|
Music Reviews from Scotland: Last Stand of
the Highland Magi
06/11/07 We will, I promise, be back, bigger and badder than ever, very soon, with more
of everything, including fun. Until then, have a sneak peek at the myspace (www.myspace.com/blowgunmusic) or drop us a line
at contact@blowgunmusic.co.uk ...we DO love you, honestly. x
This week’s track reviews:
Uncle Fritz - 'Memory Man'
From Field Reports on Pet Piranha
Blowgun favourite Uncle Fritz returns with this sinister-sounding wordless lullaby from his fantastically
misanthropic-sounding new LP. 'Memory Man' pours a bittersweet whistled melody (yes, whistled) over dark chords to hugely
atmospheric effect, reminiscent in rumbly mood to Micah P. Hinson, and revealing a more layered, orchestrated direction
(akin to The Earlies' production on Hinson's Gospel Of Progress) we'd like to hear the good uncle pursue. Go
buy, and enjoy the spooky genius. 8/10
The Decemberists - 'The Island-Come & See-The Landlord's Daughter-You'll Feel The Drowning'
From The Crane Wife on Rough Trade
On an album of essentially concise (and fantastic) folk-tinged pop songs, the 'Island' suite is one of two
10 minute-plus exercises in stretching the Decemberist template to its limits. Disappointingly it becomes apparent that the
band's sound quickly loses its freshness over such a lengthy duration; the traditional-sounding flourishes and Meloy's nasal
vocal stop reminding you of Neutral Milk Hotel and start channeling (gulp) The Levellers. A shame for them to be grounded
by their own flights of fancy, but there it is, i guess... 6/10
Kaiser Chiefs - 'Ruby'
From Yours Truly, Angry Mob on B-Unique
They're not 'bouncy' or 'perky' or 'cheeky' because of their irrepressible love of pop music, you know.
It's because THEY KNOW they're achingly, burningly, blindingly shit AND they're getting away with it.
The Chiefs ain't having some good old indie wideboy caper, they're laughing AT YOU. Because you (not literally
'you', of course, I'm speaking in generalities), have just sent what is essentially Shed Seven covering Chas & Dave to
Number One. Is this even funny anymore? Shut
Up/10
Maritime - 'Parade Of Punk Rock T-Shirts'
From We, The Vehicles on DeSoto Records
Anyone waiting for the next backpack-rock Death Cab sensation form an orderly queue...Davey Von Bohlen of
emo progenitors The Promise Ring streamlines his raspy vocal into a chiming, skipping, aching slice of indie greatness; 'Parade...'
is grown-up and sad, yet manages to make you long to be teenage and shy, and kind of shimmies at the same time. 'We, The Vehicles'
is one of the great lost albums of the last year, but we have every confidence it'll be back...
9/10
Roddy Woomble - 'Every Line Of A Long Moment'
From My Secret Is My Silence on Pure Records
'Ey up Compo! So...how to do 'Scottish' in rock? Roddy's solo effort, while an admirable attempt at pitching
an alternative tent in the glen, again and again strays worryingly close to Runrig territory (as in fact did some of Warnings/Promises).
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but does tend to corner you into a BBC Hogmany Special. 'Every Line...'
is the standout track, and hints at what could have been, with Woomble's understated McStipe stylings and a dynamic arrangement
fending off the tartan cliches...there is magic in them Radio Scotland hills somewhere...maybe next record...
6/10
The Lemonheads - 'No Backbone'
From The Lemonheads on Vagrant
This makes Blowgun feel alternately very very old and stupidly joyous. We've still got a crush on Evan,
there's no denying that. He's Kurt Cobain but drawn in crayon - what's not to love? And 'No Backbone' is classic, strum-along
'heads, with a chorus that lifts its slacker head just enough to make you feel all tingly. At first, the superfluous guitar
noodling from hairy J Mascis distracts, but hey, if we're going to have a Class of '91 reunion, he was bound to show up. Watch
some Dando interviews on youtube, you'll get it. 8/10
Sonic Youth - 'Do You Believe In Rapture?'
