We loved it at the time (2008 if you didn’t know) and having heard this track trickle from the PA at a recent festival – we just had to remind you of it. More timeless than retro (thanks Dave Simpson) the Golden Silvers only ever had a keyboard, drums and bass – and this track proves it’s all they ever needed. The band went on to curate the Bronze club at the Macbeth in Shoreditch – which was so dangerously trendy – most of the regulars are probably dead.
It is a shame however that rarer than both Gold or Silver would bee seeing the band live again. There’s something to be said for letting your songwriting take the lead, and we could do with another group like this today. Maybe then we wouldn’t be so Dissatisfied!
Check out their album (also called True Romance); embrace a loved one and let the mellow vocals of Gwilym Gold convert you. Ahhhhh – oh so satisfying
Not only have the Swedish band refused to change their power chord ridden, fuzz induced sound but more impressively their fan base has not diminished as a result, and when you see them live you understand why. The crowd who packed out Brixton academy were a typically harmless, middle-aged one but from the moment they came on stage outfitted with matching suit and tie, which has become so much their trademark, the energy of the crowd surged as if they were 10 years younger. Straight into ‘Two Timing Touch and Broken Bones’ and we had lift off, this was why their sound had stayed the same for so long. High octane, cymbal packed drums, riff filled, distortion driven guitars and vigorous, lyric flowing singing from Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (yes that’s his actual name), brought everyone to their feet. This was what live music rock is all about. Pelle’s charismatic front-manning was the star of the show without a doubt.
He was incessant in exciting the crowd with laughter and cheering, at one moment suggesting that he was going to shut the fuck up because it was getting in the way of the applause, in another, having the influence to get everyone to sit down, bar a few eunuchs, before the build to ‘hate to say I told you so’. This kind of attraction from stage to crowd helped bring out their surprisingly extensive back-catalogue of songs spanning 5 albums (even that one from the Vauxhall Corsa advert). Overall dissatisfied towers came out of this sweaty show feeling pretty damn satisfied, as satisfied as when Merriweather beat the shit out of T.I.
Our most satisfactory sounds for the week starting 25/08/14
21st Century – Remember the Rain
Ice cool R&B (the proper kind) from the 70’s group 21st Century. Released in 1975 this song didn’t garner too much success at the time and somewhat ironically the titular century is probably the one where the group will enjoy their most success. The recent tragedy is that “Somebody Else” a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Mario, featuring vocals from Nicki Minaj, uses the track as a sample – meaning Remember the Rain will reach an audience – but probably for the wrong reasons. We refuse to put a link to Mario’s track – so check out this soulful classic for the right reasons. – SATISFIED
MC Eiht – Streight up Menace
The 1993 single by MC Eiht off the soundtrack of 1993 movie Menace II Society. The lyrics of the song focus on the life of the characters in the movie, acting as a sort of plot summary for the film. Old skool Hip-Hop done right – no complaints from us. Haven’t seen the movie? Check out the track- it’s better anyway. – SATISFIED
NECRO – WHO’S YOUR DADDY
Wow……Where to begin? Firstly if you didn’t know already Necro prides himself in rapping about the most depraved and sordid details one can think of. Manson murders described in all there gory details? – Check Creepy Crawly – The depths of drug abuse? I Need Drugs of course. But it is not the gore and wince-inducing subject matter that Necro’s tracks have in common……They’re all really fucking good. Who’s your Daddy is no exception – sampling the Zombie’s Time of the Season – in this track Necro postulates about his penchant for hookers and porn stars. Listen to the track below – but especially watch out for the line;
“Ridiculous pussy lips – I predicted, you’ll be addicted to my dick once you licked it”
Disgusting, horrific and absolutely ingenious. Making it not only one of fave rap lines of all time – but one of our favourite tracks as well. – SATISFIED
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE – BLUES FROM AN AIRPLANE
Jefferson Airplane are great, but they were even better with Dissatisfied favourite Skip Spence on guitar. This track was from the debut offering Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. Its a great tune and much darker and broodier than some of their more happy clappy numbers. Enjoy….. SATISFIED
The Bohicas are fast building themselves a loyal fan base. Signed to Domino Records and having ben touring extensively and a recent spate of oversees gigs has seen their stock consistently rise sharply over the past 12 months. They’re by no means the finished article – with only one official EP release to their name. But boy is that EP is a stormer!
