Camilla Pia

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…

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…

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…

Errors - Have Some Faith In Magic

Superb third album that should push the foursome out of Mogwai's shadow

6 Jan 2012

(Rock Action) Lazily regarded as Mogwai-lite for most of their seven year existence, Errors’ third offering finally sees the Glasgow foursome shrug off the shackles of their legendary label founders’ early patronage. Anyone with half a brain could…

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…

Ali Shaw - The Man Who Rained

Fantastical modern fable from the author of The Girl With Glass Feet

19 Dec 2011

(Atlantic) After the success of The Girl With Glass Feet, Ali Shaw sticks to his penchant for penning fables with a folklore-filled romance set in a small, superstitious American town. But Thunderstown is not as it first appears when Elsa Beletti…

Interview: Stuart Braithwaite deconstructs Mogwai

An examination of what makes them great, ahead of their 2011 UK tour

9 Dec 2011

40% Quiet/Loud ‘For our first few years this was our raison d’être’ says Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite of a technique that came to define the band’s early, and much revered, nerve-shredding sound. That jolt as the volume soared and dipped without warning…

Seafieldroad - Seafieldroad

Thoroughly beguiling second effort showcases a spine-tingling delivery

10 Nov 2011

(Biphonic) It’s a shock to find Swimmer One and Seafieldroad’s Andrew Eaton-Lewis stripped of all his usual sonic accoutrements. But this second solo effort of piano-backed ballads is thoroughly beguiling. Rich, sonorous vocals are the focal point…

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…

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…

Robert Harris - The Fear Index

An unexpectedly thrilling mix of science, computers and global economics

16 Sep 2011

(Hutchinson) With its ominous title and opening ‘Frankenstein’ quote, it’s no great surprise to find that The Fear Index is a freaky read. And if you’re a fan of being spooked, then Robert Harris’ eighth novel is a must, as he guides us through a…

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…

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…

Jane Harris

The author of The Observations and Gillespie and I on making Glasgow an evocative character

24 Aug 2011

‘The secret was what I began with,’ says Jane Harris about her most recent work, Gillespie and I. And what a mystery we unravel, as narrator Harriet Baxter reflects on her time in 1880s Glasgow and the consequences of a chance meeting with ‘soulmate…

Amy Waldman - The Submission

Admirably tackling the political impacts of 9/11

24 Aug 2011

(Heinemann) Tackling the devastating emotional and political impact of 9/11 is no light undertaking but Amy Waldman grapples with it admirably in her debut The Submission. The novel centres around a panel charged with choosing the memorial to be…

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…

Hari Kunzru - Gods Without Men

A centuries-spanning, multi-character masterpiece from Kunzru

3 Aug 2011

(Hamish Hamilton) Not many books start with a coyote smoking pot. But then Hari Kunzru is not your average novelist. His latest endeavour is a dazzling collection of snapshots taken at various points in time between 1775 and 2009, as we dip in and…

Interview - Battles' Ian Williams on the story behind Gloss Drop

Ian Williams on life and making music after four members became three

24 May 2011

While deeply ensconced in the making of their second album, Battles singer/guitarist Tyondai Braxton announced his departure from the band last year. The news hit fans keenly anticipating the follow-up to 2007’s math rock masterpiece Mirrored hard; as…

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Finally we’ve got the freaky music to match the monsters

24 May 2011

(Polydor) However much we snigger at the egg shell antics and purposely deranged interview technique, people gobble up everything Gaga does right now. So Gaga wins. But sticking firm to her Warhol and Bowie-inspired artistic roots and achieving…

Dananananaykroyd - There Is A Way

An incredibly smart rock record driven by their trademark tireless energy and joy

20 May 2011

(Pizza College) Award five stars or have them sectioned? It’s often a fine line, but a world without Dananananaykroyd’s glorious lunacy would be a sad place indeed. The Glasgow six-some have excelled themselves with There Is A Way; an incredibly…

'Feel It Break' by Austra is a stunning introduction to the Canadian electro-poppers

14 Apr 2011

(Domino) While Katie Stelmanis is very much the beating heart of Austra, her vocals are the icing on an already rather tasty cake. Feel It Break introduces us to this Toronto trio and their dark blend of electronics, keys and minimalist beats with…

Jane Harris – Gillespie and I

Fictional memoir combining warm late Victorian detail with well-crafted storytelling technique

13 Apr 2011

(Faber) We first meet Harriet Baxter in 1933 Bloomsbury, as our elderly narrator embarks on her memoir. The focus from the off is on her magical encounter with ‘soulmate’ Ned Gillespie, Baxter soon becoming deeply embroiled in the lives of this…

Singles of the month: Gyratory System and Something Beginning with L

'New Harmony' and 'Angel Sized' best tracks of March/April 2011

24 Mar 2011

You join The List in a proper strop. Blame Aaron Wright’s ‘Trampoline’ (Dset) ● and ‘Interrupt’ (Albino) ● by Toy Horses; the latter all timid boy vocals and Turin Brakes-isms; the former reminding us that we hate the bloody Kooks. We also hate the…

The Kills: Blood Pressures

Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince deliver a stirring slice of art-rock

24 Mar 2011

(Domino) More well known these days for their dalliances with Jack White (musical) and Kate Moss (marital), Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince make a long-awaited return to The Kills after a three-year break. Throughout Blood Pressures there are…