Music Record Reviews
ROCK
SONIC YOUTH The Eternal (Matador) .0000
“fig—— whole‘youth' thing 7
may raise a smile, but Hoboken's finest have settled into a fairty consistent groove. much like their spiritual godfather Neil Young, determined to grow old disgracefully. The Eternal has the band beefed up to a fivesome (with Mark 'Pavement' lbold on bass) and
capitalising on the vital energy of their recent revisiting of 1988‘s Daydream Nation. The songs rule over the dissonance: ‘Antenna' and “What We Know’ are both breathtaking
LABELS OF LOVE
Ieeed In Dundee
talking for Flask.
of digital releases.’
FLASK RECORDS
Rosier Samoyed. Loops Haunt, sound artist Samuel Playford Greenwell, Mast (a collaboration between Samoyed and Greenwell), exponent of “quite Scottish' techno DJ Shortbread, Bristolian MC Mr Mus.
Ioeeee Although they're a broad-based creative collective who all chip in with running duties. Samoyed (Andrew Cook) does the
Sounde IIIte Eclectic. Samoyed and Loops Haunt (Scott Gordon) make dissonant laptop eiectnonica which, in Cook's case at least, is informed by the likes of Fennesz and Oval. Howendwhydld Fleckcomeebout? ‘Well it’s still very much a fledgling thing, and it's just intended as a means of getting our own music out there. But the ethos is . . . we're all designers and artists in some capacity (the core of Flask met while studying at Duncan of Jordanstone). and we really like the physicality of music being released as part of a beautiful object, which we think has been lost in the era
Mulch tomb do you release on? ‘On CD. and all our packaging is screen-printed by hand. We might go further in future. though. The plan is that the upcoming Loops Haunt album will be released electronically. but you'll have to buy a keyring or a piece of jewellery which contains the download key. No one's interested in just a CD these days, and the cost of pressing vinyl is prohibitively expensive.’
W and deeIgnen at once? And play" leIIere SocIeI? Are there W comperIeone to be made? (Laughs) 'Probably the only comparison is that weeachbringoutaboutone recordayear. although I know that's because we at Flask are spectaculariy lazy! No. it's probably doing LuckyMe a disservice to compare us to them. but we do have that loosely-knit Art School thing going on as well.’ (David Pollock)
I Samoyed and Loops Haunt play Ballers Socblatthelvx Glasgow, Sat30May.
72m LIST 28 May—11 Jun 2009
grinds while “Anti- orgasm' IS a reliably vociferous Kim Gordon politi-crunch a la ‘100%'. and the Winsome ‘Walkin Blue' shows a tender srde that budds to a typical quiet storm.
'We‘re in for the long ride. we can let the rest slip aside,’ Lee Ronaldo croons. Long may it conhnue.
(Mark Robertson)
ELECTRO POP LITTLE BOOTS Hands
(679) ee
Much touted at the turn of the year, Little Boots has rather had her electro-pop fembot pixie thunder stolen by Lady Gaga, and this debut album doesn't do anything to turn that around.
