I know, I know, the year’s not over yet, but I’m already convinced.
These are the years’ best three records: Tortoise ‘It’s all around you’
is the best thing they made so far. I don’t know what it is exactly, but
a brand new Tortoise records (fresh from the store) always needs a
little time to grow on me, then after three weeks or so, I finally get
it ‘Those guys fooled me again! this one AGAIN is better than the one
before’ Cause that’s what happens with every Tortoise album. And I
thought ‘Standards’ was really something else. ‘It’s all around you’
offers us a chance to see a very mad, bitter, angry and sad Tortoise.
A disappointed Tortoise perhaps, intensely beautiful and raw, this
album sounds highly influenced by the images of ‘war’ you can’t seem
to overlook and judging by the title, it probably is about that as well.
Devastatingly beautiful.
Then there‘s Air, whose album ‘The Virgin Suicides’ should be standard
tour material for every band. Nothing beats driving cars at night, while
listening to that record. Everyone in your band will shut up for forty
mins. or so – not counting the numerous ‘wows’ and what-have-yous –.
Talkie Walkie is actually even more an elaborate journey through the
history of (French) avant-garde pop, without becoming a pastiche or
just boring (which can very easily occur, in recent Air history 10.000 Hrz.
Legend wasn’t a spectacular record, I think). Talkie Walkie (that title just
seems to get better and better) is not just beauty, it’s accidental nice-
ness, it’s ABOUT beauty sometimes, it’s about music and the joy of creating
things, it’s about minimalism, introvertism, surfing rockets, surviving
the world as we know it, that sort of stuff. Thank you, Air!
Finally, I’d like to mention the self titled ‘Das Oath’ album, which is this
years’ best damn rock record and more! A record about rapture, chaos,
friendship, lightning, speed, demonic treasure, spectacle, culture and
– of course – drugs.
Marcel (who is de Vogels percussion player) is this bands’ drummer,
but that has nothing to do with me writing about this record as one of
the three best records of the year. It’s just such a wonderful trip, such
a fucking intense groove to surf, no wonder it makes me think of Billy
Cobham, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis… these are all people that just made
the records they had to make, the music was already inside themselves.
All they had to do was ‘whip it out!’, sort of speak. I’m extremely proud
of these guys (with whom I once went on a tour which wasn’t all fun and
games) and I hope this record will make it everywhere (in and outside
the so called ‘hardcore scene’). Das Oath combines pure energy with
the love for rock music AND rock life. Das Oath fears not to search
outside the save havens of rock music, yet they bend rock stereotypes
so far until they’re usefull for the ‘Das Oath sound’, uncompromising,
hard hittin and bad-ass. ACE!
