Outsideleft Week in Music Experiences the Sound of Sleep Paralysis

Oh dear.  The band name says it all.  The video features the French three piece implausibly playing in a field with no visible power outlets, with some bloke abducting and hanging someone for an unexplained reason.  Nice. This fascination by shouty sore throat metal acts with serial killers is something that seems a cheap shot to me.  Calling yourself "Bind Torture Kill" (and skimping on the commas - tsk!) is an even cheaper shot.  File under "Gore-Serial-Killer-Splatter-Murder-Abuse-Death-Nasty-Stuff-Core".  I think I've just invented another sub genre to build a scene around! Expect dozens of new bands to form anytime now.

Goes along nicely, with a lovely insistent minimality does this story of Gold Filigree. Soulful soulsearching too... Slightly delightfully off-kilter piano that you'll have to look for. Maybe secondhand. Older school drum machine. I can't figure out whether Yves is channeling Tim Meadows or Prince or Yves Tumor or Jarvis Coker, he's got some of the names and some of their stylings. Or none of the above... I like his hair and his shirt and his way with the woman in his films. Like he is a nurturer.

"Rock and roll can be really dangerous," say Heavenly Trip To Hell. "No money, fast drugs, fast women, fast death. These songs reflect that reality."  It makes you wonder why they want to do it, if its that bad.   That statement isn't really true of course.  You have to seek out the fast drugs, fast women (or men?), and do enough of both to ensure a fast death.  That sounds like a lot of hard work to me.  The "no money" part at least has a ring of truth about it, though.  Having said that, "Millions of Flowers" is actually quite an upbeat tune for this gloomy genre. 

Not my usual cup o' tea, but this is so damned English, and I love that they have spent literally no money on the video, just dragged a table and chairs and a few cups and saucers out onto the village green and got a mate to shoot it on her/his phone.  That's how video's should be made.  Fuck all that "Directed by..", high production value, Super 4HD  mini film shit! Just stumble out of bed and film a video like this in one take instead, and spend the rest of the budget later on beer and crumpets.

With a festive video of sorts, Zahara Jaime releases the first track on forthcoming LP, Spiral Your Way Out. Jaime’s in the company of buddies who play music that recall UK post-punk: some Cure here; some Factory sound there, and ends with a good old-fashioned protestation. It really didn’t mean nothing. Whatever happened, Zahara is alive and well. Phew! They closed their door, they released their ghosts, they spiralled into sobriety. But theirs remains an intriguing place to be. 

Hey! There's some banjo rollin' along in here amongst the zipping drums - very enthusiastic - and heartfelt vocal stylings... Is it okay to say I love Sacred Paws, and am glad to see that they have hooked up with Merge Records.

Sure. Top stars contrast as they align. Kind of reminds me of lots of other things, Afrika Bambaataa and PiL, LCD Soundsystem and then lots of things, the other parts of this, that I really don't like. The Cat Burglar refrain is a joy though. Listen out for that. Pretty great.

This mix was the standout track on the "Shadow Dogs" album we reviewed here back in October.  Numan is one of the few 80's stars to be doing new material that is not just a rehash of their greatest hits.  He has taste too and has done a great job with this, right down to his video performance, sharing vocals with his his long-term producer and collaborator Ade Fenton (who also shines here), adding an extra layer to an already shiveringly unsettling track.  We have long harboured a desire to have a chat with Gazelle Twin, and will keep harbouring that until it happens.  One day it will, you just wait and see.  In the meantime, check out the "Shadow Dogs" album and the original "Black Dog" album also.  Both are worthy of your attention.

With their nine track EP, Music From A Room Full of Synths, Dorian Concept come along with glitchy-synth sounds. Of course they do. I appreciate the Glitchiness. The synths. The Sounds. They have understated high pop melodies quite well hidden in several of the tracks here. But not all. Not all synth-y compositions require that. This may be what constitutes fun in Austria. If it does I am going there now. Quite a joy.

GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Valerie June has just announced the ‘Owls, Omens, and Oracles Tour’ of the U.S. for 2025. But this jolly season, along with many others, she has also released a Christmas E.P. called "Gifts, Presents, and Treats", which offers covers of three Christmas classics. Known for her distinctive voice and singing style, she combines psychedelic folk, indie rock, country soul, and blues and it is apparent there are influences in her music from the likes of Billie Holiday, Macy Gray, and Tom Waits.  I try not to have more than one version of a Christmas song on my playlist unless it is very distinct from the other versions, so am I going to pick Valerie June’s version of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’" over The Crystals version? Probably not, and am I going to pick her version of "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" over The Ronettes version? Probably not, but the third song on the E.P. is "Twas the night before Christmas" and I’ve already added that to my playlist. Don’t get me wrong, Valerie June's versions of all three songs are good and if her southern accent and soulful voice is something you like, all the tracks, will make perfectly good additions to your Christmas playlist too.      

