Electrelane

same goes for ted leo's "dancing in the dark."

apparently the sincere boss cover is the new cool thing.

* being an NJ resident, that might be worthy of having my license revoked or something.

but of course virtuosity don't matter much at all, so it wasn't just that: the setlist was awful. they would play one song with vocals, and then one long, instrumental jammy monstrosity, and then another vocal song. it gave the set NO momentum (NOmemtum), even though the audience ate up the jammy shit, even though they were only playing two motherfucking chords (i think the nearly all-female audience gave them the benefit of the doubt just cuz they were women; no way would a male band jerking off on stage like that have gotten any love, and rightfully so).

basically the impression i got was that the lead singer has been in many bands before, but all of them primarily men, where her talents were underutilized and she was, most likely, seen as Just The Girl. so now she has her own band with other women and she's trying hard but she's just way above their level. it was like seeing a high school band where you can tell one of them is gonna devote his/her life to music even if it means working in guitar center while the rest will move on to office jobs, cheap sex or drugs once the whole thing falls apart.

there wasn't any grace to their performance. the album works cuz it's understated and easy and mellow and stoned and all of those qualities. but live, they wanted to be THE ROCK BAND and holy fuck did they whiff at it. the two people i attended the show with (both women, btw) hated it. but we honestly seemed to be the only ones.

(the show was at the knitting factory in nyc two weeks ago, fyi)

anyway, I think I'd like electrelane's new album if I cd bring myself round to buying it but that album cover is awful. I saw them live, playing the new material, and they were v. v. good. wht songs shd I download maria, as a taster of the best of the album?

and yes, the frontwoman is the talent in the band obviously. when she just grabbed the sax and started blowing, i was wowed.

You'd think after time #2 or #3 you'd learn your lesson ...

Oh no! The bassist is a girl who was in the year above me at school. and is a very, very nice person, she is quite tiny though, so maybe that's why.

The other thing is Le Mans and that other Spanish band that aren't Le Mans.

I'm going to see them tonight, anyway, as long as it isn't sold out.

btw I like The Power Out a lot more than Stereolab, or at least most Stereolab. It sends me.

Yes! Well, on "Enter Laughing," anyway. Can't quite put my finger on which VU songs this sounds like.

Mia Clarke is like Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo was 15 years ago. The coolest guitarist in the world. She's like this tiny rock fairy with a guitar that's almost bigger than her. More importantly I must say that I think she's the most beautiful human being I've ever seen. Whenever she'd move the hair that fell over her face and smile shyly(she has a great smile) to the crowd I melted. I think we made eye contact once! I am so completly in love with her and I will never EVER complain when girls go crazy for male rock stars. I get it now! I UNDERSTAND

there's another electrelane thread, isn't there? i'm sure i posted on it. hmm.

I have just discovered their album "Axes"... christ, this is great. I was a bit surprised by how straight-down-the-line they were with their up-and-at-em rock sounds, given that I usually expect Wire cover stars to be all noodley and inaccessible. Being straight-down-the-line is a good thing, mind... it's like the rock version of being anti-rockist.

The cover of "The Partisan" is my new favourite tune.

we raced together! i think electrelane put on the better set that night, IMHO.

Definitely: ever since Axes I've been wondering what their plan was on this front, whether they'd come back to being a pop band on the next record, or whether each LP would mix in both modes (which The Power Out mostly did), or find some third way that left the question behind -- no matter what, it seems like a good sign about a band's vitality that they'd have a few different directions they could profitably go in. I'll be interested to hear this one, especially if it fits their trend of getting increasingly, umm, "historical" from album to album.

i had no idea a new album was coming out! where have i been? albini on board? what's the scoop? i am wicked psyched to hear this already!

"We have decided that the upcoming gigs will be our last for the foreseeable future," the band wrote. "After ten years of much fun and hard work, we have realised that we all need a break and time to do other things. This was a tough decision for us to make, but ultimately a positive one.

