Music Record Reviews
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1 9908
Kicks
(Rough Tra'l'ei .0. Ulliiilfl,’ underrated for their sleazy glam not of a debut album COO/((0‘) in 2007. Glasgow's 1990'; have returned to finish the (DI). With
Berriarri Butler prorfuczng Sr; most of tilt; sleaze. the glam and the rioting has been kicked out.
Okay. so there's a little hit of it left during the Kate Jackson co- Starring 'Kickstrasse' (you'd hardly know she's
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
(Heavenly) 00
(Demo) 00
Records) me
Now we at The List just love. love. love a comeback. Pet Shop Boys at The Brits? Naturally. Jacko this summer? Count me in. And so it's with great interest that we pick up Dovee‘ return offering ‘Kingdom Of Rust'
. only to plonk it back down where it came from pretty sharpish. because. boy. is it drip-dryingly dull.
Now we need to get our kicks so let '3 turn to the newbies instead. ‘Crisis in the Slow Lane' (Xtra Mile/King Tuts Recordings) eeee by The Xcem is a pretty awesome Biffy-esque scream-along; Kilsyth trio The Vicounts make an impressive stab at brat-punk with ‘Broken Britain' (Demo) “e by Rieser (Reiser) em builds and builds into an epic and blustery slice of musical brilliance and then there's Ex Lion Tamer who gives his electronic pop a weird. wonky and rather wonderful twist on ‘Neon Hearts' (17 Seconds Records) 0000 .
Of course. dire tuneage gets our blood pumping too. Take Tommy Reilly's ridiculously over-produced acoustic musing ‘Gimme a Call' (A&M Records) 0 after just one listen makes us want to punch him. Hard. And by the time we're done with the thoroughly unholy trinity of ‘Computers Singing' (Jalapeno Records) 0 no more big beat ever please. The Hale's monotonous pub rock romp-along ‘Streetfighter' (CPL Publishing) 0 ropey stumble down memory lane with the unabashedly Britpop-pilfered ‘Billy Whizz' by The Mlxups. we’re just about ready to do ourselves in.
But it's the wistful indie pop of Misty: Big Adventures ‘Between Me And You' (SL to the rescue. with the marvellously off-kilter ‘Lips' (Rough Trade) me by Micachu & The Shapes and DH Stith's spellbinding ‘Pity Dance' (Asthmatic Kitty) ”00 are all highlights this issue but just miss Single of the Fortnight. an accolade which goes instead to the consistently excellent Found. ‘The Fidelities EP' (Fence Records/Aufgeladen & Bereit) 00000 is a masterstroke of utterly compelling Io-fi electronica. which you can even shake your toosh to. If The Beta Band and Hot Chip became co-joined in a mistake- riddled genetic experiment they might not be much to look at. but they'd probably sound a lot like this Edinburgh fivesome. and that is no bad thing indeed. (Camilla Pia)
in hot pursuit. They
Found
: ‘Drinking Den'
. which
by Radio Trip —
and a
64 THE LIST 19 Mar—2 Apr 2009
3“ 5, WW
there. but at least the boys did extra well on the day she was in With a bit of 'lggy in Berlin‘ action). Otherwise. those old Scots- influenCing staples The Beach Boys and Big Star have been tapped up. With ‘I Don't Even Know What That Is and ‘Sparks' the pick of a bunch. A future awaits as The Fratellis it's okay to like Without festival lager and sunstroke. (DaVid Pollockl
FOLK ROCK TH
E DECEMBERISTS
The Hazards of Love (Rough Trade) .0000
When Anglophile Oregon native Colin Meloy bills his band's fifth album as ‘an odd bond between the music of British folk revival and classc metal' he's only telling half the story. Sonically. The Hazards of Love rocks like Sabbath and twangs like Fairport Convention. but thematically it's an epic. narrative-driven song set telling of a woman called Margaret and her animalistic rake of a lover. while also housing some of the most breathtakingly affecting songwriting anywhere.
