Song: Weights *NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED*
“I know how it all ends…”
Artist: Everything Everything
Song Rating: 10/10
Album: Man Alive (2010)

Never have I been so hooked to a song since listening to Foals’ Heavy Water as I have been by Everything Everything’s album finale Weights. The sheer excellence of this track has been rattling around in my mind for the past two weeks, and I just felt the need to share this with you all!

Granted, it has taken a while to appreciate Man Alive for what it is i.e. a quirky and experimentally ambitious debut album. At the time it appeared as such since personally the only song which seems to take any ‘conventional’ form upon the first listen was ‘Suffragette Suffragette’. Nonetheless, a year later after its release and having the privilege to see them live at Reading 2011 (which was amazing!!!!!), my decision to give the album another go was the best I have made in a while.

Weights is as lyrically captivating as it is instrumentally. The time signature, layering of the vocals and drum pattern is effortless while the the lyrics exude passion. A user on SongMeanings.net seemed to provide a religious interpretation of the lyrics based on St John’s account of what occurred at the end of the world in the Book of Revelations:

He’s not able to finish what he’s saying… the song actually ends chanting gloriously “I know how it all…” symbolising finally being overwhelmed perhaps with elation, perhaps by the way the world ends. Brilliant.

Plausible interpretation - what do you think of it???

Overall, 10/10 for this song, just pure class from a top notch band. BRAVO!

Oh the irony of today’s shufflé song (that being it’s a) a Sunday, and b) last night = a “heavy night” drinky drinky)

Song: Sunday
“I love you in the morning, when you’re still hungover”
Artist: Bloc Party
Song Rating: 3.5/5
Album: A Weekend In The City (2007)

Boisterous rockers, Bloc Party, are one of the most instrumentally talented bands to be discovered in years. It comes as no surprise that they have attracted such popularity, with their quirky riffs, bass lines and drumming patterns along with Kele’s memorable vocals in their debut album, Silent Alarm to a more chilled out mellow feel for music in A Weekend In The City.

Matt Tong, opens Sunday with a punchy drumming section, whilst the long drones of the accordion behind Okereke’s vocals, is immediately suggestive of a church-like environment, blatantly conflicting with the unholy nature of the lyrics. The song has been crafted in such a way that the discordant reality of the character’s “love” for one another, becomes much like what Kanye West would have imagined as a ”dark twisted fantasy“  (without the overt sexual reference, of course).

 Their recent hiatus followed by rumours of the band splitting, which then resulted in speculation that it was all just a publicity stunt, has certainly kept their fans at the edge of their seats in the hopes for a a much anticipated new album release.

Either way, you gotta love a bit of Bloc Party, whatever the weather, whatever the mood.

Did you know…?
Kele Okereke is an studied English Literature at King’s College, London (well I got really excited by this since I am applying there this year… UCAS & personal statements kill me now AHHH!) 

shufflé x

today on shufflé (its been a while…)

Song: Tell Me What To Swallow
“Through the wall he through me
I knew he’d never hurt me”
Artist: Crystal Castles
Song Rating: 5/5
Album: Crystal Castles (2008)

Alice Glass’s haunting vocals, on the last song of an album by one of the most ambitious and exciting artists of the noughties Crystal Castles; ‘Tell Me What To Swallow’ provides an anti-climax for what is an ‘eargasmic’ chaotic album.

The chilling effect of this song is derived from the content in the lyrics, empty space, texture and layering of the vocals over the consistent chordal strums of the guitar. Clearly, this is about some form of paedophilia or incest (“Daddy watched me sleeping… The one who smells so pure”), it is quite striking that this beautiful, yet morbidly dark song has been placed in contrast with what the rest of the album had on offer.

All in all, “Tell Me What To Swallow” encapsulates the loss of innocence in such a horrific way, yet is captured effortlessly in under 2 and a half minutes.

shufflé new release:

Song: Changing the Rain
“If only you’d get back in time
Open your eyes”
Artist: The Horrors
Song Rating: 4/5
Album: Skying (2011)

Well, well, well, who would have thought that The Horrors would have gone all “new wave” on us? Possibly an extension from their last album, Primary Colours, in terms of experimentation - even so, it is pretty damn good!

With the release of Skying last month in the UK and today in the US, Changing the Rain is a great opening track for the new album and is a complete makeover for the band, who have been largely associated with garage punk during their early years.

What makes this so great, is that it is hard to decipher where in the world their stylistic influences even came from! The jungle-themed measure in the first 15 seconds, lingers into a synthesised instrumental track, meshed with clashy guitars and a stable drum pattern, all to be reconciled with the vocals delivered by Faris Badwan, makes for the perfect summer soundtrack.  

shufflé special

Tottenham Riots: the public’s ruthless response to the shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, a young man and father of three, by the police in an attempt to arrest him.

Is the scale and violence of the riot justifiable? Yes, to an extent as a bold political statement has been made against the horrendous crime against Duggan’s human rights. All eyes are now on the Metropolitan Police, who once again have failed to act in a responsible and respectable manner.

Remember the G20 protests in London, whereby the physical harassment of Ian Tomlinson by police officers, consequentially contributed to his death? 

Photographs of the incident are incredible; who would have thought that there would be ‘burnin’ and lootin’ in London once again! Which swiftly leads us unto the song performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers.

The song itself is pretty self explanatory, and is purely chosen in support of free speech and my admiration for those who have taken the initiative to do so - however outlandish it may seem at first glance.