Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

I've been trying to get my hands on this DVD for a long time. It's always fascinated me for two reasons: firstly like so many other music fans across the world the chance to see a legendary performance in all it's glory, with a clear and crisp picture from a band whose cultural impact is beyond repute and who, despite a thorough mining of their back catalogue has scant documentation of their live experience. The second reason, is more location specific, for me and thousands of others, Reading Festival was my first experience of the festival culture, infact Reading pops more "festival virgins' " cherries a year than any other music festival. It has a rich history in British culture, and the chance to see the a vintage performance from start to finish from the time that tv forgot remains a mouth watering prospect.

I have to admit that before reviewing this DVD my love for Nirvana was at an all time low, I've always thought they were overrated (please bare with me), their cultural influence and importance is unquestionable, but I felt as time moved on more and more holes appeared in their musically legacy. I always suspect that perhaps in ten years time a critical backlash would occur, once we were several generations away from Kurt Cobain's tragic death. So while I was fascinated by the whole notion of this DVD, I was expecting to be thoroughly tired of an overly played, and over stretched back catalogue (for those who don't know this performance was before the brilliant and disturbing In Utero). Yet all my fears were brushed away within seconds. When Kurt was rolled onto stage in a wheel chair, parodying the then recent and rampant media speculation about his mental health, adorning a blonde wig and hospital gown before struggling to his feet to sing "Well Love Sometimes It Is A River"; only to collapse and then launch into a visceral and thrilling version of Breed. I'm unashamed to say, I instantly feel in love with this DVD and Nirvana all over again.

The first half of the performance sees Kurt and co launch into a no thrills set of unrelenting explosive and utterly irresistible hits. Breed gives way to Drain You which merges seamlessly into Aneursym before the big guns Silver, Lithium, Come As You Are and About A Girl destroy even the most reluctant critics will. It's at this point that you realize what made Nirvana so brilliant, and what makes them an enduring force, beyond the iconic photographs, the wonderful ideals, the tragic death, behind all the theatre lies a collection of the greatest pop songs ever written. And that is what they are, infectious irresistible pop songs, they work on every level, the choruses are so well pitched so subversive and of chorus the riffs and fills feel like sky scrapers crashing to earth, quite simply this is the sort of music that makes you want to pick up a guitar and start playing. There's something so earthy, so simplistic and so loveable about these tracks that they strike a chord on both a deep emotional level and on a superficial catchy bounce around the room level.

Now as the gig goes on, you get a real sense of intimacy, the stage banter from Kurt is awkward, shy and slightly reclusive, but he seems happy and genuinely thrilled to be onstage, the camera work is excellent, it almost accidentally recalls Stop Making Sense as the audience is hardly ever shown (more due to lighting and camera angles than directorial intent). You are instead thrust into the madness, like a side of stage celebrity given the ultimate V.I.P. backstage pass for the extreme close up view. While at times you may wish to see the crowd going bananas, you're in fact given a refreshing insight devoid of the usual paint by numbers festival camera work. Krist Novoselic is clearly in an ironic mood, with some goofy onstage banter (including a terrible joke), but it's all very playful, if not deeply insightful. It's after all refreshing to see a band so associated with tragedy and turmoil, having a laugh and kicking out the jams. There are some great touches thrown in, Kurt's decision to play Boston's More Than A Feeling before Smell's Like Teen Spirit is a real highlight revealing the pinched riff and toying with his detractors, diffusing their wrath by knowingly poking fun at himself. It's all great stuff.

