2015 RETROSPECTIVE - PART 2

LONE WOLF - LODGE

Music and anxiety often go hand in hand, in my experience. There are records in my music library that foster anxiety that I should probably stay away from; there are others I can turn to for sensory or emotional respite from the shakes and the sweats. I had yet to come across a record that encapsulated both responses, until I first heard Lodge by Lone Wolf. 

Faced with the news that much-favoured recording space The Lodge in Bridlington was closing, Paul Marshall booked some studio time and made what would be his final release as Lone Wolf over the course of a few weekends. The result is Lodge, a record that doesn't shrink away from its subject matter. It is a wonderfully sparse record; ever-present piano is joined in turns by unassuming bass, drums and mute trumpets, all of which are complemented by the sound of a room that almost lives and breathes with the music. There is nowhere to hide here; the elephant in the room must be addressed. 

The sound, therefore, sets up the final part of the Lone Wolf journey, with Marshall going from storyteller to confessor over the course of three records. It couldn't be simpler; he has some things to get off his chest, and he'd like to tell you all about it if you'll listen. Gone are the more abstract lyrics and stories from The Devil and I and The Lovers, and in their place are devastating words that have the power to make the listener recoil. The darkness and self-flagellation of anxiety and depression are explored in their entirety on tracks such as 'Give Up', 'Taking Steps' and 'Get Rough' in a way that is difficult to hear, but at the same time absolutely essential. The elephant in the room is being addressed. 

Addressing these issues is difficult but it can pay dividends, and evidence of this is also present on Lodge. 'Art of Letting Go' is the blueprint; it's no guarantee of success, that's down to you, but it sympathises and lends a helping hand. There is something about the end of 'Token Water' that evokes the giddiness that occurs in the aftermath of an anxiety attack ... an oddly specific evocation that is probably no use to anyone reading this but hey, music belongs to its listeners right? 

Tangents aside, Lodge is a stunning record. It says important things quietly; those who choose to listen have their close attentions rewarded exponentially. Louder records may get more accolades but you shouldn't have to shout for your voice to be heard. 

Lone Wolf

2015 RETROSPECTIVE - PART 1

EAST INDIA YOUTH - CULTURE OF VOLUME

On this day last year I began my look back at 2014 music with TOTAL STRIFE FOREVER, East India Youth's Mercury-nominated debut record. I did not envisage that I'd be starting this year's retrospective with William Doyle's second effort CULTURE OF VOLUME, but I'm not complaining. Spoiler alert: it's a bloody good record. The ideas open out as opposed to the enveloping of TOTAL STRIFE FOREVER; everything sounds widescreen, the vocals are stronger, the production sounds just that little bit slicker. While in many ways this second record is an elaboration on the first, there is one thing that remains the same; both records demonstrate a formidable audacity that manifests itself in multiple ways.

After the unfurling of opener THE JUDDERING, END RESULT is a deftly textured track that creates the effect of walking through some cold, vast expanse that probably doesn't really exist except in the mind (incidentally, this is a record that travels very well). When I listen to HEARTS THAT NEVER, it sounds like a neuroscientist cut my brain open, targeted the exact areas of the thing responsible for my completely random and unintelligible sensory pressure-points and put them all in a song, all happening at the same time. I might be affronted at this blatant invasion of privacy if it didn't sound and feel so unbelievably fucking fantastic. CAROUSEL is simply stunning. To reiterate: it's a bloody good record.

What is most impressive about CULTURE OF VOLUME is its evocative quality. When I think of this record many things come to mind: anxiety attacks, coach rides, a wet December night in Leeds, karaoke (don't ask), walking through the streets of London at 11pm and discovering a beauty in the city that I had never seen before. I don't expect anyone to share in these evocations; they are personal to me, and really that's the point. We don't react to music in the same way, we are shaped by our brains and our experiences and we sift music through those filters. All we can hope for is to find music that is an open and easy conduit, that not only creates associations but refreshes and remakes them as we go along. Luckily for us, records like CULTURE OF VOLUME make the process wonderfully effortless. 

East India Youth