www.list.co.uk/music Record Reviews Music
HIP HOP EMINEM Recovery (Polydor) ●●●●●
This sequel to last year’s Relapse, Recovery looks set to re-establish Eminem as the strong, inescapably bratty voice of modern rap he once was. Fully embracing his struggles – drug addiction, loss and the mixed response to Relapse to name a few – tracks like the self- dissecting ‘Talking To Myself’ and the charged- up ‘Not Afraid’ are searingly honest, and suitably profane. Musically, Recovery’ is somewhat of a ‘mixed bag’, covering simplistic dancefloor fodder and sampling Haddaway and Black Sabbath, but at his most focused, ‘Slim Shady’ is just about as lethal (or hilarious) here as he ever was. (Ryan Drever) ARABIC JAZZ LAND OF KUSH’S EGYPTIAN LIGHT ORCHESTRA Monogamy (Constellation) ●●●●●
Following the lead of US novelist Thomas Pynchon’s Against The Day, Montreal’s Sam Shalabi reconvenes his psych-Arabic jazz orchestra for this exploration of shame, sexuality and society. With horns, strings, keyboards, percussion and several female vocalists, Shalabi has created a deeply impressive album that takes in Arabic melodies and polyrhythms, abstract electronics and free jazz blowouts. The title track, with its lush melodies, hypnotic groove and shimmering Alice Coltrane-inspired coda, is perhaps the
strongest realisation of Shalabi’s electic vision but the other tracks bristle with inspiration, from the momumental Arabic synth riff of ‘Fisherman’ to Elizabeth Anka Vajagic’s imperious vocals on ‘Scars’. (Stewart Smith) INDIE TANGO IN THE ATTIC Bank Place Locomotive Society (Believe) ●●●●●
The ‘Scottish Vampire Weekend’ label which has recently attached itself to Glenrothes quintet Tango in the Attic would be well- suited, were it not for the fact that this lot have been doing the indie- pop meets Afrobeat thing for a few years now. Here, they’ve produced a body of work which, if not quite as varied or striking as their infinitely more famous transatlantic counterparts’, certainly deserves exposure on the big stage.
Chiming percussion and breezy, angular guitar lines which Paul Simon first brought to mainstream Western rock permeate the album, from recent single ‘Seven Second Stare’ to the pastoral ‘Whiskey in the Wind’. There’s a heavy homegrown indie dynamic too, however, and Daniel Craig’s accented vocal is prevalent, meaning that comparisons to, say, Camera Obscura or Echo & the Bunnymen are just as merited in places. (David Pollock)
DREAM POP SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS Disconnect From Desire (Full Time Hobby) ●●●●●
They’re the best band to feature identical twins since Bros. They recall another great set of pop twins: The Cocteaus. They’re New York’s otherworldly School of Seven Bells, and Disconnect from Desire is their second album. SVIIB’s 2008 debut, Alpinisms, rightly captured many hearts with its 4AD dream- scapes and astral psalms. The trio’s follow-up is a bit alienating: there’s a surge in electro and a gloss in production – and alt.pop’s current fascination with New Age (especially Clannad) is evident – but this is enchanting all the same. Shoegaze carousals ‘I.L.U.’, ‘Windstorm’ and ‘Babelonia’ enthral; as does the prog-taunting ‘Heart is Strange’. (Nicola Meighan)
POP MITCHELL MUSEUM The Peters Port Memorial Service (Electra French) ●●●●●
In spite of their bookish, nigh-on twee designate, Glasgow four-piece Mitchell Museum swerve any suspected B&S insinuations and instead deliver a loveable bluster of swaggering, jangly rock’n’roll. ‘Tiger Heartbeat’ and ‘No. 3’ are particular stand-outs from a lively, auspicious twisted-pop debut.
