Avoid At All Costs, or The Last Post

Those of you who know me well, will know that at any given time, I am working on at least 6 projects at once. I suppose this has characterised me - I would say, 'if you want something done, get a busy person to do it'. 

But, throughout the Great Vagabond year that was 2014, I was hounded by the quiet certainty that I had at long last, too many projects. Zines, short films, poems, spoken word, a novel, a blog, and trying to pin down those basic necessities: a flat & a job.

By the end of 2014 I had a room in a little basement flat (see above) and a mad-cap job at an renewable energy company (no, I'm not sure how that one happened either).

And 2015 began. The basic needs are covered: after nearly 15 months, and upwards of 50 beds/tents/sofas/floors spread over two continents, working on and off as a dish washer, I now have my own roof above my head and my own pillow under my neck. And a stable income. 

So - what's next? Deep inhale. What's next is the barrage of click-bait articles telling me helpfully how to MAKE THE MOST OF THE YEAR TO COME! HOW TO KEEP YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS! And more such self-help inanities. Until... Oliver Burkman's brilliant, cynical piece on the Guardian telling me with great certainty:

"[...] select something to stop doing this year. I don’t mean bad habits, such as injecting heroin or picking your nose; I mean something worthwhile."

And I found myself falling down an 'open in new tab' rabbit hole, of productivity-themed articles that all had one message, loud and clear: Do Less. Focus. 

From the Steve Martin Method ("Be so good they can't ignore you") to Warren Buffett's "Avoid At All Cost" list, and finally the "Power of No", that quiet feeling that I was spreading myself thin became a crashing wave of reality.

Lists were drawn up, gut feelings were assessed and decisions were made. 

It's time to put a few things down.

STREAKS has had many incarnations, since it's first posts as a style blog, I've written about everything and often nothing at all. It was briefly an arts magazine when my ambitions took over and then slimmed down to a music blog when some sense was knocked into me. Everything is still online and will remain that way. But for now, there will be no new posts.

I'll still be listening greedily to all the things (or as many as I can find) so please, if you are curious add me on Last.fm & if you ever want suggestions of things to listen to, I'm on all the social media (check the links on the right hand side) so by all means! Ask! 

There's no knowing if or when I'll be back posting reviews here, but for now - that novel won't write itself.

Until next time - Kate x

Albums of the Year 2014: JULY AND THE REST

And so after much ado: no more! No more waiting, and no more dragging of the feet. Behold! The rest of 2014's most excellent albums, in release date order (don't ask, it really seemed like such a good idea at the time.) Fair reader, read on:

• July- Flamingods Hyperborea: Exotic & psychedelic, and released on the daring, multi-media Art Is Hard Records, this album is deliciously funky and strange. Check out the whole thing on bandcamp.

• August- Adult Jazz, Gist Is: In parts dissonant and at all times, achingly pure, this record is as complex as it is beautiful. Only a few tracks are available to preview, but check them out, and if you can see them live, just. do.it.

• September- Perfume Genius, Too Bright: Perfume Genius, ie: Mike Hadreas, graced the world this autumn with his harrowing, deep, stark third LP Too Bright, it is sorrow and it is power.

• September- Interpol, El Pintor: (The flaws in the month by month approach start to show... September, you BEAST.) Interpol (late-to-the-party alert) have been making critically acclaimed music since there abouts 1997, but I have just discovered them in the autumn of 2014. El Pintor is a velvet study, inspired by the skin-itching rhythms and sadness of post-punk, the beats are unrelenting and the guitars make quick work embedding fuzzy melodies into your skull - it's addictive.

• October- Iceage, Plowing Into the Field of Love: I love this record, it's so angry. And the rage has a poetic scale, in the misshapen vocals of Elias Bender Rønnenfelt and the decaying, muffled orchestration. The result is an aggressive, embellished punk record.

