The Right Connections

Indietracks Festival, Midland Butterly Railway nr. Ripley, Derbyshire, July 24-26 2009.

This was Parallax View's first visit to Indietracks, now in its third year of bringing the best of indiepop to the grounds of a vintage railway station at Midland Railway, Butterly, near Ripley in Derbyshire. It was a sign of the weekend to come that the person we end up sharing a taxi with from Alfreton train station was Ian who runs the How Does If Feel To Be Loved? disco in the marquee at the event. Everything, and indeed, everyone, seemed to be connected.

Even, to some degree, our good selves, as we make re-acquaintance with Dunc from The Autumn Store and badge-bestowing Simon of Sweeping The Nation fame in fairly quick order on entering the grounds, and bump into Liz from The School not long after. And who should we be following on our way to the bar but the unmistakeable derrieres of the girls from Au Revoir Simone? It was very much that kind of festival.

Friday night's fare was entirely on the outdoor stage, with the synths of Modular washing over us pleasantly before Rosay Pipette (hitherto to be referred to, of course, as Rose Elinor Dougall) strutted her new solo stuff to mostly impressive effect. There wasn't too much on show that screamed out 'hit record' but it was all engaging enough to foster the belief that if anyone can sell Stereolab-lite to the masses it's RED.

While waiting for ARS to get into gear, we managed to catch a few words with Alice Hubley from Arthur and Martha as she chatted to Dunc, consoling her on the rather snide NME review of A&M's new album which was excessively sniping with regards to her own vocal contributions. Heads turned immediately with the arrival of Au Revoir Simone, who put on a confident and mesmering show featuring the best from their three albums. There are those that bemoan their lack of stagecraft but with presence like theirs craft is made redundant and superflous, and latest album 'Still Night, Still Light' is arguably their most consistent disc to date.

Thus followed some dancing with Dunc, his gf Debbie, and the rest of the Autumn Store posse in the Lipstick On Your Collar! disco, during which Dead Kenny may or may not have been jumping up and down rather rigorously to The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart's 'Young Adult Friction' chanting 'don't check me out! don't check me out!' to anyone without an option but to listen. All in all, was a Good Friday, if not THE Good Friday, if you see what we mean.

Saturday sees our bleary blogging eyes facing the serious business of catching as many indiepop acts as possible while still remembering to cover the basics of eating, drinking and breathing. We catch the sun somewhat while waiting for Sucrette, who make up for their late appearance with some top-notch breathy J-Pop which would appeal in particular to fans of Annie's 'Anniemal'. We were less seduced by Tender Trap, whose harmonies only really tugged at our heartstrings during their newest number, but at least that means they're heading in the right direction. Also failed to be engaged by Friends on the Indoor Stage (otherwise known as The Loco Shed), while One Happy Island won us over with the sheer persistence of their energy and charm during their set in the same arena.



Danish troubadour Labrador was late finding the festival but provided soothing electro-folk to calm our savage breasts on a hot Saturday evening in The Church (a case of Pew! What A Scorcher! anyone?). This proved the calm before the storm of The Specific Heats at the same location, whose reverb mechanism blew up during the first song, amongst other technical mishaps, which did nothing but add to the feeling that this was one of the festival landmark events, with scorching surf guitar and sun-kissed melodies providing a perversely devilish good time in the 'sanctity' of The Church.

Some fresh air was certainly needed at that point, but a look at the long snaking queue of people waiting to see The Lovely Eggs suggested that we wouldn't be able to get back in a hurry. And so it proved, as we were left to paw at the Church window like poor little orphan boys on Christmas Day, to get a glimpse of the hotly-tipped popsters. From our disadvantaged vantage point, The Lovely Eggs looked and sounded un-beatable, before we whisked ourselves off to see The Frank And Walters, who were still playing mostly the same songs and (if memory serves us correctly) telling mostly the same jokes that they used to back in 1992. Pretty entertaining and endearing stuff, nevertheless.

We only really know one Speedmarket Avenue song, the pretty fantastic 'Way Better Now' so wasn't quite sure what to expect of the Stockholm collective. Perhaps the most surprising aspect was that the vocal duties were fairly evenly shared between the male and female singer, the latter's sheer blue tights certainly scorching themselves on our retinas. It was all rather lovely, much lovelier than the fact that the main toilets were in need of plumbing attention, which certainly challenged punters' temperaments in what was supposed to be the friendliest of festivals.

Our underpants tension was somewhat eased by the always comforting presence of Camera Obscura, with lead singer Tracyann Campbell looking never more glam as the band dispensed a crowd-pleasing set of gems like 'Let's Get Out Of This Country'; 'French Navy' and 'If Looks Could Kill', climaxing beautifully as usual with 'Razzle Dazzle Rose' as the sun set. Met back up with Dunc and Debbie at this stage who pass on the tidbit that Marisa from The Besties is about to do a debut solo set in the Marquee. Right on cue the lead singer from The Specific Heats then pops his head out of said tent and hollers to anything within earshot the very same headline news.

Although your bluffing blogger is aware of The Besties' cult status in indiepop circles, Marisa seems more recently and vividly familiar to us, until it clicks she played keys for The Specific Heats earlier. We just have time to congratulate The Specific Heats singer on his set (he's philosophical about the equipment blowing up as it's the last day of their European tour) before he was required to act as a human mic stand for the slightly embarrassed but genuinely endearing Marisa, who ran through some old Besties tunes and other stuff even though at least one of her keys wasn't working. The whole shebang had so much impromptu charm and bonhomie we swear if we were any more full of ourselves at this point we'd have had to empty ourselves out just for the pleasure of filling ourselves back up again.

This also served to fill the gap while (reputedly) Emmy The Great had to be rescued from some sort of motorway-related fiasco before her set at The Indoor Stage. Better late than never, as we always say here on Parallax View, and while we can't quite re-create the flush of love at first sight we initially felt for Emmy, it's a bold and entertaining show with an impressive cover of The Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind?' thrown into the mix for good measure. Outside, La Casa Azul are in turns bemusing and bewitching with an undeniably odd combination of pigeon English, dancepop and balladry, to a visual backdrop of Mario Brothers, 'virtual backing band' and other random bytes and bobs. It's hit and miss for our tastes, but there's no doubt his version of John Paul Young's 'Love Is In The Air' provides one of the truly joyously unifying moments of the festival weekend.

Night-time saw Ian's 'How Does It Feel To be Loved?' pop-disco ramming the Marquee to its rafters, so we had our hearts and feet stolen by Barcelona's Bonnie & Clyde in the Loco Shed instead. TPOBPAH's 'Young Adult Friction' again gets a showing, and thus also does our crap dancing in a session of hot, sweaty fun. Rumours of ex-NME journo Tim Jonze being on site to do a piece for The Guardian permeated the night air as the contented crowds dispersed.

Sunday morning started with a call from our friend Keef to say he's coming up for the day to catch up with the evening's headliners Teenage Fanclub. After watching the entrancing (but startlingly young) Bonne Idee in the Loco Shed, we meet up with Keef on the steam train where we're completely out of earshot of the drum-and-bass from The Manhattan Love Suicides announcing the band's split. We're back on solid ground in time for The School's afternoon slot on The Outdoor Stage, where Simon from The Loves does his best to steal the show from a stunning set of stellar choons new and old, with his drunken wit and repartee and blatant-lack-of-socks appeal, but it's the impression of a band truly starting to find its feet live that's the lingering impression.

It then began to rain, which probably suited Denmark's Northern Portrait as their efficient Scandinavian remodelling of The Smiths would suggest they're more than comfortable with all things Northern Miserabilism. Happily they're not short of decent tunes and the material seems grounded and heartfelt enough to resonate more deeply than mere pastiche, and they appeared to go down well with a visibly impressed Emma from Pocketbooks who was stood next to us throughout. We wished her well with her set later that day, to which she summarily dismissed us to the merchandise stand. Still, as Confucious might have said, better a girl who only brings her business head to the party than one who doesn't bring any head at all.

Was well and truly chucking it down by this time, but it didn't stop us from heading to see Lucky Soul on the Outdoor Stage to gawp at the singer in her short little mini-dress and to remark on how one of the LS geezers is indecently rocking the Blake Fielder-Civil look, as well as sway about a bit and tap our feet to their pretty fetching pop-soul sound. Meanwhile, it wasn't just the rain that saw people scampering into the merchandise tent, as there was a bit of a Talulah Gosh reunion going on, which was nice, even though we found ourselves distracted by congratulating Liz on her set and introducing Dunc and Simon to each other (the indiepop equivalent of Frost:Nixon, we're sure you'll agree).

Sunday became a bit of a rainy blur from this point on, catching 20 minutes of the always-entertaining The Smittens here and 20 minutes of Hong Kong In The 60s ambient pop there, and a set by the aforementioned Pocketbooks that became increasingly compelling as the show went on, and we're sure Emma (who sports a haircut that makes her look a bit like Helen Marnie from Ladytron) would thank us for pointing out that their excellent album 'Flight Paths' is available for retail and download from all the usual outlets, now.

