Amphetamine Ballads the album

Amphetamine Ballads the album

“I genuinely don’t know where the music comes from, How I play music - live or in the studio - it is what it is and I struggle to know where it comes from. There's been a lot of things written about the band, people say we're angry and things like that - but to me it's just us. There's a hell of a lot of joy in the music.” DaleBarclay 

Amphetamine Ballads is the soundtrack to the dark corners of nightclubs and those dimly lit alleyways off the main drag. The smell of smoke and liquor pervades everything. Recorded at night time at The Green Door Studio in Glasgow, this is a subterranean record – an album that can show you round the parts of a city that come alive after dark.

This the album cover for the Amazing Snakeheads début album Amphetamine Ballads. 

Personally I find this album cover quite plain and boring, although I can not deny the fact it is straight to the point and clear what it is and whose album it is.

The band name album title and song titles are clearly stated in a black box so you can clearly see which album it is and whose album it is and what it entails.

There isnt much to discuss about this cover as it is rather plain and straight to the point, the snake skin background has clearly been chosen as the bands name is the amazing snakeheads. There isnt even a border on the whole image. All in all the cover is plain and simple yet effective.

Above is the bonus 7" inch Deluxe Vinyl version of the album. I love this edition of the album as I think you get alot more for your money and it is more pleasing to the eye.

The amazing Snakeheads

The Amazing Snakeheads

The Amazing Snakeheads are a Scottish rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Dale Barclay, bass guitarist William Coombe and Drummer Jordan Hutchinson.

The Amazing Snakeheads never really formed as such - their conception seemingly more preordained than planned. Dale and William had been friends since childhood; Jordan was Dale’s neighbor who became a close friend. While they each played music, they never really harbored ambitions to play in bands – the prospect of aiming high and missing was almost enough to put the trio off even trying. When the band finally got together and started playing shows, their shows quickly gained an infamous reputation. 

There recent release of their début album ''Amphetamine Ballads'' has received huge critical acclaim and has landed them straight in the lime light. 

Whilst listening to this album I often found that the singer Dale Barclay often sounds angry and hoarse. This didn't deter me from the album if anything his hoarseness and course rough vocals is what attracted me to this band. 

This band reminds me of Eagulls, The Wytches and Beastmilk in my opinion they have successfully managed to slice together different genres such as goth, rockabilly, blues and garage.The trio refuse to discuss their musical influences in interviews, but in fairness, they don't really need to. They exist in an occult lineage of dark guitar bands from Glasgow, most of whom made no real impact outside of Scotland. The incredible power of their live shows, it's pretty obvious that front man Dale Barclay's on-stage persona is a slightly knowing one that plays on the archetype of the sociopathic Scottish hard man.

The album "Amphetamine Ballads" is comprised of ten cleverly written songs which all have a deeper meaning then what initially lets on, the album consists of:

- I'm a vampire

- Nightmare 

- Samp song

- Here it comes again

- Flatling

- Where is my knife

- Every guy wants to be her baby

- Memories

- Heading for heartbreak

- Tiger by the tail

(All three members of the band-from left to right- bassist,william coombe- centre, guitarist and vocalist, Dale Barclay, Drummer, Jordan Hutchinson)

Album Review

Im A Vampire - This is the first song on the albm and its standout lyric, “She’s more beautiful than any woman I’ve met, And she fuckin’ knows it,” reminds me greatly of "The Streets" "Fit But You Know It".The first sounds you hear on in this opening song are the crash of a gong, a distorted flailing guitar, a thudding bass riff, followed by a thickly Glaswegian-accented voice screaming about how an unreturned love makes the him feel like the undead. This song is a statement of intent which is far more than a detailed study of the vampiric lifestyle which was what my initial thought on what the opening song was.

Swamp Song - is dry as a bone the piercing, screeching guitar tone and lurching bass are likely to make you get goose bumps; the sheer noise created by the Snakeheads is none more impressive than on this number. The drums, bass and guitar are wandering and completely locked-in simultaneously.

