Review: Tall Ships EP & Everything Touching LP

Apologies that the blogging has been rather barren recently, school work and band work towards our upcoming EP and a return to playing live after far too long (pictures are below) have kept us busy for the most part. But I thought I'd get back into the swing of things by giving a double album review of Tall Ships, a band I saw down at Latitude Festival (see my post of Saturday at Latitude) and have been really been getting into their material.

As I've said, I first saw Tall Ships at Latitude festival but only caught the end of their set, even so, what I saw made me wish I'd made the effort to get there much earlier. There was a lot of on-stage energy and obvious passion for their music, something which you would have thought may dull with time and playing the same songs again and again, but it was clear to the see enthusiasm was there throughout. This probably deserved them a much later slot than they were playing, but hey, even the best bands start at the bottom to get to the top. After the festival I started looking at their material and thought I should have a go at reviewing both their self-titled EP and their début full-length album 'Everything Touching'.

Also, for anyone local (Leeds etc) wanting to see them live, they're playing at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds next year on 3rd March for a dirt cheap price, not to be missed!: Buy Tickets. and their website here.

For fans of: Foals,The Vaccines, Mumford & Sons, Battles.

Tall Ships EP - (Buy here)

This is their début 4-track EP, something that nearly all bands produce and sometimes can tend to be better than most bands whole albums. It was clear from the start that this EP was a cut above the rest, it is what I would describe as 'clever rock', music that takes care with everything that it does but still sounds raw and fresh at the same time. I liked the use of other sampled media on the tracks such as 'Words Are Pegs On Which We Hang Ideas', something I want to experiment with in the future with Figurehead, which I feel adds an extra dimension to an already rich and complex sound. One thing that I very much admire in this band is the massive atmospheric sound with brilliant sweeping dynamics, almost approaching post rock, that they make with only 3 guys, my band struggles to even match it with 5 people in the band... They also show a lot of versatility in this EP with the inclusion of the brilliant phat synth arp on 'Books' which then drops back down effortlessly. The vocals and lyrics on this album, something that interests me a lot as a vocalist, are very good. The vocals are very solid throughout, whether singularly or in the choir-like harmonies, whist having a very good knack for decent and catchy vocal hooks and melodies. The lyrics, while nothing ground breaking, are still very, very good, whist still being provocative they have interesting themes, nautical as you would imagine, and having something that I feel my own lyrics really lack, substance. The drums also deserve a mention as I particularly enjoyed the 'running' drums in 'Vessels', having the kind of almost 'dancy' feel at times that reminds me so much of Foals. The EP is largely instrumental, letting the the music do the talking, and when the music is this good, you'll find it hard to complain.

Song Highlight: Tall Ships - Vessels. This song is by far the highlight of the EP, and probably is my favourite song by Tall Ships. It showcases everything that they can do, and they do it all so well, such as the provocative vocal harmonies, the brilliant build-up and an ending that lends itself to live sing-a-longs.

Rating: 7/10

Tall Ships - Everything Touching LP - (Buy here)

This is Tall Ships' début full length album and I have to say it starts in style with the belter of an opener 'T=0' Its clear that much has remained from the EP but they have also developed and refined what they had into something in my opinion, a bit more well-rounded. This album does get at times a bit heavier than the EP but dynamically the songs swap tempo, dynamics and intensity very fluidly. Vocals come slightly more to the fore in this album, but instrumentally it remains very strongly rooted in the complex melodies of the EP. Once again the massed vocals and tuneful singular vocals complement how melodic the music is very well. This album has a lot of diversity in it musically, from the grand sweeping tracks such as 'Best Ever', to the funkier tracks such as 'Oscar'. This is something that I'm looking to do in my band, particularly for our upcoming EP, which is creating a release which has the individuality and diversity of all the songs but is still a cohesive piece of art. There is a lot more minimalism in this release with toned-down and stripped-down songs such as 'Ode To Ancestors' and 'Send News' songs which sound almost like The Antlers, not a bad thing at all! 'Gallop' provides a brilliant lead single for the album, interesting, catchy and with a good rhythm behind it which is sure to go down well live. To finish off the album there is the 9 minute long epic 'Murmurations' once again showing that Tall Ships have a talent for longer songs which lend themselves perfectly to the end of albums or to end a set live, such as Vessels (see above)

Song Highlight: Tall Ships - T=0. One of the best album openers I've heard in a while, it grabs you right from the start and doesn't let go. It also shows the heavier side of Tall Ships' repertoire, seeing them advance from what they did with their EP to a more well balanced and diverse début album.

