Music and Issue 639

Versus - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 10 Sep

15 Sep 2009

Take three bands, throw ‘em on a stage before a like-minded audience, mix, match, mess and stir things up occasionally with a mid-set special guest or two, then bask in the cut n’paste none-stop, occasionally erotic cabaret that ensues. This, then, is…

Easy Ryders - Kasabian interview

10 Sep 2009

It’s taken a while, but Kasabian are finally as big as they always thought they deserved to be. Jonny Ensall chats to singer Tom Meighan and finds out that fame and critical validation have calmed one of the biggest egos in rock

The house that Jaxx built - Basement Jaxx interview

10 Sep 2009

From the home front, Basement Jaxx have been uncharacteristically quiet for the last three years. They’ve kept out of view, retiring into studious production mode and, while they say they never went away, they can’t deny they have, at least, been…

Giant steps - Little Boots interview

10 Sep 2009

Little Boots is mid-fib when her phone signal cuts out. She’s on the motorway, heading towards the Reading Festival, and she is livening up her early morning interview by colouring in a few of her answers. She was just explaining where she got her…

Ocean Size - Twin Atlantic interview

10 Sep 2009

The popular Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic pack an onstage punch, and have more than enough ambition to follow it up, finds Camilla Pia

What the puck? - Hockey interview

10 Sep 2009

Rob Dabrowski speaks to Hockey, the American new wave renegades ready to ramp up the enthusiasm on indie dancefloors

Hear this! - Upcoming gigs and albums Autumn 2009

10 Sep 2009

SEPTEMBER 14 Sep Jay-Z The Blueprint 3 After ‘retirement’, Glastonbury and gigs converting Coldplay fans to the joys of rap music, his masterful album trilogy is now complete. 14 Sep Muse The Resistance The band’s fifth album, it’s tinged…

Upcoming gigs in Scotland: Autumn 2009

10 Sep 2009

Scotland, as we all know, is a hub of great music, great venues and great live audiences. Which is why so many of the world’s great acts forget about the poor weather and poor diet and play here. Add to that list alt-country sorts, and favourites of…

First word - Stix Zadinia of Steel Panther

10 Sep 2009

Stix Zadinia from glam parody rockers Steel Panther flexes his muscles to talk sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll

Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2009 launches

10 Sep 2009

Singer Karine Polwart is just one of the many names putting her name – and voice – behind this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Now in its third year, the festival explores mental health in its broadest sense with almost 200 events…

Music hitlist

10 Sep 2009

Cocoon Counter Culture Weekender, Steel Panther, Coldplay, Jay-Z and White Lies, Gang of Four, Stereo Open Day, Tinchy Stryder, Islay Jazz Festival.

Topic records

10 Sep 2009

The world’s oldest independent record company has reached 70. Topic Records started in 1939, and has been a powerhouse of the British folk landscape ever since. With a back catalogue stretching from Pete Seeger to Eliza Carthy, Topic has always…

Circle of friends: Dot Allison

The muse-for-hire finds her own voice

3 Sep 2009

There can be few better kept secrets in music than Dot Allison. The Edinburgh-born singer songwriter has been involved in exciting new music for over fifteen years, collaborating with all kinds of different artists as well as producing four acclaimed…

Exposure: Northern Xposure

3 Sep 2009

Feted by The Culture Show, name-checked by the urban music press, respected by an army of sometime tour-mates and artists they’ve played alongside (including Dizzee Rascal, Naughty By Nature, Estelle, The Roots and Amy Winehouse) and still based in the…

Confined Human Condition preview

Inventive musical theatre from Cathie Boyd's Cryptic

3 Sep 2009

Cathie Boyd’s Cryptic have long been associated with inventive, often visually striking presentations of music. There’s often, as well, an exploratory and creative use of multimedia running through the work. But with this latest piece, the electronic…

Also released: Music

The other records on rotate in The List offices

3 Sep 2009

Shields Up - Shields Up, O.M.T. - Anamantium, Will Vinson - Promises, Alan Windram - 10 O’Clock in the Morning, Paloma Faith - Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful?, OMO - The White Album, Mew - No More Stories

