SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
Mammal
Scottish s the broadest of broad churches. a: d to [tit/J: rt a host of vastly varied local musrc is releaserf the .r not). Silicon Soul's ‘Feeling Blue' tor/rat 0.. :s a soulful house strut wrth ffTVLiTTiT oorrrrh fr, keep ym ass wobblin', while if‘.".?'l r' on: soultj rs SStyle. an Edinburgh blp hop r.:)ller:Ti‘.re ~.*.".:;‘;e "."v’r'iy lJ Move' (Black Sugan .0. lf} refresh not; cool yet unashamedly rtrrrtr'rglflléli Tl) {10f}?
or the rock front Ludovico's 'Panic Attack' ()ltirl .00 is riff heavy and attitude-laden. as all good rock shoulrl be. With a chorus lttitl'aftteei'tt; twenty of radio play. while “The End of Slack ".'.".‘r."4‘l.'..r’()()53()l1thi.()().lli<) 00. from Kalamazoo is more laid back. like Soondgarden takznr; a break from all that hollering and rocking arr/f shit
()l course. not everything Scottish is great. as The Contradictions prove. ‘Subver't the lytainstream' lti(?tt‘.()l O is dreary. plodding pal 'orIk t-rhich thinks it's the Manics. but is really just ()cean Colour Scene in mascara.
And so back to the good stuff. ‘Bun Magic EP' -f;rrnple Rountryl O... by veteran local lunatlcs Dawn of the Replicants is typically nuts. the band sounding like Captain Beefheart fronting Wrrigs playing csw while falling down some stairs. rtias there’s an awesomely ramshackle cover of Rhinestone ()owbr ," thrown in. In comparison Unkle Bob's ‘The llrt Parade' (Friendly Sounds) .0. is sanity incarnate. a gently uplifting strum of drearrty acoustic pop with oodles of charm and no small amount of songwriting nous.
Then there's the chance to hear four new endeavours from the wonky world of electronica \ ia [)urtdee University's exhibitions Dept. C Digga Ii )isparc‘ CO. and friends offerings are patchy but fun. in places,
T,|E?(“.'.'i‘(3l0 the Fence affiliated Wilmacakebread's 'Digital Chocolate‘ (Coco tlrppol 000 is sweet lo-fi disco ambient folk. if you can imagine such a thing. and is pretty damn me for that. The Errors' ‘Hans Herman' (Rock At‘trorit COO. cannily bridges the gap between rock and electronica. blending indie riffs With laptop homes like a more consmered verSIon of the Magnificents.
The new release on the reliably fantastic Benbecula Records. ‘Prhizzm EP' .000 Prhizzm is six tracks of glitchy. ambient melancholy part Orb. part Four Tet and all st.)ankrng|y great. Even better is Mammals There's No Crueller Than the Sea. Nor Even as Cruel “m on the ever-brilliant KFM Records. Ten minutes of retro keyboard insanity. it's Boards of Canada tackling Tubular Bel/s wrth Philip Glass plugging things in and Out randomly at the back. and it's a QLlleily deranged form of genius. Oh. and Single of the Fortnight. (Doug Johnstone)
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The key here however, is those damn beats. The musical ammunition gets under the skin, there's moments of glimmering clunk funk like 'A Baltimore Love Hung and 'Gatman and Robbin' but this is not enough to camoflage 50's stumbling. mumbling flow. (Mark Robertsonl
PUP BECK
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Beck alternates the kind of albums he makes: a mellow. acoustic one followed by a cranked up. clanking hip hop stir fry. 2002's Sea Change was very much the former. a beautiful. introspective wash and Guero is. to put it kindly. all over the place. But With producers the Dust Brothers and their everything-and-thc— kitchen-sink approach to arrangement on board. the chances of Subtle minimalism were slight to none.
Tracks wander off in their own wobny groove without really finding a purpose while there's also pseudo-grunge in ‘E-Pro'. dreamy electro pop on 'Girl' and
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NEW ORDER Waiting for the Siren's Call
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As the New Order as spiritual musical godfathers‘ bandwagon rolls into town with the Killers, the Bravery and Bloc Party all aboard. fighting for the backseats. this. the band's eighth record. reminds us of their handsome pedigree. Technique helped shape the heart of acid house and Get Ready recalled their belligerent rock roots. but Wat/rig for the Siren's Ca/l is stuck somewhere awkwardly in between
'Krafty' and Turn both tangle. ring and sway in a bittersweet. familiar way and closer 'Workrng Overtime — a shameless reshaping of the Stooges '1969' — is the most stomping track here. These however. are sullred by duffers like the lacklustre synthpop of 'Jetstream' and the cod reggae of ‘I Told You So'. We didn't expect an album of 'Blue Monday .s and ‘Temptatron's . . well. maybe Just one would have been nice. llvtark Robertson»
COUNTRY PUNK THE 555 Cobra
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Scots have long had a love affair with American cOuntry muSrc. but it doesn't often sOund like this. Swaggerrng in like CaleXico with a rocket up their collective asses. the 55's run/hr, the apostrophe. kldS?l
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not THE BRAVERY The Bravery
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As the world slowly turns and hairst.les growl uncomfortably old it's easy forget that always need a guintet of artful young gents to make heart rates race and knees go weak. The Bravery f;i|(,t,’ out a boisterous furrow that takes the Strokes' laconic whine and injects rt with a toxrr, cocktail of uppers courtesy of earl, moments of U2. the Cure and Dr ran [)uran This excitable rness rs so bloody obnous and addictive. but it .‘Jorks. The l? tracks rattle a‘.‘.'a\. .‘xithout an; great corrrrnctrcn. only for them to appear lll your head hours later and never leave. The Killers may be cuter and catchier but the Braxeri. out in the work to desen'e pler‘rt, cf attention. ilvlark Robertson
RA‘.'.’K
BILLY IDOL Devil’s Playground Sanctuary.» 0..
Move over the Darkness. old Bill, :s back and as daft as ever. B; rights this album short/of be fucking terrible. but .vhrle there are some dreadful
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ALSO RELEASED
Kevin Mark Trail Just / rvrng ([ Ml; One time Streets live vocalist goes out on hrs own in a modern day RéiB'roots soul exploration.
Annie Ann/erna/ ((575) Record/rigs) Norway's own electro indie shock of energy makes her considered but fun UK debut. Basement Jaxx The Sing/es (XL) From their groundbreaking early singles through to newres — crackers pretty much every one.
Mando Diao Herr/cane Bar (Majesty) More Scandrnavrans and this time it's a bunch of cheeky rock kids. last seen here supporting the Donnas.
The House at Love Days Run Away (Art and /ndustry/ The first album in l 1 years from the newly reformed indie veterans and One time Jewel in the Creation Records crown.
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76 THE LIST ' ' ‘.'.a'