list.co.uk/music RECORDS | MUSIC
DUB REGGAE MUNGO’S HI FI X EVA LAZARUS More Fyah (Scotch Bonnet Records) ●●●●● COMPILATION VARIOUS ARTISTS Split 12" Vol. 7 (Song, By Toad) ●●●●●
Nearly two decades since they started producing tunes on an old Atari with speakers they found in a skip, Mungo’s Hi Fi have come a long way in terms of production. Although they’ve built a worldwide reputation, the crew remain the beating heart of Glasgow’s dancehall and reggae scene. More Fyah might be the Hi Fi’s most sophisticated and open-minded release to date, but is one that continues the lineage of soundsystem culture in signature Mungo’s fashion. ‘How Long Has It Been?’, are the first words sung in hushed, sombre tones by Dana Gavanski on Song, By Toad’s latest, and probably final, release as a record label. Ten years is the answer; taking stock of that timescale, you can’t help but admire what Matthew Young and his team built down in Leith. An extensive back catalogue encompassing idiosyncratic songwriting visions of all kinds; snarling punk, fragile folk, throbbing electronica and more besides.
With dozens of albums now in their oeuvre, they continue to keep their sound Vol. 7 features four Canadian artists (Gavanski is joined by Woodpigeon, LT Leif
fresh by seeking out emerging artists to work with. On More Fyah, the crew collaborate with singer and MC Eva Lazarus who appears on every track, bringing a distinct flavour with her impressive vocal versatility and genre- hopping ease.
The album begins with safer, more conventional sounds. An updated classic in ‘Dub Be Good To Me’ which shows off the collective’s tight horn section; the next track ‘We Weren’t Made For This’ introduces Lazarus’s distinctive flow as an MC, and her smart lyricism shines on ‘Amsterdam’, an inebriated ode to lighting up. It’s in the latter half of the record that the soundsystem get really creative and
explore reggae’s sub-genres more experimentally, always retaining their clean but impressively weighty sound. ‘Babylon Raid’ is a highlight, a track of two halves which pairs some classic reggae featuring roots legend Max Romeo, with a big wobbly, grimy drop. The group breezily branch out even further stylistically into waist-winding dancehall on ‘Live my Life,’ and hip hop shuffle on ‘Gasoline’.
On the opening track, Lazarus sings ‘Mungo’s good to me,’ and truth be told, Mungo’s are being good to all of us with this new release, serving up pure easy- going good-time vibes, which are refreshingly far from being a rehash of what we know and love them for. (Kate Walker) ■ Out Fri 19 Jul.
and Foonyap) who each contribute three tracks recorded at Young’s Happiness Hotel headquarters. With directions to keep it 'quick and simple', each track is raw and urgent – an earnest outpouring liberated from the burdens of overproduction. Woodpigeon's cuts, in particular, are worth considering in this light; each featuring in more fleshed out form on Mark Andrew Hamilton's Frontperson album from 2018. It's not a case of picking sides; but Vol. 7’s version of 'The City Is Mine' is subtler, a gentle thud mimicking a nervous heartbeat throughout, almost as if heard underwater. A distorted guitar line rises from nowhere in 'Postcard From a Posh Man' – invigorating in the way it continues to ominously grow, before dropping out entirely. Foonyap's more experimental cuts were written quickly, at odds with her usual, more meticulous, method of composing. 'Yes/No' is the standout, in which intermittent strings soar, suggesting the desire to, in some way, break free. Gavanski and Leif's offerings are, without exception, wonderful. The former's
unfamiliar chord progressions and fragile vocal are the most stripped back Vol. 7 gets – powerful and haunting in their simplicity. The wordless melody of the latter's 'No Birds' is a hypnotic highlight of the release, as Leif navigates her way around a fingerpicked guitar line with reverence for the power of a strong melody.
If this is indeed Matthew Young’s farewell to Song, by Toad Records, then it’s a strong one, a distinguished coda to a marvellous decade. (Craig Angus) ■ Out Fri 7 Jun.
SYNTH POP PIXX Small Mercies (4AD) ●●●●● ALT JAZZ JORDAN RAKEI Origin (Ninja Tune) ●●●●●
At a time when the mainstream British recording industry appears to be taking the path of least creative resistance in choosing to throw its weight behind a succession of stale males, the lesser publicised evolution of Pixx, aka 23-year-old Londoner Hannah Rodgers, serves as a reminder that the BRIT School for Performing Arts does nurture some idiosyncratic talent in its privileged corridors.
Rodgers is an agreeably free-thinking musical auteur, as happy with a grungy guitar riff as a modeish synthesiser refrain, and with a pliable voice which shifts song to song from characterful contralto to breathy soprano, all the better to inhabit the diverse characters on her smart, playful second album.
Small Mercies is an encouraging leap forward from the internalised angst
of her debut, The Age of Anxiety. Liberated from the need to examine her own headspace, she looks outwards – at one point, tackling polite society’s abdication of responsibility (‘Duck Out’) – and thinks laterally, using the world’s largest flying bird (‘Andean Condor’) as an entry point to discuss natural selection, social hierarchy and gender roles via featherlight funk pop.
Pixx doesn’t hang about – the music is predominantly pacey left-of-centre pop, while the lyrics have a clipped, punky precision and spiky intent. ‘Disgrace’ is a motorik synth pop takedown of a conservative Catholic-school upbringing which chips away at self-worth (‘we didn’t know what to say, we
had nothing to confess that day’) rather than preach love and empathy.
Elsewhere, she personalises the relationship between Earth and earthlings, God and humankind, and even between toy and boy on the charmingly quirky ‘Funsize’, which will probably be the only song this year written from the perspective of a disposable ornament longing for a more lasting connection with its owners. (Fiona Shepherd) ■ Out Fri 7 Jun.
Jordan Rakei has become a bit of a golden boy of the alternative pop world. He’s got a star-studded list of friends and collaborators that includes trendy names like Loyle Carner and Jorja Smith, and has clocked up over 100 million Spotify streams. His trademark genre-melding sound spans many different genres – neo-soul, pop, R&B – but undoubtedly springs from London’s burgeoning young jazz scene. The anchor of this signature blend is Rakei’s voice, which is very tricky to describe without rolling out that old ‘soulful’ adjectival chestnut.
After 2017’s Wallflower explored more intimate feelings, the lyrics on Origin turn to the zeitgeisty topic of dystopian futures, where technology has had detrimental effects on human connections. Rakei also taps into pop culture’s current fascination with spirituality, mostly in the intro to final track ‘Mantra’ which features drones, chimes and quasi-devotional singing that borders on the corny.
The whole album is built on dense, opaque orchestration, with endless
new timbres pinging about all over the shop. Tasty basslines on ‘Rolling into One’ and ‘Moda’ sound a bit Daft Punk does Flying Lotus, and it all gets very Snarky Puppy with the cheeky flourish of cross rhythms towards the end of ‘Oasis’. ‘Mind’s Eye’ is categorically a massive tune, pairing a pure pop- song hook with detailed but distant beachy guitar. The music eventually gets some space on the penultimate track ‘Speak’, but with the introduction of a plush string ensemble at this point, it’s hardly much of a breather.
Audacious and multifarious, with this album Jordan Rakei is simultaneously spinning a whole heap of plates piled high with different genres. Thanks to some excellently detailed and playful orchestration, he does an admirable job of spilling very little along the way. (Kate Walker) ■ Out Fri 14 Jun. 1 Jun–31 Aug 2019 THE LIST 109