Music, Reviews

Alan Skidmore's Ubizo - 50 Journeys

2 Oct 2008

JAZZ Another foray into the fusion of Coltrane-influenced jazz with a vibrant African vibe that saxophonist Alan Skidmore has previously explored with Ubizo, but with a stronger slant toward the world music pole than on their two earlier discs. The…

Ben Folds - Way To Normal

2 Oct 2008

INDIE Divorce is a bitch. But instead of languishing in his underpants, all beardy and beer-soaked following a much publicised split from his wife, Ben Folds jumped straight back into the studio and has come up with these 12 energy-packed tracks for…

David Sanborn - Here & Gone

2 Oct 2008

JAZZ Saxophonist David Sanborn takes on the staple blues and R&B repertoire in a disc that many will doubtless see as just another commercial gambit from a very successful musician. The stacking up of guest artists – Derek Trucks on ‘Brother Ray’…

Desalvo - Mood Poisoner

2 Oct 2008

ROCK The fringes of rock music are littered with bad intentions. Bands of grunts that wish to thrill us, disorient us, frighten us and make us feel mildly queasy. Glasgow’s own Desalvo achieve all of this in one long-coming, fast burning debut album…

Doug Hoekstra - Blooming Roses

2 Oct 2008

ALT-FOLK COUNTRY Now several solo albums and 14 years into his career (not counting his pre-solo time with Chicago outfit Bucket No.6), Nashville-based Hoekstra returns with another set of whispering, easy-on-the-ear songs. While Dylan, Cohen and…

Iglu & Hartly

2 Oct 2008

ROCK ‘Glasgow make some fucking NOISE! We’re Iglu & Hartly and we’re here to party!’ If you’d ever wondered what would happen if a chiselled boy band took a brace of hook-laden pop songs to the wrong side of the tracks, then this was your answer.

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

2 Oct 2008

ROCK Darwin’s theory of convergent evolution states that disparate, unrelated organisms evolve similar traits when adapting to similar environments, and it’s clearly in evidence amongst stadium rock bands. Using the blustery, overblown U2 blueprint…

Mungo's Hifi - Sound System Champions

2 Oct 2008

REGGAE ETC Sound system culture is surprisingly at home in a dreich Scotland and one has come of age here throughout the course of the last decade. Here Mungo’s self-congratulatory debut long-player champions the collective as no less proactive in…

Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul

2 Oct 2008

ROCK Liking a new Oasis album nowadays has less to do with the actual songs and more to do with how you feel about them. They, like their fellow indie spods turned megastars Coldplay and Razorlight, provoke wrath and rapture in equal measure in our…

Popup - A Time and a Place

2 Oct 2008

INDIE If it has felt like a long time coming for Popup’s debut long player to land in our arms then maybe it’s because we’ve been aware of them being damn good from very early on. Furious early demos, bursting with barely contained energy, recorded…

Singles & Downloads

2 Oct 2008

Nothing draws a groan of predictably quite like finding a new Oasis shortplayer on top of the singles pile, so we’ll keep this brief. ‘Shock of the Lightning’ (Big Brother) •• is another bit of drony fluff Noel Gallagher probably found down the back of…

The Dykeenies

2 Oct 2008

LIVE INDIE ROCK WEBCAST This live webcast with The Dykeenies is a promo for the Red Bull Bedroom Jam website, which invites up and coming bands to post footage of gigs in their own bedrooms online. Except, erm, we’re not in a bedroom, but rather…

The Fire and I

2 Oct 2008

POWER DUO Congratulations to Bathgate duo The Fire and I, who have managed to strip the whole concept of the rock ‘n’ roll band back down to its most basic elements. Essentially a four-legged rhythm section, they combine the drumming of Hooligan (we…

The Starlets

2 Oct 2008

INDIE They might be clad in jeans and speak (if not sing) with pronounced Glasgow accents, but The Starlets are the model of sophistication, from their choice of covers – a Go-Betweens song ‘to warm up’ – to their impeccable arrangements.

Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation

2 Oct 2008

WORLD LOUNGE Leaders of the horizontal protest Thievery Corporation remain resolutely political in their approach and there is really no mistaking who programmed this set of sophisticate dub lounge. The breadth of styles treated to their signature…

Travis - Ode To J Smith

2 Oct 2008

INDIE This, Travis’ fifth studio album, is both their finest since 1999’s The Man Who and just, y’know, alright. The fact is, after making a glistening splash with Good Feeling and then predictably repeating the winning formula hit on with The Man…

TV on the Radio - Dear Science

2 Oct 2008

POP Since they first sneaked into view five years ago, throwing down doo-wop takes on Pixies tunes and post-MBV space funk, TV on the Radio have been, to say the least, awkward customers, their sonic tricksiness often being a barrier to the enjoyment…

Velcro Quartet

18 Sep 2008

GLAM POP Many fine young Scots bands are already lined-up to play The Mill, Miller beer’s new branding doohickey come weekly live gig in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and The List can report it’s actually a pretty good night out. The bands are well-chosen…

Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling

18 Sep 2008

ROCK The line between familiarity and contempt is drawn thinner than ever currently, but Mogwai, six albums and 12 years in, seem in no danger of wearing out their welcome. Given how limiting the initial wordless loud-quiet-loud grind on which…

Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun

18 Sep 2008

POP There’s no disputing Brian Wilson’s genius – Beach Boy’s classic Pet Sounds is proof alone – and it’s wonderful to have him back from his self-imposed exile; performing live (particularly his joyous set at T in the Park in 2007) and releasing…

Charles Lloyd - Dream Weaver - The Atlantic Years 1966-69

18 Sep 2008

JAZZ Saxophonist Charles Lloyd is now a respected elder statesman in jazz circles, but in the late 60s his group with pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette was making inroads into the rock audience with appearances at venues like the…

Euchrid Eucrow

18 Sep 2008

ALT.FOLK Two young women in full-length angel-white Victorian frocks flank a bearded young man in a tank top sitting on a stool. As he clutches his acoustic guitar for dear life, the dark-haired woman on his right puts her bow to her viola while the…

Heartbreak - Lies

18 Sep 2008

ITALO DISCO Heartbreak, where have you been all my life? It seems only fair to point out – before excessive scenester fawning turns the increasingly resurgent Italo disco sound into a mutated make-believe genre of new rave proportions – that this…

Inner Space Music - Five Animal Dances

18 Sep 2008

JAZZ The name most likely to catch the eye on this release is probably drummer Seb Rochford, although the disc was actually recorded back in 2004, and Tim Giles seems to have taken his place in the band’s more recent live dates. Nonetheless, he makes…

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue

18 Sep 2008

POP Lewis is a sultry indie poster girl with Rilo Kiley and delivered a beautifully moving country record, backed by The Watson Twins, two years ago. This second solo album lacks the focus of those projects, but it’s still a cut above the average…

Lords of Bastard - Lords of Bastard

18 Sep 2008

ROCK Some people just know how to say the right things and this trio of Edinburgh bams got two stars for the top name and the sticker on the CD case alone declaring ‘ … if you like albums, then this might be for you …’ Maybe ‘if you like The Melvins…

Manda Rin - My DNA

18 Sep 2008

ELECTRO POP After 14 years in bands like Data Panik, The Kitchen and most famously Bis, this is the first time Amanda McKinnon has stepped away from the collaborations and released under her own (stage) name – although listening to the album, it…

Mercury Rev - Snowflake Midnight

18 Sep 2008

ROCK The Rev are like an indie version of Madonna, constantly reinventing themselves and their sound with each album, and this seventh studio outing is another successful reincarnation for these dreamy loons. Their early drone-rock weirdness and even…

Metallica - Death Magnetic

18 Sep 2008

METAL That Metallica have become metal’s answer to the Rolling Stones – an endlessly touring megalith who’s albums have be come increasingly irrelevant as their live shows have become greater spectacles – should not negate getting the most out of…

Singles & Downloads - Local Special

18 Sep 2008

Locally-sourced produce is all the rage these days, so let’s have a cheeky wee Scottish round-up this issue, eh? Quality meat to kick off in the form of Frightened Rabbit , whose ‘I Feel Better’/’The Twist’ (Fat Cat) •••• is excellently jittery…

The Duplets - Tree of Strings

18 Sep 2008

FOLK The harp is enjoying something of a resurgence at the moment, with new young players like Ailie Robertson, Rachel Hair and The Duplets pairing of Freya Thomsen and Gillian Fleetwood all focusing on the oldest of the Scottish folk instruments.

