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LEAD LIVE REVIEW GZA/GENIUS The Arches, Glasgow, Mon 13 Feb ●●●●●
There’s nothing more frustrating than ritual disappointment from someone you hold in high regard. First up there was GZA’s lazy, bonged-out mumble- athon at the ABC in 2008, then a ghost-like contribution to the Wu Tang Clan’s appearance in the Academy in 2010 and tonight, despite his most active stage antics of recent years – ie, he’s not sitting down tonight – the Clan’s slickest and most cerebral soldier falls flat in an anti-climax of jaw-breaking proportions.
It doesn’t start that way though. After the obligatory 20-minute wait, the crowd erupts as the synth- drenched intro from 80s Japanese martial arts film, Shogun Assassin comes pumping through the speakers. It’s the sample that opens the infamous Liquid Swords – a song he leaves until later – and the Genius, looking every bit as vibrant as when he first emerged ‘off the set’ back in the 90s, bounds onto the stage.
After a bit of old school b-boy warm-up tactics, it’s
‘Duel of the Iron Mic’, also from Liquid Swords that really gets bodies moving. However, as the track progresses, the sharp-tongued swordsman struggles to stay in time, letting his trademark laidback flow get the better of him and constantly falling short of the beat. You can forgive it once or twice, perhaps even passing for some kind of stylistic convention but it’s a trend that continues throughout, with GZA finishing every quick- witted piece of live, rugged poetry in a slow, sluggish and altogether lacklustre manner. Anyone who is at all aware of the man’s work will
surely testify to his brilliance, which is why it becomes increasingly more painful to watch him be so underwhelming. To be fair, he’s out on his own, packing only a mic and a DJ, and throwing down some of the sharpest tracks to come from an era that he and his clan mates pretty much commanded. Still, as fun as it should be in theory to watch him play the majority of his career-cementing solo album, Liquid Swords, along with a handful of other strong solo cuts like ‘Animal Planet’ as well as the staple Wu classics, the constant stop- starts combined with his decision to strip most of the songs down to include only the verses leave the set feeling scatty and inconsistent.
It’s difficult not to get caught up in a recorded body of work such as his; one that stands tall above its challengers to this day, but judging by tonight’s performance, GZA’s live prowess continues to fade with age. (Ryan Drever)
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DUBSTEP/HOUSE SEPALCURE Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Mon 12 Feb ●●●●● POWER POP SPECTOR King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 15 Feb ●●●●●
A few loiter outside Sneaky’s closed doors come ten o’clock, wondering whether they’ve got it right. But they have, and before long the crowd are lulled into hazy motion with zoned out electronica from DFRNT’s Cut Records showcase. So by the time the Brooklyn-based duo of Travis Stewart (aka Machinedrum) and Praveen Sharma (aka Braille) emerge, the crowd are beginning to move like they don’t have Monday morning to think about. What follows is an audio-visual drenching. Sepalcure, touring after their debut LP for label Hotflush, build their set from emotionally wrought beginnings, as ‘See Me Feel Me’ lets The Who’s skewed lyrics weave hauntingly through synthy piano twirls, while the agile, percussive momentum of ‘Pencil Pimp’ fires out quick-time juke stabs. Finally, we’re plunged into the beatless stretched- out-for-miles soundscape of ‘Outside’. Projected on screen are surreal and slightly baffling clips of tennis courts from Thor Erling Brenne and beautiful anatomical visuals by artist Sougwen Chung.
Sepalcure maintain a blissed-out headiness, but
kick it all up a gear with complex rhythms and genre spanning textures. (Rosanna Walker)
‘What a pleasure,’ notes Fred Macpherson. ‘I thought Newcastle on Tuesday was something, but this . . .’ With hair gelled to one side and thick- framed glasses, the suited singer recalls Crispin Glover as Marty’s dad in Back to the Future, although it’s a pitch-perfect impression of Jarvis Cocker’s wry sarcasm that most defines his demeanour. ‘We’re gonna play a few songs by the band Spector,’ he announces before marvellous slow jam ‘Lay Low’, ‘. . . if you can bear it.’
The Pulp comparisons don’t continue into the music, though; the London-based group – touted as stars of 2012 ahead of their April-due debut album – blend the anthemic and generic to fairly pleasing effect. There are some finely moulded pop songs, from the dynamic ‘woo-oo-oo’-chorus of ‘Twentynothing’ to the dry ice-demanding Roxy Music balladry of ‘Grey Shirt and Tie’ and ‘Chevy Thunder’s gratifyingly melodramatic rock’n’roll, all bearing the stylistic influence of their namesake. Yet lyrical depth is light, with only ‘I know the night is young/but tomorrow we might not be’ in ‘Self- Esteem’ standing out as a sentiment worthy of true pop greatness. (David Pollock)
HOME MOVIE SOUNDTRACK BUTCHER BOY Berkeley Suite, Glasgow, Fri 10 Feb, part of Glasgow Short Film Festival ●●●●●
The intimate basement bar of the Berkeley Suite, with its original 60s dancehall décor and faded ‘groovy’ vibes, mirrors the classy, nostalgic theme of this evening of film and music. Local eight-piece Butcher Boy frame a screen showing home movies taken by bassist Robert Spark’s father, Alexander Ogilvie, during the 60s and 70s. The evening skates on just the right side of twee, any overt sentimentality forgiven by the fact that the instrumental versions of songs from their back catalogue bring the pictures to life in an entirely relatable way. Evocative strings accompany faded family Christmases, before abruptly giving way to a thrumming bongo announcing a sailing holiday – the air of reminiscence unashamedly revelling in the hazy, selective way we often remember childhood. The band don’t shy from nostalgia, but if you remove the washed-out videos and add vocals, Butcher Boy (whose profile took a boost when their 2009 album React Or Die was voted one of The Times’ top 100 albums of the 2000s) become a group whose fondness for days gone by gives their present day work a sense of universality. (Kirstyn Smith)
SHOEGAZE/POP STILL CORNERS Captain’s Rest, Sat 4 Feb ●●●●●
Still Corners had one heck of a 2011, playing SXSW, touring Europe and the US and releasing their debut LP, Creatures of an Hour, and the little basement of the Captain’s is full of people wondering if they can be as lovely live as they are on record. And the answer is: yes, they can. Playing along to a projected backdrop of
branches, white space and other eerie images, the group of multi-instrumentalists play out the album to the enthralled crowd including single ‘Cuckoo’, ‘Endless Summer’ and the ever so sweet ‘The White Season’. Opening with an instrumental track, the following songs are built around Tessa Murray’s understated but beautiful and powerful voice and enrapturing performance. Masters of the slow build, they layer live sound over pre-recorded backing tracks to great effect, producing a hazy, atmospheric effect. Think Broadcast meets Liz Fraser under the watchful eye of Angelo Badalamenti (David Lynch’s soundtrack writing wingman). Murray’s self-deprecating banter only adds to the intimate nature of the show, allowing Still Corners’ seductive, cinematic songs to come across just as they were intended. (Lauren Mayberry)
1–29 Mar 2012 THE LIST 83