Music and Records

Singles of the Month: Withered Hand and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

Django Django, The Twilight Sad and more also reviewed

3 Feb 2012

Come hither and let us imagine a world, a perfect world – a realm in which Kim Wilde is engaged in a goth-disco tryst with The Sisters of Mercy. Think about it. Harder. Got it? Congratulations, you are now playing ‘Lafaye’ (●●●●, Full Time Hobby), the…

Various Artists - World Routes: On The Road

30-track BBC Radio 3 compilation featuring Toumani Diabaté, Tito Paris and Ilham Al Madfai

1 Feb 2012

(Nascente) How would we hear diverse world musics without Radio 3? Thank goodness they still have the budget to travel to far-flung places to capture stunning sounds from ordinary musicians we’d never know about otherwise. Since 2000 the World Routes…

Ibrahím Maalouf - Diagnostic

A groundbreaking album of brooding French-Arabic tones from trumpeter

1 Feb 2012

(Harmonia Mundi) The brooding French-Arabic quarter tones of Ibrahím Maalouf’s trumpet first seduced as guest on the late Lhasa de Sela’s desert island disc The Living Road. Bewitching then, Maalouf’s own debut with a brace of tremendous musicians…

Trailer Trash Tracys - Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Sun 15 Jan 2012

Effects-laden shoegaze fog heavy on the exquisite melodrama

27 Jan 2012

Not, as you might have expected from the name, a clan of bad-mouthin’, whisky-swillin’ Midwestern girls battering badly-tuned guitars and trying to resurrect the lost souls of L7 or The Distillers, Trailer Trash Tracys are instead three guys and a girl…

Real Estate set for UK tour

New Jersey trio take one of the best albums of 2011 on the road

27 Jan 2012

Let England Shake may have topped most of the critics’ lists, but for many it was word-of-mouth, you have to hear this, slow-burner Days by Real Estate that became their hands down musical highlight of 2011. This much-lauded record was an Ariel Pink…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Melanie C

Former Spice Girl on green tea, lemon, ginger and missing spicy food

27 Jan 2012

Eat, sleep and breathe Melanie C What time is breakfast? 8am or thereabouts. Tea or coffee? Green tea. Smoking or non-smoking? NON! Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury. What food do you miss when you tour? Spicy food – I tend to avoid…

Pulp - It/Freaks/Separations

Reissue of first three albums from 1980s originally released on Fire

27 Jan 2012

(Fire) Testament to the 80s’capacity to incubate provincial bands until they’re ready for megastardom, Pulp’s first three albums on Fire were a career’s worth in themselves, although hardly anyone remembers. Containing, as all three of these reissues…

Emeli Sande - Our Version Of Events

Powerful, sophisticated and smart mix of stripped down, acoustic songs

24 Jan 2012

(Virgin) Just imagine it, Adele and Emeli Sandé down the pub, putting the world to rights over copious pints. Men? Screw ’em. Hype? Whatever. But the main reason they’d make great gal pals is because they’ve both worked out ways to channel their…

School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

Third album from New York electro-phantoms, now a duo

24 Jan 2012

(Full Time Hobby) Ghostory – geddit? It’s the way in which our histories are colonised by ghosts. It’s the way in which persons come to haunt our tales of yore. It’s the third album from New York electro-phantoms SVIIB. At best, it is euphoric – all…

Die Hard - Die Hard

Glasgow outfit's eponymous debut of magnificently off-kilter, avant pop tales

23 Jan 2012

(Halleluwah Hits) If this Glasgow outfit had named themselves after any other Bruce Willis film we’d have issues, but as it is we’re rather partial to a bit of John McClane action so we’re giving Die Hard a go. Stick their eponymous debut on and…

The Ting Tings - Sounds From Nowheresville

Second album a mixed bag containing glimpses of what makes them fun

23 Jan 2012

(Columbia) Pity the poor Ting Tings. After selling millions of records, the Mancunian electro-pop duo got stressed, scrapped a whole album and hid from their record label. Allegedly. You can see why the pair might worry about following We Started…

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52

Orchestral backing and lots of special guests leads to a fun if over-wrought latin-funk-rock record

6 Jan 2012

(Rubyworks) For their fifth studio album the Mexican acoustic rock duo have teamed up with 13-piece orchestra C.U.B.A. to rework nine previous compositions. The radically increased personnel (which is also augmented by several guests including Cuban…

