Music, Issue 564

Arab Strap

Belt up

28 Nov 2006

OBITUARY It’s September 1996. A message is being left for me by Arab Strap’s Malcolm Middleton. ‘One of us looks a bit like Chris Evans, the other looks like, em, Tony Slattery.’ As a means of setting up a face-to-face interview with people I’ve…

* Hitlist

Hitlist

27 Nov 2006

James Yorkston, Popup and Yellow Bentines Launching a season of gigs called VERSAcoustic, three damn fine pop practitioners get acoustic on our asses. The Goat, Glasgow, Wed 6 Dec. (Rock & Pop) More details

Acoustic Ladyland - album review

Acoustic Ladyland

27 Nov 2006

JAZZ PUNK Propulsive, compulsive, repulsive, impulsive and explosive; Acoustic Ladyland aren’t your average band, but then this isn’t your average record. Pete Wareham and his associates’ mutual dislike of the expected conventions of jazz music has…

Amphetameanies, The - album review

The Amphetameanies

27 Nov 2006

SKA There are clearly not enough nonets around these days (in fact how bloody great a word is ‘nonet’ anyway?) and the ‘Meanies do things at their own pace (leisurely) and in their own style (boisterous). Among their current fold are Mick from Belle…

Classical music books for Christmas

27 Nov 2006

Mozart in the Jungle Blair Tindall Given the passion that runs through classical music, maybe it’s not surprising that American oboist Tindall should be able to write Mozart in the Jungle, a story of what might happen when young musicians find…

Cradle of Filth - album review

Cradle of Filth

27 Nov 2006

METAL There will always be a place in the history of metal for Cradle of Filth. They’ve been reliably upsetting our self imposed moral guardians since their inception. However, this is Cradle’s main problem - as an idea they’re like a bolt from the…

Dan Sartain - album review

Dan Sartain

27 Nov 2006

ROCK After the rocking good time garage punk, mamba and rockabilly workouts on Dan Sartain Vs The Serpientes this follow up is slightly disappointing. But then the boy from Birmingham, Alabama did set the bar impossibly high with his superb debut.

Dead or American - album review

Dead or American

27 Nov 2006

ROCK On listening to this record, it’s hard not to be struck by the senses of narcissism, rage and rough humour which accompany it. In fact, you might even suspect that this lot are from Dundee on such evidence alone. Anyway, Dead or American are…

Dispatch - Vic Galloway

The Dispatch

27 Nov 2006

It’s time once again to approach our impending festive doom! Yes, Christmas is upon us and has been so since the Hallowe’en decorations came down. What does this mean for the world of music? A morass of greatest hits compilations, that’s what. Do we…

Duels

27 Nov 2006

There’s been a lot of chat about the Nu-Yorkshire scene the last couple of years, and Duels are one of those bands that have put Leeds on the pop pickers map. Indie pop that shares as much with The Divine Comedy as with the likes of Syd Barrett-era Pink…

Idan Raichel Project, The - album review

The Idan Raichel Project

27 Nov 2006

WORLD The brainchild of Israeli keyboardist and producer Idan Raichel, his Project sees a group of over 70 albums contribute to this one cross-genre record. Already a huge pop success in his home country, Raichel seems to almost make a point of…

Junction Pool - album review

Junction Pool

27 Nov 2006

FOLK This young Borders ensemble was inspired by the example of The Unusual Suspects, and their own attempt at creating a folk big band packs plenty of energy and punch. The 13-strong ensemble of young musicians is led by pianist Harris Playfair, and…

Luxembourg - album review

Luxembourg

27 Nov 2006

INDIE SCHMINDIE Sitting as comfortably in the mid-90s as a Queen Anne chair in Morrissey’s parlour, or a La-Z-Boy in Martin Rossiter’s boudoir, Front is a curious period piece. Neglecting to take on board that Mozza gets away with muscular pub-rock…

Music books for Christmas

27 Nov 2006

Pet Shop Boys Catalogue Philip Hoare and Chris Heath (Thames & Hudson) Popists, design heads and PSB completists alike will drool at this visual documentary of the output the greatest pop duo ever to have walked God’s clean earth.

Partick Folk Festival

27 Nov 2006

Turn right at the bottom of Byres Road, past the Lismore Bar and you’re nearly at the Annexe - the hub of Partick’s annual little gem of a folk festival. From jazzy bagpipes to ancient song tradition, in concert and workshop. there’s music for all, and…

Pavement - album review

Pavement

27 Nov 2006

INDIE This sprawling reissue of Pavement’s least accessible album is entirely in keeping with the indie doyens’ chaotically scattershot attitude to their craft. The original 18 tracks of the album are now thrown in with another 32 tunes spread over…

Soweto Kinch - album review

Soweto Kinch

27 Nov 2006

JAZZ Saxophonist Soweto Kinch has already picked up several awards and a lot of attention in his brief career. The Birmingham-born saxman-cum-rapper has never seemed short on ambition, and this latest project is no exception. Subtitled Tales of the…

Spanky Wilson and The Quantic Soul Orchestra

27 Nov 2006

Future jazzists The Quantic Soul Orchestra are joined by one of the sweetest soul voices around. On the scene since the 60s Ms Spanky Wilson has recorded with everyone that matters from the legendary Marvin Gaye to the equally legendary Sammy Davis Jr.

Steve Reich - album review

Steve Reich

27 Nov 2006

CONTEMPORARY Steve Reich’s Different Trains is one of the classic compositions of the late 20th century. The original Kronos Quartet recording remains the benchmark in terms of sheer energy and visceral punch, but this new recording by the Duke…

Surface Noise - music news

Surface Noise

27 Nov 2006

Indian Summer is to return! The festival will be back in September 2007 after this year’s adventures with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Antony and the Johnsons. We will have all the details of the line-up when it gets confirmed.

Tom Waits - album review

Tom Waits

27 Nov 2006

UNCLASSIFIABLE When the BBC were planning their resurrection of Jackanory, Tom Waits may well have been on the longlist of proposed readers. But maybe they got wind of his disturbing night-time terror ‘Children’s Story’ and revoked the invite. Like…

Tommy Smith and Arild Andersen

27 Nov 2006

This collaboration between Scotland’s leading jazz saxophonist and one of the great names in Norwegian jazz, bassist Arild Andersen (pictured), first saw the light of day at the Islay Jazz Festival a couple of years ago, and gets a further airing here.

* Classical music hitlist

Classical music hitlist

22 Nov 2006

Reed Between the Lines As part of a drive to promote and celebrate the oboe and bassoon, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra gives a series of Glasgow concerts with these two instruments taking pride of place. Complementing the starry players, such as…

Mika

Nice'n'Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 17 Nov 6

22 Nov 2006

POP First mentioned in the same places as fellow quirk-pop doyens Lily Allen and The Pipettes, it’s unlikely that the Beirut-born, London-raised Mika will be playing many more venues as intimate as Sleazy’s. As he played here, he was also making his…

Singles and Downloads

22 Nov 2006

This issue’s singles and downloads rundown begins not with a bang but a whimper. Babyshambles ’ ‘The Blinding EP’ (Regal - 2 stars) was set to be Britain’s most famous junkie’s return to form, and, in parts, his talent still flickers through. Sadly it…