The Unpronounceables

As none of you may know, I co-host a two-hour long radio show on an Internet station that no one ever listens to, that also happens to be part of the university where I am "studying". Although most of the time we try and play fairly radio-friendly mainstream-ish stuff, it did make me wonder about the pronunciation of certain band names, who seem to have made a conscious decision to not be able to be said on the radio.

I mean, obviously you can't swear. At all. Not even after 9pm really. So SHITDISCO and HOLY FUCK are out. As is ANAL CUNT, but that does without saying. Which is lucky because we aren't allowed to.

But, !!!, at least, when I first heard about them, were completely unpronounceable. Although now I know them as CHKCHKCHK as opposed to "that band that is spelt with 3 exclamation marks", technically speaking that isn't really right either. According to their website "!!! is pronounced by repeating thrice any monosyllabic sound. Chk Chk Chk is the most common pronunciation, but they could just as easily be called Pow Pow Pow, Bam Bam Bam, Uh Uh Uh, etc". Riiiight.

In similar confusion, recent hype band MGMT, referred to most as their abbreviation suggests (i.e. emm gee emm tee), they used to be known as "The Management" and are still occasionally referred to as much by, well, me, in the same way that MSTRKRFT or that Primal Scream album XTRMNTR are spelt without vowels like a garbled text message from your 13 year old cousin.

Another petty annoyance is the pronunciation of toytronica duo PSAPP. Pronouncing it wrong makes it sound like the sound of a bottle of lemonade opening. Protip: drop the first and last letters.

But while these band's confusing names are somewhat self-inflicted, probably to confuse those "out of the loop", for some bands, their foreign names can be a problem. Case in point, absolutely awesome "slow-motion rock band" SIGUR ROS is more than often pronounced in the very English corruption "Sigger Ross", whereas in reality the pronunciation is closer to "See your rose". Their compatriots MUM are also pronounced differently . (actually "moom")

But I haven't got a clue how on earth to pronounce LES SAVY FAV.

COMING SOON: something more interesting.

ALBUM: Does It Offend You Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into

Often sitting uncomfortably between the sound of a post-apocalyptic rave and some kids playing football with a dustbin, DIOYY?'s debut has all the ingredients of a great album, but does the sum live up to its parts?

With the obvious influence of Daft Punk's Discovery and its imitators and followers (both of which DIOYY? can apply themselves to), coupled with the indie-dance sensibility of their contemporaries in the form of Klaxons and Hadouken!, its almost as if the album tries too hard to satisfy every camp at once. Indeed, tracks "Let's Make Out" and "Weird Science" could be Daft Punk singles. Poorly charting, limited release ones, but singles none the less.

Past the superb opening track "Battle Royale" (although the version formerly availiable on their myspace complete with dialogue from the film is better) and the DFA Dance-punk stylings of "With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You)", as well as the aforementioned "Let's Make Out", the album doesn't have too many high points.

Any pace that the album had built up is quickly lost with "Dawn of The Dead", a misplaced Hot Chip-esque ballad so despairingly dull even Boy Kill Boy fans couldn't sit through it more than once. "Doomed Now" is one of a number botched concoction of poor Daft Punk imitation and shameless laziness. All too often beats and riffs are repeated too within an inch of their lives until it becomes Human After All by numbers, but with the talent replaced with forgettable beeps and guitar noise.

While the interlude that is "Attack of the 60 ft Lesbian Octopus" fits in well enough, and appears, ironically, to be the most thought out track on the album, "Being Bad Feels Pretty Good"'s feeble handclap driven beat coupled with some equally weak-willed lyrics is another poor excuse for sub-par indie-pop.

Overall the album reflects the bands own arrogance in believing that they could do something new and different, whereas in fact it points out actually how good Klaxons were. Any originality is lost in the complacency of drum machines and heavily repeated sampler tracks. What is left is an album, that attempts to reach for the heights of Discovery and Myths Of The Near Future, but instead is even more boring and forgettable than Civilian.

5/10

You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into is availiable now via Mute.

ALBUM: Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward

Kicking off straight from where they left off, Get Awkward follows the same garage-punk formula as this four-piece's eponymous debut, but why would you want to have it any other way?

The songs are all between one and three minutes long and are largely noticeable by the path of destruction they leave behind them. Although the songs are more violent in the way that a toddler is violent, than in the way some have interpreted them*. BYOP aren't breaking any barriers down, musically at least, but no one ever expected them too.

While Jemima Pearl Abegg's vocals are angrier and snarlier than ever before, as exemplified by album opener "Super Soaked" and UK single "The Kelly Affair", she appears to be the only things between the band and mediocrity, as BYOP side-project Turbo Fruits easily proves.

Their influences are obvious, and the songs occasionally derivative; "Twisted Nerve" is straight from the classic '77 punk playbook of The Damned, whereas "Heart Throb" is Minor Threat attempting to play a pop song. But Jemima really is the difference. Her vocals, a mix of Riot Grrl, Karen O's sultry sexiness and Paramore's Hayley Williams. But better than all of these. Especially Hayley Williams.

In the Robocop themed "Bitches Leave", possibly my favourite song title ever, Abegg attacks "the hottest chick on the scene" in an poorly-veiled attack on certain Hollywood socialites and their unfortunate imitators. Although clearly the funniest line is "I know you're lying that you take it in the rear". For this alone, this is possibly my standout track, and could not be more obviously aimed if it was called "Song For Paris".

