ROCK DEAN OWENS Whisky Hearts
(Vermillion Road Records) 0000
Dean Owens is a genuine one-off. His exploration of songwriting has taken him through the heart of Americana, where he has found many opportunities to show his skills as a songwriter on his own and as leader of The Felsons. That the public at large have failed to take a great deal of notice is neither here nor there. For this, his second full solo album, he left the verdant Scottish climes for the dry bake of the US and his unerring romance with the country and with country music flourishes here like never before.
Bombastic opener ‘Years Ago’ is a celebration of the robust bluster of Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band but this is a mere jumping off point, for what follows is a varied album of warm, engaging songs that ache with a familiar feeling but resist a tumble into the trough of cliche. He has as much in common with versatile thinkers like Aimee Mann as he does your local two-gun Tex. This is a broader, more ambitious record than that. His voice isn’t that weighty, but instead is riven with a kind of fragility that makes the likes of Jeff ‘Wilco’ Tweedy so compelling. He even has echoes of Richard Ashcroft too, but without the messiah complex, thankfully.
His words are direct, unswerving and deeply personal; his lyrical clarity refreshing. Narratives are both deeply autobiographical and evocative third person - all of which work equally well.
There are many conventions to Dean Owens’ rock’n’roll. It understands its history almost a little too well and sometimes he’s ticking boxes. Like Travis, another inherently great band weighed down by the vastness of their own record collection, he’s aware of where his music is coming from. There are points at which the idea overpowers the song, but this is very much the
exception, not the rule.
He may have made his name with country but Owens has moved beyond the formula of Americana and into the wide world, which is often joyful, sometimes sad, but rarely dull. A triumph. (Mark Robertson)
folk/roots circuit over the past couple of years. although songs such as Fe“ to the Breeze' would cross over comfortably to a more pop-oriented audience as well. This is their second album. and
prowdes a showcase not only for their atmospheric Singing (espeCially Palmer) and playing. but also for their songwriting.
They draw on three traditional songs alongside their own material. and blur the boundaries in the case of three numbers that sound very like traditional material. but are actually their own original songs in the mould of traditional tales of murder. revenge and
ghostly happenings. Their writing is still developing. but this is a strong set of songs that augers well for further development.
(Kenny Mathieson)
ELECTRONICA CHUNGKING Stay up Forever (Ecstatic Peace. Kill Rock Stars. —5RC. Three Lobed) 0000
Sean and Jessie have produced a slick. chic. dirty and danceable reason to stay up all
- UNGKING. .Q
night. It makes you think of Goldfrapp but with that little-bit-to- the-left. Each track dares to celebrate how the best pop need not be obvious in order to hook. The intimacy of this album makes it hard to believe it was recorded in a room above Mad Frankie Fraser's pub in Brighton; a three-week studio job became two years' home recording. concentrating on shared instincts. The flair for songwriting and the sheer beauty of Jessie's voice are constant qualities. Ballads such as ‘Beautiful InSIde‘ and ‘Sorry' are sexy numbers to have on your jukebox. (Katherine Adam)
INDIE/FOLK WOODEN WAND James and the Quiet (Institute) 000
Toning down from the eccentricities of his previous work. James Jackson Toth endeavoured to follow his muse and create something altogether different. Yet a style comparable to Devendra Banhart cannot be left unmentioned. Co- arranger and vocalist Jessica Toth. the secret weapon, emerges as the perfect foil to JJ Toth's inimitable artistic voice. Together with Ranaldo (guitar, piano and vocals). Jessica wrote and fine-tuned the album's exquisite harmony vocals and piano lines. JJ Toth. with more than a little help from his friends. has crafted a consistent and creative batch of songs that earns repeat listenings. (Katherine Adam)
RETRO POP
THE THRILLS Teenager (Virgin) I.
It must be lovely being The Thrills. They seem to exist in an alternate universe to the rest of us. a ha/y. sun-dappled version of the past that never happened. as though in perpetual audition for one of those late 908 Levis adverts set in the 70s where all the kids dance in the street.
TlEflllllST AG; :E-E’E-‘EFETFEEWE-E‘JE
That weird. sunny stasis is in evidence on their appropriater named third LP Teenager. a collection of cheerin forgettable tunes about small-town crushes and runaway girlfriends that seiinds almost exactly the same as their last two albums.
Again. though. these are teenage years filtered through nostalgia: the equivalent of an embarrassing forty- something uncle pinching your scowling cheek and grunting “Best years of your life. eh?‘ Exuberant. innocent. sexless. and almost completely free of angst. Conor Deasy's familiar vocals might occasionally strain With regret on the title track. but it's never too long before sugary optimism reasserts itself. (Kirstin lnnesl
EUPHORIC INDIE MIRACLE FORTRESS
Five Roses (Rough Trade) 0...
Miracle Fortress is really just one man. the Sickenineg talented 23- year-old Graham Van Pelt. Actually. 'miracle fortress' !8 a good way of describing what debut album Five Roses sounds like — not so much a collection of songs as a matched set of meditations on a love affair. each of which builds into a huge. euphoric. Spector-ly Wall of Sound. It's an extraordinarily textured sound reminiscent of his fellow Montrealians Arcade Fire. integrating tiny chimes. the whirr of
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Sam Baker Pretty World (An Independent Release)
Baker's dense lyrics reflect life and near loss. and the artist is clearly determined to make sure every single moment counts. Vocals are country-nasal and a little limited. yet the whole thing gels together well. thanks to the inclusion of guest artists and Baker‘s credible songwriting.
BC Camplight Blink of a Nihilist (One Little Indian) The infectious vocals of Chistianzo are ably supported by the beguiling backing of Stephanie Vernacchio. Together they explore the darker things in life. creating music that has a touching. poignant beauty. Various The Littlest Album Three (Stereo Solutl'onsl The third in a series of seven- inch vinyl compilations of new music from Scotland and beyond gives each of its 12 contributors just one minute in which to make their mark. Featured artists include The Pendulums with Gnaughty Gnome of the Gnorth. A fascinating number. full of resonant new music and great value at just £3.
a helicopter rotor. massed clapping and an old man chuckling into the swirling whole rather than slapping on samples for the sake of it. There's something of the Beach Boys about the dreamy. distant vocals. too, although the airiness of even the simplest repeated love lyric is compressed out as each track reaches an intense climax. The album might be on its way out. but Five Roses is definitely something that should be experienced as a whole. (Kirstin Innesl
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