SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
Malcolm Middleton
Think back to when you were 17 or 18. Remember the bands you enjoyed then. when music seemed like the most important thing ever? Now subtract the ones that fill you with toe-curling embarrassment and the ones that somehow don't sound as good as they used to. What's left is/are the band(s) of your generation. a much-abused concept that can only really be decided on when a generation is over. So that means we'll only know in a decade or so if Arctic Monkeys — whose new single is called ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ (Domino) oooo — really are as thrillingly era- defining as they feel right now. Can you wait?
Still. l’d stick my neck out and say that Travis won't be accepted into any heavenly canon that includes Sex Pistols. The Smiths or The Stone Roses. ‘I used to quite like a couple of their songs,’ we will tell our children, ‘like that “Selfish Jean’ (lndependiente) ooo . the one where they went a bit Good Feeling again. at long last.’
It’s questionable. though, whether The Rakes might be remembered by posterity. Their ‘The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect’ (V2) 000 has a great title. but it's indie anthem-writing by numbers. while Good Books’ ‘Passchendaele' (Columbia) 000 is no more memorable. despite its literate Echo and the Bunnymen bent. Both are better than the dizzyineg over-rated My Chemical Romance. however; the snotty. drab 'Teenagers' (Reprise) 00 is. worryingly. their best song yet.
From this fortnight's pick. it’s the Scots who might be best remembered. ‘Mr Rock and Roll‘ (Vertigo) oooo is the debut single by Glasgow troubadouress (sic?) Amy Macdonald. who is sure to be “the new KT Tunstall' before she can strap on her guitar. although I’m hearing Suzanne Vega and Kirsty MacColl in this bright. tuneful ditty. Fellow high- achieving west-coasters Make Models ‘The LSB' (T he Biz) coo. , on the other hand. dines out on crisp electro-rock riffs. Yet. it's to old stager Malcolm Middleton (featuring Jenny Reeve) we turn for Single of the Fortnight. “Fight Like the Night' (Full Time Hobby) 00000 is a not—at-all-sullen indie rocker of euphoric proportions. Scotland's next great pop star. anyone? (David Pollock)
Reviews
TRIP POP
THE FAST CAMELS
The Magic Optician (Neon Tetra Records) 0...
Hailing from Glasgow. The Fast Camels pay a psychedelic tribute to the 608 in their energetic debut album. Guitar heavy. with mature
harmonies and strong rhythms. the band are unashamedly influenced by the likes of Love and
Pink Floyd. However. there's enough variety to make this more than a pastiche: the songs range from tales of characters such as ‘Big Daddy Smythe' to the anguished pleas of 'Privately lnsane'. The pace is brisk. even on the slower tracks. making The Magic Optician feel like a jolly whirlwind trip round intelligent minds perusuig the world around them. Floyd would be proud. (Stan Bevan)
GRINDCORE PIG DESTROYER Phantom Limb (Relapse) 0000
Pig Destroyer have always had more to them than yOur average grinders. largely thanks to the lit-heavy lyrics of JR Hayes. So. while Phantom Limb plays like the illegitimate offspring of early Napalm Death. there's a deeply unhinged quality to this that goes beyond just the sonic. This. after all. is a band who take inspiration from arch weirdos Dawd Lynch and William Burroughs. and Hayes' lyrics are. at times. a tad disturbing. But if anything Phantom Limb is a more enjoyable listen than 2004 unrelenting Terrifyer. as nods to thrash ensure a more accessible s0und. though one hesitates to use the words enjoyable or accessible for anything this unsettling. (Andrew BorthWIck)
ROCK TORCHE
Torche (Rock Action) 0.
