These New Puritans

All about Fire-Power.

The music's pretty interesting, but the singing reminds me of Audio Bullys. Also could do with some metal guitars here and there.

I'm very, very glad at the absence of metal guitars.

^ see the last paragraph of Dorian's piece linked above

But yeah, I could see how they might work in a Young Gods or Tricky 'Black Steel' way.

There are just a couple of drops that could use a bit more oomph, and some nice crunchy guitars would do it for me.

Man I really slept on this record this year. Amazing stuff, it's like Mezzanine-era Massive Attack meets Nine Inch Nails meets MIA meets Benjamin Britten meets a really half-arsed singer.

Actually, the vocals are fine if you think of them as imitation 3D or Karl Hyde or someone. But yeah, kind of stunned that anyone would even try and make an album like this, let alone pull it off.

Also I would like to hear Dan Perry's opinion on this.

I have a favorable bias towards this album but get quickly bored whenever something comes up on shuffle on the ipod - I guess that might not be the best way to get into it.

Yeah I can imagine it wouldn't sound too great popping up between Tensnake and Nicki Minaj but that's the same with most dark, album-oriented rock music.

So are they the reason The Fall left Domino?

I am massively intrigued by your description and would like to subscribe to your newsletter

These are the last two singles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vasNDS9BXJI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suLfDbNHw7c

There's various live stuff on Youtube too, but I don't think that stuff translates as well.

I've listened to the first 4 tracks on this now and HOLY SHIT

well that took long enough!

I'm really not sure what to make of this on my first listen, really surprised the NME made it album of the year.

Did anyone notice the first thirty seconds of Fire-Power sound very similar to Scritlocks Door by Scritti Politti? especially the vocals.

I've tried fairly hard to get into this because I like artists who try and do something different, but I can't really. Not to say it's bad, just probably not for me.

idg this album at *all* apart from the big single, as I've said

that's because you're crazy

Indeed. I don't understand how you can love We Want War and not get the rest. It's all of a piece.

It's mostly not that different from the big single so you're probably going on some weird Hongroesque ideological stance about song length or number of sections, right?

It's totally song length snobbishness, considering that the most immediately involving song on the album to my ears is "Three Thousand".

hmm

maybe listening to the individual songs on Youtube isn't the best way to approach this record

although stuff like 'attack music' and 'hologram' and 'fire-power' doesn't grab me

we want war just has a way cooler build and narrative flow, plus the choral and woodwind chord-progressions in the second half are staggering

try maybe listening to the album before announcing that the entire thing is terrible...?

it totally ISN'T song-length snobbishness, although there's a possibility that what they're trying to do is best served by a lengthier canvas - all about subtle shifts and increments

Dan the thing is that I have listened to all the songs! Just not in order

If there's one thing this album ISN'T about it's subtlety.

well, there's something that seems sophisticated and fully worked-out about WWW, especially in the chord-sequences and sonic layering, that lacks in the other songs - maybe I'll come round to them

lol

I decided to check out earlier stuff by them and was repelled by the first 10 seconds of "Elvis", after which it suddenly became incredibly compelling

I mean, at least The Horrors had the decency to follow up their staggering epic 'wait this isn't that scrawny buncha garagey tryhards' preview single with an album that kinda lived up to it

haha ok I'll stop now

no you won't

don't get you can you like "we want war" and not "drum courts"

ok yeah who's 2011's breakout indie-gone-classy band gonna be, dibs on Two Door Cinema Club

there's a distinct sense of nerdiness to this band...or maybe it's that it's ambitious in a really transparent way, like they're just forcing together all these elements and it doesn't quite work for me.

not a big fan of the album as a whole either, it's kind of monotonous and cold and humorless. sounds like liars without the elements of fun and chaos. i do like "we want war."

i'm a sucker for the great reich-ian art/prog rock jams on this album, like "5," which even has what sounds like an oboe or two

monotonous and cold and humorless

A massive selling point! (Well, for me.)

This is a really creative album and I'm happy it's getting some love in the UK

Ned, have you investigated this yet?

i'm a sucker for the great reich-ian art/prog rock jams on this album, like "5," which even has what sounds like an oboe or two

well, "5" is really good as well. but the rest can hang.

― RIP la petite mort (acoleuthic), Tuesday, 20 July 2010 17:36 (4 months ago)

Its undoubted creativity is what's making me sad that it's not clicking for me. I'd like to explore its nuances, but that would involve actually listening to it.

NickB: Not the full album but the singles = A+. Planning on snagging it later this month but right now the backlog of stuff to work through sits next to my desk and mocks me...

Oh okay. Wasn't sure how much you were aware that this was a Graham Sutton production.

Believe me, that is a further selling point.

If this album wasn't so relentlessly monochromatic, I would not be nearly as into it.

Fire-Power was the standout to me ofl.

So much Brit press love now. This American wasn't as hip as the ones above on this thread to know about these guys till now.

Just missed out on a Pitchfork BNM, didn't turn up in the Mercurys at all. Rough treatment imo.

how can you "just miss out" on a BNM?

High score, but just below the threshold for BNM?

Isn't it ratings based? Like, 8.5 and up = BNM?

Couldn't wait for my preorder to be released tomorrow. The leak is out and yeah, this is fantastic. Can report that the early promise of Bells is upheld, particularly on the quieter second half. Title track is chill-inducing.

nothing else quite touches "bells" but this is still excellent and their best work

I had sky-high expectations for this and fuuuccckkk it delivers.

"Industrial Love Song" had me worried they weren't going to be industrial at all this time, but "Wild Fields" delivers. (I do like the whole thing, but I tend to like them more the louder the drums are)

The Old World is gorgeous

(as is the whole album obviously)

this is lovely https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4gXY64fyws

I think "The Old World" is my favorite but this album is packed with contenders for best song