W/e 11/10/24 - Public Service Broadcasting, Leon Bridges, Caribou, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Television

PSB are our latest winners, just outside the top 30 of the year. No great movers or shakers this time.

They also take the TOTW – even though a tie, their album had the most votes.

Simon is our happy camper😀. Annette has her first ☹️ pretty soon after a record breaking high week.

Most enjoyed the relatively unknown Television, even if they didn’t set any worlds alight, and they land next to XTC and The Havalinas on the classic chart.

Guy

Public Service Broadcasting – Much as I love this band and their unique approach, I have to say this wasn’t their finest work. It’s atmospheric and orchestral as you’d expect but it lacks the big tunes like Go and Spitfire. Nonetheless an enjoyable listen. Looking forward to seeing them on Tuesday – 7

Leon Bridges – well this was definitely a change although not sure for the better. You couldn’t fault his voice and it was well produced with a well-rounded, orchestral sound but I’m just not into soul. Both the music and the lyrics made me feel a bit sleazy. I needed a shower with a rough loofah afterwards - 5

Caribou – There was a combination of outstanding, decent and weak songs on this. The main issue was it didn’t really flow. There was plenty of variety (house, disco, soul etc) but it just didn’t hang together for me. The last track was a stonker though and gets my TOTW - 6

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – A wonderful soundtrack for an amazing film. I just don’t know the name of the film. Atmospheric and moody and surprisingly listenable. Odd but not bad for it. 54 minutes for 6 songs is just a bit too long though – 6.7

TOTW – Got to Change – Caribou

Television – Enjoyed this. I can’t say I’m hugely familiar with this album versus the more famous Marquee Moon. It’s a good listen though and is arguable a bit more sophisticated than the debut but perhaps has less rawness / energy – 7.8

Matt

Public Service Broadcasting: There's something very satisfying about having an overarching theme; you tend to listen to the album as a whole rather than as individual tracks. In this case there's also a background poignancy to the confidence and exuberance of the earlier tracks (google Amelia Earhart). Enjoyed the pop-inflected The Fun of It and the driving electronica of Electra. 8

Leon Bridges: There are some nice soulful moments here but ultimately it was just dull. 4

Caribou: A series of clean, pared down arithmetic progressions of dance. Really enjoyed Climbing and Got to Change. Also liked Volume but not sure how I should feel about a classic getting covered. Still, overall 8.1

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: One quarter of an hour track is noteworthy; two might be considered a warning sign. Parts of some tracks (Babys in a Thundercloud) this are really good but that's point: it's parts. I admire the unwillingness to adhere to the 3 minute convention but I also admire the rigour needed to edit. 6.8

TOTW: Change Caribou

Television: Glad I listened, (that's the point if this exercise) but felt more educated than entertained. Seemed to lack the rawness I was expecting but maybe that's on me. 6.5

Andy

Public Service Broadcasting - The usual kind of stuff although it lost me a bit when it stopped being Amelia Earhart museum exhibit mood music and they threw some singing into the mix 6.5

Leon Bridges - Lovely voice without ever really bringing a transcendent tune. Might have fared even better a couple of months ago in the sunshine 7

Caribou - I don't want to sound like a broken record (although it doesn't seem to bother this artist!! Amirite??) but this kind of thing does nothing for me and times this one had me verging on anger. WTAF was that "reimagining" of Pump up the Volume for? Garbage 2

Godspeed! You Black Emperor - Really good, who needs songs when you've got tunes like these. important subject matter too, even if you'd never know it thanks to the lack of lyrics. Powerful stuff 7.5

TotW - BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD by Godspeed! You Black Emperor

Television - I've never really listened to television before, not even Marquee Moon, but this is pretty enjoyable 70s New Wave type stuff. Might have to remove the Marquee Moon blindspot too 7

Phil

Public Service Broadcasting

I’m a newcomer to PSB so it was helpful to read up about the band’s modus operandi beforehand. And they chose a fascinating story to tell. Amelia Earhart has had songs written about her before, most notably Joni Mitchell’s eponymous song on her album Hejira, but never a full album.

