MUSIC | Records
ALBUM OF THE ISSUE
INDIE CAT POWER The Wanderer (Domino) ●●●●●
Somewhere out there, in a Star Trek mirror universe which flips our own reality upon its head, Chan Marshall stands alongside the likes of John Grant and Bon Iver as an artist who has graduated from the life of a moderately successful alternative singer-songwriter to the kind of artist who inspires standing ovations in packed concert halls. Some of the reasons why this hasn’t yet come to fruition have been well-documented, for those who follow her career closely; an extended period of drug and alcohol abuse, mental problems and personal bereavement. Yet Marshall has continued to create gorgeous music, and her heart-stirringly smoky voice remains undiminished. Wanderer constitutes something of a comeback for Marshall, who
has released only one album – 2012’s heavily electronic Sun – in the last decade; by comparison, the ten years before that brought five records. It’s a return to the sound which made her name, a sparse and mournful form of country-rock which often focuses entirely upon her own guitar or piano, and that instantly recognisable voice. The opening title track is pin- droppingly peaceful, with just Marshall’s vocal and a hymnal choir.
The whole album bears a sense of departure, from the strutting, confident slow groove of ‘You Get’ to ‘Horizon’s affirmative ‘you’re on the horizon / I head the other way’ sign-off. It feels as though she’s leaving something behind – her old life, old hurt, old people – but moving towards the brightness of the future. Whatever confessional might be going on between the lines of the sometimes veiled lyrics here, these songs capably bear the power of the name she’s chosen for herself. (David Pollock) ■ Out Fri 5 Oct.
POP ROCK THE LEMON TWIGS Go To School (4AD) ●●●●●
If there is one criticism that gets levied at the Lemon Twigs (aka Brian and Michael D’Addario), it’s that they are just a bit ‘too much’. From their outlandish haircuts and outfits, to their kitschy music-hall singing and high- kicking live shows, it's not difficult to see why they have their detractors. Yet the brothers, taking this criticism on board, have decided not to run away from it, but instead double down for album number two. Enter Go To School, a rock musical about Bill and Carol, a pair of actor-
musicians who adopt a chimpanzee named Shane and raise him as their son. Featuring contributions from Big Star’s Jody Stephens, Todd Rundgren and the brothers’ own mother, this is 15 tracks of big, ornate pop rock with plenty of horns, woodwind and string arrangements. The opening song ‘Never In My Arms, Always In My Heart’ lays out the album’s tone from the moment it bursts in, with a memorable riff, hearts- on-their-sleeves vocals and glorious harmonies bringing to mind a Beach Boys-on-Broadway feeling. The album then continues in much the same way for the next 14 tracks, and, unfortunately, this ultimately becomes its downfall. Although the brothers show technical mastery of their instruments and a deft ear for music’s past, their reluctance to let songs breathe, instead placing busy arrangement next to busy arrangement, makes Go To School an undeniably difficult listen at times.
Having said that, it’s a lot of fun, and when it works, such as it does on mid-album high- point ‘Queen of My School’, it really works. It takes most rock bands at least two decades to work up the courage to attempt something on this scale, which makes the Lemon Twigs (currently aged 19 and 21) a very exciting prospect indeed. If Go To School shows us anything, wherever they go from here, it promises not to be boring. (Sean Greenhorn) ■ Out now.
80 THE LIST 1 Sep–31 Oct 2018
TECHNO ORBITAL Monsters Exist (ACP Recordings) ●●●●●
If there’s such a thing as heritage techno, then Orbital are it; producers whose fame is generational, from the rave-bound success of their debut classic ‘Chime’ in 1990, to the huge impact of their Glastonbury-headlining set in 1994 which did for taking electronic music overground in the UK what Daft Punk’s 2006 Coachella set did in North America. Since this heyday, however, the Hartnoll brothers (Phil and Paul) have become a more familiar quantity, with plenty of mainstream film soundtrack work, eight albums in total, and a combined eight years’ hiatus in this decade and the last. This album comes after their second and most recent split ended last year,
even though we were told that departure would have been for ‘the final time’. To and fro aside, however, Monsters Exist is a welcome comeback; albeit one which seems drawn less from the duo’s days of chiming, acid-tinged monsters designed for use in an illegal motorway rave (the London Orbital, after all, is where they got their name), than from their latter soundtrack work for films and series like Pusher, Peaky Blinders and American Ultra (the latter two, Paul’s work alone).
Their original sound is most evident amid the upbeat house carnivalesque ‘Hoo Hoo Ha Ha’ and the squelchy, acid-tinged electronic bounce and beats of ‘P.H.U.K.’, with the best of the rest of the record focusing on a darker-edged atmosphere. ‘Buried Deep Within’ for the most part drives along at an insistent, crunching pace, the occasional moment of blissed-out reflection aside, and the title track bears an effective sense of
sci-fi darkness and foreboding.
These are most of the best parts; otherwise there’s a slightness to ‘Tiny Foldable Cities’, an only halfway successful stab at Hudson Mohawk-esque contemporaneity on ‘The End is Nigh’ and a more than predictable spoken word guest appearance by Professor Brian Cox on the closing ‘There Will Come a Time’. It’s a mixed selection, in other words, but it all sounds cohesively and convincingly like Orbital, and old-school fans will find much to love here. (David Pollock) ■ Out Fri 14 Sep.
PUNK IDLES Joy As An Act Of Resistance (Partisan Records) ●●●●●
The word ‘important’ is overused in the context of new bands but don’t think twice about applying it to Idles. The Bristolian punk band’s second album Joy As An Act Of Resistance further marks them out as one of the most thrilling guitar bands of the present day. Their 2017 debut Brutalism, was both aggressive – in its attacks on austerity Britain – and tender, when frontman Joe Talbot laid bare the grief of losing his sick mother, who he’d spent years caring for before her passing. Talbot was also direct and prescient about #MeToo. ‘Sexual violence doesn’t start and end with rape,’ he sang. ‘It starts in our books and behind our school gates.’
Joy As An Act Of Resistance is another vital offering from the five piece. It
boldly assesses what it means to be a man today, confronting and challenging societal expectations of the ‘strong and silent type’ passed on from generation to generation. It understands the frustration of feeling trapped and worthless and lends a sympathetic ear, while encouraging self-improvement rather than mindless violence. Even when the message is angry (‘I smash mirrors, and fuck TV’), it’s positive at its core (‘Love yourself’). 'Danny Nedelko’ humanises the immigrants who’ve contributed greatly to our society and are now so widely scapegoated, packing a chorus the Clash would have been proud of. ‘Great’ tackles national identity and the gentrification of our urban areas with the humour we’ve come to expect (the protagonist ‘cries at the price of a bacon bap’). ‘Cry To Me’ is disarming; reminiscent of a 60s standard as much as a punk staple. It follows ‘June’, in which Talbot sings about the loss of his daughter Agatha. ‘Baby shoes for sale, never worn'. It’s haunting, and further evidence of his range as a writer and his commitment to encouraging vulnerability. So this is an important record. This is what punk can be – not a fashion statement, not a series of half-baked slogans with no sentiment – but music inspiring in its energy and heart. (Craig Angus) ■ Out now.