list.co.uk/music SINGLES
Records – Singles | MUSIC
LAW Haters and Gangsters EP (Showlovepeoplenowkiss) ●●●●●
‘SHOW LOVE PEOPLE NOW KISS,’ commands the press release for the new EP from Edinburgh soul- dissident / Young Fathers associate LAW, real name Lauren Holt – and you don’t have to ask us twice, especially this close to Valentine’s Day. Her lead single ‘Haters’ totally rules,
thanks to its dystopian R&B, and while the title’s somewhat harsh for V-Day, her press release signs off, ‘love LAW’. Oh, we do. ■ LAW supports Young Fathers, Stereo, Glasgow Sat 1 Feb; see lawholt.com for more info. ■ Read our Exposure interview with Lauren, below.
THE TWINS You’ve Got a Twin in the Attic (You Lunatic) (Optimo Music) ●●●●● FINITRIBE De Testimony (FFFt) ●●●●●
If you’re after eldritch dancefloor grooves, the better to entrance your beaux / belles / both this February 14, then look no further than Optimo favourites ‘The Truly Fantastic Dessagne Twins from Saint Etienne’, as their Facebook page would have them. This enigmatic sometime-Glasgow duo conjoin synth-ripped post-punk, ominous electro and disembodied vocals to create something transcendental, and frightening.
See facebook.com/ thetrulyfantastictwins for updates; listen at soundcloud.com/optimo- music/the-twins-water-coaster-from.
Speaking of Optimo, JD Twitch is part responsible for the welcome resurrection (and limited 12” re- release) of this Balearic classic from Edinburgh electro-trailblazers Finitribe: he recently saluted it as one of the all-time great Scottish records. It's over 25 years since it was first issued, but ‘De Testimony’ remains an intoxicating opus, its energy recharged thanks to remixes from Justin Robertson and Optimo (Espacio). ■ EP Launch Party (Fini Tribe DJ set) at Club RAMMED at the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Fri 28 Feb; see facebook.com/FiniTribe for more info.
KID CANAVERAL Who Would Want To Be Loved? (Lost Map) ●●●●● Oh Kid Canaveral, we nearly fell for your amorous renunciation. We nearly bought the falsetto insistence of your gorgeous chorus – ‘Who would want to be loved? That’s just awkward’ – crooned o’er an indie Shangri-Las beat. But then we clocked your hot- pink, heart-shaped vinyl; the wolfish careen in your vocals; your girl-group harmonies; your lusty guitars. And we realised: you would. Your card is in the post. ■ Kid Canaveral’s Lumber Party takes place at Stereo, Glasgow, Fri 14 Feb, see lostmap.com for info. Listen at soundcloud.com/ lostmap/02-who-would-want-to-be- loved. (Singles reviewed by Nicola Meighan)
EXPOSURE
Originally from Leicester, singer Lauren Holt moved to Edinburgh in 2010 on a whim, mostly because her partner had holidayed in the city and said it was nice. ‘I didn’t want to stay stagnant in one place,’ she says. ‘You can get stuck, you know?’ It’s in Edinburgh that she’s found her own musical style as LAW, teaming with Young Fathers and their producer Timothy London to fuse hip hop and skewed soul on her attention-grabbing debut track ‘Hustle’.
Who do you most admire as a singer? I usually see more inspiration in male singers, because they have a certain presence about them. But I like female singers too, mainly old ones, because they teach you a benchmark of what you’re supposed to be doing. Otis Redding, Jimmy Cliff . . . anyone who sang as an artform rather than an accessory to something else – you know, ‘I look good, and by the way I can sing.’ It’s rare nowadays.
What is it about your sound that makes it distinctive?
What I mainly focus on is subverting clichés and typical hip hop ideologies, and I think that makes it quite progressive and innovative. I don’t think it sounds like anything else out there at the moment. We use tough beats but my vocals are quite androgynous. I think as a woman it’s good to enter into that world. What have been the highlights of doing this so far?
Headlining my own show at Sneaky Pete’s was good. It was small, but just so nice that people came along because they knew my music and wanted to hear it. Going on tour next month will be fun too, and the association with Young Fathers is fantastic because they’re so good. (David Pollock) ■ LAW supports Young Fathers at Stereo, Glasgow, Sat 1 Feb. Her EP ‘Haters and Gangsters’ is out on Mon 3 Feb. See review, above.
23 Jan–20 Feb 2014 THE LIST 75
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