PREVIEW it‘lbli V/M THE VIEW HMV Picturehouse, Edinburgh, Thu 12 Feb
First time around with their Mercury Prize short listed 2007 debut album Hats Off to the Buskers, young Dundonian rapscallions The View left a trail of drug busts, trashed hotel rooms and US Visa rejections in their wake. The quartet are back with their second album Which Bitch?, and apparently no better behaved.
Fanning the flames of indie rock anarchy during recording once more was Welsh producer Owen Morris (the man behind Oasis’s first three albums). He‘s discovered kindred wild spirits in The View. ‘He's out of his box, it’s good workin’ with him,’ says lead singer Kyle Falconer. ‘He’s on the same planet as us. He's got a View tattoo now, he’s one of the boys.’
Understandably, The View‘s bankrollers were unenthusiastic about turning the band loose in expensive studios while in Morris’s company. ‘The record company didn’t want us to go with Owen again.‘ Falconer explains, ‘cause we always end up getting fined money when we’re with him. For damages and stuff.
‘There was a lot of fun goin’ on,’ the singer adds. ‘We got beers and stuff and went on a hot air balloon together. That was pretty good like. And we built rafts and went floatin’ down a river. And we shaved a Mohawk into his head.‘
A 14-track sprawl of ballsy choruses, rickety orchestration and queasy sea shanties, Which Bitch? may lack the character of The View’s first record, but its spirit of no-holds barred mayhem is its strength. Fellow Scot and lover of a tipple Paolo Nutini lent guest vocals to ‘Covers’, in what ended up being a slightly less spontaneous contribution than intended. ‘Paolo happened to be in the studio next to us,’ explains Falconer. ‘It took us a few sessions to get it done though, ‘cause the first time Owen got him really drunk on tequila and it never happened.‘ (Malcolm Jack)
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PREVIEW MFlAl LAMB OF GOD 02 Academy, Glasgow, Sun 15 Feb
Lamb of God are part of the new breed of American metal. The sheer level of rnusICianship involved in these fast. brutal and aggressive songs is something that is often overlooked by the mainstream press. ‘I think there's a stereotype of the dumbed-down. drop—out.' explainsdrummerChris Adler. ‘But bands like Mastodon, Meshuggah and Slipknot are slowly changing that ()()llll()ll. We were nominated for a Grammy. so I think things are turning around.’ It's not surprising when you hear their all-out assault but then tune into the intelligent. often political lyrics. ‘We're not telling anybody what to think. we're simply expressing our opinion.' adds Adler. “It's important for people to wake up and not always follow the herd."
LOG set themselves very high standards when they headed into the studio for new album Wrath. ‘As a group we’d decided early on that if we weren't able to evolve or get better as musicians or write songs that we thought were better than songs on the last record that we should stop.‘
They've supported pretty much every metal act worth mentioning uncluding the 'big four' of thrash: Slayer, Metallica. Megadeth and Anthraxi and for this iaunt they're CO-headlining With Dimmu Borgir With support from Unearth and Five Finger Death Punch on the apprOpriater titled Defenders of the Faith tour. ‘Dimmu are the world's premiere black metal band, so l am honoured to be on tour With them. As the Singer for Dimmu Borgir [Shagrath] said. "We're diVided under a flag which unites US in metal".' (Henry Norlhinorel As second (T(.7lll'l(}‘. go ‘e's.’ liaxe been more :ii‘tir,ir,ated than that o‘ Howard Devoto's hiigel, lllf!ll‘.‘ll*lit! troupe of best twink (noneer‘, lorined after l)e.oto left
PREVIEW l‘flSl hi ”tz MAGAZINE O2 Academvi Glasgow. Mon 16 Feb
Hit/flocks and the oherihord ‘.‘.io."der:ngs r,‘ bunk behind. Maga/ine .‘.ere an llllllllif:l‘,’ more sophisticated (MUILO‘JIlHli, .‘il‘ereb, melodramatir, barogue flourishes of prog punk glam wrapped ttte'nselyes around [Jexoto‘s stiidie’l eriiiu. and literan, allusions to Proust and Dostomvsk, ‘.’."ith a double edged sword of a name that .‘.’?l.‘§ (art coffee table gloss. ;,:irt 'oaded gun. from the openirtg
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ricochet of nervous tl’flfrll’,, on the bar‘ds "MP; debut single. Sides. Maga/ine .‘iere hailed as e><istr,-r:tialist ‘3}2'.'|()llr‘:
Over four albums. 'V‘i’LEli’ll'lQ t'ie elassir, The Correct Use of Soap Hill/,7? featured "A Song From Under the Floerbbard‘;'. a three-yeree distillation of Dostoyexsl-c, s ”Notes From lJrzdergrour‘d', and ,i get of work'; described in one review as “songs about lr;.e. songs about tear. songs about the fear of km; and the love of fear'. Maga/ine. aias. remained on tne margins. Since De'xoto called time on the band in 1218‘. flf,‘.’."€:‘."‘;f. a Magazine re/i/a' has been a matter of time. Radichead nave coxered them. .‘.’flll‘: Morrisse, recently played 'A Song From Under the Ftoorboa'ds' in concert With De/oto and original members Barr“; damson on bass. keyboardist Da/e Formula and drummer John Doyle flicking through the band's back pages at We Jer/ special shons .‘Jlll’l guitarist Noko from Demto's post-li/lagax-ne protect Luxuria replacing the late .John McGeogn. Maga/ine look set to finally be revered. iNeiI Cooperi
62 THE LIST 5—19 Feb 2009