Skip The Budgie

A crazy crazy manic week it has been! I have some exciting tales to tell, but not today. Today we shall talk about music. I have recently powered up my playroom at home with some proper speakers, so I can really let rip (when the GF isn't in, of course!) and have been enjoying all sorts of wonderful noises.

Lou Rhodes: Bloom

Lou Rhodes' first solo album, Beloved One, is a thing of beauty, certainly. It's one of those acoustic girly singer albums that just makes your spine tingle, helped in no small measure by Lou's gorgeous, deep husky voice. Where Beloved One is gentle however, Bloom is much more adventurous. It is still primarily acoustic, but many of the songs have a darker edge to them, there are some outright bizarre chord changes and the whole thing is more upbeat. Personally I prefer the other one, but there are some good tunes on here.

The Mars Volta: Bedlam in Goliath

I can't say that much about this one really, it is 70 minutes of unrelenting full on rock, prog jams and pure choas, although compared to their last effort Amputechture it is positively sedate and tuneful. The general impression here is that there is a (slighty) more coherent vision, as if the band have started to work out where they are heading at last, whereas I was worried they had lost it completely! Um... Easier to let them explain it really, this album is excellent!

The Mars Volta: Goliath: