Catacombs and the Coach Journey

Cass McCombs, can he do no wrong? He has that seductive 'I can mix unusual chords with super sad words' effect. 'You Saved My Life,' is a totally haunting have-to-listen-to-over-and-over-again type of song and I thought the true highlight of the album was 'One Way To Go,' a real toe tapping tune...

Why is she reviewing this album? I hear you ask. His heartfelt lyrics and swinging melodies have been doing the rounds since 2009 kid! Well, an album like this firmly belongs on a summer playlist and on ANY coach journey, I'm just forewarning you in case such needs should arise whilst using public transport, particularly if it's anything like the London Birmingham journey I endured recently.

Not naming names...

One could argue that I brought this situation on myself, when making my way onto the tube platform on the hottest day of the year, any kind of oxygen seemed to dissipate leaving instead the stench of unnecessary delays and tourists armpits. Deciding that fresh air was good for my young lungs (and it might be nice to wave to Queen Lizzy as I passed the palace) I  insisted on walking to Victoria coach station.

I caught her at an off moment, she wasn't expecting me

 Admittedly I didn't know the way, but hey I had half an hour, there was no way I was going to be late. Famous last thoughts as I ran through the coach station. Hurrah! I saw my coach waiting for me like a giant hug to take me home, until I boarded those fateful steps. Through the matted throng of unhappy looking people wafting make shift fans and swearing at eachother in different languages I spied one seat left. One sad lonely seat at the back of the coach, wedged between a 25 stone man and the toilet that had a broken door, meaning that around every corner it would swing open bouncing against my legs and waking me up from my 100 degree slumber.

The nice fat man told the world 'it stinks of piss in here' every five minutes

Not only was I swimming in someone elses sweat and drowning in the scent of urines-gone-by, the air con didn't work... and there was a heater under my seat, meaning that if I didn't die from the coach that broke down 5 times on the motorway, heat exhaustion would do it. What do you do in such a predicament? I advise, should you find yourself in such a state, to take 'Catacombs' by the lovely Cass McCombs and drown yourself in that instead. Needless to say, I made it home in one piece, I had neither melted from the heat, nor been squashed by my rather large companion, I was not beaten by the swinging poo stained door, or killed in a horrific traffic accident. Does this mean that Cass McCombs saved my life? Does this mean that whoever saved his life, in the track 'You Saved My Life' saved me too? Should I send them a letter to thank them?

I-Dose?

So, it seems this is what the kids are about these days, I must be getting old... Apparently passing around a spliff at a party or alternately shooting up on the odd occasion is not what the adolescents do to get their kicks anymore, it is all about I-Dosing. Forgive me if I am a bit behind, it seems Americans are seasoned pros, but for those of you not familiar with this concept, (this was myself before yesterday) I-Dosing consists of putting your headphones on and subjecting yourself to a track of hypnotic, spacey drone like music. The effect of this on the listener mimics that of drugs, sending the listener into a crazy junkie world where nothing quite makes sense. The boffin sciencey types out there came up with a theory called 'Binaural Beats.' This is when two different frequencies are played into the ears and has been used successfully to combat sleep problems and anxiety. Despite reassurances that actually this drug like effect is actually a load of old twaddle, there appear to be endless videos of young people with not much to do simulating crack induced fits and kids across the pond in Oklahoma are being warned categorically not to visit these sites. After listening to a few beats of this well thought out and tuneful piece of ear juice, I decided I must be missing something, can't say I'm convinced...



What do you think?

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse: Dark Night of The Soul

This certain piece of collaboration history did not arrive in my ears without a fair bit of drama. There is of course a long and established friendship between musicians and suicide, but the most, well, ironic part of this sad tale is that Mark Linkous of the Sparklehorse half of this musical meeting wanted to join forces with like minded creative folk to make new music and combat the depression which he had suffered with throughout his adult life. After a tour with Radiohead in 1996 Linkous was confined to a wheelchair for 6 months after overdosing on a less than pleasant mix of valium, heroin and alcohol, and then in March of this year he ended a remarkable journey as other tortured souls before him have. But what he did leave with us was not only a near finished Sparklehorse album, but also 'Dark Night of the Soul' an album written along with Dangermouse with guest singers from a number of bands. Worth checking out, if only for the surprising appearance of Suzanne Vega (who is consequently making her own comeback) and a surprisingly tame Iggy Pop.