What else? Ah yes, Stereo Total were something of a rowdy revelation, featuring an impromptu performance from Birmingham's very own David Leach on harmonising, and a vaguely riotous stage invasion providing a feelgood finale. One-man NZ act Disasteradio gurned his way gloriously through a frenetic set of electronic gloopy loopiness, keeping Keef's son Joe suitably fascinated throughout. Some fishcake and chips in Johnson's Cafe later, Art Brut are their usual entertaining selves, even though their rockstar shapes and boisterous, slightly shambolic wit does lose its novelty value after a while. Nice of them to namecheck MJ Hibbett, though.

Which just left us with the minor details of your hustling hack falling flat on his back on the wet grass and a mighty, mighty closing performance from Teenage Fanclub which included a couple of new songs (one was called 'The Falls', we think) and plenty of the best from what we sometimes forget is a splendidly impressive back catalogue. Not only is everything and everybody connected, but, as TFC remind us to a cavalcade of chiming guitars, Everything Flows.

If You Freeze Tomorrow, Come Back Lucky

With light snow forecast for the next 24 hours, the above lyrics are good enough excuse to make Ladytron's 'Tomorrow' Parallax View Single Of The Week. Not that we need an excuse, as the song is ace, the video is beautiful, and 'sides which, it's our website and we rule!



Some gig reviews and a match report imminent, 'til then, keep it PV!

Parallax View Albums Of The Year 2008

Further apologies for the recent gap in transmission, but to get things moving again here's our rundown of the best albums released in the UK for the first time in 2008. We can't pretend to have heard all of the albums released in the time period, but of those we did these were the best, and in this precise order.

1. VELOCIFERO - LADYTRON
2. Stainless Style - Neon Neon
3. Santogold -Santogold
4. Fed - Plush
5. Stay Positive - The Hold Steady
6. Youth Novels - Lykke Li
7. Alas I Cannot Swim - Laura Marling
8. Hold On Now Youngster - Los Campesinos!
9. Dear Science - TV On The Radio
10. You & Me - The Walkmen
11. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
12. Seventh Tree - Goldfrapp
13. Alpinisms - School Of Seven Bells
14. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
15. We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed - Los Campesinos!
16. Only By The Night - Kings Of Leon
17. Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
18. In Our Spacehero Suits - Those Dancing Days
19. "Couples" - The Long Blondes
20. Kensington Heights - Constantines
21. Neptune - The Duke Spirit
22. Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
23. Fortress Around My Heart - Ida Maria
24. For Emma Forever Ago - Bon Iver
25. Box Of Secrets - Blood Red Shoes
26. El Rey - The Wedding Present
27. Knowle West Boy - Tricky
28. Blood Looms and Blooms - Leila
29. Thomas Tantrum - Thomas Tantrum
30. Oceans Will Rise - The Stills
31. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
32. Oracular Spectacular - MGMT
33. Reality Check - The Teenagers
34. Chemical Chords - Stereolab
35. Waited Up 'Til It Was Light - Johnny Foreigner
36. X Marks Destination - The Whip
37. Nouns - No Age
38. HLLLH - The Mae Shi
39. Rosie and the Goldbug - Rosie and the Goldbug
40. Falling Off The Lavender Bridge - Lightspeed Champion

Feel free to use the comments facility below to vent your spleen or link to your own list(s).

Fez Fayre

Ladytron/Asobi Seksu, Kasbah, Primrose Hill Street, Coventry, Saturday November 15 2008, 7.30pm.

And so Dead Kenny sent himself to Coventry at the weekend, despite dire warnings of what your electropoppin' eejit might find there, and discovered that twenty-seven years on from The Specials No.1 hit single, this town's still comin' like a Ghost Town. But luckily also found that the Kasbah was a cool, funky oasis cunningly hidden therein, and kept the Aegean theme continuous with a cheeky chow-down beforehand at nearby World Kebab.

Being used to Birmingham's sweltering Academy venues where the bands regularly ruminate on the ghastly heat, it came as something of a cultural shock to see the guitarist from support act Asobi Seksu having to repeatedly blow into his hands before getting the set started. Reassuring that even glacial popsters don't like the air-conditioning set at antarctic levels, don't you think?

Fortunately things warmed up soon enough with Yuki Chikudate's sweet, ethereal but surprisingly robust singing melting hearts while the rest of the band contributed significant power surges to provide the shoegazing post-rock equivalent to global warming. Entrancing stuff, mainly taken from last year's bittersweet confection 'Citrus', given a light dusting of catharsis when Chikudate whipped off her plaid overshirt, muscled the drummer out of the way and pounded the skins for the set coda. Fans of Cocteau Twins and Lush who haven't yet explored Asobi Seksu (Japanese for playful sex, if you believe Wikipedia) should make amends with immediate effect.

By the time headliners, and lest ye forget, Britain's Best Pop Band (Ever?)(TM), Ladytron made the stage, the Turkish-themed club was filling out and a warm glow was starting to radiate amongst the expectant crowd. The girls were dressed in tasteful black satin as they joined Danny and Reuben on stage to the instrumental intro from third album 'Witching Hour', and two distinctive trends emerged very quickly as the set developed. Firstly, it is Mira Aroyo who takes on the role of talking (albeit in soft, quiet tones) between songs, and also the set (perhaps reflecting the balance of latest album Velocifero) sees a much more equal share of vocal chores between her and Helen Marnie than on the 'Witching Hour' shows.

Ladytron even had the confidence to drop in the superlative 'Seventeen' midway through the show rather than saving it for once-inevitable encore (the majestic 'Destroy Everything You Touch' got that honour). 'Seventeen' is still (rightly) a highlight of the show but it blended in better with the entire oeuvre in its central slot, with recent singles Ghosts and Runaway meeting equivalent approval from the mostly sharp and stylish crowd. Not all of the live interpretations particularly worked for your sceptical scribe however, the intricate melody and sentiment of 'International Dateline' near drowned in a drum-heavy treatment, and 'Deep Blue' making a late recovery from a muted, murky intro.

But Mira, Mira, as Dead Kenny is the fairest blogger of 'em all, he'll conclude on the hugely positive note that the snaky hypnotics of 'Black Cat' and 'Season Of Illusions' were the biggest revelations of the night, both in terms of their rendition and reception. The otherness of these songs may be a more difficult sell commercially, but perversely give them an edge over their rivals. Nobody's ever done better what Ladytron do, and doubtless no-one ever will, and how many of their contemporaries can you say that about?

Great Escape

Apologies for the gap in transmission, but what better way to return than with Parallax View pet soundsters Ladytron and their latest single from luscious fourth album Velocifero? The marvellous Mira Aroyo in particular has never looked more alluring than in the stripey promo, all adding to the sense of a Runaway success, and inevitably, Parallax View Single Of The Week.

Tues Life

Just a brief bulletin to mention that Elbow won the Mercury Music Prize; introduce you to London's boy/girl arch-angular types Lux Lisbon; point you in the direction of Weebl and Bob destroying everything Ladytron touched in not safe for work adult animation (via Sweeping The Nation) and urge reading of RussL's spectacularly belated Supersonic 08 review.

Oh, and Anja's writing everyday now. You know what to do.

Half Term Report

The Parallax View pick of the best albums released in the UK for the first time between January 1 and June 30 of the year 2008. To clarify, Yeasayer's mighty 'All Hour Cymbals', which would have been a shoo-in for the Top 10, has not been included because it was released in November 2007, even though it didn't receive wider exposure until it's re-release in Spring. Similarly, new releases in July by the likes of The Hold Steady, Leila and Tricky will have to wait until December's year-end list (we're sure they're all cool about this in their own distinctive ways).

We can't pretend to have heard every single qualifying release, but of those we did, these were the best -

1. VELOCIFERO - LADYTRON
2. Santogold - Santogold
3. Stainless Style - Neon Neon
4. Youth Novels - Lykke Li
5. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
6. Alas I Cannot Swim - Laura Marling
7. Hold On Now, Youngster - Los Campesinos!
8. Seventh Tree - Goldfrapp
9. Neptune - The Duke Spirit
10. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver
11. "Couples" - The Long Blondes
12. El Rey - The Wedding Present
13. Nouns - No Age
14. Waited Up 'Til Light - Johnny Foreigner
15. Falling Off The Lavender Bridge - Lightspeed Champion
16. Reality Check - The Teenagers
17. Box Of Secrets - Blood Red Shoes
18. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
19. X Marks Destination - The Whip
20. We Started Nothing - The Ting Tings

The usual disclaimers apply. Bad luck to some decent albums by the likes of MGMT, The Mae Shi and Isobel Campbell/Mark Lanegan for just missing the cut. Please use the comments box for feedback, vitriol, kudos, whatever.

Parallax Jukebox

20 tunes to celebrate the fact the sun's not just got its' hat on, but is wearing it at a rather jaunty angle. Number One on the jukebox is released as a single this week, and therefore can be considered Parallax View Single Of The Week, with the artist(e) no doubt celebrating this honour when touring at the end of the month!

