Codes In The Clouds
Tell us, where are you from?
We’re all from Kent in England.
Can you tell us how the band was formed?
We formed out of the remnants of an old band and added rob and jack on guitar and drums. We all know each from around and about anyway.
For someone who hasn’t heard the band how would you describe your sound?
Instrumental post rock. We’re a pretty pure form of post rock. We try and let people who hear it draw their own meanings and moods from it. Each song should be different and unique to every person who hears it.
What are some of the influences on the band?
Mono, Explosions in the Sky, Oceansize, Hope of the States. We’re influenced by a lot of small parts in loads of different songs. We’re into different types of stuff.
How are most of the songs written?
One person has the basic idea and then we all add our own parts to it. That’s pretty much how we write everything. We try and let it evolve naturally.
Is there an album in the works because we simply want more?
Cheers. Yeah, we have a rough plan for an album. We know how we want it to come out and we have an album title pretty much sorted. It’s a slow process though because of money and stuff.
Any other bands out there the people should be listening to?
FROM THE SKY, they’re amazing! Rival Consoles and The British Expeditionary Force are both on Erased Tapes and are really cool. There’s some really good stuff on the label that we’re all into.
What hopes or goals do you have for the band in the short/long run?
Short term we want the single to do well enough to merit an album. Long term we want to see how the sound changes and want to just keep on writing new stuff and hope people will still want to hear it. Thanks
By John Siwicki
Athlete – Beyond the Neighbourhood
This band is possibly a snappier version of The Rakes. With the best album cover artwork I’ve seen this year,I can endorse this album wholeheartedly and would hope that it would reach No 1 pretty soon in the UK,and,on its release in the US on 25/9 it should achieve high chart status there also. These are a London-based band and they already have one Ivor Novello award under their belt from 2006 for their single “Wires.”
My favourite,”The Outsiders” is beautifully produced,with a polished intro and a nice languid vocal.
A high quality song on an album full of quality songs.
The single “Hurricane”,as the title suggests,focuses on the dramatic increase in hurricanes on the
East Coast of America. A big issue indeed and one which is beyond mankind’s control.
“Tokyo” and “Best Not To Think About It” are both good “pop” songs,especially the latter,which has a kind message “It’s best not to think about it,just put your arms around me”.
My overall verdict?An extremely classy piece of work. The Rakes with a cocktail stick.
By Juliet Robertson
Emma Pollock – Watch The Fireworks
This young Scottish/American singer could be forgiven for sounding a little like Avril Lavigne,as this album,released on 17th September,is an intelligent listen. I liked this album a lot and enjoyed Emma’s lightweight singing with a pleasant harmonious backing band.
This album was begun in 2005 after Emma Pollock went solo after leaving The Delgados. There is a lot more to her than her voice would suggest and she delivers a very compact sound. All songs are self-penned. The song Here Comes The Heartbreak is a nice little tune; a bit formulaic but it works,with this singer. On This Rope’s Getting Tighter,Emma’s voice sounds a little like Doris Day. It’s a tuneful song and I found it struck a chord.
Every song on this album is intelligent and delivers the goods in a satisfactory way. Adrenaline,released as a single recently,should have made its mark .Emma’s voice also has strong shades of Natalie Imbruglia and this song suits her vocal style. Too highbrow for the singles charts?This song has been given a place on my myspace profile,and I’m pretty choosy about my music!
Acid Test,the second single released in August,failed to make much impact on the charts either,but then what good music does, these days?The song is lightly commercial without being too much so,and has a good chorus. I also liked The Optimist very much- and Limbs has Joni Mitchell’s creative influence stamped all over it.
All of the songs on the album have depth and much careful thought has gone into making this album. Go and buy it. I will,as soon as possible.
By Juliet Robertson
Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew – Spirt if….
This artist is new to me-I knew nothing about him before I heard this album,which is a blend of indie,country,rock,folk.A bit of a melting pot,putting it mildly-this is Kevin Drew’s first solo album after Broken Social Scene.
Backed Out On The… is a track with a very 70s sound and I can sense a whiff of Lennon’s Give Peace A Chance in there somewhere.This one should be released as a single – it would do pretty well I feel. It’s very dancey and would grace any party.
When It Begins reminds me of that old song She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain ! Again,a bit of Lennon influence underlying this pleasant little song.You could sing this one round the campfire of an evening and then fall into a blissful sleep in your tent under the stars.
The oddly named Bodhi Sappy Weekend could be classed as “easy listening”. It’s as light as a souffle and very pleasant to listen to. Spirit If…is turning out to be an intriguing album and more melodic than I thought.
Another incredibly laid back song is Ageing Faces/Losing Places. My eyes were closing listening to it. Soothing and ever so slightly jazzy.
On Big Love,a song which sounds like it has more substance to it,the mood suddenly switches to a similarity to the Plastic Ono Band,with a distant Yoko Ono vocal going on,although this song is pleasant enough. Rather an eccentric track,it stops and starts again with a discordant instrumental break, incorporating harsh keyboards and thumpy drums. A little hard to digest,is my summing-up of this song. It could touch on the pretentious.
Roughly a minute of “ooh-ahs”, and a dreamy instrumental on Underneath The Skin,sounds like the waves of the sea-very soothing.
Everyone knows The Rakes’ The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect,yes? Well,Frightening Lives sounds exactly like it.Enough said!
This is an album of jams-laidback, gentle, shoe-gazing,it will be a successful autumn release.
Recommended.