Baobab-Gateway – Strings That Sing

Accomplished Scottish-African musicians with healthy, multicultural roots

6 Jan 2012

(Brechin All) Baobab-Gateway’s name pinpoints the West African influences found in their original sound. The international pedigree and multi-ethnicity of these experienced Scottish based musicians (Salsa Celtica, Bhundu Boys, Waa Sylla) is a…

RM Hubbert – Thirteen Lost & Found

Beautiful collaborative effort from the percussive guitarist

5 Jan 2012

(Chemikal Underground) Last year’s solo debut, First and Last, saw Glaswegian guitarist RM Hubbert communicate all manner of emotions and stories through his own beautifully lush and percussive playing style. On this second album, Hubbert (who…

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

Heartfelt ode to Americana from the Swedish siblings

5 Jan 2012

(Wichita) On the surface, First Aid Kit’s obsession with Americana looks a little odd, given that they’re Swedish sisters barely out of their teens. But the pair’s homage is steeped in knowledge, and this second album sounds like it could’ve been…

The Lemonheads - Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners: The Best Of

Expansive look at Evan Dando and co's back catalogue

5 Jan 2012

(Rhino) Evan Dando is still going strong as the lone remaining member of The Lemonheads, although his days as a mainstream slacker rock heartthrob are long behind him. As this two-CD, 47-track collection demonstrates, though – perhaps too extensively…

Single of the month: Trailer Trash Tracys ‘Candy Girl / Strangling Good Guys’

Florence and the Machine, Arctic Monkeys and more also reviewed

5 Jan 2012

Music snobs love to flame Florence and the Machine these days. But as ‘No Light No Light’ (Island) ●●●● proves, Welch does epic, pagan pop pretty much perfectly. Her only crime is that lots of people now like it. They’d no doubt sneer at the recent…

Mull Historical Society - City Awakenings

Varied collection of often backwards-looking eccentricities

5 Jan 2012

(Xtra Mile Recordings) A decade after the Mull Historical Society debut Loss, Colin MacIntyre marks the event with another gentle, curious and occasionally awkward platter, as they called them back in the early 00s. In some ways, MHS are becoming…

Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester

Dreamily insubstantial album that's very, very Lynch

5 Jan 2012

(Double Six) Rightly or wrongly, a lot of bands find themselves being likened to the soundtrack of a David Lynch film. In the case of Trailer Trash Tracys’ debut the comparison is, in fact, justified. Mixing dark and disturbing soundscapes…

Dan Sartain – Too Tough To Live

Old School punk album from the raw rock'n'roller

5 Jan 2012

(One Little Indian) The handsome Alabama rocker’s throwback blues and rockabilly sound has always been fuelled by a raw power reminiscent of punk. For his sixth album, the greasy-quiffed one has embraced the punk rock style as well as its spirit with…

Chris Isaak - Beyond the Sun

Listenable but redundant take on some of Sun Records' finest

5 Jan 2012

(Vanguard Records/Rhino) During its 1950s heyday, Sun Records churned out standards by the bucketload from the likes of Elvis, Cash and Orbison. During the recording of Beyond the Sun, David Lynch’s favourite bequiffed rockabilly star was presumably…

François and the Atlas Mountains - E Volo Love

Breezy, summery pop from the former Fencer

5 Jan 2012

(Domino) Graduating, as James Yorkston and King Creosote did before him, from Fence to Domino, La Rochelle’s François Marry has produced an album here that’s worthy of the increased exposure. A set of breezy summertime pop songs which seem strangely…

Weather Report - Live In Cologne 1983

Decent but inessential instalment of the legendary jazz troupe's back catalogue

5 Jan 2012

(Art of Groove / Birdjam) This is the third in a previously unreleased sequence of very well recorded concerts featuring the band in Germany, and arguably the least essential, if only because the later phase of the band’s history was generally less…

Enrico Rava - Tribe

Great collaboration between Italians Rava, Gianluca Petrella, Giovanni Guidi and Giacomo Ancillotto

5 Jan 2012

(ECM) The great Italian trumpet master and trombonist Gianluca Petrella are a well-proven combination, and are joined here by a new rhythm section for Rava’s regular group, led by the excellent Giovanni Guidi on piano, and augmented on three tunes by…

Kelly Rowland - Here I Am

Sounding like a hastily assembled attempt to cash in on X Factor fame

7 Dec 2011

(Island) Released in the US in July, Kelly Rowland’s latest album Here I Am has hit the shores of the UK, presumably in a not-in-any-way cynical attempt to cash in on her X Factor fame. Frankly most of it sounds like it has been hastily assembled in…