Here It Comes Again - has a taut, motoric pulse at its heart.The band itself must be rather confident about its abilities to strip a song down as dramatically as they do on "Here It Comes Again", which is basically nothing more than the title, screamed over and over again for three and a half minutes. Their confidence isn't misplaced. It's not the easiest listen in the world, but it's not supposed to be.

Flatlining - is full of noisy interludes are messy and overcrowded, and the strange inclusion of harmonica suggests that the band are still exploring.

Where Is My Knife? - simmers with implied menace, an ominous drumbeat keeping things taut

Memories - main killer hook “Take it by both hands/And shake it if it needs it” will hang around in your brain for ages. The Steve Mackay-aping solo and Tracy Pew-inspired bass paint a bloody picture. Barclay’s howling is astounding 

Tiger By The Tail - This album closer is a lush, rich acoustic dirge 

It’s difficult not to expect something dark when going into this album; song titles like “Flatlining”, “Nighttime”, “I’m a Vampire”, and “Swamp Song” hint at that murky, underground, dark macabre. On some of the tracks it’s permanently midnight. It’s Irvine Welsh unleashed on a microphone. The intensity lurks across all 10 tracks, and it makes songs like “Every Guy Wants to Be Her Baby” and “Flatlining” feel like they could soundtrack a noir film.

Listening to Amphetamine Ballads, you get the feeling that the Amazing Snakeheads know they've struck on something powerful. Their confidence isn't misplaced. It's not the easiest listen in the world, but it's not supposed to be: at a time when most of what passes for alternative rock sounds desiccated, Amphetamine Ballads feels raw and potent and alive.

The Golden Age of Illustration- visual culture

The Golden Age of Illustration 

Throughout history the act of illustration has always been, even the cavemen illustrated happenings on the walls of there caves. 
Although the terminology illustration or illustrator has not always existed, before the 1800's the job title illustrator was barely if ever used illustrations were just referred to as art. 

In the 19th century illustration became a big thing.
 Illustrations increased the sales of previously published fiction as issues were released containing illustrations from 'artists' either existing or up and coming.

The Pickwick Papers

Charles Dickens "the Pickwick Papers' was published in 1839 in an illustrated format this revolutionised the publication or new fiction. 
This has, throughout the years been illustrated  by many different illustartors, but the very first illustrator was Robert Seymour.
 Seymour was a British born illustrator, not only known for his illustrations but also for his caricatures.



(ROBERT SEYMOUR)

(THE PICKWICK PAPERS)

Many artists began their careers illustrating fiction. 
Being an illustrator was a badly paid job.
 Very few artists managed to create a full time job and a living out of being an illustrator alone.
 Most artists just used illustration as a stepping stone to get into painting.
 One of the few who managed to create a full time job and living out of this was Hablot Knight Browne. 

This artist was born in England in 1815. He was best known by his pen name 'Phiz' he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever and Harrison Ainsworth.

Upon researching illustrations during this age I have managed to conclude my findings.
I found that: 
Nearly all illustrations from this time pay close attention to the line work. 
Other aspects such as colour and lighting, are almost viewed as secondary aspects that the drawing doesn't really need.
 Even the brightest of colours in these illustrations are a little dull. 
Even though this may because the instruments of the time weren't able to recreate as vibrant colours as we have today, or that they would be too expensive to print.
 The relatively dull colours definitely play a big part in the style. 



(MERRYS MUSEUM 1848)



( 'L'HISTOIRE NATURELLE GENERALE ET PARTICULIERE SES MOLLUSQUES' BY D - FRENCH SCHOOL, (19TH CENTURY)  )

Images from the 19th century still influence illustrations from today. For example, the above image of a giant octopus attacking a ship out in the sea, clearly has a heavy influence in the illustrations used for the popular Kraken rum.

The attention to line and the muted colour reflects a heavy 19th century influence.

(Kraken Rum)

How this will effect my work

After researching this time period I have realised not everything needs bright vivid colour to be a successful and attractive image, and this will effect me in the way I work as I will no longer feel the need to apply bright colours to make my work attractive and eye catching. It has also came to my attention that the reason these images are so striking is the use of clean strokes and line work. This has made me rethink my own work and I will now pay more attention to apply cleaner smoother lines. 