"A big thank you to everyone who has come to our shows, put on our shows, and bought our records over the years. It means a lot to us. We're really grateful to have had the opportunity to play gigs all over the world and to meet so many lovely people. This last year has been especially enjoyable and we feel happy about moving on with all these good memories to look back on. At the moment we haven't made any band plans for the future but we're going to have a break and see what happens.

"Love, Electrelane"

this makes me v sad in my heart

Damn shame. Was thinking about them just the other day.

Noooooooooo

It seems like Verity has other projects to work on, though -- we'll see if this leads to an upswing in Mia writing, too.

i would like to do "other things" with all of them, including lesbo drummer

You say you don't know, what love means anymore.

cutty is class

i'm climbing up the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalls without you

Let's all get together and make sure No Shouts, No Calls makes a strong showing in end of year polls.

GODDAMN IT :( :( :(

love these gals, new album is fantastic & nothing but great albums in their wake.

Goddamnit.

:(

Are you joking me? They were so cute!

:(

Ugh, horrible news. I just discovered this band after catching them open for Arcade Fire (and, quite frankly, blowing them off the stage) and fell immediately in love with them. Especially, especially Mia.

why are yall so obsessed with how they look? i mean yeah, sure they are cute, but it's about the music. i wouldn't care if they looked like Patti Smith x4 if the music was as good as it is.

and it is.

Its just a bonus that they're so cute! I'd love them either way.

Well yes. I only know they're supercute because I like them.

I meant to say love. "You say you don't knowwwww what love meens any morrrre"

The walls the walls the WALLS the walls

vs.

C-CAW!

The walls, even though they didn't do the greater times when I saw them play.

One of the great disappointments of my life is that before I ever heard Electrelane, I was standing by myself in a small record store in Chicago, and the four of them walked in. (This would have been when they were recording The Power Out with Albini, I think.) Record store + four English women in great clothes + some kind of vibe = "this is clearly some sort of band," but I had no idea which. It is lucky for them and unfortunate for me that I missed my opportunity to get excited and go all "do the c-caw sound for me!" on them.

bummer. saw 'em in may, they were grebt.

maybe I Want To Be The President was a more sincere signal of intent than it seemed and Verity needs time to get her '08 campaign going. could the timing really be this much of a coincidence?

IWTBTP is one of their best songs, when it hits overdrive towards the end.. WOOOOOOOOOOO

^ no foolin', nostalgically probably my favourite. it was always the one song i'd come away from shows wishing they'd played.

Well, this fucking sucks.

Yes it does. I'm sad I only saw them once, ages ago, when I wasn't too impressed; I liked them well enough then, but for me No Shouts No Calls was so much better than previous albums and I've heard so much about how great they are live now that I wish I'd seen them since. (Plus I would've liked to see them since Ros joined, since she was from my hometown and all.)

I bought No Shouts No Calls after reading Nick Southall's constant recommendations. I've never heard anything by them before but I love this album so much and it's a shame I'll never get to see them live. So thanks Electrelane for the great album, and thanks Nick for the recommendation!

I only saw them once around the time of Rock It To The Moon, wish I'd made an effort to see them more recently, they got so much better since that album :(

I've spent almost this entire year abroad, far away from home and this has been the one album that I've come back to, on long train rides and before going to bed. I'm happy that I got to see them one last time and that they are going out on the highest note possible, but as my time in Germany is coming to a close and with the announcement of their hiatus, I can't help but to feel a certain sadness by the coincidence.

I heard it from the valleys, I heard it ringing in the mountains...

such a great band. been relistening to their albums the past 24 hours, and i think No Shouts No Calls is definitely a high water mark for the band, and very likely to make my year-end top ten.

That sounds like damning with faint praise!

how is that in any way *damning*?? i said they are great, i've been revisiting their stuff (all of which i own, and enjoy to various degrees), and that their latest is their best work yet. wtf!

