lasthomerecordings

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Hi tumblr people. I made a thing.

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👏👏I can’t stress this enough 👏👏

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short update

The place I’ve been living at for the past few months doesn’t allow tumblr on its network, but I’ll be moving soon and then we can start all over for the infinitieth time.

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Still nowhere near to regular programming on this poor excuse for a music blog, but I had to interrupt the silence to just exclaim how incredibly gorgeous 65daysofstatic’s No Man’s Sky soundtrack is. Those of you hoping 65 would move back to the more dance-y days might be disappointed, but those of you (us? us.) who fell in love with Wild Light will find eternal love in this infinite universe.

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Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Things should be getting back to the regular schedule soon, if my dumb head allows it.

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Song of the Day: Lily Allen - Smile (Alright, Still - 2006)

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Song of the Day: Rob Zombie - Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown (Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor - 2013)

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What’s new

Every Monday (whoops), I take a look at interesting new album releases, and which concerts here in Belgium to look forward to.

Summer is here and while so many bands are performing at festivals all over the world, releases have become thin on the ground. That doesn't mean there isn't anything interesting to be found though. While this blog was on a break, the past week saw the release of Amanda Palmer's new album (which she recorded with her dad Jack) ‘You Got Me Singing’, and Jeff Beck returned with his eleventh studio album ‘Loud Hailer’. This week brings a little bit of everything (unless you're into hip-hop, sorry). Anyone looking for a doo-wapping good time will be pleased with Human Nature's new album ‘Gimme Some Lovin': Jukebox Vol II’, which is a thematic follow-up to 2014's ‘Jukebox’. Put shortly: more covers of 50s and 60s goodness. Christian rock fans are in for a good time with Relient K's new album, ‘Air for Free’. As with Human Nature, don't expect all that much experimentation, but mostly more of the same. When that same is well-made, radio- friendly and any-other-hyphenated-compliment pop-rock then maybe that's not such a bad thing after all. Hmmm. I'm surprised at my lack of cynicism here. For some great progressive metal, and more specifically, djent (I had to look that one up), there's a new album by djent-pioneers Periphery. After moving away from the self-titled series with last year's ‘Juggernaut: Alpha’ and ‘Juggernaut: Omega’, the band have moved back towards the spirit of their first two albums with ‘Periphery III: Select Difficulty’ (lots of Roman numerals this week). Expect more explosive drums, more beautifully crafted guitar lines and ear-numbing riffs. If anyone has been wondering if Fountains of Wayne are still doing anything (is there anyone who was? Show of hands! ... ... No? The ‘Stacy's Mom’ guys? No one?): their last album was released in 2011, and none of the members of the band seem to want to get back together. Singer Chris Collingwood however has started a solo project called Look Park, which is releasing its debut album this week. As you would expect, there's not that much musical mastery to admire, but there's a nice summery vibe to the indie rock sound he is going for. Think along the lines of Death Cab for Cutie meets The Shins, only less talented. Oh good, my cynicism's back. Lastly, the release I'll be looking forward to most this week is the new MSTRKRFT album, ‘OPERATOR’. When one of your core members is Jesse F. Keeler of Death from Above 1979 fame, you'll get my attention. However, the band's last album, ‘Fist of God’, was a bit of a let down. Sure, it was radio-friendly in the way David Guetta makes radio-friendly electronic music, but this duo can do better than that. Luckily, singles ‘Party Line’ and ‘Runaway’ sound way more interesting already. Sounding a little like early Justice songs is always a good thing. Always. If you want some great live music, Gent is the destination for you this week. The legendary Gentse Feesten kicked off last Friday, and part of that 10 day long party is the Boomtown Festival. There's a ton of great bands lined up, both free (on the Kouter stage) and not-so-free (at the Handelsbeurs & Opera). Some of the highlights involve The Boxer Rebellion, Compact Disk Dummies, Alice on the Roof, Stuff., Faces on TV, Warhaus, Inwolves, Damien Jurado, Gabriel Rios, An Pierlé, and many more.

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SUMMER’S OVER

Well, my one week break is. We’re back baby! More nonsense on music coming right up! Welcome, all!

