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'v «in . SINGER SONGWRITER JAMES YORKSTON When the Haar Rolls In
(Domino) 0”.
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x‘j;Record Reviews Music
explained in Rob
Adams' insert notes)
under difficult time
constraints. although you would be hard
1 pressed to guess it from
V ' the music.
In this age of quick fixes and cheap thrills, there’s something deeply comforting about James Yorkston. This fourth studio album is the antithesis of the nasty fast food rush of most mainstream indie fare, more
like a luxurious banquet in the company of old friends at a place that wears
its Michelin stars lightly. When the Haar Rolls In takes time to get into, but you suspect that’s exactly how Yorkston likes it. It’s an album of subtlety and finesse, a record which sees Yorkston further refine his formula of combining folk instrumentation - violin, concertina, mandolin, piano, bouzouki - with a hypnotic songwriting style to create something virtually
unique.
Compared to previous records, When the Haar Rolls In is a relaxed- sounding affair, the rattling spraff of ‘Tortoise Regrets Hare’ or the gentle swagger of ‘Queen of Spain’ sounding loose-Iimbed and slightly rough around the edges, and all the better for that. While those songs are the sound of Yorkston having fun, he saves his mesmerising best for the latter
segment of the album.
‘Would You Have Me Born With Wooden Eyes?’ is a thing of shimmering beauty built around simple guitar and Yorkston’s impressively sonorous voice, while closer ‘The Capture of the Horse’ is a gentle epic, eight minutes plus of folky rhythms and structures bent and twisted into wondrous, evocative new shapes.
On this evidence Yorkston is continuing to evolve and develop as an artist, and he’ll surely be with us for many more fine platters in the future.
(Doug Johnstone)
SOUNDTRACK
JOHN BAKER The John Baker Tapes Volumes 1 and 2 (Trunk Records) 000
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John Baker was one of three lynchpin members of the much mythologised BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 608 and 708 whose work. until this reissue on the ever oddball and reliable Trunk Records. has been overshadowed by that of his colleague Delia Derbyshire.
A musical prodigy with . a troubled private life. as
the extensive sleevenotes included here reveal, Baker utilised a maverick. and from our Garageband era viewpoint. preposterously methodical, tape-based sampling technique to make futuristic sounding music on demand for BBC programme theme tunes. some of which sounds uncannin like primitive Aphex Twin, Luke Vibert. DJ Food or Stereolab. Elsewhere. jazz-tinged piano interludes sit alongside the retro-futuristic throbs. bleeps. plinks and plonks that more typically characterise the BBC Radiophonic Workshop sound. Whether there's musical value beyond the musical archaeology interest is a matter of
taste. but if you're looking for a document of audio history in the making with the whimsical atmosphere of innocent functional simplicity. this is both a great starting point and a valuable compendium alike. (Hamish Brown)
JAZZ
RYAN OUIGLET Laphroaig-ian Slip (Ryan Ouigley Music) 0...
Ryan Ouigley is a familiar figure on the Scottish jazz scene. not least through his long tenure in the Scottish
National Jazz Orchestra.
The trumpeter’s love of the classic hard bop and post-bop styles of the 505 and 60s is always apparent in this session, which was recorded (for reasons
The abundant energy and drive reflects the focused concentration the players brought to the trumpeter's attractive. cleverly arranged compositions
which make up the disc.
augmented by their takes on two standards. His inventive, hard-
hitting trumpet work is
typically crisp and
expressive.
Saxophonists Laura
' MacDonald (alto) and ‘1 Paul Booth (tenor)
complete a dynamic horn line. while pianist Steve Hamilton leads a
swinging and supportive
rhythm section with
i Mario Caribe and Alyn
Cosker.
i (www.ryanquigley.co.uk) (Kenny Mathieson)
HIP HOP ROOTS MANUVA
Slime and Reason (Big Dada) coco
Almost a decade after
his debut album Brand New Second Hand
appeared. Rodney
? Smith's no longer at the
head of a field of one.
The popularisation of
UK hip hop which he ushered in has since given way to garage and then grime. and while he's stepped back from
the cutting edge of
British urban music. this fourth album shows he's
' still an artist brimming with confidence and
invention.
On ‘Let the Spirit' he joins with Metronomy for a piece of warmly mellow soultronica. while the Toddla T production ‘Buff Nuff' is a short blast of poppy
drum & bass. Such team—ups are a bit of extra flavour rather than the record's saving grace, however — songs like ‘l'm a New Man'
and the ghetto-epic
‘The Struggle' add plenty to the Root's oeuvre. (David Pollock)
FOLK JEANA IfiESLIE 8.
A SIOBHA
MILLER
In a Bleeze (Greentrax) 0000
Singer Siobhan Miller from Penicuik and fiddler and singer Jeana Leslie from Orkney met while students at the RSAMD. and gave notice that we should expect something special when they won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award for 2008. They excel in the vocal department in particular, both in Miller's lovely lead singing and their beautifully judged harmony vocals, but Leslie is also a fine fiddler, and the instrumental sets are augmented by a number of session guests.
Their interpretations of traditional material includes some unusual variants on songs like 'Time Wears Awa". “Mad Tom of Bedlam' (aka ‘Bedlam Boys'). ‘Mild Mary (a version of ‘Four Marys') and a north-east version of 'The Parting Glass‘. recorded live at the BBC award ceremony and tacked onto the studio tracks here. They have an appealing freshness and vitality. while the more contemporary material is equally well- chosen. A powerful debut (Kenny Mathieson)
INDIE
FRIENDLY FIRES Friendly Fires
(XL Recordings) 0”. This has been a while coming. With the recent flutter of cerebral pop acts with one eye firmly
on the dancefloor, it was - only a matter of time
: before the once-
ubiquitous cowbell
worked its way back into the mix — DFA would approve. This
record bursts at the seams with subtle
percussive strikes and a ; deft. intelligent
production that belies
Friendly Fires' relative
youth.
This stomping vitality is smartly set against a wash of sun-blushed synths and crooning Prince vocals. It's an arresting combination. making it hard to believe that this isn't the sound of summer released six
weeks too late.
(Oliver Farrimond)
ELECTRONICA
MINOTAUR SHOCK
Amateur Dramatics
(4AD)
There's a pleasing, almost literary. conceit
to this album. Bristol-
based electronica artist Minotaur Shock —
othen/vise known as
David Edwards — has given each
downloadable track a ? DrlCing guideline
corresponding to
various criteria of his
own choosing. These include. but are not
limited to. a “technical
difficulty rating', and the frequency at which the track made his
computer crash.
It’s a humanising
. touch. and an innovative stab at something approaching sleeve
notes for the digital age.
The music itself lacks
the whimsy of 2005's
Maritime, opting instead
for dirty eclecticism and
3 a musical complexity
that occasionally jars. Still, this is an intelligently crafted
record that bears more than afew listens.
(Oliver Farrimond)
21 Aug—4 Sep 2008 me LIST 43
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