• October- Caribou, Our Love (or not an album of the year): This album has spilled a lot of ink. It has been so greatly anticipated and I have read over and over again about how this is the album Dan Snaith made, not for himself, but for us. Sadly, it is miles away from the deeply eccentric, playful, bizarre sounds of Swim. Instead, it is a collection of melancholic, down-tempo, house-esque murmurs. While some tracks are hypnotic beyond a fault (see Can’t Do Without You), for the most part, it is a graying drawl of indifferent beats and electronic drums. So while no, it is not an album of the year, Caribou has been so essential to the last 12 months that to not mention it seems, well, lacking.
• November? To Be Decided… Run the Jewels? Alex G? Hookwurms? Only time will tell, and by that I mean, if I don’t decide in the next 4 days then gosh darnit, we may never know, and STREAKS might just move on to an entirely new set of posts and ideas to thrill the heart and capture the soul. Still, if any one is interested, I’ll endeavour to find out. (And don’t even get me started on December, I mean really.)

What a kick ass year, 2015, you better bring your A-Game. 

Kate x

Albums of the Year 2014 - June: clipping. and harsh harsh hip hop

Dreaming of a white Christmas?How about white noise?

White noise.

Piercing. 

White. 

Noise.


CLLPNG, the follow up to clipping.'s gob-stopping 2013 effort Midcity, is a catchy, harsh, stoccato-beat-busting, tongue twister. A three piece hip-hop outfit from LA, their brutal, energetic sound has become more accessible in this new LP, whilst keeping their taste for sonar experimentation. 

Sharp and provocative lyrics are delivered at breakneck speed, samples are ripped together, creating at once uber-abrasive backdrops, and percussions that this waterfall of words springs off of. The samples stretch into clarinets, and saxophones on tracks like Taking Off as they play, and push the sounds they're working with. Whilst high octane, the pace and volume varies, ensuring the record never flat-lines.

Indeed, CLLPNG starts hard, piercing noise and a spoken assault, however, the cast of supporting artists are the key to making this record more accessible than the last. Consider for instance the pulsing Get Up and its radio friendly vocals from Mariel Jacoda. Ends, a pumped up, organ looping track, with these characteristic gun-shot lyrics, is a perfect sum up of this LP's energy - it was born to galvanize, it is a non-stop series of sparks, each catching on the last's tail.

If you're into this, then you have to check out Death Grips, here - easily the inspiration for clipping.'s sharp breed of noise. Also, they are amazing.

And if you'd like some more info on this album, have a watch of Fantano's review, right here.

Merry Christmas Eve y'all, drink that sherry, eat those sausage rolls. Count down continues Boxing Day (that's the 26th for all you european/trans-atlantic types), with some decidedly tropical tunes :)

Happy Christmas, Kate x

Albums of the Year 2014 - May: Owen Palett & all his strings

Owen Pallett is a man of many talents and an astounding discography, despite a relatively small solo output. He has created string, brass and orchestral arrangements for Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, REM, Franz Ferdinand,Titus Andronicus, The National and Taylor Swift, to honestly name but a few. He worked with William Butler on the Oscar-winning score for Spike Jones' Her and he most recently collaborated with one of my ALL TIMES: Caribou.

He has scope, and this ability to be so wide is made evident in his second full length, released in April this year.

In Conflict is as epic, as it is graceful, as it is strange. It soars, and shudders, with strings and brass arcing above and bellow Pallett's sweet tenor, only for weird electronica to erupt, with contorting sounds.

There is nothing mild about this LP, the melancholy is sweeping and spellbinding, the anguish is beautiful. In opening track I Am Not Afraid, the bright vocals lament "I'll never have any children/I would bear them/And eat them/My children", in Chorale an arc-angel comes to collect him from his bed: death is here  "He is a creature of song/In his voice a model of the kingdom of heaven."

It is crippling.

If you feel you need more sounds like this in your life, then check out Kishi Bashi here: multi-instrumental, but with a more pop-tastic, psychedelic lean.

Finally, Pallett is very vocal about the complexities of song writing and has written at length about why chart-topping songs work, as well as his own song writing process. It's really great stuff, check out his thoughts on Beyonce & Usher here and the music theory of Lady Gaga here. His fansite also has reams of clippings from interviews, arranged per album and per song, it's very insightful - read more here.

