Did y’see all the wee ones wandering the streets in skull masks t’other night? Means two things…
One, you’ve egg all over your windows for not giving said children the eighteen Mars bars they demanded (along with your iPhone and home surround sound system), and two, that October is over.
Missed it? Dang, fella. Good thing Clash is here to fill you in on what albums were worth your pennies with our monthly Six-pack feature, reminding y’all of six top-dollar releases from the past calendar month. On our double-thumbs-up list of recommendations this month…
Eugene McGuinness (pictured)
‘Eugene McGuinness’
Domino-signed songwriter of tender years but immeasurable potential, Eugene’s debut album proper is an office favourite, and a previous Album of the Week here on ClashMusic.com – read our full review HERE. A sample of our praise for the short-on-time: “This sounds like a jovial mix of Blur, Belle & Sebastian and Morrissey… as far away from the likes of James Blunt as it’s possible to be… Recommended”.
Get more Eugene McGuinness content HERE
Oasis
‘Dig Out Your Soul’
While every album since ‘Definitely Maybe’ has been hyped as the evergreen Manchester outfit’s best album since their debut, their latest sees the Gallagher brothers and company actually come ever so close to capturing the urgency of their incendiary opening gambit in the album world. “Its intensity sells itself,” reads the lead album review of Clash issue 31; “Brash, swaggering and audacious,” it concludes. Sure, it’s no ‘Definitely Maybe’, or ‘What’s The Story…’, but it is their best since the often-underrated ‘Be Here Now’.
Jay Reatard
‘Matador Singles ‘08’
Another of our Albums of the Week here – Memphis garage rocker Jay Reatard kicked out the jams for his latest label (expect a full-length proper via Matador next year) in a manner much to our liking. This is pop-rock served raw, and sumptuous it is too; to cut and paste a snatch of our ClashMusic.com verdict: “Matador have signed wisely – given the right lucky breaks, this lanky-haired brute from the American south could have a clutch of classics still up his sleeves.” Read the full review HERE.
Get more Jay Reatard content HERE
Dark Captain Light Captain
‘Miracle Kicker’
Another of our Album of the Week picks – click to the review HERE – this record is a mysterious beast, as said write-up suggests: “At moments, when playing this CD, you often forget it is actually on; but once it finishes, one feels slightly alone, and you have to put it on again. There is something about those brushing folk-tinged guitars and the shifting, distant drum beats that forces you to feel involved during its course…”
Get more Dark Captain Light Captain content HERE
Gang Gang Dance
‘Saint Dymphna’
Experimental New Yorkers Gang Gang Dance made good on their superb promise this month by delivering their most cohesive release yet, and album that’s a sonic adventure, a mystical tour of synapses set to overdrive yet singing from a recognisable hymn sheet. A choice cut, ‘Princes’, was selected as a Track of the Day not so long ago (find it HERE), and our words of praise included these: “…more electronica than usual, but (the band) still has the same approach to pushing the boundaries of music”.
Get more Gang Gang Dance content HERE
The Aliens
‘Luna’
Psychedelic pioneers return, and Clash nods approvingly. Sure to appeal to fans of both The Beach Boys and (more obviously) The Beta Band, our man on the scene said of ‘Luna’: it has an “even more psychedelic sound” than their acclaimed debut. The band themselves reckon they’re somewhere between The Chuckle Brothers and ABBA. Sound like a winning formula to you? Then get on it – check the video above for a taster.
Get more The Aliens content HERE
And your picks from October 2008 are what, exactly…? Do tell. Sign up to ClashMusic.com to comment on this article, and much more, by clicking HERE.
