Apparently, I buy too many records

My wife Helen, like every other woman i've ever lived with, believes that I buy too many records.

Which, as every record-buying man knows, is a ridiculous belief.

I will concede, however, that I do indeed buy a lot of records and that I don't afford them the same amount of listens and attention that I did 20 or 30 years ago.

To this end, I have decided to blog about the records that I buy, in order to help my appreciation of them - and perhaps to show Helen that I don't buy that many records after all.

Because i'm crap with deadlines the blog posts will be sporadic and probably be about a month or 2 behind but that's just the way i am! The posts will not necessarily be actual reviews (most likely comments, at best) and will generally be pretty damn short due to the reasons outlined above. As a writer in a previous existence i have decided not to worry about writing as art in the pieces but, instead, to attempt to convey feeling over semantic (and often grammatic) perfection.

And 'OCRB'? It stands for 'Obsessive Compulsive Record Buying' - a little known mental health affliction that is potentially damaging to the bank account but ultimately life-affirming. It is sad.......but a nice form of sad.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Message to Bears: Departure (Dead Pilot)

I've seen this described as 'ambient', but that's really doing it a disservice. Ambient music is meant to sit unobtrusively alongside the rest of your life and just........exist. This album is too special to be ignored or to just whisper in the corner as it demands your attention to fully appreciate the gently picked guitar, beautifully arranged strings, subtle viola, softly shuffling rhythms and the occasional humming vocalisation. Solo guitar-based albums can often seem dull and uninspiring - like the tracks are supposed to be intros to longer pieces, rather than standalone pieces of their own. The tracks here work well as they build, grow and change into individual snapshots that need no extra embellishment. This is an astonishing album and one of those debut albums that make you feel excited to be there at the start, and equally excited as to what the future will bring. A hand numbered ltd edition of 250 in 180g vinyl, so be quick if you want one.
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