Music, Reviews

Singles & Downloads

8 May 2008

Get ready, kids, it’s New Morrissey Single of the Fortnight time! And this one’s a stormer, all taut and driving, and laced with that familiar austerity which, you suspect, hides a well of uncertainty somewhere just below the surface. And it’s got these…

Mark E Smith with Austin Collings - Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E Smith

8 May 2008

MUSIC BIOGRAPHY (Viking) The real joy of Mark E Smith and The Fall has always been expecting the unexpected. His music has always stuck to a rigid formula but is somehow never formulaic, and he’s survived every British musical subculture since punk…

Indómitos

8 May 2008

ROCK Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Sat 19 Apr From the moment they take the stage with a dry ‘goodnight, we are Indómitos’, to when they amble off the stage having delivered a pitch-perfect set of rattling, rumbling and reverb-drenched garage punk, it’s…

Jay Haze - Love & Beyond

8 May 2008

TECHNO SOUL (TurningSpork Records) Jay Haze aka Fuckpony is one of few producers providing something unique in the minimal scene besides Ricardo Villalobos. Love focuses on the sci-fi house sound ‘of the now’. The standouts on the double vinyl version…

Madonna - Hard Candy

8 May 2008

POP (Warner Bros) While acts much younger than her construct entire careers around trading on former glories, Madonna clearly doesn’t give two figs for nostalgia. Eleven albums on and pop’s most famous magpie and queen of reinvention is as sonically…

Parka - Attack of the Hundred Yard Hardman

8 May 2008

BAGGY (Jeepster) One day, that baggy comeback is going to arrive, and will a band like Parka be leading the charge? Probably not. For all their verve and enthusiasm, the Glaswegian group (now based in London) sound just like the times they emulate…

Session A9 - Bottlenecks and Arm-Breakers

8 May 2008

FOLK (RAJ Records) Session A9 are not the only four-fiddle ‘supergroup’ on the Scottish folk scene, but like both Blazin’ Fiddles and Fiddlers’ Bid, they have evolved their own distinctive approach to the format. That sense of individuality is down to…

Televised Crimewave

8 May 2008

GARAGE ART-PUNK Fast @ the Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 18 Apr No band of skinny-jean art-punk terriers wants to appear like they’re trying too hard, but that doesn’t work when your audience are simultaneously reclining away from looking like they give…

The Heavy Circles - The Heavy Circles

8 May 2008

ROCK/POP (Dynamite Child) Twenty years after the funky quirks of ‘What I Am’, Edie Brickell’s voice retains its girlish appeal: dreamy soaring, slacker tantrums and all. This time round, though, it’s her husband Paul Simon’s son Harper who is setting…

The Phantom Band

8 May 2008

ROCK Is This Music? @ 13th Note, Glasgow, Thu 17 Apr Back in early 2005, few people were shouting about Mother and the Addicts, ditto De Rosa in early 2006, yet both of these bands went on to promptly release cracking debut albums through Chemikal…

The Vaselines and Emma Pollock

8 May 2008

INDIE Mono, Glasgow, Thu 24 Apr ‘We’re The Vaselines,’ chirps Eugene Kelly by way of introduction. And perhaps, given that he and Frances McKee are backed by four members of Belle and Sebastian, this is as much to prevent any confusion. The…

Joy Division

24 Apr 2008

DOCUMENTARY (15) 96mins After last year’s Control, Anton Corbijn’s considered and stylish dramatisation of Ian Curtis’ life, it would be easy to think that everything you need to know about the legend and legacy of English post-punk outfit Joy…

Also Released - Music

24 Apr 2008

The Ossians - The MacPherson Tapes (45b) Akin to Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, this long lost Edinburgh quartet ‘coulda been contenders’ had they not ended up imploding in a hail of rock’n’roll misfortune. This is the recently uncovered album that…

Capercaillie - Roses and Tears

24 Apr 2008

FOLK (Vertical Records) Capercaillie have done very nicely with their particular fusion of traditional music with more contemporary influences, and it is hardly likely that they are going to suddenly throw all that aside in pursuit of some radical new…

dEUS - Vantage Point

24 Apr 2008

ROCK (V2) Belgian artrockers dEUS have a large cult following, but this fifth album deserves a wider audience. Expansive and eclectic, Vantage Point sees the fivesome refining their mix of powerfully emotive themes with leftfield, intelligent rock…