Guided by Voices - Let’s Go Eat the Factory

Reformed lo-fi cult heroes do their unmistakable glorious shitness like no other

7 Dec 2011

(Fire) It was maybe only a matter of time before Guided By Voices got back together and made a new record. Responsible for 16 albums in 24 years and led by a guy in Robert Pollard credited with over 1000 songs, expecting them to totally curtail their…

Peaking Lights - 936

Psychedelic dub-pop mesh of krautrock, afrobeat, soul and hand build synths

7 Dec 2011

(Weird World/Domino) This psychedelic dub-pop excursion from married couple Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis was originally released on LA DIY imprint Not Not Fun, and its woozy mesh of krautrock, afrobeat, reggae, soul and hand build synths is…

Standard Fare - Out of Sight, Out of Town

Raucous and thrilling indie ride from loveable power-pop trio

7 Dec 2011

(Melodic) Sheffield’s Standard Fare are putting their childhood rehearsal sessions in their grandparent’s living rooms to fruitful use in adulthood. They have become a loveable power-pop trio whose second album, Out of Sight, Out of Town, is a…

Korn – The Path of Totality

Blistering new dubstep direction from the nu metal overlords

25 Nov 2011

They’ll forever be known as ‘the godfathers of nu metal’, but on Path of Totality Korn have taken a massive side step. Sure the guitars are still heavy as hammers but they’ve gone dubstep. And we’re not talking the odd breakbeat this is a full on…

The Last September - As the Crow Flies

The Edinburgh indie-folk outfit return with well-written, academia-provoked album

16 Nov 2011

(self released) After a five year hiatus, these Edinburgh gentle indie rockers return with a second album, following their well-received début, Vagrant Song. As the Crow Flies features guests Poppy Ackroyd (Hidden Orchestra and Aberfeldy) and Ali…

Various artists - Songs For Dying

Vibrant collection of tunes exploring noise genres from techno to metal

16 Nov 2011

(Pjorn 72) The local Noiserati and associates’ recent reclaiming of their techno and/or metal roots helped their clan avoid a nihilistic dead end. As this bumper fifteen track compendium of clings, clangs, sci-fi slapstick, sepulchral drones…

Lykke Li - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Sun 30 Oct 2011

Passive response suggests lesson in stagecraft required

15 Nov 2011

Having transformed radically and impressively from indie pixie into purveyor of arty, bleeding-hearted Spector pop on her second album Wounded Rhymes, you hardly expected Li Lykke Zachrisson to be exchanging high-fives with the crowd all night. But then…

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Wolfroy Goes to Town

Compelling alt-country from Will Oldman

15 Nov 2011

(Domino) ‘Stop all the moaning and bemoaning your fate / god isn’t listening, or else it’s too late,’ sings Will Oldham on ‘Time to Be Clear’, his voice like driftwood lapping at the shore. In all things heart-shattering and beautiful in the world of…

Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow

The sensual, seductive Bush dominates a sparse, wintery, piano-led slow-burner

10 Nov 2011

(Fish People/EMI) In a burst of prolificacy unmatched since her 1978 debut year Kate Bush makes two new albums in 2011, raising her total for the last 18 years to a whopping three. Where Director’s Cut saw her reinterpret old songs, 50 Words For Snow…

White Denim - Last Day Of Summer

A stripped down snapshot of a band in transition and showcasing awe-inspiring musicianship

10 Nov 2011

(Downtown) Last Day Of Summer is a fascinating insight into what White Denim were knocking out for fun before the release of this year’s breakthrough; deservedly lauded fourth offering D. Recorded in a month and initially available only online, this…

Atlas Sound - Parallax

Deerhunter multi-instrumentalist's third and best solo album

10 Nov 2011

(4AD) The term ‘side-project’ somehow doesn’t do justice to Atlas Sound, the title under which the prolific Bradford Cox operates as a solo artist when he’s not doing his squally noise rock thing with Deerhunter. The Athens, Georgia based…

Odonis Odonis - Hollandaze

Auspicious introduction that further mines the fuzz-and-feedback-as-bliss school

10 Nov 2011

(FatCat) Toronto’s Odonis Odonis – the solo project turned full live band of Dean Tzenos – join a swathe of other North American artists presently mining the trashy, scuzzy, fuzz-and-feedback-as-bliss end of post-punk and its various derivatives from…