1. L.E.S. Artistes - Santogold
2. I'm Good I'm Gone - Lykke Li
3. Homecoming - The Teenagers
4. Black And Gold - Sam Sparro
5. Sirens - The Whip
6. Century - The Long Blondes
7. I Lust U - Neon Neon
8. Alice Practice - Crystal Castles
9. My Sunken Treasure - The Duke Spirit
10. Black Cat - Ladytron
11. Cross My Fingers - Laura Marling
12. Midnight Man - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
13. Cerrone Cologne Houdini - Goldfrapp
14. You're On My Fighting Side - Lacrosse
15. Paper Planes (MIA cover) - Panda Riot
16. Don't Look Down - Flaxenby
17. Profile - StRANGEtIME
18. Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks - Los Campesinos!
19. Clash - Victoria and Jacob
20. I Can't Do Anything - Strawberry Fair

Quality In Spectres

New Ladytron material gives us goosebumps at the best of times, so finding that the opening single from new album Velocifero is called Ghosts and can be downloaded right now via the Perpetua inspiration that is Fluxblog has us more than pleasantly spooked. The Liverpool-based foursome, Britain's Best Pop Band Ever? (TM), have had something like three songs make 41 in the charts, so will this spine-tingler have the phantom power to finally break them in to the Top 40?

Not being Nostredamus, we're not sure. But what we do know is that the gorgeous Ghosts has possessed us to enough to earn Parallax View Single Of The Week a good while ahead of its retail release.

Feb And Groovy

In which we empty our pockets of loose change. Spend it wisely, readers!

In response to a request from Ben as to where you can get hands on a copy of David Byrne's cover of The Fiery Furnaces' 'Ex-Guru' here's a link to the mp3 and also details on how you can buy a copy of this goofy goodness.

Sweetness And Light:The Miki Berenyi Interview 2008. Miki's still so fine at 40, and contributing to a couple of new records (via Sweeping The Nation).

Steel yourself for the Iron Man trailer.

Yow, that's gotta hurt: Qui frontman David Yow hospitalised with collapsed lung.

Jack Nicholson on seduction:: 'I don't do any tricks. It's just animal magnetism.'

Chris Cleave's excellent novel Incendiary which features a troubled young woman learning to cope with losing her husband and child in a terrorist atrocity at an Arsenal game, has been made into a feature film starring Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor that premiered at last month's Sundance Film Festival.

The Constantines release a new album Kensington Heights through Arts & Crafts on April 15.

Sad news emerging this month that the great J G Ballard has advanced prostate cancer.

This sad, too: Roy Scheider RIP.

RussL re-designed.

Health Warning: Don't Try This At Home.

Birmingham-based circus artiste Emilia Arata (picture borderline safe for work) supplied the eye candy for last month's Big Brother Celebrity Takeover yawnfest.

A cautious recommendation to What I Killed Today, in which a vet eulogises the animals he's euthanised. (via LMG)

On a much happier note it's full speed ahead for a new Ladytron album, entitled Velocifero, due out on Nettwerks Records on June 3.

And finally, a new music tip for 2008, in the shape of Laura Groves. Missed the 20-year-old Shipley lass's show last night at the Bearded Magazine launch party in Birmingham's Sunflower Lounge, but these songs on her MySpace page are striking and distinctive. The Kate Bush comparisons are inevitable, but, for once, pertinent.

Gig review ketchup soon, you saucy devils.

Londres List

London, March 25 2006.

So, wake up the next morning from the late night with Ladytron to find myself a stone's throw from the Dan Flavin retrospective at Hayward Gallery. This exploration of light and colour has been widely touted amongst the broadsheets as London's current best cultural cure for hangover, so give it a try, and while it's difficult not to be impressed by the minimalist power of some of the installations, can't help but conclude that, with an entrance fee of £7.50, a couple of tabs of Nurofen would've been cheaper.

Then go and see Alexandre (Switchblade Romance) Aja's remake of Wes Craven's horror classic, The Hills Have Eyes. The first half of the film is promising, and the nuclear radiation-testing theme is subtle but integral, yet killing off the most sympathetic character half-way through might seem like a clever idea but leaves the film to carry you quite a long way with people you care little about. Maybe it's just being the wrong side of 40, but Dead Kenny finds himself increasingly desensitised to this kind of slick, relentless gorefest - when your own mortality and that of those you care about is painfully plain before your eyes it's difficult to get too excited about overpaid phallocentric geeks playing around with special FX. Smart performance from Vinessa Shaw, though, who's always worth watching.

Meet up with Tim early evening, who gives me a quick tour of some of London's historic pubs via some disused wharfs, which look the sort of wastegrounds where gangsters take their victims for a quick beating. Dead Kenny half-expects to hear the squealing tyres of a motor and a gang of brutes heading in his direction to cosh him over the head for one tepid review of an upcoming indie band too many. Thankfully, this doesn't happen, but we do bump into a nice Los Angelene Nick Nolte look-a-like in The Mayflower, who needs his pretty blonde wife to explain that camembert is 'a kind of French cheese' (bien sur, the waiter surrenders).

Everything You Do Is Never Enough

A Late Night With Ladytron, Ether Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, Friday March 24 2006.

This is it. Dead Kenny's finally been rumbled, and it feels good. Mira Aroyo is heading in his direction, a beaming smile of recognition on her face, clearly fizzing with excitement at some delicious bit of news or gossip she is about to impart to her biggest blogging admirer. However, with the just the briefest bemused glance at your correspondent, she brushes past to a clearly more deserving geezer standing just behind him. Foiled again! But don't despair too heartily, dear readers, because just as Groucho Marx didn't want to be a member of any club who'd have him, Dead Kenny prefers his distant icequeen crushes to be too busy translating genetics seminars in twenty different languages before quaffing LCD crystal cocktails and then engaging in non-stop roborumpy with anatomically correct sexbots to have time to stop for smalltalk with sweaty fanboys. And to be just a pre-Raphaelite curl's breadth away from greatness certainly adds an extra frisson for what is already shaping up to be a sensational evening's entertainment.

Shaking, if not yet stirred, knock back a double Jack Daniels while watching the first act, Tetine, (imagine the Brazilian equivalents to Eminem and Peaches) warm things up with an energetic and downright rude combination of sleazy electro, slamming hip-hop and performance video. Standout song is 'Lick My Favela' which my cunning linguistics department translates as being quite possibly just as pervy as it sounds.

Wander into the Purcell Room where there's an 'eccentric' Russian busker guy by the name of 386DX goofing around with his laptop while miming his(?) street covers of Nirvana songs and sundry other rock classics. It's entertaining in a wtf? kind of way, but some guy who looks suspiciously like Chris Morris is lurking around behind the curtains which gives me the uneasy feeling this is some kind of set-up to have a good laugh on C4 about how gloriously gullible South Bank crowds can be when succumbing to DIY kitsch.

Feel a bit silly about the last concern when the guy who looks like Chris Morris turns out to be the next act on - Candie Hank (not a name to bandied around too freely in the land of rhyming slang), a 'Cologne-based lo-fi electro rock pioneer' who used to be part of Digital Hardcore. There's nothing too revolutionary about what he's doing, but he does manage to liven things up somewhat before people inevitably drift off to take their seats nextdoor for headliners Ladytron. 'Hey! where are you going?'demands our lo-fi electro rock pioneer, 'DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!' Just to remind you, his name is Candie Hank: sweet name, sour puss. Or maybe it really is Chris Morris, after all!

And so, squeeze into my seat just as Ladytron start off their set from the lofty heights of latest album opener 'High Rise'. The audience seems more male, and more specifically more gay male, than regional shows your correspondent has attended, while Ladytron are sporting their same outfits and play pretty much the same set as their Birmingham show back in October. But that's OK with Dead Kenny as he likes those outfits (they probably have an army of roboslaves who lick their laundry clean each and every night) and loves the set, which finds 'Witching Hour' heavily represented and Aroyo's turn on 'Fighting In Built-Up Areas' again the startling revelation. The way the rhythm coils itself around your celebral cortex is probably the nearest sonic equivalent to orgasm by proxy of near-asphyxiation - just when you feel the song will never let go it finally leaves you in a puddled jelly of your own excitement (we trust the cleaners get paid double time).

There are three encores (including the outstanding 'Last Man Standing') before the predictably brilliant finale of 'Seventeen' when Aroyo and an increasingly ecstatic Helen Marnie (who is developing into a sufficiently sexy siren to give Alison Goldfrapp a rum catfight for her electropop glamqueen crown) join forces to sing possibly the greatest, simplest, pop classic of the Parallax View era. Nobody wants it to end, and quite frankly it very nearly doesn't as they manage to stretch that hook over something like a dozen spiralling minutes. Anybody complaining, though, should be thrown to the alligators, quite frankly.

Back out in the foyer, Tetine come on to play another set. Well, actually, it's the same set as before, but nobody seems to mind, and with an additional few hours' worth of alcoholic fuel in their systems the audience is considerably more appreciative and mobile, so much so the Sao Paulo electrosex combo start tossing promo CDs around like frisbees. Dead Kenny used to be a rubbish slip fielder so he goes home happy but empty-handed - they'll have to lick their own favelas tonight after all, then.

