The Heavy
I declare it the Summer of Dross! Kicking off the half-arsed festival-promoting releases is Mlka's ‘Big Girl' (Casablanca) e , which flaps along like Scissor Sisters devoid of the camp charm and melodies. Pointless, in other words. Fairing slightly better is birdnest-bonce Amy Winehouse, whose ‘Tears Dry on Their Own' (Island) 00 is a washed-out. colourless facsimile of Motown. and not a patch on her only cracking tune, ‘Rehab’.
With the insipid and dreary “Who‘s Gonna Find Me' (Deltasonic) o . The Coral prove they've lost any cheeky charm they once had. along with any songwriting talent. Similarly dreadful these days are Manic Street Preachers. The only good thing about their last single was her off The Cardigans, and she ain‘t on the pompous dirge ‘Autumnsong' (Columbia), 0 . which makes time stand still with its awfulness. The lyrics also completely rip off an Aerosmith classic, for shame.
I expected better from Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Alas. despite the occasional burst of decent guitar riffage, ‘Down Boy‘ (Dress Up) co . with its half-baked moody keyboards and hackneyed yelping, makes for sorry listening. Ditto Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, who regurgitate every dumb sub-Mary Chain blues thing they've ever done, only less interestingly, with ‘Berlin' (Drop the Gun) 0 . a song which shames the German capital.
But wait! It's not all Grade A cack and finest ear-mince. First. Our souls are saved. appropriately, by Soulsavers. With Growl King Mark Lanegan whisper—singing, ‘Kingdoms of Rain' (V2) 000 is a beautiful, piano-led understated ballady thing, scary and uplifting in equal measure.
Good sounds continue with Gothenburg oddball soul-popsters Little Dragon. ‘Twice'/'Test‘ (Peacefrog) coo features a moody piano ballad on one side and a dubby- pop gem on the other, both imbued with the kind of skillful pop sensibilities absent from this fortnight's bigger name releases.
But Single of the Fortnight goes to The Heavy's ‘That Kind of Man‘ (Counter) «00 . This debut offering from a bunch of West Country weirdos sounds like a manic. unhinged lost recording from a jam session between Marvin Gaye, Parliament and Led Zep, and. by Christ. it's got buckets more soul, funk, energy and heart than anything else out this fortnight. (Doug Johnstone)
profile increase with every album. but have
ROCK simultaneously been SPOON losing creativity and edge Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga along the way. This sixth (Anti) 0.
long player is the least interesting and affecting Spoon? The Austin, thing they've done, and Texas underground ; worse. frontman Britt rockers have seen their i Daniel‘s normally incisive
What‘s happened to
62 THE LIST 19 Jul-2 Aug 2007
and heartbreaking songwriting seems to have deserted him. Songs repeatedly chug along harmlessly in a percussive rattle of drums and piano before petering out. and it's only the closing pair of ‘Finer Feelings’ and ‘Black Like Me’ that seem to be imbued with any real heart. A band that's lost its way.
(Doug Johnstone)
GRIME LETI'IAL BIZZLE
Back to Bizznizz
The ailing Grime scene too often forgets that it was spawned from dance music. not hip hop. with many MCs eschewing potential club hits in favour of brainless trigger talk. Lethal Bizzle, on the other hand, could almost be accused of cynicism in his search for commercial success. with guest appearances from Kate Nash and Pete Doherty present to lure in the indie demographic. Shrewd marketing aside. Back to Bizznizz is by far his best album to date. Songs like ‘Bizzle Bizzle' and ‘Mr' may be crude but few can currently match Maxwell Ansah's ear for a tune with bite. You just hope that it's received well enough for the pointless Mr Doherty to be jettisoned in time for the next one.
(Miles Johnson)
SlNGER-SONGWRITER RANDAN DISCOTHEQUE I Am the Singer, You Are the Song
(Fife Kills) .00.
