MUSIC | Records – Jazz & World ALSO RELEASED
WOODS With Light And With Love (Woodsist) ●●●●● KING EIDER The Deeper The Water (KE Recordings) ●●●●●
Psych folk, neo-psychedelia, call it what you like – Woods make pop music, and pretty glorious it sounds on their latest album, from the sonorous pedal steel on opening country amble ‘Shepherd’ to the unashamed George Harrison-referencing guitar sound of ‘Full Moon’. With Light And With Love is an eclectic collection – the nine-minute title track alone moves through pin-sharp pop, raga rhythms and a punky Krautrock groove without ever losing melodic focus. (Fiona Shepherd) ■ Woods play Broadcast, Glasgow, Thu 25 Sep, woodsist.com/woods
NIGHT NOISE TEAM Rêver Électrique (Permwhale Recordings) ●●●●● On first stepping into this particular electric dream, one might wonder if the duo responsible also goes by the name of Daft Punk. Like those French robots, Edinburgh’s NNT dip playfully yet respectfully into the retro pick’n’mix, displaying much love for the 70s in the symphonic ‘High Line’ and dreamy synth pop ‘Theme From Électrique’ and, closer to home, the solo work of fellow Edinburgh denizen Paul Haig in their blend of Caledonia soul, disco and electronica. (FS) ■ nightnoiseteam.com
BRODY DALLE Diploid Love (Caroline) ●●●●● Brody Dalle (above), erstwhile frontwoman of the Distillers and Spinnerette, has the cool rocker chick thing down pat. But she’s no trailblazer on this solo debut, instead following leads established by Courtney Love and Garbage – the former on lacerating femme punk thrashes such as ‘Underworld’ and the latter on the sleeker goth croons. Shirley Manson even cameos on pop- punk piledriver ‘Meet The Foetus/ Oh The Joy’, a sort of B-52s at double speed. (FS) ■ Brody Dalle plays the Garage, Glasgow, Mon 21 Apr, brodydalle.com
The folk crossover scene is an oversubscribed party these days, but Edinburgh five-piece King Eider acquit themselves well on their debut album, exhibiting a toe- tapping, pop-infused, bluegrassy bent carried off with mob-handed energy. They can lean quite heavily on that energy at the expense of the song, but they explore an interesting fusion of influences on standout track ‘Reverse Cowgirl’. (FS) ■ King Eider play the Caves, Edinburgh, Fri 18 Apr, kingeider. co.uk
BASTARD MOUNTAIN Farewell, Bastard Mountain (Song, by Toad) ●●●●●
Well, this is beautiful. A gorgeous, unhurried drone-pop communion from Jill O’Sullivan (Sparrow and the Workshop), Meursault’s Neil Pennycook, Pete Harvey and Rob St John, Broken Records’ Rory Sutherland and Reuben Taylor of James Yorkston’s Athletes – phew. It’s as enchanting and impressive as those names suggest. Recorded live, and part-improvised, Farewell Bastard Mountain is formidable but never showy, reanimating old songs and kindling new, as its myriad progenitors spawn wonderful, gloomy offspring. (Nicola Meighan) ■ soundcloud.com/songbytoad/ sets/bastard-mountain/s-zUFop
FAT GOTH One Hundred Percent Suave (Hefty Dafty) ●●●●● Caligynephobia is an irrational fear of beautiful women. It is also the croon-metal swansong on the thoroughly entertaining third album from Dundee alt-rock overlords Fat Goth – and it offers one of many clues that the LP’s title is tongue-in- cheek, much like its predecessor, Stud. Their raucous penchant for mirth prevails, but they remain a serious concern: equal parts Jute City Melvins, Mr Bungle and the Jesus Lizard, whose mercurial David Yow spawned the new album artwork. (NM) ■ soundcloud.com/fatgoth
74 THE LIST 17 Apr–15 May 2014
JAZZ & WORLD JAZZ PIGFOOT 1st Century Acid Trad (Village Life) ●●●●●
This debut from British quartet Pigfoot is a witty and affectionate détournement of the 1920s and 30s New Orleans and Chicago jazz favoured by the trad jazzers who, pre-rock'n'roll, energised the youth of post-war Britain. Trad jazzers have often been characterised as intolerant of bebop, but Pigfoot approach classics like ‘Nobody Knows You’ and ‘Basin Street Blues’ from unmistakably modernist angles, reaffirming their radicalism.
