Music Record Reviews
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
Get ready, kids. it's New Morrissey Single of the Fortnight time! And this one‘s a stormer, all taut and driving. and laced with that familiar austerity which, you suspect. hides a well of uncertainty somewhere just below the surface. And it's got these great synths grinding away over it. too. Hold up. that can’t be right. It appears we've been listening to ‘The Balance Company' (Biphonic) 0000 by Edinburgh duo Swimmer One after all, whose impression of M02 w0uld be laudable. were it not for the electronics turning up and sending things a bit Mark Hollis. It's very good. though, and the B-side - ‘The Dark Ages' - is
oddly even better.
Oh. there is a New Morrissey Single of the Fortnight. though. It‘s called ‘All You Need Is Me' (Decca) 0000 . and it's exactly as anticipated up there in the first paragraph. Minus the synths. of course. and with the added thrill of hidden vendettas being exorcised.
Yet more deceptively soulful pop can be found in even stranger places — namely the B-side of Thao’s sweet ‘Swimming Pools’ (Kill Rock Stars) 0000 which is a stunning cover of Smokey Robinson’s ‘You've Really Got a Hold On Me'.
A clutch of fellow newcomers are hanging around impressing us in May. Black Mountain. while not strictly newcomers, are still unknown enough that the gristly shoegaze-sludge of ‘Stormy High‘ deserves some drawn attention. Black Lips' ‘Bad Kids' (Vice) .0.
is also a notable piece of quirky indie-pop. while the garisth racketeering and often-recommended White Denim’s ‘Let's Talk About It (Full Time
is a noisy number which probably still doesn't do justice to the legendarin
(Jagjaguwar) .0.
Hobby) COO
frantic live show.
Let's stay close to home for the Joint Single of the Fortnight award, though. and first draw attention to Glaswegians Isosceles and the frantic. Franz Ferdinand-approved post-punk of ‘Kitsch Bitch' (Art Goes Pop) 0000 . Crossing the M8 and the gender divide. we'd also like to rave about Edinburgh's girl-group The Gussets with ‘Goretex Erotique‘ (Golden Eagle Recordings) 0000 . which is like The Slits with an outdoors- wear fetish. Both are truly original singles by fine young bands, although we reckon the girls could take the boys in a fight if they wanted.
The Gussots
(Warner Bros) 0000
(David Pollock) POP "- r: (f‘ MADONNA 204‘ ' r 4, “at. Hard Candy .H I ' .fiq
While acts much younger than her construct entire careers around trading on former glories. Madonna clearly doesn't give two figs for nostalgia. Eleven albums on and pops most famous magpie and queen of reinvention is as
76 THE LIST 822 May 2008
hf
sonically ambitious as ever. and — even more impressively — she can still get excellent results. Hard Candy may include further examples
of her oft-derided lyrical clangers and detached vocals. but despite these predictable shortfalls it features some of the finest tracks the singer has ever penned. The shifting of the musical paradigm back to a more US- friendly. urban pop feel may be a self-conscious effort to regain a foothold in American markets. but who cares when it sounds this good? Stateside crowds will adore the Pharrell Williams. Kanye West. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland collaborations. which sit neatly alongside some shimmering electronica- tinged ballads and pulsing disco stompers for the rest of us to sink Our teeth into.
But it's when she explores her by-now- trademark theme of woman-scorned- ttlfllCd-Sthltg on songs like 'She's Not Me'. ‘lncredible'. ‘Voices' and "Devil WOLildn't Recognise You' that Madonna really triumphs. The pop world can be so pedestrian at times. so it's inspiring to see a superstar of such iconic status still intent on ruffling a few feathers. (Camilla Pia)
TECHNO SOUL
JAY HAZE
Love & Beyond (TurningSpork Records)
Jay Haze aka Fuckpony is one of few producers providing something unique in the minimal scene besides Ricardo Villalobos. Love focuses on the sci-fl house sound ‘of the now'. The standouts on the double vinyl version (the CD version is completely different tracks) include ‘Ass to Mouth'. a solid piece of spooky beat box house. co-produced by Villalobos. and ‘Can't Forget' feat. Dzexter. a Sparse piece of minimal club music. with Liber dark catchy vocals.
