list.co.uk/music Records – Jazz & World | MUSIC
JAZZ & WORLD ALSO RELEASED
JAZZ DEATH SHANTIES Nunatak (Self-released CD-R) ●●●●●
When Alex Neilson launched his folk-rock project Trembling Bells, he spoke of having fallen out of love with improvisation, preferring to focus on songwriting. Five years on, the drummer fervently reconnects with free music, unleashing Death Shanties, a free jazz trio featuring painter Lucy Stein, whose live abstractions are projected while Neilson and saxophonist Sybren Renema blast away. While that third element becomes a ghost on record, Nunatak successfully captures the emergent group’s rough-hewn sound. Less punk-primitive than Neilson’s previous free jazz outfit Tight Meat, Death Shanties jive on the weird synergy between Neilson and Renema, finding room for snatches of folk and blues amidst the exploded forms. Neilson’s singular rhythmic conceptions see him eschewing bop-like fluidity for lopsided clatter and avant- caveman stomps, while Renema coaxes sounds both tender and bloody from his baritone and alto horns. Scottish free jazz rises again. (Stewart Smith)
JAZZ SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA In the Spirit of Duke (Spartacus) ●●●●●
Compared to William Parker’s Essence of Ellington, an inspired avant-garde reinvention of Sir Duke, this live recording by the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra is a rather conservative affair. Led by Tommy Smith, the SNJO’s arrangements are based on transcriptions of mid-period Ellington performances, but while In the Spirit of Duke slinks elegantly from the speakers, the question of whether such a classicist approach robs jazz of its spontaneity seems moot: this is undeniably great music, performed impeccably. A well-curated set includes Ellington and Strayhorn’s interpretations of Grieg and selections from the Queen’s Suite, alongside well-kent classics like ‘Prelude to a Kiss’ and ‘Diminuendo in Blue’. The Orchestra do take some minor liberties with the source material – the gorgeous piano solo in ‘The Single Petal of a Rose’ becomes a graceful showcase for Smith’s tenor sax – but you can’t help but wonder what a less respectful approach might have yielded.
WORLD JERUSALEM IN MY HEART Mo7it Al-Mo7it (Constellation) ●●●●●
Best known as the home of apocalyptic post-rockers Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Montreal’s Constellation label also presents an intriguing strand of contemporary Arabic-influenced music, including Sam Shalabi’s Land of Kush project and now this. Jerusalem in My Heart is a collaboration between Lebanon-born Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, French musician/producer Jérémie Regnier and Chilean artist/filmmaker Malena Szlam Salazar. Following several performances, the trio present their debut studio album, a gauzy enigma of echo-drenched Arabic vocals, twanging buzuk, and grainy, over-saturated electronics. The sequenced modular synth that pulses through ‘Yudaghdegh al-ra3ey wala al-ghanam’ recalls the neo-kosmische of Emeralds or Jonas Reinhardt, but the keening Arabic vocals take things into more hermetic territory. Other tracks deploy erratic Terry Riley-like organ, while acoustic numbers showcase Moumneh’s powerful voice and mesmeric buzuk runs.
WORLD BOMBINO Nomad (Nonesuch) ●●●●●
Bombino, the young guitar hero from Niger, has become a breakthrough star of Tuareg desert blues. Here, he’s hooked up with producer Dan Auerbach of garage blues duo The Black Keys, who soups up his sound with classic rock flourishes and a hot modern mix. When so many world music albums are polished for Western consumption, it’s refreshing to hear Bombino’s overdriven guitar burst from the speakers. Purists may crinkle their noses at the sweeter touches Auerbach brings – a vibraphone on ‘Imuhar’ and a pedal
steel – but there’s no doubt that the heavy rolling ‘Amidinine’, and the rockabilly echo-drenched ‘Azamane Tiliade’ are real bahoochie shakers. Less successful are the attempts to add psychedelic effects to an already mesmeric sound, but the fusing of ‘Tamaditine’s desert lope with a lazy country ‘n’ western shuffle is rather affecting. (Jazz and World reviews by Stewart Smith)
THE POSTAL SERVICE Give Up: 10-Year Anniversary Reissue (Sub Pop) ●●●●●
Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard – of Dntel and Death Cab for Cutie respectively – likely didn’t consider the longevity of their fun little ‘record- by-mail’ project. But their only album, Give Up – immortalised now in double disc and triple vinyl – has become a cult classic. Fusing 80s-inspired electro-pop and lovestruck lyrics, it still sounds hopelessly romantic and helplessly catchy. (Ryan Drever)
SMALL BLACK Limits of Desire (Jagjaguwar) ●●●●●
A second full-length dose of sleepy electro-pop from Small Black, this finds them in more lush, bright and polished territory without reducing their previous charm. Musically, it doesn’t offer anything particularly groundbreaking but works well at honing a tried and tested formula. ‘No Stranger’ and ‘Breathless’ are perfect summer listening. (RD)
AKRON/FAMILY Sub Verses (Dead Oceans) ●●●●● A familiarly spasmodic and eclectic collection of noises and nuances this, from haunting atmospherics to gang-driven vocal parties and jagged, decorative riffs. Recent collaborations with spirit guide Michael Gira and Swans make sense given Sub Verses’ pervasive sense of sonic exploration through twin worlds of euphoria and dread. (RD)
SWEET BABOO Ships (Moshi Moshi) ●●●●● Welsh master of all that is weird and folky, Stephen Black, aka Sweet Baboo (pictured) releases more awkwardly charming solo gems. With a knack for engaging, shimmering melodies, laced with trademark deadpan wit, he's on top form. Ships is undoubtedly the sharpest knife in his drawer. (RD)
HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER Haw (Paradise of Bachelors) ●●●●● Hiss Golden Messenger mines the depths of American history and its ‘ill- prophesied future’ on Haw – named after the river in North Carolina.
On these enrapturing, folk-inspired tracks, the bonds and burdens of family and faith are explored with remarkable delicacy given their emotional clout. A fine example of songwriter MC Taylor's ever-evolving musical palate. (RD) ■ Hiss Golden Messenger supports William Tyler, Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 4 May.
COLLAR U P Ghosts (Permwhale) ●●●●● Edinburgh dream-pop trio Collar Up enter the hazy consciousness occupied by Pitchfork mainstays Beach House and Washed Out with this ambitious album of melodic candyfloss. However, they also drop in ambient atmospheres worth attention on their own merits. The colourful textures employed throughout belie the murkiness of their Scottish origins. This is the soundtrack to your escapist fantasies. (RD) ■ Collar Up play The 13th Note, Glasgow, Sat 4 May; Limbo/Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 18 May.
ADOPTED AS HOLOGRAPH S/T (Holograph) ●●●●●
Former Uncle John and Whitelock stalwart David Philp is the croon- ing mastermind behind this set of postmodern Palm Court swing which comes awash with fiddle, accordion and acoustic guitar. It all sounds a whole lot like The Monochrome Set gone retro zydeco. As wryly jaunty as it all is, there’s still a doleful melancholy to Philp’s delivery, and a trad warmth worth waltzing to. (Neil Cooper)
POST Cavalcade (We Can Still Picnic) ●●●●● 'The Sound of Young Scotland' continuum runs on apace on this debut mini-album from a quartet led by ex-Bricolage/Sexual Object Graham Wann. Instrumental jangularity abounds, but so does a dancefloor glam joie de vivre that’s as infectious as it is deliciously calculated. Nouveau serious fun starts here. (NC) ■ Album launch, Nice’n’Sleazys, Glasgow, Fri 26 Apr.
18 Apr–16 May 2013 THE LIST 79