Posts Tagged ‘Trouble in Mind Records’

JACK COOPER – ” The Lagniappe Sessions “

Posted: September 25, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Lagniappe (la·gniappe) noun ˈlan-ˌyap,’ – 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus.

Earlier this year Ultimate Painting’s Jack Cooper slid us an early version of his new solo album, “Sandgrown”. At nine tracks we were immediately drawn to its sparse, tranquil, yet personal offerings inspired by his hometown of Blackpool off the coast of England. The effort finds Cooper waxing nostalgic about his time growing up on the Fylde Coast and the cast of characters that come with living and working in a seasonal resort town. Often compared to the Velvets, Sandgrown finds Cooper acknowledging other influences including Terry Allen and The Grateful Dead, mixing them with the experimental textures of John Cale and Robert Wyatt.

Jack Cooper :: Blood Dries Darker (Woods)

Woods have a special place in my heart because my wife and I are both big fans and we always listen to them together. I first saw them in 2008 in Manchester and it’s been a pleasure seeing them so many times since then. This is my favourite song of theirs and although they never really play it, Jarvis dedicated it to my wife and I last time they played London. It’s a pretty perfect song.

Jack Cooper :: Lubbock Woman (Terry Allen)

Terry Allen’s Lubbock (On Everything) was a big influence in this solo album of mine. The framework of writing about a town or place opens up a world of possibilities. I’ve been writing about Blackpool since I lived there but the idea to do something centered on that was really inspired by this record and Watertown by Frank Sinatra. The words and the delivery is all about Terry, so it felt weird singing them. I scrapped the idea 4 or 5 times, before thinking ‘fuck it’… it’s a great song.

Jack Cooper :: For A While (Frank Sinatra)

Frank Sinatra’s Watertown is just the most melancholic, downbeat, comforting record I’ve ever heard. It’s his best album and his finest acting performance. Again…the delivery and words are all about him but I gave it a good shot. My friend Phil Anderson recorded some piano for me…it’s blown out and weird.

Jack Cooper :: Black Peter (Grateful Dead)

I’m not too sure why I chose this apart from being a huge fan of the Grateful Dead. Robert Hunter was on fire around this time…such rich, interesting imagery and narratives. I really can’t think of a better lyricist, and around this time in particular.

Jack Cooper :: Big Louise (Scott Walker)

Most of these songs I’ll class as misses, in that they’re all so hard to do justice too. The vocalists are way too singular and this one in particular I’ve included just for the hell of it. The phrasing and way he sings is so incredibly complicated. I couldn’t even begin to get right. I’ve listened back to all of these at some point and become to self conscious about even submitting them (laughs). I guess there’s something liberating about taking a shot at something and just going with it.

JACK COOPER – ” North Of Anywhere / Gynn Square “

Posted: September 21, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Ultimate Painting’s Jack Cooper released his debut solo album recently on Trouble In Mind Records.  The album “Sandgrown”, released last month via Trouble In Mind Records, is a sparse yet hypnotic listening, Its a record inspired by Cooper’s coastal hometown of Blackpool, England. Jack comments on the record ,  I think part of the reason I’ve made this record is a way of processing the past and where I am now. Like, what the hell is this? Going back to your original point, I think it references every stage of my life and the “Blackpool” of the album is just a frame in which I can tell stories, be self-indulgent and self-analytical, process memories or try and recreate places and feelings. It’s the first time I’ve sort of set myself a framework and it was weirdly liberating.

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Taken from “Sandgrown”, the debut solo album from Ultimate Painting’s Jack Cooper. Released August 25th, 2017 via Trouble In Mind Records 

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OMNI – ” Afterlife “

Posted: September 21, 2017 in MUSIC
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Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Omni only came together in the early part of last year after singer and guitarist Frankie Broyles left the band Deerhunter. However, despite being active for little over eighteen months, they’re already on album number two with this month’s Multi-Task on Trouble in Mind Records set to continue where last year’s debut Deluxe left off.  The trio features ex-Deerhunter guitarist Frankie Broyles, former Carnivores member Philip Frobos (on bass and vocals), and Doug Bleichner on drums. The follow up to their 2016 debut album Multi-task is 11 tracks worth of sonic goodness, heavy on thick and fun guitar licks matched by equally complicated but light lyrics.

