eiv
Metronomy
Why is there so much slickly produced. pretend-to-be-credible pop around these days? Newton Faulkner Amy MacDonald. The Hoosiers. Sara Bareilles w the insipid list just keeps on getting longer. Eurgh. and here's another one: the emotionless and utterly pedestrian Jack McManus With ‘You Don't Think I Care‘ (Polydor Records/UMRL) 0 You know whose fault this is don't you? James Blunt. His success kickstarted the current major label scramble- to spew out more and more of this bland Singer/songwriter tosh, and here he is back with yet another predictable snoo/efest of a single. The subject matter of ‘I Really Want You' (Atlantic) is that the sguawky- voiced one is keen on a lady but isn't sure that she likes him back. Great. Not only does Blunt seem completely unable to ever sing about anything else. but he has planted the thought of him havrng pervy thoughts in my head and it makes me want to vomit. Pass me a bucket.
Elsewhere. ‘Wheels' (Euphonius RecordS) 0000 by Come On Gang! boasts blustery riffs and bewitching vocals which are a gentle reminder that there is still some creativin left in modern music. as the magical. sea shanty- singalong ot 'l Woke Up Today' (0in Slang) .0. by Port O’Brien. Also worth a listen is Kid Canaveral's gloriously ramshackle 'COuldn't Dance‘ (Straight to Video) 0... the tender folk of Sweethearts In Disguise' (Say Dirty/Lucky Number Nine) .00. by Zoey Van Goey and The State Broadcasters swoonsome. alt-country paean to teenage romance 'Let's Make I'— Shirts' (Electric Honey) 0000
Soothing also are the rhythmic. skew- whiff pop of Albert Hammond Jr.'s 'GfC' (Rough Trade) 0000 . the Rilo Kileyesgue ‘This Is Not A Test' (Double Six) 0.. by She & Him, White Denim's scratchy. guttural and deranged stomper “All You Really Have To Do' (Full Time Hobby) 000 and a typically top notch return from one of the best bands in the world right now The Hold Steady. ‘Seguestered In Memphis' (Rough Trade) 000.. fizzes from start to finish as gruff vocals. thumping pianos. warm horns. hammonds and soaring choruses collide. so it comes in a close second for this issue's Single of the Fortnight. just behind Metronomy's spooky disco effort 'Holiday' (Because Music) ooooo. The London-based sonic innovator reminds us that weirdness is alive and well in the world while serving up consistently killer tunes -- what a guy.
(Camilla Pia)
70 THE LIST '-: 'ii'
ltl' .l/yi
INDIE POP
A BAND CALLED QUINN Sun Moon Stars (lrornolo) O...
Boasting a guest guitarist spot from tcho and the Bunnyiiien's Gordy (Solidie. a chronic and polish from Parisian producer Kid loco and delightful art..'.'ork care of Bruno Gallagher. this industrious Glasgow trio‘s latest offering is an inviting prospect. Lgual parts pomp and austerity theirs is a warm alt.indie electro pop that evokes more than just a little ot salad day Cardigans. largely thanks to sinrple. sturdy song‘s/iitiiig conveyed ii: the undeniably Nina Peisson esijue tones of loiiese Quinn. ABCO clearly mean business and. as brasth championed on recent single 'DlY'. are not about to ‘.‘./£lll for someone else to make things happen. (Mark l"(llllllll(l§;()lll
(JOHN l HY HOOK CHRIS BRADLEY Voices (Splashing Duck) .0.
Edinburgh based Chris Bradley's biography is an impressive read. all tales of musical scholarships. first cl; ss honoursstudying Music at Newcastle University and inostmemorably
forming Ukrainian folk groups in Kiev. But then. ".‘/ll(1 likes a swot'? In the case of the recently inaugurated member of lt'dinburgh indie poppers Aberfeldy ll()~.‘i.i’()\.’(l'l, it's hard not to.
the construction of Bradley's songs is their chief selling point. all
. “if » we «burrs;
lightly picked guitars and Byrdsian melodies. but he's also in possession of a fine James Taylor vocal that's just shy of a falsetto. That's the main trouble with this entirely pleasant album, though. sometimes the mix concentrates on the voice to the exclusion of the music. (Davrd Pollock)
ROCK snoun ROS
Meo Suo i Eyrum Vio Spilum Endalaust (EMI) 0....