The second half of the gig is the real collectors item and a real bold statement, after firing through the hits at record pace (only matched by a Manic Street Preachers or Beck show) Nirvana then indulge their own dirty scratchy indie credentials. Opting to showcase tracks from the forth coming In Utero, obvious highlights now include All Apologise and Dumb but this was daring stuff for a major headline slot and their biggest ever live show (60,000 attendance). In between their new ones are a mix of B-sides and cuts from Bleach, it's suits both the show and the DVD perfectly as it shows off Nirvana's real visual and audio aesthetic. They go back to their roots with harsher more abrasive yet still eternally hummable punk. It's not quite hardcore but it's doesn't quite feel like grunge either, it's like getting the chance two see two gigs; '92's Nirvana kings of the pop charts and '89's Nirvana bright young independent upstarts with a fist full of tracks and few covers. They boldly finish their set with a seven track encore, with three fascinating covers, which are both extremely rare and incredibly revealing. It's always great to see a band willing to reveal their influences and enjoying the work of the artists who formed their child hood heroes. Fang's The Money Will Roll Right In reveals Kurt's love of the irresistible pop hook, The Wipers cover shows off Cobain's punk credentials while the Shocking Blue cover is a real surprise and a great thrill.

The show has it's truly touching moments, highlighted by Kurt's appeal to the crowd to say "We Love You Courtney" after her name was dragged through the mud in the tabloids in the run up to this gig. He is clearly taken aback by the crowds enthusiastic response, he was generally touched, his facial expression was priceless, and so will you when you see this heart warming moment. After the show Kurt meets a fan with Leukaemia and while shy and a little socially awkward comes across as a genuinely nice guy. Of course even in this brief meeting with a star struck fan we still get a glimpse into Kurt's dispear as he ask the fan if he likes Courtney, he responds enthusiastically, only for Kurt to reply with a tone of sheer resignation "Not many people do these days". These moments are far more revealing and emotive than the "rock and roll" instrument destruction that concludes the live show, it's captivating but rather forced, the real eye catcher is Kurt's decision to play Star Spangled Banner while the rest of the band tear shit up, Kurt seems like he's on another planet drifting away as Krist labels him sarcastically a "nationalist", again it's thoroughly fascinating stuff.

As a package does this DVD have any real weaknesses? No, it only leaves you wanting more, the DVD/CD's biggest flaw is inescapable; it's simply a shame they played Reading before In Utero not after as there are so many true masterpieces that were left unplayed (Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle immediately springs to mind). Of course this is hardly a complaint more a tragic regret, this was Nirvana at the peak of their powers, as a world straddling giant, of course In Utero would see dark creative high point, but unfortunately the Nirvana of '93 was sadly less healthy than the unstoppable monster that was on the Reading stage in '92. The only other failure is Sliver, it still serves as a classic singalong, but it lacks oomphf live and devoid of any bombast. It's the one and only disappointment in a near flawless set. Of course Nirvana don't play around with any of their arrangements and other than some interesting lead ins there's nothing unexpected, no surprises, or one off new varients, yet this hardly matters, that was never Nirvana's style. It's hard to pick a highlight from a set that is both incredibly strong and continually fascinating but it's hard to look past a earth shattering performance of Negative Creep and a mesmerizing debut of Dumb. Perhaps the DVD's greatest strength is in fact it's lack of sentimentality, there's no documentary portion, nor diatribe about Kurt's spiritual role in rock, no talk of tragedy, it's all fun, just a straight rock show the way it should be. Ultimately this is a DVD that all music fans should see, even a skeptic like me couldn't help but fall in love with Nirvana all over again and immediately "Pick Up My Guitar And Play, Just Like Yesterday".

Tracks To Download: Negative Creep, Dumb, Breed, Drain You, Annueryism & Let The Money Roll Right In.

Now at this stage there is no news as to whether is this indeed the first single or just a promo video, but either way it's pretty exciting. So what does the winner of this blog's album of the decade have to offer? Well her work with Major Lazer suggested that motherhood would take centre stage and be expressed through M.I.A's usual worldly political rhymes. This first potential taste of her new album however is more opaque, it's spacious open and surprisingly trippy. Lyrically it's light, open and expansive. M.I.A positions herself flying around exploring her own thoughts with a sweet sharp cry that's balanced between bitter and dreamy. She'd rather fly and around in space, cut herself off, be with whom she loves than talk about what's on the news. It immediately recalls the lyrical approach of Lennon and Harrison before exploding into a blaring menical laughter, and later and almost military march. Overall it's a hard track to gauge, it certainly doesn't feel like a single, but it does encourage you to open you're mind somwhere between the crunching blaring effects, the birdy tweets and the siren like holla of M.I.A, yet it's also harsh and abrasive. It's promising, it's grows with every listen, it feels like a natural, and possible tremendous album opener. I'd love to hear this in the context of an album, but equally this might not be a single, and it really has the feel of an urgent public service announcement. There's Space For Ol' Dat I See sounds vital and I can't help but adore the sentiment that "Gravity is my enemy", M.I.A has rarely sounded this beautiful, even if she's singing from the heart of the electro swamp. I'm already pumped for the forth coming album.

