Everywhere you look at the minute there seems to be yet another example of our cultural excavation of the Eighties – shoulder pads, Transformers, leg-warmers and even white cars have all made recent comebacks. With strike threats and recession blues currently dominating the news it seems the escapist themes that characterised music and fashion in the Eighties are well and truly back in vogue. Lucky then, that Eighties music wasn’t all about bad clothes and soulless, synth-laden pop songs. Bands like Joy Division helped make the Eighties bearable; and following in their post-punk footsteps are Editors, doing their bit to make the current Eighties obsession tolerable by drawing on the decades best musical aspects for inspiration.

While they may not like the persistent Joy Division comparisons, Editors don’t do themselves any favours. The first song tonight, ‘In This Light And On This Evening’, is dominated by a throbbing, Joy Division-esque soundscape while Tom Smith’s vocals owe much to Ian Curtis’ trademark intense mumbling. ‘Bricks And Mortar’, with its Blade Runner synths and electro-drums also has the whiff of a Joy Division album track to it, before it morphs unexpectedly into something a bit more anthemic and modern.

Although they are undoubtedly influenced by Joy Division, Editors are definitely no copyists. Their talent lies in building euphoric anthems out of the introspective themes of isolation and despair that were first dwelt on by Joy Division and their peers over 20 years ago. Songs like ‘Blood’ and ‘An End Has A Start’ burst from the stage, bristling with nervous energy and provoking mass sing-alongs. It’s amazing just how many ‘beer-in-the-air’ moments Editors have in their back catalogue: ‘Munich’, ‘The Racing Rats’, ‘Bullets’, ‘Fingers In The Factory’ and even ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’ all incite hands-aloft moshing.

As well as having the kind of back-catalogue to embarrass much older and more established bands, their new songs hint at a growing maturity. If their older songs were all about the nervous tension and jagged guitars, their newer efforts seem more measured and deliberate. ‘You Don’t Know Love’ and ‘Like Treasure’ are both future fan-favourites, both rousing anthems that left most of the crowd wishing they could sing along with the actual words. Tom Smith is also turning into a more than competent front-man, most noticeable as he predatorily stalked the stage during ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’.

The highlight of the night came in the encore with ‘Papillon’. More New Order than Joy Division, it turned the O2 Academy into the best nightclub in town with its bouncy synths and infectious rhythm. It’s one of the best songs this decade to merge rock and dance and, along with their back-catalogue and impressive new material, suggests Editors will be a massive hit on the festival circuit next year.

(The Editors Live at The O2 Academy, Leeds Saturday 17th October 2009)

]]> http://www.bigdistraction.com/2009/10/the-editors-live-at-the-o2-academy-gig-review/feed/ 0 http://www.bigdistraction.com/2009/10/richard-hawley-live-at-albert-hall-gig-review/ http://www.bigdistraction.com/2009/10/richard-hawley-live-at-albert-hall-gig-review/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:18:11 +0000 Luke Glassford http://www.bigdistraction.com/?p=261 Since he progressed from his previous life as a guitarist for the likes of Longpigs and Pulp, Richard Hawley has carved out quite a niche for himself as one of the UK’s most distinctive solo stars. Tonight, Nottingham’s historic Albert Hall provided a unique setting for Hawley’s trademark crooned love songs.

The most striking thing about Sheffield’s Richard Hawley, once you’ve got past the gravity-defying quiff and Teddy-boy suit, is his voice. His rich, deep throated, lovelorn baritone gives his classic love songs a timeless air and is reminiscent of melancholic balladeers like Roy Orbison and Scott Walker. Tonight, this trademark voice is on fine form as Hawley delivers a composed, mature and at times exhilarating set.

His sixth studio album, ‘Truelove’s Gutter’, provides the bulk of tonight’s show.  Richard and his band (including a violinist/saw-player!) take to the stage to the atmospheric intro to album opener ‘As The Dawn Breaks’; the chirpy bird-songs and gentle guitars build a beautiful, fragile background to Hawley’s romantic crooning and set the tone for an understated yet memorable night. This is followed by ‘Ashes On The Fire’, a haunting ode to unrequited love which allows Hawley to dominate the opulent surroundings with that rich, textured voice.

After a quick diversion to old favourites ‘Lady Solitude’ and ‘Hotel Room’ (from past albums ‘Lady’s Bridge’ and ‘Coles Corner’ respectively) Hawley and his band illuminate the night with a spellbinding rendition of ‘Soldier On’, a slow-burning epic which builds a gentle tension before clattering into life, the shuddering drums and incisive guitars filling the beautifully lit arena.

Following on from another ‘Lady’s Bridge’ / ‘Coles Corner’ two song sojourn – the shanty-esque ‘The Sea Calls’ and sentimental ‘Tonight’ – comes the highlight of the night and perhaps the best song Hawley has written to date, the exquisite ‘Open Up Your Door’. It’s a heart-wrenchingly emotional ballad that journeys from melancholic desperation to uplifting optimism in the blink of an eye. Hawley’s soulful voice enriches the song and commands complete attention from the seated crowd in front of him; it’s a powerful moment of music at its transcendental best and confirms Hawley’s stature as one of the most accomplished singer-songwriters around.