And now, until June...

Kate x

Albums of the Year 2014 - April: Mac DeMarco, Crowd-surfing King of Cool

Spring has sprung, and with it, this charming, gap-toothed goof ball goddamn stole my heart.

Now, I want to avoid rehashing semi-obscure genres that are inescapable when reading about DeMarco's music: slacker rock, jangle pop, or rumor has it blue wave (?!) but frankly who gives a damn - the simple truth is, Salad Days is an 11 tracked season of youth, played out on plucky guitars undulating between delight and disenchantment.

It reclines into you - gentle and seemingly bursting with platitudes ("Tell her that you love her/if you really love her/if your heart just ain't sure/let her go") but Salad Days is an ode to the daydreaming chagrin of a tender age, and at only 24, no doubt this is all true-fact. As a straight up sample, check out the title track: it is a quasi-depressing depiction of the onwards march of life but set to this catchy not-give-a-shit refrain.

His stage show is choatic, shambolic and a sheer delight. I was lucky enough to catch him at Green Man 2014, before knowing really anything about him - his laid-back anarchy swept over the crowd of 20 somethings, every single one of us bursting to rock out with him and his band, who were inexplicably shirtless and haphazardly painted blue.

He smashed it  and the poetic, drifting rock of his 2nd full length is easily one of 2014 many winners.

As a very close second: Todd Terje's It's Album Time, the long awaited full length of the toe-tapping master, if you've missed him so far, check out Inspector Norse below, what a smasher. And read all about him, right here: Pitchfork obviously has lot to say on the matter.

Have a listen to some of my favorite tracks from Salad Days & Inspector Norse here:

Awesome, like the sauce.

Kate x

Albums of the Year 2014 - March: The War On Drugs

March (if not this whole year?) belongs without contest to The War On Drugs Lost in the Dream.

Ten hazy tracks of roads stretching on and on, into a billowing cloud of dream-filled Americana.

It is the sound of Californian bums & vagabonds.

Ethereal, effervescent guitars that slowly shift and shatter layers of melody into a blissful haze. The tracks are long and meaty, each arcing, shifting and building, each one a burgeoning day dream.

This has been to soundtrack to my every train ride, every bus shelter & every midnight walk.

Lost in the Dream could not be a more apt title for this transporting LP. It is nostalgia, it is sunrise in July & it is the open road.

If you listen to nothing else, if you can't spare an hour of your life for this absolute beast, then listen to Red Eyes, below. And stream the full album at the bottom of this post - you're so, so welcome.

Thoughts? Feelings? 

Let me know what you think in the comments :)

Kate 

Albums of the Year 2014 - February: Young Fathers, Sun Kill Moon, St Vincent

                               

                                 
                                 January Two Thousand and Fourteen

Continuing on from the political-pop and experimental electonica - we sashay into Mercury Prize territory.

Young Fathers, a Scottish trio and the unexpected winners of this year's prize unleashed a bold album of left-field hip-hop, and while the production may lack in polish, the brash potency of the lyrics and the fascination of the beats & melodies by far make up for that discrepancy. It is crisp, angry and bursting with life.

February was also the month that saw the release of Sun Kill Moon's latest - Benji, personally I didn't love this - it's fine, and finally St Vincent's new self-titled. I struggle with St Vincent, feeling like fundamentally I should be so on board with her sound and her persona but ultimately finding the entire package much too contrived and self-aware. Maybe next time...

Check out some absolute BANGERS from Young Father's award winning debut LOW, right here - just click play.

So, thoughts? Feelings? Unleash them all in the comments below!

Don't miss a month of the 2014 countdown, like STREAKS here and follow there.

Next up... March... :)

Kate x

Albums of the Year 2014 - January: East India Youth, Beyoncé, Have a Nice Life

January Two Thousand and Fourteen

We begin with power-pop, post-rock and experimental electronica.

