ROCK THE PHANTOM BAND
Checkmate Savage (Chemikal Underground) 0000.
For years the Chemikal triumvirate of The Delgados, Arab Strap and Mogwai dominated Scottish indie, but more recently the label has struggled to find a seminal band to soundtrack the future. On this evidence, they’ve found them. The Phantom Band are a very weird and very wonderful Glasgow-based six-piece and this debut is a work of skewed genius, a leftfield car-crash of indie, folk, pop, blues, post-rock and some stuff that’s frankly uncategorisable, all shot through with a punk ethic but an unashamedly melodic pop aesthetic.
The songs here often sound more dug out of the earth than created in a rehearsal room, so organically visceral is the vibe in places. The genre rulebook has been burned as well, so we get the scary krautrock disco of ‘Left Hand Wave’ sitting next to the jaw-dropping gospel-flecked folk of ‘lsland’ and the sludgy Beefheart rattle of ‘Burial Sounds’ happily preceding the wide open pop spaces of ‘Folk Song Oblivion’.
This is a debut of serious intent with art.rock sensibilities, but that’s not to say it isn’t also a hell of a lot of fun, and the ghosts of the Beta Band and Super Furries appear at times. The Phantom Band like to get into a groove and work it to a climax, just witness the humungous rolling riff of ‘Halfhound’ or the tense, frenetic eight-minute instrumental ‘Crocodile’, the soundtrack to the best Scottish indie film never made.
Experimental and intelligent but also guttural, smile-inducing and ass- shaking, this is a pretty remarkable calling card. (Doug Johnstone)
SlNGER-SONGWRITER NORMAN LAMONT Roadblock
(Habibi Records) 0...
Ayrshire-born, Edinburgh-based maverick, Norman (pot- pourri poet. not prickly politician!) could be Scotland's answer to Leonard Cohen. albeit with a wicked sense of irony.
Third album. the reflective Roadblock. sees the former Hungry Ghosts singer come of age, throwing sombre songwriting (example ‘Dorothy's Book') into the baby's blues-tinted bathwater alongside the cod-reggae of “I'll Be Back'Whether Cohen- esque. comic-esque or credit-crunch-esque ($32 a time to see him!) Lamont trades bundles of doom and despair from a heartfelt perspective and is well worth a punt.
(Martin C Strong)
JAZZ
ISSIE BARRETT Astral Pleasures (Fuzzy Moon Records)
lssie Barrett's debut recording directing a 20- piece orchestra is brimming over with arresting music. A composer and conductor pushing at the boundaries of conventional big band music. Barrett has a considerable reputation in jazz education circles. but her work as a composer deserves to be much better known. Barrett's imaginative and often striking ensemble arrangements are superbly played by the band. The six compositions are all given extended treatments (‘Dublin Soundscape' stretches over 20-minutes. but readily maintains interest). and the soloists — including trumpeter Anders Bergcrantz and
saxophonist Mark Lockheart — make pungent contributions. The great Mike Gibbs produced the session. adding further kudos to an already highly recommendable project. (Kenny Mathieson)
AGlT POP
FRANK TURNER The First Three Years (Xtra Mile) 0..
It's a bit cheeky to release a best of when you've only been around for three years. But it's easy to forgive Frank Turner; British punk rock's loss was UK alt folk's gain. The songs sound as good as they always did. and the rock version of ‘Jet Lag' sounds even better. That said. he should stay away from covers: his distinctive style and voice doesn‘t always translate to doing other artists“ material justice — even Abba did 'Dancing Queen‘ better than him.
He ought to stick to what he's best at: singing about being raised in middle England and pretending to be a rock climber.
(Rebecca Moore)
PSYCHEDELIC POP DAMON & NAOMI
More Sad Hits (20/20/20) 000
‘32.... e; 7].-...
Back in the humble days of 1992, the people still mourned the demise of Galaxie 500. Determined to steer their lives away from music. Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang were persuaded to re-enter the studio by producer Mark Kramer and this woozily hallucinogenic set of songs was the result.
In 2005. Harp Magazine named this one of the Most Overlooked Psychedelic Albums ever (alongside collections by Hawkwind, Butthole Surfers and Chocolate Watch Band) and in an attempt to gain a little more attention, here comes the re-issue. Floaty is the album’s default setting. but actually contains its finest moments within the rowdier tracks such as ‘This Car Climbed Mt Washington' and ‘Once More'.
(Brian Donaldson)
COUNTRY
THE JOHN HENRYS
Sweet as the Grain (9lbs/T rue North) 0..
TUIfllLNV/filtt’s
In popular folklore. John Henry spent his days erecting railroads and digging tunnels. taking on a steam powered drill to discover whether a man could beat a machine. Henry did his side proud but died from exhaustion. Whether the Canadian country fivesome who
have taken his name put quite the same back- breaking effort into the construction of Sweet as the Grain is hugely doubtful.
But in taking it easy. the Ontario outfit have stayed true to their roots. Even when things threaten to get abrasively tunesome with ‘Lost in the Canyon' and ‘Ugly Town’, they bring it all back home with the straw-suckin' ‘Ain't Gonna Drink No More' and the defiant hootenanny of 'No More Rock ‘n‘ Roll'. More wheat than chaff.
(Brian Donaldson)
PUNK/ROCK THE BRONX The Bronx
(Wichita) 0000
For years punk was in the thrall of the pop punk of Blink 182 and Green Day. Now. finally. with bands like Gallows. Fucked Up and The Bronx it's retaking the world of hardcore and crawling is way from the underground once again. Confusingly this is the third eponymous album from The Bronx (following 2003 and 2006's self-titled releases) and they're as rousing as ever: hardcore but instantly accessible. Frontman Matt Caughthran has a Perry Farrell edge to his voice, particularly on “Pleasure Seeker‘. where the band sound like a ragged Jane's Addiction at their furious best. Bouncing buzzbomb guitars and righteous fury combine for a gripping thrill ride. (Henry Northmore)
NOISE
KYLIE MINOISE Kylie Minoise Fucking Loves You
(Kovorox Sound)
«0
Sound artist Lea Cummings is a key figure within Scotland's healthy noise scene
with a notorious live
performances pedigree. These two releases don't differ greatly from
each other in content — both twins are pretty evil here — and feature various sound SOUFCBS distorted. overdriven. clipped. thrashed and mangled beyond recognition to create textures that range from the grating discordant frequency study of opener ‘Dumb Elitist Prick Chokes On Self-Righteous Bullshit‘ (Yes. the rest of the titles are this good) to the almost ambient noise pattern of 'Blood Splatter Analysts Dream‘.
If you've been to lnstal. shop in Volcanic Tongue. have heard and liked anything by Merzbow and are interested in exploring the genre. these are essential purchases. (Hamish Brown)
JAZZ JULIAN SIEGAL TRIO
Live at the Vortex (Basho Records) 0...
Named Best Instrumentalist at the BBC UK Jazz Awards in 2007. saxophonist Julian Siegel is joined by New York-based musicians Greg Cohen (bass) and Joey Baron (drums) on this tough but exciting two-CD set. recorded at London's Vortex in early 2007. Eight of Siegel's inventive and unorthodox tunes (and cover versions of ‘Alfie' and 'One Mint Julep') are given extended and absorbing treatments. There is nowhere to hide in the trio setting. but the players are used to playing Without the harmonic support. not least in John Zorn's great Masada quartet. and all three respond exhilaratingly in a freewheeling musical interplay. (Kenny Mathieson)
8—22 Jan 200‘.) THE LIST 61