I could be picky and point out that there’s an unevenness to the album’s programming – the rockier tracks sometimes jar, and the intimate lyrics of A different kind of love feel out of place in the general narrative. All that said, I thought this was a fascinating record. It does help to know something of the story behind it – and PSB’s website fills this in well – but it’s also interesting to listen to it alongside the Godspeed You! Black Emperor album, which is also largely instrumental but doesn’t have, if you like, a cheat code to help the music make sense.

Many of the arrangements, especially on the non-rock numbers, are beautiful and the voiceovers (or unders – they’re deliberately made to sound like barely heard radio transmissions) are cleverly done 7.5

Leon Bridges

Excellent modern soul album. Bridges has a flexible light tenor voice and he uses it to good effect on a varied collection of songs. It does drift towards bland in places – Simplify being a good example – but when it’s good it’s great. The opener When a man cries is a slow-burning stunner and Panther city, full of childhood memories, is another gem.

More of this sort of thing! 7.5

Caribou

Tedious wobbly EDM, with occasional shafts of light, eg Come find me, Over now. The tracks with vocals are slightly less dreary than the ones without but it’s a close thing 3.5

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

GYBE are never going to be household names and I suspect that they’re OK with that. Their music is uncompromising in every respect, so why make the effort? Well, for me, a lot of the most interesting modern music is instrumental and when the musicians play with the mindset of a classical player the results can be breathtaking – the best example I can think of is Germany’s Popol Vuh, but a more recent example would be the stunning Korean outfit Jambinai.

But GYBE owe as much if not more to bands like Mogwai. They have the quiet-loud dynamic and the chaotic ambient backdrops in common but, on this album at least, they don’t always hold the attention. Of the three 11 minute plus tracks here, Pale spectator takes photographs is the best. The balance between the pretty (violin/guitar) and the loud (lots of guitars and the faders up to max) is better managed and the melodies are more engaging. Of the shorter tracks, both Broken spires at Dead Kapital and Grey rubble, green shoots have moments of beauty.

Would I try to sell this album to a GYBE agnostic as an example of their work? Probably not. Will I listen to it again? That’s much more likely 7

TOTW: Leon Bridges – When a man cries

Classic

Television – Adventure

Let’s forget for the moment that this is a band that, in 1977, produced one of the great guitar albums and ask the question: if this had been the band’s first album what would we have thought of it? Well, I’d have said, this lot sound promising. They’ve got a great lead guitarist (two, as it happens), a singer with a very distinctive voice and a sound that tends towards the anthemic. Minus points: they’re a bit to prone to hit the “pop” button. Give them time, I’d have said.

But this was the follow-up to Marquee moon and it does sound like they were trying to make a pop record. Yet their strengths, even on this record, very obviously lie in other directions 6.5

Simon

Public Service Broadcasting: agree with Guy, it's not their best album but I still found it engaging and somewhat poignant given the theme - not sure having any out and out bangers would have particularly suited the mood. 7.5

Leon Bridges: this type of music doesn't usually float my boat and I'm unlikely to listen to it again after this week, but even I can tell that this is an accomplished album - the songs are well put together, he's got a great voice and some of the tracks (eg. When A Man Cries, Never Satisfied) are excellent. 7

Caribou: my heart sank when I heard the Minnie Mouse vocals two seconds in, and whilst a few tracks had some moderate appeal overall it was pretty average. However, recording all the vocals yourself and then using AI to make them sound like different people doesn't sit well with me. 5.5

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: was initially concerned that nearly an hour of instrumental rock might start to drag, but how wrong I was - this is tense, compelling stuff, I was completely engrossed to the end. 7.8

Television: only know this band by name and the reputation of Marquee Moon, so this was a new one for me - can't say it really blew me away but good to tap into a period and style I'm really not familiar with. 7

TotW: Leon Bridges - When A Man Cries

Jim

Public Service Broadcasting 8

Really enjoyed this mashup. The rockier numbers at the start had some Arcade Fire about them, followed by the classic PSB sounds, intermingled with some lovely slower numbers. Let down a little by the limp last track, but overall a varied treat.

