BLOC PAPT v
buzzing, soaring and snapping at the heels of its predecessor. However, as A Weekend In The City progresses it's clear that this is a classic case of experimentalism at the cost of infectiousness and all that made Silent Alarm so gloriously edgy has been lost through over-thinking and at times stifling production. A missed opportunity. (Camilla Pia)
ROCK
THE HEDRONS One More Won’t
Kill Us
(Measured Records) 0...
The lteclmns;
Impressive influences do not a great band make . . . Towers of London alone are proof of that. This lot could teach them a thing or two. however, as, although they clearly worship at the alters of Hole. Blondie. Joan Jett and Ramones. the all—girl Glasgow foursome have taken their idols' best bits and injected them with an attitude and style that is completely their own. Each punchy track on One More Won’t Kill Us is rough and readily produced and all the better for it as scratchy riffs. thundering drums and raspy vocals collide to form an infectious debut release that is oodles of fun from start to finish.
(Camilla Pia)
JAZZ
JOE ZAWINUL Brown Street (Birdjam/lntuition) .0...
A feast for Weather Report devotees. and a
treat for anyone who just likes top quality big band playing. Joe Zawinul celebrated the 25th anniversary of the break-up of Weather Repon in glorious style in this concert with the excellent WDR Big Band at his jazz club in Vienna in October, 2005.
.5
The band, bolstered by former Weather Report stalwarts Alex Acuna, Nathaniel Townsley and Victor Bailey in the rhythm section, rip through Vince Mendoza’s
arrangements of classic
Weather Report compositions like ‘Black Market'. ‘Night Passage'. ‘Boogie Woogie Waltz‘ and the lovely ‘A Remark You Made‘ in exhilarating fashion. The result is a two-CD tribute that not only lives up to the original masterpieces. but even adds new dimensions here and there.
(Kenny Mathieson)
POP
MIKA
Life in Cartoon Motion (Island) 0000
Let‘s play Spot the Influence. Queen! The Communards! Frankie Goes To Hollywood! Just when you've got Mika pinned as a retro- glam Hi NRG soundalike, he whaps the horns out for a Blur- ry knockabout caper on ‘Billy Brown'. Which sounds a bit like ‘Penny Lane‘. And ‘Daydream Believer'. He's like a human iPod Shuffle. or the logical successor to Soulwax and Jive Bunny
It .
The thing is, it's not plagiarism. It‘s totally unapologetic thievery. and you have to admire his cheek. On current number one ‘Grace Kelly‘ Mika even admits that he ‘tried a little
Freddie‘. It‘s the Scissor
Sisters' trick: appealing simultaneously to Radio Two nostalgia and angular disco kids (‘Stuck in the Middle‘ actually opens with the Thomas the Tank Engine rift from ‘Laura'). and, a couple of duff Gary Barlow moments aside, it‘s joyous and stupidly good exercise for your cheek muscles. (Kirstin Innes)
INDIE FUTURE PILOT AKA
Secrets From The Clockhouse (Creeping Bent) 0...
It‘s a mystery why Sushil K Dade doesn‘t enjoy more than the modicum of Glasgow- centred respect he currently holds. This is possibly because the amount of A-list names he attracts to contribute to his records might overshadow his own talents.
Take this record, for example. which features three lovely vocal contributions by Karine Polwart. two spoken-word appearances by the novelist Alasdair Gray. a literally phoned-in vocal by Damo Suzuki of Can fame. and a version of Sun—Ra's ‘Nuclear War‘ with contributions from members of Sonic Youth, The Stooges and The Fire Engines, while the glistening. summery ‘Eyes of Love' is sung by Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin. It's a great line- up, but it‘s Dade's vision which pulls this
fine album together. (David Pollock)
ROCK
' some YOUNG
PEDRO
Some Young Pedro
(Badboxr) COO
Glasgow, it seems. will never tire of bands like Some Young Pedro. Kind of like a testosterone-fuelled Mogwai. they subvert ideas of what are commonly referred to as listenable music with a collection of mostly instrumental power-riffs. occasional and almost subtle psychedelic
: diversions. and the odd
hard-to-hear broken glass lyric.
The result is cathartic. and a fair amount of
fun, but you kind of suspect this lot would be much better enjoyed live. Top marks. certainly, for their song titles. a motley procession of anti- heroes. musical and otherwise. Sadly, however. the buzzing. detuned throb of ‘Japan'and‘Jehova' are better than the cryptic ‘Barrymore' (Michael? Drew?) and ‘Michael Ball' (the singer or the ex—Rangers player?) Potential chart- toppers all. in some weird other dimension. (David Pollock)
GRlME POP LADY
SOVEREIGN
Public Warning” (island) .00
When people first began getting their pantaloons in a twist about London's Grime scene. much of the media rumpus was concentrated around mini MC Lady
L 1 TLE Mflwwgg'y fATEQ‘
CD / Ltd Edition CD with Don Includes ‘Sexy In Latin’, ‘Man I Hate Your Band’
.
Sovereign. After a year of set backs and a chance meeting with Jay Z (he signed her to his Def Jam imprint in the US). her debut has finally surfaced on these shores. But the intervening months have done the ‘biggest midget in the game' few favours. Old singles like ‘Bandom' have lost their charm in complete production overhauls and higher budgets only serve to obscure her often witty word play. While bringing her billboard success stateside. Public Warning does little to dent Sovereigns reputation as a novelty act. (Miles Johnson)
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