David Holmes - The Holy Pictures

David Holmes returns with an album about his life in Belfast. (For our American friends, that’s in Northern Ireland) Since the release of ’Lets get Killed’ in 1997, Holmes has concentrated mostly on scoring movies. He’s probably most famous for the Oceans series. Not surprisingly then that ‘The Holy Pictures’ has a distinct soundtrack feel. 

Lush atmospherics swirl around heavily distorted guitars. Standard Holmes affair apart from the fact that Holmes also contributes lead vocals. Album opener, and first single ‘I heard wonders’ could be a Primal Scream track, and that’s not a bad innings for this first time vocalist.

David Holmes has always had a special place in my heart. The cool-as-fuck Irishman penned one of my favourite albums of all time in ‘Lets get killed’ so I had big hopes for ‘The Holy Pictures’. While it hasn’t made it on to the ‘must have’ page, ‘The Holy Pictures’ is a solid album, bespite being a touch inconsistant at times. You could blame that on the 10 years plus gestation period Holmes cites in interviews, or maybe driving basslines and cinematic scores are uncomfortable bedfellows. 

THINK: OST to a Soderbergh movie about Belfast
READ: Holmes Myspace
WATCH: I heard Wonders
BUY: The Holy Pictures at Amazon

Random Impulse - Full Metal Alchemist

UK Grime artist Random Impulse released his second album on Black Unicorn records recently. Apart from the fact that Black Unicorn is a US based label, what sets this release apart is not just it’s length - it runs 17 tracks long - but the production quality of this genre hopping release.

Grime hasn’t made much of an impact in Australia yet, while other more US-centric variants of Hip Hop have managed to get a foothold. Dirty South and Crunk regularly get air play on JJJ - maybe it’s just another indication of how Australia looks to the US for cultural stimulation - surely an oxymoron.

‘Full Metal Alchemist’ samples rock, soul, funk and Sci-Fi, with Jovel’s rapid fire delivery sitting nicely over all of these genre. He plays guitar on most of the tracks, and maybe that’s what elevates this release from other ‘electronic hip hop‘ like Akala. The narrative is strong and not in the least pretentious. There’s not a single ’shory wants to freak me’ track on here. No ’slangin’ crack’ tracks. And that’s another reason why you should check out this album. A breath of fresh air from ‘ghetto-booty-tech’ soaked air waves. ’Full Metal Alchemist’ is one of the most original albums I’ve heard this year.

Jovel Walker ( Random Impulse) answers our questions after the jump - 

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30_Borrowed_Beats_August_08_Edition - Stress Free Edition

Is everyone witnessing (or suffering from) the inordinate amount of stress involved in our daily lives recently? It seems everywhere I look a friend is out with a stress induced illness, or taking a few ‘mental health’ days.

No one seems to take the time to immerse themselves in anything anymore. People just buy the track they like, not the album - the death toll for music as a body of work. And that track they bought had better grab them in the first 15 seconds…

If all that rings true, then you will either love the opportunity of the August Edition or hate its lack of immediacy, because this month we’re not in a rush. So take some deep breaths and press play for a 68 minute aural massage.

Blackfilm - Blackfilm
Blackfilm released their selftitled debut in April, and I’ve been glued t it since. It’s the sort of album that you have to be in the mood for, and recently I’ve been in the mood for a unique blend of cimenatic ambience, found sounds and corroded drum ‘n bass. Haven’t you?

Levity aside, Blackfilm is an incredibly accomplished album, that comfortably sits in the Film Noir, Modern Classical and Dark Ambient Camps, but surpasses all these. Opener ‘Come and See’ is an obvious invitation to delve into what the rest of the album has in store. ‘Stalingrad’, a ten minute opus, leads you down a dark corridor, past an open door, the television is still on. You glance in, but pass - drawn forward by the ghostly orchestration, onwards towards the unknown. The lights flicker, static pulses in the air and yet you continue, steeled by the beat and driving bass, and your journery has just started. I’ll let you discover where it takes you.

Shorter tracks on the album, like ‘Sonar’ and ‘Midnight to 4am’ are no less athmospheric and eerie, but are a little more direct. ‘Traditional’ beats and melody feature, which is always nice, yet there is always a lurking presence throughout Blackfilm, and it is this presence that makes it such an enjoyable album. ‘Sonar’ has echoes of Portishead and Amon Tobin. ‘Midnight to 4am’ conjours a darker, more etheral DJ Shadow, and paired with ‘Mahabhatta’ to form the most vocal laden segment of the album.

Blackfilm is the second release on flegdling label ’spectraliquid’,based in Athens and is a stellar start if it indicates their direction and quality. Blackfilm almost made it into the ‘_must_have’ category, because it is simply a brilliant album for headphone space. I do think that no collection should be without it.

THINK: Burial meets Amon Tobin on the set of 28 days later.
READ: The review again, there’s not much out there.
WATCH: This space, and remember where you heard it first!
BUY: Blackfilm at Spectraliquid

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!

Last Wednesday I turned 35. My folks were over from Ireland, I took the day off and the sun shone. All was good. A passing remark from one of my colleagues sent one wheel wobbling. ‘G, you’ve had your heyday. You know what it’s like’. I had the misfortune to walk passed my parents watching ‘Grumpy Old Women’. ‘There’s nothing worse than a middle aged man who thinks he’s still cool’. Double wobble.

My salvation came in the unlikely form of Nick Cave. Nick ‘ her hair was as black as the night’ Cave. A sign that I’m truly growing older? Yes. But also a sign that it’s okay. Good ole laughing Nick is 50. Dig!!!, his 14th long player with the Bad Seeds. And not one wobble in sight.

Dig!!! is a triumph. It is dripping with characters and humour, Lazarus is advised to dig himself back into his hole on the opening track. Dig!!! is a looser album than previous outings, and I’m thankful of that. I found Cave’s macabre a little saturating previously, but Dig!!! moves with purpose. You find yourself at the closing track easily, without distraction. Although I haven’t gotten round to posting the top ten of 2007 yet, Dig!!! will surely find itself in the top ten of 2008.

THINK: Cave, like Waits and Dillon, gets better with age
WATCH: Viral movies for Dig!!!
READ: And the ass saw the angel
BUY: Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!  at amazon