There’s more than a touch of Monk or Cecil Taylor to Liam Noble’s piano, while drummer Paul Clarvis relishes opportunities to come at a beat aslant. Duke Ellington’s ‘Mood Indigo’ sees Chris Batchelor exploring a range of extended trumpet techniques, from forlorn wah-wah tones, bubbling mute effects and raw overblowing, while Oren Marshall’s tuba moans like a deflating hot air balloon. Sidney Bechet’s ‘Petit Fleur’ gets an inspired Cuban makeover, while Fats Waller’s ‘Jitterbug Waltz’ is hopped-up on atonal piano and scuttling drums. (Stewart Smith)
JAZZ LED BIB The People In Your Neighbourhood (Cuneiform Records) ●●●●●
Next to the punk-jazz maelstrom of the Thing or the wild electricity of 1970s Miles Davis, the perky math-rock- infused jazz of Mercury Prize-friendly British groups like Polar Bear and Led Bib tends to sound pretty reined- in. But taken on its own terms, Led Bib’s latest is a witty and energetic collection of rockers and ballads. An entertaining foray into 70s cop show chase music, ‘Giant Bean’ avoids kitsch through its sheer exuberance, with Liran Donan’s electric bass hotly pursued by Toby McClaren’s cheeky organ. Saxophonists Pete Grogan and Chris Williams punctuate the action with slapstick squeals, before introducing a sweeping theme that takes the piece into more anthemic territory. ‘This Roofus’ employs the classic Ornette Coleman trick of having two horns playing a tightly knotted melody in close harmony, before opening up into improvised sections tha allow the players to cut loose over a muscular, exploratory bass groove. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE Ibibio Sound Machine (Soundway) ●●●●●
Given Soundway’s excellent track record in reissuing vintage African funk and psychedelia, it’s fitting that they’re now showcasing acts who are updating those sounds for the 21st century. London-based eight-piece Ibibio Sound Machine’s name is a deliberate nod to Gloria Estefan’s Caribbean disco troupe Miami Sound Machine, and they pull off a similar trick in combining modern dancefloor production with more traditional
sounds, in this case Nigerian highlife, afrobeat and gospel. ‘The Talking Fish’, with its funky bassline, Fela Kuti horns and joyous synths, sounds like an African companion to Norwegian cosmic disco king Lindstrøm’s ace collaboration with Christabelle, while ‘Uwa The Peacock’ and ‘Woman of Substance’ veer into acid house territory with pillowy 808 thumps and blissed- out electronics. British-Nigerian singer Eno Williams possesses a graceful alto, heard at its purest on the ambient electronic gospel reworkings. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD AI ASO Lone (Ideologic Organ) ●●●●●
A gorgeous set of psychedelic pop hypnosis from Ai Aso, Lone sees her strip back the psych-rock of previous collaborations with lynchpins of the Japanese underground like Michio Kurihara of Ghost, and Wata and Michio from Boris, to focus on the core elements of Aso’s delicate voice and fragile, enchanting songs. Recorded live in Tokyo, Lone is an intimate affair, with Aso accompanying herself on spare electric guitar and Casio keyboard. There’s a great deal of space in this music: Aso’s naive guitar style trades in single notes rather than fully articulated chords, creating an unhurried, pensive framework on which to drape her beautiful wisp of a voice. Thanks to the beauty of her melodies, Lone sounds warm and inviting, rather than coldly austere, even when she deploys the sad and lonely tones of a cheap Casio keyboard. (Stewart Smith)