Ether Awe

What better way to spend a crisp spring Friday evening than watching Jimi Tenor and his Big Band perform a live score to William Klein's pop-art superhero spoof Mr Freedom (1969)?

In further cooler-than-a-polar-bear-abseiling-down-the-arctic-shelf news, the fun doesn't stop there at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as a late night with Ladytron offers a party until well after the Witching Hour.

Part of March's Ether season at the QEH, Dead Kenny recommends grabbing some tickets before they disappear into thin air.

But seeing as March 24 is still a long way away for you to anticipate your multiple eargasms, here's some quick links to keep you occupied in the meantime -

Ron Greenwood RIP. The man who made the Hammers what they are today.

Hmmm...Blog Pie.

Kate Beckinsale Makes It Hard (borderline safe-for-work).

Fearne Cotton's MySpace profile. She likes The Beat-Up and she wants children someday.

Does really really disliking The Arctic Monkeys make me a bad person?

Grandaddy hang their slippers up. Sad, but sensible.

Will this blog change your life?

To wrap things up, a little night music: Broken Social Scene on Conan O'Brien.

Parallax View Albums Of The Year 2005

1. Witching Hour - Ladytron
2. Silent Alarm - Bloc Party
3. Funeral - The Arcade Fire
4. More Adventurous - Rilo Kiley
5. So Jealous - Tegan and Sara
6. Capture/Release - The Rakes
7. Set Yourself On Fire - Stars
8. Fall Heads Roll - The Fall
9. Grab That Gun - The Organ
10. The Heartlight Set - Joy Zipper
11. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
12. Take Fountain - The Wedding Present
13. Superwolf - Matt Sweeney/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
14. Tournament Of Hearts - The Constantines
15. Devils And Dust - Bruce Springsteen
16. Engineers - Engineers
17. Guero - Beck
18. Clor - Clor
19. Cripple Crow - Devendra Banhart
20. EP - The Fiery Furnaces
21. We Have Sound - Tom Vek
22. Tales from Turnpike House - Saint-Etienne
23. Fisherman's Woman - Emiliana Torrini
24. The Back Room - Editors
25. The Woods - Sleater-Kinney
26. Waiting For The Sirens' Call - New Order
27. Face The Truth - Stephen Malkmus
28. The Others - The Others
29. Cuts Across The Land - The Duke Spirit
30. Dirty Words - The Departure
31. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes
32. Man-Made - Teenage Fanclub
33. Into The Woods - Malcolm Middleton
34. Rehearsing My Choir - The Fiery Furnaces
35. The Secret Migration - Mercury Rev
36. Anniemal - Annie
37. Open Season - British Sea Power
38. Ambulance LTD - Ambulance LTD
39. Wide Awake It's Morning - Bright Eyes
40. Never Say Goodnight - The Havenots
41. Verses Of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation - Au Revoir Simone
42. Where The Humans Eat - Willy Mason
43. Tesri - Barbara Morgenstern/Robert Lippok
44. Peddlin' Dreams - Maria McKee
45. Push The Button - The Chemical Brothers
46. Warnings/Promises - Idlewild
47. A Certain Trigger - Maximo Park
48. Axes - Electrelane
49. The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
50. The Alternative To Love - Brendon Benson

Ursine Of The Times

51 Breaks/When Bears Attack/The Graham Parsnip Liquidiser Torture Thinktank (Project), A Different Kettle Of Fish, Flapper & Firkin, Birmingham, Tuesday 11 October 2005.

The issue with attending gigs on consecutive nights remains that there's a palpable danger of nosediving from the sublime to the ridiculous within a pitlessly short space of time. And thus within 24 hours of gazing at Mira Aroyo of Ladytron (see full review) and contemplating everything from genetics to the frustrations of international dating to a frosted soundtrack of sleek, dynamic electropop, Dead Kenny is now chombling on a chocolate bourbon faced with an overweight and balding gentleman playing the keyboards in nothing but a pair of huge royal blue underpants and a t-shirt emblazoned with Phil Collins' gurning physiog. Yes, that's right, it's another Different Kettle Of Fish as organised by Birmingham's Branson (he hasn't got an airship yet, but Dead Kenny hears he is a demon with paper planes) and the band concerned is (deep breath) The Graham Parsnip Liquidiser Torture Think-Tank Project whose lead singer looks like a chubbier version of legendary Sportsnight presenter David Vine, and is now running around the dancefloor like a lunatic pretending to be a trout. No doubt when the band are rightly booked to play student halls and works functions up and down the country, many otherwise sensible ladies and gentlemen will be minded to join in on the latest fishy-fingered dance craze. This will hitherto be known as The Trout Task Replica. The GPLTTTP (as they like to be known) aren't one-trick ponies though, they also have songs about Psycho Dave, local earthquakes and one man's unnatural love for agricultural plant machinery ('un, deux, trois...it's TRACTOR LOVE'). All deeply, deeply silly and they probably shouldn't be encouraged! Try telling that to StrangeTime's Kate Finch, though, who's greasing the axles of their egos with banter throughout the show.

Next up are When Bears Attack who might sound like a ropey late-night show on Five but are in fact a collection of local misfits who've been around the Midlands gigging scene for several years and are at the forefront of integrating the trombone into the post-rock musical vernacular. The interesting thing is that the use of the trombone seems like the least odd aspect of the band, who count amongst their number an accomplished guitarist who is wearing a porkpie hat and looks like the missing link between Stan Ogden and Tony Hancock, and a lead singer who emotes with a fury that seems about to explode from his wiry frame like an alien monster from his concave chest. 'They're a bit like The Fall, don't you think?' ponders The Prykemeister, and far be it for me to quibble with the Second City's pre-eminent cultural diarist, but Dead Kenny wouldn't quite go that far, although they definitely have something going for them, an indefinable oddball appeal. The lead singer really needs to think though about how to keep his glasses on his face while his limbs are contorting and flailing as Dead Kenny's concentration was found wavering with concern at the safety of his delicate optical equipment while all internal hell was being let loose. When Bears Attack, then: give them some contact lenses and they'll be dangerous. As dangerous as wild bears. ROWWWWRRRR!

Slotted in as last-minute replacements for {Hooker} are 51 Breaks, four Birmingham lads who immediately raise the hackles of Dead Kenny by being younger and better-looking than your correspondent (what were the odds on that, eh?). Ben's not happy, either, as spotting the bassist's Kasabian t-shirt sets his face into a permascowl not lifted until somebody gets the next round in. The lead singer plays keyboards and there will be obvious comparisons to the likes of Keane and Coldplay, their songs proving melodious but not especially memorable. Dead Kenny is ready to dismiss them with the notion that they need to do more work on carving their own identity, when a strange thing happens during their last two or three numbers: 51 Breaks snap to it and do just that, or maybe it's just the accumulated sugar rush of all that alcohol and chocolate biscuits on his damaged neural membranes.

Serve The Servelans!

Ladytron/Battant, Carling Academy 2, Birmingham, Monday October 10 2005.

Support act Battant are new to these ears, but they have just released their debut single and don't seem short of confidence as they get into their stride quickly with some uptempo and decidely dancefloor-friendly material. The lead singer (whose looks are very much in the Sheena Easton/Anna Friel mode) has a powerful voice (bordering on harsh, at times) which sits unusually with the mostly trip-hop instrumentation of her two band-mates (who are much older and appear to need to wash their hair more often) so Dead Kenny would like to listen to them more on record before making a final decision on their likely longevity. Standout track on this first exposure, however, would be 'The Countess' which clipped along at a fair old beat, and might yet earn them a few royalty cheques.

Quite a long wait in between bands, during which your correspondent spends most of the time enthralled by the 'tron roadies busying away like boffins (you'd be surprised how much time it takes to plug in a few retro keyboards!). However, a brief and cursory crowdwatch reveals a roughly 50:50 split between those that have spent hours getting ready with the dressing-up box and scruffy young men with hopeful expressions on their faces. Will leave you to decide which camp(!) Dead Kenny belongs in, but these suspenders are leaving a welt in his left thigh and the dry ice is playing awful havoc with the kohl.

Such concerns are cast to one side, however, with the entrance of Ladytron who start the set with 'High-Rise', which is the sound of a flotilla of Thunderbird 2s raining napalm pods down on the sources of all evil. This is the opening track on third studio album Witching Hour which is the best record to soundtrack your autumn/winter season or else Dead Kenny will chow down on Maggie Thatcher's snatch. It's two-and-a-half years since Parallax View asked the question Is this Britain's Best Pop Band Ever? and 'Witching Hour' represents the group's irrevocable and near-dismissive answer: containing sleek, mesmerising songs pulsing with verve and majestry, it's a number one record in all universes except the known ones.

The brown boiler-suit uniforms from their last visit to Birmingham are ditched for more bespoke tailoring this time around - former model Helen Marnie looking sensational in a shimmering, tightly-fitted black dress (cut just below the knee, fashion fact fans) and black mid-calf boots while Mira Aroyo has chosen to soften her ice-queen look with pre-Raphaelite curls and a tunic-style outfit (cut just above the knee and discreetly slashed to mid-thigh) giving her the appearance of a space pixie, or at the very least a particularly game crew member of Blake's 7. Danny and Reuben are too far at the back to see what they're wearing in any detail, but let's be honest, you're not interested in their apparel, and with songs as immense as 'Destroy Everything You Touch' and 'Sugar' to concentrate on, that judgement is sound.

