Music RECORDS JAZZ & WORLD
JAZZ OUTHOUSE Straw, Sticks and Bricks (Babel) ●●●●●
Outhouse belong in the same leftfield area of contemporary UK jazz as bands like Acoustic Ladyland, Polar Bear or Led Bib, but have their own distinctive slant on the jazz improvisation- meets-grungy rock-meets-noise aesthetic prevalent in that sector. The line-up for their third release features two saxophonists, Robin Fincker and Tom Challenger, bassist Johnny Brierley, and the energising drumming of Dave Smith. The similarly boundary-crossing contributions from their guest, Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson, add a steely edge to the music, which oscillates between squally improv, tight ensemble interplay and brooding, almost cinematic textural explorations. (Kenny Mathieson)
JAZZ TRILOK GURTU WITH SIMON PHILLIPS 21 Spices (Birdjam) ●●●●● Scottish audiences have already had a taste of percussion master Trilok Gurtu’s large scale spectaculars at Perth Concert Hall and Celtic Connections, and this release captures another in that sequence, co-led by drummer Simon Phillips (of Toto fame) and featuring the excellent NDR Big Band (the title
derives from the fact that there are 21 musicians involved). Gurtu indulges in a couple of excursions into his trademark vocal mnemonics from the South Indian tradition, but the influences feeding into the music are characteristically wide-ranging, taking in jazz fusion, Latin and African music, and rock. (Kenny Mathieson)
WORLD SEUN ANIKULAPO KUTI & EGYPT 80 From Africa with Fury: Rise (Knitting Factory Records/ Because Music) ●●●●● The youngest son of Fela Kuti and step-brother of the fiery Femi, Seun Kuti records and tour with a rejuvenated version of his father’s old band Egypt 80 with whom he has played since his pre-teens. This is funky, afrobeat at its best: strident horns blasting over driving rhythms, Kuti alternating riffing saxophone
lines with intoned lyrics partnered by an exuberant female chorus. Titles for songs like ‘African Soldier’ and ‘Slave Masters’ pithily capture their unequivocal content as he exposes endemic corruption in inimitable Kuti style. (Jan Fairley)
WORLD MARIZA Fado Tradicional (EMI) ●●●●●
Mariza, with her iconic, bleached short hairstyle has become an international star since reviving classic Portuguese fado, placing her country and its compelling port songs on the musical map. This new release is her best ever, a 12-song sequence that sees the sensual tremolo-burr of her voice in finest shape, its passions unforced as it expresses the heartfelt despair of out-of-reach love and solitude. Add in pared-back, occasionally experimental accompaniment by a trio led by Ângelo Freire’s exquisite Portuguese guitar, plus a duo with veteran singer Artur Batalha and you have a perfect album. (Jan Fairley) ■ Mariza plays the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 13 May.
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SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
You join The List in a Central Belt end terrace on a Monday morning. And yes, it’s done up like a Dalston warehouse; yes those are over- active strobes: can we interest you in a whistling glow-stick emblazoned with Hello Kitty’s face?
Correct, we are having an old-school rave, and it’s all thanks to
Darren Bailie and Sway, whose euphoric urban anthem, ‘Amnesia’ (Audioflap, ●●●●●) is a nostalgic ‘club banger’. Bailie is a founder of the Guru Josh Project, and there’s a hint of Infinity’s piddly, irresistible hook amid Sway’s rap braggadocio. It’s ridiculous, lyrically repellent and brilliant. It is, of course, followed by the mother of all come-downs, as supplied by Noah and the Whale, who simper into being like creeping dread (which is weird; they used to be lovely). By the end of ‘Tonight’s the Night’ (Mercury, ●●●●●) you’ll require an antidote. Come hither, therefore, jazz-inflected avant-rockers Trumpets of Death (Tin Angel, ●●●●●) – their ‘Teeth and Teeth equals Teeth’ EP is outstanding.
David Shrigley and Iain Shaw’s ‘Awesome EP’ (self- release, ●●●●●) is equally diverting; it’s bundled with skewed- pop sketches and deadpan verbal vignettes; while fellow Glasgow inhabitants Blue Sky Archives pull a shimmering power-pop blinder with their ‘Plural EP’(self-release, ●●●●●).
Lest this issue’s singles instalment be deemed lacking in
animalistic designates, here’s Wild Beasts with the woozy beauty of ‘Albatross’ (Domino, ●●●●●), and Antlered Man, who claim they’re ‘Heavy as F’. The vitriolic, riff-pummelling rock of ‘Surrounded by White Men’ (Something Nothing, ●●●●●) suggests they’re not mistaken. It is a rare creature indeed, however, who ensnares the Single
of the Month. Electro-folk heroine Panda Su’s ‘I Begin EP’ (Peter Panda, ●●●●●) is by turns darkly thrilling and heartbreaking. ‘Alphabet Song’ has us in tears in our post-rave environs, eyes on the dwindling light of a glow-stick, crying over ‘U’s and ‘Y’s. Panda Su? She gets an ‘A’. (Nicola Meighan)
Liturgy Aesthethica (Thrill Jockey) ●●●●● Pretension in music can be wonderful, but these hipster black metal apologists are unreal. They may not dress like goblins, but pseudo- intellectual trappings overshadow their music. Points for the sheer hilarity of their press release.
Africa Hitech 93 Million Miles (Warp) ●●●●● Mark Pritchard (AKA Harmonic 313) and Steve Spacek’s first full-length genre-hops through grime, dance- hall, afrobeat and abstract electronica. ‘Out in the Streets’ and the murky, vocoder dub of ‘Do U Wanna Fight’ are highlights. The Douglas Firs Happy as a Windless Flag (Armelllodie) ●●●●● Lush, dream-like, folk- inflected indie, sometimes recalling Belle & Sebastian on a spirit quest. Recorded between bedsheets and in church halls, the album subtly sings the praises of introversion.
This Will Destroy You Tunnel Blanket (Monotreme) ●●●●● Update your iTunes – if TWDY are to be labelled, they prefer ‘doomgaze’ (and certainly not p*st-r*ck). They offer magisterial, mostly instrumental Texan menace with as much in common with Badalamenti as Mogwai. Psychedelic Horseshit Laced (FatCat) ●●●●● Fresh from lambasting more successful bands they’ve been grouped with (poor, crying-all- the-way-to-the-bank Wavves), PH deliver a fractured, multi-faceted album which effortlessly out-creds the competition. Excellent.
Young Legionnaire Crisis Works (Wichita) ●●●●● Gordon ‘Bloc Party’ Moakes and Paul ‘The Automatic’ Mullen produce bland riffs and lyrics inspired, thrillingly, by ‘global economics’. If you fell asleep watching MTV2 in 2005, waking up in 2011 might be less traumatic if this was on. (Sean Welsh)
76 THE LIST 28 Apr–26 May 2011