Calvin Harris
(Humble Soul) 0..
Guitars' (Warp) O
high-fretted guitars.
A pair of lovely lady sounds open this issue's whip through the short players. which has a strange males vs females dynamic incidentally. 'Mr Blue' (Tallgrass) m Feeny arnbles along in a loved-up winsome haze. its head lost in a cloud of mellow brass and keys. Liz Green's ‘Bad Medicrne' snaps at the scoundrel that scorned her. like a bluegrass rattlesnake with the vorce of a 19203 jazz chanteuse. Speaking of the fairer sex. both Gossip and Maximo Park are concerned with girls this week — covetous ones in the former's case: ‘Jealous Girls' (Back Yard) 000 wielding type in the latter's: ‘Girls Who Play . Beth Ditto and co win easily in the head to head. stomping the Newcastle indie fraudsters' pallid three-minute bore flat with a razor sharp soul-punk stiletto. Kaiser Chiefs' tabloid-barracking lads- anthem ‘The Angry Mob‘ (B-Unique) 00 isn't much of a riposte from the blokes. coming across like a rubbish Blur. as they so often do. Ample back up arrives. at least. in the shape of off-kilter nugget ‘Beatific Visions' (Rough Trade) by Brakes. and hot new prospects Foals' 'Mathletics’ (T ransgressive) .00 which is a scuttling clash of creepy-crawly
by Catherine
. the axe-
But enough with this crazy battle of the sexes already. Wink's dancetloor classrc ‘High State of Consciousness' is given a refit to relaunch legendary label (Strictly Rhythm) 0.. is very much a case of trying to better something that was near perfect already. While the new mixes are fine. they only help to show how timeless the original was. Better still is that we‘re all off to cheeky Dumfries chappy Calvin Harris's gaff for a knees up. ‘Merrymaking At My Place' (Sony) 0000 might be achingly reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem's ‘Daft Punk is Playing at My House‘. but it is undeniably fun. and unerringly funky. What the hell. let ‘8 call it Single of the Week. Because we're not prejudiced here. Are you? (Malcolm Jack)
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POP
NEWTON FAULKNER
Hand Built by Robots (Brightside Records) 0..
Until \ou've actually seen young Faulkner attack an acoustic guitar in a whirl of Stiltltff'llkt‘, fingers and dreadlocks transforming it into a three—piece band in the process. it's hard to properlx appreciate this album.
There's loads of instruments in\o|\'ed
32 THE LIST' ‘6 .‘
3 Aug .‘i‘tw
here so some tracks can feel cramped or over complex compared to his brilliant ll\'(‘, performances. More ‘hacky sack” than ‘tootball'. this is a delicate. softly spoken record that has a lot to offer. (Ric McLaughini
PEATBOG FAERIES
What Men Deserve to Lose
ilknittii ii) (1..) "t‘ .0.
lift l
lhe title of the Skye based band's fifth album is a reference to the lain. lore of the island. but there is nothing ethereal or otherwordly about therr high impact delivery. If the full effect of their storming Celtic dance music is best telt live and direct in a sweaty venue. the band's music is also intricately layered and skillfully arranged.
The extended instrumentatiiin. taking in Peter Morrison's pipes. Adam Sutherlarid's fiddle. lom Salter 's guitar. Graeme Stafford's keyboards. Rick laylor's trombone. Innes llutton's pumping bass and Iain Copeland's driying drumming. With trumpet. saxes. mandola. banio and programming thrown in. guarantees ample sonic and textural variation Within their densely interwoven soundscape. lheir )aunty. insistent melodies are driven along on a sustained high energy rhythm track that never lets up. overlaid With fully integrated bor‘roWings from 1a//. rock. reggae. and anything else that takes their fancy. (Kenny Mathieson)
POP
ROBYN Robyn (Konichiwa) COO
Robyn leaps out of the gate looking like your typical kooky Scandrnavran popstar With her first track. Curriculum Vitae'. hyping and bigging her up in time honoured boxer rap fashion. The lyrics boast of her triumphs — curing AIDS. scoring 'two gazillion in Tetris — but none of them compare to her managing to pull off this uber sassy pop paean. lt veers from the
sober: FURRY ANIMALS
Hey Venus!
I) up)". ' 2i)“
After a handful of side-projects and solo records, Super Furry Animals return to what they do best — making dreamy indie pop together. Hey Venus finds the band on phenomenal form and substantially bigger-sounding than ever before with sumptuous string arrangements. sun-drenched harmonies. horns, woozy solos. pounding pianos and scratchy guitars. They‘ve thrown everything but the kitchen sink into the instrumentation of this record yet not at the expense of the killer melodies. soaring choruses and brilliantly bizarre lyrics which have become their trademark. We were promised a ‘speaker-blowing' work and the wacky Welsh quintet have definitely delivered. Fans will rejoice. and rightly so . . . (Camilla Pia)
delicious candy pop of ‘Konichiwa Bitches‘ to the electrosex crunking of 'Robotboy' to the more bland recent single ”With [.very lleartbeat' With the best parts sounding like Mika and Pink haying cyber sex then exploding in an orgiastic rainbow lie pretty darn colourfuli. lSii/anne Black)
lOLK POP TUNNG
Good Arrows (Full Time Hobbyi 0..
Citing influences from Icelandic prog rock to choral muSIC and film soundtracks. Tunng's third album is a musical playground of varied sounds. Stand-out track 'Bullets' is a simple catch. pep numcer. "Hands and 'King' are
gentl‘. 't‘eaatifc't song/rs.
(}(.ll()lllt) fSiifian i3texens' plinky plonkly backdrops. and the chilled out electronic.) of Air and Hot Chip lhere is an experimental feel to the synthy instrumental ‘fioup' ifollowed pleasingly fr. 'fSpoons'i. and the tracks are punctuated by ambient sound and unusualpercussion fs’ut
.‘Jllllf: these toys are fun. the, are sometimes a needless distraction from songwriting that l‘) strong enough to stand on its o.‘.'ii.
iCate Simpsoni
INle DOCK
KULA SHAKER Strangefolk iEssential Music) 0..
Kula Shaker. and ll‘. particular 1ear: for, Crisp an Mts. came
for a If)’ o‘ C" The;
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But this. their first album since regroiipiiig ain't too bad lt"; ‘.lf.tl()lll tlr“.L‘ l'i lill‘.lll‘.".'. ii. Itiiita". '..'./irl. f’r. tiroom‘. run free ari'l rod 'll,'.ll'.l'illl abounds lll a fragrant l)l')lll 'rf psychedelic rock Sometiirie', they alirmut Hound like a parody of the lllllli‘:ll’,(:f. that inspired them Ifrori. Hendrix to the l)ali lama). but the, first about reir: it !l1 and 3a.": theriisel.’es from
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