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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
17 Jul 2008
ROCK Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline, Thu 10 Jul This first proper gig for the newly-refurbished 1700-seater Alhambra is a fitting one, with returning Fifer Tunstall warming up for T in the Park. Opening is Johnny Lynch, aka The Pictish Trail…
3 Jul 2008
ART ROCK (Ecstatic Peace) It’s been eleven years since we last heard from this art rock supergroup of sorts, but on the evidence of this fourth album, it’s not been worth the wait. Featuring Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth alongside Pussy Galore’s Julie…
ROCK (EMI) Iceland’s favourite sons recently toured their homeland for free and released a stunning acoustic record, and these both rejuvenating processes seem to have fed into the joyous spirit of this fifth studio album. Opener ‘Gobbledigook…
19 Jun 2008
ELECTRONICA/POST-ROCK (KFM) Edinburgh-based laptop whiz David Jack has made three albums of atmospheric electronica on his own already, but spearheading this debut from a transatlantic four-way collaboration, he adds a more organic post-rocking vibe…
5 Jun 2008
GRUNGE Superfuzz Bigmuff: Deluxe Edition The Lucky Ones (Sub Pop) Mudhoney were always the dirty, psychotic older brothers to Nirvana’s globe-straddling grunge phenomenon, true inheritors of The Stooges’ mantle, with their reluctance to…
22 May 2008
POP (Columbia) Salford duo The Ting Tings have been a buzz band recently, and this debut partially fulfils that potential. Conforming to today’s obligatory itunes-friendly frontloading of the album with hits, they blow their wad early, the insanely…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
28 Feb 2008
FOLK (Hegri Music) Karine Polwart is already established as Scotland’s premier purveyor of progressive folk, and this consummate and lush album consolidates that position. A flip side to last year’s traditional collection Fairest Floo’er, this album…
COUNTRY (Ya Basta!) Solal is best known as the French DJ, composer and producer behind the electronica-tango fusion of Gotan Project, so this largely traditional country album comes as a surprise. Recorded in Nashville with a host of local…
ROCK (Domino) Former Pavement man Malkmus has seemingly spent the last few years trying to alienate fans of his former band, as he’s crawled further and further up where the sun don’t shine. On this fourth solo album, that effort reaches a zenith…
ROCK (Sub Pop) Two grunge legends for the price of one – bargain! The Gutter Twins are Greg Dulli (formerly of Afghan Whigs) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees), and this joint project seamlessly blends the former’s love of soul with the latter’s…
14 Feb 2008
SINGER-SONGWRITER (Quietly Fantastic) Winning 2006’s Burnsong competition and being chucked into a house with established songwriters was a dream come true for Scottish singer Edgar, and she’s made that experience count on this accomplished and…
POST ROCK (Kids) Post rockers tend to take themselves mighty seriously (our own lovable Mogwai aside), and the same goes for po-faced Leicestershire young guns Kyte. There is plenty of ambition here, and the band are unashamedly epic in an obviously…
The trouble with being trendy and much touted is that, at some point, you’ve got to produce the goods. Indie ugly mugs The Cribs singularly fail to do so with ‘I’m a Realist’ (Wichita) •, a tuneless, insipid, po-faced sub-Razorlight jangle. Ditto for…
ELECTRONICA (Bearsuit) Electronica is surely the most widespread genre possible, given that all it takes is a laptop and imagination. So it proves on this collection, which features 16 unsigned artists from around the world put together by an…
17 Jan 2008
GUITAR POP (Ruby) This is the debut album from Glasgow-based guitar pop outfit Finniston, and maybe they’ll get better with time, but at the moment they sound as if they’re struggling to find their own distinctive voice. This is all reasonably…
ROCK (Talitres) Does the influence of Coldplay know no bounds? Even the normally independent-minded French are succumbing to the epic rock bug, as this rather derivative debut from Gallic foursome Kim Novak demonstrates. While everything here is…
ROCK (Domino) Everything about this record is a massive leap forward which, consider S&D were pretty shit hot in the first place, is really saying something. From the poptastic hooks to the pristine production (courtesy of Bernard Butler), from Adele…
4 Jan 2008
FOLK (Tin Angel) Adrian Crowley hasn’t received the level of attention bestowed on fellow Dublin troubadour Fionn Regan, but his sonorous blend of folk and blues deserves its spotlight. The content and style of this fourth album perhaps don’t reach…
