2022-02-14, 01:10 AM - Word count:
One of the big loves in my life, aside from football, hockey and the fake leagues of those sports, is very much music. I was, in a previous time in my life, bass player for a couple of cover bands, and I loved it. I thought I would go through a few artists I love, maybe it can spark curiosity in others to check them out, that’d be awesome! So without further ado:
The Wombats
An indie trio from Liverpool (well, the bass player is Norwegian but via Liverpool), The Wombats we’re a band I dismissed as another band jumping on the bandwagon of indie bands with an energetic yet angular sound, at the back end of the Oughts. A few good tunes but nothing special? Well, they have evolved with each subsequent release. Some of their lyrics can be subversive, darkly ironic or grimly funny. I would also recommend the 2 side projects of the band members, Love Fame Tragedy and Sunship Balloon, both of which give some very different sides to familiar musicians.
Idlewild
No, I’m not talking about the Outkast album andthe movie it concerns! Idlewild were incredibly highly rated in the late 90s, with the release of Hope Is Important and moreso the seminal 100 Broken Windows, one of my all time favourite albums. Their ascent never really happened the way the NME-reading indie fans of the period expected. They had their biggest hit with the first single off the follow up to 100 Broken Windows. The Album was called The Remote Part and the single was You Held The World In Your Arms. A stunning track, driving indie, underpinned by strings in the chorus, which in itself is pretty anthemic. It even made it onto the soundtrack of FIFA 2003. The album also represented the beginning of a move from the punky, brash sounds of the first 2 albums, towards a more indie-folk vibe. Frontman Roddy Woomble even released a couple of great straight up Scottish folk albums, which are definitely worth a listen! Genuinely one of my all time favourites, these guys.
Joy Division
Finally, a band that had been and gone before I was born! A band that is usually defined by the untimely demise of frontman Ian Curtis, Joy Division are so much more than the story of a tortured artist and their subsequent development into New Order. They may only have released 2 albums, but Unknown Pleasures and Closer regularly feature in discussions around the top albums of the punk era, although their sound would be more accurately classified as ‘post-punk’. Everything about their sound is iconic and ahead of its time. Ian Curtis wrote some incredibly dark lyrics, he also had a unique baritone delivery, and the way he moved onstage made him seem like he had no control over his body. They had a ‘human drum machine’ in Stephen Morris, honestly, listen to the drumming on Transmission and tell me your arms wouldn’t fall off half way through! And what would become a New Order trademark, Peter Hooks melodic bass work. A truly wonderful band, who unfortunately were not around as long as they should have been, not in this guise anyway.
Well, I hope you learned a thing or two and maybe check some of these out!
The Wombats
An indie trio from Liverpool (well, the bass player is Norwegian but via Liverpool), The Wombats we’re a band I dismissed as another band jumping on the bandwagon of indie bands with an energetic yet angular sound, at the back end of the Oughts. A few good tunes but nothing special? Well, they have evolved with each subsequent release. Some of their lyrics can be subversive, darkly ironic or grimly funny. I would also recommend the 2 side projects of the band members, Love Fame Tragedy and Sunship Balloon, both of which give some very different sides to familiar musicians.
Idlewild
No, I’m not talking about the Outkast album andthe movie it concerns! Idlewild were incredibly highly rated in the late 90s, with the release of Hope Is Important and moreso the seminal 100 Broken Windows, one of my all time favourite albums. Their ascent never really happened the way the NME-reading indie fans of the period expected. They had their biggest hit with the first single off the follow up to 100 Broken Windows. The Album was called The Remote Part and the single was You Held The World In Your Arms. A stunning track, driving indie, underpinned by strings in the chorus, which in itself is pretty anthemic. It even made it onto the soundtrack of FIFA 2003. The album also represented the beginning of a move from the punky, brash sounds of the first 2 albums, towards a more indie-folk vibe. Frontman Roddy Woomble even released a couple of great straight up Scottish folk albums, which are definitely worth a listen! Genuinely one of my all time favourites, these guys.
Joy Division
Finally, a band that had been and gone before I was born! A band that is usually defined by the untimely demise of frontman Ian Curtis, Joy Division are so much more than the story of a tortured artist and their subsequent development into New Order. They may only have released 2 albums, but Unknown Pleasures and Closer regularly feature in discussions around the top albums of the punk era, although their sound would be more accurately classified as ‘post-punk’. Everything about their sound is iconic and ahead of its time. Ian Curtis wrote some incredibly dark lyrics, he also had a unique baritone delivery, and the way he moved onstage made him seem like he had no control over his body. They had a ‘human drum machine’ in Stephen Morris, honestly, listen to the drumming on Transmission and tell me your arms wouldn’t fall off half way through! And what would become a New Order trademark, Peter Hooks melodic bass work. A truly wonderful band, who unfortunately were not around as long as they should have been, not in this guise anyway.
Well, I hope you learned a thing or two and maybe check some of these out!
