Music Record Reviews
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
Homecoming is over, right? So it’s OK to say that Hue and Cry are canine excrement of the highest order? Their version of the Rolf Harris ‘classic’ ‘Two Little Boys’ (Blair Hill) ●●●●● is a painfully smug loungecore abomination, an affront to all human ears taken from their cynical Christmas cash-in album. Repulsive.
Eddi Reader was another Homecoming
darling, but she fares better with ‘Dragonflies’ (Rough Trade) ●●●●●, a simple, effective country waltz with understated charm, something of a winter warmer.
More interesting homegrown sounds come from eagleowl. ‘Sleep the Winter’ (Kilter) ●●●●● is a gentle, somnambulant thrill, plaintive violin and picky guitar supporting the boy-girl vocal dynamic to create just the right blend of comfort and creepiness.
Jolting us out of that reverie are fellow Scots Pareto. ‘This is Where I Draw the Line’ (Ring Out) ●●●●● is a confident and charismatic noise-fest, although their jerky, loud-quiet schtick will be a tad familiar to fans of Biffy Clyro and their musical progeny. Much less predictable are Livingston nu-
prog-punk-whatevers Tabasco Fiasco. The five tracks on their ‘Tabasco Fiasco One EP’ (self-release) ●●●●● bring to mind everyone from Fugazi to Mansun, The Mars Volta to Bad Brains. It’s all expertly executed, and they manage to stay just the right side of self- indulgence. Across the pond now, where Long Island foursome As Tall As Lions create a more focussed racket on their ‘Circles EP’ (Trussed) ●●●●●, a record which blends the wide-eyed wonder of Arcade Fire with a refreshing willingness to experiment with electro sounds.
Briefly back to folky stylings again with
‘Spirited’ (Souterrain Transmissions) ●●●●● by Laura Gibson. Taking the same basic country ingredients as Eddi Reader, Gibson’s idiosyncratic voice and atmospheric arrangements create something more intriguing, haunting and accomplished. But just gazumping Gibson for Single of the Fortnight is ‘So We Sing’ (City Slang) ●●●●● by leftfield Nashville singer Cortney Tidwell (above). Seething with barely contained rage at the world, it’s an immense, anthemic two-chord rant of a song, blending the rabble-rousing of Bruce Springsteen with the vocal conviction of Björk to make for something pretty wondrous. (Doug Johnstone)
74 THE LIST 17 Dec 2009–7 Jan 2010
POP/ROCK SWEENEY STRADDLES THE SUN Erect (Boffo Bear Studios) ●●●●●
A chubby, cherubic young lad grins from the cover of Sweeney Straddles the Sun’s debut, the titular word ‘erect’ uncomfortably large beside the boy’s shiny head. Listening to this set of 11 tunes is equally fraught an experience with us shunted across time zones via genres as diverse as the proggy opening tracks to the discordant punkish volleys of ‘Okay’ and the Philip Glass-like ‘HBS’. ‘Castlemilk Town Hall Disco’ aims to inject a social conscience into proceedings but the happier moments appear when all hell is allowed to break loose: who could resist the breezy ‘I’m My Own Worst Enemy’ or a song title such as ‘Superheroes Fight the Cause for Me & You’? That’s right, no one. (Brian Donaldson) ARTY INDIE-POP THE STARK PALACE The Stark Palace (Shark Batter) ●●●●●
It’s been a long time since we heard from Scottish Borders outfit, Dawn Of the Replicants. Former psychiatric nurse turned zine- scriber, Roger Simian (and co), seemed to have just fallen off the musical map. But here with gravedigger, Cameron Jack (and a few other ‘Replicants’ in tow), The Stark Palace arrive.
Experimenting clone- like via numerous avant/glam-rock idols (think Eno for ‘The Void
Replied’, Beefheart for ‘Saw What Your Momma Did’, Ayers for ‘Cybersonnet’, Roxy for ‘The Werewolf Song’, Wire for ‘Brakelight Cabernet’ etc), their schizoid sentiment for everything 70s and beyond is more than commendable. (Martin C Strong) FOLK GUITAR JOHN SMITH Map Or Direction (Barp Ltd) ●●●●●
Another honey-voiced guitar virtuoso? Isn’t folk music packed with them anyway? Well, make room for one more. Glasgow-raised folk legend John Martyn and blues guitarist Davy Graham both held John Smith in high regard, and rightly so. David Gray also brought Smith as his support act when he played the Picture House last fortnight.
This album overflows with trickling guitar melodies seemingly played by waterfalls rather than fingers, with the occasional surprise thrown in to make you sit up and take notice – Smith shouting ‘Bastard, don’t you mention his name!’ in the Nick Cave-dark revenge tune ‘Axe Mountain’, or the wooden percussion on ‘Long Way For A Woman’ that sounds so rough and ready it gives you splinters. (Niki Boyle)
SOUND COLLAGE POSITION NORMAL Position Normal (Rum Records) ●●●●●
Position Normal’s position would appear to be way out in leftfield, somewhere past The Beta Band and Boards of Canada, judging by this scattershot collage of weird instrumentation, field recordings and likeable
bampottery. A duo of English oddballs, Position Normal create a mood which happily twitches from the chilled out weirdness of ‘Grundigs’ to the disturbing ‘The Squiggleman’, which sounds like an episode of Bagpuss where the mice get melted on mushies. It’s a bit too eccentric for mass consumption, but there’s an undeniable charm that keeps the listener onside, if a tad concerned for the band’s mental state. (Doug Johnstone) CHRISTMAS CAROLS KATE RUSBY Sweet Bells (Pure) ●●●●●
If you missed its under- promoted first release a year ago, this is a lovely Christmas tonic, drawing on the carol- singing traditions of South Yorkshire to make the familiar charmingly new. The airy innocence of
Kate Rusby’s girlish delivery belies its craft, buoyed by bubbling accordion, delicate guitar and warm washes of brass from the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Without the Scots influence of Rusby’s former partner John McCusker, this is thoroughly English folk music, and a timely reminder – in the run-up to the Celtic maelstrom of Hogmanay – of the virtues of a statelier but equally beguiling seasonal indulgence. (Ninian Dunnett)
JAZZ HAFTOR MEDBØE GROUP A Box of Monkeys (Fabrikant Records) ●●●●●
Guitarist Haftor Medbøe is a familiar face on the Scottish music scene, and leads a largely home-based group with a decidedly international flavour, drawing on musicians with Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Australian, Polish and Scottish
cultural roots. This five- track mini-album continues the Group’s explorations of the interface between contemporary jazz, pop and club music, with Anneke Kampman’s winsome vocals and the drum programming of Gavin Hislop (aka Babyshaker) added to the mix this time round. The most striking jazz contributions again come from saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and trombonist Chris Greive, augmented by Medbøe’s own fluent guitar work and underpinned by bassist Eva Melling and percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir. Personal preference steers me to the instrumentals especially the powerful opening track, ‘Pneumatic’ – rather than the vocal offerings, but it is all part of his signature genre- crossing approach. (Available from www.fabrikant- records.net) (Kenny Mathieson)
INDIE POP ROCK JACK BUTLER Fit The Paradigm (Whimsical) ●●●●●
Starting with 20th Century Fox-esque snare drums, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re about to be hit by something dramatic and cinematic – grandiose even. Instead, you’re nodding your head before you realise it, thinking how unlikely it is that the bastard child of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foals should sound this good. Shades of Franz Ferdinand disco and latter-day Marmaduke Duke find their way in there throughout the album, making it irresistibly funky and danceable,