Snaking from Johnny Cash train stomp rhythms to delicate love stung paeans to departed muses. Randan Discotheque throws up an
occasionally disconcerting musical bag of tricks. Craig Coulthard combines his lyrical candour with delicate strumming, resulting in a wildly varying tone to this record‘s many high points. This is typified by
the excellent “Love Is On
the Line‘. which buzzes and blows into a haunting requiem to a doomed relationship, while ‘The Prince Must Go to Iraq' is a convincing and humorous protest song on the ‘expendable royal‘ not being booted off to Basra.
(Miles Johnson)
FOLK MARTIN SIMPSON Prodigal Son (TOpic) ooooo
Simpson may be an enthusiast — he includes notes on his guitar tunings — but he is no purist. His enquiring ears have kept him at the interesting edge of the folk scene since he was a genuine teenage prodigy in the 70s, and this new collection takes in Randy Newman and Leadbelly as well as traditional Scots ballads and his own songs.
The result has range. a relaxed mastery and emotional depth. With Simpson's conversational vocals and fingerpicking and slide guitar supported by the likes of Danny Thompson, Jackson Browne and Kate Rusby. this is roots music at its richest. (Ninian Dunnett)
AMERICANA
RYAN ADAMS Easy Tiger
(Lost Highway) .000
After three albums in
2005 (two were doubles) l
and a batch of nonsense
online ‘releases'. Americana's poster boy has put his energies into one album. And it's easily his most consistent work to date. In fact. consistency's been Adam '3 worst enemy of late: he's seemingly intent on releasmg anything he puts to tape. Easy Tiger may not be a masterpiece but the quality control is high (closing track 'I Taught Myself . . .' is beautiful). You still can't shake the feeling that, with a bit of focus. every Ryan Adams album could be a classic. But then he wouldn't be half as much fun. (Andrew Borthwick)
JAZZ MIROSLAV VITOUS Universal Syncopations || (ECM Records) 000
Miroslav Vitous' Universal
Syncopations marked his return to the ECM label. and was widely praised on its release in 2003. The bassist has chosen to extend and develop the concept behind the musrc for this successor. introducing a completely different band and a diverse application of orchestral and choral samples that give the music a layered richness of sound, colour and instrumental texture. The leader's own supple and inventive bass playing underpins the action, but there is always something arresting going on elsewhere in the soundscape. Contributors include trumpeter Randy Brecker and saxophonists Bob Mintzer and Bob Malach. but the focus of the music is very much on ensemble interaction
rather than individual virtuosity. The interjections from the orchestral and choral samples include an initially disconcerting episode in the opening track. ‘Opera'. when Brecker's solo is
accompanied by
unexpected laughter. (Kenny Mathieson)
JAZZ
BOBBY HUTCHERSON For Sentimental Reasons
(Kind of Blue) 000
Vibes maestro Bobby Hutcherson was one of the key innovators in the post-bop experiments of the mid-60$ for the Blue Note label, but he focuses on a more conventionally mainstream approach in this set of ballads and mid-tempo standards. His approach may be more subdued in this setting, but his subtle and inventive playing remains as lustrous as ever, and he is supported by an excellent band that includes pianist Renee Rosnes and drummer Al Foster. who is bound for the Edinburgh Jazz Festival as leader of his own quintet.
The material is familiar enough. and includes a relaxed take on Fats Waller‘s ‘Jitterbug Waltx' alongside familiar standards such as ‘Embraceable You‘. ‘Spring ls Here' and 'What Are You Doing With the Rest of Your Life'. Another Edinburgh visitor, Benny Golson. also crops up as composer of ‘Along Came Betty”. A fine set if y0u are in the mood for a little beguiling relaxation. (Kenny Mathieson)
FOLK
MEGSON
Smoke of Home(EDJ Records) 000
Megson are the duo of Stu Hanna and Debbie Palmer. They hail
originally from Teesslde.
and have been picking
up a fair bit of favourable notice on the acetistic