The Fnords

18 Sep 2008

GARAGE ROCK Anyone familiar with Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea’s doorstep epic of conspiratorial speculative fiction The Illuminatus! Trilogy will know where the Fnords name comes from, and might well expect big things from a band who use it.

Twin Atlantic and The Xcerts

18 Sep 2008

ROCK Both bands here follow in the wake of Biffy Clyro, and evoke moments of their early racket-making with considerable style. While The Xcerts (who are from Aberdeen and Exeter, collectively) are the poppier proposition of the pair, and have been…

Meshuggah

The Garage, Glasgow, Mon 8 Sep 2008

9 Sep 2008

Its been a long time coming for the return of the Swedish metallers and many may have wondered whether it would actually ever happen. Their last appearance this side of the border was way back in 95' supporting Machine Head with two cancelled shows…

Bloc Party - Intimacy

4 Sep 2008

Sending out mixed messages is hardly a new tactic in the already fickle world of indie rock. Kele Okoreke and his clan have been issuing out puzzling notices for some time now, topped off with the claim that their Leeds Festival show would be their last…

Constantines - Kensington Heights

4 Sep 2008

Look up ‘nearly men’ in the Dictionary of Obscure Indie Rock Lore and you’ll find a long, arduous, hand wringing essay about Constantines. A band who in nine years, have never quite had their moment in the sunshine but work away feverishly, secretly…

David Holmes - The Holy Pictures

4 Sep 2008

According to Holmes his fourth solo album began as a cluster of instrumental tracks which lead him into a creative cul-de-sac until seismic events in his life – becoming a dad, the death of his parents – inspired him to pen some personal lyrics and…

Dean Owens - Whisky Hearts

4 Sep 2008

Dean Owens Whisky Hearts (Navigator) The craft of songwriting has become devalued in mainstream music these days, but there remain talented individuals out there waiting to be found. One such is Dean Owens, Leith-based singer songwriter with a…

Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown

4 Sep 2008

DragonForce play the most extreme power metal and it’s impossible to review Ultra Beatdown without the words ‘pompous’ and ‘bombastic’. They sound like every Iron Maiden song every written, all played at once, due to the sheer speed of delivery from the…

Drever McCusker Woomble - Before the Ruin

4 Sep 2008

The crossing of normally disparate musical boundaries is always to be applauded, although it’s not automatically the green light to genius that reviewers sometimes make out. This collaboration from two generations of folkies – Kris Drever and John…

Elvis vs Spankox - Elvis Re:visions

4 Sep 2008

The world is a hard cruel place. War, famine, death, destruction, pain, suffering, poverty and disease all blight our soon-to-be not very green planet. Why, oh why then add to the misery with something so callous, contemptible and unthinking as this…

Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armani

4 Sep 2008

Emiliana Torrini Me and Armini (Rough Trade) Torrini is frustrating. The Icelandic chanteuse is gifted both in terms of her gorgeous natural voice and her perceptive pop songwriting (she co-wrote ‘Slow’ for Kylie, for example). But she also likes…

Gina Rae and Sandy Wright - On Main Street

4 Sep 2008

Edinburgh singer Gina Rae has proved herself adept in straight jazz idioms, but this album also reflects the pop-inflected side of her work. Sandy Wright’s acoustic guitar accompaniments provide a spare, uncomplicated support for her light, supple…

Glasvegas - Glasvegas

4 Sep 2008

‘The Best New Band in Britain’ says the NME. And for once they have thrown their fickle arrow of instant fame at a worthy target. In 2006, former footballer James Allan assembled a motley crew to give form to his ‘poems’ – disjointed conglomerations of…

Haftor Medboe Group - New: Happy

4 Sep 2008

The current line-up of Haftor Medbøe’s group is the strongest yet. The guitarist’s accomplished soloing is supported by powerful contributions from two of the leading horn players on the Scottish scene, saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and trombonist…