From Rather Ripped on Geffen
Still cooler than you, 25 years on - the Youth surpass expectations: '...Rapture' feeds you just enough
pop before whipping it away; a verse melody which echoes, of all things, 'I Believe In Father Christmas'...a pulsing
instrumental middle section reminiscent of Bloc Party's 'This Modern Love', giving out abruptly to ringing minor chords,
leaving you hanging...waiting...dangling like a pinata...Thurston sings "open up your tender soul", and it sounds like
they mean it. Fucking great. 9/10
The A Forest - 'Out Of The Rain'
Ahead of the release of their forthcoming debut album, and a glimpse of the delights in store, 'Out Of The
Rain' is a sidestep for the Dundee Forest; stripped down and minimal, the track less resembles their trademark Silver Mt.
Zion-esque soundscapes and more the cut-up electronica of The Books or Jimmy Tamborello. A gorgeous vocal, stuttering drums,
twinkly things, lilting and sad. A band that sticks out a mile from their local contemporaries; music for films and sweet
dreams. 8/10
Vetiver - 'Been So Long'
From To Find Me Gone on Fat Cat Records
Recorder-clutching initiates of the Banhart Family Vetiver finally bring the rock hammer down hard. Or
rather, we should say, float down the Woodstock river on a boat made of flowers, sprinking incense over each other.
Naked. Minus the winsome glitter of ol' man Devendra's solo work or the electronic flourishes of,
say, Nobody & Co., 'Been So Long' drifts somewhat aimlessly, less technicolour daydream, more cigar called Hamlet. I'm...trapped
inside...a lava lamp...OF MY MIND...
5/10
Nobody & Mystic Chords Of Memory - 'The Seed'
From Tree Coloured Sea on Rough Trade
Ex-Beachwood Spark Chris Gunst collaborates with the titular Nobody (also known as Elvin Estella) on this
warm electro-country shuffle, a sparkling opener to their collaborative effort. Tree Coloured Sea is
a welcome update to Gunst's trademark dreamy jangle, which on previous Chords work was in serious danger of drifting off into
the ether. More accessible than other ex-Sparks efforts (Apparently NASA are still unable to contact All Night Radio), 'The
Seed' rolls along like a sun-battered Earlies. A good thing. 8/10
The Flaming Lips - 'Yeah Yeah Yeah Song'
from At War With The Mystics on Warner
Stop to ponder; the task, the dilemma: two of the finest, most sonically astounding records ever recorded
under your belt (canon-bound for The Soft Bulletin alone), a multiplying fanbase, yay, a Tin Grammy even. Nail-biting,
hair-pulling pressure? Or, alternatively, ya ya ya ya fun! Thankfully, after four long, monochrome years, the Lips
return to us and opt for the latter. Featuring: a gloriously un-autotuned vocal breakdown, vocoder call-and-response larks,
and actual rainbows. Take that, Dubya! Spellcasting! 9/10
Laura Groves - 'I Am Leaving'
Yearning, precious anti-folk from Yorkshire way. Akin to a less scary Joanna Newsom, or Rosie Thomas
minus the I-love-my-family sugar, 'I Am Leaving', the first of two tracks on Groves' webpage, is starry-eyed
and wonderful, her voice soaring over the anything-to-hand instrumentation. Layers of harmonies transform a spare acoustic
ballad into something resembling a homespun Kate Bush - hence, listen and fall in love. 7/10
Embrace - 'Nature's Law'
From This New Day on Independiente
Oh, for fuck's sake. What was that? You've written another terrible ballad? And it's
called..."Nature's Law?" You're kidding about the gospel choir on the chorus though, right? And you're going to just bellow
over the rest of it? That's it: get out of my sight, McNamara, if that is your real name, and take your sub-awful,
honking, tramp 'band' with you, before anyone else gets hurt. I've heard better singles by Jackie McNamara.
