Album Review: Moondagger - Deastro

Deastro's slept-on début rocked BlackPlastic's world gently last year when it was released exclusively on eMusic - it's emotive electronic distortion hit a chord and made us go a bit wobbly.

An if Keeper's was a pleasant surprise then Moondagger is a bone fide love bomb. Made of the kind of tunes that BlackPlastic would happily lose their head in for days this is an album that separates the wheat from the chaff of Deastro's previous work to deliver something that really qualifies him as a unquestionably individual.

Moondagger is full of the soppy electronic punk records and the result is a perfect soundtrack to runaway to. Imagine the Pixies meets New Order on the way back from the keyboard store. Exactly.

If Moondagger falls just short of classic status it is only due to a slightly inconsistent overall flow and slight lack of consistency but it is worth noting that this still represents a significant step change from the last album. With tunes like the anarchic and bonkers 'Daniel Johnston Was Stabbed In The Heart With The Moondagger By The King Of Darkness And His Ghost Is Writing This Song As A Warning To All Of Us' Moondagger simply has bags of charm.

At its best - on the irrepressibly enthutiastic 'The Shaded Forests (Gift Givers Version)' or the melancholic 'Kurgan Wave Number One' - this is spine-tinglingly good. 'Kurgen Wave Number One' is so unapologetically bang on the money that you can actually feel the sting from the love turned sour that inspired it just by listening. Music that evocative has to be worth something.

BP x

Moondagger is out now on Ghostly International, order from Amazon.co.uk on CD, MP3 or LP [affiliate links.

Album Review: FabricLive 47 - various artists mixed by Toddla T

Broadly speaking Fabric albums can be divided into two categories - thoughtful and carefully considered or balls-out party starters. Toddla T's mix, perhaps unsurprisingly, falls into the latter. FabricLive 47 is a mix of grime, breakbeat, dancehall, dubstep, house and, occasionally, pop.

As BlackPlastic mentioned in our review of the recent Scratch Perverts' Beatdown album there is sometimes a tendency to get caught up in the 'now' without any concern for the actual quality of the tracks. There seem to be plenty of positive reviews forBeatdown, which suggests BlackPlastic's opinions aren't shared by all, but we would simply say: this is a far better postcard overview of dance music in 2009 than that album.

The difference is that the tracks generally feel much more like they will stand the test of time and whilst the mixing is perhaps a little less creative it's ultimately the tunes that count, right? Right...

So Toddla T has triumphed by keeping things fresh her, really chopping up the genres. Hip-hop on Stone's 'Amen' (featuring Roots Manuva) melts straight into a jump-up drum 'n' bass track Toddla creates by slamming several tracks together...

...And FabricLive 47 is at its best when it takes this approach, worrying less about what it should be and more about what it could be. There is the tongue in cheek soulful pop-dub take on Human League's 'Love Action' from Philly and then the tribal Caveman remix of Duffy's 'Stepping Stone' at the start of the album, or the soulful broken beat house of Skream's remix of Toddla T's own 'Rebel' and the blissed out Caspa mix of Deadmau5's 'I Remember' winding things up at the end. Sandwiched in the middle you have the likes of the aggressive hard-house hip-hop mash-up of of tracks (made from Bart B More & Diplo Vs Bashy's 'Millionaire Bingo', Bashy's 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' and Bingo Players' 'Get Up (Diplo Mix)') and Sticky and Lady Chann's cheeky 'Sticky Situation'.

FabricLive 47 may not exactly justify Toddla T's hype, but it certainly goes some way to explain it - it may not be sophisticated or that carefully considered but it sure is fun.

BP x

Toddla T's FabricLive 47 is released on 17 August - available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD [affiliate link].

On the topic of Lady Chann - in advance of her performance at FabricLive this Friday for The Heatwaves Funky Bashment takeover of room three we also have two tracks from Lady Chann available for download.

First up is Lady Chann & Sticky's 'Sticky Situation' as a free MP3 download - Download 'Sticky Situation' [right click, save as].

Also, made exclusively for this event, we have a medley from Lady Chann & Busy Signal - Download 'Medley' [right click, save as].

Album Review: He Was King - Felix Da Housecat

Long time BP readers will probably be aware of the BlackPlastic love affair with Felix, dating back to his glorious Kittenz and Thee Glitz album. Last album, 2007's Virgo Blaktro & The Movie Disco failed to live up to the expectations set by both Kittenz and its follow up Davin Dazzle and the Neon Fever - fast forward to 2009 and new album He Was King is set to drop in a few weeks following little fanfare.

Part of the fun of an album getting released from one of your favourite artists is in the anticipation. As such it is actually almost disappointing that felix's new album is already here but one thing is clear - He Was King is a return to form following Virgo.

Opener 'We All Wanna Be Prince' splices together lines from Prince records to create a love letter to everyone's favourite purple king of pop and from the off Felix is revisiting the best parts of his own catalogue. Not since Devin Dazzle's glorious 'Ready 2 Wear' has Felix created something as gorgeous as this album's opener.

