Rocktrospectiva: The Rocker "Bossanova" Turns 35

Released on 13 August 1990 "Bossanova" was the third studio album by US indie rock band Pixies, the album managed to peak No. 70 at the Billboard 200, and No. 3 in the UK, spawning three singles "Velouria" & "Dig For Fire". 

 

The album was a truly dramatic turn from their previous work, stepped in surf music, paranormal and science fiction subjects as usual, the production was pretty clean than "Surfer Rosa", there was the Pixies proving their versatility in the alternative bandwagon. After Pixies finished touring for their second album, Doolittle (1989), in January 1990, band members Black Francis, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering moved from Boston to Los Angeles. Bassist Kim Deal stayed in the UK to record the Breeders' first album in January with producer Steve Albini, although she ultimately decided to travel out to Los Angeles with the rest of the group. 

 

Although Lovering stated that he, Santiago, and Francis moved to Los Angeles because that's where they intended to record their next album. Pixies started recording material for Bossanova at Cherokee Studios in February 1990, where the sessions ran into problems. Producer, Norton said that nothing could be recorded after 6 p.m. because the recording desk would pick up pirate radio stations. Norton decided to work on overdubs in another studio for a few days until the problem was corrected, but when he returned to Cherokee, he found that any time something was plugged into a guitar amplifier it would generate "this incredible hum". Norton refused to tell 4AD owner Ivo Watts-Russell about the problem until he felt he could address it. One day while visiting a bar, Norton and Santiago met producer Rick Rubin and informed him of their situation. Rubin had his secretary find another studio for the group, and the band continued recording at Master Control.

 

The album was a landmark in Pixies career, considered it often an excellent album,  in contrast to previous records, many songs were written in the studio and few demo recordings were created. Santiago said that the band only practiced for a two-week period, in contrast to previous albums, when the band would rehearse constantly in Boston. Black Francis noted, "So I was writing [lyrics] on napkins five minutes before I sang. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not. That's just the nature of that songwriting."

 

The album includes the band's first instrumental "Cecilia Ann", followed by the powerhouse "Rock Music", in the case of "Velouria" the album's first single followed by "Dig For Fire", there was a curious story, the song was written as a love song rooted in Francis's experience with a girl associated with the Rosicrucians of Northern California. The lyrics also touched on Francis's interest in UFOs. Musically, the song features surf rock elements as well as a prominent theremin part. "Velouria" was released as the lead single from Bossanova in July 1990 and became the band's first Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom. The release was accompanied by a music video, featuring a short clip of the band in a quarry slowed down to fit the song's length. "Velouria", other perfect numbers were "Allison", "All Over The World", "Down To The Well", the bizarre "The Happening" which was Francis' first song about Aliens, a common topic on the band next record. 

 

The critics were positive mainly in the UK, noting the album's production clean and straight to the point unlike the harsh and grungy garage sound of "Surfer Rosa", a more straight-ahead rock album in the terms of Pixies standars that keep them off the mainstream.  Bossanova is often overlooked because it is sandwiched betweed Doolittle and the Pixies' final album, but when given a listen you'll find a quite rewarding album. 

 

Bossanova Track List:  

 

1. Cecilia Ann

2. Rock Music

3. Velouria

4. Allison

5. Is She Weird

6. Ana

7. All Over The World

8. Dig For Fire

9. Down To The Well

10. The Happening

11. Blown Away

12. Hang Wire

13. Stormy Weather

14. Havalina 

Rocktrospectiva: The Smart-Futuristic "The Race For Space" Turns 10

Released on 23 February 2015 "The Race For Space" was the second studio album by British alternative group Public Service Broadcasting. Working with sound samples from the British Film Institute, the album relives the story of the American and Soviet space race from 1957–1972. The opening track features the speech by John F. Kennedy on 12 September 1962 at Rice University. 

The album reached number 11 in the UK chart and number 1 in the UK Indie Albums Chart the week following its release. The vinyl edition was the 5th highest selling record of 2015 in the UK. The album spawned three singles "Go!", "The Other Side" & "Sputnik EP".

Public Service Broadcasting is the innovative work of Londoners J. Willgoose, Esq. and Wrigglesworth. With a clever way to combined looped dance beats and electronics with spoken-word passages culled from old public-service messages, synced to meticulously edited film footage projected while they perform. The album incorporate original news broadcasts and communications between the astronauts and NASA's master control. 

From song to song, this tapestry of source material narrates each chapter chronologically, placing the listener inside the drama of the moment — propelled by futuristic tunes that reminds a weirdo combination between Kraftwerk, space rock and Daft Punk.

The album opens with a mood-altering choral overture and JFK's inspirational speech as a haunting invocation. "Space is there, and we're going to climb it. And the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there," Kennedy says, as a soaring choir gives every line extra resonance. The duo crafts tiny instrumental flourishes that illuminate the story. "Sputnik" includes the distant yet unmistakable bleeping of a satellite. In "Valentina," chiming wordless voices from folk duo Smoke Fairies honor cosmonaut Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space. And the somber celestial silence in "Fire In The Cockpit" recounts the deaths of Apollo 1's three crew members.

The exuberant "Gagarin," which bursts with slinky disco riffs and funked-up horn blasts while playing reports about cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. Meanwhile, "Go!" channels fiery, motorik beats, intricate guitar licks and early 80s., ynths as the Apollo 11 team counts down before landing on the moon — a moment punctuated by Neil Armstrong's famous line, "The Eagle has landed."

"The Other Side," might be the key moment, is about Apollo 8 slingshotting itself around the dark side of the moon. Again, Public Service Broadcasting demonstrates its masterful touch for storytelling when the dusty drum machines momentarily drop out — just as the astronauts lose contact with NASA ground control. The song builds anxiety and tension as we sit nervously for what feels like an eternity — and then swells to a joyful release when the voices from space finally reconnect.

Public Service Broadcasting fittingly closes with "Tomorrow," a melancholic and meditative final statement that admires how far we've come. Decades later, all this can seem like far-off history. But Willgoose and Wrigglesworth's ambitious concept music allows listeners to rekindle that same wonder again. Space still has the capacity to captivate.

The album met with largely positive reviews from music critics. Most reviews praised the band's choice of theme and commented heavily on the album's use of tone and instrumentation to depict certain events in the space race. While most critics unanimously praised upbeat tracks such as "Gagarin" and "The Other Side", they were somewhat divided on other tracks on the album, such as "Fire in the Cockpit" and "Valentina", which drew, if any, minor criticism. Critics also believed that The Race for Space had elevated the band from a "novelty act", and praised the album as a concept album that improves on its predecessor. 

 

The Race For Space Track List: 

 

1. The Race For Space

2. Sputnik

3. Gagarin

4. Fire In The Cockpit

5. E.V.A.

6. The Other Side

7. Valentina 

8. Go!

9. Tomorrow