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Song of the Day: Yann Tiersen - La Valse d’Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain - 2001)

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Song of the Day: Aereogramme - (sic!) (Sleep and Release - 2003)

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Through the years, I’ve discovered a lot of music through recommendations from musical social media site last.fm. Every Friday, I take a look through one of my favourite artists (according to the last.fm statistics) and which 5 bands they suggest I listen to next. This week: Aereogramme.

Recommendations: The Unwinding Hours Oceansize ISIS + Aereogramme Amplifier dredg

This is the thing with listening to bands that feature musicians who are in it for the music: they usually have a lot of side projects. So far in this feature, a lot of these recommendations have been such projects. Today's first band, The Unwinding Hours, however, is more of a spiritual successor. When Aereogramme called it quits in 2007 (WORST.DECISION.EVER.), singer Craig B. and guitarist Iain Cook didn't take long to continue on making music. It was Craig who had been recording some demo's, but because of their musical chemistry the former bandmates soon reunited. Their music veers away from some of the rougher edges Aereogramme used, focussing more on creating intricate layers of music. The spirit of their former band has always loomed large over this project, with Craig's distinct vocals an obvious trigger for that. It'll be interesting to see what comes next for them, however I fear it'll be some time before we get to discover that, as Cook's success with his other band CHVRCHES might get in the way. Next up is a band which has been criminally underrated throughout their career. Oceansize were an alternative rock band who were brave enough to remain true to their own sound, rather than go for the radio-friendly material they so easily could have made. The post-rock, math-rock, and psychedelic rock influences make them appear very similar to a band like Foals, but unlike them Oceansize never got that breakthrough which would've gotten them the success they deserved. What we're left with is four albums with brilliant music, and some fantastic memories. I only got to see the band live once, during their final tour, but one scene remains unforgettable. The set had consisted mostly of music from the band's final three albums, but about halfway through technical issues started arising. It took a while to get everything fixed, but when it did, the band was so grateful for the audience's patience that they treated us to a fantastic rendition of debut album opener "I am the Morning". Majestic. The 'In the Fishtank' series of EPs by Dutch distributor Konkurrent have always been interesting to say the least. The basic premise (well, from the fifth EP and on) has been to give two bands two days of studio time to records something together. Combining post-metal legends ISIS and the ever incredible Aereogramme was a masterstroke. While I haven't really been convinced by ISIS as a live band, their albums were truly epic, with Oceanic and Panopticon among the best that post-metal has to offer. The mash-up created here moved away from either band's original sound though, to deliver something completely unique. To describe it would be to not do it any justice. Just find it somewhere, clear your schedule for about 25 minutes and emerse yourself. Amplifier is the only band on this list with whom I didn't really have any connection yet. Well except for that one time, when they were the last band to play on the first day of the first ever ArcTanGent festival before Maybeshewill took the stage, and they took longer than they should have, becaue of which Maybeshewill had to shorten their own set. Which wasn't the best way to introduce yourself to me. The music was decent enough, but nothing really convincing to me. Their music has been described as Soundgarden, Tool, Black Sabbath, Oceansize and Pink Floyd taking copious amounts of mind-altering substances and venturing on a trip through time and space (to another dimension), and back again. The only reply I have to that, after listening to more of their music now, is that maybe they should've held back on those substances, cause this really isn't the best possible outcome of combining all of those bands. It just doesn't really connect with me, so maybe I'm not the right person to judge. Finally we come to dredg. What a surprise to find them here! Well, if you know their music it's not actually that much of a surprise, but I've just never even met anyone who had heard of them. That's how obscure I thought this band was. Which is a crying shame, because their music is fantastic. They might be the band most similar to Aereogramme on this list, not because of their sound, but because of the range of influences they put into their music. I have to be honest though, I found out about these guys by accident ten years ago, when they released their most successful album 'Catch Without Arms', and for nearly a decade this (and their earlier albums) has been the only music of theirs I listened to. Not too long ago I got curious if these guys still existed, only to find they had released a number of other albums. Sadly, I think there's a reason that they never again reached the success of 'Catch Without Arms': the incredible inventiveness which could be found on that album has never been matched again. Their later albums have still been really good, especially if you really like progressive rock, but if you really want to witness this band at its best, you might just be better off going back to their earlierst works. Then we can sing together: "Your journey back to earth, is haunting you".

