Bantu. FUNC'J!
Billy
It seems when you've reached a certain level of fame, no one around you has the balls to say, “Sorry Robbie darling, rapping makes you sound like a knob'. After ‘Rudebox'. a song that made Goldie Looking Chain sound like NWA. Mr Williams has returned with ‘Lovelight' (Chrysalis) O . Even Mark Ronson's twiddling can't save him from sounding like Jamiroquai's witless half—cousin. It couldn’t get much worse. That is until he changes his name to R Willy or something of the sort.
An antidote comes in the form of Slayer’s ‘Eyes of the lnsane' (American) «0 . While rather bog-standard. it's impressive that Tom Araya can sustain his throttled hedgehog vocal stylings now he's pushing 50. Headland have chosen to celebrate the time-honoured British tradition of faded premiership footballers hooking up off the M25 and getting jiggy with strangers in ‘Dogging Sisters' (Touchy Feely) m . Despite occasionally skirting dangerously close to Lightening Seeds territory, they still manage to charm. Art Brut may not cover quite as interesting a subject matter on ‘Nag Nag Nag Nag' (Mute) 0m but their lyrical flourishes more than compensate. Kasabian seem like the kind of band where even Mike Tyson beating them around the face with a wet fish screaming ‘you lame!’ wouldn't dent their confidence. Luckily ‘Shoot the Runner' (Columbia) me is just pompous enough to work. Even Tyson couldn‘t disagree.
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy's bluesy twanging on 'Cold & Wet‘ (Domino) 0”. . while unlikely to get anyone's booty shaking in a hurry. hits all the right spots. which makes it an obvious, if understated choice for Single of the Fortnight. The complete opposite can be said for Basement Jaxx's ‘Take Me Back To Your House' (XL) 00 . Inevitably it will be a regular feature on Big Brother’s ‘best bits' montages, but it remains the sonic equivalent of being drowned in Wella hair gel. The banjo's good though. Jyrojets ‘Dead on Arrival' (Songphonic) m sounds like they have taken the Muse back catalogue and pressed it through a Bryan Adam's filter. The result possesses just enough personality to avoid it slipping into MOR dreariness. (Miles Johnson)
AVANTE FOLK 5
(Drag City) «0
The team behind Joanna Newsom's second LP is enough to make anyone I tremble with anticipation:
Van Dyke Parks ' arranged. Steve Albini
mixed. In combination Ys with her untouchable
talent as a singer and ! harpist (her 2004 debut
i splendid reCOrds of the 21st century) this
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64 THE LIST 2—16 Nov 2006
produced, Jim O'Rourke
‘The Milk Eyed Mender' remains one of the most
couldn't fail to be special.
It doesn't. but then neither does it meet its potential. Comprising five. ten-minute odd tracks of sighing. othen/vorldly neo-folk. it's hard to break down. failing to match the classical with the contemporary in such perfect accord as her first offering. Pretty. but not quite the sum of its parts. (Malcolm Jack)
INDIE
BRAKES
The Beatific Visions (Rough Trade) 0000
; BRAKE;
What started as a Brighton scene side- project has become a serious proposition and on this showing. they've risen to the challenge. While Brakes‘ debut was a spat-out country-punk fuck-you of a record. this more considered and diverse follow-up shows a band fulfilling their huge potential. There's so much going on here it's hard to know where to start. There's the gonzo riffing of “Hold Me in the River'. the beautiful acoustic ‘lsobel'. the rattling country ruckus of ‘On Your Side'. the daft punk of ‘Porcupine or Pineapple’?‘ and. well. shitloads besides. DeSpite the diversity. Brakes stamp so much charisma on everything that it hangs together perfectly. (Doug Johnstone)
BRIT—SOUL-DUB-BFA’TS VARIO
My Definition: Nightmares On Wax (Apache) 0000
Once in a while the ubiquitous DJ mix proves
just as intriguing and inspiring as an album proper. For the first in a new series. Apache have had the fine taste and foresight to bring in NOW's DJ E.A.S.E. as selector for a trip that serves up an effortless blend of slick 80$ rare groove. golden era hip hop and skanking.
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rootical reggae stomps. It's every inch as good as his evergreen DJ Kicks outing. again fronting a Brit-centric soundsystern stance on multicultural street SOUl music. and promises to dominate bedrooms. bars and cars for some time to come. (Mark Edmundson)
LO Fl NORTHERN ALLIANCE
For the Grains of Sand (ASB/Fence) 000.
Recorded in a loft in East Lothian. this has been a slow burner of a third album for Northern Alliance. taking two years to finish. largely because members were variously doing real stuff: writing a novel. travelling. studying. having babies.
Its title refers to the embryonic stages of said sprogs. although could be taken in hindSight as a reference to its own patient genesis. Or the way tracks swell and cascade so unhurriedly. into works of beautifully fragile optimism full of layered. chiming guitars and delicate vocals.
Either way. its proof that if you have ideas. and melodies (and whisky). a great album W!” follow. No rush. (Malcolm Jacki
JAZZ
GERI ALLEN Timeless Portraits and Dreams
(Telarcl on
Sen Allen has been one of the most consistently rewarding pianists on the US jazz scene over the past couple of decades. and this latest release is in some ways her own dedication to jazz itself, both as a musical form and as a spiritual and transcendent medium. The pianist heads a stellar trio with Ron Carter (bassl and Jimmy Cobb (drums) at the heart of the album. augmented by several guests.
"UV/flu:
Trumpeter Wallace Roney and saxophonist Donald Walden make powerful contributions. while Carmen Lundy and operatic tenor George Shirley are guest vocalists on selected tracks. as are the Atlanta Jazz Chorus. It makes for a lush, diversely textured journey through a selection of jazz standards. spirituals and original compositions.
(Kenny Mathieson)
HIP HOP TY
Closer (Big Dada) 0000
South London hip hop artist Ty returns with his third long-player. which belies his Nigerian roots as much as his love of future-retro SOUI grooves. MerCury- nominated for last album Upwards but overlooked for mainstream airplay by radio programmers. Ty
has toured the US and returned with some influential new friends. including De La Soul. Speech from Arrested Development. Bahamadia. Rich Medina and Zion I. who feature here alongside British singers Eska and Vula and afrobeat stalwarts Wumni and Dele Sosimi. Ty likes to grasp the burning issues of the day as much as drop cheeky rhymes. fat broken beats and sunny melodies. and has always offered deeper lyrics than the vacuous bling'n'bitches fare of the US stars. So. Closer is another formidable work. Here's to him making a much deeper impression with it. (Andrew Richardson)
INDIE
THE LONG BLONDES Someone To Drive You Home
(Rough Trade) 000
There's something a little too perfect about The Long Blondes to be believed. an almost otherworldy sheen and manufactured cool that stops you from truly loving them. It's as if indie factories have spent years working on the ultimate female-led SupergrOup. churning out Sleepers. Echobellys and Elasticas here and there to finally come up with the perfect prototype in the form of this stylish Sheffield fivesome. Unfortunately, this cold and clinical aspect shines out in the music. as despite boasting a number of infectious guitar pop gems. Someone To Drive You Home ultimately lacks the soul and emotion that would have made it one of this country's finest debuts. Back to the drawing board then . . . (Camilla Pia)
AU. CDS WERE REVIEWED ON A SYSTEM SUPPUED AND INSTALLED BY LOUD 8: CLEAR