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

24 Apr 2008

INDIE (FatCat Records) Graduating from underground heroes to a mainstream proposition often, unfortunately, requires a little softening around the edges. No signs of this where Frightened Rabbit are concerned, however. While the Glasgow-based foursome…

Future of the Left

24 Apr 2008

ROCK Stereo, Glasgow, Wed 9 Apr Heckling can make or break a gig. In this case, it’s all fuel to an explosion-in-waiting – this Welsh trio’s almost fanatical following know exactly which buttons to push, and Future of the Left are a band that operate…

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Devil Dirt

24 Apr 2008

COUNTRY/FOLK/BLUES (V2) Campbell and Lanegan’s Mercury-nominated debut was a one-trick pony, but it was a pretty cool trick. Campbell’s wispy whimper and Lanegan’s bourbon-soaked growl blended refreshingly over some old school folk and blues, but it…

Jonathan Harvey - Body Mandala

24 Apr 2008

CONTEMPORARY (NMC) Jonathan Harvey was Composer in Association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from 2005-7, and was a central figure in the recent IRCAM weekend in Glasgow. This CD includes two compositions written in his Glasgow residency…

Juno!

24 Apr 2008

BAGGY POP Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 10 Apr The MySpace of this buoyant Caledonian quartet has them listed as originating in Glasgow, Fife and Tokyo – the first two are true – but the jokey addition at the end would be better changed to…

Miyagi - Lucky Face

24 Apr 2008

RETRO ROCK (Miyagi Music) Some of us demand originality in these days of ‘same-old, same-old’. Edinburgh’s Miyagi (a quartet with only one sold-out EP – Dragonfly – behind them) fall into many categories, none of them standardised pop. To pigeonhole…

Neil Cowley Trio - Loud . . . Louder . . . Stop

24 Apr 2008

JAZZ (Cake Music) Pianist Neil Cowley and his cohorts, bassist Richard Sadler and drummer Evan Jenkins, appear in Scotland this month as part of the last Triptych festival, and rate among the hipper items on the current UK jazz scene. Lauded for…

Phil Harding - The Story of Beginners

24 Apr 2008

SINGER-SONGWRITER (Wb Records) Over 30 years in the making, prolific pop producer Phil Harding finally marks the release of his debut solo album. From working with the likes of Stock, Aitken & Watercrap during the nauseating 80s, The Story of…

Portishead - Third

24 Apr 2008

ELECTRONICA (Island) No one ever really expected Dummy MkII did they? For trip hop – the smoky sub-genre Portishead inadvertently helped create – is a distant, smouldering ember but Third is glorious, odd and timeless, a record of clanking, throbbing…

Singles & Downloads

24 Apr 2008

Independents, ie self-released records and downloads, are the current music industry trailblazers, but talk of ‘independence’ may account for the broad Scots accents on at least some of the current local releases. Comrade Down – 1/3 of former John Peel…

The Duke Spirit

24 Apr 2008

INDIE King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 2 Apr They should be well practiced at this. Following their well-received 2005 debut Cuts Across the Land, London’s Duke Spirit flew across the pond to play the odd gig or 285. Their follow-up, Neptune, is consequently…

Tindersticks - Hungry Saw

24 Apr 2008

SOUL (Beggars Banquet) Tindersticks have always understood that the essence of great soul music was a tall (occasionally tragic) tale set to something grand sounding and have amassed a back catalogue of heartbreaking, often breathtaking…

Various - Bugged Out presents Suck My Deck Mixed by Boys Noize

24 Apr 2008

ELECTRONICA (New State Music) Boys Noize is the wholly apposite nom de plume of Berlin native Alex Ridha who, for his first ever mix CD has set ticking a whole crate of techno smart bombs for our delight. He mercilessly cuts up tracks by Kitsune…

Various - Defected Presents Charles Webster

24 Apr 2008

ECLECTICA (Defected) If Charles Webster doesn’t sound like a typical superstar DJ, well that’s because he isn’t. He is a true cult hero of dance music and this triple CD package gives us a considered showcase of the breadth of work Webster programmes…