Johnny Foreigner - Johnny Foreigner vs Everything

Bright-eyed punk-pop anthems toytown post-punk and wistful emo ballads

10 Nov 2011

(Alcopop!) Ludicrously long song titles did no harm to the late, lamented Mclusky and Biffy Clyro in their early days, and Birmingham’s Johnny Foreigner attempt a similar route to notoriety with ‘If I’m the Most Famous Boy You’ve Fucked, Then Honey…

Caetano Veloso & Maria Gadú - Multishow Ao Vivo

Concert from Brazilian singer/guitarist and up and coming singer

10 Nov 2011

(Universal) This superb stripped-back concert sees Brazilian hero and singer/guitarist Caetano Veloso partnered by up-and-coming female singer Maria Gadú. Armed only with acoustic guitars, their deceptively light, shapely and meaningful voices blend…

Rob St John - Weald

Forceful mix of melancholy and otherworldly rapture

10 Nov 2011

(Song, by Toad) Forget the much misused ‘F-word’. Rob St John is miles better than that, and putting a full electric band behind his whey-faced Lancastrian intonations has put muscle and guts on his musings. Yet for all the low-key chorales…

Empirical - Elements of Truth

Most diffuse and wide-ranging release to date

10 Nov 2011

(Naim Label) Empirical’s drift away from their early bop-oriented leanings continues on their most diffuse and wide-ranging release to date. There is a deliberately spacey, dream-like feel to much of the music, referencing Messiaen and Björk…

Breach - On The Walk

Edinburgh-based trio's reflective, atmospheric textures and energised workouts

10 Nov 2011

(Breach) This Edinburgh-based trio features three of the leading musicians on the current Scottish jazz scene, guitarist Graeme Stephen, pianist Paul Harrison focusing on organ and electronics in this setting – and drummer Chris Wallace. Each…

Carlos Paredes - Guitarra Portuegesa / Movimento Perpetuo

9 Nov 2011

(Drag City) Fêted by Six Organs of Admittance and the Kronos Quartet, Carlos Paredes was a virtuoso of the Portuguese guitar, a small 12-stringed instrument with a crystalline sound. Paredes was known as ‘the man of a thousand fingers’ and these…

King’s Daughters & Sons - If Then Not When

Glorious pastoral folk-rock debut from alt-rock super-group on Chemikal Underground

9 Nov 2011

(Chemikal Underground) Not many alt-rock super-groups would simultaneously align themselves with William Faulkner and Led Zeppelin, but then Louisville, Kentucky’s King’s Daughters & Sons are no ordinary band. Formed by members of post-rock…

Martin John Henry - The Other Half of Everything

Impressive and thoughtful debut from ex-De Rosa frontman

28 Oct 2011

(Gargleblast) The Other Half of Everything is the debut solo record from Martin John Henry, perhaps best known for fronting De Rosa – a much-loved, much-missed and highly influential band that once held their own in the Glasgow music community.

McCormack & Yarde Duo - Places and Other Spaces

Saxophone and piano duets display impressive empathy and mutual understanding

28 Oct 2011

(Edition Records) Saxophone and piano duets are clearly all the rage this month. Pianist Andrew McCormack and saxophonist Jason Yarde approach the format with impressive empathy and mutual understanding on a set of original material by one or other…

Singles of the month: Mummy Short Arms 'Change'

The Kills, Blood Orange, The Pierces, Wild Beasts and more

20 Oct 2011

As we prepare to stare winter right in the face, we find ourselves in the throes of record labels’ last real push for glory before the Christmas single sprint. The Kills lead a heavy charge from Domino but sadly, with ‘Baby Says’ (Domino) ●, they…

Rob Hall & Chick Lyall - Blithe Spirit

Melodic compositions combine jazz, classical and folk

20 Oct 2011

(FMR Records) Hall and Lyall are familiar figures on the Scottish jazz scene, and their third duo recording reveals an even greater refinement in their thoughtful, inventive music. Their melodic compositions combine jazz, classical music and a touch…

Summer Camp - Welcome To Condale

Seeped in nostalgia and one of the smartest synth pop romp of the year

19 Oct 2011

(Apricot Recording Company/Moshi Moshi) Summer Camp’s music is seeped in nostalgia, but the London duo pay homage to the past cleverly; their 1980s’ teen flicks-inspired debut thankfully free of the usual pitfalls of cynical pastiche and straight…

