MUSIC | Records – Jazz & World ALSO RELEASED
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE . . . Like Clockwork (Matador) ●●●●● The follow-up to 2007’s Era Vulgaris is a slight departure, with a more subdued stoner vibe. It begins with the brooding intensity of ‘Keep Your Eyes Peeled’, and features several collaborations. New single ‘My God is the Sun’ is a highlight. (Jack Taylor) ■ To win copies, see page 82.
QUICKBEAM S/T (Comets & Cartwheels) ●●●●● The Glasgow-based outfit turn in a captivating and lush debut, channelling the essence of those that inspired it. Taking cues from Low’s subtle dynamics and Sigur Ros’s sweeping orchestration, this is augmented by distinct vocal melodies. New single ‘Immersed’ captures them in all their glory. (JT)
THE VIEW Seven Year Setlist (Cooking Vinyl) ●●●●●
Dundee’s favourite sons reflect on their achievements so far – with a retrospective compilation documenting the first chapter of their whirlwind career. Spanning 21 of their finest cuts, plus three new tracks, it's a reminder of the noughties indie pop landscape that The View helped cultivate. (JT)
YOUNG AVIATORS Self Help (Electric Honey) ●●●●● The Stow College-based label celebrate 20 years as a staple of Glasgow's music community with this debut LP from latest signing Young Aviators. Born of a love for scuzzy guitar-driven pop, it's the sound of a trio indulging in the familiar indie chops of their contemporaries with added slick harmonies. (JT)
JON HOPKINS Immunity (Domino) ●●●●● Last heard on his Mercury prize- nominated collaboration with King Creosote, Diamond Mine, London
producer/musician and ambient auteur Hopkins goes it alone again in creating another immaculate world of sound. From the pumping (‘Collider’) to the pristinely pretty (‘Abandon Window’, ‘Immunity’), every decibel is a gift to the ears. John Hopkins doesn’t make washing machines, but if he did they’d probably be the best- sounding washing machines ever. (Malcolm Jack)
SOMA COMPILATION 21 Various artists (Soma) ●●●●● The label responsible for helping break current global hype-magnets Daft Punk among many others over its 21 years and counting, Soma Records continues to go from strength to strength, as proven by this compilation of throbbing techno mixed by fast-rising Glasgow DJ Gary Beck, threading together tracks by the likes of DeepChord, Joe Stawarz, Funk D’Void and Silicone Soul. (MJ)
AUSTRA Olympia (Domino) ●●●●● There’s nothing as essential on here as ‘Lose It’ – the magisterial banger from Austra’s luminous debut Feel It Break – but more strong stuff from the dark wave-y Canadian synth-poppers, fronted by classically-trained, vaulting-voiced Katie Stelmanis. The same dreamy textures as last time, but with a dancier pulse, from ‘Forgive Me’’s motorik funk to the beatific disco of ‘We Become’. (MJ)
DEAP VALLY Sistrionix (Island) ●●●●● A drums-and-guitar pair of LA ladies who, contrary to their trashy thigh-flashing party-girls image, claim to have met in crochet class, DV have the look and creation myth stitched up tight. But there’s no getting away from how done-to- death punky blooze-rock this is. They make a sub-White Stripes/ Black Keys racket like they mean it, but Sistrionix is a debut deeply difficult to get excited about. (MJ)
78 THE LIST 13 Jun–11 Jul 2013
JAZZ & WORLD JAZZ PAT METHENY (Nonesuch/Tzadik) ●●●●●
Not just a poodle-haired purveyor of pastel fusion, guitar virtuoso Pat Metheny
has worked with Ornette Coleman and Steve Reich, and sent his yuppie fans fleeing with metallic noodlings on Zero Tolerance for Silence. This dive into the voluminous Masada songbook of avant-garde composer John Zorn encompasses several facets of Metheny’s musical personality. The opening ‘Mastema’ sees Metheny essaying a milder version of the skewed stunt-metal wails Bill Frisell brought to Zorn’s avant-garde band
Naked City. But the arrangement is largely built on intricate matrices of crystalline guitar, oleaginous fretless bass and Metheny’s trademark guitar-synth: ick. When Metheny eschews the synth pads and naff guitar effects for a jazzier acoustic approach, Zorn’s Sephardic melodies shine through. While there are digressions into tricksy post-bop, Metheny’s glossy makeover is weak sauce next to Zorn’s other group, Masada. (Stewart Smith) JAZZ EVAN PARKER Vaincu. Va! Live At Western Front 1978/Live at Maya Recordings Festival (Western Front New Music / No Business) ●●●●●
Two live sets, recorded 33 years apart, bear witness to Evan Parker’s innovative saxophone genius. From 1978, Vaincu. Va! is an astonishing solo set, showing Parker in all his raw, endlessly inventive glory. Some passages have a similar momentum to Terry Riley or Steve Reich’s minimalism, with Parker using circular breathing to unleash densely twined microtones and polyrhythms. The overall impression is of a teeming aviary, in which
starlings twitter and soar, seagulls squawk and geese chatter and honk. Overwhelming. For the Maya set, from 2011, while less radical than Vaincu. Va!, it’s a joy to hear the telepathic interplay of these three avant-garde masters. Guy’s percussive pizzicato and rumbling bowed bass brings energy and weight, while Lytton’s spry patter and plash set off Parker’s jazzy excursions and alien abstractions. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD HAILU MERGIA Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument (Awesome Tapes from Africa) ●●●●● Another gem from the justifiably-named Awesome Tapes from Africa label,
Hailu Mergia. . . is a 1985 solo effort from the leader and arranger of Ethiopian jazz and funk group Walias Band. A master accordionist, Mergia layers his ‘classical instrument’ over dreamy Fender Rhodes electric piano, analogue synthesiser and drum machine to create a gorgeous hybrid of traditional Ethiopian melodies and blessed-out electro-jazz. At times, the album suggests a DIY bedroom pop take on the great Mulatu Astatke’s
mellow yet mysterious Ethio-jazz, with smoky tendrils of modal accordion melody curling around squelchy synth bass and rinky-dink rhythm box grooves. Recalling the cosmic beauty of Sun Ra’s ‘Love in Outer Space’, ‘Sewnetuwa’ is a magical night-time reverie, with shooting star synths gently arcing across a glittering sky. In contrast, ‘Belew Beduby’ is a tenser affair, with a propulsive 6/8 beat and weirdly funky synth riffs. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD JUPITER & OKWESS INTERNATIONAL Hotel Univers (Out Here Records) ●●●●●
From the same Kinshasa street scene which spawned Staff Benda Bilili, J&OI offer an energetic update of traditional Congolese rhythms and melodies. Founded in 1990 by the charismatic Jupiter Bokondji, this is their international debut, and has a slick, hotly recorded sound to suit. As with Staff Benda Bilili, there’s a strong rock and funk influence, with guitars up front alongside punchy horns. The music reflects the bustling urban atmosphere, and ‘Bapasi’ (a field recording of Kinshasa traffic, with police sirens and engines) sets off a funky blast of Shaft-style wah-wah guitar. ‘The World is My Land (Deutschland)’, sees Bokondji reflecting on his European experiences, and works Konono No 1-style distorted kalimba into roiling grooves. Best of the dance numbers is ‘Margarita’, a horn-laced anthem, while ‘Congo’ demonstrates the band’s versatility. (Stewart Smith)