I dunno - maybe you really love many more albums in a year than I do. To me, if a band's high watermark album isn't even sure to make my top ten of the year, that's not particularly high praise, is all!

i can usually find 10-12 albums in a given year that i really, really think are fabulous. this year i have about 12 last i thought about it, and the Electrelane is fantastic, but not quite on the level, say, of my favorite 5 albums of the year. still a great album, but toward the lower end of my top 10, probably.

KRAUTROCK-TINGED INDIES LIKE THE MESSAGE-BOARD GAME.
THEY ALWAYS COME HOME. RIP.

I weirdly don't care much for them in general, but DAMN. People don't love/mention "The Valleys" enough.

the valleys is amazing.

it is

If I love "the Valleys" by Electrelane what else would I love?

This summer we're going to play some festivals, including Field Day in London, and a few gigs. We're still confirming everything, so will be announcing dates soon. It's very exciting for us to be playing together again after more than three years, and we're just sorry that we won't be able to make it to the US this time. At the moment our plan is just to play live this summer, so we hope to see you!

:) :) :) :)

wonderful.

And that Field Day line up is FINE.

what have they done separately in the last four years, besides making my <3 grow fonder?

awesome!!!

:D

One of them had a band, I seem to remember hearing some stuff on myspace or something. The keyboardist maybe? Can't remember what it was called though.

So thrilled that they are back, but crushed about that no U.S. thing

would love to see them. Totally ignored them the first time around.

Saw them open for the Arcade Fire in a theater here and they very nearly blew the headliners off the stage it was amazing.

Seen them live twice and they are GREBT. Hoorays all around!

what have they done separately in the last four years

Bassist Ros Murray has put out a solo(ish) album and a couple of 7"s under the name Ray Rumours.

I am sort of excited here because I've been missing them, but the one time I saw them (before the final lineup, so pre-Ros) was kind of shaky so I don't want to get too excited, but I can well believe they tightened up considerably since that. Especially if ILXors say so!

Mia put out a record with one of The Ex, a guitar improv type thing, was pretty sweet.

Ros is/was? also in Trash Kit. Who are quite fun live.

Trash Kit are excellent if a little one trick and prone to the occasional lyrical clunker. Very Raincoats.

verity has a solo proj. called vera november or something

Played I Want To Be The President last night at our Devon Record Club, went down really well, neither of the other guys knew them except by name. Some cognitive dissonance caused by me mentioning that they then recorded an album with Albini & a choir...

http://sickmouthy.com/2013/01/15/electrelane-the-power-out-2004-no-shouts-no-calls-2007/

I miss Electrelane too.

https://soundcloud.com/verity-susman

I wish I'd got to see them live later in their career. I saw them circa 1st album which is OK but I like the later stuff better.

I did see Trash Kit last year some time. They were good but not the same kind of thing at all.

oh wow, i so need to listen to some electrelane about now.

I totally just listened to that album.

I love the first album, for me Electrelane are one of them select bands that are beyond criticism.

I wish they'd toured the states.

They're great through-and-through although I wish they'd released a whole album in the same genre-study psych style as The Valleys, which is nothing like their other stuff while managing to transcend their oeuvre entirely.

I wish they'd toured the states.

― Yo! MTV La Tengo (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, January 16, 2013 11:47 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Steve they did! I saw them here in Boston in either 2007 or 2008 and they were amazing.

I feel like they, along with Saint Etienne, Stereolab, and a few others, occupied this tier of "high-brow indie" that was very intelligent and exempt from questioning or critique.

That sounds like you want to critique them?

I wish they'd released a whole album in the same genre-study psych style as The Valleys

That would be an incredible album.

xp no, I adore them!

Good!

one of the fewest bands i love even though they sounds EXACTLY like other bands before them (stereolab and faith healers)

Wow, I'm putting Axes on right this very second!!

"to the east" is all-time

Wow, I'm putting Power Out on right this very second!

more head nods for the band and "To the East." Although they epitomize Music From the Mid-00s to me. For whatever reason they were easily fossilized.

i think that now, that Stereolab, faith healers etc are more or less part of music history, it's easier for me to love electrelane

this is for all you Valleys fans:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtbjvQbLd6s

so special

I've been rediscovering electrelane lately too. Axes is incredible

Yep.

