Music RECORDS
PROG/ KRAUTROCK INSTRUMENTALS REMEMBER REMEMBER The Quickening (Rock Action) ●●●●●
Once there was a super electro-prog combo called Multiplies. They came from Glasgow, made like rock miscreants and then were gone, leaving memories of marvellous live shows and the sense they were too good to be true. Perhaps Multiplies foundered under the weight of their collective genius – their separate parts diverted into many great forces. Brawl-pop posse Dananananaykroyd was one, art-punk brats The Royal We another. But most curious of all was Graeme Ronald’s instrumental endeavour, Remember Remember. Ronald always stood out in Multiplies, exuding the inner cool of a young man at one with minimalism, neo-classicism, krautrock, metal and – may we love him forever – prog. He remains a singular figure in Scottish music. and remains true to those bygone aural touchstones on his second album, The Quickening.
Citing Debussy, Bulgakov and Faust as inspirations, and touching on Arabic pop, Egyptian surf and pagan waltzes, The Quickening sees Ronald supported by the same six-piece as on last year’s stirring ‘RR Scorpii’ EP, plus a string quartet and the Spanish guitar thrills of RM Hubbert. Ronald’s aural vistas are complex and progressive, from the beat-heavy gyspy-folk of ‘Hey Zeus’ to the tropical electro-wooze of ‘John Candy’. The result is a shimmering and optimistic tour de force. (Nicola Meighan)
INDIE ROCK WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS In the Pit of the Stomach (Fat Cat) ●●●●●
The main challenge for Scottish noiseniks these days is to not sound like Biffy Clyro, something We Were Promised Jetpacks achieve with aplomb on this accomplished second album.
There are echoes of Interpol and
even The Skids on the likes of opener ‘Circles and Squares’ and ‘Medicine’, all jerky rhythms and shredding guitars and, as the album progresses, it gets darker, weirder and more interesting. ‘Act on Impulse’ takes its time
getting to a compelling climax à la Frightened Rabbit, while ‘Sore Thumb’ and closer ‘Pear Tree’ crank up the epic to teeth-rattling levels. Not groundbreaking, but an impressive racket nonetheless. (Doug Johnstone)
INDIE POP SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN Tape Club (Polyvinyl) ●●●●●
The 26 tracks on Tape Club, the majority of which are pleasingly under two and a half minutes long, represent unreleased tunes, B- sides, demos and rare recordings across a decade in the life of this Missouri outfit with one of the clumsiest/finest band names in the business. While a disappointingly high
number of the songs border on the ickily fey (‘honey pie/you know I/ love you forever’), they’re at their best when they crank it up a dirty notch. The funky-organed fist- pumping anthem of ‘Cardinal Rules’, Blur-esque ‘Sweet Owl’ and electro-pump of ‘Yellow Missing Signs’ truly hit the spot. But this enjoyable collection was doomed to be a predictably patchy affair. (Brian Donaldson)
INDIE POP VERONICA FALLS Veronica Falls (BELLA UNION) ●●●●● BLISS POP TWIN SISTER In Heaven (DOMINO) ●●●●●
PSYCHEDLIC JANGLE POP REAL ESTATE Days (Domino) ●●●●● CINEMATIC CHAMBER-POP OTHER LIVES Tamer Animals (Play it Again Sam) ●●●●●
You may recognise this boy/girl foursome from their various past musical projects The Royal We, Sexy Kids, Your Twenties and Correcto. But The List hopes they stick with this one, because with Veronica Falls they’re really on to something good. In just over 35 minutes of gorgeously gritty indie pop, this self-titled debut harks back to the days of C86, Pastels and Vaselines mixtapes and ‘bad in a good way’ cardies and corduroy. But it’s far from purely pastiche, as the band have an intoxicating way with melody and storytelling that is utterly their own. And is that a hint of macabre at the heart of these spidery guitar lines, clattering rhythms and sweet vocals? We like to think so. (Camilla Pia) Twin Sister’s biog tells us they want to make music you could feel comfortable cheating on someone to. And while we can’t speak from experience on this one, honest, we can imagine In Heaven blissing listeners out so much they simply forget the difference between right and wrong. The beautifully ethereal quality to this Long Island quintet’s debut is just one appealing quality – the tracks also combine insanely infectious melodies, playful lyrics and a bunch of sonic twists and turns. Imagine David Lynch giving Stereolab a musical makeover and you’re close to Twin Sister’s mix of beguiling synths, clipped beats and sultry vocals – particularly on album standouts ‘Spain’ and ‘Kimmi In A Rice Field’. Girlfriends and boyfriends beware. (Camilla Pia)
From The Byrds to Avi Buffalo, baked dudes kicking out jangly, gently psych-frazzled pastoral jams is a tradition as old as the hills in American pop and Real Estate are keeping it alive and well. If the trio of New Jersey childhood friends’ 2009 debut was the sound of a summer haze then album two – their Domino debut – is the slowly-sobering autumn: reverb- bathed, melancholic songs played and produced as if half- remembered from some glorious, stoned daze. From the pitter-patter drumming and gorgeous chorus of ‘It’s Real’ to the long, lazy instrumental at the end of ‘All the Same’, they make sounding this tuneful seem like the title of Days’ opener and standout track: ‘Easy’. (Malcolm Jack)
The fingerprints of Ennio Morricone are clearly visible on Other Lives’ debut album. The galloping pace and stark electric guitar of ‘For 12’ recall the theme from A Few Dollars More, while the sound of a distorted harmonica (à la Once Upon a Time in the West) sweeps through the aptly-titled ‘Dustbowl III’. Morricone is not the only
ingredient here. Melodic elements of The Decemberists and The National are discernible as well (Other Lives have toured with both), and the group harmonies are very Fleet Foxy. While this is very good company to be keeping, you can’t help but hope that singer- songwriter Jesse Tabish finds his own voice in albums to come. (Niki Boyle)
78 THE LIST 22 Sep–20 Oct 2011