Rustie - Glass Swords

A step into a future sounding uncannily like the past

19 Oct 2011

(Warp) The boundary-nudging boy producer from Glasgow signed to Warp Records who isn’t Hudson Mohawke, Russell Whyte shares the same obsessions as his fellow sometime Numbers alumnus. This record is a step into the future to find it sounds uncannily…

Kurt Vile - So Outta Reach

EP from Philly native combines lo-fi sensibilities and stadium grandeur

19 Oct 2011

(Matador) Recorded during the same sessions from Kurt’s applauded fourth album Smoke Ring For My Halo, this six-song EP begins with a far closer resemblance to Leonard Cohen or J Mascis at their most mournful with opener ‘The Creature’. But what’s…

Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica

Blurring synthesisers and disembodied vocals into cohesive, if disorientating, whole

19 Oct 2011

(Software/Mexican Summer) Oneohtrix Point Never, aka US composer Daniel Lopatin, became a torchbearer for the hypnagogic pop movement thanks to his audio-visual 80s synth reverie (particularly the ‘Nobody Here’ YouTube clip, which rewired Chris de…

Corrupted - Garten der Unbewusstheit

Japanese doom metallers' moody follow up to El Mundo Frio

18 Oct 2011

Osaka’s enigmatic Corrupted have been shape-shifting their doom-laden and dystopic sound with each release over the past 15 years, to refer to them as a sludge band in their current phase seems bone-idle. Garten der Unbewusstheit (Garden of Unawareness…

Justice - Audio Video Disco

Highly enjoyable electro-rock from the Parisian duo, if notably less serious than earlier efforts

17 Oct 2011

(Ed Banger/Because) Hip Parisian electro label Ed Banger’s leading lights aren’t the first dance artists to make like rock stars – see The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and fellow French duo Daft Punk among others. But between their wiggly synth…

Sigur Rós - Inni

Stunning live recording to accompany the Icelandic quartet's latest film release

12 Oct 2011

(Krunk) Sigur Rós’s effortlessly epic post-rock feels over-exposed these days, seemingly soundtracking every nature documentary of the last decade, but stripped of that banal association it still wields enormous emotional power, as demonstrated on…

The Hazey Janes - The Winter That Was

Unoriginal effort from the Dundonian indie-poppers

12 Oct 2011

(Armellodie Records) For those looking to uncover evidence that the reservoir of originality has truly dried up on contemporary music, this new effort from Dundee’s Hazey Janes might well seal the deal. After an intriguing, brief opening salvo which…

Fink – Perfect Darkness

Ninja Tune signed Bristolian delivers relaxed soul sounds

19 Sep 2011

The fourth offering from the Bristol-born artist Fink, aka Fin Greenall and band, was recorded in the space of 20 days in Los Angeles and produced by Billy Bush, who has worked with artists including Beck and Garbage. Fink has written in the past for…

Real Estate - Days

Chiming, melancholic, reverb-bathed songs from some glorious, stoned daze

16 Sep 2011

(Domino) From The Byrds to Avi Buffalo, baked dudes kicking out jangly, gently psych-frazzled pastoral jams is a tradition as old as the hills in American pop and Real Estate are keeping it alive and well. If the trio of New Jersey childhood…

Remember Remember - The Quickening

A shimmering and optimistic tour de force from Scottish composer and pop genius

14 Sep 2011

(Rock Action) Once upon a time there was a super electro-prog combo called Multiplies. They came from Glasgow, made like rock miscreants and then they were gone, leaving memories of marvellous live shows and the sense they were always too good to be…

Twin Sister - In Heaven

Insanely infectious pop melodies and playful, off-kilter lyrics from Long Island quintet’s debut

14 Sep 2011

(Domino) Twin Sister’s biog tells us they want to make music you could feel comfortable cheating on someone to. And while The List can’t speak from experience on this one, honest, we can certainly imagine In Heaven blissing listeners out so much they…

Feist - Metals

Striking songwriting enters more mature and mellow-textured style

14 Sep 2011

(Polydor) This evidence seems to suggest Canadian siren Leslie Feist has foregone trying to recreate the breathy anthemics of 2007’s The Reminder – and the Apple-advertising ‘1234’ in particular – in favour of a more mature and mellow-textured…