This notion is given further credence with the next two songs lifted from ‘Truelove’s Gutter’, the deeply personal ‘For Your Lover Give Some Time’ and ‘Remorse Code’, the latter being the perfect showcase for Hawley’s disarming voice. ‘Run For Me’, from the 2003 album ‘Lowedges’, proves to be a popular inclusion in the set, providing a more upbeat tone which displays Hawley’s versatility both as a singer and guitarist. He ends the set with ‘Don’t You Cry’, the final song on ‘Truelove’s Gutter’, before returning for an encore of just one song (‘Coles Corner’s ‘The Ocean’) due to the restrictive 10pm curfew.

With performances like these it is easy to see why Richard Hawley has gradually amassed a sizeable and devoted fan base since his first solo album in 2001. It’s a testament to his ability and the quality of his back catalogue that he can leave out favourites like ‘Valentine’ and ‘Tonight The Streets Are Ours’ and still put on a show to delight and entrance his fans.

(Richard Hawley Live at Albert Hall, Nottingham Sunday 11th October 2009)

For more information on Richard Hawley, visit his official site at:

http://www.richardhawley.co.uk/

For their fifth studio album, ‘The Resistance’, Muse have created the most ridiculous, overblown yet in places most stunning album of their career, indulging their favourite paranoid themes of state control and eccentric conspiracy theories. Lyrically, it is also Matt Bellamy’s most personal record, playing like an open declaration of love to his wife.

First song and lead single ‘Uprising’ is a stomping glam rock reimagining of the Dr Who theme tune and sets the lyrical tone of the album – with its talk of ‘endless red tape to keep the truth confined’ and acts as a call to arms to fight oppressive governments and ‘take the power back’. Although this may sound a bit like the rantings of a sixth-form Marxist, this is quickly dispelled on next song ‘Resistance’. Matt Bellamy passionately asserts that ‘Love is our resistance’, suggesting that good old love is the best weapon against the tyranny of Thought Police and oppressive state control. This is done over an almost laughable Pet Shop Boys-esque backdrop of melodious keyboards and over-the-top backing vocals.

It’s hard to listen to ‘The Resistance’ without glimpsing the vivid cinematic world being conjured up. It plays like the soundtrack to an epic sci-fi film, depicting a dystopian world controlled by a totalitarian state. Like all good sci-fi writers, Muse know the genres biggest advantage is the ability to address the scary issues of the day in a direct manner – the futuristic, unfamiliar settings rendering the subversive themes more palatable to a mass audience. They use this tactic to great effect on ‘The Resistance’, shielding their mainstream audience from the provocative and frightening subject matter with pure escapist musical nonsense.

This is most evident in the fantastically extravagant and grandiose ‘United States of Eurasia’. Imagine Queen performing a national anthem for the New World Order, complete with ridiculously exaggerated key changes, and you’re somewhere close. Hidden within this operatic nonsense, though, is the heart and soul of Bellamy’s nightmarish vision – the all-conquering state annihilating free-will and individuality, selling mass control and indoctrination as world peace and harmony.

Not all of the album is as ambitious as all this though. Perhaps in an effort to avoid scaring off the majority of their audience with the sheer lunacy of it all, ‘MK Ultra’ and ‘Undisclosed Desire’ recall earlier fan favourites ‘Plug in Baby’ and ‘Supermassive Black Hole’. Likewise, ‘Guiding Light’ sounds like Muse on auto-pilot, although lyrically it is a touchingly open ode directed to Mrs Bellamy. Although these are decent enough songs in their own right, on an album dealing in such grand scales they feel like nothing more than filler. The worst culprit being ‘I Belong to You’, a plodding cabaret-esque romp which ends with Bellamy crooning in French. It’s at times like these you feel the album could have benefited from the guiding hand of a producer, but such self-produced indulgences are forgiven when we get to the albums gloriously over-the-top finale. If a producer were enrolled to sharpen the album up, you’d think the first thing to fall to the cutting-room floor would be a preposterously overblown three-song symphony dealing with mankind’s origins in outer space and the mass exodus of Earth to repopulate another planet. Yet here it is in all its intended glory. Composed entirely by Bellamy and coming in at just under fifteen minutes, ‘Exogenesis:Symphony’ is a beautifully orchestrated piece which shows off his virtuoso musicianship to the full – building and releasing tension and creating an unsettling atmosphere to frame the nightmarish visions the album evokes.

Although a little hit and miss, there is no doubt that Muse have made one of the most striking and captivating albums of the year. In a society where surveillance and state influence is becoming more and more apparent, ‘The Resistance’ could possibly become the most important political album of the decade.

For more information on Muse visit there official site at:

http://muse.mu/