The Kills

16 Apr 2008

Being as cool as The Kills must be exhausting at times. They have thrived since they emerged amid the flurry of ‘The’ bands that brought us, among others, The Strokes. Happily, however, they’ve surpassed their lethargic contemporaries and are here with…

Wake the President

Glasgow School of Art, Saturday 5 May

10 Apr 2008

There seems to be two video cameras and – at least – three photographers trained on the stage throughout Wake the President’s set. Such fastidious attention would typically be seen as overzealous outwith the upper echelons of Glasgow’s musical…

Ally Kerr - Off the Radar

10 Apr 2008

SINGER-SONGWRITER (Much Obliged Records) Off the Radar is the second album from one of Scotland’s brightest rising stars, Ally Kerr, whose debut set Calling Out to You from 2005 was hailed by critics from as far afield as Tokyo; the Glaswegian can be…

Crystal Castles - Culture Castles

10 Apr 2008

INDIE/RAVE/GRIME/PUNK/ELECTRO The so-called new rave scene has been responsible for spewing out a load of old meaningless tosh since it was coined by desperate music journalists two years ago, but its latest wrong comes in the form of the debut album…

Down The Tiny Steps, Le Reno Amps and Doug Johnstone

10 Apr 2008

INDIE FOLK 13th Note, Glasgow, Thu 20 Mar A little bit country, a little bit rock’n’roll. And, to kick off, some acoustic folk from sometime author Doug Johnstone who, confusingly, is premiering the back catalogue of The Ossians, a band invented for…

Eagleowl

10 Apr 2008

INDIE Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Thu 20 Mar Not to be confused with the vicious bird world nasty they’re named after (who loves a bit of dog eating and deer biting), the Eagleowl live experience is a very gentle thing, like watching clouds dragged at a…

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

10 Apr 2008

POP (Warner Bros) The completely addictive nature of their debut single ‘Crazy’ set the bar just a tad high for Danger Mouse and Cee-lo Green (for they are Gnarls Barkley). The chances of lightning striking twice was remote but they’ve shown their…

Hadouken! - Music for an Accelerated Culture

10 Apr 2008

INDIE/RAVE/GRIME/PUNK/ELECTRO (Atlantic) The so-called new rave scene has been responsible for spewing out a load of old meaningless tosh since it was coined by desperate music journalists two years ago, but its latest wrong comes in the form of the…

Heidi Talbot - In Love and Light

10 Apr 2008

FOLK (Navigator Records) It seems folk singers just ain’t content with being plain old folk singers these days. Admittedly, the boundaries between folk and the singer-songwriter game have long been fairly blurred anyway, but more and more of the…

Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers

10 Apr 2008

COUNTRY/ROCK (Rounder) Like all the best Americans, Kathleen Edwards is actually Canadian, although you’d be hard pressed to tell on the basis of her third studio album. Her punchy-yet-tender, world-weary-yet-impassioned take on country and rock could…

Kathryn Williams & Neill MacColl

10 Apr 2008

COUNTRY FOLK Classic Grand, Glasgow, Wed 26 Mar You can hear the smile in Kathryn Williams voice, an almost effortless, laconic talent that soars high, floats and then falls down to a blusey bellow. Williams sings about the simple but ineffable…

Kyon & Dyems - Overnight

10 Apr 2008

HIP HOP ELECTRONICA (Crystal Wish) Kyon & Dyems are enigmatic Edinburgh-based brothers who, on this quality showing, would put most major label hip hop acts to shame. This debut album, recorded on a budget, is nevertheless brimming with ideas…

London & Glasgow Improvisers Orchestras - Separately & Together

10 Apr 2008

JAZZ (Emanem Records) For reasons both practical and aesthetic large ensembles have been the exception rather than the rule in the world of free improvisation. Both the London and the rather younger Glasgow Improvisers Orchestras have happily flown in…

Natty

10 Apr 2008

REGGAE Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Tue 1 Apr ‘You’ve made my night very enjoyable,’ says Natty at the end of his infectiously sunny set, before needlessly adding: ‘I hope I have yours.’ It’s a suitably charming signing off from this Londoner; fresh from…

REM - Accelerate

10 Apr 2008

ROCK (Warners) Returns to form don’t come much better or more surprising. Written off as an increasingly irrelevant force this millennium (particularly following 2004’s mediocre Around the Sun), REM now breeze in with a startlingly youthful record.

