Music Recod Reviews
mvaistcouk/music
Loco meets Pink Floyd. Further listens in headphones necessary to achieve one's own bi- polar mindset.
(Martin C Strong)
Mediterranean-Spanish 3 songs for the Zist : ' century.
INDIE
THE LEA SHORES The Lea Shores (SE15) COO
Eye'. ‘Between Two Lungs' and ‘Kiss with a ‘
Accompanied by
; Solatge's multi- instrumentalists (pipes. i
I hurdy gurdy. accordion. .
i bazouki. drums and '
l much more). each song
Fist'.
The vacillating ballad ‘l'm Not Calling You a Liar'. meanwhile. recalls no less a legend than Elkie Brooks. Which is
ELECTROPOP LA ROUX La Roux (Polydor) m
Good pop music is instant, but great pop music lasts forever. Elly ‘La Roux’ Jackson, with hair like a winsome gingerbread Mr Whippy, a voice like spun sugar and on the receiving end of more hyperbole than Cristiano Ronaldo, Kanye West and Susan Boyle rolled into one, this debut is here to save pop music from the third Arctic Monkeys album or something
dangerous like that.
In truth, the conceit is slight, but incredibly effective; moments in singles like ‘In for the Kill’ and ‘Bulletproof’ and soon-to-be-single-I’m-sure ‘Fascination’ are airless, tinder dry self-conscious pop that always feels like its holding something back.
The band’s (well duo’s) musical heart has been cleaved straight from the chest of \fince Clarke — hear early Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure in here — the problem is the heart just isn’t beating any more. The music shares stiffness with Clarke’s supposedly funkiest compositions but lacks his musical dexterity, sense of melody and joy. The whole production is suspiciously devoid of bass, giving La Roux the aural depth of a wind-up
tin robot.
But (and it’s a big but) despite all its foibles and frustrations — and there are many — La Roux is still great fun to listen to. It might not stand up to any chin-stroking, muso boy analyses but it makes you feel good. Just like
great pop music should. Damn. (Mark Robertson)
and the guests also make characteristically inventive contributions in various combinations on other tracks. Cosker‘s power and flexibility is always evident. and he steps forward as a composer as well — with the exception of singer Maureen McMullan's slightly out-of-context soul ballad, ‘When
7w- ..w Lynn“ 0-:
68 THE LIST 9—23 Jul 2009
Autumn Comes'. and their collusion on the introduction to ‘Smiling Down'. the music is all his own. The odd title is the result of a printing error — intended to be ‘Alyn's Tune' — that he rather liked.
(Kenny Mathieson)
ELECTRO-BOHO-JAZZ IMPLOSION QUINTE‘I‘
The Future Sound of Yesterday (Cookshop) 0000
A mashed-up melting pot of experimental world musak ‘lone' multi-instrumentalist
James R Baker delivers
his long-awaited IQ debut. Cinematic. with a taste for the Eastern European. TFSOYis an eclectic and exotic hybrid of bohemian jazz and electro.
Album highlight ‘There's a Dog In My Head' is equal parts stoner-sludge. while 'Ghosting' beams one to a place where Kid
Inspired by Richie
Havens and named after
a David Crosby song, you might expect Peckham quintet The Lea Shores to bear echoes of Fleet Foxes or Kings of Leon. perhaps. Slightly disappointingly, it's the ghost of ladrock's stoner wing that floats over this collection. They are reminiscent of Carnival of Light-era Ride (they actually have a song called ‘Ride‘) or Kasabian's working man's psychedelia mode. all slouching guitar jangles and sneery vocals from twin brothers Simon and Nick Webb.
Much of this will sound just fine on a festival stage. like ‘Ride' itself and ‘Velvet Lies'. and the blissed-out ‘Adoration', a seeming tribute to The Doors' ‘The End'.
(David Pollock)
POP FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE Lungs (island) 00” Worth bagging for the staggering drive-pop grandeur of ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)‘ alone. this surprisingly compelling debut from skewed London chorister Florence Welch largely justifies. and even outshines. the hype. Ab0unding with curious musical narratives and colossal. power-pipe arias. Lungs' 50ulful electro-rock and darkly mythical lyrics bring forth the likes of Jefferson Airplane. Kate Bush. Eurythmics — even the dance anthems of. say. Moby. lts highlights include the bluesy ‘Howl'. ‘Girl With One
very much a compliment. (Nicola Meighan)
COWBOY ROCK MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO Josephine
(Strictly Canadian) COCO
If it's conciliatory cowboy rock you seek. then look no further than Josephine. It’s the latest plaintive exposition from alt-country connoisseur Jason Molina: a dude whose musical soubriquets include Magnolia Electric Co and Songs: Ohia.
While Josephine doesn‘t supersede Molina's 2003 masterwork, Magnolia Electric Co. it is a laid- back. down-time treat. Opening aria ‘0! Grace' sidles in like Bruce Hornsby after a brawl. while the title-track's swooning. love-sick swagger; the ghostly rock-out of ‘Knoxville Girl'; and the balmy rodeo ballad of ‘Shiloh' administer particular highlights in a record whose melancholy begets joy.
(Nicola Meighan)
WORLD MARA ARANDA & SOLATGE Deria
(Galileo) 00”
Valencian singer Mara Aranda joins forces with Solatge in her latest post—L'Ham du Foc venture. Her voice is as spirited as ever as she sings stories of smugglers. mermaids and muleteers, re- vamping ancient
works like a mini-film ‘ bringing to life wild
landscape and scenes with such intensity you can practically smell the
red mullet cooking in
the tavern where the ‘Romance del
- Montanes and Balh de ' Garrots' might have
been heard.
5 (Jan Fairley)
ALT. RAWK
MILES
. BENJAMIN
ANTHONY
ROBINSON
‘ Miles Benjamin
j Anthony Robinson ; (Transgressive)...
3 Another new name (all f four of them!) to drop
? into conversation at a ‘ summer shindig. the
enigmatic Miles stirs the cockles on this rich and
raw debut set. From
Portland. Oregon. to living rough in Coney
‘ Island. New York (and back again), Miles and
his chums (mainly from
; Grizzly Bear and TV on i the Radio) deliver the
. goods on a handful of cues — but not all of
them shine.
The surreal and the
- funereal go hand-in- f glove on opener.
‘Buriedfed' (a campfire
= sing-a-Iongl). while his ; Zuma-period Neil : Young influences
surface on the grunge—
: fuelled ‘The Ongoing
Debate Concerning Present Vs Future’. The outstanding song to
rise from this retrofied and intense debut ¢ comes by way of
‘Woodfriend', a biographical early Beck-
; like dirge. . (Martin C Strong) '