list.co.uk/music GUITAR POP GOLDEN GRRRLS Golden Grrrls (Night School) ●●●●●
Records | MUSIC SCI-FI TECHNO FUNCTION Incubation (Ostgut Ton) ●●●●●
For decades now, Glasgow has been known for its capacity to produce great pop music. Not ‘pop’ in the vapid, trapped-in-the-digital-jaws-of-the-music- machine sense, but rather that which takes the form of intelligent, instantly digestible nuggets of joy with a heartfelt addiction to melody. One particularly great example of a new act gently tracing a similar line to that
of their spiritual Glasgow-pop predecessors (The Pastels, Belle and Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub being the most obvious) is Golden Grrrls. Having been around in various forms for a few years now, their self-titled debut album finds the revered local group with a revised line-up. Drummer/lead vocalist Eilidh Rodgers and her Sacred Paws band mate Rachel Aggs are joined by the capable hands of guitarist Ruari MacLean. Similar to Rodgers and Aggs’ wonderful Sacred Paws duo, Golden Grrrls
deal in short, sugary hits. These 11 deceptively simple but effective odes to the combined power of brevity, energy, honesty and good vibes are guaranteed to put even the most cynical of citizens in Scotland’s largest overcast metropolis – or anyone living under a raincloud for that matter – in an inexplicably great mood.
Sandwell District alumnus Dave Sumner, aka Function, goes on a solo odyssey, veering away from the techno stalwarts/defunct label with his debut foray into LP territory.
Incubation sees Sumner – who's originally from New York and now based in Berlin – exploring his kinship with the darker side of dance music with an expertly crafted, if occasionally bloodless release.
At times this is both brilliant and unrelenting. It is precision-crafted; diamond- like in its streamlined elegance and singularity of vision. He explores various strata of the dancefloor, using techno as his pilot light in a way that is at various times graceful, euphoric and pummelling.
But all this blinding efficiency at times leads you into a rather colourless void. The threadbare, overarching theme of the soundtrack to an imagined movie is evinced by the opener ‘Voiceprint’, exactly the kind of meandering, workmanlike synth atmos that intends to impart on the listener that this is a release of gravitas. Here it just delays proceedings before the deliciously macabre acid inflections of ‘Against The Wall’.
From the self-assuredness of the fuzzy – and rather apt – ‘New Pop’, to We go deeper into the foreboding sonic miasma with ‘Modifer’, with its
the intoxicating bounce of ‘Paul Simon’ and the high-tempo nursery rhyme catchiness of ‘Take Your Time’, Golden Grrrls have crafted an album of veneer of brooding synth swashes beckoning you into the stygian dancefloor gloom. By ‘Incubation (Ritual)’, any loose notions you had of being in some
concentrated fun and sunshine. But underneath the playful exterior there is a powerful engine at work, with the Grrrls’ measured guitar interplay, clever vocal arrangements and bittersweet lyrics showing a level of experience, care and craft that few other guitar-led trios can truly boast. This one has ‘best summer ever’ written all over it. (Ryan Drever) ■ Album launch, Stereo, Glasgow, Fri 22 Feb. To win tickets, see page 78.
sonic narrative have long since evaporated – you are being enveloped in a dark, clubby fugue but the deft house signatures add a welcome brush of colour, the album’s only real concession to harmony. The utterly brilliant ‘Voiceprint (Reprise)’ arrives like a breaking Atlantic wave, and gives you that same bracing sense of euphoria. Approach this record as you would the ocean; it has a chilling majesty, with an unyielding, sometimes overbearing, sense of purpose. (Mark Keane)
TV ZOMBIE SOUNDTRACK MOGWAI Les Revenants (Rock Action) ●●●●● POP/ALT-ROCK KID CANAVERAL Now That You Are a Dancer (Fence) ●●●●●
Soundtracks could quite easily be considered a single-purpose entity; something that is used primarily, if not exclusively, to support and capture the mood of a particular visual piece. However, it sometimes works out the other way around. There are some incredible examples of epic classical works, subtle, minimal electronic scores and movie-specific songs of such brilliance that they can be enjoyed in their own right, without the need for visuals or even any shred of context. Conversely, the visuals themselves are often immediately at a disadvantage without music to guide us through the story. Legend has it that Kid Canaveral almost expired in an amp inferno during the making of their excellent second LP, Now That You Are a Dancer. Said loudspeaker burst into flames as the Scottish alt-rock quartet recorded album closer, ‘A Compromise’ – a mind (and circuit) blowing epic which singer- songwriter David MacGregor describes as their ‘loudest and longest’ song to date. Presumably he was too shell-shocked to include words like ‘awesome’, ‘loin-bothering’ and ‘thrilling’ about the surprisingly brooding opus, but they are equally valid.
With that in mind, it’s perhaps interesting to note that when Mogwai were As evinced on glorious alt-chorales like ‘Her Hair Hangs Down’ from the band’s
commissioned to create a soundtrack for French zombie TV drama Les Revenants, set in an isolated French mountain town, they were asked to write it before filming had even begun, in order to provide a musical backbone for the show to work from. In a similar way, the album is presented to anyone outside of France with almost no relatable context, but even with the words ‘French Zombie Drama’ in mind, you can start to piece together the kind of world its creators have dreamed up: the troubles faced (‘The Huts’), the desolation (‘Hungry Face’); and the hope (their stirring version of Gospel classic, ‘What Are They Doing in Heaven Today’). Eschewing much of the more punishing end of their sonic spectrum in favour
terrific 2010 debut album Shouting at Wildlife, MacGregor is one of Scottish pop’s most distinct and promising voices. And alongside Kate Lazda, Rose McConnachie and Scott McMaster, he has crafted an outstanding follow-up in Now That You Are a Dancer. Witness the swooning drive-rock of ‘The Wrench’, the beatific lullaby of ‘Low
Winter Sun’, the electro-lament of Lazda’s ‘Skeletons’ and the hyperactive power-pop of ‘Breaking Up is the New Getting Married’ – not to mention the shimmering indie doo-wop of ‘Who Would Want to Be Loved’. ‘A Compromise’ kicks off like Frankie Goes to Hollywood and falls into an S&M axe-grind, driven by a whip-crack and the lure of illicit realms (‘my hands have no business being
of a haunting and beautifully fragile atmosphere, most of Mogwai’s 14 pieces are driven by soft, glacial keys/piano, and backed by strings, tempered electronic swells and a tasteful deployment of deep, pulsing fuzz. But although it’s considerably restrained, there are moments of familiar apocalyptic beauty to please fans of all levels. (Ryan Drever) ■ Stream the track 'Wizard Motor' over at soundcloud.com/ rock-action-records/wizard- motor/
on this waist’); ‘Who’s Looking at You, Anyway?’ is a harmonic paean to vanity and dancing; and ‘What We Don’t Talk About’ is a euphoric echo-chamber within which to dodge relationship candour. The overriding sense is that
what we have here is a brilliant indie-rock album; that we are fortuitous to have Kid Canaveral; that they did not go up in flames, but boy, are they on fire. (Nicola Meighan) ■ Album launch, Glad Cafe, Glasgow, Fri 8 & Sat 9 Mar.
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