Follow The Lights

It had been a long time between releases for this man and his band. Time though, is a relative concept. One year may not seem like a long time, but in the context of Ryan Adams' discography, a year is a very, very long time. More than a year passed between the release of 29 and Easy Tiger. This was not like Ryan Adams at all. Isn't he usually Mr. Prolific? 2005 saw 3 full length albums emerge from his factory, and in 2006 none were released, breaking a rather lengthy streak. He may well have been trying making up lost time by releasing what at face value seems like a pointless dessert dish in Follow The Lights, so soon after the fantastic main course of Easy Tiger.


The end result in parts is certainly pointless. A live studio version of 'Dear John', a song he wrote with Norah Jones that featured on Jacksonville City Nights, appears on this EP and although good, without the wonderful intonations of Norah it is a mere shade of the original. An Alice in Chains cover 'Down in a Hole', a live studio version of 'If I Am A Stranger' from Cold Roses and a Cardinals version of 'This is It' seem to point to this EP being all filler no killer.

However there are still glimpses of this man and his band's undeniable talent. 'Blue Hotel' is a wonderfully measured track with the Cardinals plugging away beautifully in the foreground alongside Adams. The title track however is certainly the strongest. It is a silky smooth mid-tempo highway ballad peppered with some deft percussion. As the track's title suggests, this song makes a perfect soundtrack to a car ride to nowhere in particular. with the distant lights leading the way.

After hearing these two tracks, almost all is forgiven. For a $10 outlay, I was left reasonably satisfied with my dessert, however with a little more cream and sprinkles, even some chocolate topping it could have been much better.

MP3: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Follow The Lights

Dancing to metal? Sounds a little silly doesn't it? This was a proposition that I found intriguing when it was posed to me. "They are heavy, but I was dancing to them. And I was sober", a good friend said to me when he saw this band live. It was a mix I surely had to experience myself. And I did when the played an incredible show at the Annandale recently.

One look at the Many Machines on Nine, and they look every bit a metal band. Only one colour, as long as its black seems to be the order of the day. But musically, there are hues a plenty. Musically, their's is a mish-mash of industrial and electronica, with some drum machine loops and fancy electronic effects thrown in to make things more interesting.

What keeps you listening is their knack for contrast. One moment, your experiencing a Tool-esque chorus of subtlety and gentle tension, then they smash it away with an up-tempo chorus filled with synthetic drums and crunching guitars with an energy that dares you not to dance and jump around like a rat-tailed on Ritalin and a can of New stolen from Dad's fridge.

Yeah it might all sound a little silly, but I promise you its not anything like this band. These guys are actually good. Very good. They are playing at the Agincourt Hotel on Broadway on the 14th December and I recommend you check them out.


STREAM: Many Machines on Nine
Many Machines on Nine Website

Kokomo

There is a place called Kokomo, apparently.


According to Beach Boys, its somewhere off the Florida Keys. Looks and sounds something like this am I right?




VIDEO:Beach Boys - Kokomo


According to Black Dice however...well they dont actually say anything in the song that bares the name 'Kokomo', taken from their new album Load Blown, as there is no evidence of human existence in the track, but I think it is far removed from the image that we have of this place. In the world of Black Dice, Kokomo would look something like this.




MP3: Black Dice - Kokomo

Black Dice MySpace


Or you can content yourself with the Muppets interpretation of the Beach Boys track. Ether way I am going to Kokomo sometime soon.