Japanese youth Culture

 Japanese youth culture

Youth culture in japan didn't start developing its own individuality and styles until the mid 1980's.

Throughout the 1990's Japan youth culture continued to grow and separate into different subcultures. Such as;

-Decora

-Kawaii 

- Lolita

- Gothic Lolita

-Aristocrat Lolita

-Ganguru

-Cyber punk

-Visual Kei

-Oshare Kei

-Cosplay

-Shironuri

Decora

Decora's literal english translation is decorative. Which means to dress up decoratively to show the kawaii (cuteness) aspect of self expressionism in fashion. People that dress in the decora fashion usually wear simplistic childish clothes. On top of this they accessorise with anything brightly coloured or fuzzy, anything that symbolises childishness and innocence. The style itself is rather miss matched and built up in layers. Females tend to try and make themselves look as young and childlike as possible, they wear large shoes to make the rest of there bodies seem smaller. They are often seen in baby doll dresses and an excessive amount of bows.

The fashion like many other fashion sub cultures in Japan originated in Harajuku in the late 1990's. In 1997 the magazine 'FRUiTS' was created to show photos of Japanese street fashion. Aki Kobayashi, the cover model for the first issue of 'FRUiTS' wrote columns for the magazine, in these columns she wrote about her style and how she created her own accessories. Her way of looking soon caught onto the youth of Japan and they started to follow and replicating her style. Decora followers started trading items in Harajuku and the style became more well known and is now an accepted fashion style throughout Japan.

Lolita

This subculture is mainly inspired by music. The followers of this fashion usually wear knee high dresses and socks and dress childlike and innocently. They strive to look as young and flawless as possible,

 There are many different styles of Lolita

A few of these include;

Gothic Lolita- Dark frilly ruffled knee length dresses and ruffled headbands. Most accessories and dresses are dark coloured mainly black and heavy eyeliner is often used.

Aristocrat Lolita refers to a more subdued, refined dressing, usually consisting of longer dresses or coats. Often referring to the victorian-esque era.

Punk Lolita - As the name suggests this fashion is heavily influenced by western punk fashion, but is usually a cuter softer adaption. Punk lolits was mostly popular during the early 2000's. This style is often more casual looking than other styles although the knee length dresses and knee high socks are still often a must in with this fashion.

Ganguro

Ganguro fashion started in the mid 1990's. This style is distinguished by a dark tan contrasting makeup and lightly coloured hair. This fashion was started by a rebellious youth who wished to rebel against the traditional concept of Japanese beauty.

Cyberpunk

cyberpunk fashion has often been a fusion of the punk look, leather and pvc with zips chains and buckles. A certain genre of music comes alongside this fashion subculture along with its own style of dancing.

Visual Kei

A brand of Japanese rock music where band members (mostly men) wear elaborate makeup and stage costumes, much of the time cross dressing. Kei translates in english as Style.

Oshare Kei 

Oshare Kei is a Japanese music and fashion style. It means fashion conscience. Unlike visual Kei the bands associated with Oshare Kei ora bouncy and colourful and there songs are often about happy and positive messages. The style is colourful and vibrant.

Cosplay 

Cosplay is short for costume play. People who dress cosplay wear costumes and fashion accessories which represent a character from a game ,anime, comic,book or movie. It is , in its simplistic form, Fancy dressing as your favourite fictional character. 

Shironuri

Shironuri translates as 'Painted in white'. People that follow this fashion paint there face white. This is the only rule associated with the shironuri fashion style.  

In conclusion Japan have many different subcultures a lot of which may seem strange to more western cultures which seem to keep there fashions rather dull compared to that of Japan. Japan has an obsession with all things kawaii or cute.Slowly the Kawaii culture is finding itself more noticed in western culture. In fashion,music,products and human actions. Kawaii has now became mainstream in western countries and has been fully integrated into everyday life. I love the look of many of these fashions the brightness of the colours and accessories attract me. If I keep on top of whats popular and fashionable in Japan I can relate to it and hint on it in my work which could attract a wider audience.