RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
Senseless Things: Spandex outbreak imminent
I Tribe 8: Fist City (Alternative Tentacles) Welcome to extreme queercore. Tribe 8 are a self-proclaiiiied ‘all dyke punk rock band' and every rent-a-quote Tory's most apopleptic nightmare. Their lyrics deal with gay relationships. sado- masochism. gang rape and revenge. liven the slow dark seduction of ‘All I Can Do swiftly turns into a disturbing portrait of the aftermath of incest. The in-your-face politics are matched by the similarly volatile musical style: why slowburn a tune when you can explode it with screaming guitars and incandescent vocals“? Unfortunately. the thought-provoking lyrics and musical rage don't condense into an ear- pleasing whole — there is little in the tracks to capture the imagination or hold the attention musically. (Jonathan Trew)
I Paul Schutze: Apart (Virgin) Too much fluff and pretentious knob- twiddling has appeared under the flag of 'ambient' in the last year or so. Paul Scliutze has at least written truly ambient works in his scores for the cinema. Disc one of ‘Apart' is neither fluff nor twiddle. btit ten serious compositions iii a minimalist vein; modern music of a gentle disposition which. although sometimes meandering. has enough form and structure to
conjure tip the strange and 3 . . spikey and disturbing.
contorted soundscapes of the edge of restless consciousness. Disc two is true ambience. Three long. beatless tracks called ‘Sleep‘ which should be compulsory listening for the insomniac. (Thom Dibdin) I Senseless Things: Taking Care ("Business (Epic) Listening to their old single and the first track on the album.
such as ‘16. 18.21’ and
putting their own spin on ‘ tracks that are as eerily
‘Christine Keeler'. it sounds as though the Things have recorded this in LA rather than London. The guitars have transformed into axes. you half-expect Cass Browne. the drummer. to have changed his name to Ricky Skinz or some similar abomination and you have to check the cover for signs of an imminent outbreak of Spandex trousers and poodle haircuts. A lot of this album is firmly in rawk territory. sharing borders on all sides with. whisper it and shudder. Heavy Metal land. Probably not to all of their fans' taste which is a pity as a couple of the tracks
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3rd March, The Garage. LASGOW
‘Too Late’ are much more inspired and original. (Jonathan Trew)
I Minxus: Pabulum (Too Pure) Minxus believe in keeping things simple. drummer with regulation psychotic stare. sultry looking bassist with the intriguing name of She Rocola and clean faced guitar player with a cleft in his chin that must require a specially adapted razor. The bassist and guitarist take turn about on vocals. both
ITHE UNSTOPPABLE SEX MACHINE- 9th March GLASGOW Barrowlands
beautiful as they are There is more than a touch of PJ Harvey in here — instruments shrieking and vocals alternately keeiiing and lapsing into low growls and whimpers. This is in no way easy listening. the songs twist and turn at every opportunity and have an unsettling effect which is bizarrely hard to resist. (Jonathan Trew)
I Joe Lovano: Rush Hour (Blue Note) You could be forgiven for thinking you have the wrong album as Judy Silvano's ethereal wordless vocal rises from the opening lush string chords. btit Lovano‘s entry confirms that we are in the right territory after all. This is new ground for the saxophonist. however. since the core of the record lies in a series of orchestral arrangements by Gunther Schuller which manage to be both intricate and complex in themselves. while still allowing Lovano plenty of elbow room. He makes consistently excellent. intelligent discs without seeming to capture the attention lavished on less able contemporaries. and this is another to add to the list.
I Michael Garrick Trio: Lady in Waiting (Jazz Academy) Pianist Michael Garrick is one of the great
— and too often unsung — heroes of British jazz. and this rare album release captures him at the height of his powers in a mixed set ofjazz standards and his own highly original. constantly surprising compositions. His variation and subtlety of touch is matched by the depth and fertility of his harmonic imagination. and he receives totally empathic support from his top-rank collaborators. bassist Dave Green and drummer Alan Jackson. Highly recommended.
I Jay Thomas: 360 Degrees (HEP Records) Jay Thomas is a Seattle- based musician who. like Benny Carter. switches with ease from the saxophone family (and flute) to trumpet and llugelhom. and comes out sounding impressive on all of them. This album features him in the company of musicians drawn from the Seattle scene. most of whose
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I i e h KILMA Fri 10th March on Mon ran: March KIRKCA
names won‘t mean much here. but who provide a solid. hard-swinging interpretation of his arrangements of a well chosen selection ofjazz tunes. from Duke Ellington through to Claus Ogerman. Worth checking out.
I Michael Gibbs and Joachim Kuhn: Europeana
The Gara e (Act) Sub-titled 0W g 'Jallphony No 1’. this is 6
an ambitious and well- 1] '11 )J§h .dfl
intentioned project to re- )/ ‘—
JUST ANNOUNCED
cast European folk tunes in symphonic jazz arrangements which doesn’t quite come off. at least on early acquaintance. Gibbs is a gifted composer and arranger. but while there are many specific pleasures along the way. much of the material seems resistant to the kind of treatment which both he and pianist Joachim Kuhn subject it to. and the results are often a little uneasy. (Kenny Mathieson)
Sufism)er
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The List 24 Feb-9 Mar 1995 41