Friday Cover Up - Shearing Off A Xiu Xiu

One of the first gigs I went to when I landed in London back in 2008 was at the beautiful Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush. I had been in the UK for about a month, and yet I was landed with the task of showing a friend around to see the sights. I had just started work out in Essex and was commuting in and out every day, and it was knocking me around - so we saw a bit of Trafalgar Square and Soho, ate some crumbed mushrooms (?!) then sunk some pints, before I convinced him to come see the double billing of Shearwater and the Constantines for five quid. Both bands played for over an hour, and I came away adamant that this was going to be the start of my love affair with the place. And so it was.

I have to say that I've had a crush on Texans Shearwater since that day too. So the fact that their latest endeavour is Fellow Travelers, a series of covers of bands that they admire and have toured with over the years, pretty much means that this segment is locked up til the end of the year. The first taste of the record is a cover of Xiu Xiu's 'I Luv The Valley (OH!!)', and it's a raucous release that energises. This has some resonance for me too - the only time I saw Xiu Xiu was the last show I reviewed for the first magazine I ever reviewed for, Low Rise, back in 2010. They were supported by a burgeoning Zola Jesus, who stormed around the stage like a trapped animal, howling and soaring over a backing track only - and she blew them out of the water. At least here Jamie Stewart gets a little ground back - but only because Shearwater are at the helm. And it's just in time for new ZJ material as well, hmmm... Fellow Travelers can be pre-ordered here - it sounds like the kind of covers album to savour with the likes of St Vincent, Clinic and Smog being reimagined. Have a great weekend everyone!

Belated Ships A Tall, True Discovery

I received On Tariffs & Discovery, the second LP from San Diego trio The Tall Ships, last week. I initially thought it was from the UK band of the same name, who we have mentioned on Sonic Masala before and are pretty great. It wasnt, obviously (the THE at the front should have given it away...), and the fact that this was initially released back in March filled me with trepidation. I wasn't disappointed when I sat down to listen to it though - far from it. Whilst distinctly American indie in composition and general structure, it is the interesting, moody instrumental breakdowns that add the guts and gristle to this tracks and makes them incessantly listenable. To hear that they have shared the stage with instrumental behemoths Sleeping People explains a lot there. The rhythms inherent in tracks like 'D Is For Dogs' is an exemplary example of this, understated yet insistent, and the precise guitar compositions are such a strong ethereal influence throughout that when it combines with Steve Kuhn and Kyle Conwell's hushed, often urgent vocals it becomes an organic entity. Part Constantines, part Parts & Labor, part Sleeping People, On Tariffs & Discovery (out on Minority Records)is an impressive release from an impressive act.

The Tall Ships - D Is For Dogs
The Tall Ships - Freight Train Riders Of America

Inability to talk, propensity to sing

What an ace choice of a band name for a post rock outfit!

Taiwan's Aphasia (which is the total impairment of language ability) are a band that before a couple weeks ago had never ventured beyond their homeland. Its possible you may have heard of the band they came out of the ashes of, Nipples (an experimental noise rock band that featured Guitarists Yi-Jyun Wu and Su and bassist KK previously). Either way, they are currently playing in Canada, and their 'sudden unearthing' has met with some murmurs in blogland - and with good reason. A real brooding sense of subvertive menace pervades many of Aphasia's tracks, and although they have only been together since 2007, their Sonic-Youth infused roots are evident in colouring their time signatures. However Canadian label Arts & Crafts (Broken Social Scene, Metric, Constantines) are distributing their 2nd LP, 2008's The Crocodile Society of Aphasia, which might launch these guys more into the limelight that they so rightly deserve.

Check out track 'Deep Spring' below, and a recording from their Canadian tour of 'The Freedom Highway' (the sound muffles at times but its a very fine live recording nonetheless).

Aphasia - Deep Spring

Shearwater Drift Away And Get Golden

Shearwater's 2008 album Rooks was one of my favourite records of that year, with an amazing cover art of a man dressed in black standing on barren land, arms outstretched in the Jesus Christ pose, with a score of the titular birds covering him. The artwork captured the cold stark beauty of much of that album, and the track The Snow Leopard is still a personal fave that sits amongst my ever expanding playlist.

I only heard of these guys by chance. I had just arrived in London in August 08, and saw that another Canadian act (and one Id been wanting to see for years) The Constantines were double-billing with them in September at Bush Hall. Both bands blew me away in what was one of my first gigs in the UK.

So it goes as no surprise that when The Golden Archipelago hit the shelves last month, I was mighty excited, and it doesnt disappoint. Whilst not differing that far from the formula of its predecessor, the thematic aspects of the new album tie it together as a true complete album, something that is becoming rarer in this day and age. It is full of grandeur, loud/quiet dynamics, and gentle nuance, all orchestrated and fuelled by the theme of islands and Jonathan Meiburg's distinctive vocals.

I missed their Scala gig last month - I dont aim to do that again.

Shearwater - Black Eyes