Records
INDIE THE OWSLEY SUNSHINE Another Kind of Summer
(Start a Riot) eee
Glasgow quartet the Owsley Sunshine may not be as feted as their keyboardist '3 other band (Uncle John & Whitelock. family tree fans). but there’s also an unashamedly commercial element to their sound which might well ensure them swifter success.
In their dreams they probably sound like Abbey Road-era Beatles
Singles
fronted by Alex Kapranos. but the reality isn't a bad proposition, either. Following in the footsteps of other Scots masters of the guitar anthem like Teenage Fanclub. they make a noise that's somewhere in between Paul McCartney and Ray Davies. with a little psych-styling thrown in for good measure. An album that wields its influences rather than disguises them. then, and no worse for it. (David Pollock)
ECLECTIC
VARIOUS
No Rewind: October of mrw44
Welcome to the twilight world of Edinburgh label mrw44. which puts out compilations
We’re sup t be cynically, bored of The
Polyphonic Spree by now. but damn it it ‘Hold
Me Now’ (Good) eeee
isn’t infectiously
operatic hippy madness. as per usually fantastic. Lambchop’s ‘Something's Going On’ (City
Slang) eee
does almost as well. a gentle
chug of nu-country that creeps into your head and seeps into the soul. Local quirk-rapping dude We Yo Nee’s “Needs Must’ (Surface
Pressure) 000
is a quality slice of inventive
hip hop. with almost too many good musical ideas kicking around in it. Utterly different is ‘Blue
Country Steel’ (Buzz) eee
by Dave Arcari.
which is a vicious Shane McGowan growl of delta blues mayhem fresh from. ahem, Perth.
More Scottish madness arrives in the form of Cayto. and by fuck it it isn’t brilliant. ‘Morning' (Rictus) 0000 blends classical leanings with epic rock. bloody-minded post-rock and even jazz-pop ending up sounding like Kate Bush fighting Chris Martin while Fugazi play ‘Peter and the Wolf’ in the background. Oh aye, and it's Single of the Fortnight. In comparison. the established Scottish sound of Mull Historical Society's ‘How “Bout I Love You More’ (B-
unique) e is insipid.
uninspired. overblown
pomp-pop with none of Colin Maclntyre’s early gusto about it. Much better for the ears is South's ‘Motiveless Crime’ (Sanctuary)... which sasses along like Elbow with a sexiness implant or Doves with. arm. a sexiness implant. And finally. I know fuck all about Clor except that their debut EP. ‘Welcome Music Lovers’ (Regal) eeee is great. It’s electro-punk. pop-disco. glitchcore-ambient. lo-fi-hi-fi post-everything daftness. Hurrah for that. (Doug Johnstone)
52 me LIST 5—12 Aug 2004
containing bands you've never heard of playing music that would scare the shit out of your kids. Or your parents.
Which is. quite frankly. how it should be done. Balls to the idea of the cover of Smash Hits and meeting Cat Deeley when you can be Giant Tank (the best thing on here) and release a berserk-but-perfectly- formed half-hour jam called ‘Remedial lmprov’. With trumpets. Elsewhere. Eftus Spectun's like the Libertines doing Zappa, Planquez are a wall of brooding metal menace. and Destructive Chop-Suey are - oh. dear — shit. Always one bad apple. eh? (David Pollock)
HIP HOP
Volume 1 (Genuine) eee
! .- 7):}
The debut album by Jurassic 5’s DJ Numark and his mate Pomo is a mildly engaging slice of bluesy breaks. Imagine a few out-takes from the J5 studio sessions without the raps but with a couple of spoken word samples laid down instead. Stand- out cuts ‘Melody'. ’Lola'. 'lmagine' and “Flute Fidelity’ do raise this slightly above par. The instantly funky rolling-beats-and- punchy-brass of ‘Lola’ bear no resemblance to the Kinks’ classic but ‘lmagine' is a very memorable instrumental cover of Lennon's paean to hippy idealism. However. Volume 1 is still just a fraction too short and bitty to strike a more resounding chord. (Andrew Richardson)
INDIE
VARIOUS
Abuse Your Friends Vol 4
(Velocity) eee
So this is what it feels like being John Peel! Except without the barn of musty vinyl out back
- one CD is all the Abuse Your Friends folk expect you to own in order to experience some of the UK’s better unsigneds. Naturally it's a mixed bag. but the quality is much higher than you would expect.
