records@list.co.uk
" )1.) HUGH BURNS Synchromatic
those 'i .i‘n'iar‘if Triat
rial, rie.ei fram- heard of_ h it will alrr'rmt riertairrl, ham: hear/l. aridrousirfl,ir‘;ii1.trrr‘es (her, lrrr-firmttish rirritaiist has trla.ed ori countless sessions .‘xrtli artists léil‘iftlllf) finii' lleni‘; Mancrnr to George l~./llf.l‘i£l‘;l, as well as ll‘.‘rll‘, rig ga.«'.' Tléi'llttf‘). llis irren‘. eii‘eigence as a solo artist takes a further step forward with the release of this fine set named for his (‘iietstih S‘.ii<:riiori‘atic archtoriguitai. lhe riistruiiient‘s hree/y sonoirty is ideal for the fluent flow and relaxed grooves of the music. mostly featuring hit) or duaitet line ups. lhe music is mostly his o‘.'v.rn. hut also includes a cover of Wes Montgomery '5; "fear lt Donn. fwwwacr)usticmasteis.<: ()ll‘l (Kenny Mathiesonr
nock THE KITCHEN
Foreign Objects (Damaged) 0.
THE KITCHEN
mom-a-
lt all sounds rather promising and \.'ei\ t‘uirent: formed h\ Bis \ot‘alist Amanda MacKrnnon and R\an Seagirst of US punks Discount. the Kitchen mm to combine the heats of elet‘tr'o with the immediacy of punk. But while the” debut stuffed with suitably hyperactixe guitars. a \aguely clubby drum machine patter and wailing \ocals. it ends up SOunding mesSy with mOre squall than substance. ‘Who Are You’?‘ is malignant and
7K ‘ '4- , l1" Jr} Mtg; rift ‘ .' r" / fl/
FOR STARS It Falls Apart l."li.'?i’,'1R‘V/lf'd‘h
Broken hearted'.2 Then a regular iireasure of the fourth l or Stars record should do the trick. from the moment the
San l rancisco fr\.esoiiie's /i‘ Fa//s Apart crunches rnto exrstence. it's clear that this is not going to he the cheeriest choice in your collection but rt may iust he one of the most heautiful. Carlos l orster's staggerineg sweet vocals are surrounded hy pianos. off—kilter guitars. organs.
per'ci ssive tremors and the occasional trumpet to create a dark. delicate and expansive listen akin to the Lows. Mercury Revs and Flaming Lips of this \.'.ror'ld. Overdosing on if) s stunning record
s simply not an option. (Zariiilla Piai
INDIE,
THE GOOD LIFE Album of the Year Saddle Creek: 00..
There must be something in the water over Omaha way because exen r’ months rt spews Out some of the best modern indie LPS around. courtesy of Saddle Creek. lt if asn't for the label we may have never heard Bright Eyes. CurSrve. Nov. lt's Overhead. AZure Ray Or the Good
y/(I' A ‘ A
‘ .w shufflrng“
'Cr’ill‘lliil Pléii
’;’)l J’th a SHELLEY CAMPBELL Blue Ridge Reveille lN(:il.‘.’f:l'l\ OOOO
Simple duality songwriting has heen stealing hack into the fashionable end of country music for some time now. and this Varicouver—hased debutante is the latest to make a ‘.".’|flll|llg case for old~fashioned vrrtues. Shelley Campbell's voice echoes something of Lucinda Williams wounded drawl on the iiroodier songs. but there's a classical purity to the writing and arrangements — with banjo. mandolin and pedal steel. recorded in the singer's front room — which is miles away from Williams' sleazy explorations. Campbell will be touring here in the autumn and if she's half as charming as this album that should be a hot ticket. iNinian Dunnetti
REGGAE VARIOUS
Is It Rolling Bob? (R88) 0.
The Big Gundown iTrorani .00
Reggae is the one (T‘LlSlCai genre that truly knows no beiindaries No other musical culture has been known fOr its innate ability to absorb phenomenon. fad Or fashion and spin rt Out with a unique. quite localised twist.
Here the life work of
Is It Rolling Bob?