Well actually XXX is a an ok offering – it’s Swarm that get’s our blood pumping! Can you feel the satisfaction?
With the howling sound of two guitars singing in unison – the band really do sound like a swarm of hornets -topped off with a cowbell that would cure Chris Walken’s fever.
Fresh from the NME Radar tour we defiantly suggest you join the swarm and check these guys out. Definitely one to keep an eye on – 8/10
Formed when Justin Gartry (Guitar & Vocals), Rhys Maslen (Drums & BVs), Michael Cooper (Bass & BVs) met at production school. As the setting would suggest, these guys have years of musical experience between them; yet regardless of this familiarity with the scene – Bella Figura are astonishingly accomplished for a band who have been together less than 12 months.
With heavy Led Zep inspired soundscapes, twinned with the rich Crash Test Dummies style baritone of frontman Justin, their brand of intricately put together – yet ultimately eardrum melting rock is refreshing and oh so satisfying. We love trios at DissatisfiedSounds as it forces everyone to get involved – and involved they get! With only a guitar, bass and drums – Bella Figura create a unique sound that grabs you and forces you to take notice.
Without a full release yet – we at DissatisfiedSounds have had to get our satisfaction fix of late from the steady drip of releases popping up on the band’s profiles on Soundcloud and Youtube.
Live favourite and official bangerRemember you Said, one of our tracks of the week– picks up the loud-quiet-loud methodology, of The Pixies and Nevermind-era Nirvana and overlays the sombre but catchy lyricism the band are known for for.
Catchy tunes – with wicked guitar sounds are sort of Bella Figura’s calling card. Somebody New is no different. The band lay down a building tempo before the crash of symbols and drums takes us to the chorus where we are accused of not loving them“The Way that I love you!” Keep up like this boys and its just a matter of time before those roles are reversed.
We’re satisfied by all of Bella Figura’s releases – but we cannot stress how important it is to see these guys live. They’re moments away form playing the big slots so if you wanna get up close and personal with the band – there’s no time like the present!
Satisfy yourself and catch the band this week at the below links…
We are DissatisfiedSounds – the team trying to save you the time and depression of wading through the troughs of ‘popular’ music currently being pumped out by the mainstream music facists (kind of…). This is the first article of our Number 1 Watch feature – where we pick the chart’s number one record of the week and assess whether we’re dissatisfied with what the punters are buying or whether we’re moving back to a more satisfying time where good music really does rise to the top
It seems with Nico & Vinz’s – I am wrong – we’re no closer to the musical satisfaction we desire.
Now bear with us……we’re not so arrogant at Dissatisfied towers to think that our opinion is the be all and end all (even though it pretty much is) and we understand that a track that leaves us dissatisfied may well be played at someone’s funeral or a wedding or something. However we believe a spade should be called a spade – This track just ain’t that good.
Its not that we reject the usual far of auto-tuned EDM numbers – it’s hard to when they accompany every advert, radio broadcast and match of the day highlight reel. We just felt the need to highlight our reservations whilst Nico & Vinz enjoy their berth at the top of the charts.
Guess where these guys are from? – Yep – you’re right Norway. (No, really)
To be honest…… sounds a lot like – Akon. Thats not us trying to be humorous – we genuinely at first thought this was the Senegalese polygamist himself. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing as Akon has carved out a huge following writing the best tunes of a bland genre. And this is the crux – whilst the euro-poppy EDM tunes with recycled drops and beats aren’t our favourites, we can point to plenty of examples of this done well. David Guetta’s done the rounds with Akon, Kelly Rowland, Usher etc. and we can just about handle the Avicci led sampler brigade. But Nico & Vinz’s – I am wrong is so middle of the road, so painfully unadventurous.
The aforementioned Swedish Wunderkind Avicci, maybe in a fit of Frankenstein-esque remorse, has expressed his distaste for the derivative musical behemoth he himself helped create. In the last year the DJ has isolated huge droves of fans by aiming to play a more experimental soulful brand of electronic dance music with vocal flavour. When pressed about whether he felt the current spate of sample heavy DJ’s is good for music, he responded in his now controversial feature in GQ;
“I guess I think like deep inside, I know that it’s like, it’s a different kind of performing, it’s not really… You’re not performing like a guitar player or a singer is performing, you know what I mean? ‘Cause I’m not really doing much, you know, like technically it’s not that hard.”