My favourite 00s rock band!

So good. They reunited a few years back but never made it North America which made me very sad. I saw them twice back in the day, but I didn't realize how much would be lost.

I'm gonna put on Axes too!

I have been falling in love with this band over the last few months. I listened to No Shouts around three years ago and didn't think much of it. Earlier this year I heard The Valleys and was blown away so I gave The Power Out a shot, I clicked with that album straight away. I decided to give No Shouts No Calls another go and of course I loved it the whole way through. I have Axes ready to go but I know it's supposed to a bit more hard work, excited to hear it though. I feel like I'm discovering a new favourite band!

Axes was aces, I should investigate the rest of it

To save you scrolling up - http://sickmouthy.com/2013/01/15/electrelane-the-power-out-2004-no-shouts-no-calls-2007/

one of my favorite bands of the 00s. rock it to the moon always slips through the cracks, but i love that too.

so many bad bands reform but not electrelane hmph

Oh you. I had a hope there.

I guess they kind of did? but yeah the world could use four more Electrelane albums ty

The band are doing a Zoom chat on Facebook have just announced they're hopefully going to make a new album in the near future!

fuck yes, amazing!

Ah, they're all so cool. They were talking about how it was amazing playing with Broadcast in 2004 and how much they miss Trish.

They all seemed to agree that Axes is their best album and Bells is the song their happiest with from their back catalogue. Apparently their label won't reissue Axes on vinyl because nobody would be interested.

several members of an unopopular music messageboard would certainly be interested

Whoa

I only got in to them after they broke up. Would love to see them.

same here

"They all seemed to agree that Axes is their best album"

well duh

and yeah me too

that such a given? I think I like the last one the most.

great covers live as well...Smalltown Boy, I'm On Fire, The Partisan.

Had this amazing long cross country run streaming The Power Out, and only at the end did I realize it was being shuffled. I wish I could get that sequencing back. Still, it made it my fav.

I only discovered them recently when someone put No Shouts No Calls as their favorite of the 2000s in the ILM decade poll.

that such a given? I think I like the last one the most.

― dan selzer

Yeah, that's my favourite too followed by The Power Out.

when I found this...I couldn't believe it existed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtbjvQbLd6s

an amazing song that brings me to tears every time

'No Shouts, No Calls' is also my fave. Thanks for the reminder!

great news!!

q+a is here: https://www.facebook.com/electrelane/videos/2919873061382225/

Just put on "The Greater Times"

Just wow

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWOJHHyMWa_/?utm_medium=copy_link
!!

oh wow

\m/

They’ve been hinting at this for a while now but really cool to see how many people are excited on the socials.

hell yeah

Yes!

Vg

I only just saw that they're getting back together (after they popped up in my Pandora), and they're a band that I am willing to get COVID for (if they're even considering a tour).

I’d love to see them live!

yo, i just discovered this band! they are so great!

otm

Power Out and No Calls have aged very well. They seem more distinctive, even more in their own little sound world, than in the 00s

Axes as well!

this show is so great...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR63neoReGQ

Haven’t seen anything more about the reunion but Verity Susman has a new band Memorials that’s releasing a double album and touring the UK this spring.

With Matt from Wire.

lol that Susman's website link to her band actually leads to memorials (dot) com, to buy funeral related items.

Pretty into the Memorials albums on first listen!

happy 20th to the power out

Still love it and listen to it regularly.

New EP from Verity’s new band, Memorials

https://memorialsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/centre-pompidou-ep

It’s lovely!!

I saw them supporting Stereolab last year. tbf I didn't enjoy it that much but I had dragged a friend along who hadn't even heard Stereolab before so I was probably too focused on trying to make sure my friend was having a good time than enjoying the gig (he did in fact love Stereolab esp the last half of the set when they played the longer songs, so I probably shouldn't've worried)