13 Dec 2007
ROCK (EMI) Released to loosely accompany the Icelandic outfit’s superb recent film, Heima, this two-CD album is a revelation. The Hvarf half contains outtakes and rarities from 12 years of full-band studio sessions and is full of the sumptuous epic…
POP (Polydor) If you’re tired of Abba, you’re tired of life, basically, so this deluxe re-issue of their most ambitious album is extremely welcome. Originally released in 1978 when the band were at their creative and commercial peak, The Album…
INDIE (Track and Field) This London-based indie outfit are more popular across the pond, and you can see why, with the West Coast jangle of The Byrds and their ilk an obvious influence. The Clientele combine a love of simple guitar pop with a…
INDIE (Saddle Creek) Frontman Tim Kasher is a central figure of the Saddle Creek scene, and this established side project is an outlet for a more mainstream sound, contrasting his day job with the explosive Cursive. Unfortunately, while much of Help…
18 Oct 2007
ELECTRONICA 7VWWVW (KFM) Elusive Edinburgh foursome Mammal have been brewing this tasty stew of retro electronica for ages, but it’s worth the wait. Like The Magnificents in a chill-out tent or Boards of Canada jamming with Bob Moog, this mostly…
ART ROCK Widow City (Thrill Jockey) This is pretty much everything that’s wrong with music, packaged in a relentlessly tedious, overblown and self-important hour of aural torture. Much fêted in cooler-than-thou indie circles, this New York-based…
20 Sep 2007
POP Places (Saddle Creek) Imagine The White Stripes raised on summer sunshine and vintage Beach Boys instead of Detroit rain and Delta blues, and you’ll get some idea of the genius of boy-girl duo Georgie James. This is pure, driven pop music with…
FOLK In Our Nature (Peacefrog) For most people, Swedish-Argentine troubadour Gonzalez will always be known for his song ‘Heartbeats’ soundtracking that Sony Bravia ad with the bouncy balls in San Francisco, and that’s his main problem. What makes…
The Cult are back! Raaaaaaaaar, let’s party like it’s 1987! Actually, let’s not bother, because Ian Astbury and co’s latest comeback, ‘Dirty Little Rockstar’ (Roadrunner) •• is a lacklustre rehash of their Stones and AC/DC roots, except creakier in the…
6 Sep 2007
ROCK Rilo Kiley’s last album and singer Jenny Lewis’s subsequent solo debut both contained a handful of indie-country stonewall classics, but this lacklustre and scattershot offering shows none of the same spark, despite Lewis’ ever-wonderful and…
POP With the Comic Relief single and a musical based on their songs, 2007 has already been a great year for The Proclaimers, and this consummately crafted and soulful album can only add to their wide grins. Title track ‘Life With You’ is as big…
3 Jul 2007
ROCK Ash hit their creative peak blending pure pop and adrenaline rock with the near-flawless Free All Angels in 2001, so, after the heads-down metal reaction of 2004’s Meltdown, where next? Back to basics, it seems, the band ditching Charlotte…
26 Apr 2007
INDIE Imagine, if you will, Fleetwood Mac getting together with My Bloody Valentine. Add some crystal meth, the melodies of angels and a poet’s heart. Fields’ sound ranges from exquisite skewed folk to powerhouse drone-rock mayhem, frequently in the…
13 Mar 2007
PUB ROCK Despite having a guitar-playing singer called Bob Mould, this Shotts-based five-piece are sadly not imbued with the spirits of American hardcore more’s the pity. What they are instead is a tediously ordinary pub rock outfit with precious few…
FOLK Considering the recent leaps forward in folk music made by the likes of Karine Polwart and Seth Lakeman, it simply isn’t enough these days to be a proficient traditional band with a few decent tunes. Scottish fivesome The Midden suffer by such…
POETRY POP Of course, just because dozens of the county’s finest bands and authors have collaborated on this album, doesn’t guarantee it’s going to be any good. But thankfully it is, it’s really very good indeed. The end product is unsurprisingly…
27 Feb 2007
INDIE (Full Time Hobby) Ex-Arab Strapper Malcolm Middleton posted his intent with the glorious 2005 album Into the Woods, and this remarkable follow-up cements his place as one of the best songwriters in the country. There is an anthemic pop…
15 Jan 2007
INDIE The sound of a band fulfilling their potential is always a heart-warming thing, and so it is with Aereogramme. This third full-length album sees the band moving onto a whole new level of accomplishment, transforming them in the process from…
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