He goes onto say,
“Everyone knows how to get a hit now. You take an existing hit and remix it – theres no thought going into this music anymore.”
Hey mum!
Something tells us that Avicci wouldn’t be too impressed with Nico & Vinz’s offering either. So to conclude – this track is not awful – its even quite catchy; yet it’s unoriginal sound, repetitive beat and derivative vocals lead it to be awarded a 3/10 and a big fat DISSATISFIED.
That said…no single sold more in the UK than I am Wrong this week….
Now do you get why we started founded DissatisfiedSounds?!
We’ve made no secret of how satisfied we are with Bella Figura – they’re gunna be big basically. If we had to, the only thing about the band that could do with some work is probably their recent choice of gigs.
Rumour has it the band are under new management – so hopefully that will allow them to play at calibre of venue appropriate for their accomplished sound.
Because this one didn’t start well. First with Cadence a distinctly average three piece, before they were made to look like the fucking Beatles by what I can only describe as the local secondary school’s music group – Under the Sun.
Seeing the band getting ID’d getting into the gig – we got the impression this may have been their first ever show. After ten minutes of faffing on stage, the lead singer eventually managed to get the message to the soundboard that the bass player couldn’t hear himself. “Something to do with his monitor or something……. I don’t know what a monitor is” exclaimed the red headed front woman (well – front girl).
So definitely their first show.
A incessant run of Lumineers/ Edward Sharp and basically shit covers convinced us then to go for a fag. s
Back in 20 mins later and a real band were setting up. Having only been together for a matter of months and without a full release, the band seem to get tighter and more impressive with each show. Old favourites Remember you said, Better manandAnything & Everything Elsewere as great as to be expected – but the addition of two new bangers (which the band claim are more themselves than anything before) really left us Satisifed.
If this is what we are to expect from the rumoured upcoming EP release – we are surely in for a treat. Watch this space as the band simply will not be playing gigs of this size for much longer – the main stage beckons.
Whilst the warm up acts left us perplexed if not vexed – Bella Figura are always the potion. This gig gets an 8/10 and a well deserved SATISFIED.
One man on a cross-country motorcycle trip to try and record an album in seven days before being sent back to the looney bin. Sounds a bit like a terrible Adam Sandler movie or something, but as with all the best stories, this one’s actually true.
Alexander “Skip” Spence was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1946 to a decorated Canadian WW II bomber pilot father. In the late 1950s, the family relocated from Windsor to San Jose, California, based on Spence’s father finding work in the aircraft industry. At the age of ten, Skip was given his first guitar by his parents.
Spence was a guitarist in the band The Other Side before Marty Balin recruited him to be the drummer for Jefferson Airplane. After one album with Jefferson Airplane, their debut Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, he left to co-found the band Moby Grape. Whilst Skip enjoyed the success and fame his talent brought him he also turned out to be a sucker for the excesses that inherently came with the two.
Jefferson Airplane in 1966. Skip left the band before they garnered world fame for Surrealistic Pillow. (1967)
During the recording session of Moby Grape’s second album, Wow, in 1968, famously Spence attempted to break down a bandmate’s hotel room door with a fire axe, while under the influence of LSD. Spence’s deterioration in New York and the “fire axe incident” are described by bandmate Jerry Miller as follows:
“Skippy changed radically when we were in New York. There were some people there that were into harder drugs and a harder lifestyle, and some very weird shit. And so he kind of flew off with those people. Skippy kind of disappeared for a little while. Next time we saw him, he had cut off his beard, and was wearing a black leather jacket, with his chest hanging out, with some chains and just sweating like a son of a gun. I don’t know what the hell he got a hold of, man, but it just whacked him. And the next thing I know, he axed my door down in the Albert Hotel. They said at the reception area that this crazy guy had held an axe to the doorman’s head.”
As described by bandmate Peter Lewis, it appears if possible Skip’s condition began to deteriorate into even more ludicrous hallucinogenic binges.
