ReviewsM'usic
www.list.‘co.uk/music i 7
effective nevertheless. is Ones to savour. but have in
. the Anadin ready just in case. (Martin C Strong)
with a Californian dash of Beach Boys style. Although their retro take on indie pop is warm and polished. after ten tracks of “bah bah bah'-ing and endlessly repeated lyrics, the only reflection is a big ol' breath of bland. There are glimmers of hope in
composition has its own character, and the guitarist and his collaborators discover a sound and style to suit them ROBERT
' ": MITCHELL am
The Greater Good (Jazz Services) ooo
SINGLES St DOWNLOADS TA
IégAH-JANB Stimuli-its;
the tenderly melodious moments of ‘Send Those Dark Eyes This Way' and The Thrills—esque
Pianist Robert Mitchell
resisted entering the
* crowded field of piano
trios for a while.
including her own tunes
. ‘The Happy Hardanger'
and ‘Urban Trad'. effectiver blended with
, “Nothing But Love'. but nothing yet to elevate them from their very average status. (Hannah Atkinson)
l , preferring to concentrate -" on his larger Panacea ’ groups. but the 3io (the name apparently is how they refer to the group in text messages) with Tom Mason and Richard Spaven has developed into a notably collective unit since forming in 2005. The album's title is intended to reflect that idea of the whole being more than the sum of the pans.
the rich sonority of Barry
Phillips 5-string cello.
She reverts to the
Scots fiddle on the remainder of the album. which takes its title from the old Celtic name for the River Ness. She
- reveals a deft touch and l lyrical grace on both instruments in the { course of a well-chosen i mix of traditional and contemporary tunes. As well as cello. she is i supported by Ewan
You know times are tough when you have to resort to Tony Christlo to get you through the day. OK, the climate's shagged and the banks are collapsing, but it's the piffling amount of brilliant tracks that’s really getting my goat this issue. What? Us lowly scribes never go outside or have any money anyway... Oh and talking of which, how about a payn' (snip, Ed). Anyway, thankfully the beautifully soaring ‘Born To Cry' ; (Decca/Autonomy) oooo with its sumptuous strings and melt—in-the-mouth chorus. makes it momentarily all better. Christie's comeback is about as far away from Amarillo-ville as you can get, and for those whose old codger/credibility alert is flashing, the song was penned by Jarvis
If the ‘what' is an open question, there is no argument about the how. The Airdrie-born guitarist '3 technical command and expressive vocabulary continues to develop in impressive fashion with ; each successive release. ; and his gifts as a 5 composer are equally compelling. Angus Lyon‘s accordion, Peter
; EXPERIMENTAL POP I PSAPP
The Camel’s Back i (Domino) .0”
I 38?? tit-.1, Ck‘“ 3
Cocker and Richard Hawley back in the heady I i ' Harveys cello Andy . ' < 1 :4, <1“ Macpherson's guitars. | days Of PU'P " YOU remember ‘ When £100 “0‘93 i i i McKreel's tuba and the /,/ ///§ 2/.//// Kevin McGuire on bass 3 :i
grew on shrubs and the streets were paved with love and motherly hugs and stuff.
bass and drum
II and percussionist Paul i
If the toys really did combination of Duncan
/// / ’7/ x. \’l Jennings
. i . sill Niki" Q‘s" ' . t
Maybe I ShOU'd be gratefu' for sma“ memes. _ sneak out to play after ; Lyall and Jim Drummond \ ///\. 45,.//,’\.\’//- (Kenny Mathieson) i LUCkiIY. none Of these Offerings are as bad as the i lights out (and were into - add their own colours 3‘" Q \\ 3‘“ iii . horrificaW inSiDid 'Wire t0 Wire' (VertlQO/MGTCUW) their Tunng and i and interpretations to the 1 \(o' "‘ §/‘/"i§//‘\l RWgETfiAGE 0 from Bow-wannabes Medium. And i Stereolab). this is the sort f music. Short playing s ' s Ruin Nation 1 honourable mentions go to Irish Singer/songwriter ; of music they would 3 time. though. ‘ “ ‘ (Vanduara Records) ;
Conor Mason's debut “Falling Out Of Touch’
make. The third album of (Kenny Mathieson) The music is broadly in ..
