This Blog has Moved!

But never fear because we’re not too far away. We’ve only moved to the Internet next door (sometimes named Wordpress)

Although Tumblr was my original home, for a long while this site has been nothing more than a mirror of the full-on Mother-blog which be found on Wordpress.

We’ve had fun here, mainly by missing out vowls, and it’s sad that I have to leave - but I must.

So don’t adjust your TV sets, just flip those bookmarks to http://mainlygenius.wordpress.com and let the fun continue.

Until next time,

Albums of 2010

Welcome along blog fans, and welcome into the first few days of another shiny new decade.  We’ve left behind what has been another enjoyable and emotional year and, as is common at this time of year (and last year), I will be doing a round up of sorts detailing what I believe to be the best of all the musical offerings in 2010.

So, head over to the Mother-Blog on Wordpress now to see my top 10 of the year. You’ll also be able to hear music from The National, Manic Street Preachers and Frightened Rabbit!

Review: Alex Cornish - Call Back

So, the holidays are over, the kids are back at school and the weather is closing in. This can only mean one thing for you lovely blog-botherers, and that is the return of Mainly Genius.

First, an(other) apology. Whilst I had intended to take a break over the summer months, I admit that I did it rather abruptly and without prior warning. This, coupled with the fact that my Lyrics of the Week section hasn’t been updated for over 13 weeks now, makes for a rather neglected blog. Anyway, let us not delay the return any longer and restart with something of an exclusive for this, the pokiest of music blogs.

Out at the end of this month (27^th September) is the second album from Scotland-based singer-songwriter Alex Cornish. Having been in possession of the album - entitled Call Back - for a while now I thought I had better make good on my promise to review the album and, having appropriated, digested and appraised it, I’m happy to report that it’s been well worth the wait.

This album’s predecessor - Until the Traffic Stops – was a generally positive affair that featured some obvious standout tracks but lacked a certain something so bring it up to the next level. Whilst the DIY feel of the album was well executed, it still sounded homemade. Call Back however, is a different matter. Regardless of where it’s origins lie (the answer being both at home and in the Watercolour Studios in the Highlands of Scotland), the DIY sound in this album improves it and has clearly allowed Alex Cornish the freedom and creativity that might not have been there in a big London studio.

The album begins with it’s title track and we are immediately opened up to the emotion and raw sound that Cornish produces. It’s a short, almost acoustic track that sounds like it’s at the wrong end of the album - such is it’s sadness - but is actually a very clever way of pre-empting the rest of the record and immediately sets the scene for which the rest builds back up to.

Lead single Once More I’m Put To The Test and lead-single-sounding Don’t Hold Me Back are both catchy and well-crafted songs and are much more interesting than they have any right be considering they’re essentially chords on an acoustic guitar.

Mid-point Like John Lennon Said has the brightest lyrics on the record and is a more regretful sister of the title track, whilst The Shame is another standout track that has single written all over it and really shows what the genre of ‘singer-songwriter’ should be about (and blowing plenty of other more popular artists out of the water at the same time).

Overall this album doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but that’s not what it sets out to do or needs to do. It picks up where Until The Traffic Stops left off and builds on the groundwork laid by that album over a year ago to great effect. Songs such as Like John Lennon Said, The Shame and the title track ensure that this isn’t just your normal singer-songwriter fare, and the emotion and soul in Cornish’s voice almost force you to believe in what he says.

Whilst this market might be over saturated at the moment, Call Back stands out from the crowd and should ensure that Alex Cornish and the music he creates continues to make waves in both the folk and mainstream genres. A diamond in the rough well worth the asking price.

Visit Alex’s official website or listen on MySpace.

Buy the album on iTunes or pre-order from Amazon.

Because I’m so indecisive and because I like the album so much, there are three tracks for your listening pleasure if you head over to the Mother-Blog on Wordpress. Like John Lennon Said and The Shame are both available for download for your further appraisal and stream-only (but no less brilliant) are the title track Call Back and first-album highlight King of Hearts.

Review: Tom Stephens - Division (EP)

Before we go anywhere I must offer my apologies for my lack of recent posting. As is often the case during the summer months, I’ve been away having much fun and neglecting this blog. But I’m here now and before I leave you all again, I’ve managed squeeze in a little gem for your listening pleasure. And the good news is that’s totally free.

Today’s offering comes from the guitar of singer/songwriter Tom Stephens and his first outing as a solo artist. Spending most of his music career to this point as frontman for various different bands (one of which springs to mind…), this short EP marks a departure from rock music and is very much in the realm of all that is acoustic.