“They’d played a Fillmore East gig without me, and Skippy took off with some black witch afterward who fed him full of acid. It was like that scene in The Doors movie. He thought he was the anti-Christ. He tried to chop down the hotel room door with a fire axe to kill Don (Stevenson) to save him from himself. He went up to the 52nd floor of the CBS building where they had to wrestle him to the ground. And Rubinson pressed charges against him. They took him to The Tombs (and then to Bellevue) and that’s where he wrote Oar. When he got out of there, he cut that album in Nashville. And that was the end of his career. They shot him full of Thorazine for six months. They just take you out of the game.”
Don’t mind me – I’m just the anti-Christ
However whilst being pumped full of the strongest meds available would put most of us down – Skip’s tale had one more turn up it’s sleeve.
On the day before his release, he drove a motorcycle, and as the urban myth goes, dressed in only his pyjamas, directly to Nashville to record his only solo album, with no other musicians appearing on it, the now-classic psychedelic/folk album Oar (1969, Columbia Records).
A Haunting and at times mad album – it’s definitely one we think you guys should check out. We don’t like to hear of anyone losing it Peter Green style, but, its a very satisfying album and one where the backdrop lets the songs resonate even longer in the memory.
Our personal fave Cripple Creek (we’re so great we even embedded it below…..nope, no need to thank us…..)
Oar gets a 7.5/10 and leaves us a little creeped out about the thought of Skip axing our door down The Shining Style – but ultimately SATISFIED
We’re now on youtube! If you haven’t already, we expect yo to drop everything and subscribe to our channel and get all the latest satisfactory hits beamed into your brain on a daily basis. Listen to us and you won’t need a radio ever again. A sea of satisfactory sounds is soon to be flowing your way! Pretty sweet huh?!
Drugs, violence and just plain rock & roll madness were major themes covered in the 2004 rockumentaryDig! as viewers watched San Francisco psychedelic rock band the Brian Jonestown Massacre fall apart at the seams. Yet, it was their goofy, flamboyant and not-nearly-as-volatile (well slightly less-so) tambourine player Joel Gion who became a favourite with a lot of fans whilst by no means being as talented as the more active members of the group…..
…….Or maybe he was?
Well no. But the upcoming first solo release from Mr. Gion, Apple Bonkers, certainly marks the death of the simple tambourine player for the BJM. It seems Joel has wanted to move on for quite some time, as in fact, BJM leader Anton Newcombe asked Gion to rejoin the band a year after the movie was released—he quit during the filming—because so many people were coming up to him at shows, asking him where the “tambourine guy” was.
So having never even written a single song before a few years ago how does the lead track YES from his upcoming full release fair?
Well, it’s a good effort. A simple, yet catchy riff drives the tune, whilst a pleasant plodding bass keeps the head bobbing. Not bad at all. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Considering its his first outing the track sounds accomplished, with multiple instruments in play and that unmistakable BJM vibe. Definitely makes us want to check out Apple Bonkers and for that reason gets a 7/10 and a big fat SATISFIED!
Oh and also check out Dig!probably the best music documentary of the last twenty years. Winner of the Cannes film festival best documentary prize and a rare, genuinely sincere insight into the lives of two bands, both incredibly talented, but destined to follow different paths. Whilst we can’t say seeing one of our favourite musicians of all time’s descent into heroin addiction is satisfying……boy is it a good watch!
Here at Dissatisfied Towers – there is one thing that really grinds our gears – people being disingenuous about their influences. Hip Hop is famed for the blurred lines between the ownership of content. Sampling is its lifeblood and Hip Hop has a proud tradition of artists featuring on each-other’s tracks – but what when is that line crossed? When does Jaz-Z’s 99 problems – a nod to ICE-T, cease to be a mark or respect and become a flat out theft?
Well it seems Drake (also known as the least threatening rapper alive) has cleared that mystery up for us.
Perennial satisfier Rappin 4-Tay has delighted for years with his smooth blend of old skool Hip Hop brewed in the foggy San Francisco bay area. Imagine his surprise ( and ours for that matter) when his 1993 hit Playaz Club cropped up beat for beat on Drake’s track – Who Do You Love? – from the equally dissatisfactory album My Krazy Life (2014).
Both of the tracks are here – we’ll let you decided for yourself whether you think Drake’s is being , well, cheeky. (hint. – he is).
Still not clear enough?
