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with an admirable individuality and imagination. Warren has also

worked with composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal in his UK touring band, and acknowledges the Brazilian has been an influence on his music for a quarter-century. Hermeto + alternates Warren’s take on Pascoal’s distinctive tunes with his own rather more abstract compositions directly inspired by him. Both sets of material are colourful, vibrant and suffused with playful wit, with Warren’s endlessly resourceful pianism (and occasional accordion) underpinned by bassist Peter Herbert and Martin France’s powerful drumming. (Kenny Mathieson) JAZZ TOMASZ STANKO QUINTET Dark Eyes (ECM Records) ●●●●●

Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko has been one of the mainstays of the ECM catalogue, and this latest release features the debut of another new line-up, with two musicians from Finland, pianist Alexi Tuomarila and drummer Olavi Louhivuori, and two from Denmark, guitarist Jakob Bro and bassist Anders Christensen. No surprise, then, that the disc offers a characteristically ‘European’ soundscape, driven by plaintive, slightly melancholic but often edgy lyricism and intricately shimmering instrumental textures in the classic ECM mould. Stanko can also be

robust when he feels the urge, and a couple of tracks here are more assertive than that description might suggest, notably the bop-inflected ‘Grand Central’. The music is largely by the trumpeter, including the atmospheric ‘The Dark

Eyes of Martha Hirsch’, inspired by a Kokoschka painting. The exceptions are two compositions by the great Polish jazz composer Krzysztof Komeda. The band gels beautifully, and performances are excellent. (Kenny Mathieson) ROCK STEREOPHONICS Keep Calm and Carry On (Mercury) ●●●●●

Kelly Jones’ predilection for all things both ‘classic’ and ‘rock’ has meant that, despite emerging in the early 90s, Stereophonics have never sounded particularly tied to any one era. This album, their seventh, is a more stripped back affair, tapping into Jones’ skill for a swooning melody instead of rock brute force. He’s always been a bit of a clunker lyrically, but divines out some sweet narratives, the kind of thing that endeared us to him way back at the band’s debut. For a band that were written off as being a musical cul-de-sac from the get- go, Jones has always confounded critics with his own twist on the well worn formula, and this is no different. (Mark Robertson)

HIP HOP N-DUBZ Against All Odds (Universal) ●●●●●

Despite musically approximating a holiday fling between Cascada and East 17, London’s cuddly rap anarchists N- Dubz have become the UK’s best-loved chart stars. Little wonder in light of Against All Odds: every chord progression and electro hook is nigh-on parodic in its pop accomplishment.

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Laura Gibson Beasts of Seasons (Hush Records) Music-box harp- strings and gentle French horns give Gibson’s debut a lullaby feel, like wrapping yourself in a sonic blanket and slowly dozing off. Her occasionally Bjork-like vocals lie just the right side of distinctive, without becoming jarring.

Gay Against You Righteous Signals, Sour Dudes (ADAADAT/Upset The Rhythm) Staccato electro beats and synth licks seemingly stolen from end-of-level bosses on a Commodore 64 game populate this album alongside sing-song vocals seemingly nicked from the nearest playground. Bound to annoy some, and brings others into rapture.

Saint Jude’s Infirmary This Has Been The Death Of Us (7th Realm of Teenage Heaven) With the likes of Jack Vettriano and Ian Rankin contributing to the album, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all a bit ‘Scottisher-than- thou.’ This only occasionally becomes a problem, though in the meanwhile, the album rocks and pops along at a decent pace without getting too bogged down in how seriously miserable we all are. Radian Chimeric (Thrill Jockey) Spare and empty, the genius of Radian lies in making you wait you’re tormented with disconnected drum hits or bursts of feedback, then bludgeoned with a broody riff. It’s like eating nothing but individual chickpeas for weeks, then gorging yourself on dark, dark, dark chocolate. Intense, and probably not good for you, but satisfying all the same.

19 Nov–3 Dec 2009 THE LIST 67

POP ROBBIE WILLIAMS Reality Killed the Video Star (Virgin) ●●●●●

Here’s a bit of Robbie Williams’ press statement in the run up to the release of this, his eighth studio album: ‘[When people listen to it] I want them to forget about who they are and where they are for 50 minutes’. Some fans might wonder if Williams counts himself among this group, given the fact his millennium-centric heyday was followed by a quite meteoric fall from grace involving worsening records, ‘drug hell’ (or Los Angeles, if you will) and UFO sightings, even as his old Take That muckers once more became the manband masters of the universe.

On the other hand, there might be a particular strain of people who have always considered Williams to be a deathly boring company man, whose entropic ‘Angels’ and subsequent deification is based upon a cheeky smile and a reasonable ability to sell tabloid newspapers. Neither group will be particularly impressed by this underwhelming comeback. Oh, hold on: ‘Don’t call it a comeback’, breathes Williams during ‘Last Days of Disco’, which is so anti-disco it makes A-Ha sound like Giorgio Moroder. Sorry, Rob. If you say so.

Hands have already been wrung over the furiously dull ‘Bodies’, so let’s turn our attention to the flurry of self-referential ballads like ‘Blasphemy’, ‘Won’t Do That’ and ‘Deceptacon’ (thankfully not the Le Tigre song), or the impotent, diluted hair-rock of ‘Do You Mind?’. Only ‘You Know Me’ manages to be catchy, memorable and not vomit-inducing in its utter devotion to its subject and singer. A blot on Trevor Horn’s copybook; just more of the same from Williams. (David Pollock)

WORLD GEOFFREY GURRUMUL YUNUPINGU Gurrumul (Dram) ●●●●● Hear the song ‘Bapa’ (Father) on this multi- award winning album by one time singer with Yothu Yindi, Australia’s first ever aboriginal rock band, and you’ll know exactly why, despite being sung in native Australian Yongu dialect, this has made it onto

UK mainstream radio (a feat only seven other albums have achieved in the last decade). Yunupungi accompanies his own haunting voice with spare guitar and occasional bass, empowering songs that have entered the Australian psyche contributing to the re- assessment of the nation’s appalling treatment of its indigenous people. Prepare to be bowled over. (Jan Fairley) JAZZ HUW WARREN Hermeto + (Basho Records) ●●●●●

Welsh pianist Huw Warren is one of the

most consistently intriguing and persistently undervalued musicians on the UK scene. Whether leading his own imaginative projects, co-founding Perfect Houseplants or working with musicians from Andy Sheppard and Tim Garland to Billy Bragg and June Tabor, his fluid invention and off-beat harmonic and rhythmic explorations are always stamped