Music Record Reviews
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
The singles pile: always an education. What have we learnt this time? Only that Sandi Thom still lives, breathes and makes singy-like noises, this time aided and abetted by widely- revered American guitar-twiddler Joe Bonamassa on ‘This Ol’ World’ (Guardian Angels) ●●●●●, which comes across like a budget supermarket version of the Plant/Krauss axis. Like the Terminator, she will not stop. Here’s another lesson: These New Puritans
will probably never again better their best song. ‘Attack Music’ (Angular) ●●●●● is a suitably weird collision of Wu-Tang Clan and The Specials but it’s also, like so many things in this life, just not ‘Elvis’. Likewise, Kate Nash’s ‘Do Wah Doo’ (Fiction) ●●●●● foregoes the frankly crackpot allure of her new material in favour of a dollop of the same old sassy pop, and Hot Chip’s ‘I Feel Better’ (Parlophone) ●●●●●, a slice of functional house-pop (the promo video’s boyband gag isn’t far off), distances itself from the epic standards of ‘One Life Stand’. Meanwhile, out by the bike sheds, all the bad
lads are trying to see who can be as hard as Biffy Clyro. There’s Aberdeen’s Turning 13, giving it a good shot with ‘String She Pulled’ (Fat Hippy) ●●●●●, and Dundee’s Pensioner with the rawer but no less accomplished recording ‘Goodbye Tension, Hello Pension’ (self-released) ●●●●●. Biffy Clyro bloody all noses and win this round though, with their now familiar tactic of presenting a song in ‘Bubbles’ (14th Floor) ●●●●●, which sounds subtly different to anything they’ve released before. And Josh Homme’s on their side for this one.
As usual, however, wells of inspiration can be found from wily old geezers in the staff room bemoaning the day they banned smoking and gin in here on lunch breaks. There’s Paul Vickers and the Leg, whose ‘A Horse Hoof in the Soup’ (SL Records) ●●●●● is touched by a certain kind of deranged psychedelic folk madness, and the grand old man of these parts, Mark E Smith, delaying retirement thanks to a promising young bunch of students in the form of a new label – The Fall’s ‘Bury! Pts. 2+4’ (Domino) ●●●●● is about as good as we’ve come to expect from the band’s current vintage. Yet Single of the Fortnight goes to the bunch of charismatic young supply teachers with their fancy new methods, in the shape of Edinburgh’s Meursault and the delicately unique electro-folk of their ‘Crank Resolutions’ (Song, By Toad) ●●●●●. (David Pollock)
66 THE LIST 15–29 Apr 2010
ragged riffing of ‘Crawling Over Bodies’, it’s pretty thrilling. Elsewhere it doesn’t reach those heights, and there ain’t much variety, but if you like a bit of vintage Aerosmith alongside your Pavement, you could do a lot worse. (Doug Johnstone) BLUESY ROCK THREE BLIND WOLVES The Sound of the Storm (Instinctive Raccoon) ●●●●●
Three Blind Wolves, see how they run? That’s right, they run like lovesick delinquents through decades of vintage Scottish rock – by way of country, blues and folk – and come out sounding downright affable.
The new and
fashionably lupine designate of formidable Glasgow singer- songwriter Ross Clark and his band, Three Blind Wolves are dulcet, wounded and fairly feral on this debut mini- album.
If it lacks the bruised anthem ‘Sex is for Losers’, released earlier this year, then it compensates with fiery Americana (‘Hotel’, ‘Black Bowl Park’), howling alt-country (‘Emily Rose’, ‘Three Blind Wolves’), and – in 50s croon ‘Hopeless Romantic’ – some voracious rock ‘n’ roll. (Nicola Meighan)
PUNK-POP THE SWELLERS Ups and Downsizing (Fueled by Ramen) ●●●●●
It’s rare when a band blows you away on first listen. The Swellers do just that. This album is back-to-basics pop
punk, sitting at the same end of the spectrum as Over It/ No Use For A Name/ or Jimmy Eat World with more balls: a welcome relief from the saccharine sweet vocals and synths of the likes of LA pop-rockers Metro Station or Baltimore punk-poppers, All Time Low.