InMe

Essex rockers show off their new album

3 Sep 2009

InMe have had a bit of a rough time in recent years. The alt.rock band went from being the poster boys of a teenage generation – with tracks like the brooding ‘Firefly’ regularly on music television in the early 00s and helping to win an army of devoted…

T-Model Ford

Authentic blues from the octogenarian

3 Sep 2009

Born James Lewis Carter Ford in Forrest, a small community in Scott County, Mississippi, myth, mystery and awe surround the life of the blues musician better known as T-Model Ford. His exact age, for instance, is unknown even to him, although he is…

Withered Hand - Good News

3 Sep 2009

Withered Hand is not, alas, a Jeremy Beadle tribute band. It is, however, the nom de plume of Edinburgh alt.folk messiah Dan Willson – and for said dude we should give thanks. Willson is a curious pop disciple: a deadpan bard eternally vexed by the…

SNJO plays Wayne Shorter

3 Sep 2009

The music of saxophonist Wayne Shorter is the latest to come under the radar of Tommy Smith and the excellent Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and promises to be one of their most memorable incursions. ‘Wayne is a superlative composer of memorable…

Four reasons to go see: Gang of Four

Post-punk, political legends come to Edinburgh

3 Sep 2009

1 They’re post-punk legends Widely regarded as one of the leading lights of the post-punk movement which emerged in the late 70s, the Leeds foursome mixed the visceral energy of punk with elements of disco, funk, dub and reggae before anyone else…

Amazing Baby - Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Tue 1 Sep 2009

3 Sep 2009

Much hype has been touted about Brooklyn boys Amazing Baby being the next MGMT – they graduated from the same school, supported them on their last tour, apparently sound the same. This gig might have been the chance to see the Next Big Thing.

Terry Reid and The Fortunate Sons - Winchester Club, Glasgow, 29 Aug

The blues maestro plays Glasgow

3 Sep 2009

Roll’n’roll folklore states that he turned down overtures from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but tonight blues maestro Terry Reid joins forces with Glasgow outfit The Fortunate Sons. It seems, however, less of an amalgamation of musical wits than might…

Glasvegas - We Love To Boogie, Glasgow, Tue 1 Sep 2009

3 Sep 2009

‘Fuck the neighbours!’ shouts someone within the crowd spilling out onto the street. ‘James, please – turn it up to 11!’ Maybe the quiet little acoustic gig Glasvegas’ James Allan had in mind when he arranged this Twitter-promoted secret show wasn’t so…

Classical hitlist

3 Sep 2009

RSNO: Hollywood Classics Bringing a busy summer season to its close, the RSNO and their conductor David Danzmayr present a popular mix of music from the movies. Lawrence of Arabia, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars are all there in radiant…

Art Fag (Song by Toad Night) - Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sun 30 Aug

3 Sep 2009

There’s a communal feel at this night for local record label Song By Toad, in Edinburgh’s cosiest venue. Everyone seems to know everyone as the applause is fierce, and nobody feels right standing at the back. It does mean the impact of Art Fag’s Neil…

Jah Wobble - Memoirs of a Geezer: The Autobiography

3 Sep 2009

Within the first paragraph of this look-back over a particularly distinctive life and musical career, John Wardle has been born in Stepney, E1. And within the first page-and-a-half, his mum has had their house exorcised (but not a ‘full-on pukka…

Martin Simpson - True Stories

3 Sep 2009

Martin Simpson is probably most revered as a guitarist, and his prowess on both guitars and banjo is entirely evident on this follow-up to his award-winning 2007 release Prodigal Son, both on two dazzling instrumental tracks and accompanying his…

Trashcan Sinatras - In the Music

3 Sep 2009

Nineteen years since their debut, Cake, and five years since their last set, Weightlifting, Irvine’s finest export, Trashcan Sinatras, spread their welcome musical manifesto of love, peace and relaxed harmonies once again. With no criticism intended…

The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love

3 Sep 2009

It’s a shame that John Hughes isn’t around to make movies anymore and that The OC is finished because The Big Pink could have hit pay dirt as the official soundtrackers to both. The London duo may have underground credentials – Sunn 0)))), Merok Records…

Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter

3 Sep 2009

The singular skills of Richard Hawley were brought to the attention of the wider world in 2006 by Arctic Monkeys when, on accepting the Mercury Music Prize, they claimed ‘he was robbed!’ after they pipped his album Cole’s Corner for the prize. Two years…