"You're A Waste" exposes the softer side of Be Your Pet's repertoire, and sits comfortably alongside the Garage-punk of most of the album, sitting between "Bummer Time" and "Food Fight", both sub-two minutes and the most like those songs found on Be Your Own Pet.

This is followed by another George A. Romero themed song (after "Ouch" on their debut) "Zombie Graveyard Party", another lighthearted look at Zombies, this time from their point of view.

The album closes with "The Beast Within", featuring the band chanting "Free the beast" over an increasingly chaotic cacophony of snare drums, guitar noise and shouting, until finallybeing overpowered and succumbing to awkward silence.

Overall, Be Your Own Pet have only get better for their sophmore album, and despite this album being heavily edited by lawyers*, which should never be allowed to happen, what's left is music more fun and more chaotic than wrestling in ice-cream with Jemima. What is surprising is why more don't feel the same way, preferring the vacuous pop-metal of Paramore's Riot!, immediately compared to BYOP as contemporaries because of the similarities in their line up and styles. Be Your Own Pet are infinitely better.

7.5/10

*The US-version of this album, which this review covers, has three tracks removed compared to the UK version. "Black Hole", "Becky" and "Blow Yr Mind" were apparently removed at the last minute by the distributing label, Universal, for being "too violent". Although, admittedly, what they left in is noit exactly a walk in the park, it's not as if BYOP are preaching "death to the west" or promoting beating up a policeman. The band have said they will release the removed songs on an EP in the summer.

Get Awkard is out now on XL in the UK and USA. Try and get the UK version with the extra tracks.

Favourite Female Vocalists

Here is a quick run down of some of my favourite female vocalists - in no particular order.

Satomi Matsuzaki - Deerhoof
Its difficult where to start with what I like about Matsuzaki's voice. Due to the fact she mainly sings in her second language of English, her vocals are uncomplicated yet melodic, often (intentionally) following the guitar line that makes part of Deerhoof's signature sound. Her voice is often also very childlike, bringing in a massive sense of fun and innocence, and both breaking and adding to the tension in many of Deerhoof's songs.
Example: Deerhoof - Apple Bomb (Found on Apple O')

Beth Gibbons - Portishead
Arguably one of the best singers of recent times, Beth Gibbons' work with Portishead has been nothing short of remarkable. Her incredible strength and range in her voice arguably make Portishead who they are.
Example: Portishead - Elysium (Found on Portishead)

Emily Haines - Metric/Broken Social Scene/Emily Haines and The Soft Skeleton
Whilst Metric's music is only occasionally brilliant, Haines' voice is the constant factor across their three albums, her solo album and her work with Canadian collective Broken Social Scene. She sets a very high benchmark for female vocalists, bringing often intense emotion in what would otherwise be a fairly banal instrumental.
Example: Metric - Poster Of A Girl (Found on Live It Out)

Jemima Pearl Abegg - Be Your Own Pet
In my opinion, the snarlier, sexier and let's face it, better version of Hayley Williams. Much in the same way that BYOP are the far-superiors of their pop-rock counterparts Paramore. While their new album "Get Awkward" was made with some internal strife, when it is released on the 17th, hopefully everyone else will come round to my way of thinking too.
Example: Be Your Own Pet - Wildcat! (Found on Be Your Own Pet)

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Availiable on Import since January, and just out properly in the UK today, MGMT's David Fridmann-produced debut album is an epic work of electro-rock in the traditions of bands such as Grandaddy, The Flaming Lips and Of Montreal. In similar traditions, the duo make more than enough noise between to make up for their lack of members.

Opening with the bubbling and churning "Time To Pretend", with one of the most whistleable melodies since Young Folks, its not a big surprise that this is their biggest and most well known song. This scathing attack on the record industry and the stars within it, yet this cliche is well executed and stands them in good stead for the rest of the album.

While "Weekend Wars" is a half-hearted attempt to keep up the standard, "The Youth" definitely falls flat on its face. Luckily, by the time "Electric Feel" and "Kids" rolls out, all is forgetten and forgiven. "Kids" especially, is an epic mini-album in itself, full of reprising hooks, and an overall aura of melancholy and existential confusion.

Its annoying how much the notion of "Space-rock" is blasted about as if to describe some quasi-futuristic epic noise. Its a phrase that long dogged Grandaddy and has been attributed to Muse and The Flaming Lips in the past. But all it reminds me of is that terrible Babylon Zoo song that I thought had long since been confined to the bargain bin of eternity. But with MGMT, you do really get that sense of what it really is. Although in fairness, they owe more to more traditional American Indie, with a hint of Blur's Britpop years.

"Piece Of What" sounds as if they were making a late claim for triute album to Ziggy Stardust, while "Of Moons, Birds and Monsters" and "The Handshake" are interchangeable with anything off The Soft Bulletin.

Album closer "Future Reflections" starts as the closest American thing to "new rave" but soon fizzles into an organ driven slow burner that ends this weird trek across the unknown.

This is one of those albums that really depends upon what you bring to it as the listener. It's not simple background music, and if you treat it as much it will soon merge into a single mess of noise and beeps, and not in the good Crystal Castles way. Yet, take it too seriously and you can almost see straight through the delicate fabric that binds the whole album together. Certainly, it is unsurprising to know that David Fridmann has also worked with the Flaming Lips, nor is it a shock to know that they have toured with Of Montreal both as a duo and with their current 5-piece set up.

Certainly an interesting, if imperfect beginning.

Oracular Spectacular is out now in the UK on Sony BMG.