The the old line about waiting for a London bus "you wait for ages
then two come along at once" can also be applied to Kate Bush´s
recording output this year.
After a 12 year gap between "The Red Shoes" and her last official
release, 2005´s under whelming "Ariel", earlier this year we saw the
release of "Directors Cut" (essentially re-recordings of tracks from
The Sensual World & Red Shoes periods).
Rumours then circulated that the new Kate Bush was a concept album
with Snow as the main theme and many´s a nerve jangled even amongst
her most loyal fans.
They have not needed to worry, as "50 Words for Snow" is a fine,
fine return to form from one of England's finest female artists of
all time.
Albeit a "loose" concept album with snow, cold & Winter as
central themes, with its sparse instrumentation and Bush´s unique
vocal style, "50 Words for Snow" is one of the most intimate, warm
and moving albums recorded in recent times.
Video segment for "Wild Man" (single released from the album)
The difficult second album ?
Far from it ! With "Ceremonials", Florence returns with the most assured
of follow up albums which oozes artistic confidence from start to
finish.
Apart from the epic and melodramatic sound of the album, the high
calibre of the writing and a big full production sound via producer Paul
Epworth (Bloc Party, Friendly Fires), the key element in the albums arsenal is undoubtedly Florence´s incredible and powerful vocal range.
There's a point (1.38) in the albums opener "Only If For a Night" when
she sings that she "did cartwheels in your honour", which re-assure the
listener that the quirky lyrics that made début album "Lungs" so
enchanting remain a key element of the fabric of the songs on
"Ceremonials".
Although the album is sonically a natural successor from "Lungs", with
its mix of...it shouldn't work but it does, danceable indie, stadium
rock, shades of goth, omnipresent big drums and harp solos, the end
result is a far more ambitious, complete and epic sounding album.
1st single from the album " What the Water Gave Me"
3 albums in 3 years is a pretty prolific output for any modern day
recording act especially when the end result is three albums of constant
high quality.
Following the folkier sound explored by the group on the 2010 release
"Flaws", "A Different Kind of Fix" sees the band returning to a more
eclectic, diverse and guitar driven sound.
The refreshing aspect for the listener is that the album, despite its diversity never loses its focus or coherency.
There's a nod to 90´s shoe-gazing sound on "Bad Timing", meanwhile "Your
Eyes" evokes the classic sound of James at their finest and "What You
Want" is classic 2011 indie pop.
Although quirky in places "A Different Kind of Fix" is a fine album of well composed and subtle but melodic pop rock.
Jesus Gallego presents the daily sports show Ser Deportivos on Cadena Ser, one of Spain's leading radio networks.
In the past few years Gallego has emerged as a leading taste maker in
the alternative rock and indie scene with his musical selections in the
Carrusel Deportivo show (the "Gallego on Fire" section).
Thanks to him bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, The Killers, Two Door
Cinema Club etc. have managed to gain some profile on Spanish national radio
whilst sadly traditional local daily music stations focus on mainstream
pop.
Apart from presenting his daily sports show Gallego can also be found in
the DJ cabins of many Madrid clubs and is a regular contributor to AS
& El Pais (Spanish daily sports and newspapers respectively).
We caught up with Jesus recently to get his answers on a few music and football related questions.
Q - At best the quality control applied to football related songs over
the years has been somewhat dubious !
What in your opinion has been the worst football related song ever
and what has been the best and why.
JG
- True, there have been some really dodgy songs, Waka Waka by Shakira
comes to mind.... even "We Are the Champions" by Queen has been
transformed.
The best, any Oasis track is perfect for football, but I don't think the best has been written yet !
Q - What was the first record (single or album) bought by the young
Jesus Gallego and the motivation behind it.
JG - Mmmm.. not sure
but it was pretty late on. When I was a kid, on a trip to Ceuta my folks
bought a cassette deck and I got a Beatles cassette.
Q - Over the past years Pep Guardiaola has
used the likes of "Viva la Vida" (Coldplay) and "Human" (The
Killers) to motivate the Barça team prior to each home match, if
you were a Primera Liga manager what song would you use as a
pre-match motivational tool in the dressing room?
JG - Muse, Uprising would work.
Q - What was the last album you bought or downloaded ?
JG - I recently bought the début album from Noel Gallagher, High Flying Birds. 12 Euro it cost me from the local FNAC
Q - You´ve
constantly pushed new music and championed and played many groups on
national radio, that are/were total unknowns for the average Carrusel
Deportivo listener. What track has generated the most interest and positive
reaction from the listeners ?
JG -
The
Killers, Somebody Told Me straight away generated a positive reaction. Same thing
with MGMT´s Time to Pretend. Even the listeners who weren't convinced
first time around ended up humming along to tracks that are now
considered semi classics.
The Killers - Somebody Told Me -
MGMT - Time to Pretend -
Ok, a few football related questions -
Q - Given that the 1st and 2nd places are foregone conclusions in the
Spanish Primera Division, who do you see securing 3rd and 4th
place this season?
JG - Valencia will certainly be there and I´d say Malaga too.
Q - In recent times the battle to avoid the drop from La Liga has been more
exciting than the title race, who do you see occupying the bottom
3 positions this season?
JG -
Its going to be incredibly tight. I think we´ll see Racing, Zaragoza,
Mallorca, Real Sociedad and Granada all in the battle. Others like
Getafe, Betis and Rayo Vallecano will also need to be careful.
Q - Finally .... 80´s indie band Half Man Half Biscuit immortalised
Czech side Dukla Prague with their track "All I Want for Christmas
is a Dukla Prague Away Kit", without the assistance of Google or
Wikipedia, a guess as to what colour the Dukla Prague away kit is
?
JG - Is it Red ? Let me check, close .... Red & Yellow !
Follow Gallego on Twitter@JGALLEGOSerfor his news and views on sport and the best in new music.
