ROCK
IDLEWILD
Make Another World (Sequel) 0000
Around the time of his folky solo project‘s first release. Roddy Woomble hinted at a return to heavy music for his main band Idlewild. And boy was he right. Make Another World sees the Edinburgh quintet get back to blasting out punky riff- fuelled anthems. from blistering opener ‘ln Competition For the Worst Time‘ to the blustery attack of “Everything (As It Moves)‘ and the squealing guitars and thundering drums of 'If It Takes You Home'.
IDLEWILD
Yet, it won't all blow your head off. There are captivating quiet moments and evidence of experimentation to dazzling effect on first single ‘No Emotion‘ with its driving dance beats and the traditional Scots balladary meets jazzy horns of ‘Future Works'.
In the past. cynical types have been quick to dismiss Idlewild as simply Nirvana and REM copyists. but this sixth offering should shut them up. Although hints of all that has inspired them are still present. the flirtation with folk has allowed the fivesome to finally fulfil their potential and create an infectious sound that is utterly their own. Whether Make Another World outsells Idlewild's most successful effort to date. 2002‘s The Remote Part. remains to be seen and is frankly inconsequential. This is passionate. poetic. life-affirming rock which verges on perfection. (Camilla Pia)
EVIL ELECTRO MSTRKRFT The Looks (Modular) 0000
‘5 f"'§#7~ 3 "
You probably know this Canadian duo as Death From Above 1979. or perhaps from their stellar remixes of Kills. Gossip. Metric and Bloc Party. But scrap all that: ‘MSTRKRFT. purveyors of the most thrilling dance music around' is how you should remember them.
The Looks is a magnificently filthy record. all dark disco beats. vocoders. pulsing basslines and squelchy synths which will have even the most cynical music-lover flailing around. attempting to
have their wicked way with the dancefloor after
just one listen. Rhythmic.
minimalist and utterly addictive. this debut reminds us exactly how electrifying electronic music can be and shows up the new rave ‘movement' for the
' watered-down nonsense
it really is. (Camilla Pia)
POP ROCK ENDRICK BROTHERS Attraction Versus Love (Hypertension) 00
Wearing your heart on your sleeve has always sounded like a painful and messy sacrifice to me. while displaying your musical influences like a big clanging medal round the neck is nothing short of a grave mistake. So.
' within the first two-and-
a-half minutes of opening track ‘Thorns on Every Rose'. the Endrick Brothers move inexplicably. tediously. predictably through the entire back catalogues of
endricl; bicafitéts.
Neil Young and REM with a heavy nod in the direction of the Pernice Brothers. I‘ll be amazed if 'lrish Angel' doesn‘t result in a call from Stipe‘s legal team. while ‘Dear Jane' opens with the line: ‘I began to see the error of my ways”. Not quickly enough. unfortunately.
(Brian Donaldson)
POST ROCK EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY
All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
(Bella Union) om.
Girls'n'stuff bothereth not Texas post-rock rangers Explosions in the Sky. On their fourth long player. they have infinitely more
important thematic fish to fry.
Take opener. ‘The Birth and Death of the Day' for instance. eight minutes of seismic drums and celestial guitars so earth- shakingly massive it could have been on God's iPod the week of Genesis. Or 'Catastrophe and the Cure'. another eight minute wonder so tremblineg gorgeOuS and insistent it's like the musical manifestation of the phrase: “why can't everybody just get along?‘
This is truly a record with a higher purpose. Stand back and enjoy the fireworks.
(Malcolm Jack)
FARRY PURKISS
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