Singles & Downloads

10 Apr 2008

Life’s shit enough, so this issue we’re only gonna review good stuff. So, no Libertines-influenced jangle monkeys, no dodgy hip hop, no execrable manufactured pop or R&B, no po-faced nu-metal (you have no idea). Only quality, original tunes will make it…

The Dirtbombs - We Have You Surrounded

10 Apr 2008

ROCK’N’ROLL (In The Red) Pity The Dirtbombs. While frontman Mick Collins (with his former outfit The Gories) can claim to have been a formative influence on The White Stripes, they may always be known to the wider public as second wave garage…

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

10 Apr 2008

ROCK (XL Recordings) When Jack White and best bud Brendan Benson teamed up for their debut it was very much a meeting of minds: pop craftsman meets blues rebel, uptown. The results were explosive, both players breaking from familiar constraints to…

The Teak Project

10 Apr 2008

JAZZ (First Hand Records) The Teak Project is a collaboration between sitar player Jonathan Mayer (son of Indo-jazz fusion pioneer John Mayer), guitarist Justin Quinn and tabla player Neil Craig. They describe the project as a collaboration of…

The Gossip - Live In Liverpool

27 Mar 2008

LIVE ALBUM (Columbia) The Gossip may have been catapulted to fame on the back of an advert for E4 teen-soap Skins, but they’ve been playing spine-tingling gigs on the underground for years, and this live performance, recorded in Liverpool’s Carling…

Also Released - Music

27 Mar 2008

Clinic - Do It! ( Domino ) It’s nice to think that the cash made by Arctic Monkeys records goes into something positive for the world like Clinic albums. More slightly erratic, vibrating genius from a band who evoke the spirit of The Residents and Soft…

Arthurs.Høiby.Ritchie - Explications

27 Mar 2008

JAZZ (Not Applicable) The Ritchie in this triumvirate is Scottish drummer Stu, and his work with the likes of Colin Steele and the excellent Trianglehead will mean he needs no further introduction in these parts. Anyone who has followed the more…

Benga - Diary of an Afro Warrior

27 Mar 2008

DUBSTEP (Tempa) Despite the rise of dubstep’s profile recently you still have to sift around to find the good stuff. One gold nugget is Beni Uthman aka Benga, the old skool kid on the block who, since age 16, has been showing many how it’s…

Box Club - Box Club

27 Mar 2008

FOLK (BoxClubRecords) The accordion is an instrument that still has an image problem in some quarters. Box Club are out to counter that perception by presenting the venerable instrument in much more contemporary trappings, including a slick visual…

Cavelera Conspiracy - Inflikted

27 Mar 2008

VERY HEAVY METAL (Roadrunner) Brazillian metallers Sepultura are pretty much untouchable in the world of thrash. Their Chaos AD and Roots are classics of the genre. However, frontman Max Cavalera split from the band in 1996, going on to form Soulfly…

Chris Corsano and Massimo Pupillo

27 Mar 2008

EXPERIMENTAL The Ark, Edinburgh, Fri 14 Mar With scheduled headliners Italian skronk power trio Zu depleted in ranks by a broken-limbed drummer, last-minute reinforcements come in the shape of ubiquitous sticks-man Chris Corsano, briefly home from his…

Counting Crows - Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings

27 Mar 2008

ROCK (Polydor) After hitting an impasse after their insanely popular but creatively redundant cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, it looked like Counting Crows were on a one-way trip to rom-com soundtrackville. For this, their fifth record…

Dananananaykroyd and Copy Haho

27 Mar 2008

INDIE Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Tue 18 Mar ‘We’re from Stonehaven,’ pointed out Copy Haho (‘hah-ho’, not ‘hey-ho’). ‘That’s in Scotland.’ ‘Darren Mackie!’ comes a bellowed reply, and the Scottish Cup shock happening along the road at Parkhead allows for…