Multi-task was written and demoed with their friend and engineer Nathaniel Higgins (who also worked on Deluxe) at his home studio in Atlanta. “Writing in there just feels right,” Broyles says of his hometown. “When we sit down to record a demo, songs just sort of appear. Not always but… sometimes. I love that you can escape Atlanta within Atlanta.”

Parts of the record were also recorded in a remote cabin in the woods near Vienna, Georgia (just under three hours drive south), a location Broyles grew up going to with his family. “Moments after arriving at the cabin, the stress of being in Atlanta just disappeared. Everything got a lot easier. We could finally focus… It’s a special place.”

Frobos agreed that that time was vital and calls it the best recording experience he’s ever had. “The scenery—tall pines, old cemetery, and natural spring. Being able to wake up, have a coffee on the porch, take a break from recording to walk through the field at night. The record definitely benefited from our trips to Vienna. We may not have made our deadline had we not gone. It was nice to be immersed.”

The band recorded the album between touring, making time to get in the studio while trying to balance work schedules and everyday personal life shit. “It became a very stressful situation but I think the recorded probably benefited from that,” Broyles says. Indeed, there was some emotional juggling in the creation of Multi-task. “ Multi-task was coined while on tour and we often joked about dealing and not dealing with our situations while being strapped in for the ride,” Frobos addas. “I also got out of a very long relationship, a situation that was difficult to realize.”

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JACK COOPER (Ultimate Painting) – ” Gynn Square “

Posted: July 30, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Taken from “Sandgrown”, the debut solo album from Ultimate Painting’s Jack Cooper. Released August 25th, 2017 via Trouble In Mind Records.  “Sandgrown” is Jack Cooper’s first solo record with nine concisely beautiful songs inspired by his hometown of Blackpool and his upbringing on England’s Fylde Coast.

“Everyone’s from somewhere,” says Jack. “I don’t think it’s particularly important people know this album is about Blackpool, but I think everyone can empathize with the themes on the record.” Evoking the delicate but often widescreen musicality of Bill Fay and the abstract lyricism of the late 60s Scott Walker records, as well as the more experimental sounds of John Cale and Robert Wyatt, Sandgrown is a collection of tranquil ballads that evoke feelings of nostalgia and re-evaluation about where you come from, wherever that may be.

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 Sandgrown is about his formative years and the creation of it – “I’ve been trying to do this record since I was about 18… I bought my first 4-track with the proceeds of a summer working on the promenade and I guess I got sidetracked along the way. I’ve been listening to Terry Allen’s ‘Lubbock (On Everything)’ a lot and I wanted to make something that painted a picture of a place as vividly as that.

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Uninhibited by band members for the first time was a freeing experience for Cooper. “Recording on my own liberated me to sing more like I actually sing. I think I‘ve spent a long time in loud bands singing in a way that can be heard through music,” Jack says. “The songs that I wrote for Sandgrown suit my voice more than anything I’ve done before.” Working within the confines of specific 4-track cassette machine (a Teac 144.), Jack has produced his most satisfying work to date. “I love the physicality of working on tape. I’ve always had a 4-track but I sought out a particular machine. I’m not a huge Bruce Springsteen fan but I love the sound of Nebraska… I needed that specific machine.”

OMNI – ” Wire / Fever Bass “

Posted: March 13, 2017 in MUSIC
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The Atlanta trio Omni make taut post-punk that’s so charged up it can’t help but bleed into the red. Their slashing guitar chords and herky-jerky beats spark until they seem to singe the air, crackling out of the speakers like fireworks. They continue the fiery snap of their 2016 debut album, “Deluxe “.