This is a bold. blustery. playful. cunning. bombastic and bleakly funny record. What more could you ask for? (Mark Robertson)
ELECTRO
DAN DEACON Bromst
(Carpark) 0000
More complex. euphoric and chaotic than ever, Dan Deacon's follow-up to Spiderman of the Rings is his showpony. From the home of weirdo electro-noise. Baltimore. the oversized
specs wearer is worshipped like a demi- god at live oerfOrmanceS where he plays in the crowd. whipping fans into a dribbling. swaying mash. ln Bromst he's let his technical geekery off the leash to run ar0und. layering crisp glockenspiels over Pinky and Perky vocoder samples. frenzied
Q
xylophones and dirty big. bleepy beats. like Battles in a sound-off With Animal Collective. Demented and endlessly inventive. it's a fantastic sugar rush of man meets machine. All hail the nutjob. (Claire Sawers)
LIVE INDIE FRIGHTENED RABBIT
Quietly Now! (Fat Cat) 0...
Don't be misled by their cuddlesome designate. nor indeed their cutesy
demeanour: Frightened
Rabbit are a savage pop .
mob. whose colossal debut proper, The Midnight Organ Fight. was a fierce contender for the album of 2008. Said melodic alt.rock epistle is herewith re- visited. but this time it‘s live and unrefined. Although largely allegiant to the bracing arrangements and heart-stopping chorales that galvanised The Midnight Organ Fight. (not least the hair-raising trinity of “Head Rolls Off', 'The Modern Leper' and ‘Keep Yourself Warm'), these predominantly acoustic renditions - which were all recorded at Glasgow's Captain's Rest - serve to further asservate the dulcit aggressors‘ rampant charms. (Nicola Meighan)
JAZZ COURTNEY PINE
Transition In Tradition (Destin-El ”OO-
The sax0phonist sub- titles this powerful and eclectic Outing 'En homage a Sidney Bechet’. but admirers of that early jazz master may find that to be a bit of a red herring if they expect it to actually sound like the first great soprano saxophone star. As always. Pine ploughs his own furrow through the tangled thickets of black mUSlC. culture and history. and comes out sounding like no one other than himself.
One of his strongest recordings. it features the kind of eclectic mix of traditions that we have come to expect from him. Modern jazz. New Orleans jazz. reggae. South American and African music. and even a bit of what sounds like klezmer are all thrown into the mix, and recombined in new relationships in the process. The powerful band features Pine's bass clarinet. soprano saxophone and alto flute (but no tenor). Omar Puente's electric violin, guitarist Cameron Pierre. Alex Wilson on piano.
(Kenny Mathieson)
DUB SOUL SIDESHOW Admit One
(Aus Music) me ~‘
Sideshow are the group brought together by Fin Greenall aka Fink (Ninja Tune) for an album of very listenable soulful dub experimentation. There are some quality moments of dub electronics here, like 'Sequential Dub'. ‘African Cherry' and ‘Youth of Today’. which is reminiscent of Burial.
Mix and Co‘s COurtney Tidwell supplies a Sublime pop vocal on ”TeleVision' and Paul St. Hilaire aka Tikaman comes up trumps (again) on ‘If Alone'.
A beautifully produced album from a diverse and highly talented collection of artists.
(Steve Glencross)
DUB
VARIOUS
Round Black Ghosts 2 (Scape) em.
Scape is one of the best
labels on the scene for
deep dub experiments.
courtesy of one of Berlin's true pioneers — Pole. This. the second round of the Round Black Ghosts series sees Scape gather some real gems from the more diverse end of
the dubstep/broken
beat camps. The finest moments
are the Flying Lotus
remix of Martyn '3 ‘Natural Selection'. a fantastic fusion of abstract beat and dubstep soul, Peverelist and Appleblim's awesome 'Circling' and the hypnotic club killer ‘Den of Drumz' from Kode 9 Vs Badawi. These are producers at the top of their game.
. (Steve Glencross)
INDIE FOLK IAIN ARCHER
To the Pine Roots
(Black Records) 000M-
Dripping in the ethereal. To the Pine Roots is the latest folky affair from Bangor’s lain Archer. Formerly a ‘secondary lyricist' with Snow Patrol (an odd thing to brag. perhaps). Archer follows up 2006's Magnetic North with songs recorded in a cottage in
the Rhine Valley. You i wonder why he holed
himself up in such a bunker. considering that