Music RECORDS JAZZ & WORLD
JAZZ GAVIN BARRAS QUINTET Day of Reckoning (ASC Records) ●●●●● The title track on this debut album from Cumbrian bass player Gavin Barras is a direct response to last summer’s rioting, building from an apprehensive mood of foreboding into darker and more tangled territory. Elsewhere, his music is rather more gentle and reflective, as on the elegant ‘Overwater’ or ‘Pathway’. Saxophonist Ed Jones brings drive and invention to everything he does, Corey Mwamba’s lithe vibraphone adds variety to the musical texture, and Barras is in fine form at the heart of the rhythm section, with pianist Steve Plews and drummer Dave Walsh. (Kenny Mathieson)
JAZZ ALISTER SPENCE – RAYMOND MACDONALD Stepping Between The Shadows (Rufus Records) ●●●●● Australian pianist Alister Spence and our own Raymond MacDonald have been working together in various contexts for some time, and this duo recording reflects a strong musical empathy between the two musicians. The seven pieces for piano and prepared piano with alto or soprano saxophone were all improvised in the Concert Hall of Glasgow University, and traverse a wide range of moods and ideas, from gentle lyricism to knotty abstraction. Much of the music is very approachable for those still suspicious of the sound-world of free improvisation. (Kenny Mathieson)
WORLD VARIOUS Sofrito: International Soundclash (Strut) ●●●●● ‘This is the sexy part of our music,’ teases Lord Shorty, in ‘Vibrations Groove’, the delicious opener to this selection of African, Caribbean and South American gems. Sofrito masterminds Hugo Mendez and Frankie Francis dig deep for treasure like Kiland et L’Orchestre Mabatalai’s ‘Pour Chercher le Magot’, a gorgeous soukous psychedelicised by liquescent guitar and synth. There’s rubbery disco from Cameroon, vintage Creole pop from Les Vikings, and a magical Kenyan waltz from Melodica Teens Band. It’s not all retro, however, with Groupo Canalon and Nairobi-London outfit Owiny Sigoma Band contributing excellent new tracks. (Stewart Smith)
72 THE LIST 19 Jul–2 Aug 2012
WORLD LAS MALAS AMISTADES Maleza (Honest Jons) ●●●●●
An art collective from Colombia, Las Malas Amistades offer an acoustic post-punk take on Tropicalia, which should appeal to fans of Scotland’s own Bill Wells and Muscles of Joy. The wonky DIY pop of Las Malas’ previous releases, all cheap drum machines, lo-fi effects and artfully flubbed notes, has been refined to a fragile web of guitars, with impressionistic brushstrokes of analogue synth and organ applied sparely.
At 70 minutes, the album is overlong, but there are gorgeous songs here, particularly those sung by Maria Ximena Laverde, such as the blue waltz ‘Llevame’ and the yearning ‘La Ultima Tourista’. She brings quiet passion to wistful, sometimes angry, songs of love, city life and politics. (Stewart Smith)
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
Ska, ambient pop, polished beats, crust punk . . . we round up the best and worst of recent single releases
From Ashes Rise ‘Rejoice The End/Age of Sanity’ (Southern Lord, ●●●●●) Best filed alongside crust punk bands Tragedy and His Hero is Gone, this new 7” from Portland’s From Ashes Rise ticks all the modern crusty requirements with their highly emotive choruses, motorised d-beat chuggage and hints of Portland punk rockers Poison Idea.
Planningtorock ‘Patriarchy Over and Out’ (Human Level, ●●●●●) Polished beats from the Berlin-based producer with an intriguing string loop aided with tighter-than-tight claps. Sadly the vocals come across as a monotonal impression of Jimmy Somerville, bringing down an otherwise catchy floor filler. TNGHT ‘TNGHT’ (Warp/LuckyMe, ●●●●●) A new collaboration between Lunice and Hudson Mohawke, with the usual speeded-up vocal breaks, time changes and larger than life horn/bass thumps. It’s a fun release, but it has a severe case of dance floor A.D.D at times.
How To Swim ‘Bacterium’ (Personal Hygiene, ●●●●●) Pseudo-idie-ska from this nine-piece Glasgow outfit. ‘Bacterium’ sounds somewhere between Space and something from Suggs’ old karaoke show on Channel 5. For all its pop potential, it’s decades out of touch.
Lightships ‘Fear and Doubt’ (Domino, ●●●●●) Tender guitar-pop, as you’d expect from the other band of Mr Gerard Love (Teenage Fanclub), definitely one that will appeal to the floppy haired partisans – but it’s treading the same old Glasgow indie water of yesteryears.
Post War Years ‘Glass House EP’ (Chess Club Records, ●●●●●) This East London quartet’s ambient take on pop seems a little too indebted to the likes of Grizzly Bear with their latest EP. There are moments of synth-heavy charm on the title track ‘Glass House’ and ‘Brazil’ – but it’s all somewhat recycled. Francois & The Atlas Mountains (pictured, above) ‘Edge of Town’ (Domino, ●●●●●) Lovely summertime lushness with excellent use of conga and djembes throughout, touching upon similar sunny vibrations found in the likes of Washed Out but with a continental twist on top of it. A track to sip Pimms to perhaps, and for that reason alone, we’re giving it Single of the Fortnight. (Nick Herd)