Bot) [Llan is ri‘rxe 2 iiti ari ar'a. (it i; it
tlaiiar‘an r‘aii‘es. lé'
Milli).
danceriail roughage ’i‘ Sun/Was ‘Suhterrarrea'i l*lr>ii‘es.(:k Blues~ and loots llihherts‘ rmnsrdered reading rit 'l\/ra;;gres l—aiiir' are enyryahle enough hut add little to either the t;erfod"ers or the ho, Ziii‘hd's suhstantial legac._
In the fifis and [his the lloilyx‘xood Western was a regular fixture in \"t’est Indian cinemas and the themes [)lt)‘.'lfl(:(i inspiration for a raft of tunes for a brief period.
Sonrcally. these tunes don't devrate much from the shuffling blueprint of the day: grimy instruriiental tunes which twist and shiinnier. but whose audacious titles ’— 'Death Rides a Horse' or “Kill them All' ~- don't always live up to their heady hilling but are still great fun and documents of their age. rlvlark Robertson)
HIP HOP VARIOUS
Dread meets the B- Boys Downtown (Heavens, 000.
Don Letts is the man ~ that has never been iii dispute. For the last at) years he nas been a doyen o‘ good taste i.-.rhether he is making films or music. and his timely adventures in New York around
tBB 1 ~82 were at the lT‘C‘ll‘OfTI wher‘ hip not; .‘.'as truly first connng :nto its own and interbreeding .'.’lil‘ all around — in partrCuiar electrc and puck.
This compriatop captures a rTCrn‘alr‘,’ S62f- important musicar moment at a .itai pOint. drspiaying :ts scope and t otential with chlfTOUt
and cram... From the
Records
Charlotte Hatherley
The charts need more songs about low quality meat products so Wiley's ‘Pies' (XL) 0.. . a frantic. comedic Dizzy Rascally rant over a Far Eastern ragga beat. is welcome. Yes. really. Keeping up the food theme is Jo Mango's ‘The Antidote EP' (self-release) COO. . a compellineg beautiful acoustic folk ramble from a Scottish artist destined for bigger things.
The Fighting Cocks are great. Well, their name is. And the music’s not bad. ‘Don't
Care/Surf Csango' (FGZ) 0..
being a kind of
gonzo electro-punk country hoedown madness brought to you by Hungarian gypsies. Probably. Back in the real world Biffy Clyro are as great as ever, ‘Glitter and Trauma“ (Beggars Banquet)
jiggling around like a prog rock classic
with a pole up its ass. eking glorious melody out of the darkest corners of post-rocking oblivion. in comparison, 'Can't Stand Me Now' (Rough
Trade) 00
from The Libertines is a sorry
pastiche of their former selves. the ramshackle likely lads already sounding jaded. bored and boring. Shame. Fairing better is Air's ‘Alpha Beta
Gaga' (Source) 000
, a fairly standard groove
by the French fancies' standards, but catchy and
summery nonetheless.
And finally, let's revel in Charlotte Hatherley. The Ash guitarist's solo album is a cracker and
‘Summer' (Double Dragon) 0...
is a perfect
taster: clever and dumb, innocent and knowing, it's like a souped-up Breeders knocking through the best of Squeeze and as refreshing as a pint of something cold in a scorching beer garden. Natch, it’s Single of the Week. (Doug Johnstone)
futurist agendas of Kraftz'xerk. the Clash and Malcolm McLaren to the Cut'n'paste mayhem of Grandmaster Flash and Babe Ruth and tracks which now hecariie standards in any hip hop DJs crate of f2"s like 'Apache' or ‘The Chaiiips'. this is an fascinating collection.
rlvlark Robertson
ECLECT ICA SCATTER Suprising Stupendous Love
Pickled Egg, COO.
Scatter are — their own admiSSron — pretty nuts. put there is methoo in their madness. A loose coHectrve of singers and musicians who sling together a herby concoction of 16122;. poppy and folky .«ipes
and r;hurii them through a si/eahle live hand. S.'/irigrrig
bet ween twinkl ,r acoustic nursery rn,rnes to massed he int, riftage. their riiusir; is uritrd/ and open ended but that's much of the attraction here. Rather than one personal rriusir,al mission. this is a filter of ideas. a process which doesn't alwms give the greatest reSults but rather than the sound of compromise. this is the sound of adventure. Mark Robertson.
THE LIST 39