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RECORDS Music
INDIE ROCK STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS Mirror Traffic (Domino) ●●●●●
There’s a fine line between playing to the crowd and finding your groove, and Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus appears to be walking it. His new album bestrides most genres known to man, bouncing between the familiar (the cheery ‘Stick Figures in Love’, macho power-pop of ‘Tune Grief’ or ‘Long Hard Book’s sad slide guitar country) and the sublime (the blissed-out balladry of ‘No One’, or the dream-pop on ‘Jumblegloss’). Occasionally stumbling into lyrical parody, notably ‘Tigers’’ first line ‘I caught you streaking in your Birkenstocks’ and the shallow politicisation of ‘Senator’ (‘what the senator wants is a blow-job’), this is still an expansive musical treat from an ever-original US artist. (David Pollock)
INDIE ROCK DEBUT WILL HANSON Moving a Body (12/26) ●●●●● The genesis of Londoner Will Hanson’s solo debut was a move from New York to Glasgow – go figure, it being a city that’s produced audibly two of his biggest influences in Mogwai and The Delgados. He cut his teeth previously with defunct Island Records-signed alt-rock also-rans Proxy, but that’s little forewarning of just how good an arrival Moving a Body – which comes fully-formed as if out of nowhere – turns out to be. Think a little of Mogwai’s spine- tingling guitar melodies and punishing volume, combined with The Delgado’s skill for off-kilter pop and a swooning orchestral swell, all thoughtfully distilled. Besides a title that may have the police chapping on his door, it’s an album that oozes good taste and good judgment. (Malcolm Jack)
POLYMATH POP ADAM STAFFORD Build a Harbour Immediately (Wise Blood Industries) ●●●●●
Falkirk’s Adam Stafford is a youthful cult-pop polymath whose various endeavours embrace music (he fronted Y’All Is Fantasy Island and helms DIY imprint Wise Blood Industries), video directing (The Twilight Sad’s ‘Seven Years of Letters’) and filmmaking (his award- winning short, ‘The Shutdown’, was written by Alan Bissett). This, his first album under his own name, is set to further his reputation as a singular figure in Scottish (counter) culture. Stylistically merging poetic alt-rock (‘Fire & Theft’) with gorgeous, home-spun, Will Oldham- ish ballads (‘Cathedrals’), hair-raising, octave-scaling arias (‘A Temple of the Holy Ghost’) and jaw-dropping beatboxing (‘Shot-down You Summer Wannabes’), Stafford’s album is lyrically vivid, vocally striking and roundly impressive. (Nicola Meighan)
PSYCH POP DUO MIRROR MIRROR Interiors (RVNG Intl) ●●●●●
EXPERIMENTAL FOLK/ JAZZ TATTIE TOES Turnip Famine (Pickled Egg) ●●●●● JAZZ DEBUT AQUARIUM Aquarium (Babel) ●●●●●
This Brooklyn’s duo’s penchant for intelligent pop is obvious, with melody always at the fore. While the title track of their second album is more trippy and downbeat than the majority of the record, ‘Sublime Objective’ is a superb vocal, loop- filled and harmony-laden opener. ‘Under The Sun’ boasts subtle, intricate snares and ‘Noo Yoik’ accented spoken word. Synth heavy ‘Sick City’ has hints of R&B and New Age, whilst the whole record is ambient and at times psychedelic, likely aided by the fact that it was part produced by Chris Coady who has worked with Beach House, Gang Gang Dance and Zola Jesus. Good for those who find Animal Collective too chin-strokey, but like the idea. (Lauren Mayberry)
A Glasgow 4-piece with a Basque singer, a bassist from Bolton, a Welsh violinist and a puppeteer on drums, Tattie Toes don’t subscribe to conventional notions of what a band should be. As a result, they’ve become one of the UK’s most inspiring underground acts, combining Iberian, Balkan and Scottish folk with post-punk and free improvisation. This debut has been worth the wait, capturing their live energy while highlighting their subtlety and invention. Nerea Bello’s vocals are a marvel, beautiful and freakish. Rafe Fitzpatrick’s violin reels through folk forms and free-jazz, and a rhythm section duo filters febrile Minute- men grooves through dub and improv strategies. A ravishing leap into the unknown. (Stewart Smith)
A strong debut from pianist’s Sam Leak’s quartet, another genre- mixing contemporary outfit from the London jazz scene. His opening tune, ‘Strangers’, evokes both lyrical jazz and the rhythmic pulse of minimalism, ‘Grasshopper’ expands from an initial funk feel into freewheeling post-bop, and ‘Evensong’ veers into charged free- jazz territory. That diversity continues throughout the album, but there is a strong compositional integrity running through all the tunes, and the band – James Allsopp on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, Scotland’s Calum Gourley on bass, and drummer Joshua Blackmore – respond to Leak’s writing in creative, interactive fashion. (Kenny Mathieson)
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
What’s to be found in this week’s musical shoe-box of treasures? Some whining, some honky tonk and some mildly threatening Mafia references, as it turns out. Nerina Pallot’s ‘Turn Me On Again’ (Geffen ●●●●● ) is an ode to sexual tension, favouring a trite rhyming couplet and country tinged guitars.
In contrast, Glasgow's The Corleones aren’t as intimidating as their namesake suggests on their double A-side ‘I Can’t Help It / Bland Conversations (Make Me Vomit)’ (Big Dick Records ●●●●●), the main vocals questionably tuneful and often relaying whiney lyrical content. Meanwhile, 'Eyes Wide Open'
(Atlantic ●●●●●) is the latest single from Rival School’s 2011 comeback, Pedals. It makes for some decent post-hardcore, especially given the lengthy wait for new material.
A honky tonk piano loop opens Bombay Bicycle Club’s latest effort, ‘Shuffle’ (Island/Universal ●●●●● ). Syncopated beats and falsetto harmonies give a dynamic feel, akin to Metronomy or MGMT.
If you like Cocteau Twins or
CocoRosie, have a listen to Alpines’ ‘Cocoon’ (Polydor ●●●●● ). Florence Welch style pipes layer over bassy synths, making danceable, ambient pop. Butcher Boy, 'Imperial' (Damaged Goods, ●●●●●) shows Butcher Boy as delicate and wry but also Belle and Sebastian lite. Wiz Khalifa is better known to
this reviewer as ‘the guy who dates Amber Rose’ and ‘No Sleep’ (Atlantic ●●●●● ) does nothing to make him more memorable. Radio friendly, pandering rap about partying, like, hard at the weekend which barely tickles the underbelly of hip-hop greats like MF Doom, J Dilla or Madlib.
Single of the week goes to some old faithfuls. ‘Tigers’ (Domino ●●●●● ) is more direct than some of Stephen Malkmus (pictured, above) & The Jicks’ previous output, all jangly guitars, singalong vocals and quirk. (Lauren Mayberry)
18–25 Aug 2011 THE LIST 109