www.list.co.uk/music Record Reviews Music
The Wynntown Marshals say they write songs about ‘love, loss, wars, natural disasters and the otherwise broken ride we like to call life’. More specifically, the
songs on this extremely hummable debut album carve out a harmony- laden Scottish take on Americana that brings the likes of Teenage Fanclub to mind. The beautifully
mournful ‘Snowflake’ could have come off a Neil Young record, and a cover version of ‘Ballad of Jayne’ by LA Guns reinforces that this is a band with its musical roots planted firmly on the other side of the Atlantic. Yee ha! (Emma Newlands)
GALLIC POP FRANCOIS AND THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS Plaine Inondable (Fence) ●●●●●
GANGSTA TRIP-HOP TRICKY Meets South Rakkas Crew (Domino) ●●●●●
Hip hop Bristolian Tricky re-invents himself once again courtesy of this musical collision with in-step Florida-via-Jamaica-via-Toronto act South Rakkas Crew – dancehall/reggae mixers/producers of Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Sizzla. Tricky, meanwhile, has been around the trip hop scene for nigh-on two
decades since his groundbreaking work with The Wild Bunch (aka Massive Attack). And who can forget solo albums such as Maxinquaye (his 1995 debut), Pre-Millennium Tension (1996), Angels With Dirty Faces (1998), Blowback (2001) and Vulnerable (2003). Having enjoyed collaborative success with the aforementioned Massive
Attack (on their Blue Lines LP in ‘91), Nearly God (with Terry Hall, et al in ‘96) and also Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs & DMX’s Grease (on 1999’s Juxtapose), Tricky’s a dab hand when it comes to sharing studio time.
With his mercurial Straight Outta Knowle West flava/whisper, Tricky (aka
Adrian Thaws) exhumed his ‘Dark Prince’ stylee last year on the appropriately-titled ‘Knowle West Boy’ set, and much of this 2009 meeting stems from these recordings. With opener ‘Bacative’ and ‘C’mon Baby’, one can’t help think Sean Paul
(or even Ali G?). The frenzied, pulsating breakbeats blow you into reefer oblivion, while the former’s machine-gun lyrics (‘We come in peace and leave you in pieces’) suggest the same. With more directions than Birmingham’s Spaghetti Junction, both
sparring crews get in some dubtastic killa b-lines, none better than on ‘Joseph’, ‘Coalition’, ‘Baligaga’, ‘Numb’ (easily the best on show) and the bible-thumping ‘Cross To Bear’. (Martin C Strong)
maverick rock troubador – and this is Rhett Miller’s strongest application to date. Boyishly pretty at 39, and with a fey edge to his warm tenor, the Old 97s frontman shakes off his band’s alt-country accents in favour of a ’60s sheen that brightens some serious mood-swings. And if Miller’s vignettes of romantic anguish lack the narrative bite of Adams’ best work, the guy still has an ear for a couplet: ‘Hollow your heart out, hold out your
hope / God give me strength and a good length of rope . . .’ (Ninian Dunnett) ELECTRO METRONOMY Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) (Because Music) ●●●●●
Re-releases are a little pointless, aren’t they? If we didn’t give a monkeys about your album the first time around, why should we now? Well, quite frankly when it comes to Joseph Mount aka Metronomy, you should
always give a monkeys. And if you missed out on this debut back in 2006 then SHAME ON YOU. You see, the bizarrely titled Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) is a corker of a record, combining gloriously lo-fi electronic musings tinged with scratchy riffs, keyboard tinkles, percussive breaks, clicks, tock- ticks, squelches, saxophones and even the occasional melodica. A subtle and beautifully strange listen that is well worth exploring. (Camilla Pia)
AMERICANA THE WYNNTOWN MARSHALS Westerner (Charger) ●●●●● Impressively boasting two Keiths and two Iains amongst their ranks,
Lest we require confirmation that King Creosote’s DIY commonwealth, Fence, is as universal as it is diverse, herein saunters Plaine Inondable – the year’s gentlest Gallic- pop coup – in the nick of time.
Francois Marry – touring member of Camera Obscura and ludicrously charming lo- fi virtuoso – has made several lovely low-key records (especially the knockout ‘Night Lights’, which pisses all over Bon Iver’s parade), but Plaine Inondable sees the bilingual lyricist and multi-instrumentalist amplify his charms. Highlights include the
totally tropical lilt of ‘Remind’, while ‘Years of Rain’ authenticates Francois as the gorgeous spawn of Serge Gainsbourg,
Philip Glass and Pink Floyd. (Nicola Meighan) WORLD GILLES PETERSON Havana Cultura (Brownswood Recordings) ●●●●●
Club DJ Gilles Peterson follows the footsteps of Cuban bandleader Juan de Marcos González whose DM Ahora label introduced the newest generation of Cuban musicians to the world, notably the Interactivo collective and female hip hop singer Telmary. Working with ace pianist of the moment Roberto Fonseca and his band Peterson brokers a wider picture adding in classics like ‘Chekere Son’ to an exhilarating 28-track sequence involving 20 artists including hip hop duo Obsesión, Interactivo rapper Kumar, Yusa, Doble Filo and his own ‘discovery’ Danay. To hear the cutting edge of Havana – a rich fusion of Afro-Cuban sounds, hip hop and jazz – look no further. Be blown away: this is 21st century Cuba. (Jan Fairley) FOLK AMY MILLAN Masters Of The Burial (Arts & Crafts) ●●●●●
As a break from her work with Stars and Broken Social Scene, Amy Millan has created a beautiful collection of warm, folksy tunes overflowing with well- polished brass and pedal steel guitar. The standout songs, though, are the ones that deviate from this lovely-yet- limited palette – and, incidentally, the ones in which Amy’s friends are most prominent. Jenny Whitely’s ‘Day To Day’ has only a drum machine and both women’s voices, and the
ALSO RELEASED School of Seven Bells Alpinisms Deluxe Edition (Vagrant) ●●●●● A re-release of their ‘08 album with nine bonus tracks, this only confirms what we know – SVIIB make some gorgeous tunes. The ethereal twin vocals and broody, angelic electronic beats create clean, crisp otherworldly sounds perfectly matched to the mountain- transcending concept. VA – Fabriclive 49: Buraka Som Sistema (Fabric) ●●●●● This is impressive: out of the 28 tracks on offer here, only six last longer than three minutes – something worth praising in an inherently repetitive genre. Buraka Som Sistema oversee the melding of various dance styles with lively African beats. Sparrow And The Workshop Into The World (Distiller) ●●●●● If only these guys were around in the 70s, their soulful country vocals and acoustic guitars married to noisy drums and bass could have landed them on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack – they’re that good. Thankfully, they’re here for us to love them now. Trans Am What Day Is It Tonight? (Thrill Jockey) ●●●●● Trans Am – even outside the studio, they’re so taut you could use them to cut cheese. This 1993-2008 live collection never skips a beat as it veers between synth presets and chugging guitar riffs, with excessive drum solos thrown in for good measure.
single uptempo song here is a country-style cover of Death Cab For Cutie’s ‘I Will Follow You Into The Dark’. A fine album, then, if slightly misleading from the lone name on the cover. (Niki Boyle) 3–17 Dec 2009 THE LIST 69