Music, Reviews, Issue 696
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30 articles
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Lawrence of Belgravia
10 May 2012
Intimate and touching documentary about the eccentric Felt frontman
Lawrence - surnameless former front man of the variably appreciated 80s-90s indie bands Felt and Denim, and current leader of the barely-appreciated-at-all Go Kart Mozart – is a bit like the picture in Jarvis Cocker’s attic, psychologically speaking.
Eye o’ the Dug - St Andrews, Sat 14 & Sun 15 Apr 2012
27 Apr 2012
Fantastic bill featuring Django Django, Malcolm Middleton and more
They may have quadrupled the size of their show, and conscripted beefcakes to man the doors, but the spirit of Fence chiefly prevailed at the inaugural Eye O’ The Dug – a musical hoopla which (kind of) filled a Homegame-shaped hole in the calendar (and…
Major Lazer - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Sun 22 Apr
26 Apr 2012
A ballsy and daft neo-dancehall party that wasn't shared enough with the audience
‘Make some noise for all the asses!’ encouraged super-producer, and one half of Major Lazer, Diplo, midway through the band’s dancehall blitzkrieg of a live show. A dozen Glaswegian girls had been hoisted from the audience onto the O2 ABC stage to…
The Sunshine Underground - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Mon 16 Apr
26 Apr 2012
Energetic indie-electro-rock from the Leeds trio
There's something different about The Sunshine Underground. Maybe it's their strange mix of electronica, grimy bass and echoing vocals. Maybe it's their somewhat unorthodox recording methods (they once put drummer Matthew Gwilt in a tent to get a 'big…
The Waterboys - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Wed 3 Mar
26 Apr 2012
Three hours of intense, lyrical rock music for grown-ups
Backstage after tonight’s show, Mike Scott, Waterboy-in-chief since the band’s inception in 1983, is disgruntled. His band have put in a considerable shift, knocking out not only a connoisseur’s best-of set but the bulk of its recent and remarkable…
Holy Mountain - Earth Measures
26 Apr 2012
A cacophonous, riff-driven release imbued with savage axe-mastery and vintage spirit
What we are basically dealing with here is a delirious, hirsute rawk mob – a cacophonous, riff-driven Glasgow trio who’re as heavy as Led and thrice as cool. Notorious for combustible live shows (they once blared out the back of a van, with a cigarette…
The Leg - An Eagle to Saturn
26 Apr 2012
Absurdist punk more confusing than worthwhile?
Terrifyingly obscure and possibly dangerous are pretty much the only ways to describe this offering from Edinburgh's The Leg. Definitely not one for the faint-hearted or easily offended as tracks cover some pretty dark ideas. Shouted lyrics sound eerily…
Kim Edgar - The Ornate Lie
26 Apr 2012
Folk rock from The Burns Unit member Kim Edgar
The second album from The Burns Unit member Kim Edgar raises the bar from where her acclaimed debut album left off, mixing delicate folk rock melodies with Kim’s uniquely Scottish and poignant lyrics. Edgar’s harmonious piano playing and a voice full of…
The Futureheads - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Mon 9 Apr
25 Apr 2012
Stripped down acoustic and a capella show from the indie-rock group
For a band who made one of their very earliest trips around the UK a tour of working men’s clubs, there was a certain sense of having come full circle here. Billed as an acoustic and a cappella tour, it was more than just a stripped-down version of…
Andrew WK - The Garage, Glasgow, Sat 14 Apr
25 Apr 2012
The long-haired party-metaller plays debut album I Get Wet in full
Andrew WK is what he is: partier, lover of dirty jeans, motivational speaker. Whatever you thought of him when he arrived on the scene with tongue firmly in cheek on the back of last year’s debut album I Get Wet is irrelevant. As a live prospect, Andrew…
Tinariwen - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Thu 5 Apr 2012
23 Apr 2012
An evocative but occasionally flat show from the Tuareg blues guitarists
A beguiling mix of blues guitar sounds, gently insistent but sometimes complex rhythms and desert sensibilities is what’s always made Tinariwen unique. Live, the blend is all the more compelling, which must be due, at least in part, to the sheer…
Emeli Sande - Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Tue 10 Apr 2012
23 Apr 2012
Ballsy, multi-genre songwriting overcomes any X Factor endorsements
The fact that an artist has been given the stamp of approval by Simon Cowell would be a sign to many that we should run quickly in the other direction. Leave your valuables. Forget your loved ones. Put on your own oxygen mask first and get the heck out…