This is edgy stuff. miXing Perlon-style minimalism with the
vocal jack track sound of Derrick Carter. ls it grade A? No. but it's a good example of what's in right now. with a couple of killer cuts that outclass most opposMon.
(Steve Glencross)
BAGGY
PARKA
Attack of the Hundred Yard Hardman (Jeepster) 00
C >2
0 3a
m DUI“:
HARDMAN
One day. that baggy comeback is going to arrive. and will a band like Parka be leading the charge? Probably not. For all their verve and enthusiasm. the Glaswegian group (now based in London) sound just like the times they emulate with no Klaxons-like edges of re-invention. These songs are the meat and potatoes of mainstream rock'n'roll. sporting occasionally awful titles like ‘You're No Geezer (But You Try)‘ and ‘Bosses and Bastards'. Bet you they sound great live. though. Singer Matt Thomson merges Liam Gallagher's sneer with Noel Gallagher's everyman. often nonsensical lyricism. They're magpies too. sneaking little bits of Northside. Flowered Up. Northern Uproar and The Fratellis into a set which still manages to make Hard- Fi sound like sonic pioneers. (David Pollock)
FOLK
SESSION A9 Bottlenecks and Arm-Breakers
(RAJ Records) 0000.
Session A9 are not the only four-fiddle ‘Supergroup' on the Scottish folk scene, but like both Blazin’ Fiddles and Fiddlers' Bid. they have evolved their own distinctive approach to the format. That sense of individuality is down to the differing ways in which the bands have approached arranging their material, whether with traditional tunes or contemporary variations on classic themes. as
www.list.co.uk/music
well as to the distinctive personal and regional styles of the players involved.
The fiddlers — Charlie McKerron, Adam Sutherland. Gordon Gunn and Kevin Henderson — are supported by Brian McAlpine's keyboards and Tim Edey's guitar. with lain Copeland‘s percussion adding further propulsion to their already rampant instrumental sets. The tunes are strong and memorable. the arrangements imaginative. and the playing is on the very high level of energy and sophistication we have come to expect from this excellent line-up. (Kenny Mathieson)
ROCK/POP THE HEAVY
CIRCLES The Heavy Circles
(Dynamite Child) .00
Twenty years after the funky quirks of ‘What I Am'. Edie Brickell's voice retains its girlish appeal: dreamy soaring, slacker tantrums and all. This time round. though, it's her husband Paul Simon's son Harper who is setting the tone. and The Heavy Circles nudges the singer towards the sound of the late 60s and early 708. it's an accomplished. appealing production. shaped by Simon junior's laid-back emulation of guitarists like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. And if it knocks some of the edge from what had once seemed to be a genuinely original personality. the result is exuberant enough to transcend its derivative ethos. (Ninian Dunnett)
Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago (4A0) This was recorded in a remote cabin in the wilds of Wisconsin and it sounds like it. A gloriously minimal and spectral solo debut from Justin Vernon. Jack Marchment Corydon and Manjrekar (Benbecu/a) Inspired by the founding fathers (and mothers) of electronica. this oddball produces some cracking textures in his electro- acoustic experiments. Martina Topley- Bird The Blue God (lndependiente) One- time collaborator of Tricky's shows off her styles in her first album for five years. Martha Wainwright / Know You 're Married But I've Got Feelings Too (Drowned in Sound) The infinitely more digestible Wainwright sibling unfurls an album of affecting folk/pop turns.
The Pigeon Detectives This is an Emergency (Dance to the Radio) No longer the band with the worst name in Britain thanks to the arrival of Royworld. the ‘Tec‘s second offering is a more polished, if anodyne indie jangle.
Wiley Grime Wave (Asylum) This album. led by club-shaking single ‘Wearing My Rolex' proves this London MC's never going to compromise. Emmanuel Jal War Child (Sonic 360) The Sudanese rap star and former child soldier throws down more politically- charged. globally aware hip hop fury. Radioactive Man Growl (Control Tower) More tremendous tectonic techno rumbles from former Lone Swordsman Keith Tenniswood. Liquid Liquid Slip in and Out of the Phenomenon (Domino) This NYC kraut-funk crew have their entire recorded output collected on one eclectic disc.