Missing Twin presents

4 Sep 2008

Missing Twin is the publishing empire of cartoon genius Malcy Duff. Alongside geek-soul brother and Giant Tanker Ali Robertson, Duff makes up half of premier lo-fi fidgets, Usurper. This popcorn-friendly triple feature of late-night wow-and-splutter…

New Jazz Orchestra - Camden ‘70

4 Sep 2008

New Jazz Orchestra - Camden ‘70 (Dusk Fire Records) Neil Ardley was well on the way to being a forgotten figure in British jazz, but reissues of some of his work in the past couple of years have gone some way to redressing the balance. It should be…

Paul Vickers and The Leg

4 Sep 2008

‘You’ve all soaked up the reverb a bit,’ noted Paul Vickers a couple of songs in, ‘which is good’. He seemed a bit dazed by this whole experience, although that might just be down to the ex-Dawn of the Replicants singer’s Henry Rollins meets Daniel…

Pearl and the Puppets

4 Sep 2008

With a voice that’s as elegantly fiery as the red dress she wears to take to the stage, Katie Sutherland – aka Pearl – puts on a feistily charming and totally beguiling show for what she tells the crowd is her first-ever gig at Tut’s with the…

Singles and downloads

4 Sep 2008

Let’s get any hating out the way first. The Pussycat Dolls claim ‘When I Grow Up’ (Interscope) * is a tongue-in-cheek look at attention-seekin', dollar-sniffin', 'boobie' flashin' wannabes, but if there's a punchline to their melody-free joke, the girls…

Slipknot - All Hope is Gone

4 Sep 2008

Slipknot - All Hope is Gone (Roadrunner) Slipknot could so easily have been a gimmick. Nine masked men in boiler suits battering out heavy metal. But from first single (‘Wait and Bleed’ back in 1999) they have constantly proved their musical…

Solange - Sol Angel and the Hadley St Dreams

4 Sep 2008

So your big sister is Beyonce, one of the biggest pop stars in the world. What do you do? Open that bakery you’ve always fancied? Go help the poor kids in war-torn African states? No, of course not, you go into pop music. Knowles the younger has…

The Streets - Everything is Borrowed

4 Sep 2008

Mike Skinner might be one of the finest pop artists of our generation, but there’s no escaping the fact that his fourth album is a real disappointment. Certain passages of it might well grow over time, yet the suspicion is that it’s just too damn…

The Wave Pictures

4 Sep 2008

This trio may be from London, but the fine city of Glasgow is evidently a spiritual home for singer David Tattersall, who excitedly announces ‘I used to live here. I wrote this here!’ before one of the band’s raw but epic numbers, one of which includes…

Underling - Underling

4 Sep 2008

Based in Dunfermline, Underling pull off the hitherto impossible trick of making the Kingdom of Fife sound like a district of Brooklyn. Their music is played live, a light but spirited bed of intently grooving jazz, through which Aron Moorhouse’s raps…

I Went To The House But I Did Not Enter

Musical reflection of literary masters

29 Aug 2008

There has been no shortage of theatre that examines the disaffection and atomisation of modern life over the last century, but it’s less common to find a piece that selects four noted 20th century authors to explore the theme, then translates their work…

Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires

21 Aug 2008

This has been a while coming. With the recent flutter of cerebral pop acts with one eye firmly on the dancefloor, it was only a matter of time before the once-ubiquitous cowbell worked its way back into the mix – DFA would approve. This record bursts at…

Inside Yerma

Singing, dancing and despair

21 Aug 2008

Lorca’s play, widely regarded as a metaphor for the Spanish civil war, deals with grand themes of honour, passion, desperation and love. In the Spanish campo, Yerma is unable to conceive with a husband she does not love and feels entombed in her house…

James Yorkston - When the Haar Rolls In

21 Aug 2008

In this age of quick fixes and cheap thrills, there’s something deeply comforting about James Yorkston. This fourth studio album is the antithesis of the nasty fast food rush of most mainstream indie fare, more like a luxurious banquet in the company of…

