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RECORDS Music
PERCUSSIVE GUITAR RM HUBBERT Thirteen Lost & Found (Chemikal Underground) ●●●●● Last year’s solo debut, First and Last, saw Glaswegian guitarist RM Hubbert communicate all manner of emotions and stories through his own beautifully lush and percussive playing style. On this second LP, Hubbert (who supported Sebadoh and Tortoise during his decade with El Hombre Trajeado) reconnects with old friends, in turn broadening his musical palette. Aidan Moffat’s turn on ‘Car Song’ is an instant highlight, taking his infamous drawl and suspending it over a soft pulse to thrilling effect. Further contributions by Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Hanna Tuulikki (Nalle) and Wire cover star Alasdair Roberts create Hubby’s most expansive and diverse work to date, while retaining the simplicity that made his debut so special. (Ryan Drever)
INDIE POP FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS E Volo Love (Domino) ●●●●● Graduating, as James Yorkston and King Creosote did before him, from Fence to Domino, La Rochelle’s François Marry has produced an album here that’s worthy of the increased exposure. A set of breezy summertime pop songs which seem strangely vintage in origin, they include the lazy 60s chime of ‘Slow Love’, the warm, urbane jangle of ‘City Kiss’ and upcoming single ‘Les Plus Beaux’, which ambles along on a whispering drum beat that bears echoes of afrobeat and ambient techno. Aided by Marry’s rich and utterly compelling Gallic croon, it’s a collection that washes soothingly over the listener. (David Pollock) ■ F&TAM play Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 22 Jan as part of Celtic Connections.
ROCK/POP CHRIS DEVOTION AND THE EXPECTATIONS Amalgamation and Capital (Armellodie) ●●●●●
Amalgamation and Capital is the debut from Glasgow’s Chris Devotion and the Expectations. Kicking off with ‘A Modest Refusal’, a punchy salute to 50s/60s pop, complete with textbook dum, dum- dums, tshhs and whoah-ohs, this is an album that dispenses with frills, fuss or complexity and instead mixes an obvious love for both shit- kicking rawk and punk ferocity while deploying unavoidable pop hooks that punch a smile onto your face in swift bursts. As the album progresses the
songs slide away from sugar- coated heavy-pop gems into more jarring stabs at the genre often recalling The Misfits, who, in their heyday also mixed similar retro influences and dark-flecked punk to superb effect. (Ryan Drever)
ELECTRO-ROCK THE BIG PINK Future This (4AD) ●●●●●
It’s easy to assume that London duo Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell’s oft-scrutinised industry connections earned them their breaks while ignoring the fact that their dark, feedback and effects- swathed music honours 4AD’s goth and dream-pop heritage quite impressively. But like The Big Pink’s much-hyped 2009 debut A Brief History of Love, the overall aesthetic here isn’t so much the problem as its tiresome insistence on striving to be so bloody skyscrapingly anthemic. ‘Stay Gold’ is practically a rewrite
of their tactless electro-rock signature number ‘Dominoes’; the synth-pop meets industrial doom feel of ‘Lose Your Mind’ makes them sound like a boyband produced by Trent Reznor. (Malcolm Jack)
MINIMAL TECHNO AEROC R+B=? (Ghostly International) ●●●●● Previously known for minimal techno releases on the likes of Traum and Psytrax, US producer Geoff White adopted the Aeroc moniker for more experimental offerings, resulting in 2004’s Viscous Solid album. Seven years later, R+B=? sees him resurrect the persona for a collection of glitchy, laidback electronica, though this time he combines it with acoustic guitar, to pleasant but largely innocuous effect. Nine tracks in, White eventually ditches the guitar to focus on more electronic elements and at last, we are treated to something a bit a more stimulating. Closer ‘All For Now’ successfully blends guitar, keys and metronomic beat to give a glimpse of what might have been. (Colin Chapman)
POST-PUNK/ DANCE PRINZHORN DANCE SCHOOL Clay Class (DFA) ●●●●●
Whether or not you like Prinzhorn Dance School probably hinges on the vocals. Depending on where you stand on a half shouted vocal (see Mark E Smith, Architecture in Helsinki, Gang of Four et al), their self-titled debut, put out on in 2007 on New York’s dance-punk label DFA, was either a work of unbridled majesty or a confusingly over- hyped enigma. While the stripped-down beats
here are undeniably itchy, echoing the understated dancefloor draw and well-constructed empty spaces of The xx, or a more minimal take on The Cure, if Suzi Horn and Tobin Prinz’s yelped and drawled vocals didn’t do it for you the first time around, chances are they are still going to be a hurdle. (Lucy Mass)
FOLK-POP BOY & BEAR Moonfire (V2) ●●●●●
If you’ve considered moving to the opposite side of the world to escape Mumford & Sons, think again – their Australian kindred spirits and tour partners Boy & Bear await, ready to close the jaws of a vice-like folk-pop mimsy grip.
OK, slightly harsh – the Sydney quintet only evoke their banjo- abusing British counterparts about half the time; they also rack up debts to Fleet Foxes (Dave Hosking’s voice is a dead ringer for Robin Pecknold’s), Damien Rice and Paul Simon.
Moonfire’s mainstream clout is well proven – it hit No. 2 in the charts down-under and scooped five ARIAs (the Australian BRITs), and it’s coming this way. Double the Mumfords? We’re making for the moon. (Malcolm Jack)
ALT.COUNTRY FIRST AID KIT The Lion’s Roar (Wichita) ●●●●●
On the surface, First Aid Kit’s obsession with Americana looks a little odd, given that they’re Swedish sisters barely out of their teens. But the pair’s homage is steeped in knowledge, and this second album sounds like it could’ve been made in the hillbilly backwoods anytime in the last 40 years.
The Lion’s Roar, made with some members of Bright Eyes in tow, is more lush than its predecessor and sees the girls heading for smoother country territory than their earlier ragged folk, but their truly sublime sibling harmonies are still the shining beacon they always were. It’s far from cheery – there’s a deep melancholy to the likes of ‘Emmylou’ and ‘To a Poet’ – but it’s heartfelt and compelling stuff. (Doug Johnstone)
5 Jan–2 Feb 2012 THE LIST 79