The set is heavily laced with songs from their new album (Witching Hour, in stores now, if you're struggling to keep up) although sadly 'White Light Generator' and Beauty*2 miss out on an airing. The singles from 'Light & Magic' keep up the all-killer feel, while 'Playgirl' and a fetching version of 'He Took Her To A Movie' represent debut platter '604'. The girls are in unusually outstanding voice in a live setting, Helen Marnie in particular really making an effort to engage with the audience (again not something you usually associate with Ladytron) while Mira Aroyo's spellbinding turn on 'Fighting In Built-Up Areas' helps raise the profile of one of the less 'obvious' songs on the record. Reuben puts a lot of energy into his Korg keyboardwork while Danny seems happy to assume 'the Bill Wyman position' (pre-Mandy Smith days, natch) in the background, basking in the reflected glory of what is building up to be an outstanding set of songs.

For encore, we get 'The Last One Standing', slightly slower of tempo but with an undeniably catchy chorus and plenty of soaring 'aaah-AAAHs' for Helen to tease her tonsils around. This is followed, inevitably, by 'Seventeen', a song of such simple but unutterable genius (and Dead Kenny never uses the word genius lightly) that Lennon and McCartney would have drunk each other's piss to have written it. Helen and Mira join each other at the middle of the stage for some slinky, synchronised moves as they deliver the devastating lines of a tune that acts like a serotonin virus that just keeps on giving.

You can hoist Dead Kenny on the petard of his own hyperbole if you wish to worship instead at the altars of Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Babyshambles et al. But despite their lack of commercial recognition it is more important than ever to keep believing in Ladytron. To give up on them now would be to relinquish all hope of a perfect future of flying cars, unlimited space travel and guiltless pleasure, not to mention a Gerry Anderson afterlife.

Hot Puppies, Jumping Guppies, Art Brut Quirky*

Art Brut/The Hot Puppies, Birmingham Bar Academy, Wednesday October 5 2005.

The train to Birmingham is delayed for 25 minutes so miss out on the opportunity to see the first support act The Chalets** (more of whom, briefly, later) but have just enough time for a pint of Grolsch (the Carling Bar Academy has, erm, sold out of Carling) to slake the thirst before The Hot Puppies emerge panting on stage. Dogs die in hot bars, but this five-piece from Aberystwyth, comprising two girls (vocals and keyboards/backing vocals) and three blokes (guitar, bass, drums) produce unusual but undeniably melodic indiepop that had Dead Kenny's tail wagging for the half-hour set duration. But try as hard as you can, it's difficult to avoid referencing the dreaded 'C' word, because with belting Welsh female vocals singing catchy tunes like these everyone will be slipping into Catatonia comparisons. The Hot Puppies release a double A-side single 'Terry/Love In Practice Not Theory' on Fierce Panda offshoot Label Fandango records on November 7, Dead Kenny secured himself an advance copy and can confirm it's an astonishingly good calling card, so be prepared to wind your windows down and take a listen. The fresh air will really do you some good.

Art Brut may be having almost as much trouble as the criminally-neglected Ladytron in terms of troubling the chart compilers, but at least their supporters in the crowd have developed a terrace-anthem style chant of their own ('Art Brut! Top Of The Pops!' ad infinitum) so that must be something of a consolation to them. Dead Kenny declines to participate as he's concentrating very hard on not looking at the two glamorous young women who've pushed in front of him and started snogging furiously. The things people will do to get themselves mentioned on a Parallax View crowdwatch sub-feature! This is the price of success, dear readers, and it hurts, I tell thee.

And so to Art Brut, whose debut album Bang Bang Rock 'n' Roll received a pretty good critical response, although Dead Kenny isn't yet completely decided about it as it sounds more like a collection of songs rather than a cohesive, organic whole that is greater than the sum of its' parts (comparing unfavourably in this respect to their contemporaries The Rakes' surprisingly sensational 'Capture/Release'). In a live setting, however, the ebullient charisma of born show-off Eddie Argos (looking more and more like Boris Anakov from Striker) and the simple fun of some of the lyrics and tunes helps to counterbalance reservations about the limited range and depth of the material. Entertaining stuff in the main, then, and with at least a couple of songs ('Rusted Guns From Milan' and 'Emily Kane') which point towards a more interesting future, even though deep down I strongly suspect Argos may have a greater future as something like an Xfm presenter rather than Mark E Smith's natural successor.

Towards the end of the set Dead Kenny drifts away from the lipstick lesbians in search of his last snifter from the bar, to find the Carling Bar Academy bar (which never sells bitter) has now run out of all draught lagers as well! Decide to sip on a bottle of Smirnoff Ice (the source of many a headache and bad decision in the past) but any sulking is mitigated by finding himself stood behind two attractive women, including a rather striking brunette in glasses and polka-dot style dress. Your correspondent is just about to make his move when Eddie Argos bellows out 'The Chalets! Top Of The Pops!' and my intended turns to her friend and mock-gasps 'Aww! HE LOVES US!!!'. Sensibly sensing his depth displacement, and mindful of the disapproval of the Witness Protection Programme should he be found cavorting with celebrities, Dead Kenny makes his excuses and leaves.

* with apologies to Prefab Sprout
** dead kenny is pretty sure it was the chalets although their official site makes no mention of the gig, can anyone confirm or deny?

Diary Arrears

Well, if you're sitting in front of a computer on a sunny Saturday afternoon in September, you're clearly in need of some ideas as to what do with yourself. The good news is that, with the students soon to get their filthy hands on their grant money, there's really no shortage and no excuses.

So here we go with Dead Kenny's cut-and-paste cultural diary for this autumn in the UK. And yes, you're allowed to take notes -

Sept 24 (tonight) The second series of Jed Mercurio's fine hospital drama Bodies starts on BBC2.

Sept 26 - Sin City and The Edukators out on R2 DVD to buy or rent.

Also on this date Battle release their brilliant second single 'Demons' (you can stream the video from their official site). Parallax View Single Of The Week for next week, obviously.

Sept 27 - Weirdo popsters The Research play Birmingham Bar Academy, with highly-rated Piskie Sits in support.

Sept 30 - David Cronenberg's A History Of Violence opens nationwide (following selected preview showings this weekend). Surreal French boarding-school drama Innocence opens in London.

Also on this date Dogs play Birmingham Barfly.

Oct 1 - The Fall embark on their biggest UK tour in recent memory, ahead of the release a few days later of their new album Fall Heads Roll on Slogan Records.

Oct 3 - Britain's Best Pop Band Ever (TM) Ladytron release their long-awaited third album (and first for Island Records) 'Witching Hour'.

Oct 5 - Art Brut bring their eccentric shouty sideshow to Brum Bar Academy, with The Hot Puppies in support.

Oct 7 - The seven-year itch is over as Bret Easton Ellis' Lunar Park is finally published in the UK.

This is also the date for the rearranged Strange Time/Sinistra gig downstairs at Scruffy Murphy's in Birmingham (3 mins. walk under the bridge from Bar Academy).

Oct 10 - Ladytron's UK tour reaches Birmingham Academy 2.

Oct 14 - opening night for the Carling Academy in Newcastle. Sunderland nuisances The Futureheads play to a sell-out crowd.

Oct 17 - With Love And Squalor the debut album from We Are Scientists gets its UK release. Noisy enough for the metal kids, tuneful enough to appeal to indie fans and with enough dark, dry humour to appeal to twisted folk everywhere, they could be this season's breakthrough alternative act.

Oct 26 - The Fall tour reaches Wolves Wulfrun Hall. John Cooper-Clarke is in support (he was big news back in the days you never saw a nipple in the Daily Express). You could decide not to go, but don't expect anyone to ever take you seriously again. Ever.

Oct 28 - Kate Bush's first new single in eleven years King Of The Mountain hits the shelves. Heard this for the first time last night on Roundtable on 6Music, sounded relatively straightforward by Kate's standards, but it's lovely to have her back.

Nov 1 - The Possibility Of An Island by Michel Houellebecq is published in the UK. Dead Kenny is liking what he's read of it so far.

Nov 7 - Be prepared to receive Kate Bush's comeback album Aerial. It's a double album, as well. Peace breaks out etc.

Nov 12 - Inspired double-bill of Sleater-Kinney and The Constantines play Leeds Cockpit tonight. I predict a riot of tunefulness.

OK that's yer lot, as Dead Kenny's crystal balls have dropped, right on his big toe and it hurts almost as much as the staggering hypocrisy of the fashion industry. Have a good weekend. We'll be asking questions later.

No Moss, But Plenty Of Gathering

Welcome to another Parallax View linkdump, more fun than coked-up lesbian sex with a celebrated supermodel. Or so our maid tells us.

First up, bread-sniffing bibliophile Jay McInerny defends the use of fiction in a post-9/11 world. Frederic Beigbeder's Windows On The World and Chris Cleave's Incendiary, both recently reviewed here on PV, are amongst those namechecked.

