You know what went wrong with post-rock? Couple of things, actually. First up, perhaps even more so than, say, rave or the New Acoustic Movement, it had very little to offer in the way of compelling protagonists. Worse, it degenerated extraordinarily quickly to the point whereby it was populated almost entirely of diluted copies of Mogwai and Stereolab, which was surely never the point. Still, it was fundamentally sound as a notion, based as it was on the idea of exploration using the tools of rock but none of its strictures, and it mined some genuine gold along the way: try listening to the likes of 'Helicon' and 'French Disko' today and contending they don't still sparkle. Given, then, that we're going through a sufficiently grab-bag era that even the long-derided weapons of shoe are being put to sterling use, surely it's ripe for reinvigoration. Isn't it?

Belfast boys And So I Watch You From Afar would certainly contend so, and they've enough about them to lend their opinions some credence. After all, one of their most memorable features live is an affability that far belies the sullen seriousness of both their name and their forebears, and the tracklisting here, including such delights as 'Clench Fists, Grit Teeth... Go!' and 'If It Ain't Broke, Break It' is clearly the work of gentlemen more pranksterly than po-faced. Plus, here the bookend tracks alone are unavoidably striking: 'Set Guitars To Kill' begins proceedings in fearlessly quasi-martial fashion before ostentatiously carving javelins out of granite so they can hurl them at Metallica, then causing Cure fans to break out into enthusiastically confused choreography and finally appearing to call the Muppets' Animal in on drumming duties. 'Eat The City, Eat It Whole' manages roughly four minutes of cherubic, waterfall-negotiating guitar with the melancholy air of Red House Painters before a pride of somewhat unimpressed lions hurtle into the studio and get engaged in a colossal wrestle that only ends when they find themselves lulled by a surprise dub assault.

Ludicrous, perhaps, but brilliantly so; and low on let-up, fierily wilful in its methodology. That there would be asymmetric time signatures on show is almost a given, and indeed 'Clench Fists...' wastes little time before moving first into 13/8 and then something that sounds like it might involve decimal places. But there are African influences here too, although 'A Little Bit Of Solidarity Goes A Long Way' deftly avoids Vampire Weekend-style touristic condescension by incorporating its soca stylings seamlessly into some thunderous minor-chord menace. Moreover, there's even a near-singalong moment on — oh, the irony — 'The Voiceless', which is about as stadium as they get and features some sublime guitar crochet over outrageously persuasive bass. As you might've gathered, for all the ambition and complexity displayed, they're anything but afraid to rock, which leads inevitably to 'Tip Of The Hat, Punch In The Face' doing exactly what it says on the tin.

Frankly, it's a very long time since a band remotely like this came along. But they make for a consistently satisfying experience, and 'And So I Watch You From Afar' is quite some distance ahead of the rest of '09's guitar albums so far.

Now with the knowledge that Giveamanakick are splitting up and Therapy? are in my opinion on their last legs, i think these lads are the future of Irish music.
They strike me as Adebisi Shank with a bit more substance and longevity. I always found myself getting bored with A.S but not with ASIWYFA, they are truly sublime.
Intersteting and intuitive, check them out and do yourself a favour.

10/10 best band of 09

I was so excited wen i heard that Therapy? were finally releasing a new album. For the first time in years there was an anticipation to be worthy of. I have been a fan for a number of years and One Cure Fits All was indeed one of their finest albums to date. With that in mind i was hopeful of the approach that they would take. Due to the progressive nature of their evolution i knew it wasn't going to be the same but i really didnt expect what i was about to hear. 'The Head That Tried To Hang Itself' actually describes perfectly my feelings after suffering this album for the past month. I don't think I have ever heard something so hard to listen to in ages and i really tried my hardest to like it. I want to like it but it just isn't happening for me. I really think that they havent released something as bad as this since infernal love.
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'Enjoy The Struggle' hangs on a basic yet funky catchy bass line (wasted here), the kind that Giveamanakick have used to such good effect in recent years, and I couldn't help but wonder what they would have made of this, but do know they would have dropped the bloody awful guitar break for something far more melodic.