Suitably retro of feel, with shadows of Yazoo. New Order and the Human League in the heavily synthesised ether. it starts well with the double whammy of 'New in Town' and ‘Earthquake'. but runs out of ideas fast. The likes of ‘Mathematics‘ and 'Ghosts' are singularly lacking in requisite catchiness. while even the sonorous appearance of Phil Oakey can't save 'Symmetry' from ponderous tedium. (Doug Johnstone)
INDIE
WAWES Wavwes
(Fat Possum) eee
Nothing beats a bit of noisy weird-pop. and the world's premier purveyor of it currently is 22 year—old San Diegan Nathan Williams aka Wawes. This second effort from the enigmatic chap takes the listener on a brilliantly unsettling
journey through discordant. squealing, atonal, electronic spurts. shrieks. clattering rhythms and piles and piles of heavy distortion. If all of this SOunds a bit much for newcomers. then start With the rhythmic folk of 'Jet Plane (Staying On)‘ or catchy scratchy surf punk offerings of ‘No Hope Kids' and ‘So Bored' and work around them. You see. Wavwes, in all of its oddball glory, is definitely worth the effort. (Camilla Pia)
AFROBEAT
TONY ALLEN Secret Agent
(World Circuit) ”.0
Nick Gold — producer of
Buena Vista Social Club,
Toumani Diabate and other special artists — works his alchemy for British-based Tony
Allen, one time drummer with Fela Anikulapo Kuti
(and latterly Damon Albarn) for a wild Nigerian Afrobeat set. Opening track ‘The Secret Agent‘, with its scintillating vocals, strong female chorus and riffing horns underpinned by funky guitar rhythms sets the scene for a thrilling disc sung in Yoruba, broken English and Orobo. Significantly, Allen continues Fela's crucial politics. 'Pariwo' invites everyone to shout, protest and make noise whilst ‘Elewon Po' tackles the issue of there being too many prisoners. Every song has a message, from ‘Celebrate' to ‘ljo' (dance). two sentiments which apply to everything here. (Jan Fairley)
FOLK CHRISTY MOORE
Listen (Columbia) eeee
Pink Floyd's ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond' may be among the most unlikely songs Christy Moore has ever covered, but the success of his re-
working of the band's tribute to the late Syd Barrett is very precisely indicative of his ability to take over a song Virtually any song and inhabit it from the inside. It is a gift he exhibits over and over on this fine set, in which the more reflective and controlled approach of the mature Moore is beautifully captured. Other fine — if less familiar ~ covers here include Ian Prowse's ‘Does This Train Stop on Merseyside’?'. Wally Page's ‘Duffy's Cut' and Hank Wedell's ‘Listen'. Moore's own ‘ihe Ballad of Ruby Walsh' is another of his word- spinning comic inventions, while 'Barrowland' is his salute to the Glasgow venue. The final track is his tribute to Rory Gallagher, ‘Rory is Gone', recorded live in that very hall. (Kenny Mathieson)
ROCK
BROKEN RECORDS
Until the Earth Begins to Part
(4AD) O.”
Positively brimming wrth ambition, confidence and diverse songsrnithery, this debut album from the Edinburgh seven-prrxx: folk rock outfit sees them leavrng behind early comparisons to Arcade Fire and growrng into their own skins beautifully. Opener 'Nearly Horne' is an epic soundtrack to Scotland's dreich open vistas. while elsewhere they veer from psycho- polka on ‘A Good Reason' to heartbreaking melancholy on poignant swansong “Slow Parade'. The music throughout heaves and groans, sighs and
hollers With intense. organic passion and they share the same sense of melodit‘ grandiositv Without pomposih that the sadly defuni‘t Delgados had in their prime A properly tilllfllllti debut
(Doug .lohnstonel
JAK/
ARCHIE SHEPP Phat Jam in Milano (Archiebafl) COO
Saxophonist Archie Shepp has a long history of issuing rather uneven albums, and this latest live set falls into that category. His previous disc featured contributions from Chuck D. and this time around he has rapper and human beat box Napoleon Maddox fronting the band. While you can't fault the sentirrient. some of his anti Bush stateof America raps are more than a little hackneyed, and Shepp's own vocal contributions don't raise the ante much.
The saxophonist does dig in on his iristrurrient though, and wrth alto saxophonist Oliver 1 ake and the mighty Hamid Drake on drums also onboard. there are plenty of striking morrients when the vocals are not centre stage. The disc was recorded live Ill Milan in late 2007 With a band that also features bassist Joe Fonda and young saxophonist Cochemea Gastelurri. (Kenny Mathiesori)
WORLD
BAABA MAAL Television
(Palm Pictures) ”00
Why Baaba Maal is not on primetime radio is frustrating. TeleVISIon. his first album for eight years, is so seductively sensual at times it's almost chill out in style. It establishes him as a