UPDATED: It has since come out that this track is officially titled Space Odyssey and is in reaction to her ongoing feud with the New York times and it's portray of Sri Lanka as a haven. I'm not going to get into Sri Lanka politics as it's no my area of expertise (I'm a terrorism, civil liberties, US foriegn policy, India, UK, Ivory Coast expert, Iraq expert) but it does give the track grave new meaning. It still works on the level I described previously, a perfect Harrison-eske open your mind jam, but now it has dark connotations with that release being death, and the brilliant line "Gravity is my enemy" serving as a clear reference to the hangman's noose. The freedom and carefree attitude would just death being an escape from life, and the more abrasive sections of the track provide a stark contrast, life and death, consciousness and unconsciousness. Now does any of this effect the songs brilliance? Of course not, it works on both levels simultaneously, it only serves to add depth to an already outstanding track.

What were we all expecting from the Vampire Weekend, how exactly would they follow up their self titled debut, the signals seem mixed. Their debut mixed a warm cosy charm, with a genuine intellectual wit and a penchant for inventive arrangements. There debut also had it's cringe worthy moments, it was more than a little rough around the edges and was given the slapdash "preppy" label by the media. Nonetheless it was a success both critically and commercially but what next? I was thrilled by Erza Koenig work on The Very Best Of's Warm Heart Of Africa and hoped for a broadening of their already cosmopolitan sun drench pop sound. Other's were hoping for irresistible anthems to match Oxford Comma and A-Punk, and first single Cousins didn't disappoint. It was a lightening quick jaunt with a feral mad cap energy that was barely contained by Erza disarming vocal. It displayed a surprisingly visceral edge, it packed a hell of a punch (or should that be crunch), it was short sharp and concentrated, like all the world's new years celebrations happening at once, all the dancing, the fire works, the debauched acts all squeezed into two minutes. It was however completely deceiving, while Contra is layered with sharp and surprisingly immediate pop music, it's far more expansive than it's first single dared to suggested.

The time Erza spent with Radioclit immersed in the sound of Malawi is immediately apparent, alongside their beach house dreamy pop melodies, art house angles and university romance laid the sound of pounding West African drums and the joyous chanting harmonies. Album opener Horchata rumbles out like an African sun rise rolling atop a see of rumbling drums and bursting out in a unified euphoric cry. It's quite the album opener, it may certainly challenge some as the string section emerges playfully augmented by xylophone before the thundering drum beat returns to drown Erza frantic semi-rapped vocals. It's a beautiful cacophony of noise to start the album and underneath it all are those killer couplets that immbed themselves in you're subconscious; "In December, Drinking Horchata, I'd Look Psychotic, In A Balaclava". This is new for Vampire Weekend, music that charms and challenges in equal measure, similar to Cousins there is a base level of immediacy and no shortage of hooks, but the music arrangements are more obtuse, they take longer to reveal themselves and climaxes in a furious power crescendos. These crescendos provide Contra's undoubted high points, they conjured these truly euphoric moments that so few mainstream bands fail create these days, between the ice cool electro warbles and chronically uncool but wondrous uplifting horns it's the joyous escapist cry of "we could Run" that will steal listeners hearts on Run.

