Music Record Reviews
POP ROCK WE ARE SCIENTISTS Barbara (Masterswan) ●●●●● Scientists are often not the most exciting of people, and on this showing, We Are Scientists live up to their name. When not playing music however, they’re hugely
entertaining and endearing, but ‘Barbara’ fails to match their much celebrated
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
And so the hominids of this wretched earth confronted the perpetual question, as they had done oft since time immemorial, or at least since Charlene soared out of Neighbours and onto the pop throne 23 (23!) years ago: have you heard the new Kylie single? Well, the answer is yes, and it is ace. ‘All The
Lovers’ (Parlophone) ●●●●● is a dance- inducing call-to-arms, a winning sing-a-long disco serenade. It could have been a contender for Single of the Fortnight, if it weren’t for. . . all in good time, of course. First, let us turn our attentions to the burgeoning Ace of Base revival which continues apace with Lady Gaga. Her 90s reggae-lite and Eurotrash balladry on ‘Alejandro’ (Polydor) ●●●●● are equal parts preposterous and awesome. (See Robyn’s ‘Dancehall Queen’ for more ‘All That She Wants’ kicks, if you cannot be sated). While we’re on the subject of cultural
resurgences, Frightened Rabbit breathe new life into Searchlight-era Runrig on ‘Living in Colour’ (Fat Cat) ●●●●●, although Donnie Munro never crooned about having his organs laid on ice, as far as we can recall. Glasgow’s Yusuf Azak swerves bawdy
Highland harmonies on the gorgeous folk-aria ‘Eastern Sun’ (self-release) ●●●●● – an ambrosial taster from his forthcoming debut long-player on Song, by Toad – while fellow locals John Knox Sex Club’s excellent ‘Honestly The Beast’ (self-release) ●●●●● is a similarly enticing album showpiece, this time in a lyrical, melodic post-rock style. And so to the obligatory ‘electropop’ section,
this fortnight provided by Primary 1’s jovial ‘Princess’ (Warners) ●●●●● – there goes Billy Ocean’s ‘French House’ comeback – and Kele’s grinding ‘Tenderoni’ (Wichita) ●●●●●. Its pugilistic, industrial synth-rock bodes well for the Bloc Party frontman’s solo adventure, despite evoking the quite nightmarish vocal chords of Lene Lovitch.
There’s nary so much as a hint of Lovitch – nor Ace of Base, nor Runrig – on Everything Everything’s glittering ‘Schoolin’’ (Geffen) ●●●●●: quite a feat given the Manchester brainiacs cram the entire canons of rave, rock and r&b into three perfect minutes of jittery pop thrills. (Ergo: Single of the Fortnight). Bipeds: attention! There are stars in that there decrepit sky. (Nicola Meighan)
72 THE LIST 10-24 Jun 2010
sparkly-eyed japery. Saying that, it does
open with instant disco- rock gratification, opener ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ an effervescent delight. It’s a downward slide from there though, ‘Ambition’ belying its name and ‘Foreign Kicks’ devoid of panache.