Jeffrey Lewis - A Turn in the Dream-Songs

Lots to adore on sixth Rough Trade album of wry, nerdy, verbose tunes

14 Sep 2011

(Rough Trade) ‘A cult boyfriend is like a record in a bargain bin,’ rambles Jeffrey Lewis, paralleling his calibre as a date with his music; both acquired tastes, ‘no one knows its worth ’til a collector comes in.’ While we can’t advocate going…

Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls

Gorgeously gritty indie pop referencing C86, Pastels and Vaselines

14 Sep 2011

(Bella Union) You may recognise this boy/girl foursome from their various past musical projects The Royal We, Sexy Kids, Your Twenties and Correcto. But The List hopes they stick with this one, because with Veronica Falls they’re really on to…

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

New-found soulfulness with assured second album

14 Sep 2011

(Fantasy Trashcan/Turnstile) At times Christopher Owens’ religious cult upbringing and drug dabbling has threatened to overshadow the music he makes as the driving force behind San Francisco’s Girls. No such problems with this assured follow-up to…

We Were Promised Jetpacks - In the Pit of the Stomach

Not groundbreaking, but an impressive second album

14 Sep 2011

(Fat Cat) The main challenge for Scottish noiseniks these days is to not sound like Biffy Clyro, something We Were Promised Jetpacks achieve with aplomb on this accomplished second album. There are echoes of Interpol and even The Skids on the likes…

Other Lives - Tamer Animals

Debut evoking Ennio Morricone, The Decemberists and The National

14 Sep 2011

(Play it Again Sam) The influential fingerprints of Ennio Morricone are clearly visible on Other Lives’ debut record. The galloping pace and stark electric guitar of debut single ‘For 12’ recalls the theme from A Few Dollars More, while the sound of…

Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams

Fizzily catchy, if too clean-cut to entirely convince

14 Sep 2011

(Sub Pop) It’s little surprise to discover that The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner co-produced this Californian all-female quartet’s second album. By progressing from trashy, distorted beginnings towards something more polished and unashamedly pop…

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don’t Know

Nice, but not ground-breakingly so

14 Sep 2011

(Virgin) While some will lap up anything by the Brit winning and twice Mercury-nominated Marling, those with a little remove on the scene might want to consider whether this is the sound of the emperor’s new clothes rustling. Marling’s voice is…

Muscles of Joy - Muscles of Joy

Remarkable debut fuses styles with melodic instinct, sensitivity, and coherence

14 Sep 2011

(Watts of Goodwill) For the past three years, Glasgow’s Muscles of Joy have honed a singular body of work that spans myriad divergent forms – from post-punk to Bulgarian a cappella; from Gaelic psalm singing to New Pop. The vocal-led, all-female…

Blueflint - Maudy Tree

Déjà vu melodies and clichéd narratives winds up down the same old cul de sac

14 Sep 2011

(Jorock) If ever there was a band best suited to be heard in the ale-imbued confines of a wee folk club rather than in the car or at home, it’s Scottish quartet Blueflint. For every song on Maudy Tree that seems to begin promisingly with a subtle…

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Tape Club

Enjoyable collection of B-sides and demos a predictably patchy affair

14 Sep 2011

(Polyvinyl) The 26 tracks on Tape Club, the majority of which are pleasingly under two and a half minutes long, represent unreleased tunes, B-sides, demos and rare recordings across a decade in the life of this Missouri outfit with one of the…

Sia Tolno - My Life

Empoweringly feelgood collection from Young Guinean singer

14 Sep 2011

(Lusafrica) Young Guinean singer Sia Tolno overcame civil war exile to compose defiantly funky songs championing a better life for African woman and children. Her richly rhythmic tones have been rightfully compared to Miriam Makeba and Tina Tuner (as…

The Shivers - More

Sixth album of diverse styles linked by soulful sensibility from New York outfit

14 Sep 2011

(Fence Records) Having tootled along in NYC for years, this is The Shivers’ sixth album but first to be released over here, and it’s a perfect introduction to their idiosyncratic and gentle form of genius. Diversity is the name of the game; anti-folk…

Jan Kopinski's Reflektor - Mirrors

Fiery avant-jazz energy and intensity from Pinski Zoo saxophonist

14 Sep 2011

(33 Records) Jan Kopinski first came to prominence on the UK jazz scene with his band Pinski Zoo in the late 80s, and there is much of the fiery avant-jazz energy and intensity that lit up their music in this new album. Reflektor features the…