Fear not, the Vampire Weekend have not lost their touch for the soothing sunshine pop that won them so many fans in the first place. White Sky is so calming and relaxing you can just close you eyes and imagine yourself lying on a beach in Barbados and watching the world goes by as Erza asks you to "Sit On The Park Wall, Ask All The Right Questions: Why Are The Horses Racing The Taxis in the winter, Look up at the buildings imagine who might live there". It's a reflective an beautiful track that builds to a chorus where Erza is overcome by his own inquisitiveness and explodes into a sonic orgasm of yelps and coos. It may lack a conventional hook but it'll charm your pants off on a single listen. Diplomat's Son is equally charming, it's the albums longest track, and has a west Africa meets the Carribean vibe. The track evolves at it's own pace, combining electro squelch with soft coos. At first it's almost too playful, it verges on self parody, but it's held together by Erza delightful vocal, it feels sparse, more open ended than anything on their debut. It's a real mood piece, and it leads into the cooling emotional closer I Think You're Contra. Which feels like a risk, it's emotionally powerfully, and heartbreaking in it's honesty, a true epic, but it will test their new found audience patience, hopefully they'll stick around long enough to uncover the beauty in these tracks slower pace pieces.

Of course this is the Vampire Weekend and it's those areas between the heavenly ballads and the mad cap arrangements that they never fail to impress, and like their staggering debut Contra is loaded with potential singles. Giving Up The Gun simply has to be released, it manages to feel both familiar and daring at the same time, it's rumbling beat is too groovy to resist and the Diplo/M.I.A electro horns give it a harsh contemporary edge. Yet unlike their previous singles it's more expansive at nearly five minute, the track grows changes moods, and is both startling immediate and knowingly epic. This marks the key to Vampire Weekend's sound, they combine of so many elements, styles and sounds, to create a hazy summer's day charm, it's feels lazy, smooth and dreamy, when infact it's often frantic, heartbreaking and occasional sinister (give Holiday a listen). It's a contradiction, so many of much of their core sound is simply not new, or revolutionary, yet when they blend it all together in their own abstract manner and base it all around Erza irresistible croon we're left with a sound that is both distinct, challenging and at times shameless uncool, but never less than brilliant. Contra ultimately feels carefree, self assured and almost too beautiful, too relaxing, it's a such joy to listen to you almost drift away into your own day dream world. While Contra's off centre arrangements will continue to alienate Vampire Weekend from true mainstream dominance; they continue to make the world's best pure pop music, and Contra is a worthy successor to one of this decade's great debuts.

I already feel bad putting the incredible Merriweather Post Pavilion in second place, after all it has been almost uniformly recognized as the album of the year. It's gotten perfect reviews from every publication in existence, and it's featured in the top two or three of every major countdown, yet, it appears to be the ugly step sister when it comes to countdowns, always finishing second. Only Pitchfork put this album in it's rightful place atop the end of year polls, and despite knowing that pound for pound that Merriweather Post Pavilion is clearly this year's greatest album I just can't give it the top spot. There's something about this record, beneath all it's brilliance, it's mighty grooves and it's incredible hooks it just doesn't quite connect to you on the personal level. It's magical, captivating and inspiring but it's not the type of album that you can truly call you're favourite, it doesn't quite make that bond. Now this may seem like a shallow reason to deny Merriweather Post Pavillion it's rightful place but it is the truth, and it's the albums only flaw, it's an album that amazes, that astounds but perhaps for those reasons I can't love it in the way a true number one should be loved.

When you first listen to Merriweather Post Pavilion you soon realize that something very special is going on, In The Flowers opens the album, and you're immediately overwhelmed by a senses of the aquatic, this album has a great liquidity, it has a natural flow, a pitter patter to it, the LP feels organic, natural and constantly beautiful. The album shimmers, like a secluded lake you've stumbled upon in the middle of the night, it leaves you transfixed as you watch the moon light dance and flicker on the lake's ever changing surfaces. Now this may sound overly grand but this is an album of rich sound, grand imagery and widescreen ideals. Of course the tranquil beauty gives way to incredible booming captivating beats, as you're thrown from you hazy hallucination by the cry of Avey Tare. "If I Could Just Leave My Body For The Night" is the dream on album opener In The Flowers and it perfectly encapsulates the entire album, this is an album that yearns for something more, something beautiful, something peaceful, an out of body experience and by the end of Merriweather Post Pavilion that wish has been thoroughly fulfilled. This mind warping opening is followed by one of the decade's greatest singles in the form of My Girls, a song whose sound is so inspiring, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, you'll no longer care for materiel things as long as music this heavenly continues to play, and of course it does only going from strength to strength.

