I heard this on 6 Music late last night. Turns out that Haines, the maverick former Auteurs frontman, released one of his most crackers - and most upbeat - albums yet late in 2011. Named Nine And A Half Psychedelic Meditations On British Wrestling Of The 1970s And Early '80s , it focuses on famous legends of the ring, and envisions them in humble situations - such as this strangely pretty song about Rollerball Rocco. Listen out for the fantastically inexplicable f ade towards the end: [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit [...]
Here's something from one of my favourite albums of 2011. You probably know about my strange love for the world of professional wrestling, even more so when it reaches out into music. Here's a step in the other direction, Luke Haines' melancholic concept album 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s and Early '80s . It's a world where good boys grow up into 'orrible men, a world of liver sausage sandwiches are just as much of a treat as World of Sport on the telly. Everything ages and dies, [...]
While not as solid as some of the Auteurs and Black Box Recorder mastermind's past conceptual dabbles, Nine and a Half ... is a marvel all the same. Reviewing a Luke Haines release is destined to put the critic at a disadvantage. No matter the magnitude of praise heaped upon it, we will never deem a release as ingenious as the mastermind behind the Auteurs and co-mastermind behind Black Box Recorder does. When the critic is an American, the disadvantages are even greater: as deft a songwriter as Haines is (and he's one of the deftest that [...]
There's going to be North Sea Scrolls dates in Ireland. This explains more : The North Sea Scrolls have long been a bone of contention amongst historians, theologians and people shouting at bins in car parks. The Scrolls are believed, in certain quarters, to record a parallel, semi-hidden history of these islands. Now, a triumvirate of unlikely questers has at last pinned down the full story of these legendary documents. They are; Luke Haines, who has recorded as The Auteurs,
Baader Meinhof, Black Box Recorder and solo; Cathal Coughlan, who has recorded as Microdisney, Fatima Mansions, Bubonique and [...]
A review of an August gig in Edinburgh featuring Cathal Coughlan & birthday boy Luke Haines.

Rock n roll books! With the income from recorded music on the wane, it should be no surprise to see artists from a wider range of backgrounds branching out into autobiography. This year has seen a fair number of indie-scene scions try their hand (aided and abetted in some cases by indie labels such as Domino and Rough Trade making their own forays into the publishing world). After all the chances of the likes of Luke [...]

Luke Hainesin uraan mahtuu monta odottamatonta käännettä ja projektia. Listalta löytyy mm. teemalevy terroristiryhmä Baader Meinhofista , yritys saada aikaan kansallinen poplakko , yksi hittisingle sekä 50 livealbumia , jotka julkaistiin samaan aikaan. Mitä tämän kaiken jälkeen? Tietysti psykedeelinen teemalevy, joka käsittelee brittiläisen painin kulta-aikaa! Nine And A Half Psychedelic Meditations On British Wrestling Of The 1970s And Early '80s -levy ilmestyy 10. lokakuuta digitaalisena versiona ja myöhemmin myös rajoitetusti muina versioina. Mistä levyssä on kyse? Hauska promokirje kertokoon: Luke Haines has made this album so that [...]

Luke Hainesin toista, viihdyttävää muistelmakirjaa Post Everything: Outsider Rock and Roll (2011) lukiessa tuli palattua jo hajonneen Black Box Recorderin tuotannon pariin ja todettua sen olevan haalistuneita muistikuvia laadukkaampaa. Yksi Hainesin kirjan huvittavimmista kertomuksista liittyy ajoittain epätoivoiseenkin hitin metsästykseen. Black Box Recorderin tyly ( "Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it" ) debyyttisingle Child Psychology ei tuotannut odotettua suosiota, jolloin yhtyeen A&R -mies tuumi, että coverversio Althean ja Donnan vuoden 1977 hitistä Uptown Top Ranking olisi varmasti juuri sitä mitä radiokanavat ja ostava yleisö kaipaa. Ja jotta kappaleen [...]

'Gathering Shadows' By Sarah Nixey. Sarah Nixey looks the very epitome of stylish, sensual English sophistication and her music is very much in the same vein. She is arguably best known for her work with the elegant, sinister musical trio Black Box Recorder , which saw her cast as the arch, coquettish ice maiden alongside John Moore (ex Jesus & Mary Chain ) and Luke Haines (former Auteurs front man.) Her femme fatale image, crystal cut vocals and perfect diction may have reduced [...]

Though Sarah Nixey is British, she's a fille to boot, levitating effortlessly between the realms of innocence and lasciviousness, the subversive and the sublime. With Black Box Recorder – assisted by Luke Haines of Auteurs fame and John Moore, ex-Jesus & Marychain –, she recorded three of the smartest, though too much neglected pop CDs of the last decade. French Rock'n'Roll from Recorder's brilliant second record Facts of Life echoes the spirit of Jane & Serge, London-style, and features even a few lines in French: Black Box Recorder – French Rock'n'Roll Solo, [...]

