It’s big release time…
My brother-in-law is getting married on June 25. I’m really rather looking forward to the wedding (our first with Esme)…however, it does mean that for the first time in a while we won’t be heading to Glastonbury. I’d love to have caught the La’s and get up to the usual shenanigans at Lost Vagueness, but having just listened to some of the latest offerings from Coldplay and the White Stripes, it looks like I’m going to be seriously missing out there as well.
Oh, not Coldplay you say…well, yes, sort of. The story around X&Y - EMI shareprice, release via ringtone etc etc - is much more interesting than the album itself, which has sort of washed over me. Yes, yes, it’s all very pretty but there’s not much there that grabs you…even in that sort of gentle way that their last couple of albums did. However, I was much more impressed when - in the name of research (honest!), I stumbled across a torrent of them performing at Koko in Camden (you can still hear it, I think - on the Radio One site). They’re so much more, well…interesting live…which is why this review is much nicer than this one.
White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan is - and I think this is the technical term - a completely belting album; and unlike Colplay’s latest enough of a shift in direction to keep you on your toes. The opening track, Blue Orchid, has more energy than a barrel full of Red Bull and after that it just keeps on bouncing all over the place: noisy bits, quiet bits, rootsy, bluesy and then full-on rawk and roll. Really quite wonderful. There’s quite a lot more than a nod in the direction of Led Zep here. I think that’s a good thing…