Title track 'Crooked Timber' sounds like a bad attempt at New Order meets Radiohead, 'Magic Mountain' is a ten minute instrumental that sounds like it was lifted from a forgotten 12' single, and 'Bad Excuse For Daylight' finally brings to close what has been a gratingly awful listen.

In places the album tries to make some serious statements but overall I found Andy Cairns' vocals dry and boring and guitar work devoid of any real depth or attack despite the often dark nature of the songs, Neil Cooper's percussion failed to move me and the albums only redeeming feature being the quality of Michael McKeegan's bass sound.

I'm going to see these guys on May15th and i really hope that they don't play Magic fuckin Mountain. I really feel cheated by Therapy? in their lazy effort of an album and hope that they get back to what i love them for.

Buy this if you liked St. Anger, buy any other Therapy? album if you want to listen to Therapy? and buy Giveamanakicks Welcome to the Cusp if you want to hear the future of Irish music.

The words “punk rock” get tossed around a little too loosely these days. What was once fairly definitive has become obscure; it seems like any fool and his H&M shopping brother can don some eyeliner, chick jeans, get some ink and call themselves “punk.”

Three power chords and some yelling does not the punk make, you see. To me, the whole thing stinks of some sort of disillusioned nihilism where one can rebel by buying anti-establishment clothing at a shopping centre. I don’t get it. Then again, I’ve never understood the correlation between clothes and music anyway.

So where am I going with this? Modern “punk” seems to have gone the way of the runway, leaving the spirit of the music tamed, predictable, prepackaged and totally non-threatening. But then comes someone who remembers, and, like a fresh breath of stale air, we’re delivered The Weirdness, a brand new batch of work from the Stooges.

Fronted as always by the emaciated and iconic Iggy Pop, the Asheton brothers reunite with just-as-iconic bassist Mike Watt and sax player Steve MacKay to bang out the 12 tunes that make up The Weirdness. Since Iggy and the Asheton brothers’ acidic take on bluesy garage rock--captured in peak form on their hit ‘70s album Raw Power--is credited with helping grandfather the modern punk sound, can these old guys still keep up with the kids?

Being about as political as he could get, Iggy belts out “now is the season/for war without reason” on “My Idea of Fun,” probably the catchiest track out of the crop. All in all, the album’s remainder follows the same three-and-a-half minute average punk song time limit and takes on various themes, but unfortunately none retain the “My Idea of Fun”. The Stooges do, however, mix it up some with the crawling tempo of the title track, and the delivery of the damning “The End of Christianity” is about as close to a Stooges anthem as it could get.

Lyrically speaking, there’s fun to be had; check out Iggy’s monologue in “Mexican Guy” and the “Search & Destroy”-like “She Took My Money,” all done in Iggy’s usual monotone delivery that reminds you of the group’s ‘70s heyday. But answering the question about how The Weirdness holds up to classics like Raw Power: it’s probably not meant to. Listening to the tracks, you get the feeling this album was recorded simply because the members didn’t have anything else to do, like it was a way to relieve boredom. It comes across as an intimate conversation with a disinterested party, a way to pass time. And to that effect, it comes across beautifully.

The Stooges have no doubt influenced countless others. Kurt Cobain was once quoted saying that Raw Power was one of his favorite albums of all time, and garage rock revivalists like the White Stripes have to tip their hats to the Stooges for bringing the music into pop culture’s consciousness. But on to the big question: Should you buy it? If you’re an old schooler, then yeah, you’ll find lots to love. If you’re more into the “punkier” music of the more “modern” bands, then this toned-down aesthetic may not be to your liking.

Regardless of anyone’s opinion about them or The Weirdness, the Stooges will keep riffing because it’s just the thing to keep doing. Rest assured, chances are when you pass H&M tommorow and see some Fall Out Boy look-alike wannabe sporting a freshly pressed Stooges T-shirt, somewhere on the planet Iggy and Co. are smiling and counting the royalties.