"Violet" By H Bird. Preamble : Those old clichés with regard to time accelerating as you get older seem remarkably prescient at this juncture in my life. The endless, sun dappled summer holidays of yore are nothing more than a distant nostalgic reminiscence, and six weeks can now pass in the mere blinking of an eye. Nowadays it would appear that no sooner have I applied sun block on scorching summers day and pottered about the garden, I [...]

Antony & the Johnsons (pictured) to play Lincoln Center M.I.A. announces new tour dates Liz Phair's Girlysound demos to get official release Latin Grammy nominees announced Luke Haines releases 50 different versions of new album
Englannin virallinen vastarannan kiiski Luke Haines on ilmoittanut julkaisevansa 1. syyskuuta 50 uutta albumia otsikolla Outside Music Volumes 1-50 . Levyt koostuvat 15 uudesta biisistä, joista Haines on nauhoittanut 50 erillistä, noin puolen tunnin live-esitystä. "Each unique volume of 'Outsider Music' ('OM') consists of an entirely live half hour (approx) performance by Luke Haines -- there are no second takes. Sometimes there are mistakes, microphones get knocked, singing sometimes goes bad , and on one volume Luke Haines is forced to answer the door to [...]
The Divine Comedy's tenth album, Bang Goes the Knighthood, offers no surprises for longtime fans. As usual, Hannon's wit and playful observations find success in a pleasant medium between folk and pop music. This effort, though, is a little more lighthearted around the edges and its lack of ambition results in one of Hannon's most inconsistent efforts to date.

Maxwell Panther You know when radio DJ's act all wanky and refer to someone as a 'friend of the show'. They sounds like cocks don't they? Well I'm going to be a cock (yes, I know what's new - you witty bunch you). Friend of Peenko blog, and also on the Song By Toad label, Maxwell Panther, has a new album out. It's called 'Lovers reBEL' and it's free to download on his Bandcamp page . We like his music, we hop you do too. Popup Popup are back back [...]

Toronto - One of my favorite bands, Black Box Recorder will be breaking up after a nice run in the early 2000s. However, they are releasing one last single before heading off into the sunset - Keep It In The Family/Do You Believe in God will be available for purchase today off Itunes or something. You can hear the stream via their myspace page . I wrote about my fondness of the band here . It's sad, but not really much of a surprise that the band broke up considering they haven't released new material in [...]

Luke Hainesin , John Mooren ja Sarah Nixeyn muodostama Black Box Recorder on päättänyt lyödä rukkaset tiskiin. Kolme studioalbumia julkaissut yhtye vietti viimeiset vuodet hiljaiseloa muutamaa live-esiintymistä lukuun ottamatta. 6. toukokuuta julkaistaan vielä kaksi viimeisintä äänitystä Keep It In The Family ja Do You Believe In God? , jotka voi käydä kuuntelemassa yhtyeen MySpacessa . Nähtäväksi jää ilmestyykö viime vuonna puheissa ollut neljäs levy ikinä vai oliko tämä sitten tässä. Mistä olikaan kyse? Black Box Recorder @ Spotify [...]
Vuosi 2009 oli musiikin suhteen kaiken kaikkiaan laadukas. Parhaiden tuotosten listaamisessa ei ollut ongelmana sopivien ehdokkaiden löytäminen, vaan pikemminkin maratonikatsauksen välttäminen runsaan tarjonnan vuoksi. Listalle valikoitui lopulta monta loistavaa, miltei täydellistä suoritusta (mm. Animal Collective, Bill Callahan, Dirty Projectors, Fever Ray, Grizzly Bear, St. Vincent) sekä kasapäin tasokkaita julkaisuja, joita voi varauksetta suositella, mikäli niihin ei ole jo perehtynyt. Listalta oli pakko pudottaa monta hyvääkin levyä (mm. Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Careeer, Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Memory Tapes: Seek Magic, Sister Flo: Au), joihin ei syystä tai toisesta tullut riittävästi perehdyttyä tai joista ei ehtinyt muodostunut riittävän tarkkaa [...]

Domingo 13.12.2009 Radio Duna 89.7 23:00 hrs. En la edición de este domingo, Boris Orellana revisa las últimas novedades de: Toro y Moi - Causers of This (Carpark) Luke Haines (foto) - 21st Century Man/Achtung Mutha (Fantastic Plastic) The Joy Formidable – A Balloon Called Moaning (Make Mine Music) SUPER 45 RADIO Todos los domingos a las 23:00. Radio Duna 89.7 FM Articulos [...]

Yep, it's a day late. Probably two if you live in a different time zone. It's part three of my top 40 albums of 2009. If we look back at the month of May, it seems like the majority of my favourites were released all at the same time, including albums from the Manics, IAMX, Morton Valence, Jarvis Cocker, Archivist, and The Rest. We also had new records that have already graced this list, including The Horrors' Primary Colours and Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix . The month was rounded out with albums by Maximo Park, Peaches, Esser, [...]