Drake starts off his verse rapping:
I got a shorty name Texas and She got a buddy name Young JB and now you know the deal We turnt up in the studio late night That’s why the songs that you hear are comin’ real tight
This follows 4-Tay’s formula on his 1994 single “Playaz Club”:
I got a ho named Reel-to-Reel She got a buddy named SP 12, now you know the deal We gets freaky in the studio late night That’s why the beats that you hear are coming real tight
This isn’t the first time Drake has been accused oft bein a little heavy handed with his influences. Back in 2010, Drake pulled a similar move by reciting lyrics from dead prez‘s “Hip Hop” on “Over,” the lead single off his debut album Thank Me Later. “One thing ’bout music: when it hits, you feel no pain/And I swear I got this shit that make these bitches go insane,” he rapped. However no issue between Drake and dead prez arose after the song’s release.
Interestingly Rappin 4-Tay himself claimed he wouldn’t have flagged the issue if he felt he had been given the proper respect he deserved on the track – rather than no mention at all. Drake has reportedly settled the dispute with Rappin’ 4-Tay, and the San Fran native never filed a lawsuit, but according to his manager, Drake’s label paid $100,000 to settle the burgeoning beef. Rappers referencing old songs in their lyrics is no new trend , but clearly all involved decided the transgression was worth a six-figure payday for Mr. 4-Tay.
Whilst we here at DissatisfiedSounds can’t quite pass $100,000 the way of Rappin 4-Tay we can give him something ultimately more valuable. A well-earned SATISIFED for this track.
Playaz Club takes the sample of Private Number by William Bell and Judy Clay and inlays his iconic velvety smooth West coat rhymes throughout creating a timeless example of the best of the golden-era of Gansta rap.
Rappin’ 4-Tay’s Playaz Club
Drake – Who Do You Love?
Who de we love? Sorry not you Drake……get your own damn songs!
Where to begin with Ty Segall? This generation’s Beck his offerings often combine elements of many different genres, such as garage rock, punk rock, psychedelic rock, noise rock, glam rock, as well as heavy metal and classic rock. With Ty himself stating in interviews that his favourite band of all time is Hawkwind – it’s hard to tie this guy down. Twin the tangled web of musical influences, with his below discography and you begin to see how prolific this guy really is. Oh and did we mention he’s 27?…and he plays all the instruments on his solo releases?….
show off…..
Discography
As a solo artist
Studio albums
Ty Segall – Cassette/LP (2008; Burger Records issued cassette only / Castle Face issued LP only)
Lemons – CD/LP (2009; Goner Records)
Melted – CD/LP (2010; Goner Records)
Goodbye Bread – CD/LP (2011; Drag City)
Twins – Cassette/CD/LP (2012; Drag City)
Sleeper Cassette/CD/LP (2013; Drag City)
Manipulator Cassette/CD/LP (2014; Drag City)
Other albums
Horn the Unicorn (Original Release) – Cassette (2008; Wizard Mountain)
Halfnonagon (split with Superstitions) – Cassette (2008; Wizard Mountain)
Swag / Sitting In The Back Of A Morris Marina Parked At The Pier Eating Sandwiches Whilst The Rain Drums On The Roof (split with Black Time) – LP (2009; Telephone Explosion Records)
Horn the Unicorn (Re-release with Addition Tracks) – LP (2009; HBSP-2X)
Ty Segall & Lemons – Cassette (2010; Burger Records)
$ingles – Cassette (2010; Psychic Snerts)
San Francisco Rock Compilation or Food or Weird Beer From Microsoft – Limited Release, only 350 copies made – Cassette/LP (2010; God? Records issued cassette only / 2011; Social Music Records issued LP only)
The Primate Five vs The Traditional Fools (split with The Primate Five) – 7″ (2007; Goodbye Boozy Records)
The Traditional Fools – 7″ (2007; Chocolate Covered Records)
The Traditional Fools – LP (2008; Wizard Mountain/Make A Mess Records)
The Perverts
The Perverts – 7″ (2009; HBSP-2X)
Sic Alps
“Breadhead” – 7″ (2011; Drag City Records)
Fuzz
This Time I Got A Reason/Fuzz’s Fourth Dream – 7″ (2012, Trouble In Mind)
Sleigh Ride/You Won’t See Me – 7″ (2013, In the Red)
Live in San Francisco EP – 12″ (2013, Castle Face)
Fuzz – LP (2013, In the Red)
Sunderberry Dream/21st Century Schizoid Man – 7″ (2013, In the Red)
Till the End of the Day (Kinks cover) – 7″ (2014, Famous Class)
So aaaaaaaaaaaaaany way. Congratulations on making it to the bottom.
