r/1/',l(:flf;'l',"PlIT orittie pancakes l'rr- hungry and nart to dance". to the Borders' arisx/er to Marshall Matherg. W) ('For all care motherfucker you can Stuff In; shite”). Con/ersel/. the third cut from the \Naverley flar's weekly acoustic Out of the Bedroorii showcase stays fll'lliy rooted in the thoughtful singer’song/Jriter oeuvre. There's not a hell of a lot of variety on this compilation. but there are sorne particularly intriguing contributions including l ionna Ross' lover ‘Pained' and lona Marshall's ‘lost Without', (Allan Radcliffe)
INDII MISTERLEE Night of the Killer Longface
(Rubber C/ech Records) 0..
liotorloo
Hardly one for following conventions at the best of times. on his second long player Leicester singer/sotigwriter Misterlee (AKA Lee Allatson) has chucked the rulebook clean out of the window.
A genre splicing mash of droll folk— butchery. it's an abandon that yields some real rewards — from sinister electro nursery rhyme bed wetter ‘Fortune Telling Agnes' to cutesy wafer-thin ballad ‘Goodbye Lullaby'.
Some cack-handed lyricism and a creepy spoken word hidden track that will make you think you're being burgled detract. yet in a way that's at least eminently unique. Not an easy listen by any means. but you get the impression that was never the idea. (Malcolm Jack)
ALL CDS WERE WERE REVIEWED ON A SYSTEM SUPPLIED AND INSTALLED BY LOUD 8- CLEAR
JAZZ
PAUL MOTIAN I Have the Room Above Her
(ECl/li COO
Paul Motian began his career as a leader in studio on EClvf. but this is his first disc for the label in two decades. and it features his long running and very distinctive trio With Joe l ovano (saxophone) and Bill Frisell (guitar). It's hard to go wrong With a line—up like that. but while their interplay h often a kind of triple counterpoint. With everybody playing simultaneous melody - is never less than fascinating. it no longer sounds as surprising as it once did. The combination of instruments ~ and Motian's trademark fluidity —- underlines the airy. abstract feel of much of the music. both on their reimagined versions of standards and original material. (Kenny Mathieson)
I’OLKTRONIC TROUBADOUR
PATRICK WOLF Wind on the Wires (Tomlabl 00000
Remember the strangely dressed. solitary creature who sat in class doodling and daydreaming. ignoring the teachers yet aCing his exams. That. no doubt. was y0ur very own Patrick Wolf. a talented pariah concerned only wrth followuig his own rules. He follows 2003's impresswe debut Ll/Carit/iropt' With this egually pioneering second effort written in a wooden hut. perched
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AME RIC/xii»? LAURA VIERS The Triumphs and Travails of Orphan Mae
(Bella Unioni COO.
‘A semiatitobiographical epic musical saga of a young woman travelling the old American West'. anyone? A country concept album sounds bad to the bone. but Seattle songstress Laura Viers' 2001
debut. given its first commercial release on the back of the success of last year's Carbon Glacier. is an enormously pleasurable record. moving and subtle. Acetistic laments succeed )aunty ditties. dusty plains and rosy sunsets are COTTJUTGCJ wrth wrnning charm. and seasons and stories drift through a beautifully realised mix of guitars. banjos. violins. organs and drums. The whistling's great, too. (James Smart)
ROCK
THE KILLS No Wow (Domino) 0..
Thanks to their boy/girl dynamic and regular nods to the blues. the Kills often feel like a heavin mythologised and slightly undernourished verSion of the White Stripes. Jamie ‘l-lotel‘ Hince and Alison ‘W' Mosshart took Just over a fortnight to write the follow up to their
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leaves you in a hurry: it sounds at once like an instant classic and a forgettable piece of ephemera.
(James Sinarti
INDIE
VARIOUS
Wake Up With Probe Plus
(Probe) .0.
A self-proclaimed ‘Connoisseur Collection' of the artists who passed through the tiny recording studios of Liverpool's Probe Plus Records has got to be worth anyone's hard earned shilling and this rarely disappoints.
Things get off to a slightly shaky start wrth Calvin Party's nasty garage dirge 'Mass' but thin‘ s soon get under way With the She's ethereal folk—infested 'Stand by Your Bed'. Pressure Drop's hilarious. garrulous rockabilly 'Daddy Buy Me a Rifle. an excellent live version of Half Man Half Biscuit's ‘A COuritry Practise and Jegsy Dodd's tearierk of a anti-military poem '8000 Miles. This is Visceral. gritty indie musrc that may not be to everyone's taste but then again, it is from a time' when political beliefs were put slightly higher on people's priority lists than shopping. (Paul Dalei
What do ldlewild make of the coriipetition’.’ We made Roddy and Gavrn tell us. I irst tip is foxy Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley's ‘Rastardo' (Double Dragon). a feisty. indie-pop thrash. Roddy looks shocked. ‘I didn‘t know she sounded like that.‘
'You'd better be fucking nrce.‘ says Gavrn. 'lt's a good song.‘
‘She's a good singer, in a weird way. but it's not a very good song.“ Gavrn looks annoyed. ‘Shut up.’ he says succinctly. ‘lt's better than Ash,‘ counters Roddy.
Next are the cheeky country charms of The Thrills' 'The Irish Keep Gate-crashing (Virgin). Roddy covers his face wrth his scarf. ‘I don't think I can listen to them without vomiting. I already want to put it off. It's like Dodgy.“ Gavrn spends the next couple of minutes defending his fellow lrishmen, before spotting the song title. ‘That's not what it's called, is it? Christ, their fucking passports should be taken off them and they should be made to stay in London. cunts.’
Going from bad to worse. Embraces ‘Lookirig as You Are' (lndependrente) is put on the hi-fi. ‘Now this.‘ says Roddy. ‘is so dull I'm already asleep and we're only six seconds in. This is the musical equrvalent of McDonalds: unsatisfying on every Ievel.‘
‘You know in Hollyoaks when there's a really sad scene?“ says Gavrn. “This is the music that gets played.‘ ‘This offends me,‘ says Roddy. “Get it off.‘
And so to 'Wait in a Line' (Saddle Creek) by Now It’s Overhead. dark American indie popsters. Roddy seems keen. Gavin is distracted. ‘Don't print any of that stuff I said about the Thrrlls.‘ he says. eyeing the tape machine. ‘The tape is rolling. you idiot,’ says Roddy helpfully. 'But they're my pals.‘ ‘Some friend you are. slagging them off. [Roddy returns to listening to ‘Now It's Overhead']. I like this but I'd have to listen to it a bit to get into it.‘ ‘lt's like movie music.‘ says Gavin. still looking worried about the whole Thrills debacle. To distract him we fire on Queens of the Stone Age's latest riff-o-rama romp. 'Little Sister' (Interscope). It works. “See. liust instantly like this.‘ he says. smiling. Roddy is equally impressed: ‘Josh Homme writes the best riffs since Tony lommi. He's a bit of a rock genius. This is so swampy, isn't it? They're just a quality rock band. start to frnish.‘
‘lt's so refreshing that there's music like this being made today.’ says Gavin. ‘Thumbs up.’
And so we leave them. still arguing about the Thrills (Roddy claims he prefers Shania Twain. Gavin calls him a fucking liar). One thing they do agree on. Queens of the Stone Age win Single of the Fortnight. Quite right. too.
(Doug Johnstone)
Loud
‘43 °Cleor
l7 Fetr 7 Mar 2005 THE LIST 75