The War on Drugs

Just when I thought that 2008 couldn't get any better, what with fantastic album releases by Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, My Morning Jacket, The Hold Steady, Elbow and Magnetic Fields. Along comes an album by a band that could, and I'll stick my neck out here, blow all of these out of the water. The album is Wagonwheel Blues by The War on Drugs and from what I have heard so far it sounds incedible. Think Bob Dylan fronting the best bar band you've ever seen. Think Bruce Springsteen fronting The Jesus & Mary Chain with Neil Young on Guitar. It really is something that I cant wait for. Not long now.

Bukowski Changed My Life

Being an aspiring writer myself, Bukowski's work, especially Post Office and Factotum, completely blew me away and made me question my own approach to writing. His writing is honest and sometimes brutal and this was the first time I had read someone who I didn't feel was messing around with me, the reader.

I admire his style, his honesty, his raw nature, and his unique approach when it comes to portraying life in its purest. He does not try to impress with elaborate sentence structure or flowery vocabulary, he does not try to romanticise life. His views, his images, his words are all real, as real as it gets.

I love Kerouac, Burroughs and, Bukowski's 'god' John Fante but above all I love Bukowski. If you want a lesson in how horrible life can be sometimes, the extreme lows and read about someone who has been there and done it all, then read Bukowski and be dazzled.

Fleet Foxes to rule the world (hopefully)

Well, for the last week or so I have been listening to the most wonderful new band. They are called Fleet Foxes and even after this relatively brief time I can say without doubt that I have fallen in love with them.
Think Crosby, Stills & Nash mixed with baroque pop and gospel with a drop of classic folk and you are someway to describing their sound, it really is like nothing I've heard in a long time.
They only have an E.P out at the moment (Sun Giant) but the debut album is released at the beginning of June and I cant wait.

No Age, Anyone?

Anyone heard the new album "Nouns" by American punks No Age? If you like My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr and the whole shoe-gazing scene then I'd recommend it. Fuzzed up beauty.

The Wonderful Bon Iver

Well I have to say that at the moment the music scene in general is, for a change, looking very good, with a few acts standing out and deserving your praise and attention.

First off is Bon Iver and his debut album For Emma, Forever Ago.
It was created by American singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in the spring of 2007. After breaking up with his girlfriend he hauled his weary and troubled soul to a remote cabin in Wisconsin, living for three months on nothing but Deer meat and water, and poured his heart out onto the basic recording equipment that he had.
It’s been a long time, longer than I can remember, since I have heard an album of such immense beauty. Every track is packed with so much emotion that, if you have a heart, cannot fail to floor you. Gentle acoustic guitars and Vernon’s incredible voice, think Jeff & Tim Buckley mixed with a sprinkle of Princes’ falsetto and you are someway to describing it, make up the bulk of the album with the occasional smattering of basic drums and horns added in to great effect.
It would be hard to pick a standout track as every one is purely sublime, but if I had to then it would be the album’s closer re:stacks. Near on six minutes of one the most beautiful songs you will ever hear about losing a love.
To sum up, I think this is a wonderful record, as you may have gathered, and if you don’t have it already then I beg you to buy it right now, drop what you are doing and head to the nearest record shop and buy it. If you don’t then, well, there is no hope really.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to MangoSounds. I'll be filling this blog with news and reviews of all the great (but some may say not so great) music that makes me tick. Stick around and share you views.