Estelle - Shine

27 Mar 2008

R&B POP (Atlantic/Homeschool) Estelle has paid her dues on the UK R&B circles before departing stateside. A meeting with US R&B star John Legend led to her signing to his Homeschool stable and this, her second album is executive produced by…

Guilty Simpson - Ode to The Ghetto

27 Mar 2008

HIP HOP (Stones Throw Records) Byron Simpson aka Guilty Simpson is the real deal. He’s done his time within Detroit’s hip hop scene, mastering his art and waiting for his moment. Ode to the Ghetto is his first full-length project and what you have…

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

27 Mar 2008

ROCK (Columbia) After first encountering this New York outfit making their TV debut on The Letterman Show wearing long black capes and romping though their breakthrough tune ‘Time to Pretend’, MGMT have only gone up even further in our estimation with…

Miss Le Bomb and Wounded Knee

27 Mar 2008

AVANT GARDE ELECTRO Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Wed 20 Mar Drew Wright, aka Edinburgh’s Wounded Knee, doesn’t show off. He just sits at a desk covered with all sorts of little mechanical toys, and asks in a frighteningly reverb-heavy…

My Electric Love Affair

27 Mar 2008

ROCK The Jam House, Edinburgh, Sun 16 Mar Despite the glittery, Lycra covered delights their name conjures up, lovers of dazzling showmanship probably wouldn’t have been bowled over by the stage presence of this Edinburgh three-piece. Apart from the…

Singles: Electronica Special

27 Mar 2008

Of late, the singles and downloads review has been driven more towards the indie scene, understandable perhaps, given the lack of creativity in dance music lately. But while all this ‘real band’ resurgence has been going on, electronic music has found…

The Breeders - Mountain Battles

27 Mar 2008

ROCK (4AD) It’s been six years since The Breeders released the raw, loose and intimate Title TK, which makes you wonder what the hell Kim Deal and co have been doing in that time? Maybe she’s been distracted by the Pixies reformation, but Mountain…

The Long Blondes - Couples

27 Mar 2008

INDIE (Rough Trade) This Sheffield fivesome have always seemed rather clinical, their debut Someone to Drive You Home sounding a little too self-aware and over-thought at times. However, with this Erol Alkan-produced second effort they have got the…

Various - Channel U: Vol 2

27 Mar 2008

GRIME (Gut) The newest, street-level incarnation of London’s underground R&B fixation is widely acknowledged as bassline. Thus the plucky pups at Gut are either lagging behind the pack or mopping up the last smears of grime on this compilation of…

Various - Messthetics #105

27 Mar 2008

INDIE PUNK (Hyped 2 Death Records) This is a surprisingly worthwhile US import representing a wide range of – as the subtitle suggests – Scottish DIY and (very) indie post-punk from 1977-1981. There are 24 tracks (in 69 glorious minutes) to wade…

Manchester Orchestra

13 Mar 2008

ROCK Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 10 Feb When it comes to compiling the worst album titles of all time, this Atlanta-based five-piece will surely be up there with the likes of Fiona Apple and Limp Bizkit with their second release, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a…

A Toys Orchestra - Technicolor Dreams

13 Mar 2008

ROCK POP (Urtovox) Written rule in music number 14: Europeans of the continental type make horrible, horrible pop music. Of course, there are a few examples which dilute this tenet (ABBA and, um, A-ha?). And when it comes to Italians and pop, you can…

Adam Green - Sixes and Sevens

13 Mar 2008

INDIE (Rough Trade) This quirky troubadour’s fifth offering should carry a health warning, because it’s ridiculously addictive. When you first stick on Sixes and Sevens, the golden vocals and smooth production complete with horn sections, Brooklyn…

Amplifico - See Heart, See Muscle

13 Mar 2008

POP ROCK (MDM Creations) A triumph in genuinely independent music, savvy Scots Amplifico, following voiceful label interest but seeking commitment, have fashioned a self-released debut of assured distinction and depth. Boasting ballsy rather than more…