Imagine a being rising from the primordial quagmire. shaking its thunderous fists in a display of brute strength. conjuring a whirlwind of frothy guitars and emitting an uncomprehending. enraged bellow. This is what Miami sludge rockers Torche should sound like: an almighty warrior risen from the earth to destroy
humanity with feedback and power chords. Unfortunately any proclamations of impending doom are buried beneath so many guitars that they may as well be asking for a cup of tea. Torche are not yet a threat to human life or the charts. but given a bit more evolution they may yet have something to say. (Suzanne Black)
LEFTFIELD HIP HOP ANTIMC
It’s Free But It’s Not Cheap
(KFM) 0..
As billed this solo outing from Radioinactive and Boom Bip associate Antimc is a freewheeling hodgepodge of avant- garde jazz sensibilities applied to punk. electro. experimental rock and hip hop. As such it can be angular. maddening and downright abrasive at times and boasts a similarly leftfield roH call of guest vocalists and MCs.
If fr” i ‘1’:
It is among the atmospheric tail-enders that the more approachable productions lie. the inspired wonky hip hop of 'The True Believer' being bolstered by dreamy. billowing instrumentals. All in all it makes for a commendably high-risk debut that pulls no punches and rattles in at less than 40 minutes. (Mark Edmundson)
JAZZ
KURT ELLING Nightmoves (Concord Records) 0...
Kurt Elling has stood Out in the current plethora of jazz singers on both sides of the Atlantic. Hailed as a natural successor to Mark Murphy. Elling has
developed as an individual and distinctive stylist. and his debut recording for Concord (following a half-dozen highly-regarded releases on Blue Note) will only add to his hip. charismatic image. He is accompanied by his working trio led by pianist and arranger Laurence Hobgood. augmented by guests that include Yellowjackets saxman Bob Mintzer and the Escher String Quartet
Nightmoves is conceived as a kind of nocturnal journey from midnight to Sunrise. framed in a set of songs that evoke the romantic. melancholic. reflective atmosphere of the wee small hours. They range from jazz standards to his settings of poems by Walt Whitman and Theodore Roethke. and conclude with Ellington's ‘I Like the Sunrise'. It is a beautifully conceived project. and a fine start to his relationship with his new label.
(Kenny Mathieson)
ALTROCK BUILT TO SPILL
You in Reverse (Rykodisc) 0000
It's been years since we last heard from this influential. Idaho-based collective and thankfully we find them on remarkable form sixth record around. Refreshingly at odds with the Current glowsticks and guitars-strewn music scene they have crafted a begUiling work that will eXCite both newcomers and devotees alike. From eight minute opener ‘Goin' Against Your Mind' onwards. it twists and turns. stops and starts and changes tempo and mood.
keeping the listener gripped throughout with fragile vocals. buzzing solos and melodies that ache with melancholy. Built to Spill are an unbelievably talented outfit and You in Reverse serves as the perfect reminder of that. (Camilla Pia)
METAL
WILL HAVEN The Hierophant (Bieler Bros) 0000
After splitting up, re- forming. and then losing
_ vocalist Grady Avenell.
Will Haven‘s continued
5 existence has been in T question of late. But with
the arrival of long-time friend Jeff Jaworski, the California metal quartet
. has finally foundafirm V footing.
The Hierophant
continues where 2001 's Carpe Diem left off. Hulking great metal
, grooves are the order and Jaworski does well to emulate his
predecessor‘s trademark vocal intensity. And.
while the album boasts some serious ‘roid rage
E (particularly ‘Helena' and
‘Handlebars . . .'). it's not quite as ambitious in
T scope as what came
before.
But that's a minor quibble. While it may not be the masterpiece fans have waited five years for it's still a welcome return. (Andrew Borthwick)
ELECTRONICA VARIOUS
Alex Tronic Records: Volume One
(Alex Tronic Records) 0..
Rather than looking to Detroit or Paris. this compilation is a reminder that Edinburgh's electronic music scene is alive and well. The first in a series of chill-out albums produced by
Alex Tronic on his
eponymous Leith label.
- showcasing ambient and
electro artists. the album includes several lush. laidback moments. and is a useful round-up of
. Scottish artists poised for big things. Undera
5-19 Jul 2007 THE LIST 59