Courteeners - St Jude

This - the second instalment - is all about one of the finest bands to come out of Manchester since the days of Oasis; band of the people, The Courteeners.

 

St Jude was released in 2008 to shockingly, standard reviews; however the large following picked up through regular gigs and word of mouth generated mass sales throughout the world, and several thousands from underground (a joke about hipsters)

Courteeners filled the gap in the music industry when it was in great need. A proper guitar band with progressively expert riffs, satirical wisdom and break-wrist drums holding it all together, and all with minimal use of effects. This album is one of the rawest around! The renowned sound of the Manc 4 piece is also used throughout television, ranging from Corrie to MotD.

One of the things about St Jude is the fact that it gets stronger and stronger as the album progresses. A hell of a lot of albums start strong, pick up a bit half way in, then decline towards the end and go into a firey pit of utter dog shit... :) This is praise for the producer of the album and the lads for getting the track listing bang on.

This album offers a take on life which many of us can relate to; whether it's a feeling of disdain towards the general public, an ire towards certain members of the opposing sex or simply just an annoyance towards someone because they haven't "even heard of The La's". Come to think of it, this is an album which takes the rage you carry and allows you to bury its head in the sand so you can continue throwing stones at children. An album to fuel your energy. In weather terms, it's heavy thunder.

Who's to say this is a bad thing? Melodic noise is needed in day to do life, if we all went round only listening to The Verve, we'd all be in a visible spiralling depression. St Jude offers an outlet, which not only lets you smash out banging air guitar solos and booming air bass riffs, but allows you to look at everyday life and see the inspiration behind songs by bands like this.

We see numerous sides of Courteeners on this record; obviously, as I've spoken about - the indie rock side, but another prominent part to the puzzle, the beautifully aranged ballad of 'Yesterday, Today and Probably Tomorrow'. This not only demonstrates the softer side to the 'LADs band' but widens their abilities and demographic - and this might be the only acoustic track on the album, but it doesn't feel out of place and is the perfect way to end an album.

If you haven't already, I strongly recommend embarking on the St Jude experience and it'll blow the tripe chart music out of your behind. 

Not Nineteen Forever

Holloways - So This is Great Britain?

It's been too long since I wrote a proper article about, well, anything. Instead, I've been tweeting about nonsense such as why people don't buy cucumber anymore and why you should avoid leaving DVDs out in the sun in case they turn into a pelican.

This is a new blog and it will be a regular (how regular, I dont know) thing. Basically what I am going to do is write about albums - past or present - that I personally feel should be in your musical library. Beginning with the band and the band's lyrics in which this blog is named after... THE HOLLOWAYS.

The debut album from the now, sadly, extinct 4 piece from LDN, NGLND. Released nearly 6 years ago now; The Holloways had made another album between STiGB and splitting which had - as well as this album - received mixed reviews, but this is definitely their finest work.

Rants about how shit England seems to be directly entwines with the fact that we should celebrate our damaged, corrupt nation. Rhymes about the Beckham's, metaphors about the oarless ship that is GB and anecdotes about the masses sleeping around and binging on drink and drugs are all included, and that's only in the first song (So This is Great Britain)

The catchy duets of vocalists Alfie Jackson and Rob Skipper layer the scratchy guitars, bluesy harmonicas and raging violins throughout, and the observational lyrics spurted from their respected mouths not only give non-UK residents an insight into the depths of our weekly routine, but provide a laugh too.

Alfie and the boys found the perfect mix between spitting words about our attitude to culture with humour and class, and revert back and forth between problems with nights out which unequivocally lead to the problems with girls and the problems with society in general... Such as in the songs Two Left Feet (below) and Nothing for the Kids.

Two Left Feet

Diamonds and Pearls shows the calmer side of the indie Londeners, and talks of love and longing for the summer. This is my highlight of the entire album and deserves the global recognition and critical acclaim myself and all my known alias' are giving it.

Of course, we can't forget the song which everyone will know these boys for, Generator. With its message of 'life is nonsense so let's dance', this is the peak of Holloways' success in the unpredictable, often dross world of musical fusion.

Holloways were a band with a titanic degree of love for what they were doing and they didn't receive nearly enough recognition for what they achieved in the years they were together. I can only pray that they will pick up the guitars and violins again, and smash the face off chart music once more. Listen with intent and do the only thing you can when their words and tones hit you; smile and give life the middle finger.