1/10 (because it stops)
Grandaddy - 'Goodbye'
from Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla on V2
Aw man, this is sad. The last track from the dearly-departed Grandaddy's nervous breakdown EP '...Todd
Zilla', 'Goodbye' captures the skint, small town frustrations that seem to have killed the band, and is a heartbreaking
contrast to the wide-eyed flights of fancy they used to display. Essentially a solo recording by Jason Lytle, this is
the sound of a band in ashes, and despite the impending release of their posthumous LP Just Like The Fambly
Cat, this song can't be anything but a bleak kiss farewell. When those trademark wonky synths drift in
at the end....aw, man... 8/10
Alamos - 'Polemics'
from Alamos on Pet Piranha
Really just waiting to be swallowed whole by the gaping, grasping mouth of the NME, if Alamos aren't
doing the Doherty circuit in 6 months, something has gone badly wrong in the space-time continuum. Short, sharp, Bloc-Party/Test
Icicles-flavoured verses and a cool '80s chorus, a good-looking bass player, you do the math. The style-over-feeling thing
occurs, but that's kind of the point, right? See you in the pull-out Poster Special, guys! 7/10
Heavy Little Elephants - 'Dying'
Two mystery friends from somewhere near Broughty Ferry turn on the 70s AM radio wonder with an album's worth
of Todd Rundgren-on-Tay pop gems. Currently not on general release, it's really quite important that you e-mail the band and
hassle them to sell you a copy because, as evidenced by 'Dying', the album's highlight, it's a work of dreamlike magic. That
address for you: info@heavylittleelephants.com ...now be on your way. 9/10
OKGO - 'A Million Ways'
from Oh No on Capitol
Whoops...while a good share of their debut was big, catchy and funny ('Get Over
It' was the perfect antidote to the Limp Bizkit era), this is just, kinda...boring. And that can't be right. The video's funny,
sure, and they still put on a good show, but honestly, come back with a tune this flat, call your album Oh No...it's
just asking for trouble, really. And that's a shame, because fun is basically a good thing. We heard that once,
and we're sure it's true. 4/10
The Minus 5 - 'Hotel Senator'
from The Minus 5 on Yep Roc Records
Scott McCaughey's alt-pop supergroup (Buck, Tweedy, Stringfellow and co.) buzz like Children Of Nuggets
on this standout track from the 'gun' album. Super-taut Spoon verses, Beach Boys choruses, everyone takes a holiday from the
day job, and the whole thing sounds like the most fun a new-country kid can have - beers and guitars and John Lennon's
bespectacled ghost - throwaway, but in an A-OK kinda direction. 7/10
Otterley - 'Tweeks'
Wonderfully floaty electronica from Fife by way of the Dun o' Dee - 'Tweeks' dates from Dec '04, but
serves as a fantastic preview for band-promised new material on its way soon. Postal Service beats over a lovely drifty shoegaze-y
type vocal, the falsetto switch is like swooning...we want some 'ba ba bas', but you can't have everything...here's to the
new sounds of snow-pop. 8/10
Hundred Reasons - 'The Perfect Gift'
from Kill Your Own on V2
Everyone's favourite afro-haired hardcore emotionalists land on one of those proper, full-on anthems they
promised us from the beginning. Fulfilling the promise hinted at in the hugely overlooked Shatterproof Is not A Challenge,
this, by rights, should be enormous, from here to Katmandu - given the right platform, those crazy American wallet-chain
kids would devour this, possessing, as it does, a chorus that can eat planets. Yet knowing this lot, they won't even
release it as a single, and the Never Ending Toilet Tour will continue... 9/10
The Rentals - 'Frisbee Days'
A sweet reminder of happier, simpler times, when it was all Eb-tuned guitars and Moogs round these
here parts, and it wasn't embarrassing to like Weezer. Dug up from the archives upon the re-convening of The Rentals at the
end of last year, the song itself is a fuzzy, knocked-off thing, notably lacking the sweet vocals of the Haden sisters, but
as a reminder of how awesome this whole crew used to be, it does its job. Return Of The Rentals is a genuine
lost classic, and it's rad to have them back. Frisbee days, man... 7/10
Angels & Airwaves - 'The Adventure'
To a pop-punk scene stuck on repeat like no other, the sheer scale of Green Day's American Idiot
left all the knee-knockers without a 'message' reeling. Without the poop jokes, what's left? Well, miraculously, this. Tom
Delonge, ex-of-Blink-182 steps up and delivers the goods in a U2/Boxcar Racer shaped package that sounds pretty damn
urgent from where we're standing. I think this is what 'emo' was supposed to be like, gang...
