MUSIC | Records – Singles SINGLES
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N O S N E R O S L E T S R H C
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BOOK GROUP Homeward Sound EP (bookgroup.bandcamp.com) ●●●●● DIGITAL JONES FLOCK EP (digitaljones.bandcamp.com) ●●●●●
Opening with the beatific alt-rock sucker-punch of ‘Year of the Cat’, this excellent feedback-strewn debut from Edinburgh’s Book Group (ex-Come on Gang / Kays Lavelle) is packed with rousing US indie delights. Not least of which is ‘Summer of Lunches’, evoking and defying Grandaddy’s Sophtware Slump (‘fuck what the computer says’) while doing a convincing job of being a perfect axe-pop song. ■ Book Group’s EP launch, Pilrig Church, Edinburgh, Sat 18 May. Edinburgh electro-soul trio Digital Jones peddles a diverting line in driving groove-rock on their FLOCK EP. While its pace and production values would benefit from a futuristic twist or a disco-kick up the proverbial (especially the EP's title track and ‘One to Ten’), the Gossip-lite of ‘Pumpy’ and carnal-synth workout ‘Beggarman’ suggest that they’ve a secret weapon in fervent vocalist Nikki Kent. ■ Digital Jones' EP launch, The Caves, Edinburgh, Sat 18 May.
PANDA SU Maps (Peter Panda) ●●●●● ROMAN NOSE Youthclubbed (Badly Built) ●●●●●
Two years ago, Panda Su bagged our Single of the Month garland for ‘The Alphabet Song’, a magnificent acoustic ode that studied and spelled out the vagaries of love. Now the Dundee singer-songwriter masters the art of cartography, delineating affairs of the heart and marking a beguiling new direction toward melancholic, melodic electronica. The compass, as ever, points to: gorgeous. ■ Panda Su performs as part of Neu! Reekie!, Summerhall, Edinburgh, Fri 26 Apr. Jesus, this is horrifying. Sickening. And quite, quite brilliant. The debut release from Glasgow dirge-electro dervishes Roman Nose successfully lives up to the tech-hysteria and shock of their camouflaged live assaults. From the deceptively sublime intro of the synth-grinding title track, to stunning dread-pop epic ‘Satan Pump’, this is the stuff of nightmares, deviance and the best nights you have (n)ever had. ■ See list.co.uk for a Roman Nose interview. (Singles reviewed by Nicola Meighan)
RECORD LAUNCH: EAGLEOWL It seems like aeons since melancholy lo-fi balladeers eagleowl first meandered their way into our consciousness, via a string of living room and church hall gigs around Edinburgh followed by, oh, roughly eight years of us pondering, when’s the album coming out? FINALLY, after nearly a decade of hard gigging and softcore chamber-folk, they’re dropping new material. Their long-awaited debut album, this silent year, is a gorgeous arrangement of drifting, orchestral melodies underlying loose, gauzy guitar work – an affecting lament of past relationships and inner demons (see review, page 75). ■ Album launch, Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 11 May; Glad Café, Glasgow, Sun 12 May. See page 82 for the chance to win tickets.
80 THE LIST 18 Apr–16 May 2013
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