And whilst the album opens on a pure pop moment there are some dance-floor gems too, recalling the dark 'Strobe' from Virgo and some of Felix's earlier, pre-Kittenz albums. 'Kick Drum', all empty-space, distortion and repetitive vocals, is a dubby love letter to the dancefloor and those girls that get lost on it. More than anything though it is 'Elvi$' that will provide He Was King its lasting dancefloor hit - a tweaking acid epic that would slot right into to many DJs sets to provide a suitable climax... It's long, wonky and just a bit nasty.

The highlights probably come in the form of the pop-couplet formed by 'Do We Move Your World' and 'We'. Not connected except for in their proximity to each other in the album's flow and the fact they both aim for a similar melodic sound, they are the tracks on this album that are most reminiscent of Felix's Kittenz era. 'Do We Move Your World' builds nicely to a hook before blasting off the launch pad whilst 'We' is pure-synthesized joy - sassy and cool, sleazy and honest, it is Felix at his best.

He Was King may not top either Kittenz and Thee Glitz or Devin Dazzle but it certainly comes close to equalling them. There are moments here that easily stand-up with the best on either of those albums, all He Was King lacks is the overriding sense of experimentation those albums boasted.

BP x

He Was King is released on Nettwerk on 24 August, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links].

Album Review: Folk Songs - James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players

James Yorkston is already somewhat of a critics' darling. As such this stop-gap album consisting of selection of traditionally arranged folk-songs, which sees Yorkston divorced of usual band The Athletes and is instead created in collaboration with The Big Eyes Family Players, probably inspired audible drooling from some guy with a beard that writes for Mojo.

Over at BlackPlastic we may be slightly more youthful and, dare we say it, suspicious of somebody doing something quite so honest and understated. But one thing is for sure: we still know a bloody good tune when we hear one.

And there are definitely some here. Folk Songs is a meandering, wistful body of work but it never feels anything less than heartfelt. Whilst an album full of traditional folk music undoubtedly risks feeling downtrodden and lacking in excitement Yorkston has seemingly pitched things just right here. On 'Martinmas Time', for example, a penny whistle is combined with a fiddle to create a piece of music that sounds so real and honest and it's this feeling that Yorkston has managed to nail several times throughout the record's length.

Listening to 'Thorneymoor Woods' you cannot help but rue the trappings of modern life as Yorkston describes the walking of dogs and other countryside pastimes. It's enough to make BlackPlastic want to pack up and head off home for a sit beside the fire with a mug of scotch. Probably best of all is 'I Went To Visit The Roses'. It's a warm, worldly wander of a song that smacks of charm and character like a well-loved rascal that troubles the regulars at the local pub.

Folk Songs is what it says then - folk songs about folk doing folky things. There is no real innovation here as such but it's an interesting and accessible entry-point both into James Yorkton's work and into folk music generally. Folk Songs just demonstrates how much love and joy there is down here in the dirt.

BP x

Folk Songs is released on Domino on 10 August 2009 - available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk on CD, Deluxe CD & DVD and LP[Affiliate Links].

Album Review: If You Know What's Good For Ya!! - Woolfy

Woolfy's first album (as Woolfy vs. Projections) totally passed BlackPlastic by and if the fanfare that greeted this release, If Ya Know What's Good For Ya!!, is anything to go by then it's no surprise. Released on DFA/Rong with very little marketing (just why can't DFA send emails to their fans, huh?) last month Woolfy don't even seem to have had much coverage from the blogging world.

Which is a shame because If You Know What's Good For Ya!! is pretty bloody good as it happens. With a sound that perfectly encapsulates the two labels collaborating on its release - the slightly tongue-in-cheek, indie dance of Rong and the gritty rocker chic of DFA all in one package.

Whilst there are a couple of tracks that fail to standout this is generally down to the quality of everything else on offer. The sleazy garage funk of opening track 'The Warehouse' sets the pace nicely and it is clear from the off that this isn't an album made for the dancefloor, it's made for the grimey come down afterwards or sun-baked afternoons laying in the park.

And the pace doesn't really let up - 'Oh Missy' is all angular gutars and yelped vocals and whilst the progressive sounds of cosmic disco on 'Loa The Disco' break the run of catchy vocal tracks you can't really deny its quality.

If Ya Know What's Good For Ya!! is actually at its best when it is serving up more contemplative numbers. The dreamlike 'Looking Glass' sounds like MGMT collaborating with the Chemical Brothers on one of those blissed out numbers they normally get Beth Orton in for towards the end of the album. The result is very striking. Equally brilliant is the battered and bruised 'Sonic Monday', with the vocalist capturing Bernard Sumner's stilted delivery on New Order's 'Temptation'. It's a track that sounds so hot you could stick it on and work on your tan.

So it may not be grabbing headlines but If Ya Know What's Good For Ya you'll grab this. Ahem. Sorry.  But seriously, don't sleep on Woolfy.

BP x