The world in the 21st Century has become microscopic, for better or worse globalisation has touched almost every corner of this earth and the internet has brought us closer together with the people of the world than we could ever have dreamed possible just fifteen years ago. The musical world has shrunk even faster, while even multicultural London may not have incorporated the influence of Africa beyond the odd themed restaurant, in music sounds and ideas have clashed together and merged seamlessly to create inspiring and almost incomprehensible new sounds that have left even the most well versed music critic lost for words. Now African music, particularly the relentless tribal drum rhythms of west Africa have been thoroughly incorperated into western music, bolstering the sound of trail blazers Diplo and M.I.A and more recently adding some hypnotic beats to our brilliant number two the Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion. However, this has been very much a one way process, the West has incorporated sounds from across the world and created great works, but what makes Warm Heart Of Africa so special is the fact that the process is flipped on it's head. Radioclit took all there western influences and took them straight to the heart of Malawi and created an album where UK and US beats are subservient to tribal chants, ethereal classical African choruses and of course those stomping irresistible drum beats.

The whole experience is thoroughly thrilling, they don't stop with just bringing some production nouse and some slicker than slick beats, The Very Best Of even took Ezra Koenig from the Vampire Weekend and transported him to the middle of Africa, the result was mind blowing, the album's title track somehow managed to surpass even the finest Vampire Weekend track. It's at this point, three tracks in, when you realize just what makes Warm Heart Of Africa the album of the year, it's not it's technical nouse, it's creative brilliance or it's beautiful harmonies, it's simply the feel good factor, this is an album that plasters a smile across you're face, every inch of this album is uplifting. Africa is a continent so often associated with tragedy, it feels positively inspiring to see all it's creativity, all it's cultural, and all it's artistry on display to be celebrated. It doesn't play second fiddle, this isn't a mild drum beat hidden under a million different production effects, this is the real sound of Africa. Nsokoto is the perfect example, I of course cannot understand a word of the track, but the pulsating rhythm, the sparse drums and the gorgeously layered vocals just transport you, you feel like you're there, your head is filled with imagery, not of starving children, but of smiling faces, beautiful scenery and the world's most insane dance moves.

In many ways this is the natural successor to Graceland, to many Western ears we never got to hear these gorgeous beats and these unique song structures except on Paul Simon's career defining work. This however is not the sanitised version, this is the real deal, this is Africa, and as you listen to the sweet melodies and the epic natural sweeps of Angonde you come to realize that they are just as good, if not better, than anything the once in a life time talent Paul Simon could create. Warm Heart Of Africa though is more than just a celebration of traditional Africa, of small villages and tribes, this is a thoroughly contemporary album, just listen to the buzzsaw crunch of Julia where Radioclit really come into their own, creating a monstrous blaring rave riff for Esau Mwamwaya gorgeous vocal to ride atop. Around the half way point the album begins to evolve, both sonically and spiritually, you feel that you're been taken on a magical mystery tour of Africa, no longer confined to Malawi, this is a grand tour, incorporating sea side villages, great plains, and underground night clubs in grimey towns, they are throwing everything at you. The electronic beats really start to stack up on the imposing Ntende Uli only to be countered by the organic Rain Dance, of course instead of Western bleeps Rain Dance is boosted by the care free swagger of M.I.A. By the time we reach the albums highlight the cooling feel good majesty of Kamphopo you realize that while Merriweather Post Pavilion may be the best album of the year if not the decade, it can't make you feel the way Warm Heart Of Africa does, this is a one of statement, it's an all encompassing cultural masterwork, whose album title hit the nail squarely on the head, there is no doubt about it, The Very Best Of have given us the Warm Heart Of Africa in all it's glory.

Due to social engagements I rather left you all hanging, and so in an effort to keep the content rolling over I'm going to publish the next three entrant in the list year before uploading the top two, so you'll have to wait a little longer to find out who the winner is, but for now let's dive into the top five.