(Antimatter) ooo which is kind of pretty, as is the light and breezy guitar pop of Hampor’s ‘Amsterdam' (First Aid) ooo , RIosor’s ‘Confusion Parade’ (Demo) ooo Answer' (Demo) ooo by up-and-coming
Edinburgh foursome Sol. ankmuolk's ‘3 Little
Words EP' (Island) ooo does a perfectly passable trade in glittery electro pep, with Kids In Glass Homo: representing the next pretty emo boy brigade admirably with the Glassjaw- esque ‘Rsticuffs' (Roadrunner) ooo
But it’s left to just a handful to wrestle for this issue's top-spot. Friondly Flros' shimmering disco stomper ‘Paris' (XL) oooo almost made it, as did ferocious electro grime-merchants Spoktrum with 'Hotsteppa' (StopStart) oooo Foot Vlllago's ‘Clubtraxxx 1-1 11’ (Too Pure) oooo - which scared us half to death with its
relentlessly pummelled drums and zombie chatter
vocals - and the return of Boyonco (albeit in drag) with soaring ballad ‘If I Were A Boy’ (MusicWorld/ RCA Label Group) oooo . But it’s Sho & mm with the majestic ‘Why Do You Let
Me Stay Here' (Double Six) 00000 which stands
victorious as Singlo of tho'Fol-tnlght; the rest lying bloody and battered. having taken a proper pounding from its squalling riffs, beguiling melody and sublime harmonies. What a knockout. (Camilla Pia)
and 'Take An
INDIE ATTIC LIGHTS Friday Night Lights
experimental 'toytronica’ from duo Galia Durant and Carim Clasmann shimmers with Hammond organs. vintage Casios and plinky-plonky miniature pianos, while kitchen utensils and bells swoon and twinkle along beside them like a wind-up procession. But instead of sounding like the soundtrack to some sugared-up pre-school TV show. they do it with grown-up eccentricity, and in this case, their most melancholy and candid lyrics to date. Playfully leftfield, with added depth to the DIY quirkiness.
(Claire Sawers)
INSTRUMENTAL
JOHN GOLDIE Open 4 Closure (Watercolour Music) 0.”
Guitarist John Goldie's latest offering eludes easy genre classification. He is probably best
1 BIO-WAVE PUNK-KRAUT—
AZZ BLACK CARROT Drink the Black Forest (Tin Angel Records) ooooo
Eight years and only one
; album release since their i formation (2003's C/uk).
Midlands-based Black Carrot come up trumps by tying up the avant- punk power of Pere Ubu. Captain Beefheart and James Chance into one restless bundle.
The quartet play brave. occasionally reckless psychotic improvs — music designed to blow your mind. Numbers such as ‘Keep Out‘. ‘Diamonds Aren‘t the Answer', ‘Toctic'.
the same stylistic area as 7 -—-~
the likes of Neil Cowley or EST. generally built on simple motifs and structures that are developed in somewhat repetitive fashion. but with freedom to create in interesting ways within that simplicity. The tactic works well on a number of tunes. including Mitchell's ‘Cumulus'. Wayne Shorter's ‘Dance Cadaverous‘, Massive Attack's ‘Teardrop' and the energised title track. although they do get mired in less productive
routines at times.
(Kenny Mathieson)
FOLK SARAH-JANE SUMMERS Nesta
(Dell Daisy Records) CO”
The Norwegian Hardanger fiddle is one
of the most distinctive
sounding members of the violin family. and invests the lnverness
Glasgow's Attica Rage might have the directions for the road to hard rock Valhalla but the second-NWOBHM- coming they are not. Their debut Ruin Nation, althOugh mastered in London by Skunk Anansie's Ace, is perceptiny DIY and the foursome. who have proved their chops live. have been let down by billowy. underwhelming production which lacks bite and muscle. They know their history for sure. their weighty riftage harks back to the mental-rnetal 80s. Metallica and Black Label Society are obvious jump off points but one can pick-out only ‘In My Dreams' and ‘Safe lnside' as songs
L w0rth making return
visits to in this form. Go witness them live instead.
(Martin C Strong)
(Universal Island) oooi ‘
fiddler's debut solo album with a very characteristic signature. one that will be familiar from some maniacal I to anyone who knows desert demon, Brackley's i her work with Fribo. She tongue-twisting verbals employs the instrument are at times - on five of the thirteen incomprehensible but instrumental sets.
know for his jazz work, but is equally comfortable in a range of styles. and this disc is touched by various shades of jazz, folk, rock and funk without falling readily into any of those categories. Each
‘Nervous Was My Information‘ and “How Do You (Redefine Yourself?) take their cue
With soaring harmonies and sweetly twee lyrics. these Glasgow kids I seem to be following the right recipe for indie glee. I Sadly, their debut results ' sound like they have
come ten years too late.
as they mimic the nineties pop feel of Ash,
30 Oct—13 Nov 2008 THE LIST 65