Zulu Winter - Language
23 Apr 2012
The indie rockers' debut is disappointingly unadventurous
(Play It Again Sam) With their unabashed love of Czech new wave cinema, Steve Reich, TS Eliot, Ayn Rand and modern dance troupes The List won’t even pretend to have heard of, we expected something a little more adventurous from Zulu Winter’s debut…
PAWS - Misled Youth
23 Apr 2012
A pacey, frantic and melancholy EP from the Glasgow garage pop-rock trio
(Fat Cat) Grrr, Paws are good. Be it gigging in weird places (the Glasgow trio have played in bathrooms, skate shops and on top of double decker buses) or the bedroom recordings released on painstakingly put-together, hand-numbered limited edition…
The Just Joans - Buckfast Bottles in the Rain
23 Apr 2012
Underwhelming concept album from the indie-poppers
(weePOP!) Naming themselves after a notoriously annoying tabloid columnist might be mistake number one, but it isn’t the worst of The Just Joans’ crimes. Claiming to have created an ‘audacious artistic undertaking’ of Bowie and Zappa-like proportions…
Two Wings - Love's Spring
23 Apr 2012
A warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and English folk-rock
(Tin Angel Records) The strident classicism of Two Wings may come as a surprise to those familiar with the avant-folk of Hanna Tuulikki’s other group Nalle. That project’s eerie soundworld is replaced by a warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and…
Star Wheel Press - Life Cycle of a Falling Bird
23 Apr 2012
A timeless album from the Americana heartbreakers
Bonnie Prince Billy is not the only alt-country bard to have dibs on Glen Lyon. Americana heartbreakers Star Wheel Press are based in Aberfeldy (BPB’s erstwhile stomping ground), and have quietly amassed a dedicated following since their lovely debut…
Martin Speake & Colin Oxley - Two Not One
23 Apr 2012
An album of light, buoyant jazz ballads, ideal in small servings
(Pumpkin Records) The airy combination of alto saxophone and guitar and a leaning toward ballad tempos gives the music on this duo outing a light, buoyant feel which does pale a little over the whole album, but works beautifully on any individual…
Madonna - MDNA
18 Apr 2012
Album with producers Benny Benassi, Martin Solveig and William Orbit
Kudos to 53-year-old Auntie Madge not for delivering a classic album, but for having the sheer brass she-balls to turn out a record that’s as clubby, sexy and designed for the dancefloor after midnight as any she’s produced. A nod and a wink to naughty…
Beach House - Bloom
18 Apr 2012
Fourth album sticks to style favouring atmosphere over structure
(Bella Union) With 2010’s totally immersive Teen Dream, Baltimore two-piece Beach House – France-born vocalist/keyboardist Victoria Legrand and guitarist Alex Scally – went from American indie try-hards to one of the most critically-acclaimed bands of…
The Chromatics - Kill For Love
18 Apr 2012
Anticipated second album from Italians Do It Better stable
(Italians Do It Better) The Chromatics follow up to 2007’s Night Drive has been one of the most anticipated albums of the year and despite countless delays with its release date – it’s been worth the wait, for the most part. Kill For Love does try a…
Jesus H. Foxx - Endless Knocking
18 Apr 2012
Long-awaited debut admirable in perfectionism, but feels laboured
(Song, by Toad) ‘I’ve waited two bloody years for these muppets to finish this album,’ writes Song, by Toad boss Matthew Young in an amusingly frank note accompanying Edinburgh seven-piece Jesus H. Foxx’s debut. We’ve shared his frustration in…
Cate Le Bon - Cyrk
18 Apr 2012
Brilliantly textured slice of Welsh psychedelic folk genius
For her latest outing Cate Le Bon takes her pick of the current crop of Wales’ finest musicians, with H. Hawkline providing hypnotically undulating synth goodness, while Y Niwl’s wünderkind Sion Glynn weaves beautifully meandering melodies, at times…
Julia Holter - Tragedy
18 Apr 2012
Celestial drones, mesmeric synths, ambient noise and unearthly vocals
(Night School) Perhaps you read that album title and started hollering the Bee Gees song or god forbid, Steps. Thank the stars, then, for LA composer and minimalist pop diviner Julia Holter, who will banish your garish disco horrors with celestial…
French Wives - Dream of the Inbetween
18 Apr 2012
An astute and highly promising opening salvo from Glasgow band
(Electric Honey) What a satisfying thing it is to hear a pop song that bypasses the tyranny of the chorus and sticks to its guns with a series of ear-warming verses. ‘Younger’, the shoulder-high stand-out track from the debut collection by French Wives…
