Record Reviews Music
www.list.c_o.uk/music
INDIE WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS
These Four Walls (FatCat) 000
Brighton’s FatCat have cultivated a little stable of Scottish bands who share the same traits; songs with a pop structure that’s well disguised under a morass of loud guitars, unashamed earnestness in their delivery and proudly, thickly accented vocals. Joining The Twilight Sad
JAZZ
FLY
Sky & Country
(ECM Records) ”.0
Fly are three very well known contemporary jazz musicians. saxophonist Mark Turner. bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. That pedigree suggests something special and they pretty much serve up just that - an intelligent, intricate set of highly interactive jazz (Ballard describes them as ‘an intimate band with teeth', which gets pretty close to what is going on shere).
While that kind of rarefied jazz discourse suggested by the rhythm duo's connections with Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau is certainly the core of their music, it is
inflected with more surprising deviations into hip-hop and funk grooves. with a bit of ethnic influence thrown
in. It's all very clever and ;
highly musical, but it's not just clever - the players are clearly intently engaged with each other and the music. One of the classiest ECM releases in a while.
(Kenny Mathieson)
METAL
CLUTCH
Strange Cousins From The West (Weathermaker)
C”
Clutch are one of those bands who constantly find themselves outside
the circle of mainstream
music. and
unfortunately, it seems they'll never transcend the fringes. This is their
and Frightened Rabbit on that roster are Glasgow’s We Were Promised Jetpacks. The quartet has come up with a particularly strong debut
—' album. Singer Adam Thompson strikes a note of sullen sen‘ousness in his vocal, while the songs are powerfully
propelled by frantic guitars and a pounding rhythm section.
ninth studio effort and. rather unspectacularly, keeps true to their occasionally spectacular bluesy rock sound. but offers little else.
It enjoys all the typical Clutch hallmarks; the inimitable preacher- esque vocals, the funk groove and the salubrious musicianship. Look out for the sumptuous ‘Witchdoctor' or the neck-snapping ‘Struck Down' for some prime cuts of hard blues rock, but if you're seeking something that bit different, this solid LP might leave you feeling a little empty.
(Chris Cope)
DUB/HIP HOP/ DRUM&BASS/ SOUL
ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS We Are To Answer (ESL) ”O This is an album that is very much a sum of its parts as Cologne duo Dogu and Kabanjak lay down some expansive instrumental head
nodders and invite a host of collaborators to come throw in some
? general good vibery.
Whether its hip hop
3 legends The Pharcyde bringing it for ‘Classic'.
dextrous sticksman Ulf
‘ Stricker doing the live
drum & bass thing on ‘Dark Green Rod' or demonic eco soul wriggles with Phat Old Mamas on ‘A Hole to
Swallow Us'. the mix is varied. the quality high
3 and the energy positive
A broadminded, multi-
textured adventure. (Mark Robertson)
3 ELECTRO POP
EBONY BONES
Bone of My Bones
(Sunday Best) coo
Whilst the DIY styling of afro-punk upstart Ebony Bones rightly
At their best - on songs like ‘Quiet Little Voices’, ‘Roll Up Your Sleeves’, ‘Short Bursts’ - they suggest Pixies or early Simple Minds. (David Pollock)
aSpires to the anti-glam perfection practised and polished by the likes of Santigold and M.I.A. the resulting sounds and gaud flirt dangerously with the resemblance of a small town carnival float. Proffering up a good dose of the now familiar London text-speak natter, tracks such as ‘lm Yr Future X Wife' and ‘Don't Fart on My Hart' warmly adhere to a certain English pop eccentricity. Although her promisingly bolshie and eclectic beginnings fade to little more than some easily digested electro beats. there remains something distinctly Iikeable about this perpetually pissed off dame.
(Rosalie Doubal)
_LSO RELEASED '1
Flipper Generic/Sex Bomb BabyI/Gone Fish/n '/Public Flipper Limited (Domino) Welcome reissue of the 808 San Fran art punk nutjob's back catalogue with the likes of Nirvana's Kris Novoselic fawning in the liner notes. Various Black Rio 2 Original Samba Soul 7971- 1979 (Strut) A joyously self- expianatory set of jams where two worlds collide, sending soaring choruses and nimble percussion out everywhere.
Oskar LP:2 (Incarnation Records) A vivid. varied collection of quite beautiful melancholia throwing in freak folk. surreal cabaret and post rock tones.
6 Day Rlot 6 Day Riot Have a Plan (Tantrum Records) Fuzzy. expressive. eccentric arrangements for Glasgow singer- songwriter Tamara Schlesinger's earthy pop songs.
Ape School Ape School (Counter) Tremendous bad- name-great-songs moments with this debut filled with trippy moments MGMT or Flaming Lips fans should love. Jakos The Jakes Project (D Sty/e Recordings) Jakes shows his versatility bringing together his four EPs of heavy drum & bass and dubstep workouts as the UK underground continues to cross pollinate.
Jack Pefiate Everything is New (XL Recordings) Moving away from his post- Libertines jangle origins. Penate has thrown in everything from tropicalia to Philly soul, with impressive results. Proem 77// There ’s No Breath (Nonresponse) ‘File under: sleepcore. dark ambient' says the sleeve. OK. will do. The sound of the wind rushing in under your eyelids. Yum.
25 Jun—9 Jul 2009 THE LIST 65