Bitcrush - Epilogue in Waves

13 Mar 2008

ATMOSPHERICS (n5MD) In conclusion to a kind of Bitcrush triptych, Gridlock’s Mike Cadoo has made the bold but logical step away from twittering electronics altogether, here moulding pensive soundscapes with nowt but the traditional guitar, bass, drums…

Brandi Carlile

13 Mar 2008

COUNTRY ROCK Barrowland, Glasgow, Thu 28 Feb It’s fairly rare to see a support act who will easily outlast a headliner, and even if the main attraction on this occasion was Newton Faulkner – an artist with all the staying power (and strangely the…

Cadence Weapon - Afterparty Babies

13 Mar 2008

HIP HOP (Big Dada) It’s not entirely fair to say we need another smartass boy shooting his mouth off over gristly beats but here’s another, who, despite initial impressions has dealt us a hand of oddly affecting, raw and human stories. Cadence…

Come on Gang!, Alison and the Mings and Poor Edwar

13 Mar 2008

GARAGE FOLK The Ark, Edinburgh, Tue 4 Mar With the best will in the world, local charity showcases are almost always a wildly mixed bag, although The List did take some mild amusement from the fact that this benefit for homeless charity the Ark…

Duffy - Rockferry

13 Mar 2008

POP (Polydor) This young Welsh songbird is certainly no Dusty Springfield, nor does she have the grit and sass of Amy Winehouse, but while she may struggle to live up to recent hysterical media comparisons, Rockferry proves that Duffy is still a…

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

13 Mar 2008

ROCK (Fiction) Mancunian troubadours Elbow have always been at the more inventive end of the indie spectrum. Their restless musical experimentalism has garnered a mountain of critical acclaim, but their refusal to take the easy route has seen them…

Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair

13 Mar 2008

DISCO HOUSE (EMI/DFA) We can only hope that Hercules and Love Affair’s stunning debut single ‘Blind’ doesn’t soak all the attention away from this great record, because otherwise the new last days of disco start here. Neglecting the affecting…

Ivor Cutler - The Flat Man

13 Mar 2008

POP (Hoorgi House) When Ivor Cutler died in 2006 aged 83 a little piece of British culture died too, never to return. Celebrated by many as Scotland’s alternative poet laureate, his talents as a writer, poet, songsmith, humorist were like no other…

Kronos Quartet & Wu Man - The Cusp of Magic

13 Mar 2008

CONTEMPORARY (Nonesuch) The music of Terry Riley has run through the repertoire of the acclaimed contemporary music specialists the Kronos Quartet like a thread. No surprise, then, that they should have chosen to mark the composer’s 70th birthday with…

Led Bib - Live

13 Mar 2008

JAZZ (Babel) This brief, limited edition four-tracker catches drummer Mark Holub’s quintet storming through four cuts at Pizza Express in Soho last year. Led Bib have all the bluster and fury of the band who trailblazed the unholy fusing of be-bop and…

Mit - Coda

13 Mar 2008

ELECTRO PUNK (Half Machine) If you thought Krautrock had moved to New York and taken up permanent residence in James Murphy’s basement, you’re (almost) entirely mistaken. Defending German incumbency over lengthy electronic tripouts, ritual synth abuse…

Neon Neon - Stainless Style

13 Mar 2008

ELECTRO (Lex) A concept album about John DeLorean (inventor of Marty McFly’s motor and acquitted drug trafficker) by Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and hip hop innovator Boom Bip sounds like a dream ticket, although the finished product is low on…

Radar Bros. - Auditorium

13 Mar 2008

SLOWCORE (Chemikal Underground) The West Coast of Scotland meets the West Coast of America here, as Glasgow’s Chemikal Underground provide a UK release for the latest album by this LA psych-balladeering outfit. It’s really quite lovely too. Jim…

Ron Blake - Shayari

13 Mar 2008

JAZZ (Mack Avenue Records) American saxophonist Ron Blake is most likely to be familiar to UK-based listeners through his work with trumpeter Roy Hargrove and bassist Christian McBride. His third album as a leader finds him in generally pensive mood…

Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson - Partners In Crime

13 Mar 2008

FOLK (Vertical Records) While many piping recordings are primarily of interest to the piping community, this disc follows the lead of Ross Ainslie’s late teacher, Gordon Duncan, in aiming at a more diverse audience. The players are two of the…

