Sunday, March 22, 2009

Where the Cameras Shoot In Single Takes

There are now at least two copies of Pocketbooks' Flight Paths in New Zealand, cause I just got my copy yesterday. I'm quite proud of the artwork and it's turned out really great. Listening to this after their first released song (on the HDIF compilation Kids At the Club) is a real epiphany. Recorded in a studio, professionally produced and mixed, it doesn't try to add on what Pocketbooks already are. But the tiny touches here and there really help to bring out the songs on what I have to say is the best album of the year so far. My new favourite song is "Camera Angles", mainly because of the lyrics and not the similarity to "Storytelling" (both in concept and sound). Old Black Tambourine ripoff "I'm Not Going Out" has never sounded better. "Fleeting Moments" is the chugging dance floor hit on here, but Andy also impress us with the blindingly beautiful "Sweetness and Light", "Paper Aeroplanes" and closing track "All We Do Is Rush Around" which is their most ambitious composition so far. It's a dense sound overall, with lots of miniature melodies jostling around. It's the sound of a tight, fresh and confident group - as anyone who's seen them in the past 10 months can testify. It's the sound of Pocketbooks.

I got my first SLR camera a couple of days ago, as one my courses is Photography. I'm still working out how to use it efficiently, but I'll put some stuff on Flickr soon. Until then, that's my favourite so far above.

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