9/10
The Strokes - 'Razorblade'
from First Impressions of Earth on Rough Trade
Despite having the shoddiest knocked-off cardboard packaging we've ever seen (notwithstanding the nice colour
scheme) and a final third that doesn't so much tail off as plummet overboard, The Strokes' latest keeps up the cool. Saying
that, um, this is 'Mandy'. As in Manilow/Westlife. And that's just weird. Yet damnably irresistible, in classic slacker-party
fashion. Coming soon: !!! revisit 'Annie's Song'...and so unto death. 7/10
('cause their feelings are more important than ours)
The Hazey Janes – 'Your Enemy'
from Hotel
Radio on Measured Records
Turbo-pop thrills from the rightful heirs
to the Fannies’ throne. Contains the best use of a ‘hup!’ in living memory, and an outro so exciting it
makes grown men yelp. Further evidence that Scottish indie combos + the concept of sunshine = greatness, and a dramatic introduction
to the grown-up leagues for Dundee’s finest. 9/10
Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins – ‘You Are What You Love’
from Rabbit Fur Coat on Rough Trade
Sparkly
joy from Ms Rilo Kiley- effortless, breezy and wonderful, with just that requisite tinge of slightly creepy sadness lingering
somewhere in the background- much in the style of the scary-looking Shining-esque Wilson Twins themselves. "Not nobody,
not a thousand beers, will keep us from feeling so all alone…” Lewis sings, over a country shuffle that displays
a lightness of touch missing from parts of More Adventurous.
8/10
The White Lodge - 'Good Morning Sunshine'
Lovely, drifting ambience from Philadelphia - invoking dntel and Boards Of Canada in its wasted naturalism
and just one of a handful of similarly dreamy tracks made available through everyone's favourite emo networking service.
Put it on your iPod/walkman/portable 8-track. Go for a walk in the country. Feel better. It's science.
8/10
The Beautiful New Born Children - 'Do The Do'
from Hey People! on Domino
Shake that action thang like it's 2001- in which Chart Kings Domino start a worrying Creation-eque slide
into unwarranted signing territory. 'Do The Do' shimmies by in two minutes' worth of half-assed Kings Of Leon-recycling trashcan
sneering. Distinctly lacking the pop nous the record label would have you believe, it goes A to B and stops. No tricks, no
surprises. You just know Franz Ferdinand blank them in the corridor. 5/10
The Lost Patrol Band - 'Golden Times'
from The Lost Patrol Band on Burning Heart
And here's how you do it properly kids. Super-tight Knack palm mutes, Is This It lead lines, call-and-response
verses, New Wave heaven on a stick. One of those classic not-to-be singles that'll show up on Grandchildren Of Nuggets to
the joy of bearded men everywhere; why must we wait til then? Why do the bearded have all the fun? Is it fate? Why??
9/10
Michael Stipe (feat. Chris Martin) - 'In The Sun'
Now, we ain't got a particular grudge against Coldplay (c'mon, it's just mean to hate them, And,
y'know, A Rush Of Blood...was actually pretty grand, in a Bends-lite kinda way), and of course, it's a weird
practice to even bother criticising charity records, but...goddamn it Michael, M.O.R. ain't the way forward! We thought
you knew that...Up was actually the right way to go, man... 6/10
Uncle Fritz - 'Insect'
from Nine Songs on Pet Piranha Records
Everyone's favourite uncle strolls down another shadowy country lane. 'Insect' is a highlight from his debut
album, and shows off his Bert Jansch/ Nick Drake burr to full effect. If there's one thing we'd wish on Uncle Fritz, it's
strings. A really nice, swooning arrangement, a la Beck's Sea Change. That would be just super. It whispers and rolls,
and hints at future glories... 8/10
|
