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ROCK
WILCO
Wilco (The Album) (NoneSuCh) 000
Reputation can be a curse. With 2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born two years later, Wilco re-wrote the book on what rock bands could do, blending brilliant musical experimentation with note-perfect rootsy folk- rock and searingly troubled lyrics from creative focus Jeff Tweedy.
Those albums produced unrealistic expectation levels which could never be met, but the band gave it a good stab with 2007’s Sky Blue Sky, a record which concentrated on melody over madness, but which still packed a punch.
In comparison, Wilco (The Album) seems light on inspiration. It opens well with the endearing ‘Wilco (The Song)’, a love letter to fans that chugs incessantly into your brain, but much of
Traore's. the sublime SOundS here involve natural voices. murmuring gurtars and fabulous brass riffs. The accompanying illustrated booklet tells the songs' stories and much more. (Jan Fairleyl
as many badrnouths as it has plaudits in the past. and for album number eight. he seems perfectly content to continue letting his mouth runoff. His supreme ability to over-~ egg the lyrical pudding resides somewhere
H'P HOP between lilalll’l and
BUSDRIVER ’ ‘ ‘
Jhelli Beam magic. and While it might not find him a
(Anti-) 0.00 , place beyond the
innovative corner of hip
hop's underground.
that's just fine. as he
probably doesn't really
a want that anyway. If he did. he'd av0id throwrng down inspired collaborations With Deerhoof's John Dietrich and sparring with infamous battle rap veteran Nocando. he'd
Regan 'Busdriver' Farquhar‘s natural verbosity has won him
Record Reviews Music
what follows seems like a faded facsimile of the band’s previous dizzy heights.
There are still occasional flashes of brilliance. The nerve-shredding tension of ‘Bull Black Nova’ builds ominously, layering staccato guitars to the point of meltdown, while ‘You Never Know’ romps along in a Tom Petty groove, Tweedy and cohorts dripping harmonies everywhere they
can.
But elsewhere, things drag. The whole thing is listenable and has enough sparkle to grace lesser bands’ outings, but at least half the songs here simply don’t live up to Wilco’s heritage. Worse, Tweedy’s drive towards plainer lyrics sees the likes of ‘One Wing’ and ‘You And I’ flirt with banality rather than the heartfelt honesty
he’s aiming for.
You couldn’t expect Wilco to keep replicating the bravery and brilliance of their peak, but you would hope for something with more bite than
this. (Doug Johnstone)
stop creating tracks filled With his vrvrd. eccentric world Views. and he'd avord putting them all out on a label populated by the likes of Tom Waits. Os Mutantes and Buju Bariton. Both smart and smart-ass. cla:ms his press. Right both times.
(Mark Robertson)
ME l'AL
DREAM THEATER
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
(Roadrunner) O...
The phrase 'prog—nmtal' might not be the most alluring. but bands like Mastodon, Muse and The Mars Volta are helping to rehabilitate this most over-indulgent
of art forms. Dream Theater have been in the game for longer than most. creating dense. complex rock since 1985 and sharing more in common With giants of the genre like Rush. Pink Floyd and King Crimson.
In terms of musrcal prowess they are faultless With intricate gLiitars, multifaceted rhythms and drifts into instrumental noodling. They may be old
fashioned but if you can tune into the minutiae of these epic tracks (running up to 20 mins. as With closer 'The Count of Tuscany) the rewards are great. (Henry Northmore)
HIP HOP AND BEYOND VARIOUS Beatdown mixed by Scratch Perverts (Fabric) .000
Those most nimble of fingers ever to molest a turntable in the name of high hip hop art. the collective better known as the Scratch Perverts (who enjoy in their number Edinburgh's own Plus One) spread their Wings here for our muSical delight.
Using their trademark hip hop as a launching pad they. ever 70 well- paced minutes. ride roughshod over genre mixtapes. throwing in dubstep. dancehall. quirky electro and general meaty. beaty goodness. A mix like this shows just how music 80unds better when all shades and tones are thrown together and also that when the Perverts apply their jittery digits to something it ends up full of surprises.
(Mark Robertson)
JAZZ
ALYN COSKER Lyn’s Une
(Linn Records) 0000
The Ayrshire drum maestro's current high- power trio With guitarist David Dunsmuir and bass gurtarist Ross Hamilton provides the foundation for his debut album. The energised lllUSlC foregrounds the funk and groove elements of Cosker's playing to great effect. both in trio formation and augmented by a selection of eminent jazz players. including saxophonists Tommy Smith and Paul Towndrow. trumpeter Ryan Quigley and pianist Jason Rebello. The full ensemble is heard in glorious flight on ‘Twitter and Bisted'.
Colin Macintyre Island (Future Gods Recordings) The second solo effort from the Mull Historical Society frontman showcases his storytelling abilities in considerable ‘stripped back' style. Mouthwash True Stories (Rebel Alliance Recordings) Ska. indie and preachy lyrics are smashed together in Mouthwash's attempt to Channel 'gritty realism' into an album overloaded with different social messages.
Reverend and the Makers A French Kiss in the Chaos (Wall of Sound) The follow up to 2007's The State of Things focuses on topics such as global warming and consumerism with just the right amount of spite and concern.
Monty Python’s Flying Circus The Infamous Television Series 7969—7974 (De Wolfe Music Library) This reissue. containing music from the original TV series. was hailed by former Python Terry Jones as‘. . . a totally brilliant and inspired con.’ He's right.
Engineers Three Fact Fader (Kscope) Four years after their self-titled debut. Engineers have returned with this Ken Thomas produced offering that sounds like The Byrds at their peak. Various Supperc/ub Naivety (United Recordings) The fifth instalment in the nine sins series proclaims. 'get hurt, stay pure'. ‘Don't buy. stay sane' is more like it. Andrew Morgan Please Kid. Remember (Broken Horse Records) Morgan's falsetto voice soars effortlessly above the problems that surr0unded the recording of this beautifully crafted second album.
9—23 Jul 2009 THE LIST 6"