The band rapidly darts around Philip Frobos’ on vocals alongside ex-Carnivores member Billy Mitchell and Philip Frobos. deadpan singing rises to match the rhythmic adrenaline. Yet, OMNI sounds brighter than they have before. Perhaps it’s the jangling chimes of Frankie Broyles’ guitars (formerly of Deerhunter) which pushes the music towards the clouds. It may seem odd to call this band tense and wiry but also uplifting.   The restrained energy of their first album, “Deluxe,” alludes to a minimalistic sound from another era (specifically, the late ’80s). There’s nothing not to like about this band.

Taken from their debut album “Deluxe”, which came out July 8th, 2016 on Trouble In Mind Records (www.troubleinmindrecs.com) Also the band have a new 7″ vinyl “Fever Bass,” their adjective “kinetic” sounds seems both appropriate and inadequate. The upcoming 7″ that will mark the band’s first new music since the LP. “Fever Bass” is an alacritous romp, loose but sharp. There continues to be a discrepancy between Frobos’ words and his tone, as he delivers the opening lyric, “Every day I fall into this crisis,” with a calculated distance that seems to reflect mysticism as much as sardonicism. Yet ultimately “Fever Bass” is oddly cheerful, with ricochetting guitars that snap like rubber bands but put “Fever Bass” on repeat and you might find your spirits raised.

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ULTIMATE PAINTING – ” Song For Brian Jones “

Posted: September 15, 2016 in MUSIC
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Dusk will be Ultimate Painting’s third album in three years, but the London duo still sounds like it takes time to get moving. The guitars of Jack Cooper (Mazes) and James Hoare (Veronica Falls) loop in and out of each other like rubber bands, taut one moment and wobbly the next. Where past records crossed their third album with a paradoxically easygoing motorik beat, Dusk expands the duo’s pop sensibilities, finding tension in quiet melodies.

Shot at James Hoare’s home studio off Green Lanes in East London, the “Song For Brian Jones” video features their guitars, keyboards and reel-to-reel machine double-exposed with mountains and rivers. Named for the Rolling Stones founder member, the song is a moody and shifty piece of psychedelic pop. Guitars tangle with soft harmonies and light Wurlitzer like night moving in slow motion, casting strange shadows against the asphalt. “It’s all in my mind, paranoia and the fires burning wild,” the duo sings. “It’s all in my mind, buried deep, but the truth’s there to find.”

Dusk comes out September. 30th on Trouble In Mind Records.

ULTIMATE PAINTING – ” Bills “

Posted: July 16, 2016 in MUSIC
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The duo of James Hoare and Jack Cooper, otherwise known as Ultimate Painting, are set to release their third LP titled Dusk on September 30th via the fine folks at Trouble In Mind Records. The lead single, Bills, picks up where their last effort, “Green Lanes”, ended. It is a wonderful track of 70s psych-folk highlighted by some genuinely fantastic guitar work.

Album opener and first single “Bills” furthers the duo’s reputation as purveyors of the Verlaine/Lloyd legacy, but despite the evident influence of American guitar pop both past and present, the group has recorded an album that feels decidedly English. Cooper’s abstract poeticism balances perfectly alongside Hoare’s alluring and universal pop leanings. The group has discovered a simple lushness in Dusk’s arrangements, sometimes only with subtle additions like a recently acquired Wurlitzer piano. They’ve tapped into the subtle grace that infects the mood and emotions experienced at times like sunrise and dusk, hopefulness, resignation,

The casual setting during the album’s recording allowed the sessions and songs to unfold naturally, with James and Jack accompanied by recent live drummer Melissa Rigby, who drums on the entirety of Dusk. Her skills lend a rhythmic elasticity to the songs with jazzy undertones that break from the band’s previously unadorned 4/4 leanings. Dusk feels different and cements the group’s presence in the modern world of guitar pop,

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First single from their forthcoming third album “Dusk”, out September 30th, 2016 via Trouble In Mind Records (www.troubleinmindrecs.com)

 

ULTIMATE PAINTING – ” Live on KEXP “

Posted: August 1, 2015 in MUSIC
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Ultimate Painting performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded March 31st, 2015. With the new album due soon titled ‘Green Lanes’ the second album from London-based band Ultimate Painting. Formed as a loose collaboration by Jack Cooper (Mazes) and James Hoare (Veronica Falls) the project quickly turned into a full-fledged band in 2014 with the release of their self titled debut album on Trouble In Mind Records.

