PJ Harvey & John Parish no compromise - FILTER Magazine

BAT FOR LASHES
Two Suns 89%
ASTRALWERKS
Of all the victims of the great
postmodern exaltation of mediocrity,
it is romance itself that lies most bleeding. Her
Ladyship Natasha Khan, bless her, is having none of
it. As Bat for Lashes, she could well have gone all
trendoid on this, her second collection, yet Two Suns
sees her crawling even further down the mystical
rabbit hole. This is a beauteous, hallucinatory journey
through Arcadian daydreams of mortal heartache and
caprice, set gorgeously to the musical echoes of
Albion and illuminated by the august majesties of
days gone by. Hell yeah. KEN SCRUDATO
PETER BJORN AND JOHN
Living Thing 74%
ALMOST GOLD/
STAR TIME INTERNATIONAL
It’s mighty hard to keep pace in the
long shadow of the “Young Folks.” With its latest
LP, Living Thing, the trio of Swedes has delivered
another batch of minimalist pop, simple hooks and
good-time kicks. But how alive is it really Maybe
the title Writer’s Block would fit this album better,
as its barren second-half suggests a struggle for
inspiration. “I’m Losing My Mind” is a sort of ars
poetica for writing under pressure:“I’m losing my
mind/way behind.” However, there are signs of life.
“It Don’t Move Me” actually does move and “Nothing
to Worry About” is the cohesive PBJ we know and
love, but the forced sparsity of Thing ultimately flatlines
by its finish. KYLE MacKINNEL
DOVES
Kingdom of Rust 90%
ASTRALWERKS
While the band’s name may evoke
images of white feathers and olive
branches, the title of its fourth album gives way to
darker visions of rotting royal accoutrements and
majestic towers coated with the signs of a bygone
era. Thankfully those faded images fit with the music,
if not with the band. They may be veterans of the
British music scene by now, but they perform the
single “Jetstream” with more intensity and fervor than
practically anything else in their catalogue. And the
rest of the album succeeds in shaking off any rust the
band may have collected over the years. While the
kingdom of rust may fade away, the kingdom of Doves
is here to stay. JEREMY MOEHLMANN
GOMEZ
A New Tide 80%
ATO
Winsome and lonesome as usual,
Gomez’s sixth record does nothing
to break from the past, save to abstract the bits of
crisp clarity that shone on 2006’s How We Operate.
Most interesting, nonetheless, is how the band
continues to utilize each distinctive vocalist apart
from the others. Whether by the vocal coarseness of
Ben Ottewell, Ian Ball’s tonal youth, or Tom Gray’s
charming mediation between them, engaging sparks
still ignite as they all wind together (“Win Park
Slope”). BREANNA MURPHY
The Venture Bros.:
3rd Season 84%
WARNER
The third season of The Venture
Bros. picks up where season two
left off: the demolishing of The
Monarch’s dreaded Cocoon and its subsequent
rebuilding by his winged dominions. Packed with
witty banter, super-hero/villain parody and the
sexy auspices of the deep-voiced but shapely Dr.
Girlfriend, The Venture Bros.’ third installment is
more of the same high-action cartooning—made
for adults, of course. Also making appearance in
season three: Sgt. Hatred, General Manhowers,
and obviously, Dr. Venture and his dim-wit
boys. ERIK NOWLAN
MOTÖRHEAD [REISSUES]
Overkill 89%
Iron Fist 90%
Bomber 87%
Ace of Spades 91%
UNIVERSAL
I mean, I get that there are people who don’t like
Motörhead, which is cool, but at least once in your life
you’re going to find yourself on the run from the cops
doing a buck-fifty in the wrong lane at 3 a.m. (shades on,
obviously) and dude, what else are you going to pop into
the tape deck This is one of the most ass-kickingest fouralbum
runs in the history of music, featuring the greatest
lineup in Motörhead’s three decades of ass-kickery.
Every track sounds like a knife fight between speed and
beer. The existence of this band would be worth it just for
“Ace of Spades,” but they produced another three dozen
songs just as good, and without them, who knows what
you’d listen to in jail. MAX READ
22 FILTER GOOD MUSIC GUIDE