The punchy ‘Nice Guys’ does buck this trend – but nice guys finish last, as they say. We Are Scientists are wonderfully nice guys, but in this instance they haven’t finished last – they’ve slipped to a disappointing mid-table finish. (Chris Cope)
FOLK/ ROCK JOHNNY FLYNN AND THE SUSSEX WIT Been Listening Transgressive ●●●●●
Alongside 27-year-old Flynn’s mature-beyond- his-years lyricism and songwriting ability, as demonstrated on 2008’s A Larum, Been Listening reveals a much broader musical palate, and a band on very fine form indeed. Blues influences are still present and correct, with folk roots consolidated by Laura Marling’s guest appearance on ‘The Water’, but The Sussex Wit also take us on a whistle-stop musical world tour, bringing a tight-but-loose afro-pop vibe on ‘Churlish May’, and sounding like Joy Division unplugged on ‘Barnacled Warship’. Horns, strings and the prerequisite banjo and resonator guitar take us round the Balkans and West Africa via the Ozark Mountains and Central America, while Johnannesburg-born Mr Flynn’s magical storytelling and razor- keen melodic sense make for truly engaging listening. (Alan McMillan)
ALT. COUNTRY SUSIE HUG Tucson Moonshine (Vacilando ‘68) ●●●●● Having collaborated on
previous ‘solo’ projects with, variously, Fatima Mansions, The Blue Aeroplanes and Travis, the former Katydids frontwoman has now flown across the Atlantic to team up with south- western alt.country outfit Calexico. Unsurprisingly, the new album, recorded at the band’s Tucson studio under the auspice of regular producer JD Foster, is shot through with Calexico’s signature frontier mood. Hug’s sultry vocals are a good fit with the laidback Arizona sound, although the Tokyo-born, now London-resident, who spent her formative years on America’s West Coast, brings her own sunshine pop/psychedelia sensibility to this very easy-on-the-ear longplayer. (Miles Fielder) ELECTRO POP ROBYN Body Talk Pt 1 (Island) ●●●●●
Glorious pop android Robyn has two modes: LOVE ME and FUCK YOU, and they are both wonderful. Body Talk Pt 1, which features Diplo and Royksopp, is the follow-up to the Swedish icon’s 2007 self-titled album, and the first of three long- players due this year. Robyn’s vigorous take on lovelorn electro-pop, as previously showcased on Top 10 tearjerker ‘Be Mine’, now inhabits the jolting ‘Dancing on My Own’, and the conceptually dubious yet loveable ‘Fembot’.
Her brawn for vitriolic
disco monologues, meanwhile, (think ‘Konichiwa Bitches’), is honed anew on ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to
Do’. A triumph, all told. (Nicola Meighan) ALT. COUNTRY PERNICE BROTHERS Goodbye, Killer (One Little Indian) ●●●●●
You Scream’, and Ozzy’s snarl is intact, but most of the rest consists of clichéd platitudes over workmanlike riffage. (Doug Johnstone) FOLK LISA O PIU Behind the Bend (Subliminal Sounds) ●●●●●
There’s a lot to like about this sixth album from the veteran Massachusetts indie outfit, but somehow it never quite coheres into a standout record. The mood is generally strummy, melancholic and mature, somewhere between the guitar pop of The Shins and the layered Americana craftsmanship of The Jayhawks, with real songwriting intelligence from frontman Joe Pernice. The feistiest track here, ‘Jacqueline Susann’ is also the best, an aggressive love letter to treasure, but elsewhere the band let the relaxed alt.country vibe take over a tad too much, leaving not too much for the ears to grab a hold of. (Doug Johnstone) ROCK/ METAL OZZY OSBOURNE Scream (Columbia) ●●●●●
‘I’m a rock star,’ growls Ozzy at the start of this, his tenth solo album. Well, not really, Ozzy, you’re primarily a global reality television celebrity, something you’re actually better at these days. After the partial return to form that was Black Rain three years ago, this is a rather disappointingly formulaic collection of pomp-metal, perfect for enormodomes but lacking in bite and soul.
A young backing band inject feisty life into early tracks ‘Let It Die’ and ‘Let Me Hear
Swedish folk sorceress Lisa Isaksson first made our acquaintance via quality Scottish micro- imprint Autumn Ferment, who released her single, ‘Whisperers, Wavers...’ in 2008. Since then she’s
released a lovely debut album – 2009’s When This Was the Future (on Stockholm’s Subliminal Sounds) – and now this: more gentle post- summer folk wandering.
Drinking from the Espers’ well of prophetic, evocative psych-folk (although never quite reaching their potency) – and drawing on the timeless likes of Linda Perhacs, Bridget St John and Vashti Bunyan – this lingering six-track is finest on the balmy ardour of ‘Dreams of Ghosts’, and the pliable, lucid psalm of ‘Simplicity’. (Nicola Meighan)
ALT. COUNTRY/ ROCK BLITZEN TRAPPER Destroyer of the Void (Sub Pop) ●●●●●
Portland rock-classicists Blitzen Trapper are all about the big stuff on their fifth long-player: ‘Love and Hate’, ‘Heaven and Earth’, hurricanes, dragons and stars all play their part – and it’s vast in musical parlance, too. The visionary six-piece
traverse the great