Status Quo are down to just Francis Rossi by now aren't they?  Plus, they are finally winding it all up after yet another farewell tour, apparently.  So just  enough time to squeeze the last drops out of their back catalogue with this collection of CD singles, previously deleted tracks (but what does deleted really mean now? Nothing is ever deleted on the interweb), and various other archive clutter found down the back of the Quo sofa.  You can't deny that they have carved a huge and long lasting career out of playing material that would only maybe get them a booking at their local pub these days.  Annoyingly, I know the tunes, and even some of the words, to several of their big hits, so ubiquitous were they at the time. These collections are the equivalent of the "Now Thats'..." series and I struggle to imagine who would buy something like this, as any keen Quo fan will already have all this stuff , and if you are not a fan, then you just wouldn't bother, but as they say, there is no accounting for taste.  Taste and Status Quo being mutually exclusive terms, of course!

Québec-based experimental electronic music artist Coppergear has produced here an album of experimental electronic music that takes the listener through the experience of sleep paralysis.  In real terms, that means avant-garde and eclectic soundscapes, with tones and cycling phrases expertly overlaid on top of each other in an ever increasing spiral.  It is intended to be both hypnotic and unsettling.  It is certainly both.  Just who would seek this out and buy it, though, is a bit of a mystery, as its a hard one to market and is most definitely not radio or playlist friendly.  Indie film soundtrack material, maybe?  However, it is left field for sure and more original than 90% of the audio cannon fire currently bombarding Outsideleft's defences.  Evolving as it goes, it is still playing on in the background as I type this.  That's a good thing to read in any review.

John Cale's "Paris 1919" is a forgotten early 70s classic every bit the equal of albums by Bowie and Eno.  So says David O'Byrne here

Although The Unthanks are not just a winter festival band, they always remind me of Christmas and the winter solstice because the first time I became aware of them was a BBC Christmas programme that featured them singing their hauntingly distinctive brand of old English folk music. They also appear on the wonderfully calm and serene soundtracks to The Detectorists and Mackenzie Crook’s beautiful TV adaptation of Worzel Gummidge. I’ve been lucky enough to see them a few times, as they often have Norwich on their tour dates because of early support from Norwich Arts Centre and they are touring now with songs from the new album ‘In Winter’ which was released on the 29th November so check out the dates and get to one near you. The band originate from the northeast of the U.K. and are made up core members which include two sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, Adrian Mcnally, Niopha Keegan and Chris Price.  The new album "In Winter" was recorded in one week on the North York Moors and is evocative journey through traditional hymns, folk songs and new material. The Unthanks describe it as ‘a dream-like winter fantasia, embracing both the dark and the light in the most ritualistic of seasons’. Although the whole album is an excellent soulful listen, the standout songs are "Carol of the Birds" which has something of the Tom Waits about it, "The Coventry Carol" which dates back to the 16th century and "Nurse Emmanuel". Any midwinter solstice is not complete without some music from The Unthanks and I was surprised when I chatted about writing this at work, none of my colleagues had heard of them. Make sure you listen to this and then seek out their previous 15 albums.

There are some very unusual acts out there.  Kilyn Lunsford is one of those and this is one of her more tuneful compositions.  Live there is lots of screaming into FX pedals and her three piece band are pretty out there too.  She out lunches Lydia Lunch!

The Jungles!!! are a Japanese ‘all-girl punk band’, but Hero, from earlier in the year, has a more Pixies-type sound. Hero is on Side B; No Time and Let’s Rock (the real B Sides) are on Side A. Excellent. Was bought at a merch stand after seeing one of their joyous, powerful sets last week. See them live if you can. A marvellous unit. Touring around Japan but hope they tour beyond Japan in the future. 

I have DJ Fuzzyfelt to thank for introducing me to The Limiñanas.  This one from last years "Thatchers Not Dead" double album is what Joy Division would have been like, had they continued.  The rest of the album is pretty tasty too.

What is it about Sweden and metal?  They just seem to turn out the heaviest bands around.  Difficult-to-pronounce Meshuggah are a big act for sure, and have just announced a big US tour for 2025. On the evidence of this recording of a 2024 area show, they are like a Metal version of Kraftwerk, standing immobile in front of red light boxes pumping out technically proficient versions of their songs for a stadium crowd, whose heads nod in time to the music in that odd, loping motion all metal crowds seem to do.  Metal acts are usually a lot more dynamic on stage, running around brandishing guitars phallically, but Meshuggah give every impression of  wishing they could hide behind a screen, with their ZZ Top beards making them look strangely interchangeable.  A double Bill with Kraftwerk would be quite a thing though, wouldn't it?

Vying surely for the most lo-fi mapping of an emotive message this week? Maybe I didn't hear everything else yet but this has to be down there. Dude! Imagine if the Shangri-La's were far from perc'd up? They'd be marginal enough to get themselves on the 'He's a rebel' response lines on this country-ish smash. "I love to sin, and do it again... Come see why I'm called the rebel outlaw." Profound.  Love this so much. Seriously great. Check their other great single this year too, Black Gold... wow!