Rating: 8/10

My Latitude 2012 - Sunday

Sunday was probably my favourite day over the whole weekend, the music started late which meant I could have a lie in, it was less busy which meant I could get much nearer the front to see bands and there were a lot more bands I wanted to see, without as many clashes. I went to see so many in fact that I'm only going to include the best few and the ones I was gutted to miss. This was my last day: (links are in blue)


One of the first bands that I saw that day were Francois and the Atlas Mountains in the picturesque I Arena in the woods. The band were very, very French. Arty, daft and at times slightly pretentious but always brilliant. They had something very special, a unique sound and onstage presence that transcended the language barrier as it didn't matter if they sang in French or English, the music was always good. They were obviously loved very much by the crowd as although they had been given a shorter set due to administerial cock-ups, they were given the biggest cheer I'd heard from a small crowd and everyone stayed for another 10/15 minutes shouting at the staff to let them back on, but alas to no avail.

Francois and the Atlas Mountains - City Kiss (live from latitude)

I'd only heard a little of St Vincent before Latitude and I almost didn't go to see her due to my own idleness. Thankfully I got off my arse and went and was really blown away. It was nothing like I expected, all the songs were much rockier than anything I'd heard and Annie Clark was dressed all all in black, dishevelled hair and threw herself around the stage like a rag doll. This contrasted with her hauntingly beautiful and innocent vocals which cut right through the amazing fuzz tones on her guitar. At first listen, some of the songs seemed a bit jaunty as if they didn't fit, but after a few more listens this feeling goes away and is replaced by the simple appreciation of how very, very good her songs actually are.

St Vincent - Dilettante

I was very excited to see M83 at Latitude and I had a feeling it was going to be something a bit special, so I regrettably left Bat For Lashes a bit early so I could get a good spot. The set was drenched in atmosphere and drama as through the opening music, the signature alien of M83 came onstage, shooting lasers from its fingers (picture left taken by me). 'How fucking cool', I thought. The sound was even more epically scaled than that on the albums and the crowd loved it, especially when they played 'Midnight City'. A touch of genius, I felt, was when they got a live saxophonist to run on at the end of 'Midnight City' to play the solo. I'm a bit mystified as to why they didn't get Zola Jesus to sing on 'Intro' like she had on the album as she was also at the festival, but that's a small niggle in the scheme of things.

M83 - Reunion

Wild Beasts were the highlight of my festival, they were the band I was probably most exited to see and they were headlining my favourite stage, The Word Arena. There's not much to say apart from how amazing it was, obviously as they're one of my favourite bands I'm bound to be like that but it was clear many people shared my opinion. The crowd was massive and many people had wandered in after being disappointed by Paul Weller on the main stage and instantly got into the electric atmosphere in the tent. They played songs from all 3 of their albums and everyone around me knew the words, showing a surprising number of fans were there, such as one guy who screamed "I love you more than anything in the world" whenever it went quiet. (picture left taken by me - also the only really decent one I took over the whole festival)

Wild Beasts - Two Dancers I  

I didn't see as much of Bat For Lashes as I wanted to but that which I did see was top class. What I like about Bat For Lashes is the combination of visual art and music. Some people would say it's just 'pretencious-arty-wanker-bullshit' but I think it just gives another dimension to what music is, another art form. Its this kind of over the top showmanship and stage presence that just adds immeasurably to the live experience. They played material off both their albums and I even caught a bit of some new material, which seemed a bit more simplistic and piano-based, which I do like, but I must say I prefer the more guitar and synth laden songs. Bat For Lashes had been out of the public eye for a long time so it was a good return in my eyes.

Bat For Lashes - Sleep Alone

Although this isn't exactly music, I thought I'd include it anyway because John Cooper Clarke was really one of the highlights of my festival. I've never delved into poetry much but I went to see two poets at Latitude, Tim Key and JCC and both of them were funnier than most of the comedians in the comedy tent. JCC's humour was really my thing, dry, witty and utterly brilliant. He did some brilliant poems such as 'Things Are Gonna Get Worse' and 'Beasly Street' and I even managed to get a recording of the crowd favourite 'Evidently Chickentown'. JCC had been working with Plan B for the rapper's debut film 'Ill Manors' which was screened at Latitude. I took particular delight at, having this pointed out to me by my mate, the fifteen year old middle class kids rapping "You bloody rich kidz never listen", whilst sat with their 'mamma and pappa' sipping Pimms and snacking on artichoke hearts. (Well, maybe I made that last bit up...)



Evidently Chickentown (Live at Latitude Festival 2012) by Masonsoundcloud


Other Lives: Absolutely gutted to miss these, but hey, you win some... Other Lives - Tamer Animals

Perfume Genius: People were raving about this band after I missed them, luckily I went to see them a week ago in Leeds to make that right. Perfume Genius - Hood

Battles: I had only vaguely heard of them so I wasn't really tempted to venture in and see them, how foolish... Battles - Tonto

On the whole I think that weekend was the best edition of Latitude I'd been to, to date. Some of the moments watching some of the bands, I will take with me for a long time to come and look back on with much fondness. Apart from the usual overpriced food and shite British weather, there was nothing to complain about. Except for possibly being woken up in the early hours of the morning by the middle-class alarm clock of a man talking to his child "MONTY PUT THAT HAMMER DOWN!"

Mason.