Lone Wolf: 2011

Friday, 2 December 2011

Lone Wolf's top 10 Albums of 2011

Hi everyone. Long time no speak. I have been very busy writing, and recording the new album over the past few months which as i said in a tweet recently is 'frustratingly' close to being completed. I don't really want to reveal too much about that right now as i'd rather save that for 2012.

But as well as doing that i have been listening to a LOT of music, and i think this year has been a grand year for albums. It has been very tough to whittle down to 10 records just how much good stuff i have heard this year, but here is my top 10 albums of 2011.

If you haven't heard anything in the list, please take the time to go and buy it/at least give it a whirl on spotify. I intend to write a bit more detail on each record when i get the time.

SO! HERE WE GO!!!!!

10. tUnE-yArDs - Whokill

My lord, what a woman. I heard 'Gangsta' on 6Music at the start of the year and it blew my mind. I'm consistently fascinated by her use of crazy contemporary rhythms and crazy tribal sounding vocals. She is an amazing talent and this is a fantastic album. Not a duff track to be found.

Favourite track: Gangsta

9. Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes

This is a record that caught me off guard. I wasn't convinced at first, but the songs slowly burrowed their way into my head. It's like a strange mix of songs that never quite made it into 1960s Bond movies. A wonderful Scott Walker feel mixed with a theatrical melancholy. I love the way a simple lyric like "I can see that she's better than me" can evoke such an emotional response from an old dawg like me.

Favourite track: I'm Not Stupid

8. Metronomy - The English Riviera

If there is a record that sums up the summer of 2011 for me then this is it. The bass lines get my blood pumping, and are an awesome backdrop to this sun kissed intelligent pop album. Superb singles 'The Look' and 'She Wants' are effortlessly backed up by album tracks that pretty much all sound like singles.

Favourite track: Corinne

7. Wild Beasts - Smother

It's no secret that I class these guys as my brothers. We have toured the UK and USA together, and Tom and I have had many a drunken argument after a bottle of wine or two. But personal brotherly love aside, Wild Beasts are the only band I have ever toured with where i have watched the whole set every single night. They just seem to deliver again and again. This album is no exception.

It's silky smooth and confident in it's delivery. Beautifully produced. The vocals are up front and dry. It's just lovely.

The climax of the record is simply epic too. Glorious in fact.

Favourite track: End Come Too Soon

6. The Horrors - Skying

Another album that came as a surprise, and possibly the first i have heard to kiss the early 90s indie scene (the good bit) as well as sounding like a Simple Minds album that was never released.

I love the energy on this record, and the way the bass and drums smack hard behind the synths to create driving track after driving track. 'Still Life' is possibly the greatest song of the year in my opinion.

Favourite track: Still Life

5. Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam

I grew up in London, well Essex (which seems to be a dirty word) and theres something about this album that conjures up an image of where i used to live. I can't put my finger on it. It makes me think of a tube ride into central London from Newbury Park in the rain, seeing the graffiti tags along the way. Rather specific i know, but I get like this sometimes when i listen to music. I hear images and those images become the music.
Ghostpoet isn't trying to show you how great he is. He just tells you how he feels, and i like listening to him telling me.

Favourite track: Liiines

4. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

I don't really know if i can say much about this album that hasn't already been said elsewhere. It certainly appears to be a 'Marmite' album, but i have little idea why that could be. I think it is mind-numbingly excellent. The production is perfect, and i love the crazy things that other people seem to hate such as the bugle on 'Our Glorious Land' and the crazy tribal vocals in the background on 'England'.
This is a spectacular example of opinionated melancholy. It never goes 'too far' in it's message. The musicianship and backing vocals of her band are out of this world. the production is second to none.
This album sat at the top spot on this list for quite some time until i realised just how much more i had been listening to the next three albums on this list. An absolute masterpiece.

Favourite track: Our Glorious Land

3. The Soft Moon - Total Decay EP

It's MY list and i'll put an EP on it if i wish! Do i make myself clear?

I'm afraid i am going to have to use a profanity here and say that this is simply fucking excellent!!! I am a big Krautrock fan and the repetition on this EP is so masterfully done that i think that if the tracks were 10 times their length i would never get bored. I myself am shocked and awed by the way that they basically manage to pull of a 4 minute track that is practically entirely percussion. I am literally gagging for a new album.

If you are a fan of Can, Suicide or even Throbbing Gristle etc. Just don't waste any more of your life and go and listen to this immediately!

Favourite track: Alive

2. John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

Jesus, i love this album so, so much. Basically if you play me some serious 80s synths, i'm anybodies. It's almost like Rohypnol to me. Now you know how to get your way with me if you see me outside a gig. Just bring your Juno.

This album is like a reverb/delay drenched, chaos filled ride along a BASF C90 cassette. It's sometimes manic in the way it pushes pop melodies into your face. You would never guess that this sort of music would come out of Hawaii! It sounds like an odd Little London in Los Angeles kind of vibe. Some of the tracks ('Cop Killer' for example) wouldn't sound out of place if they were retrospectively added to the soundtrack of Robocop for example!

