A decent week, the best for a couple of months.
Congrats to Pixey, our winner this week and into the top 30 for the year.
TOTW was a tie but goes to X. No obvious logic so I had to pick one and it’s their last album after all.
Sam is back on the 😀 train, his 4th in 5 weeks.
Phil keeps his ☹️ and is 2 for 2
Franz Ferdinand make our classics top 40, tied with Tom Petty, Mylo, Lloyd Cole and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!
Andy
Smashing Pumpkins - Solid classic rock stylings with Corgan’s vocals still the only real stumbling block for me, but the riffage more than makes up for it 7
Pixey - Very pleasant pop, a bit of a bigger sound than these kinds of albums normally deliver. Seems like a missed opportunity from the fest 7.5
X - All I really know about these legendary LA punks is that their cover of Wild Thing is Dean Ambrose’s ring walk music in AEW so I was intrigued to give this a spin. Turned out it was more new wave rock than punk which made me happy. There’s strong Heartbreakers vibes at times 7
Personal Trainer - Good indie fare, if a bit unfocused, but what do you expect from the Dutch. Disappointed I’ve missed these doing their recent Face Bar shows 6.5
TotW - Struggle by X
Franz Ferdinand - A very good debut that still holds up. Feels like they should still be bigger. 7.5
Guy
Smashing Pumpkins - Decent soundscapes I suppose but there’s no foot tappers or singalong tunes in this. It’s too heavy for me and the falsetto Heavy Metal singing is very off-putting - 5.5
Pixey - Enjoyed this. Had a little bit more too it than many of the pop acts we’ve listened too. More variety and bit more punch. Apparently she taught herself guitar during lockdown - something I failed miserably at - 7.4
X - I was also mis-sold with the punk thing. But in my case this made it more disappointing. It seemed to be out-of-date and schizophrenic - 5.8
Personal Trainer - Decent splash of indie. The Dutch seem to be doing this well at the moment. Apparently members of Pip Blom play in this band from time to time as it’s a “collective”. Sounded a bit like Vampire Weekend in places - particularly the last track which is my TOTW - 7.5
TotW - What Am I Supposed to Say - Personal Trainer
Franz Ferdinand - What an absolute classic debut. Really enjoyed listening to it again. As Andy has pointed out, they really fell out of popularity which was unfair as they have and still do knock out quality indie. Their Reading Festival headliner slot was superb at the time. Loads of top tunes in this (Take me Out, Dark of the Matinee, This Fire etc) - 9
Phil
Smashing Pumpkins
I remember listening to the Pumpkins in the early 90s when there were so many really good alternative American bands around. But set beside the likes of Throwing Muses, the Pixies, Pavement and Sonic Youth, they didn’t stand out at all. In so far as I’ve been aware of them since, it’s been on account of their reported grandiosity both of vision and of sound.
This album suggests they still are possessed of both. Still it was rather better than I expected. I was surprised at the number of tracks that featured heavy metal riffing, but they are capable of dialling it down and playing with sensitivity (eg Pentecost, Who goes there). I’m not a convert but if I hear a track from this on the radio I probably won’t change stations - 6
Pixey
I only really listen to 2020s pop when I’m in the car with the missus and she has on Heart FM. But I can recognise a decent tune when I hear one, as well as an artist with a strong sense of themselves. The last track on this album is decent but rest of the tunes are unmemorable and the vocals are – do we still call it double tracking these days? – unconvincing. Does Pixey not have the confidence in her own voice to present it unadorned? It would appear not - 4
X
X are one of those bands that I’ve read about but never actually listened to before. I now need to go back and investigate their back catalogue because I really enjoyed this. Pop punk is a much underrated style and, on the evidence of this album, it deserves a wider audience, as do X themselves. There’s such a looseness, a confidence and just sheer enjoyment about the playing on the album that it seems a real shame that they’ve just announced their final, irrevocable retirement. Any chance of a last tour of the UK, chaps? - 7
Personal Trainer
This band are now signed to adopted local boy Simon Raymonde’s excellent Bella Union label. But not all of his signings work out and for every Beach House, every BC Camplight, every Jambinai (whaddya mean, you haven’t heard of Jambinai?) there’s a Personal Trainer. As it happens, they supported BC Camplight when he played Brighton’s Chalk last year. I listened to some of their stuff on Spotify and decided it wasn’t worth getting there early to catch their set. Listening to this album, I feel vindicated. It isn’t terrible, it’s just very ordinary. Plus points – the arrangements and the playing have their moments. Minus points – neither the lyrics (yes, I know they’re Dutch) nor the singing/vocal arrangements are anything to write home about. So I won’t - 5
TOTW: X – Struggle
Franz Ferdinand
Like a lot of people, I bought this album when it came out, on the strength of the single Take me out. That remains an absolute killer of a track but as for the rest? Well, I was disappointed at the time and I remain so. My second favourite track is 40’, which like Take me out has a really strong hook. Dark of the matinee is a smart lyric but nothing else really merits a second listen, IMHO.