The cult of personality can get you along way in this world, where the celebrity obsessed culture has evolved to a perverse extent. Lily Allen has become this world and this scene's reluctant hero. While she may not want this mantle across two albums and over five years Lily has ascended the pop mountain and become the UK's most sought after celebrity. Surprisingly in a culture that has fixated itself upon the surreal, creating a do anything to get famous culture, Lily's rise can be attributed to two factors; honesty and abundance of genuine song writing talent. While It's Not Me It's You may arguably be the weakest start to finish album on this countdown, it is easily the most personal and the most affecting. The power in It's Not Me It's You lies in it's earthy honesty, this is an album without pretence, it's an album that for better or worse, plays like a stream of consciousness, the unravelling of an inner neurosis, a series of intimate confessions line up one after another. Therein lies Lily Allen's secret, while their are many layers to her artistry, at it's core her music is both completely remarkable and unremarkable, at the same time. It's Not Me It's You captures a moment in time in a person's life, someone's thoughts, someone's fears, someone's relationships, heartaches and occasional political musings. Lily puts forward her own internal dialogue it's personal and unique and yet simultaneously the neurosis of your average 22 year old girl (and bloke for that matter), this may seem totally unremarkable, but the level of openness, introspection and honesty is rarely heard in hushed conversations between best friends let alone on record for millions to hear. As a result Lily let people in, and they took her to heart, and as Lily found out she unwittingly made herself public property.

Now musically It's Not Me It's You's central weapon was juxtaposition, tracks like 22 saw Lily contrasting sweetie pie musical theatre flourishes with stark fears of a twenty something in London, worrying about finding love and finding direction before the prime time of her life passes her by. Never Gonna Happen and the brilliant Not Fair saw Lily in scathing form, unashamedly showing off her own cruelty as she couldn't forgive the guy of her dreams for being shit in bed, it was far removed from the sanctified balladry of Beyonce, this was real, this was honest, this was the type of girl both men and women could identify with, the genuine article, warts and all. As a result tracks that knowingly portray Allen as the villain only served to make her a hero, as these were the same moral contradictions that defined all our lives. The Fear the album's runaway number one single, remains an incredible and terrifying work. The line "I want loads of clothes and fuck loads of diamonds, I hear people die while they're trying to find them" remains eye opening, while it can be read on the one level as a simple joke about people's disposable morality it goes further, it's truthful, The Fear see's Lily admitting she doesn't know "what's right anymore". In one fail swoop Lily has defined the confused apathetic amorality that has dominated twenty first century western culture, while Lily extols societies ills she's also the first to admit that she's no better; she worries about the state of the world but really she's most concerned about making sure that she's "getting thinner". It's at this point you realize that It's Not Me It's You is not a witty jaunt played for laughs penned by a talented song writer, it's in fact someone's own deep introspection laid out in front of you, for the world to see. Of course the world saw themselves in Lily as she battled with the same fears, desires and hypocritical moral dilemmas we all have to face. In doing so Lily created the years most touching album and became a national treasure in the process. It's Not Me It's You was less an album, and more a window into a nations collective consciousness at a crucial and distinct moment in all our lives.

(Warner Bros. 2009, The Flaming Lips)

I have mixed feelings about this album, I adored it, I love it to bits, and I shall shortly shower an unending stream of praise upon it, but, on more than one occasion it has made me look very foolish. I'm not ashamed to admit it that every single time I listen to The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine when a little electronic burble of interference causes the beat to skip I end up reaching for my phone. Yes, the Flaming Lips actually incorporated the interference noise that occurs when you receive a text message next to an amp or set of speakers into a track, and yes each and every time I fall for it. In many ways this one cruel joke defines Embryonic and everything that makes the Lips great, in the middle of a beautiful piece of instrumentation they remain unafraid to throw in a self serving joke, and ask yourself this who other than the Flaming Lips would use a textual interference noise in a piece of such beauty? Embryonic then feels more like a celebration than a conventional album, in this one double album The Flaming Lips cram in all the off the wall experimentation, all the crunching grooves, all the huge riffage, all the silly jokes, all the drugs, all the sci, all of well...everything that has made the Flaming Lips who they are today. Embryonic may not be able to capture the magic in the bottle that made Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots pop masterpieces, it instead sees the Lips create the album they've always threaten to make, a huge sci-fi psychedelic epic of limitless boundaries and endless creativity.

