list.co.uk/music SINGLES & EPS
Records – Singles | MUSIC
APHEX TWIN Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments Part 2 EP (Warp) ●●●●● Does what it says on the tin, this one – serial bamboozler Richard D James has rigged up a room full of keys and percussion to be played via computer, and produced an EP of 13 typically obtuse sketches. Far from the chin-scratching, fans- only affair that may sound like, however, between the skittish eight- second piano tracks and heavily cacophonous bells (marauding robots let loose in a Buddhist temple spring to mind), there are actually some pretty accessible grooves here. ■ warp.net/artists/aphex-twin
CLAUDE SPEEED Sun Czar Temple EP (Planet Mu) ●●●●● IDLEWILD Come on Ghost (Empty Words) ●●●●●
SHIELD PATTERNS Violet EP (Gizeh) ●●●●●
Claude Speeed’s first departure from his LuckyMe alma mater continues in a vein of lush, achingly gorgeous drone occasionally explored on full-length debut My Skeleton. But distortion plays a much heavier role here, as the clean-sounding synths of that record are fuzzed up and spaced out into five distinct tracks of otherworldly noise. As if delivered over the airwaves from distant eerie landscapes, here found sounds, ‘digitally obliterated piano’ and synthesised fuzz combine and eventually resolve into some pounding post-rock crescendos in immensely satisfying fashion. ■ planet.mu/artists/claudespeeed A classic Idlewild weatherbeaten sound is very much still in evidence in this second single from Everything Ever Written (see review, page 72). The first half is a bit of a slog, with an overwrought river / loneliness metaphor, but then the plod becomes a stomp and there’s brass and guitar pedals all over the place. It’s certainly rousing, if its bombast seems a little unearned by the first half. A future live favourite in the making? Could well be. ■ Idlewild play the ABC, Glasgow, Sat 7 & 8 Mar. pledgemusic.com/ idlewild.
The Gizeh Records stable can always be relied upon to bring forth thoughtful, intriguing electronica, and this collection of shy but penetrating songs is no exception. The only weaker spot is when the duo deviate from icy trip-hop sounds into the piano-and-vocals territory on the third of four tracks. But mostly, Claire Brentnall’s silky sweet vocals are a hypnotic guide through these sparingly crafted pieces of chamber chillwave, treading a careful path between emotion and enigma. ■ Shield Patterns play the Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, Thu 23 Apr. shieldpatterns.com (Laura Ennor)
EXPOSURE
GAZELLE TWIN
Elizabeth Bernholz, aka Gazelle Twin, is a Brighton musician making ink-black, intoxicating, experimental pop. Her droning, bleeping, pitch-shifting electronic tracks are nightmarish, unsettling takes on everything from mental health issues, societal angst and body horror. She was The Quietus’ 2014 Album of the Year winner, and recently made music for the London Short Film Festival. Claire Sawers got a brief peek behind the mask . . .
As someone racked with anxieties, how did you deal with the praise piled on you, particularly for last album, Unflesh?
I'm not good at taking praise, especially in person. It's not that I am ungrateful – quite the opposite. It's odd. I guess being praised for making work about various traumas is also a very uncomfortable thing. Good press is like a drug though. I try to distance myself from it as much as I can as it's easy to become addicted to that rush, then the drop is a long one whenever there’s criticism or things just peter out and no one talks about it anymore. I've been incredibly lucky with this record that people are still interested! What three things might people find surprising about you?
Behind closed doors I’m pretty juvenile when I'm not totally stressed out. I get far too addicted to TV dramas. I am quite shy, self-deprecating and easily embarrassed . . . that [might be surprising], if they have seen me onstage lunging or barking at them.
What’s your idea of hell?
Probably too dark for your readers, so I'll go with something less graphic like being stranded at sea with my legs underwater.
What makes you laugh?
French and Saunders. Arrested Development. Mulligan and O'Hare. What are you working on now?
I have been working on a few side-projects, but have made a start on album three. It'll take me a lot of work to get some of the ideas I have into shape. But I am excited to start something new. ■ Gazelle Twin plays the Art School, Glasgow, Fri 27 Feb, with Zamilska, hausfrau & Dick-50. See list.co.uk for a longer version of this interview.
5 Feb–2 Apr 2015 THE LIST 75