Alex Garnett - Serpent

Agile, fresh-sounding contemporary bop from English saxophonist

14 Sep 2011

(Whirlwind Recordings) At just over 40, English saxophonist Alex Garnett has taken his time in making his recording debut as a leader, but in the interim has built a considerable track record in a wide variety of settings. That depth of experience is…

The Drums - Portamento

Second helping of summery indie pop from the darlings of the hipster set

24 Aug 2011

(Island) On this, their second album, The Drums have made no effort to grow out of summery guitar riffs and meaningless lyrics full of innocent joy. In fact, these 12 sprightly indie-pop tracks are so similar, and so slight, that Portamento could be…

Single of the Month: King Creosote and Jon Hopkins’ ‘Honest Words’

Also reviewed: Katy B, Ghostpoet, Anna Calvi, Airship and Ed Sheeran

24 Aug 2011

As Mercury Price fever ensues, there’s a last-minute dash to make the most of this extra attention, however, the resulting singles are admittedly a bit hit and miss. The latter is unfortunately the case for Katy B’s scatty, 90s dance rip-off…

Cant – Dreams Come True

Grizzly Bear multi-instumentalist and producer Chris Taylor emerges from bedroom-pop hibernation

24 Aug 2011

(Warp) Recorded in 10 days just a whisper away from where Grizzly Bear recorded Veckatimest, Dreams Come True is the first major foray into solo-dom by the band’s member-producer Chris Taylor. Written with George Lewis Jr AKA Twin Shadow (who last…

Soma Records: 20 Years

Three CD celebration pack of hits and resurrections

24 Aug 2011

(Soma) As ‘the UK’s longest-running dance label’, so they tell us and we’re inclined to believe, Soma (the releasing arm of production duo Slam, the guys who pitch that pointy blue tent at T in the Park every year) continue to occupy a place…

Butcher Boy - Helping Hands

From strength to strength, without fanfare or fuss

24 Aug 2011

(Damaged Goods) Butcher Boy’s John Blain Hunt has a habit of taking your breath away with words. Three albums into the band’s career, he’s still that brilliant; Helping Hands filled to the brim with the beautifully crafted, poetic storytelling the…

Laki Mera - The Proximity Effect

Sleepy chillwave effort from Laura Donnelly and co

24 Aug 2011

(Just Music) While the chillwave likes of Washed Out and Toro Y Moi purvey a fresh brand of electronic pop music that’s both soothing and stimulating, Glasgow quartet Laki Mera’s second album harks back to a time when it made people fall asleep in…

The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time

Winningly upbeat and hope-filled return

24 Aug 2011

(Decca) Marking a long-awaited reunion of the band’s two principal songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson – the latter of whom acrimoniously left to live in the desert with his folk-singer wife (now ex) Victoria Williams in 1995 – Mockingbird Time…

The Rapture - In the Grace of Your Love

Operating with one or both feet off the dancefloor

24 Aug 2011

(DFA) Don’t go into this third album by New York’s sometime disco-punk mavericks expecting the uplifting Chicago house keys of comeback single ‘How Deep is Your Love?’ and you’ll be fine. That the second and most recent of their club-friendly earlier…

Slow Club - Paradise

Celestial landscape of indie doo-wop, camp-fire folk and glimmering soul

24 Aug 2011

(Moshi Moshi) If there is a more enjoyable example this year of buoyant tap dancing than on the video for ‘Two Cousins’, then I will eat my hand-made Slow Club hat. The video’s startling choreography and the song’s nostalgic, glorious swoon-pop are…

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical

Splashy disco beats, floaty synth-strings and wounded puppy yelping

24 Aug 2011

(V2/Co-op) Brooklyn’s CYHSY were trailblazers for the internet-savvy, straight-to-fans DIY indie generation with their self-titled, self-released 2005 debut album. After a cool response to 2007’s Some Loud Thunder and a four year-interim during which…

Ganglians - Still Living

A beautiful thing, but a couple of years late for the beach party

24 Aug 2011

(Souterrain Transmissions) This is an undeniably solid and harmonious surf-pop album from Sacramento’s Ganglians. The only snag is, it just feels like several albums you may have already heard – and probably loved – before. The second album from…

Beirut - The Rip Tide

Delicately composed and personal music which occasionally lacks bite

24 Aug 2011

(Pompeii) For such a unique artist with a truly intercontinental approach to music, taking inspiration from the lineage of North American alternative indie rock and the instruments and styles of Eastern European music, there’s a lot that sounds…

St Vincent - Strange Mercy

Contemporary classicism with sharp beats, woozy synths and a personality of its own

