birth to everyone from REM to The Smiths; but
is billed as the Very Best 5 of Miles Davis, but is well
- ALso RELEASED l
JAZZ MILES DAVIS :
The Warner Brothers short Of meeting that 3 Spirit also the Canterbu ' V k ' . . , ry r ooOnoYes,/ma Sessrons 1985-1991 . - (Outer Bridge Records) . I . (Rhino) ... claim. Nonetheless. if ... scene. classrc prog and I Witch (Parlophone)
JAZZ | PRESTON REED l
Derided for her music, partly because it sounds insane, but mostly because she split up The Beatles (aye, right) Ono's first solo work in years has everyone from The Polyphonic Spree to Cat Power on hand to help dispel these notions. She fails, but her music remains uncompromised. And the title is great.
even the odd new wave-ism when the g fancy takes it. ' The Portland quintet I balance whimsy and grandeur with a steady hand, and The Crane Wife has both in spades. Their effusive. ingenious approach permits gothic lullabies to segue into jaunty ten-minute prog— folk song cycles, but this never feels forced. while their lyrical bent favours quaint fables over tired,
you are looking for a good sample of his work in the period, then it offers some gems alongside a bit of filler. ( The former includes the
Guitarist Preston Reed continues to elude precise genre 5 classification in his his distinctive style of solo guitar music, but this ballad-oriented set is the ! closest he has come to a straight jazz outing. In his insert note he argues i that this is his most spontaneous and improvised recording project, but the music comes across as
A single disc selection from the final phase of the trumpeter’s career. drawing on the music he released after his switch from Columbia in 1985. It
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
I The collaboration with ._ . Easy MO 888 Oh DOO- ‘ Cat Power ‘ ' 5‘ -
Bop is much weaker, and the material from the films Dingo and Siesta is also a notch less compelling. Two cuts from his
‘Splatch‘ from Tutu and ‘Amandla’ and ‘Mr Pastorius' from Amand/a.
classic ‘Tutu' and
l valedictory Montreux carefully considered as ! pseudo-confessional ‘I, The Trlfflds . concert with Quincy I well as fresh. me, you’ declarations. Calenture/ln The Jones and three more live } Pines (Domino) This
outfit of cruelly ignored western Australians had a
tracks round out the set. (Kenny Mathieson)
only confuse the issue. The band sound as distinct as Arcade Fire.
To drop names would
C I i 1 m : and album is easily SingUIar sound An almighty Single of the Fortnight has this Black water ! as good as their debut. predated the whole reviewer’s eager digits already itching to rattle off 3 (Reveal Records) l Yes, it's that good. 5 Americana movement their glowing textual praise. But first credit where g... I (Mark Robertson) , by a decade. it’s due to some of the largely stiff short-playing Reissued with tons of
.. . . i .. HOUSE !
competition coming your way in the next 14 Folk musrc IS not the I Gusaus , extras. days (and big rasps to the rest). Glasgow—based usual field of activity for He takes a relaxed and l Forever 5 The Fall
Unkle Bob’s 'Put a Record On' (Mother City) 000 is a catchy three-minutes of perky acoustic pop, which, along with spiky thrash ‘Fear of Words' (One Records) 000 by fellow Glaswegians We Are The Physics, and tuneful disco rock romp ‘No Emotion' (Sequel) coo by Edinburghers ldlewild, makes for a fine trio of cuts from the local contingent. Actually, make that a quartet, because North Lanarkshire beatsmith Satellite Dub's fat bass driven instrumental ‘London Has More Lights’ (demo) 000 is equally as spine tingling. Unlike the not dissimilar ‘North American Scum’
this label, but they were
so impressed with singer
and guitarist Kris Drever playing live that they snapped him up to
record this debut album.
It has been eagerly anticipated, although
quite how it managed to
be nominated for album of the year in last year's
Scots Trad Music Awards
before it was even
very melodic approach to l
a set of original compositions (and a short version of ‘All The Things You Are’), performed on a classic
3 jazz-style hollow-body
electric guitar. His beautifully articulated melodic explorations are beguhng,andthe
recorded sound is crystal
clear. Established fans
(Gung Ho!) 00.