Leon Bridges 4

Not for me - bland, forgettable mush.

Caribou 6.5

mmm, you are in catch up mode from the off after the dreadful first track. There were a few big choons, in Come Find Me and Climbing, that would be good in a dance tent, but generally not much here i've not heard many times before.

Godspeed 6.5

To quote a learned colleague, it’s a bit of overblown nonsense. But enjoyable in parts none the less, particularly when they put the proggy foot down. The drawn out instrument-tuning moments were less fun.

TOTW: PSB - The Fun Of It.

Television 7.5

A new one for me. Plenty of squirky new wave sounds, no obvious filler, perhaps lacking a little punch.

Sam

PSB : it’s not as good as Race for Space but it’s still a joy and more varied than other albums . I wonder if any other bands do historical atmospheric dance music? 7.5

Leon Bridges ; Hell’s Teeth ! 13 songs of this dull shite … 3

Caribou : the pinky and perky bits aside this is decent , fun dance music . In that bar in Ibiza we keep mentioning I would be shaking my ass . 7

Godspeed ; powerful stuff but not a very pleasant listen overall . 6

TOTW : The Fun of it : PSB

Television: I can see why MKE chose this : it’s sharp , cool post punk New York styley that The Strokes have definitely listened to before . New to me too . Nice one. 7.7

Mark

Public Service Broadcasting - not a radical departure from all their previous concept albums, but I do really like this style and the addition of a female vocalist has broadened their palette. Nice mix of moving slowies and soaring euphoric bangers, Electra and Towards The Dawn in particular - 7.5

Leon Bridges - accomplished modern soul, the kind of thing you can imagine Weller grooving on in his Style Council era or when he first went solo, so in my wheelhouse for sure. Not heard of him before, even though his previous albums have gone top 10 in the US - 7

Caribou - opening track was a bit ominous, I loathe that kind of vocal sample, but it definitely picked up from there, similar vibe to Jamie XX if not quite in the same league - 6

GYBE - heavy on the Mogwai atmospherics, with some Arcade Fire and Sea Power on the more conventional tracks. It's a fine line between creative experimentation and downright self indulgence, and this just about landed the right side of it - 6.5

TOTW - Towards The Dawn by PSB

Erol

PSB – as a whole, this was joyous. I don’t think I know PSB but I’ll certainly be looking up some of their earlier albums. They really know how to combine beautiful orchestral tunes with atmospheric vocals and, of course, some quirky American samples from the 50s/60s. 7.5

Leon Bridges – he’s clearly talented and I do like soul music but this was lacking in direction. By the end I felt rather let down and underwhelmed. 6

Caribou - a thumping selection of upbeat tracks with some enjoyable references back to old dance tunes from the 90s (pump up the volume, for example). I agree, not quite as good as Jamie XX, but definitely still worth tuning into. 7.5.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – this was surprisingly listenable, seeing as I am not usually a fan of instrumentals. After a while, it does sound like a film soundtrack though and really could do with being pruned back a tad. 6

TOTW - Dear Life by Caribou

Television – for late 70s rock, I was expecting a bit more edge and excitement. Fairly decent stuff but it was rather flat, with no stand-out tracks. 6

Annette

Public Service Broadcasting: 5

Leon Bridges: 4

Caribou: 5

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: 4

Justin

Public Service Broadcasting - I just found this all a bit cold. No particular interest in the subject matter and the samples weren't very exciting. They are in danger of becoming a bit of a novelty act. 5.8

Leon Bridges - smooth and well produced. Obviously quality but just not my cup of tea. 6.5

Caribou - I like this the more I listen to it. A few songs are a bit too plinky plonky but otherwise some quality stuff 7

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - this was a great epic album. Real sonic journey type stuff. 7.5

ToTw Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Raindrops Cast in Lead

Television - never listened to them before. All sounded quite modern although no one banger. 7