Steve Kuhn Trio with Joe Lovano - Mostly Coltrane

3 Sep 2009

American pianist Steve Kuhn’s established trio with bassist David Finck and drummer Joey Baron is expanded to a quartet with the addition of saxophonist Joe Lovano for this excellent project. Kuhn was briefly part of John Coltrane’s quartet in 1961, but…

MacDonald Fujii Davidson Tamura Bancroft - Cities

East and west come together on jazz culture clash

3 Sep 2009

Almost by definition, free improvisation is very much a global music language. When players from diverse parts come together on a free agenda, cultural influences will clearly play their internal part in shaping the emerging musical conversation, but…

Monsters of Folk - Monsters Of Folk

3 Sep 2009

With a band made up of such indie big guns as Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes), Jim James of My Morning Jacket and singer-songwriter M Ward, you’d imagine there would be an almighty scrap over who took frontman duties. Not with Monsters Of…

Twin Atlantic - Vivarium

3 Sep 2009

Not since the sacred Biffy Clyro has The List been this excited about a bunch of young Scottish rockers. Twin Atlantic conjure up images of early Idlewild and Foo Fighters with a post-rock twist, and one listen to mini debut offering Vivarium proves why…

Girls - Album

3 Sep 2009

Love is in the air and the 60s are in the chords as Girls come over all romantic in their debut album. Looking as if they’ve raided the dressing up boxes of MGMT for outfits, and the genres of rockabilly, 60s girl groups and surf pop for sounds, Chet…

Part Chimp - Thriller

3 Sep 2009

Imagine a supernova collapsing into a super-gravitational black hole, sucking in whole star systems, then eating pies and doughnuts for all eternity, and that still wouldn’t be as heavy as Part Chimp. This third album from the London…

J Tillman - Year in the Kingdom

3 Sep 2009

Unknown to most, current Fleet Foxes drummer J Tillman is a prolific singer-songwriter in his own right, and this sixth solo outing is a companionable jaunt through a similar alt.folk hinterland to his day job. With fragile banjo, tremulous dulcimer…

Jamie T - Kings and Queens

3 Sep 2009

(Virgin Records) Following up a Mercury-nominated debut was always going to be difficult. Yet two-and-a-half years later Jamie Treays has managed to polish up his act with a more mature, sharper sound, while still remaining true to his gutter poet…

Christ. - Distance Leads to the View

3 Sep 2009

Electronic music has always been a constant battle between (wo)man and machine, the two wrestling for the upper hand to produce something that sounds unique, unearthly and often ungodly. For his latest instalment Christ.’s taking things back to basics…

Nicola Benedetti set for Proms in the Park

3 Sep 2009

Always a great night, the BBC’s Proms in the Park returns to Glasgow Green to celebrate the end of the Proms series of concerts in relaxed – and appropriately Scottish – style. Violin soloist Nicola Benedetti performs with the inimitable tenor and…

Bob Log III

Delta blues madness at King Tut's

3 Sep 2009

For a unique take on the Delta blues, Bob Log III is your man. He is clad in a crash helmet and cat suit with a telephone wired into his face-plate, leaving his hands free to concentrate on slide guitar while he uses his feet to drum. Expect a bizarre…

David Gray

10 years after White Ladder made him, the singer/songwriter is back at the ABC

3 Sep 2009

Not as ubiquitous as during the days of White Ladder (his 1999 album that went stratospheric), it’s easy to forget that David Gray had a canny knack for constructing simple yet effective songs. His new album Draw the Line is out later this month.

Orbital

Dance pioneers entertain at the Academy

3 Sep 2009

The second coming of dance music pioneers Orbital continues. After the euphoria that greeted them at Rock Ness this summer, the Hartnoll brothers are back for more of their classic techno cuts and lush ambient electro. O2 Academy, Glasgow, Sun 20…

Fuck Buttons

Avant-garde, post-rock, sweary sorts come to Glasgow

3 Sep 2009

Experimental electronica meets squalling fuzzy post-punk in the hands of the wonderfully monikered Brighton duo Fuck Buttons. Signed to ATP Recordings expect discordant synths, freaked-out vocals, slabs of drone rock and crashing waves of blissful…