24 Aug 2011

(4AD) Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, is an oddball pop whizz in the tradition of Kate Bush or Todd Rundgren, spinning gorgeous melodies from unconventional structures and inspired arrangements. Her voice is exquiste, but never merely pretty. Clark…

Various artists - The Rough Guide to World Lullabies

Globe-spanning collection of bedtime songs

24 Aug 2011

(World Music Network) Despite the fact that so many plug into i-Pods daily, it seems folk still enjoy going old school, and serenading their babes with a restful lullaby. For List readers who may have tiny ones in their immediate or extended family…

Lucas Santtana - Sem Nostalgia

Playful, laid-back guitar work from the Brazilian musician

24 Aug 2011

(Mais Um Discos) Publicity can backfire, as with comparing songwriter Lucas Santtana to bossa nova innovator João Gilberto. Where Gilberto distilled everything through a ‘cool’ Brazilian sensibility, Santtana represents more 21st century, universal…

Wesseltoft Schwarz - Duo

Norwegian ‘nu-jazz’ guru and techno producer make ambient jazz-meets-dance

24 Aug 2011

(Jazzland) The combination of piano and laptop computer would once have been pretty much the exclusive preserve of the free improv end of jazz, but Norwegian ‘nu-jazz’ guru Bugge Wesseltoft and techno producer Henrik Schwarz bring their collaboration…

Linley Hamilton - Taylor Made

Belfast trumpeter's bop-inspired work

24 Aug 2011

(Lyte Records) There is some good jazz coming out of Ulster these days, and trumpeter Linley Hamilton is one of the people making it. His CV includes work with Van Morrison and Paul Brady as well as more mainstream jazz connections, and the choice…

Tattie Toes - Turnip Famine

Debut from one of UK’s most inspiring underground acts

16 Aug 2011

(Pickled Egg) A Glasgow four-piece with a Basque singer, a Welsh violinist, a bassist from Bolton, and a puppeteer on drums, Tattie Toes have never subscribed to conventional notions of what a band should be. As a result, they’ve become one of the…

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic

Expansive treat from ever-original American artist produced by Beck

16 Aug 2011

(Domino) There’s a fine line between playing to the crowd and finding your groove, and sometime Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus appears to be walking it. His new album bestrides most genres known to man, bouncing between the familiar (the cheery…

Will Hanson - Moving a Body

Spine-tingling guitar melodies and off-kilter pop

16 Aug 2011

(12/26) The genesis of Londoner Will Hanson’s solo debut was a move from New York to Glasgow – go figure, it being a city that’s produced audibly two of his biggest influences in Mogwai and The Delgados. He cut his teeth previously with defunct…

Adam Stafford - Build a Harbour Immediately

Debut soloalbum from Y’All Is Fantasy Island frontman

16 Aug 2011

(Wise Blood Industries) Falkirk’s Adam Stafford is a youthful cult-pop polymath whose various endeavours embrace music (he fronted Y’All Is Fantasy Island and helms DIY imprint Wise Blood Industries), video directing (The Twilight Sad’s ‘Seven Years…

Mirror Mirror - Interiors

Brooklyn duo's trippy and downbeat intelligent pop

16 Aug 2011

(RVNG Intl) This Brooklyn’s duo’s penchant for intelligent pop is obvious, with melody always at the fore. While the title track of their second full-length album is more trippy and downbeat than the majority of the record, ‘Sublime Objective’ is a…

Wooden Shjips - West

Explorative and intoxicating but breaking little new ground

10 Aug 2011

(Thrill Jockey) Any fears that Wooden Shjips’ first trip into a recording studio would compromise the fug of their psych-rock are swiftly allayed by ‘Black Smoke Rise’, the opening track from the San Franciscans’ new long-player. It revokes their…

The Wild Swans - The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years

Paul Simpson’s band of reignited pop classicists plus guests

10 Aug 2011

(Occultation) After 30 years of hurt, Paul Simpson’s band of reignited pop classicists are on a mission. Featuring a supergroup of musical crusaders recruited from the ranks of Echo and the Bunnymen, Spiritualised and Brian Jonestown Massacre, this…

Various artists - Cumbia! Bestial

10 Aug 2011

(Chusma records) Americans have been dancing in time with the Colombian cumbia music style, with its easy slide side-to-side moves in 2/4 time since the 60s, it really hit the international club scene in the 21st century. Cumbia! Bestial offers a…