Staying with literature, here's an A-Z of popular culture by Michel Houellebecq. Dead Kenny has taken delivery just this morning of an uncorrected proof of Houellebecq's latest novel Island so it should be read, digested and reviewed in time for its' UK publication date of November 1.

Meanwhile, Ben reviews last Saturday's Stephen Malkmus/Clor angular popfest at Brum Academy 2 so PV doesn't have to, which is just as well as he recalls stuff that Dead Kenny doesn't even remember forgetting. Clor were fine as ever, though not everybody gets them, in the way that some people don't 'get' good manners or Jack Daniel's. Those freaks! Malkmus, meanwhile, had the vaguely creepy air of self-assurance most commonly found in multinational CEOs, looking around the audience between songs in such a way that Dead Kenny was in dread he'd shine a spotlight on some poor twerp in the crowd and ask him in-depth questions about his song lyrics to check they were paying attention. All's well that ends with an encore of 'Do Not Feed The Oyster', however.

This week's Parallax View Single Of The Week is Destroy Everything You Touch by Britain's Best Pop Band Ever(TM) Ladytron. But, of course it is, how could you have ever considered otherwise?! Includes a 2005 reworking of Parallax View Single Of The Year (2002 vintage) 'Seventeen' as an additional track. Out in stores this week!

Finally, this just in, Grimsby 1 Tottscum 0. Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala, we salute you! Laugh, we almost considered buying another Zadie Smith book!

Must go, there's a certain supermodel on the phone with a tenner up her nose who's wanting to play with Dead Kenny's breasts. Shouldn't have mentioned oysters, I guess. Webcam update later?

Sunday URLs

If Dead Kenny's memory serves him correctly (it'd be a first, but stay with us) it's Grandmaster Andy's birthday this weekend, so many happy returns. And even if it's not, and Dead Kenny's wildly wrong, still visit his site anyway for an alternative view of last weekend's Supersonic festival in Birmingham (with pictures!) plus a review of strangeTime's debut gig at Scruffy Murphy's on Friday night. strangeTime feature Fincho aka Kate aka Postman Phill's significant other, who was, according to Donna, going to be wearing 'PVC bits' so Dead Kenny's non-attendance was clearly his loss.

While we're in back-slapping mode, congratulations are also due to Graybo on the news that he is to become a father. In anticipation of the arrival of the mewling infant (complete with bald head and designer shades, natch) Dead Kenny consulted his various multiple personalities on what young Master Spencer's first words might be, and our survey said:

74% thought: Gah!

16% thought: Guh!

5% thought: Too busy to talk right now, got to go to a conference in Amsterdam!

4% thought: Great new Weebl animation!

and just 1% thought:

Fruit smoothies down the nursery with Brandon, Kylie, Apple, Ipod, Nephew Tom Cobleigh and all. Great fun!

Time will tell, no doubt, but that's a funny sort of name if you ask me.

Meanwhile Fluxblog is hosting some rather inspired mp3s at the moment, including Ladytron's 'Destroy Everything You Touch' and the charmingly-titled 'Kirsten Is A Fuck Machine' by a band called Tiger Tunes.

Nevertheless, this week's selection for Parallax View Single Of The Week is 'Ageless Beauty' by Stars, a luscious (and indeed, LUSH-ous) piece of guitar-fuzz pop which you can download for free from here.

Probably the best track I've heard recently, though, is 'Teenage Winter', the penultimate song on Saint Etienne's classy concept-pop album Tales From Turnpike House which contains a line about a character called Eddie who bids for a 1980-81 Subbuteo catalogue, wins it, then 'puts it in a drawer and forgets about it'. This seemed quite timely for Dead Kenny who has recently become a late, late adopter to the online trading craze. Of course, he's only used it for essential items like, um, Ladytron sugarcubes and The Departure fridge magnets, which, yes, you guessed it, he put away in a drawer.

Mind you, Dead Kenny did get his hands on a cheap mint copy of Fisherman's Woman, an album of delectably hushed comedown pop by Emiliana Torrini. And on looking at the lyric booklet, it appears Dead Kenny owes the Icelandic muse an apology, as back in February we poked a bit of fun in her direction for the lyrics 'some things don't change/my middle name's still Liz' on the single 'Sunny Road', when in fact the line should read: 'my middle name's still Risk'. Much clearer now, if only slightly more logical. Milly Risk Torrini, Dead Kenny is truly sorry.

PV does get some things right, however, as we were by far and away the first blog to give a shout out to Birmingham's Editors when we made 'Bullets' our Single Of The Week at the turn of the year, a full week before Zane Lowe followed suit, three whole weeks before industry insiders Music Week blew their trumpet and a colossal four weeks before NME gave them a rather tepid single review. Later today, the band look set to crash into the Top 20 with their third single 'Blood' (their weakest release to date, in Dead Kenny's view, being let down by a clumsy chorus, although the coroscating guitarwork is still in fine working order). Editors seem to have won the PR wars with The Departure to become Britain's pre-eminent Interpol clones, although to be fair to the Northampton lot, 'Dirty Words' sounds more like Depeche Mode's 'Violator' than Carlos D & Co. anyway, and is a cruelly under-valued record.

Turning thoughts more locally, went to see young Shropshire bluesgrass duo The Badgers at The Haygate in Wellington on Thursday night. Some fine guitar-pickin' and a rather lovely cover of Bob Dylan's 'One More Cup Of Coffee' made for an entertaining set (if you'll pardon the pun). Someone called Nonny James from BBC Radio has called them 'amazing' and you won't catch Dead Kenny arguing with someone with a name like that, hey nonny no.

Just slightly better known on the international arena, Bruce Springsteen has granted an interview to Nick Hornby in today's Observer. Amongst other nuggets, Bruce reveals a fondness for Suicide; Pulp; Sleater-Kinney and, perhaps slightly more surprisingly, Keiran Hebden's Four Tet.

And, finally, anyone for dessert?

Half Term Report 2005

Yes, it's that time of the year again (well OK it's a little late, as usual) for Parallax View to stick its' taste thermometer into the raging furnace that is the contemporary music scene, and deliver its' not-that-humble-really verdict on the best singles and albums released in the UK between January and June of this year.

Dead Kenny has listened to more albums than usual this year and so it was tougher than normal to whittle them down to 20. As a result, some pretty decent albums by the likes of Low; Bright Eyes; Willy Mason; British Sea Power; Electrelane and The Chemical Brothers didn't make the cut but are still worth investigating.

Also, Dead Kenny didn't consider those records (eg. 'Woman King' by Iron and Wine, 'History' by Controller.controller) that were neither albums or singles, residing in the hinterland that is EP or mini-album. There were also a few records that were released in the qualifying period but have only been purchased in last couple of weeks (White Stripes, Saint-Etienne, Magic Numbers) that weren't considered as too early to place them in proper perspective with their peers.

As for those that were picked, the most controversial will no doubt be the albums by The Departure and The Others. 2005 saw PV out of step with most online music pundits who seem too busy doing circle jerks over Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone' to notice the most promising clutch of new acts to emerge in the UK (including Bloc Party; Clor; Tom Vek; Editors; The Departure; The Duke Spirit and Apartment amongst others who are making music dark enough to be intriguing but tuneful enough to be accessible) for over a generation.

Albums

1. Silent Alarm - Bloc Party
2. More Adventurous - Rilo Kiley
3. Superwolf - Matt Sweeney/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
4. Funeral - The Arcade Fire
5. Devils + Dust - Bruce Springsteen
6. So Jealous - Tegan and Sara
7. Guero - Beck
8. Take Fountain - The Wedding Present
9. EP - The Fiery Furnaces
10. We Have Sound - Tom Vek
11. Waiting For The Sirens' Call - New Order
12. Dirty Words - The Departure
13. Man-Made - Teenage Fanclub
14. The Heartlight Set - Joy Zipper
15. Face The Truth - Stephen Malkmus
16. S/T - The Others
17. Cuts Across The Land - The Duke Spirit
18. S/T - Ambulance LTD
19. The Secret Migration - Mercury Rev
20. Anniemal - Annie



Singles

1. Portions For Foxes - Rilo Kiley
2. So Here We Are - Bloc Party
3. Krafty - New Order
4. Love + Pain - Clor
5. Evil - Interpol
6. Sugar - Ladytron
7. I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes - Tom Vek
8. Lump In My Throat - The Departure
9. Love Is An Unfamiliar Name - The Duke Spirit
10. 1 Thing - Amerie
11. Oxygen - Willy Mason
12. Forever Lost - The Magic Numbers
13. An Honest Mistake - The Bravery
14. Heartbeat - Annie
15. Fallen Leaves - Teenage Fanclub
16. You're So Good/Rockdove - Joy Zipper
17. California - Low
18. Kings Of The Rodeo - Kings Of Leon
19. Neighborhood (Power's Out) - The Arcade Fire
20. Blue Orchid - The White Stripes
21. Walking With The Ghost - Tegan and Sara
22. Cash Machine - Hard-Fi
23. Munich - Editors
24. Daft Punk Is Playing In My House -LCD Soundsystem
25. Jetstream - New Order
26. I Understand It - Idlewild
27. Spit It Out - Brendan Benson
28. Stay As You Are - Ambulance LTD
29. Believe - The Chemical Brothers
30. Entertain - Sleater-Kinney

The Highs Of Aural Mars

Sugar, my late father once told me, was inherently evil. Maybe he'd had a preview of the the new single from Ladytron, which in contrast to the pop perfection of its' predecessor Seventeen, is robotic electronica of the kind that steadily seeps into your subconscious until you find yourself waking up in the middle of the hot clammy summer nights to find your limbs twitching involuntarily to its' dead-eyed beat. Mixtape worm, anyone?