Opener My Rosie is unquestionably the highlight and isn’t just your usual singer/songwriter fare. Whilst all the pieces are there for a Damien Rice regurgitation (acoustic guitars, double bass, strings), what we actually get is a dark and slightly angular track that makes full use of the acoustic guitar’s resonant capabilities. Tom’s impassioned and rough-round-the-edges voice adds real character and emotion to create a clever feeling of sympathy rather than tear-jerking sadness.

Whilst the EP doesn’t quite rise to these heights again, the Nick Drake inspired strings on third track Family Tree, are another interesting play on the normal format. It begins nicely enough, but it’s not until the strings rise and sway that the song really begins to lift and show how a simple chord pattern can be given a new life with the simplest of additions.

However, despite the excellent string arrangement and high quality of songwriting, I can’t help but feel that the EP is a touch overambitious and muddy in places.

The double bass employed on It Could Happen To You should work in principle but on the record it just doesn’t sit well with the acoustic guitars. It sounds clunky, overcomplicated and actually works against the stripped back simplicity of tracks such as the aforementioned It Could Happen To You and My Rosie.

  And despite the beauty of the string arrangement on Family Tree, it’s sounds separated from the rest of the song. The acoustic guitar struggles to cope with the depth and vastness a string section brings and, if drums or percussion aren’t an option (which is understandable), perhaps there’s a case to be made for the stripped back sound we hear on the rest of the EP, to come into play a little more rigorously here.

But please don’t misunderstand me. Overall this is a very accomplished record. The high production values are a welcome change and should be a template for others in the same genre. Similarly, the quality of songwriting stands above many of those with far greater reputations and hints something very exciting to come.

Whilst it may not be the finished article yet, it’s an extremely solid base on which to build and is up there with Dark Mean’s Music Box (EP) as my favourite free download of 2010.  Get it while you can.

Download Division (EP) for free or visit Tom Stephens

Over on the Mother-Blog are My Rosie and Family Tree from the excellent and soulful Division (EP) by Tom Stephens. My Rosie is available to download but you can get the whole shebang for free right here.

Lyrics of the Week #5: Elbow - Station Approach

As the 5^th in an ever-expanding set, I felt this week’s edition of Lyrics of the Week (or LOTW #5, if you prefer) needed to be a bit more upbeat. Not necessarily happy or overtly positive, but something that’s not about love. To that end I have settled upon Manchester band Elbow as the band of choice and in particular, their song Station Approach.

It’s taken from the 2005 album Leaders of the Free World and is an unquestionable Elbow classic. Starting with a simple acoustic guitar line and accompanying piano, it’s grows and grows as the emotion in singer Guy Garvey’s voice builds until booming drums and expansive guitars see the song through to a anthemic conclusion. As with much of Elbow’s work, the song itself is magnificently simple and is testament to the power of a good melody and clever arrangement.

However, the most important part (in this instance at least) is the lyrics and is of course, the reason why we’re here. As is becoming habit, I’m looking at the first verse:

“I haven’t been myself of late. I haven’t slept for several days. But coming home I feel like I designed these buildings I walk by”

As this may or may not reveal, this song is about coming home. Nothing metaphorical, just the simple pleasure and excitement of returning home. As a feeling, many of us know it and as a song, Station Approach is the perfect soundtrack to that event.

The first two lines not only describe the feeling of displacement and homesickness at being away, but also cleverly double up to highlight the butterflies and the excitement as the time of going home approaches and lines three and four echo that sentiment. They expand on the feeling of familiarity in a brilliant and (that word again) simple final line that distils a collection of emotions into one clear and concise sentence. The picture it paints never fails raise a tiny, contented smile.

I’ll admit that these are not the most poetic of lyrics or the most romantic, but that’s why I love it. It’s hard to write about happiness, but these lyrics capture a small moment of delight we all feel from time to time and the excitement we get from being with family, at home.

I would thoroughly recommend not just the album from which Station Approach is taken, but also any of the records in the Elbow canon. Don’t let the Mercury Prize sway you, each album is as good as the other and you can do much worse than start with Leaders of the Free World. Clever, melodic and hugely enjoyable, I urge you to hear the unique sound of one of Britain’s best bands. You won’t regret it.

Visit Elbow or their MySpace.

Get Leaders of the Free World

If you visit the Mother-Blog over at Wordpress you’ll find the excellent Station Approach for your listening pleasure. Simple and brilliantly driven, it’s an Elbow classic that should be cherished.