Album Review: Atlas Sound, 'Parallax'

Atlas Sound, Parallax

By Thomas McMahon, abridged version published in The Mancunion 21/11/2011 

Four stars

Bradford Cox's third solo effort sees the Deerhunter frontman strike out into unusual territory, with pleasing results. The album artwork shows the Atlanta-based songsmith evoking a bygone age of crooners, posing in silhouette with a vintage microphone, and Parallax lives up to this surprising change of direction. Indeed, the album manages to retain the creative edge which earned Cox his reputation as an experimentalist while also functioning as a nuanced, intelligent pop record.

Perhaps the most startling aspect of Parallax is the impressive balance struck between Cox's frequently despairing lyrics, possibly influenced by his recent nervous breakdown while touring with Deerhunter, and uplifting melodies. 'Te Amo', for example, features the lyrics “when you're down, you're always down”, but is lightened by delicate percussion and piano loops. The title track, also issued as the lead single, offsets the refrain “your pain, is probably equal” with bright guitar work. Cox's vocals, while sometimes lacking in range, complement the music well, particularly on the outstanding 'Angel is Broken'.

The well-structured album only stumbles when Cox occasionally reverts to the tired piano-and-reverb formula which has enjoyed great popularity of late. Mid-album track 'Mona Lisa', an unashamedly simple jangle-pop number, seems a blessed relief after the rather stodgy 'Modern Aquatic Lovesongs'.

However, Parallax remains a focussed and inventive album in a year when such records seem an increasingly rare commodity. Against a raft of beach-rock clones, the Southern recluse has crafted a wonderfully beguiling and sensitive record. Moreover, Cox's burgeoning pop sensibilities mean this album works as an ideal introduction to a musician of considerable talent.

Real Estate Interview and Gig Review

By Thomas McMahon, originally published in The Mancunion 2/11/2011

The Mancunion's Thomas McMahon was on hand to meet Real Estate guitarist Matthew Mondaline as the New Jersey fivesome prepared for their gig at Salford's Islington Mill.

TM: What's it like returning to England for a second tour with the band?
MM: We like it, we're very excited to play Manchester tonight then London tomorrow.

TM: A lot of people are saying the new album is cleaner and more focussed, was that a conscious decision by the band?

MM: Yeah, we wanted everything to be higher quality, which involved quite a lot of hard work in the studio.

TM: So was it a stereotypical 'difficult second album'?

MM: Not quite, a lot of the songs were already written, plus we spent a long time between our first and second album.

TM: You've recently switched label from Woodsist to Domino, what inspired that move?
MM: Well, they offered us a really good record deal on a bigger label. Plus, they're based in London which should mean we can play over here more often.

Real Estate's apparently pre-anointed passage to the indie pantheon stumbled under the concrete ceiling of Salford's Islington Mill after an underwhelming live performance. An enthusiastic audience, possibly enticed by a string of reviews lauding sophomore album Days, was left unconvinced by a string of passable psych-pop strumalongs.

The set started promisingly, with opener 'Municipality' showing the band's technical proficiency and knack for crafting delicate melodies. Recent single, 'It's Real', also proved a highlight, with the rhythm section playing tightly and with admirable energy. However, the set soon became bogged down in repetitive surf-influenced riffs, with lead singer Martin Courtney's underpowered vocals often drowning in a swollen sea of feedback and reverb. The band's spirited cover of Felt's 'Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow', meanwhile, merely highlighted the Americans' poor lyrics in comparison to the Birmigham new wave outfit.

While every member of the band played with genuine skill, Real Estate nevertheless proved themselves to be a group which is easy to admire but hard to love. Throughout the set, the five-piece showed neither the earnest conviction of fellow New Jerseyans such as Titus Andronicus and Vivian Girls nor the pop sensibilities of superior beach bums such as Surfer Blood. As heads slowly nodded but feet remained fixed to the floor, this malaise was reflected in the crowd.

RATING: 3 Stars

Yorkshire Post interview with Anthony McGrath

By Thomas McMahon
Originally Published in The Yorkshire Post on Tuesday 9 August 2011 13:52

Yorkshire’s Anthony McGrath maintains that his side will still be striving for victory in Wednesday’s CB40 Trophy clash with Middlesex, despite the fact they cannot qualify from Group A.