Not everyone out of the 21 artists here deserves a mention, but Polar Remote's wired ‘Moscow' and the Souls' ska-tastic 'Bleeding Gums' do. Over the course. it seems that Libertines- style art-punk has overtaken Detroit garage as the nation's ‘influence' of choice. although the final hats off goes to LA's shouty S'Cool Girls. just for playing Jack Nicholson's eight-year- old grandson’s birthday. And Major Major. cos they’re from Edinburgh. (David Pollock)
WORLD JAZZ ELECTRONICA HOMELIFE Guru Man Hubcap Lady
(Ninja Tune) eeee
Hamixiri
Given that this little lot (original line—up of 14. now been reduced to seven) includes Graham Massey from rave veterans 808 State. it shouldn't shock anyone to discover that they have a rather eccentric style. Imagine the brass troupe from Star Wars with a skifer outfit for a rhythm section, a beautiful opera singer (Seaming. also heard on recent albums by Mr Scruff and the Herbaliser). a male crooner and a spoken word performer taking lessons from Tony Allen. Fela Kuti and James Brown on a round-trip to Peking via Marrakech. It's an intriguing proposition but Homelife do have a wondrous sound. which. at best on their second album. is utterly unique and quite like the sonic equivalent of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky. In short. that's brillig.
(Andrew Richardson)
Our wonds of wisdom from the last 500 Issues.
We concur
‘New American hospital sit com that is a sort of cross between M‘A’S‘H and St Elsewhere. Sounds promising.‘
Sally Kinnes on ER, Issue 32. January 1986.
Geri-stile
One wants so very. very much for Geri Halliwell to be good. It would be so cool if her critics had to swallow their snobbery; but all this offers them is more ammunition.
Hannah McGi/I on ‘Mi Chico Latino' by Geri Halliwell, issue 365. August 1999.
Well I wonder
Make someone too beautiful. too blonde. too thin. too young and far too self assured and you have Patsy Kensit.
Andrew Miller on Patsy Kensit and Eighth Wonder, issue 2, October 1985.
floundering for compliments
It’s the same when you are presented with a truly obnoxious child or a friend's ironic mullet and you flounder for compliments but know you have to say something positive.
Isabel/a Weir on Masreel: Ten Years of Prints @ Edinburgh Printmakers, issue 479. October 2003.
SOUL .
VAR|ous production and a Norman Jay Presents positivist belief in the Philadelphia: human spirit. Not all of
the unassailable Norman Jay’s selections for
Underground Anthems of Philadelphia Soul
1973-1981 Philadelphia. . . may (HarmleSS) 0.” sound as cutting edge VARIOUS . and underground as they igucléixlff'c once were. but surely all are beguiling and so Brotherly Love necessary it your
(Unisex) eeee
collection shows little evidence of conscious disco. The indisputable might of MFSB. the O'Jays and Billie Paul can't. won't. don't let you down. Fourth in Unisex’s eminent Soul series also makes a welcome return to Philadelphia. but time is not wasted on old ground — introducing fascinating variations on a not-too-distant-future soul from the likes of Liz Fields. King Britt and Jazzyfatnastees. Every one is a winner. with disparate styles sitting neatly together and taking you away to a better place.
(Mark Edmundson)
’3‘ ‘ .. 458 ..
Since its inception. sweet soul music has seemed so very at home in America’s first capital and city of brotherly love.
The sound of was'EII-Lo Philadelphia. from disco‘s My worId epic precursors Of the (Subliminal) m 703 to today's neo-soul. has been affected with smooth. funky
Seldom realised. the route a successful