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Song of the Day: The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night (Kinks-Size - 1965)

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Song of the Day: 65daysofstatic - Retreat! Retreat! (The Fall of Math - 2004)

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What’s new

Every Monday (whoops), I take a look at interesting new album releases, and which concerts here in Belgium to look forward too. I might have spoken too soon last week, when I said July wasn't going to be all that busy. Cause we're only into the first week and oooh boy, are there some awesome releases about to be thrown upon us! For those of us who still miss the ultimate riot grrrl band Bikini Kill, the band's spirit has found a new home in The Julie Ruin. It's a project featuring original BK members Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox, and keeps the feminist activist feeling alive, despite the tweaks in sound. 'Hit Reset' will be the band's second album, and hopefully not their last. At the other side of the spectrum we find Shura, whose debut album 'Nothing's Real' is imminent. She combines dreamy synths and new wave influences to create an admittedly poppy sound, but reminiscent of when pop was, you know, good. So mostly the 80s. BadBadNotGood are continuing their incredible run of putting out an album nearly every year, which should be promising yet again. Their fascinating combination of jazz education and love for hip-hop creates something unique, and it seems the band are in an incredible zone of inspiration. After a hiatus of eight years, Róisín Murphy is now releasing her second album in only two years time, which we can only be grateful for. It was recorded during the same sessions as last year's 'Hairless Toys', and looks like it's going to continue on the greatness of that record. I mean, just listen to single 'Ten Miles High', it's a fascinating trip (as is the music video, directed by Murphy herself). British mega-rockers Biffy Clyro (that'll always be a weird thing to say) are back with a new album as well. I'm really happy for the band that they've reached this level of success, but I'm still sad it has come at a cost. To me, they've never reached the heights of 'Puzzle' again, and after hearing the first two singles off 'Ellipsis' I still see no reason to believe otherwise. Johnny Foreigner is a band I've had on my list of bands to check out for ages now, which is yet another foolish decision by myself and I should be ashamed. I know. However, now might be the right time to jump in, because by the sound of single 'If You Can't Be Honest, Be Awesome', new album 'Mono No Aware' is going to be fantastic. Indie rock like it can only be made in the UK. Finally, we have to talk about The Avalanches. In all honesty, I had forgotten about them completely. The name rung a bell, but having released only one album way back in 2000, I can be forgiven for this one, right? When the video for their biggest hit so far, 'Since I Left You' started playing, it didn't take long to fall in love all over again with not only a truly magnificent music video (seriously, go watch it, I'll wait), but such an inventive melange of sounds. Quite why it has taken them so long to get their second effort out (they've been working on it for eleven (!!) years now) I cannot say, but let's hope they can give us more of the same wonderfulness. First single 'Frankie Sinatra' seems to suggest that there's not a thing to worry about, so yay! This week sees concert halls winding down even further, with the AB throwing one last party with the Delta Saints, closing up shop until late August afterwards. There are some other shows still going on (even Seal is coming over to remind us he once sung 'Kiss by a Rose'), but the real goodness this week can be found at two seperate festivals. In my hometown Bruges, the Cactus Festival will take over the beautiful Minnewaterpark again. It's amazing to me how big the event is getting, knowing how small a team is still organising anything Cactus-related. Wilco are playing an exclusive show on Friday, as are Damien Rice and Gregory Porter on Saturday, and Air and The Cinematic Orchestra as well on Sunday. That's pretty insane talking about just the headliners. When you realise there's space on the line-up for Kurt Vile & the Violators, Black Mountain, the Black Box Revelation and many more, you know good times are to be had. The other place-to-be this weekend is Zottegem. As if it wasn't enough yet that they have Europe's finest post-rock event with Dunk! Festival, this weekend brings us their more mainstream alternative, Rock Zottegem. Spread across two nights (Friday and Saturday), you can catch K's Choice, Skunk Anansie, Gogol Bordello, Grace Jones and Elvis Costello & the Imposters! That is quite frankly ridiculous.