While the Headingley outfit’s poor form in the 40-over tournament has contributed to a forgettable season, the former England player is calling for morale-boosting victories in one-day games to aid his side’s survival prospects in the County Championship.

McGrath, who scored a century against Hampshire in Yorkshire’s last match, believes that Yorkshire’s attempts to mount a challenge for the cup have been scuppered by injuries to key players.

“We’ve had to chop and change quite a bit,” said the 35-year-old ahead of the match at Lord’s.

“A club of our size should be competing for silverware at the end of the season.

“We’re just aiming to win all our remaining 40-over matches, that’s all we can do.”

The start time for Yorkshire’s CB40 match with Middlesex on Wednesday has been brought forward due to the unrest in London.

The fixture was due to start at Lord’s at 3.40pm but will now begin at 12pm following three nights of rioting on the streets of the capital.

Yorkshire were due to train this afternoon before travelling down to north London tonight, but they have instead headed straight to their hotel in the capital.

Senior batsman McGrath told the Yorkshire Post: “I’m a little bit concerned.

“Obviously we all saw it unfolding on the news last night and we’re going to be a little closer to it now. Hopefully they can get things under control, but it looks pretty bad from the scenes I’ve seen and things I’ve heard on the radio.

“Hopefully the police and government can get it sorted as soon as possible.

“Things like this can escalate quickly so hopefully it can be sorted sooner rather than later.”

All tonight’s London football matches including tomorrow’s international friendly between England and Holland have been postponed.

Should the authorities decree it unsafe for Middlesex versus Yorkshire to go ahead, McGrath said: “That’s out of our hands, we’ll just go on the advice the people give us.

“We’ve cancelled training today to go down earlier, and as players we’re just open to the advice the club or the people in charge give us.”

Yorkshire Post article on Riots and sport

Originally Published on Wednesday 10 August 2011 14:47

While England’s proposed friendly with the Netherlands has been called off after rioting in London, history proves that sporting events themselves have the capacity to spark significant civil unrest.

With Andrew Strauss’s England side vowing to continue their Test series against India in the hope of boosting the nation’s morale, it might be easy to see cricket as a refreshing throwback to a more genteel era.

However, those viewing cricket as a pastoral antidote to contemporary chaos would do well to remember the final Test of the 1970-71 Ashes series.

John Snow, easily the most menacing fast bowler of Ray Illingworth’s touring party, felled Australian tail ender Terry Jenner with a vicious bouncer and madness erupted at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

With bottles raining down from the stands and Australian spectators attempting to grab the fielding Snow, Illingworth decided to lead his team from the field. The match was eventually resumed, with 14 arrests made in the aftermath.

While the Australian public are well known for their passion for sport, the reaction in Buenos Aires to River Plate’s recent relegation from the Argentinian Primera Division puts the SCG disturbance firmly in the shade.

Following the 1-1 home draw against Belgrano which condemned Argentina’s most successful club to the first relegation in its history, riots began in the Estadio Monumental and quickly spread across the capital. More than 70 people were hospitalised and numerous cars burnt out in the disorder.

Despite this, the most startling reaction to a football match in Latin America came in 1969 when the armed forces of El Salvador and Honduras clashed in the aftermath of a World Cup Qualifying Play-off.

After fighting between fans in earlier group games, El Salvador snatched a dramatic extra-time winner in Mexico City, which incensed their nearby rivals.

The conflict itself only lasted four days, but claimed the lives of around 3,000 people, as well displacing some 300,000 Salvadoran citizens.

Although the reasons behind the war stemmed from long-standing territorial disputes between the two nations, the manner in which it was triggered remains startling.

In North America, meanwhile, fans of the Vancouver Canucks have rioted on two separate occasions after defeats in ice hockey’s Stanley Cup. While the Canucks enjoy the best regular-season record in the NHL, they have yet to win the Stanley Cup after 40 years of trying and their fans’ frustations boiled over in 1994 and earlier this year.

The recent riots, which followed a shock 4-0 series defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins, were particularly fierce, with cars flipped and 101 arrests made.

Though the recent raft of cancelled and rescheduled fixtures proves that civil disorder can disrupt sports, these extraordinary cases show that the emotions surrounding sport itself can spark pandemonium all of its own.