If the Mysterons had in fact succeeded in conquering Earth, establishing here Martian law where we were all subjugated to be sex slaves jumping through spectral hoops for Captain Black and the forces of evil, Sugar would certainly be the soundtrack to our lives.

Parallax View Single Of The Week, then.

Captain Easybored

Parallax View Single Of The Week is Love Is An Unfamiliar Name by The Duke Spirit, the final taster track before their debut album 'Cuts Across The Land' scythes into stores on May 16. Although the bulk of this album was recorded last spring, the single is a recent addition and is their most powerful and immediate track since 'Red Weather'. The record company snafus that have delayed the release of the album appear to have worked in favour of Liela Moss & Co. as their distinctive blend of rock 'n' roll voodoo (earthy but also perversely other-worldly) stands them usefully apart from the Britpop wannabes, New Cross chancers and post-punk poseurs that are currently overpopulating the 'alternative' scene. The DVD format includes the rather spooky promo.

Talking of much-delayed albums, Britain's Best Pop Band (Ever?) (TM) Ladytron have announced the title and release date of their third long-player (and first for Island Records). 'Witching Hour' is upon us on August 23, but while we are waiting there is a sweetener in the form of a single, 'Sugar' (out June 13).

Phill Huxley interviews The House Of Love in glorious Realplayer.

Also over at the Beeb they've apparently banned the new Misty's Big Adventure song on account of its political content. Birmingham blogger Andy Pryke was unavailable for comment, missing presumably doing something cultural, but I suspect that Grandmaster Gareth's biggest fan will be planning some form of protest, such as boycotting the omnibus edition of Eastenders, or something.

Old news now, I know, but in case you missed the shows, these were Jarvis Cocker's Desert Island Discs.

You know, one more BBC link and I'll have just about paid for my licence fee - Joy Zipper played a couple of tracks from their new record 'The Heartlight Set' on Gideon Coe's 6Music show yesterday (click on the audio link to Tuesday's show on the right of the page, will only work until Monday).

Underexposed: photos from the indie scene.

Cronenberg's 'A History Of Violence' premieres at Cannes later this month. There's nothing much at the official site yet, but it's worth bookmarking.

All's Well Jezebel is a diablog from an aspiring actress. And we all like those, don't we? (Cue applause).

DVD release news: Arthur Penn's mighty Night Moves (1975) and season 1 of The L Word get overdue Region 2 treatment towards the end of June.

If you like mp3 blogs Chips and Cookies is currently taking the indie biscuit. Indeed, you'd be nuts not to download goodies by the likes of Iron and Wine, Nine Inch Nails and Emiliana Torrini. (via TMFTML)

And finally, a sneak preview of upcoming movie 'Hooligans' in which, somewhat improbably, Elijah Wood plays 'a more world worn, rounded person... that likes to punch out those bastards that don't like West Ham.' Which, let's face it, sounds like a distinct improvement on the LOTR trilogy from where Dead Kenny's standing.

A Brum Do

It's a sombre time here at Parallax View following the news that Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi has come to the end of the road and we're feeling even more vulnerable now we've lost our Mis-teeq. I know the girls are too modest to admit it but the highlights of their career were surely One Night Stand making Parallax View's 34th best single of 2001 and Scandalous getting 39th best single of 2003 in these same pages. Meanwhile So Solid Crew star Megaman is on a murder rap. Let's hope it's more tuneful than his usual rubbish, eh?

We don't normally like to go for the obvious with our Singles Of The Week, especially if it's a song that has been similarly garlanded by the NME but occasionally there must be exceptions to every rule, So Here We Are. 'Banquet' aside, I didn't think there was anything particularly out of the ordinary about Bloc Party last year, but this final taster for their debut album confirms their place at the head of the table. It's the sound of four anorak-clad lads taking the journey from bedsit miserabilism via C-86-era jangling guitars before speeding up into an ecstatic epiphany of baggy psychedelia. Kele & Co. having done and dusted the 80s within the space of one four-minute song, can we all move along now?

The Duke Spirit clearly seem to think so, chanteuse Liela Moss opining in this Sunday Times interview that “I certainly don’t feel an affinity with music by, say, the Kaiser Chiefs. I hear that ‘ning-ning-ning’ post-punk thing, which was great when Gang of Four did it, or the Strokes, but I kind of feel there’s an overload now. I’d quite like to wave a little flag and go, ‘Do you want a breath of fresh air? We’re wigging out over here.’”. The Duke Spirit's full debut album is now set for release in April. Also slipping further down the release schedules is the third album by Ladytron which is as-yet-untitled and now due in May.

Finally, we need to make overdue reference to the past weekend which found Dead Kenny in the bostin' metro that is Birmingham. First up to catch Editors at The Flapper and Firkin with Ben, where the free entrance ensured an 'intimate' evening for all concerned. We're not saying there was a young audience out that night, but there was a major pre-gig incident upstairs when one unfortunate was on the receiving end of a 'dead leg' by the pool table. Of the supports, Chester Road were suitably loud, energetic and hairy while Needless Alley diverted us into a gratuitous gutter of PJ Harvey-style indie blues and could be worth watching out for. And if it's fairly obvious to state that Editors are the British Interpol at least let's be reassured by the fact that they sound for the most part like Interpol very near the top of their form. And the problem with 'original thinking' like the hapless NME journo who compared them to Coldplay, of all people, is that it makes you like an arse when you are so evidently and comprehensively wrong.

Then your humble correspondent staggered over to a club where the bouncer initially refused entry on the basis that Dead Kenny wasn't 'goth enough' despite his black overcoat and faraway, melancholic stare providing ample evidence to the contrary. He wasn't going to budge even after a cracked 'a capella' rendition of The Sisters Of Mercy's 'This Corrosion' but once assured that Dead Kenny had 'Unknown Pleasures' back at his place he couldn't have pushed him through the entrance quick enough, muttering 'freak' under his breath as he whipped the fiver from his nervous clutches. We dunno, there's no pleasing some people. Inside, there was Phill and Fincho whose plans to look louche and glamourous respectively were thwarted by Dead Kenny bellowing in their ears about Indians In Moscow gigs at Preston Clouds and his refusal to dance unless the DJ played 'You Spin Me Right Round' by Dead Or Alive (the only tune he knows the goth moves to).

Having popped back to Parallax View Towers to avoid the visiting Tottscum support for their cup tie with Albion, Dead Kenny re-emerged into the Second City on Saturday night to sup some beers for a few hours in the good company of Ben, Jenni, Phill, Fincho, AI boffin Andy and the bella Donna. Now, we know what you're thinking; that sounds suspiciously like a blogmeet. But even if it was, and we're not admitting anything mind, it was nothing to do with us, honest guv'nor, so if you weren't invited it's not Dead Kenny but Ben who doesn't like you, or even worse, just plain forgot about you. Got that straight?

Related: Ben explores the Craic and writes a love letter to the Editors while Phill offers his own unique perspective on events.

And are you goth enough to get past a bouncer on a Birmingham gothclub nite? Why, find out for yourself by submitting a photo to Goth Or Not? If you receive 7 out of 10 or more, why not print out the page and take it along with you as positive verification of your Goth ID?

We Start This New Year With A List. No! Wait! COME BACK!

A Happy New Year to all my readers, and firm apologies to those of you still awaiting replies from emails/cards etc. over the holiday period and beyond. Also, I'm acutely aware the book review compendium I trailed on Friday has not yet materialised and I will be working on this as a blogging priority over the coming week to have it posted by next weekend at the very latest.

Dead Kenny trusts that you all managed to negotiate the trial that it is NYE safely and with a modicum of your dignity and bank balance still intact. At the Parallax View party we mostly spent the evening mildly amused with the notion that burying the London Eye in a near-napalm cloud of fireworks qualifies as a 'muted' celebration in the wake of the tsunami disaster. And with the considerable size of her mouth, BBC presenter Natasha Kaplinsky couldn't be muted if you kidnapped her and zipped her up in a gimp mask. But still, less about my fantasies and on with the first Parallax View Single Of The Week for 2005 which goes to Interpol who deliver 'Evil' from their second album 'Antics' for release from today (Jan 3rd, fact fans). Please buy the single even if you've got the album, because there's very little else out this week and I'd love to see them on CD:UK.

