RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
KINEM-
I Various: Tom Wilson’s Bouncing Beats (Rumour) At Fubar. Rez and Hanger l3 — unabashed white glove and lightstick techno zones — Radio Forth's Tom Wilson is a master on the cheese counter. Here are twelve of his favourites: a selection of unpasteurised Scottish cheddar with hardcore Italian Parmesan. Sadly. it's not a DJ mix.just the tracks. But from the swelling synth on Transformer 2's ‘Pacific Symphony Too' through the uplifting '()ne More Time‘ by Jinny and E-Motion‘s big piano line on ‘Release Yourself" to the high of Love Decade‘s ‘80 Real'. this is soaring hands-in-the-air heaven. let down only by Ultra Sonic's sad exhortations on ‘React’. They're meaty. They're beaty. They‘re big. And. yes. they‘re bouncy. (Thom Dibdin) I Vela-Deluxe: Superelastic (Mammoth Records) John Strohm. previously of Antenna. Blake Babies and occasional Lemonhead. is the driving force in this lndiana indie trio. The album covers an intriguing variety of styles from the scuzzy. screwed- up power of the Mudhoneyesque ‘Dirtass‘ to the husky starkness of ‘Said’ that has echoes of The Jesus And Mary Chain in pensive mood. Underpinning the whole is a solid foundation of Deep
South roots. rhythm. boogie and even a hint of country twanginess. Strohm has taken these traditional influences and
updated them into an = tmusual but tasty package
for his indie peers. (Jonathan Trew)
I Veruca Salt: American Thighs (Minty Fresh) Female-fronted bands on this side of the pond tend to be spikey. spunkey and sassy a [a Echobelly. lilastica or Tiny Monroe;
Stateside. the emphasis is l on less brassy and more
introspective material.
Veruca Salt’s debut album falls firmly on the Yank
side of the spectrum — fragile vocals singing poisoned puppy lyrics laid on top of buzzsaw pop guitar. languorous bass- lines and rolling drutns beefed up with the obligatory wig—out from time to time. it’s all
competent sisters of the
Breeders stuff but stuck very firmly in the limits of the genre. Still it’s worth buying for the achineg vulnerable ‘Fly‘. (Jonathan Trew)
I Various: The MIST
Masters - Fledgeling
(Iona Cold) Despite all the usual reservations about showcase compilation albums and the fact that this project airs material by an unwieldy nineteen bands. The MIST Masters does a good job of convincing us that Scotland is fertile musical ground. by gathering together a bunch of bands with potential, if not fully- formed. grand pop credentials. Listening to the first side. you‘d be forgiven for thinking sprightly guitar p0p was the sole field ofendeavour north of the border (with the exception of the dance-orientated saidflorence and Love. Joy And Happiness). Taken individually these bands all have their merits. Lumped together. their effect is diluted. The second side is more gratifying. with the cool funk ofCaptain Shifty and Skunk Tree, the garage sounds of The Limit Club and the standout track from The Microwave Babes, a dreamy bossanova which recalls The Mamas And The Papas. (Fiona Shepherd)
mm
I Louis Andriessen: De StiiI/M Is For Man, Music, Mozart (Elektra Nonesuch) The Dutchman remains among the most exciting composers working outside of the contemporary ‘classical' mainstream. and both these works are fine. energetic examples of his distinctive expanded minimalist style. He has been a big influence on the likes of Steve Martland. whose Patrol (Catalyst) is also recommended. For a very different approach to a contemporary musical language. try the pieces on Ensemble Recherche’s Morton F eldman (Montaigne). which both pre-date and foreshadow his later mammoth creations.
I Ethel Smyth: The Wreckers (Coniier) The current generation are working hard to remedy matters. but earlier women composers are thin on the ground. This hot-off-the-presses recording ofluly's BBC
Prom performance of Smyth’s opera of l9()6 may help to further her
reputation as a neglected
i if rather eccentric figure
. in English music of the
early 20th century. but the work itself is a little weak
in several crucial respects. and falls short of expectation.
' I Barber/Korngold: Violin
Concertos (DC) A vivid American collection from violinist Gil Shaham, with Andre Previn conducting the LSD in these lush. romantic concertos, and in Korngold‘s suite of incidental music for Much Ado/11mm Not/ting. Shaham revels in their overt lyricism, and makes light of the technical difficulties (both concertos concentrate their fanciest passages in the finale). while the suite is an intriguing makeweight.
I Copland: Crohg (Argo) Still on an American theme. this new Copland discovery offers two previously unrecorded early ballets, Grohg (the score of which was found miscatalogued in the Library of Congress by
Oliver Knussen, who conducts here) and Hear Ye], Hear Yel, as well as a short Prelude. Neither is revelatory. but Copland admirers should hear them.
I Britten: The Complete Orchestral Song Cycles (Collins) The label’s valuable survey of Britten’s music continues with this two-disc set collecting the composer‘s six orchestral song cycles. conducted by Steuart Bedford and the ECO (in all but one case). The most famous, [er lllumittations, features soprano Felicity Lott. as does the posthumously published Quatre Chansons Franeaises. Tenor Philip Langridge sings Serenade and Nocturne (with the Northern Sinfonia), while Phyllis Bryn-Julson features in the early Our Hunting Fathers, and Ann Murray in the late Phaedra. The performances are strong but not definitive. and their principal attraction lies in having them together in one set. (Kenny Mathieson)
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GLASGOW PLAZA MONDAY 5th DECEMBER
lORDS OF THE , UNDERGROUND
The List 4—l7 November 1994 37