I feel an amazing sense of euphoria when i listen to this record, and hopefully you will too.

HELL YES.

Favourite track: Believer

And the winner is....................................................

DRUMROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

1. Peaking Lights - 936

Some of you may remember that towards the beginning of this year I was asking people if they could recommend me something to buy. This was one of the suggestions and i was hooked immediately.

Repetition, repetition, repetition yet somehow never getting boring. This record isn't Krautrock, it isn't Dub, it isn't Synth pop, it isn't indie, but somehow it is all of these things, and then some.

I remember listening to this in the van on my way to Belgium this summer and everything about this record making sense. It just rolls, and rolls and rolls.

It's lo-fi, and somehow when you listen to this on vinyl (i was one of the lucky ones to get one of the 300 copies when it was first released) it only enhances the experience. I'd say it leans towards something that you would be better off immersing yourself in on a warm summers day rather than the cold dark depths of winter.

I think i am actually in love with this record. I genuinely do not know how to describe it properly, so do yourself a favour and give this album a proper listen. A glass of wine and some headphones in front of a roaring fire at this time of year would probably be the best way. So what exactly is stopping you? Don't let me keep you.

Favourite track: Marshmellow Yellow

So there you have it! Do you agree with my choices?

I hope you have enjoyed reading my ramblings. Tell me about your favourites too. Either here or on Twitter/Facebook.

If you don't hear from me again this year, have a very, very, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

xxPaul Mxx

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

A few T-Shirts remain!

Hi guys.

I know i'm quiet at the moment but i thought i'd remind you that there are still a few of first ever batch of Lone Wolf t-shirts left. They were designed by the wonderful Fran Rodgers a.k.a. Lazy Dane (www.lazydane.co.uk) and they look like this:

They are really good quality 'Gildan Soft Style' t-shirts (think American Apparel style) and are silver ink on either Black or Navy Blue.

This is a LIMITED RUN of 100! So be quick and get one while you can.

They are £15 each + P&P and are available in the following sizes:

Mens:

S - (34-36 inch chest)
M - (38-40)
L - (42-44)
XL - NOW SOLD OUT IN BOTH COLOURS!

Women's Skinny:

S - (8-10 inch chest) NAVY SOLD OUT! - STILL A FEW BLACK REMAINING
M - (12-14) NAVY SOLD OUT! ONLY 1 BLACK REMAINING!

If you would like to order one, just select your gender, colour and size below to pay via paypal and i'll ensure one is sent out a.s.a.p.

To order a MEN'S TEE:

And to order a WOMEN'S SKINNY TEE:

And that's about it! Enjoy.

Please can people leave a comment before ordering from overseas so i can make sure the correct P&P is applied to your order and also i am at the mercy of Paypal, so should you have any problems please let me know asap!

Cheers folks! I'm off to shoot a music video. more about that soon.

xxPaul Mxx

Monday, 4 April 2011

Final shows for a while...All horses gallop to Kingston.

Hi all.

As you know I/we don't come out too often. Right now I am demoing like mad in my little den in Leeds as the new album is slowly taking shape. I think it's a good thing to not play for a while and put my attention fully into this.

But, before i close the door for a while i have decided to play a small headline show for one of my old pals Del Noble who originally put me on when i still went under my own name a while back.

The show (a full band one) is going to take place at The Cricketers in Kingston on Good Friday (April 22nd). Tickets are priced at a tiny £4 each and only a few are going to be released for pre-sale.
Otherwise it is going to be £5 on the door so get down nice and early.
It is only a small room (150 cap) and so we thought this would be a nice intimate setting for this show.

Tickets are not on sale yet, so stay tuned as i'll be posting up the links as they become available. Supports TBC.

London folk, it's only a short train ride from waterloo and the last train back is at about midnight.

So basically, my/our last 3 shows before I descend into writing/recordingville are:

22nd April - The Cricketers, Kingston (Supports TBC)
23rd April - La Fleche D'Or, Paris FR (w/ The Strange Death Of Liberal England)
24th April - Pacrock Festival, Pont A Celles, BE

Lote of love.

xxPaul Mxx

Friday, 11 March 2011

Wikipedia

Check me out and my lack of disambiguation!

Thanks Miss Fletcher

Wikipedia

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

An new house made of web coming soon...

Hi all.

I am sick to death of myspace.

I will continue to ramble on Facebook and Twitter. Music already released will be available on last.fm and Bandcamp etc, but I am currently in the process, with the help of my best friend Rob Wills, of building a new website.

This blog will be integrated into it and it will still be under the same address. But when it is complete it will be here and only here that you will find the most up to date news, dates, sounds, photos etc.

I think Myspace, Facebook etc have actually taken away the importance, and personal nature of a band's website. I want to be able to welcome you to my own part of the web in which you will find treats that i personally have chosen to give you.
Of course i always reply to you on twitter and facebook, but on my website you will always see/hear/read what i have chosen to give you and you can't get much more personal than that.

