Martin C Strong

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Martin C Strong

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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…

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…

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…

The Haze - Spirits Are Rising

31 Jul 2008

RETRO GUITAR-ROCK (Mr G Records) Emerging from the depths of Dumbarton, The Haze put the ‘rawk’ back into rock. Produced by Chris ‘Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy’ Tsangarides, this electrifying quintet (singer James Cairns, guitarists John Paul Hunter and…

Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning

17 Jul 2008

Like father like son, New Zealand-born Liam (offspring of Crowded House’s Neil Finn), finally comes-of-age courtesy of his long-awaited debut set. Now 23, and several years on from his initial live workouts in London (where he’s based), the man highly…

Sharleen Spiteri - Melody

3 Jul 2008

BLUE-EYED SOUL-POP (Mercury Records) What’s the difference between Glasgow act Texas and its frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri? If listening to the latter’s debut solo album is any clue: very little. Wearing her Dusty Springfield influences proudly on her…

Natty - Man Like I

3 Jul 2008

REGGAE GOT SOUL (Atlantic Records) Reggae music has taken many diversions since its heyday in the 60s and 70s. Its newest purveyor, Natty – a 24 year-old former mixer turned guitar-plucking singer-songwriter – chooses to smooth out the genre’s rougher…

Various - Chamber Music: James Joyce (1907)

22 May 2008

INDIE (Fire Records) As it says on the double-CD, this is a collection of 36 James Joyce love poems from 1907 interpreted by underground rock artists, some familiar – Mercury Rev, Mike Watt, Ed Harcourt or Willy Mason – others still on the fringes.

Alabama 3 - Hits And Exit Wounds

22 May 2008

COUNTRY ACID HOUSE (One Little Indian) Most people when thinking of Alabama 3 will come up with one song: ‘Woke Up This Morning’, the theme tune to The Sopranos. This thorough retrospective of their ensemble’s six-album career will hopefully put the…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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