Look here, this is glorious – and not just because there is a guitar-playing Yeti. This beautiful animation’s a story about a trip through time and whilst there’s so much going on it it, it keeps a lovely simplicity. The graphics and texture are perfect. And it sounds gorgeous too.

Animated by Rodney Selby and directed by Ned Wenlock. Read about the making of it here.

This is lovely. Jonathan, whose blog I can usually be heard trumpeting on about, has launched into some almighty some song project. He plans to make a song a week. One of his songish tasks involved making a video for his song featuring birds and he gathered pictures of hand-drawn birds from lots of people. In true me-fashion I got very excited and demandedpeople make bird pictures for Jonathan, and then forgot to draw one myself.

I like the result much more than I thought I might. I like the mix of drawings, and I like the way they flash up in front of me. There are different birds and styles and colours, and there is a Robin, and even a duck. Everytime I want to stop it and cry “I like that one most!” there’s another one flashing up that I fickly want to point at too. Song ain’t bad either. (it’s rather good)

I’m on a train to see Temper Trap and I’m excited for the gig. The previous week I’ve attended Spotify/Three’s ‘Now Playing’ launch event with bands such as White Lies and I Am Arrows. At Three/Spotify’s gig at Shoreditch Town Hall, it’s nothing I’ve been craving for weeks to see but they are bands I’m still interested in seeing live. We prepare to have budget-sized fun.

It’s one of the first events I’ve attended in London as an official blogger (well, as far as this notion stretches). I’m pretty pleased really. The bands sound okay in advance after some listens on Spotify. They throw some drinks tokens at us on the door and there’s a free cloakroom. None of this is overwhelming but when not expected, it’s nice that they’ve taken quite a few introductory steps to make it nice.

The entire event is geared at competition winners and bloggers and it’s good they’ve geared it to everyone having a fun time for free. It’s flattering that they’ve put it on but as they lob free extra bits at us, and as I stroll down the tall hallway, a feeling I’m probably meant to feel more wowed. It’s almost like a mass-marketing exercise. Well, that’s what it is. It’s probably impossible to say that without sounding like a dick, but there’s reasons.

The acoustics are dreadful. And this is where it’s really obvious that the attention is in entertaining people with bits and bobs and PR fluff rather than the quality of music and sound.

The Brighton blogging scene is pretty different, for me at least. I suspect it’s more like that of a critic than launch-event orientated. A lot of the things I’ve been to have been regular events that I’m able to review – some design shows and some fantastic nights like Hammer & Tongue, Johnny Flynn, Beth Jeans Houghton, and Toro Y Moi.

It’s not about the paraphernalia that comes with an event – it should be about the event quality rather than heaping people with free stuff and a second rate quality production. (I’d be much more swayed by an event if it was better quality, and I had to pay for my own drinks. It sounds petty, but to pay for half a press night out is a big thing for me right now.) Perhaps nothing insightful, but nothing I’ve experienced before.

Though, if the biggest complaint around at the moment about PR/blogger relations is that people aren’t treated personally enough, disrespected, or treated as an after-thought, then sound quality might not be the biggest thing on the agenda. I’m not too sure. I think a gig should be gig quality – about the event and not just the hype.

Let’s hope their music service comes out with better quality than the ‘Now Playing’ events. One big aspect is that I come away forced to talk about the event in terms of brands rather than music. No videos, no bands reviews, and better coverage all round. (This is all meant in a truly unbitter sort of way. It was a nice enough night.)

Nearly 346 days ago a rather understated Tristram Bawtree played a lovely gig in Brighton. For most of the time since then, there have only been four rather wonderful tracks from the now-group to go on which, given how enjoyable he is, is not enough. I am disgustingly guilty of using the word “lovely” too much, but I’m going to pretty much slap it all over them.

“We are four people playing seven (usually) instruments, and singing about a variety of subjects, including but not limited to: zombies, James Dean, assorted authors, love stories, love-going-wrong stories, ships, bicycles, astral travel and fruit. The effect is not as jocular as this description implies, but is never the less very agreeable,” says the band’s description.

They make me proud of words. I am getting very easily excited by good words recently, and am writing new ones down on the nearest thing when I hear them. I want to collect them all up and draw them into my head.

Jonathan has written a fantastic review of Tristram, and he writes about music far better than I do, so perhaps there is a chance he will do them justice. (He also writes a good one about the flood of folk music in which, ultimately owning a ukulele or cello does not guarantee musical prowess.) They also have streamers. I’m a sucker for that nonsense.

Their next album comes out on November the 15th and they are coming to play Brighton on October 30th. This made me squeak excitedly.

Lovely.

I have been listening to Noah and the Whale‘s second album. It was released in late 2009 and I am way behind the trend. I had the chance to see them at the Somerset House gigs this summer, but missed it because a sixth Brighton-to-London commute in a week didn’t seem too appealing. A lazy reason. Mostly though, I worried that their second album would be terrible following Charlie Fink’s break up with Laura Marling whose absence is evident on the album, with all songs focusing on her.

“[The] break-up with Laura Marling doesn’t just dominate this set of songs, it positively defines them,” Jonathan eloquently puts it. (I read his review a long time ago. In general they are all pretty fantastic and perfectly spot on.) My understanding of the album’s history comes pretty much straight from this. I was in no way inclined to hunt the album out; A break-up album is not a good premise – especially not one touted as so heart-wrenching. However, I have (finally long after everyone else) listened to it.

And it doesn’t instill a compulsory misery I suspected it might. It introduces a really rich and broad sense of orchestra – which sounds wanky, but if you listen to the first song it’s immediately there. The first album may have used a good collection of obligatory folk instruments (violin, ukulele) but they really fill the songs in this one, and very rarely do they feel empty or wastefully simple. It is less punchy and upbeat as a whole but there’s something thoughtful and lovely about it, however unpleasant heartache is. With lines like “I know in a year I’m gonna be happy”, it’s a relief to see it doesn’t exist solely to instill a dreary sadness, and neither is it the next album for sad people to stick on repeat and hide in their bedrooms with, which is my main fear taken care of.

I liked their first album but couldn’t shake a feeling that a couple of the songs were a little jarring – something putting me off fully recommending them. This one’s very much something you can sink into. It is more mature; incredibly atmospheric, and to steal a phrase “sweeping and intense.” Mostly, though sad, it’s hopeful. And there’s something wonderful about that.

The first track of many. I recommend them all.