And stealing the January Crown, with great great ease: the singular East India Youth. As always I came to the party late - only discovering him during his electrifying set at Green Man. 

Total Strife Forever is an epic saga, layers upon textures of noise, creating a pulsating atmosphere at once hypnotic and utterly abrasive. And man does it get under your skin. 

On stage he is incredible, it's like watching a hurricane trapped in a man, playing electronic music. He is living proof that live performance based around laptop playing has the potential to be bone-bustingly energetic. 

He is dazzling. And this album dazzles with him.

NEXT IN LINE, Beyoncé weaves us a tale of female empowerment, love, lust, envy and conquest. (nb: she released this album mid December 2013, but for the sake of what my ears were full of in Jan 2014, this has to be given a nod).

Shinning bright on her self-titled surprise release is a feminist agenda with a clear focus on female sexuality. Rocket, a 6-minute-plus track about female orgasm, is the highlight of this LP for me. Without a shadow of a doubt. 

Blow and Partition are close seconds, dealing bluntly with female sexuality whilst creating powerful hooks-  the kind that grind their big pink wheels of pop in your head for days on end.

Catchy, stimulating, and evidence of the power of pop.

FINALLY, very special mention to Have a Nice Life, who's follow up to the barefaced darkness, intelligence and depth of 2008's Deathconsciousness is still loud, still angry and still great.

Next up... February...

Don't miss a month of the 2014 countdown, like STREAKS here and follow there.

Love them? Hate them? Unleash your judgement in the comments below!

Kate x

The 2014 Albums of the Year - 12 LPs in 12 Posts

It's that time of year again: when shopping centers give me a rash, department stores release entire short films in the stead of adverts, and as night falls every turn is lit by that tell-tale retina-burning blue.

And so I thought I would throw myself into what really matters, as after all tis the season for recapping ALL THE AMAZING ALBUMS OF THE YEAR.

I wanted to write an AOTY piece that wasn't in list form, putting these LPs into some sort of numerical order would probably break my brain. 

So with my ultra-festive spirit in mind, why not have a STREAKS 12-part 'A Year in Music'? So let's get busy...

One year...

Twelve posts...

Twelve albums (AT THE VERY LEAST DOE)...

Twelve Hundred Percent Good Times.

What's not to love? 

2014 YOU BEAST.

Follow Streaks on Facebook & Twitter not to miss a beat.

Kate :) x

MUSIC // LIVE REVIEW // BEN FROST @ THEKLA

Industrial, pulsating drone sweeps through the under belly of a dark boat. This aggressive, hypnotic sound builds quietly, maddeningly, elevating as the beats cycle. The spiralling waves of drone engulf the audience - in the wake of these grinding sounds my ribcage vibrates and my skin, like the white noise surrounding it, feels eerily soft as all its hairs stand on end. My ear drums are saved, earplugs forming an essential barrier between the fragile flesh and this Goliath-like wall of noise. Ben Frost is delivering a characteristically abrasive set.

Earlier this year Frost released A.U.R.O.R.A to wide critical acclaim, following up his 2009 release By The Throat. His atom-blasting blend of drone, drums, synthesisers and soundscapes has seen him collaborating with film-makers to write a number of soundtracks - Julia Leigh's Sleeping Beauty for one. His performance at Thekla in Bristol is part of a small and intense UK stint of a much wider European and North American tour. 

As you read, it was a chilling and transcending experience -  as long as you didn't focus too hard on the fact that there was low-to-no live input. 

How to perform live must be a common dilemma for electronic musicians, although acts like Caribou have an incredibly energetic and physical live show, including two drum sets and reams of other percussive instruments (notably bells). But, in the case of Ben Frost, his delivery was so produced that it left little room for spontaneous alterations and exploration, and could leave you wondering: if he left the stage, would it make a difference?  What he lacked in energy, his accompanying drummer came close to delivering, but overall the level of engagement between performer/music/audience was low.

It would be absurd to suggest that listening to Ben Frost's music could be anything other than a visceral, physical experience, especially considering the volume levels of his live show, however, it is the word live that might be put into question.