Singles & Downloads

13 Mar 2008

Hurrying past James Blunt and Bryan’s Adams’ new singles, let’s start at the only logical place, the ‘Start Beginning’ (FDM Records) ••• with Nizlopi (of ‘JCB Song’ notoriety) and their relentlessly optimistic, acoustic pop rainbow of a song that could…

The B-52s - Funplex

13 Mar 2008

SURF POST-PUNK POP (EMI) ‘I look at you and I’m ready to pump,’ declares the very first lyric of Funplex. Smutty, puerile, silly or all of the above, it makes at least one thing instantly clear: The B-52s are back. It’s 16 years since Athens…

The Black Crowes - Warpaint

13 Mar 2008

ROCK (Silver Arrow) The Black Crowes’ initial explosion here in the early 90s was intense but short-lived. They’re now, like those other American stalwarts Pearl Jam, a huge cult band here not to mention legends in their homeland. This, their first…

The Superimposers - Harpsichord Treacle

13 Mar 2008

INDIE (Wonderful Sound) Doctors should really start thinking about prescribing The Superimposers for stress. This third effort from the much underrated act finds them reaching new levels of dreaminess with their whimsical take on indie pop, opening…

The Teenagers - Reality Check

13 Mar 2008

INDIE (Merok/XL) From Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Do You Want To’ to ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ via ‘Dirrty’, savvy pop stars have always known that the best music is utterly filthy. On this basis, Parisian trio The Teenagers have made a masterpiece with…

The Twisted Wheel

13 Mar 2008

INDIE Barrowland, Glasgow, Tue 19 Feb Having previously thrust The Ting Tings upon the world (or at least the small to medium gig venues of the UK), Jon ‘Reverend and the Makers’ McClure will be getting a name as the man young Manchester bands will be…

The Whip - X Marks Destination

13 Mar 2008

DANCE ROCK (Southern Fried) Manchester has been staging a musical revival recently, and at the forefront of this uprising stand The Whip. They’re certainly a band who exemplify much of the north’s finest music: like the Mondays they’re rock and dance…

Various - What the Folk Volume 2

13 Mar 2008

FOLK (Butterfly Recordings) Following up Butterfly’s acoustic-only debut compilation of 2006, 15 funky folksters set about proving that it’s not just musty fiddling men and wizened warbling dames who can cut the folky mustard. At times, the jumpers…

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

28 Feb 2008

POP (Mute) For a woman who has done so much unashamed musical thievery in her time that she would put a gang of Pollock shoplifters to shame, Alison Goldfrapp has always been a bewitching character. In her efforts to distinguish herself from the…

Also Released - Music

28 Feb 2008

Amp Live and Radiohead - Rainy Dayz (No label) In the spirit of free enterprise, US rap producer Amp Live took it upon himself to rework the finer points of Radiohead’s In Rainbows. After much wrangling and various cease and desists the two parties…

Bugge Wesseltoft - IM

28 Feb 2008

JAZZ (Jazzland) The slow, minimal single notes shrouded in a delicate shimmering echo on ‘deIMAGER’ is an extreme example, but the general mood of the music on the Norwegian pianist’s latest outing is notably understated and reflective, with the…

Christian Scott - Anthem

28 Feb 2008

JAZZ (Concord Jazz) Under the direction of its founder, the late Carl Jefferson, the Concord Jazz label was a haven for straight-ahead mainstream swing. Its new corporate identity within the Universal group has seen the label branching out in more…

Club Welto

28 Feb 2008

ECLECTIC The Village Bar, Leith, Fri 8 Feb This new night is the very definition of a mixed bag, throwing differing musical styles and other entertainment in with pleasing, if variable, results. Wounded Knee (Drew Wright) opens the proceedings…

Frog Pocket

28 Feb 2008

ELECTRONICA 13th Note, Glasgow, Fri 8 Feb Frog Pocket’s get up tonight couldn’t be less timely. With the indie-embracing Celtic Connections just finished, John Charles Wilson is going back to his roots. Any artist tagged as ‘experimental’ must…