Flock

Artist: Bell X1
Label: Umvd Import
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 602498743485
EAN: 0602498743485
ASIN: B000BJ7CGK

Release Date: 2005-10-20

Flock

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General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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| International | Styles | Music

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| Celtic | International | Styles | Music

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| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

International

| Imports | Stores | Music

Tracks:

Reacharound
Flame
Rocky Took a Lover
He Said She Said
Bad Skin Day
Natalie
Bigger Than Me
Just Like Mr. Benn
My First Born for a Song
Trampoline
Lamposts

Similar Items:

Music in Mouth
Flame
Burn the Maps
Through the Windowpane
A Weekend in the City

Customer Reviews:

Wide-ranging songs for a varied sound .......2007-05-02

My folks purchased this disc for me at a music store in Dublin, thanks to the recommendation of a sales clerk who must possess unique musical tastes. "Flock" is a musically varied, creative CD that I never would have bought on my own, so many thanks to that Dublin girl who made the suggestion to my vacationing parents.

Bell X1 keep things lively, adventurous and hip with diverse songs that make it hard to define the band's ultimate sonic destination. There's some serious-sounding rock that reminds me of The Killers ("Reacharound," "He Said She Said"); modern-rock, more danceable tracks ("Flame," "My First Born for a Song"); simpler pop in the vain of Talking Heads ("Bigger Than Me"); and some genuinely toned-down, touching tunes with earnest lyrics ("Rocky Took a Lover," "Bad Skin Day," "Just Like Mr. Benn," "Lamposts").

The closing song, "Lamposts," is especially lush and beautiful, a drawn out, romantic song that's epic in the sense that it fades out for about a minute or so, only to fade back in for a few minutes with the pomp and circumstance it deserves.

The slower, more understated tunes on "Flock" might have the biggest effect on listeners. "Bad Skin Day" contains lyrics about exactly what you would guess; it's a morose song with a good acoustic hook, a keyboard and stirring strings, all of it best played on a sad rainy day. There are elements of Snow Patrol's (see Eyes Open) tender lyrics and sound on "Natalie," and "Flock's" archaic elegance also shows flashes of what Arcade Fire did on their Funeral album from 2004.

But enough of comparing Bell X1 with other bands' sounds. Truthfully, this Irish band has its own thing going, and I'm glad "Flock" found its way across the pond and into my hands.

A must own.......2006-11-12

This Album is probably going to go down as my favourite of the year. I recommend anyone who likes Snow patrol go out a buy this. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. 5 out of 5.

They've done it again. The big question: when are these guys going to get famous in the States?.......2006-04-03

I first heard Bell X1's cover of Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You" on the in-store CD at the clothing store where I work. Intrigued by the interpretation of a well-known pop song, I scoured the Internet to find out who had created the cover, and soon discovered it was done by an Irish band called Bell X1. At that point, none of their albums were available in the States (and to date, Music in Mouth is the only one that is) and I decided to wait until my upcoming visit to the UK to buy them rather than pay the import prices. I was further intrigued by the fact that Damien Rice, one of my favorite songwriters, was a former member, back when the band was known as Jupiter.
Upon arrival in the UK last year, I purchased both Bell X1 albums on impulse, having never heard anything other than their Timberlake cover. I instantly fell in love with both Neither Am I and Music in Mouth, and when I returned home I shared the music with all of my friends.
When I found out the the band was releasing a new album, I knew that chances were it would be several months or even a year or more before it became available on my side of the pond, and since I was craving more music from the Bell boys, I knew I couldn't wait that long, so I forked over the import price. And I have not been disappointed.
While Neither Am I remains my favorite of their albums, Bell X1 have done it again with Flock.
It's simply a musical masterpiece, layering innovative rhythms, haunting melodies, and spine-tingling arrangements to create a sound that delights and saddens all at once. On a cloudy day, Bell X1 is often my go-to band for the perfect soundtrack for the day, and now, with Flock, they are quickly becoming my go-to band on any day.
I have seen many comparisons between them and Radiohead, and I definitely agree with them, and only hope that these guys attain the following that Radiohead has developed worldwide, because they are equally deserving of it. I love them more with every song I hear, and I tell everyone I know about them because I believe they are masters of their craft.
I only hope that one day they will do a US tour; otherwise, I'll simply have to travel back to the British Isles to see them live!

Fed up with U2 then why not try BELL X1?.......2006-04-02

Many people probably now know that Radiohead take their name from a Talking Heads song. What far fewer folk have a handle on is how to join the dots between the two bands. It seems simple enough - art rock old and new - but where Talking Heads grew ever outwards, encompassing the world music frontman David Byrne would nurture on his Luaka Bop label, Radiohead have become increasingly insular bedroom boffins since "OK Computer". With "Flock", their third album but only the second to get a British release, Ireland's Bell X1 have unearthed the missing musical link - and it's marvellous.

Pixies were a huge influence on early Radiohead and there's a steal from "Nimrod's Son" on "He Said She Said" here, but it's a brief dalliance. Rather than aping the stop-start dynamics of Black Francis, "Flock" has a poise rare in a modern record, in a pop world of bluster, sweat and too many notes. It's restrained and delicate, its power slowly becoming apparent over the course of the 11 tracks on offer. Much of the credit must go to singer Paul Noonan. His voice unites elements of Byrne's intensity, Thom Yorke's range and even Ian Curtis' mania at moments but there's an undertone of deep sorrow that's entirely individual and improbably moving, even with the least emotive of the lyrics.

Don't expect rabble-rousing declarations or faux-poetic posturing - there's a socially-conscious mind at work here, as troubled by the bigger picture as it is by romantic entanglements. So opener "Reacharound" invokes prostitutes - in order to draw a parallel to politics, while "Just Like Mr Benn" ponders whether an internet relationship could survive in real life - "What if I appeared as if by magic? / Just like in Mr Benn".

Meanwhile, "Bad Skin Day" and closing track "Lamposts" provide slow-burn anthems Embrace would envy. The latter fades away to nothing then comes back stronger for a haunting mass chorus of "I've been walking you / Into those lampposts again / I'd rather do that / Than let go of your hand." The twinkling, hypnotic shuffle of "Bad Skin Day", with its refrain of "Someday we'll all wear a crown" is magnificent, the kind of song that, through its arrangement alone, could make you weep.

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