Coming soon!

xxPaul Mxx

Friday, 14 January 2011

Tonight's Paris show CANCELLED (To be rescheduled), an apology...

Hello everyone.

I am deeply heartbroken to announce that tonight's show at La Fleche D'or in Paris is having to be rescheduled due to the fact that our splitter van broke down in the middle of the night on our way to the euro tunnel and could not be repaired. This is basically what happened:

We set off from Leeds at 6pm yesterday with the intention of getting to London for 10pm. Van was packed and beers were cold. We broke down literally 10 mins after we set off due to the 'EDC' (Electronic Diesel Control) light coming on and the engine actually cutting out while we were driving own the motorway which was pretty scary. Our driver/sound guy Pete managed to coast onto the hard shoulder where we waited for the AA to arrive for about 90mins whilst the van was leaking Diesel all over the motorway, trying to figure out where at 8pm we would be able to hire an alternative vehicle (there was 7 of us and a LOT of equipment). The Euro Sonic festival is currently happening in Holland and so nearly every person/company we could think of simply did not have a vehicle to hire us even if they were open, so it was going to have to be this van or nothing!
After being towed safely from the motorway into a car park (where we actually witnessed dogging - true) the gentleman from AA combined with a helpful man on the phone from a 24hr garage managed to diagnose the problem and got it fixed. We were all very excited and as i tweeted, we were back on the road and Paris was back on, despite the fact that this was now about 11pm (we should have already been in London) and so we knew we wouldn't exactly be sleeping on this journey, but who cares?? Paris was the mot important thing to us.

2 hours later, just as our spirits had reached thier peak, the van jolted, the warning lights came back on and the engine cut out again, and we were forced back onto the hard shoulder to wait for another AA representative and hope that he might be able to at least fix it so maybe we could get to London. After waiting for this AA person for another 90mins (now getting on for 2am), he seemed positive at first as he towed us a few miles down the motorway to Watford Gap services, where the van stood once again leaking diesel like a running tap.

Then possibly the worst quote ever came out of his mouth, "I'm afraid you won't be going to Paris in this vehicle". Basically the van needed urgent attention at a garage and a fuel pipe replacement was the only thing that could get it on the road. You have to bear in mind that it was now approaching 3am and we were in the middle of nowhere. There were no garages that we could guarantee would have the part in stock to get us back on the road, no place we could hire another van from in time to get us to the Euro Tunnel, and it seemed like the only feasible option was to get towed all the way back to where we started, Leeds.

This was when we knew it was all over:

I personally got back through my front door at 5am, whilst Pete and Kenosha had to stay with the van as the vehicle giving us a lift home was not big enough to fit us all in. They got home at something like 8am this morning (remember we were supposed to be in Folkstone catching the euro tunnel at 9am).

Myself, the band, Pete and Elizabeth (Paris promoter) have all been banging our heads together to try and come up with another solution to get us all to Paris today, and we have all agreed that in the interest of the sheer quality of the show, due to the fact that none of us have really slept and by the time we would get there the place would be closing, it is better for everyone if we reschedule the show for a later date this year and do it properly.

We rely on vehicles everyday to get us from place to place, and i suppose that sometimes we have to accept that this kind of incident is 100% out of our hands and it really does just 'happen' sometimes and no amount of forward planning can really foresee what happened to us last night/this morning.

Paris, you know i adored playing for you when i toured with Philip Selway in September so to have to reshedule this really breaks my heart. I can only hope you can find it in your hearts to accept my deepest, deepest apologies, try to understand our situation and rest in the knowledge that we WILL be coming back. And i really mean that!

For people who already have tickets, i have heard that 'A Gauche De La Lune' are sorting out a great band to replace us this evening so do head down to La Fleche D'or regardless and then continue to watch this space for future announcements.

Ladies and Gentlemen, my apologies once again and i/we really hope to see you again very, very soon.

Yours regretfully,

Paul M

Wednesday, 5 January 2011

Lone Wolf T-Shirts! NOW ON SALE!

Ladies and Gentlemen the time has come!

This is the first ever batch of Lone Wolf t-shirts designed by the wonderful Fran Rodgers a.k.a. Lazy Dane (www.lazydane.co.uk) and they look like this:

They are really good quality 'Gildan Soft Style' t-shirts (think American Apparel style) and are silver ink on either Black or Navy Blue.

This is a LIMITED RUN of 100! So be quick and get one while you can.

They are £15 each + P&P and are available in the following sizes:

Mens:

S - (34-36 inch chest)
M - (38-40)
L - (42-44)
XL - NOW SOLD OUT IN BOTH COLOURS!

Women's Skinny:

S - (8-10 inch chest) ONLY 2 NAVY REMAINING!
M - (12-14) NAVY SOLD OUT! ONLY 2 BLACK REMAINING!

I must state again that this is a limited run of 100 and so some sizes such as Men's Large and XL are extremely limited.

If you would like to order one, just select your gender, colour and size below to pay via paypal and i'll ensure one is sent out a.s.a.p. Any remaining stock i have will be sold at the merch counter at my upcoming shows.