Jeana Leslie & Siobhan Miller - In a Bleeze

21 Aug 2008

Singer Siobhan Miller from Penicuik and fiddler and singer Jeana Leslie from Orkney met while students at the RSAMD, and gave notice that we should expect something special when they won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award for 2008. They excel in the vocal…

John Baker - The John Baker Tapes Volumes 1 and 2

21 Aug 2008

John Baker was one of three lynchpin members of the much mythologised BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 60s and 70s whose work, until this reissue on the ever oddball and reliable Trunk Records, has been overshadowed by that of his colleague Delia…

Minotaur Shock - Amateur Dramatics

21 Aug 2008

There’s a pleasing, almost literary, conceit to this album. Bristol-based electronica artist Minotaur Shock – otherwise known as David Edwards – has given each downloadable track a pricing guideline corresponding to various criteria of his own choosing.

Root Manuva - Slime and Reason

21 Aug 2008

Almost a decade after his debut album Brand New Second Hand appeared, Rodney Smith’s no longer at the head of a field of one. The popularisation of UK hip hop which he ushered in has since given way to garage and then grime, and while he’s stepped back…

Ryan Quigley - Laphroaig-ian Slip

21 Aug 2008

Ryan Quigley is a familiar figure on the Scottish jazz scene, not least through his long tenure in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. The trumpeter’s love of the classic hard bop and post-bop styles of the 50s and 60s is always apparent in this…

The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!

Solidly performed Sondheim send-up a safe bet

18 Aug 2008

Essentially a send-up of musicals by Sondheim and Rodgers & Hammerstein among others, The Musical of Musicals is unlikely to be appreciated (or its references understood) by non-aficionados. This said, it is solidly performed and often amusing, the…

Also Released - Music

14 Aug 2008

King Khan and The Shrines - The Supreme Genius of King Khan and The Shrines (VICE Records) VICE records continue to expand their impressive repertoire with this Berlin-based psych-soul nine-piece. The ecstatic presence of front man King Khan shines…

Beans - Thorns

14 Aug 2008

HIP HOP (Adored and Exploited) A welcome return from Beans, aka Mr Ballbeam, one quarter of Anti-Pop Consortium, but also a fully-fledged vocalist and beat master in his own right. He’s a self-proclaimed scene outsider who requires no association to…

Bowerbirds - Hymns for a Dark Horse

14 Aug 2008

FOLK (Dead Oceans) Bowerbirds, a trio of folkers from North Carolina create tumbledown tunes of love, nature and wistful remembrance. It’s charmingly enigmatic, touching with its veiled simplicity and ramshackle, scratchy folk. Layered vocals…

Chris Biscoe Quartet - Gone in The Air: The Music of Eric Dolphy

14 Aug 2008

JAZZ (Trio Records) Eric Dolphy is a figure more often acknowledged than actually engaged with. As Brian Morton points out in his notes for this fine disc, the relative neglect of Dolphy’s compositions leaves them an open field for exploration - and…

Frank Satan In Person

Beguiling and bawdy drinking songs

14 Aug 2008

If you dig Tom Waits, Dean Martin and Hank Williams, then Frank Satan (pronounced ‘Say-tan’) is your man. The long-time alter ego of the Cameo Cinema’s general manager Ian Hoey is back after a lengthy break to regale audiences with a bawdy combo of…

Imps - Bring Out the Imps

14 Aug 2008

ELECTRONICA (Mule Electronic) Mule Electronic is cool and so is Imps, a project put together by two Swedish producers by the name of Minilogue and two Australian jazz musicians known as Decoy. The outcome is an absorbing collection of tracks, a mix of…

Jackie Leven - Lovers At The Gun Club

14 Aug 2008

SINGER-SONGWRITER (Cooking Vinyl) Now something of a Celtic/Romany troubadour, the Kirkcaldy-born Leven returns with his umpteenth solo album. Opening with the gun-tottin’ title track, and featuring guest vox from his absinthe-guzzlin’ buddy, American…

Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel

14 Aug 2008

ELECTRO (Infected) The cover art sums them up nicely: Late of the Pier are a heady pastiche of their influences. They flip from the sticky rock-fuzz eccentricism of Muse to the nostalgic clunk of Gary Numan’s vampiric electro, and back again, without…

Marcel Dettmann - Berghain 02: Mix CD

14 Aug 2008

TECHNO (Ostgut Ton) Berlin is having a resurgence of cutting-edge labels right now, and this latest offering from Berghain resident/Hard Wax man is top drawer. He’s a quality act, both as a DJ and as the man responsible for the MDR label. This latest…

Opera Shorts

Intimate new work in bite-sized chunks

14 Aug 2008

In its inaugural run of performances, this new opera company provides a showcase of some of Edinburgh’s freshest talent with a set of four 15-minute long operas. The intimacy of such a small theatre helps captivate the audience, and the paucity of props…

Painting Music Workshop

The art of sound

14 Aug 2008

There are several enjoyable aspects to this imaginative workshop, but the best one is the gift that keeps on giving. In just 40 minutes, Rhuti Carr and her musical cohorts give you a new skill that will stay with you for life. Gathered around a giant…

Skelpaig - …aye?

14 Aug 2008

FOLK (Skelpaig Music) Skelpaig have been working on Highland time whilst putting this lively and accomplished debut album of purely instrumental tunes together, but their laid-back approach to deadlines is not reflected in the vibrancy of the music…

The Automatic - This is a Fix

14 Aug 2008

ALT.PUNK (B-Unique) What a difference one little personnel change can make. After ousting squawk-happy keyboardist Alex Pennie, The Automatic drafted in Paul Mullen of the criminally-underrated yourcodenameis:milo, and his influence has leant the…

The Bastard Children of Australian Folk: CWQ

Oddball eclecticism from down under

14 Aug 2008

Melting together genres from Celtic to klezmer, the pioneering Australian folk band CWQ present the result of mixing musical traditions from across the world in The Bastard Children of Australian Folk. Exploring and moulding the entire gamut of…

The Grouch - Show You The World

14 Aug 2008

HIP HOP (Legendary Music) The Grouch drops his first solo-project in five years, and it ain’t too bad either. A highly respected solo MC, beat-maker and founder member of The Living Legends, he is famed for his heartfelt approach to his lyrics; an…

The Icarus - Monologues

14 Aug 2008

ELECTRONICA (TuneTribe) Featuring male/female vocalist duo Toby Trueman and Tori Higham, and production guy Tommy Forrest, The Icarus are Edinburgh’s answer to Massive Attack, God is an Astronaut and The Prodigy. Unconventional in their fusion of…

The Mole - As High as the Sky Wagon Repair

14 Aug 2008

HOUSE (Canada) Along with Cobblestone Jazz and Hrdvsion, The Mole is one of a small group of artists on Mathew Jonson’s label pushing out quality, dubby, melodic 4/4-club music. After building up a solid reputation with previous releases on Kompakt…

The Verve - Forth

14 Aug 2008

PSYCH-ROCK (Parlophone) Even their most evangelical of fans – of which there are still plenty – might have doubted The Verve’s reformation. Much of the solo material of the previously unimpeachable Richard Ashcroft flattered to deceive, and none of it…

Travis & Fripp - Thread

14 Aug 2008

JAZZ (Panegyric) The jazz strap-line on top of this review may prove misleading if you are coming at the recording from an acquaintance with Theo Travis’s more mainstream work with his various quartets over the years. The saxophonist also has a…

Various - Tighten Up! Deluxe Edition

14 Aug 2008

REGGAE (Trojan/Sanctuary) The times around the birth of Trojan Records were turbulent ones: 1968 witnessed social unrest and uprising from Cuba to Belfast, London to Vietnam. Musically, the sound emanating from Jamaica, popularised by Britain’s West…

Groove Armada - live review

Sat 2 Aug - Live at Loch Lomond

12 Aug 2008

Groove Armada were the perfect band to close the Saturday, frankly it would be rude to put them anywhere else but the main stage. Pulling in what was probably the biggest crowd of the whole event they rocked the baying audience with classics ‘I SeeYou…

