l. l l.-C'l RONICA VARIOUS
Sub Club: 20 Years Underground
(Soma) 0000
To continue the Sub Club’s 20th birthday celebrations, Subculture’s Harri and Domenic and Optimo’s Twitch and Wilkes (the Subbie’s longest-serving residents) have been invited to compile an album which reflects the music policy that has made the venue a counter cultural institution in Scotland. Rather than attempting to capture the pandemonium of a night in the Sub Club, the DJs have chosen to create an album which celebrates the
eclecticism and the liberated attitude that has given the club such longevity.
On the album’s first disc, Harri and Domenic embark on a voyage through the deepest house and most soulful techno, a euphoric chug of impeccably chosen tracks, including classics by Carl Craig and Derrick May. Twitch & Wilkes’ disc revels in the wilful weirdness for which Optimo has become legendary, beginning with the familiar pummel of Jeff Mills’ ‘The Bells’ before segueing into an hour of strung-out esoterica; obscure, oblique but
unremittingly funky.
Far from being a simple exercise in nostalgia, 20 Years Underground succeeds in poetically documenting the thrilling, beautiful music that has soundtracked (and sometimes changed) the lives of generations of Sub Clubbers, a captivating reminder of how seductive club music can be.
(Colin McKean)
.l/V/ OUTHOUSE Outhouse Bali-e: O...
lOOP cc-lecfzve ainrnn; O..t'to.;se take their name t"‘ori‘. the garden si‘ed-cLi'“ studio in
c"; '.“<2‘,' developed titer ire-:93. .ini)rov:sed ai1;;-r'oac"fo (:c"fel'iporary ;Zt//. llESlltll compositoi‘s as t'ran‘.-::*~.'./or.'<s for ‘ree (3Xl1.()"r't7.l()l‘ of the ll‘llESlCEli "léi'i(3."lél. The (lt.£‘:"'.l‘:'. is fro-'iteu by two saxoplio'iisfs. HUM": l—i'tckler (tenor and clarinet» and Mark “2‘1"?3ill) lenoi'i, WIIl‘i Johnny l'lrierley on bass and Dave Smith at the (i’illl‘if‘).
If ()rnetfe Coleman El"(l the New York [)owntovxii scene are olwous influences. they ll‘tlfilC 's equally indicatn/e of an
exploratory spirit that has developed on the London scene in the current decade. building on earlier UK iiiiprov work but Will) a palpable contemporary edge. although Outhouses approach feels less directly rock punk influenced than the likes of Acoustic Ladyland or Led Bib. Guests Jeanne Addad and Kaw Secka chip ll‘ on voice and lama respectively. and even at slow tempo the energy and Invention rarely falters.
(Kenny Mathiesou)
70 THE LIST 9'2 Mag. 5) Jun 7008
INDIE
DRIVE-BY ARGUMENT Drive-By Argument (Li/ard King) 0...
Who says you don't get anything out of further education these days? This guiiitet formed as part of a college course ziiirl rzitlit3r tliziii tliztt eternal sound of compromise. they came up with this: throbbing Altern-8 keyboard riffs carousing v/ith rattling gtiilars and huffing disco beats all overland With a pretty fantastic voice. Singer Stoke sounds
somewhere between an in-tune Robert Smith or a Celtic Adam Duritz, his veice layered with a kind of pleading that could be whiny but stays on the right side of heartbreaking.
They don't stray very far from the successful formula established on their startlingly good early single ‘Sex Lines and Expensive Comedy': but. a bit like if The Bravery had got it right. their relentless swagger is thoroughly addictive. (Mark Robertson)
WORLD. JAZZ AND BEYOND ORKESTRA DEL SOL
The Moveable Feast
(SolMusic Recordings) 0...
Fast. fun and furious Edinburgh-based ten- piece Orkestra Del Sol let loose a riot of rebellious global street music for this. their second full- length offering. With considerable talent. energy and imagination. the unruly and charismatic crew intuitively and instinctively ran up a kinetic brawl of rhythms. Using brass and percussion to create a fuse of klezmer and calypso. cocek. porro and polka. ODS cover a number of bases without getting bogged down in being loyal to one genre. Most importantly. though, the wayward spirit of their live act is expertly captured. (Katherine Adams)
POP
THE TING TINGS We Started Nothing (Coluiiibial 0..
Salford duo The Ting Tings have been a buzz band recently. and this debut partially fulfils that potential. Conforming to today's obligatory itunes- friendly frontloading of
the album with hits. they blow their wad early, the insanely catchy ‘Great DJ' and the compulsive. yelpy ‘That's Not My Name‘ being easily the best songs here.
But amongst the odd clunky filler elsewhere. there are pockets of pop-flecked personality that show promise for the future. Of these, “We Walk’ stands out. a moody piano-led sliver of light funk. dripping with the feisty attitude that makes The Ting Tings stand out from the indie pop crowd.
(Doug Johnstone)
COUNTRY POP SCARLETT
JOHANSSON
Anywhere I Lay My Head (ATCO) 00
To consider the pedigree of actors turned musicians is to consider a whole bunch of people walking the line between self-indulgence and inpsiralion: David SOul. Richard Harris. Billy Bob Thornton. Jennifer Love Hewitt. Robert Downey Jr. Scott Baio. Minnie Driver. Alyssa Milano. Russell Crowe. Steven Segal. Val Kilmer, Burt Reynolds. Kevin Bacon. Jada Pinkett-Smith,
Bruce Willis. Jared Leto. Cybill Shepherd. Corey Feldman. Julliette Lewis. Traci Lords. Eddie Murphy. Brigette Neilsen. Mr T. Gina Gershon. Dominic Chianese. Clint Eastwood. Lindsay Lohan. Don Johnson. Mila Jovovich, Telly Savalas. Natalie lmbruglia. Linda Carter. Lukas Haas. Zooey Deschanel, Tony Danza. Tia Carrere. William Shatner. Kylie Minogue. Olivia Newton-John, Jeff Bridges. Crispin Glover . . . DeSpite the songs of Tom Waits. the patronage David Bowie and the production of David Sitek, this record feels like an affected indulgence. Would you really listen to more than two tracks if it didn‘t have her name on the front? (Mark Robertson)
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