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SINGLES
Records – Singles | MUSIC
CONQUERING ANIMAL SOUND ‘The Future Does Not Require’ (Chemikal Underground) ●●●●● Gloriously g-g-g-glitchy exponents of machine music with a human heart, Conquering Animal Sound are readying a doozy of a second album in On Floating Bodies (see review, page 74), and here’s the first proof. It’s got one of those eerily icy Björk-style Anneke Kampman vocals featuring lyrics apparently cut’n’pasted at random from a philosophy thesis.
It’s got so many loops its loops have got loops. In short, it’s b-b-b- brilliant.
STEVE MASON ‘Fight Them Back’ (Double Six) ●●●●● Where personal politics dominated his debut solo album, Boys Outside, ex-Beta Band man Steve Mason is setting his sights on the powers that be with follow-up Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time (see review page 74), judging by this fiercely provocative protest song.
Don’t be misled by the laidback cinematic funk groove, globalist capitalist consumerist pig dogs – by ‘fist, a boot and a baseball bat’, Mason won’t rest until we set in aboot ye.
SPARROW AND THE
WORKSHOP ‘Shock Shock’ (Song, By Toad) ●●●●● Newly rehomed on Embra’s Song, By Toad records, and with a new album due for release sometime later this year, the Sparrows have renounced acoustic rootsiness in favour of shredding guitars, hotwired organ and a snare drum that goes off like a whip crack in canyon. Could use a chorus, mind, what
with Jill Scott having the most damn smoking voice this side of Emmylou Harris swallowing hot coals and all.
JONNIE COMMON ‘Figurehead’ (Red Deer Club) ●●●●● Trust lugubrious ’lectro-pop maestro Common to spoil you right. The ‘Figurehead’ package features two alternate versions with and without live drums, ‘Wet’ and ‘Dry’ – titles you may find intriguingly cryptic and/ or mildly suggestive depending on your disposition – plus two remixes, including an utterly bonkers one from FOUND that seems to channel horror B-movie soundtracks. Instant banger readymix – just add electricity. (Singles reviews by Malcolm Jack)
EXPOSURE
ALARM BELLS
Many audible gasps were heard when Glasgow’s Dananananaykroyd announced their shock split almost two years ago. But for anyone still crying into their favourite T-shirt, we bring you Alarm Bells – a triumphant, ramshackle crew featuring Danananalumni Ryan McGinness, David Roy and vocalist John Baillie Jnr, who gives us a quick insight into the workings of this new musical phoenix rising . . . When did you decide to form Alarm Bells? Was this something you had in mind before Dananananaykroyd split? The last Dananananaykroyd tour was definitely a catalyst. David [Roy, guitarist] and I had a little faction on tours; our hotel room was where dumb TV shows, live bootleg videos of our favourite bands, prog and hardcore albums and the worst chat imaginable went down. Eventually, the idea for the band came through pretty strong, and from there everything kind of fell into place. You recently released Part One of a 12” vinyl series – where can we pick it up, and when can we expect Part Two? Part One is available from our bandcamp page (alarm- bells.bandcamp.com) and also some independent record shops in Scotland. We are writing Part Two and we’ll be testing it out live before we record it but it will be out this year, probably in the summer. Finally, if you were to run the band like a wanky chain coffee shop, what would your ‘mission statement’ be? What do you mean ‘if’? We DO run the band like a wanky coffee chain. We are a double shot, ethically sourced, fair trade, decaf, cayman island-based, iced, soy musical outfit absolutely covered in whipped cream. (Ryan Drever) ■ Alarm Bells will play Stereo, Glasgow on Thu 21 Mar, as part of Breakout Scotland, the first in a series of List-curated gigs, in partnership with Breakout. See page 7 for details of how to win tickets.
21 Feb–21 Mar 2013 THE LIST 77