The Album Club

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Ep.38 - Soundgarden (SPECIAL EPISODE) Jun 04, 2017

Show notes

We didn't want it to be like this. Nor did any of us expect it. We'd kind of been putting off covering Soundgarden for The Album Club, not because we weren't fans; Seattle's finest are well rooted in our collective venn diagram. We just wanted to save such a rich dish for later; the promise of delayed gratification. Sadly for us and for anyone else who loves the 90s' fiercest and most beautiful alchemists of bullish Sabbath riffs, Eastern Zeppelin flair, and Black Flag stomp, all pushed into the maelstrom by THAT (literally) inimitable voice, the sudden passing of our un-met friend Chris Cornell meant that we had to do this now. We felt, as many other fans have, compelled to celebrate one of our favourite bands, so we kind of go off format for this special episode, each picking our favourite Soundgarden songs (wasn't easy) and go through every odd timed and off kilter riff, frenzied drum fill, and knuckle-dragging bassline and marvel at each soulful croon, lion's roar, banshees's howl and timeless melody that our man Chris kept us in goosebumps with throughout our youth. Far from being a somber affair, however, we find time to geek out about the band's bombastic presentation, scratch our heads at Chris Cornell's obsession with dogs and the animal kingdom in general, and his penchant for refusing to have his inhuman powerhouse voice be tethered by the confines of a shirt. Like, ever. Thanks, Chris. RIP.

Ep.37 Hole - Live Through This May 29, 2017

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Love her or hate her (or just scared of her), Courtney Love defiantly smeared her lipstick all over the 90s as one of rock's most outspoken malcontents. Equally blessed and cursed by preconceptions about her marriage with 'that guy', she never got a real shake in her own right. Or maybe she got too much? We try to figure this out in as we go through the almost comically picaresque story of Hole's leader and what led to the creation of this rager of an album, a track by track walk-through, and the wincingly sensitive drama around its release before covering what happened next. So yeah, love her or hate her (or just scared of her), it kinda sucks that they don't make them like this anymore.

Ep.36 - Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral May 22, 2017

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This week we get our latex, synths, pinions, drills and other assorted machinery to cover one of the 90's most successful and hard hitting rock bands. We grind through the history of the industrial movement, pull levers to take a peek at the man behind the curtain, give our feedback on all the songs on this smash album, before hammering through the nuts and bolts of what happened next. This one gets noisy.

Ep.35 - Nick Drake - Bryter Layter May 15, 2017

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After setting our guitars and world's on fire last week, The Album Club takes it down a gear for a leisurely country drive in this episode. To say that Nick Drake was underappreciated in his lifetime is as much of an understatement as it is criminal to underestimate the man's talent. We sift through the short, mysterious, difficult and ultimately tragic life of one of last century's unsung recluse folk heroes. It's not all doom and gloom though; as we wind our way through the album's beautiful rural paths, we find time to discuss unconfirmed Patterson/Gimlin-esque video sightings, and rip saxophone over-player Ray Warleigh to shreds.

Ep.34 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced May 08, 2017

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For an artist that defied categorization as brazenly as he did in his short time on this planet, it's pretty awesome that Jimi Hendrix continues to be one the key cultural touchstones for many of the great tenets of Rock'n'Roll. The look, the creativity, the originality, the showmanship and, sweet mercy, the effortless plucking of otherworldly sounds from the haze both re-invented rock guitar and simultaneously terrified his megastar peers. We go through his humble beginnings and the making of his debut album before moving over, Rover, and letting Jimi take over as we go track by track through the record and cover what happened next. Right on.

Ep.33 - Tim Presley (White Fence, Darker My Love) SPECIAL EPISODE May 01, 2017

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This week we mix it up a bit with an interview with one of the best and most prolific songwriters of the decade, Tim Presley - aka White Fence. We talk to Tim about his career in music, from his start in Bay Area hardcore punk band The Nerve Agents in the 90s, into becoming frontman for Californian neo-psych band Darker My Love, his time in The Fall, his transition to White Fence, his collaborations with Ty Segall, his current band Drinks and his solo work. We discuss music today, the LA scene, the songwriting process and where the drive and inspiration comes from to churn out so many songs. We were absolutely stoked to have Tim with us.

Ep.32 - Vs - Pearl Jam Apr 24, 2017

Show notes

Yeah, it was gonna happen right? Part three of our self-imposed Seattle Tetralogy, Pearl Jam get the Album Club deluxe massage this week. It was kind of a toss up between any of the first three records really, but Vs. won out. Why? Well, much like Nirvana's 'In Utero' this is a band, at the height of their unimaginable success/hype deciding who they want to be and perhaps more importantly, who they do not. Refusing to simply go with 'Ten (Pt.2)' ('Eleven'?), they defiantly spat this monster out and started the move away from MTV-friendly commercial rock they would consolidate even further on 'Vitalogy' and beyond. On top of all that, let's face it, Pearl Jam are the gold standard of how you age as a rock band. And their numerous, staunchly fanatical followers will back us up. Massive respect. Also.... Rearviewmirror. That is all.

Ep.31 - Korn - Korn Apr 17, 2017

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No, seriously. This week we're talking about Korn with a K. Despite the fact that this band were wholly responsible for kickstarting the most heinous and vacuous stylistic trend in rock since hair-metal, and some of the most laughably buffoonish looks sinceâ€¦. well, hair metal, no one sounded or looked like Korn in 1994. True innovators, and this album still delivers the meth-addled bludgeoning and Tasmanian-devil-gone-wrong vocal attack. For a little while there, these Bakersfield boys were the real deal and game changers. Then it all got a bit silly.

Ep.30 - The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico Apr 10, 2017

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The greatest and most important album of all time. Boom! Peel slowly and see how a motley bunch of misfits came together and invented glam, punk, new wave, goth, noise and alternative rock by writing songs about death, sadomasochism, heroin, parties and hangovers. Radiating outsider, NYC, artsy cool, we chart the history of the band and their Warhol connections, the rank and rushed recording of the album, the iconic album cover, a track-by-track analysis, and we recount the rest of the VU's decline, fall and reappraisal.The greatest and most important album of all time? Well, I guess, but I just don't know.

Ep.29 - Oasis - Definitely Maybe Apr 03, 2017

Show notes

Break's over, we're back and we're mad fer it! And what better way to kick off Season 2 than by tackling one of Rock's finest and most volatile bands of the last 30 years. We discuss the formation of Oasis back in the Manchester's early 90s, Britpop, the leadup and recording of this album, our kid's seemingly effortless knack at writing a tune or 50, the music world's most notorious brotherly feud, hilarious quotes (including Liam's penchant for calling his older brother a potato), their legacy, and the underestimated importance of being Bonehead. Sound, mate.

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