Ups And Downsizing is essentially the perfect blend of pop punk: massive melodic hooks, effortless harmonies and they’ve even turned the token slow song ‘Stars’ into an album highlight. Easily the best release Fueled By Ramen have put out in donkeys. (Rebecca Moore) ■ The Swellers play as part of the Give It A Name Introduces Tour, King Tuts, Glasgow, Sun 2 May.
JAZZ PAUL MOTIAN Lost In A Dream (ECM Records) ●●●●●
Drummer Paul Motian has had a long and productive association with ECM that goes back almost to the inception of the label in the early 70s, and although the near- octogenarian no longer tours, he still performs in New York, where this outing in his patented style was recorded at the Village Vanguard. This successor to his trio with Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell features pianist Jason Moran and saxophonist Chris Potter, both in a more restrained setting than we are used to hearing.
Motian’s drumming remains instantly identifiable, a delicate lattice-work of melodic fragments, subtle touches of percussive colour and fluid rhythmic nuances. His collaborators respond in equally thoughtful and intricate fashion, and if the pace, dynamics and level of abstraction will be a little too deliberate for some tastes, the creativity and musicianship are impeccable. A gracious
take on Irving Berlin’s ‘Be Careful It’s My Heart’ is the only non- original among the ten tracks. (Kenny Mathieson) GYPSY PUNK FOLK GOGOL BORDELLO Trans-Continental Hustle American Recordings/ Columbia ●●●●●
What an apt album title. This latest effort from gypsy-punks Gogol Bordello, Trans- Continental Hustle, takes us on a meandering trip through Eastern Europe and back — via South America too. With lead- man and dynamo- supreme Eugene Hutz now residing in Brazil, there’s a Latin undercurrent, like on the hip-swirling ‘Uma Menina Uma Cigana’, but their more traditional folk-waltz style is still here in full glory: ‘Break The Spell’ is resplendent in high jinx accordion and fiddle, without compromising any of the catchiness. If only more bands had such a finely unique sound, this transcontinental world would be a much better place. (Chris Cope) INDIE BRIT-PUNK THE FALL Your Future Our Clutter (Domino Records) ●●●●●
Love him or loathe him, Mancunian Mark E Smith is arguably punk music’s last ambassador since a certain butter-loving ‘Anchor-man’ was discovered in a certain celebrity jungle. Studio album number 30- something and their first
since 2008’s Wax Imperial Solvent, Smith has managed to retain all band members for once, while signing on the dotted line for Domino Records. Never lyrically shy to slag or namecheck the odd place, pop group or TV programme (Bury, Mexico, Chicory Tip, Murder She Wrote etc all come in for ridicule here), Mark E delivers his unique slurring banter on Fall-by- numbers tracks such as ‘Cowboy George’, ‘Funnel Of Love’ & ‘Hot Cake’. Mark E’s not so much a ‘hideous replica’, more of a ‘hip priest’ of our time. (Martin C Strong)
JAZZ RAPHAEL IMBERT TRIO N_Y Project (Zig-Zag Territories) ●●●●●
Saxophonist Raphael Imbert is a new name to me, although Scottish audiences will get a chance to check him out first hand when he plays in Edinburgh at the end of the month (see Jazz Listings, page 76). His previous work includes a project combining the music of Bach and John Coltrane, so a degree of eclecticism comes as a bit of a given. Coltrane is evoked again here in a meditative version of his ‘Central Park West’ that closes the disc.
Imbert also nods directly to Duke Ellington on the other non-original composition, a bustling arrangement of ‘Echoes of Harlem’, and more indirectly to Albert Ayler and John Zorn. His own compositions stand up well, and his playing on soprano, alto and tenor is strong and resourceful, whether in frantic full flight or gentle reflection. He is supported by an excellent NY-based rhythm team of Joe Martin on bass and drummer Gerald Cleaver. (Kenny Mathieson)