The Bonus Track: Emiliana Torrini’s 'Autumn Sun', The Monochrome Set's 'Iceman' and 'The Story of a Band Called Luxury'

A sideways look at the world of music

ROUGH MATHS

What’s a few years between friends? Although touted as the first compilation in its 40-year history, the truth is that Rough Trade released its first single in 1977. Fittingly, that punky blast – Metal Urbain’s “Paris Marquis” – kicks off Recorded at the Autobahn: The Best of Rough Trade Records. Released next week, the three-CD set brings us right up to date with tracks from Warpaint (above), Parquet Courts, Alabama Shakes and Benjamin Booker. One of many highlights is Emiliana Torrini’s “Autumn Sun”, and you can watch Torrini perform it live below:

LAST BID FOR SUCCESS

While many of the acts included on the first disc of the Rough Trade compilation are no longer active, one band – the Monochrome Set – are not only still going but have a new album, Spaces Everywhere, that is (in places) the match of their hugely-influential early output. The new single “Iceman” is unlikely to break a lifetime’s habit of untroubling the charts, but it is a neat summation of Bid and his group’s quirky charm. Watch the video here:

THE LIFE OF LUXURY

Sometimes, when the subject of a rock documentary is interesting enough, it matters not a jot if you neither know nor care about the music in question: think Dig, The Story of Anvil and Searching for Sugarman. To that list add the work in progress Biography/Autobiography: The Story of a Band Called Luxury. The Georgia-based band formed in the early 1990s, but, after a horrific road accident in 1995, three members of the band became ordained Orthodox priests. Watch the Kickstarter trailer for the film below:

NEXT WEEK’S BIGGIE

Holly Williams reviews Short Movie, the new, “bigger and more electric” album from Laura Marling. Can her fifth album in seven years measure up? Watch “False Hope” below: