Records
The songwriters lyrical muse comes in many forms. with inspiration springing from unrequited love. unbridled hedonism . . . or. if you're Goldie Lookin’ Chain. dressing up as a robot and popping out to the shop for a ten-pack of clggies. ‘Half Man Half Machine' (Must Destroy 0” ) is the latest from the Welsh wannabe hip hop renegades. and could well set them on a collision course with chart success — ‘Like Terminator but filmed in Aberdare,‘ says Eggsy. You knows it!
Glasgow institution Soma score higher with their trinity of new releases. Admittedly. the DJ Hal remix of Tony Thomas‘ ‘Good Fortune' is rather doleftil tribal house with a spot of nice sax (Soma 000 ). but Nick ‘Common Factor' Calingaert has brewed up some deliciously deep electro- tech in 'In Between' (Soma 0000 ) and Master H's ‘Don't Stop' (Soma 0000 ) is a spare. dubby groove with skittish synths and wonderfully soulful vocals from Louise Marshall. It's got some fine mixes on the flipside too.
But nobody ever lost a cent extolling the virtues of going out dancing (probably). in which case Evil Nine are on very firm ground with ‘Restless' (Marine Parade 00. ). a straight down the line reggae-tinged dancefloor shaker singing the praises of getting your dancing shoes on. Equally thirsty for a good time are The Infadels and ‘Can't Get Enough‘, (Dead at Thirty 000 ) presumably also referring to good, clean rug cutting. although its downright filthy bass fused with big fuzzy guitar riffs would definitely suggest otherwise.
‘More impressive still is the wonderfully propulsive country-meets-house-in-a-punk-club groove of Glasgow-based band Engine's 'Startin to Feel' (Bagatelle 0000 ). which comes with the added bonus of some kick-ass mixes on the flipside.‘
Lowering the volume and slowing down the tempo. though. is The Honeymoon's ‘Passive Aggressive' EP (BMG 000 ). Seemingly all sugary vocals and soothing beats. a little bite lurks beneath the surface and marks them out from countless other outfits peddling similar lifestyle soundtracks.
A tougher gauntlet's laid down by Dead or American. however, with spiky vocals and Io-fi garage rock on their ‘Subdivide' EP (Predestination 000 ). a challenge which only Modey Lemon rise to with the all out AC/DC— style ‘Crows' EP (Mute .00 ). Guitars at dawn. perhaps?
No such duelling is required to decide Single of the Fortnight. though. Jetson take no prisoners with Social Hand Grenade (TBA 00.. ). an energetic and potent Revol-era Manics explosion, but they're no match for the epic collabOration between Wolfman and Peter Doherty. ‘For Lovers' (Rough Trade 000”) is a poignant. wistful and all round heart warming offering from the troubled Libertine. And proof that if you're going to write a song about anything. an ode to running away into the sunset takes some beating. (Emma Newlands and James Smart)
1 12 THE LIST 1:")- 7331M)! 700/.
' carefully carved Over four decades and
broad. spanning rare groove. disco. reggae. classic soul and more. In all. it‘s a delightful dig in the dusty crates of one of dance music's greatest duos.
(Hugh Leask).
into a three-minute 'gnngolounge' instrumental.
After that though.
HIP HOP PENPUSHERS Art Mechanics
(Knife Fighting Monkey) guitaring laconically
.0. (“Nowhere to Go'). And
it's actually quite beautiful. 1 (Brian Donaldson)
; HIP HOP
BUSDRIVER Cosmic Cleavage (Big Dada) 0000
When quizzed about their influences. most Orthodox hip-hop acts will usually recite a standard list of the genre's key artists - Gang Starr. EPMD. Wu- Tang Clan. Edinburgh's avante-garde outfit Penpushers are different. Art Mechanics. the follow-up to their baffling debut The Last Vestige of Holism. displays a murky atmosphere strongly coloured by American leftfield hip hop heroes like Clouddead and Buck 65. Accepted. some of the heavier. more twisted grooves here certainly aren‘t easily digested. but Penpushers never slide into the kind of monotony so frequently visited by artists of the abstract rap genre.
cosmic cover for
on Big Dada bombastically
' be taken with a large the jazzy beats and funniest and freshest Manuva or Outkast
in at just under 30
the stocking-filler
Investigate. syndrome and well
(Hugh Leask) worthy of many repeated listenings. If only all
EfiKENDs 0F busdrivers played this
DEAN MARTINEZ
Random Harvest (Glitterhouse) 0000
bound machines. (Richard Brown)
SOUNDTRACK ROY BUDD Vigilante
Sanctuary)...”
Legend has it that the band formerly known as Friends of Dean Martin had to add extra letters to their name to avoid law suits from the estate of a certain dead crooner. After one whiff of opening track ‘80 Well Remembered'. David Lynch's legal team may be on the blower claiming that they've taken the filmic moods and textures he's
Cult composer of the
Roy Budd is here celebrated in a new
his most memorable
certain age may
in Get Carter. blaxploitation hero
distilled them exquisitely
Random Harvest sows a ; very different sonic turf.
progging out frenetically (‘Lost Horizon') or steel-
Sporting misogynistic mammary missiles. this
Busdriver's first outing announces him on the scene. Like the music itself, this image should pinch of space salt. as rhymes are some of the around. Any fan of Roots should love it. Clocking
minutes. it is very short I but to the point. avoiding
stuff on their rattly. earth-
70s thriller scundtrack.
compilation of some of moments. People of a
remember Michael Caine
Richard Roundtree in
Diamonds and the iconic
: Charles Bronson in The
Stone Killer but the wildly distracted yoof of today probably couldn't tell you the difference between Michael Caine and
3 Michael Barrymore. SO.
it's all the more apt that. while club visuals herald
a new lease of life for classic film. 803 child
(not to mention everyone else) should get the
chance to (re-)sample some of the masterful scores that accompanied
these films. Devastating excerpts of dialogue are
3 included for additional verisimilitude and
nostalgia value. (Andrew Richardson)
INDIE ROCK SINGLESKIN Millions of Comforting Arms
. W2-
Along with the telephone. television and penicillin. it now seems that Scotland
may now be bestowing : the gift of music on the
world with the New Scottish Invasion. of which Fife‘s Singleskin emerged early last year as figureheads. But having now been overtaken by Franz Ferdinand catapulting into
' the mainstream. their
undeniably pleasant debut may be just a little too comfortable for some. Gentle. soporific
melodies peppered with the odd power riff have
already seen them earning support slots with the likes of Snow Patrol; whether they can go the extra mile and emerge as winners in their own right remains to be seen. (Emma Newlands)
BLUES ROCK BLIND PEW The Fear of God
(Dicelines) 0000
Largs may not be known for being a hotbed of rock talent. but all that
I might be about to
change with this fantastically infernal
1 racket ofarecord. g Despite being barely into
their 203. named after a
: character in Treasure ; Island and having played their first ever gig on
Hol/yoaks, the true Spirit of blues rock makes up the lion's share of an
album recorded in a
disused bar in the seaside town. With titles like ‘The Day I Ran Over My Girlfriend' and a
_____ _ __. __.- .___]
multi-layered sound , straight out of Memphis. i only the wistfully poppy ‘What If' and ‘Simple Things' provide
temporary respite from
full throttle.
(Emma Newlands)
WORLD VARIOUS
State of the Nation (Nation) 0000
Picking out some of the finer moments in 14 years of Nation Records. this compilation is a gratifying global musical journey through everything from relaxing Indian Raag through pulsing African percussion to Hungarian
Gypsy breakbeat. The
compilation introduces lots more lesser known but interesting acts for anyone familiar with the work of Mercury Prize- winning Talvin Singh or Nitin Sawhney. It operates as an album in its own right. and is a great starting point for deeper investigation into this label's back catalogue of innovative British acts. unafraid of exploring the world's musical heritage. (Richard Brown)
JAZZ
GLASGOW IMPROVISERS’ ORCHESTRA
Munich and Glasgow
Things have moved along very quickly for the Glasgow lmprovisers' Orchestra. The idea of a 20-strong Scottish free improv ensemble would have seemed a fantasy even a couple of years ago. but the group has emerged with impressive early performances. and has even succeeded in getting a CD release from an established improv-friendly company. Trevor Taylor's Future Music Records. The six inventive and energised