MUSIC list.co.uk/music
DEAN BLUNT The London lo-fi experimentalist deserves the hype
D ean Blunt isn’t an easy one to decipher. In fact, he’d probably prefer you didn’t even try. Just listen to the music, or come to a gig, seems the message put over by his deft interview-dodging – or in the rare case when he does do them – the cryptic / foreign language / random-firings-of-the- brain answers that he seeps out.
But against a backdrop of attention-hungry bands (you may know the type; talent- bereft, expert at creating Twitter storms-in- teacups?), there’s something satisfying about Blunt’s abstruse stance. He gets away with it simply by being good. As one half of Hype Williams, with dubby / deadpan musical partner, Inga Copeland, they delivered some of the most organ-shakingly visceral live shows around – pulling frenzied strobes, male bodybuilders, tremorous sub-bass and slow-
68 THE LIST 14 Nov–12 Dec 2013
jam Sade samples out the bag, and keeping their crowds hooked. Just as HW liked to slither out of a constrictive style the moment they felt trapped down a musical pigeonhole, Blunt’s solo work continues to surprise and shapeshift; his recent albums The Redeemer and Stone Island blurred delicate harps and Saint-Saens- style symphonies with voicemail samples and tear-salty break-up lyrics. It’s his endless gearshifts in tempo, esoteric genre-welding and exploration of performance boundaries that keep him interesting, and deserving of the hype. And if the (self-designed) mystery shrouding him is entertaining to follow, just consider it a bonus extra to his output, and an antidotal one at that. (Claire Sawers)
The Arches, Glasgow, Sun 1 Dec.
HITLIST THE BEST ROCK, POP, JAZZ & FOLK
✽ Vampire Weekend Ezra Koenig and co tour album three, Modern Vampires of the
City. The Hydro, Glasgow, Fri 15 Nov.
✽ F rightened Rabbit Two nights from the Borders five-piece, with support from We Were Promised Jetpacks and Lanterns On The Lake. We caught up with Frabbit on tour in North Carolina recently – check out the interview at list.co.uk. O2 Academy, Glasgow, Sat 16 & Sun 17 Nov.
✽ TYCI 1st birthday party The women- bolstering blog and fanzine are throwing
a first birthday bash, with DJs and live acts including the all-girl, two-guitar duo Body Parts. Bloc, Glasgow, Sat 16 Nov.
✽ ListLive Indie electro-poppers Miaoux Miaoux headline our latest gigstravaganza,
with support from Machines in Heaven and Turtle, plus DJs Bobby Cleaver and Dirty Harry and a free bottle of Hornsby’s cider for every attendee. See Machines in Heaven interview, page 70. Stereo, Glasgow, Thu 21 Nov.
✽ Casual Sex Spiky, jangly Scot-rock-pop,
with support from Ubre Blanca – see Exposure page 75. Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 22 Nov.
✽ Pixies Frank Black’s legendary American alt rock posse remind us why they are indeed
legends. Barrowlands, Glasgow, Fri 22 Nov.
✽ Limbo, with Pumajaw, LAW, Fridge Master and Amanti Pumajaw singer
John Wills may be rejoining his old band, Loop, to curate an ATP festival, but he’ll definitely be back in time for this Limbo Christmas party. Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 7 Dec.