Issue 574

Arctic Monkeys

ROCK

26 Apr 2007

The weight of expectation hasn’t affected the Arctic Monkeys one iota. They’ve hardly broken their stride and have tossed off a second album of casual brilliance. It almost feels unfair how off the cuff Favourite Worst Nightmare feels; the lyrics are as…

Pinhole Photography Day

Life through an absent lens

26 Apr 2007

Contemporary life is cluttered with days commemorating anything and everything. April 30 is, of all things, Hairstyle Appreciation Day. Personally I’m not especially interested in celebrating perfectly coiffed locks, but occasionally one of these events…

* Hitlist (Classical)

Hitlist

26 Apr 2007

The Sixteen: Music from the Sistine Chapel The seventh choral pilgrimage of this outstanding group of 16 singers takes the Renaissance music of the Papal chapels as its inspiration. The sumptuous sounds of Allegri’s famous Miserere forms the centrepiece…

1990s

Records

26 Apr 2007

INDIE After years of ferreting away with his former band, John McKeown’s brilliantly quirky songwriting is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Of course Cookies is an altogether different offering from anything The Yummy Fur ever released…

Björk

Records

26 Apr 2007

ERM . . . BJORK? Heralding an album as ‘the most commercial thing Björk has ever done’ is really a bit like declaring the new David Lynch movie ‘his most coherent narrative ever’. For the last decade she has been making the most unashamedly artful…

Elliott Smith

Records

26 Apr 2007

FOLK/ROCK Music from beyond the grave is always kind of spooky, especially when it is from an artist whose demise life was cut short like Smith’s. This is even more so given the bare nature of his songs, often little more than a couple of guitar…

Fields

Records

26 Apr 2007

INDIE Imagine, if you will, Fleetwood Mac getting together with My Bloody Valentine. Add some crystal meth, the melodies of angels and a poet’s heart. Fields’ sound ranges from exquisite skewed folk to powerhouse drone-rock mayhem, frequently in the…

Injuns

Records

26 Apr 2007

POP Skye boys Leighton Jones (keyboard and vocals) and Hector MacInnes (drums) and the four other Injuns lads know their stuff and aren’t afraid to prove it. This debut is a densely influenced, multi-genre-encapsulating smorgasbord swerving from the…

Leg, The

Records

26 Apr 2007

ROCK Those who have been hanging about the venues of Edinburgh for a few years now might know this lot as ‘the band formerly known as Desc and Khaya’. Every vague shift in musical direction from long-time collaborators Dan Mutch, Pete Harvey and Alun…

Mark O'Keeffe

Records

26 Apr 2007

CONTEMPORARY JAZZ The Edinburgh-based label is doing its fair share to support contemporary Scottish composition. The Edinburgh Quartet’s fine recent disc of new Scottish string quartets, The Cold Dancer, is followed by this solo outing from the BBC…

Quentin Collins

Records

26 Apr 2007

JAZZ Trumpeter Quentin Collins is an emerging name on the London jazz scene, and this debut album suggests that the buzz around his work is well justified. His bright, cutting tone is in a recognisable line of descent from the likes of Freddie…

Rory Campbell

Records

26 Apr 2007

FOLK Barra-born Rory Campbell is best known for his work in bands like Deaf Shepherd and Old Blind Dogs. His latest project features Jonny Hardie (a band-mate in Old Blind Dogs) on guitar and drummer Donald Hay, and offers strong and expressive…

Scottish Ensemble with Gwilym Simcock

City Halls, Glasgow, Thu 26 Apr; Queen’s Hall, Edi

26 Apr 2007

SEASON FINALE Well known for its innovative programming, the Scottish Ensemble bring their 2006/07 season to a close with a collaboration that straddles the worlds of classical and jazz. Leading young jazz pianist and composer, Gwilym Simcock, joins…

Singles & Downloads

26 Apr 2007

Dancing girls galore this fortnight. Sophie Ellis Bextor kicks things off with 90s dance throwback, ‘Me and My Imagination’ (Fascination - 1 star), all sunny Ibiza beats and disco strings, but sadly low on charm. Crazy London girls, Duloks have more…

Travis

Records

26 Apr 2007

POP The scholarly quest for songcraft for songcraft’s sake is now the only real endeavour for Travis these days, which is preferable of course to trying to regain former glories that, as their contemporaries Oasis will never tell you, are…

Willy Mason

Records

26 Apr 2007

FOLK POP Wee Willy Mason launches his second tasty platter, with a voice that still sounds way beyond his tender early 20s. This new set of songs makes his acclaimed debut, Where the Humans Eat, seem like a slab of raw meat, with lush production…

American Literature

Born fighting

24 Apr 2007

At the exact moment Chuck Palahniuk greets me with a hushed ‘Hello?’ his home in south-western Washington State is being invaded by a group of unfamiliar men who are chanting in unison at the author: ‘His name is Robert Paulson!’

Arts and minds

News

24 Apr 2007

Mark Cousins: Film writer I’d like to see art schools for 15-year-olds. I’d like the excitement of philosophy and aesthetics to be taught at primary school. I’d like our media to be more passionate about art and culture. I’d like modern…

Eat - The Italian Job

Life & Style

24 Apr 2007

Earlier this year I was employed to eat. And no, I wasn’t cramming pies into my face, a guinea pig for Greggs; I was hired to dine at some of the best restaurants in Scotland. You’re probably thinking, ‘bully for you’, but with a few more four-letter…

Eating & Drinking Awards

News

24 Apr 2007

Words: Allan Radcliffe (Left to right: The Kitchin and Bistro at One Devonshire) As the 14th annual Eating and Drinking Guide is published, The List can exclusively reveal the winners of this year’s awards for Best Restaurant, Best New…

Justin Timberlake

He’s lovin it

24 Apr 2007

Justin Timberlake is all over the place. He’s traversing the world with the nine-month-long FutureSex/LoveShow tour, an in-the-round extravaganza of singing, dancing, panto sex moves, human beatboxing and tequila-drinking (in the course of the show…

Play - War Room

Life & Style

24 Apr 2007

Gaming is great - digging out your console or powering up your PC for a dose of virtual action. It’s even more fun if you get a few mates together for a bone-crunching Tekken session or a pass-the-mic round of SingStar. Now imagine a group of 28 with…

Scottish Opera

Access all arias

24 Apr 2007

It’s the climax of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Having sung themselves into a state of romantic bliss, the delicate geisha and her American lieutenant lover fall into each other’s arms. Their lips are trembling on the verge of a succulent kiss when a man…

Travel - Whisky galore!

Life & Style

24 Apr 2007

In almost any bar in Paris or Barcelona, you’ll spot young females drinking whisky. Not old men in tweed bunnets, swirling heavy tumblers and singing to themselves but young, fashionable women. A whisky-cola may be a very popular ladies’ choice in clubs…

* Hitlist

Hitlist

23 Apr 2007

Maria McKee (pictured) Her new album Late December has finally arrived, featuring skilfully drawn, unassuming alt.country nuggets. Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sat 28 Apr; Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Mon 30 Apr. (Rock & Pop)