Pete Doherty - live review

Sat 2 Aug - Live at Loch Lomond

12 Aug 2008

It’s fair to say that Pete’s a bit of a liability, there’s always a rumour flying about that he’s been arrested or that he’s cancelled the show so his performance wasn’t something I’d really thought about. However, I was pleasantly surprised and…

Roisin Murphy - live review

Sat 2 Aug - Live at Loch Lomond

12 Aug 2008

Dull is certainly a word that could never be used to describe the former one half to Moloko. Arriving on stage with an aura of serious business about her Murphy threw herself right into it with ‘Cry Baby’ from her second album ‘Overpowered’. Just as she…

Stereo MCs - live review

12 Aug 2008

With the sun shining and plenty of jovial moods kicking about, Stereo MC’s took to the main stage with a swagger and to a cheer. The arena wasn’t packed and you got the feeling that those who were, were there for the banter. Sure enough they did their…

Ailie Robertson - First Things First

7 Aug 2008

FOLK (Lorimer Records) Edinburgh harpist Ailie Robertson has picked up an armload of prizes at successive National Mods, but that should not lead you to expect a very traditional approach to what is arguably the most traditional of all Scottish folk…

Jaguar Love - Take Me to the Sea

7 Aug 2008

ALT.ROCK (Matador Records) Formed from the ashes of Seattle art-punk luminaries Pretty Girls Make Graves and Blood Brothers, Jaguar Love consists of veteran squawker Johnny Whitney, former bandmate Cody Votolato and Jay Clark. As the creative force…

Jon Phonics - Half Past

7 Aug 2008

HIP HOP (Illsmith Productions) UK hip hop is hard work, but Jon Phonics looks like an exception to the rule. Half Past, his debut album, plays host to UK vocal talent. What’s interesting is that his approach to production seems to have got the best…

Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual

7 Aug 2008

EXPERIMENTAL INDIE-ROCK (We Are Free Records) Hailing from Baltimore via Pennsylvania and Japan, Ponytail (aka Ken Seena, Dustin Wong, Molly Siegal & Jeremy Hyman) finally gel courtesy of this rather wigged-out sophomore set; their first was the…

UNKLE - End Titles . . . Stories for Film

7 Aug 2008

ELECTRONIA INDIE (Surrender All) James Lavelle has been joined by Pablo Clements (The Psychonauts) for the latest incarnation of UNKLE. Collecting music scores and soundtrack work End Titles . . . seamlessly drifts from grungy dance beats to almost…

Various - Antipodean Screams

7 Aug 2008

GARAGE ROCK (Off the Hip Records) Australians are famous for many things but the quality of their underground garage rock is not one of them. This fact is a travesty, as this mammoth double CD slice of cherry pie will attest. At right angles to…

Various - Fabriclive 41: Simian Mobile Disco

7 Aug 2008

ELECTRONICA (Fabric) By rights Simian Mobile Disco ought to be detestable. The production and remix team are responsible, after all, for the post-’We Are Your Friends’ decree that every NME-reading first-year university student to start an indie disco…

Big Hand - How About It?

31 Jul 2008

SKA (Zorbic Media) They’ve been a familiar gigging presence around Edinburgh for some years, so it’s no surprise to find this is ska quartet Big Hand’s debut album. Quite a few of the 14 songs here will be familiar to anyone who has followed the…

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

31 Jul 2008

COUNTRY ROCK (Wichita) It’s been just over a year since he put out Cassadaga with Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst is at it again, conjuring up songs that sound like instant modern classics. This album (staggeringly the 18th of his career) finds the…

Darren Hayman - Great British Holiday EPs

31 Jul 2008

INDIE TRAVELOGUE (Belka Records) Many indie buffs might recall a certain 90s outfit, Hefner, although most would be pushed to come up with the name of the band’s frontman, Darren Hayman. Featuring the odd ukulele, Casio keyboard, et al, this…

Duncan Chisholm - Farrar

31 Jul 2008

FOLK (Copperfish Records) Duncan Chisholm is a busy man, what with Wolfstone, his duo with Ivan Drever, and his involvement in a number of other people’s bands to keep him fully occupied. Every now and again, though, he fulfills his promise to do…