Starting out life as a
Reformation Post TLC (Slogan) Not the soaraway tribute to the feisty all—girl R&B pop trio but in fact the new Fall album. The odd blip of magic but for the most part it is business as usual
Harmful O7 (Kool Arrow) Billy Gould formerly of Faith No
sprawling 12-strong I Icelandic art/film/music l collective in 1995, l GusGus have mutated
over the years. At their heart has always 3 remained a soulful
More leads a band laden with thick 5 Queens of the Stoneage style
grooves in their timely . seventh album. |
(DFA) oo by New Yolk hit (and miss) master James Murphy, aka LCD Soundsystem. lt’s formulaic, and a bit too clever for its own good. Smart is something Kaiser Chiefs have at least never purported to specialise in. Their squawky radio hugging return ‘Ruby’ (B-Unique)
released is something of a mystery.
may miss a bit of up- tempo variation, but the I laid-back mood makes I for a nicely integrated : set. (Kenny Mathieson)
coo is as dumb as a bag of hammers, but THE electronic throb Bobby Conn King 3 catchy as hell for it. Particularly when compared DECEMBEIus-rs wrapped in alternately For a Day (Thrill ’ to some of the soft-brained indie pong currently The Crane Wife soothing and wanton Jockey) Chicago's
vocal lines.
Six albums in, the band are now a trio specialising in mucky, low-slung house that resists cliche and fad in favour of grime, groove and mild suggestion. 5 Over a dozen tracks they explore different textures and tones from the satiny electrofunk of 1 ‘Hold You' to the l mechanical wheeze of ‘Porn’. Vocalist Earth's I sensual warblings i sweeten Biggi and I ; Bongo’s chunky beats. ; ’ bleats and wobbles like I too much syrup over | blueberry pancakes.
white, geeky, low- l rent, carpentry i trained answer to Stevie Wonder l unleashes another electric cougar of a record packed which ) sounds like Bill ‘ Withers backed by Flaming Lips, kinda. 1 PG Six Slightly Sorry (Drag City) Drag City
waiting from the pages of NME: The Maccabees and Mumm-Ra, whose respective singles ‘About Your Dress' (Fiction) 0 and ‘What Would Steve Do?’ (Columbia) 0 are about as memorable as motorway petrol stations. Must try harder. Brazilian trendies CSS sound like they’re hardly trying at all, but ‘Off the Hook' (Warners) 0000 is still a sexy slice of glam punk that proves there’s a fair helping of substance amid all that style. And, speaking of appearances, M Ward's 7in vinyl EP ‘To Go Home’ (4AD) 0000 , a beautifully packaged thing, which, under other circumstances, would have done enough to run off with this week's Single of the Fortnight gong for the big, rattling and utterly brilliant Daniel Johnston cover that gives it its name. That is, were it not forced to contend with a track so smooth, soulful and clock stoppingly bittersweet it’s like having pure honey poured in your ear: Cat Power’s ‘The Greatest' (Matador) moo. She ain’t half. (Malcolm Jack)
(Rough Trade) .000
It is increasingly difficult i to find records that are pure in their intentions. The Decemberists wear their ambitions on their 1 (record) sleeves, wishing ' to create an album filled with quirks that remains ; welcoming. lt recalls that 3 genteel indie universe of the mid-80s that gave
The Orcadian is a fine singer, with a dark, expressive voice and engaging delivery that comes across well on ; both contemporary songs i by the likes of Sandy Wright and Boo Hewerdine. and traditional material like ‘Patrick Spence‘ and ‘Green Grows the Laurel'. His guitar playing is consistently impressive, i and heavyweight guests !
l
do it again, as they uncover another weird and wonderful gem, which sounds I like it had been I rumbling away in a l basement for years. ‘ Beguiling, in a Buffalo Springfield or Palace Brothers kind of way.
include John McCusker. Donald Shaw, Roddy Woomble and Eddi
Reader l (Kenny Mathieson)
Yummy. (Mark Robertson)
Loud ALL cos WERE REVIEWED ON. A SYSTEM SUPPLIED AND INSTALLED BY Louo & CLEAR i 0 Clear _ ' l
66 THE LIST 15 Feb—1 Mar 2007