But regardless of how many singles this guy has dropped over the last few years – the tune that’s really satisfying us at the moment is Girlfriend. Short, tight and punky with a Hives’y edge on the shouty vocals. Californian punk pop that earns a nice 8/10.
Our most satisfactory sounds for the week starting 18/08/14
King Harvest – Dancing in the Moonlight
Original to the tune made famous by everyone’s not so favourite band Toploader. These fur clad 70’s rocker’s vocals are just oh so sweet they makes us want to, well…dance in the moonlight I suppose – SATISFIED
FIDLAR – Crackhead Ted
This tune from the prolific Californian punk rockers is a pretty low fi effort, with squealing guitars and an unnerving video to match. The band make no secret for their penchant for booze and drugs, and Crackhead Ted is no exception to the rule, with singer Zac Carper reeling of a list of narcs that would cause Keith himself to think twice. But with the suggestion from the band that they’ve already forgotten how to play the song and that they wrote it over the course of a weekend – we think you should check it out before the band forget about it all together – SATISFIED
Brothas Doobie – Lost in Thought
Now for a little change of pace. 1995 saw Cypress Hill at the forefront of the mid-90’s rap scene. Black Sunday had exploded across the globe and everyone was craving their blend of South Californian post-gangster Hip-Hop. Enter Brothas Doobie – whom Cypress Hill announced as their protégés.
Fast forward to now and Brothas Doobie never reached the heady heights that their mentors may have – but with Lost in thought, with its clever sample of the Los Angeles Negros, they stand apart from Cypress Hill; displaying their more patient and thoughtful approach. A seminal tune from a group who deserved more recognition at the time. SATISFIED
together Pangea – Sick Shit
Much like FIDLAR, together Pangea are doing their best to claw back some credibility for modern rock – shunning the heavily produced offerings of previous years, for raw driving punk music, heavy on the guitar, drums and well, pretty much everything. The track comes from this years Badilliac – however we prefer the Rollo & Grady’s session recording – as the guitar really sings. Enjoy below,
SATISFIED
Bella Figura – Remember You Said
DissatisfiedSounds favourites Bella Figura are simply great – even better live. We don’t feel the need to say much more as this massive track does the talking. Watch out for more stuff from us about these guys – they’re gunna be big.
This track has whipped the DissatisifedSounds HQ into such a frenzy it’s almost dangerous. This song comes with the strongest DissatisfiedSounds warning – if this song comes on – you will be required, No! Incapable, of not grooving your ass off.
The synths bounce along in a such a way that will have the biggest of cynics will covered in day-glow and & doing the running man within minutes. The drop on 2:00 has been rumoured to be In use in Shanghai by the local government in easing anti-state protests… (probably)
Vintetro’s Tetron proves that all you need is a laptop to get the whole world to boogie and that there is no rhyme or reason for what makes us Satisfied.
To kick us off and set the mood, here’s a track that has been spinning in the DissatisfiedSounds HQ of late.
The most recent track from Tripwires – Total Fascination Stuff.
2013’s Spacehopper saw the band really hit the big time
Following 2013’s Spacehopper, which saw the band get major radio play and a tour the country in increasingly impressive style – Tripwires seem to have taken their outspoken influences from Brian Eno to heart as Total Fascination Stuff floats along slightly gentler than the previous more rocky efforts from the Reading four-piece. Playing up to their shoegazer tag, this track will definitely be one to watch out for on their live tour as clearly some love has gone into its composition – with intricately written guitar melodies dripping all over the track – it really is a beautiful song. With a low-fi video shot with a dreamy filter, this wistful tune earns the band a 8/10.
We were satisfied. After being a fixture on the London scene for many years Jamie Alexander Treays (Jamie T to you or I) represented a new vanguard of lyric savvy singer song writers taking the influx of vibrant guitar led music of the mid-2000’s and adding their own lippy world view.
