Notes from the Keybed – This Month in Synths [October]

Keytar Cat Man. Because it’s Halloween.

We’ve already reviewed the new Minus The Bear b-sides and rarities collection elsewhere on TBO but here’s a timely reminder if you’ve yet to check out the frankly ace Lost Loves. Electronics man Alex Rose gets plenty of chance to showcase his usual mix of Pink Floydian atmospheres and synth hooks, with the ripping electro lead on ‘Surf-N-Turf’ and twinkling arpeggios of ‘Walk On Air’ being particular highlights.

Over the past few months we’ve consistently banged on about Emperor Yes, who first came to this column’s attention after a stunning set on the Alcopop! stage at Brighton’s Great Escape earlier this year. The psychedelic synth-poppers’ debut full-length An Island Called Earth is finally out and sounding expectedly fantastic. For the real nerds out there you can even pick it up on cosmic green vinyl infused with real meteorite dust! For the rest of us be sure to grab the download or CD and check out the synthesiser-led delights of ‘Wasps’, ‘It’s The End Of The World’, ‘Mirror’ and… well the whole album – it’s a beaut!

Scottish trio Chvrches have been busy with new music this month, not only announcing they’ll be contributing new track ‘Dead Air’ to the Hunger Games soundtrack, but also releasing single ‘Get Away’ as part of Zane Lowe’s re-scoring of Drive. Unfortunately, the latter doesn’t quite hit the heights of perfect debut album The Bones Of What We Believe, but it still has their trademark retro textures, analogue percussion and a tasty trancey lead. It’s a definite grower and one that you won’t be able to avoid if you listen to the radio at any point over the coming weeks! There’s also a fantastic cover of Bauhaus’ ‘Bella Lugosi’s Dead’ scurrying around the Internet at present, which is perfect for your Halloween playlists!

Bloc Party mainman Kele Okereke has a new solo album out following 2010’s indie dancefloor slaying The Boxer. Trick is more straight-up dance music than anything he has done to date but the sublime songwriting and achingly cool vocals bring a much-needed uniqueness over his contemporaries. In many ways it is an indie-friendly gateway into the increasingly wanky world of commercial house music (thanks for making everything so borrrrring Disclosure) with hipster-friendly garage beats and late night soundscapes forming a gritty salute to London’s nightlife, whilst recalling lyrical themes from his day job’s masterpiece ‘A Weekend In The City’.

These New Puritans scared the shit out of me when I first heard ‘Orion’ among the usually safe surroundings of an NME cover disc. It was overwhelmingly bleak with droney keyboards, modern classical influences, and incessant drum rhythms outlining frontman Jack Barnett’s vocal monotones and lyrical intellectualisations. Earlier singles ‘Numbers’ and ‘Colours’ may have been more typical indietronica, but they always had a defiant stance to do things their own way and be impertinently different. Continuing to divide, confuse and amaze, they have certainly never been boring. Therefore, the release of new live album Expanded should come as no surprise, featuring a full 35 piece band of orchestral instruments and percussion, an array of synths and electronics and even ‘ultra bass singers’ (take that dubstep!). It’s certainly an interesting take on bringing electronic-infused music to the live arena, and it’s well worth watching the accompanying video online. Not one to listen to in the dark though!

October’s Keytar Hero award finds a home with Canadian queen of perky synth-pop, Lights. Her music may not be everyone’s cup of tea with its saccharine Disney-pop sheen (I shamelessly dig) but nobody can deny that she’s been loyal to the keytar as her long-term live performance companion ever since her early days of hanging out with the pop-punk kids at Warped. If you need any further convincing just type ‘keytar lesson with Lights’ into your YouTube search bar for hilariously awesome ‘advice’ from 2009 such as name your keytar so you take better care of it, understand the differences between keytar and regular keyboard, and make sure its plugged in. She even gives a demo of the Phil Collins mega hit ‘In The Air Tonight’ on solo keytar. She’s one of us…

Review: Minus The Bear – Lost Loves

Seattle stalwarts Minus The Bear have been at the forefront of the math rock scene since 2001, combining singalong choruses with head-scratching time signatures and guitar athletics, usually all within the space of a single song. This latest release compiles together an album’s worth of songs that didn’t fit onto their previous three records Planet Of Ice, Omni and Infinity Overhead. An inspired take on the unreleased and rare theme, it certainly delivers the goods, bringing together a range of sonic flavours from riff-rock to electronica via the prog-influenced song structures that have united the band’s output over the years.

Opener ‘Electric Rainbow’ first appeared on the bonus disc accompanying the first editions of 2007 full-length Planet Of Ice and, in this reviewer’s opinion, is an example of the definitive Minus The Bear song. For anyone unfamiliar with the band, it is the perfect introduction, featuring dextrous guitar tapping, some righteous fuzz bass, typically elusive lyrics, and a deliciously singable chorus. It is one of many occasions on this record that make you wonder how such a good song didn’t make the cut for a full album release. Follow up track ‘Surf-N-Turf’ has a funky pop groove that is as radio friendly as 6/4 polyrhythms can get, whilst ‘Broken China’ is a guitar-driven rocker with a enough whammy pedal action to give even Tom Morello foot ache!

Halfway through the record the cracks begin to show, as a couple of the weaker songs reveal why they may have been best left to stew in the cutting room a little longer. ‘Patiently Waiting’ has the potential to be a dreamy atmospheric song that would sit nicely on Planet Of Ice with its smooth Pink Floyd-esque guitar and shimmering keyboard chords, yet the drum machine heavy production and unnecessary faux-reggae middle eight leave it sounding more like an off-cut from Kanye West’s 808’s And Heartbreak. It’s not necessarily bad – in fact there’s a really nice song buried beneath the production – but it lacks context here. In fact, that is the record’s only real weakness. Although the diversity makes for a fantastic snapshot of a band who have proudly gone their own way for more than a decade, it lacks the narrative and cohesive sonic template that usually ties together their albums so well. However, it must be said that this is more a criticism of the b-sides and rarities format in general rather than Lost Loves in specific.

Fortunately, things more than pick up towards the end with closing track ‘The Lucky Ones’, which was originally produced for most recent studio album Infinity Overhead, as it combines searing synth leads with head-nodding staccato riffs and melodic vocals, ending with dramatic closing chords and layered reverse guitar loops. Intelligent yet catchy, it is the perfect closer to a retrospective of a unique band.

Overall this collection cements Minus The Bear’s single-minded individuality over the past thirteen years, from uncompromising technicality to danceable pop hooks and everything in between. Tall Ships, This Town Needs Guns, and any other band who thought ‘hey, maybe we could add an extra beat in here’, pay attention. This band made you.

4 out of 5 high fives!