As for why the album doesn’t do more for me, all I can say is this: guitar bands need to have one of the following for me to want to listen to them – memorable tunes, striking arrangements, a strong singer, great lyrics. Two of Franz Ferdinand’s contemporaries – the Arctic Monkeys and the Strokes – had all four. With the exception of Take me out and 40’, FF rarely had any - 6
Mark
Smashing Pumpkins - while never an uber fan, I did like their early albums and Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness is brilliant with three or four absolute classics on it. Lost touch with them until the last few we've reviewed and I thought this was a pretty strong album for a band 35 years into their career, loads of trademark quiet/loud riffing going on. Couple of the slower ones sounded like Brett Anderson / Suede, and the big overblown epic Pentecost even had a whiff of GnR's November Rain about it, the one with the massive string section where Slash kicks open the church door in the video and pulls a mahoosive geetar hero pose - 7.5
Pixey - did we see her at Are You Listening one year ? Better than average modern girl pop, even came across a bit early nineties indie dance in places - 6
X - pretty sure this is the first time I've listened to this lot, sonically it put me in mind of other late period 'mature' albums by bands of a similar vintage like Buzzcocks and The Damned that we've reviewed in recent years, punk with a few of the rough edges knocked off in the production. Plenty of decent tunes though and a speedy listen clocking in under a half hour, the ones with the female singer are pure early Blondie which I obviously love - 7
Personal Trainer - a mixed bag, not lacking in experimentation but maybe at the expense of a bit of identity, couldn't quite work out who they were trying to be, it was all a bit schizophrenic, all twee and whimsical one minute, 4AD noisenik the next. Definite potential though, and good to see there's more to the new wave of Dutch indie, NME would have created a scene around this back in the day - 6.5
TOTW - Pentecost by Smashing Pumpkins
Justin
Smashing Pumpkins - one of those bands that I would expect to enjoy more, but I generally find a while album a bit tough going. Overall though this seemed to be a good mix of grunge/indie pop 7
Pixey - a few songs that were a bit light but several possible tunes of the week like War in my mind. As far as this type of Pop goes it was good. 7.1
X - nice but of rock. The Way it is was a good song. Few songs don't quite hit the mark. 6.9
Personal Trainer - Round was good. None of the songs bad but the style seemed to jump around. 6.7
TOTW Pentecost - Smashing Pumpkins
Franz Ferdinand - haven't listened to this for years. Actually found it more enjoyable than I expected. Quality album throughout and also good to have really clear sharp vocals. 8
Sam
Smashing pumpkins: anyone else think his voice was different? Aside from that this is full of massive guitar action and bounced along very nicely: 8
Pixey : top notch pop with a bit of indie thrown in . 7.2
X : not really punk anymore but this is a decent rock album . They don’t sound old which is surprising. 7.3
Personal trainer: what a rollercoaster! Up and down , and side to side . When it’s good I was jumping around , when it’s bad I winced . 6.6
Frank Ferdinand : whip smart , cool as fuck and plenty of hits . Nice choice . 8.5
TOTW : Who Goes There : smashing pumpkins
Jim
Smashing Pumpkins 6
Never listened to an album of theirs. Starts off promising, decent heavy rock with Placebo and Marilyn Manson vibes, but it then it doesn't really go anywhere and ends up a bit of damp squib.