Iceland's favourite sons recently toured their horneiand for free and released a stunning acoustic record. and these both rejuvenating processes seem to have led into the joyous spirit of this fifth studio album. Opener 'Gobbledigook' confounds expectations. a feisty. stomping, ululating not of fun and sound. ‘Inni Mer Syngur vrtleysingur' and ‘Vid Spilum Endalaust' are concise. bubbling romps. imbued with the life attirniing spirit of Sutjan Stevens or The l-Iaining lips. the sound of a band grinning Widely.
'l he awesome epic rock majesty of old is still in evrdence. most noticeably on the heart exploding 'F-estival', but Meo Suo . . . is Sigur Ros most diverse and conseguently their most exhilarating and immediate offering to date. (Doug Johnstone)
J/\// ULF WAKENIUS
Love is Real (ACl Records) 0..
Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius follows his Keith Jarrett project Notes From the Heart With a disc devoted to the music of E53l)]()l'll Svensson. Tragically. its release has coincid 2d With the death of the Swedish pianist - who had been scheduled to play at the Edinburgh Ja// HISSlIVfll this month wrth the hugely
successful l:.S.T. in a scuba- diVing accident last month. Svensson's loss is a massive blow. and adds unlooked~for poignancy to this celebration of his
music.
Wakenius has expanded the core trio from the Jarrett disc by adding pianist tars Jansson. the radiostriiig.gtiartet.Vien na (fresh from their recent Mahavrshnu project) and several additional guests. including trombonist Nils landgren. a freguent Svensson collaborator. lhe results are occasionally a little over-elaborate in terms of the arranging, but this is generally a thoughtful and enjoyable take on the pianist's music. drawn from a range of ES. l. projects.
(Kenny Mathieson)
(El/\SSICAI HEBRIDES ENSEMBLE Olivier Messiaen — Chamber Works (linn Records) 0...
lhe Hebrides Ensemble are now firmly established as Scotland's leading contemporary music group. and their stock is rising well beyond their native turf as well. lhe enthusiastic acclaim for their recent imaginative Wiginore Hall concert that paid homage to Messiaen in his centenary cornniernoration and (lying centurion l_:|liott Carter is further recognition of that status. and this recording Will only add further lustre to their reputation.
(be centrepiece is the great ‘Quartet for the End of ‘l line'. given a
darkly expressive and finely nuanced reading that reflects the work's grim genesis in a concentration camp in 1941 while simultaneously affirming the life- giving qualities of the music. It takes its place among the best interpretations of the work on disc. and is supported by a substantial selection of four less well-known pieces. including the premiere recording of the recently re discovered ‘l-antaisie'. as well as the late ‘Piece pour piano et guatuor a cordes'. (Kenny Mathieson)
MLTAI.
CULT OF LUNA Eternal Kingdom (Earache) .000
Once pegged as post- metal rip offs in the vein of Neurosis. Sweden's Cult of Luna are fast becoming a formidable outfit in their own right and Ete/‘na/ Kingdom strengthens that reputation. A concept album lyrically and musically based on the diary of a psychiatric patient who murdered his wrfe (and blamed it on characters from Swedish folklorei it's a strange tale With music to match: the album managing to expand on the atinospherics of 2006's excellent
Son) )w/ie/e A/ong the Highway. whilst also building in scope. And when it all comes together in the ten minute closing track think doom riffs and
bit ss fanfare it points to a group soon to be name checked in the way their forbearers are. (Andrew Borthwicki
l OI K
VARIOUS
A Celebration of the Music of Gordon Duncan
(Greentiax) .0.
llie death of maverick piper Gordon Duncan brought a tragic and untimely end to a major talent. but his music continues to resonate