And so, because you're weightless, semi-erotic [and] you need someone to take you there, here is Parallax View's cut-and-paste guide to who to listen out for in the UK the first few months of 2005. In some semblance of alphabetical order, then, we start with -

The Arcade Fire - With the likes of The Stills; The Dears and The Constantines, Canada dominated Dead Kenny's headphones like no other nation in 2004. In 2005 they will be mount(ie)ing another challenge with Montreal's The Arcade Fire. They sound unusual, and indeed unusually good, which will be enough to get them plenty of deserved attention in the coming months.

The Beat-Up - Formerly known as The Beatings, and having survived bruising legal hassles and the rigours of building producer Kevin Shields' studio for him, they are finally ready to release their debut album on January 31, by which time their slightly grungy take on garage rock will sound almost as fresh as if it was 2002 all over again. Recent support slots for in-vogue Kaiser Chiefs should help raise their profile; Shields' production talents may provide the knockout punch.

Brendan Benson - While we're all old enough to know that life is very rarely fair, surely there's no-one more deserving of a little commercial recognition than Detroit's pop troubadour. Plus, there's just not enough people in the charts called Brendan these days, don't you think? So go out and buy his third album when it comes out in March, so he can finally go out and buy that meal he looks like he needs. Although, to be honest, we're including him in this selection more out of hope than conviction. Benson and hedges, then.

Bloc Party - The eagle-eyed and frankly slighty scary amongst you may have noticed that Dead Kenny was one of the few UK bloggers to omit BP's slick singles from my records of last year. But I can explain! 'Banquet' was a limited-edition exclusive feast and I was too late to the table, I didn't trouble myself with 'Little Things' and I only listened to 'Helicopter' on a strict rotor basis. However, they were excellent on 'Later'; their new single is lovely, and PV recognises an unstoppable force when it comes into collision with the immovable object that is Dead Kenny's musical preferences. With a good-looking singer, catchy tunes and indie-disco appeal, Bloc Party look set to reshape the indie ghetto into a totalitarian regime of their very own. Anything less than total surrender will be futile.

Kate Bush - After the critics stepped all over her 'Red Shoes' way back in 1993, KB went into a semi-retirement, licking her wounds and raising her son. We've been promised a follow-up for every new year since the Millenium but finally there seems concrete evidence that the album has been completed and is ready for release, possibly in March although PV doesn't recommend holding your breath until at least the autumn, by which time The Futureheads will no doubt be looking for new songs to moider. It had better be worth the wait, but given Kate's track record it almost certainly will be.

The Duke Spirit - If 2005 doesn't uncover Leila Moss as the great star she undoubtedly is, our loss will be greater than hers. If the band can go anywhere near recreating the dynamism of their live sets their full debut (due February/March) will be one of the significant releases of the year.

Hard-Fi - With its' ska-inflected electropop, new single Cash Machine (out on the 24th) is so painfully January 2005 it'll put a hole in our wallets and provide the Don Letts-approved Staines massive with a veritable licence to print money.

The House Of Love/The Wedding Present - Who needs The Beatles and The Stones? With the mid-to-late-80s surely due for some investigation by young bands looking for a new angle, these veteran outfits have surely done the smart thing by reforming in anticipation of the inevitable veneration. All Dead Kenny now needs is for The Popguns and The Edsel Auctioneer to reform and he can then die (again and again) a happy blogging caricature of a real person.

Ladytron - Nearly two years since Parallax View declared them Britain's Best Pop Band Ever(TM), Liverpool's latest favourite moptops look set to enjoy more mainstream recognition following their signing to a record label (they rock, they're on Island) finally able to lever them into the playlists where their hard and shiny electropop belongs. Ladytron's long-awaited third album hits stores and online shopping emporia(?) in March.

The Long Blondes - Three boys, two girls; self-confessed dandies who profess to Roxy Music as their chief influence, making pop music that sounds more to me like The Photos than anything else. Developing nicely, then.

Mylo - Slightly unsavoury-looking Scottish bloke whose simplistic, sample-heavy brand of dance music provides the missing link between Paul Hardcastle and Moby. Not a Parallax View favourite, then, but looking most likely to 'do a Snow Patrol' and crossover to a mainstream audience in the early part of the New Year on the back of year-end critical plaudits and a surfeit of record tokens in the hands of the frankly clueless. Be afraid, very afraid, then as album 'Destroy Rock'n'Roll' looks set to be worryingly ubiquitous in 2005.

Anyone you think I've missed? Let me know. I haven't forgotten about Kaiser Chiefs, I just couldn't think of anything remotely interesting to say about them, which I know doesn't stop me normally, but this is the New Year after all. And I've omitted The Others as a token gesture of fickle disgust at the shoddy lyrics of their new single 'Lackey' (released Jan 17).

Lambast me if you will for not being too controversial in my choices, but compare and contrast with this month's FHM which predicts the five big albums of 2005 will come from The Darkness; Coldplay; Dr Dre; White Stripes and Oasis. I know that if Nostredamus was alive and well and working for a big publishing company he'd probably have enough foresight not to work for a magazine with such limited shelflife future, but honestly, I know quadraplegics who go out on more of a limb than those guys. Stick to the glossy pics of pop strumpets in their skimpies in future, fellas, and leave the music predictions to those with more neck than anorak, like yours truly, Dead Kenny.

This post is 'so over' and out.

Notes and Corrections

My apologies to those death-metal fans amongst my readership who may have noticed in this morning's bulletin (since corrected) that I overestimated the length of time since Pantera's split by several years. My fact checker has, of course, been summarily dismissed and will not now be getting that Girls Aloud album I promised him for Xmas.

Meanwhile, time to adjust your bookmarks for two pretty darned essential music websites which have had the temerity to change URLs during my slovenly updating period - namely Information Leafblower and the mp3tastic Fluxblog.

New (well, ish) and noted: Expecting To Fly, proving that not all Tottscum are tossers.

Some more best-of-2004 lists, courtesy of the writers at The Onion AV Club who provide some typically thoughtful assessments of the year's best output.

Ben reviews The Futureheads/Maximo Park double-header at Birmingham Academy earlier this week heralding a new 'North-Eastern Alliance'. The precise appeal of The Futureheads continues to prove elusive to your humble correspondent, I'm afraid. Perhaps it's the way they start off their version of Kate Bush's 'The Hounds Of Love' with a brisk and cheery 'ha'way, pets!' that finally did it for me. Bring back The Kane Gang, all is forgiven.

But, saving the best 'til last, fantastic news in this week that Britain's Best Pop Band Ever (TM), the fabulous Ladytron have signed to Island Records, and their long-awaited as-yet-untitled third album proper should be released in March 2005.

Odds 'n' Sods

I guess you're reading this page either at home or in the office, and on the balance of probability, feeling a little bored. But it could all have been so different if only you'd heeded my advice to get your money on Hollinghurst's gay-Tories-in-the-80s saga 'The Line Of Beauty' to win the Booker Prize at odds of 10-1 as a fifty quid bet could have won you a holiday. Just occasionally, I know my shit.

I haven't read the prize-winning book, but I thought Hollinghurst seemed a gracious and thoughtful winner, just about managing to disguise the fact that he was shitting himself (I should imagine being quizzed by an excitable Kirsty Wark is quite a scary prospect, actually). Not everybody's a fan of his book though, and the backlash has begun with Bookmunch sticking the boot in sans ceremony, outing him in the process as something of a furniture fetishist.

'If I were to put together a truly essential thank-you list for the people who most made it possible for me to write my first six novels, I'd certainly owe as much to Ronald Reagan as to Bill Gates or Lou Reed. Reagan's presidency put the grit in my dystopia. His presidency was the fresh kitty litter I spread for utterly crucial traction on the icey driveway of uncharted futurity. His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.'

Good to see William Gibson back blogging. Miss Modernage has also finished temping and returned to the blogging mainstream.

And look who else is keeping an online diary - 'It didn’t take us long to find the revolving bar at the top of our hotel, but it took us much longer getting to it since it was on the 55th floor and to get to it we had to negotiate a network of lifts. Not an easy task on a jet lag and a few glasses of rice wine. We ended most nights before the gigs there, though we did venture out to the near by ‘Piano Bar’ on John’s (bass player) birthday. The name of the bar turned out to be a bit deceptive since the DJ was playing the theme tune from ‘The Omen’ to a hard trance beat. The music was so loud the speakers were making the flames from the candles dance around the empty room. That, the full on laser show, a Hong Kong cyber sex flick projected on one of the walls and waiters dressed in suits serving us water melon on the side of our drinks made for quite an experience.'

Yes that's right, it's Mira from Ladytron reporting on the band's tour of China. But moving on to some less exotic bloggers, Ben has been devoting his site this week to a Right to Reply special where he's corralled some music writers and friends to discuss the future of pop/rock music in the digital age. Yours truly even pops in here and there with a rude and noisy interjection or two, an experience familiar to those of you that have ever been out drinking with me.

Meanwhile, this week's Parallax View Single Of The Week goes to Goldie Lookin' Chain for Your Mother's Got A Penis. I listened to their album in a friend's car last week and it's mostly rubbish, but YM'sGAP has a surreal, demented charm that will make it this season's novelty hit: use it up, wear it out, then move on.

Finally, some sad news today, as Bill Nich has died following a long illness. He was by far and away the best manager the Tottscummers ever had.