New album ‘Green Lanes’ is focused and cohesive, the result of two voices becoming one and each member’s songs complimenting the other, carving out a distinct and unified voice as Ultimate Painting. Slinking out of the gate, the first song ‘Kodiak’ is an hummable future-classic with Cooper and Hoare’s guitars dancing around each other with ease. The licks and lyrics conjuring up images of Sixties California and Seventies New York; a picture of dark clouds on a sunny day. The rest of the album follows suit with the airy, lush harmonies of ‘Sweet Chris’ and ‘Two From The Vault’ and even kicks up some dust with the chooglin’ ‘(I’ve Got The) Sanctioned Blues’ and the manic ‘Woken By Noises’. While their self titled debut was all Cooper and Hoare, this time out, they are augmented by the addition of their live drummer Neil Robinson who provides propulsion on all but one of ‘Green Lanes”s tracks. The album artwork was once again provided by Portland artist Bradley Kerl, who portrayed Hoare’s London flat and recording space chock full of the equipment used to record both the band’s albums casually tumbling toward the viewer. For fans of Velvet Underground,  Feelies, Parquet Courts, Television, The Kinks, Pavement and The Bats.

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Ultimate Painting
Rolling In The Deep End
Riverside
Ten Street

ULTIMATE PAINTING – ” Live Session at the Chirp Factory “

Posted: July 15, 2015 in MUSIC
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The UK’s Ultimate Painting joined us for an exclusive Live Session while on their US Tour joining Twerps and White Fence. The band features James Hoare on Guitar & Vocals from the band Veronica Falls, Jack Cooper from Mazes on Guitar & Vocals, Neil Robinson on Drums, and Chicagoan Anthony Cozzi (Radar Eyes) on Bass. The session was engineered by Mike Lust of Manor Mobile Recording. Video and editing by Big Foot Media. Check out the full audio of the session here too,  – https://soundcloud.com/chirpradio/set…

Jack Cooper & James Hoare are Ultimate Painting. The two formed a fast friendship when Jack’s band Mazes (U.K.) were on tour supporting James’ band Veronica Falls, sharing similar tastes in music, art & films. It wasn’t until after returning home that a musical synergy was formed. After numerous demos were exchanged, a few casual jam sessions turned into something more; a partnership. Christening themselves after a piece of art by the Southern Colorado desert community (and fanciful geodesic dome builders) “Drop City”, the lads set to work recording their debut proper – released by Trouble In Mind in October of 2014.

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ULTIMATE PAINTING – ” (I’ve Got The) Sanctioned Blues “

Posted: July 9, 2015 in MUSIC
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The new Conservative government showed their true, reprehensible colours with the backdoor announcement of their plan to amend the Hunting Act and usher in a return of the cruelest savage of all cruel sports. It seems apt therefore that we have an excellent new song from Ultimate Painting that also lambasts this out-of-touch, arrogant, overpaid government.

The duo of James Hoare (Veronica Falls) and Jack Cooper (Mazes), have announced a new single (I’ve Got The) Sanctioned Blues due to be released 28th August. It’s taken from will their forthcoming sophomore album, Green Lanes which is released on the 7th August via Trouble In Mind Records.

New From Ultimate Painting

The song laments the unfair benefits system (the sanction of the title, in this instance, being a penalty you get if you fill in a form wrong / miss an appointment) and reminds us (as if we needed it) that the Conservative way has always been particularly hard and cruel on the less fortunate members of society.

Thank goodness we still have bands like Ultimate Painting .

 

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