Comparisons to US alt-rockers Animal Collective, They Might Be Giants and the Flaming Lips aren’t far off the mark (Cammy MacFarlane’s vocals boast more than a touch of the Wayne Coyne at times), but nor are references to low- slung Brit rockers The Seahorses – no, come back! Check out rousing current single and radio favourite ‘Warning Bells’ for further evidence. (Nicola Meighan)
POST-ROCK KASPER ROSA EP2 (Field Records) ●●●●● A cocktail of post-rock
and prog rock is a deadly combination – not just for the ears, but for the mind too.
Instrumental interludes conjoining with off-time deviances is tough stuff – but Kasper Rosa have got it right. ‘EP2’ opens with ‘Team Building Exercise’, a mish-mash of stop-start, Opeth- esque jarring chords, but they make the inaccessible accessible.
It’s wise to wade through the other six tracks with a hint of care – including the bedtime soundtrack ‘Good Luck With David’ – but this instrumental band have expertly struck the balance between hook and experimentation. That’s the first battle won, then. (Chris Cope)
FOLK-POP THE BOY WHO TRAPPED THE SUN Fireplace (Geffen) ●●●●●
Fireplace is the debut album from Lewis-born Colin MacLeod, aka The Boy Who Trapped The Sun.
Inspired by an obligatory dose of lost love, as well as his homeland, the album marks an incredible transition for MacLeod after years of teeth- cutting and open-mic nights in Stornoway.
Blissfully drifting from knee-slapping folk and laidback, countrified blues, to stirring and reflective balladry, these songs — tracks such as ‘Telescope’ and ‘Home’ for example — offer moments of real beauty along the way, despite a prevailing ‘radio-friendly’ sheen. When stripped back to the core though, this is entrancing stuff. (Ryan Drever)
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
The great thing about Super Adventure Club is that they don’t take themselves too seriously – which is ideal as it’s impossible to take them seriously. ‘Hip Hop Hot Pot Pot Noodle’ (Armellodie Records) ●●●●● is a highly strung burst of weird psychedelic jazz- punk that gets better, and more amusing, with repeated listens. It’s more of the same from London
singer/rapper Plan B on ‘Prayin’ (Atlantic Records) ●●●●●, another well crafted slice of 60s soul that feels a little over-dramatic but is surely bound for the top of the charts.
The crushing, emotional gloom of The Twilight Sad’s ‘The Wrong Car’ (Fatcat Records) ●●●●● does not make for breezy summer listening, but it’s not the Kilsyth rockers’ fault the sun is out. The EP features two new songs and two mixes by Mogwai. As always it’s stirring stuff, driven along by flawless dynamics. Stand back for the seductively melancholic electro-soul of Andreya Triana’s ‘A Town Called Obsolete’ (Ninja Tune) ●●●●● which hints at big things to come for a singer whose smokey pipes stand out in sea of pretty great contemporary pop voices. Seriously, this is one incredibly talented diva-in-training. It’s off some place celestial once again with
School of Seven Bells (above) and ‘Windstorm’ (Full Time Hobby) ●●●●● who walk off with the Single of the Week without even moving into second gear. Harmony twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza wrap their gorgeous, ethereal vocals around another catchy gem of hypnotic pop electronica. Can they do no wrong? (Rachel Devine)
HIP HOP/SOUL/POP JANELLE MONAE The ArchAndroid (Bad Boy / Atlantic) ●●●●●
The shoes, the cape, the quiff, the tuxedo; the vintage moves, the flow, the vocals; the mega-conceptual sci-fi pop: Janelle Monae has got the lot. The hype around the
24-year-old singer-
songwriter is ardent, expectant, and justified.
Signed by Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs, produced by Outkast’s Big Boi, Monae is already a Grammy recipient who’s been artistically aligned with Kelis, Prince and Lauryn Hill (though you might throw James Brown, Sun Ra or Vanessa Williams into that mix).
Monae’s debut UK long-player is as vivid as her back-story might suggest: all cinematic hip hop, psychedelic funk and futuristic soul. It’s ambitious, overblown, and wonderful. (Nicola Meighan)
8–22 Jul 2010 THE LIST 67