Songs like Sheila and If you got the Money won him droves of fans and earned him headline slots and major radio play. His first full album, 2007’s Panic Prevention, is now logged in the annals of history as a truly seminal record of the mid 2000’s. This was then cemented by 2009’s Kings & Queens, with the lead track Sticks n Stones winning Jamie further mainstream success and even more of a loyal fan base.
That was 2009 – a good 5 years ago and Jamie has been awfully quiet. With rumblings of Record labels rejecting his first offering for album number 3, and suggestions that Jamie himself may have let the heady success of his early career get the best of him – some wondered if he would ever make his return.
But 2014’s Don’t You Find has announced his return and we at DissatisfiedSounds are here to save you some time and tell you whether or not you should care.
Much slower than his previous efforts, this track forms a ghost like melody that plods along eerily with the addition of sharp female harmonies – this is clearly not the Jamie we knew before. With minimal lyricism this methodical, tightly conceived tune is definitely a change of pace.
One that will definitely find its audience of course – with its chorus of oooo-aaaahhhs and synth heavy effects, the punters at the UK’s festivals wont be short of lines to sing along to. Thats not to say that we don’t respect Mr T for trying to evolve and become more mature (see our review for Cage the Elephant’s Melaphobia for how this can be done right) but this track seems to want to be a moody, important track – but comes across as rather straightforward. Whilst clearly not designed for those wanting to hear more of the same, this track seems to have been written for the post Alt-J, XX audience who want to hear slower darker tunes – whist having a basic chorus of cavemen sounds – a technique made famous by the Lumineers. We feel Jamie has misplaced some of his cheeky Wimbledon charm in the intervening years – part of the reason we liked him in the first place.
This is not the be all and end all however as an album is on the way and if his latest release Zombie (see below) is anything to go by there is still space on the new LP for the true-to-life lyrics and faster paced hits of years gone by on the upcoming release.
Cage the Elephant achieved surprise commercial success in the mid 2000’s – with Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked breaking into the British Top 40 – a unexpected success for all, including the band. Whilst their unique brand of pop punk – with garbled hip hop infused lyricism & country and blues style grooves won the group many fans – the question still remained to be answered in our minds – do they truly satisfy?
This photo took a team of stylist 6 months to put together – don’t believe us? – look at pictures from 2005…
Well this question need not be asked again as the band’s third effort, 2013’s, Melaphobia is an absolute scorcher.
Kicking off with the Spiderhead the band start as they mean to go on, clearly prioritising tight intricate guitar parts with smooth grooving rhythms, the band have clearly decided to go for a more mature accomplished sound than their sophomore effort.
The result is a really convincing album that at times smoothly tickles the listener before hitting you in the face with rocky drums and whooping bass lines.
The first three tracks on the album Spiderhead, Come a Little Closer & Telescope all sound distinct but at the same time consistent, Telescope a nursery rhyme – with Come a Little Closer, a modern rock anthem if we’ve ever heard one. A consistent piece of music – Cage the Elephant’s latest effort deserves to be held up high and really taken seriously. We can’t wait for what they’ve got planned next.
A brilliant album that gets our rating of 8.5 / 10
Welcome to DissatisfiedSounds, where we decide whether today’s latest tunes are satisfactory or dissatisfactory – whether they’re fit for your ears – or will bring you to tears.
Helping you spot the difference between the really sweet bands and the pretty fucking blands; the next big thing and the ones who shouldn’t fucking sing!
Dissatisfied with Zane Lowe and the Radio 1 smug brigade telling YOU what to listen to?
Then sit down relax and get satisfied as we show of some of our fave tunes – and warn you about the one’s you should really avoid!
No one is alone in the search for good tunes, so let DissatisfiedSounds guide you to a world of musical satisfaction.
As in life, at DissatisfiedSounds – there is no middle ground – we’re either SATISFIED – or DISSATISFIED…..sounds harsh – but dems da rules. Easy huh? Soon you’ll be gaining some real satisfaction traction on your own….
We hope you enjoy our selects and agree on our dishonourable mentions – but if not – send us a message and we’ll be sure to find your home address, track you down and prove that we are actually right (which we always are….)
Fresh from the NME Radar tour we defiantly suggest you join the swarm and check these guys out. Definitely one to keep an eye on – 8/10 
DissatisfiedSounds 