's released on Sober & Gentle Records - how could it not be great? We can't hide our love for this album, which means we've put the hex on it. And they're not a solo act and they sing in English. Sadly, we don't see it winning.

You should also know a bit about Yael Naim by now, either through her happy-clappy ethno-pop in general or her song 'New Soul' from a recent computer advertisement. And we've also featured The Dø before - their single 'On My Shoulders' was a huge airplay hit in France this year (also used in a commercial ,for stationery) and their album 'A Mouthful' is quite good. Of those two, Naim would be a smarter bet for the win. Both acts sing in English, though.

A slightly surprising nomination is the American-sounding alt-trad-country of Moriarty - but with one French member and on a French label, they are eligible for consideration. Their version of Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy The Silence' has gained them some attention here, but it's hardly enough to see them win the prize. Again, an English-language act, so punters beware.

If English is a disadvantage, what about English and Yoruba? Those are the chosen languages of acoustic soul singer Asa (pronounced 'asha'), born in Paris but raised in Lagos. As with Naim, her slightly drippy ethno-pop has been relatively successful with the bobos of Paris, but her music's probably not traditionally-French-sounding enough for her to win the Prix Constantin. A long-odds shot.

We now come to the business end of the shortlist; the safe, French-sounding acts who don't scare the horses. From the following five, our winner will most likely come.

We hope it's not Julien Doré, the talent show winner who irritated us with his "ironic" rock version of the fantastic 'Moi Lolita' by Alizée. The singles from his debut album, 'Ersatz', are just as awful. Neither are we keen on the tuneless indie droning of Joseph D'Anvers, but he sounds a lot like 2003 winning group Mickey 3D, the only band so far to win the prize. Barbara Carlotti and Arman Méliès both make harmless chanson française that could quite likely win.

But, having studied past form, we reckon the best value for punters is Thomas Dutronc (left). If that surname sounds familiar to Francophiles, it's because Thomas is the son of iconic singer-turned-actor Jacques Dutronc (namechecked on the original version of Cornershop's 'Brimful of Asha') and the wonderful Françoise Hardy, France's ice-cool '60s pop princess.

Young Dutronc looks like his father and sings energetic acoustic songs in the familiar French style. His album, 'Comme Un Manouche Sans Guitare' ('Like A Gypsy Without A Guitar'), and wry single 'J'Aime Plus Paris' ('I Don't Like Paris Anymore') have won him as much attention as his parentage.

So, we say that Thomas Dutronc is the short-odds favourite for the 2008 Prix Constantin, and we wouldn't mind too much if he got the award. But in our hearts we want Cocoon to win. Here's the video for their gorgeous 'On My Way'. Prix Constantin judges: don't break that cartoon panda's heart!

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Firstly, Key Notes would like to extend it's apologies.  Rocktober.  It's an awful title for a blog about music in October.  Awful because it is so obvious.  Perhaps something along the lines of Octoberfestivities may have been more original but as most of Key Notes' free time is spent looking for a job these days, you'll have to make do with Rocktober.

Lots of things happening with Irish bands this month. C O D E S (or possibly CODES/Codes???) launch their excellent new single Guided By Ghosts in The Button Factory this Friday, October 10 with doors opening at 8.30.  If you haven't yet, check this band out and see if you agree with the (it must be said, eloquent) quote on their Myspace, which states that C O D E S create grandiose sonic landscapes painted in painstakingly minute detail.  Ok, ok, so it was a quote from this blog but it is really true.  You heard it hear first; this band is destined for greatness.

C O D E S:  This is Goodbye

Another band whom Key Notes cannot recommend highly enough is The Dudley Corporation; whose long awaited (four years lads, come on!) third album, Year of the Husband, just gets better with every listen.  As an aside, oh how Key Notes laughed when it heard the name of the new album.  You see, earlier this year this blog attended a friend's (Puddin'!) wedding that was also attended by Joss Corporation.  It becomes very difficult to review a band when one of its members has seen you (try to) dance!  Anyway, A mini-tour of Ireland kicks off on 16 October in Whelan's and takes in dates in Mullingar, Kilkenny and...well, that's it really.  Well worth checking out though if you're within a 400 mile radius of any of the venues. 

The Dudley Corporation:  What a Human Does

Le Galaxie will debut new single, You Feel The Fire!, on 31 October 2008 in Crawdaddy.  Key Notes understands that this is to be a late performance, in keeping with the fact it's Halloween and that fancy dress, especially those choosing to dress as indie music gig-goers, is actively encouraged.  Wear a scarf though, it'll be cold.  For those of you that don't know, Le Galaxie are, of course, the remaining members of the much loved, much missed, 66E.  Big boots to fill, but Key Notes is confident they can do it.

Le Galaxie:  We Bleed the Blood of Androids

Also playing this month and more than worthy of a mention are Jape (The Button Factory, 9 October), The Flaws (Dolan's, Limerick, 11 October) and Crayonsmith (Whelan's, October 31) 

If Key Notes has left anyone out (probably lots) feel free to plug them in the comments below.

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Back in the 1980s, many French homes had an Internet-style device called Minitel (right). It worked a lot like the web does now, except that instead of blogging about Mylène Farmer and Les Rita Mitsouko, Jacques le Frenchman could only use it for boring old stuff like shopping and train timetables.

Basically, it seems to have been teletext down a phone line. That said, a blogger who grew up in two-channel land without teletext can hardly sneer at the gadgetry of others. (The CLUAS gaffer is a better man for explaining techie stuff.)

Anyway, as happens, French kids of that era have grown up and become ferociously nostalgic for this kind of stuff. So here are Minitel Rose (below left), three lads from Nantes who've named themselves after the aforementioned contraption and make very '80s-sounding electro-pop. 

(At this point we can also make all the usual references to le french touch and Daft Punk.)

As if to explain their band name, Minitel Rose's album is called 'The French Machine'. The artwork is a mix of metal perviness and retro-futuristic kitsch, which we find très Paris-nightclub.

The music's quite good. This trio have close links with another French threesome, The Teenagers, who have mixed their track 'Elevator'. Such is the closeness of the two groups that Minitel Rose have covered The Teenagers' track 'Feeling Better' which is simply about loving The Teenagers. (Or perhaps we're missing a joke somewhere.) 

Could you love Minitel Rose enough to sing a song about them? Have a listen to tracks on their MySpace page and find out. Here's the video for "Magic Powder":

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A review of the album 'Snowflake Midnight' by Mercury Rev

Review Snapshot: One-time experimental mavericks from upstate New York return with a departure in sound, but find themselves stuck on repeat, peddling their same optimistic and wide-eyed view of the world. Dressed up in a shiny new electronic suit it may be, it’s merely ‘The Secret Migration’ with beats. Where has the magic gone?

The Cluas Verdict? 2 out of 10

Full Review:
This is not Mercury Rev. That much we know since the overwrought pomposity of a least half of 2001’s ‘All Is Dream’ gave way to the epic folly of 2005’s ‘The Secret Migration’ - the sound of a band convinced they were pushing sonic boundaries whilst, in reality, they were merely elbowing The Verve aside from their pedestal of overblown epic rock. It is impossible to reconcile the band who made ‘Snowflake Midnight’ with the band who unleashed ‘Yerself Is Steam’ to such a cathartic effect on an unsuspecting audience still knee deep in Madchester and shoegazing way back in 1991.

If for many ‘Deserter’s Songs’ is their touchstone record , for me it’s ‘Yerself Is Steam’ – an obscene mélange of bad drugs, indecipherable lyrical content and a wacked-out flautist thrown on top of a rabble of musicians collectively intent on musical deviance. It’s a remarkable, malevolent masterpiece.

Sonically, ‘Snowflake Midnight’ most closely resembles 1995’s ‘lost’ album ‘See You On The Other Side’, which was sound of a band content with the fact that the world had largely forgotten them after the excesses of ‘Boces’ (which happened to be the, er, unbalanced - and much missed - David Baker’s last record with the band before Jonathon Donahue took complete control of their vision). Yet the euphoric psychedelia of that record stands in stark contrast to the relentlessly mawkish sentimentality of ‘Snowflake Midnight’.

I’ve never quite understood bands who, in search of a change of direction, invariably decide upon augmenting their sound with ill-suited faux-electronica – this, it seems, is the default approach for bands in transition. ‘Snowflake Midnight’ repeatedly showcases this change in the band’s sound and it’s one which is as ill-fitting as it is unnecessary - ‘Butterfly’s Wing’ is backed by inane computer generated beats and bleeps, and accompanied by Donahue’s, by now, customary optimistic whine. Some four minutes long, the song is an exercise in futility and showcases the dilution of Mercury Rev both musically and lyrically.

‘Senses On Fire’ - the album’s one stand-out track - with its electro-doodle intro builds into a glimpse of what 2008’s Mercury Rev could have been: the title repeated throughout and Donahue’s vocoded voice menacingly intoning ‘Ready or not, here I come’. Wonderful stuff, yet thoroughly out of place with the dross surrounding it. Otherwise, only ‘Faraway From Cars’ merits a positive mention, if only for the fact that it could well have been lifted from ‘See You On The Other Side’.

Lyrically, Donahue still resides in a dream world invariably populated by mysterious female figures; “In the green grass a young girl dreams she’s a flower in the field, But in my dream, you are real”. He’s not saying anything new – hell, he doesn’t have to – but it would be nice if he’d say it all in a different way.

Where once the band thrilled with the incandescent menace of ‘Chasing A Bee’ or beguiled with the simple beauty of ‘Holes’ or ‘Tonite It Shows’, today the band evoke nothing but half-arsed mysticism and a nauseating fixation with the natural world populated by ethereal figures of Jonathon Donahue’s imagination. With song titles such ‘Snowflake in a Hot World’, ‘Runaway Raindrop’ and ‘A Squirrel and I Holding On (And Then Letting Go)’, they have, alas, become Barney on acid.

This then is the sad sound of a band running on empty. Dear God, this is Mercury Rev.

Confucious

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