Pixie 6.5
I wasn't impressed at AYL as she was alone on stage with a backing track so it felt like karaoke. But this was OK, with a decent trio to kick it off although the back-end was pretty generic chart pop. TOTW contender in Man Power that reminded of Metric (and this was Annette's fav of the week)
X 7.5
Never even heard of this lot before, and think I should go back to some of the early stuff as I really enjoyed it. Plenty of Blondie when she was singing and (post reform) Pixies when he did. What a great combo! The Way It Is, Big Black and Smoke and Fiction were particularly good.
Personal Trainer 7.5
Thought was lovely, a little unusual, melodic indie. The Dutch have got a thang goin' on.
TOTW X: Smoke and Fiction
Franz Ferdinand 9
A rare album where every track stands up on it's own. Still sounds fresh and original.
Matt
Smashing Pumpkins - I sit in the seemingly growing group of "don't mind but not a fan." There's enough of the orchestral swoops that make it Pumpkinesque and some harder rockier pieces to keep it interesting but I left it thinking it was only a couple of chromosomes away from Meatloaf. 6
Pixey - More confidence, capability and personality than her peers. A nice variety to her tracks drawing from indie, pop, rock with a nod to the 90s. Put me mind of a slightly grittier Sigrid. Would like to hear more. 7.9
X - Can't fault the energy and commitment but the music lacked dimension and the lyrics were just terrible. 4
Personal Trainer - The first track had whiff of the meandering self-indulgence that's the hallmark of Black Country New Roads but once you get beyond that there's a pleasingly eclectic selection leaving a Weezerish impression. 7.3
Totw - Round, Personal Trainer
Erol
Smashing Pumpkins – I really enjoyed this. It does peter out a bit towards the end but the first 5/6 tracks sound like an American metal band combined with Placebo. Some great guitar moments too, but was not so much of a fan of the vocals. 7.5
Pixey – first impression was that this is cheesy girly pop, which we’ve all heard before. But it improved considerably as it progressed to the point where I found myself really enjoying the latter. A number of the tracks at the back end put me in mind of Churches. 7.3
X - really good post-punk rock. The best (new) album of the week. 7.9
Personal Trainer – the singer can’t sing and the music is, for the most part, all over the place. They’re trying to create a quirky indie rock sound, but it just doesn’t work. This was a tough listen pretty much from start to finish. I won’t be going back. 3
TOTW - Love like Heaven, Pixey
Franz Ferdinand - I listened to this to death 20 years ago and had forgotten how good it is. It still sounds great. 8.5
Simon
Smashing Pumpkins: at times impressive widescreen hard rock with some top riffing, but can't say it stirred much in me - not a big fan of the vocal either. 6.5
Pixey: as exhilarating pure pop goes I thought this was rather good - remember enjoying her set at AYL a couple of years ago and this is just as much fun. 7.5
X: not familiar with this lot even though they've been around for eons - they sound like a band that are comfortable in their own skin and know exactly what they are doing, but I can't get particularly excited about this somewhat dated brand of punk rock. 5.7
Personal Trainer: had high hopes for this but sadly it didn't quite hit the mark - plenty of ambition but it's a bit messy at times and lacks the hooks that their compatriots Pip Blom conjour up so effortlessly. It does all come together for the last track though, which is a tune. 6.4
TotW: Pixey - The War In My Mind
Franz Ferdinand: if I remember this lot made quite an impact at the time, and this is an assured and invigorating debut - beyond the initial thrill though I don't think it has the staying power of some other classics we've listened to. 8
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