Ensemble - Ensemble
Release type, label: album, Fat Cat
Release date: Sep 25 2006
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Olivier Alary's work carried out in his Ensemble guise is an album of sensitively produced music, combining samples, synth and more conventional instruments in a clever way, making it sound like a natural union. So why doesn't it move you?

The problem is that Ensemble, by Ensemble – but really by Olivier Alary – with its neutrally-sung, meticulously choreographed vocals by various guesting indie heart-throbs, fails to be emotionally involving. Those numerous identities and that trendy instrumentation just don't gel into a convincing whole.

However there's still something there for an Alary fan - the previously released ‘Disown, Delete’, with Chad Marshall of Cat Power on vocals, strikes an ideal balance between music, lyrics and voice - but why not just buy the single? The other songs are neither lyrically strong nor vocally ‘cast’ very appropriately to fit the various identities demanded by the songs.

That's the big problem with collaborations. On paper they look like they're going to unify the creative powers of some major talents into an inspired whole and pull in the audiences of all the artists to sell big, but what usually happens is that the resulting works show us exactly why people are in small bands rather than sprawling collectives: not everyone was meant to work together.

In this case the sensitively pensive mood of the music is usually offset by an overly twee sound, for example of Mileece crooning melodramatically about failures on beautifully constructed opener ‘Summerstorm’ or singing about ‘glitter and sparkle’ on ‘All We Leave Behind’. So we are left with an album, frankly like most others out there today, that is a front runner both technologically and in terms of instrumentation, but which fails to consistently match the quality of its central song. This album might have been a very different story if Marshall had been the sole vocal contributor, so hopefully Alary will do more work with the rich-voiced feline in times to come.

This joins the ranks of countless other ensembles that need to understand one another better.

Nux Vomica - The Veils
Release type, label: album, Rough Trade

Release date: Sep 18 2006
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When the the first wails of Finn Andrews’ throaty voice rasp out from the speakers at the start of Vomica, you know that a different kind of recording is in store. Different from your average rock, yes, but also pleasingly an improvement on 2004’s Runaway Found, praise for which has adorned many a promotional web site for the last couple of years.

Just as Nux-v has been prescribed to induce sickness to purge the body, this music purges it’s author’s feelings and spits them out at us with vigour, and God do we enjoy every drop. It soars from folk to melodic pop, into metal and back downtempo to soothing piano ballad with each stride, often in the same song. If you liked ‘More Heat Than Light’ from that first LPer, this should be right up your oesophagus.

Losing the original three other band members and bringing two fresh New Zealand compatriots to sunny London for this year’s album has apparently worked wonders for Andrews. Where before live shows failed to be represented by the mostly restrained pop-punk composition found on disc, this time the music and even more expressive vocals have put him straight into the premier league with Messrs Cave and Buckley. Get your ass to a pokey little Rough Trade shop and congratulate the staff for their company’s wisdom in getting The Veils signed twice. Then go to a proper store and buy a copy at a reasonable price.