Perhaps Embryonic's greatest triumph is it's ability to bring such scope and wild creative together into one coherent package across a double album. There is a genuine flow to this album, it fits together in a remarkable organic nature and the first half of the LP flows like a dream, as moods blend together and elide to create a gorgeous whole. There is no doubt that tracks like If and Evil taken in isolation seem incomprehensible but taken as a part of the bombastic journey from superb Convinced Of The Hex to the eerie emptiness of Gemini Syringes they feel utterly essential. This is without doubt a bold statement in 2009, we've had plenty of talk of the album dying as an artistic medium, and to an extent it's true, but this has not stopped The Lips crafting a knowingly expansive and independent work. Even stand out single the endlessly vibrant Silver Trembling Hands is part of a musical journey and feels hollow taken out of it's intended context. The empty space on this album is also thrilling, their are long periods of intense instrumentation, where grooves are allow to build or fade away as they see fit, the result are tracks like The Ego's Last Stand that could never be released as singles but stands as true epic master-work, of atmosphere and mood. As a result the Lips have created if not their best album to date, their most definitive, an album that encapsulates the spirit, ambition and desire of one of alternative musics true trailblazers. This is their magnus opus, for once a double album in the spirit of The White Album that benefits from it's own indulgence that would only lose it's charm were it touched by the editors pen.

In pop music every so often a band will come around with a track so staggering, so beautiful and so powerful that it stops you dead in you're tracks. It may not quite be a JFK moment, you may not remember where you were when you first heard it, but when you first hear the gorgeous Two Months it will without doubt leave a timeless mark upon you. In a year where pop music started out on the right footing with Lily Allen, La Roux, Natasha Kahn and Florence Welsh striding into the pop charts only to be replaced by the old stalwarts of conservatism Simon Cowell and the X Factor, it was in fact and an album on the fringe, never meant for the mainstream that would produce pop's most beautiful and defining moment. Away from the wars between Joe McEverly and Rage Against The Machine, it was the outsiders not the insiders who were making the year's most infectious pop music. Grizzly Bear and Veckatimest captured the spirit of the 21st Century by making music whose beauty is matched only by it's creativity and intricacy, this album never courted the mainstream, yet it flourished and in Two Months and While You Wait For The Others created two most beautiful pop songs imaginable. It followed in the newly created tradition of Fleet Foxes in creating an album unashamed of it's own folk and baroque pop sentiments and yet channelled these influences into ethereal gorgeous pop music that is simply too infectious and too heart warming to be labelled alternative and is too successful to be considered underground or arty.

What is truly staggering about Veckatimest is it's internal contradiction, across the album we are treated to these lush richly arranged track like Fine For Now or Southern Point, where the arrangements are so vibrant so crammed full of flourishes, sweeps and crescendos that it almost feels over produced or burdened yet at the tracks core are these simple beautiful melodies and multi-part harmonies that even on first listen are so striking and immediate that they reach in and pluck (or should that be coo?) at your heart strings. It's amazing that these two factors manage to balance at all, their is so much going on, each arrangement is crammed full of buzzing, wurring, cooing and pulsating drums that you should be constantly distracted and overwhelmed, and yet you're not, you're attention is never drawn from the powerhouse vocal performances. Of course all this discussion of music seems fruitless, this truly is an album to be experienced, describing Foreground will never do justice to a track so richly textured, beautifully sung or cleverly arranged. While at times Veckatimest can feel laboured it never ceases to astound, and it's most astounding feat is it's accessibility, this is an album that's open to everyone, it has all the hallmarks of the avante guard but it's simply too infectious, too hummable and too inescapable, it hooks you on the